Offbeat: Rajiv Dingra - Visualising stories

In our constant endeavour to give our readers content that is a little ‘hatke’ from the trade media norm, Adgully has been coming out with Special sections like The W-Suite, Ad Land’s Young Guns, Spirit W and ‘Offbeat’. 

Our newest offering, ‘Offbeat’, seeks to give a glimpse of the lesser known facets of our very well-known industry leaders. We present, in the industry leaders’ own words, an interesting read on areas that are not usually highlighted in regular media coverage – be it about their childhood days, secret skills that they possess, how they unwind from their hectic schedules, and much more. 

Rajiv Dingra, Founder & CEO of WatConsult, started his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 20 with his first start-up, jobs4freshers.com, which he failed at miserably. Post that, he found his calling as a digital agency entrepreneur and founded WATConsult, which in 10 years he built to being one of the most awarded and largest digital agencies in India. 

WATConsult is currently a 300-people agency with offices across India. In January 2015, he sold majority stake in WATConsult to Dentsu Aegis Network. 

Dingra currently leads a dynamic team of 300+ people and spends his time working with global and Indian brands. He is also a well known speaker at conferences and events on digital media across the world as well as a mentor to various entrepreneurship cells in the country. 

How were you as a child and which childhood trait you still possess?
If there was a one word which would describe me as a child that would be ‘Dreamer’. I have my own sort of virtual world in my head. I was also not much of a kid that went out in the park and played with other kids. But I loved cricket. Even before a cricket match would start, I would create the line-up, scores, winner, etc. To summarise it all, as a kid I was very imaginative, living-in-my-head kind of a kid. That would also make me look very aloof to other kids and an introvert. 

When I am not working, I am still the same. But when I am at work, I have a very sharp presence of mind. 

Which superhero did you look up to as a kid and why?
As a kid, there were not many superheroes. I will start with the first one, that is, ‘He-man’, because those were the ones we saw as a 4-5 year old child. When I was younger, it was the only thing you saw on TV. As I grew a little bit older, I loved Batman a lot. I have watched all the series of Batman. I think closer to when I became 17-18 years old, Ironman or the series started coming out over the last 10 years. Now, I think I have settled down on Ironman as the superhero. 

Among all the superheroes, I like Batman and Ironman is because they are real people who invented something to become more than human and that, to me, is really interesting. 

Which superhero power you wish you possessed?
Nothing. I will be very honest. Most of us have the same powers within us. Like Batman becomes Batman because of his conviction. The same conviction makes Ironman. These are my all-time favourite superheroes as I mentioned. I would not want powers like Superman or Spiderman, because I don’t think I will be able to be as nice as them with those kinds of superpowers. Power is a very dangerous thing. If you have that kind of power, it is very difficult for you to stay on the right path. 

What is your greatest fear and how do you face it?
As a child, I have always been a confident person. Over time, I think confidence leads to over-confidence when you do well. Success sometimes leads you to complacency. So, I would not term it as my biggest fear, but in general what I do is I never collect any articles which I am mentioned in. I have been doing this for the last 10 years. The reason is I don’t like to look back. I believe that whatever you have achieved in the past cannot be the laurels you stand on. That is the fear which drives me and which is why feel I can move ahead with more conviction. 

My biggest fear is that I am going to suddenly sit one day and think I have done enough, and that’s not something I want to do. 

What would one find in your playlist?
My playlist is a very random one. I have Pop, Rock, a lot of Hindi music that I grew up listening to; soulful Hindi music – right from Arijit Singh to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. I have playlist that is based on my mood, whether I want to feel charged up or just lay back and relax. I have a song for every mood. I have around 180 songs which belong to 25 different genres. 

Your go-to activity to relax?
Watch a movie with caramel popcorn. I can totally forget the world outside and be the character that the movie is playing. One of my favourite movies is ‘Real Steel’, which is both futuristic and about a father-son story. 

Skill you possess that no one knows about?
In around 1994, I actually acted in a Hindi feature film as a child artist with the likes of Amrish Puri and Om Puri. I wouldn’t say I am a qualified actor. I had a 7-10 minute role as the son of Om Puri in the arty flick, called ‘Drohkaal’, made by Govind Nihalani. I was about 7-8 years old that time. I happened to go for the audition as my father is a theatre actor. It was a good experience. 

What is the greatest lesson that you have learnt from life so far?
Nothing stays the same – for the good or the bad. My mom used to say this – this too shall pass. So, if you are really high on success, take a deep breath and enjoy it. But don’t let it get into your head and vice versa. 

A social cause that you are most passionate about?
Cancer Research is something of interest to me. Beyond that, in general, children’s education is the social cause I would love to associate with. It’s something which has been on my mind for years. The way I see it – when you are an adult, you still have connections and people around to help you. I think the biggest gift that you can give to this world is educating a child. 

What is the one thing you would like to change about yourself?
Oh… I would love to be a little thinner (laughs) than I am. Beyond that –Nothing. I am very happy otherwise with myself. 

What are the three apps on your mobile you couldn’t live without?
I can live without my mobile phone. But the three most important apps on my cell phone are WhatsApp, Email Client and Camera. 

Two things about the industry that you don’t like and would like to change?
At some level I think there is a glass ceiling for women in the advertising industry. I also feel that it has got to do with the fact that advertising is not taken as a serious profession for women owing to the Indian family structure. Women need more opportunities to rise up within this industry. More women leaders are required. At the lower rung, a lot of good work is done by the women, which actually reflects on the seniors who take the laurels and move on. 

If not Founder & CEO of WatConsult, what would you be?
I would have been a filmmaker, because I love to visualise stories.

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