Author Archives for Barry Lowen 
Barry Lowen is Director, UKTI India. He has worked with the FCO in a variety of roles in London and overseas. He speaks Arabic, having served as Deputy Head of Mission in Riyadh, and is keen to learn Hindi (and not only in order to be able to understand Bollywood films!). He studied Politics, Philisophy and Economics at Oxford and recently completed a MBA; having been influenced by Indian economists and management thinkers, he is looking forward to learning more of Indian business experience with best - and next - practice. His last job in London, as Director Asia in UKTI, gave him a broad perspective on business in Asia and an awareness of the scope for developing the trade and investment partnership between the UK and India - a theme which he hopes to develop in these blogs. The Rise of Rocket Singh, Entrepreneur
My last blog took as a basis the 1950s classic Paner Panchali, a moving story of simple rural folk. Now I jump forward half a century to a film I recently saw on a plane journey, the 2009 Bollywood film, Rocket Singh Salesman of the year, a modern story about entrepreneurial young people.
It tells the [...]
Pather Panchali: The Song of the Open Road
I recently watched Satyajit Ray’s classic film, Pather Panchali, (“Song of the Open Road”, 1955), often judged to be one of the 100 best films ever made. It is a touching, at times harrowing, portrayal of the trials and tribulations of a Bengali peasant family who suffer tragedy at a time when the father, Harihar, [...]
Three idiots, two countries, one partnership
Recently I watched the 2009 Bollywood film, Three Idiots, with my family.
We greatly enjoyed it (even my son, who normally considers a film to be lacking something if less than half the cast haven’t been spectacularly blown up, declared it the best film he had seen). It was a great, feel good movie. And it [...]
Say Salaam India and Namastey London
“Say Salaam India” is the title of a 2007 Bollywood movie. But for me it also expresses a message from the visit to India last week by the British Prime Minister and his delegation - as David Cameron said at the start of the visit, today’s investors and entrepreneurs should “Go East” to find opportunity [...]
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
“Sometimes happiness, sometimes sadness”. That’s true not just in family life, as in the Bollywood film which I’ve recently watched (also known as K3G), but also in business (MBA students are told that 9 out of 10 business ventures fail).
But I was pleased that in the film, after the eldest son, Rahul, and his wife [...]
“All the World’s a stage…”
“…and all the men and women merely players”. My last blog drew on Bollywood. This one draws on Shakespeare. (Not perhaps a big leap – was Shakespeare the 16th century antecedent of Bollywood, albeit more bawdy?).
Shakespeare didn’t, as I recall, consider the role played on the world stage by international business and trade and investment.
The [...]
Dilwale Duniya Le Jayenge – the bold-hearted will take the world!
I have just joined the British High Commission as Director for Trade and Investment. It’s an exciting time to do so: with rapid development and great dynamism in India, there’s huge opportunity for UK companies, and, as Indian companies look to new, global markets, they are benefitting from doing business in and with the UK.
I [...]