A true Musical

(An article I wrote in 2010 - picked it out from Mouthshut.com)
These days you have a lot of movies being promoted as "a musical". They don’t understand what a "musical" actually is. Though VTV doesn’t claim itself to be a "musical", I guess it gets very close to being one.
Each song tells a story. Listen to the songs after watching the movie and you will remember every frame. This indeed is a rarity. Though poetic, the lyrics are not pompous.

And ARR, what can I say? After watching VTV, I am actually glad that our movies in India have so many songs. Or else how would get to listen to such compositions?

Aaromale ... I have never heard anything like this before. So stylish, mature and intense. ARR has used the Blues Genre so well. So much a "Rock-band" material. It kind of makes up for Indi-pop almost being absent these days. If not for this movie, would we have got to listen to something like this? And Gautam Menon has used it so aptly - the hero hits the road on his bike, camps alone, writes in solitude...and ends on an auspicious note...swasti sawsti subha muhurtam...Hats off Rahman, Hats off Gautam Menon!

And Omane Penne ...my heart jumps with joy everytime I listen to it. The very beginning of the song with the simple keys of the keyboard itself is so exciting. And what vocals! Those gamakams - if Benny Dayal is doing them on his own, he is damn lucky and if ARR is doing it for him - he is still lucky!! All Mallu girls - rejoice! Imagine this song to be an ode to each one of you!

Hosanna : Vijay Prakash - what a strong voice - before I looked it up, it thought it was Shankar Mahadevan for a while. If you look up the meaning of Hosanna, you will love the song even more. The boy is requesting the girl to save him! And Rahman is any day great at using Reggae. Remember he was the first one to bring it into Indian music, that too in a song with a rural setting - yes, I am talking about Chinna Chinna Aasai.
The feeling I got when I first heard Roja’s music keeps coming back when I listen to Albums like Delhi 6, VTV etc. So fresh, so original.

Anbil Avan : An extremely chirpy and happy number. Very clever use of the Wedding March and Hindu wedding music. You feel so charged and pepped up after listening to this.

Vinnaithaandi Varuvayaa : Real life Karthik singing for Reel life Karthik! I have to concentrate to actually pick out the 100s of nuances in this song. Such a difficult composition. Brilliant. It evokes so many thoughts about life, romance and the like. And I have always been a big fan of Karthik (the singer!) for treating even very difficult songs with ease.

Kannukul Kannai : He is charged up. He accuses. He loves dearly. All in one amazing number.

Mannipaaya : Sigh! That’s all I can do when I think of this song. What is it about Rahman’s voice - is it the passion? Is the devotion? And Shreya Ghoshal - she never lets you down. Be it a romantic Munbe Vaa or a seductive Majaa Majaa or a haunting Mannipaaya.

Though the music itself takes the cake, we need to give due credit to Gautam Menon for insisting on to sensible, meaningful http://lyrics. And a big round of applause to Thaamarai for doing such a beautiful job. This is perhaps like modern poetry - you don’t need to keep a dictionary next to you, yet so passionate!
Great album - please buy and don’t do a free download!! There’s a lot of hard-work gone in there!
(I have had the Title track of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na as my Hello Tune for a long, long time for lack of suitable alternatives. But now, I am not able to choose!! ) :)

Mouna Ragam

Right from the time I got back home from office this evening I'd been wanting to watch a good movie. With the day's chores done, I was browsing channels and I caught a very familiar montage music and visuals of black and white photographs of a little girl growing up to be a lovely young woman. With a determined and satisfied smile. I made myself comfortable in front of the TV and settled down to savour every bit of Mounaragam - once again.

As I watch it, I notice there are so many timeless and unforgettable things about this classic. 1) The music of course. A background score to die for 2) Revathi. 3) Mohan as a complete surprise package that a lot of us still can't believe. 4) Karthik the unforgettable charmer.          5) The set - I must say looks stunning even today after nearly 25 years. That house with the floor seating, pebbled drive way, a little music player in the kitchen is still my dream house.

