Tarsem Singh
Tarsem Singh | |
|---|---|
| Born | Tarsem Dhandwar Singh |
| Other names | Tarsem |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1990 - present |
| Website | http://www.tarsem.org |
Tarsem Dhandwar Singh (born 26 May 1961), known professionally simply as Tarsem, is an Indian film director who has worked on films, music videos, and commercials.
Life and career
Singh was born in India. His father was an aircraft engineer.[1] He grew up in the Himalayas, where his father sent him from Iran after foreseeing that the Mullahs would come into power and concluding that Iran would not be the best place to raise his child. He attended the Bishop Cotton School, Simla, and is a graduate of New York Film Academy and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
Tarsem began his career in New York, working on Adult Films. He slowly graduated to directing music videos, including those of "Hold On" by En Vogue, "Sweet Lullaby" by Deep Forest and R.E.M.'s smash hit "Losing My Religion," the latter of which won Best Video of the Year at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards. He has directed dozens of commercials for brands such as Nike and Coca-Cola.[2] Tarsem's feature film directorial debut was The Cell (2000), starring Jennifer Lopez. His second film, The Fall, debuted at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival and was released theatrically in the United States in 2008. His third film will be called Immortals.[3][4] He's scheduled to direct an adaptation of the Brothers Grimm story of Snow White.[5][6]
Pepsi commercial: "We Will Rock You"
This commercial, directed by Singh, is one of the more elaborate Pepsi commercials to date. It combines a gladiator theme with the hard rock Queen's "We Will Rock You". The stars involved in this commercial include Enrique Iglesias in the Europe/US version and Amr Diab in the Middle East version. In Enrique's version, he plays the role of an emperor hoarding Pepsi, Britney Spears, Alecia Beth Moore (Pink) and Beyonce Knowles, all playing similar roles of gladiators about to engage in combat for the emperor's and crowd's enjoyment. Ultimately the gladiators turn against the emperor and throw him from his seat. On the other hand, Amr Diab's version show the gladiators being attacked by a lion after the emperor realized their intentions. Tarsem was commended within the "Making of the Pepsi Commercial" video on several occasions by Beyonce Knowles, Enrique Iglesias, Amr Diab and Pink.[7]
Filmography
- The Brothers Grimm: Snow White (2012)
- Immortals (2011)
- The Fall (2006)
- The Cell (2000)
Further reading
- Henry Keazor/Thorsten Wuebbena: Video thrills the Radio Star - Musikvideos: Geschichte, Themen, Analysen, Bielefeld 2005 (See [3]), p. 256 - 260.