Terms and conditions of ICICI Bank apply JAIDEEP AHLAWAT: FINDING FAME IN DIGITAL ISSUE

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ruben Banerjee MANAGING EDITOR Sunil Menon EXECUTIVE EDITOR Satish Padmanabhan FOREIGN EDITOR Pranay Sharma POLITICAL EDITOR Bhavna Vij-Aurora SENIOR EDITOR Giridhar Jha () CHIEF ART DIRECTOR Deepak Sharma WRITERS Lola Nayar, Qaiser Mohammad Ali (Senior Associate Editors), G.C. Shekhar (Associate Editor), Jeevan Prakash Sharma (Senior Assistant Editor), Ajay Sukumaran, Puneet Nicholas Yadav, Jyotika Sood, Lachmi Deb Roy (Assistant Editors), Naseer Ganai (Senior Special Correspondent), Preetha Nair (Special Correspondent), Salik Ahmad (Senior Correspondent) COPY DESK Rituparna Kakoty (Senior Associate Editor), Anupam Bordoloi, Saikat Niyogi, Satyadeep (Associate Editors), Syed Saad Ahmed (Assistant Editor) PHOTOGRAPHERS S. Rakshit (Chief Photo Coordinator), Jitender Gupta (Photo Editor), Tribhuvan Tiwari (Deputy Photo Editor), Sandipan Chatterjee, Apoorva Salkade (Sr Photographers), Suresh Kumar Pandey (Staff Photographer) J.S. Adhikari (Sr Photo Researcher), U. Suresh Kumar (Digital Library) DESIGN Saji C.S. (Chief Designer), Leela (Senior Designer), Devi Prasad, Padam Gupta (Sr DTP Operators) DIGITAL Neha Mahajan (Associate Editor), Soumitra Mishra (Digital Consultant), Jayanta Oinam (Assistant Editor), Mirza Arif Beg (Special Correspondent), Neelav Chakravarti (Senior Correspondent), Charupadma Pati (Trainee Journalist), Suraj Wadhwa (Chief Graphic Designer), Editorial Manager & Chief Librarian Alka Gupta

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25/5/2020

takers. Thus, globalisation was already on the wane when the pandemic struck. With supply chains disrupted, the world is now wary of putting all its eggs in China’s basket. Local is the new buzzword and self- dependency the mantra of suc- cess. A transformational change in nations’ economies will be witnessed, which is bound to affect the post- COVID-19 world order.

FROM THE Daak Room

Dec. 10, 1918.

Dear Aunt and Family:-

I have thought of you many times but to day [sic] is the first time that I succeeded in finding time to write you a few lines. Ralph and I are fine, and have not gotten the “flue” [sic] yet altho [sic] it is pretty bad down here at present. It seems to be among the older folks and children. The graded schools and High School is closed here but only a Engulfed few students of K.U. have it, they thought it was not necessary to close college until they see that it must be done. Heard you folks had it this fall but hope you are Dreams all over it and feeling fine. This is beautiful weather for December and to think of such a heavy snow we

DIGIMAG.OUTLOOKINDIA.COM GURGAON already had at Thanksgiving seems almost impossible.

Kamna Chhabra: This refers to your cover Ralph is still in the barracks, he is looking to be dis- story Yalla Bye, Al-Hindi (May 25). COVID-19 charged most any day altho [sic] they have been waiting for has put an end to the Gulf dream of discharging blanks to come, as each must fill out a blank and have a physical examination before he can get out of Malayalis. God’s own country now stares at the army. And the boys here will be pleased to get out too. an unprecedented crisis that does not have The boys who do not intend to go to school after being so much to do with the immediate chal- discharged have to drill all day long and the others only lenge posed by the pandemic (in which have to drill 1 hr. each morning and then they are free the Kerala is showing the way to others) as with rest of the day until 5:30 for retreat. The barracks here are built in town but they are on K.U. Campus. Dwelling houses YOUTUBE.COM/OUTLOOKMAGAZINE remittances drying up, joblessness rising on one side of the street and barracks on the other. and aspirations crashing down. Besides the I try to see Ralph once each day. If we do not happen to fear of contracting the disease, plummeting see each other at school, he comes down in the afternoon oil prices are making the oil-based econ- after class and if he hasn’t time to come, I go to the omy of the Gulf hurtle towards depression, barracks and he comes out. We rec’d a letter from the ringing alarm bells in Kerala too. folks at home this morn. and the flue [sic] is awful bad around there now. I like it fine down here altho [sic] it Consequently, the Indian diaspora, consist- is a different life in town than in the country. ing of a significant number of Malayalis, I certainly like my school work and time goes so fast, FACEBOOK.COM/OUTLOOKINDIA

will no longer be able to strike gold there. have all my classes in the forenoon but the lessons are so long it takes all P.M. and until 10 P.M. to prepare ON E-MAIL lessons for next day. Vijai Pant: In the past few years, as leaders I am as ever your niece, Myrtle respond to political and economic pres- sures back home, globalisation has become Life Goes On Letter a University of Kansas student sent to increasingly unwelcome in many places. her aunt after the height of the Spanish flu, the deadliest The trend, initiated by powerhouses like pandemic in modern history

TWITTER.COM/OUTLOOKINDIA the US and UK, gradually found more

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of Pakistan and would like to enemy lies ingrained in our Viral Gains engage India in non-produc- imagination—it is making tive pursuits. There are inroads through disinfor- MUMBAI many vested interests ready mation and propaganda that Ashok Goswami: This to put spikes in the wheel if politicians espouse for refers to Nitin Gadkari’s not tackled shrewdly. India political mileage. One of interview (‘The world is wary will have to beat China in its the biggest threats to our of China. It’s good for our own game, which may mental health during the country.’, May 25). While it’s require nerves of steel and pandemic is the blame good to make the most of the intentions of a determined game and conspiracy economic opportunity pre- nation ready to conquer the theories. It would be rele- sented by the pandemic, its new world order. vant here to remember feasibility is another story factured as a biological American President altogether. Ease of doing NAINITAL weapon. People are even Franklin D Roosevelt’s business in India is not what Vijay Singh Adhikari: blaming 5G technology! words in response to the it should be even though With the invisible enemy However, there is no evi- Great Depression: “The Modi has marketed India pitted against a visible one, dence for these contentions, only thing we have to fear globally. With Indian sys- various conspiracy theories which just give an illusory is fear itself—nameless, tems wrapped in red tape, a have surfaced, such as the security and a straw man to unreasoning, unjustified lot remains to be done. China virus originating from blame. Perhaps, we will terror, which paralyses is building up pressure on Chinese laboratories in never know the truth. But needed efforts to convert Indian borders with the help Wuhan or that it was manu- we must realise that the retreat into advances.”

GOA sunshine. Migrant labourers M.N. Bhartiya: This refers deserve much more than to your story on the judici- being left on the streets to ary Higher Resolution (May fend for themselves. 11). Lengthy oral statements and submissions waste the PUNE valuable time of courts, but Shanmugam Mudaliar: In judges do not cut short such the wake of the pandemic, practices. In any case, all the the government is desperate steps can be confined to for funds. International concise and complete sub- crude prices have fallen missions in writing with drastically, but our petrol strict instructions to not and diesel prices have seek amendments in their remained the same, thanks submissions, Anything that to additional cesses. Liquor cannot be produced in writ- prices too have been nearly ing is probably absurd and doubled. In view of the irrelevant. Courts are not extremely precarious situa- platforms for demonstrat- tion, it is an absolute ing oratory and debating necessity for the govern- skills. Alas, nobody thinks of ment to cast away its blink- such reforms and the poor (May 18). Almost two was fixed by the ers and legalise betting. As it litigant seeking justice suf- months after the lockdown International Labour is, the matka racket flour- fers. Resourceful litigants was declared, migrant Organisation, is a matter of ishes with the connivance of use the legal system to har- labourers are still facing a concern. Though industries the police. The misguided ass their opponents and tough time. Now, some states need some succour from the stance on ethics and moral competitors and abuse it to are amending, or even sus- government, there cannot be principles, which in any case delay payment of public pending, most labour laws to any relaxation as far as the are not a virtue of our politi- revenues and taxes. enable industries to function welfare of labourers is con- cal system, should be jetti- without constraints. But the cerned. Also, it is the duty of soned in light of the corona NAVI MUMBAI decision to allow factories to employers to look after the calamity. Lotteries should C.K. Subramaniam: This compel labourers to work for wellbeing of employees and be started and even states refers to your cover story 12 hours instead of the pres- provide them shelter, food should be allowed to go for Things That Got Covided ent eight hours, a norm that and clothes, come rain or such schemes.

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The ICMR might revise its recommendation on hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for treatment of COVID-19 patients following doubts over its efficacy. India is the world’s largest producer of this anti-malarial drug, which is also used to treat auto-immune disorders. HCQ has failed two controlled trials in China and France.

PTI

Railways will run 200 fully reserved before the cyclone arrived. trains having both AC and non-AC West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee coaches from June 1, including Duron- said 72 people died in the state and she pegged the damage at Rs 1 lakh crore tos, Sampark Krantis, Jan Shatabdis. Amphan after initial estimates. She has termed Bookings began on May 21. Meanwhile, the impact of Amphan, one of the domestic flights will resume from May strongest storms in the Bay of Bengal 25 but resumption of international the in over a decade, “worse than the coro- operations might take a while. navirus” pandemic. Senior state officials say it is too early Terrible to estimate the final death toll or dam- age to property as the hardest-hit areas are still not accessible. There were Outlook Bureau power cuts in the affected areas; mobile and internet services were down as the cyclone damaged communication tow- LOWN -off roofs, collapsed ers. A hangar collapsed on an airplane buildings, uprooted trees and a at the Calcutta airport, where runways submerged airport…cyclone were flooded. Standing crops, planta- BAmphan has unleashed a tide of tions and infrastructure have also been H-1B visa-holders, a majority of them Indian IT professionals, do not adverse- destruction in West Bengal, Odisha and affected in Odisha. Embankments in Bangladesh. It made its landfall at the Sundarbans delta, a Unesco world ly affect Americans, according to new Digha in West Bengal on May 20 with heritage site, were breached as the research. The Trump administration is wind speeds of up to 125 km per hour surge whipped up by the cyclone inun- planning restrictions on the non-immi- and torrential rainfall, flooding dated the region. At least 10 people have grant visa, which allows US companies Calcutta, Hooghly and North and South died in Bangladesh. As the cyclone to employ foreign workers, premised on 24 Paraganas districts among others. weakened on the morning of May 21, the argument that such workers harm More than 6.5 lakh people were the National Disaster Response Force job prospects of US college grads. evacuated to shelters in both states began clearing roads. O

8 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 An artist paints a mural POLIGLOT depicting a doctor saving lives in Guwahati MIXED SHOTS

SNAPSHOT UMER ASIF exercise based on the 2011 census. It was excluded from the purview of the Delimitation Act, 2002, as Article 170 of the Constitution that deals with delimitation of constituencies of state assemblies had not been extended to J&K due to its special status under Article 370. In 2002, National delimitation in J&K was Conference frozen by the then Farooq MP Justice Abdullah government in (retd) Hasnian line with the decision Masoodi taken by the then central administration. While J&K Reorganisation Act says the number of seats in the J&K assem- bly would be increased from 107 to 114, polling would happen only for 90 of those seats, as the other constituencies are in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The BJP is set to demand more seats for former PoK refugees and Delimitation Challenge Kashmiri migrants. “The refugees should be given some of the seats pro- Naseer Ganai in Srinagar August 5, including abrogation of Arti- portionately reserved for PoK and cles 370 and 35A of the Constitution, Kashmiri migrants should be given In the new political setup and bifurcation of J&K into two Union two seats,” says Ashok Koul, BJP gen- J&K following the bifurcation territories, are unconstitutional, unilat- eral secretary in J&K. “There are many of the former state into eral and cannot be sustained. As we other issues on which the commission two Union territories and in the absence oppose those decisions and ask the will decide according to the law. of Article 370, the constitutional provi- court to strike down the J&K Reorgani- Instead of the population, terrain sion that gave Jammu and Kashmir a sation Act, it means we can have noth- should be taken into consideration semblance of semi-autonomy, leading ing to do with the delimitation during the delimitation.” The popula- regional party National Conference has commission. This is my position. I don’t tion of Kashmir region is 68,88,475 a tough decision on its hands. With the know the party’s position on this.” (2011), while Jammu has a population delimitation commission seeking nomi- The J&K Assembly was dissolved in of 53,78,538—and this is what the BJP nation of Lok Sabha members to be November 2018 and the state is under is more concerned about. party to readjusting the boundaries of President’s rule. Elections are slated to The erstwhile state of J&K had 111 constituencies, the National Conference be held in J&K after the delimitation seats, including 24 reserved for PoK, is left with no choice but to decide one commission completes its exercise, and elections were held for 87 seats. way or the other. The party has three which the government is carrying out Kashmir had 46 seats, Jammu 37 and members, including its president Dr regardless of the National Confer- Ladakh four. With Ladakh carved out as Farooq Abdullah, in the Lok Sabha. Main ence’s view. A provision of the J&K a UT, the assembly was left with 83 regional rival People’s Democratic Party Reorganisation Act makes the newly seats. “Since Article 370 was revoked has already dismissed the delimitation created J&K UT the only region in the last August, the BJP has not done any- commission’s exercise as a ploy of the country to undergo a delimitation thing about delimitation and thus RSS and the BJP to undermine Jammu delayed elections,” says Panthers Party and Kashmir’s majority community. leader Harsh Dev Singh. “There is chaos “We are against the decisions taken on “Opposing all decisions in J&K as it is ruled by bureaucrats August 5 last year that stripped us of taken on August 5, from outside with no understanding of our autonomy and identity, and took the issues here. Why did it take them so away our constitution,” says National 2019, means rejecting long to constitute the commission, Conference MP Justice (retd) Hasnian this exercise,” says NC which has done nothing so far? Why are Masoodi. “We went to the Supreme elections not held? Because the BJP Court saying all the decisions taken on MP Masoodi. doesn’t want anything.” O

OUTLOOKINDIA.COM JUNE 1, 2020 | OUTLOOK 9 POLIGLOT

BORDER ROW Giving A HIMACHAL PRADESH C H I N A Turf Time SHIMLA UTTARAKHAND HE coronavirus pandemic may DEHRA DUN The circled area is have blurred international the source of a long boundaries and shrunk the N E P A L discord between Nepal Tworld into one big infirmary, but not so and India much for Nepal, one of India’s neigh- UTTAR PRADESH bours and closest allies for decades. In fact, the Himalayan country has touched off a raw nerve by deciding to publish new maps that include areas of dispute with India. And for good The Lipulekh Pass is claimed by The inauguration of a road linking measure, Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Nepal based on the Sugauli Treaty be- Lipulekh pass with Dharchula earlier Sharma Oli declared that the “Indian tween the Himalayan nation (then a this May triggered fresh tension, with virus looks more lethal than Chinese kingdom) and British East India Nepal claiming that the area fell on its and Italian.” This round of acrimony Company in 1816 to def­ne its western side of the border. But a PTI report says began at the Federal Parliament of border with India. Kathmandu also villagers of Garbiyang assert that their Nepal recently where the country’s claims the highly strategic areas of ancestors used to cultivate the land in President Bidhya Devi Bhandari made Limpiyadhura and Kalapani, although Kalapani before the Sino-Indian war in the announcement about the new Indian troops have been deployed 1962. The cultivation stopped when bor- maps that will incorporate all the there since New Delhi fought a war der trade with China through Lipulekh disputed territories—Limpiyadhura, with China in 1962. pass ended following the 1962 conflict. Kalapani and Lipulekh. India reacted sharply after the Nepal “India has deployed its troops in Last year, New Delhi published a new government released the revised map. Kalapani since 1962 and our rulers in the map that showed Kalapani within its The foreign ministry asked past hesitated to raise the issue,” Nepal borders, a move protested by Kathmandu to refrain from such “un- PM Oli said. Speaking in parliament, Oli Kathmandu. India and Nepal share an justifed cartographic assertion”. All also held India responsible for the 1,800 km open border. Nepal said it has the land in Lipulekh, Kalapani and spread of COVID-19 in Nepal, saying the “consistently maintained” that as per Nabhidhang on the border tradition- infection was “more lethal” among the the Sugauli Treaty of 1816, “all the ter- ally belongs to the residents of people coming from the neighbouring ritories east of Kali (Mahakali) river, Garbiyang and Gunji villages of country. “Indian virus looks more le- inc­luding Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Dharchula sub-division in thal than Chinese and Italian now. Lipulekh, belong to Nepal”. Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district. More are getting infected,” he said. O brevis

Veteran Bengali Rehana Fathima TV actor Actor-comedian Tainted American author Debesh of Kochi, who was Manmeet Fred Willard, cyclist Lance Roy—a Sahitya forced to abandon her Grewal, of shows best known for Armstrong has Akademi award plan to pray at the like Aadat Se his role in Every- revealed the first time winner for his Sabarimala temple in Majboor and body Loves he took drugs was novel Teesta Parer October 2018, was Kuldeepak, has killed Raymond and when he was 21. He Brittanto—has terminated from the himself because of Modern Family, turned 22 a month after died in Calcutta. BSNL on disciplinary pandemic-induced has died at the becoming 1993 road He was 84. grounds. penury. He was 32. age of 86. race world champion.

