Movie Review - The DaVinci Code

Huh. It was not a bad movie at all. I was pretty surprised, because, www.rottentomatoes.com made it sound like it was as bad as Cat woman. The movie is a faithful adaptation of the book. Typically, when a book is made into a movie, it almost never lives up to your expectations. However, in case of the DaVinci code, the book and the movie are at the same caliber - kinda ok...not bad..but not too great..

Heres the story in two line - A professor of religious symbology is called to solve a murder case in Paris. However, there are sinister forces at work, and with the help of a pretty french cop, he embarks on a quest to find a secret that could shake the foundations of Christiantity.

The director (Ron Howard) tries his best to prevent the movie from looking like a boring history lecture. Many computer graphics are used to illustrate the clues that Tom Hanks is trying to decipher. There are flashbacks in black white, with heavy snippets of history, and these add to the pace of the movie.

There are two major flaws in the movie. The lead actors - especially Tom Hanks. With really awful hair, Tom Hanks looks like he just got out of bed, walked to the set and sleepwalked through the movie shoot. The french actress that plays Sophie tries valiantly (and ends up looking cute in some scenes) but receives absolutely no help from Tom Hanks or the cinematographer.

The second flaw is the cinematography. The movie could have had a really spectacular look, considering the locations that the script takes the viewer to. However, the movie ends up looking about as visually appealing as a hospital waiting room.

With a pair of really passionate lead characters, and shot in rich sepia tones, the movie could have been taken to a whole new level.

So the final verdict? This may be a hit movie, but dont expect to see a big Dan Brown movie franchise (and i must say i am a little relieved. Dan Brown is one author who plagiarizes himself, but thats another subject all together)

My work week...

I realized the following -

* forget the Sarbanes Oxely act - bullshit needs to be regulated (as complete elimination is practically impossible)
* WTF (what the f***) needs to be legitimized as an appropriate response for deserving emails
* The act of asking for updates from someone should be placed in the same category as other harassment acts
* Every question need not be considered a good one. Some questions are pretty stupid
* Laptops and cellphones should be banned from meeting rooms. Noone is THAT important
* Blackberrys should be banned. Period.

My hot new laptop

This is my first post from my super cool Lenovo laptop. It has everything except a built in coffee maker. I can even swipe my finger print to log in (instead of a password)

My professional life is threatening to absolutely engulf my personal life (if it hasnt already), and hence, i consider my laptop buy an "investment". I can now blog from my bedroom, listen to music in the kitchen, watch a movie online anytime etc etc etc......

I have made a resolution to do atleast one thing every single day that will enrich my personal life. It could be something as simple as reading a chapter in a book, or something as big as buying a laptop. So, this is how my week progressed ..

Monday - Painted three walls in my house and decided to stop eating cookies from Subway (each friggin cookie is 220 calories!)
Tuesday - Learnt a new keerthanai in Hamsadhwani and spoke to mom and sis
Wednesday - Bonded with hubby dear.....

There is really an art to living a balanced life, i hope i figure it out someday soon...

Sudhdha Dhanyasi, MLV and Sudha

My morning commute turned from mundane to sublime when I listened to M.L Vasanthakumari's rendition of Naarayana Ninna Namada smarana. I have long been a big M.S Subbulakshmi fan. Now, my regard for M.L.V is almost equal to my love for M.S.

To me, no other singer's voice can convey bhakthi the way M.S Subbulakshmi's does, and I am also now convinced that noone else's voice can be as sweet and melodious as M.L.V's.

Another big bonus with listening to M.L.Vs concerts is that you can hear snatches of a very young and brilliant Sudha Raghunathan. The harmony between guru and sishya is so evident. Sudha's voice never over powers M.L.V's, and M.L.V generously stops singing occasionally so that Sudha can shine too.

The song Naarayana ninna is a Purandaradasa composition in the Sudhdha Dhanyasi raagam. Different raagams evoke different emotions in the listener's heart. While every raagam is beautiful in its own way, raagams like hindolam and kalyani are sure more easier on the ear than raagams like saveri or mayamalava gowla.

