ALL IS VERY WELL!

MOVIE:3 idiots

CAST: Aamir Khan , Sharman Joshi , Kareena Kapoor , R.Madhavan

From the stables of rajkumar hirani comes yet another thought provoking entertainer following the heels of the munnabhai series . 3 idiots(based on Chetan Bhagat’s “5 point someone”) is a tale of two friends , Farhan (madhavan) and Raju (sharman joshi) on a quest to find their lost buddy. Their reminiscences of their fun filled college days and the impact their buddy Rancho(aamir khan) had on their lives forms the rest of the story .You have the quirky institution head virus(brilliantly played by boman irani) who believes in the motto “life is a race” and spares no student , the quintessential mugger of the college yearning to be the first in class nicknamed “silencer”(Omi , again very convincing) and the beautiful daughter of the head, Pia(Kareena Kapoor) who Rancho is in love with . This fare is predictable in parts but entertaining nevertheless , the comedy is rollicking fun and the music is pleasing on the ears(Shantanu Moitra) picturized well too. The take on the education system of a high level college by rancho is justified in parts and you cannot help but agree with him when he asks people to follow their hearts and do what it wills. Something that we hear time and again but is very relevant in the competitive world filled with rat races. The actors are perfectly cast and not once do you feel that they are trying too hard to act young. The movie plays well on emotions – if one minute the audience is in splits the next minute we are in a sobbing heap .The movie pulls at all the right emotional strings all while giving us a clean , fun entertainer . A perfect movie to end this year with! Aamir strikes yet again!

With the delightful rains come the dreadful after effects

After months of cursing and cribbing about the blistering heat the monsoon has finally arrived in Chennai .On a dull, cloudy afternoon as I sat in an exam hall answering a particularly difficult paper, a chilly draught from the window next to me blew over my face and made me look out(well don’t tell me your eyes don’t wander during an exam or you are not tempted to look and stare out of windows). The sky was slowly growing darker and darker with large black clouds threateningly looming over .In a matter of minutes, small fat drops started to fall and the rain began falling steadily accompanied by the first “rain smell” or “mann vasanai” . The prospect of going out of the exam hall and looking at an all new Chennai with the trees sporting a rich green color and the roads looking freshly washed – my excitement knew no bounds.

But yes, as a small part of me had expected, there was an altogether different picture that met my eyes The roads were slushy , some filled with ankle to knee deep water ,innumerable traffic snarls in different parts of the city and trees fallen across roads due to the strong winds. Worse still , in many areas sewage drains had overflow making the roads totally yuck and posing a great problem for the sense of smell. The monsoons, however soothing they might be, bring out an altogether different dimension of the city, something that most of us do not want to experience.

I had less to complain driving through the streets of the city in a car. But for all the others out there who were forced to walk or wait for buses which were worse still, caught in traffic, it is a nightmare come true. When people are waiting to enjoy the season after months of the unbearable heat the situation is such that you almost wish for march and april to arrive soon! The few months of respite that we get, should be made a more enjoyable prospect rather than a headache. The hot tea and pakodas, curling up under thick blankets with a novel, listening to soft songs about the rain on youe I-Pod and gleefully enjoying unexpected holidays does overshadow the problems , though by a small margin , and makes it a rather awaited time of the year! so go ahead and enjoy the monsoon while it lasts but probably in the confines of your balcony, terrace or street , or simply gazing outside your window!

poorvaja =))

(P.S. : I know it is not raining right now in chennai but this was written a few days back!)

semsters and flying times

today as i walked out of college at three thirty(after a painfully long wait for the end semester hall tickets) it struck me right there with unbelievable force that ONE SEMESTER was actually over!!

there was a time when "my world" was just home and school. studying in the same place from kindergarten-i have a very strong and deep emotional attachment to ssk(sniff sniff).the lone big building in sundareshwarar street with the two gulmohar trees adorning the entrance......that was my small yet beautiful world.when school came to an end , i couldn't believe that i would actually not be coming to this place everyday... seeing the familiar green and yellow walls,crowding outside the creche at lunchtime and fighting for shares,trooping down to the auditorium in the name of "practice" at every given opportunity, write countless assignments and praying for the magical number "8", culturals and annual day rehearsals.....the list is endless.

