The 'Sivaji' Trailer

I got quite a nice surprise when I got home after the trip as a couple of comments in previous posts and an email informed me about the new Sivaji trailer. The trailer has been put together with more effort than usual Tamil film trailers. Like usual Hollywood trailers, it features good editing and attempts to string together similar scenes(like Rajni giving Shreya a rose) and to make the visuals match the song lyrics(like Rajni laughing for Gada Gada Gada Siripadhum Style...). It serves up quite a bit more than the usual pieces of song sequences and collections of scenes. There are more than a few snippets of dialogs and more importantly, enough dialogs to give us an idea about the kind of movie it is going to be. In other words, it is a fitting trailer for a mega-movie like Sivaji.

My guesses about the story based on the trailer and Shankar's history - Rajni, in the old hairstyle, plays his trademark simpleton role, joking around with Vivek, romancing Shreya and being affectionate to his mom. The romance doesn't go too well and something convinces him that he needs to do his bit for society. He changes his look(complete with new hairstyle, coolers and small goatee), becomes an insanely rich businessman and goes about transforming the village. Just have to wait to see if I came even close :-)

That said, the trailer did not completely blow me away. It had more than its share of exhilarating moments but it also had some moments that left me cold.

First among the pluses was ofcourse thalaivar himself. Even after seeing the photos, I had a few doubts about how Rajni would look on screen but they've been completely laid to rest. He looks young and dashing. The scenes where he walks in white away from the helicopter and the scenes where he says "Cool" and "Paera kettale adhirudhu illa...?" are terrific and I can already imagine myself getting goosebumps in the theater. The fight sequences look like they're gonna rock with the one in the music store having some good moves. All the background score choices are great and feel perfect for the trailer. The closing shot with the rolling gun was also nicely done.

Now for a couple of minuses. The trailer didn't make me any more enthusiastic about the Oru Koodai Sunlight... song sequence. The blonde wig suits Rajni much better than I thought it did when I saw the photos(especially when he does the Padaiyappa salute) but the few steps shown didn't look too smooth. I'm just hoping it doesn't turn out to be another Baba Kichukichu Thaa...! Wasn't too impressed with the comedy sequences either. They looked pretty juvenile in the trailer.

Overall though, its a definite thumbs up for the trailer and it will keep us satisfied until June 15.

A Week Off

Heading out to the Midwest for the Memorial Day weekend. Like most of our vacations, this one too looked to be a relaxing vacation during the planning stages but now that all the planning's done, its clear that its gonna be a busy one with a packed schedule. In other words, it started out as the kind of vacation my wife likes but will end up as my kind of vacation! If everything goes as planned, we will spend some time in Chicago and St.Louis and then head over to Franklin in Wisconsin to see my wife's relatives.

Will be back home Wednesday night but with the usual post-vacation depression and the catching up that will need to be done at work, you will probably not see any new posts until the next weekend.

Have a great long weekend and see you all in a week...

Cool Cat!

Kavya's in kindergarten now and I love the fact that she's going to school. Being an avid reader myself, it's great seeing her read pretty much any book she can get her hands on (she is already devouring Level 4 'paragraph books', which are considered 2nd grade level!). She gets to learn - and share with us - new things everyday and its fun helping her do her homework. But academics aside, the thing I look forward to most each school year, is the performance the kids do as a group.

This year, with the school year winding down, the play the kids in her school are doing is called 'Wild Things'. The play has a pretty cool theme about a boy and his sister visiting the zoo at night when all the animals are supposed to be asleep. But as they get a tour of the zoo, they see that the animals are partying and having a blast.

The play, with 60 kids, had them dressed up as different animals and each group of animals got its own song and dance routine. The kids put on an awesome show. The different animal costumes made for a colorful spectacle on stage. The songs each of the animals sang were very catchy and picked cleverly(for instance, the raptors did a kind of rap song) by the teachers. Kavya was part of the 'Cool Cats' group, which had the big cats like the lions, tigers and leopards. It was really cute watching her dance on the stage in her leopard costume, as she twirled, hopped and skipped, all the while holding her tail in her hand.

