Arrambam.... "thala" diwali to "thala vali" diwali!!

Expected a stylish flick with a decent storyline from VishnuVardhan

First half was ok.
I went to see this movie without reading reviews. So, the storyline was interestin.
The only unbearable feature being Taapsee Pannu... Yemma ponnu... yenna ma panreenga???? I think she s the upcoming Laila (loosu ponnu image) . Sema kodumai. Her accent, her voice, her acting ... thaangale!

First half raised the expectations for the second half.

Second half was too long.
Maybe it felt longer because of the stupid scenes and dumb story

Overall... rating 2.5/5

Plus
Ajith - For his acting ... stylish performance
Some scenes were good.

Minus
Ajith - Intha "salt-pepper" hairstyle with thoppai... Please boss....!
Story - very weak, lots of logical confusions esp towards the end
Taapsee (enough said)
Music - songs and BGM... a big letdown
Editing - Some scene lacked the flow... Like they cut abruptly. Also, length should have been reduced by atleast an hour
Comedy in serious scenes.

For example ...
Hacking the system of Swiss Bank was a piece of cake.... But hacking the system of a bank in Dubai... Oh Gawd!
Our Software geek, not only is able to find out that money has been transferred out of the Swiss bank, but also, is able to locate the account to which the money has been transferred.
To transfer the money... Both people should be in the same place. And , of course, the bank manager HAS to be there. Dont worry if he is some other new guy. Everyone believes a guy in suit and Ray Ban!
The time taken for money transfer is directly proportional to the amount that is being transferred!!
You can go to Dubai, hack the system, cheat a big shot there and kill lots of people... and just safely get back home in no time!! Yeppppudi??? (Antha ooru police yenna leave le poittangala???)

Lots more. But guess this is enough!
Looks like the director worked around the basic elements first and then found a story around it.
Like... Ajith, suits, sunglasses, arya, computer, nayanthara, guns, bank, money.... and ya, now we also need bike, car, boat chase... and hmmmm... ya, a foreign location... Ok... So, now we write a story around this!

Overall... Go if you like ajith... sorry... if you are a big time thala fan .... and dont expect anything else !

Onaayum Balakumaarum!!

Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum Vs Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara

First OA

It did not have most of the things that the usual masala stuff...
Almost for 70% of the movie, I was clueless about the story. But still, the screenplay was so nice and story was so gripping, that time just flew...

Great one by Mysskin.

I have liked his Anjaathey and Yutham Sei. But OA is just too good.

Plus
Mysskin - The actor and director
Shaji - Amazing acting. Just perfect for the role
Raja - Great BGM
Sri - Another good one from him, after "vazhakku yen 18/9"
Screenplay - Special mention , again for Mysskin for making an intense, gripping, no-nonsense movie... Keeping our interest for 3 hours is not an easy joke!!

Minus
Nothing about the movie...
This movie is not getting the attention it deserves.
Like all Mysskin s movies, I think this one will also not do too well ....
Guess,only "mokkai" movies will do well at the theatres...

Talking about mokkai... we come to IAB... the next movie
This was just what a movie should not be..

I don't remember the last time I saw a movie this bad...
It was just a big headache.

It starts with a hilarious track of Sumaar Moonji Kumar(Vijay Sethupathy).... Oh sorry, did I say hilarious? I meant supposed-to-be-hilarious.... Pasupathy, Robo Shankar and Pattimandram raja ... try to make this an ROFL comedy scene... But sathiyama solren, it only starts a headache... Lets say, this is level 1 headache....(1 being least)
Whenever Vijay Sethupathy says "Kumudha Happy", I wanted to scream... Not me!! Yennaala mudile...
I am not sure how irritated the heroine was... But the hero's tactics and idea of romance were just %^%O&*JHB%... Phew!!

Then, comes the track of Bala...
I don't know what was happening... but this seemed to be the longest movie . I thought they forgot to give a break during the interval... But no no no!!  This track with the bank and their lies... Just clueless about what is happening (Yenna da solla vareenga???) Headache reaches level 2

Now , we have a track happening in the bar... Nothing much to say about this except, headache level 3.

Now, comes the best ... chi chi... worst part... The one with painter rajendran... Aiyo aiyo... I was forced to bang my head against the wall...

I had so much hopes with this movie... I just wanted to laugh ... But no...It just kept getting worse... And now, we have this don's wife... Parotta Suri....Worshhhht track ever...  Now, headache reaches a level, which cannot be tracked!

