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Thursday, 15 March 2012

Penelope Cruz -Biography - HD Wallpaper

Personal details
Name: Penelope Cruz
Born: 28 April 1974 (Age: 37)
Where: Madrid, Spain
Height: 5' 6"
Awards: Won 1 Oscar, 1 BAFTA, nominated for 3 Golden Globes
Salary
Sahara (2005)     $1,600,000
Vanilla Sky (2001)     $2,000,000

Biography:

Come 2009, Penelope Cruz had really made it. Previously, she'd only been one of the most famous actresses in the world. Aside from her cinematic output, she'd stared down from Ralph Lauren posters everywhere, and there was the small matter of a relationship with Tom Cruise, at the time daily tabloid fodder following his split from Nicole Kidman. Unfortunately for Cruz, everyone knew who she was, but few knew what she did. Her huge success in Europe, where she'd appeared in two movies awarded Oscars as Best Foreign Language film and a slew of other notable productions, had passed most people by. To them, she was simply Cruise's latest glamorous squeeze. However, she kept on and, after her split from Cruise in 2004 would, with Volver two years later, become the first Spaniard to be Oscar-nominated as Best Actress in a foreign language film. When she won the Oscar in 2009, for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, she would have proven herself in two different languages. Respect was finally due.

She was born Penelope Cruz Sanchez in Madrid on the 28th of April, 1974, her first name being inspired by a song by Joan Manuel Serrat. Her father Eduardo was a retailer, her mother, Encarna, a hairdresser, the family living in the working-class suburb of Alcobendas, about five kilometres north of Madrid. She has one younger sister, Monica, a professional flamenco dancer and TV star (she'd break through in Un Paso Adelante in 2002), and one brother, also younger, named after his father. Penelope was a natural performer, mimicking TV ads as soon as she could walk but, from the age of 4, it was dance that captured her imagination and dominated her life. She spent 9 years studying classical dance at Spain's National Conservatory, including three years of ballet with Angela Garrido, and a period of jazz dance with Raul Caballero. There were also four years of courses with Cristina Rota in New York City. Dropping out of secondary education early, at 15 she beat off the 300-strong competition at an agency audition and became a part-time fashion model. Pursuing drama studies in Madrid, she also appeared in music videos, one being for the popular band Mecano with whose singer, Nacho Cano, she'd have a relationship till 1996.
 National fame arrived at 16 when she began to present Kids' TV programmes on Tele 5. There also arrived her first breakdown. Having studied feverishly throughout her pre-pubescence and teens, then stepped straight into pressurised work, she had over-extended herself and, having to take a break to recover from over-exhaustion, paid the penalty. This would happen again, once worldwide fame was beckoning.

Now concentrating on movies, Cruz found her career progressed quickly.

Spouse
Javier Bardem     (July 2010 - present) 1 child

Trivia

After filming All the Pretty Horses (2000), she became a vegetarian.

It was rumored that she donated her entire The Hi-Lo Country (1998) salary to the Mother Teresa's children's sanctuary in Calcutta after spending a week there volunteering. This was later denounced by Cruz, according to a Reuters news article in 2001.

Daughter of Eduardo (merchant) and Encarna (hairdresser).

Older sister of Mónica Cruz and Eduardo Cruz.

Academic curriculum: Finished 2º B.U.P. (2nd. year of secondary school). Had 4 years of dance performance with Cristina Rota, several dance courses at New York, 9 years of classic ballet at the Conservatorio Nacional and 3 years of Spanish ballet with Ángela Garrido. Also had Jazz Dance course with Raúl Caballero.

Volunteered in Uganda for 2 months in 1997 with then boyfriend Faiz Ahmad.

She founded a non-government organisation (NGO) called Sabera Foundation. Together with Nacho Cano and other Spanish entertainers, they have set up a home, a school and a clinic for homeless girls and people suffering from tuberculosis in Calcutta. Two documentary programs were made for Spanish TV on this project. Unfortunately differences of opinion caused a collapse in the project and Sabera Foundation tragically no longer exists.

Was in a relationship with Tom Cruise (July 2001-January 2004).

She was named after the song "Penélope" by Joan Manuel Serrat.

Her sister Mónica Cruz is now a TV star in Spain. She starred in "Un paso adelante" (2002) as a young dancer with a famous aunt.

Voted the 7th Sexiest Female Movie Star in the Australian Empire Magazine September 2002.

Lived with Nacho Cano, Spanish musician, part of the trio (famous in Spain) called "Mecano", a pop music group. Penelope appeared in one of the band's video-clips "la Fuerza del Destino".

Best friends with actresses Goya Toledo and Salma Hayek.

Ranked #23 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World" (2002).

Likes to keep stray cats.

Learned Italian because she wanted her part in the movie Don't Move (2004) really badly. It paid off and she went on to win the Italian equivalent of the Oscars for Best Actress.

Speaks four languages: Spanish, Italian, French and English.

Was accompanied by Matthew McConaughey to the Grammy Awards in 2005. The couple met on the set of Sahara (2005).

Shares her birthday with Jessica Alba & Jay Leno

Spanish citizen.

Two of her ex-boyfriends have been named "Sexiest Man Alive" by People Magazine: Tom Cruise (in 1990) and Matthew McConaughey (in 2005).

Bigas Luna was determined to have her starring as the lead character in the torrid Las edades de Lulú (1990), but Penélope was only 14. They agreed that she was too young for the role and Francesca Neri was cast instead. Two years later, Luna's fixation with Cruz resulted in her breakthrough performance in Jamon Jamon (1992), her first film, famous for her somewhat erotic scenes. They eventually collaborated again in Volavérunt (1999).Claims that Victoria Abril's powerful performance in Pedro Almodóvar's Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990) made her want to become an actress.

