IPL News

Things are pretty bad for Chennai, Kolkata, Rajasthan and Bangalore. The teams have performed horribly and with Hyderabad and Delhi comfortably perched at the top with Mumbai Indians following the leaders it is time for the other teams to perform.

Shahrukh and Shilpa must be fuming with the mediocre performances of their teams. Kings XI Punjab had bad weather spoil their chances but the other matches that they played they have done well.

To early to say anything but it looks like Delhi and Hyderabad are serious title contenders now. The way things are going the fourth semi-finalist will be the place which the teams will fight it out for as Mumbai Indians are likely to be the third semi-finalist.

The big news is the person who is running this blog- www.fakeiplplayer.blogspot.com
Some posts are real vintage humour. No one knows who the author is though I doubt if any actual KKR player is behind the blog.

Come on Superkings with Flintoff gone now play Ntini for God's sake. Dhoni you better score runs or you are going to end up like Laxman and Dravid. Remember no individual is greater than the team. Come on Superkings set the stadiums afire!

CSK vs DD

Chennai Superkings lost the match to Delhi Daredevils by 9 runs. A match that should have been won.

De Villiers got a super century 105 not out that ensured that DD won. Hayden provided a solid platform but Dhoni's boys panicked and made a mess of it. Dhoni you better start scoring runs and play Ntini for God's sake. We have lost two matches now.

Buck up boys!

In the Name of My Father-3

The great man whom I greatly hate-my Father-has decided that come what may he will continue to drink himself to death. All medication suggested by doctors will not be taken. He feels that a great injustice has been meted out to him. Two sets of sleeping pills prescribed by the doctor are rotting in their strips untouched by him.

The fights continue at home. I am losing my sanity and returning home has become a dreaded prospect. I am seriously contemplating some drastic step and just do not know what to do! Perhaps I will be forced to admit my father to an alcohol de-addiction centre. That remains the only option now.

I wonder how he manages to sleep for just three hours every night go to work drink all he can and again get up early in the morning at 1 AM to disturb me and my mother's sleep. Will there ever be a possible solution. I don't know. I try to stop thinking about him but there is a constant fear at the back of my head that he has fallen down somewhere and is lying injured or in an alcohol-induced stupor.

God give me strength in times of darkness and suffering!

The sins committed by men continue to haunt their sons and daughters!

I am a living testimony to this fallacy.

IPL-2 News

Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Hydearbad have one victory each to their name. Hayden's batting heroics were awesome. Kumble the old war-horse deserved a MOM award for his 5-wicket haul in their match against RR, but justice was once again denied. Rajasthan Royals have made a bad start. Today's double-header promises much. If the weather holds we will have a pair of interesting matches.

Let us see what happens!

IPL Season-2

So folks after all the political tamasha, security concerns and a hundred other lame reasons the second season of the IPL is beginning in South Africa tomorrow.

Wishing all the teams best. With KP at the helm of Royal Challengers Bangalore and many Australian players expressing their inability to participate you don't know what is going to happen.

So folks may the best team win.

HAPPY VISHU

Wishing everyone HAPPY VISHU

May the year bring in joy, success and good health!

Another Corporate Cultural Show

So folks a long break from blogging. Well lot of stuff-firstly a lot of work, secondly a corporate cultural show that has six teams with four teams in the branch that I work in. Folks in office are busy with work, the people who ain't got work are creating a proper tamasha with their campaigns.

India won the series in New Zealand. The last match ended in a draw because of rain. Well if Dhoni had declared at least an hour or two earlier we would have won the series 2-0.

The IPL-2 will start on April 18. So expect more articles on cricket.

On the personal front nothing seems to be happening. When I think that I have forgotten her, I get a phone call from her and suddenly I feel happy. But then again we know that things are over for the better. Life is indeed a cocktail and I guess my drink is a bit on the stronger side now.

Horoscopes as usual are flying thick and fast. But it seems that my horoscope is a muddled mess and lots of special parameters have to be matched to find the perfect match:)

I promised that I would write a detailed post on my trip to Kolkata and indeed I will write it.

