Kanupriya Sindhu

A movie you MUST watch & a movie you MUST NOT watch!

December 29, 2010

Two movies and two dramatically opposite reactions: 1.) Tees Maar Khan – One of the worst movies ever watched 2.) Udaan – One of the best movies ever watched. These two movies are not comparable at all as they represent two very different genres, but even if I evaluate these within their own respective genres, my reaction still remains the same.

I was not expecting Tees Maar Khan to be any well-plotted, thought-through movie or any kind of intelligent comedy, but I didn’t expect it to be this disaster too. I thought it would be some slapstick fun but forget about having even a single moment of smile, throughout the movie I kept on wondering what the hell it was. I think Farah Khan made “Tees Maar Kan” exactly like the way Akshay Kumar made the movie “Tees Maar Khan” within “Tees Maar Khan”…story thought on the spot, dialogues conceived on the spot, actors clueless till the end and the director also clueless till the end! I was never a great fan of Akshay Kumar (in fact I don’t like him), and whatever good impression I had gained for Katrina after her performance in Rajneeti has got washed away with her “main aur make up laga ke aati hoon” recital in TMK. Trust me apart from Sheila ki Jawani dance, this is the only dialogue which she has spoken and repeated at least zillion times in the movie. Pathetic, terrible, disgusting and not a bearable movie even if you get tickets for free.

Coming down to the movie which I watched on DVD recently – Udaan, I’m wondering how I missed to watch it in theater. In fact was not even aware when the movie got released and went off theaters too. Huh, sad that lack of marketing can make people miss gem of a movie like Udaan and heavy buzz can actually make one waste money on a crap like TMK. But what a movie Udaan was! I just looooved it. Poignant storyline, great acting, superb direction and a fantastic ending. Must say that Anurag Kashyap & Vikramaditya Motwane have done an amazing job by making this film and no wonder this film was officially selected to compete in 2010 Cannes Film Festival. The story is about a 17 year old teenager Rohan who was expelled from his school on a silly mistake and had to return home to his abusive and oppressive father. The film revolves around the emotional journey of Rohan (Rajat Barmecha) who has to deal with the nuances of a tyrant father (Ronit Roy), a young step brother Arjun (Ayan Boradia) about whom Rohan was not even aware of till he came back from hostel a supporting chacha (Ram Kapoor) whom his father hates, the struggle between his dreams of becoming a writer and his father’s ambition of making him an engineer & finally his fight for believing in himself and standing for his own dreams. It’s a movie which touches a chord somewhere deep within, a movie you must experience on your own to really understand the emotions of different characters. Difficult to decide for me as to whether it was Rohan’s suppressed anger or Arjun’s suppressed fear which really makes your heart go out for those two poor kids…at times I really had lump in my throat. A must, must watch movie for all…a movie which you really should not miss at any cost.

Think these are the last two movies for me in 2010, more movies now next year only. So, what’s the plan for you for this new year eve? Planning to welcome it with a bang or deciding to spend it peacefully with family & friends :-)?

So, what are you searching today : Google Zeitgeist 2010

December 18, 2010

I had written a post on Google Zeitgeist 2010 report on my marketingchitchat blog but apart from brand findings, the general findings were further more interesting enough to make me do a post on this blog as well :-). For those who don’t know about Zeitgeist – it’s a report published by Google every year where Google reveals the spirit of the year through the aggregation of millions of search queries it receives every day. Here is a snapshot of the India result and in case you are interested in knowing more about the report you can click here.

So some observations based on the report:

