December approaches and Guitar Prasanna is already in Chennai. Usually he comes over with an agenda. Last time he played in the IIT Saarang and what a pleasure it was to listen to his performance. I did missed writing about his show last last year and this year if he performs again in IIT Saarang, I will be missing it.

This Take Two feature in Hindu, alongwith another guitar artist Pandit Bhatt, announces his arrival. This time he has a special news for his fans. Two of his albums are releasing in span of two months. Raa Rama, a carnatic album is releasing by December 2005. Electric Ganesha Land, a tribute to Jimi Hendrix is releasing by Jan 2006.

I am hoping these albums would be as classy as his previous albums. And yeah, I am expecting to listen to them as before. If you miss to read the Hindu feature, he is in Chennai to record for an 'untitled' film of Shankar. Are you guessing it is Rajini's Sivaji ? Me too.

P.S - Don't miss listening to the samples especially the number Snake in Electric Ganesha Land. Was surprised to hear Aadu Paambe tune in the end of it. Super Cool.

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It's a biggest shame on the newspaper which people from Chennai, like to read. Its not shame on the man who wrote it. It's shame on Hindu to publish it without validating it's writer's abilities.

The review of the hollywood movie Alexander appeared on The Hindu dt Friday, Feb 11, 2005. This was written by Gautaman Bhaskaran. The ending note aka last passage of the review reads this -

Stone has always made stories about men for whom ordinary life is impossible by accident or by choice. As a storyteller he has long made a habit out of extreme personalities, a preoccupation that during the 1990s was matched by one of the most playfully expressive styles in American mainstream pictures.

Read this movie review written by Manohla Dargis for The New York Times dated November 24, 2004. Try to locate the passage given above. It's there. In Verbatim. I'm planning to send this note to The Hindu and I hope they invalidate this review. We have seen plagiarism of movie reviews between blogs or even just plagiarism in the Mainstream Media during the recent times. Though it's little late find, I think this is a question on the newspaper's credibility.

This was intially exposed by Nina and here is the URL to that post. She has also written about other plagiarisms of the same author. Brilliant find, Nina. Ofcourse, I caught this via Desi Pundit.

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You and me
We used to be together
Everyday together always
I really feel
That I'm losing my best friend
I can't believe
This could be the end
It looks as though you're letting go
And if it's real
Well I don't want to know

No Doubt I like her. Just that I don't speak much.

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Not much to talk about the film. Didn't generally like it except for parts. With a Quentin Torrentino like start, I grabbed a bag of chips by my side but by the time it completed, I let out a deep breath. The focus of the story keeps changing and if you didn't know who Stephen Chow was, you would be scratching your head to spot the protagonist. First it seemed like the yuppy hair-cutter. Then it was those 3 sudden heroes in the village. Finally, it seemed like the landloards before the real hero emerges. Oh !! yeah it's fun but then it can turn into irritation as the movie proceeds. BTW, I knew who Stephen Chow was, atleast 2 years back.

Kung Fu Hustle is stylish and has an attitude but hasn't coherently been brought together. With a story like this Stephen Chow's expected humor isn't sparkling. Blame it on the not-so-interesting situations and expected twists at the end. I prefer watching Shaolin Soccer again !!

If you enjoy Stephen Chow's Kaathulla Poo stunts, you've got to enjoy Rajinikanth and Vijay doing their idiosyncratic dishum dishum. Both are derived from the theory magical realism. In fact, the Kung Fu fighters forgetting the force of gravity is a nerve tickling comedy-time than Vijay's Sivakasi stunt.

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Sujatha in the preface of Eppothum Penn says that much of what he wrote about women in this book was by reading Simone De Beauvoir's The Second Sex. De Beauvoir's famous book deals in depth about the women from biology to history and civics of women. Not only it holds you spellbound but also it's insights are straight from a woman herself. De Beauvoir details with sheer skill as to how a woman isn't born but she is made.

If you fit the analogy of a woman as described by De Beauvoir into a tamil girl, what happens ? Sujatha's Eppothum Penn. This marvelously written book not only provide depths into the species called woman but also makes you live through the life of a woman as you read through it. Eppothum Penn was written as series for a women's monthly Mangayar Malar. And Sujatha accepts that there are continuity issues when writing a montly series. Still, the crux of the story remains intact and the pace is kept till the final full stop.

Eppothum Penn is one of Sujatha's finest novels. While there are other sensitive issues which Sujatha has dealt in his novels, Eppothum Penn represents the top of the them. The Woman. And whats so special about being a woman ? Nothing. Just about Nothing. But if you follow the life of Chinnu from the time she gets formed in her mother's womb, you would agree with Sujatha as to why a woman is a little bit of magic. EP has one of the devastating continuity issues unlike many other Sujatha's novels. The growth of Chinnu from being a kid to a thavani clad girl is pretty fast paced. And if you are the one to finish the book in a single breath, this is one book that needs such a treatment.

From a unbelivably voyeuristic start to the absolute ending this book will make you sit up and re-think all your notions about a woman. And even if you are those cold-hearted types, you just couldn't resist the single drop of tear rolling down as Sujatha enables us through the mind of a woman. All this and more without hype and any unnecessary comparisons of a woman to the embodiment of shakti. Sujatha Rocks !!

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[Click Images for a bigger version]

I know that a dude named Zombie who has been a long term commenter here is upset that most of what he spots on this blog, these days, are crap. Zombie, Thanks for the note and truly understand what you are saying. Will try avoiding such stuff. Still, couldn't resist posting this.

Thanks to Anti who forwardded this snap of Kamal and Jyothika in New York. This is the second Kamal NY Sighting in the past few days. The first one is here. Looks like the Vettayadu Villayadu crew is having fun around. Spot the third VIP in the picture.

