KOCHI: Kriss Venugopal’s heart started beating fast. At the Emirates Hill house of the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, in May 2007, he was coming to a shocking realisation. After 40 minutes of an intense chat, for a radio show, the technician indicated that the recording switch had not been put on. Venugopal took a deep breath and said,
“Maam, this is my difficulty. There has been a technical glitch. We were not able to record the interview. I would be grateful if you can do it again.”
Benazir stared at Venugopal for a few moments and then she nodded. “That was the moment when I realised the greatness of Benazir,” says Venugopal. “She accepted that a mistake had happened and nothing could be done about it. So, she was gracious enough to do the interview again.”
Venugopal has other memories of the interview. It was fixed at 5 p.m. Venugopal, who was a radio jockey for a local station, arrived at 4.50 p.m. He was allowed inside. But Benazir said, “Can I take 10 minutes of yours?” Indirectly she was telling Venugopal that he was before time. “The way she said it was memorable,” says Venugopal.
Later, when he offered Benazir’s book, ‘Daughter of The East’, to be autographed, she wrote, ‘Dear Kriss, I enjoyed the interview’.Story-telling comes naturally to Venugopal. So, it is no surprise that he has just published two novels, ‘All you need is a hug’ and ‘All you need is love’.The first book is a portrayal of the hero, Kannan, from age four to 86. During that period, Kannan experiences happy as well as sad moments. “Both these moments require a hug, because, medically speaking, it releases endorphins,” says Venugopal. “And that’s the right way, although, in Kerala culture, hugging is not encouraged. This book talks about the 50 major incidents in Kannan’s life.”
‘All you need is love’ is about a filmmaker, Ram and his unsaid love for a girl called Saranga. “He did not disclose his love, because she’s engaged and is going to get married,” says Venugopal. “So the story is about how that love moves forward, but it does not necessarily end in marriage. It need not. It a journey of love.”For the pony-tailed engineer, by education, writing has become a passion. “Every morning I wake up and all I want to do is write,” he says.
But during the day, Venugopal is busy with his career as a clinical hypnotherapist. Asked what the job entails, Venugopal tells a story. “A lady, Mamata Mohan (name changed) went for an interview,” he says. “She was asked a question, but did not know the answer, so she fumbled.” The interviewer, however, dealt deeply with the subject. Mamata felt unnerved. After that, because of a mental block, she was afraid to go for interviews.
When she came to Venugopal, he made her go into a trance by repeating a sentence. “When she was semi-awake, I told the problem to her subconscious mind and asked it to find a solution,” says Venugopal. After a period of time, Mamata regained her self-confidence regarding interviews.
Asked how, he says simply, “The mind is a very powerful weapon. One suggestion can move a mountain. And another can kill you also. The Bhagavad Gita says the mind is the only thing. At every moment, you are building yourself or breaking down. It is a very precarious situation we are in. So, we have to be careful about what we are thinking. Ideally, for good results, think positive thoughts all the time.”
Thanks to his positive thinking, Venugopal has enjoyed many interesting experiences. One has been his very successful career as a radio jockey. He has done over 650 interviews with many eminent people. Interestingly, Venugopal says there is a commonality among all of them. “They have strong minds, an unshakeable inner conviction and immense self-confidence,” he says.
What about charisma?
“Charisma is what we give them,” he says. “It is in our minds because they are famous. They have a single heart, the same red blood and the same 306 bones like you. In fact, they are ordinary people.”
And this is borne out by the celebrities he has met. “Take the actor Indrans,” says Venugopal. “I met him during a dubbing for a movie. He’s so simple. He’s the same Indrans of 30 years ago.”
And what about the superstar Mohanlal?
“He is also a simple person,” says Venugopal. “But he’s shy and finds it difficult to interact, especially with strangers. Nevertheless, Mohanlal has a God-gifted talent as an actor. The moment the cameras are switched on, he is transformed.”
Venugopal’s knowledge is amazing. He can give tips on how to develop your voice, how to speak in public, how to learn languages and be good at dubbing… any subject you pick up, Venugopal knows something about it. He is, quite simply, a man of many parts…and memorable.