Rajesh Prakasam

Growing Older...

2011-05-27T14:41:00.006+05:30

mmm...this is a constraint / limitation of life one has to face and inevitably at that!! This is more so getting evident in multiple walks of life...

Family: kids I have seen running around the house my knee-cap height when I was in college are in college now, which invariably means I am no more a college goer...:)

Family 1: Rewind Raagam, a show on Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM, chennai version is a show for retro songs which fit into those good old days!! songs from movies like Amarkalam, Alaipayuthe, Yuva get played in those making me feel that we are part of a legacy now....!! Definetely makes me feel OLD....

Net-life: My blog, this one, is in itself close to 8 years old...and if I read my first few posts, that bangalore boy who started his career in Slash Support flashes by and I am reminded I am OLD....

Professional: When people you recruit and mentor and train as part of their out-of-college life at work grow up and start going to onsite as coordinator, you cannot deny the fact that you are OLD....

Public Places: Going into Malls and Multiplexes in Chennai, definetely makes me feel out of place now, purely because, my visits to a mall will be for picking up a dress for my wife, or to Odyssey / Landmark to collect stationery / CD collectible rather than for *just the heck of it*...all I mean is, I visit a mall / store only for a purpose, which is a far cry from the days I used to visit The Forum, in Koramangala, Bangalore, every weekend (both days included) without a purpose!..I am definetely OLD now...

Technology: Motorola as a smartphone maker came to prominence with its Linux powered devices like A780, A1200 and ruled the roost with Q9 and other mobiles and BIT the dust as a smart phone maker, stopped production of smartphones, have resurrected them selves via Andriod mobiles and are back in the business as a leader...almost like a fresh generation of motorola and pity is I have see all of this as a grown-up, which says I AM OLD now...:)

Confirmations for getting OLDER:

a) I used to roll-over my mobile phones in less than 18 months since my first mobile in 2004. I have been religiously doing this, but the last 2 mobiles have been more than 24 months and the current one, a Nokia E63 is more than 26 months and still in my possession, simply for the reason that it doesnt have any problem to be replaced. Same was the case with all my previous mobiles, but all of them saw change...Change in mindsets is a key attributer...and also lessons of value for moeny from Wife...I am OLD now...:)

b) I have a few strands of grey hair in my temple and 1 also cropped up in my moustache sometime back...oof...enough of my brooding, LOCK kardiya jaaye...I AM OLD...

but OLD isnt that bad...!!! see tthe following,

a)I get to advice people based on my experience...which is a really cool thing!
b) I am sought advice by people for my experience in life and professional career...again cool....
c) I get to enjoy life as a Family...a loving wife...a lovely boy...really COOL...
d) I get to prioritize my day at work, because of the accountability i have at work, rather than being set tasks for the day!
e) I can boast of movies from the 1990-2000's as ones the younger kids couldnt get to see
f) I can get to bloat abouot how Gentleman, Kadhalan and Roja created waves when they were released in 1990's...!!!
g) I get to talk about Jim Courier and Pete Sampras to newer kids..:)...

so...MORAL of the story is.....OLD IS BAD...but OLD IS ALSO GOLD...and we know how much 1 gram of gold costed then and how much it costs now...;)

Godspeed...Shabba Khair...

My Post Cup-win Musings on Facebook

2011-04-21T17:57:00.002+05:30

Saturday at 22:47 Dhoni seems to have chosen the day to peak!! Smart Guy!! Now we know why he is the most successful Indian Cricket Captain ever!! Jai Ho!!

Saturday at 22:49 Wow!!!

Saturday at 23:12 Just realized that my TV remote was lost for the last 3 hours and I just realized it was lost!! So has been today’s power play by India!! What heartened me is we have chased 260 & 275 effortlessly… No flash in the pan of First batting scores! Jai Ho!!

Saturday at 23:22 Kumar Sangakara’s upbringing really showed!! EVen Ricky Ponting wouldn’t have made it so professional!! Captain Cool!!

Saturday at 23:25 I wish I could tell You!! - Yuvraj knows how to celebrate!!

Saturday at 23:29 Man… What a presentation ceremony talk by Dhoni…candid talk… my respect for Dhoni is sky-rocketting…:)

Saturday at 23:33 Kaun banega Crorepati ? - all the 15 world champions from India!!

Saturday at 23:34 What a majestic photograph of champions!!

Saturday at 23:39 We are going Down Under 4 years from now…! Shane warne better get to coaching Oz, if they really what to be the 2nd team to win as Hosts!!

Saturday at 23:44 Now I feel the grip of the Ghumake song by Shankar-eshan-loy…worthy!! Meaty!! Desi Mirchi !!

Saturday at 23:49 Surprising that my facebook timeline has posts only from me…afterall all of India is celebrating!! And I am doing it the reticent style reflecting my thoughts on Facebook!!!!

Saturday at 23:57 That cover flick of Dhoni for a flat 6 is one of the beauties of this day and the world cup!!

Sunday at 00:02 T20 worldcup, Test No.1 spot and 2011 ODI world cup - will an Indian Cricket Captain’s resume ever better that… Not for sometime to come….Infact no other country’s captain can boast of this….not even the punter… :)

Sunday at 00:14 I am getting sick of Sidhu-isms… Ian chappell and Dermott Reeve Shd be embarrassed to be around and just staring at Sidhu… Tough job to harsha handling Sidhu and trying to even it out between the expert panel… :)

Sunday at 00:21 NDTV anchor caught on TV saying - We don’t have to depend on our fathers to tell us how it was a momentous occasion, any more!!

Sunday at 00:32 I am frustrated why Thalaivar - Vaseegaran - Rajnikanth was not interviewed / aired when he was in the same VIP box as Aamir, Ambanis & Pretty (!) zinta.Age old South India neglect.Be reminded… The real champion today was the Chennai Super Kings boy..;)

Sunday at 00:35 Thanking Nuwan Kulasekara in Hindsight… Dropping Gauti on 30 and that dream over of 11 runs in P3… Thanks Mate!!

Sunday at 00:43 A charismatic Harsha Bhogle comment-Dhoni trying to kill the leather off the ball, while one other batsman tried to protect it-Mahela Jeyawardena.I should hand it out on this day of Indian cricket history-India’s best cricket commentator - Harsha Bhogle!!

Sunday at 00:54 I would love to possess an archive DVD copy of the Vodafone 3G moments of all of the WC2011 from Star Cricket - Wonderful reality of how the cup rolled out!!

Sunday at 00:57 Wouldn’t mind if Star Cricket also releases the closing Montage of each match of the WC 2011… That’s the real joy of watching cricket - the emotion!! Star Cricket - are you hearing? I am waiting at a Landmark / Odyssey store near me…;)

Sunday at 01:03 Now for the first time in 4 years Lalit Modi&his brainchild IPL will definitely lose a% of its charisma as handful thousands of Indian fans would be tired of cricket in itself&maybe sparse crowds in stadiums?Am I underestimating cricket appetite of India?

Sunday at 01:13 Murali Karthik caught on CNN IBN noting the fact that Gary Kirsten was lifted on the shoulders post cup!! Silent Tribute to one of the real hero attributes of this champion team!! I second it!!

Sunday at 01:19 A Montage shot that is a first entrant into TOP 10 India moments of 2011, surely is the towering six of Dhoni and his conqueror looks till the ball landed back in the crowds!!

Sunday at 01:23 My wifey’s question to me yesterday - So is Muralitharan coming back to Malar Hospital, Adyar, Chennai after the world cup???? Murali Sir, pls come to your homeland-in-law… Welcome!!

Sunday at 01:27 Just seen on TV-Hrithik Roshan flummoxed in front of a celebrating crowd in Bandra, Mumbai, seated in a car, sporting a V hand symbol & requesting people to clear the way for his car to move to no yield!! And pleasant at that!! That’s Cricket crazy India!

Sunday at 01:35 Ironies of reality-lets face it!! Neither Murali nor the God really had a fitting finale!! I Shd eat my words-The God, as I see is not retiring any soon.atleast not before his 100th hundred which Iam he would get in english shores!! Few more IPLs? God?

Sunday at 01:37 Ajay Jadeja slipping in a message in NDTV abt evangelising Cricket in schools using WC 2011 victory and the IPL 4 hype!!

Sunday at 01:49 Dhoni is much like-I dare say - Mike Brearly/Allan Border/Arjuna Ranatunga / Hansie Cronje / Martin Crowe. A thinking captain and gut feel strategist who loves having the whip in his hand rather than let the selectors and managers come in with decisions!

Sunday at 01:54 And I missed to note, Krishnamachari Srikanth will get 25 Lakh rupees for his role as chairman of selectors!!! Hahaha Shd be Srikanth’s chuckle knowing the man!!… :)

Sunday at 01:59 Ajay Jadeja hitting the nail, the real hero is Gary Kirsten, in the 3 years he has been with India, has taken them to world no 1 in test, ODIs…AND… a World Cup win!! Gary will be a hot coach, sought after by all cricket countries!!

Sunday at 02:07 Now, more than 3 hours after Dhoni’s Winning Six, I am thinking if I should call it quits for the championship day!! And hit the pillows!!

Sunday at 02:11 All those commercializers - like we have umpteen of those ridiculous day of the year - why don’t u declare Apr 2 as ‘ India Cricket Day ‘….!!! U might as well invest in some annuity revenue rather losing out to just a week of celebration!!!…What say?!

Sunday at 02:14 One ironic point to note… No Celebrative Home Coming for this Indian Cricket Team… sad u see..?!… All the previous 9 world cup winning teams have had this!!

Sunday at 02:22 Now the 2G scams, assembly elections, Wikileaks Hindu expose, ugly One-Day breaking news will resume spot light for News Channels and pls spare the Cricket Commentators to Espn/star/ten sports/neo cricket/ set max for their bread n butter… Phew…

Sunday at 02:29 Unexpectedly, a first of its kind social networking experience for me… Live messaging my thoughts on FB, uncannily, only from the last over of the worldcup to the wee hours of Sunday, 03 April 2011, thanks to FB, Snaptu and my Nokia E63!!

Sunday at 02:32 Signing off, Guys n Gals !! Good Night, Good Day!! where ever you are in the world! Glad I followed today’s final at the most of when it mattered… Much like zipping to the last few pages of a gripping novel!! Godspeed !

Sunday at 02:48 One last message for the day, Please!!… Like God of Cricket!, God of Indian Cinema graced today’s final… All India Superstar Rajnikanth!! His simplistic looks today beats handsdown, George Clooney+Antonio Banderas+Tom Cruise+Rishi Kapoor+Aamir looks!!

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Nandhalala - Movie Review

2010-11-27T17:05:00.009+05:30

Am brimming with the energy to type down all of my observations...rarely has a movie done this to me except for the compulsive blogging disorder that I was going through until 2007!

Nandhalala - the Myshkin movie has met 100 % of my expectations and as a matter of fact is exactly like what Myshkin quoted in an interview. Here's the quote - " A director can probably make 2 or 3 good movies in his career, Nandhalala is definitely one of mine". IT IS EXACTLY the best movie he could have made and I wouldn't shy away from quoting this to be one of the best movies made on Indian-wood land...! Some people might feel this is a tad taller order for a tamil movie, but I would strongly urge them to watch this movie without prejudice, and they would come out beaming with atleast a couple of tears welling up their eyeballs, I could see a few when I came out of the theater!

Nandhalala as a movie is a genuine answer to India's search for that elusive best foreign feature film award at The Oscars. Now dont catch me on the mis-interpreted foot, I aint behind that craze, but this is a wish that I have had for long to say that India on its own, without any English or Western collaboration can still make movies that make short work of movies of Hollywood land...This is genuinely one such attempt and wish the jury board of this year's oscar nomination committee in India make note of this!!

Exceptionally crafted as a emotional roller coaster, this oozes Myshkin's passion for cinema in every frame, every dialogue, every shot, every character, every bit of sound on screen. Man, can I stop..?! As far as I can remember, this evoked so much of an overwhelming emotion in my heart as much as The Matrix did for its sheer concept novelty! I think Myshkin is justified in casting himself or rather an unknown face to this character. Any other actor known as a hero would have ruined the genuinety of this sketch!

Myshkin,as far as I can see has bridged that elusive gap of an Art film that can gross commercially! This is the true divide that other creators can try and emulate and still make commercially viable projects! The deft sequencing of scenes, the crisp and getting-ever-crisper dialogues vieing for the top dialogue title if there was one for a movie are ample testimony to the hard work Myshkin has tasked himself to - to make this movie a commercially interesting one. It is easy to get lost in the passion of such a story and make it look like an art film, which it would have probably been if not for the genuine comedy and near-to-life characterisation of the lead roles.

As far as I know this is the ideal road movie that could have happened to Tamil Cinema and makes *Paiyyaa* a supposedly road-ish movie look like a comedy-piece according to Vadivelu!! Each character team that the boy and the larger-boy (myshkin) meet enroute to *annavel* and *thaivasal* are as genuine that you would meet in any road journey out of madras! Kudos to the director to have sketched a never ending set of vehicles to make them reach the destination and all the while making all of them look completely plausible!!

There is this set of directors that I am loving in Tamil Cinema from Parthiban to Cheran to Vasantha Balan to Myshkin who make lovely movies out of an ordinary strand of life and make it look larger than the *Red-giant*, *Cloud-nine*, *Mohana Movies*, *Sun Pictures - kalanidhi maran* backed movies. Unfortunately, Tamil Cinema is led to experience only these power-houses powered movies as *real cinema*...:(

The movie starts of with a school-boy who badly misses his mother and another boy-ish man in an asylum who badly wants to slap his mom for having left in the asylum. The definetly takes its time to settle into the groove and the first 10-15 look like an art movie and thats the only trace of this aspect in the movie. Once Myshkin and Agi hit the road, the story narration actually picks top-gear and each acquaintance en-route is a Story-in-Story, be it the Auto Driver, the lady with the kid, the limp guy, the old man selling tender-coconuts, the jumbo twins and most importantly the Lorry driver with the horn and the call-girl who definetely make a serious impact to the entire movie.

I loved the sequences where the Lorry driver ends up with a tussle with Myshkin and then they get-together and then that *Das-anna* song, wow what a moment in the movie. Infact, I would rate that as the best sequence in the movie. So much for the feel, because it was coming from the roughie-like-lorry driver akin to the *Irumbile oru irudhayam mulaithathe*. to me, this sequence scores better than the call-girl story though this had ZERO dialogues!!!

I can visualize the maker in Myshkin to have put in *umpteen* versions of the script before it passed *re-recording* and reached the silver screen, because every scene looks complete and poised and has the finesse of story on its own. Trust me, Very very rarely do we get to see scripts like this and it would be a pity if the audiences dont acknowledge it!

Apart from the script and the story which are absolutely fab!, there are so many more elements that make the movie look so competent such it puts to shame so many movies which touted themselves as *realistic cinemas* and one way or the other has masala items.

Some of the other key aspects of the movie demand a group of accolades, and here goes the credit list,

* absolute brilliance in titling all of the behind-the-scenes technicians before the actors, goes a long way to let us peek into the director's deep thought process!!
* The fact that Myshkin did not include his name in the cast titles and left it only to *Ezhuthu - Iyakam* slide is a great gesture!
* the *12 nodikalukku Nasser* title card, I consider a great respect showered on Nasser!
* the *Thaiyai Thedi* interval card was placed at such a beautiful moment that for a split second, i expected the movie to have ended (!! - trust me - I did go and ask the food counter if the movie was still on post the break!!) the reason I mention this is the fact that the movie was not made for the audience perspective but from the perspective of a story. If it were an english docu movie, it could have well ended with the Interval card!!!
* the music of the movie. Myshkin is completely justified in crediting *Ilayaraja* with the first title in the movie and rightly so! the background score definetely tells a story on its own and trust me, if one just listens to the movie as a *oli-chititram* (audio-version that was once famous in All-India Radio), 90 % of the movie's effectiveness would be perceivable in the air
* the Das-anna song was superb, if i was to use a solitary word!!
* the reason I mentioned 90 % effectiveness in an audio is because of the amazing action both of the kid (agi) and myshkin show on-screen. I should say, there was not scene where their acting looked amateur-ish!! hatz-off to myshkin to have made every single actor be as natural as you would expect on a highway in souther india
* Rohini though having a very little space in the movie, didnt look out of place at all!

It was definetely refreshing to see the progression of the characters once they face the reality of the situation! be it the boy accepting the girl-on-the-highway as his mother after noticing that his real mother is elsewhere; be it myshkin maturing in his composure once he realizes his mother's state and admitting her into the asylum.
Much better when their lifes turn for the better and the mental-boy-turning-into Bhaskar Mani mama and the kid taking the lady as his mom to home!!

Lovely and positive ending as opposed to cliched remorse ending that we are used to in such genres in India and elsewhere.

To sum-up, this must have been the most non-coherent post of my blogging career since 2004 and i really dont care if it did not follow a structure, because I am as dead-passionate to record my thoughts of this movie as Myshkin has been to make this movie caring like hell when it came to conventions / stereotypes wrt characters, actors, story telling flow, yada yada yada

If I were to leave a parting note,

Nandhalala is a glowing example of technical finesse, directorial brilliance, to-the-story acting, lilting background score and what a story!!! I doubt if Myshkin himself can match this effort in the future, leave alone others.

Lets all watch this magnum-opus on-screen and feel Nandhalala touching our senses in the movie hall!!

C Ya,
Rajesh

First Impressions - Endhiran

2010-07-31T17:45:00.006+05:30

mmm...this is the most interesting aspect for a movie buff like me...deciphering information about the movie with just a sneak-peak at the movie album and the photos, teasers and the track lyrics...

i am back at that for Endhiran - Audio released today - and I had my share at The Odyssey - Adyar, where a sales personnel greeted me with a Thalaivar Autographed Endhiran poster...! would I disapprove?!!

Now the mega movie..what would it look like?

* One of the stock posters where Super Star has a metallic finish look-alike overcoat on...gives the impression of a machine man - ala - The Terminator
* looking at the first track lyrics and the images associated with it, i see traces of the Al Pacino starrer - S1m0ne - where Al Pacino creates a new avatar of his own!!
* the eternal story rounds that this movie is an adaptation of En Iniya Iyandhira - by the legendary (late) Sujatha Sir...which I was also believing until seeing the credit for Story going to Shankar in the audio CD..!!!

Onto the tracks,

a) Pudhiya Manitha - the snaps looks like this mostly a background song like the *vetri nichayam* song from Annamalai!! The bearded looks of Thalaivar is making him look erudite..nice persona selection!

b) Kadhal Anukkal - wow! I dont know where Mr. Shankar was able to find such a large oasis and a desert!! Looks to be a song for the Scientist Dr. Vaseegaran. Stunning and Glossy visuals I should say!

c) Irumbile Oru Idhayam - Wow! Familiar yet enterprising Shankar Trade like *Azhagana Ratchasiye*, *Randakka Randakka*, but the only difference is, this is the uber cool version of the same and Thalaivar looks stunning and atleast 10-15 years younger....Shankar should have directed Thalaivar atleast 10 years back and would have made him look like a college goer..:)

d) Arima Arima - I suppose is the signature song where the sequence of the stock audio cover comes up. As glossy and inline with the budget of the movie I should say!!

e) Kilimanjaro - Shot in the latest wonder of the world featuring on the agreed wonders of the world...(Aishwarya!) is the Uppu Karuvaadu version as far as I see...:D

whatever the movie says and does, i believe this is a landmark movie in Indian cinema ala THE AVATAR of the Hollywood. Pathbreaking is my impression!!

I have consciously avoided my Audio review of the album in this as I wanted to dedicate this post only to the maker and the product....

Audio review of THE MASTER's composition is coming soon...:D

C Ya,
Rajesh

My take on Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya

2010-03-13T19:01:00.004+05:30

I was genuinely disappointed inspite of judiciously avoiding pre-judice…and I felt

a) VTV took a plaintiff story and made it look even more plaintiff thinking *yet another love story* tagline would work!

b) And VTV sucked-up the viewer’s patience big time with a huge hole after 2/3rd of the movie and I was literally counting for the climax!

I am neither biased against love stories nor against Gautham Vasudevan Menon (GVM). I can explain!

The movie starts off with usual boy meets girl stuff. We think, okay, this is fine, nothing overboard or askance…let it go!...

The movie continues to be the same…we still are fine…just that some of the dialogues under the guise of falling for the girl looking 3rd grade…though it is simbu who utters them, I can see GVM behind each of them. This I thought is not what you expect from a director of GVM’s caliber. This was exactly like how Shankar posed himself as *youth* and did stuff in Boyz…which wasn’t warranted for a Shankar film, leave along a youth film…!

There is no major substantiation/reason to say why Simbu falls for Trisha except the *attractive girl* logic…which doesn’t make it look like the Love that the movie advertises that it portrays! I for the little cinema that I know of, would have expected substantiation of the love factor with prudent scenes or instances which were missing!

Onto the next irritating piece in the puzzle…Trisha…I feel it an irony when people say Trisha is good looking. Bull waste! Good looking aint just good costume. It is personality, attitude, the character weight… If it was not for character depths / attitude / personality, Mallika / Gopika wouldn’t have even made a mark in the movie *Autograph*. Their characters are stil vivid in memory 6 years on now, without Nalini Sriram’s costumes…J…Agreed Nalini shouldn’t be credited with this folly. It is the Invoicer. When Shankar could invoice so well from Nalini for Sivaji – The Boss, we tend to feel GVM played a tad too deep on the good looks aspect. Even so, the half-straight, half normal hair looks completely unkempt, a diagonally opposite personality feel for what Jessie is portrayed to be!...Instead there could have been a half normal and half curly hair which would have suited the oomph factor which seems to completely surreal…!

On the dialogues again, they have been the biggest down-ing factor for this movie… they are sooo long and so draft-verison-ish. I always got the feel that it was the first cut version of dialogues that it made it to the re-recording…because, I for most of the scenes felt the dialogues except for a countable few lacked finesse and the crispness of *potato chips*!!! This costed dearly for the movie’s feel good factor as you always end up irritated what with few 3rd grade lines interspersed!

