[Movie] Chennaiyil Oru Naal

Director:  Shaheed Kader
Production: Listin Stephen, Raadhika Sarathkumar
Cast: Sarath Kumar, Cheran, Prakash Raj, Jayaprakash, Prasanna, Malika, Radhika, Lakshmy Menon, Parvathy
Avg user rating: 4/5

So, a few weeks ago a friend called and asked if i wanted to do a movie. Scouted around the Sathyam site and found tickets for Chennaiyil Oru Naal. It looked like an interesting movie, had quite a star cast. Only when we reached the theater did I discover it was a remake of a Malayalam movie called Traffic which is based on a true story [ one that took place right here in Chennai back in 2008]. As the movie began, I got engrossed and by the end was quite floored. Subsequently I got home, dug up the internet, read about the incident and must say quite impressed with the people who came together to help a little girl get a new lease on life.

So, what is the movie about? Well, it is all about saving a life and tough decisions that need to be taken.

The Chennai city police commissioner [Sarath Kumar], has to make this operation a success. It is his duty to ensure the heart makes the journey from Chennai Global hospital to CMC in Vellore. The police constable Sathyamoorthy [Cheran] volunteers to drive the car carrying the heart to redeem his lost reputation, and takes on the challenge to cover the distance of 170 kilometres in 90 minutes to save the life of a young girl who is the daughter of a superstar Gautham Krishna (Prakash Raj) and Radhika. All of this takes place on a single day, Sep 16th!

How it all begins is two friends, Ajmal and Karthik (Sachin) are on their bike heading towards Karthik's office where he is all set for his 1st interview with the superstar, Gautham Krishna  for the television channel. But on the way, he meets with an accident and is the twist in the tale.His body is gone, his brain is gone, he is on a machine and so the doctors suggest they pull the plug on him so they can use his heart on the little girl who needs it all the way across in Vellore.

To add to the drama, there is the story of Dr Robin [Prasanna], his wife and friend that kind of distracts us from the main story. but thankfully, that is only for a few minutes and the movie gets back on track. The final stretch of the drive through the small town was the highlight of the movie for me.How the entire town comes together, clears the path so the car can go with no hiccups, the cameo role by Surya who encourages people to help the mission succeed and the final note from Surya about organ donation was a tad over the top, but what the heck, it adds to the jazz of the movie... 

Quite an inspiring movie, offbeat, no song and dance, quite real. Do watch if you want to see one where so many people come together for a purpose. 

An evening with the Lord

A failed attempt the last time around had me on High Alert. I was at Landmark by 6 pm for an event scheduled for 7 pm. Yes Yes I know I was early, but heck, the event was in a book store. So, what is the harm in being there early? Yes, of course I read.

Why was I in Landmark in the 1st place? To meet the Lord ofcourse. 

Who Lord? Lord Jeffrey Archer... D'oh!! 

<silence> Yes, that was it. 

The third book  in the "The Clifton Chronicles" was to be launched that evening by the author himself.   "Best Kept Secret" is the highly anticipated third installment of "The Clifton Chronicles" and takes the reader on a breakneck journey from Bristol to the US and on to Buenos Aires in the mid-1950s.

He walked in, grabbed the bike , reprimanded the girl who was doing emcee saying he would do all the talking and began. Opened his talk by saying I love this country, wanna know why? Cos England beat you hands down in cricket... And I also love this country for another reason. wanna know why? Cos you are beating Australia to dirt... 

A man in his 70s, the amount of energy, enthusiasm and zeal was just amazing.  He shared with us the 1st ever story he had written, which had to be 100 words only. He read it out, asked us to guess which was that one extra word he added while he was struggling to push the 99 to 100. Thereon, the evening was filled with laughter, enthrallment and fun...

He then went on to speak about The Clifton chronicles, the plan he had and how it looks like it is going to go beyond 4 books spilling over to a 6th maybe.. "Only Time Will Tell" is the first where Harry Clifton's life begins in 1920, and then came the 2nd book "Sins of the Father" that begins from the time before Britain declares war on Germany. And now, here comes the 3rd....

He spoke about how in Bangalore, a 12yr old girl had stumped him. She had a book published already. He mentioned how at the age of 34 was when his 1st book got published. In Chennai, a girl who asked him a question shared that she had recently published a book, and she was all of 22 yrs of age. He shared with us how tough it is to get published, how to sustain and how to write so as to keep the audience engaged.  

