Usirey Poghudhey …Usirey Poghudey…Script a nee konjum suzhikayilai….

We’ve all come across them Tamizh movies where the hero idolizes the heroine, fascinated by her, he follows her every move and then when rejected turns all furious, resorting to threatening, drinking and cursing the day he laid his eyes on her. How would you then describe his emotions ? Disappointment or anger ?
Or, just affectionate despair ?

Well, that was me after watching Raavanan. Frustrated facebook-status updating and online venting.

In affectionate despair…..

Mani Ratnam. The guy who gives us extraordinary Tamizh cinema. The man who teased us with classy music and trailers as we waited with bated breath for his movies to release. He would take us into the homes of his characters, making us form a rare connect with them, as we yearned for further glimpses into their lives, long after the credits rolled.

We loved everything about his movies. I repeat, everything.

The visuals, the music, the screenplay, dialogue and even home decor on his sets.

He converted the simple act of his actors eating and hanging clothes into an art.
And, we fell in love with them over and over again.

We cheered Gautam and Ashok as they joined hands and fought the bad guys. We were amused by Anjali, sneaking a smoke with her friends. We fell in love with Karthik a hundred times over as he jumped and jumped amidst dry leaves and green pastures in the  best conceptualized song of Tamizh cinema.
We shared Sakthivelu Nayakar’s agony in losing his only son while still recovering from the chemistry of ‘ Nee oru Kadhal Sangeetham’. We were shocked when Manohar died at the steps of a court yet went home wanting a husband like Chandrakumar. We were moved when Anjali paapa came into her new home and then again when Kabir Narayan and Kamal Basheer were born.

And how can one forget the timeless character of Karna portrayed by Thalaivar. No other director has dared to bring out such natural acting in him. In a film world that makes him prance around with heroines less than half his age, Mani made him adopt and fall in love with a widow with child, plots unheard of in traditional Thalaivar cinema.

Saira Banu, Geethanjali, Roja…..the list is endless.

In summary, Mani’s characters are magical, yet real, timeless yet contemporary.

Yet, somehow Raavanan’s characters are forgettable. From the insipid hero, to the confused protagonist to their flaky object of attention, the characters fail to hit home.

Well, I did enjoy the movie as a visual treat. I marveled at the cinematography, gasped at the greenery and appreciated some of the scenes that were delightfully fast. Yet, try as I might, I was unable to connect with anything beyond the visuals.

Click here for the movie’s story. The overall premise of the movie is fascinating. The Yin and Yang concept. There is a bit of good in all things bad and a bit of bad in the pure. Which is where the film disappoints. The pure is made to look like a completely insensitive ‘bee-hind orifice’ while the bad is made to look rabid ?

Ratnam in response to the critics who complained that many parts of the movie were unexplained, explained that he felt the need to remove the flab and stick with the basics while catering to an ‘intelligent audience’. Which, when understood as a statement makes sense, but fails to explain the obvious gaps in the movie. Does the cop really suspect his wife or was he trying to be clever ?
If he was suspicious and did not really care of her, there is no other evidence to stake the claim. How is it so simple for a kidnapped victim to jump off a train and find a nomadic bandit within a few minutes, a feat the police could not accomplish in 14 days.

There are trite references to the Ramayana, the baddies pulling at Venila’s nose and Karthik swinging from a tree to talk to Aishu. While Vikram shines in parts, there is a hang-over effect from Kandasamy. Speaking of hangovers, Priya Mani’s  Venila, supposedly the character who the movie’s events are triggered by is merely the ghost of Muthazhagu. Subjecting her as a victim of gang-rape seems awfully repetitive somehow.

And the Razzies go to …..

Prithviraj for Actor in a Lead Role
Sadly, one of my favorite Tamizh heroes looks awkward in a Ratnam movie. He pales next to Vikram, looks like Aishu’s kid brother and does not make any sort of emotional connect with the audience.
Would have been better with : Suryah. Kaakha Kaakha. Justification enough.

