Blog Past: How wrong was I, and how wrong were many of us?!

Posted: November 29, 2009 in Uncategorized
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I expressed my anger, my disgust and to an extent, my hope in various blog posts, post 26/11 last year. But a year later, it all seems such a bloody waste.

I wrote:

And we are already seeing the urgency at Delhi. Manmohan and Sonia realize well that this time, there is no running away. No way to let public memory die down. Because it will not die down.

The events were tragic. But if they have put the entire country into positive action, there is hope for the future.

Well, it was all shortlived. Public memory WAS short, we all got back to routine, and allowed the politicians to get back to their dirty old ways!

I wrote about the fear in the ordinary citizen’s mind:

But all of us have been afraid. Some more than others. Any of us could have been in the Taj or the Oberoi, any of us could have been at the VT station, or in the train when the earlier train blasts happened. Our loved ones could have been there. In some cases, they might already have been so.

Sends a shiver down the spine to even think about it. What if??

Yes, the fear is there.

But again, fear-shmear-whatever, life has had to go on. And till the next incident happens, we go about life like there’s nothing wrong, nothing to worry about, and all is hunky dory!

I referred to many unanswered questions around 26/11 last year. A year later, we do not have answers to these, but in fact, there are many more questions that have come up, and which have no answers either!

And then there was this earnest plea for political accountability:

I also hope that other heads roll – soon. Prime candidates being Vilasrao Deshmukh and R. R. Patil, the CM and Dy CM of Maharashtra. Besides their inaction and inability to protect the state and the city, their totally insensitive attitudes convey how completely disconnected they are from the citizens and their feelings. The CM took his film star son and his director friend, Ram Gopal Verma, on a terror tour through the Taj. R. R. Patil put his foot in his mouth when he conveyed on camera that such “small incidents” happen in big cities like Mumbai. BOTH HAVE TO GO. Sooner rather than later.

This is the most disgusting part. Vilasrao now enjoys a plush cabinet position. R. R. Patil is back in his old seat in the Maharashtra government. Both rehabilitated.. nah, rewarded!

A year later then, we are as unprotected, as insecure as we were. We have a Union Home Minister who takes pride in his ‘achievement’ (though not sure how much of this was also HIS achievement) in not having had another 26/11 in the whole year. Look where we have reached. A Home Minister who is happy in the fact that there has been no other major incident (he does not worry about the many minor ones that keep happening across the country), rather than talking serious steps of creating better security. The same Home Minister says categorically that war with Pakistan is not an option. Well, even if they keep creating, nourishing and supporting terror armies that can cause damage to our country, the Minister wants to categorically rule out the option! Not that anyone wants war, but it is about posturing. Saying that we will only talk, and put international pressure (all very slow moving tactics), even as our citizens remain exposed to danger, is what kind of leadership here??

The bottomline clearly is that the country gets a goverment and a leadership that it deserves. And perhaps in our busy lives, as we remain satisfied with just joining a Facebook cause against terrorism, and think we have done our part, and get busy with our lives, we do deserve this government, this leadership, this polity, this insecurity..

Yes, lets take ownership of our situation, and declare that we and we alone, are responsible for our affairs.. !

There is a lot of Fanaa in Kurbaan

Posted: November 22, 2009 in Uncategorized
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Kurbaan is clearly a different animal from the Karan Johar stable. I am glad for Karan to have dared to try a different genre. It is an eminently watchable movie!

** Spoiler alert: if you are planning to see the movie, you may not want to read further. Not that I am telling the whole story, but inadvertently, I may mention stuff that you’d rather see on-screen and be surprised! **

Kurbaan is largely based in the US, and with minor changes in skin color, language and characters, could easily have been a niche Hollywood film.

Ok, before anyone jumps on me, I do not think that Hollywood equals greatness or perfection. So by calling Kurbaan a Hollywood-esque film, I am not giving it any exalted status, in that respect. It is just in a matter of story focus, style, genre and a certain thrill that we do not see often, in Indian films, but see in Hollywood all the time.

There are a few slips and questions that one can have, with the movie. And for the record, I will share those later. But for most parts, Kurbaan has an excellent script, maintains good pace, keeps you engaged, and looks quite real. The performances are good, there is minimal waste of footage, and considering the times we live in, it is almost too close for comfort!

