Karate kid - Avatar - Killers - Raavan

Karate kid - One of the good movies watched recently. Jaden Smith (son of the one and only Will Smith) has done a wonderful job much satisfying for his age. His actions and expressions looked like he was really interested in Kung-Fu and the director filmed it without his knowledge. Expected a bit more action from Jackie Chan. He is getting older.Speaking about him, reminds me of the Jackie Chan movies dubbed in 'Tamil'.Wow! those were very hilarious.

Avatar - I don't understand why James Cameroon was dumped so badly at Oscars. i understand that Oscars goes to movies with stories like 'Crazy Heart'. But Avatar is a movie of its kind! And we can expect a lot - a package from James Cameroon. He is one person who makes gross profit in billions across the globe. His movies are understood by people from all nations. Man, Avatar should have grabbed some more Oscars. Didn't 'Pandora' take us all into it? And yes, on what basis did he name it Avatar? That's a pure Sanskrit word! (Avatar means Incarnation in English)

Killers - Waste of money, waste of time, waste of energy, waste of fuel, waste of food! And now additional waste of time blogging about it! Mr.Ashton, try more humor than action!

Raavan - Everybody in India look Manirathnam as a god of Indian Cinema. Well, he is just another movie director, making sensible movies. Raavan was much awaited. Fully based on the epic Ramayana, which the director denies; is a good watch! Worth the money. Vikram, Aishwarya Rai, Karthik have done justice to their jobs. Music, well yes, treat to our ears but not extraordinary kind!

Precious / Up in the air

Academy award for 'Best Support Actor' - Mo'Nique in Precious (and) 6 Oscar nominations for 'Up in the air' ; made me watch these two movies as part of my movie night last weekend!

Precious, the most spoken about movie in recent times. Unfortunately I did not watch the climax because I turned off the TV half way through. I was moved. Precious, the obese, illiterate teenager becomes pregnant twice by her own father and lives with her mother who physically and mentally abuses her. Mo'Nique who plays Precious's mother has shown amazing talent in acting. Gabourey Sidibie who plays the 16 year old Precious lost to Sandra Bullock in Oscars under 'Best Actress' category.

Up in the air, its all about firing! And a little romance in between. If you are looking for a corporate movie describing the recession times watch this. A subtle and soothing journey up in the air; its about a man who completes his 10 million miles in the air. George Clooney (Ryan) is hired to fire employees; helping bosses who are coward enough to do it themselves. Anyone would love a job like that. But Natalie, Ryan's coworker did not and she resigned after hearing that the employee whom she fired had committed suicide. 2009 had been a year of recession and this movie looks like a summary of the same! Good watch!

*the pictures show only George Clooney because - Oh god! I just love looking at him, and only him!

Brahmacharyam...

I feel so annoyed by this word - Swamiji! How many Swamijis in line to have taught the same lesson to our Tamil devotees(or should I generalize as Indian devotees). And how many excuses do our people need to repeat the same foolish mistake of following the false footsteps of these sick people.

For those unaware of what crap this post is about; let me explain in detail right from the spiritual guru's motto "Worry is created out of ignorance and sustained by ego" says Paramahamsa Nithyananda in his devotional website.

And yesterday I saw this Sun TV news clip on YouTube and went speechless. People call him god. I blame the people first! There were similar controversies related to sex scandals by Godmen in the past. I do not want to mention names here. If technology can help them in many ways, let it help you in googling about them. Here,the devotees still seem to show that they have not learnt anything from them. Mere stupidity! As told in many south-Indian channels, a swami is a person who sacrifices luxury and chants the name of god.But there is something known as betrayal. That part of the controversy made me write this post.

Wikipedia says "Swami is primarily a Hindu honorific title". What should have made him honorific. I also went through his website and was wondering; do small scale software companies have a tie with such guys to build their websites, so beautiful and professional.

And need I say about these actress who pose in such videos and controversies. Swamijis,film industry personnel, sportsperson, multi-millionaires, politicians are predominantly popular among controversies with actress.In this video, what I discovered was, the actress was trying to keep stuff on light; while Swamiji was keen on turning lights off. My prediction was; whether the actress was involved in helping people find out his true colors. No one knows the truth! And the Swamiji supporters are trying to prove him innocent. Well, lets wait and watch. But from the eyes of a normal human being and of course being a person who knows sufficient information about graphics and computers, I felt there was not much morphing or graphics work.

