Why are children from the slum creating their version of the sculptor’s popular work, asks Aastha Atray Banan
WHEN THREE NEW YORK-BASED artists — Alex White Mazzarella, Casey Nolan and Dutch photographer Arne De Knegt — escorted a bunch of slum kids from one of Dharavi’s many NGOS to Anish Kapoor’s show at Mehboob Studios in December 2010, little did they know the trip would inspire a work of art. The trio discovered the canisters used to store the wax used by Kapoor in his work Shooting Into The Corner were being sent to Dharavi to be recycled. Later, the artists got the children to recreate the work. The result is an installation, a sheet of tin standing proud with splotches of red wax, which is part of the exhibition, Artefacting Mumbai. Other works include a collage of passport pictures of various residents of Asia’s largest slum, a small house made of plastic water bottles, a selection of photographs threaded together on a string and a ‘beehive’ made of used cans of paint that resound with the buzzing of bees, all exhibited at Dharavi’s 13th Compound. “We wanted to show Dharavi’s humanity, not poverty,” says Nolan. “And it has been a great experience. We have made new friends, and the residents have been immensely supportive. We have made a video of the whole experience and this will be exhibited in New York once we leave.” It is a different matter then that a befuddled housewife could be heard wondering, “Why are these people here?” or a paanwala ruing, “These guys have not even left us any place to pee.” The artists may go back with a new-found respect for India’s poor and their resilience, but it’s difficult to say how much the residents of the slum really felt part of it.
Anish Kapoor goes to Dharavi
Retelling the retro lies
Graphic novelist Sarnath Banerjee and musician Ashutosh Pathak bring an unusual show to Mumbai’s Blue Frog studios, says Aastha Atray Banan
IF GRAPHIC ARTIST Sarnath Banerjee is to be believed, then his collaboration with musician Ashutosh Pathak will affect your mind in the same way pot does. “It should take you to places. It will open your mind, and you will see things so much more clearly,” he says in all seriousness, and then laughs out, “or it may just make you remember the year you flunked in mathematics.” The Psychic Plumber and Other Lies, which features graphic prints made by Banerjee and is set to music by Pathak, is a nostalgic one. Watch the tale of a sexually active girl and her panties culminate in a disappointing threesome or a bunch of elderly “Madrasis” headed for a vacation only to return with one of them dead. “A Vicco advertisement can take you back in time. This exhibition will remind you of the 1970s through objects or memories that belong to that time,” says Banerjee.
As one walks around Mumbai’s Blue Frog studios, where the exhibition is being held solely to leave the “conventional art space”, you may feel you’re watching a Hrishikesh Mukherjee movie. The characters are middle-class Indians, and the situations commonplace. The music, which is a combination of world, Indian and retro grooves, gives a sense that the images are moving. “Men usually discover women, Ashu discovered jingles,” pokes Banerjee, as Pathak explains, “There’s an image of the aam aadmi who goes to a government job and is asked to do random tasks by a boss who sits on two cushions to look big. So the music had the sounds of typewriters and computers interwoven, to explain his dilemma of being stuck between two worlds.”
Along with reminding us of the 1970s, the prints and the music are poignant, yet happy. “This has been a constant with my work — comedy and tragedy are closely linked. The series about the Madrasis who go on a trip when one of them has a heart attack is one of them. They buy identical golf hats, and the last print shows them carrying a lone cap along. These emotions are interconnected,” says Banerjee, “and the music will take you to Chennai right away.”
Curator Srila Chatterjee points out, “Such collaboration is rare as most artists don’t want to leave their comfort zones. But Sarnath is capable of doing anything, and Ashutosh doesn’t even know what a box is.” Filmmaker Sunhil Sippy offers his approval, saying, “The best thing about the show was its interactive nature. I mean you are in Blue Frog, which is a sound studio, watching a show and listening to music set to it. It’s rare when an audience can get involved in art.”
The exhibition is on till 28 February. As one gazes at the print of a young man staring despondently at a pair of panties that belong to a girl and hear a 1960sinspired ditty, “Come into my party, come and take a look inside, come and take what you like,” you will be filled with the kind of desire you had when you were 19. Caution is advised.
aastha@tehelka.com
Inspirations: Ferdinand Rodricks, 49
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Auto Innovator
By Aastha Atray Banan
Mumbaikar Ferdinand Rodricks has a clear mantra — every man should own his independence, and should not have to depend on anybody or anything. Little wonder then that the 49-year-old is dedicating his life to helping disabled people achieve the kind of mobility that most of us take for granted — drive a car. “Just because one does not have arms or legs does not mean he or she needs to depend on someone else to get around,” says Rodricks. The innovative automobile engineer embarked on his noble mission 25 years ago when he modified a car for a friend who had lost both his limbs in an accident. He first devised a hoist to get his friend into the car without difficulty. Once in the driver’s seat, his friend could hand operate the brake, accelerator and clutch. He has modified around 1,000 cars since. Rodricks has even devised a hoist to transfer paraplegics from their wheelchairs into the swimming pool — a device that is being used by the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre in Pune for its hydrotherapy sessions. “Besides driving safety and comfort, it’s about mobility with dignity,” he explains matter-of-factly.
