Wishing all the readers of my blog, A Very Happy and Safe Deepavali. Have a blast, have fun with crackers, but make sure you don't get hurt. :-)
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CATastrophe
4 hours ago
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Happy Deepavali
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Emotional Quotient ?!
Lifted this from Priya's blog. The questions were quite interesting although the options for the answers were very few unlike the other tests that are available for similar reasons. It did reflect my nature quite accurately although.
Your EQ is 133 |
 You are remarkable when it comes to relating with others. Only the biggest losers get under your skin. You are warm and open. Even when life gets you down, you're unafraid of the world and its challenges. You are comfortable with who you are. And you accept your weaknesses - as well as the weaknesses of others. While you are quite stable, you don't respond perfectly to every bad situation that comes up. But you have enough emotional intelligence to know when you need a course correction. |
Thursday, October 9, 2008
From 67 to 76 ...
But good things always come to an end. And these 14 odd days have just flown past me. :-(. College and Bhopal awaits in another 2 days. Though things aint as bad as they were when I joined college, they aint as good as they are out here in Chennai. Probably, I'm wrong in expecting so much as well. :-). But yeah, as per the current schedule, it's just a maximum of around 5 weeks at Bhopal, with 2 weeks of exams and a week of study holidays. So it wont matter a lot I guess.
My novel collection is growing quick and fast. Got three more novels at around Rs.60 each. One Sidney Sheldon title, one more of those Afghan war Stories which are flooding the market these days. :-). And got one more poster to stick on my room wall to add to this one.
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Random Pics:
My Laptop .. My companion in times of boredom
That's the same laptop .. Outside ... On my bed ..
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That's it for this post. Not that this deserved a post .. But still ..
Varanam Aayiram Music Review
Varanam Ayiram is one album that had huge expectations as it is from the Surya - Harris Jeyaraj - Gautham Menon combination. After their earlier blockbuster in Kaakha Kaakha which had chartbuster songs and the last Surya - Harris Jeyaraj venture Ghajini, another blockbuster, they have come together yet again and from what we can make out from the trailer, they have a winner again. The album, after Harris Jeyaraj's repetive stuff in his earlier movies does come as a breath of fresh air and as usual, Harris has given his best for Gautham Menon. In all their albums, they have a third and a lesser known teammate in Thaamarai, the lyricist who again has done an exceedingly good job here as well ! Starring Surya, as the male lead and with Simran, on a comeback trail, Sameera Reddy and Divya Spandana playing his love interests, the movie is set for a Diwali release.
Good Composition this from Harris Jeyaraj. Especially the guitar bits, which sound inspired, from what I've read so far in other reviews. This is Shruti Hassan's debut song in Tamil. Thamarai's lyrics are good as in any Gautham Menon movie. The song is full of energy. As in any Harris Jeyaraj Composition, the song has an already heard feel to it at places. It does sound very similar to Endrendrum Punnagai from Alaipayuthey in some places, especially at the start. But the good sound engineer that Harris is, has managed to add a few loops here and there to overshadow the resemblances.
Annul Melae : Sudha Raghunathan
The usual Bombay Jayashree song in HJ-GM movies is this time done by Sudha Raghunathan. Last time around in Pachai Kili Muthu Charam as well, HJ had tried using Madhushree for this kind of song but since Gautham insisted, had Bombay Jayashree sing a much better sounding version. This time there's just one, but very good song from Sudha Raghunathan. With the carnatic twinge, she's done a wonderful job in the song, making a simple tune sound very good.She simply lifts the song to another level.
Unique choice of voice for a gaana-ish song - Karthik. The lyrics sound very much pathos like. Karthik's soft vocals add a lot of pleasantness to the song. With a very catchy tune, this song is sure to be on the favourites list of many people.The first folkish number in his movies as GM pointed out in one of his interviews.
Munthinam Paarthen : Naresh Iyer, Prashanthini
The song starts of with Surya proposing to Malini (one of the three love interests in the movie) after which Naresh Iyer's soothing vocals take over. Thamarai's wonderful lyrics add more spice to the song. This song is tailor made for Naresh Iyer. No one else but him could have pulled this off so well. Prashanthini's high pitched voice sounds different. Probably some one else could have done a better job. My personal favourite in the album.
Another pleasant Song with minimal music at most places. A typical Harris Jeyaraj melody with the now usual good lyrics from Thamarai, who as usual has given her best for Gautham Menon. A tad too long stretching more than 6 minutes. Unless well picturised, this is sure to get people bored in the theaters.
Oh Shanthi Shanthi : Clinton, S.P.B.Charan
The faster/remixed version of 'Nenjukkul Peidhidum'. Both Clinton and S.P.B. Charan are more than adequate. The chorus Oh Shanthi Shanthi sounds more attractive here than in the slower version of the song. Clinton is very enthusiastic in his singing and this is one of SPB Charan's better songs IMO.
