Mumbai Part 2. Day 13.

Its just a matter of few days before the world ends. And that means all I have left, is a handful of days to make that dent that I keep talking about. But then like all humans I have this thing that makes me inept at even scratching the surface, leave alone the dent. I need things in place before I can do shit. Things like a home a corner that I could call my own, a writing place, a perfect pen and things like that.

In Delhi, thanks to my parents, all these things were on the auto pilot mode. Thanks to my parents that over a long period, painstakingly made the most perfect home they could. It has everything that I needed am used to. Of course I got spoilt in the process and it made me depend on them and things so much that I have become rigid and lethargic.

Now that I am by myself in the jungle Mumbai, I need to take care of all those things. I have spoken about em in a previous post but there are few more challenges that a Day 13 brings about compared to Day 2.

For starters, clean clothes. In Delhi as a process, I knew a place where I need to pile my dirty clothes and by some magic they would be cleaned, ironed and placed back. Here, I dont have that magic wand working for me. The friend I am piling with, the maid is like a king/queen. She adheres to certain rules. For example she shall wash clothes  merely two times a week. She shall treat each kind of cloth same. Linen shirts, cotton trousers, denims, teeshirts are all soaked together and washed with as carelessness as possible. This means my entire wardrobe looks like a vomit of color, all clothes, in Mumbai, apparently have weak colors. I can still live with this, I can go buy new things, but after she washes the clothes, she would just leave them like that. Ideally I would hang those clothes on some line and let them dry up etc but no sir, not this one.

Then there is the biggest travail of anyone's life in Mumbai. A house. I am looking to move into a 2/3 BHK with another (maybe 2) friend(s). For the same, I have been talking to brokers for last 13 days. And have posted my requirement on all the portals that advertise on TV. The places available for renting out are expensive like cocaine and yet are as bad as cheap beer. Of course that we are "bachelors", it does not help.

Food is another concern area. I am used to having a certain kind of food. Vegetarian, low on oil/fat, simple, lot of vegetables, fresh, soft, made with love etc. My mom, like all other mothers, has to arguably the best cook in the world. Here food is a challenge. The maid cooks the world's worst daal. More often than not, I am eating out and as a result getting fatter and poorer.

There are more things but I think these are the top three things that are fucking my head right now. So much that I have considered multiple times already to drop everything and go back to the protected world that I am used to. But then a few days back, I read PGs essay on how not to die. Though it was not pertinent to what I am doing here in Mumbai, it gave me some hope. And anyways, I dont call it quits because I am facing challenges (but when I get bored). So I'd stay for the time being and fight it out.

Ofcourse with time, I would fix all these things. And you know, if I can successfully move into a decent house that is airy, clean, free of pests, spacious, has terraces, is away from noise and hustle of the city, is on a high floor, the dent would have been made!

No I mean it.

On Gratitude, Restlessness and Yearning

1. The ones who know me since I was a kid, would know how huge a fan I was of Lucky Ali when I was growing up. So much so that while I was in college, I made this huge website dedicated to him (to bad it was on geocities and I dont have any copies of it). Back then, it became a reason. I couldnt stop thinking about his music and the website. I tracked every visitor and updated every broken link multiple times a day. Now, in 2012, it sounds funny and inane, considering what 19 year olds create now. But those were the days and there I was.

2. There is this show on MTV that probably is inspired by Coke Studio, which in turn is probably inspired by some other famous show from the west, that invites amazing musicians and puts them on a stage and ask them to perform their best tracks, unplugged and slightly tweaked for the live audience. And to jazz up the offering, it makes these artists talk about the music and why and how of their music. So much so that there are times you get to hear behind the scenes conversations between these guys. Nevertheless, it reveals, to some extent, what the artist was thinking while writing that song.

3. This video. And the brief interpretation of the lyrics by Lucky. And to be honest, all music by him.

4. sgMS. And everything about her. And I. And how Lucky's interpretation/reason for O Sanam is so apt, so befitting, so true about sgMs and I. And that after all these years, the realization that the song I loved as a kid will actually become a true story some day. And my story at that. 

