AD Agencies
Prabhu Tony takes the top job at Alchemist; Farhan Khan to lead Clay real estate unit
MUMBAI: Alchemist has rejigged its leadership stack with Prabhu Tony stepping up as chief executive officer – mainline business, and Farhan Khan taking over as head of Clay, the agency’s specialised real estate vertical.
With over 14 years of brand, strategy and creative leadership under his belt, Tony has been instrumental in driving Alchemist’s growth trajectory, particularly in the Delhi market. In his new role, he will spearhead national operations, doubling down on scale, agility and deeper client impact.
Meanwhile, Khan—who has spent over a decade building Clay into a formidable force in real estate marketing—will now lead the vertical’s pan-India expansion. Known for his sharp sectoral insights and steady revenue growth, Khan is expected to replicate his regional success across new territories.
Alchemist managing director Manish Porwal said: “Prabhu has been a reliable driver of our growth, combining strategic thinking with a profound understanding of achieving significant results for our clients. His leadership as CEO will guide us in our next phase of growth. Farhan’s skill and vision have significantly boosted our real estate division, and his expanded role is a logical progression to extend that success to other regions.”
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Tony, reflecting on his rise, added: ““The Delhi chapter gave me the playground to learn, build, and grow, and now I look forward to extending the same energy across all Alchemist’s offices. I’m grateful to Manish for his mentorship over the years and will continue to draw from his wisdom as I step into this new chapter.”
The moves mark a decisive push by Alchemist to sharpen its creative-commercial edge and deepen partnerships across its core verticals.
AD Agencies
Fevicol releases its last ad campaign by the late Piyush Pandey
The adhesive brand’s last campaign by the late advertising legend Piyush Pandey turns an everyday Indian obsession into a quietly powerful metaphor
MUMBAI: Fevicol has never needed much of a plot. A sticky bond, a wry observation, a truth that every Indian instantly recognises — that has always been enough. “Kursi Pe Nazar,” the brand’s latest television commercial, is no different. And yet it carries a weight that no previous Fevicol film has had to bear: it is the last one its creator, the advertising legend Piyush Pandey, will ever make.
The film, released on Tuesday by Pidilite Industries, fixes its gaze on the kursi — the chair — and what it means in Indian life. Not just as a piece of furniture, but as a currency of ambition, a vessel of authority, and a source of quiet social drama that plays out in every home, office and institution across the country. Who sits in the chair, who waits for it, and who eyes it hungrily from across the room: the film transforms this sharply observed cultural truth into a narrative that is, in the best Fevicol tradition, funny, warm and instantly familiar.
The campaign was Pandey’s idea. He discussed it in detail with the team before his death, but did not live to see it shot. Prasoon Pandey, director at Corcoise Films who helmed the commercial, said the team needed five months to find its footing before they felt ready to shoot. “This was the toughest film ever for all of us,” he said. “It was Piyush’s idea, magical as always.”
The emotional weight of that responsibility was not lost on the team at Ogilvy India, which created the campaign. Kainaz Karmakar and Harshad Rajadhyaksha, group chief creative officers at Ogilvy India, described the process as “a pilgrimage of sorts, on the path that Piyush created not just for Ogilvy, but for our entire profession.”
Sudhanshu Vats, managing director of Pidilite Industries, said the film was rooted in a distinctly Indian insight. “The ‘kursi’ symbolises aspiration, transition, and ambition,” he said. “Piyush Pandey had an extraordinary ability to elevate such everyday observations into iconic storytelling for Fevicol. This film carries that legacy forward.”
That legacy is considerable. Over several decades, Pandey’s partnership with Fevicol produced some of the most beloved advertising in Indian history, building the brand into something rare: a household name that people actively enjoy watching sell to them.
“Kursi Pe Nazar” does not try to be a tribute. It simply tries to be a great Fevicol film. By most measures, it succeeds — which is, in the end, the most fitting send-off of all.
