Geo's Talkies - Om Shanti Om

I tried to find out what really was the meaning of the word 'entertainment' though I very well know what it means. I just wanted to be able to be able to express the meaning of the word 'entertainment' in a short sentence. So I'd like to agree that 'entertainment' is "a diversion that holds attention". It's side effects are joy, laughter, happiness and a myriad other things which could even be suspense if you're like me. 'Om Shanti Om' is a movie that is 'entertaining' and the reason for that is one man - Shah Rukh Khan. I have no qualms in stating this. I'd like to state for the record that I've seen most if not all of Shah Rukh's movies and I like his persona but I'm not quite a HUGE fan.

This movie is Farah Khan's second directorial outing and has she worked out a formula which tells a story and entertains at the same time? YES, that's the absolute answer. 'Om Shanti Om' is a movie that defies and embraces all genres at the same time. The movie broadly is a romance and is thrilling towards the end of the second half. The story line is very simple, it's the execution that comes up in shining colors. The movie is a story of a guy named Om, a junior artiste who is hopelessly smitten by the charms of the very beautiful leading lady of the 70's Shantipriya. Om hopes to make it to the actors league some day and is supported by an 'over the top' Kiron Kher as his Mother and Shreyas Talpade as his best buddy.

A tragedy occurs in the middle of the movie and Om reincarnates in a new avatar, the only difference is that this time he's already what he wanted to be in the previous birth. He's born in an affluent filmi family, he's a star already and he wins the Filmfare best actor award. He's got girls drooling all over him and he dictates scripts to directors and producers because that's how he works, or probably that's how it works for him. It is at this point that a chance encounter with the memories of his previous life rekindles the spirit of love and revenge in Om and when he meets a tall legged pretty nubile nymph who's startling resemblence to Shantipriya of the 70's. How does Om get the villain to confess? Does he get revenge? Is love timeless? Does Om get to unite with the love of his 'previous' life? All questions are answered in a perfectly filmi ishtyle.

Every frame has Shah Rukh stamped over it, his screen presence, excellent comic timing and passion makes this movie watch worth and repeat watch worthy. The story is pretty straight forward which is why I didn't mind disclosing most of the key plot points. There's lots in store in the movie, the lines will make one laugh heartily and the dialogues from old movies and hollywood look patched but they go well with the flow of the movie. The sets in the movie when showing the 70's are just spell binding, all credits to Sabu Cyril for the excellent work. For a movie that is loud in terms of colors used for dresses on screen, the sets stand out for their sheer authenticity and brilliance. Manikandan's camera does justice to every penny spent on the sets.

Music is the other highlight of the movie apart and the credits for this goes to Vishal / Shekar. I would like to specially mention the 'Om Shanti Om' climax song which is picturized as an opera-meets-reality-show. There's no need to mention that Farah Khan's dance choreography is excellent. SPOILER **** It's time to welcome the prettiest ghost in the history of Hindi cinema, Deepika Padukone is the prettiest face to have debuted in recent times. She's got an ethereal sense of beauty to her due to the way the shots are lit up and portrayed on screen. There's no real depth to her character but who cares, all the close up shots look gorgeous.

Sandeep Chowta has scored the background music for the movie which is apt and likeable. I'm a big fan of movies and I should also add here that I watch all sorts of movies. Yes, I do like some of the artsy ones too but I don't miss on a movie that's an entertainer. Do NOT miss this movie because if you do then you are simply missing a wholesome entertainer.

# Trivia

* Dialogues from Titanic ("king of the world") and Gone with the wind("Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn") pepper the movie at regular intervals.

* All the crew have acted in the movie too.

* Shah Rukh's wife Gauri Khan makes a sparkling debut on screen at the very end.

* 31 current actors from Bollywood made their appearance in the extended 'Om Shanti Om' song lighting up the screen.

Alonso moves out of McLaren - It's official!

Here's the press release from McLaren which I've reproduced verbatim below. Who'll fill in his place is an interesting question. Where will he go to? Renault? Would it be a seat swap between Alonso and Kovalainen? Answers to all these questions should come in the days ahead.

Woking, 2nd November 2007: Following a meeting between Fernando Alonso and McLaren, it was agreed that it would be in the best interests of both parties to bring the relationship to an end.The mutual parting of ways has not been discussed until now, since it was felt that any such discussion could have seriously disrupted the team’s and Fernando’s 2007 Formula 1 World Championship challenge. Both parties believe that this was the right decision.

FERNANDO ALONSO: “Since I was a boy I had always wanted to drive for McLaren, but sometimes in life things do not work out. I continue to believe that McLaren is a great team. Yes, we have had our ups and downs during the season, which has made it extra-challenging for all of us, and it is not a secret that I never really felt at home. I know there have been suggestions of favouritism within the team and people say a lot of things in the heat of battle, but in the end I was always provided with an equal opportunity to win. Today’s decision allows all of us to focus on 2008, and I wish the team, Vodafone, Banco Santander, Mutua Madrileña and all the other team Partners who I have worked closely with during the year, the best for the future.”

