The Alchemist Diary

Lamp, Sickle & differential lighting

2009-07-04T00:23:00.001+05:30

Lamp, Sickle & differential lighting, originally uploaded by Fountain_Head.

Guindy Children's Park -- Photos

2009-04-01T10:01:00.006+05:30

The tales of beedle the bard -- Book Review

2009-03-30T14:17:00.002+05:30

J.K.Rowling should be one of those unique authors around for she has the interesting characteristic of writing stories that are equally appealing and engrossing to both mature and young audiences. The ability to add layer after layer to the stories, making the stories rich in content – without ever making it too complex for a young reader to follow – have been the trademark signature of Rowling’s Harry Potter novels.

When I got hold of a copy of “Tales of Beedle the Bard” (I was not somehow so enthusiastic about the release of this book….), I was expecting something similar to her previous books. May be I should have followed the news and the gossip regarding the release of this book. That way, I would have known that this book was meant more for children and less for adults. This would have avoided the disappointment I had after finishing the book.

The book has 5 small stories (Fables, to be precise) for the young wizards and witches of which Potter and his friends belong to. The stories were too simplistic and none of the stories made any kind of impact/impression in my mind. The fact that I had to find the book and look at the chapter listings to remember the number of stories in it pretty much summarizes how the book was!

Bottom Line: If you are a Harry Potter book fan, this book would surely leave you sourly disappointed. And if you have never read Harry Potter books before, this book would make no sense to you at all. Either ways, you won’t miss much if you decide to skip this book.

A Search In Secret India -- Book Review

2009-03-30T14:12:00.005+05:30

Every person born in this world, at some point of time in their life invariably comes up with this question: what is the meaning or purpose of their life? The other question that one might strive to get an answer to is “Is there a way to eternal happiness?” The author, Paul Brunton, from an early age starts seeking the answers for these questions. Having heard about the mystic nature of India, he decides to travel to India in search of a spiritual Guru who can guide him to enlightenment.

What follows after Brunton lands in India is vividly described in this very interesting travelogue on the saints, rishis and the ‘so-called’ fakirs of our country. When I first read about this book in “Ramana Saritham” by Mathura Bharathi, I was greatly excited and wanted to get my hands on this book so that I can learn more about Ramana Maharishi. I also had read somewhere that Brunton is lead to Ramana Maharishi by none other than the Great Sankarachariar (Chandrasekara Swamigal) itself. These two things greatly piqued my interest and I was bracing myself for a great spiritual book. Unfortunately, there are not much of spiritual enlightenments in this book. This book is more about Brunton’s search (Externally & internally) and his experiences during this search. Fortunately, his encounters with so many rishis and saints are captured in such a poignant fashion that the book turns out to be a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Brunton’s eye for detail and his free-flowing narrative – with details so evocative that they spread the image right in front of your eyes- should be considered the hallmark of this book. Brunton, having been trained in the western school of sciences, is no blind believer and he keeps questioning the mysterious things that he comes across till a proper conclusion is reached. This aspect of his lends a great deal of authenticity to his recordings.

Being a person of British origin & with the time of the travelogue happening to be pre-independence, a little amount of superiority complex does seep through and shows up in a couple of places. It is a very minor irritant or a non-factor when compared to the brilliant narration of his experiences.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for a spiritually enlightening book, this book might not be a good choice; but if you are looking for a free flowing narrative interspersed with glowing accounts of the greatness of the spiritual background of our country, then this book is a must read.

The 'zoomed' in flower

2009-03-16T20:27:00.003+05:30

The photography course that I have joined is indeed helping me! I would have never 'planned' and 'executed' such a photo without the training that I am undergoing. The trick for the photo is to zoom in using a telephoto lens (I used a 300mm lens) and to have a wide aperture (5.6mm) to throw everything other than the intended subject totally out of focus. I could not completely cut out the wall in front of the flower and is a minor irritant in an otherwise nice photo (According to me, obviously!!!)

Book Fair 2009 -- The Haul!!!

2009-01-11T14:15:00.004+05:30

Book fair in Chennai is something that I eagerly wait for every year. With each passing year, the number of books that I set out to purchase keeps increasing. The remarkable thing about the Chennai book fair is that the number of stalls that are being put up is also steadily increasing every year. This time, I found that the number of stalls selling Tamil books outnumbered the stalls selling English books. I was not able to find some of the English books that I set out to purchase like "Into The Wild" and books of George Orwell. I think I will buy these books online and start using the book fair for buying Tamil books alone!!! Given below is the list of books that I got this time.

Tamil Books

Koovam Nathi Karaiyinilae -- Cho Ramasamy
Zen Thathuva Kathaigal -- Guruji Vasudev
China Thathuva Kathaigal -- Guruji Vasudev
Thaneer Desam -- Vairamuthu
Kaakitha Malargal -- Aadhavan
Theivathin Kural (Part II)

English Books

Business Plans for Dummies
White Tiger -- Aravind Adiga
The inheritance of loss -- Kiran Desai
A search in secret India -- Paul Brunton

Thana-Nana Thaana-Nana: Yaar Yaar Sivam

2008-12-05T05:59:00.013+05:30

The best thing about some songs is that it connects with you in a highly emotional level that it is virtually impossible for you to distance yourself from those songs. When a song connects with you not because of the singing or the music but due to the lyrics, you can be very sure that the song would connect with you at all times. Yaar yaar sivam from “Anbae Sivam” is one such song that has done wonders to me.

I am not sure when I started paying attention to the lyrics of this song; may be it was when my brother-in-law pointed it out to me. Or may be when I started questioning the philosophy of God. May be it was when I started realizing the importance of the greatest invention of man – namely God himself. The time of my realization of the truth of these lyrics is really immaterial. What is NOT immaterial is the eternal truth that is contained in these lyrics by Vairamuthu. The fact that the world would be a better place when people start loving one another casting aside their differences cannot be stated in a more simple and yet powerful way. When I read in “The Zahir” by Paulo Coelho that this world keeps spinning because of the existence of love in this world, I did not understand it completely at that point of time in my life. Now I am slowly realizing what it means. And then there is the small introduction that comes in the Pandavas background score. “When man gives up hatred and learns to love one another, peace and joy will rule this world”. Those statements and this song take additional significance at this juncture in time when India is struggling to come to terms with the unprecedented terrorist attack on its soil. I only hope that people listen to this song & spread the wings of love across borders.

The song

யார் யார் சிவம்? நீ நான் சிவம்.
வாழ்வே தவம் . அன்பே சிவம்.

ஆத்திகம் பேசும் அடியார்க்கெல்லாம் சிவமே அன்பாகும்.
நாத்திகம் பேசும் நல்லவருக்கோ அன்பே சிவமாகும்.

அன்பே சிவம் அன்பே சிவம் என்றும்,
அன்பே சிவம் அன்பே சிவம் எங்கும்.

இதயம் என்பது சதை தான் என்றால் எரிதழல் தின்று விடும்.
அன்பின் கருவி இதயம் என்றால் சாவை வென்று விடும்.

அன்பின் பாதை சேர்ந்தவருக்கு முடிவே இல்லையடா,
மனதின் நீளம் எதுவோ அதுவே வாழ்வின் நீளமடா.

Translation
(Thanks to Sampath for helping with the translation)

Who are all God? You and me are God.
Life is a penance. Love is God.

For theist God is love.
For atheist love is God.

Love is God love is God eternally,
Love is God love is God universally.

If heart is just made of skin, it becomes a mortal thing;
If heart is an instrument of love, it becomes an immortal being.

Anyone who has taken the path of love has no end;
And their longevity amounts to the expanse of their hearts.

Poster Creator

2008-12-02T10:32:00.002+05:30

Found this cool website where I can create my own posters. It's an awesome website. The only problem is that it allows very less options for manipulating the font size and other stuff. Check it out.....

Vaaranam Aayiram -- Movie Review

2008-11-22T07:16:00.004+05:30

The most interesting aspect about life is that "it goes on" without waiting for anyone or anything. You can either move on with it or can be left behind to ruminate on the past. When bad things happen, life does not appear to be easy and it is a simple task to be left behind. As someone said "It is not that great men do not fall. It is that they always rise up after their fall". To raise up, dust yourself and keep moving forward requires tremendous will power. This will power or effort to move on either comes from somewhere inside( 'Heart'', as they say) or through an external trigger. Vaaranam Aayiram is one such life journey of a man who overcomes a sad event in his life to become a successful person.

Make no mistake. Vaaranam Aayiram (A thousand elephants) is all about Surya, the actor. He occupies each and every frame in the movie. Some people felt that it was a overdose of a good thing but somehow I never felt that way. Until someone mentioned it, I had not even realized that Surya was virtually present in almost all the scenes in the movie. When Surya can carry a junk movie like "Vel" on his shoulders making that stupid movie watchable, one can easily imagine what he can do when he is offered a movie with a very good plot. He almost lives as those characters and to even mention that he has acted as those two characters is a disrespect to his effort.

If Surya is one of the Heroes of the movie, the other 'unsung' hero of the movie is Harris Jeyaraj. The songs & background score are top-notch and it is really sad to hear that Harris & Gautham Menon will not be working together anymore. I am not sure whether Harris J or Gautham M is the bigger loser but I am confident that the biggest losers would be music lovers like me.

The picturization by Ratnavelu of the songs "Nenjukul" and "Adiyae Koluthe" will remain in my eyes for quite sometime. Then there is Sameera Reddy!!! Do I have to even mention that she looked very beautiful? The surprising thing is that she does a decent job even in the department of acting. This was something that I had not expected and I am very confident of seeing more of Sameera Reddy in several more Tamil movies.

One of the major complaints that I have against this movie is the screenplay. It just failed to keep me continously engrossed. Did Gautham M think that having a screenplay that had few interesting scenes now & then interspersed with lots of dull & flat scenes to be an accurate portrayal of life itself? Whatever the reasoning behind the lousy screenplay, it could turn out to be the difference between a hit & a flop.

Last Cut: Is it a movie that is a must-watch? Of course NOT. But this movie can be watched once for the performance of Surya and the songs. You might have to fight the urge to doze off or walk away at times but trust me, it will be worth the effort!!!

Rating: 7.5/10

The World Is Flat -- Book Review

2008-11-02T23:22:00.003+05:30

Author: Thomas Friedman

It is the U.S economic crisis and I am trying real hard to get to the core of the problem and my limited (or lack of) economic knowledge was proving to be a huge dampener. My friend gave some pointers and during that discussion, he pointed me in the direction of this book. I downloaded a copy of this book and read a few pages right away. The introduction was immensely impressive and luckily for me, I found a copy of this book in my company’s library.

The main theme of this book is about how the great technological leaps of the last 2 to 3 decades have made the world an even playing field. Friedman describes the various flattening forces – from the fall of the Berlin wall to the rise of google – that made this even playing field possible. While I was aware of some of these things (Outsourcing, off-shoring), some of the things (in-forming) were completely new to me. The various real life examples that Friedman gives are what makes this book a great read. Be it the person from Lebanon who starts his own business there or the person in Karnataka who works for the uplifting of untouchables, the examples provide a very clear idea of these concepts and the advantages of a flat world.

Like everything else in life, the flat world also brings its own set of problems to the table. One of the major problems we will have to face is that of terrorists communicating with each other in the same seamless fashion that people of the world are able to communicate because of the changed playing field. The author does an excellent job in pointing out the issues that come out of a flat world and also offers some practical solutions for solving these issues.

Two things struck me during the reading of this book and made me think quite a bit.

1) The similarity of ideas between those presented in this book and that of Obama’s plans. Having actively followed the U.S election campaigns, the similarity between these two was striking and did not allow me to brush aside the similarity as something coincidental. Has Obama read this book and been influenced by it so much that it creeps its way into his plans?

2) The economic meltdown in U.S, the reasons for the meltdown and the appearance of the same pattern in India. When people who have climbed to the top through hard work & perseverance begins to forget/ignore the basic tenets and start to assume that their stay in the top is assured, the great fall to the bottom is not far away. This is a theme that is clearly laid out in this book. The present generation in India seems to be bracing itself for this fall because it has started assuming that getting a job or making money is an easy task and starting to forget the basic tenets that brought us to this position in the first place.

One of the best things that have happened to me after reading this book is that it made me realize the power of the flat world and enabled me to think of ways to harness this power for my personal and professional growth. When a book does this to you, it can be safely assumed that the book has indeed left an indelible mark on you.

Vaaranam Aayiram -- Music Review

2008-09-30T05:59:00.008+05:30

Music by: Harris Jayaraj

Annal Maelae (Sudha Raghunathan) -- A soft song sung that it is almost like a carnatic song with a simple tabla background that slowly evolves into a pleasant yet minimal orchestration. Don't miss out on the haunting flute interlude after the first paragraph. Nothing to complain about in this song. Nothing impressive either. Allow the song to play.

Ava Enna (Karthik, V.Prasanna) -- It starts like a soft Kuthu song!!! (What a paradox). It is simple and yet beautiful. What is different about this song from the regular kuthu songs is the lyrics. Clean meanigful lyrics is not something that we associate with a Kuthu but this one breaks that tradition. A tune that might not make you go out and dance but a song that would surely make you sway your head in appreciation. The ending of the song is where I was not very comfortable with as the tune seem to have got lost with some stupid voices in the background. Other than that, this is a song that can be enjoyed. Allow this song to play.

Yethi Yethi (Benny Dayal, Naresh Iyer, Solar Sai) -- Sounds very similar to 'Ohh Maama Maama' when the song begins but soon starts to go in a different path. There is also one particular point where it sounds like 'Taxi Taxi'. Interspersed with the 'usual' Harris funny sounds. The differnce between this song and the others is the use of English words in the lyrics. Go for the forward button.

Mundhinam (Naresh Iyer, Prashanthini) -- Starts with a dialogue rendition by Surya. As always, Surya has trouble with 'zha'!!! Naresh Iyer breezes through this beautiful duet. And the voice of Prashanthini is so sweet and she pronounces the words perfectly(and so much better than the Tamil killing Madhushree's). The prelude is something that has to be enjoyed in peace with a headphone. Then, there comes the interlude that rises the bar for the song a few notches. Then there is the so easy on the ear singing. Even for the complex words, they sing it so lightly without killing the word. An amazing song. Go for the rewind button once the song gets over.

Nenjukkul Peidhidum (Hariharan, Devan, V.Prasanna) -- With clear traces of 'Mudhal Naal Indru', at the beginning, I was having apprehensions of how this song will turn out to be. What turns out is a mesmerizing number with the soothing voice of Hariharan. The vintage Hariharan is back in this song and with HJ, they create magic. This song is indeed a drizzle in the hearts. Go for the rewind button once the song gets over. Over & over again!!!

Adiyae Kolluthey (Krish, Benny Dayal, Shruthi Hassan) -- This song has been there in the net for sometime now. I was not sure at that time whether this song is from 'Vaaranam Aayiram' but now I am sure. The song starts like a rock music live in concert. Did you like 'Uyirin Uyirae'? If yes, then you would love this song. Shruti Haasan gives perfect company to Krish & Benny Dayal. If you were shaking head for 'Ava Enna' song, I am confident that you will be dancing for this song. The 3 distinctive voices are beautifully interwoven to produce yet another brilliant song. Any doubt on what you should do? Its obvious.Go for the rewind button once the song gets over.

Oh! Shanthi Shanthi (Clinton, S.P.B.Charan) -- This is one song that tOtally caught me by surprise. It starts like a pathos song, then moves over to be a fast paced song and then again keeps switching tones. SPB Charan does what we have always associated with his illustrious father. The singing while smiling or smiling while singing is a trademark SPB signature and Charan does that to perfection in this song. A great way to finish this album. Go for the rewind button once the song gets over. An even better solution would be to put the last 4 songs in a loop in your winamp.

