Most polluting countries in the world, India ranks 3

The world's fastest growing economies have turned out to be the biggest polluters. China and India, which have seen unprecedented growth in the past decade, have the highest levels of carbon dioxide emission.
As nations race ahead to boost growth and development, their dependence on fossil fuels also rise.
To support the growth, a country needs to set up more infrastructure projects, transport more goods, sale of automobiles rises, and all these, in turn, increase the fuel demand.
The most polluting countries are typically nations with high population, biggest industries and production capabilities.
Here are the 15 most polluting countries in the world.
Source: Earth Policy Institute
China
Rank: 1
CO2 emission: 2,395 million tons
Five-year change: 44 per cent increase
China is paying the price of growing too fast and heavy reliance on fossil fuels. According to the World Bank, 16 of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in China.
In January this year, air pollution shot up many northern cities during the winter. The United States Embassy monitor on air quality in China classified the quality of air in Beijing as "hazardous".



United States
Rank: 2
CO2 emission: 1,403 million tons
Five-year change: Down 11 per cent
Ever since the beginning of Industrial Revolution, US had trouble with environmental issues. The country, however, was among the first few countries to enact laws that would help in cut down pollution.
In 1960s, 1970s and 1990s, the country enacted a series of Clean Air Acts to strengthen the regulation of air pollution. It introduced new standards to measure air pollution. All this helped the country to reduce annual production.
Some of the cities with high pollution include Los Angeles, Bakersfield and Visalia.

 

India
Rank: 3
CO2 emission: 596 million tons
Five-year change: 43 per cent increase
Though India emits less greenhouse gasses compared to other nations on the list, the air pollution is high due to burning of wood, fuel adulteration, vehicle emission and traffic congestion.
In 2005, the country adopted emission standard of Bharat Stange IV for vehicles, which is equivalent to Euro IV standard. However, vehicles prior to 2005 still ply on the roads.
Some of the polluted cities according to World Health Organisation include Ludhiana, Kanpur and Delhi.



Russia
Rank: 4
CO2 emission: 449 million tons
Five-year change: 2 per cent increase
Though the country features in one of the most polluting nations, the quality of air in Russia has been improving since 1990.
Overall, over 200 cities in Russia exceed pollution limits due to an increase in automobiles. In fact, automobiles is now the prominent source of pollution in Russia. However, the pollution due to industrialisation is on a decline as production has slowed.



Japan
Rank: 5
CO2 emission: 336 million tons
Five-year change: 1 per cent increase
Heavy industrialisation has been the main cause of pollution in Japan. The country is also facing the issues because of its neighbour. Pollutants from China are increasingly deteriorating the quality of air in Japan.
Since 1990s, the country has been tightening regulation to reduce pollution. In fact Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) applauded Japan in 1994 as it managed to keep pollution low despite economic growth.



Germany
Rank: 6
CO2 emission: 200 million tons
Five-year change: Down 4 per cent
Germans have taken the high air pollution issue seriously. The country has introduced stringent norms to maintain the quality of air.
The air pollution control regulation is called Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control (TA Luft). The first version of the TA Luft was established in 1974 and they government has kept revising it.
Germany has also introduced environmental zones, which require cars to carry a green, yellow or red sticker identifying a vehicle's level of exhaust pollution.
Environmental zones prohibit dirtier vehicles, typically older ones, from entering major urban areas.




Iran
Rank: 7
CO2 emission: 159 million tons
Five-year change: 19 per cent increase
Air pollution is a major issue in Iran compared to other countries on the list. In the country’s capital, Tehran, 27 people die each day from pollution-related diseases.
Air pollution, especially in urban areas, is caused due to vehicle emissions, refinery operations, and industrial effluents; deforestation; overgrazing; and desertification.

 

South Korea
Rank: 8
CO2 emission: 157 million tons
Five-year change: 22 per cent increase
South Korea’s much smaller population is the ninth largest consumer of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons, also known as CFCs. The main reason for air pollution, however, is industrialisation.
During the economic boom in 1980, the country paid little attention to environment leading to the current state of air quality. Pollution from China is also affecting the country.
But the scenario is fast changing. Few years back, the government has decided to boost investment into renewable energy to reduce its reliance on foreign oil imports  For this, the government has laid down massive investment plans.



