Missing out on the fun!

There have been so many things happening at home, at work and in life in general. Not that I am complaining but I am also missing out on a lot of things and would have to do a lot of catching up after I am back in India.

I missed out watching Jayasuriya's first big hit "Ivar Vivahitharayaal" in theatres, I took a flight to North America the day Vishal Bharadwaj's "Kaminey" was released (Its a big hit back home, it seems. Hope I get to watch it in a theatre after I get back!). The hugely awaited "Kanthasaamy" has released back home to mixed responses and I just cannot wait to catch it in theatres at least for the foot tapping songs.

I could not make it to Pankaj Udhas's concert in JTPAC since I was held up with some work. Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia's flute recital would have ended few hours back and I am sitting here in North America. Vineeth and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy are scheduled to present Bharatham at JTPAC on 5 September and I don't land in Kochi till the morning of 6 September- all this at JTPAC are being missed in addition to Usha Uthup, Avial, Taufik Qureshi and Ganesh- Kumaresh that I have already missed :-(

I missed out on the "Cheedai" and "Appam" that mom would have made on Sree Krishna Jayanthi and am going to miss out on the "Modhakam" that she would make tomorrow to celebrate Vinayaka Chathurthy. All I can do is to remember the taste of the delicious Paal Payasam that ma would make for every birthday of mine when I turn an year older in a couple of week's time. The big onam celebration at office is on 31 August which again I am going to miss. I am also missing out on the family get together at Hyderabad during Onam 2009 to celebrate the arrival of my cousin's twins into the family- Vibhas and Bhuvan!

I miss out on a friend's wedding right on my Birthday and also missed out on my Aunt's short visit home after what might be an year. I missed out the spectacular Athachamayam at my hometown in connection with Onam and also on all the shopping that we would do on MG Road, Kochi just before Onam! I also missed out the celebrations associated with my friend's father turning 60 and all festivities on India's 63rd birthday. I might also miss out on meeting a whole lot of old friends who come home for the big family festival- Onam...

Not that I am unduly worried even though that is a very long list. This is how life treats you. Sometimes you have everything you ever wanted, sometimes you don't get anything that you want and sometimes you get things that you never asked for...If I say I am not enjoying my stint in NA, I would be lying and I suppose that is what compensates for all that I am missing. At the end of the day, hits and misses are all that life is made of, right?

My First Encounter with a Hurricane!

It could be tomorrow- at least that is what the forecasts say. Halifax does not look like it is going to get a hurricane anytime soon- it is all bright and sunny around. But the weather in North America could change the next second- something I have learnt out of my 6 visits to this massive continent in the last few years.

I am not taking chances and am making sure I am indoors- more out of the curiosity to see what happens during a hurricane rather than out of fright. I come from the land of violent monsoons and have seen trees getting uprooted in the wind but a hurricane on the Atlantic coast of North America need not be the same as monsoon rains on the coast of Arabian Sea in India. I hope it does not wreak havoc and damage all around but I am keeping my fingers crossed to see what it would look like!

Do pray for all Halegonians and I shall definitely write about what I saw. Till then, it is waiting time for Hurricane Bill to strike :-(

Delicious Thai Dinner in North America!

Does that sound like it is not possible? All you need to do is to check into Chabaa Restaurant and you will understand what I mean! I am in Halifax for a business visit and my good friends here took me and my friends to Chabaa for a Thai Dinner. To say the food was delicious, would be an understatement!

We started off with fabulous spring rolls and followed it up with Vegetable Noodles and Vegetable Fried Rice (that's what I ate!). Ginger Chicken, Spicy Pork and Squid were ordered as side dishes along with delicious Vegetable Curry cooked in a gravy of coconut milk and nuts. The rice noodles which is a Thai speciality was awesome to say the least and had the right quantity of vegetables cooked in stock. The Fried Rice with generous dose of Tofu further accentuated the taste. I was overwhelmed with the delicious food on offer and all of us ate to the content of our heart and tummy.

Washed it down with some hot, steaming coffee and all of us agreed that this was the best Thai food one could ever have!

Serene and Beautiful Yercaud!

