India – To promote the Indian premiere of the horror film ‘Insidious: The Red Door’, local cinema chain PVR-INOX has embarked on a recent campaign to challenge one lucky winner to watch said film in one of their cinema chains. The catch? Watch it all alone.

The film for the campaign, directed by Titus Upputuru who founded The Titus Upputuru Company, shows the winner Vicky walking into a PVX-INOX chain. After settling down in the theatre, smiling to himself, he starts enjoying the film. But soon the scary scenes in the film start to take their toll on him and he begins to be increasingly frightened.

When he can no longer take the intense scenes from the film combined with the scary sounds, he runs down the stairs, tripping over and falling down. He quickly picks himself up and heads out. The horrors do not seem to be over him, as he senses something vile in his car, down the parking lot. 

Shony Panjikaran, general manager and head of Sony Pictures Releasing International in India, said, “We embarked on a thrilling journey with PVR INOX, creating a captivating tale to unveil the final chapter of Insidious. This horror-filled promotion explores the consequences when one dares to venture into the chilling world of fear, alone at a cinema.” 

He added, “From an Instagram contest that sparked an overwhelming response, Vicky emerged as the brave victor who stepped into the darkness, only to have his senses tested to the limit. Insidious: The Red Door delivers an unforgettable cinematic experience which needs to be witnessed on the big screen, like the grandest screens at PVR INOX.”

Meanwhile, Upputuru commented, “It is one thing to watch a horror film on a small screen at home. It is quite another to watch it on a big screen, alone! It was great fun shooting the film. The task was not just to capture the protagonist’s feelings and emotions but to manifest what was going on in his mind. That was the big challenge.” 

He added, “There were several elements that we used to create the atmosphere of fear. The colours, the mirrors, the lonely top shots, the red apparition, the creepy hands, the sounds, and the edit, all went into making the experience both real and surreal.” 

Gurugram, India – Titus Upputuru, former national creative director at Taproot Dentsu, has launched his own advertising and film agency called ‘The Titus Upputuru Company’, which will be creating content for brands and audiences across platforms.

As part of the launch, the company has released a set of short, intriguing films that establish the identity. Each film begins with the initials ‘TU’ and goes on to form a different face, that has correlation to the drama occurring in the video and audio.

Speaking on the occasion, he said “I have been in this industry for 25 years now. I thought a Silver Jubilee was the perfect time for me to launch this company. I thank God for every milestone, for every moment during this incredible journey. I am ever so grateful. It’s time now to look ahead and I am so excited about this brand new journey. In my career, I have always been interested in the craft of writing, art direction, design, and photography. 

He added, “Over the last decade or so, I have also had the opportunity to direct ad films and short films for brands. I wanted to combine these skill sets and offer the last mile in execution too, because execution is what the audience ultimately sees. We all know that video sits right on top of the marketing tools that marketers are using today across the world. So, along with brand strategy and static creative solutions across mediums and platforms, we will offer our expertise in Video too”.

Titus has written and directed numerous ad films and short films including the acclaimed HarperCollins India’s haunting murder mystery ‘Parcel’ and the 2022 DadaSaheb Phalke Award winning ‘Nip in the Bud’ short film for Times Internet.

“We are excited to tell stories using different mediums. The idea is to keep human at the heart of it and manifest empathy. People still choose brands that have a certain quality about them, that profess a certain human belief; brands that move people, that respect them. As a Creative led company, we will wish to partner such brands, while obsessing about craft,” Titus added.

India – Dentsu India has appointed Aalap Desai to the role of chief creative officer (CCO) of Taproot Dentsu, a dentsuMB Company. Previously, Desai was with dentsuMB India where he held the position of National Creative Director.

Desai will lead Isobar India’s creative team and will be responsible for Taproot Dentsu’s transformation into becoming a Nex-Gen, digital-first agency. In his roles, he will report to Ajay Gahlaut, group chief creative officer India (GCCO), Dentsu Creative India.

While working at India’s best mainline and digital agencies, Desai has developed a profile that is truly integrated. He has won over 150 International & National awards that include Cannes Lions, D&AD, Spikes and One Show. He also co-headed the creative team at Dentsu Webchutney, Mumbai and was behind some of the most notable works like Code Name: Uri, The 8-bit Journo for Vice and The World’s Most Reported trailer for Thappad. 

Apart from this, Desai was also a part of the creative teams at Disney+ Hotstar, Leo Burnett, JWT, DDB Mudra, Ogilvy, and Publicis Ambience. He has helped build India’s most loved brands like McDonald’s, Complan, Huggies, Nerolac, Videocon d2h, and some youth-centric ones like Early Salary and MTV India. At rank 41, Aalap was recently the highest rated Indian creatives in the global creative listing of 2022 by ‘The Drum’ and was also part of the jury at Spikes Asia 2022.

Meanwhile, Titus Upputuru, who was previously Creative Head, has been promoted to NCD, Taproot Dentsu, Gurgaon. In this new post, Titus will manage the agency’s Gurgaon creative team and report to Aalap Desai, CCO, Taproot Dentsu. Titus has also been tasked with the added responsibility of leading dentsu Creative India’s integrated solutions. He would report to Gahlaut, GCCO, dentsu creative India, in this position.

Speaking on his promotion, Desai shared, “I am humbled by the faith the dentsu network has shown in me over the years. With the integrated approach we have now, I am excited to be a bigger part of that journey with my new role at isobar and Taproot Dentsu. isobar has taught me the power of limitless possibilities, the power of future-gazing and thinking of things that don’t even exist. It is a scary privilege to not just be in step with the world but to create steps that the world will use to climb to the future.”

Desai added, “Taproot Dentsu is legendary. It is a sacred altar that the whole industry pays homage to. It has challenged the industry and created an unmatched space for itself. For years, I’ve looked up to it and to the work that this institution created. To now be a part of it and help usher it into the future, is something that is extraordinarily exciting for me.”

Sidharth Rao, CEO, dentsuMB Group, shared, “The decision is vital to the growth of dentsu Creative in India and aligned with the network’s global ambitions. Talents such as Aalap and Titus come with unmatched expertise & experience, and their contributions are bound to outweigh the expectations of our clients and the industry. Over the years, they have been groomed with the proficiency to build brands from scratch and are excellent at measuring & matching the market pulse with client needs. With this move, I look forward to dentsu Creative India reinforcing creative solutions in newer & undefined ways.”

Ajay Gahlaut, group chief creative officer at Dentsu Creative India, added, “It is fascinating to work with some of the country’s best creative brains. Aalap and Titus are creative geniuses who have delivered some fantastic campaigns over the years. Their brand-building approaches are contemporary and fresh. I feel that’s the need of the hour. All the conversations around us are evolving and it is inevitable for brands to evolve their conversations too. They are perfect for that task. Their expertise in brand thinking and storytelling will create robust digital-led creative solutions for clients. I am looking forward to working with both.”