RITU - A change...

After watching ShyamaPrasad's 'Akale' i was with high anticipations.. hmmm .. more appropriately at the height of anticipations for this movie.. Though i wasn't disappointed much, the movie was tad below his past films. The previous of his films were filmi adaptations of novels, but this one was a straight original screenplay. Though the movie was released earlier i had a chance to see it only this christmas.. In addition, it was on a private television network which had innumerable commercial breaks adding to the burden of comprehension of the non-malayali viewer like me ;)

Review:

Ritu- comes with the tagline 'Seasons change. Do we ?'.. Well.. the movie is about a lot of changes in attitude, friendship, love.. each of which of the above changes as the story unfolds . The director has chosen the IT industry as the backdrop for his movie and the story primarily revolves around the childhood friends Sarath(Nishan), Varsha(Rima Kallingal) and Sunny (Asif Ali).

Sarath, Varsha and Sunny grew up to be bosom friends in the same neighbourhood and dream of a future life together. After graduation Sarat leaves for the US to live and work while the other two take up a job at Bangalore. It's been three years after, the trio meets again in their hometown to live their dreams. Sarath, who ardently anticipates this reunion slowly realises that things are not the same as before. The romantic spark he shared with Varsha seems to have eluded and so is his close frienship with Sunny. Both Varsha and Sunny betray Sarath at different points. What impact the changes had on their life forms the climax of the story.

Besides the main storyline, the movie also throws light on Materialism & Communism. The interludes pictured on the IT company boss Zerena Balakrishnan and her husband, the after-booze chat with Sarath's brother Hari, the house keeping guy at the IT SEZ are a few which warrant mentions. The cast of all the lead roles are fresh and the newcomers have done adequate to have them reckoning for their performance.

The music of the movie was good and the cinematography was novel. Another big plus were the dialogues which hit sharp on your wits. "Memories are dangerous beings.. ", "Betrayal is the code of life".. and a lot more hard hitting phrases. But the 'slower than slowest' pace of the movie played the perfect spoilsport. At times the delibrate procrastination makes you yawn.Though pragma being an excuse, the portrayal of IT people as flirts and boozers seems to be stereotyped.

In short, definitely a good movie exempting the sluggishness in the screenplay. Do watch it..!!Afterall 'coming-of-age' movies like these should be welcomed with warmth.

Purple Hibiscus - Book Review

It was after my favourite actor's current choice of author i narrowed down to "Purple Hibiscus" novel by the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I was in one of those usual shopping trips on weekends. As i was browsing through the books, keen to buy "Master and the margarita". The help desk guy at Spencer Plaza's Landmark left me to search for the book all by my ownself as there was only one copy available.

As i was fervently searching, "Purple Hibiscus" caught my attention. Though there were more copies of the same author's "Half of a yellow sun"( the same one as told by my favourite actor in his interview) but only one copy of "Purple Hibiscus(PH)" was left. I took both books and glanced them. Well, i had already the plot of 'Half of a yellow sun' in wikipedia and so i wasn't interested in that very much. But when i read the description of "Purple hibiscus", somehow it quite reminded me of "God of Small Things(GOST)" by Arunthathi Roy. Fine.. i paid for the book and started to home. As i was travelling i was just flipping through the pages of the novel.. To my very astonishment, some of the comments had compared PH to GOST.

GOST always remains my most favourite novel and so i was anticipating something of that magnitude in PH too. Hmm.. Well.. i wasn't disappointed much... Like GOST, PH is a first person Narration of a girl named "Kambili". Kambili grows up in a wealthy household very strictly managed by her religiously fanatic father Eugene. She and her brother Jaja follow a meticulous schedule of life as planned by their father. They are introduced to a total new world in their Aunt Ifeoma's house, where both the children come to realize their lost part of life. Read the book to find an unexpected climax.

In terms of the characters, i liked Jaja the most. He's the epitome of sacrifice, a caring brother and a lovable son. Next would be the Aunt, Ifeoma. She is all the more pragmatic in her approach to life and religion. The novel contributes to throw light on the life of Nigerians during civil wars. The impact of insurgency on innocent people is well portrayed in the novel. Also a lot could be known about the igbo people and their practices.

Like GOST, where "malayalam" was used deliberately, you could find here a lot of 'igbo'.. Also just like the 'papachi' of GOST, I disliked the 'papa' of PH. Like the "paradise pickles and preserves" Papa of PH owns a food factory.

Afterall i didn't regret choosing to read this one, but quite expected an explanation for Eugene's fanatism and other loose ends in the plot.

If you like GOST, you would like PH too, but mind that comparisons are inevitable !!! Read that this book was long listed for the BOOKER prize in the then year..

Robinhood - Malayalam Movie review

Hmm.. enough was given in the way of dialogues to justify the title and to a certain extent the story of the movie, Robinhood the prince of thieves which was released in here for diwali in Chennai. Though being early to the theatre, after a string of events like exchanging the printout for ticket, a separate bag counter and snail paced guys at counter I was late as usual to the movie hall in the basement (Devi-kala) in the Devi complex.

