Will Sachin Tendulkar help
his captain bring home the World Cup? Can't say, but his equity
as the game's superhero doesn't seem to be diminishing. Sir Richard
Branson's Virgin Comics has teamed up with the ace cricketer to
launch "The Master Blaster" comic, animation and gaming
series, featuring Tendulkar. "Given the phenomenal popularity
of cricket in India and Sachin's iconic status, we are confident
that the venture will be highly successful," says Suresh Seetharaman,
President, Virgin Comics. The first "master blaster" comic
book is slated to hit the newsstands by the middle of this year.
Close on its heels would follow animation and games revolving around
the superhero. Seetharaman won't tell how much Virgin is paying
Sachin, who is said to have a stake in the venture too. But you
can be sure that it'll be lots more than what he brings back from
the West Indies. Eye on India
 They
say, not too many good things come out of Bihar. Rena Golden would
beg to differ. The Senior Vice President of CNN International
was born in-you could have never guessed-Betia in Bihar some 45
years ago. Now based in Atlanta, where the CNN headquarters are,
Golden overseas editorial production, programme development and
day-to-day operations of CNN. Recently, Golden was in India to
kick-off CNN International's third series spotlighting India,
Eye on India. "This year, the focus is on India's youth demographics
and their aspirations," she says. It's a pity she won't be
featuring in the series. As role models go, she isn't exactly
a poor one-not even for those not born in Bihar.
No, Thanks, Wal-Mart
A little over two years
ago, when Sunil Mittal hired Ravi Deol, 42, to head his agri-export
joint venture with the Rothschilds, Wal-Mart wasn't on Bharti
Enterprises' radar. But then Bharti did end up joining hands with
the world's biggest retailer late last year to launch a retail
venture, and Deol suddenly had the chance to move from Field Fresh
to the new venture. Yet, come end of March, Deol will bid goodbye
to Bharti to turn an entrepreneur. He's keeping the plans under
wraps, except to say that it will be a venture focussed on healthcare
services. He also claims to have tied up funding. "There
are so many opportunities in India now for entrepreneurs, and
I wanted to do something before it was too late," says Deol,
who first shot to fame at India's first coffee chain, Barista.
It was something even Mittal couldn't argue against.
Cool-Headed Counsel
If
critics of the national knowledge Commission Chairman, Sam Pitroda,
think that they can provoke the man out of his dignified manners,
they are sadly mistaken. Recently, when some mps heckled him during
an address over his stance on reservation in education (he's against
it) he refused to be drawn into an argument. And when Business
Today contacted him for his reaction to the incident, he merely
said: "It's good to disagree, it's their privilege."
Better known as the technocrat who initiated the telecom revolution
in India, Pitroda, 64, often is bold enough to stick his neck
out on contentious issues, yet is equally staunch about steering
clear of energy-sapping controversies. No doubt, a quality that
endears him to progressive politicians.
Remote Control
 You
can take a man out of television, but you can't take television
out of him. Ergo, less than 60 days after Peter Mukerjea, 53,
quit star Group, India, as CEO, he's back in the game-but with
his own venture called Inx Media. His severance agreement with
star bars him from getting into broadcast until July 31, 2007,
so he's enjoying his gardening holiday, while wife Indrani spearheads
the venture and does all the talking. Inx will launch three channels-Hindi
general entertainment, music, and an English news channel-by the
end of this year. "I will definitely ask Peter to join us
after July 31 as he would definitely be an asset to the company.
But the decision is his whether to join or not," says Indrani,
Chairperson of Inx Media. Will Mukerjea break his wife's heart?
Don't be silly.
Final Frontier
It's
something most people dream of, but for 35-year-old Santosh George
Kulangara, "it's a dream come true." Come end of this
year or early next, Kulangara, Managing Director of Labour India
Publications, will hitch a ride aboard Sir Richard Branson's tourist
'spaceline', Virgin Galactic, for a view of mother Earth from
360,000 feet above it. For that experience, Kulangara, who also
produces a popular weekly travel programme Sanchara on Malayalam
channel Asianet, will pay $200,000 (Rs 88 lakh). He's already
made a down payment of $20,000. The Kottayam, Kerala-based man
is a confirmed travel buff, having toured 50 different countries
over the last 10 years. But this is one visit-if it happens-Kulangara
won't forget in a hurry.
-Contributed By Tejeesh N.S. Behl,
Shalini S. Dagar, Rishi Joshi, R. Sridharan, Pallavi Srivastava
And Anusha Subramanian
|
