"An entire advertising generation has gone": Shoojit Sircar mourns passing of ad legend Piyush Pandey, recalls casting him in 'Madras Cafe'

Alipurduar (West Bengal) [India], October 24 : Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar has expressed deep shock over the death of advertising legend Piyush Pandey on Friday.

Piyush Pandey (70), Padma Shri recipient, was regarded as the architect of Indian advertising.

"I am still in shock. I don't think the entire advertising world can imagine itself without Piyush Pandey. An entire generation in the advertising world that was purely created by him has gone. It's a huge loss," Sircar told ANI.

The filmmaker recalled working with Pandey on past projects, including a significant flagship project.

"My relationship with him lasted for almost 25 years. My most important flagship project was with him and Amitabh Bachchan on 'Khushboo Gujarat Ki' when PM Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. At that time, we spent months with him, a man with a huge moustache and always laughing and smiling, always smiling at his own jokes," Shoojit Sircar added.

Noting that Piyush Pandey has touched several lives, he said, "I've never seen a man with a laugh, with so much laughter and smiles. Wherever you are, keep smiling. I know you will always be there for us, and we're going to miss you, Piyush Pandey Ji, we're going to really miss you."

During the interview, Sircar also revealed how Piyush Pandey worked in his 2013 film, 'Madras Cafe'.

"He (Pandey) might have done only one film in his life, and that is Madras Cafe," Sircar said.

According to Pandey's relatives, he had been suffering from pneumonia for the past few weeks. His health continued to worsen, and unfortunately, he passed away on Friday.

He was the mastermind behind iconic ad campaigns like Asian Paints' "Har khushi mein rang laaye", Cadbury's "Kuch Khaas Hai", and Fevicol's iconic "Egg" film.

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