Midnight's Mani Ratnam

In their fascination with Madurai and the nearby villages, The good Tamil filmmakers except for seemingly fake over overtures by Gautham Menon, had all but lost out on exploring and re-imagining Chennai, thereby helping Mani Ratnam remain the undefeated king of the Madras genre. In Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum, Mysskin, in the prime of his auteurist prowess, presents a riveting reply.

How do the Chennai streets, where you would otherwise see mass heroes dancing with thousand other men and women or lovers romancing over a coffee, look after midnight? They look brutal and banal. They reflect your true personality, something the daylight is just not capable of doing. And what happens when Mysskin style high drama plays out in these streets with Munnani Isai by the Maestro himself? There is magic, but of a different kind. Magic that is dark and magic that bites your soul into submission.

Once upon a time in a forest, a bear hired a wolf, the most dangerous wolf of all, to hunt down foxes. In one such hunt, the wolf killed a (goat) kid by mistake. Repenting this, the wolf visited the kid's house only to find that the kid had left behind a father goat, a mother goat and a little sister kid, all three of them blind. The wolf gave up hunting and decided to support this deserted goat family. But the bear wouldn't let the wolf be and neither would the tigers roaming around in the forest. They hunted for and haunted the wolf and the goat family till they got the better of them. The wolf was wounded but magically saved by yet another kid. The bear and the tigers however are not taking to this. The hunt continues till no one is sure who is being hunted.

In a theater-style, ultra-noir play-out of this story, we are taken through a varied set of personalities who in uniquely Mysskin fashion, walk in and out of the vantage still camera frame both literally and figuratively. Clearly Mysskin is on top of his skills here. Making use of the technical advantages that a film medium presents and seamlessly seguing it with a script that has been written like a play. Balaji Rangha though is no Mahesh Muthusamy or Sathya in Anjadhey and Yudham Sei respectively where the camera would create shots unimaginable for Tamil Cinema. Compensating the cliched camera here though is some tremendous acting by Sri and Mysskin himself - the latter restrained for most parts except the monologue that is tremendously impacting. Raaja rediscovers background music that so often reminds us of how much his music can become an integral part of the story. Ten of his tracks titled Compassion, Firefly, Growl, The Threshold Guardian, Grim reaper, I killed an Angel, A Fairy tale, Walking through life and death, Redemption and Somebody loves us all tell the story all by themselves.

We see vast, lazily paced, indulgences with Mysskin at times reminding us of the cold blooded gunshot sequences from Gus Vant Sant's Elephant. Watching this in the big screen, I felt this is exactly the kind of cinema I was waiting for all this while. Utterly unpredictable. Not necessarily real but different, different not in the oscar-lusting manner that the Ship and the Lunchbox have brought to the table, but different by the sheer manner in which a film is envisioned and executed. The amount of originality on display shakes you, at least as long as you are unaware of the inspiration (Onaayum is said to be taken from a Portuguese film)

Mysskin movies, like those of Selvaraghavan often come across as dark and serious but the mild tinge of humor in both their styles is unmistakable and is an important fulcrum for the otherwise edge of the seat narratives. In Onaayum, we don't see more than a minute of sunlight and more than five minutes of any other form of lighting. The movie is about the night, the night in all our days and deservedly shot in the night too. Thrillers work most when they have a tearing emotional base and Mysskin manages it with Mani Ratnamesque aplomb. This is Midnight's Mani Ratnam. Probably, the better one.

Lets talk some cinema about Vishwaroopam

There have been too many headlines and too much fanfare about Vishwaroopam - Something Kamal fans are simply not used to. Controversy has always been his brother but it has never made his headlines. Neither in the past have people (who have surely not seen some of his finer attempts at cinema) come out dancing and jumping to watch a Kamal movie. Such behavior is usually associated with the films of his (artistically) poorer cousin - Rajnikanth.

There, therefore, is a need to talk some sense and talk some cinema about this movie and to keep apart the one line that almost all Vishwaroopam reviews seem to begin with - "there is nothing anti-Islam here". Yeah, yeah ok. We don't care. If he's decided to ridicule that faith, then so be it. It doesn't change the way one should review a work of creation or thought.

Vishwaroopam is a film that you wish were better made. What makes you wish so is the fact that it is actually a very well made movie and that the maker is capable of way greater heights. However Vishwaroopam's scale seems to be making a statement about the average Indian mind. A movie produced at a cost of Rupees 95 crore in India can not afford to be intelligent. It would leave the producer poorer by at least 50 crore rupees which is not a meager amount for a non-studio production.

That said, for a fleeting period of 30-35 minutes, an indulgent Kamal Haasan takes this thriller deep into Afghanistan and slows it down to a snail's pace, out of choice. That section of the film is an absolute pleasure to watch. As if symbolic of this decision, we have the scene of a young jihaadi suicide bomber wanting to live a lost childhood through a timeless swing. There Kamal scores and touches a raw nerve. Equally well shot is the build up to the arrival of the one and only - Osama Bin Laden. Kamal makes no fuss about declaring that one of (the face-less) Allah's faces is Laden himself and this face is a face of terror, murder, hatred and ill-will.

Vishwaroopam makes for a tremendous theoretical discussion where in we are dealing with the twin concepts of Jihaad and Islaam. Jihaad was born out of Islam. But is what the normal man today knows as terrorism justified to be included in the Jihaad framework? It is a question that Vishwaroopam asks too and almost dispassionately leaves the answer to the viewer - As dispassionate as Wiz/Wisam/Taufeeq - the Hero.

If the Muslims of Vishwaroopam are the ignorant and self proclaimed Jihaadis, the Hindu's are no less. In the tam-brahm heroine, Kamal has found a "back-door" entry into ridiculing the birdbrained practice called Brahminism (from a rationalists point of view, a lot of it is really really dumb) and he pulls it off quite well after his first attempt with Asin in Dashavatharam.

In making both the hero and the villain (played with a great punch by Rahul Bose in an extremely well written negative role - which is always the case with Kamal films) of the same faith, Vishwaroopam also draws upon a theme that Heyram had stressed more on - Muslims are an inseparable and undeniable part of Indian life. The Muslim will be your tailor, your best friend, he will rape and kill your wife, he will also save your life. In Vishwaroopam, its a simpler paradigm - He is the hero and he is the villain (a line Kamal himself says to Pooja Kumar in the movie)

That ways, to answer your question, Vishwaroopam is the hero and Vishwaroopam is the villain!!

PS: Any discussion on a Kamal movie that doesn't talk about Kamal - the actor does disservice to that movie. This performer has consistently managed to outdo himself every time he has been cast on screen. It is a quality very few have. In Vishwaroopam, the "method" is almost obvious. The last time I felt i could literally see a method actor in Kamal was way back in Aalavandhaan. It grew subtler with Heyram, Anbe Sivam and Virumandi but with Vishwanath (Wiz), this seems to have returned. It as usual is a complete pleasure to watch this veteran perform.

The Finer Elements of a Mysskin Movie

To say that Mysskin is not a formula movie maker would be a false statement. For that matter the line wouldn't apply to a certain Quentin Tarantino or one Mr. Mani Ratnam either. Every movie maker has a formula in his heart. The ridiculous ones like tom, dick and Dharani bring it out in the plot. The avderage ones like Shankar show it in issues and themes; and the better ones like Ratnam and Mysskin in ideas, characters and subtle touches that are surely identifiable with the director.

In a short span of 3 odd movies, there already are many Mysskiniatrics. The dancing woman clad in a yellow saree being the most common and ridiculed among them. There are of course subtler touches.

Mysskin's handling of the camera is a unique. More than most of his characters in the film, it is the camera that speaks. Often mounted stationary in remote locations of the shot, the camera observes the action from a single point often giving the viewer the original 3rd person perspective which is often lost otherwise when the camera moves along with the characters. Such scenes available in plenty in both Anjadhey and Yudham Sei and have an air about them that often draws the audience deep into the sequence.

Many of his support/side characters, at least in writing are what you would want to call malapproprisms. The loud Kuruvi, The silent Motta, The shady Tirisangu and the shadier Judas... these people are made to carry with them not just the role but bits of what become the feel of the movie too. Often one finds Mysskins characters working their way up the audience's minds to create what the in other films the story is meant to.

Talking about the Superhero within, both Narain in Anjadhey and Cheran in Yudham Sei are the very real super heroes in that both the protagonists find the strength from within to fight an unknown evil. Watching these two people evolve over the course of a typically three hour Mysskin movie is an enthralling and inspiring experience.

The man is now ready with his own version of "a superhero within". I was happy when I found out that the Mugamudi-man, if you may call the protagonist that, has no super-power so to say. The very prospect of a madman like Mysskin taking up such a concept is very very exciting.

