Busy Weekends ahead...

I am not sure when I will be able to put up another post on this blog of mine (BTW, this is my 150th post in 2008- 150 over a 10 month period which averages to 15 per month- not bad for someone like me I suppose)

I generally update my blog during weekends (as anyone might have guessed from all those dates) but the next 2 weekends are gonna be busy since I will be traveling out of my hometown to attend a wedding and an engagement (well, I am at that stage in life where everyone around me is getting married and if I say I am busy over a weekend, it will definitely have to do with someone's marriage!)

To start with, my father's first cousin (the last among all his first cousins) is getting married next Sunday at Guruvayoor. There are reasons galore to attend this one- the wedding is at the temple town of Guruvayoor which I dont remember when I visited last; it is the last wedding in a generation and third and most important, the entire family will be attending it (my father has a massive set of cousins- they are in hundreds, you know!)

The week after that a very close relative of ours is getting engaged at Palakkad! The guy who is getting engaged is a dentist by profession and is of the same age as I (a point that many are going to reiterate at the engagement, but I am simply not interested!). I am very fond of this guy and that is the reason why I am planning to attend the function. The travel, the food and the meet and greet sessions at both these functions are definitely going to take their toll on me and so I am not expecting myself to post anything on to the blog for the rest of October! Hopefully, I will have quite a few interesting stories to post in November and yes, I will definitely write about Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan's "You are Here" which is what I am reading right now!

Ciou and lets catch up in November (or rather, as early as I can!)

Looking forward to Toronto!

I am likely to visit Canada for the third time; probably later this month or in early November. It is another work related trip and it will be to the same city of Halifax. Visiting any city thrice over a period of one year would not be an exciting idea for anyone more so when the city is as small as Halifax! However, I am looking forward to my trip to Canada this time around because if I am lucky I might be able to spend a weekend at Toronto, a city which I have not explored beyond its airport!

Well, V, a good friend and school mate of mine has landed in Toronto for a good 6 month stay (work related, need I say) and if I am lucky enough to take a break at Toronto on my way back, I will have V for company to explore the city. I am particularly excited about visiting the Niagra falls and the CN Tower. Add to that the many malls, museums and the artificial beach; traveling around in subways a la New York and opportunities to shop and dine- there are reasons galore to visit Toronto.

It remains to be seen whether my travel takes place as planned, whether I get permission to break my trip at Toronto for 3 days and most importantly, whether V would be free to accompany me on my tour of the city- I really want this to happen but all I can do for the time being is keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best!!!

Staying over at a friend's!

I have always thought of myself as a friendly person. I would not say I keep in touch with every acquaintance in life regularly, but I do have my set of all time friends with whom I frequently keep in touch. We speak over the phone quite regularly, meet up whenever we can, go out for movies or dinners over weekends, wish each other on birthdays, chat on the internet whenever we can catch up, so on and so forth.

Only yesterday did I realize that in spite of having been friendly with some of the guys for a little more than 25 years, I have never really stayed over at a friend's place. The reason why I thought about this was because of two recent incidents- After our get together at M's place on Sunday, V decided to stay over at M's since it was too late for him to get back home; and yesterday a friend of my sister stayed over at our place! One thing is that I have never really had to stay over at a friend's- the only time I remember having done something like this was when I was in school. I had gone to a temple festival and stayed back till a little past midnight listening to the Ganamela which was quite a craze in those days. I was about to cycle back home and my friend's parents insisted that I should not be going back all alone. I had no other go but to stay over at my friend's that night. Not that it was tough, but somehow I have never really given myself a chance to do that again!

Another surprising factor is that I have never had a friend staying over at my place either. Worse, I have never invited anyone till date for spending the night at my place! It was and is still common for friends to sleep over at other's place but somehow it has never happened with me. May be it has all to do with the fact that I am very private when it comes to certain things and would always like my space to be strictly "mine". Not that I am worried! All that matters is that I still have a few good friends and either of us are not bothered about whether or not we have stayed over at each other's place...

Get togethers galore!

