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By:

Kaustubh Kale

10 September 2024 at 6:07:15 pm

Four Methods to Choose Investment

One of the most common questions investors ask is: “Which investment should I choose?” The real answer is that no investment is good or bad in isolation. A simple way to judge any investment is the RRLT framework - Risk, Return, Liquidity and Time Period. Before investing in any product, all four factors should be seen together. 1. Return Return is the reward you expect from the investment. It may come in the form of interest, dividend, capital appreciation or regular income. Naturally, every...

Four Methods to Choose Investment

One of the most common questions investors ask is: “Which investment should I choose?” The real answer is that no investment is good or bad in isolation. A simple way to judge any investment is the RRLT framework - Risk, Return, Liquidity and Time Period. Before investing in any product, all four factors should be seen together. 1. Return Return is the reward you expect from the investment. It may come in the form of interest, dividend, capital appreciation or regular income. Naturally, every investor wants good returns. However, return should be understood properly. It is important to look at the real intrinsic / internal rate of return (IRR) of every investment, especially when cash flows happen at different points of time. A product may sound attractive on the surface, but the actual return may be very different when calculated correctly. 2. Risk Risk is the possibility of losing money whether partially, fully, temporarily or permanently. In some investments, the risk is very low. In others, the value may fluctuate significantly in the short term. Direct stocks, equity mutual funds, gold and real estate can create wealth over time, but they need patience and the ability to tolerate ups and downs. On the other hand, fixed income products may offer stability, but they may not beat inflation over the long term. 3. Liquidity Liquidity means how easily you can convert your investment back into money when required. A savings account is highly liquid. Fixed deposits, mutual funds and stocks are reasonably liquid. Real estate may take time to sell. Liquidity matters because emergencies do not come with advance notice. Before chasing returns, every investor must ensure that enough money is available in liquid instruments for short-term needs and emergencies. 4. Time Period Time Period is the most important filter. The investment product should be selected based on when you need the money. If the money is needed within a few months or one to two years, safety and liquidity matter more than high returns. If the goal is ten, fifteen or twenty years away, growth-oriented assets like equity mutual funds, direct stocks and gold-related instruments can play a larger role. The longer the time horizon, the better your ability to handle short-term volatility. Goal-Based Planning This is where proper financial planning becomes useful. Make a table of your financial goals - home purchase, car, vacation, child education, child’s marriage and retirement. Write the amount required, adjust it for inflation and mention the time left for each goal. Once this is clear, choosing the right investment becomes easier. Investment Avenues Broadly, investment avenues can be divided into two categories - those that help beat inflation and those that mainly provide stability. Equities, equity mutual funds, gold and real estate help in long-term wealth creation by beating inflation. Your long-term financial goals should ideally be invested in this bucket - the one that helps your money grow faster than inflation. For your short-term goals, rely more on bank fixed deposits, recurring deposits, and debt mutual funds. Here, safety and availability of money are more important than high returns. A good investment is not the one that sounds exciting. A good investment is the one that fits your goal. So before investing anywhere, remember RRLT - Risk, Return, Liquidity and Time Period. When these four are aligned with your financial goal, investment decisions become much clearer. (The writer is Chartered Accountant and CFA (USA). Financial advisor. Views personal. He could be reached on 9833133605)

The New Bollywood Template: Patriotism, Punch and Paydays

In today’s Hindi blockbusters, patriotism is no longer just a theme — it is a trigger.

Mainstream Hindi cinema today follows a pattern that is no longer subtle; it is engineered. The recent success of some of the industry’s biggest hits has hardened a new formula: nationalism fused with stylised violence, wrapped in a spectacle, and delivered with emotional certainty. Placed against this backdrop, Dhurandhar fits comfortably into an ecosystem where patriotism is no longer just a theme but a trigger. Let’s unbox this!


Emotion over Nuance

Storytelling in Bollywood has moved from layered masala-laden narratives to visceral experiences. Films these days are no longer influencing Indian audiences to think; instead, they are asking them to feel. And nothing activates feeling faster than nation-first narratives clubbed with conflict.


As film critic Anupama Chopra has often argued, cinema reflects the anxieties and aspirations of its time. That identity is more often than not national. And it’s repeatedly under threat!


Violence and Validation

Violence in films like Dhurandhar isn’t incidental; it’s moralised. Unlike the nineties, the protagonists in today’s films do not just fight but avenge, protect, and restore too. The aggression is portrayed as necessary, sometimes even righteous.


Consider the rise of films preceding Dhurandhar, like Uri: The Surgical Strike, Pathaan, and Gadar 2. Each uses conflict to completely justify heightened action. The message implied is nothing but ‘strength equals survival and survival equals victory.’


“Desh sirf zameen nahi hota …uske liye khoon bhi dena padta hai!” This sentiment symbolises the spirit of freedom struggle, the real fight for independence, but it could perfectly define the engineered nationalism that the Hindi films like Dhurandhar portray. It is not an actual dialogue in the film but is the base of the narrative. It is actually a positioning statement that validates blistering violence swathed in nationalism.


Why does this funda work so well? Because it taps into the collective emotional landscape – pride, anger, fear, and belonging! In uncertain times, audiences gravitate toward stories that offer clarity along with an adrenaline rush. Heroes are unequivocal. Enemies, picked up from real-life instances, are clearly defined. The world truly makes sense for 3 hours and thrills too!


Scholars such as Ashish Nandy have long noted that popular cinema often simplifies reality to make it emotionally accessible. And right now, that combo – reality and simplicity – sells!


The Box Office Formula

From a trade perspective, the formula is almost algorithmic: high-stakes nationalism widens the film’s demographic reach, action-heavy set pieces drive repeat footfalls in the mass market, clear moral binaries create simple and effective marketing hooks, and punchy dialogue becomes ready-made currency for social media virality.

 

The Dhurandhar franchise has adhered closely to this formula: a hero who embodies unquestioned nationalism, a villain cast as the most familiar external threat, large-scale set pieces that marry spectacle with sacrifice, dialogues designed for applause, and a narrative that rejects ambiguity in favour of emotional certainty. In that sense, Dhurandhar is less a story than a statement.

 

The Creative Trade-Off

However, here’s the uncomfortable truth. What works commercially doesn’t always enrich cinematically!


It’s a given that storytelling will risk losing its depth if violence is the language and nationalism is used as a shortcut for box-office success. The industry gets habitual of repeating rather than taking risks.


Directors such as Mani Ratnam have repeatedly shown that political cinema can provoke thought rather than merely deliver answers.


Compared with many of the socially layered films of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, today’s biggest blockbusters often leave less room for ambiguity.

 

This formula of nationalism and violence is not accidental – it’s responsive. Its success clearly indicates what audiences are drawn to, what producers are happily backing, and what the current cultural mood demands. However, formulas don’t last long; they are meant to be broken.


This formula of nationalism and violence is not accidental; it is responsive. Its success reveals what audiences are drawn to, what producers are willing to back, and what the current cultural mood rewards. But formulas rarely endure forever. The real question is whether Bollywood will continue to escalate patriotism and violence — or rediscover the power of ambiguity. Somewhere between the crack of gunfire and the swell of patriotic chants, there is still room for a quieter, braver kind of storytelling. When that returns, it may redefine success all over again.


(The writer is a journalist based in New Delhi. Views personal.)

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