Secret Superstar - Aamir Khan yet again veils his magic touch

That its an Aamir Khan movie and it will be something different and great is a given. 

But wait a minute when i say its an Aamir Khan movie what does it mean? Once again he is the producer and plays the lead role, as is the case always. The director, writer and all other technical people who make any movie what it stands for are someone else and not Aamir Khan. Why then, again even this movie stands out and can be called a must watch or something which deserves 5 stars? The answer to me is none other than Aamir Khan himself. No doubt, he was not only the producer of this movie in addition to of course playing the lead role, so fantastically in typical Aamr Khan style!! The point is, if he is involved with any movie, he makes it sure that it has to be a super hit. So its implied, he is fully involved in all aspects of it not only acting or production.

With Secret Superstar, the drill is again the same as with any of his movies. A rock solid and hitherto untouched story line in Bollywood, great music, impeccable implementation, awesome performances from all artists, completely new set of actors and technicians (musicians, directors) which ultimately make sure that its a low budget movie and so above all making it a highly commercially viable movie as well. To me if anybody deserves the tag of "King of Bollywood" its none other than Aamir Khan himself.

Coming back to Secret Superstar, the movie is about various things. Seldom do we come across a Bollywood movie, especially in recent times which has so many things to its credit. 

It deals with Passion. That if you have passion and more importantly if you follow it, success, fame, money just follow.

The unbelievable power of social media

People, the masses no longer appreciate quality which is why the movie makers, music directors just feed what the people what they want, even though they know its low on quality. A fact so tactfully portrayed through two versions of the same song "Nachdi Phira" so beautifully sung by Meghna Mishra, what a talent indeed, super lyrics and an awesome composition!!   

Using the Veil. Aamir,  has clearly shown what he thinks about the Veil and that too in a very dignified manner. Post PK, he had received a lot of criticism with the way he allegedly disrespected Hinduism and hurt the sentiments of the community. But with this movie he has more than made up for that and a little bit of reading in between the lines is advised for the reader here, to understand where i am coming from.

But at the core the movie is, Women Empowerment and Motherhood. Two very delicate and emotional subjects so nicely handled that its impossible not to get emotional in some of the scenes.

N Chandrasekaran - The man who can revolutionize the Tata Group

Recently, N Chandrasekaran, the new boss of the Tata Group, gave a detailed interview to one of the leading business channels in India. It was indeed very exciting to hear him out not only because it was his first such instance post taking over control of the Tata Group, but also because he made himself very very clear. That, he is a no nonsense person and strictly means business.

For the last few decades, even before our country became independent, the Tata Group has touched our lives in almost every manner possible and has also been synonymous with Trust and Integrity. 

But about a year back something very strange happened. Cyrus Mistry, its very first, non Tata family member to have been appointed as head of the the group was sacked as a result of a bitter boardroom battle. While exactly what went wrong can never been known in the public domain, popular perception has it that he was a maverick and someone who did not believe in running the house of Tatas based on the business ethics which is very peculiar to the Tata Group.

While Cyrus was a Tata insider just like N Chandrasekaran is, there is a difference, the current boss seems to be more in-line with the Tata culture yet a serious task master. TCS the cash cow of the group has been single handedly built by him. He has made it very clear that some hard decisions have to be made, something which no one in the group has said in the last so many decades. 

And with the Tata Teleservices deal just announced he has shown he does walk the talk. Ratan Tata grew the topline of the group but to N Chandrasekaran, only bottomline matters and that is what really matters in a business - Profits!!...Thats what its all about, isn't it?? 

The Tata Group after many years of languishing is finally in great hands and i am very clear that in stock market parlance it has "bottomed out" and a serious re-look at the group is warranted by Equity Investors. The group has many diamonds but which required to be mined and polished and N Chandrasekaran is the man who i feel has the ability and the guts to do it. 

     

Indian markets at all time highs but Corp Governance at lows

Almost all major indices have hit all time highs and the exuberance is simply not palpable. So much so, that these days the other word for investment is Equities, thanks to the huge flow of liquidity post the note ban and low interest rates. Money has nowhere to go but Equities, if you desire to generate that magical and mystical thing called "Alpha" out of your investments.

But at the same time something strange or may be weird is also happening. Call it whatever you want, but it is simply not desirable and surely a disturbing trend emerging within the corporate world. Some very respectable promoter groups which have literally been the pillars of India Inc. so to say are behaving in a very surprising manner or should i say not keeping shareholders interests first and foremost as they have been doing so for as long as we have known them. Cant exactly say these actions are illegal but surely these actions have made their shareholders somewhat circumspect and which have come out in the public domain thereby affecting their share prices and also their brand values.

Starting with the boardroom battle which happened at the Tatas, followed the questionable merger involving some group companies at the Birlas, then the incidents at Infosys and now the Raymond group. As i said i do not know if these actions/motives can be considered illegal or otherwise, one thing is for sure these were incidents which could have been easily avoided or rather should have been avoided. So the obvious question is why these things happened in the first place and do they convey any message as to the future course of action?

While choosing an Equity investment, a thorough due diligence of the Promoters or the group is a must and probably the most difficult. And what adds to the problem is that it is a qualitative factor and not a ratio or something which can be quantified.

So having a look at the past record of the promoters is the only thing which can be done. But what if suddenly after many decades, the promoters themselves behave differently then expected. You may call it as one of the risks of investing in Equities, surely, but when this happens at the elite business groups it rattles investor confidence which can puncture the biggest of bull runs. And how then do you look beyond because when such reputable and big business groups surprise you there is no question of looking at smaller businesses and if that is so how do you recognise multibaggers and generate the "Alpha"?

A phenomenon called MSD

As a practice, it would be incorrect to start with an abbreviation. But in an absolutely cricket crazy country like

India where the sport is followed by millions like a religion one can very well afford the liberty to do that and still 

manage to get the point across to the reader.

Ever since his international debut in 2004 as a long haired wicket keeper who could also bat, MSD has come a long way to be the captain of the Indian cricket team in all forms of the game for the last few years. In monetary terms too, he is the richest cricketer as of date by a wide margin and also figures among the richest sportsmen in the world which actually speaks volumes about his personality and journey so far considering that he comes from a small town with a very humble beginning.

So not really surprising that a lot has been written about MSD in recent years about his ability as a cricketer, his fame and fortune. But exactly what is it that has made MSD what he is today? If you look at the history of cricket, there have been several cricketers with exceptional cricketing abilities but none have made such a mark within such a short span of time with all due respect to all other great cricketers India or for that matter the world has produced.

Indian fans have also accorded the status of God to a living legend of the game, a feat yet to be achieved by MSD, but despite this there is something special and unique which MSD has and that separates him from the rest in the cricketing world.

As far as batting skills are concerned MSD is average, in fact from a technical point of view there are many batsmen who would be rated several times better than him. MSD’s batting style is completely unorthodox characterised by non-cricketing shots and tremendous power which is his biggest strength making bowling to him a very difficult affair for bowlers around the world. For any bowler it would be much easier to bowl to a technically sound player in the sense that the batsman’s response can be gauged to some extent. But while bowling to an unorthodox batsman the bowler is clueless which makes a player like MSD unique.

MSD’s cricketing sense and ability to read the situation at any stage of the game is above all which is clearly evident from the way he marshal’s his resources in every match depending upon the situation. Is an exemplary captain who leads from the front many a times willing to put himself in the thick of action and steering his side to victory which has earned him the reputation of being the world’s “best finisher”.

But above all the biggest quality which has ultimately made MSD who he is today, is his ability to stay calm and collected and be in control of his nerves in tense moments. Cricket as it is played today is as much a game of nervous energy as it is of pure cricketing skills and MSD is simply the best in the world when it comes to holding on to his nerves in the most demanding situations. And this is the most important characteristic feature which separates him from the rest in the cricketing world and which has also earned him the reputation of being called “captain cool”.

The obvious question then is, where do you get this quality from? The ability to remain completely calm and 

collected in tense situations, when everyone else around you just can’t handle the pressure. Do they teach you 

in school or university? Can you buy it? No not at all. This quality is simply in born so either you have it by birth

or you don’t!! And for that matter MSD owes it to his genes and ultimately the almighty!!

Dangal - Nothing like it

Awesome, Brilliant, Superb, Great, Outstanding, 5 on 5 stars....call it what you may. I will simply call it TOO GOOD and a MUST WATCH. Surely one of those rarest of rare movies in Bollywood which have a repeat value.

To my mind, Taare Zameen Par was probably the only movie directed by Aamir Khan in which he also played the lead role. But over the years he has built such a great reputation about himself that no matter in what capacity he is associated with any movie, there is something special about that movie. 

And Dangal is no different. So its stands to reason that Aamir not only chooses his movies wisely but may be is also involved in thorough detail in all aspects of the movie he is part of and that's exactly why all things fall in place in all of his movies. At the same time i would like to point out that i still remember his comments on intolerance and hope that he and all celebrities always remember that without us - common people, their "acquired" importance and status is ZERO. So they should be very very careful while making comments in public, stick to their profession/job and leave politics to politicians. 

