Asian Paints has unveiled a new campaign film for its Sharad Shamman platform, using anime-inspired visuals to celebrate the creativity, community spirit and cultural traditions behind Kolkata’s Durga Pujo pandals.
The film follows Gattu and a group of young friends as they come together to build their neighbourhood pandal. As preparations progress, they face a familiar question during the festive season: “Ebaar jitbey?” or “Will you win this year?”
The narrative takes an emotional turn when an elderly resident returns to Kolkata after years away and visits the pandal in his old neighbourhood. His response, “Mon jitey nilo” (It won my heart), shifts the focus from winning an award to the emotional connection a creation establishes with its community.
The campaign marks the first time Asian Paints has adopted an anime-inspired visual style for the platform, bringing the neighbourhood’s preparations, traditions and younger generation of pandal makers to life through a contemporary storytelling format.
Amit Syngle, MD and CEO of Asian Paints Ltd., said Durga Pujo represents more than a festival in Bengal, bringing together imagination, creativity and communities through a shared cultural experience.
He said Asian Paints Sharad Shamman has celebrated this spirit for more than four decades by recognising the artists, artisans and neighbourhood communities who spend weeks conceptualising and building pandals.
While winning an award remains a source of pride, Syngle noted that the lasting reward for creators is often the knowledge that their work has moved someone. The film seeks to capture this sentiment while introducing the campaign to younger audiences through a contemporary visual language rooted in Bengal’s cultural traditions.
“Because while the way we tell stories may evolve, the ability of creativity to move people, bring them together and win hearts remains timeless,” Syngle said, adding that the legacy of Asian Paints Sharad Shamman lies in this enduring connection between creativity and community.
Sujoy Roy, Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy North, said the campaign brings back Gattu, a character who evolved from an Asian Paints mascot into a familiar nickname, or daak naam, among Bengalis.
Roy said the film captures the everyday dynamics of a neighbourhood during Pujo, from planning and pandal construction to unsolicited advice and the recurring question of whether the creation will win an award.
He also highlighted the role of younger people in preserving and reinterpreting cultural traditions. Rather than simply inheriting their heritage, they are finding new ways to express it through their pandal designs, he said.
According to Roy, the campaign looks beyond the excitement of competition to the collective satisfaction of creating something meaningful. The moments of wonder, pride and togetherness that remain after the festivities end form the lasting legacy of the celebration.
Through its anime-inspired treatment and neighbourhood-centred narrative, the film positions creativity not merely as a means of winning recognition, but as a way of bringing people together and leaving a lasting impression.
