Breaking Stereotypes - Dance+ Season 4

A big bow down to Dance+ season 4... There are lots of reasons for thanking Dance+ 4 from the bottom of my heart. First and foremost reason being:

Celebrating the people behind the talent also, while celebrating talent itself

Every week there is a celebrity guest called to join the judges. The premier show had the people who were the reason behind the selected 12 talents as the chief guests e.g. Parents, Siblings.. , for evaluating the performance, which is a brilliant concept.

When such widely watched shows take up such concepts of bringing the values of life - of being thankful to those who support us in our path to success/fame - then it creates a big impact. When we use the big/small screen (movies and daily serials) for the corruption of the mind of the individuals in the family, then by that logic, the current serials (at least some of them), advertisements, and such reality TV that promote positive thoughts and values should be able to create a positive change. 

My heartfelt thanks to the person/people behind the conceptualisation of this idea as a theme for the Dance+ 4 reality show @_danceplus4

The dedication and love towards the art form of Dance

Be it the judges, contestants or the celebrity guest who come, their dedication and love for the art form of dance is very evident. The praises and the manner in which the comments are given or the criticism is rendered is so filled with genuine concern for the contestant to do better and the love and respect towards the effort that goes into the performance and pure love to be able to make a positive difference in every person's life that they touch!

Overflows with Love and Humanity

The entire program overflows with the pureness of love, affection, simplicity (sans the stardom) and respect for each other that it makes you want to keep watching it always. Makes you believe that there is a fair playing ground if you really have it in you. Also, the judges (#punitjpathak, #shaktimohan, #dharmeshbhai, #RemoDsouzasir) and the contestants alike place humanity above everything else. They realise and show that small things make a huge difference and ensure that, in their individual ways, make small gestures that makes a huge impact in each other's life and through watching this program, in our lives as well, by filling it with hope, love and happiness (at least for that 1.5 hours of the program).

Breaking Stereotypes

In their small way, after 3 seasons, in this season, they seem to have a lot of "firsts":

• The Goggle crew - a Belly dancing all boys group - a fluid dance form beautifully executed.
• Vartika Jha - A female dancer performing hip-hop and popping - dance forms that are considered very rigid and tough.
• Feel Crew - a group that dances on dialogues - the first audition dance on a message on female rapes and a simple solution to fix this problem (educate the boys to behave), and the second audition dance on the famous Deewar movie temple dialogue "मेरी माँ वापस लौटा दो।"
• Chennai traditional attire on National-level show - being a Chennaite, it feels great to see this on national television (I know they had a Bharathanaatiyam group in the previous season).

Quality of Performances 

True to the name of the program, this time the premier of the show itself has performances that are at the level of finale performances. Makes me wonder what the finale would be like. I pity Remo D'Souza , who is in the most difficult, judging position.

This is one program that I enjoy watching. This season is brimming with such positivism and talent that it makes me want to watch it regularly. 

36 Vayathinile - Stand-up Comedy Show Review

With Praveen in traditional attire
of Veshti (not Lungi :-)

#36Vayathinile - My debut stand-up comedy show as audience and I took my Mom and Sister as well. There were loads of interesting stuff about this show, the first and foremost being that I got to see my college friend - Praveen Kumar -  after 15 years & to see him perform live, keeping us entertained for over an hour, incl. 200+ audience !

With social media (WhatsApp, FB etc.), I had watched video clips of stand-up comdy shows, I have had my own apprehensions on such shows because many of them ridicule a section of population or make fun at the cost of someone/group of people (with no understanding whatsoever about the person or the section of the society) or by tastelessly mocking the system of stereotyping.

Praveen boasts of clean comedy and claims that his career achievement as a Stand-up Comediean was his ability to entertain a whole class full of 7-year olds :-) True to his tagline - "Clean comedy" - his entire show had anecdotes from his personal experiences that each and every one of us could relate to on a daily basis. I was not sure if my family would like the show, but all three of us laughed so much that our cheeks hurt. There was not one dull moment in the entire program. I wished that the rest of my family were also present and been a part of this laughter riot.

