Kailash Surendranath

Kailash Surendranath (born June 24, 1950) is an Indian advertisement filmmaker, director, and producer.^[1]

Kailash Surendranath
Born	(1950-06-24) 24 June 1950 (age 75)
Education	St. Xavier's College (BS, Physics and Mathematics)
Occupations	Filmmaker director
Spouse	Aarti Gupta Surendranath
Father	Surendra

His career spans several decades, directing more than 6,000 television commercials, along with numerous films promoting national integration.^[2] In 1986, he directed Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, a short film promoting India’s "unity in diversity," as part of a trilogy produced for Doordarshan’s Lok Seva Sanchaar initiative. ^[3][4]

In 2022, Surendranath directed Har Ghar Tiranga, his fifth national integration film,^[2] commissioned by the Ministry of Culture as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav campaign, that commemorated the 75th anniversary of Indian independence. ^[5]

He also directed the 2001 romantic comedy Love You Hamesha, featuring music composed by A. R. Rahman.^[6][7]

Surendranath is best known for directing television advertisements, including the Liril commercial featuring Karen Lunel,^[8][9] the Nirma ad campaigns,^[10] the Glucose-D advertisement^[11] featuring Amjad Khan, and the Campa Cola^[12] advertisement featuring Salman Khan^[13] and Aarti Gupta Surendranath.

Early life and background

Surendranath was born and brought up in Bombay, India (now Mumbai). From 1970 to 1974, he pursued higher education at St. Xavier’s College, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics.

Kailash's interests in visual arts and storytelling were inspired by his father, Surendra, a singer and actor from the Golden Age of Indian cinema who appeared in numerous Bollywood classics.^[14]

Career

Surendranath developed a passion for filmmaking early in his career. He worked on several notable projects, gaining recognition in the advertising industry.^[15] Surendranath started his career in film making and advertisement at the age of 17.^[16]

1970s:

Sita Aur Saleem National integration film

Surendranath directed Sita Aur Saleem, a national integration film produced for the Films Division of India.^[17] The film was noted in cinema circles for its focus on social themes, highlighting Surendranath’s early commitment to using cinema as a medium for promoting national unity.

The Liril ad (1975):

At age 17, Surendranath directed the 1975 Liril soap commercial featuring Karen Lunel. This advertisement introduced a new approach to Indian advertising, with Lunel under a waterfall symbolizing freedom and vitality.^[18] The ad gained significant popularity and contributed to the Liril brand’s success. It also helped establish Surendranath’s reputation in the advertising industry.^[19]

The Glucose-D ad (1976):

In 1976, Surendranath directed a Britannia Glucose-D commercial featuring Amjad Khan, famously known for his role as Gabbar Singh, a popular Bollywood villain.^[20] This advertisement was Khan’s first commercial, making it a notable moment in Indian advertising history and highlighting the early use of celebrities to endorse products.^[21]

1980s:

Nirma campaigns

In the early 1980s, following an initial advertisement by filmmaker Subhash Ghai, Surendranath supervised and directed a series of Nirma washing powder commercials.^[22] These advertisements featured the memorable “Washing Powder Nirma” jingle and highlighted the detergent’s ability to deliver superior whiteness, appealing to homemakers across India. The early version of the ad featured one of the top actresses of the time, Sangeeta Bijlani. The campaign contributed to Nirma becoming a household name in India by 1985.^[23]

In the late 1990s, he directed Nirma Beauty Soap commercials starring actress Sonali Bendre, with a jingle sung by Hariharan and Kavita Krishnamurthi. Running on cinema and TV for 12 years from 1997 to 2009, it became one of Nirma’s longest and most successful campaigns.^[24]

Torch of Freedom (1987):

Surendranath directed Torch of Freedom, also known as Freedom Run, the first of the trilogy that celebrated national pride and integration in 1987.^[25] The film featured prominent Indian sports icons across the nation, including cricketers K Srikkanth, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (Tiger Pataudi, who appeared with his daughter Soha Ali Khan), Kapil Dev, and Sunil Gavaskar. Athletes Milkha Singh, P.T. Usha, Shiny Abraham, and Adille Sumariwalla, as well as footballers PK Banerjee, Chuni Goswami, and Jarnail Singh, were also part of the cast. Other prominent sports figures included tennis players Ramanathan Krishnan and Ramesh Krishnan, swimmer Taranath Shenoy, billiards player Michael Ferreira, hockey players Balbir Singh and Mervyn Fernandis, basketball player Abbas Moontasir, and badminton player Prakash Padukone.^[26]

The soundtrack, composed by Louis Banks included a partial rendition of India’s national anthem. This inclusion initially faced resistance from Doordarshan. However, then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi approved its use, and the anthem’s strains became a defining element of the trilogy’s theme.^[26]

