Catch Him If You Can

I was at training today learning about credit card fraud and the highlight of an otherwise dull day was a video speech by Frank Abagnale Jr., the master forger turned fraud-fighter on whom Steven Spielberg based his movie Catch Me If You Can, that he had delivered at Discover (the company I work for). I found a speech on You-Tube which is almost the same as the one I saw and I thought I will share it with you (looks like he is also a master forger of his speeches). It is long but it is very interesting and humorous, especially when he talks about some of his early experiences.

An interesting point of debate is whether he would have been as successful in today's hi-tech and secure financial world, with all the fraud prevention guardrails, as he was in the 50's and 60's. My initial verdict is No since his success could be attributed as much to the "trust-all" mentality of the public that prevailed at that time as his own creativity. But a counter-argument could also be , given the fact that Identity Theft and other fraud activities that are still very prevalent, he may have broken the technological barriers and remained successful, albeit for a shorter period.

Nevertheless, it makes one heck of a story!

Russell Peters - Outsourced

Phenomenon from Pannaipuram and the Lost Violinist

My recent pseudo-single life has made me turn back to my favorite recourse in times of solitude - music. As I gouged through my huge collection for songs that I had less listened to in the past couple of years, I stumbled upon the theme song from Raja Paarvai, and it had that familiar effect that vintage Illayaraja always has on me - a feeling of high without a stimulant, banned ones at least. His compositions have this magical element that makes you forget everything but the dulcet tune and this one is no exception. In this era of techno thuds and the hodgepodge that is euphemistically referred to as remix, it was refreshing to listen to creative music at its zenith, albeit from 1981. It is sad that such originality, apart from an infrequently inspired Rahman, is too rare to find these days.

The piece is a gem as far as fusion goes, starting off as a carnatic duet comprising of violin and veena (ragam: pantuvaraali - Google can make even me look like a virtuoso) leading to a pulsating violin solo and then meandering into western classical (with drums) before culminating into a fusion crescendo that leaves you suddenly waking up from a trance. It has to be said that the ending crescendo is just as hair-raising as the beginning one in Poongathave from Nizhalgal. The format of the composition is very similar to the ones from How to name it?, particularly Mad Mod Mood Fugue. That being said, it is the violin, played by V.S. Narasimhan of the Madras String Quartet (who had played the instrument in How to Name It? as well), that elevates the piece to dizzying heights.

One of my greatest peeves with Illayaraja has been the recognition (or the lack thereof) that the performers in his orchestra have received. Musicians like VSN and Sivamani had played for him for years but it wasn't until Rahman changed this trend in the 90's that some, like Sivamani, got their deserved due.

Though I am well diversified when it comes to music (Rock to Rahman, Rap to Raaja, Bach to Burman - anything goes), if there was one music that I am allowed to carry with me to my grave it will have to be Illayaraja's compositions from the stone age - Raja Paarvai, Payanangal Mudivadhillai, Nizhalgal, Sindhu Bhairavi, Mouna Ragam, Johny and the likes.

P.S: Listen to this piece by VSN and the Madras String Quartet - absolutely transcendental!

Right to Click

Rock star Mick Jagger once signed his autograph with an expletive, aggrieved that one day the recipient might make a profit from auctioning it without paying him a royalty. Years later he concluded that it was only fair if others made money from his name; after all, he had made millions out of it himself.

Maybe cricket administrators need to think the same way.

The latest move by the Australian Cricket Board to demand a fee from news agencies to cover the games and publish photographs is a classic case of "if-you-make-money-because-of-me-I-need-a-share". While a commission based system might work for TV broadcasting rights, it will not do so for news media. An analogy would be the NYSE charging the Wall Street Journal for publishing stock quotes or market updates. Royalty in the media is most definitely a No.

While such mercenary ideas usually originate from the BCCI and its bean-counting coterie, the Aussies have proven that they are not far behind in this regard. Unfortunately, while every such move by the BCCI has been widely criticized by the cricket pundits, the current crisis in Australia has hardly evoked a response from the pen-wielding experts, especially since it concerns the media. Surprising yet understandable, since all things Aussie are usually revered in Cricket.

Marketing is the key to any event and sport is no exception. By alienating the media the game might be deprived of its primary vehicle to reach to the masses. Sport and media share a symbiotic relationship where one cannot survive without the other and the administrators must realize that they are already the recipient of free marketing through newspaper coverage and the media is paying them through increased ticket sales. Hence charging them for coverage is definitely double-dipping.

Also, if newspapers start paying for the sporting event that they are covering they might want to play a role in influencing its outcome too, much like in Irving Wallace's The Almighty. After all they will then have become investing stakeholders and might rightfully want games to end the way that their returns are maximized. This will be a clear throwback to the doldrums that the game found itself in with the match-fixing allegations in the late 90s.

Sports and its organizations need to make money but they might be better off doing so with better quality of games and increased market share rather than resort to such ludicrousness. On the lighter side, they could at least be creative and subtle about their motives, like Shaq, who once said - "I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money. I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi and wear Reebok"

Azhagiya Tamizh Magan - music review

Arrite, I am trying my hand at music review now. Why not? Isn't being a critic easier than receiving criticism.

Reviewing a Rahman album is a difficult thing to do because you don't want to make the mistake of doing it too soon. It is a well known fact that his music grows on you; 20-30 hearings is about an optimal period to start thinking about dissecting the notes. Having gone past that threshold, let us see how the Mozart from Madras fares with his latest offering, keeping in mind that it is for a mass hero.

Lets start with Ella pugazhum. You can't miss the striking resemblance to 6.5 kodi pergalin oruvan from A Aa; Rahman's vocals only strengthens the feeling of deja vu. Needless to say, it is Vijay's intro song. Nothing much to write about the lyrics - as usual glorifying the protagonist and advising the youth (as if they haven't heard it before). Nothing creative.

Kelamal Kaiyilae: This song is full of techno beats and resembles those songs that usually feature in side B as a remix of the most popular song of the album (For e.g., Chaiyya Chaiyya - Thaiyya Thaiiya from Dil se); only this time this is all you get. That being said, it is a very nice melody with soft beats in the background. If you choose to ignore the strong resemblance to "Then merku paravu katru" especially in the second interlude, it is a very nice song. Sung by Sriram Parthasarathy and Saindhavi - two new singers.

Maduraikku Pogathadi: This is currently my favorite. Classic folk beat that we have heard a million times, it is Rahman's throwback to his Kilakku Cheemayilae days. Sung by Benny Dayal, Archith, and Dharshana, it is a very peppy number that keeps you excited throughout the time and tempts you to shake a leg or two despite a touch of doli saja ke rakhna a.k.a. Jodi.

