wielding weekend

weekends are vagaries. When they aren't actual, u stagger more.Christams on a thursday is a case.

Late ...offlate

Offlate was held up with too many importnat assignments. Work, Sisters' marriage and my first level CFA exams. Buit din miss to catch all the action around. So a late reactions for things that happened offlate.

Mumbai attack: Anger peaked. But felt as helpless as ever. Or even more. We friends have been thinking and talking a lot regarding this. Time has to tell if all those discussions and thinking will make a telling difference. This isn't just pertaining to mumbai attack but the general scenario of the country as such.

Vaaranam Aayiram : I don't go to any movie to enjoy how heartfelt a director has delivered his movie. Heck who cares. All i care is how heartfelt am I after watching the movie. And that one DADDY word was enough of spoiler for the whole movie. very Average affair.

Market : Given the profession i am into couple of friends asked me advise on betting on volatility. Though i politely refuse advising anyone, but still it gave me signs of no respite for the market

CFA: Got into study mode after such a long time and hell nerve wracking it was. But gave my full and managed a decent attempt. And results are always there for retrospection. Add on:Been to singapore to writ the exam. Singapore is systematic.Night life was amazing.

This is definitely not a new year resolution, but for that not a resolution at all.But would like to write more regularly.

athuva varrathu......

Saw Saroja on the first day with a bit of expectation. The movie was a disappointment. There was nothing refreshing in the movie. Every character was shown to have a story to them which least connects with the viewer. It was irritating too when the protagonists just keep hovering around their lost path and the abandoned place beyond reason. Yuvan disappointed big time. Silly movie it was.

As usual technology & internet that can make anything vulnerable has led to the release of first pictures of Endhiran. The first feel you get off them is that another typical shankar movie kind movie. Anything else is to be expected? Just on coincidental notes the other stalwart Kamal has also commenced his photo shoot of his magnum opus (a cheap expression by itself these days) Marmayogi. Both had a set pattern of operating in the industry, especially after 1995 since when I watched movies eagerly. With rajini the pattern is just as predictable as the number of active cells on George bush’s brain. With Kamal though it is not as unpredictable as the sub prime crisis, still a pattern as to the equivalent of political graph of Dravidian parties can be drawn. Kamal keeps acting in a chain of comedies (mostly) interlaced with his ambitious (that sometime turns to be good) movies. A kadhala kadhala before a Hey Ram, Panchathanthiram & PKS before Anbe Sivam & Virumandi. A VV before Dasavatharam are examples. But the recent trend of Tamil movie breaking greater boundaries (both within and outside India) has up heaved both of then to a higher pedestal. Now budgets, collections are least and last of the issues. On that note one did Sivaji and the other did Dasavatharam. Without entering the debate about the success of these movies, what really succeeded was Tamil movie industry. It is being more widely accepted and acknowledged. With that new pedestal and the basic that technology can only aid a good film these stalwarts hopefully give us the right entertainment.

Panakkara Naai....

Naai vechirukkura panakkaara naaihala,athunga aai porathukku katti vekkalada pavements.

Recent Movies.....

Kuselan:SHIT.
SUBRAMANIAPURAM :Loved it, Liked it like hell.
DHAAM DHOOM: Well am taking the risk of even being labelled as inhuman for reviewing the dead (Director JEEVA). But this movie made me feel just "Good that the man is no more to make another atrocious movie and waste resources".

Dasavatharam cont....

These days any big budget movie is a minimum draw. say a population of 6+ crores in tamilnadu. and assuming only 25% of them watch movies and further assuming all such kind would hit the theatres atleast once for these days' pre-release-propogandised blockbusters. At a very average ticket rate of rupees 20 per head, the mathematics comes to 30+ crores of collection. And that is the last of the bounty a filmamker looks at these days. Thanks to overseas, satellite rights, big bang openings. That explains why a movie like Shivaji or Dasavatharam can't be debated to be a hit or miss based on economics. But that small impute inherent in any movie would just stop a movie from being taken to the hearts of the people . A film saddles to heart of the people by entertainment, refreshment, emotional disturbance. In all of them or one of them. To cut a long story short, a mediocre stuff is a mediocre stuff. Dasavatharam undoubtedly is a masterful, mammoth task cut out on screen. But how does it help end of day if people don't connect. Kurosowa's and acclaimed directors made movies that stood test of time and geographic boundaries. Reason, cinema a visual medium was enriched by them. And it is only sad for a movie to be understood and explained in forward mails. And before anyone would squeal dasa is for the enlightend, bet the maker had such an illusion.As indicated in one of my previous posts the ingrain of cultural divisiviness in the brains of, atleast the learned tamils, makes them predjudicative about different movies and heroes. It can't be more emphasised by the point that it is unacceptable to be a fan of both kamal and rajini. Acclaiming and criticising them on equal scales. You must be mundane then. BUt hurl one and hail other is acceptable anytime. This is not another exhaustive rajini vs kamal (should it be kamal vs rajini,given the fact kamal is senior?) debate. As a generation, rajini and kamal movies were what with which we had grown. in the late 80's and early 90's if you had come to me, a boy of 10-12 then and asked if you liked rajini or kamal, i would have just replied i like cinema. I still would answer the same for that question. In so mammoth leaps the tamil film industry has taken, these two are real pillars who are entertianing a tonne times more than all the crop of current youngsters. Time, has made cinema synonymous with entertainment to us. And that is divided as two types rajini and kamal. And what would you prefer at any point of time. Well any one as they would entertain as in their best ways. So owning a DVD of thalapathy and Thevar magan as a pricey posessions is no new for a real cinema lover. When a baba does fail, we do say ok fine let's see whats next. And with Dasa we only say that kamal betrayed us. We are only pained that such hardwork has been overshadowed by his ego and more so by his fetish for make ups. C'mon don't say technical brilliance. To the standards of technical brilliance and freshness new direcotrs have got into tamil cinema, this movie looked like a puppet show in various instances. And mediocrity is no compromise for right intentions. Dasavatharam has a average hollywood flick kinda oneleine story. And beyond that everything is left to the screenplay to sustain. And thats where he falters giving sparks of brilliance rarely and a drab most of the time. Smitten is he himeself in between with his prophecies, which no bloody hell is interested. too many loose ends you see. A dasavatharam should have taken kamal to higher pedestal (hidden case:any movie of his would never ever deprive him oh his achieved stature), but fails. And to attribute that failure to the audience is a shame on him.

Dasavatharam and the average cinema lover......

better late than never. Taking on Dasavatharam's trailer and music or well without even taking on it the following things are for sure,

1) Kamal periya aalu thaan ba...
2) A film is only as good as it is accepted by people from all centers....

3) The third and the most elaborate of my non taking of Dasavatharam music is that , Himesh Reshamiyya by any sort of standard or explanation is a misfit here. A misfit that is a culminate of a crate of misunderstandings, most commonly nomenclatured as MARKETING DEMANDS. Undeniable is the fact that they could have easily settled for a more renowned South Indian music director. Even citing the reason of being a multilingual doesn't stand a valid reason for Reshamiyya on board. As still 3 out of the 4 languages it is being made are only south Indian languages . And as again there are eminent music directors who have established unabashed fan following for themselves, mostly through movies that are just dubbed inter languages. And quite a handful of them have perched on the bollywood arena too. So if they thought Himesh Reshamiyya could serve a facilitator for the multilingual tag of the movie they were wrong. Or just had they thought that he could give the movie an address atleast in the bollywood arena, again they are wrong. Or i shudder had they ever thought Reshammiya's music could bring an universal appeal as supplementing to kamal's addiction for universal recognition. Simple is that nothing but a belligerent producer or actor or director whoever it is, explains of having him as the music director. And truth is that he can't even manage to bring the real crowd in even for a Hindi movie.Was the content of the movie so unacceptable for some music directors to have not accepted the film. In that case viewers beware.