10 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 POLIGLOT MixedShots

NO LIFE WITHOUT WIFE MAGINE being confned all alone without WHEN it comes to curing the comfort of a comely spouse. A Bareilly the boiling frog syndrome of man couldn’t. So as his wife remained at her environmental naysayers, Iparents’ house during the lockdown, he made it’s time to kiss a prince the most of the moment—by marrying his and turn him into a croak. A cousin. On fnding out about her husband’s wed- shrub frog; or a bush frog. ding, she managed to reach his house and raised hell. In a touching Know why? Because of the unnatural human tenden- gesture of generosity, the man said he was willing to “keep” both wives, cy to meddle with Nature, but the frst refused. Marriages are made/unmade in lockdowns! O 20 species of amphibians in India are now critically endangered and 35 more are “endangered”. These SPOOKY QUARANTINE? HERE’S A HELPLINE species find mention in O ghosts like isolation? Perhaps not, as a the Zoological Survey of 23-year-old girl found out in Mumbai. She India’s updated checklist of had been living alone in an apartment amphibians. Like Raorches- Dsince the lockdown began. Or so she thought, until tes resplendens that lives in she began seeing ghosts. To her rescue came Jay the high altitudes of south Alani, a well-known paranormal investigator who India—Anamudi in Kerala. Or has started India’s frst paranormal helpline, like Pseudophilautus amboli of Amboli in the Western 9999518600, which has been receiving over 10 Ghats of Maharashtra, and calls a day. After investigations, he found out that LOANELY NO MORE Raorchestes shillongensis, her tryst with spirits was a result of binge- T’S the stuff Nirav Modi’s and as the name hints at, from watching horror shows. Such helpful advice Vijay Mallya’s dreams are made Shillong. What’s the big deal? despite being the creator of a ‘non-fction’ horror of—a secret benefactor walking The frogs are only good at web series! We say Alani deserves a boo or two. O waiting for an insect to fly by Iinto a bank to pay off people’s debts. That’s what a businessman did at an and aim its tongue. That is SBI branch in Aizawl. He offered Rs what they do—pest control, a 10 lakh to help out debtors and bank vital role in the ecosystem. officials selected four who had paid a signifcant part of their loan, but still had outstanding debts. Now that’s an DATE MATHS economic package the government Out of 100 dating app could take some lessons from. O profile views, a male user likes 35 and skips 65. A female user likes only COAT OF CONDUCT 4 and skips 96 profiles. HE latest coronavirus casualty—lawyers’ But when it comes to coats and gowns—may come as a whiff of chatting, a man chats relief. The Bar Council of India has asked with 10 and a woman Tlawyers across the country not to wear these during averages 25. video-conference hearings to prevent them from “catching” the virus. While the merits of such a reasoning might be up for debate, it’s a huge respite Source: QuackQuack, which during the peak of summer. Now, lawyers too might has logged over nine million adopt the work-from-home dress code—formals Indian users on its dating app above the belt and clothing optional below. O during the lockdown.

ILLUSTRATIONS: SAAHIL, TEXT BY SAAD AHMED AND ALKA GUPTA JUNE 1, 2020 | OUTLOOK 11 BENGAL/CLASHES

Smoke On The Horizon Anti-Muslim sentiment related to the COVID-19 outbreak was at root of the recent communal flare-ups in Bengal Leftovers A tangle of bicycles bore witness to the communal clash in Telinipara in Bengal

Rajat Roy in Calcutta Jagdeep Dhankhar and complained emerged. Matters rested there till May 7, that the police failed to prevent the hos- when suddenly it spiked to seven cases. tile situation at Harishchandrapur and All new patients came from Ajmer and OMMUNAL tension reared its Telinipara. Chatterjee told mediaper- they are from Harishchandrapur—part ugly head in West Bengal yet sons, claim some, that armed bands of of a Muslim-majority district where again—the backdrop being Muslims were engaged in looting and thousands earn a living in distant areas, Canxiety and temper brought on a arson, targeting Hindus. Yet, acc­ording most coronavirus-positive migrant knife’s edge by the COVID-19 pandemic. to local sources, when the delegation workers in Malda are also Muslim. Yet, significantly, the flare-ups at was meeting Dhankhar in Calcutta, BJP Though there was negligible participa- Telinipara in Hooghly district and supporters allegedly crossed the Ganga tion in the Tablighi congregation from Harishchandrapur in Malda didn’t from Barrackpore, entered Telinipara the district, a rumour campaign against materialise out of existing tension—an and lobbed petrol bombs on the area. Muslims vis-a-vis the outbreak gained organised hate campaign allegedly The situation was controlled after po- ground. In such an env­ironment, return- fomented the trouble. Ever since the lice sealed the ferry stations and made a ing workers were treated with silent re- Tablighi Jamaat meet in Delhi few arrests. Altogether, 134 people from sentment. That and the mandatory emerged as a hotspot of the coronavi- both communities were arrested; crude quarantine irked them. The situation rus outbreak, a narrative was created bombs and weapons were recovered was ripe for a flare-up, which broke out to link COVID-19 with all Muslims. from them. Significantly, police did not on May 10-11. In the event, the fire was One politician in UP called for a have to resort to firing to calm matters. doused quickly; four people from both boycott of Muslim vegetable vendors; Rubber bullets, tear gas and lathi communities were arrested. Though the still more accused Muslims of spread- charges were enough to disperse situation in Harishchandrapur and ing it deliberately. The canards were the crowd. Also, no one was killed in Telinipara is normal now, one may sur- especially vicious on social media. All the violence. mise that the situation in the state—with this had a direct bearing on the recent At Harishchandrapur in Malda, the im- tens of lakhs of migrant workers about communal cases in Bengal. mediate cause of tension was the to pour in from across the country in the At Telinipara, a local, Sheikh Anwar, return of migrant workers. Malda dis- coming days—is primed for tense situa- tested positive for the coronavirus, trict recorded its first coronavirus inf­ tions like these. leading to rumours that Muslims were ection on April 27, when a worker Governor Dhankhar’s patient hear- spreading the pathogen. To maintain returning from Barasat, North 24 ing of the BJP delegation’s com- social distancing, the police relocated a Parganas, tested positive. On April 29, a plaints—that the cases were a market from the congested locality to patient who returned from Mumbai handiwork of Muslims—was signifi- an open place, but Hindus barricaded tested positive; on May 3 another case cant too. However, facts indicate an the road to the market in a way that ext­ant, pandemic-related anti-Muslim would prevent Muslims from the sentiment allegedly fanned by some. It neighbourhood access. Muslims retali- With lakhs of is clear that while the Narendra Modi ated by blocking the entry road to a government is trying to push forward public toilet facility used by both com- migrant workers its long-awaited labour reforms during munities. The tension that gripped the about to pour in, this pandemic, the BJP is allegedly area on the night of May 9-10 was def­ pushing to ext­ract political mileage used within two days. On May 12, a BJP chances of more out of the existing tension brought delegation led by MPs Locket communal fights about by the disease. Indeed, all Chatterjee and Arjun Singh, Mukul Roy political parties have an eye out for the and others called upon governor increase in Bengal. 2021 assembly polls in West Bengal. O

12 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 #BollywoodTalkiesOutlook

Bollywood TALKies with

Episode - 2 Writer, director and producer Kabir Khan on his movies, stars and favourite themes

in conversation with

Mitrajit Bhattacharya Columnist & Author

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW ON @outlookindia @outlookmagazine LOCKDOWN/VID-CALL

On a covided planet, almost everyone is using a virtual platform to socialise, work from home, or ‘see’ a doctor Meet the Teams and Zoom Ahead Jyotika Sood was blown. It had fallen off. The little toddler level in the event of a panic commotion, the jam-stained night attack, or why it didn’t click that the pants paired with a smart office shirt computer has an on-off switch? The HE nearly jumped out of her skin were live-streaming all along for meeting ended on a lighter note—quite when her three-year-old son everyone. Red-faced, she wondered a reprieve in these anxious times when walked in on a meeting. Full aloud why her tech-savvy plummets to millions of homebound people are SMonty and crying at the top of his lungs: “Mama, pee-pee…Mama, pee-pee!” She dashed like a shot for a post-it note and pasted it on the computer camera—blocking the 24-people meeting from the full blast of a puny intruder in her ‘office’. Or, that’s what she thought. But before she could tow junior to the loo, he emptied his bladder on the floor. She seques- tered him in his room, scrub-dried the tinkle pool and resumed ‘work’. “Sorry for the interruption.” She apologised. But why the hell are they laughing? “Change your pajamas,” a colleague quipped. Well, her sticky note cover

Pakistani politician Shaukat Yousafzai live- streamed a press conference unaware that the Facebook cat filter was swtiched on

14 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 LOCKDOWN/VID-CALL

adjusting to the new realities of with finance minister Nirmala stay-home, work from home. And, of Sitharaman announcing the Pradhan course, this life in a parallel reality Mantri e-VIDYA initiative for digital has its pitfalls, and some epic fails, education that includes online teach- but without those ‘con-calls’ and ing, and broadcasts through TV chan- video conferences the world would nels, radio and podcasts. Top 100 actually have come to a standstill. universities will be allowed to begin In fact, if it wasn’t for virtual/video online courses by May 30. calls, the government command centre For the musically inclined, entire and its machinery would have been concerts are happening over apps like Karan Bajwa biding its time under a rock in this age Zoom with members of the orchestra of social distancing. Prime Minister sitting miles apart in the comfort of Managing Director, Narendra Modi has been the first off their homes playing Mozart in C++ Google Cloud India the block in holding regular meetings minor. With restaurants and bars shut- Google Meet is unique because: Its primary with his ministers and bureaucrats tered, and takeaways almost non-exist- aim is to make people stay connected. remotely. He held his fifth interaction ent, people are learning to cook samosa Businesses across various industries— with chief ministers through vid-con and shushi, biriyani and bisi bele bath healthcare, banking and finance, manufac- on May 11 when they discussed plans to through YouTube. Some for fun, some turers, retailers, technicians etc—are using ease the lockdown. The Union and as a necessity, and some in desperation Meet to stay connected. It is designed for state ministers are broadcasting their like Mr M who was brewing his own message to the public through webi- toddy sundowner from coconut water. everyone such as hospitals supporting nars. The caveat for government offi- And for the covidphobes, worried sick patients via telehealth, banks working with cials working from home is that they over contamination of their food at the loan applicants, retailers assisting custom- have to be attired “properly” and main- source, takeaways like Instapizza has ers remotely, or manufacturers interacting tain all norms of office environment introduced CrustFlix (www.instapizza. safely with warehouse technicians. during vid-cons. For its part, the in/crustflix)—customers can live- The revenue model: G Suite offerings for Opposition too has been live-stream- stream activities in its kitchen all day, businesses are paid and monetised. But ing its suggestions to the government every day. If anything goes wrong, doc- we have made Meet free and available to on the COVID-19 crisis. Congress’s tors are seeing patients online. businesses and consumers to help them Rahul Gandhi has addressed the media The biggest consumer of teleconfer- ride out the COVID-19 crisis. Anybody with several times via vid-con. encing is India Inc, which began its a Google account will be able to video call Schools—especially those in urban 2020-2021 fiscal and set targets with a with 100 people for as long as they want. areas—started their new sessions from flurry of web meetings. “We have done April through virtual classes, or remote more than 350,000 meetings, more Safety first: Meet takes advantage of Google coursework. The broadcasts are reso- than 60 events with thousands of par- Cloud’s secure-by-design infrastructure to nating with students; and parents are help protect your data and privacy. Meet’s getting some relief from the constant counter-abuse and security features are on nag of “I am bored.” E-learning is get- Britain’s Prince Charles and royal family by default. Our meeting codes are 10 char- ting the government’s push as well, members in a video call with nurses acters long, with 25 characters in the set. This makes it difficult to brute force “guess” meeting codes. We limit the ability of external participants to join the meeting more than five minutes in advance, reducing the window for an attack. The features: Google Meet is accessible directly through Chrome. In order to protect high-risk accounts, enroll in the Advanced Protection Program (APP). The data is always encrypted by default with Google meeting room hardware. Response in price-sensitive India: Overall, more than 3 million users have been con- necting on Meet every day and are spend- ing more than 3 billion minutes together— more than 3,800 years of secure meetings in a single day. Meet’s day over day growth has surpassed 60 per cent in the past few weeks and usage has surged by 30 times to what it was in January.

OUTLOOKINDIA.COM JUNE 1, 2020 | OUTLOOK 15 LOCKDOWN/VID-CALL

ticipants in each. It is fascinating to left some participants in tears. No such note the ease with which the employ- embarrassment has shocked users in ees have used the platform and navi- India so far. But the home ministry, in a gated through it on their own,” says B. 16-page advisory, warned that Zoom is Ghosh, CIO, enterprise and corp func- not safe and susceptible to cyberat- tions, Mahindra Group, which has been tacks that can lead to data leaks. using Microsoft Teams since the lock- Sameer Raje, who heads Zoom’s India down began in March. operations, clarifies that the holes have The most popular teleconferencing been plugged and a filter introduced, Sameer Raje software in India is turning out to be which allows paid users and adminis- Zoom, which has a daily user base of trators to restrict their data from float- Head, Zoom Video 300 million. From corporate meetings ing across the globe. Communications India to high-profile weddings, most things Video calling has been around for social are happening on this app. “It’s some time, but its demand has spiked Zoom is unique because: We have a easy. Even technically off-radar people only after the coronavirus outbreak user base right from the largest enterprise like me can use the app easily on their drove almost half of the world’s to small and medium organisatons, as well mobile phones. Besides, whether you population indoors. No doubt, compe- as private tutors, yoga classes, dance accept or not, it is much better in con- tition has been fierce so much so that classes etc. We have licences that can necting with many people Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft be deployed for an entire enterprise. We together than WhatsApp etc, where Teams, which were paid platforms, are have Zoom licences for conference there is a limit on how many can join a not charging any money till 2020-end. rooms and devices. We have cloud conversation,” says Ajit Arora, 65, a Apps are coming up with specialised connectors too, and webinars. physician. He now ‘Zooms’ with his features such as in-app translations Revenue model: Our India and global joint family every day, although there is into Indian languages during meetings, models are similar. It’s subscription-based, always the risk of zoombombing. One background change during calls. Even and charges depend on the monthly user such case was reported from Plymouth dating app Tinder has added a vid-con licence. Currently, everyone’s using the plat- in southwest England when child sex feature and WhatsApp has form free of cost. Our services, free for now, abuse footage popped up during a fit- increased its number of participants to are available in more than 20 countries and ness class for about 60 children. Other eight for video calls. Facebook too has more than 90,000 schools have signed up. zoombombed meetings include a rolled out its group video chat wine-tasting event in Manchester that Messenger Rooms globally. It allows Safety first: People love us because of two reasons. First, it is simple, immersive and frictionless. You don’t need heavy software or device. Click and get in. Sec- ond, for large organisations, where admin and IT guys are worried about security and functionality, we have robust features for them too. They can analyse what’s going on and where their meeting/con call data is going. If you have Zoom licenced software, you have a choice to select the data centre to store your data. The features: The solutions available in the market are either IT-centric, or specific for end users. The end-user solutions may be shot down by an organisation’s IT department because of trust issues. We cater to both requirements. Users and buyers, influencers, decision makers all are happy about it. The opposition towards Zoom: We grew extremely fast, from 10 million to 300 million users a day within 12 weeks. This is unmatched in the industry. This brought a new set of users to our platform and posed unique challenges. There were some mistakes on our part as well. Needless to say this brings a lot of focus to our services. Epic fail—vid-con gaffes like this are infusing some joy into an anxious life

16 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 LOCKDOWN/VID-CALL

Ladakh maths teacher Kifayat Hussain conducts online classes from an Samik Roy isolation centre at a hospital. Country Head, Modern Despite testing Workplace, Microsoft India positive for the coronavirus, he Microsoft Teams is unique because: It made sure his supports eight Indian languages—Hindi, students do Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati, Kan- not miss nada and Malayalam. Teams has real-time a class. inline translation too. Teams is a part of the Office 365 suite of products, providing users with a single interface that allows free video calls with up to 50 people continuous surveillance by govern- access to all Microsoft Office solutions. It with no time limit. ment agencies and surprise checks. To provides the ability to work from anywhere, The competition, proliferation and do this, we need stronger cyber laws anytime on any device. Our customers are dangers posed by such foreign apps and a smart workforce to crack down across segments, ranging from enterprises have not gone unnoticed. Besides, on infringements,” a cyber expert says. to medium-sized organisations to small and video calls consume huge data, around The government has come up with a medium businesses and startups. 1 GB an hour and it goes up depending proposed legislation—the personal Safety first: At Microsoft, privacy and on the size of the group. And so, the data protection (PDP) bill—ostensibly security are never an afterthought. In Teams, ministry of electronics and informa- to shield Indians from data leaks. It we provide privacy and security controls for tion technology has launched an also proposes to set up a data protec- video conferences. We meet more than 90 ‘Innovation Challenge for tion authority. The bill defines per- Development of a Video Conferencing sonal data as any information collected global regulatory and industry standards. Solution under the Digital India online or offline that can be used to The features: Meeting lifecycle—persistent Programme’—which, in simpler terms, identify a person (name, address,­ context, meeting scheduled in calendar, means the government wants a desi phone number, location, photographs, notes, meeting recording captured in chan- platform that could compete with call records et al). Information on nel or chat (before/during/after). Native Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft healthcare (those shared with a doctor integration with chat and in-chat transla- Teams. The winner, to be picked on or on medical apps), banking and pay- tion to 60+ languages and immersive reader. July 29, will be contracted to design ment, sexual orientation, biometrics Collaboration and real-time coauthoring and develop an app for the Union and (facial images, fingerprints, iris scans), with integrated O365 apps. Live events, state governments. “Although issues caste or tribe, religion and political be- natively integrated in Teams. Allows users like privacy and data theft are there, liefs fall in the sensitive category and to replace background at Teams meetings. those are being covered through sub- require a muscular, hack-proof protec- This feature uses artificial intelligence (AI) scription models. This is alarming. It’s tive cover. “The government is trying to blur the backdrop environment. Smart like you can have privacy only if you its best to save personal data. We have camera and image annotation. have the money,” says a technology been directing all the big companies exp­ert from Cisco, who doesn’t want to dealing with data to have their data Response in price-sensitive India: Our mis- be named. He suggests that people houses in India,” a senior government sion is to empower every person and every should “look for the end-to-end official says. That raises a fundamental organisation on the planet to achieve more. encryption security feature on an app” question: Who guarantees the data Teams is a part of Microsoft Office 365 and before installing it. Another free adv­ won’t be misused if it falls into unscru- if your organisation is a licenced Office 365 ice: be discreet with what the permis- pulous, powerful hands? It is as tricky user, you already have it. If not, we’ve you sions you give to an app, which to predict as the naked kid ‘videobomb- covered with a free Office 365 E1 offer for six invariably asks for access to your ing’ his mother’s conference. Or as months. If you work in education and want phone contacts, media files etc before deb­atable as a Singapore court sen- to set up teachers, students, and adminis- you install it on your phone or tablet. tencing a drug suspect to death on trators on Teams, use Office 365 A1. This free “All apps are vulnerable and you don’t Zoom—prosecutors were in different version is available to all educational institu- have anything foolproof in the world of locations because of the nation’s strict tions. For individuals, there is an automatic technology. The sole safety nets are social distancing measures. O free licence valid through January 2021.

OUTLOOKINDIA.COM JUNE 1, 2020 | OUTLOOK 17 COVER COVID-19 STORY

THE FLU SHOT But is it the right vaccine for the econodemic?

SURESH K. PANDEY THE GROWTH STIMULUS

Lola Nayar Total Package Rs 2,000,000 crore, or 10% of GDP, announced in five tranches, which included earlier reliefs of nearly Size matters. Or does it? It dep­ Rs 900,000 crore ends on which side of the fence you First Tranche are on. Ask the government, and it Almost Rs 600,000 crore of emergency credit facilities for contends that it has unleashed a business; subordinate debt cocktail-combination of highly-effec- for stressed MSMEs; partial guarantee and special liquidity tive economic drugs to ensure imme- schemes; cut in PF rates diate and efficient recovery. Talk to the opposition, and it claims that the Second Tranche Rs 310,000 crore that grandiose policy package is a case of included free food grain to too little, too late. The fact is that migrant workers for two months, credit facility for street vendors, none of them stand on firm ground more credit through Kisan Credit because this is the worst crisis in a Cards, emergency working capital, and interest subvention century. None of us have seen some- of Mudra Shishu Loan thing like this before; hopefully, none Third Tranche of us will in the future. Rs 150,000 crore for farm One of the points of contention is the quantum of money that and food processing activities, the policy makers say that they have injected to kick-start the and infrastructure to improve economy—Rs 2,000,000 crore, the fifth largest among all the trading in products of animal nations. The second point of debate is the mix. Is it a judicious husbandry, fisheries, and blend that has enough stimuli to drive up the knocked-out sup- bee-keeping ply of goods and services, and pull back consumption that’s down in the dumps? Finally, there is the question of timing—is this the right time to push through big-bang reforms down the Fourth & dying system’s throat? Contradictions prevail. The government opened the pipeline Fifth Tranche to help businesses to access capital easily. This works only if the Rs 48,100 crore to fund viability banks are willing to part with money, and the borrowers are gap, additional Rs 40,000 crore ready to use it. The Centre hiked the expenditure on income to boost rural employment schemes like MNREGA. States forced workers to accept condi- tions that include lower pays without bonuses and overtime. This is in a situation of overwhelming unemployment. Reforms Reforms included higher FDI yield desired results during boom times; they lead to more pain limits in defence, entry of during crises. private players in space sector, change in definition of MSMEs Is Size of Stimuli Suspect? to hike their investment limits, One has to remember that the COVID-19 crisis is more expan- guidelines for ease of doing sive, vast, and unknown than the previous ones. “It is deadlier business, reduction in tax and more unpredictable. The hit to growth (across economies, deducted at source, and sale including India) will be higher,” feels Dharmakriti Joshi, chief of public sector units

OUTLOOKINDIA.COM 2008 Isn’t = To 2020

“I haven’t heard anyone say Wow! When somebody says we’re going to put Rs 20 lakh crore, I would like to believe that at least some part of it would be real and effective but I haven’t heard from even those who have a better comprehension.“ Then and Now Finance ministers Pranab Mukherjee and Nirmala Sitharaman Rajiv Bajaj MD & CEO, Bajaj Auto T is understandable that econo- protect jobs. In fact, Jet Airways was mists compare 2020 with 2008. forced to withdraw its decision to ISome maintain that the response sack employees due to political pres- then was better than what one has sure. Currently, the states have seen seen today. But this may be akin to the crisis to get rid of some of the jumping the gun because there are res­trictive labour laws that hamper major differences between the two. businesses. It may be a different mat- The first is that two different prime ter that some allege that a few states ministers and two different regimes have gone overboard. were in place. In 2008, Manmohan Although exports plunged in 2008, Singh’s hands were tied due to coali- which impacted sections of agricul- “The additional borrowing and tion government’s pressures, but he ture, the farm sector wasn’t drasti- understood economics. In 2020, cally affected. This isn’t the case this additional expenditure (over Narendra Modi has a free hand, but time. The rural economy may be tends to centralise decisions. worse hit, at least over the next few and above the expenditure The economy was in a better months, because of the reverse mig­ budget of Rs 30,42,230 crore) shape then, and the global financial ration of unorganised, temporary, and crisis had little impact on Indian non-contractual workers. They can will be the true measure of the banks because they were globally hide safely for a few months, but they fiscal stimulus.” secluded. In 2008, the GDP growth will feel the pich if they are not gain- was higher, and the collapse lower— fully employed by September this P. Chidambaram from 6.7 per cent to 5.5 per cent, year. This may result in a new crisis. Former finance minister says Sebastian Morris of IIM-A. Stimulus, and indirect one, was the Today, it may plummet from 5% to economic silver bullet in 2008. Since 2-3 per cent, or lower. The size of the the global problem was with the entire required stimulus package was financial sector, it was crucial to sup- lower in 2008. The government had port the banks and financial “About half of the package more fiscal flexibility. Things are dif- institutions through credit liquidity. ferent in 2020, as the economy alr­ This was easily done by central banks covers fiscal measures that had eady reeled under a slowdown, and of various countries, including India. previously been announced and higher fiscal deficit. The direct benefit, or putting money Labour was affected dramatically in into the hands of the consumers, also include the estimated both the crises. However, given the wasn’t as critical as it is in 2020. Those coalition politics, and pressures from were different times, and it is only a economic impact of monetary socialist partners, Manmohan Singh’s theoretical exercise to compare the stimulus from the RBI.” government went out of the way to two responses. O Credit Rating Fitch Solutions

20 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 COVER COVID-19 STORY

PTI

economist, CRISIL. Pronab Sen, without collateral to enable them to programme director, IGC India res­­­tart operations. This is supply-side Programme, adds, “India has lost 8 Corona in economics. It has no consequences on per cent of her GDP, compared to a demand. People who have lost jobs or year ago.” At best, the country’s Wonderland # 1 seen their salaries contract don’t have growth may be 2-3 per cent in 2020, the money to buy. It was, thus, impera- at worst zero or negative. Like other “What in the world tive to put money in their hands. And nations, India is caught in a vicious this hasn’t been countered adequately. economic whirlpool. For the government, it was a tricky Therefore, what was required was a is happening? manoeuvre, a delicate balancing-act response as large as the predicted given the constraints. The paralysis in imp­act. Instead, according to Sen, Ah, that’s a great economic activity for 1-2 months im- what we got was something that only plies that its revenues will take a huge addressed “roughly half” of the exp­ puzzle.” hit. Given the fact that it hiked the fis- ected downturn. He explains that a cal deficit in the last Budget to cope fair amount of (economic) damage In today’s world, everyone is with the then ongoing slowdown pro- will be left within the system. mystified by what hit us, vides little elbow-room to spend Sebastian Morris of IIM-A is more and how. Worse, no one higher amounts, and allow the deficit specific. The actual expenditure env­ to go out of hand. The government isaged by the government is Rs knows the way out. cannot borrow endlessly, or print 92,000 crore, of which Rs 54,000 more notes. These can lead to both crore will boost private consumption, predictable and unintended outcomes. and the rest will contribute to public One of them is the fear of a down- investment and spending. grade, both of the nation’s credit rat- To understand the contentions of ing, as well as those of the Indian Sen and Morris, one needs to differen- companies. Since the Financial Crisis tiate between, and dissect, the two of 2008, when the global rating agen- main components of the package. A cies were severely criticised for failure portion of it is to indirectly help busi- to predict it, these institutions have nesses—for example, through loans become nervous. They are willing to

OUTLOOKINDIA.COM JUNE 1, 2020 | OUTLOOK 21 COVER COVID-19 STORY

“The stage is set to rebuild industry and economy. Listening to the measures gave us confi- dence, our government is ready and will lead from the front.” Sangita Reddy FICCI President

“MSMEs are India’s backbone. Liquidity and credit guarantees for banks and NBFCs will help remove hesitation in lending. Friction-free implementation can slowly convert adversity to advantage.” Kunal Bahl Co-founder and CEO of Snapdeal

“This is the size of support required, given the state of the economy...It is important this 10% be truly in addition to the already committed government expenditure and interventions, and is not a reclassification.” Azim Premji JITENDER GUPTA Founder, Wipro

22 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 PTI

downgrade any country at the first ies? Similarly, the package included signs of trouble. The medium term an assurance of prompt payments of implications of a lower rating can be a Corona in pending dues to ease cash-flows of ruthless and ongoing negative effect the MSMEs. on the economy. India cannot afford Wonderland # 2 Experts question the efficacy of the to take such risks at this juncture. loan windows given to the MSMEs. “The stimulus is largely through credit Sparks to Spur Supply “If you want to get guarantee scheme of Rs 300,000 A large chunk of the revival package­— crore. This is contingent liability, and some say a glaring majority of it—is to somewhere else, there is no infusion of money. This benefit companies, especially the does not ensure the desired multi- small and medium (MSMEs) ones. It you must run at plier effect, as is the case with direct seems that the government feels that investment (transfer),” explains if it gives enough indirect incentives least twice fast Vikas Srivastava of IIM-K. One isn’t to such units, they can be propelled sure if the banks, plagued with bad into action, and pull the economy out loans and write-offs, will offer credit. of the present malaise. Such benefits as that.” There is a concern that firms may use include easy loans, tremendous flexi- It doesn’t matter if the the money foolishly, resulting in bility in labour laws—Uttar Pradesh more bad loans in the future. suspended all of them, except three— stimulus size is Rs 2,000,000 Subhash Garg, the former central fi- ease of doing business, prompt pay- crore. We need another nance secretary, estimates that the ments, and potential orders. Rs 800,000 crore in government promised to provide such For instance, only an Indian com- loans to 4.5 million MSMEs. The fig- pany can now bid for procurement direct spending. ure is only a small percentage of 75 tenders up to Rs 200 crore each issued million units in this sector. Politics, by public sector firms. This can lead to crony capitalism, and favouritism may more business for the MSMEs. play a role in the disbursement of the However, the definition of an Indian funds. Instead of firms, which are in a company is unclear. Will it include position to turn around and become purely “desi’ entrepreneurs with ma- profitable, the money may go to those jority Indian stakes, or also foreign that use it inefficiently, or siphon it off. MNCs that have set up fully-owned In a crisis like this one, there may be and majority-owned Indian subsidiar- no checks and balances.

OUTLOOKINDIA.COM JUNE 1, 2020 | OUTLOOWK 23 COVER COVID-19 STORY

To ease labour shortages, especially due to reverse migration of workers from the uncertainty of their urban workplaces to the security and safety of villages, several states drastically changed their laws. These measures will provide flexibility to factory own- ers to hire-and-fire workers, hike working hours by 50 per cent, and limit expenses under many heads. The states feel that these will increase for- eign investment, and incentivise ent­ repreneurs to open their shutters, and enhance production. Clearly, the flip side is that the new guidelines, or the lack of them, will ac- celerate reverse migration, and dis- suade workers, especially the migrants, to come back. They may rather seek employment in areas closer to their homes, or opt for inc­ ome-generating schemes like MNREGA, whose budget was recently hiked by the Centre as a part of its rec­ overy package. If this happens, it will derail the economy for a longer period. Instead of a V-shape upturn, one may witness a dreaded U-shape one.

Cures to Catapult Consumption Given the nature of the COVID-19 cri- sis, the dire need of the hour was to push demand. The loss of millions of jobs, and salary reductions implied that the government had to put more money in the pockets of both urban and rural consumers. This could be in the form of direct money transfer to the poor, aid in the form of free and cheap food items, lower across-the- board taxes to hike disposable in- comes, and a fillip to welfare schemes that generate incomes. The Centre has done all this. Economists feel it hasn’t done enough. Expenditure on MNREGA, which was reduced in this year’s Budget, was recently hiked by Rs 40,000 crore. In addition, the poor and migrant work- ers were promised additional alloca- tion of free grains and pulses to prevent starvation. Economists think that one of key problems with MNREGA was the delays in payments. If they persist, the higher allocation will lose its relevance because the people need the money now, rather than a month or two later. The free APOORVA SALKADE

24 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 COVER COVID-19 STORY

monthly ration is inadequate to feed a structural reforms. Morris says that typical family. while the policies are in the “right direc- The problem lies with the meagre Corona in tion”, they will not work “due to height- transfer of cash into the bank ac- ened global and domestic uncertainty”. counts of the suffering sections. Wonderland # 3 Theoretically, the moves to allow “There is a very small fiscal component farmers to “sell their produce freely” (in the package) that is directly con- “I don’t think....” through deregulation of the trade in tributed from the central exchequer. several commodities, is laudable. But The fiscal (direct) stimulus is much these may benefit the farmers over less than what was given during the “Then you should the next few years. In the short run, 2008 crisis,” says D.K. Srivastava, chief they are unable to trade, says Alagh. policy advisor, EY India. Individuals not talk.” He adds that the trade channels are and companies received no major tax “clogged” and there is “lack of clarity” concessions, except a delay in post- You cannot think that strict about freight movement. The Centre ponement of taxes, and a reduction in labour laws will get workers to and states don’t have the plans to pre- tax deducted at source, which is a produce more. And talk about vent the hijacking of the freer distri- temporary relief. bution routes by rich famers, Let’s take a look at what was done for higher MNREGA spending to middlemen, and large companies. the farm sector. Y. K. Alagh, a ren­ keep them in villages. Instead of the big bang reforms, which owned economist, points out that could have come later once the econ- most decisions related to the older omy perked up a bit, there was a need to schemes and policies, like the farmer introduce smaller changes and altera- producer organisation. “They will lead tions to tackle the immediate needs. For to more benefits only if the govern- example, local and regional economic ment puts money into them. Neither linkages should have received priority. is there real funding for such schemes, One of the major problems of partial nor is it under a rule-based system,” lockdown today, and the division of the he adds. In effect, in the recent past, country into red, orange and green there were huge mismatches between zones, is the mess they have created in budget allocations for agriculture, and India Inc. Business are unable to cope actual annual spending. Corona in with the confusion among the authori- One of the ways to do so was to give ties. “My factory is in the green zone, more leeway to the states to hike their Wonderland # 4 distributors are in the orange one, and expenditure. While the Centre has warehouses are in the red zone. I am rel­ied on the states to initiate pro-act­ ess­entially immobilised. I cannot com- ive steps, it was done without giving “It’s no use going mence operations,” complains a leading them the required resources. Delhi-based businessman. The situa- Although the states were allowed to back to yesterday, tion is the same for scores of others. In borrow more, it was to a limited ext­ addition, the factories may be in the ent, and one isn’t sure how the because I was a green zones, but the labour has to come amount will be utilised, says Joshi. from red and orange ones. Clearly, there Sen contends that the states “front- different person was a need to look at the opening up of ended their borrowings”, which will the lockdown in a more comprehensive lead to a crunch later on. The Centre manner from the business point of view. needs to be the chief financier so that then.” Going forward, suggests EY’s the states can deliver. One cannot compare Srivastava, the government needs to 2008 with 2020. Those were learn its lessons. This may be an oppor- Reluctant Reforms tune time to locate new industries in different times with different specific, well-thought-out rural-urban and Reformers heads of states, and corridors so that businesses can use lo- Reforms are best done when the econ- state of the economy cally-available resources like labour, omy is in a good shape. Unfortunately, and logistics. The overall industrial in India, as in other countries, they are policy has to be re-examined in this pursued during extreme crises. In 1991, context. COVID-19 has impacted us in they were kicked off by a bal- myriad ways that were both unex- ance-of-payment emergency. In the pected and unbelievable. It’s high time early 2000s, they were forced by US that the nation moves ahead in ways sanctions due to India’s nuclear tests in that can lead to growth, and protect the 1998. Today, COVID-19 has encouraged economy from similar crises at a later the regime to announce long-delayed date. The future, as they say, is here. O

OUTLOOKINDIA.COM JUNE 1, 2020 | OUTLOOWK 25 COVER COVID-19 STORY Bully in Bear Den In this Great Lockdown, why some stocks shot up by 60-70 per cent? What explains such bewildering trends?

Yagnesh Kansara in Mumbai

The global stock markets can be irrational, as well as rooted in facts. They can behave in mysterious ways, as well as in a manner that’s logical and commonsensical. Sometimes, they move in sync and, at other times, they show ob- stinacy towards each other. This interplay can lead to trends that are both weird and scien- tific. Nothing epitomises this better than the defiance and convergence between the indices like the Dow Jones and NASDAQ in America, and the Indian Sensex over the few months during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

ILLUSTRATION: SAAHIL BHATIA

26 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 PTI

On February 12 this year, the India’s wealthiest person, Mukesh of the Great Lockdown—a few stocks American Dow Jones was at a high of Ambani. From a price of almost Rs zoomed by 60-70 per cent. 29,551. It dipped by 37 per cent in 39 1,500 on February 19, the scrip took a Economists and stock experts give days (March 23). Over the next 57 deep dive to below Rs 900 by March 23. several reasons to explain these bewil- days, by May 19, it climbed up to over Then it rocketed to a peak of Rs 1,562— dering trends. 24,000, a rise of 30 per cent. A similar the highest in 2020. It seemed as if in- trend was noticed in the behaviour of vestors, day-traders, and speculators Lockdown Effect the Sensex. From February 12 to had combined together to propel the American online trading platforms March 23, it plunged by 37 per cent, stock to new levels. reported unusual increases in vol- and then soared by 16 per cent by May India Cements is another stock that umes. E-trade said that its volumes in 19. On April 30, the index was at 33,718, seem to buck the overall trend—and April 2020 were thrice as large as in which signified an upturn of 30 per how. Apart from two small descents, April 2019. TD Ameritrade said that “it cent from its March 23 low. The simi- and one elongated not-too-low depres- did more than three million trades a larities were uncanny; the two seemed sion, the stock boomed from Rs 72 on day in April (2020), compared with closely coupled. February 18 to Rs 118 on May 19, a two- 817 thousand a year earlier”. Richard In comparison, the NASDAQ, which thirds escalation. On May 15, the scrip Thaler, a Nobel Prize winner told an comprises technology stocks, seemed its 52-week high, and there were days, American weekly that investors possi- to defy the insidious impact of the like February 26, when it hit the daily bly have time on their hands due to coronavirus pandemic. From its high upper circuit, i.e. the specific top limit lockdowns. “It could be that it’s just a in February, it tumbled by 30 per cent for the daily increase in the price of lot of people have a lot of time on their by March 23, but then surprisingly— each stock. Of course, there is a narra- hands,” he explained. actually shockingly—it almost regained tive that drove the scrip crazy, but we According to a recent piece in New the entire losses. On May 19, it stood at will discuss it later. Yorker, gamblers, who could not go to 9,185, only marginally down from its The obvious question is: What’s hap- the casinos, shifted attention to stocks high of 9,818. Was this movement pening to the global indices, and indi- to use their speculative skills to make a rational or irrational? Why did the vidual stocks? It doesn’t make sense killing on the exchange. A fast-moving Dow Jones and Sensex rebound during for the indices to bounce back during market, which goes up and down by a the period when both the respective the worst period of the pandemic, few hundred points to a few thousand economies were shuttered. when the entire world was paralysed— ones almost on a daily basis, is attrac- Before we answer these questions, a or at least most parts of it. It is unfath- tive to the day-traders. They are inter- look at a couple of stocks will add to the omable that when comparisons were ested in price movements that can be complexities and creepiness of the being made with the Great Depression as small as 50 paise a day. For them to stock markets. One of them is Reliance of 1930s—Gita Gopinath, the IMF’s be able to earn Rs 5-10 a share, which is Industries, which is promoted by chief economist, called 2020 the year inevitable in a volatile market, is a

OUTLOOKINDIA.COM JUNE 1, 2020 | OUTLOOWK 27 COVER COVID-19 STORY

dream come true. latter. Simultaneously, Reliance The stock price of Avenue Supermarts, Retail, Mukesh Ambani’s retail opera- owned by Damani, shot up from just Optimism Effect tions, inked a commercial partnership above Rs 600 in March 2017 to Rs It is firmly believed among certain sec- with FB-owned WhatsApp. The for- 2,454 on May 20 this year. It is almost tions that the stock markets are quick mer will support small businesses at the same level as its previous high on to react upwards, sometimes much be- on WhatsApp. February 13, 2020. Like Reliance fore the crisis ends. Hence, the re- Cash-rich companies, which haven’t Industries and India Cements, bound in stocks can happen before the been hurt much by the coronavirus, Damani’s stock seems to be uptick in economic growths. In recent may use the lower stock prices as an COVID-proof. times, this was witnessed in the US opportunity to buy back their shares, Safer investors, who are sitting on markets towards the end of 2018, and instead of using the money in its cof- cash, are also lured during a crisis to beginning of the next year. There is an fers to pay higher dividends or issues invest in known blue chips, which are undying belief that the V-shape curve shares for free through bonus issues. A available at lower prices, but are bound is inevitable during the recoveries of few experts envisage a flooding of buy- to do well when the going becomes equities from their bottom. The inves- back offers from the promoters in the good. Among the Indian stocks, these tors think that the central banks and near future. Such hopes among the include renowned MNCs, as well as governments won’t fail them. investors have the tendency to push up Indian firms that have consistently Robert Shiller, another Nobel Prize prices of select stocks. If these stocks done well, and are managed profes- winner known for his book, Irrational happen to be heavyweights, they influ- sionally. Such secure buying, along Exuberance, said in an interview that ence the indices. with opportunistic ones, has an up- the V-shape conviction isn’t true. ward impact on stock indices. He explained that the bear mar- ket of the Great Recession of Loss-aversion Bias 2007-08 began in September Almost three decades ago, Amos 2007, and the market didn’t bot- Teversky and Daniel Kahneman tom out till February 2009. demonstrated what is called the During the Great Depression, loss-aversion bias among hu- the fall “began with the Wall mans. It contends that “losses Street crash of October 1929 and are twice as powerful compared lasted until the middle of 1932”. to equivalent gains”. Thus, a loss During the period, the US mar- of Rs 100 will give twice as grief ket was depressed by 80 per cent, to a person, compared to the and “did not hit new highs” till happiness with a similar Rs 10 the 1950s. gain. In practice, it implies that most of us display a tendency to ‘Promoters’ Impact be risk-averse, rather than seek Companies that had scheduled risk. This can manifest in differ- their rights issues are expected PTI ent ways in varying situations. to get a tepid response in these mar- In the case of owners of stocks, the ket conditions. Hence, their promot- Cash Factor bias reflects in propensity to retain ers may be expected to react in several In times like these, when the markets them, even if the prices are considera- ways. A few may urge their loyal bro- and most other asset categories are bly down, and the best option is to sell. kers, and supportive institutional in- down, cash becomes the king. Most in- Investors continue to hold to vestors, to go on a buying spree to vestors try to remain liquid, and adopt loss-making stocks in the hope that maintain stock prices, or even drive a wait-and-watch attitude. But this prices will go up in the near future. them northwards. Others may accept may not be true of aggressive and large This is most evident during stock crisis the inevitable, and directly or indi- investors, who see the lower prices as and market crashes, when it may be rectly subscribe to the portions of the an opening to increase their stakes. better to sell, stay in cash, and buy the issues that remain unsold. They will Take the case of Radhakishan Damani same or other stocks at lower prices. wish to sell these shares later at who, along with family members, in- On an overall basis, this reduces the higher prices. creased his stake in the Chennai-based selling pressure, and increases the One of the reasons for the spurt in India Cements to almost 20 per cent. chances of an upward volatility. the Reliance Industries’ counter over This was the major reason for the The above factors contribute to the the past few months was the expecta- stock’s recent spurt. volatility, and result in short phases of tion of the rights issue, which opened Damani has emerged as a major upward and down movement of the in- on May 20. Another positive for the Indian entrepreneur. He is ranked No. dices. Rest assured that if the negatives stock was Facebook’s decision to in- 2 richest Indian, with a wealth of overshadow the positives, the bears vest Rs 43,574 crore in Reliance Jio nearly $17 billion, on the Forbes ‘Real- can crush the markets for longer peri- (telecom arm) platforms. In return, Time List’ of the world’s wealthiest, be- ods. Obviously, the bulls gain an upper FB acquired 9.99 per cent stake in the hind Mukesh Ambani ($52.6 billion). hand if the opposite becomes true. O

28 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 Episode - 4 Six Years of Modi Sarkaar

Bhupender Yadav Bhavna Vij-Aurora Rajya Sabha MP and Political Editor, BJP General Secretary Outlook

join us on @outlookindia @outlookmagazine on May 23, Saturday, 6:00 pm COVER STORY

FORMER FINANCE AND ECONOMIC OPINION/ SUBHASH GARG AFFAIRS SECRETARY

Missing the Real Kick The ‘stimulus’ cost little and will deliver even less

lockdown imposed in was diluted to 10 per cent and 15 per cent in the scheme. Additional loans THE March knocked down the might substitute their normal increase in credit limits. Only the future economy, causing a GDP will tell how many MSMEs will get the additional loans. What the MSMEs loss of over Rs 20 lakh needed were grants to tide over the difficult times. crore and rendering over 100 million More than half of the package comprises liquidity measures. Liquidity is workers jobless. The finance minister neither credit nor stimulus. It only ensures that the financial system does delivered a huge ‘economic stimulus’ not freeze and keeps functioning. These measures are, however, the fla- in five tranches. Will it lead to survival vour of the season. The RBI’s support to banks and governments, of about and revival, and put the economy back Rs 8 lakh crore, was announced in March and April. It has proved to be a on the rails, or will it act like a mere dud so far. The banks have returned more liquidity to the RBI by deposit- band-aid? ing Rs 8 lakh crore. About 70 per cent of businesses The largest liquidity measures envis- remained shuttered in the first 40 days age the clearance of outstanding pay- since March 24. Nearly 50 per cent ments of DISCOMs. State-owned were closed until the end of the next NBFCs, like PFC and REC, would pro- phase, i.e. May 17. A third of the econ- vide loans of Rs 90,000 crore to omy is likely to be disrupted during the DISCOMs to clear the dues of pow- ongoing Lockdown 4.0. The economic er-generating companies like NTPC and pain has fallen disproportionately on other suppliers. Clearing of bills is no small businesses and their workers. stimulus. It merely substitutes creditor Many jobs might be permanently lost. A by creditor B. Firms as well as employees needed fis- In another measure, the government cal support to survive the catastrophe. promised guarantee to special purpose The stimulus was required to generate vehicles (SPVs) for raising loans of Rs consumption and investment demand. About 70 million 30,000 crore to buy investment grade The design and contents of the pack- papers of NBFCs, HFCs and micro-fi- age are striking. It uses credit channel micro enterprises, nance institutions. They have a long ges- (more than 90 per cent) to deliver its which suffered the tation period. When will the SPV be punch. The fiscal impact is less than Rs created, when will it raise loans, and 1.5 lakh crore (0.75 per cent of GDP). It most, will not get when will it buy such papers? The other rolls in four principal interventions— decision was to make more assets eligi- the RBI’s support to banks, banks’ the loans. They ble for the Rs 45,000 crore scheme of credit to small businesses, creation of need grants to ride partial risk guarantee, which was infrastructure through borrowings, and announced in Budget 2019. This has not immediate clearance of pending bills. out the storm. taken off, and is unlikely to. The first tranche of stimulus prom- A number of announcements were ised additional credit of Rs 3 lakh made to target infrastructure investments. A ‘fund of fund’ was proposed crore, backed by government guaran- to channellise equity of Rs 50,000 crore in MSMEs. Another Rs 1 lakh tee, to 4.5 million standard MSMEs—a crore agri infrastructure fund was aimed to build farm-gate infrastruc- miniscule percentage of the total 75 ture. A Rs 10,000 crore scheme was also proposed for formalisation of million MSMEs. About 70 million micro food enterprises. An additional Rs 20,000 crore was to flow to fish- micro enterprises, which suffered the ermen through Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. most, will not get the loans. In addi- Most of these funds and schemes are part of the existing budget. tion, the credit-worthiness of 4.5 mil- Building a ‘fund of fund’ is an impossible feat. Likewise, re-financing lion firms weakened during the earlier farm-gate infrastructure through banks, cooperative institutions etc will lockdown. The banks will be averse to take years. From the fiscal point of view, though, the government struck a grant additional credit to them. good deal. There is a saying in Hindi, “heeng lage na fitkari, rang bhi choko SIDBI issued a scheme on May 16 to hoye” (Without too much effort, you can generate vibrant colours). The operationalise the government guar- stimulus will not cost much to the government. But, in this case, it will not antee. A fifth of the credit assurance lead to survival support. O (Views are personal)

30 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 World Going Towards Greater Insularity Says Dr. Shashi Tharoor Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha on Corona and the new world order

In conversation with

Satish Padmanabhan Executive Editor, Outlook

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW ON @outlookindia @outlookmagazine COVER STORY INTERVIEW/SWADESHI ECONOMY

TRIBHVAN TIWARI

Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the RSS, is gung-ho over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for an Atmanirbhar Bharat as part of the post-pandemic economic revival. SJM national co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan tells Bhavna Vij-Aurora that it is a vindi- cation of the organisation’s 30-year-long struggle, and it is time to repose trust in indigenous talent, resources and knowledge.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Rs 20 lakh crore COVID-19 pack- age and called for self-reli- ance or ‘Atmanirbhar ‘Vocal-for-local will Bharat Abhiyan’. Are you happy with the move? ➞ The Prime Minister has echoed what the Swadeshi stop unfair Chinese Jagran Manch has been say- ing over the past 30 years. It is a vindication of our long struggle to see India eco- dumping of goods’ nomically independent and self-reliant. We are support- ing the government com- small-scale entrepreneurs, There is still some ambigu- pletely in this endeavour academicians, technocrats, ity about what defines Indian equity is more than and launched a pan-India industry and trade leaders, ‘local’ in context of 51 per cent. Swadeshi Swavlamban to spread awareness and swadeshi. Does it mean There is hardly any case for Abhiyan (self-reliance cam- promote swadeshi or local products manufactured by ambiguity. Local means a paign) from May 19 to products. We will also dis- Indians within the country? product used at the local spread awareness. tribute lists of such products. Or will it include products level, produced by our indig- This is the time for hand- made in India by MNCs? enous industry—small, How does your campaign holding of local, small-scale ➞ When you say local, it is medium or cottage industry. dovetail with the govern- manufacturers, artisans and the narrowest form of It also includes GIs (Geo- ment’s self-reliance call? small businesses. District- swadeshi. In addition to graphical Indications) like ➞ We are drawing a compre- level committees will be con- goods made by Indian man- Kancheepuram silk, hensive plan to involve peo- stituted involving people ufacturers, it would also Moradabad metal craft, Firo- ple from all walks of life, from industry and trade encompass companies with zabad glass and Blue pottery including workers, farmers, activists for this purpose. foreign equity but where of Jaipur. It also means

32 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 COVER STORY INTERVIEW/SWADESHI ECONOMY

decentralised production globalisation, with lessons in tectionism is seen as a dirty What is your view on priva- model and use of domestic self-reliance. Two weeks word, with negative connota- tisation of PSUs in non-stra- resources and talent. before the Prime Minister tions, in the past three dec- tegic sectors that the talked about it in his address, ades. It is not a crime. The government has You believe that the local sarsanghchalak ji (RSS chief government, for the first announced? Your sister indigenous industries need Mohan Bhagwat) had called time, in February 2018, organisation, the Bharatiya a push? for national reconstruction raised tariff to protect our Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), has ➞ It’s unfortunate that pol- through swadeshi and self- industry. The trade deficit opposed it. icy makers in the past never reliance. He had also talked with China had come down ➞ We have always been reposed trust in indigenous about the model based on from $63 billion in 2017-18 to against privatisation, espe- talent, resources and knowl- decentralisation, using indig- $53 billion in 2018-19. It has cially the strategic route to edge. There was over-emp­ enous talent, giving employ- come down further. disinvestment of PSUs that hasis on public sector and ment to our youth. Also, to make self-reliance was undertaken under the later on foreign capital and It can also be called work, the government needs Vajpayee government. We MNCs. PM Modi’s call of ‘sanatan’, invoking the phi- to do major structural are also against disinvest- ‘vocal for local’ is a pleasant losophy of integral human- changes. Most industries ment of BPCL and Air India departure from the existing ism as put forth by are working below capacity. as planned by this govern- policy based on globalisa- Deendayal Upadhyaya and Jobs have to be created. ment. These issues must be tion and liberalisation, later by Dattopant Theng- India has so much potential. resolved. We have seen the especially foreign capital adi. We are seeing its adop- If we can launch 104 satel- resolution of BMS, and are dependent model of tion in a new context. lites in a single rocket into in the process of making up development. space, why can’t we manu- our mind on supporting it. It is time to revive those There is a fear among some facture computer parts that local industries that were sections that the emphasis we import from China. Lastly, what do you have taken for granted in the era on local may make India to say about thousands of of globalisation. It is also isolationist? Do you think that in the migrants walking home time to usher in economic ➞ This is not isolation. We post-lockdown world, India in misery? Do you think policies that produce wel- are not breaking relations has an opportunity to that the government has fare, sustainable incomes, with other countries. We are enhance its economic might failed them? help job creation and, all in ➞ I don’t think, the govern- all, put faith in the people. ment has failed them. The There are more than 700 government has made all MSME clusters in the coun- efforts in taking them home. try with a long and prosper- “The virus outbreak has already Even the states have made ous history of industrial efforts. Civil society—the development. Many of these accelerated the collapse of the RSS and many NGOs—is clusters lost their sheen due existing model of globalisation... also working hard. to unfair competition from At this point, I want to ask China and unfair import no logic in blindly importing in all policy-makers and glo- policies. They have to be balisation apologists—that if supported and strengthened the name of free trade.” globalisation was a suc- by all means so that they not cess—why are the majority only create employment moving towards fair trade. at the cost of China? of labourers still in this opportunities but also pro- China has been dumping ➞ This thought is being shape? Over 37 per cent duce high-quality products goods in our country since echoed everywhere. The children between one and in the most economical cost. years, killing almost all our world over countries are five years are still stunted. More such industrial clus- manufacturing industry. The realising that self-reliance, The average wages, from ters would be identified at government has risen to the or rather self-sufficiency, is 1991 to 2016-17, had gone up the district level all over the occasion and there has been a the best policy. China is by seven per cent, while country for ushering in conscious effort to ban Chi- going to be the biggest loser, inflation went up by 6.5 per future growth in nese goods. Even Piyush losing out on various counts. cent, barely leaving any sur- manufacturing. Goyal (minister of commerce One, on demand, as it is plus for the people. and industry) had earlier said bound to face cancellation They were in the same Do you think the coronavi- at a meeting with us that we of orders. Second, by reloca- miserable position 50 years rus outbreak has nudged the are proud to be swadeshi. tion of various MNCs from ago. It is all because of eco- country towards swadeshi? Protection of our people and their soil. And last, it is nomic policies of the Con- ➞ There is definitely a con- industry against unfair trade going to lose infra projects gress. Those who are text here. Coronavirus has is not a crime. There is no in over 65 countries that responsible are now already accelerated the col- logic in blindly importing in were part of China’s Belt shedding crocodile tears at lapse of the existing model of the name of free trade. Pro- and Road Initiative. their plight. O

OUTLOOKINDIA.COM JUNE 1, 2020 | OUTLOOK 33 CINEMA/PRIME CUT

Small Screen, Big Locha As movies release directly on streaming platforms during the lockdown, theatre owners seethe and threaten ‘retributive’ measures

Giridhar Jha a deathly silence. Reeling under the impact of extended lockdowns, thea- tres across the country have been HE week around Eid wearing a desolate look shorn of glitz ul-Fitr is a carnival for for more than two-and-a-half months. multiplexes teeming Worse still, there are no signs of things withT movie buffs united by their looking up anytime soon. shared love for Salman Khan. This unexpected twist was not there in Undeterred by an overnight hike the original B-town script until March in ticket prices, they wait for this year when everything looked hunky- their turn to see their beloved dory on the business front. With Akshay Bhai—as the 54-year-old star is Kumar setting up a clash of titans by opt- known among his die-hard ing for an Eid release of his eager- admirers—unleash magic yet ly-awaited Laxmmi Bomb on May 22 again on the big screen. alongside Salman’s Radhe: Your Most But as fate would have it, there Wanted Bhai, multiplex owners seemed is no activity at all now, let alone to be in for a double delight. celebrations, at multiplexes, just Almost all of Salman’s Eid releases were mega blockbusters, creating a record enviable enough to deter the biggest of his competitors. However, Hit Hiatus in Laxmmi Bomb buoyed by his recent successes, Akshay (left) and Kapil Dev’s biopic ’83 dared to grab a slice of Salman’s

34 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 CINEMA/PRIME CUT

Reeling While Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai’s (top left) release has been postponed, (top right) and Shakuntala Devi (bottom) are releasing on OTT platforms

box-office pie on Eid. It was, of course, Vidya Balan’s Shakuntala Devi, a biopic a win-win situation for multiplex own- of the legendary ‘human computer’. ers, who looked forward to the immi- Sircar’s Amitabh Bachchan- nent showdown between two of the Ayushmann Khurrana starrer will be biggest superstars with bated breath, released directly on Amazon Prime little realising what was in store for Video on June 12. Five big movies from them in the weeks ahead. the south— (Tamil), Forced by the prolonged closure of Penguin (Tamil/Telugu), Law cinema halls, with little chance of (Kannada), them reopening soon, filmmakers (Malayalam) and French Biryani are now turning to the over-the-top (Kannada) will also stream on digital (OTT) platforms for direct digital platforms within the next three releases of their movies. On May months in the face of growing uncer- 22, a Friday when the industry tainty over reopening of theatres. expected a Salman-versus-Akshay “At Prime Video, we believe in listen- duel, it will be Nawazuddin ing to what our consumers want and Siddiqui’s chance to hog the lime- working backwards from there,” says light by default as his long-in-the- Vijay Subramaniam, director and head, making Ghoomketu is bypassing content, of the Indian arm of the global the traditional route of a theatri- OTT platform. “Over the past two cal release to stream on Zee5 for years, Prime Video has become the OTT audiences. And this may be destination of choice for our custom- just the tip of the iceberg for the ers to watch new releases across lan- multi-billion-rupee industry. guages within weeks of their theatrical There are other movies with releases. We are taking this one step digital premieres in the pipe- further, with seven of India’s most line, most notably Shoojit anticipated films premiering exclu- Sircar’s Gulabo Sitabo and sively on it, bringing the cinematic experience to their doorsteps.” Adds Gaurav Gandhi, director and country general manager, India, “We feel truly excited about this initiative and also confident of delight- ing our members with this offering.” But what may delight the growing