5. Nights in Mumbai are brilliant. You may think that the city is fast asleep, but its not. Under the covers, everyone is dreaming about something or the other. Then, there are people on the road who dont really have a place to goto and there are some who dont want to goto any place and just stay on the move (like me, dunno if everyone loves the feeling of being on the move as heady as it is to me). Each lost in his/her own world. And in their dreams - after all this is the city where dreams can come true. Some of them actually do. And each person, each dream has a story that could make you envious.

6. I, alone. With nothing but music. And a million thoughts swirling around in my head. Ranging from music to life to travel to poker to money to dreams to "holocaust to quality of cucumbers in winters". And the sad bit is that I cant seem to find any answers to any of these genuine questions despite the Mensa membership and all that.

Club all the 6 above together (Apart from this list thing, I dont think I could have written this any better). I dont know the nature of resulting concoction but its like that amrit that makes you restless, fills you with gratitude and makes you yearn. All at the same time.

Restless because despite trying everything, there is something that binds you to her. Because despite trying everything you cant seem to get over her. Even her rebuttals, her insults, her public display of affection for everyone else refuse to work. And funnily she if of the same opinion.

Gratitude for people like Lucky Ali for cooking ups songs and stories like these. And for people on the streets of Mumbai. And their dreams. And all the efforts they put in. Everything gives you inspiration and hope to continue to work and pray that someday the hardwork is redeemed.

And finally, yearning. Yearning for achievement, for greatness, for immortality. And for sgMS.

Happy Birthday Rr!

If you are reading this, thank you for everything that you have done for me and that you have taught me. And thank you for all the wonderful friends that I have made because of you. Thank you for helping me out when I was stuck up with sgMS. Thank you for showing me the way when I was lost. Thank you for being by my side when I was all alone. Thank you rr. Thank you being who you are.

Oh, and, one more thing. Happy Birthday!

Looks. Do Matter.

This post hasn't been authored by me. This is by the planner in me, who I tried to kill three years back, but he refuses to go away. All characters used herein are fictional. Including references to a certain Bollywood actor. And yes, read at your own peril. 

It no secret that I like adore Shahrukh Khan. And the way he talks and the way he acts and the way he looks. No I am not talking about the KKHH look but the way he looks in general.

The KKHH look.

If you excuse his bachpan ka mistakes, he does not look that bad. On a normal day, he is lot more "cool" and far more polished. Take the Kabir Khan look for example.

Kabir Khan. Chak De India.  

And if given an opportunity, he can actually get nice shades and do his hair better and look even more awesome (or delicious, as a lot of his female fans say)

The Yummy look. 

So, SRK can chose to look great, bad, ugly, yummy or simple as per his wishes. Agreed he has the looks and hair and all that but I think a large credit goto the stylists as well. Merely by changing the way he dresses, his personality goes through a sea change. Like the movie Rab Nay Bana Di Jodi. He plays a simpleton and suddenly, if you dint know who he was, you could easily mistake him for an office going commoner from North India.

Ready for office! 

Ofcourse the point is not how brilliant SRK's style team is, but the fact that merely by changing the way you dress, you can change how you look.

And there are lessons to be learnt, for the mediocre, average Joe like me. The world makes their impression about you, merely by their first look. There is some number to it (first impressions are made in 30 seconds etc) but I am not sure. Imagine going to a client and promising them earth shattering insights about who to sell that expensive hand brewed tea to, and dressed in a torn jeans, old chappals and an ill fitting linen kurta. Will the client trust you with her brand? How many odds do you think you have to win that account, even if you were David M Ogilvy himself? 

Let me park that thought for a minute. Lets talk about other men who are not actors but have a distinct look/style. Steve Jobs for example. Black turtleneck, blue jeans and sneakers. 

The Steve "God" Jobs. Since 1988. 

