Mahender Singh is a typical Hyderabadi. He likes his mutton biryani, and speaks the Dakhni dialect—a mix of Urdu, Telugu and other regional languages. His apartment complex, bereft of a lift or a proper parking space, is nestled in the crowded middle-class locality of Vijay Nagar colony in southwest Hyderabad. The major attraction in his modest two-bedroom apartment is a tiny Pomeranian caged in a corner of the living room.
Mahender, 60, sits on the floor, resting against a sofa. He is fiddling with the TV remote, looking for a movie on YouTube, and when he finds it, his joy is evident. No, it is not Baahubali (2015) in which Prabhas plays a character named similar to his—Mahendra. The movie he has selected is the dubbed version of Adavi Ramudu in Hindi, which was released almost a decade before Baahubali. Within seconds of its playing, Mahender pauses the movie and points to the screen, saying, “Look.” The producer’s credit reads Mahendra Singh. “That’s me,” he says, with a hint of pride.
He produced The Strongman Badal (Adavi Ramudu) and 10 other dubbed Telugu films; some with an attractive star cast and reputed directors. He has dubbed another 200 Telugu films in partnership with others in the last 20 years. At a time when Telugu films had a negligible market outside south India, he would buy the dubbing rights to a film for a few lakhs and spend an equal amount on dubbing it in Hindi, getting the censor board clearance and on marketing the movie for either a theatrical release in Mumbai or satellite channel release.
Denne historien er fra June 05, 2022-utgaven av THE WEEK.
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Denne historien er fra June 05, 2022-utgaven av THE WEEK.
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William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
