Kadal audio - quick thoughts

Chithirai Nela
Beautiful start with the sound of a baby crying...Doesn't Vijay Yesudass sound so much like his father? Its unplugged till around 1:49 and then some nice soft beats take over. From 2:45, does he actually say "Kaatchigal" instead of "KaatchigaLL" and a couple of other ls instead of Ls - Noooooooooo...
Overall nice, gentle composition which is a tad too generic but will surely be well picturised.. Decent start but nothing ground-breaking.

6/10

Adiye

The experimentation starts now. Starts off like an anguished cry of pain or yearning. Very appealing and then the gospel (with a mix of blues and also jazz thrown in) stuff kicks in... The Ooooohs in the background don't quite strike a chord. First thoughts: as the OH says, I can imagine/picture Whoopi Goldberg with a black rove orchestrating a choir in the background.

Biggest gripe is that ARR seems to have created a very catchy tune with a clear taalam and the lyrics were then fitted in. I don't really enjoy Pallankuzhi being split into Pallllllaaaaaaaaaaankuzhi just to fit into the beat. The Adiye Adiye chorus is very nice. At 2:18, when Sid croons Meena thooki, watch out for the piano (??) note in the background - nice touch. At 3:38 "Manasa kayiraaki izhuthu poraaye nee" feels like the singer has kadichu thuppified the lyrics. You'll get it when you hear it.

Not sure how this mood/song will fit into the movie...but then I felt the same way about Hello Mr. Ethirkatchi in a movie like Iruvar and I wasn't disappointed.

7/10

Moongil Thottam

Lyrical beauty this one...Enchanting lines straight from the heart... who wouldn't want to be part of the below setting

Pournami iravu
Pani vizhum kaadu
Othaiyadi paadhaiyil
Unkuda podinada

However my biggest problem with the song is that it screams "Smoke/Loo break" and it will be a minor miracle if 50% of the hall stays back to watch what will be some amazing visuals...The tune per se is a simple melody and is competently (not brilliantly though) rendered by the singers. This somehow reminds me of Thendrale from Kadal Desam - a fairly routine by-the-numbers song which is still nice to hear.

6.5/10

Elay Keechan

This is already a chartbuster and it deserves to be too... First song with mass appeal in the album. Getting country/western music to fit into this album and making it work is no mean feat and ARR manages it. He ingulges you with his nasal twang but it still seems to fits the mood of the song. The lyrics are playful, breeze and are sure to blend in with the setting and this is clearly one of the stronger compositions in the album. For me, the magic starts at around 3:46....

7.5/10

Nenjukulle

I absolutely love this song... The unplugged version was pure magic. The movie version is not bad at all and there are times when I think it's probably even better. However, SG's westernised Thamizh uchcharippu leaves a lot to be deserved. Also, there were a couple of occasions where you can see the difference between l and L...Deliberate you might say but I disagree. The flue is mesmerising but watch out for a slow synthesised ganjeera/percussion beat which silently plays in the background of the song - oh so awesome when heard in my Sennheiser earphones. ARR crooning between Saranam 1 and 2 wasn't really needed but then who am I to give gyaan to the guru...Overall, a haunting melody that will probably stand the test of time. 

8/10

Anbin Vaasale

This is probably the most dramatic song in the album and is completely situational. Though not as awesome as Kun Fayakun or Khwaja mere Khwaja, this one is not too far behind. Haricharan tries to hit his evocative best but falls way short in my opinion. Lots of reviewers have praised him sky-high but I can imagine a Shankar Mahadevan hitting the higher notes with complete ease. The real hero of the song is the chorus - mindblowing, totally uplifting and goosebumps inducing.

7/10

Magudi

I wont waste too many words on this but this is ABSOLUTE CRAP.. More worthy of Vijay Antony or Harris Jeyaraj

4/10

I tried something different with Kadal. After the first two songs released, I did not go mad and buy the album on Day 1 and listen to it on loop continuosly. I allowed the dust to settle down, did not read the detailed reviews - just caught the headlines (which were anyway gushing like mad) and soaked in the whole atmosphere before deciding to check out the songs once a day for 2-3 continuous days. After 5-6 listens, I have come to the conclusion that this is a decent album, probably better than Ravanan, but definitely not the return of the Messiah. It is nowhere near ROCKSTAR as some daft reviewer had mentioned, it is two notches below. It is better than JTHJ but still has me yearning for something better.