Music as perceived on screen…my goodness…the less spoken the better! Music, per se has been reviewed at length in my previous blog entry – simply put – it is godly, except for the comment that I had earlier on – there could have been more variety in the music that was invoiced..! I stand by that. I also read in some place that ARR should have been on hurry to catch a plane on his way to completing the re-recording. I would second that. Where are the beautiful interludes juxtaposed in the story, that would tell a story on its own!!...If re-recording was second-class, the song picturisation was definitely third grade.

For the lovely song that Hosanna is and for the lovely impact it had on your ears, it seldom is remembered in the movie primarily due to a basic cinematic fact that viewers are less attentive in the first 20 mins or so and that’s why screenplay pundits clearly demarcate the lighter stuff and intro stuff for this time. What was the logic to put the best song of your album in the first 10 mins?!!! Man…criminal waste, according to me..:(

Omana penne – Simbu’s attire never fitted the hats / hoods he had on…! I thought the hat never fitted with the rest of the costume, neither did the hooded visuals of the song which also looked very casual. It is 300 % more responsibility on the director to ensure that such master piece sound tracks are given due supporting credit by way of fitting visuals. Because master piece sound tracks have their powerful / potent story telling capacity, if the movie differs from the initial feel that the audio release brings in, the viewer is disappointed and is beginning to get disinterested. And boy, that final Malayalam interlude of Kalyani Menon, who on earth would shoot a bathing scene that too on some exotic western world beach for an authentic Malayalam lyric replete with fitting instrumentation. If it was any solace, trisha emerges with a bath robe that is Malayalam looking silk! That’s the remotest close encounter that this song had with God’s own country other than the verse – Omana penne!

Oru Naal Sirithen – what a number it was shaping up to be on headphones…The song was completely misplaced wrt feel. Any sane person who listens to the audio can figure out the feel the song conveys… that too on a platter. Angst, a lightly haunting feel, painful at that! Alas, the song is placed at an exactly opposite sequence in the movie when Simbu successfully meets up with Trisha in her house after the marriage and they kind of formally complement the love they have for each other – mutually. Rahman’s passionate rendition fitted Simbu’s lips only the first time when Simbu reacts with a lot of zeal on the tiny boat which is almost rocked by his enthusiasm! For whatever little knowledge that I have of cinema, if I can churn up so much of filmi gyan, I would expect that GVM knows this on Day 1 ! Why am I having to key such long statements for so basic an aspect!

Un Nanban illai – I thought the song did not have contrasting aspects like the ARR song nor did it have anything great to rave about! I don’t remember a thing about that song now…hahaha…J. Good for GVM!

Aromale – I thought this song was pretty nicely fit into the scheme of things in the movie…! For a moment if I can juxtapose this with the fact that GVM mentioned in the audio release that this was a Free supplement volunteered by ARR, I wonder how this aspect would have been shown on screen by GVM without this song! Anyways, what is good should definitely be appreciated! And GVM deserves a pat for this song and it picturization

Anbil Avan – equally fitting was the placement of the song in the movie and it was very obvious that it should have been the marriage song like my comment in my audio review. What irked in this piece though was the dance by people on the park. How many more movies would GVM use the same clichéd technique. Sir, please improvise!

Vinnai Thandi Varuvaaya – the feel of the song was snugly captured in the sequence and the song / video did mutual justice!

I have endeavour-ed a music-video review above purely, because this was touted to be a *Academy award winner’s musical, fitting rewarded with a genuine love story*! I now feel tired of this!...and few more milstones to comment on before I retire on this topic///

If there were a few good things in this mediocre love story it was
a) Simbu – Simbu has been stellar in his performance, the least to say! rightly like GVM’s comment in one of run-up shows, Simbu walks away with more than 2/3rds of the credit in the movie. I would have to admit that 1/3 of this 2/3rds credit should be GVM’s for etching the character, but the bigger aspect of essaying the same needs mention. TR’s blood is alive and kicking (!!) in simbu who has been able to bring in a fierce yet completely subtle performance on-screen. Appreciate it!

b) Climax – This is probably where I realized I am watching the movie of a film maker who gave us Vettaiyadu Vilayadu / Vaaranam Aayiram / Pachai Killi Muthu Charam. None of that wizardy was evident until the fag-end of the movie when he played us upside down with the Real Life – Reel Life mix-match, though it was predictable at the Brooklyn bridge sequence!! Hatz off GVM!

Sorry, I was long and hard here, but so many mistakes cannot happen in a critically acclaimed director’s movie. Most of my comments are not my observations (which could be questioned, btw)…but are basic aspects any movie maker should care to cover!

Good Luck with *the* Asal Hero movie next! Hope we don’t have as many things to feed-back to you on!!

Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya - Vinnai Thaandi Varamudiyavillai !!

Vinnai Thandi Varuvaaya - Sound Track Review

2010-01-30T21:54:00.005+05:30

The double-bill kid kept the home crowd waiting for close to a year before he could unleash some of the Oscar magic. Quite frankly, Jai Ho is surely a parody to identify the master's musical prowess. There have been much much classier and maestro-personified compositions even in 2008, but then it requires that missing link of Kamal Haasan's movies...THE ENGLISH FACTOR that sealed a couple of pages in Indian Cinema History to the credit of ARR. Yeah, understand, bragging abt ARR and Oscars will need a bigger platform, lets get back to what I intended here....

terse, the album is neat and has the Grand stamp that one recognizes as *an ARR musical*, nevertheless, not delving into details of the individual sound tracks means I am doing injustice to my feelings. So here is justice to my feelings and injustice to your time...!

Omana Penne: Benny Dayal at his usual best and i believe he becomes more pepped up when the composition is of the Master. He has done hara-kiri with his voice and all of that sounds very good though digitized at places...the malayalam interlude in the song though not fitting into the groove the first time you listen to it, finally nails the song to its glory. Maybe all of this is an expectation from the script penned by Gautham Vasudevan Menon (GVM, hence forth here), but still trying to drive-away the sheen would be far-cry when it comes to The Boss. Instrumentation is gala in this song and I believe this is one of the personal favourites of mine. 4/5 for this song according to me.

Anbil Avan: Have been reading about this song from @chinmayi and was expecting Chinmayi to sound differently here as well as has been her pattern in ARR's songs. But to my pleasant surprise, she sounded 100 % herself and it does sound cool...with an aura of western tint and contemporary appeal! The orchestration in this song sounds like a marriage song and Devan's voice jels very well with Chinmayi's and makes for a good duet. The best part for me in this song is the place where the Christian choir music slowly transforms itself into the Murhurtham music of Hindu marriages. Again, though this seems to be the theme of the song, setting such high standards for musical genius is hard to ignore wrt credit! I for all of my gumption reward this song as well to the Mastery of ARR rather than to GVM who has pitched for this in the first place!! Super is just an understatement for this song and I wouldn't hesitate a 5/5 for this song. Excellent!

Vinnai Thandi Varuvaaya: Maybe I am ill-equipped from a musical perspective to appreciate this title song which typical bodes to be a constant background score rather than an individual track, however I haven't been able to appreciate this track one bit, Sorry! 2/5 is benefit of doubt for the musicality that is un-perceivable to the simpleton that I am in music!!

Hosana: Wow! That should have summed up my thought about this song. Probably the most popular song of the year as yet and should be a chart-buster (as if the other tracks aren't going to be...:)...) Though the first lines in the song remind you of a *Vaaname Yellai* song of the yesteryear, it quickly fades out when you hear it again. The orchestration here again comes to the fore and I can assure you a trip to Pandora if you listen to this song (start-to-finish) with your eyes closed and with a good set of headphones. I did that and can see how Pandora looks alluring though I havent had a dash with AVATAR yet!! The Blaazee's bit is his usual and has contributed on the positives for the track. Can I say, 4.5/5 for this song. Yes, it is! And of-course, enroute, Thamarai's excellent lyrics have been eclipsed!

Nee Nanban Illai: A very Robaroo-Rehna Tu kind of a composition (I thought!) so typical of Rahman and so fresh I should say. Nacchunnu irukku...vera enna solla?! Some of the orchestration reminded me of similar stuff in *Good-Bye Nanba* of Ayutha Ezhuthu, anyways that was only for the first time and you get lost into the maya of the contemporary. Stuffy song I should quote. Def. 4/5

Oru Naal: With the little musical knowledge I have, I believe this song fits the bill for the word *QUIRKY MUSIC* as used / uttered by the master himself in the Audio Launch function. I thought this was a nice experiment. The male and female tracks crooning to different genres of music, but still keeping up the same overall integrity in the song, I thought was excellent finesse! As usual ARR picks a winner of a song to sing in any album, and this sure is one!... Quirky is the factor that makes me feel a 3/5 for this song, though I believe it to be outstanding!

Aromale: The Boss has graduated from debut-ing singers and is now debut-ing Music Directors as singers!! I heard ARR say that GVM had shot this song in a very subtle way on-screen and hence ARR thought it would even out if the music score is exotically extreme! It certainly is even by Alphonse's passionate rendition. Add on the chorus by the leading singers and you have a true winner of a song in hand. This exotic mix is the oomph factor i should say in AR Rahman's music. I wouldn't hesitate a 5/5 purely for the passion and energy the song carries in addition to being closely knit to the storyline (seemingly so!!!)

As an aside, I am RT-ing a tweet that I posted recently on my twitter account. - Here it goes,
@prakasr - my wife complains - ARR undermines the lyrics in any song with superlative music. Proof... Thamarai's usually glowing lyrics, are hard to notice in the soulful music of VTV. I tend to agree.Boss, talent does draw such flak.:)

this should explain how things are slated when it comes to brushing with such himalayan talent and its more of a trade-off for people to get to work with the maestro!! I think GVM has been damn lucky and smart enough to cash-in on the Academy Award winner tagline for the sound track credits. But I thought GVM should have ordered for some variety in the stock he invoiced from the Academy Award Winner. Almost all songs, get the same feel and I only pity GVM for going overboard with the love feel. I personally would have expected some variety in the album, but that puerly my take, maybe the movie demanded this, lets wait and watch the stuff unfold on the screen. I am reminded of how bold GVM has used the tag line - * love story... Yet another time *...

Keep hooked on you guys! Yet another medal onto the captain's uniform!!!

P.S.: I wouldn't feel embarrassed for this thingy being branded as a Rahman Glorifier and my praises being unwarranted. If that's what you call, so be it...I would simply smile and say, Sir Ji / Mademoiselle - please get hold of Jodhaa Akbar's sound track and listen to all of the tracks if time permits and if you are really struck for time and have to rush, just listen to *Khwaja mere Khwaja*. There ends the argument in my favour...:)....:)...!

Way to Wave - welcome NexGen!

2009-11-30T09:44:00.002+05:30

Just an hour into the 1 hr 20 min presentation and 5-10 mins into fiddling around with Google Wave, tells me that Google has ushered in a new era which other tools and 2.0 apps seem to be aiming at...but never were!...

Wave is a new definition of doing productive work and for the first time I would say, has a large potential corporate market rather than an internet audience by way of Wave....

let me go with the wave and see some more tides before I can wave about it....:)

Bye for now...and happy waving!
Rajesh

A dash with the mystic

2009-11-18T07:59:00.002+05:30

I should say i have always been circumspect with mystics and *Saamiyaars* due to obvious reasons....but went into Isha Yoga centre with an open mind and just to improve by physical self....it was a packaged 7 day course and we had a very good dash at the Master fondly called *Satguru*, known to the world as *Satguru Jaggi Vasudev*...!!

I should say I am amazed at the credibility he brings to his talks....purely because he has experienced it. There is a lot of science in his thought process and he exuberates them in each of his musings!!

I should say the world of inner-self is very profound and unfathomable for the un-altered person..!! One should experience the Isha yoga courses for the dive with-in...

You can talk to me if you want a first hand experience of how this initiator course *Sambhavi Maha Mudra* was...upfront Answer is excellent!!...

-Rajesh

truly a rage! - twitter...by an old-skool guy

2009-08-08T17:09:00.006+05:30

initially I was all cynicism about twitter for it microblogging purely because I was an old skool guy and a blogger since 2004!

I thought *why wouldn't I blog 20 times a day but choose twitter to do the same?*

yeah. there is a difference! nobody has the time in the world to compose a blog post and tell a storyline! all they have time is to impress their feelings in some social web 2.0 medium..

and blogging even when integrated in god-knows-where applications/widegts isnt followed that efficiently as you would have expected....

but stuff ala twitter are designed with minute-made tracking at the unit level. Why twitter has become popular is parallel to why orkut became more popular than something like Hi5. Because more people are on Orkut, its easy to network. Same is the case with tweeter.

plus one more point i have observed is that there are a lot more credible celeb accounts in Twitter than in orkut, dont catch me saying I am reviewing twitter with orkut, just a similar line note...thats it....

i think more credible accounts is mainly due to the nature of usage that people envisage out of twitter!

I just read through Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Shashi Tharoor, Rasmus Lerdorf and a hand full of opensource geeks around the world!!! its real and you feel you are in striking distance of getting a peek at the lives of these people!!

i am actually getting engrossed into twitter much like how i spent 6 hours a day in orkut back in 2005!!!

at the same time, I dont think blogging the old-skool way (through blogger, live journal, word press) would lose its sheen. a proof is I can express so much of what I think about twitter, only in my blog and not through a tweet....hahaha... i like the way I put this!!!

twitter to its credit is also doing a lot of simplification to make tweet-ing much like a *sipping a glass of water*....and mobile technologies and mobile versions of twitter make life-infiltration more prominent!!...

web 2.0 is right here for our grabs! lets enjoy!

Godspeed.

KA vs KL

2009-06-30T20:56:00.004+05:30

My proficiency and the influential infiltration of the kannada language into me displayed itself in its full foray this weekend when I visited Kerala. For the fact, my understanding of the malayalam language is pretty decent and the thought of phrases in malayalam in my thinkbox is quite natural I thought until now....but when I tried to blurt out / ask anything to the all-helpful public in Kottayam district, all I could think of, in my mind was kannada phrases like 'illva', 'hege hogbeku?', 'elli idhiya ?'.... For once I thought I should have toured in kannada heartland rather than God's Own Country....but is there an equal to plush green upholstery that God flaunts in his courtyard...! All that in a dedicated push!... For now I am going to bask in the glory of my kannada prowess and memory power which has stood a test of more than 2 years!!!

Godspeed & Shabba khair!!!

Digest for May 2009!

2009-05-29T13:57:00.001+05:30

A lot of news has flown into my head over this month for no particular reason (I suppose) because,

a) I listen to FM Radio regualrly now!

b) I also *regularly* peek at slashdot and CNET news for technology updates which was previously like the frequency of australian cricket team losing matches

c) plus a lil less pressuring situation @ my work place!!!

A few stuff which I definetely wanted to share are,

a) Google is launching Google Wave a next generation collaboration app, whcih combines, email, chat, file share and a few more things. I read that this is touted to gain attention as much as iPhone launch!!

b) Microsoft is launching *bing* a purportedly serious contender to Google Search. MS Live Search fell flat on face in comparison to Google I remember searching my name in livesearch and google. Google in addition to giving every detail about my online presence, delivered 55 relevant results, while live search could muster up only 5 results, and none of them being a direct link to my blogspot (my most prominent online presence)... such performance has triggered MS to buy acquire a search company and do a serious soul searching, I should say! And having read previews about bing, it is definetely encouraging!!! lets see if my name returns atleast 50 of those entries that Google could figure out!

c) I curse myself for being lazy...which has become a daily aspect of my life of-late. I should have registered online, and would have atleast had a shot at getting selected for the workshop called *Thiraikathai Ezhuthuvathu eppadi*..conducted by none-other than Mr. Kamalhaasan! and a couple of other people!! starting yesterday for 4 days in Madras!

and a few more news items I wanted to share but dont remember ontop of my head now!!lets see if they can form another digest.

C Ya, Rajesh Prakasam

My Salute to Mr.Dhoni!!

2009-05-08T00:31:00.003+05:30

First time ever, do I feel that Dhoni had captaincy talent!...all along I strongly beleived it was lady luck that smiled on him non-stop, 24x7....I still maintain that, but i also add that he definetely has picked up a trick or two from smart people...

he bringing on Suresh Raina in the Match 34 of IPL v2 in the match against KXI from over n. 15 of the chase was smart....or should it be called gut?!

either way, it was beneficial, lucky or smarty....

but my conscience still stays it was luck that made Dhoni look smarter today!

anyways thats my take! the cynical me....:)

Khwaja Mere Khwaja!!

2009-03-05T01:29:00.001+05:30

Untitled

எல்லா புகழும் இறைவன் ஒருவனுக்கே !!

இது நம்ம அல்லா ரக்கா ரஹ்மான் சொன்னது, ஆஸ்கர் விருது வாங்கினபோ. மனுசனுக்கு எவ்வ்ளோ humbleness!!!

ஷால் வீ லர்ந் ஃப்ரம் ARR ?

Blogged with the Flock Browser

அக்ஷாராபியாசம்

2009-01-31T07:24:00.002+05:30

தமிழில் என் முதல் இணை பதிவு. உண்மையில் நான் சில பல வருடங்களாக தமிழில் இணை பதிவு செய்ய வேண்டும் என்று ஆசை பட்டிருக்கிறேன், ஆனால் முடிந்தததிலை..ஏனென்றால் இந்த http://www.quillpad.com/tamil/ இருந்ததில்லை.

என் தாய் மொழியாம் தமிழில் படித்து பரவசம் அடைந்த இணைய பதிவுகள் இரண்டு.

http://vanthithevan.blogspot.com
http://www.vettipayal.com/

இவ்விரண்டு பதிவுகளும் என்னை ஏங்க வைத்தன. நானும் தமிழில் ப்ளாக் செய்ய வேண்டும் என்று. ஆனால் அது இன்று தான் *tangible stuff* ஆகா மாறி இருக்கிறது.

விரைவில் எதிர்பாருங்கள் உங்கள் கணினி திரையில் *.* வின் புலம்பல்களை.

வழம் பெருக

பின்னுரை: இப்பதிவில் குற்றம் குறை இருந்தால் மன்னிக்கவும். நான் சிறுவன்

Who the save Super Singer???

2009-01-29T23:18:00.000+05:30

A hopeless Airtel Super Singer for the first time ever according to me...

I felt for once that along with the hostess, the creative head of the SUper Singer team as well swapped loyalties....

The latest of the triplet show of Super SInger in the first week after CHinmayi's exit was the worst orchestrated of all...sadly the stalwarts (tridevs of Super Singer lately) had also taken a stroll in the park and three listless judges...I wouldnt comment on their personalities.....but their judgement...I would say was listless...

I would have expected that CHinmayi atleast hosted this episode as a tribute to her master...but was it also the part of the plot??....we wouldnt know forever....

But what we know for sure....is that Chinmayi will always be missed for her suave compere-ing, Sujatha, Srinivas and Unnikrishnan are actually keeping the show alive rather than the singers...:)...which I realized yesterday!!....even the singers are egged onto perform at their best in front of the best of the judges..

It was a rude realization for Super SInger viewers like me...and I couldnt believe my hands that they tuned to a different channel mid-way the show....goes to show how boring yday's part was!!!!!

God Help Super Singer..

A Letter to Padmhasini

2009-01-14T08:29:00.003+05:30

This is addressing Padmhasini (as a fall-out to Chinmayee's post on her blog)

You have been very prolific in your show (Airtel Super Singer)!! And you have built a special niche spot for yourself in the show particularly when the show is all about abundance of talent...contestants, judges....where the level of talent is of the next level. I think you have kick started a new clan of MC / Compere / on the tele who are suave, swift in reaction based on the mood of the show, very very competent with the stuff that you are appointed for!!

We appreciate all of this and have started to expect more of this professional MCing from other so-called comperes / glam girls and felt sorry for them. Similar shows in other teles have sloppy compereing....which made me feel that you though being an amateur in Compereing; have brought a breeze of professionalism to this art, be it dress-sense; be it cheering the contestants; be it franchising the tag-line of the show in different tones in differing situations to suit the mood of the show!!; be it jelling well along with the contestants and singing along with them, playing pranks with the terror trio!!; be it the minimum amount of interference with the judgement inspite of being an authority in music yourself; be it the quality of being leastly jarring by way of an MC; be it the poise with which you have been using your bi-linguistic skills equally competent; be it the use of godspeed and shabba khair!!

All of this are the ones that we have felt along the journey called Airtel Super Singer along with you in the past year or so!!!

Its a shame that you are having to part with the show at this peaking part of the show..We will miss you....and yes, needless to say the remaining 8 contestants would miss you as well!!!

Wishing you good luck and we look forward to seeing you in some other show very soon!!!

-Rajesh Prakasam

Blogging Reloaded.....

2007-12-12T12:27:00.001+05:30

This has been the longest break I remember to have taken from the Internet since I first took the tide. More so of a Sabbatical!!!

I believe its definitely

6 months now since I last blogged.
7-8 months since I orkutted
6 months since I last used Flock
Flickr, Slashdot, are long forgotten incidents in my life...

Wonder why..???

Its because, I have had a bigger, rather the biggest commitment one should and can pick up in life....Marriage..!!!

Yep...I have been married to Gayathri since June 25, 2007.

http://25june2007.googlepages.com gives you some fall-back of the details!!!
(at least that kept the blogger in me grinning for the last few months, for the quantity that has gone into the page!!!!)

I believe only things of such magnitude can pull me out of the web...and I am *for the record*, assorted a way to get back into this viscious web of blogging inspite of my commitments...after all blogging and all other netizen stuff were so dear to me once upon a time...and are still !!!!

Me would continue this lost trade...let me see if I am able to pick it up frm where I left...!!!

have definetely lost the audience, which in originality was like finding an Oasis in Thar Desert!!!!

Shd build back with renewed vigour...and I hope I can catch up...

