When Matt sold the Ferrari

Apocryphal as most hoponhopoff tourist bus stories are I was once told about a race that took place in New York City between automobile giants General Motors GM and Chrysler Both companies fighting over who should have the tallest penis in Manhattan decided to embark on an office construction back in the 1920s This was during the peak of the American economic boom Neither knew what the height of the rivals building was going to beEyeing the altitude as it kept piling up both GM and Chrysler would keep adding a floor and a few more looking at the competing structure coming up Until at some point they had to stop because they couldnt possibly carry on foreverGM eventually won Theirs was the Empire State Building mdash the tallest structure for several years Chrysler Building lost out yes but remains still a stunning piece talking to the sky Its only as recently as yesterday that I realised that the storys absolutely untrueIt sounds believable enough so Im not going to knock myself for assuming it to be history all this time For at the heart of it is the human ego As is the case with the biographical sports film Ford v Ferrari directed by James Mangold starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale that opens in theatres this FridayThe film set in the 1960s essentially chronicles a time when Ford although an auto behemoth was a fuddyduddy car that families owned but nobody cared much for because it just wasnt cool enough Think Maruti in the Indian context Roughly speaking what did Ford decide to do to up their street cred Buy out Ferrari What did Ferrari do in return Insult FordAnd I mean this not in terms of one company staving off a takeover as any other would But the takedown was quite literal given that both Ferrari and Ford were real people owning firms with their family names So Enzo Ferrari basically called Henry Ford II pigheaded fat and a loser next to his illustrious fatherWhat did that set off The battle to build the fastest Ford car that could screw Ferrari at Le Mans a 24hour endurance race which the latter had been winning consecutively through the decade Ford hires a design genius Carrol Shelby Damon who in turn brings on board a maverick racingcar driver Ken Miles BaleTogether they set out to test the limits of speedI dont know exactly what was the deal struck with the Indian publishing industry in the 1990s Those of my vintage will distinctly recall how there was a point much like with Ayn Rands Fountainhead every desi uncle aunty and their kids had read the autobiography of Lee Iacocca a Ford and later a Chrysler employee of all people mdash whether in hardcover paperback or pirated prints picked off the streetThe book coauthored by William Novak was first published in the mid80s From what I can recall it wasnt quite a selfhelptype book either It had a little bit of drama Be that as it may most Indians had become fans of Iacocca for reasons unknown to meThere is Iacocca Jon Bernthal in Ford v Ferrari But his role is quite limited to being Fords minion And with very little authority over a conniving fellow Josh Lucas who has the proprietors ears Now this top Ford employee simply hates the eccentric Miles for reasons centered on ego alone He just wants to wallop that racingcar driver who can bring the company much glory He probably just doesnt like his face or the way he talks I dont knowWhy are all these peripherals essential Because they provide a plot to a boyswithtoys genre which usually neither has one nor needs any For all that people want to feel is an adrenaline rush over cars manoeuvring at breakneck speed Consider Fast amp Furious mdash whichever part its on nowI do get some of that excitement But Im not really a racingcar fan to a point that its impossible for me to fathom why crowds show up at Formula One races where all you can see is a machine whizzing past you in a nanosecond from wherever youre in the standsIs Ford v Ferrari the most cerebral form of a racingcar flick with all the genre accoutrements mdash the thumping heart rate the camera zipping in motion the blasts and the mindbending turns In a geeky sort of way yes At any rate it seems to be an Oscar season release Which is already saying a lotTheres nothing in this period film that both the dad and the kid wont like Heres what the Central Board of Film Certification CBFC perennially scratching depths of stupidity didnt like about Ford v Ferrari mdash people getting a drink in the film Im not kidding you mdash theyve actually blurred bottles and glasses with booze in it Cheers to thatMayank Shekhar attempts to make sense of mass culture He tweets mayankw14Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individuals and dont represent those of the paperCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates