Sagar Alias Jackey & Others

Amal Neerad's 'Sagar Alias Jackey' is all what the various reviews make it out to be: All style and no substance. A real disappointment when we know that it is scripted by the ever dependable S.N.Swamy.

Mohanlal's 2nd release of 2009 made a mockery of it's prequel superhit "Irupathaam Nuttandu" with just some stylishly shot scenes and myriad slow motion sequences converting an intended racy thriller to a collage of posh camera shots. To add to all that, when actors are looking forward to have a six or eight pack body Lal continues to act with his family pack figure. Not that he needs to get a highly toned body, but at least he could have done some work in shedding a few kilos.

A graduate from the Satyajit Ray film institute, Amal Neerad found the Midas touch with his debut film "Big B". But unfortunately in SAJ, while the side dishes(camera, locations etc.) were exquisite the main course (script) was totally ignored. An opportunity to make a fitting sequel totally gone wasted!

Also had the time to watch a brilliant film. 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' has been Brad Pitt's most challenging and exciting role so far. And, for me, it deserved the 'Best Picture' award at the Oscars. The film had many memorable scenes and the watershed was at the point of the below dialogue exchange towards the end.

Daisy: Benjamin, you are getting younger by the day
Benjamin: Yes, but only from the outside

Comparing the central character to a humming bird (the only bird which flies backwards) and his life to the clock at the New orleans railway station whose seconds needle goes anti-clockwise are noteworthy. At times the movie seems a bit dragging, but the effectiveness of the actors keep us engaged.

But as BVN replied to my comment on his blog, the movie "reminds us of Forrest Gump at times". Eric Roth may have missed his second shot at the Academy Awards but surely has left the minds of the viewerd with lasting thoughts on this film.

Lal of the Siddique-Lal seems to have made a good comeback in direction with '2 Harihar Nagar' as the movie runs to packed houses at most centers in Kerala. Maybe a lesson for the likes of Amal Neerad on how to make a good sequel??

I am awaiting the release of Pazhassi Raja which seems to be the next most promising release in Malayalam this year. Also another interesting release in the pipeline is Shaji.N.Karun's 'Kutty Sranku' with Mammootty in the lead. Interesting trials lie ahead in Malayalam cinema at the box-office this year.

Veteran actor Nagesh passes away

Pic Cortsey: http://static.manoramaonline.com/

Just heard the news in Sun TV that veteran actor/comedian of Tamil film industry, Mr. Nagesh, passed away today morning of an heart attack. He was 78.

Just like Mehmood was to Bollwyood, Nagesh was to the Tamil film industry. His performances in films like Ethir Nicchal, Thiruvilayadal, Thilana Mohanambal, Server Sundaram and later films like Aboorva Sahodarangal, Michael Madan Kamarajan and Nammavar were well appreciated by his fans and friends.

For me the death of Nagesh represents the end of the early Tamil film era which comprised greats like M.N.Nambiar, MGR and Sivaji Ganeshan. With his body language, witty dialogue delivery and ever amusing mannerisms he captured the heart of the Tamil cinema auidence.

Of the next generation actors to his era, he was particularly close to Kamal Haasan. Most films of Kamal Haasan, by default, used to have Nagesh in them. I particularaly enjoyed his role of the corrupt PA 'Avinashi' in Michael Madan Kamarajan and the villian 'Anbarasu' in Aboorva Sahodarangal.

He also had great respect for the Malayalam film industry which was evident during the Surya Festival felicitation ceremony when he said that he was lucky to be felicitated in the midst of great actors like Thilakan. I pray that his soul may rest in peace and that his friends and relatives get the strength to bear this great loss.

Veruthe Oru Bharya, Crazy Gopalan and others

Back from Trivandrum to Bangalore after a 4 day trip in which I got to catch up with 2 films.

Veruthe Oru Bharya has Jayaram in his typical family man role. Directed by Akku Akbar the film is a decent effort from Akku Akbar.

Sugunan (played by Jayaam) is an employee at the Electricity Board and Bindhu (played by Gopika), his spouse, is a house-wife. Sugunan believes that his wife is solely responsible for managing the entire household affairs since he is the earning member of his family. How the gradually strained relationship caused by inflated ego's and inability to trust affect their life and that of their daughter form the rest of the story.

The firsr-half potrays the typical middle-class family life while the end scenes of the movie remind us of a 'Vadakku Nokki Yanthram'. But again, the film is nowhere a classic. Like 'Kadha Parayumbol' the movie owes its success to the crap flicks which have become the norm of the present day.

'Crazy Gopalan' is Dileep back at what he is known for: slap-stick comedies. The promos showed Dileep in various get-ups, but sadly they remained enclosed within poorly made beard wigs and false-teeth. Dileep, I felt, could have shown more sincerity in this area. What made me sad was the script struggling to make people laugh at certain points. Comedy tracks included just for the heck of it and double-meaning dialogues brought in un-necessarily gave me an unpleasant nostalgia of the past Siddique-Lal hits.

No releases for the 2 big M's this Christmas. Mohanlal's 'Red Chillies' and 'Sagar Alias Jacky' await release in 2009. I also sincerely hope that Mammootty's 'Kutty Sranku' and 'Pazhassi Raja' bring a big smile to the Malayalm film industry which have been starved of the commercial plus classic element in cinema for a long time.

Also picked up the dvd of 'Akashagopuram' which unfortunately I haven't had the time to see. This reminds me of one issue which I felt is plaguing not just the Malayalam film Industry but also the Indian film industry to a large extent: The quick release of the original DVD. I was surprised and shocked that the producer of 'Thalappavu' had not yet released the original DVD of the film. Why is our film Industry so un-professional? Aren't they interested in promoting their film? After all this they blame the piracy sector. That is why I felt that the producers of 'Akashagopuram' did a good job in quickly releasing the DVD through 'Moser Baer'.

Before I wind up, Wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year!

Those beautiful gems - 1

Comparing present day films to the golden ones of 80's and 90's is like comparing fast food recipes to home-made food. The memory of experiencing the former in both cases is ever lasting. We have many big budget films being released nowadays. But excepting a meagre few, the rest fail to get our attention; they fail to invoke a feeling in us; they fail to move us. In that respect, the films of 80's and 90's outclass any of the present day films.

I would just like to give you my pick of Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi films of that Golden era which have left as much an emotional impact on me as they have on many others.

1. Thaniyavarthanam:

I just have these words to say about this hallmark film. "If this film can't move you to tears and agony, then no film can".

Lohitadas made a big bang entry into the Malayalam film world through this film. Set in a typical 'Tharavadu' in a Kerala village, the film shows how the family superstition affects the life of Balan Mash, a member of the Tharavadu who is a school-teacher by profession. Lohitadas has captured the very essence of the damage caused by false beliefs. The film was too tragic for me to watch it over and over again. I had seen this film around 1990 (during 4th standard) and to say that I was not affected emotionally by this film is telling a big lie.

The protagonist 'Balan Mash' played so brilliantly by Mammootty was a sort of resurrection in the actors career. During the early and mid 80's Mammootty was kind of sterotyped by the roles he did. The one criticism of him which was much talked of at that time was that all his films were about "A benz car, Baby shamili and a wife". Thaniyavarthanam almost fetched Mammootty the National award only denied by an equally powerful role of 'Velu Nayakar' played by Kamal Haasan in Nayakan.

The elder members of the Tharavadu have a belief that in each generation, a male member of the family goes mad. It starts with Balan's uncle (played by Babu Namboodiri) who faced a failed love-affair. He is locked up in a room and chained since he is beleived to have gone mad. Balan's brother (played by Mukesh) detests the false beleifs held by the family since he is a rationalist. Even Balan doesnt believe in them but takes part in the rituals conducted by the family so as to not displease the elders.

Through sheer misfortune, Balan is believed to be the male member who has gone mad. And then starts his tragedy which culminates in a very agonising scene. Lohitadas asks us through this script " Is Balan mad or is it the society who is mad?". A great film but I really wish that it is not shown to young kids.

2. Mahanadi:

Another film which makes me cringe everytime I see it.

It is the story of a widower Krishnaswamy whose peaceful life in a village on the banks of River Cauvery gets topsy turvy when he chooses to shift to Madras for enjoying the benefits of a city life. Cochin Haneefa plays Dhanush who tricks Krishna into starting a chit fund business and earn lots of money.

The names of all characters are those of a river. Starting from Krishna (Kamal), Ganga (his first wife), Yamuna (Sukanya), Saraswati (mother-in-law), Kaveri (daughter), Bharini (son) to Panjabakesi (Poornam Vishwanathan). In short the protagonist Krishnaswamy is the 'Mahanadi' around whom the lives of all other characters revolve. How he overcomes the struggles and returns back after many years to his village is what the film is about. The scenes which stick out are the jail scenes (similar to Shawshank Redemption but released before it) and the one in which he finds his daughter in the Sonagachi (red-light) area of Calcutta.