One thing common though about all his movies is that people of all ages enjoy his movies and they are made as such. Don't want to be a critic here and neither do i have any technical expertise in movie making but purely as a viewer i felt Fatima, who played Geeta Phogat's role did not quite fit into the role because she did not "look" like a wrestler. Someone with a rusty and a little bulky physique like wrestlers normally have would have been a better choice. As for her acting and performance i would give her 10/10 and its very clear how much effort she has put in. I felt the same about Anuskha Sharma's casting, in Sultan.  

To me, more than a spectacular experience, the movie had many things to learn from...

At, the core of anything that you want to succeed there is absolutely no substitute to hardwork, dedication and the most important of all "Sacrifice". Like in the case of any sport which requires you to be physically fit (wresting in this case), you have to simply give up on many delicacies and have complete control on your taste buds. This is of course easier said than done. Like in the movie, when Geeta goes to NSA she loses her discipline on food and the results are for all to see.

Which brings me to another important learning. No matter how committed and disciplined you are and focused on your goal, your external environment and people in immediate contact with you always have an immense influence on you. Like in the movie when Geeta is at the NSA, she gets into bad company with her fellow athletes and a series of losses come her way. However when she is under the watchful eye and guidance of her father in her small village she is totally focused and at her best.n

Another lesson to learn is that no matter how much anything gets developed be it a sport or otherwise, the basics do not change. This is quite evident in the movie from what Geeta learns from her new coach at NSA, apparently new and modern techniques which do no good to her and how she excels and gets back to her best under the guidance of her father who is considered to be old and outdated with his technique, but in the end very effective.

But above all the most important learning from the movie comes out in its climax scene. Where Geeta is left all by herself in the final against a very formidable opponent and with her father not by her side to guide her with strategy. With Geeta almost at the brink of a loss during the match, she recalls her father's words of wisdom having hurled her in deep waters while still a child and unable to swim. That your father wont be by your side always and its only you and only you that have to fight and come out good and survive tough situations in life. This to me, is at the core of anything that we ought to strive to achieve in life. Complete independence and decision making without which our lives are incomplete.   

  

P.S. These days if you want to watch and fully understand a Bollywood movie, a crash course in Punjabi and Haryanvi language is a must!!

      

Link to my interview in International Finance Magazine

http://internationalfinancemagazine.com/article/Too-early-for-a-fair-assessment.html

Mistry v/s Tata = Huge Loss for Minority Shareholders

Yes that's what it is ultimately, minority shareholders turning out to be the biggest losers as it happens in any boardroom or corporate battle. 

When Mistry voluntarily resigned from the leftover listed companies in his hands, it seemed that it was all over. Well, yes and no. "Yes" because the battle now ends in the boardroom. No more EGMs, no more drama and no more 'masala' for the media. And "No" because simply the battleground now shifts to the courtroom. Again this is how it shapes up in any battle when money..err...big money is at stake. So media will continue to get 'masala' albeit of a different kind.

To me its Mistry's conduct or his strategy has been confusing. Upon he being chucked out of Tata Sons which is the holding company of all Tata group companies it was simply a matter of formality that he would have been shown the door in all group companies with ease, as Tata Trusts are the biggest stakeholders in the holding company. 

As per latest news reports Mistry now demands the dismantling of the Tata Sons board. I simply fail to understand why and how it benefits the group companies and their business which is what every corporate must strive for ultimately.

Which brings me to the question as to why Mistry was asked to leave in the first place. The real reasons and what actually transpired and lead to Mistry's exit would never be known as there would be allegations from both sides time and again leaving the lay man and also minority shareholders completely clueless. 

To me at least Mistry was the right person leading the group considering the way he lead the group during his short but eventful stint. While Ratan Tata increased the size of the group based on revenue, the group's profitability declined substantially under his leadership  and so did shareholder wealth. Mistry on the other hand was a task master and did not fear to take bold decisions and thats what the Tata Group needs today. Ratan Tata talked about preserving " Tata Group Values" which is really meaningless. 

A corporate survives on profits and yes though values are of utmost importance, shrewd business decisions are equally important. So for instance when Mistry talked about scrapping the Nano project. That was a bold and right move, simply because Nano as Ratan Tata has himself acknowledged has been a failure. Nano was an emotional decision and not at all a good business preposition though we have the benefit of hindsight which Ratan Tata did not have, he had enough time during his tenure to call it a day for the Nano.Then why did he not scrap the project himself and now when Mistry wanted to do so why the objection?

Where the courtroom drama ends is only to be seen but one thing is for sure ultimately the minority shareholders would lose value, Tata and Mistry would reach some kind of compromise once their egos give way and in all this melee some top corporate lawyers would become even richer!!