52nd EPISODE. This is pre R. R. Patil Era. Nightlife in Mumbai was full sound and music at dance bars. There was one in every corner. For young crowd this was just the place to get together, drink beer. It was fun watching ego fights between people throwing money on the dancers. As the beer was reasonably priced it made sense drinking it at a dance bar. Please hold your moralistic comments.
On the day this episode refers to, Darshan Mahrotra had resigned from Dainik Bhaskar Group. The team was planning a decent memorable farewell. The team was all male. It was not surprising that finally the choice gyrated towards dance bar. It was decided that the beer at dance bar would be followed with diner at some nearby place.
That was half the decision making. When it came to THE DANCE BAR, many names were thrown up for consideration. CAMPUS won. CAMPUS was a threes storied bar near airport. I found it to be a decent place. As in most bars you graduated through the floor. It was a function of your capacity to splurge and the capacity to hold beer. If you were a regular and lasted till the shop was closed, you landed on the top floor, which had a dimly lit back exist. More so it had easy access to local station at Santa Cruz and western Express Highway.
All in the team were informed and were eagerly waiting for the evening to start. Then we thought of inviting other people who were not in Mahim office but were close to Darshan. Lakshmi Kant Dubey; LK topped the list. I think Raj Joshi called him and told him to join us at Campus. LK was not aware where it was and hence clear directions were shared.
By 8:30 team was all set on the second floor of Campus. Tanya and Sonum were dancing. They were familiar with 1-2 people in the gang. The light flirting that is more of a ritual than real intension was on. It was 9:30 PM and there was no sign of LK. Raj called him. He said he was just nearby and joining in few minutes. He had to pick something for the evening. We all laughed for no obvious reason.
Now, here is where I must ask you to use your imagination. I am banking on your having seen Chandni Bar or some other Hindi movie with dance bar scene. Though they do not do justice to the situation, it will do for now. It will be easier for people who have at any time visited a dance bar.
At around 10 PM, the bar in full swing, lights streaming money flowing around, 8-10 dancers on the floor, the drunken ego of audience is high and that was the moment LK decides to walk in his own style with a BOUQUET OF FLOWERS. Holy shit. Flowers and dance bar. They do not gel.
I have never seen a more embarrassing situation. Sheepish LK did not know what hit him. He really was at loss as to what to do with the flowers. It was not his fault; he never knew Campus was a dance bar. He presumed it was Darshan’s birthday. He was a sport. He kept smiling ad joined the gang. Roses were put to use in the bar itself.
Morning had a bigger surprise for us. When we entered Mahim office, Mr Darshan Mahrotra was already in office. We thought he was there to collect something that may have forgotten last night. We were shocked to know that Girish Agarwal (Marketing Director) had spoken to him in late night or early morning. He convinced Darshan that it was better for him to continue at Dainik Bhaskar.
THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPENS IN MEDIA, MARKETING AND ADVERTISING.
Till now we tease Darshan and remind him that he is to return INR 4500 we spent on his farewell. We have not been successful but we have not lost hope.
……….. OTHER ADVERTISING MARKETING EPISODES …
● DING DONG EXCITEMENT AT MACAU – the addiction to casino ● HOT RIDE AT PUSHKAR – adventure ● THE WALK : How we discovered the culture at Macau ● The Jump – a team of 7 go sjyjumping during annual conclave at Pattaya ● HIGH SEA GAMBLING – the merry making in international waters ● KOTI ANGLES: Gambeling in Goa ● MISSING LIPS : How friendship develops to create different expectations ● The Trap: How the AE searching for adventure got duped ● Equal Opportunity to Indulge: How HR finds itself ina spot in Pattaya ● THE LOST HAUNTING MUSIC- An experience ● UNNAMED SPIRIT- A SPOOKY EXPERIENCE at Mcleodganj ● PUNJABI LINTAS – Amrit Puri takes over Lintas ● DELAYED LAUNCH – Why HT Delhi Colour supplement launch was delayed ● UNDERGROUND – Printing fake currency could have led to jail ● STRATEGIC RAIN BREAK – How ZID KARO DHONI film was shot ● THANK YOU ● RAIN CLAUSE – I – The fight with Whitelight film over Maruti film ● LETHAL COMBINATION ● APPETITE – It does not matter where you get the appetite till you eat at home ● Puncture – how not to get caught ● ADULTERY- THE MOMENT – Its all for you to decide how far you would go ● ASSET – how a famous Indian model was rejected ● I AM SANKAR – soft ragging of new trainee ● THE COUNT ● INTRODUCTION ● TIME BOMB – How to avoid embarrassing situation ● SMALL TILE – eye for detail ● SHOOT REPORT – junior saving the issue by innovative process ● SARDAR KHUSH HOGA – the agency reaction to a demand ● SHOOT AT MUD ISLAND – shooting with Denzil ●KAALI PEELI PICTURE – what do you do you’re your model is featured in Debonair ● UPGRADE – Bangalore ITC ● JUHI EFFECT– there is something called lady luck in gambling ● POWER OF PUNJAB ● OUT – let game be game ● TWO MORE – how not to pay for the drinks ● ELEVEN MINUTES – client tackles late agency ● THE CHERRY WIN –Team plays a prank ● THE PRESENTATION – junior takes revenge for last minute changes ● BLACK GOLD – A lesson on TVC presentation ● BUFFERED –delivery at airport ● CONTINUE WITH CLIENT – The management supports a high pitched battle with client ● NOT FIRED – just in time action by agency ● ONE LESS DECISION – a campaign thought represented umpteen times● HIGH JACKING THE GOAFEST DELEGATES – a ground event that took Goafest by surprise ● THE GHOST OF 35 RANI JHANSI ROAD JHANDEWALAON – The unsiad stories ● THE PROBLEM – Agency tackling a no-brief from client ● IMPORTED ART CARD – a quick retort to finiky client ● BANYAN TREE AGENCY – Agency tackles cost issue on unapproved estimates
