Amit Khanna's multi-dimensional presence in the Media and Entertainment space for over 5 decades is well acknowledged. His contribution as a creative producer, writer, lm-maker, talent promoter and mentor aords him a preeminent status in modern show biz. Guarding vigorously against nostalgia Amit continues to actively debunk myths that surprise all with revealing insights about modern living bringing us closer to the reality of our times.
While taking off as an out-of-the-box thinking playwright, Amit penned his first audacious play with a twist "Divorce Indian Style", at 14. The play was an early indicator of his maturity to take on subjects ahead of personal experience. Amit, in other words, crossed the threshold of being an intrepid observer and interpreter of the social scenario when children his age were trying to articulate a one paragraph essay for the school gathering.
It was only a matter of time before his prodigious inventiveness went to the next level. Quickened by his intense desire to work for his dreams, he had just hit twenty, when Film maker Dev Anand led him to a whole new world of cinema and entertainment. Helming film production at Dev Anand's Navketan, Amit was actively involved in the making of classics like Manpasand, Des Pardes, Lootmaar. He had also by then become a song writer penning some of the all time classics that reverberate across radio and music channels of the day. Leading voices and music composers of the day added value to his superbly crafted film and non-film lyrics. Some peerless gems include "Pal Bhar Mein Yeh Kya Ho Gaya", "Nazrana Bheja Kisine Pyar Ka", among others. Another feather in his cap was writing the moving dialogue for the cult classic Saaransh."Buniyad", one of Indian Televisions finest shows based on partition had Amit, as Executive Producer joining forces with Sholay Director, Ramesh Sippy.What followed over the years was a deluge of high-octane soft-power centered round his fertile imagination.
The Torch-Bearer of Modern Entertainment
Talk of the inclusive entertainment scenario and Amit Khanna's name takes center stage. Amit has been an influential part of the global entertainment scenario in various capacities-each handled with élan. His ability to forge lasting bonds with almost everybody meant he could be an ally or a mentor as and when needed- roles he has comfortably donned all the time.
Full of stunning achievements, Amit's sweep as a mass media- professional, for its sheer magnitude is astounding. From being a creator of popular content across Cinema, Music and Television Entertainment, to promoting the best talent across creative streams his comprehensive approach is what makes him unique.
While on the one hand he is a multilingual poet with refined sensitivity in Hindi, English and of course, Urdu, on the flip side he is a media visionary with a firm grip on the contemporary realities and the socio-cultural influences of the day. His research and conclusions on the most vexing issues today makes him a prominent social commentator of the day- a role he clearly relishes. From a creative assistant to a song writer to an executive producer to a film director to a Television Magnate to a Media Guru and now a mentor, his journey has truly been awe-inspiring.
Plus Channel and the Intrepid Entrepreneur
One of the lasting images in his oeuvre is the magnificent entertainment conglomerate he spearheaded, his labor of love, Plus Channel. The year was 1989. Calling it an effort ahead-of-its-times, would be one way to describe it, but will still veil the thirst-quenching, stimulating energy it emitted. Buzzing with a feverish get-up-and-go the outfit put together the finest in Bollywood films, pioneering Televison shows, and the finest Audio books of leading writers and poets. What Amit brought to the laggard television scenario of the day was a shift in perspective. Backed by concerted action it was the thrust that once and for all changed the TV scenario in India. Programming like never seen before waltzed across television screens. Film based shows like Sangeet Sitare, Mirch Masala apart, India's first English daily Plus Channel "A Mouthful of Sky" also emerged from the Plus rooming house.
Out of the 10 feature films produced under Plus Films several went on to win prestigious National awards. "Kuch is Taraha Do Dil Mile" the song he wrote for the film Bhairavi won him the National award for best lyrics. It is no surprise that many of the leading mass media luminaries of the day had cut their teeth in the hallowed precincts of Plus Channel edit suites, recording studios and shooting floors. Seeing the entertainment business scenario evolve, both as a participant and an observer is a rare advantage. Helping individuals, media houses attain their full potential while at the same time expanding his vision about work and life is what Amit has achieved with unprecedented flair. It also is the key to his popular and intellectual appeal as acknowledged by the world's foremost global publications like Time, Newsweek, Variety and Hollywood Reporter Magazines.
While his work today is mainly off center the progression has been undeniably expansive taking in newer interest areas to explore. Reliance Entertainment the giant entertainment behemoth was his next pursuit. Transporting a reputed brand and managing to take it to a global leader was a tough ask. Amit though, had other ideas, again ahead of the contemporary business leaders. With new vigor he ticked off a series of new verticals for Production, Distribution & Exhibition of films, TV channels, Radio Network, Online Gaming and Social Networking websites. In a massive turnaround in the world of cinema Reliance Entertainment went on to acquire 50% of DreamWorks Studios under his astute guidance. Another winning move was the acquisition of the Los Angeles based independent film production and distribution company IM Global. A much in demand keynote speaker across seminars and conferences, Amit has been associated with FICCI, Nasscomm, CII & ECO, among several other prominent bodies. Contributing to various magazines, periodicals including the Encyclopedia Britannica he has currently undertaken the mammoth task of documenting the History of Indian Media & Entertainment and mentoring.
A couple of years ago I decided not to work for profit. So now most of my time is spent on research for my ongoing project the History of Indian Media & Entertainment. I keep writing poetry & my next anthology should be published next year.
Since a number of my protégés are now successful film-makers, journalists, writers & big executives I meet them occasionally or whenever they seek my advice. I write for magazines & more often online.
I am also devoting sometime to mentoring young people around the world & soon would be doing something significant in public affairs & of course I keep learning all the time.
