Jun 27, 2008

Song : Ey Ajnabi / Poongaatrile; Movie : Dil Se / Uyire (1998)

This is another song that I confidently attempt in public; but only the hindi version. Here, in my version, the tamil lyrics appear after the first stanza.



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Trivia :
This particular song, when played anytime, wets my moms eyes. It happened when she heard my version too and this I regard as my greatest satisfaction as a singer.

To listen in a better way :

  • Please wait till the entire song streams.
  • Try using a headset/earphone for the overall sound clarity.

Jun 21, 2008

Leave Padmasree Dr. Kamal Haasan alone !

Picture courtesy : Behindwoods. All 10 avatars of Kamal Haasan in Dasavatharam

No. This isn’t a review of Kamal Haasans recent flick Dasavatharam. This is my personal outburst against those negative reviews about the movie. I am not an ardent fan of Kamal Haasan, but I have always been an admirer of his movies, his creativity and his attitude to never give up.

I have read enough criticisms on Dasavatharam already; most of which have slammed the movie harshly. Agreed, the movie doesn’t have a great storyline. It doesn’t even boast of CGI’s of Hollywood standards. Even the makeup of some of Kamals avatars looked plastic. and also certain scenes didn’t make sense to some part of the viewers. But my question is have we ever got to see such an effort from any other actor in India? Have we experienced something like this before from the Indian film industry? Wouldn’t future movies on similar genre would benchmark Dasavatharam for its creativity content? We have seen directors and producers experimenting with their movies, but they also end up casting a new or an upcoming star because the established actors avoid risks. But it needs courage for a veteran actor like Kamal Haasan (from now on K.H.) to come up with a product like Dasavatharam. Critics claim that K.H. is present in every frame of the movie and is being a narcissist these days; but that’s how Dasavatharam is supposed to be. 10 different body languages, 10 different looks, 10 different dialects, 10 voice modulations; how else do you expect the movie to be without showing in each frame?

Same time last year, we had a similar over-hyped movie from the ‘Asian’ superstar Rajnikanth. The movie from beginning till end made no sense and the whole movie survived on a wafer thin plot. If that particular movie, which was Sivaji, received so many positive reviews from the critics, then why is K.H.’s Dasavatharam undergoing this dismal fate in the hands of the so-called reviewers? There was nothing new in Sivaji, absolutely no extra effort from the lead actor or from any of the crew for that matter; yet it managed to rake in the moolahs at the box office and also get outstanding reviews.

And why is K.H. the only one targeted everytime for the fate of the movie that he stars? What about the rest of the crew who is involved in a movie? It was the same director, Suresh Krishna, who made K.H.’s Aalavandan(Abhay) and Rajnikanths Baba. Both flopped miserably at the box office; but the ultimate verdict was different. Aalavandan(Abhay) flopped and K.H was held responsible; Baba flopped and this time the director was responsible. Now, is this because K.H himself writes his story and screenplay? If that’s the scenario, most of todays actors refine the original script according to their wish and fancies to get their mass appeal. In a way, the actors are involved to a great extent in the script writing stage but they do not want that fact to come out. (Quite recently, actor Vijay was approached by director Gautham Menon with a script; but the former went to the extent of providing the director some DVDs of his B-grade masala movies and asked him to incorporate similar scenes in the script) and so whats wrong in K.H. writing for himself? And for an actor like K.H., who has tried his hands at everything possible, would it not be difficult for a scriptwriter to come with a compelling script?

Last but not the least, why compare a commercial potboiler like Dasavatharam to the likes of Mahanadi, Nayakan, Guna, Anbe Sivam, Virumandi, etc.? It should ideally be compared with his movies of a similar genre; like Avvai Shanmugi(Chachi 420), Michael Madan Kamarajan, Panchatantiram,Vasool Raja MBBS (Munnabhai MBBS) or Apoorva Sahodarangal (Appu Raja). If movies like Sivaji and Om Shanthi Om can be declared superhits with good reviews, then there is nothing wrong in Dasavatharam reaching that scale. It all falls under the same genre.

