ThiraiKatha ... Screenplay'ed

When Movie making is commercialism and Movie Viewing is to chew popcorn as every sensible fellow ,I aligned myself away from these clutches which in the end of the day are just nothing more than a Puke-Plate.
To make a movie which is commercially viable and at the same time to make a viewer take back a lesson to live a life happier is much more important or at least need of the hour in constant changing dynamics of the living world where we tend to forget our roots. Palpable emotions hurt me the other day when I came out of my living room , tears went down and became emotionally challenged. Not that this movie was so , but just because some movies grew deep into your life , sit in your Hall of heart and pinch you so badly that you need almost days together to come out of that evil.

Thiraikatha (Screenplay) as it aptly says in its final closure scenes , we people make films (see films) that is much etched out neatly tuned , characterized with a picture perfect ending just to realize the people who make it and who live it (sentinel it with pure passion) are the actors who are poor in acting directed by an amateurish fellow with a poor plot called life. I was moved.

An Homage in the title card a read in Wikipedia moved me much before the start of the cinema. Generally we don’t believe on internet facts but for me , I was equally saddened with a thought of “Had it be true, how would it be , how would the lady endured the sufferings”. Yeah I accept it’s after all a screenplay, but…

“Akbar Ahmed” alias ‘Akky’ after a debut Hit film qualifies as a hot cake for the producers in Malayalam Film Industry , post success he takes care of his family business of running a Motel “Casablanca” along with his friends which includes his girlfriend ‘Devayani’. Passion for Movie making is the wealth these folks have and they become more focused on the next project though commercially winning was an option when top heroes agree to bend their dates for them.

Akky has different plans. He initially ventures into a research on ‘Lost Ladies of Yester Year Cinema’ leading up to Malavika , leading star of the previous generation. The Screenplay of Thiraikatha is well pictured as a flashback of realization in a form of narration that leads to a pursuit for the lady who not only did quit the industry but lives in an exile away from comfort. Akky unravels the life of Malavika , initially to be scripted as his second film making him to drop the plan when he knows the truth about her.

Ajayachandran who is the Super star of the industry who once debut with Malavika shares an important role in her life or if it’s the reverse ? What is the reason for which he did the act of becoming a cheap rouge in Malu’s eyes and how could this be resolved becomes the rest of the story amalgamating with what makes Akky Realize the realm of life.

Aby Kuruvilla ‘s role is one of the finest characterization I have ever seen in recent times.

Thiraikatha is not just the screenplay , but it unravels the truth behind the screens of people who give three hour pleasure. Neatly sketched , poignantly assaulted , it’s a movie of must watch. Most of the details I’m keeping away from this post to make a watch more poignant.

Technically , it’s a Malayalam movie. (Do anyone need more description?)
It contains the exact proposition of what to be made as , or to be called as a neat movie. Ranjith who is the director , who also did co-produce the movie , written and even acted the important role of Aby Kuruvilla whose letters take Akky to Malu, is one to look for. I’ll immediately start researching about him.

Prithviraj Playing the role of Akky and the voice over narration is perfectly blended with a marvelous Midas touch of a perfectionist. The closing scenes of the movie where he emotes the truth and the scenes with Anoop Menon , the talk-less montages , he wins as an actor. Main character of the films are Priya Mani and Anoop Chandran. Priya Mani sizzles as a star of the yesteryear as well as the lady in her late years struggling. She manages to portray a perfect execution of what her character needed. ‘Anoop’ , exhibits his mastery. BGM is as soothe and move with the scenes , couple of songs still rings in back of your mind. Chitra,Swtha,Madhu B , Shankar Mahadevan made me to relate much more... More than technically bright the apt titled screenplay becomes more strong by every passing scene. If ‘Srividhya’ is ‘Malu’ and whether the universal hero has a role in her life as suggested in Wikipedia is to be researched but for me this movie shall remain as a master piece from industry which has become my home of cinematic excellence.

PS: I’m stopped in end of each and every line to make sure those who watch this movie tonight after reading this review shouldn’t be spoiled. It’s hard to write a memoir about a movie which has shaken you.

Ek Tha Tiger

Guys for once you have to accept the admiration that Salman Khan acquires , a 100 Crore plus box office collection for the opening week with 100% occupancy in single and multiplex theatres , only the Demi God of Asia can think of. He has done it repeatedly in recent years with even movies which doesn’t qualify for decent story or screenplay. This makes him a true star , this is where from day one the other Khans lack. Particularly the Badshaah has to learn in making money not the other way like Ra-one.

Coming to ‘Ek tha Tiger’ , a Typical YRF Production who are minting money dangerously these days , a Kabir Khan film whose reputation in New York and Kabul express is good , and it’s a Salman Katrina starrer.

Story : A RAW agent is in love with ISI Lady , what happens is the climax , with Iraq used for Showing what is Tiger , Dublin where Tiger waits his chance to leap , a twist in Istanbul a Cuban Climax.

Screenplay , with a story said above similar to Kinder Garden books , screenplay is where Kabir khan has capitalized at least when you have Salman with you , basic glitches are acceptable. And when movie move from one place to another , country here , one can easily predict the unpredictable but Kabir for a normal movie goer , he got their pulses.
There are lot of loop holes in story as what happened to Scientist and is their mission so small that a love story take sit over and even you have hints of Bondesque scenes and at last a Dhoom 2 conclusion

Though it is not a romantic movie like at least Body Guard , or a complete mass entertainer like Dabaang , it falls in between two.

Execution and performance : Katrina is the poorest casting I have seen. Some scenes I would like to mention here , when Sallu Bhai catches Katrina in professor’s house , emotionless face like not a blood is moving kind of look, VijayKanth-Ballaya kind of stuns (though it came out well , its sans logic , at least a laugh riot) , her emotionless always open mouth expressions sick. Poor Casting

More importantly the quick utterence of words with sudden break syllable ends the one i did notice in ZNMD is not suiting her , may be she has cultivated this habit for no good.

Girish karnad , shenoy everyone else did their part yeah including the Professor and the doggie.

Sallu Bhai is just amazing , be it actions stopping the spidermanesque Tram with his coat or be it the opening Iraqi stunts be the dialogue delivery ,”Zinda ya Murda” he is Macho man. I could see only my Thalaivar like this and he has repeated many times right from Wanted days.

This kind of Sattire low voice dialgogue delivery i enjoyed while watching transformation of Mahesh Babu and yeah the pokiri remake wanted has played a strong change in body language and dialogue delivery of Sallu bhai.

Most importantly what Sallu Bhai wins over others is timing of Satire , No one can match him with his low voice comical satire , talking to self … which I feel he has got a punch of his own. If not for Salman I wouldn’t have dared to watch this movie and that explains well.

Coming to music none read none is a chartbuster at least for me and BGM reminds me of Don. Mashallah song , I bet I have heard this in a Tamil Item No ( 90’s film ).

The high jump into chartered flight , the tram stopping scene , the cuban chase reminds me of lot of yesteryear hollywood flicks.

Having said all this its just an entertainment.

Some points i need to add , rightly mentioned is the beautiful cinematography and sharp editing as its a chase film with international locales.

Overall , this movie is like anyother movie which has base and building on the star power. At least we could see a not a blunder movie with Kabir doing his part. Watch it you won’t regret it. With piracy at its best here , I’m loving it.

Tiruvasagam Revisited...

This is an rat-size contribution for the Himalayan achievement Illayaraja has done 7 years ago. Seven years ago I was in 3 year of my college typically involving myself anything other than engineering. My involvement with Theatre , Music , Street Play , Mime started then. My Daily after college attending theatre workshop , work shop in Russian cultural center Alwarpet Chennai gave me ample time and scope to look for creative field as my occupation and I somehow achieved as little as I have now. These days my involvement with people in stage production (Musical play) was much and I even went to extend of doing small theatric roles for Madras Players and winning four in four Saarang IIT Theatre almost changed my mindset about life. With friends , I even managed to pull out a music album about Namma Chennai , from scratch completed full length production involving six tracks with as many music director-friends , invested months of my savings , released launched in Sathyam cinemas on Chennai day … and thus entering into the world of Music production with my life time aim to stage a musical play in Chennai (the land of creative hearts).
4 PM , took an auto from Chennai central to Music academy RK Salai grabbed a third row seat for the launch of Tiruvasagam in Symphony by Illairaja Supported by Tamil Maiyam.

Thiruvasagam ( திருவாசகம்) is a volume of Tamil hymns composed by the ninth century Shaivite bhakti poet Manikkavacakar. It contains 51 compositions and constitutes the eighth volume of the Tirumurai, the sacred anthology of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta.

Illairaja , the Maestro did an Oratorio aptly supported by Tamil Maiyam ( NGO) consists of 6 tracks on “Tiruvasagam”. The oratorio was performed by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra.

Goose bumps, Happy –Cry, Speech less are some words which doesn’t get apt after listening to this track. It’s an experience. Particularly from a Vedic family , the impact of this experience was an Himalayan journey whose fathom can never be measured. The launch was grandeur who is who of Literal musical political fraternity who can relate to anywhere any form with Tamil Literature and music were there. Speeches after speeches four hours of non-stop experience of once in lifetime portrayal of magnanimous creation was this. Its blend of Carnatic music with western world , it’s what Mozart or Beethoven would have taken Illayaraja into their lap and kissed him and said , the legacy of Symphony was created just for you to master it.

Shiva , the Lord as we all know has lot of literature on him right from Veda to silent prayers. Tiruvasagam is very sacred and experience. Illayaraja donning the creators hat to give an ever lasting impression in the musical world is not just fluke.

Whom I’m here review it when my life has changed that evening. Three time each academy award and Grammy award winner says this on illairaja who wrote English Lyrics for this Symphony.

“Last night, at Sony Studios in New York City, I had the pleasure of hearing the almost-finished mix of Ilayaraaja's amazing work. It is unlike anything I've ever heard before, a stunning blend of Indian and Western music and instruments. I asked Mr. Raaja if this was something different for him too, and he said he had never done anything like this piece before. I don't know if anyone has. So I believe those of you looking forward to this are in for a great treat. The section to which I contributed English words is about twenty minutes long and dovetails back and forth between Mr. Raaja singing in Tamil and an American singer singing in English, plus there is a large and beautifully produced chorus. Mr. Raaja's orchestrations are superb, and the recording engineer, Richard King, has done a spectacular job sonically. I felt so very proud to be a small part of this project. Mr. Raaja is a pleasure to work with, in answer to your question. He is a quiet and gentle personality, always smiling and encouraging, which can make one forget what a musical genius he is. He was extremely clear with me about what he wanted me to do in translating/paraphrasing the Tamil text, what portions of Manikka-Vacagar's poem he wished me to emphasize, and what the deeper meanings were. When he wanted revisions, he was again very clear and helpful as to what adjustments he felt needed to be made to accomplish his vision. The people Mr. Raaja surrounds himself with, at least those it was my pleasure to meet, are also unfailingly positive personalities. The entire project for me has been an enjoyable and fascinating experience from beginning to end, and I feel extremely lucky to have been asked by Mr. Raaja to participate. I hope this answers some of your questions, and I believe I can promise you with confidence you are in for a major treat when you hear Thiruvasakam in Symphony. Sincerely, Stephen Schwartz”

And this is true , an experience of life that was and that is for last 7 years I’m looped this more often than not. To realize and gain this performance of Thiruvasagam, you seldom have to be an adept in music or an ability in Thiruvasagam. But you have so , you can understand what a Himalayan trek it was , it was of course trekking to MT Kailash sitting in your living room. Thiruvasagam is itself a master stroke and any compilation on it is burning your hands , Illairaja did it. To Bring Symphony in Classical Tamil , it’s an honor to have lived in the era and to have firsthand copy of it and experience meaning of life way back to my home .

“Poovar Chenni Mannan” The track brings out westernized symphony with classical Vedic rendition Maestro himself singing the lines (Tamil) . “Muthu Natramam” , Sung by Unni Krishsnan Madhu Balakrishnan Vijay Jesudas and others is folky. This proves the variation in his style. My favorite is the album itself but to pick Pollaa Vinayen sung by Illairaja and Ray Harcourt. The voice of Harcourt gives me a thumping hit on my inner most senses with lines of Stephen in English you are killed with senses on.

