Good Ads Matter Roundtable 2026: Rewind

After a successful debut last year, the Good Ads Matter Roundtable returns once again. What began as a first of its kind in Indian advertising and marketing continues to explore the creative landscape through insightful conversations with the top 1% of the industry. 

We have brought some of the industry’s sharpest minds together for an in-depth discussion and Q&A session, conversations you won’t want to miss. The discussions have been filmed, with full episodes set to release on YouTube and select snippets to be shared across our social media platforms—stay tuned. 

The conversations were supported by InVideo, an AI powered video creation platform, who are shaping how stories are made in an AI-enabled creative world. Several roundtable discussions also explore how AI is carving its way into the ever-evolving advertising landscape, and what to expect.

The creative and production partner for the roundtable was Purpose Studios—our very own in-house production division.

We also extend our gratitude to our knowledge partner, Manifest Media, who have supported the Good Ads Matter Roundtable since its inception.

Our Mission.

The Good Ads Matter Roundtable was created with one clear purpose: to celebrate great ads and ad makers alike. By conversing with the cream of the crop from across the industry, the roundtable creates a space to examine where Indian advertising stands today, and gauge where it is headed.

Through candid conversations with leaders known for shaping some of the industry’s most impactful work, the roundtable offers a comprehensive view of the creative landscape. These discussions help us understand evolving craft, culture, and creativity, while nurturing the future of Indian advertising.

The Roundtable.

This year’s roundtable featured seven diverse panels, offering a comprehensive view from across the ecosystem-spanning agencies, clients, and film craft. The panels consisted of Directors, Producers, Agency Business Heads, Agency Creative Heads, Brand Marketing Heads, Brand Leaders and CEOs, along with the introduction of a new panel, which in itself is the very first of its kind: AI in Advertising.

• Directors' Panel.

  Ad film directors are the master craftsmen of advertising by bringing scripts to life through instinct, expertise, and visual storytelling. If there’s one thing we have learnt from last year, the directors roundtable always delivers engaging anecdotes and sharp takeaways from the frontlines of film craft-conversations that are unmissable for anyone invested in the art of advertising. This year our prestigious panel consisted of:

  
  

  Afshan Hussain Shaikh, Founder & Director at Not Bad Films

  Akanksha Seda, Director at Good Morning Films

  Amit Sharma, Co-founder & Director at Chrome Pictures

  Indrasish Mukerjee, Director at Footloose Films

  Rahul Bharti, Founder & Director at Sun City Studios

  Sukriti Tyagi, an independent Director

  Vijay Sawant, Co-founder & Director at Hungry Films

  Vinil Mathew, Co-founder & Director at Breathless Films 

  
  

  Moderated by Sneha Iype, Founder Partner & Executive Producer at Nirvana Films

  
  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  
  

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• Producer’s Panel.

  Producers are the unseen force behind the magic of every ad film. With sharp instincts and the ability to navigate unpredictability with resilience, they allocate resources and manage budgets, solving problems in real time and ensuring that creative ambition is matched with flawless execution. We were delighted to have the esteemed panellists join us this year

  
  

  Anupama Ahluwalia, Co-founder & Producer at ZigZag Films

  Ganesh Pareek, Partner & Producer at First December Films

  Hemant Bhandari, Co-founder, Director & Producer at Chrome Pictures 

  Kashif Memon, Founder, Director & Producer at Mothership Productions 

  Ramya Rao, Producer at Oink Films

  Roopak Saluja, Founder & Executive Chairman at Bang Bang Mediacorp

  Varun Shah, Managing Partner at Publicis Production

  Zuleikha Gupta, Producer at Sun City Studios

  
  

  Moderated by Adarsh Atal, Chief Creative Officer at Tilt Brand Solutions

  
  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

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• Agency Business Heads' Panel.

