Moving from blogger

Today i am moving from blogger to wordpress
Blogger is cool and it taught me a lot ...
Wordpress i hear is super cool

I'll be linking this address to my wordpress address soon, till then you can reach me by using this link http://tudinesh.wordpress.com or click here.

Seeing is believing !!!

That Four Letter Word is releasing this 23rd at Satyam Cinemas
I can give only two reasons for you to watch the film
1. If you've been a regular reader of Sudhish's blog, you'll know why
2. It has Zebra err ... Sunil from Evam

Wondering why i have put this video ?
Check out the entire video to find the reason ...

This is for all you guys who refused to believe when i showed the pic
This is for all you guys who laughed and snigered after seeing the pic
This is for all you guys who transfered the pic on net for your own gratification
This is for all you guys who cropped me out of the pic
THIS IS FOR ALL YOU GUYS ...

Am having the last laugh ! : )

Thanks to Sudhish for letting me use the link

Love Letters

This play by Evam sounds strange mainly because we are from a generation which grew up making love on telephone, later email and as of now over mobile. Sometimes i wish i worked at Hutch in night shifts, it might be fun to listen to lovers talk, although its not manners ... Jus kidding ...

With all hopes of seeing Andrea on stage, Evam gives a surprise with Mirchi Suchi pairing up with Karthik for the day. Love Letters is a very serious play with a bit of humour here and there. The play has only two performers and Karthik and Suchitra have done their best to take it smoothly. Love Letters is a collection of letters written by two childhood friends Melissa Gardner (Suchitra) and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III (Karthik Kumar).

The play goes on for 90 mins and has been able to clearly show the phases of life from childhood till being a grandparent. Everyone must be able to relate with this play, i was able to relate only to the part till they finish college, the other phases seemed alienated for me.

Dialogues is the most important part of Love Letters. The screenplay is really good with the letters being read by the writers themselves. Lighting was supposed to be really good and never before seen in Indian Theatre but i somehow dint like the light arrangements at certain points. The guy did goof up with lights. The blue light in the beginning which gave a silhouette look to the performers was good but not great. Arranging lights is really tough and it always doesnt turn up the way expected (courtesy: my short films) and with the fact that there is no option of re takes, people work under pressure, so the faults are acceptable.

I am somehow not able to re collect the play and its been less than 24 hors since i saw it, doesnt stick to the heart. Karthik was asusual wonderful with his expressions and dialogue delivery but Suchitra was not able to cope up with his performance. Her voice in radio might have people going crazy but theatre is still a far reach for her.

Spreading the theatre bug - 2

Clap for me, i've been watching plays for three weekends in a row ... HATRICK !!! And today i brought Ashwin to watch Love Letters and he fell in love with it. I still wonder how ? Ashwin wants to go tomorrow too to watch another play but i am struck with some deadlines due on January and unable to go but he doesn't seem to give up, will try my best to make it dude : )

Today was the last show of Love Letters for this season and i dint want to miss it. So i call up Aparna to ask her to join ...

Paartha mudhal naale, unnai paartha mudhal naale ... (no thats not her dialer tune, it was me singing till she picked the call)

Ap : Heyyyyyyyyy !
Me : Hey Aparna ...
Ap : Hey i want to watch Pokiri da, shall we go this evening ?
Me : Today is the last show of Love Letters da ...
Ap : I ve been telling you for a week that i want to watch Pokiri, see i hate Vijay but i heard this movie is good and Prabhudeva has done a good job it seems ...
Me : See even i want to watch Pokiri, infact i've already seen the movie, but still i dont mind going for it but i just spoke to Kavitha da, she badly wants to see Love Letters and you know she fell in love with Karthik after watching The Odd Couple ... Lets not spoil her mood
Ap : Seri seri, Love Letters eh pogalam ...
Me : Ok meet you in 10 mins, bye !

and i hurry up with my next call

Oru maalai ila veyil neram, azhagana illayudhir kaalam (this time it was a dialer tune but for reasons best known to Kavitha alone, she has been having the same tune ever since Aircel came up with this service)

Ka : Hi Dinesh ! (in a hushy tone)
Me : Hey Kavitha ...
Ka : Sollu Dinesh ... (in her trademark tone)
Me : Where are you ?
Ka : Office Dinesh : (
Me : Today is the last show of Love Letters, shall we go
Kavitha thinks for a minute
Me : Aparna said she'll come
Ka : Oh ! ok then count me in (Kavitha and Aparna are die-hard pals, so convincing one of them is enough to get work done)
Me : Ok meet you at 6, bye !