RODRICKS MAY BE REACHED AT +91 98201 20556
Realty companies defaulted on tax too
By Abhishek Anand
According to IT documents available with TEHELKA, many real estate companies have in the past been caught under-reporting their income and evading tax. Raids carried out by the department last year unearthed Rs 800 crore of undisclosed income.
Companies that admitted under-reporting of income included Mumbai-based HDIL group along with two Mumbai-based developers Bombay Rayon and Electro groups; Delhi-based Modi and Mehta groups; Jaipur-based Agarwal group and Pune-based Panchshil group.
According to the income tax department, all these companies provided inflated expenses for purchase of materials, suppressed amount of professional income and indulged in cash transactions.
While Mumbai-based Electro group admitted undisclosed income of Rs 114.50 crore, HDIL (Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd) made a disclosure to the stock exchanges about defaulting to the tune of Rs 350 crore. The other five companies admitted undisclosed income ranging from Rs 22.80 to Rs 85 crore.
In September this year, the income tax department had raided premises of some other real estate companies and found gross irregularities on their part. Prominent among those found guilty is the Delhi-based Amrapali group, which according to sources in the department has admitted undisclosed income of Rs 73 crore.
Meet the new age loan arranger
Abhishek Anand tracks down those who can crack the code using a mix of networking and bribes
Illustration: Naorem Ashish
THEY ARE suave, glib talkers, well educated and, more importantly, well networked. That’s the typical profile of the ‘loan arranger’ who helps corporates get huge loans even if they do not qualify or do not have the credit worthiness. They do their job to perfection in connivance with bank staff, who in turn help them by either manipulating or skirting the rulebook.
“Big-ticket customers usually outsource their loan requirement through a loan arranger. But the prescribed route is not adhered to because some tweaking is required for every loan that is extended to new or existing customers,” says a banker on condition of anonymity.
On how the system is bypassed, he reveals, “The rules of loan disbursal are always set and differ from bank to bank. This is where the loan arrangers step in. They have the right connections in the credit committee, which decides whether or not the loan would be disbursed.”
The arranger adds, “Once the committee is convinced, disbursal is just a matter of time.”
But is it that easy to pull the wool over the eyes of a credit committee? “Not always. There are dirty fish in every pond. These are the people who, in connivance and for a predetermined commission, help the arranger,” he says.
A brief chat with another such arranger throws light on the modus operandi. “In one case, I helped a banker fund his son’s education abroad. I picked up a tab of nearly 20 lakh and since then there have been very few occasions where I have been denied a loan,” reveals the arranger.
In other cases, loan arrangers help corporates over invoice or under invoice projects or hike up the project cost and the difference is shared among what can be called “beneficiaries”.
So well-connected are the loan arrangers that there are instances where they oen arrange a bridge loan, generally taken for a short period ranging between a few weeks to a couple of years. They are meant for an interim period till the arrangers manage to find long-term finance.
The loan arrangers are a shrewd lot. Generally, they have multiple bank accounts and transact mainly in cash. At times, they use bank accounts of their relatives or friends.
Needless to say, anyone trusting the loan arranger may find themselves in deep trouble. If the investigating agency smells shadowy deals, the relative or friend who received dubious funds will stumble into the line of fire.
abhishek.anand@fw.tehelka.com
Google serves it haute
A new website may change the way you think about personal style, says Aastha Atray Banan
THERE IS a reason why fanatic female shoppers don’t take their partners along on their shopping sprees. It’s because most men kill the excitement of the “browse”. But with its newly-launched fashion portal, Boutiques.com, Google is telling all women that it understands them.