Ranked as #51 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement. (2005)

She claims her role in Bigas Luna's Jamon Jamon (1992) psychologically scarred her for life. She was a teenager when she was cast in the film which required her to do nudity and sex scenes.

Named #72 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement. (2006).

Good friends with ex-boyfriend Tom Cruise. She was one of the first people to visit his new-born baby daughter Suri.

One of People magazines 50 Most Beautiful People in the world 2005.

Older sister of singer Eduardo Cruz (born 1986) and actress Mónica Cruz (born March 16, 1977).

Second Spanish performer to be Oscar-nominated. The first one was Javier Bardem.

Is a fan of Indian cinema and has expressed interest in working with Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan someday.

Ranked #58 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2007 list.

Choosen by Empire Magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Movie Stars in the world (#50) 2007.

In 2006, she was earning $2 million per year representing L'Oreal cosmetics.

Ranked #82 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2008 list.

Second Spanish performer to win an Oscar for acting. The first was Javier Bardem.

She is the only person to win an acting Oscar (Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)) and appear in two Oscar-winning Best Foreign Language Films (All About My Mother (1999) and Belle Epoque).

Has been in a relationship with Javier Bardem since they began filming Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) together in July 2007.

When she appeared on a Mexican talk show to promote one of her movies, the interview ended with her being sawn in half by a magician in an illusion called "Clearly Impossible". In this, she was sawn in half inside a clear-sided box that gave an unobstructed view of her body all through the illusion.

Met Javier Bardem for the first time on the set of Jamon Jamon (1992), but they wouldn't become a couple until working together in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). They also worked together on Live Flesh (1997), but didn't share any on-screen time.

Magician David Copperfield once sawed her in half using the antique "Buzz Saw" illusion that Orson Welles used to saw Rita Hayworth, Marlene Dietrich and Marilyn Monroe in half.

Her role-model is Meryl Streep.

Was in a relationship with Matthew McConaughey (March 2004-May 2006).

Married long-term partner Javier Bardem at a friend's house in the Bahamas in a small ceremony with just family members present.

Sister-in-law of Carlos Bardem and María Bardem.

Daughter-in-law of Pilar Bardem.

Was in a relationship with Matt Damon (June-December 2000).

Was originally cast as Justine in Melancholia (2011), but dropped out before filming began in order to pursue Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011). As a result Kirsten Dunst was cast instead.

Confirmed she is five months pregnant with her first child, by husband Javier Bardem (14 September 2010).

Her sister, Mónica Cruz, was used as her body double during the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) due to her pregnancy.

Gave birth to her son Leo Encinas Bardem, with husband Javier Bardem, at the Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles (22 January 2011).

Was 7 months pregnant with her son Leo when she completed filming on Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011).

Was awarded the 2,436th Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame by Rob Marshall, accompanied by her husband Javier Bardem and Blow (2001) and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) co-star Johnny Depp (1 April 2011).

Is good friends with Gwyneth Paltrow.

She and husband Javier Bardem are fans of "Glee" (2009).

Returned to work 6 months after giving birth to her son Leo to begin filming The Bop Decameron (2012).

Personal Quotes

The most difficult thing in the world is to start a career known only for your looks, and then to try to become a serious actress. No one will take you seriously once you are known as the pretty woman.

I'm strong and opinionated. Those qualities brought me a lot of problems since I was a little girl in school, saying 'I don't agree' and fighting with the children. It's part of my curiosity for life.

There's so much more I want to do. I refuse to get to 50 and wait at home for the phone to ring. In Spain, actresses work until they are old. That's my plan.

"I love Salma Hayek, we've been friends for a really long time. i admire how she has come such a long way and always remained grounded and who she is. She never compromises to follow her vision and she is loyal. Such qualities only mark the great stars".

"I love the Italian culture, it's a beautiful culture. I love the language, the Italian people, their music, their attitudes...I just love it! Sometimes I think I'm an Italian trapped in a Spanish woman's body.

You cannot live your life looking at yourself from someone else's point of view.

[on acting] In terms of the work, it always seems like it's a first date. I mean, every time I go to the movie set and start a project, I feel the same feeling - the butterflies in the stomach, not having control over it - because acting is like that. That's the beauty of it. You can always keep learning. There's always more.

I came to Los Angeles for the first time in 1994. I spoke no English. I only knew how to say two sentences: 'How are you?' and 'I want to work with Johnny Depp.'

Known outside her native country as the "Spanish enchantress", Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born in Madrid to Eduardo (a retailer) and Encarna (a hairdresser). As a toddler, she was already a compulsive performer, re-enacting TV commercials for her family's amusement, but she decided to focus her energies on dance. After studying classical ballet for nine years at Spain's National Conservatory, she continued her training under a series of prominent dancers. At 15, however, she heeded her true calling when she bested more than 300 other girls at a talent agency audition. The resulting contract landed her several roles in Spanish TV shows and music videos, which in turn paved the way for a career on the big screen. Cruz made her movie debut in The Greek Labyrinth (1993) (The Greek Labyrinth), then appeared briefly in the Timothy Dalton thriller "Framed" (1992). Her third film was the Oscar-winning The Age of Beauty (1992), in which she played one of four sisters vying for the love of a handsome army deserter. The film also garnered several Goyas, the Spanish equivalent of the Academy Awards. Her resume continued to grow by three or four films each year, and soon Cruz was a leading lady of Spanish cinema. Live Flesh (1997) (Live Flesh) offered her the chance to work with renowned Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar (who would later be her ticket to international fame), and the same year she was the lead actress in the thriller/drama/mystery/sci-fi film Open Your Eyes (1997), a huge hit in Spain that earned eight Goyas (though none for Cruz). Her luck finally changed in 1998, when the movie-industry comedy The Girl of Your Dreams (1998) won her a Best Actress Goya. Cruz made a few more forays into English-language film, but her first big international hit was Almodóvar's All About My Mother (1999), in which she played an unchaste but well-meaning nun. As the film was showered with awards and accolades, Cruz suddenly found herself in demand on both sides of the Atlantic. Her next big project was Woman on Top (2000), an American comedy about a chef with bewitching culinary skills and a severe case of motion sickness. While in the US, she also signed up to star opposite Johnny Depp in the drug-trafficking drama Blow (2001) and opposite Matt Damon in Billy Bob Thornton's All the Pretty Horses (2000). Cruz says she's wary of being typecast as a beautiful young damsel, but it's hard to imagine disguising her wide-eyed charms and generous nature. Fortunately, with Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky (2001) (a remake of Open Your Eyes (1997)) and a John Madden collaboration looming in her future, Damsel Penelope isn't likely to disappear just yet.



