Top Stars of 2006...

Top Actors:
1. Jeeva(Dishyum, Aran and E)
2. Ajith(Paramasivan, Thirupathi, Varalaaru)
3. Kamal(Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu)
4. Vishal(Thimiru)
5. Bharath(AIBI, Pattiyal, Emtan Magan)
6. Simbu(Vallavan)
7. Madhavan(Thambi)
8. Dhanush(Pudhupettai)
9. Surya(SOK)
10. Vijay(Aadhi)

Top Actresses:
1. Jyothika(Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu, SOK)
2. Reema Sen(Vallavan, Thimiru)
3. Trisha(Aadhi, SSUE)
4. Nayanthara(Vallavan, E)
5. Sneha(Pudhupettai)
6. Sandhya(Dishyum)
7. Gopika(Emtan Magan, Aran)
8. Asin(Varalaaru)
9. Meera Jasmine(Kasthoori Maan)
10. Pooja(Pattiyal, Thambi)

Top 5 Kollywood Comedies 2006...

Top 5 Comedies in Tamil Cinema Industry for the year 2006:

1. Simbhu's interview before the release of Vallavan saying "I am the next Shankar after the release of vallavan. You will laugh at this now. But after the release of Vallavan you will regret for laughing now". I guess people know the brickbats he got for the direction in the movie and the long leaps he made before thinking.

2. Perarasu's interview before the release of Dharmapuri where he worried "No heroine was ready to act in my movie with Vijayakanth" Who will agree for that matter?? Even worse was his claim saying "Vijayakanth has danced very well in this movie. I have made him to dance like Vijay". Evryone knows the comedy that occured in the name of songs in the movie.

3. Meena's interview where she defended herself saying she is busy in Kannada and Malayalam when asked about why she is not acting in Tamil movies. She also made a big joke saying "I will act in Tamil movies provided I am offered roles like Trisha in Ghilli and Asin i n Ghajini" Mam, we prefer you sticking on to that "Lakshmi" crap on Sun TV.

4. Ajith fans' comment on TN Government move of slashing ticket rates: "Godfather(their hero's movie) collected 108 crores(!!!!??) :-o So hereafter no other movie can touch its collection. Even Rajini's movie" 108 kodiyaa??? Yappa!! aduthu Hollywood-la Ajith vechi padam pannaraanga pola.. Ivlo collection avangalum paathadhillayaam :P

5. Ajith fans' comment on Jyo-Simbu's Saravana placed ahead of their hero's movie Paramasivan in some TV countdown show: "Idayam Nallennai was sponsoring "TOP 10" and Jyothika is the owner of Idhayam nallennai, so it was given number 2 position" Ennapa neriya ennai oothi dosai saapta ennai company owner-a? :-D

P.S: Last two are comedies for any one who understands cinema and I have not posted them here just because I am a Vijay fan.

Pokkiri - Pudhu Puyal

Just one month before the release of Pokkiri, the songs of this film, one of the most anticipated audios of the year got released today. Its celebration Friday, another mini Diwali for Vijay fans. This review of mine is from a neutral point of view mostly, as I wanted to highlight both the pluses and minuses of the songs.

The major pluses of the album are:

• Its completely youth oriented. You can call it an album by the youth for the youth. The long list of new singers getting credits for the songs is a proof of it.
• It is a combination of class and mass genre. Anyone can sit and enjoy the album.

The minor disadvantages are:

• Some songs remind you of already heard songs in parts (though not the full song).
• The lyrics are crap in couple of songs. Considering the fact that Vijay has lots of kids fan following who recite his songs by-heart, such cheap lyrics won’t sound good in their mouth. Hope it will be taken care in future films.

Having said that lets get into the song by song review. Each song is evaluated for 50 points, on 5 important parameters, each on a scale of 10.

(Note: Charisma is chosen after a lot of search in MS Word dictionary. Don’t mistake it to be Kareena kapoor’s sister’s first name )

Aadungada Enna Suthi by Naveen

This is a typical Vijay introduction number and sure a treat for his fans. New face Naveen does a good job and his voice is refreshing though there is a slight lack of feel like the one in Tippu’s voice. Also the beats sound a bit like “Yemmadi Aathaadi” from Vallavan. Nevertheless, it is song that will have Vijay fans bringing the roof down. The chorus voices in the middle sounds like the ones in Deva’s old songs. That is one drawback. But lyrics are nicely written like “Cheri illa oorukulla porakka venum pera pulla… theepandham eduthu theendaamai koluthu”. Sure rocker!!!

Music: 9 Singers: 9 Lyrics: 9 Orchestration: 9 Charisma: 10

Total: 46/50

Dole Dole by Suchithra, Ranjith

Everyone knows the husky and unique voice of Suchithra. She recreates the magic she did in Telugu Pokkiri in this adapted song also. Ranjith, of course one of my favorite singers, is great as he did in telugu. The drawback is some of the opening lyrics which sounds odd but the lyrics of rest of the song is really nice. “Valapakkam suzhalum bhoomi pandhu thirumbi ida pakkam suzhaludhu unnaale..” Nothing genuine or new in lyrics. But sounds really good for the tune. One of the best picks of the album.

Music: 10 Singers: 10 Lyrics: 7 Orchestration: 10 Charisma: 10

Total: 47/50

Vasantha Mullai by Rahul Nambiar, V.Krishnamoorthy

This song the much hyped remix is one the picks of the album. Set with nice folk beats and a bit of olden day orchestration, it’s a very good effort. “Appo gaana thaan pidikume ippo melody-um pidikudhe, kushi iduppa mattum paathavan, ippo kanna nimirndhu thaan paakaren” “ Nambiyaar-a pol irundhene, MGR-a pol maathitaa” etc. The lyrics are naughty and very catchy. The actual remix of old TMS voice in the middle however reminds me the similar one in “Theepidikka Theepidikka” song.

Music: 8 Singers: 10 Lyrics: 8 Orchestration: 9 Charisma: 10

Total: 45/50

Thamizh Thamizh by Ranjith, Swetha

This is a nice melody sung by my favorite Ranjith again and Swetha, who I am 90% sure is the daughter of famous singer Sujatha. The song has a rap part also like in Kannum Kannumthaan(Thirupaachi) and Deepavali(Sivakaasi). But this rap is much better than the other two mentioned. The singers have done full justice to the song and the lyrics are good. The lyrics speak a lot about Thamizh, I guess it has something to do with Vijay’s name (Thamizh) in the fim. The remix of the same song is also neatly done without spoiling the melody. I can say that it is the best song of the album.

Music: 10 Singers: 10 Lyrics: 9 Orchestration: 10 Charisma: 9

Total: 48/50

(For both the original and remix versions)

Yuthame – The Pokiri theme

This partly adapted tune from “Jagadame” song in Telugu is neatly redone for Tamil. Few tamil lyrics and a small bit added to the end makes it right for the film’s theme. Hope it will be frequently repeated in the film’s BGM track.

Music: 9 Singers: 9 Lyrics: 9 Orchestration: 10 Charisma: 9

Total: 46/50

En chella peru apple by Suchitra, AV Ramanan

Again Suchitra takes credits for the same song she did in Telugu. This song though sounds ordinary in first listen, is sure to be better and better as you keep listening to it. Thats what happened for me with “Ippatikinka” of telugu Pokkiri. I could see a little more beats added for the Tamil version probably for the much-spoken-about dance of Vijay and Mumaith Khan for this song. The lyrics are again very ordinary, but okay for this club genre song. AV Ramanan entering music scene after a long time, has very little to offer with this song. Main credits for this song goes to the nice mixing.

Music: 9 Singers: 9 Lyrics: 6 Orchestration: 10 Charisma: 8

Total: 42/50

Maambazhamaam Maambazham by Shankar Mahadevan, Ganga

This is the least good song of the album and thanks that it is placed at the last. The main let down is the poor lyrics and the beats and tune reminding you of some Srikanth Deva’s kuthu numbers. Shankar Mahadevan is surprisingly very ordinary. The female credit mentioned as Ganga sounds like singer Mahalakshmi. Never mind, a fast number for front benchers. Though more responsibility relies on the picturisation. It could be recalled that Vijay’s dance in ordinary songs like “Kattu Kattu” from Thirupaachi made the song hit after film’s release. The same is likely to happen for this song too.

Music: 8 Singers: 9 Lyrics: 6 Orchestration: 8 Charisma: 7

Total: 38/50

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a grand average: 89%

(For comparision: I would rate Sivakaasi 80%, Sachien 90% and Aadhi 85%)

Verdict: Sounds very very good!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OMR–>OMG!!!

It is said that everything in this world exist in pairs.. Day and night, good and bad, rich and poor, man and woman, wife and happiness, tom and jerry hee hee… Soon this list will have one more addition- Old Mahabalipuram Road and New Mahabalipuram ditch.

Those who travel the stretch of OMR between Kottivakkam to Sholinganallur or beyond that will surely understand what my problem is. It was a great project to convert the OMR into IT highway with 6 lanes and all that. So the portion from Madhya Kailash to Tidel Park is reflecting the fact that India is shining

But beyond that, u can see the traditional Indian scenario where u will be taken in a roller-coster ride probably the worst ride in the whole of Chennai. Vehicles float on a non-existent entity called road which is comfortably replaced by beautiful ditches, thanks to seasonal rains.

I can understand that rain erodes road surfaces and its bound to happen every year. But can’t the same construction agency, which is involved in making the Madhya Kailash - Tidel Park stretch glitter more and more (and thereby impress the ministers), take care of this problems on the same road just some few kilometers away??

Not one week or two weeks… Almost a month is over since the rains stopped and even today u can find stagnated water with potholes under it and the size of these potholes is unknown until ur vehicle or u urself submerge in it.

The alternate route left(with a slightly better road) is the Velachery-Thorapakkam road, but u will get a free offer of inhaling the whole stink of Chennai city in the few seconds u pass through the dump yards along way. And if u try to open ur mouth against this, u will even swallow a good amount of that toxic waste-cum-rotten garbage-cum-hospital waste scent inside ur mouth.

People are suffering for the past one month, yet no reforms are made… Leave out the techies traveling in company shuttles. But my heart goes out for those common people who additionally suffer this pain of traveling in bad roads in addition to experiencing the pain of traveling in old green boxes running in the name of buses.

Of course, what else can be expected in a state where government is more concerned about erecting statues, growing language and fighting with opposition than worrying about common man??? Too bad I say!!!

Top movies of 2006!

Top 10 Best Movies of 2006: The best movies of 2006 in my opinion, based on public response, entertainment value, box office, theme, script and star value.

1. Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu
2. Pattiyal
3. Thiruttu Payale
4. Imsai Arasan
5. Dishyum
6. Pudhupettai
7. Varalaaru
8. E
9. Thimiru
10. SSUE

Best efforts of 2006: Movies that missed out in the previous list due of lack of some aspects.

1. Chithiram Pesudhadi
2. Thambi
3. Paarijaadham
4. Vallavan
5. Kodambakkam
6. Thalai Nagaram
7. Uyir
8. Aran
9. Emtan Magan
10. Azhagaai Irukiraai Bayamaai Irukiradhu

Best Songs of 2006.....

Following up with previous post, now its list of best songs of 2006. Its all my opinion and my tastes. So opinions may differ.

Top 10 Best Songs: The best songs of the year in terms of picturisation, lyrics, lead actors, cinematography, editing and choreography.

1) Manjal Veyil from Vettaiyadu Vilayaadu
2) Newyork Nagaram from Sillunu Oru Kaadhal
3) Yammaadi Aathaadi/Loosu Penne from Vallavan
4) Nenjaankootil Neeye from Dishyum
5) Unnai Kandene from Paarijaadham
6) Idam Porul Paarthu from Chithiram Pesudhadi
7) Poga Poga from Pattiyal
8) Un Paarvayil from SSUE
9) Aadivaa Paadivaa from Imsai Arasan
10) Eadho Ninaikiren from Thalainagaram

Other 10 Best Songs: These are songs which were good to hear than watch. They missed out in some minor aspects which otherwise would have placed them in the previous list.

1) Olli Olli Iduppe from Aadhi
2) Ragasiyamaanadhu Kaadhal from Kodambakkam
3) Taj Mahal from Kalvanin Kaadhali
4) Sudum Nilavu from Thambi
5) Goli Gundu Kannu from Emtan Magan
6) Oru Naalil from Pudupettai
7) Innisai Alabedaiye from Varalaaru
8) Kansimittum Nerame from Uyir
9) Poonjolai Kiliye from Aran
10) Poi Solla Poren from Thiruttu Payale

Best and Worst of 2006….

We are nearing the end of 2006… A recap of Bests and Worsts for this year in Kollywood. More to follow soon…

(Thanks for the inputs from Hell’s Angel)

Best All Rounder: Simbhu
Best Comeback: Ajith Kumar
Best New Face (Male): Sundar C(Thalainagaram)
Best New Face (Female): Shriya Reddy(Thimiru)
Best Comedian: Vadivelu(Many movies)
Technically Brilliant Movie : Pattiyal
Best Remade Movie: SSUE
Best New Talent: Paarijaadham music director Dharan
Best Non-Commercial Movie: Chithiram Pesudhadi
Best Remixed Song: Ennadi Muniyamma from Vaathiyaar
Best Negative Role: Sangeetha in Uyir
Best Producer: Oscar Ravichandran
Best Supporting Actor: Prabhu(SSUE)
Best Supporting Actress: Bhoomika(SOK)
Best Singer(Male): Tippu for Something Something from SSUE
Best Singer(Female): Shreya Ghosal for Munbe Vaa from SOK
Best Lyrics: Thamarai for Paartha Mudhal Naale from VV
Best ad featuring cine star: Fanta Ad by Trisha(Vaasu sir)
Best reel pair: Vijay-Trisha
Best real pair: Surya-Jyothika
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Worst Actor: Ravikrishna (Second consecutive time for KD)
Worst Actress: Namitha (Second consecutive time)
Worst Remade Movie: Aadhi
Worst Movie: Kovai brothers
Worst Song: Karuvaa Payya from Thoothukudi
Worst Singer: Jazzie Gift
Worst Look of the Year: Ajith (Thirupathi and Paramasivan)
Worst debut(Male): Prithviraj(son of Pandiyarajan)
Worst debut(Female): Illeana(KD)
Worst ad featuring cine star: Fair and Handsome ad by Surya
Worst scene of the year: Paarijaadham(Heroine calling the crow scene)
Worst thriller: Yuga
Worst Star cast: Paasa Kiligal

The Music of Diwali

Wishing everyone a very Happy and Colorful Diwali!!!

Diwali in TamilNadu is usually not just a festival of lights, but also festival of light and sound. Thanks to the continuous trend of Diwali movie releases. This time we have around half a dozen movies compared to 3 last year, as there are no movies from superstars this time...

Coming to the topic, out of all new songs that I saw throughout the day, (Courtesy: Jobless Cable Channels) I would say the bestest in terms of visual experience was "Yammaadi Aaathadi" from Simbu's Vallavan. Knowing how good a dancer Simbu is and the glamourous screen presence of Reema Sen one cannot expect anything less.

