Zulfi, Anwar & Idavela Babu Together Work Their Charm To Create Spectacular Events
The clock is ticking, the make-up artists and stylists are working furiously to make sure the models look glamorous on the ramp. The Chief Guest of the show calls in to say that she met with an accident and won’t be able to make it. In between, a light bursts and technicians are running to the scene to change it. The program flow has to be altered and the entire crew needs to coordinate. The guests have slowly started to trickle in….chaos would be an understatement! This is a typical scenario an event management company faces every time there is a show. It’s a cocktail of disaster management, time management, resource management and yes, utter confusion! But at the end of it, the show needs to go on and the audience never realise or rather, are never made to realise the madness that is happening behind the scenes. RITZ is in conversation with Zulfi Ali and Anwar A T who spearheads Espanio Events, the company that launched and successfully managed four seasons of the coveted Kerala Fashion League!
Amidst all the confusion, what keeps you going? “The bitter sweet pressure that builds up during the show is what I enjoy the most. It gives me a kick,” grins Zulfi. One has to have to nerves of steel to handle such mega events and Zulfi and his partner sure seem to have it. The twosome started out with an advertising agency called Black and White and slowly progressed to event management. “Events were always a passion for me. So when the opportunity came up, we didn’t think twice. We had the resources and the right network. It clicked right away and since then, there has been no looking back.” Espanio has many big budget international events to its credit. With a team of twenty five, a head office in Kochi and offices in Kerala and Dubai, the company has been instrumental in organising award nights, musical shows, product launches and fashion events in Dubai, Thailand and Singapore apart from innumerable shows in Kerala. They are also the authorised Railway Advertising Agency in Kerala who successfully handled a political campaign using the railways.
“The Kerala Fashion League is the biggest and only fashion event in Kerala that showcases over 20 designers on a single platform. Coordinating with the designers, makeup artists and models, getting the show stoppers, handling backstage coordination, production, media – the tasks and pressures are endless but at the end of it, when the show is a hit, the satisfaction is tremendous. This year we had 25 celebrities including Soha Ali Khan, Priya Mani and Isha Talwar walking the ramp and the response has been overwhelming. We have already started the ground work for Season 5! My strength is my team who work together tirelessly to put up a great show. Popular Mollywood actor, Idavela Babu is a creative partner of our company and his constant support at our events has definitely had a positive impact on Espanio!”
The biggest show so far? “Each show is special and a challenge in its own way. We have had tie ups with organisations and several media like Jeevan TV, Red FM, Adipoli India Pvt Ltd and MACTA to name a few and have hosted their award nights and musical shows. But one of the biggest shows we have handled so far is the launch of a residential project of Win Touch called ‘Palm Meadows’ at Kasargod. We had an audience of almost 50-60,000 and we brought in Cricketer Irfan Pathan for the event. It was a great launch that garnered a lot of attention from all corners and yes, a truly memorable experience!” Espanio also organised the prestigious RITZ Icon awards 2016 in Kochi at the Le Meridien, which was an astounding success.
Future of Espanio? Zulfi aspires to do more fashion related events in Kerala as he sees a great opportunity in the state’s fashion market. And yes, doing bigger shows at the international platform, especially Dubai, is his dream!
A good Event Planner
- Is Always: A Problem Solver
- Should Never: Give Up
- Loves to: Improvise
- Hates: Being Unorganised
- Desires: Every event to be a masterpiece!