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Tuesday, 30 August 2011

shop2shop.in: Shreya - Biography And Wall Paper

shop2shop.in: Shreya - Biography And Wall Paper: Date of Birth: September 11, 1986 Place of birth: Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India father: Saran Pushpendr Mother: Neeraja Saran Big Brothe...
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Emma Stone - Bio - Pictures - The Help










Date of Birth
6 November 1988, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA

Birth Name
Emily Jean Stone

Height
5' 6" (1.68 m)

Trade Mark

Husky voice

Trivia

Attended Xavier College Preparatory in Phoenix, Arizona.

Although she's known as a redhead, her natural hair color is blonde. It was Judd Apatow who suggested she change her hair color for Superbad (2007) and she liked it so much that she decided to keep it.

She convinced her parents to let her move to Hollywood when she was fifteen by making a PowerPoint presentation aptly titled, Project Hollywood.

She got her start in acting at eleven years old at the Valley Youth Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, where she starred in over sixteen stage productions as well as performing the the theatre's comedy improv troupe.

Was ranked #93 in Ask Men's Top 99 Women of 2009.

Was ranked #66 in Maxim magazine's Hot 100 of 2009 list.

Was ranked #93 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World (2009).

Her favorite band is The Beatles.

She is of Swedish descent.

Was considered one of the 55 faces of the future by Nylon Magazine Young Hollywood Issue.

Was ranked #49 in Maxim magazine's Hot 100 of 2010 list.


Some of her favorite films include Manhattan (1979), Network (1976), Harold and Maude (1971), and City Lights (1931).

Her idols are Gilda Radner and Diane Keaton.

Her parents owned the Camelback Golf Course in Scottsdale, Arizona.

She waited until she was 21 to have her ears pierced for the first time shortly after moving to New York City. Rather than having each ear pierced once, she had her left ear pierced twice, and three piercings in her right ear.

Her middle name, Jean, was her grandmother's first name.

Good friends with Superbad (2007) co-star, Jonah Hill.

Best friends with Taylor Swift.

Her father, Jeff, is a contractor and her mother, Krista, is a homemaker.

Her family's surname was anglicized to "Stone" when immigrating to the United States through Ellis Island.

Has a younger brother named Spencer.

Was ranked #42 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 Women of 2011 list.

Her mother is a breast cancer survivor.

Her favorite movie is City Lights (1931) by Charles Chaplin.

Auditioned for the role of Claire Bennet in "Heroes" (2006/II), but lost out to Hayden Panettiere. She referred to this experience as "rock bottom".

Was in a relationship with Kieran Culkin (October 2010-June 2011).

Ranked #38 in the 2011 FHM Australia list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".

She didn't know she had asthma until she had an asthma attack while filming Easy A (2010).

Started to use "Emma" as her professional name, because there was already an "Emily Stone" when she applied for her SAG card.

When she was age 7, she fell off the parallel bars in gymnastics and broke both her arms.
www.shop2shop.in





Personal Quotes

[on shooting Superbad (2007)] It's incredible, it's been really fun and really funny and I can't stop breaking character which is getting me in trouble sometimes but it's alright, ya know...I just keep laughing.

I've got a great family and great people around me that would be able to kick me in the shins if I ever for one minute got lost up in the clouds. I've been really lucky in that sense.

Haven't had to fight off any Seth characters. And I'm not fighting him off. It's a situation where I really do like him. I just don't want our first kiss to happen in that situation. But, no, I've never really had that experience. Of someone coming on to me being out of their mind drunk. I'm the lucky one, maybe.

[on it being difficult for women to get into comedy] - There really aren't many parts. It's an unfortunate thing and something I hope will change, but never has, and who knows if it will? I think "Saturday Night Live" (1975), starting in the 1970s, really gave women an outlet to be funny. A lot of those women went on to have film careers, from Kristen Wiig now to Tina Fey and Gilda Radner. Nowadays it seems like the real goldmine is in creating your own characters and teaming with a good writer, but its not easy. It's a scary thing for a woman to put yourself out there and look like an idiot. Look at Lucille Ball. She said, 'I'm not funny. What I am is brave'. The comediennes I admire are the bravest people who aren't afraid to look ridiculous. Maybe that's a harder notion for women - the fear of not looking their best.

I realize I have a lot of amazing opportunities, but I don't know how you can play a human being going through real human experiences without being able to walk down the street. If you can't live a real life, how do you play a real person? It always confuses me when actors work back-to-back-to-back with no break. If you live your life on a film set, how the hell can you relate to real people? You don't know what its like to not have people fussing over you all day, and that's not life - that's silly movies. I will always want to take breaks and I wouldn't be OK with losing that.