Well, coming to the theme. I, who have been an ardent Mani Ratnam fan was shocked recently when someoone shared with me an opinion that the women in his movies are shown as rather weak and fragile characters. That's something I cannot make up mind about - Roja is  a strong headed girl who is quite convinced that her sister's been cheated until she comes to know the truth. Developing a change of heart, she comes around to making her husband the most important thing in her life. Shobana in Dalapati is again a practical woman. She is quite clear in her head and has her priorities right. It is the men in MR's movies that are more emotional and sentimental! Divya in Mouna Ragam is still not over her first love at the time of marriage. She protests. She throws tantrums. To use a cliche I hate, she eventually 'moves on'. What's a character without progression?

Yes, while watching Mouna Ragam today, I could sense a few 'flaws' if I may call them so. I cringed when the lawyer advices Divya to reconsider the divorce because it is difficult for a woman to live without a man. Why counsel only her when the husband clearly states 'mutual consent' as the reason for divorce? (Perhaps today even Mani Ratnam might rethink that scene and make both of them sit for a counselling session!) And then why does the Sita Travels guy deliver 2 tickets at the end? There are 2 of those oldworlde carboard train tickets  shown quite clearly. (Was one of them a platform ticket for CK?)

One thing missing was the lack of depth in Revathy's portrayal - how does she develop feelings for Mohan? Is it gradual or sudden? Perhaps 30-40 days are good enough a time for a girl to make up her mind about a man! (Well, that's a topic for another discussion!) Another way of looking at it could be that when CK gives in to Divya's tantrums and actually arranges for the divorce, she's caught off guard. So, was it intended to be an overnight change? I only felt the flow of time could have been shown better.

But then there is work to do. We need an important event as a catalyst and we also need to show somewhere that Mohan is a self-respecting man. In fact, surprisingly, I felt the movie was quite short or atleast there wasn't any point that I felt it drag.

Which brings me to point #6 of the timelessness. The handling of the theme. While the theme is all drama, emotion and sentiments, there is negligible melodrama. If I feel that way now, I can imagine what a pathbreaker of an approach it would have been way back then. People were still experiencing over the Vietnam Veedu hangover and dealing with Kamal Hassan's I-can-do-everything persona. No one speaks above a certain decibel ("Poda dei" was perhaps the loudest dialogue in the entire movie). No long dialogues. Eyes do most of the talking with the help of a little trickle of a tear or two. Like I said at the very beginning, the background music is simply exceptional. There is just one basic theme music which has around 4-5 amazing variations depending on the mood of the moment. I don't know if anyone can match Ilayaraja's genius in handling background score.

Everything about the treatment of  Mouna Ragam is subtle. I still smile to myself as I think that this movie that deals with a man-woman relationship does not have a single 'duet song'. All songs are solos - basically dealing with an individual's thoughts and state of mind at a given point in time. Except for Pani Vizhum Nilavu. Kudos Mani Ratnam! Very brave even for today's standards.

Sadly Raj TV, the famous Video guys of the 80s don't own a good copy of the film. I ended up using the brightness option on the TV set for the first time in years! For most part it was just a dark blur.  And there were some cuts like the wonderful scene of Divya re-arranging the house and cooking merrily. But then, such a satisfying watch it was. I hit the sack with a smile pasted on my lips, thinking of the happy ending and the theme music ringng in my ears. Good night!

musical nightmare!

I had the strangest dream-rather, a nightmare. And I hope it never, ever comes true.It went like this.
I'm listening to songs from some new A R Rahman movie with a group of friends (it must only be a dream). One song sounds so much like "Tu hi tu satrangi re" from Dil Se. On close hearing it is actually the very same song with just a few changes. Disappointed and angry, I should out "Rahman, I REALLY, REALLY LOVE YOU BUT PLEASE RETIRE !"

I woke up with a shudder, relieved that its just a dream. :)

Cinema lover, which group are you in - Arts, Commerce or Science?

A tiny debate with Arun Arnala last evening: Stemmed from the bad/not so good reviews that Kadal has been getting.
While both of us felt bad that Maniratnam's movies are not doing as well as those of his earlier gems like Nayagan, Mounaragam etc, Arun's worry was more about the commercial aspect of the movie while mine was the artistic. His sympathies was with the producers of such movies who invest crores of rupees only 'trusting' of these directors to give them good returns. While he agrees that no director makes movies just for the fun of it, directors should be more careful in balancing out the commercial aspect of the movie too. (Probably it was empathy too, having a lost a lot of time and energy in a similar pursuit - just for the love of cinema.)

