Ad Review: 'Google search'

• Ad name: Google Search REUNION
• Brand: Google
• Agency: Ogilvy India
• About: Baldev is an elderly Hindu man in Delhi, India and Yusuf is an elderly Muslim man in Lahore, Pakistan. One day Baldev shows his grand-daughter Suman an old, dated photograph of two children. He tells her that it is himself and his best friend Yusuf when they lived in Lahore prior to the partition of India in 1947. In front of his house there was a park with a gate made in the stone age and each evening he and Yusuf would fly kites there and steal "Jhajhariya" from Yusuf's family sweet shop. After partition, the two friends got separated. Many decades later, Baldev still thinks of Yusuf and misses him. Using details of her grandfather's story, Suman is able to locate Yusuf's sweet shop in Lahore via Google. She connects with his grandson who helps her to plan a surprise visit from Yusuf on Baldev's birthday. 
• Relevance: The ad shows how this magic named Google has become the part and parcel of our lives. For getting information about weather, flight details, addresses, recipes and almost everything, we use Google on laptops, desktops and now on smartphones and portable devices. But this ad depicts, how Google can be used in a greater sense. Connecting two friends, two communities and two countries at large. Not many advertisements leave you with goosebumps! 
• Recollection factor: The length of this ad is long but while viewing it, one does not feel that it is dragging. It touches the emotional chord and almost gives tears at the end when Baldev and Yusuf meet. It shows that still there is a strong and deep connection between the so called 'arch-rivals' INDO-PAK and it depicts the same very sensitively. The ad was released in December and very soon reached over a million views on youtube. Most importantly it was loved by both the Indians and the Pakistanis. It became popular on facebook too and many people shared it. The 'Aman ki Asha' campaign could not achieve such praise whereas Ogilvy India has created a marvel once again and proved their worth. This ad will be remembered by today's 'gadget-freak' generation for a long time. 
• My Rating: full 5 stars for this ad.

My New Year Resolution!

Its a new year, 2014!! Well already a month has passed. The previous year was really good because of many reasons but the most important one was that I stepped into my post-grad life which would be making my career, my profession. The one which I have dreamed of. The one which I have also written everywhere on the social websites. My aspiration of being an advertising professional.

So, one day I asked myself in self-realization, that what extra am I doing to become one of those, besides pursuing an Ad. & P.R. course and doing internships in the agency offices? Knowing that GOOGLE has answers to all our questions, I typed "ADVERTISING INDUSTRY" in the search box. I know that all the important results that GOOGLE gives are on the first page itself. But that day I clicked on the next page as my satisfaction level did not achieve a break-even point from the first page results like 'wikipedia' or some crap slideshows or PDFs which we generally use to copy-paste in our project assignments. Something unusual happened and I got my answer from the second page. 'Ad critique' was written in one of the results and a link to a blog was given. On opening it, I found that the last blog that person has written was 5 years back in 2009 and he was not an Indian that I could find from the peregrine ads which he had reviewed in his blog. 

Thanks to that blog, I got my answer. Someone would reckon it as cheating but no! I just got the idea of making an 'Indian remake' of that blog. Haha! Jokes apart,  I got an idea that I should lessen reviewing movies and increase reviewing advertisements. This would, in turn, help me in building my portfolio. So one can call this as my new year resolution but yes I will be reviewing different ads now on my blog.

I got my answer from GOOGLE. Thus my first ad review will be of GOOGLE as well. Coming soon... :) 

"Dhoom-3": Review

Movies of Aamir Khan are always awaited by cinema lovers as he does something new every time which the other Khans do not. The inebriation of DHOOM-3 was all around since the news of Aamir becoming a part of it. So has the movie created 'DHOOM' on the big screen? Let's find out:-


PROS-
1. The cinematography is picturesque and Hollywood-like. Its an all new movie watching experience.
2. The 'bike-chase' sequences and the 'thief-escape' sequences, for which the Dhoom series is known, have gone to another level which is just fabulous and adrenaline pumping. One gets stunned when Aamir on his bike escapes in a new way every time.
3. Aamir and Abhishek are the soul of the movie, while Katrina's role can be termed as a guest appearance, though she looks beautiful. No matter whatever bad someone says about Uday Chopra, he is the only one who brings the comedy quotient in the movie with his funny one-liners. Jackie Shroff and the kid who plays little Aamir justify their roles.
4. There is a sort of anti-climax before the interval which makes the other half more interesting.

