Aamir Ko Kya Ho Gaya Basanti?

Its inevitable - what goes up has to come down. Its the second film in a row that Aamir Khan has disappointed his fans. Sitting in a lousy Melody cinema hall in Chennai for the 1st Day-1st Show of Aamir Khan's latest flick "Rang De Basanti", one has a lot of expectations. But his fetish for jingoism seems to be driving away the film going masses and splitting him away from superstardom.

Just fail to understand why he has to give lessons on patriotism to the youngsters - RDB actually seems to be a blend of Mani Ratnam's Yuva and Ashutosh's Swades - on India's 57th Republic Day. If the storyline had focused on the interesting aspect of MIGs crashing due to corruption in sourcing parts, it would have made a better impact (It seems there have been 200 MIG crashes so far killing 76 IAF pilots so far...awful!)

The screenplay sags right from the word "Go" and you start wondering whether Rakyesh Mehra actually has a grip on the storyline. Playing the role of a college-goer, you expect Aamir to relive the Dil Chahtha Hai charm - yes he does to a large extent though the wrinkles in his face gives him away. The film begins to gain pace towards the end but to the utter dismay, it has an unexpected climax, by which time it makes no difference to the junta.

If Aamir Khan's intention was to get a message across to GenNext (as was evident during his interaction with youngsters in NDTV), I am sure he has definitely not hit the bulls eye.

This is my review at the end of Day 1. We need to wait for four more days to await the BO verdict ? Anyway, if you are an Aamir Fan, do not miss RDB - its his film though he shares the screen with five others thorughout the 165-minute documentary.

Sridhar, Mahendran....now Cheran

Tamil cinema puritans and connoisseurs might not quite like Cheran being compared with the likes of old time greats Mahendran and Sridhar (as the title of this blog suggests). But after watching his latest flick Thavamai Thavamirundu, director Cheran can definitely be put into this elite bracket for bringing out human emotions in a manner that is hardly seen in Tamil cinema.

Realism. Every scene of the 210-minute film oozes out with nativity that is probably visible after a long time ("Kaadhal" I feel was a film which had the smell of nativity).

The film breezes along tracing the travails of a villager in bringing up his two sons. Not just the story, but the screenplay has brought about a whiff of freshness.

One thing is sure - this film will manage to show case to us how unbiased the national awards selection panel is. This film has to win either the Best Film or the Best Actor award for Raj Kiran, if not both.

Finally, a titbit - the leading actress of the film Padma Priya is actually a MBA and was working in GE Capital (now Genpact) and then Symphony Services in Bangalore. Yeah, she was Suchitra's colleague at GE and thats why I know about her. And i feel, she has done her bit perfectly just as Gopika managed to do for Cheran in his earlier flick "Autograph".

Way to go, Cheran.

Quo Vadis?

One of my colleagues was mentioning the other day that her friend had remarked "It is better to not take husbands to watch Cheran's new flick Thavamai Thavamirundu since the film was propogating a dangerous dogma of staying with parents". Where is our society heading towards? ..Very scary...
Anyway I should be watching the film today after two full months of release..finally

"Hair-raising" experince

It was one of those monthly Sunday mornings when it was time to whittle down my growing mane - little did i realise that it would be a "hair-raising" experience rather than a "hair-cutting" one. By virtue of having thick and unmanageable hair, this has led me to change hair stylists frequently in my quest for someone better. For the past two years though, I have settled for Park Sheraton despite the inhibitive and spiralling costs at the hotel's salon (and not to forget the tips to the barber and the valet driver) for two main reasons - excellent service and the chance to share the chair along with some VVIP. But the former reasonn was propelling me now to make the change.

It was the day after Pongal and I was waiting for my turn (you could gain entry only with an appointment to cut the hair..hmmm...times have changed). Out of the blue, Ashok questioned me, "Enna sir, thalai pongaluku oorukku pogaliya? (What sir...for first pongal after marriage you are not visiting your wife's place as per tradition?)...He actually remembered that it was the first pongal after marriage (a seven-month old incident) and that my wife Suchitra's place was Vellore. Stunned at this experience, I swore to never think of shifting ...After all, I was at the receiving end of a customer-delighting experience

Once a Mylaporean, Always a Mylaporean

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Originally uploaded by theiyer.