Kashyap/Menon - A Partnership in Review

Late in the 1970's, a relatively young yet already acclaimed film making career had almost come to a halt. Disappointed at the reception of his latest film, a musical, from the same crowd that had hailed his earlier attempts, the director dived deep into cocaine addiction and almost took his life. An actor, a close friend and a constant part of his films, literally dragged the film maker out of this mess and persuaded him to make this one last film based on the life of a boxer. This work is better known as Raging Bull and what these two men created over a period of time are probably the most powerful films made and acted out in the face of this earth.

De Niro and Scorsese....Looking forward to legend

Hardly since, has a director-actor collaboration come out with so much of flair and panache. Unlike Songwriting partnerships, on-screen pairs and even actor-singer camaraderie, raw genius in this species is rare to find. Closer home in India though, two men, every time they've come together, have sparkled with unimaginable brilliance.

Main Khuda... is what Kaykay seems to be saying

It all started with a zoned-out Kay Kay Menon playing his yet to be released, role-of-a-lifetime in Paanch - As noir as Anurag Kashyap has ever got - a thriller about a rock band story that goes very awry.

As a megalomaniac frontman suffering from a tremendous dawn of reality, Kay Kay pulls of one of the more difficult roles written in Hindi Cinema. Though nowhere close to the Kashyap of today, Anurag holds fort in what was to be his debut feature film. In fact many of his tad shadier films today still ooze with the dark blue feel of paanch in them.

Testing noir limits...at Mahakali

Last train to Mahakali followed a few years later. A short made for the television sees Anurag's influence of his own life in his movies slowly making way for issues more mainstream. Menon compliments him well in this film that flows well for most part but ends in a rather unexpected sequence.

Watching Mahakali today, after having seen works such as Black Friday and Gulaal, one feels that the magic was always present. A diligent screen writer and director bringing out his vision, bit-by-bit through his most trusted performer. The one man who could do justice to all those words written and ideas conceived.

By 2004, Kashyap was ready with his most sincere attempt at film making. A brutally honest take on the much more than controversial Mumbai blasts was 'Black Friday'. The movie for all its brilliance finds its centrepiece not with Dawood or Tiger but with the character of DCP Rakesh Maria - The cop who made them talk. The movie's docu feel takes a sudden psychological twist as Kay Kay's Maria gets into the frame and the interrogations begin. With arrested convicts, half the battles are not with the lathi but with the mind and it is but natural that the hunter, in this case the policeman, too starts feeling hunted. Taking cue from Drohkaal, better known for its Tamil Remake by Kamal Haasan, Kashyap takes Maria through a bizarre mind-trip that at various points finds the cop in his rawest of human elements. The chemistry is but natural as director and actor effortlessly carry the film on their shoulders. For the storm that this movie became, there surely was something bigger coming our way...

Burning for pride... Gulaal

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of Bhosadike!, an enraged 'Dukey Bana' is seen shouting in one of the great speech scenes from Gulaal. Widely accepted as Hindi Cinema's best made political film, Gulaal, for me is Anurag Kashyap in the most sublime of his forms and Menon, his most primal self. While Dukey Bana is only one of the many interesting characters and sub plots that this film on a fictitious separatist movement throws up, it is the one that stands out. Creating a revolution while a revolt enrages within his own self, Kay kay manages to let the viewer read between Anurag's lines.

This was as back as 2009. With one busy with more than one Wasseypur and the other gunning for 13 different roles in just one movie, the fantastic duo seem to be going in very different directions, but then as their masterpiece reminds us, 'what is past... is (just) prologue'

Greatbong is no Stephen King, but shines nevertheless

Its been some time since I read anything as disgusting as this book. Its however also been some time since I read something as spine chilling as this. This is pretty much a one line review of 'The Mine' by Arnab Ray, known to the Indian Blogosphere as 'greatbong.'

The book is shameless about its sexual imagination, immature in its ability to handle language, conversations and mood and yet somehow it manages to hold on the reader through a heart thumping page turner. The success of the book lies in its all out tenacity to bring out the worst of our inhibitions, hidden deep inside us right on to the surface - which also happens to be its plot in the first place.

The strength of the book is its setting, cliched as it may get, the mine in 'the mine' goes a far way in establishing its prime mood. In the shining, Stephen King's brilliantly written horror novel (later adopted by Stanley Kubrick with Jack Nicholson in the lead) a family of three is in a lonely Hotel far away from society and what kills them are not the monsters of the Hotel but the monsters that reside within them. The theme here is similar and brought out very well.

While most of the characters utter lines that are out of place and childish, the author compensates for these with thrills and revelations that just about make sure that the page is turned. Like the epilogue, which is unnecessary yet brutal - the book too is a series of events that make one question why they are reading the book in the first place, yet making them complete it almost as if going through the motions.

For the Indian Writer, Ray has opened new avenues that will hopefully be explored more and further.

The Mine - Tough to read, tougher to put down. 

The Greatest Return in all of Entertainment?

Some of these Hindu Gods can surprise us with fairly weird and psychedelic stories of their lives. It is an underrated trait. Mythology is an underused art form. India is missing out on a truckload of very interesting subplots to engine their dying script industry.It is not surprising though, that the best use of Mythology in Indian Cinema is often found in the works of one hell of an atheist - Kamal Haasan. While many of his references to the holy have been interpreted as immature digs, most are works of ingenious analogies to the stories that we've grown up praying to.

The Guardian deity of the plateau down south found a face and a voice to tell his story in Virumandi. Ram lost his wife and went on a quest to destroy the world in Hey Ram. Murugan takes an avatar too with both his wives in Kaadala  Kaadala. In Guna, a Siva, dark and not blue skinned is dancing in all his vigour waiting for his Abirami . Siva resurfaces in one of his more somber moods in well, Anbe - Sivam. To kind of sum it up, Dasavatharam happened. Coming to look at it, Dasavatharam is more of a statement than a word. It is a picture of the omnipotent all pervading strength and flourish that the almighty inspires in his believers. To believers of acting, the attempt from Kamal was to the same effect.

The question would have come up in someone's mind, and I am guessing it would have been KS Ravikumar, "What is grander than Dasavatharam?" While Dasavatharam is like a collectors edition of everything that Lord Vishnu could transform himself into to save the world, something like a panoramic photograph, this word, Vishwaroopam is one-single shot of all the consuming phenomena that Vishnu is made out to be in mythology. The idea is therefore is to expect nothing short of Kamal Haasan's best possible output in all of his cinema career. The very thought is intellectually orgasmic. Chennai, India and I hear a town in the French Riviera is all geared up for what surely is the greatest return in ALL of entertainment!

A movie which can be seen only on the big screen

A movie made at a staggering half a billion dollars and promised amazing, never seen before visuals – you actually not know what to expect from this flick. I was blank as well, as I walked in to the theater wearing dark glasses thinking whether it was going to be a film that was just going to show graphics and graphics only and flush the story and narration down the sewer?

Anything could happen, I told myself to stave of any sort of disappointment, but coming from James Cameroon, I convinced myself that it would have a decent enough story and amazing visuals. Just like Terminator and Titanic – Both of them which had a pretty interesting story and even more appealing visuals and effects. Avatar reminds us about another great film Matrix that hit the screens 10 years back, probably when James Cameroon went to the floors with this film. Two bodies – one mind. Human Genome mixed with those of the humanoids of Pandora and so…. Well you kind of understand it even though you are sweating at the mention of few biological utterances. Our hero has Equivalent pandorian which he can control with his mind. His mission is to gain the natives of Pandora’s trust and negotiate deals with them for re locating them so that human’s can extract the precious stone worth 20 million Dollars. All hell breaks loose as the human’s led by a head strong major launch an offensive against their village that is on top of a tree. The tree (Their Village) is brought down and is smashed. The natives decide to take revenge. This makes the entire chunk of the visually appealing climax.

This review would have probably put you off if you are a cinephile, but it’s not for nothing that JC has taken 10 years for making this movie. 6 legged horses, giant jurrassic inspired reptiles, floating mountains tropical rain forests, inter connected trees (I mean, the humanoids have a personal connection with all the living beings, through their mind!), huge elephant- Rhino like creatures and jumbo machines of the humans- It has everything. The matrix hang over is seen in some of the weapons as well, Remember saving the city scene in matrix 2 where huge robotic machines operated by a single operator with huge machine guns? You see them here as well.

The most striking thing of Avatar as supposed to other films of this repute and more importantly the budget; lets say Jurrassic park or the 2012 is that - you don’t see where they have played around with graphics. Of course, you can easily find out in the case of weird creatures and all that! But, the humanoids themselves are very difficult to guess. There were dressed in blue suits or where they created in a computer. Did they shoot in a tropical rain forest or did they use a blue mat simulation? Did they construct the weird helicopters and huge machines or was it the handi work of graphic engineers? It does make an interesting exercise for the audience to guess where they have used it and where they have not! While in movies like 2012 you can actually pretty much list out scenes and say – Hey that’s graphics man!

