Think of the iconic ads of Fevicol, ones that established a “mazboot jod” with its audience, which remains strong decades later. Or Ranbir Kapoor “singing” Raag Malhar in a film for Asian Paints Ultima. The Flipkart sari ad, the Ambuja elephant film, the M-Seal campaign, and many, many more. We are, of course, talking of a staggering tally of 700-plus commercials that have come from the heart, brain and mind of ad genius Prasoon Pandey.
Pandey, 65, who has held the enviable position of being one of India’s foremost names in advertising for many decades, was in Calcutta recently for a Hall of Fame felicitation by the Advertising Club of Calcutta as part of its annual awards.
With almost every award — national and global — that there is in this field on his mantelpiece, Prasoon is the only Asian, along with his late older brother, the iconic Piyush Pandey, to win the Lion of St Mark, the highest lifetime achievement award presented at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Ranbir Kapoor in the Asian Paints Ultima ad
Piyush passed away last October and the loss felt raw and palpable as we spoke to Prasoon, who got emotional as he remembered his brother. The respectful thing was to let it be, unless he spoke about Piyush himself. Over an hour at The Park, t2oS peeked into the mind of Prasoon Pandey, coming away enriched from the conversation. Excerpts.
You are no stranger to awards and you have received many prestigious ones over the last few decades. What does being honoured by the Advertising Club of Calcutta mean to you?
It always feels fantastic to get a pat on your back. Even when I don’t get an award, just someone watching a commercial and asking: “Who made that?” is exhilarating. That is what keeps all creative guys going. It is not about money or anything... it is the high of doing something that people actually enjoy. It keeps the juices flowing.
You have often said that even after so many years, you still get edgy before every project. Is that nervous energy that also keeps you going?
Even after 700 commercials, the next commercial is equally important for me. That is because in the creative field, we are only as good as our last piece of work. You cannot be sitting on your laurels. And I am always nervous: “I feel kuch toh gadbad hoga iss baar!”
I like going to the set beforehand and getting a feel of it. If the set is a house, then I want to sit on the sofa, on the table, on the chair, because that is how I know what to tell the actors when they arrive. The idea for me and for them is not to treat it as a set. It has to be looked at as one’s own space, there has to be respect. As far as getting edgy is concerned, the day I stop getting nervous, I will tell myself it is time to quit.
I would perhaps have more bravado if I were doing something for myself. But there is always someone who is trusting me with a job to be done. Money has been put into it and so I better deliver. I once refused to take a very expensive job because there were only 20 days left for the shoot and it involved a celebrity. I told them: “You are coming to me now?! I need 10-15 days just to think about the campaign and the shoot, then I will brief my team and then they will set it up. That definitely can’t happen in 20 days!” I also told them: “If this much money was my own money, I would give it more thinking time.”
Prasoon Pandey (left) with brother Piyush Pandey
But work hardly brings you to Calcutta, does it?
Not really. But Calcutta has a very special place in my life because my wife Gayatri lived here. I proposed to her in the flower market section at New Market. I didn’t have money to buy a bouquet. So I took her there and said: “Phool udhar dekh lo aur mera proposal munh zubaani sunlo!” And, of course, Piyush’s (Pandey, brother) first job was in Calcutta (as a professional tea taster). But I haven’t got to come here as often as I would have liked to.
The food could be an attraction, perhaps?
Of course! In Bombay, we are constantly looking for the poor man’s Calcutta! I have a lot of Bengali friends there who tell me: “Don’t go to any restaurant... come to my place for Bengali food!” And, of course, Gayatri cooks a little bit. But the food in Calcutta is in some other zone in itself. Kosha mangsho is a perennial favourite. I have my son and daughter-in-law here with me and we plan to have some during our time here. A visit to Tangra is on the cards. Someone told me you will get Chinatown food in other places too. I was like: “What are you saying?! Half the taste comes from the vibe at Tangra!” When Flurys opened in Bombay, my wife said: “Listen, we have to drive down to Flurys.” I said: “Of course I know we will have to drive down to Flurys!”
Does the real gratification for a creative personality like you come from the process itself?
For sure. The most satisfying part is when you are at airports on the way back from abroad and someone at customs will typically ask you what you do. When I say advertising, they want to know what kind of ads I have made. I mention Fevicol and they get very excited! They also come up with ideas of their own, some of which are really fantastic.
The Lion of St Mark was a special award. I always tell people that it is fantastic if you win awards, but if you don’t, then don’t worry. I have been on many a jury myself and winning depends on various factors and dynamics. If you did not win, it does not mean that you didn’t make a good film. That answer will come from within and from the people for whom you made the film.
