Bachchan returns to the Rann

RETROFIT

THE AMITABH BACHCHAN INTERVIEW

There is a new telly journo school in town. Its crusty old head tutor is good old Sunny Deol of ‘Border’ and ‘Gaddar’ vintage. Many of our news anchors have drafted themselves in for refresher courses. The idea is to take lessons in the Sunny Deol style of shouting, or was it acting. The once beefy Deol made a career out of his trademark shouting, be it ‘Ghayal’ or ‘Border’ or ‘Ghatak’ or ‘Gaddar’ or even the more recent ‘Jo Bole So Nihal’. Deol very annoyingly mastered the art of hurling invective at Pakistan. And mind you, he was extremely successful at this.
There are one or two anchors in news telly land who thrive in Pak bashing, then China bashing, and now Aussie bashing. One would think that India has opened three fronts simultaneously against the three nations. Such is the intensity of the tower of babble. But with the velocity of the attacks having been toned down against at least one of the nations - Pakistan - since the promoters of the channel have decided to involve themselves in a peace initiative called ‘Aman Ki Asha’, the fusillade in the Australian theatre of operations has escalated fiercely. The Aussies, who practice a strange kind of inverted snobbery thinking that they are better than everyone else, are not helping themselves by carrying out a non-stop raft of attacks against Indian students.
Sadly, restraint is a word which doesn't find place in the lexicon of our news telly wallahs, driven as they are by the ratings and revenues game. This version of R & R is eroding their very edifice of credibility.
Since 26/11, many searching questions have been asked of our news telly wallahs. In fact, they have failed several rounds of catechism – H1N1 flu epidemic, border transgressions by China, racial attacks in Australia, the smiling like a Cheshire cat Rathore and many other inexplicable decisions are cases in point. Against this backdrop, Ramu aka Ram Gopal Varma is readying to release ‘Rann’, hopefully an eye opening insight into the world of news telly. Ramu is known for his intensity as a filmmaker. His body of work is littered with many gems. And of course turkeys which defy logic. But if ‘Rann’ is anything close to an oeuvre brimming with ‘Shiva’, ‘Rangeela’, ‘Satya’, ‘Company’, ‘Sarkar’, ‘Sarkar Raj’, then we are in good hands. The important thing is that Ramu is trying to put news telly under the microscope so that its warts can be exposed. If he is true to his art, then expect something gripping and riveting. If he is in a ‘Ramu Ki Aag’ or ‘Nishabd’ type of mind set, then expect another shocker.
I read an interview with Ramu in Delhi Times the other day, where he says that many of the characters in ‘Rann’ are influenced by real people from the world of news telly. Amitabh Bachchan, for instance, has been inspired by Dr Prannoy Roy, according to Ramu; Ritiesh Deshmukh by Srinivasan Jain, Paresh Rawal is an amalgamation of several politicians and so on. Thus, ‘Rann’ undoubtedly has a tremendous curiosity factor. And with the movie's release having been delayed due to scheduling hassles after the producers versus exhibitors face-off, this has got accentuated. On his blog, Ramu had this to write about media sometime in 2008 - "What the media basically does is it just strips everybody and makes money out it. The only difference between a strip-teaser and the media is that a strip-teaser bares herself so that others can enjoy her and give money, and the media strips others so that some others can enjoy and give them the money."
Ramu was pilloried by the media for visiting the Taj Mahal Hotel after it was devastated in the 26/11 terror attacks along with then Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and his son Retiesh. So, there must be a lot of angst boiling inside. If his movie is anything like this quote, then I guess Ramu is alive and well as a filmmaker.
Amitabh Bachchan on ‘Rann’
I decided to ask Vijay Harshvardhan Malik (sorry Amitabh Bachchan), the main protagonist of the film, as to what ‘Rann’ is all about, whether it indulges in media bashing and what is its raison d etre? Amitabh Bachchan, who has collaborated marvelously well with Ramu in ‘Sarkar’ and ‘Sarkar Raj’, believes that Ramu has always offered him challenging situations, even while presenting him brilliantly. Bachchan has also had a love hate relationship with the media, which goes back over the 40 years that he has spent in filmdom. At the same time, he is fascinated by media's complexities. This leads one to believe that one should expect another tour de force from the combine. Excerpts from the interview with Amitabh Bachchan...

*Why did you agree to doing ‘Rann’, does the media and its complexity fascinate you?

I agreed to do ‘Rann’ because it was a Ram Gopal Varma film. Ramu, as he is fondly called, has been a passionate maker and I enjoy working with him. He has always presented me well and offered me challenging situations in the stories he creates. Yes, the media and its complexities do fascinate me and ‘Rann’ did carry some of the complexities when it was narrated to me.

*Media has evolved over the years that you have been in entertainment, from the days of Doordarshan to satellite television, do you believe news telly in India is restrained and effective in doing its job?

I am not an authority in judging whether television in India has remained restrained or effective in doing its job. The onus of this must fall on those that construct guidelines for media in the country. As I see it, media has a job to do, much as I and others have a job to do. How we execute our respective jobs should be guided by our own acumen, or within the acumen of those that set examples and principles for us. In a rapidly changing world of communication, it would be difficult to maintain a set given code of conduct. I would imagine that the apparatus that the medium is in possession of would give an indication how best to use it. You may be owning a private jet and never use it to travel. Conversely, you may be the owner of a bicycle and making optimum use of it to get from one place to the other. Depends on what and which philosophy you wish to follow. Having said that, we cannot ignore the pressures of competition that various media now face. Competition may well push one to extremes and I wonder whether restraint and effectiveness are necessarily being considered in the middle of a news and entertainment battle. Well, any battle actually!

*I notice that you are back to playing Vijay, why are you enamoured of this name? What is Vijay Harshvardhan Malik’s role in ‘Rann’, how do you define it?

The name in the script when written was simply Harshvardhan Malik. I asked Ramu to put a Vijay in front of it with the hope that it would bring success, much like some of my other ‘Vijayed’ films. (Laughs) Vijay Harshvardhan Malik is the owner of a TV channel, an established anchor, erudite, honest and with a voice that carries immense credibility. When he speaks, the nation listens and more importantly, believes. He is thrust into a dilemma that I believe most people in his position would - that of compromising conscience to enhance business or compromising business to keep his conscience intact. The journalist or the media that he represents being of course in the belief, that they are the conscience of the nation.

*In the Capital today, you said that it is not a film which indulges in media bashing, then what is the message that one needs to take away from this film?

That like every other commercial mainstream escapist film made in India, the viewer shall be witness to poetic justice in two hours. You and I may never get poetic justice for ourselves in an entire lifetime; perhaps several lifetimes!

*How do you view contemporary news television media, what are its warts and inadequacies?

News television media is still young and in its infancy, but growing up very rapidly. For a nation that has gained its independence just over 60 years back, we have done remarkably better than many others coming out from similar conditions. In order to forge ahead and keep up with the rest of the world, we would have to make 'quantum leaps'. Every time we do that, we shall create and leave behind a vacuum. The vacuum is the reason for some of our 'warts' and 'inadequacies'. This is a normal and natural occurrence; one that we shall have to face, but one that I sincerely believe we have the capacity to overcome.

*What did you think of its coverage of 26/11?

Good in many respects, but overenthusiastic in some others, resulting in inadvertently helping out the terrorists.

*Many years ago Shashi Kapoor acted in ‘New Delhi Times’, based loosely on the life of Arun Shourie and his relationship with Ramnath Goenka, while Abhishek himself played Guru, where he was pitted against Mithunda playing Ramnath Goenka again. What is the raison d etre behind ‘Rann’?

A story of everyday life set in a background of the electronic media.

(exchange)

Dialogue with the man who quit in disgust

POWER INTERVIEW - ASHOK MATTOO

Ashok Kumar Mattoo, long standing sports administrator known for hisintegrity and uprightness was recently in the news for chucking up hisjob as Hockey India president on the eve of the hockey World Cupreturning after 29 years to India. Mattoo was instrumental in bringingthe World Cup to India, arguing India's case fiercely both inHyderabad and Beijing. With FIH president Leonardo negre havingrecently visited Delhi to review the World Cup, Mattoo said he hasgone back extremely pleased that the entire thing is wokring likeclockwork. In his first ever interaction after his resignation fromall posts, Mattoo broke his silence to sportzpower's Sandeep Bamzai onwhat went wrong with Hockey India and the players revolt. According toMattoo, he is not disillusioned with the way things transpired, but issad that it had to end this way. Excerpts over an interview conductedover two days:
*Why did you quit suddenly? After all you were holkding suchresponsible and crucial positions, particularly those of president ofHockey India and treasurer of the Commonwealth Games OrganisingCommittee and IOA, hasn't your departure left a big void?

A day comes in everyone's life when one thinks of the future. I feltcompletely helpless with the deadlock arising out of the playersrevolt. Moreover, I was very upset that I couldn't convince the boys.Fault finding is the easiest thing to do. I wonder why people werepresuming that we were dishonest. We had the best of intentions anddespite a resource crunch were trying our level best to provide forthe players. An remember that all this heartburn was being done by mein an honorary capacity because one has an interest in sport.

*But why quit from all the posts?

If you don't have faith in me in one body, then in all fairness itmakes eminent sense to leave all posts. So, if your conditions are sostringent, then I thought enough is enough.

*Do you think they were being instigated by someone to ensure thatthey didn't listen to you?

I have no idea what their motivation was. I only wish they had satdown, analysed and retrospected. I am sure we would have been able toresolve the issue amicably over time.

*Then how is it that Mr Kalmadi managed to play white knight andresolve the matter so quickly...

Mr Suresh Kalmadi is the boss, remember that I was not an electedpresident, but merely a nominated one. Hat's off to him for bringing aquick resolution to an iffy issue. The bottomline is that otherplayers in other disciplines will do the same to get their way.Schemes and guidelkines will need to be created for greater clarity onpaymnets. Otherwise this haphazarad manner of functioning willcontinue. Look at the women hockey players now, aren't they indulgingin the same sort of work to rule strike. An over arching new policydefining payments and incentives needs to be put in place for Indiansportspersons.

*Isn't it sickening that when a hockey World Cup has returned after 29years, we are bickering over player payments, elections andaffiliations and not concentrating on the event itself. In the normalcourse, India wouldn't even have qualified for the World Cup, but hasdone so because it is the host...

The World Cup is on schedule, there is no threat to that. But thetiming of all these iimponderables is all wrong. In fact, it isshocking that these unsavoury issues have come up now, it appears tohave been done deliberately to settle scores. If you look at theplayers' demands, then I too needed to take up the matter, rememberthat as a nominated president, I only a conduit and couldn't take anyad hock decision with consultation. You can't hold a gun at my templeand ask me to get something done. It won't fly. On that particularday, Hockey India had just Rs 32 lakh with it, and I offered Rs 20lakh out of that kitty to the men, women and junior players as thefirst tranche. But this was unacceptable to the players.

*Why was the monetary situation so bad at HI?

Actually it was worse than this when we took over. There was no money.I took a loan from IOA amounting to Rs 25 lakh and sought an overdraftfacility from Andhra Bank for Rs 1 crore. Subsequently when I had themoney, I cleared the O/D. When the players struck work, I offered themand the women Rs 25,000 each and Rs 15,000 to the junior players.Their list of demands on January 13 had seven to eight specific items.We agreed to pay Rs 1.5 lakh to each player for events likeCommonwealth games, Asian Games, Olympics and World Cup. We alsodecided to pay Rs 15,000 per match and graded contracts for threecategoiries of players - A Rs 12 lakh, B - Rs 10.5 lakh and C - Rs 8.5lakh. Further, it was mutually decided to pay Rs 500 per day while theplayers are in camp and $100 per day when on a foreign tour.Given ourfinancial position, it was a fair offer.

*What was the problem with the Sahara contract?

Well KPS Gill had a contract with them and this was pretty much alegacy system. But there were problems and the matter went to court.Finally I had to go to Lucknow meet Subroto Roy and manage an out ofcourt settlement. Actually I also managed to enhance the sum of moneyinvolved once the contract was revalidated. Earlier it wasapproximately Rs 60 lakh a quarter and Rs 2.5 crore per annum. I gotthis increased to Rs 3 crore per year and got the women included inthe deal. Every penny received by Hockey India has been accounted for.I was hurt by the allegations that were being made. On April 28, 2008,the ad hoc body of Hockey India was appointed. On May 20, the body wasregistrered. WE discovered that there was no sponsorship agreement inplace at the time. The existing contract with Sahara Leisure &Entertainment was for eight years starting 2003. But Sahara wasunhappy over certain issues and the matter had gone into litigation.It was renewed after I interceded with Subroto Roy and the newcontract was from July 15, 2009 to July 14, 2011. Since the matter waspending in court, we didn't seek fresh sponsors as the originalcontract forbid IHF from bringing any new sponsors on board. Sahara'scontract with IHF was exclusive. Saharshree was kind enough toincrease the size of the deal to Rs 3 crore per annum and the womenplayers became a part of the new deal.
*What was the sequence of events that led to this breakdown between HIand the players?
On November 22 last year, the players approached HI en route to Spainand then onwards to Salta for the Champions Challenge, seeking ourfinancial support. Further on January 5, they gave an ultimatum andthis needed to be resolved by january 8. On January 9, six of the topplayers arrived in Delhi as part of their advertising contract withhero Honda for a sponsor's event at the then ongoing Auto Expo. Wetold them clearly that there was no question of giving a commitmentfor prize money and incentives due to acute resource constraints.However, we told them as soon as things get better we would be payingup. We also promised them Rs 1 crore for a podium finish in the WorldCup. Despite these assurances, they refused to train on January 10 and11. On January 12, Hockey India officials along with FIH vicepresident Ondraza made a fervent plea to the players in Pune. A newpayment system was put forth - match fee of Rs 15,000, a lump sumpayment of Rs 4.5 lakh each for the seven tournaments and bilateralsthat they had played in 2009, medical insurance up to Rs 5 lakh, Rs500 daily during camp and $100 per day foreign allowance while ontour. All this was done despite not having such large resources at ourdisposal. But the players walked out of the room, startling all of us.

*You were also treasurer of the CWG organising committee, why is thereso much dissonance over the state of preparedness?

There are two aspects to your question - let us understand that thegovernment is responsible for the infrastructure while the venuebriefs have been given by the OC. And the overall preparation for theCWG itself, well this activity is being coordinated by SAI. Projectsof this size and magnitude will have glitches. Let me assure you thatthe OC was getting ready to meet the challenges. I cannot comment onthe status of the infrastructure because multiple city civic agenciesare responsible for that. Our budgets were all in place and I think wewere proceeding well in terms of being revenue neutral. We have soldthe television broadcast rights and several sponsorships to companieslike Central Bank and Coca Cola.

IPL season 4 player auctions in October

Contrary to media speculation that a 500 player auctionwill take place this July for IPL season 4, the league's chairman andcommissioner lalit Modi told sportzpower that the auction will takeplace in October, 2010. For Modi, the priority now is to first rollout the tender process and complete the bidding before IPL season 3begins on March 12. This way, the process of identifying the teamswill be completed well before the tournament kick starts and this willallow the new franchise owners to get a feel of managing teams in realtime during the 45 day long season.
An IPL Governing Council meeting is scheduled soon, according to Modi,which in turn will take up a detailed agenda on the bidding documentfor the team tenders, as also the number of players thsat can beretained by each franchise, cap on number of foreign players, cap onnumber of matches to be played by each team among other issues.Powerful franchise owners will also have an important say in thedeciding on these sensitive issues. For one they reckon they havinvested heavily in the 'icon' and some foreign players over the lastthree years and they wouldn't want to part with them.
More importantly, given that the number of matches will increase from60 to 94 since 10 teams will be in the fray, teams will have to avoidplayer burn out. As the recent controversy over induction of Pakistaniplayers in season 3 has shown, the franchise owners are quick to closeranks against any interloper. This unity while taking a crucialdecision has shown once again that the franchise owners and Modi aresteadfast in proetcting their commercial interests.

Can this Pachauri fellow be trusted anymore?

GROUND ZERO

MYSTERY OF THE NON DISAPPEARING GLACIERS

'Demise 2035' was a typo. Can you believe it, the typo missed the markby a mere 300 years. 2035 was actually supposed to be 2350. Bizarre,no?Has anyone heard of proof reading? If there is one man caught in anunplesant maelstrom, it is nay sayer and doomsdayer R K Pachauri. Overthe last couple of days, the heat has really been turned on him. OnWednesday last week, the United Nations's Inter governmental panel onClimate Change (IPCC), incidentally a panel of 2500 best of breedclimate scientists of the world accepted that it had made a faux pasof gargantuan proportions in its fourth assessment report on climatechange and most vitally withdrew its controversial finding that theHimalayan glaciers ran the risk of being destroyed by 2035. But thatwasn't the end of it. He then went onto defend his actions and thefindings of the report by reacting in a blase manner and saying thatthe UN panel stood by its overall findings on melting glaciers despiteone error in a thousand page report. It has sent shockwaves in thescientific community and as chairman of the prestigious Nobel Prizewinning IPCC, Pachauri is in the dog house.
By admitting that proper procedures were not followed while arrivingat the glacier findings, he has put his country on the back foot. Thereason - poorly substantiated estimates of rates of recession and datefor the disappearance of Himalayan glaciers. And then the bombshell -In drafting the paragraph in question, clear and well establishedstandards of evidence, required by IPCC procedures were not appliedproperly. This shocking admission of guilt and the attempt to couchthe gravity of the statement, Pachauri has lost many friends. What ithas also done is show India in very poor light. As the Times of Indiapointed out in its page one report last week, the error shows the kindof carelessness that went into writing the report. Further bydefending the indefensible in an interview on the inside page, he hasonly tightened the noose around his neck.
On Thursday, Pachauri while releasing the Teri report on India'senergy security chose to keep mum on the 'Himalayan blunder'. As farback as November, glaciologist Dr VK Raina in a discussion paper hadquestioned the veracity of the glacier melting theory propounded byIPCC. Whistle blower Raina's paper on Himalayan glaciers hadcategorically asserted that, "it will be premature to make a statementthat the glaciers in the Himalayas are retreating abnormally becauseof climate change." Raina's study was then dismissed as 'vodooscience' by Pachauri. Economic Times on Friday reported that in hisscathing attack on India's senior most glaciologist, he accussed Rainathen of trivialising science, questioning the academic content of thepaper and charging environment minister Jairam Ramesh of being overlyarrogant and supporting Dr Raina's conclusions. Let me repeat whatPachauri had said then: "It can't be on the basis of what two persons,the minister and one more person think. It is going against thefindings of IPCC. It creates a sense of complacency that climatechange is not for real." After agreeing to the boo boo, in hisinterview to ToI, Pachauri said on January 21, "In this case, therehas been an error, but the overall findings, the problems of themelting glaciers, we stand by it." But what about that one error?Shouldn't Pachauri resign and hang his head in shame. Don't forget hismelting glaciers report has also compromised India's stand andposition in the complex climate change confabulations in Copehagen?
Actually the dominos were set in motion again late last month when thesame Pachauri was accussed of earninga fortune from the science. At the very kernel of the allegations wasa damaging report by the right wing conservative, but well respectedDaily Telegraph of UK. This is the second time in a month thatIntergovernmental Panel onClimate Change (IPCC) headed by Pachauri, which won the Nobel PeacePrize in 2008, is under attack. As HT reported recently, "Earlier,leaked emails had accused IPCC scientists in University ofEast Anglia of the US of fudging scientific data to exaggerate impactof climate change. In a rejoinder sent to the UK newspaper SundayTelegraph on Tuesdayseeking apology, Pachauri termed the allegations "a pack of lies"spread by climate sceptics, who were also behind the leaked emails(dubbed climategate scandal). "The Telegraph needs to appreciate thatthere are millions in India who don't get enough food not haveelectricity and therefore, India cannot take emission cuts," he said.
"The newspaper reported that Pachauri was part of groups includinggreen firms that benefited from IPCC's recommendations, a clear caseof conflict of interest. The article said The Energy and ResourcesInstitute (TERI), whichPachauri is heading since 1980s, stands to profit from carbon cutoptions discussed at Copenhagen and the Tata Group was a directbeneficiary. The 'T' in TERI earlier meant Tata in 1974 because it wasset up withthe seed money from the company. However, it was replaced by 'The' inthe late 80s, when the institute went independent.
"The report says the one project co-financed by UK's Department ofEnvironment, Food and Rural Affairs and the German insurance firmMunich Re, is studying how India's insurance industry, including Tata,can benefit from exploiting the supposed risks of exposure to climatechange."
The UK-based Sunday Telegraph has made some serious allegationsagainst Dr Pachauri about business interests that he has with bodieswhich have been investing billions of dollars in organisationsdependent on the IPCC's policy recommendations.
Ironically the Daily Telegraph fusillade came only a day after theCopenhagen climate summit came to an end when a personal attack followedon Dr R K Pachauri, the chair of the Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change (IPCC) and director general of The Energy and ResourcesInstitute (TERI), New Delhi by a conservative right wing newspaper ofBritain.
Let me give you a gist of what the Telegraph opined. This is what Ipicked up from the web: The United Kingdom-based Sunday Telegraph(December 20, 2009 issue)has made some serious (but unfounded) allegations against Dr Pachauriabout business interests that he has ‘with bodies which have beeninvesting billions of dollars in organisations dependent on the IPCC’spolicy recommendations’.
But the institute strongly rejected the allegation clarifying that theIPCC makes no policy recommendations. In a formal press statementissued by the media desk of TERI on December 22 said, “Just for therecord, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) makes nopolicy recommendations and all its reports are in the public domain,widely distributed and disseminated across the world. There is nothingin these reports that could have any proprietary benefit.”
Written by Christopher Booker and Richard North, the article titled‘Questions over business deals of United Nations climate change guruDr Rajendra Pachauri’, also questioned Dr Pachauri’s professionalcompetence and credentials.
“Although Dr Pachauri is often presented as a scientist (he was evenonce described by the BBC as ‘the world’s top climate scientist’), asa former railway engineer with a PhD in economics he has noqualifications in climate science at all,” the article narrated.
However, the TERI statement said that Dr Pachauri’s success lies inleading TERI for two decades and also contribution he made in‘substantial measure to its present eminence as an internationallyrecognised research institution of excellence’.
“Further, Dr Pachauri was elected twice to his post as chairman of theIPCC on the basis of his record after a successful term asvice-chairman. He has wholly dedicated most of his working life toalerting the world on the basis of sound scientific evidence about thechallenges of sustainable development including those posed by climatechange. In recognition of this effort and of the work of thescientists under his leadership, the IPCC was awarded the prestigiousNobel Peace Prize in 2008,” it pointed out.
Soon after the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Changesummit during December 7 to 19, in the Danish capital resulted only ina deal (and not a legally binding agreement), the world media startedmaking news-views-articles with their own perceptions. Many of themeven didn’t hesitate to make nuisance with distorted news out of thenegotiating process that involved the heads of the government andstates of over 130 countries around the globe. It was amazing to note(I was one of the media observers in the Copenhagen summit), how asection of media persons behaved during and after the conference as ifthey (and only them) were there to seal the agreement.
Coming back to the Sunday Telegraph story, the writers even targetedPachauri’s call to opt for vegetarian food saying ‘as a vegetarianHindu, Dr Pachauri repeated his call for the world to eat less meat tocut down on methane emissions’.
But his colleagues in TERI stood behind him here saying, “We stand byDr Pachauri’s advice for human beings to cut down on their meatconsumption because the livestock and factory based meat supplyindustry of today is responsible for large scale emissions ofgreenhouse gases (GHGs).”
In a letter, sent to the Telegraph on December 20, some distinguishedfellows and colleagues of Dr Pachauri in TERI, rejected the claim thatthe Energy and Resources Institute continues to maintain close linkswith the Tata Group and assist the group in developing its carbontrading business worldwide.
“This is far from the truth,” the rejoinder said.
Signed by JL Bajaj, RK Batra, C Dasgupta, Nitin Desai, Prodipto Ghosh,Ashok Jaitly, K Ramanathan, Prabir Sengupta and S Sundar, therejoinder agree that the ‘Tatas do enjoy the envious reputation ofestablishing institutions of excellence like the Tata Institute ofFundamental Research, the National Institute of Advanced Studies, theTata Institute of Social Studies, etc and giving them autonomy indefining their agenda and the freedom to pursue their areas ofinterest’.
Here are some excerpts from the damning Daily Telegraph report, "No one in the world exercised more influence on the events leading upto the Copenhagen conference on global warming than Dr RajendraPachauri, chairman of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) and mastermind of its latest report in 2007.What has also almost entirely escaped attention, however, ishow Dr Pachauri has established an astonishing worldwide portfolio ofbusiness interests with bodies which have been investing billions ofdollars in organisations dependent on the IPCC’s policyrecommendations. These outfits include banks, oil and energy companiesand investmentfunds heavily involved in ‘carbon trading’ and ‘sustainabletechnologies’, which together make up the fastest-growing commoditymarket in the world, estimated soon to be worth trillions of dollars ayear. Today, in addition to his role as chairman of the IPCC, Dr Pachaurioccupies more than a score of such posts, acting as director oradviser to many of the bodies which play a leading role in what hasbecome known as the international ‘climate industry’.
" It is emarkable how only very recently has the staggering scale of DrPachauri’s links to so many of these concerns come to light,inevitably raising questions as to how the world’s leading ‘climateofficial’ can also be personally involved in so many organisationswhich stand to benefit from the IPCC’s recommendations.The issue of Dr Pachauri’s potential conflict of interest was firstpublicly raised last Tuesday when, after giving a lecture atCopenhagen University, he was handed a letter by two eminent ‘climatesceptics’. One was the Stephen Fielding, the Australian Senator whosparked the revolt which recently led to the defeat of hisgovernment’s ‘cap and trade scheme’. The other, from Britain, was LordMonckton, a longtime critic of the IPCC’s science, who has recentlyplayed a key part in stiffening opposition to a cap and trade bill inthe US Senate.
"Their open letter first challenged the scientific honesty of a graphprominently used in the IPCC’s 2007 report, and shown again byPachauri in his lecture, demanding that he should withdraw it. Butthey went on to question why the report had not declared Pachauri’spersonal interest in so many organisations which seemingly stood toprofit from its findings. The letter, which included information firstdisclosed in last week’sSunday Telegraph, was circulated to all the 192 national conferencedelegations, calling on them to dismiss Dr Pachauri as IPCC chairmanbecause of recent revelations of his conflicting interests.The original power base from which Dr Pachauri has built up hisworldwide network of influence over the past decade is the Delhi-basedTata Energy Research Institute, of which he became director in 1981and director-general in 2001. Now renamed The Energy ResearchInstitute, TERI was set up in 1974 by India’s largest privately-ownedbusiness empire, the Tata Group, with interests ranging from steel,cars and energy to chemicals, telecommunications and insurance (andnow best-known in the UK as the owner of Jaguar, Land Rover, TetleyTea and Corus, Britain’s largest steel company).
"Although TERI has extended its sponsorship since the name change, thetwo concerns are still closely linked. In India, Tata exercisesenormous political power, shown not least inthe way that when it expressed its interests in developing land in theeastern states of Orissa and Jarkhand, it led to the Indian governmentdisplacing hundreds of thousands of poor tribal villagers to make wayfor large-scale iron mining and steelmaking projects.Initially, when Dr Pachauri took over the running of TERI in the1980s, his interests centred on the oil and coal industries, which maynow seem odd for a man who has since become best known for hisopposition to fossil fuels. He was, for instance, a director until2003 of India Oil, the country’s largest commercial enterprise, anduntil this year remained as a director of the National Thermal PowerGenerating Corporation, its largest electricity producer.
In 2005, he set up GloriOil, a Texas firm specialising in technologywhich allows the last remaining reserves to be extracted fromoilfields otherwise at the end of their useful life. However, sincePachauri became a vice-chairman of the IPCC in 1997,TERI has vastly expanded its interest in every kind of renewable orsustainable technology, in many of which the various divisions of theTata Group have also become heavily involved, such as its project toinvest $1.5 billion (£930 million) in vast wind farms.Dr Pachauri’s TERI empire has also extended worldwide, with branchesin the US, the EU and several countries in Asia. TERI Europe, based inLondon, of which he is a trustee (along with Sir John Houghton, one ofthe key players in the early days of the IPCC and formerly head of theUK Met Office) is currently running a project on bio-energy, financedby the EU."
Many other exaqmples of conflict of interest have been provided by thereport. It is a shocking tale of woe involving an Indian. And all thisdespite a fellow India calling his bluff. Raina's scathing indictmentof Pachauri has come true. Like Banquo's ghost it is now going tohaunt Pachauri and Indians around the world. Even if Pachauri wants tohold onto his baubles and not walk into the sunset, he owes a personalaplogy to the former deputy director general of the Glaciology Surveyof India Dr Raina. To Times of India's credit, they have been trackingthis extremely important story on a daily basis and bringing us up tospeed with pachauri and his glib talk. And kudos to environmentminister Jairam Ramesh for backing Raina against a now embattledPachauri. Last word to Raina who told the Hindu, "But all along I knewthat this was not based on facts. During my 50 years of research andseveral expeditions to the region, I never found anything assensational as was predicted in the IPCC, but no one heard me then.”And of course praise should be lavished on an alert media - DailyTelegraph.

Yaba daba Doo

RETROFIT

High decibel Talking Heads

Indian battleships advancing towards Australia. No, not for war games,but the real thing. Hey wait, what am I implying here? Is India goingto attack Australia and show off the prowess of its 'blue water' navy?Hardly. But not if you believe Times Now. Over time, we have seenTimes Now evolve into a high decibel jingoistic news channel which isnow synonymous with shrillness. There is no harm in beingnationalistic, I am one too. But to use a medium like television newsto drill out a high pitched rhetoric day in day out appears a bitincongruous. You can argue that this editorial policy is not beingdictated by the Jains, but editor in chief Arnab Goswami. Ratchetingup passions as if Balasaheb Thackeray was writing an editorialattacking someone in Samna, Times Now has been going ballistic forsometime. This intensity helped Times Now leapfrog over entrenchedplayers, but now this strong veneer of jingoism appears to be wearingthin as far as the viewers are concerned. Subjected as they are torhetoric day in day out. Pakistan, China and now Australia beingtargeted incessantly. First we had a situation in the first flush ofthe 26/11 terror attacks where Goswami was going ape on Pakistan, our favouritewhipping boy. I was reminded of the now mothballed Sunny Deol and hisfiery jingoistic screaming in Border and then Gaddar. Deol made acareer out of shouting in B Town, be it Ghayal or Ghatak or Damini orSalakhen or for that matter even the more recent Bole So Nihal.Unfortunately Goswami has also become a victim of the same hype.A sense of proportion, restraint and calm seems to have deserted Times Now.I know, I know...I have praised Goswami in the past, but this isbefore the aggromania took over. What happens is that when he is nottalking war and doing something like say the hockey players revolt, heseems distant and loses focus because the subject is far removed fromhis attention and interest levels.
So, one can understand targeting Pakistan and its deadly dangerousbrand of die by a thousand cuts strategy in India, using theinstrumentality of terror. But with 2009 completely peaceful and noterror attacks, the focus shifted to China and its bordertransgressions. But attacking China is not the same as attackingPaksitan. Unlike Pakistan's overt threat percept, China's moves arecovert and hence more difficult to fathom. Anyhow, all bordertransgressions were viewed as war by Times Now and its editorialsatraps. Correspondents were sent to remote areas to assess the extentof the Chinese threat percept. I saw one report from Srinjoy Chowdhurythe other day which showed how the Chinese are ever so slowlyswallowing land in the Ladakh region. By fortifying and building newconcrete bunkers, there is an inescapable overt move for the future bythe People's Liberation Army. There were other stories which threw theChina threat into stark relief. Some of the stories were good forthey brought to the surface Chinese subterfuge on our long border withthem. But this was backed by naked aggression in the studio led byArnab Goswami and Rahul Shivshankar. Yes, it is matter of concern toall Indians that the Chinese are carrying on with rabid anti-Indianismthrough their manoeuvres on the border.
So, while Pakistan has been replaced by China as public enemy numberone at Times Now, over the last few days, the jingosim has acquired aspanking new hue. The favourite whipping boy is now Australia. Yes, theAussies practice a strange sort of inverted snobbery. They have alwaysbeen racist, maybe not of the South African kind, but they will let youknow your place in their country. Now this is manifesting itself in apanoply of racial attacks against Indian students Down Under. Aussieshave this superior air about themselves. Even their commentatorspractice this inverse snobbery - Aussie players are supreme, best inthe world yaba daba do, while other countries are inferior, as aretheir players. This has always been the case, but in the ongoingseason, it seems less nuanced and more open. So, when a Chris Gaylegets stuck into them, they have no answer. Aussie attacks againsthapless Indians are highly condemnable, and cannot be forgiven. But itis the Government of India's job to take up the matter diplomatically.It needs to ask the Aussies to scale down their tone on the attacks.By comparing the attacks to security and safety in Delhi and Mumbai,they are missing the woods for the trees. That these attacks havetaken on a pattern, it is Indian students who are being systematicallyidentified and targeted. Anyway, back to news tellywallahs and their bizarre penchants. Times Now is the aggro arm ofBennett, just as the Illustrated Weekly used to be during PritishNandy's time. It thinks it can get away with blue murder. Even asTimes Now carries on with all this mayhem, there is an interestingaside.
It is called Aman Ki Asha, an Indo-Pak peace initiative where Times ofIndia has tied up the Jang group of newspapers across the border. Iguess when the ITBP jawans allegedly shot in cross border firing by the Chinesesurfaced on Page 1 of the ToI, the government was reportedly furious,even contemplating filing First Information Reports against theauthors of the story. Now this is merely a surmise. An educatedhypothesis. Facing the heat, ToI may have decided to architect a facesaver. I can only speculate that the trade off must be the Aman KiAsha initiative. A greatconcept of fostering neighbourly love and bringing the temperaturesdown. But what it also did was remove Pakistan from the Times Nowattack equation. To address this, Times Now has found a new enemy inAustralia. How do you deal with racist attacks? Many years ago, gangsof skinheads used to attack Indians and other Asians in England. Thederisive term given to Asians was Pakis and there were many incidentswhere students were attacked. But media and in the main electronicmedia was not the circus that it has become now.
Perhaps that is why Ram Gopal Varma has decided to throw the spotlighton the functioning of news telly. There is a Reuters story that I sawlast year on the film. I am reproducing parts of it because theyprovide a keen insight into the way our telly wallahs are going beserkin their self seeking justification for ratings and advertising. TheAmitabh Bachchan starrer Rann was to have released last year, buta combination of IPL and the face off between producers and exhibitorsdealt a bodyblow to the release schedule of several films. Rann wasone of them. Reuters wrote: "Rann", a new Bollywood film, delves intothe highly competitive world of television news reporting in India,putting the spotlight on the media industry's insatiable appetite foradvertisers and viewers.
The film, directed by top filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, is touted as abehind-the-scenes look at how news channels greedy for ratings arebeing manipulated into sensationalizing stories to grab eyeballs."What will the media do if torn between commerce on one hand andconscience on the other -- that is the premise of this film," leadactor Amitabh Bachchan said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Bachchan, arguably India's biggest superstar, plays the head of aprominent news channel in "Rann". Other channel bigwigs, an honestreporter, an unscrupulous industrialist and a power-hungry politiciancomplete the cast. With more than 60 English and regional-languagenews channels in India beaming into TV-owning homes, the film comes ata time when broadcasters are scrambling to provide exclusive content.
Indian television channels were criticized by security agencies forshowing live pictures of November's Mumbai attacks and allegedlygiving away important information to attackers trapped inside hotelsand a Jewish centre. "In order to be able to hold a person'sattention, the only way they can do it is to create high drama," saiddirector Varma.
The 47-year-old filmmaker, an acknowledged Bollywood master at makinggangster movies, is no stranger to controversy. Varma raisedconservative eyebrows in 2007 with "Nishabd" -- a film about lovebetween a girl and a man old enough to be her grandfather. The sameyear, his remake of the landmark 1975 film "Sholay" had criticsdenouncing the attempt at tinkering with classics.
With "Rann", which opens in cinemas on January 29, the maverickdirector has delivered an idea he had been toying with for many years,based on an industry that has always fascinated him. "If the media isa truth-telling machinery in a democratic society, in the age ofcompetition and compulsions, can it really stick to that and be reallytruthful," Varma said.
Rann may well be a benchmark film for it will examine the veryunderlying credo with which our telly journos are going about theirbusiness. If it is accepted and then acclaimed for providing aninsight into the business of ratings and advertising, then RGV will doa great service. His sins as director of the dreadful Ramu Ki Aagcan then be overlooked. But if RGV is true to his style and delivers ahard hitting film on the lines of Satya, Company or even Sarkar, thenexpect a lot of seamy dirt on the news telly wallahs to be unveiled.
(exchange4media)

A relay race which has come unstuck

NAKED EYE

Woe betide, Mumbai

I watched the recent Ranji Trophy final with great interest, it had allthe ingredients that make for good cricket - crowds, a pitch whichoffered excellent opportunities to the medium fast guys as also thespinners, fabulous batting and the piece de resistance; a tightfinish. The victor coming through by a mere six runs. Mostimportantly, credit to the Mysore groundsman for not preparing atypical Indian 'patta' wicket where the match is decided on the basisof the first innings lead. The birth of a new battingstar - Maneesh Pandey - whose attacking, unorthodox and devil may careattitude while batting was like a breath of fresh air.
But then wait...there was a pause in all this positivity. And thatpause set me thinking. When I watched Mumbai bat in the two essays, Iwondered whatever had happened to the long assembly line of qualitybatsmen that the city used to throw up with regularity. Middle classMaharashtrian boys who stepped up to the plate and inherited themantle vacated by another great. Bombay or Mumbai has had this tradition ofpassing the baton from one generation of great batsman to another.Role models playing a crucial role in this relay. A guru making wayfor his shishya.More often than not, they were all from simple middle classMaharashtrian homes. As Sanjay Manjrekar, one of the many qualityMumbai batsmen over the years wrote in the foreword to my first book -Gavaskar & Tendulkar: Shaping Indian Cricket's Destiny - these boyscame forward to make their tryst with izzat and shaurat. They sought abetter future for themselves through their cricketing prowess.
Nurseries which nurtured Bombay or Mumbai cricket are floundering -schools, collegiate, club and office cricket fashioned on the maidansof the kinetic energised megalopolis which threw up the stars is inthe throes of death. The multi layered and multi tiered cricketingconveyor belt has been derailed. Harris and Giles Shield, KangaLeague, Purshottam Shield, Police Shield, Talim Shield, Times Shield; names thatconjured up imagery of batsmanship is unfortunately sinking. It wasactually the Parsis, using their stevedoring contracts who were at thevanguard of the cricketing ethos in the city. They wanted to be themirror image of the ruling British, so what better way to befriendthem than by playing their game - cricket. So, they took the lead inestablishing a cricketing culture - Dr Mehellasha Pavri was theprogenitor. But it was Lord Harris who as Governor of Bombay in the1890s really kickstarted the process. Under his influence communalcricket came to be played whereby subsequently the Parsis, Hindus,Muslims joined the Europeans to play in the quadrangular.
What Harris had unleashed was a chain reaction - the Parsis wanted toimitate the British, the Hindus wanted to better the Parsis, theMuslims meanwhile wanted to best all three. And so it carried on tillthe emergence of two working class cricketers Vijay Manjrekar andSubhash Gupte, both turning out first for Mahim Juveniles and thenShivaji Park Gymkhana. Many factors were at work, the proximity tomaidans and educationalinstitutions, a potent combination of aspiration and inspiration,dalliance at an early age with tennis ball cricket in the lanes andgullies around Shivaji Park and Matunga maidan homes to Shivaji ParkGymkhana and Dadar Union. And of course, sons following fathers,nephews following uncles - Manohar Gavaskar and Madhusudan Patil(Sandeep Patil's were decent club cricketers, Sunny Gavaskar's uncle'Nana Mama' Madhav Mantri played for India, the fabled Vinoo gave wayto Ashok, Atul and Rahul; Vijay Manjrekar was a class act and so was his sonSanjay and so on. In fact, Vijay's father Laxman was also a cricketerplaying for New Hind.
Or look at Chikalwadi, a microcosm of what cricket stood for in thosedays in Bombay. Chikalwadi near Bhatia Hospital, Bhagirathi buildingcame to symbolise something. Two small boys dreamt the dream - SunilGavaskar and Milind Rege along with Sudhir Naik and Sharad Hazareplayed mock games in the lane below with a portion of a garage doorfunctioning as the wicket. If Gavaskar went on to play for thehallowed Dadar Union, Ajit Wadekar, a reluctant cricketer played forShivaji Park Gymkhana. Wadekar like many others will tell you that -"Cricket was in my blood, I was born on that soil." Wadekar idolisedVijay 'Tatt' Manjrekar. The Dadar Union-SPG derby or the Ruia vsSiddarth matches used to see crowds throng them. Dilip Sardesai was anoutsider who became an insider. He came to Mumbai from Margao in Goato study at Wilson College. Manjrekar emerged as the first middleclass commoner batsman and he was followed by Ajit Wadekar who in turnwas followed by Sunil Gavaskar who passed on the baton to DilipVengsarkar and Sandeep Patil. They in turn gave way to SanjayManjrekar, Sachin Tendulkar, Pravin Amre and Vinod Kambli.
Tendulkar has outlasted all his peers, both from Mumbai andinternationally. Cricket as another Bombay great Madhav Apte once toldme became a way and means to get a job, an anchor, an element ofstability for middle class Maharashtrians. After Tendulkar came AmolMazumdar, touted as the next big hope for Mumbai cricket. WhileMazumdar displayed a voracious appetite for runs in domestic cricket,he never ever got a chance to play for India. Now Mazumdar hasdeserted Mumbai and plays for Assam in Ranji Trophy. Rohit Sharma isseen as the next big talent from Mumbai, but he is an outsider likeRavi Shastri, not a Maharashtrian. Ajinkya Rahane, Omkar Khanvilkarand Sushant Marathe are seen as the next generation of Mumbai's'Marathi manoos' batting stars. Will they deliver or will they fadeaway like Vinayak Mane? Rahane is the most promising of the lot, butcan he play for India and follow in the footsteps of Manjrekar,Wadekar, Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, Tendulkar. It is asking for too much.Time will tell.
Mumbai may still win the Ranji Trophy, but it is not the samedomineering side that it used to be. A wider dispersal of the game hasseen new players emerge from small town India. The flame that has beenburnished by the aforementioned legends appears to be dying. Sidesused to be terrorised of playing Bombay in the Ranji Trophy.Bhagwatsinghji of Mewar swore that he would vanquish Bombay duringthose glory days. But despite having a fine all round side, he andRajasthan tried for years but could never ever repel the maraudingBombay side.
All this despite the presence of Tendulkar, the greatest and mostsuccessful role model that young Marathi boys could ask for. Thisbankruptcy of batting talent is scary. One of the greatest nurseriesof Indian batsmanship is in disarray. And there is simply noexplanation for it. Vinoo Mankad and Vijay Merchant played a part incoaching and identifying young talent, men like Madhav Mantri atElphinstone College honed others, Vasu Paranjpe did his bit, even thegreat Duleepsinghji watched with an eagle eye at CCI nets - thatculture and ethos have all but disappeared. There is no hand holding,no teaching or imparting of skill sets. Yes Mumbai won the RanjiTrophy again, but it is no longer the breeding ground for greatbatters. Where will the next great batsman come from? India wasblessed with four of them till recently - Tendulkar, Dravid fromKarnataka, Laxman from Hyderabad, Ganguly from Bengal. Now there isVirender Sehwag from Delhi along with state mates Gautam Gambhir andemerging star Virat Kohli. Woe betide Mumbai!

Sher ki sawari nahin aasan

BEHIND THE NEWS

Isn't it ironical that an illegal, unconstituonal,unethical and hastily architected body - Hockey India - has implodedunder the weight of its own contradictions? Suresh Kalmadi as IndianOlympic Association president muscled his way into the rot riddentworld of Indian hockey, thinking hijacking it would be a piece ofcake. But Indian hockey so deeply mired in controversy is notsomething one can handle with aplomb. I remember former hockey playerAslam Sher Khan telling me that Kalmadi toh sher ki sawari karnenikala hai (he is trying to ride a tiger) aur ye sher us se hi nigaljayega (and the tiger in turn will maul him. From the dark days of IHFsecretary general Jyothikumaran's bribery scandal and sacking to theso called complete overhaul of the federation by overhauling it,Kalmadi has come full circle. Today's his chosen men - Ashok KumarMattoo and earlier secretary Mohd Aslam Khan - have quit in disgust.What does that tell you, that the rot has spread far and wide inIndia's hockey dispensation. Imagine a gleeful K P S Gill smartingfrom that decision to sack him grinning like a cheshire cat on Sundaywhen the drama unfolded. Remember Gill has got himself elected as aunified Delhi Hockey Association office bearer and now has a shot atbeing elected Hockey India president again on February 7. The conductof Hockey India, its genesis and its very journey so far aresymptomatic of the mismanagement that governs Indian sport wherezamindars and jagirdars continue rule well past their expiry date.
What it also threw into stark relief yet again is that our nationalsport is not hockey, but politics. A deeply hurt Mattoo, furious overthe way Kalmadi stepped in as white knight to defuse the playerrevolt, has probably learnt his lesson after this latest crisis toengulf Indian sport. By sending his resignation to IOA boss Kalmadi,he has signalled the beginning of administrative malfunction,something that we have suspected for long within the OrganisingCommittee main frame. "I have submitted my resignation to Kalmadi andI now want to take retirement from sports administration. I haveserved for 40 years and it has been long and fruitful innings," Matoosaid. Mattoo has done the right thing by taking moral responsibilityfor the player-administrator face off.
But apart from being Hockey India president, Mattoo was also thetreasurer of the IOA and the Organising Commitee of the 2010Commonwealth Games. Asked whether he would reconsider his decision ifKalmadi asks him to, he replied, "No, I have made up my mind and don'twant to get into all these again. I have enjoyed my stint as a sportsadministrator all these years." Mattoo, who is known for hisintegrity, admitted that the allegation levelled against him by thestriking hockey players and some officials, and the manner in whichthe crisis was projected left him deeply hurt.
Asked whether that was the reason why he decided to quit, he replied,"Well, that is one of the reasons. Certainly it did play a role in mydecision." Mattoo said that he hasn't heard anything over hisresignation yet from Kalmadi. "I have not received any communicationfrom Kalmadi on whether he has accepted my resignation or not. Even ifI am asked to continue till the Commonwealth Games, I would not liketo carry on," Mattoo said. Hockey India was a body given illegal recognition by the registrar of societies. It was an ill conceived attempt to take over Indian hockey. A sport where former players are being deliberately kept out of administration. Now with Sukhbir Singh Badal. KPS Gill and J B Roy signalling their interest in participating in the elections, get ready for another round of dirty politicking and muck raking.

When optimum creativity trips you...

GROUND ZERO

THE CREATIVE GLASS CEILING

Just heard that the gravity defying 3 Idiots has busted another
record. It has become the first Hindi film to gross $75 million on the
box office - overseas and Indian territories. That translates into a
staggering Rs 350 crore collections. Interestingly this is just box
office and does not include satellite TV, DVD, music and language
rights. While this success underlines the latent potential of Hindi
cinema and throws into stark relief the false and glass ceiling that
existed in the minds and hearts of industry wallahs, but it also
highlights one other thing. That the combine of Vidhu Vinod Chopra and
Raju Hirani has struck paydirt three times running - Jadu ki Jhappi,
followed by Gandhigiri and now yet another slice of life through the
homily of all izz well. For Chopra whose movies have never really been
commercial successes when he has directed them - Khamosh, 1942 A Love
Story, Parinda, Mission Kashmir (which was partly successful because
it wasn't very expensive) or even Eklavya, his teaming up with Hirani
has really worked for the banner. Imagine Eros International which was
in the race to distribute this film and was beaten at the proverbial
post by Reliance Big Entertainment, they must be ruing of what could have
been. Chopra has always made good films, but unsuccessful ones. As a
producer though, Munnabhai MBBS with Hirani at the helm was a
masterstroke. Lage Raho Munnabhai, a highly complex film because the
audience needed to accept Gandhi as a character in the movie. More
than that, somewhere the audience needed to be part of the inter play
and interface between Dutt and Gandhi. To everyone's amazement, it
worked like a charm.

Let us dwell on the potential of Hindi cinema briefly. Last week I was
critical of the scale and size of Hindi cinema when you compare it to
Hollywood. At the same time, $75 million tells you that there is a lot
of head room available. One needs to plug and play. If we make good,
relevant and interesting cinema which strikes a chord with the hoi
polloi, both the masses and classes, then Hindi films can raise the
bar in terms of revenue mobilisation. When Ghajini happened last year,
people were awestruck at the sheer magnitude of business. Now with 3
Idiots, the bar has been raised manifold. New vistas have been
explored. Which is a good thing. The emergence of the multiplex has
changed the revenue paradigm. Their proliferation will take revenues
to new highs in the coming years. Similarly, the overseas market which
wasn't being marketed effectively and efficiently is also leading to
new gains. I am sure in the years to come, the dynamics of delivering
hits will change. More prints both at home and abroad, more marketing
gimmicks from the stars, better promos and teasers, aggressive
promotional activities around the film and of course better and tauter
stories and screenplays will deliver at the B.O. And of course
corporatisation which has crept
in unnoticed. Reliance Big Entertainment, UTV Movies, Eros
International, Fox Star, Sony Pictures, and now one hears that the
Hindujas are also returning.

3 Idiots is a creative culmination of the Chopra-Hirani style of film
making. It is also the epitome of creativity. A confluence of the
creative talents and juices of Chopra, Hirani and of course Aamir
Khan. Khan has shown that he is getting better with time - Lagaan,
Taare Zameen Par and now 3 Idiots. All three different and yet there
is a stream of conciousness running through. A stream of sensitivity and
sensibility. Of touching a chord, human and humane at the same time.
The question is will 3 Idiots be their creative pinnacle? Will the
creative juices, bordering on the sublime now be able to deliver
another sensitive, humorous and satirical yet critical of the times
kind of cinema? And this holds good for all three. I will tell you why
I am thinking on these lines.

Many in the film industry reckon that while Sholay was one of the
greatest and most popular films ever made, it practically meant the
creative deathknell for three of its principal players - producer G P
Sippy, director Ramesh Sippy and actor Amjad Khan. You can argue that
Amjad Khan played many a character in films, but none greater than
Gabbar Singh. He could never ever climb out of the Gabbar
straitjacket, it shackled his stature and performances as an
actor.Yes, Ramesh Sippy made Shakti which pitted Dilip Kumar
versus the brooding Amitabh Bachchan in one of his finest portrayals,
but Sippy had peaked with Sholay. That remains his defining film, just
as it remains Amjad Khan's. None of the three could ever reach the
heights of Sholay.

And this has happened repeatedly over the years. I am giving the
analogy of Sholay because it involved three people and of course one
can compare it to 3 Idiots in terms of revenues and canvas. But
creatively, if you look at the careers of some of our biggest stars of
yesteryears, then there is always that one defining film in their
oeuvre. I don't think Dharmender ever acted better than he did in
Satyakam. Ditto for Dilip Kumar who produced Ganga Jamuna, I don't
think he ever acted better. And that is saying a lot because Dilip
Kumar has delivered powerhouse performances time and again during his
career. Who can forget Mughal e Azam, Naya Daur a personal favourite,
Sunghursh (another personal favourite) or Madhumati, but Ganga remains
his greatest role. Yusuf
Khan aka Dilip Kumar not only produced Ganga Jamuna (the only time
ever) but he also wrote the story and screenplay. It was a coming
together of his best strains. It is also remembered
for his brother Nasir Khan who many believe outshone Dilip Kumar in
the film. Yet, Dilip Kumar surpassed himself in this 1961 classic. It
had all the ingredients of a cult film - good vs evil, two real
brothers pitted against one another and one dying at the hands of the
other. Wow, what more can yoiu ask. In many ways like Mehboob Khan's
Mother India where Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raj Kumar
acted out of their skins. Or Bharat Bhushan who could never do better
than his essaying the part of Mirza Ghalib.

In many ways this creative peaking is also a jinx. However, hard one
tries after that peak, you cannot go higher or achieve greatness
thereafter. It is like climbing Everest in the old days, where do you
go after that? Similarly, the showman Raj Kapoor made many great
films, he acted in an equally number of outstanding films, but the
creative zenith of his career came in Sangam. It captured everything
that Raj Kapoor stood for - romance, emotion, imagination,
visualisation, grandoise scale. As
Sunder, Raj Kapoor displays his craft as an actor and director. I
loved Raj Kapoor in Jagte Raho, even Teesri Kasam, but Sangam was the
showman through and through. Everything that he stood for or embodied
was on show in Sangam. Take Amitabh Bachchan, his body of work is
stupendous. While there are many performances that are unforgettable,
Zanjeer and Dewaar till this day remain a symbol of AB.

Look at Dev Anand for example. You can swear by the famous line Johnny
Mera Naam nahin, but the indelible impression that he has left in our
minds as Raju guide in Guide remains embedded in our memory recesses
till this day. I was a great Dev
Anand fan and used to enjoy his black & white films as well - Hum
Dono, Kaal Pani, Taxi Driver, Kaal Bazaar (though they were much
before my time) - adored him in Jewel Thief,
Johnny Mera Naam, Tere Mere Sapne; but one just cannot forget Raju guide.
Like Raj kapoor, Dev Anand was a producer par excellence. He was also
blessed that he had his brother, the amazing Vijay Anand directing him
in several of these films.

Will this jinx dominate Chopra, Hirani and Aamir Khan after the
unprecedented success of 3 Idiots? Will they be able to cross this
creative threshold in the future? Aamir Khan for one can. That he
could direct a sensitive film like Taare Zameen Par shows that he has
petrol left in the tank. One can argue that after Munnabhai MBBS, was
it possible to make a film like Lage Rehao, but the Chopra-Hirani duo
did, not once but twice, now with 3 Idiots as well. It will be a
challenge for all three to better their work in 3 Idiots. While
creativity has no limits, and remains infinite, the ability to draw
from the inner most recesses after attaining creative nirvana is
always difficult. You might continue to be successful, but can you
find the same form again? Raj Kapoor made Bobby, Satyam Shivam
Sundaram and his biggest blockbuster Ram Teri Ganga Maili after
Sangam, but Sangam was well, a confluence of all his abilities. Dilip
Kumar has never produced another film after Ganga Jamuna. These are
tell tale signs. Aamir Khan has decided not to act for sometime. He
doesn't have any acting project on the anvil, there are no releases
other than Dhobi Ghat which he is producing where he has a special
appearance. Some element of creative fatigue has already set in. Will
Chopra and Hirani take Munnabhai to America, or will they make a
sequel to Idiots, nevertheless, it is a tough act to follow.
(Impact)

Ambanis targeted in T country

RETROFIT

Mischief mongers at work in volatile T land

Over the weekend, it was a veritable rumour fest. And in the endpretty much a slam dunk by the lumpen proletariat. It all began when Ireceived a SMS saying that a Russian website had allegedly linkedMukesh Ambani to Andhra PradeshCM YS Rajshekhar Reddy's untimely death. Moments later, I receivedanother SMS saying that Telugu channels TV 5 and Sakshi were runningriot claiming that the Ambani brothers were allegedly responsible for YSR'sfatal chopper crash. I said, what the hell, don't these news wallahshave anything to do, why are they running these absurd conspiracytheories? Soon, both channels were going ballistic and images oftorched outlets of Reliance and ADAG were being shown on the telly. Myfriend Pankaj Vohra had alerted me by now on how the Telugu channelswere spawning the violence. I switched to TV5 and Sakshi myself andsaw the public vent its anger, destroying property of both groups.According to the channels, theKrishna Godavari gas was at the kernel of YSR's death. This tiradecarried on well past midnight. The next morning I saw the dailies pickup on this theme and the role of the Russian website and local TVchannels was highlighted by some of them. However, there was no realclarity as to what triggered the spate of violence. A malicious rumouron a website couldn't have done so much damage.
On Tuesday, the Indian Express did a story on the entire issue which Iwould like toreproduce. It says, "Linking Larry Summers to YSR death via MukeshAmbani...That's what Mark Ames did on his website in report that waspicked up by Andhra TV channels; he now says it was `speculative."Interestingly, the post on the website goes back to September 3, theday after YSR's chopper went missing. It took over four months forthis startling piece to be picked up by Andhra media. The fact thatSMSs were doing the rounds only throws into stark relief the unsavouryrole of vested interests who were hell bent on playing mischief. Thequestionthat begs an answer is - was it a politician playing mind games in asimmering cauldron called Andhra or a business rival as is beingspeculated? Or was it a business rival hand in glove with apolitician? Who knows? What is important is that the role of theelectronic medium has once again been shown for what itis. A vacuous, superficial media which can do immense damage if notregulated and controlled. A rottweiler if it is in the wrong hands.
Express has traced the author of the website report. And this is his story.A web posting linking Reliance Industries to Y S R Reddy's death thatsparked off arson and violence against Reliance outlets in AndhraPradesh on January 7 had little to do with either Reliance or Reddy.In fact, the post was written by Mark Ames, US journalist and editorof a satirical webzine, and its headline was telling: "Enemy of LarrySummers' Ex-Boss Dies In Mysterious Helicopter Crash." The conclusion,even more so: "Oh, and by the way, don't forget this one little funfact: Larry Summers, the guy appointed by Obama to run America'seconomy, worked for Mukesh Ambani right up until he took his WhiteHouse job. We're in good hands, folks."
"That post, dated September 3, the day after Reddy's chopper wentmissing, alleged that Reddy died after he publicly criticised MukeshAmbani -- calling him Summers's "oligarch friend" -- and his motherfor their ongoing family feud involving Krishna-Godavari gas basin."Ah, Y.S., you shouldn't have attacked their mother. Next thing youknow...Reddy's deady," Ames said in his blog.Ames now says he was merely speculating on the "mysterious" death offormer chief minister. In response to an email sent by The IndianExpress, Ames said he was "flattered by all the attention" his articleon the web site (exiledonline.com) has got.
"In a subsequent entry on the site, he said: "This has to be the singleweirdest episode in my journalism career...I caused a mass riot inIndia...the class war is on..." So who is Ames? He launched abi-weekly English newspaper in Russia in 1997 that focused onpolitical gossip and criticism of pop culture. It was forced to shutdown in 2008 because of its consistent criticism of the Russiangovernment and its policies.
"After the closure, Exiled moved online and while it has contributorsfrom various part of the globe, Ames has largely shifted his focus onwriting against the US. Last August, Ames kicked off a series focusingon people close to Larry Summers, the director of the NationalEconomic Council of US President Barack Obama, and this followed adetailed post on Ambani, on whose company's board Summers served as aninternational director. In his post, Ames claimed Summers was paid$187,000 by Ambani for doing "nothing".
"In his email to The Indian Express, Ames said: "So tell me what thehell is going on in that state politically that could cause afour-month old blog entry on Larry Summers' evil friends to spark anight of wild rioting in Andhra Pradesh?" TV5, the Telugu channel thataired the report based on this post, demanded a probe into the allegedAmbani hand in Reddy's death. "One of our crime reporters wasresearching on a story when he chanced upon this post. We checked thehistory of Exiled and found out that it was once a well-known Russianpublication. So we decided to do a report based on the suspicionraised by them," said B Surendra Nath, vice chairman, ShreyaBroadcasting, the company behind TV5.
"Nath, though, clarified that the channel did not make any allegationson its own account. "We merely quoted what the Exiled said." Thereport provoked attacks on personnel and property of RelianceIndustries. The company, immediately, issued a statement condemningthe incident and said it would seek a criminal enquiry into theincident. It also alleged "the dirty handiwork of our business rivalsin cahoots with TV5". The police, meanwhile, arrested several peopleincluding two TV5 editors who were released on bail later."
So, even as TV5 is in the doghouse, nobody is bothering about the roleof Sakshi TV. Yes, I Know what you are curious to know. Who ownsSakshi TV? Wild shot in the dark will tell you that the owner ofSakshi TV is YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the late YSR's son. YSR had arunning battle with Ramoji Rao of Eenadu and Jagan architected Sakshithe newspaper and TV channel to take on the mighty Ramoji in AndhraPradesh. YSR and Ramoji fought a pitched battle over private equityfirm Blackstone's investment in Eenadu. Things got so bad that finallyBlackstone had to retreat. The man who emerged as White Knight in thatscenario was investment banker - Nimesh Kampani - known as one of thethree kings of Mumbai's D Street along with Hemendra Kothari and UdayKotak. Soon after Kampani was caught between a rock and a hard placewhen he found himself implicated in a Nagarjuna Finance chequebouncing case. Then with a arrest warrant against his name, Kampanihad to flee India. Incidentally, Telugu superstar Nagarjuna hadlaunched the Sakshi channel along with then minister for informationand broadcasting Anand Sharma early last year. Jagan owns JagatiPublications which runs Sakshi newspaper.
When the fur was flying and both the Ambani brothers were beingtargeted over the weekend as the spiral of violence saw their outletsin the line of fire, in a statement, the Anil Ambani-led Reliancegroup said: “A malicious and criminal disinformation campaign has beenengaged into by our corporate rivals leading to substantial loss anddamage to several offices and businesses of Reliance ADA Group inAndhra Pradesh on Thursday evening. We are shocked to see ourcorporate rivals stoopingdown to new levels of desperation by engaging in such imaginative andbaseless rumour-mongering.” Strangely, the corporate rival couldn'thave been elder brother Mukesh Ambani whose RIL is engaged in a bitterlegal wrangle with Anil Ambani's RNRL in the Supreme Court where thejudgement has been reserved.
For Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail outlets were equally in the lineof fire. Mukesh Ambani-owned RIL said, “We are shocked and outraged atthe false, malicious and motivated news on TV5 channel concerning thefatal mishap of YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s helicopter. We condemn, rebutand reject the allegations with the contempt it deserves. It is thedirty handiwork of our business rivals in cahoots with TV5.” Now, Iwonder who the common business rival of both warring Ambani borthersis? Or was it a politico who wanted to create greater consternation toa volatile maelstrom?
Finally I leave you with this IANS report which is also illuminating:The Andhra Pradesh police on Sunday filed a case against a formerminister for allegedly inciting violence against Reliance outlets inthe state after a televisionchannel telecast an unsubstantiated story about the “conspiracy”behind the death of the then chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ina chopper crash.
"Police in Kurnool town filed the case against Congress leader andformer minister M. Mareppa, who participated in a debate on TV 5,which was the first channel to telecast the story based on a report bya Russian website Thursday night.
"Two editors of the channel were already arrested and sent to jail by amagistrate for two weeks for telecasting the story. The story led to aseries of attacks on Reliance stores throughout the state, since ithad alleged a role by the company in the helicopter crash that killedYSR. Cases have also been filed against two other channels, includingSakshi, owned by Rajasekhara Reddy’s son and Kadapa MP Y.S.JaganmohanReddy. Police said they registered 114 cases and arrested 289 people inconnection with the attacks on Reliance properties. "
What this unfortunate episode once again proves is that the tinderboxthat is Andhra Pradesh today due to the T word can see facts twistedand turned. The malleability and ductility of select regional medialent itself to jumpstarting a wave of indignation against two businesshouses on the basis of a four month old web post. As Mark Ames, theauthor of the post asks - what the hell is happening in the state thatsomething like a webpost could be used with such devastating impact?Just who benefited by fanning these fires?

(exchange4media)

Are big corporate going to line up for IPL team auction?

BEHIND THE NEWS

Big corporates may buy franchises

With the January 19 player auction on the anvil, the IPLcommissioner Lalit Modi is busy sorting out last minute glitches.Talking to sportzpower, Modi revealed that the next item on theGoverning Council's agenda is the two fresh team auction process forwhich the base price is $225 million, "We are working on the date andshould be able to announce this very soon." Once the player auction iscomplete, all eyes will be on the two new franchise tender process. Itis believed that several big names have sounded out Modi, but he isnot revealing or confirming anything yet. While Anil Ambani owned ADAGis interested in the Ahmedabad franchise and Sahara boss Subroto Royis keen on the Kanpur team, Hero Honda MD and CEO Pawan Munjal in hispersonal capacity is also eyeing a franchise.
Since foreigners and MNCs are also allowed to purchase franchises,sources close to developments have told sportzpower that some bignames may test the waters. Sportzpower learns that diversified majorITC is a dead ringer for a franchise. ITC which is trying to move awayfrom its tobacco centric image by diversifying aggressively into FMCG,apparel and hotels is keen on picking up a team. The 1996 World Cupstaged in the sub continent had ITC sponsoring the tournament. It hadforked out Rs 42 crore for the branding of the tournament which wascalled Wills World Cup. While Wills is a tobacco brand, ITC hassmartly repositioned the brand with an apparel play - Wills Lifestyle.lately ITC has branched out aggressively into FMCG with the Fiama deWills branding, another play on the mother Wills brand. Further ITC isalso a big player in the food products market with edible oil, attaand the like. ITC has the cash to bankroll a franchise, as also themanagerial bandwidth to run a team. Last quarter alone, ITC delivereda net profit of Rs 1000 crore plus. Another key determinant for allseeking a franchise is the city that they will get. There has to besome sort of affinity or association with the city.
For instance, Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani has Mumbai, Indiacements boss N Srinivasan has Chenna, Deccan Chronicle's Ram Reddy hasHyderabad, even GMR which owns Delhi Daredevils is building theinternational and domestic airport terminus in the capital as part ofthe airport modernisation programme. So, the question is which citywill ITC bid for. Kolkata where its headquarters Virginia House islocated is out since Shahrukh Khan owns KKR, that leaves Vizag andCuttack. Vizag appears to be a sure shot, for ITC has large businessoperations in the state including its tobacco and papewrboardsbusinesses. For Anil Ambani and Subroto Roy; Ahmedabad and Kanpur arepart of their spheres of influence, More importantly both players havemajor affiliations in these cities. Ahmedabad is where Anil Ambanitrained in the Reliance textile factories on his return from Whartonwhile Subroto Roy has his very base in Uttar Pradesh. Pawan Munjalwould have preferred Delhi because that is where Hero Honda isheadquartered, but he might have to settle for Gwalior or Dharamsalafor which franchises might be availabe.
It is also being speculated that the only other Indian player whocould be interested in a franchise is Bharti Airtel which has thecash, the management bandwidth and the branding power to establishitself as a team owner. Similarly, there is talk of a very largeforeign telecoms where a big Indian industrial house is a partnercould also be examining the franchise acquisition. Since the telecomsis Mumbai headquartered, it will have to look at Nagpur as afranchise. The Indian industrial behemoth may be keen to become acricketing A lister. The other possibility is of a fragmentedownership on the lines of Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab wherethere are multiple owners. RR for instance has NRI owners - ManojBadale, Suresh Chellaram, Lachlan Murdoch and Raj Kundra. Sources alsosaid that given the popul;arity of the event, some foreigners/MNCs maywell be keen to enter the fray, making it a first. Right now there areindividual owners and that may well change soon.
What is critical for the new team owners is the city or town that theywill be allotted. These centres like Vizag, Cuttack, Nagpur,Dharamsala, Gwalior, Kanpur need to have the infrastructurewherewithal and support system to qualify as a franchise. Airconnections, quality hotel accommodation, stadium lighting, state ofthe art stadia, logistical backing et al are key determinants. All theeight venues qualify on these parameters - Delhi, Mohali, Kolkata,Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Jaipur. The price of $225million for 10 years subsidised by broadcast revenues remains thebiggest deterrant. Remember that the most expensive franchise in 2007- Mumbai Indians paid half ($111 million) of the new reserve price.

Bankruptcy of all kinds in Indian hockey

BEHIND THE NEWS

Ashok Mattoo, the president of the nominated Hockey Indiabody does not have the financial resources at his beck and call. Thenewly constructed Hockey India to which elections are supposed to beheld shortly, though there is no clarity as to when the D Day is,doesn't know where to raise the money from to pay the hockey players.There are promises that he has made including a Rs 1 crore prize ifthe players manage a podium finish in the impending World Cup. WhenHockey India was formed after much acrimony, Mattoo is reported tohave gone to Andhra Bank seeking a loan of Rs 1 crore. He managed tosecure this just as he got another Rs 25 lakh as loan from IOBreportedly. The sponsorship deal with Sahara Group was embroiled in alegal tussle and for this Mattoo flew to Lucknow to seek Subroto Roy'spersonal intervention. The existing contract with IHF for Rs 2. 5crore per annum was jacked up to Rs 3 crore each for three years aftermuch persuasion. This Rs 3 crore is the gross amount that accrues toHI after agency commission and tax deduction at source. With thesemeagre resources, India's national sport is trying to keep the flagflying. It is a pitiable condition and one is not surprised that theplayers are agitating. For it is not just the match fees, butsponsorship money, prize money and performance incentives that havenot been paid to the players. This includes the bronze medal winningperformance at Salta during the recent Champions Challenge. That hasbecome the biggest sticking point. The quality of food at the balewadicamp is another important issue. Coach Jose Brasa has given a detaileddiet chart, but the poor players are only getting skinny chickens fortheir meals.
The payment row has escalated in a manner that is truly shocking. Withdays to go for the World Cup in Delhi which returns to Indian shoresafter 29 years, India's players are striking. A helpless Mattoobelieves that the option of suspending the revolting players remainsopen if the payment row is not resolved. On Monday, a meeting tookplace between the striking players and HI's Ikram Khan to break theimpasse. HI is upset because the players have gone back on their wordwhich they gave Mattoo on Saturday.
On Sunday night, HI accused the players of blackmailing the federationand holding the nation to ransom but Khan hoped a compromise would bereached. Khan told media in Pune, "I think there will be a compromisesoon. They will listen to us and Iam 100 per cent sure that the matter will be sorted out. I am going tomeet the players right now."
"I interacted with them yesterday. They are not satisfied with theincentives and the grade system that we are planning and all this willbe worked out soon. The players are very clear about what they wantand that is fair enough. The only thing is the timing and how theyhave gone about it," Khan added.
Are the players acting on their own, is it a unilateral decision toboycott the training camp? This question needs to be answered. Forlong Indian players have been treated like dirt and many ex playerstoo who have been wanting to be part of the administrative processhave been junked by the present dispensation. Their anger againstIndian Olympic Association satraps who have taken over Indian hockeyis well known. The fact that Punjab deputy chief minister SukhbirSingh Badal is one of the key players in the Hockey India pollssuggests that there are moves being made at a subterranean level.Hockey India officials believe that Hockey Punjab has been architectedby getting fraudulent signatures of various groups and that is why itis refusing to give affiliation to the body.
The overt battle may be over the non-payment of dues and incentivesfor their 2009performances, but the covert moves are unmistakable. Suddenly formerIHF strongman KPS Gill has resurfaced and has something to say aboutthe players plight. There are enough pressure groups in Indian hockeywhich want to get rid of the IOA, read Suresh Kalmadi yoke. For a bodywhioch doesn't have the financial bandwidth to deal with the players'demands, the best thing is to conduct the elections in a fair andtransparent manner. Sahara the main sponsor itself is a player in thisrigmarole, what with Sahara deputy boss J B Roy wanting to head thedemocratically elected HI.
Imagine with hardly 45 days to go for the hockey World Cup, we arestill to conduct elections and we don't have a team to represent us inthe tournament. The errant players refuse to play ball with thenominated federation. Overt and covert moves are out to destabiliseIndian hockey in the year of reckoning. World Cup followed byCommonwealth Games and the Asian Games and what are we doingagitating, fighting and arguing? Mr Minister M S Gill, please put yourhand up and restore order before we make a mockery of this goldenopportunity to resuurect Indian hockey.

A new threat on B Town's door

GROUND ZERO

NEW VISTAS IN PHANTASMAGORIA

Knock, knock, who is there? Pralay...eh, sorry, who? Pralay KiShuruaat. Woh kaun hai? Commonly and popularly known as the Hollywoodgangbuster hit film 2012. The English, Hindi, Tamil and Teluguversions of Pralay garnered an astounding Rs 26 crore and changeduring its run on the Indian boxoffice. And if you thought that was a staggering number, Avatar came ablew the B.O right out of the water. Avatar in its first two weeks hasclocked Rs 56 crore and counting. So, while we are jumping with joythat 3 Idiots is blazing new trails (Rs 250 crore) in B.O history, BTown should beworried with what three Holywood movies have managed to achieve in2009. In fact, Avatar continues to make money hand over fist and isarguably the biggest Hollywood box office busting film ever in India.The new entertainment moguls who have a garrotte like grip on B Townthese days - Reliance Big Entertainment, UTV and Eros Internationalalong with new players like Fox Star Studios and existing badshahsYashRaj Films, Karan Johar's Dharma Production need to examine thisnew threat perpcept which is practically creeping in from theirblindside. In many ways, if this trend continues, then thetrapdoor will fall open under them. So, content will remain thedifferentiator and I guess maybe that is why Hindi cinema chappieshave understood that they need to evolve with the changing times. Themultiplex is by far the biggest game changer as far as revenuecollections go. If Hindi flicks now have opening weekends, then it isprimarily due to the emergence of the multiplex.
The stupendous success of The Hangover, 2012 and Avatar is aneye opener for Hindi cinema wallahs. If Avatar has box officecollections of Rs 56 crore and counting , then that is Rs 56 crorefrom the same single screen and multiplex gene pool that Hindi filmsused to own once. The pool though growing now has new participants.And if Hollywood continues to delivers these kind of kicka*** moviesreplete with state of the art FX which connect with the neo Indianpalate, then Bollywood better improve itself. Cameron's Avatar wasreleased by Fox Star Studios in India andit is ironical that it has surpassed the biggest Hollywood grosser inIndia - Titanic's - success in India. A bigger irony is that the sameman Cameron helmed Titanic as well. Till date, trade data shows thatAvatar has grossed Rs 56 crore in India in less than two weeks, andhas thereby broken Titanic's record as the highest grosser for 20thCentury Fox in India. With an opening weekend collection of Rs 22crore, Avatar roared past Wake Up Sid, Paa, All The Best, Kaminey,Rocket Singh and other Hindi films. The sci fi optical candy has seenthe hoi polloi land up at the multiplexes and single screens indroves. The phenomenon has spread far and wide to smaller towns wherethe Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions have been lapped up. And unlikeits sibling Pralay, Avatar didn't even need to be renamed for itsoriginal English name was an 'Indian' one. Whoa, confused?
Generally speaking it was a good year for Hollywood in India. Other thanthe three smash hits; Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, HarryPotter and the Half Blood Prince, Angels & Demons, Twilight whichopened in the same week as Shimit Amin's much hyped Rocket Singh andgot a much better opening, Star Trek, Inglourious Basterds andPixair's Up all did well in India in 2009. The Hangover was a smash hitin multiplexes in urban agglomerates in Delhi and Mumbai. But torewind a bit, Titanic released in India in 1997 and did business tothe tune of Rs 55 crore.Alongwith Spiderman 3 and 2009 blockbuster 2012, Titanic was one ofthe three biggest films of all time in India. Fox Star Studios, IndiaCEO Vijay Singh said, "Avatar has broken all major records in Indiaand across the globe and is now the biggest film ever for TwentiethCentury Fox in India. Despite being in the second week, thecollections are only getting stronger and the numberof prints is actually increasing in several parts of the country. Weare thankful to the audiences and our partners for their support &enthusiasm towards Avatar."
The movie earned Rs 1 crore through its paid previews across India;the highest for any Hollywood film in India. It grossed Rs 6.7 croreson the opening day itself making it the biggest ever Friday openingfor any Hollywood film in India. In its opening week, Avatar did aphenomenal Rs 40 crore. And Hollywood is sweeping all before it. Iread somewhere that a publicist says the Hollywood disaster movie“2012″ has become China’s best-selling movie in history. A spokesmanfor state-owned film importer China Film Group told The AssociatedPress that “2012″ has made 460 million Chinese yuan ($67.3 million) asof Dec. 23, eclipsing the previous mark of 450 million yuan set byanother Hollywood blockbuster, “Transformers: Revenge ofthe Fallen.” Weng Li also said in third place is the Chinesepropaganda movie, “TheFounding of a Republic,” also released earlier this year.
Avatar was Cameron all the way and backed by the phantasmagoric visualeffects, it had to deliver. And it did, big time. 2012 or Pralay KiShuruaat (dubbed from the English film 2012) though was the sleeper, asurprise package. Again something that I picked up on the net...Forthe price at which its distribution rights were sold to distributors,it yielded revenues which doubled their investments and, in somecases, gave even more profits. Slumdog Crorepati, the dubbed Hindiversion of the Hollywood film, Slumdog Millionaire, released in thefirst month of 2009, also made money but the profits in 2012… were fargreater. Another Hollywood movie, Avatar (dubbed from the English filmof the same name), came in the last month of the year but its businesswas also not as en­couraging Just too see how well 2012 performedcheck out some of the numbers from the English and Hindi (dubbed)versions. 2012 in English collected Rs 3.25 crore from Bombay, Rs 80lakh from Pune, Rs 1.25 crore from Delhi city, Rs 45 lakh from Noidaand Rs 50 lakh fromKolkata. The Hindi version PRALAY KI SHURUAAT collected Rs 1.40 crorefrom Bombay, Rs 1.15 crore from Ahmedabad, Rs 71 lakh from Pune, Rs 90 lakhfrom Delhi city, Rs 70 lakh from Kolkata and Rs 40 lakh from Nagpur. Inits opening week 2012 had already been declared a super-hit nettingaround Rs 25 crore from India (English plus dubbed). All told itcollected in excess of Rs 26,87,00,000. Yes, those numbers denote acrore.
To try and understand the phenomenon of Avatar, I trawled the internetand finally stopped at this story on rediff.com. A wire feedsaid that James Cameron, the man behind the unstoppable sci-fi hit Avatar, andSandra Bullock, the co-producer and star of The Blind Sidemade history on Sunday evening. While Avatar flew beyond expectationsand reached the $1 billion milestone worldwide, the feel-good Bullockfilm -- which cost one tenth of the $300 million producing cost ofAvatar -- passed the $200 million mark in North America. This is thefirst such milestone for the actress. It is headed for a $230 milliontotal gross in NorthAmerica. The football-themed drama is about a white family whichencourages a young black man to get out of the harm's way and realisehis potential.
Movie experts expected Avatar to reach the $1 billion mark butcertainly not in just three weeks. Even hugely successful films likeThe Dark Knight, which cost over $200 million, took overthree months to recover the basic production cost.Avatar has rushed past the biggest hit of 2009, Harry Potter andHalf-Blood Prince, which grossed a formidable $930 millionworldwide.
Repeat business for Avatar is so strong that distributor 20th CenturyFox believes that many are seeing it for the third or fourth time.A Fox spokesperson declared the film is like an unstoppable 'freighttrain.' Except that the film is not creating any wreckage. It made $68million over the weekend in North America and a mammoth $132 millionabroad. Avatar is expected to get major Oscar nominations, as well asin the the technical departments.
Its total gross reached to $352 million in North America, and $670million in foreign territories by Sunday evening, according to Fox.The film opened on Friday in China, which is emerging as a majorterritory for Hollywood blockbusters like 2012.
Avatar ranks number four among the top global grossers of all time,behind Cameron's Titanic ($1.84 billion), Peter Jackson'sThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($1.12 billion) and GoreVerbinski's The Pirates of the Caribbean [ Images ]: Dead Man's Chest($1.07 billion). By next weekend, it would be at second spot. Thefifth film to gross $1 billion is Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.
When the ancillary income -- Blu-ray Discs and DVD, TV and Cable TV -- is factored it, Avatar could make more than $600 million in profit.Sandra Bullock, who had remained luckless for several years, suddenlybounced back last year. Three of her 2009 releases grossed over $500million in America. Of these, The Proposal grossed about $164 millionin North America (and over $140 million abroad) but her other film,All About Steve, was a flop, earning less than $70 million worldwide.But it will recover its investment. Like in the case of the otherdurable actor Clint Eastwood, Bullock's movies are alsomade in the moderate range of $35-$50 million.
Sherlock Holmes and Squeakquel are both heading for a $200 milliongross, with much more to come from the international markets.It's Complicated has been appealing to older women, and is holdingsteady. It is expected to end its American run with $100 million. Thecomedy, starring Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, and AlecBaldwin, is about a divorced couple finding romance onceagain.
So, while we celebrate the success of 3 Idiots and its fantastic sliceof life homily, let us understand that B Town doesn't hold a candle toH Town. There is helluva lot to do for our cinema to get to the nextlevel of competence. Meanwhile, H Town is making deep and rapidinroads into our box office ticket counters. Yes, beware the predator,sorry avatar is at our door. Actually he already has a toe in ourdoor. Good solid scripts, better screenplays will become the norm in BTown with this new threat percept's emergence. Budgets too will haveto be ramped up. At the very kernel will have to be better packaging,special effects and technology inputs; if we are to deal with this newmeance. B Town needs to take this new threat seriously for if theaudineces in urban centres flock to watch the English versions, thesheer scale of grandeur that a movie like Avatar's visuals providewill rope in the masses in tier 2 and teir 3 towns. Surprisingly,Tamil and Telegu and Hindi are the most popular dubbed versions inIndia. Perhaps that is why SRK is investing in his version of a sci fithriller Ra 1 while Tips has Vivek Oberoi donning a Matrix like avatarin Prince It's Showtime. B Town needs to leverage its intellectualsoft power to create cinema which is watched if it is to combat theunceasing waves of avatars.

Inverted snobbery, Aussie ishstyle

NAKED EYE

The Aussie way... Blow hot, hot, hot

While watching Mohd Asif and Mohd Sami destroy Australia on theopening day of the Sydney Test match, I said to myself - wow - these guyshave the Aussies on the rack. By bowling out the Aussies for a 127, itwas more or less certain that Pakistan would win the game. Think ofwhat it would do for the morale of the strife torn nation. Beating Australia inAustralia would be better and bigger than even winning the T 20 WorldCup in England last year. The swing and pace that the duo generatedset me thinking. It was like the old style demolition Derby by Pakistan pacebowlers. And then I saw Waqar Younis, the newly installed bowlingcoach sitting in the pavilion, obviously enjoying the predicament hisbowlers had put the Aussies in. I am sure Younis, one of the finestproponents of reverse swing must have had something to do with theperformance levels of the bowling combine. But Pakistan is notPakistan, but Panickistan on the cricket field these days. If there isone side which is more mercurial than South Africa, then it has to bePakistan. You never know what to expect from them. The next couple ofdays saw the script go according to the side's maverick andunpredictable nature. They simply self destructed. First they allowedPeter Siddle and Mike Hussey to build a huge partnership through acombination of dropped catches and perplexing field placements.Skipper Mohd Yousuf had eight boundary riders in an unexplicable fieldsetting which allowed Hussey to do pretty much as he pleased.
The momentum that Pakistan built up the previous day evaporated in notime. Okay, Yousuf is a novice, he doesn't comprehend the nuances ofcaptaincy, but coach Intikhab Alam and Waqar Younis also must have hadsome role to play in this shocking surrender. The Pakistan battersled by Salman Butt and Imran Farhat came out guns blazing wanting towrap up the game in next to no time. Aussies masters of the mentaldisintegration game exerted enough pressure to land the kayo punch onwhat was truly a Pakistani glass chin. Believe me, if the Aussies hadlost this Test match after Ricky Ponting opted to bat on a greensurface in the first essay, Ponting would have lost his captaincy. Twosuccessive Ashes losses in England, vanquishings against India, thetri series lost to England and India, a home series loss to SouthAfrica; Ponting is definitely under thecosh. Somehow or the other he manages to do a Houdini and escapesevery time. Look at England, no great shakes as a Test side, they havepulled off three great escapes in the last few games. Men like PaulCollingwood and Graham Onions have displayed hitherto unknown steelyresolve to stave off defeat. All Pakistan had needed to do was play thewaiting game, the runs would have come and the target of 176 wouldhave been surmounted.
Against that, they batted as if they had a deathwish. That Pakistanloss is unforgiveable, but that Pakistan lost an opportunity to knockthe arrogant Aussies off their lofty perch in their own backyard issingularly criminal. Not after gaining a handsome first innings lead.Australians practice a strange kind of inverse snobbery when it comesto cricket. That they have been so successful ever since the demise ofWest Indian cricket doesn't help one bit. You have to listen to theAussie commentators to understand how this inverse snobbery ispractised. Men like Mark Taylor, Michael Slater, Bill Lawry, IanHealy, Ian Chappell, Richie Benaud and the South African born, playedfor England,Australian resident Tony Grieg and Shane Warne to a much lesser extentbelieve that the Aussies just cannot lose. When Pakistan plays substandard cricket, it is pardonable, but the way the Aussies(commentators and writers) go about describing their opponents isshameful. That is why it is important for an India or South Africa or even anEngland to stand up every once in a while and show them their place.Agreed that Aussies play a brand of brash, tough and unyieldingvariety of cricket and they manage to play like that consistently, butin the recent past, they have shown that they are fallible.
South Africa thrashed them in Australia, as did England in Englandwhile we beat the pants off them the last time they were here to playa Test series. By using a strategy of reverse mental disintegration,India for one seems to succeed against Australia. One cannot back downagainst Australia, fire has to be met with fire. That is why it wasimportant to have Sunny Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri in the commentator'sbox along with the Aussies who I named earlier in this piece. Aussieshave to be shown their place on the cricket field. And off it. Yes, they have asystem which continues to throw up outstanding talent. Yes, they havea vast gene pool of cricketers as they have shown in the last couple ofyears, but like I said they can be defeated. Sides have to dominatethem not just in one series, but consistently over a couple ofseasons. India is the only side which has managed to do that over thelast decade or so. The gladiatorial contests have reached epicproportions, generating heat, dust and controversy. Indians certainlydon't lack self belief when they play the Aussies.
But back to poor, hapless Pakistan. It was at the same SCG many yearsago that Pakistan, always a side brimming with fine players first gavenotice that it could be a world beater. Imran Khan simply scythedthough the Aussies here in 1976/77 with a wonderful exhibition ofhostile bowling. Imran took 6 for 102 in the first innings to bowl outGreg Chappell'sAussies for 211. He was ably supported by Sarfaraz Nawaz. Just asAsif and Sami demolished the Aussies at Sydney last week. Pakistanthen went on to score 360 with Asif Iqbal playing the innings of hislife scoring 120 of those against Lillee, Walker and Gilmour. Butunlike the latest fiasco, Pakistan had Australia on the ropes in thesecond essay as well, Imran blowing them out of the water with 6-63.The Aussies could manage only180. Pakistan got the jitters then too, losing two wickets, but thetarget was a paltry 32 and they got home safely. I thought Pkaistan misseda golden opportunity to revitalise its cricket. Many moons ago,Pakistan and Imran had seeded their vaulting ambitions at the sameground. Imran became a deadly dangerous quick only after he discoveredhimself at Sydney in that famous Test match. Dissension is the biggestdowner for Pakistan cricket, everybody wants to be captain. Imran hadmanaged quell all rebellions, douse all the mutinous fires and build ateam of cricketers. That team was the dominant force of its time. Not that thisteam didn't have its problems, Javed Miandad for one was an enfantterrible, but Imran through sheer force of his personality and playingskills became the tallest leader in Pakistan cricket.
Now there will be inquisitions and recriminations all over again inPakistan cricket. After Yousuf's captaincy disaster, maybe even thecaptain will be changed. Off with the head is a call that you hearevery once in a while in Panickistan cricket. The call may emanatefrom within or it could come from the establishment that governs thegame, but the call will come. Make no mistake. Not after Yousuf'sbizarre field placings. Kamran Akmal is already facing the chop chopwith Sarfaraz having been airlifted from Pakistan. With Younis Khanhibernating, Shahid Afridinot playing Test cricket, Shoaib Malik ousted from the side; wonderwho will lead Pakistan next. They have a formidable pace attack inAsif, Sami, Umar Gul and Mohd Aamer, their batting of course is incomplete disarray, a leader may be able to lift them from this morass.It is important that Pakistan cricket revives itself, for Test cricketneeds another strong side. The inverted snobs in the Australiancricket team and the Channel Nine commentary team need to be taught aharsh lesson or two. For them it is not about a higher social class,it is about every other cricketing nation which appears to be inferiorto them. Actually when the West indies were the dominant force,cricket was bipolar to a great extent with the Aussies also having agreat side. But since the decline of West Indies, the Aussies havebeen trapezing around freely. However, ever since the Aussies havedominated, this snobbery is back and how. I remember when theAustralians beat India in 1969, they toured South Africa thinking theywere the strongest team on the planet. Bill Lawry's side got thehiding of its life.
It was billed as the clash of the titans. The verdict was 4-0 infavour of SA. The margin of victory was 170 runs, innings and 129runs, 307 runs and 323 runs. It was a shocking denouement ofAustralian supremacy. Ironically Ali Bacher's all conqueringSpringboks never played Test cricket after that. That was the lastofficials series before the wilderness. This was actually thestrongest team on the planet, but due to SA's apartheid policy, noneof them ever played Test cricket again. Imagine Barry Richards, GraemePollock, Mike Procter, Eddie Barlow, Lee Irvine, Peter Pollock, DennisLindsay and Tiger Lance in one team. All led astutely by Bacher. IfAustralian arrogance was ever punctured, it was in 1970.