The feeling that you get when you meet up with old friends is beyond description. Of late, I have been experiencing this quite frequently and am enjoying it completely! Right now, I have 2 gangs that are expanding. One is the set of school friends I have in and around Kochi. We were all together in school and have literally grown up together. We are in professions as varied as Animation to Accounting to Aeronautics- but our alma mater runs as a common thread connecting us all. I would be wrong if I say that we had been completely out of touch at one point of time, but that said, there was a certain distance that had crept up, largely due to everyone being busy with their own respective professions. It all bounced back to old days when K returned to Kochi. K, an aeronautical engineering and an aviation management graduate works for a famous IT company at Kochi. He was instrumental in bringing all of us back together and thats when I realized that we have quite a big group over here- M, an accountant who works for a telecom company; P, a practizing criminal lawyer; G, who works for a machine tool manufacturing company; M2 who works for an engineering company and visitors from other cities like S, G2 and V who work for IT companies in Bangalore and G3 who works as an animator in Mumbai! As they say, the more the merrier. We are an enthusiastic bunch now and make it a point to meet up at least once every month for dinner! With the visitors from other cities, it becomes even more fun as we experienced recently at one of our do's. We would solely miss the overpowering presence of D though, who has recently moved to Muscat.

That is not all my dear readers. I have one more group which is my college group. We bonded with each other over some interesting and some not-so-interesting accounting and business topics while in college. The group is no less strong than the previous one. The active members apart from yours faithfully are- M who works for a yarn company; K who works for a stock broker: J who works for a housing finance company; V- the HR guy and A- the cartoonist. At least 3 of us meet up once in 2 weeks or we keep dropping at each other's homes if not to catch a movie, then to go out for dinner. Things got bigger last Friday when we all decided to meet up at M's place (his parents were away) and we had S1, S2, S3 and C for company- 4 girls who studied with us- 2 of them with their kids and 2 of them with their respective husbands- and all of us together had a whale of a time- thanks to M whose wonderful idea it was! I was meeting the girls after almost a decade and it was nice and sportive of their husbands either to accompany them and join the merriment or to allow them to attend these parties. The point is that we had a great time and we parted that night promising everyone else that we would have more such events in future as well. Here is looking forward to more ...after all, these get togethers refresh and re energize me like nothing else :-)

Happenings around...

Its been a while since I wrote anything about what is happening around me. My 3 week trip to Canada put me at a complete loss and it took me a good deal of time to get back. I do go through the daily ritual of reading the newspaper which has now become absolutely a ritual. Come on, is there anything interesting that is happening around us? Sample these:

• After all that hype and hoopla, the Nuclear Agreement has finally been signed by Pranab Mukherji and Condolezza Rice. Thank God! Honestly, I dont understand how it is going to benefit us or work against us. I really wanted this Hyde Act and 123 to stop once and for all considering the amount of print space and air time the issue has been hogging for the past many months!!!Either it had to be signed or it had to be abandoned and thankfully for all of us, one of these have happened. Honestly, I dont think signing an agreement would matter to such a great extent since the ministries change not only in India but also in the US and it would not be that difficult for either governments to rescind the contract at a later date if it, as a whole or in parts, stands to adversely affect the interest of either country. This is what I believe and the point here is that it is all over!
• Border- Gavaskar Trophy: Now the first test at Bangalore is being projected as if it is the last game of cricket played between India and Australia. The teams are also doing their best to keep the suspense going. The scoreboards change sides like the BSE Sensex and enthusiasts of the game world over are at a loss to understand how this is going to end up. All we can say is best of luck to Kumble and Ponting and their respective teams!
• The NANO "NO-NO" Story: It is good that finally someone has managed to make Ms. Mamata Banerjee eat humble pie. Last heard, the lady was crying that Singur should have industries. But, I dont think anyone would listen. Why do something like this against the TATA's- the most respected and reverred industrial group in the country? Anyways, if at the end of all this another industrial group decides to invest in West Bengal, Buddhadeb and Mamata can thank their stars. Based on what I see, Modi's stars are shining bright and I would not be surprised if he ends up being the Prime Minister of the country
• Kandhamal, Bajrang Dal, Mangalore Episodes clearly tell us that a "sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic" exists only in school text books. I remember clearly how I used to learn the meaning of each of these terms by heart when I was in Class 6 or something. The chapter in question was Indian Constitution (These days, one has to be extremely careful while mentioning about chapters in school textbooks, remember "Mathamillatha Jeevan" controversy in Kerala?) which today stands reduced to a mere legal document. These days, even "Letters to the Editor" columns of newspapers are filled with fierce opinions from Christians and Hindus on whether or not forced conversion to Christainity exists. When one reads through all this, one clearly understands that there is no point blaming the politicians who use communalism as a weapon for vote bank politics. If the people of the country are divided on matters as trivial as caste, community and religion, why would not anyone take advantage of these issues? Looks like things have cooled down a bit after what transpired with the poor nun in Orissa. Lets hope that things get clear very soon!
• Sainthood of Sister Alphonsa: At the end of all this, there is something good also happening for the small state of Kerala and that is the canonization of Sister Alphonsa to sainthood. Sister Alphonsa who lived a short life of just 36 years was the epitome of kindness, sacrifice and love. Post death, her intervention resulted in miraculous cure of many diseases of children and that is the reason why she was canonized. First (Indian) woman and second Indian to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, Saint Alphonsa will continue to live in the hearts of millions and hopefully, continue to create miracles in the lives of many a little things...