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I am not an electronics nut. Still the plan for tonight is this. Myself and a bunch of self-proclaimed geeks are haunting the COMPUSA, opening at 11:59 pm. Have decided to buy a couple of 'essential' electronics including an 160 GB external hardrive at $49.99. Thats a kill for that money.

Also, planning to wait in the Seattle cold from 4:30 am for the opening of Best Buy at 5:00 am tomorrow morning. Haven't yet decided what to buy because there is always something to buy. XBOX 360 ? Not sure but I'm raking my brains and thinking if $399 is worth it. If it was PS3, I would have readily bought it. But then, the ads of XBOX 360 is just scintillating. Looks like it will be a quite an experience.

There is also a wireless broadband router at sale. Sony 5 megapizel with 10x zoom on sale. DV-Rs, CD-RWs, DVDs, Camcorders, MP3 Players are all on sale for this Black Friday 2005. For a male, even if you window shop, electronics is dope. And BTW, who said I am not an electronics nut ?

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Vijay on Paalabhisehgam in an interview to Kumudam. Heck !! What a standard answer this has become in kollywood.

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[Pic - India Glitz]

Lady beside Suhasini - Atho oruthar vellai vaeti kattikittu irukaarulla, avaru kitta thaan Kushboo madam sorry ketaanga. Neengalum poi kelunga, periya manasu panni manichiduvaaru.

Suhasini thinking - Mudiyaathu...kandippa mudhiyaathu.

Me loudly - Right of speech ki jai !! Official sorry listener ki jai !!

P.S And you know all this is a buruda.

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Ganesh a music enthusiast and a singer himself writes about his friend Jay Krishnan who composes music and also give us a sneak peek into Jay's works. I just can't believe that the Panithirai song, rendered by Radhika was recorded in a homse studio. One I'm amazed about the tech wizardry that crawls into your living room and two the huge talents Jay and Radhika. Do listen to the song Panithirai. Pretty Cool.

This superb tiny post of Chenthil, I apologize, sums up the Tamil Nadu affairs for you. Did I link to the post, I Apologize.

Karthik finds Sujatha's Shortstory themes to be repetitious. But he also drafts the reasons for Sujatha's popularity.

Suderman Kamath bangs again with this superb post, Maja and the politics of stardom!. I'm buying his arguments and think the issue people had with Sivakasi can't be explained better. Until someone comes up with an counter argument, Ellarum Majavaa Irunga !!

CCG is blogged-out and hence wants to log-out. I don't think he can.

There's another, yeah another Chennai Blogger Meet coming up. Kribs is doing the roll-call.

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Dilip D'Souza brings to light the latest MSM copycat [Via].

Dileep Premachandran wrote this column, From potential to performance, a note on Yuvraj Singh on Cric Info. A columnist from DNA had copied it and changed a few words, the next day. Its such a screwed up state of ignorance, when people look at their contemporaries for copying stuff. They for sure under estimate the reach of internet and blogs. While its good to write something nice for your paper, you should be wary that copying could cost your reputation.

P.S - Sorry to digress but remember the dude whom I thought was copying reviews from here has recently got into another 'innovative' way that proves he is certainly a full-time plagiarizer. Devuda Devuda Ezhumalai Devuda !!

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[click image]

Found this lying amidst dollar bills in a donation box at the Seattle Public Library. True ?

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Sigappilley Dragon Padamum
Sirithidum Buddhan Silayum
Vaitheney Therkku Moolayiley

Pala Pala Thadai Thaandi Vandhaai
Vaasthuvai Ellam Poiye Endraai
Kodiya Saathaaney Ennai
Thooki Sella Vaaaaaaah !!

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[Pic - Srikanth]

Srikanth Meenakshi sent me an email with an URL pointer to his tamil blogpost. The post started and proceeded with lots of suspense. Srikanth, in the blogpost, writes that he never knew that meeting Kamal would possible include one day of travel back and forth, five hours in blazing cold and eating burrito's for dinner. Finally they met him, the KamalHassan on Kollywood who was shooting Vettayadu Villayadu in the east coast.

Should email Gautam Menon (?!) to find if there are any plans of shooting in the Seattle Downtown. After all, burrito's for dinner isn't my dinner schedule.

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The latest meme in blogosphere, is among the techies. I'm sure they are the last people to jump into such childish memes but this one isn't child's play. So what is the GYM Diet meme ? Can you keep yourself from blogging about the GYM trio. GYM ? Yep !! Google , Yahoo and Microsoft. If you can, you are GYM free. I know it doesn't apply this blog as only Google gets featured often.

BTW, the GYM Diet is a brainchild of OM Malik and a bunch if bloggers are already into this. Are you GYM Free ?

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Google Base, which was in the midst of rumors last month is finally out, much as expected. First off, they(I mean Google) don't seem to publicise it as a Craigslist killer.

Though the features of Google Base are just as close to being a Craigslist, Google wants to re-name their wanted forums as searchable place for content owners. And I do think they have features beyond the scope of what Craigslist does. So if you go by their definition of Google Base, you might be a little confused but by the time you start exploring it, you would know what it is.

It certainly is a wonderful service with lots of unknown areas where it would be helpful. And its services like this that would make Google's customer loyalty stronger. Don't be surprised that the Google Base home page sports a note on Chicken Tikka Masala. Thats probably because its has an Indian product manager for Google Base.

On the other hand, Google Analytics was released a couple of days back. Its now being used on this blog and I'm yet to see some tangible output from Analytics.

P.S - This might make a few angry, but then, the sivakasi post is now posted on Google Base. Vijay goes to Google !!

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The time of the year, when Hemanth and me are in same building, we walk out for a evening coffee and eventually endup in the Star of Bucks. As we keep rambling, commenting and yapping on the subject which bridges me and him, the cinema, Hemanth said that he was planning to bring back Teakada. But this time with Puthiya !! Niram, Suvai & Thidam.

