Google - The new Free Wireless Service Provider

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

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-

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

Blogged with Flock

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

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

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....:-)

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

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

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

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....:-)

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*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!!!

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

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!!

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)

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

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

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 ???!!!!