To be or not to be...

The following might seem to be a explosion of pessimistic thoughts from a frustrated soul or a immature ramblings of a sambar sadham/appalam/curd rice/pickle-eating Typical South Indian(TSI). Fortunately or unfortunately, this is how I am able to think when some one pampers me with dollar note allowances :D

Here's nothing but a collection of what a TSI encounters in his day to day life in the US of A- the paradise of NRIs with a thirst for money.

Bay Area as far as I heard and seen is the most Indian part of West coast, and much safer place than many other locations in US. In that way, I was lucky to have landed up there twice, that too in the best season which is almost like the one in Bangalore/Delhi in India. Especially my place was full of Indians, most of them Gujjus and Andrawalas.... Optimistic na? :P

Americans are very courteous or appear to be so always. You keep walking on the road and out of somewhere a "Hi" pops up. You turn around to see that its some American uncle/aunty whom you haven't even seen before any time. And you think about your double bedroom apartment in India where you can hardly recognize your neighbor when you meet him outside.

And they are happy to see happy faces around them unaware of the turmoils you have gone through on that day. I was walking back home one weekend when an old man told me "You dropped something".. When I turned around in astonishment, he laughs saying "Its your smile". I was like "Enna koduma sir idhu!" Just then I realized how serious I had been looking all the while.

They have abundance of water resources and the power to create new ones. Still you get only tissues in most places to keep yourself clean. Its not a problem for them any day, because all they eat is dry breads, coke and lot of other stuff most of which TSIs like me cannot even thrust below the throat. But for the amount of oil, spices and gravies we Indians take in everyday, we would need a whole bunch of tissues and picking up them so much anywhere would be looked upon like an odd act.

One major confusion that most people face is that of directions. The left hand steering and the reversed driving pattern would get anyone totally mad for few days until you get used to it. Most times you end up taking the bus in opposite direction in a hurry and finally realize it only when the route is totally new.

You gotta thank the bus driver even if driving you in bus is what he is paid for. And even if you are a regular traveler and you get in and get down at the same stop for many days, unless you raise a stop request, the bus will not stop for you to get down. Old people and handicapped get highest privileges, and if you barge into a bus (like you do in India) when an oldie/handicap is getting down, you would be looked upon like a traitor and worst case would hear an unpleasant "Wait.. Step off" from the driver.

When our people get immersed in Subway, McDonalds, Taco Bells and pizzas, most non-Indians love eating spicy Indian food right from South Indian Dosas to exotic North Indian dishes. And most Indian buffets will find equal number of non Indian population as the Indians.

People(read NRIs) consider it as a big fuss when a new entrant Indian complains about chill weather or wears a jacket. But for a TSI who has spent most of the life in hot and humid climate, even a 16 degrees would be a cold weather until he gets used to it. Unfortunately, no one understands this and keep speaking of their adventures during last winter ending with a scary note "How are you gonna stay here in winter?"

If you are a regular bus traveler, you would frequently encounter variety of strange people. There will be depressed people, who either keep taking to themselves or who talk uselessly with people around. If you get into any conversation with them , you are done because the talk will not stop until you or the other person gets down from the bus.

Then there will be drunkards, especially on weekends who keep mumbling some nonsense with all bad words in English interspersed in between. Unless you share their drink or talk in their wavelength they would not consider you worthy to even sit near them. Apart from this, I have seen some strange characters like the chinese mottai lady who carries half a dozen huge polythene bags of clothes back and forth for no known reason and the fully-covered-in-rags guy whose face is also covered completely with a black cloth all the time.

One more interesting scene is that of couples, who irrespective of the time of the day start feeling their love for each other and stop caressing each other front and back, left and right in public. This can be seen not only in buses or any public gatherings, but even in shopping malls when looking through the racks. I can't understand how could one feel love when looking at Tropicana and Kellogs :P

Leaving office @ 7 PM in India is a proud feat because it means that you are lucky enough than your fellow software coolies who might be slogging till 10 PM or midnight or even after that. But leaving @ 7 PM from your office in US makes you feel like you are the most pitiful soul in the office who is slogging late hours for completing the work :D

Some Indian aunties(aunty => more than 50 yrs of age) and uncles who gave birth to NRIs :D unfit themselves into unusual outfits that you really feel sad for their wannabe American style. There are of course lots of aunties who roam around in sarees/salwars with all essential accessories to protect themselves from heat/cold.

They have no work than to roam around and find similar poor souls, after their sons/daughters are away to office and their grand children to play schools. May be, this in in a way better than your parents staying 1000s of miles away while you calculate every cent and talk to them through calling cards.

But whats the use of the dollars you earn in a country of strange and weird people, when you can't spend proper time with someone you love and care for and be near them when they need you?

That's precisely(!! :P) to be or not to be onsite!

