Three – Tom Alter, Pascal Seiger and Suresh performed at NID Heritage Campus last evening. Alter recited and performed in English and Urdu. Seiger created magic on his Saxophone and Suresh danced to classical Ottam Thullil style using mythological narratives.

It was a fairly nice evening put together by three diverse performances. I particularly enjoyed the ‘Father & Son’ play by Alter. It was a fairly simple and predictable story, but his expressions and acting were classic. Seiger improvised on his saxophone which I initially found difficult to listen to, but when he explained the techniques he used, I realized how difficult it must’ve been. Suresh was interesting, particularly for his antics on stage in the midst of his performance.

The acts were followed by a small informal baatein session. Tom spoke about the play – its beginnings, how the three of them met at Adi Shakti and also shared some experiences of their previous performances. What follows below is an excerpt from the talk, one where Alter talks about his views on journalism and Slumdog Millionaire.

Many thanks to Dr. D.J. Mathew for sharing these stunning photographs.

You’ve acted in so many movies. How did you deal with being typecasted?

I’ve not been typecast. The very first film in which I appeared was a film called Charas with Dharmendra and Hema Malini. I played Dharmendra’s boss. I was famous in entire Punjab in those days because Dharmendra was god in the Punjab region. Yeh to Dharamji ka boss bana. I played a very positive role of a interpol officer who would speak Hindi and usme sher-o-shairi bhi thi – that was my very first film. So since the very first film, I’ve never been typecast. Its the work of journalists who refuse to do any research; its very convenient and easy for them to write, “Oh, Pascal is a Frenchman who came and lived in Auroville and therefore he’s like this”, “Suresh is from Kerala and he cannot speak Hindi, so he’s like that”, “Tom Alter is angrez” and so on. Journalists are the laziest professionals in this entire country. They dont do any research. Its not a battle for me, because I’ve never fought it. I’ve just done what I wanted to do. I came into films because I wanted to be the next Rajesh Khanna.

I remember when I applied to the Film Institute, (aap logon ko woh zamana yaad nahin hai – 1972), every second top film actor was coming out of the Film Institute. To get into the Film Institute was… once you got into it, you won the key to heaven. I auditioned just like everybody else. There were more than 1000 of us in Delhi for the auditions and out of that 1000, two of us were selected. I happened to be one. I got in purely on merit and nobody asked me are you american, Indian or angrez. I’ve never cared and I’ve never had to give such a long speech as I just have. Its been fantastic. and I’m not been typecast. I’ve been extremely happy.

On stage, for the last ten years, I’ve played Maulana Azad, Sehgal, Arjun, etc. Its been fantastic. So when these journalists say … I remember when I went to Bhopal.. I’ll tell you how bad it is with these journalists. I was doing this play ‘Maulana Azad’ in Bhopal. They had put up a big banner -’Tom Alter in and as Maulana Azad’. They had put these posters all over. We were having a press conference, which I didn’t want to attend, but one which I was forced to. One big journalist from Bhopal, I cant recollect his name, he said – “Mr. Tam, why you only play Angrez”. I looked at him and told him “aap ke peeche jo poster laga hai, yeh kya kisi angrez ka hai?” He looked -”Oh, this is play on Maulana Azad, so you are playing Lord Mount Batten?” Uske baad, maine woh gaaliyan di us aadmi ko, jo mai aapke samne nahi de sakta hoon. And I said – “You get out, before I kill you”. This is the level of intelligence, commitment and research that we have to deal with day in and day out with journalists and I’m not patient any more. I get very very angry.

We’ve heard that you’ve recently made some interesting comments on Slumdog Millionaire. Can you share it with us?

