Monday, October 21, 2013

What will you do when there is no internet / TV


Whenever I move home, getting a net connection is usually a nightmare for me.
Some 15 days before we moved home, spoke to ISP called Sky for broadband and telephone connection so that we can get the connection by the time we go to our new home. Only on the day of the appointment when no one turned up for installation we came to know the jokers somehow screwed up by entering some address in Manchester wrongly. How could they possibly enter Manchester address instead of Farnborough address which are hundreds of miles apart.
                                                                                                                                
Spent ages on telephone speaking to their customer care/being put on hold to hear music/being transferred to different departments/yelling at them on their incompetence…
At one point, I actually started acquiring zen like calmness and inner peace when I know I can’t do much except to wait. Actually these things mellow you a lot.Remember Sheldon in Big Bang Theory telling that he waited for 2 hours over phone in AT&T customer service queue just to complain about their customer service waiting times.

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It is one of the rarest moments when you have no internet/telephone and TV, you are left with so much of time that you can sit back and ponder about life,spend time with your wife/loved ones or watch the pending list of movies in the hard disk. I did the last two. Watched Denzel Washington’s “The Great Debaters”. Tells about the difficulty and tribulations of being afro-americans in 1930’s America. When the system(or you can call it government) that is supposed to take care of people fails Or when the law is unjust. People resist( by civil disobedience.) or rebel(violence). I remember the last dialogue in that movie.

"An unjust law is no law at all”, Which means I have a right, even a duty to resist. With violence or civil disobedience. You should pray I choose the latter.

We got used to no internet/ no tv days. Actually we got more time to talk and went for long walks. You should try this no internet/ no tv for a week and see the difference it makes to your daily routine. The only regret being..couldn't watch Beyonce  in "All the Single ladies", the nerdy bunch in The big bang theory and Vijay TV Super singer.


Some 3 weeks later on the new appointment date, an engineer came and installed Sky TV which came free, a service which we didn’t ask.Then he tested something on the telephone socket in the wall, looked at us. My wife and I eagerly looked at him. He turned his eyes back to the telephone socket and told that it is connected at this end and Sky needs to find the exchange to plug in the other end. By the time we realized the potential impact of those lines he is gone. Please read the first sentence of the second paragraph again

Never thought I would stop by to watch Sky arts1 channel when changing channels.It was a program on John Lennon composing in Ascot,near London in 1971 with Yuko Ono. Watched with astonishment, the Beatle who gave “Give peace a chance” and “Imagine” strolling in the nearby fields smoking/drinking with Yuko.On the other side, thought about the musical geniuses like Ilayaraja and Rahman who are deeply religious.

Couldn’t understand where music comes from. Remembered Vadivelu’s comedy “Isai engirunthu varukirathu”..

Between, the next appointment for Sky folks to install BB and Tel is 3 weeks from today.
The wait continues..


 

Sunday, September 01, 2013

ராஜா தி ராஜா - இலண்டன் O2 இளையராஜா இசை நிகழ்ச்சி

இலண்டன் மாநகரில் மழை பெய்து ஓய்ந்த ஒரு பொன்மாலைபொழுது.
மேற்கத்திய பாப், ஹிப் ஹாப் இசையும், வருடாந்திர  ஏடிபி டென்னிஸ்சையும்
கண்ட பிரும்மாண்ட O2 அரங்கில் இன்று இளையராஜாவின் ராஜா தி ராஜா (Raja The Raja).இளையராஜாவே வழங்கும் இசை நிகழ்ச்சி என்பதால் எதிர்பார்ப்பும் ஆர்வமும் சற்று அதிகமாகவே இருந்தது.கமல் ஹாசனும் வர இருப்பதால் சொல்லவா வேண்டும்..?


பட்டு சேலை அணிந்த மங்கைகளையும்,ஜொலிக்கும் தேவதைகளையும்,  மழலை ஆங்கிலம்  பேசும் (இல்லைங்க அது தமிழ் தான் !!) குழந்தைகளையும் ஒருசேர பார்த்த, டிக்கெட் சரிபார்க்கும்  வெள்ளைக்காரர் சற்றே  அசந்து தான் போனார்.

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தன் ராஜாங்கத்தை ஜனனி ஜனனி-யில் தான் ஆரம்பித்தார்.சின்மயீ "அன்னக்கிளி உன்னத்தேடுது " இரண்டாவது சரணத்தை தவற விட, சரி செய்து பாட சொல்லி மேடையில் பாடுவதின் சிரமத்தை சொன்னார். ."கொடியிலே மல்லிகைபூ"  சின்மயீயும் ,ஜெயச்சந்திரனும் பாடினார்.
ஷைலஜாவின் "ஒரு கிளி உருகுது உரிமையில் பழகுது" கேட்கும் பொழுது  சிறுவயதில் ஆல் இந்திய ரேடியோவில் கேட்ட அதே இனிமை.

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கார்த்திக் இரண்டு மூன்று  பாடல்கள் தான் பாடினார்."என் இனிய பொன் நில்லாவே " அந்த மாலையின் இசை மயக்கம்.ஸ்வேதா மோகன் (சுஜாதாவின் புதல்வி)பாடிய  "அடி ஆத்தாடி","மாங்குயிலே பூங்குயிலே" லயிக்க  வைத்தன.

வசந்தா ராகத்தில் படைக்கப்பட்ட "அந்திமழை பொழிகிறது"  ராஜாவுக்கும் பாடிய எஸ்.பி.பி-கும் அவர்களின்   மேக்னம்ஓபஸ்களுள்  ஒன்று.ராஜா, தான் அதில் தன் குருநாதர் டி.வி.கோபாலக்ரிஷ்ணனை ஹம்மிங் பாடவைத்தது பற்றி சொன்னார்.