Nee Marilyn Monroe sung by Benny Dayal and Ujjayinee is a romantic song along the lines of shaka laka baby or hey hey enna achu unakku that seems to be growing on me. This song has a very fresh and catchy start, especially the "boom shaka lak" piece. The beat, techno sounds and the metallic guitar are very mellowed giving the vocals deserved prominence and the effect is mind blowing. Soft and peppy, this song is like vanilla ice cream over hot fudge brownies. Forget the calories and enjoy it!

Ponmagal Vandaal The song starts out with a strong statement - slow strong beats and Aslam's retro vocals transitioning to rap. The mixing is absolutely spot on. One of the best remixes that falls slightly short of Thee pidikka from Arindhum Ariyamalum (the best Tamil remix I have heard so far)

Valayapatti: Clear resemblance to Avalukku enna ambasamudram iyer hotel from Jillunnu oru kadhal, be it the thavil or the pitch of the male voice. Where the song stands out is the interludes where it transitions into serious Hindustani and Carnatic, a sort of ragamalika. The singers Naresh Iyer, Ujjayinee and Madhumitha have done a good job at a fast paced classical song. Lovable.

Overall, Rahman has tried to be creative within the realms of satisfying the masses. Personally, I think he achieved the perfect mix with Sivaji, but falls short of those high levels this time. While the songs, will definitely become chart busters, but for a couple of songs, it will be hard to listen to them beyond the initial freshness - definitely not a Pudhiya Mugam or Bombay. With plenty of resemblances to older Rahman tunes, I will have to say Azhagiya Tamizh Magan has too many twins to stand out in a crowd of Rahman classics.

GPA: 3/5

P.S: To download/listen to these songs go here.

Cricket Bloopers

How to name it?

Naming cricketing trophies after two greats from the respective countries has become a fad over the last few years. Australia plays India for the Border-Gavaskar trophy and their trans-Tasman rivals for the Chappell-Hadlee trophy (Don't ask me which Chappell and Hadlee, as I can remember at least 3 of each kind donning their national colors). Sri Lanka and Australia recently realized that they didn't know what they were playing for and decided to name their trophy after their two most popular (controversial?) cricketers. A little northwest of there, bitter rivals battle it out for an anonymous trophy, while one of them faces an emergency in their country. Some battles are definitely more interesting and important than a constitutional emergency. (Will the cricketers end up spending a month in the Mumbai Airport a la Tom Hanks in The Terminal?).

Isn't it high time that the rivalry that arouses the most extreme of emotions in the game got a name for its battles. Even the most one sided of them all has one. Yeah, I meant The Ashes.

Let's think through the various combinations of names that could rightfully adorn a trophy of this stature.

1. Imran - Kapil: two of the greatest all rounders ever and world cup winning captains.
2. Qadir - Kumble: two great tweakers, one who kept the art alive amidst towering fast bowlers in the 80s and the other who took all 10 pins down in a bowl.
3. I could be tongue in cheek and call it Manmohan - Musharraf trophy; after all what is cricket in these countries without politics. But then you will have to rechristen it every now and then to reflect the volatility of the governments.
4. Talking of politics, a political way of settling it could be calling it the Kashmir trophy - didn't Imran Khan once openly suggest that the Kashmir issue should be settled over a game of cricket, knowing fully well that for the best past of the 80's and 90's Pakistan had a much superior team.
5. A dark horse could be Khushwant Singh- Zia ul Haq for their contribution to numerous "sardarji" jokes in their respective countries.

I could think of numerous such pairs, for cricketing or humorous reasons, but if there was one moment that turned India-Pakistan cricket by its head- it wasn't Kumble's perfect 10, wasn't Imran or Kapil's exploits with the red cherry, wasn't Sachin's towering six over point off Shoaib Akhtar or the latter's twin strikes at Kolkatta - it has to be Miandad's last ball six off ChetanSharma at Sharjah . That moment marked the dominance of Pakistan in Indo-Pak encounters for nearly a decade and a half until India became more competent - India just couldn't recover from that momentary lapse of reason. More importantly, the two sides graduated from playing out dull draws to dishing out edge of the seat nail biters - a trend that has continued on till the recent 20/20 WC final. For the sheer impact of the moment on the rest of the games between the countries, the trophy should be named the Chetan - Miandad trophy.

Nevertheless, I am pretty sure that at least in the near future, the trophy will continue to be named after Pepsi or Samsung or whoever the sponsor is since neither board cares beyond what the sponsors bring to the game - money.

Government sponsored Genocide in Gujarat - says Tehelka

Tarun Tejpal and his pack are at it again. Tehelka has implicated the Gujarat government in the 2002 communal riots, publishing gory first hand details of the massacre that is very disturbing. Their claims could have an impact on the higher echelons of the government including the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi.

The veracity of the claims and whether the implicated get punished is a different question altogether.

Profit and Philosophy

I was compelled to name this post as I did since I thought it will be an appropriate follow up to my earlier one on profit and philanthropy - after all they are phonetically very similar and on a lighter note, when I was young and ignorant I thought philosophy and philanthropy were one and the same, neither of which I really understood.

I recently re-read Sun Tzu's The Art of War, a book I had read in grad school but never really appreciated its relevance then since I had neither worked in a corporate setting nor fought a war, and it triggered me to find out more about the impact of philosophy on modern business. After all, The Art of War, though originally a military treatise, has been revered and has found more relevance in the business world (sports & politics to some extent) than war in recent times. It is broadly read within the business world as the basic primer for competitive strategy and is widely regarded as the oldest and most definitive text on the topic.

Zen, which has been embraced by business leaders as a "way of life", probably comes a close second to the Art of War. Zen's emphasis on daily practice, teamwork and self improvement is a perfect recipe for success in the corporate world and leadership seminars often propose Zen concepts like the Eightfold Path, the Four Noble Truths, the five precepts, the five aggregates, and the three marks of existence as a means to solving to day today business problems.

Though Stephen Covey and Deepak Chopra's works are popular amongst business leaders, my personal thought is that their concepts are nothing more than simplified versions of ancient Chinese or Indian philosophies - nothing original. (Refer to this article for an illustration of my argument)

As I read more about the influence of ancient Chinese doctrines on business, I began to wonder if the business leaders and personality development gurus were oblivious to what the Indian counterparts of Sun Tzu had to say on this matter. After all, Lord Krishna's counsel to Arjuna was not too dissimilar to Sun Tzu's and it is not a small matter of coincidence that both the Bhagwad Gita and the Art of War are set in the backdrop of war! Just as in other spheres of business like manufacturing, outsourcing and technology, in philosophical influence too, if China is the first stop, India is the next, as this article from Business Week indicates.