My point: Why can't we look at the artistic value of the movies? Why can't you look at it like, say, an artist's painting? (Wasn't Ravan(an) like that anyway? A moving, singing painting)

Him: That's because a painter invests only his energy, time and a bit of money for the canvas and paints. But that's not the case for movies.  The supposedly 'big' directors want 'big' technicians as well - which is where most of the money goes. They won't work without their Rahmans, Resul Pookuttys, Rajiv Menons and Thotta Tharinis. So when such big bucks are spent, directors should be more careful about the biggest job which is screenplay and story. Because if that fails, everything else fails. A case in point, Director Shankar has been very careful till date, about all of this. Take Bharathiraja, Balachander..whatever's happened to them? There's no point in investing a million bucks on them anymore.

Me: But these directors need good music and cinematography for a complete package. Can't these directors make art-house movies with the same technicians?

Him: There is a commitee in the High Court wherein middle income groups are helped in availing the services of highly experienced and senior lawyers at very nominal fees . Similarly there should be a system where bigwigs of movies should get together and say, okay we will cut our fees by half and we will make movies just for the sake of art. Perhaps Balumahendra is already doing it.

I think that's a great idea! So here's my request, "The movie biggies - Maniratnam, Bharathiraja., Rahman, Kamal Hassan, Gautham Menon, Rajinikanth and many more, we love cinema as an art, we've loved your work and will always respect you. We are sure you love movies as much as we do (in fact even more). So why don't you put money in the back burner for just a while and gives good pieces of art?"

Why not make small but brilliant movies just for the sake of the art? Why not take the multiplex route? Like Kahaani perhaps? Only those who really care will come and watch the movie. At least we won't have those catcallers sitting in all the 4 corners of the theater and shouting "Ayyo, bore pa." "thala valikkudhu" and so on, much to the annoyance of 'snobs' like me! If the movie does well in the theaters good for you, if not, there's always the DTH operators to fall back upon! At least, the producer gets his money.

Just because their movies don't do as well, I don't want to believe that our veteran/Class A directors have no talent left? ( That's anyway been a long time rant of mine.)  There's still so much to discuss about their movies. Raavan(an) still intrigues me (gosh I love talking about this movie).

Slick firearm. Blank cartridge.

Okay let me confess.The main or the only reason for watching this movie was 'pester pressure'. Yes, we watched Thuppaki only on the insistence of a very assertive 4.5 yr old! We were very, very reluctant but finally gave in. What's in a watching a movie over a dull weekend anyway.

The only motivating factor was Murugadoss. We felt it might not be an utter trash movie because it is written and directed by Murugadoss of the Ghajini and 7-am Arivi fame. Rightly so. I think he was the only saving grace of what could have been one of those zillion terrorist movies. Haven't Arjun and Vijaykant nabbed all terrorists already? Well there seem to be lots more left for our heroes to single-handedly handle. What else would they do with all their physical prowess and intelligence?
So you have yet another hero-confronting-a-terrorist movie. But quite a few differences though. a) The very puzzled hero doesn't ask the most popular Tamilian monosyllabic existential question, "Yen? yen?" (why? why?) b) There are no fiery Jehad speeches by the 'terraarist' c) We don't even know which country they belong to. Those who aren't familiar with a and b, please refer to the aforementioned Vijaykant/Arjun movies or even Maniratnam's Roja for a better understanding. And oh, the difference  d) is that we have a totally drool-worthy handler of the terrorists.
Vidyut  Wow Jamwal! Amazingly fit, deadly voice and nice teeth. Move over, the tobacco chewing-stubbled terror chiefs of the past. You have a damn good looking competitor who is vain enough to engage in fist fights with anyone giving his ego the slightest pin prick.

