Arvind's Open Book

Hatari!!!!

2006-03-17T09:51:00.000Z

Danger!!!

That's the name of the Movie I saw last night Well to get it straight its called Hatari !!!! means Danger. I have been waiting to see this movie for a long long time and have waited to get hold of this DVD for a long time.

Well there's a story behind this. In around 1984 on Doordarshan they had this Quiz programme called Quiz Time hosted by Siddarth Basu at 2100 and one of the rounds was a Audio Visual Round where they showed a lady trotting away with 3 baby elephants to take them for a shower and the question was to answer the name of the Movie. And Lo! Behold my dad answered that question and so did the Boys from Poddar College

Since then I have been fascinated by the song and have always wanted to watch the movie. So last week when HMV had a mega sale I went and bought the DVD after reading the reviews about the movie.

The movie is nothing like the present day movies. Made in 1962 this movie by John Wayne abd a couple of other stars from other countries the movie has been shot real smooth.

The picture details in an episodic, yet never over-indulgent, fashion the activities of a group of individuals based in Tanganyika who capture wild animals for zoos and circuses. Composed of a multi-national array, ranging from the U.S. (John Wayne, Red Buttons) to Germany (Hardy Kruger), France (Gerard Blain), Italy (Elsa Martinelli), and Mexico (Valentin de Vargas), the ensemble bonds together through their sharing of skills and commitment to a common enterprise.

Dallas (played by Martinelli) is the outsider, a photographer employed by the zoo to which many of the animals will be sent in order to document the process of their capture. Like many women in Hawks's films, Dallas must prove herself the equal of her companions, which she does by exhibiting her expertise with animals (becoming the mother to a trio of abandoned baby elephants) and her ease with the group's friendly banter and amiable horseplay.

The interactions of the characters are bracketed by the exhilarating and expertly shot sequences of animal captures. Fluid tracking shots follow the trucks as they pursue wild game across a scenic landscape. Hawks reportedly improvised much of the picture on location and used no doubles for the actors. The tone of irritation that crosses Wayne's voice in a tense sequence where they capture a belligerent rhino evidences how unprotected the actors felt. At the same time, the characters' dedication to the tasks at hand and the light-hearted pleasure they take in the species housed at their compound undercut the distaste some may feel at their profession as wild game hunters.

These characters embrace the creatures they capture not as alien species but co-inhabitants of an edenic paradise. The evident enthusiasm that they take in washing a chattering hyena or the maternal attachment Dallas exhibits as she leads her elephants to a swimming hole, punctuated by Henry Mancini's celebrated "Elephant Walk," underscore how relaxed they are around their fellow mammals. Hawks delineates a world in which men and women, humans and animals, co-exist and achieve an enviable degree of harmony and serenity.

The absence of any underlying malevolence or ambiguity makes Hatari an undeniably involving, yet potentially unsatisfying, picture. There is something lackadaisical about its structure, if not its length. Over two and a half hours long, Hatari is languid in its pacing but holds one's interest throughout. The progression of scenes is connected by the seasonal collection of animals, not by any single dramatic moment or striking event. Still, one has the sense that Hawks so enjoyed depicting a fascinating profession that he failed to balance the informality of the film's structure with a more sustained examination of its themes. While, as usual, Hawks is acutely sensitive to the relationship between the sexes, allowing his female characters to engage the world as deliberately as his male leads, the native Africans in the picture remain relegated to the background. They are denied any role other than that of supernumeraries in the exploitation of their continent. Notwithstanding these caveats, Hatari is a worthy addition to Hawks's body of work and a joy to watch. Its embrace of the open air and evocation of the varied inhabitants of a
complex ecological system refresh one much like a cold glass of clear water.

Colors are accurate and solid from beginning to end and really bring the wonderful cinematography to life. For the most part the image is nice and sharp but medium and long range shots are noticeably softer, grainier, and less detailed -- presumably as the result of
filters being used to counteract the harsh conditions. Fortunately, no attempt was made to artificially sharpen the image so the picture remains very natural looking throughout. The film elements do display a bit of wear and tear on occasion but these blemishes are never a distraction. Given the age of the movie, and the nature of the filming environment, this is a very good video transfer.

"Hatari!" is the type of film that slowly grows on you. The long running time allows for a leisurely pace and by the end of the film you'll feel right at home with Sean Mercer and his cohorts. The dialogue and character interplay is truly top-notch and would be enjoyable even if the setting were more subdued. But the addition of the wonderful African scenery and exciting chase scenes adds that much more to the mix and the end result is yet another classic from the great Howard Hawks.

Baby Elephant Walk, from Wikipedia

The Baby Elephant Walk is a tune written in 1961 by composer Henry Mancini, for the 1962 release of the movie Hatari!.

The composer combines brass instruments (including repeated blasts from the tuba) and woodwind elements to convey the
sense of a toddler that is large and plodding, but nonetheless filled with the exuberance of youth. The catchy, jazzy
simplicity of the tune has made it one of Mancini's most popular works, prompting its appearance on nearly twenty later compilation and best of/greatest hits albums.
Review: "if Hatari! is memorable for anything, it's for the incredibly goofy 'Baby Elephant Walk,' which has gone on to be infamous musical shorthand for kookiness of any stripe. Get this tune in your head and it sticks."

And certainly It does The song is the ringtone on my Cellphone and also my songlist on my MP3Player... I would certainly watch the movie Again and so must most people who have not seen the movie...

Jayalalitha Nominated for Oscars

2006-03-15T08:48:00.000Z

"Jayalalitha Nominated for Oscars" - Is this a Joke....? Well no it is news on TOI and well what a farce...

Who has nominated her? World Federation of Tamil Youth (WFTY) on Tuesday said it has nominated Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for the Nobel Peace Prize, 2006.

For what is this? For her "dedicated efforts in ushering Peace, Performance, Progressiveness, Productivity, Partnership and Prosperity for the people of the state during the last five years," its president Dr Vijay G Prabhakar said.

Weird Tamil Politicians...."We would also be celebrating April 14, the Tamil New Year as 'Selvi J Jayalalithaa day' in 15 countries, highlighting the progress of Tamil Nadu under her leadership," he said.

Grow up guys dont make a farce of giving Nobel Prizes for crazy stuff. Making Vaiko join her party after all the political vendetta against him -arresting him under POTA for 2 years and then Vaiko back stabbing Jaya under every Political Rally and then come election Vaiko joins her... How much money was spent in buying him out.... Well she does deserve the Nobel prize quivalent for Politics and surely Jaya is the one who will get it... This person has cases against her and she should be nominated for the Nobel Prize yooooo hoooo

Dr Vijay G Prabhakar should be hit at the place it hurts most for nominating people like Jaya; a US congress man for Nominating Sri Sri Ravishankar for Peace. This guy is sitting under billions of dollars of money, lives in a palace, does not pay taxes and we should nominate for the Nobel prize...

There are better things to do in this world and better people who should be nominated for the Nobel Prize....

BodhiTree : Gand Mein Danda

2006-02-08T12:51:00.000Z

BodhiTree : GMD
It required a little educating from Abesh's side - so the first thanks go out to him. It's the story of my life (and probably many others out there). The song of all songs for the truly frustoo engineer : Gaand mein danda by BodhiTree. The lyrics were written with managers in mind, but that doesn't stop you from feeling the song was written with you in mind. Even XLRI Ki Kudiyan is applicable to engineers and their colleges.
bodhiTree is...
1. Poornima Dore - Drums 2. Jishnu Dasgupta-Bass/ Vocals
3. Bharat Rajagopalan - Guitar 4. Abhishek Narain-Guitar/ Vocals
5. Satadru Bagchi - Vocals 6. Shambhavi Kumar-Vocals
7. Dhananjay Mishra - Vocals

Download mp3 files:
- Gaand Mein Danda
- Sabka Katega
- Too Many Potatoes
- XL Ki Kudiyan

Click Here for Lyrics to Gand Mein Danda

If they eventually release an Album I bet I would by the CD. Another Good Album I heard was BC Sutta by Zeest a Pakistani Band. Click Here for Download

The Lost Embers of Sholay

2006-01-23T13:26:00.000Z

Sholay (1975, Producer: G.P Sippy, Director: Ramesh Sippy)
Star Cast: Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya BhadurI and Amjad Khan.
Supporting Cast: Satyen Kappu, A.K Hangal, Iftekhar, Leela Misra, Macmohan, Sachin, Asrani, Keshto Mukharjee, Helen, Gita, Jairaj, Jagdeep, Jalal Agha, Om Shivpuri, Sharad Kumar.
Screenplay: Salim-Javed. Camera: Dwarcha Divecha. Music: R.D Burman.
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi. Playback: Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey & R.D Burman.
Art Direction: Ram Yedekar. Editing: M.S. Shinde. Sound: S.Y. Pathak.

