Post-lockdown things will be very difficult in the education sector, says Atreya Roy

April 18, 2020 by Keyur Seta 1 Comment

The ongoing Coronavirus pandemic has hit had every business in the entire world, right from large scale to small scale. But the one casualty that is not much talked about is the education sector which is also going through similar crisis. I got in touch regarding this with Atreya Roy, a 24-year-old COO (Chief Operating Officer) of Learn4Exam institute in Delhi.

Education sector post Coronavirus lockdown:

He believes that the education sector has severely been affected and online learning is a not a solution as of now. “Students are very much equipped nowadays. They have internet and devices. Government of India advises various institutes to conduct classes online but it’s not possible for all courses. Like I can’t conduct science practical classes online where I have to test in a laboratory,” he said.

Adding further, Atreya Roy said, “Do I have the required instruments where I can teach maths? If I am teaching maths I need to draw a lot of things. This unprepared-ness was something quite exposed during this crisis. Things have been pretty unprecedented. Nobody knew this was coming. From a very normal life we have gone to complete lockdown where you can’t see your friends for a month and a half.”

Book sellers form an important part in the education sector and their market is also come to a halt abruptly. “People who were into reading only books, they can’t purchase it right now. They are forced to take courses online but a lot of people are not ready to take that. Along with students it also makes the educator’s life difficult. According to me, things are going to be very, very difficult,” he said.

Affects on studies during Covid-19 lockdown:

Atreya Roy also believes that it is important that students use this lockdown phase in doing something productive. “There are two kinds of people. One, which are extending their time to Netflix. There would be another scale of people that would be upsclaing themselves. They will research more. They will network more. One category of people would come very hard at other category of people. People need to understand that if they don’t plan for the next few months, their life will be difficult,” he said.

I have come across various students who haven’t been able to concentrate on their studies in the lockdown despite having all the time in the world. They say that the gloomy and uncertain atmosphere around is not helping them concentrate and making them feel fatigued.

Atreya Roy has a piece of advice for them. “I would just say to take this as a challenge. We all gave our 10th and 12th board exams. During this period the last few months have been very tough for us and we didn’t go out that much. Everyone was busy with preparations. A proper planning and methodology will help you come out with flying colours once the period is over,” he said.

Lay-offs and paycuts due to lockdown:

A major serious crisis that has emerged at the lockdown is that a lot of people have lost their jobs while many others are facing paycuts. Speaking about it, Roy said, “I read somewhere that the way the companies treat their employees right now will help them maintain their brand image for the next 10 years.”

But he also believes that one should consider things from the point of view of business. “The companies in the manufacturing sector are almost stagnant right now because they don’t have sales people going out and selling things. Then it becomes very difficult. Like I don’t have funds incoming, I can’t let funds go outside. In countries like US, almost 15 percent of the workforce has been laid off. India is very lucky in that perspective,” he said.

Further rise in demand for government jobs:

Interestingly, Atreya Roy points out that there will be a much bigger demand of government jobs. “There will be constant pressure from your peers and family to look for jobs which are permanent. And in India permanent job means government jobs. So, their entrance exams are going to be difficult,” he said.

Personal journey:

Roy achieved the feat of being appointed as the COO of Learn4Exam by the director of the company Gurpreet Singh last year when he was just 23 years old. After doing his Engineering in Information and Technology, he became a subject matter expert with e-GMAT and has also taught a wide range of students.

Speaking about Learn4Exam, Roy said, “We provide courses that help you crack the different MBA entrance exams that are been conducted in India presently. We provide everything to our students regarding that. Our company was started three years ago. It has a high success rate. We have 100 students out of which we sure 80 of them get placed in the top four colleges of India.”

Roy further tells us that he was pretty much into mathematics since he was kid. “I used to take free classes. I used to teach students from class six to tenth. I once got exposed on Facebook to CAT preparations group, which had 50 to 60 thousand members. People used to post questions and a set of people used to solve,” he said.