But you people who blindly follow false footsteps, think twice!

AVATAR & Sherlock Holmes on Christmas Day!

Its Christmas day, 2009 - Reminds me of the one in 2004 while I was in a dilemma to resign my first job or not. I was working night shift that day. The office cubicles were decorated with Christmas trees and colorful balloons. With the same amount of excitement and fun as any other day, I was ready to put my papers for good! The next day morning at around 5.30 AM I took my cab home. In Chennai, travelling along the Marina beach road early morning used to be fun, but not on that day! Well, it was the day of Tsunami. My cab driver changed route as there were a lot of chaos on the roads of Chennai early morning. Immediately after an hour all TV channels were flashing headlines about Tsunami in Chennai. Until then I guess the word Tsunami was not familiar in Indian dictionary.

'Avatar' and 'Sherlock Holmes' - Watching those 2 movies on the Christmas Day amidst American audience was quiet an experience!

Avatar - Well, Mr.James Cameroon's return after Titanic. Do I need to explain about Avatar then? Go watch it, if you have not yet. With the Imax 3D, the movie was scintillating! The imaginary Pandora's, floating mountains, flying animals, amazingly beautiful places in the Pandora were breathtaking views. The blue skinned Na'vi of the planet Pandora resembles the blue skin of lord Krishna. Maybe that was a reason for it to be called Avatar ( Dashavatar - 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu) ; was truly our(me and my husband's) view of the movie.

But again, aliens invading earth or man invading alien-land is not new to Hollywood.

Sherlock Holmes - Again two thumbs up! During my school days I have never read any Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie books. Hence naturally I felt it difficult following this movie. The background score, the set that portrayed London Bridge during its construction, olden days London, Robert Downey Jr. add beauty to this movie. People say the movie is running as equally as Avatar recently. But Avatar would definitely make it at the box office- no doubt!

Me on 'Neeya Naana'

This year the North American Tamil Vizha was conducted in Atlanta by FETNA (www.fetna.org ); on July 3rd, 4Th and 5Th at the Georgia Tech University campus. Popular personalities like Scientist Mayilsamy, poet Vairamuthu, Actors Jeeva Pasupathi and many others were part of it. And it was a very happy occasion for me, being a part of it. Volunteering on day 1, I was there to take part in Neeya Naana, a popular TV show(Star Vijay television) conducted by this eminent TV personality, Gopinath(popularly known as Neeya Naana Gopinath).

"Americavil kudi peyarthadhal adhigam munnetram adaindhadhu Aangala, Pengala?" (Who has succeeded more after moving to America - Men or Women?) was the topic given. Well, if you ask, my personal opinion would be - Men! But I was put in Pengale (Women) side of the debate and trust me, I could not think of a single point to support my side of the topic, till the day. Finally I came up with this point...Checkout the video. The last person speaking in this video is me. The video not being that clear, you can find me on the right side, second row, center stage, first person.

100th post- My blogging with Julie & Julia

100Th post!

Julie and Julia - I am influenced! This happens to me most of the time I watch a movie that strongly portrays something that I like. And this movie had two portions in it that interests me - cooking and blogging.

Now that I find ample amount of time to experiment my cooking skills, I play in my kitchen space everyday.

But whats with the blogging. Way back in 2006, I started blogging, just like that. Without any specific thought in mind, my blog had random ideas and experiences till date and I would love to continue it this way. I have got strong comments at times for debatable topics. Well, most of the times my answer would be, 'this is purely my opinion'. And I stick to my answer. I usually don't spend time reading other blogs, because I fear if that would influence my writing. But then, during my dull days of blogging I used to visit a couple of other blogs; preferably humorous ones.

And what made me feel good about Julie and Julia - I must admit that I am writing this post because I am influenced by the movie which reminded me that I have a blog too.

Verdict on Julie @ Julia - Go for it!

Vaaranam Aayiram

Verdict - Surya deserves an applause!

