Varutham Aayiram

Well, the title says it all. Still, I know you have too much time at your disposal and would be happy to spend it on some rehashed crap rather than something worthwhile (which is almost non-existent). And don't worry, i won't list all the thousand worries here. And I guarantee you that this will be a lot less terrible experience than the film itself. Read on.

Surya, I hope, developed some brains while he is sculpting his bod. Well he is hot, though. All you girls out there have more than one reason to smile. Six, to be precise. He manages to look terrific throughout the film and at times, manages to act well too. Especially, that scene in Hotel Samco in the song “Ava enna thedi vantha anjala…” But, and that is a big BUT, he miraculously manages to do a scene à la Vijay in Police uniform in the great Pokkiri. Yeh, that’s when Surya is in that uniform of a Major with that Ray-Ban. Man!!! What a sight!!! And there is one more hilarious scene towards the end when Surya bares his bod. Well, NO!!! Not for any fight and all, you dumbos! How can you expect a so-piss-ticated creator like Mr. Gautam Vasudev Menon (GVM) to have a mindless scene like what they have in local Simbu/Dhanush films? It is just that Surya bares his packs, oh yeh six of them, when is packing for a mission. And God! You must see his moustache then… ROTFL. Me think, developing six packs sucks your brains out just like what happened with poor old Vishal in Satyam!

While VA is definitely much easier on your stomach than Jillunu Oru Kaadhal, it still is a dud. That said, VA had the makings of what-could-have-been-a-wonderful experience, but Mr. GVM managed to botch it all up in his inimitable style.

“Dear Sir, please tell me why you had to have that sequence in Delhi so long and at the end of it, Surya supposedly realizes what his calling is. Well not enlightening though! In fact, I lost whatever little light I had till then. I can understand if you were kind of clueless in Vettaiyadu Vilaiyaadu, probably because of that dumb Daniel Balaji who just cant get what a psycho is (Me think, all nutrients from his brains probably had been drained into his locks) and that other dimwit for whom Your Highness yourself had to lend your so soulful voice. But, this, VA is supposedly a take from your own life, if the tabloids are to be believed.

All we know is Surya loves his Dad and we know not why, but just that he mourns all through the film “Daddy, you did this…. Daddy you did that for me… Daddy I love you... Daddy!!!”. Well, Asin’s “Aiyoo… En perumala kudungo” probably was much bearable I guess (well no gender bias here!). And what is that with narrative, Dear Sir. Yeh, when we heard it Kaakka Kaakka, we did like it. But, don’t have to have that in all your films.

I would rather have relished some strong scenes between the father and the son, giving us a little glimpse over why the hell did Surya happen to love his father so much. Was it just because the “cool” dad proposed his love no holds barred and drove that lorry or that he gave his son a free ticket to pick up fight and bring girls home? Well, probably, I am just being too harsh here… Not many of us really remember what our parents really did for us. Yeh, I am guilty as charged. But I would still say, for all that 'ode to father' as you call this film of yours, the daddy was very much absent. And mere filling up screen is not what I meant.

And that big big treason to male audience. You haven’t been kind to Man here. You have had about one and a half bombs as your heroines. And what a criminal waste you have made out of them! God wouldn’t forgive you for this! (Remember the big G is Mr./He!) Well, I don’t mean a raw exhibitionism here as I very well know your taste is so so above the carnal sensitivity of us, mere mortals. FYI, even the God-like Mani has a sensual song in almost all his films, save Kannathil Muthamittal. While all the girls were dehydrating over Surya, we guys had to visit the restroom quite often to relieve ourselves, after all that Pepsi that Maayajal gave us after fleecing some 220 bucks for a @#$@$%@ experience. Sameera wasn’t great, IMHO, in most of the scenes. Of course, there was one frame in Nenjukkul peithidum song, where she walks in like a breeze, befitting her name, in a dark green sari. Absolute stunner. But the next frame, someone drains all the color and light out of the screen and all looks pale. Btw, Divya SPANdana said you had asked her to expand herself to fit in her role. You could very well have had Shakila chechi for that role. At least then, God's own country would have had a reason to be proud of its son and we, tams, too would have joined our mallu brothers in hailing you! Why all this hate towards us, poor guys? Appdi ungalukku enna paavam pannom naanga? And just the last one question, why the hell did Simran had to spout that Andaal Paasuram so 'beautifully' with probably a punju accent at the climax? Btw, by having this title, did u mean that it takes the strength of thousand elephants to bear all this?

