Monday, December 28, 2009

Movie Review of '3 Idiots' - Hindi

All Izzz Well! The movie has everything that you look in entertainment. First thing first, comedy is the best recipe for success of any entertaining movie and 3I has tons of it. I mean, the comedy takes the stress out of our normal life. There was not a single soul who did not laugh their heart out in the theater. Everyone in the hall enjoyed it, I definitely enjoyed laughing.

The director speaks from his heart and we are instantly connected or hooked. The plot, screenplay, music, actors and all the director's team have made a sincere effort and that's paid off. I don't want to give much away on the story but we felt that the storyline has continued from TZP (Taare Zameen Par). Aamir Khan was seen in the same role in TZP as with 3I.

Aamir is good, Madhavan is good and Sharman Joshi is brilliant. I say Sharman is brilliant because we know Aamir and Madhavan are well known actors and they are in the industry for a while but Sharman, he is up in the top league. He brings up emotions very well. Kudos to him! I laughed at his antics, watch out for the comedy scene where Boman catches the 3I in a classroom.

I also read a cartoon review on Mumbai Mirror today, 28 Dec 2009 of 3I which is funny. It is sarcastic review where 3I is criticized for being philosophical. It's also true that 3I is philosophical but if you can forget that you will certainly enjoy it most.

My rating for this movie is 4 star out of 5.

Rating Details:
***** - Classic & Outstanding.
**** - Must Watch. Don't Miss!
*** - Good Movie. Watch it.
** - Watch it only if you really want to.
* - Not worth your money.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Movie Review of Avatar (3D) - English

We saw this movie on opening weekend, Friday, 18 Dec 2009. It is truly a pleasure to watch in 3D and the images that weaved in front of our eyes are Amazing. Brilliant.  The colours come to life! This movie is ultimate treat for visual effects. It's a dream world out there!

James Cameron is known for his style and technology in his movies. Avatar is the ultimate in terms of technology usage (CG & Animation combined).The movie takes us into a magical world!

As you must be hearing/reading reviews from various sources I need not delve into details as the plot is nothing new. It's good coming over evil but the treatment is different. Atlast, different can be defined! In most of the bollywood and the regional movies in India the director's claim their movie is 'different' but when you see the product it's the same story, nothing different. But here is one movie which is different! different from others! The final product stands tall leaving others besides or behind!


My rating for this movie is 4 star out of 5.

Rating Details:
***** - Classic & Outstanding.
**** - Must Watch. Don't Miss!
*** - Good Movie. Watch it.
** - Watch it only if you really want to.
* - Not worth your money.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

India - Viable in future?

The latest attack by Bala Saheb on Sachin's remark of Indian has once again proved that regional politics are here to stay. The majority of Indians agree with Sachin's statement and I think the attention that it got from the media will help Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) and Shiv Sena in the long run in Maharashtra politics. 


What are the political parties upto? Everybody wants to safeguard their own turf by playing regional card. The four South states are playing this language card for a long long time and now Maharashtra joining this bandwagon this can lead to serious repercussions. CPM is keen on keeping West Bengal and Kerala at any cost and Mamata Banerjee is interested in Bengal rather than Railways. This does not mean other states are not into regional politics. States like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Orissa, UP, Bihar and the NE states are into regional politics very strongly but their group-ism is so strong that no outsider can see it or feel it. Imagine this, can a Gujarati become Punjab CM? Absolutely never in any life time! or a Punjabi becoming Karnataka CM? Highly impossible and unthinkable. So, Where is India?


Almost every other foreigner and literature pundits are amazed by our diversity and pluralist society. Even our literary scholars say we are united in rich diversity. Is it true? Are we united? Bengalis are united with Bengalis, Tamilians are united with Tamils and so on. Where does the Indian-ness come from? Where could we find the Indian-ness? Only when India plays Pakistan in a cricket match! When the match is over its back to normal again. I become a malayalee and you become a bihari! Where is the Indian & India? With the popularity for IPL the Indian-ness will most probably die down. IPL may well become a tool for regional politics like for example Shiv Sena sponsoring Mumbai team or DMK taking over Chennai Superkings. Everything is possible in India!


Regional languages divide our nation and politicians are smart to use this as their weapon to remain in power. Why do we like being after or behind China? It's always China and India. Why are we not making some one think India first and China second? Agreed that China opened up their economy way before India did but India needs to have the goal of beating China first in the region. To do this India has to be united but our so called leaders are compromised in regional politics that they cannot think of this in the near future. The leaders are so tied-up in local/regional issues India is at the last item in their queue. The different languages too doesn't help. A Tamilnadu MP writes a request to the Lok Sabha speaker to render his speech to parliament in his regional language reason being - he doesn't know the national language. If the speaker allows it then there will be barrage of requests from other state MPs to speak in their own regional language and the other thing is if he succeeds in his request then there will be huge celebration down south! Who is going to stop it? Nobody cares! Everybody in politics is for gain. 


