It’ll always be my MTV!
[My farewell email to MTV as I move on to my new assignment within Viacom18 today!]
My wife often said that I’m married to MTV. That “Ek din tu mujhe chhod dega but you’ll never leave MTV!” [And, of course, she’s still trying to get rid of me!] So I guess, I HAD to prove her wrong. And it’s quite ironic that today, my last official working day @ MTV happens to also be my wedding anniversary. Ha!
This is my 12th year in MTV. Yep. A dozen years of unbelievable memories, experiences, highs & lows. Too numerous to pack into one email. You’ll have to wait up for the tell-all book for that! It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve this brand alongside some of the best bosses, teams, colleagues, associates, some of the most scarily talented people I’ve met in my entire life. I’ve made some of my closest friends here.
Today, I’d like to share with you the 12 things I’ve learnt in my 12 years at MTV. Expectedly, this is going to be a long mail – but as Robert Downey Jr. says, “If you start playing those violins, I’ll tear this joint apart!”
1. Trust your gut
Life, love, long form shows. Whether green-lighting a new series or a new hire, a business partnership or a relationship – while there will be data, research, analysis and more – beyond a point you’ll never have all the answers, you have to trust in something. I have always gone with my gut. It’s never let me down and it has made all the difference in my life. Even if it was going ahead and doing a theatrical release on the first Fully Faltoo Film [Ghoom], in spite of a select gang trashing it and more. It went on to be the first property to hit a 1+ TVR on MTV, make us money off cinemas, open up revenue streams across home video, digital, generate massive PR, scale up a classic franchise, bring the madness/ humor back to MTV and be a case study that’s still quoted.
2. Be passionate about your work, it makes life more fun and satisfying
Most of us spend more time at work than we do at home. We probably spend more time with colleagues than with family. And the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. With passion. Cliché, but if you can find a job where you get paid to do what you love doing you won’t have to work a single day in your life. But if like Bono, you still haven’t found what you were looking for, don’t settle. Keep looking. When you find it, you’ll know. And like any great relationship, it only gets better with time. I’ve been lucky that I’ve had a new role virtually every 2 years – from Marketing, Music Programming, Talent Artiste Relations, Shows, all C&C, Production/Studio to P&L. And lucky enough to have a profile where coming in to office has been something I looked forward to not just on Mondays but every day of the week.
3. Chase your dreams
Do what you want. The only career advice I’d ever give anyone. 3 key parts to this. DO what you want. Don’t just talk about it, DO it. Life is too short. So if you wanna make a movie, make a movie. If you wanna write a book, write it. Start now. Do what YOU want. Don’t let the noise other people’s thinking drown out your inner voice. Don’t become a chartered accountant because your parents wanted you to [that’s what almost happened to me, fortunately I had my own ‘Rancho’ intervene and save my life]. Do what you WANT. Have the balls to follow your heart. It knows what you want. Baaki sab irrelevant hai. I’m hoping I’m able to chase some new mad dreams of mine again as I step up to a new assignment.
4. Don’t be afraid of tough decisions
At times, bad medicine is what you need. Tastes awful but there’s no point sugar-coating a pill. It was really hard to let go of some of the properties that we invested blood, sweat, tears in building – be it the MTV Immies [Music Awards], the Lycra® MTV Style Awards or more – but at times, this is what’s essential and for the best. For everyone.
5. Don’t be afraid of failure
Oh, I could write a full series on this… but don’t let failure scare you. Because that can freeze you, make you immobile. And some of the best learning comes from failures. Ask the comeback kids… Amitabh Bachchan, Alec Baldwin, Clinton, Robert Downey Jr. And this year, we’re hoping that we can take some of the learning that we’ve had making some terrible fiction in the past and create the best fucking fiction on Indian television.
6. Be cool – calm & composed, especially when in trouble
Things have a way of sorting themselves out. Be it a media crisis, talent, legal issues or more. Learn not to get too stressed, not take life & things too seriously. That’s what keeps you from going insane even when you have a police warrant out in your name or there’s people breaking down your office! Baba sab theek kar deta hai.
