Take #57: Secret Superstar

This is probably not going to be everyone's cup of YouTube, but the fact is that I absolutely loved the film.

Aamir Khan was an unmitigated riot - and like every canny producer, he backed the right story and chose his cast very carefully. Amit Trivedi's music was completely on point, and the improbabilities in the story line are easy to gloss over.

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This movie will make you laugh, and make you cry. You will come home chuckling about how stupidly sentimental you were; but you will not regret seeing this film.

Take #56: All the Money in the World

A gripping film about a mother's agony, a kidnapped teenager's travails and an ageing billionaire's penchant for looking at everything in terms of money. 



Ridley Scott skilfully directs this thriller which doesn't seem to have resonated very well with Mumbai audiences. Christopher Plumber was a treat to watch in a role that virtually seemed to have been written for him. 



See this movie if you can, it's a different, offbeat kidnap story.

Take #55: The Commuter

When Jaume Collet-Serra collaborated on this, his third outing with Liam Neeson (after "Non-Stop" and "Unknown"), he should have stopped to consider that the theme of an ordinary man who is completely at sea (or in the air, or in a train, in this case) had played itself out a while ago. 

A lot happens in this film, but alas, not much of it means anything very much. Vera Farmiga's outstanding talent is wasted, and Sam Neill, who has maybe 12 lines in all, goes through them with a what-am-i-doing-in-this-movie expression on his face.

Strictly for Neeson fans, because they won't give up.

Take #54: Padmaavat

"Padmaavat" is yet another spectacularly mounted Bhansali extravaganza.


This one took me by surprise - for one, I didn't understand what the political fuss was all about; for another, Ranveer's performance was, in a word, breathtaking; and finally, I had thought that Deepika's period-drama appearances had more or less been played out - but she pulled this one off far better than the Mastani role.


This film will win a couple of technical awards for its production design; and for my money, the best actor Black Lady for Ranveer. Go see it!

Take #53: Death Wish

For Bruce Willis fans and for those who haven't seen the 1974 original, this is a pleasant if slightly negative revenge thriller. But for the rest, this is a watered-down remake that simply doesn't work - against Bronson's cold implacability, Willis comes across as positively avuncular. 

The original film, which faithfully followed Brian Garfield's bestselling storyline, was dark and macabre and had you looking over your shoulder during the walk / ride home after the film. 

This one isn't going to have a sequel, believe me- whereas the original had four!

Take #52: Raid

"Raid" is a fairly compelling watch. 

Ajay Devgn, he of the perennially broody intensity, does a pretty good job as the Taxman who cometh. Saurabh Shukla is brilliant, in his quietly menacing essay of the local lord whose hitherto inviolate borders have been breached. There were a number of solid performances from the supporting cast as well. 

OTT moments apart (the rain of gold bricks was classic!), this is an absorbing story.

Take #51: Tomb Raider

Even as an unabashed fan of Angelina Jolie, I have to say that Alicia Vikander's portrayal of Lara Croft leaves a far more lasting impression. The Oscar-winning actress's natural intensity lends vulnerability to her character and gives the portrayal an entirely different feel. 

The story line isn't the same, but the action sequences and effects, although superbly done, are as OTT as you might expect. This is a fun watch, more so if you're a Vikander fan - or a Croft follower, for that matter. 

Go see it!

Take #50: 3 Storeys

An absorbing watch, with some beautiful cameos, and a wonderfully subtle performance from the multifaceted Renuka Shahane, who had a very different look in the film. 

The movie has some interesting twists and turns and keeps you guessing right upto the last few minutes. This film, which revolves around a Mumbai chawl, is refreshingly different - you're missing something if you don't see it. 

Renuka Shahane, take a bow: I'm a fan - again!

Worklore #14 : International Women's Day 2018

So, instead of reading about today as I always do, I thought I'd write on the occasion for a change, especially since some of these thoughts are often on my mind, in the midst of the male bigotry I frequently see at the workplace. Briefly, then, here are my top five reasons why we need more women at our workplaces: 1. They're more productive: punctuality, high yield, little idle chitchat during work hours, no extended lunches or mid-work breaks . 2. Parkinson's Law doesn't apply: The work usually gets done in the time stipulated, rather than the time available. 3. They're natural multitaskers: Juggling priorities comes naturally to them, since most of them have to do it at home as well. 4. Working offline: When women work from home, they actually work from home. And they're always connected, although they may not always respond. 5. Style: They have a natural sense of style, so they add that quotient to your workplace. There are many more (just as there might be many exceptions, as with everything else), but I'll speak about them some other time. I have personally learnt far more from women than I have from men over the past half century. Here's wishing all women everywhere a very happy International Women's Day.

