AR Rahman Does India proud

 

This has been a special day for the Indian film industry. But not because ‘Slumdog millionaire’ has won eight Academy Awards at the 81^st Academy Awards ceremony at LA Kodak theater but because of the fact that our very own AR Rahman has won OSCARS for the best Music(song) Jai Ho and best original score.

 

In his thank you speech Rahman said—“Before coming, I was excited and terrified. The last time I felt like that was during my marriage. There's a dialogue from a Hindi film called "Mere paas ma hai," which means "I have nothing but I have a mother," so mother's here, her blessings are there with me. I am grateful for her to have come all the way. And I want to thank the Academy for being so kind, all the jury members. I want to thank Sam Schwartz, I/D PR, all the crew of Slumdog, Mr. Gulzar, Raqueeb Alam, Blaaze, my musicians in Chennai and Mumbai. And I want to tell something in Tamil, which says, which I normally say after every award which is... "God is great." Thank you.

 

Also Resul Pookutty wojn the Oscars for the Sound Mixing category alongside Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke. In his acceptance speech Resul gave a special mention to India when he said—“This is unbelievable. We can't believe this. Ladies and gentlemen... sorry... I share the stage with two magicians, you know, who created the very ordinary sounds of Bombay, the cacophony of Bombay, into a soul-stirring, artful resonance called Slumdog Millionaire. 

I come from a country and a civilization that given the universal word. That word is preceded by silence, followed by more silence. That word is "Om." So I dedicate this award to my country. Thank you, Academy, this is not just a sound award, this is history being handed over to me. My sincere and deepest gratitude to my teachers, Danny Boyle, Christian Colson, Paul Ritchie, Pravesh... and everybody who has contributed to this film, Glenn Freemantle and all the sound mixers. I dedicate this to you guys. Thank you, Academy. Thank you very much. 

 

"Slumdog" writer Beaufoy, who adapted the script from Vikas Swarup's novel "Q&A," said there are places he never could imagine being.

"For me, it's the moon, the South Pole, the Miss World podium, and here," Beaufoy said.

In all, Slumdog Millionaire" has cruised to eight Academy Awards wins including best director for Danny Boyle.

The evening is following the script of earlier Hollywood honors, with "Slumdog Millionaire" steamrolling its way towards the big prize, best picture. The other Oscars for "Slumdog Millionaire" include adapted screenplay, cinematography and both music awards, for score and song.

 

For his demented reinvention of Batman villain the Joker, Heath Ledger becomes only the second actor ever to win posthumously, his triumph coming 13 months after his death from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs on Oscar nominations day last year.

The previous posthumous Oscar recipient was Peter Finch, who won best actor for 1976's "Network" two months after his death.

 

At the start of this piece I said that this is a special day because of Allah Rakha Rahman but not because of Slumdog millionaire in which almost everyone from producer to director, from technicians to distributors were foreigners so why is that the Indian media is going haywire over the ‘Slumdog success’. Of course there is no denying that we all are very proud for AR and we should celebrate his success as our own success but the media is jumping the gun just because there are some familiar faces acting in the movie. 

The movie has got its own share of critics as well like Amitabh Bachhan who has regret the fact that director Danny Boyle has chosen the slums and the dirty and filthy underbelly of the “Rising India”. So are we too touchy to manifest the reality of India and does it make us uneasy when one foreign film director showcases Mumbai riots, beggary rackets, slums and brothels of India or are we mature enough to accept the facts as they are? What do you think?

Abhay Mittal

Courtesy-AP

Satyam Shocker

Misfortunes always comes in twos—that is what perhaps has been happening to B.Raju and his company satyam.

The chairman of Satyam Computer Services B.Ramalinga Raju-India's 4th-biggest software services exporter, announced his resignation on Wednesday, triggering a more than 60 percent drop in the company's share price.

In a statement to the stock exchange, B. Ramalinga Raju said Satyam's end-September balance sheet had been overstated. He apologised to staff and shareholders and said he was prepared to face the legal consequences.

The resignation came in just within 24 hours after Forrester backtracked on Satyam and 24 hours prior to the scheduled Board meeting on 10 January.

The benchmark indices have extended losses further due to sharp cut in Satyam. Satyam's board in a press release mentioned that the balance sheet has inflated cash & bank balance of Rs 5040 crore. The balance sheet has inflated accrued interest of Rs 376 crore in books is non-existent. The stock crashed nearly 50%.

According to press release, Rs 1,230 crore was arranged to Satyam, which is not reflected in books. Raju said Merrill Lynch can be entrusted to explore merger options. Ram Mynampati to act as interim CEO.

In a letter to the board members, Raju also said that the company reported inflated revenues over years. 
In reaction to Raju’s revelations, the stock was hammered by investors and it is down over 48 per cent. 
He said that he feared takeover due to poor finance performance. Coming clean on financial irregularities, he said that the company had Rs 1,230 crore worth of understated liability as of September 30. He also revealed that he tried to fill fictitious assets with Maytas deal.
His decision was conveyed to the company’s board members. The company was supposed to hold a board meeting this Saturday.