Benny Dayal has once again proved that he's a very versatile singer. After a dream debut in Azhagiya Tamil Magan with AR Rahman, he is quickly going places. The song prasing the Hero in the album or that's at least what I made out from the lyrics, but this one is not the usual Thaara Thapatta typical Kollywood-ish song. This one must be a part of Surya's college/school days, being used to push the flashback a bit faster from what the lyrics go on and on about. Another song which ha been sung with a lot of gusto by the singers. The song is full of energy. From what I can make out, this is the song for which Na.Muthukumar wrote the lyrics, as they sound so Un-Thamarai-ish. (Whatever that means !)
Verdict : One of the best albums of the year, if not the best. With a lot of variety, good voice selection in most songs, good music and engineering (:p), Harris Jeyaraj sure has another winner here to add to his burgeoning list of chart busters.
Verdict : One of the best albums of the year, if not the best. With a lot of variety, good voice selection in most songs, good music and engineering (:p), Harris Jeyaraj sure has another winner here to add to his burgeoning list of chart busters.
Rating : 9.5/10
If only Harris could stop his habit of re-hashing old hit songs of his of ARRs or lifting directly from English albums .. ..
If only Harris could stop his habit of re-hashing old hit songs of his of ARRs or lifting directly from English albums .. ..
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Saroja Movie Review - One night Tale !
Show : Udhayam Multiplex, Monday, 6th October, 2-30 PM Show.
Going with the movie .. "Evlovo Panrom Itha pannamaatoma .. ! :-p"
Venkat Prabhu is back and this time with more expectations after his first directorial venture "Chennai 600028" was a massive success. And how he responds to the expectations of the audience with a comical thriller !
Story: Four cricket mad friends (Looks like Venkat Prabhu is cricket mad as well !) leave to Hyderabad from Chennai to watch a Cricket match. In Hyderabad, a business tycoon's daughter has been kidnapped. On the way to Hyderabad, these bunch of happy-go-lucky guys encounter trouble in the form of a chemical tanker crash on the road. Desperate to watch the match, they go in a side route through a jungle and as night falls, they loose their way. In the happenings of the night, they get their noses into a gang of kidnappers who have kidnapped the business tycoon's daughter. How the girl is rescued forms the story which is told with the help of a taut screenplay and with a river of comedy flowing all through.
Performances :
As in his earlier venture, Venkat Prabhu opts for team work than a big name hero for his protagonist which would have made the movie a snore-fest with unbelievable action sequences. Casting is Venkat Prabhu's biggest plus. He seems to have the knack of spotting the exact person for each role. Whether it's Vega as Saroja or SPB Charan as Jagapathi Babu or Sampath as the villain, they all do breathe life into their characters with their resplendent performances. Each one has delivered an almost flawless performance in his part for the movie. Venkat Prabhu is sure a film maker to watch out for in the near future.
Review:
The whole film was well edited and made highly racy by Praveen KL and Srikanth NB. The titles as they roll in were an innovation. The cutting across the screen along with the background was well done by these two. Without them, Saroja could have been a different story altogether. Cinematography by Sakthi Saravanan is a major plus point for the movie. He has filmed the night sequences in the factory really well. The darkness sets the tone for the movie. Although I hate such movies which are engulfed in darkness, this one struck me hard. (One reason why I rarely watch English movies as they seem to have an extreme shortage of lighting equipment). His awesome camerawork makes Saroja a treat to watch.
The movie, though it starts of slowly, picks up pace after the Dosth Bada Dosth song. After that, it runs at a very good pace inspite of the regular fodder of good humour in the form of Premji Amaran.
You could have entered the theatre about 10 minutes late. Still you wouldn't have missed anything as such as the first 5 mins have nothing to do with the story. The Cheeky Cheeky song was well shot although it was hardly required in the movie at all. But then, when has Tamil Cinema looked for logic in placing songs in a movie except in a very few rare cases. For that matter, Indian Cinema even ! An Eminem-ish Yuvan does provide comic relief though. :-p
Although the movie does take inspiration (nee lifts :-p) from a few movies here and there, like the Kal Ho Naa Ho ish proposal scene between the heroine and the hero's friend. Kajal Agarwal was adequate in her role and in the Aaja Mera Soniye song which sounded so so similar to Mahi Ve to me. Venkat Prabhu pulls off a Deewangi styled song ala Om Shanti Om albeit at a much smaller scale with TV serial artistes.
Prakash Raj is more than adequate as a father who is anxious about his missing daughter. (and more convincing for that matter than Sanjay Dutt who did a similar role in Kidnap). Jeyaram is also more than efficient as the ACP and it is his character which provides the twist to the movie.