I dont want to get passionate. I think Slumdog Millionaire as a film is exploitive, clever, predictable and mediocre. How in the world it won eight oscars, I dont have a clue. I really dont have a clue. I’m stunned by it. What worries me is not that it won eight oscars but in the great city of Bombay, very few of the big directors and producers have had the guts to stand up and say that its not a good film. Whether its Yash Chopra, Subhash Ghai, Karan Johar – they’ve all said that this was a great moment in India cinema. Its not even ‘indian cinema’, so how can it be a great moment? Its not Indian film. Somebody said to me, a journalist – ‘oh India should be very proud, India has won eight oscars’. India has not won eight oscars, Indians have won eight oscars, not India! Its not our film. But that to me, is not the issue. The issue is what I’ve said – its a mediocre film. And the other thing that gets me very upset, (please take this in the right light) the scene where the car is stripped of its four wheels and everything in front of the Taj Mahal. Now a car bought in by two foreign tourists is stripped of its four wheels and sound system in broad daylight in front of the Taj?? What are we talking about? Then that little kid as he’s getting bashed up, says ‘you wanted to see India? This is real India’. Now if that film was made by Karan Johar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Yash Chopra, Aditya Chopra, Subash Ghai, the Shiv Sena would have gone into their house the next morning and burnt it down because you’re blaspheming India. Nobody has said a damn thing because it was made by an angrez. Now they’re wrong to say anything, but where do we stand? Let’s take a stand and say what is quality and what is not quality? All of us can name ten films – Hindi films, Malayalam films, French films, we’ve seen in the last one year that are a hundred times better Slumdog.

I’m happy for the individuals who won the Oscars. I spoke to Gulzar today – Gulzar is a very dear friend of mine. Maine kaha, “Gulzar bhai mubarak ho”. “Tom bhai, mai kya kahoon aur kya na kahoon? Bas mujhe milgaya”. Maine kahan, “Likte waqt aapne ye kabhi socha ki Oscar milega?” He said – “Oscar kya, maine kabhi award ke bare mein nahi socha. Ab dekhiye kya mila.”

When we have to, in all walks of life, whether its tonight’s performance or Slumdog Millionaire or whatever you’re designing, lets stand up and if something is bad, lets say its bad. If something is good, lets say its good. And, Slumdog is a bad film!

I’m sorry, even if had not won a single award, I would’ve said the same thing. Its a bad film. I see nothing outstanding except for the performance of the young kids and the young kids were fantastic. And that Dev Patel was very good. The young guy from Film Institute, my institute, has won an award for sound mixing. But has any paper said that two other people also won the award with him? No. Har akhbar mein yahi hai ki hindustani ko oscar award mila. Bhai do aur angrez bhi to the saath mein us award main. Has any paper said that? We have to face the truth. Speak the truth. Thats why I love this play – Maulana Azad. He’s speaking his truth in it. He had the guts to stand up and tell people that they’re wrong. We have to do that. If we cannot stand up in a public function and say that Slumdog is a mediocre film, where are we headed; because now Slumdog has now become the… benchmark. And why are Yash Chopra, Subhash Ghai and Karan Johar saying.. because all they’re seeing is the next fifty million dollar project would come to them. Yash Chopra has lost, going on, two hundred crores of rupees in the last two years as his films have been a flop. ‘Coz he’s been making absolute rubbish. Which is the last film that the great Yash Chopra actually made himself? Veer Zara? I’m sorry, Veer Zara was produced by him but not directed. What was the last film he directed himself? I’m a big fan of his old films. Can anybody tell me? Silsila! When was that made? Bees sal pehle! (twenty years ago) What was the last great film that Subhash Ghai made? That was twenty years ago. What was the last great film that Vidhu Vinodh Chopra made? He made one – Parinda. Bees saal pehle. All these guys – great cinema idols/icons of the Bombay Film Industry, because of the corporate nonsense they got involved in, none of these great guys have actually made films themselves for like twenty years. Yash Chopra has not even made a film. These people are desperate and suddenly Slumdog Millionaire comes on – wow! Its just the same theory that – whats her name – Jitendra’s daughter, Ekta Kapoor – Make mediocrity because its easy to make and its not expensive. Publicize it. Make sure that nothing else can get to compete with it and then walk home with crores and crores of rupees. I am frightened to death that this is whats gonna happen with our film industry after Slumdog. Infact, in the last five years we’ve made some outstanding hindi films. Commercial. Outstanding. But I’m afraid this whole silsila which had started with Lagaan and has gone upto.. well, I would say the latest…of I mean so many films that you can take the name of, but … something like Rock On. This whole silsila is gonna come to a stop because they are all far better films than Slumdog. Just because Slumdog has made money and won awards, people are gonna start making Slumdogs.