Sabyasachi Mukherji for Costumes
Mr Mukherji, Wives of Tamizh SP’s of Police rarely wear fitted Anarkali salwars and find Bandhini blouses in remote villages. Kindly research before you display your outfits in a large-scale movie. If confused, kindly watch Kaakha Kaakha or VTV to understand how ‘smart’ Tamizh women dress. Also,Raavanan aside, did some astrologer tell you to always dress Aishu in black net. Like, always ?
Would have been better with : Nalini Sriram

Prithviraj and Aishwarya’s Chemistry for Romantic Duo in the Lead
During the movie, I commented on how there was ‘ no chemistry’ between the lead pair, someone next to me corrected me saying. This is not ‘ no chemistry’, this is ‘ physics’. And Physics it was with Aishu’s mechanical robotic dance moves and Prithviraj’s ‘ constant’ deadpan expression.  Where was the expression that is meant to show how much he loves the ‘most beautiful woman in the world’. And, did Aishu serve him breakfast with a heave of her chest ? Come on now….
Would have been better with : Kamal Hasan as a Romance Consultant

Shobhana for Choreography
Now, Ash Rai is not a bad dancer but somehow Shobana converts her into a Avatar-ish robotic figure in Raavanan. Probably, hung-over from Maayaravan, she tries to make poor Aishu do the same scary expressions. And even the movie’s brilliant cinematographers could redeem the Veeraiya song. Design Rule 101 : White Space. The song’s picturisation gave me a head-ache. Too much activity. Too many bare-bodies. Scary.
Would have been better with : Good old’ Prabhudeva and Raju Sundaram

Aishwarya for Actress in a Lead Role
The scene where she confronts a giant statue of Vishnu asking him not to confuse her feelings is justification enough for a  Razzie in the lead actress category. And, what was with the perfectly painted lips across 14 days ? Her L’Oreal campaign ?
Would have been better with : Sneha. Has Mani seen her smile. Casting her would explain why Raavana fell in love with her without any other justification. In the flash of a smile. Aishu-can’t-dance-saala could have simply done only the Hindi version with her husband.

Suhasini Maniratnam for Dialogue Writing
The biggest villain in the movie, Mrs… Ratnam’s awkward, jumpy dialogues.
Ref : Scene in train where Prithviraj tells his wife “ Your body is full of lies. Your eyes are full of lies. You are lying”. Sigh.
Would have been better with : Not-Suhasini-Mani Ratnam. Radha Mohan

And the Oscars go to……

Santosh Sivan & Manikandan for Cinematography
Brilliant. Enough said.

Vikram for Actor in a Lead Role
For getting on that bridge, twice.

The entire Raavanan/Raavan crew
For braving Mother Nature’s wrath, daring slippery peaks and obviously dangerous conditions while shooting for a visual masterpiece in Indian cinema.

P.S : The person who attracted the maximum number of hoots, whistles and cheers was Ranjitha. Item number in slow motion ?

I need reaction to action; Just a word that would thrill me

We’re back ! I just loaded Windows Live Writer at my work-studio and felt a strange sense of pleasure, a feeling of homecoming ? Though, I had to request WordPress for a password reminder

It’s been more than a year since I’ve quit blogging and some things have changed, and a whole bunch have not.

I’m still married (rolling eyes + hallelujah), RD and I still live in the same apartment, I still run my rather ‘luck’-less studio while RD battles the recession blues whilst working at least outwardly like a CEO and getting paid
like an RD. I stopped blogging, spending my online time more productively by looking at random photos on Facebook, grimacing at the sycophant-like photo comments and then making some myself. And, of course doing other useful things like following up on Rakhi Sawant’s Swayamvar and educating myself on how Asin is fitting into Bollywood

There have been days I cooked like a gourmet chef and weeks where I fed
RD nothing but PBJ sandwiches. Dinners in bed, watching FRIENDS, eating pasta and Italian potatoes, an amenable silence that married couples relish as opposed to accusations of ‘ carelessness’ or ‘ too much nagging’.

