Under the sun

Tennis

2009-02-11T01:26:00.000+05:30

My brief return to watching tennis has ended with the OZ open. Vivasaayam paakkanum, pillaingala padikka vekkanum....idhukku mela tholvigalayum sogangalayum aniyaayangalayum Federer venumna thaangalaam, nammala mudiyadhu.. :)

Raepu Chesthanu

2008-01-14T21:13:00.000+05:30

"Enna! Saroja Devi-oda rape scene la nadikka mudiyaliye nu oru varutham! (laughs)"

- Radha Ravi in the Nadigar Sangam vizha @ Malaysia

And people were complaining about the rape scene in Paruthiveeran! *

* (that the climax was forced/contrived is a different issue).

nakkal nayyANdi virumANdi

2007-12-27T10:15:00.000+05:30

Salute

2007-12-11T11:19:00.000+05:30

http://krishashok.wordpress.com/

nAdi jOsiyam

2007-11-21T16:04:00.000+05:30

A few years back, i visited a nAdi jOsiyar in chinna kAnchIpuram. All i had to do was give my thumb print and wait while he started the process of shortlisting my Olaichuvadi from a set of bundles through elimination, based on my answers to a few "basic" questions. He was very accurate in giving out my personal/family details and almost every significant fact about my life till then. About the future, it is/was a mixed bag. While some of the predictions were/are true, a few were "generic"/open-ended enough to be interpreted in any wishful manner (one important prediction turned out to have factual inaccuracies, actually) and the veracity of a few will have to found out in the future. How in the world can one explain this whole "thing"?

P.S: Arguments like "It's all guesswork", "he just gets the facts from your answers", "he already knows about you when you go there" are meaningless.

ATM

2007-11-13T11:01:00.000+05:30

A Vijay fan commented thus in an internet forum after watching ATM and seeing the lukewarm response:

Hopefully, Vijay doesn't take ATM as a blow to his experimentation phase

Doomsday is near, i'm afraid!

Aandavar Jayanthi

2007-11-07T10:01:00.000+05:30

மறுமுறை வருவதாய் சொல்லி
மாய்ந்தவர் வந்ததே இல்லை
எங்கள் குல தெய்வம் நீ வாழும் காலத்தில் நாங்கள் வாழ்கிறோமே
இதை விட பெரிய வரம் ஒன்று உண்டோ?

சதா ஒரு அவதாரம் எடுக்கும் தசாவதாரக்கடவுள் நீ
ஜீவிக்கும் ஒவ்வொரு நாளுமே கலை "பிறந்த நாள்" தான்
ராஜலக்ஷ்மியீன்றெடுத்த ராஜாவே!
உன்னை போற்றுகிறோம்!
நீ விஸ்வரூபம் எடுக்கும் தசாவதாரத்திருநாள் தான்
எங்களுக்கு தீபாவளி

மாதா பிதா கமல் தெய்வம்
உயிர் கமலுக்கு உடல் மருத்துவத்திற்க்கே

Sabai, Sarakku, Samaadhaanam

2007-11-06T12:27:00.000+05:30

Link

It is easy to get nostalgic about old customs. But socialising with opponents was often the best way for young players, especially bowlers, to learn the secrets of the trade. Alcohol loosens tongues, and more useful information has been disseminated over a drink with an opponent than in a dozen sober net sessions with the coach. How else do you think the closely guarded secrets of reverse swing entered the mainstream?
Drinking with your opponent can also be a tactical weapon, as Ian Botham regularly proved. Being "Beefied" was a term familiar to most sides heading down to Taunton in the 1980s, as Botham would try to neutralise as many of the visiting team as possible with a whirlwind pub-crawl that would culminate with a lock-in at the infamous Four Alls. When Surrey visited, he allegedly did such a good job on their fearsome fast bowler Sylvester Clarke that Clarke spent three days sleeping off the hangover on the physio's bench as Somerset took the points

Keeping more desire

2007-11-04T19:43:00.000+05:30

What's with this indescribable feeling one gets when listening to "Asai adhigam vechu" from Marupadiyum?
Is it the Sindhu Bhairvai, is it Janaki amma, the interludes or is it the master with yet another master trick?
On another note, is it influenced by Balu Mahendra's narration to mottai?

P.S: The corny picturization is deliberate, just to make things clear!

Aaeey! Do vaat i say (Sandigar spessal)

2007-10-30T21:11:00.000+05:30

Numero Tres

2007-10-12T23:41:00.000+05:30

After Raaja and Rahman, it's Yuvan next. It's now official because soonapaana says so!
P.S: Its in the freakin blood
P.S 2: "Paravaye engu irukkirai" (Tamil M.A)
P.S 3: Superb lyrics!

Monkey Business - The Irony

2007-10-12T07:01:00.000+05:30

Symonds subjected to 'monkey chants'

Cricinfo staff

October 12, 2007

Andrew Symonds was targeted by the crowd © AFP
Andrew Symonds was the target of racist abuse during the fifth ODI against India in Vadodara on Thursday after being subjected to monkey chants while fielding on the boundary. According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, the incident occurred during the second half of India's innings at the IPCL Sports Complex.

Sources within the Australian squad confirmed to the paper the abuse took place, but have referred the matter to the local authorities, who may face an inquest from the International Cricket Council. "Like any cricketing centre in India, we would never tolerate this kind of behaviour," Makarand Waingankar, the chief executive of the local Baroda Cricket Association," said. "Racism should not exist in India at all.

"We are a cosmopolitan country, with many religions and dialects living peacefully together. This is the cultural city of Gujarat, and it would be a shame if that was to be spoilt by a few people." The fifth ODI was also marred during Australia's surge to victory when a section of the crowd pelted the playing area with bottles.

The ICC took measures to stamp out racism last year after the South Africa team complained of crowd abuse during their tour of Australia. Under the new code, spectators who are found guilty of racial abuse could face life bans and the venues are subject to fines and the loss of international status.

From cricinfo

I have always felt we are as racist as the whites (more racist perhaps?) we usually accuse of the same crime. On a slightly less "important" note, the BCCI continues to favor crapping grounds with ignorant, ill-behaved audiences while either ignoring Chepauk or scheduling matches there at a time of the year when even a "mEgam kottattum Attam uNdu" cannot save the match. Bangalore - the most overrated venue on planet-earth (OK, after Mohali)- has usurped Mumbai's throne as the most favored Indian cricket venue. I would rather see Chepauk lose to Eden Gardens than these crap-filled spaces of nonsense.

Guitar Gods I

2007-10-07T14:28:00.000+05:30

"Flying In A Blue Dream", Joe Satriani

Reminds me of Purple Haze, Peko's and Mojo... The Pubs Of Bangalore!

Divya Darisanam - I

2007-10-02T10:53:00.000+05:30

More...

"சும்மா" இல்ல, நிஜமாவே அதிருது "ஆமாம"!

The Father

2007-10-01T20:42:00.000+05:30

In memory of the guru of our guru - Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan.
A treasure.

50-50

2007-09-25T07:15:00.000+05:30

Twenty 20 was interesting and surprisingly so despite Sachin not playing. Personally, i have mixed "feelings" about the future of this format. While the shorter a game, the more interesting it gets, - generally but not always - T20 or even ODI cannot hold a candle to test cricket. Discounting the fact that cricket itself is not a very "efficient" sport, test cricket is where the real fun is. However, contrary to popular belief, and what i feared, T20 need not always be a bowler's extended nightmare. If the pitches are sporting, it has been evident that it is more or less an even contest. It's just that we need to get used to ideas like '6 an over' being a good economy rate for a bowler.

P.S: Quote of the tournament:
"I want to thanks all the Indian nations" - Shahid Afridi

P.S 2: I have often supported the Pakistan cricket team - its a love-hate relationship. The '92 World Cup, the unforgettable 1999 Chennai test- i was part of the crowd which gave the Pakistan team a standing ovation in Chepauk (1999)- are cases in point. Infact, i and my brother were the only souls in our 'colony' to root for Miandad when he hit the famous last ball six off Chetan Sharma (the tension was so unbearable that all of us kids ran out of our houses in no particular direction). Yesterday, i was glad and fuckin relieved India pulled it off but even if Pakistan had won, i wouldn't have felt that bad. There's that 'something' to a quintessential Pakistani run chase :)

Ooh La La La

2007-08-28T12:59:00.001+05:30

Been checking out Rahman's talent hunt show every Sunday night on Sun TV. A pretty decent show. Every week 3 bands participate and jam for 2 rounds. One round is for cover versions (strangely, they use the word remix!) and the other is the own comp(osition) round. One band goes through to the next stage. Thankfully, each of the judges Paul Jacob, Vasundhara Das and Sivamani is/was part of bands and understandably, they are not the typical "attitude/expression" freaks. Atleast not yet.
While some of the music may be tagged as confusion, the standard has been good overall. The production of the show itself looks so unlike Sun TV.
In the last episode i watched, the band lead by singer Kalyani performed a very interesting cover of "Nee Paartha Paarvaikkoru Nandri", but lost out by a whisker as the ending of the song was rather abrupt.
Its heartening to see bands like these from Chennai. I thought the only jamming we get these days in Chennai/Bangalore is of the head-banging brain dead modern metal kind.