Vaaranam Aayiram is about the bond between a father and a son.I am sure most sons who watched the movie would have experienced at least one 'scene' in common with their own father in life.Well, that's what Gowtham Menon, the director of the movie claims, that this movie is a real life story of his father.Gowtham Menon has never been in the list of my favorite directors before this I saw this movie or rather I never felt anything great or new in his work. Now, he slowly seams to impress me with Vaaranam Aayiram.

Surya - This man has already been my favorite actor, ever since I saw him in Peralagan. I also liked his performance in Pithamagan.In Kaakha Kaakha through him, I saw the life of a policeman in Tamil Nadu(but tell me which policeman is as handsome as Surya was!). In Vaaranam Aayiram, he has shown his talents in acting, dancing, singing, expressions, romancing, humor(a little lesser though, in this movie),body building(a special mention) and more.

Simran - She best fits the mother character than the college girl. Well, that's what a mother of a child in South India could maximum do in acting. I wonder how do Hollywood actress manage to do action movies and maintain their physique even after child birth.

Divya Spandana - Not used to the fullest in the movie!

Sameera Reddy - I liked her smile. More than director's commands, it also depends on the actor has or follows his own style of acting which most of Indian actors lack.

Special features of the movie which made me write about it here:
1.Surya and his hard work. The father Surya, his expressions and mannerisms to match that of a 60 year old man.Drug addict Surya, his arrogance and message to younger generation.His 6 packs. Manly!

2.The messages in the movie - Cancer kills(or rather cigarette smoking kills); Drug addiction and its after effects; Join the army; And the best message of all - Overcome your depression by deviating yourself into any kind of activity that you feel is worthy! The dialogue Surya delivers exclusively for the younger generation about body-building to overcome depression was absolutely well-received and an excellent thought! Well, I felt this is how movies should be, at least for the young guys who bunk their schools and colleges to watch a show!

3.Joining the army and its importance.

4.Songs - Though usual Harris Jayaraj ones, I liked 'Analmele Panithuli' (a different approach from Harris) and 'Anjale Anjale'(for Karthik who is my favorite and the 'type' of the song which was foot-tapping or rather a 'kuthu' song)

On the whole, though it has its own flaws , a good movie to be watched and I am happy Tamil Cinema can be this informative to the youth! I was moved after watching it!

Those two movies

Thanks to Praveen who shared his DVD collections with me. After a long time, I got a chance to watch 3 movies from the collection - Cinema Paradiso, Scent of a woman, Shawshank Redemption. And do I need to say that these movies are still in the list of 'All time best movies'?

Well, I did like Scent of a woman, but then the movie was entirely based on Alpacino in the background. Hence I skip commenting about it right now except for a punchline 'What a man - Alpacino!'

Coming to the other 2 movies; Cinema Paradiso - Man, Is this a movie or an encyclopedia! I have been watching Hollywood classics for a few years now. Till few years back, I was under a wrong notion that 'Manirathnam was the best director', 'Kamal Hassan was the greatest actor', 'Illayaraja was the best music director'. I feel everyone would have felt like this in the beginning till you extended your exposure. The world is so big and we have seen very less of it. After I got an exposure to these classics all my previous notions shattered into pieces. And I am happy about it!

Cinema Paradiso - A movie for a lifetime! I guess this statement will explain it all! Every single frame of it is to be treasured. For people who have not watched it yet, go for it right away. It revolves around the story of a man right from his childhood. The word 'child' reminds me of the little kid(the one seen in the picture above) who has broken every one's record of acting (I meant ‘broken records’ because, for his age what he has delivered is mind blowing). People say that the recent Tamil flick ‘Veyyil’ is a remake of Cinema Paradiso. I have not watched ‘Veyyil’ yet, neither do I want to watch it anymore. Because, I don’t want to come to a conclusion, that these Bollywood and Kollywood directors lack brains to even copy a movie properly. Well, that’s totally another debate which I don’t want to get into.

