Akshay Kumar: Destiny Maketh This King

IIPM ranks No 1 in International Exposure in the 'Third Mail Today B-School Survey'

Akshay Kumar reveals that he is what he is today because on one important day he was at the right place, at the right time, in front of the right person. neha sarin in conversation with the tees maar khan.

You made it in this industry with no godfather or even a Khan for a surname. Do you consider this your destiny?

Yes, I do believe in destiny, and hard work along with it. I think 70 per cent is your destiny and 30 per cent is your hard work. It’s a very strange way of talking, but that's what I believe. I am talking from my own experiences in life; you have to be at the right place at the right time, in front of the right person.

I remember a small episode in my life, when I signed my first big modelling assignment. I was not into this film line then. So, I got this modelling assignment, and I was supposed to catch the evening 6 'o' clock flight and you won't believe it, I got up in the morning as usual at 4.30, and started my workout. Then I get a call around 5:45 early in the morning asking me, "Where are you?" I told him that I was exercising, and he said, "How unprofessional of you! You are supposed to be at the airport." Can you believe that I didn't realise that it was a 6 'o' clock early morning flight and not an evening flight! So, I didn't go there and I kept on begging them, asking them to give me another chance, but they didn't listen. I didn't know how to make them understand that it was all a misunderstanding. I lost that assignment, was completely disturbed, my mom and dad were the greatest parents, trying to console me and told me that everything is going to be okay. So, I took my photographs and as usual, I spent the day going from one studio to another studio. I was at Natraj Studio, and I met a man called Pramod Chakravarthy. He saw my photographs and decided to cast me. You won’t believe it, but the time I signed the movie, it was evening 6 'o' clock.

So, wouldn't you say that it was my destiny that I was not supposed to go for the modelling assignment in the morning? I sometimes think that if I had gone in the morning flight, I would have been a model somewhere and I wouldn't be in this line. So, it is your destiny that you are there at the right place. But don't forget your hard work, as it’s your hard work at the end of the day that pays off.

What pushed you to experiment with cinema and shift from being an action star to a comedy king?
It is important for me to give to the audiences what they want. A lot of people tell me that you are doing so many comedies, you should try some serious or some tragedy roles. I fail to understand it, because if you take a look at the last five years, the only films that have worked and have been super hits, have all been entertainers and comedies. People don't want to pay 10 pounds or Rs 250 to just go and cry in a theatre.

One day, I met Priyadarshan and he said, “I have a film called “Hera Pheri” and I want you to do it; it's a comedy.” I replied that that's great, but I have never tried my hand at it. Yet he said, "Join me". He made me realise that I have a funny bone.

You’ve always been media friendly, but do controversies, which are relentlessly fanned by the media, ever bother you? Like the recent controversy about Farah Khan casting you instead of SRK in “Tees Maar Khan”?
No, no! First of all, let me tell you that controversies are very far away from me. I am one of the luckiest people who are quite away from all these things. Secondly, this is not a controversy, it’s just being created and if someone comes to me and says that they want to direct a film and this is the story, if I love it, I will do it. And this is exactly what had happened. It’s December now and exactly a year back, she had come to me and I said yes! It’s exactly one year now and we are ready with the movie.

How did it feel to be awarded a Padma Shri?
I feel honoured to be presented an award by the President of India. It was a shocker! I was at my house when I got that call and after three days I was in Delhi being awarded. It was one of the biggest honours. I was really surprised. Later on, when I tried asking them, they told me that it was because I was the highest tax payer continuously for seven years.

Among the new generation of actors and actresses, who do you think could come closest to Akshay Kumar, the actor?
A lot of them could. Ranbir Kapoor is doing a great job, Imran Khan is there and there is this guy from “Band Baaja Baraat” (Ranveer Singh) who is also very good. New talent keeps on coming, and I think they will make it huge. All they need to do is stay focussed.

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Paradigm Shifts 3D/4D Flims: Dawn Of a New Dimension

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"Chota Chetan" may have been years back, but a whole new generation of movie watchers in India is getting ready to embrace 3D; if only those glasses would stay on!

"Avatar" apparently was the most pirated movie (according to a file sharing blog) of 2010. Ironically, James Cameron had made the movie in 3D and sparked off a mad rush to release 3D movies in the hope that people would be forced to watch the film in the theatre for the complete experience. The technology is in a fairly nascent stage in India, seeing a revival only post “Avatar”, a quarter of a century after the Malayalam film “My Dear Kuttichathan” became the first Indian 3D film. With Hollywood pushing 3D as the next big revolution for reviving both creative and commercial fortunes, the Indian audience in the last couple of years have been fed some good fare – “Toy Story 3”, “How To Train Your Dragon”. And the wheel seems to have come full circle with “My Dear Kuttichathan” being released in digital 3D on December 24.

The upshot of such fervent activity has been increasing awareness and the willingness to experiment with the technology. But while on one hand, some critics rave about the experience 3D adds, some others remain staunchly against it (“It adds nothing essential to the moviegoing experience” wrote Roger Ebert in Newsweek earlier this year). The technology’s evolution will have a huge role to play in how mainstream it gets. Richard Corliss had written in Time magazine back in 2009, “Until we’re in the post-goggles stage of 3D, the format will be less a dominant form of movie watching than a theme park attraction.” Those of us who were fumbling for our glasses while watching “Avatar” here in India will surely concur. But despite the threats, one thing is for sure though – the third dimension is here to stay. Dippesh Jain, New Business Development Manager (Digital) at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment tells TSI, “One of the main reasons why only a few 3D films were available is because of lack of technology. Now with hardware and software being made available, the attempt is to bring 3D movies to every home.” And there might as well be a fourth dimension added to it in the future. If you happen to visit a Funmax cinema in Bangalore or Hyderabad you’ll not just be treated to 4D cinema; where you get to exercise all your senses – like smelling a flower or having water splashed on your face. Hollywood is yet to make full blown 4D movies but the day shouldn’t be too far off.

A technologically curious audience and willingness of home grown films to experiment with the format may well decide the future of 3D and 4D in India. And with gadgets (3D computer screens, phones and TV sets) that promise to transfer 3D right into your home, those pirated downloads of “Avatar” may have a screen worthy of them, after all!

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The new draft of the Seeds Bill has enough loopholes which can be exploited by multi-nationals

IIPM, GURGAON

Agriculture: Seeds of discontent

The third draft of the Seeds Bill has been presented in the Parliament for consideration. The bill was first drafted in 2004. Prior to this, after much criticism and protest from several farmer groups, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture (PSCA) had made a few amendments in the draft and had presented the new bill for consideration in 2008. However, it did not come to fruition as the 14th Lok Sabha was dissolved. Now its third draft is under deliberations. Sadly, this new draft too has ignored several recommendations by the PSCA. It appears that the Agriculture Ministry is unwilling to temper with the clauses which are in the interest of multinational seed firms.

When in 2004 the draft of Seeds Bill was being made to replace the old Seeds Act of 1996, the impression was given that the new bill would open the way for importing good quality high yield seeds. Slyly, a clause was inserted which allowed seeds to be exported too. The entire game plan was to utilise the cheap Indian labour for producing seeds in India and to export them, and then again import the same on much higher price. To make all this process hassle free for multinationals, the government had planned to recognise and permit any Seeds Standard Authority to carry it. It was to be done under the pretext of the recommendations by the PSCA.

The present bill has included horticulture, lumbering, medicinal plants etc under agriculture only. So any kind of seed or plant product that is manufactured for the market will need to be registered. For registration, the bill has the provision to set up a National Seeds Committee. The president and other members of the committee will mostly be drawn from among government employees. There will be token representation of farmers too, but in reality, bureaucrats will dominate the committee. Although agriculture is a state subject, the seeds committees of the states will only have advisory roles.

While the farmers will continue to buy and sell seeds traditionally and need not register, the branded seeds will have to go through multilevel tests. The brands that will conform to the standards set in the test can only be registered. The seeds for the types of crops that are annual and biannual will be registered for 10 years and those of multi-years use for 12 years.

In between these years, the seed can be tested only once to confirm the characters that it originally had. New standards have been set for labelling the seeds that will give details of the procedure through which these seeds can be utilised properly and optimally. For example, on the label of a particular wheat seed, it will be clearly mentioned that after watering it so many times, applying so much fertilizers and protecting it from weeds and pests, it will lead to so much yield.

The seed examiners will have the duty to enforce and implement all the laws and provisions of the Seeds Bill 2010. They will have the right to raid and confiscate the premises and stock of a particular seeds seller, with permission from the District Magistrate, if the particular seller is caught selling unregistered, adulterated seeds, or seeds that do not conform to the set standards. However, these are ideal situations. The reality is, every state in this country has sellers selling adulterated and sub-standard seeds, right under the nose of government officials. Nobody cares about complaints from the farmers and compensation to them in case of bad quality seeds is almost unheard of.