7. Don’t stop learning
I used to think I’m a rockstar, but the opportunity of working with some of the best, most passionate people ever [Sunil, Niren, Alex, Vikram, Amit, Cyrus O, Sathaye, Jesse, v2, Saurabh, Jiggy, Ashok, Pooja, Akshay, Bumpy, Debby, Zulfia, Chhotu, Raghu, Rajiv, MJ, Modi, Shahzad, Mayur, Ruchi, Phal, Praks, Abbas, Jitin, Rohit, Kaushik, Bathula, Ayappa, Nupur, Gayatri, JD, Nitin, Sahu, Broacha, Jose, Anusha, Rannvijay, Chinappa, Ramesh and more – too many to list out here] taught me and also made me very very scared about how out of it I was. And the only way to keep up is if you keep learning. This doesn’t mean you need to go back to college [though some of that may help too], but the constant updating of your skill sets, knowledge base, reference points, environment, technology is critical – not just for success, but survival – don’t ever stop!
8. Be organized, make lists, take detailed notes – it goes a long way
I’m often the butt of jokes as I tend to take it to extremes [for instance, I have a whiteboard in my kitchen – but hell, trust me its really really useful!]. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Maintain a job-list, a detailed one. Even for your personal chores, to do’s. Carry a notebook, pen for every meeting – be it with a client, boss, junior or team. I feel naked without it. This is what can save your life.
9. Go well prepared – for everything – its really useful
I’m one of the most nervous speakers/ presenters ever. A lot of people find it surprising especially because I teach public speaking/ do presentation workshops. But the only lesson or tip I give is, rehearse. Prep. I still script each and every one of my presentations. Including the bad jokes on it. The poor sods in Adsales, have to hear and laugh at the same ones across all the Upfront presentations we do. Ask them if you don’t believe me! But be it a presentation, a shoot or a deal negotiation the only thing that can truly help you is preparation. From researching the background material, information, the client, to doing a round of 20 questions, the way you dress, to more. Don’t compromise on this.
10. Respect people – no matter who they are, talk nicely to everybody
Dave Barry, one of my favorite authors [and I say so because I like to believe I write like him!] once said, “Someone who’s nice to you but not nice to the waiter is not a nice person”. It’s true. Only when you respect people, their time, their abilities, their priorities, their values… will you get the best out of them.
11. Have a sense of humor
Something that has always been core to the MTV DNA. Humor. I meet so many HI+ [Humor Impaired] people, it’s not funny! They scare me. Kaise jeete hai yeh log? How you do you survive. Learn to laugh. Laugh loudly in movies. Laugh at things. At problems. And most importantly, at yourself. Cyrus O [Oshi, you’ll always be my guiding light!] raised this into a fine art with some of our early MTV image spots. And it’s something that has held me in good stead always.
12. Get a life, have fun
Don’t make the mistake of mixing up your work as your life. Get a life outside of work. Be it books, movies, music, travel, photography, cooking, partying, painting, pottery, dancing, singing, playing the guitar, working out, whatever… but karo. And don’t make the excuse of ‘where’s the time?’ because as Anil Kapoor in Tezaab says, “Time hota nahi hai, nikaalna padta hai” and it’s true. You’ll always find time to do the things you like to do. These are things that will help, influence you, your work, your ideas, their execution and more in ways that you cannot understand.
As I move on to my new assignment within the Viacom18 family with New Ventures, Youth Movies & more... the heaviness of being successful is now replaced with the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. Its freed me to enter, hopefully one of the best, most exciting phases of my life.
But I’m going in with some fab lessons in life from MTV and some incredible vibes from the team. Given that with me, it’s going to be, if nothing else, a lot of fun. I’d like to wish all @ MTV all the very best as we power on to total youth world domination!
As a wise man once said, “Enjoy!”