Dev Anand, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mahendra Kapoor, Alka Yagnik,Amit Kumar, Yesudas, Hridaynath Mangesshkar,Ramesh Sippy,Rajesh Roshan,Ilaiya Raja, Biddu, Bappi Lahiri, Naziya & Zoeb Hassan, Raju Singh, Javed Akhtar, Mahesh Bhatt,Shyam Benegal,Lekh Tandon, Sudhir Mishra,Gautam Ghosh,Aruna Raje,Bhupen Hazarika,Sai Paranjpe & many others.
Amit Khanna has written lyrics for over 400 evergreen Film & Non-film Hits.
"Chalte Chalte", the first film song he wrote continues to be a rage. "Ka Karu Sajni" penned by Amit is a favourite with all music lovers.
Amit Khanna has worked with iconic Singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh, Mahendra Kapoor & Music Composers from the Golden Era of Hindi film music. In fact, Amit Khanna is the only writer who has penned lyrics for all siblings of the illustrious Mangeshkar family.
Amit Khanna has won the National Award for writing Best lyrics for the Film Bhairavi.
He has participated in several conferences & seminars across the world as keynote speaker covering an array of industries. FICCI, Nasscomm, CII & ECO are some of the well-known bodies he has been associated with in various capacities.
Amit Khanna, has been serving in different capacities in different boards of both government and non-government film and media related bodies such as FICCI, CII, Prime Minister's Committee on Information, Communication and Entertainment, All India Film Producers Council, Film & Television Producers Guild of India, Governing Councils of the Film Institutes in both Pune & Kolkata. Amit Khanna is the Founder trustee of the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI), Earth Communication India (ECO India).He has been a guest lecturer at various universities including NYU, USC, UCLA, IIM, IIT. He is on the Board of Management of reputed universities like AJKMRC Jamia Milia institute as well as the Paris based "Think Tank - Forum d' Avignon".
Amit Khanna has been involved with Media since school. He has worked in theatre, Radio, Television, Journalism, Films & new media for four decades.
| Son of | : | Hem & Jawaharlal Khanna |
| Date of Birth | : | 1st March, 1951 (Delhi) |
| Marital Status | : | Bachelor |
| - | Passed I.S.C. in 1st Division from St. Columbia's School (New Delhi) in 1967. |
| - | B.A. (Hons.) in English from St. Stephen's College, New Delhi (1968-71) |
| - | Plus Channel (India) Ltd. | 1990-2000 |
| - | Business Plus, People Plus, Bollywood Plus |
| (Video News Magazines : 1990 - 92) | |
| - | Plus News Bank |
| (Print feature syndicate : 1990 - 2000) | |
| - | Tempus |
| (Monthly Magazine : 1969 - 1971) | |
| - | Take-2 |
| (Entertainment Weekly Broadsheet - 1982) |
| - | Probe India | 1987 - 89 |
| - | Online - Singapore | 1995 - 97 |
| - | Economic Times | 1997 - 2000 |
| - | Various Magazines & Periodicals |
| - | Has written over 700 articles in National & International Paper |
| - | Contributor - Encyclopedia Britannica |
| - | Media Musing | : | Various National Papers | (1993 - 97) |
| - | Enterprise | : | Economic Times | (1999 - 2000) |
| - | Freeze Frames | : | Business Standard | (2002 - 2008) |
| - | Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI) | (1997) |
| - | Media Committee, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) |
| - | National Committee of Media & Entertainment of CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) |
| - | Convergence Committee, Federation of Indian Chambers & Commerce Industry (2002 - 2011) |
| - | e-Entertainment @lliance (Alliance of FICCI, NASSCOM & TIE) (2000 - ) |
| - | All India Film Producers Council | (2001 - 02) & (2003 - 06) |
| - | The Film Producers Guild of India Ltd. | (2001 - 02) & (2003 - 06) |
| - | Earth Communications Office India Association | (2001 - ) |
| - | Film Producers Guild of India Ltd. | (1995 - 2000) |
| - | Association of Motion Pictures & | (1985 - 2000) |
| - | TV Programme Producers |
| - | Film Producers Guild of India Ltd | (1997 - 82) |
| - | All India Film Producers Council | (1997 - 82) |
| - | Xaviers Institute of Communications |
| - | F.T.I.I., (Pune), Sophia College, Indian Institute of Event Management. |
| - | Several Universities & Colleges |
| - | Mentor, X - Media Lab, Sydney, Australia |
| - | Attended over 100 Seminars & Conferences on Media and related issues, worldwide. |
| - | International World Congress on Authors' Rights, Paris, (1989) |
| - | WIPO - Conference on E-commerce - Geneva (2001) |
| - | Jury International Emmy Awards (1991) |
| - | NATPE, Las Vegas (2001) |
| - | MIPCOM / MIP TV (1992 onwards) |
| - | Cannes Film Festival (1992 onwards) |
| - | Moscow Film Festival (1987, 1997) |
| - | Leader - Indian Entertainment Delegation to Japan & U.S. (2001) |
| - | Leader - Indian Film Delegation to U.K. & Switzerland (2002) |
| - | Leader - Indian Film Delegation to South Africa (2004) |
| - | UPFJA | : | 1976 & 1981 |
| - | CINEGOERS | : | 1979 |
| - | BFJA | : | 1980 |
| - | LIONS CLUB | : | 1986 |
| - | UPTRON | : | 1987 |
| - | BHAIRAVI | : | 1996 |
| (Best Lyrics - National Award) | : | ||
| - | GUDIA | : | 1996 |
| (Best Hindi Film - National Award) | : | ||
| - | SARDARI BEGUM | : | 1997 |
| (Best Urdu Film - National Award) | : | ||
| - | T.V. Personality of the Year | : | 1997 |
| (Times Magazine) | : |
