Engeyum Eppothum

My uncle called asking "ethavathu cinema irukka, nalaikku polama?" and that was all i needed.. After a quick check with some friends on which movie to pick, i spoke to uncle, mom & dad and booked tickets for Engeyum Eppothum at Satyam Cinemas 12.15pm Show... It was the 1st time Dad and uncle were heading to Satyam, so there was an added splash of excitment amidst us.

After watching the movie, i am sharing my review ... 

Directed by M. Saravanan
Produced by A. R. Murugadoss

Starring : Jai
Anjali
Ananya
Sharvanand

Even before the credits rolled in, we saw the Fox Studios come alive on the screen. Must say, it was a proud moment to see Fox coming into the Tamil movie scene as well.. This is Fox Star Studios' first Tamil production in association with A R Murugadoss!! Kudos!!

So, what is the movie about?Well, it is a love story, not one, but 2, oh wait.. i think it is 3 or 4 :-)
And then there is the Bus accident that kind of ties everything together

Whats the big deal about this, you might think.. But you need to watch the movie to know why!!
Everyday we watch new channels showcasing incidents of bus accidents and train colisions and we feel sorry for those who lost their lives and for those who have been left behind. We do wonder what kind of life they had led, or what they were embarking on the journey for.

Well, this is exactly what M.Saravanan has done through this movie. He takes us forward, giving us a closer look at the lives of those who were in one such accident, and shows what their lives were like, the work, romance, problems they faced before and why they were on the bus in the 1st place..

With just a handful of characters, the director has created a movie that is not only fun, filled with life, humour, romance, emotions and one that has the audience reacting in every scene..  What begins at the Bus stand is a journey with so many twists and turns, that at the end we are all holding our hearts in our hands,wondering where this is going.... 

The Movie

Amudha (Ananya) comes to Chennai from her village to attend an interview. Stranded in CMBT bus stand, she takes her sister's advice and seeks help from a stranger Goutham (Sarva) to find her way around the city and reach her interview on time. She is very scared and reluctant at the beginning, but soon warms up to him to a point where she gets him to take her not only to the interview, but to her sister's place.. She insists on travelling by Share auto, reports to her sister about her suspisions about him, and judges him through the day..  

Amudha returns to Tiruchy eventually, but realises she has fallen in love with Goutham. She then heads off to make the journey to Chennai to find him[so much so she does not even know his name], just when Goutham boards the bus to visit her in Trichy[ all he knows is her name and that she is from Tirchy]  

 As a new day dawns, in Trichy, another romance is spurting off between Kadhiresan (Jai) and  Manimegalai (Anjali). They aare such contrasts in their personality that it makes us chuckle everytime they meet, and every dialogue Manimegalai thrusts on him.. Their romance takes off rough, but soon finds smooth roads, and finally they decide to visit the village near Trichy to meet Kadhiresan's parents.

This is when tragedy strikes... Near Villupuram, both the buses collide. What happens then is the crux of the movie...

The director takes us back to each of their lives, giving us a glimpse of what was going on before the accident before he brings us back to the scene of the collision... 

 It is amazing to watch Manimegalai take charge and order people to be taken to hospital, including Kadhiresan, who is hurt and bleeding from his ears... Goutham spots Amudha on the bus, injured and sends her off to a hospital... The finale is at the hospital.... Do the couples unite or do they have to go their ways heart broken? Who survives? who doesnt? Who are the other passengers on the bus and what was their connections?

Watch the movie to know more.. 

Good stuff

The movie is probably the only one i've seen in years that is as close to reality as possible...  

Very well made .... 

And the characters are all etched out perfectly... 

The Govinda Song

Downers:

Wish the director dint show so much goriness of the accident, but i guess its needed to hit the reality button home

In the scene where Amudha and Goutham travel around the city to get to the place of her interview, the maze thry travel left me puzzled.. ---->>> From CMBT to Egmore [saying it is Kilpauk]---> from there they seem to go to R A Puram and then to Nungambakkam high Road and finally to Ethiraj Salai [which is supposed to College road]

Again in the scene between Manimegalai and Kadhiresan WHO ARE IN TRICHY, she takes him shopping to ESPIRIT, Khader nawaz khan road[spending 150bucks on auto], blows Rs6000, and then hops across to Barista [above Best wishes, nungambakkam high road] and then she heads off home [in Trichy] and he goes home[in Trichy]

Movie makers- please understand that your audiences do NOTICE things, minute details and we are not DUH!

Mankatha- Game of In or Out

"Mankatha"- the title says it all...  Ajith has pulled off quite a performance in his 50th Movie and Arjun along with the rest of the team adding to it, although i wonder what was the reason behind making this movie in  the 1st place!

After Chennai 28 that was based on Cricket, Venkat Prabhu has taken on yet another sport as the theme for his next movie-"Mankatha".. It is based on the sport that involves Money and the Men involved.  

Vinayak mahadevan [Ajith], a cop suspended for letting a Terrorist go is the KING MAN in this plot... He plays a Bad ass who is focussed on nothing but MONEY.. The movie is Ajith all the way- with his loud laughs, body language, suave moves, and dialogue delivery.... and ofcourse it shows very obviously that Venkat Prabhu has tried very hard to portray Vinayak as Danny Ocean from the Ocean Series, and it kinda obviously falls flat...

