Friday, June 25, 2010

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Raavanan

The only way to see Raavanan is to look at it from the context of Ramayanam. Not that Mani ever lets forget you and in not so subtle ways let me add. Vikram screams pathu thalai often,  karthik jumps around for no reason save this reminder deal and so on. But even then when the subversion happens between the good and bad, it just seems a literal transfer - not a blurring of line between evil and good as the promotions claimed rather a total role reversal. Especially we have only see the gangster/mafia/anti hero in the good light like .. wait at least a few times(across various languages) EVERY year since God father released(i,e *35!), this role reversal doesn't register in one's head.

In the versions of Ramayan I have heard, Raavan was always described a good ruler, a great devotee - his only crime falling for another man's wife and keeping her captive for that reason.  With that if you transfer the evil act to other side, what could be the point of debate? Are we supposed to act surprised that this police officer - he is supposed to Ram and all but nothing gets defined in that way except for couple of dialogues proclaiming him so and character being called Dev isnt really on the good side?

And what was the 10 head deal? - he doesnt seem to be confusing at all, he seems the straightforward antihero - the typical Good guy on the wrong side of the law.

When Sachu Kichu was really small, Solomon Papaiah and team will some time take a break from their mamiyar/marmagala, nathanar/maithanara type patti mandrams and have Ram/Raavan or Sita's agni pareeksha debate which used to be lot lot more intense than this film. For any one who has seen this sort of patti mandram would know what an insult this is. 

If you take away the ramayan angle, there isnt anything left at all. At the climax, there was a possibility of starting the film through questions in Ragini's mind but that door is just shut abruptly with focus just on Veera so you are confused as to what the deal at all was.

So we are left with Vikram's nuanced performance carefully averting the over the top tag even though he stands dangerously on the edge, very good looking ash but whose age just shows through the climax scenes esp. next to Prithviraj and decently looking prithvi(he hasnt looked this good in any of his films) and overall great performances - the expected deal in Mani's movies. But there are lot of other expectations that Mani has never ever failed on and falters for the very first time. And here I went expecting something better than Kannathil Muthamittal and Iruvar so that he can wash off the memories of Guru and Yuva, now I will just watch Guru.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Raffle

How come the person who is standing next to me wins but never me? Next time, I will pay $55 and win the raffle for the dam 50$ gift card. I will do it.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

"You know here the pedestrians have the right of way but there the cars do! So you had to cross one lane and wait and the next and  so on. The subway is crowded you are in the middle of sea of humans, if you want to get down in a station, you have to ensure you are near the door somewhere and the crowd pushes you in. In the platform there are people with mike screaming keep moving, keep moving. Oh every where i went there were just way too many people.
" - a colleague back from his first trip to china.
Why do i get the following i have already been there:)

Friday, June 11, 2010

Cusp Generation

My dad started working at 20, he supported his parents, younger brothers, sometimes the elder brother's family as well  and his kids.

My mom was married off at 22, entered a joint family and cooked for 15-20 years also raising three kids without much of a help from others.

Today, my dad is self sufficient and doesnt expect anything from us financially.
My mom had to listen to Grand Ma those days and now to her kids who are quick to shrug off any semblance of old world hierarchial thoughts that might creep in.

A generation that supported its parents but doesnt expect anything from its spawn.
A generation that listened to its previous and is asked to listen to the next as well.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Raavan and Raavanan

* I dread heading to this movie - what? are your eyebrows raising up to form a question mark? Surely your eyes werent there when I watched hum dil de chuke sanam getting trautimised by Ash's scream feast. Look below and remember it is at a  theatre hall.


* No longer believe Vikram is going to be better than Abhi. If Vikram was good in the first look, Abhi does so much better in this madcap scene @1.20. Vikram fits the traditional mould of an Hero who can act - a man who looks he cant miss a beat, abhi is always more human. This comparison exercise should be fun.


* What is more fun? the adventurous locations - but has visuals ever been a problem in Mani movie?
* Success of the film doesnt matter to me much but for Mani to end this decade on a high note, movie needs to better than Kannathil muthamittal or Iruvar. Unfortuantely, Guru or Yuva are really at the bottom of this comparison chart.

*Regarding the success itself, I doubt the punjabi dance loving thu thak thu thak crowd deserve a director like Mani. Call me sour grapes. 

I have already constructed the movie through trailer, if you are not the one to think this small guessing game will spoil your fun scroll down.

here is the one of the early songs - most likely just before the kidnap. Graceful is the word here.

Raavan's introduction scene is exactly what we saw first, I think.

And here is the Surpanakhi,(love that whole rajasthani female singer bit - i know it is the nth time they do that but hey..). But at the end of this song is where something bad happens!

 
So, hello, the reverse of stockholm syndrome - The kidnapper falling in love with kidnapee? Between love this song.

Both these songs seems to be along similar lines, but i think this is more of Ash's pining for Vikram and so

Forgot this one. Dont really know where to fit this in.


But it is Mani, right? so I am 100% wrong:)

On the Throne

** We are walking, talking. I open the door, you follow on. There is the usual 'check your face on the mirror in an atrocious lighting'  that we get done with. We are still talking. Now listen to me carefully, here in this next step, as we open the latch to the respective rest room stalls is where we stop talking. As much as they say perched on the throne, we all know what we do there, so lets not cross the boundaries and continue talking as if we are sitting in a conference room. respect.
** Cellphone, seriously, does the other person know? I suspect not. Wait till the video calling becomes more popular.
** And as the most famous blogger dooce once said, " A woman who instantly becomes quiet when I enter the bathroom and take the stall next to hers.....Please, just pee".

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

And I am back

Not that I was gone ever(not that anybody cares either way), still the blogging has been slow, even reading and commenting has been sporadic for the past month or so. 

To be honest this whole thing is a waste of time for a non-writer like me(not one of delusions, you see). I reasoned, I will only do it if I am done with all my other necessary tasks - that time just didnt come or even it did, I was dead tired and ready to hit the bed.

But blogging is also cathartic -  that was just a tamil cinema moment referring to the title and all, blogging is a lot of fun. So I am back.