‘Knowing somebody doesn’t inhibit me. I am often the devil’s advocate’

Sunday , 24 May '09

Sir David Frost is the legendary TV interviewer, presenter and news entrepreneur who was immortalised last year by the film Frost/Nixon, based on his interviews with President Nixon after he resigned following Watergate. In this Idea Exchange moderated by Senior Associate Editor Monojit Majumdar, Sir David discusses, amongst other issues, the film, Nixon, his most important encounters and the Frost style of interviewing

‘Not voting has attracted a sense of shame and embarrassment. The message has gone home’

Sunday , 10 May '09

With just one phase left in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, often called the man in the middle at the EC, was at the Express for an Idea Exchange. In this session moderated by Senior Editor (Politics) Vandita Mishra, he speaks about the enormity of the poll process and former CEC Gopalaswami’s controversial letters to the President

‘Modi has emerged. He’s the natural choice for leading the party whenever the opportunity comes’

Sunday , 3 May '09

In this Idea Exchange moderated by Contributing Editor Coomi Kapoor, Yashwant Sinha, former finance minister and external affairs minister in the NDA government, speaks of Cong-BJP ties and says the Left has to take the blame for letting the N-deal through

‘As far as hiring goes, the worst is over and you will see a recovery’

Sunday , 26 April '09

Sanjeev Bikhchandani, CEO and founder of naukri.com, moved job searches from newspapers to the online world. Since then, he has diversified into many other niche portals like jeevansathi and 99acres. In this Idea Exchange moderated by Rishi Raj, Chief of Corporate Bureau (The Financial Express), Bikhchandani speaks about the slowdown and how it has affected hiring

Baba Balbir Singh: 'Polluting industries are killing people. They must be held accountable'

Wednesday , 22 April '09

What makes Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal an uncharacteristic godman is his work for the conservation of environment.

‘I don’t think we have reached the stage when Taliban will take over Pakistan’

Sunday , 19 April '09

Four Pakistani journalists—Rahimullah Yousufzai, the veteran who reports for the BBC from Peshawar; Beena Sarwar, freelance journalist and filmmaker; Saeed Minhas, editor of the daily Aaj Kal; and Muniba Kamaal of The News—were at The Indian Express for an Idea Exchange. In this session moderated by Associate Editor Mini Kapoor, they speak about the Taliban in Pakistan and how there is nothing new about the Sharia law in Swat

‘I hope the Third Front glue sticks but it all depends on the numbers post elections’

Sunday , 5 April '09

Sitaram Yechury is often called the pragmatist of the CPI(M). In this Idea Exchange moderated by Executive Editor Unni Rajen Shanker, Yechury talks of the Left’s new allies and the Third Front’s chances in the general election

‘Cong will have to fight both Third Front and BJP. If ever the BJP rises to power, it will be on the crutches of the Third Front’

Sunday , 29 March '09

Veerappa Moily, former Karnataka CM and the man in the thick of the Congress’s election campaign, was at the Express for an Idea Exchange. In this session moderated by Special Correspondent D.K. Singh, Moily speaks about the party’s ‘Jai Ho’ theme song, the Third Front and the Congress’s electoral chances

‘I can get the youth to dream. They have fewer biases’

Sunday , 22 March '09

As India’s 11th President, A.P.J Abdul Kalam led an active public life and came to be known as the People’s President. In this Idea Exchange moderated by Resident Editor Seema Chishti, Kalam speaks about his ideas, his vision for the country and the youth....

‘How can people own homes with the prevailing rate of interest?’

Sunday , 15 March '09

K.P. Singh, chairman of DLF, transformed the company into one of India’s biggest real estate developers. In this Idea Exchange moderated by Business Editor P. Vaidyanathan Iyer, Singh talks about how the meltdown has affected the real estate sector

‘There is no Wall Street or main street, there is only one street and we are all on it’

Sunday , 8 March '09

Thomas L. Friedman, widely read columnist of The New York Times and the man who coined the term ‘flat world’ in the context of globalisation, was at The Indian Express for an Idea Exchange. In this session moderated by Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta, Friedman calls the economic situation ‘scary’ and explains why it’s important that the US gets its policies right

‘YSR should get the same treatment as Raju. If Raju can be in jail, how can he escape?’

Sunday , 1 March '09

During his nine years in power, Chandrababu Naidu was known as the CEO of Andhra Pradesh. But these days, he is engaged in a bitter battle with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy over the Satyam scandal. In this Idea Exchange moderated by Contributing Editor Coomi Kapoor, Naidu displays a ‘book’, which, he claims, exposes the CM. He also speaks about Telangana, his alliance with the Left and TRS, and Chiranjeevi

‘Why are only women directors expected to make realistic films?’

Sunday , 22 February '09

Zoya Akhtar has scored with her directorial debut, Luck by Chance. In this Idea Exchange moderated by Senior Editor Namrata Sharma Zakaria in Mumbai, Zoya Akhtar and her mother the screenplay writer Honey Irani speak about the movie, Slumdog Millionaire and what it is to be a family of scriptwriters

‘Delhi is the only megacity that has an extraordinary historical past’

Saturday , 21 February '09

BBC’s Delhi correspondent and novelist Sam Miller shares his views in an interaction with the Delhi Newsline team. Having declared Delhi his home, Miller recently launched his novel on it, Delhi: Adventures in a Megacity

‘Only one solution: Pakistan has to come across openly and honestly to deliver’

Sunday , 15 February '09

In this Idea Exchange moderated by Resident Editor Seema Chishti, Anand Sharma, MoS for External Affairs with additional charge of the I&B ministry, speaks of Pakistan’s response to the Mumbai attacks and the democratisation in the Youth Congress

‘This was a war against the Hamas; not a war against the Palestinians’

Sunday , 8 February '09

In this Idea Exchange moderated by Senior Editor Mihir Sharma, Israeli ambassador Mark Sofer explains Israel’s role in Gaza and why his country understands India’s response to the Mumbai attacks

‘As long as young people are joining politics, it is a very reassuring sign’

Sunday , 1 February '09

Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology Jyotiraditya Scindia is considered one of the brightest ministers in the UPA government. In this Idea Exchange moderated by Resident Editor Seema Chishti, he speaks of his vision for the Department of Posts, Rahul Gandhi and the Scindia family legacy

‘It’s important that we demonstrate that acts of fraud will be treated firmly’

Sunday , 25 January '09

Nandan Nilekani is a man of many parts—an entrepreneur, a technocrat, a co-founder of Infosys and as his book Imagining India shows, a man of ideas. In this Idea Exchange moderated by Subhomoy Bhattacharjee, Deputy Executive Editor of The Financial Express, Nilekani speaks of the need for reforms, the Satyam scandal and the role of the state and the market

‘The government is trying to ensure that the corporate sector gets some relief and we don’t go into recession’

Sunday , 18 January '09

In this Idea Exchange moderated by Subhomoy Bhattacharjee, Deputy Executive Editor of The Financial Express, Minister of Company Affairs Premchand Gupta talks of the new Companies Bill and the Satyam scandal