Indonesia
Rank: 9
CO2 emission: 146 million tons
Five-year change: 52 per cent increase
One of the key reasons for air pollution in Indonesia is deforestation - other than population growth, the increasing number of industries, and transportation.
Large-scale forest fires are common in the country. In fact, in 1997 forest fire in Kalimantan and Sumatra caused the 1997 Southeast Asian haze. It was a large-scale air quality disaster.
The country is also affecting its neighbours such a Singapore, which has a low pollution level.



Canada
Rank: 10
CO2 emission: 144 million tons
Five-year change: Down 4 per cent
Air pollution in Canada is contributed to by industrial and vehicular emissions, agriculture, construction, wood burning and energy production.
The country, however, have introduced stringent norms and that has helped to improve the quality of air.



Saudi Arabia
Rank: 11
CO2 emission: 133 million tons
Five-year change: 29 per cent increase
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer and exporter of petroleum. It also the second largest oil producer and holds one-fifth of the world’s oil reserves.
Over the past few decades, as Saudi Arabia’s oil industry has boomed, environmental pollution along its 2,175-mile coastline has also grown.
The country also struggles with high levels of vehicle exhausts, which account for 50 percent of hydrocarbon pollution in the air. That, added to its dry desert climate and windstorms, has led to widespread outbreaks of respiratory diseases.
The government has stepped up efforts to clean up the country’s air. French engineering group Alstom announced a multi-million dollar deal to supply machinery to reduce carbon emissions from power plants in Saudi Arabia’s eastern Ras Tanura city.



South Africa
Rank: 12
CO2 emission: 133 million tons
Five-year change: 12 per cent increase
The cause of air pollution in South Africa is industrial wastes and gases emitted from petroleum refinery and petrochemical factory.
The toxic pollutants are also big health hazards, causing diseases such as asthma and bronchitis.
According to reports, the current regulation pertaining to pollution is not as stringent as it should be compared to international laws.




United Kingdom
Rank: 13
CO2 emission: 126 million tons
Five-year change: Down 11 per cent
Auto emission is one of the main reason for pollution in the UK. The country, however, has seen the maximum decline in the pollution levels in the last five years due to stringent laws.



Mexico
Rank: 14
CO2 emission: 123 million tons
Five-year change: 6 per cent increase
In 1992, United Nations called the country’s capital, Mexico City, the most polluted city on the planet.
Since then, the country has made significant progress in bringing down pollution levels. The government had resorted to prohibiting car usage, closing down polluting factories and expanding public transport.



Brazil
Rank: 15
CO2 emission: 110 million tons
Five-year change: 19 per cent increase
The air pollution problem in Brazil is slightly different than rest of the world. Globally gas-based fuels are used whereas Brazil extensively uses ethanol - about 40 per cent of the fuel is sourced from ethanol.
The country is also witnessing rise in number of automobiles and increasing levels of industrialisation. This is causing air pollution in urban areas. The larger urban areas of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Brasilia suffer from substantial ozone issues.

How Pooja Dhingra is baking her way to success

Pooja Dhingra started Le15 Patisserie when she was 23. Since then, her business has grown 200 per cent. This is her story.

 

  

Long before Pooja Dhingra took Mumbai by storm with her trademark macarons she she'd wanted to be a lawyer. Or at least that's what she thought. A week into the course at Mumbai's Rizvi College and looking at the thick pile of books before her, Dhingra realised this wasn't her cup of tea.
So she sought her parents' permission to quit and re-think her career options. Luckily, her parents seemed to understand AND let her study hospitality and business management at Cesar-Ritz Hospitality Management School in Switzerland where she and her brother were classmates.
If that wasn't cool enough, they even heeded her request to study baking. Which is how she landed at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris -- one of the finest culinary and hospitality schools in the world.
When she returned, Dhingra put her education to good use. She started out small -- from her mother's kitchen in fact, trying out recipes she'd learnt in France, making changes to the recipes to suit the Indian weather conditions.
Eventually, she set up a central kitchen from which the small revolution began. Following the tried and tested way -- by putting up stalls at every single sales exhibition and sending out samples -- Pooja Dhingra built her business from the scratch. In three years, she says it has grown 200 per cent.
Currently, Le15 has three outlets in Mumbai -- two in the commercial district of Lower Parel and one in the tony suburb of Bandra.
In a freewheeling chat, Dhingra, who turned 27 on August 5, talks about setting up her business, her future plans and the difficulty of losing weight in a pastry shop.

'When I saw my law books, my heart sank'

 

  

She studied law for a whole w-e-e-k and thought it was easier to stand in the kitchen for 12 hours every day than become a lawyer.

Quite honestly, I have no idea why I did that! But I do remember hating it right from the very beginning. When I saw my law books, my heart sank. I knew I wouldn't last very long. So I told my parents that I'd like to do hospitality, which was one of my choices anyway. Mercifully, they agreed and even sent me off to Switzerland to study…

…And there were no strings attached!

There was never a question asked. When I returned from Switzerland, I requested my father to let me study baking and before I knew it, I was in Le Cordon Bleu. In fact the seed capital for Le15 came from my father. I've worked on it from there, but the initial investment was his. I've been lucky that way.
What he did though was to ensure I never set the bar too low. The one piece of advice he's given me that I'll always live by is to be sure all the time, never to have doubt and to go into anything new thinking you will succeed and work towards it.

Business runs in the family

My father (Jaikishan) runs a customs clearance business but over the years, he's invested in restaurants. He was the silent partner of one of Mumbai's earliest Mexican restaurants called Sheriff (in Bandra) and in a Bhagat Tarachand outlet along the Mumbai-Nashik highway.
Varun, my brother, studied hospitality and international business management with me in Switzerland (at Cesar-Ritz Hospitality Management School). He runs Oye Punjabi, a large restaurant along the same highway today.
My mother (Seema) used to run a small baking business when we were younger out of home. Some of my early food memories are of my brother and me helping her pack chocolates and cakes for her clients.
In retrospect I realise my career choice was quite obvious.

'Luxury comes from paying attention to details'

 

  

What the Swiss and Germans taught me

In Switzerland I did two separate internships. During my first year, I interned at a small family-run hotel (Villa Toscane). I was 18, had never been away from home alone and was doing the amount of work that usually six or seven people would typically do in India. Every morning, I would serve breakfast to dozens of people, wash up and start over again. I didn't know a word of French and my boss knew no English. It was a nightmare.
But by the time I was interning at a five-star hotel (Trois Couronne) in the final year, I had grown a lot more confident. I opted for housekeeping and my job involved changing some 60 beds and cleaning toilets. At some point, they recognised what I was doing and towards the end of my internship, I was going for meetings with my general manager and instructing people much senior to me. In French!
In Paris, I interned with a pastry chef who was such a stickler for perfection that he'd discard anything that had even the slightest fault.
My years in Switzerland and Paris taught me one really important thing -- that luxury comes from paying attention to details. Be it a pillow that must be kept at a 90-degree angle or a pastry that must not be baked even half a centigrade more or less. Little things go a long way. All of that was put into practice when we set up Le15 -- be it the design of the boxes or stickers on boxes, a lot of attention went into little things.

'It's an amazing feeling to know you're good at something'

 

  

Why studying abroad matters

Studying in a foreign country changes you in ways you can never imagine. You're alone in an alien country where you don't know anyone and you're pretty much on your own.
Personally, I discovered my calling at Cesar-Ritz. I'd always been an average student all through school. But in Switzerland I excelled in everything; it's an amazing feeling -- to know that you're good at something.
Paris was a different experience altogether. As part of the course, we were to run a cafe on the campus. The days were long and I had to do things like mop floors, clean toilets, thing I wasn't used to doing otherwise. My day would begin at six in the morning and end at eight in the night. Sometimes I wondered what on earth I was doing.
The years I spent in Switzerland and France introduced me to people from several countries and cultures. Today I can travel to any of them and know that there will always be a couch I can crash on.

