Alyque padamsee biography of william
Remembering Alyque Padamsee: India's genius adman and storyteller
Back in the 1970s, a bar in South Mumbai called Slip Disc, which the foreign press had dubbed “the first authentic discotheque east of Suez”, was a magnet for Mumbai’s creative kind — musicians, artists and, of course, adwallahs. Led Zeppelin had an impromptu concert there once. Padamsee would often visit with friends and family to have a pint or four.
Every time the Indian rock band Atomic Forestwas scheduled to play at the disco, Padamsee would be there front and centre to watch his friend and lead singer Madhukar Dhas. Padamsee cast Dhas as Jesus in his 1974 production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
One of my first interactions with Padamsee, though, came at a rather distressing time. It was just after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Padamsee had mass-forwarded a text message asking people to join candlelight vigil. One about a VIP section march caught my attention and Padamsee and I had, over text messages, a short but civil argument.
At the time, I had only heard of the legendary adman as the man who created iconic Indian campaigns like the Liril ad, a tune that many hummed in the shower.
Then I heard he was called “God”. A name, according to ad lore, he acquired thanks to another advertising great Mohammed Khan. When asked why he was waiting outside Padamsee's office, like other regular folks, Khan is said to have replied: "Even Mohammed has to wait for God."
Over the years, I reached out to Padamsee several times for one story or another, but many had nothing to do with advertising.
However, what always left an impression on me was his manner
‘Alyque Padamsee was a genuine dude’
Besides helming the agency he built for decades, Padamsee—who made his theatre debut at age seven in Shakespeare’s ‘Merchant of Venice’ directed by his eldest brother Sultan Bobby Padamsee—went on to directed several lavishly-mounted drama productions including ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, ‘Evita’ and ‘Tughlaq’. Awarded the Padma Shri in 2000 for his contribution to the arts and later the Sangeet Natak Akademiaward, he leaves a legacy that has prompted Twitter farewells from Prime Minister Narendra Modiwho acknowledged the legend as a “wonderful communicator”, President Ram Nath Kovindto various actors, including Manisha Koirala.
“He was unwell and ailing for a while and passed away at 5.30am at Reliance Foundation Hospital,” said daughter Raell Padamsee’s team in an official statement. He will be cremated in Worli at 11am on Sunday.
“Flair, flamboyance and swagger” is what Padamsee brought to the world of advertising, says Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and chief creative officer, Ogilvy South Asia, who entered the ad industry at a time when Padamsee was at the top. “Interactions in my formative years were minimal but he was always complimentary of my work,” says Pandey. “He showed no signs of ageing in his demeanour," says Pandey, adding that there was a 27-year age gap between them. “He played 90 years and he played them well,” he says about the “rockstar”.
Adman and playwright Rahul DaCunha says he will remember Padamsee as a genuine dude. “The world won’t be able to create someone like that again because the world has
Alyque Padamsee dies at 90: Revisiting some memorable plays by the theater veteran
ALSO READ | Ad-filmmaker, theatre doyen and actor Alyque Padamsee passes away at 90
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He made his stage debut when he was all of seven years old in Merchant of Venice, a William Shakespeare play that was directed by his eldest brother Sultan Bobby Padamsee.
A few years later, at the age of 23, Padamsee directed his first ever play — Shakespeare’s Taming of The Shrew. He went on to direct five more Shakespeare plays after this.
In 1974, Padamsee staged his version of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s path-breaking rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar in Mumbai. Padamsee’s Jesus Christ Superstar was the first major musical to be staged in India. It ran uninterrupted for more than a year.
ALSO READ | Alyque Padamsee passes away — A look back at his journey
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The play highlighted the way we transition from one period to another. It starts with Roman costumes and Biblical robes and by the final Act, actors are seen in regular t-shirts and denim pants. What is interesting is, Padamsee’s Jesus Christ Superstar helped him transition from one phase to the other; it was after this record-breaking play that he realised that the way to reach out to a larger audience is through musicals.
Two years later Padamsee directed and came up with his second musical, Man Of La Mancha, a semi-classical musical. Even if it didn’t break the records of Jesus Christ Superstar, or go anywhere near it, it was considered a “modest success”.
In January 1982, Padamsee’s theatre group presented Evita with Sharon Prabhakar playing the role of Evita Perón, the wife of former Argentine President and dictator Juan Perón. In what was a rock opera on the Argentinian first lady, it left the Indian audience completely dazzled.
Known to translate and tweak Girish Karnad’s Broken Images and ma Mumbai: Ad Guru Alyque Padamsee, regarded as the Father of modern Indian advertising and also known for his role as Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the film Gandhi, died today at the age of 90. Padamsee founded Lintas, one of the top advertising agencies in the country. He was the man who gave us iconic ads like Liril with the girl in the waterfall, Hamara Bajaj, the Kamasutra couple and many such memorable commercials. He was also the brain behind several iconic Indian ad campaigns including Lalitaji for Surf, Cherry Charlie for Cherry Blossom Shoe Polish and the MRF muscle man. He was awarded with Padmashree in 2000 and was named “Advertising Man of the Century” by The Advertising Club in Mumbai. He made his stage debut at the age of 7 in Merchant of Venice, a William Shakespeare play, directed by his brother Bobby Padamsee. The first play that he directed was Taming of The Shrew. Padamsee lived a full life as he himself said, falling in love with everything. In a 2016 interview he said,“Life should be full of joy, and I’m a great believer in the saying every cloud has a silver lining’. Even if you’re down in the dumps, and a tragedy or a big problem arises, the sun is waiting to peek out. Most young people today have never learned that. You must get involved in life, to not let a single minute go without thinking of something exciting, whether that’s your girlfriend/ boyfriend, or even a big exam. “The attitude should be wow, what a challenge’, and not what a problem’. The word problem’ should be banished from the dictionary. The only antidote to anxiety is action, together they make the three As.” Tags:Ad Guru Alyque PadamseeAd Guru Alyque Padamsee passes away at 90Advertising Man of the CenturyBobby PadamseeFather of modern Indian advertisingfilm GandhiMuhammad Ali Jinnah