INCEPTOR OF SUNBURN

In 2014, under his captaincy, Sunburn was ranked the 3rd largest dance music festival in the world (IMS Business Report 2014) and the largest festival in Asia.

For Shailendra, it was always more than just music festival. Sunburn rocketed from a small experiment on a Goan beach, to become the largest festival season on the planet. In Season 7 alone, Sunburn touched over 18 million lives. A much needed entertainment option for the youth of India, fans eat, sleep and breathe Sunburn. Sunburn is a lifestyle.

As fan fanaticism reached unprecedented levels, as the international EDM industry turned their attention to India, and as competition lusted after the coolest youth-connecting brand in the nation, everyone wanted to get backstage at Sunburn. But only a few had AAA access to the mayhem and madness. And only one man has created, captained and bore witness to the entire journey – the Inceptor of Sunburn, Shailendra Singh. 

He is the only Indian to be ranked in the 50 Most Powerful People in EDM (2013, inthemix), was invited to join Niles Rogers, Gorgio Moroder and other industry legends on the conference favorite Gamechangers Panel at ADE 2013, and was the first non-musician to be featured on the cover of RollingStone Magazine. With Sunburn having executed 200+ events in a year and bringing in all the world’s top Djs, Shailendra Singh is Asia's largest Music Promoter.

THE ROAD TO BECOMING ASIA'S LARGEST MUSIC PROMOTER

It all started with the Airtel Freedom Concert in 1998. India’s first ever live pop music concert witnessed performances by Shiamak Davar, Leslie Lewis and Hariharan. In 2004, the Sangeet Awards celebrated Indian music with a first-of-its kind, blowout event featuring Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan/ Salman Khan/ Rani Mukerji and more.

In 2006, the immaculate execution of the Nokia New Year’s Eve (India’s first international New Year’s concet) bash can be credited to Shailendra’s eye for detail. Produced in partnership with Harvey Goldsmith, Percept stayed true to Nokia’s motto and succeeded in connecting people across the globe with scintillating performances by: Nelly Furtado/ A.R Rehman/ Shahid Kapoor/ Priyanka Chopra/ and choreographed by Shiamak Davar. 

There were 5 concerts across 5 cities - Hong Kong, Rio De Janeiro, Mumbai, Berlin, New York -  but Percept won the Gold Ex “Excellence Award for the Best International Event” for their management of the event in Mumbai.

In 2007, paying tribute to four decades of Rock and Metal in the country, Shailendra launched Metalfest. Brazilian heavy metal band, Sepultura performed for tens of thousands in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Shillong. Launched in 2011, Bollywood Live (now Bollyboom) was the first ever multicity Bollywood Dance Music Festival and India’s first chance to ‘consume Bollywood’. 2012 saw the launches of Lost - a music intensive, road rally/ Superstar with David Guetta - India's first DJ ranking festival/ DJ Mag India - with Shailendra Singh as Mentor. 

Another inception, Fly Music Festival, was released from the Percept stables in February of 2015. Fly is focused on the best international and domestic live bands and musicians, and the inaugural event featured British sensation, Ed Sheeran. 

CHANGING THE GAME, ONCE AGAIN

With Sunburn established as a global leader, Shailendra decided it was time to take things to the next level. His vision was to unite the world of entertainment to make a positive social difference; rebalancing the equation between commerce, creativity, and cause.

In 2015 he launched the Guestlist4Good Social Enterprise and invited the World’s #1 DJ Hardwell to perform in India, for free. Shailendra put 100,000 fans on his personal guestlist to attend the show for free and the profits were used to educate 18,200 children through Magic Bus. It was the largest attended Facebook Event ever in the history of Facebook and the start of a movement that has educated 128,200 children and entertained 290,000 fans on ground.

PROLIFIC : PRODUCER OF 72 FEATURE FILMS

In 2008, Shailendra Singh was voted the ‘12th Most Powerful Player in Bollywood’, by Filmfare Magazine. In 2009, Percept Pictures was listed as the 4th Most Powerful Entity in Bollywood on the Filmfare Power List – no minor accomplishment for a company that was barely five years old. 

From the critically acclaimed Page 3, to the rib-tickling comedy Malaamal Weekly, India’s first animation feature film Hanuman, to the National Award winning Kanchivaram, Shailendra’s deep understanding of audiences, genres and markets led to the production of a wide gamut of meaningful and commercially viable cinema. In a short span of 6 years, P.P.C. produced and distributed over 72 commercial feature films and made a name for itself as ‘A Studio with a Difference’.   

Shailendra’s work in content does not end with cinema. In the TV Programming industry, he was an integral part of the re-birth of one of India’s leading Hindi G.E.C.s, Sahara One, launching India’s first youth-oriented fictional serial, ADA, and Powerr Trip, a trailblazer in the cluttered talk show offerings, hosted by Shoba De. He also commissioned the weekly soap Woh Rehne Waali Mahlon Ki, breaking the 21:00 hrs prime time band wide apart, and India‘s first live dial out game show, Dial One Aur Jeeto. Shailendra was also responsible for launching Filmy, the Hindi language movie channel, in 2006. 

