the world through my eyes (inactive)

Moved

2009-02-19T21:01:00.001+08:00

I have moved to here.

Tamil Cinema 2006

2007-01-02T10:17:00.000+08:00

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.

Comparison

2006-12-24T02:15:00.000+08:00

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.

Guru Soundtrack

2006-12-06T22:43:00.000+08:00

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.

Statue Politics

2006-12-06T00:06:00.000+08:00

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

Dhoom 2

2006-12-02T22:15:00.000+08:00

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.

Still alive and kicking

2006-10-02T12:42:00.000+08:00

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.

Chinmayi and other links

2006-09-03T20:12:00.000+08:00

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.

Yours Musically

2006-09-01T21:50:00.000+08:00

I found a nice blog belonging to a guy interested in Tamil Music. Rather interesting to read, he seems to have a lot of things in common with my interests; musically, anyway. He's an A.R. Rahman fan too :)

His name is Suresh Kumar, and this is the link :

Yours Musically
http://ursmusically.blogspot.com/

Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu

2006-08-27T22:32:00.000+08:00

The great anticipation surrounding Gautham Menon's Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu has by no means been unjustified. The movie, which released to packed houses on August 25th, does not disappoint.

Gautham Menon has delivered another hit after his Minnale and Kaakha Kaakha. Any worries that Vettaiyadu will be a rehash of Kaakha Kaakha have been cleared after I watched the movie. Vettaiyadu packages a highly sophisticated plot, enthralling cinematography, gripping music and some very fine performances.

The plot centers around Raghavan (Kamal) , a Tamil Nadu cop who is forced to respond to more than just his duty when an unsolved case takes a horrifying turn. Requesting to be reassigned to the case, he goes to New York to embark on what goes on to be an exciting hunt for a murderer.

All the actors have played their parts brilliantly. Kamal Hassan looks the part of Raghavan the tough cop he plays, but is also sensitive in his performance as Raghavan the friend, husband, or lover. His performance is markedly different from what we might be used to all these years. Jothika, though she is for most of the movie just part of a subplot, gives a very sensitive performance as a suicidal divorcee. Balaji as one of the murderers proves to be a revelation. Gautham seems to have a talent for spotting good villains, like Jeeva in Kaakha Kaakha. Though in some early scenes he resembles Jeeva's character in Kaakha Kaakha, he develops a distinct character of his own and captures the audience with his cold bloodedness. The other villain could have been given a bit more prominence, as he seems to fade in Balaji's shadow.

Ravi Varman's cinematography is beautiful and stunning. After the brilliant R.D. Rajashekar in Kaakha Kaakha, Gautham once again proves that he can spot and bring the best out of brilliant cinematographers. A lot of things that Ravi Varman does are very fresh to Tamil cinema, like his use of helicopter shots in New York. His use of crane shots in the Paartha Muthal song sequence is very nice. Anthony lends him ample support with his sleek editing.

The Gautham - Harris Jeyaraj combination seems to have scored again. The background score is engaging and is at some points quite innovative. The songs, though I thought were less than brilliant when they were released, are very apt for the situations in the movie. Paartha Muthal is really beautifully shot, and I appreciate the song a lot more after seeing the movie. The song is mostly a collage of scenes, like most of the songs in the movie, and is really sweet. Manjal Veyyil's unusual lyrical structure makes more sense after seeing the movie, and Harris must be applauded here. I am now a fan of Neruppae, mostly thanks to Ravi Varman and the choreography. The background music for the opening title is unexpected and a nice take on one of the songs' refrain. The percussion background when Raghavan hunts for Rani is innovative.

The movie isn't without its flaws. The picturising of the chorus of Manjal Veyyil was corny and distracted the audience from the overall beauty of the song sequence. Reminded me of K.V. Ananth's blunder in the Chinna Chinna sequence from Kanaa Kanden, which was another example of brilliance spoiled by small blemishes. The Raghavan - Ilamaaran chase scene is too long, and even seems to tire Harris as he tries to lend musical support. Though the ending is nice, there's a slight incongruence that's nagging in the viewer's mind. Could have been solved with a short flashback.

Overall, the movie satisfies greatly. The hype surrounding Gautham is perfectly justified. Besides being the personification of everything directing is about by bringing the best out of both performers and technicians, he proves to be a wonderful writer who can come up with a sophisticated plot that engages the audience completely for the full three hours. One of the movie events of the year.

Fav A.R. Rahman Songs II

2006-08-18T19:51:00.000+08:00

I'm going to continue the list of my favourite A.R. Rahman songs that I started here. Gonna stick to the same vaguely chronological order. I stopped with Taj Mahal, which was 1999, so i'll start here with another album from the year, Sangamam.

