Doyen of Marathi Copy Sharad Deshpande moves on..

January 27, 2017

One of the most renowned names in Marathi copywriting and advertising, Sharad Deshpande breathed his last on Friday morning. The witty writer has left us all with a 50-year legacy of his language and craft.

His started off by writing for Jayendra Publicity in Kolhapur and later founded Setu Advertising in 1985 in Pune. He exercised his talent and skill for words by writing for several brands that took them to heights. He has written over 10,000 ads for DSK Developers that got readers to eagerly wait for his next write up. In 2013, he released a book, Shabdartha which chronicles his 50-year journey in the Marathi advertising industry. He also has a font named and modelled after him called Sharad 75.

Pune 365 reached out to those who were closely associated with Sharad Deshpande as they remember his as a great mentor, writer and friend.

D S Kulkarni, Chairman, DSK Group

What do I even say? A very close friend suddenly left us and at this moment I am far away in another country and I am unable to pay my last respects to him in person. Why is the world so unfair? He has not only given me friendship but has also been a part of my journey and through the ups and downs of my life. There are so many memories. It is only that today that he is not there in this world. How will it be possible to erase his memory in one moment? What God has done isn’t right. You took away my friend, but remember in my heart this friendship will remain forever.

Sanjay Satalkar, Director, Genesis Advertising

He was the pioneer of Marathi copywriting in Pune. People used to wait for the advertisement just to read his copy. People don’t read ads anymore but those days they used to wait for Sharad Deshpande’s copy.

Abhijit Joag, Director, Pratisaad Advertising

When I started off in the advertising industry, he was already an established figure. He was always very encouraging and supportive of me. I am filled with gratitude and fondness for him. I will always remember him as an accomplished writer. He wrote from the heart.

D D Shiledar, Director, Mona Advertising

We worked together and he helped me out a lot. One day he told me that we both had developed our distinct styles of copywriting so we decided to exchange our styles. This was 35 years back. I have never seen the kind of use of Marathi words in writing by anyone in Pune except Sharad Deshpande. I have always recommended my colleagues to buy his book.

Pune365 Joins the advertising fraternity of Pune in mourning this huge loss to the industry. Our heartfelt condolences to the family. Rest In Peace Sir.