With the number of parents in the audience, its a tough job videotaping the performance cleanly. Other bodies and/or recording devices come into the frame with alarming frequency as other parents stand up to take a picture or hold their camera high over their heads to record the performance. In what I thought was a great idea, Kavya's school invited parents who wanted to videotape the play, to the dress rehearsals. I went to one of these dress rehearsals and so was able to record the play without any hassle whatsoever.

The actual program is tomorrow and since I don't have to take a camcorder and watch the show through its display screen, I can sit back, relax and enjoy the show once more!

Simple Genius

Among the two series recently started by David Baldacci, I definitely prefer the teaming of Sean King and Michelle Maxwell. Two books(Split Second and Hour Game) old, they have become a familiar team now, always there for each other. They are interesting as always in Simple Genius places the novel them in the middle of a plot that starts off interestingly but then veers into the ridiculous.

For a while Sean King is on his own as he investigates an apparent suicide in Camp Peary, a secretive CIA area. Across the river from Camp Peary is Babbage Town, a places filled with geniuses who are working on a scientific discovery "that could stop the world dead in its tracks". Monk Turing, the man found dead in Camp Peary, is a scientist from Babbage Town. Meanwhile, Michelle checks herself into a psychiatric facility and uncovers some wrongdoings there before checking herself out and joining Sean. But Horatio, her psychiatrist, isn't convinced that she is completely alright. So he jumps at the chance when Sean asks him to come to Babbage Town to work with Viggie, Monk Turing's autistic daughter.

We learn a little bit more about Michelle as the book starts off with her death wish and then takes us along as the psychiatrist tries to understand the reason behind it. Her stint at the hospital eventually turns out to be the most interesting part of the book since it is somewhat grounded in reality and the things she uncovers don't turn out to be anti-climactic. The secrets in her past are also fed to us in bits and pieces and her condition makes sense when they are finally revealed.

Sean's investigation at Babbage Town also starts off interestingly and with the CIA involved, Baldacci is on familiar ground. The science parts of the book remind us of a few other books but Baldacci wisely doesn't delve too much into the details(as he himself mentions in the epilogue) and so the story doesn't get bogged down. The addition of the autistic kid allows Baldacci to stretch the story out since she reveals information only when she feels like it. But the bonding between Michelle and her is developed well.

Baldacci's books have always been a little far-fetched(his first book Absolute Power opened with a thief watching the President kill a woman with his bare hands!) but he takes things too far here. The plot veers off in a bunch of different directions towards the end as the book, after dealing with secret codes and POWs, brings in plot points like buried treasure and drugs. The twists seem forced and don't evoke any interest. A lot of interesting issues(like the whole "Codes and Blood" phrase) are brought up but their resolutions are simplistic and disappointing and are usually achieved by unbelievable leaps of intuition.

Baldacci better stick to Washington D.C and American politics!

Now its June 15!

In keeping with Shankar's history(Anniyan was especially atrocious in this respect), Sivaji's release date has been moved to June 15 from the previously announced 'official' date of May 31.

Shankar doesn't seem to have been the reason for this postponement though. According to Rajinifans.com, the date of May 31 became impossible after AVM decided to assign the film roll processing fully to Prasad Labs to avoid or atleast diminish the possibility of piracy that could occur if multiple labs prepared the prints. Though this would have moved the release back only a few days, June 15 was then picked since the period June 1 - June 14 is considered an inauspicious period. A couple of other reasons have been mentioned too - including Rajni wanting the issues around Sivaji release in Karnataka to be fixed.

Whatever the reason, the fact remains that the countdown has been restarted. 25 days to go...

But with almost all sites having begun their countdown to the release, there is no dearth of articles to read about the film though.

- Rediff had an interview with the cinematographer K.V.Anand. He talked a bit about the Vaaji Vaaji... and Sahana... songs and the problems he faced, especially for the latter song.

- They also featured an interview with art director Thotta Tharani. Interestingly he talked only about the same 2 songs. His descriptions of the sets for the songs sound real grand and his sketches for the same were cool. Can't wait to see them on the big screen.

- Found out from an article on Rajinifans.com - and then after a little googling - that Balalaika is a kind of folk music in Russia.

2 New Reviews

Reviews for Periyaar and Thiru Ranga are now online @ bbreviews.

Hindi Ghajini Launched

The Hindi remake of Ghajini was launched a few days ago in Mumbai. Directed by our own Murugadoss, the film stars Aamir Khan. After a lot of rumors about the heroine, it turns out that Asin will be reprising her role in the Hindi version. The first shot was launched by Chiranjeevi (who starred in Murugadoss' last film Stalin) and Surya also attended the launch.

