NEW DELHI / MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today described Essel Group founder and chairman Dr Subhash Chandra as a person who has never been afraid of taking risks.

Releasing Dr Chandra’s autobiography The Z Factor: My Journey as the Wrong Man at the Right Time, Modi said that writing such a book can be risky, but it was in Dr Chandra's nature to take risks.

“Writing a biography is daunting task. It is commendable that Subhash Chandra has accomplished that so soon. It is also challenging to keep everyone in mind when writing a biography, which makes penning down an autobiography even more risky. But taking risk is second nature to Subhash ji, and this very nature is possibly also responsible for his success in life. I haven’t read the book yet due to time constraints and being out of touch with the habit of reading but plan to do so soon,” Modi said.

Additionally, he also stressed on Dr Chandra’s efforts in caring for the weaker sections of society. Modi tweeted, “Released @_SubhashChandra ji's book, ‘The Z Factor.’ Spoke about his work for weaker sections of society.”

He added that he always urged students to read biographies. “Whenever I meet students I ask them to read biographies of great personalities as it bring them closer to the history and events of a time and helps them understand it better.”

The Prime Minister also said that he appreciated Dr Chandra’s community service initiatives, particularly in the field of education.

Modi also recounted some anecdotes about his earlier interactions with the media giant and thinker.

Dr Chandra in his opening speech thanked a host of people like Purushotam Gupta, Vijay Dhar, Rajendra Mittal, Gulshan Sachdeva, Rajan Issac, Ashok Kurien, India TV chairman Rajat Sharma, TV9 managing editor Ravi Prakash, Vijay Jindal and his former colleague Pradeep Guha, who have been with him through this journey in the industry.

He also thanked ANI editor-in-chief Sanjeev Prakash and ANI news editor Smita Prakash, who he said taught him what “news” was and at the same time also learnt the same from him.

Recalling an incident from his younger days, when he demanded a Fiat car from his father, which was then priced at Rs 16,000, Dr Chandra said that he fulfilled that dream at the age of 21 when he bought a second-hand Fiat car with his own money. “What I mean to say is that if there is focus and determination, then you can achieve success in life,” he said.

Saying how he had now slowly distanced himself from the business of making money and handed over the reigns to his brothers and sons, Dr Chandra said that he often told them to work in such a way that would always benefit the country and its people. 

The Z Factor: My Journey as the Wrong Man at the Right Time has been written by Dr Chandra along with Pranjal Sharma.

Recalling how he came to know of Dr Chandra, Prime Minister Modi recounted his early days as a party worker when he was introduced to Dr Chandra’s father Nand Kishore Goenka, who gradually connected the two.

The panelists for the event were M J Akbar and Vallabh Bhansali, who interacted with Dr Chandra at the launch session. Also in attendance were India Today founder and editor-in-chief Aroon Purie and COO Kalli Purie,  India TV chairman Rajat Sharma and top-notch politicians like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh amongst others. From the entertainment world, actors like Anupam Kher and Akshay Kumar were in attendance.

The book is published by Harper Collins and will be available in stores from 21 Januaryonwards. Additionally, it is already available on Flipkart and Amazon India for pre-orders.

The book promos, event updates, and excerpts will also be available on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Dr Chandra revolutionised the Indian television industry by launching the country’s first satellite Hindi channel Zee TV in 1992 and later the first private news channel, Zee News.

Dr Chandra has diversified business interest across various sectors like television, newspaper, cable, direct-to-home, satellite communications, theme parks, online gaming, education, flexible packaging, infrastructure development and multiplexes.