Can India win the second test at Durban?

Laxman's pain-stakingly crafted 96, is it enough?

A target of 303 and the Proteas are 70 for 1 when I type this.

Can India win this match???

Down Under Trott's marvellous knock and an Aussie batting collapse ensure that the Poms will retain the Ashes tomorrow.

X-mas cake

Inspired by kavitha's marvellous images and cooking my humble attempt at baking a cake.

A combination of refined flour, drinking chocolate powder, milk, a bit of orange pulp and peels, cashew nuts and cherries topped with strawberry wafers.

Came out brilliantly. 12 minutes in the microwave and great fun to eat.

Merry Christmas!!!

Hitlist 2010

So folks it's that time of the year again when I make a list of the movies, which I enjoyed watching this year. So here's the list without much further ado:

The English Club

Shutter Island and Inception
Power-packed roles from Leo, one helmed by the old master Martin Scorcese and the other by the modern genius Christopher Nolan. From playing a psychologically disturbed cop to a thief who implanted dreams and stole stuff from you mind absolute mind-benders.

The Social Network
David Fincher's take on the creation of a modern phenomenon that the world's hooked on - Facebook. Pre-dominantly dialogue but still interesting. The truth behind intellectual property theft, how an idea got modified, stolen and became a billion-dollar brand.

Despicable Me
The world's greatest villain plans to steal the moon and is assisted by three little girls and an army of small yellow creatures. Excellent animation and a good story.


The Ghost Writer
A thriller of a different sort, Pierce Brosnan playing a disgraced British PM, Ewan Mc Gregor a failed novelist, war-crimes and death. Excellent stuff from Roman Polanski.

Toy-Story-3
With Woody and Buzz and Andy a lovely saga that sadly got over. An overdose of emotions but one of Pixar's most loved creations comes to an end.

The American
Slow, moody and a look into the mind and actions of a specialist gun-smith and assassin. Splendidly shot with a lovely actress in tow George Clooney shines.

Salt
Angelina Jolie kicks bad ass in a role originally written for Tom Cruise. Possibilities of a sequel in tow.

Tamil Hits

Nandalala
Mysskin's take on Takeshi Kitano's Kikujiro. A heart-warming tale of a mentally unstable man and a young boy's road-trip in search of their respective mothers. Excellent stuff and it takes lot of courage to make a movie like this.

Angadi Theru
Visiting and shopping in T. Nagar will never ever be the same again. A tale of dreams and the struggle, which the thousands of young men and woman face while working in the huge super-stores of TN's shopping capital.

Aayirathil Oruvan
Selvaraghavan remains the rebel with his mix of history, Mackenna's Gold and a metaphor on the plight of Sri Lankan tamils. Splendid acting by Parthiban, good job by Karthi and Reema. Movie could have been edited better to make it more interesting. A truly different attempt.

Irumbukottai Murattu Singam
Tamil cowboy Lawrence, funny adventure with liberal spoofing from Simbudevan. Clint Eastwood beware, Singam is here.

Nan Mahan Alla
A revenge movie shot unconventionally with four menacing villains. One being the kid who played junior Surya in "Nanda". Karthi does a great job and excellent chemistry with Kajal Agarwal.

Vamsam
Vilage-setting, revenge and a sweet love-story. Great debut by Arulnidhi.Nice comedy by ganja Karuppu and Arulnidhi too. Imposing role by Jayaprakash and Kishore.

Vinnaithandi Varuvaya
Gautam Menon resurrects Simbhu's career and image with a love-story with great songs. I enjoyed the songs not a great fan of the movie though.

Enthiran
Money, money, explosions, robots and a fantastic looking Aishwarya under layers of make-up. Rajnikanth the phenomenon under Shankar's direction makes a lot of money for distributors and theatre-owners.

Mynaa
Super-stuff, a romance, a village tale told with passion, excellent cinematography, decent inspired-music score, great acting. Amala Paul a name to watch out for in the future.

Boss engira bhaskaran and Madrasapattinam
One a light-hearted comic-caper, the other a period saga. Arya shone in both roles. Santhanam's comedy in Boss with his "Nanben da" and "Thala Thalapathi Saloon" was excellent. Nayanthara for a change looked good in her salwars and sarees instead of her idiotic skimpy outfits. Amy Jackson had a great debut with Madrasapattinam and is acting in Gautam's Hindi remake of VTV.

Hindi Hits

Peepli Live
Aamir Khan's production, a black comedy about politics and farmer suicides. Nathu's travails and a song on rising costs that became a chartbuster.

Dabanng
Salman as Robinhood Chulbul Pandey, gorgeous Sonakshi Sinha in a dream debut and of course "Munni Badnaam Hui". Sphagetti Western meets Indian cop saga. Funny stuff, great fights, foot-tapping numbers. The biggest hit of the year.


Do Dooni Char

Rishi Kappor and Neetu Singh on screen in a heart-warming comedy of Laxmanesque proportions. A Maths teacher who almost accepts a bribe from a rich student to buy a Maruti car. Disney's Bollywood venture won many hearts with its simple tale.

An update I would also like to add Udaan, Rajneeti and Ishqiya to the list.

So folks wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Praying for sensible, interesting and original movies in the coming year.

Kiwis cut a sorry figure

The demoralizing defeat, a 5-0 whitewash by an Indian team without Dhoni, Sachin, Harbhajan, Viru and Co. Daniel Vettori and his beleaguered team have a lot of soul-searching to do.

This comes at the end of a similar white-wash at the hands of Bangladesh.

Once considered to be a strong ODI team which consistently defeated higher-ranked teams, New Zealand cricket is at an all-time low.

Let's hope the Kiwis get in-shape for the World Cup 2011.

Mynaa - Movie review

Directed by Prabhu Solomon, Mynaa starts interestingly with the preparations being made in a huge joint family for celebrating Diwali. We are shown various women speaking with another woman regarding the saree they plan to wear. We realize that the youngest daughter of the family would arrive to celebrate her "Thala Diwali".

From here the scene shifts to the woman's husband a police inspector who leaves for duty assuring his newly-wed wife that he would come in the afternoon.

Then we are introduced to an unkempt bearded youth - Suruli in a jail-cell who reminsces about his childhood - a gambler for a father, a loud-mouthed aunt and the love of his life Mynaa(played by Amala Paul). A girl whom he rescues and falls in love in childhood itself.

A visitor a 12-13 year old boy visits Suruli and gives him a message. Suruli escapes from jail. The senior inspector and his subordinates are put into a tizzy and leave in pursuit of Suruli.

The rest of the movie is about Suruli's love for Mynaa, his arrest by the policemen and the journey of all four back to the police station.

Excellent photography, good performances, a Braveheart-inspired music score and a couple of good songs ensure a fairly enjoyable movie.

The movie is let down by its climax. I am not revealing it.

Watch the movie to find out if Suruli succeeds in marrying Mynaa.

Life

Sivankutty was tired and sad. Acchhan after a long silence of two years had called to say that Apoopan had died in his sleep.

Sivankutty was never close to his Apoopan having hardly met him thrice in his life-time. After Acchhan had left home after the big-fight with Ammachi, Sivan never bothered about Acchhan.

The sudden news was shocking and spoiled his mood!!!

All Sivan could do was pray as Ammachi lit a lamp facing the south.

Harbjajan is the new saviour

Harbhajan with two successive centuries against the Kiwis is turning out to be the new batting saviour. Wish he started taking wickets with more regularity. In the absence of Anil Kumble he is India's mainstream spinner now.

Bhajji should stop his on-field and off-field antics and start focusing on his bowling. The World Cup is a few months away, blind slogging of the ball is just not acceptable when the World Cup is at stake.

Come on Bhajji!!!!

Battling cold and fever

This has been an extremely tiring Diwali as I battle fever, throat infection and a blasted cold. It is raining profusely with a cyclone centred near the TN and AP coast.

Hope I can make it to work tomorrow.

Inception

Finally saw Inception today. To be honest I did not understand most of it. There were phrases like "dream within a dream", "implanting ideas", "mind architecture" etc.

Great background score, superb performance by Leo. Stunning photography and slick editing.

If time permits I will watch the movie again. May be a detailed review will follow if I understand the movie.

Pages from My Diary

It’s been a couple of years now since I realized that she never looked at me in the same vein that I saw her. At that juncture she was supposed to get engaged to one of her classmates. Later I came to know that things did not work out and the engagement was cancelled. She never calls me or sends me a message; did her ego get bruised or did she find someone else; I will never know. Surprisingly my affections for her continue to remain in the same vein.

