Leaving behind FOOtprintS... What KFP taught me and How!!

Situation 1: Sponsors... Where art thou??

Location: A well known garment Store, Kolkata.

"Footprints is an annual media seminar organized by our institute Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune every year across several cities around India including Dubai. I am here to organize Kolkata Footprints.", I rattled and looked at the man sitting across the table. I tried to scan his expression but he seemed unpredictable.

"Hmmm..."

"So if your company can..."

"Sponsor?", he offered.

"Umm...ya..we have already finalized our title sponsor..so maybe as a Gifts Sponsor or an Associate Sponsor?"

"Hmmm..."

I tried to open my Mac Book and show a quickly made slide show, but he stopped me.

"Ok Ushnota why don't you mail me the whole thing? What exactly can you offer and what exactly are you people expecting from us?"

We exchanged our respective cards.

"Thank You Sir", I said and got out of the posh store. 

The above mentioned situation was just one example of how I got treated by sponsors. The same situation got repeated many times. Sometimes, I got a positive reply, sometimes I did not. Yes, I was the "Sponsor Cell Head". A big title indeed. It taught me a LOT. One of the most important things that I learnt while organizing Footprints is, how to deal with Sponsors. I am lucky because I had  great team mates who never thought that I would have to do all the dirty sponsorship work because I was the Cell Head. Thanks to them my job became a LOT easier. And I mean it.

Situation 2: Abey who all are the "confirmed" speakers??

Location: Outside the mess, SIMC, Lavale, Pune

"Listen I tried many times. Saurav Ganguly's secretary is not responding."

"Dada is busy shooting this bengali television show man! I saw it on TV this time when I went back home during the swine flu break."

" Rahul Bose is not going to be in India that time. But I think Bob Roy is confirmed."

"Bob Roy who?"

"Listen everyone needs to finalize atleast ONE speaker each. Guys buck up!!"

"Who was the one who said will contact Sushmita Sen?"

"Hey ask your father to contact Rituparno Ghosh na!"

"Fine I will try for Rituparno Ghosh and Raima Sen then."

"Hey how about Bips and John!?" *giggle giggle*

This used to be the usual scenario during our Kolkata Footprints meetings. It still feels like a dream when I think about how we all managed to rope in such a wonderful panel of speakers. 

I had been negotiating with Prahlad Kakar's Secretary for quite sometime and it was still not confirmed. Finally I got the mail one fine evening which said that Mr. Kakar would indeed be coming to KFP as a speaker for the "Youth and Media" session. That was definitely a turning point for me, as a team member and as one of the organizer .

Things like booking his flight, booking his hotel (special thanks to Ananya for this), talking to his secretary several times made me go mad just a few days before KFP.

Soon, names like Sumit Roy, Gopali Bandopadhyay, Dr. Rashneh D Pardiwala were also "confirmed".

Rituparno Ghosh and Raima Sen didn't happen. Not that I didn't try.

Speakers. Yep, it really really taught me a lot of things. From negotiating to confirming to booking their flight tickets to picking them up form the airport to checking them in a hotel to bringing them to the venue to dropping them at the airport to obviously taking care of them. Thanks to KFP, yes, I have learnt a lot.

Situation 3: It's only 60 bucks!! Ok, 30.

Location: Here..There..Everywhere around Kolkata..

Next came the MOST difficult and the most important task. Sell Passes.

UKC Sir would not attend if you people do not sell passes double the hall capacity. I read and re-read that e-mail.

The hall capacity of our venue Kala Mandir was 1200. We had a target of selling approximately 2400 passes!

It seemed like a Herculean task, and trust me it indeed WAS! We had inititally got divided into a group of three for approaching various schools and colleges. But just a few days before the event going to one place together seemed like a waste of time. So we further separated. I remember  how I used to go out in the morning with a backpack on my back and roam all  around the city convincing people to buy passes. It was just two three days before the event and I was desperate.

I went to colleges like Jadavpur University and South City College and managed to sell few passes after a lot of convincing at Rs. 60 each. I even sold passes to people standing in the road, and am not even kidding here.

But the real twist came just two days before the event. We dropped our pass rates @ Rs. 30 per pass. My brother who is a student of Mass Communication at St. Xavier's College told me that there are many of his batchmates who are willing to buy passes. That really was a great moment and I can never forget it.

I didn't have to pitch. I didn't have to coax. I didn't have to convince. I was hounded by a huge group of Mass Communication students and passes got sold like hot cake within minutes.

I was happy plus astounded. I don't know whether it was because of the sudden low ticket price, or plain excitement about KFP, but something in me told then that our event would be a HIT. I didn't know then that my sixth sense was correct.

[PS: KFP '09 had a footfall of 2400+ people and according to UKC Sir that was the biggest turnout ever in any Footprints!]

Situation 4: Oh shit but we don't even have a script!!

Location: Kala mandir, Morning of the event.

