U, Me Aur Hum is for all of us!

When I sat back to watch U Me Aur Hum and saw those beautiful lines on love springing up the screen in the background of the blue sky, I reconciled with myself that this is going to be one of those mushy romances in the Chopra- Johar style that Kajol has been associated with in the past. Mushy romance it is to start with, but Ajay Devgan, the director along with the assistance of his scenarists (Robin Bhatt, Akash Khurana and another credited with the screenplay and Ashwini Dheer credited with dialogues) manages to steer the movie into a different territory as it progresses. U, Me Aur Hum is the story of Ajay (Ajay Devgan), a rich psychiatrist and Pia (Kajol), a waitress on a luxury cruise on which Ajay is holidaying with his friends- Nikhil (Sumeet Raghavan, brilliant) and Tina (Divya Dutta, typecast), doctor couple who are constantly fighting with each other; and Vicky (Karan Khanna, passable) and Natasha (Isha Sharvani, No comments!)- jeweler and dancer respectively looking forward to get married. They eat, drink and make merry while Ajay keeps flirting with the girls till he falls head over heels in love with Pia. He tries out every rule in and out of the book to woo her and she does fall for him. Confusion follows confession and Pia comes back to get married to Ajay. Life is all rosy for both of them till the day when Ajay discovers that Pia is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Pia starts losing memory- she forgets her anniversary, she forgets her home, she forgets her husband’s name and phone number- and it gets into a major problem when she puts her baby in the bathtub and forgets to turn off the tap. Ajay is broken and confused and decides to leave Pia at the care centre. The rest of the film is about the course that their lives take hereafter. Ajay Devgan makes an impressive debut as a film maker. It is not that U, Me Aur Hum is as perfect as perfect can be. It does have its flaws, like an abrupt start, a dragging second half and a few scenes and dialogues that are completely out of place. However, the playfulness of the first half and the sensitivity of the second half has been handled deftly by Ajay and one should give due credit for his debut as director. Ajay has also been credited with the story but it is heavily inspired by “The Notebook”. The script is powerful and cohesive. The dialogues are beautiful. The use of the same word throughout a lengthy piece of dialogue has been resorted to at least 5 times to good effect. Technically, the movie is brilliant. Excellent camera work and larger than life production design are a treat to the eyes. Editing could have been sharper. Vishal Bharadwaj comes up with an album that is so unlike his kind of songs and he impresses with all the songs. Monty Sharma’s background score is commendable. Kajol is as effervescent and lively as ever. However, her spontaneity gets overshadowed by Devgan’s intensity throughout the film. Yes, and I mean it. This is one of those rare films where Kajol’s performance is superceded by that of the leading man who in this case is her husband himself. It is a treat watching Ajay play the flirtatious doctor in the first half to the same effect as that of the brooding and confused husband in the second. U, Me Aur Hum might not work completely as a film but there are moments that are unique to this film and such moments are quite a few in number making one forget the flaws! The gentle hints that Devgan drops during the first half on Pia’s disease- she serving tequilas instead of vodka or turning up for salsa at 7 instead of 6; the constant bickering between Nikhil and Tina as opposed to the sugary romantic life of Ajay and Pia and the best of the lot is when Ajay is with his friends at the bar telling them how he watched Ek Duje Ke Liye 11 times and how he used to love “Hum bane, tum bane” and how he thinks the song is so fake since his book of psychiatry says human nature is such that everyone cares only for that person and that is the self- defense mechanism that humans are endowed with and you along with the other characters in the frame realize how deeply Pia’s separation has affected him… Sequences like these are what make U, Me Aur Hum special and that is why I recommend it to all!

Oh! These women!!!

God created the world and took some rest. Then he created man and took some rest. Then he created women, after that neither God nor man has been able to take rest.

This is one of the funny (but true) quotes about women that I have heard in the past. Honestly, I have not had much issues with understanding women and many a friend has complimented me on what they thought was a very significant aspect of my personality!

But, of late, I have come to realize that I am no better than anyone else belonging to the men folk when it comes to understanding women! They mean what they dont mean, they say yes when they mean no and vice versa, they say they will do something when they actually mean they wont and no one can ever understand the how, when and why of their changing of minds and decisions!

I think it is high time medical sciences recognized women's psychiatry as a branch of study and encourage research on this subject! Probably in another 500 years we might be able to come up with a theory or a reasoning to explain the queer behaviour of women folk in general.

I hope there is some movement towards this at least during my lifetime. I am hopeful and am keeping my fingers crossed...

4th Amritha Film Awards: A lacklustre affair!

Malayalam cinema has also started having its own share of award nights. Earlier it was only the Film Critics Awards and the State Film Awards. Now, we have Asianet Film Awards, Mathrubhoomi Film Awards, Vanitha Film Awards and finally, Amritha Film Awards. Invariably, the same set of actors and technicians get honored at all of these and by the time the last awards are distributed, both the audience and the award winners get bored of the routine! This is precisely what happened with the 4th Amritha Film Awards. Add to it the fact that the function had to be postponed by a week due to rains!

All this took away the brightness of the whole affair with hardly a handful of stars attending the do. Thus, you had the awards being distributed by a couple of ministers and folks holding executive positions with the many sponsors of the award night. Jagadeesh was the MC for the day and he did a strictly OK job. Suraj Venjarammodu's jokes evoked yawns instead of guffaws. Muktha (never been on work) and Rambha (completely out of work) were the dancers chosen to entertain the crowd. Muktha struggled while Rambha succeeded fairly. Naresh Iyer, Vineeth Srinivasan and Shwetha Mohan did a good job with their songs. Shwetha's melange of award winning songs from Vinodayathra, Ore Kadal and Nivedhyam deserve special mention.

The only big star who made it to the do was Mammootty and all through he carried an expression that said- "What am I doing here?" The person who had the last laugh would have been Shyamaprasad with Ore Kadal winning awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Music Director and Best Playback Singer (Female). Amritha Awards more than compensated for the raw deal that was meted out to Ore Kadal at the State Film Awards.

The channel also came up with a new concept of honoring its celebrity MC- Jagadeesh was honored with a Flexi- Actor award. Dont know what it really meant. However, so much for another completely out of work actor and a model for other award nights to follow if they want to rope in a celebrity MC!

Altogether, a totally lack lustre affair!

Aparan: Scary thought

It is the same 20 year old Aparan that I am planning to write about here. I had seen it in theatres when I was 9 years old and I have always remembered it in bits and pieces for its strange subject and unique treatment (I was too young to understand and appreciate it then, you know)

In spite of the onset of sattelite television and all movies being telecasted and re telecasted time and again, Aparan remained a rarity. It was with tremendous pleasure that I sat down to watch it this saturday when Amrita TV was generous enough to telecast it

Aparan is the story of Vishwanatha Pillai (Jayaram making a strong, impressive debut) who hails from a small village in Alappuzha district. His family comprises of his father, a retired headmaster (an aptly cast Madhu), mother (Sukumari) and sister of marriageable age (Parvathy). His mother is constantly worrying about his unemployment and he gets a call for an interview in Kochi.