My only comfort is that I let her know how much I loved her. As I continue to meander about performing my duties as a son, a brother, a friend, a disciple and so on and so forth; I wonder if I will ever find someone to call my ‘own’. Even if I do will I be able to erase ‘her’ memories from my mind and heart.

Everywhere around me there are people bursting fire crackers, celebrating the “Festival of Lights” – Diwali. I wonder as I sit alone and write this – “Will someone light up my heart?” or to put it more accurately – “Will I be able to light up someone’s heart?” – Ever?

And on that pensive note, life goes on….

Happy Diwali

With Diwali just a couple of days away, here's wishing all everyone a "HAPPY DIWALI".

While bursting crackers spare a thought for the elderly, ill and the animals on the road.

Be safe, be happy, opt for a noise-free Diwali!

Death

Loved ones are leaving me.

One more death of someone whom I respected a lot.

Uncle R.I.P.

A Great Victory

A fantastic victory for Team India.

A new star Cheteshwar Pujara is born.

The hockey team walloped England 5-4 in a penalty shootout to qualify for the finals of the Commonwealth Games hockey tournament.

Can an inspired team defeat Australia in the finals?

Let us hope for the best.

Come on India!!!!!

Sachin

Sachin cracks a double hundred, Murali Vijay gets a maiden test hundred. North shows his talents for Australia. Will the match show a result.

Knight & Day

Image source - Wikipedia

Jolly good fun!

Good chemistry between Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.

Tom Cruise is Roy Miller a rogue CIA agent who holds a zephyr a pocket-sized battery that can power an entire city!

He meets June (Diaz) a car modelling expert on her way to her sister's wedding and uses her to get the zephyr passed through the checking counter at the airport.

The movie has its share of twists, chases, humour, shoot-outs and is shot in Austria, Germany and Mexico.

Roy and June are chased by CIA agents, the police and an assassin hired by a Mexican weapons dealer. Watch the movie to find out how Roy outwits everyone.

Rating - 2.5 stars.

Chennai Super Kings are the Champions

Many considered the crowning of Chennai Super Kings as IPL-3 champions to be a fluke.
Dhoni has proved his critics to be wrong by leading his team to victory in the Champions League in South Africa.

Murali Vijay, Bollinger, Michel Hussey, Raina, Ashwin and Muralitharan have been instrumental in CSK's success. Obviously getting a place in Group-A was an added bonus with the weaker teams from Sri Lanka and New Zealand being present in it.

There was heart break in the match against Victoria, which CSK lost in the Superover. A remarkable victory defending a meagre total in the last group match against the warriors moved CSK into the semifinals. A rain curtailed semi against Royal Challengers Bangalore was made memorable as Suresh Raina went all hammer and tongs against the RCB bowlers. An injury to Dale Steyn while attempting a catch and a top-order batting failure 13/4 brought CSK into the finals.

Disciplined bowling and excellent fielding resulted in CSK defeating the South African Warriors. All-in-all a great performance by the men in yellow. The next edition of IPL with two more teams will see many members moving to other teams. This victory should boost Dhoni's confidence and help him face the Australians in the home series that will start in a few days.

As the theme song goes Dhoni Chennai Super Kings kku Whistle Podu

Prince of Persia

Image source-Internet

Jake Gyllenhal goes into six-pack mode and comes out as a convincing Prince Dastan. The boy who was picked from the streets of Persia and became a prince. The movie is based on one of the most successful video games of all time and has excellent production values.

The story is about the King of Persia who is poisoned and killed by his brother Nizam played by Ben Kingsley. Dastan is falsely accused of killing the king and is chased by the rightful sons of the king Tus and Garvis.

How Dastan proves his innoccence is linked with a magical dagger, which allows its holder to control time. The dagger is safeguarded Princess Tamina played by Gema Arterton. The chemistry between Dastan and Tamina is forced but has its share of laughs. There is a slavetrader and his faithful African slave as a side-plot.

Great timepass but not an adventure of epic proportions. The biggest problem is how does a supposed Persian speak with a prim and proper British accent:) Children will enjoy the movie.

I am still waiting to see Inception.

Hope to see it soon.

The CWG - A Mess beyond Redemption

All this while when corruption was rampant, the general public had no other choice but suffer. Years of being left disappointed has brought in a stoic calm to the psyche of the common Indian when it comes to politicians and bureaucrats.

The Commonwealth Games in comparison is a national spectacle of great proportions. What was to be India's moment of pride in replicating China's successful Olympic Games has ended up in a matter of shame for the country.

Everyday there are reports about a ceiling falling down, roads in bad condition, uninhabitable residences for players, the list goes on. When the CWG scam came to the spotlight the news that caught my attention was "Toilet Paper Scam". Apparently each roll of toilet paper was purchased for Rs. 4000. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Scams for the purchase of treadmills, toiler cleaners, there is a whole list. Everyone has a share in the pie.

Things are moving on at breakneck speed and at the eleventh hour our PM Manmohan Singh is leading the operations. I hope for the sake of the country that things are put in place. Already top athletes have pulled out citing various reasons. I guess in an unfair sense it will give an option for lesser known athletes and players to reach the podium and win medals.

Once the games end a thorough investigation regarding the financial irregularities concerning CWG should be conducted and the guilty should be punished. But knowing the way how things work in our great land it will be one long case with hearings and additional hearings, cases getting transferred, one more mess the judicial system of which I will blog later.

As of now I hope the CWG goes on smoothly and that there are no terrorist attacks. Security has been lax as shown by some Australian journalists who went about with semi-explosives without being questioned.

As they say - "May the games begin" and punish the guilty in the Organising Committee.

Back on Track

Thankfully the break was short.

Life is back on track and I am at work.

God has been kind and merciful in answering my prayers.

Now I need to work with patience and stick to this job.

On Staying at Home

What does one say?
When people ask you,
Hey aren't you leaving yet?

How do I tell them,
I'm jobless at the moment.
Dusting all my books,
My music and movie collection.

I get endless calls a day.
Some from HR personnel,
Some from friends,
And some from relatives.
Sympathetic folks, angry folks, folks who say!

You deserved it!
I always told you don't quit SFY!
Another chap says "Man, you shouldn't have refused those KPO offers!
It's the curse of that angry HR bloke.
Well reasons may be many, excuses even more.
What to do?

Helping mom wash and cook and clean the house.
Updating my resume across job portals.
Shooting e-mails to companies across the country.
Life goes on at its own pace.
So folks till something worth posting comes up!
Or till I find something I love,
Or well if I find someone to love!

Well that was cheeky:)

It's ADIEU!

One more chapter closes

Life is falling in to a strange routine, where in every six to seven months, I join a new firm, make friends, and then am forced to say adieu.

So the quest begins all over again.

Don't know how I am going to manage.

Very very scary future.

SALT

Tom Cruise missed a chance to belt out a blockbuster. Yes, the role portrayed by Angelina Jolie in SALT was originally written for Tom Cruise.

The story is about how a section of Russia's KGB trains children to become spies and sends them to the U.S. In addition, to children they also replace American adults with look-alike Russian spies.

Angelina plays a CIA agent Evelyn Salt who is accused of planning to assassinate the American President. This info is provided by a Russian defector. How Evelyn goes about escaping from the CIA and proves her innocence forms the crux of the story.

Chases, shoot-outs, plot-twists; it's all there.

The climax proves that there is room for a sequel and SALT might well end up becoming a franchise like the Mission Impossible series.

With Knight & Day tanking at the U.S. box-office, Tom Cruise might be regretting his decision of skipping SALT.

Need Help

Folks need help.

If there is a job opening for content writers / copy writers / copy editors.

Please send me an e-mail with the details of the company at rmaheshiyer@hotmail.com

You can also add the details through the comments section.

Thanks in advance.

HAPPY ONAM

May King Mahabali bless you with joy and riches.

Wishing everyone a HAPPY ONAM

The Wolfman

Image courtesy Google Images

Starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Benico Del Toro, the movie is a remake of the 1941 classic with the same name.

The story starts on a dark night in the woods of Blackmoor. A man seems to be chasing someone when he is mauled by something. The next scene shows a performance of Hamlet. A woman Miss Gwen approaches Lawrence (Benico) and says that her fiancee Ben is missing.

We learn that the person mauled at the beginning is Lawrence's brother, Ben. During the train journey to Blackmoor, Lawrence is given a cane with the head of a silver wolf by an old man.

The old castle holds many secrets, we learn that Lawrence found his mother dying in his father - Sir John(Anthony Hopkin's arms)many years ago. This resulted in young Lawrence losing his sanity and being admitted to an lunatic asylum.

Lawrence investigates his brother's death. He sees his corpse and is shocked by the mutilated body. He discovers a medallion in his brother's belongings, which leads him to the gypsies. It is a full moon night and again the strange creature attacks the gypsy camp. In trying to save a young boy the creature bites Lawrence.