| 1. | Industry Leadership Award at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) |
| 2. | First Leadership Award at Indian Film Festival of Houston |
| 3. | Life Time Achievement Award for Television (UPTRON) & CMO Council Masterbrand |
| - | BHAIRAVI |
| - | Madrid Intl. Film Festival | 1996 |
| - | Cairo Intl. Film Festival | 1996 |
| - | GUDIA |
| - | Uncertain Regard - 50th Cannes | May 96 |
| - | Edinburgh | Aug 96 |
| - | Montreal | Aug 96 |
| - | Quebec | Aug 96 |
| - | Festival dei 5 Countries Rome | Oct 96 |
| - | Bite the Mango | Oct 96 |
| - | London | Nov 96 |
| - | Argentina | Nov 96 |
| - | Rennes, France | Jan 97 |
| - | SAAZ |
| - | The Penang Pearl Awards | Aug 97 |
| - | SARDARI BEGUM |
| - | Indian Panorama | Jan 97 |
| - | Tashkent Film Festival | May 97 |
| - | Munich Film Festival | Jun 97 |
| - | Moscow Film Festival | Jul 97 |
| - | MontrealWorld Film Festival | Aug 97 |
| - | Radio & TV Advertising Practitioners Association | : (1982 - 1995) |
| - | Indian Documentary Producers Association (IDPA) | : (1984 - ) |
| - | Executive Committee of Film Federation of India | : (1985 - 2000) |
| (Apex body of Indian Film Industry) | ||
| - | Selection Panel of Indian Panorama | : (1985,1989,1993) |
| - | Film Import Selection Committee, Govt. of India. | : (1988 - 1990) |
| - | Governing Council of Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) | : (1988 - 1990) |
| - | Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Western Panel | : (1990 - 1994) |
| - | Appraisal Committee of Ministry of Environment & Forests | : (1990 - 1994) |
| - | Governing Council, Satyajit Ray Film & TV Institute | : (1994 - 1996) |
| - | Executive Committee of Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) | : (1999 - 2000) |
| - | Advisory Group to the Minister of Information & Broadcasting | : (1999 - 2003) |
| - | Export Promotion Forum, Ministry of Information & | : (1999 - 2002) |
| Broadcasting, Govt. of India. | ||
| - | National Executive, Federation of Indian Chambers of | : (2001 - ) |
| Commerce & Industry (FICCI) | ||
| - | Expert Group of GATS, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, | : (2002 - 2005) |
| Govt. of India | ||
| - | Executive Committee of Indo European Centre, Paris | : (2003 - 2005) |
| (Think Tank) | ||
| - | Steering Committee of International Film Festival of India | : (2003 - 2007) |
| - | Prime Minister's Committee on Information, Communication | : (2005 - ) |
| & Entertainment (ICE), Planning Commission, Govt. of India. | ||
| - | Service Council, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) | : (2005 - ) |
| - | Sub Group on Broadband Development, Ministry of | : (2007 - ) |
| Communications & IT, Govt. of India. | ||
| - | Working Group for Eleventh Five Year & Twelfth Five Year | : (2007 - ) |
| - | Plan on Information & Broadcasting Sector, Govt. of India. | |
| - | Advisory Board of the Forum d'Avignon, Paris. | : (2009 - ) |
| Chairman |
| Reliance Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. |
| 1st Floor, 49/50, Maruti Chambers, |
| Fun Republic Lane, |
| Near YashRaj Studios, |
| Veera Desai Extension Road, |
| Andheri (West), |
| Mumbai - 400 053. |
Buniyaad, Dekh Bhai Dekh, Humrahi, Mr. Ya Mrs., Zameen Aasmaan, Gumraah, Swabhimaan, Badalte Rishtay, Jaldi Jaldi, Bade Miya Chote Miya
Amit Khanna has been involved with media since school. He has worked in theatre, radio, television, journalism and films. He started his film career as an Executive Producer with actor-producer Dev Anand's NAV KETAN in 1971. He subsequently produced feature films "Man Pasand" and wrote and directed critically acclaimed films "Sheeshay Ka Ghar" and "Shesh".
He has written over 400 film and non-film songs and several film scripts. Amit Khanna began actively working in Television as a producer-director in the early eighties and set up PLUS CHANNEL in 1990 which was India's first entertainment conglomerate and the largest independent producer of TV programmes having pioneered several programme formats and genres on Indian Television and produced 10 feature films, over 3000 hours of original TV programming and over 500 music albums. He quit as Managing Director of PLUS in June 2000 to launch Reliance Entertainment with Reliance, India's largest corporate. He has since then been working at the helm with Reliance Entertainment Limited, heading the broadband initiative, with promising industry co-workers working with him. He has very recently been appointed chairman of eEntertainment, a body formed by FICCI, NASSCOM and TiE. Amit Khanna has edited 'Tempus' (1969-71); Weekly 'Take-2' (1981), both monthly magazines and writes regularly on Media in various magazines and newspapers.
He has served on Central Board of Film Certification, Film Import Selection Committee. He is President of the Film Producers Guild of India and has been on the committee of Indian Broadcasting Foundation, Indian Music Industry, Film Federation of India. He has been a guest lecturer at various colleges and universities. He is a founder member of the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image, President-All India Film Producers Council, President- The Film Producers Guild of India, President - Earth Communications Office - India Association. Amit Khanna has won several National and International Awards.
The last 50 years has seen a lot of change in the way we live. Not only have maps been redrawn, ideologies redefined and technology unleashed many familiar things around have us disappeared .Some things have not changed in a long while. In fact many common things we use every day probably are almost identical to their prototypes. Let’s look at the wheel, one of the first inventions of humans. The humble bullock cart or Tonga or for that matter the potter’s wheel ( 5000 BC) are pretty much the same as they were a few millennia ago. Even the rubber tyre on your bike or car has not changed since John Dunlop invented the first rubber tyre in late nineteenth century. Yes minor changes in materials and better reinforcement (radial tyre) may be seen through the years but that’s it.
It was in 1804 that the first locomotive hauled a train over rails in Wales .We have almost similar trains running on almost similar tracks and sleepers running today .Till a few years ago we also had steam locomotives in use in many parts of the world. There has been virtually no change in design and comforts of a train carriage. In India, 150 years after trains were introduced we still use a hole in the floor of a small lavatory to defecate. And people still travel on train roofs!
That reminds me you must have noticed High Transmission Cables strung across tall pylons race past you as you travel on railroads or highways. In spite of rapid advancements in materials and this is the way electricity has been transmitted since its invention 150 years. Nor have the plugs, switches, meters and fuses altered much. Typewriters, Telegraph and telex may have disappeared but good old landline phones are still very much around.
We have all seen the neighbourhood dhobi ironing clothes with a rusty coal iron. Clothes have been pressed in such ways for century’s .Even the steam iron is more than `120 years old. Did you realize that the ubiquitous glass bottle has been around in some form or the other since 1500 BC? Dry cleaning of clothes is done almost done a hundred years ago .Kerosene may have given way to benzene and other newer solvents the process remains the same. The bespoke tailor even today uses the same tools of trade as his forefathers did centuries ago .So do all other artisans: weavers, metal workers, embroiders, masons, carpenters, butchers and bootleggers.
All this talk of AK 47s and other sophisticated fire arms would imply the basic rifle has disappeared. No sir, the modern, bolt-action rifle and chamber-firing revolver are essentially unchanged from their predecessors, and operate exactly the same way they did for great grandfather. In fact, other than the advent of the semi and fully-automatic mechanisms, and vast improvements in sighting (i.e. telescopes), a hunter from 100 years ago would have no trouble using a modern rifle or a police constable. (Beyond bemoaning their poor quality of manufacture).The axe,saw ,nails ,hammer are still the same. A sailor would use a boat 100 years ago just as a modern yachtsman does except the rig is of nylon today. A bicycle has hardly evolved in 100 years.
Let’s look around the kitchen and pantry. Baked beans still come in cans and tomato ketchup in a bottle. The bread is baked the way it was 200 years ago. The Pressure Cooker is the same since 1864. The mixer –grinder has been around for 100 years .The best pizzas are still baked in wood fired oven and the best tandoori chicken is made not on a rotisserie but a clay tandoor. You still use frozen peas and vegetables and sausages , pate and chees made the way they were for generations. Bottle openers, knives, cutlery, rockery, pots and pans all go back centuries. As does most of the furniture.
Newspapers are edited, printed and distributed as they were 300 years ago save for changes in from letterpress to offset and Computer layouts from hand painted pages. So, from scissors and locks, thermometers and fountain pens to knitted pullovers, patchwork quilts and leather coats and cotton swabs ,antiseptics and aspirin ,the past clings on to our present with a reluctant obstinacy.
The last 10 years has seen cataclysmic changes and from wireless telephony to the Internet of Things it’s been one rollercoaster ride. Metamorphosis is a word which sounds alien to digital natives but in a larger cosmic scheme of things nothing much has changed .As Arthur Koestler remarked the human brain has not evolved much from the Neanderthaler.
Amit Khanna
I was at a Conference on culture in Paris recently when a fellow panellist asked me what India’s cultural policy was. I was flummoxed for a while for a while but then quickly gathered my wits and replied ,”Its non-interventionist, pluralistic and state supported“. Really my answer was a bit of mumbo-jumbo but the question did set me thinking. Did we have a cultural policy at all?
The word culture is derived from ’cultivation”. Roman philosopher Cicero first used it in the context of the ‘cultivation of the mind”. Over the years especially since the last 200 years culture has enveloped several connotations-anthropological, historical and political and now even economic. In a globalized world which is paradoxically also becoming parochial and chauvinistic at the same time, the need to assert one’s identity is manifesting itself stronger than ever before. From a homogenization of food, fashion, entertainment etc. there is an increasing tendency for people to rediscover the roots or regroup as communities based on race, religion or region.
For me Culture -both high and popular-represents a sum of beliefs, stories, myths, traditions, arts and crafts, music and dance, literature, heritage, media & entertainment or to put it in simple words ,creative outpourings of an individual or community. It is what gives us –individually and together our identity.
It is surprising for a country of India’s size Culture has always been discussed either in rarefied drawing rooms of wealthy social dilettantes or in the heated debates of left leaning activists. More so when we have been considered for over five millenia
2. The power of culture is often not felt immediately. It slowly permeates into our day-to-day life. Cultural power is glacial.it moves slowly but with great force. Of course in a networked world where travel and communication is easier than earlier some cultural leit motifs become obvious .Thus we use words like “soft power’ or ‘smart power’ as analogous with the power of culture.
