An interesting season so far?

Formula 1 has always been a force to reckon when we learn more about the sport itself. Unlike Cricket, Hockey, Football this sport is a consequence of so many brains working as a team and providing the best they can for 2 people, the drivers. Also, there is a lot of money involved not in organizing it but to get the best out of your car. Formula 1 is special......

Let's take a look at the 2007 season so far with 14 races completed and 3 drivers battling the hell out of each other to gain supremacy. As if everything was planned earlier, this time also there are only 2 teams who can provide a car which can triumph in any circuit. Ferrari and McLaren. After the "loss" of Schumacher who had retired after a stupendous career, Ferrari found their new supremo in Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn has already proved that he is the fastest driver on track by far when things go right. When I say things going right, it definitely won't mean running out of power like in Spain or suffering a mechanical failure as happened in Germany. We may expect all these in any team but Ferrari. This time around, the car is just not performing well when needed unlike their nearest rival, McLaren.

Inspite of all these discomforts, Kimi was able to win 4 races and finish on podium on 5 occasions. Good job but is it enough? Definitely not when your rivals are giving 100% reliability on track. Talking about the Finn's rivals, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are a touch lucky to see their silver McLaren finish in each and every race. The Spaniard may be a world champion but he lacks providing that extra comfort level to the whole team which Schumi used to give when he was in Ferrari. Alonso just cannot find himself out of controversies, the latest being the spy-saga. I would be shocked like hell if I see him drive for McLaren next year. Ron Dennis might have pissed off big time after expecting so much from a double world champion and seeing him crib like a baby after each race. Comeon dude, accept that a rookie is beating the crap out of you and you are just not good enough.

Rookie? who? Lewis Hamilton, the first black driver to race in Formula 1, means business. 11 podiums in 14 races is just exceptional but having said that, I have to admit, McLaren never looked like a limping gadget. For sure, it has done wonders for Lewis' career but to outpace Alonso was something special. He maybe Ron's baby but he has the passion when out on track, on his own which we see in the Schumis and Kimis. He is one to watch out for even if he doesn't win the championship this time.

So the fight between the top 3 drivers may have captivated so many souls who have F1 in their blood. But let's face it, this season has been utterly boring from the racing point of view. Time and again we see a driver taking chequered flag from pole. Not a good sight for those who wish to see pure racing. We have to blame the FIA for all these simply because a Formula 1 car, nowadays, does everything for you. The driver just have to press the throttle as much as possible and the car won't slip or slide in any tough corner. The traction control provided in the car just get the better of those warn out tyres and we seldom see overtaking. Hence, the driver can show his true colors rarely. For someone like Raikkonen, just going from start to finish as if he is having his own race is just crappy. In 2005, we might have seen him overtake Fisichella in the last lap of an F1 race but I am confident, we are not gonna see that this time around. Now, the FIA seems to have learned and they are all set to ban traction control in 2008 season. Wow ! That would provide some interesting spectacles which you may repeat umpteen times or maybe it will take you to the Schumi or Senna era where nothing but bravery was the key.

Let's wait and see !

Nadiya Kollapetta Rathri........a throbbing ride all the way !

After a disappointing “Pathaka” K. Madhu has bounced back with a well etched out Suresh Gopi starrer Naadiya Kollapetta Rathri (NKR). As the name suggests, it is a full fledged investigation story with twists and turns aided by lot of blood. Not a pleasing sight for kids or elders when you see three cute babes stranded to death and amazingly in the same compartment of a train. The story starts off in a train and ends up in a train as well. The producer would have spent some extra penny to shoot those illustrious scenes in a train but some, quite evidently are nothing but good use of sets or good art direction.

