Cinema, Karam, Kapi

This was one occasion that I have been eagerly looking forward for the past one year or so - To watch FDFS of Thalaivar movie. And it happened. Had the darshan of Thalaivar Superstar Rajnikanth in and as Kabali at 4.10am on Friday, 22 July 2016 at Kasi Theatre Chennai.  Watch my film review to The Hindu at 2.26 in this video  which was taken outside Kasi Theatre on Friday morning. I have seen the film thrice back to back on Fri/Sat/Sun and now content to my heart about the movie, fully satisfied as a fan that Thalaivar has not given us just a movie but something very special.  At 65, him acting and taking so many risks itself is a great deal. And he has given us such a splendid performance. Many fans cried along with him in the scene where he reunites with his wife. Fans celebrated fatherhood when Dhansika calls him "Appa" in a particular scene. You may note that Thalaivar has never had a son in any of his movies, just like his real life, in which he has

So, finally Kabali has released. It's been over 72 hours as I right this and the euphoria doesn't seem to have faded. And Rajnikanth himself has returned to Chennai on Sunday night (25 July 2016) after his supposed treatment in the US. The film has been much looked forward to by his ardent fans, the Indian Industry at large, the distributors, theatre owners, and even small time printers of flex banners who get a huge business during his movie release. The film released worldwide on Fri. 22 July 2016 with much fanfare. I was among those who had Thalaivar darshan at 4am at Kasi theatre at Chennai. Was super delighted to see him on screen after a gap of two years. People expected to see a different Rajni portrayed in the film, as emphasised by the director of the film, P Ranjith from time to time. And yes, we did see a very different Rajnikanth in the film, something that we haven't seen in over 25-30 years. No over the board antics, no parallel comedy line, no antics like t

It's by now a known fact to a large section of the world how much of a Rajni fan I am, thanks to an article that appeared in the front page of The Economic Times Newspaper on Saturday, 16 July 2016. Read the online link here . I knew one day my name will appear in The ET but to be featured along with a news about my two favourite passions Rajni and Retail (my startup Oyethere.com is a Hyperlocal Ecommerce Marketplace) was a double whammy. Here is the background - I tried procuring 4 tickets for myself for the opening weekend of Sivaji the movie in 2007 at Bangalore. However, I couldn't. That's when I felt how many people like me would be finding it difficult to watch a Rajnikanth magnum opus in the first week of its release. So, I reached out to INOX multiplex, one of India's largest Cinema Chains and asked them to give me a full Auditorium. Initially, they hesitated for want of any unwanted issues during the screening. I assured them that it would be a fully family s

Rajini fans worldwide have been looking forward to the release of the much awaited Kabali. After having worked with MS Viswanathan, Illayaraja, Deva and AR Rahman for the past 40 years, Superstar has chosen to work with a guy whose is as young as his own daughter. Rajinikanth's success is partially attributed to his Music Directors as most of his films have atleast 2-3 hit songs which remain etched in memory. After working for over 25 years with Illayaraja, Rajini gave an opportunity to a young lad in 1994 for his Muthu. The lad was just 5 films old then and was recommended to Rajini by one of his favourite directors Mani Ratnam whom Rajini holds in high respect. That lad, who later won the first ever Oscar for India went to create music for the next 15 years for Rajini (except Chandramukhi which was by Vidyasagar). AR Rahman and Rajini have a deep bonding. ARR likes to create mass tunes which are a class apart that suits Rajinikanth's image. Especially over the past 10-12 ye

After a week of release, finally found time to watch 24 The Movie. I had consciously avoided reading reviews about the movie or talking about it to friends so I could save the suspense factor to myself. It was a Saturday morning show on the 9 th day of release at Inox Citi Centre. Sadly, there were not more than 40 people out of the 100 seater screen. That made me think, if the film was a blockbuster or not, contrary to what the producer and the film crew have been advertising on social media. Actor Surya, during the music release function told his fans outright to reject the film if it was not good, or rather good enough. He was honest when he said that though with much conviction - I watched the program which was telecast on Tv a week later after the function was held. So I went with limited hope. And thankfully, I was not at all disappointed. The movie is a class apart. On screenplay and direction, I would give a thumbs-up and a 8 rating on 10. The casting could have be

It was my second visit to Amethyst and first with my wife. Wanted to show her how wonderful the place is. The previous time I had been there a few weeks back, service was awfully poor. The waiter couldn’t care less that I was seated and ignored me quite a few times until I asked him to serve me my coffee. After I was done, I offered to pay my bill using a credit card and the guy declined saying that the credit card would be accepted for bills above Rs. 200 only. I was shocked and protested after which he agreed to accept the card. Despite this I visited the place again because I really liked the place. And the food too. So my wife and I settled in at the cafe around 1pm. For the first 8-9 mins, no one turned up. Thereafter, the waiter walked in and asked what would we like to order. I suggested that basic courtesy calls for water to be served as soon as the guest arrives. The guy fashionably brings two bottles of water, one warm and one cold. I replied that we would prefer norm