New mantra of marketing gurus- Join the Social service bandwagon

How do you react when Mahendra Singh Dhoni emotionally appeals to you to Save the Tiger in a television commercial? Off course you are touched by the dwindling number of the wild cats in Indian forests and by this novel initiative of Aircel in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). But, the first question that might hit you is how?

Don’t expect the Indian cricket captain to provide an answer. Or star footballer Baichung Bhutia and actor Suriya who may follow with the same appeals in other ads to tell you how you should save the animal from extinction. Aircel, which in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has launched this “public service campaign”, should tell the viewers how it would like them to save the tiger. Or if the initiative is solely about USP and nothing else then an advertisement about Aircel’s new night chat plan might well do the task.

Marketing gurus have found a new mantra to enhance their company’s brand image: join the social service bandwagon.

Good intensions are useless in the absence of commonsense.
-Jami, Baharistan

Where 3 idiots fail

3 idiots is undoubtedly a brilliantly entertaining movie that captures the decay in the Indian education system. It celebrates creativity and pragmatism over convention and principles. However, where the film fails is its failure to rise above conventional stereotypes of “success”.

The film impresses when it encourages the protagonists to pursue their passions and undertake a non-conformist path. The motto (of Baba Ranchhoddas) to strive for excellence and not run after success confronts the non-creative and tyrannical nature of the education system.

However, the movie disappoints by rewarding the lead character Rancho played by Aamir Khan with the same old definition of success that it earlier confronts. He emerges as a brilliant scientist with some 400 patents to his name and the one whom Chatur, a product of the nerd is seeking to woo.

In fact, even the other friend is shown, though subserviently, rewarded in the stereotypical definition of success. Farhan, played by Madhavan has authored several books on “Wildlife” which in a way is testimony to his “successful” career.

Perhaps Rajkumar Hirani was more concerned about doing Bollywood-style justice to the “rebellious” student by making “success” in the form of Chatur run after Rancho as promulgated by the erstwhile Baba Ranchhoddas. One can argue that the school which Rancho runs towards the end of the film is enough testimony to his victory. And in his own definition.

Morality of 3 idiots and Chetan Bhagat? Afterthoughts of Chetan Bhagat and 3 idiots controversy

The controversy between author Chetan Bhagat and producers of 3 idiots has been “officially closed” now after both the sides got their share of media attention. Others in the category of movie goers, book readers and journalists, either sided with one or the other. But who stands to gain from the controversy?

The basis of Chetan Bhagat’s argument over not giving him “due credit” in the film 3 idiots has been moral and not legal.

Bhagat had entered into a contract with Vinod Chopra Films Private Ltd, under which he assigned the rights of film adaptation to the production house. He was given a certain sum of money in return. The author admits to this and there is no confusion here.

What Bhagat has argued is about the credits in the film and its attribution to the novel. For the first two times that I watched the film, I missed the credit to the author just like Bhagat’s mother did. It squeezes in one line “Based on the novel “Five Point Someone” by Chetan Bhagat”, at the end of the film just before the Special Thanks begin. The script writer Abhijat Joshi is credited right at the start of the movie. Moreover, Bhagat is also upset with what the producers’ have claimed – that the movie contains only 5 percent of the book.

Having read Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone and watched the movie it is quite easy to draw comparisons between them. The script of 3 idiots borrows significantly from the book and one cannot dispute this. (For similarities you can follow the link)

When a journalist had interrogated Vidhu Vinod Chopra about the similarity, the producer of the film had very wryly questioned “have you read the book?” When the journalist answered in the negative, he said “Then Shut Up.” I would have interpreted it as - then “Go and first read the book.” It is difficult to ascertain that the controversy meant an increase in the sale of Five Point Someone or more audiences for 3 idiots. But I know of at least 10 people who read the book only after the controversy. And many others who had earlier read the book and now watched the movie to find out about the controversy that the media was highlighting. Thus, both the parties benefitted.

I am not saying that everything was scripted. But, both the author and the actor are known to market their products in a number of "different" ways. Who knows?

The views expressed in the article are personal.

Rajiv or Rao

The occasion was the 125th anniversary of the Indian National Congress. Sonia Gandhi and her party quite distinctively distanced themselves from P V Narasimha Rao denying the former Congress Prime Minister any credit for the economic reforms.

Gandhi was speaking at a function where she and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation of the Indira Gandhi Bhavan, which will be the new headquarters of the AICC, at Kotla Road. This is lamentable.

It is worthwhile to remember here that it took a major crisis for the economic reforms to happen. During Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure external debts of the Government had been increasing.

He was assassinated in 1991 when the Congress Party was still preparing for the elections. Some credit can be taken by the Rajiv Gandhi government which gave special emphasis to the electronics and telecommunications industries. Rao appointed as his finance minister Dr Manmohan Singh and spearheaded the reforms of the 90s.

Success, said John F. Kennedy has many fathers.

His Sexcellency?

The 85^th birthday of former Prime Minister and BJP patriarch Atal Bihari Vajpayee is front page news, especially when you have the present prime minister showing his reverence with folded hands. So is a sex scandal by a governor of the same age. Both the items had their dignified place (the latter solely from journalistic point) in the front pages of the news dailies.

News channel Andhra Jyothi broadcast a tape on Friday morning purportedly showing the Andhra Pradesh Governor, Narayan Dutt Tiwari having sex in the company of three women. The Indian Express followed the story with a juicy title “His Sexcellency?”, and a detailed coverage supplemented wherever needed with the interview of Andhra Jyothi’s managing editor, V. Radhakrishna. The editor admitted that the women purportedly having sex on tape were aware of the sting operation and had agreed to participate. The story had an overall balanced treatment bringing in the angle of the “woman broker”, Radhika who was promised a mining lease for allegedly “supplying women” to the veteran politician.

More revelations

The tabloid Mail Today that follows the story with bold headlines, and quite expectedly so, brings in more surprises in its report. It states that the Telugu TV channel that telecast the video claims that the clippings were of a bedroom at Raj Bhavan. The tabloid quotes Radhika saying that there were times when the governor would meet dignitaries in the hall in Raj Bhavan while the girls were kept in his bedroom on the first floor. She also claimed that a few Congress MPs would come to Raj Bhavan to sexually exploit the young girls and that the girls could identify these MPs.

The managing editor of the news channel has revealed that they took two months to prepare the sting. If these claims are true it will not only make a mockery of the Governor’s office but also of the High Court’s order. The Andhra Pradesh High Court had asked the channel to refrain from broadcasting the tape saying it was likely to “demean and denigrate” the gubernatorial office. How will the court save the gubernatorial office from denigration if the allegations against Mr. Tiwari is established?

One-sided story

The Hindu provides only a one-sided picture of the story. The headline, “N.D. Tiwari embroiled in a controversy” is as mild as the treatment to the story. The report states that the AP High Court has restrained the ABN channel from showing visuals allegedly of Governor Narayan Dutt Tiwari in a compromising position with three women in the Raj Bhavan. The English daily quite noticeably brings in the Raj Bhavan side of the story without even going into the allegations against the Governor and former Union Minister. It quotes extensively from a press note issued from the Raj Bhavan. The note from the Raj Bhavan argues that “Mr. Tiwari is 86 years old and in the evening of his life” and laments that “constitutional functionaries are dragged into needless controversy with utter disregard to propriety.” If the assertion of Andhra Jyoti channel is authentic, which it claims it is, it will be in utter disregard to propriety – of the gubernatorial office.

Dipu Shaw

conciousdipu@gmail.com