Made in India_A Titan Story (2026) – “Sweet and Fully filmi Fun”

Clickable links in red

Genre: Based on a True Story – Business

Platform: Amazon Prime

Director: Robbie Grewal

Time: 6 episodes x 50 minutes average

Cast:    Naseeruddin Shah (JRD Tata). Jim Sarbh (Xerxes Desai). Vaibhav Tatwawadi (Akash Bansal). Kaveri Seth (Megha Mhatre). Lakshvir Saran (Gaurav Dhar).

 Plot:  Surprised to discover that watch smuggling is a major activity due to the lack of any credible Indian brand of high quality, Xerxes Desai puts a proposal to manufacture high quality watches in India, to his mentor and friend J.R.D. Tata, the head of the Tata group, who is amused but doesn’t say anything. While on a visit abroad to explore the possibilities, JRD faces a personal insult by a Swiss precision watch manufacturer about India being unable to make any such high-quality precision watch. On his return, JRD gives the green signal to Xerxes. Desai gathers together a team that ultimately becomes the core group – Akash, Gaurav, Megha – that starts the process of setting up and manufacturing precision quartz watches with the Tata stamp of quality and dependability...

As a thumb rule, I avoid “sports movies”, “business success movies” as we know that the hero/ main protagonist will win in the end against all obstacles, hurdles, challenges, etc. He will be the one who will have multiple brainwaves while all the others around him / her stare at the sky and are motivated by the protagonist’s zeal and burning desire to bring forth the final result.  He/ she will overcome all personal and professional challenges with or without the support of people in his life. He / she is usually a very scrupulous/ honest person who follows all the rules of business and life . The Founder was probably the only film to break the rule as it showed Ray Kroc as a complete shit who stole the McDonalds brand name from the McDonald brothers, so much that they had to close their original restaurant and were unable to use their own name. ( Check out my take on The Founder at this link ).

This TV Series also follows this “business success story” template except that the core team is also shown contributing to the overall success story of Titan watches. This is not Xerxes ‘Zee’ Desai’s lone battle but that of his core team too who are as fired up as ‘Zee’ to get the final product into the Indian market, while facing multiple challenges.  So how much of this story is true? That will be the question on everyone’s lip, before starting the series. I like the series and since I have read the book, let me answer my own question in a fun way. Two of the five main characters in the TV series are “real” – Xerxes Desai and J.R.D. Tata. The rest are fully filmi composite characters (If you read the book, then you will know the real history).

Then why on earth was I smiling throughout the six episodes? Why on earth did I laugh out aloud at some of the silly, theatrical even ‘filmi’ devices in the story – like JRD himself refusing to wear a watch till the time Titan makes its first watch? And why on earth did I want to know what will happen next – so much that I almost binge watched the series?

Simple. Because of the emotional connect that the writing generates. Unlike all ‘foreign’ business success stories, this one has its heart in the right place, especially the constant references to an era when ‘smuggled watches’ were a sign of prestige and ‘local watches’ were generally ridiculed being a poor second cousin / okay quality. My personal experience will probably give a perspective, especially to those who were – er – not around in that era.

Sometime in my final year of college, 1980, I was presented an HMT Ajeeth watch with a green dial ( HMT is referred to as GMT in the TV series; click on the link to see how it looked). Now a watch itself was a prestige symbol, and a long-lasting watch, even more so (my father had the same mechanical watch for almost 40 years) and an HMT watch with its wide range was even a bigger prestige. On a visit to Singapore in 1982, I bought a Casio digital watch, which I used for a long time since the HMT had stopped working and couldn’t be repaired. Casio digital watch was the ‘hep thing’ in the early 1980s and Bombay’s DN Road had tons of smuggled watches being sold openly. Only sometime in the late 1990s did the famous Mozart Symphony No. 25 adorn my wrist by which time, I realised that not only did the Titan match in quality but also the price and feature range.

