Following my list of the top 10 tamil movies in 2008, I thought of listing the top 10 tamil movie songs for the year. There were lot of candidates, though we were not able see much of the "Mozart of Madras" AR Rehman in tamil music this year. Let me jump straight into it
10. Where is the party...
Film: Silambattam
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Singers: Mukesh, Priyadharshini
Forget the basics, rap to the tunes and enjoy the cynical lyrics. This is exactly what Yuvan and Simbu had made you to do with their latest offering from Silambattam. The voice of Mukesh was suiting the mood of the song and he was enjoying it. One of the party numbers set to rock the dance floors.
9. Mukundha Mukundha
Film: Dasavatharam
Music: Himesh Reshamiya
Singers: Mahalakshmi Iyer
A simple song with a devotional background was the only refreshing point in the music of Dasavatharam. Good music and good performance by Asin and Kamal made this song a watchable fare. The devotional element in it made it a household affair
8. Mudhal Mazhai
Film: Bheema
Music: Harris Jeyaraj
Singers: Hariharan, Mahathi
The only plus point of the movie was this classic melody rendered beautifully by Hariharan and Mahathi. Hariharan was perfection personified with his modulations making listeners sway to his voice. Mahathi matched it with utmost flair. It was a pleasent hearing from months before the film's release
7. Anbe En Anbe
Film: Dhaam Dhoom
Music: Harris Jeyaraj
Singers: Harish Raghavendra
The Harris-Jeeva combo had changed track after giving few musical love stories and headed towards an action film, but that didnt deprieve us from a scintilating melody like this. The romance was felt and the voice of Harish grew on us each time we get to hear. A number to relish for lovers.
6. Dosth bada dosth
Film: Saroja
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Singers: Haricharan, Naveen, Rahul Nambiar
Another song celebrating friendship, but it's not just another song. It was made special by the success of the film and the way it was short. You cant be blamed for getting to think about the Dil Chahtha hai number, as it is largely inspired by it. But it defenitely differs in means of artist performance, and our regional flavour. The next friendship anthem??
5. Taxi Taxi
Film: Sakkarakatti
Music: AR Rahman
Singers: Blaaze, Benny Dayal, Javed Ali
A close resemblence to the Gasolina number, but AR Rahman has once again proved why he is the master. His only offering for the tamil music listeners this year turned out to be a huge hit and a rage among youngsters. Sad that his effort was wasted with the movie turning out to be a disaster. But we are yearning to get more from him for the coming years.
4. Kathaazha kanaala
Film: Anjathey
Music: Sundar C Babu
Singers: Naveen Madhav
Sundar C Babu, a predominantly unknown name amongst tamil people was behind the best film of the year "Anjathey", with his soul rendering BGM. He proved his worth in the songs too with this song proving to be another "Vaazha meenuku", which was a rage at that particular time. The choreography was different and the Snigtha was charming and energitic in her dance movements.
3. Nenjukul Peithudum...
Film: Vaaranam Aayiram
Music: Harris Jeyaraj
Singers: Hariharan
The music starts with a rythmic guitar interlude and that is retained till the end, for us to enjoy a sweet little journey of music. Harris-Gowtham combo rocks to the core, not for the first time. Surya and Sameera's screen presence makes it a beautiful watch too. Kudos to the director for making a wonderful piece of melody look as sweet as it was when heard.
2. Nakka Mukka
Film: Kadhalil Vizhundhen
Music: Vijay Anthony
Singer: Vijay Anthony
There are very few films that bank on the charm of a single song to carry the whole film through. There cannot be a better example than this song. The song was a chartbuster 6 months before the release of the film. It catches the attention the very first time we hear it. A normal gaana song can be turned into a memorable number, with the clever use of instruments, this is the thing Vijay Anthony has proved in this song. The other songs in the movie didnt fall back, as they also were excellen t pieces.
1. Kangal Irandal
Film: Subramanaiapuram
Music: James Vasanthan
Singers: Pelli Raj, Deepa Mariam
In the era of stereotyped and hystirical songs with awful lyrics ruling the roost in Tamil cinema, came a breath of fresh air. This song was the best example of the rarely seen montage songs. A new Music director, two fresh singers - what can you expect? A real and fresh tune, with no sense of deja vu. James Vasanthan, the attractive TV host had a hidden talent which he had unnvieled in the most remarkable fashion. But what made this song special was the performance of both the lead actors and tghe natural feeling given to it. This has all ingrisiednts to be the
SONG OF THE YEAR-2008
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Top 10 Tamil movies - 2008
2008 was by no means a great year for Tamil Cinema, but by all means it was an eventful one. The big stars were humbled, the younger ones shined, experimentation was appreciated, corporates showed interest in producing movies and produces opted for more reallistic and good cinema, which the audience too yearned for. I found it tough to list down 10 of the best movies in 2008, not because of the tough competition but I could hardly get 10 movies. I was saved by the movies released late this year and here I have the Top 10 Tamil Movies of the year 2008.
10. Jeyam Kondan
Cast: Vinay, Bhavana, Lekha Washington
Direction: R. Kannan
A neat and simple story about a struggle for wealth between siblings. Vinay was apt in his character as a London return, Bhavana was at her usual chirpy best. Vivek's comic interludes were so-so and the surprise package was Lekha Washington as Vinay's sister. Kishor and other actors filled the bill, and had completed a suave family poem. It had created a lull at the box office, but with its shoe-striing budget the producers were hardly disturbed.
9. Bommalattam
Cast: Nana Patekar, Arjun, Rukmini
Director: Bharathiraja
The film boasts a comeback vehicle for veteran ace director Bharathiraja and the debut of Bollywood great Nana Patekar, and the film doesn't fail to deliver. The usual Bharathiraja touch was missing, but we are glad to see this more than ordinary offering from this man. This thriller made with cinema itself as the background had quite a few brownie points, and it travels purely on the shoulders of the Nana Patekar and the suspense element in the film. Nana as Director Rana plays his heart out, and the girl Rukmini is very much a welcome change to tamil cinema. Arjun has a very brief role and he excels in it. Overall, a different experience for movie-goers and yes...Bharathiraja is BACK.
8. Yaradi Nee Mohini
Cast: Dhanush, Nayanthara, Saranya, Raghuvaran
Director: Mithran R Jawahar
A remake of the Telugu superhit "Adavari Matalaku Ardhalu Veru" is a beautiful little love story of a struggling youngster and a software proffesional. This film has its moments of fun and sentiments, but the movie can be never categorized as any one. Dhanush was on a high after the stupendous success of "Polladhavan" abd the director made good use of it. Nayanthara looked wooden in expression, but nothing great was expected from her. The two characters that steal the show were Raghuvaran as Dhanush's dad and Saranya as Nayan's cute little sister. Music was pleasenty from Yuvan. The film was a good summer treat for the family audience annd the movie worked wonders at the boxoffice with piling up 4-5 times its production costs.
7. Poo
Cast: Srikanth, Parvathy Menon
Director: Sasi
Poo is about the unadulterated love a village girl has on her cousin and her inability to express her love to him. Srikanth after a long time has been part of some good cinema, though his role is overshadowed by the brilliance of Parvathy. A hip girl in real lifeshe had gone under the skin of the character Mari, and her expressive face a delight to see in the sequences where she was unable to express her love to her man. Kudos to the director for making a reallistic and refreshing village story. The fact that the film was not that well recieved in the box-office is a worrying factor though
6. Santhosh Subramaniam
Cast: 'Jeyam' Ravi, Genelia, Prakash raj
Director: Raja
Another makeover of a telugu film was on the cards what with that film turning out to be a blockburster of all sorts. "Santosh Subramanaiam" is the faithful remake of the telugu movie "Bommarilu". Not making much an effort to modify the original, the director opted for a much direct approach off taking the film forward frame by frame as in Telugu. Ravi made an attempt to show his histrionic skills and Prakashraj as the doting father was just doing a repeat of his wonderful performance. The film truly belongs to Genelia who with her vivacious approach to the character made everyone sway to her tunes. Music was just OK as it always had a telugu flavour to it. Thefilm ran for a 100days in TN and garnered close to 2.5 crs in the opening week.
5. Vaaranam Aayiram
Cast: Surya, Simran, Sameera Reddy, Divya Spandana
Director: Gowtham Menon
Defenitely not the director's best , but Surya's awesome potrayal of father and son, and Harris's soothing music and its picturisation made sure that Gowtham pulls it off. The film defenitely belongs to Surya, where he has taken his acting to the next league. The 3 ladies do their job perfectly, with Sameera's screen precence showing once we miss her after her character,s demise. There flaws apleanty in this story about the father-son relationship but the good things outdo the bad ones and the movie turns out to be a winnner. Non-release of big star movies saw this film scrape through by getting back the production cost of 14 crs.
4. Saroja
Cast: SPB Charan, Vaibhav, Shiva, Premji, Nikitha, Vega, Sampath, Prakash Raj, Jeyaram
Director: Venkat Prabhu
It shows on the screen, when a director is having fun with his wor. It showed in "Chennai-600028" and it clearly shows in "Saroja". raking in a new genre 'Comedy-thriller', Veenkat played all his cards well and emerged the winner.Taking the story of "Judgement Night" and mixing uo his trademark comedy element he had provided the most enjoyable movie of the year. All the actors form the veterans Prakash Raj, Jeyaram to the younger lot had thoroughly enjoyed the film and also made us to do so.
