Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

So where do YOU get your HIGH from?

Posted: September 30, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Every now and then, we will experience a feeling of HIGH. A point of extreme happiness, deep satisfaction, an urge to celebrate.

And no, I am not referring to the point when you have had one too many at the bar.

I am referring to that feeling of HIGH coming off an achievement, the feeling of success.

So what makes you feel high?

Is it an interesting point in the journey or is it really a destination? If you feel the high in the middle of the journey, chances are that you may falter for the rest of the path, till you reach the destination. Or NOT reach. Because when I say ‘high’, I mean, the zenith, and everything else, being lower comparatively.

 There is often an extreme enjoyment in the journey itself. Many people are in the game, only because they enjoy the journey, and not necessarily focused on the destination at all.

Let’s look at examples.

Entrepreneurs I have met, especially tech entrepreneurs, have fallen in love with the technology that they have created. Some amazing application (well, at least from their point of view), say. And when the early adopters use it, and give them very flattering reviews or responses, their life is already made.

The worst (unfortunately) thing is when they get an award, or get recognised as the most exciting tech app, or something like that.

The high is so strong that everything that follows is lower comparatively.

The reality is that to reach the ultimate success for the venture, there is a long road ahead, after that initial appreciation. Size needs to be built, concept needs to be sold to a larger audience, money has to be earned, etc.

But they somehow keep putting these activities off. Giving themselves some or the other excuse. Like they are fine-tuning some part of the tech, as it will make the app even more powerful. As if it was not sellable in the current form?!

But all this happens because the HIGH has already come and gone!

Another example could be a student who does really well, tops the school say, in the preliminary exams before the Boards. Teachers and Principal all congratulate him. What if his high is already reached, and in the few weeks left for the actual board exams, the student does not put up his best?!

Let me give examples closer to a business.

Let’s take creative teams in agencies. They slog nights, dozens of coffee cups, scores of cigarettes, to then come up with the brilliant idea. Which they go and pitch and the client is floored. Wah-wahs follow. The client can’t stop praising the creative. There are high-fives and what not. And then the client slips in a small message at the end, that “make these small changes and get back”.

And those get forgotten, or ignored, or not worked on with half as much interest… and the next meeting with the client, is a disappointment, perhaps?

Or a sales guy, who works hard on the pitch, gets it all right, goes and pitches, and the client is very happy. Gives him very encouraging words. It is a HIGH for the sales person.

Except that unfortunately, that is NOT the destination. Where’s the Purchase Order? Oops, in all that celebration of the great pitch, it was forgotten that the PO was to be asked for. Or to be pursued later. Because POST HIGH, IT IS ALL LOWER.. !

The point being that, while intermediate achievements need to be celebrated, there has to be a consciousness of a bigger destination ahead. And that we are still a work-in-progress. And hold back the big celebration till the actual destination is reached.

And for which, there has to be clarity of the big destination to begin with.

For the student, it is not the preliminary exams, it is the main board exam!

For the tech entrepreneur, it is not the appreciation from contemporaries or the tech award, but the commercial success of the venture.

For the creative guy, it is not just a great creative pitch, but the winning of the account.

For the sales guy, it is not the appreciation of the great pitch, but the receipt of the PO.

So what journey are you on? What is your HIGH point? Are you clear? Are you working towards it?

As for me, whether it is a client win, or an investor coming on board and giving us value, the HIGH point is when the cheque is in the bank. Everything prior to that, a PO or a contract or a term sheet, are all work-in-progress points!!

Why did iPhone 5 sales hit 2 million in 24 hours?? A brand based viewpoint!

Posted: September 19, 2012 in Uncategorized
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So iPhone 5 has generated a record 2 million units of pre-orders within 24 hours, and which is nearly twice the quantity that was received for iPhone 4S. Apple shares climbed up beyond the $700 mark, and the company continues to get more and more valuable.

Image courtesy The Business Insider

And yet, when you see some of the reports and reviews that came up, after the iPhone 5 was revealed, it would have seemed like the iPhone 5 was not such a big deal after all! The Android and Samsung fans were particularly rejoicing as they felt that the iPhone was finally losing its way now. They saw a lot of joy in the bold Samsung ad with a feature by feature comparison that showed how Samsung would make a smarter choice.

Coming as it did after the US court judgement against Samsung, this seemed like a great challenge back to the “evil iPhone system”!

Many Android fans created their own versions of the ads, and included a price comparison as well.

You’d think that the iPhone has finally met it’s match, and will, for the first time, see a decline in sales.

Yet, surprise, surprise!

Where the iPhone 4S (which did not generate so much of “disappointment press” as the iphone 5 did) had clocked about 1 mn units of pre-orders in 24 hours, the new one went past the 2 mn mark!!

And riding on top of that news, the Apple stock blew past the $700 mark. And the company continued to get more valuable and sexier for investors.

And something else continued to happen.

The something else that I believe, is the core essence to the story here.

The BRANDS iPhone and Apple became more and more aspirational! More coveted.

“2 million people made it to that 24 hours list, but I didn’t! I have to be the most miserable person on earth..!”  would be the feeling for many who could not get a piece of the iPhone 5.

Let’s understand and appreciate that lifestyle products are not bought with a clinical eye on features.

When I sit in a Mercedes car, I do not feel “much” different. If I have to have a purely rational view about it, I would wonder why anyone should pay the 3-4 multiple of the price over a VW that I drive? It is not really that special!

And yet, what do people earn a lot of money for? So that they may go and buy a Mercedes some day (#justsaying).

We know when we started bootstrapping Social Wavelength, we went and bought regular Windows laptops and managed our work. But in a few months, when business picked up, and we had some cash flows to spare, we went and purchased the more expensive MacBooks, and felt good about it. That is what we had earned for. That we could not get the sexier Apple machines!

So’s the case with the iPhone.

You can’t replace a Harley Davidson by just building a ‘better bike’. These are not mere products, these are iconic brands. They have delivered happiness over the years. And it will take a lot to displace their stature.

I am not a mobile phone reviewer. I don’t get the nitty gritty of comparisons here. I have never used a Samsung phone ever. But I have no reason to leave my iPhone. It gives me sheer delight. Why should I consider migration? I migrated out of Windows machines, as there WERE pain points! Not here. Not in the Apple family of products.

When I was in the Bay area in June this year, I must have taken the 1 hour Caltrain ride to San Francisco, about 10 times at least. And I could see nearly 80% of the passengers busy with their mobile devices. And the most common devices visible out there, were the iPhone and the iPad. And the passengers were not necessarily folks who had sold their startups for a lot of money!! These were people doing jobs in the city, or students, and such.

Clearly the device to own, was one of those Apple ones – the iPad or the iPhone. And those are the kind of folks, contributing to the folklore of Apple. And which explains this phenomenal surge or pre-orders and the sky rocketing stock price of Apple.

I have seen enough of the tech world to know that nothing is permanent, and there will be a change of guard at some time. It may take a bad move from Apple to shoot itself in the foot, or some other inflexion point to knock them off their pedestal. However, none of those events are visible in the horizon.

Till then, Apple continues to rock on.. !!

The Legacy That We Leave..

Posted: September 16, 2012 in Uncategorized
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A visit to the crematorium makes you do this.

Ponder.

And as I stood there earlier this week, I pondered over the two deaths in the previous 2-3 days.

One of course, was that of a well-known person, and I read about the demise in the papers.

The other was a very dear friend whom I have known for more than 20 years now.

There is a strong emotional aspect to the latter case, but that is not what this post is about.

The connection I saw in these two deaths, was the strong legacy that both left behind.

The first one that I refer to is of course, Dr. Verghese Kurien.