This became the starting point of a journey ahead. “I started solving various doubts that people had in their preparations. This was during my second year of graduation. Then I started teaching in various institutes in Kolkata,” said Roy.

Also read:

After just 1 run in first 6 innings, Marvan Atapattu made a historic comeback

Forgotten Cricket Moments: The real Lagaan match at Brabourne Stadium

April 12, 2020 by Keyur Seta 3 Comments

Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan (2001) remains of the most iconic and exciting films to have come out of not just Hindi but Indian cinema. Even after more than 15 years, the Aamir Khan and Gracy Singh-starrer still gets you in extreme tension when Bhuvan is required to hit a six off the last ball, despite you knowing the climax.

Needless to say, the atmosphere inside the theatre was similar to the one we see in cricket stadiums. So one can only imagine what would have happened when the entire Lagaan team played a real cricket match at the iconic Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

There is a major chance that you might not be aware of this match because, somehow, it never got publicized. More so for those who have recently turned adults or are in their early 20s.

So, Britannia had organized a match between the Lagaan team versus the team of winners of a contest they had run. Hence, the other team was called simply Britannia. I had also taken part but didn’t win. But that didn’t stop me from watching the match in the stadium.

Surprisingly, you didn’t need to spend a rupee for the tickets. All you needed was to submit four packets of their biscuits in exchange for a ticket. I and a friend went to watch after submitting eight. Well, frankly speaking, we wouldn’t have mind to even pay to see the Lagaan team in action.

Interestingly, the match was played on Christmas, a festival which few years down the line was acquired by Aamir to release his films.

Like the on-screen match, the Lagaan team fielded first. I don’t remember who won the toss but it wouldn’t have been exciting if they had batted first. It was a 25-over match where the boundaries were brought in considerably and understandingly so since none of them were professional players. By the way, the entire Lagaan team played in the same costume they had worn in the film.

But instead of 11, both teams had 13 players. The Lagaan team included Gowariker himself and actor Amin Gazi, who played Tipu in the film, to complete a 13-member side.

Team Britannia was bowled out for 96 inside their stipulated 25 overs. We all thought that this would be a cakewalk for team Lagaan but Britannia bowlers had other plans. Team Lagaan kept losing wickets and at one point were seven down with the team still being some way away from the target.

In the end, it was Gowariker and Aamir who saw the team through by scoring 18 and 19 runs respectively. The entire crowd, including me and my friend, was overjoyed and dancing to the song ‘Mitwa.’

Other interesting bit about this match was the star Indian players like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Virendra Sehwag switched roles as commentators and umpires. Navjot Singh Sidhu and Maninder Singh were permanent commentators. The commentary played a big role in keeping us entertained.

Aamir Khan Lagaan match — Photo: Tribuneindia.com

But there was another unprecedented excitement after the match. After some great encouragement by my friend, I agreed to climb and jump a wall and land right where the Lagaan team was standing after the match [I still don’t know how he knew the way]. It was a sheer delight to shake hands with few team members, including Aamir. It was also nice to know that he was shorter than me.

But today when I look back at the match after 19 years I wonder if it was staged [read: fixed]. Even if it was, I don’t blame the organizers. Just imagine what a waste it would have been if Lagaan team had lost the match.

Unfortunately, there is no way we can revisit the match to determine that as there is not a single video available. In fact, there are very few news articles as well.

Amitabh Bachchan’s voiceover in the film describes the story as – Yeh kahani itihaas ke panno mein kahin kho gayi [This story has got lost in history].

The same can be said about the real Lagaan match.

Coronavirus: Contact these NGOs for DAILY WAGERS’ welfare

March 29, 2020 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

The deadly Coronavirus has put the entire world into turmoil, including India. The cases and deaths are increasing every day as the country enters the third stage of Covid-19.

But along with those who are affected by Coronavirus, there are lakhs of migrant workers all across India who have lost their jobs overnight after the country went into a lockdown.