During the course of the show, I was also reminded of our college days and all the late-night "Lachcha sessions" (BITSian slang for meaningless but entertaining discussion sessions) that we used to have while preparing for the various Cultural, Science & Management Fests.

Chennai Museum Theater: Venue of the Tamil Standup
Comedy show "36 Vayathinile"

#36Vayathinile is a Tamil comedy show that talks about the dilemmas of being stuck inbetween two generations at the age of 36, touches upon the daily mind voices that all of us can very easily relate to. Using comedy as a medium, Praveen was able to touch upon subjects relating to the state of education system, international & national political scenario, language debate and more and bring forth many valid, effective but simple suggestions to be able to bring about a positive change in at least some of the issues currently prevailing, one of which being (that we do in our family as well), to talk in one's mother tongue at least inside the house among family members instead of depending on a link language or English.

Added bonus was Mervyn Rozz opening the show, engage and interact with the audience, before calling Praveen on to the stage.

Thank you for an amazing show and an evening filled with laughter. My wishes for him to reach greater successes. Waiting for the time when I can attend his show again, and the next time with my husband and children as well !

"Beauty and the Beast": Movie Review & My Perspectives

!! Spoiler Alert !! - The review will be extensively descriptive about the movie.

This is one movie that broke my belief that a book is always better than the movie version. I always believed that the words in the book are much more intense and has the ability to transform you into the world that the author creates for the reader and the places and characters come alive, based on the depth of our imagination. So it is more an inclusive process. This movie was pure magic. I watched this Disney's retold Classic in a movie theater today, but not for a minute was I distracted enough to notice the audience around me (thanks to my hubby and 2 kids who were engrossed in their own ways). The magical journey took me through each and every frame of the decorum of the Castle, the feelings and characterization of every cast of the village where Belle lives, the emotions of the Prince as a pompous spoiled brat, the love stricken Beast, the concerned Father, the loving Daughter, the callous Romeo (Gaston), the avoiding Damsel... I could go on and on.. 

An avid reader from childhood - brought up in a family filled with readers - I had the pleasure of reading all genres of books. In fairy tales, "Beauty and the Beast" always held a special place in my heart because of the character of Belle. A girl who is happy to live in her books, different from the rest of them, not conforming to the "norms" of the society, is a character that I could relate to, rather than a princess. Also the fact that she is fearless and can stand up to a Bully and a Beast all by herself is a trait that I wished to inculcate in myself as a child.

This simple story did not convey complex elements of life, during my initial reading. It seems to have layers of concepts, intricately woven into a simple story line, that every time I read it (or see it), I am able to see a new interpretation and a new meaning to every aspect of the story.

Now when I watched the movie as a parent, it brought some new perspectives: 

The initial narration on how the Prince was cursed to be a Beast is absolutely brilliant, conveying a very strong message that the outer beauty is shallow and might be lost instantly, while inner beauty is what matters. 

Belle is introduced and the various emotions that the villagers have towards her is beautifully captured where debutantes are jealous of her, men are wary of her and look down upon the fact that she can read and write at a time when education was meant only for men, a few older women who adore her for being different from the rest (maybe because they see her as an inspiration or a beacon of change in a small village like theirs).

Gaston's introduction was also good with him being characterized as arrogant, self-centred snobbish rake who thought that the place of a woman was only to serve the men.

When Belle comes to the castle and takes the place of her father and gets closer to the beast, she is able to see beyond the outer facade of the beastly appearance and find the gentle and confused person buried deep within. They start to spend more time with each other when the Beast helps her visit her past and find out something about her childhood which heals her wounds. It is a kind of fantasy time travel where she is taken back to the time and place when she lost her mother, but knowing why they had to leave her mother and move helps her to come to terms with that aspect of her yearning to know more about her.

While Belle tries to understand why the castle crew were enduring the same curse as their Prince, Mrs. Pots explains that their inaction during the Prince's unmindful upbringing by his father (the King) after the Queen's demise, justifies them to also bear the burden of the curse. This drives home a strong message of not to be a silent spectator when a wrong-doing happens around us.

The ball room dance itself was so magical and the moments before the couple arrive on the dance floor was absolutely, fantastically magical with the way Belle is dressed in a ball gown and the finishing touches are added with glittering gold flying down from the ceilings of the castle and drawing intricate designs on her yellow ball gown making it absolutely stunning. Simultaneously, how the nervous Beast is primed up to look like a Prince who is to take a princess to her first ball dance was well directed and executed. 

There is a situation where Belle sees her father in trouble in the enchanted mirror, the Beast sets her free, instead of professing his love for her (as was the plan to at the end of the dance), gifts her the mirror as a way to think of him where ever she is. As she is heading towards the village, the song that plays had me wanting to give the Beast a hug, when he sings that he will never be alone hereafter as she will always be close to him in his heart and that she would be the central force of every action of his from now on. The core of true love is its ability to set you and the one you love free of all bonds and be happy and content even in their absence.

This scene gives a well needed link to the exchange between the father and daughter at the village when Belle tells her father that she understands why he did what he did and why he feels that he needs to protect his child. The next moment where the father realises that his daughter is a grown woman and that despite the lurking danger in every corner of life, his grown child now needs to pave her own path and have her own experience to have a fulfilling life, is exquisitely performed by both the actors. 

This magic stays till the end of the movie when Belle professes her love to the Beast when he is almost dead and how the transformation happens and the castle comes alive with all the villagers remembering everything again and curse being removed. Supporting characters like Mrs. Pot, Mr. Lumiere, and Agatha (sorceress) play pivotal role in ensuring that the events unfolding to alleviate the curse happen as they must. After 2 full hours of this magical experience, I did not feel like getting up from my seat and come to the reality of my life but, I had to ! What a wonderful experience it was to be transformed into a magical world that was on a visual medium. You will agree that the castle is indeed "alive" all through the movie (thanks to the cinematography and CG works). Kudos to the entire movie crew !

Maybe, personally for me, the music and songs might also have been a reason for this magic to have worked. I have always loved the movie "Sound of Music" which my Aunt introduced me to starting with the songs that we listened together on the good-old-days' record player and watching the movie. After those moments, guess this is another movie that gave me a similar experience. 

Would definitely recommend this movie to all fairy tale and fantasy movie lovers and parents with young children, who like feel-good stories and tons of sing-along songs !

Hello Dear Zindagi!

After watching the entire movie, my 9-yr old daughter asked, "Is this the end of the movie?" 

B: "Yes. That's the end." 

M: "That's amazing Appa (father in my mother tongue). No love or lived happily ever after?"

Now, I join the conversation between father and daughter to make a point - "There is happily ever after Dear. Why do you ask so?"

M: "No boy-girl love, senseless pursuit and then struggle, no kissing on the lips (ewwwwwwwww - her expression) and then finally happily ever after?"

That was the discussion at the end of the movie in addition to many more such Q & A session during the course of the movie. The parent in me felt really happy that I do not have to explain (read having to justify against my sense of better judgement, just so that she does not get scared of the big bad world out there) to my child that some of the scenarios that are portrayed in the movie does not necessarily happen in real life (mind voice cynically saying, "Really??" at the exact same instance).

For the first time, watching a movie with a fast-growing-up toddler moving towards her teens, was not a stress but a pleasure. Thanks to Gauri Shinde for another wonderful movie, that was a pleasure to watch with the entire family. It is a movie that we could relate to with our everyday problems in modern context. Personally, I felt that the movie beautifully conveyed a lot of important things that are so much the need of the hour and also, it does the job of a "counsellor" pretty well and costs way less than what one would spend to get themselves treated by a DD "Dhimag ka Doctor" (as the movie calls the psychologist). 

Dialogues like:

1. "Do you go to a DD because you want to tell the world that you are gay?" "No, I go to DD because I want to tell myself that I am gay."

2. "Why should you have to choose the tough path to reach for your most important dream and why not take the easy route if you are not even ready to navigate the tough route that lays ahead of you?" - a wise suggestion for anyone facing a dilemma in life (which is ever existing is everyone's life irrespective of the age or role).

3. "Who are these people that keep following you around who get to decide what is right and what is wrong about the choices in your life?"

4. "When you are comfortable with what you want from life and accept who you are now, then why worry about what others would think?"

5. "Don't let your past blackmail your present to ruin your beautiful future"

6. "Think of your parents are normal people and then look at their actions"

are learning that each of us need in our lives to move forward and embrace the present and welcome the beautiful future that can come tomorrow. Dreading what the future will hold, is a sign that we have let our failures or disappointments from the past to take over our present and hence our future to be scary.

To write one post about the greatness of this movie is not enough. Looking at the movie from various perspectives only makes me in awe of the director's finesse to have handled the concept and importance of Psychotherapy, the taboo attached to getting help for emotional stress one faces in their life, the emotional baggage all of us carry around with us trying to compare us with the unrealistic expectation (which is also probably a self interpretation of what the society wants from us), the misguided mindset of wanting to credit someone other than the one deserving of credit alone to their success in life, attributing personality and status to the dress code and conduct (I can go on and lose track of what I wanted to say when I started the statement). 

The part where Kaira (played by Alia Bhatt) opens up about that one instance that created a fear in her mind which has ruled over her entire life up until that point was well captured. To define what is that one thing that pushes you into the disruptive cycle of depression and fear is a very difficult thing and to bring it on a screen using imagination is even tougher. But the writer, and the actors both have done a phenomenal job. Also, the point where Kaira and Dr.Jug (played by King Khan) part during their last session, is also a brilliant portrayal of reality. This particular concept has been talked about in many movies both in Bollywood and Hollywood in varied levels fo elaboration right from a passing comment in speed "I have to warn you. I've heard relationships based on intense experiences never work." to the Kiss that the teacher gives to the blind girl in movie "Black". This movie has dealt it with openly talking about it and saying it is okay to have such strong feelings towards someone who has emotionally or physically helped you, but equally reciprocating might not be possible or even if a similar reaction is existing from the other person involved also, it may not always be ethically right and/or have a detrimental effect on the emotional progress and then bid adieu and part as just a therapist and patient to go about their separate ways.

The movie ended on another great message about how you just need to fight the battle outside yourself and not within, only then will you be able to achieve your dreams in their fullest glory. This was not the only strong message. When Kaira's uncle (or father) tells Raghuvendra (played by Kunal Kapoor) that she achieved her dream because of him coming into her life for which Raghuvendra pauses a couple of seconds, and then says "She did what she did only because I was NOT part of her life" and raises a toast to it, then both Kaira's father and his uncle tend to agree reluctantly. 

This is one movie, I would probably be buying a personal copy to keep to myself. After movie "Salangai Oli", this is one movie, I am sure I am going to be seeing in repetitions and never get tired of watching even after the point where I can narrate the dialogues by heart. 

#DearZindagi

Kabali - The phenomenon

I know I am late in my review of the phenomenon called Kabali (a Rajini - another phenomenon - starer). To justify this lateness, I would blame it on the rating of the movie which did not allow my children to view it in the theaters in London and I had to travel to India during their summer break, and finally I got to see this movie today.

Before I go to the actual movie review (or my opinion of the movie), the reason I called Kabali and Rajini, both as a phenomenon is not only because of my hubby B who is a die hard fanatic of Rajini, but also the fact that the age range of people who watched Kabali today from my family was between 5 years and 60 years, and the movie managed to keep even the 5 year old awake and glued to the screen till the climax, despite the fact that he was fully fed and almost ready to have his afternoon nap.

From the day the movie was named, my fanatic hubby has been talking about it non-stop. So the hype for the movie was quite high for me. He has been sharing this fanaticism with our children. For the last 6 months, the only songs that our family has listened to is from Kabali. From the month of June, B has been waiting for the release date feverishly and planning his official trips and meetings in such a way that he doesn't miss the first day first show. If it was even possible, he would have traveled from London to Chennai for the FDFS. Instead he managed to watch the movie on the biggest screen in the Europe "Le Grand Rex, Paris" and he went gaga about having had the "Dharshan" of his "God" on such a huge screen in FDFS (Preview show) - July 21. He saw the movie a second time with his Mom on July 23 in London.

