I grew up among the misty hills of Ooty, dropped out of college, and set off without much of a map. The road took me into boardrooms and stadiums, onto film sets and racetracks. Six labels later, none of them quite fit.
A few labels, a few detours, and the question I still haven’t answered.
I’ve collected a few labels along the way. CEO. Entrepreneur. Author. Producer. Strategist. Sports executive. Founder. I’ve also been a gardener, a devoted pet parent, and an experimental cook whose confidence occasionally exceeds my competence. None of the labels quite fit.
Somehow, the road took me into boardrooms and stadiums, onto film sets and racetracks, through startups, stories, victories, disasters and more than a few improbable adventures.
I found myself running businesses I wasn’t trained to run, building things that didn’t exist, making movies I hadn’t learned to make, writing books I never imagined I’d write, and sitting in rooms I had absolutely no formal qualification to be in. Nobody seemed to notice.
After all these years, all these titles, and all these adventures, one mystery remains gloriously unsolved.
Three books, newest first — with the blurbs and the endorsements worth reading.
Thrive is a science-backed guide to continuous reinvention, helping you stay relevant, resilient, and human in an AI-driven world of constant change.
“Blending science, lived experience, and quiet philosophy, Thrive moves beyond motivation and hacks. It offers a clear-eyed, compassionate lens on resilience, purpose, and continuous reinvention, without asking readers to abandon who they are.”
“My second book captures my journey with the IPL team Deccan Chargers, in our journey from the bottom of the table to eventual winners.”
“As the chairman of RCB, I dealt with Darshan quite often through the tournament. This book gives us glimpses of what went on behind the scenes that inspired their remarkable turnaround from last to winners.” Amrit Thomas — former Chairman, Royal Challengers Bangalore
“Honest narrative, interesting anecdotes, and powerful lessons. This book is a must read for all sports fans.” Milind Soman — athlete, actor, author
“My first book is a practical step by step guide to help you reinvent yourself. This book is not just relevant today in the times of the pandemic, but it’s written to help you anytime you feel stuck.”
“This book by Darshan would help anyone looking to craft their next chapter with a very easy step by step approach. This is something I recommend not just for now but for every time you feel you are stuck.” Milind Soman — actor, model, Ironman, entrepreneur
“Whether it’s in life or business, there always comes a time when your strength and persistence will be put to test. Darshan’s book simply puts this into perspective.” Abhishek Ganguly — MD, Puma India
Growing up in Ooty meant watching one film or another being shot on the slopes of our town. I ended up in a few of them.
The Saina movie project took us 6 years to get from the idea to the final release of the film. It had its share of ups, downs, controversies and challenges. We started the film shoot with Shraddha Kapoor and had to reshoot with Parineeti Chopra. And just when you think it’s all good and start preparing for the release, the pandemic is upon us. Forget the planned pre-Olympics launch — we were not even sure if the movie would ever be released in theatres.
I hope this movie inspires the next generation of sportswomen.
“It’s funny how much publicity and social currency this poster generated for free.” from darshanm.com /movies
Growing up in Ooty meant I always witnessed one film or another being shot on the slopes of our town — from watching the floating bungalow built over a flowing stream for the movie Tridev, to umpteen film shoots on our own school campus. Then came ‘Aakhree Raasta’ starring Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi, where I got my first opportunity to be in a film. The kids in the song with the lead pair included me and my classmates.
More sets, more time in front of the camera as a kid — Mithun Chakraborty’s ‘Do Pyar Do Pal’ and ‘Chota Chetan’. Still a background face, but the pattern was set long before the boardrooms and the league franchises.
Fast forward 30 years, and suddenly I’m facing the camera again for the Hindi horror film 6-5=2, inspired by the Hollywood classic ‘Blair Witch Project’. I play the reporter investigating the scene and interviewing the survivor. A friend was looking for someone to fill in and I reluctantly played the role.
Deccan Chargers — the Hyderabad IPL franchise I am an entrepreneur, creator and cultural strategist who has spent nearly three decades turning unconventional ideas into businesses, brands, stories and experiences.
My career has taken me across sport, media, entertainment, technology and live experiences. I became a CEO at 32, leading the Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League and later the Deccan Chronicle media business. Along the way, I have created and managed sporting properties, launched media ventures, produced films and television, built festivals, advised brands and developed original intellectual properties.
From creating the world’s first Midnight Marathon to launching India’s first community television channel, my work has often begun with ideas that had never been attempted before. I have also built inclusive platforms and original properties such as Love All, Mighty Mumbai and Sonic Tigress.