college was totally alien. believe me just looking at hordes of girls all around you and not knowing any of them can shake you up. all stories of how college is the place where you make the best of friends seemed like mockery and finding a group or trying to "fit in" dominated all thought processes.

give it some time and things fall into place... cliched but true....start talking to people , notice friendly faces, explore however shy....doesn't sound easy but it works.things seem right after a while... a new group of friends who are ready to laugh at the silliest of things with you , hogging endlessly in the canteen and appreciating the good food... sleeping on each other in class ,sneakily sms'ing in class even if the person is sitting just two rows away, deciding to bunk on an impulse, feverish revisions for long tests and frantic late night messages as to portions covered and prayers for teachers to not come to class.

at the end of the day its just one of the "worlds" we are probably going to be a part of . we take time to appreciate it but it does make a difference. SSK was my world and will still be one phase i cherish a lot and will never ever forget. however hard that was to leave , college is one hell of an experience till now and a very very nice "world" as well.....so this is dedicated to all the people who have made my eventful and amazing world of school and college the awesome places they are!!

poorvaja =)

(p.s. it sounded a lot like an assembly speech eh??please please comment someone!i have no qualms begging!!)

unnai pol oru wednesday....

six of us descended upon sathyam cinemas to watch kamal hasan's latest flick "unnaipol oruvan" - remake of the hindi film " a wednesday". as i had just watched "a Wednesday" for the millionth time a week back , it was tough to avoid comparisons.nevertheless i liked the Tamil version, though not as much as the hindi one. the star appeal of Mohanlal , Kamal Hasan etc ultimately appeals to you .For those who haven't seen the original , this fare will be engaging and keep you gripped.however the charm of an original never transpires in a remake and i felt ,the same happens here.

to put the story in a few lines . the commissioner of police I.G.Maarar(mohanlal , complete with a thick mallu accent) gets threatening phone calls from Mr Unknown(Kamal Hasan) demanding the release of 4 accused terrorists in exchange that he will diffuse 4 bombs kept in various locations in the city . how this problem is solved as time progresses and how it affects the people involved ( Anuja iyer(the cigarette toting journo , arif((a very smart and suave) Ganesh venkatraman and Dr Reddy(i forgot his name in the movie !!)) forms the rest of the story.

the movie has certain contextual changes to adapt to the tamil milieu... trains are not given as much importance as they were given in a Wednesday.the bomb blasts referred to are the ones which happened in sri perambathur and Coimbatore.anupam kher in Hindi is plain clothed throughout the movie as here Mohanlal is clothed in khakhi giving the more dramatic effect. all this is well appreciated as relating to it is better this way.the cinematography is glossy and all the techie stuff shown is mind blowing.. for someone who does not know anything about gadgets much , i found all the preliminary scenes of Kamal setting up all the hi fi stuff impressive(all of this was not in the Hindi version).

Anuja iyer is impressive in her limited screen time , the two police officers shine and are powerful(Ganesh venkatraman is my new favourite ) . Mohanlal impresses as usual but his thick mallu accent can leave you confused at times. Lakshmi who plays chief secretary is effective and her exchanges with Mohanlal are witty but one wonders if her role was absolutely necessary.what was the need to include the phone conversations with the chief minister ?it felt fake though some of the responses in the conversations is sure to make one smile. Sreeman comes as the actor in need of protection and it is hard to miss who he is aping.the implications are just too obvious not to notice.Random scenes like that of the hacker(was he the guy who came as the small boy in anjali and sathileelavathi??)are stereotypical but at the same time puts a smile on your face. the fact that this movie has done away with super man - like fights and songs is a welcome relief and thats defying stereotypes for you.

Coming to kamal, he is terrific. no doubt about that. your heart goes out to him when he breaks down and recounts a horrific incident. after 50 years at this, he definitely is very good.there are too many English dialogues though..in a way it enhances a class act but will probably appeal to the multiplex audiences more. how far is he the "common man"?? that was the only thing where i felt nasserudin shah shone- his simplicity and how ordinary he was, was hard to miss.he was convincing because of this act and the power he brought in to a role like this.nevertheless kamal is good.

