Visual Storytelling with Indrani Pal-Chaudri: Civil Society on Industrial Policy and Green Structural Transformation

At the Reclaiming Industrial Policy for the People conference—convened by the TIDE Centre, Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS), and the Transnational Institute (TNI)—host Thobani K speaks with filmmaker, futurist, and Princeton visiting lecturer Indrani Pal-Chaudri. From her early discovery by David Bowie to founding Open Origin and the Shakti Regeneration Institute, Indrani makes a powerful case that imagination is an essential but overlooked component of green structural transformation. She explores how storytelling, indigenous wisdom, and visual activism can challenge extractive “green growth” models and open space for regenerative, people-centred development.Their discussion moves from art to action: rethinking film distribution outside the constraints of Hollywood, using creative narratives to mobilise civil society, and applying business-model discipline to scale practical climate solutions—from green energy for AI data centres to community-embedded models of decarbonisation. Anchored in the wider aims of the conference, Indrani argues that science, technology, and markets follow stories—and that by reclaiming narrative power, societies can accelerate inclusive industrial policy and imagine futures worth building.