What a change over Maama - Tamil Cinema's growth over the last decade!

A scene in the 1964 tamil comedy film "Kadhalikka Neramillai".
Many wouldn't be able to forget the scene, in which, our Kalamamani NAGESH cast as an aspiring film director and trying to get some money from his father to produce it (Oho Productions). He tries to say the story to his 2 sisters (the actual heroines of the movie), who have just arrived from college, with a motive to get their support.

But his sisters say - "We don't see Tamil Movies. We see only English movies"..

Nagesh replies back - "Oho.. Idhe ippo ungalukku vazhakkamaa pochu la.. En padam mattum release aagattum.. Irukkara vella kaaaran poora 'we don't watch english movies! we watch only tamil movies' nu solla poraan"  ("This is the trend now right? All you tamil people, say 'we dont watch tamil movies, we watch only english movies'! Let my film get released! All the Englishman will start saying 'we don't watch english movies! we watch only tamil movies'")

Though it was a script intended for pure comedy,  I have this feeling that Tamil cinema today , along with other south-indian cinemas, is really grown up so well to catch up with the English.

While the Hollywood have enough money to use almost all possible technologies, and luxury of spending as much money for the perfection of a single scene in their movie, they still seem to run out of innovation and out-of-the-box scripts, over the last few years.

But over the past 10 years, there has been an excellent growth in the creativity-sector of Tamil Cinema and other south-Indian Cinemas. Though we lack the budget (or rather, luxury) to bring in the on-screen perfection in terms of the graphics or some other aspects, Tamil Cinema is no short of ideas over the last few years.. The low-budget movies are the better box-office-collectors these days.

The way some of these low budget movies gives a pleasant feeling, I don't think even a Shankar movie can give these days. (thanks to the limited expectation b4 starting to watch these movies)

In some of the low-budget movies, last few years have seen some nerve-wracking thrillers including Mishkin's Anjaathey, Yutham Sei, Chennayil Oru Naal, Neram, and  some very good reality comedy-movies like Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi, Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom, Sudhu kavvum and some love stories, friendship stories (like Kalluri) and many other very good movies in several other genres.

What a transformation from the late 90's to mid 2000's where almost all movies are of same genre, a hero and a villain. The way tamil cinema is now transforming, I love it :) I would really love to spend my money seeing 2 or 3 low-budget movies on their first week, rather than trying to spend it for one big star's movie on its first week, and feeling bad with its failure!

Spot fixing - IPL 6 - What does shock me?

Today, 3 Rajastan Royals players - S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan were arrested of being involved in spot fixing through various parts of the IPL6 tournament. While the Delhi Police (who have been known this for a long time, almost from the beginning, and following this closely) already got evidence for Sreesanth and Chandila to have involved in this a couple of games before itself, they just held their nerves and waited for the 3rd involved cricketer to commit his crime.

Rightly, after Chavan, the only member of the involved (as per the statement of the Delhi Police) who haven't committed his deed yet and the only one among the three who played yesterday's game,  committed his part of the crime in yesterday night's match, the police arrested all the three players and the bookie today early morning!

While there has been a plenty of fuzz and shock around people in social media and news channels about 'spot-fixing being in IPL', today's spot-fixing scandal was not a shock to me. When huge-huge amounts of money spins in any particular element, corruption is more likely to raise its head there.

But what was shocking for me is that,
(1) 3 "Rajastan-Royals" players were involved in this.
(2) Not a single player but three. That too from a more disciplined and more-spirited RR.
(3) Even more shocked when I think, even with 3 players involved in spot-fixing against the good spirits of winning the game for their team, RR managed to remain in top of the table competing MI and CSK. They would be on the top, had these culprits not played games against their team.

Hmph.. Very hard to believe 3 players lead by a role-model sportsperson like Dravid could be vulnerable to involve in this!! Of course, money can buy vulnerable persons so easily, regardless of how good the characters they are surrounded by..

'Vendaikkai fry-curd' masala dosa - my improvisation.

My mom left me for a couple of weeks day-b4-yest night. Before leaving she made a lot of ladies-finger fry as there was a lot of that in home. Yesterday morning I cooked idly and brinjal sambhar and took curd rice and brinjal sambhar rice for afternoon. I took that ladies-finger-fry as side dish in a big box, as much as i can so that I and my friends can use it.

