Point Blank with Pritish Nandy
Wednesday, 18 November 2009 14:54
5 Comments
A poet, a journalist, a sportsman, a publishing editor of India's premier newspaper, a photographer, a traveler, a film maker - all in one lifetime and still going strong. If this were a quiz question, one needn't require any options to choose from. The name that comes at the top of one's mind is that of Pritish Nandy. In this point blank chat with Aditya, Nandy gets candid on his colourful career so far - right from his schooling days where his poems would get him plaudits from accomplished writers and female fans to his stint as a successful producer of cult films like Hazaron Khwaishein aaisee...
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Comments
0
#3
2009-11-18 18:38
Hey,
I can't believe that you met a bollywood producer and didnt ask him to show you the casting couch. I dont think Nandy is that type of a guy but atleast could have gotten him to comment on it.
I am still trying to get ouver the fact that the guy has written more books than I have read.
Who's next?
I can't believe that you met a bollywood producer and didnt ask him to show you the casting couch. I dont think Nandy is that type of a guy but atleast could have gotten him to comment on it.
I am still trying to get ouver the fact that the guy has written more books than I have read.
Who's next?
0
#4
2009-11-20 16:41
Aditya,
Congratulations on your success in roping in one more celebrity close on the heels of Shashi Tharoor. Will there be hatrick?
Pritish Nandy is a colourful character and impossible to ignore.
He has kept the spotlight focused on him for as long as I have known him (not personally of course)
I got to know several interesting tit bits of information about him courtesy your podcast.
Here are my comments :
1) I am pleasantly surprised to know that he never went to college. From the way he speaks and conducts himself, I would never have guessed so. I am surprised to hear that a person who arrived with a bang due to his success in poetry should express disdain for formal structured education. Also interesting are his stints working in a tea shop, as a traveling salesman, and an accountant to fund his indulgence in poetry. He is an exception. Most poets starve if the take it up as a full time profession, even if they win literary awards.
Middle class parents will of course be wary of him. None of them will want him to be an inspiration to their wards to treat schooling with similar contempt and end up doing all the things Pritish dabbled with and without ending up with his amazing future success!
I wonder how Pritish's own children fared. Did he continue to decry formal education when his own children went to school?
2)Yes, I clearly remember the Times of India and Illustrated Weekly during the good old days. It was a staid old publication edited by an orthodox Raman with typical South Indian Middle Class values and mentality. Khushwant Singh later took over and created an initial sensation. The circulation zoomed up thanks to this Sexarji spicing up this publication. Monkeys bottoms, bottom pinching, jokes of the non vegetarian variety, provocative articles were what he dished out and he became a controversial editor. If success is measured in terms of circulation, he was a success. But those days, the media was still not so hopelessly commercialized. Illustrated Weekly made money but lost the respect of the discerning readers. India Today stepped in to fill the vacuum created by the sudden fall in journalistic standards of the Illustrated Weekly.
I heard Khushwant later made an inglorious exit.
MV Kaamath who was TOI's Washington Correspondent took over. It was a near dead publication when Pritish was roped in and I was surprised at his partial success in breathing some life into it again. But it was a temporary reprieve.
3)I liked his quote "make poetry the sexiest art form".
Some of us feel, he has later used his bald pate too make a fashion statement. Vinod Kambli, Anupam Kher are others I am reminded of. Flaunting baldness instead of hiding it under a wig is not so common.
4)His chucking up poetry after meeting the TOI owners is also interesting to read about. So are we to believe that commerce and money weaned him away from the sexiest of art forms!
5)I can well imagine the scene he must have created in the staid offices of the Old lady of Bori Bunder, (as the Times was then also called), if, as he says he, (with his limited experience in journalism), walked into the office in torn jeans and a tea shirt to take over. I would have loved to be there and watch the fun. Sometimes having no experience is an asset. You come with no baggage. But try telling that to seasoned veterans already in place!
6)Others undertake bicycle tours/motorcycle journeys/Paadayaatras around the country. But Pritish is different. He wanted to sail from Portugal to Goa to recreate Vasco Da Gama's journey. This is news indeed. May be he called it off but the idea is novel. It should inspire others to try replicating Captain Cooks journey to Australia and Columbus's trip to America.
7)I agree with his opinion that the printed media today has lost it's power to impact events. When it became purely commercial, it cannot be taken seriously any more.
8)I just can't imagine him working for Doordarshan! No wonder he had a spat and left. As regards his later experiences with Satellite TV I can readily appreciate his feelings. If you don't own what you create there is no incentive to continue in that field. I like the Pun "Fiscal fitness" (the name of one his programs).
9)His success in making movies is also surprising. We are accustomed to hearing big family enterprises succeeding (like RK family, BR Chopra, the Sippy's and Rajashris etc). We have also heard of underworld finance. I did not expect Pritish to stray into this field and succeed. He seems to be able to rush in where others fear to tread. I am glad he believes in corporate culture in the business of movie making.
10)Even I liked Lagaan. That's all I have in common with Pritish!
11)I liked some of his quotes though I may not agree. One is "There are no original stories. Only original copies"
I can hear Anu Malik clap his hands and say "Hear, Hear!".
Aditya you mentioned 12 quotes on a poster. If you have them, do pass it on. I hope they will be as provocative as this.
Another quote that made my ears prick up was his comment on commercialisati on of art . "How much does that canvas pay per square inch?". So much like real estate agents discussing land deals!
Yet another quote I liked and also believe in is that if you chase excellence, commercial success will follow.