3. Dasavatharam
Cast: Kamal Haasan x 10, Asin, Mallika Sherawat
Director: K.S. Ravikumar
A once in a lifetime film made on a whopping budget of 60 cr had Kamal Haasan potray 10 different roles. The story was experimenting the chaos theory and butterfly effect, which are hitherto unseen in Indian cinema. With the help of high end technical effects and brilliant cinematography the film was a treat to our eyes. Though the movie recieved mixed reviews, the collections were steep. It garnered close to 100 crs worldwide therby recovering the huge production cost. Kamal Haasan would have been a rekieved man with the tag of "Producer's nightmare" getting off him for a while.
2. Subramaniapuram
Cast: Jai, Swathi, Sasi Kumar, Ganja Karrupu
Director: M. Sasi Kumar
The film potrayed the right flavour of love, betrayal, friendship, politics and exploitation of a group of youngsters in a remote town of Subramaniapuram(near Madurai). The backdrop of the 80's was a flawless exhibition of thorough research and proffesionalism of the makers. This can be easily classified as a cult classic in Tamil Cinema. The Characters were seen, not the actors. Jai and Swathi's decent potrayal of love forcesa grin in our face,The song 'Kangal Irandaal ' is a classic example of a montage song. If only the vio;ence was a bit toned down. it could have catered to a wider audience, but still it worked wonders. Sasi himself produced the movie as there were no takers for his story.
1. Anjathey
Cast: Narain, Ajmal, Vijaylakshmi, Prasanna
Director: Myskkin
Anjathey is in a league of its own. The screenplay and camera are fresh , and give a different perspective to film making. The director should take credit for his boldness and unusual approach to a usual story. Not a thing is unacceptable in the film. Myskkin proves that his first flick "Chithiram Pesuthadi" was not just a flash in the pan. He has earned a repution and recognition for himself through Anjathey , and there is every sign that he will live upto it. Narain is marvellous in his diverse role as a trainig police Si and a good-for-nothing youth, and his transition is smooth. New find Ajmal is nothing short of brilliance, as the friend of Narain. Vijaylakshmi has a meagre role and Prassana, except for that horrible wig, provides justice to his role of a rapist(chocolate boy no more!!). This by all means is the
MOVIE OF THE YEAR
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Top 10 moments for India - 2008
10. Best ever Olympics for India
The 2008 Beijing Olympics is a golden period, not only in Indian Sports history, but was also a important occurence in Indian history. The first induvidual olympic gold that was eluding the Indians finally found the hands of Abinav Bindra. The Chandigarh lad won India the first olympic induvidual gold in the 10m rifle event. Added to that there were two more bronze medals which came from the effort of Vijender and Sushil Kumar in Boxing and wrestling respectively, therby making this event as India's best ever olympic campaign.
9. Parvathy Omanakuttan
The 20year old beauty from Kottayam represented India in the Miss World beauty paegent, and she finished First Runner-Up at the Miss World Grand Finale at Johannesburg, South Africa on 13 December 2008. She was pushed to second by Miss Russia Ksenia Sukhinova. The last Indian to be crowned Miss India was Priyanka Chopra in 2000. After 8 yeras Parvathy had come close to repeat the class act. Good job Madam...
8. Fight for the Oscar(Nomination)
No..We have yet not reached the final stage of Oscars, but there have been 2 entries form India for the Best Foreign Film Award at the Oscars. Aamir Khan's directorial debut "Taare Zameen Par" has been officially recommended by the Indian Film board to the Oscars. While Mr. Mangesh Hadawale the director of the critically acclaimed Marathi film "Tingya" feels that his film had an edge over the former, and he is not the one who is going to let it go. He has filed a nomination induvidually for his film and is determined to bag the award. Hope the best film wins...
7. Election after Mayhem
The election at the five states Delhi, Mizoram, Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in the later stage of 2008 held more significance as it was held pretty soon after the Mumbai terrorist siege. The nation expected a reversal of fortune for the fore-runners BJP and the Congress. The Congress was widely critisised for being soft to terror, and BJP hoped that it was a golden oppurtunity for them to utilize. But the end results showed that the Indian public were in no hurry to react, they have decided to think. Congress won Delhi, Mizoram, Rajasthan; BJP retained Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh. BJP had no words, and the nation seems to have taught them a tough lesson "Rather than basking on others poor performance, one has to prove his worth to stay in hunt"
6. India: A secular nation?
the violence in Kandhamal and parts of Orrisa has raised this question among the indian public. The activities of the Cristain missionaries, who were converting poor farmers to Christianity, irked the local people and they had to show their rage in a dastardly fashion. The police or the government were able to do absolutely nothing, as law was taken into once own hands. The rape of a nun, the murder of a temple priest and many more gory incidents became the way of life in Eastern India for the whole of 2008
5. Blast 'em all
Operation BAD, as it was named, tested the seurity and intelligence of the nation, where both failed miserably. Indian Mujahideen had claimed that their operation BAD was successfull after the series of blasts in Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi rocked the nation. These operations made bomb blasts a household name in India. Hope it is soon forgotten.
