Ram Madhvani: Things I wish I’d known when I was 18

Remember the fabulously happy Happydent from a couple of years ago? That was the spot that first made us sit up and take notice of India’s top director Ram Madhvani. We’ve loved his unique style ever since. In the second of our series, we asked the Equinox Films and Great Guns director to share his wisdoms with us.

Here's looking at you kid

1. Identify your voice. Protect your voice. Re-invent your voice.     2. Start an inward journey. Meditate daily. Schedule time for yourself to refertilise.     3. Do not be scared of saying you don’t know. From that creative honesty, good work can become great.     4. Become a good raconteur. Practice your raconteur skills and you willbecome a good story teller.     5. Learn to sing.     6. When bored ( at a party for eg ) or intimidated by where you are, put on your director’s hat and observe. Become an objective outsider rather than a subjective insider.     7. Give your team a sense of ownership ( or at least pretend to ).     8. Never become someone’s opinion of you.     9. Develop your Director’s ‘Manner’. Like a doctor has a ‘bedside manner’, a director must have a director’s manner. Work at creating a good atmosphere at a shoot.     10. Don’t put on weight around the stomach.