Like all the populistic, geekism propelled lingo, the latest entrant also earns respect among the nerds/geeks of today...
Orkutt ing (V.) - to connect with friends (long lost or otherwise); networking
I have been in orkut for quite some time, but haven't used it as much as I have used in the last week. I have also been with Hi5, another way of friend networking, but could benefit, because, I didnt have anybody to network with...and also because orkut was using gmail IDs then, when not many were having gmail IDs..now gmail id has more or less become like a household thing, so that has as well propelled things to new levels... Though orkut isn't a messenger, it is much more than the messenger thingie....
I am able to see a huge network of people from the time I started to till now...wow..so many people, unimaginable...the beauty of this thingie is that even if you hang out with this orkut for hours together, you never get bored...which I found yesterday after spending close to 7 hours in Orkut..:-)...
Orkut is fast becoming the Google of Personal Information Networking Industry...there seems to be a community for virtually everything on earth, much like getting a search result from Google for almost anything under the sun and over the moon...
I see literally everybody using it...Its like this...even if you have an MSN ID and your friend also has one, you still tend to use Yahoo for instant messaging, because you can network to a wider gamut of the society if you have Yahoo... Orkut is synonymous to what I said just now...because everybody is already onto orkut...Hi5 and others will find it difficult to catch up....
The best part is orkut is as fast a using an intranet page, it never feels like internet portal...A note of appreciation is due to the adminstrators of this wonder thing...:-)
ok...time to check my scraps again...c yaa in orkut....
Happy orkutting!!!!
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Pudhupettai - A Movie Review
The first Selvaraghavan movie, I have ever seen...had never wanted to watch his genre of films...but for a change, had revisted the logic and...went to the theatre..but somehow I feel, my senses weren't wrong all these days...I always felt for the most part of the three hours, that I am into some psycho's life....so deep it was...that I am doubtful if I would choose to watch one more of the director's films again...ohmigod....
ok...on to the movie...Dhanush is the self-proclaimed "Kokki" Kumar..witness to his father murdering his mother..escapes away from home and incidentally gets caught into the mire of goondas...who are into everything you ain't do.....drugs,girls,assault,mattai...and what not....once during "DUTY"..is surrounded by the rival group....and to survive,
he starts attacking and the force within him surfaces for the first time...after this it "erumugam" for our hero...who rather resorts to silencing his detractors/opposers by killing them, whoever it maybe...inbetween, he also runs into the warmth of a relationship with Sneha (krishnaveni) who is a part of the girl-business they do...and gets to wade through rough weather trying to protect her...his brute force along with his gut instinct....take him to the echelons of politics....and thats where he stumbles...it seems so for a brief period...but that is enough to ruin his personal life...and then the hero emerges from the bloodshed and kilings as the "THYAGA SEMMAL" KOKKI KUMAR.....the so-called Pazhutha ARASIYALVAADI...of the politics of today....
One can nominate the last 10-15 minutes of the movie...for the Number 1 spot for COMEDY TIME....:-)
The story looks like a cliche'd DON storyliner...but the clinching factor is Selvaraghavan's take on this. He has given his best...I should say...but sadly his best...is too extremist in approach....I felt...
Agreed realism is the best way of reaching out to the audience in the movie...but there is a limit...to which movies can go with a U/A censor certificate...this has crossed that line...and the movie stands out bare in this zone...too much of
bloodshed....was unwarranted...too much of delving into the "detailed" bedroom life of the protagonist was also unwarranted...for this theme...people might argue that "this is what is happening...so what's the big deal in showing it on
screen???", but the same question would have applied to both Virumandi and Boys...which were trying to show realism...albeit in a subtler way...which met with stark criticism and widespread anti-movie protests.....I wonder why this movie doesn't raise those same questions on the protestors this time around...???food for thought ??? yeah...
Dhanush...I should say is director's material...if you know how to mould your hero, then Dhanush would fit your bill perfectly...but the pity is nobody other than his brother has been able to pull out better things out of this lean chap...post Pudhupettai...Dhanush definetly would get a new lease of life...very good performance...though slightly loud at times....
Sneha...I wonder why would one choose to do such a daring role...unless you have scope to perform..which sadly the movie hasn't provided to sneha...alright the character has so much depth and impact on the movie....but why would you take up such a sensitive role..unless you can't pull it off with a stellar performance....I would say Geetha's character in "Kadamai Kanniyam Kattupaadu" is much better etched than sneha's... I pity sneha...but she looks ravishing in the movie....:-)
Sonia Agarwal...is not worth a mention of more than a line...as she has just a couple of lines to emote in the whole movie...would have been better if they could have roped her in as a GUEST PERFORMANCE...:-) :-) hehehe....
All the Rowdies..round up the rest of the movie...yes that much is the number of fat guys you get to see in the movie..surprisingly every single baddie....pulls off his role..without trouble...every single person looks natural...wow...realism in display for you....
All said and done...if movies were not for storylines and for background credits..then this violent flick has & does very well behind the screens....
The top credit goes to Arvind Krishna, the cinematographer....the handycam shoot to 70 mm screen conversion hasn't gone unnoticed...it is quite beautifull..an art on screen..so to say...very good light themes for all the scenes...which graft wavering audience if any....
Yuvi..or YuvanShankar Raja's background score is very good...songs...as usual churning out the best for Selvaraghavan movies...the "Enga Area Ullavarathe.." song bringing nostalgia of the PETTAI RAP song of Kadhalan...very good beat number...
The Director...needs a special mention for managing the ship quite adeptly....he definetely is a huge talent...but I wish he reaches greater heights....by touching on subjects ala Cheran style...which when combined with selvaraghavan's attitude, would bring great cinema to the world.....let's wish....
