Slumdog Millionaire

A few days back I watched the most talked about film in recent times Slumdog Millionaire. It is an awesome film, not only because of the fantastic cinematic technicalities and Rahman's sweeping tunes but due to its inherent simplicity. Inspite of being made by a foreigner, it is totally an Indian movie which tells the rags to riches story against a backdrop of struggles in Indian slums, love lost regained etc. Hundreds of films have been made in Bollywood on this theme but Slumdog simply stands out due to its masterpiece execution and innovative storytelling.

Some of my friends were however more cynical. They felt that the movie really maligned India since it only projected the dark underbelly of Mumbai and not the shining part of it. Not everything is bad in Mumbai they reason. My only answer to them is to look out of their train windows when they travel to work. You can literally see both sides of the railway tracks filled with these slums and the scene of answering nature's call in the most unhygenic conditions is extremely common.

I think its time we stopped living in denial. Agreed that India has made rapid strides in the last decade but to think that all its problems are gone is height of foolishness. In fact most of India still are starving from clean drinking water and sanitation facilitites. So much so for India shining.

The problem with Indian middle class (I am taking some liberty here to paint everyone with the same brush) is that they want to live in the small cocoon they have built. They can afford a car,  have a nice dinner as a plush restaurant, go dancing to a nightclub and come home and sleep with the AC on. They want to believe that life has improved for everyone. 

One of the best things in the movie is the way how the Indian energy has been portrayed. Indian people are fascinating in the sense that every day they wake up and muster the enthusiasm to work hard to make their lives a tiny tiny bit better. It is this constant push towards betterment that drives them on. And the director has done a fantastic job to capture it. I just happened to come back from a meeting with a Dutch delegation from Amsterdam and they wanted to interact with the students at ISB. During the interaction, one of them asked an ISB International student from Spain as to what has been his best learning experience at ISB. He said competitiveness and ability to strain yourself and test your limits. He said openly that Europeans in general have become more laid back and it is high time to sit up and take notice at the changing world order. It is important more so today to make yourself saleable and more lucrative for the global labour market. Point right on I felt and the delegation seemed to agree too.

Slumdog Millionaire in spirit is a movie about all Indians. Their aspirations, their struggle, their persistence and the never-say-die attitude. "Jai Ho"......

Here is to wishing Rahman a best of luck for the Oscars for the two songs below

O Saya (Slumdog Millionaire)

Jai Ho (Slumdog Millionaire)

Back in Kolkata

It has been quite a few days since my last post on this blog...Actually I was taking the time to settle into my new life in Kolkata.This is the first time I am staying with my parents while I am working and its really nice after having stayed apart for about 9 years.

A lot has changed in Kolkata and I am sure that the same applies across the other major cities of India as well. Shopping malls and highrises are being built all over the city and the landscape is changing at a rate unimaginable even five years back. Last week I went to my hometown Durgapur which is around 170 km from Kolkata and was again pleasantly surprised to see the change. Shopping malls, Spencer's retail outlet and more importantly the crowd thronging these places. I was having a bit of hard time relating to the same places where we used to spend time with friends munching away on peanuts or samosas.Anyways things change and havent we changed too from those times? We have.

On my way back I took the new Volvo bus service from Durgapur to Kolkata and it was a very nice experience too. Having spent close to four years in the States, I have driven to all possible types of places and driving was one of the things I felt I would miss the most on moving to India. But the new highways in India (part of the famed Golden Quadrilateral) is really world class. Agreed that the traffic on it is still not conversant with the rules of highway driving, yet the quality of the roads is commendable.

Infrastructure remains the focus area of the government right now since it is the primary vehicle of growth. I strongly believe that it is not just the money that the government spends but what it achieves which should be the indicator of successful infrastructure development policy of the government. These days most of the infra projects are being executed in a PPP basis and this is a good step.This helps offload the complexities of successful execution on the Private player which leads to better completion rates and timelines. The budget for the next fiscal is due at the end of the month and I think we will witness even more government spending on Infrastructure.

Let the changes keep rolling in for the better!!!!