3. T.P. Balagopalan M.A:

The Sathyan Anthikkad - Sreenivasan - Mohanlal team gave us many memorable films like 'Varavelpu' and 'Nadodikkattu'. But this film is one which is not noticed immediately but one which has an equal undertone of sympathy for the protagonist.

Whenever I think of this story I remember an earlier film of Rajnikanth "Aaru muthal arupathu varai". In that, the film gives out a message at the end stating "A help done by a poor man is never recognised while the same when done by a rich man is spoken about for a long time".

TP Balagopalan MA has a similar theme. But the difference here is the sheer brilliance of Mohanlal's acting.

There is an interesting anecdote about this film. Sreenivasan was writing the script with Sathyan Anthikkad by his side. There is a scene where Mohanlal's sister marries Raju and is going to leave the house. Now Mohanlal says something to her. At that moment when Sreenivasan was thinking on what dialouge to write, Sathyan told him that he had to go somewhere and would be back in an hour. When he came back he found that Sreeni had just written a few words. Sathyan was furious that so much time was spent to write just a few words. Sreeni just smiled and told Sathyan to read what he had written. On reading it, it is said that Sathyan became very emotional and looked at wonder at the genius of Sreeni.

What Sreeni had written as a dialogue was Mohanlal lamenting the fact that he had not been able to buy his sister anything valuable till now in life and that she should not feel angry for that. In the movie the effect is much more coupled with Lal's acting and the heavy emotional build-up of the story.

The film had its moments of humour when Lal goes around as a salesman and meets with disastrous results.

Overall a small story , but a big message in it!

4. Yathra:

When many saw "Ithu oru Kanaa Kaalam" starring Dhanush, they complained that Balu Mahendra had made a mess of the original "Yathra". I used to remember "Yathra" as the first film of Mammootty that I watched in a theatre.

But when I saw the movie again recently, I could imagine the kind of impact it would have had on the viewers at the time it was released. Mammootty plays the role of a forest official who gets transferred to a remote area. He meets Thulasi (Shobhana) and falls in love with her, though she is the daughter of a poor labourer who is a widower. A cruel twist of fate lands him in jail when policemen mistake him for a Naxalite/terrorist. How he reunites with Thulasi after spending many years in jail is what the climx is.

It has melodious songs by Illayaraja and the first song in the bus is worth listening to any number of times. Balu Mahendra has made many classics like 'Moondram Pirai' and the thriller 'Julie Ganapathy' starring Jayaram and Saritha, but 'Yathra' always will remain one of his best and unique efforts in weaving a romantic story.

5. Drohkaal:

When Kamal Haasan saw this movie at a film festival he was instantly drawn towards it. He liked it so much that he decide to remake it in Tamil. That was the genesis of 'Kurudhipunal'. (River of Blood).

Drohkaal is the tale of two anti-terrorist squad leaders Abhay and Abbas (played by Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah) who tackle he network of a group of Naxalites headed by their commander Bhadra (Ashish Vidyarthi). Directed by Govind Nihalani, the film takes an unbiased view of the ideologies of patriotic police officers and a group of people who feel justified in using violence in trying to show their anger at the corrupt government.

A lot of quality is expected when the reel has two great actors like Om Puri and Naseer and they do not disappoint. One scene which I like in this movie is when Abhay tries to force Bhadra to accept that his ideology is wrong and illogical while the latter calmly justifies his views through logical sounding reasons. The climax scene is also note-worthy. Overall a totally emotion-packed story line.

6. Kireedam:

Mohanlal and Thilakan deliver outstanding performances as son and father in this gripping tale of the change in fortunes of a young lad Sethumadhavan whose father Achuthan Nair dreams of making his eldest son a police officer.

Lohitadas again proved that he was one of the best script writers in the Malayalam film Industry. Lohitadas claimed that the idea for this story came to him when he heard a tale about a person who had a fight in a bar ran away from that place fearing retaliation from the other gang. He then tried to imagine what would have happened had that person stayed on, and thus began the story of Kireedam.

The film was a huge hit, with the song "Kanneerpoovinte.." earning M.G.Sreekumar the State Award for Best Singer.

Wikipedia says thus " Kireedam means a crown. And society places a crown on a person based on their first impressions." It is such a crown which changes the life of Sethumadhavan in the film. The film was remade in Tamil withj Ajith and Raj Kiran, but sadly, fails to reach anywhere near the original as always.

The story , if seen from the view point of achuthan Nair, is even more disturbing. With a daughter whose husband (Jagathy) is an idler, a younger daughter and a son at higher school his responsibilities are many but he finds hope in Sethu. It is shattered and culminates at the police station where he states with great pain but firm beleif that his son is a criminal. Kireedam is also known for providing Malayalam cinema with the most popular villain 'Keerikkadan Jose".

7. Nayakan:

Mani Ratnam was ever modest when he was told that 'Nayakan' was selected by Time magazine as one of the top 100 films of all time. He attributed it to people like Kamal Haasan, P.C.Sreeram and Illayaraja who made sure that the film was near perfect in art.

When Mani narrated the story of Varadaraja Mudaliar to Kamal, the latter had no hesitation in accepting the project. Kamal played 'Velu Nayakar' a Tamilian who escapes to Mumbai in his childhood and slowly rises to become an underworld Don.

As years go by, he loses his wife and son as a result of his activities. His end gives proof to the adage that "Those who live by the gun, die by the gun".

The cinematography and songs are just outstanding. Mani had recreated the Dharavi slum area which form the area of all major happenings in Nayakar's life. Kamal's acting had the touches of a Marlon Brando in Godfather. The scene where he cries on seeing his son's dead body was laterseen in Godfather-3 when Al Pacino cries on seeing his daughter lying dead.

Indirectly Mani also potrayed the life of South Indians in Bombay. The scene where Kamal is beaten by the police officer Kelkar and he lies down with blood coming from his lips and saying "Naa adiccha nee satthiduve" (If I hit you, you will die) is also a noteworthy one.

The scene where Nayakar's grandson asks him "Neenga Nallavara Kettavara?" (Are you a good person or a bad person?) is subtly handled. Nayakar replies that he doesnt know the answer and proceeds to gift him his amulet(meant for protection). After coming out of the court he is shot dead.

8. Amritham Gamaya:

I don't think Mohanlal 'acts' in any film. He is just so natural. Even if it's a heavy roles, he makes everything look so easy and natural. This gift is what makes him a good actor.

It was not in Panchagni, but in Amrutham Gamaya (based on MT Vasudevan Nair's story and screenplay) that he really surprised me. That was an amazing performance. In fact, he should have won a National Award for it.

Have you seen the scene in which he injects pethidine into his thighs? That was simply great. And when he realises that the family he befriends is the family of the boy whom he had accidentally killed while ragging him in medical college, was heartbreaking.

I don't know how he showed inner turmoil so beautifully. It was so subtle, so disturbing. The beauty of his performance is that he underplays emotions. Every muscle of his body reacts. For that one scene itself, he should have been given an award.

The above statements are the comments of Director Hariharan on Lal's performance in the film. The MT-Hariharan team had created magic even before 'Oru Vadakkan Veera Gatha'. Mohanlal delivered another performance worthy of his talent.

One scene from this film which haunts me always is the ragging scene in the Medical College in which Unni (Vineeth), a Namboodiri student in his first-year, meets his end.

Mohanlal conveys the emotions of the character through strong body language and dialogue delivery. His transformation from an arrogant student to a kind doctor is something which seemed so natural on screen.


It is when I see such films that I wonder as to why we do not have such good script writers and music directors in our midst now. Will there be another MT? Another Lohitadas? Another Mohanlal? Another Kamal Haasan? Another Mammootty? Another Illayaraja?

Nowadays, the movies only stay in our memory for those 2.5-3 hours in the cinema hall. They only serve us for that much time. An Aamir Khan says that films are meant only for entertainment, not for sending messages. Maybe true, but then they should also leave behind something to remember.

I know I have missed so many movies. Even what I have mentioned are not in any particular order. But then this is only the first part. There are so many more. :-)

The Mongol

'The Mongol' is a film directed by Sergei Bordrov and depicts the rise of Genghis Khan from humble beginnings to becoming the greatest ruler of Mongolia. The film shot around Inner Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan has breath-taking camera-work and well-shot war scenes.

