Ghajini - Review

The first show experience, after a long gap.... and an evening show on a working day, for the first time. It was a different risk, eventhough we knew the synopsis of the movie. The faith reposed on AR.Murugadoss-Surya combination was the reason behind that attempt.

The pair didn't fail me. The Rs.8 crore project starts in a gripping pace.

You like it or not, you need to start with Nayanthara, the medical student, only. Her intention of taking up the case of a STML (Short term Memory Loss) patient for her project gets thwarted by her superior, citing several reasons.

There he enters... our hero Sanjay (Surya) afflicted with STML - who remembers incidents only for the next 15 minutes. The past & the reasons behind his current status, unfold thru Sanjay's diaries of few years back.

Sanjay Ramasamy, the multi billionaire and the model Kalpana (Asin) meet in a comical situation. Without even knowing his true status, she starts loving him when he proposes. Each & every meeting of theirs was a hilarious - romantic - sentimental - gripping ones. Due to some revealing facts, Kalpana becomes a target for the villain Pradeep Ravath. Result.. Sanjay gets hit badly, while Kalpana gets killed.

With his ST memory and the photos which he carries, he kills his targets, behind his ladylove's death except the main villain. There is another twist brought out here in the form of Villain's dual role, which is new to Kollywood. And the climax, is as everybody knows.. But after their death, Sanjay is let loose and goes on his way...

Surya lives as Sanjay, both as a billionaire (with that simple smile) and as a violent patient with STML. The romantic scenes with Asin are very touchy and Asin has impressed us a lot. Even at the final moment, her eyes talk. She shares the credit with Surya for both their excellent performances. She gets killed without even knowing Sanjay's actual status, which is one of the highlights in the screenplay.

Nayanthara needs to look after her weight. She has become the potential candidate to beat Namitha. Her attire and makeup in 'X macchi' were glaring so much and at times her expressions are scary to us - managable, since the movie is a thriller(!!). I am just wondering about her pairing with Simbu in 'Vallavan' and Jeeva in 'E'. For her weight and height, they may look like her younger brothers.

Pradeep Ravath is menacing in his role.

Filming of Harris Jeyaraj's songs are good. 'Ragathulla..' comes just as an introductory song (MTV style) to Asin in which she fails to impress. But later, she was convincing in the story and the other 3 songs.

'Oru maalai ...' sung by Karthik has been beautifully picturised with a nice choreography. Wow.. there is such a big difference between Surya's dance movement in 'Nerukku Ner' and in 'Ghajini'. However his dance movements in my favourite number 'Suttum vizhi sudare..' looked funny at times. For this melody, the lead pair could have simply walked instead of dance movements.

The placement of the filler song 'Rangola..' should have happened earlier than where they had fit in. Eventhough it is a dream song, we realise the danger awaiting her (Kalpana - Asin). So, that tension may not allow you to enjoy the song fully.

Strengths
1) The pace of the movie. Slick Editing by Antony and the cinematography by R.D.Rajasekar is keeping up the fast pace. (Both were part of Goutam Menon's 'Kakka Kakka' as well)
2) Surya and Asin are too good in their roles and they have lived as Sanjay & Kalpana. Most of their meetings are fun-filled / romantic except the last tensed moments.
3) Nice picturisation of songs.
4) Since I have not seen 'Memento', I wasn't under any influence and could see it from a layman's angle. Murugadoss' screenplay has made the story simplified inspite of some glitches, with only five characters - Surya, Asin, Nayanthara, PS Ravath and Manobala (as Asin's modelling director)
5) Less violent shots (eventhough more stunts by Kanal Kannan) and less glamour would make it watchable for all ages.

Weaknesses
1) Couldn't believe that Kalpana or her boss, are unaware of such a big shot Sanjay from Tamilnadu, till the last moment of hers.
2) Except, the investigating police officer Riyaz khan (who dies later accidentally), no other police officers' help is sought after in the movie. Especially, when there was a tensed moment in the climax hostel campus. [inspite of today's mobile era. Probably the director would have extended the Anna university ban to the medical college hostel also... :-) :-)]
3) There is no justification for the twist created in the Villain's dual role. Just a screenplay twist... The director could have exploited this twist in a better way for the story.
4) The climax could have been little more convincing.




Inspite of my perception as above, this movie seems to be a hat-trick from Murugadoss (after 'Dheena' & 'Ramana') and a good break for Surya. Asin has proved her place in this part of the world. I believe, Surya who had taken the Chennai distributorship and telugu rights, would definitely make a killing with this action packed flick.

While coming out of the hall, my son asked for the logic of naming the movie as 'Ghajini'. I couldn't find any, from the storyline. Can someone help?

Ghajini Review by SIFY & Indiaglitz are also linked. Glad that this time all of us had reviewed on the same lines, which was not in case of 'Anniyan'.

My Earlier Reviews - Limited edition (munch it, if you hvn't)
Anniyan / Ullam Ketkumae / Sachein
198th post

Enjoy..Laugh... don't miss the moments

Scene#1
It was another year which had gone by.. and I moved into the next year, this week. Every year it comes and goes, so what's the speciality this year? Ok.. this time, I have more people to share some of my views.

It was an occasion which I had never noticed or realised so much during my school days / college days. It was just like any other day. Only at the time of filling up some application for some purpose, I bring it out of my mind. Even going to the temples on this day was rare.

But it has changed during the last couple of years. It has become a day on which you feel that some people are aware of it - family / friends (I should definitely include my Credit card co., Insurance co., Automobile Association etc). Greeting cards, SMS, Special cake offers blah blah.... some special gifts occasionally.

This time, my son blushed while giving me a self-made B'day card and a small key chain. When my better-half gave me a wrapped box, he got very curious to open it instantly. Since I wasn't that curious to open it immediately, my wife insisted on it. Her words, 'Be curious to open your gift.. Be a kid'. I obliged.. hey, it was a cute Laughing Buddha. There was an instant laugh from my son on seeing his belly.

There is a general belief that rubbing his belly brings wealth, good luck, prosperity. I hope I don't rub his belly too much. I don't want him to become lean.. :-) :-)



Scene#2
Another aspect which I could observe was the smiling face. It's not even a smile.. a big laugh. It insists on enjoying the life every moment and laugh at good things instantly, not only smile. I don't laugh out loudly.. just a Chuckle. Aren't we supposed to laugh at good things to make ourselves light? I have learnt it in the recent days.... to laugh like a kid.

Eventhough I don't crack nice jokes, I made it a practice to enjoy the moments... No silly feelings...(Goundamani stylela)Even some silly jokes had made me to laugh out loudly, whether it is out of movies or forwarded mails. Few used to be rib-tickling ones..like these..

#1
What do you think the gangster's son would have told his dad, when he failed his examination?
"Dad they questioned me for 3 hours but I never told them anything."

#2
A little boy went up to his father and asked, "Dad, where did all of my intelligence come from?"
His father replied, "Well, son, you must have gotten it from your mother, because I still have mine."

#3
Sunny's teacher sent a note home to his Mother saying, "Sunny seems to be a very bright boy, but spends too much of his time thinking about girls."
The Mother wrote back the next day, "If you find a solution, please advise. I have the same problem with his Father".

