Lingaa

Lingaa is definitely not a Padayappa or a Muthu, so don't expect the same kick out of this Rajni-Ravikumar-Rahman combo. But luckily this is not a Baba too. So what is in store for you when the wild crowd settles down after the opening diamond "Super Star Rajni" title? Perhaps, even the director seems to have been unsure about it. Somewhere amidst a weak script, below par making, average music, and a perceptible lack of confidence in the old man Rajni, a grand plot is lost. Who says people are not ready to hoot and whistle when Rajni utters a punch dialogue? Sadly, KSR presumed so and ended up de-Rajnifying the script and disappointing the Rajni fans. Probably, it is part of an overall scheme of things to ensure smooth transition of the super star from his trademark movies to more normal movies, bereft of his firepower but loaded with drama and plots. But if it were so, at least the other core aspects of the craft should have been executed extraordinarily well to make us sail pleasantly through such a paradigm shift.

The script is the Accused No.1. There is not a single sequence that will make your pulse racing or make you go 'wow''. All you have is only missed opportunities and under-played scenes. The over-sized flashback makes you wonder, whether it was just a past episode presented to establish some strong plots or is it the actual story and the live episodes are just hanging there to support the past. Nothing wrong with an elephantine flashback as such, but the audience need to be prepared for that in some way. It may be done by cutting to the present in between the lengthy flashback or it may be by opening with the flashback and cutting back and forth as in Alaipayuthey or in any other way the textbooks may prescribe. But nobody seemed to have bothered about it. Also, there is something called a 'character' in a script. Though the movie acts like an old age home filled with all the 50+ veteran artists of Kollywood, ranging from the evergreen naattaamai Vijayakumar to Manobala to Nizhalgal Ravi to Radha Ravi to R.Sundarrajan to Ponvannan to Ilavarasu - not a single soul has anything new or just anything that will stay with you. My mind is still fresh with Annamalai Radha Ravi - that character had life. In Lingaa even the villain does not have a life. By the way who is the villain? Why is he a villain? The script has also failed amazingly in exploring the super star's potential. What good is a mass hero without a real, good villain like Mark Anthony or Nilambari.

Right before we entered the theatres we knew not to expect much from the music department. But in a corner of the heart, one expected the song visuals to somehow make up for the average numbers and cast a Rajni spell. It does not happen. The songs picturisation, just like the climax and the initial diamond heist, reflect a creativity drought. There is nothing entertaining about the songs. What should have been at least as energising as "Vetri nichayam..." or "Vetri kodikattu...", turns out to be a thorough dud though a mega dam gets constructed over the patriotic song sequence with loads and loads of side artists singing in chorus. There is no power or punch to it. The central song of the movie just fails to take you into the story. The same can be said about the dialogues too. But for a few sparks here and there, the director has forgotten the potential of the star he is working with. It just takes a few days to run through the scores of Rajni mails and messages to find some good punch lines. No one expects something like "Nann oru thadava sonna.." these days, but at least something as simple and cool like "Boss...motta boss!" would have been a treat. The theatre was charged, waiting for that opportunity to go berserk, but it never came. We came back.

Santhanam needs special mention for almost carrying the movie on his shoulders in the first half. Well done! So what is the super star doing in Lingaa? He has done full justice to what he has been told. But a time has come for Rajni to decide between the singa paadhai (lion route) and poo paadhai (flower route). But the star should decide it soon; and decide it now. It should not be a hesitant straddle in the no-man's land. Either he has to go full throttle in the Sivaji-pattern with grand sets, style, songs and stunts, or he should lend himself to the youngsters of Pizza and Aaranya Kaandam, but to perform a tight rope amidst the likes of KSR and P.Vasu anymore...well, we all understand. But, when you don't expect the same musical magic of Muthu or Sangamam from Rahman these days, it is plainly not fair to expect a Baasha from Rajni. Let's face it.

A dream. A dam. Betrayal. Redemption. Rajni double act. What a script it could have been!

(PS: In another eight hours, I am catching up with Lingaa for the second time.)

E=mc^2 ?