[on her hair for her role in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)] I have blonde hair now since Gwen (Stacy) has blonde hair. My hair is naturally blonde, so it's kind of nice. I look in the mirror and say, "Oh my God, it's me again, it's been so long!"

The truth is I am naturally blonde anyway. Everyone thinks I'm a redhead but that's just dyed. I'm actually enjoying being a blonde again. It's been a while.

Blondes do have more fun. But sometimes I look in the mirror and still feel like I'm wearing a wig.

Y'know when you think 'I can't do something because this or this or this.' You can actually do anything you want, like I could ballistic right now and tear this whole room apart, I could but i'm not going to because logic is stopping me but you can do whatever you want. You really can veer off any path at any time. Never give up!

I was a stepsister in a local production of "Cinderella". I had crazy red hair in a cone shape and lots of blue eye shadow. I had braces at the time, so whenever I smiled it was all red lipstick on my teeth, which was really attractive. After that I did a play called "Noises Off", and when that was over I thought, I really want to be in movies. So I asked my parents and eventually they said yes.

[on beauty] Confidence is the only key. I know a lot of people who aren't traditionally 'beautiful' - not symmetrical or perfect-bodied or perfect-skinned. But none of that matters because all that shines through is their confidence, humor and comfort with themselves. I can't think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.

Where Are They Now

(January 2011) Filming The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) in Los Angeles, California, USA.








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Labels: emma, Emma Stone, Emma stone pics, pics, Shriya sexy picture, the help, Viola Davis

Shreya - Biography And Wall Paper



Date of Birth: September 11, 1986
Place of birth: Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India
father: Saran Pushpendr
Mother: Neeraja Saran
Big Brother (s): Saran Abhiroop

shriya’s first opportunity to appear before the camera while she was preparing for its second year at the Faculty of mystery in Delhi, which refused to participate for the shoot. Saran screen appears in the music video starts Tirakthi Kyun Hawa Reenu Nathan, who gave her a chance to play with the dance teacher who had recommended. Banaras famous recording, the Ramoji Film for its leading role in their film, Neha Ishtamstarring presented and directed by newcomers. Saran despite tryoni such as the film that brought her fame in the end. Before the release of Ishtam, Saran signed three mega-budget films, Santosham, Nuvve Nuvve and Tagore with the production of the top heroes, Nagarjuna, Tarun and Chiranjeevi, respectively.


Produced by Usha Kiran Shriya started her acting career with Telugu film Ishtam movie (2001), and movies. She said that the first movie very well at the box office, but noticed by many Telugu producers and directors. Quickly signed up for Santosham Nagarjuna (2002), and was a great success, and should not be returned. She was very pleased and said it's an opportunity for the most sought-after interview on behalf of any of Chiranjeevi at a very early in her career can be. After the great success Tagoreshe is one of the best actresses of South India in the later movies and industry.Her Nuvve Nuvve Bhageeratha, manyaccolades. This is one of the biggest successes in her career with Prabhas Chatrapati opposite. Shriya apply to big brands such as luxury and Head & Shoulders.



















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Monday, 29 August 2011

American Idol - Carrie Underwood is #1 Once Again


http://www.americanidol.com/news/view/pid/5524/?ref=socialmedia_2011_08_29_CarrieUnderwoodNo1


Country superstar Brad Paisley’s duet, “Remind Me,” with fellow country superstar and Season 4 American Idol Carrie Underwood, has hit the No. 1 spot on both the Billboard and Country Aircheck country airplay charts this week. “Remind Me” becomes Brad’s 20th No. 1 single and Carrie’s 14th No. 1 single.
Written by Brad Paisley, Chris DuBois and Kelley Lovelace, “Remind Me” is Paisley’s third single from his Gold certified album, This Is Country Music. In addition to hitting the top of the airplay charts, the single was certified Gold earlier this month by the RIAA for sales exceeding 500,000 downloads. "Remind Me" has already surpassed 750,000 digital downloads.
 
Brad and Carrie will team up once again on November 9 when they co-host “The 45th Annual CMA Awards” live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. This year’s show marks the fourth year that the duo has co-hosted the show together.
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Sunday, 28 August 2011

shop2shop.in: Lady Gaga

Search Amazon.com for lady gaga book 2011Search Amazon.com for lady gaga book 2011Search Amazon.com for lady gaga book 2011Search Amazon.com for lady gaga book 2011Search Amazon.com for lady gaga book 2011Gaga's second studio album and third major release Born This Way was released on May 23, 2011. She announced the title of the album during her acceptance speech for Video of the Year at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Described as "a marriage of electronic music with major metal or rock 'n' roll, pop, anthemic style melodies with really sledge-hammering dance beats" and referred to as an album "about what what keeps us up at night and what makes us afraid", She stated, "It came so quickly. I've been working on [the album] for months, and I feel very strongly that it's finished right now. Some artists take years. I don't. I write music every day."Likening Born This Way to "bad kids going to church" that are "having fun on a high level",Gaga characterized her new music as "something so much deeper than a wig or lipstick or a fucking meat dress" and upon hearing it, Akon remarked that she will take music to the "next level." Its arrival followed the release of its eponymous lead single on February 11, 2011,which was performed live for the first time at the 53rd Grammy Awards two days after its release. The song debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the 19th number-one debut and the 1,000th number-one single in the history of the charts.

