Speakers 2011
Aamir Khan
The Magic Maker For a man who is known for refusing to attend award ceremonies, Aamir Khan seems to be something of a trophy-magnet. Having started his career as a child artist with uncle Nasir Hussain’s Yaadon Ki Baraat; Aamir won his first National Film Award for Raakh in 1989, and then went on to collect either awards Read More…
Abhay Deol
The Maverick Abhay Deol, 32, is the physical embodiment of New Bollywood. His genetic heritage — as a member of a large clan of Bollywood stars — is big, good-looking and smooth enough to draw the crowds. His acting chops are strong enough to work with a range of clever young directors. Independent filmmakers have Read More…
Abhijit V Banerjee
The Poor Economist ‘Randomista’ may not sound like the most flattering descriptor one can give an economist, but in the case of Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, it happens to be factually correct. It’s also a simple term for a rather specialised branch of economics: the use of random, controlled trials to test economic theories, an approach Read More…
Anurag Kashyap
The Alternative Auteur Anurag Kashyap could well be a character out of his own films.Fascinated with cinema from age five, he could routinely be found watching movies like Aandhi and Kora Kaagaz at an open-air theatre near his home. His passion for the arts lay dormant till he started college in New Delhi — ironically, Read More…
Aruna Roy
The Nuance Activist Few people ever make it to the Indian Administrative Services, the prestigious Indian civil services that form the backbone of Indian governance. Even fewer leave it. But then Aruna Roy’s entire life has been fairly unorthodox. Born in Chennai, her life choices reflect the liberal attitude of her free-thinking parents. The family Read More…
Arvind Kejriwal
The Transparency Activist He’s a mechanical engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology. He’s worked at the Indian Revenue Service. He has been the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax in Delhi. Nothing about Arvind Kejriwal, in short, indicated that he would turn into arguably the country’s most effective activist, the architect of Anna Hazare’s groundbreaking Read More…
Ashis Nandy
The Social Diarist In a discussion about the nature of public intellectuals, Ashis Nandy once said a majority of Indian intellectuals are not public intellectuals because they are afraid of jeopardising their professional status. To 74-year-old Nandy, not speaking up in the face of injustice is criminal. Nandy is no kneejerk liberal though. In a world Read More…
Bjorn Lomborg
The Green Warrior When Danish academic Bjorn Lomborg publishedThe Skeptical Environmentalist, a work of environmental economics in 2001, all hell broke loose. He argued for a middle ground in global warming, saying doing too much for global warming is as bad as doing too little. ‘If we spend too much time and resources focusing on Read More…
Carl Dietrich
The Icarus Reinventor He calls his invention a Personal Air Vehicle. We call it impossible. But Carl Dietrich, developer of the first truly workable ‘flying car’, can make a believer out of anyone. He’s not the first man alive to have dreamt of cars that take off. He is, however, the first whose prototype has Read More…