Managed to get hold of "The Making Of Sholay by Anupama Chopra ISBN 014029970x" from a friend. As I was reading through the first few pages I felt so nostalgic. What the Hell? I need to watch the movie as I read the book. And guess what I had the " director's cut" of Sholay... Yeah the same uncut edition from Gabbar dies at the hand of Thakur.... Why wait so long to post? Don't ask. The connection between mind and body seems to be going through a strange state of dissociation and limbo.

Nothing was planned. There on my book rack lay a copy of Sholay - The Director's Cut. So as the rest of YMCA gettying ready to go for a Friday Night, I flopped on the bed and popped DVD into the laptop. As I listened to the train coming into the platform, and then the hummable Sholay Title Theme and then cuts to the dacoits chasing the train with Thakur taking the thugs JaI and Veeru. Of course, the original grouse was that Eros had been a skunk about producing DVDs of either version. The delight is in the details.

As i went thru the movie the dialogues Kitne Aadmi the?; Yeh Haath Mujhe De De Thakur; The Suicide scene by Viru, Tumahara Naam kya hai Basanti?; Jai going to Chachis house for Viru, how can anyone even forghet these dialgues. I may have seen the movies a zillion times.

Everyone knows the ending in the released print: the police arrive (too late, as always) in time to stop Thaakur saahab from killing Gabbar; then we have Jai's funeral, Viru leaving on the train (along with basantiI who decides to tag along). In the original ending there ain't no cops. Thaakur uses his specially designed shoes (another deleted scene appears on this edition to support the shoes -- raamalaal punches another spiked stud into the special shoes as Thaakur
watches on) to stomp Gabbar's hands (with the ye haath mujhe de de Gabbar), and then manages to kick him onto a metal spike sticking out of one of the sides of the place where Gabbar had tied Thaakur and appropriated his haath. While Gabbar's death itself is nicely done, it's rather hilarious to see the Thaakur/Gabbar fight sequence (especially the physics-defying leaps that Thaakur indulges in -- since he has no hands). It's like you were watching Crouching Thaakur Hidden Gabbar.

The other additions include more detail in the Ahmed (Sachin) meets Gabbar sequence. There's more explicit menace (and a larger hint at what brutality was in store for Ahmed). Frankly, though, I prefer the more understated version in the original release, where all you see Gabbar do is swat a fly and then you cut to the donkey returning to the village bearing Ahmed's corpse. I feel compelled to paraphrase that sentiment about the Ahmed scene.

As I read thru the book only then did I know that Sholay was meant to be a flop during the initial days and then soon picked up. And as the movie came to and end so did the book. That was what I feel an evening well spent

Losing the nostalgia for Sholay:
'Sholay' : mention the name and you will be greeted with a volley of well-rehearsed dialogues...
'Arre O Samba…Kitne AadmI The?…
'Sarkar Maine Aapka Namak Khaya Hai… Ab goli Kha…'
'Hum Angrezon Ke Zamane Ke jailor Hain…Soorma BhopalI A1…
'Yeh Haath Mujhe Dede Thakur…Chal Basanti, aaj TerI BasantI KI Izzat Ka Sawal Hai…

' The list is endless. Every dialogue is a moviegoer's delight. Today it is impossible to see the film in a theatre, what with the crowd delighting in repeating the dialogues along with the characters. Therein lies its strength. Sholay is the greatest, if not the highest money-spinning movie of all times in India. (For the simple reason that the tickets in 1975 cost a mere Rupees Four! But at today's rates, the six year run (not to add the repeat runs) of the movie would ensure returns that would be unfathomable. The very mention of the film, 'Sholay' produces an automatic response of fear and trepidation. One tends to conjure up intimidating images of dhamakedar dacoits and dashing damsels,who incidentally are in a fair ammount of distress. The film is fraught with high voltage drama and tension enough to make a grown man weak-kneed.

As a movie, it is difficult to categorize into any single genre. It could well be clubbed as action or drama, musical or romance. It was also seen by some as the curry-western, a milieu of Indian spice and western machoism. In fact many a parallel has been drawn between 'Sholay' and John Ford's 'Stagecoach' (1939) Whatever it classifies as does not interest us because this Ramesh Sippy - Javed Akhtar brainchild blew the collective minds of an entire generation of Indian moviegoers. And is still doing so.

The tale is one of Thakur Baldev Singh, played by the late Sanjeev Kumar, once a senior police officer. In an attempt to fight the evil dacoit Gabbar Singh (the dynamic debut of Amjad Khan), he joins hands with two local smalltime crooks , who despite their criminal records have hearts of gold. The Thakur is quick to recognize the underlying humanity beneath their fearless, tough-as-nails exterior.

These two outlaws, Jaidev and Veeru (played to perfection by Amitabh and Dharmendra respectively) procede to Ramgarh, the Thakur's estate. In an exceptionally poignant moment of the film, the two while trying to break into the Thakur's safe at night and escape with the loot are seen by Radha, the Thakur's widowed daughter-in-law, who offers them the keys on the grounds that at least it would open her father's eyes to the fact that they are crooks, and not the brave fighters he perceived them as.

Through the device of the flashback, the viewer is let into the traumatic past at the same time as Jaidev and Veeru are enlightened by the Thakur. It is here that we are introduced to the character of Gabbar Singh played by the invincible Amjad Khan. Who, on being caught by the Thakur and unceremoniously being sent to jail, swore revenge. Gabbbar Singh escapes soon after and guns down the Thakur's entire family ruthlessly. This scene of carnage and relentless massacre went down in the annals of history as the goriest bloodbath in Indian cinema at the time. The only one to escape the carnage was the youngest daughter-in-law, Radha, who was away at the temple. Coming home to this devastation, the Thakur in a violent rage, rode unarmed to the ravines where Gabbar Singh reigned. Finding him helpless and ironically
vulnerable, Gabbar Singh chose to hack off the Thakur's arms which had once held him prisoner.
Gabbar Singh went on to become yet another iconic figure-head of terror. His opening exclamation "Suar ke bachchon!!! " is a classic example of his irreverance. He was the kind of man who wouldn't lose sleep over feeding golis to his namak consuming chelas. He delivers one hundred percent of the quintessential villian, one who pursues evil as an end in itself. On the more romantic front, Veeru falls in love with the gregarious tangewalI Basanti, while the more serious Jaidev feels drawn to the young and lonely Radha, who watches him silently from a distance. When Veeru goes to keep a rendezvous with Basanti, he discovers that she's been kidnapped by Gabbar's men. To add fuel to the fire, Gabbar orders BasantI to dance on splinters of glass if she wishes to see her love-interest alive. This time it is an all out war, and the men fight it out desperately. Fatally wounded, Jaidev pretends he is mildly hurt, and sends Veeru back to the village with Basanti. He manages to heroically blow up a bridge and kill most of the bandits. At this point Thakur arrives on the scene and insists on fighting Gabbar alone.

What follows is a rather dramatic display of footwork, enough to give Ronaldo a run for his money. Thakur hits out with his hobnailed shoes at a wily Gabbar, who without the protection of his gang becomes a cowering beast. With Jaidev dead , Veeru decides to leave Ramgarh, but in the empty compartment of the sleepy train he finds … Surprise!!! A coy Basanti waiting for him in heated anticipation. The film is groundbreaking because of it's unabashed display of violence and gore as well as for it's repertoire of catch phrases, which have inspired many a free spirited rebel who wished to talk tough. Several wannabe Gabbar Singhs spouted daku-lingo merrily, much to the displeasure of all mild mannered gentry. Interestingly enough, when the film was released it didn't open very well. This was attributed to the fact that it was way ahead of its time. But its six year uninterrupted run at the box office gave it enough time to catch up with its swashbuckling style. Thus it is safe to say that emerging as a brilliant little spark of superlative filmmaking, 'Sholay' built up enough punch to rewrite movie history. It continued to gather momentum as it went along the rugged terrain of time and transformed into a raging orb of fire, destroying all conventions that came across it's path.

The film has made use of several interesting innovations.
This included, spectacular inematography, with shots panning over rocky heights and barren landscapes, often under the menacing shadow of a threatening cloud. It was also the first film to be shot in the large-screen, 70mm format with stereophonic sound. This gave the film most of it's pulsating tension.
Although in present times of desensitization, one would not even bat an eyelid at the most gruesome of murders, for its time, 'Sholay' was a revolutionary film, which inspired many film makers to continue its trend of imaginative cinema.
To date 'Sholay' remains a cult film by any standard. Many clones followed, but the original will always stay fresh in the minds of all movie lovers. It's doubtful whether any will ever surpass the sheer canvas and magnitude of 'Sholay'. Maybe in terms of money spent or money earned. But in completeness? In script? In cohesion of a story well told or a project well received? Doubtul.