We were making films like Slumdogs back in the 80’s. What type of films made Amitabh famous? Slumdog. Twenty five years ago! Its beyond my imagination. And I want somebody who’s worked in that film to have the guts to stand up and say what I’ve just been saying. They all know it in their hearts but will they say? I want Saurabh Shukla or Irfan Khan, brilliant actors, who in this film are bufoons; I want one of them to stand up and say that this film is lousy. But will they do it? No. Taka – all they can see is money.

Sorry, I said I wouldn’t be compassionate about it. I do think its a very dangerous moment in Hindi Cinema, because we’re just coming from a very low moment and in the last 5-10 years we’ve made some absolutely brilliant films. I’m afraid that its all gonna go back to mediocrity and I hope and pray that it doesn’t.

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Power of Ideas is a Times Group campaign to promote entrepreneurship.

The invited members for the Ahmedabad edition were -

• Mr. Ashish Soparkar – MD, Meghmani Organics
• Mr. Pankaj Patel – CMD, Zydus Cadila
• Mr. Pirus Khambhatta – CMD, Rasna
• Dr. Samir Barua – Director, IIM Ahmedabad
• Mr. Pratul Shroff – MD, e-infochips

*Live Updates*

14:00 – Dr. Barua, Mr. Khambhatta, Mr. Soparkar and Mr. Shroff have just come it. Pleasantries are exchanged and some jokes are shared.
Panel discussions will begin shortly. We are still waiting for Mr. Patel to come in.

14:05 – Mr. Khambatta says 7 – 8 % growth is good for the economy and society.

14:10 – I just gave my introduction. Reporters are sitting in the room and warming up the discussions while we wait for Mr. Patel.

14:12 – Mr. Patel just walks in. Okay, we’re set now!

14:14 – Mr. Ashwin, Chief of Bureau – Economic Times gives a brief intro on the Power of Ideas. Question to Dr. Barua – ‘Do you think there is a slowdown? Are you scared of it?’

14:16 – Dr. Barua – “Yes, there is a slow down and it will affect the lower rung of the society.” 2009-10 will be the real test and it is likely to go down even further.

14:17 – Mr. Khambatta – We look at the consumers directly. In India there is a great deal of consumption. We have to ensure that financial markets should be better aligned. We cannot distance ourself from the Word Economic situations. Indian Govt should look into more transparent regulations instead of less. There’s a demand across all sectors and I dont think there’s a recession. The whole issue is with the financial mess around the globe. We should strive to come out of this mess. We should see a better growth (7-8%) by next year!

14:20 – Mr.Shroff – Our services are aligned with the American and European markets. I’m not scared about the adversity. True mettle of companies show how they steer out of adversities. These are the good times to put proper structures in place. Karl Marx is being revived. I think this is a great time for newer startups.

14:25 – Mr. Soparkar – We have 75% exports. We are far better than our competitors in European and American markets. The slowdown will definitely hit the demand. This is time to reduce our costs, better align our manpower and put things in place. We believe we will come out as a winner when the turmoil ends.

14:27 – Mr. Patel – Every business will get affected. There will be some impact across industries. Pharma companies will also be impacted but it will be minimal. There’s is an opportunity for our industry in this slowdown.

Ashwin – Do you see a brakes on acquisition?