I think Aamir has picked a good movie for a remake. The businessman role will come easy to him and will definitely be a hit among his numerous female fans. And the short-term-memory bit will allow him to change his look(something about which he seems as fanatical as Kamal) and give him a chance to 'act' too.

I don't think many remakes of Tamil hits have ended up being hits in Hindi. Unlike say Telugu, both the stories and the presentation styles in Tamil and Hindi cinema are quite different. Which is probably why Hindi remakes of big hits like Dhill, Run and Kushi came croppers at the box-office. Lets see if Murugadoss can reverse the trend. I think if Murugadoss lessens the loudness and the masala in the second half and beefs up the 'short-term memory' aspect a bit more, he could make Ghajini a hit in Hindi too.



Seen in the above pic are Pradeep Rawat, who played the villain in Ghajini, Surya and Murugadoss. Is it just me or has Surya lost a LOT of weight? Is this in preparation for the Navy Officer role in Gautam's Vaaranam Aayiram or is he maybe worrying too much about his impending fatherhood? :-)

Music & Lyrics / Anukokunda Oka Roju

Music & Lyrics


Hollywood romantic comedies are completely predictable. Boy meets girl; boy and girl fall in love and sleep together; they have a fight; boy and/or girl realize they still love each other and get back together to live happily ever after. So how much I like a movie in this genre depends solely on the leads (the heroine more than the hero) and the script. Music & Lyrics, with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, scores on both the above aspects and so ends up as one of those rare romantic comedies that I like.

Hugh Grant plays a singer from a popular band from the 80s, who is now performing at theme parks and other public events. He gets the chance to write a song for Cora, the hottest singer/dancer now but is unable to come up with even one good line, let along an entire song. Drew Barrymore first arrives to water his plants but he spots her talent at writing songs and together the two manage to finish the song and give it to Cora. But how their song is eventually performed by Cora leads to a misunderstanding between them.

Barrymore is incredibly cute and she turns on the charm effortlessly here. Her lack of self-confidence adds a dash of vulnerability to her character and the result is a completely loveable character. Ofcourse, Hugh Grant’s contribution cannot be treated lightly. He has great comic timing and with his usual disarming style, is able to turn even ordinary lines into something funny. They have great chemistry and their conversations are a pleasure.

Ofcourse, the leads can't completely carry a movie, as was proved by movies like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, which I hated inspite of the effervescent Kate Hudson. M & L follows the storyline I mentioned in the first paragraph to a T but because of a good script and sentiments that never go over the top, it succeeds in being entertaining. There are a number of clever and witty lines, especially from Hugh Grant. The couple's fight when it comes arises from something meaningful and so is not a silly contrivance that could’ve been solved by the two them simply talking. And the way they patch up is somewhat unexpected and involves a song with some hilarious lyrics.

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Anukokunda Oka Roju


Recommended very highly by a friend, Anukokunda Oka Roju turned out to be a great thriller. With a lean, well-paced screenplay, good performances and assured direction, it is a very accomplished, satisfying film in a genre that cannot boast of many such entries.

Charmi plays a chorus singer who is waiting for that one big break. When her family goes out of town for 3 days, her friend takes her to a rather wild party where drinks and drugs flow freely. Charmi though keeps away from all that and we next see her wake up the next morning thinking life will go on as usual. But what happens after that brings into question what happened to her at the party and after.

AOR is constructed in a way that all thrillers should be and resembles a jigzaw puzzle - and a very addictive one at that. It first reveals in small fragments that Charmi didn't exactly have an uneventful night and we are with her as she struggles to find out what happened (it reminded me of Memento in the way it is constructed and in its MO of keeping us as much in the dark as its protagonists). We are constantly kept in a state of curiosity about Charmi's actions that night and can't wait to find out what happens next. So the film takes us along effortlessly. As things are eventually revealed, there is the pleasure of the pieces of the puzzle falling into place and not in the way we expect either.