Micromax is second fastest rising query, well the mass market targeting surely works in India and this low cost mobile manufacturer is on a roll.
And the point about mass appeal definitely seems to be true in case of celebrities too, Sonakshi Sinha is high on the list of “fastest rising people”, just one movie old but then let’s not forget the movie was Dabangg – mindless bakar but a true paisa vasool full on entertaining typical bollywood cinema, Chulbul Pandey ka jadoo on aam junta was phenomenal.
I thought Orkut is dead and almost everybody on this planet has been there and is done with it now, but well Orkut is very much there in “top 10 most popular” section. Though wondering if it’s the positive or negative search string leading to this popularity of Orkut.
Movie section has Kites leading the list with 3 idiots on number 4. How? Who and why on earth were people searching stuffs on Kites? No, you can’t even do a negative search for such a hopelessly pathetic movie!
First time ever, a swamji has found a place in the top-10 of any search list, yes this swamiji is none other than Nithyananada who is the second most searched term in Bangalore’s Zeitgeist report.
People are searching more on “how to get pregnant” than “how to impress a girl” or “how to make money”? Two curiosities – 1.) Are women searching more on “how tos” than men? 2.) Is infertility rate on that a high rise in India too?
Someone else pointed out another interesting trend in “how to section”, read it bottoms up – reduce weight >> improve spoken English >> impress a girl >> kiss >> get pregnant …interesting and makes more sense than reading it in top down order, isn’t it :)?

Micromax fastest rising query after IRCTC : Google Zeitgeist 2010

December 13, 2010

Micromax is the 2nd fastest rising query in India! Wow, the brand definitely seems to be on a roll. At first I was surprised but hey wait, isn’t it the most buzzed brand in Indian Telecom Industry these days? Google has released its Zeitgeist 2010 report for most searched words in India. While IRCTC retains its position of being at the top like earlier, this year there were definitely some newer surprises in the list. Here goes the complete list for Indian market:

Micromax is gaining market share in India by making cheap phones with long battery life and targeting the needs of mass Indian consumers. Recently it announced the launch of its android phones too at a cost of Rs. 6,999/-. Not only is this brand selling more than a million phone every month, in last two years it has also become the third-largest GSM mobile phone vendor in India after Nokia and Samsung, with a market share of 6%.

Well, mass targeted products definitely sell in India. Google’s this report further substantiates it, check out the section for raising people. Sonakshi Sinha scores higher than Katrina, mass appeal of Dabbangg once again?

Lo Din Beeta, Lo Raat Gayi…

December 9, 2010

What, it’s already 10th Dec! Looks like as if it was today morning when I was thinking on 1st December and how this whole 2010 just seemed to pass away in a blink…now even these ten days have gone just like that and so will the next twenty one days bringing yet another year to a closure. This year is one which has been like steadily flowing water for me…neither any good reason to be really happy nor any bad reason to be really sad, just one day after another and then another and lo’ the year is gone. I really love the following poem by Shri Harivansh Rai Bachchan and today once again feel like putting it up on my blog as this poem is just apt to describe how I have been feeling about 2010 till now, I’m anyways a big fan of his words but at times some creations seem to be so relatable and so close to your heart…

लो दिन बीता, लो रात गई

लो दिन बीता, लो रात गई,
सूरज ढलकर पच्छिम पहुँचा,
डूबा, संध्या आई, छाई,
सौ संध्या–सी वह संध्या थी,
क्यों उठते–उठते सोचा था,
दिन में होगी कुछ बात नई।
लो दिन बीता, लो रात गई।

धीमे–धीमे तारे निकले,
धीरे–धीरे नभ में फैले,
सौ रजनी–सी वह रजनी थी
क्यों संध्या को यह सोचा था,
निशि में होगी कुछ बात नई।
लो दिन बीता, लो रात गई।

चिड़ियाँ चहकीं, कलियाँ महकी,
पूरब से फिर सूरज निकला,
जैसे होती थी सुबह हुई,
क्यों सोते–सोते सोचा था,
होगी प्रातः कुछ बात नई।
लो दिन बीता, लो रात गईI
– हरिवंश राय बच्चन

I’m in: 2011 South Asian Challenge

December 6, 2010

Thanks Smita for informing me about the forthcoming “South Asian 2011” challenge, wanted to participate in it last year also but read it late and then only had thought to participate in it next year. This is one reading challenge which I am very happy to participate in as I just love Indian writing and South Asian literature. I have read some very good books in last few years on India, Indian contemporary writing, Pakistan and Bangladeshi themes. Will be happy to expand my reading horizon to literary work from other South Asian countries as part of this challenge.

