Arasu, the manager of Illusions, a popular nightclub on R.K. Salai, has a name for the bouncer manning its door: ‘Another door.’
“You talk to the door, if the door is okay, then you get in,” Arasu declares proudly. The bouncer manning the door, who has overheard his boss’s comment, allows himself a nervous smile: it is eight in the evening and his day has just begun.
Once the sun has set over Chennai, it is often the bouncer who stands like a mountain of muscle between the most happening people and the most happening places in the city. As the alcohol begins to flow, people’s behaviour becomes unpredictable and these men, trained to gauge people, become alert.
“It’s all about guest management and having the presence of mind to identify trouble even before it crops up,” says Deena, who has been a bouncer with Pasha for the past six years.
Customers showing up to a club drunk; a group of men seeking entry into a night club without the company of women; being too loud and arrogant even before getting past the front doors — these are some of the problems bouncers have to deal with even before the best remixes of the night are played.
“A few drinks down, even a gentleman creates trouble on some nights,” says Arasu, who depends on his bouncer to be his security blanket when he deals with his unruly clients. “He might be a small guy or he might be a big shot, but ego will be the same. None of these guys want to mess with me when I have a six feet tall guy with bulging muscles backing me up though.”
Most bouncers haven’t had the chance to finish school and come from a variety of backgrounds. With an interest in physical fitness and body building, being physically intimidating is a prerequisite to being a bouncer. On the face of it, he may seem to wield enormous clout and be able to decide for some people, the course of their Saturday night, but he has a tough job on his hands, one that brings unforeseen challenges his way every evening.
“I was once stopped and cornered by four guys when I was heading back home at 2 a.m.,” says the bouncer of a popular resto-bar in Chennai, asking not to be named because he does not want his wife to find out about his profession. “It’s okay though, I can handle up to five to six guys at a time, and it’s only when there are more than that, that I need to call for back-up,” says the bouncer, confessing to carrying a few weapons with him at all times.
“A drunk customer might challenge a bouncer to a fight, but most bouncers are trained to handle such situations sensibly. It’s a tough task, I must say. Sometimes when things get out of hand and I step in to handle the situation, they challenge me to a fight too,” says Muthu, head of security at Pasha. “But usually all this ends with the night. Come dawn, all is well again.”
With customers inebriated and incapable of making sound decisions, disputes between people, disagreements regarding the bill and general misunderstandings are an everyday occurrence. With time, most bouncers build a relationship with their guests and can often get their customers to listen to them. When things do get out of hand, the manager steps in to exercise his authority and deal with the situation as manhandling a high profile customer is not something a bouncer can risk.
“Once a guy got hold of my collar,” says Rajesh, who has been guarding the door of 10 Downing Street for over a year now. “Most threats made are empty though and the next time he came to the club, he apologised and we made peace, and that’s the way it usually happens.” Now a father of two, fearless Rajesh knows he has to watch his step. “If we get hurt while trying to stop a fight, we shouldn’t make a big deal out of that, that’s just part of the job.”
Not all occupational hazards of a bouncer involve the clenched fist. “I have many female friends who come here often. When they’ve had enough to drink, they sometimes insist I dance with them, but I have to politely decline because I am working,” says Rajesh.
While women don’t usually create trouble that is difficult to handle, trouble is often created when people want to ensure they are safe and not subject to any sort of manhandling. “Even if a girl slips, they assume she is drunk and some men think they can approach her. We usually notice men with such intentions and keep an eye on them,” says bouncer Soundar of 10 Downing Street.
Married for 20 years and a father of two, Soundar often sees people as old as his children visit the nightclub, but he would never allow his own to ever visit one. “Culturally, we are very different. My son is almost 20 years old now and to date, I’ve not even let him go to the beach by himself,” says Soundar, 40, who looks atypical for a bouncer with vibuthi on his forehead on a busy Sunday night.
Having only studied till Standard 8, he wanted to ensure that his children received a college education and proudly announces that both his children are now looking to pursue their Masters’ degree. “Every day I give my son Rs. 10 or maybe Rs. 15 for his expenses, not because I don’t have the money to give, but because I’ve taken care of everything he needs,” says Soundar, who gives his daughter Rs. 5 for her daily needs.
Most of these men — needless to say — come from humble backgrounds, earning anything between Rs. 6,000 and Rs. 15,000 a month. The biggest perks of the job are that they get to rub shoulders with the rich and the famous — apart from receiving tips from people who spend the equivalent of a bouncer’s salary on one night’s revelry.
“When a big political figure wraps his arms around you and talks to you, while hundreds of people outside are waiting for his attention, how can it not make you feel really happy?” asks bouncer Deena with a wide smile.
