Bollywood’s big competitor

Bollywood has a serious rival now in India — and it’s bigger, louder and making more money than its prolific Hindi-language cousin. A new genre of epic, big-budget, over-the-top action flicks shot in regional languages is coming out of South India, some of them served with a dollop of toxic masculinity and gory violence. They’re a stark contrast to Bollywood’s glitzy dance moves and opulent wedding scenes, and they’re drawing millions of viewers to theatres. Movie makers in the south are increasingly dominating the country’s $24bn media and entertainment market, and in some cases, making their mark beyond India. Though shot in languages like Telugu and Kannada, they are drawing millions of viewers to theatres screening dubbed versions and to streaming platforms carrying subtitles. For Bollywood, that’s bad news. Consultancy Ormax Media estimates that the Telugu-language film industry — known as Tollywood — earned about $212 million last year, eclipsing the $197 million made by Bollywood, which has long been based in India’s business centre, Mumbai.

(Adapted from “Bollywood Is Threatened By India’s Other Movie-Making Powerhouse,” by Chris Kay, published on July 1, 2022, by Bloomberg Business)

Russia’s long war victory?

Ukraine won the short war. Mobile and resourceful, its troops inflicted terrible losses and confounded Russian plans to take Kyiv. Now comes the long war. It will drain weapons, lives and money until one side loses the will to fight on. A long war suits Russia. Both sides are using huge amounts of ammunition, but Russia has vastly more. The Russian economy is much larger than Ukraine’s and in far better shape. In pursuit of victory, Mr Putin is willing to commit war crimes and impose grievous suffering on his own people. However, the long war does not have to be fought on Mr Putin’s terms. The Russian advance is slow and costly. With NATO-calibre weapons, fresh tactics and enough financial aid, Ukraine has every chance of forcing Russia’s armies to cede territory. Even though the struggle will be hard, Ukraine can demonstrate the futility of Vladimir Putin’s campaign and emerge as a democratic, Westward-looking state. To do so it needs enduring support and that, alas, is still in doubt.

(Adapted from “How to win Ukraine’s long war,” published by The Economist, on June 30, 2022)

Can bailouts save crypto?

A recent tumble in the price of Bitcoin, Ether and other tokens has unravelled a complex chain of stablecoins, lending platforms and trading firms that are blowing up simultaneously. What was once a virtuous circle of locked-up tokens yielding interest that would be reinvested ad infinitum is now a vicious one, as margin calls and liquidations take place at algorithmic speed. The next phase features bailouts, as the big players atop the ecosystem of crypto-speculation — billionaire-run exchanges — step in to try to stem the panic and restore trust. Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of FTX Trading Ltd., has extended a $250m credit line to lending platform BlockFi Inc. He clearly has deep pockets, but his wealth is tied up almost entirely in crypto. And while FTX’s $1 billion-a-year in revenue carries huge weight in crypto-land, in terms of credit and counterparty risk this exchange is nothing like a regulated Wall Street firm.

(Adapted from “Crypto Is Not Too Big To Fail, Even With Help From FTX,” by Lionel Laurent, published on June 23, 2022, by Bloomberg)

The secret to being a better manager

If people on your team are quitting, not performing, or seem disengaged — what are you supposed to do? 1) Take the lead: Not everyone on your team will be able to articulate exactly what they need to feel creative, engaged, or challenged. Most of us aren’t aware that our needs aren’t being met until someone else draws our attention to them. Set the example and approach these discussions with vulnerability. 2) Probe and explore: Our actions are typically motivated by a unique combination of our physical, emotional, and environmental needs. Ask your team members if they’re taking care of themselves. Do they feel appreciated for their work contributions? Are they happy with the facilities? 3) Take action: Depending on what you’re hearing from your team, you might advocate to senior leadership for a new meditation or nap room at the office, gym membership stipends, or prioritising more mental-health conversations among team members.

(Adapted from “The Secret to Becoming a Better Manager,” by John Baird and Edward Sullivan, by Harvard Business Review Ascend)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, July 13th, 2022