Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Aamir Khan Live

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After having maintained a fair distance from the media till recently, aamir khan has decided to open up. in a freewheeling chat about his career and the upcoming 'Peepli Live', which he is producing, neha sarin tries to find out if the man measures up to his 'perfect' reputation

As a Amir-Khancreative person, working in the Indian film industry has always been an uphill task and I have been swimming against the tide for most of the way

You played a college kid in 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak' and in '3 Idiots'.

What were the different challenges playing a college kid in these two different films?

Well, the biggest challenge when I was doing '3 Idiots' was my age as I was not of that age anymore. It was a big challenge, not only physically to look that age but also mentally to get into that age and feel young and react in every moment that I am in front of the camera like a 20 year old; that was difficult.

So what did you say to yourself to overcome that?

(Laughs) Well, I got a lot from the writing and the way it was written and'I don't know'I do things instinctively and intuitively. I don't know if I can verbalise it as often I am not able to verbalise things or how I do things. It's a lot by what I feel like doing at that point in time I think in the case of '3 Idiots', I kind of perceived Rancho as a person who has a lot of buzz and has a lot of things going on in his head, so he is never still and physically also he is constantly moving, he is quick in his responses.

After a film is over and done with, how long does it take the character to finally wear off?

(Laughs) That's not easy to say, sometimes it stays longer. I don't become the character in real life really' the character stays with me, his characteristics and mannerisms stay with me for a long time. Often, it's up till I start with my next film.

You have worked with actresses from Juhi Chawla to Kareena Kapoor and from Supriya Pathak to Asin. With whom did you feel you shared the best on-screen and off-screen chemistry with?

Well, Juhi was great to work with, she is a really wonderful person and a great actress. I really enjoyed working with her. Rani is another one, who I think is a great actress and someone I enjoyed working with. I really had a good time with Kareena when I did '3 Idiots' with her. Again, someone who is great to work with and a very good actress. So yeah, there are a number of them. Also, Kajol during 'Fanaa'.

All these years you've stayed away from the media and very recently you have started opening up to them. What caused this change?

Well, I guess, I was not happy with the fact that I am cutting myself off from my audience and the media is a key link between me and my audience. So it was not something I was happy doing. During 'Rang de Basanti' and 'Fanaa', I was not speaking to anyone in the media. And then I did 'Taare Zameen Par', which actually also changed me a lot as a person.

In what way did TZP change you?

It kind of made me more aware of other people and how all of us as human beings have different qualities. Each one of us is unique and different and that's how I should receive people, instead of just assuming that all of us are of a particular kind.

So what made you withdraw from the media, in the first place?

I didn't know how to deal with the media, I just kind of withdrew.

Did the controversies that the media created bother you?

Not the controversies, so much. It's more the intrusion and the intrusive nature of the media as we see it.

Does the constant comparison and the media's crazy desire to put a number on you, bother you? Is it possible to live a real life being a movie star?

No, it doesn't bother me. I don't even take all these numbers seriously. I am actually quite lost in my work and most of the time, I am not even aware of what's being written about me and what's coming out. A lot is written about and its really impossible for me to keep tabs on everything and usually when I am in the film, I am quite lost in that, so I don't know what all is written. So, no it doesn't bother me (grins).

What according to you is the future of cinema and entertainment?

Well, I think cinema, at its core, will always be storytelling and that's what it is' and there'd be newer techniques and newer platforms which will keep coming in and affecting it in different ways but it will always remain a medium for storytelling and I think with technology getting easier to use in so many different ways, to make a film is much more accessible to a common man. He just needs a video camera which everyone has an access to, a computer with a software where one can edit a film and the Internet where you can actually show it. So, all you need is an idea and a story to tell.

You have been around for over two decades and you are still giving newcomers a run for their money. What has kept you well grounded and involved in cinema?

Hmmm'I think I enjoy doing what I am doing and that's how I work'for me, cinema is my life and each film takes at least a year or two years of my time, so it's very important for me to do work that makes me happy, that I enjoy doing, so the process is as important to me as the end result and that's how I work. I've had a great journey and I've had the opportunity of working with a lot of very talented people and I've learnt a lot. I think I like to learn new things and grow as a creative person and that's what keeps me going.

Is that the reason why we saw you play drums at the "Peepli Live" music launch?

Oh! That is something I used to do long back. As a kid, I learnt the drums a little bit and Indian Ocean got to know about it and forced me to join them, it was just a fun thing.

You have been an integral part of the transition cinema, and it has been undergoing transition for so many decades. Where do you think it stands today?