Saroja - A Tale of Brilliance

Very few films have given me the satisfaction of watching a complete movie. That way, Saroja is a movie that has made me happy and contented after a long time. Never in my life I have seen the crowd staying in the theater till the screen goes blank after end titles for a Tamil film. That says volumes about how brilliant a film Saroja is.
Instead of depending on a hero or a director, Saroja is full of team work and team work never fails. Each and every character in the movie has a good role to play and they play it to satisfaction. In these days, when serious movies become full time comedy, it deserves a huge applause to give a thriller with a light string of comedy throughout and keep the audience engaged throughout.
The performance of the 4 friends, especially Premji and his timely punch lines and RJ Shiva's comedy timing deserves appreciation. Prakashraj as the bereaved father in search of his daughter is very natural while Jayaram is a pleasant surprise. Music by Yuvan fits the bill perfectly and all the songs have been well shot and edited.
Even the minor aspects of the film have been taken care well, and lots of little excitements like the cameos. The camera work and stylish editing are the main highlights of the film. Well created, well shot and well packaged, Saroja is definitely one of the best films of the year and a learning for those film makers who are still ignorant of the fact that best films can be made without big stars.

Happy Birthday Haasini...

This blog post is dedicated to all fans, well-wishers, fanatics, one sided lovers and husbands by self-imagination of the cutest actress of Indian Cinema - Genelia D' Souza.
Genelia began her acting career as this tom boyish high society girl Harini, in the film Boys. She was too good for a new comer and it was the first transition of the girl in a parker pen ad to an amateur actress. And after that there was no looking back. Hit or flop, single or double heroine subjects, tamil, hindi or telugu, she left her unforgettable impressions in each and every film she had acted over these very few years. An impression that cannot be erased by time, impression in the hearts of people.
An MBA graduate, she has managed her career very well in this male dominated film industry, by acting in films where she had a very good footage on par with the hero. What matters more than that is the way she had played her roles, most of them will become void without her presence. It becomes unimaginable to place an X or Y actress in her roles.
It is difficult to imagine anyone in place of the egoistic and short tempered Shalini (Sachein), innocent and obedient Madhumathi (Happy), the bubbly and adorable, the immortal Haasini (Bommarillu).. From Harini to Haasini, her roles speak for herself, including the latest Hindi flick Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa. And Haasini was her second transition to a matured actress where she proved her talents and walked away with all accolades.
The industry has seen actresses who became popular through serious roles, dialogue delivery, dance, deglamorized roles, controversial acts etc etc. But Genelia has walked her way through people's hearts as herself. An angel in the disguise of girl next door.
Her cuteness, innocence, the child like smile, those expressive eyes have stolen a number of hearts just like that. She has got the best dressing sense among the actresses of today and whatever she wears never crosses the the boundary of glamour and vulgarity. She is also an excellent dancer, who dances as gracefully as a female can do.
She has loads of talents to be explored, tonnes of best performances to be given to her fans. May God bless her with all successes and good luck, and let she remain the ever smiling Haasini of our hearts!!

♥♥♥♥♥HAPPY ♥♥♥♥♥BIRTHDAY ♥♥♥♥♥GENELIA!♥♥♥♥♥

Of music and movies....

My choice of favorite songs is based on the singers who sing the songs and not by the music director or the actors who act in it. I dont like many of the hit songs just because of the fact I don't like the voices in it or by the way it was sung. I feel that a voice that can hold your senses is what is important in a song and then comes the music and lyrics.

On the other hand, favorite movies have a different criteria. Unless I like the actor and actress in the movie, I never even bother to look at the promos of the movie on TV, however good it is and how many ever people recommend me to watch it. A face that makes you feel happy is more important according to me, and the director, story and plot takes a next preferences.

The above tendency makes me meditate on a few songs and movies again and again till I get bored, or till I get a new favorite. This post is just to mention about few of such songs and movies that I enjoyed recently.

I watched just 4 movies ever since I left India, call it lack of time or interest. First one was Horton hears a who, that I watched on my way in flight. Horton was made familiar to me by Vinodh once during a chat and so i decided to watch it. It was a cool animation film with a cute and affectionate elephant as the central character.

Next was Office Space, recommended by Balaji. Its a movie made almost a decade ago but is very much inline with today's corporate scenario, especially in IT world. Should really appreciate the director's forethought.

Then I watched Billa just for the curiosity of what was there in it, that it was hyped so much by everyone. I totally disliked Rajinikanth's Billa and felt there is nothing worth to remake in it. But I was wrong, because this version of Billa was something more inline with today's genre of movies. It was different to watch Ajith with less dialogues and swear lines(which I feel he is very bad at) and Nayanthara was definitely lots better than a plumpy and bad looking Sripriya. There are lot of negatives about the film but it was a good time pass and the cameraman Nirav Shah and the stylists should be appreciated for packaging the movie very well.

Then finally, I watched Taare Zameen Par, a long time pending movie in my list. It was a very emotional and touching movie especially in the second half after Aamir Khan enters. As everyone who watched the movie said, I could not control my tears towards the end. That kid Darsheel has acted extremely well and realistic and deserves lots of awards for his performance. A unique movie in this age of Hindi movies full of sex, violence and horrible comedy.