Book Review: Kuruthi

If you guys are wondering which one is this, let me tell you at the very outset- dont panic if you have not heard about this one! Kuruthi is a one act play by a certain Mr. K L Antony of Cherthala. It was published in 1966 and from then on, the author claims, it is being played at schools, colleges as well as atinter school and inter collegiate competitions. The author himself was selling the book door to door and the only reason why I thought I would write about it is because I did not find it half bad!

The plot is simple- Kuruthi is the story of Lazar- a petty thief and his children- Joy and Jessy. Joy is miffed with the system and has turned totally negative because he knows that his father is a thief. Jessy is a school going student who is accused of theft in school. Lazar and his family survive at the mercy of Kasim Muthalali. His son, Rahim holds a torch for Jessy. Things take an ugly turn when Kasim Muthalali tries to evict the family from his property and with Jessy being labelled a thief in school. The father- son duo misunderstand the teenaged girl and before Sreedharan master arrives on the scene to clear the air, Jessy commits suicide unable to bear the injustice meted out on her.

In a way, Kuruthi raises its voice against oppression of the downtrodden and the wily ways of the society in the 60's. It is completely anti- establishment and has strong communist overtones. A plot like this might not be relevant today but the one act play has moments of tenderness and some very strong dialogues. It is written in a school drama style and can be considered even today for a stage adaptation at school level.

Kuruthi is published by Kalakendram, Kundannoor.

Book Review: Perilla Prashanangal

Chandramathy- the reputed writer from Kerala presents yet another gem in the form of "Perilla Prashanangal" (Nameless issues)- a collection of essays penned by the writer for "Malayalam Pathram"- a Malayalam daily published from New York.

It is difficult to slot this book into a category since it is a collection of articles that appeared in the weekly column of a newspaper. However, each of these have been written from the vast experience of the writer- a teacher by profession- and clearly highlight her outlook towards life- sometimes you see Chandaramathy as a concerned citizen, sometimes you see her as a compassionate human being and at other times as a confused mother, but what binds these articles together is her sincerity- both in her approach towards issues as well as in putting them down in words.

The book starts with the problems she faced with her psuedonym and how it ruffled a few feathers in the beginning. One can see the human side of the writer when she writes about her experiences with a problem kid in college, her relationship with the inhabitants of an old age home she frequently visits and her interaction with a chat friend over internet. She looks at the generation gap in literature, the widespread Beauty Parlor mania and the criminalization of politics with the eyes of a concerned citizen. Her motherly instincts and family values come clearly to the fore when she worries about the future of her daughter and her friends. She has also shared her vast experience as a writer visiting various parts of the country and the world and her apathy towards the so- called "Intelligentia" in the Malayalam literary circle.

What strikes you most about Chandramathy's prose is its sheer sincerity. There is no effort taken to intellectualize things. Instead, she puts her ideas forward in clear, simple and understandable language. There is not even an iota of pretensiousness that one associates with writers when they turn columnists and that is a big relief for the reader! Perilla Prashanangal is a good read, entertaining and thought provoking at the same time...

Book Review: 19, Canal Road

Women with good sense of humor are as rare as ripe mangoes in winter. More so when it comes to Malayalam literature. Or so I thought till I grabbed a copy of 19, Canal Road by Sreebala K Menon who is famous these days as Assistant Director to Sathyan Anthicaud, the celebrated Malayalam film maker.

19, Canal Road are the memoirs of the author during her life in Chennai as a paying guest and the title of the book is rightly sourced from the address in Chennai at which the author used to live. When one says Memoirs, there is nothing philosophical about Sreebala's writings. Instead, her joltings have more to do with her keen sense of observation and understanding of the psyche of the average Tamilian. This, coupled with the cultural differences between Tamilians and Malayalees and the breezy and subtly humourous language that Sreebala uses in her prose make 19, Canal Road an interesting read!

Starting with the author's hunt for hostels to how she ends up at 19, Canal Road and progressing with the stories of the interesting set of people she meets- her room mate's love affair with the next door grocer's son, to her computer classes to Jayanthi, the servant girl and her love story; to Kanna mami and her dogs; to the old mama visiting from Denmark; to Anandham Mami; to the American kids; to Shakeela on the train- Sreebala draws up one interesting anecdote after other and in the process takes us through the stories of all her acquaintances in Chennai- all this not even with a gentle touch of exaggeration!

As writer- director- actor Sreenivasan remarks in his preface, Sreebala has the ability to dig deep into the minds of fellow human beings and take out everything that they have hidden up there. Add to this, her free flowing vocabulary and endearing narrative style- 19, Canal Road is a winner and it is for no reason that Sreebala was honored with the Kerala Sahithya Academy Award for this one! Go for it...

A Sorry Script!

Making tall claims is an art one should learn from the humble filmmakers in Kerala! Agreed, Renjith is creditted with some gems - Oru Maymasappulariyil, Peruvannapurathe Visheshangal, Devasuram and Kaiyyoppu to name a few. But, that does not mean you can forgive each and every mistake he makes- be it Neelagiri, Pradeshika Varthakal, Ravanaprabhu, Valiyettan, Mizhi Randilum, Black, Prajapathy, Rock n Roll...and definitely not mistakes that are made in the garb of meaningful cinema like "Thirakkatha".

"Thirakkatha" starts off as an attempt at path breaking cinema. It is about a young filmmaker, Akbar Ahmad (Prithviraaj) who has made his first superhit film without any superstars and is in the process of scripting for his second film while also running a coffee shop- Casablanca- with friends and the love of his life- Devayani (Samvrutha Sunil). A meeting with superstar Ajayachandran (Anoop Menon) sets him thinking about Malavika (Priyamani), an acclaimed actress of the 80's and Ajayachandran's estranged wife, who has been out of news for quite some time. Akbar plans his next film on their relationship and starts out with meeting producers, directors and actors of the 80's to understand what happened in the lives of Ajayan and Malavika.

The interesting plot has been translated well on to the screen for more than 75% of the running time. But what leaves you totally disappointed is the climax! After portraying Ajayachandran as a scheming person who would do anything to get ahead in life, Ranjith ends up glorifying the superstar in the last scene. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the character of Ajayan has been moulded on the two megastars of Malayalam Cinema- who happen to be regulars on Ranjith's movies. The superstar is even shown wearing a wig, leading an unhappy life and even sleeping around with his young heroines. All this is good but when some one like Ranjith stoops low to say that the superstar was ruined by his misunderstood ex- wife, it becomes a bit too much to take! The unshared secret here is nothing of the earth shattering kind and what remains an important question is why Ajayan never tried to locate Malavika in spite of knowing that she was fighting a deadly disease.

Ranjith through his protagonist, Akbar Ahmad takes a trip through the Malayalam film scene of the 80's and finally ends up making a movie as frivolous as the ones we got to watch in those times! In the bargain, Priyamani's talent and Anoop Menon's earnestness are wasted. As for Prithviraaj, one only feels sorry for the young actor (who looks malnourished, by the way) for having been reduced to a prop in a movie that is not going to be of any benefit to him whatsoever!!!

(S)he man Forever...

Things have reached a stage where if you want to watch a good Malayalam movie, you have to dig into your DVD Collection or depend on the sattelite channels to telecast one from the good old glorious days! Thus, it was on a lazy Saturday afternoon that I dished the CD of "Chandupottu" out of my private collection for some relief from the banal flicks that are playing out on the screens in Kerala these days.

Released in 2005, Chandupottu is a delightful love story- a tale that depicts the love that Malu (Gopika) has for Radhakrishnan (Dilip) often referred to as Radha, thanks to his effeminate ways. Things turn ugly for the couple when Kumaran (Indrajith), the local thug casts his eyes on Malu and starts plotting against Radha to eliminate him from the scene. How Radha survives and how he is united with Malu forms the rest of the plot.

On the surface, Chandupottu is no different from a regular love story. What makes it stand out is Dilip's portrayal of the effeminate Radha. Radha is brought up like a girl by his grandmother who always wanted a grand daughter and not a grand son. To add to this, Radha's father (Lal) is sent to prison for murdering a fellow fisherman (Anil Murali). Thus, his grand mother's affection coupled with his father's absence results in Radha growing up like a woman, learning dance and eventually ending up teaching dance to the girls in his village .

Benny P Nayarambalam, the scriptwriter is in fine form here. His character sketches are strong for a regular, commercial film. Radha's bringing up scenes have been done very well. Sending Radha's father, the only man in the family, to prison in the first reels itself is a clever master stroke on the part of the scenarist. Komban Kumaran and his scheming ways as well as the apathy shown by Kanaran, Radha's neighbour towards the family have come out real well. With Freddy, Rosy and Ammoomma joining the party in the second half (Biju Menon, Bhavana and Valsala Menon respectively), Chandupottu gets another major boost. How the threesome along with their Goan friends manage to instill confidence in Radha and (try to) change his feminine ways is a treat to watch.

