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The country’s telecom sector has gone through cataclysmic change. From about two dozen players, it is now reduced to three telecom service providers. Falling average revenues per user or ARPUs — and now the payment of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) to the government — has broken the back of the debt-laden service providers. Vodaphone, which is facing a bigger impact, has been looking for strategic alliance and name of Verizon International has cropped up. Meanwhile, Vodaphone-Idea has gone for another name change — sixth time in the last 25 years, in line with change in ownership pattern. It started with Max (promoted by Analjit Singh) then became Orange, and then followed by Hutch, Vodaphone and finally, after merger with Idea –Vodaphone-Idea. Now, this consolidated name has a new, abbreviated identity – Vi. People are reading between the lines about the new abbreviated name. Watch this space for more development.
When one reminisces about Test matches played at the ‘Gabba’ in Brisbane, the good old faithful always picks the first ever Tied Test between the redoubtable Australians led by the brilliant Richie Benaud and the great super star of the yesteryear in Frank Worrell in the 1960-61 series. The followers of the noble game still remember the smart seventh ball run out fashioned by square leg fielder Joe Solomon of Ian Meckiff that gave a remarkable finish to the thrilling match and a spectacular start to the five-Test rubber. Australia won the series 2-1, but Worrell’s team won the hearts of the Australian fans who gave them a ticker tape send off. That was sixty years ago. In all, 63 Test matches have been played at the Gabba; Australia has won 40, lost 9, drawn 13 and Tied one. The home team had won 24 in a row and drew seven from December 1989, having lost to the West Indies in November 1988. India dented Australia’s unconquered, 32-year record at the Gabba and much of the credit goes to the young guns of the Indian cricket very well marshalled by the calm and unruffled Ajinkya Rahane. But for those Australians who loved watching cricket, the 1960 Tied Test remains a memorable one. Interestingly, Bobby Simpson featured in the 1960 Test as a player and in the 1986 Tied Test against India in Chennai as a coach.
Bonhomie between Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banejree and Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray was on full display at the recent meeting of opposition chief ministers when Mamta praised Uddhav for doing a great job despite the BJP’s repeated predictions that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government will not last. Mamata also responded to Uddhav’s call for whether Humein darna hai ya ladna hai?” (Do we have to fear or fight)? She thundered: “Ladna hai (we must fight). Shiv Sena’s announcement to contest West Bengal assembly elections also comes with a tacit understanding. Sena proposes to contest polls on the Hindutva plank, working as the Team B of Mamata just as Asaduddin Owaisi’s All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen alleged to be the BJP’s Team B. Sena is insignificant in West Bengal but the Trinamool Congress insiders and the Shiv Sena think tank believe that it may split the BJP votes and thereby help Mamata in a small way. Although there will not be any formal alliance but voters may shout Jai Maharashtra and Jai Bangla together for the first time.
His family has been a great votary for euthanasia and both his parents walked the talk. So it is hardly surprising to see the 79-year old Arun Shourie writing his 20th book aptly titled “Preparing For Death”. For many the title of the book may seem morbid and negative. Not so for Arun Shourie who is known to take the bull by the horns. Shourie has shifted his base from the power centre of Delhi to the quiet, idyllic Lavasa near Pune. He has played an interesting innings, donning the hat of the economist, journalist, author and politician. But, over the last three-four years, this Ramon Magsaysay Award winner has become bitter with NDA’s dispensation. He is particularly peeved with the Prime Minister Modi for not giving him a cabinet berth. Post-NDA’s first win in 2014, there were strong rumours that Shourie would become the Finance Minister but that did not happen. Disappointed, he along with other disgruntled party colleagues like Yashwant Sinha and Shatrugan Sinha, went all out against Modi during 2019 elections. But of no avail. The man who once praised Modi sky high reportedly told his media friends that his eternal regret in life is that he supported Modi.
