f you happen to be a fan of ad film makers, Prasoon Pandey's name should strike you quickly among the few well known ones. But just try doing a Google search on his personal life, it will be difficult to find something about him. Prasoon, being a reserved yet outgoing, keen observer, creative, and a Capricorn, is more than a little hard to crack.

Since our section is on his personal life, after a lot of cajoling we finally managed a meeting, which was scheduled for an hour, but finally ended up being closer to three hours. And after that he happily posed for our camera. An intelligent man with intelligent philosophies is what correspondent Nidhi Jain found while in conversation with Prasoon Pandey.

My world ... I am a goat... Very practical person, I... simply love ogling cars but detest buying an expensive one. Whenever I have a creative block, I switch off/sleep over, readdress solutions in and around my mind... much like entering a maze and trying to reach a centre. For example, if I am indecisive about choosing among the dozens of people I video tested, I just chill and then return back.

A very dangerous thing that happens to me is when I start having a comfort zone. I also like things which give me a thrill nothing regular excites me... (laughs) say a non skill required activity like travelling, rollercoaster rides, bungee jumping, skydiving. Though I am not a sports person, I am a decent level cricket player, but not as natural as Piyush (brother and famous ad film maker). As far as my eating is concerned, I tend to overeat tasty food. But going out specially just to eat has a very low priority in my life.

My big mad family... In Jaipur, consists of seven sisters and two brothers (I being the youngest of the nine siblings), who are all hyperactive, but the entire family bond was about sharing and learning. I learnt dialogue delivery from my dad since he was a fantastic orator, and as for my mom she loves reading and discussing, and all my sisters were into theatre, music or painting.

I wish to be an architect... Coming from a huge family that has a tradition in arts, during school days I got creatively involved in designing, theatre, painting, music, sound, lighting etc. (Laughs) I didn't have a chance of not being creative, which was scattered in a loose way. Plus, I hated the idea of becoming a banker, since I was skilled with my hands... I thought of becoming an architect when I was in 5th class ... Why? Oh! I love making houses, their art decors. I like destroying houses and restructuring it. My wife Gayatri and I redo our house now and then, in six years we have redone our house completely four times.

Designing problems... execution of creative briefs... I love working with broken things and enjoy solving architectural problems. How people like doing crosswords, I go looking for designing/creating problems. I get fidgety if I don't...

Discovering designs... I can make sculptures with wires, and also do stitching. In folk shows I used to stitch tailoring covers for instruments. One thing led to another, since I was good at drawing, I got an opportunity to make brochure logos for a magazine. One such logo was for NCERT, a maths book? After joining National Institute of Design, I discovered a lot about designing, my first placement happened to be Lowe Lintas for advertising.

My day starts... with 4 cups of tea while going through the newspapers.

Awestruck by stars or stardom...? Never... I guess the credit goes to stars and the right attitude they carry and also they are similar to us. But I must admit that I am awestruck by Mr Bachchan who is very humble and tries to make us feel equal.

My actors... If I am angry I get irritated at shoots, but I am also aware that I can't demoralise an actor who is emotionally fragile like a child. To encourage, I say "Fantastic... and then Clap."

Compliments... (he took a pause for 4 minutes, kept laughing and finally answered)... A recent one I cherish is an Sms sent 20 days back by a wonderfully talented man, Mr Boman Irani, saying, "I get upset every time, thinking you may not make a feature film, since you are a national treasure. That only I know or your wife knows."

11 yr old Tavishi... My daughter has a trademark of me, aggressive, (she's been featured in the MANGO SLICE AD CAMPAIGN) and simply does not give in. She is learning odissi, folk and modern dance, to play the keyboard and also soccer. She does everything simultaneously till she gets very tired.

Mother Teresa... Is how I describe my wife Gayatri (his classmate and lady love from NID days) who has sacrificed her career to raise kids creatively; I wish I had two wives to lessen the burden of Gayatri.

My worst and my best... I am horrible at writing, giving speeches, but it's a great feeling to make ad films with a small team. It's like playing one day films for that we were complimented to be most sought after production house, it gives a high.

Ayushman...my 8 year old son, is a trademark of mine, has a clever sense of humour, plays the guitar and likes basketball as a sport.