Ashwin was rotfl after hearing this, we have been made to wait many a times by these girls (especially one of us by one of them) and he was more than happy to hear this. Ashwin who wanted to go to the beach this evening has got hooked to plays that he is not ready to even think of going to the beach tomorrow.

Who owns the road ?

I was walking home this evening from railway station through Kutchery Road, which is a busy one at evenings because it connects Luz and Santhome. One of the junctions at Kutchery Road was jammed, thanks to the three 12B s that came one behind the other. Since i was walking it wasn't very difficult to move because i was able to zip between the vehicles lined up there. On one corner, a fruit vendor had parked his cart adding to the obstruction and an elderly gentleman who was driving his bike, tried to move the cart aside. The vendor all of a sudden emerged out of a gang smoking beedis and started abusing the old man. It seems he has parked his cart using stones and if it so urgent the old man should use the pathway to drive.

Nonsense !!!

This old man pays tax. Road tax for the road he uses, sales tax for the vehicle when he bought it, and a tax on almost everything under the sun. What does this vendor pay ?
Just for this guy to have a drag of beedi, should the people in cars and bikes wait ?

The ODD Couple

Marriages may come and go but poker stays forever
- A wise saint called Felix, married once later divorced

Saturday morning i woke up only to see Sunil's threatening mail, the last three shows of The Odd Couple were scheduled for this weekend.

The Odd Couple is the third play i watched after Art by Evam and Five Point Someone. Unlike Art which had only three performers ruling the stage, The Odd Couple had eight performers including my favourite Sunil Vishnu, the Shooshaa.

The play begins on time and is hilarious, hilarious and even more hilarious. Oscar's (Karthik Kumar) expressions were at their best, especially when he speaks to his friend Murray's wife over telephone. The story is basically about two divorcees who share an apartment, while one of them is this live-this-moment guy, the other one is the itchy, picky and naggy kind who is obsessed about cleanliness and hygiene.

Felix (Karthik Srinivasan) walks into the stage sulky but at the end of this 110 mins play, he gets along with not just one but two gals and is all smiles and no words. The stage is set in Oscar's apartment which happens to be the meeting place of the six friends for a game of poker. Things turn upside down when Felix moves into Oscar's place after divorce.

Murray (Sunil Vishnu), Speed (Sarvesh Sridhar), Roy (Navin Balachandran) and Vinnie (Shankar Ramachandran) are the poker pals of Oscar. Although the cast has eight artists, no one other than Oscar and Felix have much to do but they have the audience gripped to them during their poker sessions. The Pigeon sisters (Anuradha Ananth and Kalyani Kumar) are also divorcees and reside in the same building with whom Oscar is desperate to get laid with, but it is the unconventional and naggy Felix who steals the show in front of the gals, much to the irony of Oscar.

Situational comedy is in plenty, there is humour in every dialogue and every action. The comedy in dialogues were welcomed with thunderous claps and a high-on-weed kind of laughter, but the the audience somehow missed a few subliminal comedies. There is one scene in the end where Oscar opens the window with hopes that Felix would jump out of it, that was a perfectly executed act but somehow it dint get the response it deserved.

The best dialogue was when Oscar in the end asks Felix 'Wont you thank me?', Felix 'What for?', Oscar 'For taking you in and throwing you out!'. This had a lot of meaning, it isn't that easy to put it in such a small conversation. Evam does it really well.

The play was directed by Evam which has done a very good job. The sets were fantastic and had an apartment inside the stage. The times during set change and props change were a disappointment with some unappealing music running in the background. Evam was smart enough in Art and had a small boy entertaining the audience during props change, something similar to that could have been done this time too. And one more thing, the telephone rings on the right side of the stage but the sound of ringing comes more from the left. It was a major flaw, blame the stupid speakers.

Otherwise the play is a major fun for a saturday evening. Only two more shows of The Odd Couple are in line for this season so make sure you don't miss it.

Spreading the theatre bug

Of late i got interested in theatres and this bug in me was today extended to Aparna and Kavitha. Today i coaxed them and made them come to watch the play The Odd Couple by Evam. Well after a series of warnings, they join me.

Kavitha : If the play is no good, i'll trash you DINESH !!!
Aparna : Ya di, good that you warned him !!!

