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June 28, 2004

World Themes for Indian Cinema (Part 5 of 8)

Co-Blogging Series – Anand C and Lazy Geek
LAUGHTER, THE BEST MEDICNE (Nightly Dose)

If you think the conventional take on everyday events is mundane and monotonous, you’ll enjoy these recent quips on George W, on a 45-second stretch in the Tonight Show (NBC, weeknights, 11:35 P.M):

Q: Why was the president surprised at “Meet the Press”?
A: He heard that he would also be asked questions! (since it was “meet the press!”)

Q: Mr. President, were you ever AWOL in the army?
A: No, always used Earthlink.

Leno: For the rest of the world it’s “D-Day”. In the president’s house, it’s “report card day”.

Q: What connects the death of Jesus with the war on Iraq?
A: Lack of credible intelligence in the Middle East.

The man behind the humor – Jay Leno – is probably the best known stand-up comedian today and host of “The Tonight Show”. Jokes are oxygen to Leno. It is his peculiar talent to pick over jokes, news items, and tidbits of information – he gets about 200 to 300 submissions a day – select the funniest of the crop, and fashion them into an 11-minute monologue that will persuade millions to stay up later than they probably should for a humorous take on the events of the day… few perspectives on his life and work (Source: FORTUNE Magazine):

(more…)
June 26, 2004

Top 10 songs – For a change, this is from Hollywood

Bijoy Venugopal writes in Rediff on the American Film Institute‘s list of Top 10 Hollywood movie songs.

Some observations/suggestions(not for the American Film Institute, for myself):
a) When you wish upon a star from Pinochio (1940) is on the fourth. I would have rated it number two.

b) The Sound of Music – The Sound Of Music (1965) features at tenth. Remember our own kollywood’s Shanthi Nilayam, was inspired from The Sound of Music. Thats ofcourse, is a very old news. But I would personally rate it number one.

Also The Bridge On The River Kwai theme, Colonel Boogie’s March, hasn’t been included because it never had lyrics to it. It was the yesteryear Mission Impossible like theme. Pity that it was out of the list. I’m atleast happy for Eminem to have made it in the list from his own movie 8 Mile (2002) for the song Lose Yourself.
June 26, 2004

Mr. India, redux?

Guest Blog #18 – Anand C

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have come up with an invisibility cloak. The idea seems simple in its basic form – project the background image onto the masked object, thereby making it seem invisible. The (intended) applications include surgeons whose own hands hamper vision during surgery, or pilots who would like the plane floors to be transparent during landings!

The masked object is ‘invisible’ from one side only (for obvious reasons). It’s true that the person is only half-invisible, but how you feel about it depends on whether you are a “glass is half-full” or “glass is half empty” person!

We know Rajnikanth’s movies are popular in Japan, but who knew someone took Shekhar Kapur’s Mr. India (with due apologies to H.G Wells) seriously?
June 24, 2004

Enokkoru Girlfriend Venumada ?? Vendamada ??

Last night on Vijay TV, in the hot(not really) political/social show, Makkal Yaar Pakkam, there was a discussion about Love Marriages and their social impact. Dheemtharikida Gnani was trying to balance the show with some honest views. Then came a phone call from the upcoming lyricist Pa.Vijay, who said in totallity, Love isn’t an appropriate feeling and one should always go for an arranged marriage instead of a love marriage. Gnani interuppted and fired him that if he was to talk like that, he shouldn’t be writing all these romantic songs for films. Pa.Vijay in turn said that writing lyrics was his profession and he was just writing because he had to.

I was completely puzzled by Pa.Vijay’s reply for Gnani’s question. Cinema is a much bigger medium than what it is expected to be. It can work at sub-concious levels on the minds of people. And if they were write all this kadhal, kadalai, kannamuchi, figure, sight, matter, machi, kattipudi, kathrikka and then disown it, are we sub-intellectuals to listen to them. Now, I am not saying they shouldn’t be writing or talking about love or sex in cinema. They need to. But who should do that ? Someone who belives in what he does. Not someone who can’t defend why he/she did it. Poetry for that matter springs from heart. And if you write for the heck, I am sure it wouldn’t shine for good.

So if Pa.Vijay was to say Love & Love Marriages are crime, he needn’t write on love themes as lyrics. Until he is convinced with the emotion called Love, let him not write Enokkoru GirlFriend Venumada, GirlFriends Illaa Vazhkai Wasteada

Read this interview of Pa.Vijay, recorded sometime back and you would know why I said that.
June 24, 2004

Madan’s Aayitha Ezhuthu Cartoon

Here is Ananda Vikatan’s former cartoonist Madan’s way of congratulating Aayitha Ezhuthu. I have some aggressive comments on his show Madan’s Thirai Paarvai. Later.

World Themes for Indian Cinema (Part 5 of 8)

Top 10 songs – For a change, this is from Hollywood

Mr. India, redux?

Enokkoru Girlfriend Venumada ?? Vendamada ??

Madan’s Aayitha Ezhuthu Cartoon