Working from my mother's kitchen

When I returned from Paris and started trying out recipes from home, I realised I couldn't replicate them because of a variety of reasons -- I was working with local Indian ingredients and I was baking in a city that far more humidity than Paris. So kept trying, baking all sorts of things for my family and friends for months. After some 50 failed attempts I managed to get recipes for the macarons right.
By now I'd been working for a few months and had figured out from my friends and family what flavours would work and what wouldn't. But more importantly, I relied on my instinct. And that told me macarons would work.
I decided to revolve our business around it; macaron became our star and to this day, that's what we are known for.
We started with some four or six flavours. Today we have about ten, which also keep changing from festival to festival.

'Watching weight becomes difficult when you're a pastry chef'

 

 

Getting the word about Le15 out

We really went the traditional route in many ways. We started by participating in every single women entrepreneur exhibition there was and got our contacts, tied up with companies for corporate gifting, sent out goodies to friends and family. So in any case, our products were reaching people even without any store.
The kitchen of course got us a good deal of exposure because the participants there came from all walks of life -- lawyers, journalists, PRs. That helped us further.
Then there came a time when we felt there was a need for a point of sale and we started our first outlet at the Good Earth store in Lower Parel (South Mumbai).
Someone from Good Earth had tasted our macarons and when they were undergoing renovation, they asked approached us. The time was right so we started out.

The weighing scale isn't a pastry chef's best friend

When I started out, I was paying no attention to my weight, which shows. 14-16 hour workdays were normal. There was one Diwali when I was here from 7am to 2am. That was when I realised I needed to step back and take care of myself.
But the attempt to start working on it came about eight months ago when I consciously began going to the gym or joined dance classes. But then again, watching weight becomes difficult when you're a pastry chef.
Every time you taste something you're working on, it translates to an extra ten minutes on the treadmill. It's difficult, but I'm working on it. It's important that I step out for an hour or two every day if I want to continue working.

'We've grown about 200 per cent since we started out'

 

 

 

Le15 as it stands today…

Le15 started with baking classes that took off very well. So, we are planning to return to that part of our business in a big way. Even though we currently do have a kitchen space where we conduct these classes, we've recently rented out a (larger) space next door which will serve as the new venue for the classes as well as a dedicated learning place of all things food related.
It will be called Studio15 and we plan to conduct classes on food writing, food photography, start a book club and even give out the space on rent to corporate houses and private groups who can host lunches and parties, cook their own food (or cater from our kitchens).
Most importantly, the venue will also serve as an ingredient store. When I started out, I discovered it was a huge challenge to get a supplier for ingredients. Studio15 will be a place where you can purchase the ingredients you need but don't usually get.

… And where it goes from here

We currently have three outlets in Mumbai. The plan is to introduce two more in the city by the end of this year and more around the country the following year. We've grown about 200 per cent since we started out, which in some ways is good but not as fast in many others. Three stores in three years isn't something many would like to boast about.
However, it has been a conscious decision. We did have offers of franchises and opportunities to expand but I wanted to make sure I learnt every aspect of my business before I branched out. Now that things are settled; I'm ready.

How to make chocolate lava cake:

  http://ishare.rediff.com/video/nature-and-wildlife/watch-how-to-make-choco-lava-cake/8838327

What I enjoy making and eating

Macarons, of course but besides that I really enjoy making simple Italian food, pastas that I can toss up when come home from work and are easy to put together. But for all that, I am not a very fussy eater. I enjoy anything that tastes good.
Here's a simple recipe for Chocolate lava cake (video above):

Ingredients:

• 200 gm Dark chocolate
• 200 gm Amul butter
• 4 eggs
• 50 gm Maida
• 150 gm Castor sugar
• Melt the dark chocolate and butter in the microwave and mix well.

Method

• Add sugar and whisk till the sugar dissolves.
• Add all the eggs one by one. Ensure the mixture is cooled down.
• Mix till yolks dissolve.
• Add half the maida and whisk it gently. Ensure you don't whisk it too briskly because you'll end up having a hard cake. The rule is whisk gently for cakes, briskly for breads.
• Pour it into any bowls that can go into an oven (not microwave but OTG)
• Bake it at 200 degrees centigrade and ready!