Boutiques.com works on a simple albeit ingenious thought — we browse, Google pays attention. Unlike your spouse, who, after five years of being married, may still not know that you wouldn’t be caught dead in a pair of platforms, Boutiques doesn’t want to rub you the wrong way. And like the man we all wish we had, it listens to you as you tell it all your fashion desires, and secretly analyses your style. The process is fun, even though you feel you are in kindergarten. There are two pictures on your screen — Kim Kardashian in a figure hugging animal print dress and Carey Mulligan in a demure Chanel Little Black Dress (LBD). And though you can’t steer your eyes away from Kardashian’s rear, wishing it was yours, you have to choose one as your style, or maybe none. A few actresses, designers and even choosing between cocktails (red wine or sweet lime) later, it’s time to tell Boutiques the silhouettes (maxis or minis), colours (blues or beiges), shoe styles (clogs or ballerinas), patterns (stripes or flowery) and designers (Lauren or DKNY) you love or loathe. Yes, it’s that detailed! All the games lead to one final conclusion — whether your style is ‘classic’, ‘edgy’, ‘romantic’, ‘boho’, ‘street’ or ‘casual chic’. And voila, you have a boutique of your own.
Here is when Boutiques.com reveals its trump card — since it already knows what you love, it will help you browse through just that. No maxi-style sweater dresses will pop up when you search for dresses, as it remembers you loathed that. If your style is classic, smart LBDs, cute ballerinas and satchel bags will pop up; if you’re a boho, printed flowery dresses, and eclectic chappals line up. A panel on the side even gives style lessons or how else will you pair that paisley scarf with that denim skirt? You could also take style inspiration from the celeb and blogger boutiques —maybe follow Brit actress Mulligan, whose Audrey Hepburn dresses have made her a fashion icon, or take a leaf out of Mary Kate Olsen’s book, and channel your inner goth.
Compared to Boutiques, Ebay actually seems frumpy and could remind you of shopping at Sarojini Nagar in Delhi
Compared to Boutiques, Ebay actually seems frumpy and could remind you of shopping at Sarojini Nagar in Delhi (where only a good hunt yields results). Net-A-Porter could seem too expensive and exclusive. Also, none of these sites offer you personalised options. But though Boutiques could be called pathbreaking, as it provides you with a virtual stylist of your own, its clever design could be its drawback. Would a fashionista really want to be pigeonholed into dressing a particular way all the time? Just because you were analysed as a ‘classic’ dresser, does it mean you can’t rock the leopard print Manolo Blahniks? It snatches your chance of scoping out the options, like you would in a real store. Does Google want to curb the trait women are known for — changing their minds about what they want?
Though Boutiques is not available to other shoppers outside the US now, Google promises it will reach the nether corners of the world soon. But after browsing for hours, choosing that perfect LBD that will flatter your curves, and then hitting the buy button, will Indians be able to bear the blow of shipping charges? How will you solve this problem, Google?
aastha@tehelka.com
Who's afraid of Shyam Ramsay
A chopped hand claiming innocent lives. A black cat driving Premier Padmini. The Ramsays have been the unbeaten kings of seedy horror films. Aastha Atray Banan meets the brain behind such inanities
SHYAM RAMSAY looks too genial to be making horror movies. With a rotund, smiling face, he seems intent on scaring the heebie jeebies out of you. And although the cult Ramsay name has become synonymous with seedy horror movies, there is nothing creepy about the director. He even offers this reporter a role in his next movie, maybe his version of a good deed. He has just returned from Nashik where he went to gauge the reaction of the audience to his new film Bachao, which follows the shenanigans of a film crew shooting a horror film who realise there are real ghosts on the sets. He tells us why bachcha bachcha knows the Ramsay name — “It’s not just about horror. We have got more. Sex, comedy and songs — can a horror film get any better?”
He could be right. When one thinks of horror, every true blue movie lover in India chants the Ramsay name. It all started in 1972, when Shyam and his famous family made the hit, Do Gaz Zameen ke Neeche. The late 1970s saw films such as Darwaza and Guest House. In the 1980s, they gave hits like Sannata, Purana Mandir, Haveli, Saamri, Veerana and Shaitani Ilaaka. The heroes of these movies were spirits and deformed creatures and the victims were barely clad women and lost-in-the-middle-of-nowhere couples. Though none of them would admit it today, many big names have worked with the Ramsay banner — be it Rakesh Roshan, Deepak Parashar, Raza Murad, Kiran Kumar, Navin Nischol and Javed Jaffrey.
The Ramsays truly became a household name with the Zee Horror Show, that gave television its cheesiest horror show ever. Film critic Raja Sen says the Ramsays offered a vivid sense of the surreal to the audiences. “They followed the tradition of the Hammer horror films from the UK. My earliest Ramsay memory is seeing a black cat drive a Premier Padmini,” he says.