Laughter is the best medicine for many ills... so better LOL and enjoy each and every moment of the life... :-) :-)
197th post

அழகே ஒரு பிழையோ?

(thanglish format in the comments section)

சில நாட்கள் முன் மின்மடலில் வந்த 'யாரிவர்?' மடலைப் பார்த்ததும் தோன்றிய சில வரிகள் இவை....


ப்ரம்மா ....
உன் 'தீடீர்' பூவுலக
விஜயத்தின் பின்னணி?

ஓ.... நீ செதுக்கிய
இப்பதுமையை கவர்ந்து
வந்தோரைத் தேடியோ?





யாரென்று தெரிவிக்க சில மணித் துளிகளுக்கு பின் வந்த மின்மடல் தாங்கிய செய்தி இது தான்.. பெரிதாக்கிப் பர்க்கவும்.

அக அழகைப் பற்றி சென்ற வாரம் சிந்தித்த எனக்கு, புற அழகே ஆபத்து என தோன்றச் செய்தது இந்த இரண்டாம் மடல்...

இருந்தும் எமது துப்பறியும் குழுவிற்கு வேலை வேண்டுமே?

Google மூலம் அறிந்தது இது தான். ஆந்திர நட்சத்திரமான Tamannaவுக்கும் பம்பாய் Tarannum Khanக்கும் ஏற்பட்ட ஒரு சில எழுத்து உச்சரிப்புப் பிழையே இதற்கு காரணம். வலைப்பதிவாளர் ஒருவரும் பல நூறு பேருக்கு மடல் அனுப்பி வைத்து விட்டு, தன் வலைப்பதிவில் வருத்தப்பட்டுள்ளார்.. நிறையவே....

ஹ்ம்ம்ம்.. இதுவே வேறு நாடாய் இருந்திருந்தால் இந்நேரம் பல வழக்குகள் பதிவாகியிருக்கும்னு நினைக்கிறேன். என்ன சொல்லுறீங்க..?
196th post

The Electrifying pictures ....

Those who have not seen my earlier post can scroll down further for a detailed field report.... These pictures are for those who wished to see more of the event. Luckily Blogger.com was very helpful today.. it just took fraction of minutes to upload all these pictures, compared to my struggle of 3-4 hours for the previous post. Enjoy... this as well.

ARR on the big screen
Hariharan comparing Sadhana's voice with Telephone ring.. for 'Indian' (Hindustani) song
Eventhough the picture is not clear, this has been uploaded for Sayesha. Karthik with a colorful combination of dress looking for his girlfriend ['Enakoru girlfriend..' from 'Boys']
Romancing pair of Hariharan & Sadhana calling the Moon [for 'Vennilave...' of Minsara Kanavu/ 'Chanda re..' of Sapne]. Look out for the background dancers..
ARR with Kailash Kher for 'nachu re Nachu re..' (Am I spelling correctly?) - the hindi version of 'Rhythm's 'Thanniye Thannanth thaniye..'. Another fast number from K.Kher
'Sa Ri Ga Me...' pulling the audience & making the audience to dance to their tunes - Blazee & Karthik
Another casual one from 'Mustafa, Mustafa.. ' song, with Naresh
ARR joining Kailash Kher for the 'Chayya Chayya..' number
ARR starting with 'Azadi...' (Bose) continued with 'Vandhematharam..' song.
Amidst the 'V..M..' song
Karthik looking for a mike to join the team
The team saying 'goodbye' to the crowd..


195th post

An Electrifying Evening....

[The longest post of mine, so far. I am glad that I am making it for a subject of my interest as well as of most of your interest. Hope you will enjoy as if you were in the show. Sorry for the delay.. I hope I have done my best to prove your wait a worthy one.. :-) :-)]

[As promised I am posting within the stipulated 24 hours... Feel free to double click the picture to have a better feel of the event]

The evening we were awaiting for a long time had finally arrived... on 24th Sep, Saturday. Eventhough, we had attended a couple of shows in the last one year (of Vidyasagar and Bharadwaj), we knew AR.Rahman is the man who could make the difference. And yes it was...

The sponsorship of Mediacorp TV is prestigious one which normally goes to some big international pop stars - for the hype and infrastructure provided by them. Everything was provided for ARR's show as well. Their presence was felt throughout, with the lightings and the stage settings in a fantastic way.

Since, we were prompted from the beginning of the day (in the local radio FM 96.8) that the show will start exactly by 6:30 PM, we reached our seats exactly by time. However, due to some reason or the other, it got delayed and finally two local TV presenters Dharshana & Ilamaran appeared. They could have stopped their presentation in few minutes.. But they didn't.

Since it was officially sponsored by Mediacorp TV, Ilamaran started introducing 12 finalists of the local TV show 'Vasantham Star'. Right or wrong, the crowd got irritated since they didn't want to wait further to see ARR. The self-introduction of those finalists which started with 2 minutes per person, ended up with introduction of the last 4 person in 2 seconds.. Ilamaran was under so much pressure to wrap it up quickly, eventhough he did it very nicely.

Then we got to see that grand entry... of the genius in front of the crowd of 9000 people over there. Such a humble, smiling face.. started singing with a bang announcing the arrival. The first one was from 'Yuva' ('Fanaa' if I am not wrong) and immediately the environment got electrifying. The way it was sung and delivered by that Chubby face was amazing.

When Sadhana Sargam appeared next and started the intial humming for 'Telephone Mani..' of 'Indian' ('Hindustani'), people started looking for the male counterpart.. There, he entered from the front entrance of the hall. Hariharan, with the security guards around him and throwing some beach balls among the audiences (like our politicians do), by showing off his dancing abilities. They started mixing the tamil version and hindi version to satisfy the music lovers of both the songs.

Now the treat for the youth.. Entered Karthik with one of the electrifying song 'Oh Humdum Suniyo Re..' (Saathiya) - the hindi version of 'Engengum Punnagai..' (Alai Payuthe). Everytime he appears in Singapore, the crowd is getting more crazier about him. Till the start of the day, we were not sure if he is going to come or not, since we didn't listen to the local Radio. We were so glad that he was there at last.

Next, the entry of a person unknown to me.. he was Kailash Kher. Since I used to always listen the tamil versions of ARR I had not noticed the Hindi singers. K.Kher made it notably different with his 'Mangal..' song from 'The Rising'. His dresses were also of unique combination thru out the show. With a embroidered dhoti and different colors of tops. The high pitch of his voice was too good while delivering certain songs.

Another unknown song.. entered Udit Narayan and Madhushree with 'Hum hain is pal yahan' from 'Kisna'. Since I had not listened to it earlier, it didn't strike me that much. I should have listened to it couple of times earlier, to realise the strengths of this song.

Eventhough I missed SP.B's presence (for 'Kathal Rojave...' of 'Roja'), Hariharan filled the vaccum beautifully by mixing the tamil version and the hindi 'Roja Jaane Maan...' in a romantic way. Another beautiful melody followed it - 'Chupke se...' from 'Saathiya' by Sadhana Sargam. It was beautifully blended with the tamil version 'Snehidhiyee..' (Alai Payuthae') in between.