As Gabbar would say, "Pachas kos door jab bachcha rota haI to maa kehtI hai, bete soja, warna Gabbar aa jaayega.." However it goes without saying, that the fame of Gabbar and thereby 'Sholay' goes way beyond the pachas kos margin.No one could of have imagined the spectacular degree of SHOLAY's success. The film changed lives, transformed careers, and even twenty-five years after its release it remains the box office gold standard, a reference point for both the Indian film-going audience and the film industry. Over the years, 'Sholay has transcended its hit-movie status. It is not merely a film, it is the ultimate classic; it is myth. It is a part of our heritage as Indians. The film, still as compellingly watchable as it was when first released (in 1999 BBC-India and assorted internet polls declared it the Film of the Millenium), arouses intense passions. Its appeal cuts across barriers of geography, language, ideology and class: an advertising guru in MumbaI will speak as enthusiastically and eloquently about the film as a rickshaw driver in hyderabad.And the devotion is often fanatical. 'Sholay' connoisseurs - to call them 'fans' would be insulting their ardour - speak casually of seeing the film fifty, sixty even seventy times. Dialogue has been memorized. Also the unique background music: the true 'Sholay' buff can pre-empt all the sound effects. He can also name Gabbar's arms dealer who is on screen for less than thirty seconds (Hira), and Gabbar's father who is mentioned only once as Gabbar's sentence is read out in court ('Gabbar Singh, vald HarI Singh...'.

After watching the film yet again, I can see my global appreciation for the film break down into appreciation for the
specifics. From noting the influences (both acknowledged and unacknowledged), to noting the innovative space that the
film defined and noting some of the understated performances I have come to the point where a bulk of the film just grates -- the Viru/Basanti romantic stuff is overdone (a trend in Bollywood that still refuses to go away); Hema MalinI grates; Dharmendra hams gloriously; some of the timing of Amitabh's retorts seems off, there's a lot of perfunctory "essential" sequences that don't seem to add much to the movie (the jail sequence, even Soormaa Bhopali), except perhaps to establish the characters enough from a mainstream POV; and there's a LOT (and I mean that, a LOT) of exposition. All these won't be grouses that a mainstream audience looking for a "complete" entertainer will have. And perhaps that's where Sholay fits best -- a film in the mainstream mould that attempted something different while complying with the conventions of mainsteam "entertainment". And for defining the "curry" western.

Do I still like it? Time to toss that coin.

Again as beautifully put by a Veteran Director in the book "The Making of SHOLAY " the Indian Film Indstry can be rightfully classified a s Sholay AD and Sholay BC

What is it about 'Sholay' that works on us still? When people watch 'Sholay' today, certain aspects of the film seduce them all over again: the soaring imagination of the story and the way it is told; the vitality of the scorching rocky landscape, charging horses and falling men; the gritty directorial conviction that allows an unhurried tale to be developed, full of texture and rhythm. The elements fall into place perfectly:a marvellous chemistry between the actors
; a fable like story detailed into a superb script; unforgettable dialogue and fine performances. The film skillfully blends traditional and modern elements. It has, as author Nasreen MunnI Kabir says, 'Differences in lifestyles which co-exist without appearing illogical.' The steam engines, the horses, the guns and the denim give the film an ageless quality, a feeling of several centuries existing next to each other.

Facts on Sholay.
01. Released on 15 Augast 1975.
02. Real Bullets were used for the close up action scenes.
03. Amitabh was almost killed at the end of the movie when a stray bullet from dharmendra missed him by inches.
04. First scene shot for the movie was Amitabh returning the keys to the safe to Jaya.
05. There are two sets of negatives, one in 70mm and one in 35mm as every shot/scene was done twice.
06. The last shot done in the village was Jai's death scene.
07. Basanti's chase sequence was shot over twelve days.
08. Jim Allen,Gerry Cramton,Romo Commoro,John Gant...some of the foreign technicians who worked on the action sequences.
09. The train sequence took seven weeks to shoot.
10. The last scene shot for Sholay was the Thakur meets Veeru and JaI outside the jail and offers them the job.
11. Sholay took nearly two and half years to complete (450 shifts)
12. Amjad's voice was nearly dubbed as there were whispers it not being strong enough for a villain.
13. The background music took a whole month to complete.
14. Sholay's Budget was close to three crores.
15. Jaya was pregnant during the shooting of the film with Shweta Bachchan.
16. Jaya was glowing again during the premiere of Sholay...this time with Abhishek Bachchan.
17. Sholay's premiere audience saw a 35mm print as the 70mm one was stuck at customs.
18. Sholay was released in Bombay with 40 prints.
19. Saachin was a veteran film actor with 60 films behind him from 1962.... but A.K Hangal was a newcomer to films.
20. Amjad's first scene shot was his introduction scene .....his first lines "Kitne AadmI The"?

The deleted 'Chaar Bhaand' qawaali. (8 mins)
Playback: Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey, Bhupinder and Anand Bakshi, with chorus.

Chaand sa koI chehra na pehloo main ho
To chandnI ka mazaa nahin aata
Jaam peekar shraabI na gir jaahe to
MaikashI ka mazaa nahin aata

(There is no joy in moonlight
Without the moon-faced one by my side.
There is no joy in wine
If having drunk I do not stumble and fall)

Murder In the First

2006-01-16T15:09:00.000Z

Yesterday Sunday at the end of a nearly boring day of Cleaning the room, Ironing the clothes and a few seconds at the
Speakers Forum at the Indian YMCA myself and another friend decided to watch a movie as weh ad slpet in the evening and not feeling Sleepy. Watched East is East with all the tickle tackes and the Desi english by Om puri and all the Bloody Bastards spewing out of his mouth.

Later we decided to watch a Movie called the Murder At the First - A movie based on the tortures committed at Alcatraz in the name of Justice By none other than the Americans.... This is the second movie I was watching about Alcatraz after Escape from Alcatraz.

So what is Alcatraz?
This is High Security Prison that overlooks the sea and is a High Security Prison for everyone right from Hardened Criminals to Petty Criminals. The Hole or the Dungeon is a place where a person is to be kept in Solitary Confinement with no Light, no sanitation, no windows and worst of all no one comes to speak to you and no clothes.

A history Of the Alcatraz can be read here.

The Picture On the right shows a Aerial Snapshot of Alcatraz

Murder In the First
Murder in the First is a story about one of the most infamous prisons in the world, Alcatraz, and a statement about the
American system of justice. The idea that criminals who commit horrific crimes should be locked up and forgotten is
appealing, but people who propound such ideas usually do not allow for error. This movie, starring Christian Slater as
a young lawyer, and Kevin Bacon as the innocent who survives the ravages of the justice system, serves as a reminder that power corrupts, and that no justice system is perfect.

PLOT DESCRIPTION
This shocking prison drama was inspired by a true story. In 1938, Henri Young (Kevin Bacon), sentenced to Alcatraz for stealing $5, attempted to escape from prison with three other prisoners. One of the escapees was captured, and to curry favor with Warden Glenn (Gary Oldman), he informed on the others. Young was soon brought back to custody, and was to be punished by spending 19 days in solitary confinement. Nineteen days stretched into three years, in which Young was kept in a pit with no light, no toilet, no furniture, and nothing to read. Young emerged from solitary a vengeful madman, and he quickly murdered the convict who turned him in. Young was put on trial for the killing, and assigned a first-time public defender, James Stamphill (Christian Slater). Stamphill was horrified by Young's tales of the conditions at Alcatraz, and he used them as the basis of his defense for his client, believing that anyone would be driven to madness and murder if they had been treated the same way as Young. Murder in the First also features Embeth Davidtz, William H. Macy, Brad Dourif, and R. Lee Ermey.

Performances
The performances are all superb. Christian Slater plays the role of the freshman lawyer well, and Kevin Bacon's Henri Young portrayal of a prisoner on the verge of insanity is brilliantly convincing. Milton Glenn (Gary Oldman) is ruthless and cruel as Alcatraz's Associate Warden. There is enough drama in the movie to keep the audience from getting bored, even though there is little action. I think a bit more time could've been spent exploring how the post-Depression post-Prohibition era mentality among the American people allowed such an institution to exist.

The most powerful moment of the film comes when the Warden of the prison (Stefan Gierasch), who is nothing more than a paper pusher, is on the witness stand and keeps repeating "he tried to escape" to justify the human rights violations of the inmate. I firmly believe that there is no crime that justifies punishment that could potentially penalise a single person not deserving of that punishment.

