Mixed reactions to the bill

Proposed law seen to tilt heavily in favour of consumers

The Cabinet nod for the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill 2013 is expected to bring in transparency in the real estate sector, promote fair trade practices and safeguard the interest of end users and investors. This Bill seeks to create a regulator for the real estate sector to protect interests of buyers by providing a uniform regulatory environment. The Bill, which shall oversee only the residential real estate sector, will be presented during the monsoon session of the Parliament, in August 2013. Ajay Maken, minister for housing and poverty alleviation, expects the Bill to reduce prevailing rampant corruption in the real estate and housing sector. “Not only will it protect the rights of home buyers, it will also bring in greater transparency. Developers will be restricted from channelizing funds collected from customer for one project to another one, which will provide better security to the home buyers’ investments.”

The proposed legislation has many provisions to benefit home buyers. For instance, the legislation makes it mandatory for developers to launch projects only after getting all the necessary approvals. This is expected to restrict realty companies from pre-launching their projects without clearances. Launching pre-launch offers through advertisements and special invitations is a common practice followed by developers. However, this is completely illegal as developers are selling apartments even before the grant of the licence to develop the property. The legislation will make it necessary for builders to get all important clearances before they sell apartments. The Bill also says developers will have to submit a detailed project report that will include the completion date, land title, and the names of architects and agents to get approval. "By imposing strict regulations on the promoter, the Bill looks to ensure that construction is completed on time, and on completion the buyer gets a property that matches the promised specifications," says Anuj Puri, Chairman, Jones Lang LaSalle India.

However, the developer and broker community, has expressed mixed feelings towards the regulation. The bill has made project construction time bound but it hasn’t ensured the same for government clearances. Delay in project clearances is bound to escalate costs and impact project viability. “To make the regulation effective, the Bill should regulate the entire real estate industry covering all the stake holders like the competent authority, local authorities, financial institutions, electricity board, water board, fire department, etc.,” says C Shekar Reddy, national president, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India.

While consumers need protection, for real estate development to happen more efficiently, administrative reforms are required urgently. Hence the Bill should also take a dispassionate view of the challenges faced by developers.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman

ExecutiveMBA

'Modi is good news for us'

Excerpts from an exclusive interview with Information and Broadcasting minister Manish Tiwari.

How does the Congress react to Modi’s appointment?
We are happy that it is turning out to be a Rahul Gandhi vs Narendra Modi contest, as predicted. We believe it will benefit us because we will be able to establish our secular credentials even better.

People are talking about the Gujarat model.
The Gujarat model may not be accepted by all. It may not work in Bihar where Nitish Kumar was the first to outline his opposition to Modi. Jayalalitha says Modi is a friend but there is no question of an electoral tie up. Sharad Yadav says the NDA is in coma. There are ample indications that Modi is not going to be accepted even by his allies.

Modi is going to attack the Congress on corruption and inflation.
When the Rahul vs Modi mood catches on, voters will judge for themselves who is better of the two. Nitish is not willing to go with Modi because his Muslim votes will desert him. That applies to the rest of the country as well. Modi cannot match Rahul’s image.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman

ExecutiveMBA

Disappearing diplomats

Shortage of diplomats is affecting India's foreign policy

“There are some 25 diplomatic positions in Missions/Posts abroad currently vacant,” was the response given by Preneet Kaur, the Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs to the ‘Unstarred Question No. 2024’ asked in Lok Sabha on December 05, 2012. Such a scenario is enough to raise eyebrows about India's international standing.

The recent foreign policy failures have pointed out that these vacancies are affecting India's image as an emerging power. This also puts a question mark on India's commitment towards diplomacy and towards hundreds of consulates present worldwide. The recent case of Italian mariners being allowed to go back and the death of prisoner Sarabjit Singh in Pakistan clearly indicate that India’s foreign policies have failed. BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi aptly said, “Government of India should take stern and effective steps in this case. Sarabjit's incident proves that India's diplomatic clout and foreign policy has been totally demolished.”

There is not even a second’s doubt that shortage of diplomats interrupts the smooth flow of information and information to the Ambassadors/High Commissioners thus creating a fissure during important negotiation meetings. Understaffed embassies spell more trouble for Ambassadors than in embassies with no Ambassadors. Back in 2006, the Indian embassy in Qatar faced serious trouble in their daily working due to shortage of staff. The embassy had to be kept closed for several hours everyday in order to manage the high footfall.

After long struggling with Pakistan, now India's border issue with China has become an issue of serious concern. Even though this issue may not be a direct case of shortage of diplomats, but it does indicate the failure of our diplomacy initiatives. Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for Human Resource Development has been advocating recruitments of experts in the Indian Foreign Service. He has seen the situation first hand when he had served as Minister of State for the Ministry of External Affairs.

There are more diplomats posted in Delhi alone compared to the number of Indian diplomats deployed in the entire world (outside India). Putting this into perspective, there are more people working towards Indian foreign policy than Indian diplomats negotiating with the entire world. Currently, India has only 600 diplomats worldwide, which is comparable to the likes of countries like Belgium and Netherlands, and is nowhere near the strength of US and Chinese diplomats. Even a small nation like Singapore has more diplomats than India.

As an emerging superpower, India needs around 1200 diplomats by 2040, while during the same period, China has estimated a need for around 10,000 diplomats across the globe. With global balance shifting in favour of India, there is an increase in foreign interference.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman

ExecutiveMBA

Can Nokia really pull itself up again?

Nokia is fighting really hard to stage a comeback to the Indian market. First a deal with Microsoft and then a slew of product launches, including the Windows based Lumia, Nokia is pulling every string to bring back those good ol’ days. But can it? By Anirudh Raheja

It was in the year 1995, when Finnish mobile handset maker Nokia had entered the Indian terrain and within no time, it found itself in a pioneering role to shape the growth of the Indian cellular industry when there was hardly any serious competition. In fact, over the years, it churned out a range of handsets across the price pyramid starting from low-cost ones like Nokia 1100 in 2003, and ensured that product features were in tune with Indian conditions. It also kept on unleashing smartphones like N95, based on Symbian and eventually bought the company in 2008.

Interestingly, that was approximately the time when tide started turning as Nokia lost its steam to the relative smartphone upstarts like Apple and Samsung. Even on the low end, players like Micromax, Karbonn, etc ensured that Nokia had to battle harder for every inch of space. And the trend continues till date. In fact, the handset manufacturer’s Q1 (2013) earnings report offers yet another reality check for its stakeholders.

To begin with, the single most glaring negative indicator is Nokia’s rather drastic decline in total mobile phone volume, both sequentially (-25% quarter-on-quarter) and yearly (-28% year-on-year). Although NSN (Nokia Siemens Networks), its joint venture with Siemens, records an operating profit of euro 3 million, it’s rather less than what one would hope for on sales of euro 2.8 billion. Overall, Nokia’s net sales are down globally 20% y-o-y indicating continued problems of selling its actual goods and services in every division, sector and geographical area.

In India too, as it is with other parts of the world, the company has made some serious strategic blunders that have led to serious corrections in its growth story. In fact, Nokia’s overdependence on the Symbian proved suicidal. Rather than developing a new operating software according to the dynamic market, Nokia bought over Symbian Ltd. in 2008 for $410 million to develop a better and update version of the OS. Interestingly, it was the time when Google’s free OS Android was introduced in the market. Symbian immediately came across as outdated, slow and considerably short on features compared to Android. Players like  Samsung, HTC and Huawei entered into strategic alliances with Google, after which they did not look back.

Today, it’s Samsung that rules the Indian smartphone market with 40.3% market share. Nokia, which once dominated it with about 80% market share, remains a distant second with just 25.5% market share (CyberMedia Research). What’s more? According to market tracker GfK-Nielsen’s data, Samsung has finally overtaken Nokia to become the largest seller of mobile phones in India’s major markets. The Korean giant’s volume market share in urban areas in March 2013 rose to 31.4%, surpassing Nokia’s 30.1%.

Hence, to ward off the blow the key for Nokia now, however, has to be its alliance with Microsoft as Windows based mobile phones made market-beating progress in 2012. The relationship is not only the key driver in Microsoft’s success, but has also benefited Nokia, which amassed 76.0% of all Windows Phone/Windows Mobile smartphone shipments in 2012. Confirms Vipul Mehrotra, Director, Smart Devices, IMEA, Nokia, “Windows 8 OS is now picking up steam in mobile devices and we will definitely be reaping the most of it.”


While Mehrotra sounds logical (given that IDC expects Windows OS to become one of the top platforms in the mobile space by 2015, at par with Android), the former giant now also needs to carve out new niches, as to unseat the Google-Apple duopoly is not an easy task, even with its partnership with Microsoft. No doubt, Nokia’s Lumia range finally seemed to be picking up some traction, with 5.6 million shipments in Q1 2013, but this was offset by Symbian shipments dropping to just 0.5 million. Moreover, Nokia’s feature phone business (which accounts for a majority of its total sales) seems to be collapsing, showing a 30% sequential decline and a 21% annual decline.

Certainly, Nokia faces a dramatically different situation today compared to 1995, when it had to battle with the disconnected marketing strategies of players like Siemens and Motorola. There has to be more of localisation in the app space. Nokia’s OVI store, which pales as compared to Android and Apple, should rope in more application developers with a focus on creating regional applications. Also, the company should first get its mass market strategy in order and push down its smartphone price points more aggressively to make them top performers in the lower end. Reason: Volume growth is clearly in favour of the smartphone segment. IDC projects mobile phone shipments to India to grow at a CAGR of 13.03% from 2011 to 2015 and reach 30 million by that calendar year. In contrast, smartphones are expected to clock a CAGR of 63.4% in the same period and reach 77.5 million by 2015.

Initial gains in this market will help Nokia build the momentum for sustainable market share. If you compare the lowest priced Nokia smartphone with its competitors currently, the company is still far from gaining that kind of edge. The Lumia 520 (launched on March 20, 2013) retails at Rs.10,499. In comparison, LG Optimus ME 350, Samsung Galaxy Y and Sony Xperia Mini are priced at Rs.6,400, Rs.7,000 and Rs.9,600 respectively. Not just this, Samsung has recently launched a new series of ‘smart’ feature phones with a price tag of Rs.4,000-6,500, taking rival Nokia’s Asha series of smartphones head on.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman

ExecutiveMBA

Back to square zero!

As big skeletons threaten to tumble out of the Saradha closet and Bengal’s feckless political parties blame each other for the mess, the defrauded are being left to count their losses, reports Snehangshu Adhikari
 

The Bengal Post closure notice was issued on the first day of April. It was a ‘joke’ all right, but for 28-year-old Supriti Gupta (name changed), it wasn’t funny at all. A month on, the young sub-editor hasn’t got over the shock. She had quit an established Kolkata-based English language newspaper with a history of over a hundred years to join The Bengal Post. The leap into the unknown ended in disaster for her and 1400 other employees of Saradha Group’s bloated and directionless media division.

These people worked for a wide array of publications and television channels: Sakalbela, Azad Hind, Tara News, Tara Muzic, Kalam, Tara Bangla, Prabhat Barta, Paroma (magazine) and the Seven Sisters Post. They were rendered jobless overnight because the man who ran the show, Sudipto Sen, realising that time was running out on his chit fund scam – and quite fast on all fronts– decided to post-haste close shop of 'group' companies, if one may use the term. Freelance journo and former Bengal Post staffer Sandhya Sutodia gave vent to her despair in a blog post. “The focus right now is to get our dues,” she said. “We have become the butt of ridicule. Media houses do not take us seriously. I am back to square one.” Square zero seems to be a more befitting term for almost all those affected by this mammoth financial crisis.

The present crisis has affected the employees of ten media products – newspapers and television channels – that Saradha had launched or acquired since 2010. But the worst hit are the about 2.5 to 3.5 lakh people who worked as collection agents for Saradha, and almost double that was the number of investors.

The suicide toll has already reached five since the news of the scam broke. Meanwhile, a second FIR has been filed against Kunal Ghosh (ex-CEO of Saradha’s media wing whose monthly salary was Rs 15 lakh) by employees of a closed Bengali daily, Sakalbela, for non-payment of salaries.

The case took a new twist when Sudipta Sen sent an 18-page letter to the CBI, naming 22 politicians (from Bengal, Assam, Odisha and Jharkhand), including two influential MPs of the ruling TMC, Kunal Ghosh and Srinjoy Bose. Not surprisingly, both the MPs denied the allegation.

Sen has said that getting into the media business was his greatest mistake. He has claimed that Kunal Ghosh (who allegedly forced him to take the media plunge) and Srinjoy Bose assured him that his business interests would be protected "as they have a very close connection" with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. CPM has dismissed Sen’s confession as an eyewash and an attempt to shield the state’s topmost politicians. During his interrogation, Sen is reported to have revealed the names of at least four key TMC ministers, besides a former minister in the Left Front government.

Established in 2006, Saradha Group expanded quickly. “I started my business not to become a rich man but to establish the ideals and ideologies of Maa Saradha, to help poor and needy people of rural and semi-urban areas of India,” Sen wrote in his letter to CBI.

However, the reality was just the opposite. He promised huge returns to the investors ranging from 15 to 50 per cent, and lured agents by committing to pay commissions ranging from 15 to 40 per cent. The group allegedly collected hundreds of crores of rupees particularly from people in villages and small towns, not only in Bengal, but also in Odisha, Jharkhand, Tripura and Assam.

Talking to the media, Saradha agents from East Midnapore alleged, “From our district alone, the Saradha Group collected more than Rs 100 crore by exploiting the post-Nandigram situation.”

“He would come to our agent meets quite regularly and motivate us to enhance our collection,” Ramapati Gayen, a duped investor told TSI. “He used to talk a lot about several future development projects in Nandigram. To win our trust, he would take us to his various ongoing projects. They were fake.”

It has been reported that in Chinsurah, Sen faked a full motorcycle factory to mislead thousands of depositors into believing that he had a running factory and they could trust him with their money. Reportedly, the downfall of the Saradha empire started in 2010, the year Sen launched his media business. That year, SEBI initiated an investigation into Saradha Realty after it received a reference from the director of Economic Offences Investigation Cell of the West Bengal government. The group, however, managed to delay the process by either submitting voluminous documents or by avoiding SEBI’s call.

Soon after Saradha went bust, Mamata Banerjee, blamed the 34 years of Left Front rule for the mess. At the same time, the involvement of TMC leaders has also come to the fore. During interrogation, Sen claimed that even CMO staff was paid monthly salaries by Saradha. Allegedly, the topmost leader of TMCP (TMC’s student wing) Shanku Deb Panda was also on Saradha’s payrolls. Former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya claimed, “I was in power for ten consecutive years, but never allowed such elements. But now the present government has become synonymous with chit funds.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

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Countering terror with sticks

Questionable decisions by para-military bosses in Kashmir have endangered jawans' lives, says Mayank singh

While India’s chattering classes wage a seemingly endless battle against corruption and its elite celebrate the country’s growth trajectory popping champagne on ice, out on the frontiers its brave men from the para-military forces are putting their lives on line in what is turning out to be a campaign which is both brave and foolhardy. Brave because they are willing to do whatever is expected from them unmindful of the costs involved, their lives included, and foolhardy because they are being asked to accomplish a job that seems impossible – countering highly motivated, trained and armed terrorists with wooden sticks that would come handier walking pets than defending the country’s sovereignty!

“Mismanagement by senior officers, an utter lack of foresight and blatant violation of standard operating procedures (SOP) is why jawans are getting martyred in the line of duty on a daily basis in Jammu and Kashmir,’’ confides a senior officer.

Two recent incidents typify this callous neglect in the Kashmir valley. On March 13 this year fidayeens or suicide bombers entered the Bamina area of Srinagar and mowed at will CRPF jawans who had been ordered by the state police to report in riot control gear – which constitutes essentially of a wooden stick or a lathi and a padding to cover their bodies.

Naturally, questions are being asked. In a situation as volatile as the Kashmir valley, who in the Jammu and Kashmir police, as well as the CRPF, thought it prudent and conducive to let their men get into riot gear? What good is a riot gear when confronted with sophisticated assault rifles and improved explosive devices (IEDs)? Classified documents in possession of TSI reveal that against well laid down SOP, it is the local police which is ordering central paramilitary forces. The SOP lays down the bottom line: no operational strategy can be dictated by the local police and has to be made necessarily in consultation with the Inspector General of CRPF and the other paramilitary forces deployed in the region. The documents clearly establish this breach of protocol coupled with a deeply flawed analysis, essential to counter terror. Two orders were issued by the IGP Kashmir (IGPK) on February 9 and February 11 this year. In the February 9 order addressed to CRPF, the IGPK directed the induction of five CRPF counter-insurgency (CI) operation companies and five training companies at Baramulla.

It read: “These companies shall be fully equipped with riot control gear, no personnel should carry any weapon.” Why should an IGP ask for specialist CI platoon to be armed with wooden sticks?

More to the point, on what basis are riots in Jammu and Kashmir equated with similar disturbances in other parts of the country where the Rapid Action Force (RAF) model of deployment is in force: one third of the company in lathi, one third with tear gas shells and one third equipped with rifles?

In the February 11 order, IGP Srinagar sent a signal to all paramilitary head quarters of the Srinagar Area, CRPF, BSF and ITBP to, “make sure that no fire arm is carried on by any law and order component.”

The situation reports accessed by TSI and the Incident Note of the BSF makes it clear that terrorists camouflage themselves with locals and take advantage of such orders at all available instances. Not surprisingly, they successfully struck twice within a span of eight days. The life of a jawan, apparently, is so cheap that an experienced commander can take arbitrary decisions and throw SOP to the winds. The situation report and incident notes – preceded by many such earlier observations - have said that terrorists are frequently using the civil population as shield to fire on para-military forces. Says one such assessment sent by CRPF on March 29, “After completion of law and order duty at about 1915 hours left for battalion head quarters. When our troops were crossing from Macchuwa bridge towards Karawalpora, all of a sudden few people started pelting stones at our vehicle from the right side and after few seconds a round was fired from the left side. So, while stone pelters engaged the troops from the right side, terrorists used rifles from the left.’’ It  adds: “Two of our constables saw a person who waved his AK 47 rifle at a group of five to six people running from the spot.’’ The BSF has a similar tale to narrate. On the March 29 incident, “at about 0730 hrs, while the vehicle in front moved closer to the Nowgam crossing, Srinagar, suspected militants suddenly opened fire on the 5-ton vehicle moving in the rear. By the time they (troops) could take position, the vehicle had moved in front of the Ahmad Hospital and militants had by then disappeared into the by lanes of thickly populated Nowgam area.’’

In both instances, troops did not fire as the collateral damage would have been heavy and would have proved advantageous to separatists groups in rallying people to their cause. In such dangerous situations, the use of lathi or wooden sticks is nothing short of harakiri and officers on ground stand accused of blatantly jeopardising the life of ill-equipped jawans by not allotting sophisticated weapons to them. After all it in on the directives of field commanders that the fighters are willing to take huge risks and the latest orders and its subsequent impact is certain to hit the morale of troops present there.

The Union government's Group of Ministers (GoM) on Internal Security has clearly laid down that “in operations against insurgency, militancy and terrorism, arrangements for coordination of operational planning, deployment etc., should be evolved by the senior most officers representing the central armed forces, in close consultation with the state police chief and officers of other concerned agencies.’’ In reality, it looks the other way round.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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A tale of rotting structures

Many of Delhi’s sporting facilities built amid much fanfare for the 2010 Commonwealth Games are going to seed, writes Syed Khurram Raza

On January 10, 2012, Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was packed to the rafters with football fans. They were there to watch former India captain Baichung Bhutia’s farewell match – an Indian XI was taking on Bayern Munich. It was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to catch the likes of Muller, Gomez, Robben and Ribbery in live action. So the city’s soccer enthusiasts were willing to brave the stench around them.

Yes, stench. Not a seat, except a few in the VIP area, was clean and the toilets were as filthy as a pigsty. There was no way of telling that as much as Rs 1000 crore had been sunk a little over a year earlier into renovating the stadium for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was built for the 1982 Asian Games, but since then it has seen very little sporting action with the exception of a few games of cricket and soccer. It is a veritable white elephant that seems to have achieved none of the great things it was projected to when it was constructed. The stadium is today a veritable junkyard, falling apart at the seams.

It is a painful example of how badly India manages its sporting infrastructure. A stadium is built for a particular event and then allowed to degenerate once it has served its immediate purpose. In the absence of a comprehensive sports policy, modern facilities built with the taxpayers’ money lie unused. Aspiring sportsmen have no access to these stadiums. “It is really pathetic. The Delhi government has yet to formalise a state sports policy,” says senior journalist Anil Sagar.

He adds: “When Ajay Maken was the Union sports minister, he had raised some hope and it seemed that Delhi sportspersons would finally be able to use this infrastructure. He had opened all stadiums for young children under the ‘come and play’ scheme. Unfortunately, his tenure was very short.”

The primary purpose of throwing open the stadiums was to impart professional training to beginners and established sportspersons. The objective was optimum utilization of this world class sporting infrastructure. But the ministry has not followed through with the grand plan.

Virender Singh Jaggi, assistant professor, Physical Education, Shyam Lal College, Delhi University and a good hockey player, says: “Due to the 1982 Asian Games and 2010 Commonwealth Games, we have got some world class sporting facilities. But if this infrastructure is not being used to train upcoming young talent then the whole purpose of hosting such big events stands defeated.”

He adds: “The connectivity of Shivaji Stadium is very good, but it is not being used to train young hockey players. The other sports complexes are given on a 40-60 basis to the academies. The academies keep 60 percent of the fee they charge from players and the remaining 40 percent is given to DDA.

He laments that instead of coming out with a plan to encourage children to participate in sports, the government is just doing the opposite. “If things continue like this, then rest assured that we will never see our national flag going up at any international sporting event,” he says.

Inveterate sports lover Mohd Shakir says: “The Delhi government spent around Rs 700 crore on stadiums and the Central government spent about Rs 300 crore on sporting infrastructure during 2010 Commonwealth Games. All the equipment bought for the Games is rotting.”
He believes the problem is societal. In the big cities, sport is often looked down upon. The emphasis is always on scoring high marks in examinations, never on sporting excellence.

Says Shakir: “To encourage children to come to school, free books, uniforms and midday meals given, but there is nothing free for sportspersons. Unless sport is an integral stream of our education system, things will not change and the money that is spent on hosting international sporting events will go waste.”

It is crystal clear that the official attitude towards sport is neither positive nor supportive. Says NK Bhatia, vice president of Delhi Soccer Association: “Ambedkar Stadium is the only football stadium in central Delhi. It is well connected from every corner of the city. The stadium had been favorite of several national and international players but very few matches are being hosted as the rent of the stadium had been increased from Rs 500 to Rs 5000 per day. Now it is becoming difficult for organizations and academies to host any match there. All these steps are to discourage sports lovers.”

It is imperative for the government to come with a clear policy to encourage maximum use of the existing sporting infrastructure in the big cities. Public sector companies should play an important role in funding and hosting major events. If the government does not come out with a concrete sports policy then despite the best infrastructure, our sportspersons will struggle to to make a mark in the international arena.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

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The man Within My Head

The culture of arresting and torturing political prisoners in Pakistan, something that has continued with a certain impunity, has left a deep impact on the psyche of the nation, says Shahid Husain

Thousands of political prisoners in Pakistan who were tortured by police or other security agencies have been suffering from trauma even if they have been released. “Psychological trauma of victims of torture can be acute or chronic. The acute are usually easily treatable but if they remain untreated they are difficult to treat,” notes psychiatrist and president, Pakistan Association for Mental Health (PAMH) Prof. Haroon Ahmed.

“Besides specialised psychological help, the patients themselves can adopt certain attitudes and behaviour while going through torture and later on when they are out of it,” he says. “The first principle to understand is the torturer is bent upon breaking the personality of the individual, which includes life-threatening ways of scaring. Second, the individual should keep himself mentally occupied in an optimistic future of her/his belief,” Prof Ahmed says.

“The third is depression-lack of interest in life and flashbacks. If there is insight into the genesis of symptoms, the person, once free, can get over it with or without psychological support,” he adds.

Explaining how a torture victim could resist brainwashing, Prof. Ahmed, who is also an educationist, says: “Torture is really breaking the person and getting information." Asked if there was any data on torture victims in Pakistan and if the answer was no how could they be rehabilitated, he replies: “There is no data! If there is no facility there is no problem. If there is no facility to treat or rehabilitate such patients there is no awareness and therefore, no problem. One is not able to connect their physical and psychological symptoms to the process of torture.” 

In an article entitled “Health implications of torture in Pakistan”, published in the Journal of Medical Ethics in 1991, Dr. Mahboob Mehdi, Medical Director of RAHAT-VAT wrote: “Torture is endemic in Pakistan but it reaches epidemic proportions from time to time.” Sadly enough doctors too become accomplices in torturing prisoners. “There are two aspects to this issue in Pakistan: the involvement of health professionals in the process of torture, and care rendered to the torture victims by health professionals.

As far as the involvement of health professionals in the torture process is concerned, it is a very serious problem in Pakistan. The doctors who facilitate torture in Pakistan usually: a) advise the torturers about the actual condition of the victim's health, b) revive the victims sufficiently to undergo further torture,” writes Dr. Mehdi.

 Ironically, “The code of ethics of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council does not mention anything about torture. Doctors who take part in the process do not face any disciplinary action by the Council.”

Progressive leaders and activists such as Baba Jan Iftikhar Hussian, Amir Khan, Rasheed Hasan Khan, Ghulam Mohammad Baloch, Javed Shakoor, Lal Bux Rind, Nazeer Abbasi, Shahid Rizvi,  Jam Saqi, Sohail Sanghi, Shahid Husain, and several other Baloch activists, including Gul Khan Nasir, Ataullah Mengal, Khair Bakhsh Marri and Nawab Akbar Bugti, to name a few, were tortured but the torturers were never punished. Right-wing leaders such as Javed Hashmi were brutally tortured. Nazeer Abbasi, a student leader hailing from Sindh National Students Federation, was tortured to death during the despotic rule of military dictator Gen. Ziaul Haq. Earlier prominent communist leader Hasan Nasir was tortured to death in the infamous Lahore Fort and even his dead body was not found.

In recent years, mutilated bodies of Baloch and Sindhi nationalists have been found in jungles and desolate locations. No wonder the phenomenon has triggered separatism in Balochistan and Sindh.

In an exclusive interview with this scribe in 2005, Baloch nationalist leader Sardar Ataullah Mengal said the military government of late Gen. Yahya Khan pushed the people of former East Pakistan towards secession by carrying out a genocide in that impoverished province in 1971 and the government of President Pervez Musharraf adopted a similar policy in Balochistan.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman

ExecutiveMBA

Small screen star shines bright

Amit Sadh had all that makes a 'celebrity'. But a creatively challenging career is what his heart desired, and thus he took the leap from small screen to big screen to satiate the actor within. He shares his journey with Pratishtha Malhotra...

You were very active in sports and wanted to join the army. How did acting happen?
I don’t know! It just happened by default. One fine day I decided I wanted to be an actor and I just picked my bags and came to Mumbai. It was a very impulsive decision. I was just 20 then and threw myself into this ocean of madness. At that time some of my friends also mocked me and said that you can’t do it.

How did you keep yourself going despite being mocked about your decision?
I am a masochist. I enjoy it when people are mean to me. I like it when people talk shit about me. I like it when people say that you cannot make it because the more I hear that, the stronger I come back.

How do you feel when you look back today at your journey from TV to films?
It has been beautiful. As a creative person, time is something you don’t have to comprehend to. Nothing is time bound. It’s creativity. Till the time you’re honest with your thoughts, you grow. It’s not that easy though because people see the outcome of a certain event as success. It’s a journey in which you have to succeed.


How different is TV from films?
There is a huge difference. In TV, I don’t think there is any creativity because the objective in TV is not content or as an actor, to create something. People know you as the name of the character. Once your character goes, you go. In films, the creativity is to create a character, to live a character. So the emphasis is on the content and creativity. I don’t have anything against TV, but the kind of role and kind of characterisation I looking for, is only available in films.


When did you decide to give up on TV and try out in films?
I got bored doing serials. I was making a lot of money, but then I thought I’m not here to make money only. I am an actor and I am not acting. I was cheating myself and I wanted to grow. You can’t just go to a studio at 7am and come back at 10pm, get a pay cheque every month, drive a fancy car, live in a fancy house and think you’re growing. So that’s when I decided to make a move.


Was being a part of a bigger canvas challenging?
Yes. One tends to carry the same aura and the same mentality to films. When I left TV, I left my baggage. People knew me. I had done Guns and Roses, Nach Baliye and a lot of stuff on TV, but when I came to films I realised that I am a newcomer here. I was aware that I had to break my ego. I told myself that I am going to wait for three hours and I will get a lot of rejections. I prepared myself for it. I was ready to become zero again. I lost all my money, lost everything that I had, but it made me a better actor. Now I have realised that if you want to be a good actor, the more ‘zero’ you are the more you can pick up. The moment you get in awe of yourself, get arrogant or egoistic, you’ll die out.


Who has been your inspiration all these years?
It’s Amitabh Bachchan. If he’s not your inspiration then you can never be inspired. Then there’s Irrfan Khan and Vidya Balan. There are many other people too I get inspired from.


How has life been post Kai Po Che?
Oh! Brilliant (Laughs). It’s nice to get so much appreciation. Especially after failing miserably for five years, to get the kind of attention, love and acceptance with just this film is very humbling. I am living my dream.


How did you end up getting the film? We’ve heard that you, Sushant and Raj landed up together at Mukesh Chhabra’s office…
Mukesh Chhabra called us and whatever we did there, I think Gattu Sir ( Abhishek Kapoor) liked it and he gave me the film. I owe my life to him. There’s so much you can learn from him. He was a great source of inspiration. I got a lot of appreciation from a lot of industry people and I would not have done this without him. He told me that I would not get this kind of a role in years and I said, yeah! You’ve spoilt me.


Had you ever imagined that Kai Po Che would be such a huge hit?
We knew it from day 1. Not in an arrogant or an over confident way, but we knew what we are making. When we were making the film, the kind of hardwork and focus we put in, and when we saw the first cut, we knew that we had made a special film.


Did you in any way identify with the character you played?
I have nothing in common with him and for me acting is when you are not you. It was very difficult for me to disconnect from Omi even after the film. He was big, so I actually had to think differently. I became a bull even while thinking! Now Omi is gone so I am back to normal. It gives me a kick to portray or be somebody else.


What according to you is the best thing about being an actor?
It’s the learning. You’re continuously learning. That is for what I am here. Apart from that everything else is a by-product… the appreciation, fame, money. It’s not that I don’t want all that, but I am not headed for that. I wish to focus on my work and the rest will follow.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

BBA Institute

Budget applauded! Deficit?

The soaring fiscal deficit will worsen India's external liquidity

For those who might remember, the warning from Moody’s had come close on the heels of India's current account deficit reaching a record high of $22.3 billion, or 5.4 per cent of GDP in the quarter ending September 2012, from less than $16.4 billion in the April-June quarter; and from around 1 per cent during 2000s. Moody’s blamed government policies, citing examples of similarly ranked nations with similar energy import bills who fared much better than us. While this news is quite dated and well known, the fact is that the resulting efforts by the finance ministry to contain the same has been quite unstructured.

In a discussion with industry representatives some days back, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram commented that the current account deficit was "the more worrying deficit." Later, he also commented, "I can only appeal to people, if we don't import gold for a year, half of our current account deficit will disappear." That's quite a worrisome statement if the speaker happens to be the finance minister; as this clearly points to the fact that the finance ministry seems to be flailing its arms around without having a strict strategy to address the current account deficit. But then again, it can't be said that Chidambaram is not trying. His foreign tours, with a direct focus on motivating foreign investment, have increased dramatically. In January, he visited Singapore, Frankfurt and London and Hong Kong. Next month, he is planning to go to US, Canada and Japan.

With the October-December 2012 overall deficit data about to be released, the fear in economic quarters is visible.  But there is hope. India's trade deficit was $48.3 billion in the July-September quarter. The trade deficit fell to $14.92 billion in February 2013.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year

BBA Management Education

Macaulay: Pioneer of India's Modernization

A much-needed rescue act

Of all the aulaads and putras that Indians of a saffron hue regularly demonise, “Babur ki aulaad” and “Macaulay putras” have been the most reviled. And while the former have been subjected to death and destruction, the latter have been let off with mere lampooning.

Zareer Masani’s ‘Macaulay: Pioneer of India’s Modernisation’ is an attempt to delve into the little known world of that subject of scorn – Thomas Macaulay. Considering Macaulay’s impact on Indian social and political changes, it is surprising that pretty little scholarly work has been done on this man. Apart from Arthur Bryant’s scholarship in the early 1930s, historians and researchers have neglected Macaulay. And considering he himself was a historian of great calibre, the snub appears more pronounced.

For most Indians, the name is limited to debates that explore whether or not he did the right thing by introducing English as the language for administrative, economic and scientific activities by replacing Persian, Hindi and Sanskrit. The more informed ones also debate about his contribution to the formation of Indian Penal Code. However, Thomas Babington Macaulay was much more than that. And this book is an endeavour towards knowing the man and his time.

Once, in her rare light moments, when Macaulay was described to Queen Victoria as a “book in breeches”, she is supposed to have laughed. But the description was not off the mark. For the uninitiated, Macaulay was a Whig ideologue and politician who was also, by every measure, one of the best linguists and historians of his time. Macaulay believed in the emancipation of the masses and fought to abolish slavery in the UK.

He was also a qualified reviewer and essayist, and naturally had a huge appetite for books. In fact, The Lays of Ancient Rome, his scholarly work of poetry exploring the history of Rome, is considered by many a masterpiece. His reviews, often scathing, used to feature, among other places, at the Edinburgh Review at regular intervals.

The author drives home the point that it was his training as a Whig politician that prompted him to work towards the emancipation of Indians as well. What also comes out from this study is that Macaulay believed in practicality and was essentially a utilitarian. When he realised that the conflicting laws of different castes and religions was proving a hindrance to governance, he proposed the a common law that was adapted some two decades later as the Indian Penal Code. Although Macaulay did not live to see it implemented, he can feel satisfied that even in the 21st century, the law remains surprisingly relevant and practical. The problem lies in its implementation and for that we must point a finger inwards. Similarly, the Indian Civil Service (ICS) was a product of his endeavour.

The author has tried to put Macaulay’s actions and thoughts in the context of the immediate environment in which he operated. And more than anything else, this act alone is the greatest service that anyone could have done to him. His biases are laid bare, but never without putting it in perspective. For example, when purists debated about the superior nature of Sanskrit and Persian grammar, especially as compared to English, Macaulay is supposed to have quipped, “Does it matter in what grammar a man talks nonsense?” The idea was not to belittle the language but drive home that much of the new ideas, whether political, philosophical, scientific or otherwise were being either penned or translated in English. It was but logical and practical that English became the new language of the masses.

One must nor forget here that unlike the Orientalists of his time or even later, Macaulay never questioned the intelligence of the native or doubted their capability to grasp modern ideas. He only disapproved of the way and language through which he was supposed to introduce these ideas to the natives.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
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IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

BBA Institute

NSD & Bollywood - Gateway or road block ?

Monojit Lahiri talks to some ex-luminaries for insights into this tricky issue.

Do you really need to learn acting to make a name or big bucks in Bollywood? Did the Big 3 who dominated the 50’s, 60’s, even 70’s (Dilip-Dev-Raj) learn acting? Cut to 2013. Did any of the present Big 3 (SRK-Aamir-Salman) go to any acting institution? What’s the big deal about theatre academies and film schools like NSD and FTII, which generate such huge debates? Is NSD a garland or albatross around the neck of the graduates? Passionate and idealistic as many were, ultimately, isn’t Bollywood the only recourse? Did  their training help in breaking in and making a name that would offer them rewards – big bucks, super movies, respect and critical acclaim along with fan following – commensurate with the intense commitment and dedication they gave to their time spent in NSD?

What better way to kick off the debate by going to the go-to luminary, the greatest ad of NSD, Naseeruddin Shah. Did the acknowledged genius consider the years spent there as a nursery, training ground or time wasted? “I genuinely believe that too much is made of this training business. Remember the cardinal truth: Acting is always learnt, never taught. You can go to the finest acting school on earth and learn nothing! What it did teach Om (Puri) and me, however, was to mug up pages of dialogue quickly and deliver an effective performance. What the great Ebrahim Alkazi taught us was not how to act, but how to respond, imbibe and absorb an environment that reeked of drama.” Did NSD help him in Tinsel town? He frankly believed it didn’t and was a hindrance. “My training was constantly at war with what Bollywood perceived as good acting. It was, however, totally my fault. I was far too self-absorbed and blinkered and didn’t read the fine print that stated the kind of acting/performance B-town celebrated and mass audiences loved. The result was that while the Parallel Cinema, a tiny section of audiences and arty critics rooted for me, the mass-audiences rejected me, wholesale! Today if I have some audience – acceptability (having learnt the hard way!) NSD doesn’t really feature in it.”

Om Puri doesn’t quite buy into Naseer’s point of view. “Never was training more important and relevant than it is today. Biceps, aerobics, horse-riding and dancing are all very well, but what about the small matter of acting?! I am grateful to NSD because it gave me both, the training and the confidence to confront all odds and equipped me to face and overcome all challenges. It was Alkazi-saab’s encouragement that gave a Patiala-ka-chhokhra like me to go eyeball-to-eyeball with Jack Nicholson and Amitabh Bachchan.”

Anupam Kher, who was also head honcho of his alma mater for a while a few years ago, refuses to be reverential and calls a spade…a shovel! Kher believes that much has changed from then to now and puts his finger on attitude being the biggest problem. “Bollywood is a different space where actors are seldom familiar with either internationally revered – Ionesco, Chekov, Ibsen, Brecht, Stoppard, Osborne – playwrights or plays. To throw these names at them reeks of arrogance or a superiority/posturing that is neither required nor necessary to make your point. In fact, it puts them off and forces them to stay away from this snooty lot!  Confluence not conflict is the name of the game and it would be worthwhile emulating the icons of Hollywood – Brando, Pacino and De Nero, Olivier, Burton, even Hopkins, among others who brilliantly adapted from theatre to movies in seamless fashion without throwing attitude! It really would be ideal if, today, kids would concentrate on learning the basics of acting instead of constantly fantasizing how they can be the next SRK or Salman Khan. It’s sad to see this changed NSD.”  Pankaj Kapoor takes this lament forward. “While our mentor Alkazi saab had no grouses with B-town, he taught us that acting didn’t begin or end with Rajesh Khanna. He introduced us to the best of art, music, world cinema and the magic of great, powerhouse performances. However, times have changed. New themes, concepts and new-age directors continue to throw up new challenges. NSD needs to re-align its focus.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

BBA Institute

The dustbin economy

The country needs to master waste management technology 

A recent statement regarding waste management by senior regional advisor of UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) that "the conditions of African countries and India are alike" aptly describes the dismal state of India’s waste management. Several reports have shown the horrific issue since long time but hardly anything has been implemented across the country. Ignoring a grave concern like waste management, the nation is gradually becoming the world’s largest wasteland and endangering its sustainability in the long term.

A 2012 World Bank report on solid waste issues estimated that 160,000 million tonnes of waste is generated everyday in urban India with a per capita of 0.34 kg a day. Sadly, per capita waste generation is going to double (0.7 kg) by 2025. While the nation is not able to manage its own waste, it is now even importing waste from Western countries. A report released a few years ago confirmed that a huge quantity of household waste was being collected every week from UK (under the veil of recycling and waste treatment) but was eventually shipped and dumped into India. Under the ‘go green and improve the environment’ campaign, the UK Council was exporting its garbage to India at a hefty price. The garbage export made more economic sense as it just cost them 40 pounds (to export) compared to 150 pounds if they were to process and re-cycle the same.

The Solid Waste Policy 2000 has been around for more than a decade but this has largely remained on paper. This is not to deny that some municipal corporations across India's cities have put some effort to beautify their cities. Additionally, it's estimated that around Rs 3,000 crore is spent every year by different municipal bodies on disposal of garbage. Given the size of india, this figure actually sounds miserly. Moreover, till date, municipal corporations have taken short term solutions of landfilling rather than adopting a sustainable system of waste disposal.

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman

ExecutiveMBA

Persistence paid off

On January 20 this year, TSI carried a cover story India’s other Shame: Missing Children in which our correspondent tracked down victims and highlighted how more than 60,000 children disappear every year in the country, most never to be recovered. Dishing out several heart wrenching and specific stories of lost children, the story slammed the police and media apathy. While kidnapped children belonging to upper class families drew their attention, the economically poor children continued to be sold as labourers or made to beg or sell drugs. TSI had done a story in 2008 on the issue which received appreciation but was also sniggered at the editorial decision to put it on the cover. The story did however give due credit to activists who have persisted with their demand for justice. TSI’s persistence bore fruit and some mainstream news organisations recently started to give the required coverage to the problem.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman

ExecutiveMBA

Kai Po Che! Yet again...?

I didn’t get any good roles, I was jobless and my career was in the dumps! So I had no choice, but to quit, says film director Abhishek Kapoor...

After starting your career with acting, what made you move to direction?
I didn’t get any good roles, I was jobless and my career was in the dumps! So I had no choice, but to quit. Also, the film Industry was not like what it is today. The 80s was the worst time for the film industry and I happened to make my debut at that time. Instead of doing more mediocre roles, I decided to step back, take some time off and then write and make movies.

How did you get into filmmaking?
I started to write a story and then I felt so excited about it that I thought it should be made into a movie. Then I felt that I would be the best guy to make it. I didn’t really go to any film school or assist anyone. I just found my way through it.

What inspired you to make a movie on rock bands, a concept yet not very well known to Indians?
The movie was never about rock music or bands. It was about people. It was about friendship, relationships – boyfriend-girlfriend or husband and wife. The rock band or music concept was just a backdrop. Similarly, even Kai Po Che! has all these things, but Gujarat is the backdrop and it has cricket and politics and the earthquake and all of that. But the film is about friendship and relationships. For me, as a director, there is nothing more challenging than to be versatile. If I do something completely new and I go through the process where I can learn something; that’s exciting for me. If I do something that I have already done before or do what 20 other directors are already doing, then what is so good about what I am doing?

Why did you choose to make a film on the book, The 3 Mistakes of my Life?
Chetan had offered me 2 States as well, but I felt that this book (The 3 Mistakes of My Life) had a lot of cinematic potential. It’s a big story which is very simply told in a book and is a little bit filmy. I felt that as a filmmaker, I could add a lot of things to the story. I found the characters very exciting too. Ishan, Omi and Govind are fabulous and that’s what really got me to do it.

How was it working with a fresh cast?
I think I have got a great cast. As an audience, when you see new people you wouldn’t see what I see. But when the film is out these people are going to be very busy. These people are exceptionally talented. They are as good as the best actors of the country today and I am very proud of them.

How did you come up with the title - Kai Po Che?
Kai Po Che means to cut from a kite and it’s a victory call. I went to Ahmedabad for Makar Sakranti and if you go and have a look at it, all the terraces during that time are filled with so many people flying kites. It’s a big celebration and that’s what the film is about. It’s about the celebration of life and at the same time it is a victory call. So, metaphorically, the title suits the kind of story I want to tell. It has got this energy and an element of freshness.

After Rock On!! which was completely your idea, did you feel restricted with the script of this film since it is already a book?
You have read the book so you have your own vision of the book. But that’s the fun. Now, with this, I am engaging the audience on another level. Now that you’ve read it, you have to see how I have visualised it and how I show it. That will be my personal exchange with the audience… like, this is how I see Ishan, Govind and Omi and this is how I see the drama played out. The book goes in many different directions, but I had to choose one trajectory. We’ve made about 50 per cent changes in it. There are a lot of things which I have taken out and a lot of things that I have added. However, despite new characterisations, twists etc it is still the book. If you’ve read the book and when you see the film, you’ll know what kind of adaptation it is. So it’ll be interesting for someone who’s read the book to see it.

You seem to be very close with Farhan Akhtar…
It’s a great relationship. We have been good friends for a long time and worked on Rock On!! together.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman

ExecutiveMBA