4. 2008- A blessing for Indian cricket
Indian crickt after the world cup fiasco, was expected to take time to recover and establish its old authority. But Dhoni and his boys proved that anything can happen in cricket in a few days time. They started with the T20 WC triumph and are yet to finish. 2008 has been a brilliant year and they are inching closer towards the throne of the NumerUno team in the World. The stepping down of Kumble and Ganguly could not have come at the right time, as youngsters are waiting in the wings to fill in heir shoes. Lets wish Dhoni a similar 2009.
3. Economic slump & Fluctuating Inflation
US witnessed one of the worst calamities in their economic history with top banks declaring bankruptcy. With almost 60-70% of India's IT and ITES services dependent on the US, we are begenning to face the heat with job cuts, pink slips and salary reductions being the order of the day. This has resulted in the sudden reversal of inflation in the country. Once at a high of 13.8%, it has gradually reduced to 6.5% at present. With crude oil prices touching a new low of $35.35, 2008 has seen fluctuating fortunes as far as economy goes.
2. Journey to the moon
The ISRO succeeded in launching India's first unmanned lunar vehicle "Chandrayaan" in the later part of 2008. With this India becomes the third in Asia and sixth nation in this world in achieving this feat. The estimated cost was put at 386 Crore indian rupees. G Madhavan Nair, Chairman of ISRO also put in words that Chandrayaan 2 was also on the cards, and it might come up in 2012.
1. Mumbai Siege
60 hours of perseverence and struggle were witnessed at the primary pockets of the nation's financial capital, at the cost of almost 190 lives. A bunch of terrorists form a still unclaimed terror outfit, had the whole of Mumbai in a panicky situation for almost 3 days, thanks to the inefficient and incompetent security and Intelligence bureau. The ares attacked comprised the Taj Mahal hotel, The Trident, The Oberoi , The CST terminal and Cama Hospital. With 15 policeman losing their lives, most of them not fighting terrorrists but by meekly giving up without any arms or ammunition to fight with, the only salvage was a lone terrorist caught alive. This heart breaking incident had the most significant impact on a common man's life. With the dead comprising nationals of 10 countries, this is considered an international calamity. One hopes this will be the last bead in the chain of tragedies the country is facing in the recent past. And our hope will bear of no use if even this event doesnt trigger the fact that much more needs to be invested in Security and Intelligence in our country, in the minds of our famed politicians
The 2008 Beijing Olympics is a golden period, not only in Indian Sports history, but was also a important occurence in Indian history. The first induvidual olympic gold that was eluding the Indians finally found the hands of Abinav Bindra. The Chandigarh lad won India the first olympic induvidual gold in the 10m rifle event. Added to that there were two more bronze medals which came from the effort of Vijender and Sushil Kumar in Boxing and wrestling respectively, therby making this event as India's best ever olympic campaign.
9. Parvathy Omanakuttan
The 20year old beauty from Kottayam represented India in the Miss World beauty paegent, and she finished First Runner-Up at the Miss World Grand Finale at Johannesburg, South Africa on 13 December 2008. She was pushed to second by Miss Russia Ksenia Sukhinova. The last Indian to be crowned Miss India was Priyanka Chopra in 2000. After 8 yeras Parvathy had come close to repeat the class act. Good job Madam...
8. Fight for the Oscar(Nomination)
No..We have yet not reached the final stage of Oscars, but there have been 2 entries form India for the Best Foreign Film Award at the Oscars. Aamir Khan's directorial debut "Taare Zameen Par" has been officially recommended by the Indian Film board to the Oscars. While Mr. Mangesh Hadawale the director of the critically acclaimed Marathi film "Tingya" feels that his film had an edge over the former, and he is not the one who is going to let it go. He has filed a nomination induvidually for his film and is determined to bag the award. Hope the best film wins...