But the surprise package was Nayanthara. It was really a delight to watch a totally slimmed down Nayanthara performing fast dance movements in a way no one could expect out of her.(Jollu jollu....) And wehn Simbu leans down and exclaims "Yemma!!!" pointing his hands to her hip, actually we too feel the same way... Nayanthara rocks!!! (Podhum jollu!!!)
So that was the visuals based topper. But the listening pleasure for me was "Ennadi Muniyamma un kannula mayyi" from Vaathiyaar... Heard these lines anywhere?? Yes egjactly, the remix version of the same old superhit song. Especially the brief transition in between to "Otha rooba thaaren", a similar tuned song is really good.

Sung by Karthik with Imman's remixed tunes and rap interludes from Blaaze, I would rate it as the most fresh number this Diwali, an unexpected one. Tamil folk rockz any day (Vallavan and Varalaaru songs are in rounds for a very long time and started sounding stale to me by this time, and other movies music-nothing noteworthy)

Old Memories....

I had been to Perungalathur last week where we have a own house of ours... Seeing the Guava tree in front of my house brought back old memories, and a feeling of pride and happinesss filled up my heart...

It was a small sapling of Guava which some how came up some 10 yrs back... Me a lover of Guava fruit watered it whenever I can and it grew up very slowly... Many a times it went down, started dying but i have constantly feeding it everything from well water to waste powder from coffee filter :-D

When I left the house for my studies 6 years back it grew as big as a small tree to tie up ropes for drying clothes. :-) Today it stands much taller than me yielding dozens of guava fruits every season. And its all sweet, I don't remember eating even a single sour fruit from that tree...

Well, its a great feeling to see the tree I had grown like a child feeding lots of people today. I had watered and taken care of four Coconut trees in the same compound, one of them is now giving back yields like gold. Hee hee, my works paying off!!! :P

Random Thoughts for the month….

1) The present CM and Ex-CM of TamilNadu are very busy these days fighting about lives, wives, marks, remarks, etc etc. Will they ever find some time to actively debate on the future plans for Tamil Nadu and the people of TamilNadu? When so many are making it difficult to make both ends meet, so many die starving for food, what is the use of supplying TV sets to poor? Will these guys ever accept constructive criticism??

2) Yet another award function, the Filmfare, with results known prior to the telecast. And anyone could easily guess the winners even if it was not announced earlier, because only those who will receive the award will attend the function. Other nominees silently stay away from it… What a professionalism!!!!! And the performances of so-called stars at these fuctions.. The lesser said about it the better.

3) Vijayakanth is said to have started the shooting for Dharmapuri and this time he has Lakshmi Rai around, to fall for his killer looks and the cutest smile on the earth. Where as the no-wonder dud from Sathyaraj family, the small monkey Sibiraj has grown hair in the left out parts of his body and is acting with Nila of SJ Surya fame… Can anyone save Tamil Cinema from the clutches of wild animals???

4) My sister still shivers while narrating the incident that happened to her and her friends in Marina Beach last week. Drunken cannibals have eve-teased them while on their way to AIR, speaking all non-sense and daring to catch hold of a girl’s dupatta. The boys of her class have come for the rescue- the rascals were beaten up and driven away. Will these rouges running after female beauty and flesh ever get some good sense???

5) Suryan FM is broadcasting promo ads for “Kalaingnar”’s regime in TamilNadu. Never knew that mass media can be used as Campaign Medium. Thankfully Amma doesn’t own any radio station. Or else, we might have to listen to hues and cries of “Suffering” people throughout he day in that channel. ;-)

6) Anna University run FM, don’t know what it is called, jams with the signal of other FM stations very badly, especially Suryan FM. It happens every time any vehicle playing FM crosses the limits of Anna University. Those who have experienced it knows how annoying it is… It is horrible to listen to that channel from AU even for a few seconds!!!

7) When I was in primary school, there used to be few bitches in the name of teachers who would punish guys by taking off their shirts and making them stand outside the class. Worst is the case of girls, where these bitches would wish to see them undressed by few guys whom they thought does it well… Many times a literal rape kinda scene happens in the class!!! We were at second or third class at that time, so we were laughing at it. But when I think of it today, it sends shivers down my spine. No idea what those teaching bitches and their favorite dress removing goonda students are doing now!!!! Thank God I didn’t study there for long!!!

Hmm… that’s all for now. Will be back with more ones later :-)

May Maadham in September....

I watched May Maadham again for the nth time today. Still, it seemed like I was watching it for the first time. The amazing music, background score, cinematography and a tinge of realism till the "Minnale.." song ... All these and lots more impress me everytime I watch it. I have already spoken enough about the movie :P

"En kitta ellame irukku.. Aana Sandosham illa... Unga kitta onnum illatiyum neenga sandoshama irukeenga.. Naalaiya pathi kavalai padaama innikaaga mattume neenga vaazhara vaazhkai pidichirukku.. Idhukkaga thaan indha 20 varushamaa naa yengirukken"

The above lines precisely summarise the whole movie. And this would be the feeling after a few years for everyone who keeps runnign after money at an young age... Somethings you miss and you will regain anytime... But there are certain things which once lost cannot be regained... Your heart keeps reminding it as a great loss for the rest of your life!!!

The College days(sitting in a PG college at 30 is different from a college life at 20), the youth, the childhood, the first love.. more and more...

Life your life to the fullest in the short span in this world. Don't make it shorter missing the right things at right times.. Thats the lesson I could learn from the movie...

Next what?? Waiting for the next telecast of the movie.. :-D

Sangamam with K.S.Chitra

One of the memorable shows in TV in recent times. The legend herself was present in the hot seat of Sangamam this week to entertain her fans(Could there be anyone who doesn't like her voice?)

There was a series of her hits bringing memories of golden era of Ilayaraja. How much can she sing of course?? 9 out of 10 songs she had sung in that period were hits and superhits.

One should learn a lot from a veteran singer like her, especially aspiring singers.. Till date I don't remember breathing out in her songs any time. Even with today's hitech recording, one could never hear her breathing in between lines. Something which most singers should practice. Making a turn of head towards left with a knack is her own style...

And gosh!! How could one sing a pathos song with a smiling face? Well, she can. She sang her most popular 108 Amman names song "Oru Thaali Varam".. When she stopped to give out a weeping sound, she was still smiling. Very rarely singers can show an emotion on the face differnt from the one in their voice.. She does even that!!!

How many singers can win a national award in a duet song that too in a language which is not their monther tongue? She has done even that... Its a shame that voices like Chitra are abandoned or forgotten by today's great music composers and the north dominates in everything. Many of those voices(I don't wanna name them) are an insult to the world of Tamil music where talents like Chitra exist.

When singers like Lata Mangeshkar are made to sing one or two songs even in their broken voice at around 75 yrs, Chitra deserves a lot more and has a long way ahead... May the music makers open their ears very soon!!!

The worstest shows on FM

Being a regular listener to FM shows these days(or rather a victim of those) I thought of listing out few shows that are irritatingly worst, so that new listeners can avoid those yucky things.

Appeeta Repeeta
The top slot goes to the government channel anyhow, with its most stupidest show that to early in the morning at 8 AM. Titled as above it carries on air the most annoying so-called fun games, that would put you off very easily. An example… A caller calls in. He says 1… The RJ(yuck.. that host is an insult for this term) says 2… Caller 3.. RJ 4… Now the caller should say Appeeta Repeeta it seems… Same way for 10, 15 and so on… I felt like puking… What a worst creativity!!! Government channels are losing listenership just because of these kiddish games!!!

Kisu Kisu Geetha
Uwaacckkk… What an odd name!!! This show in Suryan FM has two bull shits hosting it, with one of them supposedly speaking in a Brahmin slang. Their goal is to provide movie gossips for the listeners apart from irritating them with an awkward voice and slang. The way they talk simply leaves you asking for headache pills.

Kittu Maama Susi Maami
Yuck again… Yet another show with hosts taking in a ridiculous Brahmin slang non-stop speaking out all non-sense. And the extra threat is that the Kisu Kisu Geetha maami makes a special appearance here every now and then. Totally horrible show that will leave you in a miserable state!!!

Hello Suryan FM
Third worst show of Suryan FM, with a moron naming himself Funky Shankar speaking in a wannabe-American style, trying to crack jokes and sound funny and entertain people. Unfortunately, he is a total failure in all these departments and you keep praying for the songs to be on air soon so that this moron gets out for some time. And if you want to listen to your most favorite songs spoiled in the most worstest way in the name of Remix, then you can listen to this show.

SBSB
A crap show from the new station in town, Radio City. Carrying a ridiculous title of Silmisha Baarbaje Shikarika Bilba and hosted by a boring guy calling himself “Unga friend-u RJ Nandu” nothing more can be explained about how worse the show is. Only solace compared to others is that there is less talk and more music.

And could any one teach these so-called RJs on how to speak?? Trying to be cool, they speak in the most irritating manner that sometimes even sounds like they are drunk. Especially the stupid ladies screaming “wannaasavanpoinwannfm”(107.1 FM) in FM Rainbow. In a city with channels like Radio Mrichi and its cool RJs, these people are an insult to the RJ community!!!

Singers I love listening to.....

I thought of writing this for a long time and now I got the chance... Few of the Young generation singers I love listening to anytime anyday and whose songs run repeatedly in my player.... A short briefing about them and my favourite songs sung by them....(Not in any order)

Karthik: If I could think of someone to succeed SPB it could be him. May be its an exaggeration, but his songs give me a feel of listening to the spontaneous voice of SPB.
Most Favorites: Kann Pesum Vaarthaigal, Anaarkali, Oru Maalai, Aval Ulaga Azhagiye

KK: Or Krishnakumar, the rocking singer of Hindi and Tamil. His songs in both languages are a delight to hear anytime and I have felt many times that his songs cannot be duplicated or can be done better by any other singer. Such unique is his voice…
Most Favourites: Appadi Podu, Uyirin Uyire, Neeye Neeye

Sujatha: The nightingale from Kerala who has sung everything from melodies to fast songs to pathos to classical.. everything… Even if she sings a few lines in a song it has a special feel to it..
Most Favorites: Pudhu Vellai Mazhai, Kadalamma, Pazhaya Kural, Mudhal Murai

Ranjith Nair: Yet another Mallu… I became his fan long back may his first song.. who knows?? He has a unique voice that has some tech be fromno feel to it… Songs with western touch turn awesome when rendered by this dude…
Most Favorites: Chillu Chillai, Suppose unna , Yela Yela, Yedho Nadakkudhu

Sadhana Sargam: A beautiful voice with a childlike feel to it. Her Tamil is not exceptionally good, she kills words many times, nevertheless I always feel fresh after listening to her song.
Most Favorites: Snegithane, Thayya Thaa, Kanden Kanden, Poovaasam

Tippu: His vibrant voice and fast renditions charge me up the moment I listen to his songs… Mostly prefer his songs to charge myself at work or get out of of some bad mood :-)
Most Favorites: Dhimsu Katta, Something Something, Kaadhal Vandhaal

Shreya Ghosal: I instantly fell in love with her voice the day I heard her songs in Devdas(Hindi). Her Tamil is in the same category as Sadhana Sargam but her honey like voice makes us forget and forgive anything…
Most Favorites: Munbe Vaa, Ninaithu Ninaithu, Khajraho

Anuradha Sriram: The magical voice that can sing in any tone, any pitch and any song… Right from Oppari like Yendi Soodamani to classical Anbendra Mazhayile to kuthu type Appadi Podu… Another rocking singer…
Most Favorites: Appadi Podu, Olli Olli, Enna Idhu, Nilave Nilave, Anbendra Mazhayile, Acham Acham Illai, Oh Podu etc etc

Chennai Day - August 22nd

Its Chennai’s birthday today. It is hard to believe that the city always young and vibrant coping up with dozens of cultures, religions, castes and languages had turned the 367th leaf in its book of history. And as I take a look at the city in the dark evening, amidst the noisy traffic and pollution, I could see the city sitting like a silent, innocent child accepting all the wishes pouring in with humility.

Chennai was not always the best place to live. Coupled with the usual problems of other metros like crimes, underworld, traffic jams and all that Chennai has a peculiar issue- the year long hot weather and water scarcity. May be that’s what is the foremost thing that puts off anyone who thinks of settling down here.

But for those who have grown up with the city, who have enjoyed every precious moment of their life here and who think of the city as a motherland, the city has much more to offer. Like a person in adolescent stage balancing himself with life and adapting with times… May be because of this never ending adolescence only the city seems young always:-D hee hee....

As the city glitters in its glory of 367 years, there are a few long time wishes from the heart of this Chennai Thamizhan which I would like to list down now…. Hope the corporations and the governments in the years to come will make my dreams true atleast by 2020 :P

1) A city void of water scarcity with self-sufficient supplies. The heavy rains and rain water harvesting has reduced the problem to some extent this year. Still, there should be long term plans devised to get rid of this permanently. Enough of losing our self respect begging neighbor states and seeing their hard face

2) A city eased out of congestions in traffic. Especially places like Panagal Park Jn, Teynampet Junction, Sardar Patel Rd , 100 ft road, Arcot road etc need severe reforms asap. And also areas like Perambur, Purasawalkam, Mylapore, West Mambalam etc. Before the situation goes to the “nothing-can-be-done-about-it” stage, hope something is done.

3) A city void of green color thingies running in the name of buses. Though different models of buses have been running in the city, still the oldest green color models are not out of sight. These buses don’t have proper seats, broken support rods and are always in ready-to-breakdown status. Yet they run for long distance routes breaking the backbone of passengers. And especially number of buses should be increased a lot. Its rare to se any bus withour standess these days!!!!

4) A clean and tidy city where everyone is provided with civic education. No more shitting on roads, spitting on walls, dumping garbage on streets or improper drainage facilities. Government bodies and NGOs are doing a lot but still its we, the people, who lack civic sense and don’t even care about our own city. From the administration side, the three rivers of Chennai namely Buckingham canal, cooum and Adayaaru should no more remain as drainage letouts.

5) Provided all the above are done successfully to some extent, we should look upon promoting the city with more tourist attractions than a mere show of tombs and old buildings (Legacy is appreciated but more of entertainment value is what I mean here). Singaara Chennai should not be a mere project of words. It should come out as an initiative from each and every citizen of Chennai!!!

If Dr.Kalam has set Vision 2020 for India I have set my dreams for Chennai 2020 with a minimum requisites of the above ideas. It should happen and I am sure it will happen. The Spirit of Chennai will make it possible to happen… Love you Chennai!!!

How to Be a Hero....

Just got these from How to Be a Hero website(Courtesy: Sundar)

Hello, Wizard.

Character Stats:

Rogue (4)
Warrior (6)
Wizard (19)
Paladin (19)

Your Profile:

You're intelligent, educated, and just a bit superior to everyone you know. If you're still in school, you probably make A's, if you're not too bored to waste the effort. If you work, your annoying boss relies on you to solve the problems no one else can figure out. You've never met a puzzle you can't solve. When it comes to leisure, you'd rather read, play a strategy game, or surf the 'Net than run around getting sweaty. You're a brainiac, and you're not ashamed to admit it.