While India has had a big impact on global economy in the last 15 years or so, its biggest impact yet might just be around the corner and the day saffron-clad swamis ring the opening bell at Nasdaq may not be far away!

An Eye for an Eye and Lunchtime Logistics

In my ongoing tryst with innovation, I was fascinated by the companies that are repeatedly cited for being innovative, especially in the last 25 years - Apple, Toyota, 3M, Intel, IKEA, Disney, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Sony and Dell, to name a few from core industries and of course, Google, Amazon, EBay, MySpace (NewsCorp) and UTube from the times post-Internet invasion.

While the stories of these American/European companies have been well documented and their innovations well imitated by their competitors to become BAU, I was wondering if any Indian companies could be part of this elite group.

Though companies like Infosys, Wipro, TCS and myriad other start-ups are the first ones to cross my mind, I wonder if their success was just a natural by-product of pre-existing economic conditions and HR abundance in India that resulted in cost-effective product/services development rather than through truly innovative products like those developed by some of the companies that are mentioned above. Since that would be a debate that I would like to take up on a different day, I have decided to focus on non-tech companies in India that have developed truly path-breaking products/services/operations.

The two organizations that I chose to be the most innovative - one from health care and the other from an industry it created out of its product - have both developed their systems out of the economic and cultural scenario in India, rather than use it as an excuse for stymied growth.

Aravind Eye Care System in Madurai, India: Founded in 1976, by the charismatic Govindappa Venkataswamy, M.D (or Dr. V as he was fondly addressed), grew out of the need for an eye care system that would be appropriate to and supported by the economic conditions in India. Dr. V's vision of providing quality cataract care to the masses of his country resulted in his brainchild that has evolved into a world leader in eye care, ophthalmic education, and the development of appropriate technology for cost-effective surgery. Its model has proven to be one of the most effective programs for addressing the enormous backlog of blindness in India. Designed to be self-sustaining while providing high-quality care to an underserved population, the fledgling hospital relied on fees paid by about 30% of patients to subsidize free care for the remainder, plus a formula based on low costs and high volume. The success of the system is also due to the non-regulatory nature of health care in India and the limited legal intrusion into health care as evident in countries like the US. The system has been widely acknowledged by many management gurus as one of the truly innovative services, none more so than C.K Prahalad in his book, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid.

Dabbawallas of Mumbai: This is innovative services at its best. Born out of the cultural preference of home cooked food over cafeteria cuisine, the dabbawalla system overcame the logistic hurdles posed by a growing Mumbai in the 70s, and is widely recognized as one of the most innovative logistics systems by management gurus.

So what makes the dabbawallas so unique? And how do they work? I stumbled upon this Deck that explains the organization, their system and even their P&L.

As India continues to churn out innovations in IT, these two organizations have stealthily set the bar so high for services and operations innovation that it will be tough to reach, let alone beat. But hold your thought there; after all Wal-Mart is coming to India, and that can only be the beginning of a new era of innovation in India that could break new ground.

Fictitious Facts about Rajnikanth

This was forwarded to me by an American friend who read my post on Sivaji and Rajnikanth. Thought I will share it with you. It is hilarious. Enjoy.

Top Rajnikant Facts known to man:

• There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Rajnikant has allowed to live
• Outer space exists because it’s afraid to be on the same planet with Rajnikant
• Rajnikant counted to infinity – twice
• When Rajnikant does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the Earth down
• Rajnikant is so fast, he can run around the world and punch himself in the back of the head
• Rajnikant’s hand is the only hand that can beat a Royal Flush in Poker
• Rajnikant doesn’t wear a watch, HE decides what time it is
• Rajnikant gave Mona Lisa that smile
• Rajnikant can slam a revolving door
• Rajnikant does not get frostbite. Rajnikant bites frost
• Remember the Soviet Union? They decided to quit after watching a Padayappa on Satellite TV
• There are no races, only countries of people Rajnikant has beaten to different shades of black and blue
• Rajnikant’s house has no doors, only walls that he walks through
• Rajnikant doesn’t actually write books, the words assemble themselves out of fear
• Rajnikant can divide by zero
• Newton’s Third Law is wrong: Although it states that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, there is no force equal in reaction to a Rajnikant turnaround kick
• For some, the left testicle is larger than the right one. For Rajnikant, each testicle is larger than the other one
• When taking the GRE, write “Rajnikant” for every answer. You will score over 1600
• Rajnikant invented black. In fact, he invented the entire spectrum of visible light. Except pink. Tom Cruise invented pink
• In the beginning there was nothing…then Rajnikant kicked that nothing in the face and said “Get a job”. That is the story of the universe
• Rajnikant has 12 moons. One of those moons is the Earth
• Rajnikant grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his own rage
• Archeologists unearthed an old English dictionary dating back to the year 1236. It defined “victim” as “one who has encountered Rajnikant”
• Rajnikant ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one
• If you Google search “Rajnikant getting his ass kicked” you will generate zero results. It just doesn’t happen.
• Rajnikant can drink an entire gallon of milk in thirty-seven seconds
• Rajnikant doesn’t bowl strikes, he just knocks down one pin and the other nine faint
• It takes Rajnikant 20 minutes to watch 60 Minutes – no, he doesn’t have a TIVO
• The Bermuda Triangle used to be the Bermuda Square, until Rajnikant kicked one of the corners off
• There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Rajnikant lives in Chennai
• Rajnikant once ate an entire bottle of sleeping pills. They made him blink
• Thousands of years ago Rajnikant came across a bear. It was so terrified that it fled north into the arctic. It was also so terrified that all of its decedents now have white hair.

Man from New Jersey

I was at a training session today about innovations in the credit card industry and one of the speakers started with an anecdote about an innovative businessman, which I found to be very interesting. Thought I will share it with you.

They say in Manhattan, that you can identify a Man from New Jersey by his looks. One such man walked into one of the leading banks in Manhattan and asked for an immediate loan of $10,000. The banker, dressed in one of his finest of suits was skeptical; as would any New Yorker be of a Man from Jersey, and thought that it was an obvious set up for swindling money. His suspicions got confirmed when the Man from Jersey said that he wanted the money in an hour's time since he was catching a plane to go out of the country for 2 weeks. But, being a true banker, he still wanted to earn the business and make some money.

(I have deliberately tried to make the beginning narration sound like lines from Quentin Tarantino movies; remember David Carradine's narration in the chapter "The Cruel Tutelage of Pai Mei" in Kill Bill?)

"I can't just give you a loan of $10,000 without any type of collateral" the banker replies politely.

"Will my car do?" the Man from Jersey asks.

"Depends on the car" the banker replies

"What if it is a brand new Mercedes?"

