Pradeep Guha: The legend I know

2022-06-25 00:30:57 By : Ms. Daisy .

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The writer edited Femina for 12 years. She is the author of critically acclaimed and much-loved biographies on cinema and music greats and the editor of Pradeep Guha: The Legend I Knew. LESS ... MORE

A multi-faceted man needs many voices to share their memories about him. This was the thought behind the compilation of write-ups that would make up the book titled Pradeep Guha: The Legend I Knew.

It was an ambitious project thought up by Jaideep Gandhi, of Another Idea, to list out the peers Guha had worked, known and interacted with across the fields of media, advertising and cinema. Then there was music, sports and his exploratory forays into the world of artificial intelligence, and the fact that he built bridges over each of these various platforms to find partners who shared his zeal for exploring new horizons.

As the lists were drawn, the numbers multiplied. School and college friends were included. The book looked as if it would grow out of hand, a veritable door stopper, too heavy for even the coffee table. But a man (or woman) is known by the intentions behind a relationship. At final count, the responses that came in from far and wide, totalled 118.

Arranged alphabetically, and colour coded in three pastel colours to differentiate to the discerning eye, the advertising leaders from the media heads, and those among the stars and people from his younger days who counted only as friends, the book holds a brief introduction to each contributor and a page or two of the story shared, with photos to match.

The book was launched at a celebratory event in Mumbai on the eve of June 6, which would have been Pradeep Guha’s first step into the 70s. The invitee list centred around the contributors to the book and some of his team members from the Times of India Response department.

Ad head honchos like Sam Balsara, Piyush Pandey, Mohammad Khan, Ramesh Narayan attended, while media was represented by his erstwhile colleagues like Dina Vakil, Ayaz Memon, Bachi Karkaria, Sidharth Bhatia and Jaideep Bose. Sunil Gavaskar, Nawaz Singhania, Vijay Darda, were among the other prominent guests.

The launch itself was a simple unveiling by Papia Guha and Sanket Guha of an image of the book cover set up on an easel, and was preceded by ad veteran Piyush Pandey and Lara Dutta engaging in a freewheeling, light-hearted conversation that shared some little-known stories from their personal box of memories.

Between the pages of the book are a lifetime of memories; of a man who from his school days, was not just a good student, but showed an aptitude for innovation in his pranks, and an interest in books, music and films.

As his close friend John D’Souza writes, Guha adopted Edward de Bono as his unofficial guru while in college. Much of his ability to listen to others, and then place his finger at the centre of the solution to a problem, was possibly thanks to his putting on Mr Bono’s hat whenever he needed it.

The book reveals through the eyes of others, Guha’s evolution into a mastermind of advertising, and an organiser par excellence of events, however small or big. His eye for detail is something everyone who has shared a memory has written about; often with examples. A talent which gave him the ability to pull off a party, an awards show or contest with the same aplomb.

If there are endless references to the Bombay Times parties and the Filmfare shows, or the fact that his tenure as event director brought for India two Miss Universe and four Miss World crowns, besides others, it is because he grew these events into unforgettable ones, adding a personal touch to ensure guests and other stakeholders invested in his vision.

If film star Rekha remembers that Guha would go the extra mile to make his star guests feel special, like sending her remuneration for the Filmfare performance along with a chocolate cake, Farhat Jamal of the Taj group notes how, despite their friendship, Guha never played favourites and shared events between the Taj group and their main rivals, the Oberoi group.

Guha’s softly persuasive ways, his leadership qualities and his path-breaking work in taking Indian advertising to international levels are other aspects that echo in the memories penned by contributors as diverse as Raymond So, ex-AFFA chairman to Mukesh Ambani.

Guha’s humane approach to his colleagues and associates and his twinkling eyes are other recurring themes in the book. Brought out as a limited edition, the book, Pradeep Guha: The Legend I Knew, was distributed to its contributors, and is not priced or available for sale.

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Views expressed above are the author's own.

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