And what is this attitude of scoring only the songs and not the background score. As known a trend started by A.R.Rehman, such unhealthy it is. An escapist tendency i would say. Now look at this , once a movie is planned the foremost thing is to make the story sink into three persons who are the only ones referred by the word DIRECTOR in the glossary of cinema. They are the movie's Director, Music Director and Art Director. Here is a situation where we get him scoring all the songs and enter devisri prasad for background scoring. And none of them i bet would have got a hearing from the director or the scriptwriter. They would have only dealt this on a situation to situation basis. At least that is what i feel. In that case it would only end up being a remorse for the viewers. when they can't even get as simple a full time music director for a film how silly it is of the people concerned with the movie and those people concerned with the people concerned with the movie to hail this to be a classic sort. Well as said in point 2 Dasavatharam will be judged aptly on day one of its release to public. And in case people offer to reject it there would be a malicious campaign propagating the theory of viewers being fools and failing to connect with the movie. Mumbai Express , remember? A trash that was. Still some people who claim to eat, sleep, breathe good cinema blame the viewers as to not having understood a classic. Bullshit. Well it's meandering, as though i am a kamal basher. but even a iota of non inclusiveness of the average viewer by so called methais should be unabashedly bashed. I am off late stuck with this phrase of khaled hosseini and borrow the same for this situation too. If in general everything about Dasavatharam is a turmoil of uncertainty, small things like himesh reshammiya could make it a certainty of turmoil.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Having abandoned at least a dozen books midway or even before take off makes me ruminate often as, what had happened to my fetish for reading. But A Thousand Splendid Suns
is really arresting.

Raghuvaran...

Long time, say some 8-10 years back, Raghuvaran in a interview said "ethir kaalathil director aahum latchiyathudan uzhaikkum ella assistant directors um avenga kathai leh enakku nu oru character create panni vechirukkaanga" . That he counted as his achievement of his career. one of the few versatile actors , who can infuse life into a film even as dead wood as Sivappathikaaram . Off late we saw him much shriveled on screen and here today his life comes to an end. Never knew he was so old (60 years) .

Anjaathaey...

Easily one of the most self indulgent movies , where in the director takes his own liberties to unfold the story about two friends. There are moments of exhilaration. Director manages to pose erudite at points. But such moments are measly in proportion smothered in a lengthy drab narration. Not entirely drab though , as do many scenes carry some spirit, but yet could have been easily done away with. Well even i didn't have any qualms over sitting through those scenes unfolding at its own pace. And when all that detailed , though not snail spaced, scenes can only lead to a ridiculous climax is when you get exasperated. Looks like the director gave full freedom to the camera man to showcase all his abilities at the cost of time. And what about the casting?. Narain though sparks as such in moments , as a coherence fails to convince as to whether he is playing a frivolous guy or the traditional hero. As to other characters they just do what they ought to do . That makes a case as why exactly was the necessity to have a pandia rajan or prasanna don such roles, who do not bring any freshness in those roles. And ponvannan is easily the worst of the casting lot. A standard movie on the outset, just misses being super standard by some yards and finally may even manage to pose sub standard as because of the length and the unfolding of the climax. And why i hate the unfolding of climax is when all along the movie you accept to engage yourself with the director and all of a sudden he makes a mockery of your intelligence.

Sujatha.......

Ananda Vikatan introduced Sujatha to me and the Tamil film industry made me take a keen note on him. Though i never dug deep into his literary works , did at times read some of them. A book on easy ways to write a screen play is the only book of his that i read completely. Experiences of having failed big times by trying to lay my hands on his simplification of puranaanooru, made me understand my literary restrictions. When in morning i read that news in Hindu , my first reaction was -Oh! man finally your time too arrived. later going through my regular blogs i see every one almost expressing schock over the news. Totally uncalled for you see. Well if you had been regularly tracking this man, through him or any other source, it was only evident that he himself was the first person awaiting this news-as rightly put by kamal. Well all in all, quite a prolific character that he was, has gone for some eternal rest. He has done some real hard work to settle for such a rest.RIP.

Barbering Lessons.

It's a monthly routine to submit my head to my now so routine barber. Quite a chatterbox he is. But you get to know so much information as to which real estate deal get clicked in BTM, which went bust, how much the corporation got under the table, which hotel adds how much soda in their food, which new tree was cut all kinds. If only he could give me details as to who sleeps with whom in BTM he gets fully qualified to start a english news channel. On one such occasions couple of days ago, out of all his disconnected topics he suddenly uttered these words and i quote "Entha velaya iruntha enna sir seeyarathukku interest irukkanum. athukku thevayana moolai irukkanum. Naanellam saavura varaikkum barber thaan. atheh maatha mudiyathu". I rest the case.

sellaathu sellaathu......

The nonsensicality about being an aggressive fool is that you only stretch yourself to be puerile.

Interviews. demands, offers,career........

The act of acting pricey is a bit dicey. Acting pricey with people ,who are real pricey and yet decides to be modest is fun and danger entwined. Acting pricey to people who you actualy look down is delirious joy. So finding a mean of these two situations would enable find the line of best fit, careerpath. And when you actualy decide with no confidence on your decision making skills all that can come to your rescue is "Ellam Nanmaikae".

martyrish musings.....

I do not know if still the school in which i did almost my entire schooling holds on to this practice of assembling at 11 AM on this day (30 January) every year and observe a two minute silence for all the martyrs who redeemed our nation . I do not know if doordharshan still holds on to its anniversarily screening of the movie Gandhi. My hairs do raise everytime i see this. Also still remember how i felt the ending of the movie "The legend of Baghat Singh" as a tight slap on me. Patriotism, like any other feeling just creeps in at times and drains as against the daily stupidites that easily gain control of us.

Valorous Vanity.....rants to the me myself.......

Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. But how else does one conjure expertise. It takes a hell for a myriad mind to get focused. A task must maraud your intellect. Or serve as a masseuse for the ever ignited ego. You do ten tasks in a day. Think about a hundred fancies, fallacies in a day. The less stupidity of doing such things for years atttains its high when you start assuming yourself to be a multi tasker. mayiru, Mannangatti. How difficult is it that just getting up in the morning and goin for a run, given the fact that you need that badly to keep yourself in shape? it's definitely not as easy as thinking and visioning about it for months now. Having all right intentions is not so noble you know. It takes a tough nut to get on track and translate those intentions to real things. And due course one does gets affected by monotony. Monotony and boredom are here forever to stay. So why keep rebuking them unnecessarily. The strange thing about this vanity is that , all just one needs is just a Grandeur vision of having all your visions implemented. Now that is circular reference. Well keep ranting until you get tasks that really maraud your ego and serve as a masseuse for the ever ignited ego Intellect. Am for one dying to find them.

Media......

This is news.

Appo avaru vechiruntheh Rhea Pillai eh ippo yaaru vechirukkaa?

Nalla paakuraanga da maama velai.

Bheema......

A lingusamy meet selvaraghavan movie goes astray and looks upon us like a moron in the end.

Lingusamy :Some gyan for you.You have trisha on your crew, you screw and you fail.

I bet vikram would have ever heard the story narrated. (As if there was one?)

And god's sake just scraping nose with nose is not romantic and it's rather irritating.

Harris jayraj re-re tunes the same kakha kakha music.

Songs, the worst irritant of this pointeless movie.

Raghuvaran- RIP.

Prakashraj-evlo naal thaan naanga un ore nadippeh rasikkara maaariyae nadikkarathu.Mudiyalapa.

Only good thing about the movie was, it pushed me to think about getting back to my Gym.

Oram Po....

NO, this is not about the movie Oram po. Today the auto drivers are in a 6 to 6 strike to press for revision in the rate charged per kilometer. Though the strike takes place in unision , there are subgroups within the entire auto faction with one group demanding the revision to be Rs.7.5 per Km and another group demanding it to be Rs.10 per Km. FYI the current existing rates are Rs.6 per Km. If facts are to be believed almost 85-90% of autos in bangalore run on gas. So doing a simple conservative analysis of factoring in the cost of gas, mileage etc at current rates only these autos have an operating margin of 200 %. But still they demand more. And if you are gonna consider their extra earnings like asking for 1.5 time charge for anything after 8 Pm or for any distance beyond 15 Km are so, the margins expand still furhter obscenely. May be people should counteract. How about all the public deciding not to use any auto services until they reduce the fares to be Rs.4 per Km. You see there is a purpose for shankar's movies. itheh sonna nammala cinema paarthu kettu ponavan nu solluvaangeh.

PS: this post is strictly for bangalore and no way applies to chennai where there is no concept of metering at all. May be they will also revise the minimum fare they charge from the existing Rs. 25 to Rs.40 based on bangalore revision.