Tobackoff #11: Won'tpower - The Arcane Art of Quitting Smoking

Later this month, I complete 7 non-smoking years, having moved overnight from 40-50 sticks a day to zero, ending my count at 500,000+ sticks over 26+ years.  I decided to write this post because I'm frequently asked how I did it. I suppose every ex-smoker has his pet formula: mine was "won'tpower", and it was a 3-step process. Here, then, are the steps: 1. Decide that you really want to quit: Believe it or not, this is the hardest part! Most smokers don't really want to quit, but it's fashionable to say that you do. So DECIDE ! Start that won'tpower engine. 2. Stop the associations:  Quitting smoking is difficult because it is ASSOCIATIVE. Yes, smoking associates with almost everything you do. Your early morning wake-up high; your morning dump. Your work. Your spouse’s “Not tonight, my dear, I have a headache” vibe…….and dozens of other things. CUT OUT these associations, one by one. Take 3 months to do it. 3. Go cold turkey: Once you're done with the associations, you're ready. STOP DEAD from tomorrow. You'll have THREE difficult days, not more. From the fourth, you're an ex-smoker.

Worklore #13 : Leader and Bleeders

Good leaders like to be challenged all the time - it inspires them, helps retain their edge, and makes them stronger. More importantly, it helps them to think laterally, ideate aggressively, and foster out-of-box thinking - with the result that the organisation grows, and the teams grow along with their leaders. Such leaders always recruit sharp, inquisitive, hungry people.
On the other hand,  bad leaders are invariably insecure managers - they like to be surrounded by people who are less qualified, who know less, who are non-confrontational, who are instruction-driven, who take readily to micro-management and who are not particularly ambitious. Bad leaders are invariably at the forefront of an army of obsequious, myopic, complacent people; and they spend far too much time with these people - at the cost of an indifferent organisation. Organisational culture feeds the seeds of leadership : most leaders are born, but some are also made. Look for such an organisation; and try and work with such leaders.

Worklore #12: The Office Dress Code - RIP

The snappily-dressed interviewee waiting at reception looked admiringly after a tall, arresting male in an impeccable suit who swept into the office with the general air of a busy managing director and vanished into an adjacent corridor. “Is that someone  terribly important ?” he asked the receptionist, who, without pausing in her typing, replied, “No, he’s an intern.” “Wow!” replies the wannabe employee. “Then why does he dress that way ?” “Because he would someday soon like to become someone very important." A bit later, a gentleman with dishevelled hair and stubble emerged from a door and crossed into a room at the other end. The first button of his shirt was undone, a sleeve was rolled up, and most of the shirt was sticking out of the back of his trousers. The interviewee looked after him with disfavour. “Wow! What a slob ! Who IS that, the  janitor ?” The receptionist glared at the candidate balefully: “That’s the Chairman of the Company.” “Jeepers ! Why is he dressed like that ?” “Because he has already become someone very important.” Anachronistic anecdote, isn’t it ? I heard it decades ago.  Today, when you walk into an office, how do you tell who’s who ? Where did the workplace dress code go ? And do we even need it any more ?

Worklore #11: Intrusive Interviewing - The Indian Reality

Earlier today, I read and “liked” an article on LinkedIn which expressed outrage at the fact that a prospective employer (abroad) had the temerity to ask for proof of an interviewee’s last drawn salary. And this led me to dwell, not for the first time, on the intrusive interview practices which are prevalent at the Indian workplace, and which are accepted as routine by the bulk of the working population.

Examples abound, and some of them are positively horrifying. Sexism, racism, political incorrectness, rudeness – they’re all there. A single lady is invariably asked when she’s planning to get married; a married one is asked when she’s planning to start a family! Someone who can’t speak English well is asked whether they can write it better; someone who’s changed many jobs is asked to describe the reason behind the change of each job, frequently going back a decade or more. And of course, every interviewee is asked to describe each component of his / her last pay drawn, and every salary at every job prior to that, and every grade at each major examination taken, and eventually to provide documentary evidence of everything.

After all this, the “optional extras” that are covered may include a leisurely understanding of the interviewee’s family and the profession, trade or calling of each individual member of that family; a discussion on the candidate’s hobbies, and so on.

The accent, it would seem, is on exposing the inadequacies of the interviewee, and on ensuring that he / she becomes radically self-aware in that behalf, if not already thus. Patent and latent weaknesses are dwelt upon in nauseating detail, whereas the need is clearly to identify strengths and discuss how those strengths can be leveraged to the benefit of the interviewer.  All this, of course, is done in the name of identifying the “cultural fit” – when the truth is that the interviewing company may not actually have any corporate culture to speak of in the first place.