What you expect from a Suresh Gopi thriller is what you get in NKR though it can be a path-breaking film just like his previous Chintamani Kolacase. If blood, gore and mouth watering violence were the trademark of that Shaji Kailas film, K. Madhu doesn’t go haywire with the script but instead provides us a classic thriller. The story starts with the crew of RACT, a railway crime investigating team lead by Gopi himself attack a passenger terrorist and kill him. Perfect introduction. I just cannot remember his screen name because it is a tongue twisterJ. Upon extreme pressure and demand, the RACT team starts the reinvestigation of some murders which happened under mysterious circumstances. They kick start their campaign with the investigation of the crime whose victims were Nadiya (Kavya) and 2 other gals which occurred a month back.

Nadiya who is good at shooting is found unconscious after being stabbed in the 1^st A.C compartment. She is taken to hospital but the doctors declare her “brain dead”. Nadira is her twin sister and she almost loses her heart out after seeing her sister’s condition. She has her interest cut down in classical dance and even her mannerisms are just the other side of what you see in Nadiya who is bold. Kavya to be fair has given justice to her double role and it would be the very first appreciation which I as a viewer give her over all these yearsJ. There are a lot of characters involved and it is evident from the moment go that each of them has a part to play in the crucial climax where things are unfolded in a break-neck pace.

Suresh Gopi will obviously unfold the mystery but it’s the path he follows to do so which makes you feel, “yeah this is something different” and finally the answer to “who is the killer” can’t be said in one word cos the killer is beyond your imagination. To be honest, the two murders one of a dancer and the other of an NDTV reporter have hardly anything to do with the original story. Being clever, the director reveals the Nadiya mystery only in the end picking his order to perfection cos otherwise the audience would feel as if there were a plethora of events which were completely a wastage of time. It is here you see the role of an experienced director in K. Madhu when he handles those otherwise difficult scenes with ease.

The script by A.K Sajan after Chintamani Kolacase has lived up to the standards set by the other investigative thrillers. Infact, it is amazing to see how he had managed to pen a story like this and tie up the loose strings which could have affected the totality of the film. Background score is just awful and it tests your patience undoubtedly. The cast and crew are just fine with Kavya and Suresh Gopi sharing the bulk of the credit. Suresh Gopi’s costume designer needs a pat on his back to make a jaded old “commissioner” look handsome. Cotton shirts, trendy jeans and on top of that sunglasses makes our Hero look younger. On the whole, NKR is a spell binding thriller for around 150 mins though it has its downside as well which I don’t want to mention. It won’t disappoint you.

My verdict: A superb thriller !

McLaren : "Take your ass off the car"

McLaren has reportedly given their Spanish driver Fernando Alonso an option to leave the team after this season. What has prompted them to spit a statement like this to a former champion? Simple, its the Spaniard's attitude in and out of the track which has given him the penalty he deserved. He was never a happy man driving the McLaren especially when he was outpaced and shadowed by a rookie out of all people. He wouldn't have expected this on his entry to McLaren.

Alonso naturally would have expected a #1 status in the team after back to back championship wins with Renault. What received him was something he wouldn't have guessed even in his wildest dreams. Lewis Hamilton a born talent, drove his heart out in his first 9 races and finished in the podium each time. Stunning !

What left was "Alonso's cribbing". Day in day out if you look at the F1 websites all over, there will be news about the McLaren drivers' drift. Even, there was a speculation about he leaving the team in between the season but that is now unlikely. Nevertheless, Ron Dennis seems to be pissed off cos of the rivalry between Lewis and Fernando. Never know, who he is gonna be ditched from the team but right now the lot seems to have gone in Alonso's way.

Fernando Alonso having done a marathon "pitstop" in Hungary has just proved how dirty F1 tricks can get. Impeding his teammate from driving a hot lap was the last thing expected from a driver, especially when there were only minutes to go before the qualifier ends. Absolutely ridiculous as some newspapers pointed out except in Spain.

Someone needs to go to the double world champion and teach him the definitions of words like "dignity", "teamwork", "team - first of all" and of course "maturity". In Alonso's case fortune didn't favor the brave when he won the title rather it was fortune's turn to misbehave and that too twice. At the end of the day, its Alonso who is the loser and as some pointed out, a disgrace to Formula 1.

Grow up dude........

Kimi back with the resurgence and so is Ferrari !

The best way to get the better of your critics is to keep your mouth shut and perform, none other than Kimi would know it better. Its an answer for those who said "Kimi doesn't have it in him". Well, can they say this now? They can't. Two thumping victories have confirmed his return to the centre stage. One leading the Ferrari 1-2 in the beautiful Magny Cours, and the most recent one in Silverstone in front of Lewis Hamilton's home crowd. Thats a sweet victory, no two opinions.

Its his 12th career victory and 3rd of the season which 95,000 odd British fans witnessed and boy, did he drive the crap out of his rivals. Pipping out the McLarens in 2nd and 3rd positions is no easy job especially after being at the receiving end for most of the season. He had his misfortunes honestly when his Scarlet Ferrari refused to pull off at Spain and when a traffic studded Monaco G.P saw him finishing 8th and being lapped by the McLarens. That hurts and it did hurt him but thats when you see a champion carving his way through the stupendous circuit in Silverstone for the 60th time and on his way breaking the 4 winless ducks on the same circuit.

It didn't start well for the team from Italy as Feilpe Massa suffered an "unknown" problem which the Ferrari techies failed to explain, in the initial lap forcing all the cars to warm up one more lap reducing the count to 59. He did a wonderful job to finsh at 5th having pulled off a series of overtaking maneuvers and posting the second best lap time after Kimster. Kimi, behind Lewis didn't allow the leader to pull away with a lighter car rather kept up with the McLaren and almost getting the better of the rival just before Lewis made his first stop. But then Lewis was overshadowed and outpaced by both Kimi and Fernando. It was an end of what you call a virtual dream for a rookie to win in front of his home crowd.

Surprisingly, it was Alonso with a shorter pitstop (6.3 sec), who managed to come in front of the Iceman after and he further extended the lead from the Ferrari driver to 5.8 seconds before going for a longer 2nd stop. And that's when you see the flying finn indeed flying. 6 stunning laps and one would ask, where is Fernando? After lap 44 when Kimi exited the pitlane for the second time, he was 4.3 secs ahead of Alonso and unless he makes a mistake or two, Kimi was sure to finish ahead of all. 60 flawless laps and that registered victory no: 12 for the Iceman. The local boy was a further 35 secs away substantiating how far McLaren are lagging behind their rivals.

Santander British G.P :

Winner: Kimi Raikkonen from Fernando Alonso

Fastest Lap: Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi is the man to beat !!!

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom - frivolous

Time and again, I am making the same mistake. A pleasant Sunday evening turned out to be one to forget after watching Shaad Ali’s latest offering, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. There is lot said and done about bollywood love pastries. But when its from the prestigious Yash Raj banner, who have given us some memorable films earlier, we tend to get carried away. Same happened to me when I really had some better works to do yesterday………………if one ask me, why KK? Can’t blame him.
So lets dig the crap ! The film kick starts with Abhshek joining Priety to share a table in the busiest London Railway station, both waiting for their relatives/friends who are on the way from Birmingham. Alas, the train is 2 hrs late. Abhishek, a typical Punjabi, outspoken, cool dude, decides to engage himself with the cute looking gal sitting next to him. They start telling each other their respective stories about how they met their fiancées, Lara and Bobby. These lead to some flashback scenes which comprises of two lovely songs picturised in charismatic locales including the famous Louvre Museum (ticket to Hollywood). Abhi and Priety really enjoy each other’s company and that’s evident when Priety says “train kuch jaldi hi aa gaya”. They diverge only to receive their buddies and walk home. Man, that’s when you see the funny looking Amitabh Bachhan with a stupid grin, joining the station along with the title track. Make no mistake, he doesn’t have a role, but still comes in between to “look after” his son. Its interval……………………but tell me, what is in the first 1 hour. Gosh !
As expected, our lovers just cannot stop thinking about their sweethearts, and that’s when they reveal to the already tiresome audience that Bobby and Lara are just imaginary characters. Earlier, Priety didn’t want to spend time with an “ajnabee” and that’s why she created Bobby out of nothing just to avoid our small B. Now, they decide to meet at “Jharokha”, a dance competition event. Priety finds a “new” Bobby who is actually an optician with childish looks and antics. Lara, a whore, is picked up by Abhi with the help of his friend. All four meet……..bang ! 2 songs in 15 mins. The climax is more or less expected and to the audiences’ relief, the film ends.
Music is just awesome, all five songs rocking. The lead pair performances are…….ho, a reluctant ok. But its Bobby, who comes up with a phenomenal performance. Only he is the saving grace in a movie which tests your patience. Shaad Ali has a long way to go in picking the right story for an instant hit. Its not even old wine but is a combination of confused script given by a confused mind. Its definitely a bad idea if you think you can have some timepass during JBJ. The media has given the movie 2 stars out of 5. I wonder why not less !