RON DENNIS: “Everybody at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, especially McLaren’s Spanish Partners Banco Santander and Mutua Madrileña and the team’s title partner Vodafone, want to wish Fernando all the best for the future. He is a great driver but for some reason the combination of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Fernando has not really worked out, and in the end we reached a stage where none of us could find a way to move forward. We all believe that our joint decision to part company is for the best, and we will now continue to focus on our 2008 World Championship challenge.”

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes will announce any additions to its existing driver line-up in due course.

Formula 1 season - 2007

We've reached the end of the season and it's official, Kimi Raikkonen is crown World champion. This was a surprise much to the amazement of Ferrari fans and Raikkonen drove extremely well in the final race in Brazil to steal the title from Lewis who was so close and yet so far. Murphy's law kicked in at the worst possible time in his McLaren car and Lewis ended up being tied with Alonso on the points effectively making him 2nd due after comparing finishes.

A lot of hungama is going on with the teams, Renault is yet to announce it's lineup and so does Toyota, Force India (Spyker), Honda and a host of other teams. Alonso being dropped by McLaren doesn't look like a possiblity to me, in an earlier post I'd written at length at how both Alonso and McLaren need each other. McLaren has appealed against a technical anomaly which saw two drivers from Williams and BMW not being penalized and any favourable ruling in this matter could make Lewis Hamilton the world champion.

Singapore circuit has been cleared for next years calendar and a night race should be exciting for the drivers as well as the spectators. I for one have been very lazy in updating this blog primarily because I'm stuck with no internet most of the time. Trick or treat, it's Halloween time and I hope the scares are not life threatening. I also wish all my readers a very Happy Deepawali in advance in case I end up not posting anything in the next week or so.

Christmas time is coming and the prospect of the very smell of the season is an exciting prospect, no matter how many carols you hear, no matter how many cards you send and receive, it's Christmas fever from now on and I'm going to indulge into the season. Every bit of it.

Japanese grandprix 2007 - Fuji Motor Speedway

The race at Fuji motor speedway which replaces Suzuka this year was eventful in many ways. Lewis started the race from pole with Alonso following him, Kimi and Felipe started from the second row. A delay in intimating the Ferrari team to use extreme wet weather tyres caused the Ferrari's to pit very early for a tyre change and loose grid position. Lewis was never challenged by any other driver. Alonso's first stop got him into a lot of traffic and had a tough time trying to pass cars in a race that looked more on water than tarmac.

Alonso aquaplaned into a turn and hit the wall which ended his race in Fuji. The finale saw Lewis take 1st, Heiki Kovaleinen take 2nd and Kimi take the 3rd positions. Sebastin Vettel's performance was good and at one point it looked like he'd finish 3rd by he sabotaged his as well as Mark Webber's chances by crashing into him. Heiki drove a perfect race and took a well deserved 2nd position almost giving in his position to Kimi in the penultimate lap but held up to finish ahead of the Finn.

It's just a week ahead to Shanghai and if Lewis wins here then the championship is sealed. The race was exciting in parts but was largely boring with the safety car leading the pack. I hope China sets the stage for some fine racing.

McLaren - Stepneygate - Constructors championship

Ferrari has finally gotten what it always wanted, the Constructors crown for the year 2007. I wouldn't want to debate if stripping McLaren of the points was fair or not, want to wait for the FIA report which should have the reasons for this drastic step. McLaren's performance this year was mercurial and this step by FIA (read Max Mosley) appears to be harsh and detrimental to the interests of the sport. The team that has some of the finest and highest paying sponsors had to take a beating from the FIA (read Max Mosley) for obvious reasons. My heart goes out to Ron Dennis and I hope they appeal against this decision when the FIA report is out. What a farce the constructors title has been reduced to be!

PRESS INFORMATION - STATEMENT FROM RON DENNIS - 13 March 2007

Paris, France, Thursday 13th September 2007

“The most important thing is that we will be going motor racing this weekend, the rest of the season and every season. This means that our drivers can continue to compete for the World Championship. However having been at the hearing today I do not accept that we deserved to be penalised in this way.”

“Today’s evidence given to the FIA by our drivers, engineers and staff clearly demonstrated that we did not use any leaked information to gain a competitive advantage.”

“Much has been made in the press and at the hearing today of emails and text messages to and from our drivers. The World Motorsport Council received statements from Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Pedro de la Rosa stating categorically that no Ferrari information had been used by McLaren and that they had not passed any confidential data to the team.”

“The entire engineering team in excess of 140 people provided statements to the FIA affirming that they had never received or used the Ferrari information.”“We have never denied that the information from Ferrari was in the personal possession of one of our employees at his home. The issue is: was this information used by McLaren? This is not the case and has not been proven today.”

“We are also continually asked if McLaren didn’t use the information, what was the reason for Stepney and Coughlan collecting all this data about Ferrari? We can only speculate as neither Coughlan nor Stepney gave evidence at today’s hearing, but we do know that they were both seeking employment with other teams, as already confirmed by both Honda and Toyota.”

