Importance of Being Rooted
I recently finished reading Pandeymonium by Piyush Pandey. It was a delightful book, though a bit dated. What I liked specifically in the book were his explanations behind unique jingles - his observations and insights into human behaviour. The thing that stood out to me was how rooted in India’s culture, its roads, and the behaviour of an ordinary man they were.
The ads that touch us, move us and those that we remember after many years are the ones that speak to us and with which we can relate. They help us acquaint ourselves with an emotion that we have kept hidden somewhere in the recesses of our hearts. They speak to us in a language we see around us - the cultural norms, traditions and pop culture we have. It stems from key observations, grounded in a love for human emotion.
There is a reason why he is one of the most successful ad film makers because he understands India like no other. India, which shares its food and bares its heart to the stranger in the train. Insights such as a bride is famished at the madap while she has to keep a plastered smile for the guests. These are things which come from originality and not from copying something which has worked somewhere else.
Another person who imbibes this is Aditya Chopra. I had seen a documentary about YRF some years back. The thing that stood out was Mr. Chopra’s love for Hindi films. It is said he used to go and watch every Hindi film every Friday and maintain a notebook about what he liked and what he did not like. He developed a keen understanding of the Indian audience as his peers looked to the West for inspiration, trying to be cool by copying Western trends. This is why he delivered blockbusters, while others tried to copy a Hollywood actor, failed to connect, and ultimately fell short.
True success comes when you pull somebody’s heartstrings. To do that, you need to understand them and know them. This comes by appreciating and immersing yourself in their life, culture, language and customs. Once you do that, you become an original - an icon - about whom people talk for decades to come.