And then what happened ? They enjoyed the play more than me, bursting out laughing even at odd scenes. But ofcourse what made Kavitha come readily was the photograph i promised her, she wanted to take a pic with Karthik (remember Alaipayuthey - Naan ok eh, ok illiya ?). Karthik is the co founder of Evam and one of the lead actors in it and he was more than ready for the pic, which made the day for Kavitha. After going home Aparna messaged me that she dint expect the evening to be so good. And Aparna is this girl who is intersted in all such peppy things and she sees more to life than anyone else. Well it made her day too. My collars are up. Ashwin who promised to spend this saturday with us dint turn up. Thirinthitaano ?

Wiki Camp

When i missed the Blog Camp, i knew i had committed a sin. After reading the Blog Camp posts, i realised that missing Blog Camp was like not going for the first-day-first-show of a Rajnikanth's movie despite having balcony tickets.

And today when i saw that Wiki Camp is coming up, i immediately signed up for it. And yes the founder of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales would be there at this unconference. I wanted to be with the organising team and thanks to Kausik, who got me into it. All these days i used Wikipedia to search for information, i found that there is more into Wiki only when i saw the registration for Blog Camp and ExtraBed's website which used Wiki in a different way. So this Wiki Camp would be really nourishing for netizens and the topics for the day are on the increase, so at the end, its going to be a day well remembered.

The unconference will be held on Feb 25th 2007 (Sunday) at Tidel Park, and registration is happening in full swing ... For more info and registration, click here.

When Kiruba came to my college last year to conduct a session on blogging, i got hooked to blogs but i never started my own blog because i felt i had nothing to blog about. But this year all of a sudden i thought i should blog and i started this blog. And yes am regretting. I'am regretting that i started late. After i started blogging, life has been cool, i got chance to meet up with a lot of people, a lot of new experiences, i find that i have a lot of new interests and i am immensely enjoying it.

Happy b'day Orkut

It is Orkut's third birthday today. Thanks to Orkut i've caught up with many of my lost friends from school days and am still able to keep in touch with most of them through this site. Cheers Orkut !!!

Google's takeover has brought a lot of innovations in Orkut. GTalk has been merged with Orkut and users can simultaneously use both. Google usually keeps changing logos in their homepage during festive days. The same is now being used in Orkut as well. For diwali, Orkut's logo sported lamps and crackers. There is no big purpose achieved by Google or Orkut in this process but it surely brings a smile in the user's face. It'll last for just a few seconds but it increases the brand's recall value. Smart !

Google logos courtesy - A mail sent by Kavitha long time back.

Click on the image for clarity.

Five Point Someone

After all the super fun at ECR on my friend's birthday, i rushed to IIT-M to catch the play which i missed three days in a row at Museum Theatre. I was at the venue 30 mins earlier than the show time, the Q was long but i thought i could make it into the auditorium. After reading all the thumbs-up reviews of the play i was even ready to stand and watch the entire play if the seats are full.

My friend Rachel who is from the press comes in, she sees the long Q and goes to the organisers to see if she could get seats for us, she doesn't turn up and the place has no network coverage. Damn ! And then the guys at Saarang close doors saying the hall is full. I knew Rachel must be nicely seated inside and i faked as a person from the press. They took me into the auditorium through a special entrance and i got a seat right in the front row beside Rachel who gives a stupid grin and spells a series of apologies .... Ok forgiven ! Man, the front row had recliners : )

My interest in plays was brought out by Evam's Sunil. After watching Evam's Art i was hooked to plays, Madras Players just took it one step further. The play Five Point Someone tells what not to do at IIT. Every soul who finds a place in IIT has worked really really hard for two years in school just to find that, college is no different. GPA is what determines what you are in college and under performers are treated as an outcast.

The story goes around three under performers in college Ryan, Hari and Alok who manage only a 5.something GPA. College has labelled them as outcasts. Five Point Someone is all about what is life other than the serious studies at IIT, what is friendship, life and love. The set props were simple and nicely used. Three props made the entire play. Ryan Oberoi (Praveen Bharatwaj), Hari Kumar (Abhijeet 'Monty' Mohanty) and Alok Gupta (V Sarvesh Sridhar) rule the stage for a solid two hours. Alok is this serious guy who is very keen on studies while Ryan is a happy-go-lucky guy, Hari can be easily influenced by both of them in anything and everything. These three guys carry a perfect rapport all through the play.