“There will be no issue for the 2008 season as we have not at any stage used any intellectual property of any other team.”

“We have got the best drivers and the best car and we intend to win the World Championship.”

Monza - A low downforce circuit ... now what is that?

Monza is the fastest circuit in the Formula 1 calender and the reason for that is that it demands a low downforce setup from the cars to be able to extract maximum speed from the track. It's really important to make up those milliseconds in each chicane and corner to be able to carry maximum speed into a straight and build on it. The maximum speeds recorded by all cars running the race yesterday would have shown that something more has been done to the car to extract the speed from it with a little compromise on traction. Consider this - Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso both hit maximum speeds of 350 kph in Monza while in Hungaroring Lewis managed to hit 296 kph while Fernando managed 299 kph. What do the race engineers and drivers do the extract this sort of performance from their cars? We know for sure that the engine specification remain same for the full year and the rpm is limited at 18000/minute. What exactly changes in the setup that helps drivers hit such high speeds?

Let's attempt to answer this question using the two pictures below. Picture 1 is Lewis Hamilton's car running in the Italian Grand Prix while picture 2 is Lewis' car running in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Let's first look at the section marked as A. This is the rear wing and in Monza it sported a flat profile which is evident in the way 'vodaphone' looks on it, it's facing the sky. This helps in reducting drag to get higher straight line speeds. The drawback to this is the reduced downforce in curves which don't make too much of a difference in a track like Monza where you don't have hairpin bends and too many tight turns. Look at section marked as A in Picture 2 and you will see the double profile rear wing which is slightly tilted to that extra bit of downforce for better traction and the difference is markedly evident in the way the letters 'vodaphone' appears to the front. It's tilted a little and not as straight as we've seen in Monza.

Turn 1 in Monza is the a tight turn which can take a car off it's line or cause a skid and depending on how much speed is carried into the turn a lot of nasty things can happen. All other turns are less tight. We can observe drivers attacking the kerbs with ferocity to turn as little as possible because of the reduced traction available and the less effort required to get in and out of a chicane/turn. Alonso did this to perfection during qualifying and all through the race to take the first place. In the section highlighted as B in Picture 1 we can see the absence of the the upper profile in the front wing. The front wing has two smaller flaps connecting the nose and wing which gives just the bare minimum amount of downforce required for this circuit. Compare this to the section marked as B in Picture 2 and you'll see that the double profile front wing could have hampered the front end aerodynamics of the car and shaved off those milliseconds that could have added up to a longer lap time.

Aerodynamics .... my oh my .... how much of a factor they are in a Formula1 car!

Italian Grand Prix - Monza - Alonza

What a finale to the Italian grand prix? High drama at the start and a couple of laps behind the safety car and McLaren finished in the positions they started - Alonso first and Hamilton second. McLaren dominated the race with blistering speed and a superb suspension which took all the pounding from hitting the kerbs, Alonso did this the best. Massa retired prematurely due to a suspension problem and a clever Ferrari one stop strategy for Raikkonen gave hope to a scarlet finish which wasn't meant to happen. A top class overtaking move by Hamilton outbraking Raikkonen who had taken 2nd place after Hamilton's 2nd pit stop. McLaren delivered a slap on the face of Ferrari and amidst all the noise and commotion over the spy scandal saga, this was a 'let the work do the talking' statement. On another note, Vijay Mallya is all set to launch a full fledged F1 team after taking over Spyker. It's high time Kingfisher branched out into a team, enough of piggy backing on Toyota. Hail Mallya!

Italian Grand Prix qualifying

Fernando Alonso takes pole in the race tomorrow in Monza by doing a flyer of a lap in 1:21.997 followed by Lewis Hamilton who took 1:22.034 to qualify. The third position is occupied by Felipe Massa followed by Nick Heidfeld and Kimi Raikonnen. I expect a McLaren one-two and an exciting race tomorrow unless McLaren do something really bad with the pit stops. Amidst the new allegations of email exchanges between Pedro DeLaRosa and Fernando Alonso about Ferrari's tyre setup leaked by Nigel Stepney to Mike Couglan, a victory tomorrow should provide some solace temporarily to the stressed out team.

Turkish GP 2007 - qualifying

Felipe Massa took pole by blistering through the last couple of seconds with a fine lap in 1:27.329 secs shaving a little over 0:00.040 secs of Lewis Hamilton's timings relegating him to 2nd on the grid. Kimi and Alonso take third and fourth places respectively. Fernando Alonso set the fastest time if one was to look at the qualifying session as a whole with a 1.26.841 in Q2. He was running the softer compound tyres then and could have been on lower fuel loads and he tried Q3 with the harder compound tyres. Lewis and Felipe were about 0:00.200 quicker than Kimi and Fernando probably because they went into Q3 with lower fuel loads.

I am betting my money on the McLaren's and Fernando in particular after seeing the way he drove in Istanbul yesterday and I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up finishing 1st.