Shawshank Redemption - another masterpiece! I call it a 'Man Movie'. And the reason being, either the movie is full of men and no single woman in it or the theme behind would grab the attention of a man more than a woman. Still I forced myself to watch it completely as I was curious in knowing what made it top the list of 'All time Best movies'. I got glued to my seat till the end of the movie because; of the direction, thrill it created, the life of prisoners and the ailments they suffer from, the ruthless jail wardens, the punishments one would suffer from in jail, Andy's composed nature and patience and of course his master plan to escape from jail, Morgan Freeman (an obvious reason for anyone who watches the movie to like it), last but not the least -the master plan. This movie reminds me of 'Great Escape' , which had a similar theme.

'Hanu' in Dasa

I am still wondering why I have not come up with the second part of my review. Have I got bored of reading a hundred reviews here and there about it? No matter how 'big' the movie is, these days none of them seem to attract me for long.

And for all you guys who wonder, what the name of the monkey which appears in Dasavatharam is - Hanu and not, Anu. Hanu as in Hanuman!!! I had got enough teasing while watching the movie itself. I accept man evolved from monkey, but then this 'Hanu' looks very unhealthy and skinny.Next time you watch the movie take a look at its face.

Awesome punch by Govind: Kadavul illanu naan sollala, irundha nalla irukum nu thaan solren. Anbe Venkataachalam!

Dasavatharam – My View

Though the movie released yesterday with a grand opening all over, I got my chance to watch it on the second day. Getting a ticket in Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai is not that easy, especially on the very second day of the most awaited blockbuster of 2008, ‘class-cum-mass’ movie. So I decided to head towards Mayajaal (ECR) which screened 45 shows of 'Dasavatharam' per day. Finally, when I had the tickets in my hand I was anxiously waiting till the show time. Though it cost me Rs.400 for two tickets, the actual cost should have been Rs.240 (120 each). Well, I actually dint mind paying 400 bucks at that point of time; because I was waiting to watch this movie for months, just like many others.Another unforgettable experience was to watch the movie sitting in the first seat, raising my head at an angle of 45 degrees.

The movie:
Before watching
Let me explain what raised my expectations to watch this movie. First of all, my love towards ‘Lord Krishna (precisely Vishnu) and his leela’. From my childhood (even today) I got addicted listening to stories(by means of my grandmother, animated movies, books,etc) of all his avatars. Most of the devotional songs which I keep humming would be of Lord Krishna’s. So my attractions towards the movie (or rather why I wanted to watch Dasavatharam) are
1. ‘Name of the movie’ itself (Curiosity about the 10 avatars or roles)
2. Kamal ( though I wont accept him as a 'Ulaganayagan' he is definitely our 'Ulloor Nayagan'- a legend of Tamil Cinema)
3. Mukuntha-Mukuntha song ( a short description of the 10 avatars)
4. Tsunami ( after 26Th Dec 2004, I grew a separate love for this word ‘Tsunami’, not for the destruction it caused but for the scientific truths about it)
5. The hype it created
6. Is it worthy enough to bag an Oscar award?

After watching
A roller-coaster ride! A must watch movie! 3 cheers for Kamalhassan! Well, I am not the first person to say this; a thousand movie critics have already praised Kamal since its release yesterday.

For a change, the 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu, all of which belongs to the Hindu religion have been portrayed as 10 different roles in the movie, but with a mixture of many religions. Well, the usage of religious or caste-based words is not new in a Kamal’s movie.

As Nambi of 12Th century, I liked Kamal’s costume and his justification towards the role as I felt it suited him better than anyone else in Tamil cinema. Special cheers for his biceps!

Scientist episode bagged the first place of all the others, mainly due to my interest and love towards bio-technology. Note the word episode and not the role. Otherwise scientist Govind is a normal Kamal whom we saw in any other movie. Poor actor’s skin was given a chance to breathe fresh air without much make-up for this role than the other ones.

Villain Fletcher exposed the most stunning performance and the make-up matched the role so perfectly when compared to others. A mixture of most Hollywood popular faces put together with Kamal’s negative-role acting. Mallika Sherawat has done justice for the money paid to her. Nothing more nothing less!

Dalit ‘Vincent’ is the second best in make-up and an unforgettable acting of all the other roles. As Vincent, Kamal would definitely win a many more hearts in Tamil Nadu other than his current fans count. To be more precise, support from a wide range of fans from the wide range of communities (castes) spread across Tamil Nadu.

