Yaaradi Nee Mohini

Maybe it was Dhanush's dream to do a movie where he plays a software professional. I wouldn't blame him but the director for having placed very less importance on doing proper groundwork for the role.

A guy who doesn't even know the J of Java decides to find himself a job inside a software firm just because he runs into a pretty girl on the road who apparently is one of the project managers with that firm. He learns Java in a day, sorry, its just one night, just by memorising that "java is an object oriented language", cracks the written test, group discussion and personal interview.



Dhanush plays the irresponsible son of Raguvaran who is a school teacher. Dad keeps scolding his son endlessly. I wonder why Dhanush always ends up in a role where he gets tongue-lashed by his family. Or is it because of Selvaraghavan? Did he think that Dhanush was a spoilt child in his family and so he decided to take revenge on screen? Haha.. whatever!

So we know that our hero lands up in an IT firm. Without much PLANNING, he did a REQUIREMENT ANALYSIS and got the job. When it came to DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT, he screwed up. The server crashed. What an insane IT firm!! They don't even have a back up of the code. Hero learns the remaining of Java in the next few hours and starts coding. In the morning, when people come to office, he hands them the code printed in paper. Guys - gimme a break. Did you know that there is something called EMAIL? And then we see this funny message "CODE ACTIVATED" on the screen. Come on dude, ever since vacuum tubes were in existence, you guys have been showing us the same thing. Can't you get more creative and sensible?

IMPLEMENTATION goes for another toss. As our hero tries to convey his love to Nayantara, she rejects him totally.

Raguvaran does an amazing role in the movie. What is so shocking is his on-screen death because of getting drunk, which soon turns out to be a real life incident. Painful. What a tragic co-incidence.

Nayantara is JUST BEAUTIFUL in the movie. In the beginning, she is an angry project manager but towards the second half, she transforms completely. Selection of half-sari's for her costume is definitely worth a mention.



Karthik Kumar - yes, the EVAM Guy. Again ends up in a role where he has to let go of the girl he is supposed to marry. Oops, if that gives you any clue. But, amazing scope of role. He has a very important and meaningful role in the movie. His screen presence is very good. Some of his scenes and dialogs could have been avoided - especially the one where he asks a third person (here its a friend) to sing about his future wife. I'd blame the Selvaraghavan and team here. Would you ask your friend to sing and describe your girl-friend. Absolute stupidity. Third-rate behavior. Selva - please think. It doesn't cost much.

Anandavalli alias Pooja. Don't know her real name. She is one helluva pretty girl who is going to make waves. She has a crush on Dhanush and she gets a song with him too.

Nayantara - did she act at all? Nothing evident. Dhanush - tried to act but didnt work out well.

Music - nothing worth mentioning or reviewing. Since the movie is a re-make of a Telugu version there wouldn't have been any difficulty in knowing the mood at every point. Having known that much before, the compositions are still bad.

Overall Rating - Still worth a big laugh. Can see it once.

He Says She Says

She: Honey, can you trim my toe nail. I seem to have some difficulty to bend.

He: Do you know the reason Honey! its only because of saturated fat.

She: ##$$ OFF

Poem: Your innermost desire

when i asked you,
you told me no
i refused to believe
coz' it was not you

i was sure
you didnt want that
your heart told yes
the lips told no

now tell me yes
tell me what i want
really really
tell me what you want

Office Conversations

So every office has N number of systems passing data here and there. Half the time we dont even know why there are so many systems, why do they follow redundant processes and why can't things be simplified.

But, with an ever expanding office, these questions sometimes just go unheard of. While I was caught amidst the demands of these painful systems to input the information that it required, a funny incident happened.

I had to add a location by the name Luxembourg into a peoplesoft system because one member from my team was travelling. Since that location was not available in the list of places, I had to place a request. I wonder why they have some strange policies for adding a location onto a system. They asked me too many questions - most of which was unwanted.



Anyway, so I dropped an email to the helpdesk guys to add the location. A day later I got a call back from the helpdesk guy(H).

H: Which project? (And I give him the project details)

H: Let me get into the project details screen.

Me: Ok (thinking that this guy knows what he is doing)

H: Ok, so what is the service order?

Me: (i got confused now. why did he need the service order? this was nowhere connected to that? but then i still decided to give him the answer) Let me tell you where it is (and i walked him through a few screens and brought him to the service order screen)

Me: Can you see the number 1215078? That is the service order.

H: Oh yeah I see it now.

(There is some silence now. Still wondering why this number connected to the problem I reported, I thought he was thinking about the solution. Maybe something innovative.)

H:(suddenly) But this service order is attached to a resource called Praveen and not Luxembourg

Me: (totally shocked, I didn't know what this guy meant. After a few seconds, I realized that this guy had actually thought that Luxembourg was the name of a resource within the company. Controlling my laughter burst, I decided to explain the problem to him)
See, thats not the problem. Let me tell you what needs to be done
(and I showed him the right place to fix the problem)

H: Oh, you mean this one! For this, you have to ask the Database Team in Calcutta. This is not controlled by us.

Me: (Oh yeah, when Luxembourg becomes a employee name for you, I am quite sure you wouldn't have any clue) THANKS, please forward my request to them.

(By the way, Luxembourg has still not been added into the system. Those guys have contacted the European Head to get some approvals. God only knows!!!)

Our Boys

This picture has been in circulation for a while now. Its simply hilarious. I hope these cricketers get a chance to see this and give some arbit explanation for the same.

The name is Rajnikanth

I was quite reluctant to buy this book, the first time I saw it on the stands in Landmark.

Then later I decided, what the hell, let me see what's in there. I picked it from a local music-world and started reading.

The book, as everyone can guess, is totally about what Shivaji Rao's life has been till now. It creates a perfect blend of what the times were during the pre-filmy years and after entering into films.

There is more emphasis on the journey, which is something that most people dont know and are not aware of. A journey of how a mischievous shivaji rao, who was roaming the streets of bangalore with his friends, wasting time and money, not thinking much about his poor family, to becoming a superhero.

The whole story is quite simple - I mean, the way its represented in the book. No bombastic words. Language is quite simple. Sometimes it feels like as if you are reading through a collection of random blog posts by the same person.



The book takes an interesting journey. There is no chronology as such. We get into the past where Shivaji is a child and then in the next one we suddenly leap into, for example, a chapter about how he got married to Lata. So, in way, even if you think that you are going to get bored reading about someone's life, you'll be kept at a reasonable pace because of changing moods.

What I could learn after reading this book is that most of what we see about Rajni in his movies is perhaps a reflection of what his life has been. He put in efforts towards making a movie on Raghavendra or Baba was only because he strongly believed that these two people make a great impact on his religious sentiments.

The most important part of this book is stories about hardships, economic dependance, friendship, struggle, hope, confidence, crisis etc. I think I can just go on. Frankly, thats the truth. There is a lot of unknown stuff about Rajni and his early years in Madras (much before he met KB for Apoorva Ragangal) and this book simply gets all that to light.

The book also tell us stuff about politics in Tamil Nadu and even the Centre, how Rajni got himself involved unnecessarily and burnt his fingers. Incidents such as the elections, Veerappan's escapades, Cauvery issue are highlights.

Coming to stuff that cant be avoided. This book could have been edited with maybe a steady mind. Its so full of mistakes. And mistakes when done on facts really irritates anyone. Especially when movie enthusiasts read this book, they'll probably want to just throw this book into the trash can for such bad editing. Most movie names are quoted wrong - dont know if there was any intention. At some places, even the connections with dates and movies are wrong. After seeing so many mistakes, I strongly felt that the book shouldnt be selling for even half the price.

Verdict: If you are a hardcore Rajni fan, then its worth a buy.. Dont buy if off the stands, its very expensive. Get it on the web. Its a lot cheaper. Or even a pirated version would do.

