Would you use Airtel money?

I am a big sucker for great ads. So when i saw the ad for airtel money, where the girl spots this god-awesome bag but doesn't have the cash for it, i really felt for her. And felt that she should get the money for the bag. And when her mum dearest said, tathasthu! for her bag wish and sent her money thru phone, i was smiling along with the mother-daughter.

Got me to do some digging up on Airtel Money. So how does it work?
1. Mom has an airtel money account. Daughter has an airtel money account.
2. Mom loads cash into her account either by physically depositing money at an airtel office or transfer thru net banking.
3. Mom needs a power account to send money (Rs.50 subscription). She pays Rs. 5 per transaction below 500 and 10 for transactions above 500. (The bag certainly isn't coming for 500!!)
4. Daughter receives the money.
5. Daughter prays real hard that the store accepts the airtel money. If she is in luck, then he would. She would have to transfer money to his account by payment. And in case she sends it to the wrong ID, airtel does not hold itself responsible. If the merchant did not receive the money, then she would have to contact airtel customer care with transaction ID.
And yes, its a given that this would mean that all parties involved in the transactions have airtel accounts!

Now a simple question, why would anybody go thru this hassle in the age of debit and credit cards?! And if the mom is as tech-savvy, then she can as well use mobile banking and transfer money instantly to her daughter's account.
Same case with money transfer. When i can fund transfer directly to another account, free of charge, why would i do it to my airtel phone, so as to later transfer it again, at a charge to someone else's money account?
They let you book movie tickets using their money service, but you cannot pick your seats. Riders, charges  and conditions are there with almost every transaction. While their tagline says, it's not just about the money, they are charging money for everything ;)
I really did not understand airtel ka funda behind launching this service. I'd rather swipe my credit card free of cost and also accrue points for my purchase. Can you think of anyway in which airtel money would be advantageous and convenient?

Have you started reading The Hindu yet?

I was pleasantly surprised to come across the commercials that were asking common people GK questions at the airports, railway station, parking lots and malls. What does ATM stand for? Who is the Vice President of India? Who is the successor of Rantan Tata? That evoked a very matter-of-fact response- Actually, his son, Mukesh Ambani! LOL! What is Tahrir Square? A shape, like circle :P! And they followed it up with questions like What is Hrithik's pet name? Who is the actress known for being Size zero? And well, everybody knew the answers to those questions! And they all got the same question after that- Which newspaper do you read? Then come the stock replies- beep-beep-beep- all the dumb looking people mouthing, you guessed it-  Times Of India. There are multiple minute long ads, with a good background score, crisply edited,  that make a fun watch.  And to add salt to the injury, they tell you to read The Hindu in order to "stay ahead of the Times"! Ouch!
I personally don't think that people who read ToI are essentially dumb. The paper just has been packaged well to make it appealing to a casual reader. That does not mean that ToI would not talk about Cyrus Mistry or the Egyptian crisis. Just that, people probably reach for the supplement for the gossip more than looking at the headlines. On the other hand, The Hindu has more "stuff". And that makes you read the headlines and all that goes along with it.  I am a recent "The Hindu" convert and can vouch that the paper does wonders to  your vocab and general knowledge- only, only if you read it line by line. A cursory glance at The Hindu would not do you much good. You might as well read any other paper and get the same information.
But out of all this, what gladdened me was to see The Hindu taking pot shots at ToI. The newspaper has recently had a management change and looks like they are set to change their image from being the laid back "no fluff-only stuff" paper to an aggressive paper that wants to assert that it is the best. May even prompt a lot of people to take to reading The Hindu. It now remains to see how ToI responds to this. This is Fun! 

Day 73: LV and Samsonite

For anybody who loves travel and travels often, a good travel bag/backpack or suitcase holds high value. Its got to be practical, brave all kinds of weather, be compact, fit in all possible things and must be something one can flaunt ;)

Does a travel bag inspire you to travel? I don't think so. It can be a wonderful travel companion, yes. However, two ads of luggage that i saw recently urged me to step out, go out there and see the world and all that. It is a momentary tug wooing you to buy the bag and go out travelling. Two different brands, different price segments, but both goading you to buy their ware. One asking you a question, as to where life is going to take you.