The very first scene which I got to see was that of news report of the ATM robber in the imaginary bank of the movie. I missed the title cards and the response from the crowd for the new found super star status of Prithviraj.



k.. my belated review.. or more appropriately called write up…

Venkitesh Iyer(Prithviraj) is a tutor in an entrance coaching centre in the day and turns a looter at night targeting a particular Bank’s ATM. The executive director of the bank is unsatisfied with the police investigation and hires a private detective, the flirty Felix(Naren). The bank’s system head Bhavana aids him.(supposedly) ;). What later revealed is the usual flashback to justify the Hero’s act and certain twist in a tale

Though the story quite rides on the hero’s shoulders, Naren makes quite a mark but seems to have been sidelined towards the climax. May be the director felt the same just like the audience he decided to give more prominence to the hero in the second half. Prithviraj is handsome. Thanks to his cynical smile and histrionics he fits with this dual role of tutor and looter aptly. Bhavana, the pretty lass does a pretty job. Unfortunately Samvrutha Sunil and Jayasuriya have got nothing much but mere fillips.

Definitely the ‘posh’ factor of the movie warrants a mention. Be it the luxurious apartment where an ordinary tutor stays to fancy dresses, bikes and cars, it seems the bollywood influence is slowly creeping into Mollywood. Though the so-called scientific crime is tad possible, given the benefit of “something innovative” it could be welcomed. But the usage of graphics in the capture & decode episode was funnier and got some high decibel hooting from the geeky crowd.. and so did the songs which were much of a dampers in the second half which was dragging on its own inherence.



Hmm.. well I observed a lot of tamil too ;).. the junior artists, the morphed photograph in the album from KMY and vazhthukal.. and PR-Samvrutha speaking tamil.. Anyways PR’s pronunciation has improved a lot and seems distinct from the Malayalam accented tamil spoken by others…

To sum up.. you could enjoy this movie if you have some patience and accept those cinematical logic (actually it’s loss of logic) with a pinch of salt..:D..

P.S: The theatre was a complete nightmare.. I had been to Devi paradise before and was expecting something good as their ticket rates were in par with Sathyam cinemas.. but it was horrible.. the seats were bad.. and my corner seat was frequented with mosquitoes just like the one of the scenes in the movie ;).. with no cup holders I had spilled a good amount of pepsi on my lap already lamenting about the slowness of the movie post intermission.

Unnai Pol Oruvan - movie review with lots of 'S'

Hmm.. where i am to start with..?? This movie which i have been at Sathyam with some of the friends is definitely not for the stereotyped. From the intial reviews i read this movie was termed as something for the cerebral sect. Hmm.. i donno if i could count me on that ;)... but this was the resultant of what i saw.. Short, Sharp and Superb...

Short - The story "A common man's retaliation to the terrorism he witnesses" and movie which are short.
Sharp - The dialogues and the characters.
Superb - The dialogues, Mohanlal, Mohanlal-Lakshmi Confrontation, Kamal - hmm.. i like it in that order - just like one of the dialogues in the movie ;)

With two of the Stalwarts of cinema, the movie is definitely a cut above. But not to leave behind the rest of the crew who complete this package to its perfection. Ganesh Venkatram, Bharath and Prem play the tough cops and fit their role to the 'T'. If u think that's too much of machismo.. well there's Lakshmi as the chief secretary and Anuja Iyer as the reporter who have rendered a powerful performance.

Ironically, though the predicament of the terrorists was predictable the way the screenplay rides keeps you spellbound. Mind that u have a sharp ear and sharper vision as the movie demands a lot of both. In terms of acting, be it Mohanlal's temperament or Lakshmi's temperance, or the IIT guy's histrionics, excellence is something which is achieved handsdown. Definitely Mohanlal scores the most in this regard. (ippol nyanum Lallettan-de Fan aayee ;)). You couldn't leave behind even a single character who comes in the frame shot in this 'red one' camera. Of course the 'dappa' photographer of 'Salangai Oli' Chakri Toleti has now been graduated to a much sensible Director.


But despite all these characters, it is the "Dialogues" which steal the limelight. The dialogue writer deserves most of the success of this movie. The dialogues which are aesthetic (esp. the last argument of Kamal) and awesome do make a lot of sense. The humour is deft and relieves you from the otherwise serious movie. Shruthi's music ..well wait.. more appropriately BGM is adequate and OST played before the titles does exemplifies her talent.




Hmm.. well but "Does this 'so-termed' Common-man's take could be understood by all the 'aam admi'..?? Infact i was pestering my friend for the meaning of the hindi words.. I don't think the jargons 'ethical hacking, routing etc.' could be deciphered by the Common Man. Also didn't i fell a little uneasy with the pace of the movie.. Well that leaves me thinking :))))..

Rajeev Menon..

Hmm.. i knew only a little of him until i read the interview on Saturday's "The Hindu".. I had always wondered as why this person who is good looking didn't try his had in acting but decided to remain behind the screens... (May be it's 'mindscreen' just like his company ;))..



There it was mentioned that this talented Cinematographer was offered the role of Arjun in Manirathnam's Roja which he turned down.. The best part of the interview which i liked the most was this excerpt..

There's always a struggle between applause and art, being good in what you are doing and feeling good about what you are doing. The applause gets louder and finally it becomes so loud that you can't hear yourself. Suddenly one day, you'll realise that the audience is gone. Then who is there to listen ? Only one person will always be there to listen. That's yourself. This is the truth about filmmaking. I would like to write that kind of cinema

I was very much impressed by those lines. Infact it's the truth about any work, be it art or film-making ..