Marketing

I came across this picture during my random images search in Google. It was a big surprise for me!

Although when you look close, this looks like a very bad job done out of Adobe Photoshop, but still, its something totally different and revolutionary.

DOVE - a very famous brand name among Indian households used to run this campaign in the UK where they employed non-ramp-walk models to promote their skin products. So these women who were part of the posters used to be a little on the plump side, nevertheless pretty.

Coming back to this - I am trying to figure out what was in this Brazilian Beer Maker's mind.

I mean, in one way, you could say that the company is trying to tell the world that they have a beer brand that even pregnant women can enjoy. Considering the fact that pregnant women have to keep themselves away from alcohol, which is sometimes a big sacrifice for a lot of women in the west.

A non alcoholic beer for pregnant women? Not just women, but I guess in some way, men as well (some men don't drink for the sake of their partners). OR, are they trying to pack this as a family drink?

On the other hand, aren't they subconsciously sending a disturbing message to the public?

I can also see a somewhat distorted "S", signifying surrogate advertising.

But I am still a bit confused. Do you readers have any MBA related thoughts on this?

Scarlett

The other day I was watching Barkha Dutt's discussion on NDTV about Scarlett Keeling case. There were people from different walks of life - press, government, writers, and of course the residents of Goa.

After that one hour discussion, what I still can't believe is that idiot power minister or whoever he is talking about Goa still being a safe place and blaming the girl for all what happened. The Secretary of the Goa Ministry - some Singh he is. He was talking bulshit too.

I mean for once can't someone in power tell directly that he will castrate the accused if proven guilty?

They kept telling all long winding stories about how Goa has been a nice place all this while and this was just a one-off incident that they are sorry about and all that nonsense.

India men in this aspect look absolutely sexually deprived. Especially, if you take the ones that are involved in such cases. They just think that they can do anything with tourists and get away with it. And I guess its also got to do with the way the Indian men treat their country women too. Mostly there is a lot of disrespect. I mean its time women's liberation fronts did something here. They keep fighting for stuff like domestic violence. But they also dont realise that its the same men who are tarnishing the face of the country. If you go to any tourist spot in India that is filled with white women, I am quite sure that you can uncover a whole lot of connections - like drugs, mafia, police. Everybody works hand in hand.

Okay, you ruthless pricks can be sex deprived. You wouldn't have seen white breasts for sure. But does that mean that you have to go and kill someone? That too a 15 year old girl? She can be whatever - a drug addict or even a sex machine. Why commit the brutal act of taking someone's life?

The government here blames the mother. What the fuck! Why can't they bloody well nab the people involved and make them incapable of doing anything of that sort again - just cut it off i mean. Sometimes I think we'll do better if we have rules that some Middle Eastern countries have. Pure Force. All this secular and democratic crap is just complicating things.

People say - Better to be safe than be sorry. But are we really looking at the problem here.

For all those tourists who are still out there, am sorry but this country still needs a lot of laws to keep you safe. Until then, if you are a lone traveller don't venture out after mid-night. Its not just Goa but everywhere.

Cornered

So I was at a family wedding. Something funny had to happen. And so it began.

Relatives will be called R1, R2 etc. Otherwise its too difficult. My mom's extended family was almost 100+ strong during the wedding. Rather complicated.

The scene is the evening Engagement and Sangeeth. And everyone is ready to pose in front of my new companion - the D80.

Amidst all that noise...



R1: Hey, did you see that girl? (Immediately cautioning me) Now don't turn around and look behind. She is wearing a white salwar and sitting on the second row from the dais. It seems her dad is totally ready to... (i am pretending that i did not hear this part).. so what do you say?

Me: (Not very convinced with the argument and also not knowing what to say). Is it?

I turned around and looked at the girl.

Me: Oh, this one eh. This topic (girl i meant) came up some time back also and I didn't want to pursue it.

R1: Why?

Me:(In my mind - its so easy to ask questions. You know how difficult it is to give an explanation for a NO) I really don't know but I don't think I want to get married to her.

R1: I think she is really pretty and she will be the best person for our family. She looks just right. What more do you need? I don't think you'll get a better person that her.

(Judgment was made now. I was losing it. But I told myself - this is just another stage. I just need to comfortably get myself out of this nonsense)

Me: No, if this is getting to where I am guessing it will, I will not be here for the wedding tomorrow. I will not come back tomorrow morning.

R1 goes to a group where R2 to Rn are sitting. The topic has been introduced to everyone now. So all eyes are in one direction. I am trying to keep myself away from talking to any other person.

R2: Why, what's wrong?

Me: I don't feel like it.

R2: Then what kind of a girl would you marry?

Me: (Not wanting to sing "Oru Ooril Azhage" from the movie "Kaakha Kaakha") Well, when I get married to that someone, I'll let you know and you can find out.

R3:(who was standing behind R2 and watching in silence) Oh, so you want the bells to ring as an indication? (referring to the Tamil movie "Mozhi" )

Me:(totally embarrassed) Maybe, I really need the bell to ring.

R1 calls R4 who has been running around and meeting everyone at the hall.

R1(explains everything to R4): So what do you say?

R4: She is ok. Can't say anything wrong about her.

Me: Well, I don't want people who you find to be just "ok" nor people with whom you can find any fault, so you judge them as just the right person.

R5: What's happening here?

Then R5 gets a dump of whatever happened till now. R5 takes a quick look and then..

R5: Hmm... she is ok but I wouldn't recommend.

Me: (feeling happy that I was not getting cornered) Now that's what I call a real savior.

Thought Provoking

I found this quote in another blog when I was browsing...

The person who says that rape within a marriage should be acceptable also thinks that long distance travel with a child next to you is enjoyable. Scary

I love this video

Star Wars

Ultimate at Ahmedabad

So our two day trip to Ahmedabad finally happened last weekend.

We did play with the Ahmedabad and Delhi teams, had an awesome time interacting with everyone out there. Such selfless people they were - each and everyone of them.



Made a lot of friends, networked a bit.

Manu has written a very very long post about what happened on the two days in Ahmedabad.

You can read it here

http://rhapsoder.blogspot.com/2008/02/first-ultimate-frisbee-nationals.html

I was thinking that I should write something, but then I felt too lazy.

Poem: Remembrance

She left
the fortune seekers land
was waiting for her

pangs of regret
pangs of love
deep within her
heavy heavy heart

puzzled and bemused
he stared at the monitor
waiting to hear
just waiting to hear

days had passed
with no response
he felt helpless
hope was a ray of light

one day she wrote
"when i open my eyes
to that beautiful view,
i see her standing tall on liberty island,
the next thought is you"

he vowed to himself
to get there once
genuflect and say thanks
his life now had
a new french connection

Pin number reversal

I got this piece of text as an email today from a friend.

This goes like "in case of being confronted by a robber at the ATM, if you enter the ATM Pin in the reverse, the system while dispensing cash as it does normally, recognizes it as an emergency and triggers an alert to the police"

Wow, amazing technology eh! Well, after the umpteen number of jokes that comedians from yesteryear till the latest ones today, have made, on the Tamil Nadu Police, did you ever imagine that this would work?

Even with the best law and order system, this wouldn't work because this system has not been implemented at all.

So this is yet another URBAN LEGEND.

Half the people will take time in typing out the number in reverse order. That action would by itself be a clean give-away to the thief. He'd be thinking - "What the heck is this guy doing, fumbling with keying his ATM Pin?" That'll be a total give-away!

But, having said that, there is actually a technology that has been developed by Joseph Zingher in the US called SafetyPIN, that can exactly do what the hoax email claims, but none of the banks have implemented this.

Comign back to the reverse PIN, thats a logical flaw by itself. What if someone had a palindrome type PIN number?