Also the story is like Fanaa in many ways. A very smart, handsome and intelligent Muslim protagonist, having an Islamic axe to grind, partly on account of personal history and partly also on account of having been influenced, pretends to be a good lover boy, but ultimately abandons the love, for the “bigger mission”. This paragraph can describe both Fanaa and Kurbaan, so in that respect, they are similar. That both have popular Indian Khan heroes is another coincidence. Or done by purpose, as it may be more credible to the audience? I don’t know. Only Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra would know this with better conviction!

As the titles roll in, you are pleasantly surprised to see the name Vivek Oberoi there. After a long hiatus (by choice or forced due to no offers, not sure!), we see him on-screen. Happy to note that it is Vivek and not Vivekk or whatever it was that he had done with his name. If the return of the name to a normal spelling is an indicator of his return to normalcy overall, then we will look forward to see more Saathiya-s in future! While on the subject of names and spellings, there is Kirron Kher that we also see in the titles. Oh well, maybe the change in spelling worked better for Kiran than it did for Vivek. Long live Sanjay Jumani and Sunita Menon 🙂

The story is simple. Saif Ali Khan woos Kareena (considering their real life connect, perhaps it did not take much to woo her over) in Delhi, where both are college teachers. Gets married and tags along (as a major ‘sacrifice’ by leaving his career behind) with her to the US, when she is called back by her University there. They somehow end up picking a house in an Indian neighbourhood in New York, where the Muslim family across the road, invite them over for dinner. That is when Kareena comes across some strange goings on there, and shares with Saif. Who suggests her to ignore it. Kareena finds out, to her rude shock, that in fact, these guys are a sleeper terrorist cell, and worse, that Saif is very much a part of it. And that, the entire charade of love and marriage was just that. A charade. To get to the US legitimately.

That all of this happens before the intermission tells you that the story does not dwindle.

Saif is also a ruthless killer in his mission and would have not batted an eyelid in finishing Kareena off at this point. Except for the fact that she is pregnant with his baby, and there perhaps, just perhaps, there is a bit of love there. He chooses to keep her alive, but in near house arrest. Kareena had managed to inform about the goings on to Vivek Oberoi, a Muslim journalist, who instead of going to the police, decides to investigate the matter himself. Meanwhile the terror gang – well, a family in fact – led by Om Puri (inimitable style) and his wife, Kirron Kher (great performance, with the Afghani accent and all that) meanwhile plan the bigger plot. A series of subway bombings.

How it all ends up, with the FBI chasing them on one hand, and Vivek and Kareena trying to get them to justice from inside, makes up for the rest of the story.

It is a taut thriller, very unlike Indian films. Not much time or footage is wasted on unnecessary song, dance, romance. Whatever extent it is shown, is almost necessary for the story to move ahead. Well, when director Rensil had the hot Saifeena as the couple, he managed to integrate some hot scenes as part of the story, as these would be done well by the pair “naturally”. Fair enough!

The camera work and lights are used well, especially in the indoor scenes. Saif continues to impress with an excellent performance. Kareena looks awesome and acts very well too. Vivek Oberoi returns with a very credible performance. And as mentioned before, Om Puri and Kirron Kher deliver well, as usual!

Coming to the slips and minor flaws, if they must be pointed out:

1. The initial romance looks just too easy. Was Kareena just waiting to be picked up? Well..

2. There are a fair number of killings – on streets, in subways. The NYPD, FBI are shown to be like Indian cops here. Coming in late to the scene!

3. There is a scene where Saif is asked to go to “level 2” in a building, and he climbs two stories. In the US, level 2 would actually be just one storey up!

4. Nothing is mentioned at the end, about the Indian accomplice of Saif, who was staying and “guarding” Kareena’s father, at their house. A loose end left loose.. !

5. Saif’s character, the part which is interested to keep Kareena alive, is not explained well. Is he is love with Kareena, does he just want to save his baby, or both, is not clear. And why does he want to do that. This is quite crucial, and yet unexplained.

6. Likewise, once Kareena realizes the extent to which she has been “used” by Saif, there could only have been hatred in her mind, for him. She is aware that she is being kept alive, for her baby. And that her father is virtually a hostage back in India. In that scenario, the one scene where she seduces Saif back, can be assumed to have happened with a purpose. To get her hands on some documents from him. But when she nurses his wounds earlier, and at the end, when she cries for him, where did that come from? If she still has some love for him, the motivation for that is just not clear?

So yes, if you see with a microscope, you will find a few such question marks. But you can pardon those, in the interest of a genuine attempt by Rensil to create a very topical thriller, that keeps you engaged for the nearly 3 hours of its duration.

