The WOW. factor...

Last Saturday was the much awaited Wow! The Extra Terrestrials show in Chennai...  Had booked tickets directly with Mr Hariharan of the event management company- Showspace Solutions

[Pic from etwow.in website]

Date- 6th Feb, Saturday

Reached the Venue: Music Academy 

Checked the Time: 5.45pm

Where were our tickets? - With Mr Hari [ who was in a meeting with a client]

[Pic from etwow.in website]

Once the other 5 eager souls  had arrived, i got a bit frantic and called Hari again, but no response.. We waited... waited... patiently waited... After a few mins, my phone rang and i went on a mini goose chase, rather ticket chase with Hari- trying to locate his car.. looking for my wallet, pulling out cash, etc etc.... Victoriously returned to teh troops, and hauled them upstairs to the gate... Now, here comes the drama.... 

                                                Not bad for a shot taken from far far away..

The volunteer guys who were chking tickets, pulled out mine from the envelope and began punching them in... one punch, two punch.... stop.. pause... - "Ma'am, these are for 8.30pm show and not 6pm", he said.... 

A mini act by 3 women.... not v clear as we sat far and not enough lighting

Jeez [ what the heck... what now.... looking from one soul to the other, looking at mom.. and then called Hari, who was apologetic but said he unfortunately couldnt do anything as the shows were running houseful]... eeeks.... mom, Srivats and G3 were ok to stay back, kill 2hrs and come back, but Apar was  clear - I cant , i'll get going, A jr will sleep off..will get late..and she had come by Bike.... few mins passed and suddenly the volunteer guy called us and said - there are some seats vacant behind, just go and sit... :D 

We rushed in, gleefully found 6empty seats right at the back and got comfortable... were happy we got to see the show.... :)

The show began on the dot.. and it was truly WOW.. Acrobats.. gymnastics... circus acts.. call it whatever you wanna, but the 8 performers were WOW, amazing talent.... [Took some videos, will upload em on youtube and share the link soon]

Vishesh's take

Review in The Hindu

Following the show, we went and had a yummy dinner at Palki Restaurant inside Amaravathy campus, across the road....  Thanks for a great time guys!! :)

Giraffes in Chennai....

If anyone were to ask me “don’t you wish you were living elsewhere and not in this drab city?” I just might give them a thwack and send them packing!! I love Chennai!! Yes, there were times when I wished I was elsewhere, but that was only cos I hadn’t travelled much, but now that I am sprouting wings and exploring new places, am extremely happy living here... Ok, I got to be honest, Chennai is more than home... it has become a city of action[not, not ref to Political chaos or stunts in Kollywood movies...]... There is something or the other happening through the year...

How can I not mention the infamous December Music season, followed by the Dance festival? Not to forget the various other cultural activities held across the year- starting with the Chennai Sangamam in Jan[spread over a week] , to Shakti Concert & Earthsync in Feb, to the Metro plus Theatre Fest and Music fest, the various International film fests, active theatre performances, International music concerts and so much more..... All these events are not a one off thing; they are sprinkled through the year, every year!! How do I know? Well, I try to keep myself updated on what is happening and attend as many as possible.... Ok, won’t go on and on... Shall do another post on “Fun in Chennai”

The most recent experience has to be the Chennai Sangamam’s Bon Jour India’s Les Giraffe [ in asssociation with Alliance Francaise]... Jan 15^th evening, 6.30pm, Venkatnarayana Road was all we knew, and we were there at 6pm, waiting for the mysterious Giraffes to make an appearance....

After the initial quenching of curiosity, clicking random shots around the Sangamam, venue of Natesan Park, we plonked ourselves right near the median, armed with our cameras and necks stretched out looking for the act to make an appearance!!

There they came... Woww!! Tall, majestic, towering high... Red giraffes, with pretty light rings on their necks, glided across the road... wait, they were headed towards Burkit Road, and not us... Darn it!! Do we go ahead or stand ground? No, we stay put, we decided!!!