In a restaurant in Kochi, he is manhandled by a couple of local thugs and taken by the police into custody. That is when he realizes that he has a look alike in the city who is on the wrong side of the law. Thankfully for him the sub inspector (Mukesh) is an old classmate who recognizes him and releases him.

Life turns topsy turvy for Vishwam with even an alliance for his sister getting cancelled thanks to the antics of the look alike. He finally lands a job in the city but is ousted out of it because his look alike had failed in the past to supply a prostitute to his MD (M G Soman) after taking money from him.

Vishwam finally decides enough is enough and sets out to find out the "aparan" (look alike). His efforts yield result and he is handed over a sum of Rs.1.5 lakhs by a person who had hired the aparan for a murder. Vishwam decides to hand over the money to his father for conducting his sister's wedding but is hunted down by the aparan and his goons on his way. In the confusion that follows, the aparan is murdered by his own folks and Vishwam's parents accept the dead body thinking that it belongs to him.

The climax of the film is its major highlight where Vishwam hands over the money to his father and walks off declaring that he has no other way but to continue living as the "aparan". The very thought of having a look alike who is in no way related to you is scary. Even more scary is when that person is on a route that is completely opposite to yours. It is on this scary premise that Padmarajan has built up a taut script. Kudos to the master filmmaker for having come up with such a novel thought and giving it the kind of treatment that is so unique to Padmarajan.

Venu's camera, B Lenin's auditing and Johnson's authentic background score add to the proceedings. The movie has a plethora of artistes- but other than Jayaram and Madhu, the others do not have enough screen time or well written scenes to contribute to the narrative.

Aparan is considered a classic for treading a road less travelled and making that travel a very exciting one! And did I tell you that this was the first time Jayaram and Sobhana came together on screen providing an early hint of a crackling on screen chemistry that regaled the audience for another decade?

Gifts Galore!

Working with a young group helps, if not anything, at least to keep you younger than what you really are! I discovered this last week when I was gifted a shirt by my team for having won the quiz competition held at office!

It was really a joyous occassion and the gesture forced me out of inaction and made me act upon something that I had been discussing with my colleague for the past few weeks. We decided that it is time to honor the toppers in the team and we set out to buy some gifts with this end in view!

Buying gifts for someone is quite a task but an enjoyable one at that! It was after quite a long time that I had set out for something like this. I enjoyed it thoroughly and I hope those who received the gifts liked them as well!

Vishu Biriyani!

I myself experienced it only yesterday. So I wont be surprised if you have not heard about Vishu Biriyani before :-)

It all happened in my team when they decided that we are going to have a small party in connection with Vishu. With the working hours being in the dead of the night, we decided that we would get something special ourselves for our late night snack and lo and behold, it was decided we would have Biriyani (Chicken and Vegetarian) to celebrate Vishu in all its splendor! There we were munching Biriyani to our hearts' content at unearthly hours like 2 in the morning. It might not have been a great experience gastronomically, but the fun of enjoying with a group of 30 people is something unparalleled!

I salute the spirit of my team members for having come up with something as novel as Vishu Biriyani! Guiness book- here we come :-)

Does familiarity really breed contempt?

I always thought so, till I joined the group with whom I have been working closely for the past 30 odd months. This is the first time I have spent this much time on an employment completely out of choice and I think I should really thank the 4 great senior colleagues of mine without whose love, support and encouragement this would not have been possible. They have always been there to help me, support me, encourage me, dare me to do things which I thought were difficult and to put me in my rightful place, whenever I went overboard!

It really helps to have such great professional associations (in this case, a highly personal one too!) and if you have not had one, all I can do is to pity you. Because it is extremely difficult to find such people! Good friends and good colleagues happen, just like good weather and all we can do is to hope, wish and pray that we land into great associations in life at least once and work towards maintaining that association throughout our lives!

I dedicate this post of mine to those 4 great individuals, I wont tell you who they are, they will know if they read this and that is all that matters to me!!!

Take a break!

If you feel, I am getting a bit too boring and uninteresting, I would like you to take a break to read something interesting here. My cousin is in his first assignment to the US of A and he has penned his very interesting insights into the life and culture of US and its citizens!

Read and enjoy :-)

I, me aur main!!!

The title of this post is definitely inspired by the Ajay- Kajol starrer, but this is not an attempt to review the movie. Instead, this is what I feel I should be very soon. Honestly, I am sick and tired of being this please- all person and these days, I am not really bothered about what others think about me either! It is time I decided that my life is about what I want to do with it and with this end in view, I am going to bring about significant changes in my way of living! Going forward, if you feel I am nasty now you know why! Looking forward to my I, me aur main days...

Kerala State Film Awards 2008

The Kerala State Film Awards 2008 have been announced and as always, it has sprang up quite a few surprises! Debutant director K G Sasi's "Adayalangal" bagged the awards for Best Film, Best Director and Best Camera- 3 major awards with 2 more adding to its kitty! No one would have seen the movie but the surprising fact is that it scored over expected winners like Adoor Gopalakrishnan's "Naalu Pennungal". The jury did have its own funny theory for not selecting Naalu Pennungal- that it is not a feature film in the real sense, instead it is a collage of 4 stories. How funny, right? A film that has bagged awards and accolades worldwide has been mercilessly rejected by the learned jury for a reason as trivial is that. What probably the jury did not understand is the mastery exhibited by Adoor in selecting 4 stories with a common theme running through them relevant even in today's modern world! The next surprise came through when Sathyan Anthicaud was selected as the best script writer for Vinodayathra. Now, this is taking it a bit too much. I have immense respect for the director Sathyan Anthicaud but I would definitely not vouch for his literary abilities. In my opinion, Rasathanthram and Vinodayathra can easily be considered the worst scripts filmed by him in his 25 odd year long career. The biggest flaw of Vinodayathra was its hackeneyed, lacklustre script that was meandering between characters looking for an opportunity to preach. With this end in view, one could come across situations that had no relevance to the plot but were pushed into the narrative to broadcast a message to the audience. The director Sathyan towered over the scriptwriter Sathyan and could make a success out of this script, thanks also to a competent starcast! Apparently, Sathyan was competing with Sreenivasan for Katha Parayumbol. In my opinion, the award should definitely have gone to Sreenivasan, if not for anything, for the honesty with which he penned Katha... After winning all popular awards, one was naturally expecting the best actor crown to sit on Mammootty's head for his scintillating performances in Katha Parayumbol and Ore Kadal. However, fate (read jury) had other plans and it went to Mohanlal for Paradesi. There is no doubt that Mohanlal is a wonderful actor, but his performance in Paradesi was definitely not worth an award. He did not get the slang right and he suffered from weak characterization and cold script. P T Kunjumohammed's direction was so bad that he could not lift Paradesi beyond the standards of a High school fancy dress cum drama! I am not complaining though since the actor in question is Mohanlal. The jury did some good things as well- Meera Jasmine, Murali and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy walked away with the honors for Best Actress (Ore kadal), Best Supporting Actor (Veeralipattu, Pranayakalam) and Best Supporting Actress (Thaniye) respectively. M Jayachandran, Vijay Jesudas and Shwetha Mohan were awarded in the music category for that lilting "Kolakkuzhal vili" from Nivedyam. Vinod Sukumaran and Ouseppachan were rightly honored for their razor sharp editing and fabulous background score respectively in Ore Kadal. Katha Parayumbol bagged the award for the most popular film, something that the public would agree. Jagathy Sreekumar was awarded the special jury prize at least 10 years later . It remains to be seen whether the actor would accept the honor! It was good to have Jahnu Barua (Assamese director) as jury chairman since if it was a malayalee holding the position, the awards would have given rise to n number of controversies. As of now, Shyamaprasad has expressed his unhappiness, Jagathy has made his thoughts public and Mammootty- Mohanlal fans are fighting all over the internet! Compared to last year, the cultural ministry has reasons to cheer this time! All concerned have definitely got over the shock of Urvashi being awarded the best actress last year for that apology for a performance in the dreadful "Madhuchandralekha" Lets hope the awards get fairer as we progress!!!

Miss India 2008

India has produced a lot of beauty queens in the past who have done the country proud- Rita Faria, Nafisa Ali, Zeenat Aman, Persis Khambatta, Madhu Sapre, Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta, Priyanka Chopra, Dia Mirza, Diana Hayden to name a few. Due to this reason, it was with bated breath that I was looking forward to Miss India 2008. However, the event, in my opinion, turned out to be quite a damp squib considering the number of dumb damsels who made it to the final 26! As all of you might have been aware by now, Parvathy Omanakuttan, Simran Kaur Mundi and Harshita Saxena were crowned Miss India World, Miss India Universe and Miss India Earth respectively. What made the show a lackluster one was the fact that there was no real competition for the beauties who made it! Parvathy was a winner from the very beginning- she had a figure to die for, was smart, confident and comparatively better when it came to intelligence. Simran was strictly OK and the audience along with the judges was wondering who will make it to the third spot considering the number of dumb girls who were vying with each other. Thankfully for Harshitha she made it, but unfortunately she has had to surrender the crown following controversies regarding her agreement with another fashion business house!!! None of the other contestants were impressive except for the fact that all of them had that perfect hour glass figures and looked good in the creations of designers as varied as Shaina MC (she looked hot!), Romolika, Shanthanu and Nikhil (classy outfits) and the indefatigable Ritu Kumar! Bollywood was there expressing its solidarity to the contestants- Kareena, Bipasha and Sameera regaled the audience with their dance numbers! Sameera danced gracefully to Zeenat Aman’s songs from the 70’s and looked adequately hot! Tabu, Katrina Kaif and Zeenat Aman were the bollywood beauties judging the show along with J J Valaya, Rina Dhaka, Shaimak Davar and Arnab Goswami.

Parvathy Omanakuttan is promising, but except for her, Miss India 2008 was all about the three C’s- Clothes, Cleavage and Cinema (read Bollywood!)

Book Review: Inviting Murders

Thrillers have always been a genre of writing I have enjoyed. In fact, I have been a big fan of thrillers as far as movies are concerned. This was the reason I did not think twice before adding Inviting Murders to my collection of books when I came across it in a book shop. After reading the book, all I can say is I am happy that I made the right decision. Inviting Murders is written by Priyanka Nath who has to her credit only a collection of poems till date. For a debutante, she has done a good job. The only aspect of the book that stands out is that the protagonist is a lady detective, something that female Indian English writers always go for. Clichéd, should I say? Inviting Murders is however a start- to- finish read and a highly engaging detective story. It is about a murder that takes place in the midst of a family reunion at the Suri’s and how two private detectives- Charles and Maya- with the help of the local Inspector manage to nab the culprit. As is the case with any good thriller, there are quite a few characters and each of them has a skeleton in the cupboard. This is utterly confusing to the reader and one is not able to guess who the murderer would be even towards the end of the book (at least, I could not) It is the authoritative patriarch Mr. Suri who is killed and you start suspecting everyone- his wife of many years, Asha, who is not happy in general; his oldest son Chirag who has been forced to be his father’s shadow; Chirag’s wife, Aparna, a strong willed woman who resents her father- in- law; his second son, Deepak who is good for nothing or his highly possessive wife Chithra; the youngest son Sagar who is loved by his father but hated by others, the unexpected and mysterious visitor Sheil; Sagar’s erstwhile sweetheart cum Deepak’s ex wife Nita who is an unwelcome guest for the function! Priyanka succeeds in making us believe that each and every character in the plot has a reason to kill Mr. Suri and you are left pulling your hair. In the process, you find it difficult to take a break while reading lest you lose the continuity. The identity of the culprit and the motive behind the murder may disappoint you slightly because one feels it is not motive enough for a murder. That said, a thriller can be considered successful if it holds the reader’s interest from the beginning till end and if we look at Inviting Murders that way, one should say that Priyanka Nath has come up with a good one- thanks to the characterization, the build up of the plot and the simple, lucid language she uses. Highly recommended, this one!

Wasting away time…

I was a good student ever since I can remember. At the cost of not sounding immodest, let me tell you that I was one of the top three students in class all through my school days and improved when I stepped into college. I have had the usual fun and frolic that you associate with your school and college days but have always been focused on what I really wanted to achieve. I completed my professional qualifications at 24 and it has been four years since then. The first couple of years I was busy with switching jobs or job hunting. By the time I was settled in a job in the Middle East and decided to put my time to good use, it was time for me to come back to India for personal reasons. It has been more than 2 years since then. My job requires me to work in the evening till past midnight which leaves a lot of time for me in the mornings. All these 2 years, I have been planning to take up another course of study. Unfortunately, things have not progressed beyond the planning phase till now. All these years, I have been planning whether to take up X, Y or Z but the fact remains that I have taken up neither. I am in 2008 now. Time is flying away, so is age. I think it is high time I started ticking items off my task list for the year which reads something like this- learn four wheel driving and obtain a driving license (should have done it 10 years back!), lose at least 20 kg of extra flesh that I am carrying (should have started 13 years back) and start with a new course of study (should have thought about it at least 2 years back!) Well, all these days I was thinking- better late than never. But, now I feel it is time to put into action what Kabirdas said- Do today what you want to do tomorrow, do now what you plan to do today. There could be a flood the next moment, you may never know. What would happen to your task list then? Do pray for my success with the tasks on hand!

Catching up with friends

One definitely has to be forward looking all the time, but it really does not hurt to look back once in a while to check out what or who all you have left behind in life. It is even more interesting to catch up with old friends once in a while. Who does not like it when one receives a call from a long lost friend at the most unexpected of times? This is precisely what I got into yesterday when I decided it is time to ring up some of my friends out of my articleship and school- college days who are spread out across different parts of the country. I was unlucky with 4- 5 of them who did not pick up my calls, but I still managed to catch hold of 5 of my friends. It really was enjoyable speaking to them after a very long time and I felt as if I had traveled half a decade back into my life. All of a sudden you are bombarded with information on who is doing what, who is working with whom, who got married to whom, who is engaged to whom, who all had kids, who all are expecting kids, the kind of stuff that you get to hear when you are enquiring on friends who are in their late 20’s to early 30’s. All of a sudden you start reflecting upon the time you spent with each of them when both of you were younger, the many discussions, dreams, hopes and anticipations on life that you have shared with each other and comparing those to where each of them have reached presently. It definitely is a great feeling and it puts you on a high when you hear that all your friends are doing well in life one way or the other. For me, personally, it is something that just refreshes and recharges me to take on something new and go ahead for a reasonable period of time before I think about catching up with my friends for another time…

If you have not done something similar for a long period of time, don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and call a few of your friends. Just analyze how you feel after say 30 minutes of conversation with your old friends. I bet you will definitely feel special and high spirited. It is for no reason that one considers friends as flowers in the garden of life!

