rkvision

Men in Kakhi

2006-07-14T17:32:00.000+09:30

Courtesy Behindwoods

These are some of the police roles on the silver screen that I enjoyed. I have grouped them into two categories OLD and NEW.

OLD
***

Thanga Padhakkam - Sivaji
Honest police office ku oru eduthu kattu. Given I was not born when this movie released, I should admit that some scenes were overacted by Sivaji Ganesan. But, the pride that he expressed as an officer on duty was amazing.

Kadamai Ganniyam Kattupadu - Satyaraj
Back then Satyaraj was a budding actor predominantly with negative roles. This had him play a cop - his role was positive with negative shades in them. Though loud and eccentric at times, the character was indeed enjoyable.

Captain Prabakaran, Pulan visaranai, Managara kaaval - Captain
All these stands evidence of captain's acting and fighting capabilities. My personal favourite is pulan visaranai - back then it was a very good thriller. Though, the stunts were not world class almost all the fights were believable. These cop roles were tailor made to match Captains image. On a different note, captain should concentrate on films of this type rather than having stunts where he beats the hell out of 200 people or so.

Chathriyan - Captain
Probably the best cop role that captain has played so far. Very believable stunts and sequences. He is a treat to watch while he is on the revenge mode. 'annachi' the villan was very soft spoken but deadly. PC's camera did the rest.

Agni Natchatram - Prabhu
This was an half hearted choice. But I watched this movie recently(again) so this kind of had an influence while making the choice. However, the "gethu" that Prabhu expresses was awesome. In particular the scene on the electric train when he tries to save his sister from rowdies. And the scene in which he arrests Karthik and subsequently the scene in which Karthik gets bailed out stands evidence for the composure of the role. This was not a primary choice because Prabhu was a bit to big to be a police officer and he used his official power for personal issues often.

NEW
***

Gentleman - Saranraj
Career best performance by Saranraj. "verri, verri, policekaran verri", "naan onnum tension agala ma, rathnam" - very good performance. The scene in which his head gets shaved, backed up with some thrilling score by ARR, was awesome. Unfortunately for Saranraj he was not able to take off his career from here on.

Kurudhi Punal - Kamal and Arjun
This is probably the most realistic tamil movie I've ever seen. In particular, I liked the interrogation scenes. Very believable stunts and down to earth dialogs. Kamal and Arjun lookes dashing as cops expecially in the kakhi uniforms.

Kakka Kakka - Surya
Surya lived as Anbuchelvan. His body language, dialogs(or absence of it) and feelings for maya were very believable and down to earth. "gethu" was full-on in his role. "Police officer naley oru thani mariyadhai irrukula..." - salute you Anbuchelvan sir.

Raam - Rahman
Down to earth character. This characted grew on me because out of all the roles I mentioned this was the only one which had no stunt sequences. However, the whole police station set up and behaviours of all the policemen was very believable.

Lets wait and see if Vettaiyadu Velaiyadu makes it into my list!

Born Into Brothels

2005-11-13T13:41:00.001+10:30

(Image Couresy: Rikks Revues)

Born Into Brothels is a documentary that is set in the red-light district of the Calcutta city, West Bengal, India. The movie is an account on the efforts by a couple of people in bringing a change in the life of the kids who were born in the district.

The movie serves as a measure to show what the kids born in such districts are capable of given the right chances. A group of kids under the supervision of Zana Briski try their hands on photography. I should admit that some of the photos took me by surprise. These are kids who are under continuous sorrow and pressure. Please do read the article about this movie on Kids with Camera and here on the Smithsonian Magazine.

(Image Courtesy: Kids With Camera)

No wonder this movie won the AcademyAward, IMO, it deserves every bit of it. Please do not be surprised by the other awards(and the number of awards) that this movie has won. A set of pictures taken by the children can be found in VKPR.

A must watch for all.

Kamalhaasan's Best - IMO

2005-11-08T16:42:00.000+10:30

No questions about Kamal's talent in almost all fields of the Film Industry. These are some of the best scenes/techniques IMO that Kamal has performed/employed.

Salangai Oli
The scene where kamal, after being criticised for a bad review he had made on a fame-conscious dancer, goes through with her showing her how to dance for that sequence in various dance forms. This scene goes about showing his talents in Dancing. This sence is IMO one of the best in this movie.

