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In conversation with VMLY&R’s Hari Ramanathan

It all started when I got my hands on the Late Pralhad C Chhabria’s biography- ‘There is no such thing as a self-made man’. It was graciously gifted to me by the Chairman of Finolex Industries - his son, Mr. Prakash P Chhabria. A brilliant book and it really caught my attention, because the book had so many features of what India’s first self-made industrialist was able to achieve. I was marvelling at the simplicity of the man and the magnitude of him at the same time.

Pralhad Chhabria was truly a legend. He came from a family which had a lot but lost everything. 

The family’s big mansion in Karachi was bet away by Pralhad's older brothers after which Pralhad moved to Amritsar at a very young age. He moved to work for his Jeejaji’s (brother-in-law’s) tailoring unit as a cleaner and helper. At the tender age of 14, he decided to move to Bombay (now Mumbai) to make his mark and build his career. That journey is monumental. His Jeejaji gave him a 10 rupee note which was subsequently stolen and found. I personally love that paragraph in his autobiography where he finds his note because he remembers the sequence of numbers on the note. 

Sometimes, an autobiography and a film about the autobiography are about instances that make a person who they are. A film has to take that instance and magnify it, which is what we had the opportunity to do. 

When I read the rest of the book, two things stayed with me. First, this great man had been able to turn that 10 rupee note into a 10,000 crore empire (the value of the company was 10,000 crore rupees when he passed away) because he deeply understood people. And secondly his intellect and iron grip on numbers was second to none. For me, the whole book went back to that paragraph, when the boy turned into a man. That was the reason why I decided to make the film. I took the story back to the Chairman of Finolex, saying it was a story worth telling. 


The potential to make the film was first discussed in 2017, and we shot it in 2019 which makes it a 5-year project in the making. I have transformed a fair bit in that time. it has been a growing journey for me, which was filled with lessons. We just needed the right time to release it and I’m glad it’s out.

The process of making a short-film is very different from making an ad. So for me, as a producer, this was a fantastic journey filled with lessons. The script itself went through 9 variations and we worked with 3 different writers. It was finally the director, Sayan Mukherjee who wrote the script. It felt like he got the ethos. The way he has built the characters so beautifully, the way he’s made them come alive, is magnificent.

Watch the film here

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In that compartment, one can almost feel a sense of India in 1945, the combination of fear, hope and optimism coming together. The journey from Amritsar to Bombay is so beautifully tied into the script. I also love the nuances of the script that build up Pralhad’s character, his sharpness after seeing a trail of ants towards the box of sheera, or the way he observed that the Pathan wasn’t eating himself but the next morning he was in a situation where he was feeding Pralhad samosas. 

His sharpness and understanding of people really comes out and finally the penny drop moment when he uncovers that the Pathan has stolen the note by remembering the sequence of numbers on his 10 rupee note is the film's high point. The script beautifully, ultimately came together in the end on the 9th draft, and that process itself took about one and a half years. It was only when I was confident of the script that I went back to Mr. Prakash Chhabria and narrated the script to him. He loved the script. I remember his eyes while we were narrating the script. While it is a very emotional script, it is all the more meaningful for him because it was a story of his father as a young boy, and he immediately sanctioned the film - but with a lot of guidance. He said it must win at award shows across the World and that we should not go over budget. 

Once he sanctioned the film, we were on another path altogether, because making a feature film is very different from making an ad film so I felt like I needed to get right advice for production. So I turned to one of my early mentors, Mr. Ranjan Singh who has production experience with Phantom Films and he has worked closely with Anurag Kashyap and Vikram Aditya Motwane on many films. He came onboard as an advisor to help me, we put together the budget and cast. It is a great cast, all the people are eclectic, bring on board Ritvik Sahore (of ‘Laakhon me ek’ fame), Aabid Shamim, Annapurna Soni and Chinamay Das. We also had over 200 extras in the film. 

The director Sayan, worked very closely with the actors to weave out Pralhad’s character and the other characters that complement each other. That itself was a fun process for Sayan, me and the entire crew. We shot the film over 9 days in Mumbai. We created an entire version of Amritsar in 1945 in one of the sequences. There went a lot of green screen work and VFX effects which were given to us by AfterStudios. With the train and train station being the focal point of the film, we spent 7 days at Richardson and Cruddas, where we transformed the entire shed into a train station. We went into post-production, where Adit Anande, the lead composer at Schbang composed the tracks in the film. He worked very closely with the director to being out the ethos of the film. The end track of the film, composed by Adith, really captures the carefree confidence that Pralhad had in life.

We economised the production, we were able to produce the film in 2.5 crore rupees. The way we crunched the cost really taught us a lot as a production house. Our house usually makes TVCs or DVCs or Corporate AVs or Digital content so doing a full blown film really helped strengthen our processes. Personally, it was a satisfying and fulfilling experience for me. The cherry on top, apart from the film has been that the it is recognised at 22 film festivals including Prague International Film Festival, London Film and Television Festival and Moscow International Film Festival.

It is very exciting to see this finally see the light of day and release on Humaramovie - a premier platform for Indian cinema. I’m looking forward to what people think of the film. I think in today’s world, the film is particularly important because it teaches us how 10 rupees can turn into a 10,000 crore empire and it stands as a sharp contrast to the world that we see today where we celebrate large valuations over lofty values. It stands as a good reminder that real simple intellect and an understanding of people can build a large business empire without venture funding. And I think that’s what Pralhad teaches us in today’s time. I hope young entrepreneurs and businessmen/women feel inspired and enjoy this film and I hope the entire advertising industry and fraternity also enjoy this film and is interested to drive clients to tell stories in longer formats than we did before

Harshil Karia is the founder of Schbang, an independent marketing solutions agency. Views expressed are personal.

Why Schbang Motion Pictures made a film about Finolex’s founder -  Pralhad C Chhabria

As the demand for short content rises, independent digital agency Schbang has launched a new division, The Global Content Hub. In an interview with Storyboard18, Harshil Karia, founder of Schbang, says, “The business model is simply to bridge the gap in the existing market on quality content creation whether it be video/audio or static imagery.” Karia tells us about the agency’s big picture on content production and key trends in video storytelling.

How different will The Global Content Hub be from Schbang's existing production services? What will it bring to the table? 

The objective of The Global Content Hub will be short-term content creation while the production house - Schbang Motion Pictures will be focusing on creating long-form video assets with long-term brand recall. There is a need to differentiate between long-term and short-term content. Long-term content has repeat value and can be used across media. It requires planning, research and skill to develop. The short-term content has a low shelf life and are produced quickly as brands have to keep pushing out content. While Schbang Motion Pictures will develop long-term assets, The Global Content Hub will focus on developing assets with a shorter shelf life. It will also cater to a much larger audience, onboarding agencies and creators and influencers in addition to brands.


How big is The Global Content Hub team going to be? What kind of talent are you planning to onboard?

The team currently is an 8-member team with talents that are producers, directors, photographers, videographers and art directors. We are looking to expand the team and get in more creatively driven talents to join us as we grow the service in the next few months. The team will be operating individually primarily out of Mumbai and Bangalore as we have set-up two studio spaces in both locations for creators, brands, and agencies to rent out and shoot with us. The focus is on a global outreach business plan, to be able to shoot with global businesses and global brands.

Will The Global Content Hub work closely with Schbang's existing clients or will it pitch for a different set of brands? What is the business model?

The Global Content Hub will cater to brands, but it will also go way beyond brands. It will include influencers, agencies, and companies. And yes, it will be offered as a value added service for our existing clientele while we are building the business with a digital-first ideology. We already are getting enquiries from D2C and e-commerce brands. The business model is simply to bridge the gap in the existing market on quality content creation whether it be video/audio or static imagery.