Independence Day Narpani

2007-08-16T03:42:00.000+05:30

Fans of Aandavar Padmashree Dr.Kamal HaasaR conducted a free eye testing camp at Adu Thotti , North Madras as part of the Independence Day welfare activities.

Pictures

Speech by K.K Nagar Tsunami "Kamal" Jeeva, the saga who was the main catalyst in my conversion from a fanatic to a devotee.

P.S: The point (if any) is not in the "details" :)

2007-08-11T03:02:00.000+05:30

Naming Convention

2007-08-08T12:20:00.000+05:30

தமிழ் ப்ராமணர்கள் தங்களது குழந்தைகளுக்கு அதி"நவீனத்தனமான" வடமொழிப்பெயர்கள் சூட்டுவதே சற்று வெறுப்படயச்செய்யும் வழக்கம் என்ற நிலையில், முதலியார்களும், செட்டியார்களும், வெள்ளாளர்களும் போட்டி போட்டுக்கொண்டு சற்றும் பொருந்தாத பெயர்களை சூட்டுவது வேடிக்கை தான்!

Reminds me of a Kounder dialogue in Jai Hind(?)-he is a cop-, "Dei, ennada peru idhu? Ramsamy, Kuppusamy nu!! Police na oru 'James', 'David', 'Michael' nu style-a irukka venaam?"

Talking about names, the general Tamil practice of having only initials instead of surnames should be done away with - too many hassles arise because of that. May we all start following naming conventions, starting with our progeny!

Ingmar Bergman Is No More

2007-07-30T22:26:00.000+05:30

Link
He was 89.

Rhythm And Harmony

2007-07-26T21:49:00.000+05:30

"Raja, rajadhirajan indha raja" (Agni Natchathiram).

Raaja does not use any instrument other than percussions for rhythm (except for the backing bass guitar ,which is again for rhythm). No keyboards, strings or wind instruments.

Only Raaja's 3 point harmony - 3 voices in 3 different pitches [easily discernable using headphones]

seriyA thAn pAttukku thalaippu vechirukkAinga

P.S: In the whole album, he does not use the tabla

Who Is Going To Stir

2007-07-23T15:45:00.000+05:30

Vijay TV's "KalakkappOradhu yAru" and "King Queen Jack" remind us of the stark difference between good stand-up comedy and crap. It's difficult to decide who is the most irritating - Ramya, Jagan or the 'comedians'. On the other hand, KY Part 3 is so much fun and awesome entertainment. Atleast most of the time. The final was on Friday (the telecast is delayed by a week here) and it was a one man show. Sivakarthikeyan. He was fuckin awesome. He saved his best for the last round. The results have not been announced yet but it can't be anyone else.
I never get bored of mimickry and though he does mimickry in all his rounds, he is fast, innovative and never fails to make us laugh. TR and Captain always receive special treatment from him. His lines border on slander and blasphemy but i'm sure Captain himself will laugh his guts out if he watches him.
In the wild card round, there was this guy who performed this 'gig': how would it sound if different animals made sounds (mating calls) like actors? The best was with Vinu chakravarthy as a cow and K.Bhagyaraj as a goat! Unfortunately, i don't think he qualified for the final.
Apart from the participants, host Sethu, in my opinion is the best mimickry artist around. Check him out doing a V.S Ragavan and you will see why :)

Indian Bowling

2007-07-20T09:09:00.000+05:30

Kuil Kumble cannot bowl to left-handers. Not even to save his life.
The whole point of a googly is to fox the batsman into playing for leg spin, while the ball spins in the other direction. Hence, the batsman should not pick it up (atleast till the point of delivery). Holding the ball with the thumb and index finger (like picking up the ball from a drainage gutter) is like announcing to the batsman "Here comes a googly!". It's a different matter that there *are* some batsmen who fail to read even a Kumble googly
All that said, sadly, Kumble is India's only strike bowler at present. Or atleast the most consistent.
Winning test matches is essentially about bowlers bowling out the opposition twice. Yes, the batsmen must give them enough runs to do that but the common practice of blaming certain batsmen for failing to "win tests for India" is rubbish. Obviously, the batsmen are to be blamed for failing to chase a target like 120 but the general tendency is to hold certain batsmen responsible.
How can someone like B.K Venkatesh Prasad be the bowling coach?
What the fuck happened to Lakshmipathy Balaji? Is he not better than atleast Ranadeb Bose and Ishant Sharma? Hasn't he recovered from his injury?

Serve And Volley

2007-07-05T08:48:00.000+05:30

I don't watch much of Tennis these days. I manage to catch the action sometimes in Grand Slam finals. I wish to follow tennis more regularly going forward. With my touch with tennis (watching!) being almost non-existent over the last few years, i was shocked when i first found that the art of serve and volley was dead. No one did that even at Wimbledon! Navratilova, McEnroe, Edberg, Becker, Sampras - the best of tennis that i've seen were from these server-and-volley-ers.

Nirmal Shekar writes:

The great left-handed conjurer is still around, in these
parts, keeping us entertained from the commentary box. But the stroke that he
played with such breathtaking virtuosity — the volley — is on its way to
extinction. When the odd player now chooses to serve and volley on every point,
it almost seems like a vestigial trait

Even Roger Federer, who can masterfully play every stroke in
the book — and some that are not there because the ones who wrote the game’s
manual could not have even dreamed of his brand of shotmaking genius — has won
at least three of his four titles (barring the first, in 2003, when he served
and volleyed for the most part against Mark Philippoussis

Update: I'm glad that Federer won last night but i have a question (guess its obvious to regular tennis watchers). Federer is way behind Nadal on clay while Nadal is relatively closer to Federer on grass. Does it in anyway raise a question mark on the claim that Federer is the greatest ever? Yesterday, it was Federer who was made to run around. The rare trips he made to the net resulted in him missing the simplest of volleys (atleast twice, and in crucial situations). I missed the most important part of the match when Federer saved four breakpoints in the final set and i rejoined the action to see Nadal serving at 2-5. That must have been something. All said and done, it was immensely satisfying to see a clay court specialist - having said that, like Vijay Amritraj said, there doesn't seem to be much of a difference between Nadal on clay and Nadal on grass - losing.

In Defense Of Fanaticism, Veri, Bhakthi etc...

2007-06-30T01:01:00.000+05:30

The recent weeks have seen a lot of posts by bloggers concerned, irritated and baffled at the extent of 'fanaticism' exhibited by Tamilians. The release of Sivaji signalled the conglomeration of all real Rajni fanatics and also other wannabe fanatics who have no idea of either fanaticism, TN or Tamil films before 2004. While i salute the former, i have nothing but contempt and condescension for the latter wannabe heroes and heroines. Fanaticism, unlike what many bloggers and North Indies journalists believe, is not the sole domain of Rajini fans. They weren't the first, they won't be the last and they certainly cannot claim to be the 'best' in that category, going by the parameters of hardcore fanaticism. TN is not alone when it comes to fanboyism. Our Telugu manavadu have more theaters and its not a surprising sight to find many of them going to watch a film without even brushing their teeth. Coming back to TN, we know how it works - hero worship, politics, icon obsession etc. Its part of our "culture" (whatever crap that means). It has always existed and has been part of our lives. Infact, many of the wannabes have always been in awe of these real mad fanboys.

This being the context, why should we react any differently now? What did the real rasiga kodigal do wrong this time? Why do their activities evoke disgust? The trouble is, the real culprits are not the fanboys themselves but the blood sucking, unprofessional group of grown up jokers representing the media. Its the media which propagates myths and lores which sinks in easily in the minds of the gullible wannabes. The stifling hype and coverage reeks of a complete lack of perspective and screwed up priorities. Yes, it sells but then we know whom to blame now. NDTV, IBN etc don't know shit about TN or TN cinema. They just echo the myths propagated by the local media and their local correspondents (who again are merely echo chambers). They wouldn't have seen or heard about DCR, MG, FH etc in their lives and yet they would run a story on Vijay being the biggest BO draw after Rajnikanth. Among the insignificant but true details echoed by the media on Sivaji, a lot of lies were also propagated by the media (vernacular, national and international). Just because of the widespread and relentless coverage shown by these parties, TOI and Behindwoods gained credence and became benchmarks for information accuracy. Myths were taken for granted by people who were otherwise keen critics of typos and other harmless mistakes in leading newspapers. All thanks to our media, who fuel the multiplex wannabe crowd, who again fuel the media.

According to them, fanatics = Rajni fans. If you observe, you can see that the real fanatic is illogical, but generally consistent. You can understand what he looks for and what he likes and what he does not. It is the elitist, urban wannabe kind that comes up with hate comments in blogs which commit the cardinal sin of rightly calling Sivaji a crapfest.

It is the same wannabe who resorts to world cinema names-dropping to counter arguments against his/her Thalaivar. Real fanatics who do 'andhar' in theaters don't disturb you. OK, you don't get to hear the dialogues in theatres but that should be fun even for the most hard-nosed kind. They live their lives and do their thing. Its a passion for them. Just like we can't justify many of our passions, they can't explain this to somebody who doesn't understand the context, somebody who hasn't experienced it. They don't use internet. Its the wannabe proliferation in the internet, multiplexes and Bay Area theaters and the conglomeration of the dumbing down media pigs which sickens and disgusts.

NDTV-um internet links-um paarthu valarndha balagInamAna koottam.

Fan-a potta odane summa kulirudhu illa....

Oru Cooli-yin Kumural

2007-06-07T23:45:00.000+05:30

Life at work is stranger than Dilbert. I've always read Dilbert more seriously than most others would. To me, it was not merely a wickedly funny cartoon strip. It was a reassuring reflection of cubicle life and the comforting feeling that throughout the world, there are Dilbert's all around, just barely keeping their sanity amidst the Wally's and PHB's.
However, not even all my reading of Dilbert could prepare me for the events of the past week at work. The deadly combination of stupidity, dick-headedness, arrogance and authority became even deadlier when "management" chipped in to support that combination against reason and good hard facts. This is how abused Indian wives must be feeling in their "pugundha vIdu" amidst hostility and bone-headed authority. When you lose all hope and resign to futility, Dilbert phenomenon takes over and leads to a state which knows no joy, anger or sorrow. Just inertia.

Update: Bad writing has resulted in some unexpected reactions! The post has made the matter look more serious than it actually is. Coolies are generally not important enough to be drastically affected by these matters anyway :)

The Loss

2007-05-30T23:35:00.000+05:30

Indian + Mudhalvan + Anniyan + Puke + Piss + Oru Koodai Crap + Painted Old Man With An Awful Shaky Voice = Trailer, The Loss.

Shame on the ass licking media and the fucked-out-of-their-senses mental sympathizers and sycophants [1].

[1] - Mental fans can be forgiven, but not the 'neutral' (neutered, perhaps) kind

I Surrender

2007-05-29T21:14:00.000+05:30

Post courtesy 'rasigar sigaram' Kannan Swamy

After seeing the 5 katalaigal that Rajni has issued for his fans, any keen observer can see the pattern to his behavior of surrendering to whoever is in a power position. One of the 5 request to his fans was 'Do not include any political statements in your posters or banners'. To put all this into perspective, we need to rewind back to the last elections in 2 parts -

Parliament Elections -This is what Rajni declared - "BJP is all set to sweep the elections based on my visits to the North Indian states. I don't know about the situation in Tamil Nadu. I shall vote for BJP and I leave it to my fans to vote for which ever party that they like. They know whom they shouldn't vote for (this was a missive against PMK)". We all know the result of that election, BJP lost power in an ignominious way while in alliance with AIADMK they lost all 40 seats in TN. Thanks to Rajni and his offer of support!

Assembly elections - His fans under the command of Rajni worked against PMK candidates but to no avail. PMK won more than a fair number of seats that they had contested.

Present Day Situation - Given his past relationship with PMK, Rajni is a worried man as PMK men are biding their time to exact revenge. This could be a deja vu of what happened with Baba in Panruti when the PMK men ran away with the film roll. We all saw the reaction from the 'brave paper tiger' fans of Rajni for that incident - They were not sighted for few months after that incident as they all went into hiding. In order not to have a repeat of that incident during the release of his new movie, Rajni comes out with a request to his fans that they do not include any political statements in their posters or banners and not even indulge in any celebrations at
the releasing theatres.

After all the years of basking in the glory of the 'paper proclamations' from his 'paper tiger fans', why is Rajni suddenly asking them to refrain from including political statements. This just goes to show that Rajni has no principles only vested interests. When he is not doing any movie, he emboldens his fans to work for and against (he cannot make up his mind) political parties. But if it could affect his movie, then he gets them to wave the white flag. His next step would be to go to Kalaignar to wish him on his birthday and try to get some salugaigal. Then probably a statement appeasing Ramadoss and Thirumavalavan. I am certain we will see more acts of surrender in the coming days and weeks from Rajni to various political parties and entities. What a MAN or should we just call him 'Super POTTAI'?

The Intro

2007-05-22T19:26:00.000+05:30

Cheeni Kum

2007-05-09T23:49:00.000+05:30

Link

On first hearing:

- Percussion disappoints BIG TIME (as has been the case of late). What a welcome change MX was! Where's that percussion Raaja?
- Synth sound-a vida maattengararu Raaja. Rears its ugly head often in the album.

However, (it gets only better from here) on repeated hearings:

Baatein Hawa - What an enchanting reworking of the original. The greatness is in the way the original tune sits perfectly in a very different situation. The second interlude even has a fast-paced electric guitar cameo followed by a very short jazz piece. Listening to this song while traveling will be one hell of a trip.

Jane Do Naa - What a tune! Shreya Ghoshal's voice intoxicates. Look out for the guitar punches that goes with the rhythm. Brilliant piano prelude and first interlude. These are the 'surprises' and 'moments' one expects from a Raaja song.

Cheeni Kum - Shreya and the superb interludes save the song from the dreadful 'beats'. This is more pronounced in the sad version 'Sooni Sooni' - thagara dabba la thatra madhiri oru sound. Reminiscent of the beats in "Ennai thaalaatta varuvaalo". How i missed the acoustic drums of the original "Mandram Vandha"!!
Infact, pudhu music system vaangina first test panna ideal song-a irundhudhu adhu.

Theme Music - Beautiful and uplifting. Wow Superb transitions

Melody Sax - Experimental Raaja is back with all that jazz. Thou art the master. Tempo changes, mood transitions. Good stuff.

The album does get better on a few more listenings. mAyakkaNNAdi is history, people.

Cheeni Kum - Mandram Vandha (Mouna Ragam)
Jaane Do Naa - Vizhiyile (Nooraavadhu Naal)
Baatein Hawa - Kuzhaloodhum Kannanukku ( Slowly Opened The Door)

P.S: This film is directed by adman Balki (big Raaja fan) and stars Tabu and an ad actor who acts in ball point pen commercials. Its going to be premiered at Cannes

'Cos Its Raining In Russia...

2007-05-09T08:58:00.000+05:30

This conversation took place at my workplace between a Manager (Malaysian origin) and his team member (Gujarati)

Malay: "I read in the papers today that some Tamils in Singapore are expressing their resentment at the 'Hindi domination' in Singapore. They feel there are a lot of Hindi speaking people coming in, there are signboards in Hindi etc...."

Gujarati TM: "Not even 1% of the population speak Tamil in India. Hence, they have no valid reason or grounds to talk"

sobaaa... ippove kanna kattudhe....

ARR's Kids

2007-05-06T22:15:00.000+05:30

Kids who flunked your kindergarten exams - please listen to "vAnam kIzhE" (Thoongadhe Thambi Thoongadhe) before fishing for ARR praising links or Time magazine links. There's more to music than all these toilet paper lists

Rossoneri Storm Ahead

2007-05-03T12:31:00.000+05:30

AC Milan 3 - Manchester United 0 (5-3 on aggregate)

What a power-packed performance! They completely outdid Man U in the first half, and typified the Italian trait of holding on to their lead and soaking up the pressure in the second. I wanted them to be a little more attacking in the second (sitting back backfired in the first leg) but it turned out to be OK. Pirlo had a bad day, Seedorf was superb for the most part but gave away a few balls too. Gattuso was undoubtedly the man of the match and he almost exploded in the last few minutes and luckily, Ancelotti pulled him out :)

Liverpool, you are next!