Moondram Pirai
I read in one of the blogs about this one. The blogger view in my words.In this movie Sridevi steals the show(thanks to her acting capabilities as a crazy girl) throughout the movie. Kamal all through the movie has to underplay his part. But during the finishing 10 minutes you get to watch some mind-blowing performance from Kamal that he easily walks away with the National Award. I totally concur with this view. Every time I watch it I have a lump in my throat when he runs over the post in the station. Excellent.

Kurudhi Punal
There are a num of things that I liked about this movie. Technically superior than any other films then released. If I am not wrong the first tamil movie to use Dolby. The sound effects were amazing. The characters were down to earth and so was their acting. Kamal-Nasser interogation scene is simply one of the best. "Aaadhi DC, romba neermaiyana komban !" had a bit of command to it and were not merely dialogs.

Nayagan
The scene where he cries after finding out that his son is dead. Though there were many spoofs made out of it one has to accept the fact that it is one of the best scenes.

Saathi Leelavathi
The introduction of Kamal is sure to raise laughs. The manner in which Ramesh Aravind tries to escape from Kamal, Kamal's repeated efforts to get a glimpse of Heera not knowing that she is in fact with Ramesh Aravind, not to mention the Coimbatore Tamil Slang(BTW,I am from Coimbatore) - just hilarious.

Aboorva Sahodhargal
Apart from the dwarf role in the movie there are a few other aspects that impressed me very much. I watched this movie again recently. After the beginning credits the scene opens showing a hut - I went like "what's this ?" - then all of a sudden you have a car running through the roof of the hut being chased by "appa" kamal - this was very new. One other aspect that impressed me was the lighting during the earlier scenes. If I am not wrong it was by PC sir. No wonder. Another notable aspect was the background music - the mosic is very hard and fast paced diuring the fighting scenes by "appa" kamal and all of a sudden the great Raja switches over melody when showing Srividya on the boat. The melody is very smooth and very refreshing. Does any one know if these background/theme music by raja is online ?

MMKR
The scene where the cook kaameeshwaran in an accident gets a fish in his pocket and the scenes following that. He will drop it into the sambhar and will say "modhakaradhu...neenjaradhu" - he will also ask for "meen pidikara karandi irruka" - for a minute everyone will seem to speak about the fish. "I mean what I mean by all means, enna ellarum mean mean gra". Fine comedy.

Punnagai Mannan
The musical interlude and the dance sequence for that is one of the best scenes in the movie. The way he accepts Revathi's love and tears away his egoistic mask all throughout the dance and the sequence that follows. Hallmark of dancing and acting. If Salangai Oli showcased his bharathanatiyam talents this one showcased his more western dance talents.

This list can go on for another page or two but I have decided to stop it here.
Some of his other best movies include Arengetram, Avargal, Varumai in Niram Sivapu, Dhevar Magan, Hey Ram, Mahanadhi.

Happy Birthday to Kamal and good luck for VV and Dhasaavatharam.

Movies I am looking forward for...

2005-08-29T14:45:00.000+09:30

Ghajini
Looks to be a techically well made movie. The stills and the trailer looks very good. If the story helps and so does the screenplay we are in for a good one. The directors previous movies have been good so lets hope this one is good as well.

Athu Oru Kanaa Kaalam
Dhanush was very good in the movie Kadhal Kondean. Thanks to some bad selections by Dhanush his recent movies were terrible. Balumahendra is known for emotional human drama (his "veedu" is my favourite). I am looking forward for this movie.

Thotti Jaya
I have started liking Simbhu after Manmadhan. Hopefully he pulls out this time also. He , I beleive, has immense talent but it is being utilized to cater his image. He should make sensible films to become a good actor.

Rajini and Kamal movies are always in my list.

Lets wait and see.

Rajini/Shankar/AVM

2005-08-22T18:01:00.000+09:30

Will it be Mudhalvan part-2 ?

or

Will it be a Social-message giving movie ? (Like Gentleman, Indian, Anniyan)

or

Will it be a light-hearted movie like Jeans ?

or

I dont want it to be like Boys, anyone does ?

or

Will it be a Hi-Fi Thriller (like the on-the-shelf "Robot") ?

or

Will Shankar come up with something very new ?

----------------------------------------------------------------------

My observations on Rajini Movies(Recent ones) and on Shankar Movies

Rajini Movie - He will be larger-than-life and all the other charaters in the movie will have either larger-than-life love or enimity won Rajini. The art direction will be dramatic and grand.