The preparation

This story is about office stuff. Certain parts might look a bit exaggerated for the reader, but it truly isnt like that.

Introducing the main character - so, I have a friend in the office who works with another project team. By nature, she is a very innocent and sweet person. Its her first job and she is all energized to do anything and everything - the go-getter kinds.

But you know about big organizations, right? At times, they have a strange influence of the government. Things happen a bit slowly. People sit around a bit, taking their own sweet time.

Our lady was very annoyed with what was happening. In her team, she was the youngest and she wasnt getting the "state-of-the-art work" and any travel. If there was any travel, then arranging for a visa took most of the time. Dont get me started about the visa desk. That's another post. Anyway, past is past.

Then she got into a very good project with a bank. She worked really hard, put a lot of effort into contributing to the project, along with her manager who was working with the client.

Travel dates got fixed. It was decided that she'll be at the client's office for more than a week. The excitement began. She got herself new clothes - the kit allowance was used effectively. Tickets were getting blocked.

Meanwhile, she gets an email/call telling her that she should have a "preparation call". More excitement. She quickly straightens out the presentation deck and then also gets ready an elevator pitch, just to create the right impression - sends it out to the people concerned. Running in her mind are thoughts - ok, we'll be discussing our game plan for the next week, what our presentations are going to focus on, who are the people we are going to meet, what kind of future work can we pitch,... a host of things like that.

The preparation call begins. Questions are coming from the other side - Have you got your tickets? Has peoplesoft been updated? Did you find a good hotel? Also, make that coconut oil bottle a 500ml one, instead of 250ml. By the way, you are coming only for 10 days, which means less clothes to carry, so can you get more stuff - like sweets, sambhar powder etc?

In her mind ("oh my god! is this preparation"?)....

There is no substitute

I was amazed by the title of this movie. It said "Kaalai - There is no substitute."

From the beginning, this movie was complete chaos. You can understand what I mean when I say this - "You cant get any hint of the story till the intermission". I dont know whether it was the intention of the screenplay writer or the director, but its such a tragedy that no effort was made to keep the storyline a bit synchronous. There is also too much, what the tamil movie industry calls "BUILD UP" for Simbu. WHY?



Three people with the name Jeeva get introduced at various points during the first quarter of the movie and we get no clue of what these people are upto. Each one hates another - well this is also not known or rather unclear for sometime. Then there are some random fights - dont bother who gets involved in the fight. Its one of the Jeevas.

Who are the Jeevas - One of the Jeevas gets shot at by cop Jeeva. So we dont have to know who he is. The hero kidnaps the daughter of the cop Jeeva and threatens him. The hero is the next Jeeva.

Simbu as the hero in this movie is totally insane. He has completely lost his acting talent. He was much better in his previous movies. Take Kovil for example. He was quite a good actor. In this movie, all he does is, talks like a filthy idiot and acts like a clown. He sings as well - one song which translates as "little devil", he calls his lady love like that. I wonder who'd call their partner a devil. And this song is no different than the Yammaadi Aatthaadi song in Vallavan. Same tune. If the music director is different, then you know who copied.

Vedhika as the lady in the lead just hangs around with skimpy clothing. I am 100 percent confident that other directors will think twice before signing her for the next movie. She can be the item number queen for 2008. With a hip size of less than 26, trying to look like Yana Gupta in certain angles/positions, and with no acting skills, she can best fit the one song category of girls.



The director is Tarun Gopi. And apparently, he is the director for the Vishal damager movie Thimiru. See similarities now? Hero comes to city from a village. A woman is the gang leader for the thugs.

Lal is the policeman, but totally doesnt look like one. He sports a stubble almost throughout the movie, looks are umkempt. Absolutely pathetic.

Sangeetha is definitely sexy. Although she kinda plays the god-mother role, her part pouty lips attract your attention.

The best part of the movie is the end, where Simbu is blocked by 10 people who dont want him to kill the villain. Simbu struggles fiercely and then comes the comparison with a raging bull during the traditional "jallikattu*". His feet prod into the ground and then we see the legs of the bull doing the same. Then we see an angry face trying to break free. Next is the bull furiously shaking its head.

Until this scene in the movie, I never understood why the movie was Kaalai. The director made his punch finally.

*jallikattu - similar to the bull-fighting in spain. happens in tamil nadu villages.

Singapore Night Grand Prix

Singapore is having its first formula one race this year in September and its going to be a night race. Thats like too much excitement.

The circuit is around the Marina Bay area - and if you are familiar with Singapore, it goes through Raffles Boulevard, St Andrews Road and Anderson Bridge.

Here is a simulation of the whole circuits. You can see a number of straights and lots of overtaking opportunities.

I think its going to be an amazing race.

What word?

You lock the door of your house, and then walk about 50 meters on the road and then suddenly you get this feeling - "Have i locked the main door? Or did i forget". So you walk back to check.

Same with your car, you know that you've used the remote and pressed the LOCK button. But then after walking a few yards away, you still get this feeling - "Did it actually lock. Let me check it once more."

Is there a word to describe such a thought in your mind? I am not looking for standard OED words, but there must something like the sniglets.

Poem: His Pet

Without any fear
and immense delight
he found his new friend
who'd be his best companion ever!

every morning
at the call of the birds
he would run to the door
and shout - "Blacky!!!"
at the top of his voice

only to see
the thumping of the tail
one big hug
to the patient saint bernard
for him, this big buddy
was just like a soft toy

lazy afternoons
were always at the doorstep
with a parle in hand
he'd place his head
right on its neck
thinking it was a bolster

Spark of Fire

I have been listening to Bharathiyaar (the greatest tamil poet ever) songs lately, especially "Suttum Vizhi Chudarthaan". I have this CD that I got - Sikkil Gurucharan's voice with Anil Srinivasan on the piano. When the song begins, it feels like a pleasant rainfall in your heart.

I think its more to do with the lyrics. Non-Tamil readers please excuse. This song has created such an impact over the last few weeks that I decided I must write a post to try and bring out, perhaps the untold.

It brings out feelings of love and passion in such a beautiful manner, you'll understand when you read till the end.

suttum vizhich chudardhaan kannammaa sooriya chandhiraroa
vattak kariyavizhi kannammaa vaanak karumai kolloa
pattuk karuneelap pudavai padhiththa nal vayiram
natta nadu nisiyil theriyum natchaththirangaladi


The poet usually takes the reference of Kannamma, who in this song is young lady and a graceful lover.

He is amazed by the gaze of her eyes - compares that with the sun and the moon. The light from the orange sun during an early sunrise which is comparable to fire or the bright moon on a full moon day - both bring so much brightness to her appearance. Her round black eyeballs, for him, reminds of the darkness of the skies. Her sari, dark blue in color also signifies the night, but studded with diamonds is like the stars that decorate the beautiful night. In effect, he tells that her appearance is as enthralling as a sparkling night sky.

soalai malaroliyoa unadhu sundharap punnagaidhaan
neelak kadalalaiyae unadhu nenjilalaigaladi
koalak kuyiloasai unadhu kuralininimaiyadi
vaalaik kumariyadi kannammaa maruvak kaadhal kondaen

The colorful flowers in the garden. Imagine the sunflower that glows in the spring when the rays of the sun fall on its petals. Now imagine her smile - it brings out a brilliance and refulgence. The waves of her heart is now compared to the sea. Here it refers to the fluctuations of the thoughts. Her voice is sweeter than the sound of the koel. Oh virgin beauty, I am charmed by my love. Here, the end is a flawless declaration of love. Its the nascent love that when told, reflects on her smile, makes her heart waver and leap with happiness.

saaththiram paesugiraay kannammaa saaththiram aedhukkadi
aaththiram kondavarkkae kannammaa saaththiram undoadi
mooththavar sammadhiyil vadhuvai muraigal pinbu seyvoam
kaaththiruppaenoadi idhu paar kannaththu muththam onru

You speak of rules, but why do we need rules? Rules are only for the people who are impatient. The inner detail here is - our love is full of passion, so why should there be a boundary. The poet questions Kannamma and ensures that he gets her attention completely. Under the auspicious presence and acceptance of the elders, the marital procedures shall be conducted, but that will be later. Will I be waiting, look here, a kiss on the cheek. We can see the shift of impatience here. The poet initially tells that rules are for the impatient. Kannamma is aware of the poet's impatience and hence she has her rules, but the poet calls her twice here and tries to change her mind. For him and his deep love for her, she is already his. The wedding is just a ritual for the sake of the society.

