As with the little pug that ran in the TV commercial to capture hearts, Piyush Pandey, creative adman extraordinaire transformed a world of borrowed Western idioms into ad campaigns couched in the language of the Indian streets that made him a legend of the backroom of the world of advertising
The march of time has its inexorable way of taking away from our midst people who in their lifetime may have brought joy and happiness into the lives of so many with the beauty of creativity. They leave the world they depart with fond memories of their work that will bring a smile to those who relished what they achieved in the series of small things they did that was so different from the humdrum of their quotidian life.
As with the little pug that ran in the TV commercial to capture hearts, Piyush Pandey, creative adman extraordinaire transformed a world of borrowed Western idioms into ad campaigns couched in the language of the Indian streets that made him a legend of the backroom of the world of advertising.
Pandey’s campaigns brought the native idiom to life, be it in lauding the sticky Fevicol adhesive or giving life to the sweetness of Cadbury’s even in adults who he convinced into not feeling guilty about consuming chocolates while celebrating its taste. He also wrote the lilting lines of the patriotic song — ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’ — for the national integration campaign that would still touch the soul with its lyrics and its imagery.
The message is greater than the messenger is what Pandey proved even as he played a role in Narendra Modi’s campaign pitch with famous punchlines even if he was an apolitical influencer who may not have fully realised the gravity of his contribution. Rarely would the demise of a person not working in the limelight in spectacular settings that the public gets to see have drawn such genuine feeling for the void he leaves in the creative world of art, wordplay and imagery.
Satish Shah was one who could have the audience laughing at his very entrance in a cinema scene, so emblematic was he of the power of humour. He lightened the lives of so many even as he displayed depth of performances in films and television in his dramatic roles too while all the time being a consummate professional known for his sharp wit and his avuncular demeanour. Characters like him will live on in the memory banks of people for being the medium for laughter, the best medicine.