I watched Interstellar on the first day of its release. The audience showered a good applause at the end of the movie. I was not surprised by that as it is very common for the guys who manage to grab the first day tickets. But what surprised me was the fact that there was a similar round of applause even on the second day. Nolans are known for their technical brilliance in handling dizzying subjects. Be it Memento or Inception, their movies transport you to a different world or to an untouched zone within the human brain. Interstellar fits perfectly in the Nolans' mould. The movie is about space, time and gravity. Human emotions and qualities like love, betrayal, sacrifice, family bonds, hope, etc. are a part of this breathtaking journey across the galaxies. But more than the craft I was impressed by the apparent scientific acumen and astronomical levels of awareness our audience has. I hear the Indian Twitter and Facebook worlds are full of awe for this movie probably due to the same reason of heightened awareness about the stuff behind black holes, space travels, and the like.

While watching the movie I was reminded of our late Prof.Suresh Ramasamy, who taught us Modern Physics in our second year of grad. Modphy was one of the darkest and strongest giants in the den of tough courses, though the formulas in this course were pretty simple and less of Greek and Latin symbols and more of English when compared to most other Physics courses. Time dilation and length contraction are the famous twins of Modphy. Even now a bizarre feeling sets in if I think of time dilation. Simply put, one day in earth will be less than one day in space (Please mind, this variation has not got anything to do with the time taken by the earth to go around itself). Or say, if one of the twin brothers of the famous Appu-Raja duo, Appu is sent on a long, long space trip, when he comes backs to earth he will be younger than his twin brother Raja. Or if you sync two clocks before sending one of them to space, the clock in space will be moving slower than the earth clock. It moves slower because the time expands or lengthens in space. As the time expands in space, each second in space is of more duration than each earth second. So Appu ages slower than Raja and he is bound to get surprised when he gets back to earth to see Raja greying and balding like their father, while Appu himself is still fit for duets with those circus elephants and dogs. (But not to worry about length contraction here, Appu is anyway too short to contract further.)
                                                         

Albert Einstein confused the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences with all this and much more deadly stuff that they had no choice but to not hand out the Prize to him for these over-the-head theories. But how can you leave such a brain without the Prize? Luckily for the Committee, around the same time when he unfolded these surreal concepts of relativity (1905, when he was barely 26 years old), Einstein had done a lot of work even in the readily tangible domain of photoelectric effect; Thus, the Academy was spared of a popular backlash that we still associate with Gandhi not getting the Peace Prize in spite of repeated nominations, while Obama clasped it rather too quickly. Years and years have rolled since that game-changing day in the year 1905 - still many engineering and physics students end up with a D or E in Modphy.

In the mean time, the brilliant Stephen Hawking with his A Brief History Of Time has also chipped in to get us into that magical world of time travel, worm holes, etc. But still I find it difficult to come to terms with the reality (?) when you say Appu is going to be younger than Raja after his space travel. It was well past one hour beyond midnight that we stopped for cups of hot tea from the bicycle vendor at the tri-junction. There is a specific point in time-space when you can't really say you over-heard someone or heard someone, and this point of inflection between hearing and overhearing varies between the day and night - but we did actually hear two guys in black jerseys and goatees discussing Isaac Asimov and Interstellar. These two were a part of the audience that clapped at the end of the movie. I was not just surprised, but simple awed. Mera Bharat Mahan!

But talking about the movie itself, I would rather vouch for Robert Zemeckis' classy Contact (1997). Incidentally, Matthew David McConaughey  plays an important role in Contact too. And just like in Contact, even in Interstellar it is a father-girl combination of  explorers (give me a break please!) and it is the same super brain behind both these movies - Kip Thorne.

