Always Abbas

It was during those days that he told me about his desire to write and compose lyrics. Somehow, I did not take this aspect of the young man seriously and was pleasantly surprised when I saw Graffiti — Postcards From School, where teaming up with Valentine Shipley, he has done a wonderful job with the songs. They are simple words that tell the stories of heartbreaks and aspirations at school.

In fact, a cassette of Grafitti is to be released soon and if the audience hysteria is any indication, it is just waiting to be lapped up. Written and directed by Roshan himself, it was a tremendous show with immense efforts gone into making it. Working with 40 teenaged boys and girls should not have been easy at all. I saw one of the matinee shows which were free for schoolkids. The auditorium was packed with youngsters who loved every bit of it and were simply going berserk.

Roshan told me that Graffiti was borne out of the theatre workshops that he holds for children every summer. It’s his way of remaining close to theatre, a passion with him since his Le Martinere schooldays in Lucknow. And that’s what I love about Roshan — a hi-flier, yet rooted to the ground. The fact that in spite of keeping a killing schedule, he somehow finds time to do things that are truly gratifying, is amazing.

Never at a loss for repartee, he is one of those rare people who are always vibrant and generate positive energy around them. A product of Hindu College with a Masters degree in Mass Communications from Jamia Milia Islamia University, Roshan’s a Delhi success story in the Bollywood-dominated showbiz industry.

Though he has been with the Stagedoor theatre group for nearly seven years now, it was as a radio jockey for FM that Roshan first got noticed. His inimitable style and voice were instant hits. This led to his netting Liberty Public Demand and the big break on television. And when not shooting for television, he is busy travelling and hosting corporate events as an emcee another way of not losing touch with the stage.

He seems to have turned this too, into an advantage and floated `Encompass’, an event management company. Roshan, though, has another story to tell. He says that though the companies hired him as the emcee, he used to end up doing everything anyway. “Because what was promised to clients was never delivered,” he says. And so now, it’s a package deal that he offers. What started as a one-room operation, today boasts of some prestigious corporate clients and he says he has handled over 200 live events.

It is to Graffiti’s success that he’s now planning to cut an album, for which he already has most of the tracks ready. Along with singing popular numbers, he says he has been writing his own songs for various shows and claims the response has been encouraging. Well! He is not the first television host who will be doing the music number. And since music is no longer about good lyrics and haunting tunes, but more about visual content, personalities, packaging and marketing, surely the media savvy anchor shouldn’t have any problems on that front!