Diwali...Then and Now...

Needless to say,Diwali is one of the biggest festivals in India, being celebrated differently for different reasons in different parts of the country where every person finds a reason to rejoice, reason to do business, reason to have sweets, reason to meet relatives, reason to relax, reason to wish, reason to shop....its diwali time!

First I hated Diwali this time, for it fell on a Wednesday!! Then I liked when my one week vacation got approved.However the rains at this time has been interrupting the schedules intermittently. Even now had plans to go out...but started blogging as it is raining now outside....so was just thinking what to blog and then i thought i could scribble about my previous Diwali celebrations and how I celebrated this time! Wow...lots of changes!!! 

It was during schooling, the excitement was at its peak. It seemed like I longed for this occassion every year. The festive mood starts well in advance where the count down begins as early as atleast by a month! I used to finish off the home work once I reach home and then bug amma for 15 Rs or so to get the 'seeni vedi' from the petty shop nearby and then spend the rest of the evening bursting one by one. In the mean time I would have gathered few of my street mates. Diwali also indicates new clothes for me. It was only during this time I get four to five sets of new dresses and keep it for all the occassions till next diwali. On the Diwali day, I get up early rather forced to get up. Then have an oil bath, put on the new clothes and make sure that I burst the 'busvaanam' and 'sangu chakram' before any of my neighbourhood does.  I used to go to my grandma's house and other relatives...primarily to fill my pockets with 'Diwali kaasu' and seeking their blessings was secondary though!! Well all i knew that time is puthu dressu, vedi, diwali kaasu! Funny aint it ?

The first transformation came during the college days. The focus gradually shifted from crackers to movies. I used to watch a couple of movies during diwali holidays. It was during college, I had this habit of watching movies during the release weekend it self and diwali was no exception. I used to come home the day before diwali. It is one kind of excitement on Diwali eve, when I used to gather some local friends and roam around the west masi street and netaji road, do some petite shopping..probably belt or socks or t shirts and swim through the crowd to reach Sunnambukaara street to bargain some local brand footwears. Man you have to be on these roads on Diwali eve to witness the crowd. Probably I did not know much about Ranganathan Street or Commercial Street then!

Well, the enthusiasm today might even not be near, to what I did then. The way I see diwali today has changed a lot. Diwali seems to be a sign of relief after long working hours in office. So what do I do during diwali! After failing through irctc.co.in which never opens during peak times and managing a costly ticket from ksrtc for what they claim as SPL, which is only little better than the BMTC buses, we reach home tired. Then you unpack the sweets you got the previous night after leaving office and before catching the bus.


New Clothes - If I thought new dresses are worn on Diwali and other festival occassions, then I have to take any day in a month as diwali. Almost every weekend is a shopping weekend! So now the zeal of wearing new clothes has gone. After all its another day!  Blame the IT-Lazy-Bachelor culture. I do make a visit to temple and grandma house. However, I still keep getting the diwali kaasu, but then it has become secondary now. :) Then come home, eat lots of sweets, scan through the tv channels, take a nap!

Crackers - Oh I dont even think about it these days...just go to the terrace or outside for some time....watch out the fireworks clearing the dark sky..have a sigh of joy and relaxation..come down...have some bajjis that mom prepared..watch out for one of the block buster movie that is aired on the satellite channels....greet and exchange wishes with friends and relatives..and that is diwali as of today!

Well one may think, what is in a celebration! However, sitting back and rewinding a few years makes one feel nostalgic! Doesnt it ?

Happy Diwali!!!

Mankatha and Ajith!

There are various type of film goers in Tamil. Few for the hype, few for the music, few for the director, few for the genre but mostly for the star cast. And we all know where Mankatha fits in. Being myself a film goer of all the type, I went Mankatha especially for none other than Ajith. So whatever I write here might be biased. Beware! :)

Is it a new trend in Tamil cinema ? First there were heroes, then they did good for the people, then they fought for the good. Next there were anti-heroes. They had a flash back to prove their bad worth and then they turn good. Now is the era, all are bad, they talk bad, they live bad, they end bad. Here comes Aaranya Kaandam and now Mankatha!  If there is anything common in both, its all about bad people and if there is anything that makes a difference and that is none other than Ajith! 

I may not talk about the plot of the movie or its positives-negatives or its music or its cinematography but I may talk about the guy who made a difference. If you had asked me, if I had liked Mankatha without Ajith...well I have to think! I think acting bad is easier than acting good! People have always excelled.  We all knew Sigappu Rojakkal and Endhiran! Ajith holds the film like John Travolta did it in Broken Arrow! Following all his movies including his flops, I cannot resist talking about Ajith here. His screen presence, his costumes, his looks are the USP and that is what that keeps the crowd cheering inside the theatre. He is damn smart in his natural grey hair and rayban coolers. He is open, natural and accepts he is aged forty. I might want to see this film once more for his daring villainous act. One of my favorite scene in the movie would be the chess sequence in the movie.

Well his characterization is of a greedy, selfish guy which is not a sort of a lead role the usual tamil hero plays in. Even if its a thief role, it ought to be a Robin Hood kind of role! But this one had broken all the conventions which is pretty new and welcoming here! It may sound awkward when the lead protagonist talks filthy language in Tamil cinema. Few of his dialogues are muted. Ofcourse we all knew those words and people in the theatre dubbed instead! So is it a question if all the female followers of him would not love this movie because he cheated his girl friend for money? Should an actor of star dom status not talk or act like this? Again all the barriers broken here!

 Well if these kind of films have been tested and received in Hollywood, be it a gangster flick like The Departed or a heist movie like SwordFish, then why not Mankatha in Kollywood? You may want to complain about logic loop holes, lengthy first half, bad content and so on.. but who cares when Venkat Prabhu had used Ajith as the trump card for his game? Mankatha da!

Lame Excuses!

I would have wanted or not wanted, 

I would have known or not known,

It is intentional or unintentional,

It is the truth or a lie,

Somebody asks or not..

Excuses! Excuses!

Lame Excuses all the way!

When I wake up late...I say Bangalore is very cold in the morning!

When I dont jog..oops.. its already eight, I have to get ready for office!

When I skip office...I think i am not well!

When I spend unnecessarily.... salary had just been credited!

When I hardly talk to my old friends.....busy at work, you see!

When I skip a friend's marriage...project release on that day!

When I dont pick up a call....I am riding my bike!

When I party hard...weekend you see!

When I fail to impress... lets look out for another!

When I dont wash my clothes for the week... well who cares!

...And many more!

Excuses! Excuses! 

Lame Excuses all the way!

Aaranya Kaandam - A unique chapter in Tamil Cinema!

    
As usual, it was another lazy Saturday afternoon. We had gone to the less publicized Aaranya Kaandam. There was not much a crowd. We were hardly thirty people in the theatre. I didnt mind. I knew that this is an experimental movie and also there were no advertisements in television. However I had been desperately wanting to watch this movie, since its theatrical trailer and teaser had released. By seeing the teasers, I felt this movie could have been inspired from Taratino's movies and my guess was right. This movie is totally unique, stylish, bloody. Yes, its a complete adult movie. Its not a movie where you go with your family, but still this movie is different. I am not sure if such movies will fill the producer's pocket. S.P.B Charan has the guts thought. In fact there are no songs in this whole duration of 150 minutes.

                                                      

Gangster movies are not new to Tamil Cinema. However what is new in this film is the plot is revealed at its own pace by the different characters of the movie and it is the situation which makes the characters good or bad. Its not a racy thriller. Its calm, composed and rises to peak at instances. Debutant director Thiyagarajan Kumararaja seems to have completely inspired with neo noir films like Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs and he has given this product beautifully.
I completely enjoyed! Be it the blood shed scenes, the retro type background score, the ambience, the references to popular stars, its a complete inspiration from western movies. I am liking this trend in Tamil cinema. Even the plot of the movie is similar to Pulp fiction, where there is no story as such, but there are different incidents in which the characters cross each other and their transformation for survival. Every character here is a hero and every character here is a villain.

                                          

It is welcoming that there is no song in this movie. Yuvan's background score is promising. Silent in most places, violin interludes at a few places and Raja sir's songs at some places. Its again inspired from western films especially Tarantino's, where there are musical references like a popular song aired in a radio or television and some places there are references to the retro/pop culture similar to Kill Bill. Though Jackie Shroff's nude appearance doesnt impact or add any significance to the movie, the debutant character Somasundaram as Kaalayan and his son character Kodukkapuli, completely steal the show. An innocent-desperate-angry son and a completely drunk-dont care-attitude foul mouthed father. Their characterisation is laughable, interesting and entirely different.

                 


If I am fascinated with the camera work, lighting, ambience and the apt back ground music, am more amazed with the kind of dialogues that are used in this film. They are raw at some instances, they are filthy in some but everytime they are spontaneous and that is one of the reason, I did find some difficulty in understanding a few dialogues. They were so spontaneous and lowly delivered that there should be pin drop silence to hear it. There are many notable places which will deserve applause especially when Sampath asks the kid whether he likes his father so much and the kid's response is simple and sensible. Another notable place is where the lady describes men and their attitude. I spontaneously laughed and clapped at another scene involving the astrologer.

                                 


I know its not the regular movie which will lure tamil audience and generate revenue. Still, this film will be a milestone in the list of good unique tamil movies. Well...I dont mind watching it again in theatre!

Its been a couple of months...

... I had been scribbling in this space. Half the blame to the company I joined....I had been into a hectic project after a week I joined here and since then, there is no looking back. Somehow I felt that, I had been actively engaged with work in this project for the past three months.Well dont ask if I am able to deliver? :) Well I dont know. Am I trying to showcase or is there a pressure really? May be both are right. Sometimes had to work more than office hours..slog almost every day. Well more salary, more work!!! Wait Wait Wait!! Is that statement correct..no not at all...its not always true...May be its an inconvenience of being a bachelor. But in spite of all the wierd thoughts about work, slogging, working on weekends..I somehow managed to relax as well. I didnt miss to go to friend's marriages and engagements ...I still managed the weekend get to with my ex colleagues..  As usual I didnt miss to watch newly released movies. I did not miss to attend the A R Rahman concert here in Bangalore. None of my pastimes changed. Just that there is no free time. Its all occupied. I would say the lazy time of mine had just reduced. Somehow I am content about it. If you are wondering what a lazy time is, I would say its a time spent by me on a weekend or weekday doing nothing. Nothing means literally nothing.

 Now that its almost three months, I just got some breathing space and just peeped in here. Reason being, I want to blog, atleast once in a while. And thats why I made a point to scribble here, though this post has no context or significance! I am not a writer or a philosopher. I am not preaching. I may be a liar. But I wanted to blog, and thats the beauty of blogging, you have this liberty to blabber whatever you want. Wish I blog with relevance in future!! I wanted to talk about the movies I watched recently, the places I had gone, the new restaurant I had experimented. Just that I should not be lazy. I know, once in a while I post such scribblings without any specific context. I start of with something and end with something irrelevant. He he, I am liking to do that!!   :)

Cup of Joy - Regained!

If there is something that unites all the states in India, the non national game, cricket is one of the major contributor. Particularly, when India hosts the world cup tournament of the most viewed sport here and when the trophy is retained for the next four years in Indian soil, the result is priceless. There is a quote "Coming together is a beginning, Keeping together is a Progress, Working together is a Success". Today this has been a truth in the history of Indian cricket. Its not only part of Indian history, but part of every ardent lover of Indian cricket. Particularly for me, I was never born, when India gained its first ever World Cup title in 1983. So its a first in my history. May be India will retain the title next time, but this moment is fantabulous. Its a nation's pride.

 Every match after the preliminary round had been crucial. When India advanced ahead each step beating the current world cup champions and the age old rival, world cup was almost a sure shot. But the finals against the Srilankans was not an easy one though. A 275 target in a world cup final is not at all an easy task! Like its in the movies, there had been a initial twist with  Malinga giving the early break for the lankans with sending the heros Sehwag and Sachin very early to the pavilion.

This may not be a better match for the Srilankan spin wizard, but a decent world cup exit for him, with 500 plus wickets in his basket. Competition should always exist and thanks to Mahela, without him this final would have never been a tough fight. However the rest is all history with Captain Dhoni and Gambhir at rescue operations and we all are happy now.

What a match! What a crowd! When all the icons were there at Wankhede stadium - Rajnikanth, Aamir Khan, Mukesh Ambani, Sachin Tendulkar, victory is 50 percent acheived. I felt we just missed A R Rahman though! Its the power of the people. The success waves created by every single soul in India wanted this! This has to happen and it has happened. It is all written!

Its the last world cup for Sachin, and he will be the most happiest person than anybody else in the country. If this is not gonna happen, then it would definitely be a black patch despite of all his records and achievements in his two decade old career as a cricketer. We are all happy watching him being proud.

And one more feather in Dhoni's cap, the captain of success. His way of handling pressure helped us from sinking the ship in the finals. Be it the support he gave to Gambhir or his winning helicopter six, the moments cannot be erased so easily. We could witness all the emotions not only from the spectators but also from the players. Winning stroke after all!

One should experience, the after winning moments. You need not be necessarily in Mohali or Mumbai! You can be at Madurai also. Wow the crackers they burst on the streets, greeting each other, staying happy, cheering people, I dont think it can happen on any other occassion. It was an unanimous celebration altogether.


April 2, 2011 - Cup of Joy, Regained!

Run Lola Run!