Worse, they are forced to migrate to their native places without any means of transport. What is more dangerous is that thousands of people are forced to walk in huge crowds. This has put them under direct threat of being in touch with Coronavirus since social distancing is out of question.

These workers or daily wagers have taken upon themselves to walk hundreds of kilometers to their native. They are short of food supply too.

Coronavirus Daily Wagers — Photo source: IndiaToday.in

As per latest updates, 21 deaths have taken place among the workers who have been travelling on foot. In such a situation, it is of utmost importance to provide them with food and shelter, so that they at least stay alive, along with ensuring that they don’t get exposed to Coronavirus.

Which government or party is to be blamed for this can be thought later. Right now they need immediate relief.

Here is the list of NGOs and organizations who are providing help to the daily wagers:

Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (Delhi)
Contact: 011 2371 2580

Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) (Mumbai)
Contact: 091520 51717

Safa NGO (Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi)
Contact: 9866174665

International Association for Human Values (IAHV) (Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru)
Contact: 9818150404, 9886660006

Hasiru Dala NGO (Bengaluru)
Contact: 097421 12362

Janta Rasoi (Mumbai)
Contact: 093243 71989

Janta Meals (Gurugram)
Contact: 088000 00358

Uday Foundation (Delhi)
Contact: 011 2656 1333

Goonj Foundation (Delhi)
Click HERE to help the daily wagers

Delhi Youth Welfare Assocation (Delhi)
Contact: 011 2702 8090

Ramesh Raman, CEO of IAHV, which is listed above, spoke to us about their efforts. “We are giving away packets of 5 kilo rice, 4 kilo wheat flour, 2 kilo dal, half litre oil and various condiments like pepper, salt, etc,” he said.

He added, “Ten thousand packets have arrived already. We are doing it while tying up with local municipal corporations and other NGOs. We also have ground level volunteers. They will identify the people and take responsibility for the distribution. We did a similar thing during Chennai floods.”

Inside Edge was once Harsha Bhogle’s show

March 22, 2020 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Over the last few years, Amazon Prime Video’s original show Inside Edge has been a topic of discussion every time its new season comes up with some liking it while some having an opposite opinion.

Starring the likes of Vivek Anand Oberoi, Richa Chadha, Angad Bedi, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Sanjay Suri and a host of others, Inside Edge is based around a cricket league tournament that focuses on what all happens behind the scenes of such glamorous matches.

But for those who started watching cricket in the mid-1990s, like me, the title ‘Inside Edge’ makes us recall something else.

In that era Star Sports and ESPN were the only major television channels showing world cricket. Harsha Bhogle had entered the cricket scenario in that decade. After he slowly started impressing the audience with his commentating skills, ESPN started a sports show called Inside Edge where Bhogle was the host.

Inside Edge was a weekly cricket bulletin show where Bhogle looked back at the significant events that took place in the cricketing world in the week before. Along with international stuff, the show also gave a good footage to India’s domestic cricket. Bhogle also used to interview important cricket personalities from India and abroad.

As I became a huge cricket fan following the 1996 World Cup, I used to follow the game everywhere – newspapers, magazines like Sportstar and, of course, Bhogle’s Inside Edge show. Despite being aware of the cricket happenings of the past week, I still used to make it a point to tune in each week and would watch intently.

Needless to say, I became a great admirer of Bhogle, his commentary and, most importantly, his passion for this game. I remember being taken aback after knowing that the man hasn’t even played domestic cricket.

Mind you, I am not saying this to demean him. In fact, this increased my admiration for him. To see someone who hasn’t played beyond the university level become an international commentator is an incredible achievement.

Also read: Who are Duckworth and Lewis and why ICC adopted their method?

For those not in the know, Bhogle started his career as commentator at the ripe age of just 19 with All India Radio in his hometown, Hyderabad. One of his biggest achievements, which I came to know just now while Googling, is that he became the first Indian commentator to be invited by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation during India’s tour to Australia before the 1992 World Cup.

