Cinema, Karam, Kapi

Disclaimer: I am big fan of Actor Kamal Hassan. Yes, I do have differences with his opinions on politics, religion, etc. But that doesn’t take away the Kamal-fan off me.  In the recently released “Kaala” featuring Superstar Rajinikanth, Director Ranjith has sort of portrayed “the white” as villain and “black” as the hero. In Viswaroopam 2, true to his leanings and admirably so, Kamal Hassan mocks at the “Brahmins of South India” settled in Lutyens Delhi and work from the South Block who wield power. So much so, that an “Iyer” character commits suicide although due to his own misdeeds and realizing what a traitor he is. Neither did Kamal in the film nor do I, endorse a certain “Iyer” who lives in real in the Indian Capital, has Leftisit and Communist leanings and a friendly camaraderie with Pakistan High Officials. In another scene, Kamal makes a “Jihadi” realize that he is actually believing a lie to be true – very powerful words, not restricted to those who claim to be Jihadi

When I used to be a kid, I would literally wake up to the music playing on radio – early 80s. Those days, we had Vividh Bharathi operated by AIR – All India Radio. There were set timing for every program and it would work like clockwork (as compared to today where even so called “Live” programs are recorded and played. So, from 6am to 6.40am, there would be devotional songs and News at 6.50am. That was the cut off to sleep, else hell would break at home. Dad would also listen to various kinds of music, from Carnatic to Film songs on Radio. Over time, I just took over this habit and till date addicted to music. For many years, the Alarm on my mobile phone has been Venkatesa Suprabatham; continues while I read newspapers, get ready to work, while driving, while working (if I’m alone, that is) and all the way till we go to sleep. No wonder, my kids have also taken to this habit – so much so that my younger one even has made a playlist on the iPod which is to play every night. When t

I saw Kaala feat. Superstar Rajinikanth the third time yesterday (Thursday 21 June) on its 14 th day after release. Was happy to book online and reached KG Cinemas, Coimbatore ahead of schedule time. To my surprise, rather the lack of it, the screen was near empty. One of the oldest and largest Cinema Screens in India with over 800 seats, we were just 50 of us spread across the seating areas. Each of us had an agenda, perhaps. For me, it was noticing a few nuances and the undertones of dialogues, sequences and inner-meaning of the screenplay. Will reserve that for another column since I found a number of interesting perspectives. Kaala will be pulled off screens from today since Tik Tik Tik, a Space Odyssey feat. Jayam Ravi is finally releasing today and a dozen films are lined up for the next 3 months including big ticket releases featuring Ajith, Vijay, Surya and Karthi to name a few. Of course the much awaited Vishwaroopam 2 feat. actor turned politician (sic) Kamal Hassan

By now, most people who have been following the film and haven’t watched already know the storyline – Kaala alias Karikaalan is a migrant from South Tamil Nadu who settled in Mumbai a few decades back and helps scores of people settle and survive the tides of the mega city under the supposedly largest slum of Asia, at Dharavi. He is a Robinhood and savior for his people and the life story of the protagonist has its ups and downs. The storyline is just this without any overdose or complication. Previously, a few Tamil films have been made with the “Dharavi” area in the background, notable ones being Mani Ratnam’s Nayagan feat. Kamal Hassan (loosely based on the Western classic “Godfather”) and most recently, Thalaiva feat. Actor Vijay Joseph (Sathyaraj plays Vijay’s father who is also a Don). Kaala is an out and out Pa. Ranjith Film, the lucky Director who gets to work the second time with the Indian Superstar. Their previous outing Kabali in 2016 had a mixed result and a fair

With a toned body already in place after Kaatru Veliyidai, Karthi’s Theeran Adhigaram Ondru was in the making for a few months now, with interesting visuals of him as a Cop, his second after the infamous “Siruthai”. I was keen to see what was in store and ensured I watched the film on the first day in the evening. Boy, I wasn’t disappointed one bit. The film is apparently based on real life incidents and a big round of applause to Director H. Vinoth who is directing only his second after the hugely popular cult thriller “Saduranga Vettai”. For a second film, must say he has done a great job behind the camera. The film starts slow with a few romantic scenes set-up in the mid 90s. I was a tad disappointed that the Director has shown a Royal Enfield Electra in a scene depicted in 1999 when the model was not around. Also, the walls of a small village near Tanjore where the family scenes are shot show a poster of the Vijay-starrer “Shahjahan” which was actually released in 2001. I

It seems like yesterday and Ajith Kumar has already completed 25 years in Tamil Cinema which is a remarkable feat, given that he never had/continues to have a blood relation who produces movies. He has almost come up on his own strength all through and he dissolved all his fan clubs many years back. He continues to maintain a dignified silence in most public issues and is neither active on social media either. So when Vivegam was announced, his fans rejoiced for it was a defining year in his career. the film opened to a thunderous box office opening although the reviews were mixed, with critics rating the film high for its finesse and sharp editing cum direction. The film did well in the theatres and continue to run a few shows sparingly. So when I noticed last week that the film was up for viewing on SunNxt app, I was quite surprised. It's abnormal that a top-hit film of one of India's highly rated Actors shows up on an OTT platform on the 50th day of its the

Have always felt that I was lucky to have lived through the times of Illayaraja & AR Rahman, two musicians whom we have grown listening through the 80s, 90s and the Millenium. Both the composers have a very unique style of music creation that hasn’t been able to be challenged by the new crop of composers. Raja & Rahman are very niche in their own ways and no one can occupy their positions in Indian Music history that has seen thousands of musicians come & go. While Raja is considered as “God” of Music by his ardent fans spanning across age groups, Rahman’s music is very contemporary and he has been able to hold on to the interest levels of fans for 25 years from Roja to Kaatru Veliyidai (interestingly both are Mani Ratnam films!). I have been listening to music from a very young age and am also trained in classical music, Mridangam to be precise during my school days. Till date, I wake up in the morning listening to music and go to sleep doing the same -    Musi