India’s first big brand movie to go direct on a digital streaming platform is an average fare.
Juhi Chaturvedi & Shoojit Sircar’s have a history of amazing movies – Vicky Donor, Piku and October. But Gulabo Sitabo falls short.
Fatima Mahal is the protagonist of the movie – a dilapidated and forgotten ruin with rich history and past glory. Amitabh and Ayushmann, loggerheads with each other, share a common love for the mansion. Both excel in portraying the flawed characters – emotions, mannerisms and insecurities. Excellent supporting cast with special mention for Shrishti Srivastava – out-spoken and unapologetic!
Love the slice of life of Lucknow! Amazing writing, humorous anecdotes, great cinematography and nice direction. But the film is slow and stretched and crumbles like the toilet wall of the falling mansion! Can watch it or can miss it!
Wise decision to release on digital platform – movie is not for mainstream multiplexes!
Seth Stephens Davidowitz introduces us to the smart and astonishing insights by analysing the huge collection of big data.
In the process, it lists many anecdotes and examples: 1. Why election of Donald trump should not surprise us! 2. What is the biggest worry in a marriage – sexless marriage, loveless marriage or unhappy marriage? 3. How many men are gay? 4. Does advertising work? 5. What should you talk about on a first date if you want a second? 6. Can you beat the stock market? 7. What is the most interesting sexual query in India?
Let me summarise quick points:
1. The book’s basic premise is that everybody lies – to themselves and others. But digital trails that we leave on internet can be highly revealing.
2. Everybody lies. How many drinks they had on the way? How often they go to gym? How many books they read? People want to look good and they under-report embarrassing behaviours and thoughts on surveys. This is called Social Desirability Bias.
3. People brag through social media posts, social media likes and dating profiles. But the real truth is revealed by searches, views, clicks and swipes
4. Google searches are the most important dataset ever collected on the human psyche. The internet can tell us a lot about ourselves – things we may or may not know about ourselves. It also exposes the chasm between ideal self we project to the world and the true beings we are.
5. The new data increasingly available in our digital age will radically expand our understanding of humankind.
6. Trust data and build your actions around it! Analyse data and build your business around it!
7. Netflix learned the above lesson early on in its life cycle – don’t trust what people tell you, trust what they do. So did Facebook.
8. People say they do not want to stalk their friends. There is little in this world they want more than to keep up with and judge their friends. Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth is the biggest proof of this.
9. Similarly, everyone will claim that they have no interest in reading about bondage, dominance and sadomasochism. But people want to read about BDSM between a young college graduate and a business magnate. Proof: 50 Shades of Gray’s success – 125 million copies sold in original and the movie franchise and the revenue collection around this.
10. Apart from business, academicians can also use big data and digital trails. Academics can use digital data to test a few hundred or a few thousand ideas in just a few seconds. No need to recruit army of researchers to perform a single test.
11. Researchers need to include digital data in research. Researchers on desirability and sexuality need to supplement their questionnaires to hundreds of subjects with data from sites like PornHub.
12. Collecting rich data on the world’s problems is the first step towards fixing them. Indeed, the algorithms know us better than we know ourselves.
Everybody Lies is a wonderful book indeed. A must-read for everyone to know the new emerging world. It continues the legacy of Freakonomics and Moneyball.
What we can learn? Study data and make decisions. The best way to work today is to have a data-driven approach. Data and insights can help you win – a difficult boss, a challenging sale and maybe love!
The One thing that I am hoping we won’t go back to “next normal”:
Super-busy life: The myth of busy life being a productive life.
In our pursuit of productivity and performance, we had downplayed the simple pleasures of life. We were prioritising people, tasks and activities. We wanted to optimise and maximise everything. We felt guilty of spending time on ourselves. These acts were counter-productive – they damaged us and our organisations more than helping with better results. I hope we do not take this habit to “next normal”.
Let us discover the joy of a balanced and complete life – not just a busy life. The freedom to set our own clock and calendar. The importance of real connect with people. The happiness of discovering strong bonds with family and friends. The joy and meaning we get from catching up with our passions and inner desires. The freedom to be in pyjamas. The freedom to do nothing. The freedom to be self.
The Corona Lockdown brings its own set of conundrums and consequences for our work and life. What is happening around us?
The ‘new normal’ is the most used and overused terms these days. There is indeed a paradigm shift. SARS led to the rise of Chinese e-commerce and Corona will give big fillip to healthcare and overall digitisation. The bigger impact is on the mankind. Human history is a testimony to our infinite capacity to assimilate, learn and adapt. How will our life and work change?
Human beings are in hibernation mode. Hibernation is a normal phenomenon in nature where extended period of inactivity helps to endure adverse conditions. In fact, scientists are exploring how hibernation can help in space travel and other areas. Hibernation is necessary for survival and growth.
The explosion of people exploring creative side and bottled passions is inspiring. Expect a lot of people to discover a new person in themselves leading to new choices and new future. The initial experiments and indulgences will turn into serious soul-fulfilling mission. Many may never go back to the old jobs and professions again.
On the other hand, many people miss the hustle and bustle of their professional lives. The stress and long working hours may have blinded them to the bright side of their demanding careers. Many are finding a much-needed pause in their default ‘mad rush’ lifestyle . Once the initial bliss of relaxed life is fully enjoyed, the same work will be looked with a new fresh pair of eyes. The post-lockdown period will see new zeal, new energy, new insights and new perspectives.
The healthcare, public services, delivery and government officials are working round the clock. The Corona is a war-zone for them – thousands of books and hundreds of years of training would not have prepared them for the current situation. The sheer resilience and real-time thinking is helping them cope with the ever-changing situation. The Corona experience will influence a whole new way of operations and execution in each of these sectors. Predicting and managing pandemics is going to be a new module in their curriculum!
And across all sectors, the rise of digital, contact-less and remote working is inevitable. The degree of digitalisation will vary but the fusion of online and offline world is an irreversible trend. Schools and universities will leverage online learning like never before. Technology will change the healthcare industry with remote diagnosis, contactless monitoring and predictive analytic models.
The workplace engagement is getting redefined. The real substance is taking over those online meetings. Is there a real alignment with the organisation? Is there an identification with the purpose and the vision? Are the people really inspiring? What is the future?
The human relationships are changing as well. People are not used to spending weeks together with their spouses and family. One cannot fake and plan things beyond a few days. The real relationship will speak. Either people will find that their bickering partner is actually a nice person and maybe that is why they got together in the first place. Or they will find discover the futility of inauthentic relationship and address the elephants and dinosaurs in the locked down room. In either case, true freedom and happiness will emerge. True love will find a way.
The digital brings new challenge for families and kids. The rise of Netflix binge-watching, smartphone stickiness, social media addiction and ‘Everything on Zoom’ is natural. Birthday and anniversaries are being celebrated on Zoom. Families are discovering new activities and ideas to stay connected and sane. Depression and loneliness are the other side of the reality for many families, especially for senior citizens. The simple and basis interactions are curtailed. Some physical and digital connect with constant counselling is the need of the hour. The mindful activities like meditation, painting, reading etc. will need constant encouragement.
Lockdown is indeed brining many interesting challenges. Purpose, positive attitude, high empathy and strong awareness will help us to come out stronger and better on the other side of Corona Lockdown.