The TV series, somewhat follows this timeline and is on the dot when it comes to the Titan watches being widely available across India. Except that the story is full of dramatic incidents that we can only pass off as fully filmi. Eg – Xerxes and Aksah meet Haji Mastan? Who they discover is the king of the watch smuggling ring? Surely, they weren’t that naïve or that innocent. If as the book states, the core team had done its market research before entering the market, it surely wouldn’t have done something so foolish (and filmy). In the same way the “Titan Tune” – Mozart Symphony No.25 – wasn’t the result of JRD taking the entire team to a Western Classical Concert . Again this is a very filmi scene, but it still is nice to watch every character suddenly “connect” to THE tune that would make a lasting impression as The Titan Tune – especially after everyone is shown listening to multiple songs and tunes in various Indian languages with overall amusing results.

We can dismiss this and many other similar incidents as “creative liberty” that happily doesn’t detract from the story  but instead adds to the overall story of showing the emotional drive of the main characters. And it is on this emotional drive that the series is on target. That quality called as jazbaat  as the story telling that grabs you from the word go.

I have a problem with the overall underexposed even dull photography to depict those ‘gloomy’ times. All scenes inside the offices and anywhere else have a dank and gloomy look to it. The moment the two characters Megha and Gaurav were introduced, we immediately know that they will be ultimately married by the end of the TV series.  The real characters on whom they were based were already married when they joined the company ( at least the man was).

Despite such cliches, the TV series is heart warming and nice to see a real Indian success story without any hanky panky, due to the straight arrow guidance of JRD himself , played magnificently by Naseeruddin Shah. We know that JRD didn’t have to throw his weight around and THAT is PROJECTED amazingly by Naseer. A magnificent performance even though he doesn’t have as much screen time as Jimmy Sarbh’s endearing performance as the cranky, endearing, egoistic and finally human ‘Zee’. One would expect that the Head of Marketing would be an outgoing confident ‘Type A’ personality and this is probably the only blemish in the series, as Megha Mhatre comes across as a softspoken, somewhat diffident person. The foreigners are stereotypes – who have nothing but disdain for India and Indians. I was actually surprised to learn from the series (and the book) that “Andre Leuba” (actually the world-famous Swiss watch brand Favre Leuba) was acquired by Titan watches in 2011, which the Series shows truthfully in a small coda. (Titan sold off this acquisition in 2023).

The overall atmosphere of the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s is superbly recreated and the production design team should be lauded for their painstaking attention to detail in many of the scenes, especially those set in the 1970s and 1980s. The book on which this TV series is based covers the rise of the brand and its misadventures in 4 out of its 10 chapters.

What would be the best way to summarize the story ?  Simple. It is BASED ON A TRUE STORY (which means , less true story and more masala ; here the masala is in perfect proportion with the overall story. Not too much, not too little) Overall, this is an absolute FEEL-GOOD TV series that I absolutely endorse due to the overall superb performances and attention to detail and excellent production design, aided by appropriate songs from mostly 1950s, 1960s and 1970s film songs, which at times mirror the storyline.

Real history – 2 out of 5

Script – 5 out of 5

Story – 5 out of 5

Direction – 5 out of 5

Photography – 3 out of 5  

Production Design – 4 out of 5

Total – 4 out of 5

2 comments on Made in India_A Titan Story (2026) – “Sweet and Fully filmi Fun”

Mai Wapas Aaunga (2026) – Poignant, Superb film

Genre: Drama – based on Partition

Platform: Theatrical release

Director:  Imtiaz Ai

Time: 2 hours 46 minutes

Cast:    Naseeruddin Shah (Ishar Singh Grewal). Vedang Raina (Keenu / Young Ishar Singh Grewal). Diljit Dosanjh (Nirvair Singh). Sharvari (Afsana/Jiya).

 Plot:  In the present , 95-year-old Ishar Singh Grewal is driven by the family driver to Attari check post , at the Indo-Pak border, since he wants to go to Sargodha. The BSF officers at first mock him but then quickly understand that the dementia-stricken Grewal needs medical care. In London. Ishar’s grandson Nirvair is trying various jobs while his heart is in standup comedy. He returns to India and is at his grandfather’s bedside, not dismissing his dementia-stricken words as nonsense but starts searching for the meaning and the events behind the words like Martians, Government College, curse of the women, and so on …

Partition stories mostly follow a similar pattern – tragedies, massacres, depredations on both sides, and of course the super human superman strength of Gadar 1 and Gadar 2. Rare is the film that delves into the meanings behind the words and ultimately what was the HUMAN EXPERIENCE that ended up as words and books.

