Mumbai: What separates a story that delivers information from one that stays with its audience? For filmmaker and creative entrepreneur Ramira Taneja, the answer begins with understanding people and accepting that storytelling cannot always be
reduced to a formula.
Swati Bhat
In a podcast conversation, Taneja explored creativity, human behaviour and the audience’s role in shaping a narrative’s meaning. Her observations also offered a glimpse into the ideas informing her work beyond filmmaking, including speaking and discussions around intuition and experiential wisdom.
“Making information attractive is not storytelling,” she said, drawing a distinction between presenting material effectively and creating a narrative that connects.
Ramira Taneja on Storytelling Beyond Fixed Formulas
Taneja questions the assumption that every meaningful story must follow a prescribed structure.
“There is no format or set pattern to write or tell a story. Sometimes the problem leads to impact, and sometimes an experience does. So, it is all non-linear,” she said. Her emphasis is on allowing the subject and experience to shape the narrative. Equally important, in her view, is what happens when that narrative reaches someone else. “The story is not completed by the storyteller, but by the audience.” The observation places interpretation at the centre of storytelling: a creator can construct a narrative, but audiences bring their own memories, expectations and perspectives to it. Ramira Taneja also distinguishes between a story’s existence and its emotional impact. “A story can exist without emotion, but emotion is needed for it to resonate,” she stated. Her references extend beyond cinema to Krishna, Osho and Kabir, connecting her interest in storytelling with philosophy and the communication of ideas.
Emotional Intelligence in the Age of AI
Ramira Taneja’s reflections also address the relationship between technology and human understanding. “We are heading towards an era of Emotional Intelligence (EI) while we collaborate with AI,” Ramira said. The statement reflects her belief that technological capability should be accompanied by an understanding of emotions, motivations and behaviour. Her observation that “Not everything can be judged by maths or numbers” similarly questions the limits of measurement when assessing human experience.
These themes form part of the broader platform she is developing around creativity, communication and intuitive thinking.
An Identity Beyond Filmmaking
While filmmaking remains central to her professional ambitions, Taneja is also exploring how her ideas translate into speaking and conversations beyond the screen. “I want people to know me as someone who made them think differently and someone who had the courage to reinvent. I don't like being caged in one identity or image,” Ramira said. That willingness to question a fixed identity runs through her approach to storytelling, too: leaving room for experience, interpretation and the possibility of seeing a familiar subject differently.