Ryan, Hari and Alok expects more out of life and in this frantic search they end up with a 5.something GPA which gives a serious blow to their friendship. In this chaos, engineering and fashion designing meets thanks to Hari who falls in love with Neha (Uttara Krishnadas). Neha is also an excellent performer and her solo scene on stage where she writes a letter to her dead brother speaks volumes.

The senior Madras Players come like a storm with their more matured voice and modulation. P.C. Ramakrishna as Prof. Cherian the most hated professor by all speaks as though he swallowed a couple of mics, what a voice he has got, too good ... Dialogues and humour is fantastic. P.C. Ramakrishna introduced Nikhila Kesavan to the audience as the youngest director of Madras Players. There are re takes while directing a movie but in case of plays ...
This is where Nikhila rocks !

Something i noticed in the play was the prompt and timed dialogues uttered by the artists. If the audience are laughing or clapping loud, the artists wait till the laughter and claps fades and then speak their dialogues, so that no one misses a word. Hari was this normal guy when it comes to the love scenes, tensed and messing ! Neha and Hari do leave the audience clapping all the way. The story is narrated by Vidyuth Sreenivasan who is calm and cool and walks around the stage narrating, he even takes a shot of vodka with the performers.

Overall the play made two hours fly so easily and my lie worth it.

Down the ECR

Jan 27th, i woke up early with my mobile's alarm just to pull Ashwin's leg. It was his b'day and i had super fun using his name in my blog (thanks to Incognito, Priya and Kavitha who joined me). I sit and type my b'day post for my buddy before starting to his place to fill his face with cake. But Kavitha had to study and Aparna was too sleepy. Operation cake face was dropped. We decided to meet at Aparna's place at 2 pm and were supposed to surprise Ashwin and cut the cake. Infact Ashwin was so eager in cutting the cake, that he arrived before Aparna and Kavitha.

After the b'day rituals we start to ECR to hit the tracks at Kart Attack. Did someone say karting is like sex ? It lasted only for 5 mins !!! But damn good !!! And all the fun while biking in ECR made the day.

I had to rush to IIT-M because the Madras players were to stage their Five Point Someone, adapted from Chetan Bhagat's best seller. I dint want to leave and Aparna was even pissed with me leaving, it could have been the last show of Five Point Someone in Chennai so i rush to Saarang leaving my Incredibles.

Thanks to me Ashwin's crush in first year of college found him on his b'day ! Reading love notes is not decent but i cant avoid when the couple scribbled on my blog. Eager souls can find it here.

Happy b'day buddy : )

Its January 27 and people all over the world are already celebrating Ashwin's birthday. We at Akhila Indiya Aasai Ashwin Imsai Mandram (AIAAIM) have a few welfare plans for the innumerable number of fans of his.

1. First on our list of welfare programmes is "Full nite - First nite". It is novel concept being premiered on Ashwin's b'day. A free malli poo decorted first nite shall be arranged under one roof for all eloping couples. But there is a clause, any kid born out of this "Full nite - First nite" has to be named after Ashwin. Example : Ashwin III, Ashwin IV and so on, the sole purpose of this clause is to increase the popularity of Ashwin.

Venue : Raja Muthiah Hall

Time : Anytime after dusk

Things to bring : A partner (animals are strictly not allowed)

P.S. : Prevention is better than abortion, play safe !

2. Are you feeling bad that you are already married and unable to make use of the previous scheme ? We have a better scheme for you !!! Akhila Indiya Aasai Ashwin Imsai Mandram is orgainising a Divorce Camp. What could be more good than getting freedom for a married man/woman, so a dicorce camp is being held today and the first 100 couples gets a free divorce.

Venue : High Court

Time : Inni ellame nalla time dhan

3. "Enakku Ashwin ivalooo pidikkum" - SMS contest exclusively for girls. Tell us why you like Ashwin so much and you could win two movie tickets for any movie at Anurag Cinemas. Corner seats assured. Ashwin will accompany you ! So girls do you get the hint ?

SMS to : 420840

P.S. : Considering the network congestion that happens every year on Ashwin's b'day, all mobile operators have decided to charge every single SMS sent on this day, just like they charge on any other festive day.

And now its time for the message.

Ashwin i still remember the first day we met and i ve enjoyed (almost : ) !!!) everyday we've spent together. You are the best gift one can get and am proud to boast about you. I've been through every phase in friendship with you, loved, fought, played, more than all that i've missed you da. Its good great to have you in my life. HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

Image courtesy : www celebrity porn dot kam

Too good to miss ...

