HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

So one more year is about to end and a new year is going to start.
Wishing everyone "HAPPY NEW YEAR"

Cinemascope-Looking at the movies of 2008

The initial list-"The Top Movies of 2008" had some of the movies that I liked. Once I finished writing that post realized there were lots of other movies that I enjoyed and totally forgot about:

Mithya:

Rajat Kapoor's movie with Ranvir Shourie, Nasiruddin Shah, Vinay Pathak and Neha Dhupia a story of double identities, amnesia, dons, intrigue, unrequited love and death. The part that I enjoyed most was Ranvir's Hamlet soliloquy in Hindi.

Eastern Promises:

London, the mob, Russian gangsters, lots of F words, punches and fights, couple of gross scenes and the final fight in the buff. Viggo Mortensen does a great job in David Cronenberg's violent gangster story.

Kannum Kannum:

A beautiful love story where sacrifice gains a new meaning. Prasanna in a great role. Beautiful cinematography no vulgar comedy or item-songs. A simple story told aesthetically. A pity that the movie was not a big hit.

Raman Thediya Seethai and Pirivvom Sandhippom:

With Cheran in both movies, the first one as an actor and the second one as both actor and doctor both movies were good family entertainers. The first one was the search of a man for a wife the second the problems faced by a city-bred woman coming to terms with a large joint family after marriage. Pasupathy excels as a blind radio jockey in Raman Thediya Seethai.

Alibaba:

Directed by a debutante and starring director Vishnuvardhan's brother Krishna, this is a really taut thriller. Just think you are a good for nothing thief who lives with his brother and father(also thieves). One day to your surprise you find that there are close to 40 lakhs in your bank account and with every passing day your bank balance keeps increasing. Then the fun starts young girls been raped and killed, a senior police officer being killed, the plot keeps thickening and just when you think that the climax is here, there is another twist. "Saroja" was OK with its thumping music track and Tom and Jerryish antics, but Alibaba really scores on the surprise factor.

Welcome to Sajjanpur:

When India's most acclaimed and respected director returns after a long gap and returns with a Malgudish comedy you are excited. This movie is a brilliant satire of the life and times of modern northern India the casteism, rogue politics, and development problems, Good performances by all and Shreyas Talpade keeps excelling with each movie. A must watch.

Taken:

I saw this on DVD. This stars Liam Neeson as an ex-CIA agent who works as a security guy along with his friends. He is separated from his wife but is close to his daughter. when his daughter goes on a pleasure trip to Paris and gets kidnapped. He returns to his super spy ways and tracks down his daughter's kidnappers who run an international prostitition and trafficking ring. Powerful performance by Neeson and good action sequences. Watch this movie when it hits the Indian theatres.

In Bruges:

Two assassins on a sight-seeing trip. A boss who is angry and wants to kill them. A midget who is an actor, a young woman who is a con. Great cinematography and background music. Directed by Martin McDonagh the movie stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes in one of the finest black comedies in recent times.

Remembering Moksh....

Mate! I know you are up there in the skies looking at the foolish antics of the gang down here. Mark got married this week. Arul and Towfik could not make it to the party. It was left to me to enliven the proceedings. I sung a song at a gathering after a really long time. Mark joined me too to the surprise of everyone. He started playing the drums and suddenly the flow came back. I sung "I will be there for you" remember it was the first song that all of us performed together. At the end of it there was lot of applause but no one could figure out why Mark and me were crying.

Moksh! even in your death you signified that we could be good and help each other. It was horrible to watch you die, with me on the bed next to you. I could hardly move with all the tubes and bottles attached to me. I don't know when I went into my anaesthetic-induced sleep. When my surgery had been done Arul said that you were dead. I wanted to cry but the tears did not flow. There was just silence and dejection.

The band broke, we went about with our studies, all of us have jobs now. Mark is in Bangalore. Towfik is in Delhi and Arul is in Sydney working on his research project.
I still look at the photos on Sunday afternoons and remember our jamming sessions. How Arul's dad would join us and sing with us. Mark's mother preparing sandwiches and cakes for us.

