Picchai paatthiram yaendhi vandhen...

A dialog that you often get to listen from ARR fans is "ARR songs will sound very different in the beginning and as you keep listening to it, you'll start liking them". Though I personally feel that this concept is BS (no offense meant Rams;)), I could sense this kind of a growing attachment to the "Picchai paatthiram yaendhi vandhaen" song from the movie "Naan Kadavul". But this time, it's not too much about the tune, but about the meaning, the combination and the feeling as such. The most interesting part is that this is song was penned by IR himself (thanks to Vinu for this info), as opposed to Vali whom I thought was the author of this magical piece.

The music of the other song, Om Sivoham is much more impulsive and IR has literally performed a Rudhra thaandavam (eternal dance) with his music in that song. Further many excrepts are from sanskrit hymns in praise of Lord Shiva, especially Shri Rudram which is known for its vibrations and it is believed that Lord Shiva Himself is excited by chanting Rudhram. In particular, IR/Vali/Bala have been careful enough to choose the most important stanza of Shri Rudhram that ends with - "Namah Shivaaya cha Shivadharaaya cha" which is considered to be an extremely sacred, extremely protected manthra that forms the heart of Vedas. Even in the audio release function, this stanza was used when releasing the CD! :) So that song creating vibrations in us is no big surprise.



But this specific song - Picchai paatthiram, is pretty slow paced and the music pretty much is conventional, except for the strong chords in the background, especially at the start of the song. What is more impacting is the theme of the song, the words used and the suitability of the song to the movie. After "Kurai ondrum illai", I've not seen a song with so much of philosophy and aptness; expressed from the viewpoint of a weak/disabled person. Though the song broadly applies to any human being, applying this to the tormenting handicaps in the movie; and to their conversations about God, this song has so much of a significance in the movie and reality. To call this anything less than a masterpiece from the maestro would be an understatement.

Lyrics for those who can read and understand Tamizh (Best conveys the meaning and the impact):

பிச்சைப்பாத்திரம் ஏந்தி வந்தேன்... அய்யனே என் அய்யனே...
பிண்டம் என்னும், எலும்போடு சதை நரம்புதிரமும் அடங்கிய உடம்பு என்னும் பிச்சைப்பாத்திரம் ஏந்தி வந்தேன்... அய்யனே என் அய்யனே... (Excellent comparison)

அம்மையும் அப்பனும் தந்ததா... இல்லை ஆதியின் வல்வினை சூழ்ந்ததா?இம்மையை நான் அறியாததால் சிறு பொம்மையின் நிலையினில் உண்மையை உணர்ந்திடப்பிச்சைப்பாத்திரம் ஏந்தி வந்தேன் அய்யனே என் அய்யனே... (Helplessness revealed with the best choice of words)

அத்தனை செல்வமும் உன்னிடத்தில் நான் பிச்சைக்கு செல்வது எவ்விடத்தில்?
வெறும் பாத்திரம் உள்ளது என்னிடத்தில் அதன் சூத்திரமோ அது உன்னிடத்தில்... (How true)

ஒரு முறையா... இரு முறையா... பல முறை பல பிறப்பெடுக்க வைத்தாய்...
புது வினையா பழ வினையா கணம் கணம் தினம் என்னை துடிக்க வைத்தாய்...

பொருளுக்கு அலைந்திடும் பொருளற்ற வாழ்க்கையும் துரத்துதே... (My fav line)
உன் அருள் அருள் அருள் என்று அலைகின்ற மனம் இன்று பிதற்றுதே...
அருள் விழியால் நோக்குவாய்... மலர் பதத்தால் தாங்குவாய்...
உன் திருக்கரம் எனை அரவணைத்துனதருள் பெற பிச்சைப்பாத்திரம் ஏந்தி வந்தேன் அய்யனே... என் அய்யனே... (Amazing!)