And one last disclaimer....please....for heaven's sake...dont take kids with you for this movie...it is not worthy to be called a family entertainer...not the kinda movies you take your kids this summer....I actually saw a kid sitting next to me in the theater..questioning his dad on all the controversial scenes...:-(...still wonder what rules / conventions does the Censor Board follow to classify "THE DAVINCI CODE" as suitable for only for Adults & "PUDHUPETTAI" as suitable for a U/A audience....politics sucks in this country...
ok...on to the movie...Dhanush is the self-proclaimed "Kokki" Kumar..witness to his father murdering his mother..escapes away from home and incidentally gets caught into the mire of goondas...who are into everything you ain't do.....drugs,girls,assault,mattai...and what not....once during "DUTY"..is surrounded by the rival group....and to survive,
he starts attacking and the force within him surfaces for the first time...after this it "erumugam" for our hero...who rather resorts to silencing his detractors/opposers by killing them, whoever it maybe...inbetween, he also runs into the warmth of a relationship with Sneha (krishnaveni) who is a part of the girl-business they do...and gets to wade through rough weather trying to protect her...his brute force along with his gut instinct....take him to the echelons of politics....and thats where he stumbles...it seems so for a brief period...but that is enough to ruin his personal life...and then the hero emerges from the bloodshed and kilings as the "THYAGA SEMMAL" KOKKI KUMAR.....the so-called Pazhutha ARASIYALVAADI...of the politics of today....
One can nominate the last 10-15 minutes of the movie...for the Number 1 spot for COMEDY TIME....:-)
The story looks like a cliche'd DON storyliner...but the clinching factor is Selvaraghavan's take on this. He has given his best...I should say...but sadly his best...is too extremist in approach....I felt...
Agreed realism is the best way of reaching out to the audience in the movie...but there is a limit...to which movies can go with a U/A censor certificate...this has crossed that line...and the movie stands out bare in this zone...too much of
bloodshed....was unwarranted...too much of delving into the "detailed" bedroom life of the protagonist was also unwarranted...for this theme...people might argue that "this is what is happening...so what's the big deal in showing it on
screen???", but the same question would have applied to both Virumandi and Boys...which were trying to show realism...albeit in a subtler way...which met with stark criticism and widespread anti-movie protests.....I wonder why this movie doesn't raise those same questions on the protestors this time around...???food for thought ??? yeah...
Dhanush...I should say is director's material...if you know how to mould your hero, then Dhanush would fit your bill perfectly...but the pity is nobody other than his brother has been able to pull out better things out of this lean chap...post Pudhupettai...Dhanush definetly would get a new lease of life...very good performance...though slightly loud at times....
Sneha...I wonder why would one choose to do such a daring role...unless you have scope to perform..which sadly the movie hasn't provided to sneha...alright the character has so much depth and impact on the movie....but why would you take up such a sensitive role..unless you can't pull it off with a stellar performance....I would say Geetha's character in "Kadamai Kanniyam Kattupaadu" is much better etched than sneha's... I pity sneha...but she looks ravishing in the movie....:-)
Sonia Agarwal...is not worth a mention of more than a line...as she has just a couple of lines to emote in the whole movie...would have been better if they could have roped her in as a GUEST PERFORMANCE...:-) :-) hehehe....
All the Rowdies..round up the rest of the movie...yes that much is the number of fat guys you get to see in the movie..surprisingly every single baddie....pulls off his role..without trouble...every single person looks natural...wow...realism in display for you....
All said and done...if movies were not for storylines and for background credits..then this violent flick has & does very well behind the screens....
The top credit goes to Arvind Krishna, the cinematographer....the handycam shoot to 70 mm screen conversion hasn't gone unnoticed...it is quite beautifull..an art on screen..so to say...very good light themes for all the scenes...which graft wavering audience if any....
Yuvi..or YuvanShankar Raja's background score is very good...songs...as usual churning out the best for Selvaraghavan movies...the "Enga Area Ullavarathe.." song bringing nostalgia of the PETTAI RAP song of Kadhalan...very good beat number...
The Director...needs a special mention for managing the ship quite adeptly....he definetely is a huge talent...but I wish he reaches greater heights....by touching on subjects ala Cheran style...which when combined with selvaraghavan's attitude, would bring great cinema to the world.....let's wish....
And one last disclaimer....please....for heaven's sake...dont take kids with you for this movie...it is not worthy to be called a family entertainer...not the kinda movies you take your kids this summer....I actually saw a kid sitting next to me in the theater..questioning his dad on all the controversial scenes...:-(...still wonder what rules / conventions does the Censor Board follow to classify "THE DAVINCI CODE" as suitable for only for Adults & "PUDHUPETTAI" as suitable for a U/A audience....politics sucks in this country...
Friday, May 26, 2006
The DaVinci Code - A Review
Cannes was right....I was wrong.....or was I wrong..???? divided..huh?? exactly....thats what I am thinking...has never occured to me in the recent past of movies.....atleast I would say the hype around the movie was pointless...and now I understand why the censor certified the movie without a fuss..precisely the movie is a NEAT and FAITHFUL reproduction of the DAN BROWN special...just that...glittering at places where it should and also failed to glitter at places where it should have....