In all this, we can see that the poet wants to express just pure love for his Kannamma. He is not bothered about the society because he has made up his mind already. His love is uncontrollable and flows like a stream as the song begins.

Chennai Ultimate goes National

The dates have been decided - its the 23rd and the 24th of February 2008.

A team from the Chennai Ultimate Frisbee Club would be visiting Ahmedabad to play a inter-city tournament - Chennai, Ahmedabad and Delhi.

Ahmedabad has had an ultimate team for quite some time now. Its part of an NGO called Indicorps. The website is www.indicorps.org

Delhi Ultimate is mostly people from the embassy and others who have come back to India.

And then we have the Madras Machaans who are all enthu to go and rock.

Starting today, we've had drills and concentrated practice sessions. We have just about 3 weekends to play with each other, observe and understand each other's moves. That would give us an intuitive approach towards the game. I am reminded of Kabir Khan's dialog about team spirit. We have the right people and the talent. We just need to be TOGETHER.

I am all excited. I have canceled all my plans, not just travel, till the 24th. I am going to be on an overdose of frisbee for the next few weeks.

FT Rankings 2008

Well, it was a cool surprise for me. I wasn't in the country and then suddenly I got to know through g-talk status messages that ISB has been ranked 20th in the world by the FT this year.



**************************

Ok.. there was some content here (instead of the stars) since yesterday, and comments over that piece opened a Pandora box. So I have removed all of that.

Thanks for all the comments and I really appreciate the efforts. I do agree with whatever was told. Let the journey continue....

Bheema: Disgusting violence and nothing more

One of those usual hot day afternoons in chennai. I drive into the cinema hall to park and the person at the gate asks me if there is someone below 18 who is with me to watch the movie. That's when the thought struck me. What am I going to witness for the next three hours? How am i going to feel at the end of it? Are scenes in the movie so gory that they dont want to allow children into the hall?

With such questions I walked into the hall.



Bheema is a story about a youth who gets inspiration from seeing a local don in his neighborhood. What has tamil cinema gotten into these days? We are in a culture and system where we are expecting the children and young citizens to derive inspiration from achievements of people like Kalam, Rajat Gupta, Tatas, and Birlas etc. And here we have someone who wants to go around beating people to death. That's one good reason why I dont want any child to watch this movie and I appreciate the guy at the gate to have asked me that question.

I dont think I can appreciate this movie as an entertainer. So, you are guessing this review is going to drag this movie to the gutter. Not really.

Anyway, what you'd probably take back from this movie is about the countless number of people who get beaten up by the hero and his gang. You'd just want a breather from a gang fight that just finished and within minutes another one would begin. In that aspect, I'd give a bow to Kanal Kannan for his research on keeping the fight sequences quite intense.

As a hero, for Vikram, there is very less to perform - what we call dialog delivery. All he does is beats up close to 50 people at a time or shoots a few while escaping their bullets like Agent Smith. Everything about Vikram in this movie is larger than life. So, there is nothing you can really compare and contrast.

Trisha - I wonder why she signed up for this movie. She has no role to play. She is just there because tamil cinema needs a girl for romance and then comes all the nonsense about love songs and glamour. I liked Trisha's costume though. She looked very pretty in those tops and skirts. Not just the design, but the colors as well. Most of them were mild and pleasant pastel colors, not striking to the eye, but still making that impact so you'll want to notice.



Prakash Raj as the don shows a lot of meaning in his role. He not ruthless, no does he terrorize. He is patient and understanding. He is perhaps a father figure. Some of his conversations with Vikram and Lakshmi Gopalswamy (who plays his wife) is interesting and worth noting. This is where the inner conscience speaks and when it does, it speaks nothing but the truth.

Everybody has a small amount of fear inside them. Nobody is fearless.

Music is not very appealing. After a while, you'll notice that the rhythm and base chords for most songs is the same. And then when you compare that base model with other songs that Harris J composed for few other movies, you'll realise that its the same thing that is getting repeated time and again.

When the movie ended, I was a bit surprised. Although I had my own suspicions about the characters, I wasnt too sure. I guess that's perhaps the best way to have ended this movie. Nothing else would have worked better for such a horrible screenplay.

Bringing back

I don't know how, but suddenly I remembered this song out of the blue. I was telling myself - Its such a beautiful song.

After searching on YouTube and on the internet in general, I was able to download an mp3.

I am not going to introduce the song to you. Listen to it and enjoy the feeling. If you know what movie its from, and the singer - then you can choose to leave that piece of information as a comment. People who visit will benefit from the knowledge transfer.


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Photo Conversations

One of those weekends at home. I want to be totally lazy, watch TV, eat, sleep a little and then waste time when....

Mom: Look at this photo on your profile. It is not at all good. Who will like this?

Me(somewhere at the background): someone will - definitely!

Mom (with that angry and disgusted-about-my-answer look on her face): Definitely not. I myself will not recommend to anyone after looking at this photo. How many times have I told you? Go to the studio and take a nice photo. Dress up well. Put some powder. You know! - the photographer will take a very nice photo.

Me: But mom, the photographer can capture only what's already there. He can't make me look like a supermodel.

Mom: If not a supermodel, then at least he will get you close to look like a first round reject of a supermodel hunt contest.
And did you ever see these photos before uploading them? In all photos, you have a stubble and wild unkempt hair. And why cant you wear good clothes. With a round neck t-shirt and a camera bag hanging by your side, you are looking like one of those tired tourists with huge bags on their back.

Me: They are called backpackers.

Mom (more disgusted): Is that very important for us right now? And what is that black pattern near your kurta in the other photo? I have never seen that?

Me (not really bothered about): Oh, that is ******'s sari pallu. We took the photo standing next to each other. I had to cut the photo and I couldn't get that bit out.

Mom (totally mad): I haven't seen a single photo with just you in it.

Me(grinning): I am popular mom. Everyone needs a photo with Mama.

Mom (totally given up on me now): Yeah keep telling this. If you don't listen to me, you will never get married. Another 5 years will pass. Then your friends' children will also start calling you mama.

A sack of salt

In less than a month if I am right, it would be placements time at the ISB. This post goes out to all those people from the current batch who visit my blog.

Guys, I know its the most important time. I know that everything that happens during that time matters, but this is not the end. In fact, I would go and say that for most of us, the placement season is not even a beginning.

You'd enter the print room inside the student village to get a print out and you'll accidentally see your batch mate's resume lying there. Simple curiosity would pressurize you to have a quick glance at the highlighted bullets AND THEN?

Few of them would claim stories about the Innovation Challenge. The fact of the matter would be true to a large extent, but they would have twisted the information in such a skillful manner that it would be hard to believe.

Then you'd have people claiming "chosen from the whole batch to do this and that" - well the point here would be that - the administration would have no choice than to get someone from the GSB because according to them, the GSB represents the batch. But for some, this is also a resume spike.

Then you'll have some more people talking about scoring highest marks during the core terms. Okay, agreed. They worked extremely hard and scored the highest marks. But how does it matter? For all you know, that course was so difficult that even the guy who scored 20 marks less also got an A. In the end, its the A that matters - not who scored highest.