12)His hob nobbing with the Shiv Sena disappointed me. I wonder if he regrets it today. Will he strike a deal with the MNS if they make him a good offer? I hope not.
13)I am surprised to learn he is the father of India's first Cyber cafe. But they say, success has many fathers. I wonder if this claim will be contested.
14)I didn't know what "Media Entrepreneur" meant till I heard this podcast.
Thanks for another interesting listening session.
To complete your hatrick, try Shobha De next time.
Best of luck.
Regards
G Vishwanath, JP Nagar, Bangalore
Congratulations on your success in roping in one more celebrity close on the heels of Shashi Tharoor. Will there be hatrick?
Pritish Nandy is a colourful character and impossible to ignore.
He has kept the spotlight focused on him for as long as I have known him (not personally of course)
I got to know several interesting tit bits of information about him courtesy your podcast.
Here are my comments :
1) I am pleasantly surprised to know that he never went to college. From the way he speaks and conducts himself, I would never have guessed so. I am surprised to hear that a person who arrived with a bang due to his success in poetry should express disdain for formal structured education. Also interesting are his stints working in a tea shop, as a traveling salesman, and an accountant to fund his indulgence in poetry. He is an exception. Most poets starve if the take it up as a full time profession, even if they win literary awards.
Middle class parents will of course be wary of him. None of them will want him to be an inspiration to their wards to treat schooling with similar contempt and end up doing all the things Pritish dabbled with and without ending up with his amazing future success!
I wonder how Pritish's own children fared. Did he continue to decry formal education when his own children went to school?
2)Yes, I clearly remember the Times of India and Illustrated Weekly during the good old days. It was a staid old publication edited by an orthodox Raman with typical South Indian Middle Class values and mentality. Khushwant Singh later took over and created an initial sensation. The circulation zoomed up thanks to this Sexarji spicing up this publication. Monkeys bottoms, bottom pinching, jokes of the non vegetarian variety, provocative articles were what he dished out and he became a controversial editor. If success is measured in terms of circulation, he was a success. But those days, the media was still not so hopelessly commercialized. Illustrated Weekly made money but lost the respect of the discerning readers. India Today stepped in to fill the vacuum created by the sudden fall in journalistic standards of the Illustrated Weekly.
I heard Khushwant later made an inglorious exit.
MV Kaamath who was TOI's Washington Correspondent took over. It was a near dead publication when Pritish was roped in and I was surprised at his partial success in breathing some life into it again. But it was a temporary reprieve.
3)I liked his quote "make poetry the sexiest art form".
Some of us feel, he has later used his bald pate too make a fashion statement. Vinod Kambli, Anupam Kher are others I am reminded of. Flaunting baldness instead of hiding it under a wig is not so common.
4)His chucking up poetry after meeting the TOI owners is also interesting to read about. So are we to believe that commerce and money weaned him away from the sexiest of art forms!
5)I can well imagine the scene he must have created in the staid offices of the Old lady of Bori Bunder, (as the Times was then also called), if, as he says he, (with his limited experience in journalism), walked into the office in torn jeans and a tea shirt to take over. I would have loved to be there and watch the fun. Sometimes having no experience is an asset. You come with no baggage. But try telling that to seasoned veterans already in place!
6)Others undertake bicycle tours/motorcycle journeys/Paadayaatras around the country. But Pritish is different. He wanted to sail from Portugal to Goa to recreate Vasco Da Gama's journey. This is news indeed. May be he called it off but the idea is novel. It should inspire others to try replicating Captain Cooks journey to Australia and Columbus's trip to America.
7)I agree with his opinion that the printed media today has lost it's power to impact events. When it became purely commercial, it cannot be taken seriously any more.
8)I just can't imagine him working for Doordarshan! No wonder he had a spat and left. As regards his later experiences with Satellite TV I can readily appreciate his feelings. If you don't own what you create there is no incentive to continue in that field. I like the Pun "Fiscal fitness" (the name of one his programs).
9)His success in making movies is also surprising. We are accustomed to hearing big family enterprises succeeding (like RK family, BR Chopra, the Sippy's and Rajashris etc). We have also heard of underworld finance. I did not expect Pritish to stray into this field and succeed. He seems to be able to rush in where others fear to tread. I am glad he believes in corporate culture in the business of movie making.
10)Even I liked Lagaan. That's all I have in common with Pritish!
11)I liked some of his quotes though I may not agree. One is "There are no original stories. Only original copies"
I can hear Anu Malik clap his hands and say "Hear, Hear!".
Aditya you mentioned 12 quotes on a poster. If you have them, do pass it on. I hope they will be as provocative as this.
Another quote that made my ears prick up was his comment on commercialisati on of art . "How much does that canvas pay per square inch?". So much like real estate agents discussing land deals!
Yet another quote I liked and also believe in is that if you chase excellence, commercial success will follow.
12)His hob nobbing with the Shiv Sena disappointed me. I wonder if he regrets it today. Will he strike a deal with the MNS if they make him a good offer? I hope not.
13)I am surprised to learn he is the father of India's first Cyber cafe. But they say, success has many fathers. I wonder if this claim will be contested.
14)I didn't know what "Media Entrepreneur" meant till I heard this podcast.
Thanks for another interesting listening session.
To complete your hatrick, try Shobha De next time.
Best of luck.
Regards
G Vishwanath, JP Nagar, Bangalore
0
#5
2009-11-22 07:39
HI Vishwanath,
Thank you once again for your detailed comment.
About the 12 commandments, let me try and get a picture of it if possible.
Thank you once again for your detailed comment.
About the 12 commandments, let me try and get a picture of it if possible.
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