Raja's read only memories

Appeared in expresso , the daily supplement of The New Indian Express on 28th March, 2011 You can also read this review at: http://expressbuzz.com/entertainment/reviews/nil-gavani-sellathey/260322.html Rumours floated that Nil Gavani Sellathey (stop, observe, don’t move) was a rip-off of several Hollywood movies, including Wrong Turn and Uninvited, which in actuality is a frame-to-frame copy of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre . The movie is all about a trip undertaken by a group of friends that turns awry. Sam (Anand Chakaravarthy), Jo (Dhaniska), Arun (Ramssy), Priya (Lakshmi Nair) and Milo (Jagan) are friends, and are introduced to us in a slick manner, almost Shankar’s Boys -like. Sam gets engaged to Jo and Arun to Lakshmi, who is on a project trip to Chennai. The gang decides to go on a trip to, hold on, a temple village located on the TN-Andhra border, which apparently, we are told, is necessary for Lakshmi’s ‘project’. The gang gets a Mercedes B800 and hit the Golden Quadrilatera...

With Sighappu Rojakkal (Red Roses), director Bharatiraja, who had earlier directed 16 Vayadhinile , a movie that continues to be regarded as the watershed of Tamil cinema, and Kizhakke Pogum Rayil – both of which focused on bucolic backgrounds – can be said to have attempted the cinematic equivalent of Operation Entebbe; none so telling as the manner in which its title credits roll: the discolouration of a rose in a dark background, accompanied by the harsh scream of a feminine voice in the background, conveying subtly that she may be getting raped, or even murdered, and sowing the seed of thought that its lead could be an anti-hero. A trendsetter in ways more than one, the director adopted urban Chennai - replete with women in attractive attire with little or no inhibitions, glitzy bars and restaurants, and people in odd jobs striving to make ends meet - as the canvas for Sighappu... The departure in the theme was, as many a chronicler of Tamil cinema would say, the director’s mess...

Appeared in Expresso, the daily supplement of The New Indian Express on February 27, 2011 If the story of Seedan (the disciple), a remake of the Malayalam movie Nandanam , were to be written on the back of a bus ticket, it would go as follows: a poor woman falls in love with a rich man and finally gets married to him. The script makes a departure from a long-established trend by letting a feminine protagonist taking up most of the screen time. Mahalakshmi (Ananya), is an orphan employed in a rich household in the temple town of Pazhani. She is the ideal homely woman - devout, demure and virtuous. Her employer, Amrithavalli (veteran Malayalam actress Sheela), is extremely fond of her. However, her work leaves her with no time to visit the shrine of Lord Muruga, and she fervently wishes that she gets a chance to do so. In her dreams, she visualises getting married to a handsome man. Mano (Krishna Nair), Amrithavalli’s grandson, visits the place, and its love at first sight for them. Ma...

It may be hard to believe that the omnipotent back up alarm, a device that turns on whenever the four-wheeler on which it has been installed upon is in reverse, has ushered in a revolution in all spheres of life. Strange, indeed, are the ways of nature, for the device mentioned above was able to achieve what no marriage counselor would have. A newly-married couple, my neighbours, narrated to me this incident that perplexed me ever after. Things had been fine for a while after marriage, they say, when disagreements and arguments made its way into their “and they lived happily ever after” part of life. “We used to return from work in evening and erupt as if by clockwork. My husband and I used to vent our anger at our Chinaware, our marriage gifts, which were trashed within six months,” they recollect. I stare at our partition wall, which, if I were able to converse in its dialect, like Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense , would have in between sobs pointed to its scratches and strips of pee...

Appeared in Expresso, the daily supplement of The New Indian Express, Bangalore on 21, February 2011 The one director in Kollywood who christens his movies in chaste Tamil, and focuses on themes that few self-proclaimed champions of that language would identify themselves with - Gowthaman Menon (it is a paradox that he is a Keralite) - is back at it again: a movie with a pure Tamil title, Nadunisi Naigal (dogs of the midnight), and an unorthodox movie subject, a psycho-thriller and child sexual abuse. Nadunisi...builds suspense from the word go; the title credits open with a police inspector falling backwards in slow motion after being felled by a bullet on to a pool of rainwater in the dark. Three police personnel are shot dead and a girl goes missing from a hospital. A police inspector Vijay (Deva), starts investigating the crimes. The scene later shifts to Samar, a boy who gets sexually abused by his father regularly (shades of Bharatirajaa’s Sighappu Rojakkal are impossible to miss...