We traveled to India and he watched the movie a third time with his nephew on Aug 5, in his hometown, Virudhunagar. Today was his fourth viewing of the movie in Chennai and I found him tearing up in various scenes in the movie. I am sure B will watch this movie many more times in theater and will end up owning an original DVD of the same when ever it comes out. This reaction is not exclusive to just my household... Worldwide, the reaction during the release of the movie, is nothing less than a phenomenon.

I loved the movie and Rajini's role. After Enthiran, this is another movie in which I enjoyed watching Rajini's acting. B and I always have this discussion where I say, Rajini stopped acting the moment he started becoming superstar and does only formula movies, while he holds to the fact that Rajini's presence is more than enough.

This movie, the character suited his age. And he flawlessly executed the role of a husband, father and Don to the best extent possible. It was a pleasure to watch him effortlessly fit into the character and dominate the entire movie. Equally good was Radhika Apte's acting. Their reunion was just perfect... Again, the fight sequence where Rajini himself fought were more acceptable and realistic in contrast to the larger than life fighting sequences of his earlier movies.

Enjoyed watching the movie and it was a pleasure to see the actor Rajini in his fullest capacity on screen performing a role fitting his age and executing it to perfection!!!

MAGIZHCHI!!!!

Latest update: Tonight when B went shopping with our children to buy their dresses, he ended up buying a Kabali T-Shirt for himself and 2 Kabali draw string bags - one for him and one for his nephew. 

Rangoli

Watched Rangoli on DD national after soooooooooooooo many years... Went down the memory lane of how we used to wait for weekends for Rangoli, Wednesdays for Chitrahaar and such programs on DD. Now there are so many channels but very few such captivating programs. Even today watching Rangoli was a pleasure. The way it is conducted, information about each of the songs that is being played is so interesting and captivating to watch. Felt so nice to start the day with Rangoli today.

Our Toddler's "full" movie experience in a Theater !!!!

Should we say, our toddler's first successful movie experience in a movie theater, or our success (as parents) to give her that experience in a theater !?!?!? Whatever it is, we were so happy that our little angel loved watching a "full" movie in a theater - Dreamworks' "How to Train Your Dragon" Animation movie. She is in love with "Toothless" (the Night Fury Dragon) and "Hiccup" (Viking Boy). She sat through the entire movie without getting scared of the dark or sound effects or irritated, with the fact that she is restricted to sitting in a seat, rather than being able to roam around.

She was also very pleased with the Kids Pack (Popcorn, Skittles, and Sprite :-) we got her before we entered the movie hall. It was much more enjoyable for us to see her emote, than the movie itself. Her "Oh.. no!" when Toothless is captured by the Vikings and imprisoned on their ship.... her "Ooooooooooooo" when the Queen Dragon comes out of its nest to fight the Vikings...... her "Appa.... dragon avan friend aaiytaan" (meaning.. Dad... the dragon became his friend !!), when Toothless and Hiccup become friends... were some of her expressions, while we watched this family movie.

It was worth the visit to our local "Groton Cinemas 6" complex to "experiment" a movie. after a long gap of over a year. When she was an infant, one of us would be standing outside the movie hall, taking care of her and to keep her occupied. So, we had waited for the right time to get her started again. Overall, we were one big happy family, when we got out of the movie hall, promising more visits in near future :-)

P.S.: When parents decide to take their toddler to a movie, please ensure that the movie suits their taste, is not too lengthy, and most important of all, it is an animation / cartoon movie !!!! Remember, movie is for them to enjoy and get comfortable with this atmosphere, so that you can try to take them along to your favorite movies at some point.

P.P.S.: This is the first time which we have seen an US movie hall, with over 50 people in one screening, especially for a kids' movie, which had been running for over 4 weeks now :-) Usually. there are no more than 10-15 people...

We like to Party.. We like, we like to Party !!!

