Rishabh Pant wants to buy cheap luxury Watches - A typical Middle class Mentality

Quite humourous to note. Rishabh Pant too has a "Middle-Class Mentality" like us. He wanted to buy "very cheap Luxury watches" and believed a con man to deliver him such "essential items" and lost Rs 1.63 crores! Fail to understand how luxury watches can be very cheap. That sounds like an Oxymoron!.

He should have simply bought them. He can definitely afford them. Similar is the case of Kunal Pandya who tried to smuggle luxury watches into India without paying duty. Our cricket gods just like the reel heroes have feet of clay!

The Human Mind is a tricky Thing - To Watch or not to Watch!

The Human mind is a tricky thing. It makes us believe what we want to and what we believe becomes a fact and later a theory and finally a stereotype.

This in marketing is referred to as the trinity of Selective Attention, Selective Retention, and Selective Absorption. Let me illustrate.

I always believed that watching a sports match live or even a live telecast is bad luck for the team that I support. I remember Sachin scoring 186 at Rajiv Gandhi's Cricket Stadium in 1999. Dr.C.R.K Reddy and I had tickets but I refused to see Sachin in blood as I believed that my attending the match would give him bad luck.

I am not alone in this belief. Anand Mahindra of Mahendra and Mahendra and Amitabh Bachchan also believe the same. It is said that Amitabh would sit in the adjacent room and Jaya or Abhishek would relay the score.

Now with the internet, we sometimes sneak in the score surreptitiously but let me assure you with a guilty mind. To cut a long story short, Sachin scored a magnificent 186 and CRK Reddy was thrilled to watch it live. I was delighted too. I felt that It was my not seeing that allowed Sachin to score 186. If I had attended the live match he would have scored a zero (I sincerely believed that).

So I refuse to see any match where there is a lot of stress, Which means that when India is facing difficult times I would switch off. The same is the case with SRH matches or any other teams that I support. I prefer watching the highlights. The tension of close matches is too much to bear.

But things don't work out the same way as we want. Recently I had inspite of my apprehensions watched the European Championship semifinals first leg match between Real Madrid and Manchester City (I am a big fan of Manchester City). To my delight, Man City won the first leg 4-3.

The second leg was slated at 1230 hours midnight and I gave it a miss, citing to myself the famous excise "If I watch they would lose".

The next day morning the news was very disappointing. Man City lost and that too in a very dramatic fashion. They lost in a cranage that lasted just 3 minutes in the end. Real Madrid pumped in 3 goals from the 89th minute to the 92nd minute.

I was disappointed and my theory is not proving to be correct always. I even consoled myself by saying that the team lost during the regular time itself. That is in the injury time. That I declared was "pure bad luck".

But when I watched the highlights today on Sony LIV, I was taken back. At the end of the regulation time, the teams were tied 5-5. Extra 30 minutes were given and Real Madrid scored in the 2nd minute of the 30-minute extra time. So the loss was not as dramatic as I imagined. Manchester City has 28 minutes to claw themselves back into the contest but could not. So the better team won, Better luck next time Manchester City. And me, I am confused, "to watch, or not to watch"!

Akshay Kumar goes back on Vimal Pan Masala ad campaign - Surrogate Advertising!

 April 21st 

Classic case of having the cake and eating it too. 

What Bloody Hypocrisy! First, the 50+ actor endorses the tobacco-based product ("I don't know that it has tobacco!?"). 

Then his fans howl in protest and to avoid the backlash pesto says that he will withdraw and will not endorse any such products in the future.

He also says that the endorsement money will be given for a "WORTHY CAUSE". 

At the bottom of the same post, it says the brand will continue to air the advertisement.

When will we realize that our reel heroes are not real heroes? They have feet of clay that will melt at the first instance.

Comments: 

Niketha Nigam: The product doesn't have tobacco but this brand majorly deals in pan masala products. They are just doing surrogate advertising. Casting 3 top most expensive actors for selling elaichi 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Raj Sampat: I m doing business of Vimal pan masala, first of all Vimal is not tobacco, so cut out miss confession of the product...