The company has submitted a copy of a communication sent by Ramalinga Raju, addressed to the Board, with the stock exchanges, capital market regulator SEBI and senior leaders of the company.

Satyam said that it is also in receipt of resignation tendered by Rama Raju, Managing Director of the company who will continue in the position only till such time the current Board is expanded and the continuance is just to ensure enhancement of the Board over the next several days or as early as possible.

Shares of Satyam have tumbled by over 60% to Rs.70. The scrip plunged to an intra-day low of Rs59 after hitting an intra-day high of Rs.188. The stock recorded volumes of over 100million  shares within a span of 45 minutes Wednesday morning, on BSE.

Satyam has informed that DSP Merrill Lynch has terminated its engagement with the company. Merrill Lynch was entrusted with the task of finding a strategic option for the company in the wake of the controversial withdrawal of the plan to acquire two promoter group companies.

Reactions are coming in fast from the various quarters of the Indian IT fraternity, most of which are drenched with the feeling of shock.

CB Bhave, the chairman of Securities and exchange board of India said that, Satyam’s CEO’s open letter to all the affected parties itself does not clarify all the misdoings and the veracity of the letter can’t be vouched for. also the auditors, the independent directors, the banks cannot be washed away with, they also have a lot to answer.

R.K. GUPTA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, TAURUS ASSET MANAGEMENT, NEW DELHI:

"If a company's chairman himself says they built fictitious assets, who do you believe here? Not only Satyam, this has put a question mark on the entire corporate governance system in India. Probably he will face a rigid enquiry. Anyway, things are pretty bad."

V.K. SHARMA, HEAD OF RESEARCH, ANAGRAM STOCK BROKING:

"It reduces confidence (in corporate governance). It's absolutely wretched.

"There is no option right now (for Satyam). People will leave, clients will walk away. It's a very, very dire thing that has happened. There will be question marks raised everywhere."

JIGAR SHAH, SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT OF KIM ENG SECURITIES:

"I think there is no future for this stock. This case for India is similar to what happened to Enron in the U.S.

Perhaps this the biggest worry. Chairman of NASSCOM Ganesh Natarajan said in his statement on CNBC TV 18, minutes after the ‘Satyam shocker’, that it wont be easy to say that this entire episode would not affect India’s offshoring reputation, keeping in mind that the corporate governance has not always been on the priority of the offshore clients; fortunately or unfortunately. Well, any takers for that?

It’s an interesting twist indeed, as Forrestor was severely critical in its latest report after the Satyam Maytas controversy came out in the open.
But the way Satyam was apparently twisting another report to indicate how Forrestor always said good things about Satyam, is now clearly an embarrassment for both the sides.
The research firm, in its latest report suggests apart from the upheaval on the employee front that unrest amongst the clients is growing and can impact Satyam's business in a big way.

It will not stop at Satyam. Many more companies will come into scrutiny like that. There is a strong possibility investments in India will be affected.

 

News Courtesy: Economic times

NDTV Profit

 --Abhay Mittal--

Khushwant Singh On Jagadguru Sri Kripalu Ji Maharaj

Online Tribune edition--27January,2007

ON January 14, which happened to be Makar Sakranti, about 10 million people took an early morning dip in the chilly waters at the Sangam of the Ganga and Yamuna at Allahabad. Further downstream at Varanasi, Kripaluji was formally installed as the Fifth Jagadguru. The media did not cover the event. I mention it as of the two dozen men and women who appear regularly on TV channels to give discourses on spiritual matters I find what Kripaluji has to say makes more sense to a non-believer like me than others.

All of them have the gift of the gab but he is more forthright, logical, lucid and gives chapter and verse of the sacred texts he quotes from: his memory is truly phenomenal. He draws large crowds which listen to his discourses in rapt attention.

He was born in 1922 in an affluent Brahmin land-owning family of Mangarh, a village 60 miles from Allahabad and given the name Ram Kripalu. He received his preliminary education in Hindi and Sanskrit in the local school. To the best of my information he speaks no other language besides these two. He went on to study advanced Sanskrit and Ayurveda in Indore and Varanasi and spent a year or more around Chitrakoot — evidently studying the Vedas, Upanishads, the epics and Bhakti literature.

When he emerged from his self-imposed banbas and began to take part in meetings of Sanskrit scholars in different cities including Varanasi, people were amazed by his perfect pronunciation of slokas and the facile way he quoted sources without referring to any books. When he read something, it remained etched in his memory. He began to acquire admirers in increasing numbers. Today his devotees number go into the thousands across the Hindi-speaking heartland of India.

In the 80s, Kripaluji is a tall, ram-rod erect figure with curly hair and aquiline features. He is a married man with sons and daughters. Besides giving discourses he has set up two modern well-equipped hospitals: one in Mangarh and another near Vrindaban. Despite preaching the divine power of healing, he provides all that modern methods of diagnosis and medicines to the poor free of charge.

Despite the esoteric terminology of what Kripaluji has to say about the existence of God, purpose of life and after-life, he is down to earth and comprehensible to the skeptic and the non-believer.

It is summed up in Philosophy of Divine Love, published by the Sadhna Bharan Trust, Mangarh.