Amateur movie review : Midnight Cowboy

Sunday, April 03, 2011 Posted by Pratheesh

I chose to watch this movie as it was suggested by Pinaki Sir in class. And as he rightly said, the
movie is depressing, and leaves one with a paranoid feeling. I still wonder why Midnight Cowboy was slapped with an X rating. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards though, becoming the first and only X rated movie to win Best Picture(they used this for promoting the movie). John Schlesinger won Best Director, and Waldo Salt won Best Writing - Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

Midnight Cowboy is all about one of the essential myths: The eager youth comes from the country to the city, and his simplicity and freshness are ground up in the urban jungle. Joe was a simple-no-ambition dishwashing Cowboy on the road to nowhere. In this small nothing town he might have been the top stud with women falling all over him. Realizing "the only one thing I ever been good for is loving" he concocts this naïve idea that he's going to quit his job.

Joe Buck happens to meet Ratso(Rico or Rizzo), a person entirely outside his experience. Like a rat, he makes his own way in the city, hated, asking no favors, living the life he knows. The characters are very different yet they complement each other really well. The only reason being- there is no other way to turn.

Joe is very much a daydreamer. The film is constructed with a series of flashbacks and dream sequences that are triggered by as much as an incident reminding Joe of something "similar" that happened to him. Joe's biggest misstep is buying into the images and words he sees and hears. His worldview seems to have been formed through John Wayne's movies.

Midnight Cowboy is a movie that destroys myths and demonstrates the difficulty of trying to attain one's dreams. Joe's great misconception of media leads to broken dreams, promises, and hopes when Joe tries to live his version of the American dream. The film wastes no time in pointing out Joe's lack of intelligence, style, class, tact, quick thinking, brainpower and so on make him unable to succeed in a place he doesn't understand in the least.

Joe's encounter in the dark movie theater with the kid with hornrims was seriously damaged by Schlesinger's flashbacks,which I think, were a serious weakness in the movie. I can never be sure what went on with the girl in Texas, or what Joe's grandmother was up to, but that doesn't matter. Experiences like those in Joe's background should have produced a masochistic, impotent figure, which don't fit into Joe Buch as we see him.

In the end, Midnight Cowboy is a devastating movie and doesn't care about sending the audience home happy. As a whole though, the film is hardly all gloom and doom because the friendship between Joe & Ratso and sequences that show their dreams shed some light on even the darkest of circumstances. Even the concluding sequence is painful. As Joe and Ratso make their way to enjoy in Florida, Ratso passes away in the bus. The people know something serious has occured but they don't get much bothered and some old women are shown as doing makeup as they get ready to get down at Florida.

The movie reminded me of the innocent, innocuous village people's experiences once they step into a metro city and it really does give you a mental beating. All in all, a depressing movie filmed in a cutting edge style that shows even dreams with low expectations can have a high price.

IIFTians Blog: Truly a Global One

Friday, March 25, 2011 Posted by Bhushan Bapat




Click on the image below that displays the blogs stats to enlarge it.

Rest its Self Explanatory.

Go IIFT Go !!!

My 2 cents on union budget

Thursday, March 24, 2011 Posted by Bhushan Bapat


Author of the Post: Kumar Raunak
Batch : 2010-12


It has to be a magnum opus budget
We need some big ticket reforms
Divest hindustan machine tools, bsnl,mtnl, RBI,IIFT,clearing corporation of India and use the proceed to bring down fiscal deficit to 3% and revenue deficit to nil.
Initiate a system of direct cash transfer for cabinet ministers so that they do not have to wring their heads to siphon off money(read 2g scam)
Bring down the transaction cost of stashing away your money abroad by actually allowing banks like swiss bank to open a dedicated branch for this in India itself.
Along with 100%FDI in multi brand retail allow 100% FDI in politics so that eminent personalities like sarah palin, berlusconi, etc can launch their own parties and bring about a tectonic shift on the indian political landscape.
Single window clearance for all turnkey infrastructural projects like mayawati's statue.
Signing of free trade agreements with chad,mali, niger, afghanistan etc because in this case as is taught in the IE class the dead weight loss to the society would be less.