Week-ends where our apartment was filled with the chatter of friends, family, card-sessions, home-made signature sandwiches, baked beans dip, cigarette smoke and alcohol-laced laughter. We were gifted a ‘hookah’ and the delicate smell of water-melon sheesha would waft around lazy Friday evenings and excited conversations.

There have been more reclusive week-ends where I watched TV, worked out or sulked after an RD-row. Bearable work-days when something exciting loomed in the offing and un-bearable ones where frustration and disappointment overcame the better of me. Like I mentioned, some things have changed and whole bunch have not.

I read a lot. Some worth mentioning. Some not. Jackie Collins and Mills & Boon Sophie Kinsella, Jeffrey Archer, Tarla Dalal and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.
I stopped reading/buying Cosmopolitan. Too many ads. Too much Trash. Thank you very much but I cannot subscribe to a magazine that believes that a
Cosmo girl’s Winter-Must-Have list must include Ferragamo boots worth
Rs 1.6 lakhs. Instead, I switched to People, where I love the picture section, celebrities wearing Ferragamo boots. Guess they still subscribe to Cosmo. Well, the latest People is all about wearing Swapnil Shinde. At least, they’re not insisting that his creation is a must-have on a Cosmo’ girl’s  IT list. 

As the days pass, I realize that more things in life depend on your reactions than your actions. Speaking of both, here’s rooting for a lot more action on this blog. And, naturally, your reactions:)

Blog Title : Reaction to Action – Foreigner

Promiscuous girl. ( In my dreams )

With RD traveling again, I’ve been staying at my parents and having my sleep problems again. I know it sounds weird but I’m so used to the bed, mattress and sheets in our apartment; the shower, my couch, my rugs; the works that I actually have a hard time getting used to the stuff in my parents place.

The first night, I dreamt of having an affair with A.R. Rahman; we meet in a concert, he serenades me with an orchestra and fights with his wife to marry me because his religion allows him to marry more than once. In my next dream, I’m having an affair with the guy from My Wife and Kids. He’s quite a cute black guy but I have no idea why on earth I dreamt of having an affair with him.

So RD’s back tomorrow morning. He’s been away for almost 4 days and he’s taking me to Pondicherry tomorrow.

You probably think that’s very sweet right ? I mean, we barely go on any trips together, we’ve just celebrated our first anniversary and he’s whisking me away for a romantic week-end ?

Let me re-phrase :

RD’s back tomorrow morning. With his boss ! ! !
We’re going away for the week-end. With his boss ! ! !

They both come over to our apartment; we go out for lunch and drive to Pondy. Now, his boss is from Chicago and wants to have a cultural week-end before he heads back to the States. So we’re taking him to Dakshinchitra and Pondicherry to show him the ashram. RD’s told him about the crocodile park and he’s quite excited about checking it out as well. Sigh.

I’m just a little queasy about how much shop talk I will have to hear during the car ride to Pondy. Not to mention having to tolerate RD’s accent while talking to the boss. Sometimes I feel that all that RD can talk about is his work; sad stories from work; funny stories from work; how this colleague said this and how someone else said that.

I’ve stocked up on loads of books; chick-lits and random reads, am going to charge my I-pod and probably carry my laptop and watch South Park on it. Don’t get me wrong, the boss is quite a sweet guy. Very polite, very affable and courteous. The last time he was here, we took him to Gymkhana and described it as an ‘ old English club’ which it actually is but it’s quite funny to describe it that way. Plus, he’s adopted two very cute girls from China and has all these sweet stories about them. And, we’re staying at the Promenade.

Plus, you never know. Maybe, when his boss is doing RD’s performance review this year, he might remember how sweet and nice his wife was and give him extra points. So, I guess it’s all good.

Wonder what the results would be if I were to do a performance review of RD. Or, him for me. Ha.