They paused at the junction, did a bit of an act- Saw some fire rings, a man on stilts or was he on a platform? Weren’t sure!! Anyways, it was exciting... In a few mins, the giraffe were looming large, over our heads, and stood within a few meters waiting to start their performance... It was beautiful...

Nothing over the top, but the sheer size, idea, design, concept and synchronisation, and the woman standing on a podium belting out Opera numbers, the Clown/flirt/ groom on drums, flitting about took our breath away!! About 10 French men, the singer, and few others helping in the ground had the act running smooth as ice rink....

Even after the act was over, and the Giraffes had moved on to the next stop, we followed them, talking to some others in the crowd, sharing thoughts, while our cameras were rolling through the evening... What fun it was!!!

Chennai Sangamam is one awesome way of not only showcasing Chennai/Tamil Nadu’s rich culture, art, folk, food but also a way of bringing in people from other towns, promoting tourism and educating the locals about how beautiful the state is.... Hats off to Kanimozhi for this effort!!

[Movie] Masilamani

Maasilamani by RNR Manohar

Starring- : Nakul, Sunaina, Pavan, Karunas, Santhanam, M S Bhaskar, Raj Kapoor, Santhana Bharathi, Delhi Ganesh and many others.

Music: Imman

The movie opens with Nakul chasing a man down the streets and getting sentenced to fine or term in jail. Masilamani [Nakul], living in Rani Anna Nagar is not the usual romeo or run of the mill hero. He is a social activist goes after anyone who does wrong, be it a case of eve teasing on the bus, cheating an old couple in a property sale or chain snatching. One day, he catches sight of Divya [Sunaina] confronting some guys who tease her students, and in the process he falls head over heels in love with her.

However, the hunky dory romance hits a dead end the day he causes mayhem at her dance concert, when all he wanted was to meet their area MLA requesting for assistance in clearing up a sewage problem. One look at his angry face and Divya lables him "Rowdy" . She mistakes his character and assumes he is a crook, despising him from that minute on!

Invariably from thereon, everytime their paths cross it is when he is beating someone up or chasing a thief. He even jokes to her about this. Knowing there is no way Divya will love Masi, he adorns the role of Mani, a soft spoken sophisticated guy.

With the help of his two friends, he stages the whole drama and wins over Divya's family and subsequently her as well. This is where,Bhupathi [Pavan] comes into town taking over as the Sub Inspector of Ashok nagar police station. After a run in with Masi, he vows revenge, but is left confused whenever he tries to prove Masi and Mani are one! Infact, the residents of Rani Anna Nagar, where Masi resides come together to establish that Mani is different from Masi. The day Divya decides to test him, a simple text message has his friends jumping into action and helping him strengthen ties with Divya!! It is one amazing scene that leaves us all stumped. So, is the one at the hospital when Bhupathi brings in the Masi's sister's daughter, while Masi is pretending to be Mani and the way the situation is handled deserves a lot of praise.

As the movie progresses, Divya comes to know that indeed Masi and Mani are one. She must now decide who she loves and if she will marry Masilamani!

Laced with sharp dialogues, plenty of action, and romance, the movie goes on tell the tale of how Masi as Mani convinces Divya he is a good samaritan and truly loves her. The entire plot has been beautiful crafted by the director and executed very well by Nakul and rest of the Rani Anna Nagar residents!

With every scene, Nakul has proved that he can act, dance, do comedy and is good at it. Suniana looks beautiful, and there is a certain grace in her acting as well. In certain scenes, she does come acrss flat, but overall good performance. Bhaskar , Santhanam, Karnas and Srinath provide just the right amount of comedy, without going overboard!!

Music by Imman is enjoyable, especially ‘Odi Odi’ track, it is quite a peppy number. The other songs have variety and vigour to keep the audiences glued to the seats; however all of them are a tad too long. Song locations and cinematography was good.

All in all, Masilamani is a romantic thriller, filled with intense moments and rib tickling comedy!!

Movie marathon!!! :)

 

My friend and i went for the movie - The Mummy:Tomb of the Dragon Emperor/ The Mummy 3, with tickets not being available for any others... anyways, we enjoyed the movie... loads of wacko scenes.. action... amazing effects... the sights are worth it!!!  Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh launch into a vigorous sword fight — and what a grand pleasure it is to watch these two world-class stars in action again... 