We had been planning a reunion of school friends for a very long time- some married, some still enjoying their bachelorhood! We planned and planned and planned for close to 3 months and finally what started as a plan with 8 of us ended up with just 3 of us bachelors. The 3 of us were determined that we will somehow make this happen and thus we went ahead with the plan zeroing in on a place that was sort of equi distant from both Kochi and Bangalore.

That is when I heard about Yercaud through a couple of friends- a hill station just 45 minutes drive away from Salem and I thought- that sounds like the perfect place. We sprung into action and on a cool Saturday morning found ourselves packed into a car to Yercaud from Salem Railway Station where we met. The fact that we had a 4th member in the team (a friend's friend- of the opposite sex ;-)) added to the pleasure though none of us had any ulterior motives. We had reservations at Grange Resorts and the car drove us right to the resort which thankfully was located away from the bustling small town of Yercaud.

The resort was just right for us and we checked into the rooms. The rooms were large and comfortable and the complimentary breakfast was delicious(Idli, Bread Omlette and Uppma). We checked in at around 6 AM on a Saturday morning and it was foggy all around. By around 11 AM, we decided to start our sight seeing. There are 4 view points on the Shevaroy hills of the Eastern Ghats and they are curiously named Lady's Seat, Gents' Seat, Kids' Seat and Pagoda Point! The view from all four points are equally magnificent and you can see the entire city of Salem below and the winding mountain road you take to reach Yercaud.

The Shevaroy cave temple is another attraction and the beautiful Yercaud lake offers ample opportunity for boating. You can cycle around the lake or take a ride on the horse. The Anna Park on the lakeside has a mini zoo and we saw a beautiful peacock with its feathers fully hoisted shaking its booty and taking pride in its appearance. The mini aquarium is another attraction around the lake and a bumpy ride on the All Terrain Vehicle promises a wee bit of adventure for those who love it!

The weather was cool and pleasant throughout though we were right in the peak of summer and it offered a good getaway for us from the sveltering heat of Kochi. Yercaud is aptly referred to as the "poor man's Ootty" and a trip to Yercaud is not very heavy on your purse. We spent the entire weekend for a little over 2 grands and the resort as well as the restaurants in the town offered high quality food and services at affordable cost. More than anything else, it is the serenity and purity of Yercaud that attracts you the most. It is not fully exploited commercially yet and that is the biggest plus of Yercaud.

Yercaud is also considered a great place for honey mooning- thanks to the resorts that are located over vast expanse of land and a variety of spots that are empty throughout the day. The weather also adds to its charm.

If you are looking for a quick getaway at an affordable price, you know where to head to. Even if you do not opt for Grange Resorts, make sure you check into the boutique inside the resort that offers a variety of attractive stuff at reasonable prices. Your wife/ GF will love it for sure ;-)

Daddy Fools Around...

Ad- men turned movie directors often end up with films that look uber cool but make no sense whatsoever. The situation is the same with debutant director Aashiq Abu who has helmed "Daddy Cool"- the only thing catchy about the movie is its title!

Its a kiddie movie no doubt but that does not allow a director to play around with characters and making real stuff sound and look like a video game. He loses the confidence of the grown up's alright but the silly climax of Daddy Cool is the kind even 6 year old's will have troubles accepting!

On a positive note are Mammootty's youthful looks, Master Dhananjay's smart performance, Sameer Thahir's camera work coupled with the Art Direction and Costumes. The kind of money that has been spent in accentuating the coolth of the movie does not justify the apology for a script. Add to it Daniel Balaji's eccentric performance, Richa Pallod's struggle with lip synching and an ever expanding Biju Menon- this Daddy ain't cool Mr. Abu!

Govind Padmasoorya's confidence might earn him more offers and the title graphics are the best seen in Malayalam cinema till date. That more than sums up "Daddy Fool!"

Teenage Troubles

My earliest memory of "Kaanamarayathu" is watching it at Shenoys theatre as a 5 year old along with my grandma and aunt and singing along with Krishnachandran that iconic "Oru Madhurakkinavin" while Rahman was cavorting on screen wearing his brief :-) As I sat through the timeless classic on VCD almost 25 years later, I could understand clearly what Malayalam Cinema of today is lacking- a scriptwriter like Padmarajan and an maverick director like I V Sasi (who is now past his prime!)