Above all, you're a mastermind and a great thinker. You see the unknown as territory to be conquered, and the mysterious as something to be systematically unraveled. You don't have time for fools; you only spend your time with people who can comprehend your obfuscatory convolutions. You enjoy amassing knowledge, both useful and trivial.

Your Mission:

You were put on this earth to enlighten people. They will listen to you, because they are impressed by your vocabulary, your erudition, and your ability to grasp concepts that invariably elude them. You are the one who has to figure things out, because let's face it - you're the only one smart enough.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to Discover Something. Something small, or something big. Find an unknown insect in your own backyard. Discover a cure for sunburn. Develop a faster way to get the dishes done. Calculate the number of molecules in the Andromeda galaxy. Discover a comet. Discover SOMETHING.

And do make it a priority. The Famous Adventurer of Silmaria has a crystal ball trained on you, and will be noting your progress.

A Warning:

Try to remember: you're not infallible. If people around you are all nodding and smiling, it may just be because they don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about. Check your facts and admit the possibility that even you can make mistakes. Loosen up. Make friends with a Rogue and have him or her try to poke holes in your theories. Who knows; you might actually have fun.

On another note - making plans and formulating theories can be quite stimulating, but at some point, you are going to have to actually DO something. Employ a Warrior, if necessary, to put your brilliant schemes into action. Just be sure your instruction manual is written in very small words.

My Inner Hero - Wizard!

There are many types of magic, but all require a sharp mind and a cool head. There is no puzzle I can't solve, no problem I can't think my way out of. When you feel confused or uncertain, you can always rely on me to untangle the knots and put everything back in order for you.

How about you? Click here to find your own inner hero.

Stalling Parliament costs taxpayers Rs 20,000 a minute

Today after reading this statistics from Rediff.com my hatred towards politicians has increased leaps and bounds.... :-(

The Rediff Special | George Iype
August 09, 2006

India loses nearly Rs 20,000 (about $400) every minute when politicians stall proceedings in Parliament.

Paralysing Parliament is a favourite political weapon for Opposition parties. When the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance coalition was in power, the Congress-led Opposition stalled Parliament on many issues.

Now that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance is in power, the BJP-led Opposition keeps disrupting Parliament whenever it can.

"Politicians have lost the sensibility to understand that every minute they disrupt Parliament, the common man's precious money is going down the drain," says Justice V R Krishna Iyer, the respected, retired Supreme Court judge.

"Politicians are not worried because they live by exploiting the taxpayer's money in India," the judge adds.

The parliamentary secretariat does not have the exact figures of how much money is lost when Parliament is paralysed.

Six months ago, the non-governmental organisation National Social Watch Coalition published a report titled 'Citizens Report on Governance and Development - 2006.'

The Coalition study found that between 1951 and 2003-2004, the cost of running the two Houses of Parliament registered an increase from Rs 100 per minute to Rs 18,430 per minute.

That figure is now estimated to have reached Rs 20,000 per minute.

Some other findings of the Coalition's survey:

* In the 11th Lok Sabha (1996 to 1998) 5.28 per cent of the total Parliament time was lost in pandemonium. The figure increased to 10.66 per cent in the 12th Lok Sabha and more than doubled to 22.4 per cent between 1999 and 2004.

* The current 14th Lok Sabha recorded 38 per cent time lost in the first two sessions, thanks to the row over the induction of 'tainted' members of Parliament into the UPA government and the absence of 'absconding' minister Shibu Soren.

* The Rajya Sabha, reacting similarly to these issues, lost a whopping 46 per cent time in the corresponding 201st and 202nd sessions.

'The loss of time through pandemonium leading to the loss of designated parliamentary business eventually also translates into substantial loss of public money,' the report said.

The current Monsoon Session of both the Houses of Parliament is the fifth session of the 14th Lok Sabha. It began on July 24 and ends on August 30, and has 28 working days.

Out of this, there are three holidays: August 9 (Raksha Bandhan), August 15 (Independence Day) and August 16 (Janmashtami).

That means the Monsoon Session has 25 working days. At six hours a day, the session has 150 working hours to debate important national issues, discuss and pass several legislations, carry out a number of Constitutional amendments, etc.

On the first day of the session, the Opposition walked out in protest against the Manmohan Singh government's handling of terrorism and price rise.

By today, August 9, the members of Parliament should have spent 72 hours in the honourable tasks of legislations and debating national issues. About 35 hours have been lost because of Opposition walkouts, disruptions and pandemonium in both the Houses.

That means Rs 4.2 crore or Rs 42 million (about $800,000) has already been lost this session.

Pesticide cocktail in Coke, Pepsi

The following news snippet sends shivers down my spine as I read the bitter truth. Its high time that celebrities stop advertising for such hazardous chemicals and people realise the truth and shift over to traditional fruit juices and other hramless drinks!!!

August 02, 2006 20:13 IST
The Centre for Science and Environment on Wednesday came out with a fresh study claiming the presence of 'pesticide cocktail' in 11 brands of soft drink giants Coca Cola and PepsiCo, three years after the same brands were found to have contained pesticides.

The new findings, publicised after testing 57 samples of 11 soft drink brands of Coca Cola and PepsiCo collected from 25 manufacturing units across 12 states, claims that all the bottles examined were a "cocktail of 3-5 different pesticides" which was 24 times above the standards finalised by Bureau of Indian Standards.

"We have found pesticide residue in all soft drinks tested. Three years ago, when the tests were conducted we could spot only four pesticides. This time it has increased to five in some cases," Sunita Narain, director, CSE said.

The study - 'Soft Drinks - Hard Truth II' - claims that the average amount of pesticide residues found in all the samples was 11.85 parts per billion, which is 24 times higher than the BIS standards for pesticides in soft drinks (0.5 ppb).

It also found the presence of Lindane (a carcinogen), Chlorphyrifis (a neurotoxin), Heptachlor, Mealthion and HCH. Heptachlor, banned in India, was found in 71 per cent of the samples, at four times higher than BIS standards.

On an average, the levels of deadly Lindane were over 54 times above the approved standards while one Coca Cola sample from Kolkata had this pesticide 140 times. Chlorpyrifos levels were on an average 47 times higher and a Coca Cola sample from Thane tested for this particular pesticide at a level that is 200 times than the approved levels.

The full article is available at: http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/aug/02cola.htm

Imsai Arasan 23-aam Pulikesi - A Review

Munkurippu: There will be a recap post for the month of July soon.. Before that, I wanted to give this review because, films normally stay in my memory for very less time ;-)

Lollu, Nakkal, Nayyandi, Rousu... Vadivelu is very famous for all these as a comedian. In his maiden venture as a hero, he maintains the same trend and more than these, he has tried some serious acting too...

Imsai Arasan 23-aam Pulikesi is a film that stands distinctly out of all genre of films made in today's cinema. Never before there was a film made similar to this, and I feel, never in near future there can be a successful attempt of making such a film. Simply because such films can be made once in a blue moon only.

The film may seem to be draaging, over done or even turn to be a mokkai at few moments. But the rest of the film which is a total and thorough entertainer keeps the audience glued to the seats.

Performance wise, Vadivelu has proved that he is perfectly fit to do a hero role that too in a double act. While the role of Pulikesi is in a perfect comedian mould, he has managed to get the audience serious in the other role of Ukkirabuddhan. Though in many scenes he seems to be imitating MGR or Sivaji, the audience really enjoy watching him.

