2 years in India and no blogging!!!

Funny, I spent two years in India, setting up the India division of Global Village Unlimited, but had no time to blog! Why you would think, considering all the wonderful stories you may have missed out on! Simple! We were slogging! We have now set up a successful operation in india. Our next stop - United Kingdom. We have relocated to London to set up our Europe presence. So, lot's of juicy India stories .... I grew up in India (well I am still growing up), in the city of Mumbai. Much has changed in the time that I have been away. I have lived overseas most of my adult life now. The biggest change I see is in the materialism. More people have disposable income compared to when I was growing up. The middle class, which is about 40 percent of India's population has excess of income that most had not heard of. Even the younger generation have better access to opportunities through BPO set ups, for instance. This has given rise to glossy shopping malls (you could be in any part of the world once you enter these malls), global brands, global cuisines, multiplexes, cars, luxury items...international schooling, etc. all, creating a new India. An idea that is not going to look back. No wonder on a flight from anywhere in the world into india, makes one wonder if one has boarded the wrong flight. International companies are all making their way to a india. fTA with India is the next big mantra. Prime Ministers with their entourage with senior delegation of the largest corporate companies are all making a diplomatic visit to India. But, do they really understand the real India? Do they really want to understand India? I have the pleasure of being on both sides if the table. I have seen the Indian companies getting all excited about "imported" opportunities. I have also heard the same biggies from overseas passing very immature, silly comments about India. Funnily enough, New Zealand still thinks that the biggest USP between india and New Zealand and India is Sir Edmund Hilary, Cricket and English! A what!! Can someone get the government better advisers pls? Oh, yes not to forget one other interest. Bollywood! Seriously, this kind of BS gets me going. There is so much more to India than that....and the slums p,ease, if you would care to "see"!

India-Hollywood partnership

It took upto 14 months to create this baby. But a baby that has created history. Bollywood emerged as a major player in Hollywood on August 17 as Oscar winner Steven Spielberg finalized his funding deal of 825 million dollars, with major chunk coming from India’s Reliance.

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, chairman of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, wrote the biggest check of 325 million dollars in equity, for new DreamWorks Studios operated by principal partners Spielberg and Stacey Snider after about 14 months of financial alliance. Various banks, including Bank of America, provided final leg of financing. The Studios will make up to 21 movies over next four years.

Indo-American leader Rajan Zed, welcoming this new India-Hollywood partnership, said that this pact signaled India’s emergence as a rising force in Hollywood. It clearly exhibited that India was evolving as a pivotal player in international film arena.

Funding battle was tough for Spielberg because of evaporation of Wall Street financing in Hollywood, thus opening doors to foreign investment. To raise finance, Spielberg had to sell a half interest in the company to Reliance who was eager to get a toehold in Hollywood, according to reports.

Spielberg and Snider, in a statement, thanked “Anil personally for his foresight and fortitude over the past months”. Ambani said, “Our partnership with Stacey and Steven is the cornerstone of our Hollywood strategy as we grow our film interests across the globe.” For Reliance, the venture is also “a step in the direction of trying to do something on a global scale that appeals to global audiences” and an attempt to accelerate the development of India’s film industry.

JAI HO!

(adapted from various sources on the internet)
Raga D’silva

BOLLYWOOD DOMINATES - WHY?

INDIAN FILMS PER YEAR - 1100
AMERICAN FILMS - 520
FILMS FROM JAPAN - 418
FILMS FROM CHINA - 400

India is market leader in a host of products as we know, globally. A lot is known of bollywood films, its "running behind trees', love triangles, beautiful women, bollywood men like Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, and Salman Khan (should we be calling it khanwood I wonder!). Some parts of the world know of our craze for cricket and bollywood. But most do not know that we produce the most number of films each year. 1100 films a year, a 100% more than the number of films that come out of America and 60% more films that come out of China!

Little is know about the fact that while India is a largest producer of films in the world and it does dominate the world film market, technically or statistically speaking, why does it churn out so many films each year?

Is it pure commercials? No, I don't think so! I personally believe it is due to multiple reasons:

1) Billions bring billions of stories> we all know that each person has a story inside him/her. By that regard, we have billions of stories. Our population is our story. The ethos of the people living in India, within different cultural boundaries, within huge difference is our story. Our poverty is our story. Our successes is our story. Our global recognition is our story. But more importantly, our tendency to live our very distinct life as Indians, is our story. Some make fun of it, like Russel Peters -- that's great too..all adds to the promotion!




2)Escapism: While the whole world recognised and appreciated 'Slumdog Millionaire', Indians shyed aweay from it. Why? Because we live that life. If we don't live it, we see it, feel it, even run away from it...! Our bollywood stories are centered around treachery, love triangles, rags to riches stories -- tis always about good against evil. Why? So we can escape from our real world and just for that time go into a world of dreams. Why else would we have 3 hours of cinema, the longest films in the world???