Good for a comeback blog I suppose!!!!...:-)

Cheers,
Rajesh

Blogged with Flock

Yaro Yuvan-ukkul Raja-voo!!!!!

2007-05-13T19:24:00.000+05:30

This is my version of the popular Chennai-600028 song...Yaro Yaroukkul Ingu Yaaro...!!!!

It aint NEWS when I say that Yuvan Shankar Raja is one of my all-time favourite musicians....coz...thats an established fact....yeap...and you should have noticed me telling that Yuvan is fast becoming a benchmark for Like Father--Like Son....and time's up it seems for the apprentice-ship....

I dare say that Yuvan has indeed graduated to the standards of his father.....People may say that this is controversial...but put this in perspective....And lets try answering a few questions and may be we figure out the fact...

a) Is it because Yuvan is a major-hit like what his Dad used to be in his Heydays..???
Agreed Yuvan has been a hit with every movie of his..!!!! and mass-hits at that ...plus critical acclaim...not the typical remarks you associate with a millenia music director in Tamil Cinema.... but does just that propel him to Dad-dom...which is as elusive and not even ARR has reached at... NO...not the reason for Yuvan -> Raja transition...

b) Is it because of the family-blood...???
Partly YES...:)...Should be hereditary I thought..without which such talent is hard-to-come-by and genius personified....

c) Is it because of the class of music...that Yuvan churns out movie after movie...???

YES...this is the reason...I would say, that he graduated to his father's place...not just hereditary...but on pure merit....Reasons you might be interested...??!!!!

Answer: Have you heard the 4 songs in Chennai-600028, ??!!! *Vazhkaiyai Yosingada*, *Vazhkaiyai Yosingada - Remix*, *Yaaro Yarukkul Ingu - Version 1*, *Yaaro Yaarukkul Ingu - Version 2*....

when I first got to hear those songs....which was by the way pretty late after the song release....*I* for the first time felt that I was indeed listening to The Master(Maestro) instead of his musical-heir....

yes...the instrumentation...the melody component....the SPB -ism....the SPB Charan-ism....and the chitra-ism....the haunt factor...all made all the four songs a Illayaraja treat to me rather than a Yuvan roll-out...

I have enjoyed these songs for the *whole* of last week...and I know how enjoyable...and heavenly they have been and I still relish the experience...and the feel I went through after relishing them....I would wish everybody had that oppurtunity...time...and the eye for detail...that I enjoyed in that last week....

The raison d’être for this blog...is to
a) Sensitize people of the exhilaration I went through with these songs...
b) Wish everybody goes through
c) Self-declare unofficialy that the heir is well...already there....and the music world wouldnt repent throning the heir with the crown that the Maestro Illayaraja held proudly...and one we for sometime in between felt would be un-occupied for a generation at-least...

YES...this is it...Yuvan is the true;worthy;logical;biological heir/successor to the Master/Maestro Illayaraja....and

detractors/disapprovers/aruguers...please..please listen to those four songs...*with a pair of good quality headphones*...then you know what I am blah-blahing....:-)

Sivaji - The Boss -> An Audio Review

2007-05-05T20:10:00.000+05:30

<>This originally was started on Apr 8 and then I left it to rest...and wanted ARR's tunes to set in..sink in...to give quality review...so here it is...more than a month from the day the audio was released!!!! <>

The Boss driving the Boss....dancing to the tunes of yet another Boss...might sound as a sure shot anti-therapy and as a recipe/treatise for the *Too many Bosses Spoil the broth* idiom.....but hold on....

naaah....that's not happening with Sivaji....that too when the Big Boss Shankar drives Bigger Boss Rajinikanth....both dancing to the tunes of yet another Big Boss AR Rahman....SuperStar Rajinikanth, the mass-man is pipped to succeed the umpteenth time....if the tunes are any indication....this Sivaji....is expected to be the boss in collections as well...a truly mass mania of an album I should say...very enjoyable if u r a true tamil cinema fan!!!!....

not withstanding the insider-leak of three songs, half a week before the audio release....(actually adding to the curiosity of the actual product....)...the audio sales was frantic on day 1....and I was personal witness to that....

the best part of any shankar movie audio release is the audio CD cover which has the song lyrics....and a snapshot of what each song has in store for us...and that's the current trend of biggies like Mani, Shankar, et all.....and Shankar didn't disappoint one bit with his visuals....breathtaking I should say....I was glad to see the lyrics sheet...but not so glad with the cover design...which was at best looking AVMish...rather thaan Shankar-like or atleast Superstar alike....it was plain...SUN TV serial look-alike....I mean how could one think such a plain looking cover suit a movie of such a stature....anyways..,.I could attribute only AVM for this folly....ok...lets move on.... :-)

One refreshing aspect if you had noticed... is that the entirety of the album indicates more of a Shankar SHOW rather than a SuperStar SHOW...the latter was the case for most of his yesteryear films. Except for the first song...which is more like a GREEK tradition or so to say!!!.....hahaha...and rightly like the movies...lets get started with the *Intro* song review....

1) Balleilakka - SP Balasubramaniam, Raihanah, Benny & Chorus

My first reaction to the song, was it seemed a look-alike to *Devuda Devuda* of Chandramukhi , also an intro song, I was disappointed....a bit....but that vanished much before the song actually finished its first run of 06:06 run.....ARR showed what a master he is ...as the tempo of the song picked up quite remarkably....and reaches a class of its own....though the content quotient of the song is straight forward...there was a whiff of fresh thought in Kavignar Na. Muthukumar's lyrics...interestingly talking about Ideal Tamilians....and for the first time not an encomium for our thalaivar's deeds.....interesting lyrics...actually adding to the appeal of the song...

two stand out lyrics that I loved here were....a) Aadu Maadu mela ulla paasam, veetu Ration Card-il serka solli ketkum and b) Pangaali.... Pakkathu veetukkum Serthu samaikira anbu ingu vaaazhum...

commendable...that too confidently plugging them into a SuperStar song...and an intro song at that....

I guess this song shd serve as the Intro...when our Thalaivar returns from America...if the lyrics are any indication to go by!!!!

My personal best rating is reserved for this song... though this might not be the purist's bet....:)

2) Style - Rags, Tanvi, Suresh Peters, Blaaze

The old horse for ARR has returned with style, I should say...I am referring to Suresh Peters here...how many songs have we heard from the vocal chord of Suresh Peters in the formative years of ARR, the legendary Chikku Bukku Rayile...and helluva songs....good to hear him back...:)

What do I say about this song...the current lip-catcher of the youth...(not necessarily Thailaivar fans!!!!)...u instantly feel this song is meant to tear the chart-buster lists...what with the picturization being nothing less than sparking...

I believe Shankar wanted to do a tribute to Rajni's Style...albeit in his and ARR's style...so here comes the brain-child of Shankar and ARR....which is so apt for Rajini....in the lines of *Alagu...nee nadanthaal Nadai Alagu*...

Paa.Vijay can seriously start looking at advanced english courses...cuz...If he wants to continue this way of writing English poems...;)...interspersed...with GOD-KNOWS-SPANISH..he would benefit from a lil more of english...;)....I wonder how this *vithaga kavignar* is churning such stuff....multi-faceted..value add for his employer...:))...hahaha....

truly the song is too kewl if you want to indulge with the passion it was made...no point in complaining that the song looks alike present genre of songs...wait for the picturization...you will be blown over by the master shankar...rest assured... :-)

Stand out lyrics here are a) the male voice saying *Oh, let me say something*..:-)...and b) *Eiffel Tower ithaythil Nattai*...:))

3) Vaaji Vaaji - Hariharan, Madhusree & Chorus

The theme-catcher...and the primary duet song of the movie I suppose...in the likes of *Ayyengar Veetu Azhage* and *Mudhalvane..Mudhalvane*....has the traditional setup...and matching lyrics which is at best.. classical tamil...from none other than a master himself...Kavignar Vairamuthu...

super melody should be a gross understatement for this song...and I believe this guy HariHaran reserves his best for the master ARR...I have not seen Hariharan's voice so good in any other creator's product.....An instant hit with the masses....and also with the RJ-mania crowd....radio stations would compete within to get it on air...

the lyrics are of a high-class is just another complement to vairamuthu and not *the* complement..the standout lyrics for me were a) Anbaaa Vaalai Yedu...Alagai Saanai yidu... b) Muranpaatu Mootai nee... c) Seyyal Puyal Naanadi...

4) Athiradee - A R Rahman, Sayanora

Uff....does the start raise your BP..??? Yes...the pick-up tempo is super fast..as if ARR is out to prove that he is still as young as in Kadhalan, when you got that *Muqqabula* from the then wonder-whiz kid....:)....

Again a typical youth flick...and suprised at the *Balls of Steel* that Shankar has to bring in two (rather three such songs) in a thalaivar film...when he is groping at getting to fatherly-elderly roles...ala the Big B...ohmigod... I love such guts...and the attitude of *NOT* to be a Roman in Rome....;-)...

Lyrics from our eternal Dev Anand of Tamil lyricists....you definetely can't ASS U ME his age with his lyrics for 'Athiradee'. If you were held captive in Zion all through and just been taught Tamil and then u get to listen to this song and if you are queried to predict the age of the gentleman who wrote this piece-meal thing...you would be shocked to that you just listened to a gentle-old-man...who is just 76 years young...:-)...

And the grapevine/Page 3 has it that Vaali has been offered Rupee 1 Lakh for this non-tamil song...:-)...maybe that required more effort from Vaali to string in Eddie Murphy / Sten Gun / Roger Moore / Love Fun / Naughty / Man / N.R.I. / Cuba / James Bond / Spy / Spider Man / Pistol / Shock / Flataaa / Don / MidNight / Superman / eye / Tension / fast / Castro / Maestro / First Night / Waste / Sweet Bun / Butter Jam / My Fair Lady into a 5 minute 45 second song....which by now you should understand requires herculean effort from a Master tamil Lyricst who could write Krishna Vijayam....Such is the versatility of the man...:)....Amazed is just the word...

I believe the song atleast at the Audio stage is all-about Vaali...Only the Visuals are expected to bring the real master Rajini Kanth to the forefront....:-).... A peppy number with ARR at this crooning best!!!!!....pretty normal and enjoyable stuff for the 2007 guys..:)

5) Sahana - Udit Narayanan, Chinmayi

First things first....Mr.Udit Narayanan please pat your back on my behalf...you have come a long way from the *Coimbatore Maapilaikku Ponnu Kedaichaaa* days...(arguably one of his first songs....)...the lyrics have been delivered admirably..in close-to-authentic pronunciation....which is commendable..for both Udit and ARR.....

To be frank...on the first run, I was disappointed with ARR for having chosen Udit for such a classical outpour from the class-act Vairamuthu...the song had so much of feel and soul....I felt, a better tamil renderer would have done great energy levels for the song, just like what Vijay Yesudas does to the Pathos (or rather the derivative)....but on repeated runs, I realized that Udit has used the language with great meticulousness..and his diction was event-free...so to say...:-)....

Again, the contender for the TOP slot out of the album...even after 30 days of listening to these songs....I am unable to choose the best song of the album...Balleilakka, Vaaji and Sahana....reach up there for various reasons....

Melody wise...I should say the best...of the album....soul-searching music and the tempo is equally supported by the vocalists Udit and Chinmayi....I believe Chinmayi should be on top of this world...she seems to get the best numbers out of ARR's albums recently...and I know how she would feel...knowing her reasonably - as a blogger-friend-cum-orkutter....:-)....Good Luck Chinmayi....YOU ROCK in Sahana...!!!!...

I am not sure how this young-looking-feeling song would fit-in with the stature of our thalaivar...but we are missing the linchpin in the equation....Director Shankar...who has already spiced up and made RajiniKanth look atleast 10 years younger...so expect something special for this rather special piece of the Album...:)

Striking lyrics here for me are a) Orayiram Aandugal Semitha Kaathal ithu b) Noorayiram Aandugal Thaandiyum Vaazhumithu

6) The Boss - Blaaze, Naresh Iyer, Raqueeb Alam

mmmm....I believe this is for the next-generation youth....that is present-generation kids...:-)...yeah...atleast the lyrics indicate that....I expect this to be used as an interlude to thalaivaar's entry into a scene...or might be used as a clever intersperse within other background score....or who knows...maybe a full-fledged song...but more of the yawning stuff this song...I loved *B-A-B-A...Baba thats what they say* than this....Sega Fightaaaa thing.....looks kinda cheap....but anyways....a thrusti pottu for the whole album...with sick lyrics....almost looked like a song from an Ajith film...:)...okok...not much....

next....

7) Sahara - Vijay Yesudas, Gomathi Sree & Chorus

wooww...is just the word for Vijay Yesudas' lilting voice...true inheritance from his father...;-)....Doesn't really look like a pathos song, contrary to public expectations....

cuz...the tempo is as equal to the original Udit-Chinmayi number..just that Sahara Pookal Poothatho...precedes Sahana Saaral Thoovuthoo....which I believe is the crux of the song....which might be unravelled to the onlooker only in the movie....

A classic remix atleast....:-)....

Overall....An excellent winner material from A R Rahman....if Guru was stellar for the instrumentation.....Sivaji is a true commercial winner albeit not degrading to the levels of a potboiler...Its classical....and Illustratable SHANKAR material.....:-)

Happy Birthday Trisha!!!

2007-05-04T09:41:00.001+05:30

Here's wishing Trisha Krishnan a very happy birthday...and let this year bring you

more of popularity and less of notoriety.....

more of tamil movies & more and more of telugu movies...

more of news and less of controversies...

more & more of your art form for die-hard fans like me...!!!!

Happy Birthday Trisha...!!!!!

Cheers,

Rajesh

Technorati Tags: general, trisha, birthday, may4

UBUNTU for DELL-ians

2007-05-02T10:32:00.001+05:30

"oh...yeah....its been there for long...."...I hear people grunting...!!! but nevertheless this news piece i thought needed a feature in my blog at least...considering DELL's widespread audience...and UBUNTU's recent success...

DELL...as you all know is this sturdy notebook provider, proof *yours truly*....who has been using a DELL inspiron for close to 2 years now...and its battered to the most at my hands....and has traveled a hell lot more than what business executives do.....and has also hosted tea-parties....for ant families...and other smaller reptile families for last two years in its keyboard!!!!....and motherboard...is rock-sturdy and executes commands as good as a faithful servant..!!!! I am lovin' it!!!!...

UBUNTU is this *Linux for Human Beings* thing that became popular by mid 2005 or so I suppose -at first I scorned this tingy....as I felt it was more of an insult for all linux users all-along (the fraternity I have also been part of since 2003) -...and people were ordering free copies of UBUNTU 5.01 in bulk...me included...and surprisingly, I got 10 DVDs...and gave off 9 sets to my friends...the true spirit of Linux, I was practising at that instant..I was proud...and little did I know that this UBUNTU thingy would pick up so much steam that it is touted to be the easiest to set-up and use Linux, closely on the heels of SuSE Linux (after Novell Acquisition)..Ironically, SuSE picked up and also lost steam because of Novell...(picked up becuz Novell pepped up the UI, lost because of the MS-Novell deal many were skeptic about!!!!)..so UBUNTU was again the fore-runner for pure linux distros....in usuability... ...and man u should admit, UBUNTU has indeed come a long way from the 5.01 days...I hear, its a breeze to setup and use, faring up on ease of setup and use to Vista....so you know people don't fudge data when they talk in terms of Vista comparison...;-)....

so...UBUNTU being endorsed by DELL...will actually work out better for DELL rather than UBUNTU....:-)...surprising u might say..but the fact is YES....ubuntu is already there as a popular distro for quite some time now....and when DELL endorses, it really doesn't add face-value as far as corporate usage is concerned....*after all, when has Linux community been concerned about corporate or brand endorsements..???*....its always self-existent among the nerds, geeks...and lesser mortals like me who stick to the idealism it proposes rather than anything else..!!!!! so DELL branding would do lil in terms of raise in ubuntu popularity.....but the other way out pretty damn YES.....

DELL, I suppose will benefit and cash-in on the following segment....people who want to buy a laptop and use linux on it...(there are hordes of people who want to and are doing that already...)..and when u know that *LINUX WORKS FOR SURE* on DELL....(borrowing M$ terminology)...people will be all the more ready to go for DELL..knowing well the reliability thing I told earlier...that is already a factor for siding with DELL...

so its more of a popularity puller...and a marketing stunt to up the DELL force in this MATRIX rather than anything else...

and as usual...this gladdens the grey cells...and the hearts of so many linux believers...and we know we will win the war...finally, just like Morpheus believes in the ZION's freedom and victory...;-)

cheers,

Rajesh

Technorati Tags: news, linux, ubuntu, dell, laptop

Amazed...is not the word!!!!!

2007-04-27T09:14:00.001+05:30

seriously.....this incident has forced me to wield my fingers back to blogging, inspite of the pressure-cooker situation I am in currently at workplace....!!!!!!

On a normal, eagerly awaited friday morning...I was at my normal self, reached office, had breakfast, and was reaching down to the ICICI ATM @ office to withdraw cash....

There wasn't a queue as such, with one ATM kiosk unmanned!!!!...so reached the spot, did the rituals....and entered the amount to be withdrawn.....

and the machine was dutifully counting the notes to be dispatched and I was waiting....and suddenly my mobile beeped for the familiar SMS tone...

and I being a person who hates calls / intrusions when I am at something else which is more time-constrainted....like getting down a bus, or auto, paying the auto-wallah, talking to somebody in office even leisurely.....and I thought.....who the f*&k is sending me an SMS this morning morning!!!!!.....

and all this happening before the notes arrived at the gateway of the ATM machine....and as soon as it arrived....I was all the more pissed off...as the machine, as dumb as ever, disposed all the 100 rupee notes it had for the 5K cash that I requested....and I was bulked-out with fifty 100 rupee notes.....sulked....I picked up the notes, side-stepped and started counting the notes...and once I was done, I picked up my mobile to see who that gifted soul on earth is... to get my blessings early morning!!!!.....

and to stun me up, and rev up the day for me and make me do my favourite act (blog)...was this Short Text Message that I received.....It was from ICICI bank, to alert me on the CASH WITHDRAWAL that I made moments ago..!!!!!!

agreed that it was close to 2 mins since I withdrew cash from the ATM, but think of this, my mobile beeped for the SMS, even before the machine finished counting the notes...leave alone pushing all those 100 rupee notes to me..!!!!!!

thats why I said...AMAZED is not THE WORD!!!!!......

if you can analyze this situation a lil deeper, you understand....that....

a) its not the ATM machine which sent me a line-of-sight communication SMS...!!!!! straight to my mobile!!!!

b) Who says ICICI bank's processes sucks..!!!!!

c) Who says HUTCH doesn't deliver SMS messages on time...can somebody get better at all ??? for ON-TIME definition....!!!! that too at the remotest of places for HUTCH-TamilNadu -- Chengalpet!!!!!....which was until very recently considered a ROAMING network for Hutch-Chennai.....wowww.....I am proud to use HUTCH...!!!!! ;-)...

Again...as a side-story....:-)

a) Amazed at my blogging ability to churn out so much of junk with just a 1 minute issue...

b) Amazed at people's benevolence and patronage on me to read through this junkie with ultimate patience...expecting some *amazing experience*....!!!!! Thanks a lot, Homo Sapiens!!!!! You Rock!!!!

-Bye,

Rajesh

Technorati Tags: amazed, SMS, experience, fun

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WoUSB (World over USB)

2007-04-10T09:28:00.001+05:30

ohmigod....this USB never ceases to fascinate...

the other day...I heard my manager complain...that the USB ports that he has in his lappie isnt enough...and needs a USB hub...to fill-in things....

that set me thinking...I know...I use quite a few USB devices...and when I connect my IPOD, Web camera, Bluetooth Dongle, and 80 GB USB harddisk, I am also running out of ports in my Inspiron...but that complaint of his set me thinking....as if to, if this USB device freaky world is taking over our senses....I mean its so convenient, fast and plug-and-play...too easy to ignore...

I have been fascinated by the design creativity with which USB devices have been made in China...My friend carried a Make-up kit like box, when he came back from china...and he had a box full of USB devices each half-a-thumb size...solving various purposes....and it was sleek and sexy to look at....USB memory card readers, flash drives, bluetooth dongles, MP3 players, huh....and to add to all this, even charging mobile phones is USB enabled....u know this last thing is f_____ing convenient....super cool....u dont have to run around for electric sockets...which strangely seem to be diminishing in office interiors nowadays...(maybe the decors are too smart and tech-savvy that they figure USB is the next coolest thing, even before DELL / IBM figure out and add more USB ports to their PCs...;-)....)

and with all this in perspective, this news bit that you are going to read is least surprising but nevertheless worth a moment's extrapolation as to what all will this USBed world could do???....and thats what I call WoUSB (World over USB)...hear some synonyms...yeah...it was meant to be...hahaha....:-))...

http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/gadgetbuzz/0,39041749,61954501,00.htm

-Rajesh

Sivaji Vaaaram

2007-04-05T10:00:00.000+05:30

This has been a week full of Sivaji-ness for me...knowing fully well the me....you would understand why I am so pepped up on Sivaji....why not u would ask..???? "The world of tamils is anyways pepped up...whats the big deal in U" .....Yes...The tamil-speaking lore is pepped up I know...but I have a couple of personal reasons...

a) Shankar - the eternal perfectionist...is the director...backed by his Anniyan Success...( u know what... Shankar steels thoughts from minds of people like me...who are hardcore cinema fans...(not the entertainment ilk...who goto movies for their entertainment quota)...people like me go with the same vigour what people like shankar share on cinema...!!!!) )....

b) Haaa...the Thalaivar effect...definitely...this one is enough reason for the whole of Tamil Nadu to be ebullient...yep...thats reason two...and the DON-Down South is ravishing in all visuals one can see...and me being as hardcore a Reality Cinema fan....am a fan of fantasy...and ready to handover my logicspace for rent to the movie maker....if and only if he can draw confidence on me in the dark-room called *theatre*....and I would love to delve in such fantasy...truly and fully.....and Rajinikanth is fantasy fantastic...again courtesy the master called Shankar....so....u see reason two is also different from the Rest of the World XI....;-).....

so....why is it Sivaji Vaaram for me...???? Yep...it started off with the rumour of Sivaji songs released on the Internet....which I was frantically searching for the songs on the internet ...(now...now....dont catch me on the wrong foot....I am not the guy who sits up late night and scouts for downloads from P2P sites ....and relishes in illegal music....I always believe in original CDs for songs and movies....)......my gumption not withstanding, I downloaded the songs, three in number....(U C... temptation to have a first cut before the D-Day took the better decision..!!!)...and as usual fell for the music...though I was skeptical of the life of these songs in the original CD and the film eventually.....Cut the Songs for RingTones...had them on my mobile as well....saw a few faces go askance in the office lift when my mobile went out free of inhibitions...singing *Vaaa Jee Vaa Jee Vaa Jee...En Jeevan Nee Sivaji...* in the voice of MadhuShree....hahaha...*thats the effect I have on the peoples...*.. :-)...

