Not just chowkidars any more: Ronit
"Close protection is a different ballgame altogether. For anyone who we are close protecting, I would have at least an eight member team, divided into three different sections, guarding them," he says.
So is it true that Shah Rukh Khan has 75 people as protection? "No, that's an exaggeration," informs Ronit, adding, "But when you are close protecting SRK, security provisions are top of the line. There's an ambulance, police, a contact list of the closest people, closest hospitals and police stations with the team. With some clients, it's not a question of 'if it happens', but when it happens. There's extensive planning for them."
While Shah Rukh may or may not require 75 people, the IPL has engaged at least 10,000 people for security. Says Ronit, "If you take all the cities in consideration and every type of securit ' player, venue, post-party, close protection et al, at least 8,000-10,000 security personnel have been engaged."
Ronit explains the intricacies of celeb protection. "Normally, even when celebs fly out of Mumbai, it's my boys who travel with them for close protection. Like I told you, we need to be very careful. It's not just about being big and bulky and following people around. There's a lot of strategy and planning that goes into it."
The growing list of celebs that Ronit has given protection services to includes Brad Pitt, Kylie Minogue, Nelly Furtado and Naomi Campbell, among others.
Trying to keep important people safe must be tiring, right? Ronit answers in the affirmative, "I will take a long break after the IPL, even abstain from acting. It's been gruelling!" 😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