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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Thrills, roars and cheers under a giant marquee

Rambo Circus pitches a tent in MMR Mumbai : Mumbaikars are thronging to rediscover the joys of stunning, live entertainment as the familiar Rambo Circus has pitched a tent in Borivali West, before it shifts to Navi Mumbai from December 2.   This is billed as the first major full-scale season post-Covid-19 pandemic, which had led to a near washout of shows owing to social-distancing norms and public fears. The tent is now attracting a strong public response, said Rambo Circus Director and...

Thrills, roars and cheers under a giant marquee

Rambo Circus pitches a tent in MMR Mumbai : Mumbaikars are thronging to rediscover the joys of stunning, live entertainment as the familiar Rambo Circus has pitched a tent in Borivali West, before it shifts to Navi Mumbai from December 2.   This is billed as the first major full-scale season post-Covid-19 pandemic, which had led to a near washout of shows owing to social-distancing norms and public fears. The tent is now attracting a strong public response, said Rambo Circus Director and owner Sujit Dilip.   “We get good crowds on weekends and holidays, but weekdays are still a struggle. Our fixed expenses are around Rs. One Crore per month. Costs have gone up nearly ten times on all fronts in the last five years, and the 18% GST is killing. We manage around 1,500 shows annually, but barely break even, with wafer-thin margins,” said Dilip, 50.   The logistics alone are staggering. Rambo Circus travels across India with an 80-member troupe of acrobats, aerialists, sword balancers, jugglers, jokers, rigging crews, support staff, massive equipment, and a few mechanical animals.   “Many of my people have spent their entire lives under the tent. We live like a huge family. I try to support their children’s education, medical needs and help them build some financial stability. But without resources, it is becoming increasingly difficult,” said Dilip, his voice weary after decades of struggle for survival.   He reminisced of the golden era of Indian circus, around the second half of the last century, when there were many grand, full-scale circuses, but today barely half a dozen professional setups remain - Gemini, Golden, Ajanta, Asian, Great Bombay, and Rambo - along with a few smaller, local outfits.   “Unlike most countries where circuses come under the Cultural Ministry, India offers no institutional identity or support. I am invited as a jury member to several top annual international circus festivals. I feel sad as not a single Indian artist features on global stages. We just have no backing here,” Dilip told The Perfect Voice in a free-wheeling chat.   He said the decline accelerated after the ban on live animal performances nearly 20 years ago in India. In contrast, many foreign circuses still feature elephants, horses, bears, zebras, llamas, tigers, leopards, lions, and exotic birds - though most face heavy resistance from animal-rights groups.   “Moreover, ticket rates in India are among the lowest in the world, without tax concessions. In foreign circuses, even in smaller countries, tickets start at Rs 10,000 per head. We can’t dare match that…” he rued.   Yet, the thirst to lure audiences remains undiminished. Rambo Circus now leans on technology and innovation, featuring a mechanical elephant, a giraffe on stilts, stuffed zebras, deer, bears and horses, and has commissioned a Japanese company to design a robotic lion to perform tricks.   To make the shows more interactive, MoC – a tall senior joker – invites the young audience members into the ring to try small acts like skipping, jumping, or dancing with help from the midget clowns, and the kids’ shrieks of joy echo through the tent, as their parents furiously click videos and selfies.   Dilip recalled that during the pandemic lockdown, when survival seemed impossible, Rambo Circus pioneered online ticketed shows, selling nearly 50,000 virtual tickets - the highest among circuses worldwide at that time, and earned praise by international peers.   “We are swimming alone… For us, it’s not just entertainment. It is art, heritage, livelihood, identity, and passion - and we will fight for a dignified existence,” Dilip said quietly.   Rambo Circus’ emotional tug at PM’s heart Rambo Circus Director and owner Sujit Dilip appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help save this art form with a huge potential to generate jobs, discover talents, earn massive revenues and foreign exchange.   “We urge the PM and ICCR to give Indian circuses a formal status, affordable venues for our shows, extend bank loans, opportunities for skill-upgradation, foreign collaborations and inclusion under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ CSR list. Many corporates wish to help, but current rules prevent it,” Dilip told The Perfect Voice .   He recalled how, during Covid-19, Rambo Circus launched online shows and sold nearly 50,000 tickets, proving the potential of Indian circus talent and earning acclaim worldwide for his innovation. “Our dream is to make India’s circuses world-class, and we need government support to achieve this,” he said.   History of circuses – Roman Arenas to open maidans The name ‘circus’ had its origins in ancient Rome, where chariot races, gladiator clashes, displays/deadly fights between wild animals and condemned humans enraptured audiences in huge open arenas. Later, circuses began modestly in 1768 with horse tricks performed by Philip Astley, a London cavalryman. Then, came the modern version of live performances by horses/ponies in the US in 1793, and in the 1830s, wild animals were introduced.   Many Hollywood films featured circuses as the backdrop. The most memorable ones are: Charlie Chaplin’s “The Circus” (1928); Walt Disney’s “Dumbo’ (1941); Cecile B. DeMille’s 2 Oscar Award-winning “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952); biopic on P.T. Barnum “The Greatest Showman” (2017), et al.   Bollywood’s own legendary ringside acts were in films like Raj Kapoor’s “Mera Naam Joker” (1970); “Chandralekha” (1948); “Appu Raja” (1989); “Circus Queen” (1959); “Shikari” (1991); “Dhoom 3” (2013); and the howlarious circus climax in Firoz A. Nadiadwala’s “Phir Hera Pheri” (2006), etc.

Musk’s Quiet Power Broker

Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla’s CFO, is now bankrolling Elon Musk’s political rebellion.


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Elon Musk’s long-simmering feud with Donald Trump has finally exploded into open political warfare. On July 4, the occasion of America’s Independence Day, the billionaire entrepreneur declared the launch of his ‘America Party’ in a direct challenge to what he called the “one-party system” in Washington, while accusing Trump of bankrupting the country with a reckless tax-and-spend bill. The ever-combative Trump responded by calling Musk’s move of founding a new party “ridiculous” while hinting darkly at the entrepreneur’s business entanglements with the federal government.


Amid the sound and fury, a quieter appointment signalled Musk’s seriousness about this latest venture. According to filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the treasurer and custodian of records for the new party will be Vaibhav Taneja, the Indian-born Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Tesla.


It is a telling choice. While Musk’s rebellion may be loud and erratic, he has handed the purse strings to a man defined by discipline, discretion and an uncanny ability to thrive in Musk’s volatile world.


The filings list the party’s official address as 1, Rocker Road in Hawthorne, California—Tesla’s own backyard. But The America Party is no mere extension of the company. It is the latest front in Musk’s expanding campaign to reshape American institutions in his own image, from space exploration to electric vehicles to now, electoral politics. And Taneja, 47, has become a central figure in that strategy.


Born and raised in India, Taneja earned a commerce degree from Delhi University and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2000. By 2006, he had also picked up a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) credential in the United States. He spent 17 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers, guiding Fortune 500 clients through financial reporting, IPOs, and audit scrutiny – training that has served him well in the gladiatorial arena of Silicon Valley.


Taneja entered Musk’s orbit in 2016 when he joined SolarCity, a solar-energy firm run by Musk’s cousins. When Tesla acquired the company later that year, Taneja was absorbed into its vast and ever-expanding apparatus. Within a year, he became Tesla’s Corporate Controller. By 2019, he was Chief Accounting Officer. In August 2023, Taneja took the top financial job after the sudden exit of long-serving CFO Zach Kirkhorn.


Though he rarely gives interviews and maintains a vanishingly small public profile, Taneja has built a reputation inside Muskworld for calm competence and unflinching loyalty.


His responsibilities are formidable. Tesla spans continents and industries, be it electric vehicles, solar panels, energy storage or AI-driven robotics. It is one of the most scrutinised firms in the world, especially given the profile of its mercurial CEO. Taneja is one of the few executives trusted to run with high-stakes assignments: in 2021, he was appointed a director of Tesla’s Indian subsidiary, and has been closely involved in its long-delayed foray into the country’s tightly regulated car market.


In 2024, he earned an eye-watering $139 million, including stock awards - more than any other tech CFO and more than Google’s Sundar Pichai or Microsoft’s Satya Nadella. Such largesse marks him as one of Musk’s closest lieutenants.


His new role in The America Party will be neither symbolic nor ceremonial. As treasurer, Taneja is responsible for collecting and disbursing donations, filing disclosures and ensuring compliance with the tangle of laws that govern political finance in America. For a party built around Musk’s personality, the financials must be watertight, especially as critics sharpen their knives.


And critics abound. The U.S. Treasury Secretary has already suggested Musk should stick to his day job. An investment firm, Azoria Partners, has postponed a Tesla-linked fund, citing potential conflicts of interest. Trump has publicly questioned the legality of the venture. So far, Tesla’s board has maintained a studied silence.


But Musk’s political ambitions are real. With the 2026 midterm elections looming, The America Party is more than a stunt. It has been touted as a platform to reshape the conversation around free speech, government intervention and the role of billionaires in public life. In this context, Vaibhav Taneja becomes a foundational architect, tasked with ensuring the movement’s legality, solvency and operational credibility.


While Musk rages against Trump on X (formerly Twitter), Taneja will remain in the shadows, calculating, filing and keeping the gears of the ‘revolution’ turning. It is an irony that should amuse most observers as the man behind the spreadsheets may just prove more important than the man behind the slogans.

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