Actor Chetan Hansraj on Kaal Nagari, India’s First AI- Generated Series: “We Didn’t Wait for the West- We Made It Ourselves”

Actor Chetan Hansraj is making headlines with his ambitious and pathbreaking new project Kaal Nagari, India’s first AI-generated series, backed by ALTT. With futuristic storytelling, a young team, and cutting-edge technology, Kaal Nagari marks a bold leap into the future of digital entertainment—and Chetan is leading the charge. Talking about how the idea came to life, Chetan shared, “People always used to think, ‘Someday we’ll make something like this.’ We didn’t just think it—we made it happen.

We’ve put India on the global map for AI-generated content. We didn’t want to wait for America to do it first and then copy it. We said, ‘Let’s just do it.’” Chetan revealed that the series was completed in just two and a half months with a compact team of 8–9 youngsters, all around 24–25 years old. “Their energy was amazing. They just said, ‘Sir, we’ll make it. We won’t back down.’ And we pulled it off,” he said. Set in a fictional futuristic city, Kaal Nagari tells the story of a journalist, a detective, and an honest cop who join forces to fight a crime syndicate that has taken over the city. “We imagined what Bombay would look like 30–40 years into the future,” Chetan explained. “What if a gang takes over an entire city? That’s how the world of Kaal Nagari was born.

The characters came to us almost as if they were being sent from above.” But creating something that’s never been done before came with its share of challenges. “In the beginning, we were terrified. Nothing was working. Everything was failing. But then we cracked one thing, then another—and suddenly, it all started falling into place. We had to retake so many scenes in the first month. It was tough, but once we got it, the process became smooth,” Chetan recalled. Unlike many AI projects that rely on narration and passive visuals, Kaal Nagari includes full-fledged performances, gestures, expressions, and dialogues—thanks to a technique that mapped Chetan’s acting onto a digital character. “People think AI means replacing actors, but that’s not true. I performed every scene. It’s my eye movements, my hand gestures, my emotions. AI is just the medium.

The soul still comes from the actor.” While there are concerns that AI might replace jobs, Chetan believes the opposite is true. “This show gave work to actors who were never given a chance before. It’s opened a new avenue. In fact, in future projects, we’ll even approach non-actors—scan them, pay them, and create digital versions of their performances. AI removes the limits of location, budget, or logistics. If you want a Ferrari or a helicopter in one shot, or a thousand junior artists, it can be done. The only thing you need now is vision.” Chetan also highlighted how Kaal Nagari is part of a larger trend toward shorter, impactful content. “Micro-dramas are the future. People don’t want to sit through 45-minute episodes anymore. Give them 2–3 minutes of gripping content—that’s the new format.”