Sampath and his boys are quite unconventional for Kollywood villains with their quite mild voices unlike the regular shouting villains. :p. Nikitha as Kalyani, who is Sampath's 'wife' is just there for the glamour reason and her song (Kodana Kodi) has been well shot keeping this in mind. Otherwise she has nothing to do. (And I'd say she did do her job well :-p).Sampath puts in a strong performance with his baritone. The guy is sure to go places in Kollywood.
Yuvan's music warrants special mention. He strikes gold with a variety album with two fully English tracks in Cheeky Cheeky and It's my life. The former, though unwarranted, is awesome musically and I just cant stop listening to it since I watched the movie. It's my life by Tanvi is quite good as well. For the front benchers, Nimirndhu Nil is a treat. So is Kodana Kodi, the item number. Aaja Mera Soniye and Dosthu bada Dosthu have been well picturised. Re-recording is becoming Yuvan's forte as well. After the theme in Billa, we have some more gripping fare served up by Yuvan which goes miles in making this movie, the thriller it is supposed to be. The BGMs for Premji's scenes have been so well chosen. Looks like Venkat Prabhu and Yuvan do share a great rapport !
The stream of humour all through the movie keeps the viewers in splits, without which the movie could have become bland beyond a point of time. Premji Amaran (After Enna Koduma saar ithu in Chennai 600028, it is Evlovo Panrom, Itha Pannamaatoma here)has turned in another memorable performance. His lines have people guffawing all through.
'Evlo neram odarathu' asks Saroja during the running around in the factory and my friend also asked the same thing 'Evlo neram da oduvenga !' The running around the factory gets slightly boring and irritating beyond a point of time. Thankfully, Venkat prabhu puts an end to things soon. The Home alone-ish escape could have been thought out in a better way. :-).
Innovation is Venkat Prabhu's biggest asset and his screenplay too and he re-inforces his belief in them to deliver a thriller, a commercially success too ! The twist at the end make s the movie much better. And yeah, for a change, there is no hero bash up all fighting here. Thanks to Selva, there are highly realistic fights with both sides getting bashed up equally !
Kudos to Venkat Prabhu once again for delivering his next success. :-).
Verdict : Sa-ro-ja .. Simply Superb
A Perfect 10/10 .. Leave the pirated DVDs and watch the movie in theatre just for the experience!
Friday, October 3, 2008
I spend ...
I spend close to Rs. 1000/- for every hair cut of mine ! Or this is at least what my friends say ! No if you are thinking I have mine in a five-star hotel, you are mistaken ! :-). Every time I have a hair cut, I come to Chennai or the other way round .. Everytime I come to Chennai, I have a hair cut ! :p Which makes it 450 for each ticket and the hair cut charges. Lol ! ;-)
PS: Just a post to increase Blog activity. I just wanted to be more active on my blog. :-). That's the reason for such meaning less posts !
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Life's going good .. .. ?
| This Is My Life, Rated | |
| Life: |  6.8 |
| Mind: | 7 |
| Body: | 6.9 |
| Spirit: |  7.5 |
| Friends/Family: |  5 |
| Love: |  0 |
| Finance: |  5.8 |
| Take the Rate My Life Quiz | |
Mind: Your mind rating is a score of your mind's clarity, ability, and health. Higher scores indicate an advancement in knowledge, clear and capable thinking, high mental health, and pure thought free of interference. Your mind score is not bad, but could be improved upon. Your mental health is not weak, but you are not achieving full mental clarity and function. Learn how to unclutter your mind. Keep learning, keep improving, continue moving forward.
Body: Your body rating measures your body's health, fitness, and general wellness. A healthy body contributes to a happy life, however many of us are lacking in this area. You have a rather good body score, which is an indication that you take care of yourself. There is room for improvement, however. Please keep doing what works. Eat right, exercise, reduce your stress, treat any illness. Doing these things will help ensure your body will be in good working order for a long time to come.
Spirit: Your spirit rating seeks to capture in a number that elusive quality which is found in your faith, your attitude, and your philosophy on life. A higher score indicates a greater sense of inner peace and balance. Your spirit score is relatively high, which means you are rewarded by your beliefs. Spirituality is clearly important to do. Never let it slip, and continue to learn and grow.
Friends/Family: Your friends and family rating measures your relationships with those around you, and is based on how large, healthy, and dependable your social network is. Your friends and family score is not bad but can be improved. Maintain your current social net, while you try to expand it. Try new things and form new friendships. You will be rewarded greatly.
Love: Your love rating is a measure of your current romantic situation. Sharing your heart with another person is one of life's most glorious, terrifying, rewarding experiences. Your love score is very low, indicating trouble. There is love out there for you. Seek the advice of wise people on how to go about finding it. Do not lose hope.
Finance: Your finance rating is a score that rates your current financial health and stability. Your finances are somewhat in the middle, neither bad or exceptional. Keep doing what works for you, and improve what doesn't. Focus on long-term financial stability as your goal.
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Sort of Ok-Ok test. Results though are quite accurate. :-). Try it if you are really really bored ! Else give it a skip.
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