The news that BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, son of Amit Shah, is likely to become India’s representative on the ICC Board was met with lots of cynicism. The Modi-Amit hate brigade trolled on social media. Author and columnist Saba Naqvi tweeted: “His qualification is that he’s a terrific cricketer known for papa smashing ball into boundary.” Print & Broadcast journalist Swati Chaturvedi’s tweet was even more charitable: “So deserving. So proud of Jay Shah & such an honour that he will represent India at the ICC Board. No dynasty exists in BJP at all.” These tongue-in-cheek tweets met with almost proportionate reactions. Said one Twitterati: “How about Sharad Pawar, Jagmohan Dalmia, N Srinivasan etc and worst of all Mr Manohar (Shashank)? Never saw her question when Kalmadi (Suresh) was of head of the IOC for time unlimited.” There is never a dull moment on social media.
Seema Pahwa of the Humlog fame is breathing fire at Bollywood’s trade magazines which dubbed her maiden directorial venture Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi as a commercial disaster. Digital entertainment portal Koimoi.com said: “Ram Prasad Ki Tehrvi was an ensemble affair that hit the screens on 1st January and the numbers are practically nothing to talk about. The collections were never meant to be encouraging and this is what actually transpired too with just about 20 lakhs coming in.” According to Seema Pahwa’s interview in Mid-Day: “For a film to release in current times and survive is challenge in itself. How can box-office be the yardstick of a film’s success when the theatres are functioning at half the capacity?” Many are questioning the current yardstick of measuring the success or failure of a movie based on footfalls during Covid times. Interestingly, the Twitteratis were all praise for the director and producer. But, it is about time trade magazines revisited their traditional approach – and usual parameters — to gauge the popularity of a movie.
Since 2014 the BJP has been trying very hard to make inroads into Tamil Nadu but found no takers – perhaps because its rivals have so far been successful at associating it with the Hindi chauvinism. This state, which rotates power between two parties AIADMK and DMK, has had three legendary leaders – M Karunanidhi, MGR and J Jayalalitha – running the State for almost 50 years. Now with no charismatic Dravidian leaders to turn to, the field seems to be open to a leader like Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is widely accepted in TN owing to his credentials as a crusader against corruption. Some impact is also being created by the ever-resourceful RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy, who is helping the BJP press the right button in TN. His research came in handy when the Modi government went in for demonetisation. Guru managed to convince the legendary star Rajnikant to enter politics. Thailava as he is popularly known said yes – and was all set to kick off his spiritual-political odyssey but for an unfortunate hospitalization and a health condition that stopped him in his tracks. Thailava has decided not to launch his own party or contest 2021 elections. In a new development, with Sasikala Natrajan, (confidante of the late J Jayalalithaa former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu) completing her jail term, the state’s political landscape once again changes.
From pauper to prince everybody was badly impacted by the Lockdown. But, not a section of Bollywood; they were flush with funds and therefore they lost no opportunity to invest in real estate as prices were attractive. Nine top Bollywood producers, directors and actors forked out around Rs 400 cr to buy luxurious apartments, penthouses in Mumbai, Chandigarh and Goa in 2020. Of this, nearly Rs 387 cr was spent on buying apartments between Bandra and Juhu by paying anywhere between Rs 50,000 and 150,000 per sq ft. Leading the pack was Bhushan Kumar of T Series fame. He paid a whopping Rs 167.5 cr for 6,700 sq ft villa in Vasanta Theosophical CHS in Juhu. Following him was Hrithik Roshan. He bought three floors —14th, 15th & 16th — admeasuring 38,000 sq ft for Rs 97.50 cr on Juhu-Versova link road. New comer Janhvi Kapoor paid Rs 39 cr for a flat in Juhu, Alia Bhatt Rs 32 cr for a flat in Bandra’s Pali Hill while R Balki, bought two flats worth Rs 24 cr in Bandra. Of course, some made killing too. Parineeti Chopra sold her two flats in Quantum Building in Bandra reportedly for Rs 13.50 cr. So did Karisma Kapoor by selling her Khar flat for Rs 10.11 cr. While Ranbir Kapoor rented his 6th floor flat in Bandra apartment for Rs 7.94 lakh per month.
