‘When execution comes before strategy, you are a courting disaster.’

‘My assets take the elevator every day at 5 o’clock.’

‘Anything you imagine can be achieved.’

‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.’ – 15

‘Determination evaporates without stamina, staying power.’ 32

‘Reaction to distress can be a powerful motivating force.’ 35

‘It takes fire not only to make steel but to make steam as well.’

‘Simile allows the imagination to soar. Statement brings it to earth with a thud.’ 38

‘To me, great communication is when there is fusion between the word and the picture.’ 42

‘A picture may speak a thousand words. But a symbol speaks a myriad languages.’ 42

‘The creative artist is endowed with a middle brain. Where a fusion between logic and emotion occurs.’ 48

‘When in doubt, go back to your roots.’ 50

‘I’ve always believed that a creative craftsman must understand technology. I dont think it’s enough for a theatre director to direct actors. He must be able to direct the set designer, the lighting man, the make up specialist, the music director, the costume designer, everybody associated with the production of the play. He must know his craft inside out. When I dramatise a scene from a play, I must not only dream the impossible, but I must also know how to make it work on stage.’ 55

In my production of Marat/Sade, I visualised the guillotine chopping an actors head off in full view of the audience. At the back of my mind, I knew this effect could be achieved because I had studied magic and misdirection. The scene was so realistic that the late Pravin Joshi, the Gujarati stage’s most outstanding director, told me he leaped out of his seat thinking a genuine accident had occured when he saw the severed head lying on the floor.’ 55

‘We recognise great art by its commercial value. Why doesnt this apply to other arts like poetry and theatre?’ 56

‘Every human being needs to belong, to be a part of the whole.’ 58

‘But it wasnt Bobby’s looks so much as his voice that intimidated you. When he spoke, you had no doubt that you were in the presence of a man who has a tremendous charisma.’ 59

‘Candy who has an open face with very warm eyes. She’s one of the kindest human beings in the world and has become the mother figure for all her relatives in the USA.’ 60

‘When we were young, the lift at Kulsum terrace used to invariably overshoot the fourth floor landing and go up a further six inches or so. This used to terrify the b’jesus out of us kids.’ 61

‘Do you ever really leave your past behind.’ 64

‘My brother Chotu and I were enrolled in the Cathedral school, which even today is one of Bombay’s finest educational institutions. I was in the class of 1947. The cusp of Independence. And fifty years later, when India celebrated its golden jubilee, our class got together for our own golden jubilee.’ 66

‘From the age of two, we learnt to live without mummy, except on weekends. And we would look forward to the weekends because it usually meant an evening at the movies. At that time, the Metro cinema was the place to go. The Padamsee family would book the entire ‘A’ row in the stalls. Not the balcony mind you.’ 68

Like her children, my mother was very influenced by the movies. And since we owned a furniture shop, she ordered a huge horseshoe table, built like something out of a historical movie she’s seen. It was large enough to accommodate the ten of us in addition to the guests that we invariably had over for dinner. We prided ourselves on being the Knights of the Horseshoe Table!’ 68

the drawing room is also the historic site of the birth of the theatre group of Bombay. Bobby had his first rehearsals here. And after he passed on, I, his brother who was ten years younger, had my rehearsals at KT. Later on my brother Bubbles and my sister Candy rehearsed in the very same place. And in more recent times, the next generation has carried on the tradition. My daughter, Raell, has her rehearsals in this same drawing room. And one day, I hope my second daughter Shazahn and my son Quasar will meet with their actors here. And will continue the tradition that Bobby stated in 1941.’ 69

‘I grew up in this atmosphere of being surrounded by people I knew and I loved. Good vibes are good for creative growth.’ 71

‘I’m also happy to say that my own separate families are now a kind of big ‘joint family’. Raell, who’s my daughter from my first wife, Pearl; Ranjit, Pearl’s son from her first husband; Quasar, my son from Dolly; and Shazahn, Sharon’s and my daughter… today can eat together at the same table, go to the theatre together and laugh and joke together. I guess you can say I’m a very lucky man.’ 71