Shankar Movie - Hero will be larger-than-life and all the other charaters in the movie will be very down to earth. The art direction will be close-to-real life and very beleivable.

Any comments ? These are just my views.

SA Great

2005-08-10T15:08:00.000+09:30

(Image Courtesy: SA Great)

If you live in South Australia you might have come across this logo. Many metro buses have an advertisement about SA Great on them not to mention the ads that run on local TV channels.

"SA Great is a membership-based organisation committed to the promotion of South Australian successes; local individuals and organisations making a real contribution to the growth and identity of our State." - Text courtesy SA Great.

Take a look at this year's winners and a brief about everyone of them over here. I feel that there should be such org's for every district in India. Lots of inspirational people go unnoticed. Most of those people dont mind going unnoticed but everyone else must mind this.

Edhirparpom !

PC for Rupees 9990

2005-08-09T12:38:00.000+09:30

(Image Courtesy: BBC)

With India's name bouncing up everytime one spells IT there is a need for computer penetration within the mass. Yes, India has one of the largest population of people using computers but the question of the day is does India have the largest population of people owning computers. Well, the answer is not far away considering the exponential fall of computer prices in India.

I picked up this one from BBC Madras about HCL selling computers for less than 10000 rupees. To be exact for 9990 rupees. Its very clear from the outset that the machines will not be the cutting edge ones but the real point is do we need cutting edge PC's for everyone. Check out the specifications and details over here.

Welcome move !

Subway - surprisingly above ground

2005-08-08T10:54:00.000+09:30

(Image Courtesy Chennai Online)

If you have ever visited Chennai you should have come across the concept of Subways. I am from Coimbatore we dont have subways in Coimbatore(Oops - I have not been to kovai in abut a year now so this statement is old). Apart from the fact that Subways help people crossing the ever busy roads(sometimes I wonder where everyone are going...) of Chennai, the subways are home for atleast a dozen small businesses selling hand towels etc and a few beggars. Particularly the one between the Chennai Central and Park Station is very busy.

For about an year or so there is another kind of Subway that has been quite popular with the locals of Chennai. Its the Subway Restaurant in about four locations in Chennai. You can search the location of these here. It caters both the vegan as well as the non-vegetarian sandwich lovers. If you are i-prefer-sandwiches kind of a guy/girl then subway is for you. The food is quite expensive . About 100 rs for a 6-inch. Anyways, When I get back to India I will prefer saravanabhavan masal dhosai to this sandwich.

Hibernation

2005-08-04T14:41:00.000+09:30

I went into Hibernation from blogging for the past month or so(I have to work sometime !). I am back.

Sir C V Raman

2005-07-18T17:29:00.000+09:30

(Image Courtesy : Britannica)

I was taking a walk in the Physics Department Lobby at University of South Australia. There were a few photo portraits hanging on the wall. I looked at each one of them and as usual looked if I could see any Indian face or not.

There was this picture and a small text about Sir C V Raman. He needs no introduction but if you are interested in his biography here is one (another one). He is the first Asian/Indian to win the Nobel Prize.

Be proud to be an Indian !

Feast India

2005-07-15T12:15:00.000+09:30

Image Courtesy : Feast India

Whenever there is some show on the TV that shows India, I dont know about others, I would rather not move out of the place. With the usually boring stuff(Its purely my view on it) from the local televisions in Australia one would never get attracted to the TV sets.

I came across this program on SBS (friday every week). Its called "Feast India". Unlike many other food and life style docs, the host(BARRY VERA) in this one goes for typical street foods and local specials. Given the fact that I have not visited India for more than a year now, my mouth started watering. Briefs on the episodes so far can be found here.

Image Courtesy : Feast India

The best part according to me was the following. You must have seen the master in a tea shop - he(usually) has two big jugs made of AL pouring hot milk from one and bringing down the heat. "Paal aatharadhu". And then pours the hot milk into the tea glasses. The program showed such a teashop and called the master - "The Human Cappuchino Machine".

Looking forward for the further episodes !

College - to - a - IT Job

2005-07-12T17:55:00.000+09:30

Most of us, during college days, think of a dream job and nowadays often a dream IT Job. The transition from a student life to a software engineer life is well described by Dinesh.

True !

What drove me into Blogging ?

