From Suriya Sivakumar to Suriya to Suriya Jothika

14 years back, we had seen a boy making his debut with the dream girl Simran as his pair when he had Vijay who was one of the box office stars during that time. How many of us will have such a golden chance? Well it was Vasanth who roped in this man to Tamil cinema and all because of gem of tamil cinema, Mr. Sivakumar.

First few movies of a popular celebrity’s son will obviously result in a tragedy and comedy for the audience. Aval varuvala, aval varuvala song was mimicked by many teasing Suriya Sivakumar. Except for carrying the chocolate boy look, he didn’t do anything strange to attract big directors or try a different subject. From acting to dancing to fighting, what he did in Nerukku Ner was seriously funny. 

But the man took 5 years. From Nerukku Ner, he switched to another double hero subject and paired with the late Murali, in Kadhale Nimmadhi. But both the movies had a decent run with Deva, the music director who was at the peak in that time with his sensational peppy numbers. One cannot forget the song ‘Vidha Vidha ma soppu seepu kannaadi’. And then, he continued give some path breaking movies like Periyanna, Sandhippoma, Uyirile Kalandadhu. I honestly don’t remember a bit of Sandhippom or Uyirile Kaladadhu but I remember Vijay singing two songs for the movie Periyanna under the most talented director of Tamil Cinema, SAC.

In between these, Suriya Sivakumar had two decent movies which had a good story and music. They are Poovellam Kettupar and Friends, the latter being a remake of a Malayalam movie and eventually become one of the blockbuster of Tamil cinema. As I said, both had decent script but absolutely no scope of acting and Suriya Sivakumar continued to be emotionless actor sans expression and verbatim dialogue delivery.

Many would still argue, what was the path breaker for Suriya Sivakumar to become Suriya. I would still stand on the movie Nandhaa and not Khakka Khakka, of course the latter had much better acting. But, it was the movie Nandhaa, though didn’t do well in the box office, established or rather made a change to his name by throwing his dad’s name. It was Nandha which gave him Mounam Pesiyadhe which again was by the director Bala’s school of education, Ameer. Nandhaa didn’t go well with the box office but was critically acclaimed movie but Mounam Pesiyadhe had success in both areas. Also, in between the see-saw went the other side of cinema and tasted two bunch of garbage Shree and Unnai Ninaithu, the latter being the closest remake of a movie by the same director (Poove Unnakaaga).

2003 – 2005 is a period in which everyone started praising Suriya for the type of roles and the movie he selected. It is this period in which he started to concentrate more on his character than blindly selecting the movies like how he did in the past. He started with Khakka Khakka and it not only unearthed the talent of Suriya but also the director GV Menon who gave a romantic story Minnale. The movie did well at the box office and also attracted the critics. Suriya was praised for doing a cop role in more practical was than we had seen a cop before in tamil cinema.

Immediately after Khakka Khakka, he again went to the man who molded him, Bala. This time, it was not a main character, but the character which unearthed another talent, rather a difficult thing for a hero, comedy. He did the character with so much perfection, that people expected a National award for his role but poor fellow didn’t get one but Vikram bagged one for the movie.

For any actor, working under Mani Ratnam is a boon. Suriya too had that boon in Ayutha Ezhuthu. Though Madhavan did a fantastic role in that movie, Suriya was quite good enough for his character and did a decent job. Also, he did a remake of Kunju Koonan, the famous Malayalam movie as Perazhagan. The role that he did needs some effort of pain which Suriya learnt good lessons from Dilip and did a good job.

Ghajini, the plot stealer from Memento, yet again proved Suriya’s caliber. All is well known that Aamir Khan requested A.R Murugadoss to direct the same movie in Hindi which eventually become a blockbuster of all time in Indian cinema. Even though the comparison between the two Ghajini favored the Hindi version, Suriya Suriya dhaan. Another decent movie to his credit was Vaaranam Aayiram but again, because of the forth coming para, the value of his role in the movie was teased rather than being appreciated.

Now, at this point in life, he had earned a decent fame, and again he switched the cards to do some commercial pot boilers like Aaru, Sillunu Oru Kadhal, Vel. And this is another turning point in his career when added the name Suriya Jothika. He started to use his wife name in all possible areas. He started act everywhere apart from the movies. He started acting the stage, awards function, started attending regular television shows, started doing guest appearances, become stardom. This was the time when started using Jothika to earn popularity. Hope, he comes out of this sooner and get back to the period 2003-2005.

