No 12363, Saturday 07 Jul 2018, Scintillator

Across

1. Wood from tree with nests (6) SANDAL {S{AND}AL}
4. Academic, losing head, copied trick (8) PEDANTIC {aPED}{ANTIC}
9. Take possession of trophy, appearing coy on the outside (6) OCCUPY {COY*} around {CUP}
10. Pitch before founder to evoke change of mind (4-4) FLIP-FLOP {FLIP}-{FLOP}
12. Cutting line to enter with extreme caution (8) GINGERLY {GINGER{l}Y}
13. Timeless botanist grows tree in a pot (6) BONSAI {BOtANISt*}
15. Heart possibly left bleeding from fat (4) PUMP {PlUMP}
16. Appropriate // make-up is such (10) APPLICABLE (DD)
19. Investor misses out in Hollywood setting (3,7) LOS ANGELES {LOS {ANGEL}ES}
20. Kick-start? (4) BOOT (DD)
23. Ask for support, mostly to get painting material (6) CANVAS {CANVASs}
25. Being broke, so I may skip inessential academic conferences (8) SYMPOSIA {SO I MAY SkiP*}
27. Overwhelmed by dry day, little devil put on a weak smile (8) SIMPERED {S{IMP}ERE}[D}
28. Club's electronic panel needs fixing (6) ALPEEN {E+PANEL}*
29. Lol! Limps with battered shoe (8) PLIMSOLL {LOL+LIMPS}*
30. Wastrel gets ale for drunk (6) LOAFER {ALE+FOR}*

Down

1. Substitute starting to polish silver vessels is upset (7) STOPGAP {Polish}{AG}{POTS}<=
2. Dubs celebrity arrests to be 'superficial' (9) NICKNAMES {NICK{NAME}S}
3. Greece manages to export fruits (6) APPLES {grAPPLES}
5. See around Spain in a devious way (4) EELY {E{E}LY}
6. Very silently, a pest draws to get near (8) APPROACH {A}{PP}{ROACH}
7. Lift opponents at the table, drunk, in pieces (5) TILES {SE}{LIT}<=
8. Sudden whim to restrict a South Indian's necessity (7) CAPRICE {CAP}{RICE}
11. He wouldn't remain in a dancing shoe (7) SLIPPER (CD?) (CD&D) See comments
14. Indecent to watch a bird down under (4-3) BLUE-EYE {BLUE}-{EYE}
17. A bibliophile's favourite haunt (9) BOOKSHELF (CD)
18. Not odd to fear snakes – snakes out in grasses! (8) SNEAKERS {fEaR+SNAKES}*
19. Somewhat apolitical, ace superstar steps into shoes (5,2) LACES UP (T)
21. Coach and team leader shower jointly,wanting to get hot (7) TRAINER {Team}{RAIN}{togethER}
22. Handsome young man needs a vote to get Oscar (6) APOLLO {A}{POLL}{O}
24. Mini-binoculars in the front reflecting a lot of light rings (5) NIMBI {MINI+Binoculars}* Reflecting on double duty? See comments
26. Scoundrel crushed by she-elephant (4) HEEL (T)

Reference List
Line=L, Time=T
Silver=Ag, Greece=Gr, Hot=H, Oscar=O

Colour/Font Scheme

Definition, Solution, Component letters, Embedded links, Anagram Indicator, C/C indicator, Reversal Indicator, Hidden word Indicator, Letter Pick indicator, Deletion Indicator, Homophone Indicator, Movement Indicator, Positional Indicator, Substitution, Indicator, Link/Connector, Extraneous

GRID

Bhargav's Talepiece

The bouncer and the dancer - Part 82

He wore LOAFERS while in school and carried a safety pin in case... Never finished school but entered politics as a SNEAKER taking part in sundry demonstrations and agitations.

Became fascinated with footwear after coming to know of the I.M. collection and the most talked about in his own State. Having fallen head over HEELS for footwear, Marudhu's collection included SANDALS from Miu Miu and PLIMSOLLS from Jimmy Choo.

He imported CAPRICE brand from Germany. After seeing the tagline "Walking on air" in the logo he thought he could levitate! Even his toilet SLIPPERS were imported. 

Had many NICKNAMES but the most popular was Kabali. He often used to shout "Seruppuda" whenever he wanted to SHOO and BOOT someone.

He LACES UP as the plane is about to land in LOS ANGELES.

Marudhu is taken around Shangri-la. Koo! What a tour!!  He can arrange for all his colleagues to be brought here and made to stay as long as necessary whenever the need arises.... Entertainment and booze was readily available.

As a STOP GAP arrangement he makes SS to OCCUPY the seat of Manager of  APOLLO School of Dance.

He also introduces his own dancers including the peppy Indra Kumari and his brother-in-law Vasu who was the APPLE of his eye to take care of the receipts.

(CAN VASU be relied upon?)

What happened next?