Perfect tamil lyrics, simple yet haunting tunes, brilliant interludes and unobtrusive music are what we have come to associate Harris Jayaraj's music with. And when HJ works with Gautham Menon, it has always brought out some mesmerizing songs. Combined with the stills that I have seen for this movie, the music definitely raises the expectations for the movie. Harris Jayaraj along with Thamarai have indeed delivered what were expected of them.

Last Shout: Buy 2 CD's of this album. I am sure that one of them will get wasted because of all the rewinds and revisits.

US Presidential Elections

2008-09-29T00:48:00.005+05:30

It is always fun to follow politics in the US and if it happens to be an election year, it is double the fun. The freedom that the media enjoys here is unheard/unthinkable of in India. The presidential candidates are openly made fun of in TV and as long as the hosts of these TV shows don't cross the unmentioned taboo line, it is taken as part of the game. The other day, David Letterman was going crazy about John McCain missing his late night show. Then there is also the 'Saturday Night Live' show where Sarah Palin was getting teared apart. If any of the TV stations back in India try this, they can be very sure that their TV stations would be ransacked the very next day. Sadly, what Shankar showed in 'Mudhalvan' movie really does happen in India. How I wish that Indian media also gets this kind of freedom and do this kind of coverage. There is no doubt that the media in India is getting powerful by the day but the only thing that I am hoping for is that the media houses do not start abusing the vast powers that get vested on them.

Manal Kayiru -- Tamil Movie

2008-09-28T23:23:00.007+05:30

Disclaimer: This is not a movie review of ‘Manal Kayiru’.

I found a website that had some of the old Tamil movies which I had not watched in a long time. There was 'Manal Kayiru' in there and it was so much fun to watch this movie. Visu had his heydays in the Tamil movie industry and this movie is one good example of why he was so highly successful at that time. A simple plot, a well knit screenplay, dialogues that sit well with the audience and a cast that fits the role to a ‘T’ are the hallmarks of a Visu movie and this movie is no different. The plot is a rather simple one of S.V.Sekar laying down 8 conditions for his future wife and the situations that arise once Visu gets S.V.Sekar married to a girl who does not satisfy even one of his conditions.

When I watched this movie, the one thing that immediately struck me is the way in which the maturity of the audience has increased over the years. A typical example of this happens during a dream sequence. S.V.Sekar has not yet seen the girl that his sister and Visu are constantly talking about and he starts dreaming about her. As he has not seen her photo till that point, the dream sequence does not show her face. All that it shows are the legs and the torso of a girl dancing in the beach. This directorial touch is very obvious but in the next scene, S.V.Sekar says it loud that he is not able to see her face to make sure that the audience understands why her face was not shown! I also could remember how during the days of Bheem singh, when the hero/heroine took a bottle of poison, not only it had ‘Visham’ written on it in bold fonts but the hero would also talk for a minute about the poison to ensure that everyone understood. Then came the period of Bhagyaraj when he just zoomed in on the bottle of poison (The ‘Visham’ in bold fonts was still intact) and then the person (both hero & heroine in the case of Bhagyaraj) would drink it without any dialogues. Then it was Balachander with his ‘touch’. The heroine would search for a bottle from a wooden shelf and would pour their contents into her mouth. No dialogues. No close up shots. No tears. Then finally, we have Bala. Scene one. He shows the heroine talking sadly to someone. Scene two. The camera pans into a room and we have the dead body of the heroine lying there (Remember Sethu?) No explicit explanations. No dramatizations. Just the facts. This change in direction would not have come about without the audience being introduced slowly to these changes. I am hoping that there would be even more changes that enables Tamil movie industry to come up with really world class movies.

According To Me -- US Economy

2008-09-24T07:00:00.004+05:30

This post is not to talk about whether the US government should dole out $700 billion to bail out the Wall street. Did you guys think that I had so much knowledge to talk about all these things? The only thing that I clearly understood after reading all the news for the last 3-4 days about the financial situation is that I have no idea about economics! When I tried to research more into the topic, I got even more confused......

Can someone explain to me all this in 'english'? I mean, the only thing that I can understand is that it is going to change the game radically. Whether it is for the good or bad, I have no way of knowing. Will this affect India? It is going to affect India is the simple answer. That is one thing that I am very sure of. When US catches a cold, the whole of India sneezes BIG time. And this seems to be a time when US seems to have caught a pretty bad cold. (The pun when considered with the picture above is surely unintended!)

(And I found the below picture right after I finished this posting. It was too good and so simple that I have decided to add this picture as well to the post)

Guide to 35mm photography -- Book Review

2008-09-24T06:47:00.003+05:30

This is not a book review per se as I have still not completed this book. The main reason that I am writing about this book is for the simple reason that I find this book to be fascinating. Any amateur photographer would really appreciate this book for this has all the needed information for understanding the basics of a camera. The concepts like aperture, shutter speed, focal length, exposure, depth of field and so many other things that I have never heard of are given in a succinct fashion. Each of these topics covering not more than 2 pages (The book is also a small one) and with lots of examples, it is very easy for a person to follow. The best way to learn from this book is to carry it in the hand when someone sets out on their photographic expedition. A very good companion. A 'MUST HAVE' reference book for anyone who is interested in photography.

Usain 'Lightning' Bolt

2008-08-17T09:33:00.003+05:30

Alright. The image above is not some trial run. It is the Olympics games 100m race and I had all the rights to expect a close finish. And what I saw was a stunning display of one man's greatness. Bolt was ahead after 80m and he even slowed down to look around and thump his chest! What a race and what a man. (Am waiting for the 200m race to see what 'lightning' can do there)

Macro Mode Photography

2008-07-25T09:46:00.003+05:30

The beauty of 'Macro Mode' photography in full bloom! A close-up shot of a flower. Each and every strain of the flower is visible in this photo. This book is definitely helping me a lot nowadays to take better snaps. Check it out.

Livonia -- Take One

2008-07-18T08:57:00.006+05:30

Photo #1

Photo #1: The angle from which this photo was taken is almost perfect. The two odd looking pink flowers at the foreground of the white flowers seem to highlight the white flowers at the background.

Photo #2

Photo #2: The ducks appeared as though they were giving me a modeling session. They kept appearing at all the right places for me to capture their photos. This one was taken using the beach mode and it has really come out well.

Photo #3

Photo #3: I would rate this as one of the best photos that I have taken till now. I took a lottt of photos of the ducks but this one stands out for the angle of the shot. The camera was brought down to the ground level so that the grass looked blurred. Luckily for me, the duck's eye was perfectly obtained as the focus point. (Check out the full size photo by clicking on the photo to see it for yourself)

Photo #4

Photo #4: Again the angle of photo making a lot of difference to the final output. It would have been perfect if not for the car that shows up in the background. I tried a lot of angles for eliminating the car from the picture but this is the best I could get........

Dasavathaaram -- Movie Review

2008-06-16T09:49:00.003+05:30

First things first. A salute to the hardwork, dedication and sincerity of Kamal Haasan. It shows in each & every frame of the movie. Hats off to him.

Kamal has this rather irritating dichotomy; One side of this dichotomy is the serious filmamker who (over)indulges in his creative ability and produces classics like Hey Ram, Anbe Sivam & Virumaandi. Then there is the other side when he flips over to mindless comedy movies like Panchathanthiram, Vasool Raaja and Thenali. The interesting aspect to his dichotomy is the commercial viability - Hey Ram was one of the biggest flops while Vasool Raaja had a decent box office draw. Kamal has always struggled in getting the ingredients right for a movie that could satisfy both the mass and the class audience. With Dasavathaaram, he seems to have got that combination. Take the best aspects of movies like Anbe Sivam, Panchathanthiram, Virumaandi and make them into a formula for a succesful movie - you would probably end up with Dasavathaaram.

Dasavathaaram is about life itself and the interlinks that it creates.Each and every one of us in this world is linked to every other person in the world in either a direct or an indirect fashion. Dasavathaaram starts from the 12th century where Rangarajan Nambi, a Vaishnavite, is tied to a stone statue of Vishnu and left to die in the sea. The story then moves to a biotechnology lab in USA where a team of scientists have just produced a new form of virus that is deadlier than anthrax. As things always happen, the vial containing the virus falls into the wrong hands and it is upto Kamal to save the people from absolute disaster. Kamal's journey starts from USA and finally ends on the shores of one of the Indian beaches on 26th Dec 2004, the day when Tsunami struck. He meets various people(Other Kamal Haasan's, to be exact) during his roller coaster ride to save the nation. The body language, the accent, the makeup & the costumes of each one of these Kamal characters is different and showcases the homework that has gone into the visualization and creation.

Kamal has put his heart & soul into this venture and the movie is yet another proof of his versatility. One of the grouches that I had is that Kamal goes over the top in the old lady and George Bush portrayals. Asin, the heroine, is needlessly portrayed as a dumb person with no compassion. This, I felt, was needless and may be some more effort could have gone in the etching of this important character.

This movie also brings into limelight the story, screenplay & dialogue writing skills of Kamal. K.S.Ravikumar, the director, deserves equal amounts of credit for making this movie possible. The art direction is brilliant and the initial scene at the 12th century temple premises is a case in point. The graphics, which was touted as world class before the movie's release, is adequate. It is definitely not in par with some of the english movies but on comparison to other tamil movies, it is definitely in a higher plane (Watch out for the graphics and the temple set seamlessly integrating in the 12th century temple scene).The background score is a big letdown as it does not enhance the visuals. Devi Sree Prasad must have felt satisfied to allow the visuals on the screen to dominate and the background score is not appealing. The camera of Ravi Varma was patchy in a few places (Or was it the fault of the projectors?); apart from these glaring mistakes, the camera work is brilliant as the number of shots required would have been enormous to capture the different Kamal's characters. The 'Mukunda' song is already a big hit and 'Kallai Mattum Kandal' & 'Oh Ho Sanam' might get added to this list very soon. The fact that Himesh Reshmaiyya, a person of North Indian origin, has given a touching song like 'Kallai Mattum Kandal' is ample proof for his talent.

All said & done, is this a perfect movie? The answer is a definite 'NO'. The screenplay, while racy and kept us waiting for the next scene, had glitches and some scenes were not given a proper closure. The non-linear narration of the story, a brilliantly executed one, did not help the matters much in some cases as there were some loose ends that went unanswered.

Rating: 8.5/10

(P.S: I am an ardent fan of Kamal & hence this review has its fair share of 'personal' bias)

Eight Verses for Training the Mind

2008-06-11T10:52:00.008+05:30

With a determination to accomplish

The highest welfare for all sentient beings
Who surpass even a wish-granting jewel

I will learn to hold them supremely dear.

Whenever I associate with others

I will learn To think of myself as the lowest among all

And respectfully hold others to be supreme

From the very depths of my heart.

In all actions I will learn to search into my mind

And as soon as an afflictive emotion arises

Endangering myself and others

Will firmly face and avert it.

I will learn to cherish beings of bad nature

And those oppressed by strong sins and suffering

As if I had found a precious

Treasure very difficult to find.

When others out of jealousy treat me badly

With abuse, slander, and so on,

I will learn to take on all loss,

And offer victory to them.

When one whom I have benefited with great hope

Unreasonably hurts me very badly,

I will learn to view that person

As an excellent spiritual guide.

In short, I will learn to offer to everyone without exception

All help and happiness directly and indirectly

And respectfully take upon myself

All harm and suffering of my mothers.

I will learn to keep all these practices

Undefiled by the stains of the eight worldly conceptions

And by understanding all phenomena as like illusions

Be released from the bondage of attachment.

(I found this poem in a book about Dalai Lama. I had got this book from a second hand book shop for Rs.30 and was just browsing through it for relaxation from the heaviness of reading '1984' by George Orwell. Check out this link to get a deeper understanding of this poem.)

Thana-Nana Thaana-Nana: Ennai Thaalata Varuvaalo

2008-05-02T14:47:00.004+05:30

It is the 2nd year of my B.E degree and I had just started working on my GRE wordlist. It was in this wordlist that I first came upon the word 'ubiquitous'. My way of remembering these complex words is to come up with a sentence of my own using some incidents or things that I can easily relate to. And it is no surprise that I associated this word to the song "Ennai Thaalata Varuvaalo" at that time. The penetration of this song at that time was so deep at that time there was not a place where this song could not be heard. Local tea shops, town & city buses, hostels had this song blasting out at every possible occasion. The image that I get when I hear the song these days is the walk that I had to take from my 2nd year hostel to the college mess. In my college, the 2nd year hostel is located farthest from the mess and we need to travel through the 3rd year hostel and go between the 1st & 4th year hostel blocks to reach the mess. During a 2 to 3 month period, not a day passed without hearing this song during that walk from my hostel to the mess. Invariably, one of the hostel blocks had this song playing from their tape recorders.

The greatest compliment to this song is that I never seem to get bored of it. Many songs regularly find a place in my winamp 'Repeat' list but only a few songs retain their flavor even after years of repeated listening. Vijay appearing in different T-shirts and the scene of Vijay kicking a piece of twig will always remain etched in my memory along with the days of walking through the hostel blocks with my plate towards the college mess. Some memories like these are forever engraved in our minds like beautiful idols on the facade of a majestic temple.

According To Me: Greatest Book Ever

2008-05-02T13:41:00.005+05:30

I have this list of top 100 books (fiction & non-fiction) that I got from a website. My search these days - to a small extent atleast - consist of searching for these books in libraries and old book shops. I suddenly got this question on what is the greatest book that I have read till now & what would be the best book that I would read in my lifetime?

I somehow feel that 'life' on earth and the interactions of people would be the greatest book that I will ever get to read. All the books (the literal ones) that I have read till now & will be reading in the future seems to me to be just a preparation for me to understand this beautiful book of life that God has written for all of us to read, learn and understand. I am sure that my friend who is a bigtime movie buff would have also realized that the most astounding piece of movie that he ever gets to watch would be the great play called life that the director God plays out for each of us. May be it is God's way of training each of us to understand life in our own sweet terms. My intuition says that there would come a point in my life when I should throw away all my books(hard & soft copies) and start immersing myself in this 'life' book; for that is where my greatest learning would come from.

Change is the only constant thing!

2008-05-02T13:35:00.003+05:30

It's time for me to reinvent myself & my blog. If lack of time was one of the reasons for neglecting my blog for sometime, lack of motivation is the more serious problem that I had to address to keep the blog going. To drive these out, I am planning on writing on two new topics (New for me!!!). Apart from the fact that these topics occupy less of my time, it is the fact that they are close to my heart that makes these new things all the more interesting for me and makes me take these up.

101 thoughts/ideas flow through my mind everyday and still I am not doing a great job in capturing these random thoughts in paper/blog. Under the topic "According To Me" (ATM in short), I am planning on scribbling those thoughts for people to comment and debate. What will this 'According To Me' have? From descriptions of the idlies of Madurai to the idiosyncrasies of life, from Karl Marx to Kamasutra, from rocket science to Royal Challengers, anything that captures my mind for a fleeting second and makes me think will find its way into this space. If you are looking for some great ideas then this is not the place for you! I am looking forward to creating some heated arguments through these topics. After all, I am an "Argumentative Indian" with a love for controversies.

Music plays a very important part in my life. From listening to almost all the new releases (In Tamil, of course) to tracking down & listening to not-so-popular hit numbers of Ilayaraaja, not a day passes without having some music playing. There are some songs that capture our imaginations and transport us to a different phase our life reminding us of the times (good & bad) that we have passed. Anytime we hear those songs, they take us through a nostalgic trip to a different place & time. It could either be the carefree, fun-filled days of our childhood, the unrecoverable & immutable lovely college days or the hard working days in front of the computer at office. Each one of us have our own set of such songs & through "Thana-Nana Thaana-Nana", I plan to fine-tune my thoughts on such songs. Do not expect any technical analysis of the songs for I am below the level of a novice when it comes to identifying raagas and instruments. These articles would just be limited to how I feel on hearing these songs and the places to which they transport me to.

As usual, I expect your comments and suggestions on ways to improve my blog, my writing and ultimately my inner self.

Click click -- Random Images

2008-03-27T13:26:00.006+05:30

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.