Ramsay, 58, realised early that he was going to be a maker of the macabre. Hollywood film Dracula, the first horror movie he watched, set the cogs in his brain moving. “I was fascinated by Dracula, Frankenstein and Werewolf. I used to read plenty of horror stories and even took inspiration from news reports either about unsolved murders or ghostly sightings,” he says. And though his father FU Ramsay, who fled from Karachi to Mumbai, was known for films such as Rustom Sohrab (1963), Shyam and his brothers had other plans. Tulsi directed the first few and then started writing, Keshu, who passed away recently, handled production, Arjun production design, Kumar story and screenplay, Gangu dealt with cinematography and sound, while Shyam stuck to direction. “People watch horror movies because they need a break from all the drama. Why do you go on a roller coaster ride? For the rush, right? Well watching horror movies gives you the same rush. We also have another important ingredient — sex. We don’t want you to get too scared. That’s why we have a young seductress in our films,” he says.
His confidence is contagious. It’s also true that Ramsay films have never pulled in the multiplex crowd. Maybe because their films became repetitive slews — a car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, the couple in it finds a haveli with a deformed caretaker and as they get down and dirty on a massive bed, the monsters creep out of the woodwork. “These tried and tested environments work. People in villages still believe in witches and say that a woman is a witch if her feet are turned backwards. In metros too, people may not be as superstitious but everyone believes in evil spirits.”
Though the elite in the metros would never strut in their Jimmy Choos for a Ramsay film premiere, the banner has its fans in the Tier 2 and 3 cities. “Our films do well in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. That’s why we are still able to sustain ourselves,” says Shyam candidly, adding, “Even the industry is proud of us. We are one of the rare families that have become a household name.”
‘People watch horror films as they need a break from drama. We have another important ingredient — sex,’ says Shyam Ramsay
Their genre has been flooded with snazzily produced movies such as Ram Gopal Verma’s Bhoot and Vikram Bhatt’s Raaz in the past few years. Shyam is in awe of these directors. “After watching Bhoot, I was happy to know there are directors who are keeping the genre alive. For many years, we have had no competition, but now I am always on my toes.” And though the Ramsays can’t compete with the Karan Johars, their resilience has to be applauded as they have to make do with much lesser. SV Srinivas, a film theorist at the Bengaluru-based Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, says, “They are a curious mixture of Christian notions of afterlife and evil and Indian mythology, which reveals itself in the form of the sexual devil woman. Technically, their only draw could be the kind of make-up they do. But the most fun about these movies was the predictability.”
HIS LAST MONTH’S release Bachao was touted as India’s first comedy-horror film, but it failed to create any ripples. But Shyam seems undeterred. “Our next movie will have even better effects. We are not going anywhere,” he says. The star of Bachao, Shakti Kapoor, who has been a constant in many of the Ramsay films, blames the failure on lack of publicity. “Bachao was not publicised properly. But Shyam is a great director. Who is RGV or Vikram Bhatt? Shyam is their father,” he says. Actress Archana Puran Singh, who became a household name thanks to the Zee Horror Show, feels “it’s sad that in India, they have not got their due”. “Maybe the next generation of Ramsays should take over and reinvent the banner,” she adds.
Already putting the fate of Bachao behind him, Shyam seems ready to charge ahead. “If there is day, there has to be night. If there is God, there has to be evil. And that’s what I want to reveal. Horror is my only calling and I will fulfill it all the way through.”
aastha@tehelka.com
Let the plot thicken
A film on reality television might shake you out of your couch, says Aastha Atray Banan
Photo: Shailendra Pandey
IT’S RARE WHEN A HINDI MOVIE lets its hero win his battle against exploitation just by the pure force of his street sharp ways. It’s even rarer when the hero is a middle-class, jobless Mumbaikar. Maybe that’s why film critic and first-time director Mintty Tejpal’s Kaam Ka Plot is disturbing at first, but endearing as it ends. Not only because it attacks the reality TV phenomenon; it also gives the middleclass Indian an identity. “It is a comment on reality TV. I know what goes into this business. We are becoming voyeuristic as a society and that bothers me. But the focus is on the middle-class Indian who has disappeared from our movies,” says Mintty.
The film revolves around Dashrath Srivastava (Ranvir Shorey), a gullible do-gooder who is tricked into the dirty world of reality TV but manages to become a smart businessman. “Despite the resources with which the film was made — it cost Rs. 60 lakh, was written in a week and shot in 16 days — it has tremendous merit. The fact that Mintty has managed to create ripples in an industry that works through coteries is commendable,” says Shorey, who co-starred with Sandhya Mridul and Vinay Pathak.