Go, see Kurbaan!

Seminar on Social Media for Corporate Communication and Marketing

Posted: November 12, 2009 in Uncategorized
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I have been invited to be a faculty at a half day seminar on “Social Media for Corporate Communication and Marketing” being organized by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This will be held on November 27, 2009 at 10 am at the Y B Chavan Centre, Nariman Point, Mumbai.

The seminar should be interesting to many of you, and I would urge you to attend, and also share the information with others in your network.

Seminar-on-Social-Media-ADFurther the program details are as under:

Social Media for Corporate Communication and Marketing

Friday, November 27, 2009 from 10.00 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.

Yashwant B. Chavan Centre, Nariman Point, Mumbai

 

PROGRAMME

10.00 am       Registration/Tea

 

10.15 am     Welcome: Mr. Suresh Pai, Chairman, Media and Corporate

Communications Committee, Bombay Chamber and

Executive Vice President (Corp. Savings and Communications)

 

10.25 a.m.    Keynote: Mr. Sanjay Mehta, Jt. CEO, Social Wavelength

11.25 a.m.    Question/Answer Session

11.40 a.m.    Tea Break

11.55  a.m. Mr. Sabapathy Narayanan, Co-Founder, DJargon Consulting

12.55 p.m.    Question / Answer Session

01.10 p.m.      Summing Up: Mr. Madhukar Sabnavis, Co-Chairman,

Media and Corporate Committee, Bombay Chamber and

Country Head- and Plg. and Regional Director, Thought Leadership,

Ogilvy & Mather Pvt. Limited

01.25 p.m.     Vote of Thanks: Group Captain Achchyut Kumar, Co-Chairman,

Media and Corporate Communications Committee, Bombay Chamber

and General Manager – Realty and Corp. Communications

01.30 p.m.     Lunch

 

—————————————–

Also the registration form is hereunder:

REGISTRATION FORM

Social Media for Corporate Communication and Marketing

Friday, November 27, 2009 from 10.00 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.

Yashwant B. Chavan Centre, Nariman Point, Mumbai

 

Mr. S. Iyer, Joint Director-HR

Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Mackinnon Mackenzie Building

Ballard Estate

MUMBAI  400 001

 

Sir,

 

We request you to register the following representatives of our Company for the above programme.

 

NAME                                                 DESIGNATION

 

1. ————————————————-       ————————————————–

2. ————————————————-       ————————————————–

3. ————————————————-       ————————————————–

4. ————————————————-       ————————————————–

Fees: Rs.750/- per participant  (for students Rs.500/-)

 

Cheques may please be drawn in favour of BOMBAY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY.

 

  • Our cheque/demand draft for Rs. ___________  is enclosed.

 

 

 

 

Company  :

 

Address     :

 

 

Tel.

 

Mobile

 

 

 

 

Attach

Business Card(s)

of Representative/s

 

Signature ______________________

 

Participation fee is non-refundable.

 

Jail did not quite gel..

Posted: November 12, 2009 in Uncategorized
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In the course of my elaborate explanation of eating a Rajdhani Thali, I did share the fact that we saw two movies, back-to-back on the Sunday. Let me quickly share my views on these movies.

I was seeing Jail with a fair bit of expectations, given my general respect for Madhur Bhandarkar, and the type of movies he makes, where he goes deep into a subject, and makes it very informative and usually engrossing also. While I had no doubts that Madhur would give us an excellent understanding of what Jail life is all about, I was hoping that there would be a good story behind it as well. In the past, I have appreciated his Chandni Bar, Corporate and Fashion for having a good mix of both – information and story – but found Page 3 to be more of a documentary. So I was going into Jail with that question in mind.

As it turned out, I was justified in my concern. As expected, Madhur does a fantastic job in showing us the realities of jail life. Far different from the glamorous views of jails that we might have seen in other movies (Angrezo ke zamane ke jailer, Dr. Dang ki thappad ki goonj and many others come to mind!). Unless you are a celebrity inmate like Ketan Parekh or Ramalinga Raju, the real jail that you are likely to see if God forbid, you have to land there some day, is more likely to be the one that Madhur shows us in Jail. And which is extremely crowded (inmates packed like sardines), largely uncaring, poor barracks, hopeless sanitation, terrible food and the like. Not to speak of the elements around.

