Vaaranam Aayiram - A review

It was a much awaited movie and when I went to watch it, I was waiting for the movie to end! I wouldn't call this movie a boring one, at the same time I wouldn't call it captivating either. The least I expected out of it was some eye-candy called "Surya" and am happy at least I got that.

With Mr.Menon's superb 'Kakha Kakha' and mediocre 'Vetayadu..', I went to watch ‘Varanam..’ with an open mind. The film starts on a sad-serious note with a death and promises a powerful story and good performances. And from there what you have is the son of the deceased Surya, thinking back in the past and how his father played a major role in his life. Bringing back memories onto the screen in a narration is something we have all liked, for instance Cheran's Autograph. The idea itself not being a novel one, the difference could have been made by the style of narration. But the story is not linked smoothly. Sometimes you just feel that they wanted to tell this, that and all.

A little into the second half and the movie finally gets one interested, for once one gets to expect something out of it. And there are few touching moments (the death of the girlfriend followed by the addiction to drugs etc.). And Varanam, would have been a wonderful movie had these emotions been picturised in a stronger way and till the end. Instead the focus is lost and the end seems to be prolonged till that scene on the beach.

The one thing that is commendable without any doubt is Surya's acting. The way he camouflages into all the different roles, and different ages of the roles is simply mesmerizing. Simran does a decent job too. The songs can be skipped except for one or two.

Overall this is a movie that could have been an exceptional one, but alas it comes out just as ordinary as any one of them. It’s not worth the wait!

Back in action!

Am back!!!After, what I would call a long break.Am back here to do one of the things I like the most, dabble in writing on my blog.

I have really missed writing down my experiences and feelings in the past few eventful months - because when thou shall go thru the holy matrimony thou shant get no time! Take it from me friend.

And now that I have got all the time I can ever get I want to write down my experiences about the whole marriage match-making process and of course the marriage process.As a part of this I would write 3 posts.

1 - Match making online
2 - Do's and dont's of match-making
3 - the big ta-da and how you prepare yourself for it

Keep watching the space!

Hats off to Matt !

Did you get that forwarded video long time back , with a guy offering 'free hugs'?
If you did and if you liked it , then you will defintely like Matt Harding's "Dancing" video .

The first thing about the video that captivated me was the carefree way with which Matt dances with various famous places all over the world in his background and the people around him who dance along with him in a funny childish way. Tthe idea of making such a video is simple so creative. The background music (I saw the 2008 version) of the video was mesmerizing and guess what, the lyrics were taken nowhere but from a poem "Stream of Life" by
our own Shri Rabindranath Tagore!!!

For some reason this video gave me goosebumps! Watch it to feel it for yourself - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY

P.S.Thanks to Kee for introducing me to this...Saw this one on her videos on orkut.
BTW Matt is no great media person or art directr or something. He was just another computer game creator of a geek who happened to realise better ways of living ! Love his attitude !

What a day!!!

This blospot of mine is no journal.Nevertheless,sticking to the intention of what I wanted to write here(check my blog name and its expl.), I have to put on this page a couple of my experiences rather adventures of today.

It started as a normal day , I had my coffee got ready and for a change didnot have to run for the bus :). The morning was getting better with my friends complimenting me on my new hair cut :P. As the evening approached I was totally rejuvinated thinking about going to hometown. Half past seven I was shutting down the PC and thats when it started...I couldnot find my home key!!!

A very cautious person that I am, this was something that never happened.I panicked and friends at work tried to help me.After a hour long of phone calls and vigorous searching I finally gave up an decided to go stay at Kamala's place for the night. The sweet thing she is, she was glad to help! Then out of the blue a colleague suggested to go check with the admin guys. I did that and guess what some good samaritan had found my home key in the office bus and had given it to them....Can you even imagine the relief and happiness I was overwhelmed with. I swear, you could have seen a 1000 Watt glow in my face....Thanking the admin guy who broke open an almirah to take out my key from secure box I left office.

It was almost a perfect ending to the adventurous evening until I took an auto from VDP to KYM. Well, this psycho of an auto driver ate my head bargaining and when I stood away from him trying to find another auto he came back to me and said he would go for the price I quoted. I agreed and when I got in and sat he zoomed at the pace of a jet. He shot through the signal when it was glowing red much to the annoyance and irritation of the others. And guess what he tells me "pattu rupai paatha uyire poyidum"(if you see for ten rupees you might lose your life). OMG that scared me cold....was he really going to take revenge on me for that bargain or what...which by the way is totally justified....thats it I shouted as loud as I could and said "Stop pannanga". He stopped and I made no delay in getting out of what seemed to me like an auto to hell! Took another sane looking guy's auto and sped home....And now...am more than happy to sit here relaxing and writing about this unforgettable day....phew....

Cherio !!!!