 

 

 

 

what happens next : Reality Video

 VIDEOS:

http://ishare.rediff.com/video/entertainment/what-happens-next/8007037

Rohit Shetty: I don't make movies for intellectual people

  

Here are some things synonymous with director Rohit Shetty.

 

Films that make Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion).
Action sequences where cars are smashed.
And actor Ajay Devgn.
But this time, Shetty breaks the mould a bit.
In the first part of a long interview, the ‘critic-proof’ director spe­aks to Savera R Someshwar about his newest film, Chennai Express, starring no... not Devgn, but Shah Rukh Khan.

You chose to work with Shah Rukh instead of Ajay Devgn in Chennai Express. What was the experience like?

It was great.
The first day I met Shah Rukh, we just clicked because, somewhere down the line, our thoug­hts about how a film should be made were quite similar.
As a producer, or as a director, or as an actor, you have certain thoughts about how a commercial film should be approached. You have a certain way of thinking when you are making it, when the pre-production starts or even when post-production happens.
I think I am fortunate that Shah Rukh has produced this film and Shah Rukh is acting in the film. I don’t think any other producer could have done justice to this film or any other actor could have done justice to this character.

'I will never make a film where I hurt someone'

  

When you make a statement like that, do you feel at the back of your head that the next question that’s going to pop up is that you’ve always been associated with Devgn.

No. See, everybody is mature enough… Ajay knows about this script.
If Shah Rukh had not done the film, Ajay would have definitely produced it. But I don’t know if he would have acted in it. Ajay would have not suited this character. When you see the film, you will realise why I am saying this.
Even Ajay agrees, because he knows the script.

You seem to be a magnet for controversy. Even before the film has released, there has been criticism about Deepika’s accent and how you seem to be making fun of Tamilians…

Nowadays, speculation seems to be the new trend instead of hard work. People like to speculate, people like to criticise… I feel criticising just boosts your ego.
Why would I make a Rs 100-crore film where I hurt someone? I know the day the film releases, the audience response will be negative. Why will I ever do that kind of work?
For all those people who have doubts about my film, I have a message: See the film and then we’ll talk about it.
I will never make a film where I hurt someone.
Except for Deepika who’s playing a Tamilian and is not from Tamil Nadu -- and Niketan obviously -- all the actors including the junior artistes are from Tamil Nadu and the Chennai film industry. When they speak a little bit of Hindi, it is almost similar to what Deepika is speaking.
If we would have made her speak pure Hindi with a little bit of an accent, she would have looked alien.
Before watching the film, how can you just blame me? I don’t want to entertain or earn money by hurting anyone. If I do something where I make fun of Tamilians, my film won’t release in Chennai. That will be a huge loss for me.
 

'After Singham, we get so much respect from cops everywhere'

 

Does the criticism bother you?

It used to earlier. Now, I ignore it.
Earlier, this is what would happen. A film would release on Friday and the public would decide if it was a hit or a flop.
Now there’s this whole chain -- which I find horrendous -- where you have to promote the film. During this time, so many questions are asked and so many speculations are made. Then, after all this struggle, a film reaches the theatre.
I think, earlier, the directors, producers and actors were really lucky.
The same thing happened during Singham. Before the release, wherever I went, it was like ‘You’ve made a Dabangg, you’ve made a Dabangg, you’ve made a Dabangg, you’ve made a Dabangg…’ But once the film released, nobody compared it with Dabangg.
Singham has an individual identity now. We get so much respect from cops everywhere.
This kind of speculation used to bother me earlier. Now, after making so many films, I know that Friday will come and everything will die down. Then, only the film will speak.

Have you ever got angry about this?

Earlier, I used to get very angry; now, I’m not bothered. I think I’ve got used to all this now.
For example, I am asked what the first day opening figures will be. This is the most stupid question ever asked. How can I predict something like this and why are you putting me under pressure?

 'I really don't know whether I am different from other directors'

 

What are you like on the sets in general, and on this movie in particular?

It’s… like... like I am in my office (laughs).

You mean like stopping work to enjoy a game of cricket in the rain?