The final(and biggest) piece of the puzzle evokes mixed feelings. One one hand, it is something out of the blue and so doesn't give us the satisfaction of a twist or a surprise, which is what we expect after sustained suspense at such a high level. On the other hand, it definitely isn't expected and so has the element of surprise. The film goes on a completely unexpected and different track and leads to some moments that are very tense (which is all the more remarkable since we know the outcome of those scenes already).

The director manages to deftly inject some humor into the proceedings too. There are a couple of laugh-out-loud moments in the most unexpected of places and because of where they occur, they don't damage the movie's pace either. Songs don't feel awkwardly inserted and are picturized well. Charmi looks simple and cute and manages to bring out the frustration of her character. Jagapathi Babu plays his role casually and has some funny lines.

Are we ready for 'Vellithira'?

When a film is launched, my feelings about it are usually easy to describe - I either look forward to it or I have a bad feeling about it. But reading about the next Prakashraj production Vellithira invoked in me what you could call ‘mixed emotions’. It is a remake of the Malayalam superhit Udayanaanu Thaaram with Mohanlal, Meena and Srinivasan and I’m not sure what I think about this film.

There’s absolutely nothing to complain about the film’s crew ofcourse. Prakashraj, as producer, has so far given us little gems like Azhagiya Theeye, Kanda Naal Mudhal and Mozhi (we’ll overlook Poi since that was more a kind of gurudhakshinai!). The film stars Prithviraj, Prakashraj and Gopika and is going to be directed by Viji, who wrote the dialogs for Mozhi (the article mentions that he has worked on other movies too. Anybody know which other movies?).

It’s the film’s story that raises doubts about its viability in Tamil. I saw Udayanaanu Thaaram a while back. Mohanlal stars as an assistant director/writer trying to sell his first script, which he feels is a masterpiece. Srinivasan, his friend and an aspiring actor, cheats him off his script and by casting himself in a film based on the script, becomes a big star. He then tries his best to keep Mohanlal from getting his foot in the door. It was a wonderful film with a very witty script and a wonderful screenplay. Though sober for the most part, it had a hilarious, crowd-pleasing climax that was enjoyable inspite of being inspired by a Hollywood film.

The film’s most noticeable aspect was that it took several swipes and digs at the Malayalam film industry and its heroes. Srinivasan’s character, without really going over-the-top, was used to spoof the stars and their habits. For instance, Mammooty’s lack of dancing skills and his penchant for flashy clothes and sunglasses were pointed out, as was Mohanlal’s own tendency to endorse food products that are then sold with his face prominently displayed on the packages. Other heroes like Suresh Gopi and Dileep weren’t spared either.

Would these kind of jokes, however good-natured they may be, work in Tamil cinema? Tamil cinema fans aren’t known for their sense of humor when it comes to their heroes. Vijay TV’s apology to Vijay’s fans for their spoof on Pokkiri is the latest example of what comes out of fans’ intolerance but there have been a number of instances in the past too. With fans like them, can any of our heroes made fun of in a film? Would a film that makes fun of Rajni, Kamal, Vijay or Ajith manage to have a single run without the screen being torn and attacks being mounted on the director?

The story of Udayanaanu Thaaram is good by itself and can definitely be made into a nice, feel-good entertainer. But it was the satire that elevated the film from just a good film to a real classic. With our fans’ lack of tolerance making the satire impossible, we might have to satisfied with just a good film.

May 31!

The final milestone for Sivaji's release has been reached! AVM has officially announced that the film will release worldwide on Thursday May 31. Just 18 more days to go...

Some rumors earlier said the film would release on May 26 and that was quite a shock. I have a trip planned for the Memorial Day weekend and a May 26 release would have required a change of travel plans :-) Now thankfully, the film is releasing only the day after I return. I might still miss the preview shows if there are any but atleast, I will be back in time for the actual release (just that since I will be out of town, I won't be able to do the 'Countdown to Sivaji' posts I had planned on doing leading upto the release itself).

By the way, a few new stills from the film have also been released to whet our appetite...

2 New Reviews

Reviews for Chennai 600028 and Arpudha Theevu are now online @ bbreviews.

Chennai 600028

With cricket being the passion and obsession that it is, it is surprising that more movies haven't been made about it. Hindi cinema atleast has Lagaan in the genre of 'cricket movie' but as far as Tamil cinema goes, our only claim to fame so far is I Love You Daa, a film that was an insult both to the game and to cinema itself. Debutant director Venkat Prabhu rights the situation with Chennai 600028, a film about cricket. Fun, youthful and stylish, it is a film that will make fans of both cricket and Tamil cinema happy.

