Uncertainty is Not Injurious to Anybody!

Gregory Meyer, a commentator in Financial Times wrote last weekend that Uncertainty is the only thing markets can be certain about. This is quite suggestive that we all live on the edge - and thats what the chief executives and head honchos are paid for - you will never get to do decision-making under all knowns. You have to make decisions amidst all the mayhem and clouds on the horizon. Right now, there is lack of visibility on everything to do with Policy Decisions, Economic Growth  and Corporate Investment Climate - that the payoff for those taking even marginal/incremental risk is lilkely to hugely rewarding.



The story goes that FT archives threw up 2,877 articles with search word "uncertainty" in 2005 before the Subprime crisis. Now, well into 2012, there are 3,290 articles with the word "uncertainty". Which year is more critical? Or, more uncertain? Can't say much but there are always two categories of people who face uncertainty - in business, careers or anything to do with life. Those who accept uncertainty as a fact of life - and have a vision for the day after uncertainty blows over. Then there are those who have tunnel vision, see crisis in every oppportunity, get flummoxed by the half-dozen doomsday specialists - Roubini, Gross, Taleb, Mauldin, Faber and Soros - and then watch television and read newspapers that spell more bad news. Remember, the TRPs for bad news, and harbingers of bad news are always higher - these experts (who have an axe to grind for what they pontificate) command more eyeballs than what good news can attract. Remember, that for every General Motors that closed down for bankruptcy (and now allowed to revive), the market share went to few others in Automaker space. For every 99 companies or businesses that cannot escape the "valley of death", there will be one company or two or three that rises to market leadership. That hardly gets reported. Thats the way life is. I have always loved uncertainty - in markets, in life, in Chess and Black Jack, in relationships and in money matters. Uncertainty helps  me focus better and get back to basics.


Those who abhor uncertainty should live in bunkers, wear Sunita Williams spacesuits, go for gold-digging, and give non-collaterized deposits to PSU or Private or foreign banks (which as Dr.YV Reddy succinctly put, will be lent at low cost to the Government whenever the government wants - which Dr Reddy says is the biggest con game going on in the world of banking today). The aim of this story is to look at uncertainty in new light - welcome it, it can benefit you if you are enterprising.

A K Hangal @95. RIP. Bollywood's Angelic Old Man.

AK Hangal. RIP @95. I had the fortune to meet this towering stage/film personality when he gave me an interview at CPI congress. It was a heady feeling to push my way as a sophomore journo/freelancer for "Deccan Chronicle". We met at Railway Guest House at SCR. He was charming and gentlemanly. But the caption my editor gave for this story in DC forever estranged him - it hurt him for he was a communist at heart. I pray for his peaceful soul journey wherever he is. He gave me one of my earliest press stories while I was still in journalism school - and a scoop to boast of. Even if he has essayed fewer roles, he will be remembered forever - his multiple hats as theatre personality, as Rahim Chacha in "Sholay", as a CPI activist - all gave him a halo. He is the most-loved old man of Hindi Cinema.

The Chiranjeevi Phenomenon

I wrote this piece on the occasion of Chiranjeevi's 57th birthday on August 9, 2012 which was published on http://www.frontpageindia.com/views/chiranjeevi-hero-love/36403

Chiranjeevi, the Hero we all love


When Chiranjeevi burst open his innings in Tollywood with “Praanam Khareedu” on Septemeber 22, 1978 (One month after his birthday), not many would have given him a half-chance. Tollywood was already in the grip of multiple matinee idols across multiple generations from NTR and ANR to Krishna, Shobhan Babu and Krishnam Raju besides star directors from Dasari Narayana Rao and K Vishwanath to Bapu and K Raghavendra Rao. Around the time his first movie was released, Chiranjeevi’s only claim to filmdom was as an actor struggling to find a foothold. Chiranjeevi had nothing to offer to what’s already not on fare – he is not hugely charismatic like NTR and SVR, nor had a lineage of filmy family. He could get hold of one such bargepole in the fomr of Allu Ramalingaiah when he married the latter’s daughter in 1980.


But Chiranjeevi had that killer instinct and the deep desire to create a unique position for himself – he tried various family fares playing the rogue liar in “Kothalarayudu”, the shrew-taming dummy husband in “Mogudu Kaavali” and the self-righteous do-gooder middle-class householder in “Intlo Raamayya Veedhilo Krishnayya”.

Almost all of them met with unexpected success at the most embryonic stage of his film career – one of them running for more than a year in some theatres. Fans – mostly toddlers, teenagers and housewives growing up in the anarchic years of the 1980s were hungry for a star who will project their aspirations, rebellions, frustrations and dreams on celluloid – they wanted a hero who is as rebellious as Krishnam Raju, a hero as dashing and daring as Krishna , a hero who is lovable like Shobanbabu and someone much more than all of them combined.

Chiranjeevi started feeding what the generation demanded from him very quickly acting in many movies, rotating directors and dialogue-writers and acting with the best in the industry – K Balachandar, Dasari, Raghavendra Rao, Bapu and Vishwanath. Fans loved the intensity of his eyes, the depth of his acting, and his dancing prowess quickly became the toast of a whole new generation who were fed on insipid dancing steps of veterans acting with half-opened shirts and bell-bottom trousers.

Chiranjeevi delivered the blockbuster “Khaidi” which positioned him as the new dashing hero and quickly followed more movies from Raghavendra Rao, Kodi Rama Krishna and Kodandarami Reddy – a director who relied on action dramas with light-hearted romances and the incredible storylines of ace novelist Yandamoori Veerendranath.

Chiranjeevi quickly became the darling of the masses as he belted out jubilee after jubilee hit with “Abhilaasha”, “Challenge”, “Raakshasudu” and “Marana Mridangam”. Like Amitabh Bacchan in Bollywood, movie scripts were written for him and artistes and heroines, technicians and writers all vied with one another in working with the first megastar of Tollywood.

Amongst the many trends he started, Chiranjeevi is famous for bringing in elegant dancing and stylish way of acting in tune with the rising tempo of music. He started the import of villain talent from Bollywood, and gave many technicians - choreographers (Raghava Lawrence), music directors (Mani Sharma, Raj-Koti), character actors (Amrish Puri, Prakash Raj, Kannada Prabhakar, Sarath Kumar) their major breaks.



Now with 149 films to his credit, Chiranjeevi’s career spans the most momentous period of Tollywood that marked the new decade after color productions, multi-starrers with excellent story scripts, the invasion of heroine as a star attraction, introduction of true item songs, choreography as a focal attraction of films, elevation of directors and dialogue-writers to cult status, intelligent use of fans and satellite and social media to enhance a star’s longevity, craze for audio release functions, and the undying craze for first-day-first-show tickets, heroes taking a cut in the distribution of movies as part of the remuneration, the list goes on…


Every five years or so, despite the unavoidable flops, Chiranjeevi systematically used the collective and imported talent in Tollywood to push new boundaries for himself, his family and for the industry. Today, Tollywood enjoys the best monetary status because of a huge star power and in-house talent of technicians from cinematographers and directors to music composers and story-writers, the credit goes to heroes like Chiranjeevi who pushed new boundaries for business of Tollywood.

When “Indra” was released amidst truly the first major audio event for Tollywood in the last decade, there was unprecedented frenzy – it sold close to a million cassettes on day one – there aren’t that many CDs sold even today.

Chiranjeevi, despite all the massive fan following is probably the second actor in Tollywood, after NTR, who has used the medium of Cinema to feed the adulation of the masses and gain symbiotic relationship to accelerate his family’s fortunes in Tollywood.

Because of his direct allegiance with fans, he has created many platforms to interact with them on a continuous basis. He is cognizant of the spinoffs that accrued to him over the years, and the payoffs that continue to others who turned up into films from his family – Pawan Kalyan, Allu Arjun, Ramcharan Tej.

Chiranjeevi and his brother-in-law Allu Aravind created fan clubs, organized them into strategic business units, fed their frenzy at all eventful functions, created websites that offer biographical wikipedias of the Chiranjeevi phenomenon, offered a bankable platform called “Blood Banks” which galvanized more of them into purposive actions which though met with unexpected controversies, and finally harmonized all the fans into one mega family of fans of Chiru the actor.

Even though he was lured into politics a good five years ago before he burst open on the scene with Praja Rajyam Party, Chiranjeevi is the second star-turned politican in the history of Tollywood to create some eyeball impact on the politics. Though his party fizzled out at the hustings in 2009, unable to create any impact with the themes of “social justice” and “inclusive growth”, the PR party managed to grab 17 per cent voting share of the population.

Even though he failed as a politician, Chiranjeevi continues to make attempts to avoid being sidelined by contemporary politics or where his heart lies – in Tollywood. He is now at the heart of Kapu politics in the Congress and continues to spar with the other Kapu politician Botsa in creating a position of power for himself and his community.

As a Tollywood biggie, his family continues to corner the best technicians and talent to turn out hit after hit and strive to be in heightened public currency from Pawan Kalyan’s “Gabbar Singh” to Ramcharan’s “Raccha” to Allu Arjun’s “Julayi”.

Chiranjeevi’s brother-in-law Allu Aravind who produced over 15 films (his best-ever producer) has created a triumvirate monopoly in Tollywood with control over distribution of movies along with producers Dil Raju and D Suresh Babu. As an investor, Chiranjeevi has been careful with his star remuneration and hasn’t over-invested in movies like other stars or created studios that lose money. He has invested in prime real estate and prime time television channels like MAA TV. As on date, MAA TV is rising to the top as a close contender to Gemini TV.

Now, he ponders over the next move whether to remain in politics or plunge back into movies to star in his 150th film now that the stars are aligned for his younger family members to take over Tollywood. As a towering hero in Tollywood, Chiranjeevi has been a phenomenon that’s hard to beat . But as a politician, he has been marginalized. What can beat him in happiness at this crucial birthday milestone is another movie after his own heart. Happy birthday, Chiranjeevi!
By Sridhar Sattiraju

Link: http://www.frontpageindia.com/views/chiranjeevi-hero-love/36403
http://www.frontpageindia.com/views/chiranjeevi-hero-love/36403

At School with Ruskin Bond - New Book by Ruskin Bond

Ruskin Bond is back! This time, a collection of stories and anecdotes that you may have read in some of his earlier books like "Landour Days" and "The Lamp is Lit". Alongwith some new stories to rekindle the reading habit amongst today's school kids in portly format. A refreshing read as always. Ruskin Bond speaks with authority on the subject of what a child goes through at school and what endears him or her that no longer seems so easy to decipher in this age of multiple distractions like TV and mobiles and social media. Ruskin Bond recounts what it felt like to go to school, savour the school library, discuss literature with teachers and avuncular elders. A true lover of English literature, more than the English peers, Ruskin Bond gives a delectable excursion into the world of books and authors, of birds and bees (not the variety we now associate with) and what it means to grow up in the halycon years of Shimla, Dehradun , Mussourie and other stations his family caravan took him to.

Ruskin Bond is at his masterly best whether he talks about Wodehouse, Dickens, Walpole or others who left literary trails on his style - which still remains unaffected and distinctively simple. There are legions of his fans who like what he writes without an year's back since publishing his first novel at age 17 or early. I also find there are many others who don't relish his style of writing for whatever reasons - too rustic, too prosaic, too little variety, too much of autobiographical narratives, not so vigorous and sparkling. For all those who err on the hate-side of Ruskin Bond - pick this book or give it to your ward to read it aloud  - and lets compare notes if the book doesn't hold upto its promise. I recommend this book for anyone who likes Ruskin Bond or English literature - and for those who don't like to read him too for the simple pleasures of life they forgot to relate to. For school kids, this book will be another sure-fire hit. Good to find a third publisher - Ratna Sagar - which publishes academic books - give a neat cover and an elegant font to highlight the stories that make Ruskin Bond India's best-loved English-born Indian writer in English. Its a nice gift for any parent struggling to get kids interested in books and the early trappings of reading.

At School with Ruskin Bond, price Rs.185, pub: Ratna Sagar.

The Six Olympians who did India Proud!

The Six Olympians who did India proud - pushed a door open! Each of them brought a billion smiles and earned a retirement corpus that mainstream careers cannot hope to bring! There's a time for deeper introspection. But this is a time for celebration of the few who put us at position no.55 above developed countries like Finland and developing countries like Mongolia. Sketches by my uncle Sri Sattiraju Sankaranarayana. Hope we don't forget the road to next Olympic glory is paved with herculean efforts and not just good intentions. Cheers!

"Julayi" Movie Review (Telugu)

“Julayi” is definitely one of the most anticipated movies of 2012. It is an acid test for more than a threesome – Director Trivikram who struggled with form in “Mahesh Khaleja” , Allu Arjun who didn’t deliver a hit for a while, Producer Daanayya who’s missing his crores and dusky actress Ileana D’Cruz who is unable to capitalize on her early successes in Tollywood. All four of them needed a hit to resurrect their fortunes . I can’t say whether it’s a hit but the movie doesn’t disappoint – it is quite a wholesome family fare that’s worth a watch.

Director Trivikram Srinivas is one of the star writers who sharpened his narrative skills to make an Olympic triple jump into the hall of fame in Tollywood with terrific screenplay sense, story-telling with verve and an ability to weave many genres into one film. Besides, he can write dialogues that tug your hearts and make  classes and masses clap. Naturally, he is so skilled at writing, screenwriting and directing that one of the three has to outshine the other two. It started to happen around the time when he stopped writing for others (except “Teenmaar” recently) and went into directing. There’s an eclectic mixture of Western cinematic sensibilities with Telugu nativities in most of his narratives where he played a pivotal role in giving a tailormade script. “Manmathudu” drew inspiration from Mel Gibson movie “What women want”. “Athadu” which is a gold standard in modern Tollywood DVD collection is inspired from “Assassins” and so on.

There was some trouble with “Jalsa” and “Mahesh Khaleja” because he was carried away by the star charishma of Pawan Kalyan and Mahesh Babu and the result was either a concoction of neo-Indian pseudo-mythologicals (like an Amish Tripathi novel) or an an urbane take on Naxalism and other economic issues. At heart, Trivikram is a socialist who is inspired by an array of writers from 1920s onwards and all his movies bear a stamp of egalitarianism, inclusive growth and a society that should benefit many not just a chosen few. In between, Trivikram can pack a punch of dialogues that spark off uproarious laughter with both senior and junior artistes. Over the few films he has made, Trivikram has graduated from making unoriginal, punny, school-boyish. joke-book-collection of snippets into more classy, ingenious and Wodehousian sense of humor that sticks. Nothwithstanding this long digression into Trivikram’s style and its origins as seen by a consummate bystander, “Julayi” is an outcome of a renewed Trivikram who has learnt from his experiments that were indulgent in the past. It shows Trivikram’s amazing sense of dialogues that are sharper, wittier and also a return to responsible film-making - a'la the likes of Sreenu Vaitla and Shekar Kammula. However, unlike Shekar Kammula, Trivikram has the ambidexterous knack of appealing to A-class audiences while giving what the masses want to see – non-preachy entertainment, plenty of action, dances and romance that sizzles.

“Julayi” is a balanced film in all of that – it has a huge starcast from Brahmanandam, Ali, Tanikella Bharani, MS Narayana and Kota to veteran Rajendra Prasad, Sonu Sood besides Allu Arjun and Ileana. The story is quite average but the narration is pulsating. Ravi (Allu Arjun) is a naïve youth who believes in making money in a non-linear route; he bets with his father one day that a 10k bundle of cash can be converted into 100k in just two hours. Obviously, Ravi had plans to bet on the IPL matches when he challenged his dad with the deal. His bravado leads him to an episodic run-in with professional killers led by Sonu Sood and Kota Srinivas Rao who plan to usurp a bank’s millions. It sets him off as a cat amongst pigeons because the villains realize that Ravi is a smart aleck who needs more than their mite to be outwitted. The ending is happier even if smaller - the hero polishes off the villains and returns to a cosy job that nets a salary of 25k per month. The message is loud and clear: – hardwork and accumulation of money through self-effort is sweeter than Manna from heaven or mad pursuit of speculative endeavours. The movie has  dramatic flashes of car chases, stunts and a sweet romance with Ileana and oodles of comedy with Rajendra Prasad, Brahmanandam and gang. Allu Arjun is clearly a striking style icon who has finally got a plot that showcases his acting prowessand a director who will give the outreach that he deserves. He is at ease with himself and with the mature starcast that shares the screen. According to me, he is the best dancer in Tollywood and his dancing skills need no attestations. In this movie, DSP’s music has given enough footage to Allu Arjun to get foot-loose. He excels himself again but the dance movements could have had a better frontal view than a sideward, silhouetted slideshow. He could have bettered there.

DSP’s music has topped the charts well before the movie and he has created just the right moods for all the songs. Picturisation of the songs could have been better for a couple of songs. The song before climax and the song before interval are quite vivid and memorable. Ileana would have wanted this movie to give a fresh lease of life. Unfortunately, her acting skills and the range of expressions never permit this – she is stubbornly stale and hopeless. The outage of glamor we saw of Ileana after “Kick”, I am afraid will continue nothwithstanding her role in this film. Rajendra Prasad stands out with a full-length performance that almost runs parallel to the hero – this should be heartening to all his fans.

One last word on the flaws of the film. Trivikram sometimes takes logic to onerously outlandish levels for one part of the story while implanting inscrutable logic to other parts. The manner in which the heist is done by the villains of a bank and their escape from custody with lot of bloodshed is illogical even as the hero Ravi tries to second-guess every move of the villain even as the police look downright dumb beats sanity out of mind. Nevertheless, Trivikram has taken the genre of entertainment to new highs with his characteristic ease of blending action and intelligent-looking plots with a rich ensemble of talent and still penning dialogues that haunt you forever. Even the best writers need better editors , Trivikram will realise– but for now, even 160 minutes of a not-so-sublime plot is good enough reason to open the champagne for those who like to see his report card. He’s earned an A not an A-plus and I will give atleast 3.5 out of 5 for the film.

"The Pen Commandments" by Steven Frank: Book Review

Most books on the art of writing dwell more on the rules of grammar, and the beginnings of story development, plotting, characterisation and growing the novel to the finish before making pre-publishing trips. Not many books exist in the realms of what really goes in the mind of a beginning writer - the one who has to exorcise all the demons that block the wannabe writer's creativity or over-draw it, the one who has to find the tools of trade, draw out reference material and weave the works. I have surveyed such books of tips on writing all my life. "The Elements of Style" is too pedantic even though classy. "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser is a classic and bang-on when it comes to talking about the craft of writing. "Good Writing" by Mitchell Ivers is another welcome addition to the two. "Overcoming Writer's Block" is another tiny yet memorable book on how to break out into the zone of profligate writing. However, the most enjoyable book is "The Pen Commandments" by a lesser-known high-school English teacher in US - Steven Frank.
Its a delightful book that revels in writing for fun at the level where the urge to write should strike us first - when we are still toggling between the love for language and the foundations of a commercial or scientific career.

"Pen Commandments" gives all the kickstarting tools and tenets of writing ourselves to potential, giving some outstanding examples of shiny writing mostly from the high school students of his class. You can well figure out that Steven Frank must have polished most pieces of composition and creative writing that he puts out for our perusal. There are anecdotes, commandments of biblical value and there are countless examples of appropriate grammatical rules intermixed with inviolable style rules. I read this piece almost two Olympics back and still find it a happy bunker to bury my head into whenever I need a resurrection of creativity. It is more elegant and stylish, contemporary and fun to read than a New Yorker piece or an Arthur Plotnick's repost in "Spunk & Bite" ("Strunk and White"). I don't know why Steven Frank never attempted more books after such a dramatic flash of brilliance in the book. "The Pen Commandments" will surprise you and permanently leave you with an incurable love for the English language - it deserves to be widely-read - not just in High Schools but by all who push their pen for any cause.