This is not to say that every Indian organisation recruits people this way – but a large majority are doing it. Do you agree? What’s your experience?

Take #49: Kingsman - The Golden Circle

My biggest apprehension after seeing this film is that Salman Khan might poach the OTT bits for his next action film.

The trouble is, those bits constitute almost the entire movie.

It wasn't for nothing that the first Kingsman film was a sleeper hit - it was original, unconventional and fun and offered an interesting new alternative to, say, James Bond films.

Matthew Vaughn, a very competent director even on his worst day, decided differently: he decided to make this a Johnny English-type spy story sequel - minus the signature humour of the inimitable Rowan Atkinson.

The story line, although unoriginal, was promising and the cast of characters could have worked wonders if the caricaturisation and the crass bits had been dispensed with.

Crowd-pullers Channing Tatum and Halle Berry had very little to do in their "guest appearances" (Bollywood lingo)- but Elton John, playing himself in a unique avatar, was irrepressible.

To sum up, this was my most disappointing sequel in a decade or more.

Take #48: American Assassin

If you're an action film junkie, look no further than this for your weekly fix.

This is a cracking good entertainer in the tradition of the Bourne, Kingsman and Mechanic franchises. Although lacking the inventiveness and originality of the MI series, there's enough pace in this one to hold your attention. Special mention must be made of Michael Keaton in his role of the "warrior" ex-SEAL.

This movie will surprise you, because you would normally expect absolutely nothing from it. And they've even left room for a sequel.

Game for some onscreen mayhem ? Check this out!

Take #47: It

The trouble with this film is that there is so much that is unexplained that it dilutes the horror component. Barring the clown (Bill Skarsgaard), who is brilliant.

There is a fair bit of blood and gore à la John Carpenter, and a fairly effective, if loud background score to keep your goose pimples on the upswing for most of the time. 

A tad long but reasonably fast-moving, this is watchable for horror movie buffs and Stephen King fans, but has little to offer anybody else.

Take #46: Shubh Mangal Saavdhan

The hall was pretty full, and everyone left looking as though they got their 

money's 

worth; I didn't. 

Granted that this was a delicate subject, but it was handled, in the main, somewhat 

clumsily, and ended as limply as one of the liberally tea-dipped biscuits so eloquently showcased in the film. 

To be fair, though, the dialogue had its moments, and the performances were really very good - both by Ayushmann, the poster-boy of taboo-themed Indian Cinema, as well as by a slimmed-down Bhumi Pednekar, and also by some of the supporting cast. 

And oh- the movie was more about performance anxiety than about erectile dysfunction (which is what the reviews kept telling you) - although one can argue cause and effect on that one.

Worklore #10: Do Your Own Induction

We would all like to think, wouldn’t we, that the company we have just joined will put us through a structured induction programme so that we are onboarded in a fast, organised manner ?

Alas, all too often, the reality is something else entirely. Be that as it may, there is no reason to wait beyond the first 7 days, for such a process to be initiated. Simply make your own induction programme. Make room for casual introductions with as many relevant people as possible (ideally all major department heads), and then request them to give you a few minutes for you to drop in and have a chat. You won’t get a positive response from everyone, but it’s still better than nothing; and you may be surprised at how much grist for your beginner’s mill you are actually able to accumulate. Make sure to keep a finger on the cultural pulse of the organisation as you progress through this path, so that you are able to stay on the border between curiosity and intrusiveness without breaking any unwritten rules, treading on any toes and squandering what your boss may consider as quality work time. Remember, then : induct yourself; if you don't, it means that you don't know where you are; which in turns means that you’re already lost. Which makes for a really bad beginning.

Take #45: Annabelle - Creation

It's not just dead horses that lend themselves to flogging - it can be done with ghosts as well, and this movie proves that.

Admittedly, "The Conjuring", which was a sterling example of the horror genre, is a difficult act to follow; but even so, Annabelle: Creation seems to be a pish-pash of several horror films rolled into one. Lots of banging on the left hand side of the piano keyboard does occasionally bring out the goose pimples, but it's more a response to stimulus than anything else.

Slickly made, but somewhat tenuous, this is a good watch only for diehard horror movie buffs. For the rest - if you wish to lose sleep, a lifesize doll is not the best method.

Take #44: Mom

This is a good film, with a splendid performance by Sridevi, beautifully matched by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. 