There is a lot of experimentation but I am not a critic, am just a fan. I'm usualy crazy about it, love it, like it, enjoy it or it was so-so... this one was just "like it"

Overall - 7/10

What do I blog about and why?

This is in response to an old friend/fan of this blog asking me this particular Q.

What I definitely don't blog about are serious takes on issues that could actually make a difference in this world.  Coz I am neither erudite nor profound and I like to keep things simple.

Like, for example, I would rather NOT discuss

• Politics: Will NaMo be as good for India as he was/is for Gujarat?
• Economic policy: Will FDI in Retail create new jobs or kill existing ones?
• Literature: Does Girish Karnad make a valid point in his criticism of VS Naipaul?
• Journalism: What will Arnab Goswami's epitaph read as? He came, he saw, he shouted?
• Arts: Which is the more popular event - Woodstock or Thygaraja music festival at Thiruvaiyaaru?
• Business: Why is Apple's stock price falling?
• Social Commentary: Should anyone at all be held responsible for Jacintha Saldanha's death?
• Current affairs: Bhagat Singh Chowk in Lahore. Who cares?
• Fashion: Who is the personal stylist of Hina Rabbani Khar? Or closer home, Aaradhya Bachchan.

What I do love doing is ranting and raving about

• Music: Why ARR rocks, Ilayaraja rocked but Harris/Yuvan will always suck?
• Movies: When will the world see Gautam Vasudev Menon and Rohit Shetty for what they really are? Talentless, overrated zeros.
• Sports: Why it hurts to see Arsenal implode again and why India could do with a 38 yr old VVS Laxman more than a 39 yr old Tendulkar
• Television: What makes Aaron Sorkin one of the most compelling screen-writers to follow?
• Books (as opposed to Literature): What people see in the 50 Shades series?
• Philosophy: Cur Hic Statis? (The English translation will make me the butt of many jokes so will refrain)
• Bloggers: Baradwaj Rangan over-analysing a stupid scene, Kiruba getting thrown out of TED :-)
• Just about anything inconsequential....

Why these choices? JLT !!!

Hope this helps.

Sachin Tendulkar scores a double century

Taking a leaf from Thalaivar, SRT says "Naan oru run eduttha nooru run eduttha mathiri!"

I've said it in the past and I say it again - Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is one of the most selfish cricketers to ever 'grace' Indian cricket and is a worthy successor to another of India's greatest servants cum selfish pigs from Mumbai, Sunil Manohar Gavaskar.

What will it take for him to retire? For Root to call him Uncle?

Source for nakkal quote: enga Mama dhaan :-)

(The) Silver Linings Playbook

I am on this constant search for finding the "(500) Days of Summer" of every year - the under-the-radar rom com not backed by a big studio but with a refreshingly new take on the oldest genere - and this year's search took me to Ruby Sparks and Silver Linings Playbook.

Coming highly recommended by both Berardinelli and Ebert, I tried to download a reasonable print of  the latter (yeah, despite it headlining with Bradley Cooper) but in vain. That is when I realised it is based on a "best-selling" book by Matthew Quick and a quick search for the ePub proved more successful than my earlier quest. Downloading the book onto my iPad3 (there I flaunted it again), I prepared myself to get overwhelmed.

30 pages into the book, I argued with myself that this is one of those books that would divide people right down the middle - either you'd love it or hate it. After completing the book, I feel like a complete fool as I am stuck exactly at the middle. I love the book for its quirkiness, its endearing lead character Pat Peoples and the way it constantly alternates between downright funny and lump-in-your-throat melancholy. What I didn't enjoy was the fact that you know exactly how the book is gonna end and the way one gets manipulated throughout the 2nd part towards that end. Also, if you're not a big fan of football (not soccer) or Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi / Kenny G, you could find the middle sections very tiring.

I'm really, really curious now to see how this book has been translated to screen and how on earth has Bradley Cooper managed to pull off Pat People. Please, please let Anupam Kher not be Cliff.

3.5 / 5

The Golden Globes nominations are out...