Mr. Patel – Good assets will have acquisitions. If you are cash rich, there’s always opportunities to look at.

14:30 – Mr. Ashwin – We would like to know a brief about your journey. If you had some cash with you right now, would you get into startup mode once again?

14:31 – Mr. Khambatta – Rasna has always been an entrepreneurial company. Just recently we launched Devils’ Workshop which is a new product for Indian market. India as a country does not eat doughnuts. But we still went ahead. We as a company believe that we should try different things. Its good to fail.

Youth of today have better ideas than our existing managers. But these youth lack a lot of things – commercialization, scale and business model. For eg, in todays paper there was a story about a student who won a bplan competition with a syringe. But there are aspects that these people dont understand.

14:35 – Mr. Shroff – e-infochips is about 12-13 years old. Its a services business which began as a bootstrapped operation. We have expanded to over 700 professionals so far. We have already funded 2 ideas – one in India and one in US more or less in our space. Tough times are better times to start companies. Less money is a great strength to test your ideas. In tough times, everyone tries to be very frugal. All of these things contribute to a higher probability of success in tough times.

14:35 – Mr. Soparkar – Funds will never be an issue for good ideas anywhere. We are looking at increasing our services with more value added products.

14:38 – Mr. Patel – We are a 55 year old company started by my father. This is the best time to invest in new ideas and also acquire. This is the best time to get talent as it will be more easily available. You are forced to think about market expectations. IBM and Apple are some of the best examples of companies that have steered from worst times.

Real globalization will begin after we move away from this crisis.

Ashwin – The cleansing process is whats happening now.

14:41 – Dr. Barua – If we dont do anything in the window of opportunity that we have now, we will go down even further.

14:42 – Mr. Soparkar – Fraud is different and regulations are different.

14:43 – Mr. Khambatta – Our banks are one of the best regulated in the world.

Mr. Patel – This is the time to flex your muscles. We as a company decided not to do any layoffs as its more difficult to get jobs. Any company has 10-20% of cost as a personnel cost. Look at your business strategy – get rid off assets that are becoming a liability.

If you’ve got talent gaps, this is the best time to get the best talent and build the organization going forward.

This is the really the time to innovate. You have to think differently to become really successful.

Ashwin – Do you think this is the time for more entrepreneurs?

14:48 – Mr. Shroff – There is a good chance for quality entrepreneurs rather than quantity. Mentions about Bill Gates. Entrepreneurship has to do with something “within” an individual.

Mr. Khambatta – You should first take a job and learn at somebody else’s expense and then become and entrepreneur.

Dr.Shroff – Great time to cleaning up of operations.

14:54 – Mr. Soparkar – No college teaches entrepreneurship. They only teach business. Entrepreneurs needs to have a drive to do so many things. A business man will always be comfortable.

Mr. Khambhatta just gave me some gyaan on going the incubator way. Why dont you use the incubator at NID??

Ashwin – Are you happy with the incubation happening at the moment?

15:00 – Mr. Patel – There is a demand for more and I think the govt will come out with more.

Ashwin – What are the hurdles for entrepreneurship?

15:04 – Mr. Soparkar – Unless an idea is well communicated to the masses, it becomes a little difficult.

15:05 – Mr. Shroff – We should first look at all the opportunities for an entrepreneur. All CEOs begin to look at cost cutting measures during recession. If you’ve got an idea that is capital intensive, then it becomes a little difficult. What we lack, at least in Ahmedabad, is people who are role models and those who can mentor the young guys.

If you have passion to build a company, then you will go a long way. If your aim is to only make money, then you will get tired at some point. The hurdle for an entrepreneurship will be the individual himself.

15:09 – Mr. Khambhatta – The hurdle for an entrepreneurship is the govt. beuracracy thats involved in starting a venture. Incubators should make administration easy for entrepreneurs and leave them to do their work.

