Exclusive | We truly worked together as a team in IPL campaign: Kerosene's Rajesh Saathi

Bringing out the essence in the video and those nuances that will appeal to the crazy cricket fans is one serious task and living up to this task year after year, shelving out something new and hatke is another difficult task. Living up to this challenge successfully is Rajesh Saathi of Kerosene Films the director of the IPL campaigns;.the man does not need an introduction, for his work speaks for him, so without much ado, we just bring on to you Rajesh’s words from our exclusive interaction with him regarding his work and experience on the campaign.

Adgully (AG): How did the campaign happen?  

Rajesh Saathi (RS): Steve and Priya from Jwt came to me with the concept of dance steps for four, six and wicket. This excited me a lot as this had the potential to become symbols of the celebration when the team you support gets a four,six or wicket.

AG: What kind of a vision did you have while shooting the campaign? Is the final product according to your vision? 

RS: I just wanted to entertain the viewer while teaching them these simple steps. It was a way for their celebration to get an expression during the high points of the game. The entire team thinks that we have a great product on hand, now whether or not our cricket loving nation takes on to it only time will tell.

AG: What creative inputs did you bring as the director? Was the team on the same page throughout the working of the campaign?

RS: We truly worked together as a team. We had found our rhythm with each other during the IPL 5 campaign which was a success. Everyone including Farah,the creatives,clients and production house worked on it as "ONE". There was never any confusion to what we had set out to achieve. We are all very happy with the six films that have been produced so far. There is the campaign closing film that is in the process of being shot.

AG: Share your experience of shooting with Farah Khan. Did she as an actor bring any new things on board?

RS: Farah brought in a lot to the table in terms of her energy and personality to the campaign. She gave the campaign the tonality it needed. Knowing Farah since childhood helped as I could present the Farah I know in the truest form. She was never acting but comfortably being herself.

AG: What kind of challenges did you have to face while shooting for the campaign?

RS: The challenge to get the right music was the most crucial and was taken care of beautifully by Vishal and Shekhar. In my opinion it's a cracker of a track. We all love it's quirkiness and energy and I am very sure the audiences will embrace it with time. It's something that cannot be ignored.

AG: How much time was spent scratching and tearing papers till you ended up with the final script?

RS: We started the creative process in December and it got finished in February.

AG: Do you think the campaign will hit the right chord with the audience? Why do you think so?

RS: You can love it or hate it but you cannot ignore it. It's not something to be on the fence about and that is a quality in a campaign that makes it memorable.| By Rabab Rupawala [rabab(at)adgully.com]