Naidu, is my favorite character. His delivery of Telugu mixed Tamil dialogues is so original which reminded me of my Andhra-based professors in college, colleagues, friends etc. But, I felt the flaw here was, as per the story , the case under Naidu's control being an international one about a terrorist should have been handled by a more responsible officer, while Naidu is considered to be the comedian of the movie. (Remember, the movie is aimed for Oscars and just not another Tamil Cinema). Of course people who watch a movie for 3 hrs and more will expect a bit of humor in it, but I felt this(such an officer given responsibility to trace an international culprit) won't happen in real life.

The Chinese man - an extra-ordinary brilliant piece of acting combined with make-up. The stunts are stunning and it looks like a professional ‘hooo-haaa’ kind.( I am very poor in the names of these Ching-chong fights. Used to admire them in many Jackie Chan movies).

Paati (old woman) character will stay in the hearts of many due to her acting and voice modulation. She (the character) touched my heart in the climax when she actually took the dead Dalit’s head and put it on her lap crying for him, breaking the so called rules of many ‘caste-creed’ wars between the upper and lower castes in Tamil Nadu. (Of course, this is just a movie and not a real-life attempt. But I am sure this will be an eye-opener for many)

Punjabi- cheers again for the make-up, but I expected more from the role. The colors seen in the song ‘Oh Oh Sanam’ are attractive enough. JayaPradha is just another character in the movie and nothing much. I felt Kiron Kher would have best suited the role.

Bush – I liked the way he smiled at the crowd while traveling in the car. Truly reminds me of the president of America. The English accent is interesting.

Tall Musalman -Comparatively lesser dialogues. Again, I felt a flaw in the make-up done on him. His face resembled more of Fletcher's (Villain role). Actually his is the one role which didn’t attract me much.

On the whole, of all the reasons I expected, and I feel the reason it deserved an Oscar award is Kamal , his acting, his make-up - precisely his effort.

But…

Asin is the biggest drawback in the movie. Most of her scenes were unwanted or rather irritating for an ‘Oscar aimed movie’. Her love towards the ‘Perumal’ idol till the end of the movie could have suited her role if she was showcased as a lunatic. Being a normal young Tamil girl her innocence shown towards the scientist’s words on bio-technology and its importance, were an overdose or probably over-acting. She is a pretty damsel whose characterization is not been concentrated much in the movie.

Other drawbacks in the movie are the unnecessary fight sequences, rape-attempt scenes (Asin’s), a group of soldiers trying to open the temple’s main door using a wood log while Nambi trying to close it from the other side; are the ones which equates this project more closer to an usual Tamil movie.

Music is another drawback. Rahman would always have been the best choice for this movie, he being the Guru (Of course next only to Illayaraja who has become old enough to give good music these days). He knows better than Himesh.

And it is a known fact that 'Dasavatharam' is a total Kamal movie , while Ravikumar being namesake. Tsunami effects are not up to my expectations or rather not up to Hollywood standards. Remember how sea water gushed inside Titanic after the hit of an iceberg?

On a nutshell, D-A-S-A-V-A-T-H-A-R-A-M is ‘THE’ best Tamil or rather Indian movie I have ever watched. But, not enough for Oscars!

*** keep viewing for 'Dasavatharam – My View(Part2)'.

A good 'Song'!

Usually ARR songs will become hot favorites amongst many, but after listening to it for a repeated number of times. ARR songs are very reliable. Recently I heard a song 'Maduraiku Pogadhe' in one of the many 'FM' channels. Way different from the usual numbers this one created a curiosity in me to know who was the music director and which movie it is from. Unfortunately the 'RJ' did not announce that. According to me a song and its composition becomes good only when the listeners get the 'feel' of it and search for its details. Obviously, for any good job done don't we ask 'Who did this?'

While browsing through the channels, I violently came back to the channel where I heard this song again; just to know who has scored the music. A perfect folk song or a 'Kuthu' paatu or a 'Masth' song or whatever you mention; this one is from ATM (Now for people in Tamil Nadu ATM is no more Automated Teller Machine but Azhagiya Tamilmagan). I basically(and acidically ;-))don't like actor Vijay but ARR has proved that his fans will never be cheated! After knowing this song was a Rehman's product I felt 'No wonder'! Rehman rocks!