Then you'll have all the directors and deputy directors of the professional clubs going gaa-gaa about their work, when most work would have been done - either by the club president alone, or business development team at the ISB, or sponsors themselves or the administration.

Non-professional clubs are not be left too. You'll have some more presidents claiming about having started some new talk series - all they would have done is called one person to talk. after that no one would have had time to do anything. but the claim would continue.

And many many more...

That's why I am telling you that this is not the end. Its just a beginning. The world outside has at least another 1500 more of such people.

Not even 3 months and all of you will be out in the open trying to find a place for yourselves to settle down.

The time that is remaining is the best time guys. Make use of every minute. This is the time to make more friends - meet all those people who you haven't met all this while on campus. Get to know them. You don't know how long it will be before you meet them again. At that time, you don't want to be introducing yourself to your own batch mate.

And seriously, its quite impossible to keep in touch with everyone regularly. So make a list of 20 friends, if that is too small, then 30, with whom you'd want to be in touch with for the rest of your life. Spend quality time with them. Go out for dinners. Talk about stuff other than life inside campus. Get to know them well. I am telling you - this would help a lot. Not in the next one year. Much later. But sow the seeds right now. Its for mutual benefit.

Your friends on campus, whom you talk to everyday would need your support during the next month or so. Jobs wouldn't happen for everyone on day one or day two. After your first job, don't really bother about your second job. You'll get it. Stay with your friends and encourage them. The placement week is not just about you. Its about everybody around you. You'll be known for what you are.

Take everything that you see around you with a bag of salt. Reality is yet to come - it would strike around 6 months from when you join your first job. When you join work is when you'll realize that the company you thought to be excellent before signing the LoI is totally disgusting. The best of the jobs aren't always made on campus. A lot of it is made outside.

Bottomline: If you missed all the fun till now, there is still time. Don't miss the opportunity.

Poem:The intruder (In Hindi)

The same poem in Hindi. All credit goes to my friend. She writes at: Dhiiti

tum meri zindagi mein aaye
meri aankhon ke saamne
ek safar karne
shayad ek tarfa

woh thanda samah, aas pas ka shor
tak tak
meri or
tumpe koi na pada asar
tumhe aur tumhare astitva ko

khushi ke chakkar
mere daftar ke andar
tumhari vella-panti
tumhare liye, humari jagah sirf rahi ek maze ki baat

ek hi tarah ki aawaz karte hue
aur shayad baatcheet
un unsuni bhashaon mein
kisi bhi tarah ka na tha sangeet

pareshan hairaan
zor se maara
aur bola- tumhari aatma ko shanti mile
arre bevkoof macchar!!

Poem: The intruder

you flew into my life
right in front of my eyes
taking a journey
perhaps of no return

the cold environment, noises from keystrokes
around me
never did matter
to you and your existence

circles of joy
inside my workplace
were your pastime
for you - my bay was more than an adventure trail

monotonous sounds you made
or maybe even a dialog
in incomprehensible languages
were definitely not
music to my ears

irritated and tired
i struck you hard
and said - "Rest in Peace!
You silly Mosquito"

Taare Zameen Par

I am still not sure how this post is going to turn out. My friends who saw this movie before me told me that they were completely bowled over by the emotional aspects of this movie and were crying and sobbing all through the movie.

Nevertheless, it didn't turn out so bad for me.



Taare Zameen Par (TZP) is a movie for all parents. There is definitely a message inside the movie but we know that cinema always gives an overdose of anything.

Credit goes to whoever has chosen the child to play the part of Ishaan Awasthi (Darsheel). The story revolves around this dyslectic child and he gives meaning to all the characters around him.

Bottomline: Its about your child - how you look at them and treat them. And in many instances you can relate the movie to happenings around you.

Like the mother at home, who always likes the children to remove their shoes at the door, drop the school bag at the right place, then wash your hands, legs and face before touching any food - everything in that fashion. I know that most of us never wanted to do all this, but maybe we did it out of force or like how Ishaan plays the role - we went all out and did totally the opposite.

Then we have the dad - who always thinks that academics and good grades are the only means to have a good career. But sincerely speaking - dad's are not at all like what we see in the movie. This guy is totally annoying and overdoing.

Next comes the brother - I am sure that each and every one of us would have someone like this guy in the family. If not a sibling, but definitely a cousin who can be compared to all the time. This one guy who would be the first in class always, play sports, work like a clock and get the best name from the teachers. Thank god, the elder brother is a very gentle and nice person here.

I still remember - although I wasn't anything like this guy, but I was better than my sister in terms of being disciplined. And the teachers always told my parents - "Is this Narayan's sister?" And then my sister would curse me at home for just entering this world four years earlier than she did. This was pre 10th grade in school. After that she did much much better than I did.



Darsheel at certain instances reminds me totally of sister - careless, not bothering about anything. I can still recount those funny incidents at home - my mom screaming at the top of her voice at 8am and trying everything get my sister ready for an 8.15 school.

Teachers at school - I seriously dont understand the role of teachers. Are they just facilitators or they teach as well? The movie clearly questions the role of teachers in a school and lays emphasis on the fact that they need to play a very important role in nurturing a child's talents by understanding them completely.

Then we have older children in the aparment who bully the young, class mates at school who laugh at you when the teacher shouts at you.

The movie runs with a reasonable pace, giving all the time for Darsheel. No hurry. His expressions are captured at full length. Music is just too good. Shankar Ehsaan Loy at their best again. One song where the child questions his mom is lot of message to the viewers.

Aamir Khan plays the supporting actor. He is the good cop. The teacher who can understand the child and educate the parents. But all through the movie, we can see that he is mostly crying or trying to show that he will cry in the next scene. Very emotional - maybe that's what the character demands but not overdoing anything.

Tis film is part documentary type too. Its more of an education to parents and revelation that says - NEVER COMPARE

Something good for the New Year

I was thinking about what different could I do for this New Year. Thinking about it, I went through a number of blogs that I usually visit over a period of time. And then I saw a post about this website called : FreeRice

FreeRice has been created for a social cause. And how do they do it. You play a word game with on the site and guess the answer. For every answer you get right, the site would donate 20 grains of rice to the fight the cause of hunger.

Isn't that the best way to donate for a cause. You also get to learn a new word every time you answer. And mind you - its gets very difficult after a point. You'd see the most strange words ever! Yes, its totally like the GRE or GMAT system, the moment you get the answer right, the complexity increases by a large degree.

So - here's an appeal to all you word enthusiasts, GMAT and GRE freaks who are cramming word lists day in and day out. Spend about 10 minutes every day on this website. You'll definitely learn words that are never part of the GRE High Frequency list. Best part - you'll be part of a great cause.

Kodi Biking Trip

Kodi - it was such an unplanned trip for me. KK was planning to cycle the hills with a couple of friends. My Kodi trip was supposed to start on Friday (28th) evening. Then I thought - what the hell, why would I want to go to Kodi for just 1.5 days? So I checked with KK if I could join him for the cycling trip. Luckily, there was a cycle available for me at the Kodi guest house.

That was it! On 25th morning, I jumped onto KK's Indigo and we drove to Kodaikanal. Reached there around 5pm. Our first stop was the Golf Club where we met the gang. The cycling plan was explained to us and then we were all set.