MADE IN CHINA. These three words have influenced the world as no other in recent times. With China being the low-cost manufacturing centre for a range of products as wide as the Great Wall of China, conglomerates as well as the countries backing them have sought to appease the world’s most populous country (at least for now). However, recent events in India conclusively lead us to the fact that China is only so in title with its south Asian neighbour emerging in covert as the actual low-cost destination for industries, despite a massive conspiracy being hatched to scuttle it’s rise. And no, this is no repeat of Economist’s “China’s dragon v/s India’s tiger” features or a speculation on the cables inadvertently leaked by well...Wikileaks. If what you have read until now sounds incomprehensible, here is an instance of how India is going at great lengths to assert itself on the global manufacturing map and how the same is being portrayed in the most hideous manner by its media. The 2G tel...

Appeared in Expresso , the daily supplement of The New Indian Express, on 08 February, 2011 A girl gets kidnapped from a main road on a dark night. The next day, a package is found at a public place that contains severed body parts. The police and CBI are brought in immediately, when the scene shifts to an office where the head of the intelligence department is seen calling for someone. The call sounds out again, this time, teetering between anxiousness and anger, when we get to see JK’s (Cheran) face, whose back until then was alone is visible to the viewer, thereby patenting his own intro scene-for-the-hero). Thus begins Mysskin’s thriller saga, Yudham Sei . An officer of the CB-CID, far from the stereotyped Ray-Ban toting, trigger-happy cop, JK decides to call it a day, when he is thrust with the task of finding the Hannibal Lecters behind the parcels. He is smart, assertive and is able to throw light on patterns of murders that confound top police officials. His sister has been k...

Wikipedia, the new-age information mine, details it as a movie that suffered a backlash from a section of viewers as it supposedly portrayed its protagonists as womanizers. Its director claims that it was the best movie he made till date. Unfortunately for Tamil cinema, its lead cast never teamed up again. One of its leading ladies had, prior to starring in the movie, won an international beauty pageant. Despite the disclaimer at the beginning of the movie stating that incidents in the movie are mere figments of imagination, it was in fact, quite the opposite, thereby proving to be a waste of a disclaimer. Its soundtrack featured songs that lifted words from the titles of films that the real-life equivalent of one of its protagonists had starred in. Cutting all suspense short, Mani Ratnam’s Iruvar (The duo) is a movie, a biography and a documentary, all rolled into one about two politicians who have impacted Tamil Nadu as no other – Marudhur Gopalamenon Ramachandran, or MGR, and Muthu...

With Pongal being the next most significant period to release a Tamil movie after Diwali, it is only natural that filmmakers ensure a blockbuster (which, in 99 times out of 100, is of the feel-good variety with action and glamour thrown in generous doses). A safer bet to do so is by remaking a movie that has tasted success in another language. Siruthai (the leopard), a remake of the Telugu hit Vikramarkudu, follows the above dictum to a T by casting Karthi, Surya’s sibling brother, in polemic characters. Rocket Raja (Karthi) and Kaatupoochi (Santhanam, in familiar territory as the hero's sidekick) are petty thieves who aim at making a quick buck. Raja chances upon Shweta (Tamanna) while attempting to rob a marriage party, and, true to cinematic tradition, falls in love with her. His distaste for children gets into a tailspin when he and Kaatupoochi rob a chest supposedly containing jewels, only to find a girl inside, who identifies him as her father. Meanwhile, we have Rathnavel Pa...

Appeared in expresso, the daily supplement of The New Indian Express on Tuesday, 28th December 2010 Movies scripted by Kamalhaasan have always provided fodder for the grey cells. When a potent mix of humour along with a strong subject comes your way, which is what K S Ravikumar's latest directorial, Manmadhan Ambu (Cupid's arrow) is, rest assured that you have an entertainer. Ambujakshi (Trisha), a successful actress who believes in long-lasting relationships, is engaged to Madanagopal (Madhavan), a leading businessman and a mama's boy, who is wary about her conduct with other actors and suspects her fidelity, leading to their breakup. Madan now deploys Major Mannar (Kamalhaasan) to spy on her. He travels in the same cruise liner that she and her friend Deepa (Sangeetha), a divorcee, do and gives constant updates about her activities, under the agreement that the medical expenses of Rajan (Ramesh Aravind), a cancer patient, are fully borne by him. A series of twists and tu...