Me and 'Namma' Chennai

My small town breeding left me brooding
About this place which is my current dwelling;
To my regret, my very first job brought me here
Never did I anticipate to have lived 3+ years here;
The 'fear of failure' was the pinnacle of reasons for this demand,
As in my previous two visits I’ve lost contests here which I reprimand
With apprehensions in their superlative I found here, a rented place,
Juggling between shared autos and buses, everyday resembles a race;
I do witness people elder & younger than me joining this chase
Of course, I'm attempting my best to maintain an optimum pace.
Akin to the new set of crowd and the SEZ's cropping on every year;
The city spans it's horizons, increasing 'living costs' which I fear
I share my birthday with this city on August 22;
Often i find myself here in a situation 'catch 22'
When i speak tamil with my native tongue.. Oh that shows off!!
I'm an easy prey for the autowallahs, thereoff..
Numerous are the restaurants and hang outs,
But quite hard to find "Authentic Taste's" whereabouts.
fine.. err.. !! Well this city also has another phase,
Which are it's diversity, history & heritage which adds to its grace;
Now that i have lived and learn a little to live in this capital City,
I could claim it's 'Namma Chennai'. Isn't in it's odd ways pretty ??

Ninaithaley Inikkum - Movie review

fine.. here goes my review.. As usual i was late to the movie by 10 minutes this time.. Though it was my 'inquisitiveness' the primal urge to see this movie i can't leave behind comfort.. though i started early today and boarded an ordinary bus I later changed to another MTC AC bus which started 20 minutes later.. And so i entered the movie hall only after the end of "Nanbaney Partha.." song..

Remakes galore!! well .. that being the recent trend in Tamil cinema.. NI is one such movie but it's not a 'frame-by-frame' remake but a 'commercial fare' where certain scenes and the base storyline had been copied from the Malayalam superhit "Classmates".. The story is about a college reunion which happens after 8 years wherein which a demised student in remembered and one of the old student (Obviously the hero) is found strangled, the reasons for which drifts the movie to the "good old college" days and certain twists are revealed at the climax.. Hmm.. that's the story line quite close to the original.. Did the screenplay ride on this story?? Hmm.. That question couldn't have a definitive answer..

The movie is like a deck of cards in the first half and second half quite renders the story. As you flip thro' a deck of cards you find a spade, clubs, heart.. likewise the first half has a song, fight , comedy all placed one after other. Infact they are in no cogent order. Siva(Prithviraj), Sakthi(Sakthi), Karthik(Karthik), Lollu Saba 'Jeeva' and host of other actors form the college crew. Groupism and cat fights between the Arch rivals Siva and Karthik often happen while both fall for the same girl Meera (Priya Mani). Sakthi happens to a pacifier and common friend of both. It is a typical "celluloid" college so it has all ingredients already found in many movies set in a college. As it's celluloid college it's far from reality. Infact the first half is quite buoyant from the base storyline.

While the second half of the movie is quite fine and at times sticks close to the original. As for actor Prithviraj this movie has projected him as a commercial hero. He dances with swift moves and does the omnipotent fights shedding down the "soft" hero image he donned in tamil. He is the one who has more screen space. Unfortunately on the acting front he doesn't have much scope. Priyamani hardly emotes. The chemistry between the lead pair too poor. The spark and the subtle of the original is missing :(

Though the original movie didn't have an exclusive duet, this movie despite duets lacks the romance which was potrayed much elegantly in the original. Sakthi being his second film has improved a very little but has a looooooooooong way to make it. Karthik does his part with elan but unfortunately his part is small. Bhagayaraj, with his voice seems comical even in serious dialogues. The person who needs a special mention is the Anuja Iyer who plays the girl "Shali". Infact, she was the person i liked the most among all the actors in this movie. Ms. Iyer does perform excellently.. She is the 'better of the lot'.

Vijay Antony comes with his usual fast - beat numbers but "Azhagai Pookuthey.." is worthy melody which makes you hum along. The director Kumaravelan could have avoided the deliberate commercial additions and concentrated more on the base storyline.

Well to sum up.. Ninaithale Inikkum "may be inikkalam" original movieyoda ninaivugal illamal irudhal ""That roughly translates to "Watchable once if you haven't seen the original"

Some pitfalls:

*Buoyant first half

*Lack of the subtle romance and nostalgia of the original

*Priyamani and her hardly emoting acting

*Commercial projection of Prithviraj

*Unsolicited songs - Sexy lady and en peru ..

A lot of carelessness... The college is 'National Arts College' but the library is engineering college's :P..

The Buddha and the colour trouble...

It was long since i tried my hand in paintings. The new set of colours which i had bought by the start of this year was beginning to turn dry, but my hunt for that "so called" picture which i could comprehend to my own intuition was yet to be found :)..

Well that was one of the many reasons, may be my laziness, project hunting, Job hunting ... etc.. could be many of the reasons. After my return from Mysore, where i 've been for SSB interviews at the Indian Air Force Selection Board, i did this painting. During my stay i was on a scheduled tour where in which i did a some shopping. As usual what could be best shopped article other than a souvenir? It was a statuette of Buddha made of Sandalwood from Karnataka :)..

Ok.. now that i got my model i started to paint with this statuette. After the initial sketches, I arrived at the below product.





This was something i tried to give a mosaic effect. To add to the texture i wanted to do some spray painting. This is when the "colour trouble" made it's drastic impact. I messed up with consistency of mixed colours and by the time i started to spray, there were large drops enough to almost spoil the entire figure. Things went even more bad when black was used. I donno what to do :(.. Atlast i did some criss-cross patterns to patch-up the spoiled area and ended up is something close to an artwork but not a complete painting as shown below.