My knowledge about him is from what I have heard and read in public domain, plus some insights gained from someone who worked very closely with him, as one of his early lieutenants, for upwards of three decades!

Known as the milkman of India, or the father of the white revolution, Dr. Kurien was responsible for India to become not just self-sufficient in milk production, but also become the world’s largest producer of milk. But that may sound like someone setting up a large plant for manufacturing some items.

That was not the case.

What Dr. Kurien managed was to generate huge respect, livelihood and security for lakhs of dairy farmers, by creating an amazing movement, known as the cooperative dairy sector. The model that he successfully created in Anand, was replicated in various parts of the country. The brand Amul is one of the most revered brand in India, and as they say, they have products for people, right from birth until death!

His lifelong dedication to a cause clearly impacted millions of people, and the universal acclaim and tributes that flowed at the time of his death, was an indication of the impact he created.

Here was a life lived to the full, rich and memorable. Leaving an amazing legacy.

Well, not everyone can be a Dr. Kurien. Most of our lives are far too ordinary, relatively speaking. But can we still touch many lives, leave our impact on this world..?

This path was shown by my dear friend, Dr. Mandakini Parihar, who passed away, way too soon, earlier this week.

But she too lived a rich life, consciously touching all those she connected with. Friends, family, co-workers, friends’ children, children’s friends, patients.. everyone!

As she battled the big bad C disease, the number of prayers and good wishes flowing for her, would have been massive. She was a true friend, always there, always helpful. You could go to her with any issue, and she’d always have a calm, collected and wise response / suggestion. Our kids grew up together. Clearly most of the kids in our circle had the best connect with her, felt comfort, and yet, got some of the most important lessons from her.

Her profession enabled her to virtually enable life. She was an IVF specialist, and her kind and caring interactions with her patients, endeared her to them, far more than a doctor would. That she was responsible for many of them to become parents, made her God-like in their eyes. So many of her patients felt grief on her passing away, showed how she meant far more to them, beyond her role of a doctor.

AS the tears flowed and the tributes came, I could again see how good a life Mini (as Mandakini was called) had lived, and the great legacy that she left behind.

I am inspired by both of these, and feel sad for their passing away. But I do take some inspiration from their lives and want to recognise that while death is inevitable, what we leave behind is in our hands..

The modern day trap: the unified life on the omnipresent device

Posted: April 1, 2012 in Uncategorized
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A GTalk friend from a close friend, even as you are clearing your work email..

While you are enjoying your dinner at a restaurant, with your family, a Banjo alert suggesting that a colleague is within 500 meters of you..

You are making a presentation to your team, and an incoming Skype call rings, even while your computer screen is projected up there..

And with such criss-crossing of life, you ending up sitting late to clear your backlog, or unable to catch up on any reading, etc.

You may consider this as a stressed out life or at least a very busy one.

I am trapped into this kind of life a fair bit, even though I am conscious about it, and have made few attempts to grapple with it.

But all in all, it is challenging.

Analyzing the situation, I am leaning towards the following reason for the challenge:

Our Unified Life on an Omnipresent Device!! 

 Where does personal life end and work life start?

Time was when at 6-30 / 7 pm or whenever you closed shop, shut the briefcase and went home, the physical separation from work ensured that one life closed and another began.

Even when laptops came by, but until the Internet was not that big, you only carried “some” homework, which perhaps you worked on, at home.

Then came email, and it got just a little more pervasive.

And it’s been all downhill since. From the Blackberry (never used one, but have known many who are / were slaves to it!), to Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Banjo, etc. etc. and all of their phone apps. From cheaper Internet access to 3G and now heading to 4G, so that all of these not only come to you whenever and wherever, but they also come cheap and fast!

In the circumstances, it is hard to work in silos of life.

And then, in absence of the silos, you are constantly switching, and for every switch that you do, there is loss of efficiency, and a loss of quality as well!

I continue to be in this trap, and working hard to resurrect myself.

Can I switch off my phone once I am home? I know a friend who does that. He says those who really must call him, know his home number, and the rest can wait till the next day!

Can I work with one app, one window open, and shut everything off, when I am working? So I don’t check the browser when I am on my Excel sheet, or even when I am on the browser and reading some interesting research, I don’t need to attend to the email that pops in, into Gmail..?

Can I switch off my phone at the restaurant, or at least disable some of the apps for that time?

What are the kind of changes that are required? How do I get out of the trap?

I know few – very few – of my friends who have managed to “manage” their life in this kind of a situation. Most others, including yours truly, are struggling to find a way out.

If you have any interesting solutions to suggest here, do comment..

“Kahaani” Acchi Hai – Film Review

Posted: March 11, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Rarely these days, does a film have packed houses, even on the first weekend. At the late night show on its first Saturday, when I saw a packed house for Kahaani, I could sense two things: that Vidya Balan gets an initial, at least in the aftermath of The Dirty Picture, and that the initial reviews of the film must have been good!

I was motivated to take that late show because of a few good reviews from friends, on Facebook. And I was not disappointed at all.

The movie has an interesting story. Just the right amount of intrigue and anticipation, that bit of suspense. And yet not stretching..

A well written script in short, and beautifully enacted by all actors, and especially Vidya Balan.

Yes, Vidya. She’s clearly taken on the mantle of the thinking heroine of current times. Who waits for, and gets interesting scripts, and then delivers on them. A Shabana Azmi or a Tabu of earlier times, I’d say.

Kahaani is another opportunity for her. A film that rides totally on her, and yet has some other support actors who also put up good, credible performances.

Kolkata is definitely a star of the film. The bylanes, the puchkas, Victoria Memorial, Howrah Bridge, the trams, the metro.. all of these are prominent. And of course, the Puja. When the city immerses as a whole. The preparations, the decorations, the white saris with the red borders, and the characters of the city, from the bored policeman to the young kids smiling and working hard.. yes, Kolkata is a star and also speaks very well, in the film!

The story as you may be aware, is that of a woman coming from London, looking for her husband, who has gone missing in Kolkata. With little support from authorities, she still chugs along relentlessly, and that is what the movie is all about. Won’t spoil it for you, by saying more.

There is an interesting character of a contract killer. Quite creepy, in fact.

One of the highlights of the film has to be Amitabh Bacchan’s rendition of the popular song, “Ekla Chalo Re”. As it is, Bengali is a beautiful language to listen to, and then, it is made priceless by Amitabh’s amazing voice, on this song.

Finally a few words about the director, Sujoy Ghosh. For me, a film is all about the director. His vision, his creativity, his obsession on getting the detail right. And Sujoy Ghosh gets it. He is an Engineer and an MBA, studied in London, spent time in Mumbai and Kolkata. A 46-year old. Not trained in cinema. Learnt all he knows, from watching Satyajit Ray films.

So he does this, as I can see, for the passion that he has for cinema. And that’s what makes the film what it is. He combines well with the hardworking and creative Vidya Balan too. Here are a couple of snippets I read, which are very interesting, from a film making point of view:

1. He asks Vidya to go and walk in the crowd. Without hesitation, she goes ahead and does that. Only when cameras are seen, do people realize that shooting is going on!

2. In many scenes, they don’t tell Vidya when she needs to get up, move etc. The cameras are set, and they just follow as she gets up, moves, etc. Amazing..

Overall, my recommendation on the film. Definitely worth a watch. You will find time and money well spent.. !

Removing Dhoni from captaincy: typical knee jerk reactive response!

Posted: January 29, 2012 in Uncategorized
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So the TOI reports in a Sunday Times page one headline story that Dhoni will be replaced as captain of the Indian test team, by Sehwag.

And while this is not official news, TOI has been able to get teams and decisions of this kind, right, more times than not. And if they have put it on page one headline, they probably have it confirmed. And when the news actually breaks, they will tom-tom it saying, “we told you first”.