Teakada was originally a weblog Hemanth had started back in 2003 that would aggregate news on kollywood and cinema. The naming of teakada is got from our roadside nair kada where people of various walks of life walk-in for a single chaaya. As they dip the butter biscuit in that single strong tea, they keep rambling on the latest happenings in the city. This is where new dimensions to common news usually takes birth. Even if not for new dimensions, news that you have missed which is readworthy are often discussed.

While Hemanth was writing essentially on everyday kollywood he also started to include news and some superb commentaries on news, politics and anything concerned with Chennai. Not just that, Teakada was also aggregating blogposts from the Chennai based bloggers. When it was on a all-time high, he put it to rest to concentrate on other things.

Now, Teakada 2.0 is back with more energy and a refreshing look. Its been two three weeks now since Teakada is brought back and the request from me is to go have a look at it and suggest changes if any.

Teakada also wants more speakers-ya-bloggers who can write on anything about Chennai / Tamil Nadu / Kollywood/ Politics/Music/Literature and so on. Just about anything. The spicier, the better. There are no rules except for the arduments and postings need to be logical. Leave a comment on Teakada or send a note to Hemanth at hemanth.kum[at]gmail and he should able to set you up soon. Already a fiery bunch including Ravages, Nilu, Tilotamma, Karthik and Boston Balaji are brewing tea there. Hop on if you are excited.

Over to Teakada 2.0.

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Karuvaraikkul Thaanaaga
Katrukonda Siru Aattam
Thottilukkul Sugamaaga
Thodarum Aattamae

Paruvam Pookkum Naeratthil
Kaadhal Seiya Poraattam
Kaadhal Vantha Pinnaalae
Bodhai Aattamae

Paerukkaaga Oru Aattam
Kaasukkaaga Pala Aattam
Ettu Kaalil Pogumbodhu
Ooru Podum Aattamae !!

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I write, as George Bernard Shaw said, for the same reason a cow gives milk: it is inside me, it is got to come out, and in a real sense I would die if I could not - Shashi Tharoor in The Hindu dt September 16, 2001.

One would think what an self-absorbed writer Shashi Tharoor would be with those lines comparing him to Bernard Shah or even thinking about him on the same lines as the bearded great. At least I was offended when I read this on the newspaper, back in 2001. What next ? I started to read his subsequent columns. Ever since, the only time I got a little bored was when Tharoor started delving into Mahabharata. I actually enjoyed reading his columns on a Sunday Hindu. It even led me to read his books Riot and The Great Indian Novel. By now, I'm absolutely sure that Shashi Tharoor is a gifted writer. Not only he writes lucidly but he also makes his point loud and clear. One could sense the sides he takes, even during the beginning of a column.

Bookless in Baghdad is Shashi Tharoor's latest book. Its a collection of essays primarily on literature and writers. And its arousing to read a writer's take on other writers. Not just that but also the political and social commentaries keep this book afresh. Though this book should have been clearly named anything other than Bookless in Baghdad, the book delivers all your would expect as a reader. Bookless in Baghdad is the name of a column which describes Tharoor's wandering in Baghdad. The title of the book is more of a sales pitch than a perfect title. So we can forgive the publishers for the want of more sales than an eternal title. Some of the selected columns have been written for Hindu. And this was the special book that I never disclosed but mentioned in a previous post.

The essay that moved me is the analogy of India in comparison to the epic Mahabharata. As mentioned earlier for someone like me who was bored by his lectures on Mahabharata, this was a cool take. Shashi Tharoor, to what I've read from his novels and columns, believes and makes you agree that the plurality of India is it's biggest strength. This is clearly reflected in this essay and makes one feel proud about the land he comes from. I am sure this is not cheap patriotism selling but a realistic analysis on India's strengths and of course it's weaknesses. If you are the type of dude who thinks India is loud and laughable, this is dedicated for your, departed soul.

In essays about books & writers, I just couldn't say how much I'm impressed with this man's prodigious talent. Even the first essay details books, childhood and his growing up with books. From Enid Blyton to Hardy Boys, Shashi Tharoor has grown up exactly the same way you, me or any middle-class Indian would grow. You would be instantly attached to this book just after this first essay. It certainly brought back my childhood memories and made me yearn for those read-like-crazy days. Thats probably one reason, I was feeling lost and rambling about not been able to read books as before.

Heck !! even if you are not a PG Wodehouse fan you would appreciate the heights of stardom PG enjoys in India. An essay centers around PG Wodehouse and his everlasting books. Not to mention the special interest of Shashi tharoor on PG Wodehouse. Shashi Tharoor seems to be a big fan of Salman Rusdhie and has been covering most of Rushdie's books and appearances whenever he gets leisure time. His essay on Salman's re-appearance after fatwa and the aftermath was just gossip to me. His tribute to RK Narayan was at its best. Even as a staunch hater(!!) of RKN, Tharoor writes about the loss of RKN and how the literary world would miss him. I didn't find myself at ease in this essay but I've to say its one's choice. Also I found Shashi Tharoor to make some fairly arguable arguments on the old man's writings.

Though I couldn't relate too much to the essay, or I should call it a boast, on St Stephen literary skills, I think it was one essay which Tharoor was wanting to get out for a long time. It was an attribute to his college and we can excuse that as a trade-off for his classy narration of Neruda's poems.

If you are an aspirin or aspiring writer/reader, start here for Shashi Tharoor. Not only you would chance on a guy so prodigious also you would harmonize that he possibly be one of the best writers from India, for a long time to come.

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The process of creating a successful potboiler lies in the art of creating an interesting storyline. While a successful film stops there, a super hit goes into unraveling the interesting story with lots of twists thereby doping the audience. Though how much ever Perarasu sounds completely crass and cliched when they display a title, Story Sceenplay Dialogue Lyrics Direction - Perarasu, has managed to create an acceptable masala that is certain to end up as a Super HIT.

