POPCORN REVIEWSS

Based on a book by Vinay Kamath, and written by Niraj Dasa, Kandarp Shroff and Karan Vyas, you immediately get a glimpse of the Tata work-culture when you are introduced to the two protagonists – Xerxes Desai (Jim Sarbh) and JRD Tata (Naseeruddin Shah) at the start of Made In India: A Titan Story. In an early scene, you see the empathetic side of Xerxes who brings umbrellas for the workers staging a protest, just so that don’t get wet. You also see him working out a strategy to reach a middle-ground with the management – just so that everybody benefits from the project, including the workers whom he refers to as ‘developers’.

In another scene, you see him reasoning with a character who has just been demoted, only to send a bunch of flowers to her with the note on how she still remains his favourite employee. Elsewhere, you also witness JRD Tata telling a character to enjoy his first day, citing a question on ‘who even works on the 1st day?’ These moments remain fleeting but important in establishing the empathetic approach of an empire that looked at people beyond the usual profit and loss assets.

One of the core dynamics that the writing focuses on, is between Xerxes and JRD aka Jeh (as he was fondly called), with the latter doubling up as a life mentor with pearls of advice sprinkled in the narrative. Be it backing the idea of a ‘Make In India’ watch company with a global ambition, or quietly pushing Xerxes in board-meetings to avoid a conflict of interest, or being firm with his set of requirements to counter complacency, or even nudging Xerxes to try again and probably fail better the next time – the bar of leadership being set is pretty righteous and encouraging in equal measures.

Another important dynamic remains between Xerxes and Akash (Vaibhav Tatwawaadi), an erstwhile Jai-Viru combo that would go onto define the foundation of their company. Essentially, both these characters are pretty much the same people – putting company goals beyond everything else, being pillars and the mentors to founding members like Megha (Kaveri Seth) and Gaurav (Lakshvir Singh Saran), often indulging in disagreements but being the best of friends otherwise. In a couple of heartwarming instances, you see the friend in Xerxes apologising to Akash, while in another, you see the latter willing to swallow his ego and uncertainty while joining forces with his fellow teammate!

Interestingly, both these characters are shown to be making sacrifices at their homes too – with Akash having to compete with his father’s deteriorating memory, and Xerxes having to miss out on important events of his children while having to stay away from home for work. Who said entrepreneurship was easy? Who said setting up a brand from scratch was easy? The impact of it you get to know in two specific instances – one wherein Akash’s father refuses to recognize him, and other wherein Xerxes gets to know about his daughter’s writing skills.

The narrative from a structural perspective is crowd-pleasing as opposed to being complex which isn’t such a bad thing given that the emotions land beautifully. From a quirky encounter with a goon initiated as a part of the market research initially, to convincing the Tata board for greenlighting the project. From hiring founding members through interesting activities and convincing the government for the land in exchange for employment, to designing swanky designs for the wrist watches. From applying for loans to eventually distributing their own ‘convenient’ quartz watches. From disagreements on structural changes of the organization to eventually planning a gateway to expand it on a global scale. From the idea of changing the consumer habit of switching from a traditional watch that needed to be wound, to creating a famous jingle (an Indian rendition using Mozart’s 25th Symphony) for attracting customers – the moments are simplistic but feel like a warm hug.

In the midst of things, I really liked the cross-cultural inferences being infused in the narrative – be it that of a Parsi and Maharashtrian joining forces for an iconic watch brand. Or a foreigner warming up to the Indian culture by taking a liking to the Idlis. Or a set of characters returning the favour by giving him idlis as his farewell gift. Or a Japanese character giving to the requirements of the Indian characters after consuming an Indian sweet. Or even a character ably speaking Tamil and Japanese in two different instances to narrow the language barrier. It was a beautiful life lesson of togetherness that formed a key value of the Tata empire. So if we grow, we all grow together!

The narrative comprises of these heartfelt moments that supersede the fact that the narrative doesn’t really get into the depth of any issue, while consistently remaining on the surface. Perhaps that was also reflective of the times when life was simple and every little obstacle wasn’t equated to life and death, and when solutions felt simple enough to discreetly also carry some inspiring life-lessons of turning up and continuing even when things spiralled downwards. As a result, even the abrupt end didn’t bother me much – given that I was thoroughly invested in a narrative that chose warmth over complexity and depth, people over problems, and celebration over obstacles – much like the Tatas back in the day! The screenplay in that sense, is a celebration of Indian entrepreneurship, while being a winner through and through!