That apart, this post is not about TOI, but about the India team, and the captaincy issue in particular.

So what prompts this thought of removing Dhoni? I guess, the recent performances against England and Australia.

But really, is the captain responsible for this?

The averages of India’s top batsmen, across the Australia and England series put together, read like this:

Gambhir 21, Sehwag 20, Laxman 21, Sachin 35, Dravid 47.

The bowling averages were only worse.

With such performances, what is the captain supposed to do? Can he create miracles in spite of the batters and bowlers not doing their thing?

It was not too long back that Dhoni’s captaincy was being analysed, not just amongst sports analysts and enthusiasts, but also in the business papers and in management schools. Unlike form, the innate understanding of the game, the shrewdness on the field, the leadership skills, are not something that just come and go. It is still the same Dhoni. I do not see an iota of arrogance also coming in to the person. He is the same one today, that allowed the team and Sachin to be serenaded after the World Cup win, rather than hog the limelight, as a captain. What has changed is the performance of his team!

Sure, when things are going wrong, and in desperation, the captain tries different things, some of those could also go wrong. But that is hardly the reason for the dismal end performances.

It will be a disastrous decision to make him the fall guy at this time, and also to bring on Sehwag instead. Dhoni remains the best captain for India today, and Sehwag, with his temperamental approach to the game, is just not captaincy material. So both the choices – the removal and the replacement – are wrong.

Captains are chosen with thought, and then ideally, they are given long runs. In Australia, we remember te Border era, Steve Waugh era, Mark Taylor era, Ponting era, and now the Clarke era has started. In perhaps the same period, India (at least earlier) had it’s musical chairs approach. Kapil Dev, Gavaskar, Shashtri, Azhar, Srikanth, Dravid, Ganguly, Sachin, Kumble..have all had their stints. And not necessarily continuous runs, but a musical chair approach, in fact!

I am sure that does not serve the team well. It was a refreshing change to have been seeing the stint of Dhoni for last few years. And he delivered as captain. These two series in England and Australia have been serious aberrations in terms of a collective loss of form, or inability, and hence the results as we see them.

If there IS a plan to resurrect, the need is to go to the fundamentals. Pick a batch of promising youngsters, perhaps a group of about 20, and work with them. Give them the confidence of being India’s future, give them opportunities. Continue to lose some more, while these youngsters learn their ropes. And THEN, you are ready. To take on the world again.

Who better to work with such a young pack of budding cricketers than Dhoni? He is the one who has given confidence to many youngsters, given them responsibility at crucial phases, and they have delivered for him. Give an honorable exit to the seniors, and be a little ruthless about it, sentiment apart.

And build from grounds-up.

That to me, is a way out. Not just to roll the captain’s head, and keep everything else much the same!

But I don’t know. With Srikanth at the helm of affairs in the selection committee, I don’t see much hope, in terms of a long term strategy. It will be a sad day for Indian cricket, to see Dhoni removed and Sehwag being brought in as captain of the test team. And have the merry-go-round play out again.

Yeah, sad…

Don’t protest via governments: give the westerners back in their own way!

Posted: January 29, 2012 in Uncategorized
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There have been a fair number of recent cases where Americans and Britishers have rubbed the Indian sensitivity, the wrong way.

This has come from different quarters. From the funny folks like Jay Leno, the VP Cheney, and then some others.

India, with all of it’s secular feelings, needing to ensure that no community, no caste, no group feels hurt, tends to protest at all of these jibes that the western world likes to take at it. This is more visible in election years, as the government can earn whatever brownie points that it can, with different constituencies of people!

And seeing these protests, the world is probably grimacing at us even more, poking more fun at us. As really, these protests are not going anywhere, and if anything, we look even more like a backward country, with no sense of humour.

So why not give it back to the Brits and the Americans, in their own coins? Let’s give it back to them, where it hurts most! And interestingly, from an economic point of view, we are at a point where we can actually poke fun at them. If only to get back at these digs that they are taking.