2005-07-12T17:46:00.000+09:30

I should thank the following Bloggers for developing an interest for blogging in me. Teakada, Instant kaapi, Sambhar mafia, Thirumurugan, My ennangal, Lazy Geek and BBThots.

Thanks !

Short(and Soft) Tempered Villian

2005-07-12T13:16:00.000+09:30

(Image Courtesy)

Be it a typical Chennai Rowdy in Dhool or be it Kothala Thevan in Virumaandi, Pasupathy has maintained a very good Bad Guy image. Here is a bit on him from Pasupathy's interview - The Hindu.

Good find !

Well, this is how it all started !

2005-07-12T13:02:00.000+09:30

(Image courtesy)

Was seraching for the birth place of blogging and hit this one. Well, if you are not particular about the authenticity of the post, one could say Sir Richard Steele was the first blogger(1709) in the world. He circulated his views by writing letters 3 times a week(The Tadler).

Try answering this question, Would we be blogging if not for the Internet ? I would not be. This is one of the many reasons as to why I worship advancements in technology.

Thanks to him !

Indians in SA

2005-07-11T17:52:00.000+09:30

Indian Australian Association of South Australia is an association for people of Indian background living in South Australia and for anyone interested in Indian culture. Located in Adelaide, the association organises various cultural and sports activities with prime focus on fun and fellowship. Text and Image courtesy : IAASA.

Another SA association of interest is Shruthi Adelaide.

Remember The Titans

2005-07-11T17:12:00.000+09:30

Image courtesy: Disney.

My friend Thirumurugan suggested me to watch this movie. After having done so, now I realise why he did so. Wow - what a movie !

I am not getting into the story because you are sure to get atleast a 100 reviews of this movie when you google it. What really impressed me was the bonus material in the DVD. The movie is based on a true story of living legends. The bonus has features of the real coaches who helped the titans win the games. I was also impressed that the filmmakers have been in constant touch with them while making the movie. It also features the reunion of the 1971 T.C.Titans football team mates. Do not miss this movie and if you can watch the bonus materials on the DVD.

A Very Inspirational Movie !

Big Brother in Germany

2005-07-11T16:45:00.000+09:30

Image Courtesy Big Brother Australia.

To what extent a Reality TV show would go to attract people ? If Big Brother Uncut was not enough, here it comes - Big Brother in Germany. You must be knowing about Big Brother in Australia. Big Brother in Germany is on similar lines except that the BB is no longer watching just a House but he watches a Whole Village. A village has been constructed and the cameras monitor the peoiple 24/7.

Magnetic Metro Tickets

2005-07-08T11:23:00.000+09:30

I boarded a metro bus yesterday and headed towards my home. If the busy day in the Uni wasnt enough the tickets wouldnt work yesterday. The Validating Machine in the bus did not accept the ticket. I then showed it to the driver and he wrote me a slip with which I can claim the a new Ticket from any metro ticket office.

I had nothing to do last night so decided to do a little research on what might have caused my tickets failure. Well I did find it out. For those who dont know the ticket that I am talking about get detailed information here.

The tickets have a magnetic strip in which the ticket information is stored on. The validater in the buses/trains and trams reads this info and validates the ticket. As per simple magnetism(thanks to my 8th standard physics teacher - I am not able to remember a thing about the magnetic physics) the magnets could be demagnetised in a number of ways. I spend most of my time near the computer and my wallet next to it. From this information given in the Adelaide Metro website, I learnt the many ways in which the magnetised tickets could go demagnetised (See pic below). Images courtesy : Adelaide Metro .

Padayappa Magic

2005-07-07T17:39:00.000+09:30

Could there be anything more interesting than a typical Rajini Movie. For some crazy reason I decided to rent Thalaivar's Padayappa movie. I missed most of the dialogs in the theater when I watched the move during the first week(oh yeah - I couldnt get the first day tickets) - well most of us would have. With such a crowd raising voice everytime thalaivar does something good I bet no one would understand all the dialogs.

Image Courtesy : Rajini Fans

It feels like yesterday and the movie was really fresh. There should be some magic with our thalaivar and that should be the secret of his amazing screen presence. The scenes I enjoyed in the movie are

Thalaivar Intro. "En peru padaiyappa....". Except for the first few lines the rest is thathuvam.
The scene where Neelambari was about to be hit by a bull. He would save her and tie the rope in a super way.
After tying the rope he would then with his stylist walk sai "Hai" to soundarya.
The whole of "Vazhkai yil 1000 thadaikal appa... ". Very inspirational.
The scene where he would take hand of soundarya as per his mothers wishes. The music would match the slow paced scene very much.
The very last scene wher he would say "adhigama aasa padara aanum adigama kova padara ponnum nalla vanzdhadha sarithiram me illa". Very apt.

The movie is not boring irrespective of the number of times you watch it.

This is called Thalaivar Magic.

Adelaide O-Bahn

2005-07-07T13:49:00.000+09:30

Image courtesy : Adelaide Metro

Have you been in a bus that travels at an 100 km/hr speed within the metro area. Well, if not you have missed the fun.

World's longest guided bus way is here in Adelaide(its been here for many years now I only knew it recently). Its called the Adelaide O-Bahn. It connects the Central Business District with the North Eastern Suburbs in Adelaide. Apart from the fact that the bus travels faster the natural surroundings around the tract caught my attention. Information on how the system works, facts and figures can be found here. If you happen to visit Adelaide use this guide to plan your trip on one of these buses.

A well thought-out and useful system !

Ab Tak Chappan(56)

2005-06-30T07:57:00.000+09:30

Only very rarely I watch Hindi Movies simply because I dont understand Hindi all that well. But after reading Lazygeek's post on the movie I couldnt help myself and decided to rent this DVD.

Shimit Amin's "Ab Tak Chappan" is straight forward and realistic. If you are into typical Bollowood masalas then this movie is not for you. But this movie is an example that goes to say how Indian Cinema has matured in taking movies close to reality.

The story is simple. A Cop, encounter specialist and a family man - Sadhu Agashe(played by Nana Paketar) - is the talk of the press lately due to his encounters that he made in the Mumbai City. He and his department shoot people who escape punishments with their infulence or money. I liked the way the director went about conveying this message in almost the beginning minutes of the movie. I was also impressed by the way director let the credits appear on the screen which apparently happened along the movie (like our director Shankar).

After the first few scenes the movie changes gear, where Sadhu's office and house are shown. These scenes give an impression on the simplicity of the man behind the recent killings(encounters) of gangsters of Mumbai. Revathi(played by our Revathi) as a wife of Sadhu has little to do. Sadhu has full freedom to do things his way within the department and has often been successful.

Imtiyaz, the next person in the line of command within his department, is jealous of Sadhu for his fame and name that he gained. This person(apparently does not look like a Cop) does emote well. His anger on Sadhu grows even higher when he realises Sadhu is giving importance to another relatively new entrant in the department. Imtiyaz, has count of number of people he has bumped and wants to take his count more than Sadhu. Sadhu who do cares for Imtiyaz's feelings also feels that he is not good enough.

Things go out of Sadhu's control, when a new superior officer takes office. Meanwhile, Sadhu's wife also gets killed when an escaped prisoner(earlier arrested by Sadhu) takes revenge on Sadhu. This is one of the best scenes in the movie according to me. Everyone around Sadhu is terrified and restless seeing Revathi down with a bullet shot. One of them screams out for Ambulance, Doctor and so on, but Sadhu remains composed and says "No, She's Dead". Everyone in his department is taken aback when he returns to office a few days later and behaves in a normal way.

His investigation on his wife's murder leads him to a highly influential man in the city. His senior officer(who is also jealous) questions his efforts for which Sadhu resigns his job. Later tagged criminal(for killing) and given shoot at sight order. Imtiyaz, the new chief, arrests him and tries to bump him. But Sadhu's loyal assitants kill Imtiyaz instead. This adds up as one of the charges against Sadhu. At this stage he flees the country with the help of his Underworld friend. We think the movie comes to an end with a twist. When the ex-chief of police meets him and tells him the possibility of he getting free for guilt but plainly refuses because he comments that he is happy the way he is.

Things I liked the most - Dialogs were down to earth and so was the casting, the hero is not a larger-than-life person who kills people, the encounters are realistic and the narration was particularly impressive. One of my friend Thirumurugan, who watched the movie with me yesterday, commented that the movie is kept intact with the one character and the whole movie revolves around Sadhu. Very good BGM's for the movie.

A must-see for a fan of Serious films.

(Image Courtesy: http://www.stardustindia.com)

Starting Today

2005-06-30T06:01:00.000+09:30

Its been long since Ive been a Blog follower. Decided to start my own today.