But the strongest point in Chandupottu is that the movie ends with Radha being Radha. After the final showdown with Kumaran, Radha, Malu and their kid are shown walking together and even in that last scene, Lal Jose cleverly induces that feminine swing to Radha's body language making it very clear that no miracles happen in the lives of ordinary mortals.

Vayalar Sharath- Vidyasagar team come up with some beautiful lines and songs. Omanappuzha was a chart buster and Vineeth Sreenivasan scores high on this one. Chandu kudanjoru has its lines oozing sensuality and it has been picturized very suggestively, though aesthetically. Aazhakadalinte has S Janaki making a strong comeback after years.

Azhagappan's camera works magic. Never before has Gopika looked so beautiful. The color pattern that he uses for the scenes in Kerala and the richness with which he has canned the shots in Goa stand testimony to his vast talent. Renjan Abraham does a great job with his scissors. Sound, Art, Costumes, Make up and everything else work wonders!

As far as performances go, Chandupottu gave a big boost to the careers of Indrajith and Gopika. Lal, Sobha Mohan, Rajan P Dev, Koottikkal Jayachandran, Biju Menon, Bhavana, Valsala Menon and everyone else in the supporting cast have done justice to their respective roles. But, the film belongs totally and completely to Dilip. The actor puts his mimicry experience to good use but makes sure that his performance never goes overboard. The natural and spontaneous charm that Dilip lends to the character of Radha is unbelievable. It is really sad that the actor was not suitably rewarded by the various award jury in the state.

Lal Jose proves once again that he is all for variety and that he is equally at ease with all genres of film making. He exhibits a keen sense of picking up the right script and has to be congratulated for his perfect casting. Chandupottu is one film that will urge the viewers to forgive Lal Jose for his earlier mistakes like Randaam Bhavam, Pattalam and Rasigan!

Ladies Only!

It took 7 good years for Priyadarshan's "Rakkillippattu" (Song of the Nightingale) to see the light of the day. The ace director made this all- women affair in languages as varied as Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. Unfortunately, he suffers from this issue of making a multi-lingual out of South India. The film completely lacks in nativity. The girls are drawn from all over the country- you have Jothika , a Parsee teamed up with Sharbani Mukherji, a Bengali; Tabu who is from Andhra; Mita Vasisht from Maharashtra and so on and so forth. When all these pretty women converse in Malayalam on your screen with frightening lip movements, you feel sorry for the script and the producer. If things had fallen properly into place, Rakkillippattu could have been a well made thriller but the over ambitious Priyadarshan spoils it in the name of making a multi- lingual.

The plot revolves around the murder of a man that takes place on a college campus during the annual day and how 2 innocent girls are trapped in the whole affair. You have a tough she cop on the trail of the accused and a tougher she cop in disguise following the first mentioned she cop. At the end of it all, you have the first mentioned she cop being declared the murderer on the ground that she was taking revenge on the guy for having molested her sister who is now paralysed.

Priyadarshan starts it simple with your regular college and hostel fair- the masti by the girls gang at the hostel and the college, the strict and unfriendly warden, the gang wars between the girls and some real good songs tuned by Vidyasagar- all these play pretty well. But the movie as such loses much of its steam as it progresses towards the second half. The girls are all around the city still no one manages to catch them. There are no television or print ads issued by the police to catch the girls. And the whole sequence involving the escapade of the girls from the police station is sheer silliness!

Priyadarshan has managed to rope in actresses who know their jobs well- Tabu is good, so are Jothika, Sharbani, Ishita, Shweta Menon, Mita Vasisht, Lakshmy, Sukumari and KPAC Lalitha. But one cannot help wondering at the sheer amateurish treatment meted out to a plot that could have been fodder for some real good thriller. The cleverness of Priyadarshan, the director is evident in that one scene where Tabu tells the crowd of girls as to how women in India forgo their friendship when they enter into that rut of family life! Priyan deserves a pat on his shoulder for having conceived that one scene...the rest is very, very ordinary!

Dance of Doom

There is one thing that accompanies the Kerala State Film Awards every time they are announced- you guessed it right, controversies! We have actors, technicians, critics and members of the general public shouting from roof tops about the lack of credibility of the jury members and the non- sensical selection of awardees! There are evidences galore for the biassed decisions of the jury- when "Piravi" lost out to "Ore Thooval Pakshikal" in the best film category (1988 if I am right) or when Padmapriya lost out to Oorvashi in the best actress category (2005). If you want any more evidence, please watch "Rathrimazha" which was adjudged the second best feature film by the State Award Jury for the year 2006!