அழும் குழந்தை போலத்தான் பாடல் கேட்டு செல்லும் நாங்களும், ராஜாதான் ஏன் குழந்தை அழுகிறது,அதற்கு என்ன வேண்டும் என்று பீடியாற்றிசியன்  போல அறிந்து எங்களுக்கு என்ன மாதிரி பாடல் வேண்டுமோ அதை கொடுக்க வேண்டும்  என்று சொன்ன கமல் அதற்கு உதாரணமாக "இஞ்சி இடுப்பழகா"
பிறந்த கதையை சொன்னார்.





"நான் தேடும் செவ்வந்தி பூவிது" ,"ராஜா ராஜாதி ராஜன் இந்த ராஜா" ராஜா
பாடும் போது சொக்கித்தான் போனோம்.கிடத்தட்ட நான்கரை மணி நேரம்  நடந்த நிகழ்ச்சியில் எஸ்.பி.பி இசை ஆளுமையில் ராஜா ஒரு ராட்சஸன்  என்றார்.இல்லை தான் சரஸ்வதியின் பிள்ளை என்றார் ராஜா.
சரஸ்வதியின் பிள்ளை கடைசி பாடலாய் "தென்பாண்டி சீமையிலே" பாட்டின் மெட்டில் பாடியது.




"எங்கோர் மண்ணில் பிறந்தாலும் ,எங்கோர் மண்ணில் வாழ்ந்தாலும்,
உனையும் எனையும் இணைப்பதெல்லாம்,
உயிரின் மேலாய் இசை தானே.

உன்வாழ்வின் சிலநொடிகள்
என் வாழ்வின் சிலநொடிகள்
என்றென்றும் நினைவில் நிற்கும்
இன்நொடி தானே இன்நொடி தானே

மீளாத சோகம் என்ன
தாளாத துயரம் என்ன
சொல்லாமல் துடைப்பது என் இசை தானே
என் இசை தானே
ஏழேலு கடல் கடந்து,
இங்கு வந்து வாழ்பவனே
என்றென்றும் உமக்கெனவே
இசை கொடுப்பேனே
இசை கொடுப்பேனே "
ராஜா-மேனியா  O2 அரங்கில்!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Vishwaroopam - Movie Review

As Kamal mentioned in an interview looks like the idea of  Vishwaroopam had its roots from  Viraata parvam of Mahabahratham where the Pandavas spend their time incognito in Viraata Kingdom.Here is the story(Spoiler alert)… Kamal(Vishwanath) is a RAW agent who spends his time in  Afghanistan
as a Jihadi warrior and penetrates  the inner echelons of Al Qaeda by being in the good books of Afghani Jihadis Omar(Played by Rahul Bose) and his accomplice Salim (Jaideep Ahlawat)
The plan by Al Qaeda Jihadis to create havoc in New York city by detonating dirty bombs was neutralized by Kamal with the help of FBI in US. Truly international subject to capture everyone’s imagination. Well, the way the story was told and the technical brilliance employed in different aspects of film-making leaves us dazzled.


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It starts with a Kathak dance tutor teaching his students in a New York apartment. The graceful kathak steps combined with elegant and artistically combined dance movements portrays the feminine nature of dance teacher-Kamal Hassan. This is a clever screenplay ploy to hide his previous Afghan Jihadi warrior past and to make the screenplay go in jet-speed just after this revelation. Initially the story is told from disgruntled Kamal’s wife Dr.Nirupama’s(Pooja Kumar) perspective, a nuclear oncologist,
whose company is used as front for terrorist activity by her boss which she is unaware of.





Camera showing the drops of water that falls from the ceiling in the warehouse when Kamal and his wife were interrogated by terrorists creates an ambience in the screen play to
tell something is brimming in the background and to show the suspense involved in the scene.Then suddenly the prayer reciting Kamal transforms himself to an aggressive combatant
which creates ripples in the mind of viewers and clearly makes us dumbstruck. From now on the story takes its own course. Tells us how Kamal ends up in the company of Jihadi’s Omar and Salim
and the every day life in Afghanistan. It makes us to think when an Afghan women who sees people getting killed every day by American/NATO bombing laments..
”First the Britishers came, then the Russians,Talibans and now American’s”

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The cinematography is at its best when an Afghan teen-ager who was assigned the task by Omar to become a suicide bomber requests Kamal to push him in the swing.
The lighting in the scene, the expression on both of their faces (one enjoying his last moment of happiness, and the other perplexed) coveys what words could not.
The story switches between rugged Afghan landscape and New York. Editor Mahesh Narayanan has handled this location shifts gracefully and has done a good job
to maintain the pace of the movie

In such a heavy thriller movie, the screen play is strewn with humour.
Watch-out for the dialogues when the terrorist gang comes to Kamal’s house to grab them and the subsequent dialogues when they were interrogated. Hilarious.


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Shekar Kapur,Andrea Jeremiah and Pooja Kumar  have played their roles well.. People will be disappointed if they come expecting something from Andrea!
Omar and Salim’s acting is  awesome.They fit the bill.
Not sure if the “still picture technique”(freezing the picture) employed to tell a flash-back/give background information is used in  any other movie. Slick and cool.
The first song in the movie “Unnai Kaanadha Naan” is sweet. Other one comes as background music which keeps us humming even after coming out of the theatre.
Music was composed by trio  Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. The aesthetic Kathak dance was choreographed with the help of Birju Maharaj. Stunts scenes were choreographed by Lee Whittaker
and a stunt team called Jaiko.

The general opinion is that the climax could have been more action oriented rather than just diffusing the bomb.But who cares..the movie itself is full of action.

You need to be a  master in many disciplines in movie making to direct such a nice movie..
Kamal sir, it is a treat to watch Vishwaroopam.
               
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