The R.A Puram Sharks team has never won the local cricket tournament and has been beaten in the finals the last 3 years by the Royapuram Rockers team. This year's tournament has just been announced and the Sharks are determined to win it. But the team runs into some issues as its captain Karthik(Siva) and key bowler Palani(Nitin Satya) end up fighting. Meanwhile, Raghu(Jai), a Rockers player, moves to R.A Puram and the Sharks view him with suspicion.

I never thought I'd say this about a director but Venkat Prabhu's wisest decision in making this movie is that he has aimed low. Having picked cricket as the theme, he hasn't tried to make his movie about the game at the international, national or even state level. The logistics for presenting the game convincingly at those levels would have been daunting, leading to amateurishness and silliness. Instead he has focused on local cricket, played in the streets and empty lots in Chennai. Apart from the smaller scale making things easier for him, it helps the movie create an immediate connection with the viewer since almost everybody has played street cricket at one point or another and so can identify with the protagonists.

Chennai 600028 is light-hearted and fun. When other directors are trying to overwhelm us by upping the ante in aspects like sentiments and violence, Venkat Prabhu takes the opposite route and keeps things light throughout. Characters express what they feel through offhand comments rather than in big showdowns. There are misunderstandings, fights and other complications but they aren't tackled as though they are life-or-death issues. And what's at stake in the big final match isn't the guys' lives, livelihoods or loves. Its just their egos and a cup. This light-heartedness without the film being an overt comedy, makes it really stand out.

While the light-heartedness helps almost every aspect of the film, one thing it doesn't help is the romance. Aravind's romance with Cristine is too cursory and appears to have been added as an afterthought. It is cliched and lacks both passion and charm. The other romance involving Vijayalakshmi doesn't fare much better but that can be overlooked more easily since it atleast paves the way for the main conflict in the film.

Inspite of the fun nature of the film, the all-important match at the end does manage to raise some tension and this is solely because of the characters. We may not identify or sympathise with them but its impossible not to like them. They could have been plucked out of any area in Chennai and this realism helps make us feel that it is our friends who are playing. Their conversations are witty but very natural and even the few double entendres sprinkled around don't feel vulgar (as a bonus, we also get a take-off on the most spoof-worthy piece of dialog in Chandramukhi).

The film's ending really reveals Venkat Prabhu's wish to be different. He gives us exactly what we expect but not in the way - nor at the time - we expect it and so manages to finish the film on a wonderfully ironic note. Kudos!

The film is very, very stylish visually. From the casual, conversational introduction of its characters to the final match, the film is glossy and slick and slo-mos, split screens and other camera tricks keep it lively and vibrant throughout. Yuvan's background music also plays a big part in this and after Pattiyal, this is another movie where his fast score goes hand in
hand with the visuals to make up many spirited sequences. A simple case in point is the scene Jai makes his first visit to Nitin's house. Not since Agni Natchathiram has two people simply staring at each other been picturized with such energy!

The cast is made up of both new faces and actors who seem familiar but who we can't really place. All the actors do a competent job though no one stands out in particular. Gangai Amaran's son takes on the role of the movie's comedian. The 2 actresses don't fare as well as the actors. Ilavarasu is his usual witty self. Yuvan Shankar Raja delivers a suitably youthful, fun soundtrack though the movie could have done without atleast 2 of songs. Un Paarvai... is the pick of the numbers with the picturization ensuring that the sequence doesn't feel slow. Yaaro... is also melodious but is one of the numbers affected by occurring too close to another song. Ulle Vaa... is used suitably at a couple of places. Jalsa... and Saroja Saamaan Nikaalo... are fun songs that make us smile.

Spider-Man 3

It is quite rare for a sequel to be better than the first chapter and even rarer for the third part to better its predecessors. Unfortunately, Spider-Man 3 doesn't buck that trend. Feeling too slow sometimes and too rushed at other times, it is a disappointing third outing for the web-slinger.