SPORTS MARKETER and THE BIGGEST CRICKET SPONSORSHIP EVER

Throughout the years, S.S. is perhaps best known as ‘the face of Indian sports marketing’. He gave up his own cricketing career in 1987, yet his passion for sports drove him to launch and promote many new sporting initiatives in India. In 1994, he setup Percept D’Mark (PDM) and in a short span of time, captained the company to become India’s leading Experiential and Sports Marketing Agency. 

His passion, combined with his business acumen, has resulted in significant landmarks for the Indian sports marketing industry. He envisioned a huge opportunity in cricket and conceptualized the famous INR 100 crore sponsorship of the Indian Cricket Team. He single-handedly changed the very dynamics of the sports sponsorship business in India.  

Credited as the man who gave birth to ‘Cricketainment’ in India, his contribution to revolutionizing the sport has found a special mention in The IPL handbook. Many years before the billion-dollar IPL league was launched, it was S.S. who organized the same format matches, known then as ‘Masala Matches’. 

Not content with just cricket, S.S. shifted his focus to promoting alternate sports in India, including Soccer, Tennis, Golf, Cycling, Wrestling, with Boxing being his personal favorite. Through PDM, he has created, launched and executed close to 1000 sport related events in India, and the world, including: Kargil Benefit Soccer Match, Laureus Sports Academy, Sahara Indian Sports Academy & Awards (SISA), Formula 1 Powerboat Championship, Toronto Sahara Cup Cricket Tournament, LG Cricket First, Lagaan Cup, Million Dollar Arm, Felicitation of Boxing Champions, Sahara Pune Warriors Sponsorship.

The Kingmaker

Personally associated with 250+ celebrities through endorsements, appearances, movies and live entertainment, Shailendra Singh's affair with Talent Management started quite early in his career. At a time when most of the celebrities in India were managed by their secretaries, he was the first to spot the need, and the opportunity. In 2007, he launched Percept Talent Management. 

Shailendra was also largely responsible for bringing big-buck endorsements to sports talent. At one point in time, Percept was managing 9 of the eleven top Indian cricketers playing for the National Team. Percept can be credited for starting the entirely new industry, Sports Management, in the Talent Management domain in India.

Responsible for turning many Talents into Brands, with an identity that was beyond their realm and lifespan, the diverse talent pool that he identified and nurtured included Bollywood celebrities, Sports Stars, Musicians, Writers, Directors, Fashion Designers and International icons:

national talent

Aamir Khan     ✫     Aishwarya Rai     ✫     Amitabh Bachchan 

Amrita Rao     ✫     Bipasha Basu     ✫     Dia Mirza     ✫     Hrithik Roshan  

Karan Johar      ✫     Kareena Kapoor     ✫     Katrina Kaif  

Lara Dutta     ✫     Mallika Sherwat     ✫     Niel Nitin Mukesh  

Preity Zinta     ✫     Priyanka Chopra     ✫     Rani Mukherji     

Salman Khan     ✫     Shah Rukh Khan     ✫     Shilpa Shetty            

Gagan Ajit Singh      ✫     Jai Bhagwan     ✫     Kapil Dev 

Manoj Kumar     ✫     M.S. Dhoni     ✫     Rahul Dravid

Wakar Younis     ✫     Sunil Gavaskar     ✫     Sourav Ganguly

S. Sreesanth     ✫     Sushil Kumar     ✫     Vijendra Singh

Virendra Sehwag     ✫     Yuvraj Singh      ✫     Zaheer Khan

international talent

Boris Becker     ✫     Daley Thomson      ✫     Edwin Moses

MichaelJohnson      ✫     Mohammed Kaif     ✫     Nadia Comaneci 

Ricky Ponting     ✫     Shaun Pollock     ✫     Stephen Fleming     ✫     Steve Tikolo

2,000 AWARD WINNING AD CAMPAIGNS

Some of us are born explorers, some of us are born inventors, but only a handful of us can be branded as innovators.

In the early years of Percept Advertising, Shailendra’s success came from analyzing global advertising published in international magazines and adapting these trends to suit Indian customers. Innovation was the name of the game, but the key ingredient in the formula for success was an acute understanding of the Indian consumer.

Within a few short years, this small advertising agency became India’s leading homegrown communications group, producing over 2,000 award winning ad campaigns for some of the best known Indian and multinational clients.  

UNPARALLELED CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIAL AWARENESS

After 25 years as Joint Managing Director of Percept, Shailendra Singh has “been there, and done that”. But, through it all, he has always strived to give back - using his skills, networks and resources to make a difference in the world. Since his core competencies lie in communication, marketing and media, he has focused on harnessing these strengths to create awareness for a number of causes. 

