Fresh Take 2026 crowns Vinod Ravi, spotlighting India’s next wave of ad filmmakers

Mumbai: Fresh talent took centre stage, and the cameras certainly found their favourite frame, as Fresh Take 2026 announced its inaugural winners, shining a spotlight on the next generation of Indian ad film directors.

Launched by McCann India, part of Omnicom Advertising India, in partnership with D&AD and Mothership Productions, the initiative aims to discover and accelerate emerging directing talent by connecting them with real commercial opportunities.

Independent filmmaker Vinod Ravi emerged as the overall winner, earning a fully funded trip to the D&AD Festival 2027 along with two commissioned projects with McCann India. The prize gives Ravi an opportunity to move from showcasing creative potential to working on live commercial briefs with one of the country’s leading advertising agencies.

Meanwhile, Atul Pathak and independent filmmaker Disha Daswani were named runners-up. Both will receive complimentary access to D&AD’s online masterclass programme, Storytelling for Action. The remaining shortlisted directors included Raag Sapra, Gaurav Joshi and Victor Pillai.

The competition attracted more than 90 entries in its debut edition. A jury comprising senior professionals from advertising, filmmaking and production evaluated submissions on storytelling, originality, craft and creative vision. The awards evening also featured screenings of the six shortlisted films, offering the audience a glimpse into a diverse range of creative voices and filmmaking styles.

Reflecting on the recognition, Independent director Vinod Ravi said, “Recognition like this reminds us that craft should be at the core of everything we do. There is a small wave of very interesting work in commercial art amidst the industry chaos and I want to keep that wave going with my collaborators.”

Speaking about the initiative, McCann India chief creative officer Rahul Mathew said, “As an industry it’s important for us to keep discovering, protecting and encouraging new talent. It’s what keeps us and our work fresh. Fresh Take is a step by us in that direction. It’s our first year and we hope that by doing this year on year we’re able to help build a strong roster of next generation filmmakers.”

He added that McCann India will soon share details of all six shortlisted directors with agencies and production houses across the industry to help create more opportunities for emerging talent.

Highlighting the broader impact of the programme, Mothership Productions founder & executive producer Kashif Memon said the initiative introduced him to a pool of filmmakers whose work he had not previously seen. He noted that while the winner would benefit from exposure at D&AD, the shortlisted participants were equally likely to attract commissioned work as industry professionals discover their films.

Echoing that sentiment, D&AD chief commercial & operations officer Donal Keenan congratulated all participants and said the organisation looked forward to welcoming the winner to the D&AD Festival next year, wishing them success on the journey ahead.

The winners were announced at Omnicom House in Mumbai on August 7 in the presence of jurors, producers and agency leaders. The jury featured representatives from organisations including Good Morning Films, Early Man Film, Enormous, Mothership Productions, McCann India, Oink Films, Ogilvy and Leo India.

With its first edition wrapped, Fresh Take has set the scene for what could become an important launchpad for India’s emerging commercial filmmakers, proving that sometimes the freshest perspective is exactly what the industry needs.