This film had me choking at various moments not because of the Partition tales but because of the fact that finally there IS a “meeting of minds” among the family members who used to dismiss the “old man and his rants and ramblings”. Nirvair slowly and steadily gathers the pieces of the “Keenu’s” journey from undivided India to post Partition India and finally what was it that was keeping his grandfather alive. As the grandson, he cannot in any way relate to the stories till the time he finally understands his grandfathers’ experiences.  For others they are words; for him and his grandfather, they are life experiences that still don’t have a closure.

Nirvair’s unsettled life in London, contrasts with that of his grandfather, the young ‘Keenu” who likes and chases the young Jiya. Both are unaware of the impending disaster called Partition. Keenu, actually tells the local gangster who is threatening his life, that he wont go from this place and he can do whatever they want with him, since it is not written whether their town will be in India or Pakistan. It is somewhat crazily funny and dangerous in the same breath as no one is sure what will happen.

Partition films generally do not talk of healing and closure but to show the gradual ascent to bestiality on both sides of the communal divide. Normally they also talk about a lost time and era which appear as sepia tinted photographs. Bitterness. Longing. An Open Wound – all these and more have been covered in multiple films.

Chaliya (1960) was a rare film that spoke of healing on both sides as the Indian side adopts the sister of the Pathan as their own while the Pathan adopts the heroine’s child as his own. It wasn’t a big hit though the songs were exceptionally popular. In the modern era, Gadar , Border and a host of such ‘kill all Pakistanis’ type of films have been hits, no doubt due to the political climate in which they have been released. All the characters were cardboard cutouts.

So, we can actually relate to a Keenu and Nirvair’s bewilderment as they go about trying to unravel the happenings. Keenu’s loss of innocence is balanced by Nirvair’s loss of innocence in that he finds that he doesn’t belong in London but in India.  Keenu knows that he has lost everything yet has to seek out Jiya and it is this quest – like most stories centred on quests – that forms the core of the film.

The trailers say this is supposedly based on a true story; yet we cannot be sure as there would have been hundreds of such stories. The historical background is of course very much true as millions on both sides found a new life albeit with a sense of loss and the possibility of no return to their roots. In the final analysis, that’s what the film is all about – the search for one’s roots.

I saw the film on June 18th in a theatre in an evening show. The same day in the afternoon I had watched on Amazon Prime the TV series, “Made in India: A Titan Story”.  Naseeruddin Shah was JRD Tata in the TV series and the same evening he was the dementia-stricken Ishar; the contrast couldn’t be more dramatic. This is Naseer’s film from start to finish, and he is incredible despite spending almost all the film on a bed.  Diljit Dosanjh is also good as the grandson who starts the quest which his grandfather couldn’t and, in the process, realises more about himself than he thought was possible.

In the end this is NOT about politics or religion but the quest for completion, closure and always memories. The onscreen duo seeks it in their own way. Relentlessly.   

The films end shows the multiple wars worldwide that contribute to multiple ongoing refugee crises; and how the rootlessness of the refugees leads to an overall loss and despondency.

DO NOT MISS IT AT ANY COST. It will be worth it. These days, rare is the film that makes me want to go back to the theatre and see it again. This is one such film.

And I feel like saying Mai waapas dekhunga”. 😊

Script – 5 out of 5

Story – 5 out of 5

Direction – 5 out of 5

Photography – 4 out of 5

 

Total – 4.8 out of 5

2 comments on Mai Wapas Aaunga (2026) – Poignant, Superb film

Seven Days in May – Two superb versions

Dwight Eisenhower was the man who commanded the biggest military machine in Western Europe during World War 2.  With his superb political balance, he managed the disparate British, American and French commanders and produced an unquestionable victory. President Truman who decided to drop the Atomic Bomb on Japan was seen as ‘weak’ for letting the Korean War happen so much that Eisenhower was elected as President in 1953. But once inside ‘the system’, he often had grave misgivings about the rampant military machine which seemed unstoppable and was taking money and resources away from social programs. So much that in his farewell address, he cautioned against the ‘growing military industrial complex’. Here’s the link to the speech about Ike cautioning about the Military Industrial Complex which was probably the most prescient in its context and content , especially when seen through the lens of 21st century American rampages throughout the world.