So one thing that Jail will succeed in doing is to make people shun all kinds of crime. You really don’t want to land up in a jail like the one seen here!

So this part of Madhur’s agenda is successful. The information sharing.

In terms of the actual film and story and other details, unfortunately, it falls short. By a lot. For many reasons, I think:

1. He has not been able to get a good performance from Neil Nitin Mukesh. I am consciously NOT saying that Neil is NOT a good actor. I think he delivered a good performance is Johnny Gaddar. But in Jail, where he had a phenomenal opportunity with a powerful role, he is only good in parts. In fact, for the first half, he is terrible in dialogue delivery. Like someone reading out a paragraph from paper, and not emoting! He could have done a lot better.

2. The other characters are not built much. There are small flashbacks to few of the fellow inmates in jail, for their stories, but that’s about it. For the rest of the time, those characters just make up the numbers on screen.

3. Unlike Neil, for Mugdha Godse I am feeling now, that Fashion was an exception, and otherwise, she is a poor actress. In All The Best, they tried hard to “hide” her on screen. In group scenes, in dances, she was almost purposely kept in the side frames, or had long shots taken of her. Now we know the reason. Here in Jail too, she shows that she cannot really emote!

4. And as for the mother (of Neil in the film), she is still in her TV soap opera state. Nothing much to write about.. !

5. But the most important factor could be the subject itself. Jail is where life stops. You don’t go out to party, you don’t keep meeting many new people, you don’t have much room to suddenly fall in love and go dancing around the trees, etc. Unlike in a Fashion industry, or in Chandni Bars, or on Traffic Signals, or in a Corporate setting, for example. So the subject is largely limited in its expanse. You can talk about this main character, show a bit of flashback of other characters, show the pitiable life there, and then show the morose faces that go from hope to hopeless. That’ s about it.

So under these constraints, the film at best is an average fare. If you are a Madhur Bhandarkar fan and must see all of his films, please see this one too. If you like to understand different aspects of society, and are interested in Jail life, then also see this one. For the rest, you may comfortably give this a miss, and wait for “Kurbaan” whose preview provides a lot of hope of good cinema!

How to eat a Rajdhani Thali?

Posted: November 8, 2009 in Uncategorized
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Way back in 2005, I had shared about how I had never felt as stuffed ever, after doing a Thali meal at the Rajdhani!

Four years and a few months since that day, I am now ready to tell it all. A “how-to” guide on handling a Thali at the Rajdhani. We did it today and fared so much better than that day four years back. Not to say that I had enjoyed the food any lesser 4 years back. A Rajdhani meal is always a delight. But for various reasons – the excellent food, the way they serve it quickly, the fact that it is unlimited and a Gujju always tries to make the most of “unlimited” and other such reasons – there is a big risk that you would get very stuffed. And sometimes uncomfortable after that. And so there has to be a strategy about how to enjoy a Rajdhani Thali. And which is what I figured out – finally – today!

So some of that strategy unintentionally fell in place.

I got up very late today. Decided to make it a real Sunday and not do any office work at all, for a change. Having not seen movies for a couple of weeks, needed to make it up with a couple today. The Informant and Jail. Looked for good back-to-back show timings, and found these at R-City Ghatkopar. And there, the first of the two movies was starting at 11-30 am. And by the time we figured that out, there was just enough time to get ready and move out quickly. So no time for breakfast. Also we just made it to the show on time. That was for The Informant. And since we were just in time, hence again, no time to grab a popcorn or anything. Just dashed in to our seats. But before that, also took the tickets for the second of the 2 movies, viz. Jail, at 2-30 pm.

Anyway, relevant to this post, the fact here was that we had had nothing to eat from morning. By the time the interval happened (which is when we tend to gorge on the samosas and the popcorn again), we had figured the logistical advantage with reference to Rajdhani.

That Rajdhani was bang outside the theatre in this mall.

That we would have about 45 min between the two movies. Which could be perfect for a Rajdhani meal.

So we actually stay put on our seats in the interval and contined to starve ourselves some more.

All for the Rajdhani meal that had to happen.

And indeed, at 1-45 pm when we walked out of The Informant, we headed into the Rajdhani. All set for enjoying the perfect Rajdhani meal.

So the first part of the “how-to” and which happened accidentally for us, but which can happen by purpose for you, was to stay very hungry, as you get into Rajdhani.

