180 Review

The Buzz:

• Siddharth returns to Tamil cinema after a longish break
• Ad-film maker and film tech wiz Jayendra's directorial debut
• Two relatively new heroines, an impressive technical crew

The good: Visuals, Songs, Siddharth .. that's about it!
The bad: Quite a bit!

Look out for: Mouli who makes an impression in a brief yet sparkling role

Bottomline: Dashing hero + two heroines + nice soundtrack + picture postcard visuals (including overseas locations) = Good romantic film and hit... right? Wrong! Well you still need the plot and that's the biggest hole in 180. It starts on a good note - Mano (Siddharth) arrives in Chennai after a stopover in Benares, checks into PG style accommodation owned by Geetha and Mouli and spreads happiness around him. You are lead to believe he is on a sabbatical of sorts and wants to make most of this six month break. He runs into a photojournalist Viday (Nitya Menen) and sparks inevitably fly. Just when you begin to wonder what next, vignettes from Mano's life before Chennai start appearing and the film flits from the US where Siddharth is actually Dr Ajay to his present in Chennai. Priya Anand is Renu, the woman from his not so distant past and a sudden turn of events lead to his departure from the US. Eventually the past and present collide and so do Siddharth's emotions. To put it mildly this is a disappointing film. It loses steam within minutes and even the brilliant visuals and music can't keep you engaged. It gets more tiresome in the second half. Make sure you are stocked up with heaps of pop corn and munchies to keep you entertained because this film can't.

Running time: 140 minutes (Approx) - Feels much longer than that :(

Ar Rahman the Geniuzz...my fav songs !

 

Well, can you squeeze in a whole jukebox to a single CD? Forget compression technologies. I am talking about A.R.Rahman, arguably one of India’s greatest music composers. From Carnatic to Qawwali, Blues to Bhangra and from Bollywood to Broadway, Rahman has conquered all. From his first album Roja, which was released in the year 1992, to the latest Hindi Album released:- Ada, Mr.Rahman has indeed scaled new heights, invented and reinvented new sounds, broken borders of genres, and made a brand for himself.

 

Rahman deservingly stands at a position where many musical stalwarths envy to reach. And with every new composition, every new note, we get to experience a nano-portion of the musical genius, Rahman .And it has indeed taken me sleepless nights and intense brainstorming and repeated playing on my Winamp to compile this list of the Top 10 songs from A.R.Rahman’s ever expanding, self-challenging discography. It has been a strenuous and mind-numbing process and I know at the end of it, I have succeeded to narrow down to the Top 10. In many ways, some will totally agree with me on these 10. And some will totally disagree.

 Top 10 Hindi

10. Saathiya -Saathiya

real magic with this song is when you close your eyes, and in the ethereal sound of Sonu Nigam and lively lyrics of Gulzar, the words roll out-
Hastee Rahe Tu Hastee Rahe, Hayya Ki Laali Khilti Rahe
Zulf Ke Neeche Gardan Pe, Subah Shaam Khilti Rahe

9.Mukkala Muqabla-Humse Hai Muqabla (Kadalan)
I remember the playback singers of this one-Mano and Swarnalatha. This was on the charts for the whole year.

8.Dil Se -Dil Se
I call this Rahman’s Rock. No compromises, no adulteration. After the initial bass lines..the low scaled intro swoops in, and for the chorus lines of Dil Se Re at the sky-piercing high pitch, Rahman does what he does best. And then we have the infectious sargam of Sa Sa Nee Nee . The verse lines hit you like an arrow.

7. Kismat Se Tum-Pukaar
I make it a point to listen to this track every 15 days.Another great thing that this track screams out is that Mr.Rahman knows which track is perfect for which singer. In a way, he acts as he is the casting director for his scores. And this track does wonders for both the singers.

6.Ye Haseen Vadiya – Roja
S.P.Balasubramaniam and Chitra; A.R.Rahman’s ambient arrangement creates Kashmir in your ears. This is nothing less than the Phantom of the Opera or any Mozart or Bach. Fin.

