Given a choice between Cannes Advertising Festival and Cannes Film Festival, he's more likely to choose the latter.
A hard-core movie buff and an avid Mithunda, Quentin Tarantino, Kanti Shah, (endless list) fan, he's one person you'll immediately connect.
If not talking movies (thankfully), he's busy doing amazing stuff on every brief that comes his way
5 years of touring other agencies, Mrinal is back at Cornerstone. Except the belly, spectacles, receding hairline (the picture above is ample proof of our photoshop capabilities), nothing much has changed. Still the same passion for great ideas and copy.
A silent type, he is a recent addition to the Cornerstone family and Khandekar's lieutenant.
One of the two people in the office who has his own cabin. A criminal waste of space actually, since most of the time it's empty. Where's Basudev? He's either out servicing existing business or scouting for new business. He's spent 2 years early on in his career in sales, and close to 24 years in advertising, more specifically, in Clarion McCann, Everest Saatchi & Saatchi, Sistas and FCB Ulka.
Basudev's biggest strength is the relationships he's built and maintained over the years. Clients don't remain clients for too long with Basudev. They all graduate to friends.
With one hand wrapped around his phone and the other wrapped around someone's shoulder, Basudev is truly a people's person.
Peter, for all those who can't pronounce his name.
We all look up to Peter. (At a towering 6ft 4 inches, we don't have much of a choice.)
Resourceful, dependable and quick, he's not just our Production Manager, he's an asset.
From handling printers to trouble-shooting during a hardware crash, he's the person you'd want around during an emergency.
With 20 years behind him in FCB Ulka and AB and U, Inacio is truly like his alias,a rock.
On any given working day, Irene's is the name you'll hear the most in our agency.
23,178,90 cups of tea and coffee later she will still make you a cup of tea just the way you like it and serve it up with a beatific smile.
Creative Director, scriptwriter or film critic - these are only some of the descriptions of Judith. DVD stores on Amazon have reason to survive because of her.
Bollywood and Hollywood movies are meant for the masses. Spanish, Cuban, French, East European movies are down her street.
If she isn't twirling her hair, she's trawling the net. She can ask the most piercing of questions - one never knows if she wants to understand the brand better or if she wants to keep the client at bay. She takes long to warm up, the play is long and intense but when she does, she is capable of turning out some of the best copy your eyes can rest on. Such bouts of intensity are usually followed by long spells of dreaminess - movies, holidays - the jury is out on that one.
Her years at Lintas were well spent - luxury products, mass market products, technical issues, she handles a range of brands with equal dexterity and aplomb.
If there is one thing that the agency folks and clients dread more than her questions, it's the enigmatic smile - sympathy, sneer, disdain, you never know what the smile beholds. After the meeting you realise that she achieved what she wanted - to put you off-track.
Aka Mr. Moneybags. With 24 years of valuable experience in agencies like Trikaya Grey, O&M, Khandekar is known to keep a tight rein on finances and a rather relaxed one on his dress sense.
A true workaholic, Khandekar scrutinizes figures for hours without leaving his seat. We all have our own theories on the kind of figures he's so engrossed with.
When it comes to food, he's a strict vegetarian, when it comes to jokes he's strictly non-vegetarian.
All the men in the office want Kumar's job. Right through the day a stream of PYTs come in to discuss various positions with Kumar.
But being Media Director or Media Legend as he humbly refers to himself, is not hunky dory. The unenviable job of stretching budgets to fit rate cards is what he does best.
He spent the first part of his 18-year old career in Nexus before joining forces with Uday at Folklore.
Shrewd negotiator and easy-to-deal-with have earned him the reputation of Mr. Nice Guy in media circles, especially among women.
If you happen to dial the Cornerstone landline, you'll hear Maria's voice on the other side. Soft-spoken, demure, couldn't hurt a fly voice. But that's only over the phone.
Face to face it's a whole different story. Tough, no-nonsense, don't mess with me persona.
Saying "Hello, Cornerstone..." every time the phone rings, for 12 years can be monotonous.
So, over the years, Maria has created her own repertoire of tones, depending on her mood.
There's the "He's in a meeting" tone. The "He'll call back later" tone. The "I'll give him your message" tone.' And the classic "What did you say your name was?"
Want to hear one of them? Just call.
In an industry where one's decibel level determines one's level of productivity, Mourya is a rare exception.
He gives the word "quiet" an inferiority complex. There may be days when he doesn't even utter a word. From the time he walks into office to the time he leaves, he spends his time punching in figures, tallying bills and scrutinizing accounts. Chatter, idle or otherwise, doesn't figure high on his priority list. If he's asked a question he answers with the quintessential Oriental nod. Nothing more.
If it wasn't for the salary cheques that make it into our respective accounts every month, on time, Mourya could be an illusion.
For a visualiser with just 3 years, Pooja exudes a quiet confidence that also reflects in her work. She adds the feminine quotient to our fashion brands. With an eye for detail and a sense of style, she's the much-needed arrival in our male dominated art department.
Open your wallet. Chances are, most the credit cards you have in there were designed by Prakash. Diligent, thorough, fastidious, Prakash has been with Cornerstone since its inception.
From a fresher to training freshers today, he's the rock on which a lot of Cornerstone's equity is built.
