An overheard canteen conversation among PG Diploma HR students in their first week.

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SETTING:

CKD SCHOOL OF HR EXCELLENCE

Monday, 11:40 AM.

The iconic canteen balcony.

First-year HR students — chai, idli-sambar, and unlimited enthusiasm.

A small group sits around a yellow plastic table:

• Rhea Sharma, Delhi — B.A. Psychology topper, talks like a podcast host.

• Tanay Desai, Mumbai — Bollywood encyclopedia, self-declared campus philosopher.

• Rashmi, Bangalore — analytic, data-driven, carries a notebook even to the canteen.

• Farhan, Hyderabad — “don’t worry yaar” vibe, eats more than he talks.

The faculty has just finished a session explaining Hiring → Recruitment → Talent Acquisition evolution, but the class is still confused.

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THE DIALOGUE

Rhea (sipping chai):

Yaar, this Hiring–Recruitment–Talent Acquisition timeline is still confusing. Why can’t they just give fixed dates? Like independence. 1947. Clear.

Tanay (eyes sparkling):

Because HR doesn’t work like history. It works like Bollywood fashion trends.

Rashmi:

Huh?

Tanay:

Listen, listen —

HR evolution is EXACTLY like Bollywood decade shifts.

PHASE 1 — Hiring / Employment (Before 1980s)

Tanay:

This was the Shammi Kapoor era.

Simple. Predictable. Hero enters, does his job, no questions asked.

Farhan:

Matlab?

Tanay:

Back then HR was just “fill the empty chair.”

Like old Bollywood heroes — put them anywhere, they’ll do the job.

Everyone laughs.

PHASE 2 — Recruitment (1980s to early 2000s)

Rhea:

Let me guess — this is the Govinda era?

Tanay:

Exactly!

Flashy. Fast.

More channels. More noise. More colour.

And HR suddenly had multiple sources: Naukri, Monster, consultants, job fairs — like Bollywood bringing in 20 new dance styles every year.

Rashmi (writing notes):

So recruitment = “more proactive but still reactive.”

Tanay:

Correct.

Hero changed clothes and dancing style —

but story still same.

PHASE 3 — Talent Acquisition (2000s to now)

Tanay:

This is the Aamir Khan era.

Strategic. Planned. Long-term.

Every movie = research + prep + brand building.

Rhea:

And every hire = pipelining + analytics + employer brand.

Rashmi:

So TA is basically the “content-driven cinema” phase?

Tanay:

Exactly.

Earlier HR filled jobs.

Now HR builds talent engines.

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A Senior Walks By…

Senior Anita Kurien, returning from class.

Anita (smiling):

Bollywood analogies? I see the learning is happening faster in the canteen than the classroom.

Tanay:

Ma’am, honestly, this HR evolution is easier to understand in movies than in timelines.

Anita:

Well, that’s because there were no fixed timelines.

Different industries evolved differently.

• Manufacturing adopted Recruitment late.

• Tech adopted Talent Acquisition early.

• MSMEs are still somewhere between Recruitment and medicine for headaches.

Rhea:

Ma’am, so Hiring → Recruitment → TA is a conceptual journey, not a historical one?

Anita:

Correct.

Just like Bollywood didn’t suddenly switch from Rishi Kapoor sweaters to Ranveer Singh neon suits — it evolved gradually.

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FINAL METAPHOR (Delivered dramatically by Tanay):

“HR didn’t change in years… HR changed in mindsets.”

Farhan:

Aur Bollywood ke saath-saath hairstyle bhi change ho gaya.

Everyone laughs as the scene fades.