A movie review - Kadhalail Sodhapuvadhu eppadi

I have been thinking of writing a movie review for quite sometime. It might be because I have been watching a lot of movies of late both at the cinemas (courtesy my daughter) and at home (thanks to my Tictac DVD rental subscription) or because it is a long time since I wrote one. I chose Kadhalil Sodhapuvadhu eppadi because it is the latest one I have seen.

A few minutes into the review I realized that it is always easier to write a review and make it interesting when the move is not up to the mark and you don't like it. The last one I wrote was "Vaaranam Aayiram" and I enjoyed bashing the movie. Anyway I decided to go ahead with my attempt.

Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu eppadi, if you don't know by now, is a 9 min short film with the same name which received positive reviews and has been expanded into a 2 hour movie. The short film is on youtube and can be viewed here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRSi-j7z8Wk

The storyline is nothing new. Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. They are so different in the way they think that they can never be made for each other. Good relationships happen only when both partners understand this and make compromises. One must give credit to Balaji however for the fresh script and a different way of narration. While it might be easier to come up with a short film and make an impact, I think it is very difficult to blow it into a 2 hour movie without blowing up. I also liked the way the heroine's parents failing marriage and its resurrection was weaved into the story.

Sidharth might have crossed 30 but doesn't really look a misfit as a college student. His antics really suit the college boy Arun who constantly messes up in love and keeps lamenting to the audience. Amala Paul as Paaru is cute and impresses as a college girl who is unsettled by her Parents failing marriage and struggles to understand her love interest Arun and ends up pouring all her emotional tantrums on him. All other characters including the friends and the hero and heroine's parents have done a good job. The music by Taman is really good and there are 2 songs which appeal - Paarvathi Paarvathi and Azhaippaya.

Anyone who has fallen in love or is married can appreciate the view points presented in the movie. Humour in the movie is not artificial and is woven into the storyline. The hero's friends are all new faces, thank god there are no old comedians coming as college students! There are some really interesting anecdotes shared in the movie like comparing girls to a monalisa picture in the museum and saying from whatever direction you look it looks like the picture / girl is looking at you. Showing a waterfall everytime a girl is about to cry was cute.

The movie does have some minor downsides. The film I thought goes into a tad too many examples of friends messing up which I think could have been avoided. Asking several people for opinion and hero frequently talking to audience might be good in a short film but too many such instances in a movie make it sound like a documentary on love at times. In the second half , the hero goes on a trip to Pondicherry with his friends which I feel been could have been made a bit more crisp.

The movie does not have a great story as such but it is a fresh presentation from a team of youngsters and I liked it.

The dilemma

There are duties
to fulfill
which occupy my head
there is one part of me
happy with what I have

but there is one side
struggling
to set me free
to unlearn and go
in search of
something new

I am what I am
because of my
experiences
people I have met
places I have been

yet like many groves
sleeping inside a seed
there lie
uncovered versions
hidden deep inside me

in front of my eyes
sometimes unfold those
unseen worlds
those unknown people
waiting to be
my new aquaintances

but there are duties
to fulfill
which occupy my head
there is one part of me
happy with what I have!

The dilemma - in Tamil

The original version I wrote in Tamil which I attempted to translate in english


கடமைகள் உண்டு நிறைவேற்ற
உடமைகள் உண்டு இன்பம் தர
கொண்டதில் நிறைவு
ஒரு பக்கம்

எனினும் கற்றதை துறந்து
புதுமையை நாடத் தூண்டும்
மறு பக்கம்

என்னை நான் ஆக்கியது
என் அனுபவங்கள்
சந்தித்த மனிதர்களும்
பயணித்த உலகங்கள்

இருந்தும் விதைக்குள்
தூங்கும் விருட்சங்கள் போ
எனக்குள் தூங்கும்
நிஜம் ஆகாத நிழல்கள்

என் கண் முன்னே விரியும்
காணாத உலகங்கள்
நீர்க்கோல வாழ்வில்
நிறையப் போகும் உறவுகள்

இருந்தும் ..
உடமைகள் உண்டு இன்பம் தர
கடமைகள் உண்டு நிறைவேற்ற
கொண்டதில் நிறைவு
ஒரு பக்கம்

King or Pawn?

Back to blogger after some years. I did import whatever I had written in facebook during this period, mostly Poems.

Life is similar to a game of chess. The rules are always defined by some unknown stranger. Everyone wants to be a king and thinks he can move in all directions. There is always someone above who treats him like a pawn and moves him in only one direction.

King or Pawn how does it matter? The rules are already set and the control is always with someone else!

In search of "Me"!

When the clock
started ticking
I did not see
When I did see
It wasn't still
very late for me

My whole life till then
seemed like
a dream to me
There were so
many things
I had wanted
to be

My dreams within
the dream
had begun endlessly
Somewhere in
the middle
I had lost track
of me

The system had
slowly conditioned me
while my experiences
tamed the kid in me

I woke up from my sleep
life seemed new to me
Every day ahead
was a gift to me

To explore my interests
and be just me
I started again
In search of "Me"!

A concert at music academy amidst a heavy downpour

It has been raining continuously in Chennai from thursday evening thanks to Cyclone Thane. I braved the downpour and made it to the Music Academy along with my family for Nisha Rajagopal's afternoon concert. I expected to just breeze through and get a parking slot at the academy which was not the case. By the time I parked at St.Ebbas and walked back in the rain, Nisha was into the aalapana for what was most likely her second song. The ragam reminded me of some popular Ilayaraja songs. I learnt later that it was lataangi.

Conscious of the canteen closing time, we had headed straight to the canteen. After taking a took at Iyengar's elaborate menu, a special one at that - with urulakezhangu vadhakkal, paavakkai pitlai and so on, I smacked my lips, rubbed my hands and sat down. As the items were lined up one by one, I noticed that the crowd was pretty good despite the rain and ankle deep water on the floor.

As I started eating, Nisha started on "Pirava Varam vendum" through the speakers. I don't know what exactly happened after that but by the time I came out of the spell, I found myself towards the end of my meal having curd rice. While the rendition was amazing, It was also refreshing to listen to a tamil song with proper pronunciation which brought out the beauty of Papanasam Sivan's lyrics very well. I gathered myself and walked into the auditorium and found a seat. The crowd inside was also good considering the rains.

Venugana loluni followed and was a real treat. After breezing through a few songs came Soundara rajam in Brindavana Saranga. Now don't get carried away, I got the raga right because the song itself has the raga name in the first few lines. Though I didn't understand the lyrics, I could still appreciate the love the composer had for Lord vishnu. I guess that is the beauty of the raga and the composition.

Ramachandraya namaste was a fulfilling main song laden with improvisations - the alaapana, tanam, detailed swara improvisations ending with tani avartanam. After Madhava maamava, when the concert ended with "Aarumo aaval" I was winding up with a dose of strong coffee and the crowds were lining up for the next concert which happened to be Sudha Ragunathan's. The margazhi music season ends this weekend. What started as love for food ended up as love for music as well this year. An apt song to end a lovely experience over the last 2 weeks I thought. After all there is no end to the love for good food and music

25th Dec - 2 concerts at Music Academy

‎2 concerts at the academy today .. had a good lunch and then briefly heard the violin maestro TN Krishnan wind up before settling down for Sandeep narayan's concert.. The guy next to me at lunch was still at vatha kozhambu when I finished, that too after 3 or 4 appalams and 2 rounds sambar and he muttered to me "130 roobaikku onnum perisa illaye". I walked away with a smile. after all it is such characters also who make the sabha experience interesting

Sandeep narayan who has let go of the NRI tag to become a full fledged carnatic musician was impressive .. took a strong coffee in the break and followed it with Amrita murali which made it back to back concerts yet again ..Amrita dealt with Akshaya linga vibho in detail which was heart warming .. however made the mistake of staying till the end, the whole are goes mad before the 4:30 pm concert and I could not take my car out .. So took a short walk to Parthasarathy sabha and had some snacks .. badam halwa and kuzhi paniyaaram washed down with a strong coffee courtesy Mountbatten caterers was quite good :-)