In.A.Deep.Trance

Nemesis

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 00:30:00 +0000

Nemesis, originally uploaded by Vijaykumar Balasubramanian DeepTrance.

Shade and Water

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 02:34:00 +0000

Shade and Water, originally uploaded by Vijaykumar Balasubramanian DeepTrance.

Pre- yum

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 03:13:00 +0000

Pre- yum, originally uploaded by Vijaykumar Balasubramanian DeepTrance.

Arrivals

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:48:00 +0000

Arrivals, originally uploaded by Vijaykumar Balasubramanian DeepTrance.

Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:41:00 +0000

Perspective, originally uploaded by Vijaykumar Balasubramanian DeepTrance.

Where cricket is a religion

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:42:00 +0000

Where cricket is a religion, originally uploaded by DeepTrance.

Where cricket is a religion

Magician

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 23:24:00 +0000

Magician, originally uploaded by DeepTrance.

Magician

A Stick in time

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:23:00 +0000

A Stick in time, originally uploaded by DeepTrance.

A Stick in time

A new beginning

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 01:16:00 +0000

A new beginning, originally uploaded by DeepTrance.

A new beginning

This strange world I now live in

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 02:54:00 +0000

This strange world I now live in, originally uploaded by DeepTrance.

This strange world I now live in

Main hoon na, Snegidhiyae

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:33:00 +0000

Anu Malik and his ilk often blame the director and producer for making specific requests when their ‘inspired’ lifts are found out. What would have made Farah Khan or Shah Rukh Khan want Anu Malik to lift this Vidhyasagar tune for Main Hoon Na?

Snegidhiyae

Main Hoon Na

Ilaiyaraaja’s tribute to Bhimsen Joshi

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 07:37:00 +0000

Bhimsen Joshi:

Ilaiyaraja’s tribute:

The happiest man in Coimbatore

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:02:00 +0000

The happiest man in Coimbatore, originally uploaded by malluboy.

Here in Coimbatore
Lives a man with a smile
in his eyes
in his face
Early to rise
He gets his exercise
He eats healthy
He knows his job
He owns his house
He has savings
His children are settled
This man with the smile
is a tender coconut vendor
with a loyal clientele
and a steady job
He is his own master
with a plan to retire
three years from now
You might never get to know him
but there is this man
here in Coimbatore
a man with a smile

Pic and background story courtesy @malluboy (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22078948@N00/)

Scary times

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 18:43:00 +0000

R loves animals of all kinds. You will find a lot of small figurines spread across our home. Most of them will be discovered after you have either sat or stepped on them. This is not rare. Some of the animals are. Suck it up.

C has planned and created an Elephant costume for 2 year old R. Almost from the minute the costume got ready, R, who has not even seen it yet, wants to be Buzz Lightyear. C is giving me the darkest of looks for introducing Buzz into our lives. The case has been filed under its-all-your-fault folder volume 23.

Taking cue from Inception, I have been diligently planting the idea in R’s head that Buzz loves animals especially elephants. R now agrees to the unreliable fact that Buzz Lightyear’s favorite animal is the elephant. From a total loss, something has been salvaged. There might be a cute little tantrum but the elephant might just prevail. Given this little success in brain washing, it is a little puzzling why R wants to be a leopard as of this morning, the day of his Halloween parade at school. My frantic questions on why he wants to be a leopard have been dismissed with “I wanna be a leopard” retorts of increasing intensity. Will the leopard change its spots for once, in favor of an elephant’s spectacular grey hide?

Details at 10.

The Android Wars

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 19:05:00 +0000

Watching Instantly Aug 31 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:28:00 +0000

Went Looking For…

The Other Man

Patton

The Thin Blue Line

Ended up with…

The Dead Pool

Raajneeti

Did You Hear About the Morgans?

Detailed reviews on BoxOfficeProphets.

Watching Instantly Aug 17 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:42:00 +0000

Went Looking For…

Planet 51

Every Which Way But Loose

Sin Nombre

Ended up with…

The Other Man

Patton

The Thin Blue Line

Detailed reviews at BoxOfficeProphets.

Lost Generation

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:15:00 +0000

YouTube - Lost Generation

Watching Instantly Week 2

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 04:23:00 +0000

Watching Instantly

Week 2 of my column at BoxOfficeProphets.com.

Movies watched include:
District 9
G-Force
The Third Man
Gorillas In The Mist

Movies to be watched include:
Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
Monsters Inc.
Rocket Singh: Salesman of the year

Click here to check it out.

S.T.U.D - Sivaji The Ultimate Dude

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 05:02:00 +0000

A whole new set of reasons for hero worshipping. An irreverent post from a demented mind that feels that it is in the wrong era.

This song from “Paar Magalae Paar” is currently the benchmark that all new Dads should aspire to. Bow to the STUD.

Because he is a stud, he rocks at whistling.

Because he is a stud, he wears a housecoat.

Because he is a stud, he sports a family pack; Six packs are for kids.

Because he is a stud, his wife is always dressed to attend a party in a moment’s notice. Respect the bling.

