"Endukante...Premante" Movie Review (Telugu)

“Endukante Premante” (Because it is Love) is the new film on the block. Stars a twinkling Diva Tamanna. And energetic star Ram – who carries himself like a miniature Pawan Kalyan cum Mahesh Babu cum Ravi Teja. Produced by his Chartered Accountant uncle “Sravanti” Ravi Kishore whose family consists of CPAs and CAs and Wall Street MBAs except this movie-crazy Ram who has been on a purple patch since “Kandireega”. Who is the Director? A.Karunakaran – a creative director and Ad-Maker who was pulled into films accidentally. After a decade plus and about half a dozen movies later, he is still remembered for films renowned for rich texture and neat family entertainment values – “Tholi Prema” (First Love), “Vasu”, “Happy”, “Ulhaasanga Utsaahanga” (which became a tagline for Red FM), “Darling”. Karunakaran has got a penchant for making different films with sonorous music and ROFL entertainment that never left the patronage of Balcony audiences. He lives up to that promise in most parts with this movie with about 165 minutes of rollercoaster ride of emotions using some bizarre twists that are sometimes inexplicable and mostly inexorable. Overall, it is quite watchable but for some lazy editing.

The film’s essential theme, sorry to poop the suspense, is about two estranged lovers in one lifetime and later how they re-unite in current lifetime where one lover (Tamanna) faces a near-death experience and the never-say-die spirit of her body guides the hero (Ram) through the maze of Interlaken, Zurich and Paris to set up a climax in Hyderabad where eventually she battles for her life and comes back to life. So, its all about that spirit and mortal combat but the journey evokes shades of every movie that tested these waters and scenes are almost cut-and-pasted. You get a feeling of seeing this movie before – in the scenes and the thread of the storyline – in “Avatar”, “Magadheera”, “Aatma Bandham” , “Ghost”. The climax even reminds you of the near-tragic twist in “Vasant Kokila” (“Sadma” in Hindi) where once the body wakes up to life and the spirit of Tamanna vanishes, the subject’s life protector Ram is forgotten by Tamanna. Like in “Black” movie. There is a sequence that reminds you of “3 Idiots” where the spirit guides the man how to resuscitate a person from cardiac arrest. Rings a bell?So, its quite a complicated plot made longer because comedy, action and entertainment is enmeshed into the story. Karunakaran has got the talent to extract uproarious comedy from his actors, he gets the laughs with super ease. Despite the plot sounding implausible and bizarre, the director knits it well and creates a ruckus pre-and-post-interval. Performances by both Ram and Tamanna are vibrant and competing in scale with each other. Tamanna is indeed the surprise package in the film and she delivers her finest performance – thoroughly enchanting and professional. It is not Ram’s film, it is Tamanna’s – credit uncle and nephew for that. Almost everybody else sizzles – old and new.

There are enough punchlines for every character and that makes this film the second-most exacting in terms of A-320 Airbus-filled starcast by the director after “Darling”. Bigger than “Darling” and more daring and audacious. Kona Venkat adds a weighty presence both as a dialogue-writer and villain. Rishi as the main villain is intense too. Music director, GV Prakash Kumar, nephew of A R Rahman, is becoming a source of worry. His output is getting inconsistent, he uses the wrong notes at the wrong time. While the songs are a bit too westernized to resonate well with all classes, his BGM score needs avuncular help from Rahaman. Just because he has talent, doesn’t mean you underscore or embellish when, frankly, the best way is to do the opposite. Composing BGMs is an art- let him learn from legends like Ilayaraja and Rahaman or guys like DSP and Mani Sharma.

To sum up, this may not be Karunakaran’s best film till date but it won’t disappoint you because it’s a new genre, a fresh starcast, neat family fare and a cracker of a comedy. You can watch it once. You can watch it more had the movie been shorter by 2 reels. Maybe the director who wears a cap, has felt a surge of creativity from too many movies but it is important for this director to thrive – he may falter on the execution side occasionally but never gives a crass output or one that makes the family audiences cringe.

Tollywood's "Gabbar Singh" is one of top five grossers!

According to `Business Standard’, as on June 1, `Gabbar Singh’ (Telugu remake of Dabangg) grossed Rs.128 crores in box office collections taking it closer to Dabangg’s Rs.173 crores. This makes the remake catapult into the all-time five grossers. That’s the power of mass-masala fares and box-office magic which eludes realistic cinema. I have always had a liking for this kind of escapist cinema despite my occasional tantrums. And it doesn’t matter whether we like the movie or not, the audience poll says it all. That seals it. So, it was with `Dookudu’ or `Raccha’ or movies like `Kick’.


I am ever curious about the commercial cinema fans who flock to such fare and how it translates economically. When I watch a movie, I keep my thinking hat aside, my `Satyajit Ray’ mind at home and enjoy the flow looking at the commercial sensibilities. Yes, there are occasions we love art cinema and good classy films like `Ala Modalaindi’ but cinema is a mass medium, not an art exhibition for connoisseurs.

Unlike any other art, cinema is the only medium that doesn’t require the patron to be literate. You don’t have to be a cinema-literate as in book-literate or an art-literate or a gold-literate to buy or consume cinema. You just need a funny bone and a pulse to enjoy. Those who criticise a movie is good or bad should do keeping in mind the mass-reach of this medium – every day, 3.2 crore Indians watch cinema, pay Rs.28 per ticket on an average, and forget their foibles and problems in the three hours of watching a movie. The only time they take a break is during the Intermission time – which was first introduced in the world in the 1920s and then after the movie ends. As long as the content is non-offensive, non-sectarian and non-preachy and off-beat, a movie should get most likes.

Why am I making a mountain of this molehill of a datapoint on `Gabbar Singh’? Because I am irked by Outlook magazine’s collector’s edition of 100 years of Indian Cinema. But for making a fleeting reference to Telugu movies, there is no special mention of Tollywood or its enterprising breed. For them, Telugus are also part of `Madrasis’. If Bollywood regained its lustre over the last few years at the BO, thank the Tollywood and the Kollywood filmmakers for lending their scripts and even talent for making blockbusters out of superhits in South Indian vernaculars. Salman Khan to Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar to John Abraham, everybody is borrowing brilliance from Tollywood or Kollywood (Tamil film industry). To under-recognise their contribution in commercial cinema is to do gross injustice to Tollywood’s contribution.

Earlier, I wrote a post on why Tollywood is better than Bollywood – I will expand on that a bit later. Right now, Telugu fans should rejoice that a regional movie has tasted resounding success crossing $22 Million at the Box Office. A guy like Salman Khan paid advance of Rs.50 lakhs for incorporating the famous `Anthakshari’ comedy sequence of `Gabbar Singh’ into `Dabangg-2. The power of ideas. The power of Tollywood. More power to you.

`Outlook’ should realise that watching a movie is not the same as going to Cannes film festival and get plaudits from pundits who make movies for themselves. Satyajit Ray films are a class apart always, no doubt, but let’s not forget that throughout his career, Ray didn’t get funding from anybody but the State Government. Cinema sense and sensibilities are two very different things. And movies like `Gabbar Singh’ have proved yet again what Box Office power can be unleashed by making sensible movies for the masses.

Here’s a toast to all those entertaining filmmakers of Tollywood – let your outlook not change even if mainstream media is not looking your way.

MAA TV vs. Gemini TV vs. ETV vs. Zee Telugu

Earlier, films used to clash only at the Box Office, on Fridays. But now, most clashes aren't  happening there. TV Channels is where the action is. Yesterday, amidst much fanfare, MAA TV has set the timing for telecast of "Dookudu", Tollywood's biggest blockbuster at 6pm Sunday. Lot of billboard advertising, radio ads and countless promos have gone into driving traffic for the film premiere which was purchased for well over Rs.5 crs. All set for 6 pm slot. But Gemini TV, AP's No.1 channel is not an easy competitor - atleast, they never let go an opportunity to nibble into rival channels' market share. They telecast another blockbuster "Kaanchana", a ghost-thriller movie of Raghava Lawrence at 3.30pm which is actually sleeping time for most Sunday TV watchers. But the climax is red-hot and must-watch for any film buff, it was stretching beyond 6pm - which made the edgy MAA TV delay the "Dookudu" telecast beyond half-hour. Last half-hour saw enormous channel-surfing as viewers were glued to the "Kaanchana" climax. Meanwhile, MAATV showed the curtain-raiser of "Dookudu" to fill in the half-hour during which "Kaanchana" ended.

The drama didn't end there. At 6.30pm, Gemini TV showed another hit of 2011, "Mr.Perfect" starring Prabhas and Kajal. That coincided exactly with "Dookudu" and the ad slots were carefully chosen not to clash with each other channel. But the movie on Gemini ended atleast 45 minutes before "Dookudu" finally got completed on MAA TV - with actors' clippings, samantha's comments and finally a re-run of the most hilarious episodes of the film stretching the run time from 6pm-10.30 pm. Only, "Ben Hur" and "Meraa Naam Joker" would have beaten that record running time. I am always intrigued by the rival strategies and counter-strategies of TV Channels in AP - they try to outdo each other. But I think, maturity-wise, MAA TV and ETV are better-off than the competitive Gemini TV. Gemini just can't give up fighting - whether its a Zee Telugu premiere or a MAA TV Blockbuster. Why do I say that? The total Ad revenue size of AP TV channels is Rs.700 crs. The prime slots take bulk of the revenue. It is therefore wise and economical for channels to vie for viewers' attention more carefully instead of making the advertisers lose money on programmes which don't get undivided atttention. The pecking order for entertainment channels in AP is as follows: No.1 Gemini TV, No.2 MAA TV, No.3 ETV and No.4 Zee Telugu. So, the race is between the top 3 really with channel share (sum of all channels in the group brand like MAA or Gemini) going upto 10-15 per cent.

Thats why the stakes are high for the top 3 but what I find intriguing is Gemini never gives in easily to the No.2 or No.3. And so, all throughout the day, yesterday, in order to tackle "Dookudu", it built steady traffic through blockbuster after blockbuster. Started with "Kick", then "Kaanchana" and then finally showdown with "Dookudu" - "Mr Perfect". Even though MAA TV now has the movie rights for the top five all-time Industry hits in Tollywood - 1. Dookudu 2. Magadheera 3. Arundhati 4.Pokiri and 5. Simha, there's a tendency to over-pay and raise the bidding stakes for producers of superhits. This is a game where the channels lose out which ETV doesn't get into. Gemini TV does get into the bidding game but doesn't over-pay. It picks one out of every four movies bid for satellite rights but ensures it stays in the competition but doesn't end up over-paying. "Gabbar Singh" the next industry all-time grosser is currently going for Rs.9 crores. We have to see who picked it.

ETV also tried its best to nibble into the viewership yesterday by airing a special program on SPB "Nenu Naa Swara Kartalu". The program took away some eyeballs from "Dookudu" in the middle. Advantage ETV and Gemini TV have over MAA and Zee is the vintage viewership and loyal base. Through old classics bought for a song and long-running musical shows and serials, they have ensured higher profitability and longer loyalties. Can you believe a movie like "Shankarabharanam" rights were bought by Gemini for Rs.1 lac only? Interesting strategies from different channels.

"Adhinayakudu" Movie Review (Telugu)

"Adhinayakudu" is a 3G wireless gift for Balayya (Balakrishna) fans - it shows Balayya in son, father and grand-father roles. Parachuri Murali is the writer-director ( I don't know which other movies he directed with a famous surname like that). The story is set in Rayalaseema backdrop but comes with a different treatment that his fans are usually used to. Harish Chandra Prasad is the patriarch who rules the hearts of the masses in many villages by getting FDI approvals for an iron-ore project in Kurnool. He convinces many and moves against many odds to get the project approved so that more people turn to employment instead of taking up sickles and bombshells. His son Rajendra Prasad takes on the responsibility of carrying out intent of the father. But the villains who don't like the good samaritans divide the father and son and what more, connive to brainwash the grandson in his infancy to kill the grandfather. This is the story that is unravelled in the end - but the story begins differently - the juvenile who grows up in Mumbai follows his roots to Rayalaseema and then the familiar climax - after lots of twists, flashback, romance, comedy and fights.


To be fair, Parachuri Murali weaves an intelligent plot with three diverse roles for Balayya and infuses life into the scripting and screenplay. The movie moves with a verve and freshness not usually associated with a Balakrishna movie. Dialogues are classy not crass, music is just about okay even though Kalyani Mallik - the less-talented music director of MM Keeravani tries hard especially in one or two numbers and OST. Lakshmi Rai sizzles with her thread-bare revelations in two songs and carries on her glamor well. The main villains led by Kota Sreenivasa Rao and Ajay do a good job. Brahmanandam comes up with a fine performance - and his comedy with the young Balakrishna masquerading as an alien from Mars is hilarious and fresh fun. Violence is also grossly toned down and so are the dialogues - they are not at all political and censorable, I am surprised they are written by somebody other than Parachuri brothers but bearing the same surname.

There are few observations on the film. In his anxiety to project all three characters in equal length, director adopts a racy track to collapse many frames and moods in quick succession - at times, it comes out good but sometimes the intensity is diluted. There is a danger, just like VV Vinayak's screenplay in "Chenna KeshavaReddy" that the characterisation goes adrift because of the need to show a screen friction between father and son, and later between son and grandson. Sometimes, you do get confused in having to take sides with the three characterisations - they never syncronise in one moment except for a fleeting phase during flashback. 15 Reels is also a bit long for a movie nowadays despite efforts to edit most scenes. Director has a talent and grip over making intelligent and sensibile cinema and for that he deserves a pat - you can watch it once for the treatment and the thrills and the diversity of roles played by an ageing hero. Even though I am not a great fan of Balakrishna, this movie shows him in better light than his movies in the past. I wonder why "Adhinayakudu" was delayed for 4 months without a buyer - it is passable fare and watchable for most of the time. I only wonder whether the fans, who seem to be calling most of the shots in Tollywood, will take an under-tone, under-stated Balayya. This is a better performance for NBK than "Srirama Rajyam".

Book Review: "Markets Never Forget" by Ken Fisher

There are a handful of books which survey the march of history and its implications for the serious long-term investor in stocks. "Devil Take the Hindmost" by Edward Chancellor is one book for the times. You have classics like "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" and "Manias, Panics and Crashes" which have gone into updated editions for every cycle downturn of the Equity asset class.

A famous cover story on "BusinessWeek" (Now "Bloomberg Business Week") came out in 1987 which lamented with a rant that's now known as an epochal error - "The Death of Equities". Financial Writers have always  found the obsession with Markets and Crashes as a soap-opera to expand the continuum of history of over 200 years of recorded market movements beginning with the late 18th Century till date. "Markets Never Forget: But People Do" is one more worthy addition to the literature on market history and the perspectives one can glean from the historical gyrations of stock prices. Who is the author? Ken Fisher, one of the few Investment Managers, who prides himself as a Forbes Billionaire Advisor for the Forbes Billionaire Club. Fisher has been the fourth-longest running columnist for Forbes Magazine and runs a firm - Fisher Investments. This is eighth book and its quite evident Ken Fisher can write well, weave facts and historical data points into a fluent narrative that is bound to encourage long-term stock investing. The timing couldn't have been better - its come at a time when the markets fear a Lehman-like moment and are getting psyched out of the cut-and-dry march of equity markets over the last five years.

Ken Fisher says that markets have always been volatile and there is never a dull moment in stock investing but one should learn how to overcome the behavioural biases that will creep into our memory and actions that tell us "This time is different" and we end up making the same mistakes that cost us money and time. He gives countless examples of moments in market history when people have shunned from the markets, got fooled by averages and generally got sandwiched between getting in and out of secular bear or bull markets. Ken Fisher gives fascinating, brick-by-brick tour of the American Stock Markets, the various phases of crashes and rallies punctuated by hundreds of mini-pulls of investor extreme reactions owing to government debt cycle ups and downs, corporate profitability fluctuations, and political bickerings. He infuses lot of authenticity by giving tabulation of all the returns, and the sharp movements of the markets in v-shaped curve, j-shaped curves, and v-w-shaped curves  --that surprised even the most maverick forecasters of the day.

Ken says that investors fail to be right most of the time because they forget the past and even refuse to learn from the mistakes of the past. They get overwhelmed by greed or fear but also forget that being greedy or fearful didn't work out for them in the past. In the process, they get head-faked by what later turns out to be normal volatility - because they forget they've lived through volatility many times before. They over-react - either too bearish or too bullish- based on some widely dispersed media report that later turns out to be highly overstated or just plain wrong and often backward.  Take for example, volatility. Ken Fisher says that contrary to what the media projects, the maximum volatility between these three asset-classes - Oil, stocks and a food commodity like Onion, was, surprise, witnessed in Onions, more than that of oil and stocks. Between 2000 and 2010, Standard Deviation for oil was 33.8% but for onions it was 211.4%. Contrast this with the SD of Stocks- a mere 19.41%. And then he constructs an argument, saying that there are other variables that are equally volatile- like inflation, government deficits, or GDP growth rates on a monthly basis - and the stock markets discount all of that and move on quite well.

What is the lesson here for investors? Ken Fisher tells us that a sense of market history is a powerful tool to help begin reducing your error rate and help begin getting better investing results. The book is divided into eight chapters with excellent examples and data tables. Each chapter highlights a dimension of history - of market averages, volatility of the asset-classes, traps in thinking, interface of politics with economics, rise and fall of bull and bear markets, and the interlinkages of the global markets. Ken Fisher is quite an intelligent and respected market commentator and a Fund Manager of repute. Few people also know that Ken Fisher is the son of the legendary of legendary Growth Investor Philip Fisher. Philip Fisher wrote the classic "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits." It is still a must-read for any serious stock investor. Ken Fisher gives a reassuring book of market history whose revelations will bring joy to anyone investing in stocks for living or retirement. Even if there are no examples from Emerging Markets, the book is spirited and comprehensive.

"Markets Never Forget (But People Do)" by Ken Fisher. Wiley India Pvt Ltd. Price Rs.399.00, pp.  216.

Advice from China, in lighter vein!

Advice to Sonia from China on handling Jagan:


1. To catch the tiger's cub, one must enter the tiger's den.

2. Do not use firewood to put out a fire.

3. Going too far is as wrong as falling short.

4. One tree does not make a forest.

5. When fortune flees even gold loses its luster. When fortune returns, even iron shines bright.

6. An idol-maker does not worship the gods: he knows what stuff they are made of.

7. A hundred men scrambling to fetch a gourd by cart will accomplish less than one man holding it in his hand.

8. An arrogant and complacent leader is sure to meet with defeat.

9. It is foolish to anger the majority, nor is it wise to do simply as you please. If your deeds displease the people, then disaster will surely follow.

10. A tyrannical government is worse than a man-eating tiger.



Advice to Jagan that never came from China:

1. Even oceans may at last run dry.

2. When you have wealth, why should you strive for more?

3. All questions have two sides.

4. Much property is a trap for the stupid.

5. Those whose ways are different cannot lay plans for one another.

6. When you see a straight piece of wood, you do not want to make it into a wheel.

7. Misfortunes never come alone.

8. Do not expose money to eyes.

9. In good times, the wise man works for the state. In bad times, he looks after himself.

10. Take care of the small things.



Advice from Sonia and Jagan to China:

1. Heroes are made by the times. (Jagan)

2. Though brothers may have private feud they fight as one against the alien foe. (Jagan)

3. To give peace to the Empire and suppress rebellion, a large sword and a long spear are necessary. What use is a pen? (Sonia)

4. The views of men of wise counsel are much the same. (Both).

5. Although I am thin in appearance, the Empire is fat. (Jagan).

6. It is harder to deal with the weeds once they have spread. (Jagan)

7. There is no victory in winning a hundred battles. There is a victory in subduing your enemy without fighting at all. (Jagan).

8. When the first indications of error begin to appear in the state, Heaven sends forth ominous portents and calamities to warn men and announce the fact. (Sonia)

9. Having a son is unlucky indeed. These days it is better to have a daughter. Your daughter can be married to your neighbour. Your son will be buried under the weeds. (Sonia)

10. Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall, but its the common people who suffer. (Both)

- Compiled from the Little Book of Chinese proverbs. With malice towards none.

Can today's Politicians beat Nehru's Prison Term of 1637 days?

Did you know that Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, who passed away today served a total prison term of 1637 days during the Freedom Struggle? Gandhiji would have broken more records in going to jail too as did many other stalwarts. And today, a prominent politician Jagan Mohan Reddy's arrest by CBI is being headlined in all TV Channels as earth-shattering news. Is going to jail so much fun? And for What? Can any Indian Politician in India ever be put behind in bars for so many days as Nehru or Gandhi did? I shudder to think whats happening to India Today.

Satyameva Jayate - Doctor and the 3rd Idiot!

So "Satyameva Jayate" this Sunday takes on the Doctors abusing the trust of the patients. Even though there are instances of abuse, it is not on a scale that I am alarmed of. Some of my best friends are doctors - I know and appreciate what it takes to become a doctor. But let me not get into the issue of Doctors itself - they should be treated at a level above the rest of the professionals. But no...w that Aamir Khan has moved on from Family Abuse issues to Society Abuse issues from select professions, I want to ask Aamir: Who are all going to be in the AK net? And who is going to be outside it?


Will Aamir also cover Civil Contractors, Lawyers, Architects, Politicians, corrupt Government officials, PMO, Party Presidents, Promoters of listed companies, Mutual Fund Managers, Subsidy-Adminstrators, Drug Inspectors, Engineers of Public Works, Statisticians and Economists of Yore, journalists, Editors and press reporters, NGO officials, Forbes Billionaires, Teachers, Syllabus creators, Educationists and Tutorial Owners, Corporators and Legislators, Priests and Mullahs, TV Channel Programming Heads, Newspaper Barons, TRP Market Researchers, Violent-and-Porn Film Producers, Transport Operators. Will he cover folks from his own profession who suffer from extremes of social apathy to harbingering social awareness? What about my own tribe - Bankers, Wealth Managers, Tax Advisors, Auditors, Chartered Accountants, and Salesmen selling olive oil remedies? It appears Aamir Khan may spare my profession anyway - because we deal with, inter alia, an asset-class in which India's households invests less than 3 per cent. And we are doing a better job than the doctors. But lets leave it at that.

At this rate, Aamir Khan might declare all professions to be dishonest or he should start with his profession - Films - and set an example first before taking holier-than-thou attitude on other professions. Doctors ratio is already pathetic in India; 99 percent of the population have never developed awareness of their own body and they rely on doctors to bail them out. Most of them are genuine and good and the five percent who take the patient for a ride abound in every profession, with or without a hippocratic oath. Family issues - issues affecting the child, the girl, the woman, the bride and the boy - might deserve rich highlighting. But issues around aggrievement of an individual from a particular profession need not be a public farce - there are relevant acts and enough measures to address them. Oh, Aamir - maine Kyaa sochaa thaa aur thu kyaa nikala!

"Daruvu" Movie Review (Telugu)

‎"Daruvu" means drumbeat - or sound of mass as the byeline says. Ravi Teja's movies always meant you switch off your brain and mobiles together. So we went expecting a couple of hours of nonstop entertainment and comedy and antics that will chill you in this scorching summer. It felt this time a bit longer. A little short of 3 hours, the movie is dripping in masala fare, comedy and entertainment. It ropes in almost all of Ravi Teja's favorite co-star comedians - Brahmanandam, Srinivas Reddy and now Vennela Kishore who pack quite a punch. To give it a family touch, Ravi Teja figures in triple roles apart from the title role of a small time thug. How does it all add up?

There's an introduction scene of the "yamalok" - Telugu audience's favorite entertainment haven outside of our planet which makes the Old Yama Satyanarayana Kaikala anoint a new Yama (Prabhu who looks good) and warn him not to take "panga" with Telugu youth; he warns of those who tried to upstage "yamalok" in the past - NTR (Yamagola), Chiranjeevi (Yamudiki Mogudu) and NTR Jr.(Yamadonga). And the story is bizarrely concocted from there with a mischief played by Chitragupta (MS Narayana). No doubt, the movie smacks of tonnages of entertainment, comedy. So, the scenes shift off speedily and sometimes jerkily - with Ravi Teja trying to give a heightened sense of performance in every frame - he does have the screen presence and the mirchmasala factor especially with his loud voice, gay mannerisms and a Telugu accent that is neither here nor there, sounding like our CM's Telugu pronunciation. But he creates a variety in roles - as Home Minister, as mass thief, and two other fleeting roles. Director Siva's sreenplay is too fast-paced and doesnt allow most scenes to registe because of uproarious output by the energy levels of the comedy gang and Ravi Teja. We know what happens when Ravi Teja and Brahmanandam share the screen. Brahmanandam does well too but the character is one that family audiences may detest - an effeminiate, gay dance master.

Director has concentrated on the entertainment aspects well but has also introduced several elements that connect with classes - mother care, anti-corruption, Karma theory, etc. This creates a big drag sometimes - you can't unwind from the profane to the profound so fast especially with an explosion of entertainment and energy. There has been less concentration on the music and heroine. Music by Vijay Anthony is loud and "dappu" only and there's not one melody song that you can remember, it is so cacophonous. I wonder if this is the same guy who scored music for "Mahatma". Tapsi, the heroine, is never important in the plot and she doesn't add the glamour also despite trying hard.

How Good is the movie? I wouldn't watch it again - despite the extra efforts and the output of comedy, the length of the movie and the lack of subtelety does get on your nerves. Finally, my take on the heritage of "yamalokam" used in Tollywood is that the audience is losing interest in the theme. While "Yamagola" and "Yamudiki Mogudu" have been hits, current generation hasn't showered applause for "yama Donga" - it was not a comparative hit. Mohanbabu also attempted the theme in "Yama jathakudu" but with less success. Maybe the theme fires well on screen if you keep it close to the knitting - but if you mix up all the themes in the world, flat will be the output. Despite limited violence and extra-ordinary entertainment, I felt stressed in the movie watching my time a number of times. Ravi Teja, may be Tollywood's Amitabh and Dada Kondke, but he neednt have tried so hard. Sometimes, you need break from entertainment too.

Don't worry, Economics At Work here!

Would have liked to post a longer note - exciting these times, but time also getting more dearer than petrol. I will make it as short and clear as possible.


Lets talk about Petrol first- I had been saying that we will never stop importing crude and therefore must prioritise that over Gold imports. Petrol price rise has been increased for number of reasons - Rising deficits, escalated rise in crude over the last few months, Rupee depreciation, and need to cut subsidy bills to give some relief to the Oil-marketing companies and also the import bill. This will continue to see rise, if you believe that crude oil prices will continue to be elevated over the coming years. The sooner you understand the economics of oil - the better our reconciliation with the reality, instead of raising ruckus over everything. Our politicians and sometimes, public dont realise that everything is not in the hands of government - your land prices and corruption deals, crony capitalism and MGNREGA schemes and Aarogyasri policies - may all be but eventually market forces will catch up with everything in life thats priced including the five elements - (air)gas, water, fire (energy), earth (sand) and sky (2G/3G).

Lets talk about Gold next. At current prices of gold prices in Rupees, if you invest now, and expect to make a return, beware.If international gold prices shoot up beyond the $1600 t/oz range and go back to $1800 levels and if Rupee appreciates back to Rs.50 to a USDollar, you make "zero" return. Current higher prices of Gold in India are due to Rupee depreciation. In any case, I am not yet done with my diatribe against Gold Merchants - so we will take that up separately. The Budget Bill hasn't cut customs duty but yielded to some other concessions.

Lets now talk about Sensex. At current levels of sensex, and Rupee-Dollar exchange levels, effectively, Sensex is literally trading at 12000-13000 thereabouts because of a 20% fall in Sensex and a 26% fall in Rupee exchange. Thats a colossal opportunity still. The less said, the better here.

Lets talk about the Rupee. There are more factors at work including the relationship between Euro/Dollar and Dollar/Commodities leading to a market decline in Rupee. Last Financial Year, we attracted $64 of NRI Remiitances - the highest in the world. I am sure everybody is watching even now. Similarly, if 50% of Corporate India hasn't hedged their dollars/euros, those in the export zone will make a bumper profit in the coming quarter. That should be good news. Besides, the RBI still has huge reserves to intervene - I am sure they have the smartest forex team in the world.

Lets examine facts and see things as they really should be seen. And for God's sake, lets understand how Economics really works in our lives. "Satyameva Jayate".

Pawan Kalyan and the Cult of the Colossal in Tollywood

"Gabbar Singh" is on its way to becoming a blockbuster in Tollywood. Its the first superhit for Power Star Pawan Kalyan in eleven years since "Khushi" movie was released. Now, offers are going to pour in for Pawan Kalyan. Goes to prove that Tollywood's obsession with the cult of the colossal is very much on. No other film industry has so much patience in kowtowing to matinee idols who fail to fire in so many movies. Flop after flop after flop, and then one hit, life's back to normal for the Star. The threshold of patience is highest in Tollywood which is ruled by few top heroes. That kind of patience is non-existent for the ones who are not the chosen ones. Many examples, there - Uday Kiran, Tarun, Raja, etc. Of course, they may say, those who have the talent will be always given a chance. True, it holds well but chances and half-chances don't come to the unsupported heroes just like that. You should either have financial backing like Nitin Reddy who delivered a superhit after 14 flops - "Ishq" (Nitin's father is a film distributor Sudhakar Reddy) or you should be like Pawan Kalyan with a monstrous fan following. Either way, the market cap of the top heroes goes on unabated.

The patience with heroes is one thing. The lack of patience with other elements in a Telugu movie - that is something else. Its almost legendary. From heroines to stunt directors, from directors to music directors, patronage is showered mostly on those who give the heroes instant success and stardom - the rest fall by the wayside. I will discuss later in a separate post on the number of music directors who have almost ended up like flashes in the pan. Goes to show that despite making the second-highest number of films in India, Tollywood is still oligopolistic and highly concentrated industry - a few call the shots, and the chosen few get quintals of patience from producers and fans while the rest languish.

Single-Screen Theatres Vs. Multiplexes, again!

Deepak, Odeon join the growing list of theatres in Hyderabad losing out to the incessant march of Realtors tearing down buildings for flats. Deepak theatre in Narayanguda used to be a flop movie theatre - it was always getting renovated and remodelled and we used to occasionally watch movies but never got the limelight of stand-alone theatres like Shanti 70mm and Sudarshan 35mm etc.

Odeon complex sprung up relatively new in the RTC X roads but even three theatres in a portly campus hasn't helped them to make profits. Whats happeening to the single-screen theatres? As 80 per cent of all movies I ever watched were in these kind of theatres - the whistles, the papers splintered, the Rangoli on the floor adjoining the screen, the curtain-raiser and the curtain-closer, the non-discreet tring tring sound of the can opener pinching the cool drinks at interval time, the vent-out of feelings and emotions which is hardly visible in multiplex screens (where everybody is "dignified" and watch movies with a stiff upper lip).

I have mentioned in an older post about the long list of theatres pulled down for property development. One major issue facing these single-screen owners is the low rentals. Last week, I watched "Gabbar Singh" at Devi 70mm and was amazed at the high-quality of sound, visual grandeur and the elevation not to mention the ecstasy and the madness of 1750 people. Between the three segments of ticket prices, the theatre collects Rs.49000/- per show at an average of Rs.28/-. And for this, the management gets an approximate rental of Rs.3 lacs per week, sometimes lower at Rs.2.30 lacs. This is the theatre rental in a prime area of RTC X Roads which is the heart of Nizam area. In the plush single-screen theatres of Kukatpally, the rentals are close to Rs.1.50-1.80 lacs per week. So, in a year of 52 weeks, the rentals come to Rs.1.56 crs. Thats the income of these theatres. You will be aghast to know that these rentals are not even close to what Marriage Halls earn in a day. Even if the marriage halls are vacant for 150 days in a year, they give better rentals than Cinema Halls.

No wonder, cinema hall owners with vast acres are merrily converting their properties for development. Sudarshan 70mm, near RTC X Roads, already converted into Housing complex is charging Rs.1.00 crore for each flat. What ails the single-screen theatres is a combination of many factors - 1.Apathy of film Producers 2.Slab System of Rentals (which encourages big-star movies) 3.Fear of falling occupancies - which makes them hang on to poor rentals 4. Falling patronage of A-class crowds 5. Low Financial Reserves to recreate Multiplex Screens. For e.g the owners of Sangeet 70mm had a gala time for so many years, but eventually they lost out to multiplexes and had to seek huge loans and capital to begin the ongoing work on multiplex in Secunderabad. On the other hand, Tivoli/Lamba complex was created as a fine multiplex lookalike with better planning and fiscal management.

Single-screen theatres wont fully die down but unless they have better vision and planning and help from Film Producers Council, the writing is on the wall. I can't resist ending this piece without rendering an old joke about Deepak cinema. One day, former Chief Minister late T Anjaiah was passing by Deepak theatre and saw the board "Under Renovation". He remarked to his Secretary who read the board - "Oh I see, its an English movie."

Zero-Reserve Bank of India?

Last year, we prided ourselves in becoming a select club-nation of having a sign for Rupee. Today, that Rupee sign is showing exceptional weakness. Not only has the Rupee coin been losing its purchasing power (by way of relentless march of inflation), figuratively it has become as small as a Char-Anna (Re.0.25) coin. Check the erstwhile one rupee coin, it is the same sized as a ten-rupee coin. Che...ck out the latest one rupee coin, it is co-axial as a 25 paise coin. And today, a rupee touched 54.26 to a US Dollar. One of India's best companies - HDFC is downgraded - and its weightage in MSCI universe pruned from 6.2% to 3.2%. Forex Reserves of India used to be closer to $450 Billion - a figure which made Reserve Bank of India called euphemestically as Foreign Reserve Bank of India. Now, excluding this week's intervention, the reserves dwindled to $293 Billion. Maybe Reserve Bank of India, aided by governance deficit in the country, will be called Zero-Reserve Bank of India. Or just Bank of India.

"Gabbar Singh" Movie Review (Telugu)

"Gabbar Singh" is the name of  India's most entertaining villain from the immortal movie "Sholay". It surprises me why nobody ever thought of the title "Gabbar Singh" considering the phenomenal following Amjad Khan has had for portraying that character. Pawan Kalyan has now starred in the movie "Gabbar Singh" which is a a remake of "Dabanng". Director Harish Shankar, a protege of RamGopal Varma, adapted the movie "Dabanng" and the script penned by Dileep Shukla, altered some crucial characters in the original film to suit Telugu nativities and packed a punchy and boisterous output. Its a thoroughly entertaining and hugely likeable story that will regale all audiences, especially Pawan Kalyan fans who are famished for a decade searching for that elusive hit. They've had a half-chance with "Jalsa" but now they can feast on the dollops of fun and frolic and the ruckus and laughter riot created by Pawan Kalyan almost single-handedly. I rate this movie a few notches above this year's "Businessman" because of wholesome fare and masala entertainment thats quite neat.


Of course, the story of a cop who acts like a goon must be unappealing for many in the society. But so be it - if you liked "Dabanng", you better like this one too. I even dare say, to all my Hindi friends, to try this movie - you will be pleasantly surprised at the quality of monstrous fun, action and comedy created in "Gabbar Singh". I find it as good as the original and refreshingly cooler than "Dabanng." Its a coup for a remake. Credit must go to the whole team - Editor/Dialogue-writer (Director himself)/Cinematographer/Choreographer - for a clean output. DeviSri Prasad once again scores hummable and foot-tapping songs that will set crowds  foot-loose; his BGM score-ability is also becoming an additional strength, of late. (Which makes him a sought-after BGM specialist like Mani Sharma or AR Rahman). After a long time, I found songs where Pawan was at ease in dancing as much as his other family kin, new and old. Shruti Hassan may have got lucky in the movie with the role as she doesn't have the same cuteness and star-struck appeal of Sonakshi Sinha despite donning the same costumes. She gets to sing lines in only one of the many songs. Malaika Arora, who stars in the "Kevvu Keka" looked better and dignified aftera long time - otherwise she can grate on you.

Easily, Pawan Kalyan's performance is the best and the brightest in the movie - he shines in every frame, packs a punch in every fight and dialogue and shows a remarkable resilience in lifting his own fortunes with one fiery salvo in this film. The role gives him the luxury of showing all the shades of a villain, hero, comedian and a mature character actor who can occasionally step back for others to hog the limelight. The "Anthakshari" scene with criminals post-interval will get more eyeballs than the item song - it is well-crafted and seat-shifting laughter. For all those who have given up on watching Pawan Kalyan (including myself), its time for lot of "Khushi" and some gum for this film. Dialogues by Harish Shankar sound incredibly classy while awakening massive "fan" shouts. If remakes are made like this, you can buy any originals for any price. Well done, Gabbar Singh.

"Breakout Nations" by Ruchir Sharma

"Breakout Nations: In Pursuit of the Next Economic Miracles" by Ruchir Sharma published by Penguin India. Price Rs.599.00. pp. 292.

Nonfiction interests me more than fiction. Naturally, I am delighted to introduce a book of nonfiction thats creating records in India and the world. "Breakout Nations" by Ruchir Sharma is a super-racy book giving the last word on Emerging Markets, Frontier Markets and all the nations that are trying to make it to the cut in between. Who is Ruchir Sharma? His title reads as Head of Emerging Market Equities, Morgan Stanley. But for readers of "The Economic Times", Ruchir is a well-known writer on subjects of Economics. Infact, I think Ruchir's speciality is the sweet spot between Social History, Geopolitics and Economic Affairs and most often, the vicissitudes of the capital markets are self-evident in the overlap between these affairs. And Ruchir is best equipped to write on these matters. I always thought (and now a bird in Mumbai confirms) that Ruchir Sharma is recruited by Morgan Stanley only because of his ability to write on complex subjects intertwined as above and not because he has some great degrees at Yale or Wharton or that he can decode the formulae in financial mathematics or excel sheets.


Ruchir Sharma is MS's answer to other guys who can write very well on capital markets who are held in regard by the Icons of High Street Finance. Peter Bernstein (he passed away in 1995), David Darst (again from Morgan Stanley who wrote a treatise on Asset Allocation), Barton Biggs (Morgan Stanley, yet again, who wrote on the who-and-how aspects of sharing the spoils of the World War-II). Then of course, we have Jim O Neil (Goldman Sachs - the original guy who coined BRIC with Roopa Purushottaman before Roopa was lured by our own Kishore Biyani - it happens only in India!). Ruchir Sharma is different because he uses a whole lot of qualitatative yardsticks in analysing data pertaining to who will get past the round two of the next group of nations to "break out" of the orbit of middle-income trap and make the leap into the developed markets. Ruchir Sharma makes many statisitical inferences, fine examples, anecdotes and similes, cruel objectivity, and laser-sharp observations on countries from China, India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, South Africa to Turkey, and other frontier nations in the continents of South/Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, Middle East and of course, Africa. Its breezy and page-turning even for the unitiated in matters of Economics and financial markets.

Ruchir has been writing for "Newseek" and "The Economic Times" for the past 20 years and has been kicking tyres in some part of the developing world for atleast a week of every month of those 20 years. He is most qualified, therefore, to talk with conviction interlaced with consummate ease on why and what aspects are appealing about these markets. He also writes on what aspects are not. Maybe, he has a say in the rejigging of the MSCI universe of stocks across the globe from South Korea to Turkey and from South Africa to Mexico. As someone who has the license to get under the skin of every country which wants to be the next or the new G-7 nation in some time, Ruchir does a fabulous job in giving a National Geographic -equivalent picture of every nation on the radar of the FII, Endowments of developed world and the Foreign Individual Investors. I am amazed at the insights the book gives in one read about China, Brazil, Indonesia and even about our own India. Rightly so, he gives India a 50: 50 chance to be counted as a breakout nation. Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyer, my second-most favorite columnist from "Economic Times" has already written his repartee to Ruchir in the previous week's column in The Times. But Ruchir makes a few stunning, off-beat observations about India which should make policy-makers worry and middle-classes wary. He says, bulk of India's youth get carried away by either jobs in government or Maoist movements because of growing inequalities between the rich and the poor. And unlike in China, where the top Forbes Billionaires keep changing every few years and also their combined networth is capped at $10 Billion or so, in India, much to the chagrin of the poor and the oppressed, the same list of Billionaires is displayed year after year since the 1990s and the combined networth is in excess of $70 Billion while India boasts of probably the lowest per capital income amongst all developing nations and widening inequalities. There are other telling points, mostly objective about India and China.In fact, Ruchir's commentary on China can rattle the most die-hard bulls of that country. (Jim Rogers might re-look at the title of his book on China -"A Bull In a China Shop"). I think, Ruchir has pre-empted the "India Today" magazine's latest survey on the arrogant South India vs. the Persevering North India.

Ruchir makes some outstanding denouements  on the new headwinds of world trade that call for a lot of economic negotiations between the affluent and the emerging nations. Ruchir, by virtue, of his being in a chair to hobnob with the heads of state as well as head-honchos of corporations, is able to distill a range of reports, surveys (some of them outright exclusive) and put a fascinating menu of options for Intelligent Investors of any country. He doesn't take the burden of making hypothetical statements that needed to be proved. Instead, he gives an eclectic but largely concatenated dosage of interesting and disparate data points to drive home a point that is hard to disagree with. Maybe he is good at story-telling but this is a book that concerns four-fifths of humanity in the most convincing fashion. It has few flaws and some unprovable truths but largely, the content is open-ended to let these nations decide in a passing parade who will need what to cross the rubicon. Antoine Van Agtmael was the first guy who coined the phrase "Emerging Markets", then wrote a book "Emerging Markets Century". It was like a premature baby. Ten years back, Jim O Neil wrote BRIC report - this allowed the toddler nations to feast and grow with a 450 per cent jump in the FII allocation to these countries. Now, the teenagers are turning brash and feeling self-important and simultaneously, many toddlers are crying for attention thats legitimate. Ruchir Sharma's new book is a good wakeup call to all of them - an honest and objective, intelligent and readable report card.

Penguin publishers tell me this book is already hit the second print run within one month of launch. This is going to be the best-selling Nonfiction book for 2012. Well done Ruchir.

AP crosses Rs.25000 crores Income Tax collections, so what?

Recently, the AP Income Tax Department (AP Circle) has celebrated a milestone in Income Taxes collected from the state of Andhra Pradesh. Rs.25000 crores is the total sum of income tax collections which include, inter alia, everything from corporate income taxes, individual taxes, companies paying Minimum Alternative Tax, Dividend Income, Capital Gains, Income from Business/Profession as well as a good chunk of Salary and Pension Incomes. From the viewpoint of various sources of income tax, the department may not have fully deciphered the potential.
But lets understand the reasons for this elation before we flesh out details of whether we need to pat ourselves or feel there's room for higher mobilisations: AP has become the 3rd state after Maharashthra and Tamil Nadu to cross Rs.25000 crores. clocking a 24.8 per cent growth against a national average of 23 per cent in tax collections over the previous year. While the numbers for Maharasthtra and Tamil Nadu are not known,  Rs.25000 crores is impressive considering that the total Income Tax Collections for the previous year as per the latest Economic Survey 2011-12 is pegged at Rs.5,25,000 crores. From that viewpoint, that is almost 4.76 per cent of the national collection. Sounds impressive but look closer, you will find the segments of collection may leave a lot to be desired - atleast for the IT officials from a state which was growing at above 9 per cent during the golden years of 1995-2005 but is now slipping below. We have already seen the latest India Today's survey of the arrogant South underperforming in Economic Growth Rates compared to the diligent North catching up. But thats another point which can be debated later.
Of the total Rs.525000 crores., more than 68.5% is from corporate income tax. Only Rs.165000 odd crores is the contribution from Individual Income Taxes.  Hyderabad, despite having over 700  listed companies out of the 8500 odd stocks on NSE/BSE doesn't have a noteable presence that can pull the weight on the Indices like Sensex/Nifty (only one company or so in the bellweather indices). Except one or two companies, there is hardly a presence that can make the tax tally anywhere close to the tally of companies based in Mumbai Circle or Chennai Circle or even Kolkata or Bengaluru. We are not even talking about the circles in National Capital Region. Point is, even if you add up all the taxes paid by the listed companies in AP whether as Advance/Income Tax, it will not be close to the tax paid by a company like, say, ITC. Also, it is likely that most of the top corporates in listed and unlisted space are headquartered in Mumbai - which is where, taxes  eventually get paid afterall. AP is not leading the country in other parameters which can make it get counted for its past glories. We score a diminishing picture of our past self in a range of parameters like Gross Capital Formation, Per Capital Income,  Literacy Rate, School Dropout rates  (which determine the employability rates), etc.
To make matters worse, most of the leading companies of national fame except Pharmaceutical industry are either outside AP or re-locating their hubs to other national and international locations. You cant win the Income Tax sweepstakes with just a huge base of employees.
There are other quallitative factors which will determine, inter alia, whether the cake of Income Tax collections is going to go up largely in the coming years. You can guage this by asking some simple questions: Are we creating the right Investment climate for New Entrepreneurs to start industry in AP? Are most of the state Industrialists increasing their footprint in the state of AP or are they showing inclination to invest outside AP and maybe outside India itself? Is there a concentration of just one city instead of several top cities in AP and also simultaneous and harmonious development of tier-2 towns? (You don't have to read Sri Krishna Report to answer this question - we know how many cities are there to count as having arrived in AP besides Hyderabad).Is there a good skill migration happening in the state for more and more people escaping the poverty trap and moving into the semi-skilled and skilled and urban modes of employment or is there a disturbing tendency of farmers staying put in farming activities? (which means the  base will never go up and this may be because of free and guaranteed entitlements from the state government keeping farmers anchored to agriculture-related activities). Is the State attracting new talent in Industry and Service sectors? How is the FDI related Equity Inflows into the state? Are they showing an increasing trend or a decreasing trend? For example, between 2008-2011, AP received a mere five percent of the total inflows in terms of FDI in US Dollars compared with 19 per cent for Delhi and NCR Region and 35 per cent for Maharashtra region. Even states like Gujarat and Karnataka have received a tad more FDI commitments compared with AP.
What is the whole point of this excursion in statistics? Do not get misled by sweeping statements or tall claims of IT collections. They do not mean anything or signify a quantum jump in qualitative improvements in overall health/infrastructure/employment/investment/Economic Growth parameters of AP. AP Income Tax circle must be commended for driving the figures but they will be better off assessing  the segments of income tax in detailto guage if there ar e any outlandish collections or seasonal benefits or sheer luck in getting to a figure that still doesn't appear  too flattering. It could be mostly comprising of a few companies here and there, or a a handful of politicians getting the urge to come clean on their assets and liabilities, or  on the back of lagged investment cycle of corporates who are slowly re-locating/reducing footprint to  elsewhere- like Microsoft, Satyam Mahindra, Infosys. One has to also see whether a lot of money is moving out of the country into tax havens or extractive  industries outside India. If taxes are as certain as death, how can the tax man be celebratory at a mere milestone? He or She has miles to go before we sleep?                                                                                                                 

"Dammu" Movie Review (Telugu)

“Dammu” means “stamina” in Telugu. Supposed to be short-hand for the box-office charishma of the short-statured, short-tempered NTR Jr. He ropes in Boyapati Sreenu who delivered monstrous hits for Balakrishna ("Simha") and Venkatesh ("Tulasi"). And two heroines  - the in-form but ageing Diva Trisha who looks glam despite puffy eye-bags and tired looks, and a not so cute but taller than NTR Karthika. Does it all add to the magic of NTR? No, it fails miserably.


Reasons are manifold like root causes for food price inflation. A hackneyed story set in a village with two families who war with each other for generations. A screenplay that’s jerky, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, overall disappointing. Violence that is inescapable and unreasonable – even fans and Karate Kids and youth won’t clap for one scene of too many that gnaw your brain away. This madness has to stop one day and it looks NTR is still in no mood to wish violence away for family audiences who come to see his films. Characterisation that grossly under-utilises talents like Kota, Brahmanandam, Suman and Venu (“Hanuman Junction”). What redeems the film is the string of punchlines written by M.Ratnam - they may regale the fans for few moments but the excessive trappings of Balakrishna become too much to handle for NTR - he is not yet mature enough to handle such roles of "Samarasimha Reddy". Music by MM Keeravani is average. Only one song "Sri Sri Raja Vasireddy" evokes awe.

NTR definitely scores a fine performance with impeccable dialogue delivery, designer moustache and improved looks. But its unlikely this movie will be well-received by fans as there are too many flaws and inconsistencies that make it tortuously long in 165 mins. Almost every other hero – Nagarjuna, Prabhas, Mahesh, Allu Arjun – experiment with makeovers and crossover roles. But NTR still thinks his surname and family fan base will get him far notwithstanding weak scripts and incredulous storylines - which audiences in villages are also tiring of – two heroines, thigh-slapping, sickle head-chops, whatever. He is too talented for doing just Balakrishna remixes at his age – he can go very far with his “Dammu” if he leaves the beaten path of this “Dammu”.

"Ee Rojullo" ("Nowadays") Movie Review (Telugu)

"Ee Rojullo" means "Nowadays" in Telugu. Thats the name of a movie supposedly shot on a boot-strapping budget of just Rs.30 lacs. I went with low expectations thinking it is another "facebook"/friendsbook kind of a movie. Debutant director, a heroine who looks like half Trisha, half Shamitha Shetty and a hero who wears spectacles in even sleep. Unconventional to say the least. And the plot gets t...hicker - a software engineer and his "Bawarchi" buddy hunt down a service apartment. He lies to the landlord that he is married and his wife away, expecting and all that.


Then a sweet romance unfolds between the landlord's daughter and the bespectacled guy. Running the girl's errands, solving her "blues", texting her at odd hours towards a blissful state of mind. In the interim, the director takes the audience on a realistic voyage into the world of today's youth - their mental makeup and their attitudes to love and life, work and wi-fi, warts and all. These guys are there everywhere - girls who don't mind hugging male colleagues for a treat at the Chocolate Room, guys who multi-task in relationships at each turn of the day, guys and gals who transact in love for getting from point A to C.

The movie is amateurish towards the end, but largely achieves the objectiive of the director to clearly show what today's teen-and-early teen crowd live for and live upto - they are shockingly short-term, brutally frank, elegantly flippant, and yet obsessed with getting ahead in life than getting even with the past. Director Maruti has delivered an entertaining script which keeps the audience of probably all generations glued mostly. The humor is embedded in the storyline, the characters played by the lead couple and others look thorough and real, and the pace is good, sometimes fast.

The music is a bit loud and hurried and over the top and despite that, the movie is uproarious and upbeat. The Film Development Corporation usually specifies the length of a feature film to be minimum 14 reels. This film is done with in 75 minutes. Everytime I see a film which twinkles like this with raw talent and above-average entertainment caanned in less than two hours and incredulous costing, I see a glimmer of hope for Tollywood. Future is brighter.

Pulitzer Prizes

There is only one gold standard of writing in English methinks - Pulitzer. You have many literary awards for Writing in English (WiE) like the Man Booker, FT Awards etc. but none come close to the award instituted by the Columbia School of Journalism - for writing in English. I keep throwing my savings to acquire the collection of Puliltizer prize-winning entries. Ever since I got to know there is somebody called Joseph Pulitzer and there is an anthology called Pultizer Prize collection, I have been buying since 1991. Of course, I perfectly agree there is outstanding literary output coming in non-English too every minute but Pulitzer is up there for American Writing in English and their standards are too rigorous. Most of the American writers we revere since 1917 -the legendary Christopher Hitchens, Paul Krugman, Dave Barry, Nicholas Kristoff, Joe Nocera, Mitch Albom, Maureen Dowd, Anna Quindlen, Art Buchwald, William Safire, Russell Baker and Roger Cohen - they were always feted here first and cited and celebrated before they became icons of English Language Writing.



2012 awards have been announced - and their categories are as always varietal and calibrated - Pultizer for Explanatory Reporting (as in explaining "sub prime crisis"), Pulitizer for Breaking News, Puliltzer for local reporting, Pultizer for International Reporting, Pulitzer for writing on music, biography or autobiography, history, drama, commentary, feature writing, criticism, etc. A Pulitizer for poetry also - thats the respect and veneer the Pulitizer committee has for all departments of journalism and writing. If the standards are not met, NO AWARD. Surprise, this year, NO AWARDS for FICTION. (Howzzaat???) and NO AWARD for Editorial Writing. This is truly outstanding - why dilute the standards instead of giving to the undeserved? No other literary award matches these standards. Of course, it is Americana all the way - this is for American journalism/writers who are American Citizens. No wonder, Jhumpa Lahiri got it once - not Naipaul of East Indian origins. Of course, there is criticism that these awards are a jingoistic celebration of American Publishing phenomena - but thats the truth - they are the most literate society. India publishes 80,000 books a year but US publishes probably as many number in a quarter, if not more.


I envision a scenario where we will have over the next quarter century more categories of writing introduced by Columbia School to cover the invasion of web-based writing and the many faces of social media. Right now, Columbia School has a New Media division which has asked the US Library of Congress to archive every tweet that goes out of the 200 million user ids every nanosecond anywhere in the world. But I guess giving awards for tweets and facebook posts is tough and difficult. Good Writing is writing thats edited, as David Ogilvy used to say, atleast 13 times. That kind of luxury is impossible to attend on facebook or twitter or blogs without comprising on the qualities of relevance and immediacy. Anyway, whether or not that happens, Pulitzer will live on as long as American English thrives - and readership for elegant writing exists. Congrats to Pulitzer-prize winners - Surprise, no winners from "The Atlantic", "Harpers" or "The New Yorker". Are we getting there? I mean, shorter.

"Devasthaanam" Movie Review (Telugu)

Devasthanam" is a spiritually awakening film and soul-satisfying. It has a good starcast of actors in their twillight years - K Vishwanath (who directed "Sankarabharanam"), SPBalasubramanyam and Aamani. It is directed by Janardhan Maharshi, a writer who had his share of fame in the 80s; he even essayed a famous role as a living corpse-brother of Brahmanandam in a hit comedy film which I fail to recollect. What's good about "Devasthanam" is despite the religious name, it is not religious and not too preachy. It distils the most basic teachings of Hinduism which are secular in nature - love and live well the human life, live for others if you want to avoid the cycle of birth and death, don't chase money if you want peace and be responsible of the consequences of your actions and love everybody - rich and poor.


The story revolves around K Vishwanath who is a do-gooder and helps all in his circle of living and he bumps into SPB one day to take a promise from the latter that SPB should perform his last rites because he has no family. SPB believes in none of that stuff - he doesn't believe in taking a daily bath, doesn't go to temple wilfully, doesn't care a hoot about anything else except loving his ageing but beautiful wife. He also doesn't mind conning women customers who come to his Saree Shop with psychological tactics. SPB only believes in the theory of instant gratification, his immediate family and his business profits. Until, Vishwanath through his deeds and spiritual intelligence removes the layers of ignorance, attachment to the material things and selfishness to oneself and family. Janardhan Maharishi must be credited with working out a tough subject to explain with amazing clarity and conviction. The subject is so serious yet the treatment given is comical and light-hearted especially some scenes involving Kovai Sarala (the lady customer) and SPB and again mostly with SPB and KVishwanath. Such a story hasn't been on celluloid in recent times - of interweaving complex theories of Karma, Re-incarnation and Siginificance of Human life. Music by debutant Swara Veenapani is outstanding and divine sounding - no complex music arrangements just melodious notes involving raagas and simple percussions.

Ramanachary, the art-patron has done a cameo in the film with an effect that will haunt anybody who is having a roaring career and business without a prickly conscience. It takes guts to release this movie just before the Summer onsalught of movies like "Dammu", "Daruvu" and "Raccha". We went to Screen 5 of Prasads expecting a handful of people aside of the movie projector team - we were pleasantly surprised it was houseful. Towards the end, the movie becomes a bit sententious but thats the only way to end a movie with this character. Telugu used in the movie is quite extra-ordinary - not so simple and not so complex but enough to clear the wax in your ears. "Sasha Bhishalu" and "Nivrutti" are not words you read nowadays even in "Swati" and "Navya" - it will do your mother and mother-tongue immensely proud and happy to see this film. I wish other languages also get to see such films with sub-titles. Catch it soon with your seniors because it will be gone soon from the statistically-calculating multiplexes. Good movie to watch if you want small dosages of practical spirituality and art-of-living advice.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb's "The Book of Procrustes"

Taleb coined the term "Black Swan" and the phrase never ceased to be ringed out of our minds since. From Tsunami to Sub-prime crisis, from freak terrorist attacks to epic catastrophes, anything that's remote and rare to occur is being attributed to a Black Swan event - meaning a tail risk event whose probability is rarest of rarities to occur. A few years ago, apart from writing books such as "Fooled by Randomness" and "Black Swan" and other thick books on exotic hedging derivatives, Taleb assembled his lifetime of observations in a compact volume of aphorisms - both philosophical and practical. "The Book of Procrustes" is a joy and celebration of some funny and many fantastic insights into human behavior and the world at large.

No speculative gyaan, its pure reassuring wisdom - sometimes profane and sometimes profound codified into about 25 chapters. Each chapter is enticingly captioned. "The scandal of Prediction" or "The Implicit and the Explicit" or "Economic Life and Other Very Vulgar Subjects" are few examples of how cryptic and yet endowed with sutble humor they are. As Taleb outlines in the preface, aphorisms lose their beauty and cadence if explained to death. So, he retains the surgical length of an aphorism in its purest form - out of his ingenious mind and vast body of experience- both worldly and otherwise. "What I learned on my own I still remember", as one aphorism goes probably strikes a chord with all of us who remember what we learnt conceptually rather than by rote.

Some are downright emphatic and indisputable ("What I learned on my own I still remember"). Some appear to be uproariously reflective ("We ...amplify commonalities with friends, dissimilarities with strangers, and contrasts with enemies."). Sometimes, he leads you through clear concepts into something that sounds good but abstract. ("Knowledge is subtractive, not additive - what we subtract, not what we add." Taleb has an opinion on everything from Freud and Einstein to Education and Ethics, from stockmarket to banks - on which he makes lot of money for jam, bread and butter. Hear this nugget that seems to tell all without telling it all: "You can be certain that the head of a corporation has a lot to worry about when he announces publicly that "there is nothing to worry about". Or, this one on scams: "It is much easier to scam people for billions than for just millions." (inspired by Madoff episode).

You can make out he has scant respect for ideology, orderliness, equilibrium and prediction abilities of experts. He has a take on too big to fail banks too as well as on Government bailouts. "The main difference between government bailouts and smoking is that in some rare cases the statement - this is my last cigarette - holds true." On banks, he says ,"The difference between banks and the Mafia is that  banks have better legal-regulatory expertise, but the Mafia understands public opinion."

You cannot argue with a man like Taleb - he bares it all, warts and all,  and most of them have such  rhetorical rectitude resting on the fulcrums of logic, wisdom and timeless appeal that it becomes a gospel like a Pythagoras theorem or Aesop's Fables or Panchatantra. Greek Mythology goes that Procrustes used to be a slayer of people invited to sleep on a specially prepared bed - where if the sleeper's body parts are protruding outside the rectangle of the bed - those body parts - be they limbs or head or fingers were ordered to be chopped off. Finally, Procrustes was slain on his own bed by a courageous Theseus who beats Procrustes at his own game. Similarly, the truths and nontruths in this volume are made to fit logic, wisdom and knowledge and the bed actually is the reader. So, instead of fitting the wisdom nuggets in the wrong box, its made like an inverse operation of changing the "wisdom" to the bed-like situation in life.That, friends, that comeuppance or a chance to be proved wrong after what we accept as truth is the essence of what Taleb wants us to imbibe when we see life through our prisms, our paradigms and our ways of seeing. Its a blast of a book something I would like to read and ponder, re-read and wonder. It will keep us anchored to the unfathomable unpredictability of life and appreciate that life cannot be an equation to analyse. 

Gold Merchants of Venice?

Gold merchants are holding the entire country to ransom with their strike against FM's budget proposals to hike tax on import of gold, besides other taxing proposals on cash sales of gold over Rs.2 lacs etc.I feel the strike by Gold Merchants is irresponsible for many reasons. For centuries, these merchants have been fleecing the womenfolk with their bizarre methods of weighing,making charges, and under-billing and sometimes no billing ("Take "Estimate/Quotation" instead of bill madam"). Economics means looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups. Most of the fallacies in economics are a result of ignoring this lesson. You look only at the immediate consequence of an act or proposal and then look at the consequences only for a particular group to the neglect of other groups. Gold Merchants are looking at only their self-interest and not at what the FM wants to re-direct priorities to from this measure.
Let's keep aside the fact that Gold Merchants are inherently incentivised to cheat public and the government for decades due to lax tax policies and innocent women who "have to" buy gold. From the government's point of view, Gold is an unproductive import. In 2000, we were importing around $ 4 Billion worth of gold. That same year we imported $ 15 Billion worth of crude oil. While I don't know what our GDP was in 2000, I have been tracking the corresponding figures over the years of various imports we do which were leading to inflated current account deficits. Last year or so, we have imported about $ 54 Billion worth of Gold and $ 154 Billion worth of crude oil. That means, at the current GDP of $ 1.50 Trillion, we are importing $ 154 Billion of Crude oil and using up our precious dollars for driving growth. This is happening at a time when per capita car consumption is around 6-7 cars per 1000 people. Imagine what will happen over the next five or eight or ten years as our GDP jumps to $ 3 Trillion or eventually $ 5 Trillion over the next 10 years. We need to continuously import Crude oil and maybe other commodities priced in dollars like Coal etc. to drive our infrastructure and overall growth in the economy. In one stroke, the Govt. has imposed import duty to drive home the hard truth that Gold is unproductive and need not burden our exchequer when we can't live without other crucial items like crude oil, coal, energy etc. The whole country should stand in one voice against the irresponsible Gold Traders for taking up cudgels against the government for their selfish motives. They are basically dishonest, don't pay taxes even on 30 per cent of the gold imported or 50 per cent of the gold sold to the retail households, cheat on the quality, branding of gold, underpay the labour, under-report cash sales, generate more black money adding to the present woes, and never give genuine discounts to the public. Its always been a fool's paradise for them now that they are making a picture as if government is the culprit. We need to coinserve every dollar we spend importing crude oil before its cascading effect on the GDP. We have already about $800 Billion Gold reserves in the country's households (excluding whatever reserves temple excavations reveal). Thats roughly Rs.4 lac crores.
Whereas for every dollar of crude oil we import, there is a multiplier effect and more importantly, economy moves. (Of course, there is huge wastage of crude oil in items of conspicuous consumption but lets's park it aside). I personally invest in Gold too on pressure from wife and mom but detest the large-scale immorality rampant in gold retailing shops. I am no Nagarjuna to shout on rooftops with megaphones on the malpractices but definitely feel its high time somebody rein in the gold merchants into the tax stream. Import Duty and the cash sale tax is a progressive measure in that direction. Gold, in any case, is an honorable exception to the law of demand and supply. Generally, if prices rise, demand drops. But Gold has aspirational value besides scarcity and is well counted as an exception to the law of demand (Its called "Giffin's Paradox"). So, what are the Mackenna's Gold Merchants worried about? Pay your bloody taxes and get on with the sales. Don't give lame excuses and avuncular laments.

Paan Singh Tomar - Movie Review

“Pan Singh Tomar” is an audacious winner from Ronnie Screwala about an ill-forgotten hero from the 50s who becomes a runner of Indian Army pride, then national pride and almost of Asiatic fame. Then he retires prematurely, becomes a farmer and in a fit of family feud becomes a dacoit of dreaded proportions in Chambal Valley. The script sizzles from the start as director Timangshu Dhulia reconstruc...ts from the lesser-known pages of sports history, some memorable sequences in the runup to being a runner first, dacoit next in the second half. He brings out the authenticity of the era, the irony of the sportspersons (who don’t get to wear spiked shoes mostly), the psychology behind achievement, the deception and the treachery in games and later, dejection and resentment - when society discards the man behind the medals. Pan Singh eventually turns from an excellent sprinter who still had great civil potential into becoming one of criminal portents.
Even though the dialect is desi Hindi drawn from the hinterlands, the subtitles smoothen the viewing easily. The story moves at remarkable speed and every frame stands out for grandness of execution and class usually seen for top actors’ films. Irfan Khan gets a script that allows him to portray a wide range of emotions without missing ever, ever to make a point in his slurring, wry humored voice. His entry is grand and so is the exit in the end as he fights the police. There are many points in the film that make you whistle, clap, cry, laugh out and even stand up to give an ovation. It’s a rare cinematic experience to see a film so honest, well-scripted, entertaining and crafty enough to make you want to own a DVD asap.
Because the director fitted about 200-250 visually and audibly arresting shots into credible scenes and because of a narrative style that’s neither too filmy nor too documentary-like, you get an immersive experience that seems just a bit extended in the second half. I love the vision of Ronnie Screwala in encouraging bold cinema – cinema that’s rooted in lost fictions of history that brings out an aspect of a sportsperson that’s ironic – there’s a thin line between security and insecurity in a sportsperson’s life which the society never recognizes. Watching the movie in fourth week in a multiplex at midnight eve gave me joy to see full-house for a hero who deserves wider audience – Irfan Khan. Now that UTV Motion Pictures has sold off fully to Walt Disney, Ronnie should do what Walt Disney does in the US – get many characters like these out of the closet into the celluloid. Good cinema doesn't need advertisement, you get wind of it anyhow.

The Iron Lady - Movie Review

“The Iron Lady” starring Merrill Streep is every foot of the film a fitting tribute to the living legend of Margaret Thatcher – the western world’s first Head of State not seen since the days of Queen Victoria. A brilliant screenplay by Abby Morgan and telltale direction by Phillida Lloyd apart from a mesmerizing portrayal of title role by Merrill Streep make this a delightful story of Britain’s ...most famous Prime Minister since Winston Churchill and Lloyd George. What makes the movie memorable is the intelligent use of pause and play and rewind buttons in the retelling of Maggie’s life – with snatches of her youthful exuberance, her iron-clad will, her quintessential feminity and yet, a lifelong struggle against the efforts to undermine her from self-righteous men in public life all captured in semi-documentary and anecdotal style.
I have always thought that Margaret Thatcher is the one lady who started the movement of privatization before it engulfed the whole of Europe, Eurasia including the erstwhile USSR, France, Germany and eventually the Asian Tigers – China and India. What shaped her fertile imagination to embrace Free-Market Economics was brought out well as of all the salient epoch-making events that punctuated her life – the Trade Union dismantling, the privatization of the Steel Industry, the epic swift battle to reclaim the naval base of Falklands from Argentina (which used to be a hit amongst school students of the 1980s – remember “Time” cover story – The Empire Strikes Back!), the battles of wit she waged in the British Parliament, her uprighteous and stubborn demeanour to never give up despite her deposing…The reels move on at lightning speed never failing to sizzle even when Maggie lapses into momentary brooding.
There are other human moments and enormous attempts to ensnare with proper British blood traits – Maggie’s and her hubby Dennis’s lifelong attempts to quiz each other and search for what’s the good word, Maggie’s nonchalance about bringing her children in any privileged manner but that of a commoner, and she continues to this day as they show at the beginning and the end how she buys milk from the grocery store and cares for the country when London was bombed in 2007. Merrill rightfully won the Oscar for portraying a true-to-life Margaret Thatcher – it’s a story that inspired several women in western society and might do so to leaders in every part of the world – either stand on principles or make no attempts hide it if you can’t. There are some other defining moments brought out with the dignity of a stiff upper lip – like when Margaret Thatcher is counseled by the doctor on her health checkup and she says, “All the young care for is about the emotions of the old people, but do they know its about ideas and thoughts too.” Makes a powerful statement about the things one should get old with. Recommended for all parental and grand-parental viewing for dollops of inspiration.

Banned Books in India

"Banned books in India". Thats an interesting feature in recent issue of  "Hindu". Since my dad and I started collecting, sharing and reading books (almost in a Naipaulian way) we were always on the prowl for books. When I was growing up, my wish was his command - to get books out of print and out of bounds. Now, when he is slowing down, his wish is my command. I can track down a book down to its bare... form wherever on earth its hiding from my home. Over the years, its become a useful skill but built an audacious disposition especially around banned books which is what I wanted to ask of many of you. How many of you have such banned books in India? "Hindu" gives a complete low-down on such banned books and I still don't understand why only English books need be banned. Even vernacular press can turn out vicious and seditious books in India probably with much more vicarious consequences. There is more than a little adventure in seeking out banned books - firstly, they are like liquor during prohibition days - you know where to get after an effort and then you want to tell the whole world about it. Its almost as intoxicating as the book-hunt and denouement that you have it in your hands is more addicting than reading the book itself. Here are the books that my dad and I read between the both of us -
1. "Nine Hours to Rama" - the story about Gandhi's assassination.
2. "The Polyester Prince: The Rise of Dhirubai Ambani". I heard about this book in my second job. I got to read it during my sixth job. It was never allowed during Dhirubhai's tenure. Only during his last days did it re-surface as a pirated copy on Mumbai streets.
3. "Such a long journey" by Rohinton Mistry. Didn't know why Shiv Sena found it derogatory.
4. "Lajja" by Taslima Nasreen. Again mysteriously banned for "secular" reasons. Its a nice piece of literature by a woman writer.
5. "Lady Chatterley's Lover". It is not a book on porn, I repeat, and both of us enjoyed reading it.
6. "Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence" (banned in only Gujarat but not worth the ban).

Now that the "Hindu" has given some amazingly interesting books banned in India that is longer than you think, it should make my dad several years younger in assigning me to ferret these out. His choice commands from the list are salivating to say the least:- 1. "The heart of India" 2. "Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India". 3. "Hindu heaven" 4. "The land of the Lingam". 5. "Soft Target: How the Indian Intelligence Service penetrated Canada." Its interesting what is concealed seeks to reveal itself.

The Artist - Movie Review

"The Artist" directed by Michael Hazanavicius (Oscar winner), produced by Thomas Langman (Oscar winner) and starring Jean Dujardin (again Oscar Best Actor) is a visual silent treat in the era of noisy films. Its a story of two characters - George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and Pepppy Miller (Bernice Bejo) in the era of silent films before "talkie" technology took the charm away. George is the ruling superstar of silent era films and he encourages Peppy to get introduced as a Fred and Ginger foot-tapping dancer in his movie. George has all the opulence that stardom can buy and the vanity that he doesn't need to ever "talk" ; even when the studio which catapults him to fame demands they should now make movies with "spoken" dialogues.

By contrast, Peppy Miller is fast on the update, she starts getting meaty roles and eventually stars in talkie films and becomes a superstar. George, meanwhile sulks into a manic depression as both his wife and stardom both desert him. He sells his car, his bungalow, his wares and even destroys his movies in a fit of rage. His dog (feted at the Oscars for a stunning performance) remains the sole companion.

There are other quirky twists in this tale of reversal of fortunes of two different stars besides the subtle romance thats always in the air. A thoroughly enchanting movie with so many first-time experiments that have not only won the top honours at the BAFTA and the Oscars (five in all) that you wonder why they stoppped making silent films since the times of Charlie Chaplin. Of course, Chaplin's movies had a slapstick comedy and uneasy pathos with less intrusions by layers of characterisations that underpin this film. In flat 98 minutes, the movie is a feast of unbridled exhibition of cinematic genius sans dialogues (except for moments in the end). Will we see more movies of this kind? Will we see silent movies (last attempted by Kamal Hasan in "Pushpak")? Time will tell.

There is a scene where the Artist (sorry for the pun) wakes up to a nightmare where everything around him - the dog, the microphone, the phone all produce Bose-quality sounds and yet when he tries to speak and shout and yell, there's uneasy silence. A highlight scene in which the director shows how the hero's silence has turned against him. For most of the movie, Ludovic Bource scores loud and orchestral soundtrack that defines the emotional undercurrents in the story. Even though the director uses the same format of the old B&W films with the motions, the interludes and the mega font exclamationary quotes circling the dialogues between the characters, there is no noise in the film except the music.

But the pace of the movie never slackens and the atttention to detail doesn't show signs of laziness. Because this is the only movie that celebrates the struggle of an actor on the brink of sunset by sunrise technologies since whatever must have come in the 50s, and because the audience is not color-blind anymore - the director takes close and comfortable shots that get you glimpse the emotional highs and lows more effectively than the old movies made with a constrained technology. So you see the greenback, the speck of a black dot planted by George on Peppy's face to give her a star-turn, the dog's sudden energy burst to save his master from getting incinerated - all these are captured in ensnaring detail.

Just before the End, when the stars get re-aligned to shoot for another foot-tapping dance, and the camera rolls on, the director plays out his last trick - the music syncronises with the couple in their moves but you hear the words - "Cut" and still the magic of the dance continues and you doubt still that the silent march is over - you are yet to get out of that stupor of charmed silence. Its a memorable movie thats worth all the honors that greeted. The magic of movies will continue even if you make silent movies that don't talk or movies that silence you. "The Artist" has been a moving experience and suddenly my count of better movies has gotten the better of my love for mediocre dishum-and-dance movies in 2012. You will not come out of the movie hall with just one feeling.

And the Oscar goes to...

3.5 inches high, 6.75 pounds, tin and copper, with gold plating. A rough sketch of  a figure holding a sword hanging on the reel of a film. Not the best of designs but since 1927, its the hallmark of recognition and respect. It is probably the best-known statue in the world, known as the Oscar, because Margaret Herrick, the Motion Picture Academy of Arts (MPAA)'s first Librarian, named it as Oscar because it resembled a lot like her uncle Oscar. Monday mornings in India on 27th Feb-1st March are something to look forward to  - Its the night of Oscars telecast live in this part of the world, thanks to Star Movies. An awards ceremony that celebrates the achievements of cinema the Hollywood way, the night of limited dance and song, of solemn remembrances, of a brief snapshot of the non-Hollywood cinema seen through the prisms of "Foreign Language" category. The night of all-colour men and women dressed in Black and White and Red array of shining, coal-black, shining costumes. The night which has epic commentary on how Hollywood breathes life into the annals of society through its movies of the year.
I always admired the preciseness, grand scale of executions, class and charishma that underlines the Oscar awards. Only the best talent who usually vie with one another - screenwriters, costume designers, animators, editors, sound recordists, stage and setting designers, actors and actresses, playwrights and lyricists, writers and comedians - all of them get together, give their best flat foot forward, lend their voice, pen, nerve and sinew to make it the spectacle that counts. Somehow, the humor that comes out of this one night, according to me, is enough to drive you to raptures of laughter. Its like the night when the wit and received wisdom of PG.Wodehouse, Groucho Marx,  Erma Bombeck and  Woody Allen pillorie the pale lines off your face.
Talk about the comperes, I grew up catching up of the best comedians and standup-champions chaperone the Awards nights - from Bob Hope to Woody Allen, Billy Crystal to Eddie Murphy to Robert Downey Jr. Over the years, the Awards represent an assemblage of talents coming together to give the best glimpse of the Industry' united strength - although it is never the case because all folks can't be satisfied. I remember Bob Hope the great humorian who lived till the age of 100 - he started the whole tradition of hosting the funny side up. He never won an Oscar and rubbed it in at one of the Awards Ceremonies: "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Academy Awards, or as it's known in our house, Passover."
Tonight (or tomorrow morning for us in India), you have some of the best contemporary actors competing for the top honours - the likes of Brad Pitt ("Moneyball") and George Clooney ("The Descendants") and the classic legends like Merryll Streep. Sophistication and class, subtety and style  - you can expect to see a harvest of all of these in the Awards ceremony especially with Billy Crystal - Oscar Awards Host for the ninth time - replacing Eddie Murphy. Contrast this with the crassness of the Filmfare Awards - OMG! Come on, Oscars, lights on!

"Moneyball" Movie Review

"Moneyball" is a smashing adaptation of best-selling author Miichael Lewis's book by the same title. It must be one of the best movies on a game that Americans and Japanese love to freak out on - Baseball. Director Benett Miller draws some of the finest talent available in screenplay including the award-winning "Social network" writer Aaron Sorkin and creates a pulsating account of a true story. Its a story of two outliers Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) and Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) who think out of the box in replacing a club team that lost its three pricey players; they instead pick unconventional players who are technically "faulty" and boy, their team - Oakland A's - goes on to win 20 consecutive games in Baseball history - the best record since 1918.

Peter Brand, partner to Billy Beane, is the whizkid who relies on arcane formulae from calculus and creates algorithm-based programs that zero in on the game's most valuable but under-valued players. The twosome meet with stiff opposition for their unconventional thinking but eventually win the plaudits when they redefine the rules of the game. The more you know the game, the less you know more about it says an introduction to the movie - and it turns out that way. Later, as goes the true story, Billy Beane - the General Manager who turned it around for Oakland gets a multi-million dollar deal for more clubs but he turns it down to dote on his daughter. Peter Brand, the silent number-crunching backbone behind this whole idea to bring down valuations of players down to the real numbers they produce on the pitches - his play becomes the new motif for another aspirant Red Sox who win the next American League season.

I always wondered why the Americans never succeeded in attracting the commonwealth nations like India and Australia to Baseball. But this is the closest to getting an appreciation of the game, its contours and its flamboyance, the pace and the adrenalin are well brought out by Bennett Miller. Brad Pitt who plays the legendary Billy Beane must have seen gold in the Michael Lewis book, he produces this as well. Jonah Hill who played the Ivy League Economics graduate Peter Brand using computer-based algorithms which made the players bidding more credulous and level-playing ground for poor teams does an impressive job too. You can't help but relating to explore if the strategy adapted by these two protagonists has any implications for Indian cricket - especially in IPL valuations, the way players are bid at astronomical prices. Brad pitt essays a brilliant role and he has the best lines. "Is losing Fun?" and "Thats how losing sounds to me" must become two of the shortest motivational speeches ever delivered in the players' restrooms in sports movies. One line I remember: "We bought you as a valued player not because of your past but because of what we believed you will deliver for us." That says it all.

Michael Lewis - Wall Street's favorite writer who brings out the funny and romantic side of monetary worlds - he should be happy with the adaptation. I gather now that buoyed by the applause for this movie, his book "Coach" rights are bought by Walt Disney. That way, American movie-makers can make sensible and intelligent movies based on true stories for many millenniums - something that movie industries in other countries including India only occasionally attempt.