Slumdog Millionaire has swept the Oscars winning 8.
The movie is a major hit in the west. In India it has been average and opinions vary. For some it is the arrival of the Bollywood brand of Indian cinema onto the world's stage. For others, it is the repackaging and selling of Indian poverty to an expectant western audience.
I was underwhelmed by the movie somewhat, but then I have experienced Bollywood. Let us look at some points of debate.
Does Slumdog repackage and sell Indian poverty?
Off course it does. So, have all the masala Bollywood movies from long past. They packaged it as it suited them and sold locally. Danny Boyle packaged it more bluntly and sold it internationally.
Does Slumdog have a good story - Bollywood ishtyle?
At various levels yes. Here are some threads that run through it.
Underdog winning against The Big Dog. The David versus Goliath thing.
People have loved that kind of thing for ages. Why, they even like it outside movies as in sports and wars sometimes.
Good versus Evil / Poor versus Rich
Then there is the good versus evil thing that gets people. Slumdog has that too.
The Love Angle
There is the love thing, the overcoming of hurdles to finally culminate in the happy ending.
Bada Bhai - Chota Bhai
This movie has it and with scenes from childhood, teenage and adulthood. Almost reminds me of Amar Akbar Anthony, Deewar, etc.
The song and dance
There is only one at the end. Could have done with a few in between as well.
Rags to riches
It is all there at the core of the movie. The west loves to ogle at our rags. We like their riches. It is a beneficial exchange. What's not to love?
Bachpan ka Pyaar
Childhood sweethearts. Hmm...
Many a Bollywood star and superstar have thrived on one or the other of the above concepts. Unfortunately for them, there was no Danny Boyle to package and give it an international exposure.
Let us keep in mind, the Chinese food we eat is not exactly as made in China. But in India people are crazy about the Indian version. This must definitely surprise the Chinese.
And so the West has loved this Hollywood version of Bollywood. They are even giving it their highest awards.
And contrary to opinions, Amitabh Bachchan has magnamously praised Rahman and others on their Oscar wins at the end of this post
Monday, February 23, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Is Swat the new Rhineland
The Taliban takeover of Swat, a slice of Pakistani territory, is a historic first. A sovereign nation has succumbed to a hardline Islamic outfit and handed over its territory. Through effective use of bluff, bluster and deception against a weak democratic government, the Taliban has officially entered Pakistan.
Before WWII Nazi troops took over Rhineland, through bluff, bluster and deception against a weak democratic French government. Will Kashmir by the new Austria with Punjab-Sindh playing Czecho-Slovakia to the Taliban's war dance?
Nazi Germany never became a nuclear power. Pakistan is one with the least deterrence or control. The probablity of a first nuclear terror attack just went up. Will India will be the first target for such an attack? Israel and the US are more distant and harder to target.
India has historically been the primary target for the Jihadist version of Islam. Fighters were easier to get in poverty deserts of Persia, Arabia and Turkey with dreams of a rich region, fragmented and easy to raid and loot. Converting or destroying a rich, prosperous, predominantly non Islamic region was always on the agenda.
India, in the middle ages, was never united in fighting Islam. Has that changed now? A higher percentage of Muslims exist now than in the middle ages. Most are peaceful, moderate, nationalist. But even a tiny percentage would be enough. Just 1% of 1% of 134 million, still creates a significant pool of 13,400 the size of a pretty large enterprise.
Throw in Bangladesh, the Maoists - the Nepali and the Naxalite variety and it gets even better. Add their growing Hindu counterparts to the mix. A modern, liberal, democratic India looks to be under serious threat.
Is this the beginning of an inevitable regional skirmish leading to bigger things?
Before WWII Nazi troops took over Rhineland, through bluff, bluster and deception against a weak democratic French government. Will Kashmir by the new Austria with Punjab-Sindh playing Czecho-Slovakia to the Taliban's war dance?
Nazi Germany never became a nuclear power. Pakistan is one with the least deterrence or control. The probablity of a first nuclear terror attack just went up. Will India will be the first target for such an attack? Israel and the US are more distant and harder to target.