Mazhai Thuli - Sangamam
[there are quite a few notable songs here like Sowkiyama and Oru Murai, but i'm not so much of a melody person, so i'm not putting these in the list]
Kadhal Niagara - En Swaasa Kaatre
Thirakaadha - En Swaasa Katre
Jumbalakka - En Swaasa Katre
Theendai - En Swaasa Katre
Chinna Chinna - En Swaasa Katre
Kadhal Illamal - Thaalam [the climax scene one]
Kadhal Yogi - Thaalam
Vetri Kodi Kattu - Padaiyappa
Suthi Suthi - Padaiyappa
Yaro Yarodi - Alaipayuthey
Pachai Nirame - Alaipayuthey
Kadhal Sadugudu - Alaipayuthey
Endrendrum Punnagai - Alaipayuthey
Kandukondaen - Kandukonden Kandukonden
Konjum Mainakale - Kandukonden Kandukonden
Enna Solla Pogiray - Kandukonden Kandukonden
Smiyay - Kandukonden Kandukonden
Enge Enathu Kavithai - Kandukonden Kandukonden
Kannamoochi - Kandukonden Kandukonden
Kaatre En Vaasal - Rhythm
Aiyo Pathikichu - Rhythm
Thaniye - Rhythm
Nadhiye Nadhiye - Rhythm
Aalangkatti - Thenali
Swaasame - Thenali
Rasika - Star
Manasukkul - Star
Parthale Paravasam - Parthale Paravasam
Nadhir Thinna - Parthale Paravasam
Moonrezhuthu - Parthale Paravasam
Osaka Muraiya - Alli Arjuna
Sundari - Kannathil Muthamittal
Vellai Pookal - Kannathil Muthamittal
Kannathil Muthamittal - Kannathil Muthamittal [the Chinmayi one]
Vidai Kodu Engal - Kannathil Muthamittal
Maya Maya - Baba
Baba Kichu Tha - Baba
Hey Enna Aachu - Kadhal Virus
Girlfriend - Boys
Dating - Boys
Boom Boom - Boys
Secret of Success - Boys
Ale Ale - Boys
Please Sir - Boys
Maro Maro - Boys
[this album, after minnale, was what got me addicted to tamil music]
Azhagina Azhagi - Enaku 20 Unaku 18
Kama Kama - Enaku 20 Unaku 18
[i like the other songs too, but if i list one, i'm gonna have to list all :)]
Thee Kuruviyai - Kangalal Kaithu Sei
Aaha Thamizhamma - Kangalal Kaithu Sei
[some other good stuff that melody lovers will like also in this album]
Nenjam Ellam - Ayutha Ezhuthu
Jana Gana Mana - Ayutha Ezhuthu
Dol Dol - Ayutha Ezhuthu
Yakkai Thiri - Ayutha Ezhuthu
Vaa Endral Vanakkam - New
Thottal Poo Malarum - New
New - New
Utharavindri Ulle Vaa - New
Spiderman - New
Thazhuvuthu - Ah Aah
Mayilirage - Ah Aah
Maramkothiye - Ah Aah
Anbe Aaruyire - Ah Aah
Kammakaraiyile - Godfather
Innisai - Godfather
Innisai Radio Mix - Godfather
Jillendru Oru Kadhal - Jillunu Oru Kadhal
Kummi Adi - Jillunu Oru Kadhal
Majja Majja - Jillunu Oru Kadhal
Maaricham - Jillunu Oru Kadhal
Munbe Vaa - Jillunu Oru Kadhal

So that's it. From Roja to Jillunu Oru Kadhal. A beautiful journey from 1992 all the way to August 3rd 2006, with a lot more to come. Hats off, genius.

Jillunu Oru Kadhal (Sillunu Oru Kadhal)

2006-08-10T22:49:00.000+08:00

A.R. Rahman has come out with another splendid album in Jillunu Oru Kadhal. The audio was released on 2nd August. Jillunu Oru Kadhal (it's recently been renamed Sillunu Oru Kadhal to make it a more tamilified name) stars Surya, Jothika and Bhumika, among others. Directed by debutant Krishna, highlights include the mega budget, A.R. Rahman's music, R.D. Rajasekhar's cinematography and Vikram Dharma's stunt choreography.

1. Machakaari - Shankar Mahadevan, Vansundra Das

The album begins on a high note, quite literally, with Vasundra Das heading for her usual highs. Shankar Mahadevan come in humming what becomes the main tune of the chorus, and Rahman launches into his cacophany of beautiful sounds. The beat is fresh and addictive, as is a standard with Rahman since Roja. The charanam is nice and kind of melodic. The ending of the song is very nice, as all the elements of the song come together. The song ends with a bang, with a repetition of the cool 'Onnu, Rendu, Moonu' refrain.

2. Munbe Vaa - Shreya Ghoshal, Naresh Iyer

The song starts with a nice guitar opening. Shreya is the star of the song, with ample support from Naresh Iyer. I didn't like the opening chorus the first time I heard it, but I have since grown addicted to it. Especially the second pallavi, sung in chorus, "Rango, Rangoli..." It's simply heavenly, especially towards the end. A lovely romantic song.

3. Kummi Adi - Naresh Iyer, Swarnalatha, Seerkaali Sivachidambaram

What kind of psychopath will take the guy who sang Mayilirage and make him sing Kammakaraiyile, and then make him sing a folk song like Kummi Adi? Rahman would, and it works. Naresh Iyer is very versatile, and it shows in this song. He has quite a future. It's a good thing Rahman has made sure Naresh doesn't get trapped into a single image and exposed his versatility with stuff like Kammakarai and this. A foot tapping folk song with a catchy tune.

4. New York Nagaram - A.R. Rahman

A soulful melodic song from Rahman. As usual, his voice is marginalised by the instrumentals and percussion, but that's not really so much of a minus point except that the lyrics are hard to distinguish without a few hearings. The song evolves nicely to a nice ending. Very nice lyrics; they seem to be sung by Surya in some sad situation.

5. Majja Majja - Shreya Ghoshal, S.P.B. Charan

A sensual song from Rahman again. Shreya Ghoshal is great as usual, simply sensual with her konjufying voice. Charan is stunning, not because he's good but because he sounds exactly like his dad. The voice is almost ditto S.P.B. He doesn't have the same range, however, and doesn't impress as much. I think Rahman should have stuck to the original Thazhuvudu pair. Perhaps he's making way for the next generation to take over when the need arises? Anyway, the song starts with some weird sounds that are eventually quite addictive and an unusual beat that proves the same. I thought the transition into second interlude could have been better handled; it seems to sound as if the song is ending or something. Overall, a very nice song, just seems to miss the extra oomph S.P. Bala would have given.

6. Jillendru Oru Kadhal - Thanvi

The title song of the album. It really sets the tone for the movie and the album. It's a 70s jazz song like Vennila Vennila from Iruvar. The whole song is very playful, including the lyrics.
'kaalaiyil kadhali, maalaiyil kaadhali, velaiyil kaadhali, selaiyil kaadhali'. The opening is funky, and the song comes out well in the trailer of the movie. A really hip and funky song.

7. Maaricham - Karolisha, Aslam, Krishna

The funkiest song in the album, but also one which dissapoints a bit. The beats are crazy. The opening is nice, when the beat first takes hold with shattered glass. Karolisha goes to all kinds of vocal altitudes here. The male voice comes in in an interesting way. The whole song is really very upbeat and foot-tapping. I just don't like the way the song ends, it suddenly slows down, but it's probably situational.

Overall, a brilliant and addictive piece of work by A.R. Rahman. Jillunu Oru Kadhal will be an album to remember.

A small tribute to a great man from the film industry here, Vikram Dharma. Jillunu Oru Kadhal is the last movie he worked on before he died on June 28th. Vikram Dharma, who got the Vikram prefix after working on Kamal's Vikram, revolutionised fight choreography techniques and gave us many of the most spectacular fight scenes Tamil cinema has seen, like the underpass scene from Run. He was scheduled to choreograph for Mani Ratnam's Guru. We will miss you, Dharma.

Elizabeth Wurtzel

2006-05-20T13:14:00.000+08:00

"I start to feel like I can't maintain the facade any longer, that I may just start to show through. And I wish I knew what was wrong. Maybe something about how stupid my whole life is. I don't know. Why does the rest of the world put up with hypocrisy, the need to put a happy face on sorrow, the need to keep on keeping on? I don't know the answer, I know only that I can't. I don't want any more vicissitudes, I don't want any more of this try, try again stuff. i just want out. I've had it. I am so tired. I am twenty and I am already exhausted."

- Elizabeth Wurtzel

Fav A.R. Rahman Songs

2006-05-14T14:37:00.000+08:00

I am bored. I have nothing to do. Some geniuses suggested that I blog.
Like, hello? I have nothing to blog about, because there's nothing happening in my life. Isn't that the original issue?

Anyways, seeing there is a complete lack of happenings in my life, I shall blog random stuff.
I shall list my favourite A.R. Rahman songs now to pass time. And in as much a chronological order as I can manage.