He coined the term that has now become synonymous with huge arms deals and trillions of dollars being spent on weapons that overpromise and under deliver such as the F35 Lightning 2 JSF, one of which landed in Trivandrum a year ago and had to wait for three weeks for the support team to put it right. Ex military personnel usually join the military corporations through what is known as the ‘revolving door’ as they are extremely knowledgeable about the snakes and ladders process of the military buying system.  When President Kennedy became President, he had already promised to increase welfare spending and trim the excessive military budgets and decided to get out of Vietnam, where Americans were actually fighting though designated as “advisers”.


It is in this context that the book Seven Days in May was released in 1962 and became a bestseller. I read the book sometime in the early 1980s but couldn’t get the film at all; naturally; since its such a off beat subject and the video libraries of those days specialized in ‘action films’. In simple terms, the military feels that enough is not being spent on it by the civilians and so they plan a military coup with the fig lead of a “Constitutional Crisis due to the Presidential inability / enfeeblement” and similar mild mannered words. The Coup will be led by the Joint Chief of Staff (JCS), THE MOST powerful military man on earth, who can call upon all the four US military forces including the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. The plan for the coup is under the cover of a military exercise where ‘opponents’ have seized control of the government and hence the exercise is to check how to take control back from the ‘opponents. The JCS’ s military aide, a ‘lowly’ Colonel, sees through it for what it is and sets in motion a plan to bring it down, even though he is torn between his conscience as a soldier who has to obey his superiors and his sworn oath to defend and uphold the Constitution.


Seven Days in May (1964)

Genre: Military Conspiracy thriller

Platform: You Tube

Time: 1 hour 55 minutes

Director: John Frankenheimer

Cast: Burt Lancaster (Gen. James Mattoon Scott). Kirk Douglas (Col. Martin ‘Jiggs’ Casey). Fredric March (President Jordan Lyman). Ava Gardner (Eleanor Holbrook).

Plot:    Its 1970 and the President has signed a disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union, leading to his ratings plummeting and the hawks calling for his resignation…

Gen. Scott, the JCS is vocally and publicly critical of the President’s policies and is soon plotting away with a group of civil and military conspirators to take over the Government till his aide Col. Casey finds out about the program. Casey is aided by his former lover and Scott’s mistress Eleanor and a dipsomaniac ex-Senator who wants to find out more about the ’exercise’.

The film surely must have set the cat among the pigeons , since it came out in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination and the then recent Cuban Missile Crisis which almost started WW3. (American Air Force General Curtis LeMay repeatedly asked permission from President Kennedy to bomb Cuba with atomic weapons). The increasing involvement in Vietnam also found an echo with the ordinary people about a rampant and unchecked military doing only what it wants to keep the machine running. The black and white photography lends itself to the gloomy conspiratorial atmosphere where one good man Casey unravels everything about the conspiracy.

Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas starred in seven films, the final one being the action-comedy Tough Guys (1986) as two ex-cons trying to go straight. This is their fifth film together and the veterans really compete in the laurels for the acting chops. Frederic March’s hand wringing performance mirrors the then real life President Johnson who increasingly found himself escalating the Vietnam War , at the behest of his military advisers, most of whom still believe today, that they would have ‘won’, if not for silly ‘rules of engagement’. The then “state of art technology” may look like kludge/inelegant but was true for its time.

This is a tense superb thriller and mirrors the times and fears perfectly, pointing to Frankenheimer’s expertise in superb thrillers (The Manchurian Candidate had just been released in 1962).

The film is Free at below links:


An okay English print at Internet Archives
https://archive.org/details/7-days-in-may


Another okay You Tube English version
https://youtu.be/wq0pN1RhgcE

Good You Tube print but in Spanish (English subs can be turned on)

Script – 5 out of 5

Story – 4 out of 5

Direction – 5 out of 5

Photography – 5 out of 5

 Total – 4.8 out of 5


The Enemy Within (1994)

Genre: Military Conspiracy thriller

Platform: You Tube

Time: 1 hour 23 minutes

Director: Jonathan Darby

Cast: Forest Whitaker (Col. MacKenzie ‘Mac’ Casey). Jason Robards (Gen. R. Pendleton Lloyd). Sam Waterston (President William Foster).