That I think is the best thing about Avatar! The world pulled over your eyes called “Pandora” is so beautiful and dangerous that you would want to take a chance even with your life to see and marvel the beauty. Floating mountains and having a personal connection with animals with your hair and telling them what to do with our minds - Take that for Imagination!!! So, James Cameroon pretty much takes one frame for the film maker in him and gives one for the people. You have the clichés and you have the “Wow, how did he do that” instance in the same film.

On the whole, Avatar pretty much delivers what I expected out of it… A decent interesting story line and visuals I have not seen anywhere. It delivers it. It’s just right THERE. Skip the movie, if you want to kindle the cinephile in you. If you want to marvel at the technological advancement the movie has made – Go for it. You won’t be disappointed. Never see this on your computer. See it in 3- D.

Avatar - To be enjoyed only on the big screen.

Udhav Naig

What you expect is what you get!

For those who have taken a liking to vintage classics of World cinema, you would have have noticed that they are based on great books, but imagine the quality of a film if its based on a book that already reads like a bollywood potboiler. That is precisely how I would define 3 Idiots. Make no mistake, the film is - as the director pointed out is only loosely based and adequate changes are made actually cater to what we now call as the "Bollywood audience". Yet, the movie borrows its best moment from the book.

Aamir Khan (Rancho), Maddy (Farhan) and Sharman Joshi( Raju Rastogi) are 3 friends having whale of a time in college, its a typical bollywood college with strict and funnily lisping principal. The characterization of the 3 idiots and other idiots in this film is pretty much Dittoed from the book. Aamir as the brilliant, bright and erudite guy who wants to enjoy learning and keeps telling his friends the same. Maddy can easily call himself the "forced" engineer, as his love lies elsewhere in clicking pics, while Sharman is a poor young guy from the village who has an ailing mother and to be married sister Maddy and Sharman are the low graders while Aamir always manages to get the first rank- the reason he attributes to his phenomenal success are- For me engineering is passion, you guys see it as a marks...Let learning be a passion, says Mr Rancho.

Farhan and Raju follow one dream, a dream that would give a great life for Raju's family and a dream which would fill the heart of Farhan's dad with happiness.Its a dream that the 2 families share, that is to get a job. All the fun that ensues and the funny experience that 2 idiots go through is towards one dream. Aamir is not bothered about a job or even marks, he says "Excellence will bring success automatically".

The principal is pissed with Rancho's ideas, and he is almost sure that he is man behind spoiling Farhan and Raju's grades. He tries to put him in his place but every effort is thwarted and ends up in vain. Pia (Kareena Kapoor), daughter of the strict principal himself is coochie cooing with one of the idiots Rancho. They fall in love and a good enjoyable song is danced out, which I confess, I enjoyed.

Mayhem ensues when Raju is caught doing mischief outside professors house. He is asked to turn the "Approver" and Raju does not budge, so he jumps down a 3 story building and damages his arms, and brains. He gets the job; All ends well and smiles and hugs are shared- and A twist. Aamir just gets into a car and vanishes. from the college, from pia's life and from his friends life. How they find him is the question that is answered in the final segment of the film.

Although it stays loyal to the book in most of their college life, the lives of these 3 young adults change - post college. The post college story is brief in the film, but the ramifications in each of their life - post college is pretty huge. The comic instances in the book like flicking the question paper or entering the professors house are religiously followed. The principal's role, acted out with good finesse with Bomman Irani is effective, it is not just funny all the time like how it always is...especially in a comedy film.

The movie is pot boiler, but with an innovation. It does not have skimpily clad heroine, does not have terrible nasal blowing singers trying hard to create an impact. Except for the 10 minutes in the film, nothing seems forced and effortlessly falls in to place - Thanks to Chetan Bhagat. It has its pitfalls too, Seriously, I expect much more from Aamir, of course, this movie is not boring and satisfies the basic expectation, but shouldn't he pull up the gear, esp after Taare Zameen Par?

Casting seems to be a mismatch, its not a film which should have been done by Aamir khan and Maddy. Although I would excuse 40 plus Aamir in exchange for his super good acting in this comical role, I am unable to digest Maddy as an engineering student who doesn't just look like a college student any more. No where close. Sorry!

The dialogues in the film has been well written, Pre Interval speech in Shudh Hindi, brings the house down literally, although it is not pretentious but direct sexual references, it is enjoyable. nevertheless. The songs become a formality, but the duet with Kareena is enjoyable.

Aamir Khan fits the role, but for his age which shows in many places. Maddy and Sharman also do a very good job in this film with good number of laughs. A movie meant just to make you laugh, panchathanthiram style. Aamir laughs all the way again to the bank!

Udhav Naig

X Men Wolverine!

X Men – origins - Wolverine

Even as you enter the cinema hall, a mere look at Wolverine poster (Hugh Jackman) can reveal enough about what is to be offer. This movie chronicles the origin of “Wolverine”, unarguably the most charismatic Character in the entire “X Men” trilogy.


It begins with lousy story of the “Young” Logan and his half – Brother Victor running away into the woods after killing his father. As the credits roll, the blood brothers are shown decimating every other “gun” clad enemy during their stint in the American Army. Soon they are captured and sent to prison for “decapitating” a senior officer and when help arrives in the form of devilish Col. Stryker (Danny Huston) who offers them a deal which they cannot refuse. The blood brother’s finally make up their mind to join his “Special team” which has been promised with special privileges.

Cut to Nigeria, the team embarks on a mission. Unable to put up with the moral aberrations he had to endure during this mission, the do-gooder Logan leaves the team and finds solace in the Canadian woods with his lady love. But Col. Stryker isn’t done with him yet. By this time if you haven’t figured out how this movie is going to end, then this movie is for you and especially made for you. The routine super hero(s) revenge plot has been rehashed with predictable turn of events that fail to muster up anything that is even remotely interesting. What we get to see on the big screen is the old wine stuffed in an even older bottle. To the benefit of those who are still interested in the story here it comes: As Victor starts enjoying the “Animal” side of him, mayhem ensues as brothers are pit against each other.

Wolverine strides out in search of blood as he comes to know that it was Victor who has harmed his lady love. Out for revenge and with no idea of stopping without ensuring a blood bath, Wolverine seeks the help of Col. Stryker who arms the already armed Wolverine with even more ammunition. He is turned into a man of steel with Adamantium claws, quite literally. It is now revealed that Col. Stryker is an intelligent Villain who has bigger plans.

The threshold of those watching the film finally gives away and one wonders if the director is actually Gavin Hood, the man who directed “Tsotsi”. We also begin to wonder why this prequel was actually made in the first place. The very reason why X -Men was hugely popular was because of the mystic aura surrounding the wolverine and his steel claws. When this mystical past is revealed with such a primitive storyline there isn’t much you can do except bite your teeth and sit through the trauma.

The narration is pedestrian and boringly linear for a wafer thin plot; it actually induces sleep even though it runs only, for just over 1hr 30 minutes. The movie might have been worth its money had the screen writers (David Benioff and Skip Woods) concentrated on character building and plot points than banking on Hugh Jackman to carry the film completely on his shoulders.

There is absolutely no humor or intelligent tongue in Cheek dialogues that would have made “Wolverine” better than the previous installments. Wolverine is reduced to claw brandishing animal; He is boring because he heals himself quickly and pulls of insane stunts at the drop of a hat. After a point you realize the fact that there is nothing that can harm him and at the end of the day, you seldom care about him.

The movie has its moments as well, even though the stunts gives us an “I have seen this before” feel, it still manages to inspire awe in us. The spectacular climax showdown between Victor, Wolverine and the Ultimate Mutant who possesses the combined powers of other mutants on top of a circular structure has been breathtakingly conceived, it’s a treat to watch it on the big screen. Hugh Jackman has carried the film on his shoulders completely and is the ultimate saving grace in the film. If at all you want to watch this film, watch it for Hugh Jackman and the stunts.

Verdict – Old wine in an old Bottle.

Unnai Pol Oruvan is... A wednesday Pol Oruvan

First set first game, Shah to serve – The police station complaint scene – No return from Haasan. Shah leads 1-0. Haasan to serve – The first few rounds of phone calls – Shah breaks serve and wins the next game, leads 3-0. Now, the first half of the soliloquy , about the common man… Its becoming a one man show – Shah leads Haasan 4-0.. Now the second half of the soliloquy, narrating the story, alternating between emotion, pain ,intensity and wit. Haasan serves 12 aces and breaks thrice in 10 minutes. Takes the set 6-4.

