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prashant kishore_003

Prashant Kishor To Re-Enter Bihar Politics?

The photograph on poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s Twitter handle says it all. It has Mahatma Gandhi’s quote: “The best politics is right action.” So he took the right action by shutting down his outfit  IPAC at the peak of its success.  Both his clients Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin won the 2021 Assembly Polls. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh who had appointed Kishor as political advisor with a Cabinet rank for 2022 Assembly election is awaiting clarity from Kishor. So what next? Politics it is …and that too from Bihar his home state — he was born in Rohtas; his father Dr Shrikant Pandey practiced in Buxar. The Brahmin boy grew up without his caste surname — like many in the state do in the hope of a more egalitarian society or to escape caste-based biases. After finishing higher education, he moved to New York to join the United Nations. He came back to India some times in 2010 and has been a poll strategist since then. His clients: BJP, INC, AAP, AITC, YSRCP, DMM and TMC. He has been nursing political ambitions; he joined Nitish Kumar’s party JDU as vice president in 2018 but was expelled in January 2020 for opposing NDA’s Citizenship Amendment Act. Analysts who have read his mind say that Kishor knows the future is Bihar. Reason: Congress presence has shrunk. Nitish Kumar’s JDU is losing its grip and Tejaswi Yadav of RJD may be popular but carries lots of baggage. Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party is no threat. That leaves BJP – and he knows every chink in the BJP’s armour. But, the key question everybody is asking: Will he float his own party? Will it be an AAP sort scenario in Bihar? So, for now it’s watch-and-wait.
Kamal_mnm

With Trusted Aides Deserting, Uncertainty Looms Large Over Kamal Haasan's Political Future

Kamal Haasan is busy picking up pieces of his shattered ego, his political outfit and his cinematic charisma bartered away for an ephemeral Chief Minister’s Gaddi. The media in Tamil Nadu is as vitriolic in its scathing commentary of failure as it is in showering praise on victors. The other day a popular Tamil magazine’s prime time show called Kamal’s ambitious venture, Makkal Meedhi Maiam (The remains of the outfit). Ouch! That hurts. True enough, a number of Kamal’s key functionaries quit, Makkal Needhi Maiam, in quick succession. First it was Dr R Mahendran, VP and most visible fundraiser, Kamila Nasser, Dr Santosh Babu  ex-IAS, who came on board with high mutual expectations, activist Padma Priya. More exodus is predicted. Kamal reacted with cinematic flare and Shakespearean style: “Traitors and fair weather followers, be gone. It’s good that I didn’t have to de-weed the ungratefuls.” The quitters too have their grouse and lament, “The fault dear Brutus…..we are underlings”. There are many who now gripe that inner party democracy was missing, Kamal took key decisions advised by two acknowledged carpetbaggers, an ex-PR consultant Suresh Iyer and a mercurial media consultant, Mahendran, building an impenetrable barrier around the leader. His admirers and followers have to now accept that he could not morph into that all conquering cinematic hero who could punch the opposition one-handed. In essence, has Kamal burned his bridges and used up his life lines?
cinema

Is It Lights Out For Cinema Theatres?

For Tamilnadu, tiffin, TASMAC happy hours, and theatre visits are an integral part of life. Two years in a row, the Tamilian has been hit by withdrawal. Covid-19 has sunk every aspect that was familiar, comforting. On par with other service businesses, theatre owners have suffered irrevocable losses. According to G Dhananjayan, Producer and Distributor, in 2020 itself the loss from cinema shutdown stood at Rs 150-200 crore per month, and over Rs 1500 crore per month across the nation. Abirami Ramanathan, President of the Multiplex Owners Association of TN, owner of the Abhirami Mega Mall with a number of screens, laments the loss of livelihood for thousands who work in cinemas, and innumerable small businesses that cater to theatre visitors. Another wave? Most certainly it will be curtains for this world renowned entertainment industry. Often one talks about escaping dire straits by a slender thread. When Chennai-based SPI Cinemas and its owners, the Reddy Brothers off loaded 71% stake of SPI Cinemas to PVR Cinemas in 2018, Sathyam Cinema regulars were shocked. An outing to Sathyam was de rigour for many families. SPI Cinemas with Reddy Brothers opting to sell out at the right time reminds us of Captain Gopinath and how he let go of Air Deccan at that point. Quit while the going is good. This ongoing and uncertain theatre shutdown has upset the entire value chain causing loss of livelihood for all –.distributors, cinemas, producers, hell even the popcorn and ice cream vendors. When will that familiar sign on a huge screen come alive…”and now for your Feature Film please switch off your mobiles”.
sanjiv goenka

Saregama: Riding The Digital Wave

The fast-growing digitisation, buoyed by the present Covid situation, has been the key driver for surge in content consumption in recent months. This trend is expected to continue in the longer time-frame as well. In this changing scenario, Saregama India, India’s oldest music label owned by RP-Sanjiv Goenka group of companies, has aligned its content strategy quite well to ride on this digital wave. During 2020-21, while the revenue was down by about 15% to, say, Rs 435 crore, the company’s net profit surged by over 160% to Rs 113 crore plus. The company, formerly known as The Gramophone Company of India, which owns the largest music archives in India (one of the biggest in the world), has consistently increased the monetisation of its IP (music, films, TV serials) over the last 13 quarters or so. Saregama, which has also expanded into other branches of entertainment – publishing, film production and digital content – has seen its music licensing revenue in 2020-21 going up by 20%. Digitisation and low cost of data in India remains the primary growth drivers of content consumption. This is further fuelled by the increase in smart phones, the rising popularity of OTT and social media apps.
MK_stalin_003

Stalin’s New Approach To Change TN Political Landscape Forever

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin has ushered in a new era of healthy politics. In forming an anti-Covid committee of all-party MLAs he was signaling that he is ready to take the bi-partisan route to politics.  An immediate beneficiary was his own Covid relief fund that attracted a contribution of Rs 1 crore from the opposition AIADMK as well as a month’s salary from its 66 MLAs. More than the money, the gestures towards fostering healthy political ties carried a trend-breaking message of amity. This is a sea change from the frosty relationship between the two Dravidian majors, which have been daggers drawn for decades, especially after Assembly incidents involving Jayalalithaa whose saree may have been tugged by ruling DMK legislators. A series of walkouts or boycott of Assembly proceedings used to be a constant feature as the parties refused to see eye to eye on anything save the most popular issues.  Stalin seems determined to change all that and ex-CM Edappadi K Palaniswami is also playing up to it by being a graceful loser while tweeting his congratulations to Stalin on the popular verdict. While it is not certain how long the bonhomie will last, a positive change in the political atmosphere is owed to Stalin’s willingness to be the diplomat.
kismat

S Mukherji: The Man Who Gave Bollywood The Lost-And-Found Story Formula

After the death of Himanshu Roy in 1940, one of the pioneers of Indian cinema and husband of Devika Rani, the burden of running Bombay Talkies side fell on his partner Sashadhar Mukherji, who also became a legend in his own lifetime.  The new found responsibility saw Mukherji hiring directors to complete the film under his creative supervision. Last film he produced in Bombay Talkies was Kismat directed by Gyan Mukherjee starring Ashok Kumar, his brother-in-law and Mumtaz Shanti. It was in Kismat that he gave the ‘lost and found formula’ to Bollywood. Kismat’s release was at the backdrop of Quit India movement 1942. The film was ready for release when Mukherji got a novel idea to include a song that captures the country’s political sentiments. Lyricist Kavi Pradeep wrote the song Door Hato Aye Duniya Walo Hindustan Hamara Hai which became popular. At Mumbai’s Roxy Theatre, Opera House where the film was released, the audience gave a standing ovation to the song. People’s patriotism was aroused. The British authorities got jittery and police were asked to investigate everyone connected with the film. The song was so cleverly written that they couldn’t find anything objectionable. Kismat was his swan song at Bombay Talkies, post that Mukherji formed a cooperative and created Filmistan Studio with 11 partners — including Ashok Kumar, Kavi Pradeep, Madan Mohan’s father and othe

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.