"Professional" in today's world- some thoughts

"Professional" is generally regarded as something related to a Profession and conforming to its standards. As a noun, Professional means a person following a Profession. Which brings us to Profession- a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation. (Courtesy: Dictionary.com) From an analysis of the above words, the following characteristics of Profession/ Professional come to the fore- Standards, knowledge, academics, preparation. What I feel when I think about these characteristics is that a Professional should have sound knowledge, should be good at academics, should continuously prepare meticulously for the various challenges in his work life and should carry out his activites conforming to certain standards in life. I enrolled myself for a couple of Professional courses completely believing in the above, managed to clear the various exams (albeit after repeated attempts) and started with what I thought is going to be a long, rewarding and exciting professional career. 3.5 years into my professional life and today I feel, "professional" is a much maligned, much abused and much misused word in the current cut throatish corporate scenario. 16 years earlier, our country opened its doors to the world. LPG (Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization) was the key word and from then on, our economy has moved from strength to strength. Unemployment has ceased to be a problem, Foreign Exchange Reserves are in excess, Rupee is strengthening continuously against Dollar and the Indian Economy is expected to be the 3rd largest economy in the world by 2025, next only to US and China (overtaking Japan in due course). Professionals, they say, have never had it better. Medical research is opening up new avenues for Doctors, Software is luring Engineers by the dozen, Back office operations are attracting the Finance professionals and there is wide spread happiness and contentment on all faces that shout in unison- "This is the best time to work in India". In the middle of increasing opportunities, fatter pay checks and reverse brain drain, is somebody noticing the degradation that has befallen on the word "Professional"? Suddenly, everyone is professional, every activity is professional and every means to a professional end is, well, again professional. It definitely is a world of cut throat competition, one upmanship and survival of the fittest out there. But, does that mean that one needs to compormise on one's standards, thoughts and beliefs to make one's superiors happy or to earn a promotion or a few extra brownies??? Things have reached a stage where all a professional today is concerned about is the end. To achieve an end in view, one is ready to go to any extent- certifying untrue to be true, trampling others on one's way to success, deceiving others to achieve one's end- all this without batting an eyelid. Today's avant grade professional institutes are interested in creating next gen professionals who firmly believe it is only the end that matters, not the means. In the middle of all this, one really feels the word "professional" has lost it's meaning, significance and value. If professional is added as an adjective, it looks as if anything can be justified. Sample this- Professional rivalry, Professional disclosure, Professional non disclosure. Celebrated books and movies are made about Professional crooks, Professional con men and Professional killers. All this reducing the word "professional" to the standards of the world's oldest Profession! Mark Twain had earlier remarked- There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. The time is just right to rephrase it- There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and professional lies.

Three cheers for Chak De India.

I have not been a great admirer of Shah Rukh Khan, nor do I consider him a great actor. But I have always been the kind of person who normally watches an SRK movie during the first week itself. Mostly because they would be directed by one of the top notch directors in Bollywood (Karan Johar, Farhan Akhtar, Aziz Mirza to name a few) and they will have him paired opposite one(some) of the best and the most glamourous actresses in Bollywood (Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla, Kajol, the list goes on). However, Chak De India did not really figure in my list of most anticipated movies before its release. First, it was a Yash Raj Production (Their last few releases have not appealed to me at all- Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Dhoom: 2, Neel n Nikki, Salaam Namaste, Kabul Express, Ta Ra Rum Pum, Fanaa); Second, it was directed by Shimit Amin (one time assistant to Ram Gopal Varma who made his debut as a director with Ab Tak Chhappan, which according to me was no great guns) and third and most important, it did not have a commercial Bollywood heroine. Instead it had 16 actresses, all of them unconventional, but prima facie unattractive. The movie finally did release on 10 August 2007 and the fanfare normally associated with an SRK movie was largely missing. But, a week unto its release and all of a sudden, everyone was talking "Chak De". SRK and his girls were here, there and everywhere, everybody from Rahul Dravid to Shobhaa De were commenting on how inspiring the film was. To add to all this, the film was supposedly running to packed houses even during its 4th week in Kochi. (Normally Hindi films are out in a week from theatres, unless they are exceptionally good). This was more temptation than enough for me to catch up with the movie and there I was at the theatre at noon, all set to watch SRK and his girls. Needless to say, I was really bowled over by the movie. As it is known to all by now, Chak De India is all about Kabir Khan (SRK), the once upon a time captain of the National Hockey team who has to make a disgraceful exit following a no show at a game opposite Pakistan and amongst allegations of match fixing and conspiring against the National team. 7 years later, he re surfaces as the Coach of the National Women's Hockey team- a job that has no takers. The job is definitely not a bed of roses for the coach- 16 girls from different parts of the country- some raw and untamed, some naive and conscious and yet others experienced and haughty. To add to his vows is the completely hostile attitude of the National Hockey Association- it knows nothing of the game, it has no faith on either the team or the coach, nor has it any sponsors or adequate funds to send the girls to the World Cup. Being the high spirited, uncompromising and patriotic sportsman that he is, Kabir Khan manages to evoke in the girls a spirit of oneness, a confidence in them as a team and a passion to excel and achieve the unattainable- all step by step. He manages to convince the association to send the girls to the World Cup and the movie ends predicatably with the team winning the World Cup! There definitely is something about this underdogs playing a sport meets patriotism kind of movies (Lagaan is a good reference point) and this plot is clearly what sets Chak De India apart. A hurt sportsman's attempt to regain lost ground and his unfailing passion towards his game has been effectively portrayed by Shimit Amin in the movie. The coaching scenes, the meetings of the association, the match between the men's and women's teams, the scuffle between the girls and the men at the restaurant and the final matches in Australia have been very well shot. Jaideep Sahni's script is tight and effective; his dialogues are witty and sparkling (The Hindi voice over in Australia that sounds like a commentary is mediocre). Music by Salim- Sulaiman definitely takes a back seat, but then this was not meant to be another Yash Raj Musical anyways. Photography is classic, editing is crisp and art and sound are authentic. Chak De gets a thumps up for having come up with such a brilliant casting- the girls are real, unconventional and natural, their performances lending credibility to the narrative. [Some of them are attractive too ;)] The real hero of the film, however, is Shah Rukh Khan. The superstar is in fine form and takes to the role of the coach like a fish to water. The last time I liked a movie for SRK was Yes Boss (1997). 10 years later, SRK comes up with a stunning performance without even a single instance of hamming! SRK simply rocks :) Chak De India literally takes you to the stadium and evokes wolf whistles. This is a film that needs to be watched in a movie hall with the entire family!

