Amazon Prime Video sparks recommendation war in latest spot ft. Kaleen Bhaiya

Arvind Krishnan, founder and CEO of creative agency Manja, takes us behind the scenes of the campaign.

Prime Video rolled out a new ad film as a part of its campaign - Everyone’s talking Amazon Prime. The ad highlights the variety of shows and films on the OTT platform.

The ad spot opens up to an intense round of wrestling, with one wrestler trying to gain the upper hand and unexpectedly in the middle of the match, one of them asks the other to recommend something to watch.

What follows is unexpected, with coaches, judges, match officials and even the audience jumping into the fray to suggest their favourite Prime Video show or movie, building a human pyramid in the whole process. 

The air reverberates with names like Indian Police Force, Ae Watan Mere Watan, Bawaal, Dahaad, Farzi, The Boys, Roadhouse, and many more. 

Amidst this chaos, Pankaj Tripathi in his Kaleen Bhaiya avatar from Mirzapur accompanied by Shaji Chaudhary, his on-screen right-hand man Maqbool. Maqbool asks, ‘Should I suggest Mirzapur? To which Kaleen Bhaiya nods ‘yes’ in his signature style.

The ad is conceptualised by Manja, a creative agency and the Prime Video creative team, the film has been scripted and produced by Nirvana Films with director Prakash Varma at the helm.

Arvind Krishnan, founder and CEO, Manja tells afaqs!, “It was a challenge to find a compelling, memorable and fun way to showcase a plethora of shows on Prime Video, but through collaboration and attention to detail, this ad was made.”

He points out that the ad was crafted through the insight that recommending shows often feels like a lively battle of opinions in the room. “The process is an intriguing dynamic where everyone wants to have their say. We added a layer of dramatisation in it.”

Prakash Varma, director, Nirvana Films told afaqs!, “There’s so much to say about the Prime film. It was an incredible experience as a director to visualize, witness and partake in the making of it.  The sheer hard work and dedication of the team involved was impressive. Special mention to each and every performer on this set for being so sporting and giving so much of themselves.” 

“It wasn’t easy at all. The stunt team and parkour team were the backbone of the film. Of course, there is an exhaustive list of behind-the-scenes professionals who also threw themselves in and made this film with a lot of heart”, he adds. 

The film is supported by a 360-degree campaign on TV, digital, social media and outdoor campaigns. 

The ad film is built on the narrative of last year’s Everyone's Talking about Amazon Prime campaign featuring Manoj Bajaypee from The Family Man. In the ad film, the actor was asking for suggestions on what to watch, and as a result, he got flooded with recommendations.

Sushant Sreeram, country director, of Prime Video, India said in the company’s release “Our remarkable journey spanning seven years in India has been a testament to our commitment to redefining the entertainment landscape of the country. We have always sought to bring forth authentic storylines and rooted narratives across genres, languages, and formats, that resonate with customers, both locally and globally."

“With our latest brand film, we not only celebrate the compelling line-up of shows and movies that we are bringing to customers but also reflect fan-speak on how these are quickly becoming widely talked about and watched,” he adds.