Happy Women's Day @ IIFT

Wednesday, March 09, 2011 Posted by Bhushan Bapat



Author of the post: Jasmeet Kaur Grover
MBA(IB) 2010-12

We all know the importance of the various women in our lives but yet we generally forget to appreciate them for the same. Koshish, The Social Awareness Club at IIFT gave an opportunity to all the guys of the 2010-2012 batch to convey this appreciation to the girls of the batch in the form of special write-ups for each girl on International Women’s Day. These write-ups along with flowers were left at their doorsteps to surprise them in the morning. All female faculty members were also given a card and flowers to appreciate their hard work and dedication.
This initiative of Koshish brought a smile on the face of these wonderful women, who found this to be a very thoughtful gesture.

IIFT cultivates the future minds for Carbon Consulting in the Green Conclave 2011

Monday, March 07, 2011 Posted by Pratheesh

Author of the post: Suneet Choudhury
MBA(IB)2010-12

In focus of promoting the Indian Carbon Consulting Industry, IIFT, India’s premier B-school, took the initiative in focus with PAT: Perform Achieve and Trade by organizing “GREEN CONCLAVE 2011”. The baton of this strategy lies with the Carbon Consultant who would help the industries modify their processes to make them energy efficient.

IIFT was witness to one of the most contemporary debates in International Business involving the scope of carbon trading and consulting from an international as well as Indian Perspective. Conducted by Socrates (Consulting Club at IIFT DELHI) , this discussion had a healthy mix of industry stalwarts , delegates interested in carbon consulting , as well as the students who were curious to gain insights about a field which is still in its budding years.

The discussion was between three different industry experts from a different domain but with a common interest in PAT. It was moderated by a highly experienced professional who has been involved in projects involving carbon credits for several years now. Mr Tapan Chowdhury, Head, Fundraising, Care India was the moderator for the event. The panellists included Mr Nitin Zamre MD India ICF International (Climate Change Consultant), Mr Ajay Ahuja, General Manager Sun Microsystems (IT Professional) and Mr Birjendra Sangwaiya, Principal Consultant Emergent Ventures (Climate change Consultant).

The discussion started with the agenda from the moderator that the “Industry needs to play a major role in developing a sustainable model for carbon credits in India”.

Nitin Zamre focused on the fact there is no current climate related target as of yet which has been stipulated by the government. He gave us a brief overview of the PAT scheme and stressed on the fact that it is not a one size fits all model. Some of his notable quote which came out were “If everybody overachieves in gaining carbon credits, then there won’t be a market for carbon trading” which indicated that it was theoretical possibility that everyone achieves equivalent emission cuts

Ajay Ahuja brought about the IT industry’s perspective into focus. He stressed on the role that it industry had to play in reducing carbon emissions and make its technologies more efficient. With increased usage of it infrastructure across industries it was imperative that IT technologies should in corporate greater power savings, in order to make it a green technology. His most impact full quote was “The cost of operating power of servers is more than the cost to buy them” indicating the need of the hour was to find energy efficient solutions in order to make business a sustainable and green model.

Birjendra Sangwariya an IIFT alumnus principally discussed on the world carbon trading market, whether they are linked to each other, and the existing standards and registries. He discussed on the regulatory changes which might come into factor in order to bring a unified model and a consultant’s role in the entire scenario

This discussion ended with questions on a few major issues like the scope of unification of carbon credit schemes across the world, life cycle of these schemes and costs of implementation, export –import of these credits in the international market, role of cloud computing in reducing carbon emissions

It was an eye opener in terms of how much crucial role controlling of carbon emissions will play in the future of industrial sectors , and the role of the consultant involved in climate change solutions.

IIFTians win the competition WINBIZ 2011 at GIM

Thursday, March 03, 2011 Posted by Pratheesh

Goa Institute of Management (GIM) hosted a competition Case Study “WINBIZ 2011” sponsored by TATA Motors. From among the top B-Schools in India, seven teams made it into the finals. The finalists were from IIFT Delhi, NITIE Mumbai, MICA Ahmedabad, IIM Shillong, NIIE Mumbai, GIM Goa. Finalist teams presented the case in front of esteemed panelist from TATA Motors. Team from IIFT Delhi came out as winners with cash prize of Rs. 20000, one PPO and two PPIs. NITIE Mumbai was the runners up.

