Variety is the spice of life

Happened to stumble upon this book called “Sapiens”. It was always on my eyeline and the fact that most of my friends have read that book was added incentive that I may like it. So finally decided to give it a try and started reading it. Within matter of ten minutes I finished 20 pages. Statistically that is the fastest I’ve ever read a book in recent times @ 2 pages per minute!!! The initial impression of the book is quite good and I really like the way the evolution and different species of humans are being referenced. The topic that triggered by these twenty something pages were quite different though. There was a recent conversation on including LGBTQ categorizations into the system to make provisions for registering their individuality. I felt very happy that as a thought process it felt very noble and encouraging and was a laudable effort in the making. There were certain sections on that book that made me realize, despite several thousand years of evolution, our thought process ...

We were play acting some scenes last week under junior’s direction. He would ask us to close our eyes and when we open, he would reveal which character we need to enact. “Dei appa..open your eyes” “yes?” “nee thaan raavan” “ok” “amma..nee Lakshman..naa thaan ram..paati vanthu hanuman” “ok” He started mimicking battle sequence with imaginary bow and arrow being fired from his arms. Being Raavan, I was “stuck” by his index finger arrow and was supposed to fall dead. “Aioo appa..unakku sariavay panna therila..all of you close your eyes” We all did. “Open your eyes..ippo amma Lakshman..naan raavan..appa Ram” Again the battle started and this time he got “hit”. He rolled eyes up and down, clutched his tummy, turned around twice and carefully fell on the sofa. “Ipdi than vizhanum” I never realized how far my jaw had dropped “Dei ..idhu ulaga nadipuda saami!!!!” Night time, wifey sleeps early as she has to get up along with the sun. Me and junior, usually are out our boisterous...

Started watching “Family Man” Amazon series, after seeing so many recommendations. Manoj Bajpai, whose nose seems to get more crooked with every episode in that series and more so with every single cigarette he smokes throughout, is the lead player – The family man. Surprisingly, no one else in the support cast is shown to have any family!!!! Priyamani of Paruthiveeran fame, plays his spouse and also as a mother of 2 kids. There is a deliberate attempt to involve South Indian stars to give a Pan Indian appeal to the cast and it does work to some extent. The very first episode shows how Manoj has his hands tied in a situation, where in he had to act responsibly in front of his kids, while his professional avatar is a 360 degree different case. He enters into a dilapidated typical Mumbai housing board building, gets into an out of order elevator and reaches a floor which is right out of Men In Black series, with top notch gadgets. At times make one wonder, if our government departments r...

For a person who hates changes being forced on him, I would probably have opted for more changes of my own. Most of the time, the options that I choose, from the situations or positions that I am in, many people wouldn’t even have wanted to check out for such options, considering the comfort level and settled nature established already. From what I am aware about myself, I am not that of a daredevil nature as well, opting to rebel and be a traveler. Somehow, at some point, something snaps and mind gets flagged to make a move. When or what that trigger is I’ve been never able to convincingly locate. But for all practical purpose, I would be ending this year with another change, self-invited. But this one, looks interesting and probably quite different from whatever I’ve undertaken so far. No one knows what and all I am supposed to do including myself and no one is sure what i am definitely supposed to do as well. But that had given me an option to pick and choose what I want to do and h...

Recently happened to attend a seminar on Career "path-ing". It was interestingly worded for such an important topic, for i wasn't sure if "pathing" was a right term in first place. It was a sell out session nevertheless and many interesting points where shared. Primarily it was about, the concept of career - does anyone ever really perceive or understand the concept of it and even if they do, what efforts do they take towards achieving it or setting things right. There was a loaded question which triggered the whole session - what we perceive as a good career and who has them. There were some obvious answers and the more it got drilled down from there, eventually it ended in a stage where, even the ones who had answered as what they perceived to be pointers for having a great career, where either not sure how many of those pointers where applicable to them or whether they had any plans to address the gaps, which they themselves were aware. It threw open an int...

