Sporting the Movie business

I was speaking at this prominent B School in Pune about how Media - especially Movies can impact a society and do we Indians see life larger than real on the screen.

Many new inputs came along - especially on the lines of RDB and Jessical Lal. Of course - some were not so resoundingly positive about the connection, but all in all the students seemed to agree that there is a definite connection and perhaps its a good connection.

They said a movie like 'chak de' did a lot of damage - to the foundation of sports in India, that is. That's because sports in India means Cricket. But then suddenly - like an order fresh out of Parliament, ESPN is covering hockey matches that till yesterday stray urchins used to come to watch. Ten Sports is running reruns of badly fed and trained athletes running 200 mts track n field in Chennai. Star Sports is covering a phenomenally entertaining Volleyball match between the Railways and the Services. As you compare these sportsmen with those back then when they had the simple non arrogant smiles, you realize these sportsmen now look like gladiators. That's when India's state hockey teams started calling themselves the Chandigarh Dynamos, Sher E Punjab, Bangalore hi fliers, etc. They don't just play to win now - they play to entertain.

This is a very important step for Indian Sports. Unlike the Western world where sports is actually a very well planned industry, complete with listed partners and huge investments - A billion plus population here still sticks on to Cricket.

I know i know ... but i am not comparing the games here. I love cricket too guys ... But this visibility the others are getting will not stay forever.

America is crazy about baseball - it's a true American sport. But they have also managed to drive business from sports as 'localized' as Ice Hockey. Look at the sheer employment they generate ! Ice hockey is not a particularly interesting sport to watch. And neither is baseball. But if you sit through a series game between say the Sox and the Yankees - you'll realize that it's not about the game - it's about how it's SOLD to the public. It's what the public 'sees'. It's the sights, the sounds, the commentators, the crowds, the food. And all of it is reinforced into the American soul by the 'movies' they make. Footballers are made to look like college heroes and girl dorm poster boys. Baseball players have the money, the panache and the 65 chevy. And then not to forget - comes NBA - the epitome of Black American excellence. They rightly say - 'White men can't jump'.

So coming back to the issue at hand.

So how do we conquer our fear of falling in love with other sports. Indian Film makers need to now move to make movies that show these sportsmen as heroes. Start making movies that don't have a hero and a heroine - but actors and sportsmen. Don't be patronizing towards field entertainment other than 6 stumps, a bat and a ball.

Bollywood is one of India's biggest strengths. The marketing guys there need to now corroborate the trust these sports channels have put in new sports. Come out with some new movies guys - take the action to the next level.

Hawks Vs Cheetas

I was reading this very interesting article someplace and it came back to my mind when i was talking to our team about how sales people act. Or 'should' act.

The article said that some people are born 'good sales guys' and businesses should identify such talent and not waste time bothering with trying to make a mediocre a success. In other words - unless the horse has the heart for racing - don't bring him onto the track.

Even though i agree with this philosophy to a great extent, i believe that not everyone in a team is required to be a race horse. In other words - a great racing team is not made up of racing horses alone. But then again - the winning teams have the best race horses. Some people are not cut out to be sales guys - but that doesn't necessarily mean they cannot be part of a sales team.

I define sales guys of 2 types - Hawks and Cheetas. I use these terms because these animals are excellent hunters and have an aggressive nature of killing and sales guys tend to have that aggression - it comes naturally to them.

Hawks are the kinds who can see far - have patience and strike only when there is a good chance to make a kill. Hawks will soar in the sky for weeks without coming down but when they do - their kill percentage is relatively high.

Cheetas are fast, extremely fast. They don't have the far seeing vision, but their speed of approach makes up for it. They are very sensitive to small directional changes in the target's run and they can make quick adjustments to their run. But cheetas have a poor success ratio and they tend to get tired fast.

One BIG difference between these 2 is that the prey doesn't always know that a hawk is coming down to kill it. The cheeta's prey knows it needs to outrun the cheeta to survive.

In the long run - both of them are good at what they do - kill to survive and evolution has taught them to excel at what they can do best - rather than try to imitate the other's prowess. Good sales guys know their weaknesses as well as their strengths. The even better ones use their weaknesses in their favor and evolve into better killers.

Same Mistakes ...

As i caught the dying seconds of this song for the first time on VH1 - instinctively i felt this song will have good lyrics. Not being a great Blunt fan, I finally got its music yesterday and heard the new song - ' Same Mistake '

A prelude:

I'm not calling for a second chance,
I'm screaming at the top of my voice,
Give me reason, but don't give me choice,
Cos I'll just make........... the same mistake............ again

Pretty philosophical eh ??

Talent defined

I consider myself an mediocre guitarist. But i think i have a taste for sound and could be a good musician if i dedicate my life to it. Why i don't do that - is best left undiscovered.

Today i read about how to go from 'air guitaring' and become a musician. The author says that to be a good musician - you need to listen to lots of different songs and practice them on the guitar. He goes on to say that you need to spend lots of cash and put in odious hours of practice to get close to what your favorite bands sound on stage. He says go to google, download tabs and start practicing. Soon you should be able to play like a pro on stage.

You'd say the article is pathetic and i probably should have stopped reading midway. Believe me - i DID - there were actually 2 parts to this crap.

But that's not what got me thinking.

I recently sat through a George Michael Concert at Wembley. No - it was only on TV ! I wish... yeah well ... there were only about 13K people. But then i have seen artists pulling in over 100K people for concerts. GnR, Metallica, Ozzy, even Morrison and floyd can rope in about 50K. Shakira gets about 30K plus. A 1 year long world tour of U2 generates about USD 800 M !!

This is not insane - it's a perfect price for excellent talent.

Before musicians become artists, there is an intrinsic core that needs to relate to sound. Not every good guitarist can be a musician. But every good musician can be a good guitarist. This applies to all art and sports to a certain extent. I think no other professional excellence caters to this. Everything else can be taught, practiced and excelled at.

But if you look at history - any superstar or sportstar has not reached that level of success cause he wanted to be rich and 'learned' the art he sells. He gets there cause his 'core' intrinsically has that art and he just refines it and makes money out of it. Tiger woods is not an excelled golfer. He is excellent at understanding the dynamics of a Golf ball, the club, wind, gravity, and friction on grass. He can toss a golf ball and catch it with a putter. He hits a 250 yrd freeway and shatters glass on a golf cart cause it was put there for target practice !

No matter how good you train and how well you practice, sports and art are2 professions where the cream always rises to the top. The unfortunate thing is that you dont get to choose...

Beginning a new year

Sorry could not wish you all earlier. But here is wishing you a fantastic 2008. May god give you everything you wish for.