Steve went like that to all the meetings. After 88, there were hardly any occasions when he made a public appearance in different look and yet he could command an audience faster than most of us blink our eyes. It would be brilliant if I could be like that. Irrespective of the way I look, I should be judged on what I bring to the table. 

But, alas, we are programmed to be lazy and conserve energy. We are happy to put people in silos and group them into generalizations. We love to categorize people and them rather than taking each case on its merit, we try to put every incident in a previously thought of bucket and apply all characteristics. So for example, if you called a nanny and he was bearded, wore denim shorts, Vans shoes and had tattoos and piercings all over, would you trust him with your kid? May be the nanny is more comfortable in a pair of shorts than a boring set of trousers. May be the tattoos are an extension of this thoughts and he has the balls to cry his thoughts out loud. May be his girlfriend appreciates a beard over a clean shaved look? Remember that talk about being comfortable etc? 

Coming back to thought I parked, I realized today that if I am to be successful, I need to leave my stubbornness behind and try to do things that are in line with the expectations of the world. And start "belonging" to the safe and trustworthy bucket. And this ladies and gentlemen, marks the beginning of the end of the great SG. I mean I can chose to be someone like Gail Wynand but what are the odds? I dont even know what Hell's Kitchen actually mean.

I mean if I was Jobs, or Gandhi, I would have been so good with what I did that I would not need a "look". But then I am not. Ofcourse it took them time to become who they were. Inshallah, so would I. And now that I am starting my business where I need to do some real work (rather than coding a website where my audience votes on pics of college kid), I would rather not leave any stone unturned. I will not die for sure. The looks bit, may end up being just another tactic to delay the death. Lets see how it goes.

And the real reason of posting this? Does anyone know of any good professional "image/looks consultant"? In Mumbai?

Mumbai Part 2. Day 2. King of Wishful Thinking

Today was officially day 2 of my second innings in Mumbai. Hopefully this innings is as fruitful as the first one. Under this tag, I plan to chronicle my time and adventures in the city that never sleeps (who coined this term btw?)

So the day was not really special. I woke up with groggy eyes to the sound of someone banging the bedroom door. For a minute I thought it was an earthquake and someone is here to save me. But them I heard the maid yell something about no washing powder in the bathroom. Confused, I looked around and I realized it was not my bed. It wasnt even my room or my home. And this is when it dawned on me that I was in Mumbai, sleeping on the floor of a friend's room. I yelled something at the maid and looked around for some water to help me wake up. No no, I dont splash my eyes with it. My machinery needs a couple of glasses of warm salt water to get started. And lo and behold, there wasnt any water, leave alone warm, or salted. There is something about water that makes me want as much as I can. I am known to have copious amounts everyday and as a result visit the John one too many times. Wait, let me go grab my glass of water.

So no hot water, unfamiliar bed and a pesky maid beating the door started my day. Note to self, once I have a house of mine, the maid will not come until I wake up (maybe after 9 AM) and if she does come before I wake up, she shall not disturb me, at any cost.

Next up was the battle to find a place to live. I mean I cant be sleeping on this floor for rest of my life. I have to find a place that I could call my own. I have thought about it a million times, the way I would do up my place, make it my den. Too bad I cant afford a place by myself. Side note, by the end of 2013, I have to have a place just to myself. So with real estate prices going up faster than petrol and gold, I had to find a place to live quick. For, every day's delay could mean even more money to be paid as rentals. So first thing I did after I woke up, was to fill up forms on all the classified websites of the world - olx, quickr, magicbricks etc. And this is where the memories of 2007 came back. For some reason Mumbai does not want to rent out places to bachelors. Especially bald ones. I dont know why. May be its a risk profile thing, the way I had at GE for issues home loans (for example, back in 2005, if you were older than 28 and living with your parents, we couldnt give you a loan).

