Kanu
3 months ago
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Around the Gultland in two days
Recently I had been to Gultland a.k.a Hyderabad for a two day trip. The funniest part about hyderabad is its full of Gults. I think Gults have sweated enough over decades now to prove the caricatures that they sometimes are, that we should rest Sardars and crown Gults as India's official caricature targets.
Before we go into the details, I wish to state that am not Jade Goody or no way related to her. I am not racist. Gults are the next best thing to Hyderabadi Biryani. (Now that the disclaimer part is done, let me indulge on my Gultism-giri)
- 3 out of every 4 Gult men I saw had their mush tapered to 3/4th of their lips (a la comedian chandarababu or movie actors of 60's). Is it to say that they are incomplete and hence want us to forewarn about the consequences of trying to deal with them like rest of aam calm junta?
- Sample this: A macho Gult saying a sauve manglorean interviewer " I want to taste your taste!!!". I was sitting in Chutney - The Hotel. The next seat was were this bizzare incident happened. The interviewer was an american-returned manglorean with a tone that resembled "Am-the-interviewer-and-so-I-have-more-sperm-count-than-you". Our Gult macho was asked to order for food and our man utters these bizzare words " No..you aarder saar. I want to tashte your tashte"..Interviewer's sperm count saw a dip and he was like "What??" (the hell...)
- If not yet convinced, sample this - an ERP practice head of a well-known IT company, telling its (Thank God!) Japanese customer " It can cater to the any kind of specific reports" (Again what the hell is any kind of specifc report?!?! Is specific report not a part of this "any" definition?
- Although you are conviced, you gotto sample this too - Improvements are happening, its not standalone (Oh! He meant "Improvements are happening and are not discontinued"
- The most funniest of all is when a Gult tries to speak with American accent - the "r" part is just fine. But when the tongue rolls a bit too much and "deliverable" becomes "drrrubwl"...am sorry..hahahaha
- Junior NTR - Oh Please! When will this guy stop playing that invisible veena and call it a dance step. We are tired of seeing his ponch sways! When I saw him sitting straight and keeping his mouth shut, on a hoarding...you must know...how relieving that feeling was!!
- I went to Hussain sagar lake and the nearby food court. I ask one juice stall owner for the menu and am ordering Chocolate Shake and as an afterthought ask him if he serves Cold Coffee. Our man says " Saar, upstairs, straight, left, you will get cool coffee". Oh thanks! Then cancel my choco-shake. He was like...??? why did i say that?? (Becuase you are meant to !!!)
Are these not reasons enough for us to at least give Gults, the runner-up title for "Beloved Caricatures of India"?
Lage Raho Aapka comments!
(PS: Like there are exceptions everywhere, I have seen some out of the world smart gults, who can give the rest of india, a run for its money. But hey, I could still count them!)
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Review - Guru
Guru - Villager, Visionary...winner?
Guru is a Mani Ratnam movie and that’s good enough a reason for it to succeed in the box office. A storyline that closely resembles that of Dhirubhai Ambani - perhaps the most powerful businessman during his period, a star cast that is certainly capable and a background score by A.R.Rahman who is fresh from his mind-boggling numbers in Silnu Oru Kadhal, you would expect the movie to be another re-inforcement of Indian mainstream Cinema reaching world-class in terms of story-telling and treatment.
Guru, for most parts, flatters to deceive! A movie-maker's strength is in eliminating competing stories, picking the right ones, treating them well and conceiving them as screen stories and then having the cast perform what is expected!
Guru is a fascinating opportunity to take what is the most drama-filled and larger-than-life real life achievement and recreate it in silverscreen. You could not have seen a more defining personality in the last few decades.
Guru starts with the mark of Maniratnam, with sharp dialogues from the Gurukanth Junior, out of the world photography by Rajiv Menon and a very engaging narration style, typically in portions where Gurukanth spends his early days in Turkey or when he is back in Bombay (of those days).
Maniratnam's movies are for audience with a taste for the finer nuances of life. His audience will not be disappointed. Scenes where Abishek Bachchan plays verbal chess with Aishwarya Rai, his newly married partner or when he elegantly claims the thrown to the local yarn mandi or Vidyabalan-Madhavan-Abishek exchanges, put the stamp of Maniratnam and prove beyond debate that he is the badsha of scene-conceptualization.