Sudhdha Dhanyasi falls in the former category - it's combination of swarams is dramatic. A seasoned vidhwan can sing complex alapanas in this raagam, but it is also easy enough even for a novice to identify, appreciate and sing along.

Along with Sindhu Bhairavi, Sudhdha Dhanyasi is an apt raagam for conveying feelings of devotion, love and wonder to the glory of God. Other songs in this raagam are Azhaga (in praise of Muruga) and the timeless Himagiri thanaye (G.N Balasubramaniam's rendition of this song is unbeatable).

Moving on to light music, this is also one of Ilayaraja's favorites. Check out some of the songs below -
* Sempoove poove from Siraichalai
* Poondhaliraada from Paneer pushpangal
* Maasi maasam aalana ponnu (Dharmadurai)

Here is the best of all.. .The original Thottal poomalarum from Padagotti!

Love you Simon and Garfunkel

Some lyrics from "I am a rock"...

I have my books
And my poetry to protect me;
I am shielded in my armor,
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
And a rock feels no pain;
And an island never cries

Book review - Monsoon diary by Shoba Narayan

After a long time, I read a truly delightful book - "Monsoon diary" by Shoba Narayan.
The actual book does not have a lot to do with Monsoons - however, the evocative beauty and the innate Indianness of the word captures the feeling the book creates in you .

The subject is pretty simple. It is an account of the author's life, intended to focus primarily on the culinary aspects. Shoba is a typical tam bram girl. She is brought up in Adyar, her grand parents from from Kerala, she goes to grad school in the US and ultimately marries an iyer aathu america mapillai. (sounds familiar?)

If R.K Narayan immortalized life in the small towns of Kerala and Karnataka, in the pre-independence era, Shoba comes pretty close to doing the same for the old Madras. Madras in the 70s and 80s (and even the early part of the 90s) was a quiet green haven, striking the perfect balance between its ancient Dravidian heritage, and the remnants of British colonialism. Shoba captures the spirit of that Madras. The book also beautifully describes one of the most endearing aspects of life in India - the people that you encounter all through the day (the paal kaaran, kariga kari, isthiri kaaran etc!!!!)

The pace of the book lags a bit during the latter half, especially in the chapters where the author describes her grad school life in the USA. Also, there are a number of recipes listed in the book. They are very good, but the most glaring omission is the absence of a good sambar recipe! Ofcourse, this book is not intended to be another Meenakshi Ammal's cook-and-see, but, isnt the cornerstone of our lives a good cup of arachuvitta sambar?

Shoba's book is a must have for any Madras born thamizh lover's library!

Movie Review - Azhagai irukkira bayama irukku...

I understand one part of the title. The "bayama irukku" part. Enakku bayama irukku. Thamizh cinemavoda nilamaya nenacha rombavey bayama irukku. Now the azhagai irukka part....who exactly are the movie's makers referring to here? Well, i dont want to sound too bitchy, i'll rest my case.

AIBI (the popular acronym for the movie) starts out as a convoluted love rectangle (ha! you didnt see that one coming did ya). Just when you wrap your tired mind around the rectangle concept, the script writers zap you with another twist in the tale. Its not a snazzy new rectangle concept, its just another jaded love triangle subject.

The director tries to handle the story differently - by adding call-outs and animated cartoons. If you hated the stupid CGI parrot in Main prem ki diwani hoon, do not even attempt watching AIBI.

Bharath is good. He is no longer the gawky Boyz teenager, and his performance has the right mix of vulnerability and playfulness.

Yuvan Shankar Raja's music is one of the high points of the movie. Its different, refreshing and very much like the new Chennai...I am still clinging on to the old Madras and Yuvan's dad's slow songs, so it will take a while for his music to grown on me.

The first half of the movie is actually a little watchable, if you try and ignore the heroine - Mallika Kapoor. Everything goes downhill when the Ooty flashback starts, with "coimbatorelendhu ootyku CARliyey polam" - fame Renuka.

I can tolerate an over acting heroine or an over acting mother. Throw both of them into the same movie...and make them yell a LOT...and you begin to see why even the movie's writers included the cautionary term "bayama irukku" in the title.

What now?