The team that won the competition was from second year at IIFT. The team members were Abhijit B, Mayank Kumar and Atanu Sarkar.

Vaibhav Srivastav and Aman Oberoi make IIFT proud at 'DARE' 2011

The following article was published in Business Standard :

The team from IIFT, India’s premier B-school, won the first prize at 'DARE' - an International B-School marketing Quiz hosted by bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. The winning team comprised of two prodigiously talented students Vaibhav Srivastav and Aman Oberoi who defeated participants from over 190 colleges across the country.

DARE’11, organized by IIPM is more than just another quiz as it is a perfect synergy of an international meeting ground for the very best of the planet’s business and management students to meet, ideate & vie for honors while challenging their marketing wits and acumen.

This intelligence combat was carried on through Zonal, National and International levels where top national and international teams from colleges like London Business School, Duke University and Booth University, California had to compete in the Pre- Quarter Final, Quarter Final & Semi Final at the IIPM International Campus in New Delhi. From which six finalists comprising of four National and two International teams made it to the Grand Final held on 23rd February 2011 at “Parkland Exotica” in New Delhi. Winners Vaibhav Srivastav and Aman Oberoi, who did wonders at the Quizzing Arena of IIPM, are first year IIFT Delhi students. The students were awarded with a cash Prize of Rs 2.5 lakhs, two Yamaha Motorcycles, two canon Printers, two Videocon LED televisions and two Nokia phones.

“It is a proud moment for IIFT to receive such recognition and I congratulate both the winners. This is just the beginning of their successful journey and I wish them greater success ahead. IIFT promises to provide all the support required to their students for setting another series of milestones,” said K. T. Chacko, Director IIFT on the team winning the DARE’11 Quiz award.

A totally different experience!!!

Wednesday, March 02, 2011 Posted by Bhushan Bapat

Author of the post: Rohit Mittal
MBA(IB)2010-12

When a very dear friend of mine told me that he has started a new manpower training & staffing outfit in a city on Haryana-Rajasthan border and invited me to conduct interviews at the job fair they were organising, I was not very excited. One reason for was the hectic schedule I have now a days, with all the classes, preparations for international round of Al Gore Sustainable Technology Venture Competition & other projects. Others were the poor road conditions, cold & patchy connectivity.

However on Friday, when last class got over, I thought about it and decided, What the heck! lets do it. So I quickly packed my bag and hopped on a bus to the place. The journey was uneventful and quiet. I reached around 1 AM and almost immediately went to sleep. After getting ready, we reached the venue of job fair which was a government degree college. A lot of people had come to the fair because of some really wonderful advertising.

After gathering understanding of the complete process, I got the brief about the qualities to look for in the candidates and got down to the work. We were basically doing the preliminary interviews for retail & call center companies who had come for recruitment.

Interviews were an eye opener to say the least. It also helped in breaking a lot of myths about shining India and quality of life for Indians. Although people had graduation degrees, still they found it difficult to express themselves well. Lot of the candidates had pursued year long computer diplomas from private institutes in the hope of improving their lives but majority were duped and were given sub standard education. Some people wrote English as a language in their CVs but were unable to frame even 5 simple, correct sentences.

Though I also found some gems who were working hard to gain knowledge and improve their status in society. One fellow had lost his father long back and had worked alongside education to support his family from a young age. Another was a topper and was also trying to complete his studies. In fact, this quality was displayed by most of the candidates who were willing to work hard to achieve something.

This kind of experience was very new for the people as they had not had any such exposure earlier. Thus they had talent & the determination but were raw. This is what my friend’s outfit is working: to bridge the gap between the available talent & needs of the industry. This is something unique which will provide people with the opportunity they have been looking for and help them improve the quality of their life.

For me, as I said, this was an eye opening experience and gave me a lot of insights into the mind of “still developing” India. I gained a lot personally by interacting with so many people which is going to be useful for me during MBA and beyond.