It’ll always be My MTV!
ap
[My farewell email to MTV as I move on to my new assignment within Viacom18 today!]
My wife often said that I’m married to MTV. That “Ek din tu mujhe chhod dega but you’ll never leave MTV!” [And, of course, she’s still trying to get rid of me!] So I guess, I HAD to prove her wrong. And it’s quite ironic that today, my last official working day @ MTV happens to also be my wedding anniversary. Ha!
This is my 12th year in MTV. Yep. A dozen years of unbelievable memories, experiences, highs & lows. Too numerous to pack into one email. You’ll have to wait up for the tell-all book for that! It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve this brand alongside some of the best bosses, teams, colleagues, associates, some of the most scarily talented people I’ve met in my entire life. I’ve made some of my closest friends here.
Today, I’d like to share with you the 12 things I’ve learnt in my 12 years at MTV. Expectedly, this is going to be a long mail – but as Robert Downey Jr. says, “If you start playing those violins, I’ll tear this joint apart!”
1. Trust your gut
Life, love, long form shows. Whether green-lighting a new series or a new hire, a business partnership or a relationship – while there will be data, research, analysis and more – beyond a point you’ll never have all the answers, you have to trust in something. I have always gone with my gut. It’s never let me down and it has made all the difference in my life. Even if it was going ahead and doing a theatrical release on the first Fully Faltoo Film [Ghoom], in spite of a select gang trashing it and more. It went on to be the first property to hit a 1+ TVR on MTV, make us money off cinemas, open up revenue streams across home video, digital, generate massive PR, scale up a classic franchise, bring the madness/ humor back to MTV and be a case study that’s still quoted.
2. Be passionate about your work, it makes life more fun and satisfying
Most of us spend more time at work than we do at home. We probably spend more time with colleagues than with family. And the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. With passion. Cliché, but if you can find a job where you get paid to do what you love doing you won’t have to work a single day in your life. But if like Bono, you still haven’t found what you were looking for, don’t settle. Keep looking. When you find it, you’ll know. And like any great relationship, it only gets better with time. I’ve been lucky that I’ve had a new role virtually every 2 years – from Marketing, Music Programming, Talent Artiste Relations, Shows, all C&C, Production/Studio to P&L. And lucky enough to have a profile where coming in to office has been something I looked forward to not just on Mondays but every day of the week.
3. Chase your dreams
Do what you want. The only career advice I’d ever give anyone. 3 key parts to this. DO what you want. Don’t just talk about it, DO it. Life is too short. So if you wanna make a movie, make a movie. If you wanna write a book, write it. Start now. Do what YOU want. Don’t let the noise other people’s thinking drown out your inner voice. Don’t become a chartered accountant because your parents wanted you to [that’s what almost happened to me, fortunately I had my own ‘Rancho’ intervene and save my life]. Do what you WANT. Have the balls to follow your heart. It knows what you want. Baaki sab irrelevant hai. I’m hoping I’m able to chase some new mad dreams of mine again as I step up to a new assignment.
4. Don’t be afraid of tough decisions
At times, bad medicine is what you need. Tastes awful but there’s no point sugar-coating a pill. It was really hard to let go of some of the properties that we invested blood, sweat, tears in building – be it the MTV Immies [Music Awards], the Lycra® MTV Style Awards or more – but at times, this is what’s essential and for the best. For everyone.
5. Don’t be afraid of failure
Oh, I could write a full series on this… but don’t let failure scare you. Because that can freeze you, make you immobile. And some of the best learning comes from failures. Ask the comeback kids… Amitabh Bachchan, Alec Baldwin, Clinton, Robert Downey Jr. And this year, we’re hoping that we can take some of the learning that we’ve had making some terrible fiction in the past and create the best fucking fiction on Indian television.
6. Be cool – calm & composed, especially when in trouble
Things have a way of sorting themselves out. Be it a media crisis, talent, legal issues or more. Learn not to get too stressed, not take life & things too seriously. That’s what keeps you from going insane even when you have a police warrant out in your name or there’s people breaking down your office! Baba sab theek kar deta hai.