Take a closer look u could find some odd black dots on the Halo rings and somewhere near the neck.. Afterall it's a patch-up work and this was the maximum i could do to cover up the mess. So that was My Buddha and the colour trouble

The Myth behind her ....

Well this is again my personal experience in the recent days on my way to my workplace..


The Myth behind her ..

From the moment I left my house;
The thought of her let my spirits arouse
“I ought to see her on time today” I would say without coy,
My instinct said “No time to waste, Come on my boy”
I was counting those stops in my route as they were ascending;
In a way they bought me closer to her in an order descending
Alas! Came that beautiful spot where we both usually meet,
Unfortunately she hasn’t turned up yet to let me greet
Just like me, waiting for her arrival was a big group,
I let go my jealousy, as I don’t want to be in the soup
Now that, more men joined that already anxious crowd;
“Come on, I’m waiting for you” I wanted to cry aloud
There she came, close to after a quarter to hour wait;
I wished, I ‘ll let not miss her in the evening entreat
Then came the evening, I was quite early this time now,
“Oh my God”, her absence was on me like a strong blow
Though I found her usual companions already impatient to leave;
“She hasn’t left?” someone said which came to me as a relieve
Again she was late but swift enough to run past from where I stood;
I ran behind her, and managed to board her with a little thud
BTW, She is the M City Entrance Shuttle
And that was my morning and evening juggle.
The myth behind her delay is still a puzzle
I’m no Robert Langdon to crack it impeccable.

My Daily Trip to M City..

This is about my daily trip to my work place.. It's not that i face these problems daily..but quite often ;)...

The longest day before that previous night,
Left my eyes closed still very tight
Before that alarm gave it’s next cry,
I was out from my bed looking wry
The sooner I got ready, now out of my house
“is this a share auto?” was my usual clause
Running after those buses painted red and white
My next Q was “this bus stops at Mcity right?”
Now came the reply “no it is not”
I waited for the Tambaram shuttle to be out
This one packed full to it’s capacity,
Back I go to find a bus to M city
Having bought my ticket until S.P koil
My shirt was wet by now with sweat like labor on toil
Here comes the stop of the once shuttle hub
Time to wait for the next MTC bus to turn up
This particular session at times is quite short
At times this may be the longest of the lot
Here comes a crowded bus..Come hither , Come hither, Come hither
“OMG.. there goes the shuttle”.. don’t know if there is a next one whether
Time to wait again for the next shuttle in line
By the way.. it’s already half past nine..

NewYork – Movie Review

The News articles and documentaries about the 9/11 had enough to tell about the rise of terrorism. But what was the aftermath? Or how did it impact on the innocent muslims of foreign origin in the US? The movie answers the above but leaves you with a heavy heart in the form of a tale involving three University students.



Sameer(John), Maya(Katrina) and Oman (Neil Nithin) get to meet each other in the Newyork State University and fun is the only word which is omnipresent in their world until the collapse of the twin towers. It’s when their lives eventually collapse. As a victim of the torture in the detention camp Sameer becomes a terrorist. Oman is forced to play an undercover FBI agent spying on his own friend Sameer .

Though Oman is convinced that Sameer could have not become a terrorist, he later discovers the consequences which had made him one. Oman ‘s contemplations between saving his friend, his wife Maya at the same time carrying out his entitled task by the FBI agent Roshan(Irfan Khan) forms the rest of the movie. The climax does leave you with a serious emotion.

The first half of the movie is never short of fun and frolica, but it’s the second half wherein which the movie scores. Thankfully not much time or effort have been spent on the love triangle between lead trio while at the university. With a photogenic star cast added with some excellent cinematography the entire movie was a visual treat.

Katrina as Maya is adorable. Be it the college lass with scarlet red highlights, or the gracefully attractive mother, she is awesome. Whatever clothes she wears, it quite underplays on her flaunting over her flawless figure. Added to her cockney accent she completely outwits you. ( I guess I would give my drooling a halt here ;))

John is beyond those brawns, he ‘s an actor who could be vouched for a powerful performance like this. Neil fits in the bill well as the troubled soul between friendship and duty. The little anecdotes render some humor in the otherwise serious movie. Plaudits to Kabir Khan for bringing out a different facet of the 9/11.

Watch this movie, for it’s an entertainer with etched emotions.

Philadelphia

Hmm.. well to start with.. I had known “Philadelphia” as the name of a University and a vague mention of it as High class society in Titanic .. Wondering what the ostentatious
cruiser has got to do with Philadelphia ??…On their second meeting, Kate Winslet aka Rose would say to Jack aka Leonarda “..500 invitations have gone out and the whole of Philadelphia society would be in.. “ So much very little was my knowledge about this city before watching the movie starring Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington and Antonio Bandareas.

The original Home video CD which i bought recently termed this movie as “ A landmark film that dazzles with deep emotion and exceptional acting” and the two Oscars, which the movie won for “Best Actor” for Tom Hanks and “Best Original Song” in the then Academy Awards. “Streets of Philadelphia” is the song and it’s played while title cards are put. It hails Philadelphia as the “City of Brotherly love”.. Errr.. of course the movie is about the plight a lover.. but he’s a same sex lover who is infected with one of the deadliest diseases. Released at a time when the epidemic AIDS ‘s outbreak was more and the stigma discrimination of the people infected by the same was very much in vogue, this movie had indeed thrown light on the painful perils of discrimination of the AIDS infected and their acceptance in the then society.



