Consecutive twin wins at international festivals may have created a buzz around Passion Film's Ricky Singh Bedi, but he tells Yogesh Pawar that he wants to let his passion for the 'wow factor' take him farther
Next time you think of mustard oil or aata disdainfully, think again. It's these humble products from Indian kitchens that have helped Ricky Singh Bedi and his team win both the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards – the Cannes festival dedicated to corporate and brand films – and the Stevie International Business Awards, often called the Oscars of business awards, for two consecutive years, 2015 and 2016.
The winning team of producer Bedi and directors Ranadeep Bhattacharyya and Judhajit Bagchi have been invited to the Awards Gala event on October 13 at Palm Beach, Cannes, where they will be awarded the prestigious Cannes Dolphin trophy along with special diplomas. If it was the film for BL Agro Oils that got them the award this year, it was their work on Shakti Bhog Aata that won them the laurels last year.
The international jury's decision to declare Bedi's production house Passion Film a winner in the highly-creative competition, which received over 1,000 top entries across the globe, for the second time in a row, is an honour for India, says a jubilant Bedi.
"Our product film BL Agro Oils –The Story of Liquid Gold in the marketing communication category is the second one in a row. It feels great to be getting this honour for India as the best creative minds across the world compete," he says.
The film for the Bareilly-based oil company, which is in the business of refining and marketing of branded mustard and other edible oils, wasn't all smooth-sailing, says Bedi, remembering how directors Bhattacharyya and Bagchi worked on the R&D for over a month to get the film right.
"They've always been driven since we began working together, but I've never seen them go this crazy trying to get the feel of the product. They'd work from early morning way past midnight simply thinking up creative ways to shoot oil… even working with tubes and squirting oil all over during trial shoots," Bedi adds.
According to Bhattacharyya, figuring out the potential possibilities with the shoot was important before actually beginning to roll. "We got the engineers to create a miniature glass see-through model of the extraction process inside the metallic vats."
The directors also got Hollywood music composer Aron Latina to score the soundtrack for the film and 2015 Filmfare awardee sound designer Anil K to mix the track.
Given the expensive high-end equipment used for shooting and the shift taking 12 hours instead of eight, the budget went through the roof.
Asked if the client was really so generous, Bedi cackles. "Though we have some understanding of ad films, not many clients understand brand films. They think these are just montages of the industry and products interspersed with sound bytes from corporate heads. We've always fought that and tried to deliver differently."
His production house pumped in its own monies to ensure the film has the best of the best. "My motto is to have the 'wow factor' in everything I do. This is true for our films too. When I see my directors giving their 200 per cent, I don't want to cramp their creativity by cutting back on anything."
He wants to only work with people who are equally driven. "If I see someone trying to compromise even the slightest, I remain good friends but never work with him again," he says, pointing out how this is a rule with both his companies, Passion Film and Elements.
While Passion Film offers everything from filmmaking and photoshoots to VFX & animation, celebrity tie-ups and in-film branding, Elements works mainly with reputed agencies like O&M, JWT and Lintas to make high-quality advertising films.
Maybe it was this drive that ensured two wins in a row for Bedi and his team internationally.
For someone who started with going to local kiranas and small shops and businesses on a scooter to collect ads for his neighbourhood local cable network, Bedi has come a long way.
"Whether it's doing the rounds of the cablewallahs or running back and forth to labs, there is nothing I won't do. Even when films have really humble budgets, we brainstorm to execute them intelligently by getting the best team in place so the end product doesn't suffer. Over the years, some clients have developed such trust that they don't talk deadlines. They know we're also building the brand. That's made everything worthwhile."
Hasn't he lost money? "I'd be lying if I said no. I lost a lot in the beginning but prefer to think of it as the cheapest hands-on film and TV production course that I never attended."
Beginning with veteran actor Dharmendra, the celebrity he first worked with, Bedi went on to work with the who's who in the industry. The list includes: Karisma Kapoor, John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Amitabh Bachchan ("Though we couldn't make him part of the Priya Gold campaign, he was so gracious when we met"), Shilpa Shetty, Kareena Kapoor ("She's always been very supportive and kind. After our consecutive twin wins, she said she wanted us to win again for a film in which she stars"), Saif Ali Khan and Salman Khan ("Nobody has a heart like him. While shooting the Relaxo ad, he didn't complain once though the shoot went four hours over").
What next? "I want to get into full-length feature films. We're ready to become the best film production house in India. Along with the best Indian animation studio, we want to make 365 ads per year without compromising on quality. I want to make at least one Oscar winner every year. India is ready for it."
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