Birth of Corcoise... Ayushman came up with that name by mixing species of Cockroach, dinosaur and caterpillar, and the logo has been designed using daughter Tavishi's young vocabulary.

Time for myself... People think I am mad! Well, I have been floating an idea for the past six months to leave everything and go on vacation, with a budget of spending Rs 400/- day. To tell you about my adventurous past? It was tough but great fun, life in Delhi. I have slept at Rajpath on 25th January, have also slept in front of Kamani auditorium on the footpath, and also at freaky places in desert.

Its all about money...Honey... It means being able to do things like traveling, buying music, watching movies. I am not a brand conscious person, I like well designed watch which don't cost anything above Rs 5000. Previously I had an Armani Emporia, now have a Fossil but I am a design freak for shoes, irrespective of the money it costs. I own 20 pairs now.

Advertising, TV, and films... As I see it, ads of today have become interesting though not necessarily intelligent. Ads used to talk down to the audience before, not anymore.

As far as feature films are concerned, there is a decline in presentation. As far as personal viewing is concerned I am addicted to NGC, Discovery, and Travel and Living. I love... Cartoon films? ICE AGE, SHARK TALE? and OBELIX remains my favourite cartoon character.

Dream project... My juices will flow only in film. Right now I am working on a script for my feature film.

Quote... Said-unsaid... "Fantastic, once more!"

Prahlad, who was called Robin in his younger days, was born in 1948 (24 March). His journey has been filled with infinite variety and innovation. So one would expect nary a dull moment when sitting down for a chat session with him. That's just what correspondent Nidhi Jain experienced as he tickled the funny bone with his punch lines/one liners and his cheeky smile.

FAST TRACK?.NOW AND THEN? From the beginning, everything in Prahlad's life revolved around his fascination with and for women. The first was his grandmother who wanted this cheeky chit of a fellow, otherwise from an illustrious family of doctors, engineers, and his dad being an army officer, to join the Indian Foreign Services. Instead, Prahlad landed up doing an honours degree in economics and later went on to complete a film appreciation course. With academics done and dusted, he joined an advertising agency in Jor Bagh, Delhi, merely because of a beautiful girl name Farida Pandey?

Fast Forward >> He has managed to diversify his passions, and reached a stage in his life where he can freely set the pace.

THE OTHER SEX?"Don't understand them, just love them unconditionally," says Prahlad on women. His hectic schedule doesn't deprive him of not enjoying the company of PYTs. The long locks of hair trying desperately to hide under the trademark hat, the thick beard and that mischievous glint in his eyes. This ace ad guy doesn't go unnoticed with his female friends. Prahlad's greatest motivation has been women who are not second best to anybody, have substantial character, and are stimulating and interesting too. He absolutely detests incapable women conditionally bound to men. Therefore, he thinks that if he had a daughter she would have been hell on wheels (he's managed three very different in character sons though).

LIGHT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME? Prahlad is a big Cigar person. The only Indian to have his signature line in cigars named PK series which has two varieties, a Churchill size one of about seven inches and a smaller Robusta cigar called the Shergar. The leaves of his cigars, the filler and wrapper, are from the Dominican Republic and from Cameroon and Ecuador respectively.

MISTER OF SPICES? His restaurant business stems from his 'instinctive flair for cooking'. And according to Prahlad, he has a great sense of Andaaz, has always been a fish and meat person. (Laughs) Another reason for access to beautiful young women was cooking as his face was his misfortune which wouldn't have gotten him anywhere. Food fascinates him; the reason that his office sports a full fledged kitchen. An impassioned foodie, Prahlad is experimental with his cuisine and he detests the word boring when attached to food. It all started with a request from Shashi Kapoor's wife Jennifer to open Prithvi Caf?. His Irish Caf? was a great hit with a secret formula 'pouring cream from behind the spoon'. Being a typical Punjabi, good sumptuous food can't go out of his blood for both to eat and to deliver, that is resulting in plans to deliver home cooked Punjabi food and Chapattis (phulkas) --- Prahlad Kakkar's 'PAPA PANCHO'.

