Monalisa Patsani
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: Every day we see many marvellous commercials on television which, apart from advertising products, also convey social messages.
The ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), needless to say, is also a season of commercials, as cricket fever draws viewers by millions towards television. Even the IPL needed advertising and its own promotions with the theme ‘Ek India Happywala’ was released by Sony MAX, the official broadcaster of IPL. As every cricket lover would vouch for, each advertisement carried a strong social message in different ways.
Now, one fact that is relatively unknown about these commercials, is that four of them have been directed by Anupam Mishra, an Oriya. The main campaign of IPL, the one with children, has been directed by Anupam along with those featuring an old age home, a media house and the female taxi driver.
Anupam is a known name in the field of advertisement direction. He has directed commercials for popular brands such as Raymond, OLX, Sainik Plywood, Havells wires, IDEA, AVIVA, Hero and Nivea cream.
A native of Puri, Anupam holds a postgraduate degree in film and video from National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad. He had gone to Delhi to try his luck in advertising but moved on to Mumbai in 2008. In 2012 he formed Crazy Few Films with friends and since then there has been no looking back.
He had this to tell Orissa POST about his successes: “It is the result of teamwork. The scriptwriters gave us good scripts and we presented them with some modifications. In the world of advertising teamwork is very important. A director mostly depends on his team. During the making of any commercial we make sure what new can be done in its presentation besides selling the product. We often incorporate short messages that would attract attention of the viewers. The more authentic the presentation, the more catchy and attractive it becomes. I am lucky that I got such scripts and characters that have made the films more than just marketing for the product.”
The director says that he himself liked his work on Havells advertisement with catchlines ‘Mai Pankha Hoon’ and ‘Hawa badeligi’. “These have strong message which I really liked. Good messages make the advertisement more interesting.”
Anupam had always been interested in advertisement films but initially “had no idea of how they were made”. The degree from NID helped him learn the technicalities of advertisement film-making.
He started with a commercial for Nokia. But he considers his advertisement for IDEA “very special”. “That advertisement for Valentine’s Day in 2012 shows an old man presenting his wife with a rose. It brought me and my team some recognition.”
Anupam believes Mumbai is the best place to make a good career out of advertising. “Delhi offers no exposure. Mumbai by contrast provides lots of exposure. Orissa, too, is witnessing good commercials, but Mumbai is still the best place,” he said. Anupam is also awaiting the right opportunity for making social promos. “I have never made such films but I do have plans to be involved with them. I have spoken with my team to plan such a film and work is going on. I haven’t zeroed in on a story yet. I will start work the moment I find one.”
Besides advertising, Anupam also holds some experience in cinema. He was second unit director and production designer of the 2009 release ‘Dum Maro Dum’. He plans to return to cinema, too, in due course. “Right now I am only concentrating on advertisements. I am getting lots of work and am busy with them. Maybe in 2-3 years I will think about films.”
