Creativity has no boundaries. Saw a sketch artist today while travelling back home in a Bhayandar bound Mumbai local train, who was sitting next to me.
He sketched the person sitting in front of him with ultimate perfection.
Within the chaos and madness of this city lies a creative charisma in every Mumbai-kar :)
I was at a suburban railway station 'Borivali' in Mumbai yesterday when it was raining cats and dogs in the City. This tremendous amount of rain put the city infrastructure to test, causing water logging in low lying areas in the City. So, there was a delay in the local train timings.
Picture: Aerial view of Bandra-Worli Sea Link, Mumbai, India
Sometimes, its the beauty of this city that such incidents bring Mumbaikars much more closer and then strangers talk and discuss their life stories. There is a profound depth in the life story of every Mumbaikar. There is a story of work, love, hatred, friendship, struggle and success. In the 15 minute interaction with a fellow Mumbaikar in his 50's while I was waiting for my local train back home, I learnt of a short story about professionalism.
He was a typical local Mumbaikar with a square framed spectacle, tucked out shirt and a black shoulder bag. He worked for a Courier Services Company in Mumbai and was handed over the responsibility to personally deliver a parcel containing a pair of sports shoes worth around INR 16,000 (US$ 290) while it was raining heavily. I have a lot of respect for the courier guys, they really don't care if the weather is sunny or rainy but just do their work honestly. While walking down a lane, he told me that he came across a path which was completely water logged and couldn't even see the road properly. His feet were shaky because he was scared to put one more step further fearing it may be an open man hole or a big pot hole. He said, "I was not scared of falling down but I was scared about destroying/ damaging the responsibility which I was carrying (pair of shoes in his case)". It was his responsibility to carry the parcel and deliver it without any damage. He fearlessly stepped ahead and kept walking till there was a clear path ahead and delivered it to the destination. He took charge of the situation while risking his own stand.
In this case, that person had a complete advantage of going back to his office saying, "No, I can't go, its raining heavily" or he could have just mishandled his parcel complaining the city water logging. But, he didn't complain. He was responsible for his work and about his professionalism. Its the same set of qualities we look for in the Corporate decision makers as well. That 'parcel' in this case could be the 'expectation of the Company stakeholders'.
I forgot to ask his name or about his Organization name but I understood that he was a gem and his Company must be very fortunate to have him as its employee. After that I just left the station to think about other alternative route back home. But, I was happy that I had a small story to share on my blog.
Be Courageous! Be Professional! Be Honest! Be Hungry! Be foolish!
'Aashiqui' is a hindi word describing 'love'. Before I talk about the Brand development strategy of a recently released Bollywood Movie 'Aashiqui 2', let me ask you to just enjoy this amazing video of the song called, 'Tum hi ho' from the movie.
Source:Youtube video of the song 'Tum hi ho' from the movie 'Aashiqui 2'
I suppose, you must have really enjoyed this romantic melody. This song has become a massive hit among different demographics in India and has topped the charts across various media platforms. It's being played everywhere, be it a local laundry shop or an expensive coffee house. Its being shared massively on Facebook and other networking sites as well. It is also one of the reasons, the movie became popular and has been declared as successful. In Bollywood, music has a great contribution in the success of a movie and this history is being repeated year after year.
Picture:Movie Poster of the 1990 released movie 'Aashiqui'
Now, let me come to my point of discussion. 'Aashiqui 2' which was released in the year 2013 is a sequel to the 1990 released movie 'Aashiqui' which was commercially and critically successful mainly because of its popular music. There are many such movies which have released their sequels and have been really successful. Some great examples of Hollywood movies are Spiderman, Batman and Harry Potter. This is a perfect example of 'Brand Extension' where the existing brand name of the movie is extended to a new and modified product (its sequel or a completely new story). In other words, the brand name 'Aashiqui' has successfully leveraged its already established brand name to launch another movie with a completely different story but the essence of 'good music' still being intact. Here, the biggest advantage is that the cost of expenditure in advertising and making the audience aware of their core competency can be reduced.
Picture:Movie Poster of the 2013 released movie 'Aashiqui 2'
Brand Extension can sometimes be really very risky and can cannibalise the brand name. Like in this case, when the audience heard about 'Aashiqui', the first thing they remembered was the music of the Original movie. A perception was created in their minds about the good and appealing music which the brand will carry with it to 'Aashiqui 2'. This perception was carefully preserved by the movie makers and it delivered its promise with good music and it was a success.
Now, if the producers of the movie use 'Aashiqui' as a brand name to make more movies to extend their brand and suddenly decide to drop all songs from them and make it a thriller without any melodious music, it can create a confusion in the minds of their audience because, then they can no longer associate good music with the brand name 'Aashiqui'.
Some brand extensions in Bollywood and Hollywood have been really very successful but some have even failed miserably, but this hasn't stopped movie makers on using this formula of brand development strategy. Its a great and perfect formula for movie makers if they really wish to reduce their expenditure on creating a brand name but 'thumbs up' or 'thumbs down' review by the audience is difficult to predict due to changing demands and expectations of different market segments in domestic and international markets.
Let us keep a look out on how movie makers can leverage the brand value of their original flicks to create new movies, with innovative ideas.
Picture taken at Thane S.T. (State Transport) Bus Stand, Thane, India
Found this picture while clearing the old files in my system. Had clicked this picture way back in the year 2007 while on my way to College.
There is always a huge queue of people to catch the 'Thane- Bhiwandi' Bus in the morning. These people are however trying to break the queue and getting in from the emergency exit door to grab a seat. Smart!! The monkeyness in humans is still present.
Al though, it may seem funny, but its the depiction of a common man in India. A Common man in India spends his entire life trying to cross the limits just to grab a seat in a bus or struggles to find a fourth seat in the second class compartment of a crowded Mumbai local train (my fellow Mumbaikars will definitely understand what 'fourth seat' means). I seriously think, a common man deserves more than that!
The present infrastructure in India needs to be revived. This may be the deterrent for GDP growth in India. The current infrastructure isn't sufficient or satisfactory for the 1.2 bn + population in India.
I had been to South Mumbai last weekend. While waiting for my train, I just thought of clicking this picture. Had been thinking about it since so many years.
Figure: Picture taken at Santacruz Railway station in Mumbai, India
Just take a close look at the platform gap. It is around 12 inches in this case. I have even observed a platform gap of around 15 inches in some suburban railway stations in Mumbai.
For a young and energetic person like me, it quite cool to jump of the train when it stops or board the train very easily but, what about our elders and senior citizens? Can they jump like youngsters? The answer is definitely NO! I honestly think, something should be done. Consider the plight of the senior citizens when they have to board or get off the train during peak hours. It must be so very bad. There have been so many accidents in past years and even few months back when people just slip off while boarding and end up even loosing their feet.
I have stayed in Singapore for more than a year and travelled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as well. I just observed how careful these countries are towards their senior citizens. These countries have the basic infrastructure which I feel, not only senior citizens need but we youngsters need as well. They have Air Conditioned stations and Escalators and even travelators to save the travelling time and make the journey less tiring. It is good because, the amount of energy we spend in climbing the stairs and sweating out in the heat can be put to proper use in school or at work. Also, the platform gap is just negligible in these countries but still they keep on announcing in the MRT's and LRT's over there to mind the platform gap. We need to have such announcements over here as well. Maybe, someone's feet could be saved!
If not the Air conditioned stations or the Escalators, I think there should be some initiative to at least amend the platform gaps at different stations in Mumbai and also the responsibility lies with people to protect the public infrastructure from getting damaged. We need to think about our parents, elders and senior citizens right now! There is no point in duplicating the world class cities in other countries to build our infrastructure if the basic necessities of our elders aren't safeguarded!
I am sure, if these small issues are rectified which I don't think is impossible, together we can move towards a sustainable city and a nation!
Happy for being officially conferred the Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree from the Chancellor of James Cook University- Australia, Lieutenant General John Grey AC (ret'd)
Now, looking ahead to begin the next exciting phase of my life!
Picture taken outside Trident at Nariman Point, Mumbai, India where the players from IPL teams- Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab stayed
Throughout my life, I have seen people gathering around a Bollywood star's house or when a Cricket player visits a certain place in the city just to catch a glimpse of their favourite star. I used to be really amazed thinking what joy do they get looking at them (they are the normal people whom we see on TV and movies, what's so special about them to create a fuss)
Today. I couldn't resist myself. I was walking through the busy street of South Mumbai when I spotted people gathering near the entrance of a 5 star hotel with Z level security around. I asked one person standing there and he told me that the team players of IPL (Indian Premier League) are moving from the hotel to play the match at Wankhede Stadium, which was scheduled later in the evening. The match between the home team 'Mumbai Indians' and 'Kings XI Punjab'.
I stood there and tried to catch a glimpse of the cricketers amid the tight security. I have finally understood the joy, a common man dervies when he catches a glimpse of his favourite cricket star or a Bollywood star. I could see the joy, the excitement in their eyes.
A Common man always dreams of becoming rich or a star or a famous cricketer or maybe witness their life but sometimes it isn't possible practically. A common man who sometimes survives on less than $3 a day cannot full fill all his dreams and aspiration. So, whenever he gets an opportunity to see someone famous, he tries to get a glimpse of him and gets entertained and inspired.
A Common man's life is sometimes quite complex but he tries his best to be happy with what he has!
A salute to the Common Man! I am glad that I did my best to understand him!
One of my friends recently posted a quote by Tina Fey on Facebook, which
says "You can tell how smart people are by what they laugh at".
I remember one incident during my Junior college days. It was the
beginning of a new semester and we had Founders Day celebration. The highlight
of the celebration was a Fashion show. I always wanted to be a part of a
Fashion show to experience the feeling of standing in front of the crowd and
fearlessly present myself. So, I registered myself for the Fashion show without
giving any second thoughts or thinking about who my competitors will be.
Finally, the day arrived. I dressed up in my usual Jeans and half
sleeved shirt. I went there and did my best to walk up to the ramp and answer
the random question from the panel of judges. I was overwhelmed by the crowd
which consisted of our College founder and Principal, the teaching and non
teaching staff and the Students. It was a life time experience. But, my answers
did sound a bit naive to some of my classmates and they laughed at me telling
me that I made a fool of myself participating and answering the questions in an
inept and stupid manner and that I was nothing in front of the other
participants. I did accept that criticism sportingly but laughed back at them
because they could just laugh at me and never experience how it feels to stand
there in front of the crowd.
Now, whenever I watch any fashion show on Television; I can understand
the feeling of the participating contestants because I have experienced it. It
makes me feel happy.
I want to convey a message from this part of my life. In life, there may
be incidents where you may be trying something which you have never done
before. People may laugh at you. Now, it depends on you whether you take their
criticisms negatively and be where you are or go and do what your heart says. I
might have failed to win that Fashion show but it was a life time experience
for me. Doesn't matter if I failed in it; at least I tried.
Do something unconventional, try something new everyday. Don't just
follow what others do. If you win, you become an inspiration for others and if
you fail, you still become an inspiration for yourself.
Your success may be delayed because you are trying all permutations and
combinations with your life but in the end you will succeed. Even if you don’t,
be happy that you at least tried and didn’t follow the negative criticisms and didn’t
settle for mediocrity!!