This illegal copy of the songs did the round and filled my personality for three days.....and when this excitement was up in the Air.....I saw *Kumkumam* ( the best kanna best... book....)...flashing a front pages story of a Rajini Interview....and before I could realize...I had bought the book.....and when I opened...the first facing page of the book rightly had the rajini cover story...and i was surprised...and by the time I finished reading the page....was pleasantly angry at the Kumkumam team...for they have made the whole of TamilNadu APRIL FOOL...by running this thing...when they didn't have a story to go with it....now...with a pleasing and reasonable explanation....was amused and laughed at myself...and was pleased...instead of being pissed offf at spending 10 bucks for being an April Fool....SO One more day of Sivaji for me in this weeek....:)

This Sivaji craze failed to die down on me....and I was waiting for the audio CD release of April 4....and to make matters easy on me....the AVM Management and Shankar seem to have decided on an earlier date...as Apr 2...and I was restless @ office...the whole day....and was desperate to get into the first bus back home in the evening....and was longingly looking at the posters of the Audio Release....and when I reached city limits...started looking for shops selling the CDs... from the bus....and people around me in the bus..unaware ( or maybe restrained emotions, basically)...of the turmoil within...were thinking that I am acting sheepishly...and to the extent of looking childish...but I didnt mind....I was high on octane....to the state of being inebriated..when u don't know what happens around you....(Shankar has that effect on me...unfailingly though with his last three releases...huh....)

so the next two days went with the songs and me....and innumerable thoughts about how each song will be a visual candy....so....a well rounded week of Sivaji Dose...( an audio review of Sivaji is impending here though!!!)

*I wonder what I see* when I get to the movie hall in a couple of weeks time....somebody please take care!!!!

Cheers,
Rajesh

Google - The new Free Wireless Service Provider

2007-04-05T08:55:00.001+05:30

Yes...you read it right...and read it on time...or rather after time!!!!...

This was the prank that google played...(which google is getting better every year!!!!) on 31 march this year....infact they have an archive of what they did each year.....

maybe knowing what google can comeup with on Apr 1, I wasn't amused / amazed at this (which I was three years back)....but it was good fun seeing the passionate people google has....!!!!

such should be the ideal company i would own one day!!!!!

Read through the prank-y apr fool bit they played this year @

http://www.google.com/tisp/

hahaha....as I told you....I was amazed @ their *romance* prank which was a yesteryear business which they wanted to...atleast earnestly for April Fool's day!!!...

http://www.google.com/tisp/notfound.html

Read thru these links and have fun....and yeah...Happy Fooling around on Apr 1!!!

-Rajesh

Technorati Tags: google, april 1, technology
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ThiruMagan - A Movie Review

2007-03-12T09:20:00.000+05:30

People...especially film makers should remember we are in 2007 and they should be atleast aware if not abreast of what kind of films that are made world-over and not the least in Kollywood.... man....we are moving to Dasavadaram, Sivaji and we still see archaic pre-independence kind of scripts for movies...still...and that too completely lifeless...

There is nothing wrong in dusting old-swords...but atleast make sure you are able to weild the old sword judiciously...which is where the director has failed miserably....and if it is the directors first movie( I donno...and don't really care)...and if he feels its his best shot...then I am sorry, I suggest some other profitable profession for the man....I am sorry the movie can be sloppy, listless and lifeless, scriptless...but not cinema-less....:-)...

Yes...it was as though some radio-drama unfolding.....and it keeps on unfolding, scene after scene, without a pre-conceived direction...and though we know the ultimate end...there seems to be no plotline to take it to that level....and only until the last 15-20 minutes...do we get the heck of what that was aspired but never attempted to be told...was a pure love story and not action based...as lot would have suspected as the story(...ooops...there wasn't one) / movie proceeds....:-).....

There are a host of heavy-weight actors...VijayaKumar, RadhaRavi, Ranjith, Meera Jasmine..and our hero SJ Suryah (who can also act...if he knows his limits).....with such acting talent, even if 10% of screen space was dedicated to each of these people, we should have had a pretty good movie to contend with...and the pity was only 10% of the total movie time was devoted to some emoting and all these stalwarts...shared their screenspace and did some work only in the last 15 minutes....which was pathetic...considering the rich talent one has at his disposal....

Each character in the movie is disjoint and hangs on Trisangu Swarga....and nobody knows the reason of existence....the three part premise of story/screenplay writing seems to have absconded from the director's mind....and the last 15 minutes is what one can take back from the movie....and after all the lifeless show for the previous 2 hours...one loses complete interest in the proceedings...and looks for the exit....:-)....

There was no real purpose in what the director wanted to say....The hero shown as an innocent villager...defies logic....what with the Hero's face-make over, his ageing stature, and to top-it-all that he studies Standard X+2....this is first rate slip-shoddiness....

Adding a masala character to the movie is an archaic trait...of the 80's....which is sour as a bitter-guard...and with every heroine pressing on the oomph-factor these days...having Malavika do that masala character is pointless...and to put it blunt....It was cheap....

Every damn character in the movie....is non-original...and save originality...atleast it should have been unique....which wasn't the case...Had this movie been made in 1980's....which is typically 25 years REWIND....there could have been a case of sensibility for the plot....nevermind it suceeds or not....

Now onto the characterization follies....a) RadhaRavi's character...was like a dormant volcano...and it was like...he is gonna explode anytime....and that never happens...particularily after how virile his brother is.....that is a mistake in screenplay...YOU shouldn't mislead your audience...and you should establish the credence of a character...be it positive or negative beyond doubt in the first few scenes....unless you have a story based on the camouflage you are planning with the characters ( ala thriller/murder mysteries)....neither of which is Thirumagan....:-(.....

b) Meera Jasmine's character is a criminal waste...I would say....what did she get to do...???except for emoting a couple of dream scenes...where SJ Suryah sizzles with her dreams..???? I wondered how National Award winning actors like her choose to and continue acting like these....which are nothing but "I am sorry".....bullshit....

c) Even the eternal goodie of villlage films....Nattamai Vijayakumar lacks poise in the movie...for no fault of his....and is just a pawn in the hands of the floundering director and his screenplay....

d) Only Ranjith, according to me...got to do some decent acting in the movie...and he excels as usual at that...emotionally correct ( but a villain for the story ) role....:-)...good...:-)

e) Actors like Illavarasu should be used to the fullest...see what Cheran did with him in *thavamai thavamirundu*.....particulariuly considering the potential of his character in Thirumagan.....

There were shades of *Mudal Mariyadhai*, *Kilakku Seemayile*, *Pandavar Boomi*...and innumerous Village movies of yesteryears....but the worst part is...nothing has been used to get some quality work done....:-(......pity......

Double entenders in the movie I think are to please the hardcore SJ Suryah fans...who I think wouldn't be endorsing such stuff otherwise....And also these should have been influenced by the man SJ Suryah himself....I dont understand how long SJ Suryah can sustain the *NEW* innoncence in his characters.....which is by the way pathetic exhibition of emoting-on-screen....I am sorry ....it was so irritating to see his character on screen....yuck...:-(.....

Songs, background score...and re-recording are all pretty sub-standard ...just as the movie is...

And Lyrics....???!!!..Its amusing to note if the lyricist was caught in a time-machine or something like that....!!!! cuz...the lyrics didn't suit the rustic looks that the film portrayed.....this is again a major flaw in reasoning.....cuz....visual / logical flags as to which time frame one is in...is very important for the present-day cinema audience...he/she is no gullible self to blindly accept what is on offer in a dark room, unless you make them believe in what they see by spellbinding display on screen....:-))....which wasn't a remotest possibility for Thirumagan....

ala SUN TV if I had to summarize with a one-liner....it would be....

THIRU MAGAN...THIRUNTHATHA MAGAN.....:-)

HOWTO-SCREW-A-SONG-WITH-JUST-1-MINDLESS-DIRECTOR....-PORI-

2007-02-03T00:07:00.001+05:30

haven't quite got what I meant in the headline tag????...i am duty bound to put that term into proper explanation....:-))...

I remember seeing the "Making of the Song - Pori"......aired on TV, a special programme for Diwali...what stuck chord in the program and made me yearn for this song was the supreme novellness of the lyrics....

the theme of the song is to list out all small moments of joy-abound that one gets like...

a) getting a Window seat in a bus,

b) A hot tea on a rainy afternoon,

and the lyricist YugaBharathi goes on...and lists around 20+ such niceties et petite titbits...and compiled a song out of it...

The novelty doesn't end there...the song was composed on the fly with the director of the film, the music director Dhina and the lyricist YugaBharathi...in one sitting!!!...on TV...:-)

The song had a good soul-searching tune...and was quite hummable the instant you heard it...and to top it...the song-recording of it was also picturised for the 30 minute TV show....which generated quite an interest for the song...atleast in me....and I waited for the film PORI (a Jeeva Starrer) to get released...ever since I saw this 3 months back..

And..now when I see the song on screen in TV...I was filled with nothing but a pathetic feel....simply pathetic to say the least....what a good theme-lyric...had defintely demanded a innovative picturisation....the song was picturised as a run-of-the-mill duet...which it wasn't atleast by the merit of the lyrics that went behind it.....

I wonder where these people...that is directors..who completely screw up such good songs....learn their trade from...Sorry...this is listless a show....which I bet, even I had pictured a much better way in my mind as soon as I saw the show on TV.....

and lemme tell you..this is not the first song that I get this paranoia feel...there have been numerous songs where I have felt the video to be a major let down for the actual merit of the audio....A prominent example being....

PUSHING IT HARD from the film Kanda Naal Mudhal.....wow...what a song it was to listen in the album...and my jaws dropped onto the floor when I actually saw the video in the movie....simply shameless picturisation....

atleast the Music Directors...would definetely have a feel of how a song should be ...be it Yuvan who was the loser in the later example...and Dhina the loser in the former example....they should be able to suggest the director before hand about how he picturised the song, while composing.....that would give a good measure of the life in the song for the director....

thats where directors like Shankar score double hundreds..who work the other way...by clearly spitting out what they want out of the song, from both the lyricist..and the music composer...so you atleast dont have the imbalance of who screwed things...its invariably the director if at all it screws big time...which hasn't been the case with Shankar till date...

need to meet shankar one day and discuss such things all day!!!!...will wait for the day!!!!..

But Sorry, Pori-Folks....I am disappointed to say the least..please put a blog on HOWTO-SCREW-A-SONG-WITH-JUST-1-MINDLESS-DIRECTOR....

technorati tags:pori, review, movie

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this is it..I love you Shahrukh...:-)

2007-01-30T22:44:00.001+05:30

mmmm.....I was actually forcing myself to hold back this review from Day 2 of the KBC-Reloaded...yeah..thats how I choose to call it!!!!...I wanted to give it some more time...cuz...I didnt want the review to be just based on the hype and hoopla and the initial surge in interest....

but...now..let me tell you....Its absolutely enjoyable.....definitely more charismatic than should I say *The KBC*....I am a great fan of The Big B...but that shouldn't take the sheen and credit out of SRK...cuz..he is doing an absolutely fabulous job as the Game show host

....man.... isnt he charming..I mean with his personal demeanour....definitely this is a huge..huge...huge booost to a career that is already on The Petronas Towers..yep....with The Don..he showed he could get into the Big Shoes.....and here...he furthers it by showing he can even replace the Big Shoes...cuz...this is a younger domain...and he can install his hold quite authouritatively and i believe -by the way he did today's show with the Navi-Mumbai lady...-he would soon remove the thought that there was another host for this show before him....he is so..at home with the show....that it feels so right now this show...

I love you shahrukh as always!!!!!

technorati tags:KBC, Shahrukh, review, gameshow

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GURU - A movie review

2007-01-12T23:26:00.000+05:30

Just like what Guru is used to getting in the movie...real-life hero Mani Ratnam has got *dugna* returns for his GURU...and has recovered lost ground...badly lost though through his *Ayutha Ezhuthu* and *Yuva*...

A genuine film I should say....in just 2 words...a true film critic appeasing movie....so you should figure out that my senses have been gladdened by this movie...which happen only when I watch Shankar's movies...and for the first time...I get this feeling for a Mani movie....I am impressed to the core...and without doubt one of the best contemporary Indian Movie directors....easily on top of the country..:-)....Congratulations Mr. Mani Ratnam..:-)....an excellent work of art...

As the promos promised...this was about the rise of a commoner to places where commoners aren't used to frequenting....and it was precisely what it said...if I had to say in a line....

but what is most impressive about this is ....the juxtaposition of the life of Guru and the progress India made in these years....in addition to the emotion, drama and struggle both the protagonist and the country have gone through.... its a personal style statement from the magician Mani Ratnam...:-)

Abhishek Bachchan...has..as expected...shouldered the film completely....and definitely needs to be credited....for he has gone far enough to be considered a serious acting talent in the industry...and is reaching out to his father's place....with such films in the future...an absolute stunner of a performance...and gives as much weight needed for the character of Gurukanth Desai...and is every bit Guru..than Abhishek....a straight A grade for AB...infact the solitary reason the movie was saved from the clutches of a documentary and as a matter of fact is so enjoyable is only because of the heavy weight characterization of Gurukanth Desai...and the flawless rendition by Abhishek...again...so happy for AB...:-)

Now comes Mani Ratnam...he is definetly the front runner but by the pure acting merit of AB...Mani has been relegated to the second most significant contributor to Guru....Wow...what can I say about this creator...infact my first review for any mani product of any form.....have never felt like what people say when I saw prior mani films...but this one needs to stand apart from his legendary creations...this is definitely a corner-stone in Mani's career...His screenplay is absolute honey on screen...wooo.....what valuable lessons for budding screenplay writers....the movie never ever sags for pace for all of its melo-dramatic undertones...great pace!!!...and particularly the scenes where guru addresses his share-holders...those scenes were so so realistic....and was like *AS SEEN ON TV*...;-)....I'm lovin it.....certainly a DVD candidate in my video library!!!!

Mithun Chakraborty...aka mithun da.....can't really comment on this legend as I literally don't know any thing about Mithun da outside of this movie....but all I can say is that he pulled his weight quite effectively...and has pulled out an effortless display of histrionics...now... you don't call anybody a legend without a reason...i am not sure if its the character that led mithun perform a stunner or if mithun has lent that stunner onto the character...anyways..its the movie that gets its third most significant contributor...and befittingly Mani chose to credit Mithun Da as the first of the actors in the title card!!!..a mark of respect for the superstar!!!!

Allah Rakha Rahman...what a gift for humanity and Indian cinema....his songs lilt to the core...and whenever a song came on...I was completely high on octane...and started to croon along with the song...and got a couple of scorns from my neighbour seat...but I gave a damn to it...and continued to sing along which is what I do for all my musical favourites.....Every song is a masterpiece when is on screen...the only jarring note is that the voices of the playback artistes...didn't quite suit the on screen pair of AB and AR....yeah...Tere Bina with ARR crooning was kinda odd for the stature of AB...but the song is nevertheless a genius....Ek Lo Ek Muft....with Chitra crooning wasn't that great for Aish....yeah....they could have been take care of...As an album...Guru gets full marks....but somehow this sync has slipped......so here you go with the 4th most significant contributor to the film....

Rajeev Menon (Cinematography), Madhavan(Shyam Saxena), Vijay Krishna Acharya (Dialogues)....have been the next most significant contributors...in no specific order....yeah....rajeev menon's mastery is visible in every song....each fitting crisply into the tone of the movie...no jarring notes there....good....

Madhavan..must be extremely giftedto get meaty roles in Mani's films....but luck doesn't stay if you aren't worth it..and the corollary is true with Madhavan....his role is a neat sketch...which he does to picture perfection....

Vijay Krishna Acharya's dialogues have been so so vital for the movie to be so impressive...that if I forget a mention of this....I am inadequate a critic....I loved almost all of the critical spells...but the most standout dialogue is the one, when Madhavan laments that *The Independent* is responsible for Guru to be *paralyzed* literally.....and mithun da also laments about his son guru's health, when Madhavan asks Mithun da if they should stop the new article (against guru)...when Mithun Da replies....*no...no....if you are sure that what you write is true...dont bother hesitating....truth should be out!!!*..... this singular dialogue sums up the character of Manikdas Gupta....and the moral value it flaunts....

Characterization for the story...is the next significant contributor...probably the root cause of all the above contributions...fabulous would be an understatement....I loved the confidence with which the young Guru made waves....:-)...the older Guru was more of an assertive, tactful and to-the-core business man.....the younger guru was intelligent, swift and self-confidence personified...was so refreshing to look at such heros on screen.,...and for once wasn't ashamed of using the word HERO for the character..how wonderful it would be if everyone had that confidence up their sleeve...:-).....next up is Mithun Da's character....wow....super cool role to be in...these two sketches are worthy to shore-up the movie...even if it had faltered as opposed to its current genius...;-).....A bit of irony was that with such powerful sketches up the sleeve, the story failed to show Mithun Da or Madhavan'c character come to a logical conclusion...:-)..atleast I would have wanted that!!!

Aishwarya and Vidya Balan need metion...they have done their bit to the movie.....and one of the most striking aspect of the movie was...the richness and innovation of the title card...I was completely floored by the graphic...and for once wished the title card lasted forever!!!!!....it seems when there is a powerful magnet like Mani at the epi-centre of the action....talented and skilled resources..automatically conjoin to form a whirlpool of a movie....which is testimony with the work of art called *Guru*...

The one aspect I wasn't personally happy with the movie...was the moral values that it advocated at the end....though GURU succeeds and justifies his acts....he nevertheless flounders as a moralist at places...which needn't have been glorified and justified...and more so...the judges who were so critical and un-prejudiced until that 4.5 minutes rhetoric of guru towards the end....acquitting him of most of his charges....hard to digest in an otherwise almost flaw-less movie....the main reason for this lament though...is that the character of Gurukanth Desai was so..so..powerful that without this moral-value affliction...he would have been an immortal sketch....but may be Mani wanted it to suit some real-life character..;-)....and make it more human.....hmmmm...

Nevertheless....I would rate Guru as one of the best movies...I have seen in a long long time...:-)

Congratualtions to the entire GURU team!!!!...a landmark movie in Indian Cinema History...more so because it seems to resemble a landmark personality in Indian Economy and Indian History!!!!

Half-century....:-)

2007-01-11T21:38:00.001+05:30

PROLOGUE:
Yeah...this is it!!!!...a half-century of posts....for a blog that is more than 3 years old...:-)....a seriously unconventional act for a so called *Blogger*..yep...I know that....but there are a multitude of reasons for this....the work pressure in 2005, the blooger blcok by the govt of India...and lately...the use of Live Journal....:-)....for most of my posts...just for convenience...

actually this is ironic....this post was the one of the first posts that I wrote in preparation for my blog...it was so close to my heart...cause it was also a way of representing what I thought about the world...much the reason for which I chose to blog....but somehow didnt publish it...infact a *coming Soon* post came in very early in this blog for this article...and that *soon*..is now....3 years later....and a much more choosier blogger.... and a much more idealistic self.....

And one more disclaimer....this post was written in MID 2004 when the software bandwagon was just getting to full-steam...so you should be warned..and well informed that..you might get *hey whats new in this*..and *this is archaic*...and *what bla-bla-bla is this*......

the scenario now is quite the same...much more specific in problems.....so...this is just to record my feelings....JUST IN LINE WITH MY MOTIVE OF MY BLOG...

HOW IS IT TO BE A SOFTWARE ENGINEER IN INDIA.....

This is current affairs...concurrent affairs!!!! The refreshingly new face of India....India has got synonymous with this Buzz word....You get instant recognition and respect when you say "I am a software engineer working for XYZ"...you are treated differently by the general non-IT public..which is more than 90 % at places....So does all this present a rosy picture??? a life recipied in heaven with all the goodies...and lived in this world with all the riches????

naaa....not all the times...is what I feel,....true and accepted is the fact that you are called UpperClass with the wage structure prevalent in software industry in India....you have a quick route to riches in this profession...you can get SETTLED in LIFE (a cliche..I feel)...you can lead a life par the american one ( keeping in mind the mentality of most Indians to compare with America for every walk of life!!!)......you can wine and dine at the choicest locations..you can think you can live a luxurious life compared to the guy with the same amount of experience in the conventional work ways!!!..more so if you are a bachelor..;-)...

All said and done....you can always bask in these positives..if you always want to see the clear sky....but the truth is that there are murkier clouds..behind the clear one, which the seemingly external onlooker will fail to decipher...okok..wait...wait..this is neither a writeup to crib about my
present profession nor an attempt to mar the significance of my profession which has brought glories to India -- improving India's economy..bringing in a lot of foreign investment..getting a brand image called INDIA INC working....torch bearing outsourcing for the countries world over..piloting education, fringe employment for thousands...and umpteen other goodies..which this writer...will not in any way be able to put into words....-- I feel I am digressing off the epicentre....

anyways....onto the murkier part...firstly...software engineers' life is a saga in its own..for most parts...leave alone the stress that software specialists face..which they have taken as a daily affair of their life. Every individual in this industry will surely have a story of their own...own version of
troubles they face and the consequences they have had in their life because of this profession...People leave their hometowns for greener pastures in IT capitals of the country, few and far between them...handful of them in fact....The irony is that...only in such stressful work conditions would you need the moral support of the family....but alas you are left to handle it all alone..(as if it's a test for your life ahead??!!!)

Practical reality is that only 25-30 % (approximate) of the software fraternity...is computer science gradutes or aware of software engineering, or trained in software basics in college... the other half..majority in actuality are unaware of the nuances of the trade...and are just pushed into the milieu to grapple it out all alone...just because there were no avenues for professionalism in their original intended profession, which is a hard pattern to not notice. This is where trouble starts. They are always up against the monster of expectation...mostly fighting their own inability and trying to disprove it...and succeeding at that. Thus its always a ME Vs the world trying to test my ability, my assertiveness to buckle to pressure....but at the end of the day..you see him sailing it out...which reminds me of a phrase from Srimad Holy Bhagvad Gita quoted in Tamil, "Ithuvum Kadanthu Sellum.." meaning that "This will also be a passing cloud..and will not stay to torment you / be with you for eternity". Atleast this is how I take it.

One learns quickly that the code they write/maintain is no more useful than to feed the self..just another way to get the outsourcing bandwagon moving in India....

ok....so now that you have just got a glimmer of a light into what a software engineer is made up of in this Information Age....

This isnt anything of the *Amartya Sen* type essays which are masterpieces in themselves...this is just to show what I felt at some point inside me...which was much different from what I am made of....

It was more of a *record of the impression of the self*.....so thats how introspective a Software Engineer is.....:-)

EPILOGUE:
happy blog-reading....and for heaven's sake please....please....return to my blog....for more posts...not necessarily interesting though...;-)

Anton Stanislaus Balasingham - A Real Tiger

2006-12-26T06:32:00.000+05:30

DISCLAIMER: This is my personal opinion, and this has no stake on anything that happens for the reader of this post. And..I am not part of any political or liberationist outfit..nor do I support or purport activism as a way of life....please understand....

ok....as the saying goes...a writer should be able to scribble on a variety of topics...this is definitely a *first* for me..

This is about the real life tiger Anton Stanislaus Balasingham...who is no more to grace the earth with his foot steps... this post is to just make people remember him for atleast the minutes they read about him....here....

Anton was a British National, who was a SriLankan by birth.

I am a tamil by geography..and this isnt a tamil-tamil bash that I am staging in blogger...this post is a tiny/small / petite tribute from a blogger who feels people need to know what the *real* Anton is all about..as much I know..

You might by now know that Anton Balasingham was a chief political activist and strategist behind the LTTE movement, whose tryst to get a free tamil eelam state is histroy....

Many people say that he was the one person who lent a lot of creditibility and respect to the LTTE as a movement, and the world looked up at this movement as a progressive liberation movement than opposed to a rebel group...

That way Anton Balasingham has done a great job of representing both sides of the war...and has always on record and action wanted a peaceful and negotiable end to the war..in the island nation...which sadly didn't materialze during his lifetime...I know for such a passionist...this would have been really hurting, but I would say he did his bit....and LTTE is looked at as a liberation group....and not as a terrorist outfit...they have their reasons atleast....

Anton was the brain child and strategist-in-chief for a lot of actions of the LTTE in the 1990s and 2000s..and helped transform the image of LTTE in the minds of the general public...and was a good oratorist and a rebel writer...capable of churning out inspiring speeches for its Leader-in-chief Velupillai Prabhakaran...

so lets salute the man fondly called *Bala Anna*, who was an inspirational face for a number of LTTE activists..and lets not forget..he was a visionary and a leader who needs to be saluted ....that is if you are sane ..and dont have a prejudice towards people and see people for what they are made of and not for what they are known as / for....

my 2 cents,
Rajesh

the realization

2006-12-19T06:58:00.000+05:30

actually....me returning to this blog to post after quite some time....due to various reasons....but still I enjoy Blogger as much as I do a Chocolate-Chip Icecream.....:-)

no..no....that isn't the post about.....its about a mixed feel I have for the nation and its cricketing farternity......moreover, my blog readers wouldn't have noticed the cricket fan in me.....yeah..I am a great fan of the game.....but the last year and half....India's pathetic performance..never really inspired me to write on them....

but...now I have reasons to write about cricket though not in the most positive sign on earth!!!!....

Team India has just won its first ever test match victory in South Africa..in 4 tours ( 92, 96, 2001 and 2006)......Its a great achievement more so because of the manner the victory was achieved...they completely outplayed South Africa...

but if you keenly observe....the key players behind this victory were Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan....yeah....Sreesanth played his lifetime game...but apart from him...it has been the significant contributions from these four that I mentioned which changed the course of the game...whenever it looked like slipping SA's way....

This being a fact...consider this fact....*ironically* these four are doing a comeback into the Indian test team..courtesy Mr.Greg Chappell.....These were the four people whom greg wanted to be replaced with *young* blood.....and we have seen the disasterous results in the last year......and coincidentally...all the four have pulled their weight in this match to prove a point..hehe....

Initially I couldn't see light in the argument of my friend LNC...but I am getting to realize the folly Indian Cricket Administration have done...who knows who wants a back door entry into the team politics to ruin them????

let me not comment any further....its upto you to extrapolate these information and come to a conclusion whether we still need Greg Chappell..as a coach....

Reiterating my point.....Greg was keen and got all the four players who are experience personified - removed from the team on name of young blood to build a performing team...which we apparently failed miserably......

Under Production..coming soon

2006-09-08T18:32:00.000+05:30

My brain child....my home page has been a long pending dream for me....this is not a page what people would think it would be....*just an account of the self*. alas....I always wanted this to be a personal style statement, a portal that would be synonymous to meeting me in person!!!!!..thats what I wanted to give for online readers as well....a personal touch!!!!!....

so never cared about venturing into one until now....coz of a couple of reasons

a) I never knew any web designing language...(that aint required..I know)....to get a worthy page done.....

b) I didnt find a suitable host (read as a free hosting server)...which had a decent domain name....which I was comfortable flashing to my friends.....and others...;-)

so...as usual..when u google for something....u get some useful but new info from google...that way google never fails to impress me....when I was googling for some google group info...I found this google pages...which is a free hosting domain ala...geocities....

so created a portal for myself with my gmail id and their page creator software was so cool, offbeat and intutive that it swept me offf my feet completely and I ended up funding a concept from my brain for my home page in about a half hour...yes that what the time it took for me to conceive the idea for my home page.....and I churned out four pages in no time...mind u ...my page has all text and no graphics.....:-))....thats what I am ...a plain human being...;-) ... needless to say...I chose this google guy just because those two reasons for my long wait were nullified...;-)
so by 2 hours...a decent page (atleast I feel it that way!!!!) was well under production...and i have had this web page running for close to 3 months..now....but without making it public...coz...its still *under production*.....

am doing some much needed post-production work for my page currently and one can see the announcement of my page online in my blog very soon.....

please do return to check (even otherwise, I wouldn't leave you to rest in peace!!!..I would bug u to look at my page and comment on it....;-)...so dont worry for want of information.....Main hoon na!!!!....) for my page address....and comment on the same....

Coming pretty soon to a browser that you have chosen !!!!

feeling YUCK....:-)

2006-08-31T22:11:00.000+05:30

have been using my buddy SuSE Linux at office for my desktop for the past two months...completely...and have beeen completely....completely.....happy...almost the kind of ideal world one would always want to be..no hanging of your apps....no restarts every day.....

and yes now....I am plugged in back into the matrix, into the gory reality of the real world one would never want to be in.....yes...I am forced to use Windows as my desktop due to a work area compulsion....and I knew clearly, where I belonged..... I am sorry...my arguement mind not sound even logical for some people....coz they are too deeprooted into the matrix world ala claws of Windows....that they dont even realize and dont want to realize that there is a real world that exists in complete freedom....:-)

I am sorry for those who are bonded...I can only pity for them and try to help them out...lest they dont get to know the better world....seriously...every application sucks memory and processor speed badly.....I am not that much of a geek to comment on these aspects... but still I feel a GNU/Linux system does this memory management in a much better and efficient way......wow...a Adobe reader sucks big time with a Windows XP machine, add a Microsoft Office product to compete with it and the perennial memory drainer Internet Explorer and you do a F3 to top it allll......you are ready to go for an extended tea session with your colleagues..coz u wouldn't lose any productivity at this rate of the processing in a windows system....:-)

anyways...dunno how long this harrowing experience is gonna continue for me.....but nevertheless....firefox is the familiar face and the saving grace for me even in this MATRIX....;-)

Cheers,
Rajesh

Need a Universal Remote a la CLICK

2006-08-25T22:36:00.000+05:30

If I should say, that I had an overwhelming experience with insatiable Ideology that I love...for two full days....and my Ideology compartment in my brain godown is flooded with ideals and their reasoning!!!..... It would be nothing short of a *gross* under statement!!!!...

wow....:-)...

Take this for what I feel now.....

a) to meet 100s of people who share my same ideology and much more...at a single place....
b) to talk about my passion....nonstop for two days as though that is the only reason for existence in life!!!!!
c) to meet people like Richard Stallman, Eben Moglen face-to-face and interact/talk with them in touching distance.....
d) to understand and get to know a whole new meaning of what I have been knowing for 3 years now....and see people applying it in practice already!!!!....

so one should be able to understand the state of hallucination I should be in currently!!!!

absolutely thrilled...!!!! ter se....:-)

If there were a way of pausing my world at this moment and relishing and spoiling myself in this hallucination....I would do before the next heartbeat of mine executes itself.....without battering my eyelid.....I mean seriously...such state of mind away from all the distracting thoughts one will have is hard to come by!!!!

Thanks a ton to FSF, India for organizing this wonderful hallucinating camp (atleast for me).....!!!!!!

P.S... I had been to the International GPL v3 conference, held in IIM, Bangalore, by the Free Software Foundation, India. for the last 2 days...this has evoked such string emotions from my reasoning space!!!....:-))

SMS ARR to 6363 for World Space Radio

2006-07-09T15:32:00.000+05:30

not sure what this is all about???.....Its the news that AR Rahman is signed as the brand ambassdor for World Space Radio. So what's the new(s) about this is what even I thought!!!!..just another multi million dollar deal...I thought...:-)

But then on seeing the ad bit on TV, I was impressed..if I should cut short the expression....It was so synonymous with what ARR is all about...rarely does a brand and its ambassdor gel well with the central theme of the AD.

The AD goes something like this....ARR is seen to be walking towards the camera and poses some probing questions like "what is music??"...and stuff...and a montage of visuals brush our senses...with some inquisitive music to aid it....and ARR suggests a way to realise the music in everybody..that is through World Space Radio....

I felt it was a wonderfully and aesthetically made ad campaign....

World Space has hit a jackpot with this campaign and they would surely reap the benefits for this....

:-)

Corporate - A movie review

2006-07-09T00:29:00.000+05:30

Saw Page 3 and was completely impressed by this technician called Madhur Bhandarkar...and decided that day that I will keep a tab on this guy's movies...and here I am with the review of his next offering CORPORATE.....and you know why I like this guy's movies??? its just because he strips the hell out of reality and shows the world in its bad gory...and I have always adored people who make realistic movies...and without a choice I have started liking these Madhur Bandarkar movies.....:-)

He is on target the second time around as well...albeit this time with a different story board....

The story is about corporate bigwigs - two in number....who want to outnumber one another in the number game called profit and thats the bottomline and they are ready to goto any extent to get their numbers intact...and what it does to a passive onlooker and her life....

Business people, though not publicly would appreciate this movie's realism and I am sure anybody in the business world would have done something or the other as shown in the movie...there is no escapade....as the director has brought almost everything a corporate bigwig would do to keep things moving....

The screenplay was neat and crisp....dialogoues a strong point in the movie...It was a clean movie through out...true to its objective....nothing much to crib about...Madhur Bhandarkar has meant business and has done that to perfection...I wonder what he is upto the third time ????

All the actors...have done their bit...it looks like the director and the story extracts the best out of every actor...and thats true with this movie....even the two office-boys who keep peeping into the story every now and then seem to have done an appreciable job..:-)

Bipasha Basu...excels in her role of a corporate lady....doesn't look one bit the Bipasha we know...credits to the crew for that...removing that big an image out of a supermodel like Bips is a thing in itself...her attire needs a mention...any corporate female would love to slip into any of those ALLEN SOLLY robes....they look awesome....:-) that too on Bipasha!!!!

Rajat Kapoor and all the main characters have done their best and it shows in the movie....If u r a bollywood movie fan...u might find it hard to digest the superlative content the movie has to offer....If u liked Page 3, u definetely are going to have a treat for your senses with CORPORATE....

profitable 2 hours 45 minutes for the maker...he must be smiling all the way to the bankers...is what I predict....so what up for the hat-trick delivery Mr.Madhur Bhandarkar ????

Superman Returns - A movie review

2006-06-30T12:16:00.000+05:30

Have been quite busy all this week....I am moving out of wipro..so had a lot of formalities...to complete...but nevertheless...I did what I love the most...watch a movie...and here I am with my opinion of the movie!!! Return of the Superman...:-)

A long awaited movie...sure...has the elements of Fantasy stories...to take it far into the levels of X-men and Spiderman...but somewhere in between lacks the killer punch that would star-bolt such movies to famedom....

Yeah...I was kind of disappointed after the movie...no strong script presence...and it rains super heroistic scenes in Superman Returns at regular intervals...and thats it to marvel about in the movie....

I am still wondering and cant come to an understanding for all the logical reasoning that I learnt!!!...why on earth hollywood movies are trying to be bollywood-ish, while all our life-time we want to emulate hollywood-ish style of making superlative movies....

Its just not about Superman...even MI 3 gave more than a subtle hint of this stance...."too much of a sentiment" is not a safe ingredient for such action movies....because the protagonist starts acting according to his feeling instead of acting according to his thinking.... which hampers whatever left-over logic in the script

Superman Returns also suffers due to this predicament....why on earth do u want so much of dialogue in a superman movie....I am sorry...I felt the movie lacked direction in the literal sense....there is so much of potential for such movies to provide over-the-earth entertainment...and I am at dismay when they say 100 crores is the cost for the movie which had at the most 10 powerful fantasy scenes....why????

Brandon Routh defintely looks alike Christopher Reeve...but the Kent character was grossly under-developed....which was sad...:-(...

Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor was the only saving grace for the movie....on the acting front I should say...he was "magnificent"...if I should use only one word...:-)...real refresher of a role...after a long time...the big baddie is also a baldie in the movie...that adds the excitement to the sketch...:-)

the computer graphics really looked childish at places...according to Hollywood standards....particularly the scenes when Lex Luthor would launch a piece of Kryptonite onto the ocean aboard a ship looked unprofessionally graphical for a hollywood movie....what happened to the CGI we see in Hollywood movies??? I felt sorry for the movie....it was like watching an Indian movie...considering and giving due respects to the budgetary shackles for an Indian film....:-)

All these cribbing apart..did the movie have anything worthy..??? if that's what is ur next question....u have an answer....YES...the movie has some bright moments as well....the sound effects and the excitement in the fantasy scenes are too good...and just super-enjoyable....thats what one goes for in a superman movie....so please provide more of those...from now on atleast...:-)

Over all verdict would be : Superman doesn't do the Krrish act!!! KRRISH was much better on the merit of a better script and story to tell....I wonder what Krrish could have achieved with all the bucks that are at the disposal of a Hollywood director....will we ever graduate there???

Krrish - A movie review

2006-06-24T12:13:00.000+05:30

Just came back after watching Krrish (First Day First Show) !!!

One Liner - Krrish 2 should come to satiate the half-filled expectations...

Krrish is a very very good movie...a clean movie in Indian standards...can even be called a cross-over movie...in the true sense...the huge bucks that have been invested haven't gone waste...:-)..yes...the technical brilliance of the movie is a cornerstone...though the visual effects were cartoonish at a couple of places!!

The Rakesh Roshan family has clicked the third time in a row...I should say!!! Krrish is a clean sequel to Koi Mil Gaya....

The biggest drawback of the movie...could be the fact that....KRRISH was touted to be a superman-ish character.....a fantasy one...but the movie doesn't do the needed justice to establish his credentials...as staunch as a hollywood movie would do....Agreed there are many scenes were he saves lifes and does hara-kiri...but the plot is more sentimental than fantasy material....thats one place where people will get disappointed...not for what it offers...but what people wanted it to offer.....but on account of pure merit of what the movie offers....it is bound to succeed with Indian audiences. Atleast the movie still seems Indian..which is its strong point I would say!!!

Onto the plot...
Krishna Mehra is the prodigy child of Rohit Mehra (from Koi Mil Gaya), who seems to have inherited supernatural powers from his father....albeit looking normal (unlike his father)...lives in isolation mainly due to the precaution taken by his grandmother Rekha (also from KMG). Dashes onto save Priyanka Chopra(Priya) on her Indian holiday....and befriends her and also promptly falls for her charm....which is returned from Priyanka Chopra as well...and the plot moves onto Singapore, where Priya resides...not before Rekha dusts the past - of what happened after the movie Koi Mil Gaya and before Krrish - before us and Krishna....and he vows not to use his powers lest his identity be revealed.....Come Singapore and his supreme powers are wanted at various places...and he becomes KRRISH, the masked saviour...(which has to be the way out in such movies)....some interesting scenes in this build-up of the character... and in comes the badman- akin to Hollywood movies...Naseerudin Shah...and his wicked plans to be the saviour of the world....which are leaked out by his security officer...which lead to some interesting scenes and to the climax, when Krrish flexes his muscles...and all ends well...

So how does the movie fare??? Actually very well done ...screenplay ...very natural at places... music gels well with the movie...direction...as much as is required...could have been better was the reaction at places...character sketches are ample and well developed and everything is natural for this fantasy film...which is very surprsing...doesn't look like a contorted story line trying to drive in some crazy facts...with unbelievable sick screenplay.....so in sum...a very good film for the family audience...

On to the characters....
Hritik Roshan as the protagonist of the movie...gets FULL MARKS for his emoting...action sequences..dance...all in all one of the most worthy hero material currently in Indian cinema...would love to see such movies of hritik like the hollywood flicks....the naiveness and the controlled emotions he shows in India and singapore...are really well captured by the director...the flying stunts he does gel well with physique...which is a great plus...for the movie...Dance...ahhh...hritik is godly at this...it comes so naturally to him...it looks like Prabhu Deva in hritik's physique...amazing movements..which makes the group dancers pale in comparison..which is a rarity for heros..:-)

Priyanka Chopra does her role perfectly as required...but infact has some acting to do...which she manages well....but she looks gorgoeus on screen..a major plus for the movie...:-)

Naseerudin Shah looks classy and perfectly fits the witty villian role...much like the baddies of Hollywood...I really enjoyed his performance...every bit of his nonchalant acting...Great!!!

Rekha - she ceases to amaze...and does what is required of her....

other characters dont drag and are short and crisp....

No major logical flaws in such a fantasy movie...is a creditable task in itself!!! The movie seems to be stuck between Hollywood and Bollywood...and it is evident that there has been some confusion in the mind of the director..to go which way....coz the movie has the liberty to go the hollywood way..but risking away from bollywood ways maybe suicidal for the success of the movie..which is bound to happen for any experimental cinema...and Krrish passes the experimental phase...and is bound to succeed according to me...if you remove the superman-expectations out of the movie...You have SUPERMAN that RETURNS next week (30th June) to the theatres!!!!

I would preferably expect KRRISH 2, to see the exploits of Krishna Mehra in saving the world(remember Neo does things effortlessly once he comes THE ONE in part 2...something like that..!!)...which would definetely be welcomed by Indian audiences....Are the ROSHANS hearing????

VERDICT : 4 out of 5 (coz KRRISH 2 is awaited)

The career called Modelling

2006-06-23T08:46:00.000+05:30

I just finished reading this helluva weblog....it is about models and the nemesis of drugs...and other related problems....I found it enlightening and worth sharing with others...who might not have read this!!! So here it is..jus follow the link..and u shd be enlightened!!!

Rashmi Bansal - Behind Pretty Pictures

Open Source obsession

2006-06-22T14:02:00.000+05:30

People around me, know this better...my interests in writing are on par with my obsession with anything that can be called - Open Source - in the true sense...

Open Source - what it means to me and how it emanates from the Analytical Reasoning section of my brain reads as follows....just to clear the misconception (that they have never doubted) people have about open source !!!

"a whole new approach to transparent and clean source code development which is *free* to use/modify/publish and when one means free, it is free as in 'free'dom. There is a very smart licensing mechanism to safeguard the interests and foster faith in people who are into this aspect of software development. This makes a very interesting proposition for people to move to this domain, free from the shackles of proprietary domain. One does not necessarily *code* to get into this world....there are a wide range of things one can choose to contribute as. In this open world...every single person is an important entity in this system. From the end-user who embraces and evangelizes open source, to the people who contribute to the development of the open source movement in one way or the other form a focal point hard to ignore...and the astounding aspect is that every person out of this system gets recognized and credited for the contribution, which makes one crave for more contribution....It is a win-win situation for every one around...such an ideal world is hard to believe but harder to live without.... particularily when the propreitary world's threat is consuming monstrous proportions for both business & personal users alike"

ok...I am not sure if one can follow that...not that it is too abstract...just that it was too wordy according to me...so try taking these in the place of the above one...

"A world where one gets to use software applications free of cost and one can change the way things work with the software, if one wills to and give it back to the society and help build a better world to live in"

And this bug bit me three years back and I got hooked on to opensource as a part of my work...when I started to use Linux as the OS of choice...and my colleagues though they were aware of the open source aspects of Linux...weren't too interested in this avenue...they saw Linux more as a powerful way to combat Microsoft....but then I went on to understand that Linux was just the tip of the iceberg called Open Source...there are so many things that open source consists of. Just that Linux acts as the most popular pupil of this talented master..!!!

