Ministerial Endorsement: Will PM demand an apology as Sushma Swaraj once did?

Should Minister in Office endorse private products or services?

Will Prime Minister Narendra Modi demand an apology from Reliance Jio for using his photographs in the launching advertisement?

But should he demand an apology?

Image 1: Font page ad with PM's photo

The image 1 shows that Reliance Jio gave front page full page ad in leading national news papers with PM Narendra Modi's photo. It seems that PM is endorsing the product.

Well, there may be nothing wrong in this. But the question people may ask is will PM be accountable for the products / services unobjectionably endorsed with his photographs or quotes?

We question this because we are debating an issue of making brand ambassadors accountable for the products and services endorsed by them. Read this. (The issue was in limelight because of Maggie ban and Mahendrasinh Dhoni)

Now, as many of our parliamentarians are willing to make celebrities liable for the products / services they endorse, shall we not question if Ministers (holding key positions in decision making) do not object to private companies making use of their quote or photographs in their advertisement? And if they do not object can we make them also accountable as willy-nilly they are giving consent to it.

Image 2

Well, this reminds of 2003. When Coke and Pepsi were facing charges of pesticides in the cold-drinks, there was nationwide hullabaloo. The image 2 is from The Times of India of 3 August 2003. The Bajpayee government was under tremendous pressure. After several checks in national and international laboratories, the then Health and Family Welfare Minister Sushma Swaraj made a statement in Parliament of India that Pepsi and Coke are SAFE. The statement was made on 21st August 2003 in the Lok Sabha: ". . . all these (soft drinks) are well within the safety limits. . . .".

Image 3: Minister quoted in Pepsi Ad

On 22nd August 2003, Pepsi smartly used this quote and gave half page advertisement in leading news papers. Pepsi directly quoted Health and Family Welfare Minister in the ad. See Image 3. The ad said that the Minister's faith in the product in restored and refreshed.

Somehow, this did not go well with the minister and she objected. May be she objected on personal moral grounds. May be she thought is not advisable for company to use Minister to endorse the product. But that was a classic case. It remains as a lighthouse to guide us in such matters of ministerial endorsement of private services and products.

The company has give yet another ad on the same spot in all newspapers and APOLOGIZE. See image 4 below.

Well, can we expect similar sort of action from Prime Minister? I am looking forward to see that very soon PMO will ask for an apology from Reliance Jio for making use of PM's photograph in the advertisement.

Here are some of the news regarding the controversy:

1) PM endorsement is Wrong

2) Isn't it wrong?

3) Right or Wrong: Debate is On

Image 4: Minister's Objection.

Why does this become so controversial?

One of the many reasons is PM Narendra Modi's relations with Mukesh Ambani.

The photograph of Mukesh Ambani putting his hand on the shoulder-back of PM of India and PM's hand holding Neeta Ambani's (wife of Mukesh Ambani) hand along with Mukesh Ambani's. Obviously, hand holding is not an issue. But the way Mukesh Ambani puts his hand to 'support' PM sounds very curious. This was equally controversial. Here is interesting take on this hand holding and hand-support. It is in Hindi language. And it was this image which the critics of this endorsement seems to be seeing in the white background of the advertisement:

Ek Villain: Tramps in Films and Literature

Ek Villain - Hindi Film Poster

#EkVillainFilm Mohit Suri has matured his art of portraying psychopaths and the evil within the human psyche with Ek Villain Hindi Film ... fromZeher, Kalyug, Raaz – The Mystery Continues, Murder 2, Ashiqui2 to Ek Villain. Let us remember the Master of this genre - Edgar Allan Poe - and his short stories: A Cask of Amontillado, A Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe/The Black Cat.
Ek Villian takes its credit in screenplay and editing... Beautiful use of flashback technique... timing of scenes is perfectly edited. Most Mohit-Suri-Films have this in common.
Ritesh Deshmukh: It was surprise to see him 'acting' and freeing himself from slapstick comedies.
Siddharth Malhotra: Has done justice to his role.
Shraddha Kapoor: Normally, females don't have much to do in such movies. They are portrayed on Theresa-Complex - good Samaritan makes ideal sacrificial lamb.

(This is stub - will be developed with observations from characters in Waiting for Godot and other literature and films)

Message from Bhagwat Gita

One important message from each chapter / adhyay of Bhagwat Gita

Wazir: Pawn's Story of Pawn's Revenge over the King

Wazir: The Hindi Film

The journey of pawn from powerless insignificant identity to powerful Wazir - an equivalent to Queen in modern game of Chess is not an impossible one. If it goes on moving ahead with persistence, perseverance, determination and diligence, it can metamorphose itself into powerful identity. But as it is not possible in each and every game of chess to see that pawn reaches to final home-square to gain the power of Wazir, similarly, in real life too, it is only in the rarest of the rare stories that it happens. There are examples like Dhirubhai Ambani, J K Rowling, Oprah Winfrey . . . the list may include many more who's who.

The story of such pawns turning into wazirs, or the story of rags to riches is a very famous and popular literary archetype (ref: Northrop Frye's The Archetypal Criticism). In popular culture, popular films and literature also, this trope is quite in vogue.

But this concept is not much loved by social reformers and revolutionaries. They are bitter critics of this fairy-tale-sort-of-story. They prefer to narrate things more realistically. They argue that only a handful of exceptionally capable and/or mainly lucky persons are actually able to travel the "rags to riches" road, being the great publicity given to such cases a natural Survivorship bias illusion, which help keep the masses of the working class and the working poor in line, preventing them from agitating for an overall collective change in the direction of social equality (Wikipedia). Some of the interesting books with the similar theme are:

• Peña, Manuel. "American Mythologies" Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2012. ISBN 9781409442745

• Weiss, Richard. "The American Myth of Success: From Horatio Alger to Norman Vincent Peale" Basic Books, 1969. ISBN 0252060431

These observations are quite true. The Hindi film Wazir narrates a story of the struggle between the helpless pawn against an evil King. Not all pawns are lucky enough to metamorphose into powerful wazir to avenge itself against the evil King. Most of them, standing in front row, fight against the likes of theirs, and get sacrificed in protecting the evil kings. If they are intelligent enough, they may open the gateway for Elephant (Rook) or Camel (Bishop), who in turn can checkmate the revenge of pawn. But that too is some thing happening in fairy tales. Realistic commentators or narrators or viewers may not get convinced with it. In reality, most of such stories remains unavenged.

At the same time, this film also raised important question against the idea of 'talent' and 'merit'. If one extraordinarily talented or meritorious persona (Wazir / Queen) over shadows innumerable 'mediocre' or average individuals (pawns), how far is it fair enough to sing the songs of talent / merit? The popular culture and society loves to sing such songs. May be because it gives them an illusory dream that some day they also will be meritorious and their talent will also be respected, and if it is not, the fault lies with them - they are not meritorious, they are not talented! They will not have enough confidence to tell their stories with confidence.  Bejoy Nambiar (Director), Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chopra (Writers) gave voice to the struggle of a pawn named Pandit Omkar Nath Dhar (Amitabh Bachchan) against the talented politician who can blind people's eyes to become very popular with his language of peace and love, who in reality has strong connections with terrorist groups. Had it been not popular Hindi cinema, and has it been some realistic film, Pandit Omkar, like real Kashmiri Pandits pushed out of their homes to dwell in refugee camps, would have died an unknown death. But as it is a piece of feel-good cinema, he gets an elephant (Rook) to take his revenge. We see, in real world of human existence, millions of pawns meeting dead ends and lost in the oblivion from public memory as their stories rarely find an appropriate bard.





This film narrates the revenge story of one such pawn who reaches the final square to become Wazir. But that was not enough, he has sacrifice itself and make a way open for the Elephant (Rook) to rush in where even eagle dare to and end the game with checkmate. Kudos to Bejoy Nambiar (Director), Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chopra (Writers). The film is worth watching. Such thrillers are not watched without the presence of mind. It is normally advised not to carry the mind to the cinema-theatre to enjoy the films. But the watchers of this genre know it very well that they have to keep their minds on the toes. And as we watch with awakened mind, we start sensing at some point in the film - the secret which the film makers wants to keep. So, it is not a surprise when it is revealed. Yes, Sujoy Ghosh's Kahaani (2012) had that secret, very well kept till end and did not allow the viewers to doubt it. Wazir is, surely not, Kahaani. But Wazir has master performances by Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar. It has some very well written dialogues. Its ups is not only script, which has some loops, but it is performance and dialogues.The movies is worth watching.

It is well said:  

BE NOT ashamed, my brothers, to stand before the proud and the powerful with your white robe of simpleness.Let your crown be of humility, your freedom the freedom of the soul.Build God's throne daily upon the ample bareness of your poverty, and know that what is huge is not great and pride is not everlasting. ~ Rabindranath Tagore

Sardar - The Iron Man of India

Ketan Mehta's Sardar - The Iron Man of India

Ketan Mehta's ‪#‎Sardar‬ is not only bio-pic but a well researched docu-drama. It precisely records the in-house meetings and brainstorming discussions between leaders on how and in which form India can become ‪#‎independent‬ country. Ultimately, as no midway was sought and ‪#‎Gandhi‬'s idea of giving reigns of Indian union to Mohmad Ali Jinnah - Muslim League was not acceptable to other Congress leaders. The script is well researched and supported by evidences of real video footage and news paper headlines. The research n script by ‪#‎VijayTendulkar‬ makes this movie worth watching, again and again. The magical touch of his script and Ketan Mehta's direction has saved this film from being dull documentary. It has some memorable dramatic sequences which keeps interested in the film alive till end and even though very talkative, the film gives wonderful cinematic experience.

Best of all sequences: All the meetings on division of resources (money, army, air force, secret agency etc) between India and Pakistan - is beautifully portrayed; inclusion of Kashmir, Hyderabad and Junagadh is captured very well; the central struggle between Sardar and Jinnah gives best cinematic moments.

The communal riots and massacre in the backdrop gives elegiac colour tone to the texture of this film, which is brightened with fresh cinematography and shooting at real life locations like Shimla, Junagadh, Delhi.

Yes. The film presented Sardar Patel larger than life. Ketan Mehta directed most of the freedom fighters as "types" - representing a particular "image" for which they are popularly known rather than humans with strength n weaknesses. Jinnah, Nehru, Maulana, Abdul gafar khan, mountbaton, gandhi - all are portrayed with similar touch. And as this was Sardar's film, he is a bit exaggerated.

Rather than the characters, the historical background is presented very well.

The film can be viewed on YouTube: