Tastes best when chilled...

WWE Superstars vs Indian Cricket Players

2011-12-30T08:00:00.001+05:30

I was a big fan of the WWE from the 90s when I was young and I also happen to be a big fan of cricket. Though both are different fields- the former is a fictionalized professional sports event while the latter is a true sport event - the players that they are in their own field warranted a comparison between some of the biggest superstars in each field. Here are a few comparisons I could think of.

Kane - Virender Sehwag

Aggression - It defines both of these players. Ruthless attack on the opposition; they know it and that aggressive attack defines their play. Though they have featured on some high profile matches, they haven't always made huge impact. A special time awaits their performance.

Edge - Yuvraj Singh

Both are class players, could be show stealers and got a huge fan base. They could single handedly take the show but injuries have restricted these players to give their maximum.

CM Punk - Gautam Gambhir

They have their own set of unique fan base who would never give up on these respective men. Their way of playing is different and they are both unsung heroes in their respective field.

Batista - Harbhajan Singh

Both are aggressive and have contributed on big occasions. Has the potential to be a massive attack on the opposition. However, their play didn't last long. While the former wished to stay out of their field, the latter is looking for a huge come back.

Shawn Michaels - VVS Laxman

Though they both got aged, they didn't lack in their commitment. Both are huge stars in their own fields and have starred in high prolific matches.

Randy Orton - Zaheer Khan

Randy Orton started from being a high profile star into becoming a champion and also famously being called as 'the legend killer' to take down the legends. Zaheer Khan also started as a high profile star but now being considered as the spearhead of Indian bowling attack which is being feared by legendary cricketers all over.

Undertaker - Anil Kumble

Both had been in the industry spanning two decades. Both instill fear in the opposition. Could single handedly finish the opposition with their tricks. Also, shown a lot of commitment (playing with injuries) in their field.

John Cena - Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Both are current sensations in their own field. Has shown great temperament. Leaders in their own rights. Both faced their worst fear when they got compared with the previous legends. John Cena got booed for competing with 'The Rock' while Dhoni has got a considerable number of haters who are the fans of Sourav Ganguly, the previous best captain.

Triple H - Rahul Dravid

Both are already legends in their career and has nothing left to prove. When others have failed, they are known to provide the momentum. Though slow in their approach and has their unique GAME approach, they are match winners and are ready to face any challenge.

The Rock - Sourav Ganguly

Complete entertainers and could own the situation completely. Both are kings of comebacks and went onto become legends and they chose their own field after their retirement and still contributes to their field which took them to great heights. Though both are compared to the other legends, they still are the favorites among huge number of fans.

Stone Cold Steve Austin - Sachin Tendulkar

Both are the biggest superstars in their own field. Could completely take a situation under their own control. Huge crowd pullers and their entry and performance could evoke huge round of cheers. Both of them unsettles the opposition in their play and has reaped in several rewards. Their fan base and their immense popularity made people recognize them as the giant in their respective fields.

7aum Arivu - A Review

2011-11-13T05:27:00.001+05:30

How often do you see a film in Tamil cinema that has science fiction as its genre? How often do you see a movie that moves away from the stereotypes that are today? It is a rarity to see experiments in Tamil cinema but sometime, the experiments wouldn't work out well as the director might have expected.

7aum Arivu is a story about Bodhi Dharman (played by Surya) who is believed to have lived in the 5th century and also claimed to the founder of the Shaolin school. Legends claim that he is a Tamizhan - a warrior who was well versed in Indian martial arts Kalari and also good at Hypnotism. After his death, people over there praised him as God whereas he was forgotten by the land where he was born. That is only the first 15 minutes of the movie.

Subha Srinivasan (played by Shruti Haasan), a bio-technology scientist, researches on genes and she claims that she can bring back ancient forgotten talents hidden in the genes by initiating them. She takes particular interest in Bodhi Dharman's case and she traces his family tree down to Aravindan (also played by Surya) who happens to be the descendant of Bodhi Dharman. Subha, in the pretext of being friendly with Aravindan, finds out that his genes shares resemblance to that of Bodhi Dharman. Aravindan gets cheated into believing that it is love and he gets heart broken. Meanwhile, a deadly assassin named Dong Lee (played by Johnny Tri Nguyen) is sent by China in order to kill Subha to stop her from bringing back Bodhi Dharman through her research as they are planning to have a bio war on India through a disease which only Bodhi Dharman knows to cure it. What happens next forms the story.

The film carries well in the first 15 minutes where it is kind of a short documentary on Bodhi Dharman. The scenes are taken beautifully which made fans believe that those are the only best scenes of the movie. What follows next in the first half are boring romance sequences and sloppy songs. When Dong Lee arrives, the film brisks at a higher pace, however, too much of exaggeration almost spoiled the rest of the movie.

In director's defense, his bold move of taking a new storyline rather than a commercial venture is highly laudable. He made people look into Wikipedia to know who Bodhi Dharma actually is. To craft a story from true facts is not an easy task to do. That is where director Murugadoss excels. He could have avoided the romance scenes which are not needed for the movie but however, the fans go to the movie expecting romance between the two leads. Hence the director's concentration on the story plot lets the script down.

Apart from shedding some light on Bodhi Dharman, there are several things to be praised about the movie. First is Surya's dedication - having become a master of his own craft, he never lets down his director with his performance. Also, in one scene, the heroine Subha is in control of the situation where he patiently obeys her orders which I am pretty sure that most of the other top actors wouldn't agree to do. In fact, that is logical because Shruti is a scientist whereas Aravindan is a circus stuntman and Shruti is bound to have some medical knowledge. This is where the director's wit is to be praised.

When Aravindan asks about Subha's father, she replies that he was interested in research which explains the reason why his daughter ventured into research as well. There are several such implicit scenes where the director's witty effort is shown. The other praise should be for Johnny Tri Nguyen who rocked as the villain. Though his hypnotism skills are too much exaggerated (no one can cause the entire traffic to get into mess with his hypnotism), there is one scene where he creates a ruckus in the police station. That scene is shown cleverly through the CCTV and the style imitates that of T-1000 of Terminator 2 fame. If Kamal Haasan did a commendable job as an assasin in the movieDasavatharam, he got a competitor.

Shruti Haasan, though in her debut Tamil movie, has done a decent job and her own Tamil voice has added the power to her role especially in her oral defense scene where she shouts at the Professors for showing disrespect to Tamil. The final scene of the movie, where Surya talks about the forgotten history of Tamil, is like the signature of the movie where Murugadoss makes a special appearance.

Having said that the directory is witty, there are several flaws in the movie. One of such is the exaggerated use of Hypnotism. If controlling the entire traffic scene is far fetched, the same scene where he hypnotises people to fight kung fu style is out of the league. Also, having destroyed an entire police station, there are supposed to be police searching for him and this guy roams freely in the street for 12 days. Also, not to forget the first half which could have been done with within half an hour.

The movie, though, is a must watch for movie lovers and also for the special reason if you are a Tamizhan.
I give it the rating 7/10

Mankatha - A Review

2011-09-29T04:58:00.002+05:30

Ajith's 50^th movie was amagnum opus. The expectation of the movie was soaring very high rightfrom the beginning. After Rajini's blockbuster Enthiran, this was themost expected movie. The movie was loved by the Ajith fans and manyentertainers alike. The critics still deemed it to be a mediocreentertainer.