The problem with any of the History books we have encountered at school, college or otherwise is that they are mostly based on chronicles of Westerners which make them biased towards Western thoughts and ideas. Take up any history book and you get to read that Alexander was a legendary conqueror while Persians, Huns and Mongolians were barbarians. I think the western historians have conveniently pushed aside the fact that Mongolians have had some of the greatest warriors and a warrior like Genghis Khan had conquered half the world in his lifetime, more than what Alexander achieved. I don't understand how westerners classify Mongolians and Persians as barbarians and Vikings as honourable and brave warriors. Were Vikings and Greeks more civilised than Persians or Mongolians or better in warfare. Weren't the western warriors defeated at the Crusades at the hands of Sallaudin? Hope our text books bring out the actual facts of history than merely printing Western thoughts.

Anyway, back to the movie. In brief, the movie depicts how Temujin (childhood name of the Khan) overcomes childhood difficulties (father's death, starvation, slavery etc.) to rise to the position of a great commander and warrior in Mongolia. He chooses his bride (Borte) at a young age and later with her support surges ahead as a warrior. What I liked about the movie was the characterisation of Genghis Khan which I felt was very naturalistic and much more authentic than shown in any other movie or documentary. Unlike Western perceptions that he was cold-blooded barbarian, the movie depicts him as a brave, composed and shrewd warrior who is also a great commander.

The dialogues are in Mongolian and Mandarin and so I had to rely on the English subtitles of the DVD (which were pretty good!). Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano gives a superlative performance as Genghis Khan with a very natural style of acting.

The scenes which depict Genghis Khan's friend Jamukha's soldiers shifting their loyalties to the Khan is subtle and at the same time creates an impact on the viewer. They tell Jamukha that they find the Khan more just and kind. It shows us that Genghis Khan also had great people management and leadership skills which held him in good stead in his future campaigns.

The Director says that he had planned this as a trilogy and if that is true, I am definitely looking forward to the next two parts. One reason is the magnificent war scenes which would be shown and the second is his conquer of China and Russia. As we all know, Genghis Khan was the only warrior who successfully conquered Russia. Two famous people who failed later in this feat were Napoleon and the anti-semitist Adolf Hitler. Also Genghis Khan attacked and successfully conquered China at a time when the Chinese had built the Great Wall to protect their country from invaders.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in History and wants to see a good movie. As simple as that. As to why the Director is a Russian, the reason is the affinity of Mongolian people with the early Soviet Communists. In fact, Russian language is commonly used in Mongolia along with the native language. Right now I am very glad that Sergei Bordrov had taken the painful efforts to direct this great movie and also depict a more authentic form of Eastern history. I impatiently await the release of the sequels.

The Silent Masterpiece

I request anyone to read this post only after you have seen 'Pushpak'. The cd/dvd is available at Moser Baer's website.
Acknowledgements: Dr.Chandrashekar, 'G' and other members of the Kamal Haasan community at Orkut.

What film do you make when you have to satisfy people from a country with more than a dozen languages? Common sense says "A silent movie".

Pushpak (1988) was not exactly a silent movie if you consider the background scores and sounds, but it was definitely a film with no dialogues. A simple story and an even simpler screenplay made it appeal to all classes of audience.

An un-employed graduate (played by Kamal) lives in a room located in the chawls of the city. A chance encounter with a drunkard lying by the roadside presents him with an opportunity to take his identity and enjoy the stay in a star-hotel for a few days. How the incidents during these days transforms his ideas and perceptions about life is what the rest of the movie is about.

The humour in 'Pushpak' is both satirical and pitch-black. The film starts off showing Kamal living in Spartan conditions at the chawl. He is the typical unemployed-graduate. There is a shot of a retired person ogling at the maid-servant with the background sound of the AIR news reporting that "Retired people must be appreciated for their far-sightedness and sense of fulfilling their objectives with zeal".

The chawl has a theatre nearby which screens martial arts films at night. Kamal is shown sleeping at night even with the blaring sound of fight scenes emanating from that theatre.

His struggle for survival is shown by the way he cleans his shirt and brushes his teeth. Squeezing the last bit of toothpaste from the tube and making a paste of the last remaining amount of washing powder and applying it on the shirt so that it is just enough to remove any sweat odour is humorous and at the same time food for thought.


The best scene I like from this movie is when he meets a beggar on the road side. Kamal tries to show off by taking a few coins from his pocket and showing them to the beggar. The beggar then smiles and reveals many currency notes lying below the mat on which he is sitting. A perfect way of depicting that the protagonist is way worse off than even a beggar.


Also humorous is his encounter with a girl (played by the sweet and beautiful Amala) at an artifact shop. The romantic interlude between the two is captured very beautifully. The girl's father is a magician by profession and plays a part in the humorous scenes by performing few tricks inside the shop which Kamal tries to replicate in vain.


Kamal then is shown trying to search for a job with very few vacancies. The queue for candidates is long depicting the difficulties faced by a graduate in getting a job in India at that time. Now watch this perfect contrast. A rich man (played by Sameer Kakkar) comes in a luxury car and gets down. He is drunk. He has an ice-cream in his hand which falls down when he gets out of the car. Being in the drunken state that he is in, he steps over the ice-cream and keeps walking. The protagonist sees this and gives an expression which says everything about the contrasting lives of people in India. Some struggle for a day's meal while there are others for whom money is in plenty.

Then comes the chance encounter with the same rich man at a footpath. He is in a drunken state and has almost no consciousness. Kamal find the key of a star hotel 'Pushpak' in his pocket. The mundane life and desire for materialistic benefits takes over the mind of Kamal and he develops the plan to take the place of the rich man at his hotel and put the rich man tied-up at his room in the chawl.

So from there begins a new avatar for our protagonist. There is an interesting symbolism as he enters the hotel. The sign of the Hotel 'Pushpak' is that of a circle with 2 wings spread out from either side. As Kamal enters the Hotel, the camera is shown from behind the hotel sign. As he comes forward, the camera angle is such that the wings spread out from either shoulder.

'Pushpak' was supposed to be a chariot where everyone obtained what they wished for. Similarly the wings on either side of the protagonist symbolise the fact that he is getting to lead the materialistic life he believes will give him all comfort.

We then see the protagonist enjoy the comforts of the room in the hotel. Drinks, food, clothes, sunglasses and all such things. But at night he finds it difficult to sleep. The silent atmosphere of the hotel room is in deep contrast to the sounds at the chawl (fight scene sounds from nearby theatre). So he goes back to the chawl and records the theatre sound on a tape-recorder. He then comes back to the hotel and plays the tape to get sleep.

The rest of the film is about how the hero is made to change his perception on life. There is a very interesting scene where Kamal goes out with Amala. He asks her what she wants him to buy for her, like, jewellery, gifts etc. She says that she wants nothing of that sort and points to a flower at a high branch on a tree beside a dilapidated building. Two points are brought out here, One is that, money cannot buy everything. Second is that, the most treasured gifts might not always be found at the most magnificent places.

Amala then takes leave of him. As Kamal stands holding the flower in one hand and a bunch of notes in another, a wind blows them both away to the ground. Kamal runs to gather the money, and in the process steps over the flower, thereby crushing it. It is shown that in the pursuit of money he has forgotten other important values in life.

Another incident occurs when he goes back to meet the beggar. He finds that the beggar has passed away and the corporation people are taking away his body. Immediately they find the money under the mat and then they drop the dead body an rush after the money. Another point which shows how people consider money more important over other humane factors.

Also the rich man whom Kamal had replaced at the doesn't have the best life. His wife has an affair with his friend who arranges an assassin to kill the rich man. Tinu Anand excels in the role of an assassin. He has never seen the rich man, but is told the room number at the hotel. He uses an ice dagger for the mission. The logic is that the person will get killed and also the dagger will melt after some time leaving no clues!

He fails miserably the first time and Kamal follows him secretly and finds everything about who he is and why he is trying to kill him. In the next attempt the assassin gets killed in a very hilarious scene.

Also the hotel owner passes away and all his relatives shed crocodile tears at his funeral. Kamal sees the photos of the owners rise from being a humble tea-stall owner to becoming such a great hotelier. He understands that hard work is a must for success and that there are no short-cuts to it. There is a scene of dark humour, where Kamal and Amala go around the dead body as though paying respects while in reality it is a romantic interlude between them.

He puts back the rich man at the footpath where he found him and confesses everything to Amala the day before she is leaving the hotel. At that time her father performs a magic show at the hotel. So just like the magician is finishing his illusory tricks and leaving, the hero also is leaving the illusory world of material comforts. The climax scene is very touching. Finally the protagonist is shown standing in the queue of candidates applying for a job with a new found hope (The number of vacancies is shown to have increased).

Some critics said that the scene where Kamal wraps the enema of the rich man in a gift paper and disposes it was very gross. All I can say is that the director tried to show that it is not the external appearance (symbolised by gift wrapper) which shows the true-self but the inner character.

On the whole, Pushpak is 'Poetry in celluloid'.