(Disclaimer: we did have a pure Rajasthani meal for dinner at a party, the previous night, and ordinarily that would have also been a no-no for the Rajdhani lunch the next day. But as I am not a very big fan of Rajasthani food, I had not stuffed myself up, and was safe for the thali!)

As you now get in position with the Thali in front of you, you will find a score of watis (small bowls) in the thali (steel plate). And before you know, all the space in the thali, all the watis, and the couple of glasses outside, will all get filled up, with the range of offerings on the menu, that day. And you can be pardoned if you gasp just at this point. Most peole – and all first timers – do that.

Now come the important parts of the strategy.

1. At this time, you assess what is on offer. Figure out, mainly by your known favorites, as to what items you will “hit” on. What I mean is, what items you are likely to have a lot of.. ! Ideally these should be no more than 3-4.

2. The next step is to start nibbling on everything. By chance you do NOT like one or two of the items (which is very unlikely), do not waste any time on those. Oh, sorry, don’t waste any stomach space on those. Keep them aside. Immediately.You will need all the stomach space that you can afford to keep empty!

3. Now, you may take an occasional spoon of the items you want to ‘hit’, but for most parts, first finish off everything else on the thali. Especially if you are like me, and don’t like to leave things in your plate when you finish the food.

4. Now as you are finishing off all those “other” items on the thali, there will be attacks on you. From the servers. Wanting to give you more of those items. You have to ward off those attacks. And this takes some doing. You have to come out loud and clear that “you don’t want those things, and if you do need them, you will ask for them”. If you do not take this step, be warned that you will keep getting more and more of those ‘other’ items, and will either have to let them waste in your thali, or you will never reach the key items that you want to ‘hit’.

5. Now if you have played it well, you reach the meat. Well, that is only matter of speaking. Because both the Rajdhani and I, are vegetarian, and so I was clearly not speaking about actual “meat”. What I meant was that you reach the key items you want to max out on. In my case, these items were the surati undhiya (mouthwatering most loved Gujju vegetable for me!), the malpu and rabdi, and the basundi. (If you know me even a little bit, this should not surprise you – my love for the sweeter things in life!). Second priorities were the kadhi and the chhas.

So I attacked the undhiya, the basundi and the malpua. A few rounds of these, each.

And then, as I got done, in time to catch Jail, I had an empty thali in front of me, I had had a fabulous meal, I was stuffed enough but not S-T-U-F-F-E-D. So I could stand up and walk to the cinemas again. And I had managed to get good helpings of all my favorite items there. All in all, a very satisfying Rajdhani thali performance!

To complete the story, as we sat through the second film, I did not fall asleep. As much a credit to the movie as to the fact that I had done a good job of the Rajdhani meal. Any worse and I would have surely snored away on the seat there!

And the second thing was that we were stuffed just right, to again have a food-less interval. Which was not bad!

I could drive back comfortably, do other things for the rest of the evening, and still want only a light dinner later in the evening, confirmed that I had handled the Rajdhani meal, just perfectly!

Want more tips for a Rajdhani meal? Write in to me..
thali_inner
P.S. On suggestion of @hkotadia I am adding an image of the typical Rajdhani thali. Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of what we actually ate. Also note that this thali keeps getting continuosly refilled. So visualize that!!

A great show, for a great cause.. and from some great guys! Check out..

Posted: November 8, 2009 in Uncategorized
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I am pleased to share with you, the efforts of my friend, Rotarian Pankaj Tanna and the rest of the team at the Rotary Club of Bombay Worli, with respect to Thalassemia.

At this time, they are doing a show by another Pankaj, viz. Pankaj Udhas, to raise funds to enable them to do even more good work in this area. More information is available in the pdf document linked to this post.

It is my earnest request to all readers to support this cause, either by purchasing tickets and attending the show, or by means of direct donations / advertisements, for this purpose. Thank you in advance, and in anticipation!

Check this out..a must-see..the pdf document about the event

Legacies of a shortage economy?

Posted: November 7, 2009 in Uncategorized
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I have mellowed on the road. LOL..

I fret a lot less now, about traffic snarls. Most of which are caused by crazy driving. I have reconciled to things being the way they are, and stopped stressing my blood pressure. At least on that count!

Mostly.

But that does not stop me from wondering “why”?!

Why is there such a mad rush to not let go of that 1 inch of space that gets created? Why is it that, as you wait for your signal to change from red to green, you are already sneaking ahead, one cm at a time, and of couse, want to be just that little ahead of the vehicle next to you? Why would there be just so often, total deadlocks, at a 4-way traffic signal, because vehicles kept going way after their signal had turned red, and others whose signal became green, also started simultaneously?

Are we all in such a tearing hurry?

Are we all so-so-busy that those 30 seconds extra will mean huge losses of cash or kind?

Is ours a country on a high speed conveyor belt and all the people on the roads are in a rush to get work done, so the blistering pace of growth can be maintained?

Guess not, right?!

So why then? This fierce competitiveness on the roads??

Is it then because of illiteracy? Lack of education means lesser understanding and awareness about respect of rules?

I would not say so. For the misbehavior, if I may be permitted to use that word, is not just from the truck or auto rickshaw drivers, but it is also from those driving fancy vehicles, where education can be assumed to be there.

So lack of education cannot be considered as a reason for this mess.

The only thing that I can think of is: our genes!

Our internal programming, coming from our forefathers through the genes, is about grabbing what is in front of you, because it may not be there later. The legacies of the shortage economy that our country had, years back.

When there was a waiting list for a car, for a Bajaj scooter, for a telephone connection, for a gas cylinder, when cinema tickets were not available and had to be purchased in “black”, when our country borrowed money, and asked for food grants, etc. etc.

The young amongst you readers might wonder about what under developed country I am talking about. Rest assured, these stories are all about India. And most of which I have seen myself (which yes, makes me feel little older, but I am not that old, and these are not that ancient tales 🙂 ).

So those days, if you managed to get a phone allocation, you will do what it takes to grab it, before someone else takes it up. If Premier Automobiles got kind and gave you a car, you will beg, borrow or steal, but you will not let go of that allotment. And so on.

So it is this genetic factor that we inherited.

And which is why we fight. We do not stand in queues, if we can find our way from the side, to the front. We take an inch if we see one available. We put our hanky on the empty seat in the train (well, that is one thing that is STILL in shortage!) to put our hold on it.

So how can roads be different? Even if the road is not going away anywhere, and there is ample of it for all vehicles out there, we are programmed to not take any chances! Just get it first. Before someone else stakes a claim.

So now if you “understand” the reasons behind the chaos on the roads, perhaps you will be more tolerant?

And also understand that it may take a few generations before these legacies are lost from our being. Till then, enjoy the ride on the Indian roads.. 🙂

Weekend viewing?

Posted: November 6, 2009 in Uncategorized
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Last couple of weeks, I have not viewed new films. Wanted to see London Dreams, but then a Facebook review by a friend sealed its fate for me. I wasn’t venturing into that one.

Read the reviews of the relases for the day. Jail, then some long name movie of Ranbir Kapoor, and The Informant.

Although I take newspaper reviews with a HUGE pinch of salt, and if it is by Avjit Ghosh in the Times of India, I completely reject it, but with all that, there is a view of what the film could be like. And Nikhat Azmi’s reviews today are giving me some hints:

1. That Madhur Bhandarkar is doing via cinema, what Arthur Hailey used to do with books. Get deep into a sector and give us the reality view there. We read all of those Hotel, Hospital, Airport and others that Hailey dished out, and which made for compelling reading, and a deep understanding of the business there. And Madhur, via Chandni Bar (the bar girls’ and the bars story), Page 3 (the dirt behind the glitz revelation), Fashion (what the industry is really about) and the like, has been giving us those insights now. And this time, he is taking us inside the Jail. Not the decent Teen Deewarein style jail of Nagesh Kukunoor. But the dirty, overcrowded jails that are a norm in most parts of India. Now if there is a good story too, it might just be excellent cinema. Looking forward to seeing this one.

2. The other thought is about Ranbir. Or lets say Ranbir vs Neil Nitin Mukesh, just for example. Their grandfathers were very close friends and colleagues. In fact, the latter’s grandfather was the “voice” of the former’s! Then, their fathers went different ways. Nitin Mukesh at best, was a moderate success. That is only to be not uncharitable. Rishi Kapoor on the other hand, was perhaps the best Kapoor actor, bar none. Made a lot of films. Danced, romanced. Very popular. But did not win serious accolades for his acting, and in multi-starrers, he was usually the second lead. In spite of his charm and success. In fact, he is delivering some of his best roles in his second coming now, as a character actor. In fact, Rishi Kapoor never won awards, till he was given a lifetime achievement award recently. More like a consolation prize 🙂

I fear that Ranbir might be headed the same way. And it can be his choice, and nothing wrong with that. But if he is a keen actor and wants to also create a good body of his work, then he must choose his projects better. More of these dumb ass fare, and he will get slotted into a romantic hero like his father, while Hrithik, Imran, Neil and others go after the really great roles.

