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

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On a grand average: 89%

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

Verdict: Sounds very very good!!!
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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