Raja's read only memories

Field Marshall in the making? Its release was preceded by controversies — two, to be precise — that generated ample heat, with sections objecting to the seemingly inaccurate portrayal of a community and its lead actor’s supposed preference for cheroots, culminating in a slew of apologies from its makers. Going by the posters commemorating its 50-day run at the BO, Thuppakki could court another controversy, forcing its makers to do an encore. Some thumbnail images accompanied ‘Ilayathalapathy’ Vijay in the movie’s posters that surfaced in Chennai on the occasion; a closer look revealed them to be, along with our current Defence chiefs, the select Armed Forces chiefs, who, during our nation’s moments of distress, helmed our forces and ensured that we emerged unscathed and victorious — our Field Marshals. The impression the poster seemed to generate was that actor Vijay was on his way to being decorated as the nation’s next Field Marshal, pitching him along the likes of ...

He’s the one-in-all intelligence extraordinaire of the nation. From sniffing out terrorist threats to neutralising them and tracking down its masterminds, so smooth is his modus operandi that it could give hot chocolate sauce poured over ice-cream a complex. His bravado outclasses that of a Jason Bourne, his magnetism to the feminine could put a James Bond to shame and in plan execution could make your Bruce Willis or Arnold Schwarzenegger seem like schoolboys fighting over a lollipop. The protagonist in Thuppakki , an army officer portrayed by Ilayathalapathy Vijay, does this all and much more, but is unable to perform the simple act of kissing his lady-love, well, on her lips. He gets the opportunity to do so twice, but the call of duty precedes his romantic pursuits, resulting in Cupid’s own travesty! Lips-locked, literally, one may say. This, however, may serve as a pointer to a deep-rooted phenomenon in the Indian film industry in general and the Tamil film industry (Ko...

The review bug bites this author after he caught up with two of Kollywood's recent releases... Maatraan - conjoined to confound and contrive Basic science stipulates that matter can neither be created nor destroyed, and can only be transformed from one form to another. In Maatraan , director K V Anand turns this dictum on its head by employing all the ingredients for a gripping blockbuster — a leading hero in a dual role, an upcoming starlet, a plot involving a nefarious researcher and exotic locations (I ain't talking about the songs alone), A-list technicians and an established production house to boot — and comes up with a product that can at best be described as nothingness. Of glamorous translators and wealthy heirs... So, we have conjoined twins Agilan and Vimalan (Surya), heirs to an energy drink organisation constructed by their ambitious scientist dad (Sachin Khedekar), with contrasting personalities. While Vimalan is studious, a teetotal...

The setting: The newsroom of an English daily in Chennai, shortly after two English papers — The Hindu and The Times of India — were served notices for publishing “incendiary” reports on Tamil Nadu CM, quoting various opposition leaders as saying. News Editor: Editor, we have a crisis. Editor ( rolling his eyes ): About time I am told if it is to do with editing a trainee reporter's copy or modifying the page layout to accommodate more advertisements. NE: Neither; it's about a political news report. As it is, we have had a stream of phone calls from our management and circulation departments, warning us on how to edit it and present it on our page. Last told, the publisher wants to know what it is. E: So, everyone in our establishment knows of it before us. I hope we are still the editorial. Or, have we been transported magically to Siberia? NE: Must we worry over such subtleties? E: Did you just smirk? I dare you to retain that expression when we stare at o...

The Indian Railways, by introducing infotainment consoles – a euphemism for television-like contraptions – in premier trains such as the Shatabdi Express, is seemingly either starved of creativity or funneling a potential scam Trust our beloved IR to leave the suspicions of a scam hanging in the air in anything grandiose it attempts. Proof: the LCD screens aboard the Bangalore-Chennai Shatabdi Express – ostensibly part of its infotainment (whatever that means) systems. Surely, they could have installed a PA system, or boards, to achieve the same, was the first thought that crossed my mind. Loud welcome messages in various languages greeted passengers just as they settled in their seats and were about to drift into sleep. The screens did have a purpose after all; a programme titled “Yoga at the workplace”, with a woman vainly attempting a Shilpa Shetty, was the day's first, interspersed with advertisements on incense sticks, nationalised banks and contraceptives. ...

A trigger-happy imbecile opened fire indiscriminately inside an American movie hall during the screening of the movie The Dark Knight Rises , killing at least a dozen viewers and injuring many more. This directs the spotlight on an age-old conundrum related to cinema: should violence ever be part of it? For the motion What we see is what we get Nothing makes a case for the exclusion of violence from cinema better than the acronym in computer terminology WYSIWIG (what you see is what you get). This statement is not without its empirical evidence. That visual stimulus, in concordance with its other forms, can make a lasting impact on the sub-conscious, the portion of our mind that functions even when we are physically inactive (Think the Pavlov’s dog experiment), has been well documented. Depending on the information that we feed our brains, our thinking processes can undergo irreversible deformations. Feed violence and you would, in all likelihood, receive the same. Let us take t...

                 Movie Name: Billa-2 (A)    Language: Tamil Cast: Ajith Kumar, Vidyut Jamval, Parvathy Omanakuttan, Brunah Abdullah Director: Chakri Toleti      Pros: Ajith's stellar performance; fast-paced narration; mind-blowing stunts and a gripping climax Cons: Originality takes a hit — stay away if you are awash with the gangster flicks of Hollywood, notably Martin Scorsese flicks or Coppola’s The Godfather ; mind-numbing violence Imagine, if you can, a home-grown don who answers to David Billa (known in Bollywood as Don), who, during a police encounter gets gunned down; the police get hold of his doppelganger, make him infiltrate his gang, and after a cat-and mouse game spanning locales in Malaysia, bring them to justice. Imagine, if you still can, the focus shifting to Billa’s chronology; his rise to the top of the food chain, a la ...