India has historically been the primary target for the Jihadist version of Islam. Fighters were easier to get in poverty deserts of Persia, Arabia and Turkey with dreams of a rich region, fragmented and easy to raid and loot. Converting or destroying a rich, prosperous, predominantly non Islamic region was always on the agenda.
India, in the middle ages, was never united in fighting Islam. Has that changed now? A higher percentage of Muslims exist now than in the middle ages. Most are peaceful, moderate, nationalist. But even a tiny percentage would be enough. Just 1% of 1% of 134 million, still creates a significant pool of 13,400 the size of a pretty large enterprise.
Throw in Bangladesh, the Maoists - the Nepali and the Naxalite variety and it gets even better. Add their growing Hindu counterparts to the mix. A modern, liberal, democratic India looks to be under serious threat.
Is this the beginning of an inevitable regional skirmish leading to bigger things?
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Tennis - Why Nadal troubles Federer
For Roger Federer fans it has become more and more common to see their star falter against the irrepressible Spaniard, Rafael Nadal.
This though is not a sudden occurrance. Various factors have led to this situation.
Before Nadal, Federer had no serious competition
Not taking anything away from Federer's obviously great tennis skills, truth is, he was never tested by a quality opponent once he got onto his golden run of Slams. When he won the 2003 Wimbledon Championships, there was no Sampras, Agassi was aging fast, Safin as history will show, was too inconsistent and overrated.
Contrast this with Pete Sampras. He started his run of dominance with the 1993 Wimbledon Championships. Lendl, Becker, Edberg were still around. Jim Courier and Michael Chang were tough too. And then there was a resurgent Andre Agassi. Of these, Becker, Agassi, Courier and Chang stayed on the circuit overlapping Sampras career for significant periods. Then there were the dark horses Goran Ivanisevic, Carlos Moya and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
Nadal was not awed Federer
Nadal has approached each Federer match with the intent of beating him. He is a modern day Jimmy Conners, never cowed down by superior opponents. Unlike other players, he is not psychologically beaten in advance by Federer. Federer has to actually defeat him on the tennis court.
Nadal has skills to hurt Federer
Nadal has his own special skills. These are unique to him as a group though other players may possess one or the other. What are these?
Heavy topspin left handed forehand
Nadal hits probably the heaviest topspin in tennis. Heavy topspin causes a tennis ball to dip just before its natural trajectory. So, it drops a few feet before it would without topspin. This change in depth causes three problems. One is it makes judging depth very difficult for the opponent. Second, it opens more acute angles. Third it pushes the opponent deeper from the baseline.
Add to this the fact that a left handed Nadal can relentlessly attack Federer on the backhand. This opens up a weakness as errors pile up on this side for Federer.
Federer has a great forehand himself, but while Nadal has developed a consistent backhand to counter it, Federer has struggled on this front.
Superior mobility on the court
Federer is great at setting up a points in rallies and finish them. Nadal is the quickest mover on a tennis court. So Federer needs a couple of shots more to finish a point compared to his other opponents. This adds a slight frustration to his game which builds up in pressure situations. The probablity of errors goes up.
High percentage tennis
Nadal is one of the greatest defensive players around. He is a bigger, faster Michael Chang with a better backhand and a vastly superior forehand. His first serve percentage is usually good @70% and his unforced error rates are quite low. So, usually though Federer has more winners especially with his superior serve, he loses those gains as his errors (some due to reasons mentioned above) exceed Nadal's.
Continuous improvement
Nadal has constantly improved and added to his game. Federer has stagnated albeit at his very high level. This is more due to lack of opponents who were is true equal than anything else. So after a peak run, that level has dropped slightly. This has not affected him against all his other opponents. But, with Nadal, this slight drop is not so small. This along with an improving Nadal has led to a turnaround in the rivalry.
Federer's psychological makeup
As defeats have piled up against Nadal first on the clay courts, then on grass and now finally on courts, Federer is getting seriously affected by his nemesis. Add to that the fact that Federer is on the brink of statistical greatness to join Sampras and Nadal has already started reaching a good number, there is more pressure. When Sampras went for his 13th Slam, the next highest was Agassi on 7 and already close to retirement. Nadal is on 6 and just 22 yrs. So, here is someone who could just take Federer's greatness (atleast by numbers) away within a short period.