A classic example would be Hollywood which has become all pervasive around the world. Or Chinese food. Or Yoga . And a host of transnational iconic people and products. With an estimated turnover of USD 2.4 trillion annually culture (and this excludes tourism and travel) is one of the World’s largest Industry. France for instance draws over 70 million tourists every year mainly because of its heritage and culture. Its distinctive cuisine, fashion and art amongst other things. In fact cultural power> When I go abroad people always ask me about Bollywood .This is the power of culture. It can overprint on other peoples ‘minds images, sounds, taste and smells of another nation and in the process monetize an intangible asset or undermine another
3. The power of culture in everyday life may surprise. A Hollywood film may release simultaneously in over 100 countries and attract millions of viewers. An unknown Korean can dance ’Gangam style’ and is watched by millions online across regions. A French cheese or an Italian Pizza can be found on dining tables across the world. How many books do we read in translation? Or clothes we wear from other parts of the globe .The games we play on the field or online or tweets and status updates we share with virtual friends.
Amit Khanna
Ever since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)came to power last year with a clear majority there have been murmurs of dissent specially in a section of intelligentsia .Though this is not the first time that a Non Congress or a Left-of-centre Government has come to rule in the world’s largest democracy but it is a watershed in our 60 year democratic history to the extent that this time a Congress()or Congress led) has lost an election but for the first time an opposition party has defeated it .Therein lies the crux of the problem
A definite power shift from the Left to Right and to a party whose antecedents are pro Hindu. This has caused not only a lot of heartburn amongst leftist hoi polio but also threatened the state patronage gravy train .For decades a certain set of people specially thinkers, artistes and activists have blossomed in a largely Congress dispensation. One of the legacies of Pax Nehruviana has been the creation of favoured intellectual elite. Many of these are truly talented and scholarly but like all good thinkers they believe in an ideology. What they have to understand is that a person with a different value system and ideology. You may not agree with it but then in a Democracy it’s a winner takes all polity. Ultimately it’s a numbers game. The great Poet Allama Iqbal has said this beautifully ’Jhamooriyat woh tarze-hukumat hai, jisme bandon KO gina karte hain, tola nahin karte’, (Democracy is that form of Government where people are counted, not evaluated).So, if the much agitated chattered has a grouse against BJP they should lament democracy.
Secularism and tolerance is ingrained in our genes that it will require generations of mutation to change India’s social DNA.Yes, this government may favour its own thought and ideology but that’s what the Congress did for decades. Remember Indira Gandhi’s acolytes like Pupil Jackal and Kapil Vatasayan reigned as Cultural Tsarinas for decades. So why grudge if Modi brings in a few of his own now. What a certain section of people who had ideological access to the powers that be suddenly y their political credit card has been barred it was but natural for them to harangue publically about imminent danger to the very fabric of India. Besides a bit of rhetoric and some foolish comments (utterly condemnable) by a few MPs nothing substantive has changed. In the last 18 months.
In fact my complaint is about the déjà vu of status quo... If women are raped with impunity (shame on all of us) or Dalits killed (abhor able) or children abused it’s indeed a National disgrace. Instead of fighting an ideological war in falsetto work constructively with the Government to uproot these age old problems. There are people I admire for their scholarship, Irfan Habib and Romilla Taper for example, or film makers like Saeed Mirza and Anand Patwardhan. But I do not support their worldview. I look at the world through my own prism and see my own chiaroscuro of socio-economic fervent.
The ultra-right like the ultra-left have untenable locus standi in a constitutional Republic but its moderates who constitute the majority of citizenry .As long as their life is not messed around with the nation will progress. What is a fact that except for a hopelessly few original thinkers and intellectuals left in our entire political spectrum and a majority are mere actors in the nightly audio visual calisthenics show on the idiot box which has become de jure entertainment for arm chair democrats..
I am no blind supporter of Modi but neither am I willing to suffer a halfwit like Rahul Gandhi talking inanely about oblique polity. Yeti does believe the economic path being taken by this Government is the only road to progress left for this country. IN fact Modi needs to act with alacrity and push through major reforms like the GST and the land bill. The merits of which are a subject of another article. Will our left thinkers continue to support the most inappropriate filibustering of the Parliament by the Congress. There will be not an inkling of a protest by these left leaners. No matter the Nation wallows in poverty under Amitava Sen.’s benign and dated philosophy of. Economics. As a side I must add that I often feel the absence of Right wing economic philosopher in India (Bhagwati is an exception.).Where are novelists like Ayn Rand and Yuko Mishima or poets like TS Elliot and Marianne Moore or even WB Yeats forget philosophers like Martin Heidegger or George Grant. BJP must realize that people of such stature will not be found in Jhandewallan or Vivekananda Foundation.
One thing I am sure of India’s secularism and tolerance are not at risk .Thousands of years of tradition does not get endangered by a change in political leadership. The naysayers must pause and reflect there is nothing gained by relentlessly crying wolf. And who is bothered besides the media if you return your awards anyway.
Of Couse the Prime Minister too must be dismissive of many garrulous loudmouths in his party. Narendra Modi is great communicator. He must talk to people more and take media into confidence. It’s a matter of time before the owls go to sleep
Amit Khanna
In a nation of 1.3 billion people it may appear strange that if you were to really assess you will not be able to name even 20 all-time greats in any field in the last 10 years. We revel in our mediocrity with schadenfreude. When nothing works then we look back in anger at all possible misfortunes which befell upon us denying us greatness .What is it that taken away sunlight of brilliance from India in the past few years? Forget the distant past and our imagined ingenuity in building aeroplanes and spaceships in an age when humans had not even discovered half the elements. Yet, no one denies that people like Arayabhatta(mathematician), Sushruta(surgeon), Panini(Gramarian), Chanakya(Stateman), Kalidasa(litrateur), Natyamuni(Cultural theorist) Ashoka (Ruler) and you will find another dozen luminaries whose stature has withstood the vagaries of time and whose names still feature amongst the greatest.
