The Shawshank Redemption -- Movie Review

There is no point in following my regular review style of giving a brief gist of the story, the cast, the music & other technical aspects for this movie. After all, this is no ordinary movie and it deserves much more thought process than the regular fare.

There would be very few movies that can instill hope and the courage to keep fighting against all odds as this one. When Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is sentenced to two life sentences for a crime that he has not committed and sent to the Shawshank prison, life takes a dramatic turn for Dufresne. In the prison, he meets 'Red' Redding (Morgan Freeman), a long-timer in the prison. The way, in which Andy changes the prison from a dilapidated, decaying structure into a socialized place is at once endearing & uplifting. His never say die attitude is brought out well in the scene where he starts sending out 2 letters a week to the government instead of the 1 letter a week schedule that he followed for 6 years. And this happens after the Govt. approves of his proposal to get new books for the prison library. The serenity with which Andy moves around the prison unaffected by the surroundings & happenings is a lesson on obtaining peace from inside one's soul.

There are some soul-stirring dialogs that are bound to capture the heart of the viewers. "Salvation lies within", a dialog uttered by the warden is a simple yet powerful statement that encapsulates the teachings of the eastern philosophy. The conviction with which Andy says "Get busy living or get busy dying" is another strong statement whose importance cannot be overstated for it is about the choices that are presented to humans when leading their lives. The best line of the movie is reserved till the climax of the movie. In the letter to ‘Red’ Redding, Andy says “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies”. I couldn’t have summarized the movie better than these lines.

Last Cut: I have ordered for a permanent copy of the DVD. The least that you can do is to watch it atleast once.

Rating: 9.5/10

Blood Diamond -- Movie Review

How will a movie be if it portrayed some stark realities of the third world countries? How will it be if it makes you despise an object that people have always cherished & have a desire to possess? "Blood Diamond" does just that and more with a touching story and a gripping narration.

Set in the backdrop of the Sierra Leone's 1999 civil war, the story is about the intertwining of the lives of three people: Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), a smuggler of diamonds, Solomon (Djimon Hounsou), an African fisherman & Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), an American journalist. When civil war breaks out, Solomon is separated from his family and taken away to work in the diamond fields. Solomon finds a pink diamond and hides it away. How the diamond that he has stashed away near a field helps him to reunite with his family forms the rest of the plot. The story describing the greed for diamonds, the absolute lack of respect for human lives, children being taken away to be trained as terrorists form a gut wrenching and an emotionally disturbing tale.

Hounsou's performance has CLASS written all over it. As a father who is separated from his family, he comes up with a absolutely brilliant portrayal. DiCaprio does whats he does best with simple elan. Be it the cunning vile of the smuggler or the battle hardened nature of the soldier, DiCaprio pulls it off with ease. Jennifer Connelly's performance is decent.

If somebody had told me that the movie was indeed made during the civil war of Sierra Leone, the chances of me believing it are very high. Such is the extraordinary nature of the photography & art direction that they act as great assets to this incredible movie. The background score is impressive with effective usage of African tribal music to add a touch of reality to the proceedings.

Last Cut: Except for minor irritant of the closing 10 minutes of the movie panning out on expected lines, this is an absolute "Must watch" movie. The emotional impact of this movie is something that will linger in your minds for quite sometime.

Rating: 7/10

Malaisaamy -- Movie Preview

Movie name: Malaisaamy
Tag line: The unbearable
Hero: Vijaya T.Rajendar
Heroine: Mumtaj (Who else do you think will agree to act with T.R?)
Supporting Cast: One "Ajakku" second hero, one "Thangachi" for reciting sentimental dialogues, tons of Glycerin
Director, Producer, Light boy, Car driver, Mess boy: T.R

Story: Our hero T.R is sleeping in his bungalow wearing his Adidas shoes and Reebok shirt when he has a weird dream(And yeah, our hero is a very poor guy who has only a Benz car to drive around the city). In his dream, he is transported to the forests of amazon and there he meets his long lost brother(Please see photo below). T.R & his brother had got separated during their childhood days when they had gone to play gilli near the river. The story kick starts from here and it traces T.R's journey to Amazon forest to meet his brother. Mumtaz, sister sentiment & the dummy hero provide the much needed support for our hero. The second hero happens to be a tribal person and he has the uncanny ability to always fall in love with T.R's sister however horrible looking she might be.

The reunion scene between T.R & his brother is supposed to be the highlight of the movie and the following song plays in the background:

(Tune happens to be similar to "Aathi vaasi naane" from KD)

Kaatu Vaasi Naane, Karun Korangu Neeye
Thaadi vechavan naane, enna maranthu ponavan neeye......