And the number of stand up comedy programs that we have now on Indian television, and the number of really funny characters that these have brought out, it should be easy to make fun of these westerners.

So what am I talking about?

– Why don’t we show a European beggar with a begging bowl, outside Indian embassy in Greece or Spain or wherever?

– We can show a Prince Charles lookalike English chauffeur driving his dark skinned Indian masters in a Jaguar?

– We show US techies lining up outside Indian embassy for a visa to Bangalore?

– We show employees in the US getting their pink slips, because their jobs just got Bangalored

etc. etc. etc.

Yeah, I know some of these are under the belt.

But hey, if they can make fun of our crowded streets, our Gods and temples, and holler away in pleasure, we can also give it back to them, where it hurts most. For a change, we have a few things we can use now!

And hey, it’s just for creating the balance in the situation, and for nothing else!

Far better than to have our Ministry of External Affairs write to the US government, about a Jay Leno joke. That’s such a waste.. !

Mixed Feelings about Agneepath: Film Review

Posted: January 27, 2012 in Uncategorized
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** Spoiler alert ** : There is some mention of the storyline here, and if you do not want to get any such hints, and you do plan to see the film, then you shouldn’t read this blog post!

I have little memory of the old Agneepath. Except for the legendary dialog that spoke, “Vijay Dinanath Chavan.. aaj maut ke saath apna appintment hai.. appintment!”, there is not much else that I remembered of that film.

Yet, the new Agneepath brought back memories of the 1980s, and the angry young man genre that Amitabh lived and thrived on. And while that was good for nostalgia sake, the genre: a) is out of place in today’s age of style and panache, even in thrill, and b) has Amitabh written all over it, whether you like it or not!

That seems to be the movie’s biggest challenge to overcome.

With no decent film releasing in recent times, and with the Hrithik magic, and the Agneepath remake curiosity,  full houses were ensured on the first day, which happened to be a national holiday as well. Whether the initial will convert into reasonable sustenance of a couple of weeks or not, is questionable?

So let’s look at the good parts first.

It is an out and out action film. To the point of saying that it is one of the most violent Hindi films released in recent times. Lots of blood, knives, bullets, punches.. in short, gore. Now, I put this in the good part, and also in the bad, I guess. Good, because as pure action genre, it is power packed. But beyond a point, it gets to be a little much.

Priyanka in her small role, does a good spunky Mumbai chawl, bindaas girl. Like K3G’s Kajol was from Chandni Chowk!

Sanjay Dutt looks a menacing Kancha. Yes, after a long time, a Hindi film has shown a truly villainous look. Compliments to the visualizer of the look.

It is nice to see Rishi Kapoor coming up with a good performances, every now and then. Also good to see him getting nice, meaty roles.

Another old timer, Zarina Wahab is seen on screen after a long time. But her role is miniscule, with not much room to emote!

Katrina Kaif’s Cheekni Chameli had become a hit well before the release of the film. Unlike a lot of other item girls who do not put much energy into their dances, but let the movement of the camera and the glamour of the look (think Deepika in Dum Maro Dum) make it happen for them, one has to grant Katrina full marks for hard work. With a Brit accent, hardly being able to speak decent Hindi, if she has made it to the top today, it is not just because of her looks, but also because of the intense effort she seems to be putting into her work. This song is an example of the same.

My only worry about this song is.. no, my fear in fact.. that this will be played a lot at parties. And I shudder to see socialite women making the moves that Katrina makes in this song. Oh my God!!

Finally, Hrithik is fabulous as an action hero. Quiet, intense, angry.. he brings alive the Amitabh of the 1980s.

So that said, what are the minuses then?

The extreme violence for one. It gets to be too much!

Also that where the storyline is based, is certainly not contemporary, and would not quite qualify as ‘period’. And which is where it hangs in the middle, sort of. We don’t know whether to view it as a ‘now’ story – it isn’t – and whether to view it as historical – which again, it isn’t.