"I should think so..." the banker replies, who promptly has the car driven into the bank's underground parking for safe keeping, and then gives the Man from Jersey $10,000. The Man form Jersey fills the paperwork at 7.99% APR and leaves.

Two weeks later, the Man from Jersey walks into the bank to settle up his loan and get his car back.

"That will be $10,000 principal, and $16.64 in interest" said the Banker.

The Man from Jersey promptly writes a check, gives it to the Banker, gathers his keys, and starts to walk away.

"Wait, sir!" Banker says. I've just got one question. Obviously you are wealthy. Why did you want to borrow $10,000?"

The Man from Jersey smiled "Well, when I got here I noticed the congested traffic and the obviously high parking rates of $20/hr and decided it was too much of a risk to park my car around town because it might get scratched up. Where else could I find a safer place to park my Mercedes in Manhattan for two weeks and still pay only $16.64?"

Now, that's what I call innovation!

Thank You

I want to thank every person who has visited my blog in the last 3 months. The number of visits has crossed 1,000 as of 10/3/2007 and the site has logged its 300th unique visitor (No, it is not me clicking away to make up the numbers; I have excluded my IP addresses from all counters). While visitors from the US and India contribute 50% of the visits, followed by Australia, Canada and UK (25%), it has been very encouraging to see visitors from countries like Poland, Russia, Cyprus, Lithuania and Romania logging a significant number of visits. The site has also achieved significantly high organic rankings (as high as #3) on high traffic keywords on Google. The highest # unique visitors on a single day so far has been 35, recorded on 9/27; apparently Google likes people blogging about it.

Happy Reading!

Sincerely,
Naga

Open door policy - a classic Seinfeld moment

One of the first things I noticed and slowly developed when I migrated to the US was to hold the door open for the man/woman following me to the door and people are generally appreciative of it. While it is always easier when you have someone following right behind, a tricky situation arises when the person is not close enough to pass the baton, and far enough that you have to go out of the way to hold the door open? As Shakespeare would have put it - To hold the door or not is the question.

Having found myself in one such awkward situation today, I decided to let go and was the recipient of the most scornful look I had ever received from the person who followed me (Classic Seinfeld (George Costanza) moment!), and that has made me write this post. Since I am pretty confident that the Fab Four in Seinfeld have not discussed this burning issue in day today American life, I would like to know from my readers if there is a thumb rule to this great tradition that I should know and follow.

Let me know your comments!

Profit or Philanthropy?

On one of those happy hours after work, my colleague and I got into a debate on companies and their social responsibility. His view was that a company's only responsibility is to make money for its shareholders and that they should be blamed neither for problems in the society nor ignoring their responsibility towards society - pretty capitalistic indeed. My view was that though profit remains a company's primary motive and shareholders their primary focal point, companies must be profitable within the realms of social responsibility. Remember, I am not a communist by any means, neither am I a total believer in Ayn Rand and her theory of objectivism. I believe in capitalism where society plays a significant part - a middle ground of sorts.

So, profit or philanthropy? Competitive advantage or corporate social responsibility? Where does one end and other begin for a company (or an individual, for that matter). Can everyone, like Buffet and Gates have proved successfully, follow one up with the other? If all companies were socially responsible, wouldn't we all be buying groceries only from Whole Foods? Wouldn't every car manufacturer switch to hybrids?

When Nike faces a consumer boycott because of media reports on its labor practices in Asia or when McDonald's and KFC are held responsible for obesity in the US, it raises a debate in my mind - Are we right in pointing the finger at companies for flaws in the individual or the society? Or are companies and their practices the causes of the flaws that we are talking about? It is a classic chicken and egg question. After all, Who is John Galt?

In pursuit of more clarity on this issue, I came across this article in the Harvard Business Review by Porter and Kramer (yes, Porter of "Porter's 5 forces" fame), winner of the 2006 McKinsey Award for the Best Harvard Business Review Article.

Porter discusses both sides of the issue but agrees that there is a "moral purpose of business" and proposes a framework by which companies can integrate business and social needs into their value chain. Among the many cases he uses to highlight this concept, I found that of Nestle to be the most interesting (refer text below) and most explicit in highlighting how a company can contribute to economic and social growth while increasing its profits; a win-win.

Maybe there is John Galt!

Integrating Company Practice and Context: Nestlé’s Milk District

Nestlé’s approach to working with small farmers exemplifies the symbiotic relationship between social progress and competitive advantage.

Consider the history of Nestlé’s milk business in India. In 1962, the company wanted to enter the Indian market, and it received government permission to build a dairy in the northern district of Moga. Poverty in the region was severe; people were without electricity, transportation, telephones, or medical care. A farmer typically owned less than five acres of poorly irrigated and infertile soil. Many kept a single buffalo cow that produced just enough milk for their own consumption. Sixty percent of calves died newborn. Because farmers lacked refrigeration, transportation, or any way to test for quality, milk could not travel far and was frequently contaminated or diluted.

Nestlé came to Moga to build a business, not to engage in CSR. But Nestlé’s value chain, derived from the company’s origins in Switzerland, depended on establishing local sources of milk from a large, diversified base of small farmers. Establishing that value chain in Moga required Nestlé to transform the competitive context in ways that created tremendous shared value for both the company and the region.

Nestlé built refrigerated dairies as collection points for milk in each town and sent its trucks out to the dairies to collect the milk. With the trucks went veterinarians, nutritionists, agronomists, and quality assurance experts. Medicines and nutritional supplements were provided for sick animals, and monthly training sessions were held for local farmers. Farmers learned that the milk quality depended on the cows’ diet, which in turn depended on adequate feed crop irrigation. With financing and technical assistance from Nestlé, farmers began to dig previously unaffordable deep-bore wells. Improved irrigation not only fed cows but increased crop yields, producing surplus wheat and rice and raising the standard of living.

When Nestlé’s milk factory first opened, only 180 local farmers supplied milk. Today, Nestlé buys milk from more than 75,000 farmers in the region, collecting it twice daily from more than 650 village dairies. The death rate of calves has dropped by 75%. Milk production has increased 50-fold. As the quality has improved, Nestlé has been able to pay higher prices to farmers than those set by the government, and its steady biweekly payments have enabled farmers to obtain credit. Competing dairies and milk factories have opened, and an industry cluster is beginning to develop.

Today, Moga has a significantly higher standard of living than other regions in the vicinity. Ninety percent of the homes have electricity, and most have telephones; all villages have primary schools, and many have secondary schools. Moga has five times the number of doctors as neighboring regions. The increased purchasing power of local farmers has also greatly expanded the market for Nestlé’s products, further supporting the firm’s economic success.

