Abhishek Srivastava of The Times of India awarded 3.5 stars out of 5 and said that "Director Aranya Sahay, who also appears briefly as a government officer in the film, occasionally slips into preachy moments, but when the film simply observes, it feels like a fresh voice—a story about AI that is profoundly human."Read at source
Humans in the Loop 2025 
Synopsis
Humans in the Loop
Humans in the Loop is a 2024 Indian independent drama film written and directed by Aranya Sahay and produced by Storiculture's Museum of Imagined Futures. The film follows an Adivasi woman, Nehma, from Jharkhand who unexpectedly finds herself interacting with artificial intelligence, unraveling its hidden biases and ethical dilemmas. Inspired by a 2022 article by journalist Karishma Mehrotra in Fifty Two (52) titled "Human Touch", the film sheds light on AI bias and its disproportionate impact on women in technology. It highlights the contributions of women in the field of data annotation and algorithmic development while questioning the growing intersection of AI and marginalised communities.
- Director
- Aranya Sahay
- Release
- 5 Sept 2025
- Studio
- Storiculture, Museum of Imagined Futures, SAUV Films
- Run time
- 72 min
- Language
- Hindi
Reviews
6 Indian-media reviews, grouped by reception.
Critics' consensus
Generally Positive
Critics' aggregate for Humans in the Loop is 75/100 from Abhishek Srivastava (The Times of India) and The Quint.
Synthesized by AI (gpt-5-codex-omdb-enricher) from 7 source-backed reviews — verify against the linked sources.Common praise
- direction
- writing
Positive 6
Alaka Sahani, writing for The Indian Express stated that "Humans in the Loop reminds us that though we are not unfamiliar with the threat that AI algorithms pose to cultural homogeneity, we still have to get rid of our existing biases."Read at source
Deccan Herald described it as "an ode to the women who are redefining technology from behind the screens."Read at source
Indian Express praised its "meticulous research and emotionally compelling storytelling."Read at source
The movie itself might have felt incidental, like a medium to platform all those blatant metaphors.Read at source
Sahir Avik D’souza of The Quint rated it 4 stars out of 5 and wrote that "the film is dedicated to the women of Jharkhand.Read at source
Media & trailers
Verified video records attached to this title.
Details
Technical specs
- Release date
- 5 Sept 2025
- Run time
- 72 min
- Language
- Hindi
- Country
- IN
- Director
- Aranya Sahay
- Studio
- Storiculture, Museum of Imagined Futures, SAUV Films
- Distributor
- Netflix
Trivia
- The film received the Film Independent Sloan Distribution Grant, which supports narrative features engaging with science or technology themes.
- The Sloan Film program has previously backed notable films such as 'Oppenheimer,' 'Hidden Figures,' and 'The Imitation Game.'
- Director Aranya Sahay and producer Mathivanan Rajendran were named Film Independent Fellows as part of the grant award.
- The film premiered at MAMI in 2024 before being released globally on Netflix on 31 October 2025.
- The U.S. launch in Los Angeles featured a week-long theatrical screening at the Lumière Cinema from November 7–13.
- The Los Angeles launch strategy included partnering with 10 local organizations and hosting daily panel discussions with industry professionals.
Tags
Hindi Cinema2025Hindi FilmReleasedHindi