Day One - We started around half past nine on the observatory road. there were three Ford Endeavors with food and water, two people on the motorbike to help with us any problems with the cycles, and a masseur. the first stretch was an uphill and it was quite bad. most of the them were gasping for breath, but still made it. flat roads to begin with would have been better i thought. from there it was downhill for a while. this road was taking us to Mannavanur. the total distance was around 35 kms. at the downhill stretch, our bikes were speeding at more than 40kmph. little did we know what was going to happen. my bike went out of control at a bend. i tried braking hard - didnt work out that well. the bike was skidding and i was going to go straight into the mountain. thats when i realized that i had to do something. so i jumped off the bike and landed on my back. luckily, nothing serious except for a minor internal damage to the thigh muscle. about 50 mtrs behind another person fell - and that was KK. he had a bad fall - bruised his elbow and knee. we started off again. what was waiting for us was one helluva hill climb - a never ending one rather. with every turn we took, we hoped that it would lead to a flat road, but it never worked to our favor. finally, we came to our lunch spot. it was like a cliff, from where we could see the sheep farm and the area surrounding it. from there it was downhill. we kept cycling till we reached a point where the road forked to Berijam and Kavunji. We took the road to Berijam and cycled a few kms. Berijam is a protected area and tourists are not allowed into that forest belt. a few kms towards the Berijam lake and then it was time to head back.



Kodi Biking Trip

Day Two - started with two rounds of the lake. then we took a right turn at the bus stand near the lake into the road that led to Villupatti. Initial downhill, after that, it was 1.5kms of pure uphill. when we got to the top, most of us were knacker ed. we took the straight road which was another downhill-uphill combination. at one point, the road forked and went further up. if we had done that hill as well, then it would have been the best climb. but didn't do it - junta was tired. that hill was leading us to Nayudupuram. we drove back and took the road to Kurinji Temple. towards the right of the temple there was a small road that was leading us back to the lake - a distance of about 5 kms i guess. this trip was close to 25kms. the best part about day two cycling - the uphill and downhill circuits were more frequent. so, more work. in the day one track, we had flat roads and small gradients as well. in such places we could cycle fast and get some pace. with the uphill downhill combo, the problem was - one needs to keep braking when downhill and then change gears to prepare for uphill. all the speed that you gather when you come downhill comes down by a fifth. if you didnt brake, then you'd definitely be under one of those speeding cars coming on the opposite side.

Evano Oruvan: Thinks like Everyone

Everyday we are sick and tired of so many things that happen around us. For people like me - the bike in front cuts the lane to make you brake hard, one rain and the whole city is inundated, authorities are not bothered, people jump the STOP LINE at the signal and take off 4 seconds before the Green signal. people park their vehicles on the main road and block the traffic.. the list goes on.

For an average educated man, lets say middle class - who is either a government employee or has a bank job, its a little different. He struggles to make ends meet. His life runs on a budget. Even a slight shake given by an external force would trouble his normal life and routine. And this is what we see about Sridhar Vasudevan (Madhavan) - a middle class Brahman bank employee.

Let me not spend time in writing about what the story is. It would be better if we concentrate on the main characters and the screenplay.

The main credit goes to the handling of the story. Although Nishikanth Kamath - the screenplay writer and director of this movie is giving us a re-production of Dombivili Fast, the original movie, we still need to give him extra credit for showing us a protagonist who feels just like how many educated individuals do.



Madhavan plays a character who is affected by corruption and malpractice happening around him. He has his own principles and his principles aren't anything strange that this society would mock at. He wants to be honest, hard working and sincere. He expects the elements around him to work quite like him. This is when all the trouble starts.

The long queue to get a bucket of water, the street vendor who charges extra money for aerated drinks, the depositor who gets a loan sanction without submitting proper documents, policemen who are not bothered by neighborhood unfriendly activities, the school principal asking for a hefty donation to provide admission - all these incidents show extreme pressure on a middle class individual who expects the system to help his existence.

The monotonous middle class life that runs like the hands of a clock - the daily alarm at 5.30am, the same vegetables, packed curd rice, train journey to office, punching a few checks at the bank, the 5pm bell and you are back home - ready to start another day. Along with this, you have the wife and children.

Sangeetha plays the wife character. Very genuine and typical - the way you'd see it in most families. Her life just goes in preparing lunch, taking care of the house and running behind the uncooperative children shouting at them to get ready for school. She is annoyed that her husband lives by the rule book. She wants a moderately happy lifestyle for family and she is prepared to let the system function the way it does, even if its taking a toll on their family budget.

Seeman, the police officer, is perhaps the best character. In a supporting role, he is able to understand the emotions of an educated man. He accepts the fact that the inefficiencies and loopholes in the system coupled with the people that exploit the same are reasons for anger and despair. At the same time he is unable to do anything to change the same. The same reflects in the climax. He succumbs to the system.

For me it was a very hard movie, especially when it was a night show. I walked out feeling heavy. But the society has to learn a lot from this.

I feel bad that such movies will just go away with the screen impact. IT professionals like me, who have new found wealth will further ruin this - we will not bother about paying a small premium for no better service. And this will directly impact the people in the middle strata, because their salaries will not rise like ours, but the system will demand more from everyone.

The evolution of dance

Judson is the creator and performer of “The Evolution of Dance” the Internet video that has taken the world by storm amassing over 10 millions views in under two weeks and featured on CNN, MSN.com, E! Entertainment, USA Today, Good Morning America, The Today Show, AOL.com, Google, and countless others.



#1 Most Viewed All Time Video on YouTube.com
#1 Top Rated Video on YouTube.com
#3 Most Discussed Video on YouTube.com

Billa 2007: the sleek outlaw

The best of the breed Derringers, Walthers, and Colts that slip to everyone's hips, chic women and dapper men clad in elegant black suits and Ray Ban sun-glasses, sports class mercs and bmw's, a picturesque Malaysia - is what takes Billa 2007 to a class of its own.



Billa 2007 is a re-make of the original Billa starring Superstar. To give you a background. It was first Don by Amitabh B, then Billa by Superstar, then Don again by Shah Rukh Khan and now Billa with Ultimate Star Ajith.

Storyline is pretty much the same. No changes that alarm you. I liked the handling of the screenplay to some extent. Since it was a re-make, importance wasnt given to explaining why some events were happening. It was rather expected to be understood. Hats off to the director and the production team - few characters who appeared in the original movie were thrown off. Teh script was much more crisp. Efforts were spent in ensuring the actors and locations match the current trends.

The movie was completely shot in Malaysia, which is something worth mentioning. Not too many movies are done like that. The choice of locations had an amazing blend with the screenplay. Drug and weapon dealings in airport hangars and old workshops give you a feeling of seeing a Hollywood movie. Then relaxing in spa resorts with a glass of wine and babes by your side gives that James Bond touch.

Ajith fits well into the role of Billa. He has done a good job. We know he can't dance that well. He tried to do something in two dance numbers, but it wasnt any good. So lets leave that part out. Dialogues were too cool - atleast for the first Billa. Velu's dialogues weren't fitting too well. It looked like there was enough reel space to waste. But when Velu comes back as Billa, things came back to normal. Ajith also performed well int he fight sequences. One part worth mentioning is the car chase. Ajith being a race driver had probably done this by himself. This was really cool.



The babes - Namitha and Nayanthara. Justice somewhat done. Namitha - my friends call her "Yaana-mitha". She definitely looks like a baby elephant in the movie. But still doesnt go away from short dresses. Babes associated with mafia have never been so plump - okay for such a judgement, my first reference is hollywood. Nayanthara - wow, wasnt she amazing!!! Stiletto heels and sports wear displaying more than what was required; with the pistol hanging by the hips; when she was walking or maybe parading; she looked like she was imitating Angy in Lara Croft and Halle Berry in the Bond movie. Her electric and athletic looks helped in pulling attention and she was a much much better fit inside the bad gang.

What like best about Nayanthara's role - there is one part where she comes to the swimming pool wearing a bikini. The camera pans directly to her back and you can see the Billa tattoo, just like the picture above. Crazy Sexy Cool it was.

Music is awesome. Yuvan Shankar Raja has given a feel of arrogance and attitude for most songs. The background music is also amazing. Two songs remixed from the old movie - pulled off quite well.

