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Hello Robot’s new ad film for Taj Mahal Tea beautifully accentuates the idea of music and tea connecting one and all.
Combining the rich traditions of Chai and Kashmiri Santoor, Taj Mahal Tea serves up musical inspiration in beautiful Kashmir, to the delight of its waterborne community. The latest ad campaign of Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea features Rahul Sharma, the son of Santoor legend Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma
The ad begins with renowned santoor player Ustad Rahul Sharma relaxing on his ‘Shikara’ on a breezy morning with Taj Mahal tea brewing in the kettle. Suddenly a boy approaches him on another shikara and asks him how santoor is played. Ustad Rahul Sharma pours Taj Mahal tea in a glass, takes a sip and begins playing the instrument. With the maestro playing his instrument in a trans like state, gradually, the melody strikes a chord with everyone on the lake and they all steer their shikaras towards that of the Ustad. He is joined by another man who starts playing sarod and the lake environ is filled with harmonious music. By the time Ustad Rahul is done playing, he realizes that he is surrounded by a swarm of shikaras. People on the lake applaud the performance and the ad finishes with familiar dialogues of “Waah, Ustad!” uttered by the boy from the opening shots to which Ustad replies. “Arey Huzoor! Waah Taj boliye!”
The music – The music was done by Taufiq Querishi- who is zakir hussains brother and a renowed music director/musician himself. Rahul and Paul (the director) and Sudhir (the Unilever client) worked on the music together and came up with this soulful melody
While Hello Robot’s USP lies in their strong presence in abroad and that they give access to celebrity Hollywood talent for direction of Indian ad films, this ad truly brings out India’s rich tradition. With Indian brands growing to a global style appeal in the way the ad films are shot, Hello Robot brings together the best of the two worlds- the leading film making capitals of the world to put together cutting edge talent and creativity in ad films.
Hello Robot also has the capability to produce ad films across myriad locations across India, Europe and USA. Theirs being a ‘collective’ approach brings together a blend of talent across technical experts and story tellers from across the world. It’s clear that having a base in two of the largest film-outputting regions of the world has its benefits for both their Indian and US clients.
The ad creates a beautiful fusion of the rich cultural content and the cutting edge production technique to put it together viewers and hold them spellbound.
Credits
Client: Hindustan Unilever Ltd Creative agency: Ogilvy& Mather Production: Hello Robot Director: Paul Minor NCD : Rajiv Rao Senior VP – Abhik Santara Client Servicing Director – Nikhil Mohan Account director: Nayna Kotian Account Executive : Saket Gaba Films : Ryan Williams VP (Planning ) – Vipasha Bhuptani Planning Director – Ravichandran Ramanujan
About Hello Robot
Hello Robot is a visual design & storytelling company based in Mumbai, India, with a USA arm. Hello Robot develops content in the realm of advertising, design, feature film and interactive platforms. Hello Robot has a global reach and brings together storytellers and artists from all over the world.
With ad films including the likes of the Indigo Airlines, Royal Enfield, Forest Essentials and Google in their vast creative portfolio, the USP giving them this level of success is their international approach. With a strong presence in LA; they can give access to celebrity hollywood talent for direction of Indian ad films as they have done in the past with Steven Antin Burlesque for the Indigo Air ad. Other A-list celebrity directors they collaborate with include Rob Cohen of Fast and the furious, XXX, and Mummy fame; Kevin Tancharoen (Mortal Combat) and Marcus Nispel (Conan the Barbarian).
Brands including Hero, Samsung and Micromax have experienced this talent in their latest ad films with great success. This access to interntaional talent works well with most of Hello Robots post production and shoots taking place in USA which enables a high quality finished product.
With Indian brands growing to a global style appeal, such a level of quality in ad film making is seeing a growing demand. Hello Robot brings together the best of two countries which are the leading film making capitals of the world to put together cutting edge talent and creativity in ad films.
Hello Robot also has the capability to produce ad films across myriad locations across India, Europe and USA. Theirs being a ‘collective’ approach brings together a blend of talent across technical experts and story tellers from across the world. It’s clear that having a base in two of the largest film-outputting regions of the world has its benefits for both our Indian and US clients.
Amit Gupta, Founder, Director
Director Amit Gupta has worked in the U.S., Europe, South Africa, India, East Asia, and the Middle East shooting commercials, music videos, and films. With a network of contacts spanning the globe, he works closely with some of the world’s most talented industry professionals and esteemed agencies to bring beautiful and highly creative work to the screen.
His commercial work has earned him the Mosaic Award from the American Advertising Federation, a Telly Award in San Francisco, and has screened at Cannes and has several Metals at Goofiest. His film “The Guardian’s Gateway” has screened at the Kids First! Film Festival, the largest festival for children and family films in the world, and the Hollywood International Film Festival.
Amit holds an MFA in Film and Television from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California and a Bachelor’s from University of Texas at Austin and splits his time between Los Angeles and Mumbai. His list of clients include: Nike, Tropicana, SC Johnson, Samsung, Forest Essentials, Indigo Airlines, Honda, Canon, Google, State Farm, Wieden and Kennedy and Venebles Bell and Partners amongst others. |