5.Kya Kare – Rangeela
Rangeela is my all time favorite Rahman soundtrack, not only for the tracks, but also for the background score. The musical piece where Urmila’s character Mili dances in front of Jackie Shroff.Kya Kare stands out as a dark horse in the entire soundtrack.

4.O Re Chhori -Lagaan
Okay, this movie had some spell binding songs and some absolutely praise-worthy lyrics from Javed Akhtar.


3. Roja -Roja
This is S.P.Balasubramaniam’s best. Chitra gives a haunting intro and the flute track can be best described as ethereal. Because it’s not Dil Hai Chhota Sa, but Roja (the song) which announced that Rahman had arrived.


2.Tu Hi Re – Bombay

Rahman shows how minimal (or perhaps accurate) sound arrangement can do wonders. Hariharan gives his career’s best vocal performance, and so does Kavita Krishnamurthy. What more do I say about this song? It is just pure in every way possible.
1. Maa Tujhe Salaam – Vande Mataram
No, it is not the cliche’ of the patriotic element associated with this track that makes it the numero Uno on this list. It is my inclination to Rock that makes this my Numero Uno. It is Rock and easily blended with Carnatic music elements like Mridangams and Veenas. Not to forget, there is only one singer who can sing this like the way it is. A.R.Rahman it is. It is a multi layered composition that keeps building on like a crescendo and it reaches zenith as it approaches its climax. And when the song switches to the higher scale, you feel the chill run down your spine, an instant goosebump and you cannot help but stand up in attention and scream out-Maa Tujhe Salaam. That is what the power of Music is. 


   

Ilayaraja - A Droplet from the ocean !!

To Choose 10 songs from thousands of songs is a way to difficult. Again everyone has got their opinion to choose their favorites, and it could be a good oppertunity for the others to build up their list.
  
Started collecting IR songs back in 2000, I used to ask my friends for the songs, every body contributed a lot, but most of the collections were very similar like Kaadlora Kavithaigal, Vaithegi Kathirunthal and repeatative sets of movies.

I collected close to 15 GB of songs from various sources and set into the task of classifying them and arranging them to the movies and discarding the repeating once's. At the end of the exercise I was left with around 1000 songs which I consider good. Out of which I had hand picked 185 songs that I usually play in my car.


10) Pani vizhum malarvanam from NInaivellam nithya - great use of "chala naattai" raga in this song

9) Naanaga Naanillai thaye from Thoongathe Thambi Thoongathe - Great tune and nicely sung by the 
     great SPB

8) Kanne Kalaimane from Moondram Pirai - purely because of the ’THALATTU TUNE’ - The song puts 
    my mind to rest - Listening to this song at night is a pleasure.

7) Sangeetha Megam from udaya geetham - whenever i listen to this song, it freshens my mind.

6) Nilavu thoongum neram from Kunguma chimizh - A melodious song with great use of Mouth Organ.

5) Poove sempoove from Solla Thudikkuthu manasu -  An enchanting melody from the master with the
    great yesudoss. Also the interludes are really fantastic.

4) Then Madurai from Dharmathin Thalaivan - great use of violin in the interludes and grand voice of   
    SPB

3) Kalyana Malai from Puthu Puthu arthangal - a mesmerising song with great lyrics.

2) Geetham sangeetham from Kokkarako - beautiful song with SPB at his best.

and at Number 1 it is

1) Ilayanila from Payanangal Mudivathillai - primarily because of the guitar pieces (interludes). What a master piece!!!

100% Love Review

Throughout the years, whether you're a girl or a boy, there are certain phrases that you are bound to here. "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus", "Its easy to go the moon than to figure out a girl's heart" and "Boys are the most confused creatures" in the world to name just a few. Now these are said with good humour and are clearly not the norm but when it comes to love, everybody has an opinion about it. Sukumar is the kind of director that likes to take a different angle on everything and has done the same with his latest 100% Love. With Devi Sri Prasad on music, Naga Chaitanya and Tamannaah play the lead in this Geetha Arts production. So let's jump and check it out.

