Mahendra Bathula and I joined MTV at about the same time. Among the first few projects, we worked on together was MTV Top Gaana and getting it on to some 70 million Lay’s packs. That’s when I realized, here’s one guy who’s even more anal than I am! God, he drove me nuts, changing the layout on that damn chip bag almost 70 million times!
Then followed some really fun contests, promos, show packaging… MTV Baar Baar Dekho, MTV Bichhde Hue Bhai contest [yeah, that was the original separated at birth series!], the award-winning MTV Food for Thought promos for Cadbury Perk which are still on our showreel and more.
What hit you was his eye for detail. Trying to get the typography right [that was his trip – “mere ko Oscar® nahi, ek din best typography award jeetna hai!”], the casting [among the few people who’d know the importance of a “daai maa” in a Bollywood spoof], on getting the right Silk Smita track with S.P. Balasubramaniam’s yodeling. Which is what made a promo repeat viewing worthy. Which is what made a good promo, a great promo. Which is what makes an MTV promo!
All incredibly visible also in his last project at MTV… Porok for Xbox 360.
Bathula passed away late last morning at about 1:30am due to a very painful brain tumor that he’d been battling for many years – in fact, all through the entire Porok project.
You shall be truly missed, my friend. In the words of Maanja from Porok, you truly are the gali ka badshaah. May your soul rest in peace.
Respect.
Then followed some really fun contests, promos, show packaging… MTV Baar Baar Dekho, MTV Bichhde Hue Bhai contest [yeah, that was the original separated at birth series!], the award-winning MTV Food for Thought promos for Cadbury Perk which are still on our showreel and more.
What hit you was his eye for detail. Trying to get the typography right [that was his trip – “mere ko Oscar® nahi, ek din best typography award jeetna hai!”], the casting [among the few people who’d know the importance of a “daai maa” in a Bollywood spoof], on getting the right Silk Smita track with S.P. Balasubramaniam’s yodeling. Which is what made a promo repeat viewing worthy. Which is what made a good promo, a great promo. Which is what makes an MTV promo!
All incredibly visible also in his last project at MTV… Porok for Xbox 360.
Bathula passed away late last morning at about 1:30am due to a very painful brain tumor that he’d been battling for many years – in fact, all through the entire Porok project.
You shall be truly missed, my friend. In the words of Maanja from Porok, you truly are the gali ka badshaah. May your soul rest in peace.
Respect.
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