CONS-1. The emotional quotient which has been put in the movie drags the film a little and makes it a bit long.
2. The humongous hype rose expectations of an awe-inspiring movie experience. But the movie couldn't match that level.

Still Dhoom-3 does what it promised, "The year will end in a Dhoom!" For sure! Box office collections will tell the story! Hats-off to the director, Vijay Krishna Acharya, who gave a head-ache of 'Tashan' earlier. He has surely learnt quite a lot since then. Go, watch and give your eyes a treat!! 4stars ****!! 

P.S.- I appreciate the parents, with their little kid, sitting next to me in the hall for giving nice values to the child who amazed me by keeping quiet till the end. Also, ignore all those ridiculous Whatsapp messages saying that there is Kamal Hassan in the movie. 

A Father-Son Relationship

When I was a kid, I had a fear of my father. Because on my every mischief or misconduct, mummy used to say, "Papa se keh doongi...phir dekhna!" I am sure, not only my mother but many mothers also had this 'weapon' of complaining about the mischief of kids to the fathers. Actually fathers were not the ones to get afraid of, but mothers created this thinking in the innocent minds of their kids. I was one of them who built an 'F for Father-F for Fear' image in my mind as I found my father to be a bit short-tempered at that time. So I used to be very obedient in front of him, which I am originally too, but I showed a bit extra sincerity to him. Which in turn resulted in my not talking to him much. Often he would come late at night because of his work and business, by the time I had already slept. And sometimes in the morning, without disturbing his sleep I would get ready and go to school. Thus we didn't get time to sit together and talk. It was only after his heart surgery that he started getting up early and went for his walk, reduced quite an amount of weight and got fitter.

My school was only half a kilometers away from home. From an early age I started going to school by myself. My studies and the parent-teacher meetings were always seen by my grandfather. Thus the things looked after by my father during my school days were-- to pay the fees, buy me the uniform and the books and to sign the report cards.

I knew this was not a positive image I was building of my father until one day when something unusual happened. I had to complete a Hindi essay on "India's growing Population" and had got a remark of 'incomplete work' by my teacher in the notebook. I used to complete all my home-works before having dinner. But that day I was sitting with my copy till 11pm. Papa came into my room, asked why I was still awake and saw that 'incomplete work' remark in my copy. I said, "Papa I have to complete this essay and I am not getting any ideas to write." My father is an exceptional writer, a good speaker and a great intellectual. So much so that one can give him any topic in Hindi to write and he will fill pages. Hence, an essay on India's population was child's play for him. He sat near me and dictated each word of the essay. I still remember its first line- "Kehte hain Bharat mei har varsh ek Australia janm leta hai". I couldn't in my dreams think of such a line. He dictated me and went to sleep. Reading the whole essay from first to last I was like hats-off, what an essay! I received a 'very-good' remark the other day under the essay and I showed it to papa. He just smiled.

Another instance happened when our school was taking students for a tour to Mumbai-Goa. Mummy and Didi had already rejected my plea as they thought a seventh standard boy was too small to go to a school trip as Didi had gone to such a trip for the first time when she was in 11th class. The file then shifted to my father's desk. Now his signature was what I needed to give a company to my other friends who were going. He agreed. He agreed the moment I asked him! He said, "chhota hai to kya hua? Akela nahi jayega to seekhega kaise!" Like today's modern children, at that time we did not carry mobile phones or tablets with us. During the tour when I called home from a P.C.O., papa picked the call and said, "Kaisa hai betu? Kahan-kahan ghoom rahe ho?!" Papa had not called me "betu" before that. I was teary-eyed in happiness. My fear gradually shifted to respect and love for him.    

