Corporate Lessons and inspiration from iconic Bollywood scenes and dialogues
– Learn how that can impact your business mindset
We have heard since our childhood that watching movies may spoil our language, may vitiate our culture or may even put us on a wrong track in life. But, have we ever wondered that watching movies may be inspiring too. I have listed down some classic scenes and dialogues from Bollywood movies which are worth drawing inspiration from in our corporate life. Film Waqt, Year 1965 Dialogue “jinke apne ghar sheeshe ke hon wo doosron par patthar nahi phenka” ( those living in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones at others ) Scene Rehman tries to blackmail Rajkumar for Rajkumar’s profession of being a thief, Rajkumar then reminds Rehman that he (Rehman) too has shady businesses which Rajkumar is aware of.
Film
Waqt, Year 1965
Dialogue
“jinke apne ghar sheeshe ke hon wo doosron par patthar nahi phenka”
(those living in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones at others)
Scene
Rehman tries to blackmail Rajkumar for Rajkumar’s profession of being a thief, Rajkumar then reminds Rehman that he (Rehman) too has shady businesses which Rajkumar is aware of.Inspiration
People in the same business shouldn’t try to expose each other and should maintain harmony amongst themselves and should keep the general secrets of the trade to themselves. Long ago, in the early 90s, Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola came to India and in their zeal to capture the Indian market launched a series of ads against each other. As a result, none of them gained, instead, the other local, smaller brands made merry of the situation.
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Film
Deewaar, Year 1975
Dialogue
“mai phenke hue paise nahi uthaata”
(I don’t pick up the thrown coins)
Scene
After Iftekhar and his accomplice get their shoes polished, the young polish boy refuses to accept his labour charges through coins thrown over to him by Iftekhar’s accomplice. He insists that he should be handed over the money in his hands.
Inspiration
There should be a difference between begging and fees. If you have performed a job to the satisfaction of your clients, you have the right to be paid your fees respectfully. Most of the time when you are in a service industry where your product is intangible, you are expected to beg even for your legitimate fees. The real estate broking industry is one such example. After the deal is concluded, quite a few times, the brokers are not paid on time and with honour. Brokers should be confident of their jobs and should be bold enough to bill and ask for their fees upfront.
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Film
Trishul, Year 1978
Dialogue
“mai paanch laakh ka sauda karne aaya hoon aur meri jeb mein paanch phooti kaudian bhi
nahi hain”
(I have come to cut a deal for Rupees Five Lakhs when I don’t even have five pennies in my
pocket)
Scene
It’s one of the most iconic scenes from the blockbuster movie Trishul in which Amitabh Bachchan approaches Sanjeev Kumar to buy one of Sanjeev Kumar’s land parcels sieged by a local goon.
Inspiration
The scene inspires us to be confident in what we do and what we bet for. The land, though worth millions, Sanjeev Kumar couldn’t use it while Amitabh Bachchan is not only confident of getting the land vacated but also is sure of generating a good business out of the same land. If evaluated well, a good deal always comes from a difficult situation. The whole of StartUp psych is based on this philosophy. Start-Ups usually do not have any money to start and set up their businesses, all they have is confidence and an idea to perform yet they succeed in raising funds through venture capitalists for their projects.
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Film
Kaalia, Year 1981
Dialogue
“hum jahan khade ho jaate hain line wahin se shuru ho jaati hai”
(the queue starts from where I stand)
Scene
Amitabh Bachchan is jailed and finds that weaker prisoners are exploited by the seasoned once and despite being in the queue to collect lunch, a limping handicapped is pushed behind by a stronger prisoner. Amitabh, being confident of his strength pushes behind this goon, gets to the number one position in the queue, collects the lunch and hands it over to the handicapped prisoner.
Inspiration
When you are right, the night comes to you automatically and you don’t need to be scared of the pseudo-strength of the other players even if they are there for long. You should try to take the number one position but through proper means and should not try to crush the smaller or weaker players of the game. This will get you the industry respect and these small players will always come to your help whenever you may need them. Taj group of hotels is a leading brand in the hospitality industry. Wherever it opens its property, it creates a collective infrastructure, civic facilities and other socio-economic amenities thereby allowing the smaller hotel brands too to take advantage of its leadership.
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Film
Saudagar, Year 1991
Dialogue
“hum tumhe maarenge zaroor lekin wo bandook bhi hamaari hogi, goli bhi hamari hogi aur
waqt bhi hamara hoga”
(I will kill you but whenever I do so it will be through my gun and my bullet at a time to be
decided by me)
Scene
Rajkumar accidentally lands in Dilip Kumar’s area when Dilip Kumar offers him a revolver to kill him (Dilip Kumar). Rajkumar refuses to do so.
Inspiration
If you want to beat your business competitor or an arch-rival brand, you should attempt to do so only when you are fully ready with your own resources and strategy. Coca Cola came to India again nearly after two decades only when it was ready to face the Indian socio-political situation and was also ready to take the rival ThumsUp head-on. It’s not a secret that seeing the situation heavily in favour of Coke, a very well-established brand like ThumsUp (by Parle) also had to bow down and sell itself off to Coca Cola.
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Film
Baazigar, Year 1993
Dialogue
“ kabhi kabhi kuchh jeetne ke liye kuchh haarna bhi padta hai aur haar kar jeetne waale ko hi
baazigar kehte hain”
( sometimes to win some, you need to lose some and the one who rises again even after losing everything is the real hero )
Scene
There is a pun in this dialogue when Shahrukh Khan tells this to Kajol. He pretends that he is losing his heart to her to win her heart while there also is a hidden meaning that he is appearing to be losing but to gain control over Kajol’s father’s business.
Inspiration
The dialogue has a two-way inspiration. One, companies sometimes need to consolidate themselves. They must concentrate on their competence area and hive off the businesses where they can’t perform and deliver results. It may be surprising for a few to note that Kraft Foods the owner of some leading food brands like Cadbury, Oreo and Tang was once a part of the Tobacco giant Altria Group ( previously known as Philip Morris ) but wouldn’t be surprising at all to understand as to why Altria sold off Kraft. Two, even if you lose everything you must not stop trying. If your intention is honest, it will surely win you success. If the brand is strong, there always is a possibility of its comeback. In 2003, the Danish toy icon Lego had a debt of over Rs. 4,800 Crores when they turned their focus from kids’ toys to high-tech toys for higher age groups too. The company then started cutting costs, selling theme parks and offering toys which their customers actually wanted. By the year 2021, the company reached the revenue levels of Rs. 56,000 crores.
Author’s Bio:
Alok Gupta, the President of Central Zone One of The Estate Agents Association of India, has explored more than 60 countries worldwide, enabling him to empathize with the perspective of the common person. The views expressed are his own.