Dasavathaaram - Making sense of it

Disclaimer: The article just lists a few of the subtleties, symbolisms and hidden meanings which are implicit in the film. It is not an exhaustive write-up on the same, and readers are invited to come up with their thoughts/ideas if interested. The major source for this article comes from the fans of Kamal Haasan at his Orkut community and a few things I had noticed when I saw the movie on June 13th. Also I wish to say that I have seen the movie only once. This is not a recount of the story. For that you can go to this Wikipedia article on Dasavathaaram.

"I didn't say there was no God. I only said it would have been nice if there was God".

You may love him, you may hate him but you just cannot ignore him. Kamal Haasan's latest flick 'Dasavathaaram' incorporates the themes of chaos theory, karma, spirituality, science and environment in a wholly entertaining package. While many have hailed the movie as a great effort, there are critics who have blamed the poor quality of graphics, bad make-up and seemingly blank script with 10 characters just stuffed in. But all that is another story.

Kamal Haasan is the leading method actor in India. In my opinion, Kamal Haasan comes from a school of thought which insists on symbolisms, facial expressions, body language and intelligent dialogues while making a film. Probably it could be attributed to the influence by his mentor K.Balachander and his interest in the works of Hollywood director Stanley Kubrick.

'Dasavathaaram' is what many call "a hologrammatic movie' . What you perceive of the story depends on from which angle you look at it. A rationlist would attribute chaos theory and butterfly effect for as the cause for all the happenings. A religious person would attribute the events/interventions as acts of the supreme being. A believer in Karma would attribute some later events to acts done in the previous birth. Finally, a neutral person would perceive the movie as an entertainer or thriller.

At the function attended by Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi, Indian Prime Minister ManMohan Singh and American President George Bush (played by Kamal) we hear Kamal (face not shown fully) giving out a speech. On the stage is the Govindarajar (Lord Vishnu) idol. We are told that the idol has both a religious and scientific background.

We are taken to the 12 century period where Kolathunga Cholan II rules over Thillai (Chidambaram). He is shown to be a staunch Shaivaite to the level of being in a frenzy state of wiping out Vaishnavites. This is expressed in a very nice dialogue by Kamal. "Yaanayepol Manushyanukkum madham piditthal athu tholla thaan". The interesting thing to note here is the use of the word "madham". One interpretation is frenzy (as in the case of an elephant) and the other is "religion" (as in the case of humans). So he is saying that in either of the two cases it creates trouble/nuisance (meaning of tholla).

We are shown 'Ranagaraja Nambi' a staunch Vaishnavite who prevents the workers from displacing the statue of Lord Vishnu from the temple. He succeds in doing so but only in being captured and hands bound by chains by the king's soldiers. The king them speaks to him by telling him that he knows that he is a Vaishnavite, knows that he will turn into a Shaivaite etc. For the words "I know" the tamil translation is 'Arivom' , which the king uses 3-4 times. Kamal the mocks him by telling that his Lord Hari had made the king call his name by the words "Hari Om Hari Om" (Arivom sounds like Hari Om).

The king asks him as to the whereabouts of the 'Rangarajar' idol. The point to note here is that in South Indian temples (mainly in the ones in Tamil Nadu) one idol is the main one in the temple. The other is a smaller one used in the festivals (like Ratholsavam). So the Rangarajar idol here refers to the smaller one. The king wants to destroy that also.

The king then tells him that he could spare his life if he chants the name of Lord Shiva. On hearing this both his wife (played by Asin) and father-in-law plead with him to do as the king says as all gods are the same and it doesn't matter as to whose name he chants. Nambi instead chants 'Om Namo Narayanaya". As a result the king orders his people to tie him with the idol and drown both in the sea. As he is being taken to the sea, a boy throws a stone at his forehead and this causes a bleeding. If you notice, the bleeding comes in the form of a 'naamam' used by Iyengars, thus showing that however much they try to make him a Shaivite he still remains a loyal devotee of Lord Vishnu. Then as he along with the idol sink into the sea the colour turns a little red due to the bleeding he has. Also Asin throws her 'thali' in anger at the king. It misses him and falls at the lion sculpture indicating that her husband has the bravery of a lion.

We are next shown the period December 2005 in U.S where Govind Raamasamy (played by Kamal) is a scientist in a top bio-reserach lab in US. They have discovered a deadly bio-weapon which could prove to be the most destructive. However during an announcement with George Bush, Govind's lab monkey breaches the security protecting the bio-weapon and swallows it, killing it and producing a devastating effect. Now if you note the monkey which is very intelligent is named as 'Hanu' in the movie as a possible shortened version of the monkey Lord Hanuman. Govind realises the danger of the weapon (which can only be neutralised using large quantities of NaCl) going into wrong hands.

His boss has other ideas and so has ex-CIA agent Christian Fletcher (again played by Kamal). During the encounter with Fletcher Govind receives an injury in his forehead (same area where Nambi received the injury). Also the injury was caused by the security guard trying to shoot him. If you notice, the boy who threw the stone at Nambi didn;t even know why Nambi was punished. Also this security guard didn't even know what Govind was trying to do. He was merely shooting him based on the orders given by higher authorities.

Also Govind dresses the wound on his forehead by putting two plasters. One is vertical and the other is horizonatl and passing through the lower half of the vertical one. Probably Kamal is trying to tell us that Govind, at that moment, is a sort of Anti-Christ since he is going around with a potentially dangerous weapon which threatens to wipe out the human race.

The vial (bio-weapon in its case) gets shipped to India (Chidambaram) under some circumstances and Fletcher and Govind continue their search in India. Here we are introduced to the CBI officer Balram Naidu (played by Kamal) who interrogates Govind. But in some bizzare situation we see Fletcher arriving there and taking Govind and another police officer Akash along with him to search for the vial in Chidambaram. Balram Naidu and other officers actually come back to continue their interrogation but are delayed when a famous pop singer 'Avtar Singh' (played by who arrives at the airport faints.

The vial ultimately ends up at the house of a Brahmin family in Chidambaram. The vial, delivered in a parcel by the postman Prabhu (Vayapuri), is taken in by a 95-year-old, mentally retarded woman, Krishnaveni (Kamal Haasan), who lives in belief of receiving a parcel from her son, who perished in 1953. Govind pleads for it to no avail, but eventually changes the mind of Krishnaveni, after explaining the scientific threat to her granddaughter, Andaal (Asin Thottumkal). Krishnaveni responds by putting the vial inside the idol of the deity, Perumal, citing that God would destroy the weapon. Actually here Kamal is telling us that the vial is being accelerated to it's destiny (final state/destruction). And a;so the Perumal idol here could have been that 'Rangarajar' idol which the Shaivite searched for destroying in vain.

Govind tries to secure the vial before Fletcher and Jasmine reach them. Soon, to embark fear, Fletcher fires his gun near an elephant and it starts rampaging, with Jasmine getting badly hurt in the commotion. Lest she should say something, Fletcher shoots her dead. A religious person will say that it was God's act of punishing the evil while rationalists would argue that it was a simple reaction caused by Fletcher shooting the elephant.

Govind tries to escape with the idol but Andaal, who worships the idol, tries to stop him. Now the thing to note here is that Andaal is shwon to be very religious and conservative (with signs of believing and practicing the caste system). Govind on the other hand is a pure rationalist/athiest. Asin asks him his full name and Govind replies saying that it is "Govind Raamasamy Naicker" and Asin shows here contempt for a supposedly lower caste by telling things (that %@#$* caste) which are understandably censored. Now if you notice Govind is of the same caste as the legendary Ramasamy Naicker aka Periyar who was an athiest. He did not have any children. So in essence Govind tells Aandal that he is one of the many adopted sons of Periyar.

Time and again we see Kamal potraying his athiestic beliefs through dialogues in his films. When Aandal tells him that the Rangarajar idol has its rightful place in Chidambaram and not Pondicherry , Kamal mocks her by telling her "Thoonilayum thurumbilayum daivam irukkinnu sollrenge.." which translates "You tell that God is present in every nook and corner.."

Eventually they both escape and after a long chase, they manage to reach the old Chola Temple, where the King watched the idol of Vishnu being thrown into the ocean in 12th century. Govind remembers that the vial should be kept cool or it could cause total annihilation so they bury the idol in cold sand and go in search of ice to maintain the temperature. It's interesting to note that Kamal first buries his watch inside the sand and only when he takes it out do we realise that he does so to note the temperature.

As I said, for those who belive in Karma theory Govind and Aandal could be the re-incarnation of Nambi and his wife who lived in the 12th century. If you notice again, in the 12th Century Nambi is a staunch Vaishnavite who doesn't mind sacrificing his life and rejecting his family for the Lord. But his wife and father-in-law on the other hand are not staunch devotees. This can be understood when they tell Nambi to chant Lord Shiva's name since all Gods are the same. But, in the present day Govind is an athiest while Aandal and her father are staunch devotees. So the Karma effect has ensured that people pay for their actions in the past.