Rauf Lala peddling drugs galore AND doing human flesh trade openly in Mumbai, and the police being aware, but unable to do anything, seemed strange. Unless I have NO idea of what the real Mumbai was / is like?!

Also where the protagonist, the angry man looking for revenge, attempts to get sympathy / understanding from the audience, that he is killing many with his cocaine trade (while he is shown to release the girls from the flesh trade of Rauf Lala) is questionable.

Finally, the way I see it, for a movie that has anger as an undertone throughout, the anger itself is not very visible. The storyline is not developed that well, or the emotions do not come out that strongly, somehow. Unlike say, a Deewar, where Amitabh’s anger is permanent virtually.

So all in all, if you can tolerate oodles of violence, do give it a shot. And if you can’t, then you must totally avoid this one.

Don 2?? Don’t you!!

Posted: December 24, 2011 in Uncategorized
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The dialog goes, “Don ko pakadna mushkil nahin..”

Yes, correct. On the first weekend, at the 7 pm show, the theatre was empty. So yes, it’s not difficult to catch Don 2.

Except nobody wants to!! And with good reason.. word has already got out that Don 2 is avoidable fare. It was my mistake to land up in the theatre, and watch it!!

Some thoughts on this film:

  • When Farhan Akhtar made the first Don, he used Shahrukh Khan as the hero, and Shahrukh was already a ‘senior’ by then; so when few years later, when Farhan makes the sequel, this hero has become even older! And just does not look impressive as the Don!
  • Maybe it was to overcome the age factor that Farhan decided to make SRK ultra thin. It just backfires. He looks like a wimp. Imagine that kind of a weak look, and yet he’s supposed to be taking on hulks in multiple numbers, with his bare hands! Just doesn’t cut. A clenched jaw does not make up for the weak looking body and the short frame!
  • Amitabh as Don was impressive because of the multitude of factors – deep voice, expressive eyes, the angry look, and of course, the height. SRK can’t come close, with his hee-haw, boring and monotonous style.
  • In fact, Priyanka looks far more impressive, including in her fight scenes
  • So Farhan does go all out in terms of the locales and the style and the cinematography. If the world had not become small, and if we were not seeing enough high quality Hollywood movies with similar or better style, this would have been enough to make for a good film
  • However, that is not the case now. Style is what we get in Hollywood flicks. And while it is good to have, it is not adequate to make a film successful. More substance is necessary. Which Don 2 is sadly lacking!
  • The plot itself is weak. An elaborate charade is planned, but just not tightly enough. Too much Bollywood-esque magic ultimately, rather than a well thought out and tight drama. Also at the end, too much of the story, just given as a quick ‘explanation’. When they see so many good Hollywood dramas that pack a ‘keep-you-in-your-seat-staring-at-your-screen’ drama, why can’t they write something equally engaging?! I am surprised..
  • Shahrukh Khan has been an amazingly successful star. But is he all of ONE style? The same hee-haw way of talking? Does he not have range?? I am just getting sick of watching him on screen. Or even watching his reruns on TV. I avoided seeing Ra-one, but somehow got suckered into the theatre for this one. But will think not twice, but 4-5 times before I go for the next SRK flick!!

Overall, Don 2 is a no-no. Avoidable. Don’t waste your time or money. I already did mine.. save yours 🙂

Walk to the Siddhivinayak Temple

Posted: December 13, 2011 in Uncategorized
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After many years today, we – my wife and me – walked to the Siddhivinayak Temple, from home.

It’s a kind of pilgrimage that many do and have done, and we have done too, but this one was after a while, and with legs and bodies that were not in the prime of fitness. By any means.

I have many friends who run half-marathons and full marathons, and my walk to a temple is trivial, compared to their routine achievements. However there are many other friends who are not into fitness and exercise as much, and neither am I, and due to which reason, this is a small achievement for me, at least!