Thanks to my laziness to book tickets beforehand, i missed out the play Five Point Someone by Madras Players when they where performing at museum theatre on the 5th, 6th and 7th of Jan. Actually i was held inside the deep woods of my college on Jan 5th, went for Evam's Art on Jan 6th and the Mylapore Fest on Jan 7th, had i booked the tickets, i would have had the urge to go. Read the reviews of the play written by Kiruba and Ganesh and felt i really missed something. But now, Madras Players are staging Five Point Someone at Saarang. YIPPEE !!!

I cant afford to miss it this time.

Amethyst - Label your restroom !

Having nearly two hours before the 3 pm show of Guru starts, Krishna, Sundar and i decided to go to Amethyst. After 3 cups of coffee, Anand and Fenn joined us there. A heated discussion started about Maniratnam and it slowly drifted to all aspects of cinema and all makers of cinema, suddenly we realise the time is 2.30 pm. When i watch a movie i prefer to watch it from the beginning when they show the censor certificate and i stay at my seat till the end credit rolls fully (yeah, making full use of what i pay !). So we pay the bills and rush out when Krishna and i felt we needed to use the rest room, we walk in, there are two doors and each of us enter one. Finally when i came out i realised there was no rest room for women, when Krishna came out and said the room i went in was for women. Only then i noticed a small flower in the rest room's door which was supposed to mean its for women ..... Gosh !!! Thank God no girl saw me. And then i remembered what i read in the rest room - Please do not flush tissue papers and sanitary napkins. And i checked the guy's rest room, it said - Please do not flush tissue papers. Do they expect people who overlook the wood colored flower on the door to distinguish this way. Shit !!!

Turned around, no one saw, walked out like a nice guy : )

Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu - On a deeper thought

Somehow i felt i had missed out on something in my review of Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu. The movie released pretty late amid huge expectations, and when it released it was taken by a storm. The night show at Melody theatre proved to be great ambience for watching this movie. I somehow dint like this movie as much as Kaakha Kaakha but watching it again and again (thanks to DVD) i started liking the movie although i still hate some scenes in it. Reading my own review, i felt it lacked something, so i ve rewritten it and you can find it here.

A welcome change ...

After a lot of trial and error, i finally came down to this template ... Tried a lot other templates and also played with the little knowledge of HTML i gained in school. I simply loved this template, i also came across another sexy and ethnic template but i was not able to correct the XML bug in it. Anyway this one is nice :)

Had to rework on all the images i used in this blog to suit this template. Phew ! But the outcome is as good as i expected.

Shuru ho gayi, MAMU !!!

I somehow missed out Lage Raho Munna Bhai when it hit the screens and i never got an oppurtunity to watch it until recently when my cousin got me the movie in a pirated pen drive (when pirated VCDs and DVDs exist, why not pen drive - its actually easier to use than a VCD or DVD). Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. was the only hindi movie which made me laugh like never before, and i feel the tamil remake was in no way as good as the hindi original.

With a lot of expectation and after a splendid review by everyone, i finally watched the movie. If you expect the movie to be as good the first part, you are for a surprise, the sequel is infact much better, although the presence of humour is lesser than the first part, the script is very strong and the movie is entirely based on the power of the script. With the success of Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., the director Rajkumar Hirani had to make Lage Raho Munna Bhai with a lot of pressure and he has actually done a great job.

A lot of sequels came under production at the time Lage Raho Munna Bhai was in the making and newspapers carried reports saying no movie can ever beat the original, but Rajkumar Hirani has made it false and has given a bigger hit. If Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. was a fun filled family entertainer, Lage Raho Munna Bhai is a fun filled and thought filled family entertainer, two in one ! The success of Lage Raho Munna Bhai has kicked off a new trend in the film industry and making sequels has become the buzz word.

Sanjay Dutt (Munna Bhai) has given his career's best performance in Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and his man friday Arshad Warsi (Circuit) is in no way lagging behind. These two after giving a splendid performance in Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. are back with a bang. They have a terrific sense of humour and timing. Am still happy that Shah Rukh Khan was unable to take up the movie (although he is my favorite) because Sanjay Dutt goes perfectly into the shoes of a Mumbai thug, with his local accent and is way of pulling down Boman Irani makes everyone roll on the floor laughing.

