Is Kabali that bad?

Disclaimer:

1. This is not a review of Kabali though it is due from my end. 

2. All the below observed points are mine and mine only. I am always open to discussions and get new insights from you if your thought process doesn't match mine.

When I went through the posts in FB, a common and recurring theme emerged - Kabali is not like Baasha or Padayyappa or any of his other earlier movies.

Point 1: Before the movie's release itself , Ranjith and even Rajnikanth had said very clearly to not expect Kabali to be like Baasha. If many went in with that kind of expectation despite their gentle word of reminder, is it Rajni's or Ranjith's fault??

Point 2: Yes. No celebrated Punchlines or his famous One-liners or the extreme Daredevil actions. That's what make Kabali soar high. For once, Rajni has appropriately acted matching his real age. Even in the romance scenes with Radhika Apte. I had the apprehension that it might become schmaltzy and cloyed. Fortunately, it's not overdone or under done but just perfect.

But one thing, Deii...If he does all those things like fighting in the air or jumping from the terrace also , you guys..and girls.. are going after him and yelling 'will he ever change?' and when he does something different, you are like 'where are his famous punches?'. Nothing to say more than this.

Point 3: Unlike his previous films where he is shown to be larger than life person who becomes rich and powerful in a song and with superhuman capabilities, Kabali is someone who is completely susceptible and vulnerable throughout the movie - be it in his emotions as a doting father when he jumps towards the door in the Le Royal scene or when Rajini makes a reference to Vadivelu's well-known comedy "Nanum periya rowdy dhan". How many films have we seen him referring to another person's dialogue when he always creates his own and delivers them in his Rajni-esque style?

Point 4: I respected Ranjith's thinking process for his penchant towards communism and attention to detail towards his love - the che guevara poster, reference to Ambedkar's suit, giving meaning to Rajni's coat through his wife and even the road where Valli lived - Dr. Ambedkar Road! Rajni is the big factor, obvious! But, Ranjith has also showed his knack when it came to expressing what he loved.

Point 5: When you strip away all your colossal expectations from your mind and see Kabali as Kabali alone without any comparisons to Baasha or Muthu or Padayappa Or Shivaji, the movie is surely be an enjoyable watch however flawed Kabali is - Just like our Superstar himself to show he is also a mortal. We need to understand that even Superman died on one fine day!

Point 6: I am not a Rajini fanatic who does "Paal Abhishegam or burst crackers". So, why the hell did I give all those pointers? Simple. as a person who has been thoroughly entertained by this indescribable phenomena for more than 2 decades, it was extremely sad seeing people going at his throat and saying stuffs like "he has lost his appeal, style etc" when he has given more than what he could for Kabali even at that age.

I am not here to correct anyone's views or stand points. Everyone is entitled to their own perspectives irrespective whether it's right or wrong and I, for one, respect your opinions.

I rest my case here.

The Night time Micro Adventure

Disclaimer:

All the characters below are real. Any resemblance to living beings is not at all coincidental.

The year was 2015.  This scary and terrifying incident happened to us prior to 2 months before the dawn of 2016. In the blink of an eye, we are only 5 months away from the birth of 2017. It seems like the Earth has put in extra shifts to move things faster! As usual, overlooking and forgiving my poor joke, Jatin (J), Narasimhan(N) and Vignesh(I/me/myself) had to face the brunt of this nerve racking episode after a delightful day marked with lots of joyousness and immense satisfaction.

After waving tsunami-like Tatas to DG Sir and Shobhana Mam at the chai shop, N, J and I boarded the badly maintained and battered Number 96 bus to Coimbatore Railway Station from Ettimadai to catch the Nilgiris Express @ 9pm. All 3 of us had arrived on Saturday morning to give our helping hands, enthusiastic energy and actionable support to make the Annual Diwali Party on Sunday to be a successful affair. 

To call it merely success was really an understatement for the stupendous collective effort and vibrant positive energy that was displayed by each and every individual who made the entire event a resounding and rollicking success. It was at this juncture that we had to bid adieu to DG Sir and Shobhana Mam after sipping upon the hot tea at the nearby chai shop around 6pm. Little did we know that Gods, the Master Players, were laughing to their heart's contents from their heavenly abodes.