The supporting cast of Naazer as Villain, Tejashree and Monisha as the pairs of Vadivelu's two acts, Sriman as Ukkirabuddhan's assistant and others have done their roles adequately. Manorama was plainly irritating in yet another crying mother's role!!! The brilliant sets and excellent picturisation give you an exact effect of watching a period film.

Songs were just loud noises in the theatre, though very few went out for popcorns and a dhum :-D Nevertheless, the first song "Aadivaa" and the romantic ;-) number "Aasi kaniye" were good to hear. Songs had clear inspirations from many old movies in terms of orchestration and picturisation. Guess it was an intentional move.

There are a few instances of dialogues for which the whole theatre bursted out in laughter:

"Neengal iruvarum serveergal enbadhu enakku munnare theriyum.. Enakku eppadi theriyum? Nalla kelvi.. Rettai kuzhandhai kadhayil veru eppadi thiraikadhai amaikka mudiyum?"

"Karadi kaari thuppia Pulikesi mannare umadhu mugathil kaari thuppi vittar enbadhai solli unnai avamaana paduthuven"

"Ennadhu? idhu nee seidha sangiliya?? Idhai mudhalileye solla koodadha?"

And certain scenes like the war scene with Vallavadevan, the hunting scene in the jungle etc. The details.. You must watch to enjoy!!!

The sequences of Akkamaala and Gapsi, comments on government workers("9 maniyil irundhu 5 mani varai vetti pozhudhu poka sambalam, arasaanga udhyogam endru peyar veru") and many others were a clear take on present scenarios. And the Ten Commandments at the end surely gave a feel of Shankar's movie.. Short and sharp.. upto-the-point dialogues. Kudos to the writer!!!

It is a rare phemomena that a period film in today's era that too with a comedian donning the role of a hero, gets so much of appreciation from the public- women and children in particular. Vadivelu has succesfully done what top heroes could not achieve through their action flicks and romantic entertainers- he has pulled back ladies crowd from TV sets to theatres :P

Hats off to the director Chimbudevan and Producer Shankar for giving us the biggest entertainment of the year till now :-)

Pinkurippu: I don't think this film will get out of my memory for quite some time :P

Channel Woes - Part 2

Film reviews and countdowns are the worst ones; the rating is purely based on whether the actor is a favorite of the channel or in worst case their political party. And how much money exchanges have happened between the producer of the film and the channel in terms of satellite rights.

There are many cases where a good film went unnoticed or trashed by people because of Sun TV’s influence.(Of course there are a few exceptions like Sethu). While channels like Vijay TV provide ratings on the basis of box-office and people’s opinion very few understand the genuinity of such countdowns!!!

When there is so much monopoly in terms of Television network, this group has not spared the FM space also. With Suriyan FM providing the lowest class of entertainment throughout the day there is very less one could boast of it as a private FM channel. Getting the reach was not difficult, thanks to the powerful Sun TV.

It is a real pain to the ears sitting in the office bus listening to utter craps like Kisu Kisu Geetha, Kittu Maama-Susi Maami and many other shows that are aired throughout the day. While Radio Mirchi the other private FM has a sky level difference compared to Suriyan FM in all aspects and has a great quality in its shows, it has never been able to achieve what the stupid Suriyan FM did.

With a majority of TamilNadu population accessing mass media listening and seeing only such craps, the mindset of people will soon run towards crappy attitudes for sure… Isn’t there a dawn for this darkness of Sun?? :-(

Channel Woes - Part 1

The power of media and how much influence it would have on the minds of people can be understood from the effect of Sun Network on the people of TamilNadu. While it has been successful in starting a host of stupid channels through political and financial influences, it has totally changed the mindset of a huge chunk of population in TamilNadu.

Sun TV, which was started way back in early 90’s was a fantasy to the people of TamilNadu who were used to watching stereotype and boring programmes in Doordarshan. The presentation, X-factor, star attractions etc etc everything was in its favour and soon Sun TV became one of the most wanted channels in Cable Networks, especially for those abroad, who were longing for a full time Tamil Channel to watch.

Using this single factor, Sun TV grew like a monster. A monster that swallowed every other Tamil channel’s viewership on the Cable Network. And soon we saw the expansion of Sun Network into Andhra(Gemini, Teja), Kerala(Surya) and Karnataka(Udaya, Ushe). Thus Sun Newtwork occupied almost whole of South India through political and financial influences as mentioned before.

With such an expanded network, soon it began the act of reducing the intellectual quotient of people to almost zero. Through mega serials, almost every other female in TamilNadu was made an addict that too through a stupid way of exploiting their emotional sensitivity. The long list of serials that hog the TV sets from forenoon till late night is all nothing but stupidity to the core.

And the meaning of festival days has been changed for a long time as Cinema Specials. Nothing else but shows related to Cinema and Cine actors will be shown on those days. The flavour and variety with the programs of Doordarshan is surely missing, only thing is Government channels never had the expertise to present them in the right way.

The only programs where people could gather some information like News bulletins and the ones related to film analysis like reviews and countdown shows are out and out biased. The worst thing is that with the kind of effect it had created on people, they simply believe whatever Sun TV says is the truth. So the original facts can never be understood until you read it in a newspaper or web bulletin. These days there is a huge competition in providing biased news very efficiently on par with another political channel Jaya TV.

To be continued...

Garden City to Singaara Chennai...

I am back to Chennai on official transfer after a period of about one and a half years. Being back to one's hometown is always a special experience that too when you come back to your own area. :-)

Bangalore has not done anything bad to me infact, except that I missed a lot of my friends and I became a little lazy compared to what I was in Chennai. (Of course, now being in Chennai, now I miss my friends out there in Bangalore;-) )The 18+ months I have spent in Bangalore has been really a learning experience both in professional and personal ways. Even when I stayed in Bachelor's accomodation, it was like another home for me.. Such was the levels of comfort and happiness.

The local sight seeing which I went for just few days before receiving the news of transfer was indeed a blessing in disguise, never ever before that I had been on a local trip and never after that it would have been possible by anyways.I can now confidently say that I too know a bit of Bangalore. It is an important feeling, especially for a person like me who knew Bangalore only as a fantasy and had no idea about he city till about two years back.

Coming back to Chennai, hmmm... It is the same good old Chennai. I am not sure if it is the climate here or the new enthusiasm.. But I am more active now than what I was in Bangalore. Things are getting back to routines - Saturdays don't see me sleeping till forenoon, late shuttles for office are no more a necessity, being in T.Nagar facilitates shopping anytime anywhere..

And not to forget, it brings back all sweet memories... A ride through Radhakrishnan Salai reminds me of good old days me and my project mates spent together during final year. Passing through Nelson Manickam Road reminds those days when I travelled in my college bus morning and evening chatting with a bunch of busmates. Walking around my office brings to mind those unforgettable training days which was like a second college life.... Things that can only be felt and can never become reality again!!!

I am enjoying every moment of this life right from food, festivities, shopping, friends, office, travel.. Everything and everyday. I wish this should be the beginning of a "lived happily everafter" life :-)

The easiest way of keeping in touch...

Lots of talks are going on these days about Orkut and many people are joining it through friends. And there are stories in mail forwards about how and what for it was started and also about the profits Orkut, the guy who found it, is getting in a year. Whatever it might be, Orkut has become an unavoidable medium in the world of cyber communication.

I still remember those days when I started using Orkut. Today, after more than one year, Orkut has re-established many of my lost contacts, helped me to be in touch with the existing contacts and most important of all, has opened up my friends circle and I have gained lots of close friends today.

Even inside my own company, I gained a few friends through Orkut, and I am not sure whether I would have got to know them otherwise in my life. My school friends, with whom I lost touch many years back, are in frequent contact these days and I learned their whereabouts through Orkut.