The most funny thing was Billa, police and the villain fighting for a pen-drive. Maybe, the director or the screenplay writer just ran out of ideas. In the current scenario, where technology is just everywhere around you, you'll roll on the floor and laugh when someone shoots a climax scene just for getting hold of ONE pen-drive. One could have just made a copy and given it.

The Billa fever has caught up already. Two people I know are wearing the same type of glasses that the babes used in the movie. I am sure that the tattoos are on the way.

What is my safety?

New money and old mindsets clash amid claims dishonest wives are exploiting the freedom of men.

A few days back, I read about a Delhi software engineer and his parents getting arrested and being jailed for an offense that does not need any investigation. What are we talking about here? Its the INDIAN DOWRY LAW.

The real offense was a failed marriage but a complaint from his wife on dowry grounds has just turned the whole story Topsy-turvy.

And what do we have - a man who is accused of a crime he was never into. His name has been recorded in the police register. In effect, his future has been taken for a big ride.

Why are men being subject to such treatment? Why cant there be an investigation? Why cant they register a case against both parties concerned? When a family combines both man and woman, why is a dowry related case always against the man?

I just cant understand why the laws in this country seem to be one-sided. More than 80% of this country's tax-payers are men and the women get more benefits for paying tax? And then they talk about equality for women. They have seats reserved for women in the assembly, on buses and trains. So why can't they have seats reserved for men too? Till when will our society live like this?

Let me tell you something. Perhaps the situation was bad before - even with the middle class people. Our society had discriminated against women for centuries. Agreed. And now, it might still be bad with the people at the lowest levels but with the educated class, things are much much better. But, we see educated women misusing the law to their benefit because they know that there is a loophole in the legal system.

A lawyer argues - "Just look at conviction rates for rape in England which are also low but nobody says rape does not happen". Very True. I have no doubt about that. But our law also says that you can let 100 criminals escape but not let one innocent person behind bars. So why does this law work this way?

The police commissioner claims that only 2 percent of dowry cases are this way. So what? Are you trying to fix those?

I know that - our country is still male dominated. Ours is a place where a crime against a woman happens every 33 minutes and there is one "dowry death" every 104 minutes. Less than half of the women can read or write. And more than 10 million female fetuses have been aborted in the last 20 years.

Today, I wonder. This is one portion of an educated society that I am totally unaware of. Maybe there is more to come.

Doobography

This post is dedicated to COW, who plays Ultimate with us in Chennai. Why COW - well, ask his numerous girlfriends.

Click here to check his profile on ORKUT.

Also, click here to see a community on his name with a huge fan following.

These enthusiastic fans are the creative brains behind the following film names/adaptations. By the way, all the film names given below are Tamil Film Names. So, non-tamil readers please excuse me.

Dooba - Baba
Dooba Oru Kelvi Kuri - Buvana oru kelvi kuri
Dooba Appathithan - aval appadithaan
Naan Dooba Illai - naan mahan illai
Doobadhavan - padikadhavan
Murattu Dooba - murattu kaalai
Pokkiri dooba - pokkiri raja
Thani kaatu dooba - thani kattu raja
Paayum dooba - paayum puli
Thudikkum dooba - thudikkum karangal
Adutha dooba - adutha vaarisu
Thanga dooba - thanga magan
Naan sigappu dooba - naan sigappu manithan
Mr. Dooba - Mr. Bharath
Doobathin thalaivan - Dharmathin thalaivan
Doob parakuthu - kodi parakuthu
Dooba durai - Dharma durai
Doopathi - thalapathi
Anbulla albertkanth - anbulla rajnikanth
Moondru Doobam - moondru mugam
Doobayutham - dharmayutham
Doobachalam - Arunachalam
Doobaji - Shivaji
Sri Doobavendra - Sri Raghavendra
Doobakann - Netrikann
Dooba Piravi - Athisiya Piravi
Doobayappa - Padayappa
Doosha - Baasha
Dilla - Billa
Doobathi Dooba - Raajathi Raaja
Doobamalai - Annamalai
Doobthu - Muthu
Dooban - Mannan
Doobavirku entha ooru - Thambiku entha ooru
Apoorva Doobangal - Apoorva Ragangal
16 Doobinile - 16 Vayathinile
Driya - Priya
Dooba Oonjaladugirathu - Ilamai Oonjalaadugirathu
Dooba kudutha Varam - Iraivan kodutha varam
Dooba meethu sathiyam - Thai meethu sathiyam
En Doobaviku enna bathil - en Kelviku enna bathil
Oordooba - Oorkavalan
Dooba sisyan - Guru sisyan
DOOBASTONE - BLOODSTONE
Doobspillai - Mappilai
Justice Doobanath - Justice Gopinath
Kuppathu Dooba - Kuppathu Raja
Ninaithale Dubikum - Ninaithale Inikum
Daali - Kali
Dooba potta saval - Naan potta saval
Doobajanai - Garjanai
Raanuva Dooban - Ranuva veeran
Enkeyo ketta dooba - Enkeyo ketta kural
Dooba kodukum dooba - Kai Kodukum kai
Dooba kannil neer Vazhinthal - Un kannil neer Vazhinthaal
Doony - Jhonny
Naatuku oru Dooba - Naatuku oru nallavan

Poem: Dazed

they got off the subway
she walked across the busy road
did not say a word
expressions were bold

"everything is wrong;
i am wrong"
she said
this is it and
nothing more

he stood there
watching her
he wasn't sure
where to start

the 'another i' showed up
told him to break free
he was lost
behind those hazel eyes
he thought - was she messing with my mind

Fiction: Summer Holidays II

Continued from Summer Holidays I

Ramesh and Murali were back in the house. The house, although was nothing in comparison to the ones that landlords owned in villages, was still like a palace to the children. City was crowded and packed.

From door at the entrance, you could see the other end of the house. It was a straight path. The children used that like a running track. The path was also obstructed by steps. The steps were the bifurcation points to various rooms. These steps were the hurdles and Murali was a master in taking a leap across every one of those.

At the right side of the house was the cow-shed. Ramesh was scared of the cows. Earlier, it wasn't like that. When he was three, he did not know what he was doing and he actually walked up to the cow. The animal went for him and he was thrown over onto a small haystack that was lying nearby. From then on, he was not allowed to get near the cows. But he still loved watching them. Everyday morning, Ponnamma Chaechi* used to milk the cows. Later, Saami, their grandpa, used to take some of it to the temple for the morning rituals.

At the left side was the storage house. This housed the coconuts and the grains. Everyday morning, the workers used to come to the storage area, pick up the grains in a sack, take it to the open area in front of the house and spread it under the sun. At almost mid-day, the grains looked like tiny pieces of gold.

The area that surrounded the house was almost 3 acres. There were just trees around - coconut, mango, jack-fruit. Then crotons, wild flowers, jasmine decorated the front portions of the house. Saami used the jasmine for his everyday puja at home.

Grandma called the children for breakfast. Breakfast was simple and healthy food. Porridge made out of par-boiled rice. Breakfast was a whole new event for the children. The fun part was about having the porridge. Cups to hold the porridge were made out of leaves from the jack-fruit tree. The children took a lot of interest in plucking the leaves. Then Ponnamma Chaechi* would make a small cone out of it and bind the ends piercing a small stick in between.

It was soon time for some more activity. The large wooden swing in the hall was the next target.

*Chaechi - elder sister

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Vel - old ale in new case

The usual twins separated at birth story comes back to life again. And since it has been a trend in the last decade or so to make every story in the commercial sense, this takes that route too. Moreover, a theme like this which has been exploited by most film directors in India would never even get a satisfactory comment from the masses if there wasn't any spice.

Vel is director Hari's yet another mass movie after Saami, Arul etc. In this movie, he has chosen to Surya to play the dual role.