Experience with Mrs Manirathnam-fame is not everything!

Money, fame, status, power will definitely change a person's behaviour or will definitely put in some kind of weight-to-the-head is my friend's notion after this incident happened. But i strongly disagreed to his point saying I can prove that there are people who throw away their 'everything' when it comes to maintaining a good 'attitude'. Dr.Abdul Kalam is a very down-to-earth person though he has his own international status; is what i heard and saw. But there are people who are not like that.

This incident happened when I met Suhasini Manirathnam(actor and wife of popular director Manirathnam)this week at a shopping mall when I was shopping with my friend. I initially saw her and shouted 'Hey hey, look. Its Suhasini.' My friend was astonished looking at her thinking, a big shot coming out to public places so comfortably as he said, 'Hey come lets talk to her. I want to tell her that my dad is one of her crazy fans.' I said 'OK, lets take a snap with her', as we ran towards her. She was busy taking a snap with a foreigner after which she started moving. My friend stopped her shouting her name. At least she had some courtesy in responding our call by turning back. Once my friend said what he wanted to, she(Mrs Manirathnam) did not even respond to it, and she left the place with a not-so-interested smile.

The immediate statement i got from my friend was 'We made a mistake talking to her.Good that we did not take a photo with her'. Of course, we understand it is difficult to meet hundreds of fans everyday; but a smile with a 'thank you' is not going to charge her anything is all what we concluded!

Look at that!!!

My first look at this female on a movie poster gave me serious thoughts that 'Are they planning to make a Devdas remake in Tamil where she will play Vikram's pair?'. That's because she looks so gorgeous ,very much equivalent to Madhuri Dixit in 'Dola re(Devdas)'.

I never had a slightest thought this was 'Kenny-anna' (that's how a friend of mine calls Chiyan Vikram who is her family friend).

Observe the picture. What I feel is the main motto of the whole 'Kandasamy' team about this particular role of Vikram would be that any guy who looks at this picture should fall for 'her'. Every single aspect from the accessories to the nose-ring looks so perfect. The only flaw i feel about the make-up is Vikram's eyes-which resembles more of a drunkard's, the lens somehow manages to cover up the flaw.

I don't think feminine make-up would have suited any other actor as this one!

India Vs Australia!

*Disclaimer : To understand my review better, watch the movie! A must-watch,big time patriotic,sports-based entertainer after Lagaan!

With a penalty shootout for Kabir Khan, it all begins in a hockey field for a final match against Pakistan in the Men's Hockey Tournament. As Kabir fails to attain the goal India loses the match.Mr.Khan is blamed for match-fixing against Pakistan-the media covers him shaking hands to the opponents; while he was actually trying to prove his sportsmanship by wishing the winners. After a span of 7 years with a burden in his heart he re-enters the field again, not to hold the stick but to train 'them' play with it. Kabir Khan, the new coach for 'Indian Women's Hockey Team' starts his journey saying 'Chak De India'.

SRK as Kabir stars against 16 heroines in the movie, probably making a record in Indian cinema. But this time not for a duet in France or Italy but for a game! Being brought up in a traditionally-bound country like India even P T Usha, Shiney Wilson or for that matter even our very own Miss.Mirza would have come across enormous physical and mental disturbances throughout their sports career. Study till twenties, get married, give birth to a kid in the early twenties, spend the rest of your life bringing up the child and serving your in-laws is probably a thought which is a little deviated these days. Keeping this in mind, the director has shown the 'dream' of the 16 girls who constitute the 'Women hockey team'; and also that of a black-marked coach.

Coming back to the movie; the team is not given any sponsorship in the beginning and the committee feels its not a good idea to send the 16 of them to the field as they were framed to make 'Roti' and 'Sabji' sitting at home. The committee changes its mind seeing the 'Men's hockey team' saluting the 16 ladies for a brilliant performance against them. For this much fame, Kabir had to take up a lot of blame from the girls during the practice sessions. A strict coach- Well, that's how a coach is supposed to be. Preethi whose boyfriend does not think that a woman too has her own career which is to be respected,Bindhya who feels her seniority could make her always on the top, Komal who hates Preethi and her fame, Kaur-aggressive enough always, Vidya who is tied in between her dreams in hockey and her family ;constitute the team along with the other girls.