Fernando Alonso v/s Lewis Hamilton - McLaren at war after more than a decade

Do a search on either of these drivers and one will be bombarded with opinions, edits and blogs all over the internet about the recent problems and how the drivers have been reacting to it. I'd like to stay away from those topics and try to look at some other areas which is normally not highlighted. Alonso came to McLaren hoping to become it's blue eyed boy, a reasonable wish one could say for a double world champion. McLaren signed him at the end of his first world championship itself, this is a point to note. The Spainard would have been surprised to see a more democratic atmosphere where the team doesn't pamper one driver over another in terms of resources available and personnel.

McLaren has a policy of equality between drivers and this would certainly have come as a shock to Alonso. Ron Dennis is a good man, he's got a balanced outlook and keep his team well organized not to speak of his excellent talent in drawing sponsors to his team. But if there's one area he's lacking in then it's the lack of bravado on the track. He's not the boss on can drink a beer with, he's more understated and likes to talk less (apart from ronspeak which is a legend unto itself). Apart from Mika Hakkinen, we've never seen Ron hug a driver on Parc Ferme or even backslap the driver. This bond could be unique and can be linked to the devastating crash Mika had in Australia which took him out of action for a couple of months and impaired hearing on one side.

It also can be attributed to Mika's receptive nature, despite being a good driver and a hard man at swallowing pressure, Mika's lost his composure a couple of time, the most notable being Monza 1999 where a wrong shift of gear took Mika into the gravel throwing away his race lead where he bitterly sobbed in the sides of the race track. But overall Mika proved to be a man of character, he was the gentleman on the grid and was even branded unfit towards the end of his F1 tenure being branded 'too-good' for the race track. But even then Mika set the records straight by demonstrating excellent car control and capability in 2001, case in point - Silverstone and Indianopolis.

Back to Alonso now. McLaren needs Alonso as much as Alonso needs McLaren. There aren't too many options for the double world champion. The only place that would look like a promotion is Ferrari but Italians and Spainards are not good bedfellows. Alonso will not go from McLaren, I'm sticking my neck out on this one. Simply because the McLaren car this year is a rock solid package, it has completed every race it has started and except for just two failures during qualifying - Alonso's engine block and Hamilton's tyre, the car has performed incredibly well. I'm doubly sure that the research and development effort of McLaren is immensely being benefitted by Alonso's experience.

Alonso's experience on the track on various cars the best of them being the Renault is a testimony to the fact that he know a hell a lot about setting them up. McLaren's engineers could be benefitting immensely from this aspect of his relationship and this could be indirectly benefitting Hamilton too who is a rookie in F1 and surely wouldn't be able to fine tune the setup at the level he currently is in. Alonso also gives some Spanish sponsors visibility the most notable being Santander, his departure could raise questions on that.

Hamilton on the other hand has been a revelation. He's the classic case of being too sweet to spit and too bitter to swallow - a catch 22[only in the context of the Hungarian GP, Lewis's behaviour has been impeccable in all other races]. Ron Dennis would certainly not expected his protege to do so well in his debut. That is where the hitch lies in. Compare Hamilton's pay with Alonso and he should be grumbling inside at the disparity. The fact that he other is a double world champion means nothing to the rookie. As far as he can see, he's outperforming the champion in every race and qualifying session and he demands to be equalled in all aspects - sponsors, technicians, resources, money.

Hamilton is an incredibly straight and talented driver too. He's got the thirst to win every race he starts in and he doesn't seem to pound the car in the circuit like a JP Montoya. He knows his limits when pushing and knows when he needs to back off and simply complete the race. Nobody expected Hamilton to do so well, let's face it that's the answer to the problems McLaren is facing. Ron was not prepared otherwise he'd have found out better ways to synergize the two and get them focussed. Remember when Mika rejoined racing after the accident David was the guy with more experience and chances to win but Mika ended up being double world champion and the Mika/David combination went all the way till 2001 till Mika bid goodbye to Formula1.

This is the longest serving pair of drivers in the history of Formula 1 no doubts about it and neither Mika nor David nor Ron have shown scorn or disgust at the team like we've seen recently. That says that no matter how much you accuse Ron Dennis of not being able to communicate clearly he's done some things in fact a lot of things right in this case. Let's give the man some credit when it's due, Prost and Senna were like petrol, they can fire up anytime. Mika and David were competing against each other but not at the cost of the team. Mika's first Formula1 victory in Jerez is a testimony to the gentleman that David Coulthard is.

The three week break before the Turkish GP is bound to heal some of the wounds and will get the two drivers back to talking terms. Unless the FIA decides to play spoilsport, which increasingly looks like a possibility looking at Ferrari's media interactions, McLaren are going to finish this season right on top. At the end of the year anything can happen and I'd be very glad if the developments end up making a seat vacant for Nick Heidfeld to fit in, until then let's just enjoy the spectacle one race at a time. Over to the Turkish grand prix of 2007.

Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying

Formula1 is getting more and more exciting these days, reason - Drivers. After Felipe Massa not making it into the final cut and settling down for 14th position on the grid it was Kimi Raikkonen's turn to take the fight down to the last couple of seconds in Q3 of qualifying and he did albeit for a brief moment until Lewis Hamilton came across the start/finish line to take up pole from Alonso who had ousted Kimi from P1. Alonso pitted for tyres and this time he was coming out with the hard compound tyres and one could see Lewis already waiting in the pitlane for Alonso to drive into the track. The fact that Alonso was waiting could have been because his race engineer waiting for a empty slot to give Alonso a free run or it could have been a fuel burn out strategy like Ron Dennis alleges or it simply could have been team rivalry with Alonso wanting to deny Lewis the final go at bettering his time which put him on P1.

I'd rather that the first would have been a plausible strategy but pray why hold up the pit crew, Alonso can drive upto the pit lane exit and wait and that's not in violation of any regulations unless he ends up holding another car that is attempting to exit into the track. The qualifying was over, Lewis was denied a final chance at giving another shot to better his timings thought he came out with the softer compound tyres and Alonso took pole relegating Lewis to P2. Right after the qualifying session was over Ron Dennis looked distraught and was seen animatedly talking to his colleague in McLaren trying to find more about what could have happened. One thing was obvious, harsh words were exchanged over the radio.

This morning it's been announced that McLaren won't earn any constructors points in this grand prix because the marshalls feel they have violated the sporting code and have pushed Alonso down to 6th position. McLaren have appealed against the decision but any favourable ruling could only help with the points, there's no way they'll allow Alonso to take pole. After Nurburgring it's turning out to be high drama in another Formula1 race this year, it sure makes the sport all the more interesting.

It had to happen .......

Lewis Hamilton had to fail. An event a lot of the cynics were looking forward to (cruelly) had to happen at Nurbugring today. The hero fell. It would be totally unfair to blame the drive for the high speed crash in Turn 5 of the Nurburgring circuit. Lewis' front right wheel failed and took his car right into the tyre wall which absorbed the impact of the crash and the monocoque survived the accident, a sterling testimony to the sturdiness of today's cars and a big thumbs up to the designers. The wheel failure has been attributed to a fault wheel gun which could have failed due to a incorrect pneumatic pressure causing it to not fasten the wheel nut to the torque levels they are supposed to. Lewis was a couple of micro seconds better than Massa when this occured, can't but ignore the irony. Ron rushed from the pit wall into the garage, apparently the radio had failed and the team were not able to communicate with the driver. Television images of trembling legs caused more concern. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when Lewis climbed out of his car a good 13 minutes after the accident only to lie down on the gravel. Tense moments which culminated finally in the driver being carried to the medical center on a stretcher and when one thought it was getting a little too serious, from the stretcher waved his arms and showed a 'thumbs up' sign relieving us all of the trauma, he was safe, Ron knew it, we knew it. Now all eyes will be glued to the FIA's doctors fitness report in the morning so that Lewis can start the race from 10th position. I for one will not miss a minute of the action to see the driver weave his way past the traffic.

Narain Karthikeyan - Back to racing F1?

Will Narain Karthikeyan find his way back to active F1 racing by taking up the empty driver's seat which became vacant due to Christijan Albers exit from the Spyker team? More likely not than otherwise because Christijan has had to leave due to non-payment of fund by one of his personal sponsors and for a budget strained team like Spyker moolah matters. Team boss Colin Kolles' affinity toward Narain could tilt the balance give the fact that Narain has worked with him in Jordan during the 2005 season and Colin's departure from Jordan was cited to be one of the main reasons for Narain's exit then. It will certainly take a lot of bargaining from Narain's sponsors if this deal has to go through. HONDA test driver Christian Klein's name is also being talked about for this seat. Will an Indian be back to racing a F1 car? A couple of days and we'll know.

Thiruppavai in Sivaji

A 1300 yr old song composed by Saint Andal praising the Thamizh God Thirumaal (believed to be an incarnation of Lord Krishna) finds it's way into my aural arena and many other men/women/children of today, thanks to the soundtrack of 'Sivaji'. "Thiruppavai" is a collection of 30 verses in praise of Thirumaal sung primarily in the month of Maargazhi which falls in the latter half of December and early half of January according to the Gregorian calendar. It is also said that each of the 30 days in the month of Maargazhi is named after these 30 verses.

Now back to 'Sivaji', the reason I'm talking about these verses. The way the lyrics blends with such sublime music in 'Sivaji' is a moment of musical brilliance. All flamboyance and style is reserved for the hero in all other songs but what beauty, almost spiritual divinity, in this song that one can keep hearing it forever. I tried my hand at deciphering the words in this verse and then got it translated through one of my friends Mr.Shanmugham (70 yrs young and keeps pushing me to complete 'Ponniyin Selvan').

Maali! Manivanna!