Watch the movie definitely . if you haven't watched the original , you are bound to appreciate this film better. and for those who have watched the original... give this a shot anyways.....its a Kamal movie after all!!

poorvaja

five second review!!

horror and supernatural mystery is perhaps the latest genre in demand in tamil cinema.following the success of yaavarum nalam , yet another movie "eeram" -being a mystery and supernatural thriller has arrived.and boy!it is goood!!it is eerie and chilling in the right places and does not go overboard with special affects or showing women draped in white sarees with hair left open which one would expect from a movie like this!

the story follows vasudevan(aadhi) taking an interest and investigating the apparent suicide of his ex-flame ramya(sindhu menon) now happily married to bala(nandha).soon begins a series of murders and what he unravels forms the rest of the story.the movie has water or rain in most of its scenes , water playing dominant force true to the title of the film.the result is a cool , calm feeling during all the romantic scenes and pure eeriness otherwise.the film is thankfully devoid of blood and gore even with the killings.the film moves at a crisp pace and manages to grab and hold your attention..however it does sag a bit during the last 45 minutes but still manages to get back to gripping the audience.the songs are nothing special but mazhaiye stays with you for a while.all the lead actors though newcomers, shine and my personal favourite was definitely aadhi -the strapping young police officer with the deep voice :-)).

i would definitely recommend this movie-its worth a watch!!

birthdays and more

you get to hear endless tales about how theyr'e irritating , how theyr'e always fighting for an equal share , how they are endlessly compared , how they are sometimes given more importance yet having a sibling is probably one of the best things ever.i was told a few years back that when my brother got to know i was going to be born he sat on his train set and broke it in anger . thankfully i was spared of all such anger when i was born.(i was probably too adorable).i have no qualms in admitting he is the genius of the family ....studies , music,extra curriculars name it he's essily the best . (dance and sports are an altogether different blog post. though i would love to talk about his short stint in a salsa class).i have probably listened to countless summaries of graphic novels , anime episodes , naruto , batman what not ..... i cant believe he is actually becoming 23 today!!(definitely still a 14 year old at heart)happy birthday raghav prashant!!your'e the best brother ever!!

HARRY POTTER AND THE INDIAN DIRECTORS(By Raghav Prashant)

This is a post i found thoroughly enjoyable from my brother raghav's blog. please read it all...i know its long but it is totally worth it. im a big time harry potter fan though and this one is too good to miss. please follow raghav prashant's blog on http://a-graduate-life.blogspot.com/ (well , he unlike me updates regularly!!).

poorvaja

Now that all the buzz about the new harry potter movie has subsided and the movie has been declared a major hit. Its time for the gods of the blogo-sphere to inspire their bloggers to start tearing up the franchise. I like the Harry Potter books and movies far too much to start a full fledged parody, but I did think of something that got me on the track to this post.

We Indians are always complaining of how our directors take seemingly wonderful and bankable concepts and turn them into something terrifying...Directors and producers are always accused of doctoring scripts to their liking and turning characters upside down..

On that note. here's how the harry potter movie would have been if directed by some of the best filmy talent that India has to offer....

:::The Subash Ghai Version:::

Harry is brought up by his rich foster parents in urban Mumbai. The Father and Mother are typical rich parents who dont have time for the kids.Harry's only friend in the house is McGonagall, an old Dadima who still wears a white saree at all times. His step-brother Dudley is a spoilt rich kid who has his way with the wine, the women and the money. He eventually gets into trouble when he has sex with a poor girl and makes her pregnant....Harry in the meantime has fallen in love with this poor girl.

Meanwhile..dadima dies and leaves Harry a big fortune. He takes the money, marries the girl and runs away to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he meets Dumbeldore and other insignificant friends of his who are around just for comic relief....

A couple of years later we go back to the house.. the Father is dying and Dudley has squandered away all his money. The mother is sitting with a photograph of the four of them together.....In Hogwarts, Harry suddenly realises that Dumbeldore is actually the dadima's husband who died but never died.. But thats a plot twist just to make sure the audience doesnt sleep in the middle.

Harry returns to his old house to save the day... There's a long chorus of lalala's and the family unites... the father is miraculously healed and dudley is miraculously made into a gentleman who wears a huge red tilak on his forehead.. all of them move to LA and live happily ever after. the movie ends with all of them smiling in front of a huge photo of the dadima :-)..Dumbeldore has shaved. just to show that he's happy now. The End.

Voldermort?... no....Ghai's movies dont have villains...

:::The Ram Gopal Varma Version:::

Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and another random character are on a road trip when they come into a village to shop for trinkets and stuff...There's a item number in the village with Nisha Kothari. ...When they finish shopping Hermione collapses and complains of a severe headache... They take her to a village hospital which was actually a school of witchcraft and wizardry a few thousand years ago. A ghost of a female student who was raped and killed returns as Vaaldermaart the Ghost.

But meanwhile there's a don in the village and Ron joins the don as his right hand man. There're random flashbacks that show the don gaining his power. There's another item number here where we have Hermione dancing in front of all the ghosts.

Ginny dies....The other three go out into the forest and dont return for a couple of days. Harry decides to go looking for them. The forest is eerie and full of strange bird calls and animal sounds from animals you wouldnt find in india in a million years. Harry eventually discovers an ancient temple in the forest and finds the body of Ron. As he is examining Ron's body he is attacked by zombified versions of the dons and his henchmen. There's Urmila Matondkar in the movie but dont ask me what she's doing..all this happens and by this time the audience is feeling very hungry..so most people just leave the theatre and go home.. so yeah.. The END

:::The Sooraj Barjatya Version:::

The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is just one big family. They all do everything together. There're fifteen songs in the first half and all of them involve some random character's wedding. Voldermort is a builder who wants to build a supermarket in the same site as Hogwarts and he comes over to ask them to sell the house. Dumbeldore, the man of the house refuses and when he's being persuaded... Harry and Ron, the two brothers of the house intervene and ask the builder to leave.

The builder has a daughter called Hermione and Ron falls in love with her. When this happens, the family begins to distance themselves from Ron. Harry and Ginny get married and McGonagall, the old dadima of the family keeps crying that Ron isnt there. There're another 15 songs in this wedding.

In the midst of a random altercation, it is suddenly revealed that Harry is an adopted son... Harry is going to move out of the house with his things when a small girl walks out of Hogwarts and runs to him..There's thunderous background music and everyone cries. Harry is ushered back into the house and everyone cries again. There's another song here... No wait.. there's two more songs here....Ron suddenly comes back one day and asks for help. Harry is now the man of the family because Dumbeldore is ill. Harry welcomes Ron and Hermione back.. and then they all cry and laugh at the same time. The audience is dreading another set of songs...and they all run out of the theatre.. The End.

::: The Mani Ratnam Version :::

Well, This guy is pretty good. So no major differences to the original story...but there're a lot of his usual creative liberties.... The entire movie is so dimly lit that the audience realises the movie has begun only through the Rahman's background score.. Most of the dialogues in the movie are monosyllabic....just grunts and groans that are meant to convey emotions et al...

....and yeah.. its bilingual release. The movie is a big hit in Tamil...and an average grosser in Hindi. The movie is dubbed in telugu and malayalam.....does ok business there...There's at least one group of people Mani pisses off with the movie and then he holds a press conference to explain that his characters do not represent any persons living or dead.

He immediately begins working on his next movie.. and everyone begins to speculate what the story of that movie may be... The end ?

::: The Deepa Mehta Version :::

She changes the movie's main character from Harry Potter to Harini Potter..She doesnt do men...Note: The Author doesnt do Deepa Mehta either...

::: The Shankar Version :::

Harry Potter joins Hogwarts. Discovers that Hogwarts is being run by corrupt politicians who have black money and connections with un-gentlemanly people. A mystery killer known as "The Wizard" begins to take revenge on these people. Harry's best friend Ron provides comic relief. Ginny is a seemigly adakka odukkamaana (conservative) ponnu who wears bikinis and halter tops in the songs....There's an introduction song and a song where Harry and Ginny dance. The set probably cost more than the monthly budget of Tamil Nadu and all the backup dancers are dressed as broom-sticks..

Voldermort is this politician head honcho who fears that this mystery killer might eventually get to him. The seemingly superhuman "Wizard" is caught red handed and unmasked...it is revealed that he is Harry.

Then comes the highlight.. a long winded flashback that takes us back to Harry's childhood.. His parents, his uncles, his aunts and his pet hamster are all killed by a corrupt politician...So that day Harry vows to return and take revenge..

Harry escapes from prison with Ron's help and gets back to Hogwarts. Voldermort and Harry have one final obligatory battle and then the movie ends with the police conveniently forgetting that Harry was just accused of a crime...What about Ginny?.. yeah well.. what about her.. a couple more songs and a couple more revealing outfits.......The End..

Note: Some of this stuff was inspired by a chat conversation with Abinand

::: The version starring Vijay, irrespective of the Director :::

Vijay plays Harry who is actually Superman, Batman and the Flash all rolled into one. He flies without the broom, He casts hexes without the wand and Ginny falls head over heels for him when she sees him first. Dumbeldore is Harry's father and he gets killed by local goons and other assorted antisocial elements. The supreme villain is a local MLA called Voldermort..Vijay uses his superpowers to avenge his death. The End...

What?.. yeah.. the movie is over.. the end.. wait for another six months and another movie will release with another title but the same story...and probably the same songs by Devi Sri Prasad.

::: The Simbhu Version :::

Its announced that someone else directed the movie, but we all know simbhu actually directed it. Yuvan Shankar Raja does the music with a few songs sung by Simbhu himself. Ron is played by Santhanam who is irritating in most scenes...

Hogwarts has a lot of loose women and Simbhu seems to enjoy it. Many women end up dead and then there's a flash back...Simbhu's father Dumbeldore was betrayed by a sexy witch who dumped him and went to Voldemort... Ginny is the only nice woman and she gets dumped by Simbhu in the end.

Moral of the Story: All women will sleep with you and then dump you....

The movie is lame... but runs because of the songs and Ginny's costumes... The End.

cliches and romantic movies

now do not get me wrong... im probably one of the biggest connoiseur of romantic movies ever. i can sit for hours together and watch mushy mushy flicks with saccharine sweet endings and cry and also think about the PERFECT love story in the film for hours together.however some cliches which baffle all including me - which defy rules of science , social science , maths and what not ... sometimes are even too much for our simple common senses(if something like that exists) to take. to prove my heights of joblessnes here i go with a list of them which i have not heard of happening in reality (well probably not with the frequency it happens on screen anyways).

1.ROLE OF RAILWAYS:how many of them happen on trains ; the meeting part especially??how come i never have the luck of having a co passenger liken shahid kapoor or surya?apart from being the one of the largest organizations in the country they get to witness all these moments . and seriously i pity them for the last minute delays which usually involve the chains being pulled for the sake of the perect happy ending.

2.AIRPORTS:probably limited to only the climax of the film. if the trains get to witness the start the planes get to witness the end.ridiculous skipping of security cordons,running past rows of gun brandishing guards(yet jaane tu ya jaane na remains one of my most favourite movies people)pleading with the flight crew to stop the plane and what not... they truly pose a test to our senses.

3.SCARVES OR CAPS:all laws of science defied, gravity altogether forgotten.how does the heroine's cap or scarf or dupatta or whatever else go and land striaght on the hero's face?whether from a few feet away or whether they are three floors apart the target is reached at all costs. hmm... once me and my friend padmavathy were going in an auto and her dupatta flew out of the auto and landed on the road. we got a twenty minute lecture from a nearby policeman.so reality is different eh???

4.FAMILY FEUDS :Girl and Boy like each other...break the news to their parents... surprise!!!a fight is just witing to break out, already broken out and running for centuries together or the very sight of each other makes the families opt for long lectures , big fights ,property disputes(girl's uncle wanting to marry her for the "sotthu") engaging their local thug groups and what not - the boy's mom never seems to like the girl or the girl's dad never seems's to like the boy...yawn. that pretty much causes all the madness and mayhem needed for three hours to pass.

5.ROLE OF FRIENDS:Whether helping in all the romantic action to go on smoothly or to give the most useless advice over trivial issues the heroine is always surrounded by a gaggle of giggling girls and the hero, by his own group of trying-to-look-macho men . seemingly enough they don't seem to have lifves or jobs or work of their own to concentrate upon and fulfilling their pal's life ambitions(read romace ambitions) seems to be the only thing going on their lives.

until next time .....

Poorvaja =]

a student's worst nightmare

every twelth standard student done with the board exams must be experiencing it.. the jitters,blank periods of time , sudden prayers and vowing to do the most impossible and ridiculous things - anything for those magic numbers and happiness on the D-DAY.

april to may till the date of the results is  a nightmare. while some of them feel happy about the results being declared on a date which is not in the near future others just pretend to have fun and a voice at the back of the head just keeps whispering the dreaded R word from time to time-making us pause during our time of fun, interupting out carefree days and absolutely jobless hours , dispelling the absolute pure pleasure of knowing that there is no need to wake up early and study for another exam or dread what kind of surprises(read terrors) await us in the question papers.

students belonging to different boards have an altogether different story.while some boards give the results first students belonging to another board can only torture himself or herself with thoughts about how they have a definite edge over them in the admission process with their results in hand even though  not the case.

temples see a sudden increase in student population. usually that is the case before an exam but surprisingly after it  too. pledges and declarations of "being regular in coming and visiting you" , "surrendering half my pocket money if what i pray happens" ,"definite kumbabhishekam if centum" are heard aplenty.hours spent over worrying how the paper is going to be corrected or the chances of mistakes being overlooked or the person correcting the paper is compassionate enough to give that ONE mark to pass or get  seventy , eighty , ninety or a centum....

i myself do most of the things listed. but many a time the thought of what all the worrying and being depressed is going to do to something that has already been done with crosses my mind. at a time when i can have fun enjoy and think about my future prospects , is it really worth thinking about all the wasted hours and regretting not having studied THAT LESSON ,paying more attention in class and all the classes cut due to culturals..regret is a good thing but probably not something a person should torture oneself with.its really sad to read about all the suicides of the students heart broken because of their results having an amazing family and wonderful friends im just going to be the same old poorvaja to them no matter what my results are going to be. board exam results are not proof of one's intelligence and capability or so i feel.so just face whatever comes and its all for the good at the end.all the best everyone!!

poorvaja =]

(NOTE:this article might sound like a sermon but i wrote it mainly in a bid to reassure myself and it did work upto a certain extent .... so if by chance you fell asleep WAKE UP !)

hyderabad!!

This promise has been kept.. here my updates after the boards start as promised!!im right now typing away from hyderabad.. so what better topic could i want??.. here i go...

im visiting hyderabad after five years. using my uncle's house as base and my aunt and kutti cousin for company, im in the process of exploring this city once again after a long time.
everywhere you see here there are big billboards with telugu film posters(ohh how i miss the billboards in chennai after they were removed).with every step you take you can spot a brand... its really interesting to see levi's,puma,adidas and reebok showrooms all in one row!!(common in bangalore though but its even more here).

malls are so common here.i have been to two of them till now...hyderabad central and hyderabad's city centre-where i had a very very nice meal in the mcdonals-mcveggie burger, coke and fries(yumm!!).and of course the very very spicy hyderabad food... the dum biriyani just took my breath away and made an unforgettable meal.

banjara hills and jublee hills are a must see... from an outsiders point of view just cruising around those places in an auto or a car is a good experience.

the usual visit to shilpa raman(a handicrafts bazaar in banjara hills.. kind of like namma ooru dakshin chithra) was made faithfully. and i went beserk shopping.though the prices quoted were sometimes mind boggling...shopping is never a fulfilling experience with the usual bargaining right??

the best was however yet to come... a trip to EAT STREET - a food court by the hussain sagar lake(remember the buddha statue in the movie saroja??) with the most amazing view-set complete with chairs by railings overlooking the lake.the food court had the usuals-pizza hut,cafe coffe day, a burger place , an ice cream place,tibbs frankie and so on.this was one hell of an experience.. the view is still in my mind's eye.. like the taste of the hyderabadi biriyani still lingers !!

whats a vacation without a litte homesickness?? some areas here remind one strikingly of west mambalam or thiruvamiyur(minus the beach)

its hot here but not humid like in chennai.and whats better than having a 5 year old playing with you and asking you to watch oswald with him??the thought that the board exams are over pleases me immensely(the results are a different topic altogether.. lets not worry about that now)each time i think about my vettiness.so ill continue having a nice time courtesy avvi, g3 aunty and dhruv!!!
adios
poorvaja =]
(p.s.i have imported my blog to my facebook profile too!!)