OUTLOOKINDIA.COM JUNE 1, 2020 | OUTLOOK 35 CINEMA/PRIME CUT

tribe of the OTT audience has come as such fair-weather friends”. up at homes for the past many weeks. a shocker to multiplex owners, who are INOX’s strongly worded statement We are likely to see demand on a sus- crying foul over these developments. evoked a sharp response from the tained basis once we reopen.” Until now, most movies would reach Producers Guild of India. “Statements Gianchandani hopes that producers Amazon Prime Video, Netflix etc only that call for ‘retributive measures’ will accede to their request to hold after a few weeks of their theatrical against producers who decide to take back the release of their films till cine- releases. Therefore, filmmakers’ deci- their movies directly to OTT plat- mas reopen. But as Amitabh Bachchan sion to opt for direct digital streaming forms—especially at a time when cine- says on his official blog, it’s a situation sent alarm bells ringing for theatre mas are unfortunately closed for the that cannot be altered now. “.. finances owners. Fearing a loss in revenues in foreseeable future—do not lend them- and other contractual obligations need the long run, INOX, a leading theatre selves to a constructive or collaborative consideration .. not just my films there chain, reacted angrily, calling it a dis- dialogue on the way forward for the are other artists too .. they also need to concerting move. “INOX would like to industry,” it said in a two-page state- space out their films .. recovery of in- express extreme displeasure and dis- ment. “The production sector (just like vestment .. cannot take forever .. if the appointment on an announcement by the exhibition sector) is suffering hun- digital price is amicable then they go a production house to release their dreds of crores of losses daily as elabo- for it .. it is the future .. the option to movie directly on an OTT platform by rate and expensive sets erected for release in theatres later always open .. skipping the theatrical window run. under-production films have had to be that contained in the terms .. so yes in The decision of the production house taken down. Huge cancellation charges time there could be theatre release as to deviate from the globally prevalent are being borne by producers even as well .. others wait for the results of dig- content windowing practice is alarm- interest costs are mounting on amounts ital release to make decisions on their ing and disconcerting,” it announced a raised to fund films.” films .. (sic)” he wrote on May 14. day after filmmaker Shoojit Sircar But INOX is not alone. Another mul- Thankfully for multiplexes, none of revealed plans to take Gulabo Sitabo tiplex major, PVR Pictures, which op- the big-ticket extravaganzas starring directly to Amazon Prime Video. erates a cinema circuit comprising 841 reigning Bollywood superstars, their Reminding filmmakers of the ‘mutu- screens at 176 properties in 71 cities in biggest revenue generators, have fallen ally beneficial partnerships’ they have India and Sri Lanka, also expressed its for the OTT bait yet. ’s shared over the years, INOX stressed disappointment with producers decid- multi-starrer Sooryavanshi featuring the need for standing shoulder to ing to go straight to streaming plat- Akshay Kumar, and shoulder. “Such acts, though isolated, forms. “We believe that theatrical along with , vitiate the atmosphere of mutual part- release is the best way for audiences to which was supposed to release on nership and paint these content pro- experience the labour and creative March 24, and Kabir Khan’s Ranveer ducers as fair-weather friends rather genius of our filmmakers. This has Singh-starrer ’83, which was slated for than all-weather, lifelong partners,” it been so for decades and not just in April 10, have been put on hold indefi- said, adding that it would now be “con- India but globally,” says Kamal nitely. Similarly, Salman Khan’s big- strained to examine” its options while Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures. budget Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai, reserving all rights, including taking “The COVID-19 crisis has caused an said to be based on Korean action- retributive measures in “dealing with unfortunate shutdown of cinemas. We thriller The Outlaws, will not be are confident that once we get to the released soon. other side of this crisis, there would be Meanwhile, speculation is rife that Will They? Coolie No. 1 (left) enough and more pent-up demand all these movies might be released and Gunjan Saxena from cine-goers who have been cooped directly on OTT platforms. There are

36 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 #BollywoodTalkiesOutlook

Thappad was written keeping me in mind Says Actor Taapsee Pannu on her career in films and future plans

in conversation with

Mitrajit Bhattacharya Columnist & Author on Bollywood TALKies with

Episode - 3 WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW ON @outlookindia @outlookmagazine CINEMA/PRIME CUT

Showstoppers Laal Singh Chaddha dented situation. “Since it will take a All these factors have contributed to (left) and Sooryavanshi while before normalcy and footfalls Bollywood’s gradual shift from thea- are restored, it is only reasonable for tres to OTT platforms. Already, there also rumours about digital platforms producers to unlock their investments are talks about movies such as Varun offering astronomical sums to the through digital platforms,” he says. Dhawan’s Coolie No. 1, Amitabh makers of these films. TheRadhe team, “This is more likely in the small-to- Bachchan’s Jhund, Janhvi Kapoor’s however, has denied that it was negoti- mid-film segments. Large films may or Gunjan Saxena and ’s ating a deal worth Rs 250 crore with an may not opt for these deals as their Ludo going directly to OTT platforms OTT platform for the release of theatrical component is large and they in the weeks to come. Some say even Salman’s next movie. ’83 director can hold on for longer.” Akshay Kumar’s Laxxmi Bomb might Kabir Khan too makes it clear that Andhare claims that producers’ move release soon on Disney-Hotstar. The since his films are meant for a big- to shift to OTT platforms should not pandemic has also cast a cloud on the screen experience, he, along with other be viewed as bypassing of theatres as timely release of many upcoming mov- stakeholders, has decided to wait for they remain the most central compo- ies such as Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh the reopening of theatres. Filmmaker nent of the cinema value chain. Chaddha, Ranvir Kapoor’s Brahmastra , whose Gunjan Saxena “Normalcy will return. The only and Alia Bhatt’s Gangubai Kathiawadi, starring Janhvi Kapoor was slated for question is when,” he says. which are all due later this year. release on April 24, has cautioned the It is this ‘when’ conundrum that is Interestingly, this is not a new phe- media against conjecturing about adding to filmmakers’ insecurities and nomenon in Bollywood. Films like movies going directly to digital plat- driving them to OTT platforms. With Rishi Kapoor’s Rajma Chawal (2018), forms. “My hugest request to my the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases Vicky Kaushal’s Love Per Square Foot media friends not to reach any across the country—particularly in (2018) and more recently, Sushant assumptions on our fraternity films … Mumbai, Hindi cinema’s biggest mar- Singh Rajput’s Drive (2019) released these are challenging times for the ket—the prospects of theatres reopen- directly on OTT platforms in the past business and false news only makes ing soon look bleak. The lucrative without multiplexes batting an eyelid. the situation worse! Please wait for overseas territory is also out of bounds, Even in Hollywood, a movie as big as official news on any account!! This is a further aggravating filmmakers’ prob- Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman (2019) humble request (sic),” he tweeted. lems. Worse, there is no guarantee that followed the same digital route. Bollywood experts, however, believe the audience would flock to multi- Industry watchers believe that all that stars and filmmakers, howsoever plexes immediately upon resumption stakeholders in the Indian film indus- big, cannot reverse the trend now. “The of shows owing to fears of contagion try—actors, filmmakers and exhibi- die is cast, but they remain in a denial and the need for social distancing. tors—will have to learn to live with the mode. A few big studios with deep pock- fact that the OTT platforms, a cheaper ets may keep the release of their films option than multiplexes, cannot sim- on hold for a year or so, but what about ply be wished away. With penetration small filmmakers who have borrowed There is no in about 4,000 towns in India and 200 money on steep interest rates? Can guarantee that other countries, Amazon Prime Video, they afford to do that?” says a trade Netflix etc are here to stay and might analyst on condition of anonymity. viewers will flock emerge as a game changer in the movie Ajit Andhare, chief operating officer, to theatres when business. The film industry as a whole Viacom18 Studios, says that the indus- and multiplexes in particular should try is in a crisis caused by an unprece- shows resume. become attuned to this reality. O

38 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 Masterspeak A Webinar Series Strategies for Start-Ups with K Ganesh Serial Entrepreneur

In conversation with N Mahalakshmi Editor, Outlook Business Register Now Do send in your questions for Mr. Ganesh and don’t forget to tune in. May 28, Thursday 7:00 PM

Presented by C0-Sponsored by CRICKET/COMEBACKS

Qaiser Mohammad Ali

EPRESSION, the blight that has its talons sunk across the world, can melt the doughtiest of Dper­sons. Only a few emerge stronger, but it takes mental toughness and doggedn­ ess. Sarfaraz Khan and younger bro­­ther Musheer, the young cricketers of Mumbai, seem to have those qualities in abundance. They not only overcame a tormenting 2019 but notched up career best performances in the season that ended in March. Even as Sarfaraz was serving a one- year cooling-off period in 2018-19 sea- son to qualify to represent Mumbai again on his return from Uttar Pradesh after five years, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) banned Musheer for three years for indiscipline. As the blues slowly consumed Musheer, their father- cum-coach Naushad too succumbed to depression. The three faced a bleak fu- ture in cricket—the only thing the fam- ily lives for. But, guided by a doting Naushad and some psychiatric therapy, how the two boys have returned with stronger res­olve and renewed vigour! They scored runs and dismissed bats- men almost at will, playing with steely determination. Hard-hitting middle order batsman Sarfaraz, 22, finished the Ranji Trophy tournament with the highest average in India—154.66—while plundering 928 runs in six matches, comprising a fabulous, unbeaten triple and a double century. Sarfaraz, who had hammered a record 439 for Rizvi Springfield in a Harris Shield inter-­ school match in 2009, chipped in with cameos for the Mumbai under-23 team

Sarfaraz Khan finished with the top average in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy Say It Again, The Bat Is A Lonely Hunter How brothers Sarfaraz and Musheer fought darkness and came around to be regarded among Indian cricket’s brightest talents

40 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 CRICKET/COMEBACKS

PHOTOGRAPHS BY: EMMANUAL KARBAHRI for the CK Nayudu Trophy. “He has had an outstanding season. There’s no doubt about it. His comeback was due to his mental toughness and he has worked hard at his cricketing skills as well. His father, too, has worked hard. Both Sarfaraz and Musheer are tal- ented,” former India and Mumbai cap- tain Dilip Vengsarkar tells Outlook. In 2015, a year after a good perfor- mance at the under-19 World Cup and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) buy- ing him for Rs 50 lakh, Naushad had taken a transfer for Sarfaraz, still a minor, to Uttar Pradesh due to lack of opportunities in Mumbai. But the stint in Uttar Pradesh was unsatisfactory. Form deserted him too and a serious knee injury just before 2017 IPL added to his misery. The consolation: RCB kept scored 125 runs. In the under-19 Cooch faith in Sarfaraz and retained him for Naushad Khan with his sons, Sarfaraz Behar Trophy, he scored 84 runs and Rs.1.75 crore at the January 2018 auc- (from left), Musheer, and Moeen, a trainer took a solitary wicket in two matches, as tion. Finally, a wiser Naushad brought Mumbai lost to Vidarbha in semis in Sarfaraz back to Mumbai in 2018, but he It was, of course, not simple—not just which he scored a fine 57. had to sit out the cooling-off period to be for injury-hit Sarfaraz, but also for During their period of crisis last year, eligible to play in 2019-20. Musheer and Naushad. The MCA had Naushad, a former cricketer, took his The Sarfaraz of 2020 is vastly different handed its under-16 captain Musheer, sons to play matches in Bangalore, from the one of 2015. A natural stroke- who was yet to turn 14, a three-year ban , Moradabad, Meerut, Mau player, he has learned to curb his for ‘indiscipline’ during a Vijay and Azamgarh, to keep their hands in. “It instincts in red-ball cricket and justified Merchant Trophy match against UP in was a tough period, but a popular couplet selectors’ decision to pick him with three January 2019. “I expected a lot from my of Nida Fazli inspired me: Safar mein centuries, including a brilliant triple sons, that’s why I went into depression. dhoop toh hogi jo chal sako to chalo, sabhi century against Uttar Pra­d­esh—­­301 not When Sarfaraz came back from UP, I got hain bheed mein, tum bhi nikal sako to out (391 balls, 30x4, 8x6). His stupen- depressed as I wondered about his car­ chalo, yahan kisi ko koi rasta nahi deta, dous Ranji sequence reads: 8, 71 n.o., 36, eer after his cooling-off period—will mujhe girake agar tum sambhal sako to 301 n.o., 226 n.o., 78, 25, 177, and 6—928 Mumbai pick him again?” confesses an chalo (there will be heat and roadblocks runs at a stratospheric average of 154.66. emotional Naushad. in the journey; you venture out if you can Former India wicket-keeper Kiran Sarfaraz slew all doubts with his pro- withstand these hurdles),” he recites. More was impressed too. “Sarfaraz is an lific bat. The icing on the cake was left- Both Sarfaraz and Musheer had to seek exceptional talent. This season arm spinner Musheer capturing 30 psychiatric help. In 2011, when a was a game changer for him. He has gone wickets at a miserly average of 9.36 in the Mumbai school wrongfully, and unsuc- through hell, so he’ll now be prepared to under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy on his cessfully, accused Sarfaraz of age man­ take on any challenge…. He’s definitely comeback after his ban was reduced to 11 ipulation, he slipped into depression, India material,” More tells Outlook. months following an apology. The and Naushad had taken him to a psychi- Naushad, who motivates his sons by diminutive tweaker, who turned 15 on atrist. Last year, Musheer also saw a psy- reading couplets from famous ghazals, February 27, bagged two 10-wicket chiatrist in Mumbai, before coming out says the turnaround is due to a change in match hauls—one in the final against stronger. “Depression is the single larg- Sarfaraz’s approach. “For example, he Punjab--in four matches to propel est illness in the world that hits every so- used to dread getting out in the slips. Mumbai to the title triumph. Overall, he cial stratum. We’ve to recognise mental Now he doesn’t, as he chooses his captured three five-wicket hauls, and health in sports to help athle­tes bounce strokes and tries to play the ball along back,” Dr Samir Parikh of Delhi’s Fortis the ground,” he says. Healthcare tells Outlook. Sarfaraz, rather nonchalantly, des­ About his last year’s cooling-off cribes his game thus: “While playing red Both Sarfaraz and period, Sarfaraz says, “I knew the ball cricket I try to be patient. If you stay Musheer had to opportunity would come, and for that at the pitch, you would know what shots I’d have to be prepared. During that to play. I play my natural game in white seek psychiatric period, I got to understand and know ball cricket. But, even in longer versions, help. Both came myself.” Their troubles now a distant after completing a century I switch to cloud, Sarfaraz and Musheer are well my natural game. Simple.” out stronger. on their way. O

OUTLOOKINDIA.COM JUNE 1, 2020 | OUTLOOK 41 WIDE ANGLE/SLEEP OUT

Lullaby

Road SANDIPAN CHATTERJEE

For their entire lives, they have slept as the bustle of the streets wrapped them, a watchful slumber that even nightly still- ness did not dispel. Then, as the world was locked indoors, it yielded unexpected space. Homeless or merely free-spirited, sleepers grasped at these safe havens: a woman on a flower-strewn, stone-paved courtyard barely ennobled by Roman nomenclature; another on the bared midriff of a thorough- fare; men dossed down atop carts, cars and polished surfaces; a defiant Catalan slaked his exhaustion on a sepulchral Barcelona street. Thus they lay proprietorial claim to their cities, these giant communal beds where there were no sharers.