The movie is about an investigation onthe gambled money of the cricket matches in India where officerPrithviraj (Arjun) gets in charge of nabbing the culprits. He doesmanage to do so at lot of occasions. In a parallel track, a group offour men unlikely to be thieves including a henchman, a police, a barowner and his hacker friend all set to steal away the 500 crore valueof gambled money. In comes the suspended police officer Vinayak(Ajith) who joins the party and they are all group together to playthe game.

The movie is a complete entertainer.Like all other entertainers, the movie defies logic at a lot ofplaces. Quite dragging in the first half, the movie picks up quickpace in the second half and leads you quickly to the climax.However, the cliché moments and the predictable climax brings downthe movie a little bit. It may have brought it down more than whatthey think. Certain scenes were a rip-off from several Hollywoodmovies. The background track is good although it reminds you of a lotof similar tracks. The songs put a brake to the pace of the movie andit is one of the major drawbacks of the movie. The twist in theclimax will look unnecessary and strongly reminds of Saroja climax.

Ajith had gone bold for a lot of thingsin this movie. First, his salt and pepper look as an aging guy in themovie must be a huge trendsetter in Tamil movies. This reminds meagain of Rajini's simple entry in Enthiran movie. Second, Ajith'sappearance of a villain in his 50^th movie gets him specialcredit for his daring move. Arjun and the rest of the male cast havegiven a commendable performance. Though they were generously givenscreen space in an Ajith movie, it was completely dominated by Ajith.The actresses' roles have very little role and they appear for alimited time only.

The movie has become a blockbuster hitand Venkat Prabhu has done a good job in keeping the entertainerlevels high but he will be challenged to come up with a differentscript next time. This movie may or may not be claimed as been savedby Ajith but if Ajith's records holds true for the next movie, he iswell on his track to be the next big hero of Tamil Cinema.

Kanchana – A review

2011-08-22T21:52:00.002+05:30

The movie has run for a month. It was expected to click only at B and C centers. It clicked in A centers as well which means that Raghava Lawrence can bring in the same formula and still bring in hits. Though considered a sequel to Muni, Muni – Part 2 could be considered as a reboot to the original movie. The attempt at bringing in the spooks and chills succeeded with this movie as well.

Lawrence, like in the original, is the protagonist who is scared of nothing but ghosts. He is scared to such an extent that he clings on to his mother when he hears about ghosts. He accidentally brings in spirit to his house through cricket stumps and the ghost haunts his house and his family. The ghost gets in to Lawrence to take revenge on its killer.

Lawrence, in this movie, decided to add the element of his social service and tried to convey good message to the audience. The song to motivate physically challenged people and the notion of motivating the transgenders through this movie is also well appreciable.

The best compliments should be reserved for two actors in the movie. One is for Sarath Kumar who has acted extremely well that makes you feel that his talent was wasted all these years (Similar to Vishal of Avan Ivan). The other is for the veteran actress Kovai Sarala who has rocked throughout the movie. Special credits to them both. Also Raghava Lawrence has acted brilliantly that it took me a while to realize that the terrifying lady of the final song is none other than Lawrence.

The movie has a disappointing romance scenes between the lead pair and that is one of the major minuses of the movie. Also, the climax looks so simple and predictable and hence one of the other disappointments of the movie. Leaving them all aside, the movie is definitely worth a watch for all the horror movie lovers and also for horror with comedy.

Avan Ivan - A review

2011-06-19T06:03:00.000+05:30

This movie had a signature to it - the name of Bala, the director of the movie. That is an enough reason to watch the movie. However, it was packed with the performance of Arya and Vishal. Given in the hands of Bala, who has this knack of creating a movie with raw elements such as Pithamagan, Naan Kadavul, he didn't go far from creating yet another raw movie.

Touted as a comedy movie, the movie was released with much hype as one of the most expected movies of this year. It is however questionable whether the movie held on to its expectations. The movie, according to me, fails in catering to that genre.

Arya who had already carved a niche for himself with the movie 'Naan Kadavul' got another opportunity to work with Bala. His performance is good compared to his other non-Bala movies. But it is Vishal who, as Arya had honestly admitted, steals the show. Starting from the intro song, Vishal had everyone guessing what he will do to evoke laughter. The dialogue delivery as a lady or in the glittering get-up to impress the police constable, he rocked throughout. However, just when you wish to see more of Vishal, he goes missing and the following scenes gets dominated by Arya and GM Kumar.

The movie gets drastically slow and had the patience of the audience tested when Surya appears in a guest role. Those scenes are supposed to be interesting but that was a huge let down except for the unneeded Navarasa scene. What follows is a huge mess or a let down!

Arya, Vishal and Ambiga roles were the ones which were clearly crafted and the rest of the cast were either poorly crafted or did not put enough effort to evoke emotions. The boy, who is an accomplice of Arya, was given too much of dialogues to speak. Both the heroines Janani Iyer and Madhu Shalini didn't have a huge role. The role that of Janani Iyer reminded that of Laila of Pithamagan and the role that of Pithamagan reminded that of Abitha of Sethu.

GM Kumar's character is a huge confusion throughout the movie and the reason why he is respected by the leads' family members is a huge question. I wonder how the decision for him to go bare for this movie would contribute to the success of the movie. As my friend told, it was repulsive.
When 80% of the movie didn't have any story line and when suddenly a character comes out of nowhere and then, when you expect the villain character to give you the chills and when he doesn't, the movie is failure.

This movie is yet another example that shows why Bala doesn't know how to end a movie. Take Pithamagan for example, kill Surya and let Vikram kill the villain brutally. That was, however, accepted for the first time. Following that, in Naan Kadavul, out of nowhere, Arya goes and kills the villain just because he could spot the evil in a man. Yet again, in this movie, the villain is brought just to end the movie. Kind of a stereotype, isn't it?

After a movie ends, whether it is a comedy or a tragedy, one shouldn't feel disgusted at the movie. This movie, unfortunately, is one of those movies. For all those people who believe that they will like this movie, you may be wrong. Sorry if his review is biased in any sort. Watch the movie and let me know.

On Stranger Tides: A review

2011-05-29T09:28:00.000+05:30

Several months back, a trailer of Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides released which had the dialogues and I quote, “You are Jack.. Sparrow?” to which Jack Sparrow replies, “There should be a captain in there somewhere”. From then on, the trailer clearly indicated that it is going to be a Jack Sparrow show. It was good to know that news but yet, it crossed my mind that it should not be a pure Jack Sparrow show; cause that would be putting the entire burden on a single character and the expectations would be high.

Fortunately or unfortunately, in the movie; that is what happened. Jack Sparrow, though he did not dominate the movie, he was the main protagonist and had to endure yet another journey with few supporting characters complimenting him. It was a thrilling adventure and the movie makers proved the point that why they are one of the successful movie franchises. They used Jack Sparrow to the fullest but what certainly was wrong about the movie was Jack Sparrow himself.

There was some deviation in Sparrow's character; you could easily find it in the movie; he was shown as a lesser cunning, more of the good natured character that he probably isn't. The important point to be noted was that in the first three movies, Jack Sparrow wanted something in the adventure. This time, he didn't. That makes you think throughout the movie, “Oh, there he is! He is going to save the day”. In the first three movies, you would probably be like, “Hey there he is! I wonder what he is upto now!” Notice the difference.

The good things about the movie is that it is a great adventure ride and it did not lack the thrills and chills. Some of the enjoyable scenes are the mutiny against Blackbeard and the fear of Sparrow when he meets him. The mermaids scene was really well taken; the director showed both beauty and the beast in the mermaids and the scene was good.