Tribute to Kadammanitta

One need not be a strong fan of Malayalam poetry to understand Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan. If one has listened to Kadammanitta reciting one of his poems or has read any of his poems, that person is sure to remember Kadammanitta for the rest of his life for such is the power of his words. In the midst of a lot of writers who remain in their own world, Kadammanitta has always walked a path less trodden. He has always drawn themes for his poems for the lives of the under privileged and has always worked with them closely for their uplift and improved living conditions. He has had a successful stint with politics and even in his capacity as a Member of the Legislative Assembly, he has fulfilled his responsibilities very well. A strong supporter of Communism, he has lived the life of a true blue communist all along. Kadammanitta could always gather a decent audience at all his public appearances thanks to his strong oratorical skills and unabashed criticism of whatever went against his ideologies. He belonged to that rare breed of writers who practiced everything that he preached. Kadammanitta’s death is a big blow to the cultural and political milieu of Kerala and he is truly irreplaceable. Thanks to his magnificent personality, Kadammanitta will continue to live in the hearts of Keralites for a very long period to come.

Tribute to Raghuvaran

With the death of Raghuvaran, Indian cinema has lost a stylish, dynamic actor who could portray any kind of character in his own unique, distinct style. Raghuvaran has always been about his personality and style. He has always had an acting style rooted in reality as opposed to the loud acting propogated by Tamil cinema of the 80’s which witnessed his debut. He is one actor who has never been conscious of an image and has played a wide gamut of roles- hero, villain, hero’s friend, elder brother, father, you name it, you have it! In the course of his 30 year old career, he has been part of more than a 100 films with many of them standing out for his magnificent performance. Be it the hapless father in Anjali or En Bommukutti Ammavukku, the professional killer in Kaadhalan, the doctor in Shivaji, the magician in Daivathinte Vikruthikal, the professor in Sivappathigaram, the loving husband in Thirumalai, the twin faced brother in Aaha or the straight of story book villain in Baadshah- Raghuvaran has left an indelible imprint of his own on all the characters he played.

He has never had a good personal life- addiction to drugs and drinks, a failed marriage with actress Rohini and the legal battles over the custody of his only son only made things worse for the actor. The 60 year old actor had not been doing well for quite sometime and finally it was time for him to meet the inevitable leaving behind a handful of characters in all four languages of South India that will remain in public memory for a very long period of time! While I mourn the loss of a great actor, I also pray for his departed soul to rest in peace…

Budgets, Pay Commission recommendations and the like

February and March are the months associated with budgets. Budgets of each and every nature is out- Railway Budget, Union Budget, State Budget, Corporation Budget, Municipality Budget, Panchayath Budget, GCDA Budget…all of which that have a bearing on the most common budget- the family budget of every individual. With the general elections fast approaching, expectedly, it was playing safe for P Chidambaram as far as the Union Budget was concerned. The increased exception limits for salaried class and the move towards writing off Rs. 60,000 crores worth of farmers’ debts are the only redeeming features of this Budget with almost everything else remaining the same in effect. With the highly respected trio of Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram and Montek Singh Ahluwalia at the centre, the common man as well as the industry expected a more robust budget. But, it was politics that prevailed over paisa as far as the Union Budget was concerned this year. The results have started showing- inflation rising to a 39- month high of 7% as well as the government’s inability to give a satisfactory explanation to the sources of Rs. 60,000/- crore that has been proposed to be written off. Add to that, the sixth pay commission recommendations that has brought forth a huge hike in salaries for the government staff, it would not be long for the central coffers to go empty. I do agree that the government staff is not as well paid as the ones in the private sector. But, the bane with government departments is that they are all over staffed and at no levels has anything been done to fix responsibility or to penalize for non compliance with work. Till the time a proper monitoring and reward system is put in place to appraise the performance of government employees, nothing is going to change as regards working of the government- ay hike or not. Honestly, I do not see such a thing happening in my lifetime.

All that is left for the common man to see is how the Srikrishna commission recommendations are going to affect the national coffers and what would remain therein by the time the General Elections are announced. I am trying to be calm but positive I am not…

Near Brush with death

Being a part of the IT/ ITES sector necessarily means working late into the night. Having spent more than 2 years in the industry, late night working has become a part of me and I don’t find it as difficult as people make it out to be. However, my recent experience made me look into this matter from a totally different perspective. On a working night last week, along with a few of my colleagues, I was returning from office at 3 in the morning. When we boarded the cab the driver was fast asleep. We woke him up; he washed his face, freshened up and started driving. I was mounted on the front seat adjacent to the driver’s and from the beginning of the journey, I was getting this feeling that the vehicle was slipping onto the right side of the road quite frequently. I was noticing the driver all along and I felt that he was struggling to keep himself awake. 10 minutes into the drive and suddenly, I realized that the vehicle was moving completely to the right. One look at the driver and I started yelling for I found him completely asleep with the steering in hand. My colleagues seated on the back realized that something was wrong and all of us started shouting. The driver got up startled and being in the state that he was, he turned the steering violently to the right and applied the brakes with all his pressure. The vehicle took two complete rotations and finally managed to stop on the opposite side of the road. All this happened in about 5 seconds time and all of us felt that we were facing the inevitable. Thankfully for us, the vehicle did not turn upside down, nor was there a median or any approaching vehicle on either side of the road. It took us a couple of minutes to return to normal and all of us heaved a heavy sigh of relief! It definitely was a near brush with death but I still would not classify the incident as a potential hazard associated with working in the night. Look at the kind of accidents that is happening all around you, most of them in broad daylight. I completely believe that whatever be the time of the day, a good driver would be able to drive well and safely. It is not that all accidents that happen around you happen because it was your driver who was at fault. There definitely is also a risk associated with every other person who is driving on the road and even with every pedestrian walking on the road. Ultimately, it all boils down to the time or fate as people might like to call it. Day or night, if something has to happen, it definitely will happen!