So I filled all the forms and it started the flurry of endless calls from brokers and "agents" who would talk more and hear less. They assumed I was someone related to Mr. Mallaya and had all the money in the world. But moment I told them that I am a bachelor, they would leave me alone, the way Mr. Mallaya was left alone in the last few days of Kingfisher (disclaimer: I am a shareholder) and have excuses as funny as, "my wife's calling me. can I call you back sir".

Finally someone, sent specially by God agreed to show us a place. Went to see it. Like if but was too expensive to afford. Such is life! Sigh!

In the meanwhile, it was time for lunch. Went ahead and feasted on amazing sandwiches and french fries. Next up was recee to a site that a friend is considering for his business (disclaimer: though its his idea and his money, I am helping him with the venture). Post that I had to drop him to the station to catch his train. A little adventure ensued.

Dropped him somehow in time and went ahead to meet another friend. This one just got promoted to a CD post, which is an achievement, considering he's got just 5 years of experience under his belt. Discussed few ideas and a lot of things with him. May get to work with him on something that we want to paddle to business schools. If I get to, it would be awesome cos he is one of the most intelligent and creative people I know and then I would be talking to college kids, something that excites me.

Dropped him and went to another friend's place who fed me her world famous Rajma Chawal. She is thinking of a venture as well. I like what she is thinking of. Dont have a lot of money but made my first angel investment (on her business). Left her place and got caught by a cop. The car I was driving, dint have papers. Had 300 bucks in the wallet. Gave 200 bucks to him. Yes, a bribe (Arvind Kejriwal and his cronies, are you reading this?) and drove back home. I wish I had the political contacts to get away without having papers and all.

And I am home, writing this and planing for the day tomorrow before I sleep. And yes before I sleep, I shall brush my teeth. Something's gotta change, now that I am in Mumbai (more on this soon).

Finally, no I did not miss sgMS. And, yes, like they say,

I'll get over you..
I know I will I'll pretend my ship's not sinking
And I'll tell myself I'm over you
'cause I'm the king of wishful thinking

I am the fucking king of wishful thinking.

P.S.: How many times did I promise something in parentheses on my blog and actually did it? Someone's keeping a tab?

Ishqzaade - tr!p Worthy!

After ages, here is a song that I think is worthy enough to get a mention on my blog. Its one of those tracks that you need to hear on are you crazy levels on your headphones and play it on a continuous loop.

Untitled 2012 Nov 24

Disclaimer. I shall bare my soul and heart in this post. Make all my dirty secrets public. Please do not judge me on the basis of this post. I am a far better guy!

Last few days have been interesting frustrating. A lot of work, a lot of play, a lot of mental masturbation and yet, very little sleep. And since I am the kinds that can go with small amounts of sleep, less sleep doesn't really bother me. But then I am 30 (There! I said it. Secret # 1) and all the signs of ageing have started to show. There are evident signs of abuse that I have subjected myself to over the years (erratic sleeping schedules, no control on what I eat or when I eat or how much I eat, no physical activities etc). Thankfully since there is no narcotics, drugs or alcohol involved, I can somehow breathe. I wonder how to those people survive beyond 30?

Coming back, so last few days have been busy and a lot of action has happened. But for some reason, the action is not translating into excitement. And neither is it showing any tangible results. At least not the results that would have made me happy. Of course the output has been voluminous but then there is that debate about quality vs quantity and I know for a fact that quality has taken a hit.

I mentioned about lot of work, lot of play and lot of mental masturbation. Let me take each one by one.

Work
Its been crazy at work. Not that I work a lot but I can safety say that I am overworked. There are just too many things on my plate and I am juggling too many things at the same time. I am worried about that one wrong move that would send all the plates I am juggling crashing down. And in the business I am in, there is no second chances. No, I dont get stressed about things. Thankfully I dont want a "career" and I am not worried about "spoiling my cv" and I can rest but yes, it bothers me. It bothers me that I have put so much at stake and so much at risk. And it just happened!