During the Q&A session, there were so many of us with our hands raised, alas only a few got the chance to ask their questions. One of the questions put forth was - Will you ever write a book on India? For which he promptly replied "oh no, I am very scared, India overwhelms me"

Before closing the session, when asked about his personal favorite and most popular of his books, he shared that Kane & Abel was in its 94th print. 

When he was done talking and it had been over an hour, he announced that he would now be signing copies of the books. He took on a stern look and said "look her children, I want you all to come in line, behave and get the book signed. I shall sign each and every one, but only 2 per person and no personal requests"... :-))

Yes, I did get a copy, actually 2 copies autographed by the Lord. One for me and other for a friend, dint mind that I had to stand in line for nearly 45mins.. ~!! 

From the Anklets of a Homemaker by Subhashini

"The painter had no colors left to paint the night. He embellished it with dreams...."[via twitter]

"Rhyme in the recipe. Meter in the measured spices. One of those days when one has to cook poetry in the kitchen. Not with paper and pen...."[via twitter]

Such simple words, but they pack a punch, don't you think so? Well, here is the lady behind these wonderful verses- Subhashini. I've known her as @neelavanam and follow her on Twitter. How did I connect with her? One day, a few words strung together singing a song caught my eye and I was hooked.  

"A pencil carries more potential. It is sharp and focussed. A cursor is a distracted being, throbbing to peep into other windows...." [via twitter]

And everyday I along with her many other followers would eagerly look forward to the verse she shared on twitter. I dabble in a bit of poetry and so it was a lovely feeling connecting with another person who liked it as much, if not more. One day last month? or was it few weeks ago? She announced her book was out, it was a collection of her micropoetry.. I knew I had to get my hands on it, and before I knew it I was holding it in my palm. 

"From the Anklets of a Homemaker"
is the name of the book
Subhashini, the one who weaves magic through words

There are poems on rain
There are verses on life
They all come together 
so fine, so beautiful

I wondered about the title
I wondered what she meant
But by the last page, 
I dint really care :D 

Each poem is a story
a tale
an experience
a leaf out of a day

The words
hold within a few hidden secrets
or maybe a yearning 

Every page
I enjoyed
Ever word
I savored

Honestly, the book was such a breeze to read perfect with a cup of filter kaapi or maybe a mojito. Sit by the window, let the breeze tease your senses and you will enjoy this book immensely. The poems within the book are divided into three sections - Reflections of a Summer Rain, Rivers of endless desire, Meditations. Even though I felt some poems could be interchanged, am sure the author had her reasons for placing them where she did. 

Some of my favorites were,

"The eyes can spot a butterfly ~
but not he huge stumbling blocks
The nose can trace cooking food~
not the fears of a weary heart"

"Desire is the 
pulse of life"

"In a steaming cup of morning coffee~
reflections of moving clouds ~delicious"

"That which you get ~
without asking for ~
are blessings"

No, not gonna share any more... ;o) 

You need to read and pick the ones you enjoyed! Since I write the occasional poem, I know that some sound poetic and some very prose. There are sentences that you could rap, and some that read like a story. That is the beauty of poetry- no set rules, just speak your mind and watch the words take their twists & turns. I don't look for rhyme, nor do I look for a pattern, maybe that is why I liked this book a lot!

Curious? Why don't you grab a copy? You can buy this book from Flipkart or Amazon

[Movie Review] Kumki

After hearing rave reviews, i nudged a few friends to watch Kumki. Alas, it was not to be, we were at the theater, Inox, waiting for the doors to open when a staff came over to tell us there was some technical issues and the screening was cancelled. Our hopes fell and we were disappointed. Anyways, that weekend an excolleague of mine called asking if i would like to catch up, and what do you know, it began with us watching Kumki, at Escape Cinemas, Express Avenue. 

I had seen and enjoyed Director Prabhu Solomon's earlier movie Mynaa, which is set in the village and is very rural. Wondered if maybe this movie too would be similar. There ends the similarity. The setting was the only common factor between the two flicks. 

What was Kumki about? 

