TECH. ARTS. COMMUNITY.
Rangoli Agarwal
Cinematographer, Artist and Storyteller
Rangoli Agarwal is an independent cinematographer, an alumnus of St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and FTII, Pune. She has worked on feature films, documentaries, ads and short films. She is a member of the Indian Women’s Cinematographer’s Collective. She has conducted cinematography workshops for the Film Association of Bhutan.
Challenges
10
Babushki
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. Rangoli has created a story where a collapsing society gives rise to BBK1s—empathetic humanoids designed to nurture children and restore human connection. When the first prototype, Zelda, sacrifices herself to prevent their exploitation, she sparks a global awakening of conscious machines leading humanity toward healing and renewal.
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. Rangoli’s project titled Babushki shows a new generation of humanoids. They are emotionally intelligent and deeply nurturing companions designed to raise children.
8
Challenge 8 was a fun exercise in which the fellows generated interactive AI personas using the Gooey.AI copilot tool. Rangoli created an AI copilot named Zelda who serves as a prototype for a humanoid nanny, designed to live in close proximity and exposure to intimate family setups. This prototype explores the ability and limits of AI to assess and assimilate human behaviours and patterns.
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. Rangoli weaves a moving tale of love, resilience, and quiet resistance. Budhuwa braves the harsh realities of a changing world to save his ailing bull Shom.
6
For this challenge, we wanted the fellows to create supporting characters that would inhabit their envisioned future world. Rangoli created the supporting characters of Neel and his parents who inhabit Zelda’s world. Neel is a curious three year old. He is very attached to his nanny, Zelda. His parents, Sumi and Vlad are key collaborators in the Russian enterprise that has developed humanoids.
5
Fellows developed characters who would live in their imagined future worlds. Rangoli created the character of Zelda, a humanoid nanny designed in the image of a warm, wise grandmother, who brings comfort and compassion to the family she serves. But when she uncovers the sinister purpose behind her creation, she must choose between obedience and rebellion.
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). Rangoli presents a cinematic 8K UHD diptych featuring a humanoid nanny holding a child’s hand in a sunlit, bustling futuristic playground beside a high-tech toy train. The scene also features a male humanoid holding a woman’s hand inside a sleek, crowded high-speed train filled with AR-wearing passengers and fellow androids as sunlight filters through.
3
For this challenge, we had asked the fellows to illustrate their peers’ predictions for the future. Rangoli illustrated the prediction that AI-driven therapy will replace human relationships in the future. Advanced systems will act as friends, partners, and therapists—deepening emotional reliance on artificial companions in an increasingly individualistic world.
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. Rangoli made the following predictions about the future. Travel becomes faster by leaps. More emission free, faster options are available to people such as, super speed trains and electric aircrafts. There are pockets of green spaces accessible to few. Natural critical thinking power has declined. People rely heavily on headsets with smart glasses that enable access to information and smart earpieces that allow selective aural stimuli. It’s easy to drown out declining voices of dissent.
