Sunday, September 25, 2016

Micromax Informatics: From Micro to Maximum


(Recalling a dated piece on the request of a few readers who follow my India Infoline thought pieces)

Sudhir Raikar, IIFL | Mumbai | January 06, 201509:32 IST
Courtesy: http://www.indiainfoline.com/article/news-top-story/micromax-informatics-from-micro-to-maximum-115010600043_1.html


Having marked its debut as a fringe player in a seller’s market dominated by the big fish, Micromax is today an undeniable force to reckon with, that too in a demanding and daunting smartphone bazaar of multiple choices. The news of the proposed IPO of this top-rung player represents a success story of several fertile breakthroughs rolled into one mobile phenomenon.

When analysts and media experts get busy scripting your evolution as they see it, you know you have arrived. Micromax knows that pretty well. Till date, many success factors have been attributed to the Micromax success story – some have seen it as a joyride on the wheels of a smart China-made arbitrage, others point out the company’s knack of reading the Indian customer’s mind and there are many who single out the company’s penchant for pocket-friendly innovation.

Indeed, all these elements have fuelled the company’s meteoric rise in the mobile space but the real engine of its success has been its insatiable appetite for calculated risk. After all, the market was open to other domestic players like Micromax with the same set of opportunities and possibilities beckoning them. It’s only the ingredient of risk, almost synonymous with innovation, which makes the Micromax evolution truly stand out - gutsy and gusty in the same breath.

Talk of smartphones, tablets, LED TVs or data cards, not many makers can match the Micromax acumen when it comes to fixing value and price exactly in line with the customer’s aspiration. Not many founders would have the time, inclination or the motivation to personally visit retail stores to gauge ‘live’ customer feedback. Not many strategists would be as keen to make the everyday needs of customers central to their R & D plans. Not many spenders would risk the gamble of big ticket celebrity endorsements to lure target markets, a move that could well have boomeranged with disastrous financial consequences.

No wonder, the likes of Sequoia Capital and Sandstone Capital chose to back the then non-entity proposition with their minority stakes. No wonder, Micromax made quick inroads into the rustic Indian marketspace with a rooted,matter-of-fact proposition like the 30-day battery backup. No wonder, Micromax was the first player to introduce dual SIM phones leaving the Nokias and the Samsungs with a trail, easy to emulate in design but impossible to match in price. No wonder, the company launched novel factory-packaged products with unfailing regularity and also distributed them with commensurate alacrity across the length and breadth of the country.

It would be interesting to see how the public issue, following a shelved attempt to tap the capital markets in 2011, shapes the company’s blueprinted cause for the future. As per media bytes, half of the proceeds are likely to fund a handset manufacturing plant in south India, while the rest would be used for global acquisitions and brand promotion.

Clearly, the road ahead would result in a bumpy ride. Consumers, given the sheer abundance of choice, have today become fussier about features and edgy about their post purchase ‘holding’ periods. China is no longer an arbitrage haven that it used to be what with news of steadily rising wages that would necessarily dilute the cost-effective manufacturing advantage. Competing brands like Xiaomi, Gioni and Motorola are likely to get more aggressive in their counter-strategies that could make a dent into the Micromax prospects. Besides, there’re a host of domestic players luring budget-conscious buyers with equally attractive price tags.

Given its exceptionally striking voyage till date, it’s highly unlikely that Micromax would be caught napping. Already, it is employing an assorted approach to the supply-side dynamic – using China as a selective manufacturing base on one end and running indigenous production lines on the other. And the chi of unquenchable innovation is still intact.

A strong case in point is the new online initiative Yu Televentures that seeks to tap the tech-hungry youth brigade,banking on the customization and performance value proposition of Android’s Cyanogen OS, confronting the Chinese OnePlus in the process. The latter is pinning its hopes on the Android Lollipop OS after a bitter last minute divorce with Cyanogen consequent to the Micromax-Cyanogen marriage. That Yu Televentures doesn’t mention the Micromax brand either on the product docket or literature could well be the company’s ploy to get rid of the ‘mass market’ tag that is often deemed sub-standard, more by its competitors than buyers.



Monday, September 19, 2016

Tailor-made activist: A K Hangal (1917-2012)


For someone who came to India from across the border as a humble tailor in search of a livelihood, he was tailor-made for social activism – subtle in force, significant in impact. His loss is undoubtedly irreparable, both for India and Pakistan.




With Avtaar Kishan Hangal’s demise, we have lost a rare artiste whose leftist conviction knew no bounds. Whether public arena, theatre dais or the silver screen, he remained an eternal activist till the very end. For someone who made his film debut at age 50, cinemascope success had different connotations – more a measure of selfless contentment than a medium of celebrity status.

But the late arrival in no way proved a constraint for his inherent creativity that came in full measure; whatever the role he portrayed on the big screen. And fortunately, he was blessed with the patronage of some of the best filmmakers of his time who made such memorable films like Teesri Kasam, Garm Hawa, Saat Hindustani, Mere Apne, Anubhav, Namak Haram, Balika Badhu, Alaap, Kora Kagaz, Aandhi and Tapasya.

If some of his performances in mainstream movies smacked of monotony, it was only the Bollywood obsession with stereotypes to blame, invariably roping him in as a doting father or caring guardian in film after film. But whenever the opportunity presented, trivial or otherwise, he made the most of it, leaving behind some of the most enchanting screen moments for posterity – whether the sprightly, British bred oldie of Shoukeen, hen-pecked husband of Chitchor, upright school teacher of Dewaar, feuding elder brother of Bawarchi, small-time crook in Manzil or even the ageing clerk of Arjun, he poured his heart out in every portrayal. And despite his deep theatre roots, his performance was never theatrical. No wonder, doyen Ritwik Ghatak called him India’s best character actor.

But such is the media fixation (more ridicule, less veneration in the obsession) with his Imam Saab in the epic film Sholay that the rest of his filmography does not even count. Not even his momentous theatre career inspired by leftist ideology.But Hangal Saab had little time for any regret or resentment in life. Whether the late film debut, delayed Padmabhushan, string of personal tragedies or the ensuing financial ruin – he took it all in his stride and yet remained an eternal optimist dreaming of a secular nation that will someday reinstate the dwindling public faith in Marxist principles.

In one of his last interviews, his innermost feelings came neatly wrapped in a philosophical retort “Zingadi se koi shikayat nahi, Shayad zindagi ko mujhse ho” (I hold no grudges against life, maybe life bears a few against me) For someone who came to India from across the border as a humble tailor in search of a livelihood, he was tailor-made for social activism – subtle in force, significant in impact. His loss is undoubtedly irreparable, both for India and Pakistan.

Thursday, September 01, 2016

Hamara Farooq (1948 – 2013)


Unlike the conceited mainstream stars of Bollywood and the narcissist celebrities of parallel cinema, Farooq Sheikh represented the voice of India’s common people from classes and masses alike. Sudhir Raikar pays tribute to the selfless crusader.

Courtesy Sudhir Raikar, www.indiainfoline.com



Farooq Sheikh’s charisma defied every convention and belied every expectation. For a born Zamindar, he was unmistakably democratic in his vision and mission. A lawyer by qualification, he was never ever seen advocating his own case. A celebrity with mass appeal, he hardly ever hogged the limelight. Given these unassuming traits, he never received the kind of adulation which even an Amol Palekar bagged in unduly good measure. Not that he aspired for it for he was perfectly happy with his select strides that effortlessly stood out, just like his acting, amidst a largely boisterous galaxy of film stars clamouring for attention and admiration.


As an actor, he was undoubtedly one of our very best. But even in the art circuit, he played second fiddle (along with other great actors like Pankaj Kapoor) to Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri, the darling duo of offbeat makers during the 70s and 80s. But he carved a niche even in the constricted space offered to him. Take any role of his and you would invariably find it exactly in line with the psyche of the given character – whether the aspiring comrade of Garm Hawa, pensive cabbie of Gaman, flirtatious youth of Shataranj Ke Khiladi, congenial conman of Katha or the romantic Nawab of Umrao Jaan.


Comedy or tragedy, mainstream cinema or art film, leading man or character artiste, big banner production or small budget film, silver screen, small screen or stage, serials or reality shows, he etched his inimitable charm across every genre and media. For the majority however, he was best known for his light-hearted films with co-artiste Deepti Naval. And of course, the play Tumhari Amrita with Shabana Azmi remains one of his most notable success stories.


Thanks to his selective approach, his tryst with commercial cinema was intermittent but remarkable even in the middling zone. Whether as the hero in Yash Chopra’s endearing Noorie, Big Bachchan’s friend in the hugely forgettable Toofan or Ranbir Kapoor’s dad in the recent Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, the shelf life of Sheikh’s contribution enjoyed more longevity than the films themselves in most cases.


The real tribute to Farooq Sheikh should come in the form of introspection: Why should a gifted artiste, having made an unforgettable debut, be denied commensurate opportunities to help unleash his extraordinary talent? Surely, we as makers and viewers are collectively responsible for relegating genuine actors to become petty role players. And some of Sheikh’s celebrated peers from the offbeat cinema can take a cue from his trademark humility and tranquility. If they do so, they will immediately refrain from blatantly advertising their activism and non-conformism. It will save them the consequential embarrassment of quitting films every second day only to appear in another mindless film the very third day.