Another one to my favourites list

Honestly this was one contemporary movie that made my eyes wet.I can't remember the last time it happened.I have been waiting to watch "Juno' since quite some time now - since I heard about it during the Oscar nomination season.I finally got my eyes on it today - and yeah its worth the wait!
It starts with Juno (Ellen Page) getting pregnant with her close friend Paulie(Cera). The problem is both of them are just 16 and neither feels ready to be a parent. And kudos to Juno who doesnot even try to blame it on Paulie a single time. She just acts in a mega-matured way and decides to just have "the thing"(as she addresses the unborn at times) and give it to the adoption parents - Mark and Vanessa. And unlike other dramatic cliche' movies neither of Juno's parents torment her...they are just surprised that she let it happened. As her dad says 'I thought you were the kind of gal who knows when to say when'.
As the movie proceeds there is no sign of any dramatic phenomenon at all...Everybody around just acts in a matured way. The movie goes a long way in showing how an accidental pregnency doesnot have to always mean ruined lives but can actually give happiness to someone (Mark and Vanessa) and how it helps Juno realise her true love for Paulie.You can feel a lump in your throat when you see a deserted Vanessa look at her baby with so much hope - for her divorce from Mark feels like nothing when she thinks about the happiness she could get from the baby - in her words "everybody is born to do something - and am born to be a mom".
The movie has a freshness to it. The sound track is slow-paced and suits the movie.A get away from fast paced speed racers and fighter iron men, I am positive that every matured adult would appreciate Juno!

This one is my fav. from the soundtrack:
You're a part time lover and a full time friend
The monkey on your back is the latest trendI don't see what anyone can see in anyone else...but you
I'll kiss you on the brain in the shadow of the trainI'll kiss you all starry eyed my body swingin' from side to sideI don't see what anyone can see in anyone else...but you
Here is the church and here is the steepleWe sure are cute for two ugly peopleI don't see what anyone can see in anyone else...but you
Pebbles forgive me, the trees forgiveSo why can't you forgive meI don't see what anyone can see in anyone else...but you
I will find my niche in your carWith my MP3, DVD, rumble pack guitarI don't see what anyone can see in anyone else...but you

Where is the smallscreen headed to?

I happened to tune into Gemini tonight - 9:30 PM - prime time and guess who was on TV?A bunch of 20 something gals - some of them who normally play the heroine's friend/sis and few of them contestants of Miss South India '08( if you are wondering - yeah they have come up with Ms.South India pegeant too!!!).Nothing to be happy about it. They are all on the stage dancing like crazy and trying to seduceGod knows who all....Even they themsselves don't know I believe. In fact it looked like a clip from the video made in a dance bar!I was horrified...I did see the promo of this program but I didnot totally beleive that small screen could beat the large screen in terms of "item song material". And that too this program was airing at a time when people sit together and try to have a nice dinner along with their loved ones and kids. Whatever is happening to our cute little TV???First it was all kinds of D-I-L vs. S-I-L/M-I-L fights without an end and then there were cheap reality shows and now this! OMG what did we do to deserve this?!? Remember the days when families sat together to watch Kashish, Surabhi, Byomkesh bakshi or even Ruthuraagalu....I am pretty sure our next generations will never get a feel of how pleasing TV can be.

A fine place to dine - The Noodle House

I was out in Velacheri in the afternoon and looked for some restaurant just to fill my screaming stomach. After the shopping in Naidu Hall I casually enquired the helpers there. To my surprise they had a restaurant in that very building! The Noodle House in the basement seemed to be quite a decent place to sit and eat a nice calm lunch.The ambience was very pleasant with most of the interiors in white except for tha dining chairs and tables. May be it being a Thursday there was not much of noise but even otherwise NH (Noodle house , not that NaiHaa :) ) promises a soothing feel with your meal. The menu seemed pretty impressive with a lot of choice both in Veg. and a non-veg. That was another thing that surprised me - an authentic Chinese Eatery with a good choice in veg. stuff. Overall the place looks classy, service is pleasing and food is worth the money you pay for it.

Guys in Velachery , do check it out some weekend or for better , on a weekday.

P.S. I dint want to highlight it in this post - but FYI the French Loaf just next to NH also seems like treat!

Dil Chahta hai

Pun intended ! The one thing that my heart wants , mera dil joh chahtha hai, is to have the DCH title song playing loud and me driving a car on the beautiful Tidel Park road....I really hope I materialise this soon.

Why is it that even ordinary ppl in the west are so creative!!!

The other day I was talking to this colleague of mine and he mentioned about a client he met during his stay in the US. Lets call our Texan as 'X'. X is supposedly a 40 year old guy who is involved in the business part of the company. His role and responsibilities would involve nothing with IT at all. But this guy was so interested in this whole IT thing that he learnt COBOL, C, VC++ etc all by himself and by learning I don't mean that he read some books and calls himself a techie. This guy is a now a technical architect and he doesnot even have any degree related to IT, unlike most of us engineers. And what more...he even created this tool to design UIs and guess what it is now a patented copyrighted one !!! And he supposedly paints and makes furniture for his home , all by himself....
Now to be honest I have hardly come across anyone like that at my workplace and I bet most of you might not have too. How would we after all! I think its in our bloodline to think that someone making a table out of wood or someone writing a poem or creating a different form of art is looked down in comparision to one passsing in the first class in his board exams. And what next, with all discouragement to your creativity you are working now in a atmosphere where spending 10+ hours at work is the order of the day. Not that I apprecite the dedication we Indian show to our work, after all that is what has put us on the whoel IT map of the world today! But at the end of the day , don't you feel that something is missing , something called an outlet for your humaity or creativity or anything different than the normal humane tasks.
Besides the westerners have this amazing wrk life balance that impressed me so much during my work tenure in the US. They come early , leave early , absolutely don't waste more than an hour a day at work. And of course you have all the time in the world to pursue your interests after your day at work is done. Imagine what all you would do when you are home by 5 PM. I do listen to people talking about how evereybody has only 24 hrs a day. But I woudl love to know the secret of how they fit in everything in it!

HSB

Hotel Saravana Bhavan - and you thought I was gonna write about some H. School of Business - Even if you did don't get disappointed, this is no less than a school of management in itself. My 3 and a half years in Chennai and I have never seen such professinalism and service like in HSB. It is something I like to flaunt to my non-Chennai friends.And the hygiene, comparable to those of international restaurants.Would you believe me if It old you that their operative kitchens are immaculate at any time of the day.Yes they are! At any given time a soiled plate is visible for no more than a couple of seconds. Every point in the HSBs have a person waiting on you attentively, a boy waiting to clear off the plates etc-Very recently I have noticed that HSB has started hiring women,they didnt't have women employees till a few weeks back....am not sure why the change - though I appreciate it :) The myth (or may be the actual truth)is that HSB management takes care of its employees i.e. waiters and their families to such a generous extent that it sponsers the education of their kids and has a lot of benefits like that. What impresses me and surprises me is that the taste of a particular item on the menu is same in any of the HSBs any where in the world on any day!!!I wonder how they achieve it.I really wanted to visit the HSB in NJ whenI visited Edison,NJ but couldn't.But am sure its the same. Whatever they do in HSB,they do it so well and have such impressive logistics that are worthy of a case study.If ever I wanted to submit a paper on logistics and hotel management , I know what I would write on.

How to make an American Quilt

"There are no rules.You have to go by your instincts and you have to be brave" - These are the closing lines of a beautiful movie "How to make an American Quilt".And yeah how true they are!!
It is about a group of related women,by family,who are in the process of making a quilt for the youngest of them who is a 26 year old writer.They believe a quilt has to be made by the right combination of themes, Each of them has a story of her own which she knits into the quilt. One woman knits a combination of colurs in telling about how she coud hold on to a husband,who is an artist madly in love with her but can't help having other women in his life. One woman carries the story of a young slave girl falling for her master's son and how she lives her entire life just with his memory in the form of a child. Another women carries her own infidelity as a big burden on her and how it has resulted in her losing her true love in life. The young protagonist,played by Wynona Ryder,doesnot believe in a life long relationhsip and in turn ends up upsetting her soul mate. But the importance of one person, the right and deserving person, in every one's life as conveyed to her by the whole quilt making group makes her realise the mistake she has made.
The pre-finale' scene is beautiful!The storm blows up all of Ryder's new story about these women and she feels miserable seeing that her one and a half year of work is washed away by rain and when her grandmother asks her why can't she start it all over again,she looks at her mom who is getting remarried to her father and says,"I wish it was as easy as it is with other things".The grandmother tells the writer that its a pity she feels so unattached to things more important than her writings.
Overall I feel this movie is a good feel-ggod watch for all women and I doubt if there is a man who can get the same message that that a women can get by watching this. Is there one?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113347/

Shopping and all that fell good factor!

I bought some furniture over the weekend , in fact most of you would say it is an essential piece of furniture for a home, and i felt great owning it! I read in this book called "Being Happy" that when one's mood is not very great, he/she can cheer oneself by some shopping because shopping (or any other indulgence that results in spending money on oneself and buying something good for oneself) makes you feel that you have given the treatment that you deserve. For ex. you buy a good new pair of costly shore or you treat yourself to a sumptuous costly meal in the new restaurant , it makes you feel good! And believe me its true!

I was one of those gals who hated the books and ads and movies that showed women/girls jumping with joy just by visiting the nearest mall , no matter how much sadness was surrounding them a couple of hours before. I was like,"these ppl always wanna show women as some kinda stupid spendthrifts wasting money buying stuff that they don't really need". Well I am partly correct even now since I feel its not just women but also who go through the same feeling....... I guess few of you men can throw some light here......

Am waiting to hear from you guys !