P.S. Needless to say, hospitality was superb and I really had a great time at the friend’s place

Gurcharan Das @IIFT in NDTV Mega Show ‘B-School Budget’

Wednesday, March 02, 2011 Posted by Bhushan Bapat



The Union Finance Budget 2011 is presently one of the most talked about issues with India growing at phenomenal rates accompanied with the evils of inflation and high fiscal deficit. To discuss, suggest and improve upon the measures that can be taken by the finance minister, some of India’s brightest minds from the top B-Schools and the stalwarts from the corporate and economy descended on the campus of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi, India’s premier B-School in International Business in a B-School Budget show organized in association with NDTV. The Guests included Mr. Gurcharan Das, noted author, economist and a public intellectual and Mr. Sunil Godhwani, Chairman and MD, Religare Enterprises Ltd, who aired their opinions about the Budget.

NDTV, in its special series of shows on the Budget, came down to the IIFT campus to conduct the B-school Budget show. Manisha Natarajan and Siddharth Patankar were the anchors for the show and students from IIFT, MDI Gurgaon and other premier B-schools participated in an interactive discussion on what to expect from the budget. The show was broadcasted on both NDTV Profit and NDTV 24x7 on the weekend before the budget.

The first agenda to set the ball rolling was black money and corruption, one of the hot political potatoes in current times. They deliberated on the huge impact that it would have if corruption were to be completely wiped off the economy. In response to one of the questions asked on the corruption front, the speakers held the opinion that corruption was indeed a huge menace. “India grows when the government sleeps at night”, quoted Mr Gurcharan Das, depicting the potential that the parallel economy possesses.

The discussion then shifted to the other big concerns facing the economy i.e. inflation and fiscal deficit. The views of the student community to this end were amply reciprocated by the guest speakers who also felt that the measures were long overdue to tame the present rates of inflation and improve the efficiency in the distribution of the proposed benefits to the people at the bottom of the pyramid. Measures like UID and direct cash transfers were discussed so as to ensure that the intended benefits reach the target population.

Finally, the show came to an end with a wrap-up on what the students and the speakers felt was the one biggest expectation from Pranab Babu. While one of the students outlined his top priority to be the creation of ‘infrastructure of opportunity’ involving the 3E’s of education, employment and employability, another wished for better reforms for the real estate sector. Some wished for a reformist budget rather than a political budget while some wished for a more encouraging environment for retail and FDI investments.

All in all, the show was a grand success and both IIFT Delhi and NDTV look forward to many more such positive associations in the future.

You can watch the video here

Amateur movie review : Yeh Saali Zindagi

Director : Sudhir Mishra

Story : The film has parallel stories of two gangsters, Arun (Irfan Khan) and Kuldeep (Arunoday Singh), who get their love life entangled with their criminal misdemeanours. Kuldeep is assigned the job to kidnap Shyam who is supposed to get married to the daughter of the Home Minister. And he kidnaps Priti(Chitrangda Singh) along with Shyam as they believe she is his fiancee. Arun decides to get Priti out of the trouble but realizes that he will have to help Shyam too to see her happy!

Review : When I think of this movie, the first thing that comes to my mind is Sudhir Mishra flooding my memory with a lot of names I'm unable to figure out who was given which name except for Mehta, Arun, Kuldeep, Bade and of course Chote(who comes in a transgender form towards the end. What/Why was that?!!) . Another notable thing is the Delhi lingo used in its purest form :) Teenagers who find that actors are actually using their favourite vulgar words would feel proud but no one else would. It was just too much and seemed to be out of context a lot of times.

I was also confused with a complex story line. Well if the idea was to relate/contrast the lives of Arun and Kuldeep why couldn't it have been done as simply as in Taxi no. 9211. And how can one attempt to make a humour out of a murder under Indian circumstances! The movie that comes to my mind in this regard are The Godfather and Pulp Fiction(and it wasnt humour exactly) and we all know the perfection of those classics.

Irfan Khan steals the show as the despondent lover, who is ready to sacrifice his life for a woman who is confused whether she loves him or not. Aditi Rao Hydari and Chitrangda Singh do quite justice to their respective roles and especially their looks.The interesting thing was that it was shot in and around Delhi. It's nice to see that movie makers in the recent years have shed the Mumbai obsession in their films when it comes to show gangsters.

The movie is dragging towards the end. Our gang was just passing the time making fun of each other when Irfan Khan went through his last moments. In short I felt as if the director was trying to club many hollywood concepts into a single Bollywood movie.

I know these comments dont gel with the general perception. So comments invited...