MJ Akbar releases Dr Subhash Chandra's book 'The Z Factor: My Journey as the Wrong Man at the Right Time'
Speaking on a variety of subjects, Subhash Chandra spoke about how he was once offered a lucrative arms making business and had refused it. "I didn't want to make money from business that would kill people. Entertaining people is far better than selling arms," he said to a huge round of applause.
Zee Group chairman Dr Subhash Chandra's book 'The Z Factor: My Journey as the Wrong Man at the Right Time' was released at the ongoing Zee Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF). In a session titled The Z Factor, politician-journalist MJ Akbar released the media baron's biography.
Speaking on a variety of subjects, Subhash Chandra spoke about how he was once offered a lucrative arms making business and had refused it. "I didn't want to make money from business that would kill people. Entertaining people is far better than selling arms," he said to a huge round of applause.
Chandra, who hails from a small town in Haryana, rose to incredible successes as the pioneer of broadcasting in India. He started with a rice exports business, where he made a fortune in the erstwhile USSR. After that he got into the business of broadcasting, giving India its own private entertainment channel, Zee TV. It is credited with changing the rules of the game and tickling the fancy of a public starved of entertainment.
Chandra had come to Delhi with barely Rs 17 in his pocket. Today, he has a net worth of $6.3 billion and annual group revenue in excess of $3 billion. "To create something new, to do something that has not been done in the country before motivates me," he said, speaking on his eventful journey. "And, media is a very dynamic industry; I see more opportunities than challenges."
Giving us a peep into his daily life, he said: "I do Vipassana for an hour every day; attend a session every year."
And on the future, he said, "I want to propagate Asian medicine and nature cure."
While replying to an audience question on how does he feel about the success of the IPL, after his bid to float the ICL did not work out too well, he said: "The BCCI should be thankful, IPL is successful because of ICL."