Bouree Revisited

2007-05-01T02:21:00.000+05:30

I watched a program recently in one of the local channels here called "The Spirit Of Mozart". It was a concert by various artists (rock, jazz, WCM) paying tribute to the Mozart and the spirit his music represented. I managed to catch only the last part of the show when Jethro Tull was featured. Ian Anderson, the Tull front man played "Bouree" accompanied by the orchestra from Vienna. Did it ring a bell or what???? No wonder i had posted sometime back about the song and its similarity to Ilaiyaan's music, especially the bass lines. The reason - same source, J.S Bach. Two brilliant adaptations of the master's composition

Here is another orchestral version by Jethro Tull - Couldn't find the version i watched on TV.

Listen to "I Met Bach In My House" from How To Name It
[The tempo is different but the bass lines bear the signature]
http://as01.coolgoose.com/music/song.php?id=91002 - The title is wrongly given as "Don't Compare"

P.S: Here's a write up on the song (and the album) by C.S Ramasami

This is a composition of Bach – “Bourre in E-minor”, a short piece of dance form in two parts. . This famous piece is set in Minor scale and modulate to Major and back to Minor etc. The two parts of Bach’s composition is played by a synthesizer sound and a bass guitar. Ilaiyaraaja has added the 3rd part of the harmony in Carnatic way (coming in the violin). Ilaiyaraaja might have started this as an experiment with small piece in the beginning to illustrate the hidden raagams inside the Bach’s composition 300 years before, and prove the point that various raagams are available in WCM also, even though they might not have named it!

Moonusaami Virundhu

2007-04-30T18:00:00.000+05:30

Aandavar viswaroobam in Madurai

Naalaikku poludhu saanju oru moonu mani nerathukku naan saami arul pugundha oru Thevan. Neenga?

Virumaandi on Sun TV tomorrow at 6PM

gurunAdhar Australia/Hong Kong/America Kannan Swamy in the center, Connemara Unit Balakrishnan (Specs), another Connemara Unit saga (black shirt) in Madurai

First Round to Man U

2007-04-25T02:38:00.000+05:30

History SCREAMS that teams that play out an entire half sitting back and defending, lose more often than not and it was proved again tonight :(
[The irony is that Man U themselves have been on the receiving end of late goal defeats/draws this season in the EPL]
TV paathuttu karutha solra enakke theriyudhu, indha coach-galukku yen vilanga mattengudhu?
Milan paid for their complacency. Gilardino's only contribution in the game was to win a free-kick and Kaka, though brilliant in the 1st half disappointed in the 2nd, barring the two occasions he came close to scoring. "Big daddy" Maldini and "Bull Terrier" Gattuso were sorely missed after the breather. Ronaldo, Rooney and Scholes sizzled. That injury time throw-in gifted away by Borchi - will that be the defining moment? San Siro la paappom

P.S: What a goal that was by Kaka (1st) - the burst of pace! If only....

Appeal to reader msp

2007-04-24T10:59:00.000+05:30

msp aka Prabhu Ram,
Please start your movie blog at the earliest.
nEyar viruppam

Thanks,
Soonapaana

Kali Kaalam

2007-04-20T17:10:00.000+05:30

A psycho guns down people. The world sits up, questions are asked. Debates rage on over gun-control, Bush etc. People are 'shocked' when the act itself should never have come as a surprise. A country's been raping every other country it can regularly, relentlessly and consistently- a country founded on genocide. Gun control?? Funny talking about gun control in a country which is the only one in the planet to have used a nuclear bomb. Two of 'em. Its already targeting another 'victim'. Nobody gives a shit.
kali muthiduthu

As i had promised...

2007-04-18T21:03:00.000+05:30

[Cinefan, aren't we happy now? :) ]
It's now official that Aandavar's project with Saran has been dropped and i can give the update i promised to give. What happened was that Saran had given Aandavar an advance of 2Cr and made an agreement that part of his salary would be given in the form of rights (AP, Satellite, FMS etc). Saran's latest film Muni was financed by a Madurai katta panchayathu asami (to whom GV is alleged to have owed some money before he died) and since the movie bombed, Saran was feeling the heat to repay him. Ayngaran chipped in to help Saran at that time and hence Saran had to give the rights of the upcoming movie with Aandavar to them. Of course, Aandavar was kept in the dark about all this. For obvious reasons, to avoid another VV, Aandavar had to drop this project.

We shall know soon what Aandavar's next project is going to be...

Sattameva Jayathe

2007-04-13T22:51:00.000+05:30

Chinna pasangala, otha yaar kitta vilayaadreenga????? Aandavar da!
Vakkali August 15 mattum varattum... ippo aadravan aattam ellam gaali...

Aandavar speaks to Indiaglitz (click on Launch Videos).
Truth triumphs, sometimes. Some industry "doyens" were backing Senthil Kumar.
Update:

Three industry persons are involved in this
One of them is Kalai Poonai S.Dhanu
It may be just a coincidence: Senthil Kumar is/was a post-holding member in Mental (aka Rajini) Rasigar Mandram

Update: Thanks to Thilak, here's a transcript of what Thalaivar said in the interview (for those who can't watch the video)

"It strengthens my belief in legal system, the system that we all put in place, we and our forefathers. I am happy that I took recourse to that system instead of other options available to us. As a matter of fact, I was quite surprised to know that people within the industry, were backing the gentleman who claimed that I had plagiarized the story. Well, the first thing that came up in the room when this was disclosed, this was a big laughter. It was Mr.K.S.Ravikumar and I who changed the story so many times, even we first didn't know the first line till it went into the paper. We were talking on so many lines, already it was 10 corrective and we were talking of further variations on it, so we are talking about 20 different stories and fortunately, none of the stories coincided with what the gentleman claimed was his and it was a cheapshot... lumpen cheapshot at not probably the greatest artist but a hardworking artist atleast. And that, it was backed by a small percentile of industry people... doyens... it was quite surprising to me and I am just hurt, for all the FICCI awards and people loving me. YES, you find a few people who indulge in such "scheme" which is very silly. I only wish that this legal recourse that we took and the judgement that came for us, will deter other pretenders at home, from attempting such silly...taking a silly route to fame. That's all I got to say and I believe in the court and its judgement and Above all, I believe in the truth and that's what has triumphed. Thank you."

Champions League 2

2007-04-12T10:27:00.000+05:30

Thanks heavens atleast Milan made it through to the semis. 3 English team ellam remba over.
Milan and Liverpool should meet in the final. Maldini kaakka kaakka, Kaka goal poduvaaru. podanum.

Dr.Kamala Selvaraj

2007-04-11T12:19:00.000+05:30

I was watching this program called "Sigaram Thotta Mandihargal" on Vijay TV last week. It featured Dr.Kamala Selvaraj, Gemini Ganesan's daughter. It was a bit surprising to see her disarmingly unassuming answers . She had always been only an average student in school. She did her Bachelor's from Manipal ('payment seat') and according to her, "you need not be very smart to come to this line, but you need to be very hardworking". Her first stint in a clinic after she was out of college was more or less a "trial and error" affair - she would consult a senior doctor daily and ask him whether she had given the right drug/dosage or not.
With striking honesty, she narrates her experience in Australia where she had gone to study artificial insemination. She had problems with their accent, training lectures and quite simply, she was overawed by it all. However, with time and work, she began to see hope.
She described the feeling when her (and India's) first test tube baby (named Kamala, i think) was delivered.
It would have been one heck of a feeling. Being a coolie, one gets to hear the phrase "it's my baby" often - Kounder's gem "Gundoosi vikkaravan ellam thozhiladhibaraam" comes to mind. Infact, a coolie tends to get into a state of smugness from time to time, being sucked into the monotony and mediocrity of life and work. She could feel smug. adhu allava achievement!
Being a doctor - The greatest profession in the world!

P.S: (Reassuring note to self) vidra vidra soonapaana... singam da neeyee.. appadiye maindain panra....

Raise Your Hands

2007-04-09T10:43:00.000+05:30

Do you abhor/hate

coffee shops (not our tea kadai. I meant Coffee Day, Barrista, Mocha, Moocha etc)
the pay and wait scheme followed in places like coffee shops, fast food joints, Sathyam theatre etc?
ordering starters before lunch/dinner?
hotels/joints serving chatni and sambar in cups?
north indies eating thosai, idly and vadai with a spoon?
wearing collared T-shirts or T-shirts with company logo on Friday?
people urging others to dance in parties, official and otherwise?
people who say they drink but who stop with a single blue-colored cocktail?
going to shopping malls not to shop but "chumma, just like that"?
brahmin men and women dressing, talking and behaving like North Indies, especially in weddings?
people who think sex and violence in movies are bad and conversely, any movie without sex and violence is good?
young urbane men who litter their English sentences liberally with "machaan" and "da", pronouncing them in a totally 'peter' way?