‘It’s surprising how just putting your arm around someone and saying, ‘You’re a wonderful person’, can mean so much. It’s not that i didnt want to do it. Mentally I was doing it, but I was not doing it physically. And this is something I learnt. You have to show affection. Not just feel it.’ 72

‘As the Creative Head of Lintas, I was the person who demanded a lot, and demanded that the work be disciplined. I was far too work-oriented and not people oriented. But when I took over as Managing Director, I realised that people expected the MD to be a father figure and a much kinder, gentler person. I’m eternally grateful to Gerson because I absorbed a lot of this fatherliness from him.’ 74

‘So when I was in Lintas, if people wanted to see the ‘boss’, the door to my cabin was always open. They were always free to walk into my office and say, ‘Could i have half an hour or so of your time? I want some advice on my career.’ So much so that my secretary used to complain, ‘But AP, you havent got a minute to see your clients. Where are you going to fir this guy into your schedule? I’d reply, ‘No, no. It’s alright. I’ll postpone that meeting. If one of my people wants to see me, send them in.’ 78

‘The greatest advertising award of all is to have your brands live on after you.’ 78

‘If you want to be a good father, you’ve got to rethink your priorities and look at your child as a work in progress. This can be the most rewarding investment of your life.’ 79

‘When fate kicks you below the belt, you’ve got to fashion yourself a groin guard. You’ve got to get over the ego bruise and make a comeback.’ 80

‘It was undoubtedly Jerry who gave the Padamsee family its macabre sense of humour.’ 81

‘Tough times breed togetherness. The secret is to avoid whining.’ 83

‘Death is a humbling experience. it reaches in and twists your innards, you are never quite the same again.’ 84

‘To the best of my knowledge, it is the only play I have done that lost money (Bed Room). However, I am glad I did it. It taught me more than most of my successes. A great idea doesnt in itself make a great play. A brilliant concept dies without a brilliant execution. This is one of the few plays I would like to redo as a film.’ 86

‘The consumer listens logically, but acts emotionally.’ 88

‘Clever copy is not the way to a person’s stomach. Mouthwatering photographs are.’ 89

‘When you make a fool of yourself. Only your sense of humour can save you from drowning in self pity. 97

‘You need to understand the difference between reproducing reality and capturing the magic moment.’ (AP in praise of Madhu Gadkari) 100

‘The big idea is the one that inflames your emotions. But dont jump at it. If it still excites you after seven says, you’ve got a winner. (AP on conceptualising the opening ceremony for the Asian Track & Field Games) ‘ 101

‘Turning fantasy into reality. That’s what theatre and advertising are all about.’ 102

‘Fear of failure is a great motivator, it acts like an electric cattle prod. It galvanises you into action.’ 103

‘Sure, I enjoy success. But success is a bland meal, if it lacks a pinch of controversy.’ 103

‘The adrenalin of the deadline is like an energy pill.’ 107

‘You’ve got to have stars in your eyes before you reach for them in the sky.’ 110

‘A crisis can either panic you or focus you. The choice is yours.’ 117

‘Praise from a professional is the headiest wine of all.’ (AP on Harold Prince praising him for his performance in Gandhi)

‘Unless you can emotionally convince your audience, all they’ll do is nod with their heads but not with their hearts.’ 125

‘A professional does his homework. An amateur waits for inspiration.’ (AP on Sir Richard Attenborough) 137

‘God is in details. Pre production meetings are the stepping stones to success.’ 141

‘I asked Attenborough, ‘Richard you cast me as Jinnah when you only had met me at a cocktail party. But how did you know that i would be right for the part?’ He replied, ‘You know, Aleek, I have a 6th sense about these things. I meet someone and “click” it goes. I know at once that this is the person who’s perfect. It was your personality that convinced me that you were right for the part.’ 132

‘Unless you can emotionally convince your audience, all they’ll do is nod with their heads but not with their hearts.’ 125

‘I was introduced to Jesus Christ Superstar by my brother in law, Deryck Jeffereis. He arranged for the recording to be played in the Gothic confines of the splendid Afghan Church in Colaba.’ 150

‘I always write a director’s note before doing a play in order to justify to myself why I’m getting involved in this nightmare of work, work, work. With no pay, pay, pay.’ 153

‘So we had a tall dark Jesus Christ in Madhukar, and because of his color, a lot of people were surprised. They said, ‘Why did you cast him? Christ was fair.’ And i replied, ‘Rubbish. You’ve been fed on all those European versions of Christ with blue eyes and golden hair. He was actually a Semite, from the Middle East.’ 156

‘I always write a director’s note before doing a play in order to justify to myself why I’m getting involved in this nightmare of work, work, work. With no pay, pay, pay.’ 153

‘Mixing continuously with young people is like bathing in the Fountain of Youth. Attitudes morph from fuddy-duddy to cool and hip.’ 160

‘Acting is meaning with emotion. You must mean the words, in order to give them an emotional force.’ 166

‘One of the things the managing directorship of Lintas taught me was: you have to think of each of your staff and your staff and you should make time for all of them. The best thing about being a father figure is you begin to enjoy it.’ 192

‘Inflated egos are a mask for an inferiority complex.’ 201

‘When Gerson left to join UNICEF in Brazil, I was appointed Chief Executive. At first I stoutly refused, but then my Regional Director, the Frenchman Jean Francois Lacour, said, ‘Alyque, why dont you think of Lintas as a brand? Just as you have built up famous brands like Liril and Rin and Cherry Blossom.’ That struck me as a revolutionary insight. I gave it a lot of thought and finally agreed. And thats how I began to build the Lintas Brand.’ 210

‘Creativity is your showcase, but your bottom line is your bottom line.’ 212

‘Unless you have years of experience, gut feel can be just a shot in the dark.’ 216

‘How do you go about selecting the right kind of people for advertising? I’d say theres one Golden Rule: Anyone who has imagination and ideas is good material for our business.’ 222

‘HRD is just a jargon, What it really means is, ‘Do people love their workplace?’ 223

‘As MD, I realised I didnt really want an office. I wanted a drawing room. I think best in a drawing room or bedroom. It would have been a bit much having a bedroom in an ad agency, because the models who came for interviews may have got the wrong idea that it was the casting counch!’ 226

‘In Advertising, our approach was, ‘Dont tell it like ir is. Tell it like it isnt.’ 229

‘Pity is a humiliating experience. It destroys confidence.’ 239

‘There are no problems. There is only a lack of ideas in the solution area.’ 241

‘Dreams do come true as long as you have the energy and a plan of action.’ 256

‘I am an Indian, not because I am a Hindu or a Muslim or a Sikh or a Christian or a Parsi or a Jew. I am an Indian because if I am not.. who am I?’ 257

‘Indians who use the medium of English to talk about their dreams, their desires, their conscious and subconscious, and write about themselves.’ 267

There is a generation that always grows up in a kind of no man’s land, after a colonial power leaves. They seem to belong to the past, live in the present and have a great nostalgia for what was. But they cant come to grips with what is and what is going to be.’ 269

‘Today if you mention Kama Sutra, people will first recall the condom and only secondly think of Vatsayana’s book. Ask anyone to name a brand of condom and they’ll immediately hit on Kama Sutra.’ 281

‘Improve on your own performance. You are your own best pacesetter.’ 287

‘And for me, there are two types of people. There are 100 percenters. And there are the rest.’ 291

‘The heat of the spotlight turns a wallflower into a vibrant orchid. Turns an ordinary man into a mighty emperor.’ 295

‘My advice to people over the age of sixty is to keep the memory sharp. Force yourself to remember things. The brain is a muscle. Exercise it regularly and it will remain strong.’ 302