The other coaxing you to step out and see the world.

Both made me want to take off. Maybe i will. For now, a Samsonite seems affordable. I will put the plan of getting an LV on the back burner ;)

Phir Mile Sur? Nah!

I am a big fan of Mile Sur Mera Tumhara. I remember watching it on DD as a kid and singing along with it, making up lyrics in the languages that i did not know. When i heard that it was going to be remade with the current actors, musicians and sportspersons, i was thrilled. This was last week. I have waited one whole week for its Republic Day launch. And in the meantime, i have watched its making on Youtube, told about it to friends, and when they asked if it was going to be on DD again, i said, No. Its on Zoom- isko dekho. ;)So i wake up early today morning to watch it on Zoom. It started off well with A R Rahman and Big B. But yes, like all remakes, as it progressed, it was disappointing. Despite the fresh faces and all the hype, it did not work for me. And this is why:

• My personal grievance is that Hrithik was not featured in the video.
• It failed to hold my attention after the first time. My dad asks me halfway through the video- is it a one hour program?
• Suriya and Vikram should have in the same frame when the Tamizh bit came on. And what happened to Kamal Hassan?
• Where are the cricketers?
• The diversity came across very well with the multifarious actors but i failed to see the unity.
• I could see that people on screen were acting in most parts. The effortlessness on screen that was in the original was missing. It looked like it was more about looking good than being a part of a national integration video.
• Among the over-actors are Priyanka Chopra, Shahid and Deepika. The leggy Deepika, for God's sake looked like she dropped in directly after shooting for some ad! And you could have given the remix of Bakhuda Tumhi ho as playback for Shahid's part and not known that he was actually crooning mile sur into the mike!

But it also worked for me in bits-

• Salman Khan with the deaf and mute kids. It was really touching.
• The bit with Shobhana and Shaimak Davar doing some sort of jugalbandi.
• Atul and Sonali Kulkarni- they looked real.
• Amir Khan's taare zameen par inspired part.
• Sivamani drumming by the lakeside.
• The last part of the video with the sports persons- that was when i could actually see this feeling of National integration and pride of being Indian on screen. Thats perhaps because they were not acting!
  

The original had some really memorable parts:

• The mahout on the elephant during the malayalam playback.
• Amitabh, Jeetendra and Mithun, arm in arm, singing Mile Sur like they meant it.
• Shabani Azmi's part. Where do we have actors like her these days?!

The older version, like most people are saying now, is untouchable. It is simple, charming and works because it has real people. This one is more bollywood centric, glamorous and a poorer cousin of the original. It so totally proved that Zoom TV is behind its making! Isko dekho par without any expectation!

PS: Bad day for me. Nadal pulled out of the Australian Open. Was hoping for a Nadal- Federer final!

Pyar hua ikraar hua!

Before you get a different idea, i must say that this title is here for want of a better one!( And maybe, just maybe,a teeny-weeny attempt at trying to catch the reader's attention) Anyway, the song forms the central theme of an ad that's been on tv for a while. Yepp. The Airtel hello tunes ad featuring Kareena and Saif. Every time i see it on tv, i cringe and change the channel. So i decided to rant a little about it and get it over with!
Agreed that the commercial puts across the gana bolo and get the hello tune easily message effectively. But does it have to be at the cost of projecting Kareena to be dumb? Does she have to make that lame attempt to get the guy's attention while he is busy with his playstation? She remembers that Saif was humming some song the previous day but does not remember which!( It is from one of her Grandad's classic movies, for heaven's sake!) And doesn't the female know how to set a hello tune? Does she have to ask him to set it for her? Wonder why she agreed to be in the ad where she is no more than a showpiece, in the first place! And the most disastrous part of the ad is when Saif sets the tune by bolo-ing the gana into the phone and she gives this oh-my-god-its-a-miracle and you-are-so-great look. Can't the ad film makers come up with more decent stuff? Something like the Nokia ad with Priyanka chopra. It had Girl Power written all over it!