Anil Ramesh: Surrogate advertising Raj Sampat like Niketa Nigam said. Surrogate advertising itself is a dubious way of promoting a product.

Raj Sampat: Anil Ramesh on the packet itself they have written pan masala

Anil Ramesh: Raj Sampat, check this out.

When former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan faced flak last year for appearing in an advertisement for Pan Bahar, a mouth freshener, a spokesperson for the manufacturer argued that the outrage was the result of “public misconception” since he explained, the company didn’t “produce either gutka or pan masala.”

Ashok and Co, the company that produces Pan Bahar, does manufacture pan masala. It only doesn’t add tobacco to the sachet, because state governments started banning all food products containing tobacco after new regulations were framed in this regard in 2011.

While it is true that the actor was only endorsing a mouth freshener, the ‘misconception’, seems to be less a fault of the public and more a deliberate strategy by companies like Ashok and Co, who use tobacco-less products to market and sell tobacco products. Welcome to the world of surrogate advertisements – where the product being advertised is only a front for selling another product, usually a banned one.

Those manufacturing smokeless tobacco products have been resorting to this strategy for a long time now. So when you see Ajay Devgn promoting Vimal Pan Masala or Priyanka Chopra promoting Rajnigandha Pearls, both of which don’t have tobacco or nicotine, you must understand that they are not just selling pearls, they are selling something else too – a brand name that’s also associated with tobacco-containing products. It is a strategy used by most companies, done with the aim to sidestep laws that restrict the manufacture, sale, and advertising of these products.

In 2003, for example, the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) banned all direct or indirect advertisements of any tobacco products, except at the point of sale, storage, or manufacturing. A study conducted soon after found that the “annual cost of advertisement of plain Pan Parag on two television channels alone is 3.8 times its annual sale value.”

Were they running the company into loss then? Not really, if the tobacco-containing Pan Parag made up for the remaining expenses on advertising on Pan Parag and generated profits on top of that. “This indicates that the Pan Parag pan masala advertisements are a surrogate for the tobacco product (gutka) the company manufactures under the same brand name,” the researchers had to conclude in the study, which gave sufficient leeway to the company.

What seems to have come to the aid of manufacturers is another law that has really helped them sidestep the previously stated laws. The amended cable television network rules allow the usage of the brand name and logo of a tobacco product, subject to a few conditions, provided the product being sold does not contain tobacco. This has been used ingeniously by the manufacturers of the tobacco-containing pan masala or gutkha.

For instance, according to its own website, the pan masala Ashok and Co manufacturers went through three phases – selling pan masala without tobacco until 1988, then with tobacco, and after 2011, again without tobacco. However, the brand names for the pan masala — ‘Begum’, ‘Natkhat’, ‘Wah’, and ‘Dilruba’ — continued to be the same.

If the manufacturer could get the brand name stuck in the consumers’ minds, at a shop, they only had to choose whether the pan masala they wanted was with or without tobacco. If they chose a pan masala with tobacco, the nicotine in it would do the rest of the trick. Even if they were driven to the shop to buy a tobaccoless product, advertising tobacco at the shop itself wasn’t banned. The manufacturers had ensured that advertisements continued to reach consumers. But the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition & Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, banned any food products containing tobacco and nicotine from markets, effectively banning even the production of tobacco-containing pan masala and gutkha. Any allegations, as the spokesperson for Ashok and Co would say, of surrogate advertisements would be meaningless if manufacturers couldn’t make the product that they are accused of surreptitiously marketing. Except, just like manufacturers found a way to work around the 2003 ban on advertisements, they have found a way to circumvent the 2011 manufacturing ban.

Only about a fortnight before Brosnan landed in the Pan Bahar controversy, the Supreme Court had revisited a submission by the health ministry that explained how the 2011 regulations were being flouted. The ministry had informed the court that “manufacturers are selling pan masala (without tobacco) with flavoured chewing tobacco in separate sachets”, which are often “sold together by the same vendors from the same premises.”