Verdict: Just stay away.

Bahrain G.P review

Courtesy: ESPNStar

London (espnstar.com) - Felipe Massa finally makes amends for Malaysia and the disappointment in Australia by clinching his first grand prix win of the season on Sunday.
However, once again it was Lewis Hamilton, who grabbed the headlines after he secured another second place finish and in so doing becomes the first driver in the history of the sport to finish on the podium in his first three races as well as jointly leading the Drivers’ Championship.
Kimi Räikkönen had to settle for third place and joins Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in a three-way leadership battle.
McLaren boss Ron Dennis had nothing but praise for his rookie driver saying: “Lewis has already surpassed all expectations. He has a confidence devoid of all arrogance.”
However, this weekend the pressure was on Massa to deliver what he has been threatening to do in the first two races, only to have been thwarted by a gearbox failure in Melbourne and then threw away his lead at the start of the race in Sepang last weekend.
A delighted Massa was clearly relieved if nothing else to have finally got his own back on the rookie driver screeching over the car radio after crossing the line: “I needed this result. I did it. I did it. Thank you.”
The Brazilian admitted afterwards that everything had fallen into place. “The results in the first two races were not like I expected. I think something was missing, especially in the first race when we had a problem and then what happened in the second race, with mistakes and also something missing,” he told reporters in the post race press conference.
“This time we put everything together and I’m really pleased for the whole team. The job they made here, the strategy, the set-up, everything, I’m really pleased. But now we need to push even harder because McLaren is quite close.”
The anticipation for another blistering getaway at the lights from Hamilton was reaching fever pitch in the sweltering desert heat but the Brazilian held his nerve and ensured he kept his lead going into the first corner.
A rueful Hamilton was not too disappointed however, especially after resoundingly beating his team-mate by over 12 seconds.
“I didn’t get as good a start as Felipe, he did very well down to the first corner. He managed to keep his place and I had to make sure I stayed as close behind as possible to maybe have a chance on the first lap, but I think we were fairly well matched,” he insisted.
“I think this weekend we have definitely closed the gap to Ferrari and to have another second in only my third race, I couldn’t ask for more. There’s only one more step for me and we’ll be pushing and making sure that in Barcelona we’ll be just as quick.”
Räikkönen was unable to challenge Hamilton for second place, insisting he now knows why he is not as quick as his team-mate.
“We got third place and we know where we are losing time, so hopefully in the next test we can find something which is a bit better for me.”
For once, the double world champion Alonso looked all out of sorts struggling to keep pace with the front-runners and eventually succumbing to the vastly improved Nick Heidfeld, who grabbed fourth place with 24 laps remaining.
His team-mate Robert Kubica finally got on to the scoreboard with three valuable points in sixth whilst Toyota’s Jarno Trulli managed to keep Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella at bay to grab seventh despite boss Flavio Briatore imploring Fisi to pass his former driver.
Once again the Italian was given the ‘get a move on’ call over the car radio: “pass Trulli - come on” alas to no avail.
Further down the grid order it was disappointment for both Red Bull cars as David Coulthard retired with a broken driveshaft after an impressive drive which saw the Scotsman carve his way from 21st to 12th place, whilst Mark Webber, who had been in the points in seventh, retired with their Achilles heel: a broken gearbox.
The Australian was none too pleased afterwards saying: “Bloody frustrating and that’s not good enough. I’ve been here too often.”
Both Super Aguri’s fail to finish with Anthony Davidson, who at one point had been running in sixth place, had an engine failure just four laps from the line, whilst Sato’s Honda engine blew on lap 35.
It was another miserable weekend for Honda’s Jenson Button, who failed to make it past turn four on the very first lap after he spun trying to avoid Takuma Sato, which in turn caused a chain reaction behind resulting in Toro Rosso’s Scott Speed to crash out and deploying the safety car.
As the sand settled once again for another year on the Sakhir circuit, the Formula One championship has never been so wide open with three drivers all level on the same points.
Spain cannot come soon enough in four week’s time when battle resumes in May and Lewis Hamilton will try to go one better and secure his maiden Formula One victory.