After the Final escape which was made into a movie called Escape From Alcatraz the Prison was closed down and then converted into a Tourist Attraction. To know more Click Here

AWARDS
Best Actor (win) - Kevin Bacon - 1995 Broadcast Film Critics Association
Best Supporting Actor (nom) - Kevin Bacon - 1995 Screen Actors Guild

SIMILAR MOVIES
Stir (1980, Stephen Wallace)
Ghosts... of the Civil Dead (1998, John Hillcoat)
Justice Denied (1989, Paul Cowan)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994, Frank Darabont)
The Interrogation of Michael Crowe (2002, Don Mc Brearty)
Convicted (2004, Bille August)
Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954, Don Siegel)
Brubaker (1980, Stuart Rosenberg)
Chattahoochee (1989, Mick Jackson)

RELATED MOVIES
Lock Up (1989, John Flynn)
Reversal of Fortune (1990, Barbet Schroeder)

Top 4 Alcatraz Movies
Since the beginning of the movie industry, Alctraz has been the subject of many movies. These are the most popular.
1) The Rock (1996) - A reluctant chemist and an ex-Bristish secret agent lead the counterstrike when soldiers threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco.
2) Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) - This is the most highly rated of all the Alcatraz movies. Loosely based on the life of Robert Stroud.
3) Escape from Alcatraz (1979) - The story of Frank Morris and his escape. Stars Clint Eastwood.
4) Murder in the First (1995) - Inspired by a true story. Henry stays in confinemnent for years, loses his sanity and commits murder. The story follows a rookie lawyer who contends that Alcatraz was to blame.

All in all Its a wonderful movie to watch with really good performances by esp. Kevin Bacon as Henri Young.

A MUST WATCH*****

Happy Pongal

2006-01-16T11:25:00.000Z

Happy Pongal

I have been in London for about 4 months and this is my 5th Month. I have been away from Family and Friends not to mention my 8 month old daughter who I miss dearly. But the stay has been fruitful in one way or the other. This time I have celebrated Diwali and Pongal in London.

The previous day was my friends birthday and we were awake till about 3 AM and then sleeping and getting back to the temple prayers at 8:30 Am something really nice. In all my life in Chennai I have never been to a temple and here I am in London taking the pains and making a rush for the temple. Been to East Ham a couple of times but the idea of celebrating Pongal with seeing the boiling and overflowing milk and eating Pongal something I have not done after marriage.

The Temple was filled with people and the festivities were really nice. I think all the effort should go to the Sri Lankan and the Malaysian Tamils who have been in London for long and have tried to maintain their cultural identity. Bringing priest from India to do the job and maintaining the decorum for the pujas done in the temple at the right time having the environment for the same wow it was something really nice.

And on the way back the usual went to Chennai Dosa had the breakfast Buffet and trudged my way back home.

Once Again Happy Pongal.

The Human Body

2006-01-12T12:15:00.000Z

The Human Body - The Diving Reflex

When in India, I had seen a Terrific programme on BBC called The Human Body and almost a similar programme on the Discovery.

I was simply amzed about the facts mentioned.

So the first thing I did was bought the DVD called The Human Body from the BBC Shop and I have seen the same almost 10 times during my 5 month stay in the UK.

Did you know that the neurons in the brain emit pulses at 400kmph which is simply awesome and then a few seconds later its ready to do the same thing all over again.
And If all the electrodes were connected then the electricity from the brain can be used to light a Bulb.

What amazed me was that after a baby is born until four months the baby can swim underwater.

The better part is it canswim under water with its mouth OPEN.... Yeah mouth Open.

The trick is the valve in the oesophagus does not allow the water to go to the lungs but sends the water to the Stomach.

What the doctors are still not able to understand is how does this all happen. Is it because of one of our long evovled Ancestors or its is during the stay in the fluid environment in the womb?

If you get a chance to view the Serial which is 8 Part episode or Buy the DVD I would say it is a must Buy...

Links:-
The Inner Body
BBC Human Body - An addictive educational site which has some interactive sessions on the body and some Psychological Tests as well.

Philips MiraVisionTM Mirror TV

2006-01-12T09:47:00.000Z

I have to say, it’s a weirdass concept, but I wouldn’t mind having it up in my home. If you haven’t seen it, Philips MiraVision Mirror TV is pretty much just that: A LCD monitor that, when turned off, is a reflective mirror. Certainly nicer than a big black screen in the bedroom. So it’s nice to see that Philips is now offering the TV in 32- and 42-inch sizes.

Read More Here at: The Philips Site

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the coolest of them all?
Step aside, wicked stepmother. Make way for Miravision, where things are not what they seem. A brainchild of Philips, this converged device hides an LCD TV behind a thin polarized reflective sheet. Switch on the TV, and your favorite reality show comes on. Turn the TV off, and now it's an innocuous wall-hanging mirror. For those who like to admire their reflection, a "picture in mirror" mode lets you watch Singapore Idol in a corner of the frame at the same time. The screen can also be hooked up to a PC for surfing the Net, and there're plans for a waterproof version to grace bathroom walls. So now you see it, now you don't.

Price: Est. S$5,000-S$6,000 (US$2,922–US$3,506)
Availability: Global launch, October-November
Device: LCD TV-mirror
Basic specs: Available in 17-inch, 23-inch and 30-inch widescreen versions, Super IPS display, accepts component, HD and XVGA signals, multiple AV inputs, customizable frames

Aamir’s British heroine revealed!

2006-01-09T15:39:00.000Z

After Rachel Shelly in Lagaan, Aamir Khan is being paired with yet another British actress.

And this time, it’s for Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Rang De Basanti.

And the girl happens to be Alice Patten, a young British actress who will be making her debut in Bollywood with the Aamir Khan starrer. Alice is the daughter of Chris Patten, who was the last British governor of Hong Kong.

Let’s wait and see how long her tryst with Bollywood lasts!

NDTV Versus IBN-CNN Live

2006-01-09T12:22:00.000Z

NDTV Versus IBN-CNN Live

Usually on a weekend (especially on a Sunday) I go to a temple in East Ham (Never been to a temple in Chennai), but this time around the price of the Tube Fares have risen so dramatically that I have had to think twice on things I need to do on a weekend.

As I was sitting at my window sill viewing the Fitzroy Square near the place I stay and out of Boredom switched on the TV and latched on to IBN-CNN. I was watching the news and only then did it click on me that hey this is Rajeev Sardesai's Channel. Yeah the same guy who quit NDTV to form a TV News Channel of his own. The news content was good but the news readers were quite a disaster. The news went on as follows "In the country of Iraq....." oh now u see Iraq is a country. Thanks guys for letting me know...

Rajdeep and his firebrand reporting came under fire from none other than Bal Thackeray using the choicest curse words on Samna - Shiv Sena's magazine. Read this to know more...

I then queried one of my friends who works for the BBC in Chennai and he told me that there were 2 schools of Journalism - one where the Newsreader knows nothing about the news and he/she just reads what the script writer has written for them because they read properly and are presentable e.g.: BBC itself and then there is this other school pioneered by NDTV in India where the Journalists double up as News readers.

It remains to be seen which school, IBN-CNN plans to follow. My channel of choice is and will always be NDTV- the programmes they have are quite nice be it We the People or the Current Affairs ort the double Take all of them are so informative. I have been following the NDTV right from the days of The World This Week on Fridays at 9:30 pm to Mission Kashmir by Barkha Dutt (India's Christiane Amanpour) and also the Vote Counts during every election hosted Dr. Prannoy Roy and Sopariwala

One area where we could see the similarities between Rajdeep's IBN and Prannoy Roy's NDTV can be seen in Sonia Gandhi's Interview with Barkha Dutt on NDTV and Rajdeep on IBN-CNN. Read This...

The good thing about the CNN-IBN launch is the competition to NDTV. However, CNN IBN's nowhere near NDTV right now (for me at least) and I think it'll take time getting there. IBN's got one big gun in Rajdeep, but NDTV has more than one (Barkha Dutt & Nidhi Razdan for example, if you want to leave out Prannoy Roy). Plus, NDTV had a head start and they're an established brand, so they'll take time to topple.

The downside of this whole thing is that both channels fall over each other about Exclusive this and Exclusive that, which gets tiresome after a while. NDTV remains my primary TV news source but CNN-IBN's the second choice. I've never quite got used to Headlines Today.

The Times Group is adding its own TV channel to the mix, so I'm sure it'll be interesting times. Tabloid TV maybe?

NDTV has been in the business for a long time even before they went on air with their independent offerings NDTV 24/7, NDTV India and NDTV Profit. As the organisation driving the news channels of Star they catapulted these channels to the top tier of viewership ratings. Prannoy Roy's special programmes before, during and after major elections established his reputation as a psephologist to reckon with. Do we remember him as an anchor in the weekly show 'The World this Week' on Doordarshan?

NDTV sans Rajdeep has many saleable stars in their own right. I think their reputation and popularity stems from the brand value of their anchors. I recall a hoarding put up by NDTV prior to their IPO which has their instantly recognisable anchors and newscasters standing together. We could tell their names. In that sense the journalists took the centrestage. NDTV is right up there on the pecking order of television news channels.

I have been to IBN's site and watched the free video. There is always room for those who seek to raise the bar. Not convinced though about their positioning though. Time will tell...

NDTV is a trend-setter though! It still remains to be seen who leads the English News reading channel in the TRP Ratings....