The ending... speechless...

I found this in rediff review..
"Amidst all the fun and boozing, director Gokul has also cleverly managed to give an important social message through the film."

I was like... what???
Anyways, let me get to summarizing

Plus
You got to be kidding me

Minus
1. First, please don't make a crappy movie... and if you do, stop trying to become a hero by adding a social message, completely dumb... You make a movie, in which 90% of the characters drink booze 90% of the time and at the end, you say why people should not drink... What????

2.If you have a ten minutes script, please make a short film for "Naalaya Iyakkunar".Don't make it a 3 hours long movie. 

3. What is the story that is being told? The whole story line has so many characters .... Mokkai dialogues and irritating screenplay...

4. Someone needs to teach the director not to take any joke too far. Some scenes (I mean one or two) are hilarious for the first time. But you obviously cant laugh for the same joke when you hear it for the 5th time !!

5. Don't call this movie a comedy - in fact, don't call this a movie ....please!







 

To believe or not to believe!

Life teaches us so much!!

Ya... this one is a serious one from me...

I was brought up in a typical Tambrahm family.

Going to temple once a week and on special occasions (the list is biiiiig) So I never gave much thought to what I "believe" in.

Once I was on my own, going to temples and praying every night (applying "vibhuti") still continued.
Similar to what was taught in my school , I was taught at home (and made to believe) that those who do good will never face anything bad in life.

Then came series of mishaps. Each time I got the strength to pick me up from pieces and start anew, I fell steeper. Life was so tough... Now who else do I blame but God... So, I started avoiding everything that I used to do before. Going to temples became a once-in-a-year thing.

Last 3 weeks... Starting from July 24th... the day when my dad got a severe heart attack... were so hectic and strenuous. I had to manage lot of things and was under terrible pressure, especially when the doctor did not tell anything about appa s recovery for 4 days. (Now appa is back home, recovering)

Things started changing when I used to spend most of my day in the ICU waiting hall.
I met so many people ... people with various problems, a 5 days old kid, waiting for a heart operation, a forty year old man, who had an unsolvable heart problem, a 25 year old guy who had a major problem in brain....

I found one thing in common. Everyone was positive about God being on their side.

What made them think like this? What gave them so much belief? Why didn't they look at God as someone who gave them the problem and instead, someone who has the solution???

The more time I spent with them, the more I thought about all of this.

Here is what I understood.

I feel things are so much easier when we put the burden on someone else. Apart from positive thinking, thinking that God (or someone) is there to take care of our problems , seems to reduce the stress.

So... where am I now... Do I believe??? No idea... Just going with the flow of things... Have understood one thing though...

Life teaches us so much!!!

My first Bike Trip...! Legen......dary!!

Let me begin with a biiiiiiiiiig round of applause to Hari and Vandy for making me a part of this bike trip.... ;)

It all started when Vandy sent out e-mails about the trip. I had been pestering my husband about going for a bike trip since the last year, but somehow, nothing worked out. So we joined the gang and set out on a lovely trip....

Let me give a small intro on the gang

Prabu - My hubby. Needless to say, has great patience!! ;).
He loves driving and also likes listening to songs / singing or browsing about tech / gadgets !!

Santy Santy - The only girl rider in the gang. Nice singer. Sema mokkai party. Loves to be in the gang and also suddenly takes sometime off for herself with books / "Friends" videos. She loves to make the best of time and enjoys every moment!

Hurry, the anniyan - He is a fun loving person who loves to travel and explore all the places. Loves taking photos. Loves to dance (Dhanush style). Loves to sing (Simbu style)

Vandy - the "cool girl" -  The "appa-tucker" organizer. She knows how to get things done right. Whatever situations we had , she dealt with a cool head. Also, sema company for mokkais.

Velakku - The true wanderer. Drives cool bike! A great teaser(leg-puller!). Always makes fun of someone or the other...In the beginning, he looked like terror. Now, a good friend :).

Prati -  Such an amazing singer. Very cute and "chamathu" girl!

PK - Amazing talented guy. Plays flute so well!

Vishwa - The observer. The silent person in the gang ( I know it is tough to talk when I am around cos I hardly give a chance!!). But again, towards the end of trip, we became good friends:)

Vicky - The "bank robber" / ninja ! Loves making fun of everyone. But I keep making fun of him!!

Divs - We share one great interest ... Food!! Sweet girl. We met and almost very soon we became friends ... btw, it happened over a cup of coffee / tea , dosa, bajji, vada etc etc!!