Book Review: Professor in America (Malayalam)

The first time I heard about K L Mohanavarma was when, as a kid, I had a chance to read through a chapter of his popular novel- "Ohari" that was published in Mathrubhoomi Weekly. Though I could not understand much of the novel at that stage, I could make out that there was something about Economics and Commerce in it. Later, I grew up to be a Finance and Accounting professional that I am today and when I chanced upon K L Mohanavarma's books at D C Books today, did I come to know that the celebrated author has also been a student of Economics and Commerce in the past. I thought I would check him out once again and that is how I selected Professor in America, his smallest book available at the store. And Boy, to declare that I was impressed with his narrative style would be an understatement for such is the quality of his writing and his satirical take on his Professor. Professor in America has been modelled as a series of meetings between the author and his Professor, where in the Professor shares his experiences out of a recent trip to the US and urges the author to put them together into a book. The Professor is the epitome of hypocrisy for which the so called "intellectuals" in Kerala are very famous. He participates in anti- booze campaigns, but never fails to miss a drink; he purports to be an atheist but secretly visits temples; he declares that he is not bothered about whether or not he is respected by others, but gets upset if he is not recognized and welcomed at any gathering he visits. The Professor wants to share his experiences in the US with the common man thereby contributing to their "intellectual upliftment" but being the mediocre writer he is, he entrusts the responsibility of writing his memoirs to his trusted student who is the author himself. The Professor's views and opinions of the world around him (shrouded in hypocrisy, of course) evoke laughter, but even more hilarious is the author's (here the protagonist since the narrative is in the first person) reactions to the same. The Professor's take on air hostesses, liquor being served on international flights, his encounters with a call girl and with a couple of homo sexuals in the US deserve special mention. The expertise of Mohanavarma lies in the manner in which he has modelled his "Professor". One can find traces of this Professor in all the popular Malayalee intellectuals (Buddhijeevikal in the local language) and this is what makes the book very interesting to read. This book is high on time pass and definitely belongs to the "start to finish" category. A good option before an afternoon nap or during a short travel!

Book Review: The Namesake

The first time I heard about "The Namesake" was when Mira Nair was planning a film with this name in which Abhishek Bachchan was supposed to play Rani Mukherji's son (!). When I researched more about the movie did I come to know that The Namesake is a book written by Jhumpa Lahiri on which Mira Nair was making a movie. The movie starring Tabu, Irrfan and Kal Penn is out and has won rave reviews all over the world. I could not watch the movie in theatre, thanks to my Chicken pox. That's when I decided to grab a copy of the book. If not the movie, at least the book! And thus I started with the Namesake and to put it squarely, I was blown away with the book. I was literally sucked into the lives of Ashima, Ashoke and Gogol from the very first chapter itself and the it seemed as if I was there, witnessing the lives of these 3 principal characters over 3 decades. The story of the young Bengali couple (Ashima and Ashoke) coming over to the United States of America, getting attuned to the life and culture in the US, their dreams, hopes, aspirations, their children, their social life, their longing for India- all this and more have been effectively captured by Jhumpa in her evocative narrative style. The best thing about the Namesake is that you cannot single out a character as its protagonist. The novel easily switches over between the lives and thoughts of Ashoke, Ashima and Gogol. If it is about Ashoke's life, studies, job and dreams about children on one hand, it is also about Ashima's loneliness, coming to terms with an alien culture, social life and longing for India on the other. Half way through the book, Gogol takes centrestage with his own life, his dislike towards his name, his indifference towards his parents' attitude and culture and his inability to understand their thought process. This narrative style contributes effectively to the reader understanding the nuances and thought processes of each and every character in the book. The characters are real, identifiable and endearing, all at the same time. Jhumpa Lahiri made her mark as a writer with her Pulitzer prize winning collection of short stories- "The Interpreter of Maladies". With her first full fledged novel- "The Namesake"- she declares to one and all that she is definitely a writer to look out for. Great going, Jhumpa!