We got the variety again, from the Bosnian singer Ms.Alma with an English number from 'Warriors of Heaven and Earth', the chinese movie for which ARR had composed the music. The movie's war sequences started popping up in the background screen, showing off the big production value of that movie.Karthik followed it with 'Enakoru Girlfriend vendumada...' from 'Boys'. As usual I was able to see the crowd dancing with him.

The missing piece was found then. The show was complete with 'Chinnakuyil' entering the stage.. yes, Chitra entered with her 'Kannaalane...' (Bombay) mixed with some parts of the hindi version 'Kehna Hi Kya..'. Whatever be the language, her soothing voice took us to some level. Great one.. indeed.

Once again the romantic pair entered asking for a favour from the moon.. Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam, calling 'Vennilave.. Vennilave..'(Minsara Kanavu) blended with 'Chanda re..'(Sapne). And two young dancers started appearing behind ARR with nicely choreographed movements. The dance aptly suited the mood of the song.

'Kabhi Neem Neem...' (Yuva) was the next one from Madhushreee. As was the trend of the evening, she mixed it with 'Sandaikozhi kozhi..' (Ayutha Ezuthu) and delivered it beautifully, with some dance movements too.. Hariharan followed suit with another meoldy from 'Alai Payuthae' which was duly supported by lightings and the illuminated screen behind. And the song was 'Pachchai nirame.. Pachchai nirame..'

Another excellent number followed in 'Taal se Taal..' sung by Madhushree and Udit Narayan. She replaced Alka Yagnik (the original singer) beautifully with her voice. There was also a dancer delivering some classical dance movements aptly for the song, behind ARR and after somtime on the main stage itself.

At that time we got what we wanted.. ARR prepraed himself to join Blazee, who started coming from the main entrance of the hall. And it was the electrifying number of the show 'Humma Humma..' of 'Bombay' (hindi version), sung by both of them. There was no limit for the crowd's joy.

A lot of audience started dancing, waving the hands and the song ended with a style different to ARR. He stepped down the stage and started walking on the path in front of the stage till the middle of the hall. Fully guarded with securities... eventhough he was still humming 'Humma humma...'. My wife who was just standing nearer to him, when he passed us, exclaimed that he was looking too young and so chubby. I didn't mind... afterall he is the genius who deserves it.

And then came the much awaited break - which was completely given to the acclaimed percussionist Sivamani. Oh... the way he played with his drums and instruments was so excellent that his other western counterparts (Mr.Levon with Guitar and Mr.Attila with Keyboard) were mesmerised completely along with the audience.

A Surprise visitor was also there.. he was Abdul Hameed (of the yester year 'Lalitha'vin 'pattukku pattu') even though the purpose was to greet ARR with a memonto, shawl and a garland by the local sponsors GMT Jewellers. The Genius accepted all these things in a humble way and immediately brushed them aside.

Now I am giving you some break, since we have crossed only half...

Let me change the gear now..

ARR and Blazee restarted the session after the break with their number, composed specifically for UN's efforts for the poverty struck world. The audience were so mesmerised that I observed so many colorful butterflies flying everywhere.. I mean the audience waving their hands with their lighted up mobile phones.. everywhere those lightening butterflies were flying.

When ARR started singing 'Dil Se Re..' I started noticing his sister Rehena in the Chorus. she aptly supported him with her voice in that song. This number was followed by another English number from the Bosnian Ms.Alma which was blended with 'Ishq Bena Kya..'(Taal) by ARR and Madhushree.

Then there was an excellent piece from the team of Hariharan, Sadhana and Chitra, which he claimed as 'Unplugged'. During this session, they combined certain melody numbers beautifully with few variations. All the songs which were selected for this piece were excellent ones from ARR's collections.. They were 'Nila Kaikiradhu..' (Indira), 'Enge enathu Kavidhai...' (Kandukondein KK), 'Uyirae.. uyirae..'(Bombay) and 'Udhaya.. Udhaya..' (Udhaya).

Follwed them were 'Thee Thee Thithikkum thee..' (Thiruda Thiruda) by Sadhana Sargam, 'Jiya Jale Jaan jale...'(Dil se) by Chitra, 'Ale Ale..' (Boys) by Karthik & ARR's sister Irshath, 'Hai Rama Kya Hua..' (Rangeela) by Hariharan & Madhushree and 'Nachu Re...Nachu Re...' by Kailash Kher & ARR. I don't know the movie of the last number, eventhough I realised that it was the hindi version of 'Thaniye Thannanth Thaniye...' from 'Rhythm' sung by Shankar Mahadevan. Hariharan & Madhushree were the next with all sorts of dance movements for 'Varugiraai..' of 'Ah AAh'.

Till that moment, I was struggling with the batteries of my Digicam that I missed couple of nice pics. Then I decided that I shouldn't wait anymore. Immediately I ran out and bought the required batteries, eventhough they were expensive there... This enabled me to cover the balance numbers to my satisfaction.

Another fast one came out from the team of karthik and Blazee - for 'Sa Ri Ga me..' of 'Boys'. This was another song with an electrifying feel which ended up with a colorful bang from the flower pot lightings... chk out the next picture...



ARR came down again from his seat for the next number 'Mustafa.. Mustafa..' with Naresh.. another good one.

Again the hall got electrified with the next one from his sister Rehena and Kailash kher. The song was nothing but the 'Chayya Chayya..' of 'Dil Se'. You cannot judge based on the look and actions. Looked like a quiet lady, the song & her matching high pitched voice with K.K's brought the stadium down with the clappings and dances. ARR too joined them finally.. with his matching voice.




As expected, he finished the concert with the 'Vandhe Madharam..' number and made the people to move in a different way. Most of the audience started standing to chant the 'Vandhe madharam..' words to fulfill the purpose of the song. The unity in diversity. I could feel it with his mixture of techinicians & Singers (of different countries) and the audience who were present including lot of chinese... It was amazing. The following were some of the pictures taken during that last piece.

Alma - Sadhana Sargam - Chitra - Madhushree - Karthik - Kailash Kher
Chitra-Madhushree-Kailash Kher-Karthik-Udit
Alma wondering the way the genius was singing, with Chitra & Madhushree
Karthik - Udit Narayan - Hariharan, with the full attention to the song
Blazee - Sivamani













When the show ended 4 hours after the continuous thunder & lightening, I didn't have the mood to leave the place. I was just wondering why these concerts are always conducted for less no. of hours..

I still missed some of my favourites like

'Anbe Anbe..' and 'Poovukkul olinthrikkum...' from 'Jeans' (surprisingly none from this movie)
'Aararai kodi..' from 'Ah Aah' (the latest hit sung by ARR himself)
'Thirakkatha kattukulee...' and 'kaathal nayagara..' from 'En Swasa Katre'
'Chinna Chinna Aasaai...' from 'Roja'
'katre en Vaasal vandhai...' from 'Rhythm'

However, the notable and appreciable portion of this show was that there were no interruptions by the presenters or comedians, like it happened in the previus shows. ARR himself didn't have time to deliver all his hits, as I mentioned above. How can he allow those interruptions? We were so glad that the show was fully packed with songs, songs and songs.........