Junior has this habit of enacting things. Possibly because he watches and observes lots and lots of videos. But he doesn’t just stop at enacting them, but would also go on to direct the rest of his “cast”. He would give dialogues for us and would ask us to say them in a tone he prefers. If we try something on our own he would admonish “Naan enna soneen” or “apdi illada” and when he is satisfied with our “performance” he would show two thumbs up sign and would say good job. He has picked it all from “Blippi” educational videos and off late “Blippi” has become his teacher cum friend and anything Blippi says is vedha vaaku for him. It is amazing how people come up with stuff like this where in they make a goof up video, try to act clownish or clumsy in a funny way attractive to children and make money as well, alongside teaching them good things. Junior loves attention and would literally turn our neck to watch him perform his dance moves or “pose” as he likes to call them. If we forget t...

Ever since was reading reviews about this movie, was on two minds whether to watch it or not. The reviews were making it sound like an art movie and some even pronounced it as a trendsetter. With politicians also digging into the aura around it, was almost certain it is yet another over hyped one and wouldn’t worth risking a watch. When it came up on Amazon Prime, with no other interesting movies watch, was thinking of giving it a try. One thing that became evident post watching it was that none of the reviews were honest and in all probability were all paid ones. Not that this is an earth shattering revelation that was inferred only after watching this movie. But off late I get a feel that irrespective of how his movies are, Danush movies are never panned by reviewers. They find something noteworthy or good to mention about the movie and if not anything else, his performances are always there to accolade. In this movie, he has donned the role of a 40 plus guy, father of two kids, one ...

Been a really long while since a movie came in tamil, that truly stuck to its genre, without any compromise. Kaidhi belongs to that unique set of movies. Right from word go, within first 20 minutes of the movie, the base is set and the directions in which the story is going to flow and how it is all going to converge. Probably the most tightly packed initial half hour ever witnessed in a tamil movie in recent times. But again, for those seeing the movie for the first time, pretty sure there are going to be repeat audiences for this movie, it may be confusing a bit. But since the events are riveting, it helps to an extent. Karthi looks like the modern avatar of where he left from Aairathil Oruvan. His introduction scene is quiet, but his presence has a looming sense of things to follow. The way he eats the biriyani on a taambaalam of a plate reminds of Raj kiran. Naren as the upright, hand in sling inspector, has only one emotion to convey in that limited span of 4 hours that all events...

With a name like Bigil, what else can you expect from a movie, which at trailer release itself, made it amply clear of its intentions. The movie gives fan made videos a run for their production money and is a three hour long record of hero worship. Vijay dons dual role of dad and son and has two mass hero entry, one each per character. There are so many scenes cramped into the running time that, right from initial name reels till end name reels its one scene after another. Wonder if anyone would’ve left the theater had they included blooper reels and making videos, which I believe would be one and the same. The plight of women’s football could actually be worse in reality, but the movie makes literal mockery of the procedures and practices. As expected, the core theme of the movie, which is supposedly women’s football and about the challenges faced by women players, it obviously takes a back seat and with Vijay’s adulation occupying 3/4th of the running time, it is a miracle that even ...

With the dust settling down on the poor kid’s grave, all opportunistic knives are now out of their shameless sheaths. Why the hell a minister whose entire department is on strike, is camped at a site which is outside of his jurisdiction? Why the NDRF wasn’t brought in earlier? So many whining why’s and not a single person is willing to chide the parents for their apathy or the person who dug the damn borewell in first place of callousness in covering it up. Some are even suggesting to have better drillers and diggers for future rescue ops and are already suggesting technology upgrades. While some cynics have started comparing India’s space program and its futility while people on ground are suffering without proper rescue machines!! Adaigala..adangavay maateengala. Edhula than politics panrathu nu ilia. Unga aadhayam thedra ennathula theeye vaikka. A banner death resulted in ban on banners, albeit temporarily. Hope this poor kid, wakes up the slumbering government machinery in identify...

