Shyam Madiraju Brings Gobsmack! to Curious Pictures
Agency CD turned director signs his Mumbai-based content studio for US representation, will rep Curious in India.
|
Director Shyam Madiraju and Content Company
Gobsmack!, which is based in Mumbai, will in turn represent many Curious Pictures directors for advertising assignments in India. The move gives Curious its first base outside the US and opens the door to assignments from agencies throughout the Asia Pacific region. “This signing represents our future as a production company,” says Curious Executive Producer Mary Knox. “Shyam is a real thinker, who expresses himself as an outstanding filmmaker and content creator. His ideas employ many different forms of creative expression, including animation and graphic design. He’s clearly a major talent.” Madiraju was introduced to Curious by one of its directors, Rohitash Rao—a former agency colleague at TBWA/Chiat Day who is also represented by Gobsmack! in India. After meeting Knox and touring the studio, Madiraju says “I was blown away by the experience. I had no idea they’ve produced so much original content and that they’re actively engaged in areas such as feature films, TV series, books—even games and toys. On top of that, they have all these tools at their disposal, from motion capture to CGI to animation and effects. It’s like being back in art school again, in that it allows for a kind of uninhibited creative tinkering. I found it very appealing.” Madiraju got his start in the agency business in the US at Lowe & Partners in the 1990s, then moved on to The Martin Agency, where he first worked in Richmond and then helped to open its L.A. office. After that he freelanced at a number of West Coast shops, among them Goodby Silverstein & Partners, TBWA/Chiat/Day and Saatchi & Saatchi, and also spent a year on staff at O&M, where he headed up creative on its Cisco Systems account. While there he collaborated with director Joe Pytka, who Madiraju says played a key role in his transition to directing full time (Anonymous Content was his first production company). “Joe inspired me and challenged me to be a filmmaker, which is something I had always dreamed about, going back to my art school days in India,” he explains. Upon learning that Madiraju wanted to direct, Pytka offered up a few choice words, along with his studio and equipment to help Madiraju shoot his first independent directing project, a series of subtly comic spots for the LA Film festival. Since then his work includes a series of branded content shorts for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel produced through Anonymous, as well as spots for brands such as Fox Sports, McDonald’s, Vicks and VW. He recently shot an ambitious campaign for Weiden + Kennedy launching the compact Chevy Cruze in India, which includes long-format TV spots as well as web videos. The signing of Madiraju follows the studio’s recent signings of the noted live-action comedy director Steve Chase, the feature director Shekhar Kapur (“Four Feathers,” “Elizabeth”) and the fashion documentary director Douglas Keeve (“Unzipped”). The moves Knox adds, are part of an ambitious effort to reimagine Curious Pictures as an entertainment and advertising production company that works across disciplines, genres and media platforms. |
