D. It Is Destiny

Posted by dana at 10:37 am on Thursday, March 19th, 2009.

We are living at a time when Bollywood is taking the world by storm and Slumdog Millionaire is a runaway hit, overcoming fierce odds to win Best Picture and take home a total of 8 awards at the Oscars. Slumdog Millionaire opens up with Jamal Malik being one question away from winning 20 million rupees.

The showcaster asks "How Did He Do It? "

"A. He cheated; B. He's lucky; C. He's a genius; D. It is destiny."

The movie then takes you through his life where every moment is a clue to the answers, while an incredibly addictive Indian song "Jai Ho" (which literally means "You Are My Destiny") plays throughout the film. And all of us teary-eyed audience members eventually find out that "she" is Jamal's destiny–his childhood friend who grows up to be a breathtakingly beautiful young woman.

When Moonit watched Slumdog, we were overtaken with emotion and inspired by the ability to elicit the kind of happiness in our users that comes with finding our true destiny. At SXSW, we had the chance to sit down with a brilliant friend of ours named Remy who is a consultant in Texas, helping small and mid-sized companies refine their digital strategies.  Remy happens to be Indian and reminded us of the importance in catering to the Indian market.

Although his family is by no means "hard core into astrology," they make sure the stars are aligned when it comes to the most important decisions in their family lives, such as the marriage of his sister, significant business decisions and travel arrangements.  Remy acknowledged that the vast majority of the Indian community lives by the mantra that "it is written," relying upon gurus and resources for astrological advice publicized across very specific print, television and radio outlets. And marketing to this very lucrative demographic  can prove to be extremely cost efficient when targeting the finite outlets that the Indian community relies upon for information. Moonit is eager to help this group of people "make destiny," providing a fresh and accurate resource to the Indian community while also capitalizing on the rising popularity of Indian culture brought to the forefront by Bollywood's recent global breakthroughs.