Well, I think for me, as a creative person working in the Indian film industry has always been an uphill task and I have been swimming against the tide for most of the way because the kind of films that I have enjoyed doing and believed in were not considered mainstream by the market till they released and they did well. So, all along I have done films that the market doesn't have much faith in. But it's after the film releases and the audience likes it that it gets the kind of support that the market is a little surprised by. So, I've just done stuff that I like and I believe in. I haven't ever considered changing things as I am willing to take the risks, if there are any.

Like you said, you always swam against the tide, but it's not easy. In the beginning, how badly were you run down and did you ever consider caving in?

Ummm'No, I never considered caving in, it just made me stronger. I was very clear that I wanted to work in a particular way and do a certain kind of films that I believe in and made me happy and I was very clear that if it meant that I don't have a place in the industry, that's okay but I still want to do the stuff that I want to do. So, it was tough in the beginning as I had to prove myself again and again each time. But, I guess that's part of the journey, part of the fun and part of the challenge. And sometimes when I look back at my career, I feel that I'm very fortunate and someone up there is looking out for me because a lot of decisions I took were not very practical, and a lot of them had huge risks involved. So I'm really glad and I feel blessed with the kind of love and support I've received right through my career. So, I am glad it worked out well!

And you also provide these opportunities to newcomers. So what about the story of 'Peepli Live' touched you?

I thought it was very funny and humorous and at the same time, very heartbreaking and thought provoking- so it moved me and touched me and made me laugh and made me think and so that's what attracted me about it. Anusha is a very fine creative mind, someone who has a very unique voice of her own. I felt that if she has something to say and express in her own way, I'd be happy to try and support her.

Is it a sign of success or failure to know that you have people who'd be happy to see you fail?

Neither. I don't think it reflects either of these because it depends what you mean by success or failure and for me, success is a combination of a number of things, one of them being that when we set out to make a film, when I see the film once it's complete. Do I feel we have achieved what we set out to do? That's the first hurdle that we have to cross. If I feel that we have achieved what we set out to do, then I feel that's the first step of success for me, in my own heart and in my own mind and then, I wait to see how the audiences react as its them that I've made it for. It's once when both of these get a tick that I feel we have been successful.

How did Aamir Khan's blog start?

Oh! That happened a few years ago, when the DVD of 'Lagaan' was being released and it was released six years after the film had released in the theatre which is unusually long. So, the distributors of the DVD requested me to start to blog which was originally called 'the Lagaan DVD blog'. That's what it was called in the beginning and I began blogging on that platform but after the first few posts, I realised that I had much more to say than 'Lagaan' or the DVD and it became something else. Then I even converted the name to my own website.

And did that give people an opportunity to know the real Aamir khan?

Well, yeah, that is one of the ways and the other way, of course, is through interviews with someone like you because you are the person, who is actually experiencing me as we speak. And then you would write about and share your experiences of your conversation with me, with so many thousands and millions of readers. So through the media, it is a very important link.

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Saturday, January 08, 2011

Waters from hell

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Rivers and coasts in India's most developed and most polluted state of Gujarat are fast turning into dumps of toxic industrial effluents. As both the Administration and the industry shy away from their responsibilities, its impact will be catastrophic on marine, human and other lifeforms, writes Arnold Christie

A recent police complaint against the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) has alleged that leakages in the effluent pipeline from Jhagadia industrial units have contaminated water bodies - fresh water ponds and the Amravati Creek - in Ankleshwar taluka. An edgy GPCB has rushed its officials to collect samples of the polluted water following the complaint from villagers of Dadhal, a tiny village in Bharuch district.

On December 11, 2009, the Ahmedabad Police raided a textile factory in the Narol area and seized a tanker which was dumping concentrated acid in sewage. After analysis, the chemical was found to be hazardous for any lifeform. On July 3, 2010, police filed a chargesheet against four arrested during the seizure. Last week, GPCB has issued closure order against Electrotherm's iron pipe manufacturing plant situated at Shamkhiyali in Kutch. The firm had allegedly started operations without environmental clearance from the Centre and NOC from GPCB.

Millions of litres of untreated effluents were being pumped into the Arabian Sea in Valsad district of south Gujarat. At the vanguard of the legal battle in the Gujarat High Court is the Parsi community that made Sanjan its home after fleeing Iran 1,300 years ago. The crisis has already taken a huge toll on the marine eco system of the region. Ten million litres of toxic chemical effluents have been dumped into the Arabian sea from the Sarigam Industrial Estate off the coast of Sanjan. In April, 2010, Gujarat High Court ordered that 22 units be shut down for lacking requisite facilities to treat effluents. This is the grim reality hidden behind the facade of impressive industrial growth in Gujarat's Golden Corridor - spread from south Gujarat to north Gujarat.