So long folks!

You will get to read about six movie reviews soon. All old classics. So keep reading and have fun.

Can Team India Create Cricketing History?

Many summers ago the Nawab of Pataudi led the Indian cricket team to a famous series win over New Zealand in Wellington. Unfortunately that was India's last series win in New Zealand. Now Dhoni and his men have a chance to recreate history by winning the third and final test. Napier was a bad dream and Gambhir, Dravid and Laxman saved India the blushes with useful contributions from Sachin and Yuvraj too.

Will Balaji be playing tomorrow? Will Dhoni be fit enough to play?
Let us see what happens tomorrow!

From Calcutta to Kolkata

I was born in a city that was called Calcutta. When I left the city more than a decade ago it had a strange old world charm about it and I thought that there can never be another city like it.

12 years later when I returned to the city of my birth I realized that the city had changed. It had gone back to its native name - Kolkata. The occasion was the sacred thread ceremony of my cousin.

A trip on the Coromandal Express with my parents and my uncle, aunt and their son. The trip was delightful as the other passengers in our compartment included two kids aged three years old. It was fascinating to look at them play, fight, eat, sing and dance. It was truly a memorable journey.

We reached Kolkata at around 12:30 in the afternoon. A Bolero was hired after much haggling over fares and we reached our hotel-Komala Vilas. A quick bath to wash away the grime and sweat of the long journey and we visited the restaurant to have a sumptuous lunch.

Later in the evening I went around the city and was fascinated by the changes that had taken place. Huge malls have come up in places that were vast plots and closed factories. The traffic has increased with bikes, cars and pedestrians jostling for space. The popular tram service has been relegated to a bare minimum because of road-work. The locals say that the trams will be fully operational soon.

I visited Esplanade, New Market and College Road revisiting my memories of a childhood when Sundays meant going shopping on Mirza Ghalib Street for second-hand books, sampling "jhaal muri" and "puchka" ended by a glass of fresh orange juice.
I travelled by the underground train service-the Metro. The system is efficient and well maintained. The service is well used and the trains are crowded. The girls look beautiful and one can see a fashion parade with the bevy of beauties outdoing one another with their elegance, grace and make-up.

Also managed to visit the Kalighat temple and seek the blessings of the all powerful Mother Goddess. The temple was thankfully not crowded and we had a good "darshan." I also visited the South City Mall on Prince Anwar Shah Street and was amazed by the design of the building and the facilities and range of products/shops in the mall. Spencers' and Citi Centre can learn a lot from this mall in Kolkata.

The ceremony went well and I returned to Chennai with a multitude of memories and thoughts about the city. One more update could be a possible bride for yours truly from Kolkata. Nothing is being finalized and I don't know any details but if the horoscopes match well it will be Mr & Mrs. Iyer.

So folks wish me luck!

13 B/Yaavarum Nalam Movie Review

Movie-13 B/Yaavarum Nalam.
Starring-Madhavan, Neetu Chandra, Sachin Khedekar and others.
Music-Shankar, Eeshan and Loy.
Direction-Vikram Kumar.
Genre-Horror/Thriller.

In Bollywood horror is a genre that is terribly stereotyped. You have haunted mansions, tantriks, spirits, and young girls possessed by ghouls. All this ends in a showdown between the hero and the evil spirits. Ram Gopal Verma showed a bit of change with Bhoot.

Madhavan's latest movie 13 B titled as Yaavarum Nalam in Tamil is a new intelligent movie that treads between a thriller and a horror flick. Two brothers with their wives and mother and two kids move into a new apartment on the thirteenth floor. Strange happenings like the milk getting spoilt, the inability to affix nails on the wall begin to happen. Madhavan is troubled because the lift never works when he is all alone and wants to use it.

Then we have a TV serial that is broadcast at 1 PM and only visible on the TV in Madhavan's flat. Slowly Madhavan realizes that the serial and his life is interlinked. Neetu Chandra as Madhavan's wife looks like a million bucks and has done a good job. Sachin Khedekar plays a doctor/psychiatrist and has a plum role.

