The power of a tweet has grown immensely. Elon Musk could take the Dogecoin down by 25 % and affect the robust BITCOIN to go down by 18% with just a tweet. The second tweet was his realization that crypto mining affects the environment and contributes to global warming. If this environmental tweet would have been done by Donal Trump or even Warren Buffet, for that matter, it’s still understandable. But coming from someone the ilk of Musk who has more tech in his DNA than red blood cells? That’s something new. Paypal, SpaceX, Tesla, if he did not get in the first instance that mining crypto has environmental issues, then it’s a severe problem.
Quite vocally, he announced his investments in Crypto, making it mainstream and making it fashionable for people everywhere to invest their disposable income and play with it. No one wants to be sitting ten years hence and miss the rocket of crypto, which can either explode or take you to Mars, where Elon’s colony is being made. It seems to be a safer bet to have a holiday home on Mars with the viruses around!
The Crypto industry is volatile and confusing. It’s not for everyone and is radically different from investment in mutual funds and equity, which comes with a disclaimer: Investments are subjected to market risks. Crypto Investments are sometimes subjected to powerful mens’ tweets, mood, temperament, and global warming. Sure, there are opportunities, and I genuinely believe in blockchain. The next issue is coming up with a unique story on Crypto Billionaires.
I remember six years ago, we had organized a conference on Crypto where we invited gentlemen from France, the Netherlands, and other parts of Europe. Still, the laws of the land were so confusing that we had to keep its profile low. For now, investing in crypto is not illegal. Still, there are very grey areas that we have to be careful about, for no bank and politicians worldwide would like to cede control on financial markets. That might just be a significant deterrent to the rocketship called Crypto. Till we duck the second wave, stay home, stay safe.
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Back to square one. This time last year, things were pretty much the same. We were in lockdown, confused, and the fear of the unknown. This year, we know how to deal with Covid and know somewhere there are vaccines, but still, uncertainty looms large on us. It’s been almost a year since we have attended any tech launches. Automobile brands have no choice, and they have also been forthcoming.
We have seen the whole house attending almost whenever a launch invite hits our mailboxes, be it the Hyundai Alcazar at Alila fort or the VW Taigun in Goa, the Renault Kyger, or the Mercedes A-class. I really can’t wait to meet folks from the tech industry at a banquet hall or on top of a fort or a boat. Face to Face meets is what the craving is for.
Uncertainty breeds chaos and challenges the status quo. This is why we are seeing a colossal jump in Bitcoin pricing to reach its current price of Rs 46 lakh. It’s mind-boggling to see the opportunity lost, and tech entrepreneurs, including Musk, have been investing rather openly in it. Most tech entrepreneurs have this resulting fire to change the world, challenge everything, and don’t want to hand control currencies into the hands of the government. There are massive pros and cons of bitcoin and cryptocurrency, and we can quickly write a book about it, but we can’t ignore it either. Ether is another crypto on a meteoric rise, and we have gone down to a miniature crash course to mine it, just in case, it tickles your brain somewhere.
It is impossible to decode the future of the world. Electric cars and lithium batteries leave an enormous carbon footprint and have damaging effects. Improperly disposed batteries contribute to water and air pollution. When depleted, these batteries are tossed into the trash, and they end up in landfills, where they decay and leak. As the batteries corrode, their chemicals soak into the soil and contaminate groundwater and surface water.
With the large-scale adoption of electric cars and waiting on the brink is a booming recycling industry, these batteries will also find better use after discarding. Hopefully, we will breathe clean air in time to come. Until that happens, do your bit to save energy. Remember that a 2 degree further rise in our temperature will have catastrophic effects. Even worse than Covid.
Intro: From being a filmy young boy who started his journey at age 16 to being known as “Ye voi jo gaadia udata hai”, Rohit Shetty’s journey as one of Bollywood’s most successful directors has been nothing short of magical. In a candid interview with Ramesh Somani, Rohit unveils his lesser-known side and first-hand insight into the world behind his lens.
Ramesh Somani: You love powerful machines that tear up the road, and you are unstoppable just like the Jeep. How has been your journey? Rohit Shetty: My journey has been, I would say, adventurous. It was quite filmy, like a boy who starts his journey at 16 and has seen a lot in life. Dad is one of the finest action directors of his time, and I wanted to be like him, so I started doing car stunts at the age of 18. All I ever wanted to be was an action director, so I started with it, and I got to work with Ajay’s father, a renowned action director. I learnt a lot from him, and then I was working as an assistant director. Gradually, it started with being an action director and then every other thing happened with the flow. Before working as an AD, Ajay, with whom I was working, started his production. Then came a turn in my life where he said now you direct a film and that’s how everything happened. That’s why you see in all my movies that cars blow up and action scenes because the action director is still there inside me.