Yes, because you work round the clock and there’s so much stress.
You are in the entertainment business. You are here to entertain people. If you are not enjoying your work, how will you do that?
I want everybody to be happy -- on the sets, when watching my film. That’s my motive, that everybody should be happy.
My team has been with me for a long time now. So it’s like a whole family is working for a project or the whole family is battling a crisis when needed.
There are designations, but there is no protocol based on designation. My Jimmy Jib operator or my steadycam operator will do an operative cameraman’s job also. He may also act. He may arrange the crowd. He may help with the set.

How different does that make you from other directors?

I really don’t know whether I am different or not. (Thinks a bit). I think where I excel is my energy. I may not be that talented, I may not be that educated where cinema is concerned, but where I can beat everyone is my energy (laughs) and my passion for work.
When others are on a vacation, I’m working.
When others are eating food, I’m working.
When others are partying, I’m working.
Others are enjoying their success, and I’m again back to work.
That is one thing that makes me and my team -- I won’t say different -- but I think that’s one advantage god has given me that I can work round the clock (laughs).

'I've always wanted to be in films as an action director or a director'

 

Where does that come from? Do you feel the need to work round the clock?

I don’t know. I started working when I was 15-and-a-half or something. It’s been 22 years now.
I’ve directed -- I’ve lost count -- eight or nine movies. Six or seven have been blockbusters but I’ve never been to work.
There has never been a single day that I get up in the morning and think, oh shit, today I have to shoot or I have to go to office. I enjoy every moment of it.
You seem nostalgic for the old times, but aren’t things better today in some ways?
I think we are quite fortunate because of the media in a way. We appear on television and our photographs appear in newspapers and magazines, so we are recognised.
There were so many great directors in the past and nobody knew what they looked like, like Nasir Hussain Sir; we have not done even 10 percent of the body of work they have.
My colleagues and I are quite fortunate because we come on television and we do so much of buffoonery and stupidity (laughs) that people know us.
You were saying earlier that you haven’t studied much in terms of formal education and you’re not a formal student of cinema. But would you say you are not a student of cinema?
I am not a formal student of cinema, but yes, I am a student of cinema.
If you ask me when was the day that I decided I wanted to be a director, I don’t know. It was always there in me. I’ve always wanted to be in films as an action director or a director.

'If a film makes Rs 100 crore, it is because the audience is coming and watching the film'

 

Did you watch your father (action director and actor Mud­hu B Shetty, popularly known as Fighter Shetty) at work?

I used to accompany him, but I was very small at that time.
I remember one shoot with Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan somewhere in Andheri (north west Mumbai)…  I was there the whole day, watching one man hitting 10-12 people and thinking what stupidity this is.
On our way home, he was driving, I asked him, “Papa, how can one single man, Mr Bachchan, hit 12-13 people? It is very stupid.”
And he said, “He can hit them because he is the hero.”
That’s what struck me.
Now, if you see my films, 20 guys are bashed by Ajay Devgn (laughs) because he is the hero. He’s not a common man, he’s a hero and heroes can do anything.

Is that why you love smashing up cars in your films?

Initially, I never thought about smashing cars. But I did one or two films and... The reason I do it is because kids love all this.
Adults and elderly people criticise me for blowing up cars in film after film. I tell them to sit with a six or eight-year-old kid and watch my film and then we’ll talk.
Even I know that I’m repeating myself. Even I know I have done this earlier. But it’s not for me. And I know what I am doing. It’s for the kids. They really enjoy it.
If you see my films, there is no vulgarity ever. I know a family audience comes to see my films. Women come to see my films. I get so many blessings at airports or anywhere else I go. Elderly people will come and talk to me. Kids will come.
Kids are fans of Singham, and I don’t know why. It’s an action film.
People will come up to me say and say my son does this (the Singham step) or say they have a DVD of Singham or Golmaal 3 or 2. It’s for them that I do all this. I don’t make movies for intellectual people.
Maybe, when these children grow older, they’ll start asking me why I make these kind of films. But I’ll still be doing them.

Do Bollywood fans just want a paisa vasool film?