DEEP BLUE WATER?Prahlad's first tryst with diving was at Mauritius, and he believed that no knowledge is complete if it's not shared. He used to take the Konkan Express to Cochin enroute to Lacadives (old name of Lakshadweep) where he owns two scuba diving schools along with his wife Mitali. He is always amazed with its pristine, natural beauty and quality of diving.

JAZZ AND BLUES?Since Mumbai city didn't have any club for Jazz, he introduced one, for which the membership is only available for musicians. They play for themselves, but not by choice.

Shashi Sinha -- President, Lodestar and regional media director, FCB Asia-pacific has a clear mindset, maintains lowest common denominator and yet is cutting edge.

Is that all you need to be a leader? Know more from the very intelligent, simple and subtle Shashi in a short and crispy conversation with Nidhi Jain.

@Words that describe you best?.
Transparent and fair.

@How do you perceive life?
Happy, positive, adjusting quickly, independent.

@Journey till Lodestar?Greatly influenced by the outspoken Kurien Varghese at FCB.

@Turning point?
In FCB for 21 years, was not very calculative but worked best on Brands like Amul.

@Philosophies?
Live and let live.

@How do you make the team aggressive /get the best out of people?
I let people put their point of view across.

@Personal strength /weakness?
Strengths - family friends and networking (can't be alone).
Weakness - transparent, with no agendas.

@Handle stress?
Playing sport and watching TV.

@Biz Mantra?
"Value driven"

@Favourite book?
Bhagwada Gita; books by Indian authors.

@Movies?
Of late "Lage Raho Munnabhai".

@Brands you like?
Amul.

@Fitness mantra?
Walk.

With 25 years of experience in advertising, founder member of Chlorophyll brand and communication consultancy Anand Halve has penned a book on "Planning for power Advertising ". How relevant is the subject material of this book, when the rules of advertising are being rewritten in a jiffy and much more, Anand shared, in conversation with Correspondent Nidhi Jain.

*Book different from other advertising books
Formatting and focus were two different things that made me write this book. Most of the books of yesteryears are outdated and they need to be refreshed. What we have is mainly from the US and UK market and are not applicable in the Indian context.

*Is it based on the experience you gathered or the outlook you have for the future
Today, in India there are more than 1,500 management schools. They are in dire need of knowledge on the constantly changing market landscape. Result: this book.

*Is it an extension of your talent or just a labour of love
Today when it comes to advertising, children are important decision makers, which didn't relevantly exist sometime back. The fundamentals remain intact, only examples change regularly. Anything which is learnt and taught needs to be revised after two years. For instance, today's most important subjects are sponsoring and events. To be a teacher, we have to become students to learn new trends.

*Book's inside
My book needs to be read sequentially i.e., step by step. The first couple of chapters are very important since it emphasises on the Indian market.

*Who can relate
Specialised businessmen, writers, economists.

*Research done
Two types -- firstly, theory should be visualized practically and secondly, by observing human emotions.

*Any other writing projects
A second edition of the same book with insertion of topics related to children and radio and also about observing new age Ads, plus observing and understanding human psychology.

*Your preference--fiction/non fiction
Business books and Hindustani and Urdu poetry.

*Favourite author
Woody Allen, Jack Welch.

There was once a time when the word luxury connoted a sense of genuine exclusivity. But that was way back then, before the rising tide of ostentatious consumerism washed it all away. To a point where it's so just not there anymore not to have the "LUXURY" tag attached to every item of use --- and that can apply even to bathroom towels.

There are still some things out there though, that for most can never be anything other than objects of awe and wonder.

The super luxurious mobile phone Vertu, with changeable faces and sleek design, slips into that groove ever so smoothly.

In creating the Vertu, Nokia has paced the mobile handset industry by anticipating and surpassing users' needs. How successful has been the separation of this topend line from the mother lode is a story in itself. After all, there are not that many out there who are even aware that the world's handset leader owns this ultimate of status symbols

Encased in metal from stainless steel to platinum, faced with 69.25 carat pure scratch resistant sapphire crystal, with hard wearing ceramics fit for the space shuttle, jewelled ruby bearings to support each key and a round-the-clock/world concierge service, is expensive, exclusive and beautiful, each phone costs a whopping $20,000!! Roughly that is - and no, I did not type in an extra zero by accident.

