A question of answers

Whats up?

Howz life?

Wat r u upto?

Wats going on?

How r u doing?

Few of those questions which I find the most difficult to answer... I am still not aware of how to answer these questions and when someone asks me, there will be a big pause before I blabber something :-)

Any suggestions?? ;-)

Heaven and Hell!!!

From a mail forward.... :-)

Looks correct!!!! ;-)

Gold hunt...

Today the commonwealth games have come to an end with India finishing 4th in Medals Tally… 50 medals on total including 22 gold medals. And a big gang of Filmi and sports fraternity were present at the closing ceremony where the games flag was handed over to Indian representative… Yes, India is gonna host the next commonwealth games in 2010!!!

Link: http://www.cwgdelhi2010.com/

The Indian athletes are slowly being put into limelight with such outstanding performances. When the whole nation is drowned in the ocean of cricket, the politicians are busy fighting for Ganguly-in or out, media is running after cricket stars.. These bunch of people from our motherland have made us feel proud by winning accolades. Sure to follow up in a few months is Government conferring awards on these athletes in a dirty way. Yes, Government wakes up late in recognizing such talents…

There was an article in a magazine once stating that Dhoni was offered a high posting in Police Dept. of his state where as an athlete from Tamil Nadu was offered the post of a peon in a Government office. She had declined the offer with a heavy heart. Such is the fate of non-cricketers in India. Many of them, from lower middle class make it big only through the support of coaches and families…

A match winning shot is enough for a cricketer to endorse a soft drink. Sponsors pour in like anything. But these sportsmen who represent India in Olympics, SAF and Common Wealth games have a sponsorship more worse than Ranji cricketers. How many of their names do we know? As for Tennis, Sania Mirza hogs the whole limelight, ppl are least bothered to know the names of other Tennis players from the country.

The attitude of people should change. All sport activities should get equal focus and Government should do more to develop athletic academies in the country. A single digit medals tally in Olympics from a country of one billion is a shame on us. We, the people and our Government should realize this at least before 2010. Or else we don’t deserve by any means to host Common Wealth games,2010!!!

Laysa Laysa - Ninaivugal Laysa

Recently I was watching a few scenes of Laysa Laysa in TV. It was one of the few movies which I felt deserved much better fate than it actually had because of so many reasons. Of course, it is not all that great movie, but it was a clean romantic entertainer with good music. Unfortunately it got lost in the conventional masala stream of Tamizh Cinema.

There are many more such movies which according to me deserved much better response and reception, but they just disappeared from the corrupted minds of Tamil Cinema viewers. These movies, many of them, were honored in some other ways, like awards…

Now the list of movies:

Iyarkai: The heart rendering love story of a sailor and a simple girl living in the sea shore fishermen quarters. A slow paced movie with good music.

Azhagiya Theeye: A soft romantic from the production house of Prakash Raj… The first one of his string of movies with a difference.

Kanaa Kandein: Movie with a good concept and a thriller background. The movie claimed a 100 day run, but with all decent performances esp. from outstanding Prithviraj, the movie deserved more.

Poovellam Kettupaar: Jyothika’s launch pad. Another soft romantic with a good screenplay, great music from Yuvan.

Rhythm: A family drama with Rahman’s wonderful music and excellent performance from the whole cast. Except for stereotypic climax, everything about the movie was good.

Punnagai Poove: The story of two thick friends who fall in love with the same guy. "Oru Poongili" song is still unforgettable.

Sachien: A classical romantic movie in recent times with Vijay and Genelia’s excellent performances. Good music and camera work. But the 101 mistakes in screenplay and presentation spoiled the movie and made it look like Kushi-Part 2. Still an enjoyable movie.

Anbe Sivam: A masterpiece in Tamil Cinema history and its result at box office is a proof of how bad is the taste of an average Tamil Cinema viewer.

Vidhyasagar - Sangeeth ka Sagar

When the whole TamilNadu drools over the music of Yuvan Shankar Raja, in the lines of A.R. Rahman and Harris Jayaraj, there is one person who was, is and will be favourite music director forever. The name is Vidhyasagar.

There was a period when Rahman’s golden hits were making the whole India dance to his tunes. That was when exactly I got introduced to Vidhyasagar’s music. There is always more importance given to rhythm in his music more than beats and metals. Even a fast number will have a melody quotient in his music.