Lyrics for those who can understand but not read Tamizh:

http://tamilsonglyric.blogspot.com/2009/01/naan-kadavul-songs-and-lyrics.html

The meaning:

I came holding the beggar's bowl...
A bowl made of flesh, bones, blood and nerves called the body.
I came holding the beggar's bowl...

Did my mom and dad gift me with this bowl?
Or is it the product of my past misdeeds?
Clueless on the current birth, in I came like a puppet...
Holding the beggar's bowl...

You own all the riches and I know not where to beg...
I just have the bowl and only you know all its secrets.

Not just once, not just twice...
Many a times, in many forms,
You made me take innumerous births

A consequence of my present misdeeds
Or the past...
You made me suffer every moment I lived...

The meaningless life in search of riches is haunting me...
The mind that begs for your grace is now being senseless...

Look at me with the gracious eyes,
Carry me with those velvet feet
To get your care and then your grace...
I came holding the beggar's bowl!

The post has already grown a bit lengthy... So I don't want to expand on the philosophies of it; and the ways it applies to the dialogs in the movie. Just pay close attentions to the perspective of God among the different characters in the movie, especially the beggars... You will get to know how this song conveys the movie's message in a crux!

Mixed opinions!

Inspired by a couple of real life incidents (not in mine), I decided to write a story a couple of days back; and being a Sujatha fan who loved the "Amudham" story that he wrote for Kannathil Mutthamittal, I thought I should be writing such a short, one page story that has a comparatively similar writing style. This is what I came up with...

மூடிய கதவு

மறையத்தொடங்கிய ஆதவனின் பொன்னிறக்கதிர்கள் முயன்றும் நுழைய முடியா இருட்டறையில் இருண்ட நெஞ்சமொன்றும் இருப்பதன் அறிகுறியாய் ஓர் அழுகைக்குரல். மூடிய கதவும், இருள் சூழும் இருளும், முட்டித்தெறித்த கதறலும் அப்பாவையின் வலி உயிர் வரை ஆழ்ந்திருப்பதை உணர்த்தின. முப்பது வயது தாண்டியும், முடிகளில் சில வெள்ளிகள் முளைத்தும் மனைவியாகி முழுமை பெறாத முதிர்கன்னியின் மனச்சுமையை சமுதாயம் ஏனோ புறக்கணித்தே விடுகிறது. காதலித்தவனை காரணங்கண்டு பிரிய வைத்து, காரணத்தின் காரணமாகி, நம்பிக்கையை இழக்க வைத்து, ஆயிரம் பேர் சுற்றத்திலும் தனிமைச்சிறையில் அடைய வைத்து கை கொட்டிச்சிரிப்பதும் ஏனோ அதன் பண்பாடும் ஆகிப்போனது. ஆண் போல் இருப்பதாய், அழகிற்குறைவதாய் ஆயிரமாயிரம் காரணம் கேட்டு தன்னையே வெறுத்தவளின், வெறுப்பவளின் வேதனை பொங்கும் வாழ்கையை வார்த்தைகளால் விவரித்து விட முடியாது.

இருளும் இன்னலும் மட்டுமே நிறைந்த அத்தருணத்தை இரவிற்பூத்த மின்னல் கொடியாய்க்கலைத்தது சிணுங்கிய அவள் கைத்தொலைபேசி. கண்ணீர்த்துளி வழியே அழைப்பவன் பெயர் மங்கித்தெரிய மனதை இறுக்கி மூடி வாய் திறந்தாள். இதயத்தரையில் இருந்து அவன் மேல் ஈர்ப்பிருந்தும் இன்முகம் காட்ட ஏனோ இயலவில்லை அவளுக்கு. பயம் - தன்னையே நம்ப மறுக்கும், வாழ்க்கையில் தடுமாறித்தோற்ற, தனிமைப்பட்ட, தனித்து விடப்பட்ட ஒரு தாரகைக்கே உண்டான பயம். பல முறை உடைக்கப்பட்டு ஒட்டப்பெற்ற நெஞ்சம், மற்றுமோர் விரிசல் தாங்காதெனும் கலவரம். தனித்தும் தோற்க்கக்கூடாதெனும் அவள் வைராக்கியம் ஏனோ சில நிமிடங்கள் கூட நிலைக்கவில்லை. அன்பை வார்த்தைகளாக்கி, அரவணைப்பை வாக்கியங்களாக்கி, தாய்ப்பாலின் நேர்மையுடன் "எனை மணந்து கொள்வாயா?" என ஏக்கமாய்க்கேட்ட அவன் குரல் திறந்தது மூடிய அவள் அறைக்கதவை மட்டுமல்ல, மூடப்பட்ட அவள் மனக்கதவையும் தான்.

