We are always wondering why we find it so hard to be original. We as in Indians. We create something and 9 times out of 10, it is something we've borrowed from the west.
I always knew why at least partially. Having been brought up in a Middle East country for the majority of my life helps me understand India's need to stray away from all that is its own...and to leach upon a fellow country's ideas and, in short, be absolutely not original. Although my life experiences have taught me a lot about India's shortcomings in its work world in the various industries, I'm going to stick to the television industry alone here since that is where I belong; well for now at least.
We have a set-back, anything-goes attitude when it comes to getting anything done. And if there's any way we see of cutting down on the money we will welcome it wholeheartedly irrespective of how it may affect the outcome. My recent sprint with a show that involved its original show format makers (Americans) helping us to recreate it in India, got me to make the following observations:
1) Sense of time - Synonym: Punctuality. On the 7 days of my shoot not once did anyone from the international crew keep us waiting for anything. On the contrary, we kept them waiting when we had to shoot with them, when they asked us to get a prop/costume that they needed to shoot with...heck even when they needed their transport arranged to get them back to the hotel. As for our Indians, this one example is going to prove my point - I went to get the 'face' of our show, a popular Indian cricketer, a bowler of Punjabi origin (I hope I haven't given away who) as he was being unreasonably late to his reality shoot. Our conversation:
H - I'll be out in 5 minutes (this after he was fully ready and had no reason to delay any further)
Me - Why? Do you need something else?
H - Why, coz the sky is so high.
Me - uhh..
H (angry-attitude tone)- You need me right? You want me right? Then just wait.
Me - Of course we need you (while walking out of his van)
I wanted to do nothing less than slap him. Realising his rudeness, few seconds later when he stepped out he said 'sorry if I was rude back there'. I gave him the 'You better be' face.
No person from the international crew, no matter how huge, physically and otherwise spoke to me in that fashion, especially without having a reason to do so. The few times I saw such behaviour from their side were I would have to say when we were guilty and deserved it.
2) Discipline - When we needed someone from the international crew to be somewhere he was always there with absolute discipline. Not once were we sent running around to look for them minutes before their entry onto the stage. Our Indians on the other hand made us do some scary last minute running and fetching.
3) Dignity of labour - The person who was the creator of the show was often found walking around trying to gather people who ought to have been backstage when that was obviously not a part of his job profile. He could jolly well act high and mighty and stay confined to the PCR. But for the way they work, no part of creating their show is a dirty job. Each job is done with the same passion that they feel for the entire show. As for our Indian crew, how often have we heard 'woh mera kam nahi hain'(that's not my job) ? I rest my case.
4) Genuine feelings - Okay this may have sounded a little cheesy for a second but trust me, we lack genuine feelings. The passion with which the international crew worked was infectious. Listening to them often gave me goosebumps coz how much what they're doing meant to them would come through so effortlessly. It is genuine feelings that makes them want to produce a perfect outcome. Genuine feelings is what makes them care about the people in their team as more than just people who work for them. It is genuine feelings that makes them want to stick together and keep doing the same show for years together. It is genuine feelings that don't let them get ahead of themselves and be humble despite the evident success of their show.
There is so much we need to learn from them. There is basically so much we need to learn from a lot of other people before we bask in the glory that we are doing way better now than we used to.
Relativity is only a temporary high. And last I heard, modesty never got anyone into trouble.
It is needless to say that I love India and this was not an effort in thrashing or trashing India. Wanting to slog in Mumbai and make a living out of the Indian television industry, when I have the opportunity to be elsewhere with more money is, I guess, saying enough. This is just an effort to make us open our eyes to how much more there is to learn, and there is to life, for us individually and as a country.