3) It's not all song and dance. It's Magic: We believe in magic. We believe strongly that life will change for us, even if for those 180 mins of our lives. We believe that we will find our knight in shining armour who will take us away from the dramas of life, to a land of wonderful dreams. We believe that magic is in us. We believe. Our cinemas makes us believe in that, it motivates us, it allows us to dream. Its our license to creating magic.



In my opinion bollywood just does not dominate the world, it dominates all the people who have a story to tell, who want to escape and who believe in magic! It dominates us all, no matter where we live.

That's why Indian cinema dominates the world.. Your opinions are welcome. Please feel free to tell us why else do we dominate the world films.

30 years in India, but grew up in NZ

Ah, life -- fantastic life. A journey that is so colourful. I spent 30 years in India -- I went to school, college, management, professional development, career, children, life experiences, everything in India. But then, why do I say that I grew up in New Zealand, in my last 8 years here?



SIMPLE! Arguably, we Indians (God bless us!) come from a very protective, sheltered backgrounds. Our parents are always there for us. (it does not mean that they are not here for NZ children). But, it's different in India. Our parents take care of us, give us education (in most cases atleast until university level as that is the minimum criteria for any jobs in India). In some cases, like mine, they provide support (both emotionally and financially until you get a further management degree), support you in the same way through your marriage and then they leave you to fly! All because we want change...





Fly we do! Sometimes to distant lands, where we are suddenly thrown into a 'REAL' world! A world that is pretty different to our upbringing.

We no longer find the 'security' that we have been so used to in India, the sheltered lives suddenly get shattered --- when we have to do our own chores (no maids to run errands, wash our laundry, our dishes, iron our clothes, take our children to schools...). When we get ignored at our jobs, and find many qualified, highly experienced, educated Indians working in supermarkets and driving taxis. When we'd be lucky to even find a job.

We end up feeling all alone in this 'new' world -- where everything is very exciting, but comes with its own challenges. It's adventurous, it's fun, but it is frightening. As a Kiwi Indian, I can definitely tell you that its a very scary feeling.

When you are thrown in a world like this -- you grow up! As I did! Finally in my 8 years here.

Lucky, Kiwis have a great sense of humour and are highly creative...watch this fantastic ad:

Dr Kiran Bedi, my HERO

My subject today is a very serious one. Serious because, we are talking about someone as special as India's first female Police Office, Kiran Bedi, who was conferred a doctorate for her achievement and her contribution to society. Also serious because we normally bring tongue-in-cheek accounts of our experiences to you.

Global Village Unlimited, is known to align itself to quality projects. Projects that are of high value to our customers. Such projects commercially successful for all concerned. Every now and again, we get involved with projects that are not only the epitome of quality, but they speak a thousand language with their beautifully fabricated but real and powerful stories. Getting involved with a quality film made my Australian Film maker, Megan Doneman, YES, MADAM SIR, based on Dr Kiran Bedi's story is one such example.

We are proud of our alignment, as we were with bringing in FIRAAQ, the award winning film by Nandita Das, and co-written by a Indian born Kiwi writer Shuchi Kothari. Such people add a fifth dimension to our lives.

Tonight we have the pleasure of taking Megan Doneman out to dinner, and we are looking forward to finding out what makes someone from another country, make a film about a personality such as Dr Bedi, -- and spend 6 years making it! That is one big task!

Well it is a woman's world after all, as says Simi Grewal.

More tomorrow ...

Burger King says sorry to Hindus

This is a great example of NOT understanding cultural sensitivities, or in this case, probably using the Hindu Goddess to "stand out of the clutter" as we heard on some news clippings.




Hindu's and (Indians) worship their Gods. It doesn't matter where they live -- India, New Zealand, United States of America, Canada....Spain,whichever part of the world, their Gods (our) are very important to them/us.

Now, using a Hindu Goddess to sit on a burger with meat, is not only culturally insensitive, it lacks complete respect for the culture and its target market.And pray, tell me, Burger King, what was the message?? Considering I am reasonably clever, I haven't really got it? What next??

Well, I for one, won't be eating that burger anymore - bugger that!

Oh, how I hate the letters W and V

Ah, as an Indian, living in New Zealand, there is nothing more I "hate" than being introduced to someone with their names starting with the letter W or V.

Little do we Indians know that we actually pronounce our W's as V's and our V's as W's! Frightening, isn't it?

In one of my jobs here, I had an HR Manager by the name Vicky Wilson. I was introduced to her and ofcourse not knowing what you don't know, I was happy calling out her to her by her much used (and common name). Only to be hear constant giggles in the background. One day, not being able to handle it any longer, I asked my colleagues what the story was.

And then it came out, ...how I pronounced Vicky Wilson, as Wicky Vilson! Go, figure! Do we care? Nah. Not really. Does she care? Not sure.She probably feels special that she gets called something that people remember once I have been introduced to her! ah! but besides that, I don't think so.!

But,just know that if you are talking to a Vicky, or Raewyn, or a William, and you get stared at, or hear giggles in the background -- its nothing to worry about! It's just your W and V, that is upside down....just like the rest of the world.