So after the Tsunami you see Govind and Aandal professing their love for each other and join hands touching the idol which has been thrown out of the sea because of the tremor. So this indicates that Nambi and his wife who were seperated at the 12 th century have united at the present age through Govind and Aandal and the idol which was sunk in the sea has now been thrown out to be restored at it's original location.

Now , on the other hand a rationalist would say that the idol which sank in the 12th century (800 years back) disturbed the sea bed by a small amount. That fault gradually increased over the years and finally caused a tremor resulting in the tsunami. But this reasoning is not explicitly stated in the film.

Also, in the film, just before the tsunami the birds are shown to be flying away from the shore. In fact when the actual tsunami had occured , in Yala National Park at Sri Lanka most of the animals had fled away from the shore (probably they have an extra sense regarding these) and hardly few animals had died.

Also, in the film, the word 'Tsunami' is uttered only by the Japanese Shinghen Narahasi (played by Kamal) since the term was not known much among Indians at that time, whereas tsunami was a recurring phenomenon along the Japanese coasts.

There is a interesting dialogue between Shinghen and Fletcher.

Fletcher : Remember Hiroshima?

Shinghen: Remember Pearl Harbor? denoting the Hiroshima bombing by Americans and Pearl Harbor bombing by the Japanese which preceded that.

Also when Fletcher consumes the vial and dies, the tsunami strikes the shore and an Indian flag is uprooted and it goes ad pierces the body of Fletcher, who at that moment hoped to kill many Indians through his death from the virus.

The other characters include 'Vincent Poovaraghan' , a Dalit leader fighting against the sand-mafia and Khaifulla Khan (a 7 ft Muslim). If we notice carefully, the actions by each character finally shape the outcome. Avtaar Singhs health condition gives an escape route for Fletcher along with Govind. Poovaraghans entrance saves Govind and Aandal from the sand-mafia. The sand-mafia boss looks to rape Aandal when she cried 'Narayana' and lights flash revealing Vincent Poovaraghan along with press reporters. Again, religious people would take it to be an intervention of God while rationalists would argue and say that it was just the right person being at the right place at the right time i.e co-incidence/luck etc.

Prem Panicker at his blog had said that people would get lost if they viewed the characters as the Dasavathar's of the modern age. But if you carefully see, the 10 roles can be compared to the 10 avataars taken by Lord Vishnu.

1. Krishna avatar - Vincent PoovaraghavanLord krishna is actually a dalit, he is dark-skinned [shyamalam]. He saved draupadi when she was being violated and he was the actual diplomat in mahabharatham. Lord krishna dies of an arrow striking his lower leg. Now look at how vincent was introduced.. he appears when asin is about to be molested and he saves her like draupadi. Vincent is the dalit diplomat, fights for land issue [soil issue to be exact] and dies from the metal rod striking his leg. Oh even five of vincent's men are drugged at P. Vasu's.. sounds familiar???
2. Balarama avatar - Balarama naiduThis is an easy given. as the name suggests and the role personifies you can easily get it.
3. Mathsya avatar - Ranagaraja nambinambi is thrown into water in an act of trying to save lord from being thrown into sea, though vainly.
4. Varaha avatar - Krishnaveni paattiDuring the mukunda song, krishnaveni paatti does varaha avatar in the shadow puppetry. The frame freezes on it for a second. there is the clue. Moreover, in varaha avatar lord actually hides earth so as to protect life forms. Here too krishnaveni hides the germs - life form inside the statue so as to protect.
5. Vamana avatar - Kalifulla khanremember in vamana avatar, lord vishnu takes the vishvaroopa, that is the giant form! Hence the giant kalifulla here symbolises vamana avatar.
6. Parasurama avatar - Christian FletcherParasurama is actually on an angry killing spree and killed 21 generations of the particular kshatriya vamsa. Hence the real KILLER... Guess what thats what our Fletcher is! He comes around with the gun [modern upgrade for axe] and kills everyone around. But does he kill 21 people?????
7. Narasimha avatar - Shingen Narahashifirst of all the name itself is a play on the words singam [means lion in tamil] and narasimha [the avatar being symbolised]. Lord Narasimha manifests himelf to kill the bad guy and he also teaches prahaladha. In the movie, he shows up to kill the killer fletcher! and is also a teacher.. Lord Narasimha had to kill the asura with bare hands and hence the martial arts exponent here.. get it?
8. Rama avatar - Avatar SinghLord Rama stands for the one man one woman maxim, kind of symbolising true love.. Here Avatar portrays that spirit by saying that he loves his woman more than anything and wants to live for her.
9. Kalki avatar - Govindaraj RamasamyAs you know, the hero in kaliyug can be none other than the Kalki avatar!!!
10. Koorma avatar - BushThis is the most loose adaptation I couldn't clearly comprehend. But if you look at the real koorma avatar, the lord is the turtle/tortoise that helps in stirring the ksheera sagara and bringing out the amruth (divine nectar). This essentially creates war among the devas and asuras. Similarly today Bush facilitates war between you know whom.

A few say that the character 'Vincent Poovaraghan' uses false eyes. This may have been done to show the intensity in the expressions. But to confirm this I have to see the movie again :-)

Dasavathaaram, I would say is packaged in such a way that audience can pick and choose what they want. Yes, I do agree that the symbolisms and dialogues indicate implicit messages. But after all they also add to the mystery and thrill.

But I think the marketing for this film could have been better. I fell the real hero is the script and that should have been hyped instead of the 10 roles. But that is another debate.

I know that I have just included only very few details regarding the symbolisms and inner meanings. If you have seen the movie and deciphered/understood more , then you are ever welcome to share them here.

Dasavathaaram - Order through Chaos?

Though I would have heard the term 'Chaos Theory' sometime back, I searched the net for it's meaning only yesterday. And this is what I found:

Chaos theory attempts to explain the fact that complex and unpredictable results can and will occur in systems that are sensitive to their initial conditions. A common example of this is known as the Butterfly Effect. It states that, in theory, the flutter of a butterfly's wings in China could, in fact, actually effect weather patterns in New York City, thousands of miles away. In other words, it is possible that a very small occurrence can produce unpredictable and sometimes drastic results by triggering a series of increasingly significant events.

Now there, I wasn't attempting a thesis of philosophical nature. I was just trying to understand the backbone of the theme of Kamal Haasan's latest flick 'Dasavathaaram'.

Dasavathaaram is slated for world-wide release on June 13th. It is directed by K.S.Ravikumar, produced by Aascar Ravichandran and has Kamal donning 10 roles. The story is built across several centuries starting with that of a Vaishnavite priest in the 12th century Chola period to the present day world. If chaos theory is to be believed then most probably the script depicts how small events trigger a very significant event at a different place and at a different period of time.

According to Kamal " This theory is under the skin of the film and you will find little veins, tissues and muscles, every layer of it. One is the chaos theory — we are all connected to everyone in the world. None of our acts will be without effects. One act will collide with another. It is like what you learnt in physics — where one object crashes into another object and produces something else. This is basically our sensibilities, insensibilities, crime, disregard for society and good deeds. In religion, it is called good karma. It all comes around because there is some physics to it but we are not talking about it in bombastic terms as people will come for entertainment and will understand it in the process. "

When I read this, I was awestruck imagining the kind of screenplay that would have been developed for this movie. More so because it is said that the language, voice, storyline and background of each character in the movie are different. Now to fit all this into a 3 hour movie will only be possible with a very tight screenplay. And at the same time the script should not be too complicated as to divert the attention of the viewer. And this seems to be further affirmed when Kamal says "Your intelligence will not be insulted and your time will not be wasted".

I feel Dasavathaaram is a very bold attempt in Indian cinema considering the fact that the movie is commercial and at the same time delivers important messages. It is said to highlight science, spirituality and environment. The movie (as seen from trailers) is said to start with the story of a Vaishnavite Brahmin priest Rangarajan Nambi and connect events leading to something more significant (disastrous?).

As we think deeper 'Chaos Theory' is perhaps a scientific explanation of what is known as 'Karma' in Hinduism. It's another story that Sharon Stone's explanation connecting it to the earthquake in China met with harsh criticism from the Mandarin land. This website explains a little more on Chaos Theory by providing information on its history and giving examples.

Whether 'Chaos Theory' is true or not, it certainly does provide an interesting theme for a film. And, I hope, Dasavathaaram is a successful attempt at this.