Orkut has more things to be experienced than to be spoken about. The cyberspace today has a lot of surprises and Orkut is a blessing in disguise that has lots of such surprises in store for you everyday. Hail Orkut!!! :-)

Beauty with Brains

There is a show called Heartbeats on Star One. It is just a game show, but the difference between this one and numerous others running on TV is that, here it is not time that matters, but the cool temperament and presence of mind of the player that is more important to win. In other words, the formula of winning is very easier. The calmer the player is, the easier it is to win.

I was very excited to know that Priyanka Chopra, Former Miss World and Bollywood Actress participating in the game show. I like Priyanka Chopra not only as a model and actress but also personally after reading about her from magazines. She may not be the striking beauty as Aishwarya is, but as a woman, I feel she is much better than Aishwarya. I feel she is one of the living examples who can be projected to the world as an ideal Indian woman. J

Coming back to the show, Priyanka came in with dashing looks as usual and started taking questions with a cool and not-so-nervous attitude. Her heartbeat was almost within 90 per min throughout the show. I have seen women scream, shout, yell and do all sorts of non-sense in game shows, but Priyanka was calm but excited at the same time.

Question after question she used her lifelines wisely and nicely progressed on the money ladder. Many answers she knew on her own and the lifeline help was just a confirmation act. After reaching 7 lakhs and opting for cash question with a banked heartbeat count of over 2000, it was a easy task for her to win the cash. She laughed out loud on seeing first cash question asking “Which of these heroines were smooched by Emraan Hashmi on screen?”

Completing the final double money question on food items with her mother’s help and in her own style, the beauty took away 14 lakh rupees of cash from the show. And also the hearts of thousands of viewers... ;-) It was indeed a live demonstration to the world that beautiful women have great brains and more than that, she proved that a woman can stay with controlled emotions in any situation. Hats off Priyanka!!!

No Tamil Movies for now!!!

I have decided to stay off from Tamil Movies for a while now. Neither I watched any movie in past couple of months nor do I have any plans to do it for the next couple of months.

Reason - I hate Gangster subjects!!!

Indian Cinema had enough of Gangster and Underworld dons onscreen and has shown them in all possible dimensions right from the black and white era. Rowdies, gundaas, adiyaals and leaders.. Blood, gore, aruvaals and gunshots... Enough is enough!!!!

The trend was out for sometime and now its back again. In the last 6 months, we had Pattiyal, Kokki, Pudhupettai, Thalainagaram, Chithiram Pesudhadi and soon to follow are Naalai, Thoothukudi, Chera and many other movies whose trailers are even scary than worst horror movies!!!

So for some more time, good bye to Tamil movies!!!

India votes for football over cricket!

I came across this  interesting article from Times of India last week,  which disproves the theory that Indians are crazy only about Cricket!!!! 

A few statistics from the article:

Six out of 10 women drool over the England captain Beckham, every second man favours football over cricket.

Is it going to be the locks of Beckham or Mahi's mane, Ronaldo's power or the Wall's class, Ronaldinho's jig or Yuvi's charm? Call it sports enthusiasts' fickleness or the fact that football fever is all around us!

With the FIFA World Cup kicking off in Germany, it's a fever that's gripping the otherwise cricket-crazy nation and loyalties seem to be shared. As far as football goes, the tussle is between the glam and game. The fairer sex drools over the glam quotient offered by the footballers rather than the game whereas for the kids and men, it's always the action on the field that matters.

Forty-six per cent of the men polled and 48 per cent kids have a liking for soccer whereas for women, football comes after cricket with 37 per cent votes in favour of soccer compared to 46 per cent for cricket. For 41 per cent men, cricket was secondary vis-a-vis football.

It's interesting to note that kids are more inclined towards soccer. In cities like Bangalore, Delhi, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Kolkata, the survey received an overwhelming response in soccer's favour with 9 out of 10 kids favouring soccer in certain cases.

Cricket rules in Delhi and Mumbai, and as expected, Kolkata is floored by football. But surprisingly, 65 per cent women in Bangalore and Ahmedabad also voted in favour of football whereas the percentage was 35 in Hyderabad.

David Beckham emerged as India's favourite football icon, courtesy his glam quotient and off-field antics. A whopping six out of 10 women rooted for the English captain. But the men voted for the Brazilian striker Ronaldinho, casting 40 per cent votes for his on-field skills.

His teammate Ronaldo had the support of 26 per cent fans with diehards like 13-year-old Chinmay from Pune saying he would stop watching football when Ronaldo leaves the game.

(The survey was conducted for a sample size of over 500 people across Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Pune, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad in the age group of 9 to 35 years)

The full article is available at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1631981.cms

Enna Koduma Saravanan Idhu!!!!

Got the above still of Superstar from a forwarded mail. My first thought was "Yuckkk!!!"

I am a big fan of Rajinikanth for many years now but I am not mad to claim "Aah, wow, superb" for everything he does. Especially since he started giving He-Man and Super Man(or Super Human) movies for the past few years.

But, as per Tamil Cinema Industry, since he is a superstar he can do whatever he wants… Even if gundaas fly when he blows air, everyone finds it "Aah.. so realistic"

"Thillana Thillana" from Muthu is the most chinguchakka song I have ever seen… Kannu nollai aagra colors ellame… Still ppl found it "Wow.. how great"

For about 10 yrs right from Annamalai till Baba, in every film Rajini will be someone in first half and turn out to be someone else in second half… Like flashbacks or transformations and all that.. The very same theme with slightest changes… Still everyone claims "Aaah…how great and interesting"

When Rajini does a stupid movie with unbelievable stories like Arunachalam, he is catering the masses and entertaining his fans. When others do, they are doing the same old thing and spoiling Tamil cinema.

When Rajini insults Ramya Krishnan, Kushboo, Meena, Roja etc… It means he is giving "Aapu for thimir pidicha females"… When some other actor does the same, he becomes a chauvinist…
I am not against Rajinikanth, I still love all his old movies but whatever he is doing now is a pain for my eyes to watch.

The same people who are praising Amitabh Bachan as the actor of the millenium wrote him off and criticised him very badly, when he did youth roles and paired with younger heroines. His own fans stayed away from his films like Sooryavansham.

But in Tamil Cinema, there is no end for Super Star and star values. It happened with MGR and continues with Rajinikanth. Hope it won't happen again with next generation actors!!!!

P.S: The above still was just a sample. There will still more scary stills in the forward :P

Tamil Nadu suspends screening of Da Vinci Code

www.rediff.com
June 01, 2006 17:15 IST

"The Tamil Nadu government has asked District Collectors and the Chennai Police Commissioner to suspend the screening of Hollywood film, The Da Vinci Code.

A press release issued by the state government, quoted by The Hindu newspaper, said on Wednesday: 'The government has taken cognisance of the various reports and complaints received from the minority communities, particularly the Christian community regarding the proposed screening of the movie. The screening of the movie might hurt religious feelings and sentiments of the Christian community and lead to demonstrations and disturb peace and tranquillity within the state.'

The collectors and the commissioner have been asked to study the situation and take action under Section 13 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (Central Act 37 of 1952) to suspend the screening of the movie."

One more stunt from the State Government to claim that it is protesting the interest of Minorities... Some thing or the other is needed for them everyday to make politics out of it.... I heard even the Andhra Government has banned the film.

When there are lots and lots of unwanted content shown in all regional language film, people are ready to find follies and sensitive content to be banned in an International Movie...

In future, the CBFC and Censor Board can be closed permanently. Because now politicians have supernatural powers to certify a film without even watching it once!!!