The gypsy-woman nurses Lawrence and stitches his wounds despit others asking her to let Lawrence die. The woman answers "He can die only at the hands of someone who loves him."

Lawrence finds out that his father is the werewolf. He realises his father killed his mother many years ago and is now tormenting the people of Blackmoor. Circumstances cause people to suspect Lawrence to be the werewolf and he is once again sent to the lunatic asylum.

Lawrence escapes from the asylum seeking revenge.

What happens? Does he become human? Is he killed? Does he kill Sir John?

Watch the movie to find answers.

The movie moves between slow suspense and super quick CGI action. The fight between the two werewolves brilliant. The cinematography and music catch the essence of the dark theme of the movie. Acting is good. Worth watching once.

Team India's Moment of Truth

India's mammoth loss by 200 runs to New Zealand has brought to the fore-front the inability of our batsmen to tackle the short-pitched ball.

It was practically fielding practice for New Zealand as catches kept coming.

Dhoni's run-out was brilliantly executed.

What was MSD thinking when he started on that run?

Can somebody please explain why is Ravindra Jadeja still there in the team?

It was his spell that initiated the onslaught from Styris and Taylor.

Team India buck up for the remaining matches!!!

Book Fairs in Chennai

Folks two minor book fairs or exhibitions are happening in Chennai.

One is at the Guild of Service in Egmore, Chennai. All new books on display.

The other one is at Chetpet in the premises of the Women's Hostel located near Palimar Hotel and parallel to Sparky's Diner. For exact directions...

Walk past the Palimar Hotel, cross the fuel-station and you will notice banners announcing the "Book Sale".

A mix of new and used books. There are fabulous discounts n the used ones.

It is a treasure trove for comic-book lovers as lots of old comics are available. In addition picture books for children, coffee table books on cuisine, architecture, music, well pretty much every topic are on display.

New books get a 10% discount.

I picked up some real comic-book gems. I got a 1987 Dennis the Menace Annual comic for Rs. 50. 5 lucky Luke comics and 4 Iznogoud comics for Rs. 99 each. The big surprise was the complete illustrated Panchatantra by noted Indian cartoonist Bujjai for Rs. 99. Believe me it is a real treasure and a book that every child should read.

I got two novels based on the 24 TV Series, a Pink Panther novel based on the Steve Martin movie and some old Tinkle digests.

Folks do not miss this, you never know what treasure you might find for a real good bargain. This "book-sale" at Chennai is been on for quite some time and will continue for a few more months as per the organisers. Open from 10 AM to 9 PM on all days.

The Ghost Writer

Image Courtesy-Wikipedia

You are an ex-prime minister (Pierce Brosnan, living in a foreign land. Your auto-biography is being written by a ghost-writer, who is found dead. A new ghost-writer played by Ewan Mc Gregor is appointed to complete the auto-biography.

Tension builds slowly and we realise that things are not correct. Was the death of the earlier ghost-writer an accident or a murder? As Ewan tries to find out the truth allegations of war-crimes are thrust upon Pierce Brosnan. He becomes the centre of media attention and a bitter war of words starts.

Ewan digs in to the PM's past as skeletons slowly tumble out regarding the PM's college days. Ewan rummages the belongings of the earlier ghost-writer and discovers photos and a telephone number. As he tracks his predecessor's activities many secrets are revealed. Ewan realises that the PM was a CIA agent and helping USA.

He confronts the PM with his findings. Pierce is shot dead as he steps out of a plane. The autobiography is published and becomes a best-seller.

I am not revealing the climax!

It is a minor twist and somehow the movie is let down by it.

Do watch the movie for an old-fashioned cloak and dagger kind of thriller.

Roman Polanski's direction is great, Pierce and Ewan excel in their roles.

Background music is restrained and the visuals of the sea and the rain are well shot.

Raavanan

An unintentional comedy:)

Aish manages to track down Vikram's hideout without any troubles.
While the police and special commandos could never find him.

Loved seeing Karthik as the drunken forest guard.

Songs were good.

The climax-fight on the wooden bridge was executed well.

The Karate Kid

Jaden Smith does a great job.The presence of a legend Jackie Chan does not bother him at all and the kid proves he is a worthy son to Will Smith.

The kid plays Dre who lands up in Beijing with his mom after his father's death.

The first day in Beijing, results in a visit to a park, a crush in true Hindi film fashion and a beating up by the local teen bully.

School has surprises as both the girl practicing for a violin concert and the bully training for a Wushu tournament study there.

Jackie Chan works as Han the maintenance man in the apartment block where Dre and his mother stay.

One day Han saves Dre from the bullies. A few scenes later the trainer of the bullies challenges the kid to participate in the Wushu tournament.

Training starts and Dre is disappointed when Han asks him to remove his jacket, put it down, pick it and put it on a hanger.

This continues for a while along with some friendly banter between Dre and the Chinese girl.

The training sequences are well shot. A journey to the Dragon Well atop a mountain looks good. Jaden has worked hard for this role and his sparring sessions with Jackie Chan are a treat to watch.The tournament climax is predictable and executed well. Dre wins it by beating the bully. The bully and his compatriots become the students of Jackie Chan to learn Kung Fu under him.

Jaden has a great future and is sure to do well.

Rating ***/5.

A Triple Movie Treat

Saw three Malayalam movies over the weekend:


Ividam Swargam Aaanu

The Mohanlal starrer was slow to pick up its pace. Directed by Roshan Andrews, the movie is about a farmer's fight against the land mafia.

Innocent, Thilakan, Srinivasan, Jagathy and all the usual stars were there.

With three heroines, Laksmi Gopalaswamy (bank manager), Priyanka (TV reporter) and Lakshmi Rai (lawyer), Lalettan has a tough choice to make.

Lalu Alex as the scheming land-grabber - Aluva Chandy does a splendid job.

The last thirty minutes remind one of Khosla ka Ghosla.

Good movie to be enjoyed with the whole family.

Nayakan

No not the Kamal starrer. This movie surprisingly went unnoticed. Stylishly shot with an awesome performance by Indrajith and Thilakan, this is a revenge saga with a difference.

Indrajith is a Kathakali dancer. Thilakan plays Vincent Karanavar, an old don kind of person, a protector of a small community of people living in an old part of Kochi.

Indrajith's father and sister are killed by Siddique a magician who became a rich political kingmaker. He is beaten by Siddique's goons and left to die.

Thilakan rescues him and plans a revenge saga.

The movie unfolds at a quick pace and some great shots of Malaysia and a twist in the climax increase the suspense.


Kerala Cafe

This collection of ten short movies produced by Ranjit uniting ten of the most popular directors in Malayalam cinema is a great effort.

This movie will be reviewed in a separate post.

Spain Win

The Orange Squad failed to win as a goal by Inivestas in the 116th minute ensured that Spain lifted the FIFA World Cup 2010 title.

Heart-break for Holland.

The octopus Paul was right again.

Spanish Armada Sinks German Juggernaut

The psychic octopus had predicted a Spanish victory.

True to the predictions a late goal by Spain helped them end Germany's World Cup dreams.

An exciting clash is on the cards on Sunday when Spain take on Netherlands in the finals.

Let us see who wins!

I will be rooting for Netherlands, but I have a strange feeling that David Villa & Co. might take the glittering Jules Rimet Trophy to Spain this year.

If you look at my predictions made in the post dated June 11, they match the finalists.

Let us see what happens.

World Cup Updates

Netherlands make it to the finals.

Will the German brigade win or will the Spanish Armada emerge victorious?

Illness

Folks just back from a long bout of illness - Typhoid.

Two weeks of fever, puking away to glory and severe body pain.

I am still weak and somehow pulled myself to type this.

Folks need all your prayers and wishes for a speedy recovery!

Bye for now.

The Cup of Joy

In a few hours from now the FIFA World Cup 2010 will start. For a cricket-crazy nation, football holds its sway in pockets in Kerala, Goa, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

This year the core favourites remain the same - Brazil and Germany.

My dark-horse bets are on the Netherlands the team that deserves the Cup for its consistent fair-play and "total football".

The second bet is on Spain who have been the most consistent team during the qualifiers and in recent months.

Argentina under the highly psychotic and unpredictable Diego Maradona might throw a surprise or too.

England, Portugal, the U.S.A., Cameroon, Italy, Mexico, Australia, Greece and Ivory Coast are likely to enter the quarter-finals.

Let us wait as the magic unfolds.

May the best team win!

The House of Fear

Ibn-e-Safi was a famous Urdu novelist born in India who settled in Pakistan after partition. He was famous for his detective Imran and the Jasoosi Duniya series thathe created.