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Ever since we saw the promos for Bachna ae haseeno, me and my friend wanted to check it out... we knew it was probably a brainless romantic , but dint expect a diff version of DDLJ....  

The journey of rich spoilt boy Raj Sharma (Ranbir Kapoor) is the main plot of this movie.... He meets three girls at different stages of his life: Mahi (Minissha Lamba) - a small-town girl from Punjab, who is looking for Raj(SRK of DDLJ), Radhika  who becomes Shreya (Bipasha Basu) - a model from Ranchi in Mumbai, with whom he has a live in relationship and finally flees when he gets a proj in Aus... and finally Gayatri (Deepika Padukone) - an NRI taxidriver from Australia. The film is about a boy who goes from one love affair to another, only to run into true love and then being dumped, cos she isnt ready for marriage... this forces him to look back on all the nasty heartbreaks he has been responsible for, and he goes back to all those women!!! 

Oh, how can i sign off without mentioning the drop dead Gorgeous Kunal kapoor...divine!!! :) 

Except for Khuda jaane, none of the other songs are really nice.. infact songs not really needed!!  

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I saw this movie at my friend's house.. she was sleeping and i was sifting thru her dvd collection, thought this might be fun.. and i LOVE animated movies.. but it was wacko and a bit boring!!!  Am talking about The Ugly Ducklinbg and me... the only sweet thing about the movie is --- don’t worry if you’re not accepted by those around you, you are special!!!  

[Movie] The Dark Knight

Wow

Awesome

Fantastic

Mind Blowing

Unbelievable..

Now, these are not just words.. they are all that come to my mind when i think of The Dark Knight, by Christopher Nolan.. A movie that had gripping to my seat, enjoying every second of it, and there were some scenes where the audience was so involved, that we were holding our breath, clapping when something amazing happened on screen.. I've never really been a Big fan of the Batman, or Superman and such movies, but decided to watch this movie for Heath ledger, i had seen him earlier in Brokeback Mountain and thought he was a fantastic actor.. and then he had to go on and die. well, atleast he left us something to remember him by.. the role of Joker!!

The movie which is supposed to be all about Batman and how he keeps Gotham city clean has turned into a movie that is all about the JOKER, and his ploys..A man who has no rules, who does not steal cos he wants money, who does not kill cos he likes blood is one who keeps the momentum going thru the movie.... The Dark Knight” is not a simplistic tale of good and evil. Batman is good, yes, The Joker is evil, yes. But Batman poses a more complex puzzle than usual: The citizens of Gotham City are in an uproar, calling him a vigilante and blaming him for the deaths of policemen and others. And the Joker is more than a villain....

Thriller? Action? Good guy vs Bad guy? Dazzling spectacle? Devilish fun? Check the movie out. The Dark Knight creates a place where good and evil — expected to do battle — decide instead to get it on and dance around it. "I don't want to kill you," the Joker tells Batman/ Bruce Wayne [Christian Bale]. "You complete me." Don't buy the tease. He means it.....

Every plot.. Every explosion is so well executed that no one has a clue what he is upto, but himself...

How Batman and his team (Morgan freeman, and Michael Caine] work on creating a suit that will help him fly better, and how he zooms about in his Batmobile stuns us!!! the kind of effects, technology, stunts that has been used in this movie is probably a 1st of its kind...

Not to foreget the amazing performance by the D.A, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), who stays above corruption in the city and vows to change the face of Gotham city, and in the 2nd half, he looks "wow", no words, the ripped apart face, bulging eyes, and the make up is divine.......Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes has done a lovely job as the woman who is torn between two men, one her friend and other the one she loves.....

A movie that you should watch to experience high paced action...

Bruce Wayne: I knew the mob wouldn’t go down without a fight. But this is different. They crossed the line.

Alfred Pennyworth: You crossed the line first, sir. You hammered them. And in their desperation they turned to a man they didn’t fully understand. Some men aren’t looking for anything logical. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn