No, Mr Maran, greed is not good

In the late 90s, Three Flights Up opened and took Bombay by storm. It was the newest nightclub in town; it had the longest bar in the country, exclusivity guaranteed, great bartenders, competent DJs and the glitterati in attendance. It killed the other night spots in town – it was the only place to be seen in (other than Jazz by the Bay, which was still Jazz by the Bay, which was owned by the same group). But that wasn’t enough, it seems. [caption id=“attachment_19645” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The latest scam that embroils the Marans — the ‘illegal’ telephone exchange — was so unnecessary. Adnan Abidi/Reuters”]  [/caption] TFU, as the cool people called it, wanted to be more than the hottest spot in town. It wanted to be the ultimate all-night night club. So, flouting laws and greasing palms, TFU was open till about 5 am, so you could get out of there and reach home just ahead of the milkman (in the days when milkmen used to come home). The other nightclubs in town were hit harder than they already were. To cut a long story short, their cumulative anger — and, presumably, cumulative greasing power — went to the powers that be and had TFU raided on a Friday night, and every night after that, as soon as the legal licensing hours were over. TFU, which opened with a bang, shut down with a whimper. If TFU had not been greedy and stuck to the law, we’d still be having a drink or seven each time we were in town. The same happened to Enigma at the JW Marriott, to J49, indeed, to dance bars in general. Break the law, and the law will catch up, sooner or later. The same is true of Sun TV. The latest scam that embroils the Marans — the ‘illegal’ telephone exchange — was so unnecessary. While many facets of the murky dealings of the Marans will come to the fore, Sun TV was a clean, successful and profitable business; one that would have continued to do well on merit alone. Sun TV was the clear number one channel as far as Tamil was concerned. Advertisers flocked to it, their rate card, unique for a satellite TV channel in India, was cast in stone. It strode the Tamil firmament like a Colossus, unchallenged and victorious. And today, thanks to a moment of stupidity and greed, the entire network will come under the microscope, with the management trying to fend off assaults from all directions rather than focus on delivering watchable content which they have proven over time that they can produce and deliver. Greed, I’m afraid, is not good.