..and I realise how many films, good films, I have  missed this year. To be fair, I haven't even heard of some of these films. Rust and Bone starring the gorgeous Marion Cotillard and The Deep Blue Sea with the stunning Rachel Weisz somehow seem to have slipped past me.

The highlights are some surprising nominations for Django Unchained (oh gawd, when will it come to India), not-so-surprising nominations for Silver Linings Playbook and Benedict Cumberbatch grabbing a nomination for Sherlock. A detailed commentary on all this for later

Crazy times

Work has been very hectic off late and when I am not putting in a shift to earn my dough, I spend hours (and sometimes even days) obsessing with the latest love of my life, the iPad3. Of course, other geeks have already traded this old version for the mini or the 4 but for me, I've just found myself a soulmate for life... or atleast till Apple supports it or I get lucky with a lottery to afford the next one.

Despite owning (ok, its not exactly mine but I gifted it to the OH so in a way its mine) an Ipod for 6 yrs, i still can't figure out how to automatically sync stuff from PC to the device and nothing's changed with the iPad. I still don't get 90% of the iPad's functionality and Siri just can't get my bloody South Indian accent right. The games I've downloaded (obviously only the free ones) are boring and listening to podcasts was so much cooler with the iPod.

The Retina display has been awesome for only 1 thing - reading books - and that I've been doing a lot of. So who's in my e-library? Grisham, Edgar Alan Poe, Lee Child, Tom Clancy, Chuck Palhniuk, Sylvia Day (heck, not embarassed at all) and Mathew Quick. The last one is a gem and we'll talk about it in a separate post.

For now, I am off to watching the Manchester Derby. The perfect result for me would be a City win with Tevez scoring a hat-trick and Rafael scoring a consolation goal. Takes care of Fantasy Football.

Musically yours

Tomorrow is Elay Keechan day. I know i will drive the missus crazy but do I care? Deepavali and Pongal might be festivals throughout TN but for me the biggest festival is a Mani Ratnam movie release, the festivities for which start with the release of ARRs music album. If Nenjukulle is any indication, then this is the album that will set right the aberration called JTHJ. Fingers and toes crossed.

PS: Madhan Karky does seem like a smart guy. I might have to take back my earlier opinion of him.

The Duh Times - 1

Of all the times, I chose today to inaugurate my Dhoni-7 Chennai Super Kings T-shirt. How much more duh can I get? I am lucky I didn't get stoned during the 15 mts I strayed outside the safety of my house. Phewww... close shave !!

World of Sports - The 2 months gone by

I wrote this post twice and lost both the files. Call it bad luck or fate but the whole world seems to conspire every time I am in gyaan baatofying mood.

Anyhooo,

Wimbledon 2012 came and went and is already forgotten in my memory. No one can fault me as the winners were Roger “Yawwwn” Federer and Serena “Ufff” Williams.

This was followed by a memorable London Olympics 2012 where the greatest disappointment was the record tally of medals that Team GB amassed.  Some random observations:

·         Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony sucked. BIG TIME.  There, I said it.

·         Surely cycling has to be the most boring sport in the current roster of Olympic events. Makes Indy car racing (without the mass pile up of cars) look exciting.

·         We will never see Micheal Phelps again :-( A phenomenon and easily the GOOAT for me (for the uninitiated, that’s Greatest Olympian Of All Time)

·         I am very proud of Mary Kom and her achievements and wish her well in life but seriously, women's boxing is a pathetic event. At one point, I even thought it was a non-contact sport.

·         Surprisingly, Brazil chose to send actual sportspeople instead of sexy women for their beach volleyball team. BORINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.

·         Usain Bolt is Salman Khan in a track field. S-U-P-E-R-S-T-A-R.

US Open – so finally whiny Andy and that idiot Lendl win. Who cares? I’d personally liked Berdych to win but after 4 hrs and 58 mts on a Monday, it didn't feel bad to see Andy Murray winning the final considering the alternate ending would have seen the Other Half go bonkers for a week J

Cricket – I couldn’t be bothered to type anything worthy here but I just don’t understand the massive hype around Yuvraj Singh returning back to the Indian team. Yes, he fought a courageous battle and won it but so do millions of other cancer survivors everyday and very few get as many column inches as the southpaw. I’d much rather his cricketing skills did all the talking, starting from Sri Lanka and T20 WC.

I tip the Gayle storm to win it for the Islanders.

Pssst...Scoop corner

1.       The mystery over when Sachin Tendulkar will finally retire has been put to rest at last.  According to my sources within the Tendulkar camp, I’m hearing that there is 1 record that Sachin is hell-bent on breaking before he fades away into the sunset. The Tendulkars (Sachin and son Arjun) want to be the first and only ever father-son duo to represent the country in the same Test/ODI/T20. This blog wishes all the best to the Little Master – after all, if Rohan Gavaskar can get into the Indian side, any kid with a decent surname can.

2.       With Yash Chopra finally deciding on Jab Tak Hai Jaan as the title for his next epic love story featuring a 15, nay 50, yr old wannabe, rumours are abuzz that Madhur Bhandarkar is also on the lookout for the title of his next film.  Indian Industry is at a stand-still waiting with bated breath for the next expose by this talented film-maker as everyone knows that the title itself speaks volumes for the entire film as Satta, Fashion and Corporate can vouch for.

Early rumours that the movie will be based on the scams surrounding India’s land acquisition problem, infrastructure related corruption and scandals in Indian sports are way off the mark simply coz Zameen, Road and Khel are titles of movies that have already been made in Bollywood. 

This website is proud to break the news that the movie is mostly likely to be called MAJAHAB based on the lives of fake sanyasis.

Remember, you heard it here first.

EPL round-up

I do know that 4 games is too early to pass judgment on how the season will play out but here are my first thoughts.

Arsenal – lacked creativity in the first 2 games and look bereft of ideas but the performances against Liverpool and Southampton were heartening.  Santi is a real gem, Podolski looks like he has settled well and if we can keep Diaby fit for 40 games, we should be good to be in the top 4 and probably have a good Carling cup run. Not too convinced about the Bould revolution and everytime Per is on the ball, I start praying to the gods. Also need to give Arshavin a run-in during the CL and CARLING cU

Man Utd – have definitely strengthened over the summer and Kagawa looks good L Still waiting for RvP to get injured – maybe it will happen during the next International break. Defensively they look suspect but they  should have enough to score 1 more than the opposition. Definitely top 2 and will surely win a trophy.

Man City – not sure why they sold De Jong but then Javi Garcia is an able replacement.  Yaya Toure will be off to AfCON in January and they will suffer. Also not convinced about the central defence is Kompany gets injured.  Group of Death in Europe will take its toll.

Chelsea – have finally got some fresh legs and youth in the squad. Surprised to see Bertrand starting so often and again puzzled by Sturridge’s lack of playing time. Hazard seems to have fitted in well in Chelsea and if Torres starts firing, Chelsea could even win the league. Wait. I forget their defence. Worse than even Arsenal’s, I’m afraid.

Spuds – AVB is a good coach but he doesn’t seem to have learnt the lessons from his Chelsea stint. Too many changes, striking options up-front seems very bare. Adebayor isn’t gonna set the world alight and Defoe needs a lot of chances to find the back of the net. Won’t finish in top 4.

Surprise package: Everton for their wonderful start. Selling Cahill was a big shock but big Jelavic and Mirallas seem more than competent. With Fellaini and Pienaar, they could actually finish 5^th which would be creditable.

Life's like that

Early dinner - check
Hitting the bed at 10 pm - check
Alarm rings at 1 am - check
Hit snooze - check
Alarm rings again at 115 am - check
Swears at the world and wakes up to switch on ESPN - check
130 am:  Opening ceremony starts - check
2 am: This issssssssssssss sooooooooooo boring. Danny Boyle is an idiot - check
The Queen and James Bond, Rowan Atkinson...WTF - check
230 am: Industrial revolution, Music through the decades, uffffffff - check
245 am: Can't take this anymore - slightly ahead of schedule but...  - check
3am: This blows man !!!!!!!!!!!!! Switch off TV and get back to bed - check

It was EXACTLY what I thought it would be - boring, BORING, BORING :-(

So who lit the flame - Sir Roger Bannister?
So how was AR Rahman's jingle?

Yet another boring Madhur Bhandarkar movie

Knowing the director's past track record, this is what I expect from the story-line of HEROINE - full of cliches and boring to the hilt.

