WorthITT – Talent MEETS TECHNOLOGY

Ability Unlimited

In 2010, Syed Sallauddin Pasha came up with the concept of ‘Wheelchair Unlimited’. True to it’s name it was a peculiar concept, which was not received very well by the people of the country. But today, 9 years down the line, this ‘peculiar’ concept has become an international as well national franchise. They are doing performances all over the world and this time nobody is coming in their way.

The whole idea behind this concept is to provide therapy to the differently-abled people. But the catch is, that they use dance as a means to achieve that. They mainly focus on recognising, nurturing and promoting talent among the young differently-abled youngsters. The healing programs especially focuses on finding hidden talents among the indiviudals of the community.

The team at Wheelchair Unlimited works on removing various social stigmas in the areas of education, arts and employment by removing the fear, apathy and fear through dance therapy education, vocational training and professional dance-theatre performances with unique and innovative methodology.

They want the differently-abled people to stand at the same platform as the normal folks. Thus, they believe in the concept of equality,dignity and equal opportunities and full participation. They make sure that differently-abled people don’t feel inferior to the rest of the people in their day-to-day activites.

Syed Sallaudin Pasha also believes that differently-abled people are a dispensible resource to the country, they contain untapped potential and can help in the growth of the nation. It focuses on creating awareness among the population about the needs and problems faced by the diiferently-abled people so that they can empathise with them.

Wheelchair Unlimited has set various Limca and Guiness records by doing performances of one of a kind. This has helped them proper global recognition in the world. With more than 100 performances with a team of over 10,000 dancers. They are all set to make their international entrance.

Dancing Queens- a celebration of trans identity

In the year 2010 at Damodar Hall,Parel a group of dancers mesmerised the audience by their sizzling performance on ‘Main Madhuri Banna Chahti hu.’ That the the audience didn’t reject them, instead they tried to match their steps with them, dance like them. That day is forever marked in the history and in the hearts of the people in Bombay.

Dancing Queens is India’s most popular transgender dancing group. Founded by Abhina Aher, Urmi Jadhav and Madhuri Sarode to give the transgender community a sense of individuality. The group was formed as a part of Queer Azaadi, Mumbai. Also to push the boundaries of Lavani- a Maharashtrian Dance form.

But over the years, it has become a tool of breaking various gender norms and advocate transgender rights. Due to its popularity, it has become a way to generate sources for the Queer Azaadi’s Pride Walk.

Abhina Aher, a postgraduate in social work and a software engineer, is also a national programmer manager with India HIV/AIDS Alliance and heads the Asia Pacific Transgender Network. To her dance was a way to be close to her mother. And it’s because of Dancing Queens she feels that with a different sense of individuality. Being a major fan of Madhuri Dixit, her fans also call her the ‘Madhuri Dixit’ of transgender community.

Dancing Queens also runs a campaign called Job with Dignity, a program to empower the community. The campaign focuses on promoting entrepreneurship so that these people can support themselves financially. This includes initiatives such as garment factory and beauty parlours. They are also in process of making the Dancing Queens as a trust that can provide shelter to the needy people from the community. They also want to spread awareness about transgender rights, and the discrimination they face in the society.

The office- Indian version v The US version

The office is arguably one of the best loved shows in the world. Its relatable premise of a boss that everyone hates but tolerates because they need the job is what makes it a cult classic. The show has been special to a lot of people for a very long time and it has reached a point where much like F.R.I.E.N.D.S and Harry Potter it has acquired a status where most people use watching The Office as a personality trait (it is really not one though). So naturally when someone decided to remake the office in India there were extreme reactions and because I was curious I decided to watch both the versions and do a comparison. I am only going to be comparing the first season because the Indian office has only one season yet.