The title might sound cliched if you have been in the part of Chennai called Mylapore. There is an aura associated to this area which blends the old and the new. And it is therefore not suprising that Mylaporeans came in droves to celebrate the "Mylapore Festival".

This festival, if I am not wrong, was into its second successful edition. Mylapore was resplendent in the street lights that were erected for this purpose and the small gullies were bursting at their seams with not just the Mylaporeans, but even foreigners who had come specifically for the event.

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Originally uploaded by theiyer.

Folk dances, street theatre, kolam competitions and many more such items were there to keep the people entertained all through the four days. But my favourites were "kutcheri in the park" and the special food counters put by caterer Shubham Ganesan. The concerts were held in Nagswara Rao park in Luz. Suchitra and I go for a walk in the mornings to the park and during these four days we used to catch up with some good music while on the walk. Talking about the latter, on two consecutive days I had food at Shubham Ganesan's stalls which had some of the best Tamil delicacies . Relished them and added some good calories.

My sister Usha was coordinating the events at Pitchu Pillai Street, which had Stella Marris girls displaying and selling their handiwork - ear rings, glaass and paper paintings, mehendi tatooing. Arts college students were involved in drawing portraits of the visitors. Needless to say, Pitchu Pillai street drew a lot of visitors, more for the people who were selling rather than their wares.
Some of the men were keen on mehendi tatooing, for some obvious reasons. MY sister said she had tough time managing these "over-enthusisastic" men.

Sundaram Finance is doing a good job with this initiative . Yeah not to forget, Vincent (of Mylapore Times) has been able to do a great job - probably you can forgive his put-on accent for this effort. If only Mylapore streets were broader to take this....if only wishes were horses....

First blog in 2006

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Originally uploaded by theiyer.

Its my first blog in the new year and I just hope 2006 turns out to be an awesome year. Looking back, despite the worst natural calamities, I would attribute 2005 to be a good year for India - socially and economically (I am not bothered about the world in general).

Naysayers of the world would continue to harp on the negativities rather than looking at the events holistically. I am sure 2006 would see even more calamities - how else would nature strike back at the nonsense that happens on the face of the earth. Simply put, its the law of Karma (I have written extensively about Karma Theory in http://theiyer.rediffblogs.com but then i decided to become less philosophical in life. Guess, thats what marriage does to you ..wink)...

What has been the most surprising aspect of 2005 has been the sustenance of Manmohan Singh as the PM and even more hearening is that he has been able to keep the "Left"ies in good humour. I am not sure how he can tolerate the Karats and Yechurys of the world. Look at Brinda Karat's recent controversy around Swami Ramdev's medicines - as long as it cures people what is her problem..anyway

Look at the positive aspects of 2005 and count our blessing (rather than cribbing about the negatives)

- The erring Natwar Singh being given his rightful place - outside the cabinet - Laloo was thrown unceremonously by his ilk and tribesmen (by the way I was suprised to see new Nitish Kumar govt ads inviting investment targeted at NRIs during Pravasiya Bharatiya Divas)

- The good will be subjected to constant trials but they will emerge victorious. Jayalalitha can do nothing to the Sankaracharyas . I still believe that she will atone for all her sins that she has meted out to the Holy Mutt and its seers.

- Dayanidhi Maran rising out suddenly from nowhere and creating a buzz in the political circles - getting the ilk of Gates to visit India and more so Chennai.

- Lou Dobbs might as well go to the Hawaiis for a break - everyone in US of A has decided to give him a pass. Its the best year every for the Indian IT sector in its history , making a mark globally. Awesome..

I could go rattling about the positive aspects... but I am sure 2006 will be even more awesome (well bad events are bound to be interspersed with the good..otherwise we will never be able to appreciate the good when it happens) Have a holistic and awesome 2006!!