We , along with 3 Yamaha FZ , 1 Royal Enfield Bullet , 1 Hyosung and 1 Indica were all set!!

Day 1 - Travel travel and travel

Started out by 8.30AM. About 2 hours late due to some technical reasons. Went through the typical Bangalore traffic. Took 1.5 hrs to reach the highway. Since it was a long weekend, even the highway was crowded.
Had breakfast break at an Authentic Iyengar restaurant. Nice dosa and coffee!
After few hours of journey, next break for lunch near Hunsur

Rode through the bad roads for sometime and reached the place (Vimla Homestay). Mr Narendra had arranged a wonderful dinner. The place we stayed was awesome. It was in the middle of a 20 acre coffee plantation

Day 2 - Safari ki sawari

Started for Safari from the guest house. The host was kind enough to offer his van as we could not go to the forest in bikes. Hubby had a tough time in maneuvering the vehicle which was in ICU! The safari was not very interesting. But the ride was good. Came back and had breakfast. Then left to Iruppu falls... We had the best time ever. Ice cold water!!! Sema company.... Didn't feel like coming out... but then felt hungry (of course!) . So, went back to the homestay for a wonderful lunch. Then after a short nap , followed by hot tea-biscuits, the host had arranged camp fire. All of us had super fun around it. It was a musical evening with me, sandy, vandy , divs and prati singing and PK with his flute!


Day 3 - The Beautiful Damn! Sorry Dam!

After the homestay host gave lot of description of the Banasurasagar dam, we all went with high hopes.. But it was mokkai! nothing very special. But as usual, the gang made it very interesting trip! We had a picnic lunch, again thanks to Mr Narendra! Came back tired. Then one more evening of camp fire. This time with Mafia. Played the game so many times. Each time atleast one comedy will happen, which would send us in a splits of laughter! We also had a dance session with Divs, Hari and of course, yours truly!!

Day 4 - Happys Endings!

So, as all good things, this trip also had to come to an end!! Like SRK said in Om Shanti Om, "If it is not Happy, then it is not the ending... Happys Endingsssss!"

We went for a walk in the morning. Then started packing up and started our drive back.Thjis time the drive was very nice. We reached Bangalore by 5. After relaxing for a bit, we all sat together to watch the videos and photos of the trip (BTW, this part was more enjoyable than the trip itself) .

Finally boarded the train back to Singara Chennai!!

This trip will be etched in my memory for ever and ever.
Strangers became friends. Friends became best friends.

Now, let us all plan for the next trip... Get ... set ... Gooooooooooooo!

To Golu or not to Golu!

This afternoon, I was thinking about .... well, that is the heading of this post... Anyways, I decided to go with the "safe" choice of keeping a "simple" golu.

Well, first things first. Let me tell you why I didn't want to keep golu

1. I am lazy

2. I don't have an eye for "craft" / beautiful art work

3. I feel it is too much of effort. You have too many Rules and Regulations.

                         (i) You have to make sundal / prasadam everyday.

                         (ii) You have to invite everyone .

                        (iii) You have to go to all your friends /  relatives places when they invite you.

     

Ok. The first two rules are not a big deal. But look at the third one. I have lots of relatives and friends in Chennai (most of you would know this fact!). I like meeting them and spending time with them. But doing so many things in a short span on 9 days makes it HECTIC! You end up travelling for 2 or 3 days and just making "flying - visit" to most of your relatives' places. Also, you feel so sick when it is over as you HAVE to eat / drink something at everyone's place because... well, you HAVE to.

 

4. Again, I am lazy.

 

So, next point (I guess I am making too many points over here!) is why I wanted to keep golu.

1. Because everyone does and I have been doing it every year till now!

 

Today is the days when everyone SHOULD keep the golu ( Amavasai )

 

I had a hectic day. Lots of things didn't go as I had planned and so my plan to start the Mission Golu started only at 6.00PM .

Heaving a huge sigh of relief, I started to unpack one of the 3 bags.

There... lots and lots of dolls / idols wrapped in paper (this work was done last year by yours truly). I took one. Suddenly I felt excited...I felt like a kid opening a birthday gift. It was a doll from "the wedding set". Then I started opening one by one ... like unraveling a puzzle. Where is that from this set??? Where is this from that set??? After sometime, I was surrounded by a sea of colorful , beautiful dolls / idols which made me smile...Then my MIL was telling me about some very old idols in this and the cute little stories behind them (I love hearing stories about when my hubby was a kid... makes me feel like I have known him since that long).

