On my recent visit to Landmark, I chanced on this book titled – “Joker in the Pack” Authored by IIM Bangalore alumnus Neeraj Pahlajani and IIM Lucknow alumnus Ritesh Sharma, this work of fiction supposedly offers– An Irreverent View of Life at IIMs. The synopsis at the back sounded interesting – expecting another Five Point Someone, I went ahead and purchased it.
The book is about the travails of Shekhar Verma - a student from India’s quintessential middle class - through his journey at the institute across our main campus – IIMB. The word Joker in the title alludes to Shekhar being a graduate from a second rung college in Delhi.
The authors take a clichéd approach causally going through the initial life of Shekhar – gyrating around Bollywood, Cricket & Girls (no prizes for guessing this). The authors actually come into their own, the moment Shekhar lands at IIMB.
Life @ IIM is more beyond lucrative jobs, case studies, beautiful girls, booze parties, business events, rock concerts – that is the glittering image for the people to have in their mind. The book exposes the things which are virtually hidden from the outside world – like how emotionally draining the entire experience can be -very few IIM students have girlfriends/boyfriends and those who have at the beginning of the course break up – midway through the course; how HR is the least preferred specialization; the placement day – the emotional wreck (which range from cursing, breakdown during GD/Interview to back stabbing to land a job) that the students are on the placement day has been captured in absolute rawness. It provides some insight on the interview process, how the students are shortlisted for each company (you are at the mercy of Control room and the people sitting there do blunder), what happens during the interview, the kind of questions asked, the kind of jobs offered on Day 0, Day 1 & Day 2 of placement – Day 2 companies in some cases offer more than Day 0 companies!!!! Everyone @ IIM dreams of an Investment Banker/Consultant job; ironically the most lucrative offer in this story comes from a company called Lehman Bros!!!!!
And if you thought – summer internships meant wearing pin-striped suits and having offices in Singapore, New York think again…Picture this – the hero of the novel is made to travel to remote places in UP, Bihar, West Bengal to run a questionnaire on a sample set of people to understand their preferences for Biscuits!!!
The book also throws up some interesting insights on IIM students – like the most dreaded question in the interview is – “Where do they see themselves after 5yrs/10yrs”. And for most of the students what matters is how lucrative the job they land is – not what they do or what they want to do.
A bit more polished effort from the authors – this book might have turned out be a bible for every MBA aspirant.
Final Verdict – It is a more serious book than it appears to be – definitely not a “Five point someone”. If you are doing an MBA or planning to take it up, this book is a must read for you.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
WANTED is like the road side Pao Bhaji – where you relish the taste without bothering about the hygiene or nutrition factor
2009 did not start on a bright note for Bollywood with major releases like Chandi Chowk to China delivering a turkey at the box-office. Then there was the multiplex-producer fiasco which meant there were no new releases for a good couple of months. Then a barrage of films followed - After another film on relationships of the new generation by Imtiaz Ali (Love Aaj Kal) & the Guy Ritchie/Quentin Tarantino inspired Kaminey by Vishal Bharadwaj - all eyes were set on Prabhudeva’s Wanted, the rubberman wielding the directorial baton for the first time in Bollywood. More than Prabhudeva – this movie was taunted as the return vehicle of Salman Khan after having delivered major duds like Yuvraaj, God Tussi…in recent years. And boy, he delivers and how – more on that later.
Wanted, *ing Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia, Mahesh Manjrekar & Prakash Raj is full on masala entertainment. The movie essentially a remake of Prabhudeva’s own Pokkiri in Tamil (which itself was a remake of Mahesh Babu *ing Puri Jagannath’s movie by the same name) has a wafer thin story line and relies solely on the star power and charisma of its hero. It is about a street smart rowdy Radhe who will kill anybody for money. Ayesha Takia plays his love interest – who falls in love with him inspite of knowing his profession. Mahesh Manjrekar playing the lecherous & corrupt cop & Prakash Raj as underworld king pin Gani Bhai complete the story. I am not going into further details on the story – as saying anything else would be a spoiler ( remember it has a wafer thin plot).
The film wholly and solely rests on the shoulders of Salman Khan. If there was anybody who could match Mahesh Babu’s act in the original, it was this guy and he does it with full aplomb. The movie seems tailor-made for his personality – full of attitude and casualness. And what takes this movie several notches higher is the action and dances - the Khan definitely seems to have put in some efforts. Any other actor – this movie would have fallen flat on its face. Check out the Khan in the basketball court scene and in interactions with Ayesha Takia when he complains about her not giving him Pasta. Howlarious!!