Last night, I started watching Sex and the city on WB. I then realized a shocking truth - i cannot watch it anymore. I have watched every single episode 50 times. I have now truly reached the point where I know every single dialogue and can even recall every dress Carrie wore. For the past year, SATC was my great escapist tool. Now, what do I do? Can there be life after SATC?

Well, maybe yes. I just spent all of sunday catching up on episodes of Big Love (on HBO) and the Mind of Mencia (on comedy central). Big Love is about this polygamist family living in Utah and its pretty interesting (like all other HBO series).

The Godfather

I saw Godfather again last night, for the 30th time. People think only guys dig the Godfather. There is something so incredibly powerful about this movie, and Brando and Pacino give the best performances that Hollywood has ever seen.

In You've got mail, Tom Hanks tells this to Meg Ryan ... "The Godfather is the i-ching; the Godfather is the sum of all wisdom". That is so true! Everything you need to learn from life, you can learn from the Godfather!

So, here are my favorite quotes; They are profound!

"...and if I ever need any guidance, who's a better consiglieri than my father?"

"Never tell anybody outside the family what you're thinking again."

"Leave the gun...take the Canoli"

"Its not personal..its business"

Back to blogging (for the nth time!)

I stopped writing for a while, for various reasons. However, Without blogging, I feel like a part of myself is missing, or rather, deafeningly silent. Afterall, is there a better forum for me to rant about bad airline service or worship The King? (do I even need to mention that I am referring to Ilayaraja?)

So here I am, back to my favorite old blogspot. I do not know how long this new renewed zeal for blogging will last, but I already have five different articles queued up in my mind. So my faithful readers (or rather Mom and Sis!).. Rejoice! The lazyblogger is back!!

Ajith rocks

Whew! Just saw the trailor for Paramasivam and I'm still shaking my head with disbelief. Ajith has lost atleast 30 pounds, and looks like he is 26 again (i typed in 21 to begin with, and then realized thats a million years younger than me, so typed in a number thats closer to ahem..my age!!).

My blogging

It seems to have a pattern, i blog like crazy for a weekend, then I stop; I write a few nostalgic articles, a few cynical articles, post a recipe and bitch about a bad Thamizh movie. I think I am stuck in a blogging rut. Most of my favorite bloggers are also suddenly silent.

Madras during Margazhi = Heaven on earth

Oh those glorious Margazhi days in Madras! The blustery winds and storms of Karthikai give way to misty cold mornings, and the narrow side streets in Mylapore are decorated with beautiful rangoli patterns. Lazy me, I never woke up early enough to enjoy the absolutely divine chakkarai pongal, puli saadham and thayir saadham that many temples served. My adorable paati brought back prasadham for me though.

One of the things I am truly grateful for in my life is the childhood I had growing up in Mylapore. Starting in the middle of december, and continuing upto the beginning of Thai, Madras hosts one of the greatest music festivals in the world. I lived a short walk away from some of the great music halls - The music academy, Mylapore fine arts, Naradha gana sabha, Bharathiya vidya bhavan, Rani seethai hall etc...

90% of the concerts during the december music season are traditional Carnatic vocal, but you also have a small but very significant number of hindustani, bharathanatyam, kathak, jugalbandhi and instrumental recitals. The performances are organized by the seniority and popularity of the artists. Free concerts held in the mornings have performances by budding artists, and these are often the best concerts to go to. I have had the pleasure of watching performances by Sudha Raghunathan, Unni Krishnan and many others, long before they became super stars.

Going to the katcheris is an experience by itself. The crowd is very heavily TamBram, mostly populated by the Mami Mafia dressed in their winter finery. The first two rows are typically filled with thathas and paatis, and a few Americans and Europeans dressed in tie and dye clothes with jasmine flowers in their hair. Every new entrant into the auditorium will be immediately stared at, and the Mamis also double up as fashion police. The curtain then lifts and the artists make a grand appearance. The male performers have it a little easy, but the female singers are compelled to dress like divas (they fear the mami mafia too you see). You can see the most spectacular kancheepuram sarees and accessories on Nithyashree, Sudha and Bombay Jayshree.