When the man comes up with extraordinary movies, the viewers and critics simultaneously show him the backdoor. When he comes with innovative entertainers, the same people compare it with his good works and once again reject it. C’mon, leave the poor man alone. He is atleast trying to do something different each time and not resorting himself to the same genre of movies like many of his comrades. Is this the kind of encouragement we give a person who has been trying to revive the film industry from god-knows-when?

All said and done, Dasavatharam is a complete masala entertainer with doses of elements to ponder. Chaos theory or butterfly effect are not subjects that we come across in our movies and K.H. as a story teller was innovative enough to convey this to the audience. But K.H.’s failure, according to me, has always been to make his messages reach the viewers as the actual intent gets lost among the commercial elements of the movie. I am sure in years to come, people will appreciate Dasavatharam and its content. The same set of ‘judges’ will then compare one of his new release to the story telling and technical brilliance of Dasavatharam; a phenomenon which K.H. experienced with some of his earlier attempts (Virumandi, Anbe Sivam and Hey Ram).

Jun 16, 2008

The Expansionist Meme

Tagged by Poonam for this meme last week.
Well, some of the answers here are going to spoil the fun of this meme, but for crying out loud, that’s the fact !

Please thoughtfully consider the following, and choose one item for each of the categories below. (Be sure to describe your reasons for choosing)

One religious work from a non-familiar tradition you’ll read:
I do not believe in any particular religion and I read books once in a ‘brown’ moon (ya, that’s how bad I am with books). I wont call myself an atheist but I am against idol/human god worship. I do believe in a power that controls, drives or governs this universe; and people call it by different names. Its like the human mind; one cannot see it, but none can deny its existence. But I would love to read a book (if at all it exixts) on the similarities between the different religious beliefs. (Infact, a year back, I was hooked up with this book on greek mythology and I found a lot of similarities between the Indian myths and theirs. Not that there is a mention about this anywhere in the book, but somehow I felt so.)

One music video–that you like–from your “least likely to listen to’ genre:
I simply hate rock songs and I’ve hardly listened to any of them. I don’t find music in them, but do find a lot of noise. Among the few ones that I have heard, and the one that comes immediately to my small brain is Bon Jovis’ Its my Life; and then again, its because of the video.

A book from a genre you almost never read, that you have read, or you will read (promise!):
Not again ! Already mentioned in question 1. But there was an ‘era’ (till my 11th) when I used to take books even to the toilet to finish it. And when I say books, I mean, those hardy boys and nancy drews till my early teens and books like Lost World and X-Files later on. I still wonder how I lost this habit of mine and have tried nurturing it later on. It didn’t work out. Well, I don’t miss out an opportunity to read a comic or squeeze a magazine (not those film ones!). Nevertheless, I had taken a mid (new )year resolution to start reading and I am going to start with those reasonably smaller books lying at my place. Huge books would definitely be a turn off now. I have never broken my resolutions/vows and I will make sure after this meme, I will keep up to it.

Somewhere you’d never thought to go on holiday/vacation, and why it might be fun to go there?
Europe. I have always been fascinated by the lanscapes and castles in europe.

A specific food you’ve never tried, but will because of this meme, honest!:
This was the toughest question of the lot since I am not a foodie at all. Hmm…I have heard both positive and negative comments on Sushi and hadnt tried them yet. Now I will :)

A sport or game you really hate, or haven’t tried yet, but are willing to give one more go:
I am yet to figure out why I do not have an inclination towards any kind of sport. I have played cricket and football (only as a goalie because of my childhood size); but that was only during my schooldays. I would love to start playing badminton once I get a partner and a convenient spot; just to keep myself fit.

A style of dance you probably won’t try (we won’t make you promise on this one):
I am not going to try any of them in the near future. I have been tearing a lot of ligaments these days (three ligament tears in less than a year, can u imagine?)

A career job you don’t feel you’re suited for, and why:
A software engineer. I had to do a lot of coding for this blog myself ,with a lot of tips available over the net and Man, they are tough and equally taxing. No wonder, those guys look like zoimbies when they are at work (forgive me, brother, for this!)

An item that’s “thinking out of the box’ for this meme that hadn’t been included:
What would you like to be in your next birth(no ‘human being’ answers) ?

If’s there’s one thing in life you wanted to do, and will do because of this meme, what will it be?
I had an idea of getting a tattoo done but wasn’t sure about it. Now “Because of this meme”, I will be doing it pretty soon. God(oops!) bless me :)

Jun 12, 2008

An incident of Web abuse

It was just a few weeks back that I had posted on thefts and burglaries happening over the web. Thanks to Poonam, I came across another bizarre incident on the web. and when I say bizarre, I mean bizarre at its heights.

There are a lot of illegal blogs that gets credited by uploading pictures and posts from someone else' blogs. Recently, there was a leading newspaper who stole a pic from a well maintained blog. Likewise, some shitty website gets credited by stealing posts from other bloggers and uploading it in their website. When this was pointed out in a very well mannered way by 'injipennu', she got abused and threatened by the staffs of that particular website. Further investigations into this whole thing brought to light that the very same goons also maintained a couple of porn sites and also a matrimonial portal. To top it all, they donate some amount to a charity organisation !!! Now how shady is all this ? They have already damaged the reputation of 'injipennu' by misusing her name in all their horrible websites. and somewhere in the middle of all these abusings, a supposedly well mannered person drops in and tries to bring in peace. The issue would have ended if they had apologised for their kleptomaniac acts after 'injipennu' had sent her first mail. Instead, she was abused and was provocated for her second mail which infact was decent too. Following that, it was a nightmare for her. The fight is still on and I must admit 'injipennu' had been brave all these while.


The websites, groups and goons involved : kerals.com(the site which stole others creativity), sreela.com and masalamax.com (the porn sites), all run by the Anashwara group, Seva chakkara orphanage(the charity organisation managed by Seva chakkara samajam), Shiva Kumar(the pervert and the abuser), Satya(the supposedly good person), POP (some psychopath who claims to do anything for Shiva Kumar) and less prominent ones like Chris Chmiel, Ajay Bakshi, Avinash Kottaarakara, Vishnu.


Please refer the below link for the entire story. Its pretty long but please go through it :

http://myinjimanga.blogspot.com/2008/06/stealing-threat-cyber-stalking-abuse.html

Jun 7, 2008

Small is Beautiful - 2

The second version of my tiny reviews. I am truly enjoying this more than the regular big ones. Imagine me wasting time for movies like Tashan, Kuruvi, etc.

Yaaradi Nee Mohini(Who are u, oh seductress?)– Directed by debut director Jawahar and scripted by Selva Ragahavan, this movie is a remake (Aadavari Maatalaku Ardhule Verule, starring Venkatesh and Trisha) of the latters directional debut in Tollywood. The story at no point in the movie is believable and goes on in a very predictable way. Yet the scenes that show the father-son relationship is noteworthy. Check out the scene where Dhanush informs his friends about his fathers demise; powerful. The cast comes out with good performances, but there is absolutely no chemistry between the lead pair. Watchable. Rating 2.5/5

Santhosh Subramaniam(That’s a name, no translation)– Another Telugu remake (Bommarillu, starring Siddharth and Genelia) to hit the screen in the same month. A saccharine sweet family concept wonderful performances from Genelia, Prakash Raj and Jeyam Ravi. The movie doesn’t drag at any instance, but there are a few cliché scenes at the end. The remake doesn’t end here, its being remade in Bollywood under Boney Kapoors production house starring Harman and once again Genelia. One of the best feel good movies to have released in Kollywood in recent times. Recommended. Rating 3.5 / 5.

Tashan(Style, Attitude, Whatever!)- I already wasted 2+ hrs watching this. Cant waste anymore. Strictly avoidable. Rating 1/5 (1 for Akshay Kumar and the songs).

Nepali(Again, self explanatory)- Though the basic plot offers nothing new, the story telling is unique; three different phases in a persons life coincides with a fourth one. Bharath comes in four different makeovers and is simply brilliant in all of them. The climax is different from what we usually see in these kinds of movies and for a change and the whole police investigation looked very convincing. Watchable; but not advisable for children due to violence. Rating 3 /5.

Kuruvi(Sparrow)- One of the most pathetic movies to have come this year from Kollywood. Much was expected from the Dharani-Vidyasagar-Vijay-Trisha combination. Vidyasagar did a good job in the music department whereas director Dharani spoiled his reputation with this movie. Vijay should take up acting seriously and Trisha should stop acting. Strictly avoidable. Rating 1/5 (1 for the songs and its picturisation).

Bhram(Illusion)- The promos were misleading and didn’t want me to approach as I thought it was another skin flick. Then the other reviews came out with misleading reports like good thriller, etc. Except for certain scenes that keep you hooked, this is also a waste of time. Dino Moreo proves again that he is a bad actor, but Milind Soman takes the cake this time for his restrained performance. New comer Sheetal Menon has nothing to do except look like a devastated drug addict throughout the movie. Avoidable. Rating 2/5.

Arai en 305il Kadavul(God in Room no.305)– An out of the box thinking for a script; god (brilliantly portrayed by Prakash Raj) comes down to earth to help two youngsters (played by comedians Santhanam and Ganja Karuppu) who are struggling in their life. The duo then steals a gadget that gives god the power to control the universe, which makes the god a common man. There are baseless rumours that this movie is a rip off of Bruce Almighty. The similarity lies only in the basic premise of God coming down to earth The second half of the movie at various points is a let down with too much of preaching and should have been a lot tighter; it looks as if the director and the scriptwriter lost interest in the movie. Watchable for a good time pass. Rating 3/5.

Jun 5, 2008

Coincidences,Clarifications and a Web burglary

After writing the post “I am a murderer” last week, I happened to check my visitor status today. To my shock, I found that some one has searched in answers.com for “ I am a murderer !” and has landed up here. Well, the shock didn’t end there. I was having a look at the search results from answers.com and then I got an even bigger jolt. I found a similar article with the same title and almost similar lines in the beginning and that too in blogger/blogspot. The article was written way back in 2007 and the author hasn’t written anything after 2007.

http://debasissatanic.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html

Now for my clarification; I seriously never had any idea, such a thing was there in the net. I googled the same title and it’s the first search result in google and mine isn’t there at all. Now I understand how others feel when they come up with explanations of such coincidences; I always used to condemn such statements. I again reiterate that my post was strictly mine; something that had happened in my life and all this is purely coincidental. I would be changing the title soon after this is posted. The only relieving part is that I, and not others found this; for I would have been succumbed to a lot of unnecessary questions. All I can say is someone somewhere is thinking just like me ! But I must admit, I feel horrible now.

Something similar happened to me last week too. I found an article in indiatimes.com similar to one of the posts here. I posted an article titled “Start, Action, Cut-Bollywood” on the 16th of May and the indiatimes article came on the 28th of May. However, the similarity ends with a small portion of my post. But the weird thing is that some of the words used are similar too. Now, taking the above situation of mine, I guess, this could also be could also be coincidental. Atleast, I don’t have a voice now about inspirations and plagiarism.

Check out the links :

http://movies.indiatimes.com/quickies/3077486.cms

http://vimalsparadise.blogspot.com/2008/05/start-actioncut-bollywood.html

The actual intention of this post was to campaign against a particular ‘free’ online storage company. Poonam of Visceral Observations had to be a victim of online robbery recently. She had stored some of her documents in a website called Mediamax(which had underwent a name change before and after her storage) because they offered free online storage capacity worth 25 GB to every user. Unfortunately when she tried to log in later to upload/retrieve her files, the same people asked her to pay money for her to even access them. Now how atrocious is that? (It, however, reminded me of Khosla Ka Ghosla movie; one has to pay money to get back their belongings!!!) Again, its not the issue of money here, its about the integrity. They could have atleast informed her so that necessary arrangements could have been done. A detailed version of this incident can be found in her blog :

http://alchemistpoonam.wordpress.com/2008/06/03/streamloadmediamaxlinkup-cheats-and-offenders-on-web/

It would be appreciable if this petition against MediaMax is signed.