MAM
Supari Studios creates launch campaign for CRED
India: Supari Studios, the award-winning content studio invites you to watch the quirkiest explainer video to hit our screens yet – the launch campaign of the members-only platform CRED that allows users to manage their credit card payments from one place.
Founded by Freecharge Co-founder, Kunal Shah, the team at CRED was eager to push creative boundaries; their brief to Supari Studios simply being, “Make this the best fu**ing film you’ve made”. The concept behind the launch film was to bring to life CRED’s several attributes and uniqueness, in the form of a quirky and engaging explainer video using a protagonist who is both charming and funny.
Jim Sarbh, portrayed as a typical CRED member- young, tech-savvy and sophisticatedly worldly, chronicles the many attributes of CRED in an unassuming yet humorous manner that keeps the infotainment gripping from the start. Directed by Supari Studios’ Co-founder and CCO, Akshat Gupt, the film is set in a studio that emulates life, with its narrative flowing seamlessly through very specific camera movements and transitions, serving as the hook of the film and holding it together.
Here is a link to the launch film:
Akshat Gupt, Co-founder and CCO, Supari Studios, and Director of the film on the launch campaign says “When CRED approached us to create this launch film, their ask was simple: ‘Make this the best fu**ing film you’ve made’. Keeping that in mind, I really wanted to experiment and do something we’ve not pulled off before. This was an introduction to the brand; whose character Jim embodies perfectly. Cool, suave and confident. That’s exactly why we needed someone like Jim who could pull off explaining the brand’s features while really keeping you glued.
In terms of production, we challenged ourselves and wanted to do a couple of long one- takes. We put significant effort into the production process and did several things in-camera itself rather than in post – used single-takes where we felt it could really elevate the script and narrative, rigged every light from the main source down to the smallest practical and timed them, allowing transitions from one set to another to be as smooth as possible. For one sequence, we even built a custom circular turntable that could hold Jim and our camera in position, while they transitioned between different setups – from a theatre to backstage with DIVINE, in a single take.
We had a free reign in terms of length as well, and since all features had to be showcased, we indulged ourselves with a run time of over three minutes! It’s been a unique experience shooting this one. After the 20th take, when all the elements of the camera, acting and direction came together perfectly, it felt poetic.”
CREDIT LIST:
Produced by Supari Studios
Client: CRED
Creative Team (CRED): Neelaksh Mathur
Director: Akshat Gupt
Executive Producer: Mitali Sharma
DOP: Siddharth Vasani
Creative Producer: Richa Rungta
Lead Producer: Nitika Kanodia
Line Producer: Sumit Gyanchandaney
Chief AD: Kelvin Mendonca
2nd AD/DA: Ladasha Kapse
Production Managers: Himank Gupta, Sagar Ghatalia
Project Intern: Suchi Dembla
Production Interns: Kamna Gurnasinghani, Rohan Aggarwal
Production Designers: Kalyani Shah & Nikita Rana (Craftsworth Designs)
Art Assistants: Fagun Parikh, Vidhi Jain
1st AC: Raju
Gaffer: Umesh
Focus Puller: Gagandeep Bawa
Camera Intern: Sahil Shah
Intelligent Lights Operator: Prathamesh
Onset sound recordist: Maxie Mendonca
BTS: Karan Sharma
Stylist (Jim Sarbh): Tanya Vora
Hair & Makeup (Jim Sarbh): Priya Lahon
Stylist (Divine + Secondary Cast): Naomi Chowdary
Hair & Makeup (Divine + Secondary Cast): Areej Shaikh
Offline Edit: Gaurav Joshi
Graphic Design: Riffat Aga
Animation: Pratik Satam
VFX: Ajay Roshan Singh, Divya Luthra, Shri Ranjan Rath
Colorist: Avinash Shukla (After Studios)
Music Composition & Mix: Donn Bhat
Camera Equipment: RD Equipments
Light Equipment: One Stop Services, Light Craft
Spot Boys: Ilyas Bhai, Baba Bhai, Iqbal Bhai, Umesh
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