Sharanya (remember the movie Nayagan) plays Surya's mom in this movie. She is the unfortunate mom who loses one of her twin sons. Right from the beginning of the movie till the end, all Sharanya does is whining and crying about the lost son. Nowadays, she has got such a hopeless voice. Her role is a total waste of time.

Its funny to see how one of the twins is kidnapped by a thief, just for the sake of jewelery. All the thief could have done is taken off the gold jewels because the child was already sleeping. He didn't have to take it all the way to some place, remove the jewels and leave the child there.

Anyway, we need some basis to begin the story. Two people grow up in different settings - obviously one in the city and other in the village.

Surya as Vel in the village is the angry young man. The introductory scene where he delivers the punch dialogs is extremely funny. Punch dialogs have become so typical with actors. Every hero has to have a punch dialog in the beginning of the movie and that has to reach the masses. But what are punch dialogs - rhyming expressions that make no sense.



Surya in the city as Vasu is the intelligent and smart young man. Unfortunately, he is stuck with Sharanya as the mom and I really can't imagine how he withstood her torturous and dragging dialogs. For god's sake, they are showing a mom, 25 yrs after losing her child and she is still crying. She cries even when she sees a orphan on the road. My god! why didn't they have a better role for her.

Asin is simple and neat. She has put on very little fat but since its showing at the right places, she looks very beautiful. For once the director decided not to use extra make-up on Asin. So, when you see her on screen, you get the feeling that you are probably seeing a just-another-girl character. Very plain but attractive.

So, we know that the story is all about how the twins are going to meet and what's going to happen after that. Thankfully, the director did not have another female lead in the movie. Then we'll need more songs and romanctic pursuits.

Vadivel is best in his comedy. He is part of the village crowd and we know for a fact that Vadivel does better village comedy than city stuff. His accent is best suited for a village setting. The sequence where a number of incidents happen only because of a crow's dropping calls for riotous laughter.

Songs are okay. These are not numbers that get you tapping your foot. They just blend with the storyline. Asin wears a reading glass in one of the songs and she looks really cute. That's something worth mentioning I guess. "Ottraikkannaala" and "Kovakkara Kiliye" - maybe you'll want to hear to these songs again.

Overall rating - not bad. could have been better. sentiment killer.

Azhagiya Tamil Magan (ATM) - Not that beautiful

A walk into that local theater in the evening with an expectation that is sky high. Well, the actor Vijay himself warned his fans much earlier that this film lacks any logic that someone would expect. So, lets get that dirty thing out of our mind. And just try and enjoy the film, perhaps rip it here and there too.

As the movie began, the music for the titles did not make any impact. To some extent I had known the storyline, but it still did not help in just one way.

Imagining Vijay as a college going student is very difficult. After seeing him play much mature roles in Pokkiri, Gilli, Sivakasi etc. its back to college years. But thankfully, the number of scenes with the college as the background were minimal, so one tends to forget that the actor was actually a college student.

Malayalam movie veterans would remember "Iyer the Great" - a classic film by Mammooty. Now tweak it here and there - bring in a lissome beauty, feelings of love and hatred, friends, a dual role to complicate the subject, family and friends for sentimental value - to make it a perfect commercial movie. Thats ATM for you.

Actor Vijay is a athlete in this movie. At 33 plus, its difficult to imagine him as an athlete, but we have to appreciate the effort that has gone in. He has lost weight. His frame is a bit smaller, at least it feels so. And again, athletics is not the main theme of this story. So, not a bad idea. Its definitely better than Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol playing basketball in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. That was such a disgrace to basketball.

Before we move on, I'd like to make one comment about the opening song - Ellaappughazhum. Okay, nowadays all hero introduction songs are highly people oriented - about camaraderie, friendship, fraternity, brotherhood etc. Leaving that aside, the one thing that you will notice in this song is the dance. Vijay has done a few sequences that none of the other Kollywood heroes have done, in the last few years, which is good, because in most other instances, we see Rajinikanth and Vijayakanth walking from this end of the screen to the other and all they do is raise their hands up in the air and bring it down quickly, synchronizing a head shake or two in the middle.



Shriya is simply perfect. She glows like a fresh lotus in a clean pond. Her smile is serious competition to Rani Mukherjee. And you could pay a trillion dollars to watch Shriya in a half sari. Shriya totally complements Vijay on the screen. Nothing unlike Sivaji, where her role was a time wasting tactic. Although her screen presence does not justify her role as a female lead, she plays her part quite well. In the song sequences, she looks like an Arabian beauty. After Jennifer Lopez's, the next best in the world is Shriya's. You know what I am talking about - do you?

Storyline as stated before is about a person who has ESP. You'd kinda feel stupid when you already know the climax of the movie before the intermission. I definitely got that feeling and I was totally annoyed, bored and sick. But then, why are some directors successful to a large extent. They simply know their audience well. The same principle applies here. Although I guessed what was going to happen in the end, the end was still worth it.

Dual roles - good cop and bad cop. What I didn't like about the bad cop was he turning a new leaf after hearing to a small sentimental speech about sex, love and relationships from Shriya. That portion sucked big time. I think that was the only option available for a screenplay that had already dragged people out of their chairs. Literally - a running out of time situation.

Songs - AR Rahman proves himself time and time again. This time a lot of techno and folk music. ARR hates to do a remix, but fine. The director probably asked for it. "Ponmagal Vandaal" did the needful. This season is a remix season. Every movie has one remix song and ARR gave his contribution. "Madhuraikku Pogatha" and "Valayapatti Tamizhe" are very Indian, rather I should say South Indian. Local music instruments dominated. "Nee Marilyn Monroe" was totally on the other side of the spectrum. Completely disco types and very fast. Definitely foot tapping. Finally, "Kelamal Kaiyilae" - a good melody. This song reminds you of the 70s and 80s. ARR has ensured that the female voice brings out that emotion but maintained the music with the current trend.

Comedy doesn't make you roll on the floor because I could sense that everyone from Vijay till the light boy has tried something in the movie - I mean, to make people laugh and it worked only for some.

Bottom line: Watch this movie only if you are a Vijay fan. A generalist will not find any sense in this movie. A music lover will like the songs and the choreography.

Fiction: Summer holidays - I

Green, green and green everywhere. That small village in Kerala. Two more months for the monsoon. The cool weather was just setting in. Few more minutes to sunrise and in that dim light, you could see the tiny roads with farmlands on either side. The village was ready to begin a new day. Men, women and children were walking to the bathing ghat near the river. The women and children had a separate bathing ghat. "Don't go too far into the water Murali. The crocodile will catch you!" - said Gita Atthai*. It was her technique to keep the children from going deep into the water. But Murali was determined to take a good swim. It was his summer holidays, away from home and he knew that he will not get the freedom to do anything anywhere other than at their Atthai's home. Murali and Rajesh (his brother) were totally excited. Atthai's home and village was like a camp site for all their escapades.

Ramesh was busy. He had a new toy for himself. It was a large coconut leaf. He was using it like a vehicle. Sitting on the thicker end, he would give a signal to Pappu, who was his friend at the village, to drag him over a short distance. It was total enjoyment for him. The city paved no opportunity for such small pleasures.

Playing time near the river was over. The children started walking back to their house crossing the fields. Shankunni, a farmer in his forties, was busy working at the field. The field was full of tapioca. He saw the children walking across the field. He waved to them, quickly pulled out some fresh tapioca and took it to them. Everybody at the village respected Murali's grandfather. He was called Saami (colloquial for Brahman). Most of the land that the farmers plowed belonged to Saami's family. The children of the house were a delight to the villagers.

The siren from the nearby factory had just sounded. That was a signal to most people. The three sirens for the various shifts in one day signified morning, noon and evening for villagers.

*atthai - dad's sister