More than getting into Linux, and becoming a geek, I was more interested in this Open source aspect of this thingy....and started exploring this and was pleasantly surprised to find that there are so many things to Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS), than just Linux...and that's what interested me most....

Coupled with the forceful nature of my other workplace..to use M$ software....I went further against the advocacy of the Redmond based Software giant's products.... and am still tuned to this...

so get to the end of this with this tag-line...(just reproducing some popular quote...definetely not credited to me!!!!)

"Get Liberated!! Reach the Source !!!"

Doesn't it sound philosophical and MATRIX-ian...yeah that's the beauty of open source...it syncs with so many other ideological things other than just source code!!!!

A new Me - the alter blogger

2006-06-22T12:34:00.000+05:30

Yes...I should call this post that way only....!!! This blog has been online since december 2004 and I started this outlet system only to satiate my other interests than work....and have been pretty faithful with that ideology( I have never mixed my mainstream life with this exciting life) until today morning...when things seemed to have changed suddenly in a couple of hours!!!!

I have never written about my professional life, nor what I do other than blogging and reviewing movies...!!!! I *work*...as a software professional....a 'grist of the mill' stuff that I produce......nothing great!!! but nevertheless I can contribute something and have already - to the fraternity that I am part of....I wish to share that part of me as well, beginning from today...so you should be able to see a mixed bag of things that I will write on ...something relating to the IT fraternity as well, that I belong to...bread-and-butter stuff for me!!!

Krrish - A Curtain Raiser

2006-06-21T16:03:00.000+05:30

One of the most eagerly awaited Indian movies of 2006, this Krrish. Yep...as you would have heard by now, this is a sequel to the runaway hit "Koi Mil Gaya". Hritik Roshan sports the superman-ish character that one usually associates with Hollywood...and supposedly this is India's answer to Superman/Spiderman series...and I believe, if this succeeds (which I hope it should)...dont be surprised if you see sequels to this guy...like Krrish -2 !!!...because, if this fantasy is to the liking of the people of India...there is no reason such things shd not continue...and all that depends on the technical wizardy the movie can offer...coz...though Indian in the make, we would always match this movie with its hollywood brothers...as there is no benchmark Indian film for comparing this!!!..so hopes run high for this film...

last week I saw a spot on Vijay TV's MTP (Mathan's Thirai Parvai)...some exclusive shots of the movie's shoots in Singapore...they are looking cool and pep up the interest in the movie...Songs have become Hits already...so there's national interest in the movie I should say...(Tamil and Telugu versions are also getting released simultaneously)...

atleast I am ready for the movie...much like I expect any Shankar movie...this one's generated tremendous interest in me/public....

I hope for a super hit for Hritik...for the poor guy has put his heart and soul into the character...and seems to have paid off...he certainly looks like a super hero...when we can accept a petite, Toby Maguire as Spiderman...Hritik will definitely sell as Krissh....:-)

1000 Hits!!!

2006-06-15T15:43:00.000+05:30

My Blog hit the coveted landmark of 1000 HITS just moments ago...and you know what my blog is listed as the first hit against my "name" search in google...which wasn't the case till sometime back..:-)...

So these two events have made my day!!!!....today

Thanks for everyone who visited my blog!!...I am not sure if anybody reads everything...except me...:-D...but atleast they visit...and know the existence of such a thing!!!....to begin with I am happy!!!...

Thanks again!!!!

Mission : Impossible : III - A Movie Review

2006-06-15T10:53:00.000+05:30

ok...another MI movie....in 12 years...yes MI movies are made once in 6 years...:-)...just that much for the movie's credit...

You could be crazy to expect great storyline kinda stuff in such sequels...and as Murphy's SSS law states..."Sequels Seldom Succeed"....this one would cling on to word "Seldom" ...and will succeed, though not great in MI terms..:-)...

The movie...opens up with a clever screenplay of showing the climax and pepping up the audience...good... Philip Seymour Hoffman...is non-chalant in his ruthlessness...which is a great, great addition to the thrill factor in all the interrogation scenes between tom and the big baddie....actually, philip looks more "Ashish Vidyarthi-ish" ...than like a hollywood character....!!!

The familiar MI tune, is orchestrated very well...but I felt some variance to the tune, would have pepped up the background score...I wonder, what majic AR Rahman could have done to the solid base of the MI tune....I was disappointed at places with the background score...:-(..definetely ARR fares better...!!!

The story: Ethan Hunt is about to get married, and inbetween, he has to go to berlin to rescue a Intelligence agent of their group...takes off in a troupe of 4 people...a helluva techie gizmos and fundas intact...they trace the whereabouts and enter into the building without a problem!!!! and almost rescue the agent, alas...they find that she is injected with a detonator...and amidst a Helicopter chasing sequence, she dies...:-)...looks familiar for any bollywood, kollywood fan!!!... then he comes back home, marries his love, offbeat, and he finds a parcel for him from the dead agent, which reveals blatant secrets that his higher office is behind saving the baddie... and he travels to Rome to kidnap the baddie...does that to perfection...and enroute... the echelons of power take away the baddie typical to bollywood fashion and then Ethan Hunt is led to China...where his wife is kept as hostage...the baddie gives him a time race of getting the coveted target lest his wife gets killed...akin to our Vijayakanth's movies.....and it is a sentimental-cum-duty thing that he must accomplish...and guess what he accomplishes after some hungama in the climax...much like our kollywood heros....and SUBHAM at the end...:-)

So every indian knows and has seen hundreds of cop movies of this sort..and infact..if this was given to some Perarasu / KS Ravikumar, the movie would be much, much better....the only cushion this director had was, he was directing a big-time hollywood movie...and millions of bucks to back him up!!!! Pathetic is the word I can find for a ploy in the screenplay at the following instant "Just to say Tom Cruise can do efficient lip-reading during an important point of the movie...Inserted was a scene to tell people that he could lip-read, intruding in a Womens-only small talk by lip-reading over the glass window" This is schoolboyish screenplay, not expected/acceptable in hollywood movies of this big a stature...There are hundreds of subtler ways to tug in this info into the movie plot. There are too many drag scenes between Tom and his girl friend/wife..which is unwarranted for MI movies but needed for the senti-part of the movie...this is where you can figure out why Hollywood movies always outshine Indian movies...whenever indian movies harp on sentiment, a drag is imminent in the plot, which MI-3 couldn't avert, because it was much like an Indian Masala...:-)

....All said and done, the captain of this MI3 hasn't been unbearable...there were moments of brilliance and swift action...which definetely needs appreciation....particularily the vatican episode...was fantastic...the least to say...the screenplay was beautiful and crisp...every scene asthetically shot...I loved every moment of it...the berlin scenes were good...very good excitement...adrenalin starts rising in those scenes...but the same can't be associated with the Shangai scenes except for the tower-to-tower swinging!!!!...wow...what excitement it was...:-). The climax for such a built-up movie...should have been more exciting...thats the rule for such movies...and then both the baddies were knocked off in the most uncharacteristic fashion...TOM CRUISE not involved in both!!! Not acceptable!!!

On to the cast....
Philip Seymour Hoffman as the baddie has done justice to whatever has been offered to him...just a few scenes....the same as Lawrence Fishburne...both of these star actors have been grossly under utilized and their characters could have been better developed....no fault of theirs!!!The heroine of the movie was "yuck"...no real character depth, nor screen presence for the actor...I was unimpressed by the selection for the top-babe....but Maggie Q and the other agent in Berlin were much better...and their roles and emotion were far better...:-) Ving Rhames was seriously funny at times...out of this, there isn't much of any real character worth mentioning...!!

Overall Verdict would : Good..but could have been much, much better if the plot was lil less sentimental...there's the lesson Cruise/Wagner production should learn from...:-(

Eventful June till now!!

2006-06-12T14:42:00.000+05:30

June first week - This went off for me in movies on all alternate days!!! (fri, sun, tue, thur).... davinci code a couple of times, X-Men 3 and Pudhupettai all in PVR...plus a friend's farewell, so nothing else could I think off...

June second week - My sister's wedding, the first major function in my family!! Me, was the most important person in the wedding after the bride and bridegroom ( because of the rituals we have in our religion) so was completely busy the whole week!!!....It went off very well...and we are happy with the way the week passed off...a very eventful week and a very memorable one at that!!!!..will never forget the week in my life time!!...

June third week - just now clearing the backlog of all the blogs that I usuallly read...and some more orkutting... and some work if time permits....so my week is full!!!....

Lets see what's in store for the Fourth Week of June - I will complete 3 years of work officially during this week....I am getting older...my receeding hair line is a proof for that!!!...

Orkutting (verb)

2006-05-30T11:45:00.000+05:30

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!!!!

Pudhupettai - A Movie Review

2006-05-28T21:27:00.000+05:30

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...

The DaVinci Code - A Review

2006-05-26T23:16:00.001+05:30

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 ???!!!!

Is The Davinci Code getting released in India after all????

2006-05-22T16:10:00.000+05:30

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....

Ahhhh....the davinci code !!!!

2006-05-22T01:04:00.000+05:30

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....:-)

Black May Day

2006-05-11T20:47:00.000+05:30

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)

In Defence of Kaavya - How Opal Mehta Got into Controversy

2006-05-08T17:17:00.000+05:30

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.....

How Opal Mehta got Kissed, got Wild and got a Life - A Book Review

2006-05-02T18:05:00.000+05:30

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.....

Dishoom - Movie Review

2006-04-09T21:57:00.000+05:30

"Impressed" is the solitary word I could pick out from my vocabulary.....I have already mentioned the fact that new directors, particularily in tamil movies...make great impact..and sasi is no exception......An excellent movie...I am amazed at the fact that freshers...can indeed bring refreshing ideas....

A novel idea, like what if a Fight Choreographer gets caught in the mire of love...and what the parties at stake go through...told in the most realistic perspective one can think of....thats when one gets involved in the movie....and is sensitive to the ups and down of the characters..thats the victory for the movie, director..et al,.

If one song can summarize the movie...and make a mark for itself in all aspects like lyrics, music, and picturisation..it should defienetly be "Nenjangootil Neeye Nirkirai..", such soul searching music, is rare to come by, and lyrics..which are intune to the whole theme of the movie, asthetically picturised....

Agreed Dialogues being the strong point is one point, but plugging them in at the right scenes...to make an impact, is another art which the director seems to have perfected...Every dialogue is important, and crucial dialogues do make an impact on the viewer..and he is made aware that it is a crucial dialogue by its depthness...hatz offf....

Jeeva, looked to tread the chocolate boy hero..with his initial couple of movies...and I felt that he will become the grist of the mill stuff..but starting with RAAM, he has made a conscious effort to break even and does well in the act...emoting comes naturally to him, and his dialogue delivery doesn't stick out, which is very important for an actor...am sure he will make waves as an actor, by his choosy way of picking roles, what with his "E" promising much more...Lets let this young lad go places..and he sure deserves it...

Everybody literally everybody have essayed meaningful roles, including the under-nourished comedian, have been useful..I appreciate that....I thought Nasser was wasted in his role...but good twist at the end courtesy his role....

Overall, a pleasurable experience watching this movie...

I would give 8 out of 10 for this refreshing story line...

-Rajesh

Deep Impact - Weekend

2006-04-04T22:53:00.000+05:30

Little did I expect that my weekend would be one of such deep impact...not too serious though....I unexpectedly got to watch three movies ...over the three
days...which were the cause of the deep impact....the effect....I have had is getting translated into this weblog.

Three different genre movies..in three different languages...from directors of different statures.....doesn't look like any of the strangest coincidences..but I cant help thinking of them that way!!!

On friday I got to watch TROY on VCD(original VCD ofcourse..:-D )...the greek epic..etched on screen, with the aid of the likes of Brad Pitt and Eric Bana....

On Saturday, I watched BEING CYRUS...in theatre, a offbeat theme told in a non-chalant way with the definite aid of CYRUS MISTRY...aka Saif Ali Khan...

On Sunday, I got to watch a Tamil Movie...alas an Old one...4 years old...called VIRUMBUGIREN....a Prasanth and Sneha starrer....

Troy, I should say had the greatest effect...simply because of the fact that, though I have grown up with the greek mythology of Troy and Odessey tales, I was in a trance all through the movie....eager to see the next scene...the experience was simply exhilarating if I had to put it into 2 words..I rued the fact that I missed watching this movie in theatre....but the screenplay was stunning..coz....people already know what u r upto with the story and
screenplay..in such period films...so it is a herculean task to bring in the thrill and excitiment into a established fact...good work....

Being Cyrus, I expected it to be an offbeat movie..and it was one...but more than what I had expected...the movie once again proved and enhanced my belief that any story line will be effective if it had appropriate and powerful screenplay.....the movie will sail through purely because of the screenplay and saif's screen presence...his english tongue...is anyways very famous..and I can vouch nobody in Bollywood can be at home for such a character...Saif has certainly graduated one level on the up with this piece...I felt the movie was going along the also rans....at half-time...but the next half tossed me up completely...and I felt the impact of the movie..much after the show...literally for atleast 2 hours...it all unfolded very quickly for the viewer...and if u aren't attentive u will miss the belonging for the movie....it is slighlty heavy for the layman...such quick turners....anyways..kudos for the director....good work for a debutant....not more on this..alas...I will spell out the suspense of the movie...huh...

Virumbugiren, a relatively older movie..compared to the other two, but nevertheless, equal in impact...wow...debutant directors..I think...try to put as much effort to prove themselves...and Susi Ganesan is no exemption.....I felt a neat depiction of a simple and no-complications love story!!.. The story is a one liner which goes like this....Love between a Fire-Service man and a village girl..the tact is in the interwining story-plot of the village, their unity is at stake..how they rise in unity to separate the lovers...and how the lovers unite in the end...interestingly told...with chirpy screenplay.....I wish if other directors can take cue of the creativity and freshness of the script...there will be no dearth of love stories...and interesting and successful ones at that.... Kudos again for the debutant.....!!!

I always am a great fan of intelligent screenplay...which makes a movie out of bare land....and if you see the three movies..deep impact candidates...have got stellar scripts....the first one, keeps u interesting even if the story is epic in stature....the next one, keeps u guessing and catches u off-guard with its thriller script...the last one, fresh and subtle overtones to keep the viewer interested in a cliched story line....

For the eternal cinema lover, that I am, u should not be surprised when u see such offbeat movies creating impact on me.....I am a true cinema confidant..and will continue to be one..and keep impacting this weblog with my perspective of such deep impact movies...

-Rajesh

Kalvanin Kadhali - Movie Review

2006-03-30T17:44:00.000+05:30

A one liner for the movie would go like this: Story line - cliched; Screenplay - Refreshing !!

To put it bluntly, the prejudice I had before entering the Hall expecting the movie to not be anything but mediocre, vanished into thin air...when I came out of the hall....mildly surprised....with a neat screenplay and clear characterisation.....the movie comes out unscatched with the viewer...which in itself...is a great tribute for the debutant director....

Few from the general public would know that this is not a SJ Suryah directed movie...but he pulls his weight purely as an actor in this movie.....real talent, though without the looks... The movie starts with suryah's now familiar pranks..and to be frank.....the first half hour was slightly uncomfortable with cheap dual tone dialogues and scenes. Agreed that Suryah's character is a womanizer..but the scene's take it too far...

Wading through the first half hour....and then you are made to situp with Nayanthara's entry...wow.....the real star or you can call flag bearer of the movie....she moves around the camera with such poise, beauty, freshness...you feel for nayanthara's portrayal in Ghajini..where she was shown in poor light...photographically..I mean..... Any hero would want to act with Nayanthara after seeing this movie....she carries herself..excellently well...the reason for this is her neat characterisation...one is at home with her portrayal...

The story moves around with beautifully picturised and composed songs....credit to Yuvan..who churns out such tunes non-chalantly like his father...not exactly in his father's class though!!! Songs as well are a major plus for the movie.....actually the director has proved that with neat character sketches, screenplay, music and direction, one can get away with such cliched subjects as well....

Overall an enjoyable movie if you are an youngster !!!

-Rajesh

Internet Explorer 7 Beta - PREVIEW

2006-03-11T12:27:00.000+05:30

Was hanging around at Novell's new desktop news site...when they said...Novell will have the edge over Windows Vista by about 6 months..so I went straight to Windows Vista page...I have been having a keen interest on Vista...coz...I alpha tested Vista way back in 2003, when it was doing the rounds....

this time around, the website does look impressive..as always and like any other microsoft page....Got interested in IE 7 beta....Signed up for that...knowing well the alluring danger in Microsoft Beta products...(I had a tough time with Windows Media Player 10, in 2004-2005), the temptation was too much...to resist...

downloaded IE 7 Beta 2,

Installed it...

Took 5 minutes....restarted Windows....

Opened IE....surprised to see IE looking refreshing....with TABS...and the toolbars have been given a face-lift...

A search toolbar akin Firefox, Opera...Finally IE has succumbed to the needs and has followed suit with most of the features that the competitors provide....

Does not look like such a memory hog...except for some javascript pages...the memory usage was pretty ok.....thats until now...only over course it will mature...

Have already suggested three enhancements to the IE mailing list..:-)

Without any outstanding improvements to boast about, IE as standalone will not succeed...but when given with Vista..will sail in as a successful browser...looking to match the advances Microsoft has made to the OS as whole...a significant forward movement from Windows XP...one would say..!!!

More comments after a couple of weeks..when it will be stress-tested...:-))

-Rajesh

Thambhi - Movie Review

2006-03-02T23:45:00.000+05:30

Thambhi....literally meaning younger brother...but colloquially used to represent any lovable fella in ur neighbourhood....so here is this fella caring about his neighbourhood...that is the crux...a social movie...

A violent movie without violence and blood shed...to sum it up..!!!! aint' different???? True...I was impressed with most part of the movie....which is in itself a credit for the movie, though low key in publicity and openings....:-) The opening sequence of the movie...though remniscent of many a hollywood war movie...was truly impressive...setting the expectation levels for the plot.....and to top it, the title sequences....given as much care as the screenplay & dialogues.... When the title card for the director says...ACTION & IMPACT -- SEEMAN, you would definitely have clap for this thambhi behind the scene for the confidence he had in his plot....I appreciate it !!!!

I read that Madhavan, had foregone his primetime host position in DEAL YA NO DEAL....to concentrate on his career in tamil film industry....Looks true, when one watches the movie...he has shown ample signs of that....Kudos for his commitment to the role -Hardwork..for sure pays off - Such characters are all the more difficult because, madhavan is not the cool dude and heppy guy...he is used to being....so u get to see a rustic madhavan in this action flick... good characterisation....and emotion from Madhavan..this is definetely a break for maddy, the chocolate boy hero....the hair-do has aided and jelled with the characterization..!!!

Enough of bragging about the director and movie....though they are the fulcrum for this movie....the movie in itself..demands some comments....So lets do justice to that part...??? what say..???

The movie...is a classic TAMIL movie...with very little shade of english dialouges and deviod of english music...for once Dr. Ramadoss..and the supposedly Tamil Fanatics cannot complain about this movie....a true TAMIL movie...all characters have been named consciously and carefully... Velu Thodaiman...aka Thambhi....you are forgiven if you have heard that name yet...??? coz....such names are a rarity in movies...hah..one more compliment...these small things...which were appealing..have forced me to write a review for this movie...!!!

Depicting the hero as a Karate exponent and keeping the fight sequence in complete realism to karate needs a pat....but the jarring fact was Maddy's belly...it was lil too much for such a powerful character....people will never know if it was intentional...nevertheless.....stunt choreography is simply stunning....to go with the excellent camera work.....

The story in a nutshell.....The protagonist is a middle class family man...gets pulled into a Dada's trial as a witness..the price he pays for this is the loss of his family...., which forces him to take up to clearing up the mess in the society....not ala the normal hero, who sets out on a holy mission to decimate the villains..... here the protagonist...instead chooses ahimsa and preaches the villain to stop these brutalities...the reasoning sounds logically and need a revisit for the depth of thought that has gone into that...Ultimately though..in reality..how much of this is practiceable is up for dicussion....once the scene gets over....tough actually....

The dada gets pulled into the trap he lays for creating havoc in the city...and here as well, the hero comes to save the villain's family...amidst all the hungama...this rivets the ideas of the hero into the villain, but it is too late...as the hero..is drawn into another trap and killed...taken revenge on..... might not be a fantastic story line, but this story line sails through mainly because of four reasons...

4) Madhavan's acting
3) Dialogue of the movie
2) Impact of SEEMAN
1) Screenplay of the movie

Overall an enjoyable experience for the true cinema lover..who expects substance and clean narration in a movie...I am certainly game for this movie...!!!

See ya,
Rajesh

Merger Announcement

2006-03-02T17:56:00.000+05:30

This is a formal announcement that involves the merger of my other blog, http://reviewkorner.blogspot.com, with this weblog. The blog "In Perspective", has been in operation since September 1, 2005. The Initial idea behind the blog was to dedicate one for movie reviews....but I never had any traffic interests..then....so didnt care to make it public....but my friend sujay, has conciously sowed the "traffic...and counter funda" into my mind....so I have decided to make the merger, after ..................."much thought"..you would have thought, but in actuality, "without an after thought"....so you would be able to see my reviews....in this web stop itself......what with everybody going in for convergence.....I didnt want to be left behind....hahaha...;-)

An Incredible Experience

2006-02-11T14:58:00.000+05:30

Yeah.,..that's what I should say of what I have had today...!!!! the 30th of December 2005......coz....today will go in MY history as the day when I have had my first flying experience..!!!! Yes....my first flight...certainly not a la THE AVIATOR, but a domestic flying experience... from Bangalore to Coimbatore... an exact 50 minute flying experience.....incredulously incredible..............

It all unfolded rather unexpectedly....I had tripped on the road...on road to office...yesterday...morning....and it was diagonalized as a marginal hairline fracture...and I couldn't keep continuing at my house in Bangalore due to logistics..:-) so had to rush to my residence in Coimbatore at the earliest. For all the logical reasoning I had reasoned and scored in GRE...during my college days...I couldn't find a better way than traveling by train....and that too right on new year's eve...with this fractured leg..but for my friend Sriram, who sparked off the idea that I could travel by air, provided flights are available to Coimbatore...I knew they were available and got it checked by one of flight travel savvy friend Pankaj......So he had booked an online ticket for me in AIR DECCAN, which boasted of 2.5 Grant as its worth in Rupees...so I had finalized the travel...but was little concerned and slightly remorse that my first flying experience had to be so quick, unplanned and at a not so happy moment...when I am left limping...but regrouped myself..and called up the customer service of Air Deccan and checked if I could use the services of a wheel chair till I board the flight ...

I waited patiently for 15 minutes and then got a friendly sounding lady online, told my situation, for which she readily identified a work around, and said would cost another half a grant...and I could do nothing but to oblige for it....

So came the moment, at 5.30 AM, on 30th December, my kind room-mate Lakshmi Narasimhan, had given me hand (literally) till the airport in Bangalore from where a courteous Air Deccan employee reassured that he would help me until I take my seat in the flight...........huh... I was relieved....had already checked in at 6.10 AM...so started my 2 Hour wait.....my iPod came handy here...so never felt lonely...couldn't even call any of my friends...coz....It was still early morning for my ilk of people....got to see Bappi Lahiri, Mahesh Bhupati and Shabana Azmi...during my 2 hour long wait..and finally got to the moment when the clock showed 7.50 AM......I was allowed out of the waiting space of the bangalore terminal. While others got into the Air Deccan shuttle, I was special....;-D.........was taken straight to the airbus in my wheel chair on the runway.....was the first to get into the flight....

It was quite a small ferry, relative to what I had seen in movies...:-)...was greeted by a couple of amicable air-hostesses.....and escorted to my seat..which was just near the exit..to ease my movement ... I wasn't exactly surprised with the hospitality...because we indians are also getting used to such world class hospitality elsewhere outside the airport cordons as well.....but nevertheless good customer care is always pleasant...so was I..pleased with Air Deccan's hospitality....though it was short-lived..just 50 minutes..

Yeah..the flight started at zero eight zero zero hours..... I was preparing myself mentally for the first up-lift..........and it came 7 minutes later..and when the flight lifted into the air....blup.........butterflies fluttered in my stomach......and my ears got locked out..............and then bailed out of the lock, by my cap...It was extremely good to see myself in the ranks of the clouds...and above them as well....the cliched, “ I am on top of the world”...was the only thing that came to my mind...laughed it off....hehehe...

Then before, I could recuperate from this incrediblity....I could see TN government buses on road..below me....and I was amazed...in short...and when I looked at my watch..it showed 8.50 AM and then thud.............the flight landed in the civil aerodrome in Coimbatore, the landing---pulled people in front..and it was as though, I would fall in front of th vechile's wheels...:-)....and in another 5-10 minutes....the flight came to a grinding halt...and another courteous (customary trait of any native coimbatorian) gentleman escorted me in a wheel chair till the car at the entrance of the airport....my parents had mixed feelings while seeing me, happy to have me back in Coimbatore, but sad to see me in a wheel chair...:-I.......

yeah....this brings the 1 hour long episode to an end...rather naturally............ and see you sometime later.. with some other experience...............

Cheers,
Rajesh

Thavamai Thavamirundu - Movie Review

2006-01-15T19:54:00.001+05:30

Thanks to Cheran,.....let me tell it upfront.....It was and is a scintillating experience to watch this movie and write about it as well. If Autograph was any indication of Cheran maturing...this is proof that he is one of the best movie makers in the business in Tamil Nadu....or better known as Kollywood......more because he does films that he loves doing....and gets critical acclaim for his movies...plus gets the return in terms of the success of the movie with the masses....this last one is the most elusive, missing link for almost all directors...which Cheran seems to be making with a child's ease...atleast in his last two movies.....both have been declared as commercial successes now...

Onto the movie.....real good selection for the storyline....not delved into such detail..in movies..prior to this. And I read in a magazine that Cheran, briefed Rajkiran the story and said, if and only if you are ready to don the hero's role would I be interested in making this film, else would take up some other storyline for a film. Such was the trust that the director had in Muthiah's character, for which he firmly believed, only Rajkiran would do justice.

Yes, you guessed it right...Rajkiran is delightful, refreshing and picture perfect for the role...all at once...it is so natural for him to do this role....he can rest assured that he had donned a life-time role for the better. It would take a political imbroglio or a geographical bias to stop him from getting the national award for his role in TT.

Getting down to the hero of the film, the storyline and the deft handling of the story with apt screenplay and direction, one cannot stop admiring the director for his skill. The best part is that.. the director has not succumbed to the guile of making a screenplay out of the story line, rather he has allowed the story to take center-stage and made the screenplay an ally for the story, which is rather unusual in the grist of the mill stuff, prevalent at present which mainly harps on fast screenplay. He has never cared to bring in startling twists at interval time, another one just before the climax or any stuff of that sort, which is the bane of modern day film makers.

Each character in the film does exactly what it has been created for.......not doing an inch extra...that's where the movie scores. Be it Sathyapriya as the courteous daughter-in-law or Saranya as the caring, understanding house wive, Cheran as the repenting son, or Senthil as the elder son, wow..the characters have not been created, rather just picked out straight from any tamil family you can choose. This is not a surprise considering what Cheran says about his subjects.....” I dont create stories...I search for stories from our tamilian life styles”...Hatz offff to Cheran for his bold foray with such subjects......

One more interesting filmi stuff I saw in the movie....If I am right, is the first for any tamil film. It goes like this:
We are used to seeing flash-back narrations in BLACK-AND-WHITE, while the current narration in COLOUR, just to make the needed difference for the viewer. This movie made this difference with a difference..yes..you are reading it right. BLACK-AND-WHITE scenes are those which are not very happy even though they happen at present, while scenes in COLOUR are those, which you can associate with bright moments in the movie...which I thought was new, very relevant and worth mentioning... Good work...TT team.. !!!

Gosh,....It looks like more of a Cheran's appraisal than the review of the movie Thavamai Thavamirundhu... That must be telling you in summary about the movie...It is an out-and-out a cheran show.... Fantastic....!!!!

World...BG...AG...

2005-10-13T09:44:00.000+05:30

World ... Before Google....After Google...

This is the first thing that came to my mind immediately after seeing the email forward about gOFFICE......Google’s latest adventure...and earth shaker for established companies....nightmares to be precise...

Google(Verb): to search for information about a specific person through the Google search engine

Have you googled yet???

It all started in the late 90's when Google came out as a dedicated search engine...though Yahoo had monopolized the business and people seldom knew about any search engine in the periphery of Yahoo and AltaVista.... I still remember the days in my graduate course when Internet was a far-fetched dream for Indians in India like me...My college library was generous enough to provide free internet for students that too after 6 PM and we used to book slots until 9 PM between friends so that we get a prolonged tenure with that system....we started using Google and Yahoo mail then and myself not for a moment knew the significance of what I was doing....using the world leading technology during its nascent years.. We used to search for long hours on technical subjects for paper presentations and used to post technical queries to many sites and university portals mainly through Google and would search for my Yahoo ID on google, and be fascinated to see my email ID fetching atleast 10 results....a sense of accomplishment. As a matter of fact, one of my long lost friends used Google to search my name and found my email ID and sent me a mail..I was pleasantly surprised to witness the use of technology in human relations....:-).....

So Google slowly but firmly entered the search engine market...I have been a faithful follower of Google's innovations....amused and eagerly logging in each day to see what Icon Google had for that day...each significant day in history would have a related cartoon...that impressed me in a long way..because I am a person who always appreciates different ideas in place of monotony. It could make no difference for the user to see these different icons..each day..but it definitely has its share of image building for Google as a company...more than just searching..!!!!

The enthusiasm and passion for their work in Google's employees is epitomized by the founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They insisted on the company being a technical company and is still the single largest technology company and will continue to be so...At the same time sensing business and doing justice to their existence at every possible extent..was Google harnessing its skills as a search engine founder....and also as a multi-faceted company growing leaps and bounds....

Knowing that India had a huge market for Internet, Google localized it's search for all the major indian languages,....me...thrilled...to get a search result in my native tongue..!!!, then Google expanded by extending its image beyond just information searching, but to information maintenance and information transmission, in addition to acquiring a host of tools..equally productive in their own rights...

Yes you guessed right.. I am talking about GMAIL and Google Desktop Search.....these I would say gave the Invincibles in the respective businesses a run for their money, sudden jolt in the form of an advanced technology competitor. Nobody could take the user for granted when innovation is your competitor. Yahoo and Microsoft have had to bear the brunt in the upcoming of Google as a technology company. GMAIL giving 1 GB of email space, and holding one such account was a matter of pride until late last year....now has set standards for people to expect from email service providers. People were happy with 10MB provided by yahoo..until GMAIL came ....but people want more now...and expect atleast of 1 GB of email space..and 1 Terra Byte of email spaces are becoming common place..because of the invasion of Google into this market.

Google Desktop Search was again a revolutionary Idea, because people were getting sick with MS Windows' F3....which would use all your CPU time and would still return empty handed....on most of the search queries...Agreed the technology for these searches were different, but I would not mind trading off some hard disk space for getting Information on demand..that too with HDDs of 40 + Gbs of space. I use GDS to the best possible extent in my workplace. No more should I have to remember where I kept that mail my customer sent me on a trivial issue which doesn't require immediate attention!!! The clinching factor here is that GDS as opposed to the other worthy contenders like Copernic, MSN DS or Yahoo DS, doesn't use too much of memory for Indexing and the fastest to return the information, that too with a Web Interface...more like accessing the web. I still remember people having been fascinated seeing with my efficiency in “information on demand”.....courtesy GDS... an open secret. When you have GDS, you can offload the information searching part of your work with Google and concentrate on more productive things.. food for thought for managers out there!!!

Google realized in due course that just in-house innovations will not keep it hot, and started acquiring smaller technology/product companies...going the Microsoft way...a few examples being Picasa, Hello Blogger, Google Earth and a host of others..I don't even remember the names...to hell with my memory....anyways...Google Earth surprised one and all with its utility value particularly within US...all this during the time Googlewas preparing its gOFFICE and launched its Google Talk. The applications of Google somehow unfailing have the Killer Punch to knockout the competitor's stuff..hahaha...but the winner is the user...who has very good choice now, with Google having broken the monopoly in almost all personal computing domains, like IM, Mail, Desktop, Web, etc.,

gOFFICE, I would say would be the beginning of a new way to look at technology and IT. A helluva idea of Web based office suite...would definitely reduce piracy of office suites, esp. in India...A revolutionary concept indeed, I am completely justified with the adjective here...revolutionary..!!!!

I read tech-blogs floating information about a web-based OS, also called WebOS, as Google's next poser for cutting-edge information technology, Earnestly waiting to see the architecture of this supposedly tech marvel!!!

Lets keeping googling around till that day when GoogleOS is flashed as a news at www.google.com

Ghazini / Ghajini - Movie Review

2005-10-05T01:52:00.000+05:30

Surya has matured as an actor, versatility is his forte and is setting standards that one can expect safely from him movie after movie....Technical gloss and Surya are the main armoury for this Ghajini...:-)

Being a die-hard Shankar fan, I was pretty sure, that Tamil Cinema or for that matter Indian cinema will take its own sweet time to reach or match the technical brilliance on display in any Shankar film...and u know what, I had to eat my words..for the better of Tamil Cinema, for once I was proud...because here is a movie which is very good advertisement for Tamil Cinema. It was out and out technical extravaganza on display for close to 60 minutes, split over 2 halves in the start and the end of the movie.

Yeah...and according to me that was it.....nothing more extravagant about the movie...Believe me....the excitement that is setup with the introduction of the indisposed surya....had it been matched in entirety or at half of it....the movie would have gone far beyond diwali date, coz the movie will have to pay the casualty for the delayed release...as it has already eaten too much into the diwali deadline...and the producers of the movie..will have to pay for it...dearly...because the movie does not have the killer punch of Ramanaa..or the purpose of Kaaka Kaaka....

The main drab part of the movie...is the flashback of the Hero...that extends beyond the bar, a tad too far...spilling over three separate narrations which is quite irritating for the eye and the mind..because there is nothing special in the flash back....except for Surya's looks..
--which are stunning...he is getting smarter by the day....and is getting there for the tag that his father once held as his forte...young and sweet at heart--
Asin is looking the damsel she needs to be...nayantara..disappoints with her emoting....unwanted skin show is not expected out of this movie...which is devoid of any serious comedy...so the song sequences are just fillers for such a strong storyline...and the movie could as well go without atleast 3 of the five songs...If you ask me....

and yes..coming to the other credits holders...the music..Harris Jeyaraj..I am seriously at dismay with the kind of re-recording he has been dishing out movie..after movie....too loud...and unnecessary for the scenes..I felt exactly the same with Thotti Jaya, as well. So I felt a sense of distaste here. Songs..one felt a sense of belonging only for the melodies...just two in number..:-)

The video-editing is absolutely great...and visually grand...good work...the climax fight sequence is one very good example for this..plus the song sequences., Locations are equally grand to fit Sanjay Ramaswami's attitude....mood..and costume in the songs.

The other characters in the movie..not many in number...though played their part..Riyaz Khan did well in whatever he got...a raw deal in the meaty role I would say...Pradeep Rawat..the usual Villain..the only difference being double the villainy...hahaha....

The biggest credit to the movie..inspite of all these snides...is that the story line, though quite complex has been dealt with aplomb in the screenplay and reality never taking a beating. Surya..I would say has done his role exceedingly well...full marks to him....but one felt he was under utilized if we take Nanda and Kakka Kakka as standards....

Overall, happy with the movie...but...not satisfied..rest assured that this movie will surely treat the audiences until Diwali...thats for sure...

Ah ... Aah...[Anbe..Aruyire..] - Movie Review

2005-09-19T13:49:00.000+05:30

A unique name...to begin with and a unique subject as well for a base. Appreciable if I could say in a solitary word. But there is a lot more for a successful film and maybe...just maybe for the first time in 4 movies has SJ Suryah faltered in his quest. This could be attributed to the umpteen number of problems that have befallen him after his last venture NEW.

Anyways on to the main course...the movie starts off with Suryah giving a short intro and what to expect in the movie...fast becoming his opening style...infact very relevant to this one...more so because of the new way of story narrating technique that has been given form...he clearly spells out what the audience have to bear in mind.

It all starts off with the petty fights between the happy lovers.:-)...looks cliched..but thats the way it is...each deeply in love for the other..caring for each other...this slowly starts to become possessive in Suryah's case..mainly because of the restaurant business that she partner's with a friend's brother..that they split in a bit of madness from both Nila and Suryah. It is Interval...and u have already had 3 of the 6 songs...

Come back after a break and it is all blue...:-)...yeah..the feelings that one have for each other...have been given form, shape and dress..blue at that..you cant complain because you have been mentally prepared by the director saying.."people who roam around in blue costume in the second half are not literal humans..but their inner-self and the feelings of that person". So the inner-self of the lead pair happily roam around the split couple..and try to woo their dreams of uniting the couple...and succeeding at the end..which in any case should happen..;-)....because the inner-self characters are imaginary..the director has taken liberties at will and crossed bars at places...and made it completely hilarious at places..certainly enjoyable...

One should admit that songs from AR Rahman are certainly a big..big PLUS..for the movie...because the picturization leaves a lot to be desired...I really dont understand why half of the songs have been shot completely with graphics...which in this case is certainly a fall-out...as the graphics used are stale...and begin to irritate the eye..I thought....just because the audio has become popular..people would bear these songs..I believe...Suryah...you haven't scored here...

The handicap of the movie I should say..are Suryah's HANDY skills...they stick out...and are sick...one gets irritated again here...I really did...too much of hand movement distracted the scenes ..I felt....could have controlled a chunk of it...for...the fortune of the movie is at a balance now...

On the outlook from a viewer's perspective...though the movie sparkles with the story handling....suryah's directorial touch and the songs from ARR..a handful of the sequences are loaded with double meaning..unwanted diagloues which definitely makes faces go askew...the movie lacks the freshness NEW had....looks pointless at places..

Ah..Ahh.. is Average..but..still..enjoyable..:-)

Salaam Namaste - Movie Review

2005-09-19T10:30:00.000+05:30

Let me tell you at the outset..this one is for the lovable rascals of today..so contemporary it is in its theme..that It would take some time for the elderly crowd to come to terms with the concept of Salaam Namaste

Realistic are the characters and cool is the outlook of the director that you never feel like watching a movie...but you are led to believe that this happens for a friend of yours in Australia..or United States..

Living-together is new for India, but will fast catchup here in Mother India as well, going by the pattern and craze for westernization...this will soon become the next hep thing...courtesy Salaam Namaste...as far as most of the public goes...this would be their first exposure to this concept...

But one should admit, the treatment has been decent and dignity personified..not just rosy and passionate. The current crop of hindi movies have been passionate...all about passion..bold but senseless at times... anyways that's not the case here..

Nik..aka Nikil Arora..is a chef-cum-architect, Ambar is a RJ-cum-Doctor in the making, as usual as the script goes, they are always at locker-horns...they have completely different perspectives of life, marriage, kids..but get attracted to each other at a point of time and decide to make a logical and rational decision to stay together and get to understand each other rather than calling themselves lovers...run around trees and do the also-rans stuff...good for them...;-) then comes the usuals and one fine morning, ambar is pregnant, and wants the baby much to the chagrin of nik, who is against this...and there begins a china wall...which grows bigger..all the way...through a script which makes sure that it grows stronger and stronger until the last few scenes...Nothing much to crave about as such in the story after the rift..but there is a lot to crave about in the realism and freshness of the treatment.

The climax comedy, I would say was unwarranted..the comedy pun intended there...was out of place, that could have been avoided..safely and still the movie would have been pleasant as it has been...

Little caemos as well, are not ruled out in this movie...Javed Jaffrey...wow...it was throughly enjoyable..harshad warsi's remarks... and abishek bachhan as the doctor...are all great...

->Saif Ali Khan as nik..is “cool as a cucumber” in NS Sidhu's very own terms..fits exactly..with his looks, fashion statements, accent..perfect..you could say...

->Preity Zinta as Ambar is intellectual and emotional all at once..good sketch of a character and given a pretty shape by preity..good work.

-> The locales in australia..are stupendous and absoultely eye-catchy..fantastic..the choice of houses..would make any indian crave for such houses here..:-)

Over all – a feel-good movie..with its share of emotions, rationales and sluggish parts..though the theme is slightly out of place, the movie will surely catch up riding on its stars..very good rendition from the lead stars...I would say...

Inspiron, iPod and Me

2005-09-14T21:38:00.000+05:30

This is my first article in about three months...have been through a very tight schedule in my work place. This is my first document in my new laptop....and yeah...u guessed right...this is about my laptop. I am now an owner of a DELL Inspiron 6000. This is my first face-off..if you can call it that way..with a laptop of any kind. Truly amazing is technology....technology that is driving the world......Have been fortunate enough to be part of this Tech freaky band wagon...of late.... Bcoz... I am using an Industry standard MP3 player...called iPod. A Industry standard notebook DELL and an Industry standard mobile phone..NOKIA...all making a statement of their own..in terms of technology advancements they provide.

DELL though a veterean in the space of Notebooks....is fascinating enough and shores up to face any newcomer in its domian. iPod has certainly revolutionized the space of portable audio devices...and has its competitors still groping for foot hold after the iPod storm....the variety of solutions that iPod provides is amazing..not one who has checked out my iPod ...has not said.."amazing..true technological marvel"..still waiting for a person to say something else...:-)

What these gadgets give you is complete mobility and unmatched comfort..that is if you are a tech freak..and would be wanting to use them all through the day..live with the technology it provides...then you are game for it and it snugly fits where you want it to....in your daily chores.... certainly I am one such...geek...who is passionate about these technological advancements...and thrilled to use them...so..here I am sharing the same with the readers...

Never have I dreamt of using these till my college days..though have fancied myself to use them..hahaha..yeah fancied fits the place holder for an adjective here.. :-D Having these gadgets...and getting inspired to write something about these might sound out of place for some people...I can sense some askew faces....but my friends..and people who relate to what I say will be able to identify with the passion I am sharing.

I am basically passionate about music..not the hep kind of music....I seldom listen to English music...not even Hindi Music...I feel tamil music has enough to feed tamilians...tons to explore..and identify and enjoy....for example...Illayaraja's Thiruvaasagam ..what helluva quality music that is...haven't heard such in years...you get transported to Illayaraja's mesmerising world..the world he wants us to be in when you listen to him... so a music player for me is a logical progression....

Laptop has been in my dreams for the past one year...and has become a reality now...

So its time for me to enjoy these funky devices...and stop blabing about....

Cheers,
Rajesh

Iqbal - Movie Review

2005-09-13T06:42:00.000+05:30

Parallel cinema - anything that is away from the run of the mill should be parallel cinema...if this is your definition for the term...then you will fit the audience criteria...this one is certainly for you..to gladden your senses...I certainly am an avid parallel cinema fan of Bollywood...the rahul boses, nagesh kukunoors are my likings...and this IQBAL did nothing to weaken my opinion....

One movie which is so refreshing in this masala world....three cheers to kukunoor...for this brave effort..one should not call this brave..because that is what Nagesh kukunoor is known for..his clan of movies...

The characterization is strong, powerful and stays in your senses....even long after the movie..which is definitely the greatest plus for the movie....ever actor fits snugly to their character...the small girl..and naseeruddin shah to be precise apart from shreyas talpade.......he is a real find....he emoted quite brilliantly and well enough for everybody to relate with him. The victory for the character being, nobody would sympathize with Iqbal but would enjoy his character, had Iqbal been slightly remorse..the central theme of the movie would have taken a beating...