The spokesperson for Ashok & Co had told the BBC at the time of the controversy that they had chosen Brosnan because he is “suave, cool and a master-blender.” There couldn’t a better PR statement. The pan masala manufacturers’ plan of selling twin gutkha packs to be mixed as one, and advertising it through a tobaccoless product of the same brand name, requires a lot of mix-up or mixing. It is a master blender of a plan.

These surrogate advertisements too are then a health risk because every fifth adult uses smokeless tobacco in India, and perhaps more are gravitating towards it due to celebrity endorsement. A WHO monograph in fact argues that more than half of oral cancers are caused by smokeless tobacco. The clandestine production and sale of these products is something that perhaps only the government can stop – a process that for now is being gradually pushed forward through litigation and might need rules that are framed in a better manner. However, that this process does happen is something a casual visit to your local cigarette and paan shop will easily reveal.

If celebrities still endorse these products, it shows that they don’t mind being part of this cunning and dangerous trade. They can’t plead ignorance. Brosnan at least took a stand against Ashok and Co after facing criticism, but that didn’t stop the company from using the advertisement. When the Delhi government wrote to a bunch of actors that today participate in such surrogate advertising of smokeless tobacco, only Sunny Leone cared to reply and agreed to not endorse the products. For others, a little moolah is all it takes to endanger lives.

Deepesh Agarwal: I believe one can’t undermine the power of a binding contract I believe sir (the actual reason why the ad won’t be taken down). I am not sure what he was thinking “ok I’ll endorse Vimal elaichi (not a to tobacco) and the public won’t notice the pseudo marketing”? I am mean grow up Akshay as I am not sure what you were thinking that Indian citizens are so innocent that they won’t realize what you are really trying to do here? It doesn’t matter if it is elaichi and not tobacco. At the end, the true test is how the advertisement is perceived by the general public. At least Ajay Devgan (still not a great example though) endorses Vimal knowing fully well the reputational risks (a lot of memes are already there) unlike this double standard and hypocrite guy!

Article Titled "Pushpa the Power of good content" published in The Hans India today 30-01-2022

 

Pushpa the Power of good content

Lots of time most come to conclusions based on insufficient research or on assumptions that have no scientific evidence. One such assumption is "If the audience can watch a movie free on TV/OTT, they will not come to the theatre".

Totally wrong. If the content is good, the acting is sleek and the direction is tight, the audience will flock to the theatre irrespective of whether the movie is shown/released on the TV/OTT. The epitome of movie watching will always remain watching on a big screen with an audience. If the movie is good, it will whet the curiosity and audience would go to the theatre and watch it once again. That way tremendous word-of-mouth publicity gets generated.

This has been proved twice now. Attarintiki Daredi a Pavan Kalyan movie was freely available online and that too even before the release. But even though it was available free, fans of Pavan Kalyan and the other audience flocked to the theatres and made it one of the biggest blockbusters.

Pushpa again proves the same. It was released on Amazon Prime when it was still running in the theatres.  Proving all the Nay-Sayers wrong, Pushpa is doing well both in the theatres and on the Amazon Platform.  Maybe the Amazon release has increased its earning capacity. Pushpa has earned Rs 15 crores after its release on the OTT platform. Really commendable.

It is time, makers and directors get their act together. Make better movies and they will do well irrespective of the distribution platform. The colour rendering and re-release of Maya bazaar were warmly accepted and viewers flocked to watch their favourite movie on big screens despite the fact that they have seen it many times in theatres, TV, and on YouTube. Time to look at the OTT platform from a different lens and make it part of the marketing strategy to leverage the reach, popularity thus boosting the earning potential of movies.

Cadbury Maid ad - Too Clever to do any Good!

Over the years Cadbury has been known for its heart-touching advertisements! There was a time when we used to wait with bated breath for the new Cadbury advertisement! 

Recently Cadbury's creativity has taken a beating and some of the latest advertisements are leaving, much to be desired. The worst of them was the "Do nothing advertisement" where a guy refuses to help an old lady in distress and we are supposed to feel happy and consume a Cadbury after seeing it! 

Now here is a Cadbury Dairy Milk advertisement that provokes a similar thought process. 

A bai (a household help) who is about to put dirty clothes into the washing machine starts berating her owner.

She says "I keep finding things in your clothes.  License, headphones, and other miscellaneous articles. And now this" 

She holds up a Cadbury Dairy milk chocolate, "What would have happened if I had washed your clothes without checking". 

The smug youngster, says with a smile "but, I left it deliberately and it is for you". The advertisement ends with the bai looking at the young man with tear-filled eyes. 

I had almost sleepwalked through the advertisement but was stopped dead in my tracks by my wife's comment, "What nonsense, this is pure tripe. Why can't the guy simply give the CDM directly to the bai? Why this roundabout way of giving her. Why give her as if by accident and that too pretend as if he has forgotten about it". 

I totally agree, the advertisement is too clever for its own sake. Let us keep our advertisements simple and pure. Simplicity always works!

To be or not to be - That is the big question - Contentious Indian advertisements!

Advertisements are supposed to reflect the society and it is interesting to see that they are changing. first it was the Cadbury cricket ad of the nineties that was remade with a completely new gender bend. The hero turned heroine and the supportress turned the supporter. Cadbury cricket was a huge success and there was appreciation all around. 

But what Kwality Walls and Dabur did with their latest advertisement is quite contentious. The Kwality walls Advertisement shows a disapproving lady who is hostile to her new (may be gay/homosexual) neighbour couple. 

Her husband cajoles her to enter the neighbour’s house and viola Kwality Ice-cream melts the lady and her misconceptions about same sex couple living together. 

There is a definite deliberate awkwardness in the advertisement. It was a deliberate attempt to hint at something “THAT ÏS DIFFERENT”. So much so that even Asish Vidyarthi who plays the role of the disapproving lady’s husband remarked about the awkwardness in his social media post. The post is shared as a screen shot! 

The second advertisement that is stirring a storm in a tea cup is the Dabur ad. Dabur has shown two women (living together) fasting who see each other through a sieve! Dabur have shown Karva Chauth with a difference. Karva Chauth Is a festival of wives fasting and praying for the health of the husband and they see the moon through a sieve after a day’s hard fasting!  The advertisement has since been withdrawal by Dabur!

So far so good. As usual it is the Hindu customs/festivals that are taking a beating. Is it alright if Diwali and karva Chauth are used to display our liberal thinking? If the same was done with any other religion, would they be silent? Are the Hindus too silent and too accommodating? Just a thought process!

Hyderabad Metro's Suvarna Offer - 2021!

 

The art of observation has taught me many things. I got an SMS from HMRL and I was curious to know about the Suvarna offer. HMRL uses digital technology liberally and all smart cards are linked with the commuters’ mobile number.

Most regular commuters like me charge their cards with recharge worth excess of a thousand rupees. Earlier a loss of a smart card meant a loss of all the unused recharge amount. But now the minute a smart card is lost/stolen the commuter can immediately complain at the neatest metro station. Through an OTP driven authentication, the remaining value on the recharge of the lost/stolen will be transferred to a new card and HMRL will only charge Rs 50/- for the purchase of a new card.  

In a welcome move Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited introduced Suvarna offer on 18^th October 2021. Wanting to cash on the festival season, picking up of the passenger traffic, improved customer sentiment and increased footballs HMRL came out with two unique schemes under the Suvarna Offer. Under the first scheme regular commuters can opt for “pay for 20 trips and get 30 trips”.

In simple terms 20 trips for an individual  trip worth Rs 55/- can be bought for Rs 1100/- but for Rs 1100/- recharge the commuter gets 30 trips. Each trip cost comes down to Rs 37/- (33% discount).

