Clawing back from the abyss

What is often considered an end to life is, at times, a humble start to a new beginning. At least this happened with two-time Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner, 54, who after being crushed under 14,000-pound snowplough on new year day in 2023 that literally didn’t leave a major bone intact, talked to people two-days later to convey that ‘he was not yet gone’. The second-most googled person that year had an impressive filmography, a bomb technician in The Hurt Locker and a bank robber in The Town.  

Survival after such crushing accident guides one to re-assess life, and to rewire one’s mind to adapt change. It wasn’t easy for Renner to write; his memoir My Next Breath carries blistering details about the accident and the aftermath. The memoir is a testament to the human spirit and its unending desire to endure and transform. But it is not written in a traditional sense, it is a three-part painful story about living, almost dying and recovering. It has reflections on life already lived, and the prospects that lie ahead. 

Someone asked Renner if surviving had made him better or a different person. ‘I have more physical limitations on my body as an instrument, but my new life is way more deeply rooted in the art of emotions.’ In a school essay, his 11-year-old daughter Ava, summed up her proudest moment when she was picked up by her father from the school. Ava was the fuel for Renner’s recovery. It was bouts of positive energy all around that made pretty much anything possible, though not too long ago he was almost dead. 

Renner’s memoir captures the essence of life and profound transformation, a delicate interplay between redemption and renewal. No experience need be wasted, reminisces Renner. Everything that happens to us can be stored as information so that when disaster strikes, one doesn’t curl up and stop breathing. No wonder, the memoir is titled My Next Breath. Whenever disaster of any kind strikes, the focus should be on breath or to find a position in which breathing is possible. It is only breathing that makes things possible and doable.

Renner has signaled his return to what he knows best – acting and singing. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery will be out towards the end of 2025. Says he, ‘I do love my job, but not at the cost of what has real value in life.’ It is an inspiring memoir that has many experiences that will leave profound impact on life.  Renner sums up his feelings: ‘I’ve noticed that I’m just cherishing moments more, savoring experiences more deeply, and expressing gratitude all the time’. Perhaps some readers might think that’s too simple a philosophy, but isn’t life as simple as that after all?   

After having gone through near-death moments, one ends up searching beauty of life. To Renner, the beauty comes from being connected. ‘We’re all connected in a divinity of love, which one can God. It helps us to stay vulnerable and yet being loved.’ 

My Next Breath 
by Jeremy Renner
Simon&Schuster, New Delhi. 
Extent: 206, Price: Rs. 999.

First published in Deccan Herald on July 13, 2025.

Harnessing creative energies of human intelligence and AI

Whether or not artificial intelligence will outsmart human ingenuity has been rested in favor of co-intelligence where both will collaborate in ways never imagined. The new technological revolution is in the future, a visionary road map which will shape our co-existence by reshaping our co-existence. As things stand, artificial intelligence will augment human ingenuity rather than replace it. The Co-Intelligence Revolution is an insightful guide to navigate the frontiers where human ingenuity meets artificial intelligence, it envisions a future in which they are not only powerful allies but collaborate to co-create ground-breaking innovations and transformed institutions. It engages with artificial intelligence as co-worker, co-teacher and coach. 

It is an interesting playbook that draws from numerous real-world case studies to illustrate how co-intelligence demonstrates a paradigm shift in expanding the role and reach of traditional and emerging institutions. The book presents artificial intelligence not just a tool but as a vital partner in the process of co-creation. With over a hundred compelling examples from different ecosystems— from L’Oréal’s inclusive beauty platforms to digital expansion of public finance, citizen-services, and education—the book illustrates how co-intelligent enterprises will unlock their potential across private, public and plural sectors.

Overs last few years, L’Oreal, the 115-year-old global leader in the beauty business has moved from its earlier focus on ‘beauty for all’ to now stress on ‘beauty for each’. Highly personalized beauty routines are delivered through sophisticated cutting-edge technologies, providing skin and skin-care diagnostics to receive personalized recommendations. To achieve such results, the global leader has leveraged over ten large language models to apply neural network techniques that processes lots of data. As a result, L’Oreal is now speaking a new language that leverages tech-intensity to create new life-experiences through its co-intelligence platforms. 

There are several cases where co-creation is pitched to increase efficiency and output. Venkat Ramaswamy and Krishnan Narayanan clearly explain evolving role of artificial intelligence in breaking down complex concepts in an accessible way. In the new realm of co-intelligence, organizations have to craft co-intelligence architectures powered by platforms for sharing digitalized infrastructure. It may be easy read for companies who wish to have AI drive future of their business. There are number of cases where industries are embracing AI as a collaborative partner. Even institutions like the University of Michigan are doing trailblazing work on promoting AI literacy and providing AI access. Its AI services attract an average of 15,000 users a day, and thousands are using these services. If its ten-year vision is anything to go by, the university aim is to develop future-proof educational models. 

