Insure maadi nodi!

The Indian Express reports on the 19th May about a new facility a particular Insurance company has come forward to offer its potential insurance customers. This new facility called "Life Insurance Simulator" helps customers make financial planning, discover benefits of insurance and simulate their financial spreadsheets.

But there's something more innovative in this news than the product itself. This simulator facility has been provided in multiple languages to begin with, and guess what! Kannada features in this launch-time supported language list!

LIS is available in English, Hindi, Punjabi and Kannada.

Yes, the demand for service in Kannada is heating up. Banks & Insurance companies have figured that sticking to RBI guidelines alone may not be sufficient to maximize their hold over markets in India. In essence these banks & insurance companies are lining up out there to serve you in your language. You just need to ask.

Go ahead, Angadiyalli Kannada Maataadi!

Is Growth about Wanting more or Needing less?

Lately, formation of rural 'economies' is a trending matter and the sad fact is amidst this trend, disguised under the name of growth, Rural India actually seems to be falling off the ever widening gap between people's primary expectations and what they're being delivered - either by means of government undertakings or their newfound proxies - corporate business houses.

This article in BM dated 20th March 2011, refers to a statement made by RBI governor attributing rising inflation to the increase in rural consumption - evidently implying either that increasing village consumerism is bad or that increasing inflation figures are good for the national economy!

With this as background, such relation of rural consumption to rising national inflation comes across as an accusation on the rural peoples and nothing else. But it is interesting to note occasions when the same governments taking pride in terming such rural consumption as 'development' and staking large claims of playing an active enabling role behind such 'developments'. What is not plainly apparent though is the fact that our governments seem to have struck a process of delegating development works to private business houses either under the CSR tag (Corporate Social Responsibility) or in the guise of PPP (Public Private Partnership) models. Now when things appear to be firing back with increased, inflationary and uncontrollable consumption patterns among rural areas, the same governments seem to be pulling back with such allegations as the one above made by the RBI governor. This is primarily because the supply chain created by the private partners is unable to source enough content that the market now demands - a failure on the part of this govt-market alliance.

To cite examples from the article: there is coke (soft drink) available in almost every corner of every street in some villages, but pure drinking water is a scarce commodity even today; there are cars and all kinds of vehicles being bought in these villages, but there's hardly a stretch of good road to drive them. There are cosmetic stores in most big villages, but women of the same village have to travel 30 kilometers (on those bad roads) to reach a hospital.

Are we forgetting our primary needs in the rush to reap modern day benefits, the ones that are created by corporate houses keeping no particular human being's benefit in mind? Are we, without our knowledge getting swept away by this tsunami of wants, uprooting and disconnecting us from our needs? Now, are we to call this a need-deficit, or a want-surplus?

(To be continued...)

A Dubbed audience and the suspicion around Dubbing

One interesting pattern that I find among people opposing dubbing of movies into Kannada is that they seem to be thinking more about welfare of the industry (KFI i.e.) not valuing their own expectation from the industry as customers. Talking in pure market terms, this anti-dubbing camp appears to be advocating for demanding the betterment of the supplier at the cost of the customer himself!


For a moment, if we all pause to visualize this scene from a different perspective - the perspective of a customer - we'll realize that with regards to this dubbing episode, we'd be better off thinking about the Kannada Film Market and not the Kannada Film Industry instead. The difference between these two is key to understanding why Dubbing, while not being an essential ingredient, can still be one way in which the Kannada Film Market can attract a much higher percentage of its audience to watching movies in the Kannada Medium itself.

Today a substantial mass of the Kannadiga audience is getting 'leaked' to movies from across the border(s) only because movies made in-land are, apparently, 'not enough' both in quality and quantity. There's also a historical factor of in-confidence among Kannadigas about Kannada movies, especially in the urban markets which drives them away towards more glamorous and 'not essentially' better movie markets. So this phenomenon of Kannadiga audiences leaking towards other language movies is a loss to the Kannadiga audience, and to the Kannada Film Market in essence.

Now if we were to think about the Kannada Film Market as an entity that needs to be enriched with good Kannada entertainment, whether the movie is originally a Kannada made film, or a film of another language, dubbed into Kannada, or re-made in Kannada, the end-beneficiary is in fact the Kannada film-goer him/her-self. This makes the Kannada Film Market richer.