This would mean a discount of Rs 550/- for 15 days and 1100/- for a month. This is very highly appreciable in time when energy costs are literally going through the roof. Allaying fears of a fare rise, HMRL has infact delivered a festival bonus to the commuters making metro fares equal to the cost of a bus travel.

But the catch is any travel irrespective of the distance would be considered as a trip. This would be a boon for regular travelers who travel between fixed station very day.  Regular travelers can utilize the get 30 trips for 20 offer by buying an additional card (for 50 rupees extra) and use it exclusively for their daily fixed office trips. The existing card can be used for unplanned trips.  

So, what does HMRL get from the scheme? It generates lots of good will which will/might lead to commuters commenting in the social media (like I am doing), posting about it and telling their friend, relatives and acquaintances.

The almost similar pricing of metro fares and bus fares might push the bus travelers to shift from bus travel to metro travel. The increasing petrol and diesel prices might make more personal vehicle users move to metro travel.

Regular travelers get a benefit of concessional travel. Finally, the biggest take could be a massive spurt in ridership due to cheaper fare could see increase in revenue through fares and this could lead to HMRL getting better revenues from its advertising, rental and other related income streams.

The only trick that HMRL is missing is a “travel as much as you can” card. Very popular in Delhi Metro, a travel as much as you want is a daily card that can be purchased for Rs 200/-. Commuters especially tourist would prefer a daily fixed fare card and this could mean brisk business on Saturdays, Sundays and on all public holidays. HMRL should definitely look into introducing a travel as much as you can card with a day’s validity.

Under the second scheme travelers in the green line can travel anywhere from M.G. bus stand to Jubilee Bus Stand for fares ranging from Rs 10 to 15/-. Suvarna offers’ validity is from October 18^th October, 2021 to 15^th January, 2022!

Memoirs of a Metro Man (Not E. Sreedharan’s)

 

These are the memoirs of another man, me who qualifies as a common Man in a Metro. Right from its inception in 2017, I have been a great fan of the Hyderabad Metro service. I am proud to say that I frequently use Hyderabad Metro and am fascinated by its convenience, speed, connectivity, and lack of frequent traffic jams that are quite prevalent in the other, modes of public transport.

Metro is convenient for me as we stay close to Miyapur station, one of the terminal points. This ensures that I always get a place to sit when I start my journey. My return journey station, Moosaram Bagh too is very close to the other terminus, LB Nagar and I am ensured comfortable seating on both sides of the journey. My wife jokes “you move from a drawing-room (house) to an Air-conditioned Office (My workplace) courtesy, Hyderabad Metro”.

I call myself an MMTS traveler using a Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS). Metro train, Bus, Auto, Cab, Car, walking are all means of traveling for me. The following are some of my observations about Metro Travelers.

1) “Eating and drinking are banned in Hyderabad Metro”. This might surprise many travelers but it is true. Unlike a regular railway system where eating and drinking non-alcoholic beverages is permitted, eating and drinking are not permitted in Metro trains. Most don’t drink or eat, but in few cases, it has been noticed that people munch on snacks (Kurkure, Chips, Frankie’s, Samosas and drink water (permissible), and in some cases I have seen travelers drinking Coke/Pepsi. But it is undeniable that most people don’t eat or drink as the journeys tend to be short, maximum 10 or 15 minutes.

2)  According to the Hyderabad Metro Website, taking photos is also banned. But this too like eating and drinking this is never enforced. There are no signboards about prohibiting eating, drinking, and taking snaps and selfies. Commuters can’t be blamed for indulging in these activities as most might not even be aware that these activities are banned.

3)  Most commuters don’t believe in queuing up while entering the train or when they are disembarking. It’s a free for all and even at terminal stations there is pell-mell and people simply rush in like stampeded cattle!

4)  No respect for women, people with special needs, or senior citizens. Except for the reserved ladies section where only women sit, all other seating area is occupied by young men and women who give scant notice to others with special needs. Even in places reserved for the senior citizens have to ask for people to vacate the seats. No one voluntarily gets up and offers a seat. The other day, a senior citizen demanded a seat. The man sitting had an interesting reason not to get up. He said, “Ask those youngsters (pointing to some teenagers) to get up. I am older than them”. This defeats the entire purpose of reserving the seats. The seats are meant for senior citizens and people sitting have to vacate without putting any preconditions!