Ramesh Somani: You’ve had a long history with cars. You’ve driven them, blown them apart, sent them hundreds of feet in the air. Which moment is your favourite one among them? Rohit Shetty: I have done more than 100 stunts with a car. We have blown up more than 200 vehicles. To be honest, I have even lost count of it. I also do a show called Fear Factor and because of that, what has happened to me is I love action. I have met the action teams worldwide, like how food lovers meet other food lovers who have the same taste of food or fashion, but I met many action teams when I was doing Fear Factor. At that point, I created my group, which is also from around the world. If there is some specific stunt I want to do or want some stunt guy to do it, I call them from Cape Town, Bulgaria, and multiple places like those and work together. In my latest movie Suryavanshi, I have a bike stunt in which the stunt guy is from Bulgaria. The other for the car stunt is from Cape Town so that’s how these come together and shoot for me. We had a CGI shot with drifting, so they did it. Coming back to your question, the Guinness book of the world record for a topple is for Casino Royale. You will not believe the Bulgarian driver name Kaleem. He was shooting and did a 7 round, but the record is for eight topples, so if we had two more, we would have broken the world record for it.
Ramesh Somani: Do you love adventure and sports? Driving on rugged terrains? What have you been itching to do next? Rohit Shetty: I just want to go to the next level, and now because we have a team, it is like a family. As you say, the world is small. Now we work along with worldwide people. Sometimes we have people from abroad coming here for shoots, and we have our people going there. Hence, I just want to keep increasing the level. If you see the Hollywood projects, they have bigger budgets and more sophisticated equipment, and we here don’t even have a proper drifting school like the ones in South Africa or America. I want to open an action school where people can train, and we can create worldwide drivers under one roof and not only that, I want to expand Hindi cinema when action is concerned.
Ramesh Somani: If you have to take this Jeep to an off-roading destination – where will you dash out to? Rohit Shetty: I have never been to the Himalayas. I would take this Jeep to the Himalayas, and I have not even visited Leh and Ladakh. I think I am the only director who has not shot in Leh and Ladakh.
Ramesh Somani: Which is the most recent car you crashed while shooting, and how did you do it? Rohit Shetty: The most recent car crash was a few days ago, it was a Honda Accord and we were shooting for a noodle ad. There is a team that was working with my father at that time and my team as well. The driver who skids the car is my father’s team member’s son so basically, we have three generations of drivers with us. People think that we topple cars, and it’s straightforward, but that’s not the case. It is a dangerous thing we do, and many mechanisms go under the process. The main priority is the driver’s safety. We put a cage around the car, which is like piping. It’s used so that after the vehicle is toppled, it does not crash. We will make sure the whole unit is safe and precautions are taken. One example of this is we had a stunt with a Lexus SUV, so for that, a lot of things had to be considered, like the engine weight and the platform through which it is going to be jumped. We have to gauge how much speed it should be jumped so that it lands appropriately, and so much science goes behind this. Still, in our country, there is no respect for it.
Ramesh Somani: Difficult people or difficult situations, what’s your mantra to handle them calmly? Rohit Shetty:Difficult people and difficult situations; to be honest, I have not faced anything like that till now. My mantra, though, is that we have to stay firm with difficult people and polite people. At work, you lose your temper sometimes, but it’s natural. My team, which is working with me, has been with me for over five years. They are married and are still working with
me. Some have been working for more than 15 years, so they know my temper.
Ramesh Somani: Your garage is very envious. Let’s start with the Urus. How do you like it and what’s next in your buy? Rohit Shetty:I like the one I am driving right now, the Jeep Wrangler. I am buying the first assembled Indian Wrangler. As our PM says, we should be an Atmanirbhar Bharat, and I am happy and thrilled to be buying this car. It is a great car to drive and the pricing is exceptional. It is how a Jeep should be. The most important thing while driving the jeep is that you should be able to see the bonnet. Another dream car that I have is G63.
Ramesh Somani: What does the word legend mean to you? What do you think are the qualities one must possess to be legendary? Rohit Shetty: It all started gradually. When I started, I wanted to become an action director who was in love with cars since he was a kid. When I started doing stunts for my films after 2-3 movies, I realised that I am becoming like a brand to everyone who connects you with cars. Now people recognise me with “Ye voi jo gaadia udata hai”. But this was not the plan. I was working on my movies, but then I realised I have become like a brand. It is sporadic that what you love becomes your profession, and now that I have reached this position, I feel the most important thing is honesty towards my life, fans, movies. Whatever I do, it has to be honest. My first movie that crossed the 100cr mark was in 2010, and it’s been 11 years since each of my films has crossed that mark. And it’s not that I am some great director. It’s the people I work with, like the actors, technicians and the entire crew, that make it possible.
Ramesh Somani: Movie making requires significant teamwork, and you are the captain, some leadership advice you would like to share? Rohit Shetty: Being a leader, the most important thing is there are a lot of sacrifices involved. If somebody does something wrong, you have to stand by their side and say, I am with you, which makes it unique. As a leader, how my character will be my team will behave accordingly. If my team is working for 18 hours, I’ll see that I am working for 20 hours. The leader has to work more than the team. Another most important thing is to treat them as a family. I make sure that salary and all are fine, but the team also knows that I am there for them whenever they need me.
Ramesh Somani: The pandemic halted the world for the better part of the last year; things are slowly but steadily coming back to normal; how has the return to work been for you? Rohit Shetty: Pandemic hit us all. After a month or so, no one knew what was going on. When will things get to normal? How will things happen from now? I had a company to run, I didn’t know what to do, my film was about to be released, and we had to hold it back because the theatres were shut. I mean, people are still asking when the movie will come, and all, but what I had in mind was that the world wouldn’t get over, right? I went out to shoot Fear Factor in July. I did not meet my family as my mother lives with me, and she is old. I did not want to risk her life, but I was shooting, and life has to move on. That time was also tricky. I had to stay in isolation for 45 days during the shoots, but I started working, and that is the only way, and now if you see we are not out of the pandemic, but people are working currently, going to offices and now we have accepted it that we have to live with it.