Meet Balu Mahendra [Naga Chaitanya]. State level tenth standard first rank holder, state level Intern first rank holder, MCET first rank holder and according to him, he is a genius and a brand name. The only thing bigger than his record is his ego. Enter Mahalakshmi [Tamannaah], his maradalu [marriagable cousin] from his home town in the village. A country belle smitten about her Balu Bava, she comes to the city to complete her higher education and stays with Balu and his family. While the family already adores Mahalakshmi, its going to take more than looking cute for her to get on her Balu Bava's good side. For his part, Balu with his head is firmly in the sky, doesn't look at anything beyond her second class ranking and dismisses her promptly. She decides to stick to her studying but becomes frantic in her exam and breaks down crying. Mahalakshmi runs out of the exam and says to her Balu's father, her uncle[Naresh] that she is going to fail and she wants to just go back to her hometown when surprisingly, Balu steps in. Ignorant to her and her emotions as Balu may have been, he decides to help her out of pity. And so with his guidance, her own effort and a bit praying by the whole family to Ganesha, Mahalakshmi sits for the exams. But much to Balu's absolute disbelief, she doesn't just pass. She takes over his coveted first rank. Balu becomes furious at the humiliation while everyone else is applauding her. But he isn't one to let the humiliation last long so he puts in the extra hours to study and in the process, purposefully distracts Mahalakshmi from her own without her realising. Yet just before he can bask in his glory, Mahalakshmi realises his plan and starts her own cat and mouse game to even the grounds. D-day arrives after the exams and both get the shock of their life as their class mate Ajith[Anand] came first. For Balu, his ego maybe hurt with Mahalakshmi getting the first rank the last time but there is no way another student can take it. So the both of them set their rivalry aside and work up a plan to distract Ajith. But he's not the only one that gets distracted as the two spend more and more time together studying albeit with a few encounters on the personal side. Everything seems to go smoothly and as according to plan, Balu gets first rank. Celebrations are in order and the family members, who are by now aware of the private canoodling, plan for an engagement announcement on the day of the party when Balu gets a bout of jealousy as Mahalakshmi casually praises Ajith who missed out only by a few marks. Words become insults and with their guests and parents as witness, Balu and Mahalakshmi have a massive fight and the pair part ways. Yet only 3 years on, circumstances bring them back together. Has time healed all wounds? Have Balu and Maahalakshmi changed themselves? To find out, you will have to watch the moview.

First thing's first. Naga Chaitanya, who is only three films old and has thus far made some interesting choices with his films, is absolutely adorable as Balu. Personally, I could even say this is by far the most perfectly suited rôle for him. The arrogance, the dismissal, the attitude, the frustration. At every point, Balu has the face of Naga Chaitanya and that is all you see. Some may feel he is a little stiff at certain points but given that everyone has quirks and habits, this only adds to his appeal and I myself have come across real people that have rarely faced failure and get a big head over it. Tamannaah plays the bubbly Mahalakshmi with ease but tends to go OTT with more emotive scenes. She also has tendency of reminding you of an early career stage Kareena Kapoor. However, she looks amazing and has great chemistry with all on screen, including and most importantly, Naga Chaitanya. Anand as Ajith has very little to do even though he is quite important to the story. K.R.Vijaya is elegance on screen and delivers whats needed for her Mahalakshmi Bhama rôle. Naresh has very few scenes in the film but plays it with heart. Vijayakumar is apt in his special appearance. Big special mention to the kiddies in the crew. Each one adorable as hell but unfortunately names aren't available of these little champions. Dharmavarapu Subramaniam, 'Thagubothu' Ramesh, 'Chitram' Sreenu and M S Narayana add to the comedy cocktailfun while the rest are passable.