7. Election after Mayhem
The election at the five states Delhi, Mizoram, Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in the later stage of 2008 held more significance as it was held pretty soon after the Mumbai terrorist siege. The nation expected a reversal of fortune for the fore-runners BJP and the Congress. The Congress was widely critisised for being soft to terror, and BJP hoped that it was a golden oppurtunity for them to utilize. But the end results showed that the Indian public were in no hurry to react, they have decided to think. Congress won Delhi, Mizoram, Rajasthan; BJP retained Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh. BJP had no words, and the nation seems to have taught them a tough lesson "Rather than basking on others poor performance, one has to prove his worth to stay in hunt"
6. India: A secular nation?
the violence in Kandhamal and parts of Orrisa has raised this question among the indian public. The activities of the Cristain missionaries, who were converting poor farmers to Christianity, irked the local people and they had to show their rage in a dastardly fashion. The police or the government were able to do absolutely nothing, as law was taken into once own hands. The rape of a nun, the murder of a temple priest and many more gory incidents became the way of life in Eastern India for the whole of 2008
5. Blast 'em all
Operation BAD, as it was named, tested the seurity and intelligence of the nation, where both failed miserably. Indian Mujahideen had claimed that their operation BAD was successfull after the series of blasts in Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi rocked the nation. These operations made bomb blasts a household name in India. Hope it is soon forgotten.
4. 2008- A blessing for Indian cricket
Indian crickt after the world cup fiasco, was expected to take time to recover and establish its old authority. But Dhoni and his boys proved that anything can happen in cricket in a few days time. They started with the T20 WC triumph and are yet to finish. 2008 has been a brilliant year and they are inching closer towards the throne of the NumerUno team in the World. The stepping down of Kumble and Ganguly could not have come at the right time, as youngsters are waiting in the wings to fill in heir shoes. Lets wish Dhoni a similar 2009.
3. Economic slump & Fluctuating Inflation
US witnessed one of the worst calamities in their economic history with top banks declaring bankruptcy. With almost 60-70% of India's IT and ITES services dependent on the US, we are begenning to face the heat with job cuts, pink slips and salary reductions being the order of the day. This has resulted in the sudden reversal of inflation in the country. Once at a high of 13.8%, it has gradually reduced to 6.5% at present. With crude oil prices touching a new low of $35.35, 2008 has seen fluctuating fortunes as far as economy goes.
2. Journey to the moon
The ISRO succeeded in launching India's first unmanned lunar vehicle "Chandrayaan" in the later part of 2008. With this India becomes the third in Asia and sixth nation in this world in achieving this feat. The estimated cost was put at 386 Crore indian rupees. G Madhavan Nair, Chairman of ISRO also put in words that Chandrayaan 2 was also on the cards, and it might come up in 2012.
1. Mumbai Siege
60 hours of perseverence and struggle were witnessed at the primary pockets of the nation's financial capital, at the cost of almost 190 lives. A bunch of terrorists form a still unclaimed terror outfit, had the whole of Mumbai in a panicky situation for almost 3 days, thanks to the inefficient and incompetent security and Intelligence bureau. The ares attacked comprised the Taj Mahal hotel, The Trident, The Oberoi , The CST terminal and Cama Hospital. With 15 policeman losing their lives, most of them not fighting terrorrists but by meekly giving up without any arms or ammunition to fight with, the only salvage was a lone terrorist caught alive. This heart breaking incident had the most significant impact on a common man's life. With the dead comprising nationals of 10 countries, this is considered an international calamity. One hopes this will be the last bead in the chain of tragedies the country is facing in the recent past. And our hope will bear of no use if even this event doesnt trigger the fact that much more needs to be invested in Security and Intelligence in our country, in the minds of our famed politicians
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Top 10 Chennai Moments - 2008
10. Chennai Open '08
The 13th edition of India's biggest Tennis event in India- The Chennai Open '08 got underway early this year. The event boasted the likes of top players like Rafael Nadal, Marcos Baghdatis, Carlos Moya and Mikhail Youzhny. It was Mikhail Youzhny who defeated Rafael Nadal in the final to lift the trophy. The other match that lived upto the stature of the tournament was the semi-final clash between Rafael Nadal and World No.17 and Chennai favourite Carlos Moya turned out to be the longest 3 set match in ATP and Chennai Open history with Nadal coming out on top with a 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 victory.