The above lines , however are not the complete representation of the show that Unnai Pol Oruvan has been. They just cover the lead. Unnai Pol Oruvan is the remake of a film that was good but not great. To expect greatness from it is madness but to see how much justice is being done to the original essence and to observe how much of it is actually better is the way to go.

Places where Unnai Pol Oruvan is better done than A Wednesday

1) LEAD(Casting+Charecterization+Performances) – It is almost a role reversal of sorts. In a Wednesday, Anupam Kher is stiff throughout and Naseer comes up with wit and sarcasm now and then. Here, Kamal is witty but intensity personified while Mohanlal has plenty of political satire to play with, especially in the scenes involving Lakshmi where they make light conversation of highly complex issues. Kamal is as classy as ever and some of Mohanlal’s reactions leave your jaw open. Both in typical elements rock the screen all the time.

2) The look – I am a layman, I don’t know what to call it. The film looked a lot better than A Wednesday, Maybe thanks to the Red Camera – The resolution and the whole picture was top notch giving it an ultra slick look.

3) The Dialogues – A lot more politics, A lot more satire, A new dimension. If there is one area where A Wednesday is better in dialogues, it’s the tautness and the intensity which seems to be lacking in Unnai Pol Oruvan

4) The Music – Whenever there is Guitar, there is MAGIC. Especially when kamal is first shown on screen working on a drill, with a paper near him flying due to the wind there is complete hysteria as his name appears on the screen. However, his Allah Jaane is an ear-sore.. Rest of it is fine.

Places where Unnai Pol Oruvan just doesn’t come close to A Wednesday

1) The soul – Well the essence is an old helpless common man playing with the entire police force. This is virtually messed up in this remake… One sometimes feels they have missed the point, man.

2) The generalizabilty – No the theme is not universal. Its more mumbaish. No resident of Tamilnadu will feel the emotions of what Kamal describes. There are a few dialogue to rectify this flaw but doesn’t work.

3) Suspense – Its sad but when one remakes a thriller with a twist in the ‘tail’, once cant hope a person who has seen the original will like it… Even otherwise, I did try to view it from the perspective of a newbie to the Wednesday story but some scenes reveal this guy is a common man wanting to kill the terrorists – Especially the scene where he mentions that the addresses belong to the people who died in the blast

A THING THAT I OBSERVED ABOUT THE MONOLOGUE

in in a wednesday naseeruddin shah chooses one really suppa story of some guy he knows from train who died in a blast and does an amazing job narrating it. But namba Kamal has one ultimate emotional story to say and does mega brilliant job at it. It pretty much represents their career doesn't it? Nasser choses really suppa roles and makes them special through his performance... while kamal has to do really special roles and make them even more special.

Overall, a film that tries to be as sincere to the original as possible. Hence doesn’t get better. And since the original is a good but not great film, so is this one. One thing to look out for is the last 10 mins of the Kamal monologue about the 4 month old pregnant girl raped till nudity – A complete master stroke. Also watch out for some super brisk Mohanlal moments

A 3/5 for the slick flick

The ugly Truth is.......

I was one of the few guys lucky enough to be let inside studio5. Why?, you may ask. Firstly, It was the premiere of the Chick flick "The Ugly truth". Secondly, The most important reason to be deemed luck worthy is for the fact that it was an "All Girls Premiere". With girl/boy ratio being absolutely high, and girls dressed up like dolls, and me gazing endlessly, I was already a winner, this evening It didn't even matter if the movie was going to be good, I was going to enjoy the movie anyway. :D

The movie is all about Men and Women and about relationship's, probably you guys would be familiar with Men are from Mars , women are from Venus. How to seduce any woman....etc etc...

Its time to throw those books away and grab the DVD of this movie because it gets as close to what men think, and in fact , Gerrard Butler, who plays Mike, a relationship guru on a popular show, does exactly just that in the film. He burns all those ridiculous books and says..."Welcome to the Ugly truth" and he goes on....

"Men should try to peel the lady up on by one, until he reaches the garden of Love "and ....

By then you would start guessing what sort of a film is this. Its an adult romantic comedy with emphasis on Sex, and of course, "You know it plot" But shit yeah, It works well for the film. Gerrard Butler who plays Mike, is signed up for the "show" run by a local TV in Sacramento, USA...Where....No no no...no prizes for guessing, our female lead works as a executive producer.

She is as usual, the young, Dynamic, Hot, hotter, hottest, Voluptuous, bimbish and goddess sort of a girl, and (here is the most ridiculous part of her characterization) she is on look out for a BF and she claims to not have had sex for 11 months. yeah, I know, you have seen this stuff many times over, But no, the Ugly Truth is you may still like this film.

Mike, the hero helps her to get her man, and the deal is that, she has to stop being arrogant, and start being nice to him, and work with her to make the show a success. Oh Didn't I tell you that these 2 wouldn't get along in the first few scenes, If not it either means you haven't seen enough of Chick flicks, or you were trying to peep at your Gf's friend whom you met at the theater. :P

So, he keeps revealing the "Ugly truths" one by one, and she does exactly like he says and finally manages to woo a doctor, who looks absolutely Hot(The ladies went oooooooo, I am not gay :P), she goes on frequent dates. But one such date goes horribly wrong, when she wears the "gift". Yeah, Mike (Gerrard Butler) asks her to wear Vibrating underwear for her Date, she wears it and it goes horribly wrong when a kid gets hold of the remote, which ofcourse falls down from her Purse. The kid apparently turns on the vibrator and our heroine has an orgasm :P on the dining table in a restaurant.

The whole theater was laughing for it, me included, then we have some more cheeky sex lines, and few scenes here and there, simply written with an intention to bring a hearty laugh, you reach the climax, I mean, the climax of the film unless of course you and your girl friend/ Boy friend were busy with your hands grabbing the respective toys.

Its now time for "You know its going to happen" climax, suddenly Mike realizes his love for Abby, the heroine, just when they come out with full love and Yeah, baby you got it right, the Doctor comes in the climax leaving Mike Stone faced.

And we have the usual Climax where Abby bids good bye to the doctor and falls in love with Mike saying that he knows the real "She" and yet fell in love, where as she was just "not herself" with her doctor boy friend......we start melting and they start kissing and the ice cream melts too. This is the time, when guys need to make their move and women need to let their men make their move. As the lead pair romance on screen, you guys can have your spotlight by kissing and cuddling for a great night ahead.

So, Never ever go to this film alone(I went alone cos I was writing about the event), and you must be knowing that you are a fool to go with male friends if you are a guy but All girls gang might just be fun, I guess.

Best option is to buy a corner seat, pop corn and your girl by your side, hands on her knees and your other hands working and stroking her palm, and seeing her and the movie periodically. Movie cater to your "Love" and sexual urge to turn on instantly at the same time. Don't go alone and feel for it, Go with your Girl and your girl might just love you more than ever.


UDHAV NAIG

Greats and Kamal

Ever since the owner of this blog requested me to write about Kamal Hassan standing up to arguably the 2 greatest of actors of all time, namely - Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, I couldn't help but Chuckle at the very thought of it. I "knew" there wasn't any reason to possibly come to a conclusion that Kamal does stand a chance to overshadow these 2 actors. But private thoughts of just "Knowing" aren't just good enough, Isn't it?

Lets get to the business, Shall we?

So, the first question.

Why?, I will give you my reasons.

First up, to be even compared to these 2 actors, he should come up trumps against actors like Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Marlon Brando, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington and......... the list is endless. In fact, both these actors in question themselves have been overshadowed by the names mentioned above on some instances, Yet....the law of averages has its own advantage and it works heavily in favor of De Niro and Pacino. The comparison, IMO doesn't make sense if we pick up best movies of these actors weigh it up on a scale , and pass a judgement. So, lets us dwelve deep and do a thorough postmortem of sorts just to be sure.

Al Pacino, as we know has done some remarkable films, Some of them which I have seen are Dog Day Afternoon, Devils Advocate, Scent of a women, The God Father, Serpico, Scarface, Heat and Any Given Sunday. These are the films which made Al Pacino into what he is today. In my honest opinion, Al Pacino , in hindsight plays the "Evil" in most of his films. The man has a profound affiliation with evil, he fills the screen with uneasy tension, the self inflicted fatalism is his forte. To me Al Pacino's most enigmatic roles are from the films Dog Day Afternoon and God Father, all other films are derivates of these 2 roles. No matter how many different characters he has played the memory of the man with hand pistol and the guy sitting on the big chair with people kissing his hands linger on my mind. The "Evil" is quite evident form the man's eyes which breathes fire in every frame, Yet....we like it or not he gets stuck with that image in every role of he has portrayed so far.

So, how does Kamal Hassan match up to this line up of brilliant films?