Ayesha Takia has to basically look good and scared and she carries on her role with effortless ease. She complements the Khan to the tee. Mahesh Manjrekar puts in great act. His body language is perfect for the role. But it is Prakash Raj as Gani Bhai who sets the screen on fire literally in the second half. His villainous act laced with dollops of humour is super to watch and has you guffawing in your seats. I would love to see this recent National Award winner more in Hindi movies.
Talking about the technicality of the film, Prabhudeva actually does a better job here than his Tamil version. The action scenes, dialogues, songs are wolf whistle type – have never seen audience going this crazy for a movie in recent past. Music could have been better. Jalwa is top notch – this song alone is worth the movie ticket. The sheer energy of the song sends your adrenalin soaring to dizzy heights and add to it – Prabhudeva and Govinda sharing screen space shaking their leg – simply amazing.
So all said and done, go watch Wanted, chances are high that you will enjoy it. . It is like the road side Pao Bhaji – where you relish the taste without bothering about the hygiene or nutrition factor. If you are a Salman fan, you should not miss it, if you are not – watch it you will become one !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wanted, *ing Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia, Mahesh Manjrekar & Prakash Raj is full on masala entertainment. The movie essentially a remake of Prabhudeva’s own Pokkiri in Tamil (which itself was a remake of Mahesh Babu *ing Puri Jagannath’s movie by the same name) has a wafer thin story line and relies solely on the star power and charisma of its hero. It is about a street smart rowdy Radhe who will kill anybody for money. Ayesha Takia plays his love interest – who falls in love with him inspite of knowing his profession. Mahesh Manjrekar playing the lecherous & corrupt cop & Prakash Raj as underworld king pin Gani Bhai complete the story. I am not going into further details on the story – as saying anything else would be a spoiler ( remember it has a wafer thin plot).
The film wholly and solely rests on the shoulders of Salman Khan. If there was anybody who could match Mahesh Babu’s act in the original, it was this guy and he does it with full aplomb. The movie seems tailor-made for his personality – full of attitude and casualness. And what takes this movie several notches higher is the action and dances - the Khan definitely seems to have put in some efforts. Any other actor – this movie would have fallen flat on its face. Check out the Khan in the basketball court scene and in interactions with Ayesha Takia when he complains about her not giving him Pasta. Howlarious!!
Ayesha Takia has to basically look good and scared and she carries on her role with effortless ease. She complements the Khan to the tee. Mahesh Manjrekar puts in great act. His body language is perfect for the role. But it is Prakash Raj as Gani Bhai who sets the screen on fire literally in the second half. His villainous act laced with dollops of humour is super to watch and has you guffawing in your seats. I would love to see this recent National Award winner more in Hindi movies.
Talking about the technicality of the film, Prabhudeva actually does a better job here than his Tamil version. The action scenes, dialogues, songs are wolf whistle type – have never seen audience going this crazy for a movie in recent past. Music could have been better. Jalwa is top notch – this song alone is worth the movie ticket. The sheer energy of the song sends your adrenalin soaring to dizzy heights and add to it – Prabhudeva and Govinda sharing screen space shaking their leg – simply amazing.
So all said and done, go watch Wanted, chances are high that you will enjoy it. . It is like the road side Pao Bhaji – where you relish the taste without bothering about the hygiene or nutrition factor. If you are a Salman fan, you should not miss it, if you are not – watch it you will become one !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Weak Bridges, Dying Patients, Falling Economies...!!!!
Well at last I am back to blogging regularly...hope this time at least it is regular :)
Weak Bridges, Dying Patients, Falling Economies - these three signify the failing infrastructure, medical and financial systems across the world...and India is not far behind. Actually India leads the world in the first two - third we have been saved by sound economic policies, credit to Dr. Manmohan Singh ( will he ever get his due? Another person sailing in the same boat - one Mr. Rahul Dravid..this topic deserves a separate blog).
Now coming to this blog - why do bridges fall or why patients die or why economies fall? Lets take the India case. One of the primary reasons - is incompetent engineers, doctors and financial advisors. The govt. is ridden with incomptent and corrupt officials. Now consider the case where the govt civil engineers have to come up with a new layout. They put up a nice visual showcasing a layout with plots, parks and nice crisscrossing roads. Well the visual looks great- the plan is over and work begins. 3 years down the lane, rains lead to heavy flooding, failing electricity, choked drainage lines, damaged telephone lines. Well someone who designed the layout 3 years back, forgot to consider the 'minor' underlying details - the drainage connections, the water supply, electricity lines. Well as the layout looked nice on the visual - guess the layout was considered done then and approved.