APOORVA SALKADE

00 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 WIDE ANGLE/SLEEP OUT

PTI

PTI “…we lie on Mother’s bed; the rising sun in war paint dyes us red; in broad day- light her gilded bed- posts shine/ abandoned, almost Dionysian.” Robert Lowell

OUTLOOKINDIA.COM JUNE 1, 2020 | OUTLOOK 43 SLUGGG/SUBSLUG

PTI

“When I’m in the middle of a dream… Please, don’t wake me, no, don’t shake me/Leave me where I am, I’m only sleeping.” The Beatles

PTI

44 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 SANS FRONTIERS

WORLD TOUR

FOREIGN HAND ISRAEL Chinese ambassador Du Wei, who had been posted to Israel in Febru- ary 2020, was found dead in his Tel Aviv apartment. Initial findings suggest no foul play. Du, 57, served in Ukraine and was self-quarantined for two weeks on arrival to Israel because of coronavirus restrictions. His wife and son were yet to join him in Israel. RRESPECTIVE of party affiliations, American presidents have Iavoided making critical remarks about successors in public. But recent developments indicate that the tradition may no longer be the norm. Barack Obama has criticised Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, saying the outbreak exposed the leadership’s failings and described the situation as “an absolute chaotic disaster”. In a recent online address to graduating students the former president said some officials “aren’t even pretending to be in charge”. The total death toll in the US is now over 90,000—the highest in the world. Obama also spoke about the impact the pandemic is having on Black communities in the US. “A disease like this just spotlights the BRAZIL President Jair Bolsonaro lost his underlying inequalities and extra burdens that Black communities second health minister in a month, embar- have historically had to deal with in this country,” he said. African rassing his government and worrying Americans make up a disproportionate number of coronavirus citizens. Brazil is a coronavirus hotspot. deaths and hospitalisations in the US. But instead of tackling the challenge, The Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing campaign for the politicians have been busy bickering. November presidential election can be cited as reasons for the Nelson Teich did not give any reason for former and the current presidents’ public spats. But the US Justice his departure, merely saying, “Life is full of Department’s surprising decision to drop all charges against Donald decisions, and I decided to leave.” Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn has brought them to the centre of it. Obama, who has kept a relatively low profile since leaving office in January 2017, has rarely spoken out about the actions of his successor. But in recent days the pair have been engaged in several “back-and-forths”. Flynn was forced to resign early in the Trump presidency for lying to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russian government officials. He had also pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents investigating ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. After years of legal wrangling, the former three-star general is now a free man. Obama said, “There is no precedent that anybody can find for JAPAN The world’s third-largest someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free.” econ­omy fell into recession as the He added, “That’s the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that pandemic’s financial toll continues to basic—not just institutional norms—but our basic understanding of escalate. Last week, Europe’s biggest rule of law is at risk.” Trump, never shy of criticising his predecessor, economy, Germany, fell into recession; responded with a flurry of social media posts accusing Obama of more are likely to face the impact of the engaging in an effort to undermine his presidency. “I wouldn’t be lockdown. Trade-reliant Japan did not surprised if you see a lot of things happen over the next number of go into a full lockdown, but a state of weeks,” Trump said after learning of the Flynn news. O emergency since April severely affected supply chains and businesses.

OUTLOOKINDIA.COM JUNE 1, 2020 | OUTLOOK 4 5 THE COVIDICTION Satish Padmanabhan

Last week Outlook coined a word in its cover story: Covided. Here are some more words and phrases we learnt during the pandemic and how they may be used in the future.

CO-MORBIDITY: A group HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE OR of friends with a penchant HCQ: Someone who shows great for gallows humour. promise but finally disappoints. ‘His first book was a masterpiece LOCKDOWN: To feel but then he turned HCQ’. Or one exasperated, claustrophobic girl to another: ‘Don’t go by his and scared. ‘The students felt six-pack abs, he’s an HCQ.’ lockdowned in the maths class.’ HANDWASH: Boring, routine, QUARANTINE: A couple not dull. ‘He calls himself a chef speaking to each other for a few but frankly his biryani is a days after a quarrel. handwash.’ SOCIAL DISTANCING: ZOOM: Cacophony, Keeping away from Twitter, incoherence. ‘The RWA FB, Insta for a month to meeting started off quietly prevent the disease called but soon it was all zoom.’ Irrelevant Information. VACCINE: Something or MASK: Something half the someone too late in coming. experts in the world believe is ‘I waited for her in front of the the most critical while the other theatre for over an hour but she half thinks is utterly useless. vaccined on me.’ ‘Homeopathy, astrology, climate change, Donald Trump, VENTILATOR: From which praying are all masks.’ nobody comes out. ‘His drinking and gambling led him to the WUHAN: A place with exotic ventilator of debt.’ food. Waiter: ‘Would you like to start with the bat soup?’ Guest: WET MARKET: It doesn’t sell ‘No, I will straight go for the blankets or dreams. It’s a place pangolin please.’ where calamity originates. ‘When Krishnamurthy uncle SANITISER: Very pious, offered to re-pot the plants in preachy. Teenager caught tip- the garden, we knew it will turn toing back home at 3 am: ‘Oh, into a wet market.’ mom, don’t be a sanitizer.’ HAZMAT SUIT: A saviour, a FLATTEN THE CURVE: A size- protector. As the tiger was about zero supermodel. A middle- to pounce on the deer, a giraffe aged person furiously working appeared on the scene like a the treadmill. A car mechanic knight in a shining hazmat. removing a dent.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY SAAHIL BHATIA

46 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 Future of Flexible Workspaces: With Adversity comes opportunity

he largely unknown nature of the corona virus has caused much Tspeculation and uncertainty along all industrial avenues. Amidst the chaos, companies face significant challenge as they attempt to prepare the workplace of the future. While the times are as worrisome as they could be, business leaders have a unique opportunity to shape how employees do the work in the future without compromising on their safety as flexible Ankit Jain, workspace providers formulate new Co-founder techniques to offer a more conducive and adaptive ecosystem to cope with disruptive elements.

Sensitivity towards surfaces The agile workspace providers such as Skootr are working towards identifying and developing a touch-less system in areas of high activity and interaction such as reception, meeting rooms, cafe- teria, and lobby. When it comes to aesthetics, designers are looking at alternatives to source such fabric & surface materials for the interiors which can be treated with cleanable solutions, without ruining its integrity, to avoid the possibility of any pathological contamination.

Well-sanitized common areas Regular cleaning and sterilizing of common areas, improved footfall management equipped with screening protocols along with the Inclination towards wellness-oriented designs prerequisite of isolation zones within offices will become an essen- Occupiers will place a stronger emphasis on meeting interna- tial part of every workspace. Asset managers of properties that in- tional standards of building specifications as they strengthen clude mutually shared services such as cafes, retail and agile spaces their commitment to employee health and wellness. Grade A will need to improve their existing hygiene policies to safeguard properties with sustainability, safety and wellness features, par- tenants and employees from any health-related risks in future. ticularly those related to indoor air quality, ventilation systems, Throughout all economic and social avenues, including the water drainage systems and other indoor environmental features, real estate sector, factors such as reduced demand and delayed will draw greater claim in the future. business decisions are creating significant impediments to busi- ness operations. However, there emanates an encouraging De-densification of workspaces glimmer of hope that what appears to be an enormous hurdle to The new pivotal point in the segment of workspace design is so- businesses is in fact an opportunity to grow, learn and evolve. At cial distancing. Industry standards are likely to improve wherein Skootr, we are ever committed to business excellence and ready the unit space acquired by individuals may go up considerably. to take up these challenges head-on with a positive resolution. Hence, the workspace designs will embody comfortable density And, with this dedication and perseverance, we see the office of people to maintain appropriate distance and cleanliness. sector will recover ultimately.

By Ankit Jain, Co-founder & Director- Skootr BOOK REVIEW Two Hands For A Tightrope Act Some of Kambar’s primary concerns are reflected in these plays that use classical, folk and modern techniques: the forging of an identity pared of its technical appendages, and the need to fight insular religiosity

K. Satchidanandan WHILE RISHY- the other hand, he is profoundly conscious of the moral and ASHRINGA IS political dilemmas of our time and uses chosen moments from history, chosen forms from folk theatre and chosen myths and HANDRASEKHAR ABOUT SIN AND fables to fight the negative aspects of colonialism, globalisation Kambar is arguably the EXPIATION, and the divisive politics of hatred flaunted by a new brand of most formidable and the TRUTH AND communal politics. But he does it in truly artistic and nuanced Cmost prolific playwright in ways suggesting rather than explaining the issues. Those who Kannada today, besides being a REBIRTH, IT have read his earlier plays in translation, like Sirisampige, significant poet and novelist in ALSO CARRIES Mahamaya or Jokumaraswamy , or watched their performances, the language. He is one of the A CRITIQUE OF must be familiar with the subtle strategies he employs to create a few writers who have redefined counter-modernist theatre brimming with poetry, humour, irony modernism in Indian literature OUR COLONIAL and suspense and initiates a conversation among the classical, by reconnecting it with native, BURDEN WE folk and modern traditions of Indian theatre. mostly folk, traditions and INHERIT FROM The first play,Rishyashringa , a sequel to Kambar’s long poem, regional histories so that they URBAN TRAIN- Helatina Kela (Listen, I Will Tell You) deals with the questions give us fresh insights into of identity, loss of selfhood, the legitimacy of human existence contemporary life, not to speak ING. THAT’S and their complex relationship to the survival of earth. The of providing writers with WHAT BALAG- myth of Rishyashringa that appears in Ramayana, Mahabharata deeply communicative forms. ONDA TRIES TO and the Jataka has different versions. In the most popular ver- But this does not at all mean sion Rishyashringa was born to Rishi Vibhandak and Urvashi, that Kambar is a revivalist; on GET RID OF. the celestial danseuse, who had been sent by Indra to seduce the rishi whose powers would otherwise have eclipsed Indra’s. But Urvashi leaves once the son is born and the sage, who now turns a misogynist, brings up Rishyashringa in a forest away from Chandrasekhar the sight of women. When the king- Kambar dom of Anga suffers from a severe drought and famine, king Romapada is TWO PLAYS | advised to bring the chaste young Translated from Brahmin from the forest, whose arrival Kannada by would herald rains. Vaishali, a charm- Krishna Manavalli ing young woman is sent into the | Penguin woods, who secretly meets the youth, Randomhouse | awakens his adolescent desire and 208 pages | leads him to Anga, now blessed with abundant showers. Rishyashringa, Rs 299 however, marries another woman, Shanta, and settles down. Kambar gives many twists to this story. Here Rishyashringa is renamed Balagonda, the Gowda’s son, who has gone for studies in the city, whose

48 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 BOOK REVIEW

return to the parched village ‘Who am I’ is related at the same would dapple the land with time to the tradition into which green like a “magic sandal one is born and to the contempo- breeze”. The village prepares to rary environment where one accord him a royal welcome. flourishes or fails. As the But they soon come to learn sutradhar sings: “You forget, you that Balagonda is not really stumble, and search for some- born to Gowda, as the real thing that can hold in your Gowda had been devoured by a words/ You are lost in doubt/ and demon who had come in the you forget the truth of the body, form of a tiger and it was his my king!/ Is the touch on the bones left in a well that had skin, or the skin lost in touch?/ taken the present Gowda’s That awareness of you and me/ form. This new Gowda, who is a Flares up like spark from the flint demon, tells people Balagonda’s stones.” And the Earthwoman return is not going to bring any sings: “Come, drape me like the rain. People run away from cloth next to your skin…I shed my Balagonda. The old man of the shyness, my shame and my hon- village tells the real story of his our/ And became fully naked origin to Balagonda who gets rid then./ I remember that now, I of his old karma by throwing his KAMBAR make my body a temple/ I dig into my stomach to hide your bundle into that very well where secret there!” The play connects the concept of identity with his real father’s remains lay. EMPLOYS SUB- the other, with nature and with the ability to love and fertilise While the play is about sin TLE STRATEGIES the earth. It also reminds us of Basava’s vachana that the body and expiation, truth and TO CREATE A itself is the temple and labour, heaven. rebirth, it also carries an Mahmoud Gawan is completely different in conception oblique critique of our colonial COUNTER-MOD- though this too uses ancient techniques. The old man who nar- burden that we inherit from ERNIST THEATRE rates the story acts like the chorus in a classical play. He at our urban training; it is the bur- BRIMMING times also becomes characters in his tale, like in the classical den of his fake identity, a crea- WITH POETRY, Koodiyattam play where the actor transforms himself into the tion of his schooling in the city, people and even objects he describes--a mode of acting called that Balagonda gets rid of to HUMOUR, pakarannattam or transformative acting. The old man narrates regain his real selfhood. The IRONY, the story of Mahmoud Gawan to a group of college students on a writer has often suggested, SUSPENSE AND visit to Bidar that was the seat of a madrasa once famous through his poems, novels and throughout the world, built by Mahmoud Gawan, originally plays that we need to decolo- STARTS AN from Iran, when he was the diwan of the place. He was a rare nise ourselves so that we regain EXCHANGE combination of a poet, scholar, philosopher, scientist and strat- our real identity, which has ele- AMONG OUR egist. On meeting Khwaja Kirmani, he was told about Bande ments of the pre-colonial, but is Nawaz, the Sufi saint whose shrine in India he was eager to visit. not entirely constituted by it. It CLASSICAL, He left his wife and children in Iran and proceeded to India is wise to recall that in one ver- FOLK AND with some horses, most of which he sold but for a pair. sion of the Rishyashringa story, MODERN In Gulbarga he was surprised to hear the strange tale of it is because Rishyashringa left Shivalinga Swamy exchanging his saffron clothes with Bande the country that the country TRADITIONS. Nawaz’s green ones, in a show of Hindu-Muslim solidarity. The suffers from drought. Past can day came to be celebrated annually as a cloth-swapping festival be a burden, but without it we with the shouts of Din Hari Hara—a sign of syncretism. have no identity. Yet at times Alauddin Bahamani, the sultan of Bidar, was ill at that time and the past comes back as a demon his daughter-in-law, Begum Nargis, was asked to take over the in human form, like in contem- reins as his death might lead to a civil war between the foreign- porary India, leaving us to won- ers and the Deccanis in his court, as the Sultan’s son, Humayun, der whether this is our real was ill-tempered and unfit to rule. Kirmani had already past, as the past for the revival- informed the court of Gawan’s visit and he was warmly received ist is a constructed, exclusivist by the Begum, who happily made him the Diwan of Bidar and and insular tradition, a source requested him to put an end to the troubles in the country, of hollow pride in all that is making Prince Humayun the titular ruler. negative and devoid of all that This elevation of a foreigner to the highest official position is positive and progressive. angered aspiring native officers who plotted to get him killed Balagonda’s existential along with the prince, by conspiring with the king of Telengana, dilemma is not without politi- a sworn enemy of the Sultan. The Turks in the court flattered cal implications: the question Gawan and had him sent to the battlefield along with Humayun.

