kirukkal.com

May 24, 2005

The PST Paradox

There is some ghost on this blog. This is the nth time unintentionally a Kamal post follows a Rajini one or viceversa. On Saturday, when I was writing the Rajini post I was determined that the next post was not going to be on Kamal. Somehow the Nayakan post one sneaked in. Save the blog from the ghost. Laka Laka Laka.

Living in PST timezone has its own share of dis-advantages. The prime time on cable starts by 5:00 pm EST which is 2 PM here in Seattle. By the time I reach home at 7 pm the New Yorkers are into the second round of sleep. Hence, the cable sucks after 7PM PST. The good thing about it is that you get to see the replay of those afternoon shows. On today’s Oprah replay, Tom Cruise declared his head-over-heels love for Katie in public. It seemed like Dhanush declaring his love to his group of friends. I’ve always admired Tom for his controlled acting but today he was his true self. Un-controlled.

Steven Spielberg who was on a recorded interview to Oprah wished Tom Cruise on his love and spoke his latest flick starring Tom Cruise, War of the Worlds. They also played a lengthy teaser on the movie. Mark your calendars, War of the Worlds opens on June 29.

Sunny Deol’s new movie kicks of a huge controversy. Following the bomb blasts in two theatres of Delhi which were screening the movie, cities all over India stop screening the movie. Chennai joins the list.

The economic transformation of India since liberalisation is real, but it will be a while before the average middle class Indian tosses her Lakmé aside for a Lancome, or trades in her handmade salwar-kameez for a Ralph Lauren pantsuit. After all, why shouldn’t globalisation speak with an Indian accent?. My favorite Shashi Tharoor writing that on his Hindu Column details on Who is this middle class ?

Bhaskar Ghose writes on Poile Sengupta’s latest theatre work, Keats Was A Tuber. At first I didn’t understand the meaning of the play name. But as I read through, I nodded in acceptance. FYI, Poile Sengupta isn’t Bengali. She is from Tamil Nadu and I happy we have yet another brilliant playwright from TN.

[Pic – Dan DeLong for Seattle PI ]

That guy ?. Yeah he is probably the biggest Star Wars fan of all. Jeff Tweiten, incidentally a Blogger too, was waiting outside Seattle’s Cinerama Theatre ever since Jan 15 2005, waiting for Revenge of the Sith to release on May 19th. He was there camping for 139 days. I’ve heard my dad recollect that people were waiting for more than two days for MGR’s Adimai Penn but this one just beats them to death. George Lucas must be happy for this true fan. Thanks to Ram for the info.
May 23, 2005

Nayakan on All-‘Time’ Top 100 Movies

Bollywood is shorthand for Bombay Hollywood, seat of the largest Indian film industry. But it manufactures only about 200 of the thousand or so Indian feature films; a half-dozen regions boast production sites larger than most of the world?s national cinemas. Madras, capital of the Tamil state, is one such place, and its leader – arguably India’s top pop-film auteur – is Mani Ratnam. His movies, often dramatizing social unrest and political terrorism, churn with narrative tension and camera energy that would be the envy of Hollywood directors, if they were ever to see them. Nayakan, an early, defining work in his career, tells the Godfatherish tale of Velu, a boy who embraces a life of crime after his father is killed by the police. Velu (Kamal Hasan) has trouble juggling his family life with his life-and-death mob “family”; Ratnam has no such difficulty blending melodrama and music, violence and comedy, realism and delirium, into a two-and-a-half-hour demonstration that, when a gangster’s miseries are mounting, the most natural solution is to go singin’ in the rain. – Excerpt from Time Magazine.

Again, just like the Oscars for a tamil movie, I don’t think something is achieved when you have a Tamil movie featuring in the list of global all-time favorites. But it’s a feel good factor. One reason why I am personally happy is for Mani Ratnam’s Nayakan[needs subscription] making it to the Time’s Alltime Top 100 movies, is that despite being based on Mario Puzo’s God Father script, Nayakan had its own share of Mani Ratnam’s brilliance at throughout the movie. If you ask me to stick out a single favorite shot from the film, I may be dazzled.

Nayakan had a team that was one of the best during that decade. It had geniuses like Illayaraja, PC Sriram and the Nayakan himself.

I haven’t subscribed to Time and hence couldn’t read the entire article. Thanks Vilvanboy and Srivats for passing on the link, It made my day.
May 21, 2005

Rajini moves north

[Thanks – Vikatan]

Yeah, North but not to bollywood. To Himalayas. After having put Chandramukhi on-screen, Rajini takes-off to Himalayas. This time a Vikatan reporter joined him to write a mini-travelogue[by subscription].

While, I would have expected a longer version of the travelogue, this picture of Rajinikanth with the typical red towel reminds me of PithukuliI Murugadas. For the starters, Murugadas as a voice of bronze and has sung some of the most authentic devotional numbers about on the tamil god.

Adutha Padam Eppo !!
May 21, 2005

Weekend Webclips[Google style]

Anand‘s Aeroprise wins First Prize at Mobile Showcase 2005. A time to rejoice. Congrats Guest Blogger!!.

Anniyan website is now functional with some more odd looking Vikram’s snaps. I am not sure how many more different Vikram’s are inside the movie. The trailer is also up but it isn’t the version thats has hit the Chennai screens.

Walmart closes down DVD rentals, hands them over to Netflix. Now it’s Netflix Vs Blockbuster assuming Amazon stick with it’s business.

Dilip D’Souza has good set of easy-n-tough Tin Tin questions. Try your hand. I got atleast 5 correct answers, I think.
May 19, 2005

Top 13 Rahman Hits

It’s never too late to create a fave list, especially for Rahman. In the Ascending Order –

.01 Zikhr a.k.a Alah hoo – For the Rahman’s voice of sheer passion and the amazing piece of harmony that creates magic throughout the song. Usually you would humm a song for not more than two-three weeks. But I’ve been humming Alah hoo!! Alahhoo for more than a month now and the craze hasn’t still reduced. The tempo keeps increasing in mad pace, so no driving with this song on the disc. Rahman mesmerizes !!

.02 Ekla Chalo – I’ve never been a Sonu Nigam admirer. This one made me. Classy Vocals leading to a high pitch and you hear the quick run of piano keys as the pitch comes down. Though the tune seems very similar to a song which I couldn’t identify the mix of bengali lines by Nachiketa Chakraborty made it to the top.

.03 Azaadi – A Rahman solo. On the lines of Vande Matharam even the base tune resembles it constantly. He stops the music for a quick moment before he starts in high pitch saying Azaadi Paayenge!!. Grand Orchestration.

.04 Afghanisthan Theme 2 & 1 – This clandestine instrumental number reminds me of the yester year movies with the wind instruments opening the B & W screen in front of you. Can’t stop thinking Chandralekha or Vethala Ulagam.

.05 Des Ki Mitti – With the little Dilwale Kuch Dulhania Kuch Le Hota Jayenge Hai hindi I know, this one has a well written lyrics. Yet another Sonu Nigam gem. And there is also our Anuradha Sriram to accompany with a cute hindustani aalap.

.06 Hum Dilli Dilli Jayenge – The trumpets and the band march past as the synthesizer follows. So do you. A true independence song.

.07 Jana Gana Mana – The can make Rahman’s version as the official version of National Anthem. There is no modernisation or any kind of nonsense which can trigger political eruptions. Just the same tune with some nice synthesized music and surprising interludes. I remember my friend saying that Cho replied to a question on Rahman’s Vande Matharam that we don’t need an A R Rahman to induce patriotism in the people. I liked what he said then. Now it may seems pointless. This is really a neat version of the national anthem if you are open-minded.

.08 Hitler Theme – Haven’t heard the amount of violin used in a Rahman song before. Violin was always a speical instrument of Illayaraja. Can’t stop comparing here but Rahman does a great job with the violins. I think these aren’t computer generated violin sounds. Just true violins playing. I haven’t heard his violin composition for Vanessa Mae but this one rocks.

.09 Kadam Kadam – Yet another marching army song but this one has a good mix of female vocals. After few times you might turn it down for being repetitive.

.10 Ghoomparani – Before I could grap that this was a lullaby melody it put me to sleep. True. Though it has a very simple folk tune, its Sapna Mukherjee’s voice that gives the lift. Listen the water flowing through your ears as your hear it on the earphones. I bet you would sleep.

.11 U Boat Theme/War Theme – Even as your listen to one a war happens in front of your eyes. Would make for a good viewing on-screen just like the Sundari Kannal Oru Sethi interlude. I am sure Rahman loves the piano as he keeps dropping those easter egg piano bits inbetween songs.

.12 Nethaji Theme – The kind of theme for the movie with more silence than sounds.

.13 Emily Theme/Durga – For visual viewing. Good on the first listening but you may not listen as your proceed further.

Wondering why I named it as Top 13 Rahman hits ?? All these numbers are from Shyam Benegal‘s Bose – The Forgotten Hero, my current Rahman favorites. One of finest Rahman albums in recent times. All the numbers talk about Rahman’s maturity and sheer growth in his composition skills. Rahman can run for Prime Minister. Allah hoo !!