Make up magic

Awrite..it's pretty obvious , I am pumped about Rajni's next movie.Jus wanted to show , what a good director can do ? These two images - One from Thillu Mullu which released about 18 years ago and the other one from Sivaji..!!

Thanga Vettai - Hunt for Gold

Okie..Im gloating over my CAVS victory over the Miami Heat , it was a great win !!

While I was eating my dinner , I flipped the channel to SUN TV.The new game show Thanga Vettai (hunt for gold or gold hunt) was on.It's a trivia show.Now a taste of the questions on the show.
1.Topic : Cricket : How many runs do you score for a boundary ?
2.Topic : General : What is the "Ship of the Desert" ?

3.Topic : Literature : Which mythological work of literature did Kambar translate to tamil ?

4.Topic : General : How many avatharams does Dasavatharam mean ?(The participant did not know the answer , so a clue was given - "Total number of fingers in both hands" - thank god the participant was not Hrithik Roshan)

I understand this a family based trivia show meaning families as a whole take part in it.So you are not looking at 35 year old (No-life , No-girlfriend)geeks taking part in it.But the level of difficulty in these questions is down right pathetic.On top of this ridiculous level of questions
, the host , Ramya Krishnan (Daaaaang..ai'nt she hotttt) makes it seem like the Indian"Jeopardy".

Now , I have a question.How smart should one be to take part in this show ?

Sivaji…Paraak..Paraak..Paraak

The day, AVM(for those who dont know..AVM is a very old/prestigious film production company in India) announced a movie with Superstar Rajnikanth, is still vivid in my memory.(Of course it was not too long ago , so I remember it really well , It was actually on SUN Thalaippu Seydhigal..I have it on my TIVO).I was so excited that I called all my filmi friends in India immediately and chatted with them about what a huge opportunity this is for Rajni,Shankar and the Tamil Film industry as a whole.

For all the readers wondering...what big opportunity ?…well. This film could be Tamil Industry’s “Sholay”,”Titanic” etc...in magnitude, box-office collections. It can rewrite record books.i.e if the opportunity on hand is not wasted!

It has been long since Rajnikanth has acted in a film which had the director as the captain of the ship. Well technically the director is the captain of the ship for any movie, but for a Rajnikanth movie its different and most of you know why?(If you dont..its a long story..so jus take my word for it)

Well all that changed with Chandramukhi Rajni's previous release earlier this year.There are glaring holes in Chandramukhi, technically and logically, but the movie served its purpose. It brought Rajnikanth back to the forefront of Tamil Cinema after the BABA debacle.Chandramukhi was entertaining and the movie re-established Rajni’s status as the box-office Baadhshah of the South Indian Film Industry.

Rajni’s earlier release, BABA flopped. Well I don’t understand that!

Let me explain..BABA was nothing but what Rajni believes (he actually believes that he is the son of God..im not even kidding you folks…the dude believes that he is a Yogi or something) and he wanted to spread the message of Religion/Faith to all the people.

The masses rejected it. But when you think about it, BABA and Chandramukhi are not much different. In BABA, Rajni says that there is a 200 year old Yogi, still living a healthy life in the Himalayas and he actually has a conversation with “Babaji” in the movie.

Whereas, in Chandramukhi he claims, there is a snake in a bottle, for more than 100 years, guarding the angry revengeful sprit of Chandramukhi .The snake happily returns to Guindy Snake Park when the spirit is freed.

Now both of these events are fantasies, how did BABA flop? Well I think BABA was a failure at many levels. The movie had a decent story (by Rajni Movie standards) but the screenplay, dialogues where very patchy.Sureshkrishna the director, really messed up a lot in the movie. If you notice, you can make out that dialogues were improvised during the shot and most of that was out of place. That won’t happen with Shankar!

Anyway I digress, I think now, Rajni will have a opportunity to work on a Social theme after a long time. If you dissect all of Shankar’s movies, they would have a social theme.(Except maybe for Kadhalan) The film has KV Anand(brilliant cameraman/director of Kana Kanden) ,AR Rahman ,writer Sujatha and choreographer Raju Sundaram lending support to Shankar.

I hope they don’t screw up. But again. its going to be real hard to screw up with such a team. Folks , get ready SIVAJI is going to be a treat !

I wanted to post this yesterday (12/12/2005), marking Rajni’s 56^th birthday but I could not. Better Late than never I guess…..Happy B'day ..Thalaivaa !

Weather Forecast - Business Plan

One of the few things that I love about TV in the USA,is the weather report.Sometimes, I enjoy the humour, the weatherman laces with the information he shares!(Heck...David Letterman was once a weatherman..)

Anyway..When I watch a weather report...Its accurate..or atleast as close as Mankind can get to a uncontrollable phenomenon.Be it Snow..Wind..Hurricane..Rain..or jus a normal day , they guys predict some pretty cool stuff.When it snows they even point out the city blocks that are going to get hit hard.They give you the number on inches to expect ,the UV factor, which route to take the office, how to dress tomorrow ,what to eat tomorrow..okie I made the last one up.

But seriously...Can you imagine the information they prepare for the commoner to gear up and battle against the mother nature.Fabulous.. !!

The other day ..I was watching SUN TV news at home....Da.Da(background music)......the weather report....So im thinking..awrite..India has come a long way in many technological and scientific arenas..the weather reporting must have improved a lot..from the Black and White India Map DoorDarshan used to show.

The reporter starts off..."Well...Hello Viewers..the weather sucked today..look at the people battling against the Rain..stuff floating in water..school were closed..and kids happily returned home..aftr they found out school was closed.."...and she continues the blabber on about how the day "WAS"....hmm...do we need a weather report to tell us..how the weather was..?? ..Hmmm I think we have a decent idea about that...Duuh...

What we need to know is about how the weather is..and more importantly..how the weather is going to be ??...The reporter in her 2 minute segment...spends about 20 seconds saying this.."and yeah...tomorrow..is propably gonna rain....it might stop too...but then it might not...good luck anyway".....HELLLLLLLO.....am I the only one here who thinks that this weather report is garbage ???

I dont need to know how the weather was...tell me how it is going to be...Dont give me suggestions based on..ur imagination...base it on scientifc facts...dont we have one of the best Remote sensing systems in the world ?? what the hell is goin on...how many more years are we still going to speculate about the weather...why cant TV networks in India..spend the money and get the DOPPLER...TRIPLE DOPPLER RADAR...or something like that..and give us accurate forecasts...I think the networks dont want to spend that kind of money..for a lot of reasons..but I think the main reason is....comon..you guys must know this..especially in Madras...its either going to be hot..or very hot..or very very hott...or so hot that you thought that the SUN was jus screwing with you...Coz of our climatic conditions its propably not necessary for such a system.

But didnt more that 300 people die due to the rain in Tamil Nadu in the past 2 months....Is the rain like a TSUNAMI that we cannot predict ??? Coudnt we have saved those lives.. ???

Well..my business plan is this..Start a Weather Company in India..tie up with on of the local TV stations in the USA..and get their help with respect to satellite imaging..or whatever ??

We need to have the "Triple Doppler Radar" in India..Comon now..dont you guys think that the people would appreciate some ACCURATE..weather information about TOMORROW ???

Get a Real Job..for crying out loud !

The Indian/Tamil news outlets have been dominated over the past few weeks with the headlines Court cases/protests/Arrest warrants on the people from the Tamil Film Industry.

Kushboo -- the erstwhile demi-goddess has always been the the darling of the masses in Tamil Nadu.Not anymore! In an interview to a Leading National magazine, she made some remarks on pre-marital sex and how the 21st century Tamil woman has evolved.