Conclusion
This is probably the most intriguing rivalry in men's tennis. Never before in modern tennis has the world's current dominant tennis player been so dominated by his rival, in his period of domination (2003 to 2008). Federer will not only have to regain his old level, but have a few additional tricks to derail his great rival when they meet to battle it out the next time.
This though is not a sudden occurrance. Various factors have led to this situation.
Before Nadal, Federer had no serious competition
Not taking anything away from Federer's obviously great tennis skills, truth is, he was never tested by a quality opponent once he got onto his golden run of Slams. When he won the 2003 Wimbledon Championships, there was no Sampras, Agassi was aging fast, Safin as history will show, was too inconsistent and overrated.
Contrast this with Pete Sampras. He started his run of dominance with the 1993 Wimbledon Championships. Lendl, Becker, Edberg were still around. Jim Courier and Michael Chang were tough too. And then there was a resurgent Andre Agassi. Of these, Becker, Agassi, Courier and Chang stayed on the circuit overlapping Sampras career for significant periods. Then there were the dark horses Goran Ivanisevic, Carlos Moya and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
Nadal was not awed Federer
Nadal has approached each Federer match with the intent of beating him. He is a modern day Jimmy Conners, never cowed down by superior opponents. Unlike other players, he is not psychologically beaten in advance by Federer. Federer has to actually defeat him on the tennis court.
Nadal has skills to hurt Federer
Nadal has his own special skills. These are unique to him as a group though other players may possess one or the other. What are these?
Heavy topspin left handed forehand
Nadal hits probably the heaviest topspin in tennis. Heavy topspin causes a tennis ball to dip just before its natural trajectory. So, it drops a few feet before it would without topspin. This change in depth causes three problems. One is it makes judging depth very difficult for the opponent. Second, it opens more acute angles. Third it pushes the opponent deeper from the baseline.
Add to this the fact that a left handed Nadal can relentlessly attack Federer on the backhand. This opens up a weakness as errors pile up on this side for Federer.
Federer has a great forehand himself, but while Nadal has developed a consistent backhand to counter it, Federer has struggled on this front.
Superior mobility on the court
Federer is great at setting up a points in rallies and finish them. Nadal is the quickest mover on a tennis court. So Federer needs a couple of shots more to finish a point compared to his other opponents. This adds a slight frustration to his game which builds up in pressure situations. The probablity of errors goes up.
High percentage tennis
Nadal is one of the greatest defensive players around. He is a bigger, faster Michael Chang with a better backhand and a vastly superior forehand. His first serve percentage is usually good @70% and his unforced error rates are quite low. So, usually though Federer has more winners especially with his superior serve, he loses those gains as his errors (some due to reasons mentioned above) exceed Nadal's.
Continuous improvement
Nadal has constantly improved and added to his game. Federer has stagnated albeit at his very high level. This is more due to lack of opponents who were is true equal than anything else. So after a peak run, that level has dropped slightly. This has not affected him against all his other opponents. But, with Nadal, this slight drop is not so small. This along with an improving Nadal has led to a turnaround in the rivalry.
Federer's psychological makeup
As defeats have piled up against Nadal first on the clay courts, then on grass and now finally on courts, Federer is getting seriously affected by his nemesis. Add to that the fact that Federer is on the brink of statistical greatness to join Sampras and Nadal has already started reaching a good number, there is more pressure. When Sampras went for his 13th Slam, the next highest was Agassi on 7 and already close to retirement. Nadal is on 6 and just 22 yrs. So, here is someone who could just take Federer's greatness (atleast by numbers) away within a short period.
Conclusion
This is probably the most intriguing rivalry in men's tennis. Never before in modern tennis has the world's current dominant tennis player been so dominated by his rival, in his period of domination (2003 to 2008). Federer will not only have to regain his old level, but have a few additional tricks to derail his great rival when they meet to battle it out the next time.
India's Valentine Day Brouhaha
The Saint Valentine's Day brouhaha has become a yearly phenomenon. Lovers in India's various urban/semi-urban pockets, usually left alone on most other days, suddenly become targets.