How did the company identify the need gap? What's the big strategy? Also, how does this new division fit into Schbang's network play?

Digital content is becoming the most integral part of marketing strategy. We are in a world where brands and creators have to keep pushing out the short forms of different forms to engage with users. There is a need in the market to build these short-term assets which have a short shelf life with a quick turnaround time. This is also because it is also essential to jump on trends within 48-72 hours for gaining maximum traction to be able to stay relevant for many brands. The Global Content Hub will cater to this need of the market.

The Schbang Network is a different play in this case. The new division is an extension of our existing business for an audience that is looking for a player to solve their challenges in the content creation of short-term assets. The network plays a different role, a role of enabling young startups to scale, capture market that is untapped and create a larger impact across the country. 

What according to you are the big trends in videos? Are marketers doing enough? What are the unexplored areas?

Videos are gaining more importance than ever before. It is important for brands to have both long-term assets and short-term assets. Some short terms assets, like reels, are also used to drive traffic to the long-term assets. However, the variety included in videos is constantly evolving. Videos have integrated artificial intelligence, augmented reality, 360-degree views and animation.

Marketers are also trying to find new ways to integrate this variety into their content while continuing to look for newer tech integrations well.

How are brands responding to the hyper-short video content format that’s out there across social apps? 

Platforms and the algorithm of platforms are pushing hyper short content whether it is YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels or any other apps. Brands need to take a call on whether to participate in it or not. For the brands that do participate in it, they are using a combination of micro-influencers, creators and product-based short-term content. This content is packaged to showcase the value of products through stop-motions, motion mapping, cut mapping, etc.

Within our ecosystem, Kotak 811 is creating short-term content really well. We have also built short videos on food-based content for brands like Domino’s and London Dairy. 

With consumers’ attention span shrinking, do you think the appetite for long-format content will fade away with time? What are real viewerships trends that you are noticing?

I do not think that long-term content will fade. However, long-term assets have to be built with perfection to capture consumers’ attention. These assets require research, testing and planning to build an asset which has repeat value. A long-term asset used to have a repeat value of about 3-5 years, which has now shrunk. However, brands need both long-term assets and assets which have a short shelf life. The short-term assets have be constantly pushed out to engage with consumers because the attention span is shrinking. Brands can use The Global Content Hub to create a wide variety of short video assets which have a short shelf life. For instance, GCH is currently working on a series of reels for Fevicol on Instagram.

Are platforms like Instagram and other Indian apps working for brands today or creators? What’s your take?

I think platforms are working for creators because platforms are working to serve their audience. Therefore, brands have to work like creators to get the most out of the platform.

How Schbang plans to crack the short-term content game

In 1954, when Mumbai was called Bombay, Adi Patel, Bal Mundkar, Rudi Von Leyden, Bobby Sista and Khurshid Dhondy formed a club to bring together agencies and advertisers. They took inspiration from their counterparts in Calcutta, which was the hub of advertising agencies back then. The Advertising Club of Calcutta came into existence in 1953 to bring together like-minded creative professionals. A year later The Advertising Club Of Bombay was set up in the same mold. Veterans like Patel, Mundkar, Leyden, Sista and Dhondy, gathered once a month to host gatherings and discussions on industry matters. As Bombay started flourishing with top agencies and brands setting up their main offices here, The Advertising Club Of Bombay grew in importance.

Over the years, The Advertising Club Of Bombay has worked towards bringing together several stakeholders of the industries such as marketers, creative shops, media agencies, publishers, and now even a few digital shops. To be a pan India industry board, in 2012 the club dropped Bombay from its name. However, a founder of an independent creative shop tells us that it is still a body for Mumbai-based agencies.

The Delhi-based advertising executive says, “The Advertising Club hasn’t managed to be inclusive in terms of involving the youth, agencies from other cities and smaller companies. You see the same set of people running the show and the same set of agencies participating in the club’s activities.”