Also, I am most probably moving to Mumbai soon (before the month end) and that means a lot of loose ends to be tied up here in Delhi. This means that the next few months will be full of uncertainty and frustration. I would be running from pillar to post when I am trying to set my foot in Mumbai. I dont know if I would succeed but I will have to give it my 100%. That work life balance thing that we strive hard to achieve will get fucked up in the process.

I would also have to leave the comfort of home which I am very fond of (secret # 2). Things that I take for granted will now start becoming big and will make me part of the daily grind that involves cooking, maintaining a house, haggling with maids, etc. Its a very scary thought. I now appreciate all the efforts that my mom has put in, to raise us and keep my home a sane place!

Play
Not much except drives, lunches and dinners with few people that help me kill time. Suds, Ankit, Vijesh. Missing is a meeting with Agony Aunt - she is too tied up to grant me darshan. I have been able to write quite a lot. On this blog, on Sandbox. I started working on SG.com and its close to completion. I will have to dig into Wordpress if I want it to look like what I have in my head. I cant really translate that into a product spec and get a theme made. But then, the lazy ass like me (Secret # 3), will I want to go through the grind of learning PHP and WP and spend countless hours mastering it?

Mental Masturbation
I added at least three more ideas to my list of to-do things. All the three ideas are what dreams are made of - easy to execute, large addressable market, clear gap, potential to be billion dollar enterprises that could run on autopilot and throw enough cash at me. Just one hitch - I am sure I will not start any of those. I just wish I had a machine that could execute all these ideas. Remember my post about hiring a boss? I dont know why I cant seem to do things (Secret # 4).

Then, I lost big in a recent game. It wiped my bankroll (Secret # 5). Time to slowly build it all over again. And the only way I know, to build the bankroll, is by saving a measly amount every month and waiting for it to reach a point where I can afford a ticket to Goa. And then hope to make it big there.

Finally India, has seen a lot of interesting days as well. Thackery died, Kasab got executed and there is that regular uproar about corruption etc. And for a change, I cant seem to have an opinion on any of the three (Secret # 6). I never liked Thackery or what he stood for but that gathering of 19 lakh Mumbaikars people at his funeral has left me confused. Kasab, in my opinion, should have been executed long time back. But now that he's gone, I dont know what will happen now. The war on terrorism is still far from over and with Kasab, we had a hope that something good may come out of it. I wrote about Kasab here.

Then there is this huge unrest in the country where every politician is either apparently corrupt or playing the blame games. I mean its not really surprising to know about corruption at highest levels. I have always known that bribery is how things actually move in India. Favouritism and ulterior motives has ensured that some people make all the money and everyone else is left poor. I just think that its amazing that us common folks are ignorant. And the fact that we minions dont know about favouritism has actually kept us happy in our own shells. I have a fleeting suspicion that the day we get to see the kind of shit Wikileaks exposes, we wont know what hit us. We wont be able to comprehend the depth or impact of it. I secretly pray that it actually remains under the wraps (Secret # 7).

End Note 
Phew! this was a long one. Thats it I guess for this edition of Lets Reveal Our Lives on Blogs. More episodes soon. Like always, please ignore typos, grammar etc. As if you'd read. The last two untitleds were read a combined 15 times.

Conversation with myself, on Ajmal Kasab

Today, I woke up to the news of Ajmal Kasab's execution. And to be honest, I was indifferent towards it. Ofcourse there was this curiosity to know more about it. Ajmal Kasab and his case has to be the most famous case in the country - for what he did was amongst the worst a human can do to another humans. I woke up and read about it and despite all the witty, sarcastic, patriotic, inflammatory and useless comments about it, I remained indifferent. Probably its the classic case of "not my problem". Or may be like most other things, I grew so tired of all the debate and discussions around it that I had shut my head to anything about it. Or may be its plain, good old indifference?

I dont know. And I cant seem to find an answer. Apart from the indifference about it, the execution has left me with conflicting thoughts to be honest. On one hand, I dont support capital punishment and on the other, I want the guilty (especially of the attack) to be punished. I appreciated the way the Govt. handled the entire issue and at the same time I loathed hated all the rejoicing that was going around. End of the day he was a human being and its barbaric as a society to celebrate someone else's killing. But like someone pointed on twitter, our biggest festival is all about victory of good over evil by killing of the Ravana and making him pay for his misdeeds.