Last fortnight was packed with parties !!! It started off with Madhu's B'day party last Sun (Apr 4). On Apr 6, we had my B'day dinner party with our friends. Then we had 3 more B'day parties in a row - Madhu's playgroup mates. We also had fun at MSAT (Mahindra SATyam) Family Meet on Apr 9 evening. With so many parties, all three of us have been extremely busy, at the same time, there was no dearth of fun !!! It was amazing to see how a toddler enjoys these parties, when compared to infants.

MSAT team organized a "Kids' Corner" event, where kids, grouped by ages (0-3 yrs, 4-8 yrs, and 9 yrs and above) participated. They were supposed to express their thoughts on Spring season, as colorful drawings. The jury had a tough time short-listing the best depiction in each group. They also conducted the classic "Musical Chairs" game for the toddlers. It was a beautiful sight to see these little angels, scramble to get hold of a chair for themselves to move up in the race !!!

These events, along with Kids' Dance Floor music (nursery rhymes, peppy numbers like "I am a Barbie girl..") by the DJ, spiked the energy of the toddlers high enough to keep them going through the entire party, till almost midnight. There were also other family games, providing an opportunity for the families to get together and have fun !!

During dinner, the stage was open for the Family Talent Show, which again attracted mostly kids. The kids recited slokas or sang nursery rhymes and took home some exciting gifts, for braving the stage and the audience. Madhu also went on stage to proudly recite "Shuklam... Baradharam" sloka, and was very thrilled when she got her gift (her favorite Magic Bubbles blower).

Then, dance floor was open for everyone... Both the kids and their parents danced to the rocking tunes, till they ran out of fuel!! By the time we came home, Madhu was exhausted (of course) that she slept the moment she hit bed. It was so amazing to see how, even a couple of years of growing up, makes such a huge difference in the way kids react to crowds and parties. Madhu, for example, who used to get annoyed in crowded social gatherings, enjoyed to her fullest in all these parties. As parents, seeing her enjoy these moments, doubled our happiness as well !!

My Reflection on MNIK !!

"There are only two kinds of people - Good and Bad, and no others !!" What a great lesson taught by Rizwan's (SRK) Mother !!! She uses a simple match-stick men drawing to instill this core moral value to her son. This is probably a lesson to be learnt by many of us !!

Wish our society can really understand Humanity in this simple light !! People continue to discriminate their fellow beings on Race, Religion, Caste, Creed, Color, Financial status or similar attributes. After so many generations of falling civilizations, wars for supremacy and control, religious hatred and communal riots, we continue our struggle to respect human lives.

"Love can win over everything" - a subtle message at the end of the movie but so very true. In fact, every religion preaches the same thing "Love everyone and do good" (or some variation thereof!). Indeed, it is our actions and deeds, which reveal our true choices and commitments.

Hats of to Karan Johar & team for the wonderful effort in making such a sensible movie, in the need of the hour !! SRK, Kajol and the rest of the cast have given their best, in conveying this universal message. There was never a boring moment in the movie. IMHO, Religion is just a way of life, a faith followed by each one of us, that suits our Core Values and Beliefs. We should always respect each others faith and belief. I would equate practicing a Religion to Parenting - One's Parenting techniques and skills may not be helpful or suit another's family.

Stereotyping a person based on his/her name/religion/caste is the worst degradation of common sense. Just because one person from a particular community does harm, does not warrant in "branding" the entire community as being aggressive and violent. Every group has its own do-gooders and extremists.

The famous global peace anthem "We shall overcome..someday" (adapted as "Hum honge kaamyab.. ek din" in India) is well used in the movie. Let us hope...We are not alone...We'll walk hand in hand... We shall all be free..someday !!

Web savvy Aamir

Aamir Khan now has a blog of his own, with sign up option to post comments to his blog. The blog is available @ www.aamirkhan.com. Some of his posts are amazing and really heartfelt. I knew he had a blog on MSN spaces already. Did you also know that this versatile actor has a FB profile as well; pucca idiot. A true internet geek!!!!!

Heartfelt 'Paa' !!!

Had a chance to see this movie very recently.....A wonderful movie with loads of messages and points to ponder. A few of my favorite dialogues in this movie:

"Thume yeh bacha chahiyae, ya nahi?"

"Doosron ka personal mail padna 'bad manners' hai"

"Pichle se... pichle se pichle... mistake"

"You do not become a father, by just donating your sperms"

And so many more!!! What a thought-provoking movie.... I am pretty impressed with the Indian Film industry, for coming up with many such bold efforts in recent times. In the list of movies that I enjoyed watching (I mean, not just for the entertainment, but for the message conveyed), 'Paa' also takes a special place.

It is refreshing to see movies like Paa, Black, Mozhi (Tamil), Taare Zameen Par, Phir Milenge.... Such movies openly talk about topics that are either considered taboo to be discussed openly or about the narrow-minded approach of the society, that refuses to think outside-the-box. The concept of stereotyping, which is still commonly followed in our society, is being questioned or viewed differently in these new-generation movies.

These movies showcase the "odd-ones" (a stereotype category given by the society) who stand out, in a different light. These movie-makers wear a different hat and show the problems and complications that the society's stereotyping brings in the lives of these "odd" people (e.g Isolating AIDS patients, or mocking special children and their parents). They also provide awareness on the medical disorders (e.g. Autism, Progeria etc.).

Wish these efforts will make an impact on our society and people start thinking and breaking from the clutches of the age-old miseries with so called 'socially acceptable' ways of life. This ranges from a variety of un-written rules to rituals, which are blindly followed in different layers of society at different points of time, again depending on religion, status, profession, caste etc. As we open up our minds to such new ideas and thoughts, I am sure each one of us have realized or will soon realize the benefits of being open-minded, at different instances of our life. Let us 'Heal the World' and "Make it a better place.. for you..and for me..and the entire Human Race.."!!

தமிழ் படம் (Tamizh Padam) - விமர்சனம் (Review)

Watched "Tamizh Padam" movie a couple of days back... This hilarious spoof movie was a new and refreshing effort from Kollywood, the தமிழ் Cinema industry. They mock every 'formula' (or should I say 'masala') or so-called 'logic' , which has been portrayed in typical Tamil commercial films, but without hurting the original creation. All of us can think of a bunch of stereotype scenes - 'Punch' dialogues and gravity-defying stunts by our 'mass' hero 'Stars' (ranging from Super, Ultimate, Supreme...) and 'Thalapathi's (Illaya, Chinna, Puratchi..), typical village and 80s love scenes, hero turning into a millionaire in one song, 'Its a Medical Miracle' uttered by Doctors etc.

Some of the interesting sequences include:

1. Maniratnam's famous one-liners from movie 'Thalapathi', and ending with a different 'Ramana'

2. Hero turning into Crorepathi even before a Coffee is ready, all by doing some errands !!

3. Full-length song composed beautifully only with meaningless words used in many hit Tamil Songs like Oh Maga zeya (from Khakka Khakka), Shaka laka (Mudhalvan), Laalaakku dol dappima (Suriyan) etc.

This movie is strictly for Tamil film fans and frequent movie-goers, who can understand and appreciate each mocked-up scene and relate it to the original movie - counted at least 20 movies !! Though in some places it did feel a bit of a drag and could have had an improved screenplay... overall, it was full-time fun ride, minus any logic. Hats-off for the creative (at least for the Tamil audience) and different attempt.

3 Idiots - my initial reaction!!! WOW!!!!

WOW!!! Loved it. Such a nice entertainer.... As usual excellent performance by Aamir Khan... Of course the rest of the crew as well. Was transported back to my college days.... The essence of the care-free life of college captured very well.

Of course, there were a few thoughts to ponder as well... Like:

1. Study for knowledge's sake and not for marks or work.
2. The focus and pressure of the educational system.
3. The lack of practical application and simple explanations for complex words/mechanisms!!

You can add any more if you like... But yes that is the crux of the movie. Must see...........

There is another more elaborate post on this almost a decade after I posted this. If you are interested in seeing what I have to add you can read Life lessons that we can take from 3 Idiots.