So, what are you doing this week-end ?

Blog Title : Promiscuous Girl – Nelle Furtado

Feeling good, Looking good, Ought to be, In Hollywood

 

Ohmygod. I’m completed over-the-top overwhelmed. And, this is the reason.

Thank you Rhapsoder for your praises, encouragement and compliments. He even has separate links for his favorite-me posts.

P.S : You made me feel like a rockstar.

Blog Title – Here we go – I think it is a USA Military Cadence

The artist at work and meandering thoughts

We have this new artist at work. And he looks like one. Grey kurtas, long hair, a salt and pepper beard and a cloth bag. He also looks rather old-ish. When my dad hired him, I was surprised but later grew quite impressed with his work. His layouts are refreshing and he’s been helping me come up with some portfolios.

In my head, I registered him as ‘ the artist’. I never even wondered what his name was till my mom mentioned it. I realized that he had an identity beyond ‘the artist’.

Today, I asked him where he lived and whether he has children. I think he looks much older than his actual age because his kids are only in high school and middle school. His wife stays at home and they don’t even have a two-wheeler. He says he cannot drive one.

He takes a bus everyday from Guindy, a good 8 kilometers from where our workplace is. I can only imagine how horrible it would be once the ‘kathri veyil’ (peak summer season) starts in Chennai. My apartment may be 14 kilometers away but I have the luxury of a chauffeur-driven, air-conditioned car. And, to think of how I crib about it. Sometimes I feel like a horrible person.

He is so talented, probably in the end of his career, yet making half the money I do with two kids to support through college. I’m not making a big deal about this guy, I know there are lots of people who make less money  and take buses to work. However, there’s something about him that makes me very sad.

Today, I slammed the phone down on my mother because she sent my lunch late to work. I don’t know why I end up giving into such shallow and weak moments like this. I’ve been married for almost a year now and  have not made lunch even once for myself or my husband. Food is sent from home everyday; RD lives with the listless food at his work canteen; never wanting to trouble me by asking me to help out with lunch.

And, yet I find reasons to complain. About the food, the work, the travel and everything that does not suit me that second.

Sometimes there are things about me that make me very sad.

The way we used to be

I just had a random scary thought and felt the compulsive need to share it with you.

I’m supposedly at work but am updating my facebook status, publishing my blog comments and checking who has responded to my tags. I’m using Windows Live Writer to publish this post and am wondering when I get a wireless set-up happening in the office. G-Talk runs silently in the background.

And, I can imagine many many years from now, my grandchildren will ask me about life in the early 2000′s and I would tell them about the computers we had, the applications we used, sms, facebook, blogger, the i-phone,
g-talk and wireless Internet networks and they would smile at me half-amused, half-pitiful and wonder how we survived.

Grandchild ( cracking up ) : So you’re actually telling me that you would have to key in a word into your computer and this Google thing would generate a list of search returns for you ?
Me : Yes. You don’t think that’s cool. None of us could live without Google back then.
Grandchild : That’s so funny. Thank god I wasn’t born back then. Google. What a funny name. Ha Ha
Me :That was how we lived back then and we learnt to appreciate even the small stuff unlike you youngsters.
Grandchild ( fiddling around with a strange looking contraption) : Hold On Grandma. I think Grandpa’s messaging you. He’s online and wants you to come online too.
Me : It’s been 7 years since he’s gone and he still wants to chat everyday. This man will annoy me even after he’s dead. Who needs these new inventions !

And so I log on to Afterlife-talk.

