Bangalore/Mumbai, 04th June, 2025: In a bold and emotionally resonant campaign for World No Tobacco Day, Policybazaar launched a gripping new short film. Conceptualised by the integrated creative & digital agency, Social Panga, the film goes beyond asking smokers to quit – it compels them to confront what comes to be when they don’t.

Opening on a deceptively simple question about regrets, the film progresses with young smokers stepping up to answer. Crafted with intimate stories of smoking creeping into people’s lives and leaving them with regret, the familiarity leaves viewers uncomfortable just as they begin to relate. The film hits them with a gut-punch; these are stories of tobacco smoking ‘victims’. And their ‘regrets’? Merely echoes of chances they no longer have.

“We knew that this was not the place for metaphors or melodrama” says Gaurav Arora, co-founder, Social Panga. “Our creative goal was honesty; to showcase these stories without any artifices. We crafted the grounded, docu-style execution to make the viewer feel as if you’re sitting across from the characters. Most anti-smoking ads focus on what it does to your body, so we decided to shift gears and show what it takes away – time, family, choices.”

In just over 90 seconds, the film delivers a haunting yet human narrative that doesn’t just hit home but lingers in the mind. Through a distribution strategy spanning creator platforms and social media, Policybazaar hopes to reach millions of young Indians who are at the cusp of long-term health problems.