Globe Guru And MNC Dreams!
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: palashchandrabiswas@gmail.com
Pl Visit this site to feel COLD HORROR:
http://nandigramlalsalam.blogspot.com/index.html
And see the Images of GURU, the Maniratnam Film!
http://www.ourbollywood.com/2006/08/exclusive_images_from_mani_rat.html
And read:
http://www.dsir.gov.in/pubs/te/te200605.pdf
http://www.cpii.columbia.edu/documents/Pradhan_Indian_Multinationals_2007.pdf
http://www.cpii.columbia.edu/documents/Pradhan_Indian_Multinationals_2007.pdf
Abhi-Ash romance revisited
Thursday, April 19, 2007 20:27 IST
Tracing Bollywood’s starry fairy tale
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1091881
Home and the world - The rise of the Indian multinational
The centre of gravity of world business is shifting, and India’s MNCs are ready to carve out a good sized chunk of the pie.
by Indrajit Lahiri
http://www.himalmag.com/2005/september/analysis_8.html
MNC Raj and India Unbound!
The Indian Multinational Boom is well expressed by GURU in a Shareholders Meet in a Sports stadium- Do`n you want to be the Number One Company in this World? The mood seem to be very strong as India India joins commercial satellite launch market India will not be hurried into concluding a landmark but controversial nuclear cooperation deal with the United States, despite the latter's frustration over an impasse in negotiations, an Indian official said on Monday.
While New Delhi understands Washington's urgency to clinch the deal before campaigning for the 2008 U.S. presidential election gains momentum, it could not give in to new terms in the pact and more talks were needed, he said.
Globalisation is the new mantra. Countries all over the world are keen to attract Foreign Direct Investment for their development and Mauritius is no exception. But it should beware of big fish swallowing up small fish to create monopolies and cartels. When workers become redundant, they and their families are the only ones to feel the tragedy that has befallen them. In India, where drought and floods play havoc with farmers’ crops, lack of insurance cover has driven thousands to commit suicide, and those who were going to lose their means of livelihood threatened to do the same. The social costs of development have to be weighed against the economic advantages.
Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai's marriage has spelled a boon for media houses and advertisers but it has done little to ease worries in trade circles. If anything, film folks are more concerned as they are not sure how the marriage will affect the business of moviemaking.
The industry has been reeling under the impact of some mega-budget films failing to set the cash registers ringing. After raking in nearly Rs.6.5 billion, according to conservative estimates, in 2006, the industry seems to have hit a lean patch this year arising out of poor box-office performances of exorbitantly budgeted Bollywood flicks.
Even India's first-round exit from the cricket World Cup has not helped bring much cheer. Trade analysts say January-March 2007 saw films posting losses to the tune of Rs.600 to 700 million. Mega star cast films opened to a measly 30-40 percent occupancy, with only Mani Ratnam's 'Guru' emerging as universal hit in the first quarter. 'Namastey London' brought some relief in April.
Mani Ratnam’s Guru picked up $840000 in the first weekend in North America, and has become a hit in the UK too.Here is a first look at Mani Ratnam’s and Abhishek Bachchan’ Guru where Aby baby will play a modern day Dhirubai Ambani!Guru seems to be based on the life and times of India’s biggest textile tycoon-The late Dhirubhai Ambani. According to industry sources the film takes a hard look at the phenomenal rise and the making of the Ambani empire right from his early days in Aden (in the film it is shown as Turkey). A new wave of foreign competitive pressure is beginning to ripple through the U.S. economy, from companies in emerging markets like Brazil, Russia, India and China. These companies are seeking to become world-spanning multinationals - just as Samsung Electronics emerged from South Korea and Toyota sprang from Japan in earlier phases of globalization.
Mani Ratnam yesterday defended his latest biopic Guru for its sympathetic portrayal of a tycoon who doesn't hesitate to break the law to reap profit.
