The Veenman Show

The Trouble with Harry (1955)

2012-01-27T21:10:00.001+05:30

Based on the novel by Jack Trevor Story, The Trouble with Harry is a rare test of tension that Hitchcock puts the viewers to through a weirdly smacking mix of death, mystery and humor. It rolls on with an intriguing plot of a dead body of a man called Harry mysteriously lying in the middle of woods and how that affects or in fact entertains a group of friendly residents from a nearby town who happen to stumble upon it.

After death, our body is just a plaything. Is that a difficult idea to deal with? Yes, if portrayed with out and out reverence and quick-witted humor. And only a filmmaker as crafty as Hitchcock could achieve a feel-good factor in a death mystery.

What’s the trouble with Harry? Is he is a stranger in the town? Why does his death have to bother a retired old Captain, who goes hunting for rabbits, and an ageing single woman whose threshold has never been crossed yet, and a single beautiful mother living with her kid who argues that tomorrow’s yesterday?

The movie begins with eye-popping shots of a quiet autumn countryside, introducing the characters with their routines and idiosyncrasies. You wish you were there sharing laid-back conversations over a light supper with those residents who are particularly fond of blueberry muffins and hot chocolate. There is something so admirable in the filmmakers of the previous generation who always captured portraits and landscapes in an inarguably aesthetic fashion. They understood expressions. They understood colors. They understood time. What could be more pleasing to the eye than watching an artist carrying his sketches walking from distance into the countryside singing a light song on love?

The Trouble with Harry is nothing short of a delectable flick that you will enjoy wide-eyed on a lazy Sunday afternoon. You will experience a rare Hitchcockian attempt to tickle your funny bone using a morbidly curious case.

Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977)

2012-01-26T19:38:00.000+05:30

There is no bigger joy than watching movies where things are made the central characters. Herbie, as the name sounds, is one of cutest cars to have graced the silver screen. Sporting great charms with that tricolor overlaid with number 53 running across the hood and blinking oval headlights and swiveling tyres, Herbie never fails to enliven you at the sight of it. The franchise, though not exemplary in terms of themes or plots, has been quite successful in entertaining a set of audience, especially teens and kids. Being a keen watcher of Herbie movies from childhood, I would say Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo is an entertaining addition to the collection. The film is primarily a race movie featuring a cross country rally where Herbie proves, through the course, that it could be stylish, romantic, humorous, fussy, roguish, and yet unbearably swift. The race scenes, where Herbie gets freakish and crankier because of the stolen diamond dropped in its tank much to the frustration of Wheely the mechanic, turn out truly hilarious. With some nice locales and exaggerated race scenes, and mild humor touches and caricatures, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo is too cute and funny to be avoided.

Visiting the Queen - 7

2012-01-24T20:56:00.000+05:30

When you are all alone in a room, you get this irresistible urge to do a little bit of everything. Sing at a pitch that breaks your voice; do push-ups and give up before a count of five; get philosophical about everything you see including a smelly water jug; write a bunch of Haiku poems on unrequited love; starve for some time; devour a huge bar of chocolate; devour another; drink tap water while it runs; feel your hair raise from gracing the static charge over a television screen; gaze into the mirror and select your best feature; jump over a sofa; clap your legs in the air; laugh out loud over dirty jokes; dig your purse; browse through old photos; recollect all random flukes that have kept you alive; introspect; set some serious goals in life and unset them immediately; know a short history of nearly everything. But, suddenly you realize that there are too many such things to do in too little time and you'd rather lie back and choose those which befit your current mood. Since you couldn't choose anything, you end up doing nothing. And then you feel guilty about doing nothing. You feel sleepy. You realize that sleep is the only thing that could offset all such guilt. You sleep.

I lay back on the bed with hands clasped behind my head and kept telling myself that it was going to be just a short layover and not a prolonged slumber, which has been what I royally do day in day out back home. But then I was wrong. All I had to do was let go and not lay so much weight upon thinking things. Go by my needs and not by my wants. Sleep just seemed to be exactly what I needed at that moment and I just fell in love with it.

Waking up to the shrieks of kids in the garden and colorful balloons flying by your window marked the beginning of a splendid evening. Time was about 4:30. I thought I would take a walk. I unpacked my bags, set things in place, took a hot shower, and wore an old jean and my favorite black (the clothing color of the generation) t-shirt. It wasn’t bitingly cold but I still took a muffler and the all-important camera.

I liked the distance between my cottage and the hotel reception located uphill. It was far enough for a good workout. And there was a narrow path that cut across the rows of cottages on either side thus making it a cozy walk every time. I went straight to the dining hall occupied by a couple of families and took a lone seat by the glass window. I ordered a cup of tea and a sandwich to a waiter whose radiant smile just lit me up instantly.

The view from the window urged me to go for that walk towards the lake right away. So, I gave it a thought. Instead of a walk, which might draw me into thinking about all those recent nightmares I had experienced, I could take a photowalk. A photowalk might just give me a tiny purpose for the evening. I might or might not enjoy the process since I had never been a curious photographer in my life. But it could take my mind off certain things for sure.

Once I finished the little snack, I set out of the hotel premises. The road leading from the hotel entrance stretches like an even slope down to the lakeside with occasional bends. It was unusually calm as all the tourists, who did all the walking in the hotel premises, zipped past only in cabs. Apart from women carrying a basket of fruits and green vegetables and a few natives living beside the lake area, there was no company.

As I walked down the slope, I noticed a few things with curiosity. I clicked an array of three paper plates that were disposed in order. I wondered whether someone could do it on purpose or it was purely coincidental. It is one of those clicks that could eternally embarrass the clicker since it never would be accepted as a souvenir from a trip. I mean, at first sight of such photos, a friend could simply ask why, for heaven’s sake, I would go all the way from Chennai to Ooty to take a photograph of a roadside waste when Chennai offered such opportunities aplenty. Well, I give it to them. But still, I thought it was interesting.

I loved that impregnated walk into the dark, taking its own pace. I saw an old man overtake me swiftly. He seemed to be an agile walker who never took his focus off. He might either have planned to pick me as a representative of the current generation, which is purely driven by sloth, and mock my laziness or he must have really been suffering from twisted bowel syndrome.

Sometimes, even a photowalk could be injurious to health. I found something strangely resembling my life. More like an icon of my misery! A stem of a felled tree completely covered in mud; lonely, yearning for attention. And there was an aura of desperation about it; desperate to cling onto something yet not know what it is. It scares me that a totally unrelated thing in an unrelated place could still carry a memory of you.

I learnt that a photowalk or not, a new-found purpose or not, mind sees things it wants to see. There is no getaway in the truest sense. Things do travel with you. Turning the camera off, I walked closer to the lake.

To be continued...

Visiting the Queen - 6

2012-01-22T22:11:00.000+05:30

The lobby looked neat with the reception desk in the left and a waiting area in the right. I showed the online booking slip to a receptionist, who started asking a series of questions (in fact everything except my lineage) for identification. After I filled the check-in form, she had a brief KT session with her co-worker, a man sporting a French-beard and boasting a cool accent, which he probably picked up from a Hollywood B-movie he had watched on a pirated DVD during one of those lonely night shifts. He repeated the entire line of questioning as he wasn’t much convinced about my photo (taken from the dark ages) in the driving license. I confined my responses to yes’ and no’s just to indicate I was tired and itching to get to the room. However, he said, according to the policy, which the hotel had been following traditionally, I had to wait for an hour or so, as the room, though baygon-sprayed and ready to be occupied already, couldn’t be given to me until the check-in time. I appreciated his emphasis on not allowing a harmless weasel like me to taint the policy and walked to the waiting area filled with guests.