Well, this is a script no hero, established or otherwise could have said 'no' to. An extremely brave and intelligent character. Army captain. A great opportunity to
show-off those 'we love our Indian army' sentiments. Maybe Vijay was too tired after all that emoting he did in Kaavalan and Nanban because he really didn't need to open up that facet here at all. And Murugadoss has done quite a bit of thinking for Vijay. I must say the plot is interesting. The twists and turns are all nice. There is a very broad but fair insight into how the terrorist groups actually work. (Alright, I'm not a stickler for logic, esp in movies). Though nothing is unexpected really, the director manages to get your attention. But we would have loved a little more of tension and suspense. You know...nail biting. I think Ghajini had that. The beauty of such movies is that we all know the hero will meet success ultimately but making us wonder how he will do it, taking us through the tension and even making us pray for his success is a director's biggest challenge.

There are a few moments in this movie that made me go "Oh come on". And let me recall..were there any wow moments for me? Yes, the 'group-game' that the hero plays with his batch mates was very well planned out, extremely fast and definitely an edge-of-the-seat moment. At least in recent times I haven't watched a similar scene in Tamil movies. Good job Muruguadoss!

Now to the rest of the cast. The female lead Kajal Agarwal. Female yes but lead, no. Neither does she lead the story nor even the hero anywhere. She is nothing but a pretty prop with an unusual dubbing voice.

Jayaram, an experienced and talented actor again plays a charcter of no significance but for a few mildly funny moments. When the director could indiscriminately get so many fingers chopped, a few of such extra 6th and 7th fingers could have easily been chopped. I am sure this would have lent more brevity and credibility to the story of an Intelligence officer focused on his mission and duty. But then however much intelligent a director might be, he has his commercial limitations too I guess. But I was really disappointed this time around because I thought Muruguadoss was finally one director/writer who allowed the female charcters to take the story in his action movies further - be it Ghajini or 7-am Arivu. Just as a faint connection, the hero's sister contributes just a little bit in Thuppaki. Perhaps she is the only female character who has any importance in the movie even if it is just a 5 min appearance. Similarly all the other characters are just appendages but its still understandable. Why such a treatment for the female lead, especially when you brag about your ideal woman being bold, sporty and 'modern' (whatever that means). Do I smell double standards here? Our leading lady's only mission is to get kissed by her man and she doesn't succeed even in that (sorry for the spoiler here).

Thank God the friend of the hero was played by Satyan and not Mr. Chatterbox 24x7 Santhanam.

The music. The songs are forgettable, except for the catchy Google-google number. I am not against songs in our movies at all. I think that's what sets our Indian movies apart in the scene of world movies. But aren't our movie makers bold enough to do away with 'heroines' and song and dance routines if they don't contribute to the storyline in anyway? Background score has never been Harris Jayaraj's strength.And when are they going to stop using eerie shrieks every time a terrorist or a bad guy is comes on screen. Rahman started it 20 yrs back in Roja and it has stuck on like the ubiquitous mole on a filmy rowdy's cheek. I look forward to the day when someone, someday  will think of something else. Will Rahman or Yuvan or Ilayaraja please contribute?

I must mention here about the lyrics. While watching the movie, I guessed the Google song lyricist must be Madan Karky. Back home, Google told me it was Karky indeed. But then there are two songs which have deliberately (for the sake of a remake?) used Hindi words liberally. Looks like someone has just picked up Hindi words at random and peppered not one but two songs with such nonsense words. One song has a sardarji sitting somewhere close to Mumbai singing a line like "tootak tootak", "balle balle".
And then after a wee bit of a romantic scene, cut to a hilly place in the north-east and a bunch of girls break into a chorus that says "Lo hogayi teri, lo hogayi teri, wah re wah". Lo hogayi teri can translate into mumbayya hindi as "teri to waat lag gayi"!! (Now don't ask me to translate that one.)
The theme music, though 'inspired' by some good Arabic number, sounded quite okay.

Another seemingly obvious thing in this movie is that it is ready to be remade into Hindi. With so many English and Hindi dialogues mouthed, ahem..is Vijay looking towards the north? Tell, tell?