Union minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh announced after his visit to Ankleshwar in September, 2009, that no new industry would be given permission till they spruced up their facility to meet the laid-down standards. The ministry will not give environmental clearance for new industries in the major industrial areas of Gujarat, at least till August this year. This ban order was issued in January 2010.

These are not isolated incidents. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in March, 2010, declared Gujarat as the 'most polluted state' in the country. About 80 per cent of total hazardous wastes in the country is generated by seven states; Gujarat tops the list. Gujarat accounts for 29 per cent of the 6.2 million tonnes of hazardous waste. Accusing the state government of not taking any remedial action, director of Paryavaran Mitra (Friends of Environment) Mahesh Pandya says, 'Authority and industrialists are responsible for such a polluted environment. If we pursue the state government, they ask the association of industries to clean it up. These associations say it's not their responsibility. Now the toxins are affecting the masses.' Gujarat takes pride as the flag bearer of India's industrial might but it has come at a huge cost. A 400-km stretch between Vapi in south Gujarat and Mehsana in the north is dotted densely by waste dump hotspots. Rivers have become industrial gutters, hand pumps spew coloured water and open land, both government and private, is used to dump wastes. The major polluting units along the rivers include sugar, textile, electroplating, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, tanneries, dyes and dye intermediates, petrochemicals and steel plants among others. According to CPCB, the major reason for polluted river stretches in Gujarat is that effluents are directly discharged by the factories into these water bodies. Millions of litres of untreated effluents are dumped in major rivers like Narmada, Sabarmati, Mahi, Khari, Damanganga, Amalkhadi and in the Gulf of Khambhat. Convener of Gujarat Paryavaran Surakha Samiti Rohit Prajapati says, 'All the shocking figures had been obtained from GPCB and CPCB through RTI. In most cases, the presence of toxins are 300 per cent to over 1,000 per cent more than the levels set by the GPCB. Even the effluent treatment plants set up by the state and the Central governments are not functioning properly, adding to the problem.'

In a shocking revelation, GPCB sources admitted that the wastes discharged in the Damanganga from the Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) of the industrial houses in Vapi contained 347 per cent more Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), 432 per cent more Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and 196 per cent more Ammoniacal Nitrogen (AN), a serious health hazard, compared to the GPCB-prescribed norms. The conditions are worse in Ankleshwar where 248 per cent more COD and 1,328 per cent more AN is dumped into the Gulf of Cambay. The effluent channel project of Vadodara dumping waste water into the estuary of the Mahisagar was found to be carrying 300 to 700 per cent more than the prescribed norms of COD, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), AN, TDS, Cyanide, phenols and other hazardous pollutants.

Effluents dumped in the Sabarmati from the industrial estates in Vatva, Odhav, Narol and Naroda around Ahmedabad were found to be alarmingly toxic, 2,926 per cent more of COD, 2,520 per cent more of AN and 780 per cent more of TDS. Industries in and around Vadodara are dumping huge quantities of hazardous chemicals into river Mahisagar and the Gulf of Khambhat. A latest CPCB report finds the effluents 15 times more toxic than the accepted limits.

The Gujarat Government's dream river front project is coming up on the banks of third most polluted river in the country. And it is not surprising that the state is also home to the first two most polluted rivers of the country. They are the Amalkhadi river at Ankleshwar and Khari river near Ahmedabad. The Amlakhadi, which meets Narmada in Bharuch district, has been reduced to an effluent channel by over 1,500 chemical units in Ankleshwar, Panoli, Vilayat, Dahej and Jhagadia. Recently, Jairam Ramesh called Vapi the most polluted town in the country. Forbes and Time have listed it among the 10 most polluted towns in the world. Its three streams ' Damanganga, Kolak and Balitha ' no longer bear a resemblance to flowing water bodies. CPCB has, in fact, categorised both the Damanganga and Kolak rivers as unfit to support life.

The river Han in Seoul, South Korea, was the most polluted river in the world a decade back. Today, it receives no more effluents. We can also follow the Seoul Model and save our rivers. Today, Gujarat's rivers hope that good sense will finally prevail over short-term considerations. Development is necessity but without an environment to sustain life, it will be meaningless.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Friday, January 07, 2011

Munna Shukla

IIPM BBA MBA Institute: Student Notice Board

Munna Shukla's palatial home looks forlorn these days. The palace of this MLA from Lalganj has not seen any coMunna Shuklaurt or courtier for months now. It lacks the pomp and show that it was known for in the past. Now since the king himself is in jail, couriers have found better things to do. Implicated in the murder case of ex-minister Brij Bihari Prasad, Shukla is serving life sentence in Muzaffarpur jail. His kin too give his palace a miss these days. They prefer to stay elsewhere. His wife Anu Shukla keeps visiting once in a while, but mostly, she divides her time between courts in Patna and Delhi. A few caretakers and close aides stay in the house and entertain people who lose their way to the palace. His wife takes care of the complaints of the people from his constituency. His personal assistant Sanjeev Kumar maintains that his MLA does not let the people of the constituency feel that their MLA is out of touch. He is omnipresent. Political dynasties are a common fare but Munna's was a politico-criminal dynasty. One of his brothers, Chotan Shukla, an aide of dreaded muscleman Devendra Nath Dubey, was gunned down in 1994 when he was returning from an election meeting. It was during his funeral procession that DM Krishnaiyah was lynched by the mob led by Anand Mohan and his wife Lovely Anand. While the young DM pleaded for his life, Munna's youngest brother Bhutkan Shukla shot him in the head from close. Bhutkan met the same fate a few years later. The battle between minister Brij Bihari Prasad and the Shukla family was the battle to control the turf of Muzaffarpur. Prasad allegedly drew the first blood when his gunmen killed Chotan. Munna later joined with other upper caste ganglords to kill Prasad. But that was a long time ago.

A few profiteers and aides keep the chairs at his house warm. His wife is doing whatever she can to soothe the people of constituency but patience is running out. His aides maintain that the CM has betrayed his promise to bail him out. Nitish visited his village for a public meeting but gave his house a miss. Only his release, his aides believe, can restore the charisma and fear his name once evoked.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Monday, January 03, 2011

Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav

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It was not that criminalisation of politics was the gift of the Lalu-Rabri regimeRajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav. It was always there in one form or the other. It was just that with the advent of Lalu, the monopoly of upper caste ganglords was broken for the first time. The confidence among the backward castes manifested itself in several ways, including criminalisation. Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav was one such manifestation. And unlike several other musclemen who opted for established political parties, Pappu Yadav entered the political arena as an independent.

When Pappu started his career as an MLA from Singheshwar Assembly constituency in Madhepura, he already had a dozen-odd cases against him. But soon he shifted his base to neighbouring Purnea where Ajit Sarkar of the CPI(M) ruled the roost. Sarkar epitomised everything that Pappu was not and thus was an ideological and political threat to Pappu. Pappu took this animosity to his heart. On June 14, 1998, Sarkar was gunned down along with a few of his cadres. Pappu got implicated and the routine rounds to courts started. People lost count of the number of times he went to the jail and was released. However, unwary of all these, Pappu continued to operate freely from the jail itself. Later he was shifted to Tihar in Delhi. He has such a long list of cases that people say that everyday in this country a court hears a case against him. Pappu's political graph, however, never dipped in between. He became an MP and continued to win. Pappu rules the roost in eastern and north-eastern Bihar. He has caught the imagination of the youth from a particular community. When he saw that his political career was threatened because of the number of cases aginst him, he brought his glamorous wife Ranjita Ranjan to the fray in 2004. However, she lost the 2009 election on a Congress ticket. So, for all practical purposes, Ranjita is politically unemployed these days. However, she is active in her own right. She keeps the Congress rank and file on their toes with her aggressive demeanor. She couldn't see eye to eye with state Congress president Anil Sharma and hence kept pestering him whenever an opportunity arose. Anil, in a singing remark that was obviously directed against her and her husband, said that there was no place for criminals in politics. Her supporters retaliated by disrupting public meetings in several places.

Pappu Yadav's supporters have constituted an apolitical group called 'Yuva Shakti Sangathan' that works for their cause. In fact, the organisation acts as a bulwark to the duo. Ranjita is active and keeps travelling a lot to several cities where Pappu's cases are pending. Their kids study in a prestigious public school in Delhi. They don't come to Bihar very often. Their supporters, as expected, swear that their netaji is an epitome of innocence.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

Monday, December 27, 2010

Cooking a new future

IIPM Prof Arindam Chaudhuri on Our Parliament and Parliamentarians' Work

Inmates of Gujarat's Sabarmati jail and other prisons develop a new taste for life, reports Rupesh Panchal

Ahmedabad is in the grip of a severe heat wave. The roads wear a deserted look. Many areas of the city look as if they are under curfew. But the scene outside a nondescript food stall near the historic Sabarmati Jail is very different. Even at noon, people wait in a queue to buy hot bhajiya here.

The clientele is varied, but they are all united by their passion for these pakoras that are rustled up by inmates of the jail. 'Jail Bhajiya House' is the favourite haunt of Ahmedabad's snack lovers.

In 2009-10 alone, Jail Bhajiya House achieved a turnover of around Rs 70 lakh. The daily sales are to the tune of Rs 25,000. And the total turnover of bhajiya business run by prisoners across Gujarat jails is a whopping Rs 1.27 crore.

Chandubhai Prajapati, who earned name and fame at Jail Bhajiya House outside Sabarmati Jail, now runs his own venture. Before being sentenced to life in 1983 in a triple murder case along with infamous criminal Babu Bhaiya, he owned a small hotel in Bapunagar area of Ahmedabad.

In his first month in jail, Chandubhai offered help to the jail authorities in preparing delicious bhajiya and other savouries. 'In 1998, the then jail superintendent V.T. Gautam proposed to the then IG (Prison) Vijay Guman that a tea and bhajiya stall could be started outside the jail with Chandubhai's help. The IG approved the idea. The enterprise was an instant hit,' says a senior jail officer.

In just three days, the bhajiya stall made a killing. Senior officers were enthused to take the experiment forward. The bhajiya made by prisoners attracted a steady stream of customers who would queue up outside the food stall everyday. Today jail bhajiya is a household name.

Apart from bhajiya, the prisoners make other popular snacks like fafda-jalebi and managed the sales from the outlet close to the jail. One-time murderers, molesters and marauders found solace in the business of pakoras. Their enthusiasm hasn't waned one bit in all these years. The stall is manned by inmates of Sabarmati Jail. They are brought out from their cells after securing special permission from the Gujarat home department. The jail authorities said only convicts with very good conduct work in the stall. Four teams of ten convicts each work in rotation for a month. None of these notorious criminals serving life terms for offences like murder and rape have never attempted to flee. Says Veluji Saguji Zala, serving a life sentence for murder: 'When I was jailed I thought my life was over. But making bhajiya has given me a new reason to live. Nothing gives me more happiness than seeing satisfied customers. Why would I ever even think of escaping from this place?"

Manish Sukhadiya has a different story to tell. He was booked for dowry harassment and abetting suicide. He was in the food business before he landed up in jail. Making bhajiyas came easy to him. But he has learnt new skills in jail. 'When I return to my business, the lessons I have learnt here will stand me in good stead,' he says.

The inmates take the bhajiya business seriously. They are aware of what consumers want. So they always take appropriate care to ensure quality. By making bhajiya, each prisoner-turned-cook earns Rs 35 daily. Half that amount goes directly into an account each prisoner has at the post office, and the remaining half is retained for personal expenses.

While most of these men engaged in Jail Bhajiya House intend to return their earlier professions once they are free, some have taken the cue from the concept to turn entrepreneurs after their release. After completing his life term for triple murder, Chandu Prajapati set up his own food stall near Jail Bhajiya House where he spent a good deal of his life.

It was the success of the Sabarmati Jail Bhajiya House that got the other jails to replicate it. Apart from Ahmedabad, other prominent jails also achieved good sales of bhajiyas (Rajkot jail ' Rs 82,799, Surat jail ' Rs 47,57,420 and Himmatnagar jail ' Rs 10,26,935).

But bhajiya is not the only thing the prisoners make. Equipped through workshops and training programmes, the prisoners are now gainfully employed in a variety of activities such as making towels, textiles, tents, coats, bags, leather shoes, book-binding, screen printing, cooking bhajiyas, puffs, biscuits, bread, making phenyl, teak furniture, folders, and more. The products are of superior quality and the kitchens maintain an exceptionally high standard of hygiene. All the bhajiya house workers wear uniform and headgear. In the year 2009-10, through bhajiya, bakery items, carpeting, press related work, tailoring, weaving and other works, the jails across the state achieved a total turnover of Rs 7 crore.

The best part is the positive use of the prisoners. Talking to TSI, Additional DGP (Prison) P.C. Thakur says: 'These men are not born criminals. They commit crimes and get punished. But rehabilitating them is our core responsibility. To create a peaceful and prosperous society, we have to make them good and responsible citizens. And that is exactly what we are doing. The prisoners are positively employed. More significantly, they are equipped with a set of skills that will enable them to integrate back into society once they are out, and they will be able to earn for themselves.'

Jail Bhajiya House is now all set to sport a new look. Under the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's town planning scheme, the existing snack outlet is in line for demolition.

A few months back, a new bhajiya outlet was inaugurated at the nearby RTO Circle but its design was not quite satisfactory. Hence, students of National Institute of Design are designing a new outlet which will give the snack shop a professional feel. The Jail Bhajiya House is also going through brand-building exercise.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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