The next day you see protests bursting out by pseudo-political outfits trying to gain publicity through this incident. These outfits claim that the actress has made derogatory remarks on Tamil women and women from our state never indulge in such "blasphemous" acts such as pre-marital sex.COMON NOW....grrrrrrrrrr...(Im controlling myself here)

Now even if that assumption is true , who cares what Kushboo says ???? Its her opinion and she made a point about it. Agree or Disagree...That’s all. I am tired of these "jobless" people making this a big issue and pursuing legal action against her. They have asked her to vacate Madras and go back to Mumbai.(where she is originally from)Not only does this make for BAD news...its takes cops to control these protests, takes away valuable court-time which could be spent on more pressing legal issues.

Suhasini, another actress, voiced her support to Kushboo and apologized on behalf of all the Tamils , for her recent travails. Guess what, now these "jobless" people are gunning for Suhasini's head. Their arguement.."Who is Suhasini to apologize for all the Tamils?”....Hmm interesting point, if that’s the case. Let me ask these protestors a question. Who are you to protest for Tamils on behalf of all the Tamils? I dont remember an election, where people voted these protestors to be the moral police of Tamil Nadu.

Comon now. we could go back and forth. I don’t believe employment is booming in India. Contrary to media reports. I think India has an ever increasing rate of unemployment. Because if it did not...These people would have real jobs!!

Super Interludes

This past week , some tamil songs have been on my mind.I just was not able to get em out.I was singing on the train..singing at home while I cook...All the time practically !

I wanted to throw out a list of songs.This list of songs has some of the best interludes I have enjoyed.Awrite here we go..

1.Song: Anbal Unnai Velvom.. Film:Three Roses
KR , an underrated and unlucky composer.In this song , he proves his genius.Look out for the second interlude , when it starts with violins..turns into techno+violins..and ends with violins.
Jus brilliant !!

2.Song:Pani Vizhum Maalayil ..Film:Meera
Classic IR song.My fav. singer SPB just walks away with all the honors in this song..But when the second interlude begins..you realise who's the boss..IR the great !!

3.Song:Enakenna Erkanavae Pirandhaval Ivalo ...Film:Parthen Rasithen
Other than this song appears in a Prashanth film....Everything is brilliant in this song.Second interlude again !

4.Song:Malaragale..Film:Lovebirds
ARR's brilliant composition alongwith Hariharan's golden voice are only "accessories" when you listen to the brilliant second Interlude..Mandolin..Beats..what not ??


5.Song:Kandukonden Kandukonden..Film:Kandukonden Kandukonden
Well ,,I struggle to put this song on this list for two reasons.One is ..well ..If i had to compile a list of top 5 songs I have ever listened to ..this song would be in the that list...It is such a brilliant song..just cannot get better..But anyway..the second interlude..
with a "Opera" feel is amazing.

6.Song:Ninnukori..Film:Agni Natchathiram
Read first 4 lines of explanantion for song 5...and..
Brilliant work with the guitar and flute !!


Thats my list for now..Listen to these songs..and tell me if you agree with me...Ill be back with more songs !

Enjoy..

PS.CAVS at SPURS tonite..Im pumped BABY !!

Does terrorism "Dampen" our Spirit ?

Some of my Reader's would not know about Deepavali ! The festival of lights in India.This Hindu festival, has grown more into a Indian festival..and I am glad that it is that way.I celebrate Ramadan..and Christmas so why not all of us celebrate Deepavali ?

In terms of magnitude , its like Christmas in the US of A.People look forward to it each year and make plans around it.There's lots of food..fun..gifts and my favourite part "Fireworks".

At such a fun filled times of the year came the news of serial bomb blasts in New Delhi...India's capital.59 people died..more than 200 injured. The bomb blasts occurred in a crowded marketplace in New Delhi. Well , an unknown terrorist organization has claimed responsibility for the act. Their stance being "The world thought all of are dead ..after the earthquake in PoK(Pakistan Occupied Kashmir)...We did this to prove them wrong".