Kaanamarayathu has a plethora of star actors each contributing significantly to the plot and ending up putting a wonderful performance- right from Mammootty who plays the uber cool Roy to Rahman's energetic youth to Sobhana's spirited Sherlie to Seema's mature doctor to Unnimary's playful housewife to Lalu Alex's concerned older brother to Bahadur's witty office boy- its a pleasure watching these actors perform characters that have been very well etched out!

Padmarajan has always been a master with his dialogues and you see his brilliance and naturalism all over the script of Kaanamarayathu. Add to it, I V Sasi's skilful direction, Syam's melodious music (Janaki and Krishnachandran are the singers), Ajayan Vincent's meticulous camera work and some razor sharp editing- no wonder Kaanamarayathu ended up a blockbuster that still lingers on in the minds of the movie goers.

Catch it on DVD/ VCD if you have not seen it before and you will see flashes of brilliant acting by Sobhana- you realize its no surprise she went on to become an iconic actress...

Bhai- Bhai Whine, Pa- Ma Shine!

If you want to know how much it helps to have talented actors on board, you should definitely watch Onir's "Sorry Bhai!". The title sounds youthful and the story line is bold and very much belongs to the new generation but surprisingly its the 2 senior actors that score- Shabana Azmi and Boman Irani playing a couple the 2nd time after the hugely successful "Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd"

Sorry Bhai! is about Harsh (Sanjay Suri), Siddharth (Sharman Joshi) and Aaliyah (Chitrangada Singh). Harsh and Aaliyah are engaged and want to get married in Mauritius where they met and it is upto Harsh's younger brother Siddharth to bring his parents Gayatri and Naveen to the wedding venue. Naveen is cool about it and takes an instant liking for Aaliyah but Gayatri is furious that her son could do something like this. Harsh is busy with work and this makes life difficult for Aaliyah who is trying to reconcile with his parents. Enter Siddharth into Aaliyah's life and all hell breaks loose when Aaliyah and Siddharth fall hopelessly in love with each other.

It is to Onir's credit that he makes his actors deliver good performances and makes the whole plot looks convincing. Shabana and Boman support Onir in his endeavors and constantly rise above the script, delivering their dialogues with charm, wit and intelligence. Sanjay Suri is adequate as the ambitious Harsh and Sharman Joshi looks confused enough to play Siddharth. The sad part is with the characterization of Aaliyah who is made to look like a whore and Chithrangada Singh just fails to deliver. Onir also messes up with the confrontation scene between the brothers and it is so surprisingly low on drama that it looks unreal!

Sachin Kumar's camera captures the beauty of Maldives very well and the selection of white background and costumes while depicting characters with grey shades, is a good directorial touch. The best part of "Sorry Bhai!" is that its fast and does not waste much time in establishing its characters. This is modern, youthful, intelligent multiplex cinema that is further enhanced by the presence of talented actors like Shabana and Boman! Dont miss it on DVD or Satellite TV. It is worth your time :-)

Season of Boredom!

Pseudo intellectualism is so deeply ingrained in the average Malayalee psyche that our film makers these days create mediocre stuff (or even worse than that) and go singing around as if these are the best films anybody could make! We saw that happening with T V Chandran's lazily made "Vilaapangalkkappuram" and now it is the turn of Syamaprasad with the supposedly bold, youthful and different "Hruthu".

Honestly, I have always been a fan of Syamaprasad ever since his DD days- I thought his Uyirthezhunelppu and Maranam Durbalam are the best to have come out on Indian television. Though he messed up with his debut feature film "Kallu Kondoru Pennu", he more than made it up with "Agni Saakshi", "Akale" and the brilliant "Ore Kadal". Unfortunately, Hruthu scores few notches lower than even "Kallu Kondoru Pennu" and a fair share of the blame should go to the scriptwriter Joshua Newton!

Newton's distorted view of today's youth and the IT industry is where the problem is. One of his lead characters is gay and the scriptwriter finds it disturbing to disclose it. Even more worrisome is the way he slots the character as a villain- It is as if he is trying to proclaim that a person with a different sexual orientation cannot be normal! And the biggest blooper of it all is that the character's sexual orientation has nothing to do with the plot on hand!