Ore Kadal is a Classic

Ever since Shyamaprasad announced "Ore Kadal", I was waiting with baited breath for the movie to release. For once, Shyamaprasad is one director who I have really liked from his television days (Peruvazhiyile Kariyilakal, Vishwavighyathamaaya Mookku, Uyirthezhunelpu, Maranam Durbalam, Manal Nagaram). His debut film (Kallu Kondoru Pennu) was dismal, but he more than made up for it with his next two releases (Agnisakshi, Akale). Shyam has been an expert when it comes to depicting complex human relationships on screen and this is precisely what Ore Kadal is all about. Based on the Bengali Novel Hirak Deepthi by Sunil Gangopadhyay, Ore Kadal is the story of Deepthi (Meera Jasmine), a housewife and a mother married to Jayan (Narain). The story starts with Deepthi in a fix, thanks to her unemployed husband who is out of town in search of a job and her ailing son bed ridden with fever. Without any one to turn to or any money to tide over the situation, she approaches Dr. Nathan (Mamootty), a noted economist and social scientist who lives in the same apartment complex as Jayan and Deepthi. The generally reticent Dr. Nathan helps her out and from this juncture, starts what one may call an illicit relationship between Deepthi and Nathan. They meet, they make love to each other and at the end of it all, Deepthi gets pregnant with Nathan's kid. Nathan lives his life on his own terms and does not believe in family, commitment etc. Looking at Nathan's indifferent attitude towards her pregnancy, Deepthi severs all ties with him and proceeds to deliver a girl child. However, her sense of guilt and self pity coupled with her unrequited love for Dr. Nathan continue to haunt her and she ends up as a schizophernic. Jayan steps in and takes Deepthi to a mental asylum. After a couple of years at the asylum, Deepthi returns to her old self only to be disturbed again by Dr. Nathan, who is on his way to self destruction pondering over the unjust treatment meted out by him on Deepthi. In between all this is Bela (Ramya Krishnan), a high society Call girl cum restaurateur who assumes the role of Dr. Nathan's alter ego, telling him things that he refuses to believe or acknowledge. Adapting a literary classic to celluloid is always a challenge. Shyamaprasad is adept at that. If his version of Lalithambika Antharjanam's "Agnisakshi" was excellent, so was his "Akale" based on Tennessee William's "Glass Menagerie". Shyamaprasad raises the bar a few notches higher with Ore Kadal. His expertise lies in the fact that he is able to bring out the finer nuances of his characters and extract stellar performances from his cast. The use of silence, props and an excellent background score to bring the emotional turmoil of the characters to the fore deserves special acknowledgement. Ore Kadal is easily Shyam's best work till date. Shyam is ably supported by his excellent crew- Azhagappan's camera angles are imaginative and captures the emotions of the protagonists very effectively. Vinod Sukumaran's editing is sharp. Ouseppachan's background score is lilting and the songs (Lyrics by Gireesh Puthencherry) contribute effectively to taking the narrative forward. Special mention should be made about Cuckoo Parameshwaran's Wardrobe. The art director (Muthuraj, I believe) is successful in creating authentic background, his expertise coming to the fore while portraying the Jayan- Deepthi household at various stages of their prosperity (From unemployment to under employment to adequately paid to upper middle class income levels) Ramya Krishnan's extended guest appearance is a treat. The actress literally lives as Bela and comes up with a power packed performance, easily her best till date. Narain is earnest though his character appears card boardish and one dimensional. The reason could be that Jayan is presented from Deepthi's point of view only and hence, it appears as if he shares a frivolous marital relationship with Deepthi. The Mega Star crown can be quite a headache for a lot of actors when it comes to taking up complicated and image defying roles in meaningful films. But, Mamootty is an exception. His Dr. Nathan is a study in contrasts- on one hand he is a person who poo- poohs the sentiments and familial commitments of the middle class and on the other hand, he is a social scientist who performs a research on the lives of the Indian Middle Class. Playing an ill dressed, philosophy spouting, womanising alcoholic who refuses to accept his heart over his head is not an easy job. But, trust Mamootty to come up thumbs. He is completely at home portraying the oh so complicated Dr. Nathan. However, the star of the movie definitely remains Meera Jasmine. The young lady has travelled a long way since her Soothradharan days and is definitely moving from strength to strength. She underplays the docile, domesticated Deepthi to perfection. Her transformation from the dutiful family woman to the guilt struck wife to the schizophernic to the new age woman who follows her heart is magnificent. Meera seems to have taken adequate care about each and every aspect of her acting- subtle expressions, perfect body language and excellent voice modulation. This is definitely worth another national award for the highly talented actress. Ore Kadal is not the regular commercial fare and might not find astounding success at the theatres. But, the movie is sure to bring laurels to its cast and crew. This one is definitely a classic!

My Dental History

The one thing that I like the most about having born into the family that I am part of is its excellent Medical History (Touchwood!). In spite of being a large family (my father has six brothers and two sisters) that is spread all over South India (Hyderabad, Bangalore, Palakkad and Kochi with the second generation extending to places like White Plains, USA on one hand to Chennai, India on the other), all the family members have had a healthy life till date and traveling across cities, states or countries have not really affected any of them. Which brings me to the other topic that I wanted to stress- Hospitalophobia :) I have always been afraid of hospitals. The sight of blood makes me see red, the smell of dettol sends me into a dizzy and the very thought of entering a hospital makes me feel giddy. As a kid and even at a time when nothing much of a kid remained in me, my once in a bluemoon trip to hospital for reasons like fever etc used to frighten me a lot. The less said about my phobia towards injections the better. Till the time I was a teenager, I used to cry at the sight of the injection needle :( Fortunately for me, I have not really had to be hospitalized till now and I sincerely hope and pray that I don't have to see such a day in future either. In the middle of all this came a day when I partly broke my front tooth, thanks to a good old hit against the wall. A small portion of my front tooth broke out and this was very evident whenever I opened my mouth to smile. I was in Class 9 then and noticing my tooth, my parents decided it is time for them to take me to a dentist. As luck would have it, I chanced upon a poem called This is going to hurt just a little bit by Ogden Nash where the poet was describing the pains of visiting a dentist. This poem was part of my curriculum in school and one reading of the same, I decided that there is no way I will visit a dentist. I could successfully abstain myself from visiting a dentist for 8 more years and then, one fine afternoon, I discovered that I was having a cavity in one of my tooth. I dragged on as much as I could and when finally the tooth started paining, I had no other go but to visit a dentist. So, there I was at a dental clinic near Jalahalli, in Bangalore (I was working at Bangalore then). The dentist was a very kind, unassuming and nice person, but the moment I saw the torture chair, I started getting jittery. The dentist and my aunt who accompanied me to the dentist tried their best to put me at ease and somehow managed to get a few jobs done in my mouth. Filling a couple of cavities, putting in a bridge for my pre molars and putting a cap on the front tooth- these were the various activities that the dentist performed on my teeth and after almost a dozen sittings, I was free. Or so I thought. 4 years later I realized that the crown on my front tooth had turned black and that I had developed a cavity as big as a cave in another of my pre molars. There was no way I could go back to the dentist in Bangalore since I had moved back to Kochi (Tripunithura, to be precise). And thus I started visiting Dr. Rajkrishnan's dental clinic. I had heard a lot about Dr. Rajkrishnan and his clinic. He was supposed to be the last word in dentistry and had a lot of movie stars and other prominent personalities as his patients. He had patients from all over the world and his dental clinic was really state- of- the art. But when I actually visited his clinic, I found out that things were even better that what I had heard. I was welcomed by the staff at the clinic with smiling faces, my appointments were fixed according to my convenience, I was reminded of all my pre fixed appointments once again over Phone calls or SMS and not to mention, the extreme professionalism with which the whole process was handled. Not that all these came for free. I had to pay a whooping 13K for a crown on my front tooth, but the cost definitely was justifiable vis-a-vis the benefits. On my first appointment, I was introduced to the very professional and very friendly Dr. Roshni who surveyed my mouth and teeth and told me what all needs to be done. I met Dr. Rajkrishnan soon and he also gave me his opinion on what needs to be the course of the treatment. And thus started my series of visits to the clinic to get the crown inserted to my front tooth. The older crown was taken out, the tooth was cleaned, an impression was taken, a temporary crown was put and after 5 sittings, the new permanent crown was inserted on Saturday, September 1. The result was truly mind blowing and even I could not make out which was my original tooth and which was the crowned one. Such was the precision with which the crown was prepared and inserted. I have heard somewhere that once Smile increases one's face value. In the current world where anything and everything is taken at face value, Dr. Raj and his team have contributed significantly to increasing the value of my smile and thereby, my face. This might sound like an advertisement to the readers, but this is the honest feedback of an extremely satisified customer. I would definitely not look forward to a long lasting relationship with Dr. Raj's dental clinic for obvious reasons (my phobia towards hospitals, the difficulty of sitting on the torture chair with one's mouth wide open etc), but I would advise all of you to turn to Dr. Raj next time you have any problems with your tooth. Smilingly yours,

Changes at Work

I am very close to completing 2 years with the organization that I am currently part of and as mentioned in an earlier post, this is the organization which I have served the longest after I qualified as a Chartered Accountant (I had put in less than one year each at 3 organizations before I joined this one). Ever since I joined this organization, I have been working with a single team. I joined the team as a team member, gradually rose to the position of Team Leader and took over as the Project Manager for the client later. I was managing a team of 40 members and over the past 22 months, had developed a great bonding with almost all of them. It was as if I had gone back to my school/ college days, such was the kind of relationship that existed within the team. The average age of the team was somewhere around 26 to 28 though we had team members as old as 44 on one hand and as young as 23 on the other. The production floor was FUN. We would make stories about each and every team member, teasing him/ her and would be all ears for someone to blurt out something stupid so that the same could be highlighted and the whole team could have a hearty laugh! I myself have been the butt of jokes more than once, but all of us have taken it in the best spirit till now. The fun used to extend to sending e mails making stories about people to meeting up during weekends for movies, shopping, eating out and the like. At the end of all this, it is time now for me to move out of the team. I was first given a hint on this a couple of months earlier. The decision to move me out was taken almost a month back (of course, after having discussed with me and obtaining my consent). From the time I was given a hint, I was preparing myself mentally for the change and trying my best to reconcile to the fact that I would not be with the magnificent and dynamic team for long. However, during the team meeting that was convened on Tuesday, August 28 to convey the decision to the team formally, I could not help getting emotional. Once the decision was conveyed to the team by my Manager, I was asked to speak to the team and this was one of the few moments in my life where I was completely at a loss for words. I stammered, started mumbling, slowly picked up courage and managed to say something. As at the end of last week, I have almost completely handed over my responsibilities to the new Project Manager (who incidentally was the old Project Manager with whom I had worked as a Team Leader. You can read more about her at http://ruminateatleisure.blogspot.com/) and shifted to a new seat very near to where my (erstwhile) team sits. I have not been given a new project and looks like it will almost be a month for a decision to be taken in this regard. Till then, I am supposed to be helping out my (erstwhile, again) team with whatever assistance they need. It definitely is difficult to be moving out of a team with which one has worked so very closely, but at the same time I am really excited and thrilled, looking forward to taking up another project. There is a chance that I might get a few team members from my earlier team to work with me on my new project in future. Till things fall into place, I am hoping that I would very soon be part of another exciting project and working with another team as lovely and lively as my earlier team. Hopefully yours,