I don’t really know, and I can’t comment on anybody else’s work.
Just because I am not doing intellectual cinema or I am not doing a film a Madhur Bhandarkar or Anurag Kashyap kind of film, it does not mean I am not doing a good job.
At the same time, it does not mean they are not doing a good job either.
Once I met Anurag outside my office, he said, “My mom is a fan of your work. She loves your cinema.” What other compliment do you need?
I am not making intellectual cinema, but the mother of a director who makes intellectual films is a fan of my work!
Everybody has their own story and there is an audience for every film. There’s an audience for a Chandni Bar kind of a film or a Golmaal kind of a film. They are two different genres.
The only thing I don’t like, which I never do, is trash someone else’s work. A few filmmakers, a few actors who are doing intellectual cinema will try to trash the Rs 100-crore film because their films are not working.
This is the most honest business. No director or actor can take the audience hostage and force them to see a film. Once film is released on Friday, no gimmick will work, no PRship will work, no negative or positive publicity will work.
If a film makes Rs 100 crore, it is because the audience is coming and watching the film. If it is not doing well, it is being rejected by the audience. So, you have to have that open mind and open heart.

Watch out for the second part of the interview next week where Rohit Shetty tells us why he hates star review rating system, and why he feels it's bad for the film industry.

20 business tycoons on Twitter

 

Within 10 minutes of signing up on Twitter on Wednesday, 10,000 were following Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett and three hours later the numbers were climbing past 140,000.
His first tweet, under @WarrenBuffett, was "Warren is in the house".
He is not the only businessman on Twitter.
Let's first take a look at Indian tycoons using the microblogging service.

Vijay Mallya
Company: Chairman, UB Group
Twitter followers (as of May, 2013): 1,846,523
Active: Yes
Twitter status: Verified

Anand Mahindra
Company: Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra
Twitter followers (as of May, 2013): 781,716
Active: Yes
Twitter status: Verified

Ratan Tata
Company: Former chairman, Tata Group
Twitter followers (as of May, 2013): 574,461
Active: Yes
Twitter status: Verified

Naveen Jindal
Company: Chairman, Jindal Steel & Power
Twitter followers (as of May, 2013): 65,219
Active: Yes
Twitter status: Verified

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
Company: Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon
Twitter followers (as of May, 2013): 48,748
Active: Yes
Twitter status: Verified

Anil Ambani
Company: Chairman, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group
Twitter followers (as of May, 2013): 18,945
Active: No
Twitter status: Unverified

Sunil Bharti Mittal
Company: Chairman and Group CEO, Bharti Enterprises
Twitter followers (as of May, 2013): 1,944
Active: No
Twitter status: Unverified

Uday Kotak
Company: Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank
Twitter followers (as of May, 2013): 707
Active: No
Twitter status: Unverified

Kalanithi Maran
Company: Chairman and Managing Director, Sun Group
Twitter followers (as of May, 2013): 145
Active: No
Twitter status: Unverified

Bill Gates
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The double standards of Google, Apple, Facebook

 The tax evasion battle between the tech giants and various governments is not just about tax revenues but also for moral supremacy.

 

For the giants of Silicon Valley, the fall from freedom's children to social pariah has been something of a Shakespearean reversal of fortunes.
Google, Apple and Facebook might be Lear, Othello and Macbeth in the suddenness and completeness of their fall from a grace that was bequeathed to them by the generations that found their technologies liberating, empowering and even beautiful.
These companies are nothing like the robber barons that were rebuked by the US government a century ago.
They are not locking out workers or running sweatshops. On the contrary: They're hiring people.
Led by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's advocacy group FWD.us, they are agitating for immigration laws to be loosened so they can hire clever Chinese, Indian and other citizens and pay them lots of money.

 

Those lucky enough to get into their now-sprawling campuses gain access to a kind of gold-plated welfare state where choices of delicious food, health centres, and dental clinics are theirs for the using.
The companies say transparency and freedom of speech are at the heart of all they do. Transparency is a Google "Core Value"; Facebook has signed up to the Global Network Initiative, dedicated to advancing freedom of expression to help "shed a spotlight on government practices that restrict expression and seek over-broad requests for user data."
Freedom and transparency make up one of the largest battlegrounds between states and citizens today, and the fact that the Silicon Valley companies put themselves on the side of citizens has attracted high-profile recruits to their offices.
In the UK, two big-time journalists renounced their trade to work for Google: John Kampfner was editor of the leftist New Statesman and head of the NGO Index on Censorship. He is now an external adviser to Google on free expression and culture.
Peter Barron edited the BBC's probing Newsnight program and, while a reporter on the program, won a 1995 award from the Royal Television Society for reports on the arms-to-Iraq scandal. He's now head of external relations for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Google.

                                    

As unlikely as it is that the rich, clever people behind these companies will lead their employers to tragic fates, they have a very large problem on their hands.
Relative to their earnings, these companies pay very little taxes. This is not, it seems so far, a crime. But it may be worse than a crime; it is a product of their philosophies.
Last year, Facebook paid "negative taxes" - that is, the taxpayer paid the company $429 million because Facebook had written off the value of the stock options awarded to Zuckerberg and other executives.
The company received a huge tax deduction of $16 billion. This is quite legal, but, as Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said in a debate on the Senate floor last April, "As with so much of our tax code, it's not the law-breaking that shocks the conscience, it's the stuff that's allowed."
Levin's governmental affairs investigations subcommittee interviewed Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and other top executives a few days after the release of a congressional report that claimed Apple uses a complex "highly questionable" tax-minimisation strategy.

                                      

Part of this strategy involved the shift, more than 30 years ago, of a major part of the company's ostensible central control function to Ireland, where corporate taxes are very low.
As Levin put it, "Folks, it's not right." After the hearing, even critical observers concluded that Cook wasn't really rattled.
Across the Atlantic, another feisty committee chairman and former labour minister, Margaret Hodge, also thinks it's not right.
As Cook faced the senators, Google Vice-President Matt Brittin was being warned that it was a serious offense to mislead Hodge's committee - an offense he might have committed when, last year, he argued that no sales transactions were done in the UK by Google but were routed through a subsidiary in Ireland.
Google, like Apple, has a centre in Dublin that is nominally its European hub. Hodge said the committee was alerted to the discrepancy by a report by Reuters' Tom Bergin (who received the Orwell Prize for the piece).

                                     

Hodge said, "It was quite clear that the entire trading process and sales process took place in the UK."
Google's sales in the UK are worth 3.2 billion pounds, but most are routed through Dublin. In 2011 it paid 6 million pounds in UK corporation tax.
The various executives of these companies don't exhibit much sense of guilt when confronted by irate lawmakers.
The British new technology writer Dick Pountain wrote in his blog that when Google CEO Eric Schmidt came to the UK earlier this month, he "treated UK PM David Cameron with the amused air of a cheeky schoolboy talking to a nagging teacher, a mask for the fact that he now wields more power than a mere PM and knows it."
Pountain also quotes the former Facebook employee Katherine Losse from her book, The Boy Kings, that Schmidt's philosophy is, "If you want to change the world start a company. It's the best model for getting things done and bringing your vision to the world."

                                     

In a fine piece of close reporting, George Packer reveals a world where the magnificent headquarters buildings "keep tech workers from having even accidental contacts with the surrounding community."
The spirit that imbues the engineers who work there carry Schmidt's belief: that companies are king and governments are at best passe.
This view, once framed as state-of-the-art idealism, is now seen as deeply self-serving and destructive of societies that depend, for their infrastructure, social services and much else, on the tax that these companies are determined not to overpay.
Not all lawmakers see it this way. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) spent his time on the Levin committee hearings seeking to protect Apple from "bullying."

                                          

At times over their 100-year history, corporations have vied with governments for primacy and for the moral high ground.
A new battle is now joined, and governments in Germany, France and other European states are following the UK and the US into the trenches.
It's a battle not just for more tax revenue but also for the concept and practice of the nation-state and its provision of public goods. That makes the issue central to us all.
(John Lloyd co-founded the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, where he is Director of Journalism. Lloyd has written several books, including "What the Media Are Doing to Our Politics" (2004). He is also a contributing editor at FT and the founder of FT Magazine.
Opinions are his own