So by the way, you’ll get the picture on what I think about the Ranbir-Katrina flick releasing today. I’ll pass.

3. Finally, The Informant! sounds good. Like a real story, and not some make-believe, out of this world fantasy. I will strive to see this one too.

4. Then there is this film that I want to see, but have no clue if it is playing, and where. Our Oscar nomination for the year, the Marathi film, Harishchandrachi Factory. Or something like that. This story of Dadasaheb Phalke, I am sure, will be an awesome inspiration. People who break boundaries, chase their dreams, and create history, like Phalke did, make for great viewing (or reading), and which is why, I’d love to see this one. As soon as I find out where and when!!

What are your plans for weekend movies?

Where do they learn to sell??

Posted: November 6, 2009 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,
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A couple of days back, I got a call on our building intercom system. It was the security guard, informing me that a “maharaj” (cook) was there, and he wanted to come up. He put the maharaj on the line. A friendly voice asked to speak to “bhabhi” (my better half). I gave her the line.

Now she was busy with some work and as I observed her, I could see that she was trying to put him off and was not keen to have him come up. But there must have been something in his conversation that she finally agreed to let him come over. And as she put the intercom down, she made a face. That told me that she was wondering why she let him come up!

I saw him for the first time. A short, bespectacled, freckled man, carrying two large cloth bags, containing several packets of food. Very simple, very ordinary looking. And then I saw his exchange with my wife.

Very friendly, almost homely, like he had known her for ages. Offering whole bunch of new stuff that he had. Name dropping some interesting cooking assignments that he had executed recently. My wife was in no mood to purchase anything, and he did not even push for sales. Just kept showing things that he was carrying. Ultimately, my wife made a small purchase. Total of Rs. 100/- worth. He had no issues at all. Took the money, proposed that he be called for other work if any, and left with a smile.

Later as I talked to my wife, I discovered that he had come to this level from very humble beginnings. He would work at people’s homes, take small money to run the family. He would pick up these contractual cooking work, which would be seasonal, and would leave him with free time and no earnings, in between. But he had a good hand, a good attitude, and he got good houses to visit as a result. With that access, he experimented and created some snack items, and started offering to his loyal customers. And some tried. And these were good. Well priced as well. And word of mouth happened. And he has a decent customer base set up. Also with the successful experiment of migration to product creation, from being only a service provider, he got into full-fledged catering offers too. At a fixed rate per person, he can cater for full fledged parties at home. Decent food, good rates, all inclusive with tissue, paper plates and all.

I am sure he has done well for himself, from where he started. Amazing enterprise. Hard work. And of course, the sweet talking sales skills.

Yes, India has amazing enterprise. Perhaps a legacy. Perhaps the fact that India could never offer its millions of people the jobs they needed. Whatever be the reason. Survival via enterprise became a rule. And we see an amazing number of such hard working entrepreneurs who have done well to improve their lots.

And the one thing that sets apart those who become really successful here, is their innate ability to sell.

Like this maharaj described above, I have distinct memories of few other such cases.

As a child, I happened to visit Nainital a couple of times. And while I have hazy memories of the lake and the yachts, I have a distinct memory of this suit store on Mall road there. An absolutely stunning salesman, it was said that you could not step into his store and come out without making a purchase. Since we went there twice and my father had an experience of this the first time around, he studiously avoided getting into the store on our second visit. But on the last day, out of curiosity, intrigue and admiration, he figured that we will go to the store, just to share good tidings, but we will not purchase for sure.

Yeah, right! Like we had a hope. Sure enough, we came out with a bag of goods!

Then, there was this amazing experience I had on 5th Ave, Manhattan. In the heart of fashion district, in one of the high rises there, on a higher floor. A Gujarati speaking, Bohri Muslim, born and brought up in Ahmedabad, but now in the US for many years, runs one of the most successful custom suit business. I spent two hours sitting with him once, few years back, and was an observer to his selling skills with an American customer who had come in to shop with him, all the way from Texas.

Picture this first. Two offices joined together. No walls in between. Huge open space, beautifully carpeted and four large walls painted white. And having frames right through. Frames with photos of celebrities dressed in suits made by this Ahmedabadi! Politicians, Hollywood, sports. Especially basketball players. Since they need to be fitted! Mind boggling reference list.

