I have moved to here.

kanna wrote at 9:01 PM

This was a mixed year for Tamil cinema, I think. Some surprises, and some disappointments. Here's my list of top movies of the year.

1. Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu
2. Pattiyal
3. Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi
4. Veyil
5. Pudhupettai
6. Chithiram Pesuthadi
7. 'E'
8. Thiruttu Payale

It was an interesting year in the cinema industry. The year started with the Ajith - Vijay balance shifting the other way. Vijay went down and stayed down with no subsequent releases with his first flop in years, Athi. Ajith's meteoric rise after years of commercial failures came with Paramasivan and Thirupathi, two thoroughly bad movies that had masala, decent songs, and a newly slimmed down Ajith. He dropped out of the Naan Kadavul project for which he had originally slimmed down, seeing that it seems to be taking years to even start the movie. Director Bala has now expressed confidence that Arya is the new lead. Not sure when the confidence is going to start turning into celluloid.

Some of the films that I was looking forward to at the end of last year have turned out well, Vettaiyadu and Pattiyal making the top of my list. Sillunu Oru Kadhal was a dissappointment. It had good parts, but the flash back on which the plot pivots is terribly weak, as is Bhoomika Chawla's character, so the movie and its conclusion fail to satisfy. No idea what has happened to "the untitled Jeeva movie that will be starring Arya" which I had said I was looking forward to when I blogged at the end of 2005. The next Jeeva film seems to be Unnale Unnale, retitled from the previous July Kaatril. The audio was released recently, more on that later. Sivaji and Dhasavatharam still in production. Puli seems to have been dropped.

Upcoming movies I am looking forward to this year : once again, Shankar's Sivaji and K.S. Ravikumar/Kamal's Dasavatharam. Vishnuvardan's Billa, a remake of yesteryear Rajini movie. Jeeva's Unnale Unnale. Balachander's Poi. Suyatchai MLA, if I haven't gotten the title wrong; the movie starring Jeeva.

kanna wrote at 10:17 AM

Was going to post a review or something but saw this article on the net and felt like putting it up here.

http://majorityrights.com/index.php/weblog/comments/the_evolution_of_blond_hair_and_blue_eyes_among_nordics/

If the main study bores you scroll down to pictures and read the text above and below. Essentially a comparison of Indian women and Nordic (ie western) women.

It might be just me, but somehow I think there's some sort of bias in the way pictures have been picked here. The picture of Sneha looks horrendous and I would not have guessed it to be her without the caption. Mallika Sherawat's three pictures seriously look like Michael Jackson, and I'm quite sure she isn't that similar to his face.

Just randomly found it on the net and decided to put it up here.

What do u think? Comment or tag...

UPDATE: I was looking through the rest of the discussion when I came across this.
http://majorityrights.com/index.php/weblog/comments/the_evolution_of_blond_hair_and_blue_eyes_among_nordics/P100/#c27259
Didn't make me too happy; I was going to write something angry here but the remaining discussion started getting humourous and lightened me up. :)

UPDATE: Finally, a guy who makes sense. [link]
Of course, the next guy has to go and say something dumb again.

Labels: Articles, Links

kanna wrote at 2:15 AM

Got my hands on the Guru soundtrack a couple of days ago. A bit late, but I haven't been in the loop for a while and didn't realise the soundtrack was released till I came back online earlier this week. I don't think I'm quite ready to review it yet; haven't heard it thoroughly enough. A few instant favourites for me, but some tunes have yet to register or strike a chord, so I'll give it a few more hearings. Just a few thoughts I felt like writing.


I love the Jaage Hain soundtrack. Rahman has handled the chorale and orchestra well. Sounds very professional. Something small I noticed when listening to it a couple of times. I probably wouldn't have noticed it if I had not read a review criticising Rahman's singing in Tere Bina. Both Chitra and Rahman enter the song in a whisper. I find no fault with Rahman's subsequent singing like the reviewer did, but in the whispering one can see clearly why Rahman, while being a very competent and able singer, is not very, what shall I say, accurate? nuanced? Listen to the way Chitra whispers this line, and pay attention to its ghamakam :

Jaage hain der tak hamein
Kuch de[...e]r sone do

Chitra, there is no need to say this, is a brilliant singer and can pull it off, even when she is whispering. Try doing this and one realises how hard it in fact is. When Rahman makes a similar entry midway through the song, though, he is unable to do this. While he can reach the high notes effortlessly later on, he cannot complete the ghamakam when whispering. This is just a minor thing I noticed, just felt like penning it down.

I love Barso Re. There's something about this kind of beat that evokes feelings of rain; no idea why. A similar kind of heavy(? I don't know what to call it; sort of a piercing short-lived bass sound) beat accompanies the songs Chinna Chinna Mazhai Thuligal and Sil Sil.

The soothing dum tara dum tara chorus from Tere Bina and Ay Hairathe reminds me a bit of Mangalyam from Alaipayuthey. I think at least one of these songs is a wedding song, somehow I feel that it's Ay Hairathe. Don't know, maybe I think this because I saw some stills with of a Madhavan wedding scene. I like the guitar that runs in the background of Ay Hairathe.

