Table of Contents
‘Muddy Waters’ of The China Hustle
Just when you thought that you knew how to make your money work for you, and make your company grow, you come across this jaw-dropping docu-series called The China Hustle which has been uploaded thankfully on YouTube.
Paper companies that make a 150% profit, SEC violations, banks complicit in the paper trail, and a mind boggling business philosophy: Muddy Waters Makes Easy To Catch Fish.
Working: What we do all day
If you’re still grinning from the latest episode of South Park, and wish for sanity and insights into how people look at their work life, then Barack Obama’s voice will make you realise that you too have colleagues and employees who are affected by the decisions you make.
Corporations may make decisions based on their political leanings, but how these decisions affect people and what makes a good job good is shown in the four episode show you will find on Netflix.
Also Read | Superman returns with money lessons only James Gunn could script
Caught Out. More on the big cricket scam
The day I watched cricketing greats confess in tears, the game just stopped holding meaning. This series offers a new perspective on the cricketing scandal that still affects legions of fans who still take every win and every loss personally.
You’ll be sighing into your tea when you hear journalists and CBI officers who investigated one of the biggest scandals in India. Cricketing greats who fell from grace because of their love for all the toys money could buy… Watch it on Netflix.
Gold Rush. The thirst for this yellow metal is unending
Imagine owning private planes, hangars and an air strip that’s just lying there unused, because the economy has eroded everything. Looks like it will be easier to find gold than jobs. This series follows this seemingly, mind-blowingly crazy scheme that could have a huge payback if they are successful.
In a world where people are being encouraged to think outside the box, is this gamble worth it? Watch this series on Netflix.
Made In China: Rajkummar Rao in tiger soup
The book by Parinda Joshi held more promise about jugaad than the film delivered. And yet this film (with all its draggy middle parts) serves as a reminder that you need to understand the business you are getting into before you serve Tiger Soup to unsuspecting folk.
Chinese aphrodisiacs claim much, and Chinese herbal remedies promise the moon as do our Indian Ayurvedic concoctions. But when a young businessman who deals in mattresses chooses to expand his business into China, he comes back home with something that promises him money but… Watch this 2019 film on Netflix.
(And if you’re not too happy with the film, switch to watching Swades where Shah Rukh Khan realises what it means to leave a well paying job to come home to finding solutions to a different kind of challenge)
Lords of Scam: What cons will they think of next!
How many times have you sat after a party with your friends and schemed to take over the world? Or discussed scams that rocked the stock market and professed that you would never get caught?
This French documentary is one and a half hour long, and you will be shaking your heads in collective amazement at how simple the scam is and how easy it is to swindle people out of their money. It’s a treat to watch on Netflix.
Life Without Principle
Johnnie To takes us into this thrilling yet scary world of bank securities in this film. What desperation drives people into taking risks?
A cop and a bank teller get ensnared in the world filled with people who will go to any length to get themselves out of the economic crisis. This thriller is a good watch and will make you hungrier for the local Chinese takeaway…
The Laundromat
I am so sure you know someone who took a trip to Mauritius or Barbados to move their money… This star studded Soderberg film will have you grinning when you realise that it takes a widow (Meryl Streep is so amazing!) to unearth an insurance scam…
Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, Sharon Stone, David Schwimmer, and more stars than you can count! This film is worth all your money hidden away in mattresses…
Also Read | Special Ops 2: What Neeraj Pandey’s spy thriller teaches about money
A Man of Action. A good fun double life
You’ve seen Farzi on Prime Video, now watch this film that takes you into the life of a man who is just a bricklayer by day and an anarchist at night.
What lengths will you go in order to avenge the slights you suffered when you stood in long lines to convert your hard earned money into new currency when demonitisation happened? Farzi made me root for the bad things they did, but it offered a salve for the unchanged 1500 rupees I still have. Watch this film on Netflix.
Saving Capitalism. How people want to be heard
Many have read the book by Professor and Former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. This documentary on Netflix follows him as he explains to us how people are angry, how dissatisfied they are with decisions taken by the governments, the inaction and the great divide between the haves and the have nots.
You’d think it will be dry and dull, and that you should watch documentaries like How to Make a Billion, or The Warren Buffet Story instead. But watch how the professor analyses our money habits. Illuminating!
This listicle should persuade you to step inside the world of Bitcoins and Crypto Currencies as well… But we are still mad at our banks for making us stand out in the Sun while the big fish got away…No, not asking you to watch Breaking bad or Money Heist. But my favourite: Hell or High Water.
Manisha Lakhe is a poet, film critic, traveller, founder of Caferati — an online writer’s forum, hosts Mumbai’s oldest open mic, and teaches advertising, films and communication. She can be reached on Twitter at @manishalakhe.