A superhero's alter-ego is as important as the superhero himself and it can be argued that he is more interesting than the superhero himself. But Peter Parker's segments in Spider-Man 3 are a big bore. His relationship with Mary Jane feels repetitive and is no longer interesting as he seems dumb at times and she seems too whiny all the time. Harry Osborne comes into the picture(with the very cinematic plot device of memory loss) as a shoulder to lean on for Mary Jane while on the other side, we get Gwen Stacy, Peter's classmate who has a crush on him. The love story with these 4 is full of contrivances and cliches that would put a soap opera to shame and many sequences look like they belong in a romantic comedy - and a bad one at that.

Spidey getting in touch with his dark side after being 'infected' by something from outer space(couldn't they have come up with a different origin for this?!) is one of those things that sounded good on paper. But its a lot less interesting on screen. The mean streak is revealed through hokey scenes like Peter dancing in a club and barring a few scenes (like the fight with the now-recovered Harry), bad Spidey is never really interesting either.

But what makes it tough to give a thumbs down Spider-Man 3 is that when its good, it is really good. The action scenes are superb (though the film sets us up for somewhat of a disappointment by giving us the best sequences at the start of the film). The first sequence where Spidey rescues Gwen and the mid-air chase and fight with Harry are spectacular. Sandman is a formidable opponent and his scenes feature nice graphics (though his fights with Spider-man seem too short). The climax is superbly choreographed and features a couple of exhilarating moments inspite of being heavy on CGI.

Spider-Man 3 could well give rise to a new proverb - "Too many villains spoil a superhero movie". The film has one villain too many and Venom, who makes a late appearance, feels totally unnecessary. This supervillain is not given his due and it feels like he was tacked on at the last moment to make up for all the soap opera stuff before.

Last year, M:I:III provided a weak start to the Hollywood summer season and this year, another third part has started the summer on a disappointing note. Lets hope things get better from here on...

2 New Reviews

Reviews for Parattai Engira Azhagu Sundaram and Naan Avanillai are now online @ bbreviews.

Favorite Albums

When I wrote about Arjunaru Villu... being my #1 workout song, I mentioned that I also loved listening to it while driving. And I do listen to it often while driving, the reason being that I like all the songs in Gilli. So I actively seek out the CD with Gilli songs and pop it into the CD player, knowing that I'm not gonna skip over any of the songs. But I've realized that that doesn't happen with a lot of other CDs.

A film's music has a rather short life for me. I rarely go back and listen to older songs whether in my car or on the iPod(connected to the stereo system) at home. Right now the only songs I listen to are the ones from Pachaikkili Muthucharam, Mozhi, Sivaji and Chennai 600028 but I can't say that 6 months from now, I will specifically go looking for songs from any of these movies, to listen to. I'm sure that the songs from other new movies - and there are a few to look forward to - will catch my fancy and take over my playlist.

The other reason I don't listen to songs from older movies is that I get saturated with them. If I like a movie's album, the songs are almost in repeat mode on all my players and I end up listening to them 2 or 3 times every single day (and more when I go on a long drive). So I get my fill of them and don't go back to them unless I really love them. And since I hate skipping over songs, I must like every single song in a film's soundtrack for me to go looking for that film's audio CD and start listening to it.

That said, there are a few albums that I've found that I keep going back to repeatedly. Based solely on the number of times I've listened to them, I picked the top 5 and I guess I could call these my 5 favorite albums in the last 5 years or so.

#5 - Parthiban Kanavu
Vidyasagar's albums always have something for everyone and are quite eclectic in the genres of songs. Just that in Parthiban Kanavu, the songs in each of the genres turned to be among the best in that genre.

#4 - Raam
Aaraariraaro... would count among my all-time favorite songs. Wonderful lyrics and a simple tune make it soulful and I forget myself each time I listen to it. But the Raam soundtrack surrounds this fantastic number with more great songs.

#3 - Pudhuppettai
Though I've heard it so many times, nothing would change in my review of the soundtrack if I wrote it today. One of Yuvan's best albums, it is very experimental(which I usually don't end up liking) but still great.

#2 - Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu
This album is a dream come true for lovers of melody. Every song, barring one, is a wonderful melody (this might be the only album where even the hero's introduction number is a melody!) and very catchy and likeable.

#1 - Chellame
Picking the first was actually the easiest task on this list. Chellame is an amazing album where every single song is catchy, wonderfully sung and has terrific lyrics. I think it might be the only album where I liked every song on the first listen itself and still like them.