Sivakasi is coming together of a divided family and this ain't new for kollywood for we have been witnessing this since Kudiyirundha Koil. As a change, the movie starts in the Ranganathan Street of T.Nagar and travels to the village for a climax. Offlate, the stories from villages come speeding towards a city, this story actually is a relief as the second half is set in a village. The speedy second half would actually cover-up for the comedy drag in the first half and when the people come out of theatres, they would certainly look at Sun TV cameras and repeat, "Sir, Padam Super". The winner is actually AM Ratnam. While a successful movie always reward nearly everyone, AM Ratnam manages to get a super hit from every alternate movie.

Exactly on the fifth minute, an iron door is cut with a gas burner and an image walks out. The camera pans in wide angle from the shoe to show the face. The camera wantedly shakes and a loud harmony of Oh !! Oh !! continues in the background. Few minutes later, the mechanic kid says, "Anney!! Oru anju thadava turn pannunganney", our hero actually turns five times with a ready-made music of vishk vishk vishk. Irrespective of your movie philosphies, you tend to enjoy just these supremely exaggerated shots and willing to watch this angry young man in action. By the time, our hero reaches for the kumkum plate and make a thilak on his forehead, you are sucked into an idiosyncratic world of Super Stars. With Vijay, An HEIR to the Super Star arrives.

Heroism in kollywood terms, comes easy to Vijay. He is graceful, cool and is on his best when the story requires him to display heroism. This is the third of Vijay's good movie in the last 3 years. After Thirumalai it was Gilli and now its Sivakasi. Vijay has nearly perfected the rajini pattern and infact I should say he says that loud in few scenes like when he is throwed onto the throne as in Rajini Muthu. Also when he pronounces, Unmaiya Sonnen while vishking his finger. With the boy-next-door looks and a typical dravidian face, Vijay will be celebrated like Rajini. Vijay who is 30 has an advantage of starting early. Vijay is here to stay provided if he doesn't get carried away in doing 'different' movies. I only wish those crappy dialgoues on 'how to be a girl' are most avoided.

Prakash Raj actually increased the value of the film. With his role similar to Gilli if not the same, he out performs most of others in the movie. As they say, only when you have a Nambiyaar, MGR can become a hero, Prakash Raj is a must have for such movies. Asin is the heroine. Asin is the heroine. Asin is the heroine. Nothing much about this girl who even laughs in malaylam. The comedy gang spear-headed by the 'hari-giri' Chittibabu does a neat job. Prakash Raj's sidekick, the guy with the beard is actually funny. And as many believe, the director just ensembled the hit characters of the recent commercial hits and brought them together in one movie. The songs and dances are certainly cool and reminding me of Dhill, Gilli, Dhool and Thirumalai.

If you are all out for the movie, you will enjoy, clap hands and whistle along with the crowd and I did miss watching this movie in Kamala among numerous Vijay fans. Have a mighty timepass !!

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Oh !! yeah. I just completed watching Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. Certainly this is not the first time. It was probably nth time but its been atleast 5 years ever since I watched it. When it was released, it was Superhit Muqabla that announced the arrival of HAHK to me. And all I saw was Salman trying to hit Madhuri's back with a catapult while chewing something very exaggeratedly. Cut. The guy in the audio store told me, "Sir, super paatu ellam. totally 14 songs sir.All top class". Cut. My philips recorder repeatedly plays HAHK casette which I bought for 20 bucks. I still have it. Madhuri and Salman in a black dress on yellow background, the costume they wear during the song, Dhiktana Dhiktana. Salman's leg raised upward and Madhuri to his left in a similar pose. Whoof !! What memory you should think. There are several movies, I couldn't forget. Hum Aapke Hain Kaun is one of the topper in that list. Ask my sister and she would nod YES, alongwith me.

Noone could possibly write a review on HAHK. It isn't a movie. It's a musical and has all the ideal items to be packed in a commercial movie. It never pretended to be a movie elevating the artistry of cinema. It was just an hyperbolic version of a North Indian family. I had an ideal mom, ideal dad, ideal uncle, just a little not-so-ideal aunty and idealistic etcetras. The movie was idealistic to India. Indian films for many years have been hypocritical and idealistic to a large extent. We don't like to have an incest uncle or a gol-maal daddy. Everyone are just as expected. Sooraj Bharjatya just ensembled those idealistic characters in one movie and presented it. We loved it. There was no villain except the stairs and the bad aunty. The stairs make Renuka Shahaney slip and she eventually dies. The aunty keeps jumping to sky in ego until our maama gives her/us a surprise slap. She is silenced after that like a bharathiya naari. Not just ideal human, even Krishna(our lord krishna) makes a cameo. Except for the magical ray from Krishna's idol to the dog tuffy, they ring the bells and play a devotional BGM when the dog runs to collect courier from Madhuri which serves as the twist for the climax. These miraculous event knocks off the word kaun from Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and plesantly completes the movie as Hum Aapke Hain !!

Well, if you are thinking, I'm subtly mocking at the movie, I am. But I love it. I am pretty sure of my liking. Some people don't like to accept they like Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. Its like reading Sidney Sheldon all along and concluding him to be a trashy writer within friends. Infact, I have no idea to write anything more about the movie. I have enough to boast of about my HAHK experiences than talking about what size of banian Salman was wearing in the song, Pehla Pehla Pyar Hi, when he was effortlessly lifting Madhuri from the billiards board.