As per the rule of this reading challenge, with this post I’m now formally announcing my sign-up & participation in “2011 South Asian Challenge”. In case you’re interested to know more about it, you can check out the FAQs here and those interested to join in this challenge can sign up for it here.

I have not yet made a list of all the books which I’m planning to cover, have started working on it and will be putting it up soon. Look forward to this reading fun in 2011!

Campfire Graphic Novels: A must try for book lovers

December 5, 2010

Me & my love for comics…ahhhhh just so difficult to put it in words (pssst: oh yes, I do read comic books till date 🙂)! Now how do I justify my comic book buying or reading habit till this age is a different story all together but the joy of reading a visually rich and graphically interesting book is something totally unparalleled. So, when I got a chance to have a look at this new series of graphical books by a relatively new Indian publication Campfire, my first reaction was a ‘yayyy’ of excitement.

Read three books by them recently – ‘Conquering Everest’, ‘The Dusk Society’ & ‘The Three Musketeers’; and loved all the three. First of all I must say that quality of presentation was just so good that for a moment I could not believe that these are from some Indian publication. I mean I have been reading Indian as well as international comics, novels & graphical books for long now, though always loved the Indian characters like Billoo, Pinky, Chacha Chowdhary or the stories of Champak, Nandan, Balhans etc. but book presentation wise somehow they could never match up to say a Tintin or Asterix or Calvin and Hobbes. Next thing which I find lacking in Indian graphical-book segment is the content, since they are targeted towards mainly kids in India, so most of the books revolve around kiddie themes unlike say a matured audience targeted Persepolis or Embroideries or a teenager targeted Archie. And both these issues get perfectly addressed by Camfire’s books now. Not only the content is great but the illustration of content is also equally interesting. Though the books are targeted towards mainly kids and teenagers but they offer variety of other options in form of graphical novels which can tantalize the reading appetite of adults as well. Their graphical books are categorized in four segments – Classics, Biography, Mythology, and Originals. Each of these categories covers a unique dimension of literature and offers exciting and educational stories to its audience. I was so impressed with their books that I took special effort to know about the team behind it, their whole catalogue and availability in different book stores.

A little bit more about the books which I read – 1.) Conquering Everest (Written by Lewis Helfand; Illustrated by: Amit Tayal) is a book on the lives of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norway and their adventure of conquering Everest. You know, the visual representation of the book is so just so breathtaking that at times when they have demonstrated the mountaineers slipping down the steep slopes of Everest, you can actually feel it as if you are watching some motion movie. And guess what, next day on KBC one of the questions was related to Everest and I was able to guess the correct answer, thanks to the minute details which this book has covered in an interesting story format. 2.) The Dusk Society (Written by: Sidney Wiliams and Mark Jones; Illustrated by: Naresh Kumar) is a story of Dracula, Doctor Frankenstein and the whole thrill around whether The Dusk Society will be able to stop Pierceblood’s evil plan? A totally engrossing thriller from start to end; just loved it! 3.) The Three Musketeers (Written by: Alexander Dumas; Illustrated by: Amit Tayal) is the same good old story which we had read in schools earlier but presented though appealing graphics.

As per me these books are must try for all those who like reading books and get specially excited by illustrated ones. Do check out their website for more details about them or their complete catalogue. What else, apart from printed versions, they also offer digital content which can be downloaded for PC/Mac, Blackberry, Android, iPod/iPads, etc. I loved their collection and definitely looking forward to reading more by them.

No IDEA to Get IDEA: IDEA the first to play on MNP

November 29, 2010

While Airtel was busy in revealing a new brand identity by spending some obscene amount of money in introducing a new logo, the same time IDEA was busy capitalizing on the hottest talk of the telecom industry – MNP (Mobile Number Portability). In fact if I’m not wrong IDEA is the first one to start talking about it and must say that the communication hits the nail just at the right place. Have watched three commercials till now, one speaks of customer service accessibility, the other for network connectivity and third on vague billing system. Liked the communication as well as the execution; all three ads highlight the most commonly faced issues with telecom service providers in India and ends with call for action “get idea” in a very smart way. Messaging is so simple that it is clear to even people who are not aware of basic things like different component of their bills but can gather from this ad that there is some new feature where one can switch operators without changing the number. Most of IDEA ads used to focus around social messaging, this is the first time I’m observing them encashing on a new service offering. Or maybe if I look at it from a different POV, I will say that even this one has social awareness aspect as it’s the first messaging in India which informs & confirms the advent of MNP in India.