A recent debate on NDTV brought this language issue and again a MP from Tamilnadu is suggesting that they cannot afford to lose the regional language in their state and if a common language is needed then English can be common medium. Where does this idea come from?? I am appalled and dumbfounded by this statement. There is a national language called Hindi and roughly 40% above of Indians speak and understand Hindi. Why can't we accept Hindi as a medium of communication? I had written about the national language Hindi & continued in Hindi Adv. We are ready to accept English, a foreign language as a medium but opposed to Hindi. Wah! The regional language/issue is the key weapon to be in power.



With Karnataka and Kerala having disputes of water sharing with Tamilnadu, I do not see them states of India. The people in respective state act like they are from different countries. Here too, people in Tamilnadu suffer due to lack of water which is a necessity and local politicians at all 3 states play the game as long as they can. They make sure that the disputes remain disputes for decades and no solution is found in the distant future leave alone near future!


The sense of Indian-ness is taking a backseat as the days goes by. What unites us to be called as India and Indian? I am proud to be Indian but nobody looks at me as Indian inside my own country. Either they call me South Indian or Gujju or Bihari or Bengali or so on. The way you are segregated in a group reflect the way we think of India. Even outside country if a fellow Indian meets another Indian the first thing they inquire about is which part of India? and that sets the tone for future communication. 


What keeps us going to remain intact as India?

Is it because of our history? 
Is it because of culture that we gain strength from being united? 

Is it because of absolute democracy?
Is it because of fear? 



I am puzzled and do not find answers.



What happens if a state like Maharashtra declares independence and declares itself as a country? I sincerely hope that this regional politics does not lead to this kind of situation in future.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Movie Review of 'Eeram' - Tamil Movie

After a long time I had an opportunity to watch a good tamil movie. The film is called 'Eeram' which means wet literally but it also has philosophical meaning.

This is a super natural thriller and the director almost convinces us with the slick screenplay & excellent background score. The film opens with a young lady suicide in an suburban apartment. The police officer is our hero and he is known to the lady who is our heroine. He starts to investigate on the suicide and finds that 3 of them die related to the heroine one after another by some way of accidents/made to look like accidents. Panic sets in among the apartment residents and the police officer moves into the apartment to get a conclusion of these deaths. When you find the thing that is behind these deaths you are amazed by the story telling. A simple distorted fact can wreck a family & people die.

The hero Aadhi is good as a youngster & police officer. His athletic body suits the role. The film moves seamlessly from the current scene (investigative mode) to the hero/heroine's earlier days (college day) when they were in love. There is no confusion whatsoever in the alternating sequences which is a relief.

The director does not enter into an argument whether ghosts exists or not, even the hero is compelled to believe that ghosts exists (so do we).

It's a clean movie, a thrilling one and a different kind of movie experience.

My rating for this movie is 3 star out of 5.

Rating Details:
***** - Classic & Outstanding.
**** - Must Watch. Don't Miss!
*** - Good Movie. Watch it.
** - Watch it only if you really want to.
* - Not worth your money.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Power of Money

Inspirational ! Share with everyone!
Power of Money, By Adam Khoo
(Singapore's youngest millionaire at 26 yrs.)