Maargazhineer aaduvaan

Maylaiyar seivanagal venduvana kaettiyal

Njalathai yellam

Nadungamularvana

Paalvanna vanaththul paanjajaniyamay

Polvana sangangal poipaadudaiyanavay

Saiyarperum paraiyay pallaan thisaipaaray

Kola vilakil kodiyae vidhanamay

Aalin Ilaiyaay

Arulaylo rempavaai

Oh Lord! (The original is a reference akin to Black Diamond)

Give us the strength

To complete this penance in Maargazhi like you did to our elders

Give us oil lamps, flags, powerful big drums,

singers who sing praises and conches that sound;

like your pure multi hued voice -

the sound which makes the universe shudder

Oh Lord, bless us,

Let us do our penance

I tried to stay away from transliteration and would be glad to correct any mistakes in the interpretation of the verse. The verses are powerful, the music adds to it's grandiosity. Simple and minimal orchestration, Rahman knows when to sink us in the power of the divine aural spectrum. Splendid song, another of the treasures of Thamizh literature polished and embellished by Rahman.

Geo's Talkies - Anbe Sivam

’Anbe Sivam’, as interesting as the title sounds is a movie who’s essence is captured in it’s title, Love is God.

The story begins in an airport in Orissa where both Nalla, a disfigured, not good looking communist leader and Aras, a smart, suave and globalised yuppie are waiting for a flight which eventually get’s cancelled due to storm. They are forced to share a hotel room where all shades of both characters are aptly portrayed on screen. Aras desperately wants to get back home because he’s going to get married in four days. Nalla realistically takes Aras through the world that they are in which is just too dangerous and dirty for a yuppie like Aras who cannot understand why his mobile won’t work or his credit card is not accepted. Interspersed among all the opening scenes are liberal doses of humour, slapstick at it’s hilarious best or should I say worst.

The story gains momentum with the storm intensifying in Orissa and Nalla and Aras take up the journey together to Chennai by rail and road. Here we are exposed to Nalla’s life, the Nalla that was. The audience is transported to the world of trade unionism, Nalla’s street plays, his friends, his romance with the mill owners daughter and his idealogies, which are very marxist. Somewhere down the line, things don’t work out as they have to, Nalla gets disfigured in an accident, he loses his love and somehow escapes death by an inch. It’s this Nalla that starts to realise the divine power. Coming back to reality, Nalla and Aras become witness to a train accident and Aras comes back to the real world after bearing witness to gore and bloodshed. In the end he marries his girl and life moves on, watch out what really happens in the movie.

The main focus of this movie largely revolves around globalisation, faith, ideologies and love for the human being. Kamal Hassan as Nalla does what he does best, act, and believe me when you see the disfigured Nalla it’ll send shivers down your spine, he’s put his heart and soul into the role. Madhavan as Aras does a good job, no one else could have shared frame with Kamal and not ended up looking like a joker. Nasser as the hypocritical believer in God, who swears by God’s name in revenge does a splendid job. Art direction by Prabhakar is one of the strongest points of the movie, be it the flooded railway station and roads in Orissa, the mill protests in Coimbatore, the train accident in Andra, all have been re-created excellently. Vidyasagar’s music is a mix of Classical Symphonies and Vidyasagar’s own background score and five songs of which the title song and the street play song stand out.

Cinematography by Arthur Wilson is good though he didn’t have great sceneries to picturise, he’s done justice to every frame. Kamal Hassan has done the story and screenplay, one should commend him for the story but the screenplay is fudged, he must have got lost in a whirlpool of ideas and couldn’t decide on which to highlight. Sundar C is the director of this movie, this is clear in the comedy scenes that make up one half of the movie, but the later half looks like it was ghost-directed by Kamal himself. It’s just too unlike Sundar's earlier works and that’s what makes me suspicious. Lyrics are top class, by Vairamuthu. Here’s a sample from the title song:

Yaar yaar sivam, nee naan sivam(Who is God? Me and you, we are God)

Vazhvay thavam, anbe sivam (Life is a penence, Love is God)

Aathiham pesum adiyalkellam sivamay anbaagum(For the believer God is love)

Naathikam pesum nallavarkellam anbay sivamaagum(For the non believer love is God)

Idhayam enbadhu sathithaan enral erithazhal thinruvidum(If the heart is only flesh, it’ll be burnt by fire)

Anbin karuvi idhayam enral saavai venruvidum(If love originates from the heart, it’ll win over death)

Anbin paadhai serthavannukku mudivay illaiada(There’s no end for the person who takes the path of love)

Manathin neelam ethuvo athuvay vaazhivin neelamada(Life is as long as your mind)

# Plz bear with my crass translation(trans-literation), I know just enough Tamil to understand what it means.

’Anbe Sivam’, definitely watchable for the contrasting views it projects and the non-judgemental stance taken, but every frame has Kamal Hassan and that’s what is a not so positive point.

[This review was originally written and posted on mouthshut.com on the 27th of Jan 2003]

Geo's Talkies - Ocean's 12

After putting up the review of Ocean's 13 I thought putting up the Ocean's 12 review done earlier in Moutshut would be appropriate. So here's the review written on the 7th of Feb 2005.