Hutch Goes Pink

2006-01-06T10:20:00.000Z

Like vada pav and Midday, dance bars and bhai-log, it's a Mumbai thing. And last month it made a quiet exit. Orange, a cell phone service provider brand from Europe that became an integral part of the organism called Mumbai, changed its name to Hutch and now dons a shade of PINK, only women can name. Hutch being the name used by the Orange's parent company in India when it laid out its mobile network across India. But Mumbai had Orange, until now.

It is not often that a mobile phone company can attain a status that Orange enjoyed. Especially since its service cannot be termed any different from the many cell phone operators in India today. The difference with Orange was its brand value. Value created by its advertising and communication.

In Indian advertising, Orange has carved a special position for itself. It built a wonderful character around itself by diverging from the existing trends in Indian advertising. While other brands in India addressed the least common denominator among consumers and talked stupid, Orange spoke to the same audience by appealing to their common sense. And nothing can be as fresh and intelligent as a dose of common sense. For instance, they avoided the use of ' * ' and 'conditions apply' in their hoardings and ads. A very simple way to endear yourself with a consumer which advertisers overlook.

This simple approach allowed Orange to not only become the largest cell phone operator in Mumbai, it also won a lot of awards at 'Abby's', the advertising awards presented by the local Ad Club. And this was even before the 'Dog' commercial that launched Hutch across different markets in India became popular.

And yet again they have used the cute Little PUG to very good use. As always the Hutch ads are refreshingly FRESH. I little have no idea why the change from ORANGE TO PINK.

Who are the people behind this brand? In

India

, Orange's distinct identity was visualised in the minds of Rajiv Rao and Mahesh V, who work with Piyush Pandey at O&M India. The team currently works from O&M, Bangalore and Bangaloreans will remember them for the colourful 'navarasa' launch campaign for Arundathi Nag's RangaShankara.

Question: Will they recreate the Orange magic with the new Hutch identity?

Advertisements - Indian Vs The Brits.....

2006-01-04T15:00:00.000Z

Yesterday As I felt Homesick sitting in the corner of my room the way anyone would feel 4 months of being in London. It was cold, and dark and raining drips all day. The best part about the rains is that is reduces the cold but brings on the chill.

But here in London it rains all day just like it does in Pune. How much I missed the nice Onion bajji my mother used to make when it was rainy and cold. I also missed the tharatipaal (sweet condensed milk) which I believe my brother ate my share as well...

Then, I felt that I cannot feel homesick. I am here for a purpose. Earn here spend there. Went to the TV room in the Indian YMCA and saw some adverts. Absolutely disgusting. The Britishers simply don’t know how to make advertisements. There is no similarity between what they show and the Final Advertisement. The Indian Advertisements are way too better.

Recollected my childhood memories of advertisements. And how dificult was it. I started this Blog for writing my *bestest* advertisements. I am attempting to do the unthinkable –compile a list of the top 10 “Indian” ads of all time! Now this is really difficult , I mean how am I suppose to remember all those thousands of ad films that I have seen in the last 32 years * 365 days * at least 3 hours a day ( That’s the amount of time I devote to the idiot box on an average every day ! )

The first ad that came to my mind was the Surf and the Lalitaji Advert. Do you remember Lalitaji? Yes, the lady who entered the Indian small screen in the eighties with that blue bag to purchase a brand of her own choice from the local shop. She represented the aspirations of the middle-class housewife of that time, who was just planning to step out of her house and take a job in the outside world.

Then how can we miss the Jingles Be It Lifebuoy - Tandurusti Ki Raksha Karta hai LifeBuoy or Khao Gagan Raho Magan, I Love You Rasna, Bajaj - Hamara Bajaj Buland Bharat Ki Buland Tasveer (The now old Bajaj ad which show whatever the new bike an Indian buys or how old or Modern the Indian Youth is he still respects the old traditions - Been trying to get the Advert- The Advert start with a Guy riding a Red Pulsar and then a Boxer and then a Girl embracing her boyfriend and when she sees an Old Man removes the embrace and the nice cute smile of the Old man)... OOoooooooh How I miss those adverts. And then Ek Titli Anek Titlian by Films Division.

The Ericsson adverts - Ericsson Mobile phone- Black coffee This was simply a stunning ad which created history by winning awards at top international ad shows. The brief was to highlight how small the phone was and this ad created this impression perfectly. “ One black Coffee “ became the talk of the town., Nirma - Sabki Pasand Hai Nirma, Prestige - Jo Biwi se kare Pyar woh Prestige se Kaise Kare Inkaar, Hawkins, Gems, Dipys - Dipy dee Dipy Doo Dipy Dum Dum Dum, Britannia Coconut Crunches. The Coconut on the tree become Coconut Crunches, The Raymond’s Adverts, Milk Cooperative Society – Dhoodh hai wonderful pee sakthe hai roz glassful, Bajaj Bulbs - Jab Mein Chotta Ladka Tha, Garden Varelli with Persis Khambatta, Cadbury’s dairy Milk – Cricket match All the dairy milk ads have been good especially the background score that they had –Kuch Khass hai , Zindagi Mein . But this one ad started it all .Previously they used to show only small kids in the film. A girl comes to the pitch as soon as the cricketer hits the winning run and does an impromptu jig with a dairy milk in her hand. The ad was wonderfully shot and it went very well with the base line-taste of life.

Each ad tells u something and how these targeted with wonderful jingles, the Colours of Nerolac, Berger or even Asian Paints, the totally zero vocals adverts of Fevicol or Centreshock Barber advertisement. Another Cute advert was the Dhara Jalebi Ka Advert

Even the current adverts of Airtel, The Hutch Pug- You and I in the Beautiful world. Boy the British need to learn Advertising Creativity, Cricket and English from the Indians. These adverts will surely not come back but I will be on a quest to see if I can retrieve these advertisements. The Next Blog will hopefully contain my Favourite adverts during the Doordarshan and the Post Doordarshan days....

GOOGLE'S GOOGLY !!!

2005-12-14T12:45:00.000Z

Hello,
I got surprised when I read and followed this Forwarded mail. Request you to read and comment-
"No wonder so many people say Google's search engine can find anything
1- Go to Google
2- Type in the word "Failure"
3- Instead of clicking "Google Search," click "I'm Feeling Lucky."
4- See search results.
5- Spread the word before the people at Google "fix" it.
----------------------
So how exactly does it happen?
No, it isn't an easter egg. It's called a "google-bomb", which is used by blogs and websites to exploit weaknesses in google's pagerank algorithm. Basically, it works by linking to the target page using the search text on various web-sites. Other bombs include: "Miserable Failure", "Unelectable" and "Worst President" which all take you to George W. Bush's Bio.
Here's my favorite: "french military victories". :)
More info here.

Routing the US Monopoly

2005-12-14T12:40:00.000Z

Take a look at the list of the following companies: Toyota motors, Nokia, Canon, LG, Lenovo.
And now take a look at the following list: Ford Motor Company, Motorola, Xerox, IBM.

Get the connection? Well let?s make things a little lucid.
1. Toyota motors displaces Ford Motor Company to become the second largest car maker in the world.
2. Nokia overtakes Motorola to become the world?s largest cell phone maker.
3. Canon becomes the market leader in copier machines ahead of Xerox.
4. LG dislodges carrier to become the world?s largest maker of air conditioners.
5. Lenovo acquires the computer division of IBM.

The above are just a few examples of the diminishing dominance of American companies in the world. These companies that have been pioneers in their fields are rapidly losing market share and leadership to other companies from the rest of the world. Is this a sign of things to come?

The emergence of these companies indicates the loss of charm for American products around the globe. The US is still the powerhouse of the world economy and still the biggest economy in the world. America can still boast about the Microsofts, GEs, Googles, Apples and , Boeings, and the Fortune 500 list is still ruled by American companies This is however being challenged by emerging markets like China and India, whose are experiencing rapid economic growth while the US economy continues to grow at a much lower pace each year.

Lenovo of China shocked the world when it announced that it would be taking over the personal computer division of IBM, Chinese television maker TCL acquired Thomson Electronics of France which gave it control of the RCA brand in the US, Chinese appliance maker Haier is bidding for US appliance maker Maytag while yet another Chinese company CNOOC made a surprise bid for Unocal Corp, outbidding another American oil company, Chevron. The bid - easily the largest foreign takeover attempt ever by a Chinese company - has sparked political concerns in the US about the implications of China's rise as an economic power.

A lot of Indian companies also have started acquiring smaller American companies. Indian pharmaceutical companies like Ranbaxy and Dr. Reddy?s have already established their presence in the US markets. Most US companies have outsourced their IT departments to companies like Infosys, Satyam, Wipro and TCS.

When Doordarshan ruled...

2005-11-18T10:26:00.000Z

When Doordarshan ruled...

Every Sunday used to be like the cricket world cup final day. Series like the Mahabharata and Ramayan were just perfect.