Another of those disappointments would be the way the characters were wasted in the movie. For example, characters like Gibbs and Barbossa were not made complete use. The Blackbeard's character was not strong nor intimidating than the previous villains (Remember Davy Jones). Also, Angelica's character did not have any important part yet in this movie although her role in the movie is necessary. These many unused treasures makes you want the Flying Dutchman captained by Will Turner and also Elizabeth Turner. Gone are those tales, aren't they?

The movie is definitely worth a watch for all those adventure lovers and also, if you are a Jack Sparrow fan, you should not miss it. Also, as this movie goes on a different track than the first three movies, one need not watch the first trilogy. But the characters need to known and understood prior to watching this movie in order to completely love the characters. Savvy?

Rating: 7.5/10

India's bowling woes

2011-02-28T06:06:00.000+05:30

We all know that India started off the the World Cup campaign with a convincing win. Thanks to the commanding ton by Virender Sehwag with a complimenting century from Kohli as well. Though India, the co-hosts, is touted to be the favorites, India still has its weaklink exposed - the tail. The bowling woes of India is known for long; one should not forget that they did win the match for India at times, which sometimes had the bat contribution from the tail as well.

The first win against Bangladesh is only considered to be a convincing win and not a dominating win. If India is the second ranked ODI in the world, playing in a similar soil in their neighbouring land against Bangladesh - a lesser daunting yet ODI shockers who could upset any team in this world, India should have easily pulled off a stunning win. Yes, the mighty Indian batting line-up continues to be mighty as well with the pride headed by Dhoni showing vigorous efforts with the bat.

However, Bangladesh reaching around 280 as a response to India's massive total of 370 - no, I am not saying that Bangladesh are not capable of getting it, they are indeed capable of coming close as they had shown earlier. However, the ease with which Bangladesh played against the Indian bowlers, spearheaded by the Indian bowling captain Zaheer Khan was definitely a concern.

Sehwag, at the end of the match, commented that everyone performed well except Sreesanth. It was only partly true. The bowling was still weak. Sreesanth was just showing the worst side of it. With the likes of Praveen Kumar missing the tournament, the Indian bowling lineup lacks the power to dominate the field; which they obviously need in order to win the World Cup.

Zaheer Khan is, definitely, the must pick for the World Cup squad. However, Harbhajan Singh ,who is Kumble's successor to the spinner head, is not at his best. Munaf Patel was decent with his efforts and Sreesanth was terrible. The place of Yuvraj Singh in the batting line-up is still a question mark. The points to be noted regarding why he could have been preferred over Raina is that he is capable of handling short deliveries better and being an experienced campaigner, he could be a guidance for the other team members. Also, he is capable of dominating with the bat and also he could be a regular part-time spinner. However, having said that, his place in the team is more contrasting, he is almost bowling full quota and have not done much contributions with the bat in the recent past.

With Ashish Nehra not at his 100% fitness, the Indian team had to contemplate for an extra spinner in place of Sreesanth in the next match against England. Piyush Chawla was the immediate pick by the team as he had performed with a four wicket haul in the warm-up match against Australia.

Piyush Chawla, in his first ever World Cup, was nervous in his first over bowling short deliveries. However, he rectified his mistake in his very next over bowling good lengths. However, when he was the only full time bowler option left for the 49th over, Dhoni went for it having faced such circumstances. Chawla, however, failed miserably conceding two consecutive sixes in that over which also cost India its second win. Yes, they didn't lose. But they could have won!

Now, now! The bowling woes has come to the surface again. India had not been able to defend a yet another little massive total of 330. Yes, they did face England but again England at one point were just cruising to their win. If not for the twists and turns then and there, England would have sailed home easily.

What could be the line up that could prove a worthy choice in every match? Would India have to replace Yuvraj or Pathan with a regular bowler or do they have to go for Sreesanth again or go with Nehra? With an hour long discussion with my roommate, the option that I am putting forward is bringing in Ashwin whose bowling had not been read by most of the players out there. He could bowl economic overs in the first powerplay along with Zaheer Khan who could look to pick wickets. Then could come the option of Munaf Patel after 10 overs and also Harbhajan if necessary. Yuvraj/Pathan and Nehra, who do well if bowled short spells, could share the 10 overs between each. Even if one of the medium pacers fail, the other two could fill in the shoes.

About the batting line-up, do you not thing that Sehwag, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Kohli, Dhoni, Yuvraj/Pathan could look after it? Also I am considering the option that Harbhajan and Zaheer could contribute with the bat along with Chawla/Ashwin. What do you people say?

Green Bread Sandwich

2011-02-06T08:24:00.000+05:30

Have you ever spent time at a kitchen wondering what to eat when you are extremely hungry and you don't know what to do? Am sure you may want it to be over in 5 minutes. Here is one recipe that gives an authentic Indian touch to it and easily done within 5 minutes.

Recipe 1:

Green Bread sandwich (Vegetarian - Indian cuisine)

Ingredients:
Slices of sandwich bread
Mint/coriander chutney
Onions
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Cheese slices

How to prepare:
1. Take a slice of bread and apply mint or coriander chutney on one side.
2. Cut onions, tomatoes, cucumber into round thin slices and place two slices each on the bread
3. Now, at this point, you may add a patty/cutlet if you like but it is not really necessary.
4. Place a slice of cheese over the added ingredients and cover it with another bread.
5. Place the sandwich in microwave for 2 minutes or until the cheese melts.

Tastes best with mustard sauce.

This recipe makes the bread soft. If you want it crispy, toast the bread separately until lightly crispy and then follow the steps. I hope you like it. Am sorry that I don't have any picture of the sandwich but I urge you to go and try it.

Will come with another recipe asap.

The Idiots

2010-11-20T02:56:00.000+05:30

We all know that the remake of 3-Idiots in Tamil and Telugu has been in the news for sometime. It was a great surprise to everyone when Shankar accepted to direct the remake after completing the magnum-opus 'Endhiran'. It is his first attempt in remaking others' movies (he had earlier remade his own movie) and we are not sure how well he will succeed in it.

The other news about the same movie that is circulating among the fans is the star cast of the movie. Sources say that Vijay and Jeeva have been confirmed. Several rumors were going around for the third role. It started with Simbhu, then went on to Madhavan, then Srikanth, and Vinay. Madhavan declined the rumors and also denied the role. Simbhu had earlier rejected the role due to personal reasons and Vinay not accepting the role as well, it seems that Srikanth will accept the offer.

Now the bigger confusion is that whether Srikanth would be essaying the role played by Madhavan in the original. Note the point that Srikanth took the role rejected by Madhavan. Actor Jeeva, instead, would fit into the role pretty well and Srikanth could be good for the role played by Sharman Joshi. What is going to be the result?

Actor Vijay and Illeana are going to play the roles played by Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor respectively. Sathyaraj is going to play the role done by Bomman Irani in the original. It is going to be sometime before we see the remake.

Sura - Music review

2010-04-01T12:44:00.000+05:30

“It is time for the sms to flow. Vijay’s Sura songs are out”. That was the online status of one of my friends. Vijay, who has been the Prince of Telugu remakes, has been under consistent target from the moviegoers. He has been criticized for his lack of creativity and relying on scenes from Telugu movies. Though the entire movie may not be a remake, atleast a part of the movie turned out to be remade from a hit Telugu movie. For example, the scene in Kuruvi, where he gets angry when the young kid gets hurt is a scene from the Telugu blockbuster ‘Chathrapathi’.