VERTU - BECKONS INDIA
Nokia recognized that phones, like credit cards, were "lekking devices" - the new social badges for class, personality and community. The ever growing tribe of rich young things, it was probably surmised, would love the Vertu. By charting new territory, it built its brand from scratch playing on the demand for look-at-me phones.

CHARTING NEW TERRITORY
Vertu has plenty of interesting little features created to connote discernment, taste and design. In addition to upgradeability, the Vertu appears tentative in defining a new modern version of exclusivity. To reinforce the image of luxury, Vertu is offering the services of a personal concierge to all Vertu owners round-the-clock (a big selling point).

Prospective owners are ferried to their first Vertu appointment in a limousine; the handset has a dedicated key that connects owners to travel and entertainment advice and reservations across the US, Europe and Asia. The Platinum credit card springs to mind. Need a Sachertorte (a chocolate cake that is one of the most famous Viennese culinary specialties in case you didn't know) delivered from Vienna to a friend in the US? Consider it done. The concierge service is available worldwide in five languages. Detailed records are kept of each customer's preferences. All of this accessible ... just a smooth push-button click away?

BRAND FOR THE TECHNOGEEK
For world class definition and as part of Constellation collection, Vertu has crafted 7 models in black, tan, chocolate or pink leather and in stainless steel or gold finishes. Where Vertu Signature and Vertu Ascent were the first ranges of luxury handsets that used the finest materials from the world of watch-making, automotive engineering and jewellery, the Vertu Constellation scaled it all up a notch further.

Vertu Constellation is finished in gold or stainless steel with an exceptional balance to weight ratio, and is encased across the back plate in leather. In fact, it's the largest piece of leather ever used on a handset.

To further talk about features, it allows one button access to lifestyle services 24 hours a day from virtually anywhere in the world. It also has world weather facilities that let you know exactly what to expect when you get to your destination. Vertu Concierge is the service desk that offers help ranging from recommending local restaurants, making theatre bookings, or simply sending a gift to someone --- anywhere in the world.

FUTURE/WITHSTANDING ITS NAME
To sum up, there are companies releasing exquisite digital products (of the Vertu sort) and coming up with their own luxury and premium brands targeted at the elite or super rich. And exclusive they remain.

Many of us are smitten with collecting. By surrounding themselves with the things they have worked so hard to gather, collectors get to enjoy their collections differently than those who choose to preserve or display them. One such collector is Monica Tata, the vice president, advertising sales and networks, India and South Asia for Turner International India.

Monica has a fabulous collection of shoes, bags and costume jewelry. Her keen sense of fashion and the sense of enjoyment in having a great collection of shoes, bags and jewelry is what attracted her to start collecting these items.

She has 150 pairs of footwear and 100 bags. And as for costume jewelry, Monica says, "It's difficult to put a number to what I possess but if I were to wear my jewelry everyday without repeating even one earring... I can do that without a problem for at least 500 days in a row!"

Traveling across the globe has helped Monica expand her collection. She has picked up these items from the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America. With a little knowledge and effort, everyone can find their own gems. Each found gem has its own 'story.' Whatever the reason for collecting, it fulfills emotions that lie at the heart of our personalities.

"In every visit of mine, five-six pairs of shoes and three-four bags is a very expected thing in my bag! This of course is not including my shopping binges in my India travels," says Monica.

When asked since when she has been nurturing her collection, Monica smiles, "Since I started affording it!" She admits to buying most herself but does have friends and family contributing to her collection and adds, "Yes, more of such gestures are more than welcome!"

She looks for colour, uniqueness, design in her favourite items and the fact that it should fit well and go with her personality.

Initially, when she started the collection, she was not much into brands. But, over the years she prefers to check out her preferred brands before the final buy. Says Monica, "Nine West is my favourite footwear brand but that doesn't stop me from buying shoes, bags and accessories from fancy malls to flee markets! As long it appeals to me - I just buy it!"

Monica doesn't reveal the amounts she spends on her collections. All she says is," If I tell you then I will have to kill you! Let's just say...A LOT!"