Two other singles, "Judas"and "The Edge of Glory",the former being criticized for its references to Biblical characters Judas, Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, were released before the album, both placing in the top ten of the major musical markets. Upon release, Born This Way sold 1.108 million copies in its first week in the United States, debuting atop the Billboard 200, and topping the charts in more than 10 other countries. Lending her vocals elsewhere, Gaga paired with Elton John to record an original duet for the animated feature film Gnomeo & Juliet. The song, titled "Hello, Hello", was released on February 11, 2011, without Gaga's vocals. The duet version is only featured in the film. In February 21 and 22, Gaga's concerts of her then-ongoing tour at Madison Square Garden in New York City were filmed in an HBO special, which was nominated for five awards at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards. Gaga undertook her job as a fashion columnist for V, where she wrote about her creative process, her studying of the world of pop culture, and her ability to tune into the evolution of pop-culture meme. In May 2011, Gaga told Australian radio show The Kyle & Jackie O Show that she would be coming to Sydney to perform a one-off concert in July 2011, to promote Born This Way, which occurred at Sydney Town Hall on Wednesday July 13, 2011
shop2shop.in: Lady Gaga: Obviously you're a fan of Lady Gaga if you're buying this calendar. I missed the chance to see her in concert, so I enjoy getting to see ...
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Arindam Chaudhuri - Books and Facebook Pages

Facebook of Arindam Chaudhuri : 25 August 2011 - Thursday at 9:48pm

Buy  Arindam Chaudhuri Books at http://shop2shop.pcriot.com/special/ArindamChaudhuri.html

Going to speak at Ramlila Grounds at 12.30 pm today to speak against corruption and support Anna's anti corruption stance, specially since not a single businessman has had the courage to go there and openly speak against corruption. I may not always agree with the means Anna adopts and I want him to end his fast, but I surely want his protests to continue. Post independence, no one has made a bigger impact against corruption. Be there if any of you can. 12.30, Today!
Thursday at 9:48pm THE GREAT INDIAN DREAM

- A 14% GROWTH RATE FOR INDIA, AND HOW TO ACHIEVE IT.
-A VISION TO CATCH UP WITH THE DEVELOPED WORLD IN 25 YEARS.
-A COUNTRY FREE OF POVERTY AND ITS RELATED ILLS.
-A GLOBALLY APPLICABLE PHILOSOPHY CALLED "HAPPY CAPITALISM" FOR A BETTER WORLD.

As the authors put it 'The Great Indian Dream' is about making India a developed nation where people live with dignity. In 25 years from today children should be taken to poverty museums like they are taken to the science museums. They should shiver at the sight of the way people used to live today because poverty should be a concept alien to them".

Its "The Great Indian Dream". Come share the dream.

Malay Chaudhuri & Arindam Chaudhuri for years now have been working together on presenting an alternative budget to the government of India each year. Their efforts now take the shape of a book in "The Great Indian Dream". "The Great Indian Dream" is an effort by the authors to take economics to the layman. The authors believe that while economics and economic policies effect the lives of the layman, the study and understanding of the same has deliberately been complicated, mathematised and kept restricted to a limited few.
The book is divided into three parts. In the first chapter, called 'India Betrayed - Looking Local' the book traces the Indian economic development in comparison with the rest of the world over the last 50 years and more. In a forthright and academically justified manner the authors analyse and critically tear apart the entire process of Indian development and the lack of political will which has kept the majority of the masses in a state of abject poverty comparable to sub Saharan African standards.
In the second chapter, called 'Happy Capitalism - Thinking Global' the book propagates Arindam's concept of Happy Capitalism. This path breaking effort tries to talk about an ideal economic system in order to achieve "The Great Indian Dream". It compares the inhuman aspects of the modern day market oriented capitalist system non conducive to human happiness with the ideal system that the global economies should thrive for. It calls for the adoption of absolutely original and iconoclastic concepts of Survival of the Weakest, Trickle-up Theory and the Law of Increasing Marginal Utility in an attempt to propagate limits to growth for a happier society.
It is the third chapter, called 'The Great Indian Dream' where the book comes out as an entirely different experience from many other books which have analysed the state of the Indian economy due to the fact that it also gives possible solutions to the identified problems. This is where Malay Chaudhuri's years of research and experience shows up along with his passion for the masses. The authors have almost worked like a mini planning commission giving alternate resource mobilization techniques as well as their uses and tried to show how a 14% growth rate is feasible. This is where the book really scores. It ends with "The Great Indian Dream"… a vision for a great Indian revival.

Content Details of the Chapters:

Chapter - I : India Betrayed - Looking Local

A rich nation ramains poor
- From the ideology of running the nation as a family
- To the reality of running the nation as a department store
India under lens
- Land of dying destitutes
- Mass illiteracy & Mafia Raj
- The withering repressive state
- Indian Jails a veritable hell: criminals outside innocent inside
- Disinvestment or abdication of macro responsibility?
The Betrayers
- Our Insensitive, shameless, communal politicians
- Dysfunctional judiciary & corrupt law enforcers
- Gaurdians of status quo: the media and academia

Chapter - 2 : Happy Capitalism - Thinking Global

The quest for a better world : From dictatorial communism to dictatorial capitalism
- The democratic revolution to end all exploitation
- The dictatorial return of the smoke ‘em out Cowboy
The wild west believes in the survival of the fittest
- Market capitalism never satisfied anybody
- Illusion of democracy: Individual masters of life or slaves to the system?
Happy Capitalism : The most urgent humane agenda
- Survival of the weakest & Trickle up theory: Redefining some rules
- The law of increasing marginal utility: Redefining satisfaction

Chapter - 3 : The Great Indian Dream

Restoring pride: Alternatives for a journey towards dignity
- Philosophical & economic basis for the India of our dreams
- An employed, well read, Biryani eating & AIDS free India
- Courts which are not on strike
- Igniting the sprit of entrepreneurship & patriotism
- Voting without being embarrassed
- India After 25 Years: A Vision

'COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH'

Extracts from the Book

If you think you can, you are right :

Just be passionate about what you think - is how the mgmt. guru Arindam Chaudhuri urges us to delve deeper and make headway into what the title of the book has in store for us.
They say “don’t count your chickens before they hatch”. They are correct. Every time you are about to sign a big contract in life, expect to meet with a fatal accident while getting out of the car on your way to signing the contract. In fact, every time you are about to start the greatest speech or concert of your life, expect to fall flat on the stage and break your nose. Or rather when your aircraft has landed safely don’t start thanking God, but expect to die due to a fall from the stairs while climbing down the aircraft. So what if you have written your exams to your utter satisfaction; don’t rejoice, but anticipate that your paper will get exchanged with that of the worst student of your class. Have you worked very hard on the most important project of your life? Stay put. On the day of submission, your computer will be attacked by the latest virus which will eat up your whole project without a burp.

Believe me this is how every Tom, Dick and our very own Hari think. That is why they are called Tom, Dick and Hari and not Gandhi, Lincoln and Gates.

Life has its extremes and there are so many things which are beyond our control. Life itself, accidents, government policies… and taxes of course. But do we live expecting extremes to take control of our life? And then, expect success to be with us too?

I don’t.

Most successful men and women don’t.

Success is a matter of attitude. It is a matter of what you think you are capable of. It is a matter of futuristic thinking and planning. It is about doing things carefully. Instead of getting out of your car without looking at the speeding car zooming towards you, you can be more careful. You can also, climb down a little carefully so that you don’t fall off the aircraft stairs. In fact, it is also about taking a couple of backups in your computer in case it is the most important project of your life.

And then it is about counting your chickens before they hatch... and about a positive attitude... and about believing that: “if you think you can, you are right”.

All stories of success have one common element: passion. Passion for what they want to achieve. Enough passion to keep their eyes from wandering away from the goal. Passionate passion to finally see them through.
I advise my clients to take people based upon PQ (Passion Quotient)

Passion works wonders and all examples mentioned in the book from Henry Ford to John F. Kennedy from Gautam Buddha to Swami Vivekananda, From J. R. D. Tata to Dhirubhai Ambani, from Beethoven to Helen Keller, from Aung San Suu Kyi to Mao Tse Tung, from Ed Roberts to Stephen Hawking, from Albert Einstein to Thomas Edison all must have had a very high passion quotient.

Che Guevara, the world’s greatest ever revolutionary always felt “that you fail does not necessarily mean that the cause you were fighting for was not worth it”. He dared to have a Utopian dream…and chase it. That’s what counting your chickens before they hatch is all about. Che dared to dream of bringing independence with the help of a new and brave army just the way Subash Chandra Bose did. Both of them failed in their respective missions, yet are counted amongst the greatest success stories. They were successful in moving the thought processes of an entire generation—the ideology and vision they were passionately committed to.

The next two chapters add a new flavour to success...it is all about winning friends and motivating people and developing good communication skills. No prize for guessing that these are essentially human relation skills but rarely would you find success stories associated with individuals who do not possess these skills
Hell is where most of us reach at the end of this journey and that’s where best friends seem to unite again! But let me tell you it’s not easy to make such lasting impressions so as to carry your friendship to hell. It requires a lot of talent and carefully practiced human relations skills.One after another of my students, now my friends, left the option of opting for a corporate career in order to join me on the basis of a future made up of only words (when I started Planman with no credentials to boast of, the only thing I could promise then were distant dreams). Most of them have never thought of leaving and are contributing to my firm’s ambitious growth targets. My firm is today made up of seven of my past friends and about a hundred and ten of my students.

Money, I would like to say, only denotes the price of an employee. It is not just money but recognition which is the basic requirement for creating a motivating work culture. It is recognition which enthuses an employee providing the functional tension thereby leading to increased efforts. And by mentioning the money-significance, I just want to emphasise that there are other ways to recognise individuals and their performance. One such powerful and effective motivator is strokes. Let us now get some perspective on this.

Every individual, irrespective of whether he is working with a large organisation or with a small one, has three levels of hunger—status hunger, structure hunger and stroke hunger. These levels of hunger meet their psycho-social needs and hence provide the drive to put in efforts, extra efforts rather. Stroke hunger results from the need to be recognised, the need to feel that one exists, the need to feel that one is important. The reader by now must be wondering what strokes actually mean. A stroke, for simplicity, can be defined as an unit of existence. It tells somebody that he exists, that he is needed, that he is being noticed. Stroke is something that we all look forward to from others around us, especially from our leaders, our managers, our mentors. But believe me, it is in an unbelievably short supply in this world. We tend to ignore this immensely potent means of motivation by taking people for granted and taking their efforts for granted. What I want you to realise is that small tokens of appreciation for your people can change the way they look at you, your organisation, or should I say their organisation, the work that they do and the purpose that you both together strive for. All of us need to take such initiatives and make others feel that they exist, that they are important. This would go a long way in creating all the functional tension that I have been talking about, creating a workplace with more Sergei Bubkas and all such people with fire in their bellies...

People are your most important resource and if the people you work with can become your friends they would be with you even in hell... helping you taste success.
-you can do this by the “genie ‘ of communication

Anthropologists would have made us believe that there is less than a 2% difference (what they say is DNA) between us and the ‘Chimpanzees’. Like it or not, they prove this with research. Well, it’s just that we decided to make the best of this difference and went ahead to conceive civilisations and cultures with our “genie” of communication. We went beyond the restrictive hoots and grunts to evolve a system of communication by harnessing the ability to express complex human ideas and develop a far higher level of synergy. From the primitive wheel, to the pyramids, the epics, man’s first step on moon and to the genome engineering, mankind has made the best of the 2% bestowed upon us by nature.