It is a fairly simple tale about Bomman (Vikram Prabhu, Sivaji's Grandson & Prabhu's son),a mahout who along with his uncle and another help[played quite well by Thambi Ramaiah and Aswin] go from town to town with their elephant [Manickam]. They get invited to temple functions and other such small festivals. On the other side is the village of Adhi kadu [in the region of Panimalai, Marthandam)]where a wild elephant Komban has been on rampage. The wild elephant attacks women who are out in the field and has killed quite a few, especially during harvest season. Unable to deal with the menace and determined to not run away to another town [which is what the cops suggest the villagers do], the village chief calls for a Kumki [a trained elephant used to tame wild elephants] 

The scene where we are introduced to Komban and his rage is quite disturbing. He is all set to trample Alli [Lakshmi menon] when she slips and just about escapes.  One day when heading back to base after a brief spat with the officials after Bomman fails to show Manickam's papers [which his uncle had lost somewhere along the way], the man who helps them Mani annan receives a call from the village asking if the Kumki elephant is ready to be transported to the village. 

The twist in the tale happens now, the ordered Kumki elephant's mahout is stuck with some personal emergency and says he will take about 3days to reach the village. In the meanwhile, Bomman volunteers to go to the village and hold fort till the real Kumki elephant takes over. The villagers welcome and treat Bomman, his clan and Manickam with great revere. While they are under the assumption that Manickam is a kumki, reality is that Manickam is indeed a very timid elephant who shies away from breaking coconuts

In a turn of events, Bomman sets eyes on Alli and falls in love with her, forgetting the real purpose of thier visit to the village. He decides to stay on, telling the owner of the real Kumki that he will manage, and train Manickam to deal with any kind of emergency. Eventually, he understands the severity of things and comes to a point where he says  "i cannot mislead the villagers, i am putting everybody's life at risk, we should just leave" What happens next is the climax of the movie...

As real as the visuals are, i felt the director could have shown more scenes of Manickam and his antics, and of Kumban as well. The songs are beautiful, especially Sollitaale Ava Kaadhala ,Ayyayayo Anandhame and Onnum Puriyalai. The romance is sweet, the pride the villagers have of their property and heritage is amazing.
Vikram Prabhu has done an amazing job, for a debut artist. The scenes where he cajoles and pampers the elephant, the push ups he does on its tusks, wow... shows the relationshiop between a mahout & his elephant.   Lakshmi Menon fits the role perfectly and has played her role well.  Thambi Ramaiah is wacky as always, and infact i felt he got more screen space than others.

A movie worth a watch.... yet another offbeat story..

I would rate it 4/5

Movie Review: Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom

A movie that had me rethinking the future of tamil movie..

A movie that had me in splits through the hours... 

A movie that gave me hope that small movies were here to stay...

. 

Am talking about "Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom [NKPK]" . I had heard of this few months ago when my friend announced that her student was doing the music. Few days later, i got to hear the songs in her CD and fell in love with them instantly. The lyrics, the style and the tunes were all so catchy. Esp the Oh Crazy minnal song by Andrea. 

And finally, the movie had hit the theaters and was getting good reviews. The only thing that stuck in my head was that none of the reviews mentioned the music, the songs... Anyways, paying no head, few weeks ago, I booked 2 tickets, dragged mom and went for the movie [ we watched it in Sangam cinemas, PH Road]. 

NKPK is a story about Prem Kumar (Vijay Sethupathi) who has a small accident while playing cricket with his friends Bagavathy aka Bugs (Bagavathi himself), Saras (Vigneshwaran) and Bajji aka Balaji (Raj Kumar) and loses his memory[the last one year] 

Enna achchu? Oh, namma cricket vilayidinom..

Nee ball potta 

Nee thaane bat panina?

Naa pidikka ponein.. 

Oh.. vitutena??

Kal thavari keezha vizhundutein.. 

Inga thaan adi padiduchu.. anga thaan medula oblongeta irukku

Shockla short term memory loss aayirukum

its ok, athuva sariya poyidum..
Watch: Trailer

This is a dialogue you will hear atleast a million times, well, i exaggerate, but atleast 30-40times through the movie. But, you are not wondering why they are saying the same thing!! You are completely tuned in gasping and watching intently.