India is a nation satate where citizenship maeans nothing until you get Dual citizenship! Shareholders and Stockplayers are the only previleged ones who represent this India and Guru leads them well. Guru is taking over everything! He may not be stopped at all. India is AshAbhed with blinding glamour and rampshow.We citizens have to pay taxes direct and indirect, for everything to enjoy freedom. But SEZ developers have not only Tax Holiday but they happen to be out of jurisdiction for any Indian Law and IPC! SEZ development commissioner has to enjoy state head status! Developers of large SEZ projects may be in for some respite. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is considering a rural development ministry proposal to allow state governments facilitate land acquisition for multi-product SEZ projects for meeting the contiguity norms. However, the flexibility will be utilised only in special cases and restricted to just 10% of the land required for a project. The facility may be incorporated in the new rehabilitation policy being prepared by the rural development ministry.
No vision!
Some reviewers interpreted the film as justifying the use of unfair tactics, so long as it creates shareholder wealth.
Ratnam, in the south Indian city of Bangalore to attend an industry conference on the need for ethics in business, accepted that the character Gurukant Desai, played by Abhishek Bachchan, is morally ambiguous.
"Yeah, but that's the protagonist's point of view," the 50-year-old director said, visibly bristling. "... doesn't mean you have to follow it.
"I am just saying there's somebody, who believed in a particular fashion, who lived in a particular fashion - that's his kismet (fate). If you are making a film about a particular person, you have to get into his shoes," said Ratnam.
In what could strengthen the hands of those opposing tax breaks for SEZs, the Asian Development Bank has attacked the government’s decision to offer unnecessary tax incentives to SEZ developers and units. “SEZ tax inducements are expensive and come at a time when the government is struggling to provide adequate infrastructure in the wider economy,” the Asian Development Outlook 2007 said, adding that tax breaks are “unnecessary”.
Mr Chidambaram, who was opposed to tax incentives during the initial days of the SEZ debate, had said that it would cost the government Rs 70,000 crore. The National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) too has said that the government could lose about Rs 1,00,000 crore on revenue in fiscal concessions to SEZs.
According to the current rules, export units in SEZs get a 100% tax holiday for 5 years. SEZ developers, on the other hand, enjoy a tax holiday for 10 years. But the commerce ministry was of the view that the projections of the finance ministry were hugely exaggerated.
Although all major political formations, including the Congress, had serious reservations over the tax breaks, the government went ahead with the original scheme, offering concessions to the SEZ developers. As a matter of fact, an internal Congress report prepared by Veerappa Moily had gone to the extent of seeking a review of the model as he felt that it would widen imbalances and spur social conflict.
The ADB report also said the special tax incentives could open loopholes for tax evasion and undermine investments in firms located outside the SEZs. “The units outside SEZs will suffer from worse infrastructure and higher taxes,” the report said. The report said that the need was for better infrastructure and greater bureaucratic efficiency in SEZs and not tax breaks. Referring to the issue of rehabilitation of displaced persons, the report said, “some of the loudest political opposition to SEZ projects comes from the landless, who may not receive compensation for the land conversion and who lack the capital to become self-employed.”
This assessment is not off the mark as protests are raging in many places. While Opposition political formations are backing these agitations, some NGOs have drifted away from their ideological siblings to back the protest movements. Addressing a press conference in the Capital, activist Medha Patkar opposed the SEZ policy and said it can only be implemented through state repression. The Nandigram violence has given further impetus to the anti-SEZ campaign.
Mani sir is also giving Gurua romantic touch with some great melodies tuned by A.R.Rahman and has already shot the first schedule in Turkey with the lead actors and Mallika Sherawat who plays an important role.
Remember that Mani has a weakness for basing his films on real life characters like Velu Nayakan of Nayakan that delved into the life of Bombay underworld dreaded Tamil don of the 70’s and 80’s Varadaraja Muthaliar.
Similarly 10 years back Mani shot Iruvar under top secrecy as it was the story of MGR-Jayalalithaa-Karunanidhi. He did it at a time when Jayalalithaa was the Chief Minster of Tamilnadu! Who can forget his portrayal of the Mumbai riots and the depiction of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray played by Tinnu Anand in Bombay?