India has consistently produced a litany of world’s greatest at regular frequency. Right till the turn of the century we could count pre-eminent personages from Gandhi to Tagore, C.V.Raman to Hargobind Khurana,Dhyan Chand to Sachin Tendulkar,Raja Ravi Varma,Amrita Sher Gill, Lata Mangeshkar,MS Subhalaksmi,Ravi Shankar,Ali Akbar Khan,R.K.Narayan,Salmaan Rushdie,Satyajit Ray, Guru Dutt,Tenzing Norkay and you can go on.There was hardly any sphere of human endeavour where our compatriots did not excel. Today, sadly the only standouts are skulduggery and chutzpah.
What has happened to us now? Where has all the virtuosity gone? Let us begin with Public life. Can you name even one person across the political spectrum who has in the past 2 decades .Arguably the last truly inspiring statesman we had was Jai Parkash Narayan some 3 decades ago. One can easily dismiss this shortfall to the falling standards in our polity. Take the 2 major political parties. Congress has had no global leader since Indira Gandhi and BJP none besides Atal Behari Vajpye (it’s too soon to judge Narendra Modi). Regional satraps with narrow parochial outlook have sprouted all over. Exploiting ethnic and local issues with deracination they do well at the hustings but when it comes to statesmanship they are kaput. Only media hype no substance and often ante diluvian world view.
Since Rushdie ,Arundhati Roy, Amitava Ghosh,Alan Sealy,Jhumpa Lahiri,Amit Chaudhari caught the imagination of the English reading universe and Indian English writing started getting noticed we have back again to the perennial Indian preference of quantity over quality. So for every Arvind Adiga and Neel Mukerjee you have 100 pedestrian writers attending the many litfests.Not that the regional literature is any better. No exceptional talent has emerged in the last 2 decades. Similarly no major poet in any Indian language has captured cognoscenti’s imagination.
Cinema too is a largely barren field .Occasional flashes of brilliance from a handful of young Directors the last 20 years have been pretty ordinary marked by savvy marketing rather than creativity. Actors both male and female of any consequence are all who made their debut years ago with a rare exception or two. Glitz and glamour often tacky craves for indulgence and fleeting fame is what most cinematic meteors gather today.
Classical music is more popular but the so called rising stars are all who started performing 2 decades ago. Rahul Sharma,Aman and Ayan Ali Khan,Rakesh Chaurasiya,Ashwini Bhide, Bombay Jaishree. It’s the old masters who still rule the roost. From Hariprasad, Chaurasia,Pandit Jasraj,Kishori Amonkar,Zakir Hussain,Shiv Kumar Sharma,L Shankar,TK M.urthy it a whole generation of performing artistes who still command the pride of place. Same with classical dance. Undoubtedly more young people are striving to learn classical art forms professionally but the rigour is missing. Hopefully the next decade will show some results.
In science and technology India lags behind in fundamental research or the number of patents filed than several countries including China, in business and commerce (if you leave a few Internet children) no significant figure has emerged since nineties. The inheritors by and large have made some incremental progress but no breakthroughs. In media no noteworthy Editor or publication has come before in many a year. Entertainment television is stuck in a groove for 20 years and TV news has now replaced folk theatre complete with its ‘vidhushak’ and convolutes plots of intrigue and greed. Can you recall any newscaster of the last many years who can hold a candle to Prannoy Roy?
So from politics to philosophy, fashion to films, sports to entertainment we are have morphed into a society where mediocrity is celebrated. As Joseph Heller (Catch 22) said, “Some people are born mediocre, some achieve mediocrity and some people have mediocrity thrust upon them”. We can only hope this is too but a passing phase, a part of our tryst with destiny and sooner than later we shall rise and awaken from mediocrity into brilliance and glory.
Amit Khanna
Digitalisation is the ultimate democratisation
Amit Khanna | 25 Oct, 2019
Welcome to a world where everyone is connected, all the time. Within this always-on ecosystem, grabbing attention is only the first part of a digital world. We have an overload of messaging, information and entertainment, some pushed and some pulled by us through a plethora of devices. In fact, nothing has changed our lives more than the ubiquitous use of mobile phones. According to industry website wearesocial.com, there are 5.11 billion unique mobile users in the world today, there are 4.4 billion internet connections and 3.5 billion people are on social media.
Other staggering statistics include: more than 7 million hours of content upload on YouTube every day; roughly 4 billion Instagram 'likes' each day; some 5.5 billion Facebook messages posted daily; about 250 million tweets shared each day; nearly 6 billion daily Google Searches; a whopping 246 billion emails each day; a staggering 65 billion WhatsApp messages. Add to this the 15,000 broadcast TV channels around the world and over 100,000 radio stations and the rapidly growing audio and video on-demand streaming services (OTTs). On average, people around the world are watching TV, listening to music, surfing the net, chatting, gaming, and of course, consuming filmed entertainment for 6 hours a day, 365 days a year. In India, we spend just over an hour on our mobile phones and 4 hours before a screen—TV, computer or smartphone—every day.
Yet, the digital revolution is as significant as the Industrial Revolution or the Electronic Revolution because it is not just about communication but the transformation of human lives. Digitalisation is the ultimate democratisation. As we have seen, monopoly over information and news is no longer an impediment in society. A single tweet or an image on Facebook or Instagram or a video on YouTube has in the recent past sparked off not only protests but the overthrow of regimes. Wars have started and ended on social media. Space science, health and education are all being reimagined. Nothing is beyond an individual's power to intervene in any public discourse today. History, geography and present and past are all encapsulated in a click of Google search. However, it all boils down to the ability to access, engage and consume a wide spectrum of products and services across geographies and price points.