Finally MNP has arrived after some zillions of roadblocks and millions of postponement. Even though it has been launched only in few circles as of now but the nationwide launch of it by 20^th Jan 2011 is surely going to further intensify the competition amongst different telecom service providers in India. More than the price, I think it’s going to be the service differentiation which will be deciding the track of churn vs. gain between different operators. To add to that, the process of switching does not seem to be too expensive or troublesome as of now. Here are some general FAQs related to MNP in India published by different authorities (via):

1. How can I proceed with MNP i.e., change my service provider without changing the number?

Send an SMS: PORT<space>Mobile Number (that is to be ported) to 1900. For ex. PORT 9812345678. Your existing operator will immediately provide you with a 8 digit alpha-numeric porting code that you need to submit to the operator you wish to opt to along with relevant documents. (The unique porting code will be valid only for 24 hours). After consulting with your existing operator, new operator will move your number in a maximum of 4 days.

2. What are the minimum and maximum time specified for porting number from one operator to another?

Porting time could be anything between 24 hours to 4 days.

3. What are the charges for Porting to another operator?

Service providers can charge a maximum of Rs. 19 for porting a number.

4. Who is eligible for availing mobile number portability?

Any customer having a mobile number older than 90 days can migrate to another operator with the same number. He / She will have to wait for another 90 days before being able to port their number again.

5. Will my number be dead during the porting process?

As per the details available, a number will remain dead for 2 hours approximately during the porting process. Fortunately, the 2 hours downtime will be between 10 PM and 5 AM IST.

6. Can I migrate my post-paid number to another operator with prepaid services or vice-versa?

Yes, that can be done once you clear off all pending dues with the current operator.

7. Will my prepaid balance carry-forward to new operator?
Unfortunately not. All remaining balance on your mobile will get lapsed and will not be carried-forward to the new operator. Thus, it’s advisable to completely use the available talk-time before moving to another operator.

8. Can I port my number from one circle (state) to another?

Retaining same number while moving from one state to another is not possible unless MNP services are launched pan-India.

9. Can I port my CDMA number to GSM operator or vice versa?

Yes, with the introduction of MNP, moving from CDMA to GSM or vice-versa is possible too, but your existing mobile will be rendered useless if you opt to move from CDMA to GSM technology.

10. Can I port my landline number to a mobile service provider?

Porting a landline number to a mobile operator is possible in countries like US, though, for now Indian govt. has planned to launch MNP only for mobile phone users. India might witness landline number portability in the future.

From the face of it, MNP seems to be easy-to-switch process but the actual impact or hidden (if any) truths will only be known once it’s launched all across. But if it’s really what it communicates to be, then this will be like a super boon for consumers in India. What do you think about MNP, promise vs., reality & the impact of it on consumers & the industry?

BTW, in case you’ve not seen the IDEA MNP ads till now, do check it out:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMW1BGF064I]

Indian Product Management Association announces its launch

November 24, 2010

Finally there is something exclusively for the Indian product management community :-). PMs in India would be glad to know that IPMA (India Product Management Association) has now formally announced its launch. This association will be inaugurated on Sun Nov 28^th 2010 in Bangalore by Ramkumar Narayanan, Vice President of Product Management, Marketing and User Experience at Yahoo. Ram will also be the first speaker of IPMA’s monthly speaker series and in this event he would be expressing his thoughts on – “How to build killer products for global markets from India.”

More details on the speaker session: There are growing number of software (consumer, enterprise, mobile) products that are made in India and marketed globally, including emerging markets. Mr. Narayanan will talk about what is different about building products in India and how to come up with successful Go-To-Market strategies for emerging and mature markets. More interestingly, Mr. Narayanan will also share some of the insights and best practices behind creating killer products that wow the customers.