With the hype and hoopla surrounding the matrimonial alliance between two of India's biggest names in entertainment behind us, it is time to turn our attention to the not-so-rosy economics of film trade.
Critics have drawn parallels between Dhirubhai Ambani, who founded the giant conglomerate Reliance Industries that enriched millions of shareholders and died in July 2002, and Desai.
Like Ambani, Desai is born in the western Indian state of Gujarat to a schoolmaster, goes abroad to work in the oil business and returns home after 10 years to start his own company with 15,000 rupees (BD132) of seed capital.
Desai doesn't hesistate to cut corners as he goes on to build his business, the Shakti Group, into one of the country's biggest companies. Ratnam has however denied basing the story on Ambani's life.
The climax has Desai, recovering after a paralytic stroke, justifying to a court numerous breaches of the law to build his Shakti Group by pointing to the wealth he created for people. Guru, released in January, has been declared a box-office hit and a career-defining movie for Bachchan.
Guru (2007 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Directed by Mani Ratnam
Produced by Mani Ratnam
G. Srinivasan
Written by Mani Ratnam
Vijay Krishna Acharya
Starring Abhishek Bachchan
Aishwarya Rai
Vidya Balan
Madhavan
Mithun Chakraborty
Roshan Seth
Mallika Sherawat
Music by A. R. Rahman
Cinematography Rajiv Menon
Editing by A. Sreekar Prasad
Distributed by Madras Talkies
Release date(s) January 12, 2007
Language Hindi/Urdu
IMDb profile
For other uses of the word "Guru," see Guru (disambiguation).
Guru (Hindi: ????, Urdu: ?????) is a Hindi film directed by Mani Ratnam. It stars Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Madhavan and Vidya Balan in pivotal roles. The movie also stars Mithun Chakraborty in a supporting role, and Mallika Sherawat in a guest appearance. The movie also was released dubbed in Tamil and Telugu. The film was released on January 12, 2007, and premièred in Toronto, Canada.
Synopsis
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
In a small village of Idhar in Gujarat, a young man dreams of making it big some day. His father (Rajendra Gupta), the headmaster of the village school, tells him that dreams never come true. But Gurukant Desai (Abhishek Bachchan) never stopped dreaming.
Set in 1951, Guru tells the story of a ruthlessly ambitious villager who moves to Turkey first and Mumbai later with his wife Sujata (Aishwarya Rai) and brother-in-law Jignesh (Arya Babbar) to fulfill his dreams.
In Mumbai, truth dawns upon Guru that the business world is a closed community ruled by a handful of rich and influential people who don't believe in giving opportunities to new players. Despite barriers, he starts a company called Shakti Trading and climbs the ladder of success at a furious pace.
Manik Dasgupta aka Nanaji (Mithun Chakraborty), who publishes a newspaper Swatantra, treats Guru as his son. But when he learns that Guru's means to make it big are not right, he along with the Editor of his newspaper, Shyam (Madhavan), decide to expose Guru's unjust ways.
Historical Similarities
In the film Abhishek Bacchan portrays Gurubhai Desai, who resembles Dhirubhai Ambani, the owner of Reliance India. Dhirubhai traveled to Yemen in his early years to work; In the film, Gurubhai travels to Turkey to escape his father's criticism.
Historically, the media war waged against Dhirubhai Ambani was fought by Ramnath Goenka's newpaper The Indian Express. In the film, the paper is named the Swatantra Sarkar, and is headed by Manik Das Gupta (Mithun Chakraborty). The reporter portrayed by Madhavan's Shyam Saxena resembles S. Gurumurthy.
Another image that resonates historically are the Contractors mentioned in the film, who closely resemble the Wadias. The younger Contractor shares similarities with Nusli Wadia.
