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 ...