“Kanmani..anbodu..kadhalan..naan” Just these starting lines, in the nasal voice of kamal are enough to trigger the entire song. What an awesome composition by IR and amazing lyrics by the evergreen vaali !! Such is the magic of the song that, even after 3 decades, some of the catch phrases from the song have become regular every day dialogues, like, including “maaney theney” for fillers and the best of all being “manidhar unarndhu kolla” which is used to describe anything that is unmatchable in feel – parody or otherwise. Everything about that song oozes with uniqueness and wow. The location, which was till then known as devils kitchen, became renamed as “guna caves”. And such was the craze to visit those 500 plus feet deep cave that, the government actually had to ban tourists from flocking those dangerous locations. Wonder, how in the world, they moved camera and crew, in and out of that place!! Kudos to the technical team. Guess the song algorithm, that picked this song, must’ve m...

I’ve a playlist of about 3000 songs and counting, which gets a daily addition, as and when I stumble on something interesting. Today, the app algorithm decided to treat me with IR hits. Dhalapathi movie (yesteryear Rajini hit) being the prominent of the lot. It may or may not been his best, but I’ve a special memory about this movie, for it was one of the very few movies that I saw in theater with my dad. He had got a pass for the 90th day celebration of that movie and we had balcony tickets. Since the theater owner was his close friend, I got free popcorn too J Just like Roja and Indian for Doordarshan, to slot them for Independence day or Republic day special runs, Pongal festival would always be associated with the songs from this movie. “Maargazhi thaan odi poachu bogi aachu” song was a longtime favorite of mine. I remember pestering my mom for that “thappu” molam instrument to play for bogi only to get it played on my backside by her with rhythmic beating. Kids from nearby stree...

There used to be a time, whenever I heard the term viral, would associate it with some infection. But nowadays the connotation has undergone a 3600 degree turn. People want to be viral and the more crowd you can attract, quicker are the bucks you get to earn. Latest to this list of viral “sense-less-ations” is one of the contestant from a tamil reality show. Recently his “army” created a tweet record, trending way above some of the critical events that were happening that day – like an actor’s audio launch and some less critical items like – global warming discussion. Did they do anything wrong? Technically and for all practical reasons – No. Everyone has a right to celebrate their idols and express their opinion. Basically, this freedom of expression (FoE) has become more of a foe than friend for general public. Everyone wants to express their opinion – like how I’ve been cribbing here – to the extent that, each believe for sure that their opinion is the best and more accurate repres...

Watching junior and how he reacts to situations is one of my favorite pastime. Would you believe if I tell that, I actually get to learn few things on mingling with people and how to respond to situations better by watching him!!? Yeah it’s a given that i will always be a work in progress and even kids born yesterday have better grasp at these things!!! Being in Chennai and dreading autos is akin to Mumbai and cribbing about its rail network. Whenever I had to book an auto, without using any app for the same, it is nothing short of a hell raising adventure. My BP will shoot up to stratosphere when they quote whatever amount that comes in their mind as fare, unfair would be an apt term for the rates they quote. At times I would retort with an equally rubbish amount to counter, only to irritate them back. If somehow the negotiation happens and I do take the ride, would be feeling pissed all through the trip, till I get down. Junior, who doesn’t have to bother about these yet, will be e...

Jo Nesbo has already become my “to read” author, whose books I watch out for, especially his Harry Hole series, with “Knife” being the latest installment. For anyone who wants to follow Nesbo/Harry Hole series, wouldn’t recommend this book. For the simple reason that, it has too much of history and the base assumption being, by now the reader should be familiar with the world and mind of Harry. And the other one being, its definitely not the best of the lot!! The novel starts with a gory beginning and steps right onto the murder in the most disgusting way possible. With victim being heroes wife, Rakel, it gets repeated and elaborated umpteen number of times in detail possible. Sad that Rakel would no longer be part of this series. Harry wakes up blood on his hands, pants and everywhere. Yet he is clear as a whistle that he has nothing to do with the murder, at least until 350 odd pages into the book!!! So much for a sharp detective! He thinks his villain from previous book is the perpe...

Me and junior were on a train to Madurai a while back and we were sharing the upper berth. He was watching his favorite toons on mobile, when the signal ran out. I took the phone from him and asked him to go to sleep. “Kutty..time to sleep. Paaru phone kooda thoongidichu” “one more video..pleaaasssssse” “No. Night aaidchu. Phone neria paathachu. Ippo go to sleep. Naaliku paakalam” He grudgingly snuggled next to me. After few minutes, we saw slight flashes of light from the side upper berth and every time it flashed, junior would get up and blink his eyes at the source. Seems, the person on the other berth was speaking on phone and after a while started watching videos over their phone. That lady was talking in such hush-hush tones that the entire compartment was sushing her. Junior, beyond a point, couldn’t control himself and asked “appa..enna mattum thoongu solra..antha aunty mattum phone paakra..avangalayum thoonga sollupa..night aaidchula”. I tried to control him and he repe...

I seriously believe, there is some mysticism about songs. How much ever deep and pronounced a prose may be, its effect could be life altering in some cases, they rarely trigger the kind of spontaneous reaction, associated with poetry/songs/music/lyrics. I couldn’t quite tag them as a single entity for each are interlinked. A poetry without any tune is good, but once it is set into a tune, it becomes immortal. It is not just the coinage of words and the instrumentation, the mindset when you listen plays a tremendous role in this process, of preserving the nostalgia and reigniting newer emotions as well. Stumbled on Uyire song from the movie and despite listening to it for several times, somehow the below lines landed on mind for the first time yesterday. கல்லொன்று தடைசெய்த போதும் புல்லொன்று புதுவேர்கள் போடும் நம் காதல் அது போல மீறும் The meaning being, //despite the stubbornness of the stone, the grass roots still persevere and proceed, like our love//. In just three lines, the ...

Intha teachers day kaga ellarum maanju maanju post podrathalaam paatha namakku ipdilaam solra mathiri oru incidentum illaiye nu thonum. But then I realized, teacher need not necessarily be always from schools!! Ithaan un takka na..well !! I’ve been such a filthily idiotic student who never even realized, was being taught by many teachers in my life and that it is an ongoing activity, as long as you are alive and doesn't stop with school!! I never realized my dad has taught me so many things, till I began blogging!! He always insists and repeats certain things and do certain things in a certain way that, without even realizing it has all been deeply ingrained in my psyche and soul that I’ve begun to think they are my own nature!! I don’t smoke or drink. Almost 80% of my friends do. The only reason why I could manage on my own, without even having any peer pressure, was because of my dad. Some of my friends who started as teetotalers and later became “social drinkers/smokers” succum...

Off late, there are multiple memorable events that happen across the sporting fraternity. Interestingly the frequency of such astounding feats seems to have increased all of a sudden. Last week saw the rise of P.V Sindhu and her vikramaadithya attempt to vanquish the vedhalam tag of “forever the friend of bride” coming up trumps. In fact, considering that she has made it to the world championship finals, 4 times previously should’ve made her a hot favorite. But like CSK of IPL whose name is prewritten on the final 4 list even before the itinerary is written, that Sindhu would make it to a shuttle final was a given. But whether she would ever be able come back with the silverware that would be gold, was under much debate, for she had this stumble at the final lap happening across several tourneys now. All those have been to set to rest and 5th time proved lucky. The phenomenal achievement can only be realized when one compares her feat with her illustrious Indian peers. NO ONE else, eve...