The music finally starts and all the mundane things are forgotten. There may be many critics for the Katcheri season (too many concerts in too little time, not enough Thamizh music etc). My question for them is this: Have you ever sat through an entire concert, a really good one at that?

Even the most sophisticated music systems cannot ever capture the spirit of a live Carnatic concert. I cannot find the right words to describe it- its a combination of Bhakthi, talent, and a unique relationship which the performers establish with the audience for the duration of the concert. Its three and a half hours of pure bliss...

When the concerts got over, we would then head to the cafetarias. These have gained a lot of popularity over the past few years. The original purpose was to offer refreshments to tired rasikas as they hop from one concert to the next, and unfortunately many people look forward only to the tiffin and not the concerts these days. For a similar reason, December was also the only time I got to meet a lot of my relatives. Because we lived so close to the sabhas, they would stop by our house. The official reason for their visit was apparently to say hello to my paati, but my mom and I knew better.

My parents and I would walk back home, doing an intensive review of the concert, with my mom humming different raagas to herself and I pretending to look bored (it wasnt cool at my time to be seen in Katcheris!).

Life has changed now, its years since I've spent a december in Madras. There are many people like me out there, and die-hard Carnatic music fans in the USA are attempting to recreate the Margazhi magic. Between may and june, a lot of major Carnatic singers make the Dallas-NJ-Phoenix-California-Chicago rounds. I was lucky enough to catch a brilliant T.M Krishna concert this summer with my parents. And to make the Katcheri experience complete, we managed to quickly review the sarees the ladies around us were wearing, I got stared at by every mami in the crowd and we even had good tiffin and kaapi before we went back home..

King Kong movie review

The movie kinda sucks. Sorry, I know every other review says its the greatest movie ever made. The truth is the movie is looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong. I like long movies (i watched the uncut version of hum apke hain kaun atleast 50 times). However, there is a difference between a movie being long because there is a genuine storyline, and a movie being long because the director is totally obsessed with the cinematic world that he has created and cannot distance himself enough from the movie to spare his audiences. King Kong falls into the latter category.

Over 60 minutes into the movie, theres still no monkey. Thats actually good for the movie, because the first hour is well taken. Depression era New York is captured brilliantly, and Naomi Watts luminously fills the screen (she is stunningly beautiful). A whole load of chills and thrills later, the monkey finally makes his grand entry.

And then the movie begins running in an endless loop - Angry monkey, yells at everyone, thumps his chest. Angry monkey kills people (not with his hands but pushes them off bridges into ravines and other heights). Angry monkey eats bamboo and looks like a sad hermit (not easy to sympathize with him though). Angry monkey plays with pretty blond girl and glances soulfully at her. Repeat cycle.

I waited eagerly to watch the movie for two big scenes - the final one where King kong climbs the empire state building and wrestles helicopters, and the one where king kong battles dinosaurs. Both scenes have been brilliantly taken, and remind you that no amount of dvds or ondemand movies can ever replace the big screen. And then, both the scenes never end. They go on and on and on and on .......

The final verdict - do watch the movie in the theater for sure. Only thing, before leaving, meditate for a few minutes, chant the word patience to yourself 20 times, take your friends along and sit in a secluded corner of the theater so that you can chat with them and play games on your cell phone to tide you through the boring scenes.

Peter Jackson - have you ever seen a person with the job title Editor?

The simple life?

2005 is drawing to a close, and I cannot believe how time flies. We live in such a different world today. Even seven or eight years back, none of us could have imagined the speed with which technology would evolve. What seemed like magic even 10 years back is reality now, to a point where we take it for granted.

Example? When I was a little kid, I always dreamed of a magic machine - You could feed any question into it, and it would give you the answer instantaneously and I could magically learn about everything in the world. There would be no mysteries anymore. It didnt take long for the "magic" machine to evolve. Its simply a computer with a browser in which you type www.google.com. If there is any topic in the world, chances are some person in some corner of the planet has already thought about it and also posted something online, and google fetches it for you. Simple huh? Its no longer magical, and if google takes more than a second to return search results, I am already pounding my fists with frustration.