Some lines of translated Tiruvasagam by Stephen are here.

So many forms I must wear –
Grass and shrub and stone and tree
So many lives I must bear –
Worm and bird and beast and demon
Learn the sky and turn the earth
How long till I am fin'lly worthy?
My eyes were set on my own great deeds
My ears heard only words of praise
Tasting, smelling, touching only what is here and gone
And wond'ring why the hunger, thirst, and longing went on
Lost in vanity and pretense
My five senses made no sense
And then to this man, so blind and base
To him, you granted a glimpse of grace

Particularly the layered genius he is. A week back Prahsanth_Ashok was sharing in FB , thoughts on Illayraja and i mentioned a comment on the status. No one in India at least i know of it, has mastered the different layer utilization in their songs like Him.
Basics of audiography and mixing i have learnt when my album was processed in Panchatam studios. When listening to Polla vinayen track in this album , i could feel how could one possess extreme talent in doing this , fact is he didn’t compose using Harmoniam or keybord , he writes notes and fax it to the Hungarian folks. Now that is art. Not Just art , excellence of art.

This being his third attempt with Hungary , first was for a Malayalam film Guru (Lalettan) second was for Hey Ram.

The amalgamation of these lines with Tiruvasagam and its singing by Illairaja and Harcourt , with symphony , you should be living your second life , after reaching out your innermost death in conscience. Death in Niravana , I would call or by…You have missed your life best opportunity to experience Nirvana if you have never listened to this. My journey in the field of music , if by any chance I continue , will never be easy if I don’t bend down in front of maestro like Raaja , for whom the world might know ARR thanks to Andrew Loyd Webber and his Bombay dreams , the who is who in Music of the world should have toasted a cheers on this fellow from Theni , who not only mesmerized the field of cinematic excellence composing music, but went beyond the reach of all so that generations come by , world may destroy this year end , until the Sapta Swaras exist , the god of Music , Mr Illairaja shall survive in the hearts of millions of his lovers.

Hangzhou Dusted...

Travel not of road but once own self existence was my thought and write in my previous posts , but for a change I decided to travel on road forcefully self-failing to think beyond reality , beyond the last page of my novel, just reality to love and pleasure the beauty of mother earth . I did that , did that in my maiden travel beyond the place of work, This Friday evening I was set for a travel to Hangzhou.

There is a Chinese proverb which says “生在苏州,活在杭州,吃在广州,死在柳州” meaning "Be born in Suzhou, live in Hangzhou, eat in Guangzhou, die in Liuzhou”. Neither I was born here , death is not a planned task its always unplanned, hence the rest two are in our hands and I decided to go with one of them keeping the other for later adventures. “Live in Hangzhou” can also be sophistically translated to “Travel to Hangzhou” as for me like many of us meaning of Life is Travel, isn’t?

Friday evening , my last status mail for the week , Time sheet submission, Packed my Rucksack , charged not mobile of course , my Nikon and left for a journey initially thought as a stay-away from work but eventually it was more knowledgeable and pleasure ride.

Brief Description about the city and the need I planned for this trip and my initial expectations and places to visit : Hangzhou a 200 KM away city from Shanghai , South west of it , Has Infosys Office (DC) from the people I came to know the city is of Mussorie range, a lake , couple of temples is famous . My initial expectations was , nice breezy drizzling climate , lake boating , Temples, Food for self and lens , Overnight pubbing and snooker. The city is bisected by Qiantang River before flowing to East China sea.

Saturday morning with Friday night LOL in shanghai with non-intermittent game of 8-Ball Pool , travelled to the city by Road. It was heavily down pouring and visibility was not even for 15 m. After a quick fire brunch may be at the time when you all would have got up , we checked in the Sheraton . One hour later we were in Lingyin Temple.


Lingyin is a Buddhist temple of the Chan sect located north-west of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China. The temple's name is commonly literally translated as Temple of the Soul's Retreat. It is one of the largest and wealthiest Buddhist temples in China, and contains numerous pagodas and Budddhist grottoes.

It is basically a five hall structure created to dedicated by Dynastical rulers to the Buddhist ages. One is welcomed by Maitreya or Milefo what you call as ‘laughing Budha’. My Favorite was Guanyin, a manifestation of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, with relief screen, at the back of the Grand Hall of the Great Sage. The initial pathway leads as if entering caves of Feilai grottoes stone carved sculptures caves leading to great halls. Kwan-yin Statues was very uniquely designed and it perched my eye sight. ‘Mahavira Hall’. In front of Every hall there is a minaret style tombs which can be called as “pagoda” varying around 15 ft. There is also a 500 Arhats Hall which is lined display of Sculptures of ancient Monks.

**Pictures to be FB’ed.

Midafternoon , a temple to start and it was time for entertainment. We decided to move to lake side. “West Lake” it’s a big lake , big as a 40 min drive around its circumference in a radio car(Golf Cart) (I did it , later in the day). Reached for a place where I can have a nice Nai Cha (Tea) , the place was full of tea plantations and in house display. Post that I decided to take a boat ride alone. It was battery operated boat and runs in a decent speed. Behind the wheel , driving for more than half an hour without sun being seen , a breezy lake drive was like eating Butter scotch ice-cream with a Jack Daniel topping. Some pictures here and there I had some profile shots mostly OOF by locals there (it was very hard to explain what I want to them in my broken Chinese) .

The complete lake was paved perfectly for pedestrians , scenic beauty and most importantly it was like Ruskin Bond’s Mussorie. The Shore had Metal park-like chairs where one can sit with perfect magnetic view of the Leifeng Pagoda on one side , the commercialized sky scrapers on other side , a Hill on one side , Never ending lake on the other. Some time I even felt I was reading the white nights by Fodor Dostoevsky. Perfectly romantic and I could just dream of Sajda next to me. Just Dream , make a note.

With a king sized breath , I travelled lake side , completed a walk , reached a Mexican joint to have some Baritos and continued my walk for another half an hour when Lamborghini to Ferrari outlets passed by (I was seeing these first time , even a Rolls Royse ) SEXY .

I retired in my Hotel room in Sheraton after shaking legs for tunes , playing 8-Ball with a French lady (meaning of the word Gorgeous) couple of Daniels.

Next day got up with Ghost Rider and a cup of tea , finished the movie , checked out the hotel to Leifeng Pagoda

It is a five story tall tower with eight sides, located south West. History takes back thousand years ago. Some say there was a mausoleum below but later I got to know about this in internet that officially excavation resulted in a gold and silver coated hair of the Buddha was found. More importantly there was a superstition that the bricks from the tower could repel illness or prevent miscarriage, many people stole bricks from the tower to grind into powder. PRC made a point to conserve this and now it’s a Heritage center. The Pagoda resides as a tomb of these bricks (sacred) .The view of entire city , lake from each of third fourth and fifth floor looks quixotic. Each of these floors consists of display of carvings , pictures sculptures depicting the culture and history of this place. I was imaging Crouching Tiger and Hidden dragging when there was carvings of a war sequence. Have anyone been to Santhome basilica tomb in Chennai (In tomb, there is a molded sculpture of Thomas),these are of similar type.

A lunch in Indian restaurant , stared my journey way back.

Vintage Classic Happening: I was driving in the lake the other day and some body from other running boat called me . The boat was like typical "Dal lake" (remember Rajesh khanna with voice of Rafi sahab). Indu-dua (something) meaning are you from India ? and i nodded my head . He suddenly started singing a song in Chinese. Just to be later realized that the song is Main Awara Hoon (RAJ Kapoor Clasic). The fact that he is young max of my age making me realize that this song has transcended generations. RK take a bow.

Hangzhou is a place where you can spend a weekend enjoying the weather food and a pleasant travel , just a hour or two travel from Shanghai makes a perfect Holiday destination. More to come in Travelogue series : Revenge of Chinese : Food , Travel and Photography