Slumdog Millionaire - Motion Picture

Yeah! When you've a British Filmmaker and Indian Artists are on the show, 'a mind-boggling' magic goes on. For sure, you wouldn't need an illustration for this. Richard Attenborough's 'The Gandhi' touched the feat of honor. Now, after 27 years, here the Indian dreams getting accomplished yet again. Thanks to Danny Boyle who has made us wonder how versatile filmmakers of our Country weren't able to present such a mirror-image of Mumbai, its beauty and the other side. Precisely, it's worthy calling the film as the 'Good-Bad-and-The Ugly' of Mumbai. Indeed, the British Filmmaker endows us with a tremendous piece of work. Well, this flick isn't merely about 'A Slumdog turning millionaire overnight', but the heart-and-soul encounters faced by a lad on his way from 'Rags to Riches'.

Ever heard about the line 'Reality Bites', you should have. A staggering film that offers you surprises and irresistible shocks that even Mumbaikers wouldn't have noticed. If you're looking out for any messages to be perceived - yeah, you've one. 'Bitter experiences making you stumble down are the stimulants to successes'. Don't assume this to be Danny's statements; but it is for those audiences who expect a solid substance from it.

Accused of cheating and desperate to prove his innocence, an eighteen-year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai reflects back on his tumultuous life while competing to win 20 million rupees on India's 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' in Danny Boyle's inspirational drama. Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) may not have a penny to his name, but that could all change in a matter of hours. He's one question away from taking the top prize on India's most popular television game show, but as with everything else in Jamal's life, it isn't going to be easy.

Arrested by police under suspicion of cheating, Jamal is interrogated by the authorities. The police simply can't believe that a common (Slumdog) could possibly possess the knowledge to get this far into a brain game game, and in order to convince them of how he gained such knowledge, Jamal begins reflecting back on his childhood. As young boys, Jamal and his older brother, Salim, lived in squalor, and lost their mother in a mob attack on Muslims. Subsequently forced to rely on their own wits to survive, the desperate siblings fell back on petty crime, eventually befriending adorable yet feisty young Latika as they sought out food and shelter on the unforgiving streets of Mumbai.

Though life on the streets was never easy, Jamal's experiences ultimately instilled in him the knowledge he needed to answer the tough questions posed to him on 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'. Though Jamal makes a convincing case for himself, one question still remains: why would a young man with no apparent desire for wealth or fame be so determined to win big on a national game show? Of course, it won't be long until everyone finds out the answer to this burning question, because as Jamal sits down to find out whether he will be rich beyond his wildest dreams, 60 million viewers remain transfixed to their televisions eager to see if he'll correctly answer the final question.

t's merely not the expositions of Mumbai and Vikas Swaroop's 'Q&A' that makes 'Slumdog Millionaire' an interesting film. Simon Beaufoy's gripping screenplay of continuous switching over times of past-and-present, keeps you edge-seated for every single second of the 120 minutes. A groovy narration with joy, pain, union, separation, tragedy and love doesn't get anyone's attentions scattered.

Check out the list of star-casts, everybody on the title cards steals the show with their exceptional performance sans flawlessness. Dev Patel has an inborn talent that's so evident on his gestures and actions on every frame. The glimpse on his reactions as Irrfan questions 'Who's there on 100 rupee Indian Note?' his fantastic spell of reaction would never stop anyone from applauding. Watching this guy glimpsing on his past for the last question of 'Three Musketeers' and smiling cheerfully, would again make you hail him with praises. 'An outstanding actor' and that's it.

Well, you don't have Frieda Pinto appearing for more than 30mins (3 different girls on different ages of Latika's characterization). But, gets her depicted attractive sans a lavish makeover… Madhur Mittal as Older Salim overwhelms with sparkling acting especially in the penultimate sequences. Wanna hear his Punch dialogues? 'Eeee…easy', 'Aaraamse….', 'I'm at the centre of centre'.

Anil Kapoor deserves great appraisals for the bold attempt of picking a characterization of negative shades. Irrfan Khan with his casual efforts picks your attention. Saurabh Shukla does his characterization which is presented with finesse.

The technical aspects are enthralling. We have never seen Mumbai's slums so deeply. The cinematographer doesn't fail to capture even the minutest props with the best-innovative placements of camera angles. We also get to see a bird's eye view of Mumbai's slums.

As icing on the cake, the Musical score by Rahman makes it big with the visual perception. To a certain extent, title song 'O Saayo' seems to be carrying the traces of opening scene in Fernando Meirelles' 'City of God'. Rahman's earnest involvement in getting along with creative thoughts of the cinematographer and Danny Boyle has yielded the best results. Doubtlessly, 'Jai Ho' and 'O...Saayo' are electrifying making you feel to watch it over again for many times. Nithin Desai's set decoration of 'Kaun Banega Crorepathi' and the marvelous Taj Mahal are a masterpiece.

On the whole, 'Slumdog Millionaire' has various reasons to capture everyone's attention. Probably, the most top-charting show of 'Who wants to be a Millionaire', 'Kaun Banega Crorepathi' should have earlier pulled everyone. Nevertheless, there's something more close to your hearts than these factors of emotional vistas. A beautifully portrayed romance bounded with lots of hurdles in the union till last moment is sure to melt down your hearts.

Watch it any cost…. Even, if a ticket costs a million dollars!!!

Ayan

Winning laurels with his tracks for 'Vaaranam Aayiram', Suriya is back to strike gold with his forthcoming film 'Ayan'. K.V. Anand who won laurels for his debut directorial 'Kana Kandein' is back wielding the megaphone for this film produced by AVM Productions. A commercial entertainer, the auteur seems to have mixed exceptional plotlines. And here comes the most grandiloquent pair of Harris Jayaraj and Suriya who worked magic with 'Kaakha Kaakha', 'Ghajini' and the recent 'Vaaranam Aayiram'.

The Musical Album of 'Ayan' has 5 melodies belonging to various genres…

Pala

Remember the most fantastic song of 2008! Yeah, it's none other than 'Nenjukkul Paidhidum' with Hariharan rendering voice for it. Over here, he croons for the same actor but with a different style. Unlike the melodious one, this track is a grand fast moving peppy number that carries an electrifying message for youngsters.

Nenje Nenje

This one is a romantic number with poignant lyrics centering on a young lad and his missy looking out for pure love. Harris Jayaraj has picked up apt singers in Malathi and Harish Raghavendra and his choice doesn't disappoint you. Unforeseen efforts from Malathi are revealing with her intonations and ditto to Harish Raghavendra who is up with the same show as in 'Azhagiya Theeye' of Minnale.

Honey Honey

'Sensuous', 'Sultry' (you can use the best of words for this song) … brimming with such feel, Harris tunes a melody with the beats on Congo drums running all through the rendering. Intonation of Sayonara Philip steals the show while Devan's strides creates a penchant feel amongst the listeners.

Vizhi Moodi

'Oru Maalai'- A splendid song that never fades from our memories had Harris and Karthik on the tracks. And again, we've another melody churned by this duo and Vairamuthu's lyrics of a lad's intrinsic feel when in love captivates. This one is sure to rock as a chartbuster. Marvelously orchestrated beats with female vocalism in preludes offers complete enhancement.

Oyayiye Aayiye

'Perky lines and peppy tune' has a big sensation for young hearts. Haricharan, Benny Dayal and Chinmayee deliver with elegance on their quotients. KV Anand's innovative motif and Prabhu's cinematography are sure to turn the song a lot more fantastic on screen.

On the whole, 'Ayan' has a whole lot of mix in spellbinding melodies and mind-boggling peppy numbers. Undoubtedly, Harris is there over the top with the prodigious score for his ducky actor Surya.

Dilli-6

The year 2008 has been the most stupefying year for Rahman fans and you know why? 'Jodha Akbar', 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na', 'Yuvvraaj', 'Ghajini' and 'Slumdog Millionaire; Well, it's been a 'Rah-mania' with prodigious tunes of unique genres. Be it 'Tu Hi Meri Dost', 'Jai Ho', 'Pappu Can't Dance Saala' or 'Guzarish, everything has been soul-stirring strains from the Mozart of Chennai. Here come, the duo Rahman-Rakeysh Om Prakash who created wonders with their combination in 'Rang De Basanthi'.

Perhaps for 'Delhi-6', a couple of songs 'Masakali' and 'Maula' continuously aired round-the- clock shot our adrenalines looking out for other numbers. And here comes the most spectacular album and precisely, they are exceptional from Rahman's compositions during the previous year. Moreover, it is the never-heard-before tunes that'll get you transfixed. Indeed, Rahman offers 'Dus Dhamaka' with panache and every number is gonna top the charts.

Aarti (Tumre Bhavan Mein)

It's Prasoon's heart-warming lyrics that make the song exceptional in the album. Rahman is exceptional when it comes to blending melody with simple instrumentations. Yup! All throughout 180 seconds, we hear a single-noted Veena with simple beats on cymbals blended with a mesmerizing chorus humming. Perhaps, an ardent fan of Rahman should've heard of similar genres in his Tamil composition for 'Alaipaayudhe Kanna'…

Arziyan

Sufism which is so close to Rahman's heart drives him tuning such melodies. Of course, it's so illustrious with his previous piece of music for 'Pia Haji Ali', 'Khwaja Mere Kwaja' in 'Jodhaa Akbar'. And again, here's one more on the same lines. A lengthy duration of 9 minutes has tabla and harmoniums accompanied by the glorious voice of Javed Ali and Kailash Kher. Prasoon Joshi gears up for yet another devotional song.