Quickies
Ramesh Somani:What do you enjoy more? Directing or hosting? Rohit Shetty: Directing, for sure. Ramesh Somani: If you could sum up your experience as a director in one hashtag, what would it be? Rohit Shetty: #Magical Ramesh Somani: If you could choose just one car for the rest of your life which one would you choose? Rohit Shetty: Range Rover Ramesh Somani:Who is your favourite director that you look up to? Rohit Shetty:There is not just one, but if I have to name a few, Raju Hirani, Shankar, Rajamouli, James Cameron and Michael Bay. Ramesh Somani: One actor/actress you wish to direct? Rohit Shetty: I want to make a full-fledged film with Mr Amitabh Bacchan.
Ramesh Somani:Would you choose an EV or a petrol engine in the long run? Rohit Shetty: It depends. I have not driven an EV. If the EV gives me the same kind of performance as a petrol engine, then definitely go for an EV. Ramesh Somani:What app do you check first when you get up. Rohit Shetty:Instagram Ramesh Somani: Which Books inspire you, and which ones are currently on your reading list? Rohit Shetty: Goldy, Vijay Anand Autobiography. Ramesh Somani: Which are some of the best roads you have driven on? What’s the farthest you have gone or travelled on a single trip? Rohit Shetty: Cape Town, I love the roads there.
Ramesh Somani: There is so much tech that is used in movie-making, especially yours. Tell us some of the cool techs that you use. Rohit Shetty: There are many things, but the most exciting thing we use is a crane named a Boult, it moves within seconds, and then there is this camera I love called the Phantom. Ramesh Somani: Your upcoming film “Cirkus” starring Ranvir Singh recently got a release date of 31 December 2021. How excited are you about the movie? Rohit Shetty:It is quite a mix of all things. It’s based in the ’60s and ’70s, and it’s a funny entertainer. We are trying to get a new feel to it with many special effects, and it’s like a fairy tale world.
Uncertainty: We all live in such uncertain times that to predict the future would require epic levels of algorithms with master codes of Artificial Intelligence. Everything that we do today and the way we live is up for change. Let’s start with the vaccination for Covid-19, which is underway. But what is not uncertain is how long the antibodies will remain, and the word “mutation” is by far the most challenging word to know. How the virus will mutate and what strain it will take is beyond imagination. It can be catastrophic, or it can just take the Covid- 19 saga to the history books. Let’s take cars, for instance. The future is undoubtedly electric, but lithium is in short supply, and the amount of power we would need will quickly outpace the power we can generate to charge all the EVs in the world. Autonomous driving is around the corner, and flying cars will soon fly us to the distant future.
The shape of our smartphones is continuously changing. Foldable smartphones are here. Next could be rollable and expandables which can pose a severe threat to the television industry and maybe laptops to a certain extent and the tablet space whose existence as a category will be challenged. The embryonic chips in the works can be instead in your skull and mapped to your brain, which will throw internal projection to the “screen lenses” you will be wearing over your retina, just like the regular lenses. And the Siri commands in the future can change to “play the Avengers movie with Jr Brad Pitt as the actor”, and it will be playing in your eyes, all connected seamlessly through the chip. Scary, right? But this could be a reality, just like the dystopic society of Pitta Kathalu, with one episode starring Shruti Hasan streaming on Netflix. A reality check is essential.
For now, we have the real-life hero Rohit Shetty, who, apart from flying blowing cars [his last one was lexus], is a very humble soul who has worked his way up. Success does not come easy. You have to start early and work hard. His whole journey to be one of the most successful directors, which started at the age of 16, is an inspiration. Only people driven by passion reach somewhere. Coincidentally, we went with Ananya Birla in a Lamborghini Urus, whose tag line is driven with passion, and Rohit Shetty owns a URUS. Enjoy the issue
This is our new section, where we will pick up a few gadgets and live with it for at least a month or longer, the first one in our “Exhibit Lab” is the Samsung Z fold2. It indeed is a fascinating smartphone and usually gets all the attention, even from Apple fanboys who all have loved the “Screen Presence” and the touch and feel of the device, and then they shrug it off, with an “oh, Android” sigh. Initial few days will take some time to carry the weight around, but once you get used to it and if you are on the go, there isn’t a better device. I did not touch my iPad at all. Right from my morning newspaper to Kindle reading before I hit the bed in the night. Ok even Netflix binging is very immersive on the screen with a near bezel-less, and the screen gets wholly optimized with an end-to-end viewing experience.
It did fall off from my desk a few times, but the “shock absorbers” built-in absorbed it and ensured that the screen did not get any crack. The Aluminium frame and the Corning Gorilla glass do act as shields for these accidental drop-offs. My work requires me to check designs, compose long emails, and you can do that easily with both finger typing and folding out. Yes, for WhatsApp texting, the screen from the outside does feel at times a shade smaller. Battery life is decent to live by. Speakers are quite loud; loud enough to get your hotel room or suite noisy and a small party can continue. The camera is not the best, and S21 and S20 Ultra will do a better job than the Apple iPhone12, but Z Fold2 never thumped its chest on the camera front.
The only worry was always to take it for a run. If you are the sort who would usually hold it in your palm and run, you are sorted. You can’t tuck it in your tracks and shorts and expect to complete a marathon, nor can you take it for biking.
All in all, fold2 is a great phone to live with and live by. On the downside, missed having a stylus, missed a larger battery life and I would strongly recommend Samsung that in its next iteration they should think of a sleeker and squarer phone with a wider outer screen. The device’s length is perfect, and when it folds out at 7.6 inches, it looks dapper. But if you ask me, an ideal fold3 should fold out to an 8.2-inch screen and weigh less than 225gm. The fold2 currently weighs 282 gm and puts things in perspective, the Samsung S21 ultra weighs 169 gm.
PRICE: ₹ 149,998
Specs: DIMENSIONS
Unfolded: 159.2 x 128.2 x 6.9 mm
Folded: 159.2 x 68 x 16.8 mm
Weight 282 g
DISPLAY TYPE Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+
Size: 7.6 inches
Resolution: 1768 x 2208 pixels
Cover display: 6.23″, Super AMOLED, 816 x 2260 pixels (25:9), Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
When you get a car like the first-ever M8 Coupe, for a couple of days, what do you do? You plan a short trip. Hence we zeroed in on Alibaug since the M2M ferry ride with the M8 was an exciting proposition, and we had an invitation from my friend Devita Saraf who owns Vu Televisions for her 85-inch Armani clad TV launch. They called and she promised me we could shoot anywhere in the artistic villa where the launch was taking place. Just like you are always in search of water in the desert, we are forever looking for backdrops, clean roads to drive, and something new. So this kind of invitation was tempting and we booked our seats on the M2M ferry. But we didn’t read the finer lines, unfortunately (more of that later.) The M8 is such an exclusive car that when you go to book online amongst the choices of cars under BMW, it has everything including M2 but not M8! Anyway, the ferry starts at 7.30 am from Mumbai to Mandwa [ port of Alibaug] and you have to reach 30 mins earlier. That’s what we missed and then we tossed a coin and chose heads to take the roads, and heads it was. As they say, when you start your voyage, you do not return unfinished. Later, we realized the pathetic state of roads towards Alibaug will test our manoeuvring skills and mind control to the fullest and we had to pull over, measure the craters and anticipate the ground clearance with our imaginary inch tape, step back inside and glide over it, without any ground touches that is. Imagine when you are strapped inside a machine that has 600 horses under it and you are driving at 15-20 kmph for a bad patch of stretch, you will just be cursing heavens up for everything. This makes me give the judgment that the ground clearance of M8 which is 128 mm (About 5 inches) and is lesser than the Lamborghini Huracan Evo RWD which is 135mm, but slightly higher than the Ferrari Portofino which is 120 mm can surprisingly make its way through our specially pothole-riddled Indian roads. And they say supercars are not practical!
First impressions:
Now let’s get the context: in 10-20 years when roads will be silently driven by the onslaught of electric cars, some cars will bring internal combustion engines (ICE) back from the grave. One of them is the BMW M8 Coupe. 600 HP and 750 Nm torque makes it a complete animal and also the most expensive BMW M car in the market. The M8 Coupe is a car that rides beautifully, offers plenty of usabilities, and is technically super-skilled, but still, it doesn’t thrill me as much as the 5-bench, more practical Audi RS 7 Sportback did. But there is something about the M8 that mesmerizes you and goes beyond its shortcomings especially the rear two seats. The Exhaust noise which is an aural delight and the way it is designed, it’s a stunner of a machine, which on roads gets the “neck swivelled” attention. Also, the RS 7 has a ground clearance of 109 mm, which means there would be a bloodbath with underbelly scraped by the rough patch underneath and we could have been putting stones and sand on the roads to Alibaug. The M8 Coupe is available in the country as a completely built-up unit. The vehicle body looks more powerful, refined, and luscious with the sportiness that is typical to BMW. It is the petrol variant in the M8 lineup and is priced at ₹2.15 Crore (ex-showroom). So, if you want to buy an M8 Coupe, double-check on your accounts and obligations and don’t ever drive it to the Income-tax office which you can do with the Audi RS 7 Sportback and keep it parked there and silently gallop to 0-100 in 3.6 seconds. The M8 can do that in 3.3 seconds but won’t be a silent process.
The design:
The M8’s muscular lines are broad enough to threaten all the cars from the highway, at 4,867 mm long and 1,907 mm wide, it’s quite a large coupe, and yes, it’s weighty- 1,955 kg; it has aggressive bumpers, two exhaust pipes, new alloy wheels, and the version we were given had 20-inch profile tyres, normal is 19inch. The large, extended hood and tight-fitting roof raise its charm and grab your attention. It is available in Automatic (Torque Converter) transmission and offered in 6 colours. Gray being the most boring until you step on the pedal. It has a small number of precisely drawn lines and sweeping surfaces which is modern and aerodynamic. The slim twin LED headlights on either side of the BMW kidney grille, encapsulate the focused look reminiscent of BMW stablemates past and present.