So why did we do this?

Multiple reasons, I guess..

1. To do the darshan

2. To see if we could still do it. Meaning walk all the way to the temple. We had reckoned that if things really went bad, we’ll take a cab. So we were checking if we could manage without taking one.

3. To pray for the health of a dear friend

4. Finally, so I could come and write this post 🙂

So few thoughts from the walk, to share:

1. I had a lot of hesitation about this last night when we were contemplating it. For various reasons. For the doubt whether we could still walk the distance and whether I really wanted to put myself through it. Also because there was enough work to do, and if I had to get up early, I may as well do the work that was piled up.

2. Well, finally I decided to plunge in. There is no end to work. But these opportunities to ‘dance on a chance’ are few. And I went for it.

3. Even so, as we started from Chembur, the vision of Dadar and Prabhadevi, seemed far away. And were almost depressing. If I had stuck to that thought, we’d have taken a cab sooner or later.

4. But I changed focus to smaller goals. Thought in terms of one target at a time. And suddenly it was not that bad. A back of the mind understanding of the larger goal at a distance, but immediate focus on the smaller goal which was not that far away, and always seemed achievable. This worked like a beaut. I guess we can see the metaphor to work and life goals, in this!

5. So these were the smaller targets and the time line that we took:

a. Residence (close to Maitri Park Bus Depot) to end of Chembur (Priyadarshini Bldg):

Start time 4-40 am, reached 5-15 am (35 min)

b. End of Chembur to Sion Circle:

Start time 5-15 am, reach 5-50 am (35 min)

c. Sion Circle to King’s Circle:

Start time 5-50 am, reach 6-15 am (25 min)

d. King’s Circle to start of Tilak Bridge:

Start time 6-15 am, reach 6-35 am (20 min)

e. Tilak Bridge to Portuguese Church:

Start time 6-35 am, reach 7-00 am (25 min)

f. Portuguese Church to Siddivinayak Temple:

Start time 7-00 am, reach 7-10 am (10 min)

Total from home to temple:

Start time 4-40 am, reach 7-10 am (2hr, 30 min).

6. I had carried my phone and ear plugs too, with an idea to catch up on podcasts, etc. I did not use them. I thought it was just great to walk without these disturbances, and observe things and life at that early hour. And spend some me-time. Yes, the wife was walking with me too, and we exchanged some words in between, but mostly we were focused on walking, and  the talking did not go that well with the walking. Observing and thinking was fine! So I observed and I thought.. 🙂

7. At 4-40 am, you feel quite safe in Mumbai. Perhaps even earlier. Thank God we live in Mumbai!

8. Post monsoons and post pot hole days, the roads in Mumbai are fine. By and large. We walked mostly on the roads, even where there were footpaths. Because with footpaths, every now and there there are the paths to enter buildings, and the footpath goes a little down and a little up, as you walk past it. With a longish walk, you don’t want those ups and downs. You may as well walk on the road, face the traffic and have a smoother walk. (A metaphor again??)

9. There were many patches where it seemed like we were on one of those electronic walkways. Where we were standing and the road moved us ahead. I mean, the exertion was minimum and the momentum took us ahead at a rapid pace. I guess, a lot of times in an entrepreneurial journey, we hit such patches. One has to make the most of these, move rapidly, and cover maximum distance!

10. One could have walked alone. But it is great to have a partner with you. To be with you on the rough patches as well as the smoother ones. To celebrate the intermittent targets reached, and then to be with you, at the destination! As you thank God there, for making it happen! Totally metaphorical, and so true for entrepreneurial journeys as well.. 🙂

I may add that this walk was also in celebration of another walk that me and my partner have been on, together, for last 23 years. We celebrate our anniversary tomorrow, and I am so glad to have a partner to share similar joys. Be it, of such walks, or to the innumerable movies that I insist on seeing, and which she gamely accompanies me to..

🙂

 

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