Bishen Singh Bedi, India’s former cricket captain, seems to have set cat among the pigeons, by asking the Delhi & District Cricket Association to remove his name from the spectator’s stand at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium and cancel his membership. This move follows the decision of DDCA to erect statue of the late Arun Jaitely, the former president of DDCA. In a scathing letter to Jaitley’s son Rohan, who is currently the president of DDCA, Bedi said: “The late Arun Jaitley, I’m told, was an able politician. So it’s the Parliament & not a cricket stadium which needs to remember him for posterity… I can’t be part of a stadium which has got its priorities so grossly wrong & where administrators get precedence over the cricketers. Please bring down my name from the stand with immediate effect.” Bedi seems to have got support from unknown quarters. All Modi-baiters have endorsed Bedi’s decision on social media. Now, some folks are also asking why Bedi did not raise a similar concern when Hyderabad stadium was named after Rajiv Gandhi.
Reel life villain but real life hero Sonu Sood is widely hailed for helping thousands of migrants stranded at different parts of the country to reach their home safely during Corona lockdown. Now, his new image as the migrants’ messiah seems to have unnerved some politicians in Maharashtra, and set tongues wagging. “He is just the face, the producer-director is BJP,” suspects a section of non-believers. Mahatma Sood is what Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut called him. Be that as it may be but this can’t be denied that thousands of migrant labourers have benefited from his social mobilization and community initiatives. Now, he is embroiled in a court battle with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for allegedly converting a residential building in Juhu into a hotel. Both the civil court and High Court has not given him any relief and Sood has moved the Supreme Court for a relief. But, the moot point is why is BMC trying to make an example of a good Samaritan like him when there are thousands of illegal structures in the Maximum City.
Despite veteran leader and former minister Kapil Sibal’s repeated criticism of the Congress party’s present state of affairs, chorus is growing louder for Rahul Gandhi to take over as the party president. The party veterans have taunted – without directly naming Rahul – that this move may not necessarily help revive the party or regain the past glory. But that has not stopped the party’s state leaders from kicking off the Come Back Rahul Ji campaign. Rahul had a major say in the recent appointments of the state-level or city-unit chiefs in various states, including Maharashtra. Senior party leaders may continue questioning the election process for the new president, but the local state leaders are unanimous that time is opportune for Rahul to take over as he is the sole leader who is fearlessly taking on the troika of PM Modi, the BJP and the RSS. So the scene shifts to the states for a moment.
Ajinkya Rahane is synonymous with a simple and humble personality. Sports scribes tracking Rahane for years know how he must be feeling after an incredible 2-1 series win in Australia. Rahane became the stand-in captain for the Test series after Virat Kohli returned to India to be with his wife, Anushka Sharma, for the birth of their first child. The shy skipper led from the front, marshalling young debutants who joined as replacement for injury-hit star players. Their fearless cricket gave India a stunning series win – after a humiliating 36-all-out debacle in the first test in Adelaide. The red-carpet reception at his Matunga, Mumbai home – with crowds cheering ‘Aala re aala, Ajinkya aala’ – may have only made Rahane uncomfortable. But the grace he showed once again like he does on field. He did not let it out in open and was seen enjoying with his daughter in tow and wife by his side as he soaked up warmth. The interesting part of the reception was the banner marked with W54 3210. W-World class captain, 5-Matches as captain, 4-Matches won as captain. 3-Tests won against Australia, 2-Test wins in the series (Melbourne & Brisbane), 1-Match drawn (Sydney), 0-Test lost.
Eyebrows were raised when NCP MP Supriya Sule said her father and the party chief Sharad Pawar is most unpredictable. Well this view is widely shared not just by the NCP leaders but also by Pawar’s friends across parties. Be it his unilateral announcement to support the BJP to avoid fresh elections (even before the assembly poll results were announced in October 2019) or his support to the Modi government on the issue of conflict with China – the unpredictable Pawar was evident to all. Pawar also said one must not politicise matters related to national security, which irked the Congress and other opposition parties. Despite all this, Pawar is widely seen as the leader who can bring together the opposition and the like-minded parties to take on Modi led BJP in the next general elections. Though he has denied the speculation that he was eying the post of the UPA chairperson. Pawar stood out again when he welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling to stay three farm laws and appoint a four-member committee to talk to the agitating farmers. The BJP’s estranged ally Akali Dal claimed the new move as an ‘’unacceptable joke’’ while the Congress alleged that it was a partisan panel which could not be expected to be a “neutral arbiter.” Pawar’s close confidante in private admits that he would have held the PM’s post long back had he not been unpredictable! Yes, the breaking away from the Congress two decades ago was unpredictable too.