Guests were primarily North Indian families, which had turned out in large numbers. And a few couples (legal and illegal) were standing by the huge glass window overlooking the lovely garden beneath and enjoying the distant view of the town. I settled down on a sofa taking a full note of the lobby activities. There was a spacious dining hall attached to the end of the lobby. The very sight of it got me hungry. First up, to refresh myself, I entered the washroom that looked too cramped for two people. Before I could dry my face, a plump man about the age of thirty-five barged in. He was wearing a shirt liberally unbuttoned at the top thus exposing his hairy chest that only got hairier by the minute and a strong Arabian scent that even moved the rusty exhaust fan at the top. He was so pushy it obviously meant I had to get out with bits of torn tissue paper sticking onto my wet face. I learnt that there is no country for lean men.

To prove that I could be authoritative as a guest at least in a dining hall (suspiciously running empty) I beckoned the waiter to bring me the menu card.

“Saar, this is too early to give you a lunch menu. And too late for a breakfast menu!”

“So what do you have then?”

He gave me multiple choices but as follows,

1.   Idly
2.   Sambhar
3.   Coconut Chutney
4.   Mint Chutney

He told that I could choose only two among them. That was the first time in my life I ever had someone give me choices that really made me think. I thanked heavens that I had been lucky enough not to get the third choice as Chutney and fourth choice as Coconut.

After having the sumptuous brunch with a unique flavor, I went back to the reception to get the key for the cottage. The bellhop holding my luggage kept descending downhill leading to a cottage house that seemed to be located at the bottom of the stack of their cottages. Viola! There it was! I was so thrilled to see it as I was seriously imagining waking up to a full wide view of the lake. A single room cottage at the lakeside! What a lovely sight! I tipped him heavy just to show how happy I was.

After he left with all smiles, I darted to every nook and corner, and smelt the blankets, and tasted the water, and listened to the insect chirps at the back window, and graced the furniture to get a grasp of things as would a curious child experiencing its first little contact with the outside world. I hopped out to get a full view of the cottage. Just to consume the idea that I was finally there. All alone, in a place, where I could spend time simply for the sake of spending time.

To be continued...

Visiting the Queen - 5

2012-01-20T01:11:00.000+05:30

The journeys uphill always remind me of ‘point-n-click’ enthusiasts, suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. The fact that it is a genetic disorder is scary as you’d have to endure them in the travel for generations to come. Sometimes, they don’t have a point in what they do. Hence they are reduced to simply ‘click’ enthusiasts. They readily unleash their cameras once they are a good 100 feet above the ground and wait upon those scenic views to click.

During days of roll-film camera, you were a bit too tentative to click anything because you knew you would be in for a complete mockery after the prints came out. Oh, but there was at least this great element of suspense lurking throughout the vacation of how the photos were going to turn out. And you could hear your heart pump when you are about to look at the prints for the first time. All that anxiety is clearly missing in the current digital age where the photos you have just snapped are into Facebook the next moment with Likes increasing exponentially by the minute.

On the other side, a couple of rows upfront, a man wearing a sweater and a monkey-kulla took his little sleek camera out. Frustrated that he was mostly on the hillside of the climb, he stood on the aisle, inevitably staggering in the choked ride, and occasionally tripping upon passengers (only if women were on the aisle-seat) while pointing his camera for a snap of the scenic valley. Inspired by him, a few more, including the father of the fussy baby beside me, started taking snaps of the valley. Many of them came over by my window as it had no bars obscuring the view. I loved the restless look on their faces when they were trying to poise themselves and yet hold the camera still and wait for that full view of the valley. One of them even stumbled during a rough bump he probably managed to click only the silhouette my nose-bridge. Anyhow, that should have been a unique addition to his collection.

As eventful as it got, I spent the climb, watching broken-down cars with their mourning owners kicking the tyres, adorned idols of hill-deities studded in tree-holes for travelers’ goodwill, and those vicious hairpin bends where heavy vehicles literally bullied the measly ones to backtrack, all in the company of therapeutic whiffs of fresh eucalyptus tangled in the breeze.

After a considerably slow journey, the bus reached the destination – Charring Cross, Ooty. Time was around 11 a.m. Sun was striking down crispier than I had thought. But the hill breeze kept me unscathed. Auto-walas swarmed around us in no time, reciting the top destinations for the blank tourists and their fares. The moment I said “Lake View Hotel”, all of them stepped back and redirected me to another auto parked at a distance. I dragged the luggage to that auto and without a word being said, he started the vehicle that only meant I needed to get in right away.

For the first time, I was going to the other side of the Ooty main lake. The curvy and reasonably desolate road that bends around the lake - West Lake Road looked scenic, more private, and appealing for a long walk. The auto-wala drove effortlessly on the steeps and almost stormed into the hotel premises as the vehicle came to screeching halt at the main entrance as if it were a hospital and I were having a condition of exploding appendix.

The hotel had a serene look and feel. I felt refreshed right away. I inquired the auto-wala about the general fares to go to places around indicating him that I was interested yet clueless. It is a good tactic generally to know about an auto-wala. He immediately asked me to book his auto for local tours at slashed rates. Since the rates were appalling, I politely refused that I hadn’t planned for any local tours and sent him back. With a huge sigh of relief, I stepped into the reception carrying the luggage as all the bellhops were busy unloading luggage (people too) from an Innova.

To be continued...

Visiting the Queen - 4

2012-01-14T00:35:00.000+05:30

I sensed the bus sharply swerving round a petrol bunk when I woke up from my head knocking back and forth upon the glass window. With a sweaty neck and parched lips I realized I had turned on the exhaust sometime earlier, thanks to the indisputably misdirecting arrows on the AC vent over my head. The attendant understood the restlessness of the craning heads and announced that we had reached Salem for a 30-minute halt. For the first time in my life, I had a bloodrush to instigate a mini stampede within the bus. And in no time, I found myself heading the line into the battered restroom that looked like a clear suspect on first sight. Maybe the others were intelligent enough to see the precedent in me. Upon tripping the yellow signboard that I assumed would be reading, “Caution! Wet floor. Cleaning in progress,” I stepped in like a royal guest. Seconds later, I scrambled out on toes with a silent scream exploding on the inside just to see the signboard, which was in fact reading, “Toilet brokern” - ‘r’ being silent. After a while of futile attempts to find a proper restroom nearby, I realized the universal truth that there is no bigger paradise than the open space where you experience relief of the highest order.

I bought some items to snack on and stood outside watching the crew change tyres, while the fuel tank was refilling. Then, once we took off, I settled down, brushing aside all the mental blocks, having wonderful dreams of how this little trip was going to turn out. Occasionally waking up with bleary eyes, I saw the green fields outside. A spectacular thing to wake up to! Forgoing the sleep, I quickly slid the window open and let the chill breeze ruffle the hair back from my brows that allowed the rays directly strike my forehead. We were then snaking through the curves of Mettupalayam, where one of the passengers, received by her father in arm-baniyan and multicolored lunghi, got down. As we moved towards the foot of the hill, there was an array of bunk shops. The driver parked the vehicle in the queue of buses and lorries halting before the ascent.