This 1994 film is true to the spirit and letter of the novel and also has to live up to the 1964 film. In my view, this film is far better for its understated performances, especially that of Forest Whitaker as Casey who unravels the plot. Given that this is a 1994 upgrade and in colour, some digressions are a given such as Casey being a black officer, Casey’s son indulging in casual stealing from an electronics store and Casey and his wife trying to deal with it while Casey is simultaneously unraveling the plot. There are additional digressions in the shape of the Russians who help Casey – remember this was 1994 and Boris Yeltsin was seen as America’s friend while Russians viewed him as an American puppet and a plain stupid drunk politician (giving rise to Vladimir Putin and his continued rule from 1999 till date). None of these digressions take away from the core plot and in fact contribute to it.

The Russian head spy in Washington code named Jake (John Dzundza) agrees to help Casey as he doesn’t want a military government in power as it would bankrupt an already weak Russian economy. The ‘Russian agent’ who agrees to help Casey is a real surprise. As Casey, Forest Whitaker, gives one of his best performances as the man caught between his morals – between his superior officer and his promise to defend the Constitution. In keeping with the 1990s atmosphere there are some PCs , along with emails and cassettes for dictations.

Given the political shenanigans of Trump and the military at loggerheads and Trump trying to put ‘his’ people in place, the film is a better mirror of current times and holds far more relevance today.

The film is free on You Tube

Script – 5 out of 5

Story – 4 out of 5

Direction – 5 out of 5

Photography – 5 out of 5

 Total – 4.8 out of 5

One response to “Seven Days in May – Two superb versions”

  1. Robin Bhat avatar
    Robin Bhat

    Hi Rammesh,

    Please move the above review in your short-list of ‘My Best’ ! Have heard much about the book and the two films over a long time. All three now added to my ‘KVR List’.


    “Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas starred in seven films” – this is great to know.. I was not aware..


    Forest Whittaker – a superb actor… too many films to name… roles ranging from playing Idi Amin to the ‘Godfather of Harlem’, and much more.

    —-

    As to your comment on Trump and his minions, these headlines from just yesterday (June 6):

    “Residents of French village say US defense chief Hegseth not welcome for D-Day visit” and…

    “Pete Hegseth’s D-day speech on immigration condemned as ‘grotesque stupidity’ ”


    One last point:
    ” President Kennedy….decided to get out of Vietnam” – probably a discussion to be had off-line.. but, as old – 60+ years – as this view is, it remains widely debated.. but it is true that ‘throughout the late 1950s (Eisenhower) and early 1960s (Kennedy and Johnson), the number of Special Forces military advisers increased steadily. Their job was to train South Vietnamese soldiers in the art of counter-insurgency…..”

    Of course, as we know, to the North Vietnamese across the paddy-fields, whether their Southern brethren or the Americans.. they were all the enemy, and to be eliminated.

    Thanks… Robin

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On the Waterfront (1954) – Classic

Genre: Crime Drama

Platform: Netflix/ You Tube

Time: 1 hour 47 minutes

Director: Elia Kazan

Cast: Marlon Brando. Eva Marie Saint. Rod Steiger. Lee J Cobb. Karl Malden.

Plot:   Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) watches his friend Joey Doyle being thrown off the roof by a couple of gangsters whom he knows is part of his brother Charlie’s (Rod Steiger) group who in turn reports to the boss of the waterfront extortion racket Johnny Friendly (Lee J Cobb). The whole area is “D&D” – Deaf and Dumb and everyone knows the truth but no one wants to talk. Terry pursues Edie, Joey’s sister who in turn wants answers to her brother’s death, aided by the local priest who tries to appeal to the conscience of the suffering labourers. Terry knows that if he testifies to the crime commission, he is as good as dead . Terry also knows that if he wants to win Edie’s love, he must tell her about the truth about his part in Joey’s death…

On the Waterfront got the Oscar for the best picture (producer Sam Spiegel), best director (Kazan) and best leading actor (Brando). The morality tale is camouflaged as a crime drama and was largely shot in the Hoboken , New Jersey , supposedly resembling the New York waterfront. The black and white cinematography adds to the overall gritty feeling of the film and we can feel the grime and desperation of the men, battling both their inner conscience and the need to earn an honest dollar in an honest way.