Some of you may already know that I travel around the region pretty frequently, having to visit and conduct seminars at my offices in Malaysia,Indonesia, Thailand and Suzhou (China). I am in the airport almost every other week so I get to bump into many people who have attended my seminars or have read my books.
Recently, someone came up to me on a plane to KL and looked rather shocked. He asked, 'How come a millionaire like you is traveling economy?' My reply was, 'That's why I am a millionaire. ' He still looked pretty confused.
This again confirms that greatest lie ever told about wealth (which I wrote about in my latest book 'Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires'). Many people have been brainwashed to think that millionaires have to wear Gucci, Hugo Boss, Rolex, and sit on first class in air travel. This is why so many people never become rich because the moment that earn more money, they think that it is only natural that they spend more, putting them back to square one.
The truth is that most self-made millionaires are frugal and only spend on what is necessary and of value. That is why they are able to accumulate and multiply their wealth so much faster.
Over the last 7 years, I have saved about 80% of my income while today I save only about 60% (because I have my wife, mother in law, 2 maids, 2 kids, etc. to support). Still, it is way above most people who save 10% of their income (if they are lucky).
I refuse to buy a first class ticket or to buy a $300 shirt because I think that it is a complete waste of money. However, I happily pay $1,300 to send my 2-year old daughter to Julia Gabriel Speech and Drama without thinking twice.
When I joined the YEO (Young Entrepreneur's Orgn)a few years back (YEO) is an exclusive club open to those who are under 40 and make over $1m a year in their own business) I discovered that those who were self-made thought like me. Many of them with net worth well over $5m,travelled economy class and some even drove Toyota's and Nissans,not Audis, Mercs, BMWs.
I noticed that it was only those who never had to work hard to build their own wealth (there were also a few ministers' and tycoons' sons in the club) who spent like there was no tomorrow. Somehow, when you did not have to build everything from scratch, you do not really value money. This is precisely the reason why a family's wealth (no matter how much) rarely lasts past the third generation.
Thank God my rich dad foresaw this terrible possibility and refused to give me a cent to start my business.
Then some people ask me, 'What is the point in making so much money if you don't enjoy it?' The thing is that I don't really find happiness in buying branded clothes, jewellery or sitting first class. Even if buying something makes me happy it is only for a while, it does not last.
Material happiness never lasts, it just give you a quick fix. After a while you feel lousy again and have to buy the next thing which you think will make you happy. I always think that if you need material things to make you happy, then you live a pretty sad and unfulfilled life..
Instead, what makes me happy is when I see my children laughing and playing and learning so fast. What makes me happy is when I see my companies and trainers reaching more and more people every year in so many more countries.
What makes me really happy is when I read all the emails about how my books and seminars have touched and inspired someone's life.
What makes me really happy is reading all your wonderful posts about how this blog is inspiring you. This happiness makes me feel really good for a long time, much much more than what a Rolex would do for me.
I think the point I want to put across is that happiness must come from doing your life's work (be it teaching, building homes, designing,trading, winning tournaments etc.) and the money that comes is only a by-product. If you hate what you are doing and rely on the money you earn to make you happy by buying stuff, then I think that you are living a life of meaninglessness.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Ganapati Visranjan - 2009 at Kandivali, Mumbai, India



A snapshot of Ganapati Visranjan at Kandivali, Mumbai.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Bureaucracy at its best!

India is known for its bureaucracy and the babus! I have had experiences with the local municipal office to corporation office of metros dealing with the junior level peons and officers. They all have the same look on their face! What can you (I) give or What can I extract from you (I). If they feel that you are someone important or think that they can extract more from you the cost of service (whatever) goes more than double.

The best of bureaucracy and corruption can be seen at RTO (Regional Transport Office) although all the govt offices are same & corrupted as RTO. RTO issues registration numbers for all kind of vehicles in their region and driving licenses for individuals. Nobody from the outside world know what is happening at this office. All you have to do is catch a pimp who is waiting outside the RTO and presto.. your job is done in a matter of few hours. You got to just follow this broker (like a dutiful dog!) and stand wherever he stands. The important thing to note is you must not annoy this broker (although you are paying enough money) because if you do, the job will take longer than the prescribed(?) limit. The RTO walls are so tightly shut that a common man (aam aadmi) like me cannot even get an ounce of information directly from the office peons and clerks. Like they say - all roads lead to one destination - all hands lead to the pimp/broker. They are the official interpreters between the customers (us) and the officers. Brokers understand both sides of the language, the bureaucrats understand only broker's language and they don't even bother to listen us if we tried to communicate. By end of the day each broker has about 20-25 license application everyday! and you can see pile of papers on each desk. Paperless office & e-governance! it all crap.

There is lack of transparency, accountability and lackadaisical attitude of bureaucrats is making this country to hold onto the growth. The corruption is now in their blood! I saw this debate on NDTV yesterday, 01 Sep 2009 that 32000 cr is given to the babus as bribes in India per year. Thats a lot of money! My boss use to say India always takes a foot forward and simultaneously takes two feet backward! We are actually going nowhere!

Will the system change? How to change the system? Is there a simple answer or complex answer for these questions? I don't really know! but I am sure that if I change first then it will be the first step and I don't think I am changing in the near future. Unless I change I cannot ask/teach the future generation to think differently or act differently. In shipping industry the software of major ports are written by Indians to reduce paper transactions but if you see the Indian port technology there is always this paper and that paper required for every process.

Be the change you want to see - Mahatma Gandhi.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Lovely pics...



Took these pictures while on traffic yesterday, 26 Aug 2009.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Movie Review of 'Kandasamy' - Tamil Movie.

We watched this movie last Saturday, 22 Aug 2009. It is the one of the most expensive film ever made in Tamil Film Industry. The hype and hoopla is naturally big. The producer is Kalipuli S. Dhanu known for splashing money, Susi Ganesan who has made a mark with his earlier movies and Vikram as the hero, which makes everyone anticipate whats store in Kandasamy.

Well, nothing much or nothing special is in store for you in Kandasamy. Its all the same, take money from rich and give it to the poor. The leader of the group (Vikram) dons the avtar of god Kandasamy, gets the black money from rich and distributes to the poor. He is a CBI officer during day and Kandasamy in nights. The director and his team thought they are doing it differently but the entire film falls flat. The money, hard work of the crew and the time (2 years in the making) are all have gone in vain.

The script goes no where, its just bits and pieces stitched together with no real design or style. It was boring right from the 1st scene where Kandasamy is introduced, introduction is great, makes you sit-up but the length of scene goes beyond time and you begin to think/wonder what is he going to do? With no script or no foundation the building can never stand tall! Susi Ganesan can never become Shankar. He needs to understand this and get the basics right.

I read this comment somewhere in Love Aaj Kal review. The reviewer had said there is a problem with Directors' who have directed low & medium budget films cannot take the big budget movies so easily. The transition from medium budget to taking big budget is far difficult for the directors. I am not sure about Imtiaz Ali but he had handled it satisfactorily on LAK. This comment is apt for Susi Ganesan who has only made low to medium budget movies and this was his first big budget which he makes a total mess.

All the departments including acting, music, camera, editing are all bad which makes the film a totally bad movie. You can spend your 3 hours somewhere else!!

My rating for this movie is 1 star out of 5.

Rating Details:
***** - Classic & Outstanding.
**** - Must Watch. Don't Miss!
*** - Good Movie. Watch it.
** - Watch it only if you really want to.
* - Not worth your money.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Fw: Correct Terms


Dear All.............

School: A place where Papa pays and Son plays.
Life Insurance
: A contract that keeps you poor all your life so that you can die Rich.
Nurse
: A person who wakes U up to give you sleeping pills.
Marriage
: It's an agreement in which a man loses his bachelor degree and a woman gains her masters.
Divorce
: Future tense of Marriage.
Lecture
: An art of transferring information from the notes of the Lecturer to the notes of the students without passing through "the minds of either"
Conference
: The confusion of one man multiplied by the number present.
Compromise
: The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece.
Dictionary
: A place where success comes before work.
Conference Room
: A place where everybody talks, nobody listens and everybody disagrees later on.
Father
: A banker provided by nature.
Criminal
: A guy no different from the rest....except that he got caught.
Boss
: Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early.
Politician
: One who shakes your hand before elections and your Confidence after.
Doctor
: A person who kills your ills by pills, and kills you by bills.
Classic
: Books, which people praise, but do not read.
Smile
: A curve that can set a lot of things straight.
Office
: A place where you can relax after your strenuous home life.
Yawn
: The only time some married men ever get to open their mouth.
Etc
.: A sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do.
Committee
: Individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together.
Experience
: The name men give to their mistakes.
Atom Bomb
: An invention to end all inventions.
Philosopher
: A fool who torments himself during life, to be spoken of when dead






 

 

 





















 

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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Movie Review of 'Kaminey' - Hindi

I had to see it yesterday as it was a delay release in Mumbai partly because of the promo and the positive reviews in the past few days.

The first comment I wanted to write is Fuper movie! Shahid Kapoor in a dual role as Guddu and Charlie are excellent infact the entire cast is fuper sorry super. The credit must go to the script and the casting director. The caper genre movies seems easy on the screen but the amount of work that goes through behind the scenes are enormous. As with Kaminey the story revolves around the brothers, one a good guy and the other a race bookie/gangster. The circumstances lead both of them to the darkest underworld of Mumbai and how they fight for their survival is the plot summary.

I thought the film was slow with some predictable sequences or maybe I could see it coming. The other day I saw this movie 'Sankat City' which is also a Caper genre and the story revolves around 5-8 characters. Sankat City was also a brilliant movie but it had no big names or production house or big budget. It was noticed, had positive reviews but failed to make impact. Kaminey will leave a huge impact on the audiences as the style and scale of the movie is comparable with hollywood movies. If you have seen Pulp Fiction or Snatch similar kind of movies they are simple, no exaggerated facts but with Kaminey the presentation goes overboard. The sleek style and simplicity is missing! with no unpredictable twist.

