Sahara & Sudhir Vaishnav

Sahara Comes West
Quality Always Wins: Sudhir Vaishnav
By Deepmalya Ghosh

When Sudhir Vaishnav first came to the United States in 1971, he was a teenager.  At that time there was no real awareness of Indian movies or artists.  It was a time before the VCR, Cable or the DVD.  Vaishnav, then in Philadelphia, made efforts to infuse India into a land that had no awareness or access to movies or theater of South Asia.  Although hesitant to speak of himself, Vaishnav has a wealth of stories about his early experiences of coordinating movies and entertainment features in those days.  Stories about Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar.   He whistfully recalls dragging himself down to the Greyhound station, where deliveries of large boxes with reels of film from India would finally arrive.  These would be shown on 16mm camera in local colleges and halls.  He laughs at a memory of being able to show a movie in a Cinemascope format for the first time.  He speaks of those days with zest and seems to find strength in all that he can reminisce about.  With such experience and a distinguished portfolio, it should not really surprise anyone that he is still at it…but now on a more advanced and global level.

Over thirty years have passed since Vaishnav first arrived to the United States, but his untiring  vision of bringing India to America faces greater challenges now, as the market has become flooded with a wealth of South Asian networks, all competing for the same viewers.  But his determination seems unfettered by it.  Vaishnav is insistent that his ventures bring a new quality and vision to the game.  He asserts that he is aware of what the viewers want from an understanding that is nurtured from a grassroots understanding of South Asians migrating to America.  It is one enhanced by a marriage of 27 years and 2 children brought up in America.

Last month, Vaishnav's group, Globosat Entertainment Network LLC obtained the rights to distribute Sahara Entertainment television broadcasts to North America, South America and the Caribbean.  Sahara, according to Vaishnav, is a conglomeration with diverse holdings that has over 910,000 employees (mostly in India) and operates with a business plan that Vaishnav loves.   He points to their obvious success in being able to grow to that size in a number of industries, including hotels and travel.  Startled by the number, I commented that this number of employees mirrors the city of Philadelphia (where he first started), and Vaishnav just nodded affirmatively.  When asked about how much it cost to make this move, Vaishnav hesitated and only mentioned that, "a serious commitment has been made toward quality entertainment and toward the future."  Quality is what Vaishnav is all about, and he states that it is, "the ultimate decision maker."  He wants to find new ways to merge South Asian media to the American mainstream.  He feels that the 2nd generation is far more prepared to deal with their roots and culture.  He, very easily, speaks of the pride he sees in the new generation, but feels (and perhaps correctly) that Bollywood is the only thing that links the Desi American to, "the motherland."  Born and raised in Mumbai, Vaishnav is speaking with an understanding of America where he has lived since he was 19.  He is a maverick and a pioneer in bringing theater and film presentation to America.  Vaishnav was one of those responsible for bringing Bollywood to Broadway through his support of Bombay Dreams, for which he was a Producer.  In mid-October, he is bringing another show to the Samuel Beckett Theater in Manhattan called India Awaits.  It is all of this, that makes the acquisition of the rights for Sahara even more understandable.  Why not bring Sahara to the West?  It's a move that is as ambitious and assertive as Vaishnav has always been.   He, excitedly, awaits the upcoming Sahara Sangeet Awards, which will be held in San Francisco on September 24th, where there will also be the launch party for this endeavor.  It is a large event that will be attended by major stars, including Sharukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee. 

Sahara programs will soon be offered on the Dish Network and will include 2 channels, including Sahara One and Sahara Samay, with a third, Sahara Filmy following closely behind.  Samay will offer news 24 hours, 7 days per week, which, at times, will offer live feed coming in from India.  The plan on the North American end  will focus on a regional-centric approach, by setting up satellite studios in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago and Toronto, with all information coming in to the New York office (in Long Island City.)  Additionaly programming will include popular live talk shows with beautiful hostesses, like Mandira Bedi (see the cover), and Live Cricket Matches (Sahara sponsors the Indian Cricket Team), feature film presentations and a large number of serials.  