Here we go

Roja - Pudhu Vellai Mazhai
Roja - Rukkumani
Roja - Thamizha Thamizha
Roja - Kadhal Rojave
Kizhakku Cheemaiyile - Aathankarai Marame (actually all five songs are very nice; this is just my fav)
Pudhiya Mugam - Sambo Sambo
Pudhiya Mugam - Netru Illatha Maatram
Thiruda Thiruda - Konjam Nilavu
Thiruda Thiruda - Veerapandi Kotaiyile
Uzhavan - Maari Mazhai Peiyaatho
Uzhavan - Kaathu Kaathu
Duet - Kathirikka
Duet - Mettu Podu
Kadhalan - Kadhalikkum Pennin
Kadhalan - Pettai Rap
Kadhalan - Urvasi Urvasi
Kadhalan - Mukkala
Karuthamma - Poraale Ponnuthaayi (there are three; the one with the faster beat)
Bombay - Antha Arabi Kadaloram
Bombay - Kuchi Kuchi Raakamma
Bombay - Bombay Theme
Bombay - Uyire Uyire
Indira - Odakara Marimuthu
Indira - Thoda Thoda
Muthu - Oruvan Oruvan
Muthu - Kokku Saiva Kokku
Indian - Kappaleri Poyachu
Indian - Maya Machindra
Kadhal Desam - Kalluri Salai
Kadhal Desam - Ennai Kanavillaye
Mr Romeo - Thanneerai Kadhalikkum
Mr Romeo - Mel Isaiye
Iruvar - Aayirathil Naan Oruvan
Iruvar - Hello Mr Ethirkatchi
Minsara Kanavu - Maana Madura
Minsara Kanavu - Thangga Thamarai
Minsara Kanavu - Strawberry Kanne
Minsara Kanavu - Anbendra Mazhaiyile
Minsara Kanavu - Vennilave
Minsara Kanavu - Poo Pookum Osai
[what can i say? national award for this movie]
Ratchagan - Chandiranai Thottathu Yaar
Ratchagan - Mercury Pookal
Jeans - Enake Enaka
Jeans - Columbus Columbus
Uyire - Thaiya Thaiya
Uyire - Thaiya Thaiya II [this is the one with hariharan; superb stuff after you hear the first version]
Uyire - Santhosha Kanneere
Mudhalvan - Mudhalvane
Mudhalvan - Shakalaka Baby
Mudhalvan - Azhagaana Ratchasiye
Taj Mahal - Chotta Chotta Nanaiyuthu [Srinivas]
Taj Mahal - Chotta Chotta Nanaiyuthu [Sujatha]
Taj Mahal - Echi Elumichi
Taj Mahal - Kizhake Nandavanam
Taj Mahal - Karisal Tharisil (this is actually a track with three songs; I like the second and third)

I've stopped at Taj Mahal, which is 1999, roughly halfway between Rahman's Roja and now. I'll continue this list to present in another entry.

Stats

2006-04-25T17:12:00.000+08:00

Hahahha ppl here's the blog visitor stats for the past week. Look at Saturday and Sunday. Lol.

And here's the stats for the past 12 weeks. Kaikulanthai.blogspot.com, up and rising.

Of Niceness and Hypocrisy

2006-04-11T22:37:00.001+08:00

Today, I listened to a friend of mine insult another friend in that friend's absence. What do I do? I'm generally a nice guy. I don't antagonise anyone. I don't object to anyone doing things the way they want. So what do I do?
Nothing.
Plain Nothing.

I hate myself.

I heard a good friend of mine being insulted by another good friend, and I just sat there, not saying anything. I said not a word reprimanding him. Not a word.

Does being nice necessarily come packaged with hypocrisy?

I wish I had died right there.

Rangoli

2006-04-09T22:02:00.000+08:00

Here're the rangoli pics from the TKGS rangoli competition. The monkeys look super cute. Haha. Ooh, and we got 5th!!! Good job guys!

Sorkalam

2006-04-08T22:54:00.001+08:00

April Fool!

2006-04-06T18:22:00.000+08:00

Been a bit busy lately; just a quick post about April Fools' Day.
I was supposed to help a friend play a trick on Saturday itself, but circumstances messed up and I couldn't do it on the day itself. So we did it on Monday.
The trick : Basically, I call up her house, ask for her maid, and propose to her. Pour out my heart. Confess my limtless love. Yep.
I, by the way, decided to be a construction worker from Yishun. Kumaresan.
So on the day, I called her. Her maid picked up. Suffice it to say it didn't go as expected. I fumbled my intro, and confused her ("Why is a random guy calling me?"). Eventually I expressed my great liking for her. She was surprised at first, and then started threatening to tell her boss. And I was thinking, cut the joke, cut the joke (our arrangement was that my friend follow the convo and cut the joke when she sees fit).
Finally, I hear the phone being pulled away and "April Fool!"

Later, when I was talking to my friend, and she was just scolding me for some random reason (can't remember; nothing to do with the joke), I hear from the background :
"Don't scold my boyfriend, okay?"

The first person I've proposed to. And it's my friend's maid. Congratulations, as my friend would say (did say, and several times, in fact).

One a side note, the comments on my tagboard after half the scandal was released have been very amusing. Very interesting that what started out as a joke on a maid has turned out to be a joke on several tagboard readers.

No Time!!!

2006-03-20T17:27:00.000+08:00

April 8th. Sorkalam qualifying round II. RI vs RGS.
That is baad. I can't sleep at night cos i keep thinking about the debate. I can't even do my work. Grrr...
RG has a really good team this year, and it isn't going to be easy beating them. Why do we have to meet in round 2??? I'm going to feel bad about this debate whether we win, which we will (heheh), or lose. This year's rg team is really worthy of reaching sorkalam finals, and i'm gonna feel real bad about knocking them out if we do.

I wanted to blog about RI all arts prelim rounds and TK all arts round, but i find myself at a real shortage of time. School's almost starting, and i have so much work left. I suppose the eventful all arts(es) will have to be chronicled some other day.

For now, it's debate 25/7.

One year

2006-02-18T23:09:00.000+08:00

As of today, it's exactly one year since I met someone very special and important to me. If you're reading this, I want to thank you. You have been the reason for the most colourful year of my life.
Thanks for being there for me. Thanks a lot.

A beautiful day

2006-02-13T18:07:00.000+08:00

Today was an absolutely fantastic day! My SS teacher got pissed at me, my Tamil teacher postponed indefinitely the ICC orientation camp i've been killing myself over for the past two weeks, and I'm no longer in the interhouse 3000m that for which I've been training for two weeks.
Fantastic, by the way, doesn't necessarily have connotations of brilliance or magnificance. All it means is that such event(s) probably won't happen outside a fantasy. My day was fantastic indeed.

Our SS teacher, halfway through class, suddenly informed us that we're not having Chem next; we are, in fact, having her again for History, because she had swapped periods. And I said something like why is she informing us now instead of last week when she'd swapped periods with the teacher quite some time ago. And she's like, "Kannan, stop being rude." Like, what? I'm not going to say anything more in her SS class, impertinent that I am.

During Research Ed, my Tamil teacher (she's my RE mentor too) informed me, almost as some afterthought, that she thinks it better to postpone the orientation camp to Mother Tongue week. Which is when, July? August?
Dammit woman, do you know what an orientation camp is? It is to, you know, ORIENTATE? And we are going to orientate the Sec1s after every major ICC event is over?
"We can make it a language camp," she says, "and we can combine it with the usual Mother Tongue week competitions and make it nice and grand."
You think I care about organising little language games for the sec1s? You seriously think playing charades (once a year for thirty minutes) is going to improve your tamil and make you more culturally aware?
"We can even give prizes for the events like our usual Mother Tongue Week prizes. Romba nalla irukum."
You don't get it, do you? The point is not to make them play games. It's so that they can get to know each other and bond as a club so they can carry out future activities together. It's not so they can delight in the wonders of mock Thanga Vettai.
This is the second time she's postponed the stupid camp. First, she comes to me during Tamil one Thursday and goes, "The camp is next Saturday, how come you haven't prepared anything yet?"
Well, aasiriyai, maybe if you book a date for the camp, and you put it a week from now, maybe you have to give me some sort of hint that I have an impossible deadline. Nothing much, just a hint of some sort. Maybe you don't wait till it's the week before and then tell me. But nevermind, I shall work my butts off and get it done. One week later, on Thursday, she comes and tells me, "Let's not have it this week, let's have it in two weeks."
Okay, fine. I'll rework the programme now that I have a bit more time. I'll assign roles properly and everything. Okay.
And she comes to me today and says she wants to postpone it to Mother Tongue week, which is only a few millenia away.
Why not we have it on Christmas just before I leave for RJ?
"Hey, boy, what's your name?"
"[generic name]"
"Oh hi, I'm Kannan. I was your ICC Chairman this year and in all likelihood, you will never see me again in your natural existence. Have a nice day."

Near the end of RE, I saw Gerald in the library and was talking to him. He told me that for inter-house Track and Field he got into shotput or something. And he also told me that, by the way, I had gotten Triple Jump, Discus, and Javelin. What? I signed up for Shotput, Discus and 3000m. I called up someone from the Exco and found out that wow, they didn't see my name on the list. And maybe I was only the first person to sign up. And maybe I was one of the grand total of three people who signed up for 3000m.
And maybe, just maybe, I've been training like hell for the past two weeks for the 3000m event?
And they blissfully overlook my name. And to fill up the quota of 6 participants (that's the max, and the more participants, the more points a house gets), they assign other random people into 3000m. Like, hello? You are going to have a turnout of two. You simply cannot make people run 3000 bloody metres. It's not like they turn ups for half an hour and throw an iron plate or jump into a sandpit. 3000 metres is a commitment. A seven-and-a-half round, 20 minute commitment. Nobody's going to run 3000m just so the house can get a participation point for their presence.
I don't care if they pulled me out of the damn race. I'm going to run on my own time. I'm going to train on my own and beat the timing of the guy who ends up winning the race. I don't care what his time is, I don't care if he's a tracker, I don't care if he beat the school record. Whatever his timing is, I'm going to match it, and then beat it.