The song 'Dhan ta ten' is simply amazing. The effects can be felt in the theatre, the song which we see daily on TV is nothing when compared to listening there. I am sure this will be superstardom for Shahid Kapoor and he deserves it. If he wants to retain it and move on he has to be selective on the future scripts.

My rating for this movie is 3 stars out of 5.

Rating Details:
***** - Classic & Outstanding.
**** - Must Watch. Don't Miss!
*** - Good Movie. Watch it.
** - Watch it only if you really want to.
* - Not worth your money.

Monday, August 03, 2009

Movie Review of 'Love Aaj Kal' - Hindi

The most anticipated movie from Imtiaz Ali, the director of Jab We Met and the first movie produced by Saif Ali Khan. The movie has Saif and Deepika in the lead role and supported by Rishi Kapoor. People cannot stop comparing with Jab We Met due to the huge popularity of that film which was blockbuster hit bringing Kareena and Shahid Kapoor to fame. Imtiaz Ali has to live with this comparison probably for his lifetime! unless he comes up with a brilliant movie which smashes all records.

First, this film Love Aaj Kal is not Jab We Met and does not try to be. LAK is a romantic movie set in London and ends in India. Jai and Meera (Saif & Deepika) are two jolly lovers who take love 'just like that'. After being 'together' for one year or so, they call it splits. Meera going on her way to pursue her own career in Delhi, India. Both keep in touch via the numerous communication tools like Chat, SMS, Email and phone. Both of them find new partners and Meera accepts the proposal from her new BF for marriage. Meera gets married despite the love for Jai. She understands that she cannot live without Jai in her life. She goes back and find Jai is preparing to chase his dreams in San Franciso. Intermission.

I guess you all can assume what happens to Jai in SFO. He realizes one day (after 4 years I think) that his world is doomed and knows that he loves Meera. He comes back for her to India and the lovers unite. This is the brief story of LAK but what makes it special? There is a parallel story of Rishi Kapoor set in 1965 (I think so!!) where Rishi tells Jai how he had won his lover Harleen Kaur. This story runs throughout the film based on the conversation between Jai & Rishi.

The special and dramatic effect can be seen and tell us that though the time changes, the circumstances change the 'Love' does not change. Time changes everything but Love remains same! Isn't that true!!!!!!! There are some brilliant instances where the 1965 story stops and comes to the current scene - Jai comments about that situation & asks questions to Rishi which he should ask himself for his situation. Maybe I will have another look at all the instances start & stop of 'old' story and compare with the current (Jai & Meera) story.

The weaknesses I can point out is characterization. In JVM all the characters had a purpose and the background was known. In LAK this is missing which keeps the audience guessing on what the characters will do next. Sometimes the scenes are funny. This is a serious fallout since it failed to keep me engaging.

The expectations were high, when you were looking forward to a feast but end up with a good meal only you know something is missing!

My rating for this movie is 3 stars out of 5.

Rating Details:
***** - Classic & Outstanding.
**** - Must Watch. Don't Miss!
*** - Good Movie. Watch it.
** - Watch it only if you really want to.
* - Not worth your money.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Report on Times of India - 10 July 2009

I was reading this two reports on the same page of TOI, today's edition 10 July 2009. The articles were about two personnel, one is Nandan Nilekani ex co-founder and ex co-chairman of Infosys. He represented the New Face of India along with Narayan Murthy. He is retiring today from Infosys and will be heading the department which will provide Unique Identification Number to all Indians in India.

The other was Ramalinga Raju, the founder of Satyam who is in prison for corporate fraud. He and his CFO are to be subjected to lie-detector test and brain mapping.

I found it ironic to find these two articles side by side. A guy who has worked 28 years tirelessly to build one of best & admired company from India and the other is a fraudster who siphoned off public money for his own well being. I feel this is one of the fine example where both world exists! the good and bad.

I could not stop writing or commenting as soon as I read those articles.

Monday, June 29, 2009

One of the Interesting forwarded mail....

Notepad as Diary



For people who wants to use notepad to write down any info on a day to day basis

(like diary):


1. Open a blank Notepad file

2. Write .LOG as the first line of the file, followed by a enter. Save the

file and close it.

3. Double-click the file to open it and notice that Notepad appends the

current date and time to the end of the file and places the cursor on the line after.

4. Type your notes and then save and close the file.

5. Each time you open the file, Notepad repeats the process, appending the

time and date to the end of the file and placing the cursor below it.