Some of my best work never won, because nobody would understand it abroad. On the other hand, there was a film I directed for Fevicol called ‘Pakde rehna chhodna nahin’ which I thought I could have done better with, but it won at Cannes!
The Fevicol Bus ad by Prasoon Pandey
Besides Fevicol, which other work of yours does the audience recall the most?
A lot of work for Perfetti, for Asian Paints. I did some work for SBI Life 30 years ago but people still talk to me about it. There is the ‘One black coffee’ commercial for Ericsson phones, the Fevicol bus ad...
Often clients say: “Aisi film banao jo viral ho jaaye”. But who knows what will work?! You just have to do your work honestly. If it touches some part of the audience, it will definitely go viral. I keep seeing old commercials of Fevicol — made 16-17 years ago — coming back. I met an actor yesterday who told me his first ad film was with me for Anchor White Toothpaste, and that it still keeps coming up on social media. For people to dig out old ads and repost them decades later is so satisfying.
There is an Asian Paints film that I did with Ranbir Kapoor where he sings Raag Malhar. The singer who did the track now does a lot of concerts and gets requests from the audience to sing that song. It is a lovely feeling.
We still remember ad jingles from the 1980s and ’90s, they are kind of built into our psyche. But we hardly remember any from the recent past. Is it because clients today don’t want to build brands but just capture eyeballs in the moment?
That is true. Everybody is in a hurry. Modern business has come under pressure of performing in quarters. There are shareholders who judge the performance of marketing directors in terms of each quarter. Hardly anyone thinks long-term now... they don’t think about where a brand will be in five or seven years.
People are also not working with the same company for 12-13 years any longer. So, they are in a personal hurry too. The model has changed and that is why newer brands are coming and going. They are not staying, there is no long-term plan and I feel society is also changing.
Does that attitude interfere with you as a creative force?
It depends. I have got some incredible clients who not only give me room to fly, but also contribute to my work. They are genuinely excited and collaborative. They pitch in with ideas themselves. Most of them are my friends and it is easy for me to tell them: “Aisa nahin karte hain, it will destroy the brand”. The battle is won if everyone is together and has the same dream.
Is there any recent work by others that has impressed you?
We have started an award in Piyush’s memory... it is called the Piyush Pandey Polaris Award. We gave it to a film called ‘Band Baja Bitiya’ from Goel TMT. It is not just a great film, but one which represents great thinking from the client’s point of view. How much can one talk about TMT bars? But this client shifted the perspective from outer strength to inner strength. That, for me, is a long-term move and something that will make people remember the ad.
Prasoon with sister Ila Arun
Are there any creative talents in the Indian advertising world now that you feel are doing some great work?
Lots of people are doing great work. There is Shriram (Iyer, co-founder of ZeroFifty Media Works) who did all the Dream11 ads. It was about treating cricketers not as stars but as friends. Tilt and Boom are very good ad agencies.
Besides being chaotic and crowded, what was it like growing up as the youngest in a family of nine siblings in Jaipur?
It was fantastic and magical! My parents, especially my mother, encouraged all of us to pursue a hobby from a young age. Our father used to recite well, he was very interested in poetry. He would make us practise for school recitations. I am the youngest but I would be a part of all the storytelling sessions that my parents would do with my seven sisters. She would read a lot, and so would my sisters. My mother’s favourite was translated Bengali literature. She would talk to us about the strength of the female characters in whatever she read. So even as a kid, I understood that I had to understand characterisation, and not just the story.
The atmosphere at home was very inspiring — one sister would be writing, one painting and another doing theatre... it was almost like an art school at home.
Your first earning gig was in your pre-teens. What was that like?
Class VIII onwards, I was involved in professional stage work.By the time I was in Class XI, I had designed the sets for a light-and-sound show for the Desert Festival in Jaisalmer. It was constructed in Jaipur, dismantled and taken to Jaisalmer, where it was re-erected on sand dunes over an area of half a kilometre. When I was in Class IX, I acted in a comedy show on Doordarshan. I basically did a lot of things pretty early on in life.
There was a feature film that you were attached to direct. What is the status now?
It keeps getting announced! But feature films are a different beast. Discussions can happen without reaching a conclusion. A lot of people are involved. Also, if I can be so nervous doing a commercial, just imagine how nervous I would be on a feature film! The feature film in question is now getting into a rewrite because I feel there is a lot in it which is missing. Making it is definitely on the horizon.
Your sister Ila Arun has been a prolific artiste for decades. Which among her work is your favourite?
All of it! According to me, the best thing that she wrote and sang was Dilli sheher mein. It represents women empowerment before it came into vogue. The words are truly powerful.
My favourite ad by Prasoon Pandey is... Tell t2@abp.in