Tarsem Singh Dhandwar (born 26 May 1961), known professionally as Tarsem, is an Indian director who has worked on films, music videos, and commercials. He directed ''

The Cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery w ...

'' (2000), '' The Fall'' (2006, also screenwriter and producer), '' Immortals'' (2011), '' Mirror Mirror'' (2012), and '' Self/less'' (2015).

Early life

Tarsem was born in

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

to a

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ' ...

family. His father was an aircraft engineer. He attended Bishop Cotton School in

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...

, Hans Raj College in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...

, and is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

, California.

Career

Tarsem began his career directing music videos, including those of " Hold On" by

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single ...

, " Sweet Lullaby" by Deep Forest and R.E.M.'s " Losing My Religion", the latter of which won Best Video of the Year at the 1991

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

. He has directed commercials for brands such as Nike and

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atla ...

. Tarsem's feature film directorial debut was ''

'' (2000), starring Jennifer Lopez. In 2003, Tarsem directed one of the most elaborate

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

commercials to date. It combined a

gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

theme with

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

's " We Will Rock You". The commercial starred

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By th ...

in the version of the commercial aired in Europe and North America and Amr Diab in the version aired in the Arab world. Tarsem's second film, '' The Fall'', debuted at the

2006 Toronto International Film Festival The 31st Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 7 to September 16, 2006. Opening the festival was Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn's '' The Journals of Knud Rasmussen'', a film that "explores the history of the through the eyes o ...

and was released theatrically in the United States in 2008. His third film was 2011's '' Immortals''. He directed an adaptation of the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among th ...

story of "

Snow White "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as ...

", called '' Mirror Mirror'' (2012). In 2020, Tarsem made his return to music videos with

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

's single " 911", his first in 26 years. In 2021, his Super Bowl ad for

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

featuring the adoption of US

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

Jessica Long Jessica Tatiana Long (born February 29, 1992) is a Russian-American Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, Maryland, who competes in the S8, SB7 and SM8 category events. She has held many world records and competed at five Paralympic Games, winning ...

won significant critical acclaim.

Filmography as director

Film

* ''

'' (2000) * '' The Fall'' (2006, also screenwriter and producer) * '' Immortals'' (2011) * '' Mirror Mirror'' (2012) * '' Self/less'' (2015)

Television

* '' Emerald City'' (2017, also executive producer)

Music videos

– " Hold On" (1990) *

Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered th ...

– "Tired of Sleeping" (1990) * R.E.M. – " Losing My Religion" (1991) * The Dream Academy – "Love" (1991) * Dream Warriors – "My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style" (1991) *

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

– "What's Good" (1992) * Vanessa Paradis – "Be My Baby" (1992) * Deep Forest – " Sweet Lullaby" (1994) *

– " 911" (2020)

Commercials

Levi's Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, ...

– "Swimmer" (1992) * Mulino Bianco – "Roma" (1994) *

– "Washroom" (1996) *

– "They Go On" (6-part ad series) (1997) * Nike – "Good vs Evil" (1997) *

Miller Lite Miller Lite is a 4.2% ABV light American lager beer sold by Molson Coors (previously MillerCoors) of Chicago, Illinois. The company also produces Miller Genuine Draft and Miller High Life. Miller Lite competes mainly with Anheuser-Busch ...

– "Pro Wrestlers" (1997) *

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is ...

– "Rain" (1998) *

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post ...

– "Pursuit of Excellence" (1998) *

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

– "Lift off" (1999) * Beck's – "Romance" (1999) * Beck's – "Laid Back" (1999) * Beck's – "Comedy" (1999) *

– "Beckham" (2001) * Mountain Dew – "Duo" (2001) * Beck's – "Engineer's Night Out" (2001) *

– "Foosball" (2002) *

– "Kung Fu" (2002) *

– "Sumo" (2002) *

– "Sumo Rematch" (2002) * Campari – "The Duel" (2002) * Wanadoo – "Positive Generation" (2002) *

T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic ( T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland ( T-Mobile Polska), the United States ( T-Mob ...

– "Anthem" (2002) *

– "Czech" (2002) *

– "Italian" (2002) *

– "Bored" (2002) * Nationwide – "Every Minute – Football" (2002) *

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the devel ...

– "Moving Day" (2003) *

– "Airport" (2003) *

– "Diver" (2003) *

– "Elephant Tower" (2003) *

– "OK Corral" (2003) *

– "Longer Nights" (2003) *

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

– "Performance" (2003) *

Citroën Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...

– "Les Magiciens" (2003) *

– "Les Mains" (2004) *

– "Footbattle" (2004) *

Pepsi-Cola Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

– "Gladiator" (2004) *

– "Surfers" (2004) * Nike – "Nike Masks" (2004) * Acura – "Rush" (2006) *

– "Shuffle" (2007) *

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develope ...

– "Part I: Enchanter" (2009) *

– "Part II: Hecklers" (2009) *

– "Part III: Beware the Jabbawockeez" (2009) *

– "Part IV: EGO" (2009) *

– "Part V: Game 7" (2009) *

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

– "Snow" (2010) *

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

– "The Gift of Sound and Vision" (2013) *

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold ...

– "Court" (2013) *

– "Toast" (2013) *

– "Come On" (2013) * Carte Noir – "Fire & Ice" (2013) * Mountain Dew – "Satellite" (2013) * BMW – "Unbridled Joy" (2015) * Mountain Dew – "Tree Top" (2017) *

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

– "Infinitely Amazing" (2017) *

– "No Regrets" (2019) *

Dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primaril ...

– "Dove" (2019) *

– "Cleopatra" (2019) *

– "Upstream" (2021)

References

External links

* *
Tarsem Singh at the Music Video DataBase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Tarsem Living people 1961 births 21st-century Indian film directors American film directors of Indian descent Film directors from Punjab, India Film producers from Punjab, India Grammy Award winners Indian advertising directors Indian male screenwriters Indian music video directors Indian expatriates in the United States People from Jalandhar Punjabi people Delhi University alumni Art Center College of Design alumni