Self assessment outside the system :-)
..
I know better
what not rather
than what
I always question
more than
I believe
I speak my
mind rather
than swallow
I walk along
but rarely
follow
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Aravaan - a major disappointment
The name Aravaan is closely associated with two things “Nara bali” (Human Sacrifice) and “Aravaanis” (Transgenders). When I heard that a Tamil movie has been released with this name, I somehow felt that it would touch upon one of these and decided it was wise to stay away from the movie at any cost. As fate would have it, I had some colleagues who chose this movie for a team outing and booked the tickets for a night show at Escape. I put my worst fears behind and decided to take on the challenge. After all, the movie had good reviews in leading dailies and a score of 46 in Ananda Vikatan and the story was based on a Sahitya Academy award winning novel. We ended up in Escape a few minutes just past 10 pm on a Wednesday to join a packed audience who were waiting to see a different attempt at portraying an 18th Century gang of robbers.
The movie started off with a gang of thieves headed by Pasupathi plotting and executing a robbery. There was absolutely no hint of my premonitions and the movie seemed like one about robbers. A movie about robbers can be made interesting in several ways. It can focus on different kinds of interesting robberies which give an idea of the kind of techniques people used to plot robberies in olden days. Or it can be a story focusing on robbers with a lot of drama, maybe even something on the lines of Robinhood stories. Aravaan sadly does neither.
The first 10 mins is a promising start, which shows a robbery happening, with flashback scenes interspersed, showing the way it was plotted using Pasupathi’s sister, who enters the house during the day as an astrologer and leaves signs on the wall for the gang who would come later in the night. The gang then returns home with their booty and for the next 10 mins every sentence starts and ends with people saying “Karuppa” (Karuppa is their god). I thought Karuppu saami is a kaaval deivam, was surprised to see robbers worshipping him. That aside, there must have been atleast 1000 Karuppas said in those 10 mins.
Then it is time for introducing the hero. Aadhi who calls himself “Varipuli” is a thief who uses the name of Vembur to get clues before a robbery and Pasupathi vows to find him and the necklace he has stolen from some queen to save the name of Vembur and get hundred or thousand bags of rice in return. After a very dull few minutes of chasing he finds him and they become friends and Pasupathi thinks Aadhi would the “Most valuable Player” in the Vembur gang. He convinces his people and gets him in and they do a few robberies together. There still seems to be time left for the interval though the milestone of 10000 Karuppas has been reached. Then they go to the prestigious Kottaiyur which is a walled town and is well guarded. While escaping from this place Pasupathi gets caught while the rest of the gang escapes. The hero refuses to go without Pasupathi and he comes back with a 1000 bulls thanks to some cheap graphics and saves Pasupathi. An then there is the much awaited twist, one of the guards recognizes Aadhi and calls him Chinna and not Varipuli. After a few scenes, Pasupathy is caught alone in a bull fight and is wounded and the prestige of Vembur is at stake and only someone from Vembur can set it right. Who else than the hero, who jumps in the ring and announces his Vembur lineage? It turns out that his mother is from Vembur. The bull is tamed and Village saved. Then suddenly a gang comes and attacks the hero and takes him away. Finally the lights are back and it is Interval time.
I have heard people say that you should never ever tell others your worst fears as they will come back to haunt you. After the interval they do in Aravaan and it indeed turns out to be a movie on human sacrifice. Post interval there are series of flashbacks within flashbacks which go into an unending loop. A short note on the screen indicating flashback 1, flashback 2 or some colour coding would have really helped.
Chinna it turns out was identified for Bali (Sacrifice) in lieu of a youth from a nearby village (Bharath) who was killed mysteriously in his village. Chinna finds out that the murderer was the king who had done it because of the illegal relationship his second wife had had with Bharath. There is another person who does a cameo and wastes screen space, Anjali who comes as a gypsy who Bharath follows to Chinna’s village. On the day of sacrifice, Chinna chases the king and falls from a hill and hurts his leg while the king dies and in the mean time someone else is sacrificed. It turns out that Chinna has been hiding ever since for the last 9 years as he will be forgiven if he goes back to the village after 10 years. But fate would have it otherwise and he is taken to his village where he ends up sacrificing himself. Vasanthabalan then comes up with this lovely message card saying human sacrifice continues till date but is now called death sentence and asks for abolishment of death sentence. What a message!
By the way there was also a love story in between. Aadhi and Dhansika exchange a few glances and the viewer finds them singing a duet song “Nila Nila Poguthu”. It then turns out that their love is so deep that the heroine is adamant that they she will marry only Aadhi though his end is known. Karthik’s music is good and 2 songs are impressive. The locations chosen are very good and the Camera man has done a very good job.
Aravaan is a movie on human sacrifice indeed as the name suggests but in an attempt to do something different the director has compromised on story and ends up sacrificing the reputation built through movies like “Veyyil” and “Angadi Theru”. For going against my instincts I ended up sacrificing my sleep on a week day. If there is one major thing that the movie lacks it is depth. The lack of depth is so much that after witnessing a climax scene where the hero cuts his head off with an axe, you feel relieved that the movie has ended. Aravaan is a major disappointment!
The movie started off with a gang of thieves headed by Pasupathi plotting and executing a robbery. There was absolutely no hint of my premonitions and the movie seemed like one about robbers. A movie about robbers can be made interesting in several ways. It can focus on different kinds of interesting robberies which give an idea of the kind of techniques people used to plot robberies in olden days. Or it can be a story focusing on robbers with a lot of drama, maybe even something on the lines of Robinhood stories. Aravaan sadly does neither.