That leads us to the scene stealer. Sukumar is at it again with his "different" angle on love. Personally, I felt that life has become one big competition to see who's better and with the alarming rate divorces get sanctioned, there is more truth to Sukumar little message than most would believe. But leaving the realistic things aside, his trademark storytelling is evident. Keeping the fun in check and building the drama in proportion, he showcases his talent in abundance. Adding to his awesome screenplay is the superb dialogue. Yes there are some commercialised moments but in all, there were very few in the cinema hall that didn't enjoy such great lines. Music by Devi Sri Prasad almost always has automatic feet-on-the-dancefloor effect and he is back to his old tricks with 100% Love. A Squared. That Is Mahalakshmi and Kallu Kallu Plusu bring out the fun, crazy and melodious side where Diyalo Diyala is a classic item number that is always present on a DSP soundtrack. But the album entirely leaves a major impact. Cinematography by Venkat Prasad is top notch as is editing by Srinivasa Karthik. Both are a huge asset to the film. Leaving us with the negatives of the film remaining.

So what can be wrong with one the most enjoyable flicks in recent times? Not much. Depth in characters could have been extended to avoid a two-character-driven-story feel yet at the same time, the situations become as they are because of the lead characters. The disappearance of Swapna at the climax wedding was overseen but came to the fore when Ajith was shown leaving. A few snips here and there could have done some good but barring that, you will be hard fetched to find anything majorly wrong as the film does entertain and leave you with a satisfied feeling about the money you spent on the tickets. Even if you go looking, it is you that needs to judge if the film reminds you of them or not. 

To me, 100% Love is 50% Fun, 50% Masti. A total time pass film that will have you singing the words and tapping your toes as you get the giggles from the story

The evergreen SPB - my fav songs

The GRAND voice of the man himself  SPB has made millions of tamil film music listeners, his fans or rather fanatics. I am one of the fanatics of the evergreen play back singer just because of ONE reason, that is, he brings life into the songs he sings. I love the way in which he sings the songs His improvisation (for example laughing in the middle of the song at the appropriate time) is great! 

Whatever he sings, peppy or pathos, he brings the particular mood of the song through his magical voice. That is why he is still the ICON for many of the play back singers in tamil film music industry. I think he has sung around 39000 to 40000 songs in various languages. It is rather very difficult to list out the top 10 songs, so here some of my most favorite songs of him :-




1.Madai Thiranthu from Nizhalgal - This song is my all time favourite because of the fact that whenever i feel dull, lilstening to this song recharges my mind. His voice modulation in this song is absolutely breathtaking.

2.Mandram vantha from Mouna ragam - One of the most difficult songs to sing just because of the pitch level esp. in the charanam. SPB delivers it with ease and perfection.

3.Ilamai idho idho song from Sakalakalavallavan -  What a grand song man! The energy with which it is sung is just marvelous. 

4.Minnale nee from May matham - The music in this song by ARR along with the MAGIC voice of SPB are wonderful. SPB brings the pathos mood to this song with his brilliant variations.

5.Oru Kadhal enbathu from Chinna Thambi Periya thambi -  Though i think it is a song which many would not have heard, i like this song becuase of SPB’s romantic voice. This song is a duet, but the way in which it was delivered by SPB is fabulous. 

6.Poovil vandu koodum from Kadhal oviyum - Defying his critics that he cannot sing a pure classical or carnatic song, all the songs SPB sung in the movie were purely classical, esp. this song which i love the most. 

7.Kadhal rojave from Roja - One of my all time classics - the music in the song and the voice of the evergreen master blends really well, the net result being a GRAND treat to our ears. I prefer to hear this song late night because of its melody. Just experience it! 

8.Ilayanila from Payanangal Mudivathillai - One of the finest pieces of music by the great mastero ILAYARAJA. The way in which it was sung by SPB, i really doubt if any one could replace the finest singer of all time, SPB 

9.Sundari kannal oru sethi from Thalapathy - its a milestone movie for Ilayaraja, Rajini kanth and manirathnam.. Infact, a wonderful combination in tamil musical arena is Ilayraja - SPB. one of the fabulous and my favorite is this song. he has sung it along with S. Janaki.