Right off the bat the Indian seems to be trying to improve upon the US version. I say improve and not copy for a reason. They have not made any major changes to the script and dialogues except right where the US version was lacking. For example the first episode of the indian version is diversity day and not downsizing. Which is a great decision because it gives us a background on the characters and helps us understand the reaction everyone has to the news. We already know Chadha is a moron which gives context to the moment when everyone is actually relieved about being let go off. It also tries to give characters some more background. Dwight’s Indian counterpart for example is in a group that sounds a lot like Desh Premi and it gives a first time viewer a better understanding of his motivations instead of making him look like an innocent awkward nerd whose colleague puts all his supplies into jello to bully him. Instead someone like him being hated at work makes perfect sense. My favourite part however is the indianisation of jokes. It makes them considerably funnier.

Overall Indian version is great if we talk about first time viewers and they are its biggest market as well. This is neither made for nor does it intend to impress the urban minority that speaks in English and has a lot of context of American culture. This is completely fine. Being appealing to upper middle class is not the only measure of quality. This show takes unabashed digs at the bigotry and problematic behaviour in India and it can really help its audience understand what the problem with that behaviour it is. This is a step forward in the Indian entertainment department.

If we compare first season to first season then there is no doubt that the Indian office takes the cake. Mostly because it already had a lot of material available telling them how to improve upon the original. However whether or not it is as good as rest of the season is hard to tell. We will have to wait and find out.

Good Omens- A hilarious take on every grim thing in the world

What if God’s great plan was not the ineffable plan? What if Angels were not really better than demons? What if an angel and a demon were the best of friends? What if the Antichrist was actually an adorable child who tried to stop Armageddon with his cute dog and his friends?
Good omens is the answer to all these what ifs and more.
The story starts of with God herself (yes she’s a woman. Ariana was right who knew) narrating to us the events that have been going on since the beginning of earth.
Frances McDormand as God is perfect. I don’t remember the last time I enjoyed a narrator so much. Her voice is easy on the ears and she is hilarious.
Crowley, played by David Tenant, and Aziraphale, played by Michael Sheen, are the stars of the show. Crowley in all his devilish swagger and Aziraphale with his angelic wholesomeness are worth every single second. Every frame with even one of these in them is automatically heavenly. This is not to say that the rest of the cast is not good. They are brilliant as well. Every character seems extremely real despite being downright comical at times all thanks to the wonderful cast.

The cinematography is wonderful. Most scenes look straight out of a painting and the show transitions between various different aesthetics smoothly and even ties them together well in the climax scene. It is by far the most accurate and justified adaptation of any fantasy fiction in recent times.

The best part of the show however is how it takes a grim topic like apocalypse and handles in such a comical manner without making light of the situation. In doing so it even leaves you with a tiny bit of hope about the world.

The Not So Subtle Art Of Branding

Even when we are taught that ‘image’ does not mean everything and we should try and look more on the inside. ‘Branding’ is an important thing in today’s world. Especially for artists, your brand is what is supposed to define you and inform your consumer about your art style and approach.

Branding is what makes you different from your peers in the market. Branding is what conveys the essence of your work to the world. From what your work entails to the audience you’re targeting at. Branding is supposed to do all of that.

Especially if you’re starting out, branding is important as it plays a key role in determining the success of your work. Thus, it’s important to find the right kind of branding for your work. We know it can be a daunting task so we have done some research for you and complied a list what you can/cannot do.

The most important thing before you start out is research.

RESEARCH YOUR AUDIENCE

Your branding not only contains the essence of your product but also the audience you’re targeting. That’s why it is important to know what they want and expect from you. Make customer profiles and do comparative studies. Try understanding the subject that would interest them based on their age, gender, sexual orientation, occupation etc. Make sure your art connects with all of them not just a specific group of your target audience.

RESEARCH ABOUT THE MARKET

You need to know the condition of the market. Even when it’s importance is more or less self-explanatory. You need to know everything about your competition. From their target audience, to their product and how they resonate with the market. Because unless you don’t know what you’re competing, you cannot be successful.