Mate! take care of all of us.
The gang salutes you as always!
Adios!

Merry Christmas!

Another Christmas has gone by. An unusually calm and silent one. I did not visit any of my friends or go to a movie. I just stayed at home reading a couple of books. I saw some movies on TV in the evening.

Chrismom/Chrispa

I got a beautiful leather planner with a pen as a gift from my Chrischild. I gifted my Chrischild a figurine of a dog and a greeting card. My Chrispa gave me a pen-stand and I gave him a pen. Coincidence!

We are having a New Year Bash this evening organised by the office management.

A PRAYER

A prayer for all those who lost their lives in the Tsunami. Four years have gone by-the memories of that dreaded day still haunt me.

Man may make great progress and claim to have conquered everything. But when Mother Nature decides to launch her fury we are nothing but helpless puppets.

Monday Morning Blues......

Waking up on Monday mornings and getting ready to start for office, I feel like Mark Twain's boy-hero Tom Sawyer. It is not that I hate my job or I am bored with what I do. It is the sheer necessity to get up from my bed.

For almost two years I worked in a KPO and worked at the oddest possible hours and my whole physiological system went for a toss. To report to work at 6:30 AM I had to get up at 3:45 AM so that I could catch the 4:35 train and reach office on time. Night shifts meant sleeping from 11:30 AM to 7:30 PM boarding the 8:30 PM train to report to office by 10:30 PM.

Now when I have got a job with regular working hours it takes a Herculean effort to get up at 6 AM. I do not know if it is because of the winter or if I have gone plain lazy. Somehow I just do not feel like getting up in the mornings.

The Top Movies of 2008

Wall-E
The Dark Knight
Anjaathe
Subramaniapuram
Taare Zamin Par
Rock On
Thirakadha
Verude oru Bharya

Wall-E-The beautiful presentation of a romance between robots. There is also the representation of the future where our planet is reduced to a gigantic dumpyard.

The Dark Knight-Brilliant performances by Heath Ledger as the sadistic psycopathic killer and Christian Bale as Batman.

Anjaathe-Good script, powerful characterisation, awesome acting by Naren Prasanna, and Ajmal, brilliant background score. A great entertainer.

Subramaniapuram-New director, new team, James Vasantham's melodious music, Kangal Irundal-the melody of the year, Swathi-best new face of 2008, good acting by Jai and Sasi(also the director). The movie had a huge overdose of violence but the presentation was impeccable with the 80's era recreated in detail.

Taare Zameen Par-Brilliant in every department. The kid Darsheel steals the show. A fantastic subject and Aamir gives a mellowed performance as an art teacher. Inspiring soudtrack by Shankar, Eshan and Loy.

Rock On-Farhan Akthar's debut in front of the camera, convincing singing by the lead artistes themselves and Arjun Rampal in a role that showcased his true potential. Peppy songs and the last rock show performance is the highlight of the movie.

Thirakadha-Ranjit strikes back as a great director with this tale based on the Kamal-Srividya relationship. Superb performances by Prithviraj, Priya Mani, and Anil Menon.

Verude oru Bharya-Jayaram's comeback hit that outdid everyone's expectations. The tale of a middle class family were the husband shies away from his responsibilities. A great performance by Navya Nair that might win her an award.

Sorry as I did not include Dashavatharam, Twenty:20 and many other blockbusters. At the end of the day it is not about box-office collections it is about matter and substance.

The Margazhi Season

The Margazhi season has started and lovers of Carnatic music have arrived in Chennai from all parts of the world. Events will be held in various auditoriums and sabhas in Chennai. Leading singers like Unnikrishnan, Balamuralikrishna, Yesudas, Nithyasree, Sudha Raghunathan, and many more whose names I do not know will be enchanting the audience.

If I get tickets and find time in my schedule and above all if the weather holds[everyday there is some cyclone alert-although after Cyclone Nisha things have been calm]I might go for a concert or two.

Musically yours....

41 and still counting.......

Yesterday when Kevin Pietersen set India a target of 386 runs with less than four full sessions of play, the chips were definitely in favour of England.