Small town girl - dreams big - comes to bad mean city - meets agents and random people in the hope of getting a break - struggles to make a mark - makes friends with other struggling actresses - catches the eye of an egoistic superstar - they use each other - girl makes it big - takes revenge on people who ignored her during her struggling days - takes a liking to an upcoming IPL cricketer - superstar gets insecure and jealous of her success - heroine's success gets to her head - hurts people who helped her succeed in life - cricketer starts focusing on career as he gets his big break to play for India - neglects the heroine - heroine starts hitting the bottle - goes back to aging superstar who uses her to make a comeback - heroine becomes druggie - makes one last super hit success and then commits suicide out of depression.

ROFL :)

Gangs - of - Wasseypur

What can I say about the film that hasn't already been covered in the various reviews done by mainstream critics? Nothing actually. However there are still thoughts that I need to spit out so here they are

• Took me 3 sittings to finish the movie.. and this is just Part 1. The movie is way too long.
• I absolutely loved the first 90 mts. The second part of 40 mts was relatively less engaging and the last 30 mts were a real drag. By then, I had taken more than a few snack & bio breaks only to return back & find not much has happened. Very frustrating. 
• Manoj Bajpayee is brilliant, almost as good as he was in Satya but he is overshadowed by each and every one of the side characters. Tigmanshu Dhulia is a revelation, Jaideep Ahlawat has scorching screen presence (reminded me of Hritik in Jodha Akbar though the comparison might make no sense to a lot of people),  Piyush Mishra (remember him from Maqbool) is a scene stealer and Richa Chadda, if this were Hollywood, would have been a shoo-in for a Best Supporting actress Oscar.
•  While AK has to be lauded for trying to create an epic spanning 5 decades, what must have seemed a very grand idea on paper has not been translated into reel. The movie, while still a cut above the rest of the routine fare that Bollywood churns out, is not an epic.
• The loudest taalis have to go to the sound track / background music and the dialogues.
• Sneha Khanwalkar's too-good-to-be-true sound track is probably Bollywood's finest OST - used just as it should have been. Kehke Loonga and O Womaniya are just toooooooooooooooooo good. BGM by GV Prakash is note perfect. 
• Considering the milleu & the characters that AK has etched out, it is difficult to imagine these people talking in any other language than the coarse, crude way they do in the movie. Also refreshing to not be beeped out of this colorful, expletive-laden lingo.  This is one movie I'd loved to watch 10 yrs back at RECT with my Bihari buddies. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHSUM !!!

 In summary, 3.5 stars out of 5. Bring on Part 2 !!!!!!!!!

Note to Anurag Kashyap - coming out with individual DVDs for both parts is plain stupidity and reeks of desperation to milk the few fans who'd be willing to invest hard earned money on the DVD.

Random ramblings on sequels...and TDKR

You know what they say about never stretching a good thing... that's my exact take on sequels. You can almost always never win when you do a sequel of a successful movie. The reasons are aplenty: often the initial hit was mostly by fluke...Many a times the follow-up is so hyped up that its almost impossible to live up to the sky-high expectations. Even if its otherwise, why spoil a good thing, why not go out on a high?
I can list out so many films I liked that went steadily downhill - Pirates, Shrek, Spider-man, Speed, Fast and the Furious, Mission Impossible (before Part 4)  - that I still can't comprehend how the studios commissioned the mind numbing/manipulative sequels that followed and how the gullible public continued to set the cash registers tinkling for these tired franchises.

In the midst of this mayhem, it's such a relief to see the odd Part 2/3 movie which is an improvement on the original...Like The Bourne flicks, Toy Story and now Nolan's Batman series. Batman Begins was brilliant but The Dark Knight raised the bar way beyond anyone's wildest achievements. My first reaction when I heard about a Part 3 was ARE THEY FREAKIN' MAD? There was no way TDKR could hope to top TDK but if early reviews are any indication, looks like Part 3 isn't the disaster I feared it would become, as James here indicates.

The only catch: the 165 mts running time (with no songs too)

Down nostalgia lane: The Dark Knight was my 1st movie in IMAX (London...sigh...) and the 1st movie both me and the OH gave a 5/5 rating.