15:11 – Mr. Patel – Idea is basically innovation. Unfortunately, in our institutions there’s no freedom for ideas that are generated by individuals. Idea generation should be encouraged by institutes.

15:13 – Dr. Barua – Patenting is a western concept which is being imbibed by Indian companies now.

15:14 – Mr. Patel – There was an act that was passed in the US ( doesn’t remember which one) was instrumental in creating American entrepreneurs in institutions. There should be a legislative change to generate more ideas in India.

Dr. Barua briefly talks about Media and Entertainment course in PGP-X and Aamir Khan’s recent visit to IIM A.

15:15 – Dr. Barua – The education system needs to changed to encourage more innovations and creativity.

15:16 – Mr. Soparkar – We should change society. We should teach our children to question. We always kill curiosity. Indian society has fundamental weaknesses. We are heroes but we cannot write. Thats a reason why we don’t patent a lot.

You should be interested in what you are doing.

15:19 – Mr. Khambhatta – India’s strength lies in its masses. Simple, low price ideas will be a great one. These are ones that fetch better and faster returns. People dont have basic access to clean water. Think of a cheap water purifier that masses can buy. These are ideas that are yet to find competent solutions.

15:21 – Mr. Patel – You need to have a niche idea. You need to differentiate yourself from others – you will get your success.

15:24 – Mr. Shroff – Ideas are dime a dozen. What makes for an entrepreneur is the execution irrespective of the failures that come by.

Ashwin – Is there a stigma for failures in India?

15:26 – Mr. Patel – If you don’t learn to fail then you’re not an entrepreneur.

15:27 – Mr. Khambhatta – Schooling system needs to change.

Theres a new question from Jitendra of Ahmedabad

15:31 – Mr. Khambhatta – Big busines today is small car.

Ashwin – Any cracker of idea in your sector, Mr. Shroff?

15:32 – Mr. Shroff – Renewable energy, infrastructure, educational are all opportunity areas. 60% of our population can’t read or write. There’s an opportunity there. There’s a company called educon that is working on this idea. There are always opportunities.

15:34 – Mr. Khambhatta – New ideas should align with existing or future trends. If you’ve got an idea and there’s no trend for them in the society, then its likely to not succeed.

15:35 – Mr. Patel – Outsourcing is going to be a big opportunity for the pharma industry.

15:36 – Mr. Soparkar – Entrepreneurs should not look at export to start with, in the chemical industry. Indian companies serving other indian companies will start booming up sooner than later.

15:38 – Mr. Shroff – IT is becoming a utility. There is a lot of opportunities in how to deploy IT. For eg, how do I use a mobile to deliver innovative healthcare? Fundamental trend – average selling price gets halved every year. You start thinking there and try and validate that in the market.

15:42 – Mr. Soparkar – Funds are always available for a good idea.

15:44 – Dr. Barua – [To Jitendra] – Yes, the education system definitely has to change.

15:45 – Mr. Patel – You need to have clear focus in your business. Venturing into different business will only lessen your focus.

15:47 – Mr. Khambhatta – Entrepreneurship has to be taught. Youngsters should be taught how the industry works. We have to work very closely with academia to encourage such activities.

15:50 – Mr. Soparkar – I went to US and met a 7th grade student. These girls were asked to create a county. They had to worry about the infrastructure, how to organize transportation, etc. These things make their imaginations go wild. In India, on the other hand, our youngsters are taught to rote learn.

15:54 – Mr. Khambhatta – We don’t encourage entrepreneurs because they will become our competitors. We encourage ideas in our organization as a contest every year. These ideas are then selectively imbibed in our organization.

15:55 – Mr. Patel – We do have idea generation workshops in our organizations. We spend time to assess the situation and come out with a way to steer away from it. We will definitely get affected by the global crisis. It will stay for another 2 year. Given that, we are running offsites to discuss what we need to do to survive these tough times. You need to remain prepared at all times.

16:00 – Its over.

Thank you all for pouring in with your questions and participating in this panel.