Infact, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun wasn't released in parallel at Chennai. It came after 7 or 8 weeks and you know what, it saw more than 2 Diwalis in Chennai, meaning nearly 2 years. I was just completing my schooling and I went the first time to watch HAHK. All I know then about Surat Bharjaathiya was that he was the director. With violence occupying the bollywood scene at that season, HAHK was a breath of fresh air. It was like heaven to many. Pay 10 bucks, go inside watch a peaceful family. No big fights, no big aderanline pumping suspense, no gyrating manmatha raasa hips and ofcourse no big tearjerker story. Before I saw the movie the first time, I heard all the 14 songs, more than atleast 100 times, saw enough clips on TV and so I was expecting a treat. I got it. Though I felt, which bloody family has a swimming pool and a fountain inside the house, SPB and Madhuri took me by a storm. I couldn't resist watching it again and again. In the 2+ years it ran, me and my friends used to go for a movie theatre to watch a new flick. Luckily we had some cousin's friend or some landlord's brother-in-law's sister working in every theatre. So we got tickets we wanted. If not, NO PROBLEM. We came back to watch Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. I think it was more than 10 times in 2 years that I watched the movie just in theatre. Its more than 10 times, I'm positive because we counted. On my thoughts, I've seen Thalapathi more than 14-15 times in theatre. The last time, me and my friend couldn't sit through Thalapathi. We knew every single shot, every single syllable uttered, every camera movement and the Mani Ratnam flick had nothing more to offer us. So we came out even before the intermission and handed over the tickets to two rag-picker boys and sent them inside the theatre for free. I saw Roja 8 times, Bombay 6-7 times, Alai Payuthey 6 times, Thiruda Thiruda 10 times[10 weeks; 10 times] and Gentleman 12 times. Why all that, I even saw Evanaairundhaa Enakenna 3 days in a row, in the same Sangam theatre and worse, same seat. I ain't bragging. I'm positive. I was such a movie freak. Even before friends, I went to movies with noone. I went alone even during my 8th grade. 5 rupees in my pocket and I'm waiting first in the queue from 9:30 am in Shakthi Abirami to watch Anjali. Next day, same 5 rupees, Kizhakku Vaasal. Anjali again the very next day. Thanks to my mom who shed 5 bucks a day and cursed herself for unable to make me stop watching films. Neverthless, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun was something that I could never forget.

Sitting for a matinee inside a hot chennai movie theatre, with atleast 500-600 people, it was only in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, I think I understood the essence of movie making. There are no technical lessons to learn. But I think I consciously started to loose myself for cinema with HAHK. It absorbed me. Transported me to the dreamy world. Threw me out of the teenage worries of school and college. And I owe Sooraj Bharjatya for that. The last few times, we started when Renuka was still rolling down from the stairs. If you always why do people start after the final song is over, they are the repeat audience and I was one with HAHK. HAHK was the talk of the day. Salman and Madhuri were teenage icons and if couldn't sound the perfect 'huh huh !!' to a girl, you are a loser. I never could. But after the 5th time, when every single line of the song lyrics was on my mind, I started watching the other actors in a scene. Lets say in a scene, Madhuri is getting dressed and is the focus of the shot, I would be watching the girl sitting next to her. Because I knew what Madhuri was doing and wanted to know what the rest of the cast was upto in this largely over-populated movie that was a succes in a over-populated country.

My friend used to say, nearly everyone in Delhi saw Hum Aapke Hain Kaun twice. And I think it could be true. Even today when comparing to DDLJ which was another commercial potpourri with the legendary Shahrukh and Kajol, I think the songs and the entire spirit of Hum Aapke Hain Kaun is simply unbeatable. A movie, a classic, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun is.

Selected Reading -

Official Website of Hum Aapke Hain Kaun

IMDB entry for HAHK

Memoirs on HAHK - Sooraj Bharjatya

HAHK Box Office - Did 2,341 shows in 847 days of its run at Mumbai's Liberty cinema. It ran 105 weeks in regular shows and 16 weeks in noon shows.

Hum Aapke Hain Kaun Soundtrack -
Maye Ni Maye - Lata Mangeshkar
Didi Tera Devar Deewana - Lata Mangeshkar, SP Balasubramaniam
Mausam Ka Jaadu - Lata Mangeshkar, SP Balasubramaniam
Chocolate Lime Juice - Lata Mangeshkar
Joote Dedo Paise Lelo - Lata Mangeshkar, SP Balasubramaniam
Pehla Pehla Pyar - SP Balasubramaniam
Dhiktana - 1 - SP Balasubramaniam
Mujhse Juda Hokar - Lata Mangeshkar, SP Balasubramaniam
Samdhi Samdhan - Lata Mangeshkar, Kumar Sanu
Hum Aapke Hain Koun - Lata Mangeshkar, SP Balasubramaniam
Wah Wah Ramji - Lata Mangeshkar, SP Balasubramania
Lo Chali Main - Lata Mangeshkar

Cast (in credits order) -
Madhuri Dixit as Nisha Choudhury
Salman Khan as Prem
Mohnish Bahl as Rajesh
Renuka Shahane as Pooja Choudhury
Anupam Kher as Prof. Siddharth Choudhury
Reema Lagoo as Mrs. Choudhury (as Rima)
Alok Nath as Kailashnath (as Aloknath)
Bindu as Aunt
Ajit Vachani as Aunt's Husband (as Ajit Vachhani)
Satish Shah as Doctor
Himani Shivpuri as Razia (Doc's wife)
Sahila Chaddha as Rita
Dilip Joshi as Bhola Prasad
Laxmikant Berde as Lalloo Prasad
Priya Arun as Chanda'
and
Tuffy as Tuffy (The Dog)

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Parineeta isn't what one would think it would be. Its worser than what you could imagine. Not only it reminds of many period flicks you have seen before but also makes you feel a copycatwill unleash itself without others needing to point out. Parineeta fails to evoke any emotions with the adapted version of the Bengali novel by Sarat Chandra.

Parineeta has loosely tied characters, a chewing-gum screenplay, fantastic BGMs, superb songs and of course real classy cinematography. It's probably the cinematography and the art direction that makes people think it's 'classy'. Except both camera and theart, it sucks. Just production values and picture postcard shots cannot elevate a film if it fails to invoke any emotion at all. Just because there is an element of love triangle, Parineeta doesn't become a Saajan. Infact it doesn't even come close to Minsara Kanavu or KB's Duet(which was a copycat stuff of Saajan).

The suspense starts right from the beginning when the audience start to figure out what kind of relationship the 'married woman' a.ka. Parineeta has on the just-to-be-married Saif. We are confused if parineeta hugs our hero with just lust as the motive or is there an ulterior intention for that. As the suspense unleashes, it's starts to feel like Sense and Sensibility and reminds us of Kandukondain Kandukondain. The only difference is that the savior Sanjay Dutt is stinking rich whereas Mamooty of KK was just a limping war veteran. While the story takes an interesting turn, if you were to watch it till the end, nothing much happens. It all ends up in a loud 'n' lousy climax thats crowns the entire movie, its actual worth. The oldie Rekha is still a vamp and that song clearly was sounding like Hello Mr.Ethirkatchi of Iruvar.

The biggest crib is on the backdrop of the movie. The city Calcutta has got nothing to with this female Parineeta except that the original novel had Calcutta as the city. Just because you can shoot a wide angle focus and blurred shot on the hooghly bridge and just because you show random shots from Calcutta, the movie in no way is concerned with Calcutta's people. Its just a way of extrapolating a simple girl love story to the city for which there is no relationship. Once you do that, at the end one can give a voiceover, As Parineeta gets married, the city of Calcutta was in a joyous mood. What nonsense !! Now that the director just made the backdrop of the story as 1960's and Calcutta, what else could he do. Get all DVDs of 1960s and Calcutta relatedflicks and flick the shots. From Hey Ram to Devdas to even our Iruvar, there are tributes to many movies.

Even if you are as objective as possible, Parineeta is a pretentious film and let the Chopras try and make more Munnabhais than these stuff.

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As the year, nears an end, its time for Indibloggies. Indibloggies 2005 is just getting ready. Their new site, Indibloggies.org has a pretty design. Debashish as Indi Blogger is doing a great job in organising the whole effort. This could be talk of the Indian Blogosphere for the next few weeks, so take a sneak peek.

Manoj of StudentConcepts is arranging for an Himalayan Trek, Heat 2006, to beat the heat of next summer. The email brochure he sent out gives the schedule for this 10 Days / 9 Nights trek will start from Delhi. Seems like a pretty planned one. Check out Student Concepts for more.

Seattle Tamil Sangam is hosting the first ever Carrom Tournament in Seattle area and it happens right next to my house. Its been hosted by the youth board and the president is good friend of mine. Worthy news is that they are arranging some good masala vadais, samosas and ofcourse tea. If you are around, do come along. NO MLM desis allowed !!

Just in case, you missed the first staging of the uproarious Python Hyss...teria by EVAM, its time you get a chance to hurt your bellies. This weekend, they are staging it again, in Chennai. If you are around, you might not want to miss it. Read The Hindu review.

With the rain receding in Chennai, Chennaites are getting ready for the musical rain. Usually it's December but this time, the early bird is The Hindu sponsored November Fest. From U Srinivas to Shuvha Mudgal, there are a bunch of 'not-to-miss' musicians performing this month. Check the schedule as I take a deep breath.

From now you would see too many crib postings here as I miss the Chennai Marghazhi Kutcheri. Get Ready !!

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After the tripods attacking mother earth, Steven Spielberg is all set with his next offering for Christmas. This time it's an historical thriller based on dramatization of a real story. I only wish Mani Ratnam could bounce back as fast as Spielberg, after a movie.

Munich, starring 'Troy' fame Eric Bana, is named after the 1972 Olympics at Munich, which forms the crux of the story. As the Munich site explains, it is a gripping suspense thriller set in the aftermath of the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The whole movie production and the news about the movie were kept under covers , until the official trailer was released, few days back.

Don't miss to watch the trailer. The trailer sets high expectations for the movie especially John William's background score stands out. Can't actually wait to see the movie. For now all eyes and ears set to Dec 23rd.

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Ashwini's column in Silicon India on CEO blogging opens up a whole new perspective on why CEO and top executives should blog. She drives her point through two top executives in the valley. Anand Chandrasekharan, a friend of mine, co-founder of Aeroprise and more importantly a guest blogger to this blog, talks about his experiences on blog evangelism and its impact in markets. Rajesh Setty, well known for his book Life Beyond Code, also throws light.

From Ashwini's column, Logged out, Blogged in -

While blogs have caught the frenzy of many CEO’s and top executives, it has also entered the world of news. Traditional Web columns and e-newsletters have moved to a blog type columns allowing instant comments and feedback. When you blog, people read. But what happens when you get blogged. Aeroprise, a mobile workflow management company found itself in a middle of heavy Web traffic!

On another note, Anand's Aeroprise also made it to SiliconIndia Top 100[PDF]. Anand, Three cheers for the next stuff.

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I would love to stay with my current hoster, Total Choice Hosting. Two things that make me look for alternatives. One, they adviced the blog is growing and needs to setup a re-seller account worth $20/ mo. Two, No Fantastico option here. Hence, looking out for a domain hoster. Any suggestions ?

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[Click picture for a bigger image]

Found this Ad on Sulkeha given by a dude. Though seems like a perfect business deal at the first sight, I donno what to say. Isn't this the heights of chauvinism ?

And they are talking about equal rights for a girl and free education for 'single girls' back in India. Indian Education ki Jay !! NRIs ki jay !!

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Gita Hariharan is moved by Priyadarshini's bharathanatyam performance on Silappadikaram. Hence she writes about this Illangovaidgal epic. Silappadikaram is one of the five epics of tamil(name the other 4 ?) and is clearly a poetic masterpiece, considering the story, the characterization, the magical charm of tamil usuage(thera manna seppuva thudaiyen) and ofcourse the genius of Illangovadigal.

Though the column starts a rehash of the the epic, goes on the compare the practicality of the epic to derive storyline from the commoners and how it clearly stands out as a true epic just like Ramayana and Mahabharatha. This is a superbly written column, that reminds of how Kannagi was made into merely a goddess of chastity by the hypocrites. Mr. Illango would be upset now for his protagonist Kannagi is now used a weapon to wage political wars.

From the column, Another Epic, Another India -

The route of the Silappadikaram does not take us to the usual epic battlefield where power struggles are played out. It considers, instead, some other important businesses of life — not only trade and commerce, but also the practice of music and dance. A good life, a civilized life, is not just a matter of honour. It is also a matter of putting together several less exalted ingredients — from prosperous trade and good sewage in the city to excellence in the arts and harmony among different religious communities.

In contrast, Kannagi uses her just cause to strip herself, not of her clothes, but of something more radical — a part of her body that signifies nurturing womanhood. It is possible then to read Kannagi’s story as a striking down of a “patriarchal-ruled” city; it also reminds us of how a complex story can be reduced, in official memory, to a convenient label — the goddess of chastity.

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[Pic - Via Maverick]

My city is under the attack of water for the second time. Though for chennaites its a happy news, the rain seems to have hampered the day-to-day lives of the city and it's certainly a cause of concern. For a city, full of cheer, to comeback from the rain is going to be a mammoth task.

Not to ramble again, but I do miss the chennai rain while sipping a saravanabhavan kaapi. Wish I was a vairamuthu to be able to send an ode to Chennai starting, Yeh Mazhaiye !!

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Free education for girls who are `single child' is probably the stupidest law, I've come across offlate. How can the department of education be so damn crazy. Having passed out of a CBSE myself, I've to say most schools loot a parent but this is like a tuglak law. Link via Tilotamma.

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[Image]

Wishing the Jeeves of Indian Cinema an incredible birthday.

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Both Rajas, Bharathiraja and Illayaraja at their height of performance. One Raja setting the village scene for what seems like to be finest piece of storytelling effort while other Raja enriching the whole experience with the soul-searching flute. All this along with a wonderful cast that includes one of India's all-time greatest actors, Sivaji Ganesan. I don't know who steals the show and thats one reason why this film, watched nearly after a decade, blew me away. Despite shot with a shoe string budget which limits the story to a small village and a knee-deep pond, Muthal Mariyathai re-enforces storytelling capabilities and proves beyond doubt that storyline is a true hero.

A middle aged man falling in love with a girl who is younger than his daughter can't be told more refined than this. The perfect setting of a village cast and an exotic romantic interlude of Ranjani form the rest of the film. Even when one would fail to notice the actual point in story when Malaichaami falls in love with Kuyilu, its Bharathiraja's deft storytelling skills that makes you buy the middle aged man's romance. Of course, the story gets a little twisted to still be politically correct that Malaichaami never shared bed with his original wife. I couldn't overlook this defect yet I can understand the 'thaaimaargal' reason why Bharathiraja had to introduce this in the movie. I would have celebrated this as finest piece of cinema if only it was that way. But we know the limitations of film making in Tamil Nadu.

Bharathiraja paying a fine tribute to the university of acting, Sivaji, with the characterization Malaichaami gets him to under-play his role. One could not easily spot Sivaji's best films for there are much more than what our memories can hold. Be it Uttama Puthiran or Bhaagapirivinai or Bale Paandiya or Kappalotiya Thamizhan, it tough to talk about Sivaji in less than 5 minutes. His role in Muthal Mariyaadhai is defintely a gem in the long list of best sivaji films. Raadha as Kuyilu and Vadivukarasi as Ponnatha share the accolades alongwith Sivaji. Without them in respective roles, I can't imagine Muthal Mariyaadhai to be as perfect as now.

This is by far the one of best BGMs in Tamil film history. I ain't exaggerating here. Just one shot, if you notice, you know why I'm so happy about Illayaraja's BGM. The scene as the villagers start searching for Ranjani as she is killed by drowning in water. That flute just pierces you. Small pieces of BGM like these are all over the movie and I have to saw that this is Illayaraja's finest. His second best is for Naadodi Thendral, again for Bharathiraja. If it is Muthal Mariyaadhai for Illayaraja it's Swades for Rahman. These movies clearly show that the musician is excited about the project as there is always a special care in the BGM of every single shot. Malayasia Vasudevan and Illayaraja also kalaasifying the songs. Every song better than one another and it reaches the peak in andha nilaava thaan song where Illayaraja utters in husky voice, adi podi pulla, ellam duppu !!

Now that I've refreshed myself with Muthal Mariyathai, the next time when my mallu friends yap about mallu movies, I would hand them a recording of Muthal Mariyadhai and walk out. Rest understood.

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கிழக்கு உலகத்தை அந்நாளில், இந்த
மேற்கு உலகங்கள் ஆண்டனவே - இன்று
கிழக்கும் மேற்காக மாறியதே, நோ ப்ராப்ளம் !!
ஓர் விதைக்குள் எம்மை வைத்தாலும்
மிக விரைவில் வெளியேறி வருவோமே - புது
விஸ்வருபங்கள்் கொள்வோமே, நோ ப்ராப்ளம் !!

[ ya ]

Kizhakhu Ulagaththai Annaalil, Indha
Maerkku UlagangaL Aandanavey - Indru
Kizhakkum Maerkaaga Maariyathey, No Problem !!
Oar VithaikkuL Emmai Vaiththaalum
Miga Viraivil Vaeliyaeri Varuvoomey - Puthu
Vishwaroopangal Kolvomey, No Problem !!

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Someone named The Comic Project left a comment in this post and following the link to his project I was instantly surprised. Though what he does edges on piracy, being an avid comic fan then, now and forever, I was happy to recollect those comic days. With a comics on one hand, a kuchi ice from Dasaprakash on the other and the 'military' bag on my shoulders, I was lost in a different world, while reading/walking home from school.

The Comic Project scans every single page of many Indrajal Comics and publishes one story a post. So you could find Phantom, Mandrake or Bahadur uncovering a crime or spotting a criminal. If you are comic freak, you are sure to have fun.

The philosophy of The Comic Project reads this -

The objective of this project is not to pirate or steal. I grew up on these comics: Phantom, Mandrake, Bahadur: and reading them was so much fun. Yes!! Indrajal Comics!!! Although you will see a few non-indrajal titles, this blog is committed to bring you original Indrajal scans. DEDICATED TO A generation of children growing up on Harry Potter, Cartoon Network and television in general.

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[Image - News.com]

CNet writes that Google is hiring like 1999. Yeah, we all remember those days. Other than the tech magazines, I was watching the newspapers filled with full page ads from Rediff and Sify. The news of even etoys.com making it big in the NASDAQ, CISCO at its all time high, one .com startup getting $20 m venture capital everyday. We thought it the online world is packed with roses and suddenly, we met the slump at our doorsteps.

Google from 'those' days has been steadily increasing its dominance and steadily progressing towards organizing the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.

From the CNet column, Google hiring like it's 1999 -

Still, it would be difficult to argue that Google is hiring irresponsibly like an old dot-com, considering its sales are keeping pace with that work force growth. Google's third-quarter revenue nearly doubled from a year ago to $1.58 billion, with a net income of $381.2 million.
Google "is so incredibly democratic. It's like an electromagnet for talent," Arnold said. "I think it's the new Bell Labs...If I were 35, I'd be begging them to hire me."

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The annoying pop-ups in the recent days was due to the statscounter @ webstats4u. From the day, it was plugged here back in 2002, it has clocked 7,21,624 visits until today.

Those days[I'm talking like an oldie here], webstats4u was the only stat counter around just like the yaacs commenting system. Surprisingly Kiruba still hasn't switched from Yaacs to Blogger's commenting system. With hardly a bunch of bloggers in Feb 2002, who knew each other well, if one subscribed to a service, the other followed him/her and thats how I subscribed to the nedstatbasic's stats counter which was recently re-named as webstats4u.

Though the hosters are providing with awstats, this webstats was providing a lot of information, I would like to see from time to time. I'm sorry to see it de-commissioned but then the pop-ups are annoying any time.

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[Image - Hindu]

Hindu writes on Tamil magazine's deepavali special issues. While the mention nearly all the good ones like Amuthasurabhi, Manjari and Kalai Magal, they missed out on Ananda Vikatan's special issue. AV's special issue is supposed to be a highlight of deepavali, those days and after 35 years, they are back again for the last 3 years. Is this what you call Selective Amnesia ?

Anyway, my copy of AV's deepavali special issue is currently in British Airways flight and I'm waiting to get my hands on it.

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The great Indian censor board's ban on 'smoking-on-screen' doesn't fit documentaries, I assume. Else, this docu interview, The Inner and Outer World of Shahrukh Khan, would have never even made it to a preview theatre. Shahrukh, the man who is perpetually restless, also perpetually smokes in ever damn shot of the interview. And heck, even me who is completely against banning smoking-on-screen, for once thought Shahrukh's smoking is infectious not only for him but also for others. He smokes during a hair cut, in-between a shot, while lying flat on his bed and even while walking from the backstage, during a public show. While he talks too much about being an orphan after his father and mom's sudden demise, I'm only thinking Shahrukh should defintely stop smoking atleast for his family.

Anyway, the two DVD disc contains two different faces of shahrukh. One, the inner world of Shahrukh, the man he is in shooting sets, with his family, as a dad and as a loving husband. The outer world of Shahrukh displays the face he is in movies, to his fans and during a public show. Two manifestations of the same human. He pushes a teenager in a public show to dream about naked women. While, he is teaches his son to pray, ' Bismillah.....' on a diwali day. That's Sharukh for you.

The inner world of Shahrukh was essentially made during 2004 when he was shooting Main Hoon Naa and moving lips for the hindi version of The Incredibles[Hum Hai Laajawaab]. So as Shahrukh talks to the interviewer inbetween the shots, he makes perfect sense. Not an inch of stardom imagination, he has. He is clear that the world wouldn't stop if he stops to act. He doesn't carry the hype about himself along and hence he is able to converse from the heart.

The outer world of Shahrukh DVD, follows him through his concerts in the USA. It shows how people love him and how he wanders from one city to another alongwith a huge crew comprising of Rani Mukherjee, the vivacious Preity Zinda and Saif Ali Khan.

Shahrukh Khan was once my fave actor for his versatality but during the last few years, he walks into any movie and just acts smart. As he turns more of an icon than an actor, I think he becoming another Rajinikanth. That apart, he is still seems to be a common man like you, me and everyone else.

The takeaway for me from this 2 hour interesting documentary is this - "I have completely lost track of time. I don't know where I am, which city I would move tomorrow and where I sleep. All the hotels and rooms look the same to me and tomorrow morning, I would forget which hotel I stayed. I always feel I am late by 2 or 3 days. Even if I were to die, I think I would be two three days late. For me, there is no timetable. There is no past or future. If something has to happen it will happen then. Until then, the world will wait for me".

What a curse, the stardom is !!

P.S - What a co-incidence, just read somewhere that today is Shahrukh's birthday. Happy Birthday Dude !!

P.P.S - I am sure Shahrukh doesn't read this column but with a pinch of co-incidence again, he is planning to quit smoking. Via KV in the comments.

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Yet another deepavali-less year passes by. Have fun this dhoni deepavali.

P.S - Called home to wish and the only sound I heard was the cracker 'music'.

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