Today, however, because of its common place nature, communication more often than not gets scant attention and at it best enjoys an ‘Oh, Well Yes, Its Important!’ status. If organisations are all about people and what drives them is people power, then communication should be seen as the powerhouse that generates this people power, so very essential to propel the organisation to its peak performance. Successful leaders have all been great communicators. I remember reading some where that Lincoln due to his poverty owned only a few books. Yet, he used to read and reread them till the language of the books became his. And later of course his communication skills made him one of the greatest leaders and communicators of our times.

In fact the only work that we do the entire day, each day of our lives is to communicate. We communicate verbally and we communicate nonverbally, we communicate within and without and we also communicate with people and with inanimate things around us. In the earlier chapter, we have looked at ways of motivating those around us and the only way to do so is by communicating to them and communicating effectively.
“It’s only words. And words are all I have to take your heart away” Boy Zone thankfully reminds us of the power within us to be able to become the king of hearts.
more so by bringing in the humorous human touch

As one of my students whom I met recently during a marriage ceremony put it when I enquired how his work was “Sir, one thing I learnt at IIPM was take the skin out of the other person but humor them and they won’t even feel bad!”.

After a lot of examples and insights into personal experiences bringing to the fore the values and skills he believes in and has worked hard to inculcate Prof. Chaudhuri inthe next two chapters blends it all with his research and findings in his famous Theory ‘i’ Management

How often has one heard of an American organisation adopting the Japanese management style to surge ahead? How often has one heard of the reverse? Probably never. However, I do remember reading somewhere that when IBM-USA was making losses while IBM-Japan was making profits, IBM-USA tried to adopt the Japanese management style to turn around. The result was increased losses.

Predictable? Should be.

People are different, the cultures are different and so is the life-style. So management styles also need to be different.
That is the reason why Japan has developed its own management style and the US its own.
THIS HAS BEEN THE Basics of “Theory ‘i’ Management”

Inspite of India having some of the best management schools of the world and the best reservoir of skilled human talent, our organisations have not been able to do well. Amongst other reasons one of the most important reasons, for the failure of Indian management has been our failure to develop an indigenous management style, which revolves around our cultural roots and upbringing. Well known Indian management institutes have not been able to come out of the tremendous nationwide inferiority complex that we suffer from. They are proud that their faculty got trained from an American institute and so on. Nobody says that their faculty has done a research on Indian management and is trying to find out what is good for Indian corporates.

Theory ‘I’ is an attempt to understand and define the Indian worker just like the Japanese had tried to do with their Theory “Z”
A recent research done on successful Indians in America goes on to prove that successful Indians in America are not necessarily the happiest people. The job insecurities are too high and so are the pressures. The 40,000 odd people who have been forced to come back to India after the IT melt down is a case in point. Thanks to the Dot com era many Indians today would identify easily with what I am trying to say. In the middle of your career you get lured away by a big package and you wake up a few mornings later to realise that the job is not there. You have got children to support, loans to pay... and your organisation doesn’t care!

The other extreme is the life time employment ideology followed by the public sector... Not because of any culture centric ideas but because of socialist ethics of the Nehru era. Though I mentioned in the last paragraph about Indians loving bonds, yet, we are different from the Japanese. They love bonds and they are hard working. When they got lifetime employment, they were finding out ways to repay the company back: in terms of commitment and hardwork. We are different. We love bonds but are complacent (refer to the principles of “Theory ‘i’ Management”). So, life time employment gives us the opportunity to get paid without working. The environment is just not motivating enough to drive people to higher levels of efforts since it is not backed up by any patriotic instinct or a leader driven vision.

The third situation - the rare one is where a few small and a handful of big companies have tried to strike a balance. These are the organisations which have Indianised their practices (I know of some public sector initiatives too, in this direction) to suit the Indian psyche. They knowingly or unknowingly already do the things which make “Theory ‘i’ Management”. The sad part is that sitting in India I know so well about the way Intel, Microsoft, IBM etc. are managed ; since the Americans have written about them... they love “theoritising their practices.” Thus, we have records of the best practices in America. In India we don’t write. There are no best practices manuals. So, unless and until one actually works with the Tata’s or the Sahara India Pariwar, one does not realise their values and India centric management practices. Yet, these organisations are a boon for Indians. Amongst other things in my mind is also the urge to take out a best practices manual very soon. I am a firm believer of theoritising practical practices for the benefit of masses. I hate to hear the phrase “Oh! that’s in theory” because I believe that there is nothing more practical than a good theory. And if your theory is not practical you need to change it and theoritise what is practical. I try to constantly do that.

If we were to ignore the last case, being of rare nature then what we find is a situation of cultural mis match. The Indian worker is not able to adjust productively to this cultural mis-match and thus, very often, fails to be as productive as his Japanese or American counterpart.