Characters
Below is a vignette of each character in the film :
Gurukant Desai - Guru Kant Desai, simply called as Guru, belonged to a small village called Idhar situated in Gujarat. Coming from a humble background which comprising a headmaster father, he was always taught to be content with what one has got rather than aspiring for something that may not be achievable by any means, whether it is materialistic or non-materialistic. But Guru had different plans. He wanted it all. So whether it was dreams, house or a village to live in, Guru always dreamt of something bigger. And all this since he was confident that he had it in him to achieve that, especially with a belief that he was the one who would be writing his own destiny. And soon a simple villager was en route to be one of the biggest visionary ever.
Sujata - Sujata was at one point of time, hesitant to marry Guru but it was a matter of time when she fell in love with him after being together as a couple in a one-room chawl. Her relationship with him became so strong over the years that regardless of what others had to say about him, for her Guru was the one who stood for love. In the end, she was his pillar of strength, providing him utmost support and courage to face life.
Manikdas Gupta (Nanaji) - Nananji ran a newspaper called Swathantra and years back was pretty impressed with the kind of fire that he could feel within Guru. He knew that Guru was a young lad who had it in him to be successful and though his walk towards his destination seemed too fast, he attributed it to his young blood. He was warned about some of Guru's so-called evil ways but for Nananji, Guru was spotless until he realized the truth. And now he wanted to fight to bring it to fore for all to see. Even if it threatens to destroy Guru or even himself.
Shyam Saxena - The same realization that had struck Nanaji struck Shyam too who didn't really have much love lost for Guru due to the way he worked and wanted him to be punished for his unethical and materialistic ways and along with Nanaji, he began publishing exposé's on Guru, revealing the truth behind the success of his business. According to Shyam, Guru had flirted with the law and the lawmakers, doing anything and everything to enhance his business, even if it did cross the law.
Meenu - Meenu is a young woman who limped and could be seen on a wheelchair. From her childhood, she had been extremely attached to Guru. Although Nanaji and Shyam were always being critical of him, questioning his ways, for Meenu, he was the man to be respected and admired since he was the only one who never asked her about her handicap and loved her unconditonally.
Indian Multinationals and SEZ Saga
The Central Indian government then decided that henceforth State governments should no longer buy the required land for private developers, but that the developers should purchase whatever land they want directly from the owners. Governments should not be brokers but facilitators. Small farmers and small businessmen have no option but to modernize and stick together to face competition from multinationals. Their hard work, friendly approach to their customers and treating their employees as human beings will bring them greater dividends than the aloof and impersonal approach of multinationals.
Indian Multinationals are supported by Hindu Zionist ruling class which also support Imperialism and Feudalism with fascist color! The greatest Indian multi nationals is though not any particular company, but a hypothesis named Hindu nation! The super power. This hypothesis and all damned Sen Sex dreams are portrayed in Maniratnam`s Guru followed by much hyped real life fairy tale marriage of two top bollywood Icons, Ash and Abhi!
The Indian economy is expected to post a robust growth for the fourth straight year, expanding by an accelerated 9.2 per cent in 2006-07 as against 9 per cent in the previous fiscal. The acceleration in growth during 2006-07 is driven by continued momentum in the services and manufacturing sectors, growth of which are expected to be in double-digit figures, the RBI said in its macro-economic and monetary developments review-2006-07, today.
Agriculture and allied activities growth, however, slowed down from 6 per cent in 2005-06 to 2.7 per cent in 2006-07.
PSLV-C8 blasted off into space carrying an Italian astronomical satellite, AGILE, from ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre here today, marking India's first fully commercial launch.Scientists cheered and loud applause was heard as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its 11th flight, soared into the clear sky in a perfect lift-off around 3.30 pm from this space port, about 100 km north of Chennai. Besides the 352 kg AGILE, the PSLV is also carrying ISRO's Advanced Avionics Module, weighing 185 kg, to flight-test advanced avionics such as mission computers, navigation and telemetry systems for use in future launch vehicles. This is also the first time the PSLV is flying without the six strap-AMM and is only about 540 kg. The 44-metre-tall four-stage PSLV will put AGILE into orbit at 550 km above the earth. The satellite will be used to investigate gamma ray bursts, pulsars and supernova remnants. PSLV had earlier launched six small foreign satellites into 550-800 km high polar sun synchronous orbits (SSO) from abroad for a nominal fee.