Since we had sufficient time at our disposal, we headed towards Brookefields Mall to have our dinner. It was like any other Sunday evening. The mall was chock-a-block full and bustling with lot of events though hosted by disappointingly unenergetic hostesses. Taking the escalator at every level, N, J and I reached our destination to satisfy our grumbling stomachs.

Munching, gulping and casually chatting over our victuals, it was then the snake began to raise its hood! It was a timely call from Ashwin who asked us to leave the mall immediately and proceed to the railway station at the earliest if we hadn't started our proceeding to catch our train. He told us that as it was raining heavily, the roads have come to a stand still because of the stagnant waters under the subway. Our combined first reaction was "Is it raining?". Listening to the steadily increasing pitter-patter of the thunderous rains in the background over the call, we quickly ended our conversations, hurriedly finished our dinners  and hastened to the exit in the many blinks of an eye.  

What we saw made our skins to crawl with chill, literally and figuratively. It was not just raining cats and dogs but also cows, buffaloes and other domesticated animals! The cool AC shelter and the massive structure had literally subdued the riotous noise of Earth's sweet sweat. To make matters worse, there was a sea of people at the entrance with umbrellas as well as without umbrellas and  waiting for the continual pouring rain to give a brief respite so that everybody can make a quick escape towards their respective homes. Unfortunately, it was otherwise. Wadding through and stamping on almost everyone, N, J and I reached the farthest outside point of the mall from where we thought we could hire an auto and make a dash to the station. 

It was a sight like I have never seen in my 2 years stay at the Pump City. The traffic was akin to the famous scene in 'Mudhalvan'. The Pump City literally needed lots of pumps to pump the water out! We muttered our sincere thanks to Ashwin - our saviour - for warning us of the impending threat. I looked at my watch to see that the time read 730pm. We had a solid an hour and half to make it to the station. Under normal situations, it was a cake walk! Unfortunately for us, even a normal walk was difficult at that moment. Needless to say, we abandoned our idea to hire the auto.

Carefully skipping, hopping, jumping and leaping to all corners of the road to avoid the dangerous electric cables, wires, pot holes and the inch by inch moving traffic, we created our own way forward amidst the still lashing down rains and the still traffic. If Prabhu Deva had seen our precisely executed and well-balanced steps then, he would have been mighty pleased and proud with our dancing efforts! It was already 8pm and we were even nowhere near the subway but only to the traffic signal nearby the Mall. 

By God's grace, realization struck me like a lightning, pardon my pun here, that it was nearly an hour ago when Ashwin informed us of the heavy traffic near the subway because of the standing waters. There was no respite of the rains since then and I was sure the volume of water would have increased drastically to severely impend the movement of normal walking also. Asking the guys to hold on for a moment, I told them about the potential danger that we were in and the only way to overcome it is to take a short cut near the bridge to the station. The sharp-eyed Mr. N was quick to spot and tell me that the subway was the sole route and no other road existed. Fortunately or unfortunately, whenever I used to come to the city from the college by train, on one fine day, I decided to walk on and along the tracks. It was then I discovered that there was a broken wall adjacent to the tracks and I used to jump it to slowly walk towards the mall. We decided to execute our choreographed steps once again to make it to the broken wall but this time with even more experience!

It was a blood-curdling sight to see the sewer-mixed waters rushing with full intensity downwards the adjacent road to the subway much like the swirling river Ganges at Haridwar and Rishikesh. The train was due to leave in less than double the ten minutes. We had to cross the fraught with danger gushing water to make across the unmended wall. It was also virtually and really impossible for us to traverse through the waters under the subway and then catch the train in time. Despite the cold surrounding us, Mr. J and Mr. N were having a heated discussion as to whether to take the subway or cut across the violently flowing waters. We were losing valuable moments that would determine the train leaving with us or not. 

