Not sure whether I should have called it an Idfc Movie or an Amol Gupte movie. Who Amol? Yes the same guy who made Taare zameen par and the Idfc movie ‘One Idiot’. Sequels have a tough time living up to the expectations. I had no expectation when I watched One Idiot (see here.http://www.subramoney.com/2013/01/one-idiot-a-nice-movie/).

Let me start with the positives. It is a hard hitting movie and does its job well. People will sit up and take notice. I guess that is what a 55 year old thinks when he makes (AG) or watches (yours truly) a movie like this. I hope that the 24 year old, and the 34 year old also think like that. I have my reservations, but that is going beyond the brief of this post.

First let me thank the team at Idfc for inviting me for the show and dinner. Thanks guys.

I liked the movie and let me repeat it is likely to hit hard. Even if it means that the kids talk more with their parents, grandparents, bua, kaka and mama, the movie may have hit close home. That will be a good beginning.

BB (Bugs Bhargava) wakes up the kids and says ‘do you want to work for the rest of your life’ – if you do not you need to save. I would have liked him to say ‘and convert that savings to investments’ – because in today’s day and age saving is nice, but not sufficient. Maybe the script writer used the words interchangeably, and I am splitting hairs. Hey, the CA in me is still alive and doing proof reading!

I liked AG showing an old age home where the people were depressed..but in real life there are seriously happy senior citizens home, and I should be entering one in about 10 years time. So I refuse to be judgemental about senior citizens home or old age homes as they are called. I will enter one happily, like my parents have done and are liking it there. So a statement like “My parents are in an old age home” is met with ‘where’ and NEVER ‘why’?

Yes we are in a big crisis in the Retirement space – my book (Retire Rich – Invest Rs. 40 a day) sold 150,000 copies (and counting) – and this in all formats and in 2 languages – English and Hindi (https://www.amazon.in/Retire-Rich-Invest-Rs-Day/dp/9380200641). Sorry, thoda plug in to banta hai, Idfc.

I liked the idea of talking to a bunch of seriously senior citizens being forced to work. I liked the fact that AG’s team may have just found them easily and not have had to search for them. But yes I see vegetable vendors, taxi drivers, etc. who are seriously old but still doing a job – hey nobody told them Retirement is a luxury that has to be ‘bought’ – by starting early.

I liked the acting of the people in the home, Bugs Bhargava, the other actors -sorry I did not catch the names. The music score was very nice – and had one almost tapping. Hey, but unlike the first version, the second one is more serious, and you lose the story..but since it is a short film and there is not too much of a story, it narrates well. Of course, the solution is utopian, but yes, there is such a solution possible. Will BB’s wife look after the old woman, if BB were to drop dead? well we do not know, but again no splitting hairs.

I guess the movie will do a lot of good for the ‘pension’ business. Which means IFa and bank RMs will use this movie to sell direct and indirect ‘pension plans’ – from the life insurance stable and MF stable. IDFC is thinking of the larger picture, but they should have (no I do not think they are naive) a Pension product – or create a synthetic ‘Retirement solution’ which is a combination of debt and equity ….Vishal and team…great work.

by the way I just found that more than 9000 people have seen One idiot on my blog.

Thanks guys once again. If you can get the younger kids to THINK – preferably ACT…you would have set the ball rolling. All the best Idfc, Amol Gupte…and team.