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The defeated Jalal Khan, the king of Telengana, pretended that he wanted to buy peace and invited Gawan for talks, where his messengers brought him a gift with a dagger hidden beneath it. The wise Diwan had foreseen this possibility and the plan was foiled in time. The Turks at home, in league with the Nizam, had spread the rumour that Humayun had been killed in battle, forcing the prince to return, as his throne had been usurped by his drunk- ard brother Ahmed Shah. They also create a situation of tur- moil at home and eventually murder Humayun. But Gawan becomes immensely popular with the conquest of Goa using the gunpowder he had ordered from Iran, the fair treatment of the poor, rejection of caste Interrogated about the tax exemptions he had granted, he says privileges, exemptions of tax it was only an extension given owing to the famine and drought. to famine-hit areas and the Then, god Vitthala himself appears as Mahar Vitthala and pays cause of religious amity he all the dues, saying they had good crops this year, though every- espoused with passion. one realises it was Vitthala himself only when the regional head Mahmoud Gawan’s growing appears later and requests Gawan to extend the exemption as fame makes his enemies more the drought was even worse that year. Neeli also tells the Sultan jealous; they use Neeli, a court about the plot hatched by the Nizam and the Turks and how she assistant and a strong wrestler, was blackmailed into being an instrument of treachery. But the to trap him. They blackmail Sultan would hear nothing of this, for his ears had been poi- her, saying that she had been soned by Gawan’s foes and he himself was jealous of Gawan’s found near the body of the dead fame. He sentences Mahmoud Gawan to death. Before being prince and could be charged executed by the Sultan, he tells a distraught Neeli: “When poli- with murder, while promising tics turns foul, it is our duty to protest”, which sums up the to exonerate her provided she IN MAHMOUD play’s central message. Gawan salutes people like Shivalinga steals a sealed paper from GAWAN, THE and Bande Nawaz who stood for religious amity and goes fur- Gawan’s office so that they POET-PHILOS- ther to comment on times of misfortune like the one that has prepare an order clearing her. befallen India among many other countries at present: “In Instead, they forge a letter OPHER AT THE times like these, everything is topsy-turvy! Nature revolts. Even using that official paper availa- TIME OF HIS seasons race helter-skelter like scared cattle. Cause and effect ble only to the Diwan DEATH SALUTES lose connection. Therefore now man’s fate must be decided only addressed to the neighbouring by ruthless politics”. Gawan dies in the Sultan’s hands with the Odra King, promising to share SHIVALINGA cry, ‘Din Hari Hara’. He reveals it was Allah who had appeared power with him if he helped AND BANDE as Vitthala to pay the deferred taxes and declares that what he him overthrow the present NAWAZ WHO did would never go in vain as the politics of unity and moral Bahamani Sultan Ahmed Shah wisdom would ultimately triumph over the divisive politics of who is a callous drunkard. The STOOD FOR manipulative hatred. God from Heaven echoes his words. The conspirators then spread the RELIGIOUS Bahmani dynasty ends as politics gets delinked from ethics and canard across the land. AMITY AND religious harmony gives way to the politics of othering. Gawan is called for a trial by PREDICTS THE It is hard to overemphasise the relevance of the play in India Ahmed Khan. Many charges are today where the insular politics of an exclusivist majoritarian raised against him. Asked about VICTORY OF nationalism has won a disgraceful, if transient, victory. I should the expenses of the madrasa MORAL WISDOM add here that Krishna Manavalli has found the apt idiom to run by him, Gawan reveals the OVER THE translate Kambar’s plays into a language with an ethos and a truth that he was spending all syntax radically different from those of Kannada. O his salary on running it and DIVISIVE POLI- (K. Satchidanandan is a distinguished poet and critic who supporting poor students. TICS OF HATRED. writes in Malayalam and English)

50 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 Review / ART AND CULTURE

‘Web series challenges you to try new things’

Actor Jaideep Ahlawat is winning accolades for his entertainment industry for about a decade now. Do portrayal of a down-and-out cop in the web series you think web series will take it to the next level? Paatal Lok, a neo-noir crime thriller. The 42-year-old > Absolutely. It is an audio-visual medium that actor talks to Giridhar Jha about the web series and enables you to tell your story on a huge platform his journey in Bollywood so far. Excerpts: with a worldwide reach. You can showcase your work through it and also watch the work of others What is the USP of Paatal Lok? from across the world. It helps you widen your > It is one of the finest written shows I have seen horizons when you get to see such work. You get a in recent times. You get to see a social structure better vision and perspective as an actor and feel made of different strata of society—Swarg Lok, challenged to try new things. It also allows you to Dharti Lok and Paatal Lok—where people from show certain content that cannot be shown under different classes lead their lives in their own way. the present Indian censorship laws. Of course, web As far as my character is concerned, content is classified in different categories, such Hathiram is from Dharti Lok. He is torn as 13+, 16+ or 18+ depending on their suitability, but between his personal and profes- this is discretionary. sional lives. How he lands in such a You have worked in different media, from theatre to situation and how he fights his battle web series. As an actor, do you have to change for on both fronts to forge ahead is what different formats? this show is all about. It is the story > When the camera rolls, it is all the same for an of every individual actor. How your work is taken to the audience after Content has been a buzzword in the that varies from one medium to another. The mode

OUTLOOKINDIA.COM JUNE 1, 2020 | OUTLOOK 51 Review / ART AND CULTURE

of work as well the reach of all media are If you look at it, there has been some good different. You have to play your part as an work. I am happy that I am not in any blind race. actor at the end of the day, regardless of the I prefer to be selective in my work. I am never medium. It does not bother me whether my depressed nor do I ever feel suffocated. Ups work is reaching the audience through cinema, and downs are part of life. One has to try their TV or a web series. best and march ahead. Gangs of With the advent of global OTT platforms, Wasseypur How do you remember your character Shahid do you foresee a time when they will Khan in Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)? replace cinema? > Films such as Gangs of Wasseypur and Raazi > Twenty years ago, you had to pay for incom- (2018) are milestones in my career. Whenever I ing calls on your mobile phone. Who had then look back, I realise I was lucky to be part of such thought of using smartphones on which you projects. By the grace of God, I got such oppor- could watch all kinds of audio-visual content? tunities. I hope that I will keep getting one such

In the coming years, OTT platforms will certainly Commando project every year for the rest of my life. grow bigger, but cinema has its own impact. Will the rise of content-driven movies lead to Movies that were made at the start of this the end of the star system in Bollywood? millennium are still considered classics. Even > I don’t think so. The hero keeps changing in today, films are being made in and outside the every era. Every 10-15 years, society under- country. Cinema, therefore, cannot be replaced, goes a change. The thinking of a 10-year-old but OTT platforms have immense scope, espe- kid changes when he turns 20. Such changes cially in the East, where many people are still can be seen in every aspect of life. People’s not connected to them. preferences also change with time. Stars, for There has been a rush lately to make web one, will always be there; only their face will series, which has raised concerns regarding change. Old stars will make way for new ones. the quality of content. For example, there were stars like Balraj Sahni > It has always been like that in every medium. and Dev Anand earlier. Today, we have Shah It is the responsibility of filmmakers, actors and Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. For actors, more writers, who have the freedom to do the kind of options have come up due to the advent of work they want to do irrespective of whether it new platforms. is good or not. If I feel I have to do a certain kind What are your forthcoming projects? of work, I would like to do it. > I had completed some work just before the Are you happy with the way your career has Baaghi 3 lockdown. I cannot say at the moment when evolved so far? those will be released. Baaghi 3 was released > It is not that I am happy or unhappy, thinking only two weeks before the lockdown and was how it could have been better. And who will doing well. Right now, I am reading scripts to decide how it could have been any different? make the most of my time at home. O

able to perform as they earlier platforms. Novel viruses call for did. The ‘stage’ is no longer novel solutions, so we decided the wood-panelled auditorium to come together. We will with synchronised lighting. The organise sessions on topics new stage is a screen in your ranging from fitness to mental hand—your phone, laptop etc. health and networking. These We are trying to figure out how will help people get the right become a part of stayIN aLIVE to do a play on Zoom, get peo- mentorship and learn how to and entertain audiences. We ple to donate using Facebook fund their work. We will also also want to collect funds, or YouTube and be interactive showcase the success stories which can be dispersed Unlock Art during online sessions. of artistes during this time. through the stayIN aLIVE We also came up with After that, it will be more like a foundation for the emergency Roshan Abbas, actor, theatre stayIN aLIVE, an artiste-sup- festival with weekly sessions, needs of artistes. Many coun- director and TV and radio host: port platform with over 60 depending on artistes’ needs. tries have cultural support We came up with #Stage- artistes and non-stop 24 hours Our first aim is to make sure systems and we too need one. Badelga for every artiste not of content across multiple that at least 1,000 artistes —As told to Lachmi Deb Roy

52 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 la dolce vita

Lady, Do It Alone As is the fate of works by creative geniuses, Tagore’s oeuvre has been twisted around for some time—songs flogged for everything from rock to fusion; his fiction, some of them modernist gems, whipped mercilessly for contemporary turns. Now, in a Delhi air thick with rock n’ roll rebellion and angst, the immortal Ekla Cholo Re appears in a boldly lettered tattoo below Kiara Advani’s sternum. Cast as a band member in Guilty, the gorgeous, prominent forehead hides under a wave of hair, as the heavily lined kohl doth detract from those eyes. Though millions did answer his call, the song was a favourite of Gandhiji. Will it work for Nanki?

Yeah, Go For Red Oh, the pleasures of carrom! On verandahs in the hot afternoons of summer holidays; a board or two at dusk as mud forms a patina on football boots; shut up in ‘clubhouses’ in monsoon evenings, or the hypnotic rattle of ‘striker’ and ‘coins’ cutting through winter nights, as a single bulb over the board keeps vigil. And the roar of voices, as points creep up…. Anil Kapoor, of a certain vintage, remembers all this. So, as the hordes distractedly bingewatch OTT series, he sets up a board and sets about beating the com- bined force of wife Sunita and daughter Rhea. la dolce vita

A Trough For Nawaz Wasn’t Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s memoir (An Ordinary Life) weighed down and buoyed by langorous romances, hot, fleeting flings and the pain of heartbreak? To be sure, we thought, a gust of rain-laden air amidst the aridity of primped-up hagiographies. Not just women, the book was remarkable in its candour about Nawaz’s various short- comings—real, imagined, alleged. All this is now sharp- ened to a point: the news that his wife Aalia has filed for divorce. “Problems for the last 10 years” (out of 11), she said, and explained how the lockdown gave her clarity. At home in Budhana, UP, Nawaz will have a sombre Eid.

Where She Is From Sushmita Sen was the one star who eagerly got on to digital media for direct commun- ions with her fans: all about herself, her projects, her daughter, workout regimen, a crocodile of boyfriends…. For an actress bare there as a top draw, these (and a polished, articulate persona, one hastily adds) enabled her to hold on to a steady fandom. Add to her revelations the fact that she suffered from Addison’s Disease, an auto-immune disorder that for four years from 2014 ate into her vitals. Along- side usual treatment, Sushmita self-medicated with an intense programme of meditation, till wellness broke through her dark horizon.

54 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020 COVID-19 WARD

Shikha Malhotra The actor-turned- nurse has been working at a COVID-19 ward in Mumbai since March 27

From The Screen To The Ward There is a purpose, as they say, for everything in life. When the prime minister announced a lockdown from March 25 onwards, I resolved to con- tribute to the fight against the global pandemic. I had obtained a nursing officer’s degree from Vardhman Maha- vir Medical College, Safdarjung Hospi- tal, Delhi, before I joined the film industry to pursue my love for acting. Only a month before the lockdown began, my first film as a lead actress, Kaanchli, had been released. I had ear- lier done small roles in movies like ’s Fan (2016) and Taapsee Pannu’s Running Shaadi (2017). I thought my career in cinema was on the right track after its release because I was receiving accolades for my perfor- mance. I, therefore, had no intention to join a hospital as a nurse. But the coro- navirus crisis made me realise that God had made me get a nursing degree because of this moment. During the Janata Curfew (March 22), I made a video to create awareness about the need for social distancing. At and also my profile as an actress on Wikipedia. She was surprised to know the PM’s bidding, I clanged a thali to that a film actor wanted to work as a nurse without any remuneration at a express solidarity with doctors and time when many people were leaving their jobs because of the highly other medical personnel at the fore- contagious virus. She also cautioned me about other risks, but I was front of the war against the virus. I undeterred. I told her that my life had never been routine. Seeing my knew that it would not be an easy battle resolve, the MS allowed me to work and said she would have hugged me had and all the hospitals treating COVID-19 it not been for social distancing. patients might be short of trained medical personnel, so I rushed to Hindu Miraculous Recovery Hriday Samrat Balasahab Thackeray I was a bright kid, both in studies and extra-curricular activities. By the Hospital at Jogeshwari in Mumbai with time I reached Class VIII, I had won awards in different fields like drama, my degree to offer my services as a painting, poetry etc. Then something unexpected happened—one morn- nurse. It was one of the two hospitals ing I woke up to find myself totally paralysed. I could see and hear, but which had opened an isolation ward to was not able to move any part of my body. My parents were devastated, treat COVID-19 patients at that time. but they did not give up hope. Thankfully, my mother, who was a nurse, The hospital staff, however, told me took care of me along with my father. Together, they made it their life’s that there was no vacancy for a nurse mission to help me recover. I would always hear them telling me not to and advised me to leave a job applica- give up hope. Thanks to their efforts and perseverance, I started moving tion. When I told them I was not again after three years. I was 15 years by then and decided to appear in looking for a job and just wanted to board examinations through the open school system. work as a nurse to serve COVID-19 After passing Class XII, I told my parents that I would like to become a patients, they let me meet their medi- nurse to serve humanity as my mother did. I went on to pass the nursing cal superintendent (MS). entrance examination. However, when I returned home after four-and- The MS checked my nursing degree a-half years with a nursing officer’s degree, I told my parents that I

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wanted to pursue my dreams in the field of art and culture before I joined any hospital. With their support and bless- ings, I came to Mumbai in 2014 and began doing musical shows and films until I got a big break in the wom- en-centric Kaanchli. Threats And Blessings More than 50 days have elapsed since I began working at the hospital on March 27. I will continue to do so till the battle against coronavirus is won. The doctors and the nurses working there get a break, but I have declined to take any so far. The hospital has two afraid and lonely as they are not allowed to meet their family separate wards for COVID-19 patients: members. I try to counsel them, telling them that we too have been one for serious patients and another separated from our families. Inside the ward, we have to be covered in for asymptomatic patients. Despite heavy personal protection kits for eight to 10 hours, during which we the fear of infection, I chose to work in cannot even eat or drink anything. We often feel dehydrated and the ward for serious patients. giddy, but the motivation to look after patients keeps us going. Some Most in this ward are invariably of my colleagues caution me against going close to infected patients, but I do so with adequate protection. I have had experiences here that I will never forget. When I joined the hospital, a seven-month-old child had tested positive. His mother had been admitted to another hospital while his father and grandfather had been in quarantine since their return from Dubai. I nursed him for 26 days and developed a close bond with him. My joy knew no bounds when he was finally cured and discharged. There was another patient, a partially paralysed octogenarian who expressed a wish to go back home every day. He would refuse to take medicines, asking us to help him meet his daughter. I made him talk to his daughter and reassured him that he would see her soon. But when I reached his ward the next day, I found his bed vacant. He had passed away the previous night. That was my first shock. I cried inconsolably, telling my father how I had failed to keep the promise that I had made to him. There was a young woman who had a four-year-old son. She also waited to be cured to meet her son, but did not survive. A 55-year-old patient on a ventilator wanted to see his family members, but nobody was allowed to visit him. I got in touch with his daughter on the phone. She requested me to put a picture of her dad on my social media account so they could see him. I happily did that, only to realise the next day that I had posted his last photograph. Thankfully, he tested negative in his final test and his body was handed over to his daughter. But she had nobody else to help her cremate him. I accompanied her to the cremation ground and stayed there all night long for his last rites. I have been doing all of this as part of my duty, just like a soldier who persists on the battlefront despite the constant threat of bullets. This jazba (drive) has kept me going so far. I have realised that there cannot be any price for my nursing degree—people’s blessings are my only remuneration. O -As told to Giridhar Jha

56 OUTLOOK | JUNE 1, 2020