UMESH J KUMAR
Event Manager/Art Director/Production Designer
No work is big or small, as long as it is done with a lot of passion and interest, and the motive is to entertain and engage people’- This is what Umesh Kumar believed 22 years back when he wore the cartoon mascot costume and distributed brochures and pamphlets outside shopping malls and parking lots for lucky draw contests as a part-time job during his college days.
Having come to Chennai from Vellore during school days for studies with his family , Umesh Kumar liked the idea of doing part- time jobs during college days and thereby experiencing a feeling of pride and empowerment with his earnings at such a young age. He started doing Manpower related jobs where he had to source resources for citywide and countrywide promotions for big brands and earned his pocket money through such activities while he was studying.
The experience from these kind of jobs gave him a wide exposure to the various streams in Event Management starting from promotions, manpower ,sound and lights ,stage production ,printing ,DJ and so on. He started his own event management company RENAISSANCE two decades back, in 1999 and slowly ventured into each and every element of Event Management and Event Production by gaining expertise on each of them gradually.
Umesh is probably the only Art Director with two decades of event production experience and that helped him deliver quality sets and visuals at minimal costs and most importantly within committed timelines, thereby saving a lot of expenditure for the production teams. He did his first film Vaanavil Vazhkai as an Art Director and the transition from an Event Manager to Art Director started off with this movie which demanded similar skill sets of setting up venues for college cultural fests that the film showcased.
He went on to work with a lot of Producers , Directors and Artists from then on and there was no looking back. His films Trisha Illena Nayanthara, 100, Irumbuthirai, Comali, Manadu and others. He’s currently working on Director Ram’s bi-lingual ‘untitled’ project, Lyca Productions Naai Sekar Returns, Vishnu Vishal’s Gutta Kusthi and Jiivi Part 2.
He has few upcoming projects in the pipeline. He has also started working on creating and building a film city that has real life sets like Police station, Court, Train, Market, Shopping complex etc. He was preferred for his clear commitments and flawless execution in films. Post the Art Director avatar that made him a big brand himself, he started getting opportunities to do Set work and Set production for Reality Shows and Media related Award functions through his company Golden Hammer which was the driving force behind getting into films in the first place. He is an integral part of the Events and the Film industry and a most sought-after Art Director now for Media related events for Television.
Umesh has dedicated his life to Art and Art related activities like Setwork, Stage production, Event production, Reality shows, Live shows, Movies, Annual awards, Launches, Theme parties, Destination weddings and anything and everything related to transforming an empty space to a never-before seen creation, to create experiences that last a lifetime. For two and a half decades, step by step he has evolved and established his passion and expertise in every possible opportunity related to entertainment, Media or Experiential events. He is now the most sought-after Production Designer / Art Director for television reality shows, feature films and live events.
His highly creative hat and an eye for creating unique and innovative structures coupled with extreme dedication, sincerity and hardwork has contributed to his massive growth over the years, He also runs a Sound and Lights production company called The Podium that illuminates his magnum opus structures with lighting and sound and elevates the experience. Its hard to find an event that Umesh is not directly or indirectly a part of, in the city. Umesh is the only Production Designer with an Event background and his expertise in creating live and virtual experiences stands apart since his eye for colours and creations on stage gives him a whole new professional outlook on leveraging his professional knowledge to Cinema. Umesh is also a passionate sportsman and plays Ten Pin Bowling for the state. He has also represented the state in many national and international tournaments and has won several trophies.
RENAISSANCE
Renaissance Events is a 22-year-old Event Company which was started by Umesh in the year 1999. Over the years, it turned out to be one of the most sought after event management companies for Corporate and Social events, handling end – to – end Annual Get togethers, Family Day Bashes, Rewards, and Awards, Live shows, Product launches, Theme-based Weddings, and Theme parties. Umesh’s technically sound background and his intention to always keep The Client as a priority has truly helped Renaissance earn goodwill and reputation as the Most Trusted Event Team in India. Umesh started executing bigger Stage designs and Magnificent Sets and used the latest technology for every event thereby giving a WOW experience through his magnificent creations to every guest at the event. Renaissance has a track record of serving all the Top brands year after year for more than a two decades and its just getting bigger and better …Isn’t that awesome?
GOLDEN HAMMER
He started his Company, Golden Hammer, 10 years back and it was primarily involved only in Event and Set production-related activities. Golden Hammer ventured into serving various media clients and Event Management Companies for their Production requirements. Golden Hammer serves TV channels, Production houses, and Media agencies for their Annual Film and Lifestyle Awards, Reality Show sets and gained lot of popularity and Clients through their never before seen magnificent sets for Grand Finales and Live Shows. Not just in Chennai, but Golden Hammer has associated with most popular TV Channels and brands in Kerala and Karnataka as well, marching its way to providing magnificent sets for National Television channels.
PODIUM
The Podium was started with the sole intention of being able to provide value adds in terms of additional lighting and sound experience irrespective of budgets or any other constraints. Lighting is an important element to illuminate sets and procuring them in-house makes the brand a one-stop-shop for all production requirements. From then on, sets have started looking more magnificent and events started getting bigger and better. THE PODIUM specializes in Sound and Lights for events and media related shows and serves TV Channels, Production houses, Event Management companies and Media, related clients. The Podium provides sound and lights for some of the most popular South- Indian television and music reality shows that you enjoy watching.
Art Director
Umesh J Kumar, the most promising Art Director / Production Designer of recent times has done close to 15 South Indian films for leading Production companies, Directors and Artists. He comes with a unique event production experience and his sets looks extremely colourful , unique and extravagant. His thought process on carving the ambience and structures for every scene / theme comes from several years of in-depth production and structural knowledge he has gained by working on various installations in different magnitude. He is widely appreciated for his unparalleled focus on delivering never- before thought of sets in the committed budget and time frame. His professional approach to every film after handling Live Event and Television Set production for decades distinguishes him from his colleagues and peers who have been associated with only films for many years.
He is always inquisitive to learn and experiment on everything related to his industry to conquer new horizons
Some of his feature films include:
- Vaanavil Vazhkai
- Ticket (Tamil Movie)
- Trisha Illana Nayanthara
- Enakku Innoru Per Irukku
- Bruce Lee
- Kaththi Sandai
- AAA – Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan
- Sakka Podu Podu Raja
- Dhanusu Rasi Neyargale
- Irumbuthirai
- 100 (Tamil Movie)
- Comali
- Maanadu
- Director Ram’s next (V House Productions – Untitled)
- Naisekar (Lyca Productions – Yet to be released)
- Pathuthalai (Yet to be released)
- Nalan Kumarasamy (Untitled – Studio Green Productions)
- Jiivi Part 2 (Yet to be released – V House Productions)
- Adhik Ravichandran (Untitled)
RENAISSANCE
GOLDEN HAMMER
He started his Company, Golden Hammer, 10 years back and it was primarily involved only in Event and Set production-related activities. Golden Hammer ventured into serving various media clients and Event Management Companies for their Production requirements. Golden Hammer serves TV channels, Production houses, and Media agencies for their Annual Film and Lifestyle Awards, Reality Show sets, and gained a lot of popularity and Clients through their never before seen magnificent sets for Grand Finales and Live Shows. Most of the South Indian Television sets and reality shows have had their association with Golden Hammer for Production requirements.
PODIUM
The Podium was started with the sole intention of being able to provide value adds in terms of additional lighting and sound experience irrespective of budgets or any other constraints. Lighting is an important element to illuminate sets and procuring them in-house makes the brand a one-stop-shop for all production requirements. From then on, sets have started looking more magnificent and events started getting bigger and better. THE PODIUM that specializes in Sound and Lights for events and media related shows and serves TV Channels, Production houses, Event Management companies and Media, related clients.
