India’s hottest entertainment property for youth Sunburn is now an open book. Well literally. Shailendra Singh's new book The True Story of Sunburnwas released at Crossword bookstore recently.The author was joined by director Ayaan Mukherjee as he spoke about the journey of Sunburn. The launch was followed by a book signing session.

Bestselling author, and the Inceptor of Sunburn, Shailendra Singh is all set to unleash his second book at the start of December. After the massive success of his debut novel, F?@K Knows, Shailendra has applied his storytelling skills to a topic very close to his heart, and highly relevant to India. The True Story of Sunburn is for the fans, of the fans, by its biggest fan: Shailendra Singh.

The True Story of Sunburn is India’s first ever ‘Live Book’. While reading, with just one simple touch, fans can go live and watch the madness unfold for themselves. Internationally, it is the first time that the story of an electronic music festival has been documented for the record books. And for the first time that the journey of a home-grown Indian intellectual property has been articulated.

Sunburn is the 9^th largest festival in the world, the largest festival in Asia and the 3^rd ‘most connected’ EDM festival in the world. But Sunburn is more than a just music festival. It is more than just a brand. In eight short years, Sunburn has rocketed from a small experiment on a Goan beach, to become the largest festival season on the planet.

From just one festival in Goa, in a year, Sunburn now does 300+ events in a year. Sunburn has held 2687+ events in 8 years across all four formats: Festival, Arena, Reload and Campus. Sunburn events have been conducted in more than 75 cities and 40 colleges ‘til date. Sunburn reaches more than 300 million people annually on Facebook. It is the 3^rd most followed festival in the world, after Tomorrowland, Tomorroworld and Ultra. It is a much needed entertainment option for the youth of India, fans eat, sleep and breathe Sunburn. Sunburn is a lifestyle.

As fan fanaticism reaches unprecedented levels, as the international EDM industry turns their attention to India, and as competition lusts after the coolest youth-connecting brand in the nation, everyone wants to get backstage at Sunburn. But only a few have 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 and Jt MD of Percept, Shailendra Singh. In 2013, the international industry honored Shailendra by listing him in the 50 Most Powerful People in EDM (inthemix).

For the first time, the entire Sunburn story is narrated for the record books, straight from the man who knows it best. Behind the scenes revelations, backstage confessions, the real stories of ‘that time when…’ flow through the candid photographs and iconic imagery of the Mission to Planet Sunburn.

Anyone who has ever been to a Sunburn event, all of the millions of fans on Facebook, and the entire global EDM industry will grab for this book – for entertainment, for education, and for inspiration. Fans, looking to keep a bit of the madness on their desk, will be amazed to read what went on behind the scenes of their favorite Sunburn events. Parents, wishing to encourage reading, will find it ideal to gift a highly motivational book that’s based on their children’s favorite music festival. 

And not just for the EDM loving youth. The story of Sunburn is also the story of India’s second only ‘glocal’ intellectual property. Besides I.P.L., India has never had a homegrown intellectual property that is exported to over 80 countries of the world. Sunburn is a case study for anyone who has a big dream, and an inspiration to go balls-to-the-wall chasing that dream.

For all those international music industry stalwarts around the world asking, “What the heck is going on over in India?”, The True Story of Sunburn will answer all their questions, and encourage them to take a deeper look into our country. Electronic dance music is a $6.2 billion global industry, and Sunburn has put India on the map as a world music tourism destination. Internationally, of all the major electronic music festival brands, not one has published an official, or unofficial, festival or brand story.

Shailendra Singh, Joint Managing Director of Percept, India’s largest and only entertainment, media and communications conglomerate is a man with many talents. Some know him as a Sports Marketing Guru, some perceive him as an Advertising wiz, some recognize him as a Bollywood Producer and some acknowledge him as a shrewd Deal Maker, but one common image that everyone who has come in contact with SS, is that of a man with an undying spirit, inexhaustible ideas, and a supremely optimistic attitude towards life. What sets him apart is his razor-sharp memory and infectious energy, which he has channelized over the years towards dreaming of the impossible and strategizing ways and means to make it a reality. It is this very quality that has defined this man over the past two decades to enable him to make unparalleled contributions to the areas of Advertising, Sports, Talent, Content and CSR.