Gilsbert and his Mrs. are starting for a function. “Intha dress nallaruka?” Even before the sentence could finish, pat came the reply “yes” from Gilsbert “Adha dress paathu sonna nambapola irukum..engayo paathutu edhuku yes sollanum?” “Nee edhu choose panirunthalum Nalla thaan choose panirupennu oru nambikkai. Case in point being me..heehe” “Sagikala..seri..idhu epo vaanginathu theriyuma” That “Sethaanda segaru” moment which every member of married male clan goes through – remembering when which dress was bought and for what occasion. I am obliged to state here, without prejudice, that, when it comes to remembering dresses and dates, womenfolk win hands down. I can give it in writing that no guy would ever remember when he bought a jeans. Enniki kadisia wash pannathu is an even tougher question. But date, time, milli seconds varaikkum, thannoda dress mattumillama mathavanga dresskum note panrathu is nothing short of miracle. Back to square one..err..the post. “hmm..wedding day...

I knew I had seen Pink. I vaguely remembered posting about it as well and found the link http://supershanki.blogspot.com/2016/10/pink-movie-review.html too. I had wished for Rajini to pick up Amithabh’s role, if at all the movie was remade in tamil. With Nerkonda parvai being the official remake of the hindi movie and Ajith donning the role of the Big B, more or less the wish got fulfilled. Not sure, if Rajini, at this age, could’ve brought in the strength of masculinity much needed for this role and for the movie, context wise. Story wise it is a scene to scene adaptation from the hindi movie. May be that is the reason, why it gives a “non-tamil” movie watching experience. And the concept of mapping every single character with the hindi version, doesn’t help either. Somehow, what felt as very natural and real in Pink, feels alien in NKP, from characterization perspective. Maybe, the false notion that cities down south are much safer as compared to widely publicized and debated atrocit...

It is a proven sign of ageing that, you no longer feel the need to share any funky forwards on special days and neither does people in your circuit. But for those aarva kolaar’s, who still share the mandatory forward to groups, a message that would’ve been shared across the planet a couple of more times, when hardly any one bothers to take the trouble, it is evident that the circle of acquaintances have aged as well. Beyond everything, when you don’t even bother to download and read those messages, but simply delete or ignore them, you’ve attained the state of “forwards” nirvana. I’ve always been a borderline case when it comes to groups. Somehow, I would never be fully in nor fully out. Never had someone for whom I can be counted as 3 AM friend. And those who really know me, will never call me at that time. An Egyptian mummy, getting resurrected, has a better chance of picking the call!!! So the following conversation actually came as a surprise, when it did happen around the time men...

Junior’s first theater outing. Was in two minds, where to shore out, if in case all those noise and darkness unnerve him. That too his very first movie being a 3D one was making me all the more skeptical. Needless to say, he took to it like a duck to water. Right from the time, the giraffes and zebras and other animals started making their appearance one after another, he was super excited and was calling out each of them, with the loudest cheer reserved for rhinos!! By the time the Monkey lifted Simba and announced the cub to the pride land folks, Junior was well and truly into it. Beyond a while, the 3D effect was nauseating for us and I never used those glasses. He was asking for a bit as to what was happening on screen as we had gone for an English version. Pretty sure he would’ve posed as many queries had it been in tamil as well. Especially near to the climax, he was getting scared witnessing the fights between Hyenas and the lions and turned his head away. Otherwise, he sat thro...

I am almost done with season 3 and the fringe drama series has been all the more impressive, to say the least, across these 3 seasons. What initially started as some mad scientist, letting loose, his weird experiments on unassuming public has turned into an emotional drama of father son bonding, taking the central role, alongside the weird(fringe) events. It is amazing, how time and again, the script writers of the US drama series, work out such amazingly interesting stuff. Obviously they are having the cushion of a movie budget for every episode. But still, when one looks at the end result, it is definitely worth the buck spent. Pretty sure, they would’ve had lot more storylines thought out per episode and credit goes to the editors as well, for retaining the most interesting parts and leaving out the rest. Considering the story lines gets worked out only for 6 months an year and at times stretches over several years, it is no less an ask to ensure the sanity of the storyline and make...