He goes all wrong with the characterization of pretty much everyone- Varsha (an undeniably hot Rima Kallingal) is a compulsive flirt and hence has to join "gay" Sunny (Asif Ali, loud!) as an antagonist in the eyes of the pure and virtuous Sharath (Nishan, wooden). Jaya Menon who plays Zarina, the head of the IT company that the three friends work for, needs to tone down. She is loud, clumsy and irritatingly over the top. The only actor who displays some flair for the art is director MG Sasi who plays Sharath's older brother- the revolutionary Hari.

Rahul Raj's songs are mediocre- "Koo Koo Theevandi" is easily the pick of the lot. Editing is lazy but camerawork is impressive. Cuckoo Parameswaran scores with the costumes yet again- they are so trendy, so today and wearable! Hruthu also feels painfully long even at under 120 minutes- some amount of trimming might help but I would still rate this one as Syamaprasad's worst till date!

Face (of) the Future!

After 7 years of struggle for the right role and the right film, "Puthiya Mugham" could well be Prithviraaj's ticket to superstardom in Malayalam cinema. Puthiya Mugham is not great cinema, it is downright escapist and has hardly anything new to offer in terms of content, but it is the vision of a new director and the novelty with which Prithviraaj has been presented that makes it a winner.

Puthiya Mugham starts off as a regular college film with the customary College group dance, ragging of first year students, one way love, a priest- principal who handles rogues with ease et al but gets into serious business the moment Prithviraaj and Bala come face to face over a trivial issue born out of proportion by Bala's trusted friend on campus.

I am not sure whether Diphan- Sindhuraj duo did this on purpose but the message that the film tries to drive home is very relevant in today's times- that the youth of today do not need anything significant to get an adrenalin rush! The entire plot of Puthiya Mugham rests on an issue that could have been resolved across a table but does not get resolved because the protagonists want to run a show of one upmanship that finally ends with the death of one of them!

Prithviraaj looks dashing and carries off his role with panache. He struggles with the mridangam though! He even exposes his much written over torso and scores some extra points with the show. Bala grinds his teeth deep into his first well written role in Malayalam. The dubbing artiste is a bit loud but Bala more than makes up for that with his performance. Priyamani is adequate as Anjana while the rotund Meera Nandan needs to watch her weight! The guy who plays Bala's friend is a revelation not only in acting but also with his agility during the dance number. The rest of the cast with the exception of Jagadeesh put up a good show.

It is good to see Deepak Dev in action after a long time- "Picha vacha" and "Kottum Kottum" are good numbers. The costumer messes up with Prithviraaj and Priyamani during the song sequence shot in Malaysia so much so that you dont even care for the lyrics. The technicians do a good job though the backdrop of the Picha vacha song is a bit too over the top! The action sequences are the best that Malayalam cinema has seen in recent times though they smell a bit too much of Anniyan, Ghajini and Ayan!

To sum up, Puthiya Mugham is very high on paisa vasool entertainment and will definitely end up as Prithviraaj's biggest hit till date! Debutant director Diphan has had a good start and let's hope he continues making good entertainers in future too...

Lousy Love: Yesterday, Today

Socha Na Tha and Jab We Met loudly proclaimed the arrival of a director to look forward to- Imtiaz Ali- who knew the pulse of today's youth too well and who made movies without any pretensions whatsoever. His journey to fame was a quick one and suddenly the whole of Bollywood wanted to work with him. But, Imtiaz Ali is no Karan Johar to keep his identity intact, a fact that you realize as you sit through the tiresome "Love Aaj Kal"

The good thing about his last 2 outings was that they had Imtiaz Ali written all over them. Sadly, Love Aaj Kal has every other director's name written all over it but Imtiaz Ali's. Throughout the movie, you get a sense of deja vu, a "been there, seen that" kind of feel and it reminds you of the escapist romances of the 80's and the 90's- the kind that were helmed by directors ranging from Rahul Rawail to Raj Kanwar to Yash Chopra to Adi Chopra to Kunal Kohli to Karan Johar to Siddharth Anand!

A tiny spark of Imtiaz's intelligence can be sensed in the scene where Saif and Deepika chat over phone after they part where Deepika tells Saif that she never used to get drunk but did not mind Saif doing naughty things to her since that's the only time he would do something! Making Saif play the young Rishi Kapoor in the flashback scene is another winner (you can see Saif struggling with his Punjabi, measuring upto the talented Rishi Kapoor is no mean task!). But at the end of the exasperating double love stories, all you end up with is double disappointment. As you see Deepika Padukone confronting Rahul Khanna (who looks surprisingly out of place) with her love for Saif Ali Khan, you cannot help but hooting since it is the most poorly conceived and directed sequence and the one that purports to be the most important.

The whole San Fransisco episode serves to add to your irritation and that was a track that could have been easily avoided. Even the dialogues get preachy after a point, which is so uncharacteristic of Imtiaz! The film also suffers from lack of "real" actors- Saif Ali Khan tries hard but ends up repeating his "Hum Tum" act, sans either the vibrance or the vigour. Deepika Padukone needs to start all over again- she is the biggest disappointment here. Even an actor of Rishi Kapoor's stature struggles with his ill written role and fails to make an impact. Newcomer Giselle Monteiro who plays Harleen Kaur has screen presence and Neetu Singh Kapoor appears in the climax as a whiff of fresh air and justifies sitting through this moronic 2 hours 20 minute no- show.

Pritham is surprisingly off key with the songs- Chor Bazaari is innovative and has been picturized very well. Twist and Aahun are ho hum and there is no comparison to that winner of a sound track in Jab We Met. Ali also gets his song placement totally wrong- they serve as speed breakers in the narration which is not right in the first place.

The only person who does not disappoint is probably Nataraja Subramanian whose camera captures London, Delhi and San Fransisco like never before. But good camerawork cannot definitely save a film that is bad on all other counts! Saif and Dinesh would have earned enough thanks to the pre release hype that LAK created but it is a fact that the film fails to live upto the expectations it created...

Ghosts must be crazy...

...or so you should believe if you want to make some sense out of Jhony Antony's Mammootty starrer "Ee Pattanathil Bhootham". Honestly, the film which did not work for most people I knew, did work fairly well for me because I am a sucker for fantasies. Once in a while it helps if a movie can transport you to another world where you look at things with the amusement you would normally associate to a 8- year old kid!

It has an exasperating first half, no doubt and features a 50- something 3- time national award winning iconic superstar attempting something very juvenile, something that he has not had to do even in the earliest part of his career, but if you discount all that, you will be in for a fairly enjoyable second half. The mimic in Mammootty comes alive when he dubs for the Bhootham and when the Bhootham tries to explain the difference between a Bhootham and a Pretham to the surprised superhero Jimmy (played again by Mammootty), it starts making sense to you as well. The climax where the Bhootham says he is too young to marry Kavya Madhavan brings a chuckle though its the scriptwriter duo trying to make a dig at Mammootty who refuses to be paired with leading ladies who have crossed 30.

Unfortunately for the film, the circus camp which the premise is based on does not provide a backdrop that is entertaining enough and the graphic shots that show Mammootty driving the bike is utterly kiddish- the kind even kids would refuse to accept. The supporting cast does not have much to do but all are good at their respective places. The bhootham Mammootty being captured inside the bottle and turning the vile wizard into a hippopottamus at the circus are good tricks but to what extent Bhootham will work with kids of this generation generously fed on a diet of GI Joe's and Transformers remain to be seen...

If you still have that child in you, Ee Pattanathil Bhootham might amuse you in parts. Others can safely stay away...

I am back!

This kind of regular absence from the blogging world and then coming back with some sort of vengeance is getting tiresome even for me...but what to do? Have been busy with many things for the past month and half that included a weekend trip with friends, close relatives on visit, my PC and the internet on strike and the preparations associated with a business trip to North America.

It took me some time to recollect myself and here I am, back in the wired world after what seems to me like ages...Hopefully, I will be more regular going forward...

Honest Mumbling # 2

I am in the mood for honesty and here comes another little known fact about myself. I really dont know how anyone reading this would react but I am very serious when I say that I love to take bath. I can bathe innumerable number of times a day and the sheer joy of getting drenched and wet gives me a high.