Sura is not out of the question. It has already let out the Telugu flavor with all the songs been lifted from hit (and some old) Telugu movies. Thanks to the music composer Mani Sharma who gave those hit songs in Telugu and wanted to taste the same success in Tamil as well. Here Vijay is not to be blamed until we see the movie. It is worth mentioning that two of the songs from the movie were lifted from the remake of the Ajith blockbuster ‘Billa’. Those two songs named ‘Bommaali’ and ‘My name is Billa’, from that movie which is also titled Billa starring Prabhas and Anushka, were chartbusters. These songs (named ‘Thanjavoor Jilla’ and ‘Naan nadanthal’ respectively) can be expected to top the charts for a while in Tamil as well.

The other songs, having been lifted from various other Telugu movies, should also be a hit. Mani Sharma, who is a famous Telugu music composer didn’t want to experiment with Vijay’s movie as all the songs in Vijay movies become a hit. We need not forget Devi Sri Prasad who delivered hit songs in Villu which also happened to be remakes from Telugu movies. Will Vijay lose the Telugu flavor or has the flavor dissolved deep into his blood? The songs, so far, says he has not lost it. Let us wait for the movie release.

A Nolan Zimmer Train Ride

2010-02-11T09:43:00.004+05:30

Have you ever stayed at the railway platform and concentrated on a train either entering the station or leaving the station? It has a weird yet striking music; a haunting sound that could swivel around and around in your mind. Perhaps, the Hollywood music directors have probably noticed it and they seem to have created the same effect in their movies. Particularly, this music could be noted in Christopher Nolan’s movies. Yes there are other movies where we have seen this happen. Nolan’s movies are dark and dwell around a strong subject. Adding to that, this music adds more expectations. Check out the music video below.

Remember the ‘Why so serious?’ haunting music that comes when the Joker is in the scene to intimidate someone. Notice how the tune goes, strong and haunting. It spiced up Heath Ledger’s performance of the psychopath. Hans Zimmer probably wanted to repeat the same haunting music in Nolan’s next movie ‘Inception’. Check out the video below.

The above video is similar to the previous video. The music does send a strong message and it adds some excitement to the trailer. Hans Zimmer knew exactly what would be perfect for the genre. But then whats up with Hans Zimmer, Christopher Nolan and the running train? If you would like to listen to more of this saga, check out this video.

Check out Tubaah: Walk The Talk with Kamal Haasan

2010-01-10T08:26:00.001+05:30

I want you to take a look at: Tubaah: Walk The Talk with Kamal Haasan

Kamal Haasan shares his 50 years of Tamil Cinema, his personal life and his view of politics in Walk in the Talk with Kamal Haasan.

Katabomman - A new avatar

2009-10-04T06:09:00.003+05:30

Its been a while since we saw remakes of old Tamil movie hits into a new one. Sarath Kumar is the next person to remake the classic blockbuster 'Veerapaandiya Katabomman' in a grand new avatar.

It has been said that Sarath Kumar himself will don the role of Katabomman and his wife, the owner of Raadan Inc, will be producing the movie. Talks are going on about the movie and yet to be finalized. Will this movie maintain the honor created by the movie and the great legend 'Sivaji Ganesan'. We can find out soon

Information Courtesy: Indiaglitz

Maasilaamani - A short review

2009-07-20T23:57:00.001+05:30

Sun Pictures knows the formulae for a perfect masala movie and they got it in Maasilaamani. It is their back to back victory after Ayan and this movie is doing well in tbe box office charts. Though you may not be completely content with this movie, you would feel that this movie is not a waste of time.

The movie is about a guy named Maasilaamani (Nakul), who once in his normal daytime, happens to see Divya (Sunaina) slapping a rogue to avenge the harassment of her friend. Maasilaamani, stunned by her boldness, falls in love with her but unfortunately when Maasilamani tries to help his neighbourhood by going against the local politician, he is accidently seen as a rowdy by Divya and she loathes him. Knowing about this misunderstanding, Maasilaamani, with the advice of his friends, befriends her family members without her knowledge in the name of Mani. Only when Divya happens to see the face of Mani, she embarasses him and asks him to get out of her house. But Maasilamani has different plans. He refuses her claims and Divya is forced to believe that there are two people - Maasi, a local thug whom she loathes and Mani - a family friend whom she starts admiring. Whether Maasilaamani will disclose his real identity or continue to fake his identity forms the rest of the story.

Nakul and Sunaina have done their parts really well. The 'Kaadhalil Vizhunden' duo didn't have much meat to their roles in their second movie but they have provided the necessary elements to make a masala movie. The music of the movie is good. "Oh Divya" and "Dora Dora", although they sound like the same, both are hummable. "Odi Odi Vilayaada" song is a perfect dance song and tops the list. The comedy tracks are not really great and especially the track played by M.S.Bhaskar makes you hate the first half of the movie. This movie is a family entertainer and I would recommend it if you do not care for the storyline.

Ratings

Story: 5/10
Entertainment: 7/10
Music: 6/10

A millionth word

2009-06-11T23:03:00.001+05:30

A millionth word has been added to the Lexicon and that is none other than the technical term 'Web 2.0'. It is not everyday we find a millionth word to be added to the English Lexicon. Coming to Web 2.0, is the next generation of Web provided to people with Semantic Web Services and also the possession of domain knowledge. As per the rule, a word must be added to the dictionary only if it is cited by a particular number of literature content (say in tens of thousands). So the new kid on the block is Web 2.0.

The addition of Web 2.0 has stirred many oppositions from people who insist that Web 2.0 is not an apt term to be added to the lexicon. A few years back, a similar word was added to the lexicon after being used in the Harry Potter series book. That word is 'muggle' meaning non-magical folks that was coined by the author J.K.Rowling. This word was said to be added only in the Oxford dictionary and not followed by Cambridge dictionary.

A Pandemic Outbreak

2009-06-11T22:47:00.003+05:30

Swine Flue, the flu virus, that has been making into the news for the last few months has been finally declared by the WHO as pandemic virus. This was declared as a result of reports of 30,000 swine flue cases around the globe and also hundreds of deaths. The WHO has stressed the importance of preventing this virus and has asked all the health agencies to develop a vaccine for this deadly virus.

The Swine Flu has spread in all continents and has been the case of major worry for the WHO. The American continents are the most to be suffered by this virus outbreak. Most importantly, this pandemic outbreak is the one after 21 years of no such outbreak.

Thoranai - A short review

2009-06-08T11:12:00.001+05:30

Every actor in Tamil Cinema would want to become a mass hero and end up doing masala movies. Actor Vishal is no exception. If the movie becomes a hit, then the actor would be on a high roll, else the crew gets frustrated and might accidently show at the audiences. This movie is one of the disappointments.

The movie starts with Murugan (played by Vishal) witnessing a murder in the streets of Chennai by a local don named Guru. There is another don (played by Prakash Raj) who is Guru's nemesis. He wants Guru to be caught. So he threatens Murugan to provide testimony to the murder at the court and Guru threatens Murugan not to do it. Murugan decides to continue with the reason why he came to Chennai, i.e to find out his brother who ran away from home when he was very young. Expect some expected twist of turns in the movie as Murugan tries to save his brother and himself to get them safely back home.

The movie, like all masala movies, is a stereotype. Shreya, the lady love of Vishal, comes in a few scenes and for songs as usual. Vishal gives punch dialogues without any intention to give one. Vishal, who was very good in his previous action movies like Sandakozhi and Thimiru, failed to even look like an action hero in this movie and didn't satisfy to the expectations. Go and watch the movie if you are a fan of Vishal or Shreya.

Angels & Demons - A short review

2009-06-01T00:55:00.003+05:30

Angels & Demons, the prequel to 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown is an interesting novel that deals with the canonizing of the new Pope in the holy place of Christianity - The Vatican City. Hundreds of Cardinals and millions of visitors from all over the world come to Vatican City to witness the announcement of the new Pope. Robert Langdon, a renowned Symbologist and Vittoria Vetra, a physicist from CERN labs are two people who would have definitely felt they have been misplaced on that particular day in Vatican City, if not for two events - the first being the murder of Vittoria's father, who is also a scientist, at CERN labs and the theft of their long term research - the antimatter, which when collides with any other matter present in the universe, would result in a nuclear explosion. The second, being, Robert Langdon was summoned to help with the case and to solve the mystery that unravels the history behind Christianity's greatest enemy - the Illuminati and the return of their forces to destroy the holy place once and for all.

The entire novel deals with the instances that occur within a 24 hour period and the movie, directed by Ron Howard, is well justified. Tom Hanks, as Robert Langdon, has proven his mettle with ease that makes us wonder whether he is really a symbologist. Other than the acting and the direction, the screenplay and the background music has to be appreciated. The preciseness of the director's work in each scene is definitely a tribute to Dan Brown, the author of the original work. The suspense thriller keeps you at the edge of your seat. The thrill is not just in the murders or mysteries but also in the information that will enlighten your mind with the past that was never told or rather concealed.

Here are my rating

Overall - 8/10
Background score - 8/10
Screenplay - 7/10

Reasons why CSK could have lost

2009-06-01T00:17:00.001+05:30

Congrats to Deccan Chargers on winning the IPL 2009 trophy. The final was an awesome match. Anil Kumble's men, the Royal Chellengers, put on a good fight but in the end, it was Gilchrist's men, the Deccan Chargers, who had a reason to go home for the party.

I would like to talk about the Chennai Super Kings' defeat to the Royal Challengers' at the semi-finals. The two teams have met in five occasions - four in the league and one in the semi-final. Chennai has won twice and Bangalore has won thrice including the semi-final. Although Chennai was a favorites to winning the trophy, the match was unpredictable as there was an earlier upset by the Deccan Chargers on the Delhi Daredevils. In T20, it doesn't matter whether the team has a strong batting or a strong bowling lineup or even a well balanced team. On the particular day, whoever plays better cricket in all fields in all the departments wins the game. That was a statement confirmed by Mahindra Singh Dhoni, the captain of the Chennai Super Kings. The Royal Challengers, perhaps, considered it serious and put on a hard working battle to beat the last year finalists and also end Chennai's dreams to winning the trophy.

The Chennai batting lineup is without doubt, the strongest batting lineup of all the IPL teams. With the opening pair of Hayden and Patel, the team's first six over total throughout the series has been at an average of 54 with a maximum loss of one wicket. The team's batting strength doesn't end in that. What comes next is a threat to the confidence of the bowlers of the opposition team with the likes of Suresh Raina, Subramaniam Badrinath, Albie Morkel, Jacob Oram, Mahindra Singh Dhoni. All the mentioned batsmen have the strength and the skill to hit the ball out of the grounds.

Dhoni was never worried about the batting department but the bowling and the fielding department was always a concern for him. The fielding was not up to the standards and the bowlers could perform better. Infact, the bowling and the fielding department was tested in the final two league matches and they exceeded the expectations as they successfully defended the total of 116 to defeat Kings XI Punjab. But Dhoni's unintentional mistake began from there.

Testing... but for what?
The final two league matches were given as an opportunity to the benched players to showcase their talents and indeed, they did not disappoint. Some played exceptionally well, like George Bailey, the Tasmanian Batsman, who hits the ball hard and was only unlucky to have got out two times. Another guy is Ravichandran Ashwin, the local guy, who picked up two massive wickets. But this is T20 where every match is a learning curve. The series has not been won yet. What is there to test? Injuries have been claimed to have brought out the other players but the testing resulted in a disastrous performance at the semi-finals by all those who missed out the final league matches.

Team selection
Although Dhoni could not be blamed on the team selection, there are certain obvious risks that he took during the semi-final. In the batting lineup - Patel, Hayden, Raina, Badrinath and Dhoni himself were in massive form. The return of Michael Hussey to the squad at the semi-final, just as he had promised, must have confused Captail Cool a lot. Mr.Cricket who missed the earlier matches due to his national duties was certainly a man who could bat even if he is woken up at midnight. But maybe, it wasn't noticed by Dhoni or maybe he didn't want to risk brining him. So instead, he brought in the all rounders like Jacob Oram and Albie Morkel. Albie Morkel is a strike bowler and has been well used by Dhoni even though he hasn't batted upto his standards. Jacob Oram was kept as a backup bowler. He would be given maximum two overs during the game and the rest depends on how he bowls that day. He didn't fire with the bat as well and always played a very small cameo performance. If he is not being used much, then why include Oram in the team? Why not bring in Hussey? Even if Hussey fails, the team is still strong in the batting. One may question the reduction of the bowling strength. That would have been justified if Makhaya Ntini had been brought in. The first reason is Albie Morkel failed to prove that he is a bowler who can be a batsman. If he is used only as a bowler, then Ntini could have been used. The local boy Ntini was once the best bowler of the world and is certainly at his fitness best.

One down and always down
When everyone expected Suresh Raina to come in at No.3 after Hayden got out in the semi-finals, everyone was taken by surprise when Dhoni walked in. That was another unintentional mistake. This guy can take the ball out of the grounds but he admitted that he needs time to do it. So he came one down. But the match is the semi-final and the testing should be for the team and not for the batsman. After he walked in at No.3, the run-rate massively slowed down and the team got out to a low total.

World's best... but where is he?
Everyone questioned Dhoni for bringing in Mutthiah Muralitharan, the world's leading wicket taker, very late in the innings. He instead tested the batsmen with Jakati and Raina. Though the duo performed well, Mutthiah is the only person who can rattle the minds of Rahul Dravid and Manish Pandey, the inform batsmen. Pandey has never played Murali before and he admitted that he was nervous playing Murali and had to pass the strike to Dravid, the wall with tremendous experience. But this happened in the final six overs and Murali's first over was the 10th over when he should've actually bowled the 6th over. But even then, he bowled exceptionally well and Dhoni justified it by saying that one can't ask more from such a world class bowler and that is the reason he brought him at the later part of the innings to bring down the innings required run rate. He did bring down the run rate but the problem was the run-rate was much higher in the first part of the innings.

There are other mistakes as well like Oram being brought in at the 19th over and he couldn't handle the pressure well. Lakshmipathy Balaji and Albie Morkel are the two perfect guys who can handle pressure well. Obviously Ntini could've handed the victory to the team if he had been there. But unfortunately, he was in the bench witnessing the loss.

I do not blame Dhoni and his men. They played really well throughout the tournament. These are the certain obvious mistakes that they had done and they are completely my views and maybe wrong. I apologize if I am wrong. But anyway, back to cricket, it is always the team which performs better that wins the match, right?

Ayan - A short review

2009-04-27T10:22:00.003+05:30

Ayan is the story of a battle between two smuggling groups. One headed by Dass (played by Prabhu) and the other headed by a guy named Kamalesh. Kamalesh, angry that Dass had taken over the reigns of his dad, seeks to take revenge on Dass and his team.

Though Kamalesh was doing it perfectly, he missed the leadership of Prabhu and the mastermind of Surya. Surya was the dear accomplice of Prabhu and with his wit, he carried out the smuggling operations with ease. The fact that he was on the losing side makes Kamalesh go crazier and also to the extent of doing illegal activites and also murders. To win back the lost glory is his aim but with the opposition team of Surya and Prabhu, will he able to win them? That forms the rest of the story.

Surya has done very well to entertain the audience. Prabhu plays a serious character and has done well. Tamanna doesn't have any role to brag about. The other characters in the movie have also done notably well.

The film has every masala element - action, love, emotions, comedy. The stunts in the movie should be very well appreciated. The songs in the movie are also pretty good especially the slow numbers. The movie, though it is fast paced, is quite draggy. Altogether, Ayan is a full time entertainer and deserves a watch for the audience who wants a masala packed movie.

And the Oscar goes to...

2009-02-28T18:40:00.002+05:30

Last Sunday, everyone witnessed A.R.Rahman receiving the Oscar for the Best Original Score and Best Original Song (for Jai Ho) for the film 'Slumdog Millionaire'. What a day it was for India! The Mozart of Madras, after winning Golden Globe award and BAFTA award, went on to receive two oscars thus becoming the only Indian to win two oscars. He not only won the award, but also captivated the audiences by singing the songs (Saya and Jai Ho) from the movie. He also said a few words in Hindi and ended his speech with a tamil phrase "Ellor pugazhum Iravivan oruvanukae" (All glory goes to God!)

Slumdog Millionaire also invaded the Oscars by winning eight oscars out of nine nominations thus beating other nominees such as The Milk, Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It won the Best Picture thus sweeping the eighth one. Earlier, Resul Pookutty along with his team won the oscar for Best Sound Mixing. Danny Boyle won the Best Director award for the movie.The film lost the oscar only for Sound Editing, thus winning eight out of nine.

The Indians celebrated the Oscar sweep by the movie Slumdog Millionaire, as though it is an Indian movie. In fact, they have every right to do so. Not only did ARR and Resul Pookutty won the Oscars, but also the story was set on the slums of India and the rags-to-riches drama consisted of many Indian actors. Even the male lead is an Indian settled in UK.

Other notable Oscars include the winning of an Indian documentary for the Best Documentary feature. Sean Penn won the Best Male Lead award and Kate Winslet won the Best Female Lead award. The late Heath Ledger won the Best Male Supporting Role for his wonderful performance in the movie "Batman Begins : The Dark Knight".

It was a great day for Brothers in Cricket!

2009-02-11T01:35:00.001+05:30

February 10, 2009 was a terrific day for the brothers in cricket as the day saw Michael Hussey and David Hussey led their team to a memorable victory that would keep them on the series hunt against New Zealand. Mr.Cricket, along with his brother, put up a 115 run partnership for the fourth wicket. They raised the initial slow run rate to a winning partnership. David Hussey was out on 79 and Michael Hussey provided the winning shot as he was on 75 not out. Thus Australia ended 2-2 with New Zealand. It is all set to the interesting finals which is going to be held this friday.

It is not only the Australians who got benefitted by the kinship in cricket but also the Indians by means of the Pathan brothers in the T20I against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka put on a reasonable total of 172 on the board. Looking at the massive Indian line-up, India winning the match in 15 overs would have been an understatement. But the deadly opening duo of Sehwag and Gambhir fell in quick intervals at very low scores. Yuvraj and Raina provided a fightback and they were pretty much in the driver's seat at 81/2 in just 8 overs. At that moment, the Indian middle order fell in the hands of spinners. At 115/7, when Irfan Pathan joined Yusuf Pathan on the ground, almost the entire stadium would've considered that they would be fighting a losing battle. No one knew that Irfan handled seamers well and Yusuf is a master of spin. After hitting Bandara for 17 runs in the 16th over which included two sixes and a four, Yusuf handed the rest to Irfan who handled the pace duo of Fernando and Malinga effectively. Together they put on a 59 run partnership off just 25 balls. It was an unexpected twist of events on the ground but in the end, India did well on the match. Thanks to the Pathans!

It was indeed a great day for brothers in cricket!

IPL gets bigger!

2009-02-07T01:32:00.000+05:30

The much awaited auction for the second season of IPL has come to an end. It is more of a shocking auction display with franchises opting especially for players with extraordinary all rounder talent. That list excludes the England players who have been the prime of this auction.

Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff bagged 1.55 million each, while the former went to Bangalore Royal Challengers, the latter went to Chennai Super Kings. They are the costliest purchases in this version of IPL.

Mashrafe Mortaza, the all rounder from Bangladesh, was the most surprising deal in this auction with being sold at $600,000 with over 12 times his base prize of $50,000. He was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders.

Top names like Stuart Clark, Nuwan Kulasekara, Brad Haddin, Andre Nel, Ashwell Prince, Ramnaresh Sarwan were not sold and is most surprising.

Rajasthan Royals could pride on the fact that they have bought Shaun Tait, the quickie, who could replace Sohail Tanvir as he is out of this year's tournament. Delhi found Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah to add to their strong batting lineup. Mumbai got Duminy and Kyle Mills. Deccan Chargers didn't bother much about this year's auctions and relies on the former players. Punjab got Ravi Bopara and Jerome Taylor.

This year's IPL season would be more interesting. What would be more interesting than the match itself is the lineup for the matches to be played. It will be a tough battle in the minds of the selectors and captain as to who all should play in the XI. It would be better if the restriction on the number of players playing for a side increases from four to five.

Test for Best!

2009-02-04T01:06:00.000+05:30

As Dhoni had promised in the post match presentation at the 3rd ODI, he might be testing the new players for the ODI. So we might see Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Lakshmipathy Balaji and Ravindra Jadeja in action.

Irfan Pathan is eager to get back into the team and this could be a great chance for him to do it. He had earlier commented that Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma has taken Indian bowling attack to the next level and it is up to the other bowlers to keep up to their standards. Surely, Irfan Pathan must be training himself in order to prove his worth once again.

Rohit Sharma's batting has been of top form recently and requires no confirmation. His ability to handle pressure will be tested as he might be promoted top the order. Yuvraj Singh or one of the openers might be rested.

Lakshmipathy Balaji would have been pleased to get a sudden call for replacing Munaf Patel, who was injured and sent back home. The Tamil Nadu pacer is all smiles now and is ready to prove his mettle once again for India and in the recent past he has already done it for Tamil Nadu, especially in the Ranji Trophy.

Ravindra Jadeja, the left arm all rounder would be a special addition to the lineup. He showed his talent in the inaugural edition of IPL last year and he would be ready to go on the field as he might get a chance to play for India in the next two matches.

India wins series against Sri Lanka

2009-02-04T00:55:00.002+05:30

India take 8 wins in a row, an accomplishment by the Captain Cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men against the Lankan Lions. Thus they also clinch the series 3 - 0 with still two more to play.

Dhoni decided to bat first after being lucky on the toss. Though early unfortunate wickets fell (Sachin and Gambhir), Sehwag (116) and Yuvraj (117) put up a reluctant and match-winning 211 runs partnership for the third wicket. Yusuf Pathan's blitz of 59 at the end of India's innings took India's total to 363 thus setting up a target of 364 for Sri Lanka.

A lot depended on the Indian opening bowlers on India's perspective and on Jayasuriya on Sri Lanka's perspective. The Indian bowlers were the ones to strike first, taking Jayasuriya on the first ball he faced. He went for a duck. There were few resistances, one from Dilshan and the other from the Sri Lanka captain Jayawardene and Sangakarra but then failed to handle the pressure. The lone scorer Sangakarra (83) couldn't provide the momentum that Sri Lanka needed. The lower batting order of Sri Lanka fell to India's new spinner Pragyan Ojha, who claimed four wickets, his career best. As if centuries weren't enough, Sehwag and Yuvraj claimed a wicket each that added misery to the Sri Lankan tumble. In the end, India won by 147 runs.

Yuvraj Singh won the man of the match for his knock of 117 runs and one wicket. Dhoni applauded his men for the good team effort and later said that his team wouldn't be looking for the record for the most number of consecutive wins but to bring in new players and to test them.

Stats:

Sri Lanka's Mutthiah Muralitharan equalled Wasim Akram's (Pakistan) world record of 502 ODI wickets after claiming the wicket of Yuvraj Singh. He is still one run short of breaking the World record. Yuvraj scored his first century against Sri Lanka and Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed by LBWs for three consecutive matches for the first time in his career.

Padikaathavan - A short review

2009-02-03T14:17:00.002+05:30

Dhanush's attempt at making a hat-trick success has not been really as good as the previous two ones. The movie could've even been a complete failure, had the theme not been a comedy and action entertainer.

The movie is about a guy who had failed in his 10th and failed ever since then. He is considered to be useless by his family, especially his father. He call himself Rocky and lives in his own world supported by his fellow mates until he decides to do something in his life. His friend suggests him to fall in love with a rich girl and then he finds Tamanna and he loves her much to her disapproval. Later the love becomes two sided. Then comes the twist in the movie - she is the daughter of Suman, a don in Andhra Pradesh. His nemesis Sayaji Sindhe is eager to kill his daughter and take revenge as Suman had previously injured his son. So Suman takes his daughter safe to Andhra. Dhanush, with the help of Vivek, a self proclaimed Don, plans to bring back his love to Chennai but he has too many problems to face before that.

Dhanush has tried his best to entertain the audiences with comedy and stunt scenes. Tamanna has done her part well. Vivek's comedy scenes imitate Vadivelu's but successfully evokes laughter from the audience. The villains are too big for Dhanush but director Suraj portrays typical fight sequences rather than extraordinary superhero fight scenes. The songs are not really great but worth listening. The final fight in the movie is worth watching. The lighting effect provided for the scene and also the stunts makes it really look like a street fight. It is the best part of the movie.

The film is worth watching although this year has not yet seen the best of the movies.

Villu - A short review

2009-02-03T13:33:00.001+05:30

Prabhu Deva's second directorial venture after the success movie "Pokkiri' is surely a disappointment. The movie once again targets the fans of the male lead of the movie - Vijay.

Vijay appears as a guy who helps a police in catching a criminal. Later he goes to a village and woos a woman (Nayanthara) successfully, thus making his visit to Malaysia to get the confirmation from the girl's father (Prakash Raj). But he does all this as a part of a mission - to avenger his father's death.

Although the movie goes in a stylish way, the movie lacks certain qualities of a hit movie and would definitely fail in A centres. The movie, at certain points, evokes curiousity in one's minds but later fails to satisfy. The fast paced movie should have been fast for other reasons.

Vijay has done his part to entertain the audience with his action stunts and dances. Nayanthara, as in a usual action movie, comes and leaves as a glam doll. Comedian Vadivelu has been least used and his comedies doesn't evoke much laughter. Prakash Raj's role is not justified. The other villains comes in a flash and leaves at the same speed.

The songs are good and worth listening although its deja vu. Prabhu Deva could have done much better. Better luck next time. This movie is for those desperate Vijay fans.

Bommalaatam - A review

2009-01-06T15:16:00.002+05:30

Bharathiraja has given yet another memorable movie for the tamil film industry. Nana Patekar plays the role of a movie director. While he shoots a film, three unexpected murders take place - first is of a village chief, second is of the movie hero and finally the film heroine. All these murders link back to Nana Patekar, the director.

Arjun plays the role of the detective and he takes in charge of the case. Nana Patekar's character has too many female fans which includes Arjun's girlfriend (played by Kajal Agarwal). Kajal joins Nana Patekar's crew as assistant director and after the murders take place, Arjun comes into investigate the case and that forms the rest of the story.

The movie is short and the climax is the biggest surprise in the movie. For some unknown reasons, the editing of the movie has not been done well and that is the major drawback of the movie. But Bharathiraja, the ace director, has made sure that the audiences are not bored with any scene. Newcomer Rukmani deserves a praise. Vivek's comedy clippings are very short and they are not impressive. Arjun doesn't have much role but he has done well.

This film is worth watching many times. Those who are fan of suspsense thriller genre should watch this movie.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T23:06:00.002+05:30

Wishing everyone a happy new year!!! Begin the year with a cold coffee ;)

Have a blast!!!

Keep visiting. Thank you.

Tamil Cinema : Highs and lows of 2008

2008-12-31T22:35:00.003+05:30

2008 didn't add much revenue to Kollywood. However there were a plenty number of hits last year. When big budget movies and big banner movies failed to win the market, out of the box movies made it big proving that Tamil film fans are welcome to accept new things. Some of the hits and flops of 2008 are

Bheema
The much hyped release of Bheema (starring Vikram, Trisha, Raghuvaran and Prakash Raj) didn't do well at the box office. But however its climax, full of surprises, took over the audience. The story is about how a boy gets inspired by a local thug and later joins him as his accomplice in fighting out the baddies, however much to the disapproval of the local police.

Anjathey
Director's Mysskin's surprise picture featuring low profile stars and new faces created a stir in Kollywood with excellent narration and screenplay. The story is about how differences arises between two childhood friends when sudden turn of events alters their fate and how a mutual enemy takes advantage of the outcome. It was the movie full of surprises as yesteryear comedian actor Pandiarajan shocked everyone with his role as a baddie and Prasanna made faces turn with his negative role.

Yaaradi Nee Mohini
Dhanush's back to back hit movie Yaaradi Nee Mohini, a remake of Director Selvaraghavan's telugu venture took Dhanush to the peak of his career after years. The movie revolves around the life of an unemployed guy who falls in love with a corporate woman and goes to the extent of joining the company she works. Unexpected events, including the demise of the guy's father, occurs when he proposes to that girl. When things expect to go normal, they meet again unexpectedly through the girl's fiance who also happens to be the guy's best friend. Life is never the same again for them.

Dasavatharam
The magnus movie of the year starring Kamal Haasan in ten different roles surely satisfied the expectations of the tamil movie fans. Set in the backdrop of the catastrophic tsunami in December 2004, the story brings the chaos theory into light. As a group tries to buy a destructive chemical weapon from the hands of a biotech research group, a scientist tries to save it from getting into their hands and thus lands in a series of events that is unveiled by chaos theory.

Kuselan
The superstar movie, which had high expectations as a superstar movie does failed to click at the box office. The movie features Rajinikanth in a guest role as a superstar and as a childhood friend of a barber (played by Pasupathi) in a local village. The story portrays the feelings of a poor barber when he realizes that the superstar, who was once his childhood friend, comes to their village for a film shoot.

Santhosh Subramanium
A remake of the hit telugu flick Bommarilu, this movie revolves around the story of a youth named Santhosh who wants to live his own life without the interference of his strict father. Just when he wants to marry a girl of his own choice, his dad finds him a bride but Santhosh sets out in hunt for a girl of his own liking and finally he finds one but the engaged guy has too many things to settle before he could marry the girl of his desire. The film was much appreciated for Genelia's performance in the movie and this is Raja and Ravi's yet another victory.

Kuruvi
A much-awaited movie from a winning and exciting combination of Dharani-Vijay-Trisha, who together have already given a hit movie Ghillli, couldn't repeat the success for this movie. Vijay, who is the hero of the movie, finds his father and other people being tortured into working for an illegal mine and he sets out to rescue them. The combo's comeback after giving a great hit is surely disappointing.

