The Chief Ministers of India turning a new leaf

It was really heart warming to read about Bihar being one of the most progressive states in India. Some would argue that its because its on a low base compared to other states. But for a state that's languishing in dark for all these years, an applause for the progress is well deserved. All credit should go to its Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who has done a remarkable job. He is also championing the cause of cleansing Ganga which is a long overdue action that should have been taken long before by the state governments. Also, instead of haggling with the union agricultural minister Sharad Pawar, he has agreed to waive off the VAT on sugar in the state. All examples of a good statesman and administrator. The ex-chief minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, may have garnered accolades for his performance as a turnaround Railway Minister, but he is also infamous for keeping Bihar as an impoverished state during his term as the CM there. Obviously he can't digest the success of Nitish Kumar and continues to pick holes in his governance. But statistics speak for themselves and looks like Bihar is all set for progress under its current CM's stewardship.

Another state whose CM makes more headlines than its progress is Uttar Pradesh. The news making CM of UP, Mayawati seems to have turned over a new leaf these days. Not only has she come forward for supporting the cause of hockey players in India but also has decided to do away with her lavish birthday celebrations which earned a lot of brickbats in the past. This year, for her 54th birthday, Mayawati has announced schemes worth over 7,000 crore rupees to help the poorest in Uttar Pradesh. Either oher PR officer has advised her on this or she is really working for the state welfare. Whatever be the intention, but the action is definitely a step ahead in positive direction.

And if we are discussing about Chief Ministers of India, one name that we can't ignore is Gujarat's Minister, Narendra Modi. You may hate him or praise him, but you can't ignore him. I am not a big fan of his because of his 2002 Gujarat antics but I can't help marvel at this success in making Gujarat one of the most progressive states in India. One doesn't hear about as many SEZ conflicts in Gujarat as in other states. He does his best to bring investment in the state, not to forget how he got Tata to set up their Nano plant in Gujarat. Now he has moved a mile forward after announcing mandatory elections in Gujarat. The big blot in his Chief Minister's career seems to be fading away owing to his governance skills. Yet, he will continue to be treated as a suspect for a long time and rightly so.

Makers of 'preaching-to-be-good' movies may not learn the lesson themselves

One would think that the makers of 'preaching-to-be-good' movies like 'Munnabhai' and '3 idiots' would be practicing some goodness on themselves too. But seeing the current '3 idiots' war between the makers and Chetan Bhagat, the writer of the book, 'Five Point Someone', clearly shows that they haven't learnt a lot from their movies except to make money.

Firstly to say that the movie is based 2-5% on the book is laughable. Clearly the basic story, the underlying principle, the twists, the plots have a lot in common with the book. Anyone who has read the book will vouch for that. Obviously the screenplay will be different as its a movie adaptation and also because you want to Aamir to be the main protagonist and him to romance the heroine, but the story is the same.

Secondly, its a little preposterous for Aamir Khan to call Chetan Bhagat publicity hungry even without bothering to read the book. Aamir probably doesn't read the books that general young Indian reads. Thats why he doesn't know the popularity of Chetan Bhagat and why he doesn't require publicity. I and many people I know did not go to watch the movie because its a movie made by the makers of Munnabhai. We wanted to watch it because we had loved the book. Yet, to say that people throng theaters to watch Aamir Khan movie makes sense but I am sure the number of people who were aware that the movie was based on the hit novel is more than the number of people who were aware that this movie is made by the 'Munnabhai' makers.

And what I don't understand is that why are the makers being so squeamish in sharing the story credit with Chetan. Chetan Bhagat, is a renowned name in the Indian publishing industry. He is to Indian publishing what Aamir is to Bollywood, a sure shot bumper opening. He is not asking for money, being a creative person he is justifiably upset at the amount of effort the makers are taking to keep the movie distant from the book.

Looks like a money minded producer will not understand the mind of a creative person. He needs to watch Munnabhai series once again.