The bunk shop vendors invited the regulars with wide smiles and all I could smell was the brewing tea in those large boilers. And those butter biscuits in glass containers and vadas to be served with hot idlis stacked up in neat columns never fail to catch your attention. I ordered tea while some of the fellow passengers were busy unpacking their brushing kits on the road. Some of them looked very edgy during the process of brushing. They always bent down like they were going to puke and then parked the brush inside. They brushed like someone had ordered them a high-octane dental overhaul while some of them stood absolutely erect with the brush parked in the mouth, and then steering it like a worn-out coupling rod from an extinct locomotive, gazing cold-bloodedly over the dosa-cook who was sweeping the laying-stone with a coconut broomstick. Oh, sometimes they could just stop to talk through the froth and yet make sense. As I slowly held the glass of tea, got carefully acquainted with its warmth, and gently blew over the white froth on top to take that first invigorating sip, I realized that the hunt for the recipe to the perfect tea in the world ended right there.

I just recalled that Mettupalayam was the boarding point for my return journey since I had planned to take the toy train for the descent. So, I asked the vendor, “Where is Sivaranjani theatre?” as KPN travels had mentioned that as the landmark for the boarding point. For a moment, they all looked at each other and scoffed at me. I thought they suspected me that I was a fan of C-grade movies and that I was in a lifelong hunt for rejoicing the thrill of catching the action in theatres. Then he said, “Saar! That was brought down long back! You didn’t know? By the way, why do you want to know?” and had a good laugh about it with his co-workers. Glad they were having a good time. I then inquired about KPN office in Mettupalayam of which no one, including the bus crew, had a clue. Ignoring the situation that had the potential to add more insult to injury, I got into the bus.

We started for the ascent 10 minutes later. After months of emotional turmoil, and so much of disappointments, frustrations, scuffles that I had to go through before this sudden getaway to Ooty, eventually, I found myself touching the feet of the queen sitting pretty at the top.

To be continued...

Visiting the Queen - 3

2012-01-10T00:30:00.000+05:30

Night bus journeys make me invariably sleepless. Buses never produce that lulling rhythm as do trains. And the occasional bumps royally work on your nerves, especially, when the bus is on a nonstop cruise and you have a full bladder - primed and ready to go. However, that night, I relished the challenge of staying wise. Yes, it has been scientifically proven that men make wiser decisions while their bladders are full. Of course, women don’t (as a matter of fact, never) as no theory could ever be proven right with them. The brain’s self-control mechanism provides restraint in all areas at once. They found that during a full bladder situation men were able to better control and hold off making important, or expensive decisions, leading to better judgment. Psychologists even linked bladder control to the same part of the brain that activates feelings of desire and reward. Now, this lethal theory might gear-up a lot of self-help gurus (aspiring billionaires) for they could this as the unique selling point for their books. Sooner or later, you might find those books stacked up in the racks, cover pages screaming,

CONTROL YOUR FULL BLADDER
BECOME AN ETERNAL AUSTERE
One million copies sold!
In the process of staying wise and enlightening myself, I turned to the other side to catch some amusing behavior from sleeping passengers than focus on the ticking bomb. There was a cute baby wrapped in a cozy pink quilt, fussing over mom’s laps. While she began studying the cause of the disturbance, it was staring at me as if I were responsible for not changing its diapers in time. Mom needed dad’s attention and a little help from him in unpacking things, but he was fast asleep with a blissful look plastered on his face indicating he had already sunk deeper into the psychedelic dreams about his lost love from childhood.

Normally, kids do stare at me for a longer period of time. Maybe they find me intriguing or the exact opposite. I’ve always wanted to know why. Although most times, I give a zombie look, I decided to make some funny gestures this time just to evoke some positive response. Using the luxury of the darkness around, I started making a funny cartoon face. Hardly had I dropped my jaw when it began squealing, waking up all the poor souls (except dad who was in the limbo by then) around and buried its head into her bosom. What followed truly traumatized me. I was so frozen with tension that the jaw, which had dropped already stayed that way even after mom turned towards me to see what I was up to. She stared at me in a way that assured one thing – I would be featuring in the wrong end of every god-damned spook story that she would be telling her kid whenever it fussed to eat, drink or sleep. Right! There’s always an exception to every proven theory.

Into the 5th hour of the journey, the bus swiftly turned left at Krishnagiri and hit on NH7 towards Salem. All I did was leaning on the glass window, emptying the rest of biscuits, catching glimpses of bright flashes in the sky, listening to Tamil songs of the 90s in a nostalgic streak.

Thoppur
An hour later, bus came to a halt at a well-lit tollgate in Thoppur. Tollgates are the best parts of a night journey. I love those yellow lights glistening off green signboards. It also gives you a chance to see the different types of vehicles ranging from small cars to mid-size Omnis to luxury Volvos to humongous trucks commuting across highways. Tollgates. I love that temporary halt. It gives you an impression that though we are all in the middle of our own journeys, we got to halt together at some point. And of course, there is a cost involved.

To be continued...

The previous parts can be read at the below links,
Visiting the Queen - 1
Visiting the Queen - 2

Vaagai Sooda Vaa (2011)

2012-01-05T02:37:00.000+05:30

Vaagai Sooda Vaa, directed by Sargunam, who made an impressive debut with the village romantic comedy - Kalavaani, is an irresistibly delightful flick that unfolds ever so naturally in a dusty little village filled with underprivileged yet memorable characters. Halfway through the movie, you begin to wonder what real education is. Is it 2+2=4? Or is it learning to live a life that is purely driven by faith in fellow human beings and understanding of nature’s nuances?

Although the movie stresses on the predicament of child labor and the right to education for impoverished kids, it never really preaches to the point of viewer’s distaste. However, a cute little tale of love, characterized by a certain degree of uniqueness, showers tenderness over what is perceived to be a cold and done-to-death subject in Indian cinema.

KandeduthaanKaadu, symbolic of any remote village in the country, is the place where the best bricks are made. A bunch of natives lives there and makes bricks in kilns for a merchant who sweeps building contracts exploiting its highly skilled labor. The protagonist from a nearby town, driven by his father’s ambition of his son becoming a government teacher, comes to the village to teach the underprivileged kids so that it would act as an easy prerequisite for a government job.

Does he stay put for the required period of contract?

Or does he step up a level further to educate the kids much to the rage of the brick merchant?

Though being a period flick set in the 1960s, ironically, it has a timeless appeal. Illiteracy and child labor are still brewing crises in rural India. Sargunam uses an as-is backdrop and authentic rural slang that draw you closer to the endearing sights and sounds of the village. You smell the mud almost instantly. All scenes where he becomes the victim of those naughty pranks by the kids and banters of the workers are truly hilarious. Vimal’s performance as “Saar”, though a bit amateur at times, has a loveable innocence lurking beneath.

And the movie moves closer to coziness when he becomes the victim of the local lady’s love. She brings an aura of extreme warmth in the scene where she blushes while experiencing the delight of holding the radio in her arms with the song “Thendral urangiya podhum” playing on it. An adorable performance by Iniya!

M. Ghibran’s songs and background score as a debutant evidently projected by Sargunam’s aesthetic sense form the true lifeblood of this movie.

There’s nothing in this world that can’t be told with humor. Sargunam believes in humor. That makes him stand apart from the crowd. All his future movies will be watched!

A movie though not that highbrow as critics may expect reaches its poignant best at the point when the character, Kuruvikkaran, the intuitive, old, wise man of the village, says in torment to the teacher,

“Nee vedhaikala, aana arukkura.”
(You didn’t sow but you reap already.)

Vaagai Sooda Vaa - That bigger picture! Those tiny delights!

2011 - Top 20 Tamil Songs >> Song of the Year

2011-12-31T17:51:00.000+05:30

Ennamo Edho

Movie: Ko
MD: Harris Jayaraj
Singer: Aalap Raju, Prashanthini, Sricharan, Emcee Jesz
Lyricist: Madhan Karky

For once, they released a real teaser for a movie. Snapshots of Ennamo Edho in the promo trailer soared all the expectations inside me. And when I heard the song for the first time, I couldn’t proceed after 60 seconds because I just kept hearing it over and over and over, shaking my head on autopilot.

“Yeno Kuviyamilla”
“Oho Uruvamilla”

So similar to “Angel Vandhaley” from Badri! Yet this one takes the cake just for the way the words fit the tune. And those silky smooth beats do no good but glue me in trance for hours together. In fact, I was so in love with these lines I have often fantasized that whenever someone went livid with me I would simply sing back, “Yeno”. Of course, with a serious face! And that whenever someone tried to educate me of something, I would widen my eyes, singing, "Oho".

Madhan Karky announces his arrival to the world of song-writing with the catchword - Kuviyamilla (Out of focus), which probably marks the huge popularity of the song. Obviously, our generation with little knowledge in literary Tamil should have googled about it.

What’s so special about the song? It pulls the trick whenever you try to typify it either as a soft melody or a racy dance number. It just enchants you any day any time in its own way; a song for all moods. And who better than Harris Jayaraj to do it? Somehow he has this great ability of sneaking a mellifluous tone into all his racy numbers – “Uyirin Uyire” from Kaakha Kaakha for example. Though he depends on limited number of tunes, he never fails to produce chartbusters out of them. And in this case, he has hit some of the sweetest notes. Aalap Raju’s singing is impressive to the core but Prashanthini’s humming interludes render the actual beauty of the song. Rap portions take the cue on a perfect note.

I love having this song in the beginning of my playlist. And make no mistake about it – I love having it at the end of the same playlist as well. You hear many songs for yourself. But there are some songs you die to project to others. You would like to know how they respond to it. You are totally proud to hear it along with them. And whenever Ennamo Edho plays on FM in my car, I turn the volume up and roll the windows down.

My Anthem of the Year!

2011 - Top 20 Tamil Songs >> 5 - 2

2011-12-31T02:31:00.000+05:30

Enna Thanthiduven

Movie: Sathurangam
MD: Vidyasagar
Singers: Karthik, Srilekha
Lyricist: Pa. Vijay

Some songs spoil you, don’t they? They take you out for a blind stroll into the wonder world of love - so elusive and so unrealistic, where everything is falling apart except your indulgence with that stroller. You just want to be stuck there and be forgotten forever. I must be one of the very few in this world to feel so happy when the movie Sathurangam was resurrected from the buried and released after 6 long years; Now that it’s out, I could officially pin this evergreen musical mesmerizer to the list of top songs of the year! Karthik and Srilekha sing for each other and not the listener. How often do you hear songs with such chemistry between the singers? And when you hear songs like this, you feel that the composer and his team would fail miserably if they ever tried creating them. They can’t be composed. They just happen.

Unbearable sweetness!

Dhimu Dhimu

Movie: Engeyum Kadhal
MD: Harris Jayaraj
Singer: Karthik
Lyricist: Na. Muthukumar

The loveable aspect of this divine melody is that the suffering of a man who keeps searching for the cause of the agitation in his mind is neither expressed using extreme pathos nor using a tempo that bursts your vessels. It’s so poised. Harris and Karthik team up to pull off that magic they created in “Aval Ulaga Azhagiye” from Lesa Lesa. The tempo that picks up during the end of the song, which flows with subtle pain almost until then reflects sheer joy.

As Karthik's voice graces the line, “Jaamathil vizhikiren jannal vazhi thoongum nila”, I know he sings to my soul. He is my singer of the decade. Just can’t pick his best rendition.

A Karthik Special!

Aariro

Movie: Deiva Thirumagal
MD: GV Prakash Kumar
Singer: Haricharan
Lyricist: Na. Muthukumar

It’s a dream for a singer, isn’t it? A solo song that expresses a full bundle of emotions in a relationship through seamless poetry. It should be a dream for every singer in the world. What more does a singer want than being heard alone? What more does a singer crave than his voice opening up the floodgates of a soul. Haricharan, having realized that, grabs the beautiful offering in both hands and delivers what that not just stirs your heart in the course but lingers like a persistent parasite that sucks all the sorrow out of your life. Aariro is more than a lullaby. It’s the ecstatic reaction of a father who just heard his cute little baby say “Pa” for the first time. GV Prakash deserves a huge garland for the composition.

Overwhelming!

Sara Sara

Movie: Vaagai Sooda Vaa
MD: Ghibran

Singer: Chinmayi

Lyricist: Vairamuthu

Beginning with a delightful little wordplay, Vairamuthu not just ventures into giving us great snapshots from the countryside but also uncannily explores the corridors of a village girl’s heart. What can I say! Picture perfect! Such songs can be written only from true experiences and not by mere imagination. The girl from the village in love with an officer welcomes him home, introduces him her way of life, offers him all the warmth, winks in admiration, blinks in disappointment; but keeps everything to herself. Ghibran’s orchestration, very reminiscent of the AR Rahman of the 90s, reflects a poignant understanding of the poet’s lines and the warmth in the girl’s heart. I’d love to remember this voice as Chinmayi’s original one because I feel she sounds different every time – Mayya Mayya, Oru Deivam Thandha Poove, for example. The vivid visuals of this song deserve a special mention. Wish we had more songs made this way! The art of making a tasteful video has become so rare these days.

Warmth in the way of life; warmth in a woman’s heart!

2011 - Top 20 Tamil Songs >> 10 - 6

2011-12-29T02:24:00.000+05:30

Yaar Adhu

Movie: Kaavalan
MD: Vidyasagar
Singers: Karthik, Suchitra
Lyricist: Yugabharathi

Very happy for Vidyasagar, who has composed some of the greatest melodies in the last two decades, to have come back in style with such a mellifluous track that instantly transports us back to the 80s when tunes decorated lyrical poetry and not vice versa. Though this is a romantic number where a man expresses his love for the lady unknown, there is a subtle pain and longing attached to the tone. And Karthik’s untainted voice naturally embraces that emotion and lays it on one’s heart. The clarity in his pronunciation is impeccable for a song that has a reasonably tough mix of mellinam and idayinam rich words.

Peach of a melody!

Podi Paiyan Polave

Movie: Rajapattai
MD: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Singer: Haricharan
Lyricist: Yugabharathi

Yuvan has a set of strange tunes that he uses now and then strictly for his fans. Do you remember “Endhan Uyir Thozhiye” from Winner? Or “Bombay city local party” from the unreleased movie Kadhal Samrajyam? Or “Thaakuthe Kan Thaakuthe” from Baana Kaathadi? Or “Ennamo Nadakirathe” from Sandakozhi? Or “Konjam Konjam” from Arindhum Ariyamalum? These are songs that have some really weird vocals. How much ever weird they sound, they are still among the most stylish songs he has ever composed. And this time, it’s a solo rendition by Haricharan! Podi Paiyan Polave - snazzy as it sounds, Yuvan carries it all the way with an attractive mix of simple notes and swanky beats and a stop-start rhythm. My latest crush!

Uber cool!

Nee Korinaal

Movie: 180
MD: Sharreth
Singers: Karthik, Swetha Mohan
Lyricist: Madhan Karky

Sharreth has delivered the sucker punch this year through this unconventional melody with a strong Hindustani flavor. The feeling of a continuous rise and fall gets you hooked to the song and at no point does it cease to tease you and surprise you. Sometimes, this sounds more like an aberration that caters to your playful needs. An arrangement so intriguing! Karthik and Swetha Mohan sizzle here to say the least. Love the way they both stretch and fit the phrases to the notes, which seem to have surprised even them while singing.

As fresh as the dew in the morning!

Kaatril Eeram

Movie: Veppam
MD: Joshua Sridhar
Singers: Karthik, Sricharan
Lyricist: Na. Muthukumar

It's very frustrating at the end of this song. All the time! Why does it have to end? Why not a little longer? I love songs that travel on low key, especially when the little joys of life are expressed in a repressed fashion. Not every time do we express such emotions out of control, right? The beauty is in the restraint. Just as in the below lines,

“Nadai pathai pookal ellam kaigal neetuthe
Neengatha punnagai ondru udhathin mele poothiduthe”

Joshua Sridhar has given us a little gem here that reminds me of one of his previous compositions and my hot favorite – “Unnarugil Varugayil” from Kalloori. The man has an amazing talent but lacks serious opportunities. For Karthik, the song is right up his alley. He is in the zone once the charanam begins. And all you do then is spurt and sing along with him to experience this little bundle of joy.

Sumptuous!

Poraney Poraney

Movie: Vaagai Sooda Vaa
MD: Ghibran
Singers: Nega Bhasin, Ranjith
Lyricist: Karthik Netha

What a top class debut by M Ghibran! A song that has a haunting tone set in its header continues thereafter to flow like a wild river submerging you in its extreme dynamism. The percussions are hard hitting like the throaty voice of Nega Basin (of Pesugiren fame), which adds the real rustic charm to the whole track. That shiver and stress on “Thoothala pola” is funny yet cute. And Ranjith has given his heart out for the song; truly absorbing performance. Never hear this song just once. It will keep haunting you. Submit yourself to it.

Compelling!

2011 - Top 20 Tamil Songs >> 15 - 11

2011-12-28T00:44:00.000+05:30

Engeyum Kadhal

Movie: Engeyum Kadhal
MD: Harris Jayaraj
Singers: Aalap Raju, Devan, Ranina Reddy
Lyricist: Thamarai

Thamarai’s exquisite poetry on love couldn’t get a better tribute than this musical sweetness from Harris. There’s an inarguable touch of class in the way the whole track unfurls in Aalap Raju’s absorbing rendition. Those steady beats that linger, those simple lines that strike beauty make you want to listen more and more. And more.

Celebration of love!

Neduvaali

Movie: Osthi
MD: Thaman
Singers: Rahul Nambiar, Mahathi
Lyricist: Yugabharathi

A truly racy dance number, eclipsed by the hype and sensation of Kalasala from the same album is a remake of Thaman’s own, Silaka Raaye Silaka from the Telugu flick Mirapakaay. Neduvaali is at its fluent best right from the word go. The beats just hit you with so much of buoyancy. The chorus effect on Mahathi’s voice alternating with Rahul’s vibrant singing makes it a totally entertaining package. Ada Dumeelu Dhan Ada Dumeelu Dhan - just love this part!

Thaman knows the pulse!

Pudhu Punal

Movie: Mouna Guru
MD: Thaman
Singers: Ranjith, Rahul Nambiar, Karthikeyan
Lyricist: Vaali

Rarely does Tamil Cinema introduce the protagonist with a song that’s hauntingly profound in nature. There’s a sublime rhyme in Vaali’s lines that has been emphasized musically to great effect by Thaman. His adaptation of the song “Jambalingame Jadadhara” for the philosophical portions fits the mood like a glove.

Drawing a blissful nod!

Vizhigalil Oru Vaanavil

Movie: Deiva Thirumagal
MD: GV Prakash Kumar
Singers: Saindhavi
Lyricist: Na. Muthukumar

Like the whisper of love, it soothes your ear and heals your heart. Saindhavi’s husky intonation, however hauntingly beautiful, reminds me of V Kumar’s masterpiece Kathodudhaan Naan Paaduven sung by the veteran LR Eswari. Though there are a number of soft love melodies of this type, love oozes here in peace and calm. A girl sings of the discovery of her love for a man and her awe for the mystery it creates around her through splendid imagery. Commendable work by the lyricist! And GV Prakash has given the perfect composition for the mood.

Like a serene, lingering dream!

Otha Sollala

Movie: Aadukalam
MD: GV Prakash Kumar
Singers: Velmurugan
Lyricist: Yegadhasi

Inarguably, the best dappankuthu of the year! The boundless energy coming out this song never fails to enliven the listener putting an inevitable smile on the face. Boasting very different yet funny lyrics, the song’s exuberance and magic is propelled by the fresh, rustic voice of Velmurugan. Whenever I am down and out, I listen to this. And whenever I am in the mood for celebration, I listen to this. There were times when I used to play this song on full blast at home and dance like no one’s watching.

“Onnum sollame usura thottaye
Manasa inikka vecha seeni mittaye”

Ithu kuthu illa. Gummankuthu!

2011 - Top 20 Tamil Songs >> 20 - 16

2011-12-26T02:21:00.000+05:30

Vaada Bin Laada

Movie: Mangatha

MD: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Singers: Krish, Suchitra

Lyricist: Vaali

A duet, strongly techno in nature that gets you curious on first listen is bound to go into the stash of seasonal favorites because of its treatment. The change in rhythm during the stanzas is the real charm, which is enhanced by Vaali’s funny lyrics. Most often, while humming this song, I somehow land in singing lines from Ottagatha Kattiko of Gentleman. Though Krish’s singing here sounds more like someone yawning with a tune, it fits well for the track’s raunchy mood. And Suchitra is at her husky best as always!

Strangely amusing track!

Oda Oda Oda

Movie: Mayakkam Enna
MD: GV Prakash Kumar
Singer: Dhanush
Lyricist: Dhanush

That which reflects the predicaments of a common man on a self-deprecating note will undoubtedly be the most loved thing. We have all been there, haven’t we? The song effectively brings out the frustration and lack of competence of the protagonist in the world of mad rush in simple yet hilariously philosophical lines, rendered in an instantly catchy tune, which only gets catchier punctuated by the clicking sound of a camera.

Seriously funny!

Maasamaa Aaru Maasamaa

Movie: Engeyum Eppodhum
MD: Sathya

Singer: Sathya

Lyricist: Saravanan

This cute 4-minute track of Gaana flavor reminds us of the fact that songs with the minimal influence of instruments can sometimes be the most entertaining ones. All you need is a table or a bound notebook to drum on and a lively voice to reproduce this. What better song for exuberant chorusing during picnic trips! There is not anything profoundly musical about this yet its rustic beats and amateur-style singing will never fail in shaking your body.

A nice debut venture for Sathya!

Evan di Unna Pethan

Movie: Vaanam

MD: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Singers: Silambarasan, Yuvan Shankar Raja

Lyricist: Silambarasan, Yuvan Shankar Raja

Released as a promo song for the movie Vaanam, this track became an instant blockbuster and continued to top the charts until its horrendous video came out. As the song begins with Yuvan’s signature high-pitched rendition of “O baby, I feel like flying”, you know you are in his hunting ground. Needless to say, he has had a ball here with frisky club beats and high-school lyrics of STR, thanks to the heavy influence of Facebook, Twitter, ITunes and sorts in the current generation artists. With its enormous energy and mass appeal to urban youth, this track by Yuvan is one of his best dance numbers.

Groovy, Yuvan style!

Kadhalikka Pennoruthi

Movie: Vedi

MD: Vijay Antony

Singers: Andrea Jeremiah, Emcee Jezz, Naresh Iyer

Lyricist: Kabilan

An interesting and a punchy dance number that travels on the 80’s disco beats fused with rap-style singing and a few classical touches. Beginning almost tuneless, this song goes on to really surprise the listener in the first stanza by adopting Ilayaraja’s style in disco numbers that is quite evident from the way the singer picks up the note after the second classical interlude. Vijay Antony has the potential to produce some truly great songs (Azhagai Pookuthe for example) if and only if he decides to brush aside doing blatant copycat work from world music.

A very sleek disco number!

2011 - Top 20 Tamil Songs

2011-12-25T03:13:00.000+05:30

Music. Sometimes it just graces you. Sometimes it grows on you. Sometimes it mesmerizes you. Sometimes it elevates you. Sometimes it mends broken hearts too. It is undoubtedly the greatest gliding spirit that the world wants to hold onto. As a grueling year of twists and turns passes by, I look back and realize how music has once again played the integral part of my recovery from periods of great emotional stress as well as celebrations of tiny little successes. Needless to say, it is the case for every human being on earth.

Remembering Late Playback Singer Malaysia Vasudevan (1944 – 2011), one of the most resounding voices in Tamil Film Music industry, I come to think of what a versatile talent and a great asset he was! The man had a dream run with Maestro Ilayaraja in the folk genre during the 80s. Not just the evergreen folk songs; even the soft melodies sound so graceful in his voice. The hits just kept on coming. And a few of my all-time favorites are Podhuvaga Emmanasu Thangam, Poove Ilaya Poove, Ye Raasathi Rosaapoo and Poongatru Thirumbuma. Being an ardent follower of music in Tamil Cinema as a layman over the years, I have come up with my list of the best songs in 2011 as I did in 2006 and 2010 as well. I dedicate the following series of posts to that wonderful singer.

Scorpion - Short Story

2011-12-24T20:37:00.002+05:30

Dear readers,

My short story Scorpion has featured in the The Banyan Trees, November Issue with the theme Mythology, legends, and fairytales. It can be read here. Would love to have your comments there :) And my other short story Skybreaker which won the Reader's Choice Award in the contest held by them has also featured in the same issue.

Blue Valentine (2010)

2011-12-22T06:12:00.000+05:30

Falling in love and falling out of love has rarely been portrayed as compelling and spontaneous as in Blue Valentine – a heartbreaking love story of Dean and Cindy glided by some awfully candid moments of love and disconnect in a relationship. The alternating between the timelines of their life together has been used to great effect to tell a potentially delicate story. They eye each other and feel that instant magic. Time goes by. They eye each other and feel that instant dispassion. The eyes are the same. But what they see is different. Is love immortal? Does it go all the way? Or would you be able to go beyond what it could possibly offer? Do you think your life is all figured out at any point? Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams have delivered the performances of their lives as they turn mere scenes into remarkable moments of euphoria, intimacy, inadequacy and frustration. The way she tap-dances on the street to his tunes, the way he says, ‘I love you like crazy’, grinning his teeth are snapshots that you will save forever. The appealing narrative may be imitable but the depths of the dejection attained through it will never be. Blue Valentine is a piece of art.

Inherit the Wind (1960) - Review

2011-12-20T00:01:00.000+05:30

Inherit the Wind, based on the true story, the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, is a riveting, tense courtroom drama that presents you a glorious cinematic effervescence in 120 minutes immersing you in a sea of profound thoughts that have been long kept unfathomed. It takes the longstanding mystery - God created Man or Man created God and masterfully crafts it into a sparkling debate on whether one has the right to think.

How often do you get movies that give you the scope to think?

Cates, a high-school Science teacher, is arrested by the state for teaching Darwinian Theory of Evolution to students and corrupting the young minds with contempt on good old faith. Henry Drummond, played by Spencer Tracy takes up the case for Cates under swaying public rage while Matthew Harrison Brady, an exponent on the Bible and its teachings, played by Fredric March, is the prosecutor.

As the arguments are presented in crystal clarity, you will not be just hooked into it but discover a swooning admiration for those veteran actors in the form of Spencer Tracy and Fredric March. What power of expression! What majesty! It would have been a dream come true to have seen Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan and SS Rajendran sizzle as these lead characters if at all this were adapted in Kollywood. The stature and charisma of such actors are clearly missing in the current generation in which realistic and method acting rule the roost, only contributing to the death of Drama, which was the primordial source of Cinema. Whatever happened to the sublime art of dialogue writing?

Inherit the Wind not only thrives on its thunderous dialogues but its ability to make the viewer take sides in the course. The penultimate courtroom scene spanning for about 20 minutes, when Drummond puts Brady on the witness stand, is a soaring masterpiece where you’d keep sharply alternating between two sides of the flipping coin and yet not call what is right. Ironically, in a movie dealing with a topic of such great tension and sensitivity, there is no dearth of irreverent, sardonic humor delivered in every possible frame with supple eloquence. The scene where Brady points to an Ape sitting beside with a cap on its head and says, “Man didn’t evolve from Ape but Ape devolved from Man” is a truly laugh-out-loud moment.

Inherit the Wind, in short, is the archetype that will continue to serve thinking filmmakers for a long time to come. Watch this timeless classic! Experience the greatness of good old acting!

Contagion (2011) - Review

2011-12-19T00:44:00.000+05:30

Steven Soderbergh, though quite popular in the east through the stylish Ocean’s trilogy has always been exemplary in making movies on the opposite spectrum such as docu-dramas that lean on global crisis or national scandals such as Erin Brockvich, Traffic and Informant. Contagion, borrowing only the title from that brilliant novel of Robin Cook, is a partially engaging movie of the latter kind, featuring an ensemble cast (Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Lawrence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law), who seem to be suffering more from bad fodder for acting and less screen-space than from the outbreak of that deadly virus. The screenplay that crawls in its own pace is well planned and less sensationalistic in approach, which is quite rare for a movie with a subjunctive premise but somehow fails to implant a feverish vibe in the mind of the viewer as a pandemic would be attributed to.

Right off the bat, the movie gets to the point that mankind has to fight what nature could offer us in the form of chaos from time to time. In the process, we forget morals, ethics, orderliness and frantically resort to vandalism. There should always be three kinds of characters in such global crisis movies – the affected, the healer, and the exploiter. Though almost all characters here are poorly developed, Jude Law, playing the exploiter and a blogger-journalist, and an effective scandalmonger, is the only character that stays in our mind so to speak. Overall, Contagion tries to show, in an extremely subdued fashion, how badly reactive we could get when we are suddenly thrown into a chaos. However, unfortunately, it fails to create that lasting impact.

Mayakkam Enna - Review

2011-11-26T23:43:00.001+05:30

Rarely do we see, nowadays, intense relationship drama in Tamil Cinema, which set high standards five decades back using the very same genre. Directors such as K. Balachander, K. Bhagyaraj and Visu not only ruled the industry by churning out intriguing themes in volume but also changed the face of Tamil Cinema with their mercurial ability of writing offbeat screenplays.

Along those lines, Director Selvaraghavan, who stormed into the scene in early 2000s, with Kadhal Konden, a bold insight into an orphan’s life, victimized by grueling child labor, and its lethally sensitive exposure in the real world, has been trying to raise the bar ever since with a few bizarre and uncompromising flicks such as Pudhupettai and Aayirathil Oruvan. His latest venture, Mayakkam Enna, is a snapshot of what greatness he could accomplish with a simple story and intense character byplay.

Mayakkam Enna is an emotionally charged story of a freelance photographer, Karthik Swaminathan, who has repressed dreams of becoming the icon in wildlife photography amidst enduring constant rejection and humiliation from the outside world. He is raised by his friends who support his self-indulgent attitude. They call him genius too! As his life goes by with cheap assignments, he finds his love at a point where he becomes a victim of exploitation in the very hands of who inspires him.

How does his mind work since then?

Does it consume love or hatred?

Is it still beautiful or dented?

Is it persevering or submissive?

Who better than Selvaraghavan, with aplomb, could handle the meandering journey of a self-deprecating loser seeking pleasure only in doing what little he knows? And Selva does it once again with a difference using his authentic scene-twisting and dramatic characters and engagingly provocative screenplay. The scene in which Karthik emotively alternates between pull light switches to show his different facets is sheer novelty to say the least! And that exquisite lens work of the falling leaf in the wild will create flutters in your stomach!

Love shows the genius to the world and only love can show it to the world.

Such beautiful and sensitive themes are rare to find in this increasingly alarming trend of movies plagued by worship of self-styled heroes, shallow characters, wham-bam action aided by overly ramped camera work, and Hollywood rip-offs.

Dhanush, playing Karthik, deserves a standing applause for his uncanny acting, which only serves as the fulcrum of the movie’s fragile nature. He is an asset to Tamil Cinema and how well has he grown in stature ever since that juvenile actor from Thulluvadho Ilamai. Richa Gangopadhyay, playing Yamini, though silent for most of the time, manages to express what’s needed. Her character as a vulnerable lover and a stern wife is quite complex in itself and it lends weight to carry tough situations with ease. GV Prakash’s songs and BGM are apt to the situations. Oda Oda song deserves a special mention for its catchy tune and creative video.

If you are a fan of Selvaraghavan, who has the reputation of making movies that could touch high drama at one moment and instantly fall into a trough of emotional subtlety at the next moment, then you will be enthralled to the core. Though clouded by moods of confusion, depression, desperation, hatred, betrayal, and exploitation, it manages to put a smile on your face as the end credits roll by. Such is the bittersweetness and delicateness of the story! And Selva has handled it with real care.

Mayakkam Enna – Multifaceted brilliance!

Whatever Happened to Those...

2011-11-06T02:24:00.001+05:30

Days when we watched the cobbler from the corner of the street deftly mend the split seam in that pair of slippers, which we had treasured for months together.
Days when we watched our grandmothers skillfully negotiate and sell for a good margin that dusty stack of old newspapers to street buyers who always grumbled while handing over the money.
Days when we counted the number of empty polythene milk covers pinned to that rusty coil hanging from the kitchen shelf.
Days when we found extreme pleasure in guessing the color of the next candy from that cute Poppins pack which we bought during movie intervals every single time.
Days when we watched that irritating smirk on the friend’s face when he right royally called 7’ 11’’ Giant Gonzales on his turn in the trump card game.
Days when we pretended to look away when there was a kissing scene on TV and even quickly changed the channel when it grew into a sex scene.
Days when we judged the print of the rented movie by the shrinks along the sides of the tape.
Days when we smelled those rich chocolaty Bourbon biscuits one time before the first bite.
Days when we meticulously adjusted that awfully twisted fork in our cycle by holding the front tyre between the legs even if that got our legs muddy and all scratchy!
Days when we woke up during wee hours on Diwali morning for the mandatory oil bath and then rushed to the apartment gate to launch that first cracker.
Days when we spent hours shortlisting the best songs from new movies and then worked on the all-important ordering of the songs to go on either side of the cassette.
Days when we considered that shaking hands with a girl classmate falls under the realm of inappropriate touching.
Days when we had to duck our head a bit while standing on the front deck in Bajaj Chetak scooter so that we didn't hide father’s view.
Days when we rented books during every visit to the book library but returned them after a month with a fine and the wisdom of just 10 pages.
Days when going out meant dressing up in pressed formal shirts and pants, applying powder on the face and neatly combing the hair with that conspicuous parting line.
Days when we felt that whatever happened will happen forever.

Whatever happened to those days...

Midnight Run (1988) - Review

2011-10-31T02:05:00.000+05:30

My love for action-comedies reached its fever pitch on a summer late night when I accidentally tripped over this boisterously funny classic from the 80s and felt thoroughly exhilarated as the end credits rolled by. What more could a movie offer, I thought. What more than make you sit for a couple of hours, take sides of characters, defend them, feel for them, adore their expressions, get hooked to their mannerisms, clap for their punch-lines, laugh over their witty verbal interplays, and pray for their redemption, all amidst consuming an interesting plot that only thickens by the minute with the help of a fascinating screenplay.

All villains in Midnight Run are morons! And how! You have a bald bounty hunter who doesn’t share his French Fries with one of his daily captives. You have a Mafioso boss who warns that he would stab his goons with a pencil if they failed to bust the target. You have an FBI agent who gets furious when someone asks where he bought his sunglasses. And, you have a goon who wants to be photographed in front of a helicopter before an all-important chasing sequence.

Such lovable morons are way too ambitious in catching an accountant, Jonathan Mardukas, who had embezzled 15 million dollars from the mafia account and gave it to charity. A white collar robinhood! So he has steamed up the mafia gang. Now that he has jumped bail, he has steamed up the bail bondsman as well. So, the bondsman hires Jack Walsh, an extremely skillful ex-cop turned bounty hunter, to bring him in five days. But Marvin, a bald, sloppy bounty hunter is also being pulled into the action when Jack Walsh suddenly screws up in the middle. And that's when things get spicier.

FBI. Mafia gang. Bounty hunters. Everybody with guns, knives, cars, and helicopters hunt for one well-mannered soft-spoken accountant who wouldn’t even hurt a chicken. The scenes that unfurl after Jack catches the accountant are simply a treat for fans of situational humor and beautiful conversations characterized by spontaneously funny expletives.

The character of Jack Walsh has been stitched to perfection for Robert De Niro. Who else but De Niro could show a wealth of expressions punctuated by casual spit of the F-word and yet make us smile wide-eyed. The most brilliantly underlying aspect in this heavily twisted action comedy is the tacit friendship that keeps unwinding en route between Jack and Mardukas. Terrific on-screen chemistry!

Martin Brest (Scent of a Woman, Meet Joe Black) has once again delivered a wonderful package that will entertain you any day any time. Oh the finale is just the icing on the cake!

A De Niro special!

Seven Things I learned from 7 Aum Arivu

2011-10-29T17:39:00.000+05:30

That it is miraculously possible that the maniacal lorry drivers and auto drivers who never even matter other vehicles around them can spot a man standing in a corner and then get hypnotized by his eyes, which seem to be virtually buried in his face.
That Shruthi Hassan’s wooden acting and dialogue delivery like that of a kid rehearsing a school stage drama once again proves an age-old saying that ‘Talent skips a generation’.
That the movie’s production banner endorsing Sun News in a scene in spite of donning a competitive channel on their own speaks volumes of the family’s politically noble effort of staying united.
That by enrolling in the Dong Lee’s School of Hypnotism, we could remote-control anything around us with our eyes. It could help us in settling lots of daily travel issues, especially moving the orphaned drainage lids to cover those yawning holes in the middle of the roads.
That direction is all about not giving scope to audience to challenge the logic in any aspect. I was initially worried how the director would explain Dong Lee’s exit from India after orchestrating so many murders under such heavy surveillance in a police station. But then, even if caught in the airport, he could simply hypnotize the immigration and security officials. As an incentive, he could even hypnotize the pilot to drive the flight to Hawaii (considering the most good-looking air hostess already hypnotized) to celebrate a successful operation.
That a movie could summarize its entire 3-hour saga in the last 5-minute sermon. However, the director could have included the PowerPoint ‘Appendix’ slide in the end with the exhaustive list of references to all the unsung heroes of the world.
That by naming the movie, “Seventh Sense”, the director has now given himself a greater scope to plan for 6 prequels which would be an amazing opportunity for him to start exploring his other senses.

***

Skybreaker - Reader's Choice Award!

2011-10-22T08:33:00.000+05:30

Friends,

I am so thrilled to say that my short story Skybreaker posted here has won the Reader's Choice Award in the contest held by The Banyan Trees magazine. I am thankful to all my friends and readers who read the story, voted, and spread the word in such great spirit!

Skybreaker - Shortlisted!

2011-10-12T21:53:00.001+05:30

Friends,

I am so glad to say that my short story Skybreaker posted here has been shortlisted for the finals in the contest held by the online magazine The Banyan Trees.

The polls for the Reader's Choice award is available at http://thebanyantrees.com/?page_id=1573 . And voting can be done in FB too :) Link is here. Polls will remain open until the 20th of October.

I thank the Banyan Trees editorial team for coming up with a really nice theme for the contest!

Skybreaker

2011-09-07T01:37:00.000+05:30

The below story is my entry to the Short Story Contest 2011 held by the online magazine The Banyan Trees. The theme is 'Light and Dark'. Click here for details.

Skybreaker

He wanted the moon to hang in the little backyard of his hut. As a kid, his curiosity over the elusive moon that showed up every night in different shapes knew no bounds. He would sneak out on his sleeping mother to the backyard trying to catch hold of the moon but it always seemed to be out of his reach. Sometimes, he dragged the wooden stool from the corner of his hut to the backyard, climbed on it, and then leaped higher only to get wounded in the end.

His small, secluded tribal village at the brink of the woods always grew pitch-dark after nightfall. Far from any civilization, all the village knew was hunting. At four, he had to be trained as a hunter as he had lost his father to a pack of wolves deep in the woods. He never played as did other kids. He hunted twice during the day and went to the gathering grounds to trade meat with the other hunters. The only time he ever relaxed was when his mother cooked meat over open fire. As she occasionally looked up at the moon, that serene white light brought a tranquil smile on her sweaty face while he sat there wondering how ecstatic she would feel if the moon were hanging in the backyard.

One night, he missed the presence of the moon so badly he woke her up and asked yearningly, “Ma, why aren’t we born like the moon? Why can we not see each other in the dark? I have to wait until dawn to see your face. I wish we had the moon with us here. Why aren’t we brighter like him? Do we have to be up above like him to look brighter?”

She stroked his cheek, saying, “We cannot be like him, dear. We cannot catch him either. He is so high that only the person who climbs the Skybreaker can touch him. But no one climbs the Skybreaker. He is the demon tree that casts bad spells on those who try to climb him. He is solely responsible for all evil deeds in the world. Nobody can conquer him. Many of our elders died trying. So, forget it and go to sleep.”

“But I want to catch the moon!” he persisted, “He is the only hope for us to see light in the dark. Don’t you like to see our faces glow every night?”

“Don’t be adamant! Go sleep now!” she chided him.

Ever since that night, a full blown resolve hit his mind. He spent half his hunting time around the Skybreaker bushwhacking. The mere upward glance from the base of the majestic tree intimidated him. At twilight, when other hunters went back to the village, he would start climbing it. Sometimes, his arms twisted, bones cracked, hands bled from running into sharp wedges, legs scratched by the merciless crusts but he wouldn’t budge. Sometimes, he slipped from stepping on weak spots or from spewing snake attacks. Every time he slipped and hit the wild below, he meticulously nursed his wounds and climbed again.

His mother began worrying as he claimed he got wounded while hunting. She wanted him to join the elders for few days but he resisted. Days rolled by. She sensed he meandered a lot and hunted less these days because he came home with very little meat, some days empty-handed. She was also worried that he had stopped talking to her, constantly obsessing over something during nights. Years rolled by and he had practised hard enough to climb to the point where the wild stopped. So, he felt it was time he went the full-monty.

The dawn broke. He decided there was no turning back. In the backyard, he erected a wooden pole with a hook, equipped himself, kissed his mother goodbye, and embarked into the woods.

He never returned for days together. And she cried for help. News had spread across the village and people foraged into the woods looking for him. Elders gave up by declaring he would have been picked up by wolves as the curse on his father had passed onto him.

Suddenly, one evening, a little girl on the gathering grounds spotted someone climbing towards the Skybreaker’s peak. People gathered in shock and awe witnessing the unthinkable. The chill air numbed his body but the distant roar warmed him up for an indomitable rise to the top. Once he climbed there, people started cheering festively watching his dark silhouette touch the full moon. They bowed down for conquering the evil by clinching the peak. However, he felt dreadfully dispirited that the moon was a bit too far. In light of the truth, he looked down with a smile that brought an unsurpassable glow on his face.

***