Both 'Aarti' and 'Arziyan' are devotional hymns of different religions and yet Rahman's composition gets the listeners mesmerized sans barriers.

Bhor Bhaye

The music maestro weaves a spell of magic on 'Hindustani Ghazal' with the same instrumentations of tabla and harmonium used in previous the song. We have an evergreen legend Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan rendering in his voice. Shreya Ghosal adds colour, shifting octaves on her voice which flows in to the listener's ears and Gujri Todi makes it with finesse. Sounds like a live-recording and possibly Rahman should have done it because it adds a naturalistic touch.

Delhi – 6

Doubtlessly, heeding to the first three numbers of 'Carnatic', 'Sufi Qawwali' and 'Hindustani Raga', you should've made listeners perceive Delhi-6 to be an offbeat genre. If so, you're wrong… Here goes the precipitous shift to a different scenario. Of course, just imagine how a song sounds when there's Blaaze, Benny Dayal, Vivinenne, Tanvi and Claire are on the track. A stylish sleek rap savors to the tastes of young lads and missies. Simple-yet-catchy beats on synthesizers and lyrics penned by Vivinenne Pocha and Claire make it a lavish fiesta.

Dil Gira Dafatan

A western style with Ash King's voice and good accompaniment by Chinmayee makes the song so special… Running notes on lead guitars with vibes on intervals is picked by an exceeding orchestration of stringed instruments. Preludes on violin blended with strings offers a feel of heeding to contemporary World Music.

Genda Phool

Need a best illustration for fantastic mix of West 'n' Folk? And you have it here with 'Genda Phool'. Rekha Bharadwaj's unique style of vocalism picks listeners' interest while chorus parts by Shraddha and Sujatha offers enhancement to the song. Nothing exceptional with the beats, for the synthesized ones on pads and bass guitars are repeated throughout.

Hey Kaala Bandhar

Sounds alike one of Rahman's previous compositions of 'Shano Shano' from Yuvvrraj and precisely, the chorus part is a bit similar to 'Dil Ka Rishta' from the same album. Rap lines are again the same remix of 'Shano Shano'. We are not sure who Kaala Bandhar is, guess we have to wait for the promos to come out… The song may capture our senses once on the screen.

Masakali

Uh-huh! The song that has been raising our expectations with beautiful promos is finally out. Like 'Bheka' in 'Ghajini', Prasoon Joshi pens yet another song with lyrics that are filled with tongue twisters and Mohit Chouhan spells it on best terms. With Congo drums used on rhythms, 'a good experiment' by Rahman works best. Masakali is worthy getting ennobled as the 'Song of the Album'.

Rehna Tu

Rahman rendering a song always turns to be a chart topper. Is it because he picks the best songs and sings or the song becomes special once with Rahman's voice? Yeah! It goes unanswerable at many times and 'Rehna Tu' isn't an exception. A wonderful orchestration of voices between Rahman, Benny Dayal and Tanvi gets you addicted to the song with simple beats. Don't miss the instrumental (Flute and strings) part at the penultimate part of the song; they're awesome.

Noor

Possibly, maybe this voiceover is heard in the prologue part of film. Amitabh's catchy-voice uttering the poignant poem on 'Ishq' penned by Prasoon is easily grasping. On instruments, stringed chords following mildly with vibes are heard.

On the whole, A.R. Rahman offers an exquisite platter of tunes to his fans with his music in 'Delhi-6'. Well, assume it to be the maestro's special treat for the 'Golden Globe Achievement'. And again, Rahman starts off 2009 with fascinating musicals and doubtlessly, the songs are sure to be prized as best spells of this year.

Around the world in 80 days

Today when astronauts circle the world every few hours and an ordinary tourist, if they so desire, can fly around the world in a few days with relative ease and little expense, it is difficult to imagine that making the journey in eighty days was still a fantasy when Jules Verne first wrote this book. Yet, in this book Verne's protagonist, Phileas Fogg, makes headlines when makes a bet with fellow members of the Reform Club in London that he can make the trip in eighty days. Fogg bets half of his fortune, £20,000, and figures he will need the rest for his expenses. If he wins he breaks even, if he loses he loses everything.

The Suez Canal and the last section of the railroad across the Indian peninsula have both just opened and the "Daily Telegraph" newspaper prints a story showing that, if one makes all connections on time and there are no delays, the minimum time to complete a trip around the world would now be eighty days. Fogg is willing to gamble that he can complete the trip using "Telegraph's" minimum time estimate.

Fogg and his valet, Jean Passepartout, start the journey and run into obstacles almost immediately. Improvising to make up for delays that cause them to miss connections, discovering enroute that the information about available transportation that appeared in the "Daily Telegraph" was not totally accurate and other, unanticipated side adventures turn Fogg's carefully laid out itinerary into a rousing adventure.

Within a few years of its publication this book ceased to be a futuristic fantasy as travel became faster, easier and commonplace for the average person. "

Download and Read the book @ www.online-literature.com/verne/aroundtheworld/

Bachelor of Arts

I had already read this book when i was the age of the protagonist in this story. But last week when i found this tiny book squeezed in between the volumes of Britannica, i could not resist taking it out for my "before you hit the bed" reading.

Bachelor of Arts is the story of a young man, Chandran coming of age in colonial India, yes.... you guessed it right in the fictitious town of Malgudi.

Chandran is in his final year in college and a bright History student with extraordinary organising skills for college events but sucks big time in doing the same for himself. He is busy spending his days making new friends, watching second show movies, suspecting and analysing every move of every other person around but trying to accept and come to terms with situations as he moves on. In summary, withering his time away as we all did.

Once Chandran graduates, unlike his friends, he decides to spend his time relaxing at home without studying further or doing anything worthwhile thereby continuing his withering away business. During that period, he comes across this beautiful girl Malathi and is crazy about her. After having found out that she is from the same caste as his, Chandran pesters his parents to approach Malathi’s family and ask her for marriage.

For some reason (which is very realistically elaborated in the book), the marriage does not take place which dejects Chandran so much as to make a decision to leave Malgudi for good and live with his cousin in Madras. He gets so carried away with the loss of Malathi forever from his life and eventually losing interest in Life, starts escaping from everyone around. After reaching Madras, he doesnot even meet his cousin at the station and ends up living in a Hotel later wandering for 8 months or so as a Sanyasi before realising that it was just a passing phase that he had gone through and gets back to Malgudi, gets married and does really well in his career compared to what he has gone through.

Seems like a regular Devdas kind of story. rt? Hmm. not really. the language, the events and situations in Chandrans life and the way they are depicted is what makes this story extraordinaire.

Overall, a very close-to-life account of one among us kind person going through the phases of Life every other teenager goes through, sometimes a bit carried away. The human experience, especially from a boy and then a man’s view is excellently protrayed in clear and concise language by a simple story teller who at times brings out the influence of the West into the lives of us from the East. bet you the human emotions and the relationships described in this book will remind you of your own while you are reading the story of Chandran. There is humour all along to giggle while reading tinged with sadness. True to the name of the publications called Indian Thought Publications, this is the true Indian writing as can be related by most Indians.

The more you read self help books or how to kind of books, the more you will realise that all these new age authors have taken the thoughts from ancient philosophical works and woven around it. While most would be able to relate to some accounts in such books, for others like me they seem too complex better put cryptic.

Having read Swami and Friends and The Vendor of Sweets as well by R K Narayan, somehow i feel he is not highly regarded as a writer for his down-to-earth writings. He is an out and out Indian steeped in tradition and old world values. Today a Naipaul,an Arundhati Roy or a Kiran Desai are icons of Indian Writing. Very few can appreciate what R k Narayan wrote long ago though everything he wrote holds good today. Let it be. it is my personal view.

Unfortunately, Chandran did not have facilites to read the esteemed revus of Impressing Women on MS and putting them into practice on others after losing Malathi but on the other hand, its fortunate that he experienced it first hand and compromised with Life while winning over his infatuation.. or was it Love??

Nevertheless, a very good book which I am delighted to cull from the plethora of highly rated ones.By the way, i could not put down the book nor could i go to sleep without completing all the 150 odd pages.

The White Tiger

It's probably safe to say you can't go a week these days without reading at least one article talking about the economies of China or India. It seems there is someone in some business section of some newspaper always willing to write another breathless installment in the rise of the East as economic powers. The majority of the writers seem torn between their amazement that countries like India and China can actually have an economy, citing them as examples of how great the Free Market is.

What most of these articles fail to mention is the cost being paid for these great economic miracles. In China the majority of the labour being supplied to fuel the motor of the economy is as close to slave labour as you can get and still be paid for your work. People work long hours for little pay in conditions that would close plants in North America in a second. These are merely technicalities; nothing for us to worry about. It's not like we live there.