I work at the intersection of sport, media, culture and social impact, transforming bold ideas into experiences, communities and movements that people want to be part of.
I co-founded a sports brand with one of India’s best-known athletes, built a motorsport league that put F1 names on an Indian grid, and created this country’s first midnight marathon and its first community television channel. And through my design studio Cherapunjee I’ve been building IPs across gaming, live experiences, music and films.
Co-founded with Milind Soman and launched in Bengaluru in January 2017, with Telugu film star Allu Sirish among its investors. Deivee began from a very specific complaint: nearly 85% of Indian women had tried Nike and Adidas and were unhappy — with the comfort, and with how they saw themselves in tight branded clothing. So we built it for real Indian body types, apple or pear, and along the way we invented the performance kurti. Yoga wear followed, with swimwear and other categories in the pipeline.
“Milind and I are basically targeting a diverse range of women — from those who wear loose male t-shirts to a salwar suit or kurti.”
October 2017 — the fashion week debut. Designer Nida Mahmood collaborated with Deivee and the collection was shown on the opening day of Amazon India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2018 — a collection Mahmood describes as a celebration of India and an ode to fitness. I wrote about it under the title “Bend It Like Soman”.
Promoted by Machdar Motorsport. Nine city teams, five races across India, the UAE, Malaysia, Bahrain and Qatar, a USD 2 million prize, and at least one Indian-origin driver in every car. The car was the Radical SR3 roadster — open top, 570 kg, 470 bhp. Announced in August 2011 for a January 2012 start, the championship was subsequently postponed.
At the pre-season shakedown at Yas Marina, Heinz-Harald Frentzen topped the times ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella and Karun Chandhok — with the top ten covered by half a second. Indian talent and Formula 1 names on the same grid, built to give each city a driver to follow.
“Let the races be won or lost on the track and not in the design studio.”
Why build it. “If I had to make money, I would have started something like CCL. We want to develop motorsports.” I said at the time I was aiming at more fans than Formula 1.
Watch the launchthe world’s first midnight marathon — the event that arguably put running on Bengaluru’s cultural map. Eighteen editions later it is now the Bharat Midnight Marathon, described as Asia’s oldest night marathon.
India’s first community television channel. Local news and local voices, built before community media had a name in this country — and a decade before regional streaming made it obvious.
The world’s first all-women music festival — a space exclusively for women aged 18 to 35 to be free, bold and loud, with no restrictions and no fear of judgment. It took over Mumbai on 11 October 2025: music, food stalls, and a crowd dancing without worrying.
sonictigress.com →A city-themed board game launched by MMRDA and Cherapunjee Innovations at Mogra Metro Station — where the station itself became the game, with boxes hanging from the ceilings and dice for seating. Ages 8+, two to six players.
On Amazon, Flipkart, Jiomart and Hamleys.
Buy the game →The production house behind Saina (2021), the sports biopic that took six years from idea
to release.
Sport used for something bigger — inclusion, access, and finding talent in places nobody thought to look.
Love All brings people with disabilities to the forefront — not as an afterthought, but as the main event. Through a year-round calendar of experiences it celebrates talent, resilience and expression across sport, art, literature and music. Each event is a stage; each story a celebration.
We own, operate and commercially represent social impact events and experiences — work that revolves around making a difference to the planet, people and perceptions. The pillars are sports, entertainment and culture.
Saina Nehwal is Advisor and Sporting Director. That closes a circle for me — Saina was also the film I spent six years producing.
A sports talent hunt run with GAIL (India) and Spoment Ventures, with Milkha Singh — the Flying Sikh — as principal mentor. Across three months it ran events in 19 cities and reached more than 3,000 schools, giving boys and girls aged 12 to 14 the chance to compete for the title of GAIL — The Fastest Indian. The finals were held in Bengaluru on 14 December 2014.
What made it different was what the winners got: scholarships through to post-graduation, so they could focus on running instead of worrying about their future, plus specialised training from national and international coaches. The plan was to grow it from 19 cities to all 800 districts of the country.
“GAIL — The Fastest Indian is much more than a talent hunt, it’s a dream for Indian sports. It is an ambitious attempt to discover, groom and develop Indian Olympic level athletes.”
“This project is the need of the hour. It will help find many more Milkhas from the length and breadth of this country.” Milkha Singh — principal mentor
I’ve collected a few labels along the way. Here are three of them, filed.
…and a few more I’m still collecting.
One dropdown tells me more than a phone number ever did. I read everything; I answer most of it.