Nestlé’s commitment to working with small farmers is central to its strategy. It enables the company to obtain a stable supply of high-quality commodities without paying middlemen. The corporation’s other core products—coffee and cocoa—are often grown by small farmers in developing countries under similar conditions. Nestlé’s experience in setting up collection points, training farmers, and introducing better technology in Moga has been repeated in Brazil, Thailand, and a dozen other countries, including, most recently, China. In each case, as Nestlé has prospered, so has the community.

Is Google DoubleClicking its way to dominance?

Rarely do Microsoft (MSFT) and Yahoo! (YHOO) join hands on an issue, but when the firm on the other side is Google (GOOG), they are more than happy to do so. Ever since Google announced the $3.1 bn takeover of DoubleClick, the two software giants have been crying foul over the control it will give Google over Internet advertising.

While Microsoft - who also wanted to buy DoubleClick - is playing the role of the peeved loser pointing to anti-trust violations (no stranger to being the target of anti-trust accusations themselves), Yahoo seems more concerned about the future of advertisers on the web. To paraphrase, both companies are running scared of Google's latest attempt at dominating the webosphere, where it already holds sway with search (paid or organic). The fact of the matter is that Google’s purchase of DoubleClick would combine the two largest online advertising distributors from two dominant advertising channels (search and display ads) and thus substantially reduce competition in the advertising market on the Web - a shrewd move indeed by Messrs Schmidt, Brin and Paige.

Having spent the best part of the last two years on internet marketing analytics and having worked with both Google and DoubleClick, I can clearly see this being a seminal move. Here are the reasons - Google is the 800-pound gorilla in online advertising (It owns 56% of the core U.S. search market; Microsoft - 12%; Yahoo 23% - as of July 2007) and this merger doesn't change that. But at the same time, this deal clearly has the potential to ignite Google's efforts in the display ad market and down the road gives them the opportunity to create a platform that marries search and display ads in a way that it will be hard to fathom others imitating. Even the sky high price may be less a function of DoubleClick's current worth and more about what it can strategically provide for Google—and what it could have done for Microsoft or Yahoo!

Google seems to be following the most successful adage in business - "If you can't make it, buy it". Google's display efforts to date, like its attempts to expand outside of search in general, have been marginally successful at best. So in a lot of ways, it had to do acquire a company like DoubleClick. But what was surprising to me was the aggressive approach taken by Google towards dominating the industry - while it could have easily and conservatively sat on its riches from search, it decided to expand its horizons and give it rivals something more to think about.

As the legal battles and corporate counter-strategies unfold over the next few months (Microsoft has since announced the $6 bn purchase of DoubleClick's rival aQuantive), I can but only sit and admire a company that simply doesn't want to lose anything - not even a market share it doesn't have!

Fast and Furious...

...two adjectives that would aptly describe the recently concluded 20/20 Cricket World Cup. Some might say "too fast, too furious", but I think the speed was just about right. This was the best cricket tournament since '99 World Cup - the last such one where at least 2 other teams (SA & Pak) were as good as the Aussies before the men in gold and green surged ahead to leave the rest of the world languishing in doldrums.

It is a common business transformation strategy to change a company's focus from its products and revenue to its consumers and many leading companies have turned around losing businesses by successfully implementing it. Cricket over the last 10 years had become a game run by lawyers/politicians for lawyers/politicians with focus on its product (ODIs) and revenue (broadcasting revenue). Along the way the needs and pulse of the consumer was forgotten. While on the verge of alienating the fans from the game, serendipitously or not, the ICC has just implemented one such successful transformation.

Despite numerous experts questioning the purity of the concept (Articles 1, 2 & 3), I am convinced that the game has received the perfect dose of caffeine to keep it going. While it definitely doesn't tamper with the purity and position of the more pristine form of the game that is test cricket, it certainly marks the beginning of the end of the 50 over game and nothing highlighted that more than the contrasting nature of the two world cups staged over the last 6 months - one whose winner was obvious 4 years before it started and the other whose winner was unknown until the last 4 balls were bowled!

While the purists correctly argue that test cricket is the true test of skills, truly close contests of the highest quality are too far and few in between to attract anyone but purists to the game. Over the last 10 years there have been only 2 mindblowing test series (Aus vs. India 2001 & Aus vs. Eng 2005) to satisfy the non-purist. Steve Waugh and his fearless Aussies revolutionized the game by scoring at an unheard of rate of 4 an over in tests, but few other teams could consistently match them to make things interesting. Arguably, the shorter version levels the field for a more even contest where ephemeral brilliance rather than sustained genius is sufficient to win games. But in doing so, it has unearthed the the key to closer contests and tighter finishes that has become a rarity in the game. Also, the average cricket fan does not have 5 days to watch the game in stadiums and appreciate the purity of the game. He prefers the luxury of Cricinfo to give him the executive summary. 20/20 has truly brought the fan back to the grounds.

And finally, to critics who site that the version may not produce a Sachin or a Lara, the counter argument is that Sachins and Laras are supreme talents that will show up and shine irrespective of the format of the game. It might be worthwhile to remember that SRT first announced his talent to the cricket world by taking the life out of Abdul Qadir (described by none other than Viv Richards as the toughest bowler he had faced) in an exhibition match in Pakistan before he went on to greater deeds and bigger stages. Hence the argument is moot.

Twenty Twenty is victory for the cricket consumer and hence I rest my case!

PhD - Passing with High Difficulty?

About a year ago, when I read about Kamal Hassan being conferred a PhD by some random university in Chennai, I felt that the so called custodians of the Indian education system (most of them ex-convicts or politicians; well they are actually one and the same) have tampered with and squeezed enough profit out of undergraduate education through engineering colleges that they are now targeting the doctorate degree for their next butchering act (poor Masters, nobody cares about it). And now when I read about Vijay, I was reminded of a very bad pj that my friend used to tell when we were in 3rd or 4th grade - "What is Phd? Passing with High Difficulty." That is precisely what the acronym has been reduced to. I wouldn't be surprised if I don't hear about Ajith being offered one soon (after all, the thalai can never be lagging behind the thalapadhi). So as this burlesque act continues, like a uncontrolled nuclear reaction, the PhDs will multiply and eventually destroy the system.

So what does it take to earn a PhD in India - act in a few movies? Maybe I could digest this parody if the movies that we are taking about here were at least original. But that not being the case, (90% of the movies are being made are rehashes of English or still worse, Tamil movies) what did these so called experts in the art of movie making create to be worthy of the highest academic degree. Maybe the actors associations (Since most actors are owners of some Engineering college and are also affiliated with one of two political parties, actors associations are synonymous with legislative assembly/parliament or the Directorate of Education) got together and thought "well, we cant win Academy awards with the kind of movies we make, lets honor ourselves with something that a Kurosawa, Nicholson or a Bergman don't have - a PhD".