The 10 characters played by Kamal Haasan are:

1. Rangaraja Nambi
2. Govind Ramasaamy
3. George Bush
4. Avtar Singh
5. Christian Fletcher
6. Shinghen Narahasi
7. Krishnaveni Paatti (90 year old woman)
8. Vincent Poovaraghan
9. Kaifulla Khan , and
10. Balram Naidu

At the Orkut community of Kamal Haasan , members have tried to interpret the story based on the trailers they saw and the characters listed. It was just amazing reading people trying to imagine what the story could be like. Some, I must admit, came up with truly amazing versions too! But, as they say, the proof of the pudding is only complete after you eat it. I hope to see this unique story, appreciate the hard work put in by so many artistes and wish that it raises the benchmark for the quality of Indian films. So, I wait.

P.S: The Tamil film, upon release, will be subsequently dubbed and released in Hindi and Telegu, with later release dates set for the Malayalam,Kannada,Bengali and Bhojpuri versions.

Rashomon

Rashomon (1950) is a film directed by Japan's most famous film-maker Akira Kurosawa. The theme of the film is that of relative truth or relative reality. Basically it is the narration of a particular incident from the view-point of 5 people.

Two persons (a woodcutter and a priest) are sitting inside a building (a dilapidated temple) waiting for the incessant rain outside to stop. They are both pondering about an incident which took place recently. Another person (a commoner) joins them inside the building to whom the woodcutter and the priest give their versions of what essentially is the murder of a Japanese Samurai, and , the rape of his wife by a notorious bandit named Tajomaru.

While the woodcutter and the priest first give their account of what they found, the woodcutter then goes on to give the versions of the incident as spoken by different people during the court inquest. Those people are the bandit, the police (actually a law keeper) who found the bandit later, the Samurai's wife and then the spirit of the murdered Samurai. While these are multi first-person narratives of the incident, they are essentially stories within a story (the narration of the woodcutter to the commoner).

After narrating all the above versions, the woodcutter then proceeds on to say that what he told as his version isn't exactly what happened. He then proceeds to narrate what according to him is the real incident as he witnessed.

In all the versions, one common thing we find is the rape of the Samurai's wife and the death of the Samurai caused by a dagger/sword. The woodcutter maintains his stance that only what he has said finally to the commoner is correct and that all the other versions are false. He attributes it to the theory that all humans are selfish and look out only for things that benefit them. The priest meanwhile still keeps hope in the goodness of humanity.

Finally they hear the wailing of a baby. The commoner goes and takes away the kimono used to cover the baby and an amulet kept to protect it from evil. While the woodcutter rebukes him for this, the commoner shrewdly reminds him that he knows the woodcutter had stolen the dagger with which the Samurai was murdered. This silences the woodcutter and brings him to shame. The commoner then takes away the things and goes out with the rain still pouring.
The woodcutter then tries to take the baby away from the priest who holds it. The priest gets angry and asks whether he is so evil as to take even what little is left of the baby. The woodcutter then gives a sentimental explanation which cools down the priest who says that there is still goodness in humanity. The woodcutter takes leave of the priest and as he leaves the building (named "Rashmon") the rain ceases and the sky gets bright again reflecting a change in mindset among humans.

The movie is not a murder mystery as many would think. It is rather a film portraying the emotions of different kind of people through some great visuals and superb acting from the lead actors. Kurosawa has done an excellent job through the screenplay and camera work. Kazuo Miyagawa who is the cinematographer collaborated first with Kurosawa for this film and then went on to work with him for many other good films.

For people who wish to see cinema in its best artistic form this is a must-see. The DVD I bought had an audio commentary by Donald Ritchie, an American expert on Kurosawa films and listening to it gave some valuable insights on the subtleties adapted by Kurosawa in the making of this film.

The commoner according to noted Japanese film experts is the voice of the director. He is trying to make an inference from the different version he hears. The film is around 90 minutes long and some scenes (like the fight between the bandit and the Samurai) are prolonged to give it a realistic feel. The camera work (sun rays piercing through the forest trees) is excellent and praiseworthy. The editing is also excellent. Infact many noted film critics tell that Akira Kurosawa was a better editor than a director or screenplay writer and I completely second this opinion as regards this film.

Multiple first-person narratives were later adapted in Indian films, as in, 'Classmates' the Malayalam film starring Prithviraj, 'Virumaandi' a film by Kamal Haasan , 'Antha Naal' a murder mystery film involving the Late Shivaji Ganeshan. I wonder as to whether Padmarajan, that great director, would have done a film of such nature, had he not left us in his prime since mysticism(in some of his films) and open nature of the climaxes were something he always fascinated us with.

As for me, it was a welcome break from watching some crap flicks. It's always better to watch the masters in action! I have now decided to get the entire collection of Kurosawa and Satyajit Ray as I have taken a liking to their films now.

Are you stoooopid or something?

My most favourite English movie has to be Forrest Gump (1994). This movie never ceases to amaze me. It is a fictional story of the life of Forrest Gump who has witnessed first-hand some of the most significant events of the latter half of 20th century United States, sometimes not even being aware of it!

Forrest is not the most gifted child with an IQ of just 80 and an handicapped leg. But how he overcomes them remarkably under extraordinary circumstances which look sometimes crazy, sometimes outright funny and sometimes simply logical is what the story is about. The movie is adapted from a novel by the same name though the story depicted in the movie varies considerably from the novel. Many of the scenes are marked by irony with people imaging Forrest to be a genius when he just says what he feels is correct or calling him 'stooopid' when he actually does the right thing.

The scene when he joines the army:

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Drill Sergeant: Gump! What's your sole purpose in this army?

Forrest Gump: To do whatever you tell me, drill sergeant!

Drill Sergeant: God damn it, Gump! You're a god damn genius! This is the most outstanding answer I have ever heard. You must have a goddamn I.Q. of 160. You are goddamn gifted, Private Gump. Listen up, people...

Forrest Gump: [narrates] Now for some reason I fit in the army like one of them round pegs. It's not really hard. You just make your bed real neat and remember to stand up straight and always answer every question with "Yes, drill sergeant."

Drill Sergeant: ...Is that clear?

Forrest Gump: Yes, drill sergeant!

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I think there is a subtle message in scenes like this. Basically the movie is trying to tell us that sometimes it's just better to not think too much. Act by your instincts. Follow your heart. Tom Hanks said about this movie "It is neither political nor judgementa;". I second this opinion.

Forrest Gump has several messages, some of which are less obvious than others. The most frequently recurring theme is an admonition not to give up on life. Why surrender when you don't know what lies ahead? By contrasting Forrest's life with the lives of those around him, and by showing how the passage of time brings solace to even the most embittered hearts, the movie underlines this point.

My friends always tell me that 'Forrest Gump" brings in some inspiration in them each time they see the movie. They tell me that something in the movie moves them. It could be the plight of the protagonist in scenes where he meets a dying mother or when he marries his childhood sweetheart when he knows that her days are far getting over.

The major part of the movie is a first-person narration by Forrest Gump to many different people at a bus-stop. They act in different kinds of ways to what he has to tell them. Some are attentive, some are indifferent, some empathise, some simply cannot believe him. And finally he realises that he has waited for a few hours for a bus when all he had to do was walk a few meters down the road to go visit his girlfrend.

Words fail me at this moment. What reveiew can I write for a movie which simply cannot be reviewed. It has to be seen and felt. I really cannot classify this film into any particular category. Is it funny? Is it serious? Is it a dark comedy? I don't know. I only leave behind my favourite scenes from this unique film.

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Lieutenant Daniel Taylor: Have you found Jesus yet, Gump?

Forrest Gump: I didn't know I was supposed to be looking for him, sir.

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Forrest: And Bubba always was talking about shrimps...

Bubba: Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it.

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Forrest Gump: Hello. I'm Forrest, Forrest Gump.

Recruit Officer: Nobody gives a hunky shit who you are, pus ball. You're not even a low-life, scum-sucking maggot. Get your ass on the bus, you're in the army now!

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[Forrest has just graduated from college]

Recruit Officer: Have you given any thought to your future, son?

Forrest Gump: "Thought"?

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Forrest Gump: That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going.

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Coach Bryant: That kid may be the stupidest son of a bitch I've ever seen, but damn he can run!

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Forrest Gump: There was Dallas, from Phoenix; Cleveland - he was from Detroit; and Tex... well, I don't remember where Tex come from.

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Jenny Curran: Have you ever been with a girl, Forrest?

Forrest Gump: [nervously] I sit next to them in my Home Economics class...

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Bubba's wife after Forrest gives a couple of million dollars to their family: Are you stoooopid or something?

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Understanding two screenplays

Disclaimer:

If you have not seen the movies 'Hey Ram' or 'Mahanadi' this post will sound slightly vague. Also, this is just few impressions which I have about the two screenplays and not an exhaustive exploration on the same.

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A few months back, actor Kamal Haasan had released the Malayalam version of two of his screenplays, Hey Ram and Mahanadi. Although I had seen both the movies, I decided to buy "Kamalahasante Randu Thirakkathakal" just to experience the pleasure of reading a good story and even know as to how a screenplay evolves.