Sehwag and Gambhir began the chase in contrasting manners. Viru played as if there were no tomorrow and it was raining boundaries. At end of play on day four India had scored 131 runs for the loss of Viru's wicket. Viru laid the foundation for a possible Indian victory with a defiant 83 of 63 balls.

On day five Dravid's misery continued as he was out for 4 runs. Sachin and Gambhir consolidated the Indian chase before Gambhir was out for 66 runs. Yuvraj came out with immense pressure on him to deliver and under Sachin's patronage he produced a wonderful knock of 85 runs of 131 balls. As the afternoon progressed and the crowd continued its support with chants of "East or west Sachin is the Best," England lost all hope of winning the match.

Sachin in an extremely sedate manner reminding me of Dravid's double ton against Australia in 2003 scored the winning runs. He hit a boundary to score 103 and complete his 41st test century. His innings holds special significance as there were no sixes at all in it. Nine boundaries but we still love him for his passion and dedication. The victory is significant as this is the fourth highest successful run chase in tests.

Dhoni's winning run continues and Sehwag won the man of the match award for his blitzkrieg-like 83. One should feel sorry for Strauss who scored centuries in both innings but still ended up on the losing side.

The second test at Mohali is evenly poised. Let us see what happens.

Flock

No I am not using an incorrect expletive, I am using Flock a new browser that rocks and am blogging through Flock's integrated composition tool.

I am yet to figure out a lot of features but this indeed a superb experience.

So what are you waiting for flock to Flock.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

INDIA vs ENGLAND TEST SERIES

There was a lot of uncertainty if England would return to India after the Mumbai blasts. Now things are OK and cricket once again binds broken souls. The first test at Chepauk has so far gone the way of the English. They scored 316 in their first innings and bowled out India for 241. Barring Dhoni and Harbhajan and to some extent Sachin and Laxman all the batsmen failed. In fact it was Dhoni and Harbhajan's crucial partnership that brought some respectability to India's first innings total.
Dhoni scored 53 and Bhajji scored 40. Flintoff, Swann, and Monty bowled well with Freddy and Monty picking three wickets each.

The English started their second inings disastrously losing three quick wickets. Strauss on 73 and Collingwood on 60 are playing well. At close of play today England
lead by 247 runs. A target of 375 plus and India might lose the plot.

Let us see what happens.
I really hope Dravid gets a good score, even a fifty will do his confidence a world of good.
Or perhaps it is time for him to retire gracefully.

Comics....

It was just another Sunday afternoon and I had nothing better to do. So I took out some cartons from the attic and cleaned and dusted the books in them. I discovered a bunch of old comic books. It was like discovering a diamond. I quickly kept the remaining cartons aside and looked at my collection.

I was transported to my childhood days. Indrajal comics-Phantom, Mandrake, Flash Gordon, Tarzan and a host of other characters. I still remember the pleasure of searching for old comics with my uncle in second hand bookshops in Kolkatta. It was nostalgia all over again. I shut the door of my room, relaxed in my easy chair, and started reading my beloved Phantom comics.

Phantom was my favourite hero, this was before someone gifted me a Batman comic. Things and times may have changed but the sheer pace and intensity of the Phantom comics guaranteed 100% entertainment.

Today my 10 year old nephew has Jetix and all the Japanese animes for company. He does not know what he is missing.

Well times change and the tastes of a new generation may vary.
But I am sure all of us however old we may be still enjoy reading Indrajal and Amar Chitra Katha comics.

Musings......

It is going to be hard,
But life has to go on,
So as a first step,
Towards forgetting you,
I am going to stop writing about you,
Then maybe I will stop thinking about you,
So one final farewell to you on this blog.......


Hey! hold on, someone just entered the periphery of my vision.
Hmmm........
Life does have to go on:)

Musings.....

I deleted your photo from my mobile phone,
I deleted our photos from my computer.
But you are stuck, nailed, and pasted to my heart.
How am I going to remove your image that's embedded in my heart and mind.

In the Name of My Father.......

