"The idea for the film came from the agency team—Suyash Barve, Projato Guha Thakurta and Tanishk Nabar from Manja. They’re three writers who almost function as one mind. I honestly don’t know who writes which bit, but I’ve collaborated with them many times and we’ve had some wonderful partnerships over the years. We just get each other, which makes the process easy. That chemistry is especially important when you’re working with humour and quirk. If the process isn’t fun, it’s hard to create something genuinely funny. These guys are lovely, and the idea was theirs.
The hook was Emotional Attyachar. The insight was simple: when your maid cancels on you, it feels like emotional atyachar. They took the iconic song and rewrote it brilliantly around that feeling. A big part of the process was recreating the voice and mood of the original as closely as possible. After that, we moved into production.
The scripts that come from this team are usually so solid that I rarely feel the need to tinker with them. That frees up my mind to entirely focus on visuals. They write in a way that leaves visual interpretation open-ended. They define the zone, but they leave enough room for me to play, which is something I enjoy. The discussions that follow are always hilarious. Some of the ideas that never make it into the final film are often just as funny, but perhaps not suitable for an ad.
I remember hearing this script just before Christmas. The first thing I told them was, ‘This is my Christmas present.’ As they narrated the idea of the two musicians from the ‘Emotional Atyachar’ music video suddenly appearing inside a messy house, images started forming in my head immediately. One visual came from a Red-Hot Chili Peppers music video, Dark Necessities, where the bassist is sitting in a sink playing his instrument. Somehow, that image connected with this script and everything flowed from there. I even took a screenshot during the call and sent it to the team. We all had a laugh and then started building the film around that visual.
The shoot itself was chaotic in the best possible way. We had a scene where people were meant to be stuck to the ceiling. Since we didn’t have enough prep time, we flipped the setup and recreated the ceiling on the floor. That led to some hilarious attempts at figuring out gravity. Things that were supposed to hang one way kept hanging another, and late at night, everyone was trying to solve problems that probably required an engineering degree.
The budget wasn’t really the challenge. We had enough to make the film we wanted. The bigger limitation was time and duration. When you’re using a song that iconic, you only have so much runtime. There were many additional jokes and scenarios I wanted to include, but eventually you have to choose your favourites and let the rest go.
Urban Company has been a wonderful collaborator. There’s a level of trust now where they allow us a lot of creative freedom.”
IMPACT’S PICK
‘Emotional Attyachar’ - Urban Company
ABOUT INDRASISH MUKHERJEE
Indrasish Mukherjee brings a rare blend of warmth, wit and cultural nuance to storytelling in advertising. A Bengali by birth and a Tamilian at heart, he is known for crafting films that find humour in everyday truths while remaining deeply human. As a director at Footloose Films, he has helmed memorable campaigns for brands such as Urban Company, Cleartrip, Swiggy, Zivame, Britannia, Cadbury and McDonald’s. Whether it’s quirky comedy or emotional storytelling, Mukherjee’s films are driven by sharp observation, impeccable timing and an instinctive understanding of people.
BEST WORK
‘Protein Ke Peeche Kya Hai’ – Whole Truth Protein
‘Filter To Pagal Hai’ – Urban Company
CAMPAIGNS I LOVE
‘Live. Love. Laugh. Foundation] series by Prakash Varma