The athletically sculpted rear wheel arches and flared shoulders flow into a powerful rear end, whose width is emphasized by vertically stacked reflectors. On the rear, there are trademark quad-pipes of all full-M models and a gloss black rear overskirt.
Inside the M8:
The interior design is a harmonious blend of racing flair and luxury ambience. The M8’s every little part is luxurious as you’d expect from a 2-Crore car. But it will also remind you that the newly launched 2 series also has the same interiors and the instrument cluster, which is where I have a problem. In a flagship car, you need flagship interiors and not homogenous interiors which cut across all range of cars. Period.
In trademark M style, there are red strokes on the start/stop button and the M leather steering wheel’s M buttons. The interior also features an eye-catching cutout with integrated “waterfall” lighting for additional emphasis. The standard interior trim strips in Carbon Fibre also accentuate the high-performance models’ sportscar feel.
The M Sport seats, M leather steering wheel, M specific displays in the instrument cluster, and ergonomically optimized arrangement of all controls give the driver everything they need to enjoy an exciting driving experience. An interactive head-up display and a 12.3-inch device cluster; While the dual-zone climate control, an easy-to-use 10.25-inch infotainment screen, and Harman Kardon 16-speaker audio system will keep you smiling. Apple CarPlay, No Android – Again strange, SiriusXM with HD Radio, a 32GB drive, two USB ports, and WiFi with voice-activated navigation is available as standard. Bowers & Wilkins Diamond surround sound system is optionally available only with the flagship model, which is the one we had.
It has only 6 colours of ambient lighting, and none of them suits its two-tone interior. The position of the USB cable port is a little bit awkward when the USB is connected with some other device, it’s not easy to get your phone back from the wireless charging pad, it snugs most of the time.
The M Mode button on the centre console making its debut in the new BMW M8 Coupe can be used to alter both the responses of the driver assistance systems and the information shown in the instrument cluster and Head-Up Display. A simple press of the M Mode button engages the SPORT setting, in which the active driver assistance systems now can transmit alerts on speed limits and overtaking restrictions.
The digital drive display is not visually clear and sometimes you miss the much-needed information because of its dark tone nature and satellite navigation is not as accurate as google maps and it can lead you to unwanted roads.
Seats:
The M8 technically has four seats, but the rear seats are supremely compromised by the slanted roofline, and a wheelbase shorter than the old M6. Alcantara and leather encapsulate all occupants, but those in the rear would prefer to sit in an Audi RS 7, and it would look like a limousine in comparison. No legroom and headroom; it’s best for toddlers or pre-teens at best! Meanwhile, the front seats are magical, the driver and front-seat passenger will have a roomy cabin space adorned with extrinsic elements and ambient lighting.
Getting in and out of the front seats is easy, indeed for the driver, as the steering wheel will automatically elevate itself out of the way of your knees when you unlock the door or shut off the engine. Sweet.
The Boot:
It offers 420 litres of boot space and comes along with Automatic tailgate operation of the tailgate as standard. The trunk in the M8 is simply huge for this class and can swallow a pair of suitcases. In the cabin, the glovebox will easily contain a few necessary things, and the door cards can fit a couple of water bottles. There are a pair of cupholders in the centre console and another two slots in the back seating area.
Performance- It’s a wild child:
The M8’s 4.4-litre V8 is identical to the one found in the M5, and a development of the motor from the M850i, housing a pair of turbochargers within the V of the engine’s banks, improving responsiveness and shortening consumption and exhaust piping. The first-ever model draws the potential for its outstanding performance from the most powerful engine. The high-revving V8 unit with M TwinPower Turbo technology develops 441 kW/600 HPin the all-new BMW M8 Coupe, with 600 HP, acceleration in any gear, at any speed, is powerful and smooth. The high and rich performance power unit teams up with an eight-speed M Steptronic transmission with Drivelogic, and the engine’s power is channelled to the road via the M xDrive all-wheel-drive system.
The default mode in the M8 is the four-wheel-drive, which is good for maximum traction and control driving, but the four-wheel-drive sport mode turns M8 into a more wicked car. Here, the system transfers the maximum slice of the engine power to the rear wheels and which is what you need for control drifting, but when you deactivate the DCS mode that’s when it allows you to convert this into a ballistic rear-wheel-drive and converts the M8 into a monster.
The usual M8 also features dynamic damper control to soak up road imperfections and pockmarks, brake drying for increased wet-weather stopping power, brake-fade compensation, and cornering brake control systems alongside a standard active differential that takes more than just available grip into account to get the big-body coupe through turns more efficiently.
The engine stock is distributed between the front and the rear wheels, and it is fully variable using the transfer case electronically controlled multi-plate clutch before the active m differential splits it again between the two rear wheels as appropriate. It’s a four-wheel-drive, a rear-wheel-drive, and front-wheel-drive all rolled into one for a better drift, glide, and rev.
The new chassis technology clubbed with BMW M xDrive offers the variable distribution of the drive torque between the front and rear wheels. It also helps in optimized friction and driving durability depending on road surfaces. Overall, this is a brilliant and spacious powerboat, just not an analogue sprinter, and can manage Indian roads better than the RS 7.
The Last Words:
The First-Ever M8 Coupe is an exciting package, you can only have it with other cars in your garage and not just the solo one. It scores over the RS 7 on ground clearance and performance on road and is quicker than the RS 7 with an exhaust noise which is an aural delight. But the RS 7 is a practical performance car, 5-bench and you can just have one car parked in your garage and live your daily life.
