Variety is the spice of life

 March 5th is a date i wouldn't forget in a hurry. If i make a list of top ten days of my professional career where i felt low, this would be right on top of the pile. The news that came in that day, was cushioned a bit by the other discussion that happened earlier that morning. It was as if, your heart would give in at 5 pm and you get a new heart for transplant just hours before that news break. Off late i've been thinking a lot of my post life situation and scenario for no reason and that incident made me think even more of such possibility. Eventually we all have an expiry date, which as Rajini says in a movie, "Saagara naal terinjitta vaazhara naal naragamaaidum" (if you know when you will die, every single living day could become hell). And if people realize that we are all eventually going to die, the amount of crimes and wrong things they do will definitely come down. But if we keep looking at that target date, we will forget to live and that universal thought

If at all there ever was movie that is a potpourri of southern languages, this would be it. A mallu movie, with a telugu-ish title, with lead character studying in Salem and most of the story happening in Hyderabad, they almost cover the full circle of south India. There are many dialogues in tamil and some in telugu as well!! But this is not the USP of the movie. It is neither a ground breaking or first of its kind ever story line or nor does it has extraordinary scenes and situations where the characters act their skin off or have ultra high octane action scenes. In fact, the movie is the ante thesis of all this and is as simple as it comes when it comes to rom-com's with the treatment similar to hindi movies of the late 90's or early 2000. The title of the movie crops up right when the hero sits dejected after his love proposal rejection during the last day of his college. He is as clueless as any average college pass out, without any ambition but counting on moving abroad t

I should've updated "Trip Wire" as the next in review in the series, but felt that book to be quite tedious and for an almost non-existent story it dragged for close to 300 pages. And the ending rivals "Balayya" movies, with Reacher getting shot right in his chest, only for the doctor's in all their "surprise" claim it to be a "medical miracle" that his pectoral muscles literally stopped a bullet and Reacher survives!!!  But "Running blind" the next in the series, more than made up for it. With Jodie, the lady who gets introduced in previous book, having a continuation in this one as well as designated girl friend of Reacher, also doubling up as his lawyer, the series actually get a second character who has a running storyline other than Reacher. The story begins with a bar fight that is settled by Reacher in his own way. Only for it to balloon into a controversy involving FBI, who somehow profile him as a potential and almost c

 I often used to wonder why our drama series fare relatively less when compared to the ones made by Western production houses. Budget is an obvious reason  which not just gives a much needed punch to the production values of those series, but also helps in getting popular faces to play key roles. And the setup being something that is already established with their audiences, the production houses don't have to oversell any series beyond regular advertisement methods. Even though some of the series, especially those produced by Netflix/Amazon kinds, have similar budget scope, the main area where i feel our series falls short being dialogues and screenplay. Some of the stories that come up on Amazon and Netflix are quite good and as intriguing as any Korean or English series. For example, Kala Paani on Netflix was awesome and felt as Hollywood-ish as any series made. The situations, dialogues, screen play every aspect about those series was spot on to say the least. Amazon tries its

 This is probably the earliest i am posting about a series, having just watched 3 episodes. Mighty impressed with the content and presentation of "3 body problem" drama series on Netflix. The production values rivals that of Marvel and other high budget production houses. With each episode running for nearly an hour and with majority of the running space requiring Special effects, the cost of making a single episode must be as high as a full time movie!!  The interesting part about this series being, the take on aliens and future of human civilization. A bit like Star Trek, but on a more relatable level, the series talks about the SETI program and its impact on human civilization, base assumption being, upon receiving a response from the other side. The series is almost as Chinese as it is in English, for i understand, the base premise has been taken from a book written in Chinese. The concept as it is, is quite novel and the timing of the response when received from the othe

 As mentioned on the first book "Killing floor" review, i was almost halfway into "Die tying", the second one in the Jack reacher series by Lee Child. It had such a curious premise that, even while reading was able to visualise scene by scene how the story was progressing. It was probably the influence of watching movies made at that time this book was written or possibly the book got inspired by the movies, either way, this is one racy thriller that streams across genres and plots like a forest river. The initial setup resembles that of Rambo - first blood, a lot to say the least. A stranger thrown into a situation and is at his wits end to not just save himself but also the mysterious lady who is kidnapped along with him. In fact, she being the target and him being caught in the cross fire makes it all the more cinematic. For almost a good 60% of the book, the captives get transported in a wagon, while the law agencies break their head over the kidnapping with the

When Neflix launched this mini series last month, thought it would be yet another pseudo comedy series based on hindi heartland that i neither funny nor too serious. But how wrong i was got proved in the very first episode.  "Maamla legal hai", as the name suggests, is based on legal system of India and on lawyers from a fictional town Patparganj, of course set in hindi heartland. With Ravi Kishan being the sitting president  of the lawyer association, ably supported by his "chamcha" duo named as "law" and "order", with sane guidance from Munshiji, the only normal character in this otherwise wacko unit, the kind of cases and issues that crop up in their court, all of them being real life situations inspired, the 8 episode series, leaves you wanting for more. Nidhi Bisht as the unscrupulous yet vulnerable lawyer, whose sole ambition is to get a chamber of her own and how she goes about "buttering" her seniors and superiors, is a hoot. I

This month showed the real colours and flavors of many people in my life, especially how they will respond and react in times of trouble. I had a situation in my professional front that really tested the thin fabric of time, be it my past, my present or the immediate future. There were some incidents that really shook the foundations of my daily life and was desperately looking for help, some sort of a hold-on, to navigate myself. Help came from lot of quarters and with god's grace, by this time next week, i would be much more surefooted and secure than where i am and what i am today. It may not be the time or place to vent out against those who couldn't care less about what happened and if at all they could've helped. But i am mere human and such negative thoughts are abound my mind at this moment and i couldn't quite think any less of them. There are certain situations that are hard to explain as to why they happen, but when they do happen, it makes even less sense as

M.K (Mun Kurippu)  When I saw the note from Thala about a guest post, it was the piravippayan scenario for this blog. With great pleasure, immense happiness and honor, hosting this heartfelt tribute from Thala for his most favorite host.  Here you go.  Whose is the most recognised voice in India ? For forty years, the answer to this question was the same. Ameen Sayani. Readers of this blog, and of course this blog’s owner, were not born when this phenomenon happened and can be forgiven for asking Ameen who ? Read on, for this is the story of India’s finest broadcaster from a bygone era. Gils might find it difficult to believe, but there was a world before OTT. Forget OTT, there was a world before YouTube. Forget YouTube, there was a world before Cable TV. Forget Cable TV, there was a world before TV, period. When the only entertainment option was the radio. There was, of course, only one Radio broadcaster – All India Radio. These were the days of Nehruvian socialism,  when any form of

I’ve began to watch “Superman and Lois” series, which is the emotional sequel to “Smallville”. Not sure if it as per comics or a fictional setup created specifically for the series, “Smallville” happens to be a town in Kansas where the friendly Kryptonian crash landed and spent his childhood, till he moved to Metropolis as a journalist in “Daily Planet”. The “Smallville” series ended with Lex Luthor becoming US president posing more headache for the caped crusader. “Superman and Lois” begins with Clark Kent losing out on his job due to layoffs and his mother’s demise causing an unplanned change in the Kent family, who relocate to Smallville from Metropolis. Superman is blessed with twin boys, both in their teens and the first season deals with a Kryptonian villain, who happens to be half-brother of Superman, crash landed in England, unlike our American superhero. Their brought ups and childhood stories couldn’t be more different. A major chunk of the entire first season deals with teen

I saw a movie called “God’s crooked lines” few weeks ago. It was popping up on the timeline and was curious to watch it when the genre mentioned it as thriller. Typically, English dubbed movies from European languages are not my cup of tea for the level of translation and dubbing, often feels unsynch. Europeans seems to emote more or at par with Asians while the American movies are bit low on the melodrama and histrionics. Even if you don’t follow a word of their dialogues, as compared to their acting on screen to the subtitles and dubbing, it feels weird at best. Despite all this, the reviews for this movie were quite good and from the first scene, it had an eeriness about it that hooked me in.  The leading lady is brought into a mental hospital and is left at its doorstep by a guy who praises her for her brave decision. She promises him to do her best and boldly marches into the campus that looks like a castle. At the reception counter, she produces the letter issues by her psychiatr

Usually, movie releases are clubbed along with the flavor of that period, like – summer blockbusters, festival releases etc. February being the month of valentine’s days, typically, romcoms are slotted for this window. Romance and love used to be guaranteed hit themes at the box office that many a leading hero have established their careers based on romcom movies. One Mr. Shahrukh being a glowing case, where he pushed the envelope to such an extent that, he made spoof of his own characters in one of his movies, where he tagged himself as “Mohabbat man”. Most of the leading actors who started their career around his time, tried to repeat his approach with varying levels of success. Some of them branched out to try action genre, which is usually dubbed as the “last resort” genre for a movie hero to pick up, for there is only character artist role if this genre also lets them down. Amitabh is a decent example for this case where he made a name for himself as an angry young man, angry midd

After watching 2 seasons of “Jack Reacher” on Amazon Prime, was very curious about the series by Lee Child. With each of those episodes having a running time of nearly an hour, with literally as much budget as a full-length movie being spent on them, visually the series were quite appealing. And as compared the movies where the titular role was played by Tom Cruise, the guy who dons the role in the web series seems more like how the author has envisaged the character. In fact, after reading the book I realize how much of a misfit, Tom Cruise had been, physically at least, for playing that character. Jack Reacher is 7 feet tall and is bulkier than a bull. Imagine Tom Cruise in that role you will understand what I am talking about. If I remember correctly, Killing Floor happens to be the first of the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. The giant ex-army man visits a town, with literally no purpose and ends up destroying half the town. The way to story begins and proceeds till halfway thro