The full picture

With 1600 members, The Advertising Club represents the Indian advertising industry and in addition to key activities like hosting the country’s top ad awards like the Abbys, Emvies, and Effies. These events are led by veterans and often younger CXOs get involved only during award seasons, say agency executives.

Shashi Sinha, CEO, Mediabrands India, who is also the current secretary of The Advertising Club, has been a part of several industry bodies. The veteran adman and industry leader agrees the club needs more young players. However, he candidly shares his views on younger leaders when he says that “the young agency CXOs are focused on their work and life. They don’t want to take extra work.”

Sinha says that members like him who are also running companies voluntarily put in a lot of effort to run the club. “A lot happens behind the scenes. What I have noticed about the young people is that they don’t want to commit to something that they can’t give their 100 percent,” he reasons. 

Ajay Kakar, chief marketing officer, Aditya Birla Capital and a managing committee member of The Advertising Club has similar views. Kakar, who was once an adman and now leads the marketing function of a leading Indian financial services company, is of the opinion that the club is an open platform. “Anyone can reach out to us, share ideas, collaborate and bring in new energy. There is nothing stopping anyone to take these steps,” he says.

Laeeq Ali, president of The Advertising Club Bangalore, is actively looking to involve and participate in meaningful conversations with the young agency professionals too. “The work that is coming out of new agencies is a reflection of the new generation. They are seeking purpose in their personal and professional lives. Their clarity of thoughts is impressive,” he tells Storyboard18.

“However, if you want to give back to the industry you need to take that extra effort, complain a little less, and join hands with us,” says Ali. 

Currently, The Advertising Club Bangalore has over 500 active members. The numbers dropped post-Covid, indicates Ali. The club is planning to bring back its quiz show, football league and a few other upskilling workshops for the interest of adlanders in the South. The Advertising Club Bangalore gets engagement from agencies and marketers during Big Bang Awards, its annual award show.

So what’s stopping the new blood?

Younger executives at agencies told us no invitations have been extended to them to be a part of organising committees or in even creating collaborative projects, in the recent past at least.

Harshil Karia, founder of independent agency Schbang, says, “With younger agencies missing out from the organizing committees the bodies will not understand the pulse of the talent that are currently entering the industry.”

He also observes that the youth have the ability to drive execution flair at the grassroots levels with social initiatives, making the industry attractive as a whole to graduates from different pockets of the country. That’s an area that’s not explored by advertising clubs in India. 

Karia hopes advertising clubs start roping in creative tech communities too, as advertising is no longer a business run by only creative and media agencies.

These executives running newer agencies tell Storyboard18 that industry bodies can help startup businesses in various ways. Gautam Reghunath, co-founder of Talented, which is one of the newest agencies in the country, says it’s the right time for ad clubs to be truly inclusive.

“There are several issues and areas of improvement that young agencies need to take care of for their workforce. Industry bodies can be instrumental in making the right work cultural changes,” he opines.

He believes what will also help if industry clubs and bodies drive real change in areas that matter to the workforce today.

For instance, the new generation of ad women and men are facing burnout, pay disparity, toxic work cultures, etc. Bringing their concerns to the fore and discussing these areas and giving equal representation to all sorts of businesses related to the industry will be the first right steps that ad clubs can take, says Reghunath. 

Pooja Jauhari, group CEO, VMLY&R India, says everyone should be learning from each other. Collectively, it’s time for bringing in “perspective, representation, varied experiences,” to the table, she says. 

“I'm pretty sure there would be leaders of all agencies interested in helping our industry bodies take initiatives to help our industry do better. Be better and be more attractive. That’s something we all need to work on – actively,” she adds.

Finding a way to be truly relevant to the next generation of advertising and marketing professionals is what’s immediately required of the legacy ad clubs and bodies, and the people who run them. At the same time, the younger industry leaders need to look at the bigger picture, roll up their sleeves and volunteer to be the change they want to see in the system. Because, as one agency head put it, there’s no bouncer at the club door.

HARSHIL KARIA