ENDHIRAN - Get Ready folks!!!

ENDHIRAN - About time i wrote something about this movie. There has so much hoopla over it that i spent all my time reading about it, watching and revelling...now its time for my two cents.

I'm definitely not reviewing ENDHIRAN ..what can i say that you have not already heard.. 
Right from the time pictures leaked from Manchu Pinchu, audio launch in Malaysia, Trailer release - we have followed the movie's release and when Endhiran hit theaters - it was Diwali a month sooner.

No, i don't want to hear about the ticket price, his age, budget etc.. redirect to my review of Shivaji and you will know why.

Rajnikanth has a charm, a personality that will always enthrall his fans and when directors like Shankar understand that and deliver on our expectations, it is a bonanza. We get to see Superstar in our favourite avatars - If shivaji had Billa & Baasha to please our palette, Endhiran has Avargal, Mullum Malarum and the new age scientist. Aishwarya Rai is so tolerable in this movie that i almost like her.

Although Endhiran is not for die hard fans like me, it definitely is a movie par excellence and am i grateful that Kamal and SRK refused. It has set new standards, silenced critics and has once again proved us worthy of being Thalaivar's fans :))

Next time Superstar movie releases make sure you get tickets FDFS, the crowd, mayhem and the screams will make you understand the adrenaline rush and the brand value of Rajnikanth.

Un Pear Sonnathum, Perumai Sonnathum Kadalum Kadalum Kai thatum... - Ithu eppadi iruku?

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Posted in: Endhiran,Rajnikanth,Superstar,Tamil

Raavanan - Plunges

Enough has been said about Ravan and Raavanan... from Big B to behindwoods everybody has lauded, raved and critiqued. So my review is going to be crisp...

Thumbs-Up

• Vikram, Vikram and Vikram: He shines throughout the movie. The effort, portrayal and passion is flawless. The entire movie rides on his wide shoulders and when he plunges everything goes down with him. Makes me wonder if Abhishek would fit the bill...
• Cinematography - Breathtaking visuals and never-seen-before angles. Applause to Santhosh sivan & Manikandan
• Priyamani - She eludes strength and almost goes unnoticed, but deserves credit. Perfect, clean shot.
• Rohini - Dubbing for Ash... its was not very easy for her but you win even when ash fails.

Thumbs-Down: (needless to say this is going to be long)

• Story & Screenplay - Weak.. which is very surprising for Mani Ratnam as a director. He was the one who gave us everyday lives with finesse and conviction, made us beleive in the protoganists, perfect air-tight scripts. A big let-down.
• Dialogues - For heaven's sake Suhasini, please let us be... go do your talkies or something else....
• Prithvi - Mani Ratnam movie was a feather on his cap but his role gets nothing but a big yawn.
• Aishwarya - No expectations to begin with, except for her eyes, i can think of a handful of heroines who would have essayed her character 10 times better. Mani look beyond the bachan clan... there is talent, beleive me.
• Costumes - Even i could have dressed up aishwarya better. She is a dancer but what is with the giant skirt salwars and 50s hair style? Nalini Sriram would have been a better pick.
• Stellar Scenes - S-O-R-R-Y(Roja), Kambili poochi uruthu(Mouna Ragam), Thundering(Agni Natchathiram), Nee azhaga irukenu nenaikala...,Neenga nallavara Kettavara, En Devava konutiyeda.. No such scenes. SIGH.. Double and Triple SIGH!!!!

I could not categorize the music in either cases, BGM was good but songs do not mesmerize you except for a couple of them - Usure Poguthey and Veera. Partly to blame, is the humongous burden of expectation which Mani did not stand up to while picturizing them.

Lets hope next time around Mani takes the time to read my blog before directing a movie. WINK!!!WINK!!!

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Posted in: Mani Ratnam,Movies,Tamil

What's in a name?

Ok.. am opening Pandora's box now!!!
It all starts when you get married... for many its not an option, for some its an inconvinience and for some its a required hindarance... ofcourse am talking about the SURNAME fiasco!

Some of us change our surnames without worrying too much about it, others have nightmares about it and worry that our identity would undergo a massive destruction at the face of such a change.

So what's in a name? For years you are called using a certain surname and then to change it in the middle, would you start feeling like a different person.. should you feel like a different person? Is that the whole logic behind such an illogical fiasco? Why does society, legal entities demand such an ill-possessed change? Or am i the only person who ponders in vain for such small changes in letters?

That being said, there is sense in having a family name... something that unites the members like that of a league or a club name. Society was predominantly a male oriented community since they were the earning members(once upon a time) but with so much that has changed should we start making a change with surnames too? Or should we let it be, since this is least of the problems which we have amidst us?

Now if you are wondering what i did with mine... i will not appease your curiosity that easily :):)

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Posted in: Insomnia,Names

SILENCE

A month spent amidst family ~ BLISS!!! It is very rare to get such occasions even if siblings live in the same continent.. spending 30 days with your family. That said, i treasured and cherished every minute of it. Having a new born added more ecstasy to our jubiliant lives.

Now am back home.... PAUSE!!!
What is the first thing that hits you when you are at home after a vacation from India.. the silence!! That is what always hits me, then comes nostalgia, home sickeness et al. But the first blow is always the silence. The quiteness of our neighbours, the purr of the hybrid vehicles, occasional bow wow's from dogs, non-existent comcast... a stark contrast to the vivid, noisy, colorful, blarring that is almost always interwined into our lives.

To add to this silence, we have shrunk the family to the smallest possible unit. What once consisted of parents, grandparents, great grand parents, children now consists of the "nuclear"set of two/three people.
We have shrunk family to such a tiny scale, each person in his or her own private space, completely dislodged from others.

Some of us can recall our childhoods.. every second filled with friends, grannies, relatives, neighbours, siblings. There was never a moment of privacy and we dint care for it either. We were happy and content sharing our otherwise mundane lives with others.

I'm not saying i dont like this life, doing things we are passionate about, having the time to cook international cuisine, learn a sport or two.. but my question is when will the mind ever learn to unlearn the noises that filled our lives? When will it learn to stop yearning for the countless strangers who were an integral part of our lives? When will we learn to make our peace with the silence?

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Trespassers should be prosecuted

We live in a democracy which promises freedom and equality to all. It is the same democracy that also advocates privacy. It is appalling to see media exploit this privacy in the name of awareness. Nothing justifies peeping through a person’s bedroom through your camera lens. That is off-limits, crossing boundaries and trespassing. It is for this reason we have the censorship board, government and officers of the law.


The telecast by Sun TV of a Swamiji being intimate with a woman was akin to pornography which should have been censored. It is for this reason that certain uncouth words are beeped out and scenes completely removed from cinema. When one form of entertainment is subject to regulations how can we let the Television which brings news and advertisements right into our homes go scott-free. One can argue that we could always change the channel to avoid convoluting the minds of young and children but shouldn’t the laws hold all forms of media in the same scale?

There are numerous organizations that would resort to violence for certain opinions expressed by celluloid heroes, crimes committed by godmen. We are always ready with weapons to tear down homes, offices and ashrams. Is there not a better way to appease our mind and calm our senses? Isn’t the pen mightier than the sword?

Although it is frustrating to see the world at war in the 21st century, it is even more frustrating to see such blatant acts of evading privacy. Nobody is justifying the acts in question, but it does not give media the power to publish material without care and consideration. These acts are not synonymous with freedom but what is pulling this country back from going forward.

We cannot call ourselves a true democracy unless we hold such acts accountable and along with power comes responsibility. If you trespass, you should and will be prosecuted.

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CHICAGO - Broadway's Sure Thing!!!

If you know me well enough, then you know how much i love the City - NYC!! Just walking through the streets, exploring shops and tasting fine cuisine sold @ carts by the roadside - all bring great thrills to my otherwise rotting mind. So when it was a special celebration of our lives together for a year where else do we head??

This time we wanted to finally watch a Broadway Musical. We have been planning and cancelling for a year now and as if it was meant to be - we had tickets for CHICAGO!!!

Ofcourse this had to be preceded by a belly-full(literally) of Saravana Bhawan Full meals. The Mr. even took the time to lift his eyes of the thali plate to recommend entrees to the friendly americans seated next. I did not commit any such mistake - it was a hand to mouth fight.

When we finally walked in to the Ambassador Theater, i thought it was quite small for a broadway theater. After a few minutes, i realized that size did not matter and was completely mesmerized by the performances.
We have all heard and probably seen the Academy Award winning movie CHICAGO, but watching a Broadway musical is a completely different experience that i would recommend.

You can read all about the cast and the songs in their website, so i'm not going to repeat that. I'm also not going to write about the russian who was snoring away to glory two seats away from us, or the wild teenager who was texting her boyfriend in front of me or the man who was secretly clicking pictures from his Iphone even though it is forbidden - this is quite the normal theater going audience isn't it?

Velma played by Deidre was my favourite. Her attitude and elegance oozed from the stage. You want to laugh, cry and scheme with her and that is the true victory of an artiste. She has a certain confidence about her abilities and a casual elegance that makes you want to watch more of her on stage. She wins us over even when she is losing to Roxie Hart.

When the cast was being credited, all i could think of was how stimulating it would be if the stalwarts of Tamil Cinema sat and watched a musical. They could bring certain class and quality to the movies dished out today. Sigh, i know no matter what i watch it always circles back to one place!!!!

A must-see Chicago - universal tale of fame, fortune and all that jazz; one show-stopping-song after another; and the most astonishing dancing you've ever seen. We enjoyed it and am sure you would too....

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