With the daily 'Dainik Bhaskar', 'Baal-Bhaskar' supplement for children used to come. One day there was an advertisement in it of a competition being held by 'Cartoon Network'- 'Powerpuff Generation'. Behind the ad there was a form to fill by the children under 15 years of age to participate in that competition which gave the winners a chance to host a popular cartoon show on Cartoon Network kids channel. I used to solve the crosswords and puzzles which came in Baal-Bhaskar and always kept a pen in my hand while reading it. Thus I filled that form also just for fun. Watching the ads of the competition on TV, I realized its genuineness and thought to submit that form on the given address. I asked papa to submit it at the given place as it was on the same route by which he used to go to the city. He read my form before dropping it in the box and appreciated me that I had filled it very creatively. It was quite a happy co-incidence that on my birthday I got a call from Cartoon Network, Mumbai. They said that my form had been selected and I needed to give an audition. Suddenly my 14th birthday turned more special. Somewhere in his mind Papa knew that I would get selected.   I gave auditions, cleared them. I was called Mumbai for the shooting and received 2 flight tickets, free stay and food at a good 4-star hotel, all being sponsored by the channel. Papa was so happy, he left all his works and came with me for the shoot. He took my photographs in the hotel, went with me everywhere the channel guys were taking us. Even waited at the studio for my shoot to complete as parents were not allowed to see the kids when the shooting took place. I could see happiness on his face which I had not seen before when the channel's cameraman was busy taking my photographs. I asked the cameraman to take a picture of me and papa too with our camera. Returning home, papa made sure that every newspaper publishes my news as I was the only kid from North-India to get selected in that competition.

Papa took us to places during the holidays without bothering much about money. We measured almost all of the country's amazing destinations. Darjeeling, Gangtok, Nainital, Pachmarhi, Goa and many other places. I wish I could go with mummy-papa to Malaysia-Singapore and Kashmir as well. He has always worked to give us a better status of living. Be it computer, HD TV or installing new electronics in our house to buying us expensive things, he never hesitated in doing it. Now I can proudly say to my friends that both of my parents are on 'Whatsapp' and possess 'facebook' accounts.

There were many other things that I could attain because of my father. He had been a huge follower of music, still is, and is himself a great singer. Even when he sings inside the bathroom, his voice echoes and goes straight into one's heart. No doubt he is the best bathroom singer ever. He has won many singing competitions and both I and my sister got singing voices in our genes because of him. We could also get the experience of singing as chorus in a 'Bhajan' cassette in which he was the lead singer. He kept a guruji for us to teach classical music, kept another guruji so that I could learn tabla, and took me to his Guru to teach me how to play guitar. Because of all this, both of his children won many singing competitions and got praise in school/college. I became popular in my school just because I could sing. Now whenever we two go by car somewhere, and any new song plays on F.M., papa is the first to sing along with it.

I could clear the All India Radio theatre auditions also just because he motivated us right from the beginning to take part in several functions at the society and school level. The 'Akashvaani' people gave me cheques of Rs.150/- which was my first pay. Papa opened my bank account during that time.

He never forced his opinions on his children and will never do so! He did not tell either of us what to opt for at the higher secondary. He did not tell what subject to take at the graduation level. He was clear in his mind that let children take their own decisions of what they want to do in their lives. As a result of his motivation, Didi could do well as a Radio Jockey before her marriage. Also, I could top every semester at my college during my B.J.M.C.

Yes! One thing he always told me whenever he saw me wasting time on computer games or watching T.V. that I should use my creative skills to a greater extent and that advertising industry is doing quite good these days and is always in search of creative people. I ignored him that time and did not realize the importance of the direction he wanted to give me. After completing my mass communication and journalism, so many options got opened in front of me which not only confused me but started depressing me also that what I am going to do! Suddenly his saying flashed in my mind. I filled the forms of all the top colleges which had advertising courses. Papa motivated me at every step from filling the forms to dropping me at the station so that I could go to Delhi or Bhopal where the exam centres were. I remember we ran together on the platform to catch the train when the coach was far away from where we were waiting. A 53-year-old heart patient ran at the same speed at which a 21-year-old  was running.

After my admission in Bhopal, we searched for rooms in heavy rain. Papa's way of talking to the different landlords was so socially correct that an unknown lady was ready to help us and gave her number to us. I couldn't have searched for my accommodation without papa that day as I cannot talk to people like the way he does. I don't know why I didn't attain this quality through the family genes. We had not eaten anything since morning and rested only after I had found a room. During the night also he was worried about how I will get settled in that room, what things I needed to buy as I had left home for the first time for studies. When he finally dropped me at my PG, seeing me off he said everything is going to be fine. I was about to cry and I knew he was also holding his emotions and he went away. That was the day I came to know how much I loved him!

From calling me every day, asking how everything is going to telling me what's going on back home, from fulfilling my every wish, whether big or small, to narrating me the episode of "24", papa has been and is with me every time and we gradually developed such a bond over time that now we can easily discuss things that we couldn't do before, which makes me feel that yes I am the son of the house.

You have supported me at every step and done whatever you could do for me! I promise, in future, no matter how successful/unsuccessful I become, I will proudly say that I am the son of Mr. Sanjay Maheshwari!

Love you Papa!

Happy Birthday!

Advertisements and Young India

Advertisements in India are expressions of what youth wants, what youth sees and what youth wants to live as a whole. The reason I say 'expressions' is because of some popular taglines like, 'Jo tera hai vo mera hai', 'Darr ke aage jeet hai', 'Aaj kuch toofaani karte hain', 'Do what you love-love what you do', and so on and so on are all expressions which convey the thinking, the attitude of young India. Again, the reason I say 'Young India' is not only because all such ads are made keeping in mind the youth, but the majority of Indian population is also youth.

When advertisements are made, the main thinking behind them are the consumers or the target audience. The taglines I mentioned were conveying some sort of thinking of the target audience for which the product/service had been made, i.e., the youth.

When we talk about violations of ethics in making these youth-targeted ads, then an image reflects somewhere in the back of our minds. The image of 2-3 persons jumping around buildings, image of a person doing crazy stunts on a bike, image of an almost naked girl coming out of the pool, image of a boy who is running to save himself from a group of girls just because he sprayed a deodorant on his body or the image of a film-star suggesting the members of our Cricket team to play wild on the field putting behaviour aside.
What an irony! I was talking about 'an image', but so many came into my mind.
Thus, such advertisements are a mere exaggeration of what youth wants. One needs to change with time because change is the only constant thing in this world. The ad-makers can't bring back the era when ads were just about "Lijjat paapad", "Saundarya saabun Nirma" or "VIP vests and briefs", because that era has gone. Hence, putting the stamp of 'violation of ethics' on today's next-gen ads is wrong in my view.
If you want to verify, go and ask a group of students whether they like today's ads or not, or whether those ads make an impact on their minds or not! I am pretty sure that the majority answers will be affirmative, because even I enjoy watching such ads.          

Movie Review: 'Madras Cafe'

New era movie makers can bring almost any plot on the screen. When 'Vicky Donor' released, nobody could think of such an unimaginable story. Shoojit Sircar(director) does a fabulous job once again, and In all the 3 departments that make a movie brilliant, 1.Research--2.Screenplay--3.Editing.

A youth born after the assassination of Late Mr.Rajiv Gandhi (ex-P.M. of India) had only heard the story of his killing either from his/her parents or read somewhere in books/internet. Thus one could find great number of youth inside the hall and in the ticket line. 

This film narrates the whole incident in a very interesting and brainy manner. The affliction and agony that the Sri Lankan people suffered at that time and the loss of the lives of the soldiers of I.P.K.F.(Indian Peace-keeping Force) has been brought to the screen wonderfully. After 'Ek tha Tiger', R&AW(Research & Analysis Wing, India) has come into limelight and several movies, like 'Agent Vinod', 'D-Day' and now Madras Cafe, have connoted the lives of R&AW agents. John Abraham(Major Vikram) plays the role of the same and you could relate his character from the one he played in 'Force', yet he was efficient and toned enough for it. After a poor exhibition of her acting skills and a dubbed voice in 'Rockstar', Nargis Fakhri gets a fair chance. She plays the role of a foreign war correspondent and gets to speak English dialogues in her own voice in this movie which she does, not so badly. The new face Rashi Khanna performs well as the wife of John. Non-actor persons like Siddharth Basu(Producer of game shows like K.B.C. and Dus ka Dum), Piyush Pandey(Chairman of O&M advertising agency) and Dibang(Senior Journalist) have also been given a chance to play the roles of the R&AW officials which they carry off well. 

The film could not release in Tamil Nadu owing to the protests by Tamil diaspora as they felt that there is a poor depiction of the L.T.T.E.(Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) rebels in the movie and Prabhakaran (Bhaskaran in the movie) has been shown as a villain. Still the movie could manage the first week collections close to Rs.30 Crores and well deserved 30 crores. One has to applaud John Abraham and his production house for coming up with such unique creations and the diversity in the direction of Shoojit Sircar.

In the end, the movie creates a feel of sympathy for Rajiv Gandhi which the anti-Congress people would mind in the on-going corrupt political scenario of the U.P.A.(United Progressive Alliance) lead country. On the other hand, the people aged 50+ who found an ideal leader in Rajiv Gandhi would love the movie. Yet the movie brings us closer to what changed the political history of India and which should be known to every Indian! Its time to get off the 'Chennai Express' and have a cup of 'Madras Cafe'!! 4 stars ****

The Impact of Cinema in my life!

Cinema in India has completed its glorious 100 years on the 3rd of May, 2013. Indian Film Industry has always been the greatest in terms of number of movies produced and released in a year. So many talented directors, actors, actresses and people related to films have come and gone but the industry stands tall on its feet in its centenary year.
Since my birth, the 'Khans' of the industry have been making their mark. During my childhood days if someone asked me who was my favourite actor,  I would instantly say ShahRukh Khan. His movies like DDLJ, Kuch kuch Hota hai, K3G, Mohabbatein, Baadshah were all great blockbusters at that time and depicted SRK as the personality which every boy would want to be.
As years passed and some brains deposited in my head, I changed my gear to meaningful cinema. And that meaning was certainly provided in the movies of Aamir Khan. Be it Lagaan (which teaches you being in unity and spirit), be it Rang De Basanti (which awakens the youth and is my all time favourite movie), be it Taare Zameen Par (which tells that every child is unique in his/her own way and in which I cried for the first time in theatre) and be it many other movies like Sarfarosh, Fanaa and not to forget 3 Idiots (the highest grossing movie of India ever), all are masterpieces.
The impact of cinema is such that one can't adhere to a single favourite. There will always be at least 2 to 3 favourites at a time. Not only actors, but as I grew up into an 18 above, beautiful heroines also started blowing up my mind (and also taking away my heart sometimes). Let me mention some names like Kareena Kapoor or Deepika Padukone who are not only known for their acting skills but also for their scintillating looks.
Talking about Bollywood music, Oh! I just love every new musical song of A.R.Rahman, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Vishal-Shekhar, Amit Trivedi, Pritam (and even Himesh Reshammiya sometimes). Many of my friends like to hear English songs but my phone's playlist is always full of Hindi music.
The style and glamour that the movies offer to a young mind, makes another important impact. And I confess that I would like to keep Ranbir Kapoor's hairstyle that he kept in in the movie Rockstar, but still I haven't been able to copy him.
The off-beat, parallel cinema also keeps moving side-by-side amongst the blockbuster entertainers and movies like Udaan, Kahaani, Paan Singh Tomar, Gangs of Wasseypur, etc. are good examples of it.
A lot of new young directors and talented actors are making the film industry stronger and likelier to watch. May this celebration of cinema keeps going on and on!