Coming to new music that I heard in recent past, one album thats lingering in my mind always is Sakkarakatti. I never had any liking towards Rahman's Hindi albums hat had come in past 4-5 years so its exciting everytime a new album of Rahman is released in Tamil. Sakkarakatti is one album that is worth the excitement.

Taxi Taxi is a very peppy and youthful number that opens up with a bang. Lyrics by Muthukumar about friendship are very catchy. Benny Dayal shines in his western avtar and Blaaze's rap is simply cool. The excellent harmony(Viviane Chaix and Javed Ali) with the Latin(or Spanish?) style beats foils well with the song's flow. Inspite of a westernised number with rap, its very pleasing to the ears unlike the efforts on same lines by other music directors. A song that has already gotten into my list of infinite loop numbers :P

Marudhaani is what Rahman is best at. Melody with western beats. Yet another "Ma" series song Rahman-Vaali combo. The interludes by Rahman himself and the harmony are excellent. I wish Madhushree sings atleast a single song without errors, but everytime she gives Tamil words a hindi face. A Sadhana Sargam or Shreya Ghosal would have definitely a better job, but Madhushree is Rahman's constant choice. Inspite of all, this is an outstanding melody number from this album, that reminds us Rahman of the last decade.

I miss you has a different pattern of music like Thazhuvudhu Nazhuvudhu and Maaja Maaja, but this sounded to me a tonnes better than those two. Chinmayi's voice has a sweet innocence attached to it, which gives the song a special feel. The constant paced and simple beats throughout the song is too good and does not eat up the words.

Chinnamma Chilakamma is the tune of the song with same title from Meenaxi. I thoroughly enjoyed this song because I hated the original version by Sukhwinder singh. Benny Dayal is one of those few singers who pronounces words with prefection and does not eat them up in the name of singing. The clarity in his voice is amazing and his voice is as powerful as Sonu Nigam's in Hindi songs. He is a gifted singer for Tamil Cinema. Chinmayi does her part well, but don't know why she was made to sing like Sayanora Philip or Malgudi Shubha in parts? :) Lyrics by Pa.Vijay are pretty ordinary and shows clearly that they are written for the tune.

Elay is of the same genre Roobaroo from Rang De Basanti and has a similar pattern. It has a very pleasing effect when you hear it. The violin and guitar that plays all through is brilliant. Lyrics by Muthukumar is more of youthful imagination(and surprisingly not childish) and enjoyable. Krish and Naresh iyer do a brilliant job.

Naan Eppodhu is the same tune as Yeh Rishta from Meenaxi, sung by same Reena Bharadwaj. Reena has a beautiful voice but an awful Tamil diction. Same thing as said about choice of voices earlier. I wish she sings atleats a single line in the song without mistakes but not a single line till the end :( The dhol beat thats there throughout the song and lots of string instruments used give the song a divine feel. Pa Vijay's lyrics are simple and meaningful.

Overall, its a great experience for any Rahman fan to listen to this album. Full of youthful vibe... Now all that has to be seen is how well these great songs are shot on screen :)

On the other hand, listening to Sathyam was an ultimate boring experience and it is the worst album from Harris Jayaraj I have ever heard. There is not even a single song that I liked to hear once again. A very forgetful album! Same with the case of Jayam Kondan, Thenavettu and Kuselan. Saroja sounded good only for a couple of songs(Cheeky Cheeky and Dhosth Bada Dhosth).

The photo tag... :)

Ok.. finally got a chance to complete the tag from Shrinivas.. I has been over a month since he tagged :P

Here are the rules.(Copy pasted from Shrinivas :P)

1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into FlickrSearch.
2. Using only the first page, pick an image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

And happily tagging Ram, Nirmal, Vikram and Venky with this one :D

1. What is your first name?
Srinivasan

2. What is your favorite food? Right now?
Dosa - Any variety of Dosa tastes good. :)

3. What high school did you go to?
St. Anne's Mat. Hr. Sec School

4. What is your favorite color?
Blue.. Anything blue :)

5. Who is/was your celebrity crush?
Priyanka Chopra :D

6. Favorite drink?
Filter coffee made by by mom

7. Dream vacation?
Lots of places around Europe

8. Favorite dessert?
Black forest gateau

9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
I have grown enough in size so should try to grow down hereafter :D Moving further, may be a good husband :P

10. What do you love most in life?
Music

11. One Word to describe you.
Lazy

12. Your flickr name.
centumsrini (As like many other login ids :P)

Credits for photos:
1. Vineeth Srinivasan, 2. Masala Dosa, 3. St Anne's School, Bristol, 4. water droplets in the shower - o.k. bokeh, 5. Priyanka Chopra ,Film actor, 6. Simple Filter Coffee!, 7. Zuiderkerk - Amsterdam HDR, 8. My wifes todays artwork: Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest gateau), 9. good husband, 10. Who needs DRUGS when there's MUSIC, 11. Ci-Ci & PB, 12. IMG_0532