My stance is more like this. I think the earthquake proved to be a natural stimulant to better Indo-Pak relations. and the anti-social elements just could not see that happen without a blemish such as this. After this incident, we go back to playing the blame game.Our external affairs ministry blames , Govt sponsored terrorism of Pakistan. Though sometimes, I do feel Pakistan might have indulged in sponsoring terrorism, I dont think its them who did it this time. They have bigger issues to tackle on hand.

Well leaving the politics out of this, I jus think of the repercussions of such a heinous act would be devastating to the human spirit. I cannot fathom the loss of human lives and the effect it has on their families. The festive season has suddenly turned into a nightmare for those kids who lost their parents.

The Indian Government has to toughen up..be pro-active to weed out these terror cells within the country. I am sure no-terrorist bought a round trip ticket to come to India and bomb New Delhi. These demons are at home ..and we need to take'em out !

All this leads to my title, do these bomb blasts dampen our spirit ? Do we move on ? or should we ? Natural disasters are a different animal...we have NO choice but to move on. Its not like we could have done anything to avoid "Katrina" or the "Tsunami" ..sure we could have been better prepared. but we really cannot prepare for something thats not under our control coz of the unknowns. I even cracked up for a moment. hearing this..

Conversation between a two guys in New Orleans b4 Katrina Strikes:

Guy1: Dude..arent you evacuating...the hurricane is going to hit tomorrow?

Guy2: No...Im staying home...

Guy 1: What makes you think you would survive this ??

Guy 2: GOD..will take care of me !!

Guy 1 :WHAT..... WHO DO YOU THINK ..IS SENDING THE FREAKING HURRICANE ???

Unlike..this situation..God is not making people to kill other people...at least in my book..

If its different in your book...I think you need a new book !

Professional Basketball - The NBA

Off all the American Sports , Professional Basketball a.ka NBA is my favourite.This fascination started not after I moved to the US but even when I was in India.It was 1996 and ESPN&STAR Sports , I guess were scrambling for programming , so they regularly showed NBA games.

It was easy to become a fan of the NBA in 1996.The reason would be two words..Michael Jordan.The greatest player ever to have ever played basketball ! I could go on and on about him but no matter what I say , it would not do justice to Jumpman23.

After being a BULLS fan for obvious reasons all those years , I eventually became a CAVS fan , the local team of Cleveland.Let me be honest , being a CAVS fan is not easy.They literally sucked real bad during those years 2000-2002.But things changed and Goddess Luck smiled on the "Mistake on the Lake" , by presenting LebronJames as our No.1 pick in the year's draft.LBJ as he is called changed Professional Basketball in Cleveland.A tremendously gifted player , James , ascended to the Rookie of the Year honors.His second year was even better , averaging , 27 pts 7 assists 7 rebounds , LBJ equalled a feat only 5 players have done earlier in the league.But there was a glaring omission.No Playoffs - both the years.As good as Lebron was , he needed help.Well he has help now , the CAVS under a new owner , Dan Gilbert went on a shopping spree during the offseason and landed Larry Hughes ,Damon Jones , Donyell Marshall and Alan Henderson.James has help now .No more excuses , CAVS would or rather should be in the Playoffs this season.

As a CAVS fan , thats what I hope for , that what I dream about every day , every night.

First Shot

Awrite..This is really weird.I have never..and I mean never written anything that I have not been forced to write ! Let me explain..Except for tests,exams in school and reports,documents at work , I have never written anything.Its not something that I am proud about , but I jus wanted to make it clear , that Im not going to be very good at this .

But ...Im taking up the challenge.

A lot of my good Friends write blogs and I have enjoyed their articles.Got me thinking , I always have something to say , Why don't I start writing it.Anyway , Well you might be wondering , what I might be writing about.Well , there are a lot of things , I am passionate about - Music , Movies , Media , Politics , Current Affairs and SPORTS.So its going to be a mixture of all of the above , But more importantly it's going to be fun.For me the writer and you the reader ,

So Fasten your Seat belts - Ooh Sorry , Im already being cliche'...Just chill ..Later, Ya'll