The English translation from random House carries two novellas - The House of Fear and Shootout at the Rocks. Translated by Bilal Tanweer the book is a big disappointment for me.

The cover looks shabby and the book looks to have been printed on poor quality paper. Mind you the book costs Rs. 195 and is pretty slim.

The first story is about murders occurring in an old mansion. The second one is about a drug-trafficking ring.

Translation is crude with the couplets of Ghalib used in extremely odd circumstances. It would have been good if the couplets had been transliterated from Urdu to English along with the English translations.

The hero Imran is an MSc Phd. from Oxford University and the son of the head of intelligence. He pretends to be a fool and keeps muttering nonsense. This is a facade and his calculating mind solves problems.

Truly disappointed with Random House. I am awaiting Blaft's translations of the Jasoosi Duniya series.

Conversations on Matrimony

Sunday saw me at the betrothal ceremony of a cousin. The chap is just 22 and the bride is 20. As usual the conversation petered towards my marriage. "Ennada Meshu, Amma iniyum evalo naal thaniya kashta padanum?" "What Meshu, how many more days does your mother have to suffer alone?"

I wonder why they start the conversation with an emphasis on loneliness and suffering. None of these mamas and mamis are willing to marry off their daughters to me. So why do they keep asking the question at every damn opportunity they get.

They come, eat the feast, bless the poor chap and bride, give a small monetary gift and go home commenting -"Aanalum Srini kalyana sappadu alavukku illai" "The feast wasn't as delicious as the one served during Srini's marriage."

Now in this case the chap Venky has an elder brother who is 26 years old, his face was a picture of misery. His horoscope was a bit perplexing and the chap had not secured an IT job. He was working in an electronics store as an accountant. He told me "Anna Ab Mera Kya Hoga?"

I told him -"Dei Seshu, why to worry if we had studied Maths and Science properly we would have also become IT engineers and got marriage proposals from Infosys and Wipro "ponnus". Ellam vidhi!"

So life goes on as one more cousin gets entangled into "Grihastashram".

Horoscopes are shuttling and nothing is materializing. Everyone wants at least a Rs 50000 p.m. salary for their "sweet, god-fearing and good-natured girls". The mind wanders like a monkey, some cousins who are much younger than me are married and settled with kids in tow. Looks like this innings is going to go on for a long time without a partner.

What worries me, is my mother's persistence in wanting a working girl. I would prefer a girl who would take care of my mother.

So folks if you know any good-natured Iyer-girl let me know!

Best wishes to Venky and his bride and the bride-hunt continues for Seshu, Meshu and the many other non-IT-Iyer bachelors.

Team India Crash Out

Team India crashed out of the tri-nation series in Zimbabwe with just one victory to their name from the four matches that they played. Consecutive defeats against Zimbabwe, one victory and one loss against Sri Lanka.

Raina's first series as a captain will be a big learning experience, unfortunately the collective failure of the team, horrendous batting, disastrous running between the wickets and below par bowling have let the fans down.

The Asia Cup will be extremely challenging with Pakistan fielding its most powerful side in recent times. With an announcement ruling out Sachin's participation can Dhoni inspire his team to victory?

Time will tell!

SURA

Vijay's fiftieth movie is a golden bomb. The movie which released with very little pre-publicity appears to have been made in a hurry. Listless acting by Vijay, same boring expressions by Tamannah voiced by singer Chinmayee, the buffoonery of Vadivelu make this an absolute mess.

Vijay's list of flops is as follows now--Azhagiya Tamizh Magan, Aadhi, Kuruvi, Villu, Vettaikaran and Sura.

In Sura, Vijay plays the titular role of a fisherman who works for the upliftment of his colony of fisher-folk.

An evil minister Dev Gill intends to destroy the colony to build a theme park. Sura manages to botch up the minister's smuggling operations and uses the money to build houses, schools and improve the living conditions in the colony.

What could have been presented as an interesting cat-and-mouse game between the hero and villain ends up as insufferable idiocy.

The fights, the dance, the plot, everything looks like if the movie is made on a Vijay template.

Vijay is working with Asin in Malayalam director Siddique's Kaavalkaran the remake of the Dileep-Nayanthara average grosser Bodyguard.

If and only if the movie hits the mark can Vijay rescue his career now.

I have enjoyed his earlier movies like Priyamudan, Kadhalikku Mariyadhai and Kannukul Nilavu. Mass hero movie Pokkiri was enjoyable in bits and pieces, since then is a downward journey.

The powerful theatre distributor owners of Tamil Nadu have asked Vijay to act in a film free of cost to help them recover their losses.

I am sure Vijay will bounce back with Kaavalkaran. With Ajith firmly moving in to racing and unlikely to act in a movie any time in the near future, Vijay has a chance to redeem himself with some good author-backed roles that break away from the mould in which he has been typecast in to. Surya is the actor who has benefitted the most because of Vijay's debacles.

Let us see what the future brings for lovers of Tamil cinema.

Suresh Raina Clueless

Zimbabwe's victory over India was a resounding slap on the face of Indian cricket. For the first time Zimbabwe has defeated India twice in a row.

India needs to defeat Sri Lanka convincingly to reach the finals.

Suresh Raina & CO. have lot of soul-searching to do now.

Image courtesy-Flipkart.com


Fast-paced, quick, a steady mix of pulp fiction, kitsch and a good measure of ancient Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. Karan Bajaj in his second novel takes the reader on a ride from a graduation ceremony in MIT, to Cambodia, Thailand, Brazil, back to the U.S. and finally to Delhi.

The protagonist Nikhil and his friend Sam visit Cambodia after graduating from MIT. Sam has an offer from GE and Nikhil has been selected to work in NASA. They land in Cambodia right in the middle of the Khmer Rogue revolution. Nick sacrifices his passport to help save the life of his friend Sam. Nick is captured by the revolutionaries and imprisoned for two years. He is pronounced a CIA spy and is about to be executed. While travelling on a jeep through the forest he seeks his chance and escapes. In the process he is injured and somehow manages to reach Thailand where he is rescued by a monk. In the monk he recovers and wakes up to see that he has lost one of his arms. Ten years in the monastery and with a new name - Monk Namche he lands up in Brazil to set up a Vipassana Centre. On the flight he is enamoured by a beautiful model Lara.

Once the centre is built he obtains permission to leave the monastery. He walks through the streets of Rio de Janerio, finally reaching a slum. Here walks in to a restaurant where some folks are sitting and drinking beer. Suddenly he notices a person about to fire a gun from the road. Namche protects the person who is targeted. He is none other than Marco a local don and cocaine distributor. Marco provides a roof and a new identity to Nick.

The story goes through many twists and turns tracking the ups and downs of Nick's life. He undergoes many more adventures, which I do not intend to reveal here.

The book just costs Rs. 99 and has great potential for conversion as a film.

The book is a powerful punch on the Chetan Bhagat School of Writing.

A Prayer

A prayer for all the victims for the ill-fated Dubai-Mangalore flight that crashed.
158 people dead and eight survivors.
A crash that occurred due to pilot error!
Was the pilot stressed and over-worked?

No one knows!

Kasargod in Kerala mourns the death of 30 people who died in that ill-fated crash.

More than 20 children in the flight died!

Let us hope the black box reveals what exactly happened!

The families of the victims are in shock and grief as many bodies are charred beyond recognition.

May God give strength to the families in this time of sorrow!

I Wonder Why!

I wonder why!

We as a nation are still to learn how to use a Western Toilet!

We wear flashy coats, suits, ties; carry laptops and blackberries, talk of overtaking America as a superpower and so on....

But 90% of corporate India is still low on toilet etiquette!

No one flushes the toilet after use, tissues are left scattered, the seat remains wet.

Life goes on.....

May be they should start putting posters within the toilet:

Do unto the toilet as you expect others to do unto it :)

Laila Wreaks Havoc in Chennai

Cyclone Laila centred of the coast of Vishakapatnam is wreaking havoc, with heavy rains and winds. Most of Chennai is flooded with all low-lying roads flooded with knee-deep water.

More rains have been predicted for the next couple of days.

England Lift the T:20 World Cup

England lifted the ICC T:20 World Cup by defeating Australia.

The English finally have a reason to rejoice and have broken the jinx

Collingwood has led his team from the front and coupled with Pietersen's heroics the team has the potential to lift the 2011 50-overs World Cup!

England Lift the T:20 World Cup

England lifted the ICC T:20 World Cup by defeating Australia.

The English finally have a reason to rejoice and have broken the jinx

Collingwood has led his team from the front and coupled with Pietersen's heroics the team has the potential to lift the 2011 50-overs World Cup!

