Joseph Nye of Harvard coined the term 'soft power' to denote the cultural pull that a nation exerts over other nations, in terms of its influence. This is opposed to its "hard power" which is exerted by a military, poilitical or economic push. So, think of institutions like British Council, Alliance Francaise, think of blue jeans, American pop music and fast food brands like McDonalds, and closer home, think of Bollywood movies, bindis and chicken tikka masala. All of these are ambassadors of culture, and have been used by their respective countries very cleverly, in order to make themselves liked by others. But soft power is not confined to cultural diplomacy efforts of nations alone.


In today's globalized world, the profits of several corporations are larger than the GDP of many small countries, and we see that large corporations often behave like countries. For many of these corporations, their identity is strongly linked to their home country, and these corporations often use their soft power from their home country to their advantage, when they operate in other countries. Indian companies, which have been over the past few years confidently been venturing abroad to operate in new markets, are no different.

One such example of this soft power in action is the Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival, held in New York every November. Now, on the face of it, why does a company that so far has only been selling tractors and software in the US need to support a film festival on an east coast city, where it has no real presence?

But consider this. The festival is an event that bridges two kinds of cinema - independent Indian cinema made in India, as well as Indian films made abroad, and these could include films by Indian film-makers living abroad, or films by non Indian film-makers but with Indian themes. In that sense, it portrays a very different kind of hybrid and global India to the world - and it does so in New York city, the most international city in the world. The event also has workshops, public discussions, parties and an award function, and it is usually well attended by thousands of people over the course of the week that it is held, and these are not just desi folks, but a whole international spectrum of nationalities.

We realize that what the festival is really about - is conversations. Conversations between films and film-makers, between film-makers and audiences, between audiences themselves, and at a larger level, a conversation between Mahindra itself, and the US about what it means to be a global Indian company. A conversation that will define the public perception of Mahindra if it decides to expand its range of products and services in the US. And what is the crux of this conversation? I think that the name of the festival itself indicates the answer. Not just Indian, not just American, but Indo-American. Yes, the global Indian company, just like the global Indian person, is a hybrid. It reaches out to the world, but is also rooted in its Indianness.