During the practice sessions the girls face a lot of physical and mental tortures, 'you or me' fights between them, seniority and jealousy due to it, regional and lingual disturbances ; as the 16 of them have come from various corners of India, including Jarkhand! Apart from the game they learn many lessons in life. They finally arrive to Australia for the Hockey tournament. SRK's yet another stunning performance - a hockey coach tied between the black-mark against his name, girls hatred against him, passion towards the game.

What I liked: The whole movie as such, Komal's pass of the ball to Preethi-a true turning point during the final match. Preethi's sacrifice of the penalty shootout to Komal again during the climax. Preethi's dialogue against her boyfriend about his comments on women's career. SRK's penalty shootout miss (first scene- actually we have watched Indian cinema where the hero never loses). The coach's(SRK) strict behaviour. Absolutely no duets. Bringing Jharkhand to limelight. Unexpected parade of the girls in our traditional Saree. And last but never the least- the girls!!!

'Mom, I'm in love with Saif!'

"It is rumoured Shahid wanted to spend quality time with his girlfriend Kareena." was news on July 31st. In a span of thirty days the media people had to go mad in editing the news and re-delivering info about Miss. Kareena 'Mom, I'm in love with Saif!'

Aaj kal yea bahuth hota hai! Shahid very much expected with a 'devdas' beard in future!

Why are some heroines not so heroic?

*Disclaimer: The write-up is about present day Tamil heroines!!!

2007 is being a successful year for Tamil cinema. Though there are a lot many to hit the list for the rest of the year; with movies like 'Pachakili Muthucharam', 'Mozhi','Unnale Unnale', 'Paruthiveeran', 'Pokiri', and last but never the least 'Sivaji', Kollywood has given its audience a variety of flavors.

Out of a thousand movies, considering a few which flashes in my mind now, or rather the ones I watched recently raises a question that; do Tamil heroines need to know more than glamour? Let me quote a few heroines whom I admired recently Anne Hathaway in 'Princess Diaries' , Kate Hudson in 'Raising Helen', Angelina Jolie in 'Life Or Something Like It' , always on-the-top Julia Roberts in 'My Best Friend's Wedding'(like everyone else I would have seen this movie a number of times).

In the movie 'Pokiri', Asin who is considered to be the best these days has proved that she is yet another commercial heroine; nothing more nothing less! Maybe to attain this level of popularity she had previously acted in commercial-glamour roles. But once people have framed her as the most-favored one; as film-critic Madhan quoted, she needs to do a lot of homework! Not just Asin, many other recent day Tamil heroines have to work hard to retain their names or rather to get a name. I recently saw a banner 'Trisha Foundation' by Trisha fan club members. No comments!

I have not seen Shriya's acting in any other movies than 'Sivaji'. I had a notion that Shankar would have made anyone do that role. But I did like Shriya's dance for the songs. I can say she has put in some effort. Sangeetha gave a stunning performance in 'Pithamagan'. Like how actor Vikram got his fame a little late in his life, same holds good for Sangeetha too. Jothika is comparatively better than other female leads, but after I watched Jennifer Anniston in 'Derailed', my notion about her acting in 'Pachakili Muthucharam' drastically came down. Present day Tamil heroines should willingly take up challenging roles and create history rather than dancing for an item number in a commercial picture.

S-I-V-A-J-I

Hey! Everyone speaks, let me too take this opportunity to talk about our Super-Man!


'Sivaji' is an awesome treat to all Rajni fans, and to every common man. 'Thalaiva' ,there is no need for you to strain yourself as you have done in the movie. We just need you on the screen. That itself will make the movie run for years. Rajnikanth has put in a wondrous and magnanimous performance. Ultimate laughter, entertainer, romance, action, family oriented cinema given by Rajnikanth and the director.

