The Wake Up Alarm

So what's the purpose of having an alarm?

Well, the intention is to get up at the set time.

As long as that is clear, I guess we are okay.
Then why press the snooze button for the next one hour? Might as well, set the alarm to ring after one hour? Doesnt that make more sense?

Actually it truly does, but who wants to buy logic.

Its an Alarm! For you, it may sound like birds chirping inside the room trying to wake you up. For the other person who doesnt want to get up, its a damn alarm and when it rings for 12 times in the next one hour, its definitely annoying. Aint it?

I really wonder if the mind works like clock-work. Every five minutes, find that snooze button, press it and then get back to routine.

So you dont like me keeping an alarm to get up? I wont keep an alarm at all ever.

With this, I am trying to start the regular updates on my blog. Hopefully, interesting events would trigger and that would give a chance for coverage and representation.

Jessie

The base guitar chords create a magical moment to start with. When the camera moves from the Punnamada Lake in Allepey to the beautiful church, you hear...

"Of all the girls in this world, why did I fall in love with Jessie?"
This dialogue is repeated a number of times in the movie.

When you hear this dialogue from Simbu, you can feel love.
When his camera-man friend says this, there is a bit of fear.
When his sister says this, it comes like a natural warning and disapproval.
When Jessie herself asks the question back to Simbu, you can understand the confusion in her mind.

Sexy, classy, well read. Thats Jessie for you.

Gautam Vasudev Menon, in his latest movie, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya (VTV), has taken a very simple subject - Romance, given it the exact touch it needs for the year 2010 and has displayed brilliance in execution.

With romance in the air, you can be rest assured that AR Rahman is definitely going to treat you. In fact, romance is a subject where every music director shows his best. With ARR, you dont have to ask. Remember Bombay - those beats and background scores when they show Shaila Banu. Its the same with VTV. Rahman has given importance to melody along with modernity. In fact, the screenplay for VTV is best explained only through ARR's compositions.

Hosanna - a song picturised in the shores of Malta introduces us to love. This song is the beginning of a wonderful love story; a simple love-at-first-sight song yet powerful. What I like about VTV is the way the story is being told. The viewpoint is always from one angle - that is from Simbu. The story is what he sees and feels. There is not one scene where Simbu is not there, which probably supports my argument as well.

Omana Penne - the second song in the movie and another love song. Well, actually the love is still not there completely. Its still one sided. Before this song, Trisha asks Simbu why he liked her so much and this song gives all the answers. Every word in this song is reflective of what Simbu feels or atleast what the director wants Simbu to feel.

Kannukkul Kannai - Jessie is confused. She does not want love because she thinks its going to hurt her. But she does not stop her lover. She wants the relationship to be open and at the level of being friends. When its love, you cannot make such boundaries. Thats what this song comes to say passionately. The violin portions in the beginning show the intensity of the lover, his anger towards Jessie for being impossible. Even though he is angry, he loves her and he cannot leave her. The line "Kadhal endraal kaayam thaan" - meaning love always hurts brings so much meaning to the situation.

Mannippaaya - sung by Shreya Ghoshal and ARR. If you ask me, I would say that this song is where love actually begins in the movie. Jessie is madly in love. She accepts, realizes her mistake of not revealing her love for Karthik. "Mannippaaya" sounds like a sad song but its nothing like that. Its a true reflection of how Jessie understands the real feeling of being in love.

Gautam Menon has always kept some part of himself in all of his movies. He has given his voice for Jerry, Jessie's brother. We also notice the "GVM 8004" written on the ship in the song Kannukkul Kannai.

VTV's story maybe the same as what we saw in Alaigal Oivathillai. Hindu boy falls in love with Christian girl, family doesnt like, and then there is a rift. But the good part about watching a movie with the same theme in 2010 is how each of us can connect with it. In love, there are no enemies who will come in 10 Tata Sumo's to attack you. You dont have to jump across 20 men or hit all of them at one go. Its only about love and the two people involved. VTV is like just another love story that happens in your college or friends circle; the songs and locations are to add some flavor for the 2.5 hrs you spend in the cinema hall.

Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya - Thamarai's lyrics beautifully rendered by Karthik, the splendid guitar chords take us to the peak of love.

Aromale - a complete malayalam song written by Kaithappram (a well renowned musician and lyricist, brilliant carnatic singer as well); sung by Alphonse (a music director as well). Karthik is reflecting back on love. He takes us back to those wonderful moments in few minutes. This song reminds you of some accoustic compositions of Bryan Adams. There is a bit of soft rock in the beginning; the tempo builds later.

Anbil Avan - celebrating love happily. Jessie and Karthik say their vows and get married. Chinmayi and Devan mesmerize you completely with their voice. ARR blends carnatic instruments perfectly into this themed song where they show a church and temple wedding.

Gautam Menon should always be appreciated for his choice of actors for the movie. The way he conceptualizes a character and fits the actor there is mind-blowing. Trisha is so perfect for Jessie. Eevry dialog, expression is so hand-crafted. Just like how they make the Rolls Royce. But sometimes you dont like the trims. Like I didnt like the way she kept reminding us that she was a Malayali by talking three words in malayalam every 20 minutes. And grow up Simbu rather Gautam, you cant be so dumb in 2010. Kerala is not just about "puttu-kadalai". You get the same quality or even better even in Chennai. We know that you want the guy to act stupid in front of his girl; the typical girl-guy conversations when the guy has to make some stupid arguments or comments, but could have done better there.

Overall: Awesome movie if you like love stories

Swimming

Summer time in Chennai. To beat the heat, I decided to join swimming classes. Today was my third class. I am still learning to float properly. My body has become very stiff - I guess its mainly because of going to the gym. Quads are not moving as required. Shoulders are also quite rigid.

Anyway, today the instructor was watching me do the float drill for sometime. And then he also asked me to do the float and kick drill. While I was doing that, (obviously I wasn't doing it right at all), he tried to help me. And then he started.

First, you should take a deep breath. Then push the wall with your legs; go inside the water, keep head down, touch chest with chin and keep your hands straight. You should loosen your body and try to float. While doing all this correctly, you should also start kicking with your legs straight.

The moment he finished this and I started my first try at what he told me, I remembered this sequence below (starting at the 55th second) and I just went straight inside. Took me a few seconds to come back on my feet and bring up head out of water. In process drank some as well. Enjoy

Paiya

Before the release of this movie, Actor Suriya told - What Kaakha Kaakha did to me, is what Paiya will do to Karthi.

After you see the movie, you will probably understand what he really meant. After Kaakha Kaakha, the Suriya and Jothika relationship went really strong. Maybe that's what Suriya meant about Karthi and Tamannah. HA HA HA

God knows what was in Lingusamy's mind when he decided to make a movie and name it Paiya. There is absolutely no story.

A jobless hero sees the beautiful heroine on a bus-stop, decides to fall in love with her, accidentally runs into her in a train station and drives her from Bangalore to Mumbai because she asks him to. That's all. So, we know that there is absolutely NO SCRIPT for this movie, which means that SCREENPLAY also takes a straight dive into the ocean. When there is no script and screenplay, what can you do with direction and cinematography. So, all technical aspects of the movie score negative.

Karthi maintains an informal urban look all through the movie. I think his acting skills were wasted ever since the days of Parutthiveeran. In this movie, he is just a driver. He fights like a warlord. Apart from that, he is just imagining and dreaming about Tamannah.

I dont understand when Tamil cinema will make meaningful fights. I mean fights that really need to be there and that make you believe. Paiya has fights that are unwanted - totally unwanted; just occupying screen time.

What makes you feel good when you see the movie is, I am sorry but its a guy thing - Tamannah. She is super dazzling throughout the movie. She is not the hot and sexy types. She also doesnt portray herself that way. Its like this. Remember how sexy and hot Sameera Reddy looked when she acted with Shiny Ahuja in some hindi movie, but Gautam Menon brought her to Tamil, gave her some super nice costumes and made her look stunning without all these revealing clothes. Just the same way with Tamannah. She is awesome in a decent way.

