A conversation with Shonan Kothari, the brain behind the Mumbai flash mob of 2011, the video of which went viral on the internet hours after it was uploaded
Mumbai is a city that is always on the go but on November 27, 2011, at 4.52 pm, one of the city’s busiest stations came to a standstill for four minutes. Confused and curious crowds gathered around a group of 200 dancers, as the title track of Bollywood’s popular movie — Rang De Basanti — blared on the speakers of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, that commuters were only accustomed to hearing announcements from.
What’s a Flash Mob?
Usually organised via telecommunications, social media or viral emails, a flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual act for a brief time and then disperse. While the concept of flash mobs is extremely popular abroad, the CSMT flash mob is one of the first to happen in India. Kept perfectly under wraps until D-day, the video of the flash mob went furiously viral as soon as it was uploaded on YouTube.
Shonan Kothari, the brain behind the Mumbai flash mob, is no professional event organiser or flash mob planner. In fact, the 23-year-old is a Corporate Social Responsibility consultant. Surprised by her humbleness and patience in spite of being hounded by calls from all over the world, we talk to her about how she went about organising such a huge feat singlehandedly.
What motivated you to organise a flash mob in Mumbai?
I have been fascinated by the concept of flash mobs for a couple of months now and I’ve really wanted to be a part of one. Honestly, the thought was as simple as I want to be a part of a flash mob, so I’m going to organise one myself. Besides, I genuinely think that the city needs to have some fun. There are happier and positive ways to put across a social message too. I just wanted to spread some happiness.
How easy or difficult was the feat?
I won’t say it was difficult. It was just a long process which I took one step at a time pumped with lots of adrenalin. I just feel that because I was so passionate about getting it done, things sort of fell in place.
Did you do it singlehandedly?
The idea to organise a flash mob in Mumbai was mine but it was made possible with a lot of help and support from my parents, my brother and my friends.
There were 200 participants, how did you get so many people together?
I started by sending an email to 20 of my friends who then sent it to their friends who would be interested in participating. So the word largely spread via email. I had specially requested everybody not to mention the flash mob on social networking platforms as it would have become too difficult to handle.
I had decided that I wanted to gather 200 people but I received 325 signups within two days.
Of course, over time, some people had to back out as they couldn’t take out time from their schedules.
Considering you have a full-time job, how did you manage to take out the time?
I really don’t know how I went through it all. I would wake up really early to work on the planning, organising, coordinating and getting permissions from the railway authorities. Then, in the evenings after work, I would head for the dance practice.
How long did it take you to prepare?
I decided on organising a flash mob in Mumbai on November 1 and that’s when I sent out the email. The actual dance practice started only on November 14.
Apart from the obvious reason, why did you decide on November 27?
Well, November 27 was always the first choice because the aim was to commemorate the Mumbai terror attacks. But I needed to keep a realistic time frame in mind for preparing and organising so I thought of having it in December or January but then around that time, most people are busy dancing at weddings and parties. So, despite the shortage of time, I stuck to November 27. Besides, it was a Sunday so most people were free as well.
Why did you pick Rang De Basanti?
It’s a popular Bollywood number, it’s patriotic and it’s by A.R. Rahman!
Did you face any difficulties – with the preparation, with the participants or with the authorities?
I had no contacts in the railways so I had to go about getting the permissions. I tried calling at first but realised it wasn’t getting me anywhere so I just stomped into the offices without much shame, armed with a passionate speech.
I had to get through lots of different departments to finally get the required permissions. The general idea is that getting anything done in India, that involves the government, takes a whole lot of time. But I didn’t face much bureaucracy which came as a pleasant surprise.
It’s become a big rage on the internet – how does it feel to have been at the centre of it all?
It’s overwhelming. I have received so much feedback from unexpected sources such as the product manager of Google+, the editor of Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Times, Abhishek Bachchan and Akshay Kumar to name a few.
A Twitter monitoring website told me that the Mumbai flash mob had received about 1,80,000 mentions. The YouTube World channel on YouTube reported that the flash mob video was the second most popular video in the world.
I am especially amazed at the response shown by the regional media. There have been many people calling me and asking me how they can go about organising a flash mob or whether I can help.
One of the sweetest and most memorable feedback I received was from a father in Kolkatta who wished to organise a flash mob in his city with his daughter. It reminded me of my father and me.
[Originally published by Afternoon D&C in December 2011]