Andy (Tom Hanks) is a successful lawyer and works for one of the prestigious Law firms in Philadelphia. Shortly after the discovery of his illness, his employers fire Andy cooking up a Cock and Bull story about a missing document. Andy join forces along with his lawyer Joe Miller(Denzel Washington) to sue the firm for discrimination. Antonio Bandareas plays the role of Andy’s partner Miguel. As the lead characters are lawyers, a majority of the happenings are in the court room.

In terms of acting I found Denzel to have excelled better than Tom Hanks. Keen on winning the lawsuit in favour of his client and at the same time trying to balance his marital and public life, Denzel has indeed proved his mettle. Though initially reluctant to argue in favour of a gay lawyer infected with AIDS, Denzel steps in to help Tom, against his very own bias . Tom on the other hand is an equally competent actor. Be it the ailing patient or the active lawyer he leaves you with a heavy heart during the climax. The biggest strength of the movie happens to be the dialogues and excellent acting by the lead actors. Thankfully the same sex orientation and the acceptance of the people are portrayed in better optimism. A wide contribution has been done in condemning AIDS discrimination.

It ‘s a must watch movie if you are a penchant viewer of drama. Watch out for those strong arguments and equally potential counter arguments during the trial.

Haroun and the sea of stories - A read worth..

This is the novel which I have completed recently. Though it was from a TV anchor’s interview I came to know about this book and not by my own preference to read it, but I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. As it ‘s written in the perspective of little boy, I loved it the most and now it’s in the list of one of my most favorite books.

The last time I read a “Salman Rushdie” was almost four years back. It was “Midnight’s Children”, and the language was too high and I could neither enjoy it nor read further after a couple of chapters. But thankfully “Haroun and the sea….” Was in a simple language. As the author dedicated the book to his son, he chose to write it in a lucid language making it an evident choice for ‘Books for Children’..

After reading some of those NRI authors who claim themselves as new age writers, who write nothing more than stereotyped melodrama which predominantly has Male chauvinism, freedom of a married women etc as the central theme but contributing nothing to either to the theme or to a fine read, I was not interested in the so called contemporary writing. ‘Everything happens for a reason’ by kavita daswani, French lover by Taslima Nasreen are a few to name. Infact after reading French Lover, I tore the first two pages and threw it away. Actually I have the habit of writing my name or putting my signature in the first two pages of the novels I buy, but this novel was such a bad one and indeed the worst of the novels I have read until date.



But “Haroun and the sea…” which I started with no anticipations turned out to be an alluring plot which talks about a virtual world where is totally out of the earth :).. Well the “Kahani” is not a part of the globe but comes as non-explored cosmic body where in you find a sea made of numerous streams of stories and a villain who tries to destroy the epicenter of the source with anti-stories.

Though I’m not good in deciphering metaphors and allegorical scripts, the underlying thought in this novel didn’t require a great intellect to reveal it, but even a guy with a small-town breeding like me could even understand it. Not to forget the analogous characters which reside in the “kahani” have shared a lot or to be more appropriate have borrowed a lot of characteristics from their counterparts in the real world.

One such example would be the shadow warrior. His face paint is green and lips are scarlet, May be it’s a striking semblance with the made up face of a “Kathakali” Dancer who expresses with his “Mudras”. Though the climax is more predictable, the virtual world brought in by the author with all those close-to-real life characters made it a worthy read.

Thiraikatha- A story off the "thirai"

There was lot about this movie as it was termed as one of the "off - beat" type of movies. Also to add to it, the movie starred Prithviraj, my favourite actor.

It was the day of diwali, i was all alone in my apartment in Chennai as my housemates have left to their native for the celebrations. Too much of time to kill..

I remember seeing in the dailies that "Thiraikatha" was released in Chennai.. But was apprehensive if the new releases would have replaced this movie.. Anyways this time i was completely relying on the yellow page websites.. Well they said it was "Sangam Cinemas" where the movie was scheduled.. The sub- urban train was moving at a snail's pace for me and i was cursing my ownself for not starting a little early for the evening show.. No time to spare, i just got into an autorickshaw from the Chetpet station..

Alas !! Disappointment.. there was no Thiraikatha but some diwali releases... Atlast it was only on this sunday i got to see this movie after i got the original VCD from Music World..

Review:

Thiraikatha - As the name suggests, the movie is about the celluloid world. Not that, it completely revolves around the tinsel town, but on the life of an actress from her bloom to the gloom days.

Akbar @ Akki (Prithviraj) is a young director who is keenly working on the script for his second movie. For Akki movie-making is not a profession but a passion. He runs a restaurant along with his crew despite his successful debut. He narrows down to the life of an actress of yester years, Malavika(PriyaMani) for the storyline of his next venture.

As he explores more about the life of Malavika, the movie unfolds to the happenings of the recent past. As a reluctant actress Malavika debuts as the lead lady alongside Ajaychandran(Anoop) as the bad guy in her first movie. Despite her mother's disapproval the actress falls for the struggling actor Ajay. The movie turns out to be a success and so does the career bloom of the actress. With more films opportunities pouring in Tamil and Malayalam the actress is quite a star among the masses, but for Ajay is yet to get his bigger break as a hero.

Thanks to a common friend between the two, they get to act together in a movie in lead roles and end up in a secret marriage. But the marriage is short lived following difference of opinions and they soon part ways. Ajay's career takes an upturn and he grows to become a super-star who reigns on his popularity even in his 50's. Ironically, on the other hand Malavika's fades and due course of time she is totally forgotten.

Akki's inquisitives leads him to the ailing actress who is totally withdrawn from the gaiety and the glamour. This makes a transition to compassion and he persuades her to come with him for betterment. He also refrains from his decision of making a movie on her life. The actress who quite envisions her last days wishes to see her long lost love and the aftermath marks the climax of this touching movie.

Though based on a true story, the director has to be lauded for the impressive screen play. In fact he has given enough room for showcasing some excellent acting from lead characters.

In terms of acting it is Priyamani who omnipotently steals the show. Be it the glamour girl malavika or the ailing actress she excels in both. Next in line would be Prithviraj and Anoop. Well the rest of the characters like Samvrutha, etc complete the package of the decent movie.

Unlike most of the movies which throws light on the darker side of the actors, this one seems to have potrayed the emotional turmoil esp. that of the actressess in their fading end of careers.

The songs are good but the background score could have warranted more attention. Also the second half seems to drag a bit but the climax does the expiations for the little of shortcomings. A decent entertainer, infact the typical malayalam which vouches mainly on a solid stroyline.

Thiraikatha - The thiraikatha(screenplay) in deed shines bright in the thirai.

How Opal Mehta got into a painting ??

When i was in my final year @ college, this was the latest buzz news about an Indian origin Havard Sophomore, Kaviya Viswanathan.. On the first week i happen to read a full page interview with the girl about her debut Novel "How Opal mehta got kissed, got wild and got a life".. in the next week she was termed a "Plagiarist"..with her contract with some movie production company being annulled.. More pages found to be similar to various other novels.. and the book was pulled off shelves..

Enough were these reasons to increase my inquisitiveness to read this but unfortunately i could n't manage a copy of it .. Well I was out of college got myself a job in chennai.. In my agenda Weekends are meant for long shopping schedules.. i don't mind even shopping in the subway pavements, a posh mall with all major brands or the over/ever crowded Ranganathan Street or the little market area in Tambaram.. In one such shopping visits i found a copy of this book in a road side shop with the following cover pic..

Though the prime reason for choosing this book to read was the controversy surrounding the book, i liked the plot the novel. But this cover pic was different from the ones which made rounds in the internet as shown below

I had a team mate who was leaving our company to join a firm in her home town. I decided to gift the person something different. Infact she often reminded me the cover pic of the book and so i decided to gift her the same as my memento.

Well i have done some alternations in the painting as well :).. Well that's the story of How opal Mehta got into a painting :)

Movie Reviews - Santhosh Subramaniam

Review: The brother duo team of "jeyam" is back again as usual with a remake and had played safe to render a family entertainer this summer. As my friends told that the original telugu version "Bommillaru" was more impressive, I didn't get the drive to watch this movie. I read that the movie was about 'Father-Son' relationship and the intricacies caused by an over-caring Dad's love towards his son.

But it was my dad who made me watch this movie :)... Actually he had booked my return ticket on a State Transport AC bus but I had asked him to book my tickets for the ordinary deluxe bus which leaves 2 hours later than this one. Not always I gave my consent for my father's decision and deferred on this one too as didn't want to miss my extra 2 hours of stay at home this weekend. OMG.. They screened 3 movies in this bus that too movies which were hardly a month old.



K.. It's enough of beating round the bush.. SS's story line is about a son who craves for an independence from his father's over-powering love. Subramaniam, a millionaire pleasures in handpicking all choices on his son’s behalf. On the otherside his son craves for a love and career of his own choice. Santhosh (Jeyam Ravi) is deeply crestfallen when his dad betroths him to a girl ironic to his likings. But things change a lot for Santhosh when he meets the cute Hasini(Genelia), a girl still a child at heart. It 's love at first sight and don't try to explore any solid reasons :). When his dad finds about his lady-love Santhosh is ready to fight back his father. The girl is invited to Santhosh's home with a notion to win his dad's approval.

Did the girl won the approval ?? Did the dad realize his son's desires ?? Well watch out the rest on screen to find the answers.

The person who single handedly steals the limelight would be Genelia. Thanks to her innocent looks, the lass has indeed rendered her best in the role of Hasini. Next in line would be Prakash Raj and may be 'jeyam' Ravi cos' he 's the one who comes most often on-screen. The actor though had matured a little in his looks, there 's still a lot of scope for improvement in terms of performance and voice. Kowsalya, Cricketer Sadagopan Ramesh, M.S.Basker, Shayaji Shindey, Geetha, etc.. etc.. since this long list of actors merely make a screen presence and are quite used as fillups.

Though there's a separate hero’s friend's crew( an usual add-on in movies) to contribute for the comedy part, it is Genelia and her innocence which stirs more laughter.

The music is good, but still the deliberate unsolicited duets are again a pitfall.

So to sum up, a light-hearted movie this holiday season. Of course u would surely find it enjoyable.

Movie Review - Anjathey

I wrote this review long back but only now i have started blogging and there by i 'm collating all of my old stuff :)

ANJATHEY- I read a lot of good reviews for this movie and so decided to watch it. I went all alone for this movie and I was late as usual :). He... hee.. punctuality is a virtue which i always lag ;)
There was lot of discussion about this movie and I remember someone comparing it with Martin Sorcese’s “Departed”. So this had enough reasons to increase my inquisitiveness to watch it.