Loneliness

Kaththi - Knife

Farmers' suicides, malnutrition among kids, corporate greed, consumerism, hardships of emigration, rural-urban divide, old age homes, yellow journalism, corruption, unemployment, and communism. (Perhaps the movie might have grazed a few more issues too.) Intersperse this material with the nuts and bolts of a commercial movie template like friendship, romance, mother/sister sentiment, dumb heroine, foolish police, comedy, mindless songs and jarring dance numbers, 1:50 stunts, betrayal, sacrifice, villain wearing dark glasses, etc. You get Kaththi. Yet director A.R.Murugadoss has managed to add one more hit to his kitty, proving once again he is a neat hybrid of Shankar and K.S. Ravikumar. ARM has acquired the message-giving gene (a very strong one) from the former, and the emotional gene (also a dominant one) from KS. Kaththi, taking the lead from his earlier movie that was dedicated to the army men, is dedicated to the farming folks. The movie is about how the hero outwits a corporate giant from buying out a (dry) village that has a huge ground water potential, thereby saving hundreds of farmers and their farmlands. 

The script takes you into the movie right from the word go. But very soon it veers into the vapid territory where the heroine functions as a set prop to add glamour to the the oddly placed, loud songs. ARM's earlier creation Thuppakki (2012) too had the same problem of plentiful songs in the first half. But certain hooks and pinches embedded in the early stages ensure that you endure boredom and wait for that thing to be revealed. And when it is revealed in the form of a stage introduction made during an award function, it moves you. Full marks to Vijay for the flashback episode. He has performed. I cried. But here is where ARM falls short of joining the league of the big guys like Maniratnam or a perfectionist like Shankar. ARM does not bother to spend his time to tweak the dialogues as per the local slang, nor he cares for the finer details. The director's broad-brush approach also ends up in compelling the movie to touch base with the host of things like consumerism to old age homes. But here again, Vijay impresses with his performance during the media interaction scene and conveys every single thing the movie claims to stand for. (though shades of the statistician Capt.Vijayakanth can be felt when Vijay sincerely spits out various numbers on Tamil Nadu taken out from wiki)  Shatish has delivered a neat support to Vijay; not as loud as Santhanam nor as innocent as Sathyan. 

Some action blocks and the climax stunt heroism are noisy, yet they have the capacity to make you yawn. I enjoyed the sound tracks of Anirudh at home, but in the movie somewhere down the line the magic is lost. The tunes seem repetitive. Not much effort has gone into the background score; probably he was happy with that single, nice piece he got. The same tune comes again, again and again.(Theme music?) Refreshingly, Vijay does not have his usual intro songs like neeyum naanum brotheru, namakku edhukku botheru etc. Instead it is a neatly shot rap in Chennai airport. There was probably no great challenge to the cinematographer and he has fulfilled his mandate. But certain graphics remind us that, well, it is not real but only graphics. 

Yes, it is another watchable and to an extent enjoyable movie from ARM, filled with enough diverse material like Bengalis and African goondas and a Bollywood guy as the villain, fit for a pan-India release with Salman or Akshay very soon. ("Prisoner"?) The movie also has a solid central message that needs to be told. But how long can such format-oriented creations stay above the thin line that separates the blockbusters from mega flops?

Recent cinemas...

Tamil cinema is in safe hands. That is what I felt after seeing Sathuranga Vettai, made by the first-time director, H.Vinoth. One can say the ending is cliched and nobody wants to hear a "message" these days. But I don't think there is any other way to end the plot, within the tolerance limits of the audience. Natty has given an amazing performance as a glib-tongued fraudster, Gandhi Babu. It is surprising to know he is an ace cinematographer, who has movies like Black Friday and Parineeta to his credit. But the major plus of the movie is its detailing. The spark of the movie could have been anything from those unbelievably nice mails saying you have won an international lottery and you just need to deposit Rs.20,000 as processing fee to claim the amount, to the widely popular MLM schemes. But whatever it was, the director has taken his job seriously. Be it the enjoyable and intriguing snake fraud or the mega fraud of "rice pulling", the maker has sketched the game plan with a fine brush, till the last stroke. There is no glossing over or glaring gaps in logic. In fact, things have been presented so convincingly well that you get a feeling that if this guy Babu were to talk to you, even you might fall for the bait. The director also needs a special pat for the dialogues. As a whole, SV scores very high on creativity and execution. Looking forward to Vinoth's next show. 

