One fine day, Vivek's PL Bhatia asks him whether he has any time for a small meeting. Vivek obviously has time and so the two go to a conference
room. Bhatia then clears his throat and says "Vivek, there is an on-site requirement. It is in Covina , Los Angeles . It is for six months. I can
suggest your name. Do you have any problems?"Vivek cannot believe his ears. Of course why should any one have problems
going to the Sam land. "Of course no Bhatia.. I have no
problems." he says.Bhatia looks at him very kindly and says "You better draw up your personal
plans with your wife and let me know in a day or two" That's when Vivek
remembers that he has a wife. Then it strikes him that there is a himalayan
problem in front of him. Shobana is working in Wipro. She is in
the middle of a project in which she is a moduleleader. She cannot leave it
all and come to Covina with Vivek. On the otherhand it will be cruel on
Vivek's part to leave her here and go to Covina for more than half a year. Moreover,
they have just been married. Vivek can stay back. But one day he has to go..
He cannot stay back in India indefinitely. Project requirements are too
demanding. Shobana can resign Wipro and accompany Vivek. But what is the
guarantee that she would find such a nice job in such a nice company after they come
back from Covina ? So Shobana and Vivek discuss this issue. They reluctantly agree to get separated for six months.
Vivek hugs Shobana in the airport and says "I will be BACK" in a typical
Arnold Scharzegger tone and then boards Delta Airways leaving Shobana in
tears. In Covina Vivek gets lots of work and his stay gets extended by two
more months. The days and months move very slowly. Vivek starts counting
even minutes.
During this period, Shobana's PL Ashish Mehta calls her one day and asks
her whether she has any time for a small meeting. Shobana wonders what
that meeting is.. They go to the conference room and Mehta tells her
about a great on-site requirement in Berlin , Germany for their customer.
"It is for six months and you are most suited person for this. I am
going to suggest your name. Do you have any problems?" Mehta asks her.
Shobana gets excited.. Berlin ! She has never been out of India . So she
instantly nods her head. Mehta then smiles and says "Okay discuss with
your hubby and let me know in a day or two"
That's when Shobana gets the gravity of the situation. It will be two
months before Vivek can come home..... By the time Shobana will have left to
Berlinfor six months. Shobana cannot decline this as this is an
important assignment. That night Vivek spends hundred dollars on
telephone to discuss this matter with Shobana. Finally they decide to go
ahead. Shobana breaks down in the phone and Vivek breaks down thinking
about his phone bill. And then Shobana leaves to Berlin .
One month after that,Vivek comes back to India . Then Shobana calls him
almost everyday and they discuss about all petty things on the phone.
Shobana applies for a loan to clear her telephone bills. Vivek gets into
a new project which is not yet started. His PL Prateek Ray calls him one
day and says that he has to go to Toledo Ohio for the requirement analysis
of that project. Vivek frantically says no. Shobana is arriving next month. He doesn't
want to miss her. But Ray assures him that the work is only for one month and
that he would be back before Shobana comes to India . Thus Vivek flies to
Toledo Ohio and gets into the requirement analysis of the new project.
That's when he comes to know how difficult it is to retrieve information
from the users. You can design a system the user wants only when the
user knows what he wants. Vivek gets baffled by the questions his users
put..
"Do you think I need those fields "GMG_TYPE_HJHJ_TW" and
"Auto_level_ind"?What are they by the way?" The requirements analysis
stage continues for three full months at this pace. Shobana comes to India one
month after that. And she tells her PL that she doesn't want anymore
on-site assignments. "I understand" says Mehta and she desperately waits for Vivek to come back to India . It has already been two months over a year
since they last met. Vivek then gets the role of an on-site co-ordinator
for this customer. He calls Shobana that night and they really don't
know what to do. Shobana offers to resign her job and join him in Toledo . But
she is getting 21 grand per month in Indiaand Vivek doesn't want to lose
that. "Two more months Shobana and I promise I will be back" Shobana
retorts back, "There is no solution for this problem." Vivek gets
surprised. "What are you talking about?" he asks her. Shobana fights back her tears. "As long as I am in Wipro I will be getting a lot of on-site opportunities. Even if I
decline all of them, what about you? You also work for a software
company and there you need to go abroad almost once every quarter.
I cannot accompany you as you don't want me to resign my job here. Does
that mean we have to stay like this forever? Vivek! I love you and I
don't know how I spent fifteen months without even seeing you once. I
may not recognize you also if you come in front of me now... Tell me Vivek,
is there a solution for this problem?" Vivek doesn't speak anything for a
moment. He then realizes the truth in her sentences. It is a neverending
problem.
But what about the 20 grand she is getting per month?
"Vivek, is money everything? Can't we comfortably live with what you are
getting? Please Vivek, try to understand the situation" Shobana breaks
down. Vivek is still undecided. He married a software engineer with a
hope that with two incomes he would have a good deal of money to plan their
future."Let us face the reality, Vivek" Shobana says, "How much are you
paying for the phone calls now? More than 20 grand per month.
If I am with you there will your phone bill be so astronomical? Just
tell me one thing. Won't you be happy having me there with you?" Shobana
slowly turns hysterical. Vivek gets into the crux of the situation. It is true.
He has been spending around 600 to 700 dollars per month on India calls...
that is far more than what Shobana is getting then. He thinks and
thinks..for two days he does nothing else but thinking. Finally he decides that
he should have Shobana with him all the time from then onwards at any cost.
Shobana gladly prepares the resignation letter and submits it. Her PL
smiles and says "You've made the right decision Shobana..
congratulations for the bold step. I understand your problems. Anyway! you have a three
months notice period here, right? We have a one month assignment in
Singapore .....
MORAL : No software professional should marry another software professional.... unless one of them is ready to resign.
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
IIM student turns down the corporate offers and join Congress
offers for the Congress Party
Himanshu Meena has his priorities sorted. The IIM-B student wants to change India's politics and will intern with the Congress party next summer.
'Off the beaten path', 'breaking new ground' - the cliches are endless, but what happens when an IIM student shuns the lure of investment banking firms and FMCG companies and decides to work with a political party? 'Killing a career before it started', 'professional suicide' most would exclaim. Himanshu Meena takes the brickbats in his stride.
The IIM Bangalore student will spend the summer of 2011 with India's oldest political party - the Congress.
For all post-graduate programmes in all the IIMs an internship is compulsory. Corporate giants line up at campuses in November for 'summer placements', which take place in April-May. Himanshu decided he would skip the placements. Because he plans to set up a consultancy firm which will devise campaign strategies for political parties in the run up to elections.
"I followed the last US Presidential elections and noticed how immensely organised the whole process was," says Himanshu. "In India, there is no organisation, no record of what funds go where, whether they are actually used at all. So I want to bring in a process that makes everything clear."
Himanshu chose this internship to know, first hand, what Indian politics is all about. He contacted IIM alumni who are already in this field and then approached the MP from his home town of Alwar, Jitendra Singh.
"I chose the Congress because I know Jitendra Singh. I approached him and he said yes. I have no political preferences, had I been rejected I would have approached another party."
Himanshu will be working with the Congress in the run up to the West Bengal polls, and be a part of the party's media cell. "I will be working with the media war room in the media cell," says Himanshu, "which strategises the campaigns as well as the image of the leaders. How the leaders are branded is important. I'll compare the Congress' campaign with other political campaigns, including those in the US."
Does he have any plans of joining politics any time in the future? "No, not really. I want clean up our politics but not be in it," he says. "I want to provide expertise to political parties and help bring in the transparency this system lacks now.
"It's sad that today's smart people ignore politics. Only when the system is clean will the bright young minds of India get in to politics. But we need the intelligent people now to begin the clean-up act."
It's a vicious circle that Himanshu seems determined to break.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Cinema Sandhadi on MAA Tv a big scam
A show that starts late in the night and shows till 12 midnight.
Where 2 half faced actors' fotos are attached and ask us to identify.
If u know them u have to call to the number shown on screen and they charge 10rs per min and ur call goes to hold and eventhough if it connects it gets disconnected.
Many are losing 1000s of rupees and the company is gaining in crores believe it.
Don't get tempted to those programmes thinking u will win 20000 just for a phonecall.
Similar shows are telecasted in other language channels also.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
‘Rakta Charitra’ – A Business Case Study
He loves beautiful women and more than them, he loves trouble.
He eyes on rich producers and more than that, he eyes on different subjects
He likes powerful media and more than that, he likes controversies
To the man who says “Good is boring!!”, there are few other facets which should be understood by aspiring filmmakers.
Needless to say that his name is Ram Gopal Varma aka RGV aka Ramu..!!
With his first movie ‘Shiva’, he became a celebrity across the state. He became a sensation among the youngsters of those days. He made many films and emerged as national level director by stepping into Bollywood. He made his mark with films like Rangeela and the recent Sarkar and Sarkar Raj.
But his graph went down with subsequent flops. There was a vacuum for him. For him nothing seemed interesting there as he came up with the powerful ‘Sarkar’ series and a bashing of the media through ‘Rann’, with Big B and his family members. Things got exhausted. He needs to think out of the box.
What should be done now? – A self analysis and practical approach. So then, he decided to take the second league heroes such as Vivek Oberoi and also wanted to return to Andhra Pradesh and do a Telugu film. What should be the story? Should that be a mere fiction? Or a history based on fiction? He has chosen the latter.
He realized that the Paritala- Suri feud is a powerful concept and has potential not just in Telugu but has a pan Indian appeal as per the subject matter. That gave rise to ‘Rakta Charitra’ and here are few reasons why ‘Rakta Charitra’ stands as Business Case Study in Indian film history.
1st Time In Indian History:
This is perhaps the first time in the history of Indian cinema that a film is being released in 2 parts with an interval of 1 month. It’s a bold step and that happened with unbeatable conviction.
Wonderful Budget Plan:
It is never an easy task to come up with an optimum budget for a film which has two parts and that too a multi-starrer. But sources say that Ramu has managed the entire show within a bracket of Rs 30 crores for both parts with top stars on Indian cinema. He has achieved this by using the Red camera, cutting on budget, and taking exclusive shots wherever necessary. The budget aspect is a strong fundamental for any film maker if they are to come up with success at the box office.
Mind-Game in Casting Plan:
Though the story belongs to the faction land in Andhra Pradesh, Ramu has woven it so well that it is now appealing to the Pan Indian audience. He has propped it perfectly with a versatile and diverse cast. Shatrughan Sinha and Vivek Oberoi for Bollywood, Radhika apte, Rajendra gupta, Ashwini Khalsekar for Mumbaikars, Kota, Subhaleka Sudhakar, Tanikella for Telugus, Suriya, Priyamani for Tamilians, Subrata Dutta for Bengalis, Sudeep for Kannadigas etc. That way, RGV has ensured that almost any part of the audience will connect with the story through their stars.
Radical Publicity Game:
One can cut on cost of production. But none can escape the costs pf publicity. Publicity is the most expensive affair these days with huge number of TV channels, cine magazines etc. How to make it cheaper…rather FREE?? Ramu got a solution. Since the start of ‘Rakta Charitra’, he has believed in publicity through controversy. He took off by visiting Ananthapur and meeting up with the families of Paritala Ravi and Suri himself. Then, he stirred the attention by giving a Mahabharatha quote which is yet to be confirmed. After few days, he casually released a still from the film with a head tonsuring picture and that was enough for various interpretations and gossips.
Then, it turned out to be the Obul Reddy issue which gave enough ammunition to the film. Ramu gave the master stroke by ensuring that neither Paritala nor Suri are shown negative but projecting NTR in a ‘different way’. With this, he garnered free electronic media publicity and that continued to be the post release publicity as well.
Experts say RGV got more than Rs 1 Cr worth media publicity for Free with his mind game.
Magic Spell On Youth:
Youngsters are the main audience those bring grand openings to any film they wish. Youth get attract to the unconventional and rebel of a system. That way, Ramu has captured the hearts of the youngsters with his intellectually arrogant answers and straight forwardness. RGV became an icon for youth. It will be good if they take him in the matters of straight forwardness and boldness in expression….if not in choosing the subjects.
Impact On Society:
Conventionalists call him ‘beast minded’
Rationalists call him ‘practical’
Youngsters call him ‘an icon’
Noticing this popularity and attention of people for RGV, a popular
restaurant is introducing a cocktail on the name of Ram Gopal Varma
(RGV Cocktail…with a blend of Rum-Gyn-Vodka)
Grand Release Plan:
He has organized premieres in Hyderabad and Bangalore with the courtesy of Kalamandir. That’s done on larger scale attracting the attention of media again.
Post Release Publicity:
RGV launched OST (Original Sound Tracks), the back ground scores of ‘Rakta Charitra’ on Madhura Entertainmentt. This is first of its kind in Indian film history again that brought enough publicity.
Self SWOT:
In Tamil, Ramu decided to go in with only one part with Surya in it as he realized that it will flop if shown the regular way, due to casting problem. He did a perfect SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and decided that the Tamilians will be given a straightforward action treat with top hero Suriya in lead. With a strong casting and a powerful character, Ramu ensured that Suriya got a solid Bollywood launch. That’s another ‘kick’ for Tamilians. He devised a perfect plan and sensationalized the concept. Unlike Shankar who weaves magic through richness and visual appeal, RGV carried the show with controversy and a rather a ‘reality show’ approach towards audience.
Source: www.greatandhra.com
Thursday, November 04, 2010
English to Tamil Copies
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Wednesday, November 03, 2010
A friend wrote a testimonial to me in orkut
"We shared the same room during 4 years of our college life. Called among our friends as 'Thoka seenu'. His orkut profile says well about him 'Always be happy', 'Take light'. He follows and fullfills 100% the above two words. I have never seem him tense, even if a cyclone strikes him, his face and words will always remain tranquil. On surface, his talks and behaviour looks childish, but deep within him is a wise man. Can go ahead and approch him for any suggestions. I completely envy him for the above things.Adjectives which best suits him: Talkative, Sleepy, Lazy, Short and now Fatty, Witty. Gifted with a smart and brilliant mind (Never read for any exams but when comes to clearing exams was always a cake walk to him and i think its the same mind which is helping him in work too :) ).I bet google maps will definitely lose when it competes with him in providing shortest and best routes between places within Hyderabad and Bangalore.I am happy for being a friend of him.Testimonial as of 10/06/2010."
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