REVIEW:

This movie is another contribution to “Friends turning Foes” genre but the screenplay is fresh and a bold attempt. Thankfully there is no glorification of hero or love sentiments which makes the movie distinguished from the rest.

It is a tale of two friends in a neighborhood who take ironic career paths as a fateful SI interview force them a destiny as not anticipated by the either. Sathya(Naren) is nothing more than a loitering youth who boozes often and ends up in a duel. His friend Kripa(Ajmal) diligently aspires a career as a Sub Inspector. But it is Naren who cracks the interview by illegal means and Ajmal loosing the same. This happens to be the reason for the culmination of hatred in Ajmal towards
his friend Naren. It is at this point that Dhaya (Prassanna) takes advantage of Ajmal and deceives him to be a part of an underground crime team.

While the unjust and negligence witnessed by him in his work moulds Naren as a sincere policeman, on the otherside frustration and jealousy attribute to Ajmal’s transition to an anti-social element. With both the friends on opposite sides the rest of the movie is about saving young girls from falling a prey into the hands of lustful kidnapper team of Prassana and Logu(pandiarajan).



The director, Myshkin has to be lauded for his apt character selection. Naren has rendered a matured performance in the role of Sathya. It’s Prassanna, the soft look hero who had transformed himself as a hideous Paedophile villain warrants attention in the movie. As for the debutante Ajmal, the athletic build 6 footer also excels in acting. The Chennai 28 girl Vijayalakshmi(Uthira) fits in the bill perfectly as the troubled sister of Ajmal and lover of Naren. The actor in the role of an ever complaining friend “kuruvi” steals the show and moves ur heart in the climax.

All the veterans have contributed to the movie’s success with their performances even though they share a few onscreen moments. There are a lot of scenes which evoked applauds from
audience in the theatre. The flower vendor scene ought be an inevitable mention. The director seems to have impeccably weaved these interludes.

On the flop side, the movie moves at a much slower pace. The climax was elongated to the maximum until the viewers almost forget a few of the characters involved in the final chase sequence. Also the transition of Ajmal lacks more sensibility.

With only two songs and a just a jingle to replace the duet for the lead pair, the music was good. The ‘Gana’ type of songs are already topping countdowns.

The sepia tone for cinematography adds advantage to the gray shades of the characters dealt in the movie.

The team could have concentrated more on the few of the flopsides.

Movie Review - Vellthirai

I am fan of Actor Prithviraj and that was the main reason i was to this movie on the very second day of release... Infact i was there in the same multiplex during the premiere but unfortunately missed out both the movie and my favourite actor..

Review The glitz and glamour could have camouflaged the gray areas of the tinsel town, but this movie happens to explore those areas and puts the spot light on them in the form of a story. It 's a movie about movies which tells the implications of the whims and fancies of Actors who rule the celluloid and often take the upper hand on their very own creators.



There is a famous saying "Too many cooks spoil the broth" and this adage quite holds good when it comes to anticipations too. Afterall audiences would anticipate more from the superhit crew of "Mozhi". Find out for urself in the theatre...Saravanan(Prithviraj) is an aspiring director who is working on his dream script for his first break. A struggling junior artist Kanniah(Prakashraj) who happens to find resort his place steals his script to become the superstar Dileep Kanth.. In the mean time Prithvi marries his lady-love, the reluctant actress Mythili(Gopika). While the new born "dileep kanth"makes it big in the industry, the hard working Saravanan is more into hardships. The crest fallen Saravanan is left alone by his lady-love just for his own sake. It is at this point of time the producer (Sarath Babu) comes in for his revival. The headstrong superstar troubles enough the director and the crew. Atlast how the crew completes the movie is the rest of the story.. Hope the storyline is quite similar to the original "Udayananu Tharam"..


The laughter quotient is quite carried well by Charley, M.S.Basker and the rest of the actors but the movie seem to be a serious one. In terms of acting Prakash raj is splendid and so his protege Prithviraj. The actors expressive eyes has done patch ups for the little shortcomings caused by his tamil accent. As for Gopika and Laxmi Roy have done their parts well..

On the flop side the movie lacks momentum.. The movie could have been in a better pace like the climax. Also next in line would be art direction. The struggling asst director cum taxi driver seems to live in a posh flat. The screen play could have been better to have an impact on the good story base.There are no duets for the lead pair except for a sorrowful sonnet.

Afterall VELLITHIRAI(The Silver Screen) could have shined even more brighter...

Movie Review - Dasavatharam

I started writing movie reviews while i was in bench without a project :)...

Dasavatharam -More than a year in the making, “Ulaga Nayagan” playing 10 different roles, Made in a whooping Budget of 65 crores and.. and.. a whole
lot of reasons which were ample enough to raise the anticipations for the movie.

No wonder the movie pulled in crowds of all sorts and the theatre was packed to the brim. Did the movie live it up ?? That’s a million dollar question which couldn’t have an assertive answer.

The movie starts with an event which happens during the Chola reign. The desperate attempts by a Vaishnavite priest to save Vishnu’s idol becomes futile when an overpowering king kills him by drowning him in the sea along with the idol. The next part of the movie which comes as a first person narration by the actor himself starts in the US in a biotech Lab. It’s where our Hero Govind(kamal) experiments on a Bio weapon. The first victim of this
bio-hazard happens to be a monkey. Owing to the ill implications caused by it’s misuse, the rest of the story is about how the Hero struggles to prevent it from falling into the hands of the evil. Well this one happens to be most omnipotent villain of all times in Tamil Cinema, Christian Fletcher, played by Kamal. Do mind to watch a different point of view of a natural calamity which shook us in the recent past in the climax.

The first 40 minutes of the movie keeps you glued to your seats transforming you to Hollywood style of movie with swift stunts and Hi-Fi events. The Japanese girl who plays Yuca deserves a special mention here. The good start seems to ebb away later in the movie when the vial is sent to India by mistake. Both the hero and the villain Kamal alongside Mallika Sherawat come to India to find the vial. Mallika plays the lady accomplice of Fletcher and
does an item number and few chasing scenes to her credit. The scenes where Govind tries to convince the old lady(kamal) and her grand-daughter Andal(Asin) to give him the vial makes you yawn. Infact, Asin seems to be much of nuisance in the movie chanting the same dialogue all along. She could be called the inevitable heroine since she has not much work but all tamil films ought to have a lady-love and so she has managed some screen space.

Kamal has once again proved his mettle by portraying 10 different roles. From the anguished Rangarajan Nambi to the Half lunatic ‘Patti’, From the stubborn Fletcher to the singer Avatar singh, you could witness the hardwork of the actor called “Kamal”. The actor’s immense research for each of the roles is very much evident from the nativity slang of each of the characters. Not to forget the make-up for the ten though some minor flaws in some of them.
The Japanese guy, Vincent Poovarahan, Fletcher are just awesome and keep you spell bound with their performances.

Most of the veteran Actors like Nagesh, K.R. Vijaya, Jaya Pradha ..etc.. and even a few of the avatars of “Kamal” come in as guest appearances making the
viewers realize that they are the desperate attempts by the director to justify the title “ Ten Avatars “. The crew seemed to have left no stones unturned
in bringing out the Ten roles but have quite failed to pull strings for a strong story base.

The second half of the movie is much like a collage of characters just as a tantamount to showcase the talent of the Actor. If in Sivaji’s “Navarathiri”, the story demanded nine different roles(navarasa’s), here in Dasavatharam you could find 10 roles desperately finding their way to fit in to form a story. This happens to be the major pitfall of the movie. Owing to this, the meticulous efforts taken seemed to have rendered a squander instead.

Both Himesh Reshmaiya and Devi Sri Prasad have done their parts well. Mukundah.. Mukundah.. is a noteworthy melody and Kallai Mattum kandal is quite strong on lyrics.

The cinematography and the art direction are on par with Hollywood and so is the graphics. Even with a lot of impeccable positives the movie is quite short to have struck a high note.

So to say “ Penny wise Pound foolish”- The crew could’ve concentrated more on the bigger picture rather than the smallest of the details !!

Farewell Mails

Friends should be few and good.. I always made few friends but lost most of them within a short span.. Find below some of my farewell mails

Simple could be this note of farewell
At times it might not even tell;
In the enigmatic way your presence dwell
Neither of us could forget you,
In our minds you will be fresh as morning dew

Many a times people may vanish;
Only memories are the ones that cherish
Not you been quite long,
In this project we all belong
Come hither everyone to wish her
All smiles and happiness forever !!!

_______________________________________

I wrote this note for my junior..

Time to say Good Bye
This farewell is yet another standby
Your sweet memories still
Never fail to fill
This void of yours
Ever perennial in ours
Here we all, full of zest
Wish u all the very best !!!

The Human Pheonix

THE HUMAN PHOENIX- This was my first painting after days of lonely weekends. I'm loner who wanders a lot in the weekend and do a lot of shopping. 'm a little of an oniomaniac.. Then it was Mom's advice to stay back @ home and try some painting which was most favourite while at school days.

He..Hee.. I accept my paintings are amateurish.. Well i named this one as the "HUMAN PHOENIX" cos i like the attitude of the mythical bird Pheonix and wanted a human form for it. Unfornately i overdid the yellow and red create flames/rays from the sun and the result was poorly done finish :)..

Never mind it's one of the favourite works of mine..

Meera In Dark

Meera - The divine lover. Somehow, I was very attracted towards this hindu deity, not just because she's a woman ;) but her subtility and the eternal wait for her Love. I used the Chittorgarh temple Meera's idol picture as a model for my painting below.

Guess what ?? My painting has a flaw ...( Well i know it has a lot of flaws :), but this flaw is evident).

Isn't something missing in this picture ??

Well i forgot to justify the title.. I named this amateurish painting of mine as "Meera in Dark"..

I'm not good in figure drawing and so i decided to work on a silhoutte.. I was told that Meera, is a divine woman who sings for her Lover, Lord Vishnu..

In this painting, She not only sings for her lover but also for her identity in dark, just like me :). Many of us try for identity not even realising it's dark..

A Farewell Note

Oye Re !! Beholdeth her - a wonderful person;
Who could be remembered for every reason
Your memories would cherish all four season
If we forget you, it would be a treason

Call her the girl versatile;
Who never fails to flash a smile
Now that you go a few thousand mile,
It was memorable working with you all this while

Project and Party with you has been a pleasure;
Those yester days will always remain a treasure
Like a bright morning sky in azure,
We wish you a colourful life with happiness assure !!