The first 10 mins is a promising start, which shows a robbery happening, with flashback scenes interspersed, showing the way it was plotted using Pasupathi’s sister, who enters the house during the day as an astrologer and leaves signs on the wall for the gang who would come later in the night. The gang then returns home with their booty and for the next 10 mins every sentence starts and ends with people saying “Karuppa” (Karuppa is their god). I thought Karuppu saami is a kaaval deivam, was surprised to see robbers worshipping him. That aside, there must have been atleast 1000 Karuppas said in those 10 mins.
Then it is time for introducing the hero. Aadhi who calls himself “Varipuli” is a thief who uses the name of Vembur to get clues before a robbery and Pasupathi vows to find him and the necklace he has stolen from some queen to save the name of Vembur and get hundred or thousand bags of rice in return. After a very dull few minutes of chasing he finds him and they become friends and Pasupathi thinks Aadhi would the “Most valuable Player” in the Vembur gang. He convinces his people and gets him in and they do a few robberies together. There still seems to be time left for the interval though the milestone of 10000 Karuppas has been reached. Then they go to the prestigious Kottaiyur which is a walled town and is well guarded. While escaping from this place Pasupathi gets caught while the rest of the gang escapes. The hero refuses to go without Pasupathi and he comes back with a 1000 bulls thanks to some cheap graphics and saves Pasupathi. An then there is the much awaited twist, one of the guards recognizes Aadhi and calls him Chinna and not Varipuli. After a few scenes, Pasupathy is caught alone in a bull fight and is wounded and the prestige of Vembur is at stake and only someone from Vembur can set it right. Who else than the hero, who jumps in the ring and announces his Vembur lineage? It turns out that his mother is from Vembur. The bull is tamed and Village saved. Then suddenly a gang comes and attacks the hero and takes him away. Finally the lights are back and it is Interval time.
I have heard people say that you should never ever tell others your worst fears as they will come back to haunt you. After the interval they do in Aravaan and it indeed turns out to be a movie on human sacrifice. Post interval there are series of flashbacks within flashbacks which go into an unending loop. A short note on the screen indicating flashback 1, flashback 2 or some colour coding would have really helped.
Chinna it turns out was identified for Bali (Sacrifice) in lieu of a youth from a nearby village (Bharath) who was killed mysteriously in his village. Chinna finds out that the murderer was the king who had done it because of the illegal relationship his second wife had had with Bharath. There is another person who does a cameo and wastes screen space, Anjali who comes as a gypsy who Bharath follows to Chinna’s village. On the day of sacrifice, Chinna chases the king and falls from a hill and hurts his leg while the king dies and in the mean time someone else is sacrificed. It turns out that Chinna has been hiding ever since for the last 9 years as he will be forgiven if he goes back to the village after 10 years. But fate would have it otherwise and he is taken to his village where he ends up sacrificing himself. Vasanthabalan then comes up with this lovely message card saying human sacrifice continues till date but is now called death sentence and asks for abolishment of death sentence. What a message!
By the way there was also a love story in between. Aadhi and Dhansika exchange a few glances and the viewer finds them singing a duet song “Nila Nila Poguthu”. It then turns out that their love is so deep that the heroine is adamant that they she will marry only Aadhi though his end is known. Karthik’s music is good and 2 songs are impressive. The locations chosen are very good and the Camera man has done a very good job.
Aravaan is a movie on human sacrifice indeed as the name suggests but in an attempt to do something different the director has compromised on story and ends up sacrificing the reputation built through movies like “Veyyil” and “Angadi Theru”. For going against my instincts I ended up sacrificing my sleep on a week day. If there is one major thing that the movie lacks it is depth. The lack of depth is so much that after witnessing a climax scene where the hero cuts his head off with an axe, you feel relieved that the movie has ended. Aravaan is a major disappointment!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
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!
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
கடமைகள் துறந்து புதுமையை நாடி
கற்றதை மறந்து உலகங்கள் கடந்து
பயணிக்கத் தூண்டும் மறு பக்கம்
என்னை நான் ஆக்கியது என் அனுபவங்கள்
சந்தித்த மனிதர்கள் பயணித்த உலகங்கள்
விதைக்குள் தூங்கும் விருட்சங்கள் போல்
எனக்குள் தூங்கும் நிஜம் ஆகாத நிழல்கள்
கண் முன்னே விரியும் காணாத உலகங்கள்
நீர்க்கோல வாழ்வில் நிறைய வரும் உறவுகள்
இருந்தும் ..
உடமைகள் உண்டு இன்பம் தர
கடமைகள் உண்டு நிறைவேற்ற
கொண்டதில் நிறைவு ஒரு பக்கம்
கடமைகள் உண்டு நிறைவேற்ற
உடமைகள் உண்டு இன்பம் தர
கொண்டதில் நிறைவு ஒரு பக்கம்
கடமைகள் துறந்து புதுமையை நாடி
கற்றதை மறந்து உலகங்கள் கடந்து
பயணிக்கத் தூண்டும் மறு பக்கம்
என்னை நான் ஆக்கியது என் அனுபவங்கள்
சந்தித்த மனிதர்கள் பயணித்த உலகங்கள்
விதைக்குள் தூங்கும் விருட்சங்கள் போல்
எனக்குள் தூங்கும் நிஜம் ஆகாத நிழல்கள்
கண் முன்னே விரியும் காணாத உலகங்கள்
நீர்க்கோல வாழ்வில் நிறைய வரும் உறவுகள்
இருந்தும் ..
உடமைகள் உண்டு இன்பம் தர
கடமைகள் உண்டு நிறைவேற்ற
கொண்டதில் நிறைவு ஒரு பக்கம்
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)