Typical Tamil Mega Serial :P

Dedicated to all poor souls who endure Sun TV mega serial tortures at home :D

A marriage is happening in a hall. The arrangements for marriage would have been done in past 10-15 episodes out of which 5 episodes would have been in marriage hall itself. Now before thaali kattifying one person (mostly a lady) comes and stops the marriage.(The lady coming to marriage hall would have been shown for 10 mins earlier)

Niruthunga!

[thunder music for 10 secs all faces shown]

Indha kalyanam nadakadhu!

[thunder music for 10 secs all faces shown]

Ivaruku indha kalayanam pannika thagudhi illa

[shock music for 10 secs all faces shown]

yen? yen appadi sollra

[repeated atleast 5-6 times by different characters in different ways, every time they finish asking the first person's face and all other's  faces will be shown once]

adhuku oru kaaranam iruku

[suspense music for 10 secs all faces shown]

enna kaaranam? [all faces shown once]

sollu enna kaaranam? [two more ppl ask the same and every time all faces are shown once]

adhu ennanaa....

[suspense music for 10 secs all faces shown]

ivaruku yerkanave kalyanam aaiduchu

[thunder music for 10 secs all faces shown]

ivaru yerkanave innoru ponnku thaali kattitaaru

[thunder music for 10 secs all faces shown]

ivarum andha ponnum ipo purushan pondaati

[thunder music for 10 secs all faces shown]

ivanga rendu perum ipo kalyanam aana thambadhigal

[thunder music for 10 secs all faces shown]

ivaruku idhu rendavadhu kalyanam

[thunder music for 10 secs all faces shown]

[short aahh ooohh title music then break]

- You just finished watching one scene in a Sun tv mega serial :D

Consider similar scenes 30 mins a day 5 days a week, 52 weeks in a year for 5-6 years :D

Manasaatchiye illayada ungalukellam?? :'(

Endhiran - My Point of View

Okay, it’s quite some time since I posted anything on my blog. Thought of entering back here with this lengthy post. :) Before I start with, first things first:

> I am not a fan of Rajini. The last film of his I liked was Muthu.

> I am not a die hard fan of A R Rahman. Especially I liked none of his recent albums very much.

> I am not a too big fan of Shankar. The last film of his which I felt was a complete work was Mudhalvan.

I am a normal film viewer and I have some expectations when I go for a Shankar’s film with Rahman’s music featuring Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai and a crew of topmost technicians from India and world over. This write-up is based only on these aspects and I want to make it clear that, I am not interested in sales or box office collection statistics because they make no sense or are of no value to me.

Endhiran is definitely the biggest film of India till date both in terms of production cost and the reach. But biggest does not always mean the best and this film is an example of that. Claimed as a science fiction movie by many, I found it is nothing more than a typical mass commercial film borrowing lot of science fiction ideas for the flow of events.

The story as such does not have strong foundation like in the case of Shankar's other films (barring Boys and Sivaji). Reasons later. It’s a triangular love story where in the third angle is unusually a humanoid robot. This fact itself was supposed to be very interesting but I didn't find it so. Again reasons later. The robot which turns from good to evil in the second half of the film routes for a gripping climax, thanks to special effects.

The film's main characters except for the robot lack a proper characterization and appeared as alien as their character names. Dr.Vasigaran (Rajini), the robotic scientist makes the humanoid robot named Chitti (named by his mother, I wonder where in Tamil Nadu mothers dream of naming their children with a golti name like Chitti Babu). Vasi is in love with Sana(Aishwarya) with whom Chitti also falls in love at one point when he is given emotional programming and gets lost in it, failing to serve the purpose for which it is created. Vasi destroys it and throws it away in frustration. Dr.Bohra, who is Vasi's Guru but jealous of him, gets Chiti back to form and implants destruction programming in it. This leads to evil consequences that form the rest of the story.

The scientists Vasigaran and Bohra have their own labs which look more like space ships (reminding aliens again). Whereas Vasi's lab has two dumb asses as assistants, Bohra is not even shown to have anyone working with him. It looks as if Bohra managed to create dozens of robots (as shown in one scene) single handedly. What a genius! Wonder if any scientists of today have such sophisticated and well equipped labs, which can function without even proper assistants. It would have been more convincing if it was shown that both scientists work for AIRD and do their research there.

The first half of the film shows the making of Chitti and how well it performs superhuman tasks to benefit mankind. But I don't know what sense it makes to do system/beta testing on a robot meant for defense purposes with household and edupidi tasks in domestic environment. Memorizing telephone directories, scanning exam books and reproducing it for Sana, cooking and so on, the robot's multifaceted capabilities are explained through so many scenes. At one point, it becomes too much to take and the 'Boom Boom Robo Da' song is heights of it. It is ridiculous to see a scientist use a robot created with so much ambition for wearing on his tie and tying his shoe lace.

Of course, the robot also fights goondas and does superhuman stunts by his fire proof, electromagnetic and various other capabilities. The train fight though well executed seems very lengthy. And as I do a rewind of all heroic deeds done by the robot, it all turns out to be what is done by a normal commercial hero in a masala film, but here the viewer is expected to believe that all of them is possible and feasible, because its a robot doing them and it has superhuman powers. The way robot clears up a critical pregnancy case just because it has memorized Sana's medical books is something that happens only in films. Anyways, an element of thaaikulam attraction.

The second half had lot of unwanted scenes, the most boring ones like the ridiculous mosquito sequence, chitti dance and lead sequence before Kilimanjaro song. Many scenes look placed just for the sake of it, like the one when power goes down and robots walk over to the road using car batteries to recharge themselves. I wondered what purpose the whole sequence served. Scenes like dumping the dismantled robot in a corporation dustbin and showing that it is taken to a dump yard of normal garbage look totally bizarre in today's era of e-waste disposal campaigns and considering the fact that a robotic scientist cannot dispose his years of work just like that. Add to it that fact that the robot can reconstruct itself even at such a crippled stage.

There are scenes of confused logic, like the one when evil Chitti kidnaps Sana from wedding hall and fights with police, 100s of bullets rain all over. It is accepted that Chitti survives it by some power it has, but there is no explanation how a human Sana and a normal car can survive all that, especially Sana escapes without even a scratch, turning out to be better constructed than Chitti. The end scene is supposed to be a tear jerker meant for Thaaikulams wherein Chitti dismantles itself and some ‘messages’ are forcefully thrown in for the audience.

The only solace for second half is the climax sequence visual effects with ideas heavily borrowed from popular Hollywood films like Matrix, Anaconda etc. The effects are very well done as in Hollywood but the worming, deworming, electromagnetic blah blahs, though technically needed for the sequence are too heavy for a layman to understand. And again in this scene, when everything around the robot is crushed by it, a mere caravan with hi-fi equipments remains as it is and dodges over all the robotic destruction skills. Heroism!

Rajinikanth has done lot of work for the film especially with the makeup, robotic acts and so on, a remarkable feat for his age. But just makeup can't hide his ageing face which looks very odd with layered makeup in many scenes. He puts up a good show as a villain towards the end, but the robotic body language is totally missing and he acts like a normal human, may be director's fault. An evil chip can change the programming logic but cannot make a robot act like human villain. So the villainous laugh and all other acts are unconvincing when you think it is done by a robot.

Considering that his fights in recent films usually contained unbelievable sequences and over the top action, the fights does not seem to evoke any wonder, unless you remind yourself that it is being done by a robot here. And even the robotic dance in Irumbile oru Idhayam is nothing so different from what robotic steps Rajini did in his previous hits like Thillana Thillana. The romantic scenes between Rajini and Aishwarya might be enjoyable for may be die hard Rajini fans, but to me it was such a pain to watch such scenes.

Aishwarya surprisingly looked beautiful though lines of ageing showed up even in her face in some scenes. Given a heavy footage for a major portion of the film unlike Shriyas and Soundharyas, she could have done a better job than just looking beautiful. Scenes in which she emoted or tried to emote show that she is still of same standard as what she was in Jeans. The oddest thing is the way she sits in the scenes after evil Chitti kidnaps her, like someone waiting in a passport office. Looked like serious lack of acting skills or interest to act.

Danny Denzongpa as Dr.Bohra had nothing much to do rather than mouth some lines in a base voice, look intelligent in some scenes and frustrated or furious in others before he dies in the hands of evil Chitti. The other characters hardly had anything significant to do in the film and their absence would have been no big loss to the film. Infact, it would have atleast made the film more gripping.

Of Rahman's songs, Kaadhal Anukal (I hate this song's audio for no known reason) and Irumbile oru Idhayam are visually brilliant. Arima Arima has the grandeur of a Shankar's film song but is not very interesting like Mudhalvane or Adhiradi kaaran. The background score was just fine but definitely not what one expects from Rahman. Kilimanjaro song except for the locales, is a totally wasted song with the slow paced, uninteresting picturisation and its unwanted placement, which mars the sagging pace of the screenplay further.

The film is anyway supposed to look brilliant from technical point of view considering that a huge portion of the budget is spent for these and thankfully all of it has come out well. The technical crew of the film is the one that deserves credit for anything good about the film, be it the sets (Sabu Cyril who appears in a cameo) which show the massive thought process put in, costumes and makeup especially for the robot, brilliant camera work by Rathnavelu throughout, climax visual effects which give a feel of watching a Hollywood film and editing which was good but could have been much better particularly for second half.

Shankar deserves a big appreciation for all the conceptualization and execution, but this is one of his bad outings as a screenplay writer. What could have been made excellently as a slick 2 hour animation film has been overcooked with heroism, unwanted sequences and songs. There is a social linkage with Shankar's films like Gentleman, Indian, Mudhalvan or Anniyan, which makes you relate to the characters in the film. This is definitely lacking in Endhiran. The societal impact a robot is not explained in concrete terms even though the film touches upon it here and there. The film is more about the havoc created by a robot in Vasi and Sana's personal life.

There are lot of action sequences scorched with over heroism which would have been a topic of fun if present in any other hero's films. There were logical loopholes which would have been blown out of proportion in any other hero's films. There existed zero chemistry between the lead pair which would have not mattered even if it existed in any other hero's films. Songs appeared out of the blue when not asked for but that should not be the case when it is any other hero's film. Okay, I am not supposed to find such faults or question them, because it is a Rajini's film. Ok, Done!

On the whole, the film offered a good time pass, more of a children's kind and was worth watching once. The experience was better than Shivaji, which for me was nothing but a elite standard Perarasu film in high budget. It lives upto all its Hollywood-like expectations, only for the technical aspects. It is like a half cooked meal offered in a five star hotel. You enjoy the entire ambience but not the food.

The Rajini factor seems to have been added for just for the sales promotion, revenue generation and getting the film a very big reach which could not have been possible with a normal animation film or a film with a hero of lesser market. The end product is unfortunately something that lies between a Rajini style film and a sci-fi film with Shankar's extravaganza for support. Rajini fans may love it for his presence, but for me it makes no difference.

To end with: "Enaku Endhiran pudikala nu sollala. Pudichirundha nalla irundhirukum nu thaan sollren" ;-)

AAAAAARRRRRRRGH!

10 most irritating categories of people

1. Public smokers: Killing themselves and poisoning others, the worst human beings who pollute the world around us for their personal satisfaction. Worst are the nicotine stinking people coming near you after somoking, even worse is the ones trying to hide that nicotine stink using chweing gums.

2. Drunkards: Out of control and with a nauseating stink, these people are worst especially when we encounter them in public transportation. Sometimes they sit or stand near you putting you in the most awkward situation, especially when the bus is crowded. In an AC coach or Volvo AC bus, the worst smell fills the air like poison.