Coming back to Inside Edge, it is highly surprising that there isn’t a single video footage of the show anywhere on the internet, leave alone an entire episode. In fact, I am also unable to find even a written mention about it after searching on Google.

Maybe Mr Bhogle can help us with that if he reads this article…

England also had a Mark ‘Waugh’ who was of Indian origin

March 7, 2020 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Mark Waugh, as we all know, is one of the greatest Australian cricketers ever. He remains one of their highest run-scorers who was also useful with the ball as an off spinner. Those who followed cricket in the 1990s would have fond memories of him, especially his stint in the 1996 World Cup.

But there is another Mark Waugh who belongs to Australia’s arch-rivals England. He too was a top order batsman. Read on to know more.

Long, long ago a Maharashtrian family from Mumbai, India relocated to England. They embraced their new country after becoming permanent citizens over there. They had a son who showed great interest in the game of cricket.

The lad pursued his dreams and enrolled for cricket coaching. He started mastering the game with the passing years and ultimately got into the Warwickshire main eleven. He became a regular player for his county following his impressive performances with the bat.

This cricketer is named Mark and his family’s surname is Wagh. Hence, his full name was Mark Wagh.

Interestingly, he was called ‘Mark Waugh’ because the people of England found it almost impossible to pronounce ‘Wagh.’ And Wagh apparently didn’t mind that.

Hence, he was England’s Mark Waugh.

Co-incidentally, I happen to know someone who is related to the Wagh family. I got to know his story from them.

Mark Wagh and Mark Waugh — Photo credits: TheGuardian.com and YouTube screenshot

Funnily, there are also people who address Mark Waugh as Mark Wagh. See below: [Article continued after image]

I have vivid memories of early or mid-2000s of seeing him play 1 or 2 times for Warwickshire on TV. From what all I remember, he was a stylish batsman with impressive technique. Those were the days when county matches were regularly telecast in India.

And I remember even the commentators used to pronounce his name as ‘Mark Waugh.’

Wagh played 212 first class matches and scored 12445 runs with an average of 38.80. He scored 31 hundreds with a highest score of 315 against Middlesex at Lords, the mecca of cricket, in 2001. At that time it was only the fourth triple century at Lords. Jack Hobbs, Percy Holmes and Graham Gooch were the three batsmen to do that before.

Later Wagh’s Warwickshire teammate Nick Knight became the fifth player to achieve the feat in 2004 when he scored 303 not out against Middlsex.

And guess what? Wagh also bowled off-spin and was a useful bowler, just like Waugh. He took exactly 100 wickets in first class matches. He had two 5-wicket hauls with his best performance being 7 for 222 against Lancashire in 2003.

Despite a good first-class record, Wagh couldn’t play for England’s national side. He was included in the preliminary squad for the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy but couldn’t make it to the final team.

In 2006, Wagh migrated to play for Nottinghamshire. He was awarded Player of the Season by the county in 2007.

Wagh took retirement from first class cricket in 2011. Interestingly, he then pursued a career in law. [Read more about him HERE and HERE]

If you look up on the internet, you won’t find much about his life except an interview he gave to Warwickshire’s official portal in 2016.

A quote from the interview reads, “I look back fondly on my cricket career but it all seems a very long time ago. I did play club cricket briefly but no longer even do that. When you work reasonably long hours during the week, it’s a stretch to then play club cricket which takes up one of your days off, pretty much 9am to 9pm.”

Also read:

Only time Tendulkar was NOT selected in team India, neither injured nor rested

Yuvraj Singh’s 3 heroic TEST innings that have been forgotten: See videos

When hearing issues stopped India from winning against England

Book review: Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman

February 24, 2020 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman, the book by author Mehool Parekh, is the latest murder mystery cum detective fictional novel to have come out on Indian book shelves.

Over the years or decades we have been exposed to murder mysteries in various mediums like books, movies, short stories, plays, etc. Hence, a story in this genre needs to be completely convincing in today’s times because of this much exposure.

This holds true for me all the more since I have feasted on plenty of James Hadley Chase novels and read all of Satyajit Ray’s Feluda stories in the past. So, how much impact did debutant author Mehool Parekh’s quirkyly titled Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman have on me? Let’s first find out what it is about.

This is the story of the army man cum detective Bartaman Bhowmick aka Batty, who lives in Pune. He teams up with his female friend Robin to solve criminal cases. They spring into action as soon as they come to know about the gruesome murder of the beautiful Rupali Jadhav in her apartment. She was stabbed as many as 16 times.

The lazy police inspector Lokhande, who doesn’t give a damn about truth, is eager to pin the blame on either Rupali’s husband or servant and close the case in a jiffy. However, Batty and Robin realize that the case isn’t as simple as it looks, much to the frustration of Lokhande.

To come straight to the point, Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman majorly succeeds in keeping you hooked, engaged and interested despite the genre being done to death. This is no mean feat. Of course, it is the basic story that is the most responsible for this. Although you can guess where the story is heading, the finale does take you by surprise. This point alone is enough to make this book worth your time.

An interesting bit about Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman, which is hardly seen in most murder mysteries, is that the victim isn’t shown to be a helpless person who deserves the readers’ sympathy. The author goes on to the bold path by not shying away from giving grey shades to the character of Rupali right from the start of the story. The use of flashback over here is smart which makes the tale more layered.

Parekh’s writing isn’t rich but it is something that the average Indian reader can connect with. He has maintained the balance of being creative but at the same time kept it simple enough for readers from any walk of life to feel comfortable.

Also read: Book Review: Murder In Mahim by Jerry Pinto

Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman also comes with a common negative point. There are incidents that are stretched without need. The book should have ended before 317 pages. Also on a couple of occasions the author has generalized negative behaviour of males and females which should have been avoided as it’s unfair.

Overall: Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman is an interesting murder mystery cum detective saga that leaves you impressed.

Author: Mehool Parekh

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Publishers: Leadstart Publishing

Pages: 317

Additional reading:

Short story: The Orange Garlands Of Bharatpur

An Open Letter to Arvind Kejriwal

February 16, 2020 by Keyur Seta 7 Comments

Dear Mr Arvind Kejriwal,

Firstly, congratulations for winning the Delhi Assembly Elections by a huge margin and becoming the Chief Minister of India’s capital yet again. Another feat you have achieved with this victory is that you have indirectly compelled me to do something I never thought I would – to write an open letter.

I have always admired you for showing guts when it comes to standing up against wrongdoers. But my opinion about you has always hanged between you being the best politician and way better from the lot we have [big difference between both]. But the one thing that has remained constant is that you have always proven me wrong.

I have been observing you ever since Anna Hazare’s India Against Corruption (IAC) movement. Like scores of youngsters, I too took part in it. It was only through this movement that I started taking interest in something like politics out of the blue. Trust me, before 2011 I didn’t even know the meaning of an MP and MLA and also the difference between both.

After nothing much happened due to the agitations and protests, you decided to form a political party in 2012. I completely disagreed with this decision and my interest in the movement started by Anna with able support from you diminished. The fact that Anna himself didn’t support the decision of forming a party was also responsible for this.

But you proved me wrong in 2013 by gaining people’s trust and winning 28 out of the 70 seats in your political debut in the Delhi Assembly Elections. But I again disagreed with your decision of forming the government with the help of Congress MLA’s since your entire IAC movement was against the corruption carried out by the leaders of their party.

But I was still happy to see you Mr Kejriwal at the helm of affairs in Delhi as the CM and appreciated the few decisions you made then. However, your resignation after 51 days came as a blow to a lot of Indians, including me. Then your party’s stint in the 2014 General Elections where you won only four seats despite contesting in the entire country forced me to accept that the new wave of Indian politics has come in danger so soon.

But interestingly, you worked hard to gain people’s trust yet again and bounced back like never before in the 2015 Delhi Assembly Elections. Your party winning 67 out of the 70 seats came as a pleasant shock as no political pundits had predicted such a result.

The result coupled by your period of self-introspection before the elections made me your fan yet again. However, the post-results period of 2015 was when my feelings for you took some beating. The entire controversy regarding Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan following which they quit the party didn’t go down well with me and many others who admired you.

This was followed by your drubbing in the 2017 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections where you won only 49 out of the 272 seats, which would have come as a shock to you too Mr Kejriwal. This was enough to make me feel that your time is slowly getting over.

From here onwards, surprisingly, we saw a changed Kejriwal. Your harsh and negative criticisms against the Centre and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular [‘coward and psychopath’ as you called him], which was a regular feature in the previous few years, was hardly to be seen. I don’t disagree with your views against the BJP or Modi but I just feel that a CM like you should let his work speak.

Fortunately, this is what you and your government in Delhi have been doing since close to last three years. Your turnaround in government schools has been revolutionary to say the least. Your efforts in giving free water and electricity to the Delhi citizens have also been praiseworthy. [I didn’t think much of the Lok Sabha Election results of 2019 as that was mainly contested to choose the Prime Minister for the next five years.]

Following this, your victory in 62 out of the 70 seats in the recent Delhi elections is another proof of how much the people of the city are pleased with your work. And hence, you proved me wrong yet again and I don’t mind this at all.

But this also reminds me of the controversial period that started for you and your party just after the huge 2015 victory. I really hope such a thing isn’t repeated and you continue your good work and show the kind of maturity you have been showing in the last few years.

The reason why I am writing to a politician for the first time is because I have hopes only from you Mr Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party. It was you who made me and many others realize that one should not bury politics under the carpet believing it’s a place only for the crooked and the wicked.

Also read: To choose Gandhi or Godse: Confusion of a Bhakt

More importantly, the stakes are very high this time around. The Right Wing fascism has escalated tremendously in recent months. And I see you as a major force that can stand up to it. As we can see, the Congress party is hardly any force to reckon with now.

I don’t know whether you should now go national as you have better knowledge than me. But my only advice for you would be to look at long-term goals for Delhi and slowly and unhurriedly make your way to the rest of India.

From here on, it is you who will decide the future of Indian politics. So, please take each step carefully.

I hope, for a change, you will prove me right this time. Wishing you all the very best as you start your third term as the CM.

Yours fellow Aam Aadmi,

Keyur Seta

(Additional reading: How Maharashtra leaders made a FOOL of their supporters)

To choose Gandhi or Godse: Confusion of a Bhakt

February 2, 2020 by Keyur Seta 1 Comment

Ever since Narendra Modi became India’s Prime Minister, he has shown tremendous respect towards Mahatma Gandhi. He started the nationwide Swachh Bharat Abhiyan dedicating it to him. The PM has also spoken highly of the father of the nation during his numerous speeches. But senior members of his party have been showing support for Nathuram Godse, the person who cold-bloodedly murdered Gandhi.

The one person that immediately comes to our mind is MP Pragya Thakur [Sadhvi for some]. She hailed Godse twice last year. In one statement, she went onto say “Nathuram Godse was a patriot and will remain so. People calling him a terrorist should introspect. They will be given a befitting reply in these elections.” She is also someone who hailed the death of cop Hemant Karkare at the hands of terrorist Ajmal Kasab but that’s another story. (See the video below)

Just last month, BJP leader Amitabh Sinha, during a debate with Kanhaiya Kumar, refused to answer whether he is against Godse. But when Kanhaiya persisted with the question, Sinha openly said, “He is not against Godse.” (See the video below)

Similarly, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj said in an interview that Godse was a nationalist but then quickly made a U turn. (See the video below)

Amit Malviya, head of the BJP IT cell, also defended Godse’s act of killing Gandhi. (Read it in detail HERE.)