There are also the T.R style dialogues which the general public has taken such a liking to. One stolen sample is given below:

En anbu magane Simbu
Nayanthara unna paathu vita oru Ambu
Kaathal epavumme Vambu
Naan solratha nee Nambu
Vanngitharaen unnaku eversilver Sombu

As usual, there is a lot of sister sentiment and hence loads & loads of glycerin to be wasted in production costs. Whether the brother comes back with T.R to the city or whether T.R stays back in the Amazon forests with his brother forms the interesting part of this highly anticipated movie.

Honor Among Thieves -- Book Review

The year is 1993. The Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm) just got over with the Americans smirking over their victory & the Iraqis still licking their wounds. It is payback time, feels Saddam. He comes up with a cunning yet daring plan to steal the "American Declaration of Independence". He also has the sarcasm & wit to name it the "Operation Desert Calm".

The story begins in the above said racy fashion and it is an absolute page turner from start to finish. It is a page turner in the beginning because of the simple fact that the racy start builds up momentum to proceed at breakneck speed for most part of the book. It is a page turner during the final stages for the sad fact that you just want to get done with this absolutely hopeless book!!!

What starts off as a Hollywood style Tom cruise movie meanders into a Kollywood style Vijayakanth movie................... Anything & everything that the Hero does turns out to be a success to such an extent that a picnic to the Sun by the Hero has been planned as the plot for the sequel to this novel!!!

I have nothing against the writing style of Jeffrey Archer but it is just that the lack of description of any sort and a wafer thin plot that looks ludicrous at best do not invoke the most favorable reviews. Added to this is the fact that I am big fan of Frederick Forsyth, the master of well researched story telling. Maybe the fact that I look to learn something new from each & every book that I read not being met in this particular novel has caused this sourness.

Bottomline: Read the book till the halfway stage, throw it away, get a ticket to the latest "Gaptun" Vijayakanth movie and watch just the climax. It all would add up to be just the same as reading this novel till the end.

Paruthi Veeran -- Movie Review

What does it take to make a movie that attracts the mass as well as the class audience? A great story? A taut screenplay? Brilliant performances? Technical extravaganza? The movie "Paruthi Veeran" could be one where we could explore all these aspects as I am sure that it will be a huge commercial hit that would be patronized by the art lovers also.

It is the story of a person called Paruthi Veeran(Karthik) and his love for Muthazhagu(Priya Mani) that forms the crux of the movie. Due to the perennial problem of caste, Muthazhagu's father(Played by Ponnvannan) does not approve of his daughter's love with Paruthi Veeran. Whether Paruthi Veeran & Muthazhagu get married forms the rest of the story. The story also takes a detour to explain the reason for the permanent squabbles between Ponnvannan & paruthi Veeran's uncle Sevvazhai(Saravanan). The flashback that comes in the middle of the movie to explain this is a bit confusing and is probably the weakest link of the movie.

The poorly narrated story is compensated with an extraordinary screenplay that keeps the viewer's attention tied to the happenings on the screen & it is no exaggeration that there is not even a single dull moment in the movie. The emotional scenes intertwined with the hilarious scenes involving Karthik, Saravanan & a villager(Played by Kanja Karuppu) kept me totally engrossed in the movie. The movie slowly picks up pace and roars towards an unexpected climax that made me leave the theater with an impact that would take a few days to wear off.

I would have surely believed if somebody had told me that Karthik is acting in his 50th movie & not in his debut movie. So strong is his performance that no words can do justice to his portrayal of Paruthi Veeran. With a strong probability of me sounding cliched, Karthik has not acted but has lived as Paruthi Veeran. His body language, dialogue delivery and dance are of the highest calibre. Karthik will be a welcome addition to the Tamil tinsel world & is sure to give a tough fight for the likes of Surya & Vikram with his histrionic capabilities.

The surprise package of the movie is Priya Mani. I saw her debut film "Kankallal Kaithu Sei" and was left wondering on why the director Ameer had chosen her for his movie. My skepticism about her acting capabilities have been blown away after seeing her portrayal of the character of Muthazhagu. Be it the stubbornness that she shows when her father beats her for roaming with Paruthi Veeran, the soft & tender love for Paruthi Veeran or the courage even in the midst of adversities etches the Muthazhagu character in the minds of the audience. Do not miss out the scene where she expresses her love to Karthik in the open field.

Yuvan Shankar Raaja comes up with his guns blazing in the background scores. I generally consider it blasphemy to compare the background scores of any music director with that of the "One & Only" Illayaraaja but this is probably one movie where I would make an exception. Yuvan would have made his father proud by his background music and songs. The songs "Ayyayo" and "Ariyatha Vayasu" are bound to be in everyone's lips for sometime.

The camera of Ramji drinks in the rustic setting of the village and brings out exceptionally well the finer nuances of a typical village. The close up shots combined with the long shots depicting bareness add a flavor that needs to be savored. The songs have been picturized neatly and the use of the black & white shots during the flashback brings in the much needed authenticity of the period it depicts.

Last Cut: With the small irritant about the story being a bit tough to follow during the flashbacks notwithstanding, this is a movie that is sure to leave its footmarks in the history of Tamil cinema. A not to be missed movie.

Rating: 8/10

The Game -- Book review

Author: Neil Strauss
Year of Publication: 2005

Introduction: I came to know about this book from one of my friends when we were having a general discussion about girls. He recommended me this book as something that deals with seduction of women and the term 'Pickup Artist' represents those people who specialize in doing this. My main motive behind reading this book was more because of my curious nature to find out the techniques that are used in seduction. How useful has this book been? Did it teach me something useful?

The plot: When the author Neil Strauss becomes frustrated by his inability to get a girlfriend for himself, he accidentally comes across a online group consisting of the pickup artists. He learns that a person by the nickname of Mystery is conducting seminars on seduction of women. He decides to enroll for his seminar and christens himself as Style to keep his his real life identity a secret. From that moment on, his life follows a roller coaster pattern with lots of twists & turns. Whether he becomes successful in his quest & the descriptions of his various conquests forms the crux of the plot.

When you care to look beyond the sexciting story, it is a story that talks on being comfortable about oneself. It can be considered as a soul-searching journey in which the author finally finds himself. Is seduction of women & the ways that are suggested in the book the right way to find out about oneself? Does the 'End' justify the 'Means'? The author provides the answers to all these questions by the time he finishes the story.

Narration Style: Making an appealing & riveting film is no different from creating an interesting book. A great film needs a beginning that piques the interest of the viewer, then it needs to build on a story & then finally reaches a crescendo and a conclusion that links any loose ends that might have been created in the process of narration of the story.

The author follows the same pattern described above during the narration of the story. The book starts with a scene describing the author taking Mystery to the mental health center for assistance. Then, the author goes back in time to describe the series of events that led to this state of affairs. Till the last 50 pages, the author concentrates on narrating the past events. In the last 50 pages, the author moves to the present and concentrates on closing the loose threads that he had created. The fact that the story describes the actual events that took place in the author's life makes the job of the author really tough. He has to concentrate on the really significant events so as to ensure that the reader is not lost in his narration of inconsequential events. The author does this with perfection, never letting the reader lose interest.

The only grouch I have regarding the style of writing is the explicit description of some of the sexual encounters. This could have been avoided but again, I should have expected that from a book of this type in the first place.

Bottom line: I would have surely recommended a personal copy of this book if not for the fact that the writing is explicit in some of the places and this book wouldn't sit well in your personal collection. Get a copy from the library/friend, read it in private & return it before your parents catch you reading it. An excellent read for the simple reason that it asks people to explore and dig deep within themselves to find solutions for their shortcomings.

World Cup Series -- Team India

The old warriors Ganguly & Kumble are back in the team. The Indian team now sports a mix of fresh minds & rich experience. Then there is 'Big 3' of Sachin, Ganguly & 'Wall' Dravid combining powers with the swashbuckling Sehwag & the rollicking Dhoni. Is this team capable enough to bring home the world cup? An inexperienced bowling attack combined with the 'Old' warriors who will be prove to be liabilities in fielding will act as the undoing for this otherwise talented team. Expect India to crash out after the 'Super 8' stage.

Strengths:
1) Strong batting lineup
2) Mix of experience & fresh legs
3) The 'Big 3'

Weaknesses:
1) An inexperienced bowling attack that will wither away under pressure
2) Fielding
3) A listless Sehwag & Pathan

Position after Super 8 stage:
5 or 6(Five or six)

The squad:
Rahul Dravid (Captain), Ajit Agarkar, Mahendra Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Dinesh Karthik, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Sachin Tendulkar, Robin Uthappa

Expert Speaks: Vamsi's Take

Last Man Standing!

This seems to be story of the upcoming world cup wherein the hype surrounding the "most prestigious one-day tournament on the cricketing calendar" is going to be marred by the ability of each team to stand their best 11 on the field throughout the tour. All the teams are plagued either by injuries, out-of-form players or surprise retirements, which in turn ensured some drastic last minute changes. Most of the teams are now destined to fight for the world cup with either second-rated teams or with overaged individuals, and the selection criteria for each team is not based on talent and form, but rather on lack of options.

