...

Real or Fake? 50-50

Great Escape

The plan was to watch a film called Salam-E-Ishq. The name sounds like 'Loose Mogan' talk to me. Nothing was in my hands. All decided by some good old friends from North Indies and a certain greater power.
However, mother nature has shown some mercy on me. I deserve it in good measure. Six pairs. Director of Kal Ho Na Ho (which i haven't watched, by the way). A caption which goes like "salute to love" or some shit. Salman Khan. Above all, Vidhya Balan!. I shudder thinking of what might have been. Luckily, this saved me, for my good friend happened to read it and promptly abandoned the plan. Some other movie, perhaps a crappy one at that. Fine. Anything but that. 'tha, i am escape. Thuninju yaaravadhu andha padatha paathu, nalla irundha sollunga

P.S: I accidentally deleted the last post. Manoj, thanks for the link

Misc Nonsense X...

• Naattu nadappe theriya maattengudhu. I miss The Hindu. Online-a padikkardhu bore ma...
• I hate mushrooms. Mushrooms are unacceptable and gross concept-wise, looks-wise, taste-wise and otherwise. Especially when you are a vegetarian. They are known to cause high BP and hypertension. Atleast for me. Thalabadhila Srividhya solra madhiri, "Edhavadhu seyyanum Arjun, edhavadhu seyyanum"
  
• Contrary to popular belief, Vijay TV has gone from OK to worse after having been taken over by Star. They blatantly support actor Vijay, they have more ads (not even commercials. Its always the ads for their programs) than shows, too many repeat shows, and the comedy called Neeya Naana. I wonder who should be eliminated first - Tamil moralists or the program producers. All that said, Samayal Samayal remains to be my favorite show. Times, you know...
• Are the contestants allowed to have sex in "Big Brother" and its Indian version? Michael Jackson's elder brother is quoted replying to Shilpa Shetty when she asks him "Why do they hate me? because i'm Indian?", "They don't hate you because you are Indian. They hate you because you have class". That guy needs it. Badly
  

'tha just miss

EKSI??

Guru

The Mani Sir jalras are at it again. The internet is full of them. Many of them had sung praises even before watching the film! I can safely and categorically state that Guru is without doubt Mani's least impressive work till date. Maybe if you watch it without any expectation or if you are a hardcore Mani fan it might work for you. ARR's songs disappoint and what the hell was happening in the name of rerecording? Come on, their combination has always been magic.
What the hell was Mani thinking when he lets us spot a Thamizh style temple (probably shot around Madurai) and trying to pass the location as Gujarat? Chalakudi falls is too easy and its a crime to pass that off as being any other location. The movie never gets started. There is absolutely no depth in the first half and the story just meanders along. It doesn't grip you.
Mani plays right into the hands of his detractors when he touches upon issues only to romanticize it and indulge in some feel good cinematic moments. The climax is straight out of a Shankar film and the stand Mani takes in the film and the way he uses the character to push it is not convincing. Its almost as if it is Mani's version of 'India Shining'. Some questions are unanswered - like why does Mithun keep behaving the way he does? His actions and stance are not consistent. Abhishek is the saving grace of the film and comes up with a decent performance. Ash - no explanations required. Vivek said it all when he exclaimed "nalla kaatneenga da reaction". Can someone please eliminate that thing called Vidhya Balan? Liquidate, exterminate, whatever. Thankfully she dies in the film. BNB gets it spot on when he says "Aishwarya Rai, and Vidya Balan have trouble losing the smile on their faces even when it's not required". LRMB-liye ava tholla thaanga mudiyale. Narayana!!
Mani, like Aandavar has this irritating habit of butchering the best song in every film . The only song which i liked (first time i listened to the songs. Maybe i need more hearings) was a melody by Hariharan - wonderfully sung. As usual, mutilated.
Wonder how the north is receiving the film. My money, time tottal damage!

Updated:

• Maybe i got it wrong but i'm reasonably sure that i saw a present-day SUV when the movie is still in flashback mode, ie, Guru has not yet become a father!
• Deja-vu galore - Nayagan
• What was that in the climax about Sujata being a partner? What were the commission members doing?

Updated again:
Mani says he doesn't take sides but rather he is just an impartial observer. No way. Instead, he outrageously romanticizes his unstated stand and makes a simplistic candy offering out of his ode to capitalism. There is another movie which is a bit similar in this aspect. That movie doesn't preach but its hit the audiences so hard that it still 'hurts' today. Going by what Mani says in his interview, he ought to have treated the movie, and especially his stand or lack thereof, like this

The great actor had understood the philosophy behind the book and the film.
In a magazine interview, Brando explained, ``I don't think the film is about the Mafia at all. It is about the corporate mind. Don Corleone is just another American business magnate who is trying to do the best he can for the group he represents. Corleone's tactics were no different from those used by General Motors against Ralph Nader, the consumer activist.'' This was a brilliant analysis.
There was not much difference between American big business and the Mafia. ``The former kills us all the time, with cars, pollution and cigarettes,'' argued Brando.
Brando identified himself so much with the role of Don Corleone, that he introduced several little touches, which increased the film's impact.
In one scene he uttered two phrases, ``After all, we are not murderers ... in spite of what the undertaker says.''

She Is Like That ONNNLY

If there is any Thamizh film which can be called avant garde, it has to be Aval Appadithaan. It is one of the best films to be ever made in Thamizh. The film is schoking - some shots are in documentary style, what present day technicians in TF indutry would call "candid camera style". Infact, the film shows a documentary being made. If the film were to be made now, in 2007, i don't think it would escape the censor board's scissors. You will have every 'madhar sangam', every Dravidian political party, big and small, up in arms against it. People would still call it "ahead of its time" were it to be released now. Remember, it was made in 1978. Aandavar gave a subdued performance as the documentary film-maker [i guess the style of role-play Mohanlal fans praise him for], Sri Priya wasn't bad either though one could see the K.B style of dialogues and delivery here and there, and Rajini was superb as the chauvinistic lecher.
Now, ippo idhellam naan yen solrenna, what happened to the film's director Rudraiah after that? Did he make any films before or after AA?

P:S: In the scene where Aandavar receives a letter from his father, a voice-over reads the letter. Is that Ananthu's voice?

The Best

This guy is the funniest around. Surely. If this ain't funny, what is? :)

P.S: If you are at 'work', paathu siringa!

Double Header

Watched two films back to back this weekend [my record is currently 3 and 1/2 in one sitting].

Thiruvilayadal Arambam: Not a bad option for 'timepass-ing'. Its watchable because the movie laughs at everything from the hero to the movie itself. Its lollu saba-ish at many places. Is Dhanush eating anything at all? Odanjiruvan pola irukku. And who is the chic who people are calling the heroine? Edho Shreya-vam. Ava yaaru? Enna gothram? Aandavar fan-a?
[Mental Note for self: Whoever she is, Friday Devi theatre vandhu oru 2 bit poster otta sollanum. ]
The scene where the song "Ilamayenun poongatru" runs in the background is damn funny.
I wish D.Iman hadn't murdered Raaja's classic "Ennamma Kannu"?

Veyyil: Could have been a better movie had the first-half been trimmed a bit. When the point is made, we should move on. No use lingering forever. Its good to see films talk about real characters with real problems. The music wasn't bad but again, i wonder why can't they be authentic? Why use Northern sounding tunes for situations in such rustic settings? And weird sounding "shay.. shee .. shaw" sounds in chorus don't help the scene either.
Pasupathi is good but the man of the match is Bharath. Yet another good performance. I repeat, he is in the league of Surya, perhaps even better and certainly much better than Vikram. OK, now let's get to THE POINT.
What the fuck was director Vasantha 'Baadu' Balan thinking? I don't know how well the film is doing in the BO but i'll be very happy if its not a hit. The film is like a propaganda manifesto for MGR and Rajini. Understood. However, why is it that while even Bhagyaraj and Karthik are 'covered' and ample space given for them, all we get of Aandavar are two torn posters? One, of Sathya and the other, Dasavatharam promo poster. Deliberate. I suggest that the Central Govt set up an enquiry commission to uncover the 'ulkuthu' behind this. Or a CBI inquiry.

P.S:
1) There is a street theatre song/scene in the movie which is quite good. Bharath shines in that. There is one 'act' if i may call it that, where we have the main players cribbing about TV and kissing scenes and all. That, is funny and strange, when seen in context with this film.
Prakash's music also doesn't disappoint in this scene, though it may be an adaptation of an existing village song. Reminiscent of Anbe Sivam's "Naatukkoru sedhi solla". If only.....
For all his Aandavar 'bashing' and sidelining, the director shamelessly lifts Nasser's mannerisms and the 'Naan dhaan da yeman" dialogue from Thevar Magan.
2) Will the plight of Shanthi theatre operator be worse than Pasupathi's?

Third Man

Why the heck don't captains have third man in tests? How many boundaries have been conceded in the slip-gully region? How many undeserved and edged 2s and 3s? If required, take out the extra-cover or the square-leg, i say! Match after match. Everyone knows the futility of not having a third man and yet nothing is done. Its like those utterly meaningless Hindu rituals.

P.S: Oh yeah, it feels great to be an arm-chair pundit :)