Advertising is a profession which is largely perceived by youngsters today as one of the best forms of creativity and self-expression. But then, why do so many quit the profession and move on to filmmaking?
Shyam Benegal started his career in advertising as a copywriter in 1959 with Lintas, Mumbai. He spent close to a decade making ads but gradually grew out of it and released his first feature film Ankur in 1973.
“No matter how creative you are with your ads, you are selling a product at the end of the day. Thus, it may give you a very limiting feeling because there is no sense of ownership for whatever you create. You are working for the client and the brand you are selling, not for yourself,” says Benegal.
Advertising is more of problem-solving rather than self-expression, according to adman/filmmaker Rensil D’silva. Rensil always wanted to be a filmmaker since the beginning of his career but joined advertising for monetary reasons.
“I tried to get into filmmaking in the early 1990s but it was very difficult to sell my kind of ideas and earn money as well. Advertising is a place where out-of-the-box ideas are celebrated. But I won’t say it’s a form of self-expression because you always have a client consideration and you can never go all the way. On the other hand, a film is your own baby and you have complete freedom to treat it the way you like,” he remarks.
Former ad guy, actor Rahul Bose feels, “There is only so much you can do with advertising. If you really have to grow and do something of your own, then you have to consider another profession you like.”
However, Prasoon Joshi feels, “Advertising is my passion and always will be. It’s just that people evolve with time.” R Balki affirms that view, “It’s a very automatic transition, this innate need to do something different and express yourself. The transition stems purely from the heart. It’s just doing what you really want to do, the way you want to do it. I’m still pretty much in love with advertising, but I’ll do the occasional film as and when I feel like,” he says.