But otherwise, if you asked me what is there in the movie Paiya. Absolutely Nothing. I am sure that some of our Hindu Newspaper reviewers are going to praise this movie for this and that.

Even the music is very pedestrian. Yuvan has sung one song and every time I ask this question - why do you have to sing a song? I mean, its not happening for you. For ARR, the charm works. Don't you realise that its not working well with you. Please stick to composing. Again, all songs are pretty sub-standard. There is no wow-factor.

Lingusamy - please internalize, realize and react. Your movies like RUN and Sandakkozhi, which were also themed on fights, were brilliant. Both were a commercial success. From Bheema, you've been on the wrong side of the learning curve. I hope you can do something better.

Overall: Fails to impress.

Aayirathil Oruvan

Well, this was definitely the most awaited movie. But post the imtermission, you really start to wonder - Is this what I get after 2 years and 4 months of effort! That is Selvaraghavan's Aayirathil Oruvan (AO) for you - A period movie which sometimes makes you feel like a period porn movie. Never watch it with your kids.

12th century - The last remaining Chola king orders his people to escape an invasion.
21st century - a team led by Reema, with support from the army and an archaeologist (Andrea) start an expedition in search of Andrea's father who is reported missing from an island off Vietnam. Researchers believed that this island is where the Cholas landed centuries back and still lived there. The remaining part of the story is how the team gets there and what happens henceforth.

Andrea Jeremiah plays the role of an archaeologist. What makes me wonder is why she gets very little screen space in the whole movie. Hardly any dialogue. For an archaeologist who is going in search of her father who is also an archaeologist, what I would think is she should be playing an important part. Andrea is of least importance to anyone.

Karthi is part of a gang of workers, who are helping the team carry stuff during the expedition. Again, this is just a small graduation from the previous movie where he was an uneducated village rowdy. Karthi does his part really well in the first half of the movie. His random comments about the expedition, trying to show some style on both the women and his fears about what's happening keeps us laughing and interested in the whole movie. In the second half, we dont get much of him.

Director Selva has done brilliant work on the script and theme. Trying to create something in the lines of Indiana Jones, Jack Sparrow, and the likes of King Solomon's Mines for the Tamil audience is actually wonderful and breathtaking. Talking of the rivalry between Cholas and Pandiyas, going in search of a kingdom in an unknown island, crossing obstacles - fire, warriors, snakes, hunger, haunted village, quagmires etc is mind-blowing. I dont know what happened to Selva after having come up with such a nice theme. There is enough foul language. Soon, we have the women shaking their bottoms violently, showing the belly, hurling abusive words at each other. "Govinda" song is like a bondage and domination song.

Post intermission, we see interactions between the people of the lost kingdom and the team (Reema, Andrea and Karthi). This is where the story loses pace. Reema and Andrea are flashing their you know what (obviously we dont get to see them). Soon, Reema and Parthipan (playing the role of current Chola King) have a part that keeps dragging and dragging. Seemed like an awful waste of time and money. The Chola king is thinking only about sex and food. And this is where you begin to hate what you liked all the while. Then there is a war and the movie comes to an end at some point.

Hats off to the cameraman, art team (graphics and props). It definitely is an amazing display of talent. Be it the ancient village, warriors, scary snakes, fireballs, stonehenge type rock settings, a golden town, and then the kingdom inside the caves - every penny has been well spent.

Reema has an awesome role. Leave apart the places where she is wearing less clothes, showing her back, little bit of front as well - her character is full of fire. Reema is the only person who makes a definite impact in the second half of the story.

AO is a bold attempt in an era where directors only think of making money through hopeless commercial movies. I would have been happy if there was less emphasis on displaying the body. This kind, of shows, that in history, we were more bothered about sex and nothing else. That sucks. Also, we don't have to have songs in such movies. The movies can be made for 2hrs and can still do well.

Overall: Historical adult movie