A simple microchip and its more advanced avatars have made several tasks so simple, inexpensive and convenient that we are cramming too much in our normal day. More is following a lot. Multiple usage of multiple devices simultaneously is bombarding our senses relentlessly. No wonder we all suffer from an attention deficit disorder. We have moved from the Attention Age to an Engagement era. Now it's all about monetising this engagement. When too much media (and entertainment) is chasing a limited number of eyeballs in a limited time span (24×365 hours a year), there is bound to be a bitter fight for attention. With limited time and fixed per capita consumer spends, the battle for mind space becomes even more acute. It's no longer good to attract a user or buyer or even engage her but it's the ability to monetise attention and engagement, which is critical in today's transactional world. As more and more services are becoming a part of shared economy (Uber, Airbnb, Ola, Paytm, WhatsApp) monetising of content is facing a big threat of not only sharing but illicit downloads and forwards.
Besides the obvious changes in the way we communicate, inform and entertain ourselves, our life is being redefined in more ways than one. E-commerce has pervaded every product or service we consume. Seventy per cent of all travel bookings are online or through applications or other digital means. Medicine and healthcare, from diagnostics to palliative care, are now aided by AI and robotics. Transactions are moving rapidly towards a stage where in a decade, 90 per cent of all payment will be online. Paper currency, cheque books, passbooks and other physical instruments of trade and commerce will disappear. In the next two years when 5G becomes widespread, newer use of digital connectivity will open up. Not only will 5G give us extremely fast speeds upwards of 1 GBPS and beyond but it will open doors to several things—the Internet of Things (IoT). Soon, all our home appliances, machines and devices will get interconnected. Machine-to-machine interface will allow new advancements in medicine, education, governance, finance, home management transport, shopping, etcetera. Alongside, IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) will enable smart manufacturing smart cities and autonomous mobility (self-driving cars). Artificial intelligence and robotics will help us eradicate many of the ills pervading our society. Since anything digital is actually a transaction, it has an in-built safeguard of transparency. What seems an invasion of privacy with a possibility of digital fraud will in the years to come be more secure through several virtual layers of encryption and other electronic and biometric means. Reskilling, which appears a daunting task, will be overcome through smart voice cognitive and self-learning applications. The jobs lost to automation will be filled with millions of other occupations in services and maintenance of the gargantuan digital economy, which will be a massive 5 trillion dollars by 2024. By the end of the decade, this will grow to half of the global GDP.
With relentless engagement of our mind, we are running short of time and money. Today's media will have to take into account the density of communication/engagement. The human body has clearly delineated neural pathways. The brain sorts and stores information in a layered form in different stacks in various lobes. The ability of communicators to reach out subliminally is becoming critical to messaging—information and entertainment alike. As the load of synapses increases, the memory becomes more selective. Content, which is sticky on account of its uniqueness or presentation, engages the most and then some of it stays embedded. Capitalising this stored information in many ways over sustained period will be the key for the media, marketers, politicians, manufacturers and service providers, entertainers, artists and even nations.
Let's look at the changes in India. The three most obvious ones are information, entertainment and commerce. Today with a billion mobile phones, people across socio-economic classes are consuming media differently. I spend extended periods of time in a remote village beyond Shimla. I see people from farmers to itinerant labour to farmers listening to music on their mobiles. Many of the younger ones are glued on to social media. The women on the other hand use the mobile more as a communication tool. Television is the other ubiquitous media gateway. Today, even the poorest have access to a TV even when they don't own one. Unlike cities, the thrust in rural India is towards free-to-air channels. As broadband reaches the village levels (give it another two or three years), media consumption will become more segmented. I see the rise of on-demand TV and video in small bundles, like the ones offered by telcos or by Amazon, Netflix, Hotstar, Jio, ZEE 5, and others. Google, Facebook, Paytm, WhatsApp and Alerts are as ubiquitous in the remotest corners of the globe as in a crowded mall in a large metropolis. Contrary to perception, content costs will not rise dramatically even as creative professionals will get better paid. Data analytics and blockchain will enable fair collection of tiny amounts from individual consumers. Since the market universe is so big, even such tiny amounts will total billions.
Following global trends, I see a rise in online gaming in India in the years to come. A typical Indian urban middle-class home presents an interesting picture. The household consumes different media simultaneously. For example, the husband watches news and sports and the wife watches soaps on TV, often on different TV sets and devices. The son and daughter spend a lot of time on social media, music, and in cases of boys, on games, and use the net frequently. The grandparents watch old films and religious channels. All this happens in overlapping day parts (time periods). In the next few years, all this will happen online and on-demand. Linear broadcast has at best a decade more of life. The future is about personalised content delivered on demand over different devices. Curation of content and services using AI is already happening and will become the norm by 2024. We will be spending up to six hours in front of a device, handheld or otherwise.
