Rajiv Menon

Rajiv Menon—man, what a journey. Born in Kerala, the guy jumped straight into the Film and Television Institute of Chennai in ‘81, focused on cinematography, and clearly wasn’t messing around. By ‘84, he was off to America, learning from Garret Brown (yeah, the Steadicam wizard). Two years later, he kicks off Rajiv Menon Productions—now everyone just calls it RMP—and basically starts shaping the ad world in India. His Asian Paints Pongal ad? That’s where people really sat up and noticed, especially with A.R. Rahman on board for the music. Since then, RMP’s done over 300 commercials. That’s a wild number, but honestly, it tracks. Rajiv’s film work isn’t exactly subtle, either. He shot ‘Bombay’ in ‘95—people still talk about the cinematography. From there, he ends up working with actual legends like Mani Ratnam, Shyam Benegal, Girish Karnad. His touch is all over movies like ‘Guru’ and ‘Kadal’ too. When he jumped to directing with ‘Minsaara Kanavu,’ it turned into a massive hit—snagging four national awards isn’t exactly easy. Then came ‘Kandukondain Kandukondain’—that one did the festival circuit, won Filmfare awards, even helped Shankar Mahadevan get his first National Award. And the man’s not just about making things look pretty. He acts, sings, gives talks, and, because apparently he doesn’t sleep, started the Mindscreen Film Institute to train up the next gen of filmmakers. Versatile doesn’t even begin to cover it. Rajiv Menon? Total powerhouse, no question.