In rural India on the other hand, falling in love is looked down upon. Love affairs across class/caste/religion boundaries, are considered a crime of the highest order, sometimes an excuse for murder. Despite all the hype of a new India arriving onto the modern world, even deemed a new superpower, the real India is anything but.
Vast swathes of rural India and significant sections of urban India are still very much a feudal society. Caste distinctions run deep, deeper than those of class or religion. From the blatantly open casteism in states like Bihar to the very subtle inferences in highly educated, upper middle class, upper castes, it exists everywhere. The newly assertive lower castes have their own versions. This phenomenon transcents all religions in India.
Valentine's day appeals to a very particular section of Indian society, the rising middle class and existing upper classes. These are the elite of Indian society brought up on the fodder of western norms and education.
For them Valentine's day represents,
In rural India on the other hand, falling in love is looked down upon. Love affairs across class/caste/religion boundaries, are considered a crime of the highest order, sometimes an excuse for murder. Despite all the hype of a new India arriving onto the modern world, even deemed a new superpower, the real India is anything but.
Vast swathes of rural India and significant sections of urban India are still very much a feudal society. Caste distinctions run deep, deeper than those of class or religion. From the blatantly open casteism in states like Bihar to the very subtle inferences in highly educated, upper middle class, upper castes, it exists everywhere. The newly assertive lower castes have their own versions. This phenomenon transcents all religions in India.
Valentine's day appeals to a very particular section of Indian society, the rising middle class and existing upper classes. These are the elite of Indian society brought up on the fodder of western norms and education.
For them Valentine's day represents,
- Freedom from restrictive social norms of the past.
- A fullfillment of the aspiration to be like the west.
- The growing liberalism in society.
- The growing independance of women.
- India moving to be a developed country.
- As a corrupting influence of westernization.
- As a creeping influence of Christianity.
- For frustrated males who lack female companionship.
- For frustrated males who are unlikely to form healthy relationships with females.
- As a threat to the world view that existed before Valentine's day became popular.
- As a cynical excuse to gain political mileage as an end in itself.
- India is not a westernized, highly developed, liberal country. It has some pockets which appear to be so.
- All sections of society are not ready for such rapid change in their existing world views.
- A feudal-democracy mixed political power structure will use such conflicts for their political goals.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Affilliate Marketing vs Google Adsense
Affiliate Marketing is usually based on a CPA (cost per action) model.
Amongst the major Affilliate Networks, Linkshare offers a CPC program for specific merchants (e.g. Kayak) Commission Junction had a CPC program. They closed this and have stuck to the CPA model.
- A company (a.k.a. advertiser or merchant) runs an affiliate program either by itself or through an Affiliate network such as Linkshare or Commission Junction.
- The publisher promotes the advertiser's services or products through a website, email campaign, ppc campaign or a combination thereof.
- A visitor coming through a publisher is tracked. If the visit converts to a sale, the publisher earns a commission paid by the advertiser. The network tracks, authenticates and confirms payments for every successful transaction.
- Publisher has control on what product/service they want to promote.
- Publisher does not earn any revenue for clicks.
- The publishers in this case signs for the program and places the Adsense advertisement panel at various strategic locations on their site.
- The adverts are auto generated by Google.
- The publisher can tweak but does not have control to what gets displayed.
- The publisher is paid for each authentic click on the advert from their site.
Amongst the major Affilliate Networks, Linkshare offers a CPC program for specific merchants (e.g. Kayak) Commission Junction had a CPC program. They closed this and have stuck to the CPA model.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Slumdog Millionaire - Hollywood movie Bollywood views
Slumdog Millionaire (english) as seen by an Indian spectator. Remember, the movie is targeted at a western audience, so its appeal to that audience is decidedly different.
What I liked ...
The story moves at 3 levels - at the police station, at the TV studio and as the main protagonist's unfolding life story. It requires very good direction and editing for a smooth flow. This is where Boyle stands out.
I liked Rahman's music. I am not too deep into understanding the tiny nuances of music. So will not judge it. I liked the instrumentals a bit more.
What I did'nt like...
For an Indian, the dialogues in English make the movie less authentic.
Hollywood comedies have scenes related to puking and worse. It probably appeals to a western sense of humour. Also they have not experienced true poverty for quite some time now. I did not find the autograph scene funny.
Dev Patel (adult Jamal Malik) is a complete miscast. Not his fault. He looks completely middle class throughout and too soft. Other points
What I liked ...
The story moves at 3 levels - at the police station, at the TV studio and as the main protagonist's unfolding life story. It requires very good direction and editing for a smooth flow. This is where Boyle stands out.
- The performances of the 3 kids and the 3 teens are excellent.
- Frieda (Latika) looks good, she is shown as soft at all ages so the adult part fits in.
- Anil Kapoor was ok, Irfan and Saurabh Shukhla as good as they always are.
I liked Rahman's music. I am not too deep into understanding the tiny nuances of music. So will not judge it. I liked the instrumentals a bit more.
What I did'nt like...
For an Indian, the dialogues in English make the movie less authentic.
Hollywood comedies have scenes related to puking and worse. It probably appeals to a western sense of humour. Also they have not experienced true poverty for quite some time now. I did not find the autograph scene funny.
Dev Patel (adult Jamal Malik) is a complete miscast. Not his fault. He looks completely middle class throughout and too soft. Other points
- The call center being so dark .. looks odd.
- Policeman chasing the kids deep into the slums. When did they get so motivated?
- Missing to capture positive aspects of Mumbai. Having lived there, I should know.
- The kid dressed as Ram, looks contrived to fit in with the answer.
- The gangster's house with just one chowkidar.
- Mahesh Manjrekar does a poor job as one.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Dasvidaniyan - the best good bye ever
I saw 'Dasvidaniyan' recently, recommend it strongly. Vinay Pathak was outstanding, same with other players in small roles esp. Saurabh Shukla, Ranvir Shorey and Neha Dhupia. I have yet to see 'Mithya' from this team.
Rajat Kapoor's movies remind me of the Hrishikesh Mukherjee movies of yore. Neat stories, small budgets, middle class focussed, smooth flowing presentation and usually careful with their songs. The actors in these are usually the ones who mix their theatre backgrounds with niche movie careers, so performance is usually not an issue.
Look forward to more such productions, I like them. Not that other kind of movies are exempt, right from moronic action/comedies to pure bollywood masala, all have their place :-). But these are the ones to go see with the family
Rajat Kapoor's movies remind me of the Hrishikesh Mukherjee movies of yore. Neat stories, small budgets, middle class focussed, smooth flowing presentation and usually careful with their songs. The actors in these are usually the ones who mix their theatre backgrounds with niche movie careers, so performance is usually not an issue.
Look forward to more such productions, I like them. Not that other kind of movies are exempt, right from moronic action/comedies to pure bollywood masala, all have their place :-). But these are the ones to go see with the family
Rafa wins Aussie Open
Rafael Nadal has won the 2009 Australian Open. This puts him in a elite list of players who have 6 or more slams. Unless he breaks down due to his extremely physical game, he is good to reach the legendary level of 10 or more grand slam winners.
Only 3 players who played their entire career in the open era have reached there - Sampras, Federer and Borg. Only 3 others from earlier eras are in that list Emerson, Laver and Tilden.
At this point he is already level with Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, 1 short of McEnroe and Wilander and 2 short of Lendl, Conners and Agassi.
The next 2 years should see the fading off of Federer and the rise of newer stars, with Nadal at the center stage or just starting to falter. Flux always makes a sport interesting especially when 2-3 great sportsmen are around. (e.g. Ali, Frazier, Foreman or McEnroe, Borg, Conners)
Only 3 players who played their entire career in the open era have reached there - Sampras, Federer and Borg. Only 3 others from earlier eras are in that list Emerson, Laver and Tilden.
At this point he is already level with Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, 1 short of McEnroe and Wilander and 2 short of Lendl, Conners and Agassi.
The next 2 years should see the fading off of Federer and the rise of newer stars, with Nadal at the center stage or just starting to falter. Flux always makes a sport interesting especially when 2-3 great sportsmen are around. (e.g. Ali, Frazier, Foreman or McEnroe, Borg, Conners)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