As Dr Rajkumar always said, it is us (the Kannada movie audience) that he lived for, acted for, and prayed for. In the same way, the Kannada movie audience needs to be at the core of all planning that happens in the Kannada Film Market.

The industry (or industries) that drive entertainment & happiness into the homes & theaters of Kannada movie audience is just incidental. Does one care if a pack of biscuits one buys is manufactured by a Kannada industry or not? All you need is a good enjoyable pack of biscuits. Likewise all you need is a good enjoyable Kannada movie. Why care about the 'industry' at the cost of your own entertainment experience? Why care so much to get influenced by some tricky words with vested interests? 


A good Kannada movie is what we want. If one can get that only in a dubbed Kannada movie today, it need not mean a good Kannadiga son will not be born tomorrow to make a better movie originally in Kannada. In fact it only further increases the chance of such movies in future. It only increases the chance of more Puttanna Kanagals in the future of Kannada Film Market.

Lets stop talking about an industry, and start talking about the market. Be it Dubbing or Remaking or Swa-making, without the permission of us (the audience) no son-of-a-gun from across the borders can loot the Kannada Film Market. We are the ones that'll certify the success of a movie. We need not fear about the industry, we need fear only about our market.


(Essence of this post featured here on this Facebook thread.)

Whether you're a citizen, or a customer, there's no Free Lunch!

A couple of posts ago I wrote about markets, democracy, and forces that exist within each of these, and how, in our society, we're finding them wrestle one another, but of course, not helping anyone in the end. Today I continue talking about these two devils - the market and a democracy, in a not very different perspective.

The reason I call them devils is both of them seem to possess a power derived out of our very own lack of wisdom - wisdom as citizens and customers respectively.

Every day in our lives whenever the reason for being represented (reason for democracy i.e.) or the reason for being a customer (reason for a market i.e.) is beyond both extremes, a new problem starts cooking underneath us all. Be it our farmers expecting a government support-price for their produce, or the rice-growers themselves seeking govt. subsidized rice and cereals, they form clear evidence of misunderstood purpose of government. On the other hand an aberration of an individual's needs as wants has led to the typical excessive consumerism syndrome in most urban settlements in our society. All these appear to portray a common issue - that of wrongly placed expectations from both a democracy and the market.

The 'representation misunderstood' problem

Why do the farmers (yield to) expect a govt. support price for their produce when there exists a market craving to consume them? They need to be educated about the purpose of a government, and about the existence of a market. Why do the literate settlers among us believe it to be the handiwork of some political party when petrol prices go up, or why do we feel the govt must fly in like Superman and save the sky-rocketing onion prices? Clearly we need to be informed about the role of government in all such situations.

The 'market misunderstood' problem

Why do the typical urban shoppers yield to consumerism, get seduced by calls of marketers, and forget the elementary difference between the needs and wants of life? Why does a majority of the urban consumer base appear to be buying/consuming stuff that it actually didn't need? Why so especially when those wants hide beneath them grave dangers for mankind? We need to be wary of our needs, and reassurance that discovering one's needs is more important than knowing one's wants. We need to also know that there are memories of the marketer's magic in our mind that make our wants different from our needs. And we need to realize that this disparity between needs & wants is dangerous to our economies and the ecology alike.

Let there be Jaagruti

In summary, aren't we misinterpreting the purpose of a government and a market? Said another way, isn't the government and the market not appearing to take undue advantage of the lack of awareness in people? Is it something in the system that has made the government and the market act that way? Or was it always built that way, expecting always, the constituents of the system to educate themselves so as to avoid disappointment? If latter be true, I guess it is time we realized that in a democracy, like in a market, there's nothing called free-lunch, and the only way to liberation is good education. People need to know what to expect from a government and a market, and not get these two mixed up! After all, education (jaagruti) is what man needs to go after - be as a citizen, or as a customer.

ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಸಮ್ಮೇಳನದಲ್ಲಿ ಡಬ್ಬಿಂಗ್

ನಿನ್ನೆಗೆ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ೭೭ನೇ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಸಮ್ಮೇಳನ ಕೊನೆಗೊಂಡಿತು. ಅದರ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರಾದ ಜಿ.ವೆಂಕಟಸುಬ್ಬಯ್ಯನವರು ಕೆಲವು ಮುಖ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಅತಿ ಮುಖ್ಯ ವಿಷಯಗಳನ್ನು ತಮ್ಮ ಹಲವಾರು ಭಾಷಣಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊರಹಾಕಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಚಿತ್ರಗಳ ಡಬ್ಬಿಂಗ್ ಕುರಿತಾದ ಅವರ ನಿಲುವು ವಿಶೇಷವಾಗಿ ನನ್ನ ಗಮನ ಸೆಳೆಯಿತು. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ೬+ ಕೋಟಿ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರ ಭಾಷೆಯಾದ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಸಮ್ಮೇಳನವೊಂದರಲ್ಲಿ ಅಷ್ಟು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಜನಸಮೂಹದ ಎದುರು ನಿಂದು ಹೀಗೆ ಒಂದು ಜನಾಂಗದ ಮೇಲೆ ಹೇರಿಕೆಯ ಪ್ರವೃತ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಎತ್ತು ಹಿಡಿಯುವ ಕೆಲಸಕ್ಕೆ ಕೈ-ಜೋಡಿಸಿರುವುದು ನನಗೆ ಅಷ್ಟು ಸರಿಯೆಂದು ಕಾಣಲಿಲ್ಲ.

ಚಿತ್ರ ಡಬ್ಬಿಂಗ್ ಬೇಡವಾದರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಡಬ್ಬಿಂಗ್ ಗಳೂ ಬೇಡ. ಅಲ್ವಾ?
ಜಿ.ವೆಂಕಟಸುಬ್ಬಯ್ಯನವರ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಪರಭಾಷೆಯಿಂದ ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಡಬ್ ಮಾಡುವುದು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಬೇಕಂತೆ.
(೧) ಮೊದಲಿಗೆ ಡಬ್ಬಿಂಗನ್ನು ತಡೆಯಲು ಯಾರಿಗಾದರು ಹಕ್ಕು ಕೊಟ್ಟವರು ಯಾರು, ಯಾವಾಗ? ಒಂದು ಚಿತ್ರವನ್ನು ಡಬ್ ಮಾಡಬೇಕಾದರೆ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದಂತೆ ಹಕ್ಕು ಕೊಡುವವರು ಕೇವಲ ಆ ಮೂಲ ಚಿತ್ರವನ್ನು ತೆಗೆದವರು. ಡಬ್ಬಿಂಗ್ ಮಾಡದಿರಲು ಹೇಳಲು ಯಾರಿಗೂ ಯಾಕೆ ಹಕ್ಕು ಇದೆ? Censor ಬೋರ್ಡಿನೋರನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು!!

(೨) ಎರಡನೆಯದಾಗಿ, ಇಂದಿಗೂ ನಮ್ಮ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಟೀ.ವಿ ವಾಹಿನಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುವ ಜಾಹಿರಾತುಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ - ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಬೇರೊಂದು ಭಾಷೆಯಿಂದಲೇ ಡಬ್ ಆಗಿ ಬರುತ್ತವೆ. ಹಾಗಾದರೆ ಈ ಡಬ್ಬಿಂಗುಗಳನ್ನೂ ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಬೇಡವೇ? ಆದರೆ ಬೇರೆಡೆ ಜಿ.ವೆಂ ಅವರೇ ಹೇಳುವ ಹಾಗೆ ಬೇರೆ ಭಾಷೆಯ ಜಾಹಿರಾತನ್ನು ತಿರಸ್ಕರಿಸಿ, ಕನ್ನಡ ಜಾಹಿರಾತಿಗೆ ಒತ್ತಾಯಿಸಬೇಕಂತೆ. ಇವರ ಮಾತುಗಳನ್ನು ಹೇಗೆ ಅರ್ಥ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳೋದು ಸ್ವಾಮಿ? ಯಾವುದನ್ನು ಸರಿಯೆಂದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು, ಯಾವುದನ್ನು ಸರಿಯಲ್ಲವೆಂದು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು??