On the other hand,Supreme Court on Monday rejected Centre’s plea for early vacation of the stay on the 27% reservation for OBCs in elite educational institutions. The apex court said that 27% OBC quota cannot be implemented this year.
The Centre's plea came up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and L S Panta, which had stayed the implementation of certain provisions of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admissions) Act enabling a quota in institutions like IIMs, IITs and AIIMS.
Meanwhile,Police has to quiz MPs in human trafficking racket.Delhi Police will question four Parliamentarians named by a suspect in the alleged human trafficking racket that has come to light after the arrest of BJP MP Babubhai Katara.
Here is a news for you!
The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is down with the SEZ flu while cricketer Saurav Ganguly is out of the upcoming Bangladesh ODI series.However, it was an opportunity both of them didn’t want to lose. Bhattacharjee and Ganguly shared the same platform for a common cause on Sunday- children’s health care.The politician and the player now seem to be looking up to a common cause for survival- the industrialisation of West Bengal.
Bhattacharjee spoke profusely about Ganguly’s keen interest in the state's industrialisation. And it was hardly an occasion to bring up the topic.
“I congratulate Sourav for his contribution. He is always eager to help the government. He is very enthusiastic about industrialisation and he says that children are our future and we should protect them. I admire his vision. I have seen many players but no one comes forward like Sourav. I thank him,” said Bhattacharjee.
State pulse: West Bengal: Farm vs factories
The CPM partners in the Left Front, presently ruling in Kerala and Tripura and supporting the UPA Government at the Centre, are publicly pressing for a change in the land acquisition policy- Insaf
West Bengal's Nandigram, a little known village until recently, has cast a long shadow on the industrialization plans of various States through the establishments of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Even though the Centre has already cleared more than 400 SEZs across the country, the State Governments are increasingly under pressure from the farmers to reconsider their decisions to acquire farm lands for factories. In the light of the horrendous toll inflicted by police firing on farmers and their families protesting against the acquisition of agricultural land, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has announced not only his Government's decision to shift the chemical SEZ project site from Nandigram but also to put on hold other projects. In fact, the CPM partners in the Left Front, presently ruling in Kerala and Tripura and supporting the UPA Government at the Centre, are publicly pressing for a change in the land acquisition policy.
Farmers in Orissa, Maharashtra and Haryana have already taken up cudgels against the decision to acquire farm lands for setting up SEZs. In Orissa, confrontation between the villagers to be displaced and the State Government is growing what with the opposition taking cue from the violence in West Bengal. They have taken a hard stance against the Tata Steel project to be set up at Gopalpur and also protested against the Aluminium project in Rayagada district. Up in the North, a farmers' lobby, headed by former Chief Ministers Om Prakash Chautala and Bhajan Lal, has taken up cudgels against Haryana CM Bhupinder Hooda for his Government's decision to acquire farm lands for several SEZ proposals. Similar lobbies have also cropped up in Punjab and Maharashtra, even as trouble is brewing in the other States. Lending strong support is the statement of the IT Czar, Narayana Murthy, from Bangalore opposing farmland for SEZs.
http://www.centralchronicle.com/20070423/2304303.htm
Following the directive from the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on SEZs that state governments should not get involved in the process of land acquisition, SEZ developers such as Reliance Industries and the Salem group have been lobbying hard for relaxation of the rule. The rural development ministry is of the view that state participation in the land acquisition process should not be completely ruled out.
“State governments may be authorised to facilitate purchase of not more than 10% of the land in special cases, with the only intention of helping the developer in striking contiguity. There too, the state government will have to ensure that the special authority is exercised only in getting rid of vested interest groups working with the intention of stalling a project,” an official in the rural development ministry said.