3. Nose picking people: Often encountered in buses and public places, having the worstest public hygiene and lack of civic sense. Don't they realize that it is a disgusting scene to others as bad as digging into ur a****le or rubbing your crotch area?

4. People who spit in public: This is yet another case of spreading your diseases to others by spitting in whatever possible places possible. Sometimes with yucky paan combination or more yucky beetle leaf combination, this not only is unhygienic but also spoils the neatness of public places

5. Late comers: Be it for a causal meet or a family outing, I hate keeping people waiting and I expect the same from others too. Simply because time is precious and we cannot take someone for granted just because we know them well. It is better to specify a later time or cancel the plan rather than making someone wait and testing their patience. Same applies when specifying time of return when you leave home. I am talking about delays of an hour or more here, not 10-15 mins.

6. Opinion thrusters: There are people who generalize their personal opinion as a public talk. Or canvass their thoughts in such a way that others should agree upon it. And in some cases, try to change our opinion on something and replace theirs instead. All these irritate me to such a extent and it is in one way a mental torture to deal with such people.

7. Sadists: There are many ways people behave as sadists. But what I often encounter is those who inspite of knowing that a person likes something or someone keep telling their bad comments and dump their hatredness towards that peson or thing in front of us. I dislike many things but never talk bad about it to someone who has a liking for it. But I have never had a similar reciprocation from anyone, infact it hurts a lot when people talk bad about something to you, knowing very well it is close to your heart. They are no less than sadists.

8. Egoists: Another worst class of people to deal with especially when you have to interact with them frequently for personal or official reasons. When people are stubborn for a long time, you lose any interest of having even a casual chat with them. At some point of time, it is good for everyone to give up and have a respect for others' feelings and there is nothing wrong in being the first person to give your hand for a shake.

9. Big mouths: Such people are really annoying may be since I am someone who enjoys silence more than noise. People who talk more than their age, people who make a fuss of everything, people who talk too much about themselves, people who are opinionated, people who talk non-stop are all very irritating to handle in life.

10. Irresponsible people: At some age everyone should acquire a maturity and be capable of taking up responsibilities failing which there is no way that they can face hurdles in life. It is really irritating to come across people, be it younger or older ones, who fail in their responsibilities and become dependent on others instead of they supporting the ones dependent on them. And when you assume onus of doing something, it is always good to act responsible and if you can't, it is better that you never take it up in first place.

5 most irritating things around me

1. Power cuts: Most worst thing to happen in a hot and humid city like Chennai and whats most irritating about it is that common man who uses fans and lights at his house has to take suffering for power scarcity while political and spiritual events, commercial establishments etc can still waste power in worthless ways and still enjoy doing so.

2. Traffic jams: Most traffic jams occur with equal responsibility of civic sense lacking public and ineffective traffic management. Drivers, especially the ones driving lorries, public buses and two wheelers ride without any botheration for others around them which is the only reason all traffic control measures go in vain.

3. Flyovers: While it is good to see flyovers that come across railway level crossings, the ones inside the city have no meaning and doesn't serve any purpose, as most of them are not used by public transport, are built in a direction in which there is less traffic flow and in many places they have led to congestion on either sides of the flyover. How can you call a flyover effective when it has less traffic flow and the whole area below it is congested?

4. Autodrivers: Chennai probably has the worst auto transport thanks to its drivers. From demanding double fare for a minimum charge walkable distance taking advantage of helplessness of passengers to ruthlessly charging high fares for every trip blaming fuel fares, autowallahs in Chennai have been behaving like they are from other planet to help people here. And worst that there is no regulation or any control over them till now.

5. Government functions: Anything that deals with government departments or officials is an annoying dealing where inspite of paying heavy amounts in white and black, you work happens only at their own pace and convenience. While it is being claimed of as a trustable and safe, even a simple transaction in a public sector bank is still a painful affair. Somethings never change and this complacence has become a character of government establishments.