Morrison House can then know what they missed.

Maxed Out

2006-01-26T23:48:00.000+08:00

Everything's going wrong. I'm falling apart, desperately trying to hold myself together. I'm afraid I'm going to sink into depression.
I'm not going to be blogging for quite some time, probably. Need to get myself sorted out. I'll just come to see the tagboard when, and if, I come online. Maybe I'll blog sometime in Feb, people.

2005 wrap-up

2005-12-31T22:10:00.000+08:00

2005 was, I thought, an eventful year not just in my life but all around me too. So I thought I'll just say random stuff about the year in this entry.

Tamil Cinema
It was a wonderful year for Tamil cinema, with a lot of talent being exhibited, together with the standard stupidities that are an annual ritual. I saw a lot of great films this year. I think the standard is definitely going up, with new people taking over old.

Some films that I think are the pick of the year (in order) :

Kanda Naal Mudhal
Kanaa Kanden
Arinthum Ariyamalum
Ghajini
Ullam Ketkume
ABCD
Anniyan

Notes:
I actually wanted a top-ten thing, but I found I couldn't think of ten films off-hand.

Kanda Naal Mudhal, by debutant director V Priya, was surprisingly brilliant. I was impressed by the movie even before its release because of its sleek promos and posters and wonderful cast and crew. The crew has five National Award recipients including P.C. Shriram (Cinematography). The cast has Prasanna and Laila, with many great supporting actors like Karthik (of Vaanam Vasapadume) and Revathi. The movie is produced by Prakash Raj's DUet Production, which is enough to convince me to watch; He's greatly impressed me as a producer with his Dhaya, Naam and Azhagiya Theeye.
The movie is surprisingly flawless. For a debutant, Priya shows great skill in putting a movie together. I thought the screenplay was brilliant; absolutely no lag. I was also impressed with the way she wove the movie's six songs into the script with no incongruity. Yuvan's music and background score is among the best he has ever done. I think if he makes a new year resolution to exclude rap in every movie he scores music for next year, he can make every one of his albums hit the top of the charts.

Ghajini might be fourth on my list, but I still though it was brilliant. The three above it just excelled with their startling realism. I was also impressed by Ullam Ketkume, but I thought it fell short in terms of musical score and cast performance. For all the hype about Harris Jeyaraj's Ullam Ketkume, I was thoroughly unimpressed. I liked only Dhoda Dhoda; Mazhai Mazhai and Kanavukal Periya Kanavukal were okay. Mazhai Mazhai is quite a nice song, actually; congrats to Rajusundaram for destroying it single-handedly with his horrible choreography. If the performances had been better, it would have beat Ghajini with its brilliant script and realism.

Chandramukhi's absence is not a mistake. Though Jyothika's performance was very impressive, and Vidhyasagar's music was very nice, I was not impressed by the movie. Even though I am not really a Rajini fan, I think that his movies have a style and finesse that is enjoyable to watch. That was absent here. The one thing I'm impressed with is Rajini's willingness to make movies in which he is not so much the center of attention. I await Sivaji with great anticipation. (Because so many greats are coming together : ARR is back with Shankar, Rajini's in the lead, Sujatha's doing script, KV Ananth is doing cinematography, JD-Jerry and Balaji Sakthivel are in the story team)

I haven't seen Thavamai Thavamirundhu and Sandai Kozhi yet; I heard they're very good.

Music

Ghajini
Anniyan
Ah Aah
Arinthum Ariyamalum
Kanda Naal Mudhal
Raam
Kanaa Kanden
Oru Kallooriyin Kadhai
ABCD
Majaa

Notes: Harris has managed to impress me on both of his last two releases. He is changing his style and still doing well; that's good. He's experimenting with music; that's good too. One qualm I have is that he should stop repeating himself with stuff like Rangola Hola etc. Another thing is that his background music is still very bad. He has to learn to emote with music. Anniyan was a good effort, Ghajini had good places in the flashback scenes that were nice. But more often than not, his music is jarring the flow of narration rather than enhancing it. Especially in fight scenes. I think Anniyan's fight scenes were dissapointing largely due to Harris, though to be fair I have to say they were inherently not good.

Yuvan has impressed me with several good albums this year. He just has to let go of rap. He is relying to much on rap to move some of his songs. He has to wake up and realise that his biggest hit albums are those with no rap in them : Arinthum Ariyamalum, Kanda Naal Mudhal, Daas, Kathal Konden, Poovellam Kettupar, Dheena, Manmadhan (Thathai Thathai's rap actually made sense and enhanced the song).

