Creative Minds: Rohit Malkani is made for the stage

Place of origin: Mumbai, India

 

Places lived and worked: New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, India, Singapore

 

Pronouns: He/him 

 

CV: 

 

1. How did you end up being a creative?

 

I started my career as a planner after graduating from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. I enjoyed the planning side of things (and still do) but found myself spending all my time with the creatives. They would toss me the occasional small brief like scraps to the lions, and I devoured each one. The creative director would thump me on the back appreciatively and treat me to lunch now and then. And I started thinking ‘Hey! This is way cooler!’ So, I joined the creative department in my next role.

 

2. What’s your favourite piece of work in your portfolio?

 

Always a difficult choice, but I would have to say my work on Virgin Mobile. Personally, it was a super satisfying time in my life. Working on this brand was an adrenaline rush. I would always keep a small scribble pad near my bed because there were times when I would go to sleep with ideas jumbling and tossing in my head, then wake up in a eureka moment and write them down. 

 

 

3. What’s your favourite piece of work created by someone else?

 

There is one campaign that stands out for me, and that’s Heineken’s ‘The Night is Young’, created by Bruno Bertelli (CEO, LePub and CCO, Publicis Worldwide) and his team at Publicis Italy and LePub. I loved the boldness of planting yourself on the pro-vaccination side of a divided world. I loved the tongue-in-cheek, light-hearted nudge to get people to vaccinate and be socially responsible. I think one of the tests of a great film or campaign is to be able to watch it repeatedly and not get bored. ‘The Night is Young’ is a perfect example of this. A sound insight delivered in a creative package that keeps you guessing right till the end, when you slam into that juicy end line: “The night belongs to the vaccinated.” 

 

 

4. What's on your bucket list?

 

While advertising is what I do for a living, theatre is what I do for the soul. So, I would have to say performing on Broadway! Also on the bucket list is to be a TED speaker. I am a massive fan of this platform and have attended a couple. So, who knows, if I find a subject I am really excited about, you may just see me on the TED stage sometime soon.

 

5. Who is/was the most important person in your life?

 

Phyllis Bose. A Welsh woman and my theatre ‘guru’, director, and dear friend who is no more. She's one of the strongest and most amazing women I have ever met. Her influence on my life, my attitude to work and theatre has been incredible. She was a mother figure with the coolest mind you have ever encountered.

 

6. Do you work best under pressure, or when things are calm?

 

Pressure (there, I’ve said it!) I’ve always been this way. I love the rush of a deadline or a fire to be doused. My mind is at its sharpest when I am working hard with a team, shoulder to shoulder, to solve a problem or come up with an idea. Having said that, the one thing I cannot stand are ‘flappers'—people who have no other contribution than to fan the fire. This genuinely gets my goat.

 

7. What advice would you giver to a 10-year-old you, if you could?

 

Do what you do best, because one day it will thank you for the recognition. I keep telling my 16-year-old daughter this. I think too many kids spend time doing what they’re not good at because someone else said so. Find that ‘thing’ inside of you, even if it means having to jump a couple of ships along the way...it’s okay! What’s not okay is to settle for something that just doesn’t fit you.

 

8. What's your favourite TV / music release of the past year?

 

Beef, Lee Sung Jin’s rage-fuelled drama series. I love that it’s so difficult to categorise. On the surface, it’s about a road rage altercation that escalates into a prolonged feud. But there are several layers that make it a dark, existential thriller about cynical people confronting a deep sadness within. And this—despite several very funny lines of dialogue—doesn’t easily translate to light entertainment. Recently I discovered Latin Mafia, a Mexican indie pop band comprising three brothers. So far, I’ve only heard their debut album—Todos Los Días Todo El Día—but I am loving it. They dabble with Flamenco, EDM, and rock, then slide into punk rock and Mexicana on the next track. Super stuff! 

 

 

9. Tell us about your tattoo(s)?

 

I have three. A lion designed by a friend, because I am a Leo. A Koi fish, which I got in Tokyo. I love it because the Koi is associated with resilience and determination. And a bowl of pho, which I got done in Vietnam on a whim. I am busy working on my fourth: Theatre masks!

 

10. Do you have a nickname?

 

Popo. My parents thought it was catchy. It’s the only name most people know me by. It’s also the reason I have never been to Germany (it means “kid’s bum” in German, I am told!)

 

11. Early riser or night owl?

 

Night owl and moon howler. Always have been. A great coffee to keep me company and I am set. And no... I have no issues sleeping after my caffeine overdose.