Ad maverick Sonal Dabral talks about his TV stint with SRK, his dream to make a film and more

Mumbai: He 22 years old in the industry and still yearning. Sonal Dabral can safely be counted amongst the handful of ‘mad’ brains behind India’s thriving ad scene. After working with agencies like Lintas and O&M, this NID graduate is now chairman of the Bates David enterprise, following in the footsteps of ad biggie Mohammad Khan.

Interestingly, it’s almost after eight years that Dabral will be studying the Indian mindset again in the advertising sense. “I was with O&M Malaysia for five years and then Singapore for the next three. But no matter what audience you target, ultimately it is a single person you are communicating with. And if you can convince him, your job’s done,” smiles Dabral.

Apart from the fact that he considers Piyush Pandey his mentor, there is yet another creative bent in him that inspired him to pursue this profession. “During my NID days, I was actively involved in theatre — both acting and direction. As you study and character and delve into mindsets and mannerisms in theatre, the same goes for gauging the audience in advertising,” he says.

But his connect with acting hardly ends there. Few know that Dabral, who once hosted popular shows television like ‘Philips Top 10’ and ‘Sirf Ek Minute’, also did a role along with Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Fauji’ way back in the 80s. “His acting was as effortless then as it is now. I had told him that someday he would be a great superstar,” he adds.

No wonder he considers SRK — along with Big B — as two of the most bankable celebrities in the ad world. However, the fact that the presence of a celebrity in an ad becoming almost a necessity is something that worries Dabral. “The presence of a celebrity gives many ad agencies an excuse to take the creative for granted and hence good ideas aren’t produced. For me, no celebrity is bigger than your idea, no matter how big they may be.”

Apart from his goal to take his company sky high, a dream he cherishes is to some day make a film. “If I do manage to make it, I would place ordinary people in extraordinary situations and portray the magic of day-to-day life,” he ends with a wink.