If you answered yes for most of the questions, you are in elite company! We are special

Mozhi

2007-04-05T08:32:00.000+05:30

Much better than the Munnabhai series. Good entertainment. Definitely watchable more than once.

P.S 1: Vidhyasagar's score is, for a good part of the movie, very decent. Talking about VS, i wonder if there is anything wrong in using WCM composed by the greats in re-recording? Can you imagine 2001 without "Also sprach Zarathustra", a Sindhu Bhairavi without "Mahaganapathim" or a quintessential Scorsese film without classic rock? Yeah, there's the question of credit but ......

P.S 2: Some women spell 'mozhi' as 'molli' here. I mean, 'moli' is atleast understandable but 'molli'???

Rahman's Latest

2007-04-01T04:52:00.000+05:30

Sahana is the Munbe Vaa of 07 - Udit N suits this song well, pronunciation notwithstanding. Nice groovy bass lines

Athiradi - For a moment or two, doesn't impress when it starts (MJ's 'Jam') but a very catchy number. Rahman's vocals - 'Athiradi'! Likely to be the 'once more' song in the theater.

Baleilakka - Vintage SPB. Nothing remarkable otherwise but i'm sure it will be a hit

Himesh Reshammiya

2007-03-31T01:53:00.000+05:30

Whatever little hopes i had were busted when i first realized Murder wasn't by Himesh and that neither was Gansgter ('Ya Ali' - super paattu ma). Himesh, there still is a chance to redeem your life and wash away your sins. Yooo cann doo yitt!

Meanwhile, i'm enjoying songs like 'Junoo(n) Junoo(n) Junoo(n) Junoo(n)', 'Ashique Banaye Apna', 'ooooooooo' etc which are running in a loop. Good prANAyAmam

300

2007-03-28T14:15:00.000+05:30

Will all ye fuckers stop talking about 300 ? (I can)
Please!

And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those
who would attempt to poison and destroy my peace. And you will know my name is
the Lord Labakdas when I lay my vengeance upon thee

First it was Harry Potter, then it was Da Vinci Code, Five Point Someone and now this. niruthaNum, ellAthayum niruthaNum

Jilebi Mixing

2007-03-24T20:18:00.000+05:30

Three songs from a film tentatively titled 'Jilebi' are leaked. News (and the songs) spreads like wildfire in the internet. Reaction is mixed. Then comes the clarification from the horse's mouth that they are just 'samples' and the final product needs more 'mixing'! The 'sound and mixing' when the official songs are out would be mind blowing, says the horse.
This is important. And strange. What happened to little things called 'tune', 'melody', 'lyrics' etc? This is a straight confession from the Rahman camp that what he is doing is nothing but sound mixing and engineering. Atleast for the film tentatively titled 'Jilebi' (of course Rahman is a great composer). I am an admirer of Rahman's music but this is not what i said, this is what THEY say!
nanna 'mix' pannungo :)

2007-03-24T09:47:00.000+05:30

It hurts. One of the saddest days after March 13, 1996. edrA sarakka!

Fight Club

2007-03-22T15:42:00.000+05:30

Revisted Fight Club. The first time around i thought it was overrated. I changed my mind. summA sollakUdAdhu, ennamA thiraikkadhai ezhudhiyirukkaple Jim Uhls. As much as i hate the split-personality theory and its ubiquitous presence in the film world, the memorable dialogues and 'quotes' are too good to resist

I am Jack's raging bile duct...

iLamai idhO idhO

2007-03-16T22:57:00.000+05:30

Has there been a song better than this ever composed in Indian film music?
Parameters: Arrangement, Flow, Innovation, Originality, Inspiration, Playback Singing, Prelude, Interludes, Relay, Genre-buster, Timeless
Open Challenge!

P.S: Notice the lack of the word 'melody' above. There lies the greatness

Commentators

2007-03-15T14:25:00.000+05:30

Staying with cricket, let's talk a little about commentators. In the days when watching cricket happening outside India on TV meant waking up early to see and hear Kapil Dev disturb Keppler Wessel's (he was playing for Australia then) stumps. White ball, color clothing, stump microphones, Nivea lip-guard and cameras at both ends of the stadium at a time when even BBC had a camera only at one end - That was Channel 9. Being too young to comprehend the finer details of commentary, a typical "In the air!.... and dropped!" (from this, i coined the term 'bowled in the air' and made it popular in my street) from Tony Greig was enough to excite our yound minds. Richie Benaud saying "Gavashkaar" added more respect to the already respected name.
When it comes to the present, watching cricket on TV can often be a drudgery interrupted by some spells of good cricket and insightful comments from good commentators, who are a breed getting lost in the numbers. Even Mandira Bedi's boob-show cannot stop this drudgery unless the action on the field and the box make it possible for us to live through all the anal-yses and ad-breaks.

Coming to my favorite commentators, Richie Benaud and Ian Chappel are the evergreen gods. If Benaud is economy of expression and brevity personified, Chappel is intelligent, informative and insightful. They don't bore us with a second-by-second description of the action on the field. Nor do they suffer from talking disease - I like Harsha Boghle as a commentator and as a columnist but he runs in verbose mode all the time. When Benaud says "Now, that...... ishh a shtraight droive!" [Sachin hitting Warne straight down the ground for 4 at Sharjah, 1998], he says it all. 6 words. Superb!
Ian Chappel was the ultimate when it came to going beyond the obvious in any cricketing situation. He would invariably start his sentence in such occassions with "Not only has the batsman succeeded in ........". He always found two outcomes for a given action. And praise, when it comes from Chappel (or Benaud, for that matter), is really very well deserved.
1998, India vs Australia at Chepauk - 2nd innings. I was watching the match in the M.A.C. Rahul Dravid was struggling against Warne and the pitch was doing all kinds of things. When Sachin came in, the match was poised on a needle. I was too tense to even cheer 'singam' properly. That phase of the match was unbelievably intriguing. Later, at home when i was watching the highlights, it was Chappel in the box during that period and he was spot-on in his assesment of the situation. It's a pity that he is not in the 'experts' panel in the World Cup and infact, i don't think he's even part of the commentary team.

For sheer entertainment value, none can be better than our Bill Lawry. "It's all happening here at the Gabba!", "Dear oh dear! Can you believe it??" - can't have enough of 'em. I wish to get a DVD of the Australia-South Africa '99 WC semi-final, just for Bill Lawry's commentary. Tony Grieg is dumb but provides good entertainment value. As Selvakumar writes in the comments of the previous post, "It is hard to forget the kind of intro he gives for every player. Be it a player from a Kenyan team or a Dutch team".

Apart from these behemoths, the 'box' has also benefited from the likes of Harsha, Michael Holding, Ravi Shastri, Boycott and Barry Richards (if you can excuse the annoying accent).

P.S: Have Srikkanth and Sivaramakrishnan been eliminated by a one-man terrorist squad - Amir Sohail?

Ricky vs Sunny

2007-03-12T08:05:00.000+05:30

Gavaskar was a great batsman. Some say he was greater than Sachin [no helmets, quality of bowlers, centuries in West Indies etc]. Ponting is a great batsman too and one who is unfairly touted as the best batsman at present. Be as it may, the fact is both of the aforementioned men are greats in their own right and naturally that entitles them to king-sized egos and digs at rival teams, coaches and captains.
When it comes to commentary, at times i have looked forward to Gavaskar's comments but often, the India supporter in him takes over and he can be extremely irritating whenever this happens. Sometimes it turns out to be funny when he starts 'batting' for India in the commentary box, even when India are chasing 313 and are 68/5. Wish his arrogance in the box rubbed off on the blokes on the field.
He has never been shy of indulging in Aussie-bashing (in addition to England-bashing) and now, Ponting has decided enough was enough and paid Gavaskar back.
I wish Gavaskar responds to this and the fun continues...

"For him to go on about behaviour, not too many captains have
dragged their teams off the field, either," Ponting said. "I don't mind if 'Mr
Perfect' comes out and goes on about our team, I know we are all not perfect. We
are not going to keep everyone happy 100% of the time. But for some of these
guys that have done it all themselves, it's pretty high and mighty for them to
say that"

P.S: I think Ponting has a striking resemblance to George Bush

Maayakkannaadi

2007-03-10T16:06:00.000+05:30

Listen to the songs here.
I liked "Konjam Konjam" on the first hearing. As usual Shreya is great. It's in Keeravaani. Of late, quite a few of Raaja's duets have been in this scale.
"Yeley enga vandhe" is dated but so 'Raaja'. Nothing remarkable about the other songs. Cheran-ku idhu podhumo?

