Karan Joseph death: Who is Rishi Shah? Acquaintances decode the man

Rishi Shah PicPradeep DhivarA man hardly discussed in the media until September 9 Rishi Shah has repeatedly hit headlines since pianist Karan Joseph was found dead in the compound of his Bandra Bandstand building Known to the indie music community as publisher of RAVE magazine and music entrepreneur he however is remembered by actor and anchor Kubbra Sait as a certified medical marijuana prescriberAlso read Karan Joseph death Rishi Shah denies copying allegations by rock bandThats how he was introduced to me she tells midday recalling an event she hosted in Hawaii in 2011 This is when she first met Shah When he learnt that she was to holiday in New York the following year he said Come over stay with me I will take you to some fashion parties And I said yes why not she recounts His Manhattan apartment overlooked the Hudson and at the parties they frequented he seemed to know the right people I dont know what they thought of him but he knew his way around It was clear he was welloff and he shared a camaraderie with the people he metIllustrationRavi JadhavAn American lifeScouring the Internet confirms Kubbras claim Pictures of Shah on the website of the New York Social Diary show him partying with the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson Sachin Tendulkar and Deputy Head of Mission and Consul General at the British Embassy David Lelliott Kubbra next met Shah in March 2017 when she hosted a party to relaunch RAVE a music magazine he had first introduced in India in 2002 I hadnt kept in touch with him ever since New York But when I met him he was the same A jittery energy surrounded himAlso read Karan Joseph death Karan was mentally physically abused by Rishi allege friendsShah lived the life of a highflying elite thanks to his successful urologist father Dr Shashi Shah The man with a 40yearlong career in America much of it at Franklin Hospital Valley Stream NY has held several prestigious positions including President of Medical Staff and Chairman of the Medical Executive Committee In the 1980s he is believed to have performed the first percutaneous nephrostolithotomy keyhole kidney stone surgery in Long Island according to a report in The South Asian Times He met Pushpa when they were students at Sawai Man Singh Medical College in Jaipur She did her residency in Rehab Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine but gave up her practice a few years later to focus on family The Shahs are a prominent couple in the IndianAmerican physicians community Their younger Rahul runs an asset management firm with wife Anjani in New York Rishi Shah himself also apparently has a background in medicine but chose to work in the entertainment businessAlso read Im ready to leave all my friends for Rishi Shah Karan Joseph told a close friendHe is believed to have started his career at Arista Records in 1992 and since has been on the board of prominent committees including the American Society of Young Musicians and the Multicultural Motion Picture AssociationRishis parents Dr Shashi Shah in pic on facing page and Dr Rupa Shah in sari are prominent names in the IndianAmerican physicians community PicKaushal PunatarA wannabe star maker Shah returned to India in 2002 and launched RAVE which he said at the time would be Indias answer to Rolling StoneAlso read Mumbai Is bad advice from flatmate Rishi Shah to blame for Karan Josephs deathPop singer Shibani Kashyap met Shah at the same Hawaii event as Kubbra But it was in New Delhi in 2003 that she was first introduced to him when she was being interviewed for his magazine RAVE was doing well then He seemed to have a passion for music and played the guitar He was positive about my talent and later got me to record three songs with Silva Ganesh which he produced I dont know what happened to those songs though she says This trait of leading on musicians is responsible for the negative image he has within the industry Two days ago Kolkatabased band Underground Authority released a video that recounted how they had been shortchanged by Shah Lead guitarist Adil Rashid told midday that he met Shah at a gig in Blue Frog last year where he expressed his desire to help them record new material and get them gigs He even travelled to Kolkata to convince us He almost begged us We arrived in Bombay and recorded five songs at Famous Studios Once that was done Shah became a changed man Rashid alleges He ridiculed us in front of his staff He told us we were s and he was the reason we were doing anything at all We dont know where those songs are We were never paid for themA man of many facesEvent management and public relations firm Picture N Kraft owner Parul Chawla handled three events for Shah and remembers him initially for his confidence and his enthusiasm I remember how he fired his former PR rep on the phone right in front of me He was aggressive and eccentric but had the zeal to do something He had an eye for talent too For RAVEs relaunch he sniffed out a talented bunch of kids from Dharavi and had them performAlso read Mumbai Pianist Karan Josephs friends want full probe on Rishi ShahThe nonpayment of dues comes up again when Chawla says that her firm was never paid for managing the launch Shah said it was because he wasnt keeping well and had been admitted to Lilavati Hospital she says A wellknown musician who requested not to be named confirms Chawlas story and in fact shares that Shah said he was suffering from pancreatic cancer and had 18 months to live For old times sake Id meet him once every couple of months to find out how he was Projects he collaborated with Shah on would rarely take off and his reputation was getting sullied so they parted waysKubbra SaitA former colleague and scriptwriter remembers him for his sound knowledge of music His heart was in the right place and he had a vision for his company But he seemed to be grappling with emotional issues and that got in the way of his work she saysAlso read Mumbai Karan Joseph told me he was getting threat calls says pianists roommateMost people who knew and worked with him will agree he was arrogant and a horror to work with He is a bully said one acquaintance Can he kill or drive someone to death I dont knowAlso view Pianist Karan Josephs tragic death What we know so far