His make-up is the talk of the nation. Will anyone else get his ravishingly attractive charm. And that's why he is called the solitary Super Star of Indian Cinema. His 12 different hairstyles are a treat to our eyes. Kudos to the hair-stylist and the make-up men! The umpteen number of dashing clothes which he wears in the movie makes everyone in the theatre feel 'If I were Rajni.....'.And the hype created for this movie was immensely intensifying. Even a poor man on the road wants to watch the movie due to the stimulation created. When I went for a show I saw a man in a wheel chair brought by his relatives-die hard fans of Rajnikanth, and I am one among them!

About the movie; well everyone says its the same old 'Rajni-formula'. As far as he appears on the screen the crowd is ready to watch. Rajni delivers ultimate comedy pairing with 'Chinna Kalaivanar' Vivek. And equally good romantic scenes where in Shriya becomes a treat to men's eyes. Beware ladies! Speaking about Shriya, her 'presentation' is absolutely stunning. Someone actually told me 'When Shankar(Director) was able to give a magnifying popularity for a saaaaaadha Sadha, why not Shriya?' Highly traditional look as 'Tamizhchelvi' throughout the movie except for the songs wherein she gets transformed to a sexy damsel. The umpteen number of colourful, dazzling costumes she wears the songs makes every young woman feel 'If I were Shriya.....' Though the Kerala product Nayantara appears just for a song she competes equally with Shriya in her 'presentation'.

'Is he Suman? Man, his smile is awesome with that little dirty coloured tooth.His RayBan glasses,fair complexion mixed with 'naan pottu vachu pongal saapidravan ila da.....' kind of dialogues depicts a seemly decorous decent looking villain. As far as the storyline is considered an elevation to a multi-millionaire from an initial capital of one rupee is wonderfully handled. The tricks and tactics handled by the software professional(Rajni) are simply superb which makes every common man think whether he has to make use of his brains at least once. The 'Black Money' handling is again an untold story, and Rajni blends himself within the story and gives a mixture of style and professionalism.

As far as the music is considered-
Oru Koodai Sunlight: An unusual Rajni song,
Balle Lakka: Kudos to SPB for that breathless attempt, a feather in his cap.
Vaaji Vaaji:Amazing background effects blended with the Art Direction.
Athiradi Kaaran: Rehman Proves.
A special mention about the instrumental fight scene where one has to notice the re-recording of the music director.

On the whole 'Naan late a vandhaalum latesta varuven' is THE APT dialogue for our one and only superstar Mr.Rajnikanth! Hope he does not make us all wait for his next release.

A reason to celebrate?

India is awaiting a reason to celebrate. Well its not Diwali time. Nor did India win a match against Australia. Its Ash-Abhi's wedding ceremony.

This again is their private occasion and why do the public and media blow up the same? Right from their wedding invitation till the marriage hall decorations everything has become a news. Most of all they are cine-actors and not gods. People should be intelligent enough in differentiating the same and not make an idol out of them.

ROTFL...

An ultimate comedy show in 'Star Vijay' television channel.....

Jeeva, Manohar and Swaminathan steal the show and make everyone glued to their seats in front of the small screens on Friday nights. Director Rambala knows the formula of mixing comedy with 'nayyaandi' (tease) double-meaning dialogues.

The crew has not left any actor for that matter when it comes to imitating. Well, that's the crux of the show.The show basically imitates a movie and guess what they make a real flop movie hit here by their witty dialogues. Three cheers for this young chap Jeeva whose hard work is clearly depicted in every show!!!

DON with the best!!!

Perhaps its a nice idea to remake an old movie with the present day technology. DON is a best example. I have not seen the original version though; in which the DON was Big B. The same was remade in Tamil as BILLA which was a box office hit. This one was done by none other than the South-Indian Superstar Rajnikanth. The movie was a breakthrough in his career.

The recent DON has lot many twists and turns till the end. More of daring efforts taken, especially the fight sequence in the tropospheric layer . The various outdoor locations where the movie has been shot are amazing. Though the story is already popular among the people from many years, one should appreciate the way this movie is made. No doubt, SRK rocks! He looks younger and daring than ever before. His performance is stunning as usual. Priyanka is a perfect choice. The new DON is a good entertainer and a must watch movie.