About IPMA: India Product Management Association (IPMA) is a not for profit, grassroots organization. IPMA’s mission is to Foster product design and innovation and Catalyze product management talent in India. IPMA organizes monthly speaker series, workshops and more for professionals interested in product management and marketing. For more information about upcoming events, visit indiapma.org

In case you’re interested to attend this launch event, you can register for it here.

Battle of Sexes & Guzaarish

November 23, 2010

Finally I got to watch a performance by long time blogger friend – Nautankey. Earlier when he used to write about his shows at different places, I remember asking him about his plans to come to Bangalore. And so when his team decided to perform in Bangalore, I was definitely excited. Went to watch his play “Battle of Sexes” last Sunday and must say that my excitement was totally worth it. As the name suggests, it’s based on the differences between the two sexes from Venus & Mars. Loved the characters, theme and performance by all the actors of the show. Great work Naut & you were just too good as “Mo”. Keep it up & look forward to your next play in Bangalore soon 🙂

This was definitely a good weekend as far as entertainment was concerned, the same weekend I also got to watch the movie Guzaarish. I don’t think I can find suitable adjectives to express my reaction about Hrithik’s performance in this movie. It was a wonderful movie, made very beautifully. As much as I hated Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya or Hrithik’s Kites, more and more I loved both of them for Guzaarish. A lively movie on a very disturbing topic, Guzaarish is the story of an accomplished magician Ethan Mascarenhas (Hrithik Roshan) who has become quadriplegic after an unfortunate accident. The movie revolves around the story of his life on a wheel chair, his relationship with his married nurse (Aishwarya Rai) and his decisions about the future course of his life. Though I found Aish’s get up in the movie bit overboard for a nurse kind of character but then overall she was good and Hrithik was just outstanding.!All other actors like Aditya Roy Kapoor, Suhel Seth, Nafisa Ali, Shernaz Patel or even a small appearance like that of Monikangana Dutta did an excellent job for their characters. It’s a must-must watch movie and don’t go by the critics ratings or negative reviews of the media. No idea on what basis they decide to give four stars to a crap like “All the Best” and two to an excellence like “Guzaarish”! Watch it and if you’re ok with bit of emotional heaviness, then I’m sure you will enjoy this movie.

Details:
Directed by: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Screenplay By: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Actors: Hrithik Roshan as Ethan Mascarenhas, Aishwarya Rai as Sofia D’Souza, Shernaz Patel as Devyani Dutta, Nafisa Ali as Isabel Mascarenhas, Aditya Roy Kapoor as Omar Siddique, Monikangana Dutta as Estella Francis, Suhel Seth as Dr. Nayak, Rajit Kapoor as Prosecutor Vipin Patel, Ash Chandler as Yasser Siddique, Vijay Crishna as Judge Rajhans, Makarand Deshpande as Neville D’Souza
Duration: Approx 2 hours

And did I mention, how much I am in love with the songs of Guzaarish esp. “Sau gram zindagi”… ‘Der tak ubaali hai, cup mein daali hai, kadvi hai naseeb si, yeh coffee gaadhi kaali hai, sau gram zindagi ye, sambhaal ke kharchi hai’… must have listened to this song 50th time since morning and million times since I first heard it…love it, love it, just love it!

A movie you MUST watch & a movie you MUST NOT watch!

So, what are you searching today : Google Zeitgeist 2010

Micromax fastest rising query after IRCTC : Google Zeitgeist 2010

Lo Din Beeta, Lo Raat Gayi…

I’m in: 2011 South Asian Challenge

Campfire Graphic Novels: A must try for book lovers

No IDEA to Get IDEA: IDEA the first to play on MNP

Indian Product Management Association announces its launch

Battle of Sexes & Guzaarish

Blogging Journey Since 2003

About Me

Subscribe & Follow

Instagram

Looking For Something?

Recent Posts

The Netflix Effect In Marketing

Don’t build your content house on rented land

The psychology behind countdowns

Coping up with changed consumer behavior post-pandemic

Pandemic Pause – Life delayed during the pandemic

Thing I have been blogging about

Recent Comments