Anybody who understands the dynamics of film making would agree that more difficult than making a successful movie is making a sequel. Steven Soderberg’s version of Rat pack eleven titled ’Oceans’ Eleven’ not only made millions at the box office but prompted the director to work on a sequel to it, aptly titled ’Oceans’ Twelve’.

Story

George Clooney as Danny Ocean and Julia Roberts as Tess are spending their ’second third anniversary’ in Europe. They get rattled by the presence of Benedict (Andy Garcia) demanding the return of the $160 million with interest they siphoned his casino in the previous movie. Benedict manages to globe trot and meet all members of the Oceans’ Eleven team to make sure the message is driven loud and clear. Brad Pitt as Rusty is recuperating from a failed romance with Isabel Lahiri played by the svelte Catherine Zeta Jones. Isabel works for the police force and is all determined to nail theives and the reason for this is something from her past.

Ocean, Rusty and the whole team decide to hit something in Europe to pay off their bucks to Benedict since hitting any place in the US would be walking into a death trap. The one question they have to find an answer to is to identify potential places that could help them make up this gigantic sum in a time span of one week. The added thrill to these situations is that Benedict had been alerted by Night Fox played by the dashing Vincent Cassel whose only motive here is to be proved as the best thief the world has ever seen. Linus Caldwell played by Matt Damon wants to play a much larger role this time around and it is hilarious to watch him on screen.

The story moves a bit slowly across Europe until the big deal is set despite some initial failures. This movie is full of surprises despite the presence of visual clues all over. Julia Roberts excels in comedy in a scene where she plays ’herself’ opposite Bruce Willis. Mind you, you need to listen to each word that is spoke to savor the humor and I am sure one would chuckle for the full length of the movie. After getting beaten to the first heist, Oceans team take up a challenge by Night Fox to steal a faberge egg. Do Ocean and his team make it through this challenge? Is Night Fox the better of the two? Is the premise set for yet another sequel, a la Oceans Thirteen?

Crew

Script by George Nolfi is the weakest part of this movie with things having kept at a slow pace in the beginning, but hey it’s never easy to write a decent continuation to a hugely successful heist movie. David Holmes’ music is there for one simple reason, functionality. You can hear Hip - Hop, Rock and the traditional hollywood piano - string combo in shades, but the movie is all about a different contemporary(not techno) sound aptly used in one flash back scene ance the end titles. This film was canned and directed by Steven Soderberg and he’s done a neat job, he never expected any critics to rave about this move I guess. But he will definitely smile his way to the box office since the audience would enjoy this movie.

Epilogue

This is a fun-movie, all the actors are wonderful on screen and exude a terrible sense of lethargy and chemistry that they don’t appear to be acting. The camera simply happens to be a voyeur in the lives of these people exposing their daily sides to us. It is a daunting task to shoot with big names in a movie that just about 2 hrs long. But all characters have enough screen time to warrant their names in the credits. George Clooney swims through the role with his calm demeanour and his on screen ramblings with . Brad Pitt does what he does best, charms his way into Jones’ heart. Andy Garcia has been wasted with having nothing to do expect walk into people’s lives.

Though cinema is a form of art, at times one simply needs to throw logic and stop looking for the tangible to enjoy a movie. Forget reading all this, simply rent this DVD/VCD or catch it in a theater. You won’t have to regret this experience if pure entertainment is what you are looking for despite that the fact that Oceans Eleven is a better movie. The end shows that there is indeed a possibility for Oceans Thirteen.

The new reliance tv ad

I'm absolutely in love with the new Reliance Mobile ad that is doing the rounds on TV. It's got simple lyrics and the rhythm of the song get's added with one more layer every 2 bars to end in a fitting finale, all this inside 1 minute which is what makes the whole ad, music and the concept spectacular. Is there a better way of conveying the fact that the color phones added color to lives. A big round of applause to the folks at Corcoise Films for the concept and execution and Dhruv Ghanekar & Ashutosh Pathak for the music.

baathon mein rang aayae hai jabsay
barsein barsein barsein rang barse

bheegi bheegi pathiyan barsay
rangwali pathiyan barsay

barsein barsein rang barse
barsein barsein rang barse

Geo's Talkies - Ocean's 13

"Ocean's 13" is a welcome third installment to the Ocean's series of movies produced by Jerry Weintrub and Steven Soderberg. As with all the Ocean's movies there's a lot of hilarious one liners in this one too. Reuben Tishkoff (Elliot Gould) get's kicked out of a lucrative hotel-casino project by his partner Willy Banks (Al Pacino) which gives Reuben a heart attack and confinement to bed. The rest 10 member regroup and pledge to take revenge in their typical style.

They conspire to hit Willy's hotel on it's opening night and turn the tables back on him and how? Rigged slot machines, dices, blackjacks. A plot is also hatched up to make the visit of the reviewer from Five Diamonds (like 5 stars) hell - chemical infested rooms, sick food and rude service. Add to this already mixed plot Terry Benedict and you know where we are heading. A small part by the Night Fox himself adds to the curiosity. The end is a foregone conclusion for all of us who are familiar with the series but how do that conjure it up is certainly a treat to watch.