Bharatiraja’s Sighappu Rojakkal ( Red Rose in Hindi), starring Kamal Haasan and Sridevi in the lead, is primarily remembered for its urban setting, as it was then a refreshing change from the rural background in his earlier movies, 16 Vayadhinile and Kizhakke Pogum Rayil . The wheel has now come a full circle with director Sasikumar (whose first film, the critically-acclaimed Subramaniapuram , was ensconced in rustic Tamil Nadu) adopting Chennai as the canvas for his latest offering, Easan , a movie that begins as a love story and slowly morphs into an thriller. Wealth or an urban background in a typical Indian movie has and continues to be strongly associated with evil and loose morals. A rich person in a typical Indian film is either the villain or at least has shades of evil, while the poor are, invariably, epitomes of virtue. Easan , unfortunately, not only wears such stereotypes on its sleeve, but also champions for it. However, the director ensures that he has an effective and ...

Corruption scandals are to India as ozone depletion is to the polar regions. People will continue to speculate about the enormity of such frauds as it depletes the nation’s resources. And that is exactly what the 2G spectrum allotment scam involving former Union minister for telecommunications A Raja has achieved – with the CBI first estimating the loss to the exchequer at around `20,000 crore, a figure that gradually ballooned to `140,000 crore, thanks to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). As predicted, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have stoutly denied that Raja had no role to play in what can be righty claimed as the Watergate of Indian scams. Even the Adarsh Housing Society scam or the veil surrounding the expenditure accounts for the Commonwealth Games pales into insignificance and makes them look like a child attempting to steal a cookie. The average citizen may, however, shrug his shoulders and say, ...

Following the long list of movies 'adapting' titles of yesteryear flicks is Dhanush's Uthamaputhiran, a remake of the Telugu film Ready. The actor-director duo of Dhanush and Mithran R Jawahar, who had earlier produced Yaaradi Nee Mohini and Kutty, has gone all out to create a movie that has its 'commercial' priorities well set. Uthamaputhiran begins with Siva (Dhanush) and his friends kidnapping a bride from a marriage hall, who happens to love one of them. However, a mix-up leads to the kidnapping of the wrong girl, Pooja (Genelia D’Souza). An army of henchmen are sent out to bring her back, which Siva manages to evade. It transpires that Pooja, the heir to a large fortune in the US, was about to enter into forced wedlock with her cousin. Siva then suggests that she stay in his house under the guise of a guruji's disciple, whose devotee is Raghu (Bhagyaraj), Siva's uncle (Ghilli, anyone?). As custom dictates, Pooja (who does an amazing couture somersault b...

What's in a name? The lines that appear in Shakespeare's ever-immortal love classic, Romeo and Juliet , definitely mean a lot to the film producing community from Kodambakkam, who know that on many an occasion, it is the film's title that can pull in the crowds, or can at least be their lone saving grace. Piracy, escalating budgets, intervention from the so-called 'protectionists' of Tamil culture and undue attention on the attire of the leading lady in the movie form just the tip of the iceberg of the issues that producers may need to invest time than just making the movie (with the last two factors being synonymous with one another). Hence, I take the liberty of suggesting a few guidelines to such beleaguered entertainment inducers to help them arrive at suitable movie titles. Guideline no 1: Adapt the protagonist's name as the movie title Perhaps the easiest method to name a movie, this technique is also the most common practice in vogue. Examples for this ar...

Thalapathy , Mani Ratnam's magnum opus in 1991 starring Rajinikanth and Mammootty, focused on the Karna-Duryodhana sub-plot of the Indian epic Mahabharatha. That filmmakers continue to evoke inspiration from this movie even 19 years after its release is an ode to its profound impact on Tamil cinema. Meanwhile, the makers of Kouravargal , a movie that 'adapts' portions of Thalapathy blatantly, as have many films in the past, need to realise that not all imitations of past blockbusters have met with success. The plot in Kouravargal , if it can be called that, revolves around the friendship between Thondaiman (Satyaraj), a godfather like figure who upholds morals by punishing the un-righteous, and Ganesan (Vignesh), an unemployed youth. Kouravargal begins with Ganesan getting jailed for beating up the son of Dandapani, the local MLA, for misbehaving with a woman (Geetha (Monica)). Finding out that Ganesan has been jailed wrongly, Thondaiman frees him and requests him to be a...

A crash course in human emotions How many times have we seen people getting admonished as ‘mental’ for doing something stupid or silly? Haven’t we as children teased or labeled our classmates for doing something similar way back in school, without fully knowing what the word implies? Apart from conditions such as progeria and dyslexia that have been popularised by the recent Bollywood releases Paa and Taare Zameen Par, can our country’s educated populace list out a few more disorders that afflict the differently-abled, without having to google for them? That the portrayal of the differently-abled in Indian commercial movies is far from realistic needs no introduction. In fact, it would be an understatement to say that our woods - Bollywood, Tollywood, Kollywood and the like – have created the most inaccurate of the impressions in our minds about such persons. Think mental, and you immediately conjure the image of individuals with unpleasant appearances who are always subject to violent...

Appeared in the column 'Time-out' on the edit page of The New Indian Express on 14th December 2010 You can also access this article at: http://www.newindianexpress.com/columns/article170265.ece The manifold utilities of e-mail, or electronic mail, is indeed a boon for mankind, however, as Murphy’s Law stands testimony to, if a product can be used for the right purpose, it can very well be improperly utilised. Examples for this dictum are available in abundance – probably numbering equal to the number of corruption scandals in North Block, New Delhi, ever since the country attained independence. Just as the objectives for which the Swiss army-knife, a versatile device no doubt, may be used in addition to those determined by its designer (Victorinox, are you listening?), it could do us a world of good if we analyse the reasons for which the all-pervading e-mails are used (or misused, actually). The reasons why e-mails or electronic mails are abused in a manner akin to drug...

"Niruthanum...ellathayum niruthanum," are words that have been enshrined in Tamil film history, with movie spoofs, TV channel soaps and even other Tamil movies that were released later, having been influenced by the scene, the setting and the response that it elicits. For Tamil film aficionados worth their salt, the movie with which the dialogue is synonymous needs no introduction, however, for the uninitiated; it is the Rajnikanth, Mammooty, Arvind Swamy starrer, Thalapathy (the general/commander), a movie that stands out on more than one count. With Mani Ratnam as its director, this is something that has to be expected. If Thalapathy has remained in public memory, despite around twenty years after its release, it cannot be denied that its music has played a vital role in doing so, amply justified by the fact that a tweaked version of the hoot of a steam engine bringing to mind, S Janaki’s rendition of the song ‘ Chinna thaayaval ’. Probably, no other Kollywood releas...

Oram Po- one for the 'movies are for entertainment' class Sophistication is the hallmark of the protagonist in any Tamil movie. He can put to shame a battery of Perry Masons with his loquaciousness, conduct explorations that can make an Indiana Jones look like a school-kid at a playground, and at the same time, find time to seduce all the PYTs, leaving behind the older species for the likes of James Bond or any character straight out of an Irving Wallace novel. So, when the hero is portrayed as someone sweating even for his ten minutes of fame, eyebrows are bound to be raised. More so, if the movie in question is the Arya-Pooja starrer Oram Po. With the CD cover of the movie showing Arya standing beside an auto in a khaki -coloured dress, the first impression one tends to gather is that it could be a rip-off of Superstar Rajnikanth’s Baasha or maybe the late MGR-starrer Rickshawkkaran. Thankfully, though, the movie wasn’t one of those maddening archetypes that offer a satia...

The reader is asked to go through the following sequence of events and identify the common thread running in them. You are greeted by a traditional musical performance early in the morning, either a vocal rendition or an instrumental performance. This is usually followed by a tete-a-tete with the latest entrant in the page 3 circuit, who attempts to burst into at the snap of a finger and, on an average, tries adjusting his/her's hairdo at a minimal rate of 45 times per minute. A news ...