He was always good except that he was not lucky. Until Dhil of Vikram-Dharani combo happened, he was a less noticed name in the field of Tamil Cine music. After Dhil, there was no looking back for him and today he is one of the top music directors in Tamil Cinema.
You can expect a complete musical album from Vidhyasagar with all moods… A few to mention are:

1) Uyirodu Uyiraga
2) Ghilli
3) Dhool
4) Nilaave Vaa
5) Chandramukhi
6) Iyarkai

He has used many talents like Hariharan, Sadhana Sargam, Harish Raghavendar etc early in their career before they became popular through Rahman and Harris Jayaraj. His music is simple, he makes simple tunes that even common man can sing along with. And above all, words are not lost in his music, you can enjoy beautiful Tamizh in many of his songs.

Be it Kuthu songs in which he is an expert(Appadi Podu, Pamabara kannu), Carnatic style(Kanaa kanden, Aalankuyil, Raa Raa) or Romantic melodies(Nee Kaatru, Anbe Anbe Nee en pillai)… I always find his music soulful. He has never disappointed me with any film. He is simply great!!!

Namma Bengalooru…

For a long time I have spent my days cribbing about Bangalore and going overboard in showing my hatred towards the city. For a change, I sat down and thought about the positives I had seen and I had experienced in this city. I am writing down all those here.

Beautifully yours
In spite of increasing pollution, the city has retained its beauty intact in many ways. Especially on a misty morning, traveling in the outskirts of the city is an experience to cherish. An evening walk in Koramangala 1st block or 5th block has been a stress buster for me many times.

Spiritually superior
Any day I feel the temples in Bangalore are much better than Chennai and other parts of Tamilnadu, atleast so far I had seen that Bhakthi has not become business here. Any devotee is sure to get the blessings of God (Prashad) irrespective of the amount he contributes to the priest. ;-) And there is utmost sincerity and devotion in any rituals performed in the temples here.

Khana Khazana
Leave out the sweet Sambhar… Or the diluted Pongal. Bangalore food has its own taste. Especially Sagar hotels are a boon in a bachelor’s life with Uddin Vada, Khara Bath, Set Dosa etc being my special favorites. And Rava items I feel will never taste better anywhere in India like Bangalore.

Shopping heaven
If you have the money and time to spend, or rather burn, you will enjoy like anything by shopping in Bangalore. With Saravana store like feeling Big Bazzar to hep shopping malls all over, shopping is made a nice experience for all class of people. Jayanagar and Malleshwaram 8th cross give you a feel of T.Nagar Usman Road or Ranganathan street. Especially the vegetable markets in Madiwala and Malleshwaram resemble my dear T.Nagar’s Station Road market very much.

Live in Peace
If you settle down in a house in places like Banashankari or Vidhyaranyapura, you can live a peaceful life free of all hustles in the city. There are many such places ideal to spend the retired life in Bangalore.

There are infact many more factors like Safe buses with automatic doors, AC Volvo services, 24 hrs payment centers for your water bills, mix of all cultures, so on and so forth. Yes, Bangalore looks good on the other hand always. ;-)

Mobile Manners

Copyright:http://www.hutch.in/event/mobile_manners.asp

This is issued like a public interest message by Hutch. It applies to all mobile users. A nice initiative from a mobile service provider.

When we talk loudly on the phone or play our favourite ringtones little do we realise that we are in someway disturbing others’ private space. We get away with our behaviour but leave a sour experience for others.

Hutch brings you some tips that will help you become an ideal mobile user. One who’s sensitive to the people around, and uses his mobile phone in the best way possible.

Speak Softly
You don't have to shout to be heard by the person on the other end.

Lights off, mobile off.
At theatres, keep your mobile phone off. And let others enjoy the show as well.

Pray in silent mode.
God may call you when you're in a temple or church. But it's unlikely he'll use a mobile phone.

Don't speak while eating.
At restaurants, enjoy the food and company. Calls can wait.

Anybody can tell a bad tune.
So choose your ringtones wisely. And remember that only you need to hear it, not your neighbour.

A word before any picture.
Ask for permission before you take anyone's picture on your mobile phone.

The power of Media!!!

Thanks to Vikram for this nice forward!!!

CLASSIC VERSION...

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.
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MODERN VERSION...

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. BBC, CNN, AAJ TAK, NDTV show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house. Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticizes the Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the grasshopper. The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the grasshopper. Opposition MP's stage a walkout.

Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry. Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act [POTAGA]", with effect from the beginning of the winter.

The ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government and handed over to the grasshopper in a ceremony covered by BBC,CNN, AAJ TAK and NDTV.

Arundhati Roy calls it "a triumph of justice". Koffi Annan invites the grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

Think !!!

Kodambakkam - A Director's life

Cast: Nanda, Diya, Tejasri, Manivannan, Ramesh Kanna
Music: Sirpi
Made by: Jeganji

We watch a film on one fine morning and simply say it is bad. But what goes on all through the process of making a film, how many hardships each and every individual undergo in this process and what a debut director's life is like??? The answer is "Kodambakkam".

May be for intellectual film viewers this is an ordinary film and might even be a crap. But for me, it was a personal diary written on life of people in film industry. It is infact the life story of many movies like "Sethu", where a debut director with an offbeat story struggled for months to release the film and make it a success.

Sugavanan alias Suga(Nanda), an assistant director dreams of making it big in Tamil Cinema. When all producers reject his non-hero oriented, off-beat subject, a village landlord comes forward and produces the film. After too many hardships, disputes and problems, the film gets ready for release but distributers refuse to buy the film. The producer selling all his property releases the film on his own, and unexpectedly, the audience likes the film and it becomes a big hit.

The screenplay takes us through all these events and as a film viewer you get to know how much a debut director suffers in film industry. The major plus is that, nothing has been overmade and everything is believable. Nicely mixed with this main story is Suga's love story and his mother's affection.

Nanda totally brings before you the struggling assistant director of Tamil Cinema. He has done a great job right through the film till the end. Diya as Nanda's love interest Dhanam, Kalairani as his mother and Tejasri as the Mumbai heroine are adequate in their roles. Manivannan as the village producer and Ramesh Kanna as his production manager "Puli Kumar" have done a very good job.

After a long time you get to hear music from Sirpi and it sounds good. "Ragasiyamaanadhu Kaadhal" is a hummable number. There are many stereotypic scenes in the film but still an engaging screenplay makes you forget them.

Jeganji who made his debut with Vijay starrer "Pudhiya Geethai" got rave reviews for that movie. He has again proved himself with "Kodambakkam". Afterall, a debut director only can do justice to this movie. He has indeed made it interesting.

Verdict: A must watch.

Home Bird

I am a home bird by nature. By this, I don't mean homesickness. It is a totally different feeling. Here I mean that I am very much attached to my home and its ambience. Wait, as I explain, the difference would be evident.

After a day's work I love returning to home as early as possible and spend time in my home. Sleeping in my bed in my room is a pleasant experience that makes me forget all tensions and tiredness of the day.

So isn't this homesickness? No, not at all. If so, everyday would have been miserable for me during my stay st PG quarters in my earlier days in Bangalore. By home and its ambience, I mean the place where I stay and not exactly where my family is. Staying with your family is a different kind of happiness and it is a boon.

Even if I go out on shopping or for a function I would love to be back in my home by utmost 10 PM. As night grows darker I feel insecure staying away from home. I know its not really good, but I am used to it. When I go for any outstation trip, even if it is a relative's house, the first few days or maximum a week would be enjoyable, after which my heart longs for returning to my home.

Being an IT professional, I may have to face night outs in office in future. But I feel all such things will only make me more attached towards my home.

Home Sweet Home - I love it. :-)

Ullam Ketkume More!!!

I watched the movie Ullam Ketkume yesterday. No, I am not gonna review the movie here. I know its too late to write a review on it. :-) It is a feel good movie and a good entertainer inspite of many stereotypic scenes. Good performances, superb songs, neat screenplay - It is a great movie to watch.

But I would like to speak on something different here. After wacthing the movie, I was very much reminded of my college days. It was kind of nostalgic and I was very emotional for quite sometime.

Our college was 100% different from the colleges shown in movies. But still our college life was almost similar to the ones shown there. Confusing, right? I mean to say that we enjoyed a lot in spite of strict rules and regulations imposed on us.

When you enter a job and get exposed to a completely new environment, you will surely realise at one point of time that you miss your college life, no matter how bad the college is and howevr good your work environment is. You miss all the fun, your friends, those mischiefs in class, the exams fears, the teachers who giuded you, the student life and many more things. A job and your new colleagues surely cannot compensate for everything and surely you will know this at some point of time.

I am in a way blessed to have my college friends in my company and being in touch with them drives away such feelings to some extent. But when I chat with my friends abroad or in other jobs and places, I surely feel that I miss them. That is when "Indha Ullam Ketkume more and more of college life!!!"

Time is the best healer, it will make all these feelings disappear after sometime but still your college friends are a special part of your life. I realise this and I really miss them a lot!!! :-(

Amirdham : The review

Cast: Girish Karnad, Navya Nair, Ganesh(Debut), Anuradha Krishnamoorthy, Rekha and others
Made by: "Vedham Pudhidhu" Kannan
Music: Bavadharini

Amirdham is an off beat movie with a good concept but the worst written screenplay does the spoilplay making it a very ordinary movie and a forgettable one.

The movie mainly is focussed on Bharathi's words: "Saadhigal Illayadi Paapa"(There are no caste differences). But instead of focussing on this, there are a number of other subplots in the movie leaving you in a confused state after 2 hours.

Navya Nair is born in an Iyengar family and falls in love with Ganesh, a non-brahmin. But Ganesh tells Navya that he has no such feelings towards her. The Perumal temple in the village falls in danger with the government planning to demolish it for the sake of fuel resource found below the hill where the temple is situated. In a mutiny to save the temple, the hero dies. The temple is saved as per Supreme court's decision but people are asked to leave the village as the fuel resouce had made the place unfit for human life. Navya joins the dead hero's parents as they leave the village, not as a daughter-in-law, but as their daughter.

Quite awkard story line, right? Yes, thats what is the drawback and the screenplay worsens the effect. In this main story line, many subplots like illegal marriage of hero's father, death of his step sister due to the vengance act of her husband, poverty of Navya's family etc etc are interleaved for no known reason.

A neat screenplay and steady flow of events would have made this an engaging fare but the above said factors make this a poor documentary. The saving graces are Navya nair's performance, the dialogues and good music by Bavadharini.

Verdict: Amirdham - Poisonous screenplay.

GodFather - Rahmanless : The Music Review

I think this is the first time I am writing a music review on my blog. Hereafter I will do it as frequent as I listen to new music albums.

Godfather(Tamil): An album tagged with big names like K.S.Ravikumar, Ultimate Star Ajith Kumar, Kaviperarasu Vairamuthu and of course Isai Puyal A.R.Rahman. Infact, this is one of the main drawback with this album. Expectations grow sky high seeing such a combination but it turns out to just another album with slightly above average attractions. :-(

"Ilamai" is a peppy number repeated once again as Remix version. Its sure a catchy number and will be a hit like Maramkothiye(Anbe Aaruyire). A rocking song to hit top slots in music countdowns and to get repeated all day long in Listener's choices. The only youthful number in the whole album.

"Innisai Alabedaye" is a classical melody with touches of Kuthu in the middle. Some good Tamil lyrics penned by Vairamuthu here but in the orchestration and rendition of the song by the singers, you miss out the beauty in the words. The 3 versions make no difference for the listener. Naresh and Mahathi sound good classically, but a little more imporatance for the clarity of words should have been given.

"Kaatril Oru Vaarthai" by SPB and Sadhana Sargam is a good melody again with Hindustani touches. But the mood of the song is unknown with the song moving in a emotional pace and suddenly the "Saahiba" chorus making it look like a jolly song. Nevertheless, SPB and Sadhana's voices take you through a pleasant journey with this song.

"Kamma Karayile" has some poor lyrics but a great folk orchestra and chorus. And as u listen again and again, this song will sure grow over you and you will love it for sure. Of course, first time it may sound like a B grade private album. Naresh and Sowmiya are just okay, but a better choice of voices would have taken the song to great places. U miss out the "Kuthu" effect. :-)

"Theeyil Vizhundha" by AR Rahman has a pathos mood but this time neither Rahman's voice nor his music does no magic to the listeners. One more forgettable song is "Dhinam Dhinam Deepavali" mainly beacuse of its Northie kinda singers(almost half a dozen of them) with their unusual accents, making it sound like an alien song. It reminds us of Rahman's music from Uzhavan and Kizhkku Cheemayile genre. ;-)

Overall, an album enjoyable after a couple of listenings and will surely impress you very much if you forget it is done by A.R.Rahman.

For die hard fans of Rahman and those who have grown up listening to him like me, this album is a big disappointment as there is no "Rahman's touch" anymore in any of the songs. The freshness of a Rahman's album is surely missing.