Whirlwind Weekend
I had quite a long and happening weekend.. On Friday night, I hit the movie theatres to see Ayutha Ezhuthu- the latest offering by India's numero uno Manirathnam.. The movie reviews were not good but only Mani can present a movie with such class and depth in an era of masala potboilers. The story is very uncomplicated... the offering is about three young men whose lives are changed by an old man... no points for guessing that the old man is a politician.... I have absolutely adored Mani's style of narration in his earlier movies especially Dalapathy, Mouna Ragam and Alaipayuthey and this movie seems to be no less.... The tales of the three men in their late twenties are presented in an episodic fashion with story of Arjun( a pseudo American played by Siddarth) following Michael( a reformist played by Surya) following Inba( a convict played by Madhavan)...I could identify myself with Michael Vasanth more than any other character... Madhavan brings out the best in him for Mani's movies... be it a lover boy in Alaipayuthey or a short tempered journalist in Kannathil Muthamittal or a convict in AE... Meera Jasmine plays his wife and she plays it well... Siddarth is definitely an improvement over his earlier Boys and Trisha has nothing to do but to look good... Surya plays Michael Vasanth and I am sure would win many hearts with his neat portrayal... The only distraction in the movie is Esha Deol who plays Surya's love interest and could have been completely avoided.Ironically, Esha is the only one common to both movies... I should say hats off to Bharatiraja for playing the politician's role with great elan... The veteran director should stop making films and start acting in them.. I hope his son is able to pick up some histrionics from his illustrious father...I think Mani should make his movies without songs although ARR has come up with some good music... In Mani's movies, songs slacken the pace... Just for the theme of youth taking to politics in an age when the country is ruled by 70 year olds, this movie needs to be welcomed....
Saturday... I should say was inspiring, to say the least. Had a chance to attend a talk by Balaji Sampath and really see the vision of the man through his words. Even though I have been involved in a little bit of community service, I am still driven by materialistic pleasures and goals. Balaji to me is one man who has given it all to the cause. I am 24 and someone asked me now to leave the United States and work for villages in India, I would either go crazy and kill the person or think the person is lunatic. But Balaji is a role model, a person who at 24 decided to forgo a life in the United States amidst Mercedes' and BMW's for a life serving the 750,000 villages in India. His simplicity coupled with his ability to really use his background in Engineering to solve some issues is simply breathtaking...
As I write this, I like to be anachronistic and talk about Friday. May 21, 13 years before Rajiv Gandhi was gifted to the pangs of United States favorite topic "Terrorism". It sometimes seems to amuse me that the United States takes this topic very seriously after 9/11 whereas we have been facing the effects of it ever since Independence. I am also happy that sense finally prevailed in the land of honey and milk...
I also observed a fast on that day to show my support for Satyendra Dubey, a relatively unknown yet special IIT who was made known when he was murdered in Bihar for unravelling a scam. I hope the corrupt are brought to book and corruption is dealt with seriously atleast by future Governments. I sincerely would love to see that the issue is not swept under the carpet. If at all it is, then it is time to clean the house. Lets move the carpet and take out the skeletons. Let us start teaching the wrongdoers a very strong lesson.
I had quite a long and happening weekend.. On Friday night, I hit the movie theatres to see Ayutha Ezhuthu- the latest offering by India's numero uno Manirathnam.. The movie reviews were not good but only Mani can present a movie with such class and depth in an era of masala potboilers. The story is very uncomplicated... the offering is about three young men whose lives are changed by an old man... no points for guessing that the old man is a politician.... I have absolutely adored Mani's style of narration in his earlier movies especially Dalapathy, Mouna Ragam and Alaipayuthey and this movie seems to be no less.... The tales of the three men in their late twenties are presented in an episodic fashion with story of Arjun( a pseudo American played by Siddarth) following Michael( a reformist played by Surya) following Inba( a convict played by Madhavan)...I could identify myself with Michael Vasanth more than any other character... Madhavan brings out the best in him for Mani's movies... be it a lover boy in Alaipayuthey or a short tempered journalist in Kannathil Muthamittal or a convict in AE... Meera Jasmine plays his wife and she plays it well... Siddarth is definitely an improvement over his earlier Boys and Trisha has nothing to do but to look good... Surya plays Michael Vasanth and I am sure would win many hearts with his neat portrayal... The only distraction in the movie is Esha Deol who plays Surya's love interest and could have been completely avoided.Ironically, Esha is the only one common to both movies... I should say hats off to Bharatiraja for playing the politician's role with great elan... The veteran director should stop making films and start acting in them.. I hope his son is able to pick up some histrionics from his illustrious father...I think Mani should make his movies without songs although ARR has come up with some good music... In Mani's movies, songs slacken the pace... Just for the theme of youth taking to politics in an age when the country is ruled by 70 year olds, this movie needs to be welcomed....
Saturday... I should say was inspiring, to say the least. Had a chance to attend a talk by Balaji Sampath and really see the vision of the man through his words. Even though I have been involved in a little bit of community service, I am still driven by materialistic pleasures and goals. Balaji to me is one man who has given it all to the cause. I am 24 and someone asked me now to leave the United States and work for villages in India, I would either go crazy and kill the person or think the person is lunatic. But Balaji is a role model, a person who at 24 decided to forgo a life in the United States amidst Mercedes' and BMW's for a life serving the 750,000 villages in India. His simplicity coupled with his ability to really use his background in Engineering to solve some issues is simply breathtaking...
As I write this, I like to be anachronistic and talk about Friday. May 21, 13 years before Rajiv Gandhi was gifted to the pangs of United States favorite topic "Terrorism". It sometimes seems to amuse me that the United States takes this topic very seriously after 9/11 whereas we have been facing the effects of it ever since Independence. I am also happy that sense finally prevailed in the land of honey and milk...
I also observed a fast on that day to show my support for Satyendra Dubey, a relatively unknown yet special IIT who was made known when he was murdered in Bihar for unravelling a scam. I hope the corrupt are brought to book and corruption is dealt with seriously atleast by future Governments. I sincerely would love to see that the issue is not swept under the carpet. If at all it is, then it is time to clean the house. Lets move the carpet and take out the skeletons. Let us start teaching the wrongdoers a very strong lesson.