I know its not fair to just diss a movie in the comfort of one's living room. But then I feel saddened. In my opinion both Murugadoss and Vijay are capable of much more. Here's my little wishlist: Though he has been working only on action-movies, I somehow feel Murugadoss might be good at dishing out something romantic with a dash of comedy. The funny moments are actually sweet, simple and decent in his movies I have seen so far and completely free of the comedy track burden. And then, Vijay. I think he did a much better job in Kaavalan and even Nanban. I know someone has to write something really, really different for him.
Mr Vijay, I am sure you can try flexing those facial muscles for a change. Now that you have really worked on your looks and complexion, it might not be difficult at all. Don't worry about your fans. They will like you either way. I am sure you are as brave in real life as in your movies. Come on take the challenge. I know you have now become an expert at fixing your own broken bones as easily as fixing a rubic cube, yet we would love to watch at least one movie of yours without a single dishum-dishum scene.


PS: The 4.5 yr old whose pestering we succumbed to, slid into a peaceful slumber as soon as all the songs were done and the movie got into a serious mode. Mission accomplished!

 

 

I wonder

Ever thought why people say "I DON'T KNOW" when they actually want to say "SORRY. I DON'T AGREE"?

To be(long) or not to be(long)

Courtesy: Google images

A sense of trepidation. Heart beating slightly faster than usual. Questions buzzing in the mind. "Am I over-reacting?" "Am I doing the right thing?" "Will people think I am a snob?" "What difference is it going to make if only I do it?"

But then I always wanted to do it and I did it. No matter what. It might not be a big thing for others but it was a big move for me.

I STAYED AWAY FROM FIRE CRACKERS THIS DIWALI!

I have always been against the concept of fire crackers for the simple reason that they are a huge waste of money. That feeling started get stronger as I started seeing people buy crackers for 1000s of Rupees...5000-10000. At one stage of life I would think "Aha! Imagine the amount of ______ I can buy for this kind of money!" Fill the blank with clothes, music and books depending on whatever phase of life I was in :)
I then moved on to a phase where I started thinking 10000 Rupees is annual income for so many Indians..is it okay to just burn it all up?

The other reason I hated crackers was for all the noise they make. Shake up babies, old people and the
weak-hearted ones like me, break window panes and even shake the room, even if it was for a
nano-second. As such there is so much bombing going on all over the world. Do we really need this too? The more innocent sparklers, flower-pots and the zameen-chakkars are still better.

Then came the case of using child-labour. They say it's all banned now and they just don't use child labour anymore but we don't know for sure.

And now my biggest concern is pollution. Noise pollution and pollution of the atmosphere. Why do we have to add to the existing burden on Earth?

Okay all this might sound fair enough to read and talk about. But let me tell you by my experience. Actually putting this into practice is one hell of a tough one. First you have to deal with yourself. Have the utmost conviction. You will be faced with a lot of questions from within and others as well. Worst is this. "Oh you aren't bursting fire-crackers? Oh my God! But what about the baby? How can you deny her the pleasure?" I then have to explain myself. "The crackers are there. The kiddo is enjoying with the father. Its just me who's decided to stay away." "C'mon, what difference is it going to make? Don't deny yourself. Just go ahead and enjoy yourself." And I was like, "Hmm..oh...you know..still..." After the difficult conversation ended, I got thinking "Could they be right?" But then I stuck to my guns (pun unintended) and said NO. (I know you people are sensing a lot of confusion. Yes, I'm not hiding it. It was there - briefly though.)

Diwali evening: I suddenly found myself alone at home for a good 30 minutes. Initially,  I suddenly felt alone. Hubby and baby didn't force/beg me to join them.
I then switched off the TV, switched off all lights, lit up small earthen diyas, played some nice devotional music online. It was beautiful, surreal. I got ready to spend some good time with myself. And before I could even  start, the father and the daughter come barging into the house, making a lot of noise, turn on the TV to find a fav. movie playing and that's it!! :) I suddenly became this TV mummy grinning affectionately and rolling her eyes at the same time!

Anyway, my present state of mind is this. Successfully stayed away - thanks to my supportive family. But now what? Do I tell them to stop bursting fire crackers too? No way! My opinion is just mine. The other adults have theirs. The kid will form hers. I am not an activist. I cannot spread messages. I can explain myself if required. I can only follow what I strongly believe in. That's about it.