Though it was commissioned by Zoom as a made-for-television film and premiered last week, Mintty is hopeful that Kaam Ka Plot will attract distributors. However, that hasn’t stopped the accolades from flowing in. While filmmaker Sudhir Mishra calls it “quirky, full of surprises, often very funny and has a deep connection with reality”, film critic Rajeev Masand feels it’s the film’s unpredictability that sets it apart from the usual fare. “The premise was familiar and I kept waiting for the usual, but it never came.
The end was absolutely surprising. It stuns because it’s uncompromised.”
aastha@tehelka.com
10. Vicky & Aakash Dhangar
10 PEOPLE OBAMA SHOULD MEET
Vicky and Aakash Dhangar
20 & 17 Mumbai
Photo: Apoorva Guptay
OBAMA SHOULD follow his instincts: American soft power goes much further than the hardware. Vicky and Aakash, for instance, credit America with putting a new bounce in their step. The dance-form known as B-boying, adopted by young black and Latino rebels living in the South Bronx during the 1970s, has given these boys of middle-class Dharavi a swagger that they could only dream of. Finally, they feel like they are ‘doing something different’ with their lives. It all started with a live demonstration by New York-based Netarpal Singh (aka Hera), whose organisation Tiny Drops teaches Mumbai’s ragpickers, electricians, tailors and carpenters the art of ‘breaking’ out. “We had seen music videos and always thought these guys rocked. Watching this documentary about the origins of B-boying in America left us dumbstruck. When Hera performed, we thought that we might be able to do the same thing — even though we might break a few bones in the process,” laughs Aakash. Terms like ‘toprock’ (upright dancing and shuffles) and ‘freeze’ (still poses that punctuate beats and end routines) are now part of their everyday parlance. B-boying has also given them hope for a better life. While their father (a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation employee) dreams of raising his sons to be engineers, they would rather dance. “It keeps us positive and creative. If the Americans can make careers out of B-boying, so can we!” says Vick.
Aastha Atray Banan
IRDA to allow cross-selling of micro-insurance
By Abhishek Anand
THE INSURANCE Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is considering a proposal to allow cross-selling of micro-insurance products by insurance companies. Cross-selling means one firm can sell the policies of another — a relaxation the industry has sought for long. Micro-insurance products are policies that are priced low enough for the poorer sections to avail of.
“We may allow crossselling of micro-insurance products, but we haven’t set a timeframe for effecting it,” IRDA Chairman J Hari Narayan told TEHELKA at a health insurance meet held by the Confederation of Indian Industry in Delhi.
The proposed move will open up rural areas to firms that do not have a presence there. Currently, insurers have tie-ups with banks that have large rural networks, mainly public sector ones, to sell micro-insurance products. But the drawback is that the bank can sell products of only that particular company.
According to Narayan, the IRDA is considering allowing banks to tie up with more than one insurer. But if the new proposal comes through, insurance firms — largely private sector ones — will be able to piggyback on the extensive networks of their public sector counterparts. On their part, the public sector players will be able to enlarge their portfolio of products; for instance, a general insurance company offering health insurance will be able to offer life insurance after tying up with a life insurer.
Micro-insurance products with affordable premiums are tailor-made for low-income groups. Insurance firms, both life and non-life, have in total 23 such products. Narayan was categorical that crossselling, when it happens, will be confined to these.
In separate guidelines, the IRDA has also capped the maximum amount of commission an agent can charge for these micro-insurance products.
Meanwhile, firms are planning to start offering combi-products, or policies offering both life and health covers. For this, general insurance firms are looking at tie-ups with life insurance firms. “We are negotiating with a life insurance firm to launch a combi-scheme and hope to finalise it before year-end,” says Antony Jacob, CEO, Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company Ltd. Jacob, who did not reveal the name of his company’s partner, said the two negotiating companies need to come to an understanding on several issues, including the premium to be charged and the break-up between life and health cover. “It may require three to four months before we can roll out such a product,” he said.
Firms plan to offer combi-products, or policies offering both life and health covers
Last year the IRDA issued comprehensive guidelines on combi-products. According to these, only pure term life insurance cover could become part of such a policy.
Despite measures taken by the IRDA and aggressive marketing by insurance firms, India is under-penetrated. According to a Swiss report, quoted by IRDA in its annual report, insurance penetration in India stood at a paltry 4.6 percent by 2008 end. Of this, the lion’s share, or 4 percent, went to life insurance, with non-life left with only 0.6 percent. The total business in India was worth $47 billion ( Rs. 2,20,900 crore) by 2008.
Illustration: Naorem Ashish
abhishek.anand@fwtehelka.com
