In a sunlit room atop a nondescript building in Sembawang, a larger-than-life mural of Rajinikanth watches over the workspace of Vindsanity, a fast-rising media company.
“He’s the godfather,” said Arvind Kumar, 29, founder of Vindsanity. “Everything I make, every story I tell, somehow traces back to him. I still remember how I felt when I first watched Padayappa. That feeling is my compass.”
Nearly a decade ago, Vindsanity was just a name scribbled in a college notebook at Republic Polytechnic — a vague dream sparked by hunger and ambition. Four years later, Arvind turned that dream into a full-time venture. Today, Vindsanity commands nearly 100,000 followers across social platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
But Vindsanity’s rise wasn’t fueled by resources. Despite studying business at Singapore Management University, Arvind’s heart was behind the camera. “People looked at me like, ‘You don’t even know how to use a camera.’ And they weren’t wrong. But I knew I could learn.”
His first encounter with cinema was an unexpected one. As a child, running up and down a staircase, he saw actor Kamal Haasan emerge from a car during a film promotion event. The actor paused, ruffled his hair, and said “hi.” “It was all of three seconds,” Arvind recalled. “But it was enough. That was cinema, touching me.”
Two years ago, fate brought him face-to-face with Kamal again, this time at an Indian 2 press event, now as a media peer. “I didn’t get to talk to him. But just being there was enough. That staircase kid had made it into the room.”
If Kamal lit the first spark, Rajinikanth cast the longer shadow. “He walks into a frame, and your spine straightens. I’ve been chasing that energy ever since.”
The name Vindsanity blends alias, brand, and philosophy. “It’s the madness that drives us. The belief that even in a small place, you can make something crazy,” he said.
That belief has been tested through dry months, ghosted collaborations and unpaid shoots. “You start with a camera you don’t own, doing shoots no one asked for. And you ask yourself, ‘Why am I doing this?’ The answer was always the same – because it’s who I am.”
Now, the path has company. Vindsanity’s team has grown to six. “Everyone came in for the love of it first,” Arvind said. “The foundation was passion, and the skills followed.”
“We’re also finally at a place where we can sustain ourselves through our work,” Arvind shared. “Clients reach out for marketing campaigns, social media content, branding videos, you name it. It took years, but we’re earning through the craft we love.”
Vindsanity’s social media portfolio features prominent clients, including 12 Cupcakes and Erode Amman Mess, as well as collaborations with Vasantham and MediaCorp, which help them reach younger audiences in Singapore and Malaysia. While exact figures remain undisclosed, Arvind said that 2024 was their most successful year yet, and they’re aiming to double that growth by the end of this year.
For Neshma Thamil, 25, who handles client partnerships, staying at Vindsanity after university was a no-brainer. “I get to work with my closest friends on projects that fuel my creativity. That kind of fulfilment? You can’t put a price on it.”
Illustrator Abirahmi d/o Jaysankar, 25, sees Vindsanity as part of a cultural shift. “It’s exciting to be part of this wave of South Asian creators finally being recognised in Singapore. There’s a momentum that feels long overdue.”
Arvind said his aspiration now is to pay it forward. To inspire more Indians in Singapore and across the region to pursue media.
“For too long, we’ve seen creativity as a side hustle. I want to show it doesn’t have to be.”
In his free time, Arvind buries himself in movies, YouTube tutorials on camera techniques, and filmmaking documentaries. He watches Rajinikanth’s speeches from film audio launches on repeat. “They inspire me,” he said. “One day, I want to be the director Rajini playfully teases onstage. That’s the dream.”
It sounds improbable, but so was building a media company with no team and no roadmap.
“Sometimes I still feel like that kid on the staircase,” Arvind said. “Running, a little lost, a little excited, waiting for cinema to notice me again.”
