An Open letter to Ram Madhvani: Director – NEERJA

Dear Ram,

The year was 1994.

We could hear your trademark laugh before you entered the conference room.

No mobiles in those days. No emails. No whatsapp.

Yet bang on time you walked in, straight from the airport in to the HTA Delhi (now JWT) conference room for a PPM. (for the uninitiated, it’s the most important thing to do before making a film…the Pre- production meeting).

The pleasantries over (rather quickly) you waded straight into the script that had been sent to you.

You sat there, you paced the floor, and you detailed each frame, discussing the nuances, with Naveen, Ajoy, Nitin and me.

The understanding of each look.

The tweaking of dialogues that Shahrukh Khan had to mouth.

The emphasis on the tone and style of the music and SFX.

The finicky scribbles about each aspect of the set.

We argued. We drank copious cups of coffee. And we agreed to go ahead and make the now famous HERO PUCH – 2-IN-1 BIKE COMMERCIAL.

STARRING : SHAH RUKH KHAN.

Pankaj Munjal, was and is, the MD of Hero Motors, and the one who was extremely open to innovations and ideas.

He had loved the script we had presented, with Shah Rukh playing a double role. His biggest worry …  “Which ad film producer could do justice to such a tricky script”.

He hadn’t really heard of Ram Madhwani.

After the PPM at the HTA office was another round at the Hero Motors office in Nehru Place.

Ram your guffaws, and pointed notes, made everyone around very comfortable, and as a team we left the Hero office with the client believing that the agency had made the right choice, baby.

The film shot, the first cut was shown to Pankaj Munjal ( and family ).

There was a long silent pause, and then Pankaj began to clap. Everyone around joined in. The applause was resounding. 

It was one of the rarest of rare cases. Where there was not even a minor change was suggested by the client. 

And within a few days the HERO PUCH 2-in-1 ad hit the TV screens on Doordarshan, and some other handpicked channels. 

But then everything wasn’t as hunky-dory as this sounds.

During the shoot our over enthusiastic Client servicing executive Nitin, must have rubbed you up the wrong way.

He may have said or done something really crazy to have riled the calm-Ram, as in the mail I receive a letter from you, mentioning Nitin as ‘persona non grata’.

Strong words and something that shook me.

I called Nitin, got the low down on what happened and called Ram on his direct number. (Remember there were no mobiles then). Ram answered the call, spoke like a thorough gentleman, very calm, composed, and of course lacing the conversation with his shrill laughs.

When you came to present the film, you put your arm around Nitin and said, “how’s my persona-non-grata? And just laughed it off.

All’s fair in Love and War, especially on the sets of an ad film, where tempers are frayed, and deadlines killing.

When I walked into the PVR cinema last night, with my wife and daughter accompanying me, I was nervous.

Strangely nervous, as this was a film made by a friend.

But then knowing you Ram, I shouldn’t have had much to worry about.

The typical “Ram-detailing” drove me crazy with pleasure while the storyline, camerawork, angles, and the direction was gripping and nerve-wracking at times.

The mid-80s was depicted by you to near perfection.

I loved the 2-in-1 music system that Sonam puts on to start singing.

The Sonydyne type Speaker nestled on table at the Bahnot’s home.

The typical adjustable wooden cabinet cum showcase for the simple artifacts at most middle-class Bombay flats.

The FIAT parked in the Society complex.

The HT Bombay office, which I could almost smell.

The typewriter and the Telex machine ( long gone )

The auto rickshaw with the karachi number plate in the by-lanes of Karachi.

The sign boards in the neighbourhood.

The plane’s graphics, seating, and even the emergency exit instruction card.

Even the hairstyle of Neerja’s brother, took me back instantly to 1986.

The fact you got Sonam to play such a powerful role (and that too a biopic) with amazing ease, and match the wonderful histrionics of Shabana.

To introduce a new face of terror ( may be the new Gabbar) Khaleel, and get a stage actor like Jim Sarbh to literally don the skin of the Palestinian terrorist, that many in the audience last night thought he was an “import” from the Middle East , especially brought in to play this role. 

But the connection doesn’t end there.

The radio engineer who lost his life in the hijacking was Meherji Kharas. My wife Nilufer’s cousin. He worked for Pan Am.  He was not supposed to be on duty that day, but stepped in for another colleague, not realizing it would be the last time he would board a plane. The headlines the next day carried the news, and his name in the list threw us all in silent grief.

Ram. The advertising industry has been the nursery for many a talent that has moved from the small screen to Bollywood, and you have added another jewel to its crown.

At Lords they would have clapped gently and said, “Well played, Ole Chap!”, but I think this deserves a raucous, loud, scream.  “Brilliant stuff …..champ”. A chorus that should ring out across the country, saluting Neerja for her bravery, and saluting you for being brave to attempt such a difficult film, and do amazing justice to it.

The first is the toughest. Now the rest will flow more easy.

Cheers

Navroze

Navroze D Dhondy – Founder and Managing Director – Creatigies Communications , was Vice President at HTA( JWT) Delhi when Ram and the HTA team worked closely on the Hero Puch campaign.