It’s the only time when I can look back and maybe pat my own back. 15 incredible years have just gone by, where we experienced recessions, floods, earthquakes, government changes, the social media revolution, and writing this in the middle of a pandemic. It was a blank canvas that we filled with the first issue of Exhibit, had no idea how this journey will unfold and whether we will last the first mile. Learned on the job the nuances of teamwork, editing, design language, printing, and managing finances, while staying broke most of the early startup days. Still a startup – An evolved one. As it’s said, the first step is important and the path gets unfolded. My first startup was mobile charging stations when the times were of the Nokia 5510 and Motorola Razr (not the folding one) we were manufacturing and installing mobile phone charging stations and supplying to Vodafone, Reliance, and Airtel and also installing in public places and selling advertising space on it. That’s where we picked up advertising and understood technology with fast charging and circuit boards. When the dream monopoly run of 1 year ran out, we sold the business and merged the two learnings, and launched Exhibit. I was a young chap back then, and young still 🙂
Honestly, our fate has been written before we even start crawling and every time I have faced this question of the print industry dying or magazines having no future, we always stood firm that we are much more than just a magazine company. We turned green within the 1st year of operation and to date, we have never raised a penny nor do we have any debts, in spite of having access to the biggest VCs in the country and calling them friends of Exhibit. Recently, we also took over a brand that I have grown up reading- BBC Topgear Magazine, and introducing it would be like reminding you of your name. In the peak lockdown, we launched aviatorsbuzz.com, thus completing our trajectory of Tech, Auto, Aviation. The three things I am passionate about and can be found daydreaming about!
We pivoted into the digital platform and events long back and got some of the biggest IPs under our belt, with all of them stitched together with the fabric of tech. Exhibit tech awards, which is in its 8th year is undoubtedly the biggest spectacle in the tech industry which is as glamorous as techy. Exhibit Startups, made us connect with 1000 startups so far and some of them are on the course to becoming a billion-dollar enterprise. Having first made their pitch on our platform, Haptik is one of them. Tech Fashion Tour, which has had global recognition since its first edition, which was 7 years ago and where international designers like Cute Circuit, London, Jasna Rok, Belgium, and others have showcased the future of fashion and technology and where stars like Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan have walked the ramp. Influencex – Top 100 Digital Influencerswhich is just two editions old has become the most viral IP yet. The first season had some of the biggest content creators like Bhuvan Bam, Prajakta Koli, Ashish Chachlani, and other Top 100 influencers all coming together for one big awards night which got converted to one big party. This year, of course, we did it virtually, ensuring it went viral.
Today, We run Influencex – which has 2000+ influencers content creators on our speed dial, we make TVCs and digital films, celebrity endorsements, and can deliver a feature film. We have three big Digital Destinations: www.exhibit.tech, www.topgearmag.in, and aviatorsbuzz.com that together caters to almost 3 million monthly visitors and the graph is continually growing. We can think through, ground-up any idea, and convert it into a spectacular show. The destination is neither known nor important and the goalposts have continuously shifted, but do we have stories to tell? Hell yes! The journey is exciting to the brim and as cliched as it may sound but we are just getting started. And yes we are still a magazine company.
The viral issue in the new normal. Last year, we started one of our strongest IPs, where we curated 250 content creators who in their category had been relevant, with a meaningful fan following and put them up for public voting to choose “The Top 100” Class of 2019. Almost immediately, we had a huge spike in our web traffic; touching 500k hits daily as a consequence of these content creators who had influenced their fans to go and vote. This is when realisation dawned that they are real influencers! What came next was our first-ever Influencex awards where the “Top 100” had flown in from different parts of the country for the “Influencex” awards night. The vibe was strictly informal and it soon converted to one big party. The celebration still continues and thereafter we started a dedicated “Influencer marketing Division” which has been busy ever since with curating and executing huge influencer marketing campaigns.
This year we repeated last year’s event, albeit with a twist. Our website continued to spike during the voting days to 5000%. Nothing changed. Only the awards went virtual right from this screen. We fixed one day and all the winners came together one by one. It was a field day chatting on Zoom sessions with 15 winners across – Entertainment, Fitness, Tech, Travel, Fashion, Lifestyle, Social Media ,Beauty, Changemaker, Gaming, Food and Automobile. All of them have a few things in common, they have huge fan bases – If I put all the following of only these 15 of them it would stack up to 50 Million+. Secondly, they are all chilled out and know what they are doing and come up trial and error and thirdly, humble with feet on the ground.
The entire day-long session has been curated and cut to feel like an awards ceremony into a 30-minute session and is resting pretty at our channel youtube.com/exhibitmagazine. The process of choosing the winners is also straight forward. There is no jury round and it’s up for public voting with some tech in play which will map votes to the unique IP and the results have always been “on display” mode since day one of voting.
Here’s to the new era of Infleuncers and marketers to have a new honorific in their blue book which has quickly flipped pages to the fore of their communication strategies and medium.