There are no easy answers to this debate. More than taking a side and answering anyone else, I am struggling really hard to be to true to myself and find answers. I am hating all this uncertainty and indecisiveness. I actually revel in uncertainty and celebrate freedom that comes with it. Though my fickle mindedness is legendary, I am not undeceive at all. I hate waiting for decisions. In fact I take fast decisions. And I take so many of those (is this why I am fickle minded?) that it at times is a blur. More food for thought.

You know (who am I talking to by the way? Myself?) I was actually in Mumbai when the attacks happened. I was tucked away in one remote corner when Kasab and his gang went about firing and killing innocent civilians. To be honest, I was not afraid, even for a minute. I think because I dont really know what terminal danger looks like. And I am the kinds who believes that nothing that is an outlier, could happen to me (including stoke of extraordinary luck). But then since I consume so much media, I could sense the anger, pain, frustration and helplessness in the ordinary Indian.

Is the execution of Kasab an answer to these emotions? I sincerely hope it is. Hate to see so much potential being squandered away over fruitless discussions and mental orgasm. As a capitalist, I cant really understand where do people get the time to practise religion. There is so much to do and so much to achieve and yet people tend to waste their time. Every day is a new day. Why cant we get up and live each day to the fullest?

I hope that the ones who lost their loved ones in the entire episode have found some kind of closure. That to be is the only good thing about this execution. Hope they sleep better now. Hope they wake up tomorrow with renewed vigour and enjoy all the blessings that Mother Earth has showered on us. The world is indeed beautiful out there.

Untitled 2012 Nov 16

Yet another untitled. Last time I spoke about restlessness. This time I shall talk about suffocation. And before you get confused about negativity of these posts and depressive language, please know that these are parts of a larger text that I am hoping to write before the end of this year (another month or so to go). And no, these dont reflect the state of my mind. 

This time let me talk about suffocation. 

Suffocation. Most of us know it as a state when we cant breathe. We are left gasping for breath and we cant seem to get enough oxygen in our lungs. We try harder to breathe and that whiff of air remains elusive. The line between life and death seems to blurring with each moment. You love life and hence you try harder. And the sheer effort of trying harder makes it all the more difficult and further blurs the thin thread. Tough to visualize? Ok, lets make it easier.

Do you know how to swim? In the relative safety of a swimming pool? Where you have life guards, floats and predictable shores? Think of the time when you were learning the art and science of swimming. The first few days. When the entire effort was focussed on just one thing - staying above the water level. Because once you went down under, you could not breathe and it was not a good situation to be in. You could hold you breath for a few seconds but after that you were left gasping for breath. While trying to breathe, water would rush into your mouth and lungs umpteen times. Most times, you would have coughed it out, lungs cant hold water, you see. Once in a while someone would have helped you clear your lungs. But suffocation, by water, was not a pleasant memory.

The ones who dont know swimming, imagine a huge polythene bag. Imagine wearing it like a cap, from top of your head and pull it all the way down to your neck. And tie it from the back. And make it taut. So much that you can see the outline of your face on the polythene. The eye pits, the nostrils and the open gaping mouth shouldn't just be evident, but be prominent, just like a student of art draws the outline of a human face. Now when the apparatus for experiment is in place, try breathing in. Every breath you take, will not bring that surge of air that you expect and are used to. But it will pull the thin and yet impervious polythene further in, will make it tighter and make it difficult to survive. And this will effect you on two dimensions. One, you arent breathing and you arent sending oxygen to your brain. And the lack of oxygen takes you a step closer to being a vegetable. Second, the head thinks that its breathing. I mean all its life, the head has told the lungs that the body needs oxygen and the lungs complied by getting air, filtering the oxygen and pumping it along with blood to million little arteries in your body. This, however, is amongst those few times when lungs refused to comply. And it leaves your head confused. Its like that double whammy.

Suffocation is thus a very very potent force. It brings you this close to the edge that you dont know that there's a way back. It brings out the will to survive, or it makes people let go, depending on how you are, who you are and what you are. Its like a test. A test that tells you what are you made up of, deep down inside. Everything else is a sham. The psychometric tests, written assessments, simulators, social pressure, relationships, emotions, all are good tools to evaluate an individual but nothing comes close to the test of suffocation.

Now the reason of the post. Do you have it in you to subject yourself to this test? And share results?

Chevrolet Cruze - Hunter (2012)

Of all the ads that are on TV, because of the sheer number and the frequency with which they bombard you, very few catch you eye, your attention and make you take note of what is happening on the screen. The new TVC for Chevrolet Cruze is one such commercial.

Unlike most great ads, its not a one minuter and there are no powerful characters or dialogues. Its a very simple ad that has just one hero - the product itself. And unlike all car ads, there are no cliched stories and it does not talk overtly about the power, mileage, young adult protagonist or the awesome looks of the car.

Have a look, if you haven't seen already.



The lyrics go as follow...

Run boy run there's a storm on the run... dust... rising!
There's a beast on the prowl, there's a roar, there's a growl... thunder and lightning! 

Wow! Beautiful visuals, amazing lyrics, awesome voice and great music. A brilliant package. There is no way that the target audience for Cruze will not like it.

Talking about the target audience, for any car company, typically the key sets of audience are...

1. Potential customers - the ones who are actually considering buying a sedan that is high on comfort, value for money and stylish enough for them to buy it. The car must elevate their status within their heads and more importantly, in their peer group. For a prospective Cruze customer, I am assuming, from the commercial, that they are looking at selling it to fast rising corporate kinds rather than the old businessmen. These young men want to play, rather than just commute in comfort. For "play", the hunter and prowl is a brilliant place to be at. 
2. The automotive fanatics - the kind of people who know what horsepower the engine is, what is the turning radius, the clearance and other such things that are Greek and Latin to people like us. These people participate in forums and post their opinion on portals. These are the people that potential customers actually turn towards for their buy decision. Even though, the commercial has zero stats or numbers, it has everything that would make a car fanatic take note. The drifts and looks will make one search for more. The Cruze website does an ok job at it. 
3. Dealers/sales team etc - the ones who will actually sell the car. These people are often oblivious to  the content of the ad but need the gratification that the "company" is advertising on TV and is spending money to help sell easier. 
4. Competitors - merely to take a jab at em ;P

The ad clearly does a good job at appealing at all 4. Even though, it would be tough to get the sales data just for Cruze but it would be interesting to see. At least in this category, premium sedan category, there must be a direct correlation between advertisement and sales. Since in India, a car is a very very high involvement product, its really important for a car commercial to appeal to emotions.

In terms of how a planner would have approached this TVC, a typical planner is trained to think in two dimensions - rational and emotional. Rational - you talk of the benefits that are apparent, measurable and verifiable. Examples could be better mileage, superior looks, impeccable build quality or extra space. Emotional - you talk of benefits that a customer will perceive after they are exposed to your communication and hence are non-quantifiable, subjective and open to interpretation. The examples could be "makes you a hero", "takes you home", "your first car" etc. The rational ones are easy to make and the emotional ones are difficult to pull off.  This commercial is definitely not rational and slightly evolved for classifying as purely emotional.

For the category, the commercial is spot on. Easily breaks the clutter and makes the audience take a note. Take a note of the hunter on prowl! In the end, its a #win commercial for Chevrolet. Kudos to the agency that came up with the insight and wrote this commercial (who?). And to the client that approved the concept and is actually spending money to air it.

I'd rate the commercial a 4 on 5. Go see it. And yes, it makes me want to go and buy the car. Just that I dont have the money to do so. Sigh! 

Disclaimer: Personal, opinion, only.