ZIDD! by HETANSH DESAI

TITLE- Zidd
AUTHOR- Hetansh Desai
GENRE- Fiction, Indian contemporary
PUBLISHERS- half baked beans
NUMBER OF PAGES- 162
FORMAT- Paperback

About the book-

Vihaan looked at the skies, took a deep breath and shouted, ' I want to be on that hoarding outside her flat!'. Parth did not react right away. After a few minutes, he asked ' Sorry? What is that ?'

' She said she doesn't want to see my face. So, now i want to ensure she sees my face everyday the first thing in the morning.'

Parth took a step towards Vihaan. He shrugged his shoulders confusedly. ' i don't understand.'

' There is a hoarding outside her flat.'

And you want to be on it?

'Yes!'

Witness the roller coaster journey of Vihaan, a college dropout and Parth, a tea vendor, as they strive to buy the most expensive hoarding space in Ahmadabad.

My rating- ★★★.5☆☆

My review-

Today the business world is witnessing a revolution- this is the generation of start-ups. Like many business books tell us, for a business to work it requires a big idea- but is that it? Will the big idea itself be enough to sustain the business. Well the answer is "NO". A business always requires execution, it requires getting customers. So "sales" becomes the counterpart of "the big idea".

This book revolves around two guys, Vihaan and Parth, Vihaan who thinks big and Parth who can sell. It is when their paths cross that their lives find a direction.

The story starts with the boys' childhood where they form dreams contrary to their skills, however its only when they are adults that they meet and both become the Yins to Yangs of the other. 

Parth wants to start a business but being a tea vendor doesn't know how to do it. Vihaan fueled by rejection in love decides to take revenge but doesn't know how.

As the story progresses we see the business world from upfront- a shrewd sector where people think of their profits first, where manipulation is the key ingredient and Vihaan and Parth start their journey to reach their destinations.

Is Parth able to start his business? Is Vihaan able to get his name on the hoarding in front of the girl's flat? Even if they are successful what next- does Vihaan end up happy with the revenge? Does Parth lose his friend-cum-business partner when his dream is achieved?

A gripping tale of two guys, on their quest to fulfill their dreams, where their weaknesses are compensated by the others' strength, its a story of friendship, love, ambition, hard work, the necessity of innovations, the way one can overcome their weaknesses with the right guidance and faith, the hidden world of business, the masterminds and their tactics at play, with appropriate comical timing and moving dialogues- it has a great plotline, focusing not only on friendship and dream realization but also in the way love can induce ambition in one.

Overall, its a quite pleasant read, though the plot is at times disrupted, the timeline change is quite uneven and a very important character- Vihaan's love interest is left out for a greater part of the story.

Also her character development doesn't feel adequate and  feels more of a catalyst, where she is an integral part. Also the author has also taken the complete liberty of the story being a fiction, as a greater part of the story seems luck dependent- when the characters are quite lucky, they succeed in the big ventures they undertake- yes there are some small failures but this seldom happens in reality.

 

In spite of all, this book has a freshness to it- The bromance of the guys instead of romance (which is more common in Indian contemporary) so i would definitely recommend it to all the  people out there looking for a light, enjoyable read without the same old romantic love stories.

Characters-

Vihaan- the son of a businessman, Vihaan Mehta is least interested in business but he has big ideas. He doesn't have a care in the world until he falls in love. His love life is disrupted due to the indecisiveness of the girl and later on gets rejected. It is then that in a heated argument he takes up the challenge to make her see his face everyday. It is this incident that fuels his desire to be on the hoarding opposite the girl's flat so that she has to see him everyday. Its from here that the story takes a turn.

Parth- the son of a tea-vendor, Chotu gets the name Parth on his first sales-job, wants to start a business of his own. He befriends Vihaan and later on when Vihaan wants to make it to that hoarding Parth joins him in this quest, promising to help him  through the business that they both set up. Parth is friendship personified as he takes great pains just to help Vihaan.

Raina- She is Vihaan's love interest, a girl devoid of ambition and wants just to glide through her life. She is absent from major part of the story however appears in the end, where she has realized her dreams and that is because of Vihaan.

Nigam Wagh- The dean of the college Vihaan was a student of, he perhaps plays the most important role- not only did he motivate Vihaan and Parth but also helped them with the investments in the start up. An ideal teacher, working for the benefits of his students- he has been so throughout his life and it is his efforts that, in the end changes the perspective of his higher authorities.

Writing style-

The writing is very lucid, in depth description of places where its required. A very simple way of putting forward a strong plotline. The comical timings are appropriate and a few places where the characters talk to themselves are just hilarious. Though Raina's presence should have been a bit more but over-all the bond between Parth and Vihaan is beautifully portrayed- two guys who would kill to help the other achieve their dreams in-spite of the stark differences between them.

I would like to thank halfbaked beans publishes for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

About the author-

"The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away."- William Shakespeare.

This section has to begin with this quote, as Hetansh tries to abide by the same philosophy.

Hetansh Desai is the Founder and CEO of Vital20Communication, a marketing consultancy based out of Mumbai. He has pursued his graduation in Liberal Studies and post graduation in Entrepreneurial Leadership from Babson college, USA. You can find him in Ahmadabad- as his family lives there- or in Mumbai, or on a cheap, midnight SpiceJet flight.

In his free time, he loves playing and watching cricket, reading the Bhagavad Gita over and over again and listening to music. His hobbies include writing and public speaking.