 Vijay Sethupathi [Prem] is brilliant throughout. But his three friends have acted just as well, they have kept the plot going, had us all guessing what is going to happen next...   The brilliant casting and acting is the highlight of this movie. Agreed, some scenes seemed weak, but they all tie together beautifully. We were in splits through the movie, we understood why the dialogues were repeated, and we wondered what will happen to Prem and his wedding, will he be able to go through with it? Oh and this is the 2nd most amazing scene in the movie- the wedding scene...Vigneswaran [Saras] simply rocked.... The entire theater was howling with laughter and it dint stop till the very end...

Another amazing dialogue -
avan kulla irutha suppression, depression, uppression, fobia, anxiety, disorder, complex, kastam, nastam, soham, bayam... ellam pidingitu velia vandirchi...

 

Even though i missed the Oh Crazy minnal song, it made sense to have kept it off, the movie dint need songs at all.. The 4 guys stole the show.... Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom was a pleasant surprise, and it is a huge success, even though none of the cast are popular, nor did it have any item numbers or masala. Shows that different genres also work, especially when directed well..  

A must watch for tamil movie fans.... 

I would rate it 4.9/5 :-)

Movie review: The Magic of Belle Isle

Every now and then comes a movie that makes you cry; feel so warm and smile.. One such movie is the new Morgan Freeman starrer "The Magic of Belle Isle".

A movie about a writer who had put his pen away and about a woman with 3girls stuck in a messy divorce in a small obscure town in the middle of nowhere..

When Monty(Morgan freeman) is dropped off at the old rickety house an told this is where he'll be spending his summer in and that he'll have to dog air he is none too happy! Armed with an endless supply of Scotch and sharp tongue he goes about the day..

Things change when his neighbors recognise him, and a little 9yr old comes to him with $34.18cents asking him to teach her to bring out her imagination..

This is an endearing movie-
Showcases the battles of the mother Mrs O'Neil (Madison) with 3girls, includes a teenager who resents her and thinks the mom is the reason for the divorce

A writer who is inspired by a tiny toy and the mom to write once again, who falls in love with the town, and it's people, even the dog.

It's about reinventing oneself.. Rekindling what you once had..

As always, Morgan Freeman blows you away with his acting, especially the scenes where he tries to teach the dog to fetch; shoots his revolver when Twed the clown yells at Carl and his way of tellin Fannigan that if he ever had a little girl, she'd be just like Fannigan..

Do watch or let me know and I shall loan he DVD..

Starring - Morgan Freeman, Virginia Madsen and Emma Fuhrmann. Directed by Rob Reiner

[Movie] Delhi in a day

 

I was itching to watch a movie, not because it had been a while, but because the last movie i watched left a terrible taste in my mouth and just about every other cell on me... No, dont ask me what it was.... i might throw up.... :-)

So, the movie i chose to watch this time was "Delhi in a day", the plot seemed interesting, actors were the ones who are featured in off beat movies, and it had a certain "non masala" feel to it. And it was made by Prashant Nair [who was making his directorial debut] 

The movie is a very real, sweet at times and disturbing and sad at other times. It shows the glaring differences between the upper class and lower class [ Dont think the story is confined to just Delhi, it is true of any city across the world]  This mix of worlds is seen by an outsider, a British guest who comes visiting, Jasper (Lee Williams).  

The story..

While the Bhatia family is upstairs battling with a broken down Air conditioner, their household help [Raghu, Chottu, Udai Singh, and Rohini] are already up and about. They are having some fun of their own in the kitchen, imitating the man & woman of the house, and generally unwinding before work takes over their lives. Kalpana Bhatia[ Lilette Dubey]  is rudely awakened as the AC has broken down and she is feeling hot & sweaty, she calls out to the household help, but gets no response. As she marches towards the kitchen, she pauses upon hearing their chatter. Barges into the room and gives them all a earful, and orders to kick them into action. She runs them through instructions given earlier on occasion of Jasper visiting them.

Jasper says he is staying with them just for a day, and is off to Banaras starting off his "explore India". He has quit his job, cashed in his savings, packed a backpack and landed at their doorstep.  

Kalpana insists her maid and cook pay extra attention, belting out specific orders- food, room, transport etc... Their drivers are tamilians, and one guy, Nataraj in particular is so afraid he keeps saying "i dont want this job, i shall go back home".  Jasper wants to roam around Delhi on foot and local transport, but Kalpana will not hear of it. Rohini [Anjali Patel] is a village girl with dreams in her eyes, she aspires to become a movie actress [dances and performs in the kitchen and whenever they are away from work] Raghu Kaka, is almost like her father, an old frail man who's been with the Bhatia family for generations.