10.Enna Satham Indha Neram from Punnagai Mannan - Again, the meeting of two great talents - Ilayaraja and SPB - creates magic. Really, the experience of listening to both of them at their finest is heavenly. Raja’s incredibly tender handling of the guitar and flute is brilliantly complemented by SPB’s superlative rendition.

11.Nalam Vaazha  from Marupadiyum - This is the Tamil equivalent of Tum Itna Kyon Muskura Rahi Ho from Arth. By equivalent, I mean the movie situation is the same. But the song is entirely different and the pain more intense. With due respect to Jagjit Singh, his charming interludes cannot match Ilayaraja ’s genius, and personally, I find SPB’s performance more touching.

12.En Kadhaale from Duet - Now for some A R Rahman. SPB opens his heart in this song, tearing you apart in the passionate highs. Not to mention Kadari Gopalnath’s superb saxophone solos in the interludes.

13.Thodha Thodha Malarndhadhenna from Indira - Well, SPB has to share credit with Chitra here. Difficult to say who’s better in this song, but one thing’s for sure - they have both given what will rank among their best performances and that for such legendary singers is something. Even in his early movies, A R Rahman knew just how to extract the best out of all singers - the renowned and the unknown.

14.Nilave Vaa from Mouna Raagam - A lot of people would say this song ought to be ahead of Nilave Vaa, as SPB has arguably sung this one better than the other song in question. But when I rate a song, it’s not only on the basis of SPB’s performance. I take the overall musical experience into account and on that count this is just a shade below Unnai Nanachen in terms of intensity.

15.Malare from Karna - One of the last few songs in which one got to see such splendid competition between SPB and S Janaki. Again, the verdict:it’s too close to call. They both excel. Kudos to Vidyasagar for bringing the legendary pair together for this lovely melody.

16.Mannil Intha Kadhal from  Keladi Kanmani - Can any SPB list not have this song? The song where this untrained singer sang an entire stanza breathless and did it again in the next stanza too! But the point is not really that it’s a ’breathless’ song, it’s the elegance with which this astonishing feat is achieved that makes it one of SPB’s very best songs.  

17.Vannam konda vennilavae from Sigaram -This is a special song with music n sang by SPB.

18.Mun paniya from Nandha - After the arrival of so many new singers and their domination this song is come back for SPB and proved that he is the king ever. The voice and rendition in each and every line has something new to deliver and especially the ending ?Valkiraen naan un moochilae? is out of world.  

19.Kadhalin deepam from Thambikku endha ooru - Anyone who is a big fan of Rajini in his hey days (when he had lots of hair) and has watched DD in the 80s would have seen this song in an advert for Bush TV. With the luscious Madhavi as the inspiration being the song, this slow and contemplative romantic number is one of those early songs which helped in catapulting Rajini to super star status .

20.Taj mahal from Amaravathi - Not many would have heard of this composer but yes, besides Amaravathi this guy also gave the musical hit Thalaivasal. This particular choice of mine is a soft romantic number in which SPB and Janaki combine magnificently to create the perfect ambience of love. No loud instrumentation here - its a very pleasant hear. 
 
 

 

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata

Even if you don't like the piano or Richard Clayderman, do listen to this piece. Else, you can just look it up on google or youtube. Soul stirring composition. But don't listen to it if you are in the mood for 'Western pop/hip hop/heavy metal.
That would be an insult to this great composer. The best mood for it would be unhurried or with at leat a willingness to close your eyes for two minutes.

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=ChmPkwWMV0w&feature=related

Me, I can drop whatever I am doing to listen to this gorgeous piece

Be Intentional

Oh, great. Yet another introspective reflection on my past and future packed up by some basic common sense. Bear with me for just a moment.