Late nites for Buniyaad, Hum Log, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, the Carrot munching Karamchand, Subah (a serial on drugs... the Title Music used to be good), Nukkad.. I really miss thiose serial and not to mention the 2000 Chhayageet, Wagle Ki Duniya, Gul Gulshan Gulfam, The World This Week at 2200...

I miss those Sundays with He-man and the Masters Of The Universe, Streethawk on Fridays, Spiderman on Saturday 1700 sponsored by Pioma Industries (I Love You Rasna).

and Now Zee and Star flush with the stupid Soaps aping the West...

Artistes were assigned roles that suited them perfectly and it seemed as though the gods were really fighting.

These days though, television doesnt have the spirit that it had in the older days. Kids grow up watching "item numbers" which is a disgrace. Watching tv was an experience in itself and i am more than just glad that I grew up watching DD.

Back in those days, Prasar Bharati produced a few amazing clips and cartoons based on national integration. I was on the hunt for these clips and managed to find quite a few on the web. A million thanks to those who have put these up on their web spaces.

Absolutely unreal stuff -
Mile Sur Mera Tumhara [Audio] - http://www.rtpdesis.com/mile_sur.mp3
Baje Sargam [Audio] - http://www.rtpdesis.com/baje_sargam.mp3
Ek Chidiya, Anek Chidiya [Cartoon, Video] - http://www.rtpdesis.com/ek_anek.asf
Mile Sur Mera Tumhara [Video - An awesome remake by students at MIT] - http://www.aisl.cyd.liu.se/downloads/Mile%20Sur%20Mera%20Tumhara/milesur50.mpg

I am still looking for the original Video of the Freedom 40 Run (Remember the thumping Bossoms of an athelete;) I somehow can't remember her name) and the Mile Sur Mera Tumhara.

Its high time; DD has to start off airing these gems again. Kids would never know a thing about national integration.

Reviews Of Majaa and Sivakasi....

2005-11-09T05:55:00.000Z

I am a person who would think a dozen times before going for a movie yeah it is expensive but the other fact being I hate watching Tamil movies and more so the new genre of movies is really crappy.

We at the Indian YMCA, London downloaded 2 movies (Sivakasi and Majaa) and saw them. Initially since we did not have anything better to do on a weekend we decided to go for a temple, food and then a theatre in East Ham paying 12 Pounds and 10 Pounds for Sivakasi and majaa respectively.

But then some one got the 2 movies for us downloaded from some site. Man we rally save 22 pounds. What a useless movie the two?

We could not stand Sivakasi for more than 30 minutes and Majaa though watchable we thought we could see the movie for Asin who has been used sparingly.

The movie focuses on Maninvannan, Vikram and Pasupathi. Out of the 3, Pasupathi really had a watchable performance. Vikram after Sethu, Samy and others has not been at his best. Songs are at the worst level. No Hit song but then better than Sivakasi. The director creates problems and then solves them and who creates the very same threesome of Maninvannan, Vikram and Pasupathi. Vadivelu Jokes are not worth laughing and we really have to tickle ourselves to get that bit of laughter.

Sivakasi another Vijay starrer has the same looks of a typical Vijay movie. Doesn’t the Tamil Audience ever get bored? We have a song sequence just 5 minutes into the movie. Can't anyone try anything new...? Every actor has a stereotype role that he has to perform. Rajni can’t get beaten up; Vijay should have 5 songs and a fight scene in the end.

When will the audience grow up? When can we see movies like Earth, Water, Fire, and Kannathil Muthamittal? Are the Tamil actors and actresses really averse to roles that will give them a flop?

Are these films being made just for the heck of making it? Or to show the IT department that a film has been made and no Black Money involved.

Well not all can be Mani Ratnam but we are not asking anything in that direction. A Ghajini is all we are asking. A new theme - Short Term Memory Loss, good songs.

Though Majaa is copied from a Mallu movie it is passable and watchable JUST ONCE

The best thing I hear is Sivakasi is doing Good Business. Is the Tamil Audience that Gullible? Can’t we ever demand better movies for the money we pay….

No more Tamil Movies guys... Just Hindi and English Movies... well even these guys are running out of good subjects. The last good movie I saw was Terminal... A new topic and a Good one at that.

Kannathil Muthamittal ((A Peck on the Cheek))

2005-10-31T13:01:00.000Z

Kannathil Muthamittal ((A Peck on the Cheek))

Yesterday, as I was getting bored decided to see the movie Kannathil Muthamittal (A Peck on the Cheek). I tried getting this movie in Tamilnadu, but thanks to the state's useless DVD policies they cannot be released. The only original Tamil DVDs you get are pictures of my dad's era unless you get to the Pirated Versions which are Illegal thanks to the Tamilnadu Film Artistes.

I got this film from a friend and what an amazing film. The girl Amudha played by Keerthana is simply fantabulous. The role played by Madhavan as the famous freelance writer and Simran, the TV News Reader are simply cool. Keerthana as Amudha certainly brings tears especially when she is told on the beach by Madhavan that she has been adopted and when she asks bout her two brothers... Also the last scene; the daughter and mother talk and how the daughter asks Nandita questions on why she left at the refugee camp, did she ever lift her up in her arms and how the duaghter brings her mother portrayed as a Terrorist/Freedom Fighter, which has been excellently portrayed by Nandita Das simply brings you to tears.

Mani Ratnam's forte is to make films on burning issues. This time, too, with the seething Sri Lankan problem as backdrop, he presents a sensitive story about a delicate flower caught in a storm.

Kannathil Muthamittal (A Peck on the Cheek) is a fine example of his work and a perfectly accessible introduction to anyone who wishes to explore the colourful worlds of Indian or Tamil cinema who thinks that Bollywood musicals might not be quite to their taste.

Tamil film Kannathil Muthamittal does not have any Humma humma [Bombay] or Chhaiya chhaiya [Dil Se] or old dancing women [Roja, Dalapati].

Though the issue has been tackled in a couple of recent Tamil films, Ratnam's Kannathil Muthamittal is way ahead.

An honestly told tale without frills, the film starts with a wedding taking place in the Tamil parts of Sri Lanka. As the husband Dileeppan (Chakravarty) leaves for the rebellion, the pregnant wife Shama (Nandita Das) is forced to go to India, risking the armies of both countries. She survives many hazards in the journey, captured brilliantly by cinematographer Ravi K Chandran.

Midway, she learns that her husband is wounded and wants to return. After she gives birth in the refugee camp, she leaves for her native land and her husband --- but without her daughter.

The girl (Keerthana) grows up in a foster home --- in the Madhavan-Simran household, with two younger brothers for company. She simply is a heart-stealer. Whether it is being peeved with her parents or while bullying her brothers, Keerthana is a wonderful performer.

She also leaves you bewildered --- you don't know whether to marvel at her prowess or empathise with the young child getting to know her roots. She brilliantly portrays turmoil when she comes to know that she is in a foster home, that her grandfather, parents and her brothers are not her blood.

A R Rahman, dialogue writer Sujata and lyricist Vairamuthu lend ample support to this offering, with Sabu Cyril designing the fantastic sets, especially the Sri Lankan portions.

Mani Ratnam seems to have drawn out the best from Simran, who has been shying away from glamorous roles for a while now.

Nandita Das tugs at your heart-strings when she tries to answer her little daughter's questions as to why she deserted her daughter for her motherland and her husband.

Madhavan lives the character of the writer he portrays, shedding off the Maddy [teenyboopper] image he has so often conveyed.

In parting, Mani Ratnam has taken a bold stance at this issue, which he has earlier only hinted at.

Story Line
Amudha is told the truth of her origins by her adoptive parents Indra and Thiru. The young girl of course wants to know her real mother and finds a way of returning to the still war-torn island of Sri Lanka.

The storyline is not in the least complex or even original and there are few surprises as the young Amudha - played with some degree of skill by the young actress P.S. Keerthana, as well as a little bit of sass that the character is obviously meant to possess - decides to take it upon herself to find her mother and eventually gets the support of her parents to take her there. Fortunately her adoptive father is a famous writer and her mother is a TV personality, both of whom are very understanding and resourceful parents. It’s all a little too smooth and non-confrontational, but there is quite a bit of charm in the way the film presents the backstory of how it was in the adopting Amudha that Indra and Thiru came together to marry.

When the story arrives back in Sri Lanka however, the story quite unexpectedly takes a surprising turn. The civil war still continues and the film shows the effects of the war on the people of Sri Lanka - suicide bombers, bombed-out villages, guerrilla fighters prowling the forests and some quite striking Black Hawk Down style battle sequences. It never gets bogged down in the political issues however, but rather addresses the issues in a broader sense - as simply war - and even then it rather naively portrays this as a universal malaise for which international arms dealers are more to blame than religion or politics. That’s not a criticism of the film however - the film make no pretence of being anything more than a voyage of discovery for a young girl and has no more to say about the specifics of a war situation than The Sound of Music had any anything to say about the Anchluss. It uses a real-world situation well, without getting distracted from the purpose of the film and maintains an effective sense of danger that I found quite surprising.

Make no mistake about it, A Peck on the Cheek is melodramatic to its core. With a determined lack of irony, it tells a highly romanticized story of abandonment and reunion, directly played for an emotional response with--in true Bollywood style--schmaltzy pop songs interspersed to heighten the unabashed, unapologetic sentimentality. At the same time, the production values are extraordinary and the performances are sufficiently expert to win over anyone with the slightest receptivity to a good tear-jerking wallow

Director Ratnam pulls out all the stops with bombs exploding, guerilla ambushes, and long processions of refugees miserably leaving their war-torn towns. The reunion takes place in a park as a battle is waged on all sides and, finally, there's a cleansing rainstorm that neatly parallels the rivers of family tears.

As is expected with melodrama, the characterizations are stock and the emotions predictable. But on its own terms A Peck on the Cheek works. The acting breathes life into the characters and the narrative drive is (mostly) well sustained over the two and a quarter hour length of the film. Ratnam, who also co-wrote the screenplay, even manages to get in some pointed lines of anti-war politics ("Those who make weapons have a commercial interest in war.") which give the film an added resonance for an audience troubled by the current conflict.

Finally, I have decided to buy this DVD from Ayngaran International in UK....

Trivia - About London Underground

2005-10-21T11:12:00.000+01:00

I have been travelling on the Underground for almost 8 months now and I found some trivia which are very interesting... It is certainly an experience travelling in the Tube that is what it is called.

The Tube was built at a Time when Indians were fighting the Brits for Independence and putting them way ahead in terms of Transport. The Map of the Tube is so concise that u can read the map from a Visiting card and still make it to ur destination. This map is a marvel done by Harry Beck.

Introducing Harry Beck
The striking symbol that is recognised across the globe was the brainchild of Underground electrical draughtsman, Harry Beck, who produced this imaginative yet stunningly simple design back in 1933.

Beck based the map on the circuit diagrams he drew for his day job, stripping the sprawling Tube network down to basics.

The result was an instantly clear and comprehensible chart that would become an essential guide to London - and a template for transport maps the world over.

Beck's revolutionary design, with certain modifications and additions, survives to the present day and is set to serve London Underground and its millions of customers for many years to come

The map can be seen everywhere T-Shirts, Cups, Bags and even pens and Book Covers.

More about the map can be obtained from http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/maps/

50 things you never knew about the London Underground
1. There is only one tube station name which does not have any letters of the word "mackerel" in it - St John's Wood.
2. There are only two tube stations which have all five vowels in them - Mansion House and South Ealing.
3. Considering there are 287 tube stations, things 1 and 2 are quite surprising.
4. Chancery Lane has the shortest escalator on the system - 50 steps.
5. Travelling on the tube for 40 minutes is the equivalent of smoking two cigarettes - so save yourself a packet, all you smokers and get on the tube more often.
6. The shortest distance between tube stations is Leicester Square and Covent Garden on the Piccadilly line - 0.16 miles.
7. The most popular route for tourists is Leicester Square to Covent Garden on the Piccadilly line. It is quicker to walk this distance than travel on the tube.
8. The only tube station which shares the name of a well known pop group is All Saints (yeah I know it's on the Docklands Light Railway - but it's still on the tube map).
9. The phrase "Mind the Gap" originated on the Northern line.
10. The Jubilee line was originally going to be called the Fleet line.
11. Northfields station on the Piccadilly line was the first to use kestrels and hawks to kill pigeons and stop them setting up homes in stations.
12. The Central line covers the longest route - from West Ruislip to Epping you will travel 34 miles without changing.
13. The Waterloo and City line covers the shortest route - 2 kilometres, but considering it only covers two stations - Waterloo and Bank, it doesn't take Stephen Hawkins to work that one out.
14. The oldest tube line in the world is the Metropolitan line. It opened on the 10th January 1863.
15. Tube carriages originally had no windows and buttoned upholstery and were nicknamed "padded cells". No change there then.
16. Men have to sit with their legs apart when travelling on the tube. This is due to special magnetic fibres on the upholstery of the seats which interacts with testosterone to provide an antimagnetic outward force.
17. Julian Lloyd Webber was London Underground's first official busker - I didn't know he needed the money that badly.
18. More of the London Underground is open than in a tunnel. Tell yourself this fact if you suffer from claustrophobia.
19. Bank has more escalators than any other station on the tube - 15 plus two moving walkways - count em!
20. Out of the 287 stations, only 29 are south of the river Thames.
21. One of the female automated voice announcers is called Sonia - because her voice "gets on yer nerves".
22. Fish and Parcels is the slang name for the District Line. It should be Pony and Trap.
23. Edward Johnston designed the font for the London Underground in 1916.
24. The peak hour for tube suicides is 11am.
25. The Jubilee Line Extension was the most expensive railway line ever built. It cost USD 330 million per kilometre. Shame they didn't make the platforms and the trains bigger though.
26. All 409 escalators do the equivalent of two round the world trips every week.
27. Amersham is not only the most westerly station on the tube it is also the highest - 150 metres above sea level.
28. People were smaller when the carriages were built in the 1860's - which is one of the reasons why you'll find your journey so uncomfortable today.
29. Harry Beck, designer of the tube map in 1933, was only paid five guineas for his original job. His design is still the basis of today's tube map.
30. The first escalator was introduced at Earls Court in 1911.
31. Gladstone and Dr Barnado were the only people to ever have their coffins transported by tube.
32. Not only were the early escalators made of wood, but also the legs of the people who demonstrated them. Wooden legged Bumper Harris was employed to travel up and down the tube's first escalator to prove that it was safe.
33. Angel has Western Europe's longest escalator - 318 steps.
34. Mosquitoes that live in the underground have evolved into a completely different species, one that appears separated from the above ground mozzie by over a thousand years.
35. Regent's Park, Piccadilly Circus, Hyde Park Corner and Bank are some of the few stations which do not have an above ground surface building.
36. The air in the underground is on average 10°C hotter than the air on the surface.
37. People who commit suicide by throwing themselves under tube are called "one-unders". In New York they are known as "track pizza". Choose your preference.
38. Pigeons regularly travel from West Ham in east London to central London on the tube in order to get more food.
39. The best places to spot mice running around the tracks of the underground are Waterloo station (northbound on the Bakerloo line) and any platform at Oxford Circus.
40. Green grapes cause more accidents on the London Underground than banana skins.
41. Anthea Turner and her sister Wendy have written a series of children's books about mice living on the London Underground. An estimated half a million mice live in the Underground system so that should keep them both busy for a while.
42. Only one person was ever born in a tube carriage and her name is Thelma Ursula Beatrice Eleanor - check out her initials. She was born in 1924 on a Bakerloo line train at Elephant & Castle.
43. The Gappe is a little known bird/bat like creature, which only tube announcers can see and we are often told to mind them.
44. Victoria and King's Cross record the highest number of tube suicides each year. This isn't surprising as Victoria is the tube's busiest station with 85 million passengers each year and King's Cross has 70 million passengers each year.
45. Aldwych station (now closed) is featured on level 12 in the Tomb Raider game with Lara Croft killing rats.
46. Christopher Lee and Donald Pleasance starred in a 1970s horror film called Death Line (a.k.a Raw Meat), where man eating troglodytes terrorised people on the London Underground.
47. The Cadbury's Whole Nut chocolate bar is the biggest seller in the chocolate machines at tube stations.
48. A fragrance called "Madeleine" was introduced at St James Park, Euston and Piccadilly station in an effort to make the tube smell better on 23rd March 2001. It was taken out of action on 24th March 2001 as it was making people feel sick.
49. The sexiest film scene featuring the London Underground is The Wings of the Dove. Helena Bonham Carter and Linus Roache travel in a 19th century carriage together, then get off and make love in a lift. Who said there's no romance on the tube?
50. Speaking of doves, buskers cannot sing.

Weird News - Metro - 20 Oct 2005

2005-10-20T11:33:00.000+01:00

Today as I was reading the Metro on my way to work I found some of the news very funny. Here are some of them:

Help group for silly name pain
JUST LIKE THE Boy Named Sue in Johnny Cash's hit song, Digby Milo Jones reckons his parents saddled him with a lifetime of misery when they christened him.

Mr Jones, of Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, claims he can offer help based on his own experience
But the 37-year-old is now seeking to turn the tables and cash in on the years of 'hurt and pain' he says his name has caused him.

The married father-of-two has set up a website and is about to launch a book he spent three years writing, offering advice and support to others with unusual names.

Mr Jones, of Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, claims he can offer help based on his own experience.
The website, www.ihatemyname.com, offers help on how to deal with name-calling and other insults, as well as offering a chance to buy merchandise bearing the 'ihatemyname' logo.

Police dog too soft for job
A POLICE DOG has been sacked from his force for being too soft.