The Co-Intelligence Revolution is a latest phase of the industrial revolution, it is the creative synergy between human intelligence and machine intelligence, where AI augments and amplifies human capabilities. And this revolution is technologically driven by electronic neural networks fed with vast amounts of data and put to work with accelerated computing, in a form of AI factory. However, a crucial question is regarding the security and sustainability of AI systems. Unlike in the past, co-intelligence enterprises in the anthropocene must grapple with the reality that their actions may significantly influence the very systems on which they rely.

Venkat and Krishnan have written an insightful guide which suggests that value creation will lead to collaborative experiences co-created by companies and customers. They argue compellingly that AI must be embraced as a strategic partner rather than a mere tool, and that they present several cases where it is made possible. They have painstakingly put together a road map for a better future – one that AI serves humanity, not the other way around. For example, Jugal Bandi, which refers to a duet between musicians, is actually helping multiple language users access information about 20,000 government programs in native languages, regardless of the source language of the information. The rapid diffusion and democratization of AI capabilities is undoubtly remarkable but there is every reason to believe that much more needs to be done.

Despite initial success with several cases, the authors tend to agree that no single example could possibly exemplify the trend. By their own admission, the examples are being used as thinking props. Nevertheless, The Co-Intelligence Revolution remains a clarion call to action in co-creating a new world of possibilities.  

The Co-Intelligence Revolution 
by Venkat Ramaswamy & Krishnan Narayanan
Penguin Business, New Delhi.
Extent: 414, Price: Rs. 999.

First published in Hindu BusinessLine on July 11, 2025 

Enriched legacy

Laali Mausi would always hug Ajit and call him her son. Other villagers would gather around to dissuade her from calling the stranger her son. Ajit was invited by the villagers to relieve them of the ongoing menace of decoits. When she’s finally been coaxed away, Ajit discovers the truth: Mausi’s son was kidnapped and taken away by dacoits eighteen years ago. This touching sequence in the film connects the past with the present. Who acted as Laali Mausi in the 1971 film Mera Gaon Mera Desh? No one could respond but the film director Raj Khosla himself, who took care to inform us that the actress was none other than Purnima. The reviewer of this biography has fond memories of this incident. Raj was behind some of the finest films of the times, Woh Kaun Thi?(1964) and Do Raaste (1969), and endearing soundtracks like Lag ja gale and Jhumka gira re.

Raj’s legacy has been ever enriching. Five decades in filmmaking is indeed a long innings, but he didn’t get featured in media like others. But his films and songs continue to touch lives every single day. Every tribute to Lata Mangeshkar, when she passed away in 2022, featured the song lag ja gale which remains the definitive love song ever since it was created in 1960s. Such memorable songs and disparate films can only come from the stable of a director who not only loved his work but created the genre of his cinema. Raj undoubtedly had an enviable filmmaking career by any standards.

Mentored by the iconic Guru Dutt, Raj has often been dubbed the Alfred Hitchcock of Indian films. Rightly so, as he traversed diverse genres but infused suspense in a way that kept the audience on tenterhooks. Like his contemporaries, Raj looked to Hollywood for inspiration. The stylization and aesthetics of those films were seamlessly blended with local morality and sensibilities. The QR codes supplement many of such narratives, songs and scenes from the film. First ever, these codes give scenic beauty to the textual narration.

The biography is well-researched; it is about the life of a filmmaker Raj Khosla but reads as the history in the making of some of the magical movies. It is a search for cinematic legacy by Amborish Roychoudhury. Legacy has it that Raj made taut thrillers, family dramas, timeless romances, and action spectacles. In the process, he had also perfected the art of making engaging thrillers with an emotional core. The world knows and celebrates the Sadhana trilogy of Who Kaun Thi?, Mera Saaya, and Anita. Suspense was considered the hallmark of his cinema. 

It is interesting how Waheeda Rehman got inducted into a creatively stimulating group led by Guru Dutt. Her dancing skills and fluency in Urdu stood Waheeda in a good nick. On being introduced to Raj, her unusual name caught the usual attention. ‘You have a long name, we must change to for the screen’, Raj had commented. It was the meeting of two headstrong, proud people who didn’t see eye to eye in certain aspects. She was all of 17 but had no intention of changing her name even at the cost of losing out. Had C.I.D (1956) not been Guru Dutt’s production, Raj may not have directed the film. That they never ever worked remains history.  

One of the abiding legacies that Raj carried forward was his love for folk songs. The folksy rustic song he used to hum was jhumka gira re, Bareilly ke bazar mein  Although the song has its history, Raj enacted its history yet again. Regardless of its origins, jhumka gira re continues to be exclusively attached to Mera Saaya (1966). Across the length and breadth of the country, the city of Bareilly came to be inextricably associated with the song. Now, the city has firmed its jhumka on a roadside plaza. Raj went through his life on his own terms and yet contributed immensely through the art and science of making cinema.

Raj Khosla: The Authorized Biography reveals the life and challenges of an accomplished director. Few filmmakers have demonstrated such versatility and command over their craft. The authors lend him his rightful place among the greats of Indian cinema.

Raj Khosla: The Authorized Biography 
by Amborish Roychoudhury, with Anita Khosla and Uma Khosla Kapoor
Hachette, New Delhi. 
Extent: 334, Price: Rs. 799.

First published in Outlook on July 6, 2025.