Popular Movie Characters In the Field of Commerce and Finance
Hey! Love movies? We do too! Have you ever gotten inspired by a fictional character in childhood, and thought to yourself,” Wow, I want to be like her/him!”? Many of us have. The world of movies, which although revolve around fictional characters are not so far removed from real life. There are many movies where characters are shown to have similar lives as any of us, which makes such movies relatable and fun to watch. We thought, why not compile a list of must-watch movies, where the characters belong to the field of the very evolving and competitive field of Commerce and Finance. So, read on and add these movies to your ‘Must watch’ list, and let these characters motivate you to dip your feet into the dynamic world of commerce. Take a look:
1. Harpreet Singh Bedi (Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year)
If you are looking for a movie that incorporates the realms of Commerce and Comedy together? Look no further! Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year is a 2009 movie under the infamous Yash Raj Banner. The movie focuses on the life of an average Bcom graduate named Harpreet Singh Bedi (Ranbir Kapoor), who is hired as a salesman in a big computer assembly and service company, AYS. However, seeing the corrupt workings in his office, and releasing that customer satisfaction is the keynote of a sales job, he decides to form his own company, while working for AYS, with the help of five other AYS employees who endeavor to win customers by providing them satisfaction and through ill means of bribery. The movie follows along the journey of his company and how he secures clients under the nose of his boss, who has no idea about this in a very comic manner. The movie smoothly delivers the message that although one might not have great marks on paper, having a business-oriented mind and determination can also lead to a happy career.
More about the movie at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1434447/
2. Subodh (Gafla)
This 2006 movie directed by Sameer Hanchate, is a movie based on the real-life stock market scam that took place in 1992 involving Harshad Mehta. It starts with showing how an ordinary man named Subodh (Somesh Agarwal) takes a chance at the stock market and ends up having a scam so big that shook the Indian economy due to its magnitude. It is an interesting drama that draws from a real-life incident.
More about the movie at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0896934/
3. All Cast (Inside Job)
This 2008 Oscar-winning Charles Ferguson directed movie is a documentary on the 2008 financial crisis in the United States. The movie is split into five parts which talk about how the world was nearing a global recession and what means were undertaken to avoid this from happening. This is a must-watch for all the commerce students as it involves all about the economy, stock market, recession, etc.
More about the movie at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645089/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
4. Oscar Wallace (The Untouchables)
Featuring an ensemble cast of A-list actors that were a staple of the crime thriller genre, this movie features actors such as Kevin Costner, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia, Robert de Niro, Sean Connery and is directed by Brian de Palma. The movie itself chronicles how FBI agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) forms a crack team of operatives tasked to bring Al Capone, one of America’s most notorious crime lords, (Robert de Niro) to justice. As the movie progresses, we see how Eliot Ness is convinced by FBI investigative accountant, Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith) on how they should try to build a case of tax evasion against Al Capone to finally bring him to justice. The film is a testament to the fact that even the mightiest criminals aren’t free from the reach of the taxmen.
More about the movie at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094226/
5. Bud Fox (Wall Street)
This American drama, which stars Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, and Darryl Hannah is directed by Oliver Stone and tells the story of Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) as he navigates the high stakes environment of stockbroking in early 1980s America. Bud Fox, a junior stockbroker, is the primary protagonist of the movie and the movie focuses on his interaction as he finally gets to work with his Wall Street Hero, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), an infamous corporate player on Wall Street. From insider trading to complex market scenarios, it shows how Bud in his attempts to get the attention of Gekko is driven to more and more dubious schemes until his conscience finally comes calling when one of his and Gekko’s plots to become rich quickly end up costing Bud’s father his job.
More about the movie at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094291/
6. Dr. Michael Burry (The Big Short)
This biographical comedy-drama which features a huge cast of actors focuses on the events happening that directly contributed to the 2007-2008 financial crisis and how it came to be. The movie features three concurrent storylines that play out separately but are loosely connected due to their actions relating to the 2007-2008 crisis. The movie itself uses a very unusual and interesting technique of breaking the fourth wall to explain various financial instruments like CDOs (Collateralized Debt Obligations), Sub-prime mortgages, and other information directly to the viewers. One of the real people that are depicted in the movie is Dr. Michael Burry (Christian Bale), an eccentric hedge fund manager who predicted the crash and his fund’s value increased over 489% as a result. The movie is a must-watch for anyone interested in learning more about the underhand dealings that allowed unchecked market growth and the subsequent 2007-2008 financial crisis
More about the movie at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596363/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
7. Nick Leeson (Rogue Trader)
This British movie, starring Ewan McGregor and Anna Friel, was directed by James Dearden. It is a biographical drama based around the life of Nick Leeson, a derivatives broker and the collapse of Barings Bank, the world’s second-oldest merchant bank. This true-life depiction depicts Nick’s life, a Baring’s employee, as he rose to prominence within Baring with mounting success and how he was directly responsible for the bankruptcy of one of the world’s oldest banks in existence almost single-handedly.
More about the movie at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0131566/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
8. Jordan Belfort (The Wolf of the Wall Street)
Another biographical comedy-drama, this American movie directed by the legendary Martin Scorsese, stars Leonardo di Caprio in the role of Jordan Belfort, a notorious stock broker who was later arrested for a slew of offences by the Securities Exchange Commision. The movie shows us the life of Jordan Belfort as he falls into the hole of avarice and tries to gather money for himself through various illegal schemes and plots with the help of his friends and manipulating the market, his rise to the top of the social pyramid and his rapid descent from the same. A movie that truly shows that unrestricted greed has very severe consequences on one’s life.
More about the movie at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0993846/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4
9. Itzhak Stern (Schindler’s List)
One of the best movies ever, directed by the famous Steven Speilberg revolves around the plight of jews during the world war II era. It is based on a book called Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally. It shows a german industrialist named Oscar Schindler (Liam Neeson), who along with his Jewish accountant named Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) made up a list which saved thousands of Jews from being sent to concentration camps. They lied about needing these people for work in their factory when in reality they were trying to safeguard these people from the atrocities that would be put on them by the Nazis.
More about the movie at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108052/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
10. Arjun Saluja (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara)
The movie everyone gushes about, with songs so catchy and a plot that inspires the audience to live life like there won’t be a tomorrow, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is a 2011 blockbuster hit, directed by Zoya Akhtar. The movie follows the lives of three childhood mates, Kabir Dewan (Abhay Deol) who is works at his family’s construction business, Imran Qureshi (Farhan Akhtar) who is an Advertisement copywriter and Arjun Saluja (Hritik Roshan) who is successful financial broker living in London. The story effectively shows how different their lives and values are from each other. While Arjun is driven by competition and all things finance and commerce, the other two are happy-go-lucky people who don’t take life so seriously. They go on a bachelor’s trip to Spain where they decide to face their fears and enjoy every moment in life like there won’t be another.
More about the movie at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1562872/
There you go ! These are enough movies to keep you busy on the weekends which are entertaining and give a taste of what it is like to be in the world of commerce and finance. While some of these movies are fictional, and others based on real life, these movies are also very informational for audiences to gather tid-bits about the working of the economy. We hope you find these movies fun to watch. Happy binge-watching!