Mithun Chakraborthy is re-invented in this movie as a truth-obsessed clean press editor, who has a soft corner for Gurukanth, whom he considers as his own son. We hope Mithun da takes up more such roles and makes up for the talent wasted.
Madhavan plays a slightly longer cameo with style, depth and more importantly- ravishing looks. As a reporter, as a lover, as a human being with a purpose in life Madhavan excels as an actor yet again.
If there has been an Oscar nomination category for the best smile, Vidyabalan would win a lifetime award. Her smile is shadowed only by the élan and ease with which she fits into the role of a terminally ill and terminally positive daughter of Mithun.
For Abhishek this movie is a life time chance to prove his mettle as a versatile actor. Carrying the heavy burden of having to synchronize with a real-life inspiration and the physical challenges of sketching an evolution of life and differentiating phases of life through dialogue delivery, body language and style, Abhishek has certainly arrived, safe and in style!
With all these pluses, the movie still fails to live up to the expectation. Maniratnam's conundrum is in deciding which portions of Dhirubhai's life to highlight and which ones to leave and how to treat the character. Where Gurukanth slips as a character or rather falls short of completion is when it glaringly lacks punch in the last half hour of the movie.
Dhirubhai is a quintessential businessman who single handedly re-wrote Indian Business 101. He did not confuse between capitalism and socialism. He dreamt big for himself and his company, in which there were a few crores of shareholders. Social welfare spillover was a byproduct of his success and since he had his priorities right, Dhirubhai had a single-minded focus on overcoming obstacles to build an empire, albeit not all his victories were through just business acumen. He had a reach where things could be made to happen with a movement of an eye!
This essential clarity of the real life character does not come into Gurukanth's characterization. Gurukanth, a sound businessman and a negotiator-par-excellence could just say "namaste" to life-crippling manipulation charges levelled at him and when pressed to react before the verdict, he just wields patriotism and does a cry baby at the famous Indian red tapism.
Nay! The real life Bhai knew how to numb legal quagmires and keep going!
May be Maniratnam should take a pause, revisit his B-school topics of understanding consumer (audience) behavior and how we have changed over years to know more about real-life figures better than we would have, in those non-google days!
And finally.. a word about Aishwarya Rai. She did act well within the confines defined for a typical Indian heroine. She did not however have to try hard at anything in this movie. Perhaps, with marriage on the anvil, is she busy rehearsing for the best moment, than worry about yet another movie, playing (a distant) second fiddle?
In all, Guru is a must watch, for streaks of brilliance and inspiration. After all movie tickets cost less these days!
Guru is a Mani Ratnam movie and that’s good enough a reason for it to succeed in the box office. A storyline that closely resembles that of Dhirubhai Ambani - perhaps the most powerful businessman during his period, a star cast that is certainly capable and a background score by A.R.Rahman who is fresh from his mind-boggling numbers in Silnu Oru Kadhal, you would expect the movie to be another re-inforcement of Indian mainstream Cinema reaching world-class in terms of story-telling and treatment.
Guru, for most parts, flatters to deceive! A movie-maker's strength is in eliminating competing stories, picking the right ones, treating them well and conceiving them as screen stories and then having the cast perform what is expected!
Guru is a fascinating opportunity to take what is the most drama-filled and larger-than-life real life achievement and recreate it in silverscreen. You could not have seen a more defining personality in the last few decades.
Guru starts with the mark of Maniratnam, with sharp dialogues from the Gurukanth Junior, out of the world photography by Rajiv Menon and a very engaging narration style, typically in portions where Gurukanth spends his early days in Turkey or when he is back in Bombay (of those days).
Maniratnam's movies are for audience with a taste for the finer nuances of life. His audience will not be disappointed. Scenes where Abishek Bachchan plays verbal chess with Aishwarya Rai, his newly married partner or when he elegantly claims the thrown to the local yarn mandi or Vidyabalan-Madhavan-Abishek exchanges, put the stamp of Maniratnam and prove beyond debate that he is the badsha of scene-conceptualization.
Mithun Chakraborthy is re-invented in this movie as a truth-obsessed clean press editor, who has a soft corner for Gurukanth, whom he considers as his own son. We hope Mithun da takes up more such roles and makes up for the talent wasted.