7. Don’t stop learning
I used to think I’m a rockstar, but the opportunity of working with some of the best, most passionate people ever [Sunil, Niren, Alex, Vikram, Amit, Cyrus O, Sathaye, Jesse, v2, Saurabh, Jiggy, Ashok, Pooja, Akshay, Bumpy, Debby, Zulfia, Chhotu, Raghu, Rajiv, MJ, Modi, Shahzad, Mayur, Ruchi, Phal, Praks, Abbas, Jitin, Rohit, Kaushik, Bathula, Ayappa, Nupur, Gayatri, JD, Nitin, Sahu, Broacha, Jose, Anusha, Rannvijay, Chinappa, Ramesh and more – too many to list out here] taught me and also made me very very scared about how out of it I was. And the only way to keep up is if you keep learning. This doesn’t mean you need to go back to college [though some of that may help too], but the constant updating of your skill sets, knowledge base, reference points, environment, technology is critical – not just for success, but survival – don’t ever stop!
8. Be organized, make lists, take detailed notes – it goes a long way
I’m often the butt of jokes as I tend to take it to extremes [for instance, I have a whiteboard in my kitchen – but hell, trust me its really really useful!]. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Maintain a job-list, a detailed one. Even for your personal chores, to do’s. Carry a notebook, pen for every meeting – be it with a client, boss, junior or team. I feel naked without it. This is what can save your life.
9. Go well prepared – for everything – its really useful
I’m one of the most nervous speakers/ presenters ever. A lot of people find it surprising especially because I teach public speaking/ do presentation workshops. But the only lesson or tip I give is, rehearse. Prep. I still script each and every one of my presentations. Including the bad jokes on it. The poor sods in Adsales, have to hear and laugh at the same ones across all the Upfront presentations we do. Ask them if you don’t believe me! But be it a presentation, a shoot or a deal negotiation the only thing that can truly help you is preparation. From researching the background material, information, the client, to doing a round of 20 questions, the way you dress, to more. Don’t compromise on this.
10. Respect people – no matter who they are, talk nicely to everybody
Dave Barry, one of my favorite authors [and I say so because I like to believe I write like him!] once said, “Someone who’s nice to you but not nice to the waiter is not a nice person”. It’s true. Only when you respect people, their time, their abilities, their priorities, their values… will you get the best out of them.
11. Have a sense of humor
Something that has always been core to the MTV DNA. Humor. I meet so many HI+ [Humor Impaired] people, it’s not funny! They scare me. Kaise jeete hai yeh log? How you do you survive. Learn to laugh. Laugh loudly in movies. Laugh at things. At problems. And most importantly, at yourself. Cyrus O [Oshi, you’ll always be my guiding light!] raised this into a fine art with some of our early MTV image spots. And it’s something that has held me in good stead always.
12. Get a life, have fun
Don’t make the mistake of mixing up your work as your life. Get a life outside of work. Be it books, movies, music, travel, photography, cooking, partying, painting, pottery, dancing, singing, playing the guitar, working out, whatever… but karo. And don’t make the excuse of ‘where’s the time?’ because as Anil Kapoor in Tezaab says, “Time hota nahi hai, nikaalna padta hai” and it’s true. You’ll always find time to do the things you like to do. These are things that will help, influence you, your work, your ideas, their execution and more in ways that you cannot understand.
As I move on to my new assignment within the Viacom18 family with New Ventures, Youth Movies & more... the heaviness of being successful is now replaced with the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. Its freed me to enter, hopefully one of the best, most exciting phases of my life.
But I’m going in with some fab lessons in life from MTV and some incredible vibes from the team. Given that with me, it’s going to be, if nothing else, a lot of fun. I’d like to wish all @ MTV all the very best as we power on to total youth world domination!
As a wise man once said, “Enjoy!”
It’ll always be My MTV!
ap
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