The website of Catalyst Entertainment Consultancy, said to be one of the first entertainment consultancies for the Malayalam film industry, was launched by Mollywood star Mammootty on July 15. It has been started by Vivek Ramadevan, an MBA graduate from PSG College of Technology, who has 20 years of experience in celebrity management and PR. In a Facebook post, he extended his gratitude to actor Mammooty for being supportive and helping him with the process in the initial days.
Thanking Mammootty, Vivek wrote, “From sending me to a debutant Blessy who was looking for a new heroine, to giving me Dulquer's number when AOPL, Sreenath and Vini wanted to make Second Show and trusting me, to giving me an opportunity with Peranbu and Mamangam, Mammukka has always been a pillar of support. It's a blessing and huge honour that he launched catalystco.in. Thanks a lot Mammukka.”
The range of services provided by Catalyst includes branding and marketing, talent and celebrity management, casting, celebrity endorsements, and project designing and consultancy. The firm aims to be a one-stop solution for a number of services related to films and filmmaking.
“The basic idea of celebrity management is to provide space for any artist/ talent to take care of their basic area, which is their craft or sport and let someone else manage the business side, public relations and other such things,” Vivek Ramadevan, the founder of Catalyst Entertainment Consultancy, tells TNM.
He further talks about how the consultancy helps bring together the right people for a particular project. “Peranbu was a script I heard from director Ram, three or four years before it actually happened. I had been telling Mammukka about the project. He finally asked me to put him in touch with filmmaker Ram and immediately put them in touch. So, project designing involves helping the makers put together the film, by finding the right people and resources, that are suitable for the project,” Vivek explains.
The firm’s clientele includes well-known celebrities such as actors Padmapriya, Priya Varrier, Priya Anand, Honey Rose and director Ranjan Pramod. Catalyst is also managing DOPs and debutant actors.
Some of the notable projects undertaken by Vivek in the past include filmmaker Padmakumar’s period action film Mamangam and actor and director Prithviraj Sukumaran's upcoming directorial venture Bro Daddy, starring actors Mohanlal and Kalyani Priyadarshan, among others.