Why I love The Hindu

Thoroughly impressed by "The Hindu's aggressive ads in paper and TV taking on the likes of "The Times of India". The ad aims to take a direct potshot at Times of India - for feeding readers with mindless drivel on pageants and gossips and page-3 profiles and not giving them stuff thats relevant, useful or rooted in Indian heritage. During my journalism college days, we had an ebullient editor one Mr Jagadeesan who was holding out "The Hindu" newspaper and pointed out everything they do right editorially (though may not always have the content you like to see). The quality of reporting, the neutral stands on most mattters, the vibrant letters page, the many supplements that only keep getting added everyday of the week, the way the stories on page 1 are laid out - no story has a "runner" (like, say, turn to page 12 for more and so on), uncluttered reportage and layout, fonts that keep changing with the times (pun unintended), emphasis on developmental journalism and narrative panache, the group that brought out Businessline - my favorite business newspaper.


Mr Jagadeesan was right in 1992 - there will be no interference by Advterising Divion into editorial matters and there is almost always a "Kaizen" of sorts happening - continuous improvements in printing quality, supplements, new insights, features like "Reader's Editor", "Literary Review", "Cinema Plus", etc. Of course some legendary analysts like KK Katyal or GK Reddy are not there anymore but the paper never compromised on ethics. The staffers still get humble but inflation-adjusted paypackets, the ladies get a Kancheevaram saree every Diwali and the gents get a Pattu Pancha. Every employee of "The Hindu" group gets lifetime subscripiton of the newspaper besides Sportstar, Frontline etc.

Way back in 1978 itself, when it completed 100 years of existence, the newspaper was voted as one of the six great newspapers of the world on line with the likes of Manchester Guardian, La Monde, Times London, and New York Times. Amongst the initial bunch of pre-1900 newspapers which grew from strength to strength - "The Hindu" alone has created a respectable tag for its stories, reporting and associate publications. Not "The Statesman" (which shrank after CR Irani and SK Datta Ray), not the ToI as they have commercialised news, legalised page 3 as another celebrity league, and vandalised local news into coteries serving different interests. Of course, "Hindu's family feuds even though a strict Iyengar secret keeps getting out into the open and gives some salicious salvation to newbies like "the Mint" to comment on their goings-on. The newspaper is also disliked by many for it's haughty views on the Sri Lankan issue, BJP, communist shortcomings, secularism and love-hate relationship with the politicians in Tamil Nadu but the paper is very clear for what it wants its readers to notice it for - conservative but egalitarian. It is in that sense very Nehruvian in its views - Nehru always believed that the ruling majority must encourage and respect the minorities else the minorities can feel threatened to air their views or assert their cultures otherwise. "The Hindu" follows this in publications - they may not appease the "Hindus" but they never isolate the "minorities". Ethics wise also, they deserve a pat. Who else but "The Hindu" could have sacked the great cricket journalist - R.Mohan. It is interesting how the Times will respond to the changing times.

The Economics of Movie Industry

Lets be honest about it. Even though "Businessman" is a hit, it is helpful to understand the context and the scenario emerging in Tollywood. I am no blind fan of any superstar or megastar but would like to take facts headlong and not have sentimental leanings. What is an industry hit? What is a superhit? These definitions easily get smudged. An industry hit means a movie that has made money for the producers and the distributtors but not liked overall by the public. If the public like the movie unanimously, then its a superhit. By all counts, "Businessman" is an industry hit but whether it is a superhit - it is yet to prove. Which is why, despite liking the movie, what I am surprised is when Film heroes give interviews on every channel and every day more regularly than newsreaders in order to make the public believe that it is a superhit. That, I am telling, is an unhealthy trend.


Something similar to what Superstar Krishna did many years ago. When it is becoming clear that Natasekhara Krishna was not likely to get a best actor award in any awards, and there was a title "Superstar" poll in a filmy magazine called "Jyotichitra" (now defunct), all the fans of the matinee idol - about five lakh copies of the magazine - were bought and everybody unanimously voted for Krishna as the only Superstar. I remember this distinctly as it happened during the time I was growing up on movies. Consequently, Krishna was voted "Superstar" and the title became a permanent prefix to an actor who despite his goodness and discipline may have never won an award for best actor. The ongoing saga of superstars vying for the next top slot is similar to that in scale and influence. By drumming up that a movie is a hit, nigh, superhit, they are trying to influence similar type of verdicts- by painting the town red with records, getting guys like RGV to drool over the movie etc. This is not a healthy trend.

Now lets come to the topic of number of prints and collections commensurate with them - are they enough? This is the question everybody is asking. Here I have a diferent take. Yes, collections have definitely undergone a sea change. It is not enough for a movie to run for 50 days or even a month to make money. This is because, cinema prints have also got the benefit of technology. Today, there are broadly, two types of cinema prints - UFO Cube format and the regular print. One format which runs on hard-disk equipment (like a CD Player projector) which is aired on both old-world theatres and multiplexes like Prasads at a cost of Rs.10,000 per week. That means, the same equipment can be used around RTC theaters, Kukatpaly theaters, etc. at a staggeringly low cost. The other format of the print costs less than Rs.50,000. So, gone are the days when a single print used to cost Rs.5 lacs or even Rs.3 or 2 lacs apiece. So, technically, if a film is released with 2000 prints, it is correct to assume that the cost of prints are Rs.12 crores. (2000 *6 lacs each). So, let it be abundantly clear that a film print is no longer exorbitantly higher which can deter a distributor from making more available to an area. Now, I come to the point of the movie's economics and the costs of distrbuting versus bidding costs. You can make helluva money on a movie with more prints and it is not necessary to make it run for 50 days or so. So collections do matter because film print costs have more or less become a lower notional almost variable cost. The only point I want to make is dont chase records and dont tom-tom about the collections in the same breadthy. Agreed, by tomorrow Republic Day, most of the distributors in some areas will make 100% of their bidding amounts from "Businessman" but think everybody has made money. The higher you bid, the more you stand to lose if you dont work out the economics well. The trick in distribution lies in bidding well and not get carried away. Once you bid well, you have the technology to recover the money faster. For example, Kukatpally and Dislukhanagar distributors have made their money almost but UK distributors have lost money in "Businessman" because of over-the-board bidding. But I hope you appreciate the nuances of distribution and the follies of records.

Obama's Re-Election campaign Starter Speech

 

Obama makes the most picture-perfect speech before Polls - giving a sense of confidence to Americans that "All izz well" - more jobs since 2005, no war in Iraq and Af-Pak, no letting Iran loose, no outsourcing to "poor" countries, veteran job school, no tax subsidies to rich, no equals in China+Germany, GM-still the best automaker in the world, reforms, in Wall Street, blah blah. Its incredible ho...w these Americans drum themselves up to the world. As a friend said, "they are like a shopkeeper who is bankrupt (US) who wants money from customers (rest of the world) so as to be able to sell the same goods again and again." But despite the truth, and despite the chinks in the logic, US rules because of a system thats created to continuously re-invent, throw up new enterprises and innovate, a democracy that looks like one and a currency that can deflate its way out of the sovereign debt. It also superb pride and confidence in everything American that each of its population with a percapita income of $43000 enjoy and revel. On the contrary, on the eve of our 63rd Republic Day, India has lot of things going for it - still 7% plus GDP growth, culture thats myriad and richest, a majority of religion that still allows minorities of religions to asssert themselves with occasional blemishes, democracy thats running with all its earthly flaws, a society thats not broken down in its innards, population that is unequal in all material possessions but richly endowed with tolerance, enthusiasm (unlike Japanese middleclass) and ability to survive its politicians and capitalists, freedom to still breathe our usual selves in the way we wanted to live, a co-existence of so many languages and religions, prides and prejudices, cinemas and festivals, a civilisation thats not dead as the Mayans or the Egyptians, a nation always in threat of a breakdown and an attack from coast or landmass from 20 directions, a nation that has so many centrifugal forces working and yet has a faint of a centripetal force thats keeping us on the edge but intact still, an Entrpreneurship and a Diaspora that continues to sizzle and furiously astound the world with good and bad intentions. I fail to understand why Indians cannot be as supremely optimistic as the Americans. The Bible says, "...The meek shall inherit the earth." It has to be definitely the Indians then, not the Americans, nor Chinese, nor Germans. Forget about the pressures of ruling the world - why can't we celebrate ourselves just the way we are? Happy Republic Day friends and Cheer up - the worst is behind us and "That used to be US" will apply to US not us. Lets move on and feel proud. My father always makes it a point to wear new dress on R-Day and I-day. I shall do the same tomorrow. Long live the Republic Day!

Salman Rushdie is over-rated

That Rushdie can rattle the festival still is a tragedy of colonial hangover to Indians. Guys like him and Naipaul are now fast becoming anathema and irrelevant in an India moving at multi-speeds. With the exception of folks like late RK Narayan , Ruskin Bond, and maybe late Nirad C Choudhary (just for the sheer knowledge he possessed), no living writer of Pre-Independent writerly era has kept up ...with what the New India has become or the aspirations of Indians post 1980s. They make provocative pronouncements which hurt Indians. Which is why, I agree with Chetan Bhagat's outburst against Salam Rushdie that a writer who offends the sensibilities of its people should be disowned, or something to that effect. Chetan may be cleverly talking his books up but more people have read him than the likes of all of Naipaul and Rushdie together in India. And what are we paying tribute to guys like Rushdie - so what if he and Naipaul have won Booker and Nobels. I have found more empathy to India from writers who are not PIOs than the so-called PIOs. E.g. Paul Brunton, Somerset Maugham, William Dalrympyle, Patrick French,Arthur Osborne even Mark Tully. We don't want wife-beaters, ill-gotten Elites and girlfriend-seekers to give their opinions on India. And no, their views are not relevant or needed here. Lets move on from the days of Raj.

Hyderabad Literary Festival ends, Literally!

Last week's Th Hindu carried a cover story on the Jaipur Literary Festival - making it out to be the biggest in Asia-Pacific of its kind. I was contented enough to just be at Hyderabad Literary Festival just for a day. The setting was impressive and Taramati Baradari was the perfect venue - quite and picturesque with vast spaces full of greenery and hillocks and tombs to comb. What was missing? Probably the buzz and the energy levels. JLF sees a galaxy of star writers and super-star agents but HLF is just beginning and you dont expect first year to be a tour de force. And in Hyderabad - you don't expect book-hungry loves to turn up like eager-beaver birds and hunt for autographs  or surround a much-published author giving tips on overcoming the writer's block. I was lucky to spend a few meaningful moments with long-time friends and better-published writers than me. We chatted up on books galore and publishing trends across the world in that brief session over a mild coffee. I figured out that most of those who turned out as audiences were retired teachers, literature students and academicians. Writers of reckoning were few to be spotted - the ones who came and went were Indraganti Mohana Krishna (director of "Ashta Chemma"- quite a reader and a sensible film-maker ), Saed Mirza, Vidya Rao, Gulzar Sahib and Pavan K Verma ("The Great Indian Middle Class"). I met an interesting lady who is a big gun at  one of the leading publishing houses of an MNC in India. We discussed the best books to read in 2011 and seemed to agree on the increasing trend of seeing Indians writing more about stuff that Indians love to read. We hit off a common note on quite a few trends shaping the Rs.10,000 crore big Indian Publishing Industry. My  acquaintance gave some dope on what are the new themes to work on in Indian Publishing. I mentioned that I anticipated this trend five years back - like in MTV, Indians want to see more of Indians. No wonder, you have more Indians writing on everything from business biographies, health mattes, spirituality, fiction and other matters of nonfiction that have a general appeal. Out of 80,000 titles published in India, the trend is still not reached a stage where Indian books outnumber foreign books - but it is desirably on the upswing. I was nevertheless happy to interact with some friends and new contacts to discuss bibliophilia - amongst other things why and where a mafia works in some capitals of the country, why Ayn Rand still sells more books than any living author today, how to write e-books that can be sold as downloads for the 50 million Amazon Kindle users worldwide. HLF, was not that bad and if only the venue was in the heart of the city, the turnout would have been impressive. I hope this is just the right beginning that will get Hyderabad literal, literally!

"Businessman" is indeed a hit!

Its now final - "Businessman" is a hit amongst the movies released for Sankranti in Tollywood.  ("Bodyguard" is also an average hit and has its supoort and patronage but thats not sufficient to upstage "Businessman"). And Mahesh Babu seems to be the New No.1 in Tollywood. Collections don't lie - from Rs.13 crs. gross +satellite rights of Rs.7.27 crs. It has already made money for the distributors and producers. Credit goes to both Mahesh and Puri for snatching a quick and cool hit - with tight schedule and tighter control on costs. If the trend continues this year, looks like Tollywood will be on a song because of more multli-starrers planned and faster rotation of reels between Superstars and technicians. If heroes like NTR, Mahesh, Prabhas act in 4-5 films per year and compete with the likes of Ravi Teja and Allari Naresh in more productions per annum - it is the best thing to happen for Tollywood desperate for more churnouts and more hits and more employability for its crew and cast. Last year, Tollywood saw a unique statistics. The no. of dubbed films in Telugu was 120 in 2011 whereas the no.of straight films in Tollywood were 118. That should tell how the technicians of Tollywood would have fared. Well begun is half the victory..So the tidings will be glad for another busy movie season coming up in February where many Star films are expected to release. Cheers Tollywood and Telugu Cinema.

"Fountain Ink" Magazine

My part-time interest in journalism leaves no stone unturned in ferreting out new magazines on stands. I have seen magazines come and go since the years I started identifying with print journalism. I remember "Illustrated Weekly of India", "Sunday", "Imprint", "Civil Lines", "Junior Statesman" (Jug Suraiya), "Target", "Quest" (the magazine brought out by Nissim Ezekiel before it bowed out during the Emergency days), "Mainstream" (by the late Nikhil Chakravarti - back now), "Caravan" (Vishwanath- again back) etc...Its sad to see a magazine close down for unviable reasons. I remember subscribing to a magazine published from Chennai - "Indian Review of Books". I even have some of my letters published in that respected monthly-IRB. It used to scour the Indian Book Market for the best reads. Sadly, it closed down too after a few years. It is difficult to find courageous publishers, publishers with a literary backbone to back new writers and exciting fiction and nonfiction these days in the age of e-books and online buzz.

Inspite of the heavy odds agaisnt niche literary magazines in terms of declining readership (Or is it?), there are people coming out with with highly readable prose and poetry - in magazines like "Open" (Manu Joseph), "Caravan" (the NRI son of the legendary Vishwanath). I am delighted to introduce a new literary magazine - "Fountain Ink" again brought out by Chennai. This is in the tradition of those high-quality magazines which cover narrative fiction, NewYorker-type of reportage and visual aesthetics. First three issues beginning November 2011 have been good reading material - and I have kept up with them in the car by buying two copies each. I like the format - it has about 120 pages each issue, good fonts, high GSM paper, and energetic and engaging fiction and nonfiction and mixed up well with high quality photographs and graphic novels that will appeal to the newgen. Their cover stories are good - the first cover story was on "Telangana", the second on "How today's facebook and twitter-crazy crowd live their daily lives" and the third on "How vernacular writers are finding it hard to make both ends meet." The January 2012 issue is a collector's special - rare art collection of Mario Miranda's best and some good graphic novels again.

I am shocked by the price Rs.20/-per issue - that is less than the parking fees you pay at GVK Mall or Big Cinemas. And they are offering the whole year's subscription of 12 issues at Rs.60/- in an obscenely tempting innaugural offer. Why are they under-selling themselves? Is this a bottom-of-the-pyramid pricing? You have "Forbes Life" which charges Rs.150/- per quarterly issue for maybe slightly better literary stuff...I really hope this monthly will succeed. Read it - and subscribe for a good cause - of reading quality writing. Let the folks survive. The magazine is aiming in that niche where an exciting thread of commentary is made on the media, socio-economic-political scenarios as well as the vernacular worlds  - the many microcosms that abound in India. I love the vast canvass "Fountain Ink" has attempted and wish and pray it succeeds. Hope springs eternal for things literary, to survive.