Blog Title : The Way We Used To Be – Eric Carmen

Counting Down

Tis the season to be tagging. I found this tag particularly interesting

Ten Things You Wish You Could Say To People Right Now (names withheld)

1. I dreamt of you last night. I leaned on your shoulder, our arms grazed against each other and I felt incredibly strange and happy all at once. A sense of belonging, longing and sadness.
2. Why do you have to be so boorish and insensitive sometimes ?
3. I wish I had your body.
4. Personally, I think you’re dominating and rarely make an effort to reach out and talk to people.
5. I sometimes get the vibe you’re jealous. Trust me, there’s nothing to be jealous about. We all wear our masks.
6. Though you’re much older than me, I hope I die before you. I cannot imagine a life without you.
7. I hate your American accent. I think it’s fake and shallow. Maybe you’ve been in the US for 9 years but you’ve been in India for 23.
8. I hate the fact that you read my blog. I don’t like you all that much and neither am I close enough to you to openly share my personal thoughts.
9. I know about your new girlfriend. And her old boyfriend.
10. I tear up when I think of how young you were when you died. I am angry that you died even before I was born. I’m sad that I never experienced the kind of love that is only reserved for the first grandchild.

Nine Things About Yourself

1. I’m ambitious but procrastinate work like it’s going out of fashion
2. I’m a fantastic cook
3. I have been overweight for way too long and am tired of how I don’t stay committed to doing anything about it
4. I hate to admit that maybe I’ve given my first love way too much importance in my head
5. I want kids but don’t want kids. That does not make sense like a lot of my wants
6. I don’t buy Nutella because I eat it out of the jar. I buy peanut butter because I do
7. I can write better than you. However, you might do something better with your lesser talent
8. I’ve dated a to-be-politician. I don’t really regret it.
9. I’m very spoilt at work. It goes with the territory

Eight Ways To Win Your Heart

1. Tell me you care. Then, show me
2. Talk about Tamil movies, music and lyrics
3. Post comments on my blog
4. Tell me you love my cooking
5. Ask me to make something for you to eat
6. Tell me my apartment looks great
7. Take RD and me out for dinner
8. Dedicate a song to me

Seven Things That Cross Your Mind A Lot

1. Shit. I am so fat
2. I should exercise today
3. I want a baby. No I don’t. But, yes I do.
4. Is he lying to me ? Can I trust him ? Does he really love me ?
5. I wish I lived abroad
6. When will my bad luck end ?
7. When will I have a 4000 sq feet apartment ?

Six Things You Wish You Never Did

1. Losing a good guy for the one who kept lying
2. Let myself put on weight again
3. Come back to India for good
4. Have a semi-relationship with a guy I met on a blog. What was I thinking ? Goddamn.
5. My engineering degree

Five Turn-Off’s

1. Body Odor
2. Long finger and toe nails ON MEN
3. Nostril and Ear Hair
4. People who lie. That should probably me 1 on my list
5. People who make personal comments about other people’s looks

Four Turn-On’s

1. Fresh aftershave
2. A nice shirt
3. Humility
4. A warm grin

Three Things You Want To Do Before You Die

1. Have a nice body
2. Travel around the world
3. Make sure that everyone I love is still alive

Two Smileys that Describe You

1. 
2. 

One Confession

1. I see more that you think I can

I tag Broom, Lazy Blogger, Lazy Akka, Parvathi, Suraksha, I Love Lucy, Silvara and The Bride

When you read you begin with ABC

Tagged by the dramatic Just Passing By, inspired by her menacing messages. Here goes the ABC tag.