What is the mystery? Why is Madhavan alone able to interpret the story from the serial. Why does a dog of Madhavan's neighbour a blind man-refuse to enter Madhavan's house? The tension builds slowly and the climax answers all the questions. This is one of those films whose second half is much better than the first. Interesting cameos by Sampath Kumar and the characters who appear in the TV serial.

Director Vikram Kumar uses the TV as a medium for the spirits to interact with the protagonist. What is the mystery behind Apartment 13 B and is Madhavan able to save his family and himself from the starnge forces in his house. Great music by Shankar, Eeshan and Loy and nice cinematography by PC Sreeram.

Watch the movie to find the answers.

The Week in Review

Well so many things happened in the past 1 week. I embarked on a quick trip to Nagpur to participate in the house-warming ceremony of my sister's new flat. The trip was really fascinating and it will be a separate long and juicy post. Met some really beautiful people:) on the trip! Then again those friends are just people who are forgoten who just provide conversations on the train to battle a boring journey.

India won the one-day series in New Zealand a record after 40 odd years. Sehwag broke the psyche of the New Zealand attack with his heroics but India lost the last one-dayer. Elsewhere West Indies won a test-series against England 1-0.

Political equations keep changing with Patnaik in Orissa flummoxing everybody. The third-front being launched by Deve Gowda and Co.

The IPL seems to be doomed and it still does not have a schedule approved by the state governments.

Work seems to be going on. One more colleague quit. Best of luck to you:)

Horoscopes are flying through couriers to all parts of the country and responses are being awaited. Saw a lot of movies on Saturday and Sunday-Dev D, Vennila Kabbadi Kuzhu, Delhi 6, Colours (Malayalam and absolute rot). Detailed reviews will appear soon. VKK was really touching but the director seems to be from the Bala school of film-making and spoiled the end by killing the hero.

Under Maintenance

There are about 200 to 250 men working in our office. At any given time an attendance of 200 men is confirmed. Now there is the mens' restroom. It has 4 urinals and three toilets/latrines[Pardon my language but if there is a beter word-do let me know].

It is almost a month since one of the latrines has been locked and an "Under Maintenace" sign has been stuck on the door. Now this is really disturbing. To assume that among 200 men no more than 2 men would want to use the latrine/toilet at the same time is insane.

God knows when the third latrine is going to become operational!

Till then it is a matter of luck and timing!!!!!

In the Name of My Father-2

Years of alcohol abuse and he continues to drink on the sly even after the doctors have warned him. A broken family, an unhappy childhood, a mother who was forever sad but nevertheless continued to toil and stayed with her brother practically doing every task in the house so that her children would not suffer. I continue to wonder at my mother's inner strength.

My father never managed to stick to one job for more than two years. The sole exception being his 18 years of service in the Indian Navy. If not for my two uncles I would have been on the road-begging to survive.

I feel like slapping my father and holding him by the scruff of his neck and ask him-"Why did you do this to us you bloody....! What mistake did my mother do to bear this tortured life? What was my crime to have suffered such a psychologically painful childhood?"

He shamelessly continues to pretend to be a great devotee of a plethora of Gods and yet drinks, utters lies, and torments us psychologically. People often ridicule me for being cynical and negative in many of my actions. I guess my father has a big role in the negative traits of my character. One good thing that his actions have done is my absolute hatred for alcohol! I am 27 and yet to have a beer!

Oh Lord! Give me patience, one of these days I am really going to end up slapping my father! His latest fad is to pretend that he is suffering from a big heart ailment and he needs to have a big surgery done. I have taken him to two different cardiologists and all they say is that he has to stop drinking and nothing else is wrong with him. He is staying with my sister and he is feeling the heat there as he is afraid of my brother-in-law who is a strict disciplinarian.

He cannot go out to drink and he feels his freedom is stifled. The only solution that I see now is to get him admitted to an alcohol deaddiction centre. But I am sure once he gets out of there he will start drinking again.

How am I ever going to find a solution and with this messy state of affairs, how am I going to find the courage to move ahead and start looking for a life-partner!