An Indian worker is perhaps looking at a system without ruthless management practices even if the job security is a little less. Instead of the system (specially in PSUs) giving them near 100% job security, it could give them some fear of job security, since Indians culturally like to take life easy and tend to become complacent in such situations. While the job security aspect could be reduced, the human touch in managing them could be increased. They should be made to feel that the company cares for them through regular training programmes, family welfare schemes, etc. They should be made to feel that they matter in the organisation through programmes which involve them directly or indirectly into various decision making processes. This would increase their level of commitment for the organsiations and perhaps tomorrow we would also see people telling that “I am a Bajaj man” instead of “I am working for Bajaj scooters”.
Everytime I go abroad to take a workshop or a seminar... I conduct an exercise. I ask the international participants about how many of them like the Japanese, and hardly any hands go up. I ask them about how many of them like the Americans and I find many hands going up (Americans are traditionally supposed to be the friendly guys). Then I ask them about how many of them like Indians and not to my surprise again many hands go up. Upon being asked the reason for their liking, they have many to state. Some has had an experience with an Indian subordinate while somebody came to India and found Indians very hospitable. Someone else finds Indians warm, friendly and open... the reasons go on.
I reverse the question, and ask them about how many like the Japanese products, the American products and the Indian products. For the first two a lot of hands go up as expected but for the last one, rarely I find any hands going up!
When faced with the fact that everything Indian is so cool outside India, Bhangra and Indipop find place in the US pop charts, the global IT revolution has been fuelled by homegrown geeks, in Ohio the Wright State University College of Business and Administration gets renamed after an NRI businessman, our B-school graduates are becoming global leaders, NASA has top Indian scientists, yet Indians have time and again failed to perform in India; Indians like to blame it on complacency, a characteristic that they like attributing to our culture! It seems Indian’s look for the first opportunity to become complacent; something that they are unable to become in the Western world of competition and hire and fire system. Complacency in my opinion is the biggest problem in India.

Sleepy Cows to Galloping Horses is the final chapter - the success mantra to put to practice the principles of theory “ I”
Lord Krishna, Mahatma Gandhi & globally relevant Indian management mantras

The problem is to turn sleepy cows into galloping horses. How do we do it? For this I have taken a look into the whole problem at two levels. I firmly believe that there are two ways of making people work. The best way, of course, is to make them work through self-realisation and motivation. But at times when that fails you need to have the right kind of laws and regulations. For example, it’s important to educate people about the need to respect women, yet when someone doesn’t, it’s equally important to have a punishment system (which functions, unlike in India) which would immediately take the person to task. The point is to be moral by choice else be moral due to the fear of punishment.
Thus Theory ‘i’ Management prescribes solutions at two levels: The Macro & The Micro.
Very few countries can boast of having leadership traits and theories ingrained in their culture like the Indians can
This is what “Leadership Success Multiplier” is all about. And this is what Lord Krishna was a master of.
Lord Krishna...

A man standing on one leg with the other crossed over it ; A flute in his hand; Long locks of hair and a mysterious look in his eyes. Everytime I close my eyes and try to think of him, this is the picture that keeps coming back. The picture doesn’t remind you of a dynamic corporate leader, nor does it remind you of a tough task master. Yet, he happens to be the greatest of all leaders that I can think of. And as my professor:

Dr. N.R.Chatterjee (my Guru and inspiration behind Theory i Management) used to jokingly say “this man had two great qualities which leaders in general don’t - he knew how to dance and how to make others dance!” Everytime invariably, whatever the situation this man used to be a winner.

Lord Krishna knew how to be effective. He knew when to use management by direction with Arjun (Bhagawat Gita!!) and when to delegate him the complete responsibility (during the war). He knew exactly how to make even Yudhisthir mis-lead Dronacharya and he knew exactly how to handle the other extreme ideas of Duryodhan. Like a specialist conductor he orchestrated the whole war of Mahabharat, from managing Bhishma’s temper to Bhim’s lack of intelligence, from managing the illusion of the sun being still there to managing the end of Karna, from managing the guile of Shakuni to managing the anger of Dhritrashtra. He did it all with amazing smoothness. When it was required he used Dand/Leadership by direction/negative psychological KITA to manage some one like Shishupal. When Gandhari called upon Duryodhan and there was a fear that he might become immortal, Lord Krishna used his intelligence through leadership by seduction and saw to it that it was not to be.

Mahatma Gandhi...
In a different age another great leader a true devout of Lord Ram (Hey Ram!) actually put the leanings from Lord Krishna to practice to lead a nation from the shackles of the British Raj towards independence – Mahatma Gandhi. He is said to have the habit of reading the Gita regularly. Having been ruled for so many years by one foreign power or the other, the Indian populace had been accustomed and acclimatized to exploitation. There were a few raised voices here and there, a few bombs hurled around but never did a revolt of the types of 1857 end up having a nationwide impact like it happened all over the world viz France, Scottland, USA, Russia, China, etc. India was a different nation which needed “Lord Krishna’s Leadership”.
What succeeded every where else failed in India and what was never tried any where else succeeded with the Indians. The success of this nonviolent revolution is perhaps, thus, the biggest lesson for the Indian managers. It should make them realise the importance of coming out with unique management concepts for Indians... because it seems we are actually an unique combination of values, cultures and lethargy (if am permitted to use this word!).

World over bloody revolutions have led to independence but we attained it through “ahimsa (non-violence movement)”. Whether it was more by default than choice could be another story, though! (If Mike Tyson were to challenge me for a boxing about I would tell him straight that I belonged to the land of Gandhi and ahimsa is what I believed in!)
Mahatma Gandhi’s example to me is a perfect case of adopting styles to suit the culture. The country today stands divided on whether what he did was good or bad... I just know one thing. There was never a leader before him or never one after him who could unite us all and bring us out in the streets to demand for what was rightfully ours. To me he is the greatest leader our land has ever seen. And to me it is “Theory ‘i’ Management” at its practical best - productively and intelligently utilizing what ever the resource you are endowed with.



Yes! You can count your chickens before they hatch if you have the determination, the ability to work successfully with people and the flexible attitude of theory ‘i’ management with you!!

Lord Krishna and Mahatma Gandhi have already shown how to make galloping horses out of sleepy cows, its our turn now.
If you think you can you are right.

Buy  Arindam Chaudhuri Books at http://shop2shop.pcriot.com/special/ArindamChaudhuri.html


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