DEVELOP A UNIQUE LOGO

A unique logo is important because it is how you’ll be recognized in the market. It is how your brand will be presented everywhere. You need to have proper variations so that your logo is compatible, for example in Instagram the space is very small. So, your logo has to adjust accordingly. Don’t forget that the way your logo is, people will perceive your brand accordingly. So, make sure you use the right colour schemes and pictures.

Instagram Algorithm And Why They Hate You

In a few seconds to 2019, companies are all set with new offers and schemes to lure customers. They raid all social platforms to make sure people know about it. From Facebook to Instagram, they try every social media marketing hack available. They are sure that they’ll have a good sale

But they notice something rather peculiar. Their ‘reach’ on Instagram is comparatively less.

They are shocked thinking what could be the reason for this. They call in their experts to look into matters only to realise this.

Instagram has changed its algorithm. So, instead of seeing posts in a chronogical order. It is influenced by your likes or what is trending.

This is a major blow for companies as now only 10% of the total audience can view their content.

So, can one increase their reach with the current algorithm?

Yes ,even with the current algorithm one can increase their reach on Instagram. Because one of the most important feature of this algorithm to provide users good content even if it’s from lesser-known websites.

So, to help you we did our little research and came up with the few things that might help with your little (Read: big) problem.

INCREASE YOUR NUMBER OF POSTS.

Since Instagram tries to bring diversity in what a user sees. Posting more can help you. Because once you start posting, Instagram will try to diversify your posts as much as possible.Thus, increasing the number of people who see it. And it is also because this picture your current followers will not be a victim of your little ‘spam’. And that’s a win-win!

But you need to make sure that the frequency of those posts is maintained throughout. Because even when you gather audience, your reach is still at stake. That’s why you need to consistent.

INVEST IN QUALITY.

Even when your posting often your reach will still be sacrificed as Instagram focuses on showing users what they like. So, if your posts receive a lot of likes Instagram will try to show users posts similar to that because Instagram believes that because you like this that means you want to see more of it. This is why viral content spreads so quickly on Instagram.

So, make sure that your contents connects with your target as well as present audience.

FIND OUT WHEN YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE IS MOT ACTIVE

Most important part is to find out when your audience is most active. Because only then can you get your required reach. Without that you’d just be a speaker talking to dead crowd. And we know that nobody wants that.

USE PROPER HASHTAGS.

Hashtags have always played a major role in our ‘Instagramming’ But with the new feature that allows us to follow our favourite hashtags it’s a great way to reach out to the audience. As because of this feature, users will be seeing posts of the accounts they don’t follow but use the hashtag which they’re following.

Typewriter- Kids shine through as the stars of the story

Netflix released it’s first horror project in India by the name of Typewriter a few days ago and boy was I pumped. The series looked promising to say the least. The teaser was perfectly cut, the cast was studded with talented gems like Paulomi Das and Purab Kohli, and premise of four children banding together to find a ghost was the essential element of nostalgia that the Indian scene craved. So did this series live up to the hype? Well, keep reading to find out.

Before we get to anything else I would like to point out that if you are looking for something new and experimental in the genre this is not it. As the trailer established the story arc is a well travelled road. A haunted house and band of kids trying to take down a ghost is something that has been done innumerable times before. In fact the very first scene in the show has a striking resemblance to another Netflix original “Haunting of the Hill House” but that is where the resemblance to the series ends.

The story begins with the death of Madhav Mathews and her granddaughter, Jenny (Palomi Ghosh), and her family shifting into his house. Unsurprisingly, the house is known to be haunted. Her moving into the house sets in motion a series of events that lead to many mysterious deaths. All of which are linked by Jenny alone.

The biggest charm of the Netflix original are the four children and their dog “Buddy”. The band is comprised of Sam, Jenny’s son Nick, Gablu, and Bunty, played by Arna Sharma, Aaryansh Malviya, Milkail Gandhi and Palash Kamble. These children are motivated by most children are motivated by- sheer curiosity and they try to satisfy it with the mere bookish knowledge of Madhav Mathews’ book and courage.