Galeej Times

2007-03-10T09:00:00.000+05:30

Had gone to watch Mozhi in a theater called Plaza here in Singapore on Wednesday night. The locality, the complex where the theater was situated in were so galeej that we decided against it. enna dhAn chennai la idha vida local-Ana theaters kut poirundhAlum, family-a poNum nA yOsikka vEndiyirukku. Singapore sucks.

adhanAle, thiruttu DVD is the only option.

Champions League

2007-03-08T15:35:00.000+05:30

Inter are out, but AC Milan and Roma advance. 3 English clubs in the quarter-finals!
I don't like any Bundesliga team, but watch out for Bayern Munich.
May the best team win, but not Bayern Munich or Chelsea

Paruthiveeran

2007-03-03T02:45:00.000+05:30

A lot of people have been saying that the climax/rape scene is unrealistic/unnecessary/vulgar - I say please stop what you are doing and go watch it again.
[My wife broke down and i could hear some sobs from other women as well. Not many can handle the climax]
idhu dhAn rape. 'tha indha reaction-a evoke pannanum. A tad lengthy, but jolts the life out of you. Hats off to Ameer for that scene. He has shown tremendous courage (you need balls to show a scene like that). Thamizh directors are growing up, its time for the audience to grow up and wake up as well

In the interval i was wondering if our people had gone overboard and overrated what seemed to be a 'decent' attempt at good film-making. Ameer second half la padatha thookki niruthittaaru. I think Ameer must have loved Virumaandi - the feel is there and some cues have been taken as well.
Dialogues, locale, cinematography, attention for detail, are noteworthy. Saravanan is a revelation. Yuvan kalakkittAru, though none of the songs has stuck in my mind. pAdAma irundhirukkalAm.
Its a remarkable debut for Karthi. However, its ironic that he is so much like Surya, it will be a challenge for him to stand apart. Not that he copies Surya but he just happens to sound and look like Surya! avar thappu illai

Cribs: Not a childhood-sweetheart "love" flashback again!!! pOdhum!
The humor/comedy has come in the way of the the otherwise natural portrayal. Overboard in a few places. I don't find Priya Mani's acting as good as many have posted here. Not only is her accent unconvincing, her body language doesn't look like that of a village girl.

Aandavar banner is another big bonus

P.S: Has anyone watched "Twenty Nine Palms" (French)?

Gem X

2007-02-24T22:49:00.000+05:30

Unearthed yet another gem from Raaja, from a Telugu film Maharishi. The song is "sumam prathi sumam". Here it is. Enjoy. Found this in Forumhub. A much knowledgeable hubber has this to say about the song

From the link Rajasaranam has given, hearing "Sumam prathi sumam" for the first time, is indeed a sugam sugam. SPB's marvellous brihas , sangathis in charanam , SJ's complimentary humming, guitar punches and a nice melody in "Sallabam" scale [ For Sallabam, remember "ra ra" of chandramukhi fame or IR's own "isai arasi" in "Thai mookambigai" film? ]. What more can I ask for?

Janaki has been used only for humming, and how! Check out the guitar flourishes and the thumping rhythm.

Pachaikkili Muthucharam

2007-02-24T00:36:00.000+05:30

Kaakka Kaakka was the first Tamil movie which has the leading lady say to the hero "I want to make love to you". Here it's even better and GM goes further The way he has handled "difficult" and delicate scenes like Andrea not expressing interest for love-making deserves a mention. Especially the line Sharath says "iyalba thaana nadakka vendiya vishayam unakku celebration-a poiduchu?!"
Not a bad attempt at all. The execution could have been much better, though. [Remakes/Adaptaions aren't necessarily bad]
Harris Jayaraj should be banned from scoring BGM's. [In one scene where Jo and Sharath share an intimate moment, the BGM piece he comes up with can best be described either as a "ezhavu" music or some national integration theme music from DD]
Sharath isn't as bad as one would have feared
What the hell was the climax all about? Gautham sure has a finishing problem.
Sharath SIM-card a maathirukkalaam
Deja vu with the villains and Gautham's voice
Some scenes lack spontaneity and seem "staged" - Do the problems faced in the production of VV show in the output of this film?

Indian Apartheid

2007-02-15T12:13:00.000+05:30

Link
Courtesy Alaphia

Caste made them untoucable
Karma made it acceptable
- Khan Sahib, the second

P.S: The hypocrisy in this finger-pointing is obvious and stating that would be more redundant than stating the other (bigger) obvious truth of Indian apartheid.

Cau-veri

2007-02-14T11:04:00.000+05:30

Link

Nearly 5,000 members of the Kannada film industry hit the
streets on Tuesday to express their disapproval, using their screen charisma to
make people empathise with the condition of farmers in the Cauvery
belt.

Kannada film industry la 5,000 peru irukkaingala?? Hmm...

“But everything is unfair right now and you cannot expect anything
to be fair in this situation,” said actor Ravichandran.

What the hell does that mean?

World Cup Squad

2007-02-13T20:28:00.000+05:30

I know Lachumipathy Balaji was never in the reckoning for the World Cup squad but where is he? Last heard, he started bowling a bit after recovering from his injury.
As expected, Agarkar has been selected again. He is the kind of bowler who will prove critics wrong now and then, only to blow it all away in crunch situations. Last over mattum avana poda solladheenga. Apparam World Cup illa, oru vengala kinnam kuda kedayadhu da yen vendru!
Sehwag? Pappom

Torture X

2007-02-09T20:12:00.000+05:30

Dear working mother,
If you want to 'konjify' your little one(s) or your doggie, please use the fucking conference room phone. Or use the mobile phone out of my ear shot.
Ayyo, mudiayala da saaami

Synchronicity

2007-02-05T03:23:00.000+05:30

Exhibit A:
The opening sequence of Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange is in perfect synch with the Pink Floyd song "Atom Heart Mother" though the album is by no means the film's soundtrack, making this a remarkable coincidence (more to follow). What a film. An opening with the trademark Kubrick zoom-out. And what a song!

Exhibit B:
It is it is said that certain scenes in the film Wizard Of Oz synch exactly in a few points with the Floyd masterpiece album "The Dark Side Of The Moon" [one of the best-selling albums of all time, which spent 741 consecutive weeks in the Billboard Top 200 charts]".

The song is "Us And Them"

Exhibit C:
The song is "Time". Check out the clocks chiming blending with the entry of the bicycle.

Apart from these, you may also try synching some scenes from 2001 - A Space Odyssey with "Echoes" and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"

...

2007-01-30T08:15:00.000+05:30

Real or Fake? 50-50

Great Escape

2007-01-27T00:41:00.000+05:30

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...

2007-01-20T09:39:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-16T00:57:00.000+05:30

EKSI??

Guru

2007-01-14T21:34:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-12T11:48:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-10T13:48:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-08T12:11:00.000+05:30

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

2007-01-05T16:25:00.000+05:30

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 :)

"Australia, you bloody beauty!"

2006-12-29T15:37:00.000+05:30

That was an immortal quote from Mathew Hayden after the Aussie's won the Ashes in Perth. Yeah, there are quite a few daddies in the team but then they have enough depth in the talent department. I couldn't watch a single ball of the Boxing Day test and missed seeing Warne get #700 :( What a bowler! He will be missed. Sorely.

Oz Oz oi oi!

Ronaldo

2006-12-26T14:15:00.000+05:30

I wonder why Cristiano Ronaldo gets booed all over England (the Wayne Rooney incident is history, for heaven's sake) and perhaps wherever he plays, except in Portugal. Yes, he loves to show-off and has been guilty of trying to be flashy and cute at the cost of being effective. That doesn't take away anything from him otherwise - skill, vision and hard work. He was the man of the Man U vs Aston Villa match this weekend. He scored twice and made some brilliant moves/passes. The best way to shut the crowd. The first was a superb solo effort. The second goal of the match by Paul Scholes is the goal of the year, surely - a superbly struck volley from 25 yards. Perfection. Manchester United are just two points clear of Chelsea as Chelsea yet again clinched victory in the dying minutes against Wigan. Chelsea, unfortunately look the best team in the EPL. Any team is fine but not Chelsea. Please.