Madhavan plays a slightly longer cameo with style, depth and more importantly- ravishing looks. As a reporter, as a lover, as a human being with a purpose in life Madhavan excels as an actor yet again.
If there has been an Oscar nomination category for the best smile, Vidyabalan would win a lifetime award. Her smile is shadowed only by the élan and ease with which she fits into the role of a terminally ill and terminally positive daughter of Mithun.
For Abhishek this movie is a life time chance to prove his mettle as a versatile actor. Carrying the heavy burden of having to synchronize with a real-life inspiration and the physical challenges of sketching an evolution of life and differentiating phases of life through dialogue delivery, body language and style, Abhishek has certainly arrived, safe and in style!
With all these pluses, the movie still fails to live up to the expectation. Maniratnam's conundrum is in deciding which portions of Dhirubhai's life to highlight and which ones to leave and how to treat the character. Where Gurukanth slips as a character or rather falls short of completion is when it glaringly lacks punch in the last half hour of the movie.
Dhirubhai is a quintessential businessman who single handedly re-wrote Indian Business 101. He did not confuse between capitalism and socialism. He dreamt big for himself and his company, in which there were a few crores of shareholders. Social welfare spillover was a byproduct of his success and since he had his priorities right, Dhirubhai had a single-minded focus on overcoming obstacles to build an empire, albeit not all his victories were through just business acumen. He had a reach where things could be made to happen with a movement of an eye!
This essential clarity of the real life character does not come into Gurukanth's characterization. Gurukanth, a sound businessman and a negotiator-par-excellence could just say "namaste" to life-crippling manipulation charges levelled at him and when pressed to react before the verdict, he just wields patriotism and does a cry baby at the famous Indian red tapism.
Nay! The real life Bhai knew how to numb legal quagmires and keep going!
May be Maniratnam should take a pause, revisit his B-school topics of understanding consumer (audience) behavior and how we have changed over years to know more about real-life figures better than we would have, in those non-google days!
And finally.. a word about Aishwarya Rai. She did act well within the confines defined for a typical Indian heroine. She did not however have to try hard at anything in this movie. Perhaps, with marriage on the anvil, is she busy rehearsing for the best moment, than worry about yet another movie, playing (a distant) second fiddle?
In all, Guru is a must watch, for streaks of brilliance and inspiration. After all movie tickets cost less these days!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Movie Review- Veyyil
Veyyil. The heat permeates in every screen and manifests itself in all the characters, sometimes with a shining glow and many a time through its suffocation.Murugesan and Kadir, played by Pasupathy and Bharath, are brothers from a rustic village near virudhunagar (madurai).
Bharath is as exuberant and shiny as the sun is and Pasupathy is like an eclipsed sun, full of feared energy lying dormant.Pasupathy's crush with Pandi (played by Shirya, as the character reaches middle age) comes to a grinding halt, when Kumar (Pasu's dad) man-handles and strips him naked in hot sun, for giving a miss to school and relishing MGR movie (in the midst of rings of smoke, perhaps).The scorch of the sun in his life starts here, as Pasupathy sets off to a destination that he never reached. Losing money, jewels (taken from home), Pasupathy carries hope and MGR in his mind.
The story then is about his love for the smalltown movie hall where he is the operator. Carefully scripted poetic relationship between him and his gaurdian, Pasupathy's handlebar mouthstache, all add to director's meticulousness and focus in story telling.Pasupathy falls in love with Thangam, the opposite door food stall owner's daughter. Their love raises heat like mercury but fades soon like twilight, as the girl's family takes revenge on Pasupathy for the couple's pervious day's initimate moment in the operator room.Pasupathy escapes death even after strangling, while thangam kills herself seeing his plight!Much like the mercury suffocating you in the summer, life's travails melt pasupathy, who finally decides to go back to his dusty village.
The scene where pasupathy meets bharath and introduces himself, one where his dad refuses any emotional sidekicks to pasupathy moves you like ghee that melts in hot air. Special mention about Vasanthabalan, the debutant director, for his characterization and casting.Bharath plays the anchor for Pasupathy in the house now and rallies everyone around to show their love for their lost-and-found elder brother. While their mother (another fitting display of the characterization) shows ample love, its second to what she has for Bharath, who took the family to where it is, with his banner advertising company.Pandi, Pasu's childhood crush is another manifestation of suffocated life who is now a single mother. She offers motherly affection to quell Pasupathy's emotinal starvation.When the whole family keeps him away and still doubts him (mistakenly) for jewels that disappeared the second time, Pasupathy's reaction to the characters and props, tell you that he is the next big thing in tamil cinema.
Bharath also scores will in choosing his movies and getting into the character. As an angry rustic youth with immense desire to excel, Bharath truely epitomizes the can-do rural youth.His heroics in the advertising auction, humility in front of the business man, love for brother, care for family and romantic overlays spiced with anger, for Meenakshi, all gel well with the character and Bharath has done his role proud.The movie does not trivialize sibling relationships like other tamil movies have did. Murugesan lays his life for his brother who was chased to the edge of death by the rival business gang and saves his brother and his family's existence.Only then the family realizes that Murugesan is not a run-away kid but their savior, albeit, after the heat of life had consumed him.
Veyyil, in all, is a must watch classic that touches upon the helplessness of a cursed soul as it tries to win over life and does not live to see it, as it wins life!
Must watch!
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Autobio in a post
My journey
1. Age 1 to 3 - Slept well to compensate for today's sleepless life
2. Age 4 - My biggest problem was school which shared a door with my home. That was hell to be in school when you can see your mom moving across the home
Age 5 - I still remember rekha was used to steal my kuchi in school
Age 6 - 14 - Calm and reserved boy. Good in quiz.Learnt Hindi and Vishnu sahasranamam well
Age 15 - Padma ma'am changed my life. Even I could score 197 in 10th math. Hats off ma'am. You showed me the strength of preseverence and confidence. Thanks for all that and those apples.
Age 16-17 - Hoplessely wandered around with friends and one-side dreamz about the girl whose dad is my dad's colleague. Gosh the comparisons my dad would bring up between my rank and hers :-).Hey u, If you read this just have a hearty laugh.
Age - 16 -20 - The becoming of a man. From stage-phobic boy to college anchor. From reserved kid to fashion parade judge.From stumbling in math to Belling the CAT
Age 21 - 22 -- IIT was hesitant to take me in. Called me finally and rest was history. Came out as one of the most beloved, respected and eligible student.My worst enemy (Now HOD and a person that i respect inspite of some strong optinion I have)admired me for my straight talks
Age 23 - I ruined my life by making some career related errors. The days taught me the value of parents, friends and magnanimity (My enem prof was the first guy to help me).Thanks guys for serving me the bread when I hesitated to ask for.
Age 24 - Blossomed in a small company.Mixed bag of good and bad days
Age 25: Found and Lost!
Thats my diary.Now dont steal my identity
1. Age 1 to 3 - Slept well to compensate for today's sleepless life
2. Age 4 - My biggest problem was school which shared a door with my home. That was hell to be in school when you can see your mom moving across the home
Age 5 - I still remember rekha was used to steal my kuchi in school
Age 6 - 14 - Calm and reserved boy. Good in quiz.Learnt Hindi and Vishnu sahasranamam well
Age 15 - Padma ma'am changed my life. Even I could score 197 in 10th math. Hats off ma'am. You showed me the strength of preseverence and confidence. Thanks for all that and those apples.
Age 16-17 - Hoplessely wandered around with friends and one-side dreamz about the girl whose dad is my dad's colleague. Gosh the comparisons my dad would bring up between my rank and hers :-).Hey u, If you read this just have a hearty laugh.
Age - 16 -20 - The becoming of a man. From stage-phobic boy to college anchor. From reserved kid to fashion parade judge.From stumbling in math to Belling the CAT
Age 21 - 22 -- IIT was hesitant to take me in. Called me finally and rest was history. Came out as one of the most beloved, respected and eligible student.My worst enemy (Now HOD and a person that i respect inspite of some strong optinion I have)admired me for my straight talks
Age 23 - I ruined my life by making some career related errors. The days taught me the value of parents, friends and magnanimity (My enem prof was the first guy to help me).Thanks guys for serving me the bread when I hesitated to ask for.
Age 24 - Blossomed in a small company.Mixed bag of good and bad days
Age 25: Found and Lost!
Thats my diary.Now dont steal my identity
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
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