That's about it, just had some random thoughts I felt like writing. Will write a proper review later on.

Labels: Music

kanna wrote at 10:43 PM

Check this article out. I like the ending :)
http://chennai.metblogs.com/archives/2006/11/politics_of_statues_1.phtml

Labels: Links

kanna wrote at 12:06 AM

Dhoom 2 is slick and stylish, probably unlike anything Indian cinema has seen so far. Not to say that it is without flaws, but where it excels, it pushes the boundaries that Indian cinema has reached. The execution of the plot is stylish and one gets the feel of having just watched Ocean's Eleven or The Italian Job.

The plot is fairly simple. Abishek Bachan and Uday Chopra reprise their roles from the earlier Dhoom. The movie begins, with no preamble, begins with a train carrying the Royal crown, which master thief Hrithik Roshan steals, leaving behind his symbol "A". A similar string of heists all pulled off by Mr A prompts an international investigation which comes under Abishek's charge. From there, it is a battle of cat and mouse between master thief and master detective, as each outsmarts the other, taking them all the way to the splendid locales of Brazil.

Hrithik Roshan is the star of the show. Cool smile, rippling muscles, impeccable elegance and a mature performance. He is the driving force of the movie, as the audience waits to see how he pulls off every robbery. He also gives the movie that stylish edge, with his mannerisms. One must see the movie to know what I mean. His dancing also amazes, especially in the opening song. Simply smashing. His acting is mature and delivers what is necessary. Of particular note is a pivotal scene in the second half as Hrithik and Aishwarya play russian roulette.
Nothing particularly notable about the other actors, as they all do their job. Uday Chopra lightens up the movie with his jokes. Aishwarya does nothing special, except a few stunts one has not seen her do in her previous movies. Bipasha does her task well, which seems to be just to look pretty and keep the audience happy, and in the second half to form part of Uday's comic subplot.

The technical team must be praised here. The editing and cinematography makes the film the sleek package that it is. The art director must also be praised for making each scene look colourful, and creating nice sets for the robbery scenes. Choreography, especially for the title track, is very good.

The film is not without flaws. The opening scenes for both Hrithik and Abishek weren't too brilliant. Hrithik's stylish entry was not backed up by good stunt choreography. Abishek's scene was good except some small glaring flaws which we have come to expect in Indian cinema. The Last robbery is very dissapointing, and considering that it is supposed to be the culmination of the film, falls short of the expectation created by the earlier robberies.

Pritam's music does not impress me. Except for Dhoom Again, the opening track, and My Name Is Ali, none of the songs impress me much. Dhoom Again is very lively and is matched by good choreography. Salim-Sulaiman's background score is very good and makes the action scenes pulse pounding.

Overall, Dhoom 2 is a movie that raises the bar for future Hindi movies. It is, indeed, Dhoom Machale once again.

Labels: Movie Reviews

kanna wrote at 10:15 PM

Just a quick post to tell anybody who checks this blog that, fortunately or unfortunately, I'm still alive and kicking. Been a bit busy with the show and then now exams are coming up. Will get back to (presumably) (hopefully) (probably) (ok, fine. possibly) regular blogging after exams end this month.

kanna wrote at 12:42 PM

Haven't had time to blog properly but I've been surfing the net. Found some interesting sites.


Yours Musically: Karthik Raja
http://ursmusically.blogspot.com/2006/05/karthik-raja.html

Was browsing through the archives of the blog I recommended in my previous post and found this. I have always felt Karthik Raja is severely underrated, and that at some point had the potential to become something close to an A.R. Rahman. But bad luck, bad opportunities, and I believe bad PR has left him with only a couple projects or so each year. This post talks about the strengths of Karthik Raja, and I found it a good read.


Pithamagan BGM
http://tfmmagazine.mayyam.com/sep06/?t=7780

Another article written by Suresh of Yours Musically. I was surprised that someone wrote such an in depth review of the BGM. Though I was a fan of the movies songs and background score to start with, this article deepened my appreciation for the maestro that is Ilayaraja. The article comes with sound clippings, so you don't have to go dig up your DVD.


What to Name It
http://chinmayisripada.blogspot.com/

This is the blog of Chinmayi the singer. Chanced upon it while blogsurfing. If you're looking for a celebrity blog with inside-industry secrets, look elsewhere. Chinmayi writes like a normal chennai-vasi, and this is the blog of a normal person, who just happens to be a famous singer.


Blogswara
http://www.blogswara.in/

This is the site of a wonderful effort by Indian bloggers across the globe. These guys from UK, US, and India know each other only through the net, and they have come together to produce a music album. People who have never ever seen each other in their lives came together on the net to write, compose, orchestrate, and record an album of 10 songs. The album's a mixture of Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and a couple of instrumentals. Don't expect Harris Jeyaraj, but the quality is very good for an ameteur effort. I like Vaazhvu Chelikka and Senthamarai.
Btw, check out the blog of the singer named Jo (Joseph Thomas) here. He has a brilliant voice, and he's posted some of his recordings on his blog.

Labels: Links

kanna wrote at 8:12 PM