The speed and alacrity with which Satyam Computer, the brainchild of Ramalinga Raju; YES Bank, promoted by Rana Kapoor; and Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) were bailed out by the Union government seems to have surprised everyone. No government since Independence has moved at this sort of lightning speed to resolve such tricky, tortuous issues. Seeing the government’s bailout overdrive, especially in relation to YES Bank and LVB, some of the Opposition parties attributed motives, saying it was shielding people aligned to the government. Be that as it may, the government’s move has certainly given succour to the aggrieved depositors of both the banks. And it is this kind of relief that the shattered depositors of PMC Bank have been clamouring for since the news of the Rs 4,300-crore money laundering scam hit the bank. The angry depositors of PMC Bank staged dharna in front of the RBI, dashed off letter to the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. But of no avail. Seeing depositor’s hapless state, Republic TV ran a high decibel campaign. Republic TV revealed that a letter was written on January 28, 2011 by Manpreet Kaur to the then Chief General Manager in-charge, Urban Banks Department, RBI about bank’s misdoings way back in 2011. There is hope for depositors as there are many suitors eager to take over this bank.
Time was when India’s cricketers in flannels did not make the big splash overseas, especially in England, Australia and the West Indies. They were far from crowd pullers, they just filled in the domestic home international season’s calendar. India has been playing Test cricket since the inaugural one at London’s Lord Cricket Ground in 1932. India led by Col. CK Nayudu lost the one-off Test to the Douglas Jardine led England side by 158 runs. Fast bowlers Mohammad Nissar and Amar Singh made a terrific impression bagging wickets and Captain Nayudu also, scoring 40 in the first innings. But it was not until 1971 that the great cricketing nation with a legion of followers created history by winning Test series for the first time in the West Indies and England. The legendary Sunil Gavaskar who was part of the Indian team led by Ajit Wadekar in 1971 said that India’s 2-1 triumph against Australia January 2021 would match the 1971 feat and even surpass it because of the circumstances — pandemic caused quarantine, team depleted by absence of Virat Kohli and injury to many players. The important aspect of this 4-test Border-Gavaskar series was that the Cricket Australia (CA) converted the tour involving Twenty20, ODI and Test series into the $300 million event, earning revenues from its broadcasters Foxtel and Channel 7. The CA has sent a thank you note to the BCCI.
The late Big Bull Harshad Mehta was in the news. This time for reel life – a movie The Big Bull starring Abhishek Bachchan and The Scam 1992 : The Harshad Mehta Story and A 10-episode series, based on a book, sketches his dramatic rise and tragic fall. The brain behind the 1992 Securities Scam, Mehta never displayed emotions openly. He was always smiling and had a swagger. He greeted people with Jai Shri Krishna, an usual greeting among the Gujaratis. Like the movie Sholay a lot of his one liners have become immortal. He once told a few journalists after being caught: “Badnam hua tho kya hua, naam tho howa! His another famous line was: “India is a turnaround scrip.” True to his words, the Sensex in 1992 zoomed from 1,000 points to 4,546. The Big Bull was yoked and jailed in 1992. But after his release from the jail, his fan following did not dwindle; in fact it increased. A huge crowd was seen waiting for him at a book launch at a Crossword book store in south Mumbai that he attended. Many took his autographs. Out of jail he was back punting on scrips like BPL, Videocon and Sterlite. Interestingly, he wrote Guest Column for The Financial Express and had plans to launch a TV channel called Money Television. But a story in Business Standard in 1996 scuttled his IPO plans for the proposed TV channel. In the end, despite amassing huge wealth, he died in a Thane jail. He got a massive heart attack. It was a short lived bull-run. ends
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack
It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
And this is vindicated by our two marquee advertisers – IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Lombard. Both believed in our story and have supported us from Day one. A big thank you to both.
If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.