Hangover! Proves the theorem of Hollywood’s Sequel Law of movies!

SPOILER ALERT only for the minor group of people who never knew about a movie called Hangover in the past! Well, if you fall under the majority of the world who had seen the part one, there is no question of spoilers here.

It was a real pleasure meeting you!

Fuck Off!

I am thinking about getting my bartender’s license.

Suck my dick!

No, thank you!

I can keep going on with such witty dialogues from the Hangover and I must say I have seen this movie at least 50 times and I never get bored or turn to a different channel. That’s the amount of wittiness the movie had offered you and one who has seen this movie, will definitely expect at least the sequel with an equal pace if not a dull one. But the trailer literally shattered the expectations with unwinding the script, a replica of Las Vegas and with same old missing and hangover with less and boring screenplay.

Las Vegas was awesome.	Bangkok was dull and boring
The wedding boy Doug was missing and it was gripping until they find him.	Bride’s little brother comes in a scene and leaves no interest in the hunt
Stu’s missing tooth is sensational and had a great Dentist touch to it.	Tattoo, give it a break!
Mike Tyson’s tiger! There is a jungle cat in the bathroom. He is not kidding; there is a fucking tiger in the bathroom.	Boring monkey again! With a cameo role, its better Mike could have avoided it.
Jade was well apt for the movie and had a touching end.	QUESTION MARK!
Carlos! And the interesting scenes in the pool side table by Alan. ‘Not at the table Carlos’	Sticking a bottle and making a monkey sucking the penis. Ahhhhh! Please!
Melissa!	We have an empty space here as none at the reception end could make these guys rush for the wedding!
Casino, Roof, Villa Suite, Mike Tyson, Strip club, Wedding, Hospital is equal to LAS VEGAS	I will have to watch the movie again to recollect the places. Most of them which I could remember were the Dull gloomy hotel.
The approach of recollect the last night by enquiring different people with little evidences made the screenplay thrilling and captivating.	I was blown in the scene when the monk asked to meditate so that they can recollect the past!

I didn’t want to draw a comparison at all. But I had a thought if it would attract the people who had not seen the part one! But, I certainly don’t think it would be that appealing and interesting as the part one offered us. And for the people who had watched part one and a fan of part one, I certainly thought of leaving the theatre much quicker than the climax.

As I mentioned, rather than focusing on the title and standing on the same story with absolutely same casting, they must have thought something different to make it fresh and entertaining. Hangover is certainly not a worthy peg! 

REPENTANCE - Episode 2

Episode II

Keshav and Madhu got back home after sending off their daughter and son in law. The house really seemed empty. Madhu realised that it had been this way from the time Haritha’s marriage proposal had come in. She intensely felt the guilt but time and again she kept telling herself ‘’ let’s move on, time will heal the pain’’.

Next day Madhu went to temple and was getting back home when she got a call in her cell phone. She had been waiting to hear that Haritha and Aurav had reached safely. As she expected, it was a call from Aurav, ‘’Aunty we just reached home’’ he said. ‘’I was just waiting for your call Aurav’’ responded Madhu. All through the journey Haritha dint seem to have spoken to Aurav and he felt really upset about it. However he always assumed that it could be because she was being taken away so far from home. He couldn’t think of any other reason though. ‘’Alright Aunty, Haritha is taking a shower, I ll ask her to call you once she is done’’. Saying this he hung the phone and went down to get refreshed.

Minutes later he entered the bedroom and was surprised to see Haritha still bathing. ‘’Dear, is everything alrite?’’ he asked his wife, standing close to the door. ‘I m coming’’ She replied. He lolled in the couch waiting for his girl. He dint want her to be cheerless. With his eyelids shut, he was dreaming about wrapping her in his arms and cuddling her, giving her a secure and warm feeling. Disturbed by the sound of the door, he opened his eyes and saw her heading towards the mirror.

He got up slowly and reached his wife. ‘I m happy, you decided to share your life with me. I feel such love for you and I m contented with my life now. More than anything, I have an amazing level of respect for you’. Saying this he slowly inclined towards her to embrace her.’ Haritha at once snatched herself away from him and with enormous flow of nerves nous she asked ‘Did u call up mom, she must be waiting for our call’. Aurav replied’ oh yea, I did tell her that you will call her back’. She immediately took the phone and left the room.

‘Would you stop crying Haritha’ the voice on the other end sounded anxious. It was Madhu who could hear only a cry over the phone. After a few seconds, Haritha cleared up her voice and said ‘‘my mind is flooding with mixed emotions mumma, I m totally confused and lost’’. ‘’I just can’t live life this way. I m unable to cope up. I just can’t believe I m married’’ she added ‘’Haritha, these things are not something unusual in life, and this does not sound in fact wise to get struck and crib. Please be amicable with Aurav and I m sure he will take good care of you just like how papa and I did’’ Madhu shared few more talks before the call ended.

Haritha cleared her tears and was re-winding whatever she spoke with her mom, she was seated in the balcony; meanwhile Aurav had prepared coffee, ‘’I m good at making coffee and here is yours’’, handing over the mug to her he smiled and said ‘I hope you get impressed’’. There was a long pause, after which he continued, ‘’well...that was no joke; I can understand that it takes time to settle in a new place with a new person Haritha, but you can always find a good companion in me. Through any tribulations that we might have in life, I look forward to facing them hand in hand with you’’..... He got closer and said, ‘‘you are my better half. I hope and wait for the laughter and happy times that we will share together ‘’. Saying this he left the place and got busy unpacking the baggage.

Days of stillness, weeks of tranquillity and months of silence. Days kept quietly creeping out of their lives. Aurav soon realised that there was something seriously going wrong. Every time he attempted to ask her, she wasn’t giving him a firm reply. Occasional talks with parents and dinner out would change her frame of mind. Few friends would drop in and Haritha would mingle well with them and take all efforts in preparing dinner for them. But this was not good enough. In spite of asking her numerous times, he was confused and ultimately decided to speak to Haritha’s mother.

05 June 2003: At 8AM as soon as Aurav reached his work place, he called up Madhu. ‘’Aunty, this is Aurav, how are you all doing?’’he asked. ‘’Ya Aurav, we are fine. Calling up early.. is everything fine there?’’ Madhu enquired back. ‘’Well aunty..., I have been truly wanting to convey something important to you’’. ‘’I think’’ he continued, ‘’Haritha under no circumstance intends to live a happy life with me’’.

At this juncture Madhu was taken aback, ‘’She was perplexed and worried not knowing what Haritha did.

At every point in her conversation with her daughter, somewhere stuck a bit of advice and counselling, but she realised that it did not in fact help. ‘’What’s wrong Aurav? Any misunderstanding between you guys?’’ asked Madhu. ’’I cannot scan her mind and see what is troubling her aunty, but in spite of the enormous attempts that I have made, she is ignorant with me’’, I feel sorry telling you this, but I m not left with a choice’’. Can you please try speaking to her?’’ he asked Madhu. ‘’You don’t worry Aurav, I will take it with her and put things right’’. With this reassurance from Madhu, the conversation ended.

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EPISODE III - Will be posted on 03 June 2011

Click here for EPISODE I 

Kandaen - Stinks a bit!

The story is pretty old for Tamil Cinema. To summarize the plot, Vasanth (Shanthanu) wants to escape from his grandfather (Vijaykumar) who has arranged a marriage and hence convinces Vijaykumar that he is already in love and comes to Chennai promising that he will bring his beloved within a month’s time. But the real factor is that he needs a hunt for his girl. How he hunts what happens next is the simple plot spoiler of the movie.

It's been long time since I have seen such classic pile of shit! Every time, I see Shanthanu, his magnum opus Sakkarakatti strikes my mind hard and believe me, I am still struggling to come out from the Hangover! But I must say Kandaen is not in the same league of Sugar cube. As a matter of fact, no other movie can ever come close to Sugar cube. Alright, back to business on Kandaen.

It has become a trend these days to pull Santhanam to boost the show. It’s at least good for the audience when the screenplay is dull. But, to make the optimum use of the comedian is another let down. He evoked laughter then and there with his share of space that was given to him and did a good part. Overall, when you come out of the theatre, you will certainly tend to feel that more space should have been given to the comedian.

I was thinking if I can think of any other positives for the movie, believe me, I cannot crush my mind anymore. But the negatives are available in bundles.

Screenplay

I accept that for the screenplay to be a kick ass it often needs twists and turn and more importantly the pace should never decrease to make the audience scratch their ass. The director has made a tug of war play. To validate this phrase, I have quoted the following lines from the movie.

அப்பா! நான் வசந்த்-அ ரொம்ப LOVE பண்றேன் பா! அவன தான் கல்யாணம் பண்ணிப்பேன்.
அப்பா! என்ன மன்னிச்சிடுங்க பா, நான் ஏமாந்து போய்ட்டேன். சத்தியமா நான் இனிமேல் அவன பாக்கமாட்டேன்.
அப்பா! சாரி பா, அவன் என்ன ஏமாத்தள, என்மேல இருக்கிற லவ் நால தான் அப்படி பண்ணான்.
அப்பா! அவன் ரொம்ப மோசம் பா!

And this doesn’t stop between the lead characters, but it continues to their parents as well. Till climax, we could see the battle between the two parties.

Now coming to what the characters have done, Shanthanu, forget him, if he is going to do such scripts, I could see a new Vijay and Ajith in the new future, clearly with respect to selection of scripts. The scope doesn’t demand acting caliber for Shanthanu, even otherwise I have confidence in him. Narmada, played by Reshmi is good except for the scenes where she comes in saree or half saree. She impresses with her beauty and definitely a worthy candidate for so-called Tamil cinema heroines. Santhanam has been discussed initially in the positives but again, he is not utilized to the fullest. Vijaykumar was desperately fit to the movie with an aim to bring the Nattamai fame. Some point in time, it becomes very boring and irritating. Aasish Vidyarthy is wasted abruptly for not using his villain skill in which he would have done a cake walk.

Music and camera needn’t to be discussed at all! But certainly these songs especially in this movie are a serious pain! I didn’t get a relief with the songs after a dull screenplay. Camera! Come on, stop being a technical critic. For a debutant director, he has to make more effort to capitalize the chance and he eventually failed here. Illogical scenes, unnecessary shots, boring screenplay make Kandaen a boring place to spend time.

Stanley Kubrick - The Greatest of all time. PERIOD.

"If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed".

How many directors will accept this or boldly quote this? I bet, you can use your fingers to count. Crediting himself 16 titles with two documentaries and a short from the period 50 to 99 leaves you with only one word to his films, QUALITY. Though he had some trademark shots and characters in his movies, each and every film will leave us unwind multi-million nuances and benchmarks for the budding directors to learn from the Greatest.

The Killing, based on the novel Clean Break, film noir and may be first of a kind for a film noir to keep the plot simple and sweet with no fat on it. Even though it had non linear sequences, of course unique for its time, it's a very straightforward movie. The Heist plan is a Kubrick killer and trademark factor. It is indeed inspired many including the Tarantino who worshiped this movie.

Point to be noted is that this is the third movie of Kubrick and the first one which showed there is a man in the making. The Killing is certainly an exquisitely timed masterpiece and the first certified classic from Kubrick. Though, other Kubrick thriller over shadowed this movie, I want to highlight this movie as this is the first movie which I saw of Kubrick's direction that motivated me to start the journey and I completed and enjoyed Kubrick's journey.

As I mentioned earlier, though you will see some common trademark I must say in all his movies, the man almost touched and mastered all the genres. Can we call that as a classic entry in each genre? What about Dr Strangelove, the classic satire comedy? Or the real definition of horror in 'The Shining'? or Anti-war controversy in Full Metal Jacket, or a period drama touch in 'Barry Lyndon' or the famous, innovative, Sci-Fi in 2001 Space Odyssey or the classic film noir in 'The Killing' or or or I am bored with typing this OR. You name the rest and I will map the genre. This unique calibre has made him never to repeat. A dozen movies over the span of 50 odd years, the director distinguished him unique and never made any sequels.

The controversial 'Paths of Glory'. I would say the best of Kirk Douglas which was banned in France for its corrupt depiction on French authority. Probably one of the best controversial anti-war movies ever made. The usage of the artists is another feather in the cap for the master. And Paths of Glory is an evident example but let's also not forget our Jack for his attempt on the psychological horror The Shining.

Dr Strangelove: Or How I Learned to stop worrying and Love the Bomb! needs a certain mention when we speak about Kubrick. Simply one of the funniest and cleverest political satires ever made. Who else can take a serious subject like cold war and tell the story like a comedy? The clever and witty dialogues need some special mention here. I could recollect the Major King Kong statement 'Well boys, we got three engines out, we got more holes in us than a horse trader's mule, the radio is gone and we are leaking fuel and if we was flying any lower why we would need sleigh bell on this thing??? LOLS

The man who turned a dumb shit into a classic. Yes, I am speaking about Spartacus. It was Anthony Mann who should have taken Spartacus who fell out with Kirk approached the master to fix the product. In fact, Kubrick did not like the screenplay but eventually churned the cream into butter. It was this movie and the success of this movie gave Kubrick an artistic control for his future movies which he didn't get at this one though.

The famous Arthur Clarke said 'If you understand '2001', we failed'. Now mera favorite Space Odyssey. Many critics would have used the word roller coaster ride, breathtaking visuals, cinematic imaginary, etc., the same critics had they seen 2001 Space Odyssey wouldn't mind admitting that these words came from this movie. This sci-fi adventure is a brilliant meditation on existence of mankind in the never ending universe. There is no dialogue in the first 25 minutes nor in the last 23 minutes where the director let the audience to understand and read the movie. Another brilliant thing that Kubrick carefully moulds is that if you observer the space scenes, all you can hear is the film's music and no other sound or noise is heard in the space parallel with the fact.

What's it going to be then, eh? A Clockwork Orange, a movie that joins the list of movies that was banned in several countries for the controversy and horrific scenes. But certain movies will take some time to get appreciation which may not come timely. This one will fall under that cater. But the movie was primarily banned for the graphic violence becomes the least surprising aspect of the entire picture. Indefinitely a timeless classic.

One of a few directors who innovated the music used in movies. The favourite Blue Danube in Space Odyssey and draft shift to Beethoven in Clockwork Orange. Certainly left many followers, inspiring the way music is used in movies.

The Shining. Someone ask a good film buff what according to him/her is a horror movie or put in different words, which movie will they quote as an example of an horror movie. If I had to hear a different movie other than The Shining, well, I am bowled there. The ominous opening shot that follows Jack's car on his journey to the mysterious hotel is simple a magnificent with the background score adding such a cliff to the start of a horror movie.

Kubrick joins the league of Hitchcock, Griffith and the almighty Kurosawa. Hope you got what I am referring to! Yes, Kubrick never won an Oscar and so as the other great talented directors whom were acknowledged by the Academy. Yet, I stand on the point saying that Oscar isn't lucky enough to get clenched by the magic hands.

Charlie Chaplin - The Genius

First of all, the idea behind this article is not to talk about the work done by the little master. As a matter of fact, I found an article in a local newspaper here in the UK which had a column allotted for the Great Dictator. After reading the column, I just had to recollect the movies, silent movies and stage dramas of Chaplin and I wanted to give a short jist about the genius with some good pictures (credited to the actual source sites).

More than 70 years since he last appeared on the screen, Charles Chaplin's Little Tramp remains a supreme icon not just of the movies but of the 20th century - still he is recognized and loved every part of the world. If there can be an explanation for his success, it's his capability to transmuting the anxieties and concerns of human life into comedy. Certainly, it would have had some reflections of his personal life experiences.

Chaplin was an orphan at the age of 3 when his parents were separated and he indeed grew up in extreme poverty. But at the age of 10, he became a professional performer. His interest was not only as an artist, but he soon started showing interest in every department in drama. For every Kamal hassan, there will be a K. Balachandar. Likewise for Chaplin, he met Mack Sennett, the famous Keystone studios which was the major production house during early 90s. It was him, how implanted the idea into Chaplin's mind that he must direct himself which will give him freedom to perform and think and innovate.



Chaplin mastered the craft of film with phenomenal speed, and after the first three months in pictures was to direct all his own films. The first four years in pictures saw him develop from the carefree knockabout of the keystone comedies, to introduce irony and sentiment, and to progress to the Mutual masterpieces that included The Pawnshop (1916), Easy Street (1917) and The Immigrant (1917). It was First National who gave the breakthrough for Chaplin and came Shoulder Arms (1918) where he transmuted the horrors of the First World War into comedy.

The time of the giants is the year 1919 where the four the giants of the Hollywood at that time formed something called United Artists. For those who are not aware about the giants, they are Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Griffith. Chaplin's first release through the company was 'A Woman of Paris (1921), a dramatic film designed to start Edna Purviance.


Those who had watched his comical drama in many television channels must have noticed the same heroine in almost all his movies/dramas. Yes, Edna Purviance, the most faithful lady whom Chaplin trusts a lot and there were some rumors as well involving them.

Arrival of the talking pictures, the year 1927. It was a big challenge to Chaplin than to most other directors. His wordless pantomime had won a universal audience, which would inevitably shrink if he now spoke in English. Chaplin's response was to continue making silent films. It was when 'City Lights' (1931) and Modern Times (1936) with the sound track used only for the sound effects and musical work came. In fact, the little master who had touched every department in film making had revealed his new avatar in musical department when he composed musical score for the movie 'Modern Times'.



In 'Modern Times', Chaplin brought the comic weapon to bear on burning issues of the day at that time particularly the industrialization and the confrontation. Then comes my favorite of them all 'The Great Dictator' where his targets were fascism and its leaders. In fact, he got some complaints from the critics that the comic sense was exceeding the boundary.



 He continued with 'Monsieur Verdoux' and 'Limelight' for The United Artists and did a few other movies for some British Production pictures and it was the Christmas day 1991 when our genius left the world leaving us with no such icon for his replacement. PERIOD.

REPENTANCE - Episode 1

Episode I

The dawn cracked out to a gloomy day in Denver, North America and 28 year old Haritha sat beside the windowpane leisurely sipping coffee from her cup. Her palms wrap the coffee mug with extreme passion to get the cosy feeling tuning the external weather and her doldrums. Gazing at the landscape in front of her, she sits back thinking of the strong decision that she has taken to lay things in the right track. Tears occasionally roll down from her puffy eyes. What is running in her mind? She takes herself 5 years back to remember what made her take this verdict...

‘’Haritha was an Indian, born and brought up in Bangalore city. She was the daughter of Madhu and Keshav, a naval officer. She was the most loved one among all, since the couple made almost a decade’s wait to have her in their arms. Haritha was a very pleasant girl with an admirable character; she grew up with Ashwath who was younger to her by 3 years. She was a loving sister to her sibling and a very obedient daughter. People would always praise Keshav for his efforts in bringing up both children in an elegant way. She graduated from IIT, Bombay and was a consultant by profession.

‘’Madhu, I feel it’s high time we find a guy for Haritha, she’s getting older’’ said Keshav. ‘’Well....., I had always wanted to discuss this with you’’ Madhu replied in a stumpy tone. She kept moving her eyes around with her palms clasped. It felt as if she had been waiting for such a circumstance and there was an instinct from within pushing her to reveal whatever she knew. ‘’She has already made a pick and we aren’t left with a choice now’’ she finally conveyed this and exhaled as tears rolled through her cheeks. Keshav was stunned, he sprang up at once and said ‘’come on Madhu, that cannot happen, stop telling me these usual stories and be sensible, I just can’t tolerate such craziness in my own family’’.

Madhu knew what had happened with her daughter and so she tried to console her husband, but all in vain. He was not interested to listen. All that was running in Keshav’s mind was to get Haritha married to someone and send her off his house civilly.

During college days, Haritha developed an intense friendship with Vimal, a highly proficient boy, who studied with her. As days passed by, the accompaniment turned into acute companionship. Vimal was of her age and from a mediocre family. His dad was a bank employee and had struggled hard to get Vimal educated up to this height. College days had exhausted and it was time to bid adieu. Vimal and Haritha confessed to each other that it was time to focus on their career before sharing talks with families about their marriage. In order to proceed with this decision, they were certain not to make any kind of discussion and decided to wait until they got to see the fruits of success in their career. Shortly, Vimal got placed as a university lecturer in London.

Before even they got a chance to discuss with their parents, Keshav fixed up his daughter’s marriage with Aurav, a software engineer who worked in the US. Events that followed after the confession of her love affair were unstoppable and the marriage arrangements seemed to have happened within the wink of an eye. Haritha was pushed into a situation where Vimal couldn’t get back to India and take her along with him. They were deprived of time and she had no guts to open her mouth and discuss this with her dad. She had always hoped that it wouldn’t be a problem if Vimal had a good job and that was the main reason for making a long wait. Finally, the day came when the wedding between Haritha and Aurav took place as desired by Keshav.

23^rd of February 2003: It was getting dusky outside, and Keshav called out to his daughter, ‘’Dear, are you done with all your packing? Ensure you carry enough woollens, emergency medicines, and yes not to forget your certificates, and ...............................’’. Madhu interrupted ‘’Come on Keshav, She has them all safely packed, Aurav has already prepared a list of all the essentials’’.

‘’Listen Haritha, you got to be very careful as you’re going to lead a new life’’ this time Madhu intended to deliver some valuable advice to her daughter, ‘’ Aurav is a very good person and we wish to see you leading an idyllic life with him.’’ She held Haritha’s hand tight and said ‘’Hope is life and don’t bother yourself with your past’’. On hearing this, Haritha cried out and replied in a shrill tone, ‘’mumma, I have always tried to be honest with you, and all of you have cheated me by getting this marriage done’’.

It was time to leave and the final packing was done. All set to fly. Aurav and Haritha got blessings from both their parents and were about to step out of the house. Madhu wanted to share a few words with her son in law, ‘’Aurav, can you please come here?’’.He stepped into the room and said, ‘’You don’t have to worry about Haritha aunty, I will take care of her..Trust me’’. Madhu’s eyes were filled with tears as she bid adieu to her daughter.

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Click here for Episode 2

58th National Award - Is it justified?

I was at work this morning and my colleagues knew that I am a movie freak and one of them asked a close ended question 'Enna boss Aadukalam super la?' That's when I came to know that 58th National awards were announced and I was in complete shock on seeing Facebook pouring with wall posts that it's a clean sweep for Tamil Cinema.

That's something to feel proud being a Tamilian and all these years we were corned by the Bollywood cine industry, where the preference was primarily given to them be it whatsoever. But, I must say there was a slight increase in the attention to the south film industry in the past couple of years where we had seen Bala, Ilayaraja getting National awards which was long time due. But the key question that I had was about Aadukalam which was released in this year 2011 and obviously had censored last year bagged 4 prestigious awards which includes the main category of Director, actor and screenplay.

I had to refer sites in order to get the statistics as I am not regularly following movies being in a different country. A quick view on the deserving candidates movie wise, I could see very minimum numbers. The names include Angadi Theru, Madarasapattinam and Mynaa. Well, I must say Aadukalam is quite lucky have censored last year because as movie, Aadukalam is definitely a better production than the other possible contenders in Tamil Cinema. Now, let's try focusing on the buttering industry Bollywood. I am not a lover of Hindi films; hence, I had asked my friend to have a look at the list of movies released in 2010 and list the movies which is a worthy bet for National Award. Only two movies which he thought were Udaan and Peeply Live. Moving to the industry which is always a dark horse and wins the primary category hands down, Bengali industry, I have seen the movie Autograph which is a remarkable movie involving the plot of remaking the Master of director Ray's Nayak. That's definitely a worthy contender. And not to forget our closest state Malayalam industry, which had won the award for the best movie 'Adhaminde Magan Abu'. That again is a neat and clear winner. Just like how the award for the Best Actor was shared, I expected the same in the Director and screenplay category as well. The sad part is that if you search for this movie, all you get it the recent details on the National Award that it won and you can't even find the movie poster online.

Dhanush, a national award actor. 50-50 choice to accept to be honest. Leaving aside the tamil industry for the year 2010 as I earlier mentioned the term LUCK factor, there were arguably good performance in other industry. Paresh Rawal, Prasenjit Chatterjee and of course Salim Kumar had an edge over the performance of Dhanush in Aadukalam.

There is a balancing factor that 'Thenmerku Paruva kaatru' was recognized nationally. This movie went unnoticed by many and now you will see leechers and seeders hunting the movie from the torrent portal for sure. On the whole, it's a good sign and clever message to the nation that there is a fantastic talented industry in South when it comes to Film making.

Captain does it again and he's back again

Dropping the two key protagonists without any explainations is a risky thing but Rob Marshall was so confident with Jack Sparrow this time and he had cleverly picked Penelope to match the missing adventure. Also, he picked a different novel instead of the famous ones just for casting the characters to perfection. Even if had missed the previous series of the Pirates, Rob often brings back the memories and it's not a mandatory case that you must have watched the previous series.

To give the plot, Jack and Barbossa embark on a quest to find the elusive fountain of youth, only to discover that Blackbeard and his daughter are after it as well. [Ctrl+c from IMDb]. Jack is in London in search of a ship where he is pursued by the local authorities. There he joins Angelica, our Penelope, from the past without being sure whether it's love to find the fabled Fountain of youth. When she forces him aboard the ship of the Blackbeard, it's there the Captain finds himself on an unexpected adventure where Jack is in a dilemma whom to believe.

It was Depp all the way from the beginning but it was co-opted by the one-legged Barbossa who literally stole the show with his comical one liner and beautiful reaction. Blackbeard on the other hand has been very good enough to be a bad guy. Penelope is gorgeous, excellence screen presence but yet her accent sometimes just kicks us out of an English movie. But still people who love her will love her ;-)

Well, I forgot to say that I saw this movie in 3D. But I somehow feel that the 3D effect knocks the pace of the action sequences. I must try to catch the movie in normal 2D to see if that's the real reason or the factor. Hans background score is needless to mention his power pulling capability. You could see the same flow right from the part one without any diminishing factor.

There is a very less chance to be disappointed if you are fan of POC and Jack.

Vaanam

I had no big expectation on this movie and I didn't know that this one is a remake, neither I have seen Vedham, nor I heard the song Evandi Unna Pethaan prior watching this movie and lastly, I never knew that this is the story of some 5 different people how they were forced to meet in the end.

It's actually a good experience to watch a movie without knowing or having any expectation so that you needn't blame it on the expectation factor. Well, having said about the pre movie facts, the screenplay revealed the story will run in 5 directions with 5 set of characters. It was evident with the motto/situation/requirement/ambition of the individuals in the movie. Situation demanded the old man and the mother to sell the kidney in order to save the boy. Dream led Bharath to do a live-in-concert. Requirement made Simbhu to snatch the jewel. A new life plan made a prostitute to come out. So these coinciding contributors reveals the gist of the movie.

This gives a relief that Simbhu is not major lead in the movie, so one can start having some expectation that there will not be too much dump on Simbhu which can go in either way, VTV was an exception though ;). But still he made a little contribution with the opening scene by having his traditional punch 'Evalo mela ponaalum vida maateengale' and unnecessary pulling of Ajith and Vijay. Well, that end straight there. Then comes a combo Simbhu-Santhanam who will keep the audience engaged.

The journey of the other characters run pretty parallel and the combo will turn into a trio pack with the inclusion of VTV Ganesh. That's when the pace shifts gear and moves swiftly. We had seen them as a combo in VTV but with inclusion of Santhanam, it will never let the audience down.

The main lead characters had contributed equally good. The old man was a perfect choice for the character. The movie should have a heroine!!! Yes, Vaanam too had one. But it's mere waste of money and could have invested on alternate plans. She was neither hot nor worthy candidate :P and I also felt Prakash Raj was a bit over acting to his role.

Yuvan never disappoints Simbhu. Two songs that will eventually become chart busters of the year 'Evan di unna pethan' and 'No Money Honey' has been placed well to match the pace of the screenplay. But, they could have made Bharath's introduction song as the title song which could have minimized irritation.

The director was quite good throughout the movie but in the climax after a tragedy, he made the audience laugh with some dumb scene of mathematical calculation which all of a sudden turned a villian!


A Worthy watch

Azhagar Samiyin Kudhirai

It's been so long since I had watched a 'keep it short and silly' movie. Recollecting such movie is...well forget it! Suseendran, the director of Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu and Naan Mahan Alla, shows some versatility in the genres. It's a good show by an upcoming director not to fall in the same league. In fact, though Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu was good, I was disappointed with the climax as I felt it was forced tragedy. And I had some similar expectation in ASK as well. But I never expected the climax to be so simple and especially the antagonist.

 I can try to make the story much simpler in two lines. A village follows the traditional way of celebrating a festival for rain, God's vaaganam is stolen, a connector comes into the picture via the Protagonist, Climax with a neat finish. Ain't that simple? But I bet you, to make such simpler plot is not that easy because it leaves to the audience's taste. One may hate or love such movies. I mean, it can make someone to feel very bore or it can make someone to glue.

Suseendran has described the characters cleverly depicting them with an introduction and of course following a traditional village life characters. You will have an absolutely nothing president, smart young literate men, love between different caste, mamool Inspector is alone an exception here.

Protagonist, appu kutty, is a smart choice for the character Azhagar Samy and I am very surprised to see Saranya accepting to be pair for appu kutty. Appu Kutty has done his part very well utilizing to the fullest what he can. In fact, the entire casting has been really apt except for the annoying Samiyaar part.

Though the director kept everything simple and smart; including the flashback of Appu Kutty who wanted to get the horse desperately back to his place, the Background score elevates the movie in several places. The scene were Appu Kutty sees Saranya and walks out to talk to the horse, the background score in that place gives us a feel of what the character wants to convey. Photography is another thing which gives a feel green to the movie.

Job neatly done! Go for it!