Shockingly, members of a Right Wing group recreated Godse’s murder of Gandhi. The ‘event’ was attended by BJP leaders, including the ex-Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan. There was an uproar in the nation and social media over the event but none of the BJP leaders even criticized it, leave alone taking action against them. (See the video below)

And just today, BJP’s senior leader Anant Kumar Hegde said that Gandhi’s freedom fight was just a ‘drama.’ (See video below)

These aren’t small-time karyakartas of the party who can be ignored. CMs and MP’s are chosen as the representatives of the people of India and if they are openly showing support to the murderer of Gandhi, it raises several questions on PM Modi’s unending praise for the Mahatma.

Also read: Only living people can protest, rest are dead, says Aarey tribal activist Prakash Bhoir on CAA and NRC

If not for us, at least clear the dilemma for your Bhakts. They defend PM’s sweet words for Gandhi. But on some days they are forced to defend Godse, the diametrical opposite of Gandhi, to support the statements of the aforementioned leaders.

Jokes apart, this clearly looks like a clear strategy to keep the supporters of Gandhi as well as Godse happy. If only the people of India can see the bluff.

Additional reading:

How Maharashtra leaders made a FOOL of their supporters

Is Chhapaak a box office disaster?

January 18, 2020 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Chhapaak wasn’t the first film that was asked to be boycotted by people of a certain political ideology after Deepika Padukone joined the students protesting at JNU. But the film has become the first such ‘boycotted’ film that hasn’t succeeded at the box office.

There have been various reports and posts on social media floating around about the film being a ‘box office disaster’ or a ‘washout’ at the ticket window. Well, the film is certainly not a box office success but at the same time it won’t be right to label it as a debacle. Here’s how.

There is something called the budget of a film. We media people have our sources and they tell us that Chhapaak is made at a budget of around Rs 30 to 35 crore.

In case you don’t want to believe our sources, try thinking that the film had only one known name, which is Padukone. There aren’t any expensive sets or VFX heavy scenes. The film is also not shot at some exotic foreign locations. I hope this proves that it’s not an expensive film.

BoxOfficeIndia.com is considered the most reliable source for box office collections. As per them, Chhapaak has earned Rs 26.50 crore nett till yesterday [Saturday 17 January 2020]. It made Rs 75 lakh yesterday [other box office websites will also give you a very similar number].

The film still has five days in the second week, including Saturday and Sunday, before two prominent films Panga and Street Dancer 3D release on 24 January.

So, in all probability it looks like Chhapaak will end its box office run at either its cost of production or just short of it.

Hence, if a film earns exactly as much as its cost of production, it is called below average or at the most flop. Words like ‘disaster’ and ‘washout’ are reserved for films like Panipat and Kalank which are made in over Rs 100 crore but end up way short of it.

We should also take into account that the subject of Chhapaak is extremely niche. A film on an acid-attack victim can best be termed as a festival film. You won’t see family or college-going audience flocking the theatres to watch such a film.

People who feel that the film hasn’t performed well at the box office because Padukone’s act got the film ‘boycotted’ are mistaken. On the contrary, Chhapaak has earned such a number because it stars a popular name like Padukone.

Last year, a film called Gone Kesh showed the journey of a girl who suffers from premature baldness. It starred a lesser-known name like Shweta Tripathi [not undermining her talent at all]. It was a light-hearted film which was fairly appreciated by the critics.

But as it didn’t have a single known name, it simply went unnoticed at the box office.

I am also able to see that the same people who have been rubbishing off Chhapaak as a ‘disaster’ are also hailing Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior as a ‘blockbuster.’ This is the only reason I am dragging this historical here.

Now let’s look at this from the budget point of view. The Ajay Devgn-starrer is made at a budget of Rs 150 crore. Till yesterday, it has made a total of Rs 125 crore nett. Hence, it hasn’t even become a hit yet. It surely will become, going by its trend and word-of-mouth. But it hasn’t yet.

Additional reading:

Why people in their 30s should stop believing they are 70

Hellaro (Gujarati movie) Review

How 2019 ended on a hopeful note amidst hopelessness

January 1, 2020 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

The date was 23 May. It was, as expected, a hot Thursday morning but we were inside the confinement of our air-conditioned Yoga class. It wasn’t an ordinary day. It was on that day that the fate of the 130 crore odd Indians rested on the results of the Lok Sabha Elections, which were also set to be as unsurprising as the weather. BJP was set to win it easily.

As we wound up around 9:15 am, I could hear the excitement of few BJP supporters from the class over the results declared so far. As expected, NDA was leading. That was obvious considering we had an almost invisible opposition that did little to pose any danger to the arch rivals BJP.

As I already knew what the outcome would be, I didn’t keep a tab of it as a travelled from my Yoga class in Matunga to my office in Andheri. However, because of their many blunders and blatant misuse of power by the BJP, I was sure the margin of victory wouldn’t be as high as it was in 2014.

But as I was about to reach my office, a friend from Kolkata pinged and said that they are all set to win with a much bigger margin and that they are performing well even in West Bengal, which wasn’t expected.

Source: BBC

As the day progressed, it became all the more clear that the BJP was all set to win more triumphantly than it did in 2014. They eventually finished with 303 seats and the total of their alliance NDA stood at a resounding 353 seats.

The last five years had seen a number lynchings out of mere suspicion of a person carrying beef, which was banned in 2015. One or two lynchings were even supported by BJP leaders. One leader even went onto garland a group of people convicted [mind you, not just accused] in lynchings. One of the lynchings accused was wrapped in the tricolour after he died and India’s Minister of Culture went to pay him last respects.

The overall atmosphere of communalism was evident with BJP leaders dishing out one atrocious comment after another. After a point, this became a routine exercise.

Demonetization was a blunder of another level. It killed more than 100 people and at the same time almost the entire currency came back to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Not to mention how bundles of new currencies were found in the residences of powerful people, including BJP leaders.

The next year Ajay Mohan Bisht, known as Yogi Adityanath, was made the CM of Uttar Pradesh. The same person who, on numerous occasions, openly incited mobs for riots. Instead of putting him behind bars, he was rewarded with such a post.

The most audacious antic came from Pragya Thakur [not Saadhvi for me] who expressed her happiness at the killing of the supercop Hemant Karkare by terrorists during the 26/11 attacks. On another occasion she openly praised Nathuram Godse for killing Gandhi. While India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi continuously heaps praises on Gandhi, he took no action against Thakur except lip service that he will never forgive her (wow, amazing!).

It came as a jolt to many like me to know that Thakur went onto win the election with a large margin despite such shameless statements.

This coupled with the overall results was enough for me and a number of friends to conclude that is desh ka kuchh nahin ho sakta. It isn’t surprising to see the saffron party carry out such atrocious acts. But it indeed was a rude to surprise to see that people have absolutely no problems with it considering the even bigger margin of victory.

The results took away our interest from politics because, we thought, when the masses of India themselves are okay with such rulers, there is just no hope.

Anti NRC protests against BJP — Protesters at Azad Maidan on 27 December

But things turned around right at the last month of the year when the same masses got involved in large numbers to oppose the passing of NRC and CAA bills. And these protests weren’t confined to just one city or state but in the entire country. One can find people from all kinds of backgrounds, faiths and age-groups participating selflessly in the protests.

There has been rampant use of violence by authorities to nullify the protest at various places in the country but that didn’t deterred people from taking part in the protests. Even as I write this, I am wondering how such a turnaround happened in the same year. [It reminded me of the protests during the Anna Hazare movement which also I had attended].

I don’t know for sure whether we will succeed in getting the controversial bills scrapped. But I am certain that people will come together to agitate any sort of tyranny unleashed by the government or the Right Wing as a whole in the future.

With that renewed hope for our great country I am stepping into the New Year and decade.

Additional reading:

Only living people can protest, rest are dead, says Aarey tribal activist Prakash Bhoir