All that said, a BIG THANKS to you dear sir, for COVERING YOUR FACE when you appear that fight towards the end and say "Jai Hind" and also for NOT HAVING LENT YOUR VOICE TO ANY OF THE CHARACTERS!

Tailpiece:

Sorry folks for such a long post. Of course, i know you would realize when one has so much of grief, thousand worries to be precise, one can't help but cry one's heart out. Kind of Catharsis u know... and thanks for listening! And if any of you have the same pheelings, i am ready to hear you out.

Sathya(m) Sothanai!

This was supposed to be a post on deeper philosophical musings about The Joker, Into the wild, and life at large. But sloth does take its toll! However, watching Satyam (starring Vishal and Nayan) fills me with so much of hopelessness and hate (even after that steamy song of Nayan!) that I better let it out.

They say the best form of flattery is imitation. Here, Vishal has tried hard to flatter far too many people that I lost count almost within first half hour of the film. You feel a heavy, sustained sense of déjà vu all through the film. Home alone, Indian, Kaakka Kaakka, Saamy, Casino Royale (Yeh!! The chase at Airport!), ummhhh… and loads of tam and golti films. Heard Satyam is running to empty halls. How about a contest to identify as many films as possible that have “inspired” Satyam? And at the climax, Vishal shouts “Ithu thaanda Police!” Believe me, am not kidding!

After a point, which you get to too soon, you feel a sense of the calmness of a monk inside. You realise that nothing can be worse and in fact, start enjoying this comedy of (t)errors. Vishal takes himself so seriously that you cannot but help feeling loads of pity for that poor guy. But, of course, ovvovoru manushanukkum oru breaking point irukku! I found so much of inner peace that I watched this film in just three instalments. Great, right? After this, even Gautam Menon appears God! Vishal could have spent at least some of the time that he spent working out on his six-pack for thinking through this story, if you dare call it that.

Mothathula, Vishal-a on-screen mottai adichuttaanga, off-screen mukkaadu pottutaanga! Enna panrathu, aalu valarntha alavu arivu valarala pola!

A Spicy, Mallu note:

Now, to add a bit of spice to this insipid post, just a reco. Well, this might not be as spicy as you might have wished for seeing the title. If you are a non-veggie, the next time you go to Kumarakom, order Kozhi Varutharaichathu (KV) and kerala parottta. KV is so rich in flavor, with oodles of coconut oil and pepper, that it just bowls you over. Forget those loads of calories you need to burn, just relish the moment. Carpe diem fellas!

Killing Joke

Finally after almost the whole world had seen The Dark Knight, I saw it at Satyam yesterday. With much of cyberspace filled with more DK stuff-than-you-could-possibly-read, nothing I am going to say here is new. That said, this is more of my exultation on seeing my all time fav comic book hero, the Batman, being returned to Where He Belongs – Darkness! Kudos to Chris Nolan, Batman finally found his soul! The previous attempts at bringing Batman to cinema by Tim Burton etc had merely made a mockery of the Caped Crusader.

To me, the appeal of Batman lies in the basic, simple fact: choice vs chance. Unlike other superheroes, who become what they are by some highly improbable freaky accident, Batman is what he is because of his choice. He has the brains of Sherlock Holmes (IMHO the DK is the only superhero with brains ;) ), the toys of James Bond, the mask from Zorro and the moves of Rambo. All that: by choice. He is human, yet rises above through sheer efforts, which is what really excites. Thanks to Frank Miller (the creator of Sin City), Batman grew from a freaky boy to a menacing mask.