The Age of Kali -- Book Review

2008-03-25T10:41:00.002+05:30

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.

The Great Indian Novel -- Book Review

2008-03-17T17:38:00.009+05:30

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

2008-03-17T12:06:00.006+05:30

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

George Orwell -- A tribute

2008-03-03T18:52:00.008+05:30

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

2008-03-03T10:35:00.008+05:30

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

Lord of the Flies -- Book Review

2008-02-26T11:04:00.003+05:30

The only reason that I could attribute for picking this book are: I saw the name of this book in the 'Top 100' most read books list and that I got a copy of this book for a price of Rs.60!!! A cursory glance at the plot summary was enough to pique my interest and here I am, writing the review having completed the book in a week's time (which is fast enough considering the work load at office these days)

The novel starts in a remote island where a group of school boys (12 year olds & some 6-7 year olds) are left stranded after the crash of the plane in which they were traveling. With no adult survivors, they are left with no adults to supervise and regulate them. They feel elated and start enjoying their freedom. Like any society with abundant freedom and power but no rules/laws, confusion soon ensues leaving the boys in a world of chaos. When a mysterious beast starts making its appearance, the lethal combination of fear & lawlessness evokes complete disintegration of the moral fabric of those young minds. Whether the boys realize their folly and return to their homes forms the rest of the plot.

The author, William Golding, asserts through this novel that violence is inbuilt in the nature of human beings and age is no factor on when this monster would get unleashed. Like the waves that wash ashore the dirt that we throw into the sea, Golding brings the extremely poisonous dirt called violence from the innermost corners of our maze-like heart. The clinical precision and methodical writing creates an uneasy feeling in our minds that refuses to go away easily. If the description of the forest, the lagoon and the sea are natural & free-flowing, the description of the violence and the moral disintegration is depraving and disturbing. I would attribute the deep impact that this novel creates to the fact that the protagonists are children of age 12 and below. A set of adults performing these heinous crimes would not have created such a ripple among the readers. Choosing children to highlight the darkness that lies within each other is a class act by the author.

This novel is a truly amazing psychological journey into regions hitherto unexplored revealing the true colors of human nature. It goes on to show that every human has grey areas that could get transformed into unimaginable blackness/darkness at any point of time.

Bottom Line: A classic & a MUST READ.

(The UBSPD edition of this novel has chapter-wise summaries & comments at the end of the novel. The comments section elaborates on the hidden meaning of some of the references in the story. The ‘List of Characters’ at the beginning of the novel needs to be avoided as it contains spoilers which can reduce the impact of some of the incidents in the novel)

Idleness as an 'ideal'ness

2008-02-19T19:53:00.007+05:30

"Idling always has been my strong point. I take no credit to myself in the matter—-it is a gift. Few possess it. There are plenty of lazy people and plenty of slow-coaches, but a genuine idler is a rarity. He is not a man who slouches about with his hands in his pockets. On the contrary, his most startling characteristic is that he is always intensely busy. It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do. There is no fun in doing nothing when you have nothing to do. Wasting time is merely an occupation then, and a most exhausting one. Idleness, like kisses, to be sweet must be stolen."

The following lines are taken verbatim from the book "The idle thoughts of an idle fellow" by Jerome.K.Jerome. Is there a need to mention that I perfectly fit into the above description?

Acacia & Ants -- A complex story

2008-02-18T18:22:00.003+05:30

I am a great admirer of the biological world and nothing fascinates me more than the interaction between the various elements that make up the biological world. I came across this news sometime back but never got the time to blog on this. It is almost unbelievable to think about the complexities of nature. To consider that some plants start dying soon when they are kept in a protected environment is indeed amazing. The nature of nature is so unpredictable that this mysterious nature seems to be the prime reason to be so much attracted towards it.

On a related philosophical note, are humans also similar to this? Will they become ineffective & wither away if the challenges that are posed to them are removed? Are problems and complexities that we face in our life someway related to our sustained growth?

The Present -- Book Review

2008-02-18T14:03:00.015+05:30

இன்று -1
நேற்று நினைவு,
நாளை கனவு,
இன்று நிஜம்.
நிஜங்கள் ரசிப்போம்.

இன்று -2
நேற்று நெருடாமல்,
நாளை நெருக்காமல்.
இன்றை இன்றே வாழ்ந்துவிடு.

The Present

Today morning I was shaving infront of the mirror. My thoughts, instead of concentrating on what I was doing at that moment, were still with something that happened in the office on Friday and I ended up cutting myself with the blade.

Moral of the story: When we don't bury our pasts and start concentrating on our 'Present', we have every chance of hurting ourselves.

The two tamil verses (Incidentally these were NOT written after reading the book) and what happened to me in the morning pretty much summarizes what this book is all about. It highlights the importance of learning from the past, planning for the future but ALWAYS living in the 'Present' by using a simple parable.

Bottom Line: A small book that is worth a read.

யார் யார் சிவம்......

2008-02-05T19:30:00.000+05:30

உயிர்களெல்லாம் தெய்வமன்றிப் பிறவொன் றில்லை;

ஊர்வனவும் பறப்பனவும் நேரே தெய்வம்;

பயிலுமுயிர் வகைமட்டு மன்றி யிங்குப்

பார்க்கின்ற பொருளெல்லாம் தெய்வம் கண்டீர்;

வெயிலளிக்கும் இரவி, மதி, விண்மீன், மேகம்

மேலுமிங்குப் பலபலவாம் தோற்றம் கொண்டே

இயலுகின்ற ஜடப்பொருள்கள் அனைத்தும் தெய்வம்;

எழுதுகோல் தெய்வமிந்த எழுத்தும் தெய்வம்!

(பாரதியார் கவிதை)

A Comedy of Errors -- Book Review

2008-01-28T19:20:00.000+05:30

Author: Prasanna Kumar
Year of Publication: 2007

This book has been there with me for quite sometime & the day to read it came only yesterday. I have been reading Tamil books continuously and so wanted to read something different to freshen up my thoughts. This book was small & it deals with something that has always been one of my greatest pet peeves (Or secret interests?): Management!!!

The book has all the ingredients for a great read. Like ’Just out of microwave' popcorn, this has all the spiciness/crispiness to sustain interest throughout. Laced with this is the fact that the story is set as a narration between a couple of characters. Sam (Short for Saminathan) is the hero of this book and he works for a company called Y2K technologies. He is going through a professional mid-life crisis being stuck in Y2K technologies for the last 5 years. He is not sure on whether he is a valued resource in his company or yet another programmer who goes through the bugger (Used instead of the word 'Grind' to differentiate the work of a programmer from the other menial tasks!) He is assigned to travel to US for a new project and he is assigned to work under a new manager called Bob.

The witty (And thought provoking) conversations between Sam & Bob form the crux of this book. Bob is a person who has seen it all in the world of marketing & management and fills the role of a mentor for Sam with pleasure. His profound and yet down to earth practical solutions brings out the manager in Sam. Whether the hidden manager in Sam is capable of landing the big project forms the rest of the plot.

The greatest plus for this book is that it covers almost all the important concepts like presentation skills, employee retention, motivating people and all other relevant stuff. Ironically, this also is this book's greatest minus. The author Prasanna Kumar tries to squeeze in everything in this small book (127 pages) and in successfully doing so, he fails to deal in-depth into any of the essential topics.

Bottom Line: All said & done, this is a book that is worth reading as a quick refresher for your management principles. At just Rs.95, it can easily fit into your budget as well. Read it when you want to do some light and humorous read.

En Peyar Raamaseshan -- Book Review

2008-01-21T14:13:00.000+05:30

ஒற்றை வார்த்தையில், லோக்கல் பாஷையில் இந்த புத்தகத்தைப் பற்றி சொல்ல வேண்டுமென்றால், அந்த ஒரு வார்த்தை: நெத்தியடி. முதல் பக்கத்திலேயே சிக்ஸர் அடித்து கவனத்தை கவரும் எழுத்தாளர் ஆதவன், Virendar Sehwag போல 40 ரன்னில் அவுட்டாகாமல், ஆவேசமின்றி ஆசுவாசமாய் 200 அடிக்கிறார். ஒவ்வொரு பக்கத்திலும் "சபாஷ்!" சொல்ல வைக்கும் வகையில் உள்ளது இந்த நாவல் என்று கூறினால் அது மிகையாகாது.

மனிதர்களும், அவர்களின் பல வேஷங்களும் முகமூடிகளும் தான் இந்த கதையின் கரு. மனிதர்களின் பல திரைகளை கிழித்தெறிந்து, அவர்களை நிர்மூலமாக்கி, நிர்வாணமாக்கி, மேடையில் ஏற்றி நமது hypocrisy மீது spotlight அடித்து காண்பிக்கிறார் ஆதவன். 1980ஆம் ஆண்டு எழுதப்பட்டிருந்தாலும், இன்றைக்கும் புதிதாய், நடைமுறை நிகழ்வுகளுக்கு பிரதிபலிப்பாய் உள்ளது தான் இந்த நாவலின் சிறப்பாம்சம்.

ராமசேஷன் என்னும் கதாபாத்திரம் சொல்லும் தன் சுயசரிதை என்று மேலோட்டமாக சொன்னாலும், இது சுயசரிதை என்பதை விட ஒரு சுயவிசாரணை என்பதே சரியாக பொருந்தும். ராமசேஷன் தன் இன்ஜினியரிங் படிப்பை தொடங்கும் காலத்தில் தொடங்கும் கதை, அவன் படிப்பை முடிக்கும் போது நிறைவடைகிறது. தான் சமூகம் ஆட்டிவைக்கும் பொம்மலாட்ட பொம்மையாகி விடக்கூடாது என்னும் ஓட்டத்தில் கலந்து கொண்டு, அவ்வோடத்தினாலேயே அந்த சமூகத்தின் கைப்பாவையாகிறான். In trying hard not to be a product of the society, unknowingly, he becomes a product of the society.

7 (அல்லது) 8 முக்கிய கதாபாத்திரங்கள் மட்டுமே கொண்டு 200 பக்க நாவலை மிக அழகாக நிரப்பியுள்ளார் ஆதவன் அவர்கள். ஒவ்வொரு கதாபாத்திரமும் நம் ஒவ்வொருவரின் ஒரு வேஷம் போல் symbolically அமைத்துள்ளார். புகழ் விரும்பும் ஒருவர், புகழினால் கர்வம் கொள்ளாத ஒருவர், புகழ் அடைந்த மற்றவர் மேல் தன் காழ்புணர்ச்சியை எறியும் ஒருவர், மரபுகளை எதிர்க்க தைரியம் இல்லாத ஒருவர் என சராசரி மனிதர்களின் பல பிம்பங்களை கட்ட அவிழ்த்து விடுகிறார். கதாபாத்திரங்கள் அரைகுறையாக இல்லாமல், நன்கு செதுக்கப்பட்ட சிலை போல் இருப்பது கதைக்கு மேலும் மெருகூட்டுகின்றது.

Bottom Line: நான் இதுவரை படித்த மிக சிறந்த புத்தகங்களில் இதுவும் ஒன்று. நிச்சயமாக தமிழ் தெரிந்த அனைவரும் படித்து மகிழ வேண்டிய புத்தகம்.

மனதில் நின்றது: நாம் நம்ப விரும்புவதைத்தான் நம்புகிறோமே தவிர, நம்ப வேண்டியதை அல்ல.

(தமிழில் நான் பதிக்கும் மின்குறிப்புகள் சுத்த தமிழில் தான் இருக்க வேண்டும் என்கிற வரைமுறை நானாக போட்டுக் கொண்ட விலங்கு என்பதை எனக்கு உணர வைத்த ஆதவன் அவர்களுக்கு என் "Thanks")

Bheema -- Movie Review

2008-01-21T13:45:00.000+05:30

Fight. Violence. Guns. Bullets. Violence. Guns. Bullets. Violence. Guns. Fight. Violence. Guns. Bullets. Violence. Guns. Bullets. Violence. Guns. Bullets. Violence. Guns. Fight. Bullets. Violence. Guns. Bullets. Violence. Guns. Fight. Violence. Guns. Bullets. Violence. Guns. Story. Bullets. Violence. Violence. Guns. Bullets. Violence. Guns. Bullets. Violence. Guns. Fight. Violence. Guns. Bullets. Violence. Guns. Bullets. Violence. Guns. Bullets. Violence. Guns. Fight. Bullets. Violence. Guns. Bullets. Violence. Guns.

If you found the 'Story' in the above paragraph, there is every chance that you would end up finding a story in this movie as well. And if you had never understood the meaning of the term "Colossal waste of resources", I would recommend you to watch this movie. Top notch performers like Vikram, Prakash Raj, Raghuvaran, the great cameraman R.D.Rajasekar and the lilting tunes of Harris Jeyaraj are grossly mishandled & what we get is a product that can be directly dumped into river Cooum.

Is this director Lingusamy the same one who gave us such racy flicks like 'Run' & 'Sandai Kozhi'? Is he the director who gave us the family entertainer 'Aanandam'? So much is the gulf between these movies and Bheema that I am planning on writing to Ripley's 'Believe it or not' to add these as facts so that the common man believes they are by the same director.

Vikram tries real hard to carry this movie on his shoulders but, like the 'N' number of people who fall prey to his bullets, he also falls pathetically short. Vikram looks aged and maybe its time for him to consider roles that suits his age instead of prancing around with young heroines. Trisha looks perfectly like a doll. Beautiful & lifeless. Acting and Trisha are like south pole & north pole; miles apart and no chance whatsoever for an overlap.

The editing, camera and background music are top notch. It seems Harris Jeyaraj spent close to 48 days for the re-recording and the effort shows in each & every frame. Except for minor aberrations here & there, he scores BIG time in this movie. The song "Mudhal Mazhai" is pleasing aurally & visually. All said & done, this is a movie that really tested my patience. My friend summed up the movie perfectly when he turned to me just before the intermission and asked me with a serious face the question, "When will the movie begin?". Enough said.

Last Cut: Avoid it at all costs.

Rating: 3.5/10

The Year That Was.............

2007-12-31T17:55:00.001+05:30

I am not a person who usually waits for a new year to dawn to make resolutions or to take corrective action (Or for that matter making those resolutions public for everyone to see & verify). It just so happens that this time I am planning on doing an analysis of how the year has turned out and what I want to make the year 2008 to be.

2007 was:

1) A normal year as far as professional life was concerned. The expected growth in terms of a position did not come & that left me annoyed a wee bit. (Alright. Annoyed me a wee bit more than a wee bit)

2) The personal front had its own share of ups & downs. Considering the fact that years 2005 & 2006 have been turbulent, I would actually consider this as a pretty decent year.

3) Blogging started of on a promising note but trailed off towards the end. Blogging took a big time hit in the last 4 months. One of the reasons that I could think of is the increased responsibilities at office & being lazy to the extent of not applying for an Internet connection at our new house. (The graph is an indication of how much I have 'grown' to being an useless manager of things!!!)

A stupid graph indicating my laziness and managerial potential!!!

2008 needs to be:

1) A year where I get the much expected change in my designation. (Which I feel I deserve!!!!)

2) A year where I blog much more regularly. Even though setting a specific target for a creative work like blogging doesn't bode well, I would like to post close to 80+ items in the coming year on variety of topics.

3) A year where I join in some course to improve my amateur photography skills.

4) Last but not the least, a year where I need to be happy always & to keep myself and others smiling.

Have a Great Year 2008!!!!

Iacocca: An Autobiography -- Book Review

2007-11-14T15:23:00.000+05:30

Expectations are bad for mental & physical well-being. I am not even talking about misplaced expectations with other people. I am talking purely in terms of reading books & watching movies with expectations. The book "Iacocca -- Autobiography" had so much hype surrounding it that I was forced to believe that it would be highly inspirational. For the uninformed, Iacocca is the chief architect responsible for the revival of the Chrysler company. When a person who has brought a company from the jaws of bankruptcy writes an autobiography, I believe it is natural to expect some highly motivating stuff and an interesting narration of how things worked out. I was totally wrong on this count.

The story starts at an intermediate point in his career when he was fired from the post of the president of the Ford Motor Company and how humiliated he felt at that time. This start definitely promised a lot for it made me look forward for the reason of Iacocca being fired from his post and also raised my expectations on how stoked up he would be to seek sweet revenge by taking the mantle at Chrysler.

The story (The first part) then traces back his childhood days with his father coming & settling in US as an immigrant from Italy. The lead up from here to Iacocca getting hired at Ford is pretty fluid and retains my undivided attention. His honest admission (after completing a Master’s degree in Engineering) that he was not cut out for engineering and his switching to sales talks a great deal about the kind of person Iacocca is. His initial years at Ford are explained in great detail to the extent of explaining the kind of training that is given at Ford. The conception of the Ford Mustang and the associated marketing frenzy that his team created for selling the car is a lesson on successful management of ideas and forceful action. What follows after this is a dull & one-sided narration of the events that led to his fight with Henry Ford Jr. The reasons & justifications that Iacocca provide for him to stick with Ford even after learning at close quarters the type of person that Henry Ford Jr. is unconvincing and stinks of a selfish attitude. His bad-mouthing of Henry Ford Jr. is the worst part of this autobiography and it greatly brought down the respect I had for Iacocca. Even though Iacocca tries to convince us that he has forgotten about the humiliation of being fired from Ford, it is highly apparent that it is not the case.

The second part of the autobiography where he describes about taking up the challenge of reviving Chrysler is where the book goes horribly wrong. Loaded with legal jargons and details that fail to make sense for most part, it appears at best to be an effort to fill a particular agreed amount of pages for the book. This is the part of the story that should have taken the reader on a magical ride & sadly all that it does is to take us through a tragical ride with no timeline details that left me wondering about how long it actually took Iacocca to get Chrysler out of its losses. The last two chapters (About the need for seatbelt & yanking up the competition to the Japanese) seemed a total waste of time for it is readily apparent at this point that Iacocca has run out of things to write and that he is writing all this to fill up the space.

Bottom Line: Read it only if you are a BIG fan of Iacocca. You will be better of reading some of the other self-help and management books if you are looking for motivators.

Vijayawada Trip Images -- Part III

2007-11-07T15:24:00.001+05:30

There is something engrossing about photos of people and their emotions. Myriad amount of thoughts go through the minds of people and when these are captured in a candid camera, they offer the best kind of images and the most satisfaction for a photographer. Given below is a series of snaps of various people and at various locations in Vijayawada.

Photo #1

Photo #1: A saint walking near the river Krishna. His colorful attire, the trident in his hands, the matted hair and the yellow vermilion smeared on his forehead was something that conveyed a lot of strength. I did not get a lot of time to capture this image for there were a lot of people taking bath in the river and I had to hurry with my snap.

Photo #2

Photo #2: There is something so soothing and peaceful about children playing in a park. Their carefree nature when mixed with the spaciousness of a park brings out the best from children. This small guy(The one in the white shirt) was slowly climbing up the ladder to go down the slide and I immediately got ready with my camera. Unfortunately, his elder brother (The one in the blue shirt) took him in his lap to go down the slide. Just before I could snap the moment, the elder brother found out that I was getting ready for taking a photo. The way in which the small guy is expectantly looking down at the slide unmindful of everything else around him best summarizes the picture.

Photo #3

Photo #3: A tricycle driver lost in his world. He seems to be totally dwelling in his own thought train with no awareness to the fact that he is driving in the wrong side of the road. This photo was shot near the hotel in which I stayed.

Photo #4

Photo #4: A person begging for alms from people returning from the Kanaga Durga temple. The kaleidoscopic nature of her dress, the dark tone of her skin and the innocent looking child in front of her evoked so deep a feeling that I couldn't help but snap this photo. The fact that I was walking down the stairs when I took this photo explains the blurred looking nature of this image.

Vijayawada Trip Images -- Part II

2007-11-05T19:13:00.001+05:30

Photos taken through my friend's Olympus camera are presented here. I tried to categorize this blog entry with photos having flowers as the main theme.

Photo #1

Photo #1: Beautiful looking yellow flowers as the foreground and a temple gopuram (tower) as a blurred out background. The color reproduction with this camera is of the highest nature and this is one photo that showcases it brilliantly.

Photo #2

Photo #2: A blurred out white flower and a purple flower in the background. I specifically liked this picture for it kind of gives a fleeting/dreamy image of the flower in the foreground.

Photo #3

Photo #3: The cage like gate in the background and the faithful reproduction of the various hues of this photo makes it a very endearing one.

Photo #4

Photo #4: A closeup shot of a big and beautiful yellow flower in a garden in Vijayawada. Each and every color in the flower looks so resplendent in this capture.

Vijayawada Trip Images -- Part I

2007-11-01T13:52:00.001+05:30

Had been on a trip to Vijayawada recently and I am getting a bit toooo obsessed with photography for I took two cameras for the trip. One is my 'trusted' & 'beloved' Canon A95. The other is a camera that I had borrowed from friend (A olympus camera with a 10x optical zoom). All the below photos are from my camera.

Photo #1

Photo #1: A fast moving train. I consider this as one of the best photos that I have taken till now. I had not intended the photo to come this way but I guess the best things in life are never planned for! Had got the focus on the last compartment of the train and when it came near, I had moved the camera a bit faster than I had actually intended. The result is a blurred out tail piece of the train.

Photo #2

Photo #2: This photo was taken on the Krishna river bridge. I have never seen a bridge where there are two seperate rail tracks. I got a lot lucky when another train came in the other track and I had a pretty good capture.

Photo #3

Photo #3: The Vijayawada trip was unique in that I travelled in almost all forms of transport (Except on a plane). Had seen a lot of tricycles in Vijayawada but somehow was hesitant on travelling in one of them. I went to a place called Amaravathi and there finally got into this person's tricycle. Wanted to capture that moment so that it could be frozen in my memory forever.

Photo #4

Photo #4: Nature has this uncanny ability to show humans their limitations and bring them back hard and fast to the earth. Rains & floods had played havoc for a couple of days and the above photo is a bullock cart surrounded by water.

Katrathu Thamizh -- Movie Review

2007-10-08T09:02:00.001+05:30

தமிழ் பட ரசிகர்கள் பார்த்து, ரசித்து வெற்றி கொடுக்கும் படங்களின் கதாநாயகர்கள் எப்பொழுதும் நல்லவர்களாக, மிகவும் பாசமுள்ளவர்களாக பல நல்ல குணங்கள் படைத்தவர்களாகவே சித்தரிக்கபடுவர். சில படங்களே இந்த கட்டுக்கோப்பில் இருந்து மாறுபட்டு இருக்கும்.(உதாரணம்: பருத்தி வீரன்). இப்படிப்பட்ட சூழ்நிலையில், "கற்றது தமிழ்" படம் ஒரு மாறுபட்ட முயற்சி என்று கூறலாம். இதில் கதாநாயகன் பல கொலைகள் செய்பவன். மது அருந்துபவன். கஞ்சா அடிப்பவன். அவன் ஒருபொழுதும் தான் செய்த குற்றங்களை நியாயப்படுத்த முயலாதவன். சுருங்கச் சொன்னால், தமிழ் பட கதாநாயகனுக்கான குணாதிசயங்கள் எதுவும் இல்லாதவன்.

சூழ்நிலை காரணமாக, காவல்துறையில் இருந்து தப்பி ஓடும் நிலைமைக்கு தள்ளப்படுகிறான் பிரபாகர் (ஜீவா). விதி அவனை மிக வேகமாக துரத்தி பிடித்து ஒரு கொலை செய்ய வைக்கிறது. ஒரு கொலை மிக விரைவில் இரண்டு கொலைகளாக விதி செய்யும் சதியால் மாறுகிறது. காலங்கள் உருண்டோட, வருடங்கள் முன்னேற, அவன் செய்த கொலைக் கணக்கும் 22 ஆகிறது. ஒரு தொலைக்காட்சி நிருபரை கடத்தி வந்து, தன் பழங்கதை கூற ஆரம்பிக்கிறான் பிரபாகர். அவன் கதை தான் என்ன? அவன் வாழ்க்கை எப்படி இப்படி தடம் புரண்டது என்பதை சொல்வது தான் மீதிக் கதை. பிரபாகரின் சிறு வயது நண்பியாக, இந்நாள் காதலியாக ஆனந்தி (அஞ்சலி). இவர்கள் ஏன் பிரிந்து வாழ்கிறார்கள் என்பதும் கதையோட்டத்தில் விளக்கபடுகிறது.

தமிழ்நாட்டில் தமிழும், தமிழில் பட்டம் பெற்றவர்களும் படும் இன்னல்களை சொல்ல முயற்சி செய்திருக்கிறார் இயக்குனர் ராம். ஆம். முயற்சி தான் செய்திருக்கிறார் என்று சொல்ல வேண்டும். படத்தின் கடைசி 30 நிமிடங்களில், திருவிழாவில் தொலைந்து போன பணக்கார வீட்டு நாய்க்குட்டி போல அங்கும் இங்கும் அலைந்து கதையையும், அது சொல்ல வந்த கருத்தையும் பரிதாபமாக சாக விடுகிறார்.

ஜீவா என்ற நடிகர் படத்தில் தென்படவேயில்லை. பிரபாகர் என்ற அவரது கதாபாத்திரம் தான் படம் முழுவதும் நிரம்பி வழிகிறது என்பது ஜீவாவின் நடிப்பிற்கு ஒரு மிக நல்ல சான்று. காதல், சோகம், கோபம், இயலாமை என எல்லா உணர்ச்சிகளும் மிக இயல்பாய் இவருக்கு வருகிறது. விக்ரம், சூர்யா வரிசையில் ஜீவாவும் நல்ல நடிகராய் வலம் வருவார் என்பது தெள்ள தெளிவு.

ஆனந்தியாய் புதுமுகம் அஞ்சலி. பல படங்கள் நடித்து கைதேர்ந்த நடிகை போல், புதுமுகமா இவர் என்று வியக்கும் வண்ணம் உள்ளது இவருடைய நடிப்பு. கண்களால் பேசி, அழகாய் சிரித்து பல இளைஞர்களின் மனதை இவர் கொள்ளை கொள்ளப் போவது மிக உறுதியாய் தெரிகிறது. தமிழுக்கு ஒரு நல்வரவாய் இவர் அமைவார் என்று எதிர்பார்க்கலாம்.

படத்திற்கு பெருந்தூணாய் யுவனின் பின்னணி இசையும் பாடல்களும். பல இடங்களில் இசை மெருகூட்டி சில இடங்களில் மௌனம் காத்து ஒரு குட்டி கச்சேரி நடத்துகிறார். நா.முத்துகுமாரின் வரிகளில் ஒவ்வொரு பாடலும் ஒரு ருசி. இளையராஜாவின் குரலில் ஒலிக்கும் "பறவையே எங்கு" பாடல் மெய்ச்சிலிர்க்க வைக்கிறது. ஒளிப்பதிவும், எடிட்டிங்கும் ஒன்றோடோன்று போட்டி போட்டு ஜமாய்க்கின்றன. பல இடங்களில் "சபாஷ்" சொல்ல வைக்கின்றன.

இவை அனைத்தும் அருமையாய் இருந்தும், படம் ஒரு பெரிய தாக்கத்தை ஏற்படுத்த மறுக்கிறது. கதாநாயகன் பாத்திர படைப்பில் பலர் போன பாதையில் போகாமல் தனித்து நின்ற ராம், 2 மணி 45 நிமிடம் ஒரு படம் ஓட வேண்டும் என்ற போடாத சட்டத்தில் ஏனோ விடாப்பிடியாய் நின்று விட்டார். முப்பது நிமிடம் குறைவாய் படம் இருந்திருந்தால் இன்னும் நிறைவாய் இருந்திருக்குமோ? கண்டிப்பாய் ஒரு முறை பார்க்க வேண்டிய படம்.

மதிப்பெண்: 7/10

Satham Podathey -- Movie Review

2007-09-25T13:16:00.000+05:30

Vasanth is one director who has directed some really great movies like “Keladi Kanmani” and “Rhythm” while also directing some utterly hopeless movies like “Hey, Nee Romba Azhaga Irukae”. The trailer of “Satham Podathey” that I saw during the ill-fated “Urchagam” movie piqued my interest. The trailer showed the movie to be a thriller movie. With an unfathomable scarcity of thriller movies in Tamil, I was eagerly expecting for this movie. Did “Satham Podathey” fulfill the expectations? Did Vasanth come up with another quality entertainer?

Story: When Bhanu (Padmapriya), a person who has a lot of dreams about marriage & children, marries Rathnavelu (Nithin Sathya) life takes her through routes that she has not even thought about in her wildest dreams. Rathnavelu is an impotent due to his past drinking habits. He hides this fact from Bhanu and gets married to her. Bhanu soon comes to know if this & also the fact that Rathnavelu is a psychologically disturbed person. She applies for a divorce on these grounds & gets it. A few months pass and a new spring season seems to bloom in her life when she meets with Ravichandran (Prithviraj) who is willing to marry her. She also slowly falls in love with Ravichandran. Whether they marry each other inspite of the problems caused by Rathnavelu and whether they live happily after that forms the rest of the plot.

Making a movie out of a complicated & emotional story such as this one requires the portrayal of solid characters that can enhance the story. Vasanth has done a pathetic job in this and hence fails miserably in evoking the required emotions out of the viewers. Movie goers generally tend to identify themselves with one of the characters that is shown and when this does not happen because of weak characterizations, the movie seldom creates an impact in the hearts of the viewer. There was a sense of emptiness that engulfed me after watching this movie as it failed to leave any visible impact. This could be considered as the downfall of this otherwise ordinary movie.

The other thing that I couldn’t let pass is the insertion of the 2 songs after the interval. The two songs are forced and they only hamper the flow of the movie. Added to this is the fact that these songs are downright cheap and make you cringe does not augur well for a director like Vasanth who has always been churning out movies which the entire family can watch without getting uncomfortable in their seats. “You too, Vasanth?”

Performances: The top prize would surely go to Padma Priya for her brilliant portrayal of the girl who interminably suffers in the hands of a psychopathic husband. She emotes very beautifully and it is really surprising to see very less of her in the tamil filmdom. May be it is her mature look that acts as a deterrent for the film directors to not cast her in their movies. Nithin Sathya as the mentally disturbed husband would come in as a close second in terms of acting honors. It is very commendable of him to come up with a highly individualistic performance and not to be ‘Inspired’ from movies that have the same kind of characterizations (Prakash Raj in Aasai readily comes to my mind). PrithviRaj sadly looks good only in the romantic & comedy scenes and fails miserably in highly charged scenes. It is really surprising that Vasanth has not meted out a much meatier role for PrithviRaj.

Other aspects: Vasanth has this uncanny ability to get the best from his music directors and his streak continues in this as well with Yuvan churning out some really great songs. The “Pesugiren” and “Azhagu Kutti Chellam” would surely do the rounds in the TV channels for sometime atleast. Yuvan seems to grow with each movie in terms of his ability to give amazing BGM’s and this is no exception for he creates the perfect ambience for a dark thriller.

The camera work was horrible to say the least. Whoever taught the cameraman that swinging the camera from one end of the screen to the other when the characters are talking to be a modern technique seems to have taught him the wrong things about handling a camera. It becomes highly irritating very soon and I wanted to shout out (Oops, pun unintended) to stop prancing around with the camera. The only saving grace is the picturization of the songs. The lush green forts of Kerala act as a treat to the eyes.

Last Cut: With its unique theme and sensitive & sensible handling of the script notwithstanding, the lack of depth in characters bring down this movie. A movie that should have gone out loud & clear instead goes out with a whimper. Wait for the DVD release to watch this movie.

