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This article profiles Ryan Shah, a Mumbai-born, Los Angeles–based director known for crafting cinematic music videos for global artists such as Post Malone, French Montana, Guru Randhawa, and Tyla Yaweh. It discusses his emotionally driven visual language shaped by influences like Christopher Nolan, his belief in being “culturally rooted but globally resonant,” and his collaborative process that merges sound, story, and emotion.
When Ryan Shah was a kid growing up in Mumbai, he would sit glued to the screen, completely transported by the worlds of Spider-Man and Mission Impossible. Those films fascinated him and made him aware of cinema’s ability to alter reality, to make two hours feel like a lifetime in another world. Years later, as a director now based between Mumbai and Los Angeles, that early fascination has evolved into a sharp visual language that defines his work across music videos and commercials for artists like Post Malone, French Montana, Guru Randhawa, Tyla Yaweh, and more. His filmmaking is rooted in the same impulse that first drew him in as a child: the pursuit of emotion through image.
As his cinematic sensibilities matured, Ryan found himself captivated by the work of Christopher Nolan; particularly Interstellar and the films that followed. Nolan’s manipulation of time, memory, and emotion revealed to him how visuals could move people in ways that words couldn’t. That discovery shaped his own directorial philosophy: to create emotionally charged, cinematic experiences that blur the boundaries between sound, story, and style. Over time, that philosophy extended beyond film into the kinetic, multi-sensory worlds of music videos and video games — spaces where emotion and image collide most viscerally.
Working across artists as varied as Guru Randhawa and Post Malone, Shah’s process begins with immersion. “Every artist carries a different world with them,” he says. “My job is to step into that world, understand its rhythm, and express it through my own visual language.” His ability to move fluidly between aesthetics while preserving emotional coherence is what gives his work its vibrancu. Whether leaning into Post Malone’s raw cinematic grit or Guru Randhawa’s blend of pop and cultural nostalgia, Ryan's direction always returns to feeling and how a visual can stay with a viewer.
A recurring thread in his work is the idea of being “culturally rooted but globally resonant.” For the director, that balance comes from honesty. “India has such a deep visual language,” he says. “You don’t need to exaggerate it to make it interesting. You just have to show it honestly..” Whether his stories unfold in Mumbai or Los Angeles, they are built on shared human experiences — love, loss, and ambition, themes that cross borders effortlessly.
Directing music videos, Rhan adds, is often misunderstood as a purely visual pursuit. “It’s not about making something look cool; it’s about how it makes you feel.” His process involves close collaboration with cinematographers, stylists, and colourists, while editing remains his most personal space. That attention to cohesion, to every element working in emotional harmony, defines his craft.
Among recent projects that have inspired him, Drake’s First Person Shooter stands out for its blend of 3D and live-action elements; a reminder of how expansive the medium can be. Shah also cites Gibson Hazard as a lasting influence, drawn to the way Hazard combines cinematic ambition with emotional clarity. Looking ahead, he’s eager to collaborate with artists like Hanumankind, Fred Again, and Labrinth — musicians who, like him, thrive on risk and reinvention.
As he continues to shape the visual grammar of contemporary music videos, his approach offers a reminder that storytelling still begins with empathy. Whether he’s working in Mumbai or Los Angeles, with emerging voices or global stars, his focus remains the same — to make the viewer feel like a part of the artist's envisioned world.
Follow Ryan here.