Life is too complicated!
Death is an option for the weak!
Is there a state in between?

Taxi Driver

So after years of hearing praises about Taxidriver. I finally got to see it.

Martin Scorcese’s classic that catapulted Robert de Niro to fame. A movie that is relevant even today. Travis Bickle[De Niro] is a taxi driver. He drives the taxi in the streets of New York. He is a lonely man who suffers from insomnia. He drives the cab all through the night but he can’t sleep. He visits 24 hour porn theatres but he still can’t sleep. He is disgusted with the city and its people.

He is attracted to Betsy who works in the campaign office of a Presidential candidate-Senator Pallantine. He asks her out on a date. He takes her to a movie-confoundedly to a porn movie. I still don’t get it. Why would a man on his first date take the girl to a porn movie? Is Bickle naive/sex-maniac/crazy? As the movie progresses we realize his frustrations coupled by his service in Vietnam. The movie moves aimlessly till we get to see Iris a twelve-year old prostitute[Jodie Foster].

Travis becomes emotionally attached to the girl and all his suppressed anger erupts when he finds out how Sport uses the naive girl Iris as a prostitute by making her a cocaine-addict. Travis buys a lot of guns and a knife and decides to become the vigilante-one man army and decides to clean New York of its filth and scum.

He shaves his head[mohawk style] and decides to start by assassinating the Presidential candidate. His uneasiness is spotted by the Secret Service agents-and Travis flees the scene. The climax is bloody and violent as Travis goes on a shooting/killing spree and shoots Sport and other runners of the prostitution racket. He is also injured in the shooting spree.

The next scene shows the wall of Bickle’s room full of newspaper clippings proclaiming him to be the hero. We also listen to the contents of a letter from Iris’s father to Bickle. He thanks Bickle for his heroism.

The movie ends with Bickle dropping Betsy home and refusing to accept the fare. The movie is an intense study of the psyche of the American male. Times of war and unstable economic conditions, drug-use the tough seventies, black-white conflict, prostitution-many facets of American life that have been touched upon in the movie. We sympathise with Bickle and secretly wish that he finds true love in Betsy. But in our minds we know that Bickle is a drifter and he can never find calm and inner peace or true love.

Robert de Niro and Jodie Foster shine in this movie. The back ground music is haunting and cinematography simple and effective.

Iconic lines-”You talking to me….” “Flush it out.”[To clean New York]

A powerful movie that leaves a bitter taste in our mouths and a long-lasting impression on our minds.

The biggest upset was when Rocky won the Oscar for best movie in 1977.

Cross-posted at www.mramani.wordpress.com

India in New Zealand

India have lost a thriller.


The batting was disappointing and a target of 150 was set.
The match went down to the last ball and the Mc Cullum brothers won the match for the Kiwis.

A big doubt! Why was Sehwag not given a chance to bowl? Yuvraj's 50 went in vain and

Dhoni and Co. have a long trip in New Zealand with three tests and 5 ODIs to be played. We can't sit and analyze too much. The batsmen need a crash course in shot-selection and the team has to play together properly.

This series will test and decide Dhoni's success outside the sub-continent.

Let us see what happens!

Nan Kadavul-Movie Review

Movie-Nan Kadavul.
Director-Bala.
Cast-Arya, Pooja and others.
Music-Ilayaraja.
Year of Release-2009.
Genre-Drama.

Bala is one director whose movies mix the commercialism and realism in the right proportions. His three previous movies have been box-office hits but this time I believe Bala might be lucky if the movie recovers its production costs. The problem being it took more than 3 years to make with several heroines being cast and then replaced. The movie presents a stark portrayal of the organized beggary in India, specially in Tamil Nadu.

If you thought Slumdog had difficult scenes, then this movie will shock you. Bala presents a coterie of real life beggars-Eunuchs, midgets, deformed people, physically challenged people, blind people. The attention to detail is indeed detailed.

A man visits Kashi/Benaras to find his son Rudra-whom he had abandoned 14 years ago in the holy city based on the advice of an astrologer. The beginning is flawed and a bit unbelievable when the man spots an aghori-Arya and faints. He realises that Arya is his son Rudra in just one glance.

The story shifts to Malaikottai in Tamil Nadu, where a tall bald man is a kingpin running the beggar-mafia. Pooja is introduced as a blind girl singing in the train and getting alms.

Pooja is inducted into the bald man's group and is made to sing at a temple atop a hill. Arya stays there smoking ganja and uttering mantras once in a while. A Keralite businessman comes to the bald man and pays money and takes beggars to Kerala.

He comes again with an offer of Rs 10 lakhs to buy Pooja as a companion for a man whose face is deformed. When his goons come to kidnap Pooja, Arya bashes the group and kills the businessman.

Then a court case scene follows. A bit of forced humour perhaps!

A final confrontation with the bald-headed villain follows with Arya killing the villain.

Then comes the twist-an expected one-Bala killed the heroes in his earlier movies-here he kills Pooja. Pooja pleads with Arya to save her from the pains of the world. The next scene shows her lying in a pool of blood. So we assume that Arya kills her to guide her to her salvation.

A role worthy of an award by Pooja. Arya has worked reallly hard for his role and deserves applause for his physical makeover. Music is great.

We can only sympathise with Bala and pray that his next venture has a strong script.
How about a crime thriller Mr Bala or an urban college romance?

India in New Zealand

So reality hit Team India hard at the end of the first T:20 match.

Vettori won the toss and decided to bowl.

Sehwag plastered the first three balls he faced for sixers. The small ground theory was proved right. Then the madness started-Gambhir was out and the procession of wickets started as the star batsmen fell quickly. At 101 for the loss of 7 wickets things were looking tough. Somehow Raina and Harbhajan played sensibly and a decent target of 163 runs was achieved.

New Zealand started on a disastrous note with Ishant and Zaheer firing on full steam. But Brendon Mc Cullum who is become Mr. Dependable for the Kiwis ensured that New Zealand won comfortably.

The second T:20 tomorrow will be a challenge for Dhoni's Team and the team is likely to undergo changes. The batsmen need to play with maturity and responsibility and not throw their wickets. Let us see what happens!

At the Oscars

So the Oscars have been announced and what a show by Hugh Jackman! A special mention for his wit, charm and dancing skills.

Slumdog Millionaire won 8 awards including best picture and best director. The big hit was A.R. Rahman who won two awards.

Resul Pookutty won for best sound-mixing and Simon Beaufoy won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay.

A summary of the list of nominees and winners is provided below:


Best Motion Picture
Slumdog Millionaire: Winner
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Milk


Best Director
Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire: Winner
Stephen Daldry – The Reader
David Fincher – The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant – Milk


Best Performance by an Actor
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn – Milk: Winner
Brad Pitt – The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler


Best Performance by an Actress
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader: Winner


Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role
Amy Adams – Doubt
Penélope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Winner
Viola Davis – Doubt
Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight: Winner


Best Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
The Class (France)
Departures (Japan): Winner
Revanche (Austria)
Waltz With Bashir (Israel)


Best Animated Feature Film Of The Year
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E: Winner


Original Screenplay
Frozen River - Courtney Hunt
Happy-Go-Lucky - Mike Leigh
In Bruges - Martin McDonagh
Milk - Dustin Lance Black: Winner
Wall-E - Andrew Stanton


Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Roth
Doubt -John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon - Peter Morgan
Slumdog Millionaire - Simon Beaufoy : Winner
The Reader - David Hare


Best Animated Short Film
La Maison en Petits Cubes: Winner
Lavatory - Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up


Best Art Director
Changeling - James J. Murakami
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Donald Graham Burt: Winner
The Dark Knight
The Duchess - Michael Carlin
Revolutionary Road - Kristi Zea


Best Costume Design
Australia - Catherine Martin
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Jacqueline West
The Duchess - Michael O'Connor: Winner
Milk - Danny Glicker
Revolutionary Road - Albert Wolsky


Best Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Greg Cannom: Winner
The Dark Knight - John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan
Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz


Best Cinematography
Changeling - Tom Stern
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Claudio Miranda
The Dark Knight - Wally Pfister
The Reader - Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
Slumdog Millionaire - Anthony Dod Mantle: Winner


Best Film Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button- Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
The Dark Knight - Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
Frost/Nixon - Wally Pfister
Milk - Elliot Graham
Slumdog Millionaire - Chris Dickens: Winner


Best Live Action Short Film
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy: Winner
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)


Best Original Score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Alexandre Desplat
Defiance - James Newton Howard
Milk - Danny Elfman
Slumdog Millionaire - AR Rahman: Winner
Wall-E - Thomas Newman


Best Original Song
Down to Earth - Wall-E - Music by Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman; Lyric by Peter Gabriel
Jai Ho - Slumdog Millionaire - Music by AR Rahman; Lyric by Gulzar : Winner
O Saya - Slumdog Millionaire - Music and Lyric by AR Rahman, Maya Arulpragasam


Best Documentary Feature
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon): Winner
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water


Best Documentary Short
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki: Winner
The Witness


Best Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron: Winner
The Dark Knight - Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber, Paul Franklin
Iron Man - John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick, Shane Mahan



Best Sound Editing
The Dark Knight - Richard King: Winner
Iron Man - Frank Eulner, Christopher Boyes
Slumdog Millionaire - Glenn Freemantle, Tom Sayers
Wall-E - Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood
Wanted - Wylie Stateman


Best Sound Mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Mark Weingarten
The Dark Knight - Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
Slumdog Millionaire - Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty: Winner
Wall-E - Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, Ben Burtt
Wanted - Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño, Petr Forejt

The big surprises were Slumdog winning best picture and Mickey Rourke being pipped to the post by Sean Penn.

Heath Ledger's Oscar was assured and he became the second artiste to win an Oscar posthumously.

Kate Winslet has done a much better role in The Revolutionary Road but somehow this outing with "The Reader" finally got her a long-belated Best Actress Award.

27

So here I am sitting in front of my computer in office. Taking a break from work typing this post. I turned 27 today. Nothing special just another day. The past year was full of varied experiences. A new job and a new office with a new work-profile and staying in a new house-albeit a rented one. One of the most tumultous years of my life as I realized-"It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

I realized that sometimes it is better to be silent when you realize that someone else has won a prize that you deserved. One does not win all the games that one participates.

A couple of phonecalls in the morning from relatives in other parts of the country wishing me on my birthday. Some messages from friends!

I still pine for a call at least a message from her. Have I become such an alien that I have been totally erased from her psyche. I don't know. Perhaps in this world at least from her point of view there can be no platonic friendship between a man and a woman.

Last year around this time my heart was up in the clouds! Today if there is a place below rock bottom-it has reached there.

If things go the way they are going now, by the time I type a post titled 28 I might be actually married.

Let me see what happens!

The Reader

Well Kate Winslet is as ravishing as usual. But if you tend to overlook the fact that the lady is practically naked for most of the movie, one realizes that it is a powerful role that she has enacted.

Ralph Fiennes is a succesful lawyer who recounts his past. His affair with a ticket-checker Kate, when he is just a 14-year old boy. They make love on the sly and Kate forces the boy to read works by folks like Shakespeare and Marx.

She is convicted of persecuting Jews and commits suicide in jail. There are too many loose end s and the big secret that Kate is illiterate and the other secret which you figure out by watching the movie.

The movie is likely to be seriously censored and folks preparing to salivate in the theatre better go buy a dvd and watch the movie.

This could have been a movie on a totally different plane and explore the anguish and helplessness of the young boy and the tortured Kate but somehow peters down into a well cinematographed piece of soft-porn with mainstream actors, a decent background score and a story that tries to recreate Germany during the Second World War.

The chap David Kross (young Fiennes) would have enjoyed the most I feel. Jokes apart the movie covers a wide range of topics-sexual awakening, forbidden relationships, persecution of Jews, war crimes tribunal, wrong judgements, guilt, emotional self-punishment, etc……

Somehow I felt that the movie was an attempt at winning an award and not a genuine effort from the director Stephen Daldry.