Shailendra's contribution to creating awareness for HIV/AIDS has been especially unparalleled. From live shows for The Mukti Foundation, to the cause based feature film “Phir Milenge”, to various events such as Walk for Life, and multifold ad campaigns detailing the causes and breaking the stigmas of of HIV/AIDS, Shailendra’s dedication to the cause is beyond compare. For his work, Shailendra Singh received the MTV Staying Alive Award - the first and only time the award was given in India. 

In order to coordinate his social responsibility efforts, Shailendra incepted:

Some of the IPS and EVENTS conceptualized and executed by Shailendra Singh:

• Hope Gala

  • Held at the Royal Albert Hall, London, this concert raised funds for war-torn countries like Iraq, Angola and Kosovo where the maximum number of children suffer from leukaemia. It featured Sonu Nigam, Sapna Mukherjee and Elton John.

• Tsunami Relief Cricket Match

  • Aamir Khan XI vs. Sachin Tendulkar XI, to raise funds for Tsunami victims.

• Sahara Kargil Benefit Cricket Match

  • Film personalities vs. cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan. Dignitaries included the Prime Minister of India and Defense Minister.

• Gujarat Drought Relief Match

  • Hrithik Roshan XI vs. Sachin Tendulkar XI played for the Gujarat drought victims.

• Siyaram’s Tennis Challenge

  • India vs. Australia, at Chennai, to raise funds for earthquake relief. Boris Becker, Yuvraj Singh, Kapil Dev and Aamir Khan graced the occasion.

• Hercules: Pedal for Mumbai Rally

  • For a ‘cleaner and greener’ city, in association with the Mumbai Traffic Police.

• C.P.A. Kambakth Piracy Entertainment Nite

  • Spreading awareness through entertainment by Cinema Peoples Academy to spread the message of anti-piracy. Performances by Salman Khan, Yana Gupta and Govinda.

• AVON Pink Walkathon

  • For Breast Cancer Awareness.

• Pink Lips Concert

  • Performances by Salim Sulaiman, Shaan and Meiyang Chang to commemorate ‘World No Tobacco Day’ in association with Cancer Patients Aids Association.

• Celebrities XI vs. Doctors XI

  • The T20 cricket match to raise funds for C.P.A.A.’s fight against tobacco related cancer included Govinda, Suniel Shetty, Sohail Khan, Milind Soman and prominent surgeons from across the country.

• Leave No Trace

  • Sunburn joined hands with United to inculcate a sense of environmental responsibility in youth, making the event the most eco-friendly festival in Asia.

• ‘I AM INDIA’

  • A movement pioneered by Shailendra Singh and initiated by United to create awareness about the power of Brand India. Providing a platform for Youth to represent India and spread global awareness about the power of “Brand India”.

• Kargil Benefit Concert

  • A concert on the Kargil border with celebrities and dignitaries like Shah Rukh Khan, A.R. Rahman, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

HIV/AIDS AWARENESS

• Mukti AIDS Concerts

  • In association with Smita Thackeray, S.S. has executed numerous star studded concerts each year on World AIDS Day - 1st Dec. With performances by Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Lara Dutta, Shaan, Kailash Kher, and attended by Dharmendra, Ranbir Kapoor, Priya Dutt, Anu Malik and many more, proceeds are donated to NGOs working for AIDS awareness causes across India.

• Mukti AIDS Foundation Events

  • Throughout the years, S.S. and Percept have handled most major events initiated by the Mukti Foundation, including theater, sporting and awards events.

• Mukti AIDS TV Campaign

  • Shown on all major satellite channels and theaters across the country, P.P.C. directed three groundbreaking commercials, with Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Salman Khan, to raise awareness about HIV/ AIDS. Percept Advertising has been a Mukti Foundation partner in a majority of its social action projects.

• Masti Xpress

  • In 2005, in association with director Ashok Pandit, S.S. conceptualized and executed a superstar performance for 500 children affected by AIDS. Anupam Kher, Salman Khan, Govinda, Rajpal Yadav, Satish Kaushik, Shakti Kapoor and Himesh Reshamiya lit up the stage.

• Walk for Life

  • S.S. organized top celebrities, Salman Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Neha Dhupia, Amrita Arora and so many more, to walk the ramp with HIV infected children to show their support for the cause of HIV/ AIDS. The evening ended with an auction to raise funds for awareness initiatives.

• Pedal for Life

  • Cyclathon to raise funds and awareness for HIV/ AIDS.

Recognition

• MTV Staying Alive Award

  • Presented to S.S. by Alanis Morissette and Kamal Hassan in recognition of his movie Phir Milenge, India’s first commercial film about AIDS, and for his outstanding contribution to the cause of HIV/AIDS awareness.

• NAB National Award

  • Awarded in recognition of his untiring efforts to spread mass awareness about the visually impaired.

Just Some Campaigns Created or Organizations Associated with: