This fortnight on entertainment

Here is an update on the latest at "collective expression of hope and unity of India" - the "Bollywood" & related entertainment:

• Slumdog Millionaire is not a rags to riches story. In fact it is about suffering and redumption. The protaganist is not interested in the money, his purpose is different!
• Dilli 6 has great music. Arziyan is a personal favorite
• Zoya Akthar gets a thumbs up on Luck by Chance. Will watch that and post a review next week
• When was the last time you attended a concert? Dont remember...next time KK is in town do make a dash for it. It is totally worth it. He performed at the IIM Bangalore - Unmaad yesterday and rocked for two hours. His energy and voice was liberating. There was enough scope to head bang, shoulder shake, make waves, sway hands and hum along.

Masakalli Matakalli

For those who haven’t watched it yet let this be a revelation. Breaking News on my blog the most intriguing song of the year “Masakalli Matakalli”. Puzzled …yes indeed Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, AR Rahman, a new voice and bewitching trailer of the movie leaves the viewer wanting for more. Amongst movies to look forward to this year top on my list are Luck By Chance and Dilli 6. If Farhan Akhtar’s sensibilities and aesthetics are anything to go by the movie will please the urban youth and immediately catch on. Farhan has proved himself on this count at all occasions (DCH, Lakshya, Rock On) and in all forms as a director, producer, an actor et all. To push the envelope he must attempt a different genre. We will have to wait for that as Luck By Chance is centered around a struggler in ultra urban city of Mumbai.
While Zoya gives us a slice of Mumbai, Dilli 6 is definitely a canvas which has all the colors of the capital. The trailer has everything from galis, nukkads, jalebis, kabootar, charpai, barsaati, and also the sardi.
Now time for trivia- Words that are a big "No No" as they have often been used on Page 3: Splitsville

Sansani Khabar - Maano Ya Na Maano

There could not have a worse way to be begin the year. It was a rude shock as Mr. Ramalingam Raju broke the confidence and trust of thousands of investors, clients, employees and India Shining enthusiasts. Forty eight hours post his resignation, everybody is still in a state of complete disbelief. There are plenty of questions unanswered:
· How was something as obvious and straightforward an asset as Cash & Bank Balance tampered with?
· How did PWC miss something as obvious as this and for a continued time period?
· Why was there a need for overstating profits? It had reasonable good set of clients, a healthy business, no known lawsuits / delivery issues other than World Bank.
· How did the metrics tie up so intricately? All the metrics from People count, Utilization, Hiring numbers, Rates and Revenues – were they all cooked up? That entails the involvement of a large organization in the fraud
· The fact that fraud has been sustained over several years precludes the involvement of many…how did this escape the eyes of so many employees?
· RBI rules warrant collection of debt within 180 days – If there was no cash collected how was the statutory obligation met?
If this was a Bollywood potboiler we would all have laughed it off as a mindless script (Bunty aur Babli), but the sad part is it isn’t! As rumors of employees having to o without pay for 2 months, sacking of 10000 employees, exit of strategic customers and the CFO’s possible attempt to suicide are doing rounds it will require a lot of gumption in the employees, industry, ICAI and the government to restore the pride of India Inc. This calls for serious and more importantly quick action against Mr Raju & gang and PWC. They should pay for all the harassment the innocent employees have undergone, if not by money by spending the rest of their lives in shame.