Posts from — August 2009

First the facts. Shahrukh Khan, the “King of Bollywood” , host of India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire and the object of squeals by young women of Indian origin the world over was pulled aside for interrogation for 60 minutes (or 120 depending on the version) upon his arrival in the United States this month. The reason was that his bags did not arrive with him when he landed.  No, the immigration officer doesn’t watch Indian movies and didn’t recognize his face, a problem that Khan would not face in almost any other country (Bollywood movies are popular in most of Asia, Africa, UK, even Canada).  In London, the previous month, Khan had been presented an honorary doctorate in arts and culture by Bedfordshire University  for his contributions to culture and Madame Tussaud’s as a wax likeness of him. Clearly the folks at Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey did not consider any of this.

shahrukh_khan

Khan was piqued but not enraged, after all Continental  Airlines had just been derided for frisking former Indian President Abdul Kalam upon his departure from New Delhi in April (the deriding did not happen until months later when media found out about it).

Indians everywhere are “offended”. Even a balanced guy like Shashi Tharoor (former candidate for UN Secretary General, author of many books about India, and current Minister of State for External Affairs in India’s Union Government), takes up the cause of the targeting of Muslims in America.  My Gubernator, Arnold, invites Khan for dinner. What the heck for Arnold, do you think you are President Obama trying to patch up race relations over a beer? Even the Daily Show piped in (Jon Stewart, you got  the facts wrong about Khan’s purpose of visit, your fact checkers could have spent 90 seconds on imdb.com and you would have smelt much better)

Here is what I have to say

1) It is true that Muslims are discriminated against in America. Indian Billionaire Azeem Premji (who is Muslim) once said that the only country where he felt discriminated against because of his religion was the United States. Numerous Arab Americans have shared their personal stories with me over the years. Pakistani born billionaire, Safi Quereshey, who lives here in Southern California and wears a beard, told the The Indus Entpreneurs, how he began carrying a photo of himself with Bill Clinton to airports  as a way to prove he was not a threat.

2) Two hours, Mr. Khan? That is the average delay on any Bollywood concert that I have been to watch in California. My family, friends and I have suffered many indignities waiting for Bollywood superstars to show up at venues such as the Shrine Auditiorium, the Arena, the Arrowhead Pond (now Honda Center), and I think even at the UCLA Woden Center.  Now you see what your fans have to suffer. Shahrukh, I know you are punctual, I am railing against all of Bollywood collectively on this.

3)There is a movie called “My name is Khan” due out soon. It describes discrimination against Muslims in American after 9/11. And stars one Shahrukh Khan. Hmm. I’ve lived near Hollywood long enough to learn two things a) there is no such thing as bad publicity b) there is never enough publicity for any movie. So hey maybe Fox Searchlight should pay the immigration/customs guys at Newark Airport. And Jon Steward of the Daily Show. And my Gubernator.

Me? I will watch “My Name is Khan”. Can’t miss it for the world! Not any more.

Forty-seven years after the formation of Israel, India established full diplomatic relations with Israel (even though the diamond traders and military advisors from that country had interacted with India in the past).  In 2000 India made its first defence purchases from Israel. In less than a decade,  India is Israel’s largest defense customer and Israel is among the top suppliers to India.

One of the factors NOT contributing to this rapid acceleration is Bollywood-style video shown by Israel’s Rafael Industries at the Aero India airshow. Bad singing accompanies an apparently galant, sunglass-wearing mock Israeli male protecting a group of mid-riffing baring, undulating Indian women. Tel Aviv, what were you thinking? You’ve got to see/hear it to believe it.

As someone who travels back and forth between California and India, I feel like I go through a time warp on many dimensions each time, I emerge on the ground in either country. The direction of the warp used to favor the United States when I first arrived as a young graduate student.  It’s not always the case anymore

Service offered on domestic airlines is one example where all customers in US are treated (even in first or business class) are treated more shabbily than their counterparts in India. While Indian airports still leave a lot to be desired, the worst service offered in India’s private sector airlines probably exceeds the best you might receive here in the US.  This is after you’ve been nickeled and dimed about fees for baggage, preferred seating, food and then some. I don’t know about you, but I will gladly pay a bit more to get a smiling, courteous staff member. To be fair, I do see a few hardworking, polite people on Alaska Airlines and on Southwest.  If you travel to India, try Jet Airways or Kingfisher when you travel in country; you won’t see a surly scowl that is now standard on United, Delta, and American.

Another sector where you will see the difference is in retail. I had heard about Toyota’s USA’s legendary efforts to support its dealers and require them to provide good service.  When I bought a Toyota  Lexus 4xx series car for my wife, she was thrilled with the car. But I was certainly disappointed with the dealer staff. They did not reveal the way they accounted for payments from my credit union, they charged me for extended warranty but did not file the paperwork with the manufacturer. In each case I had to fight for my rights to get refunds of inappropriate interest charges, and “unusable warranty” fees.  Contrast that with the  way a small retailer of bangles in India treats their customer. Read the story on American Express open network site about personalization, about making the customer feel welcome and about meeting their specific needs, visit http://tinyurl.com/qsol5r .

JP Morgan Chase’s Alan J Levine will join the board of the new Dreamworks, SKG Inc. as a result of his bank leading a consortium that includes Bank of America, City National Bank, Wells Fargo, Comerica, Union Bank of California, SunTrust, California Bank & Trust and Israel Discount Bank and providing a loan of over $300 million.  Steven Spielberg leads Dreamworks and is taking it independent after selling to Viacom’s Paramount Pictures several years ago.

Indian billionaire Anil Ambani’s Reliance Big Entertainment, wrote the biggest check, $325 million, as reported first in June 2008. The global financial crisis had derailed plans to raise the balance of the funds in the US.

India observers should note that Amitabh Jhunjunwala will represent Reliance on the Dreamworks board.  Western media has paid scant attention to this key player in the Reliance ADAG empire. A chartered accountant (similar to a CPA) by training, and cousin of India’s Warren Buffet,  Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Amitabh is likely going to supervise spending  in a manner that Hollywood profligates are not accustomed to. While Spielberg and partner Stacey Snider (former head of Universal Pictures and longtime Spielberg collabarator) will have creative control over productions, the hand of Bollywood will play a more significant role than folks in Los Angeles imagine.

Amitabh is known as Anil Ambani’s chief strategist and has long been seen as the trusted brain and negotiator behind Ambani’s ambitious expansions plans.

Hollywood, remember, you read it here first.