Unlike Al Pacino , Kamal doesn't suffer from what I call the "driven fatalism". Kamal Hassan manages to paint a picture of righteous and the crooked with elan. This is something which we expect Kamal Hassan to do, just like how we expect Al Pacino to stare endlessly at us through the lens. Kamal doesn't even lack as far as creating a euphoria is concerned, Just like Al, Kamal has managed to create an aura around him which has kept him in good stead financially, But what I think puts Al ahead is the fact that Kamal himself has picked up things from Pacino and
innovated on it.

The most prominent of them being the laughter, the famous Kamal laugh. If you had been careful enough to notice the way Al says "Hah", made very popular by him in his master piece classic , "The Scent of a women". The act itself, dates back to time of Dog Day After Noon. Somehow, Kamal's laugh has a distinct similarity to the Al' way of saying " Haah , what now? you going to fuck with me?". Kamal has, IMO, definitely taken the que from Al and improvised on it and made it his own in his unique style. Well, this is what great actors do, improvise, but aren't we talking about who is the best of the best?

Kamal has infact, re invented Marlon Brando in his gangster flick "Nayagan". He reproduced the Brando effect very well, but I guess he went too far in aping Brando. The fact that he chewed tobacco just to do a "Brando" takes a good chunk away from Kamal. (Again, the best of the best?). When you make a film based on arguably the most influential films of last century, you ought to have these "Inspirations". But to be compared to pacino and Deniro and Brando, you are on your own. While brando and Al Pacino are in a war fighting with fucking Mig 319, Kamal
has a hand pistol.

I do have to say that Kamal Hassan definitely stands tall as far as Comedy is concerned but again, I have not followed Al Pacino's career as much as Kamal Hassan. Therefore, I cannot come to a conclusion if Pacino is not as good as Kamal Hassan in Comedy, because to be frank I don't even know if he has acted in a comedy film. I presume the comparison is a nonsense, yet, Let us assume Kamal is the winner there.

When we do consider the intense drama which Kamal is the most famous for, its only fair that Pacino takes the cake.

Next up is my favorite actor, the man who has just amazed me not only by acting but the sheer capacity to push the limit every time. The man, Robert De Niro who just took the world by storm with his act "You talking to me". Any article which even remotely talks about acting or remarkable films isn't complete without the mention of Raging Bull, this film possibly inspired a generation of film makers and actors for years together.

The very visual of Muscular Jake La Motta dancing in his robe at the ring side is riveting to say the least. The scene itself is so famous, that it was literally copied in the film Billa, with Ajith doing the same, this time with a sand bag. No actor in the world has an answer to the kind of work Robert has done in Raging Bull. The guy trained with boxer la Motta, got his 8 pack ab's for the role and the complete transformation can be seen as he slowly gains weight thorough out the film and you can just see his flab getting thicker and thicker. At the end, he appears as a 40 something bloated man with 40 inch paunch. The very thought is out of this world. 8 Packs and 40 inch paunch for a film? and I have not even started talking about his act in the film.

According to De Niro, there is something called "Auditioning for the film and acting in it". Auditioning is something one does to get a role in the film, acting is something one does when he does act in a film.

According to him this is how you act. Martinc Scorcese revealed that Robert Wanted to do this film more than scorcese himself. De Niro had earlier turned a taxi driver literally during the night to study what these drivers are up to, " method acting " took a whole new avatar. From then on, Raging Bull, Good fellas, Cape fear, King of Comedy, Untouchables, Heat, Casino, Awakening, The Mission, Deer Hunter, Mean Streets, GodFather,Newyork Newyork....thats some line up every actor would die to have.

Each one of those films need a write up like the one I am trying to do here, So where does Kamal stand here?

Let us see what Kamal has done that De Niro hasn't done.

Kamal has played a "dwarf", but dwarf's are also normal human beings its just that they end up staying short, and also I don't find anything uniquely intriguing in the role except for the fact that it was very convincing. For example, the way kamal tweaks his Jaws in Anbe Sivam spoke of his injury and damage to his skull is something detailed than a dwarf. I couldn't see or comprehend anything unique to Dwarf's. If they are just normal human beings, then credit should be given to director in Kamal or the art director in Kamal.

The Actor in Kamal, should be credited for his portrayal in Guna, Anbe Sivam or even Aalavandhan. Kamal has played an artist, Be it a classical dancer in Salangai Oli or a western Dance master in Punnagai Mannan, De Niro also has done his share with King of Comedy , where he plays a wanna be Stand up Comedien. He even plays a Stand up comedian in his illustrious Raging Bull.

Casino - seriously I cannot think of a performance close to this film. The arguments and Counter Arguments in the film between Nicky and Sam Rothstein are out of this world. Films where someone contests on equal footing with Kamal are Anbe Sivam and Kurudhipunal and to an extent virumaandi. But Casino wins it by a mile to spare.

Just 2 scenes are enough for me to decide that. The famous desert scene between Joe Pesci and De Niro, and the one between these 2 at Sam Rothstien's house. I.E When Pesci intimidates the officer from the bank. Its not the ease at which De Niro acts, even Kamal is effortless, its the way De Niro takes us into the lives of these men in Las Vegas that pushes it above Anbe Sivam and Kurudhipunal. While Kurudhipunal is more complete, Anbe Sivam is not.

Kamal has played a a gangster, so has De Niro. kamal has played lover boy, De Niro has never played such a role, in this case Kamal knocks De Niro down. For a Nayagan, De Niro hits back with a Good Fellas, When Kamal comes up with Sigappu Rojakkal - De Niro hits back with a Taxi Driver. When Kamal places Guna and Anbe Sivam, De Niro smashes it with his Awakening. When Kamal plays his card called Anbe Sivam and Kurudhipunal, De Niro plays an Ace called "Casino". When Kamal gets pissed off and tries to hit De Niro for a boundary with Mahanadhi and varumaiyin Niram Sigappu, De Niro hits him for a six off a no ball with Deer Hunter and Untouchable and Heat. When Kamal asks De Niro to play his card first this time around, he plays his trump card called the "Raging Bull" and Kamal forfiets after playing half a card
called "Moondram Pirai".

I take offence at people saying De Niro was just at the right place and at the right time, its as if De Niro was just plain lucky, Why couldn't Martin Scorcese do a Raging Bull again with some other actor?. The fact remains that the duo complemented each other and Raging Bull wouldn't be complete without these two.

In Tamil Industry, when Kamal was trying to break away from the main stream cinema after getting bored with it, he was alone. There wasn't one soul who would say, I want to be like Kamal. Every actor wanted to do a Rajinikanth. Everyone wanted to be a Star . This was both a boon and a bane. Boon - Because you would be the only one doing something different, and whatever little you did was deemed a "Different Effort", even a simple change in looks would have been looked upon as pioneering effort.

It was also a bane in the sense that his films could have very well lost in the scores of nonsense going around in early 90's and late eighties. Just like how a cute little Pug would be lost in a herd of pigs, his guna was lost amidst mud,filth and feces. His Hey Ram was lost in the same garbage. As we see, being Kamal in Tamil Cinema was both advantageous and disadvantageous. There is more of a disadvantage when you consider the finance part of it, not so much when you consider the recognition.

What about De Niro? It was just the opposite in Hollywood. Every fucking actor wanted to be either Brando, Pacino or De Niro. They all wanted to do a God Father, a Raging Bull. Hence we have seen some extraordinary talents like Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman,Russel Crowe, Denzel Washington, Di Caprio, Daniel Day lewis, Edward Norton etc.

These guys were constantly pushed, never could they rest on their laurels, they had to churn out a classic after a classic no matter how tired they were. This was a boon and Bane in itself.

Remarkable talents that Pacino and De Niro were, enjoyed the competition, reveled in it, Dug deep and made the place their own, and still came up trumps. The best of the roles weren't confined only to a few, but were distributed to a group of good actors. While an Indian could only be done by Kamal in Thamizh Cinema, it was not the same in Hollywood. De Niro still had to earn the right to play the lead in Casino. Respect had to be earned by whosoever it might be. And they also had the "Casting" director who wouldn't care to hoots while casting fora film , they wouldn't give an inch unless and until they felt so.

So, the whole idea of De Niro or pacino being an automatic choice wasn't on at all. There was a Tom Hanks to do a Terminal and Russel Crowe to do a "Beautiful mind" unlike Tamil Cinema.

Taking into consideration, all the above arguments condensing it, it seems as though Kamal still falls behind these 2 actors. While there are areas were Kamal scores over them, but as I said at the beginning the law of averages is quite arrogant and De Niro and Pacino score heavily in other areas.

A Small Digression, Recently I heard Bullet trains were to be introduced in Chennai- I was just thinking - is it not great to be proud about something we have or going to have in the near future than to think that bullet trains which we are going to have in Chennai is not as good as the latest bullet trains in Europe?