As my own critic, I actually liked this story a lot especially considering the target I had in my mind. I thought I played with the right words to create the impact in the reader; and I forwarded this to a few of my friends for review and comments. To my surprise, this one got the credit that none of my previous works got - the opinion was greatly mixed up ranging from "I got goose pimples reading the last few lines... Awesome would be an understatement" to "Is this what you call a story? It's just a maze of complex, round about words". I was seriously baffled by the variations in taste and somehow I found it hard to digest such a level of diversity within a very small sample that I chose.

Some amount of thought behind the comments just made me realize one undeniable fact - "Tamizhini mellacchaagum". Almost all of the recepients of this story are Tamizhians - born and brought-up in Tamilnadu. But still, almost 85-90% of them were not able to follow the content fully; because their Tamizh was not up to the mark. I don't blame the readers and I completely understand how infrequently we use written Tamizh these days. But even after I understand the reason behind it, it's hard to believe that the number of people who can fluently read and write good Tamizh (need not be the puranaanooru style Tamizh... just a proper Tamizh prose) is reducing drastically. In the next generations, this is even sparse considering the ratio of parents who put their kids into French and Hindi classes right from elementary school. I don't know if the so-called Tamizh protectors have something to do about this!!

The second part of it is the Tamizh that we cultivate. I'm not against the Pudhu kavidhai form of Tamizh poems and I do agree that the reader should understand what the poet is trying to say. But ever since the emergence of Pudhu Kavidhai in which only the concept matters, prose has become poetry and corrupted Tamizh has become prose. In other words, if I write one proper sentence in Tamizh and break it into three lines, it is considered a poetry these days. No wonder many of them told me "This is so poetic for a short story". If that is the case with poetry, prose has worsened into absolute colloquial language which is much simpler to understand but almost completely different from the actual Tamizh. Take any Tamizh magazines... the stories published would be of this sort... characters speak slang and the rest of the sentences are made too simple. Unfortunately, this has made readers shun away from well written Tamizh and when there is a story written using some expressive words, it becomes legacy, untouched and taboo. In one simple sentence, readers don't expect anything more than spoken Tamizh in the written form. Taking my own work as an example, I'm sure it isn't 'bad' but I did get comments that called it complete pointless crap and that understanding this level of Tamizh is an overhead to the reader. I'm not a Kalki or Kambar or Bharathi to use the mightiest and the most perfect Tamizh word to be used in a context; but even with my level of Tamizh (the last time I actually studied Tamizh was in my seventh grade), people say it's too much for the reader to take. Will this situation change for the better? GOK!

P.S: I feel it's hightime to start my Tamizh blog and I believe I'd be starting it pretty soon... :)

The complex way! :)

Usually, I don't prefer putting up something in Tamizh here; just to respect the non-Tamil people who read my blog (assuming there are a few :D) But this time, I couldn't resist. To give a bit of background, it snowed for the first time in my place a couple of days back; and though I've been in the US for about a couple of years now, I lived in the Southern states and this was the first time I saw snow... So I felt like writing an ode to welcome the snow and initially, I wrote a 'Venbaa' (a classical Tamizh poetry that follows certain norms) to serve that purpose.

ஈராண்டுகள் கழிந்தும் காணக்கிடைக்கா பொக்கிஷமே
நீராலுடல் பூண்ட தேவதையே -- வெண்பனியே
கௌரத்தின் இலக்கணமே இமந்தாங்கும் சீதளமே
மௌனத்தின் வடிவேயென் வந்தனங்கள்!