India has become the call centre to the world it seems. Whenever you phone a company for technical support these days, no matter what country you're calling from, you're likely to end up talking to someone in Mumbai or Bangalore. Call centres and a burgeoning IT class doesn't hide the inequities that still exist in Indian society or that huge numbers of people still live in poverty so abject that we wouldn't even begin to comprehend its depth.

The only place you're liable to read about the reality of life in India today is on the pages of one of the many books making their way out of India to the shelves of book stores in North America. Joining those ranks is The White Tiger, written by first time novelist Aravind Adiga, published by Simon & Schuster, and just recently released in North America. In his book, Adiga not only peels back the gloss of the economic miracle to expose the rot beneath, he instructs us in the means by which a small minority of the population are able to subjugate the majority.

A white tiger is the rarest creature in the jungle, only coming along once in every generation. When Balram Halwai was still able to attend the excuse for a school in his village, he was singled out by a school inspector as being the white tiger of his contemporaries for being able to read and write when nobody else could. The inspector promised that Balram would be given a scholarship to attend a proper school so he could fulfill his potential. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. His family were forced to pull him out of school to help pay off their debt to their landlord.

We learn Balram's life story courtesy of letters he has taken upon himself to write to the premier of China. He wrote these letters to educate the premier so that he wouldn't be fooled by any of the false pictures the politicians he meets might paint about life in India when he comes for his official state visit. Balram decides the best way for the premier to understand what life in India is like is by telling him the story of his, Balram's, life.

The first lesson Balram has for us is the reality of rural life in India. In his small village everybody is beholden to one of four landlords. If you want to grow anything you have to pay money to one person. If you want to graze animals you have to pay money to another. If you want to use the roads to make money as a rickshaw driver, you pay 10% of everything you earn to a third. Finally, the fourth one owns the waters. If you want to fish or use the water to transport goods, you pay him.

It's after Balram's family is forced to borrow money from one of the landlords to pay for a cousin's dowry that he has to leave school and start working in teahouses. Balram is destined for greater things, though, and his grandmother comes up with 600 rupees so he may learn to drive and get a job driving for a wealthy man. Through blind luck he happens to show up at his landlord's compound on the day the youngest son has returned from America and needs his own driver. This begins his long climb out of the darkness of poverty.

Balram is not just a driver. It turns out he's expected to cook, clean, and do whatever else his new master needs him to do. When his master moves to New Delhi, Balram moves with him and drives him around the capital as he greases the palms of all the various political fixers and parliamentarians that need greasing in order to ensure the family business survives. One hundred thousand rupees here, two hundred thousand there, and Balram sits in the front seat seeing nothing, but witnessing it all.

At one point Balram asks the premier why he thinks servants are so loyal to their masters. Why don't they demand a cut or threaten them with the police, or at the very least stand up to the masters who they outnumber by at least a thousand to one? Balram calls it the Rooster Coop syndrome. In the markets in New Delhi, hens and roosters are stuffed into wire cages where they spend their days pecking and shitting on each other fighting just to breathe. According to Balram, it's the same for the poor of India. They are so busy fighting among each other for the chance to breathe that they will never be able to escape their cages.

The threat of violence against their families if they misbehave is a factor as well. Balram recounts how a servant of one of the landlords in his home village did something wrong, and the landlord had his entire family killed in retaliation. Balram says it would take a unique individual, a White Tiger even, to be depraved enough to risk the lives of his entire family to steal the seven hundred thousand rupees his employer is carrying in a red leather bag to bribe a politician.

In The White Tiger we watch Balram suffer humiliation after humiliation and is expected to take it. His employer's wife gets drunk one night and forces Balram to let her drive and she kills a child. They make him sign a confession saying he was driving just in case the police decide to press charges. It's taken as matter of course that, as their servant, he would only be too glad to go to jail for them. After all, you can't really expect them to go to jail, now can you?

Balram's letter to the premier of China is like the confession of a Catholic penitent to his priest, save for one detail. He's not seeking absolution for any crimes he has committed; he's just using himself as an example to let the premier know the facts of life in modern day India. Bribery and corruption are what grease the wheels of the great economic miracle of India, wheels that are still being turned by slave labour. Underneath the statues of Gandhi and behind the pictures of the beautiful temples is corruption so ingrained that it's taken for granted as being the way things are and always will be.

The picture Aravind Adiga paints of India in The White Tiger is of a nearly feudal society disguised as a democracy. If even a tenth of what Balram describes as normal operating business is actual, and there is no reason to believe otherwise, then India's economic miracle is as much a lie as China's. The country might have gained its independence from the British at the end of the 1940's, but the majority of people in India are still trapped in servitude.

In the end, what makes the events in the book so believable is the character of Balram. He is the perfect servant. He worries whether his master is eating enough, takes pride in him when he behaves honourably, and is disappointed with him when he is weak. For all his protestations about the system, he is still as much a part of it as anybody else, and it takes an enormous amount of strength and luck for him to live up to his name of white tiger.

When he does, he shows he's learned his lessons well and knows how to grease the wheels with the best of them. He's not some reformer advocating change, although he dreams of opening a school where children get a real education so they too can be white tigers. There's no room for mercy in the jungle that is Balram's India, and the more tigers he has on his side the better.

Nandhalala - Soundtrack

This film is unique in the sense that there is a 40- minute climax which is all music and unarticulated! And a vital character in the film appears for just 12 seconds! The director says ‘I direct only 50% of my movies. Let the viewers direct the rest’. With Ilayaraja composing music for this complex movie, we can hardly wait for it to hit the screens. Six songs are featured in the album, but songs no.4 and 5 have been taken away from the movie. Why?


Mella oorndhu oorndhu...

This song softly trundles along just like the movement of the ‘ther’ or car that is mentioned in the song. The rhythms are unhurried, the guitar and violin notes tinkle along lazily and the keys add a soft tonal richness to the piece. Speaks a little bit of philosophy too. Well conceived.

Onnukkonnu...

Rather moving verses that speak of the all-conquering power of selfless love, ‘anbu’ as the poet aptly puts it. The right choice of Jesudas as the singer—he effortlessly brings out the poignancy in the song. Sensitive handling of native percussions, fine use of keys and measured notes from the flute and guitar all contribute to the overall effect of this song based on the Sankarabaranam mettu, like the first song.

Thalattu Ketka...

This huskily rendered song somehow reminds us of a couple of old Ilayaraja hits themselves. Another pathos-laden number with slow rhythms that speaks sentimentally of the sacrifices that mothers usually make in their lives. Suitably, the violin and guitar are subdued. When the singer goes ‘entha pillai theerthadundu?’ in the second charanam, the violin (?) essays a sad high pitched note that moves you.

Kai Veesi...

Such a pretty song that you wonder why this was excluded from the movie! Conceived on the Natabairavi scale ,the opening guitar piece that goes ‘ni sa sa sa ni sa sa sa ----ga ri sa ni sa ri and then ‘ga ga ri ri sa sa’ is so very stylish and so are the trendy rhythms in spite of the chatusra nadai. The way the flute and the guitar sing along with the voices, speak of the deftness of the composer. Sometimes the flute just slides into the keys. A song that goes wondering about the charms of Nature.

Oru Vaandu Koottame...

Another charming number in the Sankarabaranam scale—again you wonder why it has been left out in the movie! What a rich tapestry of rhythms and other musical instruments—like the guitar, violin, flute and keys! The percussions have been so carefully layered that there is so much ‘sowkyam’ built into the number. Celebrates the carefree spirit of childhood with sweet lyrics.

Elilea, Elilea...

A small fascinating piece, a ‘narikkorava’ song , this time. Of course you don’t understand the words, but watch how well the rhythm(udukkai) has been planned to move along with the ebb and flow of the song itself!

Verdict:

A very pensive, quiet album from the maestro this time, in keeping with the serious theme of the movie. Slightly melancholic, but what perfect crafting! You need to listen to it quite a few times to savor the delicate musical notes woven into the album-so like a lovely silk saree! Quality recording, too. Focused cinematography can really enhance the musical experience.

One night @ the call centre

If some one thinks that Chetan Bhagat's Five Point Someone is a just a flash out for writing, they have to change their views. His second book One Night @ The Call Center establishes that Chetan Bhagat is one of best storytellers of the new genre. The nearly 300 page book is extremely racy and also engaging. It is all the more interesting because the novel is centered on the contemporary world of India's new generation.

The novel starts with the meeting of Chetan Bhagat and a young lady in a train and she tells him the story of a night at the call center in Delhi on the condition that it would be his next book. The story is viewed through Shyam, a call center agent and a tame team leader and it revolves on him, his colleagues Varun, Esha, Radhika, his girl friend Priyanka and an aged Military Uncle. Shyam suffers from the break up of his affair with Priyanka apart from the threat all of them face on the uncertainty of their future at the center.

The happenings of the night carry the romance and break up interludes of Shyam and Priyanka as flash back. Each character has a (sob) story to bemoan. But, the narration runs interestingly because it has the natural flow and the high sense of humor (at times black) of Chetan Bhagat.

With all these the novel ends rather cinematically; a last minute heroism, change of mind, chase in the car and bike etc. Does Chetan expect the novel to inspire some Bollywood filmmaker to make it into a movie? In fact, it does have all the ingredients of a Dil Chahata Hai stuff.

The novel makes me wonder on certain things. Are Americans so dumb even to seek help over the phone on how to operate an oven, dishwasher or defrost a refrigerator? Even in India we now have fridges that do not need defrosting. Further, Americans have been using these gadgets even before Indians know about it. Do they still get doubts on these?

Isn't it odd and funny?

No job is an easy job; Chetan tries to tell the Call Center jobs are no better notwithstanding the attractive pay pack and cozy ambience. By the way, in which job, the youngsters can just keep gossiping, bitching, going out to an uppity night club for relaxation just because their computers are down? Everything in this world comes with a price tag, Chetan. Here the benefits are better, that is it.

If you want to really have a peep into the new generation, their jobs, life, attitude, values and their dreams please do not miss One Night @ The Call Center.

Five Point Someone

So IIT scholars proved one more point; these guys in addition to being cerebral and earning millions in the US or Hong Kong can write novels also! Chetan Bhagat, an alumni of Delhi IIT had successfully churned out a quite an engaging novel.Five Point Someone.The ambience is IIT campus of Delhi with three bright guys who enter the most prestigious institution to found actually they are not that bright to be the front liners. So they secure the GPA five points something, which are pretty low. But the narrator Hari, his friends Ryan and Alok try their luck to improve their grade in different ways only to end up every time in a mess.

Of the three, the story is narrated in first person by Hari, who is not that attractive, but smart enough guy to befriend the Head of the Department's daughter. Ryan Oberoi the handsome dude, though full of creativity, wealth, style and ideas seldom has any romantic liason. Alok is a fatso and glutton and positively irritating.

Chetan Bhagat deals with these three friends who were below average guys among the creme of knowledge. It directly as well as indirectly discusses the grim side of the IIT education system, which is lauded by the elite. The disdain of the three protagonists could be the experiences of several students who have some how passed out of several IITs. Chetan Bhagat's characterization fit the character of the present day youth most aptly; the intelligence, indifference, irreverence, irresponsibility, irritating traits all could be seen through Ryan, Hari and Alok.

It is more of reminiscences than a story. There are incidents that reveal the characters and for the sake of climax the trio indulge in a sort of dare devil and idiotic theft of the major question paper from the HOD's room where they are caught red handed. As expected all ends well with a few more minor twists and turns as anticipated. The romantic angle is provided by Hari's friendship to Neha, the HOD's daughter. Neha also belongs to the new era liberated female and does not mind having sex with her boyfriend. Mind that her dad is averse to even talking to boys.

Bhagat's narrative is racy with several punch lines, lucid and simple. We have a lot of fuck,screw and crap etc. uttered by the IITian ad nauseam. Even the most serious scenes there are undercurrents of hilarity and sarcasm.

The novel closes with an open ending. But one cannot be sure whether the student life is for enjoyment of freedom or labor for academics.Even the oration of Professor Cherian at the convocation on how one should lead a student life turns out to be the dream of Hari. So it could only be a dream! Probably symbolism! It is also a moot point that whether enjoyment in student life is related to smoking pot, drinking vodka or listening to Pink Floyd.Screwing is left to Hari only and the other two were virgins till the end!

The readers' vocabulary may be enriched with terms like insti, prof, muggings, fatso, cog etc. exclusive to IITians.

The novel stands out because the ambience is unusual, characters are close to genuine and incidents oscillate between real and absurd. Bhagat intelligently takes every engineering student down the memory lane. Situations might not have been the same for every one; nevertheless, like Hari wishes to be Ryan, even for the nine pointers the narrated lives of five point someone would have been a wish unfulfilled.

Slumdog Millionaire

Rarely, if ever, does the Western world catch a glimpse into the beauty and majesty of such a dynamic city as Mumbai. Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" hits the ground running. This is a breathless, exciting story, heartbreaking and exhilarating at the same time.

Simon Beautoy’s script, based on Vikas Swarup’s novel, “Q&A,” touches on the life of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), an impoverished orphan raised in the slums of Mumbai, who unexpectedly reaches the Rs. 20 Million question on India’s version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Accused of cheating, he defends himself against the authorities by narrating his life on the streets - a sequence of mesmerizing tales which hold the key to all his right answers.

The film stars newcomer Dev Patel and model turned actress Freida Pinto along with Anil Kapoor and Irfan Khan. A.R Rahman provides the music and boy it is sensational.

O…Saya is an electrifying detonation of sound and style. Filled with some riveting electronic tones, Rahman ups the tempo with a breath-taking drumming performance that features throughout the backdrops of this flashy and rhythmic track. Also featuring international biggie M.I.A this song takes the cake.

In Ringa Ringa Rahman infuses the number with a sultry blend of old and new elements, couples it with an alluring melody, and ultimately creates a unique sound that is both traditional and progressive simultaneously. Alka Yagnik's vocals and Raqib Alam’s lyrics culminate the musical trinity of the track with class.

Next up is the absolutely gorgeous Dreams On Fire, and just like all the other pieces of Slumdog Millionaire, Rahman has provided a steady blend of east and west – a phenomenon that gives the music its universal textures and borderless emotions. Blaaze and Wendy Parr provide awe inspiring lyrics and Suzanne D’Mello's vocals grab your heart's cockles.

Jai Ho is an out-and-out dance track and passes with flying colors thanks to the breezy melodic riffs and trans-genre feel in the arrangements, enabling the song to take you wherever you want it to! Sukhwinder Singh and Tanvi Shah provide some awesome vocals backed by Gulzar's lyrics.

Riots marks the beginning of a series of powerful and vigorous thematic pieces by Rahman. While the piece is fairly short, it packs a mighty punch.

Mausam & Escape is the best thematic instrumental on the lot! Rahman simply shows off as programmer. He synthesizes a mesmerizingly wicked aura of sound that explodes all over you! The enticing guitars, the heart-pounding bass lines, thrilling sitar plucks, the soul-thumping synths and the haunting orchestral strings bring out the goose bumps.

Liquid Dance has Rahman’s orchestral strings that give the piece a hauntingly unique signature. Apart from using some very cool new sounds and effects, Rahman once again blends east and west.

Latika’s Theme is the instrumental of the very soulful “Dreams On Fire.” However, Rahman realizes that the beauty of the original song lies within the melodic power and vocal gentleness. Ultimately, it is the sweetest of musical fragrances.

Millionaire is perhaps the one and only track that sounds conventional in its production and overall treatment. It is another fast-tempo background piece filled with thumps of bass and panning synths.

In Gangsta Blues Rahman lays the cement with a Techno-esque hip-hop rhythm, while also adding some Jazz elements, including some Blues organ sounds. Blaaze struts his stuff with a relaxed reggae ‘n’ rap rendition alongside Tanvi Shah and the end result of which is pure entertainment!

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE’S music is a brilliant landscape of cultural textures, global sounds, and cross-genre transformations. You would be a complete idiot to give this album a miss!

Chandni Chowk to China

Akshay Kumar stars as Sidhu, a cook at a fast food stand in Chandni Chowk, the legendarily busy market in Delhi, India. As he cooks rice and chops vegetables, Sidhu dreams of winning the lottery and escaping the humdrum routine of his daily life, despite the admonishment of his adopted father Dada (Mithun Chakraborty) that success in life can only be achieved through hard work. When two visitors show up and urge him to return with them to China so he can find his destiny, he is all too eager to comply.

Of course, Sidhu doesn't know the whole story. The Chinese villagers are looking for the reincarnation of a legendary warrior to save them from Hojo, and delude themselves into thinking that the cowardly, simpering Sidhu is their man. Both the villagers and Sidhu are the victims of the opportunistic Chopstick (Ranvir Shorey), who is drafted as an impromptu translator for the Hindi-speaking Sidhu and Mandarin-speaking villagers.

Chopstick seizes the chance to con his way along on the trip; how he hopes to profit is never made clear, but heroes always need sidekicks. Chopstick is not the only one who takes advantage of the simple-minded Sidhu; charming commercial spokesperson Sakhi (Deepika Padukone) cheats him out of his place in line at the Chinese consulate, earning Sidhu's wrath when he sees her again upon arrival at an airport in China.

But it's not actually Sakhi that Sidhu sees fleeing from the authorities at the airport, spilling diamonds from a prosthetic pregnant belly and leaping over parked cars, it's her long gone, and presumed dead, twin sister Suzy (also played by the former model Ms. Padukone). Suzy prefers to be called Meow Meow nowadays, as it seems to befit her work as a henchwoman for ... drumroll please ... the evil Hojo!

Yes, it's that kind of movie, one where we know Sakhi and Suzy are fated to reunite, but only after numerous near-misses and a string of coincidences bring them together. It's the kind of movie where Chiang (Roger Yuan, who shines in a key role), the father of Sakhi and Suzy (AKA Meow Meow), also long presumed dead, also mysteriously reappears, and plays a key role in the rehabilitation of Sidhu. It's the kind of movie where Sidhu must be rehabilitated, after all, because he's the hero, and no matter how weak, tearful, and fearful he has been, he must learn to be a man, learn courage, and, most important, learn how to avenge the death of a beloved one.

The twist in Chandni Chowk is that Chiang is a Chinese martial arts master and former police officer who married an Indian woman -- who is also long dead, evidently for real, since she never mysteriously reappears -- which explains how he sired two beautiful Indian women. We never learn how he escaped death, but that's not as important as the fact that he went insane from grief. Anyway, once he finally snaps out of it -- a picture is worth a thousand words -- he can train Sidhu to be a terrific martial artist and defeat Hojo in a duel to the death.

Under the direction of Nikhil Advani, the plot unwinds casually over the course of the movie's 154-minute running time, bolstered by a half-dozen musical numbers (by the composing team of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) and a similar number of martial arts fight sequences choreographed by Ku Huen Chiu, who has worked with Jet Li for years, and recently worked with Stephen Chow on CJ7. The fight scenes make liberal use of wires with assists from CGI, which is in keeping with the general tone of comic fantasy.

On balance, I'm not certain that Chandni Chowk to China will make any new converts for Bollywood, which seems to be one reason for its wider-than-usual release. True, the martial arts sequences are a fresh ingredient, and their presentation here is better than in many Hollywood productions: the editing is not quite so frenzied and the compositions tend to favor showing the entire body, which makes the choreography appear more fluid and graceful. The high-pitched melodrama and melding of genres will be familiar (and probably welcome) to fans of Hong Kong, Japanese, and Korean action flicks.

Still, the sheer length of the running time is an obstacle. Admittedly, I've only seen a relatively small number of Bollywood films, and perhaps greater familiarity would better attune me to the industry's narrative tendencies, but several times I found myself tapping my fingers, waiting for the plot to advance to the next, very obvious point. I couldn't help thinking that a purely Hong Kong production would have wrapped up the whole thing in half the time, with better and more extended action scenes, to boot.

Yet then I'd be denied the pleasure of seeing a couple jumping off a very tall office building to escape the clutches of an evil villain, falling hundreds of feet before the woman opens an unbrella to halt their fall, which leads to a deliriously silly and romantic dance, as the couple implausibly proves to be lighter than air.

Chandni Chowk to China certainly has its faults, but it also contains enough lighter-than-air moments to recommend it.

Golmaal Returns

Perhaps, 'Golmaal Returns' is worthy to be ennobled – 'impaling speculation' for producers of the film. 'Golmaal' made headway with critical éclat for its top-notched drolleries; Rohit Shetty brimmed up with an ebullient show for the family audiences. The prequel had the best show-ups of perfect comedy timings, reasonably good jokes and moreover, the emotional quotients picked everyone's interest. Merely, 'GR' a falderal show with good star-casts and clichéd plotline and what else? Rohit Shetty doesn't touch on any lines of its prequel.

What should have really instigated Rohit and producers to churn out this flick? You wouldn't be able to zero down the precise reasons even after the show is over. To a greater extent, the film is so cranky and again what could be the traits making it look so? Clumsy jokes unapt for universal audiences. Totting up to the annoyance is nit-witted screenplay penned by Yunus Sajawal. It's a billion-dollar question how Rohit Shetty could elatedly turn the superfluous pages of Yunus into pictures.

And if you're there guessing could there be any solacements for audiences. Yup! Mind blowing performance by Tushaar Kapoor and Shreyas Talpade offers best fiestas of humor. Doubtlessly, you are sure to break down with laughter as these character jape simultaneously on each other.

Promotions prior to release often sounded 'Biggest Comedy Title of 2008' and it's about dashing down your hopes after watching the show. It's a mediocre in terms of presentation. Bits and pieces of surprisals move you along with it, but not to a greater extent. Blemished screenplay lacking substance diminishes the crème de la crème efforts rendered by few best ones.

Rohit Shetty with his 'Sunday' won the credits as the best lollapaloozas, of blending murder-mystery with comedy (Call it 'Black Comedy'). The flick savored to everyone's tastes offering best entertainment. The scenario is quite bleak and contrastive here; nothing impressive that pulls you in.

Lots of actors and does everyone best deserve best credits? Must be quite straining for you all, going through so many questions. Comparatively, you would shoot out many more after the show. Ajay Devagan kindles – his 'Simpatico' catching breath of a struggling husband. Arshad Warsi lags behind with his goofy role. Kareena Kapoor deserves pat of appreciations as a leery wife. Despites, appearing on with a short role, Celina scores best. Amrita Arora and Anjana Sukhani, merely keep middling…



Perhaps, 'Golmaal Returns' is worthy to be ennobled – 'impaling speculation' for producers of the film. 'Golmaal' made headway with critical éclat for its top-notched drolleries; Rohit Shetty brimmed up with an ebullient show for the family audiences. The prequel had the best show-ups of perfect comedy timings, reasonably good jokes and moreover, the emotional quotients picked everyone's interest. Merely, 'GR' a falderal show with good star-casts and clichéd plotline and what else? Rohit Shetty doesn't touch on any lines of its prequel.

What should have really instigated Rohit and producers to churn out this flick? You wouldn't be able to zero down the precise reasons even after the show is over. To a greater extent, the film is so cranky and again what could be the traits making it look so? Clumsy jokes unapt for universal audiences. Totting up to the annoyance is nit-witted screenplay penned by Yunus Sajawal. It's a billion-dollar question how Rohit Shetty could elatedly turn the superfluous pages of Yunus into pictures.

And if you're there guessing could there be any solacements for audiences. Yup! Mind blowing performance by Tushaar Kapoor and Shreyas Talpade offers best fiestas of humor. Doubtlessly, you are sure to break down with laughter as these character jape simultaneously on each other.

Gopal (Ajay Devgan), who lives with his wife Ekta (Kareena Kapoor), sister Esha (Amrita Arora) and a dumb brother-in-law Lucky (Tusshar Kapoor), grinds to a halt in a yacht after saving an attractive woman Meera (Celina Jaitley) from some goons.

Both end up spending the nighttime on the yacht and when he comes home the next day, his distressing leery wife who is also a hardcore fan of the saas-bahu serials, smell fish.

Gopal knows it's going to be hard to quell her suspiciousness, so he concocts a cock-and-bull story about having stayed the night with a fabricated friend called Anthony Gonsalves. Ekta refuses to buy his yarn and writes to Anthony (on a fictitious address given to her by Gopal) asking him to visit her.

Gopal convinces his junior at work, Laxman (Shreyas Talpade) to pretend to be Anthony. Everything goes according to plan till the address to which Ekta had written to Anthony turns out to be real!

If that isn't complication enough for Gopal, a dead body is discovered at the location where he had saved Meera. The Investigating Officer, Madhav (Arshad Warsi), who is Esha's boyfriend and also who cannot stand the sight of Gopal, learns that the latter had been missing from home that eventful night and begins checking on him.

Promotions prior to release often sounded 'Biggest Comedy Title of 2008' and it's about dashing down your hopes after watching the show. It's a mediocre in terms of presentation. Bits and pieces of surprisals move you along with it, but not to a greater extent. Blemished screenplay lacking substance diminishes the crème de la crème efforts rendered by few best ones.

Rohit Shetty with his 'Sunday' won the credits as the best lollapaloozas, of blending murder-mystery with comedy (Call it 'Black Comedy'). The flick savored to everyone's tastes offering best entertainment. The scenario is quite bleak and contrastive here; nothing impressive that pulls you in.

Lots of actors and does everyone best deserve best credits? Must be quite straining for you all, going through so many questions. Comparatively, you would shoot out many more after the show. Ajay Devagan kindles – his 'Simpatico' catching breath of a struggling husband. Arshad Warsi lags behind with his goofy role. Kareena Kapoor deserves pat of appreciations as a leery wife. Despites, appearing on with a short role, Celina scores best. Amrita Arora and Anjana Sukhani, merely keep middling…

You'll have entire spotlights turning on Tushaar Kapoor as he eclipses everyone. Ditto to Shreyas Talpade; he treads highly-electrified rendering his laudable performance. Don't miss the rib-tricking takes between these lads; they're over-the-top. Ashwini Kalsekar, replica of Saawariya's Rani Mukherji and Arshad Warsi imitating Big B of Black hastens best of all laughter. Kya Hai Rohit Aur Sanjay Leela Bansali Ke Beech? (Ashwini Kalsekar planning to design her interiors with blue color is again a big gag).

Again, fallible technical aspects are a big letdown; neither music nor cinematography is up to the mark. Except, Neeraj Sridhar's 'Tha Karke' and 'Meow' by Suzy Q, nothing offers best scores.

As a whole, 'Golmaal Returns' is a light-headed entertainer, on the buttons plainly for pie-eyed individuals, while for others, enjoy if you want to…

Abhiyum Naanum

What when a director, who knows the art of narrating human emotions in a gripping manner, a skilled actor, who can do any role with ease and a talented actress, who combines performance and great looks, come together? A quality entertainer.

Director Radha Mohan, actor Prakashraj and actress Trisha have teamed up to come out with Abhiyum Nanum, which is sure to move every heart as it narrates the tale of a caring father and his beloved daughter. Radha Mohan chronicles the journey of a father, who showers boundless love on his daughter. The bondage between a father and his daughter, always considered very special, has been captured well by Radha Mohan. All credit to the director for providing a movie which is a whiff of air amidst clichéd run-of-the-mill stuff, specially at a time when a female child is still considered a burden in many families in rural parts of our country.

Movies on family values have become a rarity and such themes have been left for the mega-serial directors to handle. But Radha Mohan seems to have taken it a challenge and delivers a movie, which is entertaining, engrossing and makes us sit up and watch in the theatre. The emotions and the joy a man undergoes when he gets a daughter has been brought out well by the director through Raghu Raman played by Prakash Raj.

Unlike films that speak on father-son bondage in the recent times, the USP of Abhiyum Nanum is the manner in which it is narrated. Radha Mohan and his team, quite like Mozhi, has dealt a serious topic in a hilarious way, thereby reaching out immediately to the viewer. He has consciously avoided the drama elements and the artistes underplay their roles to deliver their best.

Due credit should be given to Duet Movies. Their passion for rendering quality entertainers is evident in Abhiyum Naanum.

From Azhagiya Theeyae till Abhiyum Naanum, the production house has rendered nothing but movies with quality content.

Hats off to Prakashraj for he has lived as a dad all through the movie. His face speaks thousand words – be it joy on seeing his new –born, the zeal to be prepared for his daughter's admission in pre-kg, the joy at her passing out in flying colors or the confusions over her wedding. As a loving father and a caring husband, Prakashraj is right there delivering one of his best. Aishwarya's contribution is commendable. She reflects mothers who are seen in every middle-class families. She showers all her love over her daughter. Her spontaneous emotions and dialogue delivery renders grace to the character.

Debutant Ganesh Venkataram has lived the role of a Punjabi economist in the movie. With colorful turban and beard, he looks a typical Punjabi. The comical sequence involving Jogi and his family members reminds movies like 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge' and 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun'. Especially, the two young Punjabi kids playing tricks on Prakashraj evokes laughter. Prithviraj plays a cameo while Thalaivasal Vijay does a neat job.

But the real scene-stealer is Abhi (Trisha). Rarely does an actress get a meaty role to do in a Tamil movie, which has tuned them into mere glam-dolls. The ravishing Trisha has proved that she is equally good in acting too. Her expressions stand out tall. Sharing screen space with Prakashraj, she has equally matched up his performance. Vidyasagar's music is good. A couple of numbers influenced by Punjabi music is foot-tapping.

Though the story unfolds in a slow pace towards the climax and there are few scenes which reminds one of watching a soap show, Abhiyum Nanum stands out for it is a quality entertainer which can be watched by the whole family.

Poi Solla Porom

All credits to director Vijay for faithfully remaking Khosla Ka Ghosla.

Dealing about land sharks in a busy city like Chennai, the movie has comical touch all through entertaining the audience.

Vijay has recreated the magic of Jaideep Sahini's original well to suit the Tamil audience. The movie starts with a funny scene and what is commendable is that the fun continues throughout. Talented stars like Nedumudi Venu, Cochin Haneefa, Nasser and Mouli have been ably supported by the young brigade.

Sathyanathan (Nedumudi Venu), a retired government employee in Chennai, decides to buy a piece of land to construct his dream house.His elder son Uppilinathan (Karthik), a computer engineer, plans to go abroad for work. His younger son Viswanathan (Om) is a carefree youth, leading a happy life.

Sathyanathan hopes that his sons would help him build his dream house on the newly purchased plot. Uppili applies for a US visa and decides to go for a name change. Sathyanathan gets a rude shock when he realizes he's been duped by the broker (Cochin Haneefa). The land has been occupied by a fraudulent businessman Baby (Nasser).

When all attempts by Sathyanathan to get back the land end in vain, Uppilinathan steps in. With the help of his friend Amritha (Piya) he enacts a drama featuring father whom everyone calls Daddy (Mouli). Uppili is aided by his visa agent Asif (Bosskey) - a former accomplice of baby. They hatch a clever scheme to beat Baby at his own game. Nedumudi Venu, Nasser and Mouli walk away with all honors. Mouli steals the show posing as a rich NRI businessman. Aravindh Krishna's cinematography, music by M G Sreekumar and Anthony's editing are the hallmarks of the movie.

Watch out for ‘Poi Solla Sorom’, produced by UTV and Four Frames, it is a movie for those who love comedy.

Subramaniapuram

Can a movie be made in an interesting and crisp format in spite of a boasting of a huge star cast?

Director Sasikumar, who had his tutelage under Bala and Ameer, has proved that a quality entertainer can be made with less-known faces provided the movie has interesting storyline with the right amount of twists.

Designed in a retro classic style, Sasikumar portrays Madurai in a different color and with a new perspective. As the title suggests, the entire movie is set in Subramaniapuram, a hamlet in Madurai.

The story, set in the 80s, takes place in Madurai Subramaniapuram, a suburb of the city. Movies like Palaivana Cholai dwelt around four friends. Perhaps Sasikumar impressed by such classics, has made an attempt of chronicling the life of a group of friends.

They are fun-loving and carefree, who spend most of their time together. Jai, Kanja Karuppu and Sasikumar (the director himself), are typical youths, who do not miss an opportunity to fight when they come across a brawl on the streets. Often arrested, they come out of jail with the help of a neighbor, played by Samudhirakani. The neighbor's elder brother happens to be a former Councilor.

The irony is that Jai falls in love with the Councilor's daughter. When the councilor is ditched by a member of an opposite gang, the trio step in and bump off the man. Unfortunately Samudhirakani doesn't help them this time and the three are remanded for murder. However, they manage to come out themselves.

They then vow to settle scores with Samudhirakani and the Councilor. The revenge plot has enough twists and turns.

A movie is loaded with fun and suspense all through and is pleasant to watch coming across as a whiff of fresh air amidst commercial clichés. Sasikumar and Jai impress. Their body language and diction of the Madurai Tamil are noteworthy.

Due credit should be given to music composer James Vasanthan, a television anchor-turned-music director. He has reminded everyone of Ilayaraja during his heydays, James Vasanthan's background score is scintillating.

Sasikumar is a welcome addition to the list of talented directors taking centre stage in Tamil cinema in recent days.

’Subramaniapuram’ is a must-watch movie for those who love realism in Tamil Cinema.

A Wedesday

Neeraj Pandey's A Wednesday is a fast paced thriller, which takes you along with it, from the first scene to the last. It is a taunt film, all of 90 minutes, songless, the likes of which we rarely see among Hindi films. The film has been built up very well and kudos to Pandey for his script and his direction. It opens on a deceptively quiet note before the thrills fall into place. The film is made even more interesting by its cast of players, specially Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher. In a long time, the two stalwarts get interesting characters to play, and they essay them with elan and a natural ease which is such a treat to watch. The only problem, if any in the film, is with the identity of the terrorist. Before one is blown apart by the acting of the cast, one has to admit that there are a few problems with the film, on the script level. But what across on the screen is a slick human drama. The twist in the film is done well, but it is still a cliché. But what elevates the final scene, the one time both Kher and Shah come face to face, is the sheer presence of surely two of the most charismatic and talented actors that we have in India. One suspects that somewhere, the thrill of watching the two of them essay intelligent characters in a commercial format almost makes up for the obvious clichéd ending.

The film is about a story told in flashback by a soon to retire Police Commissioner Prakash Rathor (Anupam Kher). A phone call from a mysterious caller about bombs that he has placed in five different places in Mumbai, has the cops scampering to catch the man. The mysterious caller holds the cops to ransom and threatens to blow up the city if five dreaded terrorists are not handed over to him at the prescribed place. Rathor, along with his trusted lieutenants, SI Jai (Aamir Bashir) and Arif (Jimmy Shergill), and the rest of the police force get into action to nail the caller on one hand, while on the other, they try their best to discover his identity and the place where he is holed up. The drama is built up very well by the director and he keeps the audience hooked for the entire duration of the film. It is interesting the manner in which the director reveals the cops' manner of functioning and the impotence of the political heads. It also dwells on how the media is manipulated to get the required coverage in the name of national interest.

The best thing about the film is that the director tells us everything that we know and understand and still manages to be so effective. The film is so slick and the acting is so natural that one doesn't question much of the action as it unfolds. The twist, when it happens, is of course a surprise for the audience as well as the characters in the movie. No where does the director even hint at the twist about to happen. But what jars is the long bhashan type monologue that the mysterious man played by Naseer indulges in, to justify his end. That could have been avoided, or the same point could have been out across differently, one feels. Of course, the fact that Naseer was doing the bhashan bit, lifted it from the trivial and the cliched plane and made it quite memorable.

Naseer and Kher tower over the rest of the cast as they stride across confidently in their screen avatars. Kher is perfect as the Police top honcho, businesslike and efficient. Naseer is perfect as the coldblooded caller. And yet he manages to retain that sense of being an ordinary man, which is so essential to his character. The final scene where the two meet is great because of the lwo key, brief manner in which it is played out. There are no histrionics happening here but yet it has a certain power which touches one. That simple act of the two of them shaking hands manages to transcend all clichés. The rest of the cast does a superb job as well. Jimmy Shergill is very effective as the dangerous, playing by his own rules inspector as is Aamir Bashir as the dutiful but committed cop. All the minor characters are effective and well etched out.

Pandey makes a film, which touches a chord somewhere with all Mumbaiites. Despite its clichéd ending with a long explanation at the end, it still moves and touches one somewhere and raises a question about our lives in these uncertain times of terror. A Wednesday is not a great film, but a good one. The director is very sure about what he wants to say and says it well. His cast and crew support him all the way along. And what we get is a very riveting drama. And Naseer, and Anupam, together.

Ghajini

Sanjay Singhania (Aamir) after being hit on head suffers from a short term memory loss. He cannot recollect anything beyond 15 minutes. He has various phone numbers and names tattooed on his body all hinting at one thing, seek revenge for the murder of his girlfriend, Kalpana (Asin). The only clue he has is the name that he remembers his dying girlfriend uttered in his ears - Ghajini. What obstacles Sanjay encounters in his hunt for Ghajini forms the rest of the film.

The film is a perfect masala film, a revenge thriller, a genre which was very popular in the 80s. But what sets the film apart from a typical pot boiler is the way the screenplay has been structured, oscillating between flashbacks and present time. There is also a good balance of romance, suspense, action and comedy. Plus the biggest asset – Aamir Khan! The story has two major flashbacks, but unlike many films where flashbacks do nothing for the film itself, this one actually aids in building the character and adding intensity to them. Having seen Sanjay’s past life, you see reason for his current actions. The film at no point justifies the actions but it does give you reason to go with the flow.

Murugados’s direction is terrific and the master story teller that he is, he just doesn’t give the audience a moment to think even in 180 minutes running time film. Technically it definitely stands amongst the best films of 2008. Superb editing (Anthony), excellent camerawork (Ravi K Chandran) and amazing sound design (Resul) take the film to an altogether different level. The action by Peter Hains and Stunt Shiva keeps you on the edge of your seat. But some action sequences have turned out a bit too gory and not meant for the faint hearted. But with Aamir giving his everything all out in them they end up being a treat to watch. A.R. Rahman’s melodies are a treat to watch onscreen having been excellently picturised. Also, none of the songs hamper the proceedings.

Amongst the sequences that stand out are Aamir’s first encounter with Asin, Aamir visiting Asin’s boss’s party, Aamir’s outburst in the hospital, Asin’s murder sequence and of course the action packed climax where Aamir for a moment forgets what he is fighting for when he comes face to face with the villain!

In an author backed role, Aamir has outperformed himself, making us fall short of words in his praise. He is not only utterly convincing as a killing machine but he is extremely loveable in the romantic comedy sequences with Asin. South starlet Asin in her Bollywood debut leaves a lasting impression. Jiah though fits the part somehow pales in comparison to Asin. Her accented Hindi irritates. Pradeep Rawat brings back to Bollywood, the true villain that was missing since long time. He is menacingly good.

Rab ne bana di jodi

Destiny plays a cruel joke on an extremely enthusiastic young girl Taani (Anushka) as she loses her fiancé and his family in a road accident on the eve of her marriage. Her father, a retired professor, on his death bed requests her to marry his old favorite student, Surinder Shahani (SRK). Taani obeys his last wish and thus begins the start of this extraordinary love story between an otherwise ordinary jodi.

The shy, somewhat geeky Surinder has already fallen for Taani since the first time he has seen her but alls his hopes crash when Taani tells him the day they arrive at his house that she won’t be able to give him any love as that’s one feeling she has lost forever with the sudden turn of events in her life. The rest of the film is about how Suri transforms himself into a very hep flirtatious dude Raj to win her love using a dancing school as a platform for his antics. He is well aided with his childhood buddy Bobby (Pathak) who brings on the physical transformation in him. But what happens is Taani who is unaware of Raj being Suri himself ends up falling in love with Raj. Suri is now again in a fix but then he finally decides to take a bold step

Rab Ne has been definitely amongst the most awaited films of 2008 and there have been great expectations riding on it especially because it is Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge maker Aditya Chopra’s comeback film after a long gap of 8 years. The script has its moments and master craftsman Adi keeps you engaged initially with some really beautifully handled moments between SRK and Anushka. But as SRK’s character’s transformation comes in the grip slowly loosens and you start feeling restless with the pace slumping down considerably. What follows is a criss-cross between some really well penned and executed scenes and some really drab moments with badly placed songs acting as speed breakers. But Adi’s terrific dialogues deserve a special applause for touching the right chords.

Shah Rukh Khan is simply superb as first the shy Suri and then the flamboyant, full of energy, Raj. Newcomer Anushka gets a really well etched character to perform and it despite being her first film, she comes across an absolute natural. Vinay Pathak is fun and provides good comic relief.

Music of the film is good but the problem is apart from a very well tuned and picturised Haule Haule number, the rest songs appear wrongly placed. The picturisation of the number featuring Kajol, Preity Zinta, Bipasha Basu, Lara Dutta and Rani is mind blowing but again it coming at a wrong juncture doesn’t really make it work.

All in all, the film has the capacity to do very well in the North and the overseas but elsewhere the film won’t be anywhere near Adi’s earlier two works in terms of business.

Varanam Aayiram

I am a big fan of Surya and die-hard fan of Gautham Menon.

They are coming back together after their stupendous success after Kakka Kakka.
And the pre-release hype surrounding the film was huge and expectations were running
high courtesy Harris Jeyaraj’s out of the world songs.

So did Vaaranam Aayiram live up to all the expectations it had created?

I care a damn about what other reviews say, but my answer would be YES .

Surya ,slowly but surely is proving that he is GEN-NEXT Kamal Haasan.
He has really toiled very hard to show the transition from boy to man.
The expression he shows after Sameera Reddy accepts his proposal is just
mindblowing.Surya has indeed come a long way in acting.

I could very well relate the affection and care shown by parents to Surya as I see
father Surya is just the screen version of my father.

The intimacy between Surya and Simran is awesome..

I have observed that Gautham has knack of delivering very very cool and fresh
romantic interludes in his films. Remember

1. Jyotika’s proposal in Kakka Kakka
2. Kamal-Kamalini Mukherjee part in Vettaiydu Vilaiyadu.

and even in this he continues his trademark style romance between Surya and Sameera Reddy.The scenes involving those 2 were out of the world,perhaps the best part of the movie. Surya-Sameera Reddy pair rocks.

The locations in U.S were too good, thanks to some splendid work by Rathnavelu.

Simran , proves that she is a veteran par excellence with her expressions and Divya
fits the girl next door image to the T.

Songs and Re-recording has been a magic from Harris.

On the whole,the movie is fantastic and irrespective of it’s box-office performance,
it remains as one of my favorite.

Waiting to grab the dvd once it comes to market(ofcourse legally).

Saroja

It’s quite hard to classify the movie as an action thriller, in spite of the all the gripping moments in a rundown abandoned industrial estate, because the boys with their witticisms keep the laughter coming. Nevertheless, Saroja is an interesting adventure and a fun flick.

On the acting front, all have played their parts well. The young troopers have carried off their roles in a convincing manner. The band of boys combine realism with humour and keep us entertained; Prakashraj and Jeyaram have proved beyond doubt why they are called veteran actors; Kajal is charming; Vega is endearing; and Nikitha is absolutely hot!

Another big highlight is Yuvanshankar Raja’s music. The background score and the songs throb with energy. ‘Dosth Bada Dosth’ is a well-made song in terms of music as well as picturization.

Director Venkat Prabhu has done quite a commendable job once again. He has managed to make a movie that combines action with comedy, without diluting the seriousness of the plot. After a full-fledged fun movie such as Chennai 600028, Venkat Prabhu has notched up one that has quite a fair share of twists, turns and pulse-racing moments. Even so, the comic streak that made his directorial debut a runaway success is what keeps Saroja alive and entertaining.

Bachna Ae Haseeno

Now, here’s at last a Yashraj film you cannot say Bachna to.

Friends, it’s Independence for Yashraj Films from its jinxed series of sub-standard films that has by now dented the reputation of the elite production house known for telling its stories against the backdrop of nothing less than Swiss Alps or Sydney Harbour or even sarson ke khet in saada Punjab.

Not that Bachna Ae Haseeno doesn’t have all this. But before all this it has a sound, well-written script and superb performances by its cast. If only the film wasn’t that long. If only a song or two were chopped off from this 16-reeler. If only the second half was less predictable. If only the final reunion of the protagonist with his ladylove wasn’t that unromantic. Aaaah! All these damn ifs. They always come between the movie and the great entertaining experience it could have been.

‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ comes pretty close to being an engaging rom-com with a generous smattering of YRF’s in-house Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge in the first romantic episode of its protagonist Raj, the (lady)-‘killer’ (as dubbed by his friends).

The Raj ( Ranbir Kapoor ) here is not Malhotra but Sharma and the girl is Mahi ( Minissha Lamba ), not Simran. The two meet on a train ride in Switzerland. Later she misses the train (obviously, yaar) and he accompanies her to Zurich on a…scootie (not a red convertible). Love blooms. And as it often happens in life, the guy screws it up. The girl flies back to Amritsar (where else) and he moves on with his life.

Year 2000. Raj works late nights in Mumbai and sleeps the mornings away on his stretchable sofa. That is until a barely clad bombshell Radhika ( Bipasha Basu ) moves next to his apartment and practices her dances to blaring music, robbing Raj of his sleep more because of her hot bod than the loud music. Raj’s charm works on her. She falls in love and soon marriage is on the cards. But Raj, being Raj, screws up again and flees to Sydney.

Time passes and Raj falls for Gayatri ( Deepika Padukone ) a cabbie in Sydney who’s clear about what she wants from life. And what she certainly doesn’t want is marriage. The trouble is – this time Raj falls in love and proposes her, only to get the taste of his own medicine.

Thereafter, our jilted but reformed hero goes on a repentance trip to mend his past mistakes by…well…much more than just apologies.

‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ works very well in the first half when the three romantic episodes unfold. My favourite was the one featuring Ranbir and Minissha. It’s a clever rehash of the situations from DDLJ incorporated into a different plot. Here too the guy eventually goes to Amritsar and makes himself a welcomed guest at a Punjabi wedding. But his intention is different. It’s not to win love, but to help Mahi rediscover love. This episode is my favourite also because of Minissha, whose performance is the best among the ladies in the film.

Bipasha Basu looks hot but her chemistry with Ranbir is thanda thanda…cool cool. Deepika Padukone is surprisingly confident and at ease in her performance. Kunal Kapoor is delightful in a guest appearance.

And lastly – coming to the ‘killer’ – Ranbir lives up to the Kapoor blood flowing in his veins. The guy has good looks and screen presence to carry the whole movie on his shoulders. Here’s truly a bundle of natural talent waiting to be explored.

Coming to director Siddharth Anand , it must be said that he shows a remarkable improvement since his last outing in the flop Tara Rum Pum . For starters, he rids ‘Bachna’ of any mawkish sentimentality that often peeves even the most flippant viewer no end. Secondly, he laces ‘Bachna’ with a liberal sprinkling of good humour – like the tearing down of the wall between Ranbir and Bipasha’s apartment to signify that they are entering a live-in relationship. The director does lose his grip on the film in the second half when the sub-plots (particularly the one with Bipasha) become taxing for a viewer.

All said, ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ is an eminently watchable film with its own share of glitches. The movie’s isn’t exceptional. But it’s definitely, definitely worth a watch.

Dasavatharam

"Dasavatharam" is a show of grandeur. Kamal makes it beyond the ordinary. His sheer audacity, magnificence and histrionics are simply spellbinding. And creativity is given new dimensions.

The eyes are considered the most effective tools in creating the right kind of attitude for any actor and Kamal Haasan is a master at that. There are many a time in the film when the audience would have to force themselves to believe that it is the same actor who is the good guy as well as the bad guy.

The expressive and determined eyes of the priest, the mushy and yet funny countenance of Balaram Naidu, the hilarious CBI officer and the peaceful martial artist eyes of the Japanese character have all shaped up to fit into any acting text book. Hats off to Kamal Haasan on the acting front!!

When it comes to action and stunt scenes, ‘Dasavatharam’ is head and shoulders above most Indian films. The music element in the film is passable with some breathtaking re-recording bits in patches.

Cinematography has been simply awesome. The heavy compositing and trick shots have not dampened Ravi Varman's innate talent at creating the right kind of mood the film depicts.

‘Dasavatharam's’ review can never be complete without talking about the makeup part. Apart from the desired result one can guess the kind of effort and hard work Kamal Haasan would have had to go through just to get them on and that too on a daily basis. Makeup has been good overall except for a few shots that show off a kind of plastic look.

Computer Generated Imagery plays a huge role in the film. When the same actor plays seven feet plus youth and an old woman who is barely five feet, one can imagine the kind of intensive scaling and image manipulation by the CG team. Recreation of the 2004 Tsunami is impressive and the action part weaves the intensity of the story.

Kamal Haasan has stuck to his favorite subject of the 'no God' debate in this film too and has glorified himself probably for the first time on screen with a dialogue directed at him as being the 'Ulaga Nayagan'.

With Kamal Haasan playing ten roles, all other actors have been completely overshadowed.

This is a movie that has highlighted a highly talented and passionate actor in his entire splendor. At the end of the film one tends to ask….has Kamal Haasan been so spectacular that he has overshadowed the script and story this time?

Singh is King

There has been a lot riding on this flick and why not when you have one of the hottest pairs Akshay and Katrina who return yet again after ‘Namastey London’. All the more hype when you have Anees Bazmee heading the ship. Bazmee’s track record at the box office says it all- Tremendous success with his previous ‘Welcome’ creating a box office record.

Now here we are with ‘Singh is Kinng’, with Vipul Amrutlal Shah who enjoyed much success with Akshay’s ‘Waqt’ taking his place as producer.

So does Akshay Kumar’s box office record especially overseas prove that he is the new King of Bollywood?

To begin with ‘Singh Is Kinng’ relies heavily on the star value of Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif and not much has gone into the plot. No doubt that an Anees Bazmee flick has nothing much for the intellectuals and is usually loaded with some whacky lines and interactions between characters. But this time out, Anees fails at something he is an ace-Comedy. There seriously aren’t many funny lines or scenes and the movie gets lost in the glamworld scenario of splendid locales etc.

There seems to be a lack of focus in the film which takes off well as an idea of a Punjabi lad ‘Happy’ going out to get King but things get haywire with the action followed by the stretched out love triangle between Akshay-Katrina-Ranveer. To make things worse Javed Jaffrey who starts out well irritates with his act and what was the double role for?

At some point one would wonder whether the film was really made with a solid script or just with an initial thought further enhanced by the so called star power at the box office that Akshay has been enjoying .

Maybe the flick was a shot at Shahrukh who has rightfully been called the King of Bollywood for ages. And with much being said about the rift between Akki and Srk , a lot can be observed with certain sequences in the film drawing references to King Khan.

The cinematography is splendid and a little editing of the tracks would help. The music is entertaining no doubt enhanced by loads of colour but it just pops in and out anywhere. The Snoop Dogg version appears at the end while the credits roll.

Akshay Kumar no doubt excels with his performance but since there isn’t much sensibility in the emotional sequences in the film you don’t connect with him much the way you would in a ‘Humko Deewana Kargaye’ or ‘Namastey London’. Katrina is cute and fits the bill. She is sure to draw in the masses.

Neha Dhupia does real well and impresses. Sonu Sood emerges with a brilliant performance and gets his share of bollywood finally. Manoj Pahwa , Yashpal Sharma and Sudhanshu Pandey are ok. Om Puri does well. Kirron Kher is ok but the logic behind her shedding tears etc is so lame. Ranvir Shorey is ok. Jaaved Jaffrey annoys.

To sum it up , Akshay does well but the film is much below expectations and why not when the title’s got the word ‘King’ attached to it. Akshay is no doubt a great performer but with this film lacks the true persona of the ‘King’ and there’s still a lot more to get to that ‘King’ status. So for now , Khan is still King.

The God of small things

This is like a politician making a true promise to the people. . You should also know my reading traits. I have read the first 2 chapters at least 15 times, before completing the book. I took 1.5 years to finish the book since it was bought. I like to savor every bit of what's been said. If I ever so feel uncomfortable in while reading, due to the gap between the reading sessions, I start from the beginning. This one unfortunately had many such breaks. Okay, lets get to the book.

The book is about 2 children, Siamese twins, to be precise. Rahel (a she) and Estha (a he) are the characters, who are absolutely adorable in every way, especially their childhood. Arundhati Roy is indeed the GOD of small things. The attention to detail is mind boggling. Not like green door, yellow wall kinda stuff, but in a beautiful way. These are things I like in a book: How succinctly an emotion is presented? The language used, I like it when it defines its own language and keeps it that way through out the book. The book by all means has its own language, quite remarkably different from anything I have read and to say that I have fallen in love with it is an huge understatement. The screenplay is different, in the sense that, in a semi-random way, the story moves back and forth in time. The story telling, which in my view, includes the language, the depiction of emotions, depiction of scenes and the screen play, easily gets it a 6/5.

The story takes place in Ayemenem, a village near Kottayam. Revolves around one incident that changes the lives of the 2 children. The book has its moments, plain embarrassing at places, some would call it gross but I wouldn't. The story as a whole is tragic and to shoot a small surprise it would easily qualify under 'humorous' genre. There are places where its very touching, vicarious emotions (I almost teared up in few places, if not for the masculine shell) and more so frequently funny. Funny as in a wide grin and not as in ROTFL.

The book describes in detail the characters in a way that's very realistic and conceivable. Kochu Maria, Baby Kochamma, Velutha, Ammu, Pillai to name a few. The book touches every aspect of Kerela, from communism to climate to the accented language.

It got the booker prize in 1997, reason behind which becomes obvious at 1/4th of the book. When I reached the end, its a mix of the disappointment of the book being completely read, the nostalgia I felt, the satisfaction of being able to feel and empathize with the characters and their emotions.

If you like this book like I do, then we should make really good friends.

Verdict:

"If you read, not to get to the end of the book, but to cherish the reading, you will most probably love it. Arundhati Roy is the real God of small things. If you get to read this book and love it, you will become a Deity".