I remember those cheers
They still ring in my ears
And for years they'll remain in my thoughts
Cuz one night I took off my robe
And what'd I do
I forgot to wear shorts.
I recall every fall, every hook, every jab
The worst way a guy could get rid of his flab
As you know, my life was a jab...
Though I'd rather hear you cheer
When I delve into Shakespeare
"A Horse, a Horse, my Kingdom for a Horse,"
I haven't had a winner in six months (he lights his cigar)...
I know I'm no Olivier
But if he fought Sugar Ray
He would say
That the thing ain't the ring
It's the play.
So gimme a stage
Where this bull here can rage
And though I can fight
I'd much rather recite

That's entertainment!
That's entertainment.


I end this debate therefore.


UDHAV NAIG

Kieslowskii - Freak who freaks me out! Part I

I was really surprised and flabbergasted to know that some people couldn't comprehend even the simplest of simplest of films, Of course , I don't claim that I can understand every damn frame this film maker throws at me. But how on earth do you want me to believe that you have not understood the simplest of that he non-chalantly shows on screen. Any person with slightest sense of emotion should by general principal understand and comprehend what he shows on screen. I cannot accept "feigning". This write up is a lampooning attempt for a film which I have selected for today is "Krzysztof Kieslowski's: Three Colours: Bleu".

Like all his films, this film deals with distinct human emotions which we all can relate to. Any reasonable human being who claims not to have felt or come across these emotions needs to look at his life seriously.

This write up is not going to explain the plot , instead I will discuss about the brilliance of this genius. The story revolves around Julie who meets with a car accident. The accident kills her only daughter and her husband, who apparently is one of the biggest music composer of all times. The film deals with trials and tribulations of Julie and how she grapples with the sudden spate of changes in her life.

Julie is not the kind of heroine which we are used to seeing in some of the contrived women centric films , She is one among the thousands who is still trying to cope with her husbands death and of course her unfortunate change in fortunes.Now, before going into the details, I would like to state that, I am more concerned about the people who have seen the film and still couldn't understand why Krystoff is called one of the greatest and I would be really itching to call him THE greatest, and still debate on it.

The film is named blue for obvious reasons. The film has blue tone through out, but blue here signifies the memories Julie has about her past. please keep in mind this very interpretation as we move on.

Coming back to Julie, she is not a very headstrong woman who can stand up and come to terms with what has happened. It would be utterly illogical to show her as getting on with life after losing her celebrity husband and her only daughter. She obviously struggle's to come to term's with reality. Do you guys remember the first scene where a boy sits on the side of the road with wooden ball attached to a stick and he tries to fit the ball over the stick. The moment the ball fits the stick the car crashes, I am sure it was meant to be an allegory but I cannot comprehend as to what KK really tried to mean here?, That accidents happen by chance? or does he mean that it was meant to happen only when the ball fits over the stick, which obviously means FATE. It could have been anything and upto us to take it in which ever way we want to.

Coming back to the story, Julie is admitted to the hospital and more than the bodily pain which she suffers, the mental pain and heart ache seems to be getting the better of her. She distracts the Nurse on duty by breaking the glass window pane; As the nurse goes out to check the mess . She slips into the adjacent room(filled with medicines) and tries to consume random tablets in an effort to end her life. The nurse soon finds that out,and on seeing the nurse Julie spits it out. It was obviously the most weirdest situation to be in for Julie. She asks sorry for breaking the glass. Now this obviously should lead anyone to think that Julie thinks that breaking the glass was bigger vice than trying to end her life. Nurse quite quickly replies "the glass can be replaced". Just look at the way dialogues are written, if this is not a punch dialogue then what is?.

So, Julie recovers goes back to her country house with haunted memories (Again we can see shades of Blue). But after coming to a conclusion that ending her life wasn't the right way to go about her life, she becomes convinced that completely cutting her off from everyone and everything would do her more good, because she cannot even think of falling into an maze made of emotional strings. She sells her house, sells her antics except her daughter's Blue wall hanging made of Blue crystals and she wants to go to a place where no one knows her, no one can recognize her. Again her memories haunt her, she is not able to get over her husband and her love for her. What does she do? Calls her friend who apparently fell in love with her and makes love to him. The casual sex doesn't do any good to her rather it only rekindles the memories of her friend and her husband from time to time. She now goes away to Paris takes an apartment where there are no kids, furnishes her house with her daughters antique wall hanging. Every time, Julie has a ridiculous or a negative thought the blue shades turn to black. This cannot be a brain child of an average film maker at all.


Like memories Music too plays a vital part in the film, Since her husband was a famous musician it is obvious that music forms one of the best memories for Julie. She tries to destroy her music as well, throws all her notes she had previously written with her husband into garbage van. If you notice as she picks up the notes , the music is played in the back ground . The moment she throws it into the garbage truck the music fades out.

Well ironically later on in the film, you would find a solitary beggar playing the same tune again, and Julie asks the beggar from where he learnt it. He says that he composed it on his own. This is again a brilliant way of saying or rather a slap in the face of Julie that "You might have destroyed the paper having notes, but you cannot destroy your music". Life beckons her, her memories follow her everywhere she goes, but its Julie who cannot come to terms with her life. Haven't we come across such people?

You cannot even argue that beggar is not needed for the film, he is not the typical character we have most of the films there to fill up the screen space and time, the beggar makes her realize that she is important and so are her memories. The most striking part about the music in the film is as I said is as important as her memories themselves. A self proclaimed fan of Beethoven himself, KK gets in to the head of how a musician thinks about his music, how they write music. In the final sequence when Olivier and Julie try to finish the composition, Julie makes a lot of changes to the notes and she changes the instruments. Every time they run their hand through the notes , there is music in the back ground. Beethoven apparently thought about music as as he lost his hearing capabilities, because he could never hear it. I obviously didn't know it was directed at Beethoven but I am sure we can appreciate at how the music changes when Julie changes the instruments in her notes, from trumpet to piano to flute and so on.

She always prefer's to swim when no one is present, During the course of the journey to her new life in the apartment, she gets acquainted with a prostitute and make friends with her, both begin to share a good amount of closeness and suddenly Julie's heart is looking to confide into someone. One day, the girl sees Julie running off and she goes to the swimming pool to meet her,and she asks her if she was crying. Julie replies "no it was water". And suddenly group of children run and dive into the water.

It simply means people are forcefully starting to come into her lives again. the next scene is where she goes to meet her mom. This is vintage film making where there is a shot of Julie's mom watching TV, she is watching a man walking on a tight rope and Julie's face is reflected on the glass door which means Julie is also walking a tight rope.

The most important and the most unique scene is when she swims alone , IE , before she goes to meet her Mom. She tries to end her life by curling herself into a shape of a baby in the womb inside the water. After a few seconds, notwithstanding , she comes out, this means that she is reborn again. Again, I never understood the reborn angle of it, but you cannot possibly tell me that you never understood the purpose of that scene, which to mean that no matter how hard she tries; she is not able to cut herself off from the outer world.

I am sure this would induce movie enthusiasts in knowing more about this film maker, for those who claim to have not understood the movie, Allegories cannot get better than this. Decide for yourself.

UDHAV NAIG

Valhalla and Ilayaraja

It's 11 in the night. I am about to make my bed. Mom and Dad are already asleep. I keep the TV volume to a nearly inaudible low. I go to my room to check if my laptop has been shut down. From the living room, the sound of guitar repeatedly strumming a set of notes emanates. From the Idiot Box. I know the tune. One whiff of the music and I know what's being played. I rush to the living room with the glee of a child rushing to meet its Christmas presents from Santa. The concern for my parent's need to catch some Z's vanishes in thin air as I accelerate the volume up. After all, even if they wake up, they wouldn't mind listening to this; I console the angel in me.

The Pallavi begins shyly, giving glimpses of the genius to come. Almost like a shy bride, singing for her in-laws and fiancee when they have come to her place to see her and judge her worthiness. Like how she starts coyly, but within that demure cantabile, she impresses them. The would-be groom expectantly looks at his father, who is overjoyed. The mother is unmoved, however is waiting to hear how the song unfolds.

The first line is simple. Has only 1 Swara. Anyone who randomly places the bow of a violin to a string in the middle would get the sound. 1 Swara. Only Sa. 1 Swara.

As the song plays out, the violin faithfully accompanies, giving an almost aching end to the otherwise cheerful lines of melody.

There is no fuss about the song. There are no layers of music. No fancy digital sampling. No unheard-of-instruments captured by a synthesizer. The beats don't beat down the lyrics. There are few instruments. The violin, the Veena, the flute, the keyboard and drums. Nothing fancy. For most of the song, they don't try to overshadow the singer. SPB. No one could have sung it better. Even if it were sung better, it wouldn't have sounded like SPB. And it wouldn't be the same song.

The interlude flows by. The Carnatic extends its hands to the Western in a dignified manner. Starting with the flute, it progresses to the keyboard till the violins take over. All the while, known only to the discerning listener, the background beats is provided by Drums! In an unassuming way, no grand Thani Avartanam for the drums here. And with that, a whole generation was introduced to the composer's brand of East-meets-West music in a subtle way.

In the semi-classical Charanams that follow, the music also pushes the lyrics into the frontstage. Few composers have been gracious enough to give an equal importance to lyrics in the song. As the Charanam reaches a crescendo towards the end, the lines become bolder :

"Kaigal idaithanil nuzhaigayil idaiveli kuraigaiyil
eriyum vilakku siriththu kangal moodum "

(As the hands clasp and the gap between the lovers reduces, the burning lamp laughs and closes its eyes in shame). Incidentally a similar imagery is used in the Charanams of "Nenjinile Nenjinile" from "Uyire".

Sample this in the next Charanam :

"Viyarviyin mazhailae payiraagum paruvamae"
(In the rain of sweat that arises out of sexual tension, the youth gets fructified and harvested)
Bold lines for 1982. And till date, our lyricists keep harping around similar ideas about love.

Probably the only sore note about the song is its picturization. The beautiful melody is reduced to an amateur gymming session in the garden between the hero (a young Karthik, who desperately tries his best to save the choreography gone horribly wrong) and the heroine (a deadpan Jikki, Gemini Ganesan's daughter who thankfully disappeared after this film) who seem content playing Catch-Catch with each other. And that this was directed by none other than Sridhar, who gave us great movies like "Kadhalikka Neramillai" and "Kalyana Parisu" with great songs picturized beautifully, just shows us how bad a swansong a great auteur can get.

The song is "Panivizhum Malarvanam" from "Ninaivellam Nithya (1982)". I always have loved Ilayaraja. My early childhood was spent astonishing relatives with renditions of "Sundari Kannal Oru Seithi" (Thalapathi) and "Innum Ennai Enna Seiyya Pogirai" (Singaravelan). All this before I was 5. When I was 5, "Roja" happened. A.R. Rahman became the rage of the day. I was swept off my feet. Ilayaraja faded away into the dark corners of my grey cells. When I was in 9th Std, I heard this song for the first time. But I was so mesmerized by its beauty that I could only half retain its tune and its lyrics. So I couldn't search the song out in the net. Then 2 years later, in my 11th Std, I heard it again. And this time I made sure to note the first lines. And I got the song. It was an eye-opener for me. It opened me to a world of music beyond Rahman. It introduced me to the beauty of Raja songs. The songs were a brilliant mix of light carnatic music with glimpses of western classical and contemporary pop. For a guy grounded in Carrnatic Music, but thankfully without any shackles preventing me from having a myopic vision towards other styles of music, this was perfect. With "Panivizhum Malarvanam" I had found my Valhalla in the music of Ilayaraja.

Look at the history and Innovate YOU IDIOTS!

Here comes an article from me after a long time, I was under extreme dilemma to decide on a topic to write about and I had zeroed in on a few topics namely , "Brilliance of Stanley Kubrik", "Kieslowksi fucks you through his lens" , "Martin Scorcese declares war".

Somehow, I realized that there is nothing mendacious about these film makers and I decided for once that tribute's can wait. This write up will precisely deal with our very own Tamil Cinema and its history of Innovation. I am not going to pin point the year and the dates , Chronologically provide succinct data about Tamil films that have been successful till date, I have not seen much of Tamil Cinema to do that too. But, I am going to illustrate the need to innovate, and how innovation has reaped rewards in the past.

I can't help but talk about the pusillanimous directors and actors we have today....though I would refrain from talking about their doleful state of affairs WRT to films.

Lets start from our very own MGR and Shivaji, Frankly I don't know about Tamil Cinema before these 2 icons, and I think its not really appealing to talk about cinema before 1940's. MGR carved a niche for himself through his songs and he was very good at stunts too. The songs were hugely popular with people because he could practically deceive people that it was literally god's words. People were absolutely convinced that the man makes sense (Of course he did) and he could bring in a sense of Personal bond with his fans. This paved the way for his meteoric rise.

Now,If you askme, I would call this an innovation, He convinced people that... he is a GEM of a guy, he can Fight, he is strong, he can decimate any opposition, he is man of values and WHAT NOT. TN was swept under a MAT called MGR. MGR was a man who was looked up to as THALAIVAR. This personal bond was telling factor that made his name common in every house hold.

The unimaginable fan following he had was directly proportional to amount of "Good Values" he propagated on screen. He mastered the art of aggrandizing his on screen persona that reflected his growing exponential fan base.

He never allowed the audience to see the "Character in his films", whether he played a "Rickshaw puller", " Cop", "Brother", "Rich Zamindar", even sometimes "Thief"...
I have always wondered Why people chose to cloud their minds from seeing just the character on screen, and always "focused" on "WHAT MGR their Thalaivar" says.

I am not going to go in to this very uninteresting debate on how it all started, I presume it was a simultaneous cycle, where in MGR tried to project himself as do - gooder, the audience also picked it up and concluded that MGR is always magnanimous. Other than this simple hypothesis, I cannot not speculate anything more and I will not speculate anything more.

I still insist, MGR did something that other people couldn't manage to do, If you are a rational man(man here refers to human) you would be asking number of question sto me, and one among them would be "Then why didn't our audience reject him once he got redundant after few years."

My answer would be slightly irrational, I would say, he already managed to carve a niche for himself, that "He" means what he says on screen, more often than not he always backed his words with his action...his fans were smitten by this capacity of MGR to "Do" things that he says "ON SCREEN". This elevated him to god level status and thus the legend of MGR still lives on , not only does he is a legend but also rakes in votes once in 5 years till today.

This era is incomplete without talking about Shivaji Ganeshan. He was a different commodity all together....Now, what did he do to keep "His" kind of audience hooked up to him. He lived the character literally, whether it is "VeeraPandia KattaBomman " , my favourite "Deiva Magan" , "Pudhiya Paravai", "Bharatha Vilas" and the most famous of them all "Thillana Moganambal". His era , unfortunately Coincided with arguably the most influential On Screen performer of all time in South India.

Then how on earth did he manage to stand tall?.

The Magic Word - INNOVATE!!

The way he portrayed complex characters and the way he emotes on screen were simply impeccable and his "Method" of wooing audience was directly and diametrically opposite to MGR's. The difference is blatantly obvious. He made audience forget that the person on screen is "Shivaji" and it was "Veera Pandia Kattabomman" himself. The man made it possible every single time he donned the grease paint. Though , am not really impressed with these 2 actors, I still relish his films , a few of them that I have already mentioned.

Again the magic word is INNOVATE and be different, this fetched Shivaji Ganesan lot of laurels and a HUGE fan base.

Marlon Brando reportedly remarked " Shivaji should not be called Marlon Brando of Tamil Cinema, Rather I should be called Shivaji Ganesan of Hollywood" .I really don't know if the quote was authentic, but I would say the quote actually doesn't have irrationality written all over it.

We have to move on to the next generation, RAJINIKANTH and KAMALHASSAN. The 2 are undoubtedly the top guys in TC right now. Innovation has played a vital role in their careers as well...

Rajinikanth AFAIK, broke into the limelight with thunderous THUD. He was the most unique person on screen, doing something different all the time, the way he uttered his lines, his gimmicks on screen, his cunning-ness , his negativity, his hair style , the dark complexion everything about him was new and different.

After seeing arguably 2 stout actors for 30 long years , time had come for our audience to switch to something different...The change was Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan.

Back then, Rajini was everything what a conventional hero will not be identified with.He was dark, Slim, Fiery eyes, full of gimmicks, handsome but not so handsome, fast and oozing style. This repertoire of style included everything from flipping a Cigarette Nonchalantly into his mouth, or running his hand through his head, or flipping his coat with hands around his waist.

What he did on screen was something very distinct, unique appealing and belligerent, he broke all rules of a conventional hero and that's a telling factor of his success so much so that, his " Gimmicks" still sells today, which re-Iterates that the investment towards innovation has paid him rich dividends.

This Era was also flooded with extremely talented and refreshing film makers like K. Balachander called the "God Father" for the 2 pillars in Tamil Cinema today, Balu Mahendra (Helped Kamal to a National Award), SP Muthuraman( Or (Rajini - Courtesy -SPM), the most intelligent Screen play writer of 80's Bhagyaraj and many more.

All these film makers were different from Each other and the MAGIC WORD AGAIN IS INNOVATE.

Let's move into the late 80's and the 90's, this period was spewed with successful films (At least a majority of them) is what we now call meaningless and NON- Sense cinema. It wasn't completely meaningless back then, because like always,Audience wanted something new.

They decided that they have enough films that were realistic and they were ready to lap up even nugatory films that can only be compared with pigeons pee in 2009. Some huge hits include Sagakalavallavan, Chinna Thambi(What nonsense was that!!!), many Rajini Movies that were ridiculous like Dharma Durai, Naan Sigappu Manidhan (GOSH!) and many more.

Once - So - Popular directors like Balachander and Bharathi Raja were seen in disarray and they completely lost their foothold and people demanded different films. Sadly KB and Bharathiraja could neither make films that people expected nor could stake a claim for their films with the audience.

Then came the MASS masala Bandwagon made popular by Rajinikanth, and paraded on by Ajith's(And his derivatives) and Vijay's(And his derivatives),both apparently are derivatives of Rajinikanth himself. Rajini interestingly shifted his focus from his style to a more MGRsque method of having the personal connection with his audience. Super star's fans always looked for hidden but not so hidden messages on various things. Namely, Spirituality, Religion, "Values" (Though we can have criticisms about it, people were OK with it), and Of course the most important of all Politics.

Kamal's career also took a hit with his "In ability" to put up with paradigm shift, he innovated with his "Own" brand of cinema ,providing an explicable mix of Great acting with ample "commercial factors" , namely an item song or a KUTHU song or arbit heroism. However, Kamal the actor refused to give in to rigors of industry and continued to do films that he liked. This helped him hold his own against barrage of actors who were hell bent on doing everything that RAJINIKANTH does in his previous film.

Kamal took up script writing, direction, Production to constantly keep differentiating himself from the rest of "MASALA" coterie. I am sure he was aghast at the pollutians bothering Tamil cinema namely his good friend, but he couldn't do much as people were unanimous in their support for Rajinikanth. Kamal still soldiered on, with every flop came a Big hit and followed by a "film" that spoke of his credentials to experiment.

His biggest HIT in 90's was Indian , it was a distinct mix of "Kamal's idea of Innovation"....it coupled Great Acting and entertainment...it had ample comedy, Love, Exposure everything to please the foolish front benches.

So, as we can see, the Magic word again is to be different and Innovate.

Just when we thought that MASALA cinema is here to stay, post 2004 people have rejected many films that are supposedly made to entertain people. Post- Ghilli, very few MASALA films have made it big, one's that made it big also had something new in them, starting from music ,dance stunts, costumes etc.

BILLA is an interesting film to analyze, it had the same things that are considered despicable and it didn't even have good acting, still it was liked by people because it was different. The whole idea of bringing Hollywood style visuals to Tamil Cinema was something new. It of course clicked with the audience because of its Innovation.

I do agree some films have clicked with completely no innovation at all, these films would actually be the ones that were successful because of the "WAVE" created by the trend setters.

Just like how some films set up with a village theme were successful largely because "It was similar to Bharathi Raja's films"

Just like how many films following the GHILLI pattern were successful.Some films just tend to be lucky and get people's nod. But that is no way a deterrent for film maker's to not to INNOVATE.

You needn't be a poly math to do this analysis, anyone with a slight sense of brains can do it, I am amazed at how film maker's themselves have ignored this crucial factor.

The present state of Tamil Cinema is appalling, we have 2 good movies every year all other movies flop at the BO , this suggests that another wave is waiting to HIT Tamil cinema, and we are going to be taken back to the glory days of KB and Bharathi Raja and Balu Mahendra.

With Rajini at the fag end of his career and Ajith's and Vijay's biting dust too often for them to feel safe, I guess its an interesting road ahead for people who like Innovations.

So, please INNOVATES YOU IDIOTS.

All said and Done, I am also reminded of a saying "If wishes were horses, only beggars would ride them".

See ya Soon

UDHAV

Two Leaves, One state and that Romance -( Off topic)

Some ten months after I was born, the man closest to her heart (her only moral support and her political mentor) died. All that she wanted to do was to have a look at his dead body. She wasn't allowed. She somehow survived the trauma and went to the state assembly where some men headed by one of India's 'greatest' hypocrites ran out of arguments against her and resorted to physical assault. They tried to pull off her Saree. She survived this third grade act too. She would go on to survive a lot more in her way to create Tamil history. On June 24 , 1991 - J Jayalalitha became the first elected women chief minister in the history of Tamil Nadu.

From that very day it has been a very romantic tale. The people love her and she loves them back. And suddenly they are angry with her and she is angry too. They irritate her by going on a blind date with the sad guy and his family for five long years and they are too bored of his false promises by then. So they come back and she accepts the love of her life with open arms. This article goes back in the "sands" of time to reason out why she is definitely the better of the two things to have happened to Tamil Nadu.

To start off with, it is completely undeniable and a fact that Jaya would only be proud to accept that most of her even now growing popularity is thanks to her association with M.G.R. who for many other Tamilians means another three letter word staring with G and ending with D. In fact there are still remote villages in Tamil Nadu where people believe M.G.R. is alive and every time they vote, they vote for their 'thalaivar'. But there has to be something in the work and effort that politicians put in, in order to sustain the already available support of the people. And it is this extra effort that Jaya has put in without which it would have been impossible for her to be so popular despite being the target of a witch hunting of an unimaginably huge scale launched by the sad man who despite being in the political scenario for almost twice as many years as Jayalalitha is still not sure of holding on to his government for two consecutive terms.

Her first term as chief minister saw some of the most interesting ways of misusing power. We need pioneers in all fields and here was a very independent lady with complete control over a very important state of the country. She did do a lot for development but not a lot enough to attract the controversy addicted media. The most infamous among her notorious activities of those times were making Balu Jewellers go down under, causing a huge stampede in the kumbakonam mahamaagam, indulging in excessive corruption and owning a special 'collectors version' of 'wealth' :) [something which sun news (an open insult to unbiased news making) went on to publicly display a million times as soon as Jaya was arrested after being voted out of power]

But why did the media not look at the fact that during this very first term of her government, she banned high interest private loans, almost completed the Veeranam Water Supply Scheme for Chennai,banned lottery tickets to encourage savings, set up All women police stations, installed 'Rural Women Self Help Programme benefitting lakhs of ladies in villages, initiated the 'thottil Kuzhandai Thittam' which definitely is the work of an administrative genius.

Well one can't expect the people to take notice unless its told to them, and Jaya did not do this properly. More over there were multiple factors like the minds of Rajinikanth (offered a Padma Bhushan in exchange of campaigning - how lame) and Cho Ramasamy ( who genuinely wanted change and now repents ) which voiced for a change of governance and unfortunately led the people into a whole family of brilliant squanderers. Also known as the cement pirates, these men in charge of the state from 1996 to 2001 built more subways than necessary and took more commission than they could possibly handle.

But by the end of those treacherous five years from 1996 to 2001, an entire state was nodding in
disagreement with the way they were being governed. Jaya was in a pre-poll agreement with some similar minded parties. She went from district to district in break neck speed. Campaigning hard. Getting to the grass roots, speaking about the real issues. And what the 'makkal' gave her back was what she called the 'maghesan theerpu' - an absolute rout. Independent majority and complete power. And this time it truly was a golden era. Where there was a lot more right than most of the wrong. She wasn't allowed to be CM for some time, but she used puppets to continue administering the state with some great courage and caution at the same time.

Very good things happened to Tamil Nadu during this second term. The New Veeranam project was completed. The revolutionary 'Rain Water Harvesting scheme' was introduced. Veerappan was caught and killed. Video Piracy was brought to a minimum. She also carried out some very innovative acts like introduction of video conferencing in Jails and Courts, thus eliminating the need to bring the accused to extend the remand every time.

The best part, however was the mighty display of the iron hand during the teachers' strike. Though all political analysts say, it is this act of tough and near-oppressive administration that helped the DMK alliance come back to power in the next elections, I personally feel it is probably the best way of curbing chaos in a state where millions of people reside. 'Nethi Adi' is what they call it in tamil - she hit the nail on the head. And the people on strike had to comely come back to work.

But as it happened, an alliance of discomfort came together just for the sake of setting up their kids as union ministers and are presently ruling this state with the worst ways one can ever use to rule the place.

And you should see how the people, midway through this dreadful phase yearn for their mother. You should see how they react to her calls for support in the meetings. There is bliss and poetic silence in the multiple ruptures of noise that they make when she says "karunanidhiya thooki poduveengala? seiveergala?". The way she is campaigning and getting closer to HER state for these Lok Sabha elections are only a sign of things to come. The real romance will start in 2011. When the state will run back and jump into the arms of the real mother of theirs and the mummy will return. Again.