Which brings me to my next subject - Frustration. Agony. Aggravation. With all these big advances and changes, are we really happier? Consider advances in the field of medicine and packaging technology. There are atleast a 100 medicines easily available for different combinations of cold-cough-headache. Packaging technology has evolved to create safe medicine bottles that children cannot accidentally open. The result? Tylenol has desgined a cough medicine bottle soooo safe, even adults cannot open it. I spent an agonizing 30 minutes a few nights back desperately trying to figure out the childproof bottle cap with no success.

There are hundreds of cable tv channels. Comcast also has a super cool on-demand promotion where you can watch hundreds of movies with the click of a button, with rewind and fastforward features available. So did I have a fun weekend watching TV? No. I couldnt decide on a single program to watch, and I turned off the TV and blogged instead.

I bought a GPS to make sure I did not get lost during my road trip. Did it keep me safe and happy? Safe yes. Happy? Well, I did not really look out of the car window because I was too busy trying to fiddle with the instructions and make the darned thing work.

I stood in line to pay for 100 hours of dial up internet access at the VSNL office six years back, and I used to patiently wait all night to download one mp3 file. Today, if the transfer rate on my highspeed internet connection is anything lesser than a zillion megabytes per second, I lose patience and call customer service.

I read atleast five women's magazines december issues. Every single magazine was filled with tips on how to beat "holiday stress". For weeks, my coworkers asked me anxiously if I had prepared for the holidays (like an exam?).

Where are we heading in this super fast world? Are our lives really better? Or is it time to rexamine the truth in the phrase "the simple life"?

In praise of routine

I probably sound crazy saying this, but I love the daily grind, what others may call "mundane" routine. For me, it goes like this everyday
- get dressed
- battle traffic to work listening to Ramarajan hits
- make a big pot of coffee
- spend the whole morning tapping away at my comp (God knows what i do!)
- eat a toasted cheese and pickles sandwich from subway for lunch
- make some smartass comments in afternoon meetings
- strategically look very busy from 5:00 to 5:45
- drive back home listening to Fanaa in full volume
- Watch 2 episodes of Friends and 2 episodes of Sex and the city
- Eat maggi noodles and ketchup
- Watch the jay leno show and fall asleep

When the holidays start, i really feel lost. I guess its because work is really the only thing I have in this country thousands of miles away from home. When the work week starts, the five days of the week just fly and its friday before i know it. On a holiday, i can only wake up so late, and there are only so many loads of laundry that need to be done. Even if i make the most elaborate lunch, its all done by 12:00. After an afternoon nap and a cup of tea at 4:00, the entire evening suddenly looms ahead in front of me. What do I do?

Orlando - without the Disney Universal visit

I have already completed the Disney - Universal rounds. So I did'nt exactly jump for joy when we had to include Orlando in our Florida trip itinerary (we wanted to do an east-coast to west-coast road trip in Florida, and hence the mandatory central florida halt).

We reached Orlando late wednesday afternoon. After a massive all you can eat all-veggie lunch buffet at the Orlando Woodlands (great dosas, mediocre sambar), we couldnt muster up the energy for a theme park visit (by the way, to get to the "world's happiest place", does it just take a plane ticket, and an admission fee?).

If you reach the airport and go straight to Kissimee (where Disney is) and then drive to Universal in Orlando, its hard to get a taste of the real Orlando - a tranquil vibrant city. We drove to Lake Eola, which is right in the heart of downtown Orlando. Late in the evening, the one mile trail around the lake was filled with joggers and shoppers, along with geese, cranes, pelicans, and duck/geese families (the babies were the cutest!). There were little ponds around the lake, and a huge lighted fountain in the middle. It was the perfect evening getaway - a simple walk, fresh air and baby geese without a $50 admission fee.

Travel notes:
Parking was not hard to find (I was there after 6:00 pm). There is a Panera bread across from the lake. Grab a breakfast or lunch to go and enjoy it by the lake. Even though Orlando is located in Florida, do NOT let anyone kid you into thinking its warm and sunny all through the year. Winter in Orlando is fairly chilly, especially with the wind. You will need a light pair of gloves and a warm jacket. Woodlands and Khasiyat are your indian all-vegetarian choices.

I'm back

After three hectic weeks (moving house, travelling, and travelling again), I'm finally back home and back to blogging. Man, I love home. Home sweet sweet dearest home!

Kasthuriman Movie Review

I almost lost hope in Thamizh cinema (after watching Sivakasi and Maja), and then I saw Kasthuriman. I love Thamizh cinema all over again now! The movie is not perfect, but the film makers have made a commendable effort at good cinema.

Meera Jasmine and Prasanna are at loggerheads for a while, and then ofcourse become friends and fall in love. Meera initially appears to be a frivolous rich kid, but actually has a gazillion problems of her own. She and her mom live with her sister and her abusive husband. The sis's husband also wants to marry Meera, who tries to play the juggling act between warding off his advances, while keeping her sister's family peace intact.

Meera Jasmine is portrayed as the new pudhumai penn - She works as a day nurse, caring for elderly people and supports her sister's family, pays her way through college, and also pays for her boyfriend's IAS education and his dad's hospital bills. I was really impressed with this. Remember the days when the hero will tell the heroine "you sit at home, naa mootai thookiyavadhu unna kaapatharen"? Even today, 99% of Thamizh movies portray young women merely as brides-in-waiting, sitting at home while their annas and appas keep pushing themselves further into debt as they find a nalla mapillai. Things have changed so much in society these days - women are independent and confident, and many good men are no longer insecure and egoistic. Finally, a thamizh movie has mirrored this. Way to go!

Lohith Das (the director) has done a good job in keeping the pace of the movie entertaining, without the need for any "glamour" songs or audience pleasing stunts. Prasanna is dignified and sincere. Meera Jasmine's performance is very good - she portrays strength and vulnerability equally convincingly.

The one thing that I found extremely disturbing was Vinodhini's (Meera's sister) willingness to continue to live with her husband - she knows he is abusive, and she knows he is after her sister. She still wants to live with him? I just did not get this. She is not even financially dependent on her husband, as her sister is supporting the family. Kallaanaalum kanavan i agree, but, Kanavan pondati thalaila kalla thooki potta? appo kooda pullaanalum purushan?

The movie's climax disappoints. Throughout the movie, Meera Jasmine is strong and fearless. However, when her brother in law is beating her sister, she just meekly cries and feebly tugs at his sleeve saying "please dont do this". Her actions after this scene also did not make much sense. I have a question, but if i write that here, i will be giving away the movie ending.

So, go ahead, watch the movie. Support good thamizh cinema!

Someone is watching over me

I had one of those days, when everything almost goes wrong, but somehow miraculously doesnt.

It started this morning - typical december day in Chicago. It was snowing and I wanted to start my car ahead of time. So I ran out, no coat or gloves on, quickly started my car, and then ran back to my apartment, only to realize I'd forgotten my keys. I had not locked my apartment, so I was ok on that front, but, just to get into my apartment building, I need another key, which I did not have. I stood there in the cold, desperately trying the buzzer for ALL the other 10 apartments in my building. Not a single neighbour buzzed me in. Just when I was getting ready to start howling my eyes out, one of the residents of another building stepped out. I ran up to her, and asked her to help me out. I didnt think she could, as our buildings are not connected, but she had a super bright idea - she wanted to try her key. And it worked!!!! So thats miracle number 1 for me.

They do a pretty good job of cleaning the main roads when it snows. But the side roads are always a mess. I made a right turn into this little side road to get into my office parking lot. Turns are always dicey when it snows, and this road was a complete mess. My wheels started skidding, and my car started snaking right to left across the road. Miracle number 2 happened. There was absolutely nobody else on that road. Neither behind me nor on the opposite side, and my car finally steadied itself.

I went out for lunch. I was going pretty slow, but the van driver to my right suddenly decided he needed to get on the left turn lane. Without checking his lanes, without looking who was to his side, he just jammed his brakes, and cut straight across two lanes to get to the left turn lane. I managed to brake in time, and my car (bless it) came to a complete stop, just a few inches clear of that %^$$##'s rear. I really thought i was going to crash, and i didnt. Miracle number three.

I ofcourse spent the rest of my day wondering about "thalais" and "thalapaas" as the famous saving goes. I guess all my mom's prayers for me do work really!