Rating: 6.5/10

Kannamoochi Enada -- Music Review

2007-09-18T14:45:00.000+05:30

Music by: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Andru Vandathum Athe Nila (Shankar Mahadevan, Haricharan, Swetha) -- It is no secret that I hate the re-mix versions of the old popular numbers. All that the music directors end up doing to these songs is add a track containing heavy jarring beats which incidentally makes me crave for the original version more than ever. One exception to this rule was the song 'Thottal Poo Malarum' from the movie 'New'. Rahman had actually 'Retuned' the song and it was refreshing to hear it. Yuvan does the same thing here for this yesteryear classic by adding a jazzy mix and a funky tune while keeping the starting lyrics the same.Special mention to Shankar Mahadevan who breezes through this to make this an extremely catchy song. What transpires here is a beautiful reinvention that makes you yearn for more of these kind of retunes. The best song of this album. Once the song is over, go for the 'Repeat' button.

Kannamoochi Aatam Aadithaan (Palghat Sriram, Sainthavi, Prasanna, Dr. Narayanan) -- This song starts with a small beautiful rendition of a song that is normally sung during marriages. The interludes are tastefully peppered with small english lyrics. This one appears to be more a situational song and is not instantly catchy. Nevertheless, surely worth a listen. Allow this song to 'Play'.

Sanjaram (Shankar Mahadevan, Madhushree) -- A beautiful duet and a perfect melody that has Yuvan's stamp all over it. This is the Yuvan that I have come to love and he proves all the way why he is considered as the most promising music director in Tamil industry. This song also features Shankar Mahadevan at his best with his nonchalant yet pleasing to the ear kind of singing. The sore point of this song is the pronounciation of Madhushree. Can someone ask her to spit out the lollipop that she has in her mouth atleast while singing? Once the song is over, go for the 'Repeat' button.

Megam Megam (Haricharan, Swetha) -- I have not heard about this Haricharan (Is he the one who sung the "Unnakena Iruppen" in Kaadhal movie?) but he does a great job of singing this song. And I am even more unaware of this Swetha but she sings the song as though she has doing this for years together. A simple but excellent rhythm runs all through the song. And then there is the beautiful lyrics that are uncomplicated conveying the meaning in such a crystal clear way. The lines that particularly caught my attention is "Muthal muthal vaazhvil thondrum vanna kuzhapam vaanavil thaana". Too good!! Allow this song to 'Play'.

Putham Puthu (Shankar Mahadevan, Vijay Yesudas) -- If Sanjaram featured Shankar Mahadevan's singing that I have always yearned for, this song features the Shankar Mahadevan I have come to despise. Loud & uninspiring singing for a pretty mediocre tune. A tune set in the lines of "Kuyilukku Koo Koo" song from "Friends" and the "Ohh Nanbane" song from "Mounam Pesiyathe", this is the weakest link in an otherwise wonderful album. Go for the 'Skip' button.

Last Shout: Buy this album and add it to your music collection.

As Bad As It Gets

2007-09-13T17:02:00.000+05:30

What crime did the bowlers commit for them to suffer such torture? Is there a role that the bowlers have in the Twenty20 form of cricket other than being made scape goats to be mercilessly slaughtered by the batsmen? If the idea of the tournament is to allow the public to enjoy watching some brutal batting displays, why not replace the bowlers with a bowling machine?

I feel that the bowlers in a team can be replaced by batsmen and then a bowling machine can be introduced to throw balls at the batsman. The captain of the team can be allowed to choose the speed, the type of delivery and may be some other finer variations regarding the delivery. He can control all this from the field using a wireless controller or some other highly sophisticated device. This approach has the benefit that it allows a team to be fully loaded with batsmen (which I am sure the public would not complain about) and also spares the bowlers of mindless brutality they are put through (And I am sure the bowlers would not complain about this). What you guys say???

Urchagam -- Movie Review

2007-09-12T16:44:00.000+05:30

Why do I make such stupid mistakes? How did I believe that a movie starring a hero who has only a couple of movies to his name and a heroine whose only credit till date has been her 'bare all' first movie would be of any good? Why did I think that good songs would automatically get converted to great visuals and a decent story? Why? Why? Why? Like everything else in life, I am searching for the answers to all these above questions.

Even writing a review for movies like this is an atrocious waste of time but I feel that I have a 'Social' responsibility (Look at my generosity here!!!) in making sure that other people out there do not make the same mistake as me and end up watching this hopeless parody of errors compiled in the name of a movie. There is no shard piece of evidence to show that this movie has anything original in terms of its screenplay. The term cliche would start appearing cliched if I start to list out the cliched sequences that appear in this movie. It would be better if I just said that it is so FULL of them.

There used to be a time in tamil movies when the heroine would take up a small bottle & the camera would zoom in to show the words poison (With the tamil translation below it) to explicitly show to the viewer that she is about to commit suicide. Then directors like Bhagyaraj came in and they just showed the heroine drinking something from a small bottle and in the next scene people would seen crying and the viewers understood what it meant. The latest line of directors like Bala show just the corpse of the heroine & let the viewer understand the sequence. The underlying pretence here in all this is that the movie watching public is assumed to have a certain amount of gray matter in their heads and that they can understand things without the need for an elaborated explanation. The director of this movie (I have no clue who it is.....) questioned my intelliegence by explaining even the simplest of things and made me look even more stupid than I am actually is. Then, towards the end, there were sequences where the villain would have made the FBI team go green with envy with his detective & deductive capabilities. And when I was expecting some answers from the directors on how the villain was doing all this, he provides me with none!!!

There is nothing to write about performances or technical aspects and I would directly go to a sour point that irritated me the most. There is this beautiful song 'Naram Pookal Thedum' that I was eagerly waiting for and when it finally showed up in screen, I immediately knew why I was not able to catch this song in the regular song programs that comes in every other channel these days. I was, afterall, looking for this song in the wrong program. I should have been checking 'Hot, Hotter, Hottest' or 'Midnight Masala' instead....... What a complete waste of such a brilliant song.

Final Cut: When movies like 'Paruthi Veeran' and 'Kireedom' try to take the tamil movie industry forward, these movies end up pushing them back by a solid 30 years. Avoid this at all cost.

Rating: 2/10 (The only reason I gave this movie 2 points is for the songs. If you have not listened to it yet, you are surely missing something)

Succeeding -- The Jordan way

2007-09-12T11:47:00.000+05:30

Couldn't resist myself from posting this. Truly inspiring lines from Michael Jordan. This is a very famous phrase from the Nike ad in which Jordan appeared.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career; I’ve lost almost 300 games; 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot, and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Photos for Fun -- Part II

2007-09-12T10:24:00.000+05:30

Till now, I never realized the importance of having a good optical zoom camera. I have been pretty satisified with my Canon A95 camera and the photos that it has been giving me. The various scene selections that are possible in this camera is amazing and is more than sufficient for an amateur photographer like me. I had a chance to use my friend's cameras and that is when I realized the need for an optical zoom in the camera. I used the Canon S2 IS and also the Olympus SP500UZ cameras and these cameras left me amazed by the kind of photographs that I can get with these. Below I have given some of the photos that I took with the Olympus camera.

Photo #1

Photo #1: I have taken so many snaps of this flower using my camera and it has never come this well. The color reproduction and the way in which each and every strand of the stamen of the flower is visible is just amazing.

Photo #2

Photo #2: Cats are never my favorite animals and so I did not take photos of the cat when my friends were clicking away photos of this one during out trip to Udupi. Finally, I took up the camera from my friend and my friends had let go the cat by this time. The cat started chasing something in the nearby wood pile and I couldnt resist myself from clicking this photo. The blurred out background and the various shades in the picture make it a decent one.

Photo #3

Photo #3: A water drop on a big leaf!!! Every photographer's dream snap. The crystal like water drop & the light green shade of the leaves makes this near perfect. (It would have been perfect if only I had the patience to cover the entire leaf. A small portion of the leaf is now missing in the left hand side of the photo)

Photo #4

Photo #4: A fluttering butterfly in an open space is one of the toughest to capture in a camera. This one kept flying from one plant to another so fast that it was almost impossible to get a proper snap. I got lucky and I ended up with this decent shot. It would have been a lot better if I had zoomed in a bit further but with the amount of time that I had to shoot this snap, this is all that I could ask for!!!

Kireedom -- Movie Review

2007-08-16T17:44:00.001+05:30

Ajith has never been my favorite actor and I was very apprehensive about watching his movie in a theatre. The last movie that I saw of Ajith in theatre was "Kandukondain Kandukondain" and that was way back in 2000. For lack of anything worthwhile to do, I have ended up watching movies like 'Red', 'Citizen', 'Anjaneya' & 'Paramasivan' in the
computer and these movies did deliver great comedy & tragedy movies rolled into one. I knew that I was taking a huge risk when I decided to watch 'Kireedom' along with my friend.

The movie gets rolling with 6 prisoners escaping from the central jail and they end up running (With their prison uniforms intact) into the marketplace in broad daylight with rain also providing perfect foil. Someone kicks one of the prisoners in the chest and the prisoner flies in the air to land 50 ft away. The camera pans towards the person who kicked the prisoner and it is none other than our very own 'Thalai' Ajith. Add to this some extraordinary stunts and stylish poses (Ajith and the other prisoners pause to allow our hero to tie his bootlace in the most stylish fashion possible) and I squirm in my seat. This sequence ends with Ajith catching all the 6 prisoners using a long 35 feet iron chain and the entire police force saluting him. One of the police who is seen saluting him is Raj Kiran. I start to cringe as my worst nightmare seem to be materializing in a wide screen infront of me. Then, the scene pans out to show Rajarajan (Raj Kiran) getting up from his bench in the police station (Rajarajan is a head constable) and we understand that it is his dream to see his son Saktivel (Ajith) as a police inspector. On retrospection I feel that the director Vijay has come up with a perfect scene. It would have satisfied the hard-core Ajith fans with a grand hero entry without compromising on the importance of the scene to the overall movie as it showcased perfectly the dream a father has for his son.

And thankfully, this scene marked the end of 'Ohh My God, how can they be so stupid?' kind of scenes. It is not just Raj Kiran who sits up after the dream but the story as well does at this point. The story is about the dream of a father to see his son become a inspector and how fate scripts a different route for the family forms the rest of the story. The movie, a remake of a malayalam movie of the same name, reeks with realistic scenes and performances. There are no exaggerated melodramatic emotional scenes and even the songs (barring the 'Thalai' song) are beautifully placed in the scheme of things.

We all believe that we have complete control of our lives and that external unforeseen events are just minor irritants that force us to deviate from our chosen path a wee bit. Is that a fact or fiction? This movie questions the above belief as the hero is forced into a situation that is totally out of his control & he is forced to be just a player who plays out the role dished out to him without having any control over the flow of things. Ajith plays the role to 'almost' perfection, the minor complaint being his monotonous voice proving to be his undoing in highly charged scenes.

Raj Kiran comes up with the best performance of the movie. He seems to have been created for these kind of roles & he dishes out an admirable performance. The maturity, the anger, the dreams, the understanding, the sorrow of a father comes as naturally as mosquitoes flocking an house in West Mambalam. I could even go on to endorse the view my brother has about him that one can expect Raj Kiran to attain the position of 'Sivaji' Ganesan in these kind of roles. And to even compare someone with 'Sivaji' is no mean achievement. Well done, Raj Kiran!

The rest of the cast play out their roles as expected and the team work pays a lot of dividends. The technical team has done a commendable job. The camera, the editing, the screenplay and direction are upto the mark and make the movie a complete one. Special mention needs to be made for the songs tuned by G.V.Prakash Kumar. Three of the songs will remain in the minds of the viewer for sometime atleast.

Final Cut: A movie that can be watched and enjoyed for the sheer honesty and lack of melodramatic elements.

Rating: 7/10

Eating My Words!!!

2007-08-01T20:20:00.000+05:30

It is one of the most unpleasant things that can happen to you: to be forced to eat your words! Tendulkar has just proven me and my predictions wrong. He has performed extraordinarily well in England and is making me look real bad. I have no qualms in accepting that I have been proved wrong by the greatness of Tendulkar. The fact that Tendulkar is batting so well is good news for India and the Indian fans. India were able to escape from the jaws of defeat at Lords and now they have won the test at Nottingham. With the animosity in the ground increasing between the teams, the third and final test at Oval is poised for a great finish. Add to the fact that a draw would mean that this would be the first defeat of England at home after their defeat at the hands of Aussies in 2001.

Paruthi Veeran -- Revisited

2007-08-01T19:36:00.000+05:30

A couple of months back, I was discussing with my friend (A movie freak) about the present state of tamil movies. The discussion veered to the movie "Paruthi Veeran" and I expressed my pleasure about such unique attempts. I had described the movie as a decent attempt for 'Tamil' standards and my friend (He has not watched this movie) did not sound happy about the fact that the movie is just meeting the 'Tamil' standards and not the 'International' standards. The news that this movie has won two awards in the Osian's cinefan festival is very heartening. The movie won awards in the best film and best actress (Priya Mani) category. I do not know how much 'Global' this film festival is or what kind of movies were screened in this festival.

The thing that needs to be noted is that this movie has silently made its way into this festival without much fanfare. The sad thing about the whole thing is that there seems to be very less news coverage about this in the state. I only can hope that this blog does its small bit about spreading the news.

Travelogue - Kancheepuram

2007-08-01T16:23:00.000+05:30

“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.” -- R.L.Stevenson

There is something unique about traveling and visiting new places. It is a pulsating as well as a serene experience rolled into one. The objective of travel is not about finding a new place. Rather, it is about finding a new 'You'. The objective of travel is not about exploring pathless paths of a land. Rather, it is about exploring unknown regions of your subconscious mind and heart. The land, the people and the culture of a new place lends beautifully to a learning that no modern university can attest of teaching.

I have always been fascinated by towering temples and their architectural brilliance and when one of my friend agreed on traveling with me to Kancheepuram, I was eagerly looking forward to the journey. Having heard about the fact that there are close to 108 temples (small & big) in and around Kancheepuram, it was always bound to be a great experience. With two other friends joining us, it was very clear that there would be no dearth for fun. One of the things that we failed to do before we embarked on the trip is to find out the temples that we ought to visit during our short one day trip. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we had a free rein and hence gave us the liberty to choose places on the fly.

Let me be honest about one thing here. I am surely not an atheist but this trip was more about seeing and appreciating the sculptures & the architectural beauty of the temple and less about God itself. A lack of mention about the beauty of the God in those temples can be expected in this article.

The first temple that we visited on reaching Kancheepuram is the ‘Kamakshi Amman Temple’. This is one of the most famous temples here and is dedicated to God Parvathi. We had to stand in a long queue to see the deity but the best thing about this queue is that there is no ‘Special Entrance’ or ‘Darshan Ticket’ through which someone can bypass the line.This queue personified to me the fact that all are the same before God. As we reached the temple only at around 11 and the temples will be open only till 12:30 PM, we had to rush the visit of this temple a bit.

The next temple that we went is the ‘Ekambareswarar Temple’, a temple constructed for Lord Shiva. Photography is allowed inside the temple (We cannot take photos inside the sanctum sanctorum though). It is a very big temple with lots of deities and a very big praharam. I have heard that one of the purposes that temples served during the ancient days is a place to take a long walk (As an exercise). This is clearly evident in this temple as it has a very big praharam. Completing three rounds of this would easily account for 2 to 2.5 kms of walking. I couldn’t restrain myself from imagining about the various other purposes that the king who constructed these temples would have thought about.

There is also a beautiful Siva Lingam that has 1008 small Siva Lingams carved into it. I was so tempted to take a photo of this Lingam but somehow I had this nagging feeling of performing sacrilege and destroying the sanctity of the deity and hence restrained myself from taking a snap there. Apart from this big Siva Lingam, there are lots of small Siva Lingams around the praharam and with various names. I would really like to know how each of these Lingams gets a different name. I did take a photo of one Siva Lingam and it has been uploaded here.