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Monday, April 13, 2009

Review of 'Ayan' - Tamil Movie

It's been long time I wrote a review! I saw 'Firaaq', a Hindi movie by Nandita Das sometime back but didn't feel to write a review. Firaaq was more like Hindi version of 'Crash' and a documentary like movie. I just gave a pass!

I watched 'Ayan', new tamil movie starring Suriya and Tamanna last week. The movie is directed by KV Anand, a cinematographer turned Director. The first thing you notice on watching 5-10 mins into the movie is the 'fresh & green' feel. Surya is wonderful, he is young and you can feel it in this movie.

The movie has been approached to imitate Hollywood movies in terms of actions & stunts. The team has succeeded in bringing out the stunts to a new level and comparable to the best of Hollywood action. One more point, you can actually believe some of the stunts because of Surya's well toned body.

The lead lady Tamanna is fresh and cool-looking beauty who falls for Surya at first sight!!!! She will be in Tamil film industry for long I guess! The support cast includes Prabhu, Karunaas, Jegan and others have done their job according to their roles.

There is nothing new in the story. Surya is con-man who smuggles new film CDs to Diamonds via airport & seaport. He works for Prabhu who has connections at all levels. Then, there is a villian who wants to dethrone Prabhu's position in black market trade. There is a love angle with Tamanna who happens to be the sister of his colleague/friend. So, now you know how the story can go and end. There are portions of movie where it reminds of hollywood movies. It's like cut and paste. Then, there are times where you feel why is the movie not over yet?

I think its high time that the new set of directors avoid unnecessary songs. There are 2 songs in this movies which I feel can be removed. It's totally a waste of time, money and effort. The movie could have easily ended in one and half hours or one hour and forty five minutes. I do not know the compulsion of taking the movie to 2 hours and 15 min. I hope the viewers agree with me.

One of outstanding aspect is Cinematography. The photography is excellent, the colour is vibrant and refreshing. The scenes in Congo are really superb! Editing is sleek, music is good.

On a whole it's a good entertaining movie.

My rating for this movie is 3 stars out of 5.

Rating Details:
***** - Classic & Outstanding.
**** - Must Watch. Don't Miss!
*** - Good Movie. Watch it.
** - Watch it only if you really want to.
* - Not worth your money.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Review of 'Delhi-6' - Hindi Movie.

The much awaited movie from Rakesh Omprakash Mehra was released last weekend, 19th - 20th Feb 2009. His last movie Rang De Basanti was a huge hit in India with Aamir Khan in the lead role. I have not seen his earlier film (1st film) 'Aks', hence not able to comment on it. But RDB is fantastic movie and I loved it. The screenplay, actors, music and story telling had an unique style.

The expectation was more for Delhi-6 since the music by AR Rahman is a chartbuster for about one month now. I certainly expected more from the director solely due to the past performance in RDB. I guess I am disappointed after watching this movie on last Saturday, 21 Feb 2009.

I am watching Waheeda Rehman after a long time and she is a fine actor. In this movie she returns to her homeland with her grandson when she knows her medical condition. Abhishek Bachan lands in Delhi and likes the old Delhi or Delhi-6. She reunites with the family clan and AB finds new relatives, among them is Sonam Kapoor. The story goes on where Sonam has her goal to become Indian Idol one day, AB is amazed at how people live in Delhi-6, all the rest of characters have their own work/identity and life goes on. The story revolves around the rumour based on the 'Monkey Man' thought to be sighted in Delhi. Further story can be read at


The script is too shallow, nothing heroic of sorts, just plain and I find its preaching. You don't go to a movie to be preached, everyone knows why India is in a state where it is. Its the people who need to change and change cannot happen overnight! and certainly not after watching a movie!!!!!!! We must educate our future generations to be responsible and be not like us.

The good things are few specific characters in the movie. They can be seen around us and they are natural. The power of this movie are the original characters created by the director, only AB falls flat in this entire cast or mis-cast in the movie. He doesn't look comfortable in the American character and I feel he doesn't suit the role. He does not take efforts in his looks nor his expressions to bring about the change that the character requires. I guess only Manirathnam can extract best out of him! LOL.

Music is peppy as usual but you will find that the songs are shortened as the director did in RDB. I do not know why he wants an album from AR Rahman and does not film all the songs fully! AR Rahman needs to seriously think of doing music for him again. Cinematography is good and screenplay falls in line.

A better rendition would have made the movie tick.

My rating for this movie is 2 stars out of 5.