Even after that, some quantity of the fry remained, as much as I can use for another full meal as side-dish. But yesterday night and today brunch I had went out for my colleague's reception & marriage, and hence dint cook at all.

Now as I came home at night, buying dosa-flour and curd, I was feeling so lazy whether I should cook a chutney (coconut or tomato) for just 1 meal for 1 person. I earlier thought I will cook tomato chutney and use it as side-dish for both today night dosa and tomorrow morning idly. But I was afraid whether it will go bad, courtesy, the heat in Chennai. I dint want to take the dosa with just the idly podi again. ( i have done it twice in past 2 weeks already)

Then came the improvisation out of nowhere :) I heated up the fry. Then mixed it up with curd. Meanwhile I started cooking dosa. And I poured a spoon full of the mixture in the 90% cooked dosa as we do with masala.

And it came excellent! Wow I am turning into an improvising cook! :) :)

I know we are not supposed to mix curd into something that is heater. But who cares when,
(1) when I am so lazy to cook side-dish for 1 meal for 1 person
(2) when it came up really well plus I can eat a healthy dosa-diet (without the redundant idly-podi)
(3) when I am so tired and want to get out of kitchen as early as possible ;)
(4) and I need not take the same old fry tomorrow to office ;)

I feel it is 'Good improvisation' ;) (please bear the self-appreciation) ;)

சொல்லாததும் உண்மை - Immortals of the Meluha

If you are looking for a review about Amish Tripathi's first (and blockbuster) novel "Immortals of the Meluha", no I am not giving that here. There had already been reviews highly rated the novel and I too feel the same, though I am not a huge reader of a variety of books, to rate this one. What I wanted to blog  indeed, is what all I realised about myself and my society when I read the novel, and I want to share the same below.

Really amazing how the author Amish Tripathi, hides deep inside his story, many moral issues in today's society and their possible solutions. The most beautiful thing is he left many such morals open to the interpretations of the readers.

(1) Hara Hara Mahadev - All of us are Mahadevs. It doesn't mean all of us have to be worshipped by some1 else. But it does mean, all of us are responsible for clearing the evil around us aside and bringing in the good within ourselves and to others around us.
It does also mean, we are responsible for fighting for evils that had arouse around us that harm the fundamental rights of us and people around us.

(2) Equality for All - Stabbing caste-ism right on its chest, saying aloud that one should be judged by who he is; and not by what his ancestors did or where he was born. He rather has to be judged by his own karma.

(3) Sati - a woman capable of doing anything and everything a man can possibly be capable of doing, depicting how women should be treated by men as well as women themselves. The impersonation of this character is clearly intended to break the shells of male-chauvinism.

(4) Again Sati - I was shocked in midway of the story, with Sati being already a widow long before Shiva met her. Despite being rendered as a Vikarma (a holder of bad fate due to sins in previous birth) woman by herself after the death of her husband and delivering a stillborn child, both on the same day, she still had not been neglected from her society and stops herself from doing what she likes- dancing, worshipping and fighting. #LifeHasToMoveOn

(5) And again Sati - When the Pandit of Mohan temple at Mohen-Jo-Daro points out to Shiva that, he should not rather try to protect Sati as it will increase her rage, and rather he should 'respect her'. A moral about how every men should be viewing his counterpart.

(6) Sati's remarriage - There was not even a single fuzz going around the society, in the story, about the remarriage of Sati. Some controversial talks were there about marriage, but they were about the marriage of a Vikarma, and as soon as the Vikarma law is abandoned, everyone was okay with that marriage. Through this particular incident, I believe the author carefully wanted to portray that there was no such tradition in our very old ancient civilisation that, a widow should not remarry. Even more interesting point is - the author carefully carved up the reason for Sati being a Vikarma woman, through the conversation between Brahaspathi and Shiva - not because her husband died, but because she gave birth to a stillborn child, and she decides that is a part of her past birth's karma.

Again, these morals are purely left hidden, yet open to the understanding of the readers. These are some important messages i realised would be very crucial to our society, when i read the book. There might be many more, open to you while you read it.

What's more amazing is that, the debut author managed a grand success in his attempt to bring in an interesting and compelling story-line along with his risky try to advocate some important morals. Immortals of the Meluha - Definitely a must read. 

சொல்லாததும் உண்மை - இந்த புத்தகத்தில் நேரடியாக சொல்லப்படாத பல உண்மைகள்.