Neville D’Souza was my friend, partner, mentor, and freedom’s child. Our lives were intertwined in a tapestry of crazy stories, and it all began with our shared love for Goa.
We were an Art and Copy team at Ogilvy in 1987. Our escapades became the stuff of legends. Who could forget our impromptu running away to Goa, often sparked by a rejected campaign or a late-night brainstorming session or because we thought it was okay to run away.
We moved to Lintas in 1989. I remember a meeting with a disgruntled client at Lintas. We reached the meeting late - because we’d had a lazy lunch at Gokul in Colaba, laced with Vodka. When we entered the room, we realised instantly that something was wrong. There was a certain unease in the air. Unable to take this tense atmosphere, guess what Neville did! He stood on one leg and began to sing "I take my drinking seriously". The folks in the room were stunned! And then the room erupted into laughter, and the client's stern demeanour melted away. This was Neville's gift – transforming bad energy into joy. Neville was a transformer.
At Lintas, we were called ‘Special Projects’ Our job was to travel from city to city and compete with the local creative teams. It was an interesting social experiment by Alyque Padamsee and Kersy Katrak.
Our mantra was ‘An idea a day, a campaign a week.’ In our very first year at Lintas, we created 52 campaigns. Only 3 of these were approved by the client. But we didn’t mind! We couldn’t believe people were paying us to have so much fun. We’d jokingly say that we were being paid for rejection.
As a creative force, Neville was a Renaissance man – sculptor, artist, architect, singer, and painter. His passion for collecting doors became an obsession, and he amassed a vast collection of giant, temple, and carved doors. He'd say, "Bill Gates is famous for windows; I want to be known for doors."
Our friendship was intuitive, our chemistry a mystery that surprised even us. We'd often find ourselves writing the same ideas in our notebooks, as if connected by an invisible thread. This oneness was a signature of our partnership.
There was this special feature in a publication. The Top 5 creative teams of Indian advertising! We were to be photographed for the article. We wanted our picture to look different from the other teams. So, we took the photographer to different graveyards of Mumbai. When the article was finally published, ours was the biggest photo. The two of us standing by a dug grave accompanied by the caption ‘Till death do us part.’ It captured the essence of our creative bond and playful ambition.
There are too many stories to share. Someday, I hope to write a book about Neville and our mad adventures in advertising. And when I do, I’ll bury the first copy in Neville’s grave. And I’ll stand on one leg, knock back a peg, and sing “I take my drinking seriously”.
Farewell dear friend, my brother, my guru. Thank you for showing us how to live life to its craziest.
