Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire is good but..

Posted: January 25, 2009 in Uncategorized
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Slumdog Millionaire, although an India focused story, released in India much after it’s international release.

By this time, it had already won Golden Globe awards. It had already become one of the high grossers of the year. And it had already been nominated for 10 Oscars.

Given this backdrop, when I walked into the cinema hall to see it yesterday, I carried with me, a helluva lot of expectations. And I was sure that the expectations will be belied. They usually are, when they hype is so much.

So here’s my take on the film.

Yes, certainly a nice story, well depicted. An underdog’s tale is an age old formula milked by many a filmmaker, and the audience always laps it up. As it did this one. Born is abject poverty, in Mumbai slums, can life get worse? Yes, it did. When the mother dies in the communal riots, their ‘slum house’ is burnt down, and all that the two brothers have, are each other. That they remain cool and calm, and not cry their guts out in self-pity, is perhaps an indicator of life in the trenches, in poverty of that kind. Which is something that perhaps, more fortunate people like us, may never identify with. A typical Ekta Kapoor soap opera would have dragged the scene of a mother dying in this manner, over 4 episodes at least, with white clothes galore, and tons of glycerine used in tears, and sharp close ups of ladies with teary eyes and what not.

In SDM, life carries on. Beyond crying for mom, there is a life to live. There is survival at stake. The same ‘selfish’ survival attitude is seen at least on couple of other occasions. Once, when the brothers after trying hard to get their third musketeer girlfriend to join them inside a running train, don’t manage it. They don’t dramatize and come back to the scene of risk again. They feel bad, but they move on (well, the ‘hero’ returns later.. that’s different). Likewise, the elder brother, gets a break to move into the higher echelons of the crime world, and better prosperity, and chooses to move on. If his brother does not come, or is languishing somewhere, too bad. Each one’s to fend for himself, in this ‘real world’ that many of us don’t have a clue about.

Nor is there over dramatization of the communal feel. That their mother died at the hands of another community’s rioters was accepted by the kids as an incidental happening. In today’s terror spewn world, I suspect that the Gen Y feels quite like that. Or close to that. Like we Gen-Xers might have thought about Cancer. That it’s tough. But it happens. And we can’t help it. And we must move on. Does Gen Y feel like that, about terrorism? I wonder…

The story shows how events leave an indelible mark. In the film, these marks come back by sheer coincidence, as answers to the millionaire contest questions. The larger understanding that I take, is that events that have left a mark, shape your destiny for sure. In one or another way.

When I used to see young kids coming out at traffic signals in Mumbai, and selling interesting bits, and I could see a perfect sales person in them, I had admired their enterprise and their amazing survival instincts. In fact, I had dedicated a post to them, many months back!!

Those same survival instincts are shown to the fore here. Hanging on for dear life on top of running trains. Taking on local hoodlums, standing across of them, with a revolver in hand, and realizing that they will never forgive, even going ahead and killing them. Finding a way to sell wares in trains, becoming an impromptu guide for the Taj Mahal on the view of a dollar bill, and such other incidents, showcase the same fearlessness, from the characters. And I am sure these exist in abundance, in any street kid of their type, found in ample numbers on the streets of Mumbai.

The learnings on the street, the daily survival grind against enemies known and unknown, prepares the hero well. At the crunch time, in the Millionaire contest, when the celebrity anchor pretends to assist him out of sympathy, the hero knows. Whether to trust or not! That judgement has come out of the hard grind on the survival mills.

In terms of the cast, first the desi ‘stars’. Irfan Khan, the wonderful talent that he is, has not much to do. And he does that well 🙂 Likewise, another great, underrated talent, Saurabh Shukla, the pot bellied cop, is decent in the small role that he has. Anil Kapoor is the one ‘miss’ in the film. He just does not get the role as the anchor of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. He is too subdued, too casual. I think the show, at least from what we have seen of it, in its Indian versions, has a lot of drama, a lot of poise, and where the anchor is the real star. His pauses, his sudden outbursts, his loud emphasis on the word, “Millionaire’ (Karodpati in India) are what make the show, the show. Anil Kapoor, in spite of having such excellent reference points to see in Amitabh Bacchan and Shah Rukh Khan as anchors, does not deliver well. Freida Pinto, for all the acclaim that she is getting, again has a small role. Madhur Mittal, as Salim, is again not a powerful portrayal. He is okay. Could have done a lot better. And which leaves Dev Patel as the protagonist. He does a sincere job, conveys the innocence as well as the street smartness, the fear as well as his love, equally well. Still, from an Oscar nominated film, I cannot even mention Dev Patel and Tom Hanks together, in the same sentence. Dev Patel’s is a good debut performance, and one can see hope of a great actor emerging. Period. Golden Globe worthy?? I wonder.. !