The third temple we visited is the “Varadharaja Perumal Temple’. Unfortunately, by the time we entered the temple premises it was closed and we had to content ourselves by looking at the temple and the 100 pillar hall that is present there. The 100 pillar hall with its exquisite and delicately carved sculptures is a feast for the eye. Each sculpture in the pillars of the hall is a thing of beauty and the sheer effort and perfectionist work that has gone into each one is mind-blowing. Once again, my camera became very active and two of the photos from this temple can be found here.

One is the photo from the 100 pillar hall and the other is the view of the temple tower itself. The sunlight permeating inside from the temple and the entrance blocking the sunlight to give a feeling of a photo frame is something that I loved about the temple tower photo.

As all the temples in Kancheepuram closes by 12:30 PM, we were left with nothing else to do but to visit the “Kailasanathar Temple”. This has been declared as an Indian heritage site and hence we were allowed to look at all the great sculptures that are present in the temple. This temple is around 1350 years old and I would consider this temple as one of the best temple I have visited till now. I could easily write essays about each one of the sculptures that is present in this temple.

The only unfortunate thing about the visit to this temple is that we did not have the patience to wait till 4 PM for seeing the main deity of Lord Shiva. Nevertheless, I could see God oozing out through the work of the master craftsmen who would have worked on each and every piece of carved sculpture that is present in this temple. The sheer amount of effort that would have gone into making this temple left me awestruck. The paintings that used vegetable oil colors are also something that should not be missed.

Entering this temple is in itself a surreal experience as it transported me to a different era when kings ruled the world and the minds of the people remain unpolluted like the environment. We spent nearly 2 hours in this temple and at one point the security person who is posted there came to me to comment about the number of photos I had clicked away till that point!!! I would really love to visit this temple once again with a DSLR camera so that I could take even more close-up shots of idols and sculptures. Even though it is not fair on my part, I have given just two photos for this temple.

The fifth temple we visited is the “Ulagalantha Perumal Temple”. Ulagalantha means to measure the earth. The folklore is that king Bali, the grandson of Prahlada, conquered the whole universe and even defeated Indra, the king of Devas. On the request of Devas, Lord Vishnu took the form of a small boy and asked Bali for three foot space. When Bali accepted this request, God placed one of his feet and covered the entire earth. With the second foot, he covered the heaven. When God asked where he can get his third foot of land, Bali asked God to place his feet in his head. The idol of Vishnu here in this temple is close to 15 feet in height with his right foot on the head of Bali and his raised left foot on heaven. The sheer size and beautiful stone carved jewelry that adorns Lord Vishnu is something that can be appreciated only when seen directly. Unfortunately, cameras are not allowed in this temple and I was left to take just the temple tower from outside.

The last temple that we visited is the “Chitragupta Swamy Temple”. According to Hindu mythology, ChitraGuptan is the accountant of Lord Yama, the God of death. For all practical appearances, this temple looked like a modern one and even had mosaic floors. The unique thing about this temple is that the board outside the temple said that it is the only temple for ChitraGupta in the whole of south India.

“We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.” -- John Hope Franklin

Namakal -- Photos

2007-07-20T10:55:00.001+05:30

I had been to Namakal to give a technical seminar for 2 colleges on "Embedded Systems". If giving a technical seminar to the final year students was a great experience, the another great thing that happened in Namakal is to be allowed to take photos of the God Anjaneyar from a close range. One of the temple priest permitted me to take snaps of the God (My colleague knew a lot of people in the temple and so they let me shoot photos!!!)

The above photo directly went to a photo studio for a lamination (12 x 8). One of my friends was very impressed with the photos and he has got a wallpaper size (20 x 16) photo of the same now!!! The photo that I have given below also has come really well. The only thing that I did with this photo is to play with it in Picassa to enhance the colors and to crop some unwanted details. Thought would share it here so that other interested people can also take print outs of the same.

Athma Jeyam (Inner Victory)

2007-06-24T16:32:00.001+05:30

(Poem of Bharathiar on ஆத்ம ஜெயம் (Inner Victory) )

கண்ணில் தெரியும் பொருளினைக் கைகள்
கவர்ந்திட மாட்டாவோ? - அட
மண்ணில் தெரியுது வானம், அதுநம்
வசப்பட லாகாதோ?
எண்ணி யெண்ணிப்பல நாளு முயன்றிங்
கிறுதியிற் சோர்வோமோ? - அட
விண்ணிலும் மண்ணிலும் கண்ணிலும் எண்ணிலும்
மேவு பராசக்தியே!

என்ன வரங்கள், பெருமைகள், வெற்றிகள்,
எத்தனை மேன்மைகளோ!
தன்னை வென்றாலவை யாவும் பெறுவது
சத்திய மாகுமென்றே
முன்னை முனிவர் உரைத்த மறைப் பொருள்
முற்றுமுணர்ந்த பின்னும்
தன்னை வென்றாளும் திறமை பெறாதிங்கு
தாழ்வுற்று நிற்போமோ?

With Great Power.......

2007-06-24T14:18:00.000+05:30

"With great power comes great responsibility" -- Anyone who has seen the Spiderman - 1 would be able to instantly recognize these wordings. This is also a statement that I have frequently discussed with my friend during our days in Hyderabad. Why did I think of writing about this statement all of a sudden? A couple of paragraphs from the book "The Jurrasic Park" has made me look at this statement in a totally different light. I have reproduced the two paragraphs from the book as such so that I don't dilute the meaning and the impact.

"Most kinds of power require a substantial sacrifice by whoever wants the power. There is an apprenticeship, a discipline lasting many years. Whatever kind of power you want. President of the company. Black belt in Karate. Spiritual Guru. Whatever it is you seek, you have to put in the time, the practice, the effort. You must give up a lot to get it. It has to be very important to you. And once you have attained it, it is your power. It can't be given away: it resides in you. It is literally the result of your discipline.

Now, what is interesting about this process is that, by the time someone has acquired the ability to kill with his bare hands, he has also matured to the point where he won't use it unwisely. So that kind of power has a built-in control. The discipline of getting the power changes you so that you won't abuse it."

Eleven Minutes -- Book Review

2007-06-18T14:26:00.000+05:30

I am a big fan of the book "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. I have also read "The Zahir" and it is also a great piece of work by Coelho. What is so impressive about Coelho's writing is his ability to reach to your heart through his impressive story and characterization. Be it Santiago (The Alchemist) or Esther (The Zahir), the characters in Coelho's work are people you can meet in your day to day life. This is one of the highlights of his narrating capabilities which make these characters very enduring to most of the readers.

The "Eleven Minutes" deviates from this theme as the story is about a prostitute who tries to find the meaning of her life and about herself through her journey. Maria is a girl from Brazil, who like everyone else, dreams about happy things happening to her. Life, as is the norm, does not play out the way we expect it to and this forces Maria to leave her country and head for Geneva. She 'allows' fate to take control of her life and soon she finds herself selling her body to earn her living. She also gets a chance to experience dark pleasures obtained through pain and suffering and when she gets to close to becoming a prey for the dark pleasures, she is rescued from that by Ralf Hart a handsome young painter. She discovers that sex becomes sacred when combined with love in the company of Hart. Whether she has the courage to 'live' her dream or whether she decides to run away from it when it comes knocking forms the rest of the plot.

This book might appear to have a negative tone and some might consider it depressing as well. The introduction of sadism and the vivid description does leave a bad but necessary impact on the mind. Thankfully, these are minor irritants for an otherwise impeccable book. The way the various incidents are narrated by Maria and their emotional significance by her loud thinking soul is a beauty in itself. The best part in the book nevertheless goes to Maria's diary entry at the end of each chapter. Insightful, deeply thought entries in her diary vividly describe the emotions that are going through Maria's mind at every stage in her life. The positive minded character of Ralf Hart and his interaction with Maria forms one of the most refreshing portions of the book. I have reproduced verbatim a paragraph from Maria's diary entry that describes about love.

"All my life, I thought of love as some kind of voluntary enslavement. Well, that's a lie: freedom only exists when love is present. The person who gives him or herself wholly, the person who feels freest, is the person who loves most wholeheartedly.

And the person who loves wholeheartedly feels free."

Bottom Line: The story being about a prostitute and the sexual references notwithstanding, this is a fabulous book about pursuing and living our dreams. The insightful description of the ways of the soul and the pursuance of a dream leaves the reader's with a lot of items to contemplate about the way they lead their life. The decision that I have made after reading this book is to get all the books of Paulo Coelho for my library. The minimum that a reader of this review can do is to grab a copy of this book and I can assure you that the book will leave you spellbound.

Kizhinchalgal

2007-06-17T16:53:00.001+05:30

இறைவன்

இன்று இறைவன் தரிசனம்.
கடலிலும், நதியுலும், தோப்பிலும்
அழகிய அவன் உருவம்.

வேண்டுதல்

பல போர்கள் என்றாய்.
காரணம் மதங்கள் என்றாய்;
மதங்கள் என்ன செய்தன இவற்றில்?
மதத்தின் பெயரால் மனிதர்களின் மனங்களை
பதம் பார்க்கும் சில மிருகங்களின்
விபரீத விளையாட்டில் வந்தவை இவ்வேதனைகள்.
இறைவா -- கல்லாய் இருந்தது போதும்.
எழுந்து வா.
இம்மிருகங்கள் வதை.
அனைத்து பேதங்கள் புதை.
அமைதி வளர வழி செய்.

Punjabi Dhaba @ Mount Road -- Restaurant Review

2007-06-17T15:21:00.000+05:30

I decided to create and dedicate a section of my blog to cater to the needs of those gourmets like me who would like to know about the best places to eat in Chennai. It also aids me by providing an excuse for the various restaurant visits that I can undertake under the name of doing a review of the food available there!!! Me and my friend Srikanth (The culinary expert!) finalized on seven ingredients under which a restaurant can be reviewed. Please feel free to post a comment about any other ingredients that needs to be added to make this a perfect concoction.

Restaurant Name: Vellore's Gyan Vaishnav Punjabi Dhaba

Ingredient #1: Location: Located at Mount Road just near the 'Raj Video Vision', this restaurant is right at the heart of the city. If you are familiar with Chennai & its traffic, this place is easily locatable. Even if you are new to Chennai, the chances of finding this restaurant is high as you can always ask for 'Raj Video Vision' and then go to this Dhaba.

Ingredient #2: Parking Space: One of the problems that most of the restaurants in Chennai have is the amount of parking space that is provided for the food lovers. Thankfully, this Dhaba has enough parking space for atleast 5 to 6 cars and around 10 to 12 bikes. Considering that the Dhaba is a small place, this is actually ample space for the food lovers to park their vehicles.

Ingredient #3: Ambience: This is a very small eating place with probably a seating capacity not exceeding 30 people at a time. (Assuming 3 persons per side of the long table) This is purely a place to relish and enjoy your food. If you are looking for a professional place to have a business discussion or a cozy place to take your wife/girl friend or a comfortable place for a nice discussion about the events of the day with your buddies, this dhaba might not be the ideal place and you might want to look elsewhere.

Ingredient #4: Choices Available: This is a purely vegetarian dhaba and there is not even the sniff of egg available here. The variety that is available in terms of North Indian dishes is simply mindboggling. The Naans, Rotis, Parathaas come in different flavors and the choices available in terms of the side dishes is also excellent. There is also the Jain cooking available for those people who would like to have their food items prepared without garlic.

Ingredient #5: Service: The service was very fast and the waiters treated the food lovers well. One of the best things about this dhaba is the speed with which the orders were processed. I would assume that most of the side dishes have already been cooked and kept ready in the kitchen. Hence, the processing of an order amounted to preparing the Roti/Naan/Parathas that were requested.

Ingredient #6: Taste/Quality: The items were well cooked and the quality was also decent. The spice levels of the side dishes were perfect. The dessert that I had (Badam Kheer) was delicious and had the correct amount of sugar.

Ingredient #7: Pricing: Like most of the other dhaba's, this is one place where the food is cheap. Three of us visited this place and we ended up paying around Rs.450 in total (Including the tips). Considering the fact that I was real hungry on that day and ate a lot, this is really really cheap by any standards!!!

Topping: This place is something that you can visit if you are hungry and interested in eating some authentic North Indian dishes that are good and cheap.

Jurassic Park -- Book Review

2007-06-17T14:47:00.001+05:30

Author: Michael Crichton
Year of Publication: 1990

What does it take to write a great science fiction novel that is an absolute page turner? A fertile imagination, in-depth research of the topic and a riveting plot. The pitfalls are that with a bit of 'Too Fertile' imagination of the scientific possibilities of the near future and a shoddy research work could easily allow the plot to lose its credibility and eventually the reader's interest. Thankfully, Michael Crichton produces the right concoction of these ingredients to come up with an absolutely fabulous book on the ever mysterious and ever entertaining topic of dinosaurs.

When John Hammond, a maverick businessman, decides to create a theme park with dinosaurs brought back to life using genetic engineering, he has no qualms about the possible complications and issues that would arise because of such a venture. He goes ahead with the project in spite of the objections raised by Ian Malcolm, a mathematician from University of Texas, who has been hired as a consultant for the project. When Hammond and his team of scientists successfully start 'Producing' dinosaurs, something goes terribly wrong in their scheme of things. What happens to Jurassic Park (The name of the theme park), the animals and the people in that theme park form the rest of the plot.

The characterization of Ian Malcolm is probably the highlight of this book. Ian Malcolm's nonchalant & sometimes arrogant ways, his explanation of the chaos theory, the butterfly and various other scientific phenomenons is something that leaves a lasting impression on the minds of the reader. He is one of those fictional characters that I would love and idolize my whole life. The 'Jurassic Park' brings to the fore some of the questions we humans have been grappling with for some time now. Is genetic engineering a boon or a bane? Do we have enough knowledge to 'Create' life? The 'Power' to control life forms we create? Do we have the 'Might' to completely destroy this planet to leave it without a trace of life? Crichton answers many of these questions and leaves some open for the readers to ponder.

Bottom Line: There is no doubt that the movie adaptation was GREAT but it is simply nothing when compared to the book. If you are an avid science fiction fan, this is one book that you must NOT miss. Grab a copy now and I am sure you will not keep it down till you are done with the book. (By the way, I am a huge fan of this book and this is JUST the fourth time I have completed the book!)

The 'Inimitable' Kamal Haasan!!!!

2007-06-03T21:00:00.000+05:30

During one of those 'Search for God knows what', I came across three stills of Kamal and couldn't resist myself from posting on it. I believe all 3 of these are a bit of old stuff but I guess Kamal's makeup is something that I never get tired of and so decided to post it here.

(Still from the discontinued movie 'Marudhanayagam')

It seems a French guy who had some interactions with Kamal during the shooting of the movie 'Marudhanayagam' sent across these stills to one of his Indian friends and that is how it ended up in the net. It seems the 15 mins of movie that was made is terrific.......... How sad that the movie got canceled.

(One another still from 'Marudhanayagam')

The still below is rumored to be from the movie 'Dasavathaaram'. It seems Kamal will be donning 10 roles in this movie and a competition might be announced for fans to identify the 10 different roles of Kamal in the movie. It is a movie that I have high expectations as the director Ravikumar has generally brought the best in Kamal (And yeah....... There was a particular scene in this movie that was shot in Olympia Tech Park, the place where I work. Kamal was looking so young and smart!!!)

(Still from the movie 'Dasavathaaram')

Uthiri Pookal -- Movie Review

2007-06-03T00:14:00.000+05:30

Uthiri Pookal is one movie that gets quoted so often when popular directors talk about the best tamil movie ever made. It piqued my curiosity and after a long search, I was finally able to get hold of a copy(Moserbaer is selling original VCD's for Rs.28 these days!!!) I guess it is not an exaggeration to say that this movie deserves all the credit that has come its way.

It is always a tricky proposition to come up with a negative character as the hero of a movie. It is as risky as walking on thin ice. One wrong move and you are destined for a nasty fall. Mahendran does this balancing act with so much elan that it leaves you spellbound to the script. The fact that Vijayan is not portrayed as the stereotypical villain adds to the authenticity of his character. What transpires on screen is a battle between a person who is sensitive enough to deeply love his kids and a person who can ruthlessly do anything to attain the things he has set his eyes on.

The effort that has gone into etching each of the character of the movie pays rich dividend as it adds a lot of value to the storyline. The screenplay is something that many of the present day directors can use as an example while writing their scripts. With a solid storyline, the onus was on the screenplay to make the movie interesting. The scenes are neatly placed that one scene gels into the next one very smoothly and without any hiccups. The tight closeup shots of the lead characters during the highly charged scenes shows the faith the director had in his actors and the actors have repaid the faith with some brilliant performances.

The scenes where Vijayan slaps Aswini or Sarathbabu are not shown directly but are shown in a subtle and beautiful way. The sound followed by the heroine holding her hands to her face or Sarathbabu washing away the blood in the river are artistic and shows the director's ability to think beyond the ordinary. One another unsung hero of this movie is Illayaraaja. For each character, he comes up with a brilliant theme music. Be it the ominous sounding tabla for Vijayan or the soft & sad music for Aswini or the funky bits for the second heroine, Illayaraaja proves his mettle in the BGM department.

This is a movie about human relations, love and the fall from grace of a person possessed by greed. A movie that should be watched for the sheer narrative style and honest story telling. A classic indeed!

Rating: 9/10

Tendulkar is GREAT but.....

2007-05-27T13:33:00.000+05:30

Every aging sports icon has to go through a cruel phase of introspection where he has to answer to himself & his millions of fans on his impending retirement. The icon has to decide to call it quits when the question is still "Why retire now?" and before the question turns into "Why not retire now?" One of the persons who did this to perfection is 'Pistol' Pete Sampras. When the sports fraternity had started writing him off, he showed the world what he is made up of by winning the US Open championship and his record 14th grand slam tournament. Then he coolly bid farewell to the game when at the top of his game. He did not pick up a racquet for close to 3 years and when he finally did pick up a racquet for a seniors tournament, no less a person than John McEnroe wants him to return to his famous hunting ground of Wimbledon.

A similar problem seems to be haunting Sachin Tendulkar these days. Anyone who watched him play Bangladesh even for 10 minutes could clearly tell that there is something terribly wrong with him and his cricket. It is not that I don't recognize the contribution Sachin has made to Indian cricket but to still continue playing when his mind is not there in the game is doing injustice to a prospective younger player aiming for his batting slot. More than injustice to a player, it is a great injustice to the public in a cricket loving nation like India. It is unfair on my part to suggest this but the facts seem to point to only this: Sachin is still playing only for the huge amount of endorsements that he has signed for. When you think that Sachin is worth a staggering $4.6 million annual endorsement money it is easily fathomable to understand the motive behind Sachin wanting to continue playing internationally. Will Sachin prove me wrong in England and make me eat my words? I would be more than happy to do that but the chances of that happening are very slim though right now.

Tim Duncan -- Team Man Extraordinaire

2007-05-26T13:15:00.000+05:30

What does it take to be considered as one of the greatest NBA player of the present generation and still be away from the glaring spotlight and frenzy of the media? A humility & humbleness beyond anything that the NBA watching American crowd has ever known to exist. Tim Duncan personifies the word 'Team Player' and even raises the grid a few levels for this term in his own nonchalant way. When flashing dunks and looping throws are the norm of the day, here is a man who plays a selfless game with the disposition of a Buddhist monk. He might (and he is) be considered too boring a player that not many of the Spurs fan buy & wear his numbered jersey. And he doesn't seem to care about it a lot. He is a leader from whom the likes of Kobe, Shaq and others should take tutorials from on a regular basis. As the management gurus would tell, "Point out a mistake and he would look at himself in the mirror. Praise him and he would point out through the windows".

(Right hand corner caption captures the essence perfectly)

And why did I suddenly go raving about Duncan? I found two articles pertaining to Duncan here and here & couldn't help but thinking about his greatness. The chances of the Spurs becoming the champions this year are very high and even higher are the chances that Tim Duncan will be the finals MVP. Mark my words: if that happens, the chances of Duncan talking about how great his team is, his coach Popovich is are really high. And do I expect him to talk about his contributions for the victory? Not a chance. Duncan is beyond all that!!

The Starfish Story

2007-05-20T18:46:00.001+05:30

Very frequently I get to hear from people about the futility of someone trying to change the way things are done at office or at home or in the world. I always get to hear these words from those people: "It doesn't make a difference". Whenever this statement comes up, a story that I have read and internalized springs to my mind.

One day a man was walking along the seashore. He noticed that during the night many seashells and starfish had washed upon the beach. Thoroughly enjoying the morning sun and cool sea air, the man walked for miles.

As he strolled along, he noticed a small figure dancing in the distance. It made him chuckle to think of someone celebrating life in such an uninhibited way. As he drew closer, however, it became apparent that the figure was not dancing. Instead, she seemed to be repeatedly performing some ritual.

He drew nearer still and noticed that the small figure was a child. She was methodically picking up starfish and tossing them into the surf. He paused for a moment, puzzled, then asked, "Why are you throwing these starfish?"

"It's high tide," she replied, "If I leave them on the beach, the sun will soon dry them and they will die. I am throwing them into the ocean so they can live." The man considered her actions, impressed with the child's thoughtfulness. Then he motioned up and down the miles of the beach. "There must be thousands of starfish along here," he said, "You cannot possibly make a difference."

The young girl stopped. Her face darkened. She chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip, "You're probably right," she said softly. She looked down at the sand. Then she leaned over, carefully picked up another starfish, pulled back and arched it gently into the sea.

With a tone of gentle defiance, she said, "But I made a difference for that one."

Paradigm Shift

2007-05-20T18:36:00.000+05:30

I am presently reading the "The 7 habits of highly effective people" by Stephen Covey and the story reproduced below is one that has greatly impressed me. I don't think the concept of "Paradigm Shift" could have been explained any better than this.

Important note: This story has been taken verbatim from the book and is NOT my own writing.

I remember a mini-Paradigm Shift I experienced one Sunday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting quietly -- some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene.

Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed. The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people's papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing.

It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated, too. So finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, "Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn't control them a little more?"

The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, "Oh, you're right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don't know what to think, and I guess they don't know how to handle it either."

Can you imagine what I felt at that moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently; I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn't have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior; my heart was filled with the man's pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely. "Your wife just died? Oh, I'm so sorry. Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help?" Everything changed in an instant.

Periyar -- Movie Review

2007-05-12T23:44:00.000+05:30

I was eagerly waiting to watch this movie ever since it released for two reasons. First is due to the fact that it is about Periyar E.V.Ramasamy, a known atheist and rational thinking proponent. I am very poor in history & wanted to find out what Periyar's philosophy is and why he is so highly rated & respected. Second is because it is directed by Gnana Rajasekaran, the director of the movie "Bharathi". Though Bharathi was not a great movie, it was a decent attempt in making a biopic of a very popular person in Tamilnadu.

The story of Periyar (1879-1973) starts with E.V.Ramasamy being shown as a person who hates the traditions and the associated superstitious beliefs that were prevalent during his time. He criticizes the orthodox practices of his mother and family. When his father openly condemns him in front of others for a 'perceived' disrespect to the Brahmin's community, he leaves Erode to make his own living. His growth from that stage as a rational thinker to a leader of the people is portrayed in a beautiful albeit slow manner.

Some of the scenes & dialogues are thought provoking and add the necessary spice to an otherwise slow narration of the events. Considering the fact that the director has to deal with narrating the life story of a person who lived for 94 years with a major portion of it spent under the public radar, it is indeed a commendable effort to sustain the interests of the viewer for a 3-hour span. Due to my lack of knowledge about the life of Periyar, I am unable to comment on whether the director covered all the significant events in Periyar's life. The only thing that I could vouch for is that the director did indeed keep me interested throughout and not even once did I feel bored with the proceedings. The music of Vidyasagar and the lyrics of Vairamuthu give able support to the director. Sathyaraj (as Periyar) comes up with a brilliant performance and portrayal of the aging Periyar is exemplary and surely deserves rich accolades (Check out the small peeve I had about Sathyaraj in the negatives)

The negatives of the movie are:

There is no mention of the year of the incidents. The director assumes that the viewer is familiar with the dates & years (Which I was not) of those events and hence the narration appears incomplete
Only the positive image of Periyar is projected. The balance that comes out of projecting the human frailty of Periyar is missing
Some of the events look contrived and seem to be inserted to please Periyar's followers
The camera work by Thankar Bachan is atrocious (Or was it the projector at Sree theater or my sullied glasses?). Many of the long shots appeared hazy and out of focus
Sathyaraj's acting in the initial stages of the movie(As the middle aged person). He seems to have acted in a lot of action movies these days and his body language reflects that
The makeup leaves a lot to be desired. The face of Sathyaraj projects a different age while his hands project a different age (Check it in the photo above). It is applicable for the rest of the cast as well

Last Cut: Despite the long list of grievances against the movie, Periyar is a movie that is worth watching for the honest attempt. Go with an open mind regarding the discussions about God and you will enjoy this movie.

Rating: 7/10

P.S: For an entirely different view about this movie, check out my friend's review here. Read the interview of Gnana Rajasekaran here.

Spiderman 3 -- Movie Review

2007-05-12T22:49:00.000+05:30

"We have a choice" -- this is one of the dialogues that Spiderman tells in the third edition of the franchise movie "Spiderman". Very true indeed. I had a choice of heeding to the review posted by my friends here or to this one here. I made the 'wrong' choice of still going ahead to watch this movie.

Assume that you are the director of a franchise movie like the Spiderman. What would you do to make the third edition of the movie become a greater grosser than the previous two movies? Elementary, Dr.Watson.

Add more villains. More villains equals more stupid fight sequences involving the 'Super Hero' Spiderman
Throw in a bit of revenge to add more dramatic action scenes
Add some silly tiffs between Spiderman & his love interest so that the 'Super Hero' could show his human side
Add oodles of sentiment to make the public sniff and sob during the movie

The director does all this and more. What we get is a English movie that looks more like a Hindi movie (Tamil movies have more 'Logic' these days in their stories) devoid of any logic. The director gets caught in his own web (Pun intended) and struggles to get out of it. The long winded battle between Spidey & the set of villains and himself goes on & on & on............

It is not that the movie doesn't have any worthy scenes or sequences or dialogues. It is just that those are few & far in between that the disappointment of watching this movie cannot be expressed but can only be wished upon others. The hilarious scenes are played out superbly by Tobey McGuire with so much ease that you are left dazed by his performance. Sadly, the above mentioned scenes come when Spidey feels lost in love and you are supposed to empathize with the Hero!!!

Last Cut: Get out of harms way by avoiding this movie at all cost. After all, 'we have a choice'........ Exercise it intelligently

Rating: 4/10

P.S: Spiderman 3 has broken all the box-office records in the USA & internationally. Read about it here.

Ooops.......... Traffic Jam

2007-05-04T22:36:00.000+05:30

No graphics here in the adjacent photo. It is just that a Boeing 737 flight that was being taken for aviation academy got stranded midway in the busy Chembur area of Mumbai. It seems it has been lying there for the last 5 days. Now the process of dismantling it & selling the parts has started. It would indeed be a sight to watch a 'Stranded' aircraft in the busy roads of Mumbai. If only I were in Mumbai, I would have surely paid it a visit!!!

You can read more about this news here. I was also able to get a much bigger photo of the aircraft. Check it out as well.

Book not written!!!

2007-05-01T19:53:00.000+05:30

How would you feel if someone gives an interview about a book they have written and finally ends up saying that they have not read the book? This is exactly what Steve Harmison does in this interview. It is indeed a well known fact that the tour diaries and other books from popular sports personalities are "Ghost Written" by someone else. Does it mean that the person whose name has been credited with writing it not even read it once before approving for publishing?

The transcript of the interview where Harmison coolly says about not having read the book:
I ask how he came to write the book. "It came about when Marcus went home. He was writing a diary with Justin Langer and, when he went home, they asked me if I'd do it. I thought, 'Yeah, why not? I've not been involved in a book before.'" Did he have to be very disciplined to maintain the diary? "Not really. I've not read the book but what I'm hearing from the feedback of people who've glanced through it is that it's a pretty honest opinion of what happened." (Taken from cricinfo)

It amounts to cheating the public & their fans who dish out the money to buy the book only to find at a later point of time that the 'Popular' star has no clue whatsoever on what has been written in the book. A sad state of affairs indeed in the world of sports.

Movies to wait for

2007-04-29T22:23:00.000+05:30

It's a well known fact that I am not a BIG English movie buff but occasionally I do end up watching some movies in the theater. There are a couple of movies that I have planned on watching over the next couple of weeks.

Spiderman 3: The tagline "The greatest battle lies within" is one of the main reasons for me to wait for this movie. Spiderman 2 movie showcased Peter Parker to have the same kind of emotions as human beings (Even while he has extraordinary powers). A similar fare might been in store from this one. It is releasing on 4th May and I am hoping to watch it on 5th May.

Pirates of the Caribbean - Part III: I started watching the "Pirates of the Caribbean Part I" movie last week and was blown over by the taut screenplay and the brilliance of Johnny Depp. (I have not completed the movie yet and have no clue on how the Part II of the movie fared). Something about the way the script was handled combined with the acting prowess of Depp drives me to expect this movie. It is releasing on 24th May here in India.

Remember Woolmer , ICC?

2007-04-29T20:56:00.000+05:30

It has been 40 (Yes, it is indeed FORTY) days since Bob Woolmer was found murdered in his hotel room and still there is no news about who the killer(s) might be. Are you kidding me, ICC? With the body of Woolmer allowed to be flown to his country this sunday only, there is a strong suspicion that the arms of the Jamaican police have been twisted by the ICC to not reveal the "Significant developments" till the world cup gets over. The conspiracy theorists have been working overtime coming up with possible & plausible reasons for getting Woolmer eliminated.

Theory #1: The Westindies vs Pakistan world cup match was a 'Fixed' one with Pakistan losing to Westindies being the final outcome that was expected. The unexpected twist in this story happened when Pakistan lost to Ireland. Obviously, no one included Ireland in the 'Betting' game. They are, after all, minnows in the game of betting! Pakistan lost its chance to make it to the 'Super 8' stage and all hell broke loose with the coach coming to know of the conspirators.

Theory #2: The book that Woolmer was writing was too revealing & had too many names. This made the 'Betting' powers unhappy and they decide to eliminate the coach. The fact that the transcript of the book is missing adds the necessary authenticity to this story. The only flaw in this 'proposed' theory is that the they could have got to Woolmer anytime before or after the world cup campaign of Pakistan. No sane thinking murderer (Oops!) would try such a stupid thing in the middle of a world cup.

With the CCTV footage revealing the likely suspect, the chances of the murderer getting exposed real soon has dramatically increased. One word of caution: Do not be surprised if the Jamaican police or the ICC come up with the theory that the likely suspect in the CCTV footage is Bob Woolmer himself and that he might have murdered himself!

The only thing that we can do is to pray for the soul of Woolmer to rest in peace and hope that justice prevails.

Unnale Unnale -- Movie Review

2007-04-21T23:49:00.000+05:30

The cinematographer turned director Jeeva impressed me with his first directorial venture '12B' with its amazing screenplay, brilliant photography & interesting music. Even though I didn't get to see his second directorial venture (Ullam Ketkume), the general review that I got was that it was also an interesting movie. This had my expectation soaring and with the music becoming very popular even before the release of the movie, I was very interested in watching this movie.Did the director meet the expectations?

What would happen if a director reads the books "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus", "Why men don't listen and women can't read maps" and decides to make a movie out of them? You would probably end up with something similar to the story of this movie. Men & women, being different from each other, find it tough to get along with each other smoothly and the hero & heroine of the movie are no exceptions to this universal rule. If that is the case, what keeps this whole world running? The director wanted to suggest that it is the ubiquitous "Love" that keeps the world spinning. The way he goes about narrating this had my head spinning for sure!!!

Some of the scenes involving the hero and his two friends(In the first half) are directly taken from the hindi movie "Dil Chaata Hai". Another scene involving the Hero and the second heroine (Which incidentally is the sister of Kajol), according to my friend, is a lift from another hindi movie "Hum Tum". Even with these irritants, the director succeeds in giving a very hilarious and gripping first half. The first half is so slick that before you know it, the interval slide comes up on screen. Then something goes terribly wrong with the movie and the only plausible reason that I could think of is that director must have lost his story and screenplay after completing the movie till this point. With just the theme left, he tries very hard to move the movie to a reasonable conclusion and he fails pathetically in that attempt.

What if the 'Director' Jeeva fails to turn up in this movie? The 'Cinematographer' Jeeva turns up with his entourage and leaves you spellbound by his work. Is Australia really this beautiful? Is it heaven on earth? With his camera work, Jeeva makes everyone believe it is that way. The photography is pleasant and sits nicely in the eyes. Another factor that has helped the movie still stay in the theaters is the music. Harris Jeyaraj has come up with some really good songs & the background score peppered with short & sweet songs are really the assets of this otherwise insipid movie.

A movie review without a mention of the hero & the two heroines and their performances? The characters are wafer thin and the story offers no scope for these people to showcase their histrionic talents (or the lack of it). Tanisha(Sister of Kajol) is probably the only one who has some scope for acting and she has done a decent job. With a strong storyline, she can be expected to go places in the tinsel world.

Last Cut: This is probably one of those movies which had a great start and then failed to capitalize on the raised expectations. It falls so much short on the raised expectations that you leave the movie with a disappointment that takes a few hours to wear off. If you are a person who doesn't worry about the story/screenplay, watch this movie just for the songs & photography.

Rating: 5/10

Photos for FUN!

2007-04-08T22:55:00.000+05:30

Photo #1

Photo #1: I used the slow shutter speed to take this photo of water droplets falling from the water pump. The only modification that I have done to the photo is cropping it to show just the relevant details. The glistening blue things are the water droplets!!!

Photo #2

Photo #2: This photo was taken with me lying down in the beach sand with the camera almost touching the ground. The 'Beach' mode in the SCN (scene) selection of the camera was used for getting the appropriate colors of the beach, the sky & sand.

Photo #3

Photo #3: In one of the online photography lessons website they had stressed the importance of making a closeup shot REALLY close. I tried it with the badam tree leaves in my house and the results came out real bad............. This photo is one of the exceptions where I was able to get the focus right where I wanted it.

Photo #4

Photo #4: A closeup shot of the water bottle that hangs from the water pump. Even in this photo, the focus is not where I wanted it to be but still the end effect of the photo was something that pleased me.

A new kind of body armor!!!

2007-04-08T01:33:00.000+05:30

A new kind of body armor has been discovered(Ohh yes, it is indeed a discovery). And it has the capability to store videos, songs and a 40 GB hard disk to shoot!!! It is one of the latest innovations of the great "Apple Computers" and is called as the iPod. You would be pardoned if you had started thinking about the possibility of me coming up with yet another 'innovative' baloney. According to this site, it is indeed a fact and a terrific news. The authenticity of the news is anybody's guess though..............

How to talk to anyone -- Book Review

2007-04-06T15:44:00.000+05:30

Author: Leil Lowndes
Year of Publication: 2003

This book chose me when I caught its attention while browsing through the books section in Landmark. Two things were salient about this book. One is that it had a topic that has always fascinated me. The other is that when I started flipping the pages, I saw a reference to Dale Carnegie (Author of the biblical book "How to win friends & influence people). The author Leil Lowndes had mentioned that the techniques of Carnegie were applicable for the 1930's but the 21st century required new rules for effective communication. Did the 'New' rules that Ms.Lowndes suggests in this book make more sense than Carnegie's? How effective would these 92 'Tricks' be in the present world?

The book is categorized into 9 different parts with each part dealing with a particular situation like talking in a party, over the phone and various other stuff. This book reeks with insincerity and some of the techniques suggested stink for lack of genuine concern for the other person. The motto of the book seems to be that of getting done the things one wants and stooping down to feigning interest in the other person's hobbies or pretending to share the same values are to be considered as options.

If one could get over the utter lack of sincerity & continue reading, this book does indeed prove to be a worthy read. The witty writing style interspersed with brilliant anecdotes makes for a wonderful read. The fact that the book has 92 little tricks makes it simple for the reader to grasp the crux of the trick. And the best part is the keyword kind of summation that the author has come up for each one of the trick. The keywords being funny yet relevant to the point discussed makes for easy remembrance of the tricks. The small highlighted summary at the end of each trick is also a very effective technique and would come handy when one needs to recap the techniques they have learned.

Bottom Line: Throw away the fact that the tricks suggested in the book are insincere. The techniques suggested, when catalyzed with sincerity and respect for fellow human beings, would create a magical reaction that could produce all the results that you had yearned for & more. Get a copy of the book to keep as a handy reference in your desk. And DO NOT forget to add sincerity to those bag of tricks.

The Shawshank Redemption -- Movie Review

2007-03-29T18:12:00.000+05:30

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

2007-03-25T21:45:00.000+05:30

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

2007-03-17T21:22:00.000+05:30

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

2007-03-17T01:38:00.000+05:30

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

2007-03-11T21:45:00.000+05:30

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

2007-03-04T21:49:00.000+05:30

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

2007-03-04T20:05:00.000+05:30

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

2007-03-04T19:35:00.000+05:30

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

2007-03-04T18:34:00.000+05:30

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

2007-03-04T18:06:00.000+05:30

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

2007-03-04T16:39:00.000+05:30

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

2007-03-04T16:14:00.000+05:30

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

2007-03-04T15:38:00.000+05:30

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

2007-03-02T18:34:00.000+05:30

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

World Cup Series -- Team England

2007-02-28T18:37:00.000+05:30

It is indeed an irony that England, the ‘birthplace’ of cricket, has not won a world cup. Like everything else in their lives, cricket & cricketers are probably given more credit than they actually deserve. With a victory in the one day series over the Aussies secure in their kitty, the whole of England might have started ‘dreaming’ about the chances of their team winning their first world cup. A dream it would prove out to be for this England team lacks the depth & the firepower to go beyond the ‘Super 8’ stage of the tournament.

Strengths:
1) Andrew Flintoff
2) A fully fit Kevin Pietersen
3) The return of Michael Vaughan to the helm
4) The all-round talent of Paul Collingwood

Weaknesses:
1) Lack of quality fast & spin bowling
2) Limited all-rounders
3) A fickle middle order

Position after Super 8 stage:
8(Eight)

The squad:
Michael Vaughan(Captain), Ed Joyce, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ravi Bopara, Paul Nixon, Jamie Dalrymple, Liam Plunkett, James Anderson, Sajid Mahmood, Jon Lewis, Monty Panesar

Cricket World Cup 2007

2007-02-25T19:56:00.000+05:30

With just 16 days to go for the world cup, it is proving highly irresistible for me to not blog something about cricket. Who has the best chance to win this world cup? Will the Aussies do what the Windies of the 70's were not able to achieve? Will the Aussies be able to prove everyone who has been shouting hoarse that their glory days are over wrong? Will Lara or Tendulkar help their team (And themselves, by the way) win the greatest one-day prize? Is the present England team capable of breaking their jinx of never winning a world cup this time? Which of the teams among Sri Lanka or New Zealand the dark horse of this tournament capable of producing some great upsets? Is any other team apart from the 8 top teams capable of making an impact/upset in the tournament? Does the present South African team have the mental edge to go all the way? What should be the expectation from the Indian team with the top order clicking and peaking at the right time?

Whatever the outcome of this tournament, it is going to be a great entertainer. So, lets enjoy the show!

Travel Diary -- Dhyana Lingam

2007-02-25T18:48:00.000+05:30

(The road leading to the Dhyana Lingam meditation center)

Had been to Coimbatore this week (Taking a break from my office routine) from 22/Feb to 25/Feb. This vacation turned out to be more of a pilgrimage with me visiting 5 temples in and around CBE in two days time. One of the places I visited is the "Dhyana Lingam" near Velliangiri hills(In the backdrop). It is 30 kms from CBE and we traveled by a car to this place. The last 6 to 7 kms of this travel is on muddy roads and it is indeed a nature lover's delight to be traveling to this place. The serene atmosphere combined with the natural roads, pristine forest make an avid photographer like me jump in joy.

The dhyana lingam shrine, established by Sadhguru, has a meditation center, a small pool located 30 feet below the ground level in which a 660 kg mercury lingam has been consectrated and 3 faces of Lord Shiva representing the 3 phases of man kind. (I would try to find more information on what the exact terms for the 3 faces are and post it here). The pool is around 6 feet deep & anyone could take a dip in the holy water assuming they have a spare set of dress along with them. One can enter into the pool after climbing down some 30 odd steps. The water is supplied from a pipe from the ground. The idol of Shiva immersed in the water is supposed to give the water medicinal properties. As I was not aware of this pool, all that I could end up doing is enter the pool to dip my feet in the holy water.

(Entrance to the meditation center. "Aum" symbol is visible)

The entrance to the meditation center has a large beam that bears the signs of "Aum", the " Crescent" and the "Cross" signifying that the meditation center is beyond all religions, faiths & beliefs. Inside, it has a semicircular dome like structure with a Shiva Lingam in the center. There are small cave like enclosures in the wall. People are recommended to sit in these enclosures and meditate. The peace and serenity that engulfs the whole place is something that can only be experienced and can never be described in words.

There are a lot of volunteers from the "Isha Foundation" who guide the visitors around the place. First time visitors to the place are given a brief introduction about the place and about the decorum that needs to be maintained while in the place. There is also a coffee day inside the building that serves various types of porridge(Kanji in tamil). Given all these positive points, there was something in my mind that kept nagging me and did not allow me getting the peace that I should have taken from this place. Was it the nature of the construction of the building that looked more like a set from a movie (or) is it that photos were prohibited not just inside but also outside the building (or) the fact that most of the volunteers had a clean shaven head with a 2-day old stub of beard that seemed out of place? I would never be able to tell.

All said & done, this a place that needs to be visited for the sheer natural environment in which this meditation center is constructed.

Deepavali -- Movie Review

2007-02-18T13:11:00.000+05:30

Introduction: Let me get honest about this. I watched this movie only for two reasons. One is the fact that it had 3 songs that I liked a lot & the other reason is that it had Bhavana!!! (And you obviously know which of these two is the main reason..... :-) ) The fact that the movie was directed by Ezhil, the director who is known for making 'senti' movies like "Thulatha Mannamum Thullum" and "Poovellam Unn Vaasam" did act as a small deterrent. How did this bold venture of mine turn out to be?

Story: The story starts on an interesting note with the hero Billu('Jayam' Ravi) getting thrashed by henchmen of the villain and left to die in the highway. The hero gets hit by a lorry and he is thrown out of the road. He survives the accident and as only heroes can, gets out of the hospital bed to rush towards Bangalore in his bike. In Bangalore, the heroine Susi(Bhavana) is happy singing a song & is getting ready for her betrothal. When Billu enters the scene and asks Susi to come with him, Susi looks bewildered as she doesn't recognize Billu. The story goes on a flashback mode to trace why Susi behaves as though she doesn't know Billu with whom she was in love in Chennai. Whether Billu is able to win the love of Susi forms the rest of the plot.

It seems the producer of the movie Lingusamy(The director of movies like 'Run', 'Anandam' & 'Sandai Kozhi') has ghost directed the movie in many places for there are sudden changes in pace of the movie. After the brisk start to the movie, the movie starts meandering its way. At the point where the audience could not have taken it anymore, an interesting twist happens in the plot that makes us sit up and expect more. This sequence of 'slow' motion type of story & a sudden twist in the script occurs throughout the movie and proves to be the undoing for the film.

Performances: As expected, 'Jayam' Ravi proves his mettle in action & dance sequences. The unexpected thing is his portrayal of a soft lover character with panache. 'Jayam' Ravi proves my expectation wrong with his subdued performance. He really emotes well & handles the role with complete ease. Hats off to him. Bhavana appears in beautiful, jazzy costumes and looks awesome :-) . And regarding her acting, she delivers what is expected of a person from the Malayalam movie industry. A topnotch performance. Then there is some worthy performances from Vijayakumar, Haneefa, Devadarshini & villain(Not sure about his name).

Other aspects: The Yuvan tuned songs "Kadhal Vaithu", "Pogathe" & "Thoduvaen" are worth many a listen. The picturization of the songs is a treat to the eyes with the colors, hues & costumes making the songs a visually satisfying experience. Don't miss out the way in which the camera plays around some middle eastern country fort during the song "Thoduvaen". Yuvan comes of age with a classy background score. Be it the introduction of the hero, the soft & poignant love scenes, the meeting between the hero & the villain, Yuvan comes up with scintillating scores for each of these scenes.

The camera by Vijay Milton has class written all over it. I did not think even for a moment that the Royapuram area around which the movie revolves is actually a set done by Sasikumar. A wonderfully done piece of artwork that would have made the stalwarts like Sabu Cyril & 'Thotta' Tharani happy.

Final Cut: Despite exemplary performances by the actors & the technical crew, this movie fails to create the much needed impact because of a sloppy storyline. If the screenplay had been much more taut, this movie could have gone to become a great box office hit.

Rating: 5/10

PachaiKili MuthuCharam -- Movie Review

2007-02-17T21:24:00.000+05:30

Introduction: Gautham is one of those highly rated directors well known for his distinct style of movie making. With all his previous ventures (Minnale, Kaaka Kaaka, Vettayadu Villayaadu) proving to be great grossers, will he prove that he is no ordinary flash-in-the-pan and that he is here to stay & change the way movies are made in tamil?

Story: When the 6-year old son of Venkatesh(Sarath Kumar) and Kalyani(Andrea) is identified with diabetes, the life of Venkatesh takes a turn. With Kalyani very much worried about their son's health and spending most of her time with their son, the marital life of Venkatesh suffers. This is when Geetha(Jyothika), a married woman working in ABN AMRO Bank, enters the life of the hero. With a relationship bordering on extra-marital affairs which both Venkatesh & Geetha realize, the story takes yet another turn when they both decide to spend a day in a beach resort. What happens in the beach resort & the repercussions of all these forms the rest of the story.

Performances: As expected, the best performance comes from Jyothika. Jyothika seems to have all the emotions in her repertoire and it comes of brilliantly on screen. Sarath Kumar shows that emoting comes as naturally as doing the fight sequences. Here he does both with elan. Milind Soman(He plays the villain) does his role to perfection without much ado. Andrea is probably the weakest link among the lead roles and it is one of the sour points of the movie.

Other aspects: One of the first things that needs to be appreciated is the number of close-up shots that the director has used with his lead characters. To be able to use this many close-up shots is to believe in the acting talents of his lead actors and barring Andrea, the others have done justice to Menon's trust on them. The camera by Arvind Krishna is pleasing and allows the movie to smoothly flow. The screenplay is tight enough to maintain the viewer's interest & the only place where the movie disappoints is in the final 20 minutes where the director seems confused on the way he needs to finish the movie. The way the song "Unn Siripinil" is pictured very much similar to the song "Partha Mudhal Naale" from "Vettayadu Villayadu" and could have been avoided.

The music by Harris Jeyaraj is astounding, to say the least. With all the songs hugely popular already, the background music also proves as an asset to the movie. The editing is crisp except for one particular place in the movie where it seemed to have jumped to the next shot without finishing the previous one. Pay good attention to the sets in the background for the song "Kaadhal Konjam". The paintings in the background are so real that it would be easy to assume that the song was taken outside than in a set.

Final Cut: The movie needs to be appreciated for the Hollywood like film-making in general and for usage of the close-up shots in particular. If not for the shoddy finish, this movie would have set a new standard in tamil movie making.

Rating: 6.5/10