BEHINDWOODS CELEBRITY COLUMN

Hi people…all over planet earth!
Here’s a man all of you would love to interact with. His straight faced tongue-in-cheek comments will make even the grumpiest groucho smile inadvertently.

Bosskey…is boss in his own way and he holds the key to ‘calling a spade a shovel’! He has no qualms whatsoever about repercussions to his bold and blunt comments. In fact he has added a new dimension to the art of plain speaking and evolved his own style of humor.

Being the youngest of 3 children, he was the apple of his parents’ eyes. Born into a staid and solemn family, his ‘off the cuff’ remarks were more than a breath of fresh air! Can you beat this? He was just 5 when he commented on a lady’s blouse in Kapali theater which was so skimpy, ‘amma, why is she wearing a cooling glass on her back’?!

Cricket has always been his 1^st love. Now his entire life is laced with humor. He represented South zone in a cricket match against English schools. He has played along with Azharuddin, Ravi Shastri, Manoj Prabhakar and Chennai’s popular cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth.

In 1992 Bosskey fell in love with his bank colleague Vasanthi and tied the wedding knot. What he highlights with reverence is the fact that neither his mom nor dad questioned him on his choice. They agreed and welcomed Vasanthi into the family and ‘we 5’ became ‘we 6’ in the most natural and accepted manner.

Bosskey is so thankful to his 31 year stint in IOB, which he got through the sports quota. His job is such he has been able to pursue his other dreams with verve and vivacity.

He owes his rise to fame to 2 wonderful individuals. First is Madhan the renowned cartoonist and journalist. Madhan saw a joke book made by Bosskey and said ’this chap is a genius’! Madhan then took the initiative to teach Bosskey how to garnish real life humor and make it witty enough to bring a spontaneous smile on the recipient’s face. This gave birth to 16000 or more jokes in Anandha Vikadan by Bosskey from 1992 to 2006.

Telling a joke is an art by itself. Most often we start telling a joke and end up producing a real damp squib. To be able to hold the audience’s interest and attention is the key…Bosskey groomed himself well and tongue in cheek remarks became his forte.

Next chapter in his life was writing stage plays. 1993 multiplied his creative juices. 1993 also added to his family, his son Rag Vasisht, called Rocky by all. Bosskey hopes his son will realize both their dreams, represent India in cricket.

The 2^nd wonderful individual who made Bosskey reach another milestone in his quirky career is Murali Ram who was then the CEO of Jaya TV. Having read his ‘Giri Giri’ column in Junior Vikadan (analysis-paralysis of world current affairs in Madras Thamizh) Murali asked him to co-anchor a show Hari-Giri assembly. This was the window that made people sit up and notice the humorist called Bosskey, in a visual medium.

2001-02, Bosskey acted in a Tamil film ‘Youth’ and that’s when he discovered the inner layer of Vijay’s genuine nature. “I love Vijay, he is soooper and is not insecure at all.”  If the 2 lakh views in his ‘kashayam with Bosskey’ for Thuppaki review is not a testimony to this, then what is?!

At the same time, from 2001 to 2004 Bosskey was also an RJ in Radio Mirchi, where he anchored a program on current affairs called ‘Mirchi Sirichi’ (chill out with chillies). On a digressing note, I often tell Malathi Rangarajan (of the Hindu) that when I write in my ‘TWR’, I invariably find she has preceded me and I need to re-edit in order not to be repetitive or mundane! Incidentally here’s what she has to say of Bosskey: http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/08/09/stories/2004080900070400.htm. So you can know more about this ‘all rounder’

People actually sat up and noticed Bosskey right and proper in Poi Solla Porom. This was 2007 and credit goes to director A.L Vijay for casting Bosskey as a travel agent, Asif Bai. Again from 2007 to 2011 Bosskey entertained listeners with his ready wit in Big FM based on 3C… Cinema Cricket Chennai, first with RJ Balaji and later on his own.

Most important point to note, his 2 friends Nanee and Prasad have traveled a long way, all the way with him. I call them ‘the 3 musketeers’. In undiluted joy they perched themselves on cloud # 09 when Nanee and Bosskey commentated in Thamizh for the T20 world cup in S.Africa, through ESPN, every night in Singapore. And India won! When talking of this glorious moment Bosskey took a short walk down memory lane with a smile. His father opted for his son to play a cricket match for Tamilnadu since Bosskey’s heart and soul ‘breathed’ cricket, rather than write his school finals. How many fathers would support their child’s dream this way?! Bosskey, a St. Bede’s student thanked his stars that his school operated Jan-Dec and so took the final exam in March, to join Loyola without missing a year.

From 2005 to 2011, Deccan Chronicle published his ‘Bosskey bytes’ thanks to Yagna Balaji who was taken in by his spontaneous humor. I remember starting a fan page for ‘Bosskey bytes’ in Fb!

On 24^th July 2011 when Bosskey met with an accident and was in ICU, he knew how much his family and friends loved him, the way they rallied around. Kushboo, Sundar C, singer Srinivas, cricketer Srikkanth, veteran actor’ Jaishankar’s son Dr Vijay Shankar were few among many who even volunteered to pay his bill at Malar hospital!

The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. True to this adage, Rocky told his dad when he came back home, fit as a fiddle, ‘I thought you’ll get an Oscar but all you got is a- scar’!

Bosskey says he must have got (t)his eccentric way of leading his life from his dad who never carried a wallet. Instead he used to fold the currency notes into a hanky and preserve it in the folds of his sleeve! His mom not to be out beaten used to carry a green bucket in her hand to buy vegetables, not the traditional bag or basket. How weirdly uncommon is that…maybe genes have a way of being inherited in such habits too?!

Bosskey’s reviews on youtube, ‘kashayam with Bosskey’ has faced favor and flak, bouquets and brickbats. What I liked about this fun-loving many faceted man is, he doesn’t hesitate to say he was wrong in his review, for example Pizza. He gives an uninhibited outspoken review of films without a moment’s hesitation. In fact many times we have shared 1^st day 1^st show film watching experience with Bosskey (unplanned) beside us. His remarks send us on a ROFL-spree and we end up missing a crucial dialog on screen.

In this era where online opinions are quick to glorify or condemn with hidden agendas or star wars, KWB stands in as a good stress-buster.

Bosskey is now head deep anchoring ‘Sollunga Boss’ in Sun TV, 6 days a week, Monday to Saturday, thanks to Vijay Sarathy who heads it. He was it seems inspired by ‘Bosskey bytes’!

We can soon see Bosskey on the silver screen in Boologam with Jayam Ravi, Sundar C’s Theeyaa Vaelai Seiyanum Kumaru with Siddharth, Thillumullu 2 and Vasanth’s 3 Paer 3 Kaadhal.

Hats off Bosskey…you sure inspire young and old to utilize their every single waking (and sleeping) moment to walk the extra mile!

And with your birthday round the corner, here’s wishing along with the readers of ‘TWR’ a Bright, Optimistic, Successful, Special, Kinetic, Effluent, Youthful year…only request, while on your tickling spree, please watch out. Sometimes fragile sentiments and sensibilities may fly out of the window for a full toss with your googlies. Remain a leg spinner that you excelled as, back in your school days! Continue to submerge us in laughter with your brand of ‘bosskey medicine’

I just could not edit any of the ‘slices of Bosskey’, so pardon me if it is a tad too long! A la Great wall of China!

May February fill you with love and laughter,
rekhs