  Agency Business Heads offer a truly unique perspective into the inner workings of creative organisations. By bringing sharp business acumen to the table, they continue to set industry benchmarks-ensuring creativity is not only sustained, but scaled and strengthened. Sitting across the Table were leaders who continue to set benchmarks

  
  

  Advait Gupt, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer at Kulfi Collective

  Amit Wadhwa, Chief Executive Officer at Dentsu Creative India

  Amitesh Rao, Chief Executive Officer at Leo Burnett South Asia

  Arvind Krishnan, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer at Manja

  Babita Baruah, Chief Executive Officer at VML India

  Bhawika Chhabra, Managing Director at Toaster India

  Chandni Shah, CEO at Kinnect & 22feet Tribal & Co-Founder of Kinnect

  Lulu Raghavan, President at Landor Asia Pacific

  
  

  Moderated by Navin Talreja, Founding Partner of The Womb

  
  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  
  

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• Agency Creative Heads' Panel.

  Agency Creative Heads are the heartbeat of Indian advertising, collaborating with clients in order to transform insights and data into narratives that shape culture that resonate across generations. The illustrious panel members that joined us were:

  
  

  Aakash Shah, Founder of One Hand Clap

  Josy Paul, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer at The BBDO Group

  Malvika Mehra, Independent Creative Director & Creative Head of Marketing at Dinshaw's Dairy Food

  Pallavi Chakravarti, Co-founder & Chief Creative Officer at Fundamental

  Raj Kamble, Founder & Chief Creative Officer at Famous Innovations

  Rajdeepak Das, Chief Creative Officer at Publicis Groupe South Asia & Chairman at Leo Burnett South Asia,

  Vishal Dayama, Founder, Writer & Director at Braindad

  
  

  Moderated by Mayur Hola, Vice President of Brand at Swiggy

  
  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  
  

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• Brand Marketing Head' Panel.

  Sitting at the intersection of creativity and performance, Brand Marketing Heads steer strategy with clarity, building brands that extend far beyond logos. Seated at our roundtable this year were visionaries that have nurtured some of the country’s largest brands

  
  

  Ankit Goyle, Head Of Marketing, India at Snap Inc. 

  Anitha Krishnan, Head of Marketing at Birla Estates

  Aparajita Biswas, Head Of Marketing at The Hindu Group 

  Hitesh Patel, Head Of Marketing, Sports at Rise Worldwide

  Nitin Saini, Vice President Marketing at Mondelez India

  Pratik Shetty, Vice President, Growth & Marketing at Flipkart

  Rajshree Bakshi, Senior Vice President Marketing at Reliance Industries Limited

  Sunder Balasubramanian,  Chief Marketing Officer at Myntra

  
  

  Moderated by Abhijit Avasthi, Founder of Sideways

  
  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

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• Brand Founders & CEOs' Panel.

  Business Heads bring the perspective of long term brand builders. They have shaped organisations from the ground up and understand the significance of advertising and marketing in order to shape culture and growth and the lasting impression it creates on consumers. Meet our Brand Leaders and CEOs' panel

  
  

  Karishma Mehta, Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Humans of Bombay 

  Revant Himatsingka, Founder of Only What’s Needed

  Rohit Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer at Food Marketplace, Swiggy

  Vikram Mehra, Managing Director at Saregama India

  
  

  Moderated by Sonal Dabral , Writer, Director, Consultant & Founder at Tribha.

  
  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

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• AI in Advertising.

  AI has been a buzz word in our vocabulary for a few years now, and there is no denying that it is going to play a pivotal role in advertising in upcoming years. The AI in Advertising roundtable brought together voices from across disciplines-Directors, Producers, and Creative Heads-united by a shared belief that technology and creativity go hand in hand. Our panel includes titans of the industry who have already started incorporating AI into their creative work

  
  

  Akshat Gupt, Co-Founder & CCO at Kulfi Collective

  Azazul Haque, Group Chief Creative Officer at Creativeland Asia

  Dharam Valia, Founder & Executive Producer at Hungry Films

  Hridaye Nagpal, Filmmaker & Creative Strategy Lead at Invideo

  Prateek Arora, AI Artist and Filmmaker

  Shai Samtaney, Co-Founder & Director at Jungle

  Shakun Batra, Founder, Director & Executive Producer at Jouska Films/ Jouska AI 

  Tarika Gulabani, Managing Partner at Dentsu AMP

  
  

  Moderated by Roopak Saluja, Founder & Executive Chairman at Bang Bang mediacorp

  
  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

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Stay tuned for the episode release dates!