MAM
Ashish Bhasin thinks advertising needs to find the balance between optimism and realism
NEW DELHI: A movie buff, a chess lover, and a businessman with great intuitions and understanding, Ashish Bhasin is one of the easiest persons to talk to in the industry. An excellent leader with a future-focused vision, he might now be called the Nostradamus of the advertising world as his prediction of digital becoming the pack leader of marketing pies has been coming true amazingly, though in a scenario that neither him nor any other agency head, for that matter, could have predicted.
The CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network’s APAC operations & chairman for India, Bhasin is currently heading a number of markets, including the origin of the Covid2019 pandemic, China, as they set their sails for the ‘new normal’. Recently, in a virtual fireside chat with Indiantelevision.com founder CEO & editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari, he talked about his experiences in the industry, how he is handling the lockdown and managing his national and international teams, and his thoughts on the economic slowdown we are in. Edited excerpts follow
So, have you been going back to your favourite classics, Gone With The Wind and The Sound Of Music during the lockdown or agency work is keeping you busy?
Well, the days are surely busy and longer for me now. It’s even hard for me to remember if it’s a weekday or a weekend. I start my day around 6:30, that’s when calls with the Australian team happen, and then as most of our senior management is in the UK now, the time stretches till late in the night sometimes. But I am not complaining. I love my work. I find it extremely satisfying that you have something that you're passionate about and you get paid for it.
So yes, I did not have much time to go back to these movies but still, I managed to watch The Sound of Music twice or thrice in these months. You can draw parallels from this film to your own personal and professional life. The whole movie is just about how you manage to keep your focus and enjoy working even in tough times.
What I love about Gone With The Wind is that it takes you to a whole different cultural era and shows human beings at their best. How with changes some hang on to older ideas and how some adapt. Also, it is one of the few movies that are as good as the book. Another such example is the Godfather.
And what about chess?
Chess, yes, I keep playing regularly. It’s something that both I and my son enjoy and there is always a healthy competition going on. And now with digital, I sometimes play it against other competitors too.
You said you love your work. But had you not been in the profession, what career choice would you have made?
I think I would have been a lawyer. But whenever I sit and think about my life and would have done anything differently if given the chance to restart, 9.9 times I feel that I would do exactly the same things that I have done. I would get into the same profession, I would marry the same person, and I would want to spend each day as it has been.
What do you love the most about advertising? What keeps you going?
One is that I am very passionate about my work. I love what I do and I have a sense of ownership. And the second thing is that no two days or I may say that no two hours are the same in the advertising business. Every day is a new challenge.
Also, I am a social person. I love interacting with people. And you get to meet and work with so many interesting and intelligent people in advertising. You find people who dropped out of school and college formal education but are so bright and so smart. So I think just the pure variety of people that you get to work with and the joy and enthusiasm that they bring in that keep me going.
I have always seen it as a great business. I think that’s what most of the industry misses right now. Advertising is not seen as a business; as much as creative talents are valued or planning leaders are valued, business leaders are not valued as much. I agree that advertising is more than just numbers but if you don’t run it as a business, you will get out of it soon.
That’s the only area that confuses me about the profession.
Who have been your role models?
Certainly, Alyaque Padamase, who was my super boss at my first job in Lintas. Then Prem Mehta, who was then the chairman of Lintas. I worked with him closely and learned a lot. Also, Martin Sorrell is one of the finest we have ever seen.
But I think at the end of it, you have to develop your own style, and you can just draw (energies, ideas) from people.
And what is your personal leadership style? Are you an optimist or a realist?
See, I am an optimist in the sense that I see opportunities in adversities. Like right now, I am not seeing any sudden V-shape recovery happening, but I am sure that things will start getting better from here, month-on-month. So, I plan according to the real scenario but my goals are more optimistic.
MAM
Ajio launches Dhurandhar merchandise collection with Jio Studios
Limited edition range inspired by the film starts at Rs 349 on Ajio.
MUMBAI: When cinema meets the wardrobe, fandom doesn’t just stay on the screen, it walks out onto the street. Ajio, India’s fashion e-commerce platform, has launched an exclusive merchandise collection inspired by the spy-action film Dhurandhar, extending the film’s bold on-screen personality into everyday fashion.
The limited-edition range has been created in collaboration with Jio Studios and features graphic driven apparel and statement silhouettes that draw directly from the film’s high-energy aesthetic and characters.
Designed to appeal to both movie fans and style conscious shoppers, the collection translates the cinematic swagger of Dhurandhar into wearable fashion pieces starting at Rs 349.
The collection includes graphic T-shirts featuring iconic movie quotes, signature tees inspired by actor Ranveer Singh and limited-edition signed Pathani outfits that echo the larger-than-life style associated with the film’s characters.
Also part of the line-up is a collection inspired by Sara Arjun, translating her on-screen styling into contemporary silhouettes designed to appeal to younger audiences and fashion forward fans.
With bold typography, statement graphics and confident tailoring, the range blends cinematic storytelling with streetwear aesthetics, turning the film’s cultural energy into a fashion statement.
The collaboration reflects Ajio’s growing strategy of using fashion collaborations to tap into pop culture moments and entertainment properties.
By bringing elements of popular films into apparel, the platform allows audiences to move beyond simply watching a film and instead wear their fandom, making cinema part of everyday style.
Produced by Jio Studios and B62 Studios, Dhurandhar has emerged as one of the most talked-about action thrillers in recent times, known for its high-octane storytelling and larger-than-life characters.
The film, written and directed by Aditya Dhar, is also set to expand into a franchise, with the sequel “Dhurandhar: The Revenge” scheduled to release in theatres worldwide on March 19, 2026.
By launching the merchandise collection ahead of the sequel, Ajio and the film’s producers are extending the film’s universe into fashion, giving fans another way to connect with the story and its characters.
The Dhurandhar merchandise collection is now available exclusively on Ajio, bringing cinematic attitude, bold graphics and spy-thriller swagger straight into the wardrobes of fans.
