Random musings

Gajini - my review

2005-10-05T18:44:00.000-04:00

Watched Gajini over the weekend. I very much agree with the first reviewer’s comments on the background music. It is jarring and really bad and I can’t understand why HJ decided to use such unconnected music for certain situations. Amateurish…is the word that comes to mind. I guess it is the norm that certain situations require certain types of background scores.
If Memento was superior and to a certain extent ‘over’ screenplay, this movie is at a total loss for screenplay. Surya has short-term memory loss and the movie begins saying that he is all normal otherwise…then why does Surya have to have this quirky behavior after the fact that he has this mental disease. I guess things just can’t be normal, and the director has to explicitly show that the guy is mentally disturbed and a ‘loosu’. Things are so unconnected…the apartment complex Surya lives is is supposed to be a posh and upscale place…and his apartment though looks like out of the ghetto…again…you see…it has to be spelt out that this is a disturbed guy…or the director has to give a feel of murkiness to the whole scene. The direction is so amateurish…the final half-hour was a bit of a pull-through…the never-ending fight sequence at the end is bad enough. You can actually see one of the girls in the ‘audience’ watching the fight give out a nice smile…happy that she is on camera. I think these ‘Matrix’- type fight sequences are getting a bit too much. Every fight sequence in every Indian movie has to incorporate some of those unrealistic slow-motion moves. Whatever happened to the down-to-earth ‘vettiye madiche katte’- type fight scenes.
Nayanthara…what a sorry plight Tamil cinema is in…the only qualification she has is that he co-starred with the SuperStar. She is ‘bloated’ for lack of a better term…and the director has to put the audience through the torture of watching her do an ‘item number’. It would have been nice if she could act as well. I think Nayanthara is the biggest disappointment to the film.
Asin in her own rights is short of any acting skills…but I think she kind of came out well in the movie at least to her extent. She has done fairly well.
There really is nothing you can say on Surya…he has done a decent job…a good and true actor. Again, as the previous reviewer said, the ‘Gounder’ needs a decent break with a good movie and a good director. If only he would not insist again on having Jyothika as the heroine…J
Lastly, but not the least, choreography is at its worst in the movie. None of the songs are choreographed well…you can watch the good songs just for the sake of Surya.
The things which struck me while watching this movie was that so much Tamil Cinema is becoming so away from reality with all actors walking around in expensive suits, flies in a private jet and never travels alone save with 4-5 cars with him. Well I must confess I cannot substantiate this argument fully, for an avid Superstar fan…but then that this “different”…JThis is the next disappointment after Anniyan…another movie which was made for kids…which is Ok by the way.

India donates $ 5 million to US

2005-09-04T01:03:00.000-04:00

This is a rather unusual headline which we don't see often.
India donates $5 mn to US
But truly the people hit by Katrina in the US do need help.
This might be seen as just another sign of the important player that India is devloping into on the world scene. The last indication that we gave of this, was when it was reported that India had not not explicitly asked for foreign aid and was confident of handing the catastrophe on its own.

Iraq - draft Constitution online

2005-09-03T19:45:00.000-04:00

It is interesting the progress of 'nation-building' in Iraq. Of course foremost the draft constitution which was approved recently. The Iraqi draft constitution is online in this web-site. Is the Indian constitution available for public access anywhere?

PS: The Indian constitution is online here with all the 22 parts and the 395 articles...

Rajini 'Shivaji' - it is ARR

2005-09-03T01:30:00.000-04:00

What more do we need....
It's thalaivar, shankar, AVM and ARR...atleast that is what I am hearing...it will be great if this is confirmed.
And the heroine...who's doing the best in Bollywood...Rani Mukherjee...
hmm...we have all the sparks and indications for an 'erimalai'...just hope it really does explode when the movie is released...

Katrina imagery

2005-09-02T21:03:00.000-04:00

Google Earth has the images of the Katrina disaster.

Nature's fury is the same all over the earth irrespective of the poorest nation or the richest nation. 'US refugees' are facing the same sad plight that the people in Banda Aceh and Sri Lanka faced. We did crticize the Mumbai govt. machinery during the 'one-day' floods there...but I guess the US governments response to the disaster in New Orleans and Mississippi show that all govt. machinery is unprepared for nature's fury. There is imagery of both the tsunami in South Asia and the hurricane Katrina at Digital Globe which has satellite imagery of both these disasters. The images of the Tsunami in Sri Lanka are especially rivetting...it shows the waters rising and then the recede....

Netaji enquiry still alive!

2005-08-31T00:37:00.000-04:00

The Govt. of India has still not acknoledged Netaji Subhash Chadra Bose's death..he is still 'missing'. To top it all, there is still a one-man Commission the MK Mukherjee Commission invetigating Netaji's death. I think this commission is scheduled to go to Russia in connection with the investigation...and then probably Vietnam and other countries...
We could not even nail down some culprits who ignited the Sikh riots in 1984 which happened in broad daylight with more than 3000 people dead after numerous enquiry commissions and debates...do you think we could ever acertain what happened to Netaji in his final moments. If we can't investigate and hold to court what happened in our nation's capital...I am not sure how much success we are going to have with enquiring abt' Netaji's fatal crash and death outside our borders...

Well...I read somewhere that Netaji would be 110 if he was alive now...

Katrina's Deady Kiss

2005-08-30T00:07:00.000-04:00

The tropical storm Katrina has wrecked havoc over Mississipi after battering Lousiana. AP has already reported atleast 50 dead. Real-time Doppler radar for the storm can be seen here.

In a separate report Reuters has an article on how this storm could slow down the economy. With oil prices already touching a record high, Katrina has added to the woes with damaging energy supplies.
I just hope we don't see the same situation as the US did in the early 1970's with the oil crisis and the never-ending lines at the gas stations...

Nanda,,,

2005-08-28T22:10:00.000-04:00

I am watching Nanda starring Surya- a film by Bala. I have seen this before....but worth watching once more. I think this is where Surya arrived as an actor...and director Bala had done a great job...Surya has managed to bring out some great expressions in his acting this film...
And above all, Bala also managed to get Laila to do a great act...!

The Rising:Raja Sen review

2005-08-28T09:44:00.000-04:00

Wow! This scathing review from Raja Sen on Amir's latest 'Mangal Pandey' seems to be right on the point.
I think Hey Ram from Kamal was a much better movie. But that did not go down very well with the audience. I guess Mangal Pandey is from the Bollywood franchise and this helps it a lot.

powershot SD400

2005-08-27T02:41:00.000-04:00

I have been scouring around for an ultra compact digital camera...well finally made the decision last week and it just arrived. I went for the Canon Powershot SD400...
I opened the package today..and this is one real small camera...It is absolutely fantastic...
I just gazed at it in admiration for a few seconds...
will start checking out the quality of the pictures soon...but it is supposed to be one of the better ultracompacts out there...

Paheli...

2005-08-26T00:34:00.000-04:00

Just saw Paheli....the sharukh starrer...i think the credit goes to the director..Amol Palekar. Sharukh has done nothing special in this movie...I think he did a much better job in Swades...
Amitabh as usual with his appearance for even 5 minutes...raises the film...
Rani has done her bit...but only now I realize...when you compare her to Juhi Chawla ( who is also in the film), Juhi wins hands down...she still looks gorgeous...but of course Rani Mukerjee is a great actress...
the locales are fantastic and the camera work is great....
well it is just a fancy folklore story...

Google Talk

2005-08-24T19:47:00.000-04:00

Google is finally doing! The company has just released Google Talk. So it is getting into the IM/VOIP business. It is interesting to see technology companies like Microsoft and Google make their forays into the Communications business. I heard someone on the radio call it today as the next revolution after telegraph replaced by the telephone and now tech-com will replace the telephone.
I have not yet tried Google talk yet...but will soon...
Well, Skype is not alone...
Google is really making some smart moves...I am really beginning to admire this company...
By the way, I just got to know that with all the buzz around Google Earth, Microsoft has its own version of the rotating globe and 3-d directional views...It's called MSN Virtual Earth.
This is hetting really interesting...but I think this competition is healthy...we as the users are ultimately getting the 'stuff that dreams are made of'...

Forbes article on India - a pity

2005-08-24T00:31:00.000-04:00

I read this article today on rediff originally published in Forbes. Something about a day in the life of Prmod Haque - VC- travelling to India and meeting potential companies to invest in. But I am not sure what the reporter who wrote this wanted to convey...that India is booming and on the growth path...or she wanted to depict the 'miserable poverty, pot-holed roads, and begging children'- to put it in her words. What a pity the article is...a totally unprofessional writing...
Looks like the reporter wanted to add some dramatics to the whole story of a wealth VC returning to his roots.
I think it was a totally meaningless article for which neither the magazine nor the reporter new what the purpose was for.

2005-08-22T23:39:00.000-04:00

Google released its beta version of the Google Desktop 2 today. Nice piece of software...aggregates all the tools in one place - the sidebar especially is pretty neat - stocks weather, photos, files...you can getto everything from here. And of course to no surprise it has an in-built notepad..or scratch-pad as Google calls it. The battle for the PC desktop certainly seems to heating up. Microsoft look up!....
PS: this desktop also keeps track of the user's browsing habits...and yes, transmits them out too..although Google does mention that no personal information is transmitted and users can opt out of it too...
Looks like the machines are closing in on us...

Four Brothers

2005-08-21T18:21:00.000-04:00

Watched the movie 'Four Brothers' yesterday...It actually turned out ot be a 'watchable movie'. There is really no strong storyline...which is as simple as four brothers who want revenge for the mother's death...that is it...the story in one-line.
But the screenplay is good, and the movie does not bore you. There is enough comedy interlaced all through the movie...that it does keep you focused on the screen. Mark Wahlberg has done a good job...
It is 'time-pass' movie...the car chase in the fort portion is worth watching...This is fron the director of 'Boys n the Hood. He has done a good job..there is great continuity from scene-to-scene.
http://www.fourbrothersmovie.com/home2.html

2005-08-20T16:04:00.000-04:00

I am looking to get this particular collection of Yesduas - a classical composition called 'Gurusmaranam'. This is Yesudas along with his Guru - Chembai. I have heard that the compositions are excellent and on of Yesduas' best. All the more since he sang it with Chembai...Yesudas has done his best to be singing with his Guru...
Should try and dig that classic out at some audio store soon...

2005-08-20T02:05:00.000-04:00

thalaivar's next film has been announced...this time it is with Shankar as the director and produced by AVM...I am thrilled to hear this...way! to go...great combination...all we need now is for Rahman's music...

But I could'nt help but smiling...Sun TV had this as a Flash News scrolling across the screen...that Rajini's next fim was announced...
Well...I guess Rajini's next film does demand that...

2005-08-18T20:06:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was when I thought of the inevitability of what could happen when something goes wrong with your body. It was when I realized how perfectly the human body and that was when I experienced the fear of something going wrong with it. I guess we just take this intricate machinery of the human body just as granted. It all started off with a pain in the lower ribs on the left side. I was so gripped with anxiety as to what it might be…in any case, after an extensive session with the doctor listening to the heart and checking for the lungs and all that, it was established that it was nothing more than a tight muscle or a muscle ‘knot’ on the left-side. Got some muscle relaxants and the NSAID pin killers and things are getting back to normal again. But the whole process of going through the ECG, chest x-rays, etc…and waiting with the anxiety as to what the doctor might diagnose is a painful experience in itself. I was just imagining how lives turn topsy-turvy for some people after a session with the doctor and receiving a ‘positive’ diagnosis. Well, I still have the Heart Ultrasound to go…looking for a heart murmur, but nothing major I think.