Running Men
Siddhant Lahiri
The modern man is a man in transition. A man stuck between two different world orders.
He is dealing with certain legacy codes, which he has been handed by his culture, his society, and his previous generation: what his role is in a social and familial setting, what his responsibilities are. Of being a protector and a provider. The everyday Schwarzenegger.
He is also navigating his world to understand and adopt some the new-age codes about his identity and social behaviour – balancing his desires with what the world tells him he must be, his freedom to be vulnerable, being a partner to women rather than a protector, and comfort with letting others steer him (at work and at home). An everyday rom-com hero like Glen Powell.
In 1987, there was a movie called RUNNING MAN. It starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 2025, there is a remake of RUNNING MAN. It stars Glen Powell. Same name. Same story. Same movie. But a wildly different leading man at the centre
This is a study of masculinity and it’s depiction seen through an analysis of action films.
Siddhant Lahiri
Siddhant is the Head of Strategy at 72&Sunny, Singapore. He is a Senior Strategist with 17 years of experience across brands, categories, agencies, and regions. In his career, he has won 26 strategy awards like the Effies across APAC, Singapore, India and Malaysia; WARC prize for Asian Strategy, and the AMES. He has frequently served on the juries of a number of international award bodies, and his essays have been published in multiple industry forums. In 2023, he was selected as Campaign Asia’s 40 Under 40. In his free time, he is a playwright and theatre director.