9. Margzhi Festival
The season of music was underway at the fag end of the year, with
classical musicians from all over the world gracing the city. Thanks to the city and its love for traditional music, Carnatic music still lives.
classical musicians from all over the world gracing the city. Thanks to the city and its love for traditional music, Carnatic music still lives.8. Chennai Rains -Courtesy "Nisha"
One of the worst rains which p
aralysed the whole city. What with the streets under feets of water, and the power switched off for almost 48 hours. The people were virtually cut off from the rest of the world and I had personally experienced one of the horrendous phases in my city life.
aralysed the whole city. What with the streets under feets of water, and the power switched off for almost 48 hours. The people were virtually cut off from the rest of the world and I had personally experienced one of the horrendous phases in my city life.7. Marina Beautification
One of the pride of the city and the second largest beach in the world 
is about get its due. The beautification projects have started this year, and are well on the road to improvement. Infact, you can already witness the change, as there are very few shops alongside the beach and you can find quite a few dustbins around, which is a rarity in India. You can hopefully get to see a cleaner and visitor friendly Marina welcoming you next year.
is about get its due. The beautification projects have started this year, and are well on the road to improvement. Infact, you can already witness the change, as there are very few shops alongside the beach and you can find quite a few dustbins around, which is a rarity in India. You can hopefully get to see a cleaner and visitor friendly Marina welcoming you next year.6. The Chepauk & the IPL
The mother wicket of Indian cricket had its share of moments in the Indian cricket calender for 2008. It had hosted a c
ouple of Test matches and was the home ground for the Chennai SuperKings IPL team. And it was nothing short of excitment, what with Sehwag scoring his second Triple century and later this year India chased a record 387 in the 4th innings against England with the help of Sachin Tendulkar's brilliant 100. The Chepauk also bagged the award for the best ground facilities provided for the IPL.
ouple of Test matches and was the home ground for the Chennai SuperKings IPL team. And it was nothing short of excitment, what with Sehwag scoring his second Triple century and later this year India chased a record 387 in the 4th innings against England with the help of Sachin Tendulkar's brilliant 100. The Chepauk also bagged the award for the best ground facilities provided for the IPL.5. Kathipara flyover
The one department which has improved leaps and bounds in the city, is the infrastructure. The advent of many fyovers and underpasses have significantly helped the traffic management in the city. The highlight being the Kathipara flyover, which is the first multi-level flyov
er in South India. The total length of the main arm of the grade separator is 1.41 km and there are four loops each of 180m length radiating from the main flyover in a clover leaf structure. It had reduced traffic congession to a great extent. Along with this, there few more flyovers opened up in T.Nagar, Kodambakkam and other areas. And there pleanty to come in the near future.
er in South India. The total length of the main arm of the grade separator is 1.41 km and there are four loops each of 180m length radiating from the main flyover in a clover leaf structure. It had reduced traffic congession to a great extent. Along with this, there few more flyovers opened up in T.Nagar, Kodambakkam and other areas. And there pleanty to come in the near future.4. Support for the Tamil eelam
The whole of Tamil Nadu including the film fraternity and the politici
ans stood up in support of the tamil origin people when they were allegedly killed by the Srilankan Army in the name of war. As of now, no one knows what is wrong and what not is, but the whole city was abuzz with activities in support of the Srilankan tamils. Fasts were organised by thr film fraternity and also by induvidual stars, which was duly supported by their fans.
ans stood up in support of the tamil origin people when they were allegedly killed by the Srilankan Army in the name of war. As of now, no one knows what is wrong and what not is, but the whole city was abuzz with activities in support of the Srilankan tamils. Fasts were organised by thr film fraternity and also by induvidual stars, which was duly supported by their fans.3. Chennai Commisioner of Police
When the former Com
misioner of Police Mr. R Sekar was transferred due to his inaction in the Law college studens brawl, all eyes were on the new CoP Mr K. Radhakrishnan, and he responded in style. The first action he did was to issue a set of commandments for his own police team and has lead by example till now. He is a strong believer in the fact that for one to preach a method, good or bad, he should be a follower of it first. Have to wait to see if he can stand the test of time.
misioner of Police Mr. R Sekar was transferred due to his inaction in the Law college studens brawl, all eyes were on the new CoP Mr K. Radhakrishnan, and he responded in style. The first action he did was to issue a set of commandments for his own police team and has lead by example till now. He is a strong believer in the fact that for one to preach a method, good or bad, he should be a follower of it first. Have to wait to see if he can stand the test of time.2. Chennai Transport
Apart form infrastructure, it is the transport department that has improved and is doing a lot better. As of now the variety of travelling options a chennaite has is amazing. What if an autowala charges you a hefty amount, when you are in a urgency, you have other options. 2008 has seen the endrsement of the MRTS train services and the advent of A/C buses. As the MRTS services was extended from Thiruvanmiyur to Velachery, the daily patronage has been increaed by 100%. And the A/C buses have squashed the theory that only that public transport is only for middle class people. Mr. KN Nehru, the transport minister has seems to have hit the bulls eye.
1. The Chennai Marathon
For every city, be it Mumbai or Chennai, what makes it special is the spirit of the people. And one of the wasys to show the world the unity and spirit is by getting together for a cause. The Marg Chennai marathon came as an oppurtunity for Chennaivaasis to show the passion for the city. The much publicized Mumbai Marathon was attended by close to 25000 people, while the Delhi half marathon was also attended by the same no. of people. Can you guess the no. of people who ran in various categories of the race. The number of participants for the MARG CHennai marathon stood at a whopping 1.7 lakh people. The greatest ever marathon in Indian history."I'm aware of the Boston, London, New York marathons. This should be the greatest marathon in the world in terms of numbers," said Union Sports Minister M S Gill. For this shows that Chennaites are more passionate for their city than anyone else.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
The movie I like and the one I dont(contd...)
When it comes to tamil cinema, I consider myself it's best fan and also the best critic. When we love a film or a celebrity we should be the first person to pin-point the faults and act as a responsible critic. The reason being simple- "We would want them to do better any day". After the greats RajiniKanth and KamalHaasan, I am attracted to only one actor in Tamil cinema, and that would be Joseph Vijay(Dont ask me why???I dont know...). So I would like his fims to do well always, like a normal fanatic of Vijay. But above that I would like to see some quality in his films. And being the best critic of the actor, the movie that dissapointed me the most is one of his films. The movie I hate is "Puthiya Geethai".
Right from the start of the film, there was not even a single indication that the film would atleast be an average fare. Vijay films are usuallly considered as minimum guarentee fares, but this one turned to be disastrous, and not without reasons. I swear you can never find such a studious, charming, polite, humble and happy go-lucky guy like Sarathy(Vijay) in the real life. An astrologer predicts that Sarathy wouldnt be able to prolomg his life beyond the age of 27. And the film revolves around the impact the hero has on other people and whether he would be able to prove the astrologer's predictions false. By now you should have guessed why the movie is among the worst films in Tamil Cinema.
Vijay did a neat job as the lead actor, but that is off no use,because he did a fatal mistake by commiting to such a weak story based project. The film could neither be classified as a mass fair, nor is it a class fair, rather it falls flat on its face. Meera jasmine is a National award winning actress, but she was reduced to just a caricature in the movie. Ameesha patel neither expressed nor did she expose- a total waste from the north. Kalabhavan Mani added one more film to his repetoire of caricature acts. How many films had we seen this actor hamming in the name of a villain, and he never did stop there. Vijay's weak point would be the weak punch dialouges, which was not able to bring the loyalest of his fans to the theatre. Karunas was just another character, whereas he was supposed to be the comedian.
The music was by Yuvan Shankar raja, a beaming musician at that time. he did a quiet job for the film. Few songs were hummable and the BGM isnt worth mentioning. But the main culprit is the director of the film Jagan. This was his first film as director and he had a superstar in his hands to make a good start to his career. But not only did he spoil his career and try to do the samt to Vijay, but also gave us one of the horrendous movie watching experience. I dont remember much of the movie(neither does it deserve to be remembered), but the only thing I remeber is it was the only movie for which I tried to come out of the theatre after 40 mins of the film.
Right from the start of the film, there was not even a single indication that the film would atleast be an average fare. Vijay films are usuallly considered as minimum guarentee fares, but this one turned to be disastrous, and not without reasons. I swear you can never find such a studious, charming, polite, humble and happy go-lucky guy like Sarathy(Vijay) in the real life. An astrologer predicts that Sarathy wouldnt be able to prolomg his life beyond the age of 27. And the film revolves around the impact the hero has on other people and whether he would be able to prove the astrologer's predictions false. By now you should have guessed why the movie is among the worst films in Tamil Cinema.
Vijay did a neat job as the lead actor, but that is off no use,because he did a fatal mistake by commiting to such a weak story based project. The film could neither be classified as a mass fair, nor is it a class fair, rather it falls flat on its face. Meera jasmine is a National award winning actress, but she was reduced to just a caricature in the movie. Ameesha patel neither expressed nor did she expose- a total waste from the north. Kalabhavan Mani added one more film to his repetoire of caricature acts. How many films had we seen this actor hamming in the name of a villain, and he never did stop there. Vijay's weak point would be the weak punch dialouges, which was not able to bring the loyalest of his fans to the theatre. Karunas was just another character, whereas he was supposed to be the comedian.
The music was by Yuvan Shankar raja, a beaming musician at that time. he did a quiet job for the film. Few songs were hummable and the BGM isnt worth mentioning. But the main culprit is the director of the film Jagan. This was his first film as director and he had a superstar in his hands to make a good start to his career. But not only did he spoil his career and try to do the samt to Vijay, but also gave us one of the horrendous movie watching experience. I dont remember much of the movie(neither does it deserve to be remembered), but the only thing I remeber is it was the only movie for which I tried to come out of the theatre after 40 mins of the film.
Friday, December 5, 2008
The movie I like and the one I dont...
The thought of penning my views about the movie I like and the one I dont had been brutally copied from the Cinema Plus Edition of 'The Hindu'. For those who couldnt co-relate, every week in the Cinema Plus edition a celebrity would write about the movie he/she like and the one he/she disliked. So why should celebreties alone get to act as critics, now I have decided to join the bandwagon.
I shall start with the movie I loved the most. I like to see some amount of humour involved in every film I watch, and if it is a film with humour as its main qoutient, then its a piece of cake for me. And if its Kamal Haasan who is gonna make me laugh, then I shall be ready for that any time. But the movie I love the most even after 17 years of its release, had not one, but 4 Kamals to take me through a laugh riot. The movie I like the most is "Micheal Madana Kama Rajan".
I need not let anyone know about the plot, the performance, music or any other aspect of the film, because I would look like a fool if I start scribbling all those(as if no one has seen the movie). Then what am I planning to write in here? Nothing!! I would like to celebrate a masterpiece in the history of Tamil Cinema, with my friends and readers. When the film was first announced, no one could have doubted Kamal for his ability to don 4 roles, but people should have thought that it would be difficult to weave a plot around four different charecters. Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, veteran director(at 1991 itself) produced thae script which not only gives equal screen presence to all the 4 charecters, but also makes sure that at the end of the film, we cannot forget even a single charecter from the film. There were too many characters in the film(What with Kamal himself making up to 4), that many got confused, but, they loved to get confused. Ranging from veterans S.N Lakshmi(thiruttu paati), Veneeraadai Murthy, Delhi Ganesh and Nagesh(All these people are Kamal's favourites and can be spotted in any of his films), to chicks like Kushboo, Roopini and Urvashi all played their parts well. The interesting characters like Bheem(rollicking stuff) and Micheals father(Santhaana Bharathi) were spot on.
Backed by Illayaraja's masterscore the movie turned out to be even better, what with the Maestro continuing his Midas touch with kamal haasan. The background score blended so well with the movie that we get along with the different tunes given for each of Kamal's characters(the music for palakkad Kameshwaran is the best). The way graphics was displayed to show more than one Kamal in a scene(The climax, on the hill-top hut, is the highlight), were extremely well done(Remember 17 years ago!!!).
I try very hard, not to mention about Kamal's performance, and I shall keep it up, because I ll be writing a whole new article on him. After all he is India's finest actor. Isnt he??
COMING UP.....THE MOVIE I HATE TO THE CORE
I shall start with the movie I loved the most. I like to see some amount of humour involved in every film I watch, and if it is a film with humour as its main qoutient, then its a piece of cake for me. And if its Kamal Haasan who is gonna make me laugh, then I shall be ready for that any time. But the movie I love the most even after 17 years of its release, had not one, but 4 Kamals to take me through a laugh riot. The movie I like the most is "Micheal Madana Kama Rajan".
I need not let anyone know about the plot, the performance, music or any other aspect of the film, because I would look like a fool if I start scribbling all those(as if no one has seen the movie). Then what am I planning to write in here? Nothing!! I would like to celebrate a masterpiece in the history of Tamil Cinema, with my friends and readers. When the film was first announced, no one could have doubted Kamal for his ability to don 4 roles, but people should have thought that it would be difficult to weave a plot around four different charecters. Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, veteran director(at 1991 itself) produced thae script which not only gives equal screen presence to all the 4 charecters, but also makes sure that at the end of the film, we cannot forget even a single charecter from the film. There were too many characters in the film(What with Kamal himself making up to 4), that many got confused, but, they loved to get confused. Ranging from veterans S.N Lakshmi(thiruttu paati), Veneeraadai Murthy, Delhi Ganesh and Nagesh(All these people are Kamal's favourites and can be spotted in any of his films), to chicks like Kushboo, Roopini and Urvashi all played their parts well. The interesting characters like Bheem(rollicking stuff) and Micheals father(Santhaana Bharathi) were spot on.
Backed by Illayaraja's masterscore the movie turned out to be even better, what with the Maestro continuing his Midas touch with kamal haasan. The background score blended so well with the movie that we get along with the different tunes given for each of Kamal's characters(the music for palakkad Kameshwaran is the best). The way graphics was displayed to show more than one Kamal in a scene(The climax, on the hill-top hut, is the highlight), were extremely well done(Remember 17 years ago!!!).
I try very hard, not to mention about Kamal's performance, and I shall keep it up, because I ll be writing a whole new article on him. After all he is India's finest actor. Isnt he??
COMING UP.....THE MOVIE I HATE TO THE CORE
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