So that wraps up Tamil Cinema 2005, I guess. Stuff I'm looking forward to next year : Gautham Menon's Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu, Shankar's Sivaji, Vishnuvardan's Pattiyal, the untitled Jeeva movie that will be starring Arya, the script Maniratnam is working on which I am guessing and hoping will come out next year, debutant Krishna's Jillendru Oru Kaadhal, K.S. Ravikumar/Kamal's Thasavatharam, S.J. Suryah's Puli.

Buhbye, 2005! I love you!

2005-12-31T20:51:00.000+08:00

2005 has been the craziest year of my life. Seriously. Like 2000 (I got into ge and went to henry park) and 2003 (ri) for me, it has been so pivotal. These three years have really shaped what I have turned out to be.
If I hadn't gotten into Henry Park and met those people I spent three years of my life with, I quite possibly wouldn't have turned out the cheerful, humorous person that I am. Then again, if I had stayed in my old school I might have even aced psle; The top score of greenridge primary (my old school) was 282 or something, and I was beating all of them hands down till the year I left to go to henry park primary.
RI has definitely changed me in unfathomable ways. It has created my identity; one that would be very different if I had gone to sji as my parents had insisted. I don't know; I might have been a better person or worse.
Nobody can guess how any one event changed your life. Every small thing that has happened this year has changed me. I've been thrown into new experiences. I've had a wonderful array of people enter my life. I've been challenged. I've been given responsibilites. I've been loved, I've been hated. I've been given new identities. I've been forced to make decisions that shape my life and who I am. I've been made to reflect on my own values and what I stand for. I've been challenged to form opinions of the people close to me.
I've been handed my life as a half-formed lump of clay and I've shaped it with every decision I have made.
Coming through this year, I've sustained scars, no doubt. But I think I like the new Kannan better than the old one. I see confidence and faith in himself within the new one. I see him creating values that he choses to live by. I've seen him decide what he is going to do with his life.
This year has given me a lot of wonderful memories that I'll cherish all my life. I'll never forget Sorkalam. I'll never forget Nava and PJ. I'll never forget Savaal. I'll never forget Karthik shaking my hand and hugging me on stage and handing ICC over to me. I'll never forget Oct 26.
I will never forget pooni, nava, puva, divya, sutha, melu, latha, shaf, siva[shankari], suriya, farzana, shyama, sinddu, kuna, siva, aruna, lakshmu, priya, suadi, kash : all the wonderful new people who have entered my life. If you're not on the list, apologies; I know that whoever you are, you have definitely impacted my life this year.
So buhbye, 2005! We had a great deal of fun, no? Too bad 365 days is all we could spend together. Thank you for all you've given and taken away, 2005.

Kumudam article

2005-12-18T10:58:00.000+08:00

I read a very nice article in kumudam and found the online version so i can post it here. It's in tamil so you probably can't read it directly off the blog. Here's the font, save it into your fonts folder; worst case, you should atleast be able to read it if you copy it into Word. (unless you're shaf or tanjim; to be able to read it, you're gonna have to learn tamil first)

font: http://kumudam.com/kumudam.TTF

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Hinduism Today article

2005-12-16T13:39:00.000+08:00

I was browsing through the Hinduism Today website after reading the articles sutha posted on her blog when I found this. Quite an interesting viewpoint.

January/February/March, 2005

IN MY OPINION

Growing Up Mixed Up

Mom is Hindu. Dad is Christian. I'm too little of either and looking for more.

By Jennifer Verwey

Growing up in an ethnically mixed family isn't easy. My mother is Indian and Hindu. My father is Caucasian, American and Christian. The fact that they got divorced when I was a year old further complicated matters, but that is another story altogether.

When I was very young, I went to church with my father's mother but rarely worshiped at all with my mother's Hindu parents. In this way, I spent my earliest years in the casual influence of two religions, not giving either a lot of thought. Then I went to school.

When I would tell classmates that I was Indian, they would ask what tribe I was from or say, "How." I would explain that I was an Indian from India, but then I had nothing else to say. I had no idea what being a Hindu really meant. I didn't even dress like an Indian, although I wore my hair long and braided. All I knew was that we didn't eat beef and my grandparents fasted on Thursdays.

Many factors affect a child of mixed parentage during the formative years when social skills are learned and friends are made. My mother wanted to make sure I was exposed to both sides of my heritage, but because we never went to a Hindu temple, this exposure was lopsided and left me feeling confused. I didn't fit in anywhere. My only friends were Christian. I had received a Hindu name during high school, but no one ever used it in addressing me. I never thought of changing my name legally. I just figured the ceremony was a sort of baptism into Hinduism.

After high school, I moved in with my father and his family to go to college. It was during this time that I chose to be baptized into Christianity in an effort to find some sense of identity. After a few years, Christianity just started to feel wrong--and pretending that I was white definitely felt wrong. "But I am white, aren't I?" I asked myself. "Yes, I am, " I replied. "But I am also Asian Indian."

I stopped going to church and began a serious search for true spiritual fulfillment. For a time I felt like I had found my place in Wicca which shares certain ideologies with Hinduism. Gradually, however, I realized that wasn't quite right either. So I decided to go back to my "roots " and delve more deeply into Hinduism.

Since then, I've been reading everything I can get my hands on. I have also tried contacting my Hindu relatives for further education, but geographical distance has kept us from communicating extensively.

I live in an area of Michigan where there is very little "Eastern cultural diversity, " so finding other like-minded people is almost impossible. I want to wear a salwar kameez or a sari, but there are no shops anywhere here where I can buy such things. And I don't even know how to tie a sari.

My purpose in writing this is to try to convey some sense of the difficulty I've experienced growing up without a firm spiritual and cultural background. Having gone through this, I now firmly believe that a child of mixed ethnicity needs to be raised in the religious life and culture of only one of the parents. The child needs to feel like she or he is not being bounced back and forth between two worlds, never truly belonging to either.

My husband is a very open person and supports me in my spiritual search, though he is happy not delving into spirituality at this time. I strive to learn as much as I can and to change my life accordingly. If the time comes that we decide to have a child, we will determine which way we wish to lead that child, and we will pick only one path for his or her belief system.

I found the website is actually very interesting and has a lot of useful articles, even for people who are not Hindu. Some are quite thought provoking like this one.

And no, this isn't the post i've been writing for dunno how long; that one's still coming.

A sweet girl named shaf

2005-12-14T12:32:00.000+08:00

Thank youuu, princess! Woo hoo, shafali gupta fixed my blog!
This girl was so superuber sweet that she retyped the whole of my previous entry on blogspot so that it is visible and so that the funny symbols disappeared... So sweet, right?
So thank you, shaf!
Ooh, and i know i haven't updated in a while; i'll post up a new entry by today.

one month into hols...

2005-12-14T11:15:00.000+08:00

Some things change your life.

Some things come into your life and leave an indelible mark on you, making you a completely different person.

And some things just plain screw you up.

I think the December hols comes under that.

I dont want to sound like a low budget Hollywood zombie flick but everyone is changing, man. Everyone's going crazy. Especially the sec4s who are as of now purposeless, identity-less and, very unfortunately for the rest of us, senseless.

I smsed Latha a couple of days ago. I think at the end of it we just reached a firm conclusion that we have absolutely nothing to do with the holidays. First I messaged some random lame message to her. She asked if I was very bored. I said yes, I was very bored; was she? And I found out that yes, she was in fact very bored. I asked her what she was doing with her holidays. She said, absolutely nothing. And what a coincidence, I say, I am doing absolutely nothing too. The hols are such a bore, aren't they, I ask. Yes, she replies, they are such a bore. I ask her what she is doing now. She replies (one and a half days later) that nothing is changed and she is still feeling bored.

The thoroughly productive conversation ended about there.

But there's the problem, see? I called up a friend because I have absolutely nothing to do and we end up talking about how we have absolutely nothing to do, because we have nothing else to talk of; that being because, as aforementioned, we have not been doing much of absolutely anything.

Everyone's going crazy. Tagboards are filled with people who appear occasionally and spew out a line from a song and then disappear, only to appear a day later and spew out another line before disappearing again. People are spamming a dozen message at a go without making a point (myself included). People tell me they "woke up early today, barely past 11 in the morning."

Nerves of steel that I might possess, even I have not been exempt from the effects of the hols. I met up with a friend a week or so ago and we were talking about Inter-House Dramafest (I acted for Morrison). So we were discussing the plays, and I ask:

"...the Hullett play had a good premise though. Did you watch it?"

Eyebrows raised, "I was sitting next to you when you were watching it, maybe?"

Realisation dawns, "Oh yah, hor..."

We went on to discussed the Morrison play; I ask:

"Hey the Morrison play was on a different day, right? Did you watch it?"

With a face that is approximated by -.-, "I acted with you in it, maybe?"

"Oh yah, hor..."

Some things just plain screw you up.

Yaay! New Blog!

2005-12-04T13:49:00.000+08:00

Yaaayyyyy! Thank yoo, princess, for setting up this bootiful blog for me!
Welcome to my new blog people! Ooh, and people, if i say anything about any of you, no offense, k? Any reference to people living, dead or wishing to die upon reading my entry was completely unintentional.
So yeah, toodles, people!

2005-12-02T20:31:00.000+08:00

dudeeee.... blog la... teeheehee.. (:

testing

2005-11-30T20:59:00.000+08:00

aloha testing testing 123