There is no denying the fact that "Rathrimazha' starts out on an interesting note- that of a love affair that blossoms over the internet. The female protagonist (Meera Jasmine- repetitive and getting on one's nerves) puts up a matrimonial ad on a website and she gets a response from handsome young man. They chat, e mail and exchange their thoughts only to fall in love. When things are going really well, the heroine realizes that her lover is a handicap. He happened to be a successful contemporary dancer who was his teacher's (Chithra Iyer in a frightening cameo) most favorite student. The teacher's husband (Lalu Alex playing a similar role for the umpteenth time) does not take it very lightly and conspires against the dancer. The result is an accident on the rehearsal stage which leaves our hero on the wheel chair for the rest of his life.

The heroine, being the idealist she is, still goes ahead with the wedding and things start moving out of control when the hero starts thinking that his wife is not happy and satisifed with him. Thereafter they discuss many things, try to do nice things to each other (he asks her to continue working and she takes him to his old dance school) and sing a couple of songs (listless compositions by Ramesh Narayan) but by then you completely lose interest in their lives. The dancer wants to stage a ballet with the help of his old friends and starts getting involved in that. He behaves as if he is ignoring his wife but in the meantime wants his best friend (Manoj K Jayan playing the compulsive flirt) to sleep with her. She is confused just like the hapless audience and in the end of it all, they realize their follies and come together. Sigh!

If I start listing the drawbacks of "Rathrimazha", I can go on and on and on! Lenin Rajendran has no clue about what he is doing with his script and camera. His direction is totally wrong. One wonders whether this film was edited at all! Photography and Art Direction are pleasing to the eyes. Musical score is a disappointment and the much acclaimed "Bansuri shruti" song turns out to be below average. Thanks to weak characterization, none of the actors strike a chord. Chithra Iyer is loud, Meera Jasmine is irritating and Vineeth is uninspiring. Diya of "Kurumbu" fame dances well and plays the only character in the movie that one can relate to. Even the dance sequences are not well executed. It is another mystery that the choreographers won the National Award!

"Rathrimazha" is said to be an adaptation of Chandramathy's short story "Website". Chandramathy, an unconventional writer, has always been acclaimed for the simplicity and lucidity of her essays and short stories. It is unfortunate that a director like Lenin Rajendran decided to mess up with a literary work of hers! "Rathrimazha" will definitely not be remembered by the audience- I dont know about Chandramathy and Lenin though!

Exercise in Excess!

A Rajnikanth movie always attracts a lot of pre publicity- the major reason being that the superstar graces the silver screen only once in a while and while he does so, he makes sure he has a great cast and crew to support him. With "Kuselan" (remake of the highly acclaimed Malayalam movie- "Katha Parayumbol"), the expectations were even higher. The Superstar was playing a rags-to-riches Superstar in the movie which is quite like his own story!

It had a great script to start with and when P Vasu, Prabhu, Nayanthara, Pashupathy, Meena, G V Prakash Kumar and the like joined the cast and crew with the backing of K Balachander and G P Vijayakumar as producers, the audience expected another magnum opus. Alas! Only when one watches the movie will one understand how big a disappointment Kuselan is!

This is purely a case of the "Super Star" image of the Super Star ruining what could have been a superb film. Unlike the Malayalam original which had Mammootty appearing for 20 minutes, Kuselan has Rajnikanth on screen for almost an hour and there is nothing material in the script for the star to perform. He is shown as an actor here and due to that reason, you cannot find him doing comedy, performing daring action sequences, but yes, he is shown romancing his lead actress in the movie- the hot n happening Nayanthara who these days is the favorite of Super Stars across all South Indian languages.

In the middle of all this, it is the plot that gets sidelined. Kuselan never really becomes the story of the barber that it purports to start with and due to this reason, Pashupathy and Meena, competent actors themselves, are not able to make an impact on screen. To add to your vows are Vadivelu and Livingston- the antics that they put in would put anyone to shame. One feels sorry for the degradation in the standards of Tamil Cinema and to think that even a Super Star movie requires double innuendos in the name of comedy!

Talking about degradation, one needs to mention Nayanthara in particular. The actor is in a bare- all mood and Arvind Krishna's camera shamelessly lingers on her bosom, bums, thighs and other unmentionable parts of her anatomy! The "chaaral" song which is pleasing to the ears (and the only song that is pleasing to the ears- a very bad job by G V Prakash Kumar here) gets highly irritating when you watch it on screen- first because it springs out of nowhere and second because of the camera which is all over Nayan!

In an effort to provide more screen time to Rajni, P Vasu messes up the script so much so that the emotional speech delivered by Rajni at the end does not touch you anywhere. It is such a hackeneyed script and the scenes progress without any connection with each other. Dialogues do not evoke any emotion, characters are card boardish and production design is fake. The Special Effects used while filming the "Sollamma" song irritates!

Money has been spent like water on what could have been a very simple movie and lots of talent have been wasted by casting competent actors in inconsequential roles (Geetha, Prabhu, Mamta Mohandas, Vijayakumar, Thyagu, O A K Sundar, Santhanabharathy, Manobala)- none of whom manage to make a mark. If things could have started with a well written script (the kind that Sreenivasan had with him), Kuselan would have been a remarkable film like "Katha Parayumbol". Stay away from this one. Katha Parayumbol for the 25th time will be infinitely more entertaining than Kuselan. Lets see what Priyadarshan makes out of "Billoo Barber"!

“Relative” Values

Your face lights up when one of the many husbands in the movie tells his subordinate that he might be a Bank Officer by profession but at home he is husband to his wife and it is his duty to help her out with household chores. The feeling is the same when the husband in the lead pair tells his wife that he is the happiest when he is able to nurse his wife during times of ill health. Or when he takes his wife to the pooja room and shows her the mirror and tells her that in his house, they believe that God is in everyone and that is the reason why they have hung the mirror in the Pooja room instead of photos of deities. You fall in love with the hero Nateshan’s sister (Devadarshini making a strong impact in a miniscule role) when Vishalakshy (Sneha) tells her that she is tense about the bride seeing ceremony considering the fact that she is going to meet a huge family and the sister very cleverly sends everyone away for the darshan at the temple and makes Sala meet the people in batches and eases her out- These remarkable scenes and the detailing that has gone into the characterization of each of the characters is what makes “Pirivom Santhippom” stand out.

Karu. Pazhaniyappan has always trodden a different path- he advocated that character matters more than looks in “Parthiban Kanavu”; he exhorted the youth to revolt against the political system through “Sivappathigaram” and at a time, when everyone is craving for their own “space” in life, Karu. Pazhaniyappan through the character enacted by Sneha is out to prove that the joint family system any days is better when compared to nuclear families!

His choice of subject and its treatment is both the plus and minus of this film- the theme is not really one that has enough scope to be made into a feature film; the movie focuses on its characters and their emotions so deeply that towards the second half of the film you feel it is not moving ahead at all. On the positive side is the director’s choice of actors who fit the bill perfectly and put in credible performances- Cheran is a delight to watch as he subtly underplays Nateshan and Sneha is the life of this movie- it requires remarkable courage for a mainstream, commercial female actor to appear in saris throughout a movie (the song sequences included) and that too with very little or even no make up!

Jayaram plays an interesting cameo- playful and serious at the same time. His endearing act as the doctor who understands Sneha’s predicament and the solutions and the insights from his own life that he offers Cheran makes even the young audience feel that may be Karu. Pazhaniyappan is right in saying that joint families are better! But will all joint families be able to carry forward the picture- perfect life as drawn by Karu. Pazhaniyappan is debatable and a difficult question to answer- and that pertinent question is what makes Pazhaniyappan’s concept a little difficult to digest!

Reincarnation Magic

Ever since commercial Bollywood cinema has been around, two themes have found favor with the audience over time- Separation and re union of lost brothers; and reincarnation. When one evaluates the reincarnation dramas of all times, Subhash Ghai’s 1980 classic “Karz” stands out- the reason being that it has little bit of everything- love, betrayal, death, reincarnation, Mother- son drama, Sister- brother drama, revenge, item number, haunting music, the works…

Karz is the story of an orphaned musician Monty Sharma (Rishi Kapoor) who falls for Tina (Tina Munim), an innocent school girl, at first sight and follows her to Ooty. As soon as he lands there, he starts getting hallucinations and dreams about his previous birth- a birth in which he was Ravi Verma (Raj Kiran), a rich heir who is betrayed by his lover- turned wife, Kamini (Simi Garewal). 21 years later, Monty finds Kamini as Rani Sahibaan, the owner of the palatial house and the Tea Estate that was owned by the Verma family earlier. He finds out Ravi’s mother (Durga Khote) and sister, and with the help of Kabira (Pran), a local thug, Monty finally manages to seek revenge for the death of Ravi Verma.

The story is ordinary and predictable; the direction is also nothing out of the world. What make the movie special are the performances and the supreme music (Anand Bakshi- Lakshmikant- Pyarelal and that inimitable Kishore Kumar!). Rishi Kapoor has this ability to make anything believable. He looks his best and is extremely camera- friendly! Giving him competition scene-by- scene, dialogue-by- dialogue, is Simi Garewal. Kamini is the character that Simi is being remembered for even after 28 years of its release and has sort of become a legendary vamp in the history of Bollywood!

And the songs- whether it is the haunting “Ek Hasina Thi”, the lilting “Dard- e- Dil”, the foot tapping “Om Shanthi Om” or the playful “Mein Solah Baras Ki”; the lyricist- music director- singer team have a ball and the audience is not complaining- not even after 28 years!!!

Karz is definitely a one of its kind movie which has been inspiring generations and generations of film makers (Farah Khan’s recent “OSO” being a perfect tribute to the movie). However, the sad part is that Satish Kaushik is now remaking Karz as “Karzzzz” with Himesh Reshammiya playing the lead! I am very sure that Kaushik will not be able to match up with Ghai and to even think that Himesh would fit into Rishi’s shoes is criminal! The silver lining is that Urmila Matondkar is playing Kamini, the role immortalized by Simi. It will be interesting to see how Urmila interprets and performs this most liked vamp of all times, but if that goes for a toss, there is every chance for the audience to go to sleep and that would justify the extra z’s in “Karzzzz”

Book Review: The Kite Runner

For starters, “The Kite Runner” is simply brilliant and what makes it even more special is the fact that it is Khaled Hosseini’s maiden effort as a writer! I don’t think there has been any other writer in the history of modern English literature (the history that I know of!) who has come up with such a marvelous first time effort! A story of friendship, brotherhood, betrayal, cowardice and redemption, Khaled has succeeded like no one else in portraying the complex character of Ameer brilliantly! You immediately identify with him, his insecurities, his inferiority complex and the pressure he takes upon himself to live up to his father’s expectations; the emotions taking a toll on his young and weak mind which eventually starts conspiring against his best friend Hassan. On one side, you have Ameer migrating to the land of opportunities (read USA) with his ailing father and at every turn, his conscience pricks him for what he did to Hassan. On the other side, you have the author describing the sorry state of affairs in Afghanistan after the Taliban taking over the country and reducing it to hell in the name of religious extremism. Khaled’s success as a writer is in drawing up this world of extremes so very well- on one side you have the prosperity and optimism of Ameer’s life in the US; on the other you have Hassan’s struggles as a Hazara under Taliban regime struggling to protect himself and his family all the while trying to serve his master’s abode even in his absence! The narrative gets powerful and emotional as it progresses with Ameer’s dad’s friend, Rahim Khan giving him a call from Peshawar and asking him to take responsibility for Sohrab, Hassan’s orphaned son who is being tortured by Ameer’s childhood enemy- turned Taliban leader, Assef. If it is Hassan who saves Ameer from Assef in his childhood, it is the turn of Sohrab to save him during his youth. Throughout the story, you have the kite flying festival running as a metaphor. The kite flying festival which makes Ameer a hero in his father’s eyes, the kite flying festival during which Hassan makes the ultimate sacrifice for Ameer by getting himself molested by Assef and the same kite flying festival that finally brings back peace and happiness to Sohrab’s life! It is very rarely that one comes across a story teller of this standard and as the Daily Telegraph rightly pointed out this one is “A devastating, masterful and painfully honest story.” It is Khaled’s honesty as a writer that comes through to the forefront and it is his highly personal account of life in Kabul during its good times that makes you, the reader, pray in silence for the well being of what was once a heaven called Afghanisthan! The Kite Runner is realistic, powerful, engaging, inspiring and though provoking- all at the same time and will surely be counted as one of the masterpieces of Modern English Fiction! This one is worth a read- that too, at least a twenty times…

PS: Click here if you want to know what Jams thought about the movie

Its been a while...

...since my last post and friends, my prolonged absence from the blog scene did have a reason. After I landed in India during the last week of August, I had my weekdays almost entirely spent at office (ranging from 12 to 15 hours at work). By the time it was weekend, I was so tired that forget computer screen even the Television screen would make me go crazy.

This was followed by a short strike by my desktop, the festival of Onam, catching up with friends and many such other things. I was wired after a long break during last weekend and I had a heavy backlog of e mails. These had also to do with the fact that yours faithfully turned a year wiser on September 3. Thanks to the ways of the wired world, wishes came flowing from all directions. Though I was not particularly excited about turning another year older (am just a year away from the big three- O), the wishes from different parts of the world did make me happy. So after clearing my mailbox, scrapbook and finishing off with the updates on the regular sites/blogs I visit, here I am back with a bang! I did catch up with quite a few movies and quite a few books in the meantime. So, get ready to be bombarded with my posts...