Bahuguna joins endeavour against SEZ
Dehra Dun, April. 22 (PTI): Noted Chipko leader Sunderlal Bahuguna, along with scores of farmers, today extended his support to environmentalist Anil P Joshi in his endeavour against the special economic zones. Joshi, who started his '1000-km Cycle Yatra' from Parthal village in Jammu and Kashmir to Uttarakhand on Economic Independence of Rural India on April 7, concluded his yatra here today. Bahuguna received Joshi here and presented him a shawl while pledging to carry forward his movement against SEZs. Both, Bahuguna and Joshi opposed the entry of Walmart and other multinational companies into retail and other sectors in India. They expressed concern over the widespread acquisition of agriculture lands in India and asked for a comprehensive agriculture policy on the lines of Forest Act.
Citing the examples of Nandigram, Singur in WestBengal and Pantnagar in Uttarakhand, where agriculture lands were being acquired for SEZ, Joshi said, "There is a need to formulate an agriculture land policy that makes mandatory for the state governments to fix a certain percentage of land for agriculture purposes." The new policy should be such that fertile land cannot be acquired for industrial or SEZ purposes.
SEZ issue still not over: Medha Patkar
New Delhi/Kolkata, Apr 22: Terming the shelving of Nandigram Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project as a victory, social activist Medha Patkar has said the issue is still not over. "Though, we have won the Nandigram battle, the SEZ issue is not yet over. The Government is distributing land to private companies. The champions of SEZs are in effect pushing forward policies against the constitution, the workers and the farmers in the country," said Patkar during a candlelight protest against Nandigram police firing in which at least 14 people were killed.
WIP labs to set up 4G technology centre in Kolkata
Kolkata: Wireless Innovation Platform Labs (WIP Labs), a Denmark-based developer of wireless networking technology, would set up a 4G technology development centre at Rajarhat at an investment of about Rs 400 cr. West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, while laying the foundation stone of the 20-acre centre, said the facility would enable the state catch up with the rest of the world in the field of information technology. WIP labs has also entered into an agreement with Calcutta University and Bengal Engineering and Science University for the project. The company would make Kolkata the centre of its operations and would hire 300 people within the next three years, the Chief Minister said.
Boris Yeltsin dead: Kremlin
Boris Yeltsin, who engineered the final collapse of the Soviet Union and pushed Russia to embrace democracy and a market economy as the country's first post-Communist president, has died, a Kremlin official said Monday. He was 76.
Kremlin spokesman Alexander Smirnov said that Yeltsin died, but gave no cause of death or further information. The Interfax news agency quoted an unidentified medical source as saying he had died of heart failure.
Although Yeltsin initially was admired abroad for his defiance of the monolithic social system, many Russians will remember him mostly for presiding over the steep decline of their nation.
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070009634
India, Japan sign agreement on energy efficiency
Tokyo, April 23 (PTI): Japan today pledged to help India build an efficient energy-saving system and extend support to ensure energy security. An agreement to this effect was signed between Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari ...
IIM-A to go ahead with admissions after consultations
The Indian Institute of Management(IIM), Ahmedabad on Monday indicated it will go ahead with the admission process for the 2007 batch without providing for 27 %reservation for OBCs in the wake of the Supreme Court order.
Abhishek Bachchan plays Dhirubhai Ambani and Aishwarya Rai plays his wife Kokilaben the simple lady. The basic plot of the film hinges on the famous Ambani philosophy-accomplishing what others think is impossible. In the film, Mithun Chakravarthgy plays a sophisticated negative character pitted against Abhishek (shades of Bombay Dyeing chairman Nusli Wadia?)
INDIA UNBOUND
Indian industry is on a never-before global high. But are the good times here to stay? Shantanu Guha Ray analyses the home-grown MNC’s coming of age
We have just begun.
If we stay in India, we will be at a competitive disadvantage
RATAN TATA
For two successive weeks, two images reflected the mood of a triumphant India. A smiling Ratan Tata, alighting after an F-16 sortie on the outskirts of Bangalore, days after he clinched the $11 billion Corus deal. And a confident Kumarmangalam Birla at a packed press conference, hours after the successful $6 billion Novelis bid. There’s another in the wings to complete the troika: Suzlon’s Tulsi Tanti is poised to acquire RE power Systems AG of Germany with a premium-laced, all-cash $1.3 billion deal.
If it comes through, it will be a triple whammy, marking India’s decisive break with Socialist-era insularity. Let the world buy in, let us buy out, is the latest buzzword in Indian boardrooms.
No, India has not become very hot with global brand merchants. Not yet, at any rate. No one is saying that the world will now instantly recognise an Aditya Birla Group logo on a billboard in Manhattan or a Tata logo in the periphery of Hyde Park. To many in the US and Europe, names like Reliance, Ranbaxy and Mahindra probably do not even ring a bell. But neither, for that matter, do other relatively new global giants like Cemex, Galanz or Embraer.
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main27.asp?filename=Ne240207India_unbound_CS.asp
Guru is reflection of reality: Mani Ratnam Interview
Updated: 03-26-2007 Email this Page
Mumbai, March 26 Director Mani Ratnam, who is not sure if he will make another biopic after 'Guru', stresses that he takes on a project if he sees 'a film in it not because it fits into a particular genre'.
'Will I do more biopics? I don't know. If a character is exciting enough to hold your attention for over a year and the audiences' attention for over two hours, then maybe it has movie potential,' Ratnam told IANS in an interview.
Asked why 'Guru' tended to subvert the reformist zeal as seen in films like 'Lage Raho Munnabhai', the filmmaker said his film was a reflection of today's reality.
'Some films offer hope. Some are reflections on life. I like both kinds of cinema. But when you reflect you should be willing to look at reality. 'Guru' isn't cynical. It's a reflection on today's reality.'
http://www.andhracafe.com/index.php?m=show&id=20776
CULTURAL NATIONALISM VIS-A-VIS MULTINATIONALS
Vasuki (Dr. C. Abraham Varghese)
Re - This Booklet and the Author :
*All nations practice Economic Nationalism unashamedly and unapologetically. *
*Multinational is a misnomer.
*The degree of corruption is directly proportional to the distance between the decision and the action points.*
Dr C. Abraham Varghese, is a renowned Management Expert. He took his M.Scand Ph.D from the University of Manchester and worked as Deputy Chairman of Brooke Bond India, and President of Rallis India, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd, and Batliboi and Co. Now retired, he heads his own Management Counselling Services. Inspite of his spending years abroad, Dr Varghese is not over whelmed by the West. A staunch nationalist, he puts his bold and frank ideas about Swadeshi and Management of our country's economy in this booklet.
He writes under the pen-name of VASUKI the God Snake who served Gods and Rakshasas as a rope for churning the sea. His revolutionary approach will make the ideologues and economists sit up and take notice of this new perspective. Succinct and precise, he touches the most sensitive and yet conveniently overlooked important points.
http://www.hvk.org/Publications/culture.html
The importance of Indian multinationals in the world economy has been growing significantly since 1990s. An increasing number of Indian firms across wide range of sectors are undertaking large overseas projects and their focus is gradually shifting towards developed countries. Until then, OFDI from India was confined to a small number of family-owned firms primarily investing in developing countries through joint-ownership arrangement. These changing natures of Indian OFDI are likely to have a number of implications for the development of both host and home country.
Ever since the Indian economy treaded on the path of globalisation, the maximum focus of the Government has been towards giving fiscal reliefs for inbound investments. However, after more than a decade of globalisation and with the Indian economy doing exceedingly well in the recent years, several Indian companies or multinationals are going global, or in other words, venturing for outbound investments through acquisition of foreign companies or setting up green-field projects abroad. Increase in the number and volume of outbound investments is a correct in