Saroja
A simple story but amazing screenplay and narration. That is saroja. Four youths go to watch a cricket match but end up, due to a series of unfortunate events, in an abandoned mansion that is being used by the baddies to house arrest a kidnapped girl. Meanwhile the father of the kidnapped girl and his police friend works on a mission to save the girl. The movie travels in a stylish and a thrilling screenplay. Venkat Prabhu has given back to back hits.

Poi Solla Porom
The remake of the hindi hit movie Khosla la Ghosla, this movie makes you forget all your worries and laugh to your heart content. The cast includes lesser number of known faces such as Nasser and Nedumoodi Venu but yet the team has brought out a wonderful work. The story is about how a middleclass guy gets cheated off his land and how his son, who was about to leave to America, stays to help his father get back his land and build his dream house with the help of play artists.

Vaaranam Aayiram
Director Gautham's much awaited movie of the year Vaaranam Aayiram takes you through the life of a guy with the guidance of his father. This movie portrays the relationship between a father and his son and the narration has been told in a beautiful way. Although this movie didn't go well in the box office, it has earned a lot of appraisals for the team.

Aegan
Choreographer Raja Sundram's debut directorial venture and Ajith's comeback movie after giving the hit Billa turned out to be a disappointment. The story is about a mission a police officer has to take in order to save the nation - the role of a college student. The movie though has the promising ingredients for a blockbuster failed to click at various scenes and also at the screenplay.

Abhiyum Naanum
After giving a great movie Mozhi, Director Radha Mohan has repeated the success story. The movie revolves through the relationship between a father and a daughter, the various circumstances he faces as he raises his daughter into a young woman. The movie was taken in a humourous way and Prakash Raj and Trisha playing the roles of father and daughter respectively has done a wonderful job.

Other notable hit movies of the year (the movies which I have not seen yet) includes Subramaniapuram, Silambaatam, Bommalaatam, Poo.

2008-12-28T12:16:00.001+05:30

A famous website was going through the showtimes of the movies and one of the pages was this.

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/6272/mgngmrr2.jpg

This is one of the funniest online things one can ever came across. Click on the link for a larger view.

These guys have stated that Marudhanayagam, actor Kamal Haasan's dream venture, is running in Mayajaal. There can be mistakes while publishing the web page but this seems to be really too much. Kamal would've been dreaming about the film's release but not until he has completed it. Ha ha.

The Wall is strong again

2008-12-20T12:06:00.000+05:30

Rahul Dravid fondly called as the Wall of India is all set again. Dravid proved the critics wrong that the Wall is crumbling after he scored a century against England during the second day at Mohali. After there were several talks about his replacement in the Test side for the well being of the team as well as for him, the board of selectors can find no reason to pick him out of the team.
Taking his time to settle down, he scored in quick pace to reach his century. Thats the Dravid style. Together Dravid and Gambhir have put almost a 300 run partnership as India is 302-1 Day 2 Lunch.

Vaaranam Aayiram - A short review

2008-12-17T14:39:00.003+05:30

The movie is about the life journey of a guy named Surya, a guy from your friendly neighbourhood. Inspired by his parents' love marriage, he decides to follow their same path of love marriage, and falls for one girl named Meghana, who is going to Berkeley to do her graduation in a short time, in a train heading to their native town. He follows her to US and wins her love but his love, unlike his parents' love, falls in tragedy as Meghana dies in an accident. Unable to digest the incident, Surya is all set to begin a new life back in India, with the guidance and care from his father.

This movie is about the relationship between a father and a son. The relationship could've been handled better by the director and a bit more emotions could've done it.

Surya, in dual roles as male lead and his father, rocks all the way through the film. Sameera Reddy adds spice to the movie by her dazzling girl-next-door looks and Divya Spandana has done well as a second heroine. Simran does justice to her role.

The movie is directed by Gautham Menon and hats off to him for bringing out a novel kind of a movie rather than action flicks.

Harris Jayaraj, the music director for this movie, has done well yet again. The songs are topping the chartbusters. All the songs are worth listening.

The movie is not received well throughout Tamil Nadu and is getting mixed reviews. For people, who wants to see a pleasant movie, should not miss this one. Do not go with high expectations!

Sachin and Yuvi made it happen for India

2008-12-17T14:04:00.001+05:30

Sachin Tendulkar, the God of Indian cricket had done it all again, this time in his favourite ground - Chennai. What a win for India! When it all looked like England is going to get away with the first test, things changed when Kevin Pietersen, likely to be unaware of Sehwag's form in Chennai, declared when their lead was 387 in their third innings and with almost one and a half days to spare.

Sehwag and Gambhir did it for India gaining a super momentum in the early overs with a run rate over seven. When Sehwag showed no mercy over the spinners, Gambhir gained advantage over the rest of the bowling. When Sehwag fell for 83, 17 short of his century, on the final day, the crowd became silent. Then came Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh, who took the rest of the matters in their own hands as they were unbeaten for over 160 runs for their fifth wicket partnership. In the end, Sachin Tendulkar hit a four to win the match for India as well as to get his 41st Test Century, his 5th in Chennai.

The man of the match was awarded to deserving Virender Sehwag for giving the momentum to India. Earlier Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma bowled well to pick up three wickets each to restrict England from getting a massive total.

Naanayam

2008-12-17T13:36:00.000+05:30

Sibi Raj, the son of ace actor Sathyaraj, is all set to try his luck in a new movie titled 'Naanayam'. In this movie, he plays a negative role for the first time. The 'Student No.1' star who hasn't had any hits in his pockets so far expects this movie to be the turning point of his career as most of the stars have made it big with negative roles.

Prasanna, who proved his worth in the movie Anjathey, plays the lead role. The movie is directed by Shakthi and the music was penned by James Vasanthan of 'Subramaniapuram' fame. The audio launch of the movie was held recently on December 10th and the movie would be released in theatres during March 2009.

Let us wait and see if this movie is indeed the turning point of Sibi Raj.

Patented Smiley

2008-12-17T13:24:00.003+05:30

News for Chatterboxes! The smiley (yes! the smiley we use in chats and sms) is going to be patented by a Russian Entrepreneur, which means that no one other than his company can use it. No more colon or semi colon followed by a hyphen and a paranthesis. You maybe sued by the company if you use it. Does it mean the end of expressions in chats and mobiles?

The newspaper had interviewed people and had found that most of them had suggested using emote and winks as a substitute for smileys. But would they be as simple as a smiley?
I would like to quote a funny line said by a girl interviewed by the newspaper, "... it would be awkward if we use 'I am smiling now', 'I am winking now' instead of those smileys".

Lets wait and see what happens!

Chilled!

2008-11-29T23:52:00.000+05:30

I would like to start this blog with a simple cold coffee recipe.

Cold Coffee (serves 1)

Ingredients:

Milk : 1 cup (250 ml)
Instant Coffee Powder : 1 to 2 tbsp
Sugar : 3 tbsp
Ice cubes : 3
Vanilla ice-cream : two scoops

Add milk, coffee powder, sugar, ice cubes and one scoop of vanilla ice-cream to a mixer-grinder and whip it around 5 times. Cold Coffee is ready.

To serve:
Take a glass. Put the remaining scoop of ice-cream into the glass. Pour the whipped creamy cold coffee along the inner sides of the glass so that the ice-cream floats along with the cold coffee. Top it with chocolate pieces or chocolate sauce or for those who love flavours, add cardamom pieces.

Like the cold coffee, this blog will hold promising ingredients from movie previews to movie reviews, sports, news, music and whats not!? But remember it tastes best when chilled! :)