22-1-2024. Certain dates are blessed with historical significance. Today is one such day that would probably go down in history as the day Deepavali visited India earlier than scheduled! It would be naïve to say Ram has come back to Ayodhya only after the Prana Prathista that happened today for the lord is omnipresent and timeless. But for mere mortals who attach materialistic meaning to every aspect of our lives, today is very symbolic and emotional, for, blessed we are to witness such a holy occasion. Just like how it would’ve happened originally during HIS time, when his return to Ayodhya after completing the exile and victorious campaign against Ravanan, culminating in his coronation, been witnessed by one and all, etched immortal on scripts and sculptures, with the aid of modern technology, today's event would’ve been witnessed live from the living rooms of countless many across the globe. Down South, videography or photography of “moolavar” is prohibited. Gladly such traditio

I am a huge fan of Mission Impossible (MI) series and have seen all the movies in that franchise till date. It is a favorite for another reason that, somehow or other I would end up watching this series on theaters along with friends. The atmosphere, especially the pulsating theme music, stays with you long after the end credits roll and lingers for a while. Tom Cruise never fails to entertain with his unbelievable stunts and adrenaline pumping action sequences. You remove Cruise and his stunts, MI series would be more of Missing Information, in the form of a story line, rather than Mission Impossible!! All you would remember after watching the movie would be how Tom Cruise ran across Burj Kalifa tower or raced a sandstorm or climbed a running plane or was hanging bare hands on a cliff or hanging upside down all the way down a secret vault, but rarely the reason why he would be doing all those stunts. In some case it might be to chase a secret drug or some arm shipment or to retrieve s

I like Sriram Ragavan movies, right from his first movie “Ek Hasina thi” (based on a Sidney Sheldon novel I guess) and “Jonny Gaddar”(debut movie of Neil Nitin Mukesh) were both quite intriguing to say the least. After watching “Andhadhun” I am quite sure his fan following would’ve multiplied exponentially, for here was one director who was acing thriller genres with brain teasing setups and open-ended climaxes. When I saw the posters of “Merry Christmas” his latest offering, the casting was like…sakkarapongal and curd!! Don’t ask me who is what in this combination but felt it was very weird pairing whose only commonality being their lack of fluency in Hindi (Katrina might’ve picked up after all these years, but Vijay Sethupathi speaks tamil in all languages). But this weird pairing only fueled the intrigue further considering the director’s penchant for such story telling. I wanted to watch this movie on Netflix or on any OTT when it is released, but surprise of all surprises, there w

Have started with this book mid-December and finally managed to finish it this year! Considering that I heard about this book 4 years before, I forgot the reason why I had delayed reading this book for past 4 years!! Maybe I mistook it for a book about Marathoners!! But this one is not your typical Reilley thriller either. The first half of the book is like a Young Adult novel, detailing the travails of the narrator, a girl called Skye, who had shifted to Uptown New York along with her twin brother, accompanying their newly married mother and their super rich stepfather. Both the kids are sent to a school that is specifically meant for the Richie rich of the society and is filled with kids whose attitudes are borderline monstrosity and are psychologically disturbed to say the least. In other words, how they depict such kids on chick flick movies like Cruel Intentions or Mean Girls etc. There is a cliched bunch of characters who are exceptionally decent in that bunch, who invariably end

I saw a video of a New Zealand MP making a passionate speech. I was watching the video without sound at that time and even without audio, while at a casual glance, it was quite evident that whatever she was speaking about was something she truly believed, unless she was an excellent actress, of course!! (Look at the amount of disbelief and disclaimer that must be included with each opinion!! Social media ki jai!!) When I read about her speech, it was quite a touching content! She is one of the ethnic representatives of her clan in the NZ parliament, having come from Māori background, I guess. She calls out on the government for having failed to protect the environment and natural resources as promised and addresses to her tribe people as to how it is natural to be different and being unique or distinct was nothing, they should be ashamed of but rather be proud about! She mentions how students from such communities end up on last benches in classrooms, become butt of ridicule and bullyi

I watch josiyars trying to foretell major potential events that may befell each year at the beginning of the year. It is fun to see the confidence with which some of them make predictions which may sound exaggerated, to say the least, at times. This time, most of them on that show, hosted by a famous news channel where unanimous in predicting devastations due to water and fire and other elements. At the outset, I felt, it is quite easy to make such guesses which may sound wild to hear but make more sense if you follow the news bit more closely. Any amount of rain, if not slightly more than average, causes such devastation that it makes a clear tick for such predictions. With the callousness with which our city planners give permits to constructions and turning a blind eye to unauthorized shops that suddenly sprout out of any crevice between adjoining buildings, fire accidents are dime a dozen and many go abegging without due notice. To make such predictions one doesn’t have to rake the