By the end of the night, when we came back home my wife made some remarks that I had changed a lot, compared to the previous shows... in terms of my involvement in the shows. I just smiled at her... Hey.. that was the power of the magical music from this Genius.

Note:
1) Some of my fellow bloggers have beaten me already in bringing up their posts in their blogs... earlier this day. Here are their posts ----> Sayesha & Vidya. Enjoy them as well...

2) Due to some Blogger.com errors, it took 4 hours for me to upload these pictures. Due to the delay, I even dropped some more pictures. Whatever it is, by end of the night I was satisfied with those which got loaded successfully.

Some more pictures here.. enjoy

194th post

A Memorable Night... Preview

The wait was over... It was a fantastic evening and a life-long memorable one..




A detailed post (may be, a pretty long one....) can be seen here within 24 hours.. I want to do it now.. but now it is already midnight... :-):-) Pl. bear with me for some more hours....
193rd post

Couldn't find a name.... Recycle the Old

I observed two identical news headlines this week.



Dhanush & KasturiRaja in a soup for naming their next venture as 'Thiruvizhaiyadal' (also mentioned somewhere as 'Naveena Thiruvizhaiyadal') in which Shreya is rumoured to be his pair. Eventhough his earlier association with Director BhoopathiPandian in 'Devathayai Kanden' was not a great hit, this new movie has been given to him again. The controversy is that some fan clubs of Sivaji Ganesan, have raised flags against naming the new movie after the old classic.

Once Arvind had mentioned in the comments section of my earlier post 'What's there in a name?'. But, there are people out there, ready to raise flags..... against names.

The next news which I observed was about a new movie 'Anbe Vaa' being made out by the nephew of a MGR associate (former minister KA.Krishnaswamy). He is tipped to be pairing with Sridevika (of 'Ramakrishna' & some other junkies) and Vivek is there to fill in. I may classify this movie as one among the movies, which I discussed earlier here. They are just trying to cash on the hit name. I believe the persons involved may not face protests like Dhanush.

On and Off, this trend continues.. the trend of naming a new one with an old classical hit, just to cash on its popularity. With the help of our DBI team, let us chew some more ...

Apoorva Sagotharargal - The title of this old classic (supposed to be a family drama) was nicely adapted by Kamal and proved his risk taking ability. Does anyone remember 'Apoorva Sagotharigal' (with Radha and two other heroines), which got released before Kamal's version?

Nadodi Mannan - Eventhought MGR's release was a classical hit with his dual role, Sarathkumar couldn't repeat that magic in a big way in his version. For few scenes, Meena appeared with Grey hair & a big glass (to show off her old age) which didn't fit at all. [Either she should have made up like Sukanya of 'Indian' or like a young Mom Nadhiya of 'MKSOML']

Sathi Leelavathi - This debut movie of MGR became famous among this generation, after he turned into politics. Whenever he was quoted, his first movie used to be referred. It gained fame even after his demise, that Kamal & Balu Mahendra decided to adapt the same name to make their release a hit with super comedy.

Parthipan Kanavu - Gemini's 'Parthipan Kanavu' had the historic background based on Kalki's novel and the title suited well for the story. Karu.Palaniappan also matched the story with the title - by making the hero 'Parthipan' (Srikanth) to have his own dreams of his would-be wife (Sneha). I liked it very much.

Anbe Aaruyirae - I came to know about this old classic of Sivaji, only thru kavingar Vaali's talk during the audio release of 'Ah..AAh' (Anbe Aaruyirae). I am not sure if that was a hit or not. But, I don't think it would have had any resemblances to SJ.Suryah's latest super(!!!) release.

Athisaya Piravi - You may think why I am including this average B.O. runner of Rajini. Our team found a comedy movie of 80s with an additonal 3 letters '..gal'. 'Athisaya Piravigal' with Mohan / SV.Sekar did a decent business in B&C centres, even before Rajini's release. Another techinque of naming movies...

Pasamalar - There were so many versions of this brother-sister sentimental hit of Sivaji-Savithiri. But the ArvindSamy-Revathy starrer 'Pasamalargal' just added the '..gal' to the old classic. Suresh Menon couldn't succeed in his venture, even then. Was it due to lack of ARR in the movie (music by the violinist, V.S.Narasimhan) or a repeated theme not well presented?

Kalvanin Kathali - The title of this old classic based on Kalki's novel (Sivaji / Banumathi) has been named again for SJ.Suryah-Nayanthara combination. As usual he is playing around with Nayanthara's glamour... and his first venture directed by another person.

Supposed to be released soon... Need to wait and see, whether it will click in the B.O. and among the audience...


Do you remember any old movie by the name 'Sathi Savithiri'? I observed a new tamil movie (multi lingual or telugu dubbing) with Sriman in the lead with the same name. Looks like it may be a treat for front benchers, if the Censor clears the movie (!!).

Some more similar movies???? You can share them..

Other posts of 'Naming the film' Series
Listen.. Pick.. Name
Name the month - Decide your film name
A Naming convention with difference - Teaching Basics
192nd post

Shopping.....

I won't say I hate shopping, rather I would say I don't love it....

You can call me a swift buyer with a shopping list in a hand and a stop-watch in another hand. I spend less time for judgement, whether it is comparing or analysing or overviewing the varieties etc., Doesn't mean I shun shopping. But I know many people don't like my way of shopping. They love to go thru row after another for choosing a pair of shoes or for a shampoo, whatever it is. I would say my approach is a contrasting one to my better-half.

We knew a couple diagonally opposite to us. My friend & his wife in Chennai. He is always choosy and does so much research & analysis before getting into something. I used to wonder during my school & college days, when he talks about any product in depth irrespective of his final decision. You can call it as a passion. Last time, when I was in India his wife complained that he had dropped buying something due to this long term analysis. Because, she has the contrasting quality over there.

He was so passionate with shopping, that he loved to go around Singapore shopping malls (when he was here last year) inspite of an injury in his foot. When he was suggested for sight-seeing, he started feeling the pain.... !!! That is the level of his passion towards shopping.

But in some occasions, that type of passion would be better. You may get a better deal out of it. At the same time, it may happen the other way around also.
(a) Too much of analysis, may end up missing the best one already.
(b) You may end up buying unwanted things, reducing your wallet size.

Sometimes, these type of passionate shoppers may end up like 'B' in this pic. See, still the mission has not been completed yet. 'B' is also considering whether to enter 'GAP' or not. I could also observe that Time & Money spent - go up in direct proportion for these passionate shoppers.

Yeh... I could see some one (a passionate shopper) raising the red flag for some arguments... I'm not saying my way is the best.. It has its own fallacies.

However, most of the time, I end up reminding my better-half to reach her targetted product asap. Otherwise, who can bear the reduction in my wallet size? :-( :-( :-(
191st post

ஈடற்ற மனமே..

(thanglish format in the comments section)


முத்து, பவளம்
மாதுளை, எலுமிச்சை
கயல், மயில்

என உனை வர்ணிக்க
பொருளுக்கா பஞ்சம்?

இருந்தும், உன் மனதிற்கு
ஈடேது? பொன்னா? பூவா?
இல்லை..

