Awesome Malayalam TVC - Kalyan Jewellers

Weeks ago, when the Mumbai Mirror published a picture of Amitabh Bachchan along with Malayalam actor Dileep, I expected a Malayalam feature film with a cameo of Big B.

I am however pleasantly surprised to see both of them in this lovely TVC for Kalyan Jewellers.

The film opens with Mr. Bachchan in a school teacher’s garb writing on the blackboard while his students copiously take it down in a rural school. It’s begun to rain. A few drops of water drip onto a student’s book. Next, we see all the students outside the school along with their worried-looking masterji staring the dilapidated building.

Masterji sets off to the city to meet one of his old students who is delighted to have him for lunch. Overjoyed by the prospects of meeting his student after such a long time, proud to see him successful and yet weighed down by his need of the hour, masterji decides not to broach the topic of the school and is shown to return with a heavy heart. To his surprise, when he reaches the school he finds that his illustrious student is already there, supervising the renovation of his own school.

The film ends with the tagline ‘Vishwaasam, adu alle ellaam?’ literally meaning ‘Trust. Isn’t that everything?’

It has no dialogues. Only beautifully shot scenes in a wonderful colour tone along with a neat background score.

This film comes like rain on Malayalam television parched by blatant product displays, exaggerations of product benefits and language dubs of TVCs originally made in Hindi.

Advertisements akin to regular programming on Malayalam GECs such as Asianet, Surya TV, Kailrali etc. are bereft of thought or advertising craft. Except for a few stray gimmicks, they have hardly evolved to offer anything new. If it is an ad for hair oil, the film features a film or TV actress oiling her hair and waving it around. If it is a lungi ad, it’s got to have Mohanlal, Mammootty or Jairam in it almost as if people would stop wearing what they’ve been wearing for ages if their favourite stars didn’t sport them as well.

If you are someone who grew up speaking Malayalam at home, you’ll undoubtedly enjoy the dubbed ads. The VOs, often done in studios in Worli and Mahalaxmi by non-Malayali voice artists perfectly destroy diction and speech constructions.

There is hardly any insight, minimal creative input and zilch creative strategy.

Kerala is obsessed with gold. I am not equipped with numbers but from pure audience perspective, it can be seen that gold jewellery ads rule TV and outdoor advertising space in Kerala.

In such a scenario, it is amazing to see a brand take its tagline to such extents. Aided with a hefty production budget, this 2:08 minute film hardly shows any gold and manages to break clutter and clearly delivers its message. That Kalyan Jewellers is a brand to be trusted.

Only one other ad in the recent past can boast of such thought and craft.

Unlike other hair oil brands, Dhatri Hair oil adds a social angle to its TVCs. It positioned the oil as something that strengthens women’s hair and gives them confidence to face difficult things. One in the series of these ads shows a woman oiling her hair and tightly pulling it into a bun on top of her head as she waits for her alcoholic husband to come home. She has decided that today she won’t let him hold her hair and beat her up but will take a stand and stand up to him. It works, as the drunken man walks up to the gate, senses the wife’s newfound confidence and slinks away.

Hearty congratulations to the team at PUSH, Bangalore for trying to rake the muck and bring out the jewels.