These Changed Times

I lost interest in the US Presidency after George Bush won(?) the presidency in 2001. POTUS (President of the United States) has the opportunity to be one of the most inspiring offices in the world. The President can inspire people just by being there, being seen and heard by the public at large, including the world. What a great communicator Clinton was! I loved listening to his speeches, whatever their length. And then the baton was passed on to Bush! Oh my dear Lord! He spoke like he was was having a bad dream. In gruffs, grunts and squeaks. It ruined my interest in US politics. I never bothered about what was happening till around 2006 when I chanced upon THE best TV series that I have ever seen in my life, "The West Wing". And that changed things.

Jed Bartlet and then Matt Santos (the fictional presidents from TV series) were great communicators, leaders. The team Bartlet had assembled took pride in working for him. That was the devotion that Bartlet brought forth. Sounds familiar? Of course it does!

These are changed times. President Obama! Oh sweet Lord! There is a delightful rhythm in saying that out loud!

This blog is going to witness hectic activity from now on. Thats for sure.

Dasavatharam - The Review

I have always been a Kamal fan but a silent one. My explicit approval is and will always be reserved for the one and only Superstar. I have however admired Kamal’s movies and like millions have been amazed by his brilliance in film after film. It is then with much anticipation that I watched Dasavatharam. Contrary to all the negative reviews, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

First things first. If you walk into the theatre expecting a tight “story”, then you will surely be disappointed. There is no strong story as such. But this movie is not about the story and was never was. This is about showcasing the skills of a man who is so much in love with cinema that his enthusiasm drips from every frame of the movie.

Some Tid-Bits:

1. The plot, even though pretty thin, has been crafted very cleverly. I am amazed at the intelligence of Kamal. Hats off to him!
2. Balram Naidu Rocks!
3. Vincent Poovarahan’s portrayal seems so true that it is very difficult to believe that it actually was Kamal essaying the role.
4. The “moment” of the movie undoubtedly belongs to Krishnaveni Kamal who in one of the sequences blinks her/his eyes twice in a puzzled manner when somebody tells her something which she/he has absolutely not understood. That one sequence is worth the price of the ticket of the movie.
5. Asin is her cute self. Her voice as usual being the strong point. Though she does tend to get a little irritating towards the end with her repeated “Perumal Perumal” dialogue.
6. The first 15 minutes of the movie is just out of this world. The sequence where Nambi Kamal is at the mercy of Napoleon and uttering “Om Nama Shivaya” would save his life and with his family members insisting nay pleading that he say it and when the entire gathering is waiting to find out what he is going to say, he finally starts off with a lengthy “Om” to only be followed by “Namo Narayana” is just fantastic. I was riddled with goose bumps all over. The effect was that electric!
7. Bush Kamal and Fletcher Kamal were letdowns. Fletcher Kamal could have done with better dialogues and dialogue delivery.
8. It was unfortunate that Mukunda Mukunda song was not played out fully.
9. Dialogues were sharp and funny at most places. Though I get the feeling that Crazy Mohan would have done a much better job.
10. The audience was so into the movie that nobody even bothered clapping or whistling when the different “Kamals” started appearing.
11. Kalifullah Kamal’s introduction was good but he never seemed to do anything but just keep shuffling here and there.
12. Mallika Sherawat does what was expected of her.
13. Once again Kamal gets himself entangled in the language conundrum. There are some lengthy sequences where the “masses” may get completely lost.
14. The way love blooms in Asin is again a masterstroke. It is again the intelligence of Kamal that astounds me here.
15. The dialogues at the very end of the movie was sparkling with humor. Sample this:

Asin (holding Kamal’s hand and pleading): Please don’t tell that God does not exist.

Kamal: I never said that. I just said that it would be good if God actually existed.

Amazing!

All in all, a very entertaining movie from Kamal. And yes, take a bow Kamalhassan.

Random Ramblings

Yes, this post is being "posted" :) after a long while. Yes, I was hibernating. Yes, I was lazy to post. I hope to break this routine through active posting again.

Here are some random thoughts rambling in my mind over the last couple of months:

1. Superstar rocks! I have seen Sivaji 5 times in the theatres and I am still in awe of the movie. The freshness has not faded at all.
2. I got sick and tired of a couple of things and then got sick and anyway finally bought TATA SKY for home.
3. I have had a horrible time over the last couple of weeks over a lot of different things with no end in sight :(.
4. I have started learning Spanish and I love it :). Nice place, very nice people and oh yes beautiful language!

I hope to come up with more meaningful posts in the future. Too much thinking I have done for the last couple of weeks. All of that is going to flow out. Beware! :)

The Blog is alive! Long live the blog!

Its an interesting thing, this life. Just when you and me thought that the blog was over, here I am again.

Its an interesting life.

What could have kept yours truly from blogging?

What could have kept me away from blogging? Here are some probabilities:

1. This blogger could have been hit by a bus. (Actually no. Considering that he works for an Indian MNC whose buses are more often the terrorists than the terrorized.)
2. This blogger could have lost access to the Internet. (Actually no. This blogger's mobile is also connected to the Internet. Ha point made :) )
3. This blogger could have run out of things to say. (Actually no. This blogger can never run out of things to say. He may run away but never the other way round.)
4. This blogger could have gone to a remote corner in the world. (Actually No. This blogger has not crossed the limits of Chennai city in a long while)
5. This blogger could have have had a lot of work at home. (Actually no. Considering the biggest work that this blogger is expected to do at home is shut up and not be a pain.)

Actually, this blogger was just damn lazy to blog. But now he is temporarily out of the slumber and may write once in a while.

Keep checking this space. (Actually no. Go do some work :) )

Manoj

Dear Mobile Snatcher

Dear Mobile Snatcher,

Very sorry that your attempt to snatch my mobile yesterday failed. Even more sorry that I couldnt identify your cowardly and cheap face.

Just an FYI for you: You tried to snatch my mobile at around 10:00 in the night in my very own "home road". You made me feel very vulnerable in my own homeground. You are the biggest as***le that I ever "missed" seeing.

And idiot, if at all you want to use a cellphone, go and buy your own. Dont f****g dare snatching anybody's again.

No Regards for you,
Manoj

Aalwar

** / 5

The reaction of Ajith's fans in the cinema theatre said it all. Right throughout the first half they were whistling and shouting whenever their "Thalai" uttered a dialogue. The first half did show some promise of a good movie. Come second half and the reactions started changing drastically. "Dei intha padatha seekram mudi. Pokkiri podu!" (Finish this movie soon and screen Pokkiri). Thats what even I felt watching this movie!

I really do not want to go into the excruciating details of the so-called "story". Let me safely say that this movie has a "story" that can put even a 70's masala movie to shame. Cliched action, cliched dialogues and cliched songs make this movie the first "cliched movie" of 2007.

Even if one wants to make the 18646473th revenge movie, one could have brought freshness into the screenplay atleast through dialogues, scene picturisations etc. This movie sadly fails in all the departments.

And for God's sake if the next director has the line "Naan yaaru theriyuma?" in an Ajith movie I will sue him for public nuisance! How the hell many times are we supposed to see the same crap? I am sick and tired of it.

You know that things are not going well for you when your own ardent fans scream "Now stop this and lets quickly see your sister getting raped, mother being shot and you taking revenge on all of them". Pathetic!

Verdict: Avoid! Avoid! Avoid!

Tidbits:

1. Asin looks really cute in the movie. She wears knee-length skirts most of the scenes and looks a million bucks!
2. Ajith has put on the right amount of weight and he looks really good! The screenplay just looks the opposite!
3. There is one song in the movie called "Solli tharava..." which i thoroughly enjoyed!
4. There is another song in the movie called "Mayile Mayile" which I officially annonce as the worst music directed song in the history of Tamil cinema.