All said and done, the incident was quite an eye opener to me especially to the fact that it takes only a couple of seconds for all your dreams to come crashing down! I am wishing, hoping and praying that things go fine with me as well as each and every person around me and that I do not come to hear of any more of such incidents in future…

Indian Cricket

If there is one thing that is more unpredictable than the monsoons and the stock market indices in India, it is the performance of the Indian cricket team. The latter part of 2007 and the beginning of 2008 gave one a feeling that things were going to be great for Indian cricket. The victory in the T- 20 and U- 19 world cup as well as the controversies and the big win in the Commonwealth Bank series against Australia catapulted the Indian cricket team back into the big league once again. The test series with South Africa started on an encouraging note. Viru, who had been down and out for quite sometime, staged a magnificent comeback with a triple ton and joined the ranks of Sachin, Sourav, Dhoni and Gambhir who were in good form. The Chepauk test ended in a draw but showcased the best of India as regards batting and bowling. However, the dismal performance of the team in Ahmedabad came in as a shocker to many. In the first innings, India was bowled out for a meager 76 and in 3 days, South Africans finished the 2nd test with an innings victory over India. Irresponsibility of the highest order was visible in the performance of the Indian team- be it batting, bowling or fielding. Anil Kumble and his team of boys could not figure out how to handle the media after the disappointing performance of the team. News also has it that many of the players are feigning lack of fitness to avoid playing the test series since everyone is looking forward to the IPL that is scheduled for April. Considering the kind of money involved, the players are making sure that they remain fit to put in their best efforts in IPL. Apart from the money and the media coverage, their performance in IPL could also be instrumental in bagging further endorsements thus fattening their paycheck even further. Precisely, a case of what happens when the players become bigger than the game! I do encourage private participation in cricket and privatization of the whole business considering the kind of activities the BCCI officials are involved in. However, at no point of time should the players be allowed to dictate terms because it is always the sport that comes first and not the sportsman. Further, with the IPL championships also being regularity, it is kinda going to be cricket 24/7 in the country. Cricket definitely provides a big high for Indians and is one of the few things that keep the country united. Nevertheless, with IPL and the many other series charted for the rest of the year, there is definitely going to be an exercise in excess for cricket in India!

With the many issues plaguing Indian cricket (BCCI, players’ attitude, privatization and too many tourneys), only time can tell where the sport is going to end up in the country! I am being optimistic and am keeping my fingers crossed…

Bachelors and Bachelor’s parties

The good thing about working in the IT/ ITES sector is the fact that one gets to work with a very young crowd. Not that I am too old myself, but, in spite of being in my late 20’s, there are days where I often end up behaving like a person just out of teenage, thanks to the kind of crowd I interact with. It is fun of a different nature altogether. When I say young crowd, it definitely has to be one that consists of unmarried people. In spite of majority of the crowd in office belonging to the fairer sex, I have been lucky to be part of teams which have been male- dominated. This fact takes me to the subject of this post- Bachelors and bachelor’s parties. I have always believed that the best phase in a man’s life is the one where he has completed his studies, started employment and has started earning. It is that stage in life where you are not really accountable to anyone or responsible for anything other than your own life. It is sad that this stage lasts only for a very few years and knowing this, most of the bachelors make the most of out this short- sweet stage in life. Right now, I am in the middle of such a group and am enjoying myself to the core. Weekend meetings, lunches, movies, gupshup, the works. It has been more than 2 years since I have been with a group like that and slowly one after the other; the members are getting into matrimony. A bachelor tying the knot means a party for all the other party animals. I have attended a couple of such parties earlier, but the one I attended recently (thrown by 2 of my colleagues who are getting married shortly) was really memorable, for the venue of the party was a boat. It was fun hanging out with a group of like minded people in a boat and cruising along the backwaters of Kochi singing, dancing and making merry! To add to the fun, it also started raining and all of us had to gather into the small compartment within the boat to save ourselves from the rain. The backwaters of Kochi were looking their best drenched in the rain, with greenery and water all around!!! To start with the party was thrown by two of my colleagues turned best friends and I was extremely happy for both of them getting into matrimony. Add to that, the venue, the fabulous crowd that turned out and the rains, it really was a cruise that was mind blowing! The kind that will stay with you for a long time to come, at least till I come across the next bachelor’s party :-)

Trip to Pondicherry

Pondicherry is one place that I have been longing to visit ever since I studied about Pondicherry in school. Well, that was a good old 20 years back. Finally, here was that day when I could fulfill a wish that has been lying at the back of my mind for almost 2 decades. We started out (me, my sister and 2 cousins) from Chennai to Pondicherry on the newly commissioned Dindivanam Highway. The beginning of the journey itself was very fascinating considering the extent of planning and detailing that has went into the laying of the Highway. It is one of its kinds; I haven’t seen such a well laid road in any other part of India that I have traveled to. It passes through quite a few remote areas. However, the highway maintains its width all along and can easily be compared to the free ways one finds in the US. Finally, it was Pondicherry for us and we went straight to the beach side. The clean yellow sand, the mighty rocks and the calm sea soothes you no end and what makes the beach in Pondicherry unique is its cleanliness. The Gandhi smriti mandap and the old bridge that extends into the sea add to its charm. You have the well laid promenade across the beach with all major government offices and the posh hotels and restaurants lining it. We also visited the Samadhi of Aurobindo and Mother and the ashram at Auroville. The famed Ganapathy temple is a must- visit and the elephant at the temple that wears silver anklets in its front feet is a sight that one can never forget. For lovers of nature, there is the neatly maintained and extremely tranquil park and for those of you interested in getting deep into the history of the city, there is the museum on Pondicherry. Both are good enough to spend some time on. We also had a walk across a few of the streets of Pondicherry that still carries that unique French touch. The buildings that have stood the test of time seem to stress on the wonderful era of French colonialization and bear testimony to the rich history of Pondicherry. The wide and well laid streets with imposing colonial structures on both its sides are definitely a sight to see. Another thing that interests you is the cosmopolitan crowd that frequents the city. You have a microcosm of the world unfolding in front of you with inhabitants from all parts of the city visiting Pondicherry throughout the year, thanks to its stable climate. Everyone is busy with their own stuff and no one is bothered about what the other person is doing. Looks like everyone wants to take his/ her share of tranquility that the city has to offer.

If a peaceful getaway is your idea of a perfect holiday, Pondicherry is the place for you. The sun, the sand, the beaches and the remnants of a bygone era that Pondicherry has to offer will stay with you for quite a period of time after your visit.

Romancing Chennai

I have professed my love for Kochi in particular and Kerala in general, earlier itself. Apart from Kerala, the only other South Indian city that has fascinated me is Bangalore. I have always had apathy towards Chennai. Not that I have visited the city very often or have spend significant time in the city. It was more because of what I had heard about the city- oppressive climate, lack of adequate water and lack of cleanliness! In spite of the fact that I have had many friends who swear by Chennai and also that I knew many families who had made Chennai their homes refusing to come back to Kerala or any other state they belonged to, I had this unexplainable indifference towards the city. All that was in for a change when I visited Chennai 2 weeks back for a short trip. I landed at the airport at around 7.30 in the morning and had to take a local train to Tambaram from the Thirisoolam station close to the airport. I had the first pleasant surprise that Chennai had to offer when I stepped out of the airport. The vast parking space, the wide, clean, smooth roads and the fly over that was under construction really impressed me. This was going to be my first stint with local trains in Chennai and I was surprised to no end at their efficiency and timeliness. Distances seem to be reducing within the massive city that Chennai had grown itself into. The next couple of days that I spent in and around Chennai was enough to completely remove my misconceptions about the city. The wonderful infrastructure (wide roads, massive flyovers- both complete and in progress), the shopping centres, the avenues of entertainment, the cleanliness- everything attracted me to no end. The excellent public transportation system both by rail and road and the accessibility to each and every corner of the city at any point of time during the day as well as the safety and security that the city offers (I could find women walking around all alone even at hours past 10 in the night) are really commendable. I found Chennai to be a city that is modern in its outlook and has a promising future ahead. But, what really sets it apart from a modern city, like Bangalore is the fact that Chennai still clings a lot to its traditions and all that makes the city unique. I am buoyant about the prospects of Chennai and in spite of the oppressive climate and shortage of water; the city definitely has a lot to offer to its inhabitants. I am really thankful to myself for having planned the trip to Chennai. It has really helped me come out of the misconceptions that I had about a wonderful city that has given life to its inhabitants and a lot of migrants from different parts of India! Hail Chennai!!!

Realization

It really helps when once in a while you come across situations in life that tells you clearly where you stand, more so, for cocky and over confident people like me. The recently concluded quiz programme at office informed me in very clear terms that I stand nowhere as regards my General Knowledge. I have always belonged to the category of people who doesn’t hesitate to plunge into any situation and encouraged by a few colleagues (my strong pillars of support) who think and work in a similar manner, I was one of the first participants to enroll for the quiz. The written test comprising of 20 odd questions was quite a shocker and it kinda told me in quite real terms that I stand nowhere. However, to my utter shock and surprise, I was selected to the semi- finals. The semi- final round had 5 teams of 2 members each and 3 of the teams were to be selected for the finals. The semi final round passed on without much ado. I could answer a few good questions and at the end of it, my team stood first. It was quite a confidence booster and I was eagerly looking forward to the finals. The day dawned and here I was, with my team mate, looking forward to battling it out with the best in office. The quiz started and within a couple of rounds, I clearly understood that it is high time I brush up my GK. My performance was hopeless and I really felt like hitting my head against the wall for the kind of bloopers I made. However, lady luck smiled on me in the form of a visual round that showed movie clippings from which the team members had to identify the movie. Here I was back in familiar territory and what helped me better was the fact that this was unfamiliar territory for the other team members. I scored royally in the round and finally, managed to win the quiz! It, however, is definitely not about winning or losing, but it is about what I have realized from the whole exercise- that I need to really brush up my GK and that I need to spend more time reading newspapers and periodicals carefully, that I need to really understand what is going on in the world around me… I had been quite a good quizzer during my school days- I had enjoyed every part of it. I feel it more of a responsibility to do well in such activities as I move forward as well. I am thankful that something like this happened to me which has caused realization to dawn on me. I am looking forward to getting myself more acquainted with the happenings around me. I should understand where I stand when I take up my next quizzing which I hope happens sometime in the near future. Till then, I am keeping my fingers crossed…

The sorry state of Indian English writing

Having a student of English literature at home was a real motivator for me to re- start reading, a habit that I had left behind in my school days. I had not read much of Indian English authors while I was in school and hence, I thought I should do something different during my second spell at reading. I started focusing completely on Indian English authors, a fact the regular readers of my blog would have understood by now. I am also working towards creating my own library and this lands me in a bookshop at least once in a month. I started out with R K Narayan, tried out different kinds of authors ranging from Chetan Bhagat to Nisha Minhas to Tushar Raheja. During my recent trip to a bookshop only did I come to realize something common about all recent best sellers of Indian English writers- they are all the same!!! It was not very long ago that India boasted about a handful of Indian English writers who had done the country proud. We still have a few classic writers- Vikram Seth, Anitha and Kiran Desai, Arundathi Roy, Shashi Tharoor, Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, the list goes on… However, the new generation of writers who have recently cropped up seem to have only one theme to offer- life and love on the different campuses of India. Chetan Bhagat successfully started the trend with the very enjoyable “Five Point Someone”. These days, there are many others who follow suit. I did manage to read through Tushar Raheja’s Anything for you Ma’am. But, I was really taken aback at the number of titles on display at the bookshop that deal with love stories in the celebrated campuses of India like JNU, the IIT’s and the IIM’s. I am in a serious quandary- don’t the Indian English writers have better subjects to choose from? Are they all interested only in providing anecdotes about college life and college romance in light hearted manner? Don’t they have anything else to write about? Is it that the new generation of Indian English writers doesn’t have adequate experience to base their plots on different stuff? Most importantly, who do have among the new generation of writers who is going to carry forward the reputation left behind the ageing stalwarts of Indian English writers? As I am asking these questions myself and posting them herein, as things stand now, I really don’t have an answer myself to any of these. The popularity and the huge amount of royalty that Chetan Bhagat took home have definitely influenced many aspiring writers to break the mould and come out. However, in the pursuit for name, fame and wealth, there definitely should not be a compromise on the variety of themes that can be offered to readers, especially by writers of a country that boasts of a rich culture, tradition and diversity. It is also the duty of readers and publishers to encourage anyone who comes up with something novel and thus, put an end to the redundancy that is slowly creeping into the field of Indian English writing. All I can do at this point of time is to look towards the future hopefully for that change agent who, I hope, will take the market by storm, very soon!

Hopefully yours,

Book Review: Anything for you, ma’am

Tushar Raheja’s Anything for you, ma’am is a national best seller that deals with the love story of an IIT- ian- Tejus. Tushar himself is an alumni of IIT, Delhi and his book is inspired by his own life and those of his friends at the IIT. Anything for you, Ma’am is a racy romance that whizzes past at supersonic speed. It is highly influenced by Chetan Bhagat’s Five point someone as well as quite a few Bollywood romances, but Tushar has brought in a breezy style of narration that keeps you hooked to the book. Tejus, an IITian in Delhi is in love with his sister’s friend, Shreya, who is in Chennai and wants to bunk his industrial tour to Pune to be with his lady love for at least some time. The plots and the sub plots that he hatches with this end in view and how successfully or unsuccessfully he comes out of each of them is what the book is all about. As I wrote earlier, Tushar has a very good narrative style, only thing is that he goes slightly overboard at times by becoming too wordy about somethings- so much so that you really want the author to stop the non sense and go ahead with the plot. The story and its treatment is so Bollywood- ish and borrow generously from its mindlessness and non- believability. There are coincidences galore towards the end of the story and one cannot help wondering whether such things can really happen in one’s life. It definitely is to Tushar’s credit that he still manages to keep the reader’s interest afloat with his warm, lucid and humorous style. However, at the end of it all, one does feel that a length of 230 pages was not really required for a plot as silly and pedestrian as this. I would not call this one great, but it would still qualify for a “Time pass” read!