Its not just bathing, even now when I see torrential rains outside, I find it difficult to control my instinct to get drenched! As a school kid, I used to be home alone most evenings- my sister would be in the creche and ma and pa would be at work- and I used to be out at the first drop of rain. I used to enjoy getting drenched so much that I used to climb the terrace to get drenched in the rain in all its splendor and glory. After all this, I used to get into the shower to have another round of getting drenched with clean water and by the time, ma was home, I would be dry, fresh and presentable again.

My fetish for taking bath continues even to this date and the only thing I am particular about is cold water- no matter how freezing the temperature outside is. This habit of mine is the only thing that helps me get over the Kochi summers- No one shouts at me when I bath 3- 4 times a day in the scorching summer!

My fetish extends to my toileteries as well. The very thought of using a new soap bar or a new shampoo drives me crazy and on such days, I keep bathing forever till my mom or sis start pounding on my bathroom door. I also love the bath I take after the customary oil massage once every month and also after my visit to the Saloon every month for hair cut.

This might sound very very odd and strange but I must tell you this is true. All my friends who know me from my CA days would vouch for this since I used to take an hour to finish my bath and it is not without reason. Gosh! I have written so much about taking bath that I should get into the shower now. Where's my towel?

Dinner at Times Square

The title might sound exciting but the dinner was not. The Times Square in question is a supposedly 3 star Hotel on Club Road, Ernakulam. While I abstain from questioning its star rating, let me tell you that the food was way below standard and the empty restaurant on a Sunday evening tells me that I can rightfully say so.

We, a group of 5 ventured into the restaurant a few minutes past 9 PM and found just one table occupied in the entire restaurant. We were already quite hungry and did not want to start looking for another option. Also, none of us had been to this one earlier. So, we decided we will go ahead and see what Times Square has in store for us. We were in for major disappointment.

Tomato Soup tasted sweet and the Chicken stock in the soup my friends ordered gave out a stale taste. Crispy Fried Vegetables had only cabbage with a trace of Capsicum. Paneer Butter Masala had very little Butter and I had to really hunt for the Paneer cubes in the gravy. Dal Fry had more vegetables than Dal itself. The saving grace was the fresh n fluffy Kerala Paratha which tasted good.

The Cool Bloom I ordered for dessert was supposed to have lime and mint but tasted more like Pista Milk shake- I did not create a ruckus because it tasted just fine. Pineapple Smoothie had too much of ice cream and the Fruit Salad had just a couple of fruits- Sour Grapes and over ripe Pineapples. All this at the cost of little over a grand and we left blaming it all on our "Time". This Times Square is squarely avoidable...

The Song that's rocking the nation...

...has to be the one from Kaminey- Dhan Te Nan. The magical combo of Gulzar and Vishal Bharadwaj is back and from the looks of it "Dhan Te Nan" is going to rock the nation just like "Beedi Jalai Le" did 3 years back!

With Sukhwinder Singh and Vishal Dadlani behind the microphone and a winner of a video in hand, this single song has contributed significantly towards making "Kaminey" the most anticipated release of the year in Bollywood. Shahid Kapur and Priyanka Chopra are on a roll and Vishal Bharadwaj has an impeccable track record- Maqbool, Omkara, Blue Umbrella, Makdee- Dont you smell a winner here? I am all eyes for Kaminey when they are gonna be out in August 2009. Till then, I am rocking to "Than De Nan"...

Budget time in India!

After the Interim Budget, the General Elections, the resounding victory of the UPA and the promising cabinet that took charge, all eyes were on Mamta Banerjee and Pranab Mukherji. The reason- Railway Budget and Union Budget for 2009. The budget is out, the analysis is done and the general verdict is out. Mamta is largely a winner and Pranab did not deliver it fully! I too echo the sentiments of the majority of the country and here are some points that I thought was worth highlighting in the 2 budgets:

Railway Budget 2009:

• Introduction of non stop trains from 12 metros
• Proposal to introduce double decker trains
• Proposal to upgrade the Railway Hospital at Trivandrum to a Medical College
• Introduction of new trains and extension of some trains within Kerala- a state that is often neglected at Railway Budgets
• Introduction of Rs.25passes for the under privilaged
• "Yuva" trains
• No changes in Freight and Passenger fares
• Reduction of Tatkal rates and the period
• 50 Railway stations to be upgraded to international standards
• 375 Adarsh stations

Announcement of Welfare schemes of railway employees and the special privilages extended to Kolkata and West Bengal might have brought frown to few faces but there is no denying the fact that Mamta has put in deep thoughts into the budget and made it highly populist and user friendly. The budget proposals, now doubt, are shining and what remains for all of us to see is whether the proposals are actually implemented and whether they achieve what is expected of them. Only time can tell...

Union Budget 2009:

On a positive note...

• Abolition of Fringe Benefit Tax
• No changes to Tax Rates
• Abolition of Surcharge for Personal tax payers
• 10A, 10B tax holidays extended by another year (STPI, FTZ etc)
• MAT Credit set off period extended from 7 to 10 years
• Personal Tax- Increase of taxation slabs for all classes of assessees
• General Focus on Rural Development
• LLP's to be assessed in the same manner as Partnerships

On a not so positive note...

• MAT increased to 15% from 10%
• Surcharge stays on for Corporate Tax
• More services brought under Service Tax Net (as usual)
• Increased tax on Set top Boxes making it dearer (Its already very costly!)
• Not much incentives for the Industrial sector considering the tough times we are in
• Special aids extended to West Bengal and Sri Lankan Tamils making it look like favor returned to allies rather than contributing towards the nation or the general public

However, I need to confess that I am still very hopeful of the UPA government under the leadership of Dr Manmohan Singh with stalwarts like P Chidambaram, Pranab Mukherji, AK Antony, SM Krishna and many more. I am hoping that the economy picks up soon and moves in the right direction. Its tough times all around and only the fittest can survive. Lets hope the Union Government is fit enough to lead us out into better times...

Wimbledon 2009

If in the Men's category, it was more about Roger Federer outdoing Pete Sampras in a tough battle with Andy Roddick, it was the sibling rivalry in action in the Ladies' Category with the younger sister, Serena marching over the older sister, Venus in a not so difficult match. All eyes in the country were on Leander Paes and Cara Black, the Mixed Doubles jodi that had to succumb to Mark Knowles and Anna Lena in the finals- quite disappointing for us Indians! The highlight of Wimbledon 2009 was of course the men's finals which seemed never ending at one point of time and at the end of which not only did Federer walk away with the trophy but also created a World Record in the process- that of 15 Grand Slam titles outdoing Pete Sampras! There were quite a few surprises in the greatest Tennis tournament this time as well- Rafael Nadal pulling out owing to ill health, Soderling- finalist of French Open 2009- failing to make it to even the quarter finals, Dinara Safina- reigning French Open champion losing out in the Semi Finals, Andy Murray failing at the Semi Finals and many others who could not grab the limelight this time around- Wilfred Tsonga, Djokovic, Hewitt, Azarenka, Dementiva,...the list is endless. But, that at the end of the day is how things end up in the Sports world! Wimbledon 2009 will be remembered for Federer though...he is in fine form and looks like he is all set to lift the US Open as well...

The Greatest Tennis Player ever!

I always thought so about Roger Federer and look at how he has proved it to the entire world. The king of Grass has won the kingdom of Grass once again and this time along it comes with the World Record of 15 Grand Slam titles- can you believe it?

Winner of Australian Open in 2004, 2006 and 2007; US Open in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008; Wimbledon in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and his lone French Open title earlier this year- that sums up the 15 Grand Slams with which he has outperformed another great Tennis star- Pete Sampras!

When the entire world thought that Federer was good only on grass turf, he proved them wrong with a clean win at the French Open earlier this year with which ironically, he equalled Pete's world record. And now with Wimbledon, he has done it! Later this year, the talented and immensely in form Federer could lift his 6th consecutive US Open title and go on to pick up his 16th- till that happens, let us keep our fingers crossed and raise a toast for the phenomenon that is Federer :-)

Meanderings of a Messed up Mind...

15 minutes into Bhramaram, you slowly start realizing that this time around Blessy has worked towards showcasing Mohanlal the actor in a plot that does ample justice to his unquestionable talent and screen presence. The script relies totally and completely on his leading man and every other character is seen through the eyes of Sivankutty, the battered soul played soul stirringly by the Super Star.

I had heard that Blessy was basing "Bhramaram" on a premise similar to Bharathan's skilfully directed "Thaazhvaram" and I was hoping that it should not be the case since I knew very clearly that Blessy would not be able to do justice to a similar script. But, thankfully, Bhramaram is quite a different ball game altogether and Blessy, the director, scores a few notches higher than Blessy, the writer here.

Blessy's linear narrative style and the contrasting life styles of the 3 main players provide many layers of contradiction within the movie- allowing cameraman Ajayan Vincent to clearly bring out his talent with the lens. The initial 30 minutes of indoor drama within Unni Pillai's modern apartment suffocates not only Unni Pillai and his wife (Suresh Menon and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy) but also the audience. Cut it to the lush greenery and bright exteriors of a silent hamlet somewhere in Idukki district that forms the backdrop of Sivankutty's blessed family life and you realize that Blessy, thankfully, is in his elements here compared to his earlier outing.

While Blessy's choice of the 3 main actors is good- with Suresh Menon getting a chance to play something different from his comic persona that has been done to death on television and the hugely talented but neglected V G Muralikrishnan coming back into the limelight- he falters in the casting of Bhoomika Chawla who looks completely out of place amongst the rustic folk on the hills. Blessy's husband- wife duo always indulge in touchy- feely romance and I dont think a couple in real life would do such things in the presence of their kid daughter. The weakest link in the film is the casting and performance of the child artiste who plays Mohanlal's kid. Sobha Mohan's theatrical outburst at the wedding should not be reason enough for a 3 year old kid to start believing that her father is a murderer! On the other hand, the sprightly Nivedita scores as Suresh Menon's smart daughter. However, Blessy the writer can be a little more careful when he writes dialogues for his child characters in future- all his kids, right from Sanusha in Kazhcha to the child artiste in this one- mouth dialogues that are unbecoming and unnatural for real kids their age.

There is no point in discussing the limited screen time given to other actors- Lakshmi Gopalaswamy (who looks stunning as the upper middle class house wife), KPAC Lalitha, E A Rajendran, Fathima Babu or even Bhumika herself- the focus here is on the meanderings of Mohanlal's disturbed mind which has been brought out quite well.

Not that the film is free from flaws- the track involving the neighbouring Inspector and his wife could have easily been avoided, the lorry driver gazing and commenting on Mohanlal's genitals was crude, the journey to Mohanlal's place could have been cut short- all through one feels the absence of a talented editor with razor sharp scissors. Vinod Shankar is simply not good enough. Mohan Sithara's music is pedestrian but Anil Panachooran's lyrics endear the 2 songs to one and all. All other technical departments have done their job well.

This is easily Blessy's best till date but a little more care on scripting and direction would have made "Bhramaram" a classic. It falls short on certain parameters but there is no denying that it is a refreshingly good watch. Grab your tickets now!

Pai Dosa@ Kochi

If you are a lover of Dosas and if you love varieties in Dosas in particular, you should never miss a chance to visit the Pai Dosa on MG Road (between Shenoys and Padma cinemas, on Pai Dosa Lane to be precise).

Dosas of different varieties are made hot and fresh to you based on your order and you have 36 mouth watering varieties of dosas to choose from. Apart from the regular Ghee Roast, Thattu Dosa, Masala Dosa, Paper Roast, Paper Masala, Uthappam, Onion Oothappam and Vegetable Oothappam, you also have Lasoon Dosa, Lasoon Masala, Chutney Dosa, Chutney Masala, Podi Dosa, Podi Masala, Kancheepuram Dosa, Kancheepuram Masala and many more...

If you feel Dosa could get better with addition of Egg, you can choose from Egg Dosa, Egg Masala, Duck Egg Roast, Kada Egg Dosa and more such varieties. Every variety of Dosa is served with yummy coconut- red chilly chutney, hot sambhar and pickle. A generous sprinkling of Pepper powder will be added to your Dosa if you like.

Grab a couple of dosas and wash them down with coffee, tea or lime juice. You will go home with the satisfaction of having had a yummy, hot and fresh meal at a price that will go very easy on your wallet (A dosa meal for 2 will cost you around 60 bucks!). So, what are you waiting for?