ಬೇಡವೆನ್ನಲು ಕಾರಣವಾದರೂ ಏನು..?
ಡಬ್ಬಿಂಗ್ ಒಂದು ಕಲೆಯಲ್ಲವೆಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೆ ಜಿ.ವೆಂ ಅವರು. ಅದೇ ಕಾರಣದಿಂದ ಅದನ್ನು ನಿಷೇಧಿಸಬೇಕಂತೆ. ಅಂದರೆ ಇವರ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಚಿತ್ರವೊಂದರಲ್ಲಿ ಕಲೆಯಲ್ಲದ ಯಾವ ಭಾಗವೂ ಇರಕೂಡದು. ಚಲನ ಚಿತ್ರವೊಂದರಲ್ಲಿ ಹಣಕಾಸಿನ ವ್ಯವಹಾರವೂ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ - ಅದನ್ನೂ ನಿಷೇಧಿಸೋಣವೇ? ಹಾಗಂತ ಡಬ್ಬಿಂಗೆನ್ನುವುದು ಕಲೆಯಲ್ಲವೆಂದು ಇಷ್ಟು ಹಗುರವಾಗಿ ಹೇಳಲು ಆಧಾರಗಳಾದರೂ ಏನಿಲ್ಲಿ? ಡಬ್ಬಿಂಗ್ ಅಂದರೆ ಏನು ಎಂದು ಇನ್ನೂ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಕಾಲ ಯೋಚನೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಿದ್ರೆ ಈ ರೀತಿ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲವೇನೋ ಮಾನ್ಯರು. ಒಂದು ಭಾಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿರುವ ಚಲನ ಚಿತ್ರವಾಗಲಿ, ಜಾಹಿರಾತೂ ಆಗಲಿ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ನೋಡುಗರ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ತಾಗಬೇಕೆಂದರೆ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಡಬ್ಬಿಂಗ್ ಮಾಡುವ ತಂಡದವರು ಕಲಾವಿದರಾಗಿಲ್ಲದೇ ಹೋದರೆ ಆಗದು. ಇದನ್ನು ಪರಿಗಣಿಸಬಹುದಾಗಿದೆ ಜಿ.ವೆಂ ಅವರು.

ಕಲೆಯಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೂ...
ಡಬ್ಬಿಂಗ್ ಒಂದು ’ಕಲೆ’ಯಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೂ ಅದು ಯಾವ ಕಲೆಯ ಉನ್ನತ ರೂಪ ಇಂದು ಕನ್ನಡ ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರೋದ್ಯಮದಲ್ಲಿ, ಕನ್ನಡ ಜಾಹಿರಾತಿನ ಉದ್ಯಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲವೋ, ಮತ್ತದರಿಂದ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ ಚಿತ್ರ-ನೋಡುಗರು ಯಾವ ಕೊರತೆ ಅನುಭವಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವರೋ, ತಾತ್ಕಾಲಿಕವಾಗಿ ಆ ಕೊರತೆಯನ್ನು ತುಂಬುವ ಕೆಲಸವನ್ನಾದರು ಡಬ್ಬಿಂಗ್ ಮಾಡಬಹುದಾಗಿದೆ. ಕಲೆ ಮತ್ತು ಕಲಾವಿದರ ಗುರಿ ಕಲಾನುಭವಿಗಳ ಸುಖವೇ ಆಗಿದ್ದರೆ ಡಬ್ಬಿಂಗ್ ಅನ್ನು ಹೀಗೆ ವಿರೋಧಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅದನ್ನು ಅಷ್ಟು ಕೇವಲವಾಗಿ ಅಂದು ಮಾತನಾಡುವುದು ಉನ್ನತ ಸ್ಥಾನವನ್ನು ಅಲಂಕರಿಸಿರುವ ಜಿ.ವೆಂ ಅವರಿಗಂತೂ ಖಂಡಿತವಾಗಿಯೂ ಸರಿಹೊಂದಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ನನ್ನ ಭಾವನೆ. ಚಿತ್ರ ನೋಡುಗರು ಡಬ್ ಆದ ಚಿತ್ರವನ್ನು ಬಿಡುಗಡೆಗೊಳಿಸಿದರೆ ನೋಡುತ್ತಾರೋ ಇಲ್ಲವೋ ಎಂಬ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಯನ್ನೇ ಕೇಳಿಕೊಳ್ಳದೇ ಈ ರೀತಿ ಒಂದು ಕಲೆಯೂ ಆಗಿರುವ ಉದ್ಯಮದ ಮೇಲೆ ಹೀಗೆ ಗೂಬೆ ಕೂಡಿಸಿರುವುದು ಸರಿಯಲ್ಲವೆಂಬುದು ನನ್ನ ನಿಲುವಾಗಿದೆ.