An exciting trip to Savanadurga

On Friday the 26th of May, our project team of 30 and odd members set out on a trip to Savanadurga Forests, 62 kms from Bangalore near Magadi Town. What was all exciting about the trip was that we knew where we are going, but never knew what was kept in store for us and all activities planned were maintained as top secret!!!

This was the final event as a part of the fun week celebrated in my project for team building and of course, enjoyment. There were tourneys for board games like chess and carrom and computer games Midtown Madness and Quake-3. Plus a couple of spot events too.... 4 days of total masti and then, for the fifth day, a memorable team outing.



We had breakfast on the way under a road side shady tree which itself was a new experience for most of us. After a great breakfast, we reached the camping spot in about an hour. We were split in three teams and began our forest exploration with our team leaders and guides. Our target: To reach the destination given in the map on our own, exploring the forest with the help of compass and the map.



As expected we were lost though the experience of travelling through the forest was a great one. Who minds small scratches from all those thorny bushes all over??? ;-) The forest was situated near a hill which by itself has lots of stories to tell. Our guide pointed us to a scribble on the hill saying "Abhay Eesha" and said they were two lovers who made their love eternal by jumping off the hill :-(



After getting lost, with the guide's help we reached the destination, posed for photos and reached back to our camp site. Then after an okay kinda lunch and a short period of rest, we were back to activites.



Next activity was river crossing, and we were really scared when we came to know that there was actually no river present and we had to cross a rocky terrain from about 30 feet of height holding on to a rope. Though I was claiming "I can't" in the beginning, I finally gathered all courage and did it. It was really great experience combined with adventure.



After this there was rapelling, where we had to get down from an approx. 30 feet rock. Again scared but did it somehow. :P



Finally there was a boat ride in the lake nearby on a Coraccle(as said by our guide). On a cloudy and cool evening, close to sunset, it was a beautiful ride through green waters.... Unforgettable!!!!



With three cheers for our client :P and thanks to our guides, we started our journey back to Bangalore in our bus. And one hour later, back to pollution and traffic jam of the city.. Who cares? The experiences of the day made me forget everything!!!! An experience that I will cherish for a lifetime....



Note the dog in the above group snap. One cannot find such good and affectionate dogs anywhere else... They were with us as a team throughout the day!!! :-D

Back again....

I am back after a month of self-imposed hibernation. Lots of exciting things happened in this period. I went for a 2 day trip to Chennai and recharged myself. I met a lot of intersting people online and in person and had good experiences and new friendships.

My Orkut scrap count crossed 5000 and friends count became 170+. (Is that an achievement? lol...) Bangalore turned from very hot to super cool with early monsoon rains with an awesome climate.

I had one week of fun and masti in my team at office where we played lots of games and tourneys giving great fun and relaxation. To top it all I went for an adventurous and awesome outing with my team members(probably the final one as my project is heading for a close). The experiences fromt he team outing will follow in the next blog post.

And yeah, back to blogging as usual...... :-)

May Maadham - Joy forever

If someone asks me my favorite month in a year, I would say it is the month of May. Inspite of scorching heat of the sun and soaring of mercury to great heights, I love the month as it is the month of vacation for many and when you can live your life to the fullest.

If someone asks me the name of the film that I had watched most number of times in my life, without thinking I would name it -“May Maadham”. It is not a super hit film, nor even a hit film, the hero and heroine are not in the top league in any film industry down south, the director is not an ace film maker of Tamil Cinema… Still it is one of the movies very close to my heart.

Simple love story. A love story of a girl freaking out her first vacation in Chennai, escaping form the clutches of her father and a photographer guy who does 1001 gimmicks to make both ends meet. The main plus point of the movie is the screenplay and narration that doesn’t bore you till about 15 mins before the end, where you visualize a so-so climax.

Another major highlight is the music of A.R.Rahman, one of his best compositions at that time. The classical “Maargazhi Poove”, the peppy “Paalakaatu Machaanukku”, the romantic “En Mel Vizhundha” and the melancholy “Minnale nee”(Rahman himself confessed that it is one of his best compositions, on which he worked a lot) are among Rahman’s masterpieces. Not to forget “Madras-a suthi paaka poren”, a song that will remind you your good old home city anytime you listen to it. :-)

One more reason for my liking towards the film is that you can identify the characters in the film as someone next door and no one is like imported from fairyland. Sandhya, Romeo, Calcutta, Aandal amma, All-in-all, the stammering bridegroom of Sandhya, the military-rule father of Sandhya.. Every character will surely remind you of someone in your neighborhood. And the Dabba car especially with its special background tone will surely invoke a smile on anyone’s face. Yeah, I forgot… Rahman’s background score is just amazing in the film.

Next, a few facts that you could observe in the film… One of the very few films where hero and heroine appear with bare minimal makeup. You get to see the title cards only after about 30 mins from the start of the movie. Nobody could have captured Mahabalipuram in dark as beautifully as it is shown in “En mel vizhundha mazhaithuliye” song. Hats off to P.C.Sreeram. And this song, in particular, is special because it was tuned for Vairamuthu's lyrics and not the usual way of writing lyrics for tunes.

All songs are a delight to watch and picturized well, even the ordinary “Aadi paaru mangaatha” song. The songs of the movie were reused many years after its release by ARR for his Hindi venture, Love You Hamesha.

Even today, if the movie is shown in some channel I would stop and watch it as much as I can. Sorry, I never bothered to keep up the count… ;-)

Sachien - The Miracle of Vijay

Sachien – I watched this movie almost an year back for the first time. That was precisely 3 weeks after its release. That was the time when Vijay had just become my favorite actor. After watching the movie the feeling that I am his fan and he is my most favorite actor, was rooted strongly in my heart. A miracle that made me an ardent Vijay. Sachien-the miracle of love was the miracle of Vijay on me. Never ever my friends could have imagined I will become a fan like this. :-)

For me, Sachien was 50% Vijay, 25% Genelia and 25% Vadivelu. A romantic entertainer from Vijay after a very long gap, it was a pleasure to watch. No one could have essayed the role of a effervescent college student at the age of 31 as Vijay did in the movie. His character, his dressing styles, the way he says “Manufacturing defect”, the style with which he exclaims “Arrey..”, the English phrases he uses often in dialogues(quite an unusual thing).. It was a great experience watching him as a Dude onscreen. Special thanks to Mrs. Sangeetha’s dress department.

And Genelia, gosh!!! I could not imagine any other actresses(not even Jyothika) in the role of cute, energetic and hot tempered Shalini. She was a prefect choice for the role and was a pleasant surprise package of the film. Vadivelu, in his usual excellent form provides comic relief along with Vijay and it is one of the best comedy pieces from him in recent times. There was not much loudness especially.

The movie has 101 minuses. The over-created foggy ambience of Ooty(even the interiors of airports and houses had smoky fog), the worst special appearance by Bipasha Basu(Looks like an aunt-Rediff.com), the story line that reminds you of Vijay’s own Kushi many a time(Many said Sachien is Kushi Part-2), the unwanted fights inserted for the sake of Vijay’s fans, the incomplete portrayal of Sachien’s affection towards the little girl next door etc etc… The movie has enough of negatives.

But at the same time, the film has many great moments which I loved a lot and wished I could watch in Vijay movies very often. The scene where Sachien meets Shalini for the first time in rain, the scene where he teases her when Vadivelu introduces her to Sachien, the Vaseegara song episode, the scene before interval when Sachien proposes to Shalini, the scene when Sachien accepts that he lost the bet with Shalini and bids her farewell and the climax scene at airport.

All in all, it was a feel good movie with all ingredients that a Vijay fan could expect. Sad that it could reach only upto class A audience and didn’t taste success in B and C centers used to senseless masalas of Vijay :-(