Boman Irani (Lucky Singh) has also given yet another commendable performance in Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Boman with his laughing therapy in Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. had even the audience in laughter and as a shrewd builder in Lage Raho Munna Bhai he has gone a step further.

Vidya Balan (Janvi) is dam pretty. She doesn't play any big part in the film but suits Sanjay Dutt perfectly. The old men staying with Vidya Balan have done an impressive job.

The story revolves around a local thug Sanjay Dutt who is in love with the radio jockey Vidya Balan and is all the time hooked to the radio listening to her. As usual he cheats in a competition and wins a chance to be a part of Vidya's show on Gandhi Jayanthi. To impress her, he reads about Gandhiji and his philosophies and his way of life. Slowly without his own knowledge, he cultivates Gandhiism in him and he slowly captures the heart of everyone in the city with his Gandhiism which he started preaching through the radio in his 'apun hai naa !' stye. He captures the heart of everyone, everyone except Boman Irani and how Sanjay uses Gandhiism to teach a lesson to Boman forms the rest of the story.

The movie although less in humour than the previous one is high on values. The way the director has taken up to give a story on Gandhiism is simply superb. The movie has retained the same crew to an extent. Songs are placed at the apt spots and every song relates a story rather than the run around the trees concept. Technically the movie is pretty decent.

A serious subject is told on a lighter vein and has gone down well with the audience and this one too is a cult classic like its predecessor.

The incredibles !

There is something in meeting best pals which i felt only today. My under grad days was one of the best part of my life and i did make some really good friends there. Three years in college and i have had friends whom i ve loved, hated, fought, missed ... At the end of three years we still are friends. Trust me, no one is like them ... College has showed me what this close friendship and bondage is. I had never bonded this much with any other pals of mine, although things are not the same today, I did make some extremely close friends during my post grad in college as well as the places i went. Even meeting old pals from school was like another new and fevicolly bondage.

Coming back to my under grad pals, it was a last minute plan today and we all decided to meet at the always welcoming Elliots beach. Ashwin as always comes late but when he comes he comes with a BANG !!! All girls go crazy ! We decide to take a walk feeling un comfortable sitting on the platform of the beach where a Santro was parked in front of us and two mad(e) for each other couple smooching inside ...

Walking down the beach to the waters was like walking down the memory lane. The freedom, the carefree nature was no more there in any of us. After about half an hour of walk and bird watching we come back to the platform and had to pretend to be surprised as Aparna and Kavitha too dropped in. They did make a big plan (err ... conspiracy) to surprise us, but sadly nothing worked, thanks to the pretty girl on Kumaran Silks hoarding who distracted them (no the girl dint distract them).

And after the usual taking of pics routine we four walk down the beach. Sitting near the water, each of us had something to tell. It was so clear that each one was desperate for this moment, but no one actually showed, after spending some quality time over there, we start and after reaching home there is a series of SMS, saying the meet was too good and we should meet often. I was lost of words for messaging them, it was like a guy being lost of words when he is trying to convince a girl. The day was so good and the meet up was the icing on the cake (oops ice cream).

It did create a magic, a magic which made all the tensions and worries disappear. Things around me seems to be nice and fresh, even the rasam sadam i had this night was so tasty that i kept asking my mom for more. Having some really close pals is one gift but the oppurtunity to meet up with them inspite of everyone's busy schedule is another gift. Ashwin, Aparna, Kavitha - The Incredibles !!!

And there is one more friend Janani who would have been more than ready to join us but she recently got married and joined the league of t nagar aunties. We all miss you Janani.

Cripled without the internet !

An assignment is due for submission and you are confident of submitting on time, thanks to the internet. But the previous day evening you try to go online just to find there is a problem with the connection.

Enna koduma saravanan idhu!

Incidents like this makes us realise how much we depend on the internet for almost everything under the sun. But anyway the assignment has been completed on time, had to call up the broadband customer care thrice and after nearly an hour of trouble shooting, am back online :)

Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu - Showcase of technical brilliance

The much hyped about film of recent times Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu should have hit the screens long back but various factors delayed it which infact created all the more hype for the film. More than anything the movie had Kamalhassan in the lead and to top it all he plays a police officer, what more would a fan expect considering the fact that its been a long time since Kamalhassan made a serious film after Virumaandi. Not to forget, the movie is directed by Gautham Menon who is one of the most successful directors of recent times. He has proved how well he can handle love and action through his previous films Minnale and Kaakha Kaakha.

The movie released when i was busy with my college project and before i could watch the movie i was bombarded with mixed responses about the film, but that cannot stop me from watching a Kamalhassan + Gautham Menon combo.

This movie has one of the best intro scenes of Kamalhassan. The way Kamalhassan is shown as a police officer, his body language, his dialects, it simply rocks. To add more spice, Kamalhassan carries an attitude which many actors have been unable to portray in their police films. As usual the police officer in this movie is also honest and pays a heavy price for his honesty and sincerity, here the price happens to be Kamalinee Mukherjee, Kamalhassan's wife. But after this the story is full of twists and turns and U turns.

Prakash Raj comes on screen for just about ten minutes but remains in your mind all through the film. A commendable work by this veteran, the way he tries to maintain his might when his daughter is missing is an excellent example, the way he breaks down on seeing his daughter's corpse is one scene that's enough to show his acting prowess.

Daniel Balaji comes as a psycho path killer - arrogant, cruel and merciless. He has tried desperately to show up as an excellent actor but has not been able to reach expectations, his performance in Kaakha Kaakha was much better. The way Daniel Balaji along with his friend goes on a killing spree evokes hatred among the viewers which proves that Gautham Menon has sketched the character with perfection to the core.

Jyothika has found a neat role in this film. She plays the opposite to a matured Kamalhassan, and surprisingly Jyothika doesn't look a way too young for Kamalhassan, infact they make a nice pair in this film.

Gautham Menon is again at his best. Minnale introduced him as a director while Kaakha Kaakha gave him the much required break in the industry. Now Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu cannot be said to have take Gautham Menon to the next level because, although the movie has all required elements, there has been a slight mis judgement in packaging. By interval, the audience knew who the culprit was, the only suspense left was how Kamalhassan was going to get them behind bars. Even the reason for Daniel Balaji and his friend to become a psycho path is the ususal lust-taken-over-senses drama. But this script must have been a close-to-heart one of Gautham Menon as it shows the dedication of a director in making it as a movie.

Technical brilliance

The movie can proudly call itself the most technically brilliant film till date. Shot on Super 35 by Ravi Varman and edited by none other than Antony, the movie speaks volumes about the works of its technicians. On the audio note, Harris Jayaraj and Gautham Menon combo strikes a hatrick. Thanks to the MP3 and FM boom, all songs of Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu was available 24*7 in one channel or the other. Paartha mudhal naale and Manjal veyil are the best among the five songs in this movie. The song Sikki mukki nerupe could have been more marketable if it had the lyrics entirely in english, for the kind of music Harris Jayaraj had given and the way Antony had edited it, the song should have been a chart buster. The song if it was in english would have been a kick ass response to both Bollywood and Hollywood, might have even become a trend in the following films. The re recording and back ground score makes the movie all the more intersting.

Gautham Menon seems to be obsessed with his Kaakha Kaakha that there are some traces of Kaakha Kaakha on Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu. The movie is claimed to be the second one of a police film trilogy following Kaakha Kaakha. If Kaakha Kaakha was an episode in a police officers's life, Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu is another episode in a police officer's life. The movie despite a late release and mixed response is slowly gaining momentum. The best film of 2006 award given to Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu gives the movie the much required support and confidence.

Evam - taking theatre, places

When it comes to theatres and plays i was only used to the plays of Crazy Mohan and S.Ve.Shekher. Their plays were a package full of fun and laughter and people who come to watch their plays will surely walk out with pain in their tummy. English theatre was always distant to me and thanks to Sudhish Kamath and his That Four Letter Word, i got introduced to Sunil who plays Zebra in TFLW. Sunil is the co founder of the Chennai based theatre group called Evam.

Evam which has been successfully staging plays for the past three years is celebrating 150 shows of Evam. Sunil persuaded me to come over for their play Art by Evam, which got me very excited because its going to be my first english play and i was eager to meet Sunil in person.

Art by Evam is an eighty five minutes play and has Sunil, Jimmy and Karthik as the lead actors. The story revolves around the three guys. Serge (Jimmy) buys a painting which is white in background and has a lot of designs in it in white, when Marc (Karthik) learns that his friend bought it for 200,000 francs he feels its a bad bargain and criticises the painting. Hell breaks loose, Serge and Marc has a bitter battle with words, Vyan (Sunil) is caught between them in his attempt to unite them. How and why these guys patch up forms the rest of the play.

This serious play is fuelled with subtle comedy at strategic points. All the three guys score well in acting and a stiff competition is clearly seen between them. Karthik having done a few films is quite familiar than the other two. Sunil is one hell of an actor who gives out awesome expressions, i've also seen Sunil's performance in Sudhish Kamath's TFLW. Sunil's performance can be described in just one word ... err sorry two words - Mind Blowing !!!

Jimmy and Karthik are no exception either, right from the body language to dialogue delivery these guys are perfectionists. Seeing the crowd turn up for plays in such a huge number looks very healthy for theatres in Chennai. And there is one more actor in Evam, Vaidhya, a twelfth standard guy who comes in between the show during props change and entertains the audience. More plays of Evam are coming up in the months of January and February, so guys if you have the time make sure you spend it watching Evam, else make time and watch Evam.

Happy b'day Rahman

Happy birthday !

You are truly awesome ... From Roja to Guru, you've captured the hearts of everyone ...

Waiting for the audio launch of Sivaji ...

Waiting to see people go gaga about Sivaji's music ...

Waiting to see history created in the sale of CD's ... Don't disappoint us ...

Here is my 10 favourite songs of A.R.Rahman ... Its absolutely impossible for anyone to list only 10 songs of A.R.Rahman as their favourite, so here are the 10 songs of A.R.Rahman which tops the list of my all time favourite ...

Nila Kaaykirathu (Indira)

Roobaroo (Rang De Basanti)

Netru illadha maatram (Pudiya mugam)

Minnale ne (May maadham)

Pachai nirame (Alaipayuthey)

Kannai katti kolladhey (Iruvar)

Dil se re (Dil Se)

Putham puthu bhoomi (Thiruda thiruda)

Desh mere (The legend of Bhagat Singh)

En kaadhale (Duet)

These songs have been lifting my spirits most of the time ... Rahman surely does have a magic in his music which transports the listeners to their own world ... One more thing -

Rahman + Vaali = Mind blowing

Rahman + Vairamuthu = Makes-me-forget-the-world

Rahman + Vairamuthu + My Superstar = Super dooper hit

Veyil - Shankar dares a sun bath

Who else other than Shankar would produce a movie which has Pasupathy in the lead role. No doubt Pasupathy is a good actor but in this charisma driven tamil cinema, no other producer would bet his money on Pasupathy. Shankar's S Pictures has produced Veyil, with Pasupathy as the main lead, directed by Vasanthabalan whose first film Album was an average grosser.

Vasanthabalan's Veyil revolves around the life of a boy who runs away from home after being beaten up badly by his father, this boy grows and returns home almost after 20 years. What happens when he returns forms the rest of the story. Pasupathy after proving his talents in Kuthupatarai has been waiting for this big break in cinema, although he has shown his face in about half a dozen films, Veyil is the first film to show him as the lead artist and bring him to limelight and Pasupathy seems to have made full use of it.

Bharath happens to be the younger brother of Pasupathy and is the good-boy-at-home type and is loved by his parents. Bharath has been graduating slowly in films, he shows a markable difference in his journey from Boys to Veyil. Bharath does not have a big role in the film, he falls in love with Bhavana and their love scenes doesn't seem to impress us either and its not meant to as well because the movie is revolving around a more serious note called relationship.

Pasupathy being a big fan of MGR finds job in a cinema hall and grows up there. Debutant Priyanka is his love interest, they find the cinema hall a nice and convenient place to make love. Shriya has found her a descent role in this movie as the childhood crush of Pasupathy and she has used it well to portray her best. Music by G.V.Prakash makes you disbeleive that its the work of a debutant. Cinematography of the title song is worth a mention, cinematography and art direction has played an important part in this movie.

In an industry where cinema is most of the time formula driven, movies like Veyil breaks the rules and strikes a chord with the audience. Producers like Shankar who give total freedom to the directors should be encouraged. Vasanthabalan had proved that a grippy story line and excellent performers can do wonders to cinema.

Welcome

Ok, after months of confusions on shall-i-create and should-i-create, now my blog is created, this is my first post ...

Am actually clueless on what to post ...

Blog checking 1-2-3
Blog checking 1-2-3

Enna pakareenga ? Enga oorula mike setta ippadi dhan test pannuvanga :)

It feels so good to have one's own space, thats why i've named my blog "510 square feet" after my first house, the place where i grew up, the place where life was an experience in itself, the place where i learnt what is being independant ...