The tutelage of masters Shyam Benegal, Manjit Kakar and RaviUppor was what may have been responsible for the creation of one of India’sadvertising greats. Yet, in giving them all the credit, you risk being at thereceiving end of a diatribe of humorous proportions from the man himself, theever eloquent Prahlad Kakar.
The most critical need for any advertisement is thelongevity of its life span. When asked how one produces advertisements that areiconic, and will still live on after twenty years, he says, “It is important tonot grow jaded, and make sure you maintain a sense of wonder, a joy ofdiscovery, an appreciation of mystery, and love of simply doing. If you canachieve that, the rest follows naturally.”
His production house, Genesis Film Productions, founded in1977 is considered to be one of the most reputed advertisement film makingagencies in India. Having produced an advertisement for Pepsi that starredAmitabh Bachan and Sahin Tendulkar that is considered iconic to this day andage, he says with absolute candour, that nerve is what is lacking most in adcampains today. “Pepsi, when I worked with them closely, regarded themselves assecond best to Coca Cola. That was precisely what made their ideology winningone. They would strive to excel and think out of the box to do so. This isimperative. Their current poster boy, Ranbir Kapoor has everything to berebellious. Rather than try to keep him on a leash that highlights conformity,they should unleash his wilder side on the audience,” Kakkar claims.
And as there are many factors that shape an ad film’ssuccess or failure, and much effort is required to go into it just to make it,it is critical that it’s producers do not feel that it is not worth the effort.On that note, Kakkar literally barks a laugh as he says, “The making of thesead films is about having fun. Playing with your ideas and not stifling yourimagination is what one needs to always bear in mind as ground rules. If youfollow that basic set of guidelines, it is always going to be a successfulventure.”
While he claims to never have taken advantage ofserendipity, the fact of the matter remains that some happy accidents are toogood to pass up. Just ask the Sachin Tendulkar from Kakkar’s immortal adseveral years ago, as he prized the girl away from Amitabh Bachan.