Bardez’s famous five, lead by the wilful and vulnerable Sam are an adorable and intelligent bunch. They connect the dots between all the events and solve the mystery.

The story is strong and well written as far as the suspense part is concerned. It is clear that Sujay is a master of the genre. Where the story falls short is the horror. It is riddled with jumpscares that have been overused in the horror genre to a point where they are not even scary anymore. If you are horror buff you will probably see the jumpscare coming from a mile away. However the suspense is still strong enough to keep you hooked.

It however is surprisingly aware of its more traditional approach to storytelling. The story knows what it is and does not aim to be anything more. There’s nothing wrong with that. So would I recommend Typewriter to you? Why not? The story invokes a nostalgia with its child characters and it is suspenseful enough to keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. It’s also fairly short with only 5 episodes and there isn’t a single dull moment.

How to overcome performance anxiety?

Around 40% of all adults experience one or other sort of performance anxiety. It is a common problem that affects people all across the world equally despite their experience in performing arts. It is completely possible that a dancer with 20+ years of experience has the same level of anxiety as a person who just started dancing. It is also possible that the newcomer has no anxiety at all but the experienced dancer is full of it. Performance anxiety is more commonly known as stage fright and that is what it literally is- the fear of being on stage.

If your mind blanks out when you are up on a stage about to give your performance it is highly possible that you have performance anxiety. While for some it is as minor has being jittery on the day of their performance for others it can be as major as full blown panic attacks at the mere thought of being the centre of attention. So what to do when you acquire performance anxiety as a person who performs for a living?

Cut down on your caffeine

I know, I know your sleep schedule is messed up and you need to wake up on time to work but caffeine is really bad for your anxiety. It basically amplifies all the symptoms of anxiety. Try to not consume any caffeine the day of your performance and eat a healthy balanced meal the day before the performance so you have sufficient amount of energy the day you perform.

Shift your focus

This maybe something you would have heard before but try to shift your focus to how much you enjoy your performance instead of how much other people may enjoy it. This helps you reduce your anxiety by distraction. You get anxiety because you are hyper-focused on what could go wrong. If you focus only on your enjoyment then that concern goes away simply because nothing can go wrong if the only person you are performing for is yourself.

Jump

As weird as it sounds it is extremely helpful. Jumping, running, dancing, any physically intensive activity is great to relieve you of your anxiety. It helps you stabilize your heartbeat and shake the tension from your muscles. It also helps release dopamine which can calm you down to a huge degree. So before a huge performance literally shake it off.

Meditation

Meditation or breathing exercises in general can help you calm down to a huge degree. A controlled breathing exercise is a great way to help yourself collect your thoughts. It helps you diverge your focus from the panic to yourself and your breathing and it keeps it there until the anxiety subsides.

Performance anxiety is a common problem but if it happens to you often it could become a real issue with how you function. To keep functioning normally it is important for you to remember that this is a normal illness just like a cold or a migraine and it is completely normal for you to seek professional help for it just like you would with a physical illness. There are a lot of online support groups and therapists available which are free for everyone. Try reaching out to one of them for help if you feel like it.

How to overcome a creative block?

Creative blocks are a common and normal part of an artist’s life. It happens to the best of us. Creative blocks happen when one has been producing art consistently every single day. The person starts to burn out and hits what we call a creative block. Another reason for your creative block could be the fact that you are concentrating on other people and how good they are at something and envying them instead of focusing on your own art. This leads to a feeling of discontent and dissatisfaction that eventually leads to inability to produce more creative content.

Whatever the reason for your block maybe, it is undeniable that for someone who depends on creative work for their livelihood, it can be harmful for your survival. Even if you do not depend on creative expression for your livelihood it can still put your mood off to have a creative block. Here are a few ways to deal with your creative block

Consume more art

A writer once said “Inspiration won’t come to you. You have to go after it with a club.” This is one of the ways to go after it with a club. If you are facing a creative block then consider giving a day or two to doing nothing but consuming art. Go to a gallery, watch a theatre performance, or just Netflix and chill at home. Point is get yourself involved in consumption of creative products. This will engage your mind once again and put it on ease. Eventually you’ll be inspired to create something new as well!

