kirukkal.com

Having read this year’s Deepavali special issue of Vikatan, I have to say that it is indeed one of the best gifts one can give/get for this Deepavali. When I started reading the Vikatan Deepavali Malar, I had a pre-conceived notion that its going to be another Ananda Vikatan with those typical commerical stuff. Not anymore.

If not for the Vikatan special issue, I think the best gift for most of the occasions could be a good book. Note this, Good Book. Not a bad one. So if a friend gifts me a pack of Ladoos this deepavali, he also has to foot the doctor bill and the costly tablets that my doctor prescribes me. The doc gets tons of free samples for such prescriptions from the medical companies. Thats another story. So if you are planning a gift, for your friend, how about a good book ?

Ashokamithran‘s account on the history of tamil short stories in Vikatan is awe-inspiring. He was able to size down the hundred year long history of tamil shortstories to a couple of pages. No wonder he still rocks.

Ashokamithran writes a monthly column for Kumudam’s Theeranadhi. Last month on Kumudam’s Theeranadhi, his column on Varanasi Kasi, set me thinking philosophically. His unique ability lies in conveying the most powerful things with a minimum set of words. A writer who certainly needs to be celebrated. This month in his theeranadhi page, the fiction based on the Iowa city is worth a mention. Will give a pointer to that article once it’s online.

Just like it’s predecessor, the Indian version of American Idol, obviously called as Indian Idol should be gripping. Having witnessed first season of American Idol closely in the US, I would have preferred to change the format a lil bit to suit the viewers of the peninsula. This one looks like Munnabhai MBBS dubbed into all 4 languages. There aren’t many changes to the format and presentation.

The Indian Idol is being broadcasted from 9 pm every evening in the Sony TV. Chennai viewers without CAS are the ones who are fortunate/unfortunate enough to not view it. They are still on the prelims so live auditions haven’t started yet and I am not sure if they are bringing in the vote-over-phone feature in this version.

The judges. Sonu Nigam, Anu Malik and Farah Khan. We know that Sonu Nigam has a mesmerizing voice, his new found hair style makes him look like Zhakir Hussain. He takes on the Randy Jackson image of American Idol. Our famous(!) Anu Malik takes on the bad boy Simon Cowell‘s image. Anu Malik sticks his neck out in rejections. In acceptances, it’s Sonu. I am able to mark this pattern clearly.

The disaster, per me, comes as Farah Khan. She plays the similar role of Paula Abdul. While I love Farah as a choerographer and even as a director, she may not fit in here. They could have went with the likes of Sadana Sargam or Alka Yagnik. I did watch Farah’s Main Hoon Na and was impressed by the commercial movie she was able to put together. Again, Main Hoon Na was a collage of Matrix and other stunt stuff but was fairly commendable by a debutant director. Here in Indian Idol, she’s not even being authoritative as Paula. She is just nodding heads to the opinions of Sonu Nigam and Anu Malik. Probably a bit xenophobic among the musicians.

With all such trivial issues, Indian Idol seems to have got the frenzy of the audience. I know people who watch even the repeat telecasts of the same show. In a country with so much population, I am sure there is tough competition ahead. Good Luck to those dudes!!.