Useless List 2006

2006-12-26T14:03:00.000+05:30

Kollywood
--------------
Best Actor: Of Course!
Best Film: Pudhuppettai
Best Song: Munbe Va (oru Humble Pie parcel!)
Best Singer Female: Shreya Ghoshal [Munbe Va]
Best Singer Male: Naresh [Munbe Va] - Sounded kind of effeminate in this song, good nevertheless
Best Album: Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu
Best Lyrics: Thamarai [Karka Karka]
Best Picturization [Karka Karka]

Sports:
--------
Best Moment: Italia winning the World Cup
Best Goal: The 24-pass goal of Cambiasso [Argentina vs Serbia & Montenegro]

Sportspeak

2006-12-21T16:30:00.000+05:30

Some quotes:

Link

Jamie How and Craig Cumming, of New Zealand, were at the crease when a user, Bill Black, pinged Cricinfo with a mail. "I just heard somebody say that the batsmen are Cumming and How."
"I think he thinks he's better than he is, and I think he's right." - Geoffrey Boycott on Kevin Pietersen
"The bowler is Holding, the batsman's willey."

And...

'One accusation you can't throw at me is that I've always done my best.' - Alan Shearer
"Julian Dicks is everywhere, it's like they've got eleven Dicks on the field."
"If England are going to win this match, they're going to have to score a goal."
"Jesus saves... but Lineker scores on the rebound"
"He has always been a compulsive hooker" - Sunil Gavasakar

Bloody North Indies

2006-12-20T15:41:00.000+05:30

All you North Indies people,
Don't fucking use the word 'ki' when you are speaking in English!
And don't give any sub-woofer effect when you say 'thought'. The woofer consonant is not necessary here
It's mail, and NOT 'male' and detail, NOT 'dittale'!
It's for the last 4 days and NOT 'since the last 4 days'! [NDTV, shame on you]
Don't say or write 'there' when you mean their!

Ivangala ellam thiruthave mudiyadha da???

Indian Hockey

2006-12-14T15:39:00.000+05:30

Link

"Everyone goes on about our glorious past and it's one of the
reasons for our downfall, we haven't moved with the times." Secondly, he says,
"if they (older players) don't understand times have changed, then how will
common people understand."
He offers an example. He speaks of 30 astro-turf
grounds in Melbourne, yet two in Bangalore, three in Delhi, one in Mumbai, or
thereabouts. "Kids play hockey abroad on turf at five, I started playing
regularly on astro at 18.
Obviously their basics are better, while I had to
unlearn what I had learnt on grass. But former players don't understand that."
He tells of a domestic game, played at such slow motion, that "if I trained
for two days a week I'll manage domestic hockey." But international hockey, all
hard, furious running demands the most extraordinary daily labour to be
competitive. Which is why, he explains, "players pushed into the national team
find it had to bridge that gap."
The more he speaks, the more familiar seem
the stories. No coaches, he says, to teach kids modern drills. Fourteen support
staff for the Germans at the World Cup, four for the Indians. No continuity of
coaching whereas teams abroad are headed by the same man for years. Simple
things. Do-able things. Ignored things. Fixing hockey requires no magic, only
intent.

Kostin

2006-12-12T16:55:00.000+05:30

Why is the time always 10:10 in watch/clock advertisements?

Remembering Shakti - The Concert

2006-12-03T11:30:00.000+05:30

Chennai, Kamaraj Memorial, December 7th 7PM Tickets availble at Landmark from today onwards
Shakti are: U.Srinivas - Mandolin John McLaughlin - Electric/Acoustic guitar Zakhir Hussain - Tabla Selvaganesh - Ganjira Shankar Mahadevan - Vocals [Vikku Vinayakaram made a fantastic 'guest' appearance with his gatam]

It was pure bliss at the Kamaraj Memorial auditorium on December 7. Orgasmic. The total was greater than the sum of the parts and how. Each performer is a genius in his own right. Music of the highest quality. Incredible copulation of jazz and Indian classical music.

Mandolin Srinivas - My favorite. Was at his sublime best but i had a slight tinge of regret that his solos weren't long enough and he underplayed his bit (especially in 'Giriraja Sudha' which was his adaptation of the original kriti where Shankar Mahadevan absoluetly blew the audience's minds with his breathless precision controlled vocals). At one point he played some notes using just the slide and no fingering. Even John didn't have a 'reply'

Zakhir Hussain - Peerless! That he makes the tabla speak is well known but he had more - often he would use his left hand on the tabla as a bass drum and use his other for the cymbals and the snare playing vintage jazz drums. Genius. Sivamani was sitting in the front row watching his guru perform[An apparently drunk man came dancing into the hall mid-concert and started shouting his cheers and suggestions 'C'mon John, jazz it up a li'l more", "Bring on Vikku now man!". Similar to Prathap Bothan in Sindhu Bhairavi. Zakhir would have none of it and he announced on the mike with an ice-cold voice "The gentleman who seems to have a problem, if you don't find us living upto your expectations, please collect your money and leave. Otherwise, SHUT UP!" to be greeted by loud cheers and whistles of approval from the audience]

John McLaughlin - "Jazz meets Carnatic meets [in a couple of phrases] Latino meets Hindustani". Zakhir Hussain, after the first song exclaimed "Here's to the greatest Indian Classical Musician!.....(pauses for surprise)...John McLaughlin...." and "....its not easy even for Indian musicians to sit cross-legged for hours in concert..."

Shankar Mahadevan - 'Giriraja Sudha'. Enough said. [Wonder what this genius is doing in TFM singing 'kuthu' songs]

Selvaganesh - Adhu kayya illa machine-a?? One thani avarthanam in an original Shakti composition starting with jazz and seemlessly breaking into percussion solos had Selvaganesh playing non-stop for 15 minutes. For a few brief seconds the ganjira even doubled up as a bass for jazz :)

If a mere lay music-lover like me whose interest in music is grossly mismatched by the (lack of) knowledge could enjoy and appreciate it so much, wonder how it would have been for a real student or performer....

P.S: As expected, the coverage of the event in the media was a shame. The Hindu just had a little 'general' write-up in the second page. Haven't found a detailed piece/review or photo feature anywhere yet

Marudanaayagam

2006-12-01T15:24:00.000+05:30

Link

Bondulu

2006-11-23T12:34:00.000+05:30

What's the big deal with these James Bond movies? Why all this hype? Especially these "I go only to Satyam theatre" multiplex types. All Bond movies suck. Even Rajini movies are better.

P.S: Which is worse - watching a 007 flick or playing a mobile/PC game???

Misc...

2006-11-20T17:04:00.000+05:30

Recently i watched a Korean movie, one which seemed like a new one. I'd missed about 10-15 minutes of the movie by the time i happened to find that channel. It was a simple tale - a little boy comes to live with his grandmother in a village for his vacation and returns to his folks after a while. That's it!
It was a mini-Pather Panchali of sorts. As in PP, you are "taken" to the place where the 'action' takes place. Minimalistic dialogues (the granny is mute), beautiful imagery and a very good musical store. The pace is totally relaxed. The movie seems to have no agenda and the visuals speak for themselves. It is touching too, especially in the last even when you can clearly see it coming. The kid is a totally urbanized "McDonald" kind and he hates his time there initially. The granny is one whom we would have all seen in India. Unconditional love. Unlike what one would expect, there is no 360-degree-turn from the boy but rather he still retains his spoilt-brat inconsiderate behaviour even towards the end. However, he is clearly moved even if you can see no excessive sentiment shows in the movie.
I was reminded of movies like Cinema Paradiso and Autograph which many hail as classics. Somehow, these two never moved me like Pather Panchali or even this apparently obscure Korean movie.

P.S: By the way, is the original DVD of "Hey Ram" [Thamizh] available anywhere???

Silly Sickens

2006-11-14T19:06:00.000+05:30

I wish a universal law is passed banning the Chinese from speaking English. I suggest that offenders be ostracized and/or castrated.
Its bad enough not being able to understand a word of what Chinks speak (supposedly English) but the insult to the injury is when you see that they don't understand your English! Damn.....

thAi thamizh thodakka paLLi - 2

2006-11-12T15:52:00.000+05:30

UHK Link
Behindwoods Report
Behindwoods Event Gallery

thAi thamizh thodakka paLLi - 1

2006-11-10T18:41:00.000+05:30

The Paradise Unit, Connemara Unit and Orkut Dr.Kamal Haasan Community made a small but meaningful gesture today as part of the yearly Aandavar Jayanthi Narpani.
The narpaNi 'vizha' was held at thAi thamizh thodakka paLLI in Medambedu near Ambattur in Chennai. The school is run by Thyagu, and his better known wife, lyricist Thamarai. Incidentally, today is her birthday. We donated a PC as the first step towards contributing to this little primary school. We also intend to 'adopt' this school and provide the school with furniture in the next phase. Details tomorrow

Heard in recent days

2006-11-07T20:16:00.000+05:30

Local-a sonna adutha varsham 'mental' gaali!

