Debbie Rao is an Indian filmmaker based in Mumbai, with over 15 years of experience in creating film and television content. With a career that started off as a copywriter and event conceptualizer for agencies like Saatchi & Saatchi and Grey Advertising, Debbie’s understanding of creatives took her to MTV India where she produced non-fiction reality television programs like MTV Rock On and MTV Splitsvilla.
Later, Debbie found her true calling in creating fiction shows where, in 2010, she wrote and directed content for short format television shows for the National Geographic channel, Disney TV India and was the Creative Director of the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards India. Her understanding of urban fictional comedy pushed her to direct multiple seasons of the acclaimed ‘Better Life Foundation’ in 2016, and the award winning ‘Pushpavalli’ in 2017 for Amazon Prime Video. Her most recent works include directing live-to-tape sketch comedy show, ‘Go Straight, Take Left’ created for Amazon Prime Video in 2018 and the opening episodes of BBC Worldwide’s Indian adaptation of the international series ‘The Office’ in 2019 which was released on Hotstar In India.
With an experienced knowledge of the Indian Film and Television industry, an insight into capturing the human side of comedy and a refreshing approach towards directing urban fictional video content, Debbie works towards capturing substance and depth in characters and has a personal goal of re-imagining the depiction of women and female characters in film and television content created in India.
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