I happened to see this German flick - Run Lola Run!  Life is all about probability based on time. Athletes win the race by milli seconds and nano seconds. And this movie explains it in a very interesting and fast paced manner. Especially with the style and the fast paced background music, this decade old movie seems to be technically brilliant and makes one sit at the seat edge!

Lola has twenty minutes and needs huge amount of money to save her boy friend. She decides to get the money somehow and run to the destination, where her boy friend is actually waiting. This whole movie is split into three different runs by Lola for the same situation, with the first two runs being a failure and the final run becoming successful. There are flash forward sequences shown for each of the people whom Lola encounters during each run. Even the life of the other people whom Lola bumps in take different directions for each run. The director neither says which one of the outcome is actually true nor he wants it to say as he only gives us a thought that only seconds of your time are required to change the direction of your life! Very true!

I sometimes imagine things in real life in a similar way. Sometimes very crucial turns in one's life happens in seconds. Most of the times we will not have control on it. I know we cannot go back and change things, atleast we have the liberty to dream about it. Knowingly or unknowingly, be it the past incidents or the future endeavours we always have a habit of dreaming those things in the present. We all have a wish to do something in life and most of us end up in doing something else. Like it is said in a Tamil movie - Mudhalvan "How good life be if it has an rewind option?" If every single person in this world is blessed with this option, I bet we will never go forward..what say? :)

First things First!

It could be whatever you do, wherever you live, which ever place you had gone, who ever you have met, the "first" one is always a probable moment. It could give you loads of surprises and excitement. It could be a happy moment or a sorrow one. And irrespective of the outcome, I bet the first things always have a special place in one's heart. Be it your first school, first crush, first date, they all have longing memories! This time its first last day @ work!

Well yesterday was my last day in my first company. In these five years, I had seen people staying around and moving out. I could hardly recollect faces that I saw during my first year! But there are a few people like me hanging around still as if they were anchored deep to the sea bed!  So as usual, it was my turn to send out my last day mail and I could not cut short the content. Whatever I wrote, came from the mind. I did not care if the recipient would care or not. An irony is that I had actually criticised others for their last day mails here!

It was a kind gesture having friends sending me off with all the usual cake cutting, wishes and memento. Finally, it took less than a minute to return my identity card and my longing association with my first company ended abruptly. And particularly when you are associated with a company for a very long time, it definitely takes a little time to get over the comfort zone. Its not only the organisation but the people, with whom you had built a relationship with. 

Its like the timer is reset and again the time starts ticking from zero. I know this will happen and I wanted this to happen! I am a stranger now and I need a visitor pass next time to enter! But that is what life is all about. Every phase you leave something and you search and pick some other thing and move on with taking only the memories about those you had left in the first place!

Aadukalam - The ground set in Madurai Again!

Director Vettrimaran unfolds a story which revolves around the descendants in southern Tamilnadu region who care and care only to win the age old gambling animal sport in southern Tamilnadu – Rooster fight. Rooster fight is an age old game not only in Southern Tamilnadu but all over the world especially in Mexico. Wikipedia says it has reference in Tamil literature which is more than 2000 years old. Such genres are very rare and welcoming to Tamil cinema. This film not only portrays the sport but also reveals its cause and effects over the people who were deeply involved and show us how determined and egoistic are they and how extent they turn villainous for retaining and regaining the pride in winning the blood sport game. For them it’s a life and death scenario.

Definitely the director has taken me to seat edge experiences in a couple of scenes, especially the rooster tournament scene. Be it the history of rooster fight or referring the diminishing Anglo Indian people in Madurai, the director has taken close to real facts and figures and filmed it. More than rooster fight, this movie is full of emotions. Every small character marks their presence and show justification to their role.

                                     

This movie also evolves a mind game filled with loyalty, trust, betrayal, cunningness between the mentor and his beloved student and when the student outsmarts his mentor, the director has cleverly handled the characters and reveal how trust turns betrayal, and betrayal seeks guilty. It is hard to say who the bad guy in this movie is. If you think one person to be the baddie in the beginning, you are probably wrong. There is no good or bad but the situation and circumstances is when good turn bad and bad turn ugly. What is something unique is the ending. It’s not about the stunts but the emotions between people that talks more.

Madurai based theme seems to be the genre these days. Most of the movies seem to be exaggerated and over shadowed creating a misinterpretation for how Madurai and Madurai people are. Well I think I have seen Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal more in movies than in person! Tamil cinema needs a destination change! Though this movie is also set in a Madurai backdrop, people shouldn’t care as the characters and the story outplay altogether.