HotSpot - Another Mobile Store

Do we really need another mobile store... beats me.

I am quite amazed with this one ad that I saw on TV. A Marathon race, the clever guy instead of running faster to get the gold medal goes into a "HotSpot" store, buys a mobile and get a gold coin.

HotSpot - another mobile store and look what its offering to create the initiate hype. Gold or a Silver coin.

Whats amazing is the number of investors interested and committed to put in money in retail stores selling mobile and mobile accessories. 

The mobile store has not even stabilised. Its claim about being a one stop shop for mobile phones and accessories is far from near sight. You hardly have any option in 'The Mobile Store'.

Subhiksha Mobile is another one trying to do business... how successfully only time can tell. But it does not look healthy from an outsider perspective.

Now this is another one - HotSpot promoted by the Spice Group of Companies. From what I have heard, it existed from 2005. It started with 15 people and currently claims to employ 1200 people. The plan and ambition is to open 5000 outlets by financial year 2009-2010. 

Makes me wonder. Investments too follow herd mentality. 

Lehmann Brothers Vs Union Bank of India

It is quite a feeling when I look at the new brand campaign by Union Bank of India in a scenario where Lehman Brothers is no more, Merrill Lynch got sold off for a paltry sum and AIG is about to get liquidated.

In retrospect, everything seems so easy and stupidly missed. It is a commonly accepted fact that any financial institution needs a stable, low cost, least elastic source of funds to further invest and make money grow. And the stablest, least cost, least elastic fund is the money that the banks accumulate through the 'ordinary' savings accounts.

Investment Banking can best survive on retail savings account.

Everybody is writing the same in big bold letters now. What were they doing till now? What was the 'hep' investment banking hotshot 'Lehman Brothers' thinking for 158 years? Was this simple concept not taught in all the IIMs where Lehman Brothers used to be one of the top recruiters?

Union Bank of India on the other hand is the conservative, not so forward looking, slow to change bank. Interestingly UBI seems to be not bothered by the dipping liquidity scenario and spending over double the amount in media advertising and relaunching itself with a new look and logo.

Bank of Baroda has done it two years back. Canara Bank did it last year. And now Union Bank of India has also gone ahead and effected a brand repositioning by spending Rs. 75 crores.

What is the reason that almost all the supposedly MNC banks with all the best talent pool are getting impacted by the global liquidity crunch but the nationalised boring banks remain untouched?

Sometime I like to reason that human proactiveness is the cause. To sound more philosophical, progress is the cause. 

The smart quick thinkers are always short sighted. Tighter targets, Rat race to achieve those targets always leads to short-sightedness. Being restless to achieve targets, to achieve materialistic career ambitions is the reason.

Being cool and relaxed about life and not thinking about too much quick progress help avert short-sightedness by default. (Mind you, not by design)

Interesting thought. Isn't it? 

Another Addiction - Jennifer Connelly

Its been a long time that I could manage my time and write my thoughts down on to this beautiful human invention – blogs. You know what brought me here after so long an inertia. You know who could just not let me sit on my ass doing anything but write about her.

Jennifer Lynn Connelly – born: 12th December 1970 – immortal
A cat in whichever movie she acts and amazingly she stays in Catskill Mountains, New York.

I first noticed her only recently when I saw “Requeim For a Dream” on one of the movie channels. How could I not see her before. She has been in this world 6 years more than I have been.

RFD is a tale about the haunting lives of drug addicts and the subsequent process of decadence and destruction and is a must watch for people who loves drugs and its affect on movies. Yes there are people who get a hard on watching girls and boys tripping on drugs.

Jokes apart, it was a mind blowing performance for Jenniffer Connelly and she stole my mind (and heart but not so much as my mind). She also managed to steal a Spirit Award Nomination.

It was a fixation for me but then I thought there are so many other good (and good looking) actresses. Sharon Stone, Madhuri Dixit, Mallika Sherawat (!!?).. etc. Then one day “Blood Diamond” happened. Leonardo was brilliant but Jennifer Connelly struck me again. She IS good.

Immediately after Blood Diamond, another diamond of a movie came by me – A Beautiful Mind. I almost cried in the movie. Russel Crowe was brilliant as usual but Jennifer Connelly was brilliant too. I found that she is not only a good actress but she also selects great scripts, great directors and great movies. I was hooked.

I started hunting in the world wide web for the names of all the movies she has done till date. First movie I discovered was “Reservation Road”. I was startled. I remember watching this movie. How did I miss her and then I realised I cant remember the storyline. I was relieved. How could I remember Jennifer and the role she played if I cant retrieve anything about the movie?

I bought the DVD – Reservation Road. And watched it again as soon as I got back home. It was 11 PM and a Sunday, which means I had office the next day. Not giving heed to the monday, I watched the movie. As soon as the movie started, I recollected the storyline of the movie. And I could give full attention to Jennifer Connelly. Her emoting skills, Her beauty and everything about her. She was mind blowing. I was addicted to Jennifer Connelly.

I have drawn out a list of movies to watch in the next couple of days to come. This blog is for people who have not discovered Jennifer Connelly till now and for people who considers her as just another hollywood hottie. Watch her movies. All of them are above average and she is just great.

Few of the movies where I intend to devour Jennifer Connelly to avoid withdrawal symptoms:
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Phenomena (1985)
Labyrinth (1986)
Some Girls (1988)
Étoile (1988)
The Hot Spot (1990)
The Rocketeer (1991)
Career Opportunities (1991)
Mulholland Falls (1996)
Inventing the Abbotts (1997).
Dark City (1998)
Waking the Dead (2000)
Hulk (2003)

Hope to see you soon with some more writing ...

CRAZZY 4 - Good movie and a great strategy !!

If I am right about what Mr. Rakesh Roshan is planning with his new release - Krazzy 4, he is a genius. He tried to do the same with Krish and now he is trying to do it with a better approach.

Contrary to the reviews, the movie is much better than most of our comedy brigade. If Partner, which was completely trashy, can be a hit, I wonder why crazzy 4 cant be a hit.

It has the best of actors in Irrfan Khan, Rajpal Yadav and Arshad Warsi. Acting was consistent and could beautifully carry the characters without deviation. Humour was not overflowing, stupid and unrealistic. The movie is based on 4 characters and so the humour was because of the nature, attitude and personality of the characters. Situational, genuine and of course very funny.

The movie is definitely worth a watch.

What really caught my attention in the movie is a clear strategy of Mr. Rakesh Roshan trying to introduce this whole concept of crazzy 4 as a brand. He has tried to create brands like 'Fantastic Four', Famous Five, 'James Bond'.

I am really surprised that none of the movie reviews have noticed or written about the same.

I wonder if the strategy would work but he did a good job. Firstly, he along with his director, Jaideep Sen etched the four character with utmost precision and clarity.

Character 1 - Gangadhar (played by Rajpal Yadav) is a Gandhian whose mind is stuck in a time warp. He thinks that the country is still a British colony and we must fight for its freedom. Character 2 - Dr. Chowdhury (played by Irrfan Khan) is an eccentric with an obsessive compulsive urge to keep everything clean and proper. He has the urge to think that he is the captain of the team and be the messiah to keep the society clean and better. Character 3 - Raja (played by Arshad Warsi) is a character suffering from perpetual and spontaneous anger, who cannot control his anger in support of the world view that he has. Character 4 - Dabboo (played by Suresh Menon) is a character who has suffered trauma in the past and is unable to talk and is perpetually scared of the world.

Secondly, the director has shown an emotional bonding between the 4 characters. Even though the characters are not in proper mental state, they understand each other. To top it all, the director has brought in the character of Dr. Sonali who is the Godmother for the crazzy 4. They would do anything for her and also listen to her without question out of respect and love. This makes a team and perfect for branding and making a series of movies on the team.

Thirdly, the movie has a lot of scenes that tries to preach morals and good principles. It is typical for a movie brand to preach high morals without being boring and by being acceptable to the society at large. It is also important that the brand takes relevant issues into consideration. For instance, it preaches patriotism. In one of the scenes, the movie screen-play makes everyone in the scene stand up and respect our national anthem. The scene is so entwined with the story that it is hardly preachy and boring. It also brushes through the issue of keeping our cities clean through the character of Dr. Chowdhury.

Lastly, the movie has a song after the end of the story which clearly tries to put forth 'Crazzy4' as a brand. Hrithik Roshan introduces Crazzy 4 with his excellent dance. The lyrics of the song is cleverly crafted to introduce Crazzy4 as a brand that is truthful, honest, daring and would fight for the good.

Break free gotta get some chhutti... Tod do zanjeeron ko…Break free get ready kyon ki…Aa rahe hain krazzy4; They may be nuts… but they’ve got guts... Woh hai paagal deewane; And they don’t care… if people stare…Laga dein sabko thikane…; They’ll make you drool… they ain’t no fool…Chant hain wo mastane…And if that’s mad… its just too bad…Sach hai ye solah aane; So if you wanna… yeah… yeah…Dil hai deewana… yeah… yeah…1 and 2 and 3 and 4…Swing it with me doston…. Break free gotta get some chhutti... Tod do zanjeeron ko…Break free get ready kyon ki…Aa rahe hain krazzy 4…

Great Song. And I hope it does its purpose. All the best, Mr. Roshan.