TECH. ARTS. COMMUNITY.
Chaitali Kulkarni
Engineer, Educator and Writer
Chaitali is an engineer, educator, writer, and new media artist whose work bridges technology, storytelling, and social history. They create walking tours, speculative fiction, and interactive installations that explore memory, belonging, and resistance—often through feminist perspectives rooted in the cities of Pune and Bangalore, with a strong interest in futurism and speculation
Challenges
10
Malhaar.exe
For this challenge, we had invited the fellows to bring their final projects to life through the powerful mediums of either a short film or a graphic novel. Chaitali created a game called Malhaar.exe for this challenge. In a futuristic Bangalore where monsoons are engineered by a tech startup, Megha, Varsha, and Indra navigate love, resistance, and the shifting idea of utopia. As rain becomes a commodity, they must reclaim its spirit—challenging a world where technology and human ambition collide, and where the soul of water shapes a new future. To access this game, please click on the following link and follow the instructions.
9
For challenge 9, the fellows presented a pitch deck of their visual narratives. These narratives, set in 2050, address a conflict in an ideal future and its resolution. The pitch will serve as a storyboard for the final project, presented as either a short film or graphic novel. Chaitali’s project MALHAAR.exe is set in a futuristic campus and features two women in love. Raag Malhaar and music forms the backdrop of this poignant story.
8
Challenge 8 was a fun exercise in which the fellows generated interactive AI personas using the Gooey.AI copilot tool. Chaitali’s bot named Anya Rao is a 29-year-old Indian biohacker and community health advocate in a near-future world where medical AI systems (like “medical mirrors”) dominate diagnosis. They speak with passion, clarity, and a hint of rebellion. They’ve hacked medical systems to better serve marginalized communities.
7
After an engaging workshop with Nina Sabnani, the fellows applied their imagination to craft a narrative using five images that Nina gave as prompts. Chaitali’s story presents a world where the erased are hunted and memory is a weapon. An aging farmer, a lost girl, a loyal ox, and a trembling puppy race to restore stolen names before a living road rewrites history forever.
6
For this challenge, we wanted the fellows to create supporting characters that would inhabit their envisioned future world.Chaitali created the supporting characters of Dr. Laleh Farooqui and Neera Voss.Dr. Laleh Farooqui is a warm, brilliant doctor who acts as a mentor to the protagonist. She was one of the first to embrace medical mirrors, but she warns that AI should always complement human intuition, not replace it. Neera Voss is the CEO of BioSync, the powerful corporation that manufactures the medical mirrors. She presents herself as a champion of unbiased healthcare, but in reality, she’s manipulating the system to prioritize efficiency and corporate interests over individual patient needs.
5
Fellows developed characters who would live in their imagined future worlds.Chaitali created the character of Anya Rao, a biohacker and community health advocate who has developed underground modifications to the medical mirrors. She has a personal stake—she was misdiagnosed for years before AI medicine changed everything.
4
For this challenge, we wanted fellows to continue building on their explored futures, focusing on world building. We wanted them to visualise it as the opening scene of a sci-fi film, where the focus is on the setting rather than the characters. 5 to 6 frames were created using Gooey's Animation Generator in draft mode (2 FPS). Chaitali has presented an aerial shot of Cubbon Park in Bangalore, now an emerald oasis with towering bioluminescent trees. Autonomous air trams glide between vertical gardens, their exteriors displaying interactive holograms. Drones shaped like kites dance over Ulsoor Lake at dusk, harvesting mist for drinking water.
3
For this challenge, we had asked the fellows to illustrate their peers’ predictions for the future. Chaitali illustrated the prediction that by 2050, Mumbai’s coastline will have a tsunami barrier with storm surge gates. A sponge city model around the Mithi River supplements storm-water drainage capacity during extreme weather.
2
We asked the fellows to explore what the future would look like. We also asked them to forecast a series of predictions for the next few years, with a timeline of no more than 25 years ahead. Chaitali made the following predictions about the future. India’s Constitution becomes a living document, constantly evolving with AI-assisted public referendums to ensure rights keep up with changing times and no government is able to overpower it. Smart diagnostic mirrors scan health in seconds, eliminating doctors dismissing pain, especially for women and nonbinary people. Climate refugees find safety and community in modular, AI-adaptive homes that move with them and self-adjust for heat and floods