Both the films were landmarks in the career of the great actor. While Mahanadi deals with the sufferings in the life of an ordinary person named Krishnaswamy who yearns for life in the city, Hey Ram unravels modern India' s repressed past through a story narrated in the first person perspective by the chief protagonist Saket Ram. Both stories share the emotions of suffering, grief and betrayal. The greatness of Kamal Haasan lies in the fact that he is able to bring out so many subtleties and thoughts even in what seems a simple story like Mahanadi.

It is really fascinating if one explores a screenplay in its details and other nuances. Reading Kamal's screenplays reminded me of the screenplays by Padmarajan which were so specific that the director only had to refer to it and call 'Start', 'Action' and 'Cut'. I have heard people say that Padmarajan's screenplays even used to contain details of the required camera positions, though I didn't find such things in the screenplay of Aparan I had read a year back.

The screenplay of Hey Ram, I felt, was a very complex one and which would have required Kamal to undertake extensive research. The story spans across different regions of India, and hence, makes use of different languages too. Some scenes have been explained with the kind of background music needed at that shot. It would be really fascinating to know as to what exactly goes through the mind of the person who develops the screenplay, especially when the story, dialogue and screenplay are by the same person. How does he fit in the dialogues, songs, silent shots etc.? Unfortunately, I haven't had the fortune to interact with an artiste of the stature of Kamal to explore such facts.

Hey Ram , though critically acclaimed, was not a commercial success. There were film critics (including supposedly famous people like Gautaman Bhaskaran) who termed the movie as too complex, anti-Gandhi, too long, all scenes dominated by Kamal etc. I feel those who say Hey Ram is anti-Gandhi have simply not understood the story. It takes more than one viewing to appreciate the movie because of the kind of story it is (semi-fiction).

As I said earlier, a lot of research goes into the making of a script like Hey Ram. Since it a semi-fictional plot revolving around pre-Independent India, the kind of guns used, cars driven, kind of language used in dialogues and other such details have to be given utmost importance when giving out such details through the script and screenplay. For example , the use of "I do not" instead of "I don't" in which case the latter term was prevalent only a couple of years after India's Independence. Another example is the Mauser gun chosen by Saket Ram in the plot to assassinate Gandhi and the mantras uttered when Saket Ram when he does sanyasa and renounces everything. It is said that to make the scene look authentic Kamal had consulted Kanchi Sankaracharya regarding the mantras used at the time of Sanyasa. Similarly the introduction by the character Sriram Abhyankar by using the term "Abhivadye". Another example of deft handling through the screenplay is seen when we read the portion showing Kamal (who is depicted as doing some welding in the room) receiving a letter from the Maharaja that Abhyankar has passed away and that the plot to kill Gandhi must be undertaken in a few weeks by Saket himself. Here Kamal mentions in the screenplay that 'Thiruppavai" bhajans are heard in the background. This itself explains two things. For one, these Bhajans are sung by Vaishnavites at dawn. So it indirectly means that Kamal has been working the whole night in his room. Also, such Bhajans are sung during the moth of Maragazhi (Dec15- Jan15). So when the letter says that Gandhi should be killed in a few weeks, it synchronises with the actual date on which Gandhi was killed i.e January 30th.

Mahandi, though not of the complex storyline nature of Hey Ram was also equally riveting. The chief protagonist Krishnaswamy (played by Kamal) is a widower with two kids who is living a contented life in his village. A chance meeting with his college mate lures him into living in a city and thus lead a life which could prove beneficial to his children (as regards better schooling, learning better English etc.). The screenplay is handled so deftly that this change in mentality of Krishnaswamy is brought about in just 2-3 scenes.

But, even Kamal doen't include all visual details in the script of Mahandi. There are some visuals , as in, the signboard showing the name "Thirunageswaram" in which the Hindi transalation is striked through by black lines (showing the anti-Hindi feeling at that time?) or when Kamal's son tries to touch the gun held by the policeman when he and his sister go to visit Kamal at jail (perhaps showing how young kids are fascinated by guns?). Perhaps these were thought of at the shooting spot by the director and then incorporated in the scenes.

According to Kamal the story, screenplay and dialogue should always be handled by the same person. To an extent, I think this is true. To achieve synchronisation, it would be ideal for the person who conceived and wrote the story to do the screenplay, as in , Padmarajan for Aparan, Sreenivasan for "Chinta...Shyamala" or even Francis Ford Coppola for GodFather.

As I had seen both Mahanadi and Hey Ram, I could visualise those scenes unfolding even as I read the screenplay. But it would be really fascinating to visualise and imagine the scenes unfolding when we read the screenplay for a movie we have not seen. I am experiencing the same as I read the screenplay of "Peruvazhiyambalam" by Padmarajan.

P.S:

Yet another interesting aspect of Kamal is the title he gives for his films. Even Padmarajan was master in this aspect. But, in the case of Hey Ram, the title can mean so many things. People say 'Hey Ram' were the last words of Gandhi before he died (Ironically Gandhi does not utter these word in the film). Or, Hey Ram could be an expression of shock at the actions of the principal character 'Saket Ram' or a simliar expression at the action of Sriram Abhyankar or Nathuram Ghodse!

As to why he named the other film 'Mahanadi', you people who have seen the movie find out. If you are still in doubt read the screenplay or watch the movie once again. And let me see if you are able to deduce the logic :-).

Celebrating Mediocrity

When I visited Trivandrum last Onam, I had made up my mind to see a couple of Malayalam films, trying to compensate for the meagre few I had seen during my days at Coimbatore and Trichy owing to a scarcity of theatres showing Malayalam films coupled with a laziness to go searching and hoping to find cd's of the same, a task which seemed next to impossible.

However the very first film I saw at New Theatre made me wonder as to why I had even thought of such an idea. Ali Bhai seemed another stereotyped action film from Shaji Kailas and a last throw of dice from Mohanlal to provide a hit film to his fans. What worried me more was the near hysterical fans who seemed to relish the dialogues and the different action scenes in the film which was nothing short of a preposterous show by an actor of Lal's caliber.

The same film viewers who relished the natural films of Padmarajan and Bharatan and encouraged directors like Sathyan Anthikkad and Sibi Malayil to bring quality movies to the screens were now thriving on a horde of films which are an insult to the films made during the Golden era. The vestiges of the brilliance of the films during the golden era are found only in a few films now.

The fault lay partly with the Directors themselves, who decided that the tastes of the audience had changed with time and that the mimicry style of films was the new name of the art. However I would blame even the experienced actors who never bothered to be selective about their films and instead chose to work on every tom, dick and harry project.Sadly even the film industry seems depleted with its shortage of quality scriptwriters. While directors like Sibi Malayil and Sathyan Anthikkad were assisted to a large extent by brilliant scripts from Lohitadas and Sreenivasan, they failed miserably when the quality and quantity of output from such writers reached a low point. On the lighter side, it can be said that the only person who seemed to benefit from all this was Sreenivasan, who took this opportunity to make a blockbuster film "Udhayananu Tharam" :-)

A relief could be that while this could be a case of flash in the pan as regards the Malayalam film industry (owing to the various factors mentioned), the situation is worse in Tamil Nadu where genuinely good films are sometimes totally neglected by the public. Quality films like Anbae Sivam and Hey Ram were commercial failures though critically acclaimed. Again and again we see mediocre films from the like of Simbu, Vijay and their ilk getting attention from the film viewing public while the genius of Kamal and Mani Ratnam is being rubbished.

The effect is seen when Mani Ratam makes a film like Guru. The climax in that movie which showed the protagonist being questioned by an enquiry committee setup by the Government was nowhere near the levels depicted in the same kind of scene in the movie 'Aviator' by Martin Scorcese. It is not that Mani Ratnam could not have made it better, but the fact that the film viewing audience do not seem to have the sense to appreciate such natural techniques of filming. If an ace director like Mani succumbs to such pressure from the public , then it is no wonder that the others have made no effort in improving the quality of films.

Another example is Sreenivasan who scripted 'Kadha Parayumbol' . The same genius who scripted such high quality satirical scripts like 'Thalayanmanthram' and 'Sandesham' fails to bring out quality satirical humour in "Kadha...". It is really sad to see even Sreeni stoop down to such mediocre levels from the golden heights of success he once enjoyed.

Hero-worship also causes much of the above problems. Hero-worship discourages improvement and encourages mediocrity. The same people who set the benchmark for such high quality films in Malayalam now deal in immature slap-stick and crude comedy flicks. Recently I happened to see the comments section in Rediff regarding the review of the film "College Kumaran". At the end , I didn't know whether to laugh or lament over the bitter truth regarding the quality of present day super-star flicks. The only postive outcome I had was that the comments section provided me with humorous dialogues from fans of Mammootty and Mohanlal, which I thought I would share with all of you ;-).