I'd like to mention Ram here because he in a way piqued my interest onto the second movie and we saw it in Carnatic theaters without being able to understand a word of the dialog because of the crappy way the sound stage was setup there. I'm sure like Ram there would be many of you who'd take an instant liking to the third installment. One should have watched Ocean's 11 to completely enjoy this movie although it's not necessary to have seen Ocean's 12.

These guys have managed to take a jibe at Oprah Winfrey show and have exhibited the sensitive side of men in a satirical manner. George Clooney takes jibe at Brad Pitt in the end of the movie about settling down and having children, the resemblance to real life is so thin here. The only reason for Al Pacino to be in this movie is either because he was paid well or is a friend of the producers, his character simply exists for the Ocean's team to punch into. Steven Soderberg makes an appearance in the movie as Gecko, the genius behind the Casino's security systems.

And if you've not realized till now the women are absent in this edition. Ellen Barkins in the addition but she's got nothing much do than strut her stuff around the screen and get cozy with Matt in the end. I'll try and post some hilarious lines when I get to lay my hands on the DVD.

Geo's Talkies - Sivaji the boss

"Sivaji the boss" is Shankar's first directorial venture with the one and only Super star in India, Rajinikanth. It's tough to make a movie with Rajinikanth, there's a certain expectation from the audience and double guessing that is a herculaean task. Mani Ratnam would have spent a lot of time scripting "Thalapathy" because he had to keep Rajini's screen image in mind and also give Mammooty equal screen prominence, that was a good effort. Shankar plays to the gallery with Sivaji, there's everything the masses need. And there is Rajinikanth who remains the numero uno in the movie. For a change we are spared of the sister and mother sentiment which I welcome wholeheartedly.

I don't want to spell the story here, it's a typical Shankar socio-commercial story. An NRI comes back to India and wants to reform the system, he hits road blocks. How does he overcome all of them to make his mark? That's the story. You have oodles of humor, the one's with Shreya's parents are extremely silly to say the least. Vivek plays the hero most of the times stealing punch lines which Rajini should be delivering, the change is good. Thankfully Vivek's character has not been reduced to a caricature. That's one good thing about comedians acting with Rajini, they are not belittled. Shreya has just a little more to do than looking pretty in the songs dressed in the most skimpiest of dresses. There's lots of curves on display here, they say it's for the masses, it's also for the classes. Rajini dons umpteen looks in this movie which themselves make the movie repeat watch worthy, each look is unique and would sound outrageous on paper, but Rajini/Shankar have carried it off with elan and style.

AR Rahman plays another vital role with a superb soundtrack which is new and well recorded. The background score has obviously been done with a lot of time and attention paid to it. I loved the choral Sivaji title chant, if they brought it out on CD's it would be a nice disc to own. Thotta Tharani's sets are huge, they are magnificient but to me they all looked misplaced. Thotta Tharani is a master in his craft but maybe it's just me who is not able to see reason for those opulent sets. KV Anand's camera does a good job at capturing the images. This movie stars all Shankar regulars - Raghuvaran (cast against type, who could imagine the Anthony in Basha becoming one of his trusted men?), Cochin Haneefa (cliched bad guy), Manivannan (Father).

Vadivukkarasi (cast against type as the Mother, the granny role in Arunachalam lingers fresh in our memory), Solomon Pappaiyya, Raja, SunTVnews reader (can't recollect her name) and Suman who takes the villains character complete the cast. Nayanthara skips her way into the opening song in skimpy costumes showing ample cleavage, this actress has lost oodles of weight. This is a Rajinikanth movie, no looking above, below or beyond that. Suspension of disbelief is not an option, one has to keep one's logic at home and simply get immersed in the magic, that's what a Rajini movie is all about. "Sivaji" without any doubt could turn into the biggest blockbuster in recent times.

Trivia

# Watch out for Shankhar, KV Anand and Thotta Tharani on screen in the middle of "Ballaelakka"

# Mimicry by Mayilsamy, Chinni Jayanth and Damu in the end is short and hilarious.

# Rajini using the guitar as a gun a la Desperado style in the "Athiradi" song.

# Mercedes Benz stretch limo bearing a Pollachi registration number plate.

# Rajini's SUV's registration number totalling 8 (TN-09 AZ 98), surely this vehicle belongs to Shankar given his penchant for the number 8.

# Binny mills compound used in one of the action sequences where the villain comes with money, will filmmakers finally stop using this place. 3 out of the four movies I saw last are shot here.

Sivaji the boss

Every single news channel last night was fixed on Rajinikanth and the magic he creates on screen. I'm slated to watch 'Sivaji' in 'Central Theaters' at 1400 hrs today. After this screening I intend to catch the evening show in 'Shanthi Theaters' with my office folks. Quite a prospect this is, watch out for the review of this movie in the next 12-16 hrs.