Dismal Failure

I have almost always been lucky as far as exams are concerned. Without putting in much efforts, I have managed to clear most of the exams that I have written in my life and that too, quite creditably. Today when I look at my friends, colleagues and team members in office sweating it out like anything to clear their CA/ CWA/ CS exams, I express my gratitude to the Almightly for having taken me through my set of exams and having made me the successful professional (I believe myself to be one) that I am today. I think my streak of luck with exams are almost over; thanks to my dismal failure at the APM examination about which I had mentioned in my earlier post. I had taken quite a lot of pain to complete the 7 chapters of APM on time. Not that I was reading something that I had no idea about. The whole syllabus was very much about Accounts Payable processing, Internal Controls, Technology used, Outsourcing, AP Process Management etc- things which I regularly apply in my professional life. To add to this, the study material was completely different from what I had read for my CA/ CS exams. It was more like a story book or let's say, a lightly written article in one of the many business publications we come across. The contents and styling of the study material and my familiarity with the topics had given me enough confidence to take the exams head on. So there I was in the Board Room of my office at 6.30 PM sharp on Tuesday, August 28 logging in to take the online exam. I was supposed to answer 100 questions in 90 minutes time- all objective type. Let me confess this first- I was not really used to objective type examinations since all the exams that I had passed in the past required me to write descriptive answers. To add to it, the questions and the options given were so confusing that you could not single out one answer as correct from the four options given. They all appeared equally correct to me. Finally, I had to use my sense of judgement (!) and select the option which I felt was the most appropriate in each case. Being the over confident and hyper active person that I am, I finished the 100 questions in 20 minutes sharp. I had 70 more minutes with me and the Study Material was lying next to me. But, thanks to my sense of self pride and an inflated ego, I decided to submit my answers without even bothering to glance through them once. The moment I clicked "Submit", I received an e mail from IOMA saying, well, what else but "Sorry- better luck next time." Needless to say, I was flabbergasted on receiving the e mail and for the first one minute, was not sure what to do. In a couple of minutes, realization dawned on me and I accepted the fact that I had lost it. Almost everyone who knew me in my office were not ready to believe that I had lost the exam. But, the fact stays put. There were apprehensions from various quarters that I had taken the studies lightly which was completely untrue. For, I still remember what all I had read in the study material and had the exam been of descriptive nature, I am sure that I would have emerged victorious. It was not the study material that I took lightly, it was the whole process of writing the exam that I took casually. With the kind of time that I had after finishing the exam, I could have easily done a re check of my answers with reference to the study material (IOMA openly calls this an open- book exam), but my sense of pride did not allow me to do so. I did reap the results of my pride and now I have very clearly understood why they say- "PRIDE GOES BEFORE A FALL." When I look back at the whole experience almost a week later, I feel what happened served just right for me. I am supposed to take the examination again on October 1 and this time around I will be real careful and take adequate care to answer the questions properly with reference to the study material. And hopefully, might be able to make it as an APM...

Getting back to books

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

There is nothing true about "Poi"

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

The pathetic condition of Kochi city

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

Book Review: Passion and Poppadoms

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

Dhanush dances his way into our hearts in Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambham

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

Paruthiveeran is daringly different

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hallo is pedestrian fare

Jithin Arts produces "Hallo" starring Mohanlal and scripted and directed by Rafi- Mecartin. To start with, I have never been a big fan of the Rafi- Mecartin brand of humor. Whatever tall claims the duo may try making, they are the ones, along with the likes of Shafi, Benny P Nayaramblam and Uday- Sibi who brought about double meaning humor to Malayalam Cinema. We have always made good comedies- ones which were decent, ones which were close to life and reality and ones which we can remember for generations. But, apart from Punjabi House and Thenkashipattanam, none of Rafi- Mecartin's comedies would figure in that list. The others were made by experts like Sathyan Anthicaud, Sreenivasan, Priyadarshan and Siddique- Lal. With every passing film, Rafi- Mecartin seem to be losing the little bit of magic that they had. Their previous directorial venture, if I remember right, was the immensely irritating "Pandippada" which did not have even a single scene or dialogue worth remembering. The script of Hallo is nothing better. It is saved from being a complete disaster by Mohanlal and Jagathy Sreekumar though. Hallo is the story of Advocate Sivaraman (Mohanlal) who is a full time alcoholic, thanks to his parents (Janardhanan and Fathima Babu) and younger brother (K B Ganesh Kumar) who did not allow him marry the girl of his choice (Samvrutha Sunil), who eventually is brutally killed. Sivaraman roams around from one bar to another and it is Chandi (Jagathy Sreekumar), his friend who brings him back every time he goes missing. Sivaraman receives a call on his mobile from Parvathy (Parvathy Milton), a rich heiress, who is being targeted by her money hungry relatives and he decides to save her. From here on, life is one big ride for Sivaraman and how he successfully tackles all obstacles that comes his way and saves Parvathy and her family from the villains is what the rest of the movie is about. To start with, Hallo lacks a plausible story- line and it is so very difficult to relate to what is happening on screen because everything looks made up and unrealistic. The script goes haywire and the dialogues are pointless, save a few good one liners here and there. Technically too, there is nothing extra ordinary about the movie. Even the music department helmed by Alex Paul fails to deliver. New comer Parvathy Milton lacks screen presence and talent and she will easily pass off as a one film wonder. Siddique with his bald plate looks different but has little to do. Veteran actor Madhu just comes and goes. Suraj Venjarammoodu irritates while Jagathy Sreekumar entertains. The rest of the cast just pass muster. Mohanlal is at ease playing the drunkard, but starts looking lost while the movie progresses. However, there is no doubt that had it not been for the talented actor, the audience would have definitely stayed away from this movie. Malayalam has produced excellent comedies in the past and Hallo cannot be compared to any of those. The movie is apparently, running to packed houses probably because of the charisma of Mohanlal. In my opinion, such movies should not be encouraged since these only serve to bring down the standards of Malayalam Cinema. I would remember Hallo for one reason though- the funny ring tones of the mobile phones appearing in the film.

Murder on Sowparnika Express

K Madhu produces and directs "Nadia Kollapetta Rathri" which is a thriller that investigates the death of 3 girls on board a train that plies between Chennai and Mangalore. For all of those who are familiar with Agatha Christie, this murder in a train part is a straight lift off "Murder on the Orient Express" published in 1934. But, unfortunately, our own AK Sajan who is creditted with the story(!), screenplay and dialogue is no Agatha Christie and this is where the film suffers. I would not give away the entire snapshot of the movie, but this is just an intro as to what to expect in the movie: National Shooting champion Nadia Mather (Kavya Madhavan), renowned Classical dancer Thulasimani (Suja Karthika) and daring NDTV reporter Shreya Mariya (Suja) are on board the first class AC coach of Sowparnika Express with many others like the Railway SP of Palakkad division, a renowned Tamil Novelist, a small time actress and her parents, a mentally ill young man and his parents, 4 junior doctors who look more like thugs, a TTE who is more interested in playing cards and the AC coach attendant. The next morning, Thulasimani is found hanging in her coupe, Nadia Mather is found fighting with death in her coupe with the mad guy next to her and the corpse of Shreya Maria is found on the tracks. This case is taken up for investigation by Railway Action Task Force head Dr. Sharafuddin Taramasi IPS (Suresh Gopi) and how he solves each of the mysteries is what the rest of the movie is about. Though K Madhu has occassionally been serving thrillers to the Kerala audience, three girls being killed on board the same train is a very novel thought for Malaylam cinema. The mystery behind each murder has been solved well, and AK Sajan could have done a lot with a plot like that. Unfortunately, he decides to glorify Suresh Gopi's image and the result is that we have quite a few shoddily written and badly shot scenes in the first half and Suresh Gopi's irritating slang makes it all the more unbearable. After every dialogue, one sees Suresh Gopi turning his head fast in a bizarre fashion and such scenes make you squirm in your seat. K Madhu does a fairly good job with his direction especially in the second half, though this film is nowhere close to any of his CBI movies (not even Nerariyan CBI). The veteran Anandakuttan does a good job with his camera work. The art direction is first class though the editor could have done a better job in the first half. Background score by Rajamani is in keeping with the mood of the film though there is nothing extraordinary in it like what we heard in Irupatham Noottandu or the CBI series. Suresh Gopi is his usual self. This is definitely not one of his best performances but he doesn't disappoint completely either. Siddique looks good in his new hairstyle and get up, though he does not have much to do. Anoop Chandran, Suresh Krishna, Shammi Thilakan and Sadique are good. Suraj Venjarammoodu needs to be careful in selecting his roles. He plays Thathamangalam Muthu here who hails from Palakkad district, but still speaks his trade mark Thiruvananthapuram slang thus repeating himself. This is how talented artistes are wasted, I suppose. The movie, however, belongs completely to Kavya Madhavan. This is probably the best role she has played till date and she makes good use of every opportunity in the script, clearly overshadowing even the hero of the movie in the climax. Good going, girl. To sum up, if you can bear the first half of Nadia Kollapetta Rathri, you will enjoy the second half!

Weddings anybody???

Ever since I can remember, I have enjoyed attending weddings. Being born to working parents and having never stayed with my grand parents, I have always liked the company of people. Weddings provide one the best opportunity to meet all one's relatives and family friends under the same roof. Not to forget the festivities associated- the nadaswaram, the whole lot of people turning out in their best of clothes, the mouth watering sadya, the sweets that are served etc etc. Food has been a great passion for me and that was also a reason why I used to look forward to the malayalam months of Chingam, Medam, Vrischikam etc when there would be a lot of weddings. The very thought of sitting in front of the plantain leaf and being treated to a lavish sadya with all items starting from kichadi to kalan to pappadams to the pickles to the ubiquitous payasam used to excite me. Now, I am all of 27. I have started loving privacy though I would still like to believe that I am people's person. The passion towards food is still very much there, but the level has come down significantly. Elderly mamis draped in rich kanjeevarams, laden with gold jewellery and with that infectious smile have now started sending a chill down my spine. I realized the extent to which my "behaviour at weddings" has changed only very recently when two of my cousins decided to get married back to back. The first one got married on June 25 at a lavish wedding at Thrissur. He is an IIM- MBA working for Accenture and his wife is a software engineer working for Polaris. They look great together and I was extremely happy for both of them. My second cousin got married on July 9 at Ernakulam. She is a software engineer working for CTS and he is an engineer working for Thermax. They also look absolutely stunning together and I, again, am extremely happy for them. I really had a whale of a time at both the weddings, enjoying to the hilt. Since both the weddings were in Kerala and that too on Mondays, I did not have any issues with taking leave from work either. I participated completely in all the activities associated with the wedding and the experience was good enough to linger in my mind for years! So far so good... Apparently, it is such a big issue if one remains unmarried while one's younger cousins are getting married! This piece of information was given to me during the weddings by not one or two, but umpteen number of people. Kanjeevaram Mamis and Golden karai mundu mamas could simply not help offering their services to my mother, in finding out a docile, home loving, educated, employed, tall enough (to match my 6'2" frame) daughter in law. What I fail to understand is why people are unnecessary intruding into one's personal life. To marry or not to marry is purely a choice that one has to make oneself and it is not fair on anyone else's part to force people into a life long commitment like marriage. Again, 27 years for a man, in my opinion, is too early an age to get into a life long commitment. There might be people who have different opinions, but my dictum here is- To each his own! I am all eyes and ears for the comments on this particular update!

Arabikkatha is refreshing and poignant

Kerala is one Indian state where the spread of communism and leftist thinking is so far and wide that it has cut across all kinds of boundaries- religious, monetary, casteist, the works. Even though the propounder of communism, Russia, has given up the ideology completely, the strength of the movement in Kerala gives one an impression that the movement had its origin here. Another aspect the state is famous for is the percentage of its population that works in the Middle East or the Gulf Countries. There are towns and villages in the state where one member from each family invariably works in the ME. On a closer analysis, one might be able to find out a correlation between these two aspects- Rampant spread of communism opposing industrial set up, "n" number of trade unions, closing down of industrial units, creating a generation that is aware only of its rights but not duties, all resulting in unemployment and underemployment culminating in the migration of skilled and unskilled youth to the Middle East in search of greener pastures. The film makers in Kerala have dealt with this subject, analyzing the same from different view points (K G George's Visa, I V Sasi's Iniyenkilum), but this is for the first time that the plight of Keralites in Gulf has been shown on screen through the eyes of a staunch communist. This is precisely where Arabikkatha scores. Arabikkatha is the story of the life journey of "Cuba" Mukundan (Sreenivasan), a local committee secretary of the Leftist party at Chemmannur. He is a dedicated party worker ably supported by hot blooded comrades like Anvar (Indrajith) and morally supported by his father- old time Communist leader Society Gopalan (Nedumudi Venu). The movie starts with Mukundan and his fellow comrades emerging successful in closing a factory owned by Dubai based Keralite businessman Kunjunni (Jagathy Sreekumar); for discharge of chemical wastes into rivers. A faction of the party headed by Karunan (Sivaji Guruvayoor) wants Mukundan to stay back from such activites, but he does not budge. Infuriated, Karunan with the help of Kunjunni frames Mukundan's father Soceity Gopalan in a scam of Rs. 20 lakhs. Gopalan passes away without being able to offer an explanation and the burden of repaying the debt falls on Mukundan. To earn enough money to repay the debt, Mukundan lands in Dubai- the land of opportunities. From here on, life is a roller- coaster ride for the simpleton who gets cheated by all and sundry. Mukundan finally ends up as a supplier in a tea stall owned by an old Keralite Muslim. He comes across an attractive Chinese girl who sells pirated Malayalam CD's in Dubai and falls for her, thanks to the high regard he has for the Red Dragon. He even manages to win a jackpot of Rs. 10 lakhs out of a private financing agreement, but is cheated again of the money. Unable to bear the trauma, Mukundan disappears. The rest of the movie is about how his friends from Kerala manage to find Mukundan out and how he finally emerges victorious. The best thing about Arabikkatha is that it deals with normal human beings. The characters, their background, the language that they speak, the way they appear, the way things transpire in their lives- are all so very realistic and identifiable. Add to that the straight from the heart performances from each and every member of the cast and the result is an extremely enjoyable fare. Sreenivasan literally lives the character of Mukundan. Indrajith and Samvrutha Sunil are adequate. Sivaji Guruvayoor is an actor to watch out for. Jagathy and Jayasurya are their usual self. Nedumudi Venu puts in a neat cameo. The Chinese heroine is endearing. Manoj Pillay's photography goes with the mood of the story, Ranjan Abraham does a neat job with his scissors. Lyrics by Anil Panachooran are outstanding and Bijibal's music add to their lyrical quality. Dr. Iqbal Kuttippuram has shown some promise as a script writer in the past (Swapnakoodu, Gramaphone, For the People), but Arabikkatha is definitely his best till date. He has successfully brought out the emotions of the characters and made his script appealing to one and all. However, a lion's share of the credit for making Arabikkatha what it is, should go to the captain of the ship- Lal Jose. The courage and conviction with which he has carried the narrative forward deserves a pat on his shoulder. With this movie, Lal Jose definitely joins the ranks of the most talented directors in Malayalam Cinema like K S Sethumadhavan, Padmarajan, Bharathan, K G George, I V Sasi and Sathyan Anthicad. To sum up, Arabikkatha is a golden feather in Lal Jose's already over crowded cap. Bravo!

Is Koffee getting bitter?

I really don't know how many of the readers of this blog would know about Koffee with Karan (Star World, Sundays, 9 PM) and how many of those who know would actually care to watch it. But, let me make it very clear that I am one of the biggest fans of this talk show and more of its hugely talented host- Karan Johar whom I consider as one of the best things to have happened to Bollywood in the late 90's. KJo (as he is fondly called by his celebrity friends) is definitely a self made man what with bringing back to life his father's "on the death bed" production company, Dharma Productions (which was literally crawling after delivering box office duds like Gumraah and Duplicate) with that one massive hit which an average Indian would remember till the end of life- Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Ever since there has been no looking back for this genius of a film maker with a string of successes to his credit. (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna). Today every actor in Bollywood from Amitabh Bachchan to Riteish Deshmukh and from Madhuri Dixit to Vidya Balan wants to work with this highly talented director and the easiest way of getting close to him is agreeing to appear on his talk show- Koffee with Karan. People might call it frivolous, saucy, regressive blah blah blah. But I have enjoyed each and every episode of it. Come on, on which other show, the host can nonchalantly ask Preity Zinta whether her Bombay is Dyeing or Rakhi Sawant which all parts of her body benefitted from Botox; that too keeping a straight face. The kind of troubles that actors have got into after appearing on Karan's show and the kind of controversies that their remarks on the show have created is unbelievable! It is for these reasons that I was hell bent on catching up the latest episode of the show that featured the come back queen of Bollywood- Madhuri Dixit. Mrs. Nene was her normal self. Dressed in a very ordinary Manish Malhotra saree, she was as casual as casual could get. Fine. But, what I failed to understand is the kind of significance that KJo was giving his all time favorites- SRK and Rani M. Direct questions on these two actors were thrown at Mads and there was a 5 minute long footage of SRK expressing his feelings (!) about Mads. If SRK's blabber was just on video, KJo surprised Mads and the viewers by inviting Rani towards the final leg of the show. Now, I don't understand the need for KJo to stoop to this level. An episode on Mads can very well remain an episode on Mads itself. Is there a need to bring in SRK, Kajol and Rani into every discussion he has with any celebrity guest? What was conspicuous, however, was the complete non reference to the Bachchans even in spite of the strong presence that all the family members have right now in Bollywood (there were a couple of questions where Ash was one of the few options for an answer). Now this brings me back to the one question that Bollywood and its paparazzi have been discussing for the last 5 months- Is there a problem between the Bachchans and SRK? If yes, who is KJo with? Is he with the Bachchans since he attended the big wedding this year? Or is he with SRK what with the complete non mention of the Bachchans in the Madhuri episode? Well, only time can tell. But there is one thing that I can tell all of you guyz now for sure- If Karan keeps on yapping about his 3 big friends to each and every celebrity on his show, the day won't be far away when stars would refuse to descend on his sets quoting their unwillingness to provide free publicity to SRK, Kajol and Rani. Karan Beware!

Its Rajni all the way in Sivaji

Finally, I did it! June 30, 2007- 11.30 AM- Padma A/c- Ernakulam. Me and 4 of my colleagues were in high spirits to catch a glimpse of the much awaited, much talked about and much anticipated "Sivaji". A Super Star film generates hysteria all right, but when you have Rajni teaming up with ace director Shankar, the highly revered production house of AVM and a host of technicians like A R Rahman (Music); K V Anand (Cinematography); Anthony (Editing); Thotta Tharani (Art Direction); Peter Hein (Stunts); Raju Sundaram, Prabhu Deva, Lawrence, Brinda (Choreography) and the like, expectations are even beyond "sky high". And whether, Sivaji lives up to all those expectations? The answer is a big YES! Sivaji is the story of its protagonist of the same name who is a wealthy and very successful software engineer in the US (Now, dont sneer- I know how difficult it is to imagine Rajni as a software engineer- thankfully for him and us, he does not get into the technicalities other than carrying a laptop whose password is voice enabled). Sivaji returns to India to spend his hard earned money on opening charitable educational institutions and hospitals, only to earn the wrath of Adiseshan (Suman). Adiseshan on his part is a very wealthy and manipulative entrepreneur who runs a host of, you guessed it right, educational institutions and hospitals that thrive on capitation fee and heavy service bills. The rest of the movie is about how Adiseshan tries to destroy Sivaji, how Sivaji loses everything only to resurface stronger and puts an end to Adiseshan's life. In the middle of all this, Sivaji also finds time to romance Tamizhchelvi (Shriya Saran) and gets married to her. The story is as old as the hills and the situations are predictable. But, it is to Rajni's credit to carry this massive film entirely on his shoulders and make it a fast paced entertainer. The superstar delivers and how. Rajni looks trim with Manish Malhothra's stylish costumes and some extremely well fitting imported wigs. The actor is in his late 50's and ends up looking as if he is in his early 40's. Remarkable indeed! Suman is menacing as Adiseshan. Shriya Saran does what is expected of a Rajni heroine. Manish Malhothra makes his presence felt once again when Shriya cavorts around in pastel shaded costumes with plunging necklines during the song sequences. Also, it is after a long time that we see Rajni getting up, close and personal with his heroine. Not to mention, this part of the movie is really jarring- one can make out for sure that the hero and heroine are at least 3 decades apart in age! Raghuvaran puts in a neat cameo and everyone else in the supporting cast do their best to support the Super Star. The highly talked about one song appearance of Nayanthara is nothing much to write home about. If there is one actor who manages the hog the limelight in spite of the presence of Rajni, it is Vivek who plays his uncle- cum- side kick. Vivek appears in the entire movie (barring the songs, of course) and takes good advantage of his debut appearance in a superstar movie. Thotta Tharani's art direction is remarkable, the opulent sets in the song sequences- "Vaaji Vaaji" and "Sahana saral" deserve special mention. Editing is crisp and photography is a feast for one's eyes. The choreographers have done their job well by bringing the best out of Rajni and Shriya. The way "Thee Thee" song has been shot is a good example here. A R Rahman's compositions are in tune with the expectations of the die hard Rajni fans. The lyricists (Vaali, Vairamuthu, Pa Vijay and Na Muthukumar) have done a good job with lines that praise the Super Star to the hilt. Peter Hein shines and his well choreographed stunt sequences are a treat to the eyes. The one involving Kanal Kannan at the music shop evokes laughter and another one in a workshop with Rajni and at least a 100 goons is real edge of the seat stunner. Sujatha's wit and intelligence come to the fore in his dialogues. Shankar churns out yet another biggie with corruption as its theme. Like his earlier superhits with the same theme (Gentleman, Indian, Muthalvan, Anniyan), this one also has a larger than life hero and a host of unrealistic situations. But, Shankar makes it all believable with the able support from Rajnikanth. However, there is no denying the fact that this is a Rajni film first and a Shankar film next. If you still don't understand why Rajnikanth is such a phenomenon, Sivaji is for you. And for all you die hard fans of the stylish superstar, all I can say is, it can't get any better than this!