Move of the day: Heidfeld taking Alonso on turn four with 24 laps to the flag
Driver of the Day: Felipe Massa

Sivaji's music update

http://123musiq.com/Sivaji-Rajini-Movie-Songs.htm

Check out the link and download what you call some peppy tunes with the right mix of rap and melody. Here are the list of songs

1. Sahaana Saaral Thoovutho....... Udit Narayan n Shreya Ghosal
A class song with exceptional voice modulation and recording. Udit as always takes his songs to an extra level when it comes with Rahman. Shreya is adequate but she doesnt have much to do honestly.

2. Vaa Ji Vaa Ji En Jeevan Sivaji....... Hariharan n Sadhana Sargam
A peppy number with punch music and catchy lyrics. No doubt, a winner on the cards.

3. Oru Koodai Sunlight......Blaze n Suresh Peters
Not bad but only the picturisation can make this a hit number. A complete rap tone in the song.


More to arrive soon.....

Pachaikili Muthucharam - worth ur time and money !

Back to my business.

Oscar Films and Gautham Menon join hands yet again after the commercial success of VV but this time going with the supreme hero SarathKumar whose career was sagging after some colossal flops, not now though. Alas, Gautham went on to remake a so called average grosser in Hollywood, “Derailed” without deviating much from the original. Running out of stories kya?
One thing is pretty much common in Minnale, RHTDM, Kakka Kakka and VV – all were fast paced. Indeed Pachaikili Muthucharam too is fast paced with some slick photography sandwiched with crisp editing. First Jyothika starrer after her marriage, Kollywood debue for Milind, new girl Andrea all add upto the movie’s highlights. Released in almost 6 centres in Chennai city itself, Pachaikili has created a wave which I guess is unstoppable atleast for a few days.
The story. Venkatesh (Sarath) is a medical rep whose days’ half are spend in suburban trains going through the eternal Chennai. He is quite happy and humble and doesn’t demand too much other than maintaining a settled life. Radhika (Andrea) who is a house wife is still passionate about her husband and their love is always envious. Nanda is their only son who suffers from premature diabetics, that being the only worry for the couple. Radhika tries to concentrate more towards nursing her son rather than being with Venkatesh. Obviously, our hero is frustrated over this averted behavior.
One fine day, Venkatesh meets Geetha (Jyothika) in one of his journeys to office. He is attracted to her girl next door looks and friendly nature. They soon become friends and soon become more than that J. He deliberately tries to let his mind do the proceedings rather than sticking to reality and being a good husband. They both find themselves in a hotel room somewhere in the outskirts of Chennai only to witness an unexpected event which would change their lives forever. Geetha becomes a rape victim to Milind after he confronts both of them in their suit. Venkatesh is beaten to half-life and he could only see what’s happening to his lover.
Milind finds that they are not a married couple and hence tries to blackmail both of them for money. Venkatesh ends up giving lakhs before actually confessing to his wife. There is a sudden twist in the second half and the film altogether creates a bizarre mood which is nicely crafted. The latter part is all about how the hero manages to convince his wife and how he confronts the bad guys.
In an out and out Sarathkumar film, he excels though looks a bit jaded. One has to say the casting has been prefect as all characters look realistic. Milind Soman has come out with a sterling performance even in a language which is foreign to him. The new girl too looks 100 million bucks but her dialogue delivery needs improvement. Harris Jayaraj has once again shown that he is the perfect match for Gautham’s style of film making and even the background score, as always, makes the film gripping. “Unakkul Naane” and “Un siripinil” are the pick of the songs. Yet there are certain flaws like first half being lagging, some censorable scenes and the lengthy climax.