The biggest problem in this bill is the lack of transparency in the entire registration process. There is no provision under which one can know the name of the person who has developed a particular seed, the place where it has been developed or the current ownership of a particular variety. Numerous cases have come up where poor farmers are duped and the ownership is fraudulently taken away by someone else and a third person starts producing and selling it. For example, Bikaner Narma, a particular variety of cotton was developed by a farmer in Bikaner, Rajasthan, but was later used by somebody else for commercial purposes. Similarly, Mahico, the country’s biggest seed firm, started by selling sawani bhindi, a variety of ladyfinger grown by Pusa Institute. Mahico bought the seeds from Pusa and kept on producing and selling them year after year without giving Pusa the royalty or license fees. Today they have their own scientists, laboratories and other infrastructure and have partners like Monsento, and virtually rule the Indian seeds business.

The onus now lies on the Indian parliamentarians to take steps which are in the interests of the farmers. The MPs need to amend all the anti-farmer clauses before passing the bill. That’s the only way the exploiter multi-nationals and their bureaucrat henchmen can be stumped in their own game.

The views expressed by the author are personal

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School Textbooks: Distortion of Facts

IIPM ranks No 1 in International Exposure in the 'Third Mail Today B-School Survey'

De-Educate the Children
How countries distort facts in their school textbooks

Recently, a leading media house reported that even after four long decades since the 1971 Indo-Pak war, schools in Pakistan (for grades 9 and 10) still continue to teach their students conspiracy theories involving India, Russia and US, misrepresenting their role in creating Bangladesh, at the same time ignoring the issues related to Pakistan Army's violence (rapes and murder against the Mukti Bahini and the genocide of Bengalis) on people in the erstwhile East Pakistan. Apparently, the topic of "role of Hindu teachers" in the fall of East Pakistan is also covered.

This practice of using controversial and politically motivated syllabi is not only confined to Pakistan, but is rampant across the globe. As recent as in May 2010, students of Texas schools were being taught “how American ideals benefit the world but organisations such as the UN could be a threat to personal freedom.” Those schools also were deliberately ensuring that icons like Thomas Jefferson and their contributions were not included in the teachings. For the uninitiated, Jefferson was the first one to talk about the separation of church from the State. Even Japan draws up a similar tale. Government approved Japanese history secondary school textbooks do not mention anything about the deeds of the Empire of Japan during WWII. As per a Japanese textbook, “Japan liberated South East Asia from its western colonists when invaded during Second World War.” South Koreans have protested such statements in the past.

Likewise, four years back, the Texas based Vedic Foundation and the American 'Hindu Education Foundation' filed a complaint to California's Curriculum Commission about sixth grade history textbooks alleging that the portrayal of Indian history and Hinduism in the books was biased against Hinduism itself. The foundation demanded that the portrayal be revised according to the views of Hinduism and Indian history shared by most Hindus and Indians.

On the contrary, the action taken by a Saudi-funded Islamic school is an example for other nations to replicate. Three years back, a Saudi-funded Islamic school removed controversial passages from school textbooks, which allegedly branded other faiths as being "worthless".

History text books have been the most sought-after battleground. From distorting facts in order to give a better image of their nation and sidelining their brutality over people to tweaking the history for either degrading or upgrading a special class of society, education in modern era is being used as a tool for inducing customised perception among pupils.

However, with Internet, social networking sites and other knowledge portals, it’s really tough for these curriculum designers to hide the truth for long. Distortion of historical facts, done either deliberately or out of ignorance, results in adverse effects on society. If Germans were not to teach happenings in the Nazi era, Americans the Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Brits their atrocities in India, their own populace would not attain the intellectual maturity required for global interactions and leadership.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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IIPM: What is E-PAT?

"Thorns to Competition" amongst the top 10 best sellers of the week.
IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS
'Thorns to Competition' - You can order your copy online from here
IIPM, GURGAON

Rashmi Bansal Publisher of JAMMAG magazine caught red-handed, for details click on the following links.

• Hindustan Times Article - Publisher goes underground
• Rashmi Bansal (Editor of JAMMAG)
• Rashmi Bansal (Publisher of JAMMAG)