Priti neat, Priti efficient, Priti organized.
That's Priti for you. She's the one who organizes the cake on our birthdays, she's the one who compiles the annual holiday list, she's the one who keeps track of Basudev and Uday's meetings, she's the one who schedules appointments and plans itineraries. She's also the one with the neatest desk in the office. She's been doing this at FCB Ulka, AB and U and Cornerstone for the past 12 years. And you know what they say about practice...
Scheduling, billing, rescheduling, billing, re-rescheduling, billing.
That's the average hour in an average day for the last 12 years for Rajeshwari.
Needless to say, diligence is her forte. Along with the ability not to buckle under pressure, especially when it comes in the form of Kumar. She's the strong, silent type who's not easily ruffled. Notice, we said "not easily" and not "never".
On the occasional day, Rajeshwari is known to breathe fire so you'd better have a very good reason to circle her orbit.
Helpful, efficient and sincere, Rajeshwari is the calming force in an otherwise high-strung atmosphere.
If Cornerstone has a monitor, Ram would be a close contender. He's the first one in the office and the last one to leave. From delivering artworks to making sure we switch off the ACs every evening to keeping tabs on how much stationery we waste, he's been with the agency right from the word logo.
If we could bottle Shweta's energy and sell it, we wouldn't have to work another day.
She's confident, zealous and bursting with ideas. Not all of them in the area of work, though.
As visualiser, she's still honing her skills but is thoroughly enjoying the process.
Don't make the mistake of telling Sunil a joke. He won't stop laughing. And when he does stop (a couple of hours later), he�ll sheepishly ask you to explain the punch line to him. On a good day, Sunil is Tom and Jerry. On a bad day he's Tom and Jerry on steroids.
Impish and always ready for a good laugh, he can keep you in splits with his antics.
When he's not running around town on an office errand, he's playing with his obsession - his mobile.
Pinxit Blue, Makhija, Goldmine. Some of the stops Tushar made before joining Cornerstone. Tushar is our most flexible Art Director. During the day he tweaks layouts on his desktop, after hours he twists his torso on the dance floor. He has the rare ability to infuse style into his work without sacrificing solidity.
We've nicknamed him Tushar Travolta, but some of the women prefer calling him Tush. No prizes for guessing why.
If Basudev is the face of the agency, Uday is the voice. Deep and garrulous, on most days he can be heard in the next building, over the din of construction. And that's when he's not yelling. He's known to talk for hours, except when he's asked for a brief.
In a sense, Uday is the Creative Director of Cornerstone. No piece of creative work leaves the creative room without Uday's nod of approval. Or in most cases, his shrug.
Like the glass walls in our office, Uday's temperament is quite transparent. His mood is an accurate barometer of the Indian stock markets. If the markets have tanked, a word of caution, don't enter his cabin.
He's culled his repertoire of experiences from Trikaya and O&M before branching out on his own. 24 years later, the motivation to make a difference is not just alive, it's kicking.
In case you haven't figured it out yet, the other cabin in the office belongs to him.
Where do we start with Ulhas - Spiritual guide? Yoga instructor? Financial advisor?
For now, let's just stick to Creative Director (Art). With stints in a multitude of agencies - Contract, Nexus, Rediff, Lintas, Everest and RK Swamy, Ulhas still enjoys the thrill of doing good work.
His funda in life is simple: Simple food, simple clothes, simple life.
He spends his weekdays questioning the brief and his weekends questioning the purpose of life.
Perfection is his middle name, If there's a stray strand of hair on the head of the man sitting in the train that's passing through a tunnel, he will correct it. Deadline be damned.
Thorough, dependable and more importantly, Ulhas thinks in ideas.
By the way, this is Ulhas's second stint at Cornerstone.
Did we mention he was a perfectionist?
Vinod is the shortest distance between two points. Give Vinod an errand to run or an artwork to deliver and he's like a man on a mission. Super fast express. Halts nowhere.
And, when he's not going somewhere or returning from somewhere you'll find him dispersing his pearls of wisdom to whoever's willing or not wiling to listen. He has a quotable quote for every occasion, every problem, every solution.
Trouble is, during his 12 year tenure, we've heard them all a million many times over.
So, the minute we see him approaching we send him off on another errand.
But he's Vinod. He'll be back. Fast.
Cornerstone can be divided into two eras. Before Vishi and After Vishi.
In all humility, we admit, that life in Cornerstone before Vishi was bland, boring and just another day at work.
With his voracious appetite for fun and other un-mentionable persuasions, Vishi brings with him varied, non-advertising work experience. Years spent at Essel Group and Tangerine have armed him with enough ammunition to understand various businesses.
Now if only he could figure out how to write a status report.
Noah is Inacio,s right hand man. Or left, depending on which side of Inacio he sits. Quietly, quickly and without any fanfare he gets the job done. Nothing fazes him.
Give him an impossible deadline, give him numerous changes, give him a crazy brief and what you get in return is a beatific smile.
..............
Aditya worked as a marketing executive till the pangs of copywriting could no longer be ignored. A quick learner, he made the transition effortlessly.
Wine tasting, photography and vintage motorcycles are just some of the
interests he would spend time pursuing, if he had the time.