Credit definitely to the director for the cheerful narration of the struggle of the young man against all adversities...the first half especially the naseeruddin shah sequences...are seriously hilarious yet meaningful and relevant to the central theme of the movie..

Naseerudin Shah is not at all surprising in this role....he is absolutely great as MOHIT..the former Ranji Cricketer...I enjoyed every minute of his on-screen presence and charisma.....

Everybody...every character is neatly etched out as lines in a ruled notebook, no incongruity...that was one thing very evident right through the movie.....mostly to the credit of the movie....girish karnad, Iqbal’s father, the other boy kamal, every body displayed just the needed emotions for their roles....

Climax...that arrived without too much hype or hoopla...and stayed at that same vein and we were at the end of the movie....which was actually enjoyable.... I would say this is much better and real-to-life narration of a cricket story.....than Lagaan, which was more fantasy oriented...playing cricket with physically disabled in a normal game....was like asking too much from them.....anyways..no snide intended at lagaan, just a perspective in comparison to Iqbal....

Overall, glad at heart..at the end of the movie...would certainly vouch for this movie..among my friends....which is the best way you can popularize a movie...my opinion...:-)

Oru Naal Oru Kanavu - Movie Review

2005-09-08T11:40:00.000+05:30

I really expected stuff of a different kind from this versatile technician Fazil. How many stellar movies we have seen from him in Tamil itself, leave alone his malayalam movies...... I should say I am completely shocked, at dismay after having watched this 2.5 hour school drama. Frankly, this should compete only with school plays....still can’t comprehend or come to terms with how Fazil could come up with such a slip-shoddy tale-telling......

To begin with, you get to see srikanth as a youthful, enthusiastic guy...little did he know that he was over-doing what was expected out of him....he has been good when he is subdued like his role in Manasellam....these kind of roles somehow don’t suit him well, he should be careful and choosy about such roles....his characterization lacks clarity, he being skillful in all jobs under the sun... somehow doesn’t gel with the plot....the characters in his workplace...stick out and never fit the story line as one is used to in Fazil’s movies....nevertheless, there are couple of scenes which evoke a grin or two in the audience...

Characterization is the weak link all through the movie..infact a big hole in the ship....and particularly the faces that render the characters on screen are pathetic..to say the least....particularly when srikanth is so affectionate towards his sisters and family, you expect the characters and their portrayal to be powerful on screen, but they never stir a bit of emotion, save his mother’s character.....This is primarily because of a host of malayalam faces on screen, which seriously sticks apart from the whole tale....

My first after thought on the movie was that fazil must have been in kind of a real hurry to get this movie out of his box..and never cared about a thing except the music....the only saving grace and inspiring thought about the movie.... Music would be the only thing that can take this movie any far....Il(s)ayaRaja is as usual his genius self. The song “Kaartil Varum Geeetham” is a lilting number that would linger in our ears for years...seriously some soul stirring stuff from Raja....I am yet to recover from his Thirvaasagam and here he has dished out another gem from his stable....except for a couple of needless songs...all the others are good...and of Raja’s standard....

Over all Disappointment..to the core....at the exit point from the theatre...visible in the faces of the people who payed for this lack lusture and listless serving from Fazil......where is the fazil we have known....sir..?????

Anniyan - Movie Review

2005-06-20T22:30:00.000+05:30

Howdy,

First things first..... Overall a roller coaster ride for the Tamil Movie Goer. Shankar should be definitely credited for this masterpiece.

The movie had built-up so much of hype due to many a reason..some not so comfortable.....

a) Boys had brought in a lot of reputation damage for Shankar.

b) Shankar, splitting up with ARRahman and teaming with Harris Jeyaraj....for the first time in his 10+ years of cinema....

c) A huge gap of 2 years for Shankar..filled with expectations.

d) Teaming with Vikram, who had become a top grosser product by the time the movie was made....expectations were literally sky-high for this supposedly Social entertainer...

e) Adding to all these were the initial promos, showing Vikram in various make-overs....each one, exiciting...

Every Tamil movie buff waited for this one to arrive...and it finally arrived on the scene on 17th June 2005....

The movie starts off with the "I Hate Disorder", Rules Ramanujam....that 3 word sentence really summed up the character's sketch...nothing more would have been needed. I would say, I really enjoyed the first hour more so, because I was able to relate to his idealogy though I would be grossly against the ideology, if I say I am able to follow all of his ideas..;-)....but nevertheless, a forthright stickler to principles...a very good make-over to match his ideology...I would say.. each of his experience could have happened to any of us in our day-to-day life...so realistic were they, that I got completely engrossed into the plot and started to sympathise for Ambi...

Each of his experience, leading him to the www.anniyan.com website was interesting stuff. One definite applause should be for the they were able to visualize the search technology through graphics, it could have easily been a straight serach result display, but hatz off to sujataha and Shankar for visualizing the web search, which is definitely new to the general public. The interesting and skillfull use of Special effects and graphics are the high points of the movie, which really adds to the fizz of the movie....and lights up the viewer's mind with Joy... Appreciable work.

What should one comment of Vikram- the Real Life Saga..now turning into a perfect story line for a new movie...;-)...or an epic should I say....One is left wondering how much of vikram we would have seen if he were given the right break 15 years back..???? anyways...on to the maincourse.... he was simply stunning. Be it looks, dialogue delivery, facial expressions, the homework he has done for each of the roles...his screen persona....wowwww....I am getting excited....

He gets acrosss as a clear stickler to rules..in Ambi's role...much to the chagrin of one and all..including his lady love, Sada...aka..nandhini....

He is absolutely kewl...in REMO...the Ramp walk model...dudes..have u ever seen a more handsome tamil hero, who hits your heart straight with that One song sequence, Kaadhal Yaanai.....I would say that role fitted him just like the fairytale story's charcters.....so kewl was his outlook , that you almost mistoook him for an american dude....;-)

Anniyan...the Society Saviour...this character though having clear traces of SENAPATI, the old man, you would get to the seat edges with each of his encounters....such was the excitement generated.... It is clearly evident why, Vikram did not accept any other movie offer until Anniyan was completed...So much is the intensity involved in each role, that you would do injustice to these roles, if given step-motherly treatment....Think of the number of heroes who would do this.....not even a handful.....:-)

The story and screenplay....looks like shankar decidedly took a clear subject and carved it as a winner all through... One cannot withhold the skillful and deft handling of the storyline, esp.. the screenplay..logical reasoning for each turning point....Shankar has learnt his basics right...I should say... The Garuda Puranam as the guiding factor is a good feature addition for the strong social message that the film tries to convey.... Each endeavor and encounter of Anniyan are meaningful and would have happened to most of us... The MPD...has been given clear and lucid treatment which wasn't the case with many earlier tamil movies....perfectly logical and reasonable, that I felt that even I and you would have these personlities within ourselves....what say????

SONGS....I hope by now this article is getting too predictable....but cant help it....:-)...The songs 5 in number have elevated song sequences to an all time new high, which would be unreachable by any indian cinema for quite some time, simply beacause of the fact that, nobody else puts in so much of effort into songs...which Shankar does painstakingly and I belive he loves that...... Each having a theme, and not being thrust into the movie are definite plusses....

Kumari.....visually stunning,

Ayyangaaru veetu ..... artistically beautifulll.....

Kaadhal Yaanai ...... All about Yana Gupta and Vikram...the song seems to have run through in jiffy...so fast and peppy...

Kannum Kannum Nokia ..... Wow....can Sada look more better ever...???? Terrific locations from Kuala Lampur Airport.....

Randakka Randakka .... A true folklore....feel....They have painted government roads and bridges for this sequence...shows how far people can go for their passion towards their cinema....:-)

Sujatha...I am wondering if he reallly deserves the age he is ...??? He is so young and refreshing in his dialogues that people who dont know Sujatha...the writer...will be pleasantly surprised to meet the original sujatha....I loved so many clinchers and snippets nicely interspersed with the other wise heavily loded subject.... the "mooku oootai mathiri veedu" ....the "nee oru nasai" ... " I hate Disorder"....the sarcastic Vivek's interludes....so many and so little space to write...I have really started to await movies with Sujatha's expertise...

It is not true that Like Poles REPEL.......... Like minded people like Shankar, Sujatha and Vikram will always jel and when in unison can give you something like Anniyan....thats the talent levels KollyWood can boast of...

One can say, only Shankar could have given such a once-in-life-time role for Vikram.... and

only Vikram could have given this refreshingly new and stellar performance for Shankar's brainchild ANNIYAN...

So its an out and out SHANKAR and VIKRAM COMBINE...which has taken a vow to give true and high quality entertainment and have done the STAND-AND-DELIVER to perfection.....

Thaanks to everyone..who have bared with my opinion so far....quite long ...in fact.....

now its time for you to head straight to the theatres..to watch this action flick....if you haven't seen it yet.....

or go on and see the movie a second time, if you have already seen this epic from Shankar like me......which is what I am gonna do this weekend....again...;-)

Bye,
Rajesh

Sneak Preview to my next Article

2005-05-02T16:09:00.000+05:30

Howdy,

Do remember to return back to this site for my next article on "How is it to be a software engineer in India?" .....Its all about what a software engineer-the new found buzz word in India- goes through in the face of the community.....

Coming soon....

Rajesh Prakasam

Going through a BombScare

2005-02-03T21:10:00.000+05:30

Good Day!!

How is to be through a BOMB SCARE..??? have you ever been through it?? or even thought of it?? I hope most of the people would have just seen it in Movies and TV...:-)... I have actually been through it.

It was the summer of hatred in Bangalore,Karnataka, when regionalism was conspicous in the air. It was 2004 June and I was new to bangalore by about 6 months...with a very scant knowledge of Kannada. Bangalore being the youngest metropolis in India has a high percentage of outside popluation and naturally other language movies like Hindi and Tamil obviously fared well than Kannada movies....which were a far cry from the professional aproach of tamil and hindi cinema.. The kannada film producers saw an oppurtunity and raised hue and cry about the supposedly step-motherly treatment given to kannada movies by the theatre owners and insisted the government that non-kannada movies be banned for a seven week ban from the date of their original release...a so called moratorium...this sparked a huge protest from the theatre owners in Bangalore...leading a few theatres shutting down...there was tension in the air where ever the non kannada movies played and it was visible...

This being the situation, there was this remake of the now famous MunnaiBhai MBBS in tamil with KamalHaasan in the lead role and I was very curious to watch this hilarious flick after seeing the effortless rendering by Sanjay Dutt...So my friend and me went to a theatre which was in the old bangalore area....we got the tickets..I was the first to get the tickets for that show..I was quite happy infact looking forward to that movie..as it was close to three months since I saw a tamil movie in theatre....That was the first day of the movie and first show of that film in the theatre for that day and they were cleaning the theatre and I was hoping they would open the door gates atleast 30 mins before the show...but the wait continued till fifteen minutes after the slated time of the show...but no signs of neither the management opening the show nor informing us of what is happening and I was getting wild as usual when I am not informed of what I should be...:-)....

Another 15 minutes and then comes the slightest hint and I find a couple of Police Officers, Inspectors I guess... coming in their famed Yellow bikes...another beeline of 4 officers come in another 15 minutes and I am kind of taking grasp of the situation trying to relate things in space!!!!....and then comes the final pointer a sniffer dog is planted into the scene and there creeps in panic in the faces of the anxious people..and the buzz word spreads and as we are trained in such sequences..through a spate of movies..;-)...we guess that there should have been a bomb threat call and hence the delay in the show....And as ever we were able to relate this incident to the 7 week moratorium for non kannada movies..more so because this broke the convention and was released before the moratorium ended.....

Me and my friend were in a catch 22 situation of whether we should stay on to see the movie or escape from the scene!!!...were not exactly sure as to what to do.....we wanted to buy time...bought it..and finally..after another 30 mins...the security gates were opened and people were let in after the police cleared the place of any bomb..:-)

But I was not exactly convinced..(being a person who will not get convinced of any matter unless I check it for myself..)..but still the temptation and passion for movies pulled me right into the theatre.

Into the movie deeply engrossed was I, but then there was a lateral thought line about the hoax call....how could one get rid of that??? The split personality ( if I can use that word now!!) in me trotted out...one wanting to see the movie completely..the other to run away as soon as possible...and move away from the threat...

But then a third thought process intruded and reminded me that Danger was there in every minute of life...what if the Bus I go after this meets with an accident??? or any thing unexpected that can happen???..what not ..all these negative thoughts were playing their part one after the other..in no particular order...again and again..though I was completely impressed with the way the movie was made..laughed my way out of the theatre. I could have moved out of the theatre immediately after the hoax call was informed..but then there is no thrill in living such a life and I wouldn't have been richer with this rare experience....but then there was alluring danger which I was ready to part with...but by the end of the movie..I learnt a very good lesson that Danger Lies in Every Walk of Life...in every minute...It is upto how we look at it and how much of importance we give to be bothering about it!! Keep doing what you feel is right..be true to your heart and leave the rest to the ubiquitous.

Rajesh

Serena Williams and Grit

2005-01-31T17:35:00.000+05:30

Good Day!!!

People who had a chance to watch the Australian Open Women's Finals (Serena Williams Vs Lindsay Davenport) would certainly agree with my comments and appreciate it. It was one match which people who dont belive in themselves should watch. They would certainly start believing in Self Confidence atleast..!!!!

Such was the comeback Williams staged at the Rod Laver Arena, truly historic in my perspective. The match started in the most uncharacteristic fashion for Serena, on the very first serve from Davenport, a complete miss from the champion. The game continued that way for another 15 minutes or so, with very few rallies and Davenport winning comfortably..she must have thought it to be a cakewalk..which wasn't to be....

Around this time, williams felt uncomfortable with her back and had to be treated in less than 30 minutes of the women's finals. She was even taken into the changeroom for treatment. Soon after serena's return, davenport took the first set 6-2. The second set too started with the now familiar davenport domination. Her serve was impeccable and returns precise and very good looking. The Top seed davenport almost was the winner with a set and a half in her kitty already. But it was Williams who was her opponent, the never say die young lady. Serena struggled until the mid of the second set in a very well played game right in the midway of the set. After which Serena stepped up the pedestal and went into top gear and never allowed the top seed to comeback into the match, winning nine straight games and taking the coveted trophy with her.

It was the result of a great heart and discipline that gave Williams the courage and power to overcome the opponent within her, in more than one way.

We, in our normal life can draw a lot of parallel from the game, this particular game of Tennis. We would be better off not counting ourselves offf too early, try our best till the end, who knows, we might as well achieve what the younger of the Williams achieved, in our own walks of life..!!!!

Think over it...you might strike gold!!!!

Bye,
Rajesh Prakasam

Indian Cricket 2004

2005-01-03T08:19:00.000+05:30

Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous new year, full of joyous moments and nothing else!! This is a look back on the indian cricket team's performance in the year 2004. For all practical purposes, 2004 was nothing but a dull patch, a feeble shadow of the mighty past of 2003. There may be differing views, saying India won the series in Pakistan....and good show in Bangladesh, but for close watchers, it was nothing but slip shod performance from the Men in Blue.The Pakistan series can be taken as an extension of 2003 as the Indians were in the same vigour and form, whatever you may call it. With the so called "Much Wanted Break" for the guys, they seem to have lost their basics and we were begining to see familiar performances akin to what we were seeing in Pre-Ganguly era( If I can call it that way..) they were never able to live up to their promise.

The Asia Cup, ICC Champions Trophy, Netherlands Videocon Cup, Natwest Challenge all reiterated the same in unequivocal terms..that the DAYS are GONE. This fact was validated later at the end of the year... from the appalling statistic that Indian Batting XI never managed to cross 250 in an ODI until the Bangladesh tour....where they crossed 300..courtesy the defeat to Bangladesh the previous match..:-(......

But there were positives as well for India XI in 2004, like Anil Kumble becoming the Highest Wicket taker in Tests for India, bowled I would at the best in his life time (remember his bowling in Australia); Sehwag dethroning Laxman for the highest test scores...and the most important carry forward I would say is the find of IRFAN PATHAN...what a bowler for India, I got a chance to see him bowl at the Bangalore test against Australia (though it was not great that match!!!)..but I could see what India can expect from this 19 year old...he has another good 10 + years for India if manages to stay fit; Also if you look keenly we also have a worthy third spinner in Murali Karthik; sadly Parthiv had to miss out of the race as he failed to do what he was hired to do primarily....:-(

Let's hope 2005 is a better one like its ODD predecessor for India..and builds up nicely for other events to come up before the all important 2007 world cup(its too far....but still.....)

cheers,
Rajesh Prakasam

President Abdul Kalam's Words..

2004-12-30T08:53:00.000+05:30

In connection to yday's writeup, quoting President Abdul Kalam's words from "The Hindu" ....

The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, called for a tsunami warning system along the entire Indian coastline on the lines of the one in the 27 Pacific nations, safeguarding them from distant source tsunamis.

``We can either have an Indian control centre that is connected to the Pacific tsunami warning centre or an indigenous integrated technological solution as a long term disaster management option,'' he suggested, addressing students of the University of Hyderabad from New Delhi over a videoconference, at its ninth convocation here on Tuesday.

In the 1970s, India had kept away from the Pacific tsunami warning system, which gives significant advance notice of the impending disaster to as many as 27 nations today, sometimes as much as three full hours.

``After an earthquake occurs beneath the seabed, it takes three hours for the dynamic waves of great height to build up. All communities within a three-hour travel time from the epicentre of the earthquake can be evacuated to safety thanks to the tsunami warning system. This only means that technologically there is a solution,'' Mr. Kalam said.

bye,
Rajesh

Tsunami

2004-12-29T17:00:00.000+05:30

Tsunami has created waves in and out of the sea......demolishing lives in thousands and leaving millions homeless and making them wonder "what in the world has happened??"......

The perspective is by an Indian..a South Indian at that....where TamilNadu is considered the Safety Abode....relatively free from communal riots, natural calamities!! This has caught tamilians unawares...completely off-guard...till this day...fourth day after the disaster..people still are locating their relatives, friends...I have heard second hand information about the dreaded wave....which has completely washed a Hospital, Church, et all in a place called Kalpakkam( famous for the Nuclear Reactor), near chennai...in the process washing out one of my friend's friend, who was a doctor on DUTY on that day....I wonder what kind of a design does nature have in mind???

I also had a point to ponder, whether the meteorological department in TamilNadu could have predicted this..and saved atleast those who unassumingly came to the beach to relax on that sunday morning....

At this time of grief...we Humans...should contribute to this....by whatever means possible...There are hundreds of ways u can contribute...If u are in India, you can send in ur contributions to THE HINDU or TIMES GROUP.....or any other charity organisation......avenues that just flashed in my mind..

please do your bit.....that could help redeem some lost faith.....

Interested on knowing about the Tsunami...

http://www.geophys.washington.edu/tsunami/intro.html

Bye,
Rajesh

My First Post

2004-12-28T17:42:00.000+05:30

Hey...Folks......

My first blog entry....!!!! quite excited..about..this..:-) ... look out for some interesting stuff in this blog spot....

Rajesh

Rajesh Prakasam

Growing Older...

My Post Cup-win Musings on Facebook

Nandhalala - Movie Review

First Impressions - Endhiran

My take on Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya

Vinnai Thandi Varuvaaya - Sound Track Review

Way to Wave - welcome NexGen!

A dash with the mystic

truly a rage! - twitter...by an old-skool guy

KA vs KL

Digest for May 2009!

My Salute to Mr.Dhoni!!

Khwaja Mere Khwaja!!

அக்ஷாராபியாசம்

Who the save Super Singer???

A Letter to Padmhasini

Blogging Reloaded.....

Yaro Yuvan-ukkul Raja-voo!!!!!

*Sivaji - The Boss* -> An Audio Review

Happy Birthday Trisha!!!

UBUNTU for DELL-ians

Amazed...is not the word!!!!!

WoUSB (World over USB)

*Sivaji* Vaaaram

Google - The new Free Wireless Service Provider

ThiruMagan - A Movie Review

HOWTO-SCREW-A-SONG-WITH-JUST-1-MINDLESS-DIRECTOR....-PORI-

this is it..I love you Shahrukh...:-)

GURU - A movie review

Half-century....:-)

Anton Stanislaus Balasingham - A Real Tiger

the realization

Under Production..coming soon

feeling YUCK....:-)

Need a Universal Remote a la *CLICK*

SMS ARR to 6363 for World Space Radio

Corporate - A movie review

Superman Returns - A movie review

Krrish - A movie review

The career called Modelling

Open Source obsession

A new Me - the alter blogger

Krrish - A Curtain Raiser

1000 Hits!!!

Mission : Impossible : III - A Movie Review

Eventful June till now!!

Orkutting (verb)

Pudhupettai - A Movie Review

The DaVinci Code - A Review

Is The Davinci Code getting released in India after all????

Ahhhh....the davinci code !!!!

Black May Day

In Defence of Kaavya - How Opal Mehta Got into Controversy

How Opal Mehta got Kissed, got Wild and got a Life - A Book Review

Dishoom - Movie Review

Deep Impact - Weekend

Kalvanin Kadhali - Movie Review

Internet Explorer 7 Beta - PREVIEW

Thambhi - Movie Review

Merger Announcement

An Incredible Experience

Thavamai Thavamirundu - Movie Review

World...BG...AG...

Ghazini / Ghajini - Movie Review

Ah ... Aah...[Anbe..Aruyire..] - Movie Review

Salaam Namaste - Movie Review

Inspiron, iPod and Me

Iqbal - Movie Review

Oru Naal Oru Kanavu - Movie Review

Anniyan - Movie Review

Sneak Preview to my next Article

Going through a BombScare

Serena Williams and Grit

Indian Cricket 2004

President Abdul Kalam's Words..

Tsunami

My First Post

Sivaji - The Boss -> An Audio Review

Sivaji Vaaaram

Need a Universal Remote a la CLICK