Towards evening when Jasper returns to the Bhatia home, he discovers his money envelope completely empty, nearly 4000 pounds gone missing. He expresses concern to Kalpana who instantly calls to Rohini & Raghu Kaka asking them if they took the money. 

A discussion with Mukund [Kulbhushan Kharbanda] and they decide that no matter what the money has to be returned- she points a finger at Raghu kaka saying he must have taken it, tempted and with desire to get Rohini married off. Her husband says "else,we will have to repay the money to Jasper, cant have our name tarnished because of someone's misdeed"

  

While the Bhatia's have come to a concensus on this, it is the household help who are in a mess. Rohini is worried for her kaka, a man who has been more than a father to her. She decides to raise some money, going off into the narrow shady alleys of the village nearby only to return empty handed. Jasper on seeing her crying near their hut, understands the position and makes matters right. 

Even when Kalpana comes to know of the truth, she continues to muddle over what is the right thing to do... Reveal the true culprit or pray that Kaka manages to round up the money and return it to Jasper. It comes as a surprise when Jasper does what he does before bidding them adieu. 

Victor Banerjee as the recluse grandfather, Kalpana's father and his interactions with Jasper were scenes that were few and far between, but beautiful. I did wish there was more of him...

 Delhi in a Day is a movie that gives you a reality check into the lives of our domestic help- what they go through, their struggles, fears, hopes, anger and how they fall pray to upper class thrashings for no fault of theirs.  They work hard, are polite and mannered, taking on whatever words thrown at them, but in privacy do make fun of their employers and have their own kind of fun. 

Kulbhushan Kharbanda & Lilette Dubey are perfect as the Delhi-Punjabi  family heads, with no cliches or over the top dramas.  Anjali Patil stood out among the other set of actors, she was so expressive with her eyes and innocent smile. Being the only girl among the all male household help, it is beautiful to see how the others care about her and protect her. Jasper too in the movie is smitten by her beauty and innocence. 

The movie was good, showing off the parallel lives between the elite and the poor, but i wish the director had gone a bit deeper.. It felt abrupt and as if he dint know what to do and decided to end the story. Or was he scared to take it further being his 1st movie? but good attempt for a 1st timer...

Overall 7/10

The Landmark Sale....

The Landmark Sale..

"Books Books and More Books.. all of this at a discounted price!" is the song that plays in my head everytime i read about a Sale or offer. And so with all the eagerness of a child going Toy shopping, i headed to Landmark, Apex Plaza, Nungambakkam Saturday evening...

Landmark is a store i used to frequent, almost daily during my college days. So much so that almost every staff knew/recognised me. And then, i saw the other outlets [Citi center & Ampa Mall] come up, and i began visiting them as well. So, this sale was like opening doors to a Treasure chest....

Was i excited? Yes
Was i eager to grab a few books? Yes

But within minutes of scrounging through the tables and mounts of books across the tables, i was disappointed... to say the least...

I then began browsing through the shelves looking for a few books i had been wanting to pick up/read, but couldnt find any. And the shelves seemed empty, almost, there were very few books, and most of them were old and seemed like they had been left there to be sold during the sale.

I was looking for A Brief history of time by Stephen Hawking, and after much searching, couldnt find it. One of the staff pointed me to the Science section, but alas, there was just one book by Hawking. The same story for almost all the other authors but for the Romance and Humour section. They were full...

I did notice they were selling Sherlock Holmes at Rs199/volume. Which was tempting, but i knew my cousin had the entire collection....

There was also the cool 3 for the price of 2 offer going on. And the good thing about this offer was it wasnt restricted to a particular genre, you could pick any book from across the store that had the 3 for 2 sticker and ta da... you were in for a treat.... 

I spent a few more minutes, picked up a few books- one for me, few for friends' kids and none of them had any offer. It was then off to the stationery section, where i picked up the 2 very sad worn out Stamp albums[albums to store stamps], and quite a few VZ India postcards [ which was the highlight of the visit] and headed over to the billing counter.

Walking out i wondered if this sale should be renamed "Clearance sale" or maybe i should visit one of the other outlets before jumping to conclusions....