5)  During the four years of my travel in Hyderabad Metro, I have some interesting insights. No one reads printed matter of any sort! Apart from me (I read novels and magazines), Once I saw a young girl reading a novel and on another occasion, I saw a young man reading a newspaper. That is all! 99% of the travelers are joined to their umbilical cord, the omnipresent cellphone. Most people listen to music (loudly), talk incessantly (again loudly), see videos (movies, serials, comedy shows) at high decibel levels. It is a cacophony of sounds. Very few people use headphones or earphones. I am told that in Japan there is pin-drop silence in metros and most if any all travelers use headphones and earphones and text instead of talking to avoid disturbing others.

6)  Commuters' backpacks are a big nuisance. The unwieldy backpacks often swing in all directions and hit other standing travelers or brush the faces of the seated travelers. I often think of the pack backers as being pregnant on the wrong side. Most of the backpacks look like full-term pregnancies. It looks as if the baby inside would pop out at any time. Hyderabad metro should use its train audio system to advise commuters to put their back backs on the floor and not take up additional space and assault the others.

7) Women tend to converge both at the first and the last cars (compartments). The last car had a women-only section which now allows all passengers but women still prefer the first and the last cars.

8) Staircases are not very popular and only around 5% of travelers use the staircases. Most use the escalators and the lifts. Lifts are meant elderly and travelers with special needs but most ignore the instructions posted at the lift entrance.

9)  No respect for personal space. Due to Covid, Hyderabad Metro has made it mandatory that travelers sit only on alternate seats. But this is not enforced and all seats are occupied. The travelers in the allowed seating make seating difficult in the restricted seats by spreading their thighs and making sitting unconvertable. But alas, the hardy Hyderabadi Metro travelers squeeze themselves and slowly but surely make the unwilling next eat person sit properly (with thighs close together).

10)   In spite of repeated requests by the Hyderabad Metro personnel there is too much crowding at the front part of the train. The metro personnel plead and request the commuters to move back but to no avail. There is a tendency to get into the train from the front part and then move back. Common sense says that the last compartment is least preferred. It is less crowded and there are more chances of getting seating space.

"Afghanistan - Unknown Facts" - Talk on Suman TV (02-09-2021)

 "Afghanistan - Unknown Facts" - Talk on Suman TV (02-09-2021)  

"Afghanistan - Enormous Mineral Deposits" - Talk on Suman TV (02-09-2021)

 

Part 1 - A and B of the Series on A to Z for a Successful Career" - Talk on Suman TV (01-09-2021)

 Part 1 - A and B of the Series on A to Z  for a Successful Career" - Talk on Suman TV (01-09-2021)

Drop in interest rates who loses and who benefits - TV talk by Dr. M. Anil Ramesh on Suman TV - 31-08-2021

 Drop in interest rates who loses and who benefits  - TV talk by Dr. M. Anil Ramesh on Suman TV - 31-08-2021

Electric Bikes - TV talk by Dr. M. Anil Ramesh on Suman TV - 30-08-2021

 Electric Bikes - TV talk by Dr. M. Anil Ramesh on Suman TV - 30-08-2021

My TV Talk about Online Frauds - Suman TV 27-08-2021

 

"Friends, Indians, Countrymen, lend us your Voice" Innovative e-Mail Campaign by Ola Scooters India!

"Any Publicity is good publicity including bad Publicity". Often used in Marketing, Publicity and awareness is the bloodline for any product/company. “Hate me or love me but don’t ignore me” is the Clarion call of modern marketers. 

Getting customer eyeballs is becoming exorbitant with the fragmented media and falling customer attention spans. Attentions spans are down to 8 seconds! It has become increasingly difficult to get into the customer's mind!

