Nov 8, 2006

VARALARU - promising



Hi,

After going through a bad patch (both in the F3 circuit and in the tinsel town), “namma Thala” is back with the much hyped Varalaru (Godfather). It’s for the tax exemption that the producer (Nic Arts) decided to change the title into a Tamil name. Whatever it is, after 1 year of making and more than 1 year of behind the screen conflicts, Ajit’s Varalaru has finally seen daylight this Diwali.
The film was a do or die for the hero as he was knocked out from the much hyped role in “Nan Kadavul” which is to be directed by Bala. There is no two opinion about Varalaru, just bag your tickets and enjoy 3 hours of entertainment. Ajit has carved his best performance till date with his triple role. The movie had taken a bumper opening all around Tamil Nadu with a whooping 9 crore in the first week itself. Finally, the hard work of K.S Ravikumar and his crew has paid off.
Sivasankar(Ajit) is a business tycoon and is much respected and loved by all. He is living for none other than his only son (Vishnu- Ajit 2) but he is worried about his son’s lavish living style and irresponsible acts. Hence he decides to send Vishnu to Thottapuram, a village he adopted for a good cause. There, Vishu meets Divya (Asin) and fall in love with her after some fun-filled incidents. But Shivasankar has a past which is still haunting him and because of which, he is now in a wheel chair. All of a sudden, things become taut with both Vishnu and his father when Jeeva (Ajit 3) comes and does lots of foul plays by enacting to be Vishnu. But every one believes it is Vishnu himself who is doing all these and incidentally sent him for Psychic treatment. Jeeva claims to be Shiva’s second son and soon would get caught by Shiva when he tries to kill his father.
The motive of Jeeva is pretty clear but why does he want to kill his father is unknown. Shiva reveals about his haunting past to Vishnu. He had grown up as a classical dancer and because of that, he has turned as an effeminate kindov guy who is always the point of teasing for everyone. Ajit has portrayed this role to perfection as his sissy looking antics are a delight to watch. Kanika dismisses Shiva on the very day of their marriage and tells that she would better marry a man and not Shiva. As a consequence, Shiva does the inevitable and the result is a baby whom he takes care till date. But who is Jeeva, where is Kanika etc etc would be revealed in a gripping climax.
Ajit makes a perfect cast for the 3 roles and hats off to his dedication in learning bharatanatyam (though his steps needed perfection). I am sure no-one would have expected a meaty role like this from him and all credit to K.S Ravikumar who had a taut script but will be criticized for chopping in the second half. Jeeva is spooky and where needed, he exaggerates. In a negative role too, Ajit is impeccable. Asin and Kanika are adequate with both doing walk-in roles. Songs tuned by Rahman seems to be crass but constant listening will soon make those peppy, especially “Innisai” and “Deepawali”. Priyan’s camera work is perfect and fights are stylishly shot. But it is Ajit who sizzles from start to end and has again proved that he is after all an “actor” when his compatriots’ films have nothing new to offer.


Varalaru is eventful in 3 hrs. Watch it at least for the Ultimate star.

Sep 18, 2006

CLASSMATES - a nostalgic cinema !


Hi,

My Onam was indeed funfilled, be it for movies, be it for roaming around with friends, be it for hogging in restaurants, I really enjoyed being in Trivandrum for a pretty long vacation. Time has come to elucidate those people who haven’t yet witnessed one of the perfect movie making in Classmates and the only Onam release which I had watched twice J. I am really asking for it eh? So here it goes.
Classmates opens up with the 1991-Chemistry batch reunion in the CMS college campus, kottayam, where the “classmates” did their graduation. There is a lump sum of characters involved where you can see some carrying their babies, some who have gone chubby, some who have long beards, on the whole a complete delight for each and every batch mate to watch others. This meeting among P.Sukumaran(Prithviraj), Pias(Indrajeet), Sathisan(Jayasurya), Tara(Kavya) and Razia(Radhika) has its own importance in every one’s life and the major reason why they converge is to pay tribute to their no more ex-classmate Murali(Sunil alias Naren). It is Murali’s father(Balachandra Menon) who has arranged this reunion after long 15 years. You can feel the tautness in everyone’s face as they are shy enough to talk to each other which is very strange. Well, there is a reason.
When we do a time travel of 15 years, we can see a Sukumaran carrying the SFK flag and a Satishan hoisting DSU flag, Tara Kurup being the daughter of the local Congress MP. Razia is a sweet, cute, girl next door popularly known as “penguin” thanks to the parda she wears. Pias and Suku are roommates and they share a good rapport with each other with Pias an SKF follower as well as the pain for those who fill “F” in the sex column. There is an undiscovered love between Tara and Suku which will soon fall into pieces when Tara is rescued from the police attack on account of the collectorate march done by the SFK students, resulting in a fatal “lathi-charge” in the whole college . Before that both of them used to play all the games in the book to make fun of each other which lead to some really nice scenes like Tara being carried to the campus premises while she was sleeping and creating an embarassment for her and she then taking revenge etc etc etc. But Satishan is envious towards Suku because Tara had already become his infatuation. Murali, meanwhile is the Mr Nice guy of the batch and with his vocal chords he is able to grab the mass attention.
It is the futile foul play done by Satishan that brings the Tara-Suku relationship to an end. Pias has all the news updated and even he couldn’t prevent this relationship gone begging. Murali is seen dead during the election day in the college generator room and since he being an asthma patient, people think it’s a fatal death. Now back to the present, Suku commits a suicide attempt in the same night as that of the reunion and everyone including Pias suspects Tara for taking revenge for her incomplete love. What happened to Murali and what is happening to Suku will be unveiled in the riveting climax in the most unpredictable way you would ever see.
Classmates brings you nostalgic memories especially for us people who have just passed out from college. The narration is superb with absolutely no loopholes in the taut script which is incidentally by a newcomer James Albert. Laljose has made several jaws open with his not so conventional type of film-making. The last half an hour is amazing which prompts you to stare at the screen all along. Music by Alex paul is commendable and all the tunes are hummable. Really, its Radhika as Razia who is the surprise package and her performance simply suits the mood of the film.
On the downside, I would say the background score goes haywire especially when Kavya and Prithvi are romancing. Kavya Madhavan as a teenager is a misfit and she looks over-aged and jaded. After 15 years, she hasn’t changed much and her mannerisms reminds me of a “kilavi”. She just can't produce a glittering performance when needed. At the end of the day, u will have the satisfaction after seeing this movie and a satisfaction which I am sure none has relished after Udayananu Tharam.