Rating Details:
***** - Classic & Outstanding.
**** - Must Watch. Don't Miss!
*** - Good Movie. Watch it.
** - Watch it only if you really want to.
* - Not worth your money.


Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Review of 'Naan Kadavul' - Tamil Movie

Here is the review of latest movie by Bala - Naan Kadavul. Bala is a well established director in Tamil film industry, he has done only two films so far and he has won more hearts plus awards. The first was Sethu which won National Award for Best Feature film in that year and the next was Pithamagan for which the lead character Vikram got National Award for best actor.

His third film Naan Kadavul is in the making for 3 years now. The film got into delays right from the start which included selection of lead actors opting to drop out and lead actress was asked to leave. All sorts of things was happening for this film and when everything was settled one year was over. The film ran into trouble again when the film was completed. This time it was between the director and producer over film cost. Finally, everything was settled in Dec'08 and film was released last 6 Feb'09.

So, after 3 years you get to watch the much awaited movie. What do you get? I can say it is NOT the best movie of 2008 (since it was censored in 2008) and from Bala you expect more, I mean MORE. The movie is good, no doubt about it but could have been better.

The protoganist in this movie is who claims himself 'I am God' a literal meaning of title Naan Kadavul. I guess there are lot of 'sadhus' in Kaasi in North India where they claim themsleves as God. They are called 'aghori sadhus' and Rajinikanth has also written in his appreciation letter to Bala that he has met many aghori sadhus. The story does not revolve around him but a group of disabled persons who are asked to beg in front of a temple. The beggars money goes to one of the leader (the villian) in that sorrounding area. The villian is merciless creature (as always!) who will make people handicap so that they earn more!

I need to mention that Pooja - the lead actress has done an excellent job as blind beggar who can sing well. She is outstanding and brilliant, I am short of words. I hope she will go places after the success of this movie. She has given a mind blowing performance! She is forced to join this beggar group. The movie goes on fine with some hilarious moments and the dialogues, delivery of dialogues makes you clap with full heart. The music is outstanding as always from Ilayaraaja.

Arya, the lead character has given fine performance and I would say he has transformed into aghori sadhu. The voice modulation has worked effectively and people around him watch him like he is a maniac or is god. We have the same feeling watching in the theater, such is the power of screenplay from Bala. Finally a day comes when this god comes face to face with the villians. The intensity of the fight sequence hits you hard. You feel that they deserve it and feel that the protogonist is actually God. The supreme power, the intensity with which he hits out at the villians is powerful. I am not going to reveal the climax here but it has equal depth as that of the whole movie. You will find the answer for 'Who is God?' in the climax.

Now, the only weak link in the movie is Arya's state. How did he become Aghori Sadhu? In the last two films all the characters have purpose and we know the characters well. In Naan Kadavul the characters come as is condition. There is no background and do not know why they act like they should.

My rating for this movie is 3 stars out of 5.

Rating Details:
***** - Classic & Outstanding.
**** - Must Watch. Don't Miss!
*** - Good Movie. Watch it.
** - Watch it only if you really want to.
* - Not worth your money.

Monday, February 09, 2009

Review of 'Dev D' - Hindi Movie.

The movie is a remake of Devdass. As far as I know this movie was released early in black and white, Devdass was the first commercial movie in Tamil regional language and there was a recent remake with Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai. The wikipedia suggest this Devdass has been remade 9 times!

What do you expect from this film where you know the story, plot, characters and behaviour? I guess you get a lot more than you expect from Dev D. You know the storyline, Dev loves Paro from childhood and they love each other even when Dev is far from her. The day comes when Dev comes back to her Paro only to hear wrong things about her. This enrages Dev and he ignores Paro. She is devastated and gets married to another guy. This time Dev cannot hide his emotions of losing Paro and gets into drinks. Break.

Chandramukhi or Chanda in this new Dev D is introduced as a school girl and the journey from there to Chandramukhi is shown brilliantly. Hats off to Anurag who does an excellent job of twining the recent known incidents which was talk of the country. Break.

The next part is Dev D falling at Chanda place. Dev D is addicted to drinks and drugs. He comes to Delhi with no intention just filled with cash to spend on drugs & drinks. During one of those nights in the streets of Delhi he is thrown to Chanda and from there he makes visits to Chanda whenever he needs to talk. Chanda too falls for him because he is not one of her 'regular' customer. This intriguing part between Chanda and Dev is well acted by both the lead actors. They both comfort each other and share their stories. Break.

