Meet the Kreativ team
Founders
Uzair Merchant
Entrepreneur | Director | Production Designer | Writer
Rohan Vij
Entrepreneur | Publisher
Multiple Award-Winning Filmmaker, Director and Production Designer, Uzair (Uzi) Merchant, a kreativ junkie and a spiritual traveller, is the founder of KRi8, The Kreativ Lab and bKreativ Productions. He is currently developing a multi-franchise universe beginning with a live-action thriller, Black Rose.
Rohan has been in the book publishing industry for almost 15 years. Based in New Delhi, he is the director of two successful business and has the experience of marketing & selling books and eBooks across North America, Europe and Asia. Rohan has a passion for reading and loves to read History, especially Military history.
Core Team
Riddhi Thakkar
Public Relations Director
Riddhi, our newest lab director, thinks trying to fit in and being like everyone else is so boring! Born in Mumbai, studied in the UK and having worked in Dubai, Riddhi knows the what's what of the world. She is the founder of Wake 'N' Bake Waffles and has been the Editor of a&sINDIA. She believes in love, magic and colour coordination. With art in her soul, business in her blood and an inner eccentricity, Riddhi leads to the craziest ideas. Binging on Audrey Hepburn movies, munching on Macaroons from Laduree while gorging on a tub of Häagen-Dazs is her idea of a perfect Sunday.
Zubair Khawaja
Creative Director
Zubair, one of our Lab Directors, is based in Dubai, U.A.E. He is a creative soul with a passion to create design and has a background in business with a Bachelor's in Marketing. He is adaptable, ambitious, self-motivated, confident, and is a down to earth person. When he's not on the working, Zubair likes to write guitar tracks, listen to heavy metal music and head off to concerts.
Jedi Council
James Bamford
Director | Producer | Hollywood Stunts Legend
James “BamBam” Bamford is a Canadian film & television director, who was the “directing producer” of the series Arrow, directing 17 episodes of the series including multiple premieres, season finales, crossovers and the series finale. He started his career, with martial arts as his skillset, in the film and television industry as a stuntman and fight choreographer to become a world-renowned film and television director and producer.
Maxine De Vere
Producer | Film Production
Maxine owns her own production business, as well as a facilitation company in Spain and in 2003, she formed another company in the U.K, producing films and helping find finance for films for first time script writers. She has gained a well respected reputation with worldwide film producers and Hollywood studios. Having worked on Deliver Us from Evil, Bourne Legacy, Switch, Fast and Furious 7, Kung Fu Yoga, Vanguard, The Misfits and Intense Heat she is recognized throughout the industry as one of the most professional and first choice producer. She is currently the producer of “the kreativ universe” with feature films “Elixir of life,” “the 8th Sin,“ and “Black Rose” in pre production.
Sanja Hays
Costume Designer | Creative Producer
Sanja M. Hays is a “Hall of Fame” Costume Designer. She started her career assisting costume designers at Zagreb’s Jadran Studios. Since moving to LA in 1987, she has worked with directors including Brian de Palma, Tim Story, and John Singelton. Her most recent projects are Fast 7 with James Wan, Star Trek Beyond with Justin Lin, both The Maze Runner 2: The Scorch Trials and The Maze Runner 3: Death Cure with Wes Ball, and finally her foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe through Captain Marvel. She is currently the Creative Producer for Black Rose, the beginning of THE KREATIV UNIVERSE.
.jpeg)
Production Designer
Dan Hermansen
Dan Hermansen is a production designer and art director working in the industry for over two decades. He's worked on blockbuster films such as Deadpool 2, Star Trek Beyond, Man of Steel, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and 2012. He has worked all over the world, but he calls Vancouver home. Dan is an avid cyclist and is an outdoor enthusiast.
Vakil Khan
Producer | Director | Manager
Vakil Khan is one of the most reliable, charismatic and influential personalities of Bollywood behind the scenes. His relationships with many celebrities, such as AR Murugadoss, Jagan Shakti, Sajid Samji, Remo D’souza, Suniel Shetty, Arjun Rampal, Shaan and Himesh Reshammiya make sure that their work is driven towards glory. As such, he has been the CEO of Remo D'souza Entertainment, Director of Force 5 Entertainment and he is currently the Director of God Bless Entertainment. Vakil Khan is a director and a producer in his own right, having worked on films such as Bad Boy and Death of Amar as well as produced the most widely watched Ad Films and Music Videos associated with Shah Rukh Khan, T-Series and Zee Music.
Producer | Writer | Director
Jonathan Whittaker
Jonathan Whittaker is a partner and founding member of ManInHat, a New York based production company. With over 15 years of experience in the film industry, having produced, directed, edited and lensed short films, music videos, live concerts, commercials, TV shows, feature docs and 3D specials. When he is not on set or in an edit you can usually find him at the head of a lecture hall sharing his thoughts on the art of cinematography and directing. In addition to being a resident professor at The New York Film Academy he has also given guest lectures all over the globe.
Omar Qureshi
Content Creator | Writer | Movie Expert & Critic
Omar Qureshi is one of the biggest names in Media and Entertainment with a career as an Editor-in-Chief spanning over two decades. He’s been a Media boss man and movie critique across every major medium - Print (Editor - Stardust / Filmfare online / Times Group); Television (Zoom TV); Digital (Indiatimes). He was also on the jury of the Stardust Academy (along with Yash Chopra, Raj Kumar Santoshi and other industry stalwarts) - that launched mega talent into the world of movies and television.
He’s a pioneer in digital media and a leader in the Entertainment and Movies space. He’s been on prestigious speaking panels at the United Nations - Alliance of Civilizations Global Forum and Harvard Business school.
Crew
Gurmeet Kapoor
Writer | Entrepreneur
Gurmeet, one of our Lab Directors, was born with business in his blood. Besides his expertise in Business, with a Bachelor’s in Management, Gurmeet’s passion lies in the art of writing and filmmaking, Kreating since he was 16. He particularly enjoys his social sciences; history, psychology, and philosophy, making sure to add just a touch of them to his screenplays. In his free time, he likes to read, watch movies, and he is a die-hard Manchester United fan.
Maxwell Boateng
Actor | Writer | Comedian
Maxwell Boateng has been working in the entertainment industry for over 10 years. As an Actor he has been featured in television shows such as Altered Carbon, Psych, Legends of Tomorrow, Chasing Lines- multiple award winning short film and many more. He was a Producer on Vice Media's TV series 'Mister Tachyon'. A comedic writer and veteran of the standup & improversation stage. This Secondcity Alumni has a passionate eye for talent and is currently working on a culturally diverse comedic showcase.
Sound Engineer
Alexander Polyakov
Alexander is a sound engineer experienced in music production and location sound. Having worked with brands such as Esquire, GQ, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Arabian Business and TimeOut, he has gained valuable industry insight and knowledge that is second to none. He also produces music in a diverse range of genres such as future garage, ambient, drum & bass, techno and house. His productions have been released on renowned labels such as The Games We Play, Insight Music, Abstrasension Records, Modular Carnage Recordings, Fragmented Recordings, Set About and he has also been released on all three physical platforms, namely; vinyl, CD and tape cassette.