Ajay, obviously who has had enough with all these flicks says "Super movie, like best of Lalettan clips, but heroine is too old for lalettan, it should be Baby Shalini or that daughter in Kazcha who should be Lal's heroine.Roma , Parvathy and Meera are all to old for our evergreen hero.."

VarunRaj, a die-hard Lal fan retorts " PAAVAM AJAY IS JEALOUS THAT EVEN THOUGH ABOVE 50, LALETTAN REMAINS THE PLAYBOY IN MALAYALAM MOVIES!!! SHAME ON OTHER MALE ACTORS, THAT STILL NOONE IS THER TO COMPETE WITH HIM EVEN WHEN IT COMES TO ACTING OR EVEN GETTIN THE GIRLS...SAKALA KALAA VALLAVANS R ONLY 2 IN INDIAN CINEMA, KAMAL SIR N LALETTAN!"

Girish says "It's total paisa vasool...heartening to see that Lalettan is back with a bang" to which Ajay says "Correct, my friend paid for the ticket and I had a superb nap for 2.5 hours, less mosquitoes than at home, even they are staying away from this movie.., woke up for 5 minutes and liked the dialogue by Suraj Venjaramoodu.. Pazham ..njan tharum.. ha ha funny, then slept again.."

Jiby mentions frequently that arrival of fresh and young talent like Prithviraj and Vineeth Sreenivasan could be a sign of changing times for the better. But my only concern is that I don't seem to find that talent emerging in the case of directors and script writers. GOD save Malayalam cinema!

Dasanum Vijayanum: Veendum Oru Varavelpu??

Picture Courtsey: www.indiamovieclub.com

When the names Mohanlal and Sreenivasan are spoken in unison, the first images that come to the mind of a Malayalam film lover are the scenes from the film “Nadodikattu”. In the genre of comedy films, no two characters have given us funnier moments than Ramdas and Vijayan.

Recently a few websites (like this one) claimed that Director Rosshan Andrews (of Udhayananu Tharam fame) had decided to direct the fourth part of this acclaimed series after initial rumors that the director duo Rafi-Mecartin had planned to do the same. But even in a recent interview by Rediff regarding his latest flick “Kadha Parayumbol”, scriptwriter Sreenivasan had denied any plans on making a fourth part.


“Nadodikattu”, the film released in 1987 was scripted by Sreenivasan and directed by Sathyan Anthikkad. It was succeeded by two sequels “Pattanapravesham” and “Akkare Akkare Akkare”. But it was Nadodikattu which gave life to the two characters and ensured a permanent place for them in the mind of the Malayalam film lovers.

Nadodikattu explored the trials and tribulations faced by two unemployed youths Ramdas and Vijayan and how fate finally reverses their fortunes through a series of humorous and bizarre incidents. The film has characters made memorable through actors like Thilakan (as Ananthan Nambiar) and Captain Raju (as the killer Pavanai). Though this film was a huge success, its sequels didn’t succeed commercially as much as the original. More than just highlighting the twist and turns in the life of two youths the film showcased the different shades of character in a Malayali living in Madras (now Chennai). The miserly business man Ananthan Nambiar, the taxi driver Balan (Innocent) struggling to meet his livelihood, the single woman living with her mother (Shobhana), the cunning politician (played by Janardhanan), the honest police officer are all testimony to this fact.

Of the two sequels, Pattanapravseham churned out better box office results compared to “Akkare..”. The reasons as to why the latter didn’t perform too well at the box office could be attributed to the following reasons:

• Released during the 2nd half of the golden era of Malayalam cinema (early 1990’s). Therefore was released during a period in which the quality of Malayalam films was so high that such films were hardly recognized.
• Removal of characters like Ananthan Nambiar and Gafoorka from the script, thus making the film devoid of some aspects critical to the success of its first two parts.
• Absence of the realistic factor by setting the story in a country like United States.

• The villain being an American instead of an Indian, thus limiting the comic situation with him, unlike the duels with the character “Prabhakaran” in Pattanapravesham.
  
• The very CID theme was made just to bring in the sequels, whereas, Nadodikattu was based on the difficulties faced by two unemployed graduates in managing their life. Therefore, the sympathy the viewers felt for the two characters in the first part was considerably reduced in the 2nd part and almost absent in the third part.
  
  
  So, that brings us to some interesting questions:
  
  · What story can we expect if Sreenivasan decides to pen the sequel?
  One has to take into consideration that both Mohanlal and Sreeni are in their 50’s.
  
  · Will we get any new characters like the ones played by Mukesh and Raju in the third part?
  · Will the setting of the story again be in a foreign country, with the current trend in all films being so? (In the Orkut community of Dasan and Vijayan one member suggested that the title of the film should be kept as “Ikkare Ikkare Ikkare”)

· Will a legendary comedian like Jagathy get a role in the film?

Many people have stated in various internet forums that a fourth part should not be made since it could spoil the “brand value” of the two characters. I am not sure whether that statement is true, since, the quality of average present day Malayalam films being the way we know it is, the film would do really well at the box-office if it at least matches up to the levels of “Akkare..” That would be the consensus, I suspect, even with Sreenivasan.

Comedy films need to have more of situation comedy rather than pure slap-stick comedy. Pattanapravesham was also a film which took a dig at politicians and even other detective films through a few dialogues. But it was very neatly done rather than scenes being introduced just for the sake of it. As to who was the target of the jokes in those scenes is anyone’s guess ;-).


I, personally, don’t prefer to see a fourth part. Lal and Sreeni would find it a real challenge to recreate the magic of the first two parts and I would rather see Sreeni script a story like ‘Kadha Parayumbol’, than a half-baked sequel of the CID series. What do all of you feel? Would love to hear your comments!

Before I wind up, I am leaving behind some memorable (and humorous) dialogues from the three films.

V – Vijayan
D- Dasan
AN- Ananthan Nambiar
I- Inspector
P - Pavanai
Pr – Prabhakaran (AN’s ‘partner in crime’ and friend)


Nadodikattu

V: Aishwaryathinte siren muzhangunnnathu pole ondu

V: Pre-Degree athrakku moshamaya degree alla



AN: A.N. Traders avihitha margathil onnum sambhadikunnilla
D : Sir..Saare..Nammal company-ile employees-a
AN : Thalkalam employees-inte roopathil ennu parayam
V : Bavathilum anagane thanneya saar


I: Arengilum Jamyam tharathe ningale release cheyyan pattilla
V: Saar thanne nammale Jamyathil irakkikude

P: I am Pavanai
V: Daasa..ithu etha ee alavalathi?

V: Sasi sir ippo evide kaanum
Seema: Sasiyettan ippo Bharaniyila
V: Bharaniyilo ! ?

AN: Angane pavanai shavamayi..enthokke bahulyamayirunnu..malappuram katthi, machine gun, olakkeda moodu..

Pattanapravesham

Pr: ee kallakadothokke kazhinjittu venam onnu guruvayoor vare pokan

D: Ivide dummy onnum ille.
I : saar..ithu oru kutthu kondulla kolayalle..mukalil ninnu veenathalla
D: Enthengilum akatte..Oru dummy enthayalaum venam

Guess all of you would have understood which politician and actor were made fun of :-)

AN: Prabahakara..Kallakadatthum kolapathakam okke engane pokunnu?

AN: Prabhakara..nee enganeyenkilum oru kalla passport oppichu tha..njan evideyengilum poyi samadhanamayi kallakadathu cheythu jeevicholam.

I: Sir..Kola cheytha alude shirt-ile button kittiyitundu..athoru thumballe
D: Thumbano thumbiyano ennu namakku pinne nokkam

V: nalla ugran biriyani..nalla vishappu
D: athu puthiya sambhavan allallo
V: Daasa..ippo nallapole kazhichillangil vayasu kalathu diabetes varumbo dukhikendi varum
D: Ingane kazhichal vaikathe dukhikendi varum


Pr: Kolapathakam cheythavare kandupidiccho?
D: Manyathayude mughammoodi aninjirikunna palarum ithil pinnilanennu namakku manasilayi sir..avare vaikathe akathakkum

It was really amusing to see a scared Karamana Janardhanan’s expression in this scene and the CID’s not realising that they were actually talking to the culprit.

Akkare Akkare Akkare

Mukesh..Da Gopi..ini gopi varachha mathi

American villains: Tell me the truth ..Aren’t u the CID’s from India?
Raju : No..I am gopi from Sasthamangalam

Drug Dealers: Give us the heroin
V : Hair oil-o?

D: Nammale Krishnan nair saar-a ivide ayachathu
Nedumudi: Aaah..athinte phalam-a ayal avide anubhavikkunathu
Soman is shown being beaten up by the villains.