Mile Sur Mera Tumhara (1986):

In 1986, Surendranath conceptualised and produced Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, a film showcasing India’s cultural diversity and aimed at national integration. Surendranath, along with his team, including Suresh Mullick, developed the concept of a song presented in multiple languages, featuring a diverse group of public figures, including actors Kamal Haasan, Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty, Jeetendra, Waheeda Rehman, Hema Malini, Tanuja, Sharmila Tagore and Shabana Azmi; dancer Mallika Sarabhai; cartoonist Mario Miranda; filmmaker Mrinal Sen; authors Sunil Gangopadhyay and Annada Shankar Ray; singers and musicians M. Balamuralikrishna, Lata Mangeshkar, Suchitra Mitra and Kavitha Krishnamurthi; sportsmen Narendra Hirwani, S Venkataraghavan, Prakash Padukone, Ramanathan Krishnan and many more.^[27]

The soundtrack, composed by Louis Banks, incorporates influences of Hindustani classical music. The music was adapted into various regional languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu, with new musical arrangements created for each language. Surendranath proposed incorporating strains of the national anthem, which was initially met with reservations from Doordarshan but later approved by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.^[28]

Surendranath and his team encountered challenges assembling the personalities, as some were unavailable. Yet, many agreed to participate due to the success of Spread the Light of Freedom the previous year.^[29] Upon its release on Independence Day, the film garnered widespread attention and has been described in media as “India’s second national anthem,” further solidifying its place as a symbol of national integration and pride.^[30]

Desh Raag (1989):

The third and final of the trilogy celebrated India’s classical music and dance heritage through the Desh Raag. Broadcast on Doordarshan, the film featured an ensemble of renowned musicians, including Ravi Shankar (sitar), Shivkumar Sharma (santoor), Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute), Ram Narayan (sarangi), Zakir Hussain and Alla Rakha (tabla), Lalgudi Jayaraman (violin), and M. Balamuralikrishna (vocals).^[31]

The production also showcased vocalists like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and classical dance forms such as Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Manipuri, Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, and the folk tradition of Kalbelia.^[32]

As the trilogy films were conducted in the pre-internet era, they involved extensive travel across the country, with communication relying primarily on letters and trunk calls to coordinate and bring together its diverse cast and crew.^[33]

Har Ghar Tiranga (2022)

Surendranath was entrusted by the Ministry of Culture to lead the Har Ghar Tiranga, a national campaign launched under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to commemorate 75 years of the country’s independence. It aimed to instill a spirit of patriotism and national pride among citizens by encouraging them to hoist the national flag on their homes, vehicles, and public spaces.^[34] The film was co-directed by his son, Angadveer Surendranath, and produced by Aarti Surendranath. It was released around India’s Independence Day in 2022.^[35]

The Ministry of Culture facilitated key permissions and granted access to important locations. The campaign anthem, sung by Sonu Nigam, Asha Bhosle, and Amitabh Bachchan, featured prominent personalities from various fields, including Kapil Dev, Virat Kohli, Anupam Kher, Anushka Sharma, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Keerthy Suresh, Prabhas, Mirabai Chanu, Mithali Raj, Neeraj Chopra, and Mary Kom.^[36]

Throughout his career, Surendranath directed advertisements for several major Indian brands, including Thums Up, Amul, Rasna, and Cinthol.

In 1978, he directed one of India’s earliest celebrity-sports person commercials for Thums Up, featuring Sunil Gavaskar, Sandeep Patil, and Ravi Shastri. The ad depicted the cricketers juggling a ball, a Thums Up bottle, and an opener, subtly reinforcing the brand’s tagline through coordinated movement and camaraderie.

Nurturing early talent

Surendranath has played a vital role in nurturing early talent in the Indian entertainment and advertising industries. Many actors faced the camera for the first time under Surendranath's direction. He launched prominent figures, including Salman Khan, who appeared in the Campa Cola advertisement in the early 1980s.^[37] This was one of Khan’s earliest roles before his rise to fame in Indian cinema.^[38] Jackie Shroff featured in a Cadbury Drinking Chocolate ad,^[39] Arjun Rampal appeared in a denim campaign,^[40] and Aishwarya Rai starred in a fairness cream commercial alongside Mahima Chaudhry.^[41]

Additionally, Surendranath provided early industry exposure to Ekta Kapoor, who interned with him at the age of 15, gaining experience in filmmaking and advertising. This internship preceded her later work at Balaji Telefilms.^[42]

Personal life

Surendranath is married to model-actress Aarti Surendranath, who has worked as an advertising professional and film producer alongside him, as well as being involved in environmental advocacy and animal welfare.^[43] They have two children.^[35][44]