“Gilsbert please be at office by 9 AM tomorrow. We’ve a shooting tomorrow” “Why midnight shoot boss? Any horror movie in making?” Oppicer gave him the look HDK reserves for Yeddy. Next day at oppice. Gilsbert reports sharp at 10.30AM. “Dei..unna eppo vara sonnen..” “boss..naan sindubad mathiri 7 kadal ettu malai thaandi comings. Ithaan ennoda earliest possible entry” “Side character role kay ivlo latea variye..unnalaam herova poatta ..velangidum. Script anupinene padichia” “Yes boss” “Enga sollu” “Blah..blah..blah…” “Idhelaam naan sollavay illiye..” “Konjam mane thene naane add pannikiten boss” “Ivlo lengthyalaam venaa..konjam kami pannu” “blah..blah..” “Innum konjam reduce pannu” “blah” “still lengthy” “bl..” “hmmmm…” “Naan innum sollavay aarambikalaiye..” “Avlo podhum..michatha voice overla paathukalam.. ready shoot” “Hallo..hallo..wait..intha touchup lam iliya” “Grrrr” “Atleast oru apple juice” “Canteenla kaasu kuduthu vaangikka…anga poitu apdiye antha cub...

part 1 part 2 Time: 2 AM Venue: Vasantham apartments "Boss...Boss" "Moodhevi mundame..engada poi tholanja...ethana neram ipdi setha mathirye nadikarathu..nejamavay moochu vitrum polaruku" "Kochikatheenga boss..antha rendu loosunga panra kootha paathu semma thamashaa irunthuchu..aama Police edhuku thideernu vanthanga" "mmm...Naan thaan koopten..oru thrilla irukatumay nu" " aama neenga edhuku setha maathiri nadicheenga" "Unakku ellathiyum pathu thadava sollanuma..athaan appove sonnenla" "Saria puriala boss..thirumba sollunga" "Inniki enna naal.." "vellikezhama...ummm...ipo night 2 mani aaguthu..appo sanikezhama sollanuma" "romba mukkiyam..apdiye kabali kovil saneeswarar sannidhala poi velakku poatutu vaa..moodhevi..inniki thaan antha rascal Manickam deadline vachirukaan..avan sharea pirichi kudukka..plan padi..naan setha mathiri nadichi..avan inga varapo avana sika vachi policel...

It was on the day of his school interview, like Prakash raj from “Abhiyum Naanum”, we both were equally tensed around, how junior would handle the session. We reached the school venue an hour early. The security guy must’ve seen thousands of “enthu pattaanis” like us I guess. He shooed us away and asked to come back ten minutes before the interview time slot. When we finally entered the auditorium, it was like an outpatient ward of a hospital. Some kids were screaming, in some case it was the parents. One guy was seen chastising his kid and wife in equal measure. The kid was not repeating the rhymes he was trying to teach and was looking elsewhere. The receptionist was calling out names in her own sweet order. Junior felt restless and started walking over the chairs. There was a huge ground, which was one of the primary reason for us to pick that school, just outside the auditorium and junior wanted to check it out. When I was taking him out, wifey sternly warned not to step away from ...

We are in the midst of something big that is happening. Biblical prophecies around apocalypse sound more sensible than present times. Might sound like a starting line for some thriller novel or prophecy. But if you take a step back and have a careful look at day to day happenings, it would be surprising to miss out on these obvious situations. Should one call it as awakening or awareness, I am not sure. But more and more people are getting exposed to everything under the name of information. News channels, which ten years back would’ve been the sole proprietor of breaking news are facing a run for their controversy money, with anyone and everyone with a mobile phone and data pack, starting their own channel on You tube. You can be as stupid as possible, in fact, the more you tend towards the extreme side of the spectrum, the more famous and popular you become. Case in point being, Sam Anderson and Power star. One look at their videos, you would laugh off at their attempts. Second tim...

