You reap what you sow

AGKSPEAK

What I've Liked
Caricature capers

What do you do when you have the very same message to communicate as that of your competitors? The truth is that when there is precious little difference in what you have to offer vis-a-vis the rest, it can leave the creative playing field quite cramped. Which is why the recent commercial for Airtel caught my attention. It is the one where there is a buck-toothed Shah Rukh Khan look alike/ caricature making his pitch quite seriously but ends up quite the laughing stock especially when a suave SRK makes his entrance for his shot at the sales pitch, at the end. Admittedly it does take the interpretation of look alike offers a bit too literally, but the brilliant awkwardness with which the SRK caricature plays his role, completely outshines any doubts or misgivings that one might consider.

I must admit it is the SRK caricature who carries the commercial on his bumbling shoulders! When you come to think of it, it might have been quite easy to render the same concept in a print ad, as caricaturing is quite an advanced art form in our country, but to carry it off on film is quite a difficult feat. Because like all good caricaturing, exaggeration is required in just the right quantities in order to tread that fine line between absurdity and reality, in order to be comical. Fail in that effort and you could end up being downright annoying! This ad, however, treads the line very commendably and manages to stand out in the din of me-too offer ads, as a result.

What I've Learned

The rich are getting fabulously richer. And their poorer cousins are struggling to keep pace. So what's new, you might ask? Well, in this mad race towards becoming an economic powerhouse one of the first casualties, which I am sure almost all of us might have noticed, is our ability to be human. I guess we do have some discernible qualities that hopefully, distinguish us from the animal kingdom "" like integrity, the ability to show respect et al. The other day I heard that when a political heavyweight passed away, his corpse had to be burnt again the next day as everyone had left before the ritual was complete! Clearly, showing respect, concern etc took the back seat.

It then occurred to me that no one seems to have time these days for anyone else unless there is a vested interest. More often than not it revolves around the making of money. Which is why we end up paying for the same job, sometimes twice or thrice!

Little do people realise that those who chase money never get it, or get to keep it. As Dhirubhai (India's icon for the proverbial rags to riches saga) always maintained: Money is a by-product. It is the spin-off of a far more precious commodity "" the fruit of your labour. So rather than having a goal that reads: "I want to be the richest", goals should focus on: "I want to be the best at what I do". Because then and only then, will the riches start trickling in. Secondly, everyone wants to get rich quick. Believe me, it almost never happens. Again to use Dhirubhai as an example: he had a workday of 16 to 18 hours (without exaggeration), for nearly thirty years before he arrived at the levels of wealth that we associate him with. The reality is that the next generation always picks up value systems from no one else other than their own parents. So if we bemoan the lack of them in our youngsters we have no one else to blame "" not the ad world, not the newspapers, television or cinema, not even our favourite villain "" "western culture". The blame lies squarely on the lack of demonstrable values at home.

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