Because he is a stud, he is the only stud in his family. His offspring are all girls.

Because he is a stud, society be damned, he will smoke a good one and toss it whenever wherever.

Because he is a stud, he can get away with

“Naan Kaadhalenum Parisu Thandhaen Kattilin Mele”

Because he is a stud, his wife will reply with

“Andha Karunaikku Naan Parisu Thandhaen Thottilin Mele”

Lurker's delight

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Sat, 29 May 2010 22:22:00 +0000

Fight! Fight! Fight!

I guess it had to happen at some point. Two opinionated humorists popular among the Indian diaspora of bloggers find a point of confrontation. Interesting view points that titillates the agnostic lurkers among us - Hawkeye takes on KrishAshok. Looks like it will fizzle out but charming (yes, charming) writers nevertheless.

Recursive Rip-offs

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Wed, 26 May 2010 05:00:00 +0000

It happens only in India.

Seriously, someone should patent this 'movie making process' that is available only in India. Thanks to the multiple dialects and dedicated viewers, every hit formula has the potential for someone to reproduce it - over and over and over and over.

You be the judge.

Case #1: Manichithrathazhu (1993) to Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007)

The Malayalam movie, Manichithrathazhu, was a really good horror movie. As usual, the movie was down-to-earth and well enacted.

At least ten years later, this movie was revisited. P.Vasu who was having a bad time in Tamil cinema was testing waters in neighboring Karnataka. Thus was born the surprise hit Apta Mitra (copy of Manichitrathazhu) with the late Soundarya. Fast forward 2004, the Superstar was hearing scripts and he found something interesting in afore mentioned Kannada movie. Chandramukhi (2005) showed who's who to Tamil cinema. At the time of writing, Chandramukhi is still running in Chennai.

Priyadarshan has made it big in Bollywood through effectively combining hit Malayalam movies and Akshay Kumar. Bhool Bhulaiyya is Chandramukhi/Apta Mitra/Manichithrathazhu in Hindi and is supposedly raking in the moolah as well. One story has conquered almost the whole of India in the span of a decade (and over four movies).

Case #2: Don (1978) to Don (2006); Billa (1980) to Billa 2007

Don was a genuinely good movie - urban thriller way back in 1978. It was so good that the Bachchan movie was remade in Thamizh by actor/producer Balaji (a trend setter in remakes) starring Rajini again. This movie was Billa. Both movies were hits. It kind of established Rajini as a mass hero. Billa was a faithful reproduction of Don.

Javed Akthar was one of the script writers of Don. (Salim Khan was the other). Akthar's son Farhan is an auteur of sorts. He revisited the Don storyline to give a rare non-Yashraj no-Karan Johar movie for Shah Rukh Khan. It was a fresh look at the old story and worked big time - especially the climax.

News is that Billa 2007 starring Ajith is going to be released in Thamizh later this year. Here is my head-scratch inducer - Is Billa 2007 a remake of Billa 1980, the remake of Don 1978 or is it a remake of Don 2006, the remake of Don 1978? What then is its illicit relationship to Don 1978?

Case #3: Ullaththai Alliththaa - the ultimate rip-off

This movie is the ultimate rip-off in my books. This Thamizh movie is a remix version of the Hindi movie 'Andaz Apna Apna' starring Aamir Khan and Salman Khan. Good old Koundamani placed homage to the Salman Khan character in the Thamizh version. That is a comic coup in itself. I wasn't too worried about this rip-off itself but the thing that brought the house down was the sound track for this movie by Sirpi. Every song is a rip off - each one from a different source. The fact that the whole story revolves around impersonation and stealing just made the plot thicker.

Case #4: When a copy cat gets copied by another copy cat, does the music sound good?

Thiruttisai Thendral Dheva is known for blatantly lifting other compositions. What would one say to Anu Malik who lifted one of Dheva's lift? Flattering a flatterer. The song in context is the forgettable "Priya Priya Oh Priya" from Kattabomman. Either Anu Malik sits and listens to Dheva songs or Dheva just beat Anu Malik to the original source.

Case #5: The Mannan Paradigm

From Mannan to Gharaana Mogudu to Mechanic Maapillai. The Superstar makes yet another appearance in this analysis but on the positive side this time. Mannan (P.Vasu again is the director) was a super duper hit in Thamizh. The Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi kinda liked it and made Gharaana Mogudu with the customary 'rain dance' thrown in as the only difference. Gharaana Mogudu was the biggest Telugu hit at that time. It made actress Nagma have a great fan following in the two south states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. This prompted distributors to dub Gharaana Mogudu and release it in Thamizh (I think it was called Mechanic Maapillai). I still remember standing with my friends outside a cinema hall that had Mannan running in the matinee show and Mechanic Maapillai for the evening and night shows. The same movie just a few years apart - people!

Why won't you love our cinema junta?

May 25, 2010

I would like to add "Ravan(an)" and "Kites" to this mix of multi lingual mash-ups.

Mani Ratnam and Vikram have combined to introduce an agile style of film making where the characters are constant while the actors are floating.

Kites, a trilingual movie, is now running across America in two versions - the Bollywood version and Bret Ratner presents a version sans the song sequences. It looks like audiences are staying away as both versions have at least two languages that they don't get.

More Rajini Facts

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Sat, 22 May 2010 18:58:00 +0000

Following the first set of facts.

While rest of the world is reeling under the volcanic ash effect, Rajini is dancing with Ash for Eyandhiran.

While non-icelanders struggle with the name of the volcano, Rajini simply refers to it as ‘Malai … da!’,

Rajini can handle short pitch bowling.

Time and Tide wait for Rajini.

Iron Man is a hollywood adaptation of Rajini’s Eyandhiran. It just got released first.

In Las Vegas, the house always wins when Rajini is not playing.

Spoiler alert. The force behind the unbelievable happenings on the ‘Lost’ island is Rajinikanth.

Vikram plays diabolically different character in two versions of Ravanan in two or three languages thus ensuring that he or his character is there in every frame of the movie. In trade circles this is referred to as ‘doing a Rajini’.

There is a desi version of american series ‘24’ in the works starring Rajini. It is called 2.4

The real reason behind Tamil New Year Day being moved to January is that no Rajini movie release has happened in that month for a long time.

Google servers temporarily crashed when someone mistakenly searched for Rajinikanth flop movies. The correct term is ‘Rajini’s awesome movies with humble collections not including Baba.’.

NetFlix Bandit

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Kumar) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:11:00 +0000

Browsing through NetFlix’s online streaming collection is not unlike a Sunday afternoon at Home Depot. Aisles and aisles of useful stuff but with no attendant to assist. This is what I waded through recently – at NetFlix; not Home Depot.

Went Looking For…

Firefly

Cyberspace is atwitter over Joss Whedon’s involvement in the impending Avenger franchise. It made me go back to where it all started (for me) Whedon-wise – the short-lived Firefly series. Queued up the TV series and Serenity, its big screen wrap up party. For the uninitiated, this is Star Wars with more Hans Solo and less, nay, no royal baggage. For the initiated, I apologize for the previous line. I managed to recapture the first three episodes. Good news – the series is still just as great as it was the first time around. Nathan Fillion is visibly less puffy in his pre-Castle days. Rest of the acting arsenal is intact.

Ended Up With…

Chak De! India and A League of Their Own

Shimit Amin lives a double life. I am convinced of this. He lives in L.A and has a repertoire of editing work for American movies and television. Meanwhile, his Avatar creates Bollywood movies that test the conventions of mainstream cinema in India. “Chak De! India”, his most successful movie yet, should prove this point. It IS based on “A League of Their Own”. Do not believe the people (mainly the writers behind the movie) who suggest otherwise. However, it is a great adaptation. The plan is to watch both of them this week - just to compare and contrast and challenge the fore-mentioned writers if it ever comes to that. Right away, I can assure you that CDI is not a straight lift of ALOTO. This is an inspired adaptation but an adaptation nevertheless. It is always a pleasure to watch Shah Rukh Khan not be Shah Rukh Khan on screen. The movie centers around hockey – turf hockey not the ice variety. The latter won’t work in India due to the Gandhian by-laws of non-violence and presence of the equator. Even then, turf hockey has long been overlooked by the Indian populace in favor of the sponsor friendly game of cricket.The theme song became sort of an anthem and was played during India’s successful win in the maiden T20 world championship of (gotta love the irony) cricket.

The Missing Person

Dark? Check. Alcoholic Jerk of a P.I? Check. Noir? Check. I found myself letting out a strange (even for me) growl-like sound when I saw this movie in the streaming section of NetFlix. This would do great for that sleepless Wednesday night. A recent viewing of “The Big Sleep” was the last film noir that I sipped on. While that was more of a legend driven vehicle, “The Missing Person” should satisfy the more primal need of watching a brooding dark story unfold through great actors and dialogs. Amy Ryan, fan since ironically her HR act in the US version of “The Office”, seems to relish the mood setting of this genre and she was great in “Gone Baby Gone”.

Moon

Sam Rockwell is a home office worker who has among other worries a growing distrust of his employer. All his business is through telecommuting. No water-cooler talk. The fact that he is an astronaut stationed in our only natural satellite is only coincidental. This movie is an ode to work from home warriors. Maybe not. However, the premise and talent involved makes this a must see and since Wednesday sleepless night is already book this has to be slotted in for Thursday early morning. I hope this is not Sam’s take on Clooney’s Solaris.

NetFlix is messing with its subscriber base by introducing “Inglorious Bastards” to the list. This is not the Quentin Tarantino movie. Har Har. I am tempted to but chance are I will not watch this one.

In case you are wondering, I brought home a manual and appointment confirmation for a water filter system from Home Depot. I’d gone there to buy a fluorescent bulb.

The Hindu : Opinion / Open Page : My grandmas were super too!

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jerry) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 06:16:00 +0000

The Hindu : Opinion / Open Page : My grandmas were super too!