வெள்ளைப்போர்வையதில் வடக்கே வெப்பம் விழிசாய்க்க
கொள்ளைச்சூரியக்கதிர்களில் நானும் கூதற்காய - தெற்கே
காணாத உனை நான் தேடினும்
மாளாத குளிரிலாததால் மகிழ்ந்தேன்.

குலையாத அழகு நீ வெள்ளையோவியம் நீ
குலையவைக்குங்குளிரும் மந்தமும் நீ - இறைவனின்
ஆக்கத்திலென்றும் விருப்பும் வெறுப்பும் சமபங்கோ
தாக்குங்குளிரும் பாவையுன் வழியுரைப்பதுமதுதானோ?

The crux of the poem (?!) is to welcome the snow and wonder about the mix up of good and bad in everything in this world. Snow for one, is so beautiful but people who live in snowy areas in winter will tell you horror stories about it! This version uses words that are bit complex and to play by the rules is always a bit harder. But to my surprise, almost nobody appreciated it and all I heard from a few of my friends who read this was that it was good but they hardly got anything!! :D

Since the audience included some of my very close friends too, I decided to reword this into the norm-free 'pudhu kavidhai' style... Personally, I always feel that it doesn't take too much of a poetic inner-flow to come up with these ones, because most often I find that a sentence (urai nadai or prose form) is just written in three or four lines by people and they call it a poem as there are no limitations or restrictions in the free-flow form. You can write anything virtually and call it a pudhu kavidhai... I do scribble something of this category when I attempt something simplistic but I always try to make it sound like a poem than a piece of prose. But again, it looks like that's the version most people understand; and I heard quite a few people say it's too good! :))

தூய்மையின் இலக்கணமே தூய வெண்பனித்துளியே
சில்லிடும் சித்திரமே சிலிர்க்கும் நீரோவியமே
மௌனமாய் பொழிபவளே மென்மையின் மறுபெயரே
ஆண்டிரண்டு காக்கவைத்து அரவணைத்த அதிசயமே

உன்னிடத்தில் நானும் என்னிடத்தில் நீயும்
உணர்வில் குளிர்ச்சி உடம்பிலோ குளிர்
நீயிருக்கும் இடமறிந்தும் மெய்வருடும் நொடியறிந்தும்
உனை நாட மனமில்லை நடுங்குமெனுடலுக்கு

வெள்ளிச்சிதறலே வெப்பமறுத்துக்கொல்பவளே
மனதிற்கினியவளே மந்தம் புகுப்பவளே
மாயக்கண்ணனவன் மனதிலென்ன கொண்டானோ
மதுரமும் விஷமும் எதிலும் உண்டென்றானோ?

In the end, the moral is that people always prefer simple way of expression and no matter how much effort goes behind the perfect, complex version; it's not going to work out unless people understand it! :)

P.S: Simplicity somehow always wins over perfection... :D :D

Arai Yenn 305 il kadavul - tamil movie review

I heard about this movie in the evening and watched it a couple of hours back. Till date, I've seen movies I loved, movies that were boring and movies that were OK but this is the first time I'm confused so much between the goods and bads in a movie. There were scenes that kept me spell bound and even before I could recover from the impact of the messages there'll be the silliest scene I could imagine, coming up. But despite all the oddities I should say the movie is a pretty decent entertainer.

Shankar has proven that he is a smart producer investing minimally and producing a good movie. Somehow he doesn't turn out to be an economical director and his budget never stays within 30 crores (300 million). The movie is a mix of philosophies, fantasies, absurdities, science and realities but the only problem is that all these don't form a homogeneous mixture. The director is confused by too many things and at one point, I could sense the movie's screenplay going out of control. Imagine Vieta's Formula (2/pi), purpose of God, man's greed, attitude problems with humans, the power of hard work, the poverty that grips mansions in cities, IT - non IT inequalities, a fantasy box that holds God's powers and a series of senseless incidents revolving around that box shown in the same movie and that too in subsequent scenes. That's what this movie is all about...

Even though Chimbudevan claims that this is his creation, to me it sounds like there are too many cooks that made this broth. Prakashraj with his philosophical magic and view of life could be regarded as the person behind the messages on life, God, theism and the practical advices. Shankar on the other hand would've contributed to the science and social portion of the movie (bank exams, Income tax, IT, etc). Chimbudevan (from the impression I got from 23 am pulikesi) would've invented the fantasy box on which the story revolves around. Putting them all in the same movie was a bad idea in my view and had it been just the philosophy, the comical and casual narration of serious things combined with some amount of science from Shankar; the movie would've been one of the best in the history of Tamizh cinema. After all it is not so impressive to see an excellent dialog like

"Life is like a journey... When we are out on a tour we ignore the minor disturbances on the way and keep enjoying the scenery outside the window, singing and dancing all the way. But in life's journey, we forget the window and magnify the minor things"

and a scene where God says He is helpless without a plastic box in the same movie. Height of absurdity is God fighting with a local rowdy to solve the problems of a woman in the locality just because his box is stolen. But things are not always at their best and that is what differentiates a picture-perfect movie like Mozhi from the rest. In short, the movie is a good entertainer and way better than the other movies that came in the recent past but it is also true that the movie could've been much better had Shankar or the director thought about cutting the crap out of it.

Music, Songs, Lyrics and Poetry

Pretty obvious title... Isn't it? To people who aren't familiar about Indian movies, it'd be a surprise that songs are an integral part of a movie. I'm not talking about BGM scores or bit songs that express the hero's mood swings but actual songs where a 40 year old hero and a 20 yr old heroine dance in a completely irrelevant location as a consequence of an important conversation that took place between them. (Read - an Eminem track coming up in 'The beautiful mind' :D) The hero would propose to the heroine in a typical Indian village like Edakkunaattaanpaalayam (don't try reading it but trust me it's the name of a village in India) and the next moment the hero would be in complete Park Avenue gear like a brand ambassador and the heroine would be wearing a couple of colorful kerchiefs (modern attire as costumers call it) and they would be dancing in the Times Square; usually for a song that is loaded with more English words than the regional words. :))

However, being an Indian by heart, breed and brought up, I'm kind of used to this and a movie without songs has something missing in it. Despite the oddities and practical questions like 'Who the h*ck will dance on streets of a no-man's land with a bunch of strangers just because he proposed to a girl', there are certain songs that are too good and fit in the situation perfectly. Sometimes the song doesn't fit in the situation too well but the lyrics and music is just outstanding that you can't prevent enjoying it or pitying the director. So I thought why not list a few of them that impressed me a lot and share something good with you outside the same old outsourcing, religion, philosophy, culture window...

I'm refraining myself to Tamizh movie songs here since we are talking about situation, lyrics and music; and I'll add a post on albums and traditional music sometime later...

Song: Edhilum Ingu iruppaan avan yaarao...
Theme: An ode to Lord Shiva (the destroyer of evil in Hindu beliefs)
Movie: Bharathi
Best points: The strikingly similar writing style of Pulamai pitthan that makes us believe it is a trademark Bharathi (a renown Tamil poet) poetry. The stunning voice of Madhu Balakrishnan.
My fav line: Thavazhum nadhiyai tharittha mudiyaan, adiyum mudiyum ariya mudiyaan! (One who wears a flowing river in his hairs, the infinity whose start and end could not be assessed. Please read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Shiva if you are not familiar with Hinduism)



Song: Engae yenadhu kavidhai...
Theme: Betrayal of love
Movie: Kandukondaen kandukondaen
Best points: Excellent lyrics that express a girl's pain so beautifully, Chitra's voice as usual.
My fav line: Paarayil seidhadhu yen manam endru thozhikku solli irundhaen. Paarayin idukkil vaer vitta kodiyaai nee nenjil nuzhaindhu vittaai... (I boasted that my heart is as strong as a rock but you crept into it like a plant that roots into a rock)



Song: Paartha vizhi paartha badi...
Theme: A long term desire fulfilled
Movie: Gunaa
Best points: Music by Maestro Ilayaraja, divine & expressive voice of K.J. Jesudas
My fav line: Madhi varuga vazhi neduga ozhi niraiga vaazhvilae (let the moon shine all the way and bring brightness to my life)



Song: Vennilave
Theme: Falling in love
Movie: Minsaara kanavu
Best points: Amazing picturization
My fav line: Poongaattrae ariyaamal poovai thirakka vaendum... Poo kooda ariyaamal thenai rusikka vaendum (Should open the petals of a flower without the knowledge of the fragrant wind and should taste the honey without the knowledge of the freshly bloomed flower)



Song: Vidugadhayaa indha vaazhkai...
Theme: Pathos
Movie: Mutthu
Best points: Superstar (thalaivar rocks :)), Hariharan's flawless high pitch
My fav line: Pasuvinai paambendru saatchi solla mudiyum, kaambinil visham enna karakkavaa mudiyum (A fake jury can testify a cow for a snake but how will one succeed in getting venom out of a cow)



Song: Mouname unnidam
Theme: Silence is bliss
Movie: Mozhi
Best points: The movie as a whole is awesome. Not sure what I should mention here.
My fav line: Sollai kadandha pennin mouna koottukkul pala kodi kodi porul kudiyirukkum (The silence of a girl that crosses the boundaries of words has millions of meanings embedded in it)



Song: Vizhigalin aruginil vaanam
Theme: Falling in love
Movie: Azhagiya theeyae
Best points: Lyrics, picturization
My fav line: Irudhayame thudikkiradhaa thudippadhu paol nadikkiradhaa (Is my heart pretending to beat or has it really stopped beating)



Song: Naane tholaindha kadhai
Theme: Love
Movie: Thavamaai thavamirundhu
Best points: Lyrics, awesome melody
My fav line: Viraloram kavidhai ooriyadhe... vizhiyoram kaadhal kasigiradhe (my fingertips have poetry flowing and love oozes from the corner of my eyes)



Song: Uyire ennuyire
Theme: Love
Movie: Thotti Jaya
Best points: Gopika's acting, music
My fav line: Naan siritthu magizndhu silirkkum varatthai nee kudutthaai (You gave me the boon to smile, awe and be happy)



Song: Poongaattrile
Theme: Yearning for the loved one
Movie: Uyire
Best points: Lyrics, Manirathnam's touch in expressing a girl's emotions
My fav line: Vaanam engum un bimbam aanaal kaiyyil seravillai... Kaattril engum un vaasam... Verum vaasam vaazhkai illai (I see you everywhere but I couldn't be with you, I smell you everywhere but that's not called living)



Hope you liked the list. Quite obviously I just listed the first 10 that came to my mind. There are so many other songs that impressed me but it's impractical to put them all in a post. Note to people who know Tamizh - I provided translations to the best lines as an sign of respect to people who don't understand Tamizh. If the translations are horrible or you feel they are funny, please bear with me as always!! ;) :)

The name is Rajinikanth

I'm not planning to review the book by Gayathri Srikanth here. But as a fan of the superstar, I'm presenting my views on him and the reason for his success.

If you are not familiar with the Indian film industry, I'm talking about the highest paid actor in India and perhaps Asia too - Superstar Rajinikanth. Yes! There are no real comparisons anywhere in the net that state Jackie Chan earns more than Superstar and even if that is the case, we are talking about the second highest paid actor in the whole of Asia. Had it not been for the $ to INR conversion rates, he'd be the highest paid in the world.

So what made him such a huge star?

Does he act in all Asian languages? No! He acts predominantly in Tamil movies (a language spoken only in one state among the 28 states in India).

Was there no great heroes when he came into the industry - No! Kamal Haasan was a well established hero when Superstar came into the industry. There were heroes from the previous generation who were still ruling the industry.

Has he won any Oscars? No! He doesn't do art films...

Is it all just hype? No! The producers of his films are happily paying him the money and they get so much in return that they could start their next film. Eyes shut!

No clue? There are three simple words that explain his success - style, charisma and simplicity. Ever since my childhood, superstar was an icon of style. His walk, his smile, his voice, his dialog delivery and every gesture of his is loaded with style. I've embedded a sample from the movie 'Padayappa' here.



Superstar adds a unique charisma to a movie. Regardless of age and gender, he mesmerizes everyone by his presence. Dynamism, fast paced story track and electrifying dialogs are trademarks of Superstar movies. Even in comedy roles, Superstar is stunning and this scene from his arguably best comedy film 'Thillu Mullu' is a proof!



Simplicity is the biggest plus of superstar and perhaps it is the rarest thing you could see in a celebrity of his cadre. He never hesitates to come out in his natural appearance which is far different from what his fans see on the silver screen. After all he's nearing his sixties and age has some effect on his appearance (see pics below). He never says he's great or he is the best. He donates a lot to charity, turned into a spiritual person maturing with age and keeps away from publicity as much as possible.





Even the story lines in Superstar movies are quite simple and are usually one-liners. That frees his fans from the need to follow the story carefully and provides the freedom to enjoy Superstar to the fullest! Everyone watching the movie will have something to admire in him and when you come out of the movie, you will really feel light which is why half of the Indian audience come to movies. To a laborer who spent all day toiling under the scorching sun, movies are the only source of entertainment and what he needs is a stress buster that completely entertains him and quite naturally there is no better alternative than Superstar's movies.

To make a long story short, it's not easy to retain a huge fan following for decades and if Superstar Rajnikanth is able to do it, it's not without reasons.

Vellitthirai (Tamil) - Movie Review

Expectation is the root cause of disappointment and this movie is a typical example. Had it not been produced by Prakashraj under the 'Duet movies' banner; I would've greatly appreciated the movie. But after giving a masterpiece like Mozhi, Vellitthirai created great expectations and somehow couldn't make it up to the mark.

Vellitthirai is the story behind the silver screen, typically focusing on the number of youngsters who come to Chennai with the dream of being a part of the film industry and the changes that a person undergoes once madam luck knocks his door. It also touches upon the hero centered culture in movies which is the primary cause for purely commercial movies.

Prakashraj and prithviraj are as wonderful as usual and did perfect justice to their roles. Gopika doesn't play a huge part in the movie but the romance sequence between Prithvi and Gopika is cute and enjoyable. Needless to say that Bhaskar performed his role so naturally. The scenes where he insists on outdoor (abroad) shootings are just too hilarious. Some dialogs in the movie were outstanding. Examples - "Kodambakkatthula therama irukkuravan therama illaadhavan nu ellaam kedaiyaadhu... Vaaippu kedacchavan, vaaippu kedaikkaadhavan rendae paer dhaan!", "Oru ponna pidicchaa dhaan oru aambalayaala avala rasikka mudiyum". The only song that stays in my mind is "Uyirilae..." and the music (which was a great + in Mozhi) is not up to the mark in this movie. The biggest negative in the film at least in my opinion was the climax and the way Prithviraj completes the film that was interrupted by Prakashraj! Somehow it sounded a bit too childish. The director left his mark in a few places while making us yawn and yell at most other places.

In short Vellitthirai is a good attempt to show the life behind the scenes and to a great extent it succeeds in giving us the real picture too. But the slips in the movie were not expected in a movie produced under Duet movies banner.

What is in a name...

People who had a chance to take a close look at the TN assembly elections last time (2006), two new parties got a lot of attention - DMDK (started by actor Vijayakanth) and Lok Parithraan (formed by a group of IIT passouts). DMDK had a state-wide popularity and Vijayakanth is not a new face to the public. So I'm shifting focus towards Lok Parithran - a party that contested only in selective areas in Chennai!

If we carefully analyze the base on which the whole party rested, we could eventually drill it down to three letters - IIT. So many voters in Chennai decided to vote for the party just because it is formed by IITians!! I have no second opinion in the fact that IIT is one of the best educational institutions in the country. But does that suffice to form a political party and contest in elections? My honest reply would be a strong NO. A party that relies on emails, website and sms alone for its campaigning; a party that never really understood the problems of the constituency, a party that placed a guy from North India who studied in IIT and stayed in the US until he came back to contest in this election at a constituency like Mylapore and Triplicane (just examples) in my opinion is unfit to be called a party and voting for it is out of question. If the person wins there, will there be any advantage offered by him to the commoner, the poor and the down-trodden? Will he/she at least be able to converse with him in fluent Tamizh? Absolute question mark!

Education exposes a person to different things and the way the person grasps it and really applies it to suit the needs of a commoner is completely subjective. Voting for a person because of good looks, caste, education (alone), craze is all the same in my view and it results in very poor selections at least a vast majority of the times.

In my opinion, a man like Vijayakanth who knows the problems of the society & has the guts to fight is better suited to be a MLA despite the fact that could hardly pronounce the word English or Tamizh correctly; as compared to someone who speaks English with the perfect diction without knowing the constituency and the people there!

It's farewell time -- Writer Sujatha expired!

Writer Sujatha - An Aeronautical engineer who graduated at a time when Engineering was considered an honor in India gained extensive knowledge in computers, Tamizh literature, mechanics, biology, history and a wide range of fields that made him intellectually unique. His writings were filled with versatility, packed with style and loaded with a casual touch that gave him millions of fans and some of them even named their children after the characters in his works. He also wrote dialogs for a lot of Tamizh movies in various genre adapting to the story line so beautifully that one wouldn't believe it is the same dialog writer who penned both of them.

The death of the genius is a real loss to the Tamizh society and I could hardly imagine anyone else taking up his position in the near future. Some people are forgotten even when they live. Some are remembered even after their death. Sujatha is surely a man in the second category and I'm sure his works would stay evergreen proclaiming his contribution to the modern Tamizh literature.

May his soul rest in peace!

On the lighter side - Mozhi

Movies have never been a matter of sit and stare to me! Courtesy Madurai or the Creator, I watch quite a lot of movies and unless the movie is an utter crap, I watch every aspect of it judging each and every scene and thinking if it could've been any better!

One movie that kept me spellbound is 'Mozhi' directed by Radha Mohan! I know it's a long time since the movie hit the screens but nevertheless it's one movie worth reviewing even now! In the Tamil film industry it is pretty tough to come up with a heroine-centered subject and it's even tougher to make that movie a commercial hit. But Mozhi made it a reality.

I wouldn't say it is an exaggeration to call the movie - poetic. The beauty of the movie starts right at the storyline - a musician falling in love with a deaf and dumb girl! The theme music, lyrics, the dialogs, the art direction, the captions and every single aspect of the movie was dedicated to one aspect - being deaf and dumb is never a handicap. No part of the movie ever sympathizes on Jothika and instead every single frame adds more respect to the character. The respect created by Jothika's character, beautiful transformation in Jothika and the way love penetrates through the tough shell she built around herself couldn't have been portrayed any better! The scene where Jothika couldn't control her tears saying she's afraid if her child would be deaf and dumb too exposes the soft girl inside her and speaks for itself. Two aspects of this movie are outstanding - the direction/screenplay and Jothika's acting. No scene is too heavy or too light till the climax and every frame is carved to perfection. Characterization of Bhaski, the natural comedy track by Prakash raj and the dialogs chosen for each frame are simply marvelous. Jothika has never been seen as someone with so much acting potential before this movie and sadly by the time it was realized, she quit acting! The only negative point was the re-recording score when Jothika bursts out crying after Prithviraj leaves her room! The music turned out just too loud and kind of spoiled the scene's beauty.

In short, if you didn't watch this movie you have really missed a wonderful experience!