The story of the moth and the flame (Shama-Parvana) has been retold so many times in Hindi and Urdu poetry, ghazals, and drama that it practically should have its own Wikipedia page. And yet every generation finds a reason to go back to it. Forbidden love, devotion that is fully aware it will not end well and chooses to show up anyway. I figured AI deserved a turn. Have been working on an AI short around this story. The challenge is that AI visuals have this inherent waxiness to them, very polished, very pretty, not exactly screaming existential longing. Convincing them to hold the weight of centuries of heartbreak takes effort and a lot of regenerating. But I have found myself enjoying that friction more than I expected to. Might keep building on this story. Till the moth is consumed.