The movie opens with Jacques Sauniere getting murdered....so the first half hour looked almost like the visualization of the book....a touch disappointed I should say, but then the movie picks up with interesting juxtapositions of scenes of Fache and Langdon....and I expected a bit more elaboration of the treasure hunt Agent Neveu & Langdon embark on..before reaching the bank.....the book exhumed so much of interest out of these sequences....which hardly had a mention here....I felt disappointed....but enter Sir Ian Mckellen, as Sir Leigh Teabing...the movie makes you sit up as it is incidentally the part of the story that gets to business, so a stellar performance I should say for the Ian Mckellen...the story picks up speed and goes on at that pace...and on and on..until the climax...so in effect, the movie shores up to its elder brother, but doesn't somehow have the poise and silken feel the big brother gave for readers....
reasons if we ponder,
one, I thought was Dan Brown, the way too much of information he packed into the novel, without breaking the pace, was difficult to capture in a 2.5 hr motion picture....that apart, no credit stealing from the makers...Ron Howard and Goldsmith have done a great job..taking liberties at will at places....and choosing not to take rightly at places....Appreciated....
two, because of lack of time, none of the characters have any depth in them...except for Teabing's...only he manages to make an impact with the viewer...otherwise...everybody..including Tom Hanks suffer from lack of depth in characterisation....I felt Tom Hanks was wasted in the movie....felt sorry for this versatile artiste...less talked about Agent Neveu, the better....she was unconvicing to say the least...I am sorry...:-(....
three, irony that this caption turned out to be.... "A picture can say a thousand words" has gone wrong...in this case....the movie couldn't successfully say what the book could....One felt that the movie makers had a presumption that every viewer would have read the book, so they take a liberty of skipping some links here and there...without which any first time davinci decoder...would feel alien....and thats what it looks like....
All said and done, a very good job done on the historical overttones...and the depictions of the history looked convincing the least to say.....
I would say I enjoyed the book more than movie...but nevertheless a Very Good Effort from Ron Howard and team..trying to match the sensation and fame of the book three years into the market...tough it is as one finds out at the theater....
How right was cannes?? !!! how wrong was I ???!!!!
The movie opens with Jacques Sauniere getting murdered....so the first half hour looked almost like the visualization of the book....a touch disappointed I should say, but then the movie picks up with interesting juxtapositions of scenes of Fache and Langdon....and I expected a bit more elaboration of the treasure hunt Agent Neveu & Langdon embark on..before reaching the bank.....the book exhumed so much of interest out of these sequences....which hardly had a mention here....I felt disappointed....but enter Sir Ian Mckellen, as Sir Leigh Teabing...the movie makes you sit up as it is incidentally the part of the story that gets to business, so a stellar performance I should say for the Ian Mckellen...the story picks up speed and goes on at that pace...and on and on..until the climax...so in effect, the movie shores up to its elder brother, but doesn't somehow have the poise and silken feel the big brother gave for readers....
reasons if we ponder,
one, I thought was Dan Brown, the way too much of information he packed into the novel, without breaking the pace, was difficult to capture in a 2.5 hr motion picture....that apart, no credit stealing from the makers...Ron Howard and Goldsmith have done a great job..taking liberties at will at places....and choosing not to take rightly at places....Appreciated....
two, because of lack of time, none of the characters have any depth in them...except for Teabing's...only he manages to make an impact with the viewer...otherwise...everybody..including Tom Hanks suffer from lack of depth in characterisation....I felt Tom Hanks was wasted in the movie....felt sorry for this versatile artiste...less talked about Agent Neveu, the better....she was unconvicing to say the least...I am sorry...:-(....
three, irony that this caption turned out to be.... "A picture can say a thousand words" has gone wrong...in this case....the movie couldn't successfully say what the book could....One felt that the movie makers had a presumption that every viewer would have read the book, so they take a liberty of skipping some links here and there...without which any first time davinci decoder...would feel alien....and thats what it looks like....
All said and done, a very good job done on the historical overttones...and the depictions of the history looked convincing the least to say.....
I would say I enjoyed the book more than movie...but nevertheless a Very Good Effort from Ron Howard and team..trying to match the sensation and fame of the book three years into the market...tough it is as one finds out at the theater....
How right was cannes?? !!! how wrong was I ???!!!!
Monday, May 22, 2006
Is The Davinci Code getting released in India after all????
What the hell is happening to THE DAVINCI CODE in India....why this protest.....I am clearly confused as to why the sudden outburst against the movie .....when the story is atleast 3 years old....
If the authorities feel Damage might be done because of the sensitive issues touched in the movie.....then the damage has already been done, by way of the book.....so why crave about the movie....worse...the book is getting translated in various languages....so where is the case of dis-allowing information in visual format....
after all the movie is a fauithful replica of the book, so what you get to read in the book, is what you get to see in the movie.....and according to the critics in Cannes, the movie is anything but controversial.....
then why all the fuss about the movie....???? It is uncomprehendable for me.....It has of late become fashionable to raise flags against movies at will and the freedom of expression is at danger ......more so evident, because the movie didnot jump out of Ron Howard's brain...it was the brainchild of Dan Brown, whose original THE DAVINCI CODE, book is still among the top sellers in the country..well into the 3rd year of sales......If the damage is the serious concern, then the remaining books of the author, should be revoked ala Kaavya Vishwanathan's issue, but no signs of that......
I really dont see the movie getting released in the next week...simply because, SONY pictures is stead-fast in providing its only disclaimer, while the govt & censor board are forced to order an additional disclaimer just because powerful houses from the country have raked up the issue, If the damage was so serious, I would have been happy if the govt was just enough to have banned the movie in India, but the authorities, know that there is nothing new that is shown, so they have given an "A" certificate, clearly winning the consent of the censor and the govt....just that the fuss is around who is going to budge now.....:-(.....
pity, we have been disallowed the right to watch the movie along with the rest of the world....
