The mad men of Bollywood

Satyajit Ray is remembered as one of the most celebrated directors from India, recipient of the highest honours, internationally and nationally, that a filmmaker can receive. His Apu trilogy is revered as some of the best Indian films of all time. But not many are aware that this great filmmaker received his start in the creative department of the British advertising agency D.J. Keymer in the early 1940s. Later, Ray was also a graphic artist for the Signet Press, creating some striking and memorable cover designs and illustrations in literature. After around 13 years in the field, Ray left to embark on his passion for cinema and his landmark film, Pather Panchali (1955).

Shyam Benegal's first film, Ankur (1973) introduced Shabana Azmi and Anant Nag. Both Azmi and the film gathered National Awards and launched a new wave of realistic cinema in India. Both Ankur and the films that followed, owed a great deal to Benegal's prior experience in documentaries and as well as his agency stints at Lintas Advertising and ASP (Advertising, Sales and Promotion). He began in 1959 at Lintas, growing from a copywriter to a Creative & Accounts Group Head. Making nearly 900 advertisements and documentaries, Benegal also made a documentary on his cinematic influence and hero, Satyajit Ray in 1985.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's second film, Rang De Basanti (2006), took the world by a storm. The radical, idealistic film which referenced the past and the present was even nominated for a BAFTA Award for the Best Film Not in the English Language. His last film, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013), featured Farhan Akhtar as the former national champion and Olympian. Mehra's first job was in the sales team at Eureka Forbes selling vacuums. He moved to the garments business and eventually shifted to advertising at the Ulka Advertising Agency where he made commercials on everything, from motorcycles to televisions. He directed Amitabh Bachchan in his first ever music video, Aby Baby, and later his debut film Aks (2001).

A gold medalist at the Delhi College of Art, director Pradeep Sarkar embarked on a creative career as a supervisor with the Tulika Advertising Agency. From there, he moved to The Contract Advertising where he remained for 17 years and left as the Associate Vice President of Creative. Relocating to Mumbai in 2001, he began his own company, Apocalypso Filmworks and after working on more than 1,000 advertisements where he made his own storyboards. Following the success of his debut film, Parineeta (2005), for Vinod Chopra Productions which launched Vidya Balan, Sarkar worked on other feature films such as Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (2007) and Mardaani (2014). He continues to work in the advertising field.

Dibakar Banerjee's National Award-winning debut, Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006), was set and filmed in his hometown Delhi. Banerjee started out as a copywriter at TBWA Anthem and worked with Pradeep Sarkar and Jaideep Sahni, who went on to write the script on his first film, at Contract Advertising. With a background of over 50 commercials, Dibakar reconnected with Sahni when he came to Mumbai and together they brought Khosla Ka Ghosla to the big screen. Most of Banerjee's films, from Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! to Detective Byomkesh Bakshi (2015) may not have been box office blockbusters but have won over audiences with his unique approach to storytelling.

Before he became an award-winning director, Shoojit Sircar did the groundwork for his career, starting out with theater, transitioning to ad films and eventually feature filmmaking. A 17 year veteran of advertising, Sircar has created nearly 350 advertisements for many prominent brands from Cadbury to Royal Enfield to Gujarat Tourism. His first film in Hindi was the underrated love story set entirely in Kashmir, Yahaan (2005). Sircar's next Vicky Donor (2012) put him and actor Ayushmann Khurrana on the map while his latest Piku (2015) won the Critics' Award for Best Film at the Filmfare Awards. Sircar is also a director, along with Ronnie Lahiri, at Rising Sun Films, a leading film and commercial production house.

The chairman and chief creative officer of Lowe Lintas India, R. Balki gave up studying computers in Chennai and fortunately, landed a job at the advertising agency, Mudra, after spying an application disguised as an advertisement. He had a hand in creating some of the most well-known and catchy commercials with Surf Excel's 'Daag Achche Hain' and Tata Tea's 'Jaago Re' campaigns. R. Balki's first feature film was a May-December romance Cheeni Kum (2007) with Amitabh Bachchan and Tabu. His next two films Paa (2009) and Shamitabh (2015) also featured his muse Bachchan while his upcoming film, Ki and Ka (2016) has Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor in the lead roles. Bachchan is rumoured to have a cameo in the film.

Son of veteran actors Ramesh and Seema Deo who memorably appeared in Anand (1971), Abhinay Deo initially studied architecture before deciding it wasn't for him. He shifted to advertising, making over 400 ad films for Ogilvy & Mather and other advertising agencies. Luckily, he got his break in Hindi cinema soon after, making his first film with Excel Entertainment, Game (2011) starring Abhishek Bachchan, Kangana Ranaut and Sarah-Jane Dias. That same year, another film directed by him, the Hinglish Delhi Belly released amidst much controversy. Deo was handpicked by Aamir Khan after watching his commercial work. Afterwards, he directed a majority of episodes in the Indian remake of 24 starring Anil Kapoor. His next film is the sequel to John Abraham's Force (2011).

Director Gauri Shinde's debut, English Vinglish (2012) brought back Sridevi to the big screen after 15 long years. Her warm and clever look at an Indian woman struggling to learn English in New York was regarded as one of the best films of 2012 and Shinde herself won many first film honours at several different award shows. Shinde worked with Siddharth Kak, the documentary filmmaker, and a handful of advertising agencies like IBW, Bates Clarion and Lowe Lintas where she met her future husband, R. Balki. In her advertising career, she has directed more than 100 commercials. Her next film, for Dharma Productions, will feature Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt.

Vinil Mathew worked on more than 250 advertising films before joining Dharma Productions and Phantom Films for his first feature film, Hasee Toh Phasee (2014). Mathew assisted Prasoon Pandey and worked for Highlight Films started by Mahesh Mathai before gaining recognition for several national ad campaigns for Airtel and Reliance. His directorial debut was backed by an acclaimed group of filmmakers, Karan Johar, Vikas Bahl, Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap, who all produced Hasee Toh Phasee. The unconventional love story was widely appreciated for its performances by the lead actors, Parineeti Chopra and Sidharth Malhotra.

Joining the ranks of Benegal, Sarkar and R. Balki, director Ram Madhvani launches his Hindi film career with the real-life tale of the hijacking of the Pan Am Flight 73, Neerja (2016). Starring Sonam Kapoor, the film highlights the brave actions of the young flight attendant, Neerja Bhanot, who valiantly gave up her life trying to shield the passengers, especially children, from some gunfire on board the aircraft. Madhvani previously made the English feature, Let's Talk (2002) which happened to be the film debut of actor Boman Irani. He has 20 years of experience in the advertising field and his work has been recognized with a bronze and silver lion at Cannes in 2006 for Happydent.