Had a back office in Hongkong. Had samples of all kinds of fabrics whose large quantities were inventoried in HK. Connected over fax. To send out those measurement details, especially the intricate sketches of fine requirements. Suits get shipped in 3-4 working days. If it is a new customer, he walks in for a trial, and if there are tweaks to be done, this gentleman does those himself. Well, now he also had a couple of assitants (but that was it – including him, a total of 3 persons on the team, doing HUGE business!).

But back to the man. And how I saw a phenomenal salesman in action, as I sat there as an admiring observer.

He knew this Texan by name. Must be a reasonably regular customer. Talked to him about many things other than business. All topics that the customer was interested in, it appeared. Getting down to business, it seemed like the guy had walked in to purchase a suit or two, at most. Sharing the various products, and then offering package deals (shirts, ties etc.), he ended up generating business worth more than $8,500, all in a matter of about 45 minutes. And swiped the card right there, to close the deal. Awesome stuff.

For a man who began life on the streets of Ahmedabad… would you not doff your hat off to him?

The moot point of these stray examples is the skills in selling that run common. None of them have stepped into B-schools. They don’t have any aids except for their tongue and their passion and their emotions.

As against that, a B-schooler sales guy is lost without his laptop and his powerpoint and his graphs and charts and data. And then he wants support in terms of lowest prices and freebies bundled in, and extended credit terms offered. And after all that, he may meet his targets.

Now if you needed a sales person to save your life, who’d you pick? The maharaj, the suit seller in Nainital, the custom tailor from Ahmedabad, now on 5th Ave, NY, or the hip MBA with his laptop?? 🙂

Just when you thought all communities would shift to Facebook..

Posted: November 4, 2009 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , ,
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We have a really vibrant and interactive discussion group, of our VJTI class of 1985. We have an amazing set of guys who are keen and active, and every now and then, we see very interesting discussions, spanning a very wide range of topics. And contributions coming from across the world!

Recently there was an innocent question from one of the members whether we should consider shifting our group to Facebook, from the yahoogroups location where it has been running for many years.

And the few quick responses that came by, were emphatic and unanimous. That “no, we don’t shift to Facebook, and we are fine on yahoogroups”!

An interesting message right there, isn’t it? Just when we thought that all community type communication and interaction would be best done on formats like Facebook, there is a clear conclusion here. That we are better off with a plain and simple yahoogroup.

Lest you think that our group is one of ancient phobies who don’t know a shit about Facebook and hence, we prefer to stay with yahoogroups, let me assure you that it is far from the case. Some of us are Social Media professionals, and most of us are deeply engaged in social networking and microblogging and everything that is ‘in’ these days.

Yet, we rejected Facebook for this group.

Reasons?

1. Privacy. There are a lot of conversations on our group, which would border on controversy, which would upset the senstivity of people, which may sometimes be embarrassing if shared with outsiders. We as a group, know each other for nearly 25 years now, and are almost without inhibitions. We also understand each other well, and don’t take much to heart. But there is a fear that if these conversations landed up with anyone other than the group concerned, it may not be healthy. And with all kinds of “sharing” and “liking” that Facebook provides, we don’t know what conversation will end up landing where.

2. Chances of losing members. Like most groups, there is a mix of active participants, observers and lurkers. And observers and lurkers are always a far larger percentage. These not-very-active members perhaps receive digest versions of the email group. Which also, they might be seeing not-that-regularly. If we move out to another destination, they may not even realize it. And they may also miss all the instruction emails that we send, asking members to move to a new destination. We’d drop members, in short.

3. Why fix what’s not broken. We are quite happy with the pace, we’ve got used to the yahoogroups emails, each of us has would have worked out our own schedule or method to manage the flow. So why change. And its not a change for one person. Getting the whole group, located all over the place and connected only virtually, to make a shift, is challenging, to say the least. Best left untouched.

So we continue to be on yahoogroups.

But speaking of privacy especially, it is an interesting thought.

There was a time, when we would hesitate putting sensitive things on email. Because emails were so easy to be forwarded and our sensitive matters could land up in the wrong hands, accidentally.

Now, we find email safer. From that point of view. We do not forward nor receive many forwarded emails anymore. Oh, its such a pain to select the forward option, then find our friends from the address book, and take all that effort.

Now if it was Facebook, it was another matter altogether. One click to “share” and we are done.

How times change.. 🙂

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