E-commerce, and increasingly m-commerce, is changing the rules of the marketplace. Brand attributes and salience, even advertising, has changed more in the last five years than in the previous 50 years. How do we bridge the gap between the expectation to deliver impact today, the requests we get to do more and the demands of our customers to see more value? The only way to bridge this gap is with stories. Stories are such powerful drivers of emotional value that their impact can be measured objectively, says marketing guru Michael Brenner. When our minds are constantly pounded with sounds and images, breaking out of the clutter is as important for a prime minister as it is to a farmer selling his produce in the local mandi. An unknown video goes viral while a multi-store struggles to get eyeballs. A villager or vagrant can post an image on social media upsetting the applecart of governance. Even wars are now about attention. A marketer and an entertainer are telling stories to capture a flitting moment of engagement. Cross-pollination of the mind is the essence of tomorrow's engagement. Nothing is unidimensional anymore. All of us need to reskill ourselves. Unlike popular perception, while there will be redundancies in existing businesses and professions, several new opportunities will open up. Your neighborhood grocer, vegetable vendor, butcher, kirana and chemist will not disappear but morph into touchpoints for new retail and service providers. Logistics, supply chain, customer relations and digital networks, analytics, travel and hospitality, media and entertainment, creative professionals, artisans, sportspersons and customisation agents will grow manifold. Doctors, paramedics, teachers, lawyers, accountants, marketers, advisory services, researchers and analysts will all be large employment generators.
The consumer, it has been said, is the Queen. Well, we are soon coming to an age where all the 7 billion-plus people will be rulers. These queens and kings with their own micro-kingdoms will demand new types of court jesters, informers, entertainers, sellers and providers, even sages. Whoever among us is able to fulfill this role effectively will survive either as an individual creator/purveyor or a part of a collective. Any which way, new structures will emerge. Everything from music to news, films to information, grocery shelves to airplanes, homestays, design, education, healthcare, banking and government services will be customised and curated for every single citizen.
| Non-Film Lyrics | |||||
| Album | Song | Singer | Lyrics | Music Composer | View Lyrics |
| Salma & Saba Sing Abba in Hindi | Toba Toba (Mamma Mia) | Salma & Sabina Agha | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. |
| Kabhie Kabhie | Salma & Sabina Agha | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Pehli Pehli Preet | Salma & Sabina Agha | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Ho Jayegi Badnaami | Salma & Sabina Agha | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Hum Rahi | Salma & Sabina Agha | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Hain Yeh Oyar Ghazab | Salma & Sabina Agha | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Mitha Mazedaar | Salma & Sabina Agha | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Boney M & More in Hindi | Chori Chori | Mahendra Kapoor & Musarrat | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. |
| Rani | Mahendra Kapoor | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Tere Hum Tere Hain | Mahendra Kapoor | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Chup Chup | Mahendra Kapoor | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Raja | Musarrat | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Hum Tum Kyon | Musarrat | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Hoton Pe Tera Naam | Mahendra Kapoor & Musarrat | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Chal disco Chal | Daku Daku | Sharon Prabhakar & Deepak | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. |
| Chal disco chal | Sharon Prabhakar & Musarrat | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Deewana Hai | Sharon Prabhakar | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Maaf Karo | Musarrat | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Main Teri Hoon | Musarrat | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Raja Raja | Musarrat | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Mere Habib | Sharon Prabhakar Musarrat | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Dekho Dekho | Sharon Prabhakar | Amit Khanna | Peter Moss | N.A. | |
| Awara Sur | Dhalki Jaye Chunariya | Shafqat Ali Khan | Amit Khanna | Bappi Lahiri | N.A. |
| Humre Balma | Shafqat Ali Khan | Amit Khanna | Bappi Lahiri | N.A. | |
| Jhule Jhule Lal | Shafqat Ali Khan | Amit Khanna | Bappi Lahiri | N.A. | |
| Piya Kaise Rijhaoon | Shafqat Ali Khan | Amit Khanna | Bappi Lahiri | N.A. | |
| Ruk Ruk Dhadke | Shafqat Ali Khan | Amit Khanna | Bappi Lahiri | N.A. | |
| Soya Zamana | Shafqat Ali Khan | Amit Khanna | Bappi Lahiri | N.A. | |
| Taro Bhari Hai Raat | Shafqat Ali Khan | Amit Khanna | Bappi Lahiri | N.A. | |
| Tere Ishq Nachaya | Shafqat Ali Khan | Amit Khanna | Bappi Lahiri | N.A. | |
| Young Tarang | Aag | Nazia Hassan | Amit Khanna | Biddu | N.A. |
| Dum Dum Dede | Nazia Hassan | Amit Khanna | Biddu | N.A. | |
| Chehra | Zoheb Hassan | Amit Khanna | Biddu | N.A. | |
| Kya Howa | Nazia Hassan | Amit Khanna | Biddu | N.A. | |
| Dosti | Zoheb & Nazia | Amit Khanna | Biddu | N.A. | |
| Ashanti | Zoehb Hassan | Amit Khanna | Biddu | N.A. | |
| Sunn | Nazia Hassan | Amit Khanna | Biddu | N.A. | |
| Ankhien Milane Wale | Nazia Hassan | Amit Khanna | Biddu | N.A. | |
| Pyar Ka Jadu n | Zoheb Hassan | Amit Khanna | Biddu | N.A. | |
| LYRICS FOR TELEVISION | |||
| Serial | Lyrics | Music | View Lyrics |
| Buniyaad | Amit Khanna | Uday Mazumdar | N.A. |
| Dekh Bhai Dekh | Amit Khanna | Ajit Singh | N.A. |
| Humrahi | Amit Khanna | Jagjit Singh | N.A. |
| Mr Ya Mrs | Amit Khanna | Jagjit Singh | N.A. |
| Zameen Aasmaan | Amit Khanna | Sharang Dev | N.A. |
| Gumraah | Amit Khanna | Sharang Dev | N.A. |
| Swabhimann | Amit Khanna | Sharang Dev | N.A. |
| Badalte Rishtey | Amit Khanna | Sharang Dev | N.A. |
| Jaldi Jaldi | Amit Khanna | Sharang Dev | N.A. |
| Bade Miyan Chhote Miya | Amit Khanna | Ajit Singh | N.A. |
