Filmmaker Puneet Prakash shares his journey from advertising to OTT, blending emotional storytelling, cinematic craft, and award-winning narratives.
Puneet Prakash
For many young filmmakers entering the world of advertising, discovering a distinct creative voice can be daunting. Puneet Prakash, however, has spent more than eight years shaping India’s advertising landscape with a blend of emotional depth, cinematic precision, and clear storytelling intent. Originally from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, raised in Delhi, and trained at the New York Film Academy in California, he brings a layered sensibility shaped by varied cultures and experiences that inform every frame he creates.
Puneet’s work spans a wide spectrum - from heartfelt narratives to humour, automobile films, and high-style visual storytelling - all marked by authenticity and emotional clarity. Over the years, he has built a reputation as a director who can shift seamlessly across genres while retaining a strong narrative core.
His award-winning body of work, including a Cannes Silver Lion for Gillette’s Gender Equality campaign, along with multiple Spikes Asia, Effies, and Kyoorius recognitions, reflects a filmmaker driven by both craft and conviction. His films have often been celebrated for their cultural resonance and their ability to connect with audiences at a deeply human level.
Most recently, Puneet expanded into long-form storytelling with the acclaimed Maharani – Season 4, marking a significant milestone in his creative evolution. For him, every story is both a reflection of his journey and a step toward new horizons.
1. When you first stepped into the world of advertising, did you ever feel uncertain about finding your own voice in such a competitive industry?
Ans. My entry in advertising was a happy accident, I had made a 3 minute organ donation film for Fortis hospital with Mrunal Thakur in 2017, it went viral & that’s how I got into advertising, since I had entered with my own voice, I never found it difficult. It was a blessing for me that I got into advertising. Ad filmmaking teaches you precision - you learn to communicate emotion, story, and brand identity in 30 seconds. It’s a world where every frame has to be immaculate, every second calculated, and every shot loaded with purpose. That discipline became my backbone.
2. Your emotional storytelling has touched millions - what was the moment you realized that your work was resonating deeply with audiences?
Ans. I am a very nervous director, I am always finding flaws in my work & almost never too happy to see it from a different lens. Whenever people like my work, I thank them that they gave their time to see whatever I have done. Yeh but one common benchmark is that when my family texts me that my ad was being shared in different groups and it reached them or when they see it on insta as a viral content. See in advertising it’s just never just one person’s work, it’s a great team effort, the creatives who have spent endless nights cracking the idea, writing it to the perfection, the producers who support it unconditionally, the team that comes together to make it & the client who believes in the collective vision. So if something resonates with the audience it’s definitely the director’s vision and storytelling, but it takes a village to make it happen.
3. As you moved from ad films to directing a major OTT series like Maharani – Season 4, how did this transition shape your personal and creative growth?
Ans. Stepping into long-form storytelling from advertising opened up an entirely new creative universe for me. For the first time, I wasn’t telling a story in seconds - I was building a world, shaping arcs, and living with characters for months. It demanded patience, empathy, and a deeper understanding of human behavior. I had to unlearn the instinct to “cut to the chase” and instead lean into silence, nuance, and emotional continuity. Moving from ads to a long format Series didn’t just reshape my craft - it reshaped me. It expanded my storytelling vocabulary, sharpened my leadership, and reaffirmed why I wanted to direct in the first place: to tell stories that stay with people long after the screen fades out.
4. With such a diverse portfolio across genres and brands, what has been the most surprising lesson about storytelling that has stayed with you throughout your journey?
Ans. The most surprising lesson has been that no matter the scale, genre, or brand - storytelling is ultimately an act of honesty. You can have the best craft, the best visuals, the best actors, but if the emotional core isn’t truthful, the audience disconnects instantly.
Another unexpected lesson has been that stories grow when you allow them to surprise you. Every time I tried to control a narrative too rigidly, it felt mechanical. But when I stayed open - to an actor’s instinct, a location’s energy, a spontaneous improvisation - the story deepened in ways I couldn’t have planned.
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