Theatre and advertising doyen, the late Alyque Padamsee’s last book ‘Let Me Hijack Your Mind’!

Theatre and advertising doyen, the late #AlyquePadamsee in his last book ‘#LetMeHijackYourMind’ invites readers to debunk many deep-rooted societal beliefs and think afresh about so many extremely serious matters such as love and marriage, money, gender, leadership, and faith. Co-authored by Vandana Saxena Poria, and published by #PenguinIndia, in the words of proud daughter #RaellPadamsee, this work is Alyque’s legacy for the future—it teaches people how to question their innermost thoughts and follow only those that lead to a flourishing life.

Even from the great beyond, the maverick Alyque Padamsee continues to share mind-blowing life hacks for yet another generation, in his latest book ‘Let Me Hijack Your Mind’, co-authored by Vandana Saxena Poria, to be released at Crossword Bookstores, Kemps Corner, Mumbai, on 18 May, 2022. The soiree will also witness an interesting conversation between actors Jim Sarbh and Dalip Tahil, choreographer Shiamak Davar, Raell Padamsee and Vandana Saxena Poria and live music by Chirag Agarwal.

According to Raell, her father believed “Most of us are living with one foot in the past, holding onto thoughts made up by people we never knew. Think about all the social conventions we follow without a question—from getting a University degree, to marriage, to how we dress and how we work.” Through this book, Alyque wanted people to realise this fallacy and question themselves about how they’re to live their lives, by codes set by others or by being true to oneself!

About working with the co-author, Raell elaborates that Alyque had been meaning to write another book but had not yet decided on the theme. “When he met Vandana in 2015,” Raell continues, “he quickly realised she was on the same wavelength. She had lived across the world and balanced the world of Arts with a successful career in Chartered Accountancy; the right mix for him. Vandana has done a fabulous job of sifting through 173 hours of conversation, and distilling its essence to come up with simple, striking prose. She worked with him until his death and then continued to help our family and Penguin to finish the book.” The foreword to the book has been given by Ronnie Screwvala.

Alyque was affected when people around him were unhappy and this book is his heartfelt attempt to commandeer one from what makes one unhappy and journey with them by way of finding new ways to solve old problems in his patent racy, non-preachy manner. The book is deliberately designed to throw one off-balance and then help one find a new, more relevant centre with the help of notes on how to dream, live and love afresh.

Taking the ideas of the book forward, there are plans for an interaction between Bollywood actors Jim Sarbh and Dalip Tahil, co-author Vandana and Raell Padamsee on the day of the release. “It’s going to be a lot of fun! The four of us will be in conversation about what we learnt from Alyque over the years, how we have applied those skills in various areas of our lives, and how young people can take these ideas to make their lives easier. We will be discussing some of the chapter topics from the book we found interesting, such as ‘Should marriage change to a renewable 5-year licence?’, ‘Should education become edutainment to ensure lifelong learning?’, and ‘Can Theatre teach you what’s necessary to be successful in Business?’ I, for one, am really looking forward to it,” Raell states.

For the uninitiated, the father of Indian advertising, Alyque Padamsee was the CEO responsible for building up Lintas India to become one of the greatest ad agencies in the country. He was the brains behind such iconic ad campaigns as the Liril girl, Surf’s Lalitaji, the MRF Muscle Man, and the unforgettable ‘Hamara Bajaj’. In theatre, his English language productions such as Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Tuglaq broke the box office. Conferred with the Padma Shree and the Lifetime Achievement Award for Theatre by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, his portrayal of ‘Muhammad Ali Jinnah’ in Sir Richard Attenborough’s Oscar-winning movie ‘Gandhi’ was well appreciated by the international audience.

Raell Padamsee has the last word, “Dad, I am so proud that your thoughts are finally out in the world! You were a real icon, and you still live to be one.”

Attend the book release of the Penguin-published ‘Let Me Hijack Your Mind’ by the late Alyque Padamsee, co-authored by Vandana Saxena Poria on 18 May, 2022, at Crossword Bookstores, Kemps Corner. The book will be available at all Crossword Bookstores outlets and across all major digital platforms such as Amazon.in