Coming back to the story, Vinayak goes about his days meeting people, and enjoying a carefree life, that also includes his gilfried Sanjana (Trisha) who is the daughter of an influential local goon Arumuga Chettiyar (Jayaprakash of Yudham Sei fame).

Vinayak is a fun guy, who will do anything for money, but goes about it quite smooth- befriending the right kind of people, tech savvy enough to plant bugs to learn about the plan others are making and all the while living his life to the full...

The movie loosely involves the Betting that goes on  in the IPL matches... Assistant Commissioner of Police Prithvi (Arjun) is given the case to end the betting scandal.

Arumuga Chettiyar discovers that Rs 500 crores is the money involved in the betting for the Final IPL match. He uses his nexus with underworld in Mumbai and tries to route it through his recreation centre- Golden Theater in Mumbai.

He has a team of young guns, amongst who Sumanth (Vaibhav) is Arumuga Chettiyar's protege. Sumanth makes a plan with the Police officer Ganesh (Ashwin) to loot the money. Also joining them in the plot are Mahanth (Mahanth), who runs a bar in Mumbai and Prem (Premgi Amaran) an IIT pass out who's recently landed in Mumbai with money dreams in his eyes.

Vinayak comes to know of their plan and takes over as the leader guiding them through the loot, till one morning he along with Ganesh and Sumanth land at the place where the booty is stored to discover it all gone! Mahath and Prem have gone missing which makes it obvious that they have disappeared with the cash.  

This is when Arumuga Chettiyar begins the hunt for the treasure, interrogates Sumanth by threatening to hurt his wife and chases after the gang to repossess his loot. Vinayak follows every move of Arumuga Chettiar, and this is where the chase begins to heat up ...  

Some interesting dialogues in the movie--

* Thappu seiyurathellam sernthu senjuringa aana thandanai mattum thaniya avanukka?

* Sathiyama inimey kudikkavey kudathu da.

* Oh.. Sanjay Ramasaamy.. Mel maadi. Avar marakkurathukulla pooidunga.

* Inimey namma ellam thanni adicha, orey brand aa maintain pannanum. Mix  panna kudathu.

* The King!! No no no.. The King Maker!!

* Over confidence udambukku nallathu illa King Maker.

* Cha cha cha cha Ivan ippadi solla mattaney? Yeppudi solluva sollu…

* Money money money money money Ummah

* Vaada Bill Gates!!

* Action King!! I’m impressed!! Gimme More!!

 

Let me not reveal the spoilers... but Ajith and Arjun have managed to pull off the twist in tale quite well... Venkat Prabhu has created a movie that shows of Ajith's various facets... which have also been delivered well.. The movie has strong traces of Ocean 11 series, and Italian Job as well.. It does have a Hollywood style direction as well, which was good to see in a Tamil movie...I know i have said this earlier, but heck, i cant get over the similarities ....

I wish movie makers realise they can create movies without song sequences and the audience will still enjoy them... A background score would have been good enough.... In this movie, i felt there was no need for a heroine leave alone half the tracks belted out, some of which made no sense..!! Again, Venkat Prabhu has created another song like the Saroja Samaa nikalo with this "Machi open the bottle" for Premji...

The bloopers during the credits are worth a watch... yet another 1st in the Tamil film industry!! This was the best part about the movie!! but then being able to endure 3hours just for a few laughs?!!

You Can sell by Shiv Khera

"If you think you can - you can !

If you think you can not - you can not !
And either way........you are right !"
— Shiv Khera

After the success of You can Win, Shiv Khera is now back with You Can Sell...  The front cover of the book has the title You can win and the byline- "Results are Rewarded, efforts arent" , which is the crux of the book.. which is the truth of the world!! 

If you want to: 

Gain success and avoid pitfalls 

Meet and exceed your goals 

Establish credibility and grow 

Gain a competitive edge

Learn the qualities of a winning professional

This Book is For you! [is what the back cover starts off with........]

Shiv khera sure has a way with words and well, am sure many are eager to learn the Art of selling for who this book will be a bible! 

Giving a brief sneak into those Who are not selling, Shiv Khera goes on to talk about how our mind works, how we should think, and the ideas that need to be encouraged from within us for us to succeed in life. 

This book is a hardcore seller when it comes to giving people little tips=- starting with one's physical appearance, the attitude, posture, the way we smile and the art of convincing others to buying what we are selling.. It could be a product, it could be a strategy, it could be a service... The bottom line is, if you want to sell something, anything, you need to be convinced enough to talk about it.. You need to beleive in it before you can sell it to others..

Dont simply sell the product, sell the experience

Dont simply talk about the benefits and advantages of a service, convince the other person they cannot grow/develop/excel without it

Dont sell blatantly, but smooth talk to have the other person BUY! 

I felt the book was a bit too much, maybe its just me, but i did get comments from others i spoke to on how Shiv Khera's words are worshiped.. So, if you are looking for something to carry in your pocket, to give you an instant boost of adrenalin or give you a helping hand in dire situations, then go ahead, read this book.. Otherwise, keep this to refer in case you have doubts or going through a rough patch to give yourself hope!