Jaago Re - Tata Tea

The roads here suck.
There is just too much corruption.
Look at the horrible traffic condition.
Another murder, the crime control has gone down to dogs.
It’s impossible for women to walk alone on the streets after dark.
You can’t get anything done without bribing the officials.
And so on…

Complaining is but a second nature. But someone did hear us out. TATA Tea this time. I am not saying it’s purely a socially conscious move. But so what, they are here to do business and if they can do something socially relevant with energy and muscle of being “the TATA’s”, then why not.

The Jaago Re campaign has been in existence since Oct 2007. With this campaign they have successfully clubbed all 4 of their brand into 1 giant “Tata Tea” brand.

Jaago Re campaign was all talk with interesting TVC till the recent launch of the http://www.jaagore.com/ website.

We all know how important it is to stop complaining and start voting. But the fact remains that getting oneself on the voters list is a mammoth task.

The Jaago Re “1 Billion Votes” movement primarily aims at making the process of enlisting oneself into the voters list a breeze. I am talking from my own experience. The entire online registrations process took not more than 3 minutes. The second step is to submit the online form, age proof and address proof to the electoral registration office which nearest to your residence (in my case it is a mere 4 km from where I stay).
Thereafter I will be alerted through email and via sms (that is if I choose so) about the status of my application.

For people who have already registered to vote, registering with Jaago Re still makes sense. Haven’t we heard of people whose name mysteriously disappear from the list on the day of the voting? For people who have changed cities and have no clue where to go to update the status, http://www.jaagore.com/ is the answer.

As for the website
– It’s fairly simple and easy to navigate.
– Quite self explanatory and matter of fact
– Interesting interface
– A comprehensive list of FAQ’s and sensible bifurcation between the different kinds of voters’ query.
– Good content from information and educational point of view.

This movement is aimed at the youth and for a country whose majority of population is under the age of 35 years this targeting makes a lot of sense.

Tea drinking is as deeply engraved into our lifestyles. For Indians (especially North Indians) tea is more than just another beverage. Its part of our culture. Most people I know can’t imagine a day without a hot steaming cup of tea. Now Tata Tea’s Jaago Re has taken this physically and emotionally stimulating beverage to another level. The level of Social awakening.

So if you already don’t vote and are not listed on the electoral list do so now. Here is the link for your convenience.
http://www.jaagore.com/.

Balika Vadhu on Colors

I have read quite a few blog posts lambasting the serial “Balika Vadhu” being shown on Colors.
Well I don’t agree.
“Balika Vadhu” is set up in the rural Rajasthan and as the name suggests, the serial is about the ill practice of Child Marriage.
We might want to believe otherwise but the fact of the matter remains that Child Marriage although illegal is still quite prevalent in India.
Personally I had never given too much thought to this practice ever before till I saw a few episodes. Its heart wrenching to realize that these customs are being followed with enthusiasm almost 60 years post the independence.
The young girl who plays the role of the protagonist “Anandi” is quite convincing in her act. I don’t want to get into the story and the screenplay here. That’s for you to watch.

What I wanted to write about was the fact that after a long time I have found a prime time soap that I quite like. I am no fan of Hindi Saas Bahu kinda soaps. The only programs I like watching other than the good old “Friends” are the reality shows and now even these are putting me off.
But Balika Vadhu is different. Its keeps me hooked. The timing (Monday to Friday, 8:00 pm) doesn’t suit me so I end up watching the back to back reruns on Saturday afternoons. Balika Vadhu has topped the TRP ratings with 4.2 points.
What has worked for the serial is the plot. Child marriage is something completely alien to the Urban TV watchers. We have hardly seen any movies and not even a single serial made on this plot. The fact that this custom is so alien yet so prevalent in rural India makes this serial a hit. It’s a definite risk that the content team from Colors has taken and no doubt it has worked in their favor. They have touched upon a custom deeply engraved in our rural society. It is something we don’t see or experience in our city lives and that’s exactly what gives this program the punch. And this is contrary to the latest trend where the focus is on the hip and urban youth. And this proves only 1 fact – “there is no formula for success”.

It’s been on air for about 3 months and so far so good. Not sure how it will turn out in the due course of time. But as of now – I am loving it!!!

Do we see a pattern here???

Check this out:

Shah Rukh Khan is the Brand Ambassador for Pepsi, and sooner than later we find Aamir Khan as the brand ambassador for Coke.
Shah Rukh Khan sells Sunfeast, and Aamir has been recently signed for selling Monaco from Parle
Shah Rukh Khan endorses Nokia and lately we see Aamir doing so for Samsung
Shah Rukh Khan has been screaming Hyundai Santro and now I10 for a long time and after some delay we saw Aamir Khan subtly promoting Toyota Innova

Shah Rukh Khan started promoting the Tag Heuer and Aamir followed suit with Titan.
And the most recent one, where Shah Rukh Khan has been the face of Dish TV, Aamir has started selling Tata Sky

Is this the simple formula the industry has been following or is it mere coincidence?

Moment of Truth

The show is finally being aired in India.9:00 pm Tuesday on Star World. And man it is scary. After creating quite a furor in USA the show has now found its way to the Indian television.
The contestants are asked personal questions and they have to say the truth to win money. Now as you go on from one question to another the prize money increases and simultaneously the questions become more and more personal. The moment you answer a question untruthfully you lose the game and all your money. And yes there is a polygraph in use so one can’t escape lying either.

Now let me give you an example of the kind of questions that are asked -
To a guy who has been married for 3 years – “one of the reasons why you haven’t had a child with your wife yet is because you aren’t sure if you want to spend the rest of your life with her”. This question was asked with the wifey sitting right in front of him. Now that is a complete Catch 22 Situation. If he says the truth he is dead but at least rich. If he says a lie, it will anyways be detected.
And imagine the plight of the wife. Yes it surely would have hurt.

Take another – This guy was asked “if he thought he was superior to his friends when looks where concerned”… huh… poor thing… there goes all the narcissism for the rest of his life…

This one is my personal fav – to a physical trainer – “have you touched your female clients more that it was needed”…hehe… I surely hope he won some money as he would have definitely lost his job after that…

Actually there are a lot more which get even more personal. But since mine is a Universal Blog I wont venture into those. Although I have managed to see only 1 episode till now I am sure there are lot more firecrackers in there. Do catch it.

Oh no not again - The Indian Idol 3 Fiasco!!!

How can Prashant win???
No ways is he better than Amit Paul. Whatever happened to that “may the best man win” spirit?? Amit Paul was a magician with his voice. His soulful numbers and that ever innocent style of singing was such a pleasant refresher.
Prashant on the other hand is a very mediocre singer with nothing outstanding in either his voice quality or his style.

Yet again the public has voted to choose a wrong guy. He is in no way capable of shouldering the responsibility. What ever happened to the last Indian Idol (see I don’t even remember the name)?

When will these polarized voting patterns give way to a more nationalistic approach? This is a clear example of how a fraternity took on itself to ensure that one amongst them reach this position.

I could sense the clear despair among the judges too when the results were announced. None had expected Prashant to win the final and become the third Indian Idol.

I guess we will have to live with this kind of erratic results till better judgment prevails.

Whatever said and done, Amit Paul is and will be my Indian Idol. He has in him to become a great singer and I am sure the who’s who of music industry would have already noticed that.

As for Prashant, I have nothing against him. He looks like a nice guy to me and is a perfect example of a rags to riches story, yet another guy to make the “Indian middle class” proud. But as it is rightly said that with power comes great responsibility. And that’s where I have my doubts!!!!