Free Willy-4

Thoroughly enjoyed this movie about a young girl Kirra, played by Bindi Irwin, helping a young orca return to its family in the ocean.

Bindi is the daughter of crocodile-hunter Steve Irwin. The movie starts in Australia, where Kirra's father a vet is injured and hospitalized.

She lands up at her grandfather's amusement park in South Africa till her father is discharged from hospital.

The banter between grandpa and Kirra is fun.

The amusement park has a lagoon in which an orca is washed up after a storm.

The orca becomes the star attraction in the park and loads of people start visiting it. Kirra tries to convince her grandpa to free the orca who is named Willy. During all this the owner of another amusement park offers to buy Willy for 500000 dollars.

Watch the movie to find out the fate of Willy!

A simple, well-made movie with two good songs. Great photography combined with animatronics and underwater effects. The scene where the pod of orcas swim after a school of smaller fish during a storm is shot well.

My rating-***/5.

I am Back!

A hectic week of exams!

As usual the Maths-based paper was a gamble!

The remaining papers were also tough with an unpredictable pattern of essay-type questions.

God help me!

India have been licked by Australia, Sri Lanka and West Indies.

Our campaign in the West Indies has come to a bitter disappointing end.

Loads of movies to watch, bunch of books to read and well bride-hunting on in full swing, while the heart still pines for the lost chance.

The future does have a chance for some interesting surprises, while I am planning a couple of things!

All in good time.

Folks wish me luck:)

India thru' to the Super-Eights

India defeated Afghanistan on Saturday.

On Sunday, Suresh Raina hit a fantastic knock of 101 that set up a mammoth target of 187 for South Africa.

Tight bowling by Nehra and Harbhajan ensured that India won the match despite a valiant 73 run knock by Kallis.

In another match Australia defeated Pakistan.

Dog-catchers

Yesterday was an extremely sad one for me.

The municipal dog-catchers came and caught all the stray dogs in our locality. This happened yesterday afternoon.

The streets are empty. Tiger and Brownie the two dogs near my house will be missed.

The municipality does not fix broken lights, bad roads or open drains but they are ready to capture the dogs.

A bigger menace are the huge black pigs that roam about. No one captures them.

The Lovely Bones

A fascinating movie.
Detailed review coming soon.
Do not miss this movie!

"Catches win Matches"

Mumbai Indians learned this the hard way. Suresh Raina was dropped twice once when he was on 13 and then when he was on 28. The mistakes proved to be costly as he went on to score a match-winning fifty.

CSK won the toss and batted first. A steady start saw the opening pair cross 40 runs in the sixth over. Hayden and Murali Vijay fell in quick succession and at one stage CSK were 68 for 3 in 12 overs. Then Raina and Dhoni blasted the ball to all corners of the park. The last 8 overs yielded 100 runs and CSK set a target of 169.

Ashwin started the proceedings by bowling a maiden over. As wickets fell at regular intervals courtesy a strange shuffling of batting positions as Harbhajan was promoted above Pollard, Sachin tried to bring stability. Run-outs were aplenty and in spite of a counter-attack by Pollard where he plundered 20 odd runs of an over Mumbai Indians lost the finals.

Dhoni found form when it mattered most-the match at Dharamshala against Kings XI Punjab. Under his inspiring, cool and calm leadership CSK XI have been crowned champions of IPL-3.

The ICC World T:20 Championship starts in another five days in the West Indies. Can Dhoni inspire Team India to lift the trophy?

Time will tell and a lot depends on Yuvaraj Singh's form!

Bollinger's Charge Discharges the Deccan Chargers

In a low scoring match CSK defended a target of 143 and bowled out DC for 104.
The finals against Mumbai Indians will be tough and let us see if Dhoni can manage to lift the trophy.

Batting is a big cause of worry and the one-day rest will have Stephen Fleming wondering what to do?

Will Hayden be dropped for the finals?

Sachin is highly unlikely to play in the finals.

Let us see what happens!

Kailash Parbat-Restaurant Review

Kailash Parbat is a famous chain of restaurants from Mumbai. It has made its entry in Chennai courtesy the Oriental Cuisine, which runs The French Loaf, Wang's Kitchen, Planet Yumm, among many other famous restaurants.

My friends from Mumbai always raved about this place and I was planning to visit this place for some time now. Today I thought OK lets go check this place out. I reached the restaurant at about 1:15 PM the place is located near Lady Andal School on Harrington Road in Chetpet above The French Loaf. Spacious restaurant with lots of glass decor, natural light and courteous attendants dressed in chocolate brown shirts.

The restaurant had about 10 people dining in it, may be the crowds come in for dinner and on weekends! The waiter asked me if I wanted a bottle of mineral water? I said I was OK with the normal water from the purifier:) The menu card was detailed, well-designed and without any visible spelling errors.

Everything is priced slightly on the higher side. I settled for a Shaad Manna Thali.

The thali arrived in ten minutes. The contents:

One huge gulab jamun.
Two chappatis (big)
One paneer dish (gravy)
One potato-okra curry
One curry that was a mixture of cabbabge and mashed chappatis.
A sambar like concoction with okra, potatoes and drum-stick.
A bowl of white steamed Basmati Rice
A bowl of vegetable pulao (Basmati Rice)
Two small pakodas made of besan and onions
One pappad.
One slice of carrot and one slice of cucumber.
One glass of spiced-tangy buttermilk.

The price on the menu card - Rs. 160.
Price on the bill plus taxes - Rs. 171.

The food was good but not great. Just a slice of cucumber and carrot does not do justice to a salad. The sambar was sweet. The gulab jamun was simply out-of-this-world, neither too syrupy and soft nor hard, just perfect. The pakodas were great and the paneer dish was usual stuff not a match for the ones served at Punjabi Dhabha.

Overall Rating-4 out of 5 . The staff are courteous and polite and ask you before taking the plates away. I guess the chaats are the big sellers that need to be tasted once. But paying Rs 70 odd for chaats when Gangotri or Sweet Corner or the other small shops provide tasty ones for Rs. 20 to Rs. 25 is a bit too much. Well ambience and brand value command a premium price :)

So if you want to catch up with old friends have a filling meal, or need a cosy get-together with your girl-friend/boy-friend and enjoy contemporary Hindi Music-Kailash Parbat is the place for you.

Carry enough cash or have a couple of credit cards and enjoy your meal.

Pollard Seals Royal Challengers' Fate

Pollard's all round performance with bat and ball ensured that the Mumbai Indians entered the finals of IPL-3.

Today's match between Chennai and Hyderabad will determine the other finalist.

Keeping my fingers crossed!

Omar Mukhtar-The Lion of the Desert

Fantastic movie, with a great performance by Anthony Quinn in the titular role. Based on a real character who tried fighting Mussolini's Fascist army in Africa during WW-II.

Authentic shooting locations, a good technical crew and a racy narration make the movie interesting.

Definitely worth watching.

IPL-3 Semi-finalists announced

Mumbai Indians sit pretty on top of the table and were confirmed semi-finalists more than a week back.

The remaining three teams to make it to the semi finals are:

Chennai Super Kings
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Deccan Chargers Hyderabad.

In a spectacular finish at Dharamshala yesterday, aided by Dhoni's blistering knock CSK overcame a stiff target of 193 posted by Kings XI Punjab.

Going in to their last match Deccan Chargers defended a sub-150 run total and defeated the much-fancied Delhi Daredevils team.

Bangalore meet Mumbai and Chennai meet Hyderabad in the semis which have been shifted to the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

With regard to the Kochi franchise controversy, Shashi Tharoor has been forced to resign from his post as MOS External Affairs.

The semis take place on April 21 and 22.

May the best teams win.

I have a surprising feeling that Mumbai will lift the glittering IPL trophy this time, with a special knock by Sachin in the finals.

CSK lose to Daredevils

CSK lost to Delhi Daredevils after an absolutely dismal batting performance.
This means that CSK need to win their final match by a comfortable margin to ensure a semi-final place.

Let us see what happens!

Paiyaa

Waste of money!
Songs were OK!
Lingusamy needs to break out of his RUN days and present a better script!

Movie is making money because of Tamannah dancing in the rain.

Milind Somani is wasted as the villain!

Happy Tamil New Year and Happy Vishu

For the folks who celebrated Tamil New Year on Chitirai Thirunal on April 14, Happy Tamil New Year.

For folks who are celebrating Vishu today, Happy Vishu.

The controversy regarding celebration of Tamil New Year on April 14 is unwarranted.

Let the individual decide when one wants to do what:)

24

Got season 1 to 7 of 24 the series on DVD.
Let me see if it lives up to the hype.

Harry Brown

Harry Brown starring Michael Caine is another example of a vigilante popularised by the Death Wish series of movies.



Image courtesy-Filmshaft

Caine plays the titular character Harry Brown, an ex-marine, who stays in an estate in London. The area is notorious for its teen gangs who terrorize women and the elderly people.

One night Harry's best friend and chess playmate Len is killed.

How Harry avenges the death and cleanses the area of its hooligans forms the crux of the movie.

Michael Caine is as elegant and classy as ever and delivers a superb performance.

My rating-***/5.

My latest Acquisition

Folks after lots of saving up and planning I have bought a netbook. The HP Mini 210
I am posting this topic from it.

Still need to learn a lot about using this netbook. Its loaded with features.

Shutter Island-The Novel

This is the first Dennis Lehane book that I have read. I have seen two movies based on his novels "Mystic River" and "Gone Baby Gone" and liked them both to a certain extent.
The curiosity factor was heightened when I learned that Martin Scorcese has adapted this novel into a movie starring Leonardo di Caprio and Ben Kingsley.

The novel starts with two U.S. Marshalls Teddy and Chuck arriving on a secluded island which serves as an institution for violent prisoners with psychological problems. They have come to Shutter Island to investigate the disappearance of a woman patient Rosalin Solando.

The novel starts like a mystery, but slowly we realize that things are not right!

I am not revealing the twist:)

Is Rosalin found?

What exactly is taking place in the institution?

What is the secret?

Read the novel to find answers.

I am waiting for the movie to release!

Maoist Attack

In one of the bloodiest attacks on the paramilitary forces in independent India. Nearly 80 CRPF personnel were killed in a landmine blast rigged by Maoists in Dhantewada, in Chattisgarh.

The Red-Menace is a matter of great concern. With pseudo-intellectuals including award-winning novelists and so-called political thinkers supporting the Maoists, there is something definitely very very wrong.

With some of the most backward districts in the country and thousands of tribals involved no clear solution is visible. The Green-Hunt launched by P.C. Chidambaram claims that 3 years would be enough to wipe out the Maoists. At the current rate with which Maoists are striking the Indian para-military forces will be wiped out in 2 years.

The government has a big problem on its hands! Let us see what unfolds in the next few weeks.

Karthik Calling Karthik

Fascinating but not mind-blowing.

Farhan Akhtar gives a stellar performance of a man with behavioral problems. I am not going to elaborate a lot on the plot as the movie deserves a watch. 25 minutes into the movie you realize that Karthik has some psychological problem. The beauty of the movie lies in its presentation where the reason for this problem unveils slowly.

Deepika Padukone who plays the role of Shonali has nothing much to do except looking pretty, sipping juice and vodka and smoking cigarettes.

The movie has a decent sound-track. A good performance by Farhan, proves that he is not a one-film wonder.

A spoiler-The telephone plays a major role in the movie.

My rating-***/5.

Marriage News

Well the horoscopes were fine!
The girl and the boy were OK with each other!
The girl's dad did not like the boy!
So the story continues.....

The game is afoot!

CSK Break the Jinx

CSK finally returned to winning ways with a power-packed knock by Murali Vijay.
CSK defeated RCB and chased down 163.
If CSK win all their remaining matches it will boil down to net run rate to place the fourth semi finalist.

Delhi Daredevils defeated Rajasthan Royals in another match courtesy a good knock by Dinesh Karthik.

Armored

Image courtesy-Wikipedia

Armored-Starring Jean Reno, Lawrence Fishburne, Matt Dillon, Amaury Nolasco and others.

Directed by Nimrod Antal.


Interesting premise!

Exploring the gamut of emotions among men when a huge amount of money is involved.

A story about a group of federal officers who transport money from the main office to the banks. A cross-section of American cultures, there is the Hispanic, the Italian and the Afro-American and the white-guy.

They decide to rob the two vans divide the money amongst themselves and flee.

Complications arise when the group hides the money present in one van in an old abandoned factory.

An old man sees the group and is shot dead.

One man among the officers is aghast at the killing and locks himself up in the second van with the remaining money.

Now begins a cat and mouse game between a single man who listens to his conscience and the remaining gang-members.

Narrated in a believable manner it describes the lengths to which we stoop down when large sums of money are involved.

What happens? Is the lone-man killed? Does the gang get all the money?

Watch the movie for answers.

Chennai Super Kings in the Doldrums

Chennai Super Kings were defeated by Rajasthan Royals about 25 minutes ago.

This means that CSK are in the seventh place just ahead of Kings XI punjab.

Shane Warne continues to inspire his team and lead from the front with consecutive victories.

IF CSK need to reach the semis they will have to win all their remaining matches from now on. That would be difficult.

My pick for the semis:

Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore, the fourth place will be a fight between Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals though Kolkata Knightriders might pull a surprise or two.

Mom & Me

How the years have flown by!

I have always been mother's little kid who was admonished for not reciting the slokas during evening prayers or not washing my feet after returning from playing cricket.

Growing up in the absence of my father, it was my uncle who brought me up. Everyone used to fear and admire uncle. The only person who would argue with uncle was mother. Being his youngest sister she always found a way to convince him that she was right and he was wrong.

Uncle is in other city now with his family and I am all alone with my mom. I sometimes get frightened wondering if she is all right. If her sugar-count has gone up and she is having panic atacks?

Don't know but with each passing day I am getting paranoid and keep worrying about my mother.

Yesterday she was very ill and I had to rush her to the doctor.

By God's grace and the doctor's medicines she is better now.

I pray that she regains good health. The emotional trauma that she has undergone through all these years has left a permanent scar.

I try helping her and comfort her but she still keeps worrying!

Life goes on and I worry what would happen if something happened to me?

Who would take care of her?

Or if something happened to her how will the void be filled?

Life is strange. With the years rolling by and as she gets weaker and tired more often, I keep praying that I fulfill her dream of buying my own house and that she stays in it.

Let us see what happens!

IPL Updates

Well things are really heating up and though there are no clear winners yet, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians have impressed a lot.

Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings need to get their act together.

Kolkata have flattered to deceive.

Kings XI Punjab were very very lucky to win the match against CSK in the super-over.

All of Shilpa's smiling and dancing are not going to save Warne's Rajasthan Royals.

Let us see how the remaining games progress and if more surprises are in store for us.

The Princess and the Frog

Good old-school Disney animation. Transports one back to the era of hand-drawn scenes.
Thoroughly enjoyable but a tad too many songs.

The movie reinforces one to follow one's dreams with relentless fervour.

There is Prince Naveen who has been thrown out by his parents. There is Tiana a waitress who dreams of owning a restaurant. Stella the spoiled brat daughter and a heiress friend of Tiana. The Shadowman the Voodoo villain.

By a quirk of magic the prince and Tiana turn into frogs.

The story traces how the frogs find their goals in life, find the meaning of love and fulfill their dreams.

A must watch for all lovers of fairy-tales.

Horoscope Updates!

Seems like one horoscope has hit its mark!
Folks will keep you posted!
Have a feeling that the game's afoot.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Loved this Wes Anderson movie based on a short story by Roald Dahl.

Puppet-style animation about a fox and his family.

The fox voiced by George Clooney steals from three wicked farmers.

How this affects the remaining animals in the village and the measures taken by the farmers to capture the fox are portrayed in an interesting manner.

A refreshing change from the Pixar-Disney school of animation.

MARRIAGE WISHES

Two of my very good friends-
Siva and Sudha got married last week.
Here is a toast to the couple.

May God shower his blessings on them as they begin a new chapter in their lives.

ALL THE BEST!

Something Funny!

Well no comments from no one!
Not even an anonymous one!
Something wrong :)

Hockey World Cup

India demolished Pakistan in the first match to raise the hopes of hockey fans. Unfortunately the momentum could not be maintained and we lost the remaining matches.

The only saving grace being that Pakistan had their worst outing and ended up being the last team.

Indian hockey needs to break its political connections. Brasa our coach is trying to do his best but the administration and people like K.P.S. Gill and Suresh Kalmadi and many others in similar posts need to be shown the door.

The country needs more players and sports psychologists and trainers. We do not need jingoistic and partisan politics inspired administrators.

When will the glory of Dhyanchand be achieved again?

From Paris with Love

Image Courtesy-Wikipedia

John Travolta attempts at a comeback of sorts in the Bruce Willis Die Hard 4 mode. He plays a bald American special agent on a mission in Paris. Produced by Luc Besson the movie is directed by Pierre Morel who gave us the Liam Neeson starrer "Taken".

We are introduced to a young couple, the man (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) works in the American embassy in Paris and the woman is a fashion designer of sorts.

As the story progresses once Travolta lands in Paris he partners Meyers and the two go about demolishing a drug syndicate run by Chinese and Pakistanis. As the story unfolds it is revealed that the bigger threat is posed by the fundamentalist jihadis - terrorists.

It is unveiled that Meyers fiancee is a suicide bomber and she is on a mission to assassinate a top U.S. politician visiting Paris.

Does the suicide mission take place?

Can Travolta and Meyers save the day?

Watch the movie for answers!

As an afterthought it would be a bold experiment to see our very own Captain Vijaykanth in Travolta's role :)

We may have a Tamil thriller soon!

Delhiil Oru Vettai Aarambam:)

The Edge of Darkness

Image Courtesy-Covershut.com


Based on a popular BBC T.V. series, the Mel Gibson starrer is enjoyable in parts.
Gibson plays the role of Inspector Craven, he plans to meet his daughter who is interning at Northwood Enterprises. The movie starts with videos of his daughter as a child.

His daughter Emma look frail and the two prepare for dinner. Emma eats a bit of the dinner and suddenly starts bleeding from the nose and the mouth. Mel rushes to take her to the doctor and opens the door. A masked assailant shouts "Craven" and shoots Emma who dies in Mel's arms.

The mystery starts building. Initially it is suspected that Mel was the target. Slowly bits and pieces of Emma's troubled work-life are revealed and Mel finds out that the corrupt bosses at Northwood, a senator and many important people are involved in an illegal act. Emma wanted to reveal this and paid with her life.

What was the illegal activity at Northwood? What were the implications? Who was the masked assailant?

Watch the movie for answers.

Could have been a bit more gripping. Some scenes are well-shot and some decent hide-and-seek chases involving Mel and the "corrupt lot" are filmed.

Can be seen once!

First Semester Results Out!

Folks some good news I have passed in all the papers in my first semester. (MBA Project Management).

I managed to clear two papers literally by the skin of my teeth.

The Good Lord above, the Goddess of Learning and the Examiner have been kind enough!

I was really worried about one paper called Quantitative Methods and I was worried that I would fail in it.

I was surprised that I had got the maximum marks in it.

Two papers for which I had studied and researched a lot--I barely got through.

Now the second semester has even more complex papers and I need to focus on them.

One paper-Financial and Management Accounting is giving me the jitters.

Folks, wish me luck.

Dork

Dork the debut novel by Sidin Vadukut is funny. Clear semi-autobiographical touches are visible:)

The hero Robin Einstein Vargheese an IIM graduate gets a job at Dufersene Consultants and lands up in Mumbai.

The tension among the new joinees, the confusion, ass-kissing in top management, office politics, attempted office romance, crazy HR policies, endless project meetings, the messy PowerPoint presentations, on-site visits, the Blackberry:)... everything has a mention.

The novel appears in the form of a diary and has its moments of brilliance. The story progresses and with a lot of "willful suspension of disbelief" we accept lot of stuff.

But the climax :( well somehow did not do justice to the beginning.

Worth reading once, when you just want to relax, unwind and laugh a little.

Romancing the Stone

Image Courtesy-Wikpedia


Time-pass and jolly fun.

Michael Douglas as the fortune-hunter do-gooder gels in to the role easily.
Quirky performance by Danny De Vito as the gangster's cousin.
It is Kathleen Turner as the novelist Joan Wilder who does a great job.

It is a story of a treasure map a precious stone, gangsters, mercenary police officers, drug-lords, hungry crocodiles and superb comic timing.

Director Robert Zemeckis helmed this movie and the viewer does not lose interest at all.

Recommended for lazy summer afternoons.

A Cool Promise

Last year when the summer peaked and it became too hot, my mother frequently felt sick. I had promised her that before the next summer began I would get an air conditioner for her.

I fulfilled that promise today. I got a split air-conditioner today. Shelled out Rs 25000 for it and spent about two hours helping the technicians to install it.

It was a mini-adventure of sorts, with getting ladders and wooden stools to get the external unit of the air-conditioner on to the ledge.

All things said and done it was a humbling experience watching the technicians unpack, fit and install the unit.

I hope the air conditioner adds comfort to my mother and she gets to sleep peacefully now.

Inside Man

Good movie but felt it was too overrated.
Clive Owen is cool as the bank robber.
Denzel Washington is adequate as a cop.
Jodie Foster looks old.

At a point of time one realizes that this movie was one more inspiration to a certain extent for the Tamil flick Naanayam

Inside Man is about a bank robbery where 50 hostages are taken. A negotiation team is sent. The owner of the bank played by Christopher Plummer has some secrets in locker no. 329.

What happens do the robbers get their wants? Are the hostages killed? Is the robbery a success?

What is the secret of the locker no. 329.

Watch the movie for answers. Movie is directed by Spike Lee.

Sachin Reaches Another Milestone

Image Courtesy-BBC


Sachin's status as the best in the game was reinforced when he became the first player in the history of ODI cricket to score 200 runs in an innings.

The crowd waited with bated breath as Sachin crossed 194 the record shared by Saeed Anwar and Charles Coventry.

At a stage he was stuck on 199 as Dhoni was hitting sixes and fours at the other end.

The milestone was attained on the third ball of the last over.

Sachin scored 200 not out of 147 balls.

Little Master has now become the Great Master!

Unconditional Love

In a world where one-night stands, quick divorces, incompatibility, jealousy and suspicion abound. Here is a saga of true love.

Please read the article given in the link below. It is a true story.

True Love Never Dies

Von Ryan's Express

This is an old war-movie starring Frank Sinatra as an American pilot.
Set during the closing stages of WW-II, the movie describes how a troop of British prisoners flee Nazi-occupied Italy on a train.

Great photography, good acting, good stunts.

Image courtesy-Amazon

I await your Call

I await your call,
With bated breath.
Things may be different,
Among the two of us.

But you know,
In your heart,
What you meant to me!
Even though I was late.

You said things,
Could never be like,
What I wanted.
Even then....

A small wish,
Will you call me?
I wait with bated breath,
For you to call me.

Happy Birthday

Image Courtesy-Flickr



One more year has gone by, the first white hair on my head is prominent now. I have moved on to yet another job.

I am still single. No girl-friend and no signs of a horoscope matching my convoluted one.

Life goes on!

28 years on this planet!

Still so much more left to do!

Man She Looks Fat

This was a conversation that took place in a restaurant. The restaurant has a huge LCD TV on one wall and it plays Sun Music all the time. It is a usual hangout for my friends and they suggested that we all go for lunch there.

We managed to get a table for the four of us. Pintoo the joker of our pack gave us a smile and said-" Matchi, look at them at that table". It was a motley crew of five well dressed women in the age-group of 20 to 30. Probably they worked in one of the many tech-companies that were housed in the adjoining Tech-Park.

We ordered our food and looked at the TV while Pintoo stole glances at the "table". I poked him in the stomach said "Dei close your floodgates, too much of jollu" He snapped at me "Man what's your problem. I am just admiring beauty."
I guess some guys never learn.

Then a song started playing, it was Jyothika on screen. Then one of the women started saying "She looks so fat. I hate her" She tucked in to a large juicy cheese-burger and wiped her chin as some cheese dripped out. Another woman said "Hmmm she was OK in Vaali but expanded in Khushi, Don't why the guys are crazy after her?"

Another woman quipped in "Hmm ..poor Suriya wish he had waited?" As if he would come with a rose in his hand and woo her:)

Well folks this conversation continued till our food came.

I do not know why women are so obsessed with star-figures and stuff. Focusing on their own good health would be much better.

A funny interlude during a quick lunch!

India Win as Amla Toils

It was a match that would determine the top test-rankings. India were mauled at Nagpur.
At Eden Gardens at the end of the first 3 hours of play it looked like SA would post a massive total. Then the tumble of wickets began.

Indian batsmen made merry and four players got centuries.

SA had a disastrous start to their second innings.

On the final day 7 wickets separated India from victory. Zaheer's injury dimmed India's chances. Amla has shown tremendous strength of character in this series and fought all alone like a giant as wickets kept tumbling around him.

Finally it was a question of one wicket and as the skies darkened hopes of a victory for India kept fading. Two more overs to go as Harbhajan bowled his over.

The third ball was a beauty and struck Morkel on the pads.

There was a loud appeal. The umpire's finger went up and celebrations started.

India won and Harbhajan's fairytale tryst with the Eden Gardens continues.

The ODI series starts soon. The absence of Bhajji and Zaheer is going to hurt India.

I have a feeling that young pacer Mithun might get a chance.

The Last Day

Will India Win at Eden Gardens?
By 3 PM we shall know!

Dr. Pashupati

This was one funny movie. Starring-Innocent, Parvathi, Nedumudi Venu, Jagathi, Jagadeesh, Kalpana and a whole other bunch of actors.

The movie is about a small village that does not have veterinary doctors. A village board president played by Venu is given an ultimatum to find a doctor or lose his post.

A drama-actor and a small-time thief played by Innocent is hired to play the role of the veterinary doctor - Dr. Pashupati. The confusion, chaos and mayhem that is unleashed in the village forms the crux of the story.

Parvathi who is in love with her uncle's son played by Riza Bawa is forced to marry Innocent. Does the marriage take place? Is Innocent caught?

Watch the movie to find answers.

The biggest surprise for me was that action-specialist Shaji Kailash had directed the movie.

The Brothers Bloom

Absolute joy!
Wonderful con-movie.
Twists, joy, humour, great visuals.
Adrian Brody and Rachel Weisz make a lovely pair.

Don't miss this movie. No complications of the Guy Ritchie or Steven Soderberg kind here.

Good old-fashioned con movie.

No spoilers from my end:)

Team India

India was comprehensively beaten by South Africa. Rock solid innings from Amla and Kallis and brilliant bowling by Steyn ensured that India lost.

The Indians have a chance to redeem themselves at Eden Gardens. If they win the match I guess India will hold on to its No.1 position.

Let us see what happens!

Blindness

Just think you are walking on the road, or perhaps you are driving a car. All of a sudden you become blind! The whole world comes to a crash and you become dependent on somebody else for all your basic needs.

Blindness stars Julianne Moore and it chronicles an epidemic of blindness in an unnamed city. People across the city are afflicted by this strange disease where all they can see is a curtain of white. The "blind" are moved to a prison-like facility by the military-like government.

Within the facility there are riots and fights for food. The basic instinct of humans are portrayed as "sex-for-food" becomes the norm. The story starts convincingly and has realistic portrayals by all and abundant nudity. Julianne is the only one one who can see. She leads a revolt against the rebels and manages to escape along with her husband and a few good people.

They travel through the city which is in total chaos. People are blind and stranded and forage for food in abandoned supermarkets. Julianne leads the group to her house and all of them are happy after a long time and have a decent meal and a bath. There is this scene where the women are taking a bath and one lady who is actually a prostitute asks Julianne "Am I beautiful?" There is pathos and agony.

The surprise comes when a Japanese guy who was the first person to get infected claims that he can see and his vision is restored.

Thus the movie ends on a positive note with a hope that everyone will regain their vision. Powerful background score, good acting, some unwanted nudity and some unintentional funny moments.

Can be seen once for a different experience!

500 not out

Folks 500 posts and counting!
Need all your support, comments, brick-bats and bouquets and encouragement.
Thanks to Kavi, Priya, Sevitha, Madhuri, Ashwin, Sivaganesh, Sudha and everyone else who has continued reading this blog.

Long long back 5 years ago :) at SFY there was a lot of encouragement from Revathi Murali and Sukumari who were senior IDs. Then there were other colleagues whom I met at my next work-place: Sai and Mughil. Everyone has moved out and I have lost touch with these people.

I specially need to thank Nitin Raou who has moved to IBM. For it was his blog that ignited the spark. Today he is happily married and hardly updates his blog.

I have changed the theme of the blog and added two pages at the top.

One for "Poetry" and one for "Favourite Movies"

Let us see how things go. This blog has chronicled cinema, cricket, politics, the affairs of the heart, politics at work, travel and a lot of other stuff. When I was passing through a very tough emotional crisis the soothing words of my friends comforted me to a great deal.

So folks wish me luck!

Signing-off for now!

I will be back :)

Musings

Life is going along at a fast pace.
It is a farewell to Instructional Design.
I have moved away from e-learning.
Too many domestic problems, and my inability to focus made me say good bye to ID!
In a span of five years I have shifted jobs with alarming frequency.
The future lies ahead with lots of possibilities.
Let us see what happens.
I may be termed an escapist.
But I guess somewhere I had to take a call and move ahead.

Pokkisham-Treasure

There is a scene in which Cheran reads a letter written to him by Padmapriya. The camera focuses on the inland letter. It has "786" at the top. No wonder because Padmapriya is playing the character of Nadira a Muslim girl. It is these small vignettes of directorial brilliance that make Cheran's movies enjoyable.

The movie is about D. Lenin a marine engineer in Kolkata in the 70s and Nadira a college student in Nagore. The tale poignantly examines the budding romance between the two. It is a tale of unrequited love enhanced by melodious songs tuned by Sabesh-Murali and has simple but effective cinematography.

There are scenes of Durga Puja in Kolkata, the long sea-line in Nagore, shots of Victoria Memorial, the Maidan and trams.

The movie narrates how Lenin's son Mahesh discovers his dead father's trunk which contains the letters written to Nadira.

Mahesh is fascinated as he reads the letters and examines his own four-month old flip-flop relationship with his girl-friend.

He tracks down Nadira who has settled in Malaysia and hands over the letters to her.

The movie ends with Nadira remembering Lenin and closing her eyes.

We assume that she dies and is finally reunited with her Lenin.

It is sad that the movie tanked at the box-office. The current crop of cine-goers need fast numbers, foreign locales, item-numbers, shootouts and stuff.

The movie deserves a watch for some excellent performances by Cheran and Padmapriya.

Aayirathil Oruvan

Selva's labour of love that took over three years to make starts with a street-play that describes how the Chola prince is taken to safety by a loyal minister, when the Pandyas attack the Chola kingdom.


Now the movie movies to Pratap Pothen an archaeologist who discovers the lost city of the Cholas. Then we are shown news clippings saying that he has gone missing.

We are introduced to Andrea, Pothen's daughter and Reema Sen and Arivazhagan from the ASI and the army, respectively. They plan to seek the lost city and the archaeologist. Karthi is introduced as the head of a bunch of porters who join the expedition. We are told that the lost kingdom is somewhere in the vast ocean near Vietnam.

They reach a tribal settlement from where they journey to the mysterious island on boats. The tribals refuse to go to the island saying that the island is a haunt of ghosts.

As the party reaches the island and walks in shallow waters, strange luminescent fishes attack the expedition party and the members run towards the land to save their lives. The adventure continues as they are attacked by a band of tribals, then they face poisonous serpents and Karthi and the girls are separated from the remaining expedition party. The trio travel across a desert battlinig hunger and thirst. They stand before a Stonehenge like pile of pillars. The eagle flying above at sun-rise causes the shadow of Lord Nataraja to be displayed on the ground and the trio run on the path shown by the shadow.

Till here the story made sense :)

They reach the lost city and play with the treasures and swords and suddenly a screeching sound drives them mad as they attack each other and dance and Reema even shoots Karthi. They are captured by the remnants of the lost Chola civilisation ruled by Pathiban in a strange costume reminding me of one of the characters in 300.

More confusion comes as Reema seduces Parthipan and hatches a plan with an old woman, we realize that something is wrong. There is unwanted sexual imagery here and it is better we don't dwell much on it.

There is an arena where a giant clobbers prisoners using a rock at the end of a chain. Pothen is alive and gone raving mad, he and Karthi face the giant and Karthi kills the giant and is rewarded by Parthiban.

Then the army comes and attacks the Cholas, Reema Sen is revealed to be a Pandya princess. A war between guns and rocket launchers and spears, swords and stones take place. Reema mixes poison in the water drunk by Chola soldiers. The long-drawn war scene ends with the army officers capturing the Chola king.

Scenes of torture by the army draw comparison with the Sri Lankan army torturing the Tamils in Sri Lanka the imagery and comparison is very visible with the Tiger in the Chola flag.

History repeats itself when Parthiban hands over his on to Karthi for protection. Parthiban dies and his body i immersed in the sea by faithful ministers who walk into their watery graves.

The movie ends with the message "Chozhanin Payannam Thodarum" --The journey of the Chola kingdom shall continue.

The script is messy and there are ample references to Mac Kenna's Gold, Apocalypto, Indiana Jones, Mummy etc...

The second half has too many loopholes. Are some scenes hallucinations or reality we do not know. The people speaking ancient Tamil drew lot of catcalls in the theatre. This is indeed sad, if we forget our roots who will respect us.

Cannibalism definitely does not go down well, what happened to Reema and Arivazhagan, how does Karthi survive bullet shots? How does the mobile network work in the middle of nowhere?

Too many unanswered questions, cinematography and music is good. Reema has hammed her way through a super role but all media is going gung-ho about her performance. Wish we had Sneha/Meera Jasmine/ or some other actress who could add substance to the role.

The movie had a super-duper opening but I doubt if it will recover its cost of production.

AO was a super chance for Selva to cement his position in Tamil cinema, somehow I feel he lost the plot mid-way through the movie.