'Newton's' success isn't going down too well with some, it seems

The famous Indian crab mentality notwithstanding we have never quite got our heads around to the extent that schadenfreude exists in our collective psyches No sooner has a thing or person achieved some measure of success the crab reaching to the top of the heap when our claws are out ready to tear them down When we read about the attempts at creating a spurious controversy about Newton being allegedly plagiarised from an Iranian film it sounded spurious even to our ears despite not having viewed either filmRajkummar Rao in Newton and Anurag KashyapThe crabs with their claws are at it again is what we thought Must be a slow news day So kudos to Anurag Kashyap for going to the lengths he did to establish that the makers of The Secret Ballot that Newton was allegedly plagiarised from had themselves declared there was no copyingMind you Kashyap has done this completely altruistically This is not his film he was in no way connected to it and God knows if it does indeed win the Oscar its said to so rightly deserve hes certainly not going to be making an acceptance speech What Kashyap has demonstrated is something rare today An act of altruism to support an artistic endeavour which he believes is larger than the individuals behind itSo very different from the crab mentality It enrages me that we Indians are such crabs that when we see something anything good our first instinct is to discredit it We go to any lengths to find some actual mostly vague similarities and tear it apart Social media and our clickbait journos have made it worse Everyone loves to see people fall no one champions anything except hate And we totally miss the point said KashyapOn another note I loved Newton and I admire what it is trying to do and as a filmmaker I know how difficult it is to make that film in current circumstances Its a film no one would make or release if it was up to them Its success is a game changer And I can promise you that more than 70 of all those accusing it of being a copy have neither seen Newton nor Secret Ballot They are only comparing trailers I have seen both and everyone who has seen both thinks otherwise And I had access to the filmmakers so I sent them the link to the film and rest is their opinion he addedWhich brings me to the way Kashyaps own film Bombay Velvet was clawed at so mercilessly Yes it might not have lived up to everyones expectations but to butcher it with such venom The crab mentality Takes ones breath awaySheer nostalgiaFor those whod like to know what the fashion world was before hashtags selfies and photo walls took over we would urge a viewing of a clip thats been doing the rounds recently on social media we chanced upon it on the timeline of Rohit BalSandeep Khosla and Abu JaniPublished by Wilderness Films India Ltd described as the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia it features the pioneer and founding father of the fashion world the late Rohit Khosla himself in all his endearing exuberance along with todays emperors of haute couture Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla as two delicate young newbies just taking their first steps with their label JashanRohit KhoslaHow innocent how creative and how very beautiful was the flower when it had just started to bud No fashion weeks no frontrow shenanigans and above all no preening pouting fashionistas back then NiceA small ray of sunshineHe may have written an anguished letter to members of the RWITC on his recent resignation following the election results but even those arraigned against former RWITC chairman Vivek Jain are saying that yesterdays breathtaking victory for the beleaguered club in its case against Gallops restaurant is largely due to his effortsVivek JainThe arbitrators order in May which confirmed that BJR which runs Gallops is not a tenant paved the way for yesterdays order in favour of the RWITC resulting in a huge compensation Gallops has to pay the entire backlog of dues which amount to approximately R35 crore plus interest but also the future rentals as per agreement till they hand over possession said to amount to a staggering Rs 6 crore per annum as against the earlier Rs 35 crore Its a huge victory on grounds of principle and though Im no more on the committee I surely feel vindicated having fronted the process for so many years said an emotional JainAs everyone knows with its recent struggle for its very existence the BMC has not renewed its lease and the double whammy of demonetisation and GST not to forget the recent election wrangles and fallout thats a silver lining in RWITCs cloud for nowWhats cooking RahulRestaurateur Rahul Akerkars imminent restaurant plans are beginning to read like an ongoing saga Around April this year he had announced his new company Bob and Daughters Restaurants LLP in place of DeGustibus Hospitality which he had soldRahul AkerkarAfter completion of his noncompetition clause Akerkar was expected to launch a phalanx of new ventures but even as the industry waited no news was forthcoming Whats more the grapevine is intrigued by the recent update on his LinkedIn profileAkerkar is listed as the founder and managing director of Qualia Hospitality Is that going to fructify into some new venture Theyre both my companies said Akerkar when we asked him about both new entities Neither does anything now Just setting up he said Forks and knives to the readyThe chosen fewA few weeks ago wed teased our old friend and former editor Dr Sanjaya Baru secretary general of FICCI Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry about when he would be appointed finance ministerDr Sanjaya BaruThis was because Baru whod once served as press secretary of former PM Dr Manmohan Singh and had subsequently written the bestselling The Accidental PM was stepping into the shoes of Amit Mitra current Finance Minister of West Bengal Our tease as it turns out was not so farfetchedThe office of FICCI appears to be one of Narendra Modis favourite recruitment grounds Not only has another of its SGs Rajiv Kumar become the head of the allimportant NITI Aayog but now its execonomic advisor Bibek Debroy has just been appointed as chairman of the PMs economic advisory councilDoes this mean Baru will once again find himself working for gormint soon Just sayin