The Hindu Business Line : Bond: A brand that lives on?

James Bond has been a great brand name right from the days of Goldfinger (1964). Over the years, producers have tried to keep the frenzy going by introducing new actors. Daniel Craig will be the sixth to play the role, taking over from Pierce Brosnan, 51, who has the distinction of playing 007 four times. Craig has played brooding roles in the biopic `Sylvia' and a real-life killer, Perry Smith, in the latest release `Capote'. Now, in Casino Royale he will play the tough and gritty spy. Bookmakers are equating Craig with George Lazenby, infamously known as the biggest Bond flop. Some critics believe that the 21st century audience has had enough of the world's most flamboyant secret agent. But James Bond cannot be written off. Starting with Sean Connery, all Bond actors excelled as role models. And the Bond brand will continue to hold its sway. "The King is dead. Long live the King."

T. S. Sundareswaan, Consultant, New Delhi

The next bond? Kamala Hasan, Rajni Kanth, Mammootty, Mohan Lal, Suresh Gopi...

T. V. Jayaprakash, Research Officer, CADA of Kerala, Thrissur

James Bond gets a new face every 5-10 years. But till date no one has been able to replace the charismatic Sean Connery. The newcomer, Daniel Craig, has a big task on hand.

P. Sreenivasan, AGM-IDBI Ltd, Hyderabad, sree26vasan@yahoo.com

The king dies, but the kingdom lives on. This is applicable to 007 too. Long live James Bond.

P. Sankaranarayanan, Kochi, dgmmtlsecr@kochirefineries.com

James Bond as movie genre has been immortalised by the action sequences and the blondes, more than the Bonds themselves. However, die-hard fans revere the older Sean Connery films more than the recent ones.

S. Krithivasan, SBI, s.krithivasan@sbi.co.in

Daniel Craig is the latest actor to play agent 007. Will he stir up the James Bond fervour in the time of Harry Potter mania? Classics, perhaps, never go out of fashion.

A. Jacob Sahayam, Thiruvananthapuram, jacob_sahayam@yahoo.co.in

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Response to Sticklish on engineering curricula

In India, the engineering curricula is good. It is the selection to engineering colleges and the method of evaluation that needs change. Selection to engineering colleges depends on how much a student can remember more than on his understanding of basic concepts. Similarly, engineering exams test a student's knowledge of the subject rather than his skills in designing something new or in approaching a problem and solving it in a real life situation.

G. Padmanaban, gpnabhan@yahoo.com

As an electronics engineer who has had the opportunity to study in India and the US, I was amazed at the difference in the teaching. In the US, my professors emphasised the need for real life applications of engineering education, while my professors in India were more focused on getting students to understand how an electronic component works and not on what it can do to help solve!

Engineers fundamentally are not scientists. An engineer applies science in practice and uses science to create value for the society. This attitude is clearly lacking in engineering education in India. This change will happen when successful professionals enter academia and shake up the system.

S. Balaji Venkatesh, Human Capital Consultant, US

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