A great deal of finesse in the handling of the story and an apt background score were among the many highlights of this thriller; but I thought the end could definitely have been improved upon.


Everyone in the packed theatre clearly felt this was a great weekend watch. Go see it!

Take #43: Kaabil

It's always a good idea to go to a movie expecting nothing- that way, even something moderately good will come as a pleasant surprise. And so it was with this one.


I actually don't like Hrithik too much, but he's essayed the role of a blind vengeful young man far better then I could have expected. Then, I hadn't seen Yami Gautam on screen, and I quite liked what I saw. Ronit Roy's villainous turn was pretty good, too. The only let-down was the way the script was handled- a storyline like this could have been built up far more credibly. Especially after a brilliant ten opening minutes.

Watchable enough. But if you decide to see it, go back to my opening sentence.

Take #42: John Wick - Chapter Two

Definitely not a film for the squeamish, this sequel has bodies piling up by the truckload and more than one shade of Kill Bill in it.


Comfortable room, too, has been left for Chapter Three.


Blood and gore apart, this is a slick film - good music, tight direction, smooth editing and a most interesting cast of characters (including Laurence Fishburne) with crisp cameos. There was a beautiful sequence in a mirrored room, faintly reminiscent of Enter The Dragon, but with a large splash of Dali.


This film is recommended for Keanu fans and those who were waiting for the sequel; to the rest, if violence and dark art are not your thing, stay as far away as you can.

Take #41: Jab Harry Met Sejal

Considering that the choice of words of the title was hardly accidental, the least Imtiaz Ali could have done was to craft the dialogue with some care, so as to be able to come across as at least a pale imitation of the iconic film whose name this one shamelessly imitates. But alas, no: the movie has scarcely any redeeming features at all. Apart from being a full 25 minutes longer than necessary (I twice thought it was ending, but it wasn't), the plot is wafer-thin and eventually flounders and sinks, leaving a perpetually mini-skirted Anushka clinging on to Shah Rukh for dear life. 

Don't waste your money on this one.

Worklore #9: ATG ~ Lowering The Boom On The Employee

In the early 90’s, when I was part of a company that was once a household name but suddenly took the path to extinction, a curious trend came into the company’s daily routine: senior officers, occupying large rooms with nameplates on the doors, seen attending meetings at 11 a.m., were abruptly history at 6 p.m – their rooms were stripped bare, the nameplates removed, the officer never again to be seen in those premises. And no one ever knew what exactly had happened.

This, we gradually learned, was a phenomenon called Asked To Go, and was soon to become an intrinsic part of most Indian companies’ delivered HR functionality. Nearly thirty years later, I find that this practice has indeed been woven into the fabric of standard organisational people practices  - to such an extent that I am moved to wonder why companies do not hire Heads – Talent Disposal with the same elan as they recruit Heads – Talent Acquisition.

ATG is like the sword of Damocles – it knows no rules, and it can fall without warning. Moreover, it does not differentiate between meritorious employees and non-achievers: I remember a shocked banker telling me that his colleague in an adjacent room , rated  “A” for 3 years running, had been told to go because his “role was no longer relevant”; another banker who was promoted to VP in the past year was shipped out the next year because her role had been “merged”.  And there is nothing in the ATG process in most organisations that permits it to be practised with dignity or with consideration, or indeed, with the employee’s interest in mind – borne out most recently by a viral audio clip of an anguished employee who was given his notice pay cheque and told to leave the same evening.

Astonishingly, the capacity to perform ATG is actually being viewed these days as a special skill – I am informed that some HR heads actually trumpet this activity as a specialization or an achievement. I am at a loss to understand how stamping on an ant, as it were, can be viewed as a skill or, for that matter, an achievement, in any country, in any era, anywhere.

The hapless employee is gradually beginning to realise that there are no guarantees, and that (s)he has to look out for himself / herself. The casualty of this situation is loyalty and ownership – and with some employees, it is ethics. I have met several employees who have been affected by ATG displacements – the reactions span the entire spectrum from rage to depression, but the effect remains the same: the employee is scarred, and his or her entire perspective of employment and employers changes, occasionally with disastrous future results.

Seasoned HR professionals argue that ATG is a necessary pimple in an organisation’s  route to maturity, to lean management, to sustainable profitability. Perhaps they are right; but then, compassion doesn’t have to take a holiday in the process. There is a wrong way of doing everything, just as there is a right way – and HR departments need to understand that IR never stood for  “Inhuman Resource” in the first place. Companies are about people, and sometimes those people have to go, but that departure needs to be a send-off, and not an ejection.

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