All in all, all these make for a fascinating story, and an enjoyable 2.5 hours in the seat.

But…

Yeah, there is always a ‘but’!

But…

  • The expectations that I carried were more than a good story, well rendered. I was looking for exceptional scenes, exceptional acting, inspirational ideas. I did not really see them.
  • I was looking for some incredible music compositions for warranting 3 Oscar nominations for A R Rahman. Well, there was good music, but I have obviously heard so much better stuff from A R Rahman.
  • I was looking for material justifying TEN Oscar nominations. No, I really did not find that here.
  • Acting of Anil Kapoor, Madhur Mittal has clear flaws. Dev Patel’s is also a good debut, but that’s it. I presume Danny Boyle might have also set out to make a ‘good movie’ and may not have had any pretensions of the kind of fame that the film has ultimately got. If he had any clue that he was working with Oscar-level material, he would have gone for a better actor than Anil Kapoor, or at least take few more takes from him, till he got it right!
  • Some of the characters could have been developed a bit more. We see the pain in Freida’s eyes at the end. But we do not get much of a glimpse into her mind. Anil Kapoor’s character has his sense of jealousy with respect to a chai-wala going on to win so much, in his game. He is sarcastic, and even goes to the point of misleading him. Why does he do that? Why is he carrying such a strong feeling against the hero? That’s left to our imagination. Wish some of these could have been developed a wee bit.

So why did the film receive the extent of acclaim that it has done? My takes are:

  • That it was probably a very ordinary year for Hollywood, otherwise. Maybe there was no exceptional cinema (or not much, anyway) that came out this year. And so, one likes the few that make the basic cut. And Slumdog did that. For example, if I glance over some previous Best Film winning movies, I cannot see Slumdog having much of a chance, as a comparable film also, against the likes of Million Dollar Baby, Chicago, Schindler’s List, Forrest Gump, Titanic, The Last Emperor, Gandhi, etc.
  • That western audiences have about had it, with the sci-fi, fantasy bits, pedalled about, for long, as good cinema. I have never been fascinated by the utter make believe in the name of science fiction. And I have questioned whether writers have completely run out of story ideas that come from real life, the kind that we can identify with, and understand? Well, Slumdog offers that kind of a story, and perhaps people want those back now!
  • That India remains the flavor of the day. Where earlier, the snake charmers and the elephants are what the western world knew India as, today, with the increasing relevance of India in the global economy, there is a curiosity in the western world, about “what the real India is like”? And surely, it could not have become as good as a western country (‘it has not’!) in terms of lifestyle and all that jazz. So what is that real India like? Danny Boyle gives it to them, and the curiosity of the western audience ensures large success.

All this of course, is my speculation, as I try to understand the success of Slumdog Millionaire, and specifically, the EXTENT of success, what with 10 Oscar nominations and all that!

Well, some people struggle for success, others have success thrust down their throats 🙂

Sorry, I am being uncharitable. At least I can say that Slumdog Millionaire was lucky to be in the right place at the right time!! JAI HO… !!

A R Rahman, the creative genius: Kudos to the master

Posted: January 25, 2009 in Uncategorized
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What an incredible achievement for an Indian Music composer… to have three Oscar nominations?!  Surely, stuff that dreams are made of! Whatever Amitabh Bacchan may think of them, or dismiss them away, it is an undeniable fact that the Oscars remain the benchmark for global acknowledgment of creative work in the industry, and having three shots at getting an Oscar is clearly an awesome achievement.

A R Rahman or Allah Rakha Rahman is the toast of the town today. And deservedly so too.

I have tracked his career and his works ever since the time he got the R D Barman award for being the best new music talent, at the hands of Asha Bhonsle, in 1995.

To me, there is huge symbolism in that award. The award was instituted after R D Barman passed away in 1994, and A R Rahman was the first recipient of this new award. To me, it symbolizes a passing of the mantle from one creative genius to the next. I am an unadulterated fan of R D Barman. My blog address of rdfan.wordpress.com is not RDFan for any other reason! Coming from that position, for me to acknowledge that A R Rahman is a worthy successor to Panchamda (as R D was called) is very significant. And as I am writing this, I notice the amazing similarity in their names. First initial, middle initial, 6-lettered-lastname, with “man” at the end! Wow! Isn’t that wonderful?

The R D Barman award for new music talent has been awarded in years after 1995 as well, and there are great names who have received the same. But the first one in 1995, was truly the real passing on, of the mantle of creative genius, and Rahman carries it well, on his able shoulders.

Slumdog Millionaire to me, is certainly NOT his best work. Perhaps simply because he was not NEEDED to create something extraordinary. A western film based in modern-day Indian metro, and not exactly on a musical theme, demands only so much, and leaves only that much room for a music composer. And of course, A R Rahman ensures that he handles that competently. And the world applauds. He does it well, mind you. A R Rahman delivers for the target audience. He is a dream marketeer’s man. He delivers music for the script, and for the audience. ‘Jai Ho’ for example, is the perfect mix of a Bollywood-ish appeal, but with the right feet stomping beats, that a western audience can also appreciate. And which is why, it’s worked well. I suspect that this song might have come as an after-thought! In order to get his money’s worth from A R Rahman’s engagement, and to put a little pep into the movie, even if it comes in at the very end, with the closing titles, Danny Boyle might have seen it to be worth the while. And certainly, it works well with the audiences. Who wait up to see the entire song, before making their way out of the cinema hall.

Coming back to A R Rahman, as I state earlier, Slumdog Millionaire, for which he is getting and will get the most international fame, is certainly not his best work. He was not stretched enough. But the beauty of the genius is in being able to transport himself to the era and the demands of the script, and coming up with exciting compositions, from there on.

Take the case of Jodha Akbar. A period film. Songs like Khwaja mere Khwaja, Azeem o shaan Shehenshah, and Jashn-e-Bahara took you into that era.

Or consider the other Ashutosh Gowariker film, Lagaan. Based in 19th century Indian village theme, the setting was perfectly depicted in his numbers, Radha Kaise Na Jale, O Rey Chhori, Mitwa or Baar Baar Ha Bolon Yaar Ha.

Another favorite A R Rahman movie of mine is Rang De Basanti. In terms of completeness, this one has everything! I would probably rank this movie as my best A R Rahman movie, as it has several songs, and each one is a classic composition. The tunes are so hummable and memorable, they haunt you and stay with you, long after you have listened to them. Pathshala, Ek Onkar, Khalbali Hai Khalbali, Khoon Chala Khoon Chala, Luka Chuppi, Rang De Basanti, Roobaroo Roshani, Tu Bin Bataye are all such fantastic pieces. Simply typing their names here, gives me the goosebumps..!

There are many, many more that I can list and continue to list. Rangeela, Dil Se, Taal, Saathiya, Swades, Roja, Guru, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Taare Zameen Par, etc. Each of these have some amazing work of Rahman’s.

There are some filmmakers who will only work with Rahman. And interestingly, they are among my list of respected filmmakers. Aamir Khan, Ashutose Gowariker, Mani Ratnam and Rakesh Omprakash Mehra are the names that I refer to. In fact, the latest offering from Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, after his incredible Rang De Basanti, viz. Dilli-6, is in final stages of completion, and due to release in few weeks. With A R Rahman at the helm of music affairs, of course. I am so eagerly looking forward to the music and to the film.

Rahman interestingly, has also sung many songs, and amazingly well too. Both, in his films, as well as on stage. In fact, some of his stage performances have left audiences entralled, with his passion and depth of voice. And you would also recognize A R Rahman for his variations of national and religious songs like Jan-a-Gana-Man, Vande Matram and Ek Onkar. Songs that we have known from birth, presented in a different and interesting way, with passionate music.

R D Barman thrived during the period when the world was not that small. India was just another third world country. Bollywood was a lowly second cousin for Hollywood, and was not given any serious credence. And due to which reasons, R D Barman could not achieve much international acclaim. Even though, for die hard fans like me, he will remain the closest to God that we know, in music!!

A R Rahman belongs to a different world now. A world which has shrunk, which is flat, and where India commands a high degree of respect now. Where Indian culture and art are looked with curiosity, and then with awe and admiration, and where hence, Indian work is noticed. A R Rahman is in the right place at the right time.

He will reach far greater heights than R D Barman did, in his lifetime.

I am sure that he will bring home an Oscar, that Dilli-6 will be another fabulous work of his, that he will create great music and enthrall us for many years to come…

Leaving you here, with one of his classics, in the master’s own voice, in a live stage performance:

Style by purpose: Mallya, Branson, Lalloo

Posted: January 24, 2009 in Uncategorized
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I caught a news story about how Vijay Mallya’s son is going to work at an international spirit manufacturing brand, perhaps for a couple of years, as an intern. The story also mentioned Vijay Mallya having gone a similar route, in his early days, having worked for international pharma company, Hoechst, and also on returning back to India, being put in charge of a smaller outfit, by his father, Vittal Mallya. This is as against, handing the reins of the big business, on a platter!

Yes, we have heard of similar beginnings for the Singh brothers in Ranbaxy, for Ratan Tata, and perhaps, scores of other second and third generation members of wealthy families in India.

But that is not the point of this post.

I am referring here, to the brand image of Vijay Mallya, and the Mallya family as a whole. The partying kind. The kind that love to be on their yachts with beautiful people all around them. The kind that appears to only be having fun, and ‘who-cares-for-the-world’ type.

With that kind of image, is not associated a step where a young son, coming of age, is asked to do his internship rounds, at another company. It’s almost workmanlike.

But THAT, then, is the true Mallya, I perceive.

Vijay Mallya’s image for the masses, is what he wants people to see. His brand stands for “king of the good times”, and he must necessarily emody the same. But beyond that, there is a business to run. And he has ambitions. The large number of acquisitions that he has done, in the liquor business, the launch of an airline, the acquisition of another airline, the rough times of the industry, competing against a stiff rival, purchasing and struggling with a cricket team franchise. All of these are not taken care of by auto-pilot. They demand a huge effort, from his end, and which he puts in.

And yet, he remains his company’s biggest brand ambassador. And if his brands are associated with a Page 3 culture, he needs to be visible on Page 3. If his brands are associated with partying, he has to be visible at parties. No “paid” brand ambassador can bring as much passion to the role, as a brand ambassador who also owns the brand! And so Vijay Mallya does a wonderful job of creating the perception that the world wants to see, of him!

Which, just to contrast, is what another corporate Page 3 stalwart, Yash Birla, does not appear to be doing. His fashion experiments on himself, his presence at the parties, and on page 3, is very visible. But there is not much else that we read about him, in terms of corporate excellence or ambition. So here, his brand image, may not be a perception, but in fact, it may be what he really is! A fun loving, party going kid, who also happens to own many companies, run by professionals appointed by him.

Some other celebrity names who have “used” a brand image to create a perception for the public, are Richard Branson and Lalloo Prasad Yadav.

Branson is the master of PR. One of the best marketeers in the world, he has achieved phenmonel success for his Virgin group. Wherever he goes in the world, he makes sure that he is in the news, and his photograph is on page 1. He does so by bungy jumping his way down a cliff, or by riding an elephant on the streets of Delhi, or doing some other such extravagant feat. That, accompanied potentially by handsome gifts to the media persons, ensures that he makes it to page 1, with a color photograph at that, the next day. He is also seen partying around, and apparently having fun all the time. But again, as the success of Virgin has shown, there is just SO MUCH more to Branson, than what appears in public media. He has used the brand image to the hilt, and has been an amazing brand ambassador for Virgin.

An unlikely name in this list is that of Lalloo PrasadYadav, the current Railway Minister of India.

He has been the butt of jokes, of stand up comedians, and of mimicry artists. He has played the perfect buffoon and ensured that the media is invited to see his buffoonery. My perception of this is that, for a politician, his first priority is to ensure a safe and large mass base of following. In the case of Lalloo, that base is Bihar. And in Bihar, it is this “look” of Lalloo that endears him to his mass base. That he is “like us only”, and that he thinks for us, is what works for him. Now if that helps him to separate himself, from the scores of other leaders in the state, and become the ultimate mass leader (even if currently, his party is out of power in Bihar), he goes ahead and creates that image.

But I am clear that beneath that buffoonery, is a smart brain. Which has used the mass following, the media curiosity, the comedy routines about him, all to his benefit. And then, as a minister, he has put his brains to good use, to not only do a wonderful job as a minister (with quite likely, excellent personal gains as well.. that is a taken, in Indian politics), but also managed to go and talk and enthrall audiences in top notch management schools, in India and in the world.

A buffoon cannot do all of this together. But he has done it. And which confirms to me, that Lalloo is no buffoon. He is a smart politician, one who has a sharp brain, and quite likely, an amazing marketeer’s head, to have used his own brand image, to his perfect advantage.

Mallya, Branson, Lalloo…. their acts are for the world to see, and for them to benefit. Theirs is a style by purpose!

From the gift of the gab to the gift of the gaffe

Posted: January 24, 2009 in Uncategorized
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Time was when Amitabh Bacchan used to stray clear of controversy. Time was when Amitabh Bacchan had sworn himself off the media, as he did not want his words to cause any trouble, intended or unintended. When he was considered the perfect elder statesman of the industry. When the rare occasions that he opened his mouth, the most profound and mature words were heard.

But then he got introduced to blogs! And all hell broke loose…

Blogs fascinated him. To the extent that he wanted to write regularly. Wanted to vent out his true feelings. For the world to see – and which it would, on account of his stature. And when you choose to blog that regularly and express yourself thus, it is not easy then, to stay clear off controversy.

So now, the erstwhile ‘elder statesman’ regularly finds himself with his foot in his mouth. And as fans, we are hurt. The way we are hurt, when our hero, Saurav Ganguly, struggles to fend off the bouncers of a johnny-come-lately new pace bowler, and we wince. Because we cannot see one who has given us so much entertainment to be embarrassed thus. And which is exactly what Amitabh is doing to us.

Over the years, he has consistently disliked calling the Hindi film industry, “Bollywood” as he does not appreciate that reference to Hollywood. “Why should it be that way?”, he always asked.

Fine. Makes sense. And I appreciate his stand, to that point.

But when he goes ahead and slams Slumdog Millionaire for showing India in poor light, and saying that the cities of the world have their own underbelly, I am staggered.

What’s the connection?

Are you saying, Sir, that Slumdog is a success because the western world wanted to see and pity the underbelly of India? Or does the film offer something beyond that?

So, if a James Bond movie shows a drug mafia in the USA, is that the reason for it’s success? Is the movie trying to say that drug mafia exists only in the US? Should someone point out, then, that it exists in most countries in the world?

Or when a Bunty aur Babli shows an American conned into buying the Taj Mahal, should Americans jump on it, and claim that people from any country can be conned, so why show an American only??

By reacting thus, Amitabh has shown a defensiveness, that is completely uncalled for! And taken a “story” that is dramatized, too literally, beyond its screen value. It’s like the Health Minister of India, wanting to ban smoking scenes from being shown in cinema. Man, you can’t get that literal! Amitabh is trying to likewise suggest that if a western film wants to show India, it should not be allowed to show it in such poor light?! WHAT?? WHY??

To make things worse, and to add fuel to fire, after the Oscars nominations are announced, and on being asked to comment on the Slumdog nominations, Amitabh chooses to brush them aside, as those being not so important?

An earlier pre-blogging-world Amitabh Bacchan might have given the politically correct reaction, to such a query, irrespective of his personal feelings about the Oscars, by saying, for example, that “he wishes the film all the luck” or something like that.

Blogging’s changed Amitabh. For good, it appears. Oh, wait a minute.. more like, “for bad..”!

On the other hand, are the views that he is now expressing, his ‘real views’, and is he really the person that he is now openly being viewed as?? If that is so, we are saddened by the real personality of Amitabh Bacchan. Where, after all the success that he has achieved, he still has the “grapes are sour” attitude! Grow up, Amitabh… there’ s still time!

The stigma never goes..! Why the greed, then?

Posted: January 12, 2009 in Uncategorized
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The highly successful, almost cult-like Bollywood film, “Deewar” has the hero playing a very serious, remorseful and strong character. Part of what he became as an adult was the consequence of what he experiences as a child, when his father is condemned as as thief and a traitor. But what hurts the most is the permanent tattoo that some of his father’s critics inscribe on his hand, and which reads “Mera Baap Chor Hai” (transation: “My father is a thief”).
The stigma of this inscription on his hand never goes, and which remains one of the reasons why almost right through his life, he does not even smile, and is always lost in thought, staring into space. It’s a tough life to live with a stigma of this kind.
I was thinking about all this, when I read about the Raju brothers spending the night with 40 other inmates, sleeping on the floor, and getting a toothbrush and toothpaste from the jail staff.
How the mighty fall?
They came to give themselves in, in their Mercedes.
They probably live in mansions, fly first class, have a horde of servants at their beck and call, have a police station named after their company, in short, have all riches that one needs. And good for a few generations too, I am sure.
And then what happens? Greed takes over. You want more. And you are willing to give up your values (assuming you had some to begin with!), you are willing to cross the line over. To make those quick bucks. To become wealthier. To amass even more fortunes.
That is what the Rajus did. That is what many others have done before them. The Ketan Parekhs, the Harshad Mehtas, the C R Bhansalis, etc. etc.
They believe they have enough money to get out of any soup. And perhaps they do have it. But the few nights of agony that they experience, treated as rank criminals, and their names bandied about as the scum of the earth, is a stigma that lasts a lifetime.
Maybe, it’s only a matter of time – a few days / weeks / months perhaps, before the Rajus go scot free. They would depend on the short public memory, and the power of their money, to manage this Houdini act.
But even after that, as their children or grandchildren go to school, or walk the street, there is always a chance that someone shouts behind them, “Hey, son of a thief..” or “There goes the grandchild of a crook”. That will never go away.
I am sure Ketan Parekh and family will experience that, I am sure the late Harshad Mehta’s family might be facing that, and the Rajus will also have that to worry about.
About that permanent inscription on their bodies, which reads that “they were thieves”.
That’s a hard price to pay. Especially when you did not have to!
A petty thief stakes his all, to do his make-or-break large theft, and he has little to lose, even if he is caught. On the other hand, the Rajus had enough to last a few lifetimes. Why did they have to do what they did? Not even the permanent tattoo removers will remove the stigma all over their souls, now.. !

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“We are like that only” – the bane of most adults

Posted: January 11, 2009 in Uncategorized
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A child is open to learn new things. Evolve. Change. If she does not know cycling, she is willing to learn. If she has never gone on a bus alone, she is willing to try it out. There is a first time that she goes to the stage and addresses a group. All it takes is a little convincing that she CAN do it. And some coaching which she is open to receive.

I don’t know what happens to human beings as they grow older, but I see so many – or most, in fact – getting resigned to their fate. How many times have I heard the words, “I am like that only” or versions of that statement.

Someone says, “I am not very organized. Never have been”. Another says, “I cannot be aggressive” even as she carries a sales and marketing profile! From people who can never be on time, or those who can never give up smoking, there is just so much ‘resignation’ to one’s existing being.

I know change is difficult. And old habits die hard. But OF COURSE, we can change! And we need to keep working at it. Whatever be the age, we can attend courses, read self-improvement books, take coaching, in short – expose ourselves to what we can be – and in doing so, we can certainly keep chipping off our old being, and become different. Become what we would like to be. One only needs to work at it, to give it a genuine shot, and change happens.

I know for sure, I am very different from the person that I was, 10-15 years back. For me, besides books and reading, which I have talked about earlier, the few life-changing events have been:

  1. Being away from home for the first time, when I went to pursue MS in the US, feeling homesick enough to want to come back home, sticking out, fighting it out, doing odd jobs, being self dependent, working there, and ultimately, having a rewarding stint in the US,
  2. In the family business, venturing into a new business of merchant exports, lugging a bagful of samples and doing cold-calls in Singpore, striking a few deals, and getting the business going,
  3. Venturing into yet another new business, at an early stage of it’s evolution in India, viz. the AC Drives, finding a source for these abroad, visiting and finalizing the deal, getting started with imports, and building it up into a decent business over time,
  4. Doing a Dale Carnegie program based leadership course, called MILT; an amazing experience, and one that potentially had the biggest impact in my life,
  5. Done a follow up Dale Carnegie program on Sales techniques; as part of this, I had to make 10 cold-calls each week, for about 6 weeks, even as I was already “senior management”. An amazing learning experience,
  6. Venturing to start up an Internet business way back in 1998, and then going through through the ups and downs, over 9 years, including some tough years; specifically, fund raising, working with a partner, working with investors in your company, working with expensive senior employees, negotiating on M&A opportunities, morphing the business many times over… oh, it was rich and rewarding,
  7. Post-divestment of our stake in the startup venture, and for the first time in my working life of nearly 20 years, I proceeded to work for someone else – yeah, took up a job – had always worked for myself. That has been a learning experience, and managing to adjust well, and deliver well, has again contributed to growth.

All these are of course, in addition to the learnings that normal life gives – being a son, being a father, being a husband, being a neighbour, a friend.. everyday is a learning experience, if you want to make it a learning experience.

The point about all these incidents / events in life, and then about the various books and articles that I read, is that I first WANT to get better, to improve, to overcome the weaknesses and shortcomings that I have, and then I keep working towards them. There is of course, a long way to go. But I am chipping away, and I feel good about it.

And I assure anyone who wants to, that there is nothing to the statement, “I am like that only”. You can NOT be like that, if you don’t want to. Just try.. you will be pleasantly surprised!!

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Federer, Nadal – yet to take off in 2009

Posted: January 11, 2009 in Uncategorized
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The dream run of Roger Federer (my favorite all-time tennis player!!) hit a roadblock in 2008. Rafael Nadal asserted himself, and started beating Federer more regularly, including on Federer’s favorite surfaces.

All Federer fans including me, were hoping for a better year for him, in 2009.

The story so far has not been very encouraging.

In fact, both Nadal and Federer have lost – first in the exhibition matches and then at the Qatar Open. And Andy Murray has had a good start to the year.

As we approach the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, it looks like anybody’s year, yet..

Will Federer and Nadal shake off the rust and become sharp as ever? And resume their great rivalry, and stay on top of the rankings? A 2-player rivalry of this kind does wonders to the sport. Borg-McEnroe, McEnroe-Lendl, Agassi-Samparas and others of this kind, have captured tennis fans’ imagination in the past.

Federer-Nadal is the current great show. Both are genuinely nice people, and which makes the game the great winner. If these guys are not sharp and remain sketchy through the year, it may be a boring year for tennis.

And can Andy Murray come into his own and become a contender for #1 position this year? Well, the start has been good. Does he have the steam to win the big ones? And to last out at peak form and peak fitness through the year? Well, he has not done it before, so if he does it, it will be a first.

No other player has delivered with any degree of consistency to be considered as a real threat.

So let’s wait and watch how the tennis scene pans out in 2009?!

So what kind of year will 2009 be, for tennis?

Will Federer and Nadal come to their own and resume their rivalry?

Will Andy Murray find

Rahul for PM? Manyata for Lucknow? Where are we sinking??

Posted: January 11, 2009 in Uncategorized
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Yesterday, I expressed my shock at the Samajwadi Party’s decision to put up Sanjay Dutt as their candidate from Lucknow.

And then today, I see more developments that continue to disgust further.

The sycophants of the Congress party, starting with their senior leader, Pranab Mukherjee, are talking about Rahul Gandhi becoming the PM after the next elections. And why, may I ask? Does he have the experience? Has he shown any kind of brilliance to understand the country, its challenges, the economy, to warrant a jump start of this kind? And what about the other politicians who have put in years? Like working in a family owned company, do these leaders have a glass ceiling that they cannot penetrate?

Goddammed sycophancy, at a time when the country is scaling new heights, and is being considered as a future global superpower?

And in all this, where does the existing PM, Dr. Manmohan Singh figure? While he is still in office and leading the country, a senior minister of his cabinet, and a senior leader of his party, is talking about someone else becoming PM of the country, if their party comes back to power in a few months, after the elections? And poor Dr. Singh cannot even protest?!

Then you read the other shocker of the day, from Amar Singh of the Samajwadi Party.

He says that if for any reason, the courts not allow Sanjay Dutt to contest the elections (considering his none-too-proud crimilar record and his legal tangles), then his recently wed new wife, Manyata, would be the candidate from Lucknow?!!

I don’t even have the expletives in my vocabulary to condemn a statement and a step of this nature.

Think about the people of Lucknow, whose representative is being talked about.

How can a film actor with questionable criminal and drug history, suddenly come from nowhere, and take care of their interests in Parliament?? And what’s more, if that does not work, then there is his wife.. a person whose antecedents are not known, nothing is known about her education, qualifications, experience… and someone annoints her as a candidate to represent Lucknow!!

God, where is our politics sinking? From thugs and dacoits, now we have strange choices like the above mentioned ones. And we still expect India to be a leading superpower of the world, in coming years. HOW??? Damn! Double damn!!

Sanjay Dutt as MP? Shocking!!

Posted: January 10, 2009 in Uncategorized
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It is rightly said that people get the governments that they deserve.

It has to be our complete lack of interest, as citizens, in the political landscape, that we get elected representatives who are thugs, murderers, defaulters, fraudsters. And they sit in Lok Sabha and decide our future.

Because we could not care more, we keep getting such representatives, and then we complain about our dear country.

A case in point at this time, is the proposal by the Samajwadi Party to have Sanjay Dutt as their candidate for Lok Sabha from Lucknow!

Yeah, the Munnabhai who was also Khalnayak.

The celebrity star who has gone to jail because he was found to be carrying AK-47 at his home, post Mumbai riots. The same person who had a long drug problem. He who has had confirmed connections with dreaded mafia dons.

Yes, he has been celebrated as the candidate for Samajwadi Party. And the SP have won a battle of sorts, as in fact, the Congress was also after Sanjay Dutt, to have him represent the party as MP. After all, his father and his sister have been Congress MPs earlier.

What has our country come to? Can’t we find a better candidate in our teeming millions?? It is shockingly horrifying.

The cases pending against him, and I believe he is part of the long list of accused in the 1993 Mumbai riots cases, will be all forgotten. He will get a state pardon, and if his next Munnabhai film becomes a bigger hit, and if the SP is a part of the government then, we may even see Sanjay Dutt as the next I&B Minister!!

Where do we go from here??

Conspicuous by their silence in the Satyam saga

Posted: January 10, 2009 in Uncategorized
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The story of Ramalinga Raju’s admission to big time fraud generated massive reactions all across. Especially from within the industry. Some downright angry, others more studied, some sarcastic, some a little more generous.

We heard from the likes of Kumarmangalam Birla, Anand Mahindra, K. V. Kamath, Deepak Parekh, Narayam Murthy, scores of eminent financial analysts.

But conspicuous by their silence were India’s largest private sector head honchos, the Ambani brothers!! Was it a case of “those who live in glass houses cannot throw stones”?? When the biggest of corporate scams has occured, when the markets are getting tanked, investor confidence dips to an all time low, ordinarily, as India’s largest private sector corporations, would it have not merited a statement from them?

Interestingly, there is another analysis of the behaviour of the markets, on January 7th, after the Satyam news broke.

On that day, 13 Tata companies did better than the index, while 6 did worse.

All 3 Mukesh Ambani companies and all 6 Anil Ambani companies did worse than the index.

Real estate companies Unitech and DLF also did worse than the index.

Is there a message that the market was giving? In regards to corporate governance, on the day when that was the biggest reason for the freefall? Maybe, just maybe.. ?!

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