I have used the Note 10+ and have really loved it until it slipped my hands and the screen developed a crack. This happened twice and the second time with the plastic cover on and both the times a bullet went through my heart. Before we continue, the biggest complaint I had with the Note series had been its delicateness, and since the form factor is bigger than the average making it rests in your palms more than your pocket. Naturally, when I unboxed the Note 20 Ultra the first thing I noticed was the camera bump and the super-premium feels that it gives you top-notch material almost like a Swarovski crystal showpiece. It’s carved to perfection but comes with its share of flaws and its more of a gadget than a smartphone because it is a lot more than just a smartphone.
The Samsung Note 20 Ultra is the most expensive conventional phone that was launched at the galaxy unpacked event. It gets all the bells and whistles that Samsung has to offer, minus a foldable screen. Because a foldable screen this big would mean bent phones everywhere!
The large size is decently complemented by the curved sides otherwise handling the phone would require a bodyguard 24/7. Naturally, It is difficult to fit into your pockets, although its premium feel would make you hold it in your hands and that is a different story. At 208g, the weight is also slightly on the heavier side, though it did not bother me much. I liked the 8.1mm thickness of the phone but the massive camera bump, which also sticks out another 2mm will get some time to get used to. This also prevents from keeping the phone perfectly flat with the screen up and also makes it top-heavy, surprisingly the bump does not come in your way of typing it while placing it on your desk, I was assuming it will wobble but that’s where Samsung engineering kicks in.
The camera bump is not only for size but also comes with a beefed up 108MP primary camera that it has borrowed from the Galaxy S20 Ultra. It offers an amazingly vivid colour spectrum and also clicks clear pictures in low light. Accompanying it is a 12MP ultrawide camera to click huge group selfies, as well as a 12MP periscope telephoto lens, that offers a 5x optical zoom and a 50x hybrid zoom! Well, 50x zoom might not give you the best of pictures, but the quality is still pretty decent up to 20x digital zoom. However, using the 50x zoom might make you feel like you are using binoculars to look far into the horizon, though the future is still not clear with the times we are in. Videomakers will be very happy with the phone’s quality, as it can shoot up videos up to 8K resolution!
Sticking to the Note series culture, the smartphone continues with the S-Pen Stylus, but why it has shifted sides from the note 10 series from right to left is a mystery. Almost 95% of the human population is right-handed, taking the stylus out from the left side will appeal to left-hand side driving. But this is trivia and should in no way come in the way of buying decisions. The gigantic screen, coupled with the latest hardware takes it notches up from being labeled as an understated phone. The 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED display offers 2K resolution with 496 PPI density. This, coupled with a 120Hz refresh rate offers an experience like driving a Mclaren on a racetrack.
The phone offers a variable refresh rate for the screen, which dynamically scales up to 120Hz but also has the ability to scale down to 30Hz or even 10Hz if it detects purely static content on screen. It is set to run at 1080×2316 resolution by default but also supports HDR10+ display. It also has an optional QHD+ resolution of 1440×3088. In layman terms, the screen quality is extremely crisp, clear and immersive!
The phone runs on an Octacore Exynos 990 processor and gets 12 GB of RAM and up to 512 GB of storage. This lets you run any application or software without much hassle and is mated to a 4500mAh battery, which will last for more than a day with light use but will drain faster as the usage increases.
With that, we come to the part that I don’t like, that is the battery capacity. It should have been 5000MAh, and to make the package wholesome the Samsung buds should have been thrown in.
Only the most serious buyers will make the best use of this phone as the large size and lack of compactness might hinder others. Also, extended usage leads to some heating up of the body, but it is nothing significant. This phone is perfect for those who are accustomed to the size of the Note series or have a clear intention of using all its features, stylus included. Casual buyers will find their money heavily invested in features that they won’t have much use of. As an entrepreneur, this phone was perfect for me as I could share, save, and edit my work flawlessly. If you are someone who cannot choose between taking great pictures on the go and signing and reading documents, then the Note 20 Ultra is your soul mate.
This is our first proper cover-shoot since the pandemic and we were more than sure it has to be with this man, the one and only Sonu Sood who is a classic example of Good Karma, and proof that great things
happen to great people. Here’s an excerpt of our conversation:
I feel we have to take those risks. You can’t just be in your safe zone and sit at home and crib about what’s happening on the field
but you need to come out of your comfort
zones…
Ramesh: We have to start from your migrant-sending initiative of sending them back to their home? What triggered this thought…
Sonu: I felt these are the people who actually built our homes, these are the people who actually built our roads and today when they wanted to go back to their own homes and there was no one to actually help them so I just thought to put these efforts to get up, to get them back to their families. I just went on the field and it just happened and I could see the wishes of these migrants and their families. They finally got back and really went to their families so I think that’s something which is not planned, that’s something I’m not
trained to do but I was blessed to make this happen.
Ramesh:Did u ever get that thought in your mind, “It’s done
now”?
Sonu: It’s not done yet, as we’re shooting now I’m still getting calls. I think the field has changed first it was just a movement that started from Maharashtra to the other states then it started from Jammu Kashmir to Kanyakumari now there’s an international evacuation happening, we just did evacuation of almost 4000 students from Kyrgyzstan. Now it’s Uzbekistan,
Moscow, Philippines and other countries also, so I kind of feel like the responsibilities that are on my shoulders keep on increasing everyday and I’m glad that I’m able to keep up to those expectations.
Ramesh: What’s your brush with technology ?
Sonu: Of course without technology it’s not possible to do anything. You get 60 to 70 thousand calls every single day from all these people who are stuck in different parts of the world. So, you need these systems. Like I remember I started this toll free number to make it easier for all these people who need help and I think that’s how we could execute everything. When you have 7-8 lakh people with whom you are committed to bring them back to their homes so I think you have to program yourself, you need to have a team who
can put things together.
Ramesh: Any challenges you face while working from home and any tricks?
Sonu: I was actually on the field mostly for 15-16 hours everyday on the bus stop daily, so the work from home used to start at midnight from 12 to 4. That’s when you get connected through social media to all these migrants who are stuck so I would say the last 100 to 120 days have been very fruitful and very busy but I’m glad that we were able to execute many successful missions.
Ramesh:What came to your mind while you were doing this? Did you ever think to stop and step back and not take the risk?
Sonu: I feel we have to take those risks. You can’t just be in your safe zone and sit at home and crib about what’s happening on the field but you need to come out of your comfort zones and be on the field to help these people go back to their
home and I’m glad that I was able to take this mission successfully.
I think it’s a new beginning, I would say it’s a new life, everything is not just about followers. It’s about the people who love you, the way people expect things from you, the way people rely on you to give you responsibilities.
Ramesh: Do you invest in startups ? We know you have a bank of properties but what about business and startups that you are invested in
Sonu: You know I’m in talks with many startups and I feel wisely startups are having a bright future and of course you know out of 10 startups that come up everyday only one or two actually get to be in their successful zone. So, I would say to all those people who are investing in all those startups or trying to do new things, it has to have a right backup and someone who is able to upgrade every single day. I feel we have young minds who are working towards a new world. I just want to wish them all the best and just keep shining always.
Ramesh: What motivates you to workout from home during lockdown, any
fitness apps that you use?
Sonu: I think fitness has always been a part of my life it;s not something that I do for a film. I always believe that there are only 22 hours in a day for me to work on my fitness. And no, I don’t use any apps, I do it on my own.
Ramesh: Are you an avid reader? What kind of books do you read?
Sonu: I used to read books but now lately we are all into gadgets. I think the
concentration has gone so low that we just want to switch from one to the other.
Ramesh: Are you a social media addict?
Sonu: I’m not a social media addict but I only use social media to connect with people. Whether you talk about Twitter or Instagram, I just want to stay connected with people, that’s my way of choosing social media.
Ramesh: Your Instagram now has 5.2 million followers but before your act of good karma where did you stand?
Sonu: I think it’s a new beginning, I would say it’s a new life, everything is not just
about followers. It’s about the people who love you, the way people expect
things from you, the way people rely on you to give you responsibilities. I get
calls from parents, I get calls from all age groups that you’ve saved the lives of
our kids, you’ve got them from Moscow, you’ve got them from Uzbekistan and all these countries where these people were stranded in really bad shape so I think I’m going to stay with their families forever. All these followers and likes are all temporary but the real followers and real likes are something that you want in real life. I feel those are the real ones.
Ramesh: How to not get bored of your workout routine?
Sonu: When you think it’s a part of your life. When you get up in the morning you brush up your teeth and go to work, I think fitness is also something like that which comes to you automatically. I always believe that there are only 22 hours in a day and the rest two hours are only for fitness.
Ramesh: Do you have a role model when it comes to health & fitness?
Sonu: I started working out seeing Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. I
think they were our superheroes, they inspired me to stay fit and now I would say I inspire myself everyday.
Ramesh: What is that one mistake that people often do when it comes to
fitness?
Sonu: They try to bypass things, they try to reach their goals faster and those are temporary goals. They do it for one project or maybe a movie, even the actors. I think it has a major toll on your body. It’s very important to make fitness a part of your project, not do fitness for a project.
Ramesh: One unique gadget that you purchased recently?
Sonu: I bought wireless airpods from Apple.
Ramesh: You are a real life hero and set examples to many who blame the
system and the world , the most genuine compliments that you received?
Sonu: I think the people naming their kids after me is very very special, keeping their shops after my name is very special. I think all this love will stay with them forever and that’s something which you can’t put in words.
Ramesh: Will politics be your playrole someday?
Sonu: Not really, I’ve been out from politics from the past 10-12 years but I think as an actor there are still miles to go I need to do a lot of things but till I achieve my goals as an actor I don’t really have any views on politics and what I can do as an actor still a lot of politicians couldn’t do it so I’m very happy in my space.
I always believe that there are only 22 hours
in a day and the rest two hours are only for
fitness.
Quickes
1. If you had to invent any tech what would you otp for?
I would like to invent something that can boost you, that can charge you. If you don’t feel like working out or you don’t feel like doing something, that gadget or app will charge you to give your 100%. I think that’s something I would love to invent.
2. One thing you can miss your workout for?
I only missed my workout when I was helping the migrants and that was 7 to 8 days when I didn’t do any workout and that was the first time I ever did in my life. I didn’t have any time when I was on the roads and have been missing my workouts but seeing those people smile getting back to the family was kind of a booster for me.
Describe yourself in a hashtag
#Alive
3.Your workout playlist includes?
I love all kinds of music, it keeps on changing.
Message for our readers
I just wanted to say only a few words :
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