With the heart in my mouth, I just took the first step towards the blinding spurting spill. I knew that even one wrong step taken would result in a very bad injury - The worst case scenario being even death. Such was the ferocity and intensity with which Adam's Ale rushed through. There was simply and absolutely no room for error. We had got to do it right and do it right in our first attempt itself. Seeing me walking towards an inevitable doom alone, Mr. N and Mr. J, reluctantly and hesitantly followed me.

My slippers were all slippery and the fresh, icy cold waters made my legs numb as if someone had cast Petrificus Totalus curse on me!  I was more than cautious when I took each step. However, if it hadn't been for Mr. J's heroics, we would have been swept away off our feet by the raging mini flood. I was walking first followed by J and then N. J caught our hands with such force and strength that it was like having 2 bricks on my wrist. The way J managed to steady himself, balance and rock to and fro to counter the effects of the intensity of flowing water was simply pure physics in motion! After what seemed like eternity, we safely crossed the Waters of Death and then stravaiged on the tracks for a moment.

The 10 minute countdown began for the carriage on wheels to depart from the station. This is where N showed his admirable bravery. With no lights around and the rains still pelting upon us, N marched his way boldly on the tracks by being aware of all the dangers like loose ground, insects, snakes and the trains themselves. Whenever we heard a loud blaring horn, N immediately reassured us saying that the trains are very far and we could reach the platform in time. It was as if N had a special power to speak with trains! J and I were treading slowly behind N who was full of energy and giving us constant updates on the landscape so that nothing awry happened to any of us en route to the nearing station.

Just like a lost traveller getting excited on seeing the first person they encounter, we were over the moon (though there was no moon on that day!) on seeing the sloping ascent of the first platform. We were exactly a minute ahead of the departure time and was right on time to see the Nilgiris Express slowly chugging into the platform. Silently thanking Lord Ayyappa for extricating us from the intricate situation,  All waz well and I was also sure that because of the sudden rains the wells in Coimbatore were also swelled! 

PS:

Hadn't the benevolent and thoughtful Ashwin called us at the right moment and asked us to leave asap, we would have been idly chatting and left the train behind. No amount of Thank You can do justice for what you did, dude.

PS 2:

If the government had repaired the wall, we wouldn't have been able to board our trains. For once, I thanked the government for not doing their duty properly. 

Pattappa's Thaligai - A Cracker of a Lunch Buffet!!

It was a toss between Annalakshmi and Pattappa's Thaligai. The latter won the competition hands down even without the coin being flipped! My friend told me that it's a traditional and authentic TamBrahm Iyengar restaurant which serves outstanding meals. Is that the differentiating factor as Annalakshmi is also pure vegetarian? Price. And I will definitely talk about it later on in this review.

So, my friends and I dropped in at around 2pm. As I was completely new to RA Puram, I did not have an easy time in locating the place. But, to the local denizens, it's a walk in the park, literally and figuratively, as the restaurant is just opposite to Nageswara Rao Park. The restaurant was jam-packed even at that time and it took us some time to get seated in our allotted places.

We were so ravenous that the moment we got the bill from the counter and had a good look at the neat and clean place, we headed straight to the buffet section. The rule goes like this: Everyone has to compulsorily have their first course from the spread counters. Subsequently, the items will be served at the table by the polite staffs for your 2nd, 3rd, 4th till your 'n' and 'n+1'th filling.

So, the buffet began with a couple of Chapatis, Aviyal, Sambar rice, Tamarind rice, Payasam, Potato varuval and Vadagam. The Chapatis were the usual. No big difference compared to other places. But, the aviyal was going all bonkers and dancing to all tunes on my taste buds! It was exactly the way my mom used to prepare @ home. If I thought the Aviyal was the best thing since sliced bread, I was proved completely wrong until I tasted the Payasam. Sweetness Embodiment to the extent that I had to leave behind some payasam in the cup as it was too sugary. The hot Sambar Rice with the right kind of spicy Potato varuval was like the venn pongal they offer in Nanganallur Anjeyar Temple. It was heaven! The combo was so perfect that I could have ordered only the Sambar rice alone instead of the entire buffet! Likewise, the Tamarind Rice with the vadagam combo was equally good but it still fell short of the Sambar Rice! As ever, the Curd rice with Mormilaga and pