Rann - Movie Review

Rann is an OK watch. It is not bad but not great either. Ram Gopal Verma is in his element in places but is generally not able to decide when to stop. So Rann comes out as a drawn out, at times weary movie.

The story begins with Harshvardhan Malik (Big B) as a reputed journalist and the head of a channel. The channel is facing problems of falling viewership. His son (Jay played by Sudeep) and others in team are trying to convince him to change somewhat to ensure higher TRP. 

There is a spy in his team who seems to be leaking vital information to his biggest competitor, Mohnish Bahl. Then there is the politics of the land where Huda and Pande are the leaders. 

Big B breaks a big story and causes a political earthquake. His TV viewership shoots up. But there is a problem of which Big B is not aware. Riteish Deshmukh joins Big B as a fresh recruit with all the idealistic thoughts. He suspects something and investigates.

There is not much of suspense but I will not reveal more of the story.  There is the climax which is very long. The movie could have stopped a good 20 minutes before it actually did. The climax scene has Big B speaking long sentences that are made of good 30-35 words. The dialogue writer I think must have used every word in Hindi language in that ramble.

Who shines? Sudeep and his girlfriend are very good. Probably the most complete characterizations in the movie. Big B is quite flat - may be a problem the way script is written. It is good to watch Riteish in a different, more serious role. But he too wears just one expression throughout. Mohnish Bahl, Suchitra Krishnamurty, Rajat Kapoor are all ok in their roles. Gul Panag is unnecessary in the film. 

There is nothing that we don't know. Nothing that is stunning. And in the climax, Ramu takes the easy way out. When deciding between glory as a good analyst of human psyche and possible box office success, Ramu has opted for the latter.

All in all, see the movie if you don't have anything else to do. Else wait for it to come on TV.

3* out of 5*.

Economics, Globalization and News Focus

Economics deals with distribution of scarce resources amongst their seekers. Globalization has brought about a subtle competition between nations in pursuing smart economic policies. Sometimes they group together or raise barriers. Countries often attempt to replicate another country's successful policies. Sometimes desperate times invites pressure from other nations that force a country to follow certain policies.

In the past few years the term BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa has been used more and more often. The reasons being that these are the growth markets that attract investors. Also, they attract sellers of various products & services from across the world because of their size and potential.

Now, some very interesting commentary on what long term and short term of economics in human history is and how effects of changes being done today will manifest in future is discussed in this NYTimes article. What I find particularly interesting is the author's comment that a nation should consider the option of being dislodged from being the top one in the long run as acceptable.

The article is also relevant to nations which are aspiring to be leaders in the new world order. It certainly takes courage to make decisions that sometimes feel incorrect in short term but help the nation and the world in the longer run. I guess, when a nation transforms at core, it also is able to muster the courage needed to make such decisions.

The article correctly points out on how news is generally focussed around major events. Now, we in India, exactly know how news on items like Economy and BRICS is played. Hype on everything is the norm, a small M&A activity by an Indian company and media may conclude that India has dislodged every other country in everything including baking croissants. The second problem is the excessive focus by business media on the stock market. Stock market is one of the indicators on how the economy is doing, but it is not the only indicator. Stock market is also correlated to international markets and foreign fund flows. So using only stock movements to understand the state of economy is obviously not correct.

Missing DoorDarshan on New Year Eve

Yesterday, the last day of 2009, end of decade, moving into new year, resolute on the new decade, optimism overflowing from people's eyes...ok I need to shut up and move on.

So I was seeing TV and the fact is that I could find nothing that would remotely interest me. Mostly it was some rehash of year's headlines, replay of same movie trailers and songs that have been played on channels a zillion times, comedy shows that make most of the content for  most a few news channels. I checked DD National too and what was on it could not stop me from moving to the next channel. It made me nostalgic about the late 80s.

People in 30s, who grew up in India in mid/late 80s have witnessed the cable TV explosion in this country. And they certainly know what DD was before the cable TV advent. DD was like a pizza with all the toppings - pepper, corn, tomato, olives...everything (now you know I am a veggie). It had Chhayageet, Mahabharat, Saturday evening movie, The World this Week, Surabhi and so many other things.

While the above toppings were weekly fare, people also awaited its annual fare - the New Year Eve program, Holi Haasya Kavi Sammelan, Coverage of Grammies and Oscars etc.

The New Year programs were a grand mix of everything. It was like an abridged version of what DD was. A bit of news, some songs (and by some I mean 10 at most), lots of contextual comedy stuff and some live programmes.

In particular, I remember the first time I was mesmerised by Javed Jaffrey doing his "I do not have bones" dance. There used to be those spoof shows. There was some controversy over BVO, on which I think it was, Harish Patel cracking some hilarious jokes or Raja Bundela trying to construct the spelling of Czechoslovakia.

The best part was all this was a compact package of 2 hours or so. Starts at 10pm, finishes at midnight, the channel says Happy New Year and off it goes. Amazing.

No, that was not the best part. The best parts were the discussions on these programs on the following day in school, some idiot getting caught trying to pass one of the jokes from the program as his own and the attempt to show off who remembers the most of the program.

Well, these days the TV does not stop, the viewer has to muster the courage to go to the power off button. These days there is no need of news wrap because you have been fed the same news 24x7 till you have learnt it to the last headline and you no longer wait for that 5 minute magic from Jaaved Jaffrey because there are like a million copies doing rounds on 50 channels.

I guess I had a great new year eve remembering those good old days. Perhaps they are good old just because  I was young then and am slightly older now.

Indian newspaper and news websites

The Hindu, one of India's oldest and better newspapers, has a new beta website (Hat tip - tipblog.in). This blog is not to review it but I need to use it as one of the examples for this post.

Now what is most important in newspapers? For my generation, probably the last generation in India to have read newspapers that fed news and intelligent analysis/investigation, the frontpage is the most important part. Next, for the serious readers, the editorial and columnists sections.

If that is agreed upon, then the homepage and edits should be the most important on a website. Check any of the major Indian news or newspaper websites - You need to scroll to find the opinion page. There may be an exception....but just that exception.

Next, the most irritating part of these websites is the barrage of advertisements that hits you when you open the homepages. The advertisements actually interfere between you and the news. I am all for the ads but when they are placed at one side. Let the reader click if he/she is interested...just like you have the ad in newspapers where a reader chooses to read it. It is like those advertisements that make you lose interest in a cricket match because the ads gobble up the first and last balls being bowled in an over.

Also, many news sites have completely irrelevant pictures / videos like those of some fashion show etc. Who cares? Keep them restricted to the entertainment section.

Here is where news aggregation like Google News works wonderfully well. It extracts headlines for the reader and allows the reader the freedom to choose.

Coming back to the new Hindu website....it is elegant. Simplicity of a website is important for news readers and this website gives that. Hopefully this new site will not succumb to the temptation of allowing advertisements to hijack reading experience. In fact I liked their old site too...it has the old internet charm and is effective news providing site.

If we consider worldwide sites, of the sites I have visited, my favourites are NewYork Times and BBC News. NY Times is fast and shows columns on the top right side. BBC News has a very nice front page.

As a reader, my request to the newspapers and news sites is to create sites that create stickiness amongst readers. They should swear by your site's content. Most people are found searching for that close button or trying to find the news they want to. The longer a person takes to find content of his/her choice, the lesser is the chance that you will be his/her choice the next time he/she wants to find something.

Enticing the market - IPO Advertising

As recession has started showing signs of giving way to better times, the IPOs have started coming back. While there is the discussion on IPO valuation, company prospects and other such aspects, I am particularly amused by their TV advertisements.

It is one thing to make a cricketer wax eloquent about an insurance product or a movie star speak about a soap or a phone network. But it certainly needs creativity to make advertisements for things like a power plant or a shipyard or even oil drilling.

And what exactly is the objective of these advertisements? Imagine this scene...

"The board room is in complete silence - pin-drop silence.

The Chief Investment Officer of the big investment company has sweat on his brow. His heart is racing. 2 of his last 6 decisions had failed to enthuse the Chairman. This might be a make or break decision for him. He was not sure what went wrong. He genuinely thought they would have been correct. 

They are watching the top business news channel. They are impatient as the news about current market goes on. They are waiting for the moment. The much awaited break comes and the chairman says "Shhhh".

The entire board room turns to the TV as the first images come of a desert. Then the huge windmills across the landscape. Finally the hero - the CEO of the wind-mill generators climbs atop the windmill and sings ...

"I have got the wind power, 

So I climbed on the tower,

Our IPO is on the market,

Apply and earn $$ by the hour!" 

And the chairman shrieks in ecstasy, "Yes! Yes! We will invest in this company. I love this guy with exactly 4 strands of grey hair. His red tie and the redness of his eyes tell how many nights he has been awake busy assessing the value of his own company. His suit is from Paris and shoes from  Milan. We will invest!"

The Chief Investment Officer heaves a sigh of relief. The board has concurred with his decision. Thank God for the wonderfully towery ad...."

Or perhaps the retail investor chooses IPOs just like he chooses the paint for his home or the next bottle of shampoo. "No, I don't like that this company chose to have 2 kids instead of 20 in their ad for hotels. I will not invest in this one."

Are there any Return-on-IPO-Marketing numbers that prove that IPO advertising has led to more applications? In general, when almost every IPO has subscriptions in multiples of the floated share, does it matter if it is advertised or not?

As long as it is discussed in the business news, I think the interested investors (institutional or retail) will decide yes or no. Of course, there is the question of valuations and order books but that is a fundamental need.

Endpiece - The best part of any IPO (or NFO) ad is the last 0.5seconds when the narrator reads at supersonic speed..."Investments are subject to market risks. Please read the red herring prospectus...".

That is like those 2.5 font asterisk notes by the humongous million rupee assured prize offer ads*

* Conditions Apply. The prize is assured to 1 in million customers. :D

Collective maturity of Indian cricketers

After yesterday's win against New Zealand, as expected, the Indian media went ga-ga over how this team is the mightiest team after that of General Eisenhower. Media simply chose to skip the part where our batting was showing signs of collapse until Raina and Dhoni saved the day.

Anyway, the win apart...following reactions from various players, on being the number 1 team, convinced me that someone in the management or team leadership is also thinking on managing media:

Dhoni's reaction - We want to play well. Good ranking follows good performance.
Yuvraj - We need to maintain it.
Nehra - South Africa is not playing now. That is why we are there. Once they play it will become competitive.

Very very well thought out. Various voices, same message. That is how organizations should operate, especially in PR matters. It was impressive media handling.

On the field, the team looked rusty to me. We won sure, but fielding was a problem. Bowlers were the saving grace. Dravid needs to get back to ODI mode quickly.

Lords of the Ashes (for the time being, at least)

Oh yeah! Now the Aussie media is disappointed with the umpiring at Ashes. Sure they would be disappointed because Koertzen was not Benson and Doctrove was not trained by Bucknor.

Remember how Benson relied on Ponting deciding on his behalf back when India visited Australia - what's so different when Koertzen decides by himself and does not rely on 3rd umpire...or Strauss for the matter of equivalence.

Of course, if it had not been for Rudi and Billy, Aussies would have one by an innings and 700 runs, so fine was their performance.

Flintoff, Collingwood, Anderson, Broad were just there admiring the Lords and the press box. They never did anything worthwhile in the last 5 days.

Aussie team's prime strategists forget how things change once in a while. Accept that your team is not the same without Gilly, McGrath and Warne.

Ones own medicine does taste bitter sometimes, right mate?
---

Here are some of the links to Oz media

http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/cricket/umpires-lowtech-muddles-bode-badly-for-new-system/2009/07/20/1247941874649.html


http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/cricket/koertzens-century-nothing-to-celebrate/2009/07/20/1247941873698.html

Cricket and Spirit

India is out of T20. Our all knowing media is analysing how things went wrong.

I am also sad that our team has lost. But what has surprised me most was the spirited crowd that has turned up at Trent Bridge for our game with South Africa.

It is so good to know that people are with you when you are down. I am sure our team must be feeling wonderful because of that.

The people who protest on matters as trivial as cricket and cinema should take a leaf out of this crowd.

Some may say that they are there because of the money they had already spent on the tickets. Sure, that may be true. But what explains the fun they have on the stadium? The flag waving, cheer on every ball?

We as a nation needs to be like that tolerant on matters of trivia and strict on matters like discipline and hard work.

- Siddharth

Thank You DoorDarshan!

Now somewhat settled in Delhi, I have the time to see TV in the evening.

Well, the new and wonderful Indian Media is at it again...eminently led by TimesNow this time.

On 10th June 2009, TimesNow spends a good 30 minutes of prime TV time on the Dhoni Sehwag affair and how they did not manage the media properly. Really! Now I was thinking these guys are to play cricket for India.

Wait...there TimesNow almost succeeded in making my write on it more than what it deserves.

There were following items which, as a fact, deserved more attention than this trivia -
1. We lost our IAF officers in an accident.

2. Indian student issues in Oz.

3. The 26/11 hearing (although there too we have become perfect hosts to the unwanted guests)

4. So many others

I switched the channel to move to these and more serious issues...

And then there was Rajdeep Sardesai of CNN IBN....
He has a Union Minister on panel. His question lasts for 2 mins...
"Will you do this if that had not happened on that day...so if you say this is what you would do on that since that had happened that day...but then now that that has happened on that day and this is what you plan to do...."

God know's how anyone can make any sense out of that ...yet the brave minister is making an attempt..."Rajdeep Rajdeep...see try to understand!"

Rajdeep interjects in between..." We have run out of time. Thank you for your time"

What! What is wrong with you? Why call the minister who is busy working for a billion lives when all you are going to do is blabber something in the microphone till you run out of time?

That brings me to the title...Completely overwhelmed by the mighty journalists on the above 2 top news channels....I stumbled upon our good old DD.

I was seeing DD National coverage(Fourth Umpire) before today's match. The host(sorry I don't know his name), in a nice pink shirt and a coat that looked like the one I wore on my wedding reception, was TALKING SENSE. Following were his thoughts...

1. Why the fuss by media?

2. Why does the Indian media not support the team even if the team is a bit cold? Don't we expect our family to support and understand us when we are in stress?

3. Viru was injured in the last 20-20 world cup's final and we had won it!

4. Why does the media not respect team strategy and believe in what Dhoni says (even if it is not true, he may want to confuse others...what's wrong in that!)

Dead right on all counts. I actually felt he was someone who spoke like Richie Benaud or Harsha Bhogle on TV. Sensible things and less of opinion more of prodding questions.

Thank you DD for keeping sense in these times of sensationalism. You just won a TV viewer back.

Excessive reporting and results of hypercompetition

A very interesting analysis of what is happening with our stock markets by Sunil Jain of Business Standard. The Educomp issue burning these days is analyzed in Guilty till proven innocent

While the discussion has a fascinating take on the stock movement and volumes that surrounded the timing of news, I was more fascinated by the discussion on the issues surrounding media's role.

Mr. Jain raises an interesting moral question - is media ok in speculating on a company (or an individual) such that it blemishes the image, reputation and credibility of the company? And to what end?

The point is, just like a few companies' irresponsible behaviour gives rise to compliance laws that all have to follow that in turn increase the costs for everyone and leave everyone worse off - irresponsible media reporting also leaves everyone worse off.

If a channel or news misrepresents some data, then the victim of reporting loses credibility. The channel/newspaper may gain TRP or additional readership but it also loses credibility in long run.

Who loses? the company, the media company (though they never realize anything of this sort), and most importantly the customer!

Who gains? There are speculators in the market who gain on the movements.

Conclusion - I am dreaming about the utopian setting of all people being truthful about everything.
Time to wake up!

DISCLAIMER - I am not making any judgment on the report or the company in focus. The above post is more about the effects of such events.