Kallol and I were supposed to em-cee the first half  of the "Green Battle" session because right after that I was supposed to go to the hotel and pick Mr. Prahlad Kakar up around 1 PM. And as Shyama ma'am had said earlier, "Ushnota your primary work for the 'Youth and Media' session would be to take care of Mr. Kakar. So no emcee-ing for you then!". Anyway, so I was mentally prepared to host only a part of "Green Battle" with Kallol. There was a quickly made script mailed by Kallol at the last minute which I had read only once in the morning. 

Things were going fine till someone told us that we are supposed to em-cee for the "Young Communicators" too. I ran here and there to get the speakers profile but didn't get one. Finally "Media Realations" Head Shrabana came to the rescue and gave me a copy from the "Press Kit" at the last moment. Kallol and I somehow wrote the script again.

But the real twist came just after the program began. The two city co-ordinators introduced the event, and just before leaving the stage Poulami said, "And now we leave the stage for Kallol Sarkar and Ushnota Paul to take the event forward!"

Kallol and I looked blankly at each other for few seconds, and before we knew we were on stage. There was NO script and nothing was prepared. I don't really know how I managed and I can never forget that expression on UKC Sir's face ever. As I said something and came backstage quickly,  I broke down. I was perspiring and sulking and Shyama Ma'am was making me do deep breaths in one corner.

It took a little while for me to collect myself and all the sessions after that went very smoothly. But I must mention here that after the event,  whoever known was there in the audience said that they never understood the goof up and that that there was NO script. That definitely made both of us happy!

Situation 5: Totally "Kakar-fied"...!!

Location: Netaji Subhash International Airport

The BEST part about KFP for me undoubtedly was THIS. The evening before the event we had an important meeting at Shyama Ma'ams place. While everyone was discussing important strategies and the individual task lists for the D-Day, I had to rush out after a while because I was supposed to go to the airport and pick up Mr. Kakar. Everyone showed me a thumbs up as I went out.

"VB I am going to pick him up now!!!", I shrieked over the phone.

"Good.He is a very relaxed and chilled out guy.Don't you worry", Cheapomawali chirped.

"Umm..."

"I am telling you. Just relax!!"

I combed my hair and put on some deodorant nervously before getting out of the car. 

I had a lump on my throat and butterflies inside my stomach, as I waited inside the airport. 

"What if he doesn't even recognize me?"

"What if I fumble in front of him?"

"He is a real bigshot. Am I looking presentable?"

"Maybe he has already reached and has left without seeing me."

"Oh God! why did I do this in the first place?"

Thousands of stupid thoughts kept swirling inside my tiny head, when I saw a old pony tailed man wearing a hat and a smile coming. I knew it was HIM and I went up to him to introduce myself.

As the car sped towards the hotel, we kept chatting about all sorts of things. Sadly, Cheapo was also  a big part of the conversation.

I remember him asking me, "So you are a north eastern?"

"Noooo Sir!! ", I said scandalized. (Not that I have anything against them, but for some reason I feel really scandalized when people don't acknowledge my bengali roots.)

"I am a Bengali. Born and brought up in Calcutta.". I stressed.

"A north eastern born and brought up in Calcutta.", he smiled.

As I checked him inside the hotel, he asked me to drop him at his in-laws place after checking in his luggage. India Australia match was in full swing then and I got to see a glimpse of  this huge cricket buff. Sachin was batting and we were cheering for him sitting in his room.

Next day, again I had to go and pick him up from the hotel for KFP '09. I completed his checking out formalities and I was waiting for him at the hotel lobby, when I saw  a really pretty looking girl coming out from the elevator. She was dressed in a simple white chikan Kurti and blue jeans. It took me a while to understand that it was Soha Ali Khan and I saw Emraan Hashmi too. 

"The guy doesn't look like a monkey in real life though", I pondered.

By the way Mr. Kakar was initially wearing a long black kurta and jeans (yeah it did remind me of someone, not that one should bother about that) and  I thought he would wear that for KFP as well. But later he changed into a casual tee shirt. I asked him the reason and he smiled and  said casuals make him more comfortable. And if not wrong, he wore that same black kurta during Mumbai Footprints a few days later.

Once I reached the venue with him, I had a hard time managing the crowd around us. Journalists, students, fans, parents everyone hounded him for autograph and photograph.

He smiled sweetly and said, "I am dyslexic you see. I cannot sign!"

A lot of things happened during the event, taking about which would take up a lot of space and time. But I guess one of them worth mentioning would be Mr. Kakar asking me, "Ushnota Can I please sit on the stairs? It's been a while I have done that!"

After his session got over, we left for the airport immediately because he had a flight to catch at 6PM. He wrote a note for me before leaving which I will treasure forever. I even remember him clicking pictures in my cell and not caring about the fact that others are looking at us. As I waved him goodbye and he went inside the airport, I couldn't help but admit to myself that I have never seen such a down-to-earth celebrity in my life.

I have seen many people from the film fraternity since a very early age, thanks to my father. But I have never seen a celebrity like Mr. Kakar who is so simple and approachable. He never made me feel awkward about myself and never threw any tantrums. 

I was just glad. Glad that KFP '09 went off so well. I think it's true when they say "Good things happen to good people." (Or so I would like to believe)

Peace <3