If the authorities feel Damage might be done because of the sensitive issues touched in the movie.....then the damage has already been done, by way of the book.....so why crave about the movie....worse...the book is getting translated in various languages....so where is the case of dis-allowing information in visual format....
after all the movie is a fauithful replica of the book, so what you get to read in the book, is what you get to see in the movie.....and according to the critics in Cannes, the movie is anything but controversial.....
then why all the fuss about the movie....???? It is uncomprehendable for me.....It has of late become fashionable to raise flags against movies at will and the freedom of expression is at danger ......more so evident, because the movie didnot jump out of Ron Howard's brain...it was the brainchild of Dan Brown, whose original THE DAVINCI CODE, book is still among the top sellers in the country..well into the 3rd year of sales......If the damage is the serious concern, then the remaining books of the author, should be revoked ala Kaavya Vishwanathan's issue, but no signs of that......
I really dont see the movie getting released in the next week...simply because, SONY pictures is stead-fast in providing its only disclaimer, while the govt & censor board are forced to order an additional disclaimer just because powerful houses from the country have raked up the issue, If the damage was so serious, I would have been happy if the govt was just enough to have banned the movie in India, but the authorities, know that there is nothing new that is shown, so they have given an "A" certificate, clearly winning the consent of the censor and the govt....just that the fuss is around who is going to budge now.....:-(.....
pity, we have been disallowed the right to watch the movie along with the rest of the world....
Ahhhh....the davinci code !!!!
Must be one of the latest reviews ..;-) for the BOOK...THE DAVINCI CODE.....atleast 2 years after it came to the bookstands....see I am so optimistic a person as ever.....hahaha....
As i have mentioned, earlier, I am not the Novel guy....never read Novels...but that was history, before April 2006....In the space of a month..I have read two astonishing novels....both completely unrelated to each other...but both closely related to my heart...agreed, as matter of fact, I never went to these novels, the novels found me...akin to what the davinci code says...."You dont find the Holy Grail, the Holy Grail finds you!!", Yep....I have been attracted to these two novels..(by the way they are "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life" and "The Davinci Code")...mainly due to the media hype that has surrounded these novels...albeit for not so happy reasons...the former for pliagarism charges and the latter for defamation charges...:-|.....
The Davinci Code movie was due to be released on 19 May 2006, all over the world...but it wasn't to be...atleast in India, Pity, I can't comprehend what these people in India find don't deem fit in the movie...that people in UK, the US and rest of the world find less amusing...If the movie is to be banned...the book should have been in the first place...but I still see the book being one of the best sellers of all time in India....so I was deprieved of the right to see the movie along with the rest of the world....YES...I would put it that way...
After getting to know that the movie is due to be released on May 19 2006, knowing of Ron Howard, I hurriedly got hold a copy of the book and started reading it avidly..at first...just to get the thrill and content intact, before watching the visual....but alas...my world has changed after the book read....my views on a lot of things in the world have atleast taken a beating, leave alone the change of opinion, which I can acknowledge only later....:-(....the book has left me with a lot of unanswered questions...simply because, I am just unfamiliar about ARTS and the religion in question....
So the book has opened new avenues to read on and get knowledgeable for quiet sometime to follow.....the book has been both informative and thrillerish at the same time....wow...I have never seen or heard of such things in movies...before....just can't wait to watch the movie...which I know is just a few days away.....huh....will definetely feel like an eternity....
The intrigue that is raging in my heart is more of the knowledge or rather the lack of it, that the book has left, than the thrill of story....amusement is defintely a needed feel for novels, but this one I feel has given some food for thought....I dare say / comment on the facts brought out in the book, I am literally unequipped to speak of them...
The book....the least to say....has thrill almost in every chapter...which if I were to statistcally speak has to be atleast 105 times....:-).....Starts off with the murder in the Louver in Paris, moves along at steady pace(and so many interludes of equal importance, I atleast I had difficulty in keeping things in my cache to relate to), moves to the Depository Bank of Zurich, then to Chattue Villete and then airbone to London, and then back to ground zero, the Louvre in Paris....phew....what a whirlwind tour for the reader....simply artistic, religious, seat moving stuff all at once,
though Robert Langdon would be the heart throb(even for me), I felt Manuel Aringarosa to be very good sketch, the equal blend and ideal human, good and bad in equal mix...My heart goes out for this character...not sure how much people would go with this....I atleast feel vindicated with my feeling, atleast looking at the star who has been cast as Aringarosa....; Tom Hanks....Robert langdon, not sure if anybody else could carry the role, seems to be a fitting choice for now...
The mixed feel coz of the movie teasers and the Novel's pomp have raised my expectation levels like no other movie has raised barring an exception for Shankar's blockbusters...which equate to this movie.....
I am restless....-like Robert Langdon's quest for the Holy Grail- for the movie's release date in India....
Meet you with a review of THE DAVINCI CODE...the movie....:-)
As i have mentioned, earlier, I am not the Novel guy....never read Novels...but that was history, before April 2006....In the space of a month..I have read two astonishing novels....both completely unrelated to each other...but both closely related to my heart...agreed, as matter of fact, I never went to these novels, the novels found me...akin to what the davinci code says...."You dont find the Holy Grail, the Holy Grail finds you!!", Yep....I have been attracted to these two novels..(by the way they are "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life" and "The Davinci Code")...mainly due to the media hype that has surrounded these novels...albeit for not so happy reasons...the former for pliagarism charges and the latter for defamation charges...:-|.....
The Davinci Code movie was due to be released on 19 May 2006, all over the world...but it wasn't to be...atleast in India, Pity, I can't comprehend what these people in India find don't deem fit in the movie...that people in UK, the US and rest of the world find less amusing...If the movie is to be banned...the book should have been in the first place...but I still see the book being one of the best sellers of all time in India....so I was deprieved of the right to see the movie along with the rest of the world....YES...I would put it that way...
After getting to know that the movie is due to be released on May 19 2006, knowing of Ron Howard, I hurriedly got hold a copy of the book and started reading it avidly..at first...just to get the thrill and content intact, before watching the visual....but alas...my world has changed after the book read....my views on a lot of things in the world have atleast taken a beating, leave alone the change of opinion, which I can acknowledge only later....:-(....the book has left me with a lot of unanswered questions...simply because, I am just unfamiliar about ARTS and the religion in question....
So the book has opened new avenues to read on and get knowledgeable for quiet sometime to follow.....the book has been both informative and thrillerish at the same time....wow...I have never seen or heard of such things in movies...before....just can't wait to watch the movie...which I know is just a few days away.....huh....will definetely feel like an eternity....
The intrigue that is raging in my heart is more of the knowledge or rather the lack of it, that the book has left, than the thrill of story....amusement is defintely a needed feel for novels, but this one I feel has given some food for thought....I dare say / comment on the facts brought out in the book, I am literally unequipped to speak of them...
The book....the least to say....has thrill almost in every chapter...which if I were to statistcally speak has to be atleast 105 times....:-).....Starts off with the murder in the Louver in Paris, moves along at steady pace(and so many interludes of equal importance, I atleast I had difficulty in keeping things in my cache to relate to), moves to the Depository Bank of Zurich, then to Chattue Villete and then airbone to London, and then back to ground zero, the Louvre in Paris....phew....what a whirlwind tour for the reader....simply artistic, religious, seat moving stuff all at once,
though Robert Langdon would be the heart throb(even for me), I felt Manuel Aringarosa to be very good sketch, the equal blend and ideal human, good and bad in equal mix...My heart goes out for this character...not sure how much people would go with this....I atleast feel vindicated with my feeling, atleast looking at the star who has been cast as Aringarosa....; Tom Hanks....Robert langdon, not sure if anybody else could carry the role, seems to be a fitting choice for now...
The mixed feel coz of the movie teasers and the Novel's pomp have raised my expectation levels like no other movie has raised barring an exception for Shankar's blockbusters...which equate to this movie.....
I am restless....-like Robert Langdon's quest for the Holy Grail- for the movie's release date in India....
Meet you with a review of THE DAVINCI CODE...the movie....:-)
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Black May Day
DISCLAIMER: My Views and only my views !!!!
Yeppu..Tamil Nadu and its most literate(or otherwise) have done it...have shunted between DRAVIDIAN PARTIES.....I was so optimistic that atleast this time people would reverse the trend and vote for the incumbent...but they have not failed to disappoint....
just in case, any one is inquisitive abt the reason behind my laments...
a) atleast Jayalalitha (called as J from now) would have continued what she has done...because I am 700 % sure..kalaignar henceforth called MK in this writeup, will scrap, undo, dismantle anything she has started...so the reality is TN is going to come back to square one as far as development is concerned...at the courtesy of mindless voters... MK will have tough time fulfilling his promises...that is IF at all he plans to fulfill them. so mistake 1 according to me...
b) If they had voted J back to power, the famed politicians of TN would have learnt a million dollar lesson, to not underestimate the voter public and do something so that they stay back in power, but alas, the message that is coming thru now is "WHATEVER I DO or NOT DO, I AM NOT GOING TO STAY FOR MORE THAN 5 YEARS....so let me atleast fill my pocket and not do anything"... will be the mindset...people could have avoided that....coz this was the closest any incumbent could have got to returning to power..in all these years in TN political history after MGR. so mistake 2 according to me...
c) by voting DMK+ to power, no doubt MK is returning to the helm, but how long will he / will he be able to continue....??? is the biggest question...everybody has...coz..his health not withstanding / Family pressure not withstanding MK will for sure step down and pave the way for MK Stalin to power, with which I can't imagine the "state" of the state....omigod....he has earned so much of disrespect and hatred just within DMK, think of the whole state of TN, plus he does not have the charisma or the skill levels of his legendary father....so mistake 3 according to me...
d) Politics of the Famed familiy will cut loose, and we as the people of the state should be ready to believe in and accept the OFFICIAL NEWS CHANNEL, the OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER, OFFICIAL ENTERAINMENT MAGAZINE, et all from the family...I am not going to be surprised if SUN TV is going to be the official channel of enterainment for TN and every advertiser will be forced to pay a royalty for SUN TV for any advert they are planning to play in the state...
e)And who out of the whole lot is going to pay for the increased power consumption & cable charges due to the FREE COLOUR TV that MK has promised..and who will get all the revenue for the cable TV..the omni present SCV (Sumangali Cable Vision)....mistake 5 according to me....
I can go on and on....but it will become more of a finger pointer than a lament of a helpless guy....
Anubavinga ellarum .... 5 varusam ("Reap the benefit for 5 years from now" is what it means)
Yeppu..Tamil Nadu and its most literate(or otherwise) have done it...have shunted between DRAVIDIAN PARTIES.....I was so optimistic that atleast this time people would reverse the trend and vote for the incumbent...but they have not failed to disappoint....
just in case, any one is inquisitive abt the reason behind my laments...
a) atleast Jayalalitha (called as J from now) would have continued what she has done...because I am 700 % sure..kalaignar henceforth called MK in this writeup, will scrap, undo, dismantle anything she has started...so the reality is TN is going to come back to square one as far as development is concerned...at the courtesy of mindless voters... MK will have tough time fulfilling his promises...that is IF at all he plans to fulfill them. so mistake 1 according to me...
b) If they had voted J back to power, the famed politicians of TN would have learnt a million dollar lesson, to not underestimate the voter public and do something so that they stay back in power, but alas, the message that is coming thru now is "WHATEVER I DO or NOT DO, I AM NOT GOING TO STAY FOR MORE THAN 5 YEARS....so let me atleast fill my pocket and not do anything"... will be the mindset...people could have avoided that....coz this was the closest any incumbent could have got to returning to power..in all these years in TN political history after MGR. so mistake 2 according to me...
c) by voting DMK+ to power, no doubt MK is returning to the helm, but how long will he / will he be able to continue....??? is the biggest question...everybody has...coz..his health not withstanding / Family pressure not withstanding MK will for sure step down and pave the way for MK Stalin to power, with which I can't imagine the "state" of the state....omigod....he has earned so much of disrespect and hatred just within DMK, think of the whole state of TN, plus he does not have the charisma or the skill levels of his legendary father....so mistake 3 according to me...
d) Politics of the Famed familiy will cut loose, and we as the people of the state should be ready to believe in and accept the OFFICIAL NEWS CHANNEL, the OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER, OFFICIAL ENTERAINMENT MAGAZINE, et all from the family...I am not going to be surprised if SUN TV is going to be the official channel of enterainment for TN and every advertiser will be forced to pay a royalty for SUN TV for any advert they are planning to play in the state...
e)And who out of the whole lot is going to pay for the increased power consumption & cable charges due to the FREE COLOUR TV that MK has promised..and who will get all the revenue for the cable TV..the omni present SCV (Sumangali Cable Vision)....mistake 5 according to me....
I can go on and on....but it will become more of a finger pointer than a lament of a helpless guy....
Anubavinga ellarum .... 5 varusam ("Reap the benefit for 5 years from now" is what it means)
Monday, May 08, 2006
In Defence of Kaavya - How Opal Mehta Got into Controversy
Deeply saddened, is what I could muster up for what has happened to Kaavya Vishwanathan's Literary Career...The fledgling career has been faced with rough weather...It all happened like a hazy dream...She shot up to fame first with her novel, How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got A Life, then soon after, not even a month into her popularity, she was stripped of all her popularity...the reasons given were, some paragraphs of her work had striking resemblance, hard to ignore from another popular writer's couple of novels. People started publishing similarities as if that was their favourite past time of late....
Agreed plagiarism is not a very kind act....one needs to be very vigilant on acts like these...but please spare a thought to what kaavya should be going through, because it has become very evident that it was pressure from the publishing and packaging house that has had a major say in the released version of the book, but all said and done, it is the author who is targeted for all of the remarks...fair enough....but at the behest of the background activities, the question that is becoming conspicous is "Is Kaavya really responsible for all that happened ??"
I have read a lot on the online stories after the controversy and these seem to outnumber the lines written by kaavya in the book....surprising isn't it??? yeah but thats the truth....amongst the heap of stories that I have read on PLAGIARIST - KAAVYA, I could spot out three interesting stories IN DEFENCE OF KAAVYA... and I do second...rather fourth these articles....and Kaavya, I stand by your side, I feel after all noobody is original and can be original as a matter of fact of nature.....
1)IN DEFENCE OF KAAVYA - http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003068.html
2)IN DEFENCE OF KAAVYA - http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/may/08guest.htm
3)IN DEFENCE OF KAAVYA - http://www.sulekha.com/blogs/blogdisplay.aspx?cid=48893
Spot me a person who can vouch for originality in thought, word and action, in any work of theirs....IT SHOULD HAVE HAD AN INSPIRATION FROM SOMEWHERE....there is no escaping that....just that the source does not complain about Plagiarism
As one of the links say, the so-called copied content, doesn't in any way
a) affect the original work
b) amount to even 1 % of the derived work, which automatically means the copied content is an insignificant part....
c) Does not create any twists to the plot of the story, which has affected the story significantly...
so why make all the fuss about lifting lines, from another work.....as the second link states, Kaavya has not been skillfull at copying...had she been, she would not be into this situation now.....
I am certainly not of the opinion that plagiarism is acceptable and should not be condemned..but all that I am lamenting over here is one should not be prejudiced to cases of plagiarism.....the cases should be opinionated on an individual basis, if any body with their senses ON, reads the whole book of Kaavya and gets to the paragraphs in question....they would readily agreee "SO WHAT????", believe me, these paragraphs are that insignificant and the pity is Kaavya has had to pay the price of the two-book-deal being scraped and her novel revoked from book stores....
So I feel one should support this girl during this time of distress....and emotional block-out.......
my 2 cents.....
Agreed plagiarism is not a very kind act....one needs to be very vigilant on acts like these...but please spare a thought to what kaavya should be going through, because it has become very evident that it was pressure from the publishing and packaging house that has had a major say in the released version of the book, but all said and done, it is the author who is targeted for all of the remarks...fair enough....but at the behest of the background activities, the question that is becoming conspicous is "Is Kaavya really responsible for all that happened ??"
I have read a lot on the online stories after the controversy and these seem to outnumber the lines written by kaavya in the book....surprising isn't it??? yeah but thats the truth....amongst the heap of stories that I have read on PLAGIARIST - KAAVYA, I could spot out three interesting stories IN DEFENCE OF KAAVYA... and I do second...rather fourth these articles....and Kaavya, I stand by your side, I feel after all noobody is original and can be original as a matter of fact of nature.....
1)IN DEFENCE OF KAAVYA - http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003068.html
2)IN DEFENCE OF KAAVYA - http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/may/08guest.htm
3)IN DEFENCE OF KAAVYA - http://www.sulekha.com/blogs/blogdisplay.aspx?cid=48893
Spot me a person who can vouch for originality in thought, word and action, in any work of theirs....IT SHOULD HAVE HAD AN INSPIRATION FROM SOMEWHERE....there is no escaping that....just that the source does not complain about Plagiarism
As one of the links say, the so-called copied content, doesn't in any way
a) affect the original work
b) amount to even 1 % of the derived work, which automatically means the copied content is an insignificant part....
c) Does not create any twists to the plot of the story, which has affected the story significantly...
so why make all the fuss about lifting lines, from another work.....as the second link states, Kaavya has not been skillfull at copying...had she been, she would not be into this situation now.....
I am certainly not of the opinion that plagiarism is acceptable and should not be condemned..but all that I am lamenting over here is one should not be prejudiced to cases of plagiarism.....the cases should be opinionated on an individual basis, if any body with their senses ON, reads the whole book of Kaavya and gets to the paragraphs in question....they would readily agreee "SO WHAT????", believe me, these paragraphs are that insignificant and the pity is Kaavya has had to pay the price of the two-book-deal being scraped and her novel revoked from book stores....
So I feel one should support this girl during this time of distress....and emotional block-out.......
my 2 cents.....
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
How Opal Mehta got Kissed, got Wild and got a Life - A Book Review
My First Ever Book Review....and the first ever Novel I have read outside of academics
For a eighteen year old....this is too good an attempt....Actually, I got into this only because of a interview with Kaavya Vishwanathan in The Hindu, that I read. It was refreshing and kindled interest in me, basically because, I have gone through this admissions things much before this....
so...goto-> Landmark -> get the book -> the guy at the counter gave me a smile suggesting me the popularity of the book...!!!!
The story looks to be a leaf taken out of somebody's life...and it can't be any other way...coz...its so realistic.....thats the one reason I was attracted to this novel....basically I am not a story reader guy, am always attracted to only reality writings...and I thought for the first time, I am detouring from that, but at the end, somehow, my choice of hooking on to this book, wasn't very different from my genre of books, just that it is a very popular one, that I am reading.....
The opening chapters of the book, straight take you into the groove, which was very well done, so that people dont be slack at the book, at the very beginning itself, interesting the tempo is maintained at the jet speed one is used to in the beginning, I was more amazed and amused at the language and the contemporairiness of the story and the author's dictum of the same....It was fun all the way....
The middle of the novel, is well in the expected levels, and one is taken into too much of details, of each of the exploits the protagonist, which I felt was lil too much, coz If I were the author, I would have trimmed those to nicety, but maybe I am not aware of the modalities of novelists...and maybe, this is how novels are written...it would take another novel of this kind for me to realize it.....
the mind for detail is very evident in the places when Opal goes to the hair stylist; the proud Mehtas planning HOWGAL with all the music CDs, recordings of The O.C et all, are very interesting....actually catches the pulse of youth in the United States today...
So the story goes ,like this,
Opal Mehta, a Desi teenager, whose only aim all her life has been to enter Harvard, which according to their parents, the ebullient Mehtas, will secure a future for her, for which she has been working meticuluously and following the plan HOWGIH (How Opal Will Get Into Harvard) crafted by the Mehtas, only to find it isn't enough , harrowingly at the near end of the admissions, when the interviewer Dean Anderson in Harvard laments on the need of well rounded people into harvard, and not Automatons......All hell breaks loose when Opal returns home, only to comforted by her parents with yet another plan HOWGAL ( How Opal Will Get A Life). Here goes the second innings, where Opal tries to be the cool girl and makes her best with the tryst to become the Hot Commodity in school. In the process of HOWGAL, she befriends the very few people she thought, she could talk meaningfully to in school, the science group...In comes her changed persona...and along with it numerous new situations...the parents arranged date with Jeff Akel, the peer-counselling sessions with Sean Whalen, the escapades with HBz, the act of getting wild with a party at home, kissing Sean Whalen, after seeing Jeff with another girl, swapping blackberries with Prsicilla Ming, which turns out to be her undoing tearing her image to pieces, when priscilla bulk-forwards her HOWGAL plans in an email to the whole class, How Sean Whalen breaks up with Opal and so many other things...which are literally fun and frolic...Then she meets her cousin which turns out to be for the better, then the second chance at Harvard, which quite ironicaly she flounders in a pool of tears, unknowingly blurts out the fermiculli theorem she is trying to prove, and after much trauma of waiting for the Harvard admission letter, it comes as a huge relief and all ends well....
Hopping onto the characters other than the Mehtas that really need a mention are Jeff Akel the School Students Union president, with political aspirations, the HBz ( Haute Bitchezzz) complete with the Asian Sensation Priscilla Ming( the cool girls in school) are very well knitted into the story, I thought the physics partner Natalie, could have been deliberated a llil more, considering the fact that she plays a great part during the closing stages of the story, the little cameos by Dean Anderson, the interviewer at harvard, the harvard host for Opal the second time around, med dropout cousin sister Kali, all do their bit. I have seen Dean Anderson ish people during my US Student Visa interview...and infact I was interviewed by a guy similar in sketch to Dean Anderson who rejected my student visa petition..:-(....so I was moved by Opal's situation and could readily relate to it....:-)
Sean Whalen, the love interest of Opal, what a character he has been in this story, starting from a no hope guy to the main love interest of Opal Mehta, his character was well etched, I should say.....the desi effect of the story was very evident and enjoyable, much like what we are used to in movies like Bend It Like Beckham & Bride and Prejudice...funny..I should say....the never say die attitude of the Mehta's was very inspiring...the cousin Kali..the dark horse of the story I should say, the fulcrum behind the change of attitude in Opal was a real smash of a charcter...
True to being a reviewer, only when Opal meets Kali at the Market place, does the USP of the story spill out...coz...I was wondering why Opal Mehta was just obeying her parents, when she didn't love doing what she was doing, I am talking abt HOWGAL....so Kali's character is a revelation both for Opal and for the readers....do what you think you will suceed in...... How many of us get that option, mainly because any caring parent like the Mehta's would want their kids to do nothing different from Harvard...rite????
Though Funny and amusing all the way, the understone has been staunchily put up..DO WHAT YOU LIKE and BE WHO YOU ARE...is the success recipe in life......infact, the story would have been a paradox if Opal hadn't toured HARVARD the second time around, when she got to know that's where she wanted to be, so in a way, she wanted to be in Harvard and she has been.....so I liked the way the story was summed up...though a little cinematic..like THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER.....;-)
Eager in seeing how the movie shapes by in the hands of Dream Works....:-)
Good work...over all...I should say....a vibing teen author's bubbling book, its a fun ride, thoughout.....
For a eighteen year old....this is too good an attempt....Actually, I got into this only because of a interview with Kaavya Vishwanathan in The Hindu, that I read. It was refreshing and kindled interest in me, basically because, I have gone through this admissions things much before this....
so...goto-> Landmark -> get the book -> the guy at the counter gave me a smile suggesting me the popularity of the book...!!!!
The story looks to be a leaf taken out of somebody's life...and it can't be any other way...coz...its so realistic.....thats the one reason I was attracted to this novel....basically I am not a story reader guy, am always attracted to only reality writings...and I thought for the first time, I am detouring from that, but at the end, somehow, my choice of hooking on to this book, wasn't very different from my genre of books, just that it is a very popular one, that I am reading.....
The opening chapters of the book, straight take you into the groove, which was very well done, so that people dont be slack at the book, at the very beginning itself, interesting the tempo is maintained at the jet speed one is used to in the beginning, I was more amazed and amused at the language and the contemporairiness of the story and the author's dictum of the same....It was fun all the way....
The middle of the novel, is well in the expected levels, and one is taken into too much of details, of each of the exploits the protagonist, which I felt was lil too much, coz If I were the author, I would have trimmed those to nicety, but maybe I am not aware of the modalities of novelists...and maybe, this is how novels are written...it would take another novel of this kind for me to realize it.....
the mind for detail is very evident in the places when Opal goes to the hair stylist; the proud Mehtas planning HOWGAL with all the music CDs, recordings of The O.C et all, are very interesting....actually catches the pulse of youth in the United States today...
So the story goes ,like this,
Opal Mehta, a Desi teenager, whose only aim all her life has been to enter Harvard, which according to their parents, the ebullient Mehtas, will secure a future for her, for which she has been working meticuluously and following the plan HOWGIH (How Opal Will Get Into Harvard) crafted by the Mehtas, only to find it isn't enough , harrowingly at the near end of the admissions, when the interviewer Dean Anderson in Harvard laments on the need of well rounded people into harvard, and not Automatons......All hell breaks loose when Opal returns home, only to comforted by her parents with yet another plan HOWGAL ( How Opal Will Get A Life). Here goes the second innings, where Opal tries to be the cool girl and makes her best with the tryst to become the Hot Commodity in school. In the process of HOWGAL, she befriends the very few people she thought, she could talk meaningfully to in school, the science group...In comes her changed persona...and along with it numerous new situations...the parents arranged date with Jeff Akel, the peer-counselling sessions with Sean Whalen, the escapades with HBz, the act of getting wild with a party at home, kissing Sean Whalen, after seeing Jeff with another girl, swapping blackberries with Prsicilla Ming, which turns out to be her undoing tearing her image to pieces, when priscilla bulk-forwards her HOWGAL plans in an email to the whole class, How Sean Whalen breaks up with Opal and so many other things...which are literally fun and frolic...Then she meets her cousin which turns out to be for the better, then the second chance at Harvard, which quite ironicaly she flounders in a pool of tears, unknowingly blurts out the fermiculli theorem she is trying to prove, and after much trauma of waiting for the Harvard admission letter, it comes as a huge relief and all ends well....
Hopping onto the characters other than the Mehtas that really need a mention are Jeff Akel the School Students Union president, with political aspirations, the HBz ( Haute Bitchezzz) complete with the Asian Sensation Priscilla Ming( the cool girls in school) are very well knitted into the story, I thought the physics partner Natalie, could have been deliberated a llil more, considering the fact that she plays a great part during the closing stages of the story, the little cameos by Dean Anderson, the interviewer at harvard, the harvard host for Opal the second time around, med dropout cousin sister Kali, all do their bit. I have seen Dean Anderson ish people during my US Student Visa interview...and infact I was interviewed by a guy similar in sketch to Dean Anderson who rejected my student visa petition..:-(....so I was moved by Opal's situation and could readily relate to it....:-)
Sean Whalen, the love interest of Opal, what a character he has been in this story, starting from a no hope guy to the main love interest of Opal Mehta, his character was well etched, I should say.....the desi effect of the story was very evident and enjoyable, much like what we are used to in movies like Bend It Like Beckham & Bride and Prejudice...funny..I should say....the never say die attitude of the Mehta's was very inspiring...the cousin Kali..the dark horse of the story I should say, the fulcrum behind the change of attitude in Opal was a real smash of a charcter...
True to being a reviewer, only when Opal meets Kali at the Market place, does the USP of the story spill out...coz...I was wondering why Opal Mehta was just obeying her parents, when she didn't love doing what she was doing, I am talking abt HOWGAL....so Kali's character is a revelation both for Opal and for the readers....do what you think you will suceed in...... How many of us get that option, mainly because any caring parent like the Mehta's would want their kids to do nothing different from Harvard...rite????
Though Funny and amusing all the way, the understone has been staunchily put up..DO WHAT YOU LIKE and BE WHO YOU ARE...is the success recipe in life......infact, the story would have been a paradox if Opal hadn't toured HARVARD the second time around, when she got to know that's where she wanted to be, so in a way, she wanted to be in Harvard and she has been.....so I liked the way the story was summed up...though a little cinematic..like THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER.....;-)
Eager in seeing how the movie shapes by in the hands of Dream Works....:-)
Good work...over all...I should say....a vibing teen author's bubbling book, its a fun ride, thoughout.....
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