So, in a wildly competitive South Asian media market, dominated by Star, Zee and Sony, a not-so-newcomer is jumping into the fray, with Vaishnav at the helm and bringing Sahara with him.  He understands the affluence of the Indian viewer and feels that those that have not reached a point of affluence, will get their soon enough.  With a recognition that even the illiterate and poor in India are gaining greater access to television, he sees a world that has grown smaller and feels that the potential the win and profit in a congested market is always there.  He believes in quality and professionalism, first, and wants to remind the reader, "Quality always wins in the end."

For more information on Globosat Entertainment Network, see www.globosatent.com

Amir Jamal

Burning In The Belly: Amir Jamal
By Deepmalya Ghosh

You’re a CPA. You’ve landed a great job as a manager with Ernst & Young. Married, with two children, but walking around with a feeling inside that something is missing. It is a, “burning in the belly,” so to speak, because you know that life has more to offer, that you have more to share with the many people who walk on different paths of the constantly shrinking world that we live and die in. What to do? How do you translate that fire? Ask Amir Jamal…He did it!

Amir Jamal, a Pakistani-born accountant working in Saudi Arabia, did it! He, at this point, has burned his voice into millions of minds across the globe. And if you haven’t already, you need only listen to Kaho Na Kaho a few times, if not just once (and preferably with a lover) to have it forever imprinted in your heart.

Now, here is what is really interesting: If you meet Amir Jamal, you can see and feel his mathematics. If you speak with him, you can immediately feel his sequential thought and in fact, you can better understand it when he speaks. Listen to the song, though, and you feel and remember the love & passion of a new partner. Clearly, this is a man who understands the relationship between math & music, and has merged the two. This formula has brought him to a new place in his life. Amir’s fame is growing and he is working on the fuel and strength of his expanding recognition. In October of 2004, Jamal was given the Critics Award for Best Male Playback Singer at the Sangeet Awards, and has been recognized in the US by winning 2 Bollywood Awards, in consecutive years.

When he arrived for the interview, Amir was exhausted and tired from a day that had already included a television interview and business meetings involving efforts to develop a new company called See World, Inc. He, and his business partner, Asif Jamal came to the interview looking a bit weary, but ready to share their thoughts and dreams. Amir first met Asif, in his work on the Bollywood Awards, when Asif brought the singer to the awards. They’ve quickly developed a friendship and instantly started their work on a joint vision of bringing quality entertainment to a global audience. They have tirelessly worked to set up shop in Karachi and Mumbai and are now working on developing their New York base.

Many musicians from India or Pakistan are interesting, and seem more humble. Seriously, in America, if you make a hit single and won accolades and awards for it, you definitely become a celebrity and have your face plastered all over the newsstands and have to tiptoe around a life of groupies and partying. Clearly, you lose your anonymity and privacy. This is not the case for South Asian musicians. In fact, the viewer or listener will more probably associate the song to a movie or to the actor or actress who lip-syncs the song in a movie. Yet, while asking him about that, he did not seem to understand why I felt the question to be so important (and actually, I am now compelled toward his viewpoint). As someone who grew up here, I pretty much thought that these guys might be little more pissed off. But Amir, in his precise and mathematical way, explained that this was something that all artists are prepared for and accept, without thought. He is more proud of knowing that it is his voice and soul behind the acting. We can only hope that this is a lasting quality of Amir Jamal, and one that he is able to maintain as his fame grows. Plans for a concert tour along with the release of his 2nd album, are being finalized for September or October and will include a release party with live broadcast on one of the major South Asian cable channels.

No matter what the outcome of the awards, a new album, a tour or various release parties, I am sure that Jamal will never forget what it was that got him to where he is. As much as he is working on new endeavors and various projects, it was only when I asked who his favorite guitarist was that Amir Jamal’s face lit up. I suppose that is all you really need to ask him to kindle the fire in his belly.

Find out more about Amir Jamal from www.aamirjamal.com
Listen to Amir Jamal on www.raaga.com

Peace!