Thursday, March 27, 2008

Click click -- Random Images

Photo #1

Photo #1: I have been hearing about the 'Macro' mode in the camera and never had a chance to test it fully. Finally, I had this red visitor to our first floor. What better way to test the 'Macro' mode than to capture this visitor in my shutter box? The yellow & red color have come extremely well.
Photo #2:

Photo #2: One of the things that I learnt recently is the value of the 'Slow Shutter Speed' option in the camera. A corn seller with the small fire near the beach side produced this amazing shot with the camera in a slow shutter speed mode.

Photo #3:

Photo #3: Nothing compares to the various shops that are there in the beach. Beach is probably one of my most favorite photo hunting grounds and this photo of a 'Bajji' shop in the natural light has come out perfectly. The trick here is to switch off your flash when you want to take photos in the natural light.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The Age of Kali -- Book Review

If 'The Great Indian Novel' showed me how little I know about my country's history, 'The Age Of Kali' showed me how little I know about my country and its demographics. The cultural beauty of Madurai, the bloodthirsty Goddess Parasakthi of Kerala, the rampant culture of violence in Lucknow, the sorrow of Vrindavan, the decadence of Bihar, the foray into politics of Imran Khan, the guerilla warfare of the LTTE's are brought right infront of our eyes with a clarity that is striking as well as disturbing.

People could easily dismiss this book as yet another travelogue but what makes this book a MUST read is the intertwining of history with a beautiful & lucid narration. Dalrymple is not yet another english traveller who travels through this great country of ours narrating what he sees. He is an observer as well as a knowledge seeker. He does his homework really well & backs up his narration of incidents with some great historical perspectives. He explains away the 'almost' lazy nature of the Hyderabad people to the wealth that oozed out from the great treasures of the Nawabs who ruled their lands for a long time. He dismisses the perceived arrogance of the Pathans of the North eastern frontier to the constant attacks that they had to endure & repulse from various conquerors.

The other thing that is so striking about this book is the almost non-chalant way of his interviews with the people concerned. Be it the measured questions that he poses to the female wing leaders of the LTTE or the satirical questions to Laloo Prasad Yadav, the earnestness of his questions filter through all of them. More than the interviews with the popular personalities, it is his interviews with the common man that he meets in these various places that add a lot of value & spiciness to the essays.

I rate books not on their literary value but based on whether the particular book made me think. Opening up new thought avenues over which my mind could float around is one of the essential characteristics that I look for in a book. Being a person brought up in a calm city like Chennai, the culture of violence that is prevalent in Patna & abject decadence of Lucknow were shocking. It is not that I was not aware of these situations but the stark naked reality when portrayed in a telling way left a lasting impression. Last but not the least, one of the major changes that this book has brought about is the way in which I would be looking at places to which I would be travelling in the future. Instead of looking at these places from the perspective of a photographer, I will be looking at these places with reference & reverence to their history & background. Due to this increased perspective, I am very confident that the world around me would brighten up in a light that my human lenses have failed to capture till now .

Bottom Line: Any person who is interested in travel should read this book. And the others, I dont think you will regret the time spent reading this book.

Monday, March 17, 2008

The Great Indian Novel -- Book Review

There are a couple of things that form the core for the (in)sane living of Indians. One of them is political discussions and the other is the mythological tales of eons. They are like bread & butter to the common man and even the thought of not indulging in these almost takes away all his sense of freedom. If political discussions are outlets for his inborn need to continuously to ramble & argue, the mythological tales satisfy his needs for listening to the glory days of yesteryears. What would you get if you combine these two varied & yet essential aspects into a novel? You end up getting the "The Great Indian Novel"!!!

"The Great Indian Novel" by Shashi Tharoor combines Indian politics right from the days of 1857 with Mahabaratha - the epic of epic proportions- and produces a parody of characters that is both endearing & intense. Be it Bhisma Gangaji trying his hand at celibacy by sleeping with au naturel woman or Dhiritharshtra, the blind idealist king who sternly believes what he wants to believe, anyone with even a sniff of knowledge of the stinky Indian politics would be able to identify that Gangaji is none other than the enigmatic Gandhi & Dhiritharshtra is Nehru. There are so many analogies in this book that the best place for you to check out would be this site here.

This novel brought up something that caused me intense pain; a pain that is caused when you realize how less you know about your country and the people who have sacrificed so much for the freedom that I have been flaunting so merrily all these days. The lesser that I have known about the history of my country, I feel the lesser I am able to appreciate the things that I take for granted. Maybe I would have start spending more time digging up some of the history books that I looked at disdainfully during my school days.

The greatest thing about this novel is the way in which Tharoor maintains the momentum & the interest right from the beginning till the end of the novel. Even during the deviations from the main storyline, the author is able to sustain the interest of the reader with interesting anecdotes from our great Indian history. The jabs that he takes at the various characters are noteworthy not just for the humor but also for the profound meanings that he conveys through those witty references.

The greatest drawback that I could find in the novel is that Tharoor seems to be vacillating between his opinions of the various characters. There seems to be no consistency about the way in which a character is portrayed. The interesting thing about this observation is that the author himself seems to be aware of this as he concludes the novel by starting to narrate the story all over again. The other notable point is regarding the use of the language itself. I am no expert when it comes to the English language and I had to frequently resort to the comfort of the dictionary for deciphering some of the words that Tharoor has used in the book.

Bottom Line: This is one of those rare books that amalgamates politics with mythology and comes home with its trails blazing. A definite read for anyone interested in taking a sarcastic look at the present Indian political scene.

Vellithirai -- Movie Review

Remake movies suffer from a distinctive disadvantage; the disadvantage of a constant comparison with the original movie. It takes a great effort from the director and the cast to move away from the shadow of the original and establish a territory of its own. Having watched “Udayananu Thaaram” (The Malayalam original starring Mohanlan & Srinivasan), it became natural for me to make comparisons between that and ‘Vellithirai’ while watching the movie. Vellithirai not just creates its own territory but also fortifies its territory with some solid performances and overall team work.

I was a bit apprehensive when I learnt that Prakash Raj was doing the role of Srinivasan. Srinivasan is basically a comedy actor and I was not sure whether Prakash Raj did the right thing by casting himself in that role (Prakash Raj is one of the producers). I soon found out that my fears were baseless for Prakash Raj steals the show with some brilliant acting. It is said that Prakash Raj is a director’s actor. It is very true for he can easily go overboard with his histrionics and easily spoil the movie if the director does not exert the right amount of control over his acting. A director should have complete control and Viji (The director of this movie) seems to have found the correct mix for getting the best out of Prakash Raj.

The story is about two struggling film artists trying to make their mark in Kollywood. One of them is Kannayan (Prakash Raj), an actor aiming to be a hero and the other is Saravanan (Prithvi Raj), an assistant director aspiring to be a director. Saravanan has a story ready and a producer agrees to go ahead with the film. Before the movie could start, Kannayan steals the story from Saravanan and gets it registered in his name. The strength of the story forces a producer to accept the condition of Kannayan to cast him as the hero for the movie in exchange for him to produce the movie. Kannayan becomes a superstar and renames himself as Dileepkanth. What happens to Saravanan and whether he is able to attain his rightful position forms the rest of the plot. Gopika plays the role of the lady interest of Prithvi Raj.

If Prakash Raj’s acting is the highlight of the movie, the support extended by Prithvi Raj & Gopika is equally commendable. They seem to have understood their role perfectly and go on to nail it to perfection. The fact that the director has the guts to make fun of the stardom enjoyed by some of the actors in the film industry is to be appreciated. Viji plays it safe and seems to have drawn an invisible line regarding where the satire of the film industry can stop.

The music & songs of the movie play a very prominent role in making this movie a thoroughly enjoyable watch. The director had the convenience of introducing the songs as though they are part for the movies that the characters are working on and this provides her with the advantage of not having songs that appear to have been forced on the viewer.

One of the few grouches that I have with the movie is the way the movie ended. The original movie climax appeared to be more logical and ‘Vellithirai’ seem to have faltered a bit in the way the climax is played out. It appears to have been rushed up a bit. May be Prakash Raj wanted to maintain his ‘Image’as a superstar!!!

Last Cut: A movie that can be watched for its simplicity.

Rating: 8/10

Monday, March 03, 2008

George Orwell -- A tribute

I am surprised that I am writing an article about an author and his works. Such is the impression that George Orwell's works have left on me that I feel it is my responsibility to tell the few bloggers who frequent my blog to be aware of this great writer and read his works when that opportunity presents itself. The first work of George Orwell that I read is ‘Animal Farm’, an entertaining and thought provoking novella. This book dealt with communism with allegorical references to Stalin and other Russian leaders of that period. What was so impressive about this novella is the fact that most of the concepts that are mentioned are immortal and will be relevant as long as humans survive in this universe. The work that propelled Orwell to great stardom is the novel ‘1984’. I am raring to have a go at this novel and would surely be doing that in the next 3 months.

If ‘Animal Farm’ gave me a leeway to start liking Orwell’s works, what clinched the deal would be the collection of essays called “Shooting an Elephant & Other Essays” that I picked up from the library. If the language flows freely like Tendulkar’s cover drives, the impact that it creates is similar to a tennis ball meeting Dhoni’s heavy bat. The profound nature of his writing is something that can never be described in words but can only be felt while reading. Happy Reading!!!

P.S:
Check out his website here. Almost all of his work can be read from this site.

Anjaathe -- Movie Review

Is being different from the rest of the fare a criteria for a movie to be considered a brilliant movie? Should a movie be rated on its merit or should it be appreciated for trying something new (albeit failing in the attempt)? I sincerely believe that being ‘different’ is not enough for something to be considered as a ‘class’ movie. Appreciation is a totally different ballgame altogether for I am of the opinion that the good points have to be acknowledged so that someone can improve on those aspects in the next time around. Why am I talking about all this when I am supposed to be writing the review for the ‘Anjaathe’ movie? The simple reason is that this movie entirely fits the description above. This movie is nothing more than a pretender. Pretentious and full of false promises that never get realized at the end of the show!

There are some really cool scenes (The interview scene for Naren & his friend) and exemplary camera works (Showing just the legs of the main players during the scene where Kirupa brings home the villains) along the way that make you sit up and take notice. Sadly, these are few and far apart. The momentum that the story generates is lost in the tardy screenplay and the director seems confused about the genre of his movie. It starts off as though it is a tragic-comedy movie, moves to the action movie genre, then finally ends up being a psycho thriller. Each of these segments is adequate in its own way but when combined into a 3 hours & 15 minutes movie (No typo there. It is indeed 3 hours), it loses its sheen due to the director’s inability to stick to a particular theme.

Then there is the stolen background score towards the fag end of the movie. The theme music of ‘Signs’ is shamelessly lifted during the fight sequence between Naren & Prasanna. This lift of a popular theme stands like a sour thumb for Sundar C.Babu (The music director) who has otherwise done a decent job in the re-recording and the 3+1(Title bit song) songs. The clipped dialogues reminded me of Manirathnam’s ‘Agni Natchathiram’!!!!

There was nothing much to talk about in terms of the acting talents of the lead actors in this movie. I liked the role of Pandiarajan with his squint eyes rolling here & there, the unmistakable sign of working on something fishy. Prasanna was looking out of sorts in his role as villain. At best, his hairstyle would have made a poodle envious.

Last Cut: There are some movies that fail to make impressions of any sort in your mind. There is nothing terribly wrong with them for you to hate them completely. On the flip side, there is nothing really good that makes you remember it. ‘Anjaathe’ perfectly fits that bill. A pretender that could have been a lot better if the director had spent enough time on his screenplay.

Rating:
6/10