Devika bhojwani biography of williams
Play it again, Sam
Adman, actor, theatre guru — many faces of Alyque Padamsee
Padamsee died in Mumbai on Saturday morning at the age of 90.
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Adman-turned-filmmaker R Balki says “Padamsee brought a lot of credibilities” to the world of advertising. “He achieved this not only through his engagement with other forms of art but also with the kind of work he did, insights he brought into his work, and how he managed his clientele.”
Balki cites the campaign Padamsee planned almost 45 years ago for Surf when it was taking on the more popular and cheaper Nirma. “Padamsee said, ‘Look, the Indian audience isn’t stupid. They are aware that if something is more expensive, it’s because of its superior quality.’ This, he translated into the ad with a simple yet iconic campaign where the white-saree-clad Lalitaji spoke about the difference between ‘sasti cheez and achhi cheez’,” recalls Balki.
Padamsee was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2000.
Padamsee, who studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, made his first stage appearance at age 7 with The Merchant of Venice. During his long theatre career, he directed nearly 70 plays, including several works of Shakespeare, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Ismat Chughtai and Vijay Tendulkar.
Actor-singer Devika Bhojwani, who played Virgin Mary in his 1974 production Jesus Christ Superstar and had the distinction of reprising her role when he revived it in 2015, describes him as “a tyrant during rehearsals” but a thespian par excellence with “amazing control over stagecraft”.
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“We feared him but had deep respect for his wisdom and his techniques regarding how to project ourselves and our voice on the stage,” she says, adding that she believes Padamsee could have ben a “wonderful actor” but he enjoyed direction more.
Ramu Ramanathan, playwright and editor of PrintWeek India, says Padamsee was a tireless flagbearer of communal harmony. “Post 1992-93, he attended th .