Go for it guys, it won’t let you down.

Jun 28, 2006

its FRANCE 3 - 1 SPAIN


Wow! It was worth watching till 2:30 AM......France has thumped the potential favs Spain by 3 goals to one in Hanover thanx to those brilliant strikes from Ribery (41'), Vieira(83') and Zidane(90+2'). This is an answer to all those preposterous ctitiques who battered France after their first two encounters in the tournament. Luk how they emerged from the hole as winners. Luk how they proved that "Class is permanent". Hats off to this aging team who siply outplayed the Spanish team which looked vulnerable at the back all day.

Spain took an undeserving lead through Villa (penalty) when Xabi ALonso was "fouled" inside the box by Thuram. After that it was all France and Spain cudnt create a decent opportunity in the rest of the match. Ribery has proved why he is in the playing eleven having failed to score before. This was his first goal for France and see where it has occured. France started the second half strongly when Casillas was forced to save a shot from the box egde by Romedal. Then it ws kidov a dead lock b/w the French attack and the Spain defense. It took 83 min for France to have their noses in front for the first time when Vieira thumped in a header from Zidane's free kick. All blame to Puyol for a "stupid" challenge on Thierry Henry, which cost Spain a free kick and eventually a goal. In the dying moments Spain pushed for the equaliser but invane and Zidane spotted the opportunity. Spain were dead 3-1

In 3 days time, France will meet the defending champions Brazil. Atleast now I want people to say "it'll be a gud contest" rather than making stupid mistakes like "writing off France". Gotcha?

Jun 13, 2006

Well Well Well !


Team ENGENIO has always been an energetic one to work with. Here in Mindtree, I had lots of opportunities to minkle with my fellow team members and that helped build the bonding b/w each and every soul in Engenio. The pic here reflects a very watchful KK in one of the outbounds held by the Ether Ventures some time ago standing at a height of 100ft. Wow....it was spooky guys.......especially for those who did rappeling for the first time. When u take the very first step into the cliff with the rock underneath ur body completely invisible, u'll feel ur heart pounding in an agile pace. That was some experience and I thought I could share the same with u guys......

Enjoy maadi !

The baronial FRANCE

8 yrs ago, they were the underdogs and one 'ld have had his doubts about their capability of winning the WC, though hosting the tournament. If playing home in front of a racuous crowd is an advantage, then why didnt USA or KOREA or ITALY win their home WCs. There was some kind of spark in that French team who seemed invincible in the whole tournament. Lets have a look at EURO '00. 2-1 winners over the mighty Italians. That victory had cemented everyone's belief about France as a team.

Now when you look 6yrs down the line, they have achieved virtually nothing over this time. Are they ignited to win another WC, are they adept enough to win one more. Well, my verdict is "they are". They just need a bit of inspiration as well as some fortune to get pass all the barriers and win this years' world cup. Under the coach in Raymond Domenech, France is a complete team though their critiques would argue about the loss of Cisse. Along with Germany and Czech Republic, France is another team I back strongly to be crowned champions. Lets wish them all the fortunes they could ever get when they start their campaign today against the Swiss team.


1. LANDREAU Mickael

2. BOUMSONG Jean-Alain

3. ABIDAL Eric

4. VIEIRA Patrick

5. GALLAS William

6. MAKELELE Claude

7. MALOUDA Florent

8. DHORASOO Vikash

9. GOVOU Sidney

10. ZIDANE Zinedine

11. WILTORD Sylvain

12. HENRY Thierry

13. SILVESTRE Mikael

14. SAHA Louis

15. THURAM Lilian

16. BARTHEZ Fabien

17. GIVET Gael

18. DIARRA Alou

19. SAGNOL Willy

20. TREZEGUET David

21. CHIMBONDA Pascal

22. RIBERY Frank

23. COUPET Gregory


Players to watch out in bold

Jun 12, 2006

GERMANY is back !

Wow....the world cup is back, the futbol fever is also back frm the horizon.......after 4yrs of a virtual long wait, people have gathered hands for the most prestigious tournament in the history of futbol. Germany, the host nation has started the campaign with a 4-2 thumping of Costa Rica.....n they have announced their presence in the long run of 1 month. Ofcorse there are worries abt their defense but I hope they can make some patch works and get the team into a competing one in an international level. I hope Germany will go distance as they have done in the past few world cups continuously. Its not surprising that they have got into the QF for the past 11 WCs in a row. Amazing achievement. Watch out for Klinsman's men whom as a team have underachieved over the years. Clearly they are a team who deserve more and needed to be placed in the fav lists.

Keep going GERMANY !

Jun 8, 2006

Da Vinci Code Review !

Hi, Let me tell u, DVC is worth 100 Rs. Director Ron Howard has made nothing new but the carbon copy of the Dan Brown best seller. It’s a visual treat for those who haven’t read the book and for those who could barely watch the Jesus fibs.
About the film, it could have been a better version if the director was a bit more patient. He just wanted to finish it off in a racy fashion so that nothing is lost in contrary to the book. But he should have thought that a motion picture is in a different league altogether and that the slower you narrate the closer you make the film taut. Anyways, its worth a watch.
The film rolls on when the curator in the Museum of Louvre is chased and killed by Silas, the messenger of God. Wow, Silas is a little spooky creature and full marks to the costume designer for that. Langdon (Tom Hanks) will be called by the French police as part of the investigation and he turns out to be a suspect in the murder. Though the introduction of Robert Langdon is different from that in the book, it’s done so as to give Hanks the shades of the arrival of a “hero”. When he witnesses the corpse and finds some chaos in the whole scene, he is helped by Sophie who knows that the dumping of Langdon from the horizon is nothing but a ploy by Fache, who is the cop.
Langdon unwinds an anagram, “Oh Dacronian Devil Oh Lame Saint” which is written just beside the body by the curator himself. He come to know that its devised from Leonardo Da vinci and The Mona Lisa. This whole scene swift passes in a matter of seconds and that I thought was a big mistake. Comeon, u r talking about none other than Leonardo Da vinci and his famous painting and u must have given ample time for the audience to digest. Langdon then has a look at the artifact itself when he finds another anagram (The Madonna of Rocks), which brings him the key to a secret account of a bank in Brussels. What is the key all about? How is this related to the murder? Who is the boss of Silas? All these unfold in the second half.
To be honest, the first half is a bit lagging, thanks to the raciness in code breaking. The movie will soon be riveting when Langdon and co arrives in London and to be precise, in front of the tomb of Issac Newton. Ron Howard, at times reminds the audience why he is an Academy award winner. The mass scenes are picturised in an effective and well etched out manner. The Back Ground score (Hans Zimmer- Gladiator fame) is exceptional especially when the film enters its climax. The beauty of the Rosslyn Chapel is well paved out and one would wonder about the very existence of such a place. The last scene when Langdon stands in the Louvre keeping his left palm on his right and looking down the pyramids is simply awesome. He just waits n waits and senses the artistic beauty of the place where Mary Megdelene is rested. Yes, he waits beneath the inverted pyramid and a pat on the backs of the cameraman and the director for carving it into an unforgettable moment in the movie.

I just want to raise a few queries on the movie whilst some trimming was done in the story.
1. What has happened to Sophie’s brother?
2. Till the end, the Curator’s sacred ritual, because of which Sophie had a fight with him, is not well justified. The man-woman symbol and the chalice should have been explained with much more sincerity.
3. Why did they run with the script in the first half?
4. Where has the romance gone?

Inspite of all these flaws, Da Vinci Code is one must watch movie in recent history, whether you are a firm believer that the Christ was divine or not! It just doesn’t matter. Watch it atleast for Tom, coz he fits in the character like anything though he is no larger than life. Sohpie’s English with French dialect is a treat for ur ears. Newys, go for it.

Jun 7, 2006

Hey dudes n dudettes,

This is Krishna Kumar P. a.k.a KK from the sizzling city of Bangalore. I am working as a software engineer in a reputed MNC here. As my blog says, I'm just a bit too hot for u to handle n ofcorse handle with care. Gotcha? Bye 4 now!

KK