It wasn't long ago that team India was run by Greg Chappell's theory of engineering the young blood to take up the mantle and the experience of Dravid and Sachin to guide them through before they move into the realms of retirment. The idea was to ensure that a well-nurtured young team has the potential to sustain injuries and it also improves the fielding department, but that back-fired for a lot of valid reasons. And now, we enter the world cup with a team that is loaded with experienced individuals, most of whom will be playing their last World cup, and most of whom are carrying their injuries with them. But when you compare with the rest of the teams, on paper, India is fielding the best possible 15 in the world.

The story of the Indian team has been revolving a lot around one man, Sourav Chandidas Ganguly. His comeback to the team has been nothing but sensational and it resembles a lot to any popular Bollywood movie theme.... but can he live upto the expectation remains to be seen. An in-form Indian team was drubbed by the WI when we toured them last, and Ganguly wasn't part of that squad. Infact, it has been quite a while since Ganguly toured WI and though the pitches there are said to resemble a lot to the subcontinent batting beauties, it will be a different ball game all together playing in foreign conditions after a long time.

India have no batting worries yet, they have the explosive Robin Uthappa to support the rejuvenated Ganguly, and the middle order has the likes of Dravid, Sachin and Yuvraj. And then you have the maturity of Dhoni to finish things and if he were to show the same kind of consistency that he's shown over the past one year, India will definetely take some effort to beat. And if you are to look for more batting options, bring Sehwag in the middle order, given any signs of form. Ofcourse Dravid would always want Sehwag to feature in the mix of things, but he too cannot overlook his inconsistency with the bat and surely, he will not be missed in the field. An ideal situation would be to have Irfan Pathan fill in the position of number 7 that, from good olden days of cricket, was that of a genuine all-rounder. Pathan can still smack the ball out of the park with the bat, but it is when he bowls should he ensure the ball doesn't end up there too often. Pathan is no Shaun Pollock or Glen Mcgrath to trouble the batsman with his length, and during the early days of his career it was his swing that was doing wonders for him. Now, there is loads of support that can be dumped on Pathan from the captain and coach but getting selected for the world cup itself should act as a morale-booster. But once again it is upto him to come up with the goods when it matters.

A break has certainly done a world of good for Zaheer Khan, but the likes of Kumble, Harbhajan and Agarkar have been pretty ordinary off-late. Agreed that they are world class bowlers in their own ranks but they haven't done enough to trouble the batsman in the recent series. In our backup bowling options, Munaf Patel has the accuracy but lacks the fitness and Sreesanth has been too erratic. The biggest headache is the likeliness of our bowling to wilt under a counter-attack. For now, India has no answer to this.

But here is the interesting part. If you look at the winners of the 1996 world cup, the Srilankan team had a mix of youth and experience - in all departments. Comparing that team with the current Indian team, a similar mix and match of individuals can be found in all aspects and also the pitches are likely to suit the subcontinent teams. If India can go through this two-month period without any injuries, and if the big guns fire, I don't see any reason why India should not bring home the cup, albeit after a quarter century. And most of the big guns, be it batting or bowling, are playing their last world cup, so it doesn't get any bigger than this for all of them.

World Cup Series -- Team Sri Lanka

The Srilankan world cup triumph in 1996 has always been discredited by the fact that two teams (Australia & West Indies) forfeited their league matches because of security reasons. The Lankans, with their present lineup, has a chance to redeem themselves in the world cup stage. With a bowling lineup well suited for the West Indian conditions and an equally talented batting order, expect this team to prove to be a thorn in the ambitions of many a teams. With Jayasuriya regaining his savage 'touch', count this team in the list of teams for the semifinals.

Strengths:
1) An excellent bowling lineup with various options
2) A 'back to his best' Sanath Jayasuriya
3) Astute captaincy of Mahela Jayawardane

Weaknesses:
1) Over dependence on a few key players like Vaas & Muralitharan
2) A suspect middle order

Position after Super 8 stage:
4(Four)

The squad:
Mahela Jayawardene (Captain), Russel Arnold, Marvan Atapattu, Malinga Bandara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dilhara Fernando, Sanath Jayasuriya, Nuwan Kulasekara, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Silva, Upul Tharanga, Chaminda Vaas

World Cup Series -- Team Australia

With the recent 5 consecutive losses not withstanding, this Aussie team is still the team to beat. The batting order runs deep with batsmen of the caliber of Andrew Symonds coming in at 6 to spice up things. Then there is Michael Hussey, who is touted as the replacement to Michael Bevan, to create havoc among the opposition bowlers. Bowling remains the weakest link to this otherwise 'Near perfect' team. Even with the absence of Brett Lee, the bowling attack is still a formidable one with the great Glenn McGrath leading it from the front. Expect this team in the semifinals.

