Getting back to books

There was a period of time in life when all I could think about was books and exams. That was during the first 3 years of the new millennium and that was the time I was neck deep in my preparations for CA and CS. I would be appearing for one exam or the other every six months and would not have enough time for anything else other than studies. With the dawn of 2004, things started getting better for me. 13 January 2004, I became a Chartered Account and on 25 February 2004, I became a qualified Company Secretary. Life took a major turn for better and here I was, on the look out for jobs. From Deloitte to Wipro to Ernst and Young to Outsource Partners International, I was on a whirlwind tour of jobs. 4 jobs in 20 months and finally I found my calling in OPI in the F&A BPO industry. Things have been pretty good with me ever since I joined this company. A good job profile, a team that is extremely loving, caring and understanding, a management that is highly supportive and encouraging, flexible work timings, enough time to spend with family and fairly good pay- almost everything that one could ask for. When I thought things are going hunky dory, comes a threat- another exam. This time, it is APM or Accounts Payable Manager. This is a certificate course by a certifying authority in the US and is very specific to the BPO Industry which I am part of. I am supposed to be appearing for the 90 minute online exam on 28th August and am yet to start my studies. I have been given a huge study material to read through and for the first time in my life, I am getting jitters at the very thought of the exam. Probably, it is the time gap between 2003 and 2007. It has been a jolly good 4 years since I touched any kind of academic books and that is clearly showing in the kind of anxiety that is building up within me. I would like to believe that I am a fighter and have decided to make the best use of my time for the next couple of weeks and put in my best efforts to emerge a winner in my APM. You would not be coming across any new posts in this blog for the next 2 weeks as I will be on study leave for APM and then on Onam Holidays. This probably will be my last post during August 2007. So, readers, wish you all a very Happy Onam and I will catch you all next month with some more news, views and reviews. Till then, I humbly request all of you to pray for my success in the APM exams. Anxiously yours, Sreeram

There is nothing true about "Poi"

I am a self confessed fan of K Balachander (KB). Most of his outstanding works were made even before I was born, but I have enjoyed watching all of them- Aboorva Ragangal, Avargal, Aval Oru Thodarkkathai, Thanneer Thanneer, Atchamillai Atchamillai, Varumaiyin Niram Sigappu, Nizhal Nijamakiruthu, Nethrikkann, Naan Avan Illai, Manmadha Leelai etc etc. By the 90's it appeared as if KB had lost his midas touch. I was quite disappointed with Jathi Malli and Duet. That was when he started his foray into Television and voila! He was back in form. Kai Alavu Manassu was classic, Kaadhal Pakadai was good and Premi passed muster. KB continued and mediocrity started setting in. Jannal, Kashalavu Nesham, Annie- all these started beating around the bush. That was when he decided to join hands with Prakash Raj, his protege' and made "Poi" with Udaya Kiran and Vimala Raman in the lead. KB has been a master at making love stories and his earlier love stories have stood the test of time. Who can forget the soulful "Ek Duje Ke Liye"? This movie also starts like Ek Duje Ke Liye with shots of the beach (This time, it is Colombo instead of Goa) and proceeds towards introducing the protagonists. Kamban (Uday Kiran) is the son of a well meaning politician, Valluvanar who refuses to recommend Kamban for any kind of job. Frustrated, he joins the opposition party which becomes national news. Unable to bear the sudden media attack on his life, he flees to Colombo. This is where he meets his lady love (Vimala Raman) who spurns his advances. Vimala has seen her mother being tortured by her father and hates men. She wants to come up in life and is completely devoted to studies. Love and marriage do not figure in her plans for life. The rest of the movie is all about how Kamban tries to bring about a change of mind in Vimala and how their love story proceeds and ends. KB as a director was always ahead of his times in the 70's and early 80's. But, surprisingly in this film, one feels as if KB has based his characters on the youth of the 90's. A hero who will go to any extent to unite with his lover, a heroine who is completely devoted to her studies and holds on tightly to her anti- love philosophies- these characters simply do not reflect the modern Indian youth and thus, one fails to identify and sympathise with the protagonists of Poi. The script and direction has the KB stamp all over. Close up's, lots of alliterations in the dialogue, imaginative camera angles, props being used to convey the emotions of the characters- they are all there but what sadly is missing in the script is its soul. This film makes it very clear that it is time for KB to retire. Uday Kiran's boyish charm endears himself to one and all. Vimala Raman struggles. Geethu Mohandas is wasted. Renuka has been given more screen time and dialogues than needed. The rest of the characters pass muster. Vidyasagar's music is just alright. Ilayavale sung by SP Balasubhramaniam stands out. Hitler Penne is hummable. Biju Vishwanath's camerawork is poetic. The art direction is first rate but looks like the editor fell asleep towards the end of the movie. K Balachander and Prakash Raj make their appearances as "Lie" and "Fate" respectively and try to put their act as Soothradhars carrying the story forward. Unfortunately for them and the viewers, their act falls flat and fails to evoke any feeling. To sum up, "Poi" is the creation of a legendary director who is still living in his past days of glory. Ardent fans of KB should definitely stay away from this movie.