The time comes when Dev goes back to usual drunken state and gets into trouble. Another recent incident is highlighted that is talk of the country still now! Dev goes all around North India, goes to Himalayas and returns back to Delhi after a while. The self-realisation hits hard on Dev and goes in search of Chanda. He realises that he loved Chanda and finally meets her.

The movie is well written, characters developed fully and it is a treat to watch such good movies. I could not find any fault on the story telling except where Dev is addicted to drinks and drugs, the movie seem to drag a bit. But otherwise it is an excellent movie.. a must watch movie.

I almost forgot to mention... it's strictly an adult movie.

My rating for this movie is 4 stars out of 5.

Rating Details:
***** - Classic & Outstanding.
**** - Must Watch. Don't Miss!
*** - Good Movie. Watch it.
** - Watch it only if you really want to.
* - Not worth your money.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Attack on Women - Mangalore Pub incident.

I saw this clipping on a news channel when I was in for a vacation last week. The attack on women completely shocked me... I was in disbelief for a moment. How can someone do such a thing in public and when the camera was on! The attackers are defending for their acts. It is such a shame that the TV channels are giving a chance to speak in front of the camera for defending their attacks.

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1792540

They should be beaten to death as they claim to be done in some muslim countries. The attackers claim they are guardians of hindu culture. What Hindu Culture? They absolutely do not know their history or their culture, just half baked goondas trying to get cheap publicity and I still cannot believe that they actually beat the ladies out there. What is that the ladies tried to do? just having few drinks with fellow men is nothing! In a country where women are considered gods the attackers are just madmen! they have lost their sense and identity. The attackers must be punished severely so that this kind of incident never happens again!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Review of Slumdog Millionaire - English

I saw this movie last night, 22 Jan 2009 on a Paid preview show in one of multiplexes in Mumbai, India. The hall was only 1/3rd full, I do not know why such a lukewarm welcome for a movie that has won world acclaim, won hearts worldwide and won 4 Golden Globes. Just wondering!

I guess there are lot of reviews written but I think this will be one of the first from India by an Indian.

The best things first. A.R. Rahman - he is the one who has actually lifted this movie to the next level. The background score is a masterpiece! Hats off to him. He should deservedly get an Oscar for original score. He is a true genius and am proud to be a fellow citizen. Without AR Rahman the movie will go nowhere. It would fall flat, seriously.

The next best is the acting of kids. They are just brilliant especially the kid Jamaal and Salim was good at the last stage (like the guy you see in City of Gods) of his character. Latika character is so so through out the movie. The young Jamaal who plays WWTAM is OK but his expressions are flat. Out of 3 characters, Salim's character is well etched and all the 3 stages of Salim are done well by the actors.

The next best can be Cinematography. The camera moves with the kids and their point of view. The music supports the camera work. Screenplay & Editing could have been better.

The cons for the movie are
- movie language in English
- no character development.
- no depth in characters. For example, Jamaal is extraordinary in English and keeps upto date information. He can answer any questions that is thrown to him. How?
- loop holes in the script.
- plausible storyline.
- Emotional Quotient missing between Jamaal and Latika.
- think of bollywood movie in English, that SM.

The first thing you notice about the movie is language. The movie is mostly English and when you see good actors like Irfan Khan and Saurabh Shukla (the police constable) speaking English it is ODD. Our (my wife & me) initial opinion was this movie should have been taken in Hindi. The local flavour will have increased the credibility for this film.

The lack of depth in characters and a little bit more time to develop the characters would not have done any harm. We get to know Salim's character right from the beginning but Jamaal's and Latika character (lead characters) are left to us for our own imagination.

The most certain loop hole is Salim helping Latika at the end... Why would he do that? Why does he change??? We were puzzled!

The plot is too thin and plausible. Jamaal loves Latika from when and why? The emotion between them is missing. I cannot feel it. I just can't.

This is a real slick film and a good one. I hate to say this... it does not deserve the attention it has got. There are hundreds of movies which I can rate better than SM even in Regional films of India. I quote the example movie as Satya by Ram Gopal Varma as mentioned in one instance by Danny Boyle, is far far better than SM. The Indians who have seen Satya and SM can say they are different genres but you must admit that SM is nowhere near to Satya.

I gave a 7 on IMDB rating just for AR Rahman and the kids.

Go watch it if you have to else rent a DVD.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

MBA in International Business.

I finally got my MBA certificate from Pondicherry University-Loyola College. It was difficult 2 years 2006-2008, with the support of my family I got through in first class. When I look back I do not know how the days went. Work 5 and half days, go out in the evening on Saturday and classes on Sunday. We were lucky that the classes were reduced to half day instead of full day from the 2nd Semester onwards.