A sixer on the literary field
At the launch of Shailendra Singh's book, cricketer Kapil Dev talked about his life lessons and some best moments spent with his dear friend
Shailendra Singh has been there, done that. He is often known as the sports marketing guru; some call him an advertising wizard, and for good reason — his company, Percept, is one of the most renowned entertainment firms in India. He has even produced more than 60 Bollywood movies. He was the brains behind some of the most famous campaigns for the biggest brands in India, has managed some of the country’s most respected cricketers and launched the careers of some of the country's biggest celebrities. He has even organized festivals like Sunburn. Singh has now turned to developing a self-help guide for the younger generation. FIJ@k Knows was his dream come true, he says, and together with his cricketer best friend Kapil Dev, he has launched the book and shared his most memorable experiences with the awestruck audience.
“I’ve done everything I ever wanted to in life. I was only left with authoring a book and now I have done that as well. I guess I am at a point in life when I have achieved something in life and can now help others. This book has a range of experiences, both ups and downs, in my life and am sure others will draw lessons from them,” he said. “I would say the book is funny and candid, yet rich in insights on how to really live life on your own terms. This is an unconventional self-help manual and is not like anything on the stands yet.”
Dev, on his part, said he loved the book’s cover page. He went on to say he expected the book to be as crazy as Singh himself. “The name of the book itself is so unique. In India, we still have a taboo on using certain words. Using such a daring name for his book shows that it really comes from Shailendra’s heart.”
Singh and Dev have both shared great camaraderie in their friendship. “I got an award at a function and had to give a speech,” Dev said. “Shailendra forced me to give the speech in Hindi — he gave me you-are-an-Indian drama and emotionally blackmailed me to speak in our national language. Imagine, I was delivering a speech in Hindi at a place like london! It was crazy but we all laughed about it later.” The two friends say their best memory remains of a london club where they spent eight hours chatting and drinking.
“We shared each other’s problems and kept chatting. We didn’t realise we had spent so many hours just talking. The best part was there were only three people when we started talking, and by the end of the day, we were accompanied by some 25 people at our table. It was more like an intellectual session between friends,” Singh said. Dev acknowledged writing was a difficult job.
“Writing is very tough, especially when you are creating a self-help guide for youngsters,” Dev said. “Counselling done one-on-one is still easy, but penning down your thoughts and connecting to the masses is complicated,” said Dev. “This book focusses on four points — find your real self, follow your heart, achieve your goals and live life like you don’t care,” Singh said.