My love affair with the Dark Knight began in my schooldays with the திகில் comics. If ever there was a passion in my life at that point in my life, it was comics. Even among the typical comic book heroes, I preferred to read heroes with different shades of characters. In fact, apart of from Batman, my next fav was the Prince team (Bernard Prince, Barney Jordan and little Djinn) that runs a small cargo boat called Cormoran (கழுகு in tamil comics).

Of all the Batman comics I read, the one I could never forget was titled “சிரிக்கும் மரணம்” (“Laughing Death”), which had the origins of The Joker. Many of the pages of that book were filled with frames with no dialogue bubbles. In fact, the last page, there would be no single utterance. All that you find is a series of images of rain splashing on the ground and slowly the lights of the Batmobile withdrawing. There were so many silent images, atypical of comics books, that spoke so much. I never got the Batman I wanted till Batman Begins. Never before Batman was a Real Man. In fact, in Batman and Robin, Clooney was more clowny. There is much more depth, philosophically/ psychologically, to Batman, which Nolan had portrayed beautifully.

Unlike the previous Batman films which were more like a circus with people wearing all weirdly colors possible and glistening unearthly buildings, the DK is set in the streets of Chicago, making it much more real now. It is more like a classic action film where a intelligent hero fights a maniac who wants nothing except chaos. That… is the beauty of The Joker. He is much more of an enigma than the DK himself. “You… complete me.” It is hard to deal with someone who wants nothing. At least nothing that you could possible think of.

Just as a ritual: Heath Ledger steals the show with his electrifying performance as The Joker, the arch nemesis of the Dark Knight. (I know this is the zillionth sentence in cyberspace saying this.) I just have not got enough of the movie yet. Yeh dil maange more!

Few one liners from the movie that I loved:

“Why so Serious?” ;)

“This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.”

“If you're good at something, never do it for free.”

“See, I'm not a monster...I'm just ahead of the curve.” (To Harvey Dent at the hospital)

“Insanity is like gravity, all it needs is a little... push!"

After the movie, was zipping through Chennai which was Gotham to me then. Too bad, my Discover is no BatPod!

P.S:
After posting, I came to know that my favorite Batman comic that I mentioned in the post seems to be translation of Killing Joke that is among the most popular stories in Batman franchise. Apparently, The Killing Joke was used as reference by Heath Ledger and Chris Nolan for The Dark Knight.

டப்பாவதாரம்

OC-car producer is watching Sivaji on thiruttu vcd. On the TV screen, like a +2 tutorial teacher (Neengal +2 thervil failaa? Kavalai vendaam, engalidam vaarungal!!), Rajni explains how a black economy works and the evils of it. And a little later, he demos his ingenious plans to wash the black money white. This gets our producer to start thinking.

“Kai la karuppu panam vera jaasthiyaagiduchu… hmm enna pannalaam… Sivaji rangeku periya plan ellaam pottaa velaikaavathu… Odaatha padam eduthaa? Aaanaa... Anthaala vechu eduthaa epdi irunthaalum odidum… Vijay vechu eduthaa kooda rasigar mandrathula vasool panni ottiduvaanunga… enna pannarathu…” He calls his PA “Antha kolaignaniya konjam koopdu… vela iruku”.

O: Vaappaa… eppdi irukka. Unna vechu oru padam edukkalaam nu paakkuren.

K: Mikka magilchi. Aanaa budget Sivajiya vida perusa irukkanum. Appa thaan naan othukkuven.

O: Athellaam approm paakkalam. Un sambalam evlo sollu.

K: XXXX

O: Yeiii… ennappaa nee… nithaanathula thaan irukkiyaa… enna Avar rangeku kekkura… Etho irukka konjam karuppa vellai aakkalaam nu paathaa… nee enna mothathukkum mukkaadu poda vechuruva pola irukkae…

K: Enna koduma sir ithu… vitha vithamaa naalu wig maatitu nadanthu varrathukkae avlo kaasu vaangaraaru… naan ennoda pechu, moochu, mmm aprom en jatti baniyan nu ellaathayum kalaikkunnae vechu vaalkaiya nadathittu varren… naan kekkarathula enna thappu…

O: Oora yemaathara mathiri enna yemaatha nenaikkaatha… free madi… irunthaalum nee kekkarathu romba athigam…