But my feeling on Tamil cinema, probably, was not only due to this movie. Over the past few months, I had also seen movies like Yaamirukka Bayamey, Vaayai Moodi Pesavum, Mundasupatti and Jigarthanda. So, in a sense, the feeling was a culmination of all this. The last movie on the list, starring Siddharth in the lead role was impressive right from the word go. There is a lot of talk that the plot has been lifted from a Korean movie, though that does not take away the brilliance of the movie. And full marks to Siddharth, for agreeing to do this film in which he does not have much role. Hats off to his confidence. The movie is about a Madurai goon Sethu. Bobby Simha as Sethu hogs the limelight. Simha carries the movie on his shoulders with a natural gait and it is quite a delight  to watch him. Truly stellar. Full marks to the director for transforming this cute, chubby boy of Soodhu Kavvum into a middle-aged rustic goonda, who instills terror even through his silence. The background score and songs by Santhosh Narayanan take the movie to a higher plane. Karthik Subburaj has followed up his successful Pizza with a grand Jigarthanda,with a taut script loaded with unexpected turns. Way to go! 

Probably it has to do with their internships with Mani Ratnam, just like Siddharth, Karthi too has agreed to pay the second fiddle in the first half of Madras. Directed by Pa. Ranjith, Madras is about the how big, dark world of politics sucks guileless souls into it and yes, how finally the good overcomes the evil. Set in north Chennai, in the backdrop of football, friendship and love, the movie traces the rivalry between two groups over a prime publicity wall that symbolises power. Though slow-paced at times and living with a predictable end, the script shines in its visual narrations of the opening scenes, montages at the middle and twists around the interval. K.Harikrishnan as Anbu has grabbed the meaty role offered to him with both the hands. Karthi as Kaali takes over in the second half, though we see shades of Naan Mahaan Alla. There is a lot of blood and songs in the second half. At least one of the two could have been avoided. The love portion is enjoyable. and we have a fresh find in Catherine Tresa as Kalaiarasi. In this movie too, Santhosh Narayanan adds fresh life with his music. The movie stands out in its authenticity but irresistibly Pollathavan comes to your mind. Extra care for the Chennai slang would have made the flow smoother. Overall, Madras should be a welcome break for Karthi after a string of legends like Saguni, Alex Pandian, Biriyani, etc. It is a good relief to see this immensely talented actor find his rhythm and perform as an artist, rather than assuming the role of a mindless mass hero of the mid-80s. Hope to see this Paruthiveeran back - without the company of Azhaguraja.

Bicycle diaries

During one of those post-lunch walks I got a chance to bump into a bicycle showroom. The store boys were considerably active for that time of the day. They were selling Specialized brand of these.. er..manually-powered two-wheeled vehicles called as bicycles once upon a time in India, and being fashionably but deceptively addressed as bikes now. In whatever way we may wish to call these things, even now it is us, who have to pedal these machines to make them ambulate over the surface of the road. (Too technical?) In the showroom, if my memory serves me right this time, there was no single model of such vehicles that was priced below Rs.10,000, inclusive of all taxes and the two, pre-fitted tires. There was a rainbow of accessories ranging from chic tool kits to water bottles to fuzzy helmets to designer gloves. Generally, as we grow old, we tend to talk less of the future and more and more of the past. It is for the reasons ranging from the obvious ones like you are racing faster towards your end and your battery does not have much life left, to the more complex or misconceived reasons like you feel your longer existence on this planet has by itself bestowed certain level of authority and credibility to whatever you say, and people listen to you in awe. I was remembering the first time (as accessible from my memory) I rode a bicycle on my own - without my father or anyone holding it and running along with me. During those days there used to be bicycle repair shops. Those guys there made lots of money from punctured tyres (not tires) and seat cover replacements and new dynamos and bells and carriers. They also gained much from renting out assorted bicycles of varying colours and heights to little kids and teenage girls, who were eager to tame these interesting vehicles. Many years back, I too was one of those kids (obviously). It was a tiny 2 or 3-footer, and my Eureka! moment was when I came down a slope accidentally. The first bicycle selfie (riding a bicycle on one's own, without any parental guidance) brings immense joy, as it meant you are a part of that elite, independent, laterally mobile group that was empowered to roam freely. It also meant that you need not ride monkey-pedal anymore.

I am not sure how it is in these days of unisex saloons, but during my times the main frame (not to be mixed up with gigantic computers that need a lot of cooling) of the bicycles were distinct for the boys' and the girls' models. Probably it had something to do with the cultural setting, the girls' model did not have the top, horizontal tube of the triangular frame that ran across the seat and the handle bar. And even when there is no other option but to use a bicycle, the boys preferred walking to riding those girls' bicycles. It gave a feeling similar to, say, how a boy feels when forced to wear a salwar. I would rather walk down to the ration shop than going there on a girls' bicycle, even it meant coming home carrying a few kilos of sugar. Bicycles also provided enough training, that would prove to be very useful during the hostel life, in breaking locks. Though there was always enough enthusiasm and sometimes tough competition to have the best key chains for one's bicycle keys, invariably one lost the key at least once in his bicycle career. (It is always "his"). Then you go around searching for that sturdy brick or robust stone to usher in freedom to your bicycle. For hostel rooms locks, during the later part of your life, you always had access to a hammer or those expert students, who derived immense satisfaction from breaking open these orphaned locks. We had a black Hercules at home that was bought close to fifty years back from this day. Of course he was not very old then. During our teens that black man should have been in his mid-twenties. My father recalls, it came with the number (like the unique, chasis number of motor cars) HG 2013, for a price of Rs.208; the extra accessories were stand, seat cover, bell, carrier, chain guard and the dynamo set. The year was 1967.

My affair with my metallic red BSA-SLR (not to be confused with Self Loading Rifle) continued till I graduated to a geared moped during my higher secondary days. Though by then we had a BSA-Mach (with ten gears) at home, ours was essentially a bicyclers' club that included the big boys like Hercules/Atlas and the trendy, just introduced ones like Hercules-MTB (Mountain Terrain Bike?). Generally the morning rides to the school were frenetic to avoid getting late and ending up standing outside the school gates, but the return trips were like those lazy strolls in parks, filled with gossips and cricket plans. There were occasional races too and in the place where I grew up, the winds are fierce during the monsoons, and its direction mattered a lot during such races. Depending on what you were up to, rains added more fun or created more hassle during such bicycle rides.

Cycling also brought its share of joys like riding without holding the handle bar or having slow cycling races and memorable troubles like having a worn out valve tube or a conked out chain. In spite of funky gadgets like carbon fibre helmets and fluorescent jerseys, I think one can have such petty fun and sweet troubles even while riding a Specialized bike.

The Legends' Club

KB (K.Balachander) is known as Iyakunar Sigaram, roughly The Pinnacle of Direction, in Kollywood. Born in 1930, KB was actively into theatre, before he went on to direct his first feature film. He was 35 years old then. What started with Neerkumkizhi rolled on like an unstoppable juggernaut and he went past 100 creations in the year 2001. Poi (2006) was his last movie till date. KB, known for his proficient screenplay and characterisation and an eye for talent - his greatest finds, probably being Rajnikanth and A.R.Rahman, is associated with cinemas till date. He is running 84 now. I am his great fan. Without getting into the debate of Critical acclaim vs Commercial hit, I think KB's last good movie was Azhagan (1991). I remember seeing this movie of quadrangular love story 3-4 times in cinema halls. I was 11 years old then. KB was 61. KB went on to direct only seven movies after Azhagan. Most of these seven movies were mega flops, and had nothing to remind us of those golden days of Bama Vijayam, Avargal, Sindhu Bhairavi or Ek Duuje Ke Liye. 

Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima was released in 2006, the same year when KB's last feature film got released. At the 79th Academy Awards, Eastwood's war epic was nominated for three of the coveted categories - best direction, best picture and best original screenplay. Letters won the Golden Globe under the Best Foreign Language Film category. Eastwood was 76 years old then. And he was born in the same year in which KB was born - 1930. But Eastwood is not just a legend to be remembered; he is still a name to reckon with. The very same year when Tamil cinema's pinnacle had become a spent force, Eastwood had reached newer peaks. It did not end there, Eastwood gave us Changeling (IMDB: 7.8) and Gran Torino (8.2) - both in the year 2008. Though you may say, Eastwood is more remembered for his inimitable roles in The Dollars Trilogy than his directorial ventures and it is absurd to peg him with KB, the short point is - Eastwood has crossed 80 and still makes the audience look forward to his work and - delivers too. 

Bharathiraja is one of the path-breaking directors of Indian cinema. When it comes to a village plot, there is no one to match this master in screenplay and authenticity even today. He is credited with moving the cinema crew away from the childish village sets made inside Chennai studios to the actual village, bustling with life, stories and idiosyncrasies. If each cinema director is treated like a school, probably Bharathiraja will be the school with the maximum number of illustrious (direct/indirect) alumni with the likes of K.Bagyaraj, Parthiban, K.S.Ravi Kumar et al being a part of it. As a 36-year old, Bharathiraja launched his first creation 16 Vayathiniley - a movie that shattered the then existing shackles of cinema stereotypes. He followed up that work, released in 1977, with successive, radical, refreshing, memorable hits. I relished watching the ace director's Pudhiya Vaarpugal some years back. (Please click the link) In Muthal Mariyathai (1985) he brought out an entirely new dimension of unseen talent of the iconic actor Sivaji Ganesan. Incidentally, by then the thespian had completed 35 years of acting  and was already the undisputed God of acting in Tamil film industry. Cut to Hollywood. Born in the year 1942, Martin Scorsese is one year younger to Bharathiraja. But Scorsese made his directorial debut in 1967 - almost ten years earlier than Bharathiraja. Scorsese is 71 now, and his latest hits include The Wolf of Wall Street (2013, nominated for five Oscars including best picture and best director) and Hugo (2011, nominated for eleven Oscars). Two decades before The Wolf, around 1993/94, Bharathiraja peaked with Kizhakku Cheemayiley and Karuthamma. Broadly, sadly, beyond that it has been only days of gloom for his fans. Though there has been some flash here and there, the magic seems to have gone; unfortunately, almost forever. 

Steven Spielberg is not someone who has not crossed 60 years of age - the age of super-annuation in government of India. Just a few shades short of 70, Spielberg took the megaphone for Amblin (1968, short film), when he was only 22. Child prodigy? I don't think there is anyone else in Hollywood who could handle themes as diverse as sci-fi (E.T., Jurassic Park, Minority Report), adventure (Jaws, Indiana Jones), war (Saving Private Ryan), drama (The Terminal, Catch me if you can) and biopic (Schindler's List, Lincoln) with as equal ease as this talented filmmaker. I see Spielberg as the face of Hollywood in India. (I could have said this with much more conviction had it not been for the crazily creative guy called James Cameron). Among others, Spielberg has also inspired Mani Ratnam, whom I see as the face of Tamil cinema in Bollywood and one of the gems of Indian cinema known abroad. In Anjali (1990) this stylish, unassuming director had showcased his admiration for E.T. in one of the song sequences. Mani Ratnam, shot to national fame after Roja, is one among the firsts in the industry who really understood the medium of cinema - as being distinct from the stage plays or any other form that the crowd had experienced so far. It is not surprising that some of the acclaimed cinematographers like P.C.Sriram, Santosh Sivan and Rajiv Menon have worked with this director par excellence. Taking liberal help from the Western cinemas, Mani gave his audience a delectable dish that had the right blend of style and strength. He was alone in his own league without even a distant second. This gifted director was born a full ten years after Steven Spielberg. Mani made his debut in 1983, when he was 27 years old. Leaving out the biopic Guru (2007), arguably Mani's last real hit was the romantic drama, Alaipayuthey (2000) that had the same magic as his earlier best works. Unfortunately for us, Mani's latest two movies Kadal (2013) and Raavan (2010) miserably failed in their desperate attempts to take us back to those days of Nayagan (1987) or Roja (1992). 

After watching Kadal Mani's die-hard fans like me have elevated him to the category of legends like KB and Bharathiraja. Without such creative geniuses Tamil cinema would not have reached the place where it is now. These legends have given us enough to keep munching and cherishing lifelong, but you always keep wondering - why are the good days behind, so early?