Well, to all my friends who are still slogging it out in research labs solving differential equations and developing inventory models to obtain that coveted degree, I really really feel bad for you, because I am taking off to Kodambakkam to get my PhD in...Copyrights Violation?

East or West, India is a land of snake charmers at its best

I saw two ads on cable TV today (Vitamin Water & Tanqueray Rangpur) on different channels within a span of 20 minutes and interestingly enough both featured India, symbolized not by the Taj or the Himalayas, not Gandhi or Aishwarya (supposedly the two most recognized Indians in the world) and definitely not the sprawling IT corridors of Bangalore or Hyderabad. India was proudly represented by the antediluvian images of snake charmers and their pets showing off their latest moves. I would have had a good laugh had the ads shown a call center in Bangalore or Noida.

So what is it with the West and its perception of India as a land of magic, swamis, snakes and most bizarre of cultures and spiritualism. Is the West oblivious to the developments that have taken place in the country over the last 20 years, from becoming the services hub of the world to housing R&D centers for global leaders like GE and Intel and becoming the twelfth largest economy in the world in that process (with a GDP growth rate of 9.4% in 2006-07)? Or is it just a blurred vision of a few that keeps reinforcing the stigmatic images of the country that was made popular by BBC shows and the Indiana Jones adventures? A third possibility is that though the West has embraced India when it comes to recruiting its brilliant engineers, setting up its latest product centers or accepting the importance of Yoga and Karma in their day today lives, it continues to market the country to its common man as it has always done - deliberately choosing to ignore the sublime growth of a new nation, perhaps as a result of the inertia to preserve the mystique and exoticness that has been long associated with the country. Having spent the last 6 years in the US, my personal opinion is that it is the listless work of a few that continues to project India in such deprecating ways.

Shaolin Soccer

I am not a big soccer fan and so I restrict myself to just the World Cups. (NBA, NFL, Tennis and cricket continue to hold sway over me). The glorified initiation that got kicked off with Maradona's genius in '86 never really grew on me as it did on some of my other friends who follow English Premier League and Spanish League with their own fantasy teams just like I follow NFL.

Recently I happened to watch a soccer game on TV as part of Copa America and it got me to wonder why the game never really got my adrenalin pumping. Even Golf, which I thought could never be a TV sport because of the snail like pace and Boxing, which always got me to wonder why the two guys are fighting in the first place, eventually won over me, but Soccer remains my neglected step-child. Why?

The primary reason is that the game's ultimate motive - to score goals - happens very infrequently. The average number of goals in in the 2006 World Cup was 2.27 (Source: Wikipedia, where else?). Assuming a 90 minute average time per game, that translates to a wait of 40 mins per goal. Though for the rest of time we might be treated to excellent dribbling, solid defense and swerving free kicks, 40 minutes is too long a wait for a single piece of action that moves the game forward.

So what can be done to make this game more appealing to me and the others (mostly Americans I would imagine) who share the same view of the most popular game in the globe. Here is a simple solution - take out the goal keeper.

What does this do to the game?

1. It takes away the use of hands from the game completely. All players are now bound by the same rules.
2. In my opinion if the person has taken the ball past the midfielders and defenders, there is no need for him to go past one more opponent who can can use his hands, to score a goal. Having a goal keeper in soccer is akin to having Shaq guard the basket in NBA for the full 48 minutes (imagine the scoreline of Basketball games in such a scenario) or playing cricket with 15 players, all of them planted on the boundary.
3. Taking goalkeepers out of the game would definitely improve the quality of defense and offense. All players are now forced to play tough defense and block shots and not rely on the goalie and to score, they must work the ball close to the goal and not take long shots; so control, dribbling, passing and movement are all better than the regular game.
4. Most importantly it would increase the number of goals scored in a soccer game without sacrificing its quality thus making it more attractive for people like me to watch.

What do we call this? Shaolin Soccer?

Getting nostalgic over a piece of paper

During my recent visit to India, I happened to browse through the pages of the Hindu and suddenly I noticed how much the newspaper has changed in the last 20 years. Glossy colorful pages have replaced the black and white print and a new wave of journalists have taken over the pen - the Hindu had definitely changed. I couldn't help but get nostalgic just perusing over the edition.

My schooldays always started the same way - eyes scanning The Hindu, hot cup of filter coffee in one hand, and the other hand alternating between holding a bowl (davara) to cool down the coffee and turning the pages of the paper. I always started in the second last page - the sports section - which had a good share of R Mohan's late cuts from the cricket pitch and Nirmal Shekhar's verbal volleys from the tennis court and if it had news of a Lara/Sachin century or a Boris Becker triumph at Wimbledon, that was about the best way to start my day. It was then time to read the international news and especially during my younger days the active quizzer in me used to learn capitals of countries by looking at the city of origination of the news article. A quick glance at the city news on page 3 and the national headlines, and that was about what I could digest at that age. I slowly graduated to reading the middle pages (business, letters to the editor and the columns), but the routine has more or less remained the same over the years except that the paper has been replaced by my laptop - Cricinfo, Rediff and WSJ with a hot mug of tea on my left hand and the mousepad on my right.

Though the Hindu has grown in technology and quality of print, their quality of journalists has definitely diminished. With the exit of R Mohan, the quality of the Hindu's cricket coverage had plummeted to new depths. The likes of Vijay Lokapally and G Viswanath (not the cricketer) are a great insult to The Hindu‘s great cricketing history. S Dinakar and Sanjay Rajan are passable but Ram Mahesh has come as a breath of fresh air and seems poised to restore its glorious cricketing heritage.

Many fond memories - scanning S Krishnan’s ‘Between you and me’ column for the “Parthasarathy” joke every Tuesday, fighting with dad for the paper during the precious morning hours before school, religiously clipping the Know Your English column every week for future reference, appreciating the paper's effort to penetrate the young reader's mind with the ‘Young World’ supplement and appreciating the simplicity and humor in V. Gangadhar's ‘Slice of Life’ will be cherished for a dozen lifetimes. Nowadays, I eagerly look forward to Ramachandra Guha’s Past and Present, Sevanti Ninan’s Media Matters and Shashi Tharoor’s eponymous column, despite his tendency to make a reference to his books in every fourth line. The regulars who review movies – Chitra Mahesh, Malathi Rangarajan, Sudhish Kamath et al – need to be taught that lines like “Santhosh Sivan has done good camera work” does not constitute a review. Gautaman Bhaskaran is their Roger Ebert, if you can discount a propensity to make movies seem more ponderous than they actually are. And lastly, what’s a piece on The Hindu without a mention of its legendary crossword. Being a cruciverbalist myself, it took me a while to develop the patience (read skill) to finish a full crossword, but it was always fun cracking the cryptic clues.

Today, in an industry where smut sells and sensationalism is the norm, The Hindu is still standing rock-solid on its foundation of journalistic integrity. It has fallen a bit from the lofty perch it held earlier. Their political reporting is probably a little biased and the quality of the sports coverage has fallen from its glory days in the early 90s. But the fact remains that they prioritize news the way it should be (Their front page won’t be filled with all the gory details of the Big B’s abdominal problem like Times of India), write with a strong social conscience, haven’t sold out to the glamor mafia, and, in my experience, offer the best writing available in Indian newspapers today.

The Presidency is dead...long live the President

I am as sad today as I was happy 5 years ago when I heard about the election of Dr. Kalam as President of India. After a famed reign at the highest office, inspiring a billion countrymen along the way, the aeronautical engineer goes back to the company of students and scholars, far removed from the muddled world of politics that prevented him from a second term. Like a lotus over dirty water, he was never comfortable with politics nor was he tainted by it, but nevertheless he blossomed amidst the politicians. Whether his successor will inspire the country or be swept away in the tides of politics will decide Pratibha Patil's legacy.

Wikipedia describes the POI as "the head of state and first citizen of India and the Supreme Commander of the Indian armed forces. The President's role is largely ceremonial, with real executive authority vested in the Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. The powers of the President of India are comparable to those of the monarch of UK." To paraphrase, the POI is powerless and ceremonial; a rubber stamp of sorts. Why then do we need a President? After all, the qualifications needed to become one are as exploitable as those needed to get into nursery school. All the executive powers of the President that we studied about in 8th grade Civics being the reasons, the primary one is the fact that the President has discretionary powers which give him the ultimate power - to over rule the government on critical issues. So, the ideal candidate should have two important qualities - neutrality and objectivity. One look at the President-elect and I can see neither.

The POI is also the "first citizen" of the country and the face of the country around the globe. Hence the person should have distinguished himself in his chosen field of excellence, be it science, law or public service. A retrospective look at the past Presidents made me feel that most of them fit the description - most of them - be it the brilliant law maker in Dr. Rajendra Prasad (freedom fighter and President of the Constituent Assembly that framed the Constitution of India), the scholastic Dr. Radhakrishnan (of Oxford and Harvard fame), the idealistic S.D Sharma (Harvard Law) or the ultimate diplomat in K.R Narayanan (London School of Economics and Ambassador to the US, UK and China during the difficult NAM days). Along the way, there have been others like Zail Singh, who was more famous for his subservient attitude towards Indira Gandhi than his social reforms in Punjab. But no one brought more honor and elegance to the position than Dr. APJ - the people's president who increased the amplitude of the position and redefined its appositeness. So, who is Pratibha Patil? Is she the equitable doyen or the government's pawn?

For starters, she is a politician, and unlike some of the inspiring names mentioned above she doesn't quite tickle the "I am proud to be an Indian" nerve in your body. Nor has she achieved anything of note apart from being a Congress activist and the Governor of a state, a feat achieved by myriad others. Numerous controversies and allegations preceded her election and the one billion dollar question (one for each person in the country I suppose) is - Why her? Couldn't we find a candidate in the second most populous country in the world, that befitted the position and filled our hearts with pride? The answer is that the politicians didn't bother to find one and thats what makes me sad today.

Criticism of Greatness

Is imitation the highest form of flattery? I think criticism is an equally exalted form and it seems to be the more attractive option when it comes to journalism.

I read two articles yesterday, one from The Guardian and the other from The Telegraph and I was surprised to find that the central topic of debate in both articles is the same - Tendulkar, his failure at Lords and the loss of his once brilliant armory of strokes, apparently replaced by a fear of the short ball and failure in general.

Interestingly both articles use success at Lord's as a measure of greatness, a huge flaw considering the fact that the single most stellar batting performance at Lord's is by a batsman, definitely not considered to be amongst the cream of all time greats (333 and 123 against India in 1990 by Graham Gooch). The last Indian name to make it to the Lords honors board is the person so affectionately named "Bombay Duck" and "Olympic Rings" (in honor of his 5 consecutive ducks against Australia) and I can bet the last dollar in my wallet that Ajit Agarkar will not feature in your all time cricketing XI. Also, given the number of grounds Sachin has played in, there are bound to be ones where he has a bad average; he averages a monumental 249 runs at Sydney, which certainly highlights the triviality of the argument.

The article in the Telegraph points to Sachin's meticulous preparation before a series as an evidence of his fear of failure. I find it amusing that, ironically, both articles also refer to the preparation that the genius made in 1998 to counter Shane Warne's bowling around the wicket and the 155 n.o that resulted out of it (an innings that I had the fortune of witnessing live from the pavilion at Chepauk courtesy of an umpire cousin). To me, what is evident is the will to succeed and not the fear of failure. I still remember watching the game and listening to Ian Chappell on the microphone pointing out to the moment when Warne came around the wicket for the first time in the match as the turning point. Sachin slightly opened up his stance, marched down the wicket and majestically lofted the first ball over midwicket for a six, dictating the tone for that series, at the end of which the spin wizard proudly admitted to having nightmares of Sachin dancing down the pitch. Admiration, it seems, is an even greater form of flattery.

Though the author correctly notes the decline in Sachin's game by referring to the fact that in the last three years, Sachin has scored only one century against a notable opponent (Sri Lanka), he fails to mention that the period was interspersed by serious injuries, often limiting his participation to one or two games followed by a long layoff. Every great sportsman goes through a patch of mediocrity but they often bounce back with minor technical changes to the surprise of the world. Tiger Woods did that by changing his swing a couple of years ago after a 3-year lean period. Whether Sachin follows suit - only time will tell.

Finally, whether Sachin Tendulkar scores a test hundred at Lords or not, whether he is addressed "Sir Sachin" in the near future or not, his greatness has diminished or not, is immaterial; I and more than a billion others will always remember the man as an entertainer par excellence, who gave good value for their time and money.

Federer Wins Five

Ok, yet another Wimbledon comes to an end and yet another title for Federer. So what’s new? A look beyond the headlines and a contextual analysis of this match indicates that this might very well be a landmark match for this generation of tennis lovers.