On the whole, Pachaikili is crisp at 2 hrs 25 mins and is recommended for those who like thrilling family dramas.

Notebook - A sensible extravaganza !

Hi,

Its yet another xmas, yet another new year and its yet another review from the ever-active KK :).Kripa theatre was the location this time and goodness me, ended up watching an unforgettable cinema in Rosshan Andrew's latest venture, Notebook.
First thing, "this is not a painkili love story". No superstars, no item numbers, no explosions, no double meanings. These are some glimpses of Notebook and let me tell you, the film still works to a large extent. Seira, Pooja and Sreedevi are doing their 12th in Lords Academy and they share thick friendship. Seira is the bubbly and naughty girl in the batch and she is always the centre of attraction for both teachers and students. Always comes late in class, an LHite who believes day scholars are fortunate to eat what they wish and hence both Seira and Sreedevi eats from Pooja's house every weekend. Pooja, the school headgirl, is smart and a bit more matured than the other two while Sreedevi is soft and lovable. Pooja's mother who is a widow nourishes and babies them as her children. Of course they fight each other like any other friends but there is nothing more in those little pranks.
Suraj, a 12B student, is considered to be the macho among the gals and they simply fall for him (Don't know why:). After some really funny circumstances, Sreedevi and Suraj fall in love but being immature and in fear of words passing by; they keep quiet about their relationship. During the tour, they somehow find some time to spend each other but the inevitable happens. Sreedevi become pregnant, yes I spelled that word properly :P, and her friends just cannot believe what had happened. Hang on. Upon the advices from Seira and Pooja, Sreedevi doesn't reveal the matter to Suraj cos her friends feared that it may force him to depart from the school and from her friend's life for ever. Sensible thought :) Alas, they have no other option but to abort it. Believe it or not, Seira somehow manages to get Sreedevi into the operation theatre by telling lots of unconventional yet convincing lies to the doctor who is supposed to do the operation.
From this point, the film takes a U-turn as Sreedevi dies in the hospital and Seira and Pooja escapes from the whole scene. The principal and the authorities come to know about it and they call up both Seira and Pooja to discuss the issue in front of Sreedevi's father and the investigating police officer. Seira accepts the whole fact cos she regrets the fact that she has forced sreedevi to do it without telling her parents. She gets scolding from virtually everyone and now its time for Pooja to speak up. She bloughs that she is unaware of the incident and is able to convince the authorities that she is innocent.
Seira will be dismissed from the school and she is understandably furious over her "innocent" friend. Will Pooja have regrets? Will they unite again? Will Suraj come to know about this? All these are revealed in a 10 mins climax where the film moves in breathtaking pace. One of the main reasons of the movie's success is its background score and some commendable camera placing. It has a slick look and Ooty is seen as a heaven. Music by Mejo Joseph is adequate as there are only 4 songs. Roma as Seira, the best of the three, is a delight to watch. But it's the director who has the last laugh as he is able to transform himself from the star studded cult classic Udayanu Tharam to Notebook with ease. 3 crores extravaganza is seen all through out the film.
On the downside, the hero is a pastry and he has a long way to go in acting. First half is uneventful though passable with Seira enjoying the possession. On the whole, Notebook is indeed a brave attempt and it takes more braveness to bring it to the theatres along with the biggies like BabaKalyani and Palunku. At the end of the day, people will find this as a sensible yet controversial film.



Too good to turn down !

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.

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.

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?

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

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 !

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.

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