Report on Movie 1: Lakshya

Group 13
Akshay Vyas 20BM63011
Aswathy T Krishnan 20BM63019
Mithilesh Yadav Guntuboyina 20BM63045
Peerzada Abdul Hanan Mustafa 20BM63061

Movie Synopsis
Lakshya is the story of Karan Shergill, played by the actor Hrithik Roshan, who is unclear
about the direction that he must take in his life. Influenced by the decision of one of his
friends, Karan Shergill decides to join the Indian army. Bogged down by the hardships of the
life of an army man, he runs away from the military academy. This decision of his leads to a
confrontation between him and his girlfriend Romila Dutta, played by actress Preity Zinta,
who breaks up with him for not being able to stand by and respect his own decisions in life.

This incident devastates Karan Shergill and he decides to return to the academy. He takes his
due punishment and becomes a disciplined cadet. He is eventually commissioned into the
Indian army as a lieutenant in the 3rd battalion of the Punjab Regiment stationed in Kargil,
Ladakh. While he is posted there, the Kargil war breaks out. Karan Shergill is part of a unit that
carries out an operation to successfully capture a strategically critical hill. This mission instills
in him a sense of purpose and a never seen before resolve to achieve the goal (Lakshya) that
he has set out for himself.

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Management Lessons from the movie Lakshya

Strategy to Achieve a Target

Instances of planning and strategizing are seen throughout the movie especially in the part
that concerns the Kargil war. The battalion engages in strategic planning which involves
assessing and formulating strategic goals and objectives, and then implements the plans to
succeed. Such instances are seen numerous times in the movie. At an individual level, Karan
Shergill realizes the need to have a target and then proactively forms a plan to achieve it.

Suitable Delegation for optimal outcomes

Delegation at the right juncture and to the right people yields the best possible results. Col.
Sunil Damle, played by Amitabh Bachchan, delegates responsibilities and sets goals for his
team. Delegation frees the leadership to focus on higher-order strategic decision making and
planning. At the same time, it fixes responsibility for tasks, thereby ensuring a single point of
contact and ownership for a task. Delegation, when done well, leads to work load distribution
in an optimal manner.

Recognition of latent talent

Col. Sunil Damle, played by Amitabh Bachchan, recognizes the talent that is latent in Karan
Shergill, who is admitted back into the academy after having run away from it due to
hardships of the life at the academy. The result is that he completes his training as a cadet to
end up being commissioned into the Indian army. He ends up being part of a crucial battle in
the Kargil war. Had it not been for Col. Damle’s talent recognition, Karan Shergill would not
have been able to explore his full potential and perform the sort of feat that he did. It is
therefore important for leaders to keep out an eye for hidden talent and take measures to
bring the talent to the fore so that the best outcomes can be obtained by making the right
use of that talent.

Analyzing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

During the war, the battalion carried out an in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses
of their strategy of attack. This can be considered similar to the SWOT analysis that most
organizational strategies have. It becomes important to analyze the pros and cons of the
tactics as well as the strategy that an organization chooses to follow. After due analysis, the
best call can be taken on which strategies or tactics to implement.

Staffing and Resource Allocation

It is seen during different scenes in the movie how personnel are distributed into teams to
carry out operations and attacks. This distribution is done with due consideration to
specialization of the personnel and the availability of resources. The same applies to
organizations as well. Staffing is carried out based on requirements and resources are
allocated to projects keeping in view the capabilities and skills of employees.

Feedback and Information Flow

During the part of the movie that focuses on the Kargil war, it is seen on numerous occasions
how information flow takes place between different levels of the military, Appropriate
sanctions from top commanders is obtained before any missions are given a go ahead. The

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timely nature of such approvals becomes extremely critical at times. In a corporate
environment, proper flow of information between different levels of management becomes
critical to the success of the organization.

Time-bound objectives and goals

Col. Sunil Damle gives 48 hours to the team to secure the peak as part of an operation that
proves to be critical in the war victory. The team manages to complete it in time. Similarly,
time-bound objectives and goals are important to manage organizations. With time attached
to them, objectives are more realistic rather than open ended. This leads to more concrete
goals rather than vague ones.

Inspirational Leadership
Various scenes in the movie depict the role that leadership plays to inspire their followers to
strive towards achieving the goals that have been set for them. Practices that enhance the
bond between personnel in the battalion play an important role to lift the morale of the
personnel in times of distress.