Well, to start with there was a match, an even one at that, until the point in the fifth set when Federer hurried to the finish line like a rabbit towards carrot. Not since 2001 have I seen a final of fluctuating fortunes as this one. The match will be remembered for the quality of the tennis that the players were able to sustain for 4 hours and 5 sets, not once giving an edge to each other, with Nadal ensuring that Federer played a fifth set at least once in the finals en route to breaking Borg’s record of five consecutive championships. It was a clear case of aggressive tennis, with each player stretching the points with incredible athleticism and unimaginable shots. Michael Chang and Arantxa Sanchez possessed a similar knack of extending points albeit through high defensive lobs but these guys just kept hurling cannons at each other with each shot a definite winner against a lesser opponent. Yes, Federer was stretched. And for the first time in the last five years he looked vulnerable on grass (when Rafa had a 4-1 lead in the 4th set) - a frame worth freezing for any player aspiring to beat FedEx at SW19. Another key factor contributing to the evenness of the contest was the improvement of Nadal as a grass court player YOY. He seemed very confident at the net throughout the match and his serve was stabler than Federer’s for the most part. This is a key factor to note in the context of upcoming encounters between these two gladiators.

As I watched today’s match I could distinctly remember 3 Wimbledon finals that produced a similar high quality of aggressive tennis in the post Borg-McEnroe-Connors era that I had the misfortune of missing. Edberg vs Becker ’90, Agassi vs. Ivanisevic ’92 and Ivanisevic vs. Rafter ’01, in that order, would be best 3 finals that I ever watched and I will place Federer vs. Nadal ’07 right up there with them.

The ’90 finals was part of the famous trilogy that the 2 players enacted towards the end of the 80’s with the two previous encounters being one sided in favor of each player. The match which was a befitting end to the famous rivalry was one of the best exhibitions of grass court tennis. Edberg won the battle in 5 sets but the rivalry remains one of my fondest memories. In ’92 it was the battle between the man with the booming serve and the one with the best return of serve ever and what more can you ask on grass. Agassi shed his fears of grass to win the title in 5 sets and the hearts of Wimbledon fans forever. Goran lifted the trophy in 2001 winning the fifth set 9-7 and the match will always be remembered for him finally getting his hands on the trophy after thrice being stalled by the two greatest players of his generation (Pete Sampras ’94 and ’98, Andre Agassi ’92). Apart from being classics, the above mentioned matches also happen to be 3 of only 4, 5 set finals in the last 25 years.

Now that the context has been defined, what does today's match mean to tennis fans in the next few years. Given the high quality of the match, the maturity of Nadal as a player and its high ranking on the Wimbledon classicometer, the match might very well be remembered as the one that marked the maturity of the Rafa-FedEx rivalry which men’s tennis so badly needs. As with any prediction only time knows the answer.

Sivaji - The Boss

Magical - that's the word that comes to my mind if I have to describe "Sivaji", Rajnikanth's latest celluloid offering, in one word. From the moment, the innovative title graphics replace the retro style placard title of the namesake yesteryear thespian, to the last time the bald super star says "Cool" in his inimitable style, the movie simply mesmerizes you, despite a slow paced climax. Rajni acts in a very niche genre of movies, the so called "masala movies", and he does such an awesome job of it that it really exposes the many other inspired actors who simply ape the man - be it his mannerisms, known more popularly as his "shtyle", his penchant for punch dialogues (usually with philosophical undercurrents) or his speed of speech, walk and action.

Whatever he does, he and only he does it best; so move away cheap imitators!

It is a typical Shankar movie evident from the thematic nature of the movie, the grandeur of the songs and stunt sequences and the conceptual style of song picturization. As with all his movies, the protagonist is a one man crusader against the evils that exist in our society with help from his buddy/uncle, this time fighting against the black money that has percolated into (or out of) the Indian economy.

Rajni plays an NRI returning to India with dreams of doing something good for the country (a dream that all B-School aspirants only write about in their admission essays), but finds himself roadblocked by a corrupt system. How the Super Star fights the system and changes the color of money (much like he does the color of his skin. Boy - our thalaivar is really capable of doing anything and everything!) to fund his ambitious projects is pretty much the gist of the movie. Comedy and romance dominate the first half with Rajni and Vivek tickling our ribs with their punch dialogues and idiotic ideas to sway the girl and Shriya Saran's svelte figure capturing our attention. The second half is all Rajni the super hero, as he ups the tempo to reach his goals and, as in all his movies, loses all his wealth only to recapture it all over the course of the next 30 minutes...of course he gets the girl too.

Rajni has retained some of his famous "swish-swooshing" hand movements, with some changes though. The cigarette has been replaced by a chewing gum (and sometimes red chillies!) that bounces off anything around him and lands perfectly in his mouth and he defies the laws of gravity by zig-zagging a coin in air without touching it, every time he scores a point against the bad boys. Fans who remember his "ithu epdi irukku" from "In the 16th year" will be treated to an equally enjoyable "cool" much in line with the NRI Software Systems Architect role he plays.

The chemistry between Rajni and Vivek is excellent and Vivek has been entrusted with the responsibility of miming some of the best punch dialogues of the movie like "chittor thandina kaatpadi, sivajia seendina dead body" and "Sixkku appuram seven da, Sivajikku appuram yevenda" . Nothing new from Shankar on the story or screenplay front but credit goes to him for restoring Rajni to his best remembered looks - a combination of Billa and Basha, and that goes a long way in convincing the audience. Sujata's dialogues add comedy and satire appropriately and Rahman's catchy tunes have been matched by brilliant visuals and choreography. Shriya looks pleasing to the eye and others like Solomon Pappaiya come and go, but the real vehicle that the movie rides on is Rajni and his charismatic screen presence. The way he ups the "shtyle" meter as he transitions from the NRI, to the Boss, to the "mottai boss" is mind blowing. His looks and performance are a pleasurable combination of retro and novelty and leaves the audience with nothing but continued loyalty to the true super star of Indian cinema.

Another big contributing factor to the movie's success I must mention, is the marketing. During my recent trip to India, I was amazed by the amount of coverage the movie was getting in national news channels like NDTV and CNN-IBN and it has really transformed Rajni from a Tamil Super Star to a truly national one, if not international. I guess the movie has become such an integral part of Tamilians that almost all conversations (phone or in person, local or ISD) begin with a "Sivaji pathutiya?" and anybody who answers in the negative is perceived to be living a wasteful life.

What more do I need to say, the name says it all - "pera sonna summa adhiridhulla!"


P.S: Below is a list of punch dialogues rumored to be in the movie before its release but aren't

• Kanna, naan pakka dhan software, erangunan mavane hardware....(this is my favorite)
  
• Kanna andha sivajikku nadikka mattum dhan theriyum, indha sivajiku nadikkavum theriyum adikkavum theriyum
• unaku Aandavan vekkaraan da date annaiku unaku Shivaji vekkaraan paar vettu
• Naan nallavanukku sami, Nayavanjaganukku tsunami
• Kanna, vitukoduthavan ennaikum kettathillai, kettavan ennaikum vittukoduthathillai
• Nallavanukku naan DHARMAN Kettvanukku naan YEMa dharman da