Kiran Rao, Biju Toppo board Aranya Sahay's 'Humans in the Loop' as executive producers

Humans in the Loop

Filmmakers Kiran Rao and Biju Toppo have boarded director Aranya Sahay’s award-winning film ”Humans in the Loop” as executive producers.

The movie, Sahay’s debut feature, revolves around a tribal woman working as an AI data labeller and has emerged as one of the most loved independent titles on the festival circuit.

“I loved ’Humans in the Loop’ from the very first viewing. It is deeply moving and thought-provoking. The film has wings and carries a very important global message about technology, labour, and the knowledge systems we risk losing. Supporting this project felt both urgent and necessary,” Rao, whose ”Laapataa Ladies” was India’s official entry to the Academy Awards in 2024, said in a statement.

Toppo, a pioneer in tribal cinema, brings decades of experience documenting the struggles and resilience of indigenous communities.

He said ”Humans in the Loop” speaks directly to the lives of people he has personally known and seen.

"For too long, Adivasi perspectives have remained invisible, not just in history, but even in how we imagine the future. ’Humans in the Loop’ boldly expresses our perspective. Having seen the film from its inception I’m proud to say that it’s both a regional film and a global film at the same time,” Toppo said.

Produced by Mathivanan Rajendran, Sarabhi Ravichandran, Shilpa Kumar and Sahay through Storiculture’s Impact Fellowship and SAUV Films, the film is set in Jharkhand and follows Nehma, an Oraon tribal woman whose livelihood in AI data-labelling exposes the hidden labour that powers “smart” technologies.By showing how technological progress can entrench exclusion while sidelining indigenous knowledge systems, the film raises urgent questions about the future that’s being build.

The film recently won the Grand Prix award from FIPRESCI-India, the India chapter of International Federation of Film Critics, alongside Payal Kapadia’s ”All We Imagine as Light”.  Sahay said Rao and Toppo’s support has given him ”immense courage”.

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”It has taken a year of consistent outreach through micro-community screenings to reach a momentum to release the film theatrically. I do hope that audiences across the country can experience it on the big screen. ’Humans in the Loop’ is not just a story about one woman in Jharkhand, it is about all of us asking what kind of future we want to build with technology,” the filmmaker said.

To reach audiences across India, the producers have adopted an alternative distribution model supported by an Impact Distribution fund initiated by the Museum of Imagined Futures.

The film will release through a mix of theatrical and curated independent showcases, beginning September 5 at Cinepolis Andheri in Mumbai, followed by screenings in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, and Bengaluru from September 12 onwards.

The makers are also inviting audiences to request for specific screenings in their cities.