Book Review: Thanalidam

I have always been a great fan of Padmarajan- the eternal romantic who could come up with novel plots and handle almost anything well. His oeuvre of films stand testimony to this fact and they have rightfully stood the test of time. I still believe Padmarajan’s death was a major loss to the Malayalam film industry- the kind that has created a void which no one will be able to fill at any point of time in future. It is this unabashed attraction to Padmarajan that made me choose Thanalidam to read. Thanalidam is the first work of fiction by Radhalekshmy- Padmarajan’s wife who had released her memoirs on Padmarajan titled “Padmarajan Ente Gandharvan” Thanalidam is the story of a Nair family that focuses on the ladies in the family and is set somewhere in the Valluvanadan milieu. It deals with the lives of a few characters from the family- Leela, Seetha, Malathy and Meenakshy- their lives, relationships, ups and downs in life. The good thing of the novel is that it does not limit itself to one character as its protagonist- all the four ladies have equal significance to the plot and the narrative shifts back and forth between the lives of all of them. Radhalakshmy has a good style of writing, but she often borrows from M T Vasudevan Nair. The very premise of the story- the feudal Nair nalukettu based in the Valluvanadan area- sounds straight out of an MT novel/ script. One also gets the feel of Radhalakshmy being influenced by “Thinkalazcha Nalla Divasam”- that unforgettable Padmarajan movie that extracted a sure shot award winning performance out of Kaviyoor Ponnamma.

In spite of all of the above, Thanalidam still manages to hold your interest and that is really what matters!

Book Review: Avashyamillatha Achhanammamar

Aavashyamillatha Achhanammamar by Raghunath Palery is a collection of two short stories. Raghunath Palery is known more as a script writer than a story writer and he has been the brain behind some of the money spinners of Malayalam cinema like Meleparambil Aanveedu, Sasneham and Onnu muthal Poojyam vare. Raghunath has always followed his mind and has over years, developed a style of his own. His style of writing is quite on the face and is free from the excess baggage that is carried by the so called “intellectuals” in Malayalam cinema and literature. Probably, this is what sets him apart. Add to this, his light hearted style of writing and simple and lucid language- you get to read and see stuff that is easy on your senses. The first short story- Avashyamillatha Achanammamar- focuses on the life of a teenage girl born into a nuclear family in the city. Her parents have no time for her and her grandmother who used to be her confidante passes away. Unable to bear the lack of attention and loneliness at home, she runs away with the boy who supplies milk at home. She literally gets into a soup what with the boy having ulterior motives of selling her off to a brothel. But, the timely intervention of a family in the remote village in Tamil Nadu that she elopes to saves her and unites her with her parents. This is a theme that has quite often been dealt with in Malayalam literature, especially by short story writers, but what sets the story apart is Palery’s unique and simple style. His language is easy and it sucks you into the world of Mahalaxmi, the protagonist who wins your immediate sympathy. The second one- Pakalukalkku Nandi- does not quite match up with the first one. It is about lost love, loneliness and late realization. It depicts the love story of Hariprasad and Hema. In his pursuit towards wealth and well being, Hariprasad ignores Hema. By the time, he understands the value of Hema and her love in his life; it is too late for him. Pakalukalkku Nandi sounds familiar and is quite clichéd. It does not match up to Palery’s normal standards but is quite a good read in spite of its short comings. If you are interested in Malayalam literature and if short stories are your cup of tea, Aavashyamillatha Achanammamar is a good, quick read!

Book Review: Salt and Sawdust

Like I had mentioned earlier, I have always been a great fan of R K Narayan. An Indo- Anglian writer who could come out with a style of his own and who could write in a manner that could appeal to all- he still remains unique and I strongly believe there cannot be another Indian writer ever who could get into his shoes. Salt and Sawdust is a collection of short stories and essays by the celebrated author- all written in his own simple, humorous style. The stories- Salt and Sawdust and Guru- are extremely interesting. The first one deals with a housewife who is so bad at cooking that she cannot differentiate between salt and sawdust. She spends all her time writing a book and ironically, finds herself the author of a best selling cookery book, thanks to ample support from her husband, an expert cook. The second one- Guru deals with a miserly old man who cares only about money, not even bothering about his wife and daughters and how in his old age, he finally pays the price for all his miserly misdeeds. The writer then takes us to what he calls a new form of writing- Table Talk. Apparently, this was a term coined during one of his discussions with N Ram, Editor of Frontline and deals with matters of the kind one generally discusses over the coffee table with one’s friends. These are small essays on sometimes relevant and otherwise, frivolous topics- all dashed with R K Narayan’s brand of subtle humor. The choice of topics for his essays are an eclectic mix- if some deals with Narayan’s own experiences in various lands- Frankfurt, Manila and US of A; there are some that deal with his apathy towards forcing Hindi upon south Indians, especially during the advent of Doordarshan. If there is one that deals with the life of Magsasay, there is another that pokes fun at the corrupt ministers in the country. Salt and Sawdust does not belong to the intellectual reading category, but it definitely is the best bet when you have nothing else to do. It is rocket fast and brings a smile on your lips!

Nippon Vanitha Film Awards

The months of January- March in any year are the months of film awards. Up north, we have the Star Screen Awards and the Filmfare Awards to look forward to. Lesser known entities like Stardust Awards also exist. But an industry that is catching up with Bollywood as far as distribution of awards is concerned is definitely the Malayalam film industry. It started with the Asianet Film Awards in January. Vanitha has followed it up with the Nippon Vanitha Film Awards which were distributed in Kochi sometime in February. Surya TV rose to the occasion and telecasted the distribution of Vanitha Awards on the evening of 30 March. As expected, Mammootty and Meera Jasmine bagged the top honors. Mohanlal was adjudged the most popular actor. Vinodayathra won Sathyan Anthicaud the best director award while Katha Parayumbol bagged the best film award. Innocent and Samvrutha bagged the awards in the supporting category. Kalabhavan Mani and Suraj Venjarammodu were adjudged best villain and best comedian respectively. Anil Panachooran and M Jayachandran scored in the music category while veteran K J Yesudas and newbie Shwetha Mohan were adjudged the best singers. Bhama won the award for the most promising debut while Manoj Pillai was adjudged the best cameraman. There were enough for the audience in terms of entertainment. Dance performances by Shwetha Menon, Koena Mithra, Isha Sharvani and Sada were not very impressive. However, Karthik, Stephen Devassy, Chithra Iyer, M G Sreekumar, Rimi Tomy and Shaan enthralled the viewers with their vocals. Comedy skit by Sooraj Venjarammoodu and team evoked a few good laughs while Sujatha and Shwetha took the audience on a trip down memory lane by singing good old melodies of the past which were made immortal by P Leela, P Susheela, Madhuri, Vani Jayaram and S Janaki. In total, the event was well staged and well timed. The Manorama group proved it once again that they are professionals when it comes to staging events of this nature!

Filmfare Awards Night

The much awaited Filmfare Awards Night was finally telecast on Sony Entertainment Television and here I was all excited to watch the most popular Bollywood awards! As expected, it was Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan who were roped in as the MC’s. They had done a fine job, way back in 2003 and last year, SRK almost got into trouble when he made an irreverent comment on Amar Singh. However, Filmfare Awards 2008 turned out to be an affair to remember in terms of the irreverence of the MC’s. They did not leave even a single person out. Everyone from Katrina Kaif to Salman Khan to Akshay Kumar to Sanjay Leela Bhansali to Amar Singh to Aamir Khan to Vidya Balan were ridiculed! It all started in good fun but half way through one did sense that both the Khans were crossing the limits at some points! The Saif- Kareena affair was highlighted like no one else’s business. John and Bipasha stuck to each other and proved to the world that they are still a couple. Ranbir Kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Deepika Padukone were seen smiling out of their newly gained star status. Rekha looked radiant in her Kancheepuram saree. Riteish Deshmukh looked happy, Vidya Balan’s wardrobe woes continued, Aamir Khan was absent as usual, Priyanka Chopra looked chic and Darsheel Zafary was the cynosure of all eyes. Viveik Oberoi made an appearance on the stage after a long time, Deepika Padukone danced to her OSO songs, Akshay Kumar had a great time doing his martial arts- meets- dance routine. Kareena Kapoor looked ravishing while performing to her JWM numbers. The Bachchans were conspicuous by their absence. Kajol, Rani Mukherji, Preity Zinta and Urmila Matondkar were the other award function regulars who were not seen. Tabu looked mesmerizing and preferred not to thank anyone for her Best Actress Critics Award. Rishi Kapoor was rightly honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The event was a star studded affair as normal and fulfilled whatever was expected of it. It really was an instance of “Taare Zameen Par” and the film along with Chak De India bagged quite a handful of honors. It was an event I was looking forward to and turned out to be worth the wait!

Anjaathey: Daring, Honest, Effective

At a time when Malayalam Cinema is struggling to come out of the mediocrity that it is deep rooted in, winds of change are blowing in Tamil Cinema. A large part of the credit for this should go to the welcome addition of young actors and technicians who are consolidating their position with every passing film of theirs. Mysskin is one director who hogged a lot of limelight with his maiden venture; the super duper hit “Chithiram Pesuthadi”. The movie was hailed as a purely director’s film which dealt with the age old story of reforming the ways of the leading man, but was told sensibly, sensitively and in a manner that was totally different from anything that was seen before in Kollywood. With his second offering “Anjaathey”, Mysskin proves that Chithiram was no shot in the arm. “Anjaathey” is the story of two friends- the carefree and happy go lucky Sathyavaan (Narain) and the very focused and hardworking Kirupakaran (Ajmal Ameer). Sathya and Kirupa are sons of police constables (M S Bhaskar and Livingston play the fathers respectively) and have grown up together in a colony. Kirupa is in love with Thara, Sathya’s sister. Kirupa’s sister, Uthra (Vijayalekshmy) holds the torch for Sathya. Kirupa is leaving no stone unturned to clear the Sub Inspector selection test while Sathya spends time with his friends in drinking and making merry. A chance incident at a bar introduces Sathya to Lokanathan (Pandiarajan) and his associate, Daya (Prasanna). Sathya invites them to a celebration at their colony and catches Daya while trying to molest Uthra. Sathya locks horns with Daya and earns his father’s wrath. Sathya decides that enough is enough and he also joins Kirupa in taking the Sub Inspector exam. Sathya clears the hurdles through recommendation from his uncle who is the Personal Assistant to a Minister while Kirupa loses out in the race. This causes a major rift between the two friends. A couple of years later, one finds Sathya as an honest and upright cop while Kirupa has taken to full time drinking out of disillusionment with life. At this juncture, Mysskin turns his attention to the kidnappers who take the Chennai city by storm. Their modus operandi is that they will kidnap teenage girls belonging to affluent families for ransom and would exchange the girls for money after sexually assaulting them a couple of times. Sathya is engaged in the trail of this gang and he manages to identify Lokanathan and Daya, the perpetrators of the crime. In the meantime, Daya befriends Kirupa and manages to pull him into the world of crime thus putting Sathya in a complete quandary. Whether Sathya fulfills his duties as an honest cop or whether he tries to save his friend from the world of crime is what the rest of the movie is about. The best thing about Anjaathey is that it cannot be classified as belonging to a genre. It is totally different from any other tamil movie made ever. It starts as a warm tale of friendship, proceeds to depict an honest cop and finally ends up showcasing a few cold blooded men engaged in the heinous crime of sexual harassment of women. The screenplay meanders from one aspect to the other effortlessly and at no point, the viewer feels exhausted or lost. Mysskin is adept as a director as well, what with his minimalist shots conveying more than words. There is very little verbose especially when the villains are projected and surprisingly, Daya remains largely in the background while the character’s shadow looms large in every frame creating resentment and bitterness in the viewer against him. Anjaathey is purely a director’s film and Mysskin is the most self- indulgent director to storm Kollywood since K Balachander. Anjaathey moves at its own pace and has a running time of around 170 minutes. Mysskin also manages to put in specific incidents that bring out the characteristics of his leading men. Watch out for the scene where Sathya finds a badly injured man fighting with death on the road and how with the help of an old lady he tries to save him. Also of significance is the scene where Prasanna places a mirror in between Vijayalakshmy’s legs when she is changing her clothes across the door and watches the reflection on all fours exhibiting an erotic ecstasy that disturbs the viewer. There are also disturbing scenes like the one where the kidnapped girl wrapped in a lungi is pushed out of the jeep right in the middle of the road and Sathya rushes to her and covers her up with his shirt. Also of significance is the scene where a gangster is killed by the police in an encounter in the presence of his school going son. Mysskin clearly does not mind disturbing the viewer while explicitly bringing out the nuances of his characters. The technical departments support Mysskin in all his endeavors. The Art director does a wonderful job in keeping things real. Editing is razor sharp. The Cameraman has a field day especially in canning the climax. Sundar K Babu’s music enhances the mood of the narrative. Sound is of avant garde quality. Pandiarajan gets to do some acting 20 years after “Aan Paavam”. Only when you watch him play Lokanathan, do you realize how under utilized he was all these years. Vijayalekshmy is an actress to watch out for, her unconventional looks and her unique acting style stands her out from the rest of the cast. M S Bhaskar and Livingston prove that they are regarded as veterans for no reason. The chocolate faced Prasanna has taken a big risk by accepting the role of Daya, who sparks hatred in the minds of the viewers from the very first scene. His characterization is clever and he has been given very little dialogues. His styling and costumes add to the villainy of his character. Prasanna does a clean sweep during the climax. This is one performance that the actor can really be proud of and will be remembered till the fag end of his career. Ajmal Ameer makes a confident debut in Tamil cinema as Kirupakaran. The handsome and talented young man takes to the role like no one else’s business and comes up trumps with it. This is easily the best debut in the past 10 years and Ajmal proves that he is here to stay. Narain breathes fire into the role of Sathiyavan. The earnestness and sincerity with which the actor performs needs to be seen to be believed. The actor has gone out of shape to do justice to his character and he maintains the graph of his character effectively. From over the top to subtle to honest, Sathiyavan passes through a gamut of emotions which has been effectively portrayed by Narain. He should be specially complemented for his excellent dialogue delivery. To sum up, Anjaathey is not the kind of film that puts you at ease. It is crude, gruesome and disturbing; but it is definitely an honest and daring attempt by a group of youngsters, who with adequate support and encouragement can very well rewrite the fate of Tamil cinema in the years to come. Definitely, an effort that needs to be encouraged and supported!