Have fun with it!

All the creatives are guilty of one thing- people pleasing. We often write poetry, paint, or dance because we want appreciation. This need for appreciation kills the motivation. You need to let go. If you hold yourself in constraints of what people may or may not like you will not be able to create anything because this will lead to you rejecting most of your ideas before you even begin to work on them.

Create to create

This is the obvious solution. Just make things because you want to not because they are deep or magnificent. Remember what it was like doing this as a child or a beginner where you were only doing it because it was fun. In having fun with the process you will naturally get more creative and innovative.

Give in

As counterproductive as it sounds this is a real solution to the problem. Just give in to the block and allow yourself to feel everything that is going on with you. Why don’t you want to make more art? If you want to what is stopping you? Really feeling these things may help you unlock what you’ve buried inside. This might also help you get motivated and who knows this may end up in you creating a very personal piece about your block.

Creative blocks are completely normal and it is okay to have them. However if it is seriously upsetting you and these tips don’t help feel free to discuss this with your mental health professional if you have one. Artists are one of the most vulnerable creatures and it is important for you to take your mental health seriously. Remember Van Gogh didn’t paint the sunflowers when he was depressed, he painted them in the little happy phases that he had where he was emotionally stable.

Argo: Fiction Presented Better than Truth

The movie “Argo” is about what happened during the Iran hostage crisis during the 1979 Iranian revolution. The CIA and Hollywood collaborated in an undercover operation to rescue six American embassy staff members. The movie is based on a book by Tony Mendez- an ex-CIA officer; and an article from the NY Times, but the real incidence lacked any drama. What turns the movie into a memorable entertainer is how the director and screenwriter recognized this and remedied it by infusing enough humour and believable story turns to bring to us an entertaining albeit fictitious escape film.

In the movie, director Ben Affleck portrays the tension between the U.S and Iran by using emotions and faith which grips people when it happened and still lingers on the American psyche. Using some stock footage and staged scenes, the director establishes the background of political turmoil and the role of the USA in it which turned Iran hostile towards the USA in the title sequence. With the setting done right, the film becomes a thrilling, tense and captivating ride — despite the fact that we inevitably are aware of the ending. This is Ben Affleck’s third venture as a director and second time being his own actor. The steller cast let by him includes Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Richard Kind, Philip Baker Hall, and Bryan Carston.

As an actor, Ben Affleck’s mediocre performance is foiled by superb acting by the supporting cast. Affleck leaves the minute reactions which enhance the film to be done by greats like Arkin, Goodman, and Cranston, in supporting roles. His deadpan persona works here in his favour to pull off the role of the CIA infiltrator. As a director also, the potboiler screenplay developed by Chris Terrio saves the film. For dramatic effect, writer Chris Terrio adds situations which elevate the drama of the film. So does the breakneck pace of filming and editing of a scene, superbly witty dialogues, a setting charged with an invisible antagonist of a particular religion, aptly recreated production designs, and an unreal but nail-biting climax.

The singularity of an American white male point of view used throughout shows every Iranian as either a hate-filled puppet or as a silent and dumb spectator. None of the American characters seemed to even try to understand what is happening around them in Iran, and although it is fun to watch, it is not a true account of what happened.

The part that elevates the film is the subplot of setting up mock film production. This smartly written section is mildly sarcastic and gently mocks the inner workings of Hollywood. It also shows the audience the parallels of faking a film production and a CIA mission. With this one part, this taut thriller partially becomes a satire about film making itself.

So Argo has some good points from supporting cast’s acting skills, cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto (Brokeback Mountain), meticulously done production design and smart choices in sound and editing which work for it. Watch it as a well-crafted James Hadley Chase book adopted on-screen.

Written By: Sushant Bhagwat

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