Instead of helping his handler deal with drunks fighting outside a pub, he just wagged his tail and tried to make friends German shepherd Buster has now been given to a family after a series of misdemeanours during a one-year £25,000 training course.

First, he disgraced himself during a search for a missing person near Rotherham by ignoring footprints, curling up in the grass and falling asleep.

Then, instead of helping his handler PC David Stephenson deal with drunks fighting outside a pub, he just wagged his tail and tried to make friends.

The final straw came when he was supposed to flush out a burglar from a garden after a 3am call. Buster ignored the thief hiding behind a wall, relieved himself and then lay down.
'Buster's a lovely animal but he was never cut out to be a police dog,' said PC Stephenson, of South Yorkshire Police.

'He just wanted to be everyone's friend. That's fine if he's to be a pet but I didn't want him making friends with offenders at three in the morning.'

-From the Metro 20th October 2005

Medical System IN UK

2005-10-14T12:43:00.000+01:00

Why the hell am I writing this? Well I am not crazy. I am currently in London on deputation and all of a sudden I have not registered with National Health Service of whom I have heard crazy stuff. You never get an appointment and even if u get one you have to wait for 4 days to see a doctor/specialist. Antibiotics are not Over The Counter. I get that in India OTC.

Brits come to India for the medical treatment coz they are not happy with the Medical System which is prohibitively expensive. This guy somewhere in Sussex pulls out his teeth with pliers at Home since he has not been given an appointment and has to wait for a month to have his cavity filled.

Man my goodness and I have a tooth ache. Not a severe one though. I have a bridge on my right hand side lower jaw at the rear of my mouth. I bit something hard and the gums are inflamed and a bit sensitive. So what do I do?; Pull it off Ummmmmm....

Isn’t it disgusting UK is called a developed Nation and U have to wait ages to get an appointment. What do u do in emergencies?

Wait till you die? Now I know the medical System in India is really good considering the fact there are 1 Billion people. We may not have as many doctors per person but the treatment is fantastic. Appointments!!!! what are they. well with big hospitals I do need to take appointments but with a toothache even if I just visit a doctor I won't be thrown out...

And then why am I here? Money to keep my people happy and keep myself happy. Many people including close ones tell me money is not that important but I guess these are people who have enough money.

Yeah, But I am missing the niceties of life watch my daughter grow and see her giggling, laughing, learning to grow and I bet she is growing fast. So I guess money makes one drive but I should learn that Money should drive what you do in life. Will I be happy with the money earned? Am I Satisfied? Noooooo. I still want more..

Well u never know when my job will go to China.... So make Hay While the Sun Shines.

I started with Medical System and ended with Money well That’s what it is...

To day is almost nearing the end and I see the light to Go home... Another weekend. Another laundry, cleaning and getting ready for Monday. Can't life ever slow down....

The Lion King Musical @ the Lyceum

2005-10-01T16:30:00.000+01:00

After a Busy weekday. It was time to chill and I mean Chill in every sense of the word. London was getting colder day by day and the days are getting shorter.

Man... I really love the cold weather. Walking out in Shorts and a T-Shirt is definitelky better. and Again the Cold weather is definitely better than the Hot, Sticky, Sweaty Chennai.

Saturday, started off well and then a short stint at reorganizing my files on my etxrenal Hard Disk and then getting ready to go to the Royal Lyceum Theatre to watch the Lion King Musical.

The tickets booked by Smrithy George we left the YMCA at 1320 and reaching the Lyceum, I guess by Indian Standards on time. 2 more guys followed us Kabin George and Kashyap Muthuswamy (late but was true to what he said i.e. leaving home at 1330. He arrived on time but yeah I skipped a Heartbeat.)

We rushed on to the Theatre and man the Theatre was really Royal. The theater was really nice and lot of tiny tots with eager parents to watch the Lion King.

The Musical was fantabulous by all standards. The sets, the play, the screenplay, the dialogues were just too wonderful and words cannot explain what I would like to tell about the play.

The haunting chants for the grassland and the lionesses are by South African musician Lebo M, who also co-wrote four songs, with Mark Macina and three others. The wonderful Shadowlands, with its blend of European and African rhythms and orchestration, is their best. The sets are by the Zimbabwe-born Richard Hudson: their sense of broad spaces, high, cloud-fringed skies, and the brilliant reds, oranges, browns and deep yellows of the African landscape will haunt you for weeks to come. But it is finally Julie Taymor's show. She has directed it, designed the stunning costumes, and collaborated with Mark Curry on the even more stunning masks and puppets...

The Lion King is a wonderful, wonderful musical: thrilling, warm-hearted, inventive and origianl. It has a pulsating, teeming sense of animal life effortlessly at home in its rich, dangerous natural habitat, and a seamless blend of story and spectacle."Julie Taymor, the American director and designer, has brought to The Lion King puppets whose origins lie in the Far East an Africa... and no attempt is made to conceal the technically humble devices which drive them... This gorgeous carnival of hybrid creatures - part-beast, part-human - is emphatically, triumphantly theatrical. It never tries to mimic the special effects or verisimilitude of film. It is playful and ingenious, drawing attention to pretences.

The Lion King is a ravishing spectacle, the cat's whiskers no less, and an unmissable treat for the whole family... I can hardly wait to see it again or, more tantalising, to see the effect of the breathtakingly opening few moments of pure animal magic on the faces of the my children. A more imaginatively concieved carnival of creatures is impossible to conjure... An intensely theatrical experience.

The Lion King - Musical is an indisputable triumph - in the stage-version, at least, because Disney has entrusted the show to a director (Julie Taymor) and a creative team with exceptional imagination and a rare grasp of theatrical resources. You are gripped from teh first scene: a magnificent rippling sunrise, the chanting of a much-bedaubed and bedizened shaman, fabricated animals trooping down the aisle and flocking across the stage... It is so well done that you wonder where they can go from there, but scene after scene proves equally impressive...

What makes the spectacle so entrancing is that we are invited to enter into it as a game - to enjoy the means by which it is produced rather than goggling as the simulated reality... At every stage we are made aware of the actor behind an animal... The visual splendors of the show are never allowed to swamp the drama. The storyline remains clear and compelling... The Lion King is superlative entertainment, and puts most other mega-musicals in the shade.

If You get a Chance Do Make it a Point to watch it...

Sunday @ the Y

2005-09-25T17:02:00.000+01:00

The Sunday began on a rather Lazy Note....

Thanks to the Saturday Movie Night. I was busy watching Shankarabharanam and Sippikul Muthu (remade in Hindi as Eeshwar starring Anil Kapoor).

I should say Sippikul Muthu was a Nice Movie. Surely I did Fast Forward the songs... And well Shankarabharanam I forwarded the Dialogues since I just wanted to watch the songs....

Sunday woke up at 7 AM, Ironed my clothes for the Monday duties, went for a Breakfast and returned back at 9.

Went to bed again and got up at 10:30 all set to go to the Temples in east Ham. But well temple was my second Priority. The first Priority was Chennai Dosa.

Well been to the temple with another lady from Wipro who had arrived recently to London. Went to the Murugan Temple and the Mahalakshmi temple and then to Chennai Dosa for a hearty meal with Filter Coffee at hand man it was the world to me.....

Went to a Sri Lankan store bought 3 Marie big Packs for 1 pound (that is cheap in London).... and returned back home. That was Sunday in short for me...

And then getting ready to get back to work for the Monday. Went to sleep reading the Book His Holiness - Pope Joh n Paul - By Carl Bernstein and Marc Politi.

Is an Interesting Book.....

Royal Airforce Museum Hendon

2005-09-24T10:48:00.000+01:00

Surely a Tiring Weekday.... I decided to move onto the RAF Museum at Hendon. My love for aircrafts yeah but I dont know much about aircrafts. But then the incredible feat of watching a heavy metal piece flying across the the sky is wonderfully facsinating.

Again the latest in technology being tested on military aircrafts right from the day Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the Kitty Hawk to the Current Eurofighters, Sukhoi 38, F117A Stealth Fighters to the A-380 we surely have seen the best of technologies to travel within the shortst time possible. Did you know Airbus Industrie was planning a Concorde Edition 2...

The RAF Hendon is really a wonderful museum and those visiting London must surely make it a point to Go and See IT. The museum has a wonderful collection of Bombers, Fighters, Helicopters and not to mention the Simulators. The shop there was really nice.

Bought a book on colors and a 3D Jigsaw Puzzle for my lil' daughter Ananya who is 3 months old now. Well have surely started Educational Toys for here....

In the evenings my pals from the Y had gone to the London Dungeon and bought some scary mask and were busy scaring the wits out of everyone. I too became a victim of the same.

More to come....

My First Blog

2005-09-23T12:16:00.000+01:00

Hi,

I have tried to create blogs but never seem to write into them. But I guess now I will put my stuff and hopefully you guys should be reading some stuff..

The start would be my second official trip to London....

Arvind