Gautam Adani Calls on Youth to ‘Own India’s Story’ at Whistling Woods: Says AI Will Unlock a New Age of Storytelling

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani on Friday urged India’s young creators to take charge of telling the country’s own stories to the world, describing storytelling as both a cultural responsibility and a strategic asset in the era of artificial intelligence.

Delivering a thought-provoking address titled “Jeena Yahan, Marna Yahan: The Cinematic Soul of Nation-Building” at Whistling Woods International, Adani drew parallels between nation-building and storytelling, saying that every project — whether a film or a port — begins not with steel but with a story.

“Buildings will crumble, empires will fade, but long after the final credits roll, it is the story that remains,” he told an audience of film students, faculty members, and noted filmmakers including Subhash Ghai, Rajkumar Hirani, and Kartik Aaryan.

Adani reflected on how Indian cinema has long served as a form of soft power, citing Raj Kapoor’s popularity in the Soviet Union and calling Kapoor “India’s finest advocate of soft power.” He added that films have shaped global perceptions more powerfully than politics or trade.

Drawing from his personal experiences, Adani recalled how the Hindenburg Research report of 2023 weaponized a false narrative that wiped out over $100 billion in group market value. “That episode taught me that truth must also be loudly told, for silence leaves space for others to script your destiny,” he said.

The industrialist warned that in a world where “narratives move markets faster than numbers,” India must reclaim control of its own narrative. He urged the creative community to resist foreign misrepresentations and “never again let the story of any Indian Mahatma be written through the lens of a foreigner.”

Looking ahead, Adani predicted a revolutionary transformation in cinema driven by AI, where film creation costs could fall by up to 80% and stories would become “instant, personalised, and interactive.”

“AI will unlock imagination,” he said, envisioning an age when “every storyteller will become his own studio.”

Closing his address, Adani called upon students to use technology and creativity responsibly:
“May your generation be the one that gives Bharat her stories back — told with truth, pride, and purpose.”