toe hold india

A couple of years ago, ASCENT (Asian Centre for Entrepreneurial Initiatives) had conducted a workshop, during which a short film on one of their projects was screened. ASCENT had adopted a village, Athani in Belgaum district and their objective was to make the women of the village financially independent. This was because the village was dependent on agriculture income which was not coming through and the farmers were not ready for an alternative employment. The viilage, like any other Indian village, has its own tale of woes in the form of alcoholism, lack of basic facilities and so on.

ASCENT with two other organisations Central Leather Research Institute and National Leather Development Programme, set up a kolahpuri chappal making project in Athani through SHGs(self help groups). The Central Leather Research Institute contributed the designs and offered technical assistance, while National Leather Development Programme provided leather. These products are exported and the village has turned into a model village.

Though the objetive was to make women earn a livelihood, as the project gained momentum, the menfolk pitched in and the problem of alcoholism was resolved on its own. For more information, visit www.toeholdindia.com

Indian Animation Movies - No Takers

Animation movies are a big hit among children across the world. They are big-time money spinners.In India, there is a huge audience for the animation programs aired in the various channels like Cartoon Network, Disney, Pogo, etc. But the movie industry in India has not made it big in the animation movies,though animation movies from Disney Corp. are popular(Lion King, Antz).Not that there is a dearth of stories. We can draw a lot of inspiration from the Ramayan, Mahabharath, the Pancha tantra, Jataka Tales, and so on. But why are animation movies not given the required push in India?

Animation movies are made popular by associationg the movies with popular stars.In the U.S., prominent actors and actresses lend their voices to animation characters. Eddie Murphy had no second thought to lend his voice to a donkey in Shrek. Would a Khan or a Kapoor of the Indian industry do that?

Animation movies or in general, movies made for children in India are marketed only for the target market. But in the US, though the intended target is children, the movies are packaged in such a way that they attract children as well as adults (who have a child's heart). This is beacuse, when an individual looks back at life, he is always filled with amazement and happiness about his childhood. So in every adult, there is a child which enjoys this walk down the memory lane. And hence a movie though targetted at children should always keep in mind the accompanying audience.

Another reason for animation movies not being popular is the untapped potential of animation designers in India. When a company manned by four emloyeees in Hyderabad can provide amazing graphics to a recent Cheeranjivi movie, we can as well harness this potential to making more meaningful cinema for children.

Global Warming: Nothing more than Science Fiction

A decade ago, when I was in college, I remember competing in a state-level science lecture contest. I delivered a talk on Global Warming. I had done a decent amount of information gathering from reliable sources like TERI (Tata Energy & Research Institute).

I vehemently made statements during my talk, that in another 10 years half of Bombay would be submerged in water, Maurituis would be a part of history and the Indian coast line would have shifted inland. And all this because of global warming.But so far nothing has happened. On the contrary, Mauritius has become a major tourist spot.

So, is global warming a figment of intelligent imagination? Guess so. It is also believed that global warming is a politicized science. It has become an industry by itself, with many self-proclaimed environmental groups fighting for government and industrial funding. No wonder there are more lawyers than scientists talking about the issue.

If not anything, global warming certainly did trigger the making of the movie 'The Day after Tomorrow'.The movie portrays the return of mankind to Ice Age - the fallout of global warming.

Another good read: 'State of Fear' by Michael Crichton- a well researhed fiction on global warming. I hope Steven Speilberg makes a movie out of this book!

Who is a better brand endorser - a sportstar or a movie star?

Sachin Tendulkar-the moment this name crosses the mind, one imagines a squeaky-voiced, short man, dressed in the official blues with a bat in his hand, ready to hit the ball beyond the boundary.

Think Big B- For some he might appear as the lanky doc of 'Anand', for somebody else, he could be the angry, young cop of 'Zanjeer' or the schizophrenic banker of 'Aankhein'. He could assume the role of any character ha has played before in his movies.

In the Indian ad world, there is huge clutter and it is further dominated by the Sachin Clutter and the Amitabh clutter. Questions are raised whether the endorsed brand derives the advantage of celebrity association, when the celebrity ends up endorsing a host of brands. But then each brand has its own persona. For instance, some are 'youthful' like Coco Cola, some are 'funny' like Miranda, some brands are 'tough' like MRF, while some brands can be 'elite' like Parker.

If a celebrity can portray all these different facets of brands, he can certainly endorse various brands. In this context, a movie star can certainly fit in different roles better than a sportstar. But then a line needs to be drawn about what brands to be endorsed by a movie star. It is a well known fact that the metrosexual man has arrived but Big B endorsing Himani cosmetics is still not acceptable. Ditto about his Nerolac paints endorsement.

It would be better if sportstars stick to products that are related to their respective sports like Nike, Lotto, Cosco, Speed, and certainly not Sona Chandi Chyawanprash.

Every time a film is made on a historic event, there is a lot of hue and cry about history being misinterpreted and distorted. A film maker like any individual, interprets records on such events from the dimension of converting it into a film which has got potential to be a box-office hit or an Academy-award winner. Further, perceptions of lessons from history vary with every genre.
I think we should focus on what we learn from history rather than try to be judgemental about how historic facts have been represented. Santosh Sivan's Asoka was not a big success but certainly conveyed the message to the common man that, besides being the name of a tree, it was also the name of an empereor.
Gandhi is synonmous with Indian Freedom struggle. But there have been many unsung heroes. And one of them was Mangal Pandey, who ignited the fire for freedom. So the movie on Mangal Pandey might have distorted facts to suit film making but it certainly is informative to the crores of Indians who might have no access to basic education, leave alone Indian History.