Strengths:
1) A great allround team
2) Ability to adjust to any condition
3) Their winning habit

Weaknesses:
1) Recent reversals
2) A 'not so formidable' bowling attack

Position after Super 8 stage:
1(One)

The squad:
Ricky Ponting (Captain), Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn McGrath, Andrew Symonds, Shaun Tait, Shane Watson

World Cup Series -- Team West Indies

Will the West Indies bring back the cup they used to dominate when the tournament started in the 70's? Is Lara capable enough to add the elusive world cup to his stupendous list of achievements? Does the present team have enough firepower to win this edition of the world cup? Home advantage always plays a great role in converting a formidable team into a unbeatable one and this Windies team would be greatly benefited by the support of the crowds. With a good combination of slow, medium & fast bowling options, this team has the personnel to make it to the semifinals of the tournament.

Strengths:
1) Home conditions
2) Bowling options
3) An improved fielding

Weaknesses:
1) Over dependence on Lara & Gayle
2) A weak middle order
3) Lack of a genuine strike bowler in the class of McGrath or Bond

Position after Super 8 stage:
3(Three)

The squad:

Brian Lara (Captain), Ian Bradshaw, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Corey Collymore, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor

World Cup Series -- Team Pakistan

If there is something that is consistent about any of the Pakistan cricket teams, it is their ability to be consistently inconsistent. With Akthar & Asif found 'unfit' for the world cup, it will be a Herculean task for this team to make it to the semifinals stage. With the services of Abdul Razzaq also being not available, only a miracle would be able to pull this team towards its second world cup triumph. All said & done, expect this team to pull some great upsets during the 'Super 8' stage as they could be monster slayers when they decide to work as a team. (Well, 'assuming' that they decide to work as a team)

Strengths:
1) Their 'Super' sized ego
2) ???? (If you find something else, please let me know)

Weaknesses:
1) Inability to work as a team
2) Absence of Asif, Akthar & Razzaq
3) Shoddy fielding

Position after Super 8 stage:
7(Seven)

The squad:

Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Azhar Mahmood, Danish Kaneria, Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Yousuf, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Rao Ifitkhar Anjum, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat, Younis Khan

Expert Speaks: Vamsi's Take

Team Inconsistent!!

Of all the balls bowled by Shoaib Akhtar, two will always be etched in the memory of all cricketing folks around the world. The first one is in the 1999 world cup semi-final against New Zealand where in-set Stephen Flemming is cleaned up by a beauty, sending his off-stump sailing all the way to the keeper. All the players including Flemming himself were stunned by the pace of the delivery, and the chances for New Zealand slowly slippped away in that match. The second one is in the 2003 world cup league match against India, wherein a pumped up Akhtar was given the second over of the match and the third ball disappeared over the fence over third man for six. The momentum given by the Indians, in particular by Sachin, in that over changed the complexion of the match and what should have been a tough chase ended up to be a walk in the park. This is the story of the Pakistan team in all. Though the example quoted above shows matches that are 4 years apart, this team was and is capable of coming up with such a contrasting performance two matches in a row. Who would have thought, that a team ends up in the final of one of the most gripping world cups of recent times, would lose to Bangladesh in the league stage.

The Pakistan teams of 1992 and 1999 were well-balanced, as is always the case with any of their other world cup teams. They always tend to find the right balance of batsmen, bowlers and all-rounders, who can win the match from any situation. But what really worked for them during these two world cups in particular was the build-up leading to it. On both occasions they had good series at home and away and they gelled as a unit by the time the world cup was near. Comparing either of these with the outfit of 2003, the morale of the team was at a low following some disastrous tours prior to the start and some insipid interest of the politicians in playing with the team composition. The result, they crashed out of the world cup without making it to the super sixes. Another important note is the discipline of the team members. Most of the cricketers in the team considered their presence itself in the middle should be reason enough to win the match and never went on to put some effort in actually working towards it. Consistent players end up delivering the goods and are always feared because of their uncanny ability to do their basics right at any given situation, and that comes more out of practice. These were the kind of lessons that the Akhtars, Akrams and Waqars of the 2003 squad realized, albeit too late.

The good part for Pakistan now is that now they have a team that is not only well-balanced, but also has the discipline among its players that was definetely lacking at one point. The team has long realized that even without the services of "superstars", they can still come up with decent and consistent performances as long as the players are willing to take up the responsibility. Inzamam has been able to nurture his young squad with effect for quite sometime now and is also known for shaping up the careers of some promising your players like Imran Farhat, Mohammed Asif and Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan. And then he has the ever-reliable Mohammed Yousuf in the middle order who's been scoring runs by the mountains. The form of the captain himself has been commendable for the past few years now and ofcourse, it is a well known fact that it was the big stage of world cup 1992 that Inzamam powerfully announced his entry into the arena of cricketing greats.

So where does Pakistan stand in its chances of winning its second world cup? Lets verify each department. In batting, they have troubles at the top of their order, but the middle order seems to have settled in quite well with Inzamam, Younis Khan and Mohammed Yousuf providing them the stability and acceleration. They have a promising wicket-keeper in Kamran Akmal, who's shown the maturity of a middle order batsman but can also use the long handle very well. And then they have the belters - Afridi and Azhar Mehmood. Razzaq could have done some wonders for Pakistan in this department had he not joined the long list of injured players, but then Azhar Mehmood is also known to weild the long handle well. Their inexperienced bowling attack will be put to test in this series, and the doping charges/injuries to both Shoaib and Asif will definetely dent that department. But the conditions under which their back-up bowling has been tested are similar to those that will be found in the WI, and if the nature of the pitches are any close to those found in the sub-continent, their bowling might just click.

Does this mean this team has the ability to go all the way? The answer is a yes and no. This by far forms the beauty of unpredictable teams. Their build up to this year's world cup has been nothing less dramatic. From the brewing politics within the team to doping charges, from forcibly forfeiting test matches to puppet captains, the whole team has been in the hot seat for its histronics off the field than on it. And the prospect of winning against their neighbors has always put the team in a positive note, but unfortunately their last home series against the Indians was another disastrous drubbing that forced some more changes in the team composition. Just said all this, they just might surprise enough teams with consistent performances through the league stage, that might get them a good standing in the super 8. And then, one man's gain has to come at the loss of another, so if the other teams are to lose some ground somewhere during the league stage, Pakistan might just eke itself into the semi-finals. At this stage though, it appears to be a very long shot!!

World Cup Series -- Team South Africa

The proteas have been the "So close yet so far" team for a long time that it is time for them to prove their mettle at the largest showdown in world cricket. Will this team of great talent do what it has not been able to do after coming back to the league in 1992? Will it prove the maxim "The team with the best fielding side wins the world cup" true? Did the coaching talent of Jonty Rhodes help the proteas to go to the next level in fielding? Has the team "exorcised" the ghosts of their 1999 semifinal tie? With the record 436 run chase behind them, I feel that the Proteas have come a long way. With a bit of luck on their side, this South African team has got what is needed for holding aloft the world cup.

Strengths:
1) Meticulously planned approach to the game
2) Fielding
3) An excellent team

Weaknesses:
1) The "Ghost" of their previous world cup losses
2) Lack of spin bowling options
3) An inherent inability to adapt to hitherto unseen situations

Position after Super 8 stage:
2(Two)

The squad:
Graeme Smith(Captain), Loots Bosman, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Roger Telemachus

Expert Speaks: Vamsi's Take

World Number 1!

Hail the new kings of ODI cricket! SA have finally dethroned the Aussies from their number one ranking that they held close to 9 years, and though they weren't the team to give them the shove, they certainly were the team to start the process. The match that was dubbed to be the greatest ever ODI ever played (SA chasing down the Oz's 434) gave a lot of teams the kind of push that they needed to show that the Aussies are fallible as the rest. Some might claim that this particular match might be a blip on the radar, but looking at the SA's performance in ODIs prior to that series and over the past 24 months, they have come a long way to prove their consistency. They whitewashed the Windies in WI, drew the ODI series in India, gave India and NZ a horrible drubbing at home and gave Srilanka a jolt in Srilanka. The only blip in this rejuvenation period was to miss out on the finals berth against SL and Aus in the VB series, but that has happened to the best of teams during their tour Down Under.

Now come the interesting facts about South African cricket. Ever since one can remember, a team of their potential and track record has always been plagued by their ill-luck and their inability to cash in during crucial encounters. Other than a sublime victory over India at Sharjah or winning the ICC knockout trophy in 1998, SA have been known to collapse in multi-nation tournaments except at home. At home though, their record has been sublime. They have given the best of teams a whack in the back in ODIs except ofcourse at the world cup. And coming to world cups, they have a whole different story to tell. Every cricketing fan across the globe remembers the memorable rain-affected clash between England and SA, where the equation of 22 runs remained the same but the balls began shrinking by every rain drop falling on the Sydney Cricket Ground. If it were Gods having fun with the Proteas in 1992, it was a determined and fiery West Indian, who wanted to prove a point or two, took it to them after being in a racial taunt in 1996. Till that point, the West Indies hadn't done anything significant in that world cup, but went on to drown SA with a big score. This by far was the only reasonable and decent exit for the South Africans in world cup cricket. World cup 1999 brought to fore the name that was synonymous with SA cricket for quite sometime to come. 'Zulu' took it upon himself to see SA all the way from the inaugural game against India to the semi-final stage and almost got them through except ofcourse for a mis-judgement in a run with Donald which cost the world cup final berth. What followed next was history, but it would be interesting to notice that SA was by far the only semi-finalist who were able to defeat Pakistan in the league stage, thanks again to Lance Klusener. And then came the curse of the hosts in 2003. SA were well on track to get to Super-six, but then having thought that they had achieved the target they needed against Sri Lanka, Boucher decided to defend the last ball in the rain-affected match - that was by far the heights of mis-communication that can be ever recorded in a one-day game. These near misses might associate this team with 'the chokers' tag, but then are they equipped to finish in style this time around?

In batting, they have the swashbuckling captain to lead them from the front followed by Gibbs, Kallis, Prince, De Villiers and Kemp, everyone of whom is matchwinner in his own right. Then come the reliable Boucher and Shaun Pollock. And if you think the batting ends there, you are in for another surprise. Their recent find Andrew Hall has been playing the ball with the willow of a tail-ender but with the mind of a middle-order batsman. And then, their depth in batting goes all the way till number 9, which gives them enough buffer to pull themselves out of a hole if they find themselves in one. All they need is one top-order batsman to bat through and they will always find support from the tail to bat through the 50 overs. The only fallible point in their batting is their inability to adapt on a spin track against a quality spin team.

Teams like Pakistan, Australia and South Africa have always had reserves in digging up their fast bowlers from all corners of the country and not the itsy-bitsy Venkatesh Prasads and Debashish Mohantys of the Indian team, but genuine quality fast bowlers that can strangle the opposition. They can definetely boast of a quality bowling line up with Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini to lead the pack and Andrew Nel, Jacques Kallis and Andrew Hall to fill in the rest of the overs. The only department that is weak is in spin with the captain providing some part-time off-spin option and Botha coming into play on spin tracks.

And then comes the whole new dimension of modern day cricket, the fielding. This dimension is new in the sense, in prior days, Cricket, the Gentleman's game, was played like one. There would be no indication of dirt or mud on your outfit and throwing yourself around on the field to save a run was not necessary as your favors are bound to be returned by the opposition. Then came in SA in 1991 and along with them came Jonty Rhodes. From that year forth, the department of fielding has never been the same. It was these South Africans who took the concept of fielding to a whole new level and their standards still remain the same. Jonty Rhodes may be long gone into retirement, but his commitment to cricket has brought him back as their fielding coach and that has done the team more good. Any given South African team can easily outscore the opposition by atleast 20-30 runs in fielding alone, which is a great bonus in modern cricket.

This team, like all other South African World cup squads, has the capability to take home the cup, but the closest they have been to the cup is the semi-finals in 1992 and 1999. If they are able to stick to their plans and most importantly, if they are "lucky" this time around, they just might do it. It has been too many near misses to miss out on the ultimate cricketing glory.

World Cup Series -- Team New Zealand

The 'Blacks' from New Zealand recently did something what others have not been able to do in 646 one day internationals. Hand out the Aussies a 10-wicket loss for the first time in their cricketing history. The blacks also humiliated the Aussies by "black washing" them in the Chappell-Hadlee series. Does this all mean that the New Zealander's have the arsenal to take their first world cup? Will they be able to break their jinx of not having played in a world cup final till now? The lack of depth in their bowling will prove to be this team's Achilles heel and would prevent them from going all the way.

Strengths:
1) Captain Stephen Fleming's ability to marshal's his resources brilliantly
2) Shane Bond's pace
3) Their desire to take home the world cup

Weaknesses:
1) Lack of quality spin bowlers
2) Question mark over Jacob Oram's return
3) Ability to handle the pressure at the fag end of the tournament

Position after Super 8 stage:
5 or 6(Five or Six)

The squad:
Stephen Fleming(Captain), Shane Bond, James Franklin, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Michael Mason, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent

Expert Speaks: Vamsi's Take

License to Thrill!

All it takes for a team to realize that there is no pressure on it whatsoever that its players start playing with their true potential. This lack of pressure can come in two ways, either you have a world class team and there is no chance you can lose, or you are playing against one and the odds are all against you. This was the kind of approach that ensured the Kiwis go on to give the world champions the kind of drubbing they haven't tasted in close to a decade. It is true that the Aussies weren't playing with half their normal side, but then it wasn't the full Australian bowling squad that defeated India and WI in Malaysia and also, it needs a determined effort from the whole team when you are chasing two 300 plus totals in crunch situations. And then you have Bond, who ripped apart the Australian line-up in the first match of the series.

But then, what are New Zealand's chances for the upcoming world cup? The good news part of it for New Zealand ends up with Craig McMillan, who's proven again that a break from cricket can bring out the best in you, and Shane Bond, who's immaculate pace has undone the best of teams. Their team has been one of the worst hit by injuries and surprise retirements. NZ would have loved to have Nathan Astle in their line-up given the state of WI pitches and his retirement couldn't have come at a worst possible juncture for their team, pschologically. But given Astle's recent form, it wouldn't be such a big blow. His retirement might provide a youngster the opportunity to come in and play with the same zeal and enthusiasm that Astle showed in his first tour of WI back in 1996.

NZ team has always comprised of its mix and match of all rounders, Chris Cairns and Chris Harris being two striking names, who could carry their team out of trouble single-handedly. Ever since their retirement, they have been unable to find any suitable replacements. Jacob Oram is one man who has been able to stand up to the opposition and has shown his ability to fight,more out of dogged determination than skill, and surely his experience with the bat and ball will come in handy. But then, he has been on the active injury list for NZ for quite sometime now, and how he shapes up after his break remains to be seen.

NZ have a lot of problems to resolve before the start of this world cup. Their biggest headache will be their inability to adapt on sluggish pitches. Their last two home series have been a great success but it should be realized that NZ has always been a strong team against any opposition at home. Their team has been playing extremely well on bouncy tracks and small grounds and are definetely gonna come a cropper when it comes to playing on slow pitches and against quality spin teams, as Srilanka and India showed them previously. The only area where they have no trouble whatsoever is in the area of fielding. They do not have a stable batting line-up and their bowling starts and ends with Bond. Coming to Bond, who's pace and swing have the knack of troubling the best of batsmen, I cannot remember a single series that has him playing in all the matches in the past 18 months, for he has always attracted injuries on himself. Their spin options end with Daniel Vettori, which is not a bad sign, for they might not need more than one spinner in the team.

Coming to their strengths, which aren't many, with the most experienced captain of three world cups, Stephen Flemming is probably looking at his last world cup as a player and a captain and he would definetely want to finish it on a high, but there aren't many players around him who can carry the burden of the innings under trying conditions. Craig McMillan and Scott Styris can support him in the batting department, and then there is inexperience. Bowling will depend completely on the availability of Shane Bond, and Daniel Vettori has a decent role to play as well. And if Vettori can be used properly in the batting order, he can be a handy batsman in this tournament. Overall, in order for NZ to excel in this world cup, they will certainly have to look towards the senior players to guide the new comers into defining their roles and giving them the freedom and responsibility. But then, when playing quality opposition, experience does come handy in alien conditions.

Finally, if this team starts playing with the confidence of dethroning the Aussies, they might be able to surprise a few teams in the tournament like they did to South Africa last world cup, but sadly that is about all you can expect from New Zealand.

Chennai 600028 -- Music Review

Music by: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Jalsa (Remix) -- A typical club remix song. Sounds like a modified version of "Pushing It Hard" from the movie "Kanda Naal Mudhal". Pronunciations are horrible. Go for the 'Skip' button

Jalsa -- A beautiful start and a much better singing keeps this song afloat. Sings about the importance of friendship or something on those lines. Allow this song to 'Play'

Natpukullae -- Even with the horrendous singing of Yuvan and a small resemblance to one of his previous song, this short song sustains the interest till the end. Allow this song to 'Play'

Ohh oh Ennanamo -- A beautifully done song with layer after layer of embellishments. If you are one of those persons who is very particular about proper pronunciation, Anushka(The singer) would have been banished to hell for life. Allow this song to 'Play'

Saroja -- You will be pardoned if you thought it is a song for a Vijay movie. A typical Shankar Mahadevan Kuthu song. As usual, a couple of lines from an old movie have been added in the middle of the song. Go for the 'Skip' button

Ullae Vaa -- The song starts with a Rap that is more like an English song than a Tamil song. The lyrics of the song seem to want to make use of the world cup fever with liberal use of the names of the Indian cricket team. The tamil rap in the interlude is enjoyable. Rest of the song is eminently forgettable. Go for the 'Skip' button

Unn Paarvai – This song is a tutorial on how to spoil an excellent tune and a nonchalant yet brilliant singing by adding bizarre sounding noises in the background. I have nothing against using computer generated sounds in a song but this takes it to a level where it starts to get on your nerves. If not for Vijay Yesudas, I would have hit the forward button in the first minute of the song itself. Go for the 'Skip' button

Yaaro Yaaro (Friendship) – If the inexplicable sounds were an irritation in the previous song, some kiddish lyrics spoils an otherwise decent song. Notwithstanding the orchestral music in the interlude, this song fails to evoke & sustain the interest. Go for the 'Skip' button

Yaaro Yaaro (Love) – Whenever a song features SPB & Chitra, we have come to expect a scintillating song. This song does not elevate itself to that level, maybe because of a jaded sounding SPB or listless music or some factor which I am unable to fathom. Best song of the album. Allow this song to 'Play'

Last Shout: Not worth buying