Most of the deaths in India are due to medical negligence. I would attribute wrong diagnosis, wrong medicine prescription also to medical negligence. Recently, there has been a spate of increase in such cases. Is the new doctor uncle down the road not competent enough to understand the symptoms of measles and not just treat high fever as a seasonal change (true case)?
The falling economies, rising rates (read inflation - well inflation is supposed to be below 5% but interest rates are still high and more importantly the price of a kilogram of Onion is still 25-30Rs) can be attributed to economic policies which were not sound or false demand. All the so called smart chaps from the best B schools around the world could not see it coming ( or were they responsible for it). Why would anyone give loans to people with bad credit history ( and that too at higher rates :)) is one funda which I am yet to understand? Thanks again Manmohan Singhji for saving India from the subprime clutches.
Well you may argue some of the above may have happened because of human errors - nobody is perfect and some of them maybe genuine mistakes. Some of it can also be attributed to corruption. But now coming to the main point - is the government adding a timebomb to the already existing ammunition (read corruption, problems, etc) out there? Now you maybe thinking what timebomb is being talked about here. Well here it is - RESERVATIONS for the minority.
Now, 30-35% of the next generation smart chaps from the top institutes across the country - the IITs, IIMS, AIIMS - will be the one who got admission because of "what their caste is" and not because of what they are capable of. Some of them maybe genuinely smart and brilliant and would have got in without reservation also. But majority of them are not. Thats the first reason why most of them could not get through and then started fighting for reservations.
Now imagine, if that new bridge being constructed across the river in your city, the next economic stimulus package being designed is by one of these graduates, who passed out from the IIMs/IITs and landed a coveted govt job (again because of reservation). But the most scary situation - imagine you taking your 3 month old daughter to a doctor who got into a premier medial institute through the reservation quota and somehow managed to pass the exams. Well all I have to say is - ALL THE BEST.
Weak Bridges, Dying Patients, Falling Economies - these three signify the failing infrastructure, medical and financial systems across the world...and India is not far behind. Actually India leads the world in the first two - third we have been saved by sound economic policies, credit to Dr. Manmohan Singh ( will he ever get his due? Another person sailing in the same boat - one Mr. Rahul Dravid..this topic deserves a separate blog).
Now coming to this blog - why do bridges fall or why patients die or why economies fall? Lets take the India case. One of the primary reasons - is incompetent engineers, doctors and financial advisors. The govt. is ridden with incomptent and corrupt officials. Now consider the case where the govt civil engineers have to come up with a new layout. They put up a nice visual showcasing a layout with plots, parks and nice crisscrossing roads. Well the visual looks great- the plan is over and work begins. 3 years down the lane, rains lead to heavy flooding, failing electricity, choked drainage lines, damaged telephone lines. Well someone who designed the layout 3 years back, forgot to consider the 'minor' underlying details - the drainage connections, the water supply, electricity lines. Well as the layout looked nice on the visual - guess the layout was considered done then and approved.
Most of the deaths in India are due to medical negligence. I would attribute wrong diagnosis, wrong medicine prescription also to medical negligence. Recently, there has been a spate of increase in such cases. Is the new doctor uncle down the road not competent enough to understand the symptoms of measles and not just treat high fever as a seasonal change (true case)?
The falling economies, rising rates (read inflation - well inflation is supposed to be below 5% but interest rates are still high and more importantly the price of a kilogram of Onion is still 25-30Rs) can be attributed to economic policies which were not sound or false demand. All the so called smart chaps from the best B schools around the world could not see it coming ( or were they responsible for it). Why would anyone give loans to people with bad credit history ( and that too at higher rates :)) is one funda which I am yet to understand? Thanks again Manmohan Singhji for saving India from the subprime clutches.
Well you may argue some of the above may have happened because of human errors - nobody is perfect and some of them maybe genuine mistakes. Some of it can also be attributed to corruption. But now coming to the main point - is the government adding a timebomb to the already existing ammunition (read corruption, problems, etc) out there? Now you maybe thinking what timebomb is being talked about here. Well here it is - RESERVATIONS for the minority.
Now, 30-35% of the next generation smart chaps from the top institutes across the country - the IITs, IIMS, AIIMS - will be the one who got admission because of "what their caste is" and not because of what they are capable of. Some of them maybe genuinely smart and brilliant and would have got in without reservation also. But majority of them are not. Thats the first reason why most of them could not get through and then started fighting for reservations.
Now imagine, if that new bridge being constructed across the river in your city, the next economic stimulus package being designed is by one of these graduates, who passed out from the IIMs/IITs and landed a coveted govt job (again because of reservation). But the most scary situation - imagine you taking your 3 month old daughter to a doctor who got into a premier medial institute through the reservation quota and somehow managed to pass the exams. Well all I have to say is - ALL THE BEST.
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