It’s not easy to be intentional. Especially for a guy like me. I’m laidback and easy-going. This results in not having a plan, not having a defined goal, and a spine made of Playdoh.

It starts from thinking with the end in mind. I don’t quite know what that looks like. It’s a little fuzzy, but I know how I want to feel. I want to wake up and feel confident about the day ahead regardless of any distractions or interruptions. I want to feel confident by night’s end that I have been accomplished. I want to be up for any challenge and not have to psyche myself into them – I just want to be ready and love them.

Driving at dangerous speeds is one way to get a thrill. The high from going fast is short-lived. I want to gain satisfaction from all parts of my life. (Right now, I almost have it, but not quite.)

I’m establishing a variety of short-term and long-term personal and professional goals. It starts with being more intentional, more direct and more focused on execution. This is the first step among many to become great.

Osama Bin Laden DEAD

I must admit, I did like Bin Laden arrested or get killed.

Justice has been done to the thousands of innocent people he killed on September 11, 2001.

Credits to the soldiers who constantly risking their own lives and tirelessly tracked his footsteps.

While we are still in this fallen world, there will be another evil leader that would replace Bin Laden. But one’s things for sure, evil have momentary victory.

Evil is always a loser.

You Stole My Heart Away

 You Stole My Heart Away

Now, it’s time for me to emote. I just love this song. A friend originally posted this on her Facebook wall.

I dedicate this song to the women I’ve loved, but never loved me; to the women I’ve loved, but could only like me; to the one I’ve loved, then loved me back, but did not love me later; and to one I will love and will love me back forever.

The song is performed by Big Mountain.

Source Code Review

Source Code starts off on a very promising note. There is an explosion on a train. 100 people are killed. The army manages to get hold of some of the victims’ “brains” (literally) and harness whatever memory imprints are available in those brains before the persistent electrical activity in the neural networks die so that the imprints can be digitized in a reproducible form later.
I think I owe you all an explanation. This preposterous suggestion is not mine. Let me try to explain the “science” behind this.

Apparently, according to Hollywood Science – some parts of the brain do have some electrical activity in play for some time even after the brain is fried in a bomb blast – till the investigators get those brains to a high security army research lab – where brilliant scientists latch on to those electrical neural circuits and salvage the last eight minutes of the memories. They do this on a number of those brains and construct the world as seen by the travelers in the train in the last eight minutes of their life. This information is digitized and stored in what they call “The Source Code”

Enter the hero, a Captain in the US Army pulled out from an Afghanistan against his knowledge. He is strapped to a seat in a ramshackle enclosure with only a television screen in front of him – where an Army operative is impatiently waiting for him to come to senses so that she can put him “into” the source code – as one of the passengers – so that he can figure out who planted the bomb and hence help the Army stop a potential nuclear holocaust right in the middle of Chicago!

The Captain makes several excursions into those last eight minutes and tries to figure out the culprit.
If I go on any further, I will be spoiling your experience of this movie. The science is atrocious but the movie is not! It is quite good actually provided you leave your brains (pun intended) outside the movie hall – for good reason.

The end leaves you aghast though. There’s this lingering question at the back of your mind – perhaps more than one question – in all probability a million questions which the director conveniently chooses ignore – because he himself has no clue what the answers are. That’s pardonable because Hollywood Science is a branch of science that takes the explanation only so far as to make it a good screenplay. It does not even attempt to close the loose ends or the gaping holes. That is the very nature of Hollywood Science.
The movie is slickly made; has a great pace; a lovely premise and a politically correct end. In case you expect some character in the movie to tell you how the stuff really works; what the consequences are, please note that this is not a documentary on quantum physics which by the way gets more than a mention in the movie. For your own good, pay no attention to those dialogues.
Source Code is a good watch and Michelle Monaghan is HOT. Jake Gyllenhaal needs no introduction. He lives the character is immensely believable and likable.
My rating: Pretty Good.