One product that got lot of free publicity, media coverage and enormous goodwill and built up curiosity among the general public was the “Nano” the world’s cheapest car, touted at a price of Rs 1,00,000/- rupees. 

The breakthrough rock-bottom pricing caught the world media attention and reams and reams worth of articles were written in newspaper and many Zillion gigabytes worth of TV shows and reviews were telecast about “The Nano”, All free!

After many years another product category that has caught the imagination of the Indian Public is the e-Scooter range on offer from Ola. 

The same type of hype is being built up and consumers are hungry to hear, see and learn about the new revolutionary scooter that promises to change the way we commute, especially on two wheelers in India.

Ola is cashing in on the hype. Today Ola has sent e-mailers to all its customers (existing Ola users). The first slide of the advertisement says “Friends, Indians, Countrymen” and the second slide says “Lend us your voice”. Does it ring a bell? 

Yes, it does, the words are from Mark Anthony’s speech when he pleads with the Romans to rise up against the murderers of Julius Caesar. Mark Anthony says “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears”.

Coming back to the Ola e-Mail, written below the second slide is the request, “The in-built AI-powered Voice Assistant on the revolutionary Ola S1 frees you from having to manually input instructions on the scooter's interface. 

To bolster this capability, we're collecting voice samples - across age groups, genders, accents, and even pitches. We would like a sample of your voice to make our scooter smarter. Thank you, and welcome to the revolution, for good”.

Wonderful way to engage and keep connected with the present and prospective customers. Valuable lesson to all marketers as to how to stay active in customer’s mind! As they say out of sight, out of mind! 

Yamma Soda Point - Commonsense is not Common!

 First published on Facebook on 29th March 2021

Sometimes nothing can beat real life. Found a "Yamma Soda Point". For the uninitiated Yama is the god of death and Yamma sounds like a Telugu curse word. So what is the mystery?

Comments: 

Vijay Arjun Veeravalli: It is "Yummy" I think 🤔

Anil Ramesh: Good guess!

Surendranath Uma: Wife name may be jayamma .....

Anil Ramesh: You got it Umakka, you are the second, Dr. Kota was the first to get it correct.

Kn Srinath: Anil Ramesh Its something akin to my childhood story where one listener of radio says that he heard a news "కప్ప పాము ని చంపేను"... whereas original news is వెంకప్ప పాముని చంపెను.

Hareesh Rebelli: Maybe an image of 1 person and text that says 'MBA CHAIN MBA CHAI WALA India's Most Iconic Chai Wala Franchise Outlet'

 Anil Ramesh: Why not MBAs should be ready for anything. Dignity of Labour!

 Anil Ramesh: Like the hero in the book "Starbucks saved my life" says 'If one is asked to be the restroom cleaner, prove to be the best restroom cleaner of the world'

Bhagyalakshmi Bhagya: abba Uma entha correct ga guess chesindi

Common Sense is not Common - 15 minutes of Fame - Krispycreme Vs AtilisGym!

First published on Facebook on 26th March 2021

When Krispykreme started giving free donuts for getting CoVid vaccination shots, AtilisGym is giving away free membership for all who don't get the vaccination. The reason "they believe in health - the real way - exercise, good diet, plenty of vitamin D, and an environment to de-stress".

While the intention is appreciable, the path is questionable. Encouraging people not to take vaccination is downright outrageous especially in a country where 3.5 crore people are infected and 5.65 lakh people have died due to the pandemic. 

This reminds me of the concept  "15 minutes of fame which is short-lived media publicity or celebrity or an individual or phenomenon". 

The expression was inspired by Andy Warhol's words "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes"

 

Na Cheez Anta - Amul Cheese Telugu Advertisement - Lost in Translation - Translation blunder!

 First published on Facebook on 20th March 2021

This advertisement was really funny, I want Hindi readers to comment (Clue the key word's meaning in Urdu), of course, Hyderabad being quite urdu dominant many Telugu speaking Hyderabad friends too might get it. As they say devil is in detail!