The film is also controversial for a completely different reason and this is to do with Kazan testifying in the HUAC – House of UnAmerican Activities – against some of his fellow Hollywood brethren resulting in some of them being blacklisted unjustly for belonging or suspicion of belonging to Communist organisations. There were even objections to him getting the Oscar for best director. The film was viewed as Kazan’s cinematic justification for his ratting out on his former comrades and saving his own life and career.

That may be the political angle but the direction can’t be faulted as everything moves perfectly and there is not a single performance or scene out of place. The confrontation scene between Charlie and Terry in the back of a taxi is the stuff of legends and has been endlessly studied and even imitated (Robert de Niro as Jake Lamotta, does an imitation in Raging Bull as per the character

The film is largely male dominated as it’s everything that one an expect from great cinema – brother against brother, crime versus conscience, harsh reality of dock workers versus flowery speeches about duty and honor , and finally the loss of innocence/ growth of Terry as a human with a conscience and what is morally and legally right.

Tailpiece: Ghulam (1998) starring Aamir Khan as “Terry Malloy”/ Munna, Sharat Saxena as “Johnny Friendly”/ Ronnie, Rajit Kapoor as Charlie/ “jai”, Rani Mukherjee as “Edie”/ Alisha was a 70% copy of On the Waterfront.  It is Alisha’s brother Hari (Akshay Anand) who inspires the local shopkeepers to stand against Ronnie’s extortions , aided by a lawyer Fatima madam (Mita Vashist) and who pays the price, which shocks Munna. There is a long prologue about Munna engaging in confrontation with a bike gang where Alisha is a member and some distractions about how Munna is asked to throw a boxing match. The “taxi” scene becomes a temple pond’s bank scene and is less impactful even though the dialogues and even Jai’s killing are all the same. Despite that Ghulam is a decent 70% copy that adds the typical Indian masala moments that somewhat dilute the relentless gritty feel of the original.

I saw the film at the special screening of the Film Heritage Federation at Regal cinema, where they screen a classic every Thursday free for anyone, on a first come first served basis. Strangely I found the next day that the film was on Netflix too (Netflix gave me a notice of “you might like this”). The film is also free on You Tube (I saw it some forty odd years ago and also have the DVD).

Script – 5 out of 5

Story – 5 out of 5

Direction – 5 out of 5

Photography – 5 out of 5

 Total – 5 out of 5

2 responses to “On the Waterfront (1954) – Classic”

  1. Robin Bhat avatar
    Robin Bhat

    Hi Rammesh,

    Nothing much to add to your review… (except maybe to say bringing Aamir Khan into the discussion was a bit of a jolt !)

    Some other random comments:

    The film is among the handful that have won ‘The Big Five’ in Oscars -Best Picture, Direction, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay and an additional three, for a total of eight, out of twelve nominations.

    One of three was for Best Black and White Cinematography… capturing the gritty environment of the Hudson Waterfront/Hoboken, New Jersey, across from New York City. (Hoboken was also the birthplace and hometown) of Frank Sinatra).

    Probably the only film where all three primary supporting actors – Lee Cob, Rod Steiger, and Karl Malden were nominated for Best Supporting Actor. (Award went to another actor).

    Eve Marie Saint, born not too far from Hoboken, will celebrate her 102 birthday this July 4 !

    The thug who plays ‘Barney’ was Abe Simon, a real-life professional heavy-weight boxer and with his bulk and 6.4 feet frame, had nicknames like ‘The Ape’ and ‘The Hebrew Hulk/Hammer’.

    A bit deeper trivia – “while preparing for the role, Marlon Brando became friendly with a young Al Lettieri, who was an acquaintance of real-life Mafiosos. Brando based much of his performance on Lettieri, who later become his co-star in The Godfather (1972)

    One of the classic scenes with Lettieri (Sollozzo).

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_MMLb2QB5g


    Thanks…

    Robin

    1. Rammesh avatar
      Rammesh

      Whoa. Lettieri had Mafia connections ? didnt know that. Thanks for the trivia.

      KVR

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