Raja's read only memories

Part 1: In the office of the Karnataka CM... A wizened man was scanning the day’s newspapers, character by character, pixel by pixel, hoping to find a positive reference in a news article, leave alone stumbling upon a glowing reader’s comment. Frustrated, he threw away the bunch of newspapers – English, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam dailies. “Perhaps we must subscribe to the ideology of paid news,” he remarked. “At least then I can get to see something positive published about me.” His personal secretary, to whom he spoke, reflected, “Perhaps, we could think of positive governance,” but looked up in a startle, when he realised that his official was glaring at him, perhaps reading his thoughts. “I agree with you entirely, sir. We could speak to the senior editors of some dailies and probably get them on our payroll,” he said half-heartedly. “Don’t you think they may go public on any such overture of ours?” “Why not,” blurted the secretary, but was quick enough to...

You can read this review also at: http://expressbuzz.com/biography/avan-ivan/286219.html Raw depiction of human emotions have been the USP of Bala's movies. The Aghori sadhu in Naan Kadavul , the son of an undertaker in the national award-winning movie Pithamagan , or the jilted lover in Sethu stand out for their oddities, influencing movie and satire makers like no other. So, it is confounding that Avan Ivan , the latest movie from his stable, is surprisingly stereotypical. Kumbidaren Saamy (Arya) and Walter Vanangamudi (Vishal) are village louts who are half-brothers. Walter, an aspiring actor, has a squint, cross-dresses and even dances as a woman (he boasts that when dressed as a woman, even Cleopatra would emerge from her grave and kiss him); Saamy is an expert at picking locks. A local magistrate summons him to his house to open his ancient safe, the key for which he has misplaced. Although animosity runs high between the two, Saamy is afraid to confront Walter directly. The...

"Whatever is needed is Dharma," or so goes a quote attributed to the philosopher Chanakya prior to the start of Thiagarajan Kumararaja's debut movie, Aaranya Kaandam (the forest chapter) . The movie, which is part of Kollywood's new-found passion for off-beat themes, has certainly satisfied its cinematic 'dharma' by looking beyond the traditional masala fare, and still produce a gripping entertainer. A gangster flick, Aaranya... steers clear of the good v/s bad kind of characterisation, with virtually every character painted in hues of grey — a departure from the Robin Hood/vigilante-themed movies . Singaperumal (Jackie Shroff), a dreaded gangster, beats up his concubine Subbu (Yasmin Ponnappa) while unable to get it up during intercourse, but makes up for it by handing money to Sappai (Ravi Krishna), his effeminate assistant, asking him to purchase something for her. A kid, Kodukapuli (Master Vasanth), helps his drunkard dad perform his daily ablutions, but ...