K: Sir, venumnaa naan 10 role la nadikkaren.. mathavangalukku kudukkara kaasu koraiyum la… oru role ku ivlo nu neengala oru amount pottu kudunga…

O: Hmmm… ennappa nee ippdi kodairiyae… ethukku theva illaama 10 role pannanum…

K: Sir, ithu sonnaa ungalukku puriyaathu… oru kalaignaa irunthu paarunga… Anthaalu summaa wig-a maattitu vanthu nadanthaale atha paakkarathukku neeyaa naanaa nu adichukkaraanunga muttaa pasanga… naan nadanthaa paakkarathukku oru naai illa… ippdi naalu balti adichaaa thaan super actor nu othukkuvaanga…

O: Appaa saami…. Aala vudu… sari 10 role pannra… eppdi vithiyaasam kaatuva… paathaa kandu pudichuda maattangalaa?

K: Athellaam enakku ithu maathiri sir…

O: Yeii… ennappaaa nee.. mariyatha illaama hair mathiri nu sollitta… un kalai avlo thaana?

K: Athu appdi illa, Sir. Different permutation, combination pottu hair-a mathuna pothum.. 10 enna 100 role pannuven… kudumi vechu oru vesham, mottai adichu onnu, mottai adichu mukkaadu pottu onnu, karuppu wig vechu onnu… white wig vechu onnu… btw neenga inum konjam periya budgetaa pottu English padam edukkaren nu sollunga… red, pink, gold, green nu wig maathi maathiyae pala role panniduven…

O: Illa illa, naan tamil padamae pannren… unna vechu tamil naattula otta mudiyuthaa nu paathuttu apromaa mathathellaam try pannalaam… aamaa white wig vechu thaan neraya pannitiyae…

K: Inga thaan periya twist. Intha thadava white wig vechu, coat suit pottu Bush rangela varra poren… appdiyae namma mallikava romance pannren… Iyer kudumi vechuttu apdi pannaa tensionaagiduvaanga makkal…

O: yaaru Autograph la varumae… antha ponnaa? Avala kooda vittu vekka maatiyaa nee?

K: Sir, illa sir. Naan sonnathu Mallika Sherawat.

O: Athu irukka rangeku athu vera overaa kekkumae… unna vida jaasthiya avalukku kudukkanumae

K: Appdinaa venaa ennoda 10 role la 8 role ku mattum pay pannunga… 2 role free… Antha ponnu full padathukku kooda venaam sir… chinna Bit role pottruvom…

O: Bit roleaa? Un kalai aarvatha nenachaa romba perumaiyaa irukku…

Mid way through the shooting…

O: Ennappa eppa thaan mudippa… ippa odittu irukkarathu ellaaam kadan vaangi potta kaasu… konjamaavathu padam odanum… illa naan gaali…

K: Enna Sir neenga… kavala padaatheenga.. ungalukku technique-ae puriya maattenguthu… 10 role pannrom nu solittom… satttu puttu nu wig-a maathi seekiram eduthu mudichuttom naa sandhegam varaathu? Athaan, varusha kanakkula kashtappattu eduthurukkom nu buildup kudukkanum la

O: Athukku nu evlo naal thaan buildup layae ottitu irukkarathu…

K: Mudichuduvom Sir…

O: ippa vera IPL season odittu irukku… atha nenachaale allu vuduthu… Atleast athu mudinja udanae release panniduvom… illa Kuselan vanthudum…

K: Athunaala enna…

O: Athu vanthuchunnaa aprom namma padam odrathu kashtam.. oothikuchunaa avlo thaan… Manithanai manithan nesi.. anbae sivam nu dialogue vittutu padam ellaam edutha… athellaam summaavaa? Ivlo kaasu potta enakkaaga konjam kooda kavala pada maattengara?

K: Hahahaahahhaahaha…. Pazhamozhi sonna anubavikkanum… aaraya koodaathu..

O: Hmm… en thalai ezhuthu… yaar yaar kitta ellam anubavikkanum nu irukku... btw athu ennayaa paattu... kaari thupparaanga... ivlo kaasu pottu eduthu yen nalla music director kitta kudukkala nu kekkaraanga...

K: Neenga kudukkara kaasu wig vaangarathulayum, climax-kaaga thanni vaangiyumae mudinju pochu... nalla music director kitta ponaa neraya kaasu keppaanungalae.. ippa kooda onnum illa... innum konjam kaasu kudunga... nalla musicaa pottruvom...

O: Oru padathukku ethana thadava kaasu vaanguveenga... Naan enna manushanaa.. illa machineaa...

K: Hahhaha... Comedy pannaatheenga Sir... en pada dialogue enaake solreengala... athula vera situation la varum athu...

O: Ingayum athu thaane nadakkuthu...

K: Aprom release date June 13, Friday vechuduvom..

O: Aiyooo…. Raasi illatha naal ache Sir…

K: Enakku theriyaathaa? Naan yerkanavae Black shirtkaaran nu oru image maintain panni vechrukken.. so atha maintain pannanum… neenga romba kavala padaaatheenga… padathukku perae perumal edutha avatharamaa vechurukkom.. pathaa koraikku, padathula vera perumaalayae naan thaan kaappaathurengaraengara mathiri scene vechurukkom… ellaam naan kumbudura perumal paathuppaar… neenga poi nimmathiyaa thoongunga…

O: Perumaalae.. perumaalae…

K: One sec Sir. Hello… Make up man, ayyaakku nethila perusaa 111 podu… illa illa en kitta kudu… naanae pottu viduren.. Ippdiyae sollittae ponga Sir… Padathukku nalla velambaram kedaikkum.

O: ……

P.S:

Ivar nalla padam nadikkiraar endraal atharkkaga sandhosappadubavargalil naanum oruvan. Athae samayam, ivar mokka padathil nadikkiraar endraal atharkkaga kaduppaabavargalilum naan oruvan. Engeyoo kettaa maathiri irukku la.. ;)

Ha.. ha.. Haasini!

Bommarillu – a beautiful dream.

A dream so beautiful that it is so hard to believe. A boy fed up of/choked by his dad’s overbearing love falls in love with a gal who lives for herself. Again it might be because I might have read too much into Ha Ha Haasini’s character and whatever she utters. For, I would love to think of her apparent asininity as something out of choice rather than by design. I would like to think of that as a choice to retain the child in her, which requires brains as well as lots of guts. Well, to put it shortly, not a dumb blonde. Half way into the movie, Sid asks Geni how come she believes things like “you’ll get horns if get your head butted on just one side”. She just says something like “Aren’t they beautiful?” Kaathaa?! ;)

Film buffs might trash this film as just another piece of totally mindless cinema. Well, I find even such lighter films equally interesting, though in a different way, as those of the serious “critically acclaimed” genre. It is the simple difference between carefully constructed logic and a simple dream. What was and what could have been. While ‘serious, real’ films deal with the complexities/nuances of human nature such as pre/extra marital affairs and violence, those like Bommarillu are about what could have been. It is about expression of oneself. That might seem too much for a light film like Bommarillu. That said, Bommarillu scores by keeping its narration simple, and its dialogues, crisp. Especially, the exchange between Sid and Prakashraj at the end is so beautiful because of its sheer simplicity. In sum, a dream that I would like watch over and over.

Santosh Subramaniam – Bommarillu botched up.

Raja and Ravi - Born to remake successful golti films that have Siddarth. And successfully make an unthinkably dumb imitation. The telugu tunes don’t fit well and songs sound so un-Tamil. Ravi can’t emote for nuts. His voice is also a sore point. Santhaanam’s comedy was kinda enjoyable. But somehow, I started finding Premji irritating right in his second film. Enna koduma sir ithu!

Aside
Dasavatharam audio cd release function was a foolishly big ego-fest. The speakers had no other job other than blow up egos of Kamal and Kalaingar. I just don't get why Jackie Chan and Amitabh were needed in the first place. Kamal's speech was totally unpalatable even for the few minutes that I watched. Kamal again proved he has a dumb side to himself by choosing the monkey-cap music director. Why the hell did he have to do that when he had all the time and money to get ARR or at least, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy? Just beats me. With the music already declared disappointing, I hope the film doesn’t turn out to be another unprofitable extravaganza like Aalavandhaan.

Anjaathe

It’s been long since I saw Anjaathe and decided to write about it. So I have forgotten a lot of what I initially had planned to write. Even after hearing raving reviews of the film, I wasn’t expecting too much from the movie and it turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable experience overall. It has been quite a while I really enjoyed watching a movie. Despite few glaringly stupid moments (like the one where a cop explains to his team that they have been fooled by the villains by leading the police away from them in a totally opposite direction by letting the police “track” them via their mobile signal), the movie had quite a few ORIGINAL scenes which were kind of totally unexpected. Well, at least not something that you would normally expect in a Tamil movie. While the story, admittedly, is not entirely different, the treatment is quite refreshingly new for a tam film. In particular, the scene where all you see on the screen is just the legs of the actors. Well, this movie does it really, unlike Billa, which according to many "has taken tam cinema to Hollywood level".

The film as a whole packs a lot of surprises in terms of scenes as well as the actors chosen for the different roles. Especially Prasanna’s performance was pleasantly surprising, his terrible wig notwithstanding. One look at that horrible wig, it dawns upon you this is a film is a damn low budget one! While all that he does almost throughout the first half of the film is to just stand, head hanging down and those odd strands of that eccentric wig falling all over his face, you see him slowly transform into a totally convincing villain in the later half. That too, without raising the decibel levels and without any punch dialogues. I wonder whether Naren really “acted”, because he was bumbling in a program on Sun Music, just as he was in the movie.

And it seems Mysskin has a penchant for yellow sari: Malavika was in yellow in Vaala meenukkum and the girl in Kathaazha kannaala also is decked up in the same color. The climax was a real thriller… cat-mouse game set in a sugarcane field. A lot lot better than the supposedly “the most thrilling cop flick of 2007” – Vettaiyadu Vilayadu, which was absolute crap. That said, the film could have done without the portion that extends for really longgg after Prasanna is killed. Again, unlike VV, which had possibly the worst ever BGM for a thriller, the background music of Anjaathe was a lot intelligent and interesting. The songs weren’t bad either; at least you feel that way once you see the movie.

Equally entertaining was the crowd at Mayajaal with lots of hilarious comments all through the movie. Here’s few that I remember: When Naren washes his hands on receiving a call while eating (as we typically see in a lot of movies) “Deii… yenda enthiruchu poi kai kaluva maatiyaa? Antha saapada vera yaaravathu saapduvaangalla..” And when Ponvannan tells Naren that they will go to his house and change clothes and then go… “Appavae sonnen shirt romba gabbadikuthu… thovaichu podu nu… paaru ippa ivanum athaae thaan solraan…” And finally, my dear roommate’s gem for the opening scene where the camera is almost on the ground focusing on the clouds above for a long time… “Windows XP!!!”

Billa – Nil-aa?

Yaarukkum theriyaatha mathiri copy adikkaravan buthisali. Aanaa, itha thaan copy adikkaraen nu sollittu copy adikkaravan thairiyasaali.

Unfortunately, with Billa, Vishnuvardhan proves himself to be neither of these. The hero of the film is Nirav Shah, the lensman, and to an extent, Anuvardhan, the costume designer and wife of the director. Except for few "inspired" pieces of BGM, Yuvan was more of a disappointment compared to his scores for other supposedly "normal run-of-the-mill" films.

If at all Filmfare comes up with an award for “the worst looking female artiste”, I am pretty much sure that would go to Namitha. Though Nayan, on the other hand, looks hot showing ample cleavage in real skimpy outfits, has a real tough time walking around with her high heels that are really really high. Especially, in the particular scene where she walks on the Polis car to save Billa, when she has so much space to walk on the side. Attitude kaattraangalaamaa… Enna koduma sir ithu! One of my dear friends told me that she must have fallen off the car at least 11 times while shooting that scene.

If at all you shift+del the scenes where Thala does nothing except to stand or walk, the film would be over in not more than 10 mins. Well, that might be a too optimistic estimate. Thala could have given some respect to his audience and put in some efforts to talk properly, leave alone acting, instead of putting on some more weight.

Notwithstanding the glaring loopholes in the original (more on that later), the original remake (sounds like an oxymoron huh!) was better I think. Ajith can’t walk, leave alone dance, can’t talk – I mean like you would expect a stylish Don would do. Now to the loophole I was talking about: I just fail to understand how you can just turn a babbling idiot into a Don over a few months of “training”. How can he just like that acquire “the survival instincts” which the Don would have acquired over several years? I should say Farhan Akhtar kind of plugged that yawning hole in his remake, twisting the “original” Don to keep the Don alive. The Don kills Vijay, who was supposed to impersonate him, and then goes on to act as Vijay masquerading as Don. Now, that’s what I call a real TWIST!

And with such films, you expect to see some attitude on the main characters in terms of the dialogue content as well as delivery. But, Billa fails pathetically and falls flat on that count. In fact, at times Ajith makes even a passable “punch” line a totally hilarious one. Just before intermission, he supposedly remembers everything about himself and says “I’m back.” It sounded like “Naan bekku.”

Yaarukkum theriyaathunnu nenachuttu copy adikkarathu kevalam. Aanaa, itha thaan copy adikkaren nu oorukkae sollittu, appuramum olungaa copy adikkalanaa athu atha vida kevalam.

Billa – romba dullaa…

Chak De

Yesterday would be easily one of the most interesting days in my life. Well, I got the first free service (Engine oil billable to customer) for my new Avenger. Right after that, loads of “designer droppings” for free, thanks to all the birds in that corner tree in the Satyam parking lot. Of course, you guessed it right: these certainly are not among the interesting things that happened yesterday. Chak De India was there among the things that raised my happiness quotient, though not exactly at the top of the list. ;)

Bollywood seems to be carrying out interesting experiments these days. Not many “movie buffs/purists” would agree. While we had the sixty-four, still sexy Big B romancing the lustrous Tabu in Cheeni Kum not so long ago, here we have the King Khan himself coming out with Chak De, surrounded by 16 girls. And God!! Those gals with SRK are not in bikinis, but in some drab blue hockey gear.

However, some time into the movie, you feel you are going through an emotional saga of the triumph of collective human spirit (to be specific the spirit of Indian women). Almost all the gals he has for company, except for the gorgeous Preeti Sabharwal (anyway my vote goes to the dusky Vidhya Kapoor – more on her later), are the ones who you wouldn’t have a second look at. Delightful performances by the whole girl team easily endear them to you. Particularly, the tomboy, Komal Chautala from Haryana, whose dialogues I never understood. Yet, she was so adorable. And also the rich Preeti Sabharwal (who is in love with a star cricketer), Punjabi kudi Balbir Kaul and Sui Moi from Jharkand are also unforgettable. (Proof? I could remember so many names after watching the movie. Need any more?)

And then, the Captain of the Indian Women’s hockey team, the just-married Vidhya Sharma. I still have no clue what makes me fall for someone like Vidhya, who has a glimpse of sadness, strength, conviction, all together, in her eyes. Probably the same thing that makes me go weak at my knees whenever I see Rani Mukherji on the screen. Hmmm.

Shah Rukh’s histrionics and predictable story line notwithstanding, the movie packs a lot of pace, spiced up with patriotism and some inspiring dialogues. SRK’s idea of “serious acting” doesn’t seem to go very much beyond having a stubble. That said, his conviction in the role is apparent through out the film. Though he wouldn’t have charged any lesser for his appearance in this movie, that he chose to do a film knowing thoroughly well that he would be at the background with no songs, leave alone item numbers, and more than anything, no shapely heroines (note the use of multiples) in skimpy clothes to dance with is just amazing. Still, King Khan has a point to prove and he does it convincingly. Kudos to you, SRK!!!

Shriya Sinks Pfizer!!!

Source: "Shreya" Sathiyan