அவற்றிலும் சிறந்ததை
இன்றும் தேடுகிறேன்,
கிடைக்கவில்லையே......

நன்றி: ரவிவர்மா ஓவியக்குவியல்



இந்த ஓவியத்தைப் பார்த்த பொழுது தோன்றியது......... எழுத்தாக்கம் பெற்றது.
190th post

Change of Residence

Last week one of my colleague approached me for some suggetions... to check whether it is reliable to give credit card number for a service thru the Net. The said service is nothing but an Astrological one. It seems for the last 2-3 years he would be getting a free mail from them whenever there was a major change in his life. He accepted that most of the times certain incidents happened and deviated his life further. Each & every free mail will intimate a tip-of-iceberg info and lure them to pay more to get a detailed one. Since,he was convinced with the little info what he was getting, he has decided to go for a detailed one on-payment, this time.

Nowadays, I have also started accepting the technicalities of this science (but not thru the net). But Why, nowadays?

It was like "Believe - Shun - Believe again" in my graph...

During my school days, I accompanied my Mom once to an astrologer (numerologist). After going thru the numbers, he conveyed certain things to my Mom. Few attracted my attention too (1) My academic excellence (2) My travelling nature.

That was enough for me, to get demotivated. She shouldn't have taken me along with her. My concentration level on studies reduced immensely. It was a sort of floating in the air and I thought I would be a rank holder(!!) in the board exams. Eventhough I knew that I didn't perform well, I expected a miraculous result. Alas.. I didn't know that the astrology won't help if you don't put efforts. The result was not as expected and an average one.

That was the turning point. I decided that it was farce to believe the science & started concentrating in my studies whole-heartedly. Whether my disbelief on the science was right or wrong, my efforts didn't fail me. During my college days as well as my professional days I got couple of noted recognitions. Within few years, I was forced(!!) to dislocate out of India and did travel to many countries officially and personally. Even then, my belief on that science didn't get that stronger.

The Wheel started changing again - with bad tunes. Couple of incidents pushed me to a corner and made me to consider the stars again. Each and Every one like Guru, Sani, Rahu, Kethu duly played their part during those couple of years. Each & every incident was linked to one of them. After few years, when the brighter side started unfolding slowly, my belief on the science started flourishing again. But this time, the belief came along with a maturity. You put the efforts and will be paid appropriately. That's what I had learnt.

Why all these stuff suddenly?


Because, today (19-Sep) is Guru Peyarchi. It is a general belief that Sri Guru Bhagawan's movement from one astrological home to another brings about good benefits and at times ill effects also. In conjunction with his shifting of residence(!!), so many poojas are being held in the temples today as parigharam for the ill effects. Normally his movement to 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th & 11th places are expected to bring up some positive moments. Beyond this, I don't know much on this shifting. So, let me stop.

However, I agree that this is not the only determinant in one's life. Additional efforts are required to overcome any ills or to achieve some targets. Dependence on this science, is just to appease one's wavering mind and to consider the happenings of our life (which are beyond our hands) as it is.

Hope & wish the year ahead is positive and good for all of you. It is a matter of perception. So, pl. ignore this post if you don't believe in this science.

And here are some related links for this year...

(a) Sri Varasidhi Vinayagar Sath Sangh, Besant Nagar, Chennai
(b) E-Prathana
(c) Sify

189th post

Make use of the Genius properly, please....

AR.Rahman is on the news headlines again. There is every likelihood that we may see a mega combination of Rajini-Shankar-Rahman-AVM for the next mega budget 'Sivaji'. As has been proved earlier, Rahman / Shankar & Rahman / Rajini combinations were mostly hits (except the mediocre 'Baba'). It seems Shankar is already in Australia for a discussion with AR.Rahman, who is there as a part of his 3-Dimensional tour. So, I hope we can expect a big treat again, from this striking team.

But, is he going to come back with a big bang with some more quality movies? We knew that his next album 'Godfather' is likely to be released asap and he claimed to have signed for 'Jillendru Oru Kaathal' (with Surya and Jothika in the lead). The problem is that his striking songs are not well utilised sometimes. Eventhough his recent work for 'Ah Aah' had received good reviews (for his 'Maramkothiye..', 'Maiyilarage..', 'Anbe Aruyiraae..'), the film didn't get a positive review for its story line (eventhough it may run in the B.O. for the glamour)

In another related interview he had mentioned that some of his songs were not fully utilised in Hindi movies. If you take tamil movies, eventhough they are used 100%, they are fit into the wrong places sometimes. At times, I feel like getting cheated when his efforts are being wasted. I know that music alone cannot keep a movie afloat...but when I observe the efforts put are misused and a crap movie is utilising it, I pity for the music director.

Leaving apart the hits and super-hits, I was just looking into some average runs and craps which couldn't even stand up in the race - eventhough they had ARR's soothing numbers. Some of them were technically excellent as well, eventhough they didn't click in the B.O. due to weak screenplay. Let's run over them..

Uzhavan - Songs like 'Pennalla pennalla', 'Maarimazhai peyatho' didn't create the required magic for this movie of Prabhu & Banupriya. Incidentally, this was the first movie for Rambha, before she became a hit (!!) in 'Ullathai alli thaa'.

May madham - Directed by Balu (Mani's asst) the songs 'En Mel Vizuntha..' , 'Maargazhi poove..' were super hits at that time (even now). The movie which resembled Mani's earlier works, didn't click due to the same reason.

Vandi Solai Chinnarasu - Whenever I discuss with my brother on the misuse of ARR's music, this film comes on the top. This Satyaraj-Suganya starrer was such a big failure, eventhough certain nice numbers were there like 'Sugam Sugam..', 'Senthamizh Naatu..', 'Chithari Nilavu.'

Duet - KB's efforts to bring Meenakshi Seshadri into tamil tinsel town failed in this movie, eventhough ARR's combination with 'Sax' Kadri Gopalnath yielded some soothing numbers like 'Mettu Podu..', 'Anjali Anjali..', 'En Kaadhale..', 'Vennilavin Theril Yeri..'

Pavithra - This average Ajith starrer had some nice numbers like 'Sevvanam Chinna Penn..', 'Uyirum Niyae' which didn't add the required pull for the movie.

Puthiya Mannargal - The only Vikraman-ARR combo had this hit song 'Nee kattum selai..' eventhough the movie didn't click like the regular Vikraman-SA.Rajkumar combo(!!)

Indira - This technically excellent movie directed by Suhasini, failed in the B.O. due to its screenplay identical to Mani's ventures - eventhough the numbers 'Nila Kaikiradhu..' and 'Thoda Thoda malaranthathenna..' were super hits of the time.

Jodi - This Prasanth movie which came after 'Jeans' was heavily dependent on ARR's music, since the story / screenplay were not made as the crowd pullers by its director Pravinkanth. Eventhough ARR composed the original music for the hindi version of 'Kadhalukku Mariyadhai' (in which Jothika was the lead), he converted them for Tamil which ultimately became hits.. some of them are like 'Velli Malare..', 'Kadhal kaditham..', 'Kai thatti thatti azhaithaalee..'

Taj Mahal - Eventhough 'Chotta Chotta nanaiyuthu..' was such a nice number, it didn't help Bharathiraja to push up his son into the recognisable stardom.

En Swaasa Katre - A miserable movie from which I expected a lot, had Arvindsamy & Isha Gopikar in the lead. This had so many excellent songs like 'Theendai ..' (with some beautiful locations), 'Kaathal Nayagara..' (which was later used for a Prabudeva / Madhuri dixit hindi song), 'En swasa katre...', 'Thirakaatha kattukkule..' (an awesome forest location).

Alli Arjuna - Once again Manoj failed inspite of ARR's numbers. Saran-ARR combo also didn't work out well here. However, most of the songs in this movies were rehashed out of his Hindi composing... like 'Endhan Nenjil..' 'Solvayo Solaikili..'

Sangamam - Just because actor Rahuman is his co-brother, ARR would have agreed to do this movie - which was a ulta of Sivaji's 'thillana mohanambal'. However the hit numbers like 'Varaga Nathi karai..' (which made Shankar Mahadevan, a hit in the tamil industry), 'Margazhi thingal..' 'Sowgiyama..' didn't fit into this ordinary movie.

Kaathal Virus - Kathir wanted to prove that his excellent combo with ARR will succeed without fail - following the hits of 'Kathal Desam' and 'Kathalar thinam'. Inspite of the numbers liks 'Vaan Nila..', 'Baila More..', 'Sonnalum..' the movie didn't create magic in the industry.

Star - Another crap from Pravinkanth (following 'Jodi') with Prasanth/Jothika in the lead, failed misreably. The numbers which ARR composed like 'Rasika Rasika..', 'Maccha Machiniyee..', 'Nenthukittaen..' couldn't gather the required support for the director.

Udhaya - The movie directed by Azhagam Perumal was in the can for a long time, which proved disastrous for the success. The story became very stale when it was released. 'Thiruvalikeni Rani..' was the hit song of the movie, which enticed the TV crowd but not to the theatres.

Paarthale Paravasam - Another KB-ARR failed venture. (inspite of Madhavan-Simran-Sneha presence) Some of the hits of this movie were 'Nee thaane en desiya geetham..' (shot in middle east), 'Azage sugama..', 'Naadir thina..' which couldn't help much for the movie's screenplay (which was incidentally KB's milestone movie).

Kangalal Kaithu Sei - Bharathiraja failed badly in this thriller inspite of having some nice numbers from ARR like 'Azhagiya Cindrella..' , 'Aaha Tamilamma..', and 'Anarkali..'

Stand alone, most of the above songs were wonderful to hear.. but when they come out in a movie which doesn't earn a good name for its other weaknesses, the efforts become futile.

I agree that, that some combinations don't work out as expected, which the Music director or other technician may realise only later on (like Linguswami realised after his failure with Ajith's 'Ji' evnethough both were capable of delivering good ones).Still I would like ARR's films to have a decent run in the B.O.

I don't want to feel once again as to 'Why ARR has wasted his efforts for a crap like 'Ah Aah?'

Another Post on ARR
Show your Magical want again... in Tamil
188th post

(Un)forgettable misdirection

The (un)forgettable misdirection given by me inadvertently (which still haunts me), happened a year back exactly. Hope the victim is not cursing me still...

During one of my business trips at that time, I was on my way to Rome - from Paris. This was after my two days stay near 'Gare Du Nord' (one of the main train stations) in the heart of Paris. When I came out of the flight in Rome Fiumicino Airport, a lady ( looked like a Caucasian in her 20s) appraoched me particularly and asked me in her broken english if I am going to 'garo'?

I said 'Yes' for three reasons.
(A) the impact of my 'Gare Du Nord' stay
(B) the Leonardo Express, which I was about to take then - to reach the city
(C) the way it was pronounced by her.

She was glad that I was guiding her properly and just got herself tagged to me without asking more questions. There were no immigration clearance, since our flight was within Europe. After clearing my check-in luggage, I went to the Airport Express train station and bought the ticket for the city.. She too took it, eventhough she asked me 'why?'. I explained her that to reach the city we need to take a ticket (a funny reply!!). I thought she was too naive by asking these type of questions.

This Leonardo Express, normally takes 30 minutes to reach the city. In the middle of travel, she asked me the time of our flight. I didn't get it initially. Again she asked, the time of our flight to 'Cairo' by showing a flight ticket.

I was shocked completely and slowly realised the effect of my understanding her broken English. I told her that I was not going to Cairo (Egypt) - but am going to the City. It was her turn to get shocked then and was about to cry immediately. She realised that she cannot get back to the flight even if she returns back from the city to the airport (timing was so close, then).

She was so tensed and started checking with some neighbours in some other language. (she should have done this earlier itself. So, unfortunate!!) She couldn't do anything more than that.. She started asking the other person about the solution and never even turned to me. After reaching the Rome Station, she started her efforts to return to the Airport. Should have cursed me a lot then.

Later I realised, the reasons for her approaching me. Couple of times, I have been approached by people asking whether I am a Pakistani - due to my complexion, moustache & hair. So, this lady might have thought that I was from the Islamic states going to the destination where she wanted to go.

Sometimes, I don't get these european accents easily and that time it was so miserable..(Cairo Vs 'garo' Vs 'garee'). Believe, that girl would have reached her destination in the next flight to Cairo. Prayed to the God at that time, on behalf of her..... for my deed.
187th post

Spend, Earn, Redeem....

Nowadays, everyday transaction of mine, has some reward points attached to it... Most of the service oriented organisations and retailers have issued loyalty cards, allowing me to accumulate reward points for the loyalty being shown towards them.

Sometimes, I find it difficult to keep track of the expiry date of those reward points - issued by my Telecom operator, Internet Service Provider, Credit Card Company etc. A year back some huge points in my credit card account were forfeited, since I didn't notice it in time.

This distribution of loyalty points has not stopped with these big orgns alone. The small retailer near my house has also started adopting a system, for the last few months. I have been issued with a card. For every 10$ of purchase, the card will be stamped with a Chop. Once I get 10 Chops, I will be entitled to a 5$ discount voucher, which I can encash in the subsequent purchases.

Looks so simple, isn't it....? That's what I thought, when I intially got it. Every month, I tried to keep it as a target to get that voucher... But unable to accomplish it everytime. The reasons...

1) I don't end up buying exactly for $10. Sometimes, I may buy for $14 or $16. Based on the basic scheme, I get only one chop. So, I try to optimise the no. of items which I need to buy, to get the next chop (by crossing $20). Sometimes, I find it hard, to add more items.

2) The card is valid only for one month. Sometimes, I don't get 10 chops within that period.. so, the attempts I put to gain points turn futile, irrespective of the fact that certain prices are little bit on the higher side in that retail shop.

3) Finally, I end up spending $120-$140 for the period from that shop, without getting that additional catch - the 5% discount.

This has made me to decide that 'Earning reward points & Redeeming' scheme is a better option than this 'stamping' scheme.

So, I had given it up from this week. (I mean searching for the card, before going out for shopping.. )
186th post

Thank U friends...for this 25K

"Let me do this, as well" - Taking up a new role

Now the latest in the bandwagon is Jothika.

Don't be mislead that she is going to do an item number in 'Sivaji'. Definitely she is not going to scare us with such a move and Shankar may not take such a drastic decision.

She is jumping into the truck load of Actors/Actresses who turned to production for good or bad. The latest buzz news of the week is that she is co-producing a tamil thriller, along with Ram Gopal Varma. Surya might be roped in to do the lead role. What is she trying to prove here? That, she is a versatile person with a lot of other abilities!!! Aasai yaara vittadhu...

However, actresses cannot be underestimated in this area of donning a new role. There were so many actresses equalling the actors abilities in producing movies. Since the Financiers are ready to finance movies based on 'kandhu' vatti (abnormal interests), our artistes don't bother about the new role which they try to play. However, the past records show that only some have clicked in their new role as producers. Most of them realise the mistake only after burning their fingers.

I am not going too much into yester year artistes, who had produced couple of movies.

MGR was rumoured to be behind RM.Veerappan's Satya Movies for a long time. I am not sure about the facts behind it. Still he produced couple of movies under his own banner 'MGR Pictures' like 'Nadodi Mannan', 'Ulagum Sutrum Vaaliban' etc., (incidentally both were directed by him). His touch is always a magical 'Midas' touch. Everybody knows.

Sivaji's own production house survived several crisis thru out its existence. I couldn't recall his own earlier movies, eventhough I could follow the trail from 'Vetri Vizha'-'Mannan' -'Rajakumaran' to 'Chandramukhi'. With 'CM' the fortunes have been revived recently for the production house. Whether they will sustain this revival or not, is a big question? It depends on the heirs.

Surprisingly, Savithiri had also ventured into her own production 'Prabtham' which didn't click very well inspite of a sentimental story.

Kamal is one of the established player in this producer's role, with a lots of hits and wounds on him. After the commercial failures of his own ventures like 'Raja Parvai' & 'Vikram', the risk which he took with 'Apoorva Sagotharargal' was enormous.

However, that success has definitely lead to several quality (few flop) movies from his production house 'Rajkamal International' - like 'Kadamai Kanniyam Kattupaadu' 'Devar Magan' 'Sathi Leelavathi' 'Magalir Mattum' 'Nala Dhamayanthi' 'Hey Raam' 'Virumaandi' 'Mumbai Express' etc., But this role as a producer has really put him in a fix in his family life, which everybody is aware of. Still a real fighter....



Rajinikanth has not experimented much in this role - inspite of his multiple talents from a villain to a super star. The movies where he directly got involved as a producer didn't run well - like 'Maaveeran' (the remake of Amitabh's 'Mard'), 'Valli' and 'Baba'. With these 3 movies, he might have learnt the business trick and I feel that he may not venture into this role again.

For a long time, Vijaykanth's movies were produced by his long-time associate Ibrahim Ravoothar - with several production company names - like 'Tamilannai Cine creations' 'Captain Cine creations' etc., Vijaykanth was said to be a partner as well. Several hits and misses were delivered by this combo like 'Pulan Visaranai' 'Captain Prabhakaran' 'Poonthoota Kavaalkaran' etc.,

He was rumoured to be behind the investments in Kaja Mohaideen's 'Perarasu' too, which is still struggling to come out. Now he is openly coming out with his own 'Sudheshi'. Whether he will get what he is investing, is a big question!!! Anyhow, now he is cleverly (or otherwise) moving into production of COMEDY MOVIES IN POLITICS. Will he reap the benefits there? Am not sure.

'Sangili' Murugan - was one of the Villain-turned-Character artistes who turned to be a successful Producer for sometime with most of his movies running in packed houses of 'B'&'C' centres - To name a few 'Enga Oru Pattukaaran' 'Paandi Naatu Thangam' 'Kumbakarai thangaiyyaa'. The names itself suggest, why he is not continuing the producer role today? Wise decision to stay away from this riskier role.

When Arjun didn't have much movies in his pocket, he started donning the role of the producer and had made couple of movies since then - like 'Jaihind', 'Prathap' 'Vedham' etc., Still our man is unfazed and is most likely to churn out some more as a producer, targetting the 'B' & 'C' centre audience. As far as I know, he lost the 'A' center audience already.

Prakashraj is an exceptional personality who got himself associated with the strange movies like 'Andhapuram' (got the tamil rights of this movie with Soundharya), 'Dhaya' (Lead role with Meena), a strange 5-friends story 'Naam', 'Azhagiya Theeye' directed by RadhaMohan and upcoming release 'Kanda Naal Mudhal' by Mani's assistant Priya.

Always he seem to be trying new formula with different stories. As everybody is aware, his next movie after 'K.. N.. M..' is 'Poi' being directed by his mentor KB. Hope this movie also offers some different stuff.



As I had mentioned earlier, actresses are also unfazed by the failures of their male counterparts in the producer's roles.

Roja found herself in troubles with bounced cheque issues, after her involvement as a producer of 'Athiradi Padai'. That was one of the biggest bombs of 90's. She realised it after that and had not ventured into the role again.

Ramba didn't get the lesson from her predecessor and ventured into '3 roses' and failed miserably. She is said to have been chased by financiers to recoup their investments. Devayani too failed with her venture 'Kaadhaludan' directed by her husband Rajakumaran. The same with Muntaz who was supposed to be behind 'Thathi Thaavudhu Manasu' as a producer.

Kushboo and Radhika are trying to be different as 'pucca' business women.

After her successful production venture 'Giri' (Arjun) directed by her husband Sundar.C, Kushboo is planning to venture into her next movie. Once again Sundar.C is likely to be the director with Madhavan in the lead role. Will she continue in this role? Need to wait and watch.




Radhika's association with 'Jai Ram' (directed by Teja with 'Arinthum Ariyaamlum' Navdeep in the lead) was not a 100% tamil movie & failed miserably. However, her 'Radaan movies' next venture 'Jithan' (remake of RGV product 'Gaayab') did survive in the Box office. This might have inspired the film couple, to go for Sarath's 100th movie from their production house itself. It is rumoured to be called 'Sportsman' from director Teja. Will the 'Sportsman' win the race for 'Radaan'??

I also vaguely remember some other film personalities like MR.Radha, Chandrababu, Mansoor Ali Khan, Mohan (Uruvam) who were into production.

Now the latest fishes in the 'producers' pond' are

Meera Jasmine - is said to be behind the tamil movie 'Kasturi Maan' as a producer, which is being directed by her mentor Lohitadass. The movie is yet to be released and is still plagued with several financial problems. To save her interest cost, she need to release it soon. Otherwise, her fate would be like those troubled actresses.




Vindhiya - She is also jumping into a new venture. This is likely to be an action movie (what action!!) for the front benchers like Muntaz's 'TTM'. That's what I expect.




With Jothika also joining the race, there is a more possibility that the Financiers will have good bright days ahead. Anyhow their cash tills are getting filled with money.....

[I have excluded a set of Director/Actor-turned-Producers purposefully, since this post itself has gone longer. You can expect a different post sooner or later]

Pic Courtesy: Indiaglitz, Thenisai.com
Report Courtesy: Our DBI Team

Related - "Let me do it" series posts
Cinematographer turned Directors
Singer turned actors

183rd Post

Perfection - Is it the key to success?

That's what I always used to believe.. and try to implement, being a quality which I inherited from my Dad.

Sometimes, I get exhausted when those meticulous efforts don't yield the desired results. They even make the other people to consider me a bizarre character, at times. This has made me to relax myself 'little bit' and not demanding too much. One of the relieving characters was my wife... (!!)

Several incidents of my friends and relatives made me to go little bit flexible like this. (see, 'little bit')

Two of my ex-collegaues, One Mr.Perfect and another Mr.UnOrganised are good examples. Mr.P never got a break and at the same time our Mr.UO turned out to be too aggressive in climbing up the ladder, inspite of his way of work. Mr.P was branded as if he was capable of doing a particular work alone, which paved for the other to achieve the postion, which he was vying for. Eventhough Mr.P is still satisfied with his approach, he is still languishing in his existing job. At times, he realises that he missed the bus at the appropriate time. Still the life goes on...

The same way I have observed some of my relatives who used to be very smart in their approach towards any work. Whether it is choosing a quality article, bargaining for a better price (than me / you), solving a family issue, training their kids? Sometimes, I used to wonder whether I can reach them in that race. However, I observed that their perfection and smartness have not yielded prosperity or a smooth family life.

So, is there something more than the perfection? Is it all due to the fate & our star? I never used to believe on all those stuff earlier.

After observing couple of these incidents, decided not to be strict with my policy of perfection. Instead the keyword has been changed to 'aggerssion' in achieving my other objects. Eventhough my wife feels relaxed now, she is always cautious since she doesn't know when I will turn bullish in pinpointing the perfection for an approach.

Still, even if my mind decides to relax the rule, my heart is not allowing it.... So, I have restricted the circle of the rule to myself (not for all activities) without extending it to other people.
182nd post

September Thirai Mazhai....

It seems to be raining heavily in Kodambakkam. I mean, raining of movies.

15 movies in a month (of Sep-05) is really a very high figure, considering the total output of an average 60 movies for a year from the Tamil Tinsel town. It seems, these teams wanted to avoid the Deepavali Rush on 01-Nov and take the beating or greeting now itself. Anyhow, certain movies are going to find it tough since some biggies are also in the race with their technically excellent crew.

My comments - you can call it 'a sort of prediction' rather than 'assertion' - on the prominent ones are here...

Oru Kaluriyin Kathai - This solo release of Arya had hit the theatres last Friday and was on the top of the Box-office for the first week, eventhough the review has raised some doubts. Will the inspiration of 'Truman Show'concept be understandable to the public? Need to see in the next few days, since much expected Fazil's 'Oru Naal Oru Kanavu' has not got a good review from the media. (Ananda Vikatan's score is 30/100 which is too low for a Fazil movie). My feeling is that 'O..K..Kathai' may have a decent run like 'Ullam Ketkumae', since it is a low budget movie with less expectations.

Thotti Jaya - This movie of S.THANU was under production for a long time and finally hitting the theatres this week. Dorai, who directed Ajith's 'Mugavari' and Vikram's 'Kathal Sadugudu' is wielding the megaphone for this movie with Simbu & Gopika in the lead. More expectations are there for this movie, since it the next release of Simbu after his last success 'Manmadhan'.

With Harris' Music becoming a hit already, the team may be able to click with the story & screenplay as well. I am not sure if the distributors will be able to rake in money, since it has turned out to be a big budget output.



Ah Aah - Finally, SJ.Suryah got his UA censor certificate and getting ready for the release this week. EVenthough, he had sprinkled glamour everywhere, it doesn't seem to be to the extent of 'New'. AR.Rahman's songs have become super-hits.

Still, I couldn't bear with some loud deliveries of SJ.Suryah. As a director, his screenplay was good in 'Vaali' and 'Kushi'. So, he may click with the mass again in terms of B.O. collections. But, Will he stop acting with this movie and his next 'Kalvanin Kadhali'? That would be a great news.. atleast we can see some good entertainers from him as a 'director' rather than as an actor.

Athu Oru Kana Kaalam - Everybody is hoping that Balu Mahendra can do some miracle, to revive the sagging career of Dhanush & 'yet-to-start' career of Priya Mani. Balu Mahendra hasn't made his movies big in the recent past, in the B.O. (including 'Julie Ganapathy'). I expect that this time, his magic may click.. with his story line and soothing songs from Maestro.





Kanda Naal Mudhal - Maniratnam's one-time assistant Priya is behind this movie. So far, none of the female directors have stayed in the main stage after one or two movies. The movie being produced by Prakashraj, with Prasanna, Karthik kumar (Vaanam Vasapadum) and Laila in the lead has some nice numbers from YSR. Being a darkhorse, it has every chance to surprise the audience - like Radha Mohan did with his 'Azhagiya theeye'

Perarasu - of Vijaykanth. I don't want to write more on this - since it is nothing but rehash of all his old movies. He is the one who has to bother much to save his image, since his Madurai 'Maanaadu' is nearing.

ABCD - Directed by Saravana Subbiah of 'Citizen', this has Shaam,Sneha, Aparna (of 'Pudukottaiyilrundhu Saravanan') and Nandhana (along with the director who is playing Sneha's hubby role[!!]). Imman's music has not created a magic in the market and it is still difficult for Shaam to click in the B.O.... I am doubtful, if this movie can give a required break for him. Still, wish for this guy.

Ghajini - Awaiting the release of this movie.. which is rumoured to be inspired by 'Memento' based on the SUN TV clips. It has already reached a whopping Rs.10 crore mark and hope that Murugadoss (director of 'Dheena' and 'Ramana') will complete the hat-trick with this movie, unlike some of his preceding youngsters. With the songs of Harris already rocking, trust he will be conveying the message in an understandble way to the audience.

Chankaya - Venkatesh, who was famous for making proper masala movies with lot of glamour has made out similar movies earlier like Chocolate, Dhum, Aei. Once again he is coming back with so much of Namitha's glamour and similar revenge story. We had seen 'n' number of movies from Sarath kumar on the same story line. I don't bet on this movie. Still, it may become a hit in the 'B' & 'C' centres. The Target audience will get what they want from a Sarath's movie.

Mazhai - Songs of Devi Sriprasad is not that inspiring for this remake of telugu 'Varsham'. Am not very bullish about this movie of 'Jayam' Ravi & Shreya.

Pamabara Kannalae - This Movie directed by Parthi Baskar (nephew of Ilayaraja) has Srikanth, Aarti Agarwal and Namitha in the lead. Eventhough Namitha is there to guarantee glamour, I doubt whether this comedy flick can click as a dark horse. I'm pessimistic...


I feel, the likely winners of the month may be 'Thotti Jaya' and 'Ghajini'. That's what I guess. What is in the store? Will there be any unexpected winners in this pre-Deepavali race? Let the days pass, we will know...

(Missed out 4 other movies purposefully, which are also expected to hit the screen as per THIS LIST.. Not much facts about these movies - one of the movie 'Unarchigal' is rumoured to be depending too much on glamour.. All seem to be like 'I can also make' movies. So, I let them pass)
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