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Prasoon Joshi remembers Piyush Pandey: “He wasn’t just a colleague or a leader- he was a pulse, a presence, a laugh that filled the room before he did”
In a deeply personal tribute, Prasoon Joshi recalls Piyush Pandey as an unfiltered, deeply rooted creative force whose warmth, authenticity, and humour defined not just advertising, but life itself.
Recalling one of their last conversations, Joshi wrote, “A few months ago, on the promenade in Cannes, I asked him, ‘At this stage in life, what would you tell me?’ He said something that still echoes in my head: ‘Don’t change the authentic you.’
“It feels like a shock to be saying ‘was’ when talking about Piyush,” wrote Prasoon Joshi, mourning the passing of the legendary adman, Piyush Pandey.
“Because for most of us who knew him, he wasn’t just a colleague or a leader - he was a pulse, a presence, a laugh that filled the room before he did.”
Joshi, lyricist, writer and global advertising leader, reflected on their first meeting, recalling that while the world around them often took itself too seriously, Piyush never did.
“To him, advertising wasn’t work - it was life itself. Messy, emotional, spontaneous, and full of humour. He could walk into a tense meeting, crack one line, and suddenly everyone remembered why we were there - to feel something. He believed that if you didn’t feel first, you couldn’t make others feel anything at all.”
Sharing a fond memory from Cannes, Joshi wrote, “Once, we were riding together in one of those little buses that take you to the venue. He suddenly started humming a Rajasthani folk song - something his mother loved. Within minutes, he had everyone of all nationalities on that bus singing along.
That’s Piyush for you - unfiltered, deeply rooted, unafraid to be himself in any room, anywhere in the world.”
Joshi remembered how Piyush brought laughter and discipline together seamlessly.
“He taught all of us that fun and hard work weren’t opposites - they were allies. That laughter could live right next to rigour. That emotion wasn’t what you added at the end, but the place you began from.”
He recalled how their work often spilled into family gatherings.
“Apart from office, at many a family function we have effortlessly taken out time sitting in a corner to flesh out ideas for a campaign. He never cut corners. He rolled up his sleeves, got his hands dirty, and expected the same from everyone around him. Our work ethic was in sync. Our timings differed though. I still recall after working late into the night, his very early morning calls - the voice booming with a chirpy ‘Kahan ho Tiger?’”
Joshi also reminisced about how Piyush extended his warmth beyond work.
“He made you part of the extended family - his brother and friend Prasoon, his talented sisters, nieces and nephews, Nita - all woven into our collective life. Full of noise and affection. His mother was a force of nature. Warm, sharp and affectionate. We talked about our mothers often, both of us getting teary-eyed, both knowing the exact kind of love we were talking about.”
Recalling one of their last conversations, Joshi wrote, “A few months ago, on the promenade in Cannes, I asked him, ‘At this stage in life, what would you tell me?’ He said something that still echoes in my head: ‘Don’t change the authentic you.’
He quoted a line of my song to me - ‘Rehna tu hai jaisa tu’. That was pure Piyush. No big philosophy. Just truth.”
“He made a generation of us believe that you could be yourself - speak in your own language, bring your whole story, your whole self-— and still connect with everyone. That you didn’t have to wear borrowed sophistication to belong,” Joshi said.
“To me, he’ll always be the man who reminded us that creativity isn’t about showing off, it’s about showing up - as you are. He lived big, loved big, and laughed even bigger. And that’s how I’ll remember him. Not just through awards or headlines, but through the work ethic, the courage and the authenticity. Salute.”
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