Comments: 

Kartik Godavarthi: Is it “Idi naachee(z)se anta” sir?

Anil Ramesh: Yes, Kartik Godavarthi. Idi naa cheese sounds like Naacheez in Urdu meaning worthless! Goodone.

Vasundhara Nanjappa: Before posting an advertisement, lots of homework has to be done as India is a country of many languages. Your view is correct.

Leaving Social Media - Please do - You will not miss anything nor will you be missed!

 First published on Facebook on 4th March 2021

Yuvraj Singh said today that he will totally go off social media. Good for him, I too left Facebook (in a huff) during the "Free basics" controversy (I am not active in any other social media platforms except Whatsapp). Of course, I kept blogging.

It was a refreshing change. I kept away from Facebook for a year and it was a great experience, I did not miss anything, did not miss anybody and dare say that not many missed me either. Life goes on.

So why did I return? I use Facebook as my digital diary and it is a repository of my feelings and my pennings for the day. Many a time, I simply post it and make it totally private. It is for my further reference. Yes many times I do post publicly too  and dare say that my postings are well received. 

Did anyone force me to return? Did anyone put a gun to my forehead? Nothing of that sort. I returned on my own sweet will, was back to basics freely (pun intended)!. 

Social media is "narcissitic" by nature.  People preen and all types of glory stories are put up. They are like war stories, stories  in which we are always the heroes. Facebook is for nice snaps, happy vacations, posting marriage and anniversary snaps and to show that we are happy with ourselves, our achievements, awards, rewards, showoff nice looking snaps of ourselves (photo editing and morphing tools help ofcourse)  and to show that we are happy with the world. 

Very rarely is sadness, misery or misfortune broached upon, forget even being mentioned. Social media is an addiction and it is in other words for people like Salman Khan, "I, Me, and Myself" and the world be damned. It is what the Americans are fond to say "belly grazing". 

So celebrities and non celebrities go ahead and go off social media. It is well worth it. You will not miss anything and dare I say you will not be missed either. Life goes on. It went on for so many years without social media, which is hardly decade and a half old! (365).

Covid Pandemic - Malayalam Movies make Merry as Telugu Film makers flounder dishing out run of the mill Films!

 First published on Facebook on 28th February 2021

CoVid pandemic has definitely changed the way we watch movies. Gone are the days of mega movies, fanfare, and first-day first show! 

The fulcrum of viewing had shifted to the viewers and what they like and see are very different from what was watched in the cinema halls. 

Content is the king and movies from Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada film industry are ruling the roost and the poor Telugu industry had fallen behind and appears like fish out of water. 

The best movies are from the above three languages. The movies are slick, short, well narrated and mostly do not have irritating comedy tracks, and last for roughly two hours. 

Topically made with great locales, tight budgets, and riveting screenplay, they are apt for the OTT audience. For example, Malayalam movies are made with tight budgets and succeed in breaking even or make decent profits on tight movie budgets.

In contrast, Telugu movies are caught in the time warp. They still harp on old stories, have inflated budgets, inevitably have either old heroes or their many children, brothers, brother's children, brother-in-law's children, sister's children as heroes. 

Also, most Telugu movies have jaw grating silly comedy and sillier songs. They go overboard in all aspects and tend to be too larger than life, In short, they are suited for large movie screens. 

They appear outdated and many OTT viewers are shifting to other languages.  Wake up Telugu film Industry. 

Comments

Krishna Panyam: Probably true, so a useful thing to do is to find and promote the better Telugu movies. I am sure there are one or two, which are lost in the mess.

Suba V G: Very disappointing to see MASALA CRAVING TELUGU producers!! They have no clue. Of what viewers need. Hardly any Telugu producers take survey !! Or feedback.

Rashmi D Rao: Well observed sir. I agree. The comedy level is so poor, even the comedy shows that are telecasted on TV aren't good at all. They portray double meaning poor jokes, men turning into women, badly dressed and they call it entertainment. Some movies are really good but they aren't promoted well.