 

Once myself and my MIL started arranging and discussing, I got the feel of the golu... and it was nice.. I was enjoying it. Then I started planning about the shopping, sundal and going to everyone's house.... :)

 

It may sound very philosophical.... but I guess you don't have to question or justify everything in life. Sometimes it is always good to just go with the drift. Don't analyze every detail. You don't have to look back and think that you had a perfect life. Because if you think so much, it will make life harder. Just enjoy this moment.

If you want to keep golu, go ahead. Enjoy very bit of it. Don't lament about it. It is your decision. 

If you don't want to. Don't. Be courageous to tell anyone who asks you that I don't want to do it.

Finally, if you are not happy with your decision, it is OK. Life is not about how many perfect decisions you've made, it is about how many wonderful moments you've had...

 

Keep smiling and have a wonderful life... and ya, Happy Navratri!

 

 

Mayakkam Enna!

A blog after a long time! :) Hope I have not lost touch!!

It took me a while to accept the fact that we had just booked tickets for "Mayakkam Enna"... the movie that lots of people told me, is "waste". (Probably this was the reason, why I had low expectations about the movie).

The movie started with usual "Selva" stuff...All very predictable. But as it proceeded, I started enjoying the feel of the movie. It had everything... comedy, tragedy, nice songs, nice picturisation, simple storyline.... etc etc.

Dhanush
I am not a very big fan of Dhanush... but in this movie, I liked his work. He is not only the hero, but also the comedian and the villian. He does everything that any other hero will never do and that, probably, is his strength.
He sings in base voice... It s so down to earth... His voice in "Oda oda" song is nice and apt. And so is "Adida avale". This song is just in the right place... when you feel like hitting the heroine!

He has acted very well, without doubt, as he does his role with perfect ease. You feel that no one else could have done justice to this role.

Richa
As I said before, the initial scenes were very predictable and the heroine was almost like Sonia Agarwal's characters in Selva's previous movies. Then, she had lot of scope and did a good job overall. Her characterisation is good. The way she acts in few important scenes... just too good for debut heroine. Great dubbing by Deepa Venkat.

GV Prakash
Nice music. Maybe copied from somewhere, but I dont care... as long as the music is good (and as long as I ve never heard the original!!). The background score as well as the songs are nice...

Selva
He is the true Hero. Making a movie out of such a simple story... Great effort.
I didnt like lot of movies that I saw of late... Velayudham, 7am Arivu... I feel both movies, especially, the latter, was perfect example of
1. How to kill a nice storyline and made a predictable and pathetic movie
2. How to place a song at the perfect wrong moment in the move
3. How to create a hype for all wrong reasons

Selva has done a nice work by avoiding all the above.

To sum up, go for it if you like "Selvaraghavan" movies. If you dont like them, then go with zero or negative expectations, you may like it... just like I did!

Dream Vacation :)

Our much awaited Europe trip... was truly dream come true.
It all started when we were wondering, why we two have never been to a proper vacation since a long time. So, we started planning stuff and finally decided on Europe!

Then came another tough decision... to go on our own or with some travel operator. After long long discussions (with lots of inputs from my cousin Hari) we decided to go on our own.

Next, planning and organizing... this took a lot of time. Prabu did a great job of consolidating everything and making our daily itenary.

Two days in Paris were nice. Saw Eiffel tower (about thrice) and also, went to the topmost level to catch a good view of the place. Also, saw the Louvre, ArcDe Truimph and went for a cruise on River Sienne.

A view of the Eiffel Tower from River Sienne

Next halt, Interlaken, where we were joined by my cousin and her husband. This is a small town, full of beautiful scenaries :). Went to JungFrau (Top of Europe) and had a great time playing in the snow rides. Went for a boat ride near Interlaken.

On the way to Jungfrau from Interlaken

Last halt at Lucerne. We had about three days here. But there was nothing much to see in this place. So, we took train to a small, peaceful and very beautiful place, Zug and spent an evening there.

Near Lake Zug

Went for excursion in Mt. Titlis. Ended the excursion with theTrotti bike ride. (I was very scared to ride it initially... but later enjoyed it a lot) It was very adventurous.

Last day was spent in train... Took a scenic train from Montreux to Zweissimmen...

A view from the scenic train

One more from the scenic train

Overall, it was a great trip! Lots of pics... loads of memories in our hearts forever and ever :)