A-Available? For what ? If it’s for beer or scotch, I am. Also, for a game of cards, pineapple pizza and an evening with a hookah.
B-Best friend: Is the name for N on my mobile phone contacts. She’s the person I talk the most to.
C-Cake or Pie: Pie. Pie-crust is to die for. My aunt once baked an amazing apple pie which she sadly never baked again.
D-Drink of choice: Ice-cold soda with a slice of lime. Sometimes, I get rid of the lime and throw in a mini peg of Scotch instead.
E-Essential thing used everyday: Powder Fresh, Lady Speedstick Anti-perspirant deodorant
F-Favorite color: Blue
G-Gummi bears or worms: Gummi Worms. Especially the sour variety. I could eat it forever
Hometown: Chennai
I-Indulgence: Grocery Shopping. Especially the imported foods section.
J-January or February: February. There’s something different about the month.
K-Kids and names: Sometimes I repeat the names I’ve come up with along with RD’s name to see how it sounds as a first name and surname combo. And, then I feel scared when I do that because I know if I have children with him and use his name in their names, there’s no turning back and somehow the permanency of it rattles me. Yes. But, I want kids and Yes I’ve named them already.
L-Life is incomplete without: people to talk to, the airconditioner and my cell phone
M-Marriage date: March, 11, 2007
N-Number of siblings: Eldest of three girls. Love it. Would not have it any other way. Nope. Never missed having a brother.
O-Oranges or apples: Oranges.
P-Phobias: Acrophobia, Deep water
Q-Quote: The real truth is, I probably don’t want to be too happy or content. Because, then what? I actually like the quest, the search. That’s the fun. The more lost you are, the more you have to look forward to. What do you know? I’m having a great time and I don’t even know it – Ally Mc Beal.
R-Reason to smile: Dreams of a bright future where I’m thinner and making lots of money
S-Season: Rain. The smell, feel and look of it. All of which I love.
T-Tag three people: Lazy Blogger, Rags, Suraksha
U-Unknown fact about me: I lie a lot. To myself mostly
V-Vegetable you do not like: Raw tomato
W-Worst habit: No dedication to a healthy lifestyle whatsoever
X-rays you have had: Neck
Y-Your favourite food: Penne with white sauce and mushrooms
Z-Zodiac: Libra

Blog Title : Doe-A-Deer – The Sound of Music

The things I do to myself.

 
Where have I been ? I know it’s been awfully wrong since I’ve blogged. I mean, it’s almost like a Rip Van Winkle moment in blogging. You know that Rip guy right ? The one who went to sleep for 20 years and woke up to an entirely new civilization. Quite a dramatic comparison. Anyhoo, I’m back. I must confess that it is going to take me time to bounce back to blog-dom. I have been suffering from a severe writer’s block.

For the past couple of months, I’ve been in a very slumpy mood. I cry fast. Get angry faster. I sleep badly. I have bad dreams. I do not feel rested in the morning. I feel jinxed. I wake up with my shoulders feeling unusually heavy. And, I took/take most of it out on RD.

At one point, I was almost convinced that I was suffering from some type of a temporary depression when I clicked ( read : one of the stupidest things I’ve done) on a Google pop-up add for a ‘ three day cure for depression’.

Now, I have some crazy guy called Mike Freeman who e-mails thrice every damm day with messages like this :

Hi ,
The therapists and drug companies are furious with me.
Why?
Because I’m making them look bad with my
OUTRAGEOUS guarantee.
I’ll flat out GIVE you back your cash ANY time
in your entire life if my 3-MINUTE CURE does not
absolutely cure your depression disorder test.

(and)

Dear XYZ,
I need to clear up something
right now:
THE 3-MINUTE CURE
IS NOT COUNSELING!
It is NOT a supplement!
It is NOT meditation!
It is NOT a drug!!!
I’ve had a lot of people
confused by this, and the
truth is… once you get
The 3-Minute Cure you never
pay anything else!
NEVER EVER!

Now, I don’t feel all that sad. I definitely do not suffer from depression. I mean, as sad as I looked on my
‘slumpy days’, RD suspiciously wondered how a ‘ supposedly depressed person’ could attend weddings, parties and drink beer amidst much cheer and fanfare. So, I guess RD was not convinced.

Now, how to convince Mike Freeman.

Damm.

Why ?

Why are some things hard to let go,
While some are hard to accept.
Why is it so hard to be patient,
And never hard enough to suspect.
Why do some people come into our life,
Only to leave by the twists of fate.
Would we ever know to love,
If we knew the expiry date ?
Why do we say and do things,
For they have been said and done before.
What is good and bad is told to us,
No place for anything more.
Why are there so many dictums,
Hardly shades of grey
If I were to tell you the truth
How many of you would stay ?