We direct light, and sometimes we invent it. Films, photographs and worlds that never happened, made in Lucknow.
Every frame is planned, not random.
Craft over crowd · Intention over noiseUltra Marathon is a documentary by PictureCredit about Lt Col Barsha Rai (retd). A fourth-generation soldier, commissioned into the Army Service Corps in 2010, she ran 160 km from Srinagar to the Kargil War Memorial in Drass, over four days in July 2024, to mark 25 years of Kargil Vijay Diwas and to honour the soldiers who did not come back.
I led the creative direction, shot as part of the camera team, and directed the crew to turn those four days into a 21-minute documentary about what gave the distance meaning. The premise was simple: one runner, four days, 160 kilometres. The film asks why.
She was in Class 7 when the Kargil War began and her father left with his unit. Twenty-five years later she chose to mark it on foot. The film lets the distance earn attention, then gives that attention to the people she ran to remember.
The film begins with the mountains, the flag and the memorial stones, before the run starts. Once you have seen the names, every stretch of road is taking her somewhere specific.
The arrival at Drass is the physical ending. The conversation that follows is the emotional one: what it takes to pursue a goal others call unrealistic, and how many people it took to get her there.
Film: PictureCredit · Led by Ashish Dev (creative direction, documentary direction, camera) with the PictureCredit team
Story, structure and the last word on every cut. One person held the film from the first idea to the last frame.
Two scales: wide frames for what the route asks of a runner, close frames for what it costs. The route map returns between stretches so you always know where she is.
One documentary at the centre, and short cuts around it: her reason for running, the climb at Zojila, who made the run possible. Each leads back to the full film.
In the press. The run was independently covered by India Today / PTI and The Telegraph. Route: Srinagar, Wusan, Sonamarg, Zojila, Matayen, Drass. She was joined in stretches by the Chinar Warriors.
PictureCredit is a film & visual direction studio creating intentional visuals for brands that value depth.
We are a small, focused collective of filmmakers, photographers, designers and visual thinkers. Each project brings together the right minds, not just more people.
Founded by Ashish Dev, who directs, shoots and cuts. We carry a piece from the first idea to the last frame: script, camera, edit, colour, sound, and, when the story needs a world that was never built, AI.
We believe in thoughtful visuals, not visual noise. We take time, ask questions and build with purpose.
The idea, the treatment and the reason it should exist.
Script, casting, locations, crew and a plan for every frame.
Camera, light and direction. On the ground, in the air, or in AI.
Edit, colour, sound, VFX and delivery for every platform.
Ashish Dev also writes. Two books on the quieter things a camera cannot reach. More at @ashishdevv ↗.
Creative strategy and production under one roof, so the film matches the goal.
Tight timelines without lowering the standard.
One film or a full campaign of assets.
Pick only the services the project actually needs.
Fashion, culture, health, schooling, and artists working on their own. We take what we believe in, and finish it properly.
We like ideas that keep a little silence. If yours lives somewhere past the obvious, tell us about it.
The whole universe was one frame.
The rest of the reel is yours.