'tha annan Englis pesna George Bush out!
'kaali annan push-ups edutha Arnold out!
Annan kandi mass kaatna ella *star*-um out!
(The following takes the cake!)
'mala annan computer la kai vecha 'tha Bill Gates out-ra!

kalayin pirandha nAL 2006

2006-11-07T20:06:00.000+05:30

nadippulagin nabigaL nAyagathhirkku indRu pirandha nALAm!
nAn solgirEn, indru kalai varudAvarudam marupiravi eduthu
dhasAvathAramAi uruvedukkum thirunAL !
kalayin pirandha nALAna indha iniya nALai
ulaga nadippu dhinamAgavum ulaga manidha nEya dhinamAgavum
kondAduvOmAga!

Rhetoric vs Fact

2006-10-24T02:08:00.000+05:30

Link

Progression

2006-10-18T15:40:00.000+05:30

First we had the oldest profession in the world. Then we had a milder version of it in the form of court dancers. Then we had heroines in Indian films. Then we had the incpmparable dance bars. The latest entrant is Mandira Bedi.

Last night , in the post-match vetti pechu, Mandira made a big blunder, but any (male) viewer would have hardly noticed because he would have been focusing his attention on her midriff [in any case i was]. On the contrary, it was Charu Sharma who reacted as if he had committed the blunder while our Mandira had the same solid, confident, unflustered 'dance bar' look!
Also, the difference between the postures of the lady commentator some Simmonds and Mandira was obvious, if you noticed. The question is, why did they ban dance bars?

Two Gems

2006-10-14T03:22:00.000+05:30

I just discovered two rare and relatively unexplored gems of The King.

Chikkendra Adayil [Iniya Uravu Poothadhu]: Very 80-ish but still fun to listen to. Check out for SJ's voice [vera yaaru!!], the bass guitar and the trade mark trumpet. Its also interesting to note how the charanams end.

Enge Enge, From the same movie: SJ rules. Wonder how a song from the 80s when heard now still remains fresh and lends itself to discoveries like treasures waiting to be unearthed. Unconventional bass [alternating between bass guitar and synth(?)] and interludes with superb rhythm changes. Note how the vocal remains an Indian melody, retaining its individuality amidst all this. Adhu dhaan Raaja

Sri Vidhya

2006-10-10T23:30:00.000+05:30

Actress Sri Vidhya is reported to be suffering from cancer

Grass Itching

2006-10-10T23:29:00.000+05:30

Link

Lowest Form Of Life

2006-10-02T04:53:00.000+05:30

What can be the lowest profession in this world? Prostituion? - working in the corporate sphere is not very different from it, especially in IT and suchlike. Being a pimp? Low alright, but not the lowest. On eliminating all the other professions and ways of life, we are left with only one answer - HR. The funny part is people spend huge amounts of money to get a degree/diploma in HR to lead a life of parasitic scumbags when those people can be the same dirt without the 'qualification'.

Lage Raho Munnabhai

2006-10-02T03:21:00.000+05:30

As far as i know, i and BNB are the only people in India who don't think LRMB is the best thing to have happened to Indian cinema in recent times. Don't get me wrong, i liked the movie in parts. Arshad Warsi is funny and there are moments in the movie which make it worth watching. Infact its a good entertainer and definitely not a waste of time or money. But a classic? A 'great'? Bullshit.
I thought you could get drenched in the sentiment mazhai only if you are in a P.Vasu movie or something. This went a step further. The movie had so much of sugar coated all over it that had there been an ounce more, i would have had a severe bout of "sugar-poisoning". Its not funny enough and yet not serious enough. If the said greatness is because of the 'theme' or 'message' or 'the way the message was delivered' or whatever, then by that token every Cheran film should be a masterpiece (i'm not a big fan of his movies by the way). On the other hand, if the said greatness is because of the 'treatment', you gotta be kidding me!
BNB says

Nobody wants to be critical ; nobody wants to be the grumpy guy in the room; everyone wants to gush more than the others and slip and fall in the salivatory orgy that's going on over this feel good, crass, juvenile, college final year project type attempt at movie making

I wouldnt say its as bad as a final year project type attempt, but pretty much agree with whatever else he says. And i would like to know if Vidya Balan would have that plain freaking irritating expression and smile even in a scene where her kids are killed in front of her eyes. EKSI*

Are the audience somehow mass hypnotized to think, feel and say that they're watching a timeless classic when they watch these Munnabhai movies? I'm not sure if the sequel is better than the first part. Which brings me to the point, why was the first part considered a 'great' movie in the first place? There is no problem in someone telling "Munnabhai is the movie i've enjoyed the most and watched the most number of times" or something. I also understand that Vasool Raja MBBS was NOT better than the original. Fair enough [Kamal haters, please re-read - VR MBBS was NOT better than the original]. However, what i don't understand is that almost the entire blogosphere and the middle class militia look at VR MBBS as though it was a "Dayavan" and at Munnabhai as though it was a "Nayagan". For me, the original was better and it worked mainly (not only) because of the Mumbai "setting" - the dada culture, the lingo etc. Sanjay Dutt playing a dada role is like an Indian batsman piling on runs in the Ranji trophy. Its a comfort zone. Kamal's performance was the lone saving grace of the movie (i love the "Seena Thaana" song by the way), though its a film he could have done without - he did it for L.V Prasad's grandson- nor was it a role that challenged Kamal, the actor. A sleep-walking role. Another important difference is the Arshad Warsi - EKSI "Shanti theatre operator" Prabhu thing.
Coming back to the sequel, seeing the unbelievable hype around the movie - even otherwise reasonable reviewers heaped praises and hailed it as a classsic - i was expecting something better. Oru 'timepass'-a 'timeless'-a pesarangale!

P.S: "High-class" ena koorappadum Satyam thirai valaagathil Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu paarkkumpozhudhu 'andhar', whistle, koral ellam ezhuppi kalaasiya rasigargalana engalai thaikkulathinor silar 'imsai' endrum ''indecent fellows' endrum sitharithurukkalaam. Aanaal, indru Abhishek Bachan oru nimida vedathil kaatchi alithapodhu kadhalan, kanavan, magan, peran arugiliruppadhayum porutpaduthaamal adhe thaikulathinarl ezhuppiya ghoshangalai enna endru sitharippadhu?? EKSI*! :(

P.S 2: What has the world come to?

* - Even at the risk of explaining the obvious, EKSI = Enna Kodumai Saravanan Idhu

Paes The Lord

2006-09-12T21:21:00.000+05:30

Here is a real unsung hero in the land of Sania worshippers. I don't watch tennis very regularly these days but i managed to catch parts of Paes/Martin Damm's U.S Open victory. To watch vintage Paes is to watch India's Davis Cup ties. The opponent maybe an obscure but tenacious Shuzuo Matsuoka from Japan or whoever, and it would just be a qualifying playoff but what mattered was Paes being in the court. Hmmmm adhellam oru kaalam :(

P.S: I still miss his old serve action - the pronounced 'leaning back' and 'falling forward'

Ranking Menace

2006-09-12T11:56:00.000+05:30

Humankind is plagued by many deadly menaces. I was just wondering if there could be any ranking amongst them. Irrespective of any ranking we might give, there is very little to chose between them. A list, not in any particular order

Western Imperialism
Terrorism
Global Warming
Politicians/Pimps
AIDS
Indian Cops
HR Executives

Classical Crossover

2006-09-07T00:05:00.000+05:30

Still staying with music, check out this TFM Page Article

...The polyphonic nature of western classical music, with many instruments playing, does not require the use of a rhythm instrument to maintain time. It is only in popular music, that a rhythm instrument is used. So a ‘classical crossover’ is predominantly western classical music, accompanied by rhythm instruments

...Though many of these songs were composed for movies in which a western classical approach was consciously adopted (Guru-Malayalam, dEsiya geetham) many were done for regular movies in which other songs followed a more standard approach. It is not very clear whether the audience appreciated these unique songs or these songs did not get enough exposure because the movies themselves failed. It is also possible the Indian ear used to listening to melodies, where the next note or slide is what surprises and fascinates the mind, is not appreciative of a western classical approach, where many instruments are playing musical notes in parallel. Maybe some of these songs had a strong melody and the orchestration was complex in the interludes alone (eg. sundari from thalapathy), where the melody guaranteed the success of the song. It probably required a TIS with classic poetry, extreme emotion drenched devotion and full-fledged orchestration to capture the mind of the Indian audience. Will a western classical orchestrated album on a secular subject, with contemporary lyrics be successful with the Indian audience?