You are a father when...

Those sleepless nights all your friends 

had foretold, had warned - have arrived

so soon, so suddenly.

You post a status photo saying 

my cute angel or lion prince 

my bundle of joy.

Lots of lost well wishers call

bevy of friends line-up with gifts

including baby-oil and cash.

You tactfully find reasons to escape 

the trauma  the mom-baby combo undergo 

during the initial weeks.

Sanitisers, cough syrup bottles, vitamin drops,

indigenous magic potions and lots of 

free advice embrace you.

You can stop feeling bad when

kid cricketers down the lane shout - 

uncle, go that way.

Near and dear ones keep asking 

whens the party? and you confidently

keep saying - very soon.

Among many other things you took

for granted, you truly realise what

it means by - privacy.

Travel, cinemas, CCD, dinners, friends' place, 

shopping, gym, farewells, in general outing,  

all get messy over-night.

You acknowledge the fleeting lives of

toys, baby clothing, glassware, and surely

the recently bought iphone.

Vaccination, immunisation, constipation, consultation, injection, indigestion,

and of course frustration, become additions

to your stagnant vocabulary.

You frequently encounter and you start

mechanically answering curious, innocuous items like - 

whats the birth weight?

Diapers, medicines, toys, specialist doctor fees,

school donation and summer camps make

your nights more sleepless.

Plenty of thumb-rules eagerly greet you

morning-born babies won't sleep at nights

dad-like girls bring luck.

Quickly you realise sleep deprivation was

not as bad as you thought 

but yes, you hallucinate.

You start justifying lethargy, missed calls,

laziness, indulgence, splurging and party proxies

quickly with baby blues.

Distantly-related, long forgotten, single, old ladies 

grab your attention, you tell them - 

please join our home.

You try solving the numerology jig-saw

with permutations starting with Shui, Khru

and ending with .aijh

Sleep, food, water, leisure and time 

you presumed to be your birthright

start laughing at you.

Your Indian family tight-rope walk show

gets tighter, one more entry to 

the fragile, active ecosystem.

People congratulate you on becoming a

proud dad, down under you wonder

what's going to happen.

But after a hard day's labour

you sit back, feel plain happy 

- my baby, my love.

Maharaja - Amazed

Surprised to see a review in Amazon.in...

"Ironically, this book which goes through the ordeal of IAS aspirants has been published at a time when the UPSC has completely overhauled the syllabus of the civil services examination. Nevertheless the book gave me nostalgia in varying degrees. But, I don't know how i would have liked the book had i never been to Old Rajinder Nagar, in that sense, this book targets a niche of niche audience.

In the story the author is highly realistic about the experiences of a student in Old Rajinder Nagar especially the tiffinwalla's food, exorbitant rent and class fees,exam stress, insomnia before prelims, being heated up in an oven during mains etc etc and I feel this stems from the fact that the author, his wife and his elder brother are all civil servants.

The influence of mainstream Tamil Cinema is evident on the author's writing. The "rags to riches" formula has been altered to a "copycat to topper" formula. It makes one ask how the hell is it possible? But the same formula propels one to think "I CAN DO IT TOO" sort of vicarious feeling. In doing this the author has succeeded very well.

Hope he writes more and more books."

Veeram (Guts)

Arcot Road is one of the critical arteries of Chennai that is home to numerous restaurants, showrooms, malls, apartments, hospitals and also to the legendary AVM studios. The cinema history of Madras (includes Tollywood and Kollywood) cannot be complete without AVM. Established around the time our country got free from the wild clutches of the Britishers, AVM is still very much an essential part of the Southern cinema milieu. I had the opportunity to be in the studio floors some years back. It was an experience! But what surprised me yesterday was that right next to the studio entry that is decorated with the famous revolving globe with "AVM Studios" displayed on it, there stands a cinema theatre that reminds me of my hometown. It is the AVM Rajeshwari cinema theatre. This is no multiplex where a tub of popcorn is sold for Rs.150 (or is it more?) or a swanky multi-screen hall where rock gets played even in the toilets. AVM is a place where the tickets are being still sold at Rs.40 (for balcony) and Rs.50 (for box). It appears as if while the vast tracts of land surrounding the Road were busy exploding with growth and forming the contours of Chennai city, this building alone wished and decided to stay back in time. But there is nothing to complain as you can finish your intermission snacks well under Rs.50. (Believe me!) 

So, it was an overall feeling of satisfaction when I left the theatre after Veeram. This movie is definitely better than Arrambam. (2013-Deepavali release of Ajith Kumar) But when you go for a Ajith-Siva movie please do not expect a Schindler's List or Thevar Magan. Director Siva (of Siruthai fame) has handled the script quite deftly. When you have Ajith as the lead, an extended weekend during the release and a project without any fresh story-line, it is very easy to rehash old stunts, sentiments, punch dialogues and comedy sequences - and still expect to turn out a bumper hit and on top of it even strive to find a place in the hall of successful masala directors. But Siva has somehow just about refrained from going the whole hog. He has carefully balanced the script - definitely giving enough occasions for the fans and families to relish but just, just short of churning out a 100% mindless movie. And he has a winner. 

Though I have not seen the other mega Pongal release - Jilla - going by what the fans say, I am confident that this is the judgement that the Jilla team has missed. How much of style and punch-power do die-hard fans want? How much can the overall audience, exposed to Soodhu Kavvum (Nalan Kumarasamy/2013) and Thuppakki (Murugadoss/2012) bear? Any miscalculation on any of the above two most critical questions of a big ticket project can lead to a disaster. In Veeram the director has gauged the pulse well. He just escaped letting loose another candidate in the glorious company of Thalaivaa, Asal, Villu, Sura etc.

But for the climax where on a rain drenched, thunder roaring evening, after multiple stabs and blows Ajith gets back to life, and casually kills all the villains almost single-handedly and living up to our expectations from a true hero saves every member of the heroine's family tree - it has been a show of an intelligent restraint by the director. Be it the change of "get-up" in the second half or the scene where Thala rides a bullock-cart or the truck owner's association elections that reminds of the auction sequence in Annamalai (Suresh Krissna/1992) - the director has wisely capitalised on Ajith's star power. And it has worked. Having witnessed hardcore fans' response on the Day-2 of the movie, I might be a little biased. But I saw Arambam on Day-1 - in a similar setting and not in a multiplex that serves snacks at the seats. I know this is going to be a bigger hit. (Am I joining the list of die-hard Ajith fans? I have been watching Thala movies on Day 1 or 2.)

(Photo: Not a political rally, but thala fans after the show)

As usual the heroine does not have any role in this movie too. Santhanam, Thambi Ramaiah, Ramesh Kanna and team have done a neat work. Nasser has played his part well - it should not have been a problem as he has done similar roles in dozens of films. It is high time we had used more of his talent. One more Kuruthipunal (P.C.Sreeram/1995) please! There are only two songs in the first half and - that is the best part of music. (Really!) In fact, it was a welcome relief that the makers did not give more chances for the crowd to go out and have fag before the interval. Actions sequences, especially the train stunt, are quite okay though not extraordinary. 

The script is the real winner - not for any novel way of presenting an old story or packing the screen with cherishable twists - but for making sure that while Thala fanatics have enough reasons to remove their shirts and run to the screen, the family audience as well have ample scope to laugh, cry and enjoy and more importantly - walk out of the theatres without sulking over the wasted time and money. Of course, full marks to Ajith too for not disappointing his fans. After a long time he has shunned his set of imported suits and blazers and rather has settled for a simple set of white shirt and dhoti - yet he is magnetic. I feel sad for having missed the opening few minutes of the movie. Knowing that AVM is known for its punctuality we reached the hall a full five minutes prior to the 9 AM show. But alas, I missed the intro scene. The projectionist had started the show a few minutes early without knowing that I too would join the crowd. But missing the intro was not a real disappointment as Veeram has many "intros" of Ajith in slow-motions. (Yes!) But what I really missed was another specialty of this theatre - oddly for an old-world cinema hall, here too they play national anthem before the shows.