The only plus of having to travel 2 hours one way is to binge watch drama series, that is, if you manage to get a seat and not suffocate to death while standing. Fringe drama series, were introduced more like a “see if you can” dare by a colleague, who was super impressed with it. He was so fond of the series that, he was trying to sell it passionately to anyone who would listen to him. Sounds familiar? Felt as if I was seeing myself. The very first episode was interesting and I got hooked onto the series ever since. The theme of the series, deals with fringe science, hence the name. Some of the concepts are way too fantastic while some are kaadhula poo. But it has been advertised with reasonable surety that, most of the concepts mentioned are theoretical possibilities. Basically, all those machines and devices and impossible situations mentioned on the episodes are factual !!! Throw in a concept of multiverse, you got your show. The other factor that caught my interest was J.J.Abrams ...

What a day for sports it was yesterday!!! With London playing host to two spectacular finals – one played out on the hallowed turf of Wimbledon and other on the supposedly cradle of cricket – Lord’s. Each of them were humdingers on their own and possibly caused the biggest collective loss of nails across the match watching globe. Felt like kid on a candy store, swapping between each channel to see which one will end first and towards the fifth set close and onto the super over on the other side, the remote must have surely cursed the day. The results made the super exciting Sunday, into a sadder one. But the thrill, more than compensated for the grief of the favorites losing out. Probably the only final about which I ever made a passing reference was 2003, when Ponting, with his famed “spring bat”, sprang into action and threw the Indian challenge out. Yesterday’s finals, was supposedly the least watched one ever to start with, having seen the tournament’s joint favorites India and t...

Usually junior never settles for anything less than “100” stories before going to sleep. After narrating three, I would find myself asleep in no time. Works much better than reading or watching drama series!! Once I put it back on him to narrate me a story in return. What followed was a mishmash of every story he had ever seen. “Adhu..Narasimmar..raatchasa..leg la vachunduthaa” (His latest “crush” is watching mythological cartoons and Dasavatar had been running it seems with Narasimha avatar in particular. I was slightly worried about the ending part of the story and tried to prompt him differently) “ratchas thoppai la kich kich pannithaa” “Illa..keeri vitruthu” “huh” “appo anga ganapathay mooshak mela vanthuchu” (Narasimha avatharathula engada ganapathi vanthaar nu yosikarapo) “ganapathi laddu saaptuchaa..aprum..rakshas kitta…chooo..po sollithu” “oh..aprum ennachu” “meow odi poiduthu..paatha..“chinni Krishna flute vaasichithu” “Krishnava??!!” “Aaama..koooooo nu vaasichuth...

A pakka Hollywoodish movie. For those who crib that our guys slow up the movie with songs and dance this movie would be the answer. A very bold attempt to say the least. No unnecessary scenes – be it humour or romance or sentiment. With a running time of under 2 hours, it felt like a slightly extended short film. But credit to the director for ensuring that, the impact, would’ve been created by a short film, has been maintained and ensured. The movie starts with probably, the most violent beginning ever witnessed in tamil or Indian cinema I would say. Makes one wonder, whether the UA rating was justified. May be they went by the logic(!!) that, you simply don’t rate a movie on one scene alone, even if it involves a beheading, with the head being kicked around like a football and burning the rest of the body. But considering that, as the movie progresses, it could all be diabolically symbolic, could’ve been the reason(?) for a more accommodative rating. It is a dark movie to say the l...

As the day broke, for a change, without any alarm or anyone beating/shouting, I woke up on my own!!! Yes. It was nothing short of a medical miracle that me getting up on my own, even after so many years of having gone through the. When your nervousness crosses an invisible threshold, body clock starts ticking in explosive sound that, you can’t keep your eyes close, even if try to shut them tight. I was fidgety to say the least and went on autopilot mode to get the morning chores completed. It was Junior’s first day of school re-opening. I was getting tensed as if I myself was the one, who was starting his school life, again!! Junior, though, was at his sprightly best and was all laughing and playing. He was extra chirpy and got ready in no time. All the way from home, I was holding tight on to the auto, with my wife mentioning something to junior, repeatedly, about which I couldn’t quite figure, for I was mentally elsewhere. We both took him inside, to his class room and he waved us ...