A controversy overshadowed India’s underwhelming performance at Cannes Lions. All parties – brand, agency and jury were caught in a sticky situation when Jindal Steel and Power’s ‘Jindal Steel – Steel for India’ campaign bagged two Lions – a Silver and a Bronze in the Film Craft Lions category.
Wieden+Kennedy India raised concerns for being overlooked in the credits for the creative ideation of the campaign. In the Cannes nomination, only Kondurkar Studio had been mentioned in the credits for the campaign’s creative ideation.
The issue arose when Jindal Power and Steel launched the campaign in question with another agency. W+K argued that the campaign was based on an idea very similar to the one W+K had originally presented to JSP.
W+K had even approached the Delhi High Court asking it to restrain Jindal Steel and Power from publishing and distributing the campaign video across platforms. The court stated in its judgement that the campaign was indeed similar to the idea that had been originally presented.
The matter was mutually settled outside court with W+K transferring the copyright to Jindal Steel.
Kondurkar Studios, the agency that made the campaign for Jindal Steel and Power has released a statement sharing their side of the story.
“In recent weeks, Kondurkar Studio and its founder, Mr. Amrish Kondurkar, have been subjected to a wave of negative , unfounded and unsubstantiated media coverage regarding the “The Steel of India” campaign. Mr. Kondurkar embarked on an independent journey with integrity and creativity, dedicating his talents to creating original and impactful work. Despite his commendable efforts, he and his studio are being unfairly targeted by a larger competitor in the industry, under the pretext of bizarre accusations of copyright infringement and lack of originality,” the agency said.
“Kondurkar Studio developed this film based on the client’s brief, aiming to bring alive the Indian resilience to land on the brand line of “The Steel of India.” The film, which signs off with “The Sound of India,” is entirely original. We had no prior knowledge of anything that the larger agency might have earlier shared with our client. It is worth noting that Mr. Amrish Kondurkar, our founder, left his previous role in January 2023, and our client reached out to them for a pitch in late July 2023, well after his departure, negating any overlap or claim of idea theft,” it added.
“This is a montage film, a genre that involves creating a narrative from various shots and scenes. The brief was always to celebrate the power of steel and the resilience of India. Hence, any montage film on India & Steel will naturally portray these themes. To claim copyright infringement on such a basis is not only baseless but also a stretch of the imagination. The allegations are supported by misrepresented screenshots that arrange shots from various sources to falsely suggest direct copying. However, a 2-minute film is much more substantial than a few misleading screenshots added to create a narrative post final film creation,” the agency said.
The Delhi High Court, after thorough adjudication, found no wrongdoing on the part of Kondurkar Studio., added the statement. The resolution highlighted broader corporate concerns rather than individual actions, validating that the campaign was independently and originally created by Kondurkar Studio.
“In reality, our film is a unique creation. The film created by Kondurkar Studio, brought to life by the talented director Ayappa from Earlyman Film, involved no collaboration or communication with the larger agency during its development. It is therefore absurd for them to demand credit for a film they had no part in conceptualizing or producing. The entire process from briefing the director, to sharing treatment notes, to conducting PPM, shoots, and post-production, was carried out independently by Kondurkar Studio and Earlyman Film,” said the agency.
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The agency further said, “After dedicating years to building a reputation for integrity and creativity, it is disheartening to face such baseless allegations. Mr. Kondurkar’s transition to an independent path was driven by a desire to pursue creative freedom and innovation. It is unfortunate and unjust for his reputation to be attacked by unfounded allegations from larger industry competitors.”
“We urge all media houses to refrain from publishing reports without hearing our side of the story. It is expected that media houses maintain journalistic integrity and post unbiased stories. As responsible professionals, we ask that you verify facts before printing , and avoid blindly supporting larger agencies at the expense of independent creators. Kondurkar Studio remains dedicated to delivering innovative and original creative solutions while upholding the highest ethical standards,” the agency concluded.