"Father" a word that means a lot for everybody. Someone who is one's role model and superhero during childhood. There are so many things that come to one's mind when one utters the word "Father."

To me my father was just an individual of whom I did not have a clear picture at all. I hardly ever saw him. He was in the Navy and then on contract jobs across the Middle East. He was maybe for one year with us-when he took a break. Other than that it was just my mother who took care of me. Later when he left for Muscat we moved to my maternal uncle's house in another city.

Gradually the image of my father faded from my psyche and it was replaced by the strong and contrasting personalities of my two maternal uncles. One was a strict and silent disciplinarian the other was a jolly man full of life always ready to crack a joke.

At the tender age of six or seven I failed to realize that my father had drifted away from us. As I grew up and adolescence brought in all its doubts and confusions, I realized that I was part of a broken family. A couple who were never meant to be together had been joined in matrimony by fate. By the time they found out their incompatibility it was too late and the offspring-my sister and me bore the brunt of their failed relationship.

My sister was twelve years elder to me and she was at my elder maternal uncle's house from the age of ten. She was a sensible child and was hardly perturbed by the conflicts that I underwent.

No one knew where my father was, sometimes we would receive a card from some remote corner it would be a notification that he was still there. It was both mocking and reassuring. Years passed my sister was married and my father made a fleeting appearance so that no tongues wagged from the groom's side. Then he went into exile once again-this time he left for Delhi.

Two weeks before my sixteenth birthday my uncle received a long letter from my father. My father wanted to start a life with his wife and son afresh. He had found a job in a small firm in Chennai and he promised to look after us.

As that academic year came to a close two train tickets arrived by post and finally the two of us reached Chennai and met my father. It was not exactly an emotional reunion. Years of suppressed anguish and feelings of hatred did not erupt immediately.

As the days progressed I realized that my father had a serious drinking problem. It was this alcoholism that was the primary cause of all problems. The problem continues till date. There were verbal-fights at home, swearing, threats, and all kinds of mental torture.

It did not help that my mother was always waiting to pick on my father. Not a single day passed without a fight.Ten years have passed since we rejoined our father. His tryst with the bottle continues, the number of verbal fights have gone down, but the mutual feeling of anger, frustration, and a strange sense of hatred fuelled by incompatibility continues to haunt both my parents.

I wonder what went wrong. What did my mother do to deserve such a life of torture? Why does my father continue to drink? Why do I continue to hope things will turn right? Why did we return to my father?

These are questions that will remain unanswered.

My marriage is on the cards. The astrologer is confident that I will be engaged in 2009 and by February 2010 the marriage will take place. Looking at the history of the failed marriages that I have witnessed the problems that so many of my friends and relatives have faced and are facing. I fear that I have lost faith in the institution of marriage.

If I indeed do get married and have kids. I hope that I can be a good father and an ideal role model for them.

Twenty:20

I saw Twenty:20 on Sunday.
I enjoyed the movie. It has something for everybody. Mohanlal, Mammooty, Suresh Gopi, Dileep, Jayaram, and Indrajith get major screen time.

Almost all important artistes of Malayalam cinema figure in the movie.
The movie directed by Joshiy is produced by Dileep and his company Grand Productions.
A string of flops and now Dileep is as happy as the Cheshire Cat laughing all the way to the bank.

The movie is essentially a suspense and revenge drama. Indrajith is accused of murder in a Bangalore Medical College. Mammooty as the dashing lawyer Rameshan Nambiar saves him and secures his release.

Indrajith is found murdered while returning from a party and Mohanlal is arrested for the crime. Sukumari and Kavya plead with Mammootty to save Mohanlal. Mammooty visits Mohanlal in jail and after some inquiries argues on his behalf. All circumstantial evidence is found to be misleading and Mohanlal is found not guilty.

The movie moves in to top gear from this point. Watch out for the scene where Lalettan transforms from a meek and simple vegetable dealer to the powerful Deva Devan. The way he folds the mundu and wears the glasses. The theatre erupted with claps and whistles.

Mohanlal says that he was indeed the killer and will kill two more people. Slowly the pieces fall into picture Dileep was Mohanlal's brother who was killed by Indrajith. Dileep and Bhavana were in love and Bhavana testifies against Indrajith in court.

The confrontation scenes between Lalettan and Mammooka are top-notch and Suresh Gopi does a super job as Inspector Anthony Punnakadan. Mammooty locks Mohanlal in his flat daring him to escape. Mohanlal breaks the windows and jumps into the swimming pool from the top floor. The young brigade of Prithvi, Jayasurya, and Kunchako are reduced to item-boys.

There are a couple of songs in the movie. One a Dileep and Bhavana duet in Mauritius and another a sizzler by Nayanthara who looks fabulous. In a later twist it is revealed that Bhavana is Mammooty's sister.

The customary climax fight is there and the movie ends with justice being done and the villains Shami Thilakan, Manoj K. Jayan, and Siddique being killed.

Full paisa vasool go watch it.

John Lennon

Today is December 8. On this date in 1980 a fanatic shot John Lennon dead.
John Lennon was an integral part of The Beatles.

More than being a musician he was also an avid activist, protesting against war and championing the cause of the environment.

Nearly 30 years since you died but the songs that you wrote with Paul Mc Cartney continue to inspire another generation.

Rest in Peace.

MUSINGS....

Those readers who were following the platinum ring track of my life....

An announcement....

The previous post, the poem-"Good Luck and Good Bye" is self-explanatory.
No more questions and answers.
Life has to go on......

I think I am free now. Free of all emotional bonds and commitments, the heart still hurts, but then-"You can't win them all."

So that "Special Someone" wherever you are please materialise or I am going to end up mad, drinking beer, growing long hair, wearing faded kurtas and blue denims, strumming the good ol' guitar, and singing love ballads:)

On a more serious note, maybe I should post a profile on Bharat Matrimony.Amma and Akka are circulating copies of my horoscope among relatives both near and distant.

Who knows.....
I might end up getting married by the end of 2009.

Keep you posted.....

Cheers:)

Good Luck and Good Bye

There was a guy.
There was a girl.
They were friends for long.
Somewhere down the line.
They fell in love.

They hid their feelings from each other.
Wondering what the other would think.
The guy got a ring.
Planning to propose to the girl.

He thought-
One day I am going to give it to her.
I will fall on my knees,
And propose to her.

Time flew by...
They lost contact with each other.
Both were busy with their professional lives.
The guy kept trying to meet her.

But somehow the girl no longer bothered.
He could never fathom why.
Then he got a surprise.
When she landed up at his house.

He was too surprised to speak.
She looked as beautiful as ever.
He kept staring at her confused for words.
She gave him a card, and added-

"Do come for my wedding."

He smiled at her and wished her luck.
She left and he stood dejected.
He cried for a while and then smiled.
He took out the ring and smiled again.

The wedding day dawned.
He was dressed in his finest,
And wished the newly married couple the best.
He said to her..

"I have a small gift for you."
He took out the ring,
And gave it to her.
For a moment there was silence.

As they stared at each other.
Lost for words.
Wondering why this had to happen.
She thanked him.

He said "Good Luck and Good Bye"

Musings...

Dearest,
I don't know if you are reading this.
I don't know if you have ever read anything that I have written here.
I don't know if you ever will understand what you mean to me.
I don't know if you ever will realize that you were, you are, and you will be the one and only one.
I don't know why you are silent.
I don't know why you are doing this.
Perhaps this is the end.
If it is....
Can you just tell me.
I promise you-
There will be no fighting, no ego hassles, no blaming.
We will depart as good friends.
This is the only thing I ask of you.
Please for old times sakes at least.

Dearest!
I am sorry I am not sure if I can continue to call you Dearest.
But old habits die hard!
Perhaps a few weeks, or months, maybe a couple of years.
Till then I shall cherish the memories of the time I spent with you.
Those memories will continue to be a part of me.
You shall remain as always in a special place in my heart.

For you forever,
Nevermore.............

THE NAME'S BLAND-JAMES BLAND

Never ever did I dream in my worst nightmares that I would be writing this about the Quantum of Solace.

The movie had raised a million expectations after the intense tension built by the superhit Casino Royale.

Daniel Craig carries on from where he left in his first outing.
Sadly the second movie in his portrayal of Bond is full of car chases, motorboat chases, bomb blasts, and that is about it.

The movie is no beter than any B-Grade bang and fight thriller coming from Bangkok or Bombay.

I don't know but Craig seems to have aged a lot and looks frighteningly wooden in some scenes.

Olga the Russian lady does a good job and 'M' Dame Helen Mirren is as good as ever.

The villain the environmentalist billionaire is the weakest Bond villains ever.

The movie is a box-office hit worldwide. It disappoints the purist Bond lover.
I hope the next installment in the franchise is better.

Musings....

Your silence continues to frustrate me....
Tell me-
Tell me you are nobody.
Nobody worth caring for.....
I will go away....
Never again to trouble you.....

This elusive silence is dreadful.....
Dearest have I lost you forever?

A SCHIZOPHRENIC DIVIDE

It pains to write this...
The Mumbai terror act that happened last week is not the first terror attack in India.
Mumbai blasts in 1993. The train blasts. The Godhra carnage. Attacks in the northeast. There have been numerous incidents, but what was special this time. Why so much hue and cry?

The bare facts are as follows:

Last week the terrorists struck at the Taj, the Oberoi, Nariman House and the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus. If you would have observed the various news channels they kept showing clips from the Taj, Oberoi, ans Nariman House. The CST attack got the least coverage.

It was really frustrating to see the the Page 3 crowd Alyque Padamsee, Rahul Bose, Shefali, Farooq Sheikih and a host of other theater and cinema personalities with their debate.

Is the common man really so different from the rich.
Does the blood of the common man come cheaper than that of a millionaire?
Lots of disturbing and unanswered questions.
It is very evident there is a clear schizophrenic divide when news is being portrayed in the media.

I hope this is the last post by me on these attacks, I have just not been able to focus on anything else for a week. The picture of the little child Moshe crying in the synagogue haunts me and keeps coming back. The dead bodies piled up in the hospital.

The anger, the plight, the desperation.....
I hope this is the end....

What Now?

So one terrorist was caught alive. 200 people have been killed, quite a few have been injured. Two landmarks of Mumbai have been partially burnt. The pride and safety of an entire city/nation has taken a severe beating.

We can just be angry and frustrated and suggest measures like war on pakistan, killing all politicians, calling for a new revolution and a hundred other things.

Nothing is going to happen as a result of our rants.

The government in all its procastinating best will do something or the other, some heads will roll in the political circles. Life will continue.

A couple of anniversaries will pass candles will be lit; then another attack in some other city and the whole cycle shall start again.

We can only pray for a better tomorrow.
The present is an extremely distorted picture of fear, paranoia, and violence.
Hoping for an end to this endless whirlpool of violence and terror.

It happened in Mumbai?

The events that happened in Mumbai have proved that as Indians we are no longer safe. We may leave for office or school or college in the morning and there is no assurance that we are going to return home safely in the evening.

I am not going to write about the dastardly act of terror, the damage to the landmarks of Mumbai,or the stupid and comical comments of our politicians.

All that is there is anger and frustration. Once again it is the common man who has had to pay the ultimate price for a lax and lazy government.

Is it not time that we punish the perpetrators? We know that Pakistan is the hotbed of terror and directly or indirectly it is funding the proxy war against India.

Time for we as a nation to stand united and revolt against the spineless politicians.
I would like to know where Raj and Bal Thackeray are now? No jingoistic Marathi manoos comments now. The commandoes and police officers did not think about their nativity. They braved the terrorists as part of their duty and laid down their lives for the nation.

Will Raj continue his stupid rhetoric again?
Let him do it! He is sure to be stoned by his own supporters.

A prayer for the innocent people and the brave police officers and commandoes who lost their lives in the Mumbai carnage.

Another prayer to God that such things do not happen again.