The pathetic condition of Kochi city

I was born and brought up in Kochi and have spent the last 27 years of my life in this wonderful city. I have seen it grow from just another city to THE city in Kerala and have relished every part of this growth. I am one of those biggest fans of Kochi and would not even think about trading life in Kochi with anything else in the world. I strongly believe that this city is aptly titled "Queen of the Arabian Sea". But, the condition that the city has been in for the last 2 months is pathetic; to say the least. The readers of this blog might have already come to know about it thanks to the media attention this city is getting (though for all the wrong reasons). The less said about the condition of the roads, the better. MG Road which was the pride of the city till recently has turned into a nightmare. So are Banerji Road and Shanmukham Road. The Ernakulam North Railway Overbridge has potholes that are deep enough to hold at least 10 people inside. Chittoor Road suffers from low quality tarring. There once existed the Kaloor- Kadavanthra Road in two lanes but it is not possible to see even traces of tar on that road now. Waste Disposal is another major issues that is plaguing the city with the threat of a plague outbreak looming large. The waste treatment plant in the city is getting solid waste to the tune of 10 times of what it can process on a daily basis. The Mayor, the District Collector and even the Courts are now discussing this issue with Public Interest Litigations (PIL's) flying left, right and centre. Chikungunia and Tomato Fever figure next in the list. The viral outbreak has created havoc all over the state with the onset of the monsoons and Kochi city is no exception either. With water logged streets that are anything but clean, mosquitoes (who are the carriers of the virus) are having a hell of a time making the residents experience HELL in all its manifestations. In spite of wide spread protests, demonstrations and pleas for action, nothing constructive is happening. With the onset of the auspicious month of Chingam, there will be lots of activities in the city. Shopping as a prelude to Onam, the boat races, the Middle East Kochiites coming home on vacation, the tourists who visit the city to enjoy the Onam festivites, the number of weddings that have been scheduled for the season and many more. In the middle of so much of action, how are we going to manage the Onam season is the million dollar question. Kochi turns into one hot bed of action every Onam. This time around, no one knows how the city is going to react to all the inactions of the authorities in an otherwise action packed season. Let us wait and watch and try to be as optimistic as optimistic can get while doing so!

Book Review: Passion and Poppadoms

Agh! Eeks! Yuck!- these were some of my reactions as I was reading through Pocket Books' "Passion and Poppadoms"- a Nisha Minhas creation. I still curse the day I bought this book. I was at the airport waiting for my grandma and uncle; the flight was late and I had nothing to do. When I saw the description- A wickedly funny novel with a name like that, I fell for it. Good Marketing, but how I wish the content was equally good. Wicked it is, but there is hardly anything that is even remotely funny about this apology for a novel. To all those who are interested in knowing- Passion is the story of Marina, an Indian girl living in Fenworth on the outskirts of London, working as a sandwich filler while dreaming about sleeping with Thomas Harding, a rich and good looking hotelier. How she manages to win Thomas over his blonde girlfriend, Nicole and her own blonde room mate, Emily is what the novel is all about. The plot sounds simple and entertaining, but this novel is so strangely written that I don't have adjectives to describe how horrible it is. What could have ended in 100 pages has been stretched to 483 pages (divided into 36 chapters). Nisha does have a good narrative style, but the kind of crap that fills the pages of this novel can best be described as verbal torture to the reader. Even the climax that describes the India trip of Marina and Thomas has been stretched to two chapters while it could have ended in a paragraph. Everytime there is a mention about Thomas, the writer squeezes in a love making scene and starts describing the principal parts of Thomas. Come on, there is a limit to be over sexed about one's leading man. The love making part can easily give Sidney Sheldon and Irving Wallace a run for their money,but all it evokes in the reader is contempt; for that is how dispassionately and disgracefully these parts have been written. Apparently, Nisha Minhas has already written 2 best sellers (?)- Chappathi or Chips? and Sari and Sins. I can kinda make out what kind of outrageous creations those would be. Nisha is an Indian living in the UK (with her partner and two cats, it seems. What a pertinent piece of information!) and she suffers from what every Indian diasporic writer or artist suffers from- confusion about oneself. That confusion is clearly evident in the way Marina's character has been etched out. In the name of giving the readers (English readers, that is) a taste of India, what Nisha ends up doing is paint a rather dull, uninteresting and distasteful picture of India and Indians. The topic of racism that crops up every now and then in the novel is something that Nisha would have personally experienced for those are the only times when we feel there is something identifiable with real life about what has been written. My last words on this topic would be- Avoid Passion and Poppadoms. Chew a Bubble gum instead!

Dhanush dances his way into our hearts in Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambham

Bhoopathy Pandian writes and directs "Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambham" (Tamil) starring Dhanush, Shriya Saran, Prakash Raj, Saranya and Mouli. The protagonist here is Thiru (Dhanush), the spoilt brat of middle class parents (Mouli and Saranya) who does nothing other than roaming around with his friends on bikes, making passes at girls and getting back home at midnight fully drunk. He meets Priya (Shriya Saran) at the temple and falls head over heels in love with her at first sight. Priya is the only sister of multi millionaire business tycoon Gurumurthy (Prakash Raj) and Guru would not let Thiru come near his sister's shadow. How Thiru manages to fall in love with Priya, earn a name and enough money for himself and manages to marry Priya with the blessings of Guru forms the rest of the story. The story is predictable, but what makes the movie worth watching is the innovative manner in which the script has been written. The dialogues evoke laughter and the film moves at an adequate pace with songs, action and sentiments thrown in at regular intervals. Technically too, the movie scores with neat camera work, sharp editing and authentic production designs. D Imman does a good job with his musical score. Theriyama Pathuputten is well sung and well shot and the remix version of Ennamma Kannu is excellent. Shriya Saran looks pretty and has been clothed very well. She has nothing much to do by way of acting though. Mouli, Saranya, Meena Kumari and Karunas are adequate. Prakash Raj has always been a fine actor and he proves that yet again with this film. However, the entire movie rests on Dhanush's tender shoulders. The actor is in his best elements here and this is definitely his best performance since Kaadhal Kondain. Dhanush is casual and confident as Thiru and takes the audience along with him throughout the length of the movie. Bhoopathy Pandian showed promise with his debut- Devathaiye Kandain (Dhanush, Sridevi Vijayakumar). With his second movie, the young director has proved that he is some one to watch out for in the future. Reach out for the pop corn, sit back and relax. Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambham is excellent Time Pass!

Paruthiveeran is daringly different

Tamil Cinema is at an interesting phase these days, what with a number of talented directors, actors, scenarists, music directors and other technicians making their foray into Kollywood and achieving varying amounts of success. The year 2007 started on a very promising note with films like Mozhi, Veyil, Naan Avan Illai, Chennai 600028, Karuppuswamy Kuthagaitharar etc with lesser known and less popular stars achieving success. It is to this list that Paruthiveeran gets added.

The story of the film, set in a village somewhere in the Madurai- Theni districts is about Paruthiveeran (Karthi) and Muthazhagu (Priyamani). Veeran, born to an upper caste father and a lower caste mother is brought up by his paternal uncle (Saravanan) and grandmother after the tragic demise of his parents in an accident. He is in love with his paternal aunt's daughter, Muthazhagu (Priyamani) whose father is a staunch upper caste Sandiyar.

There are problems galore in their love story- Muthazhagu's father cannot imagine his daughter getting married to Veeran, thanks to his parentage and Veeran, on his part, is no saint either, constantly getting involved in fights with the upper caste henchmen. The rest of the movie is all about how Paruthiveeran and Muthazhagu try in vain to make their love story a success.

I had always thought that there cannot be a film maker other than Bharathiraaja who could portray life in the villages of Tamil Nadu realistically and poignantly. Who can forget 16 Vayathinile, Man Vaasanai, Kizhakke Pokum Rayil, Karuthamma, Kizhakku Cheemayile- the list is endless. His last few movies have not been effective and at a time when it appears Bharathiraaja has lost his magic touch, emerges Ameer with his Paruthiveeran. Ameer had shown promise with his debut in "Mounam Pesiyathe" and raised the bar further by making the path breaking "Raam", that gave a new lease of life to its hero- Jeeva. He further proves his talent with Paruthiveeran. To come up with a rustic story at a time when audiences are interested in watching urban movies calls for a great deal of courage and to make it a roaring success even in the city multiplexes calls for a great deal of talent. Ameer has both in abundance and let us hope that he carries the mantle forward and makes a lot more interesting films in future.

Karthi makes a confident debut as Paruthiveeran- his looks, body language, accent- everything in place. The young actor is a welcome addition to the list of promising heroes in Kollywood. Priyamani is a revelation. In spite of having worked with Bharathiraaja (Kangalal Kaithu Sai) and Balu Mahendra (Andha oru Kanakkalam) in the past, Priyamani's talent was not evident till Paruthiveeran came along. She literally lives as Muthazhagu and even manages to score over Karthi in the climax. Saravanan is completely at ease as Karthi's Paternal Uncle and Ponnvannan proves yet again that he is a character actor capable to do wonders. The rest of the cast support the lead pair ably and blend into the background of the narrative with remarkable ease.

Yuvan Shankar Raja creates magic with his music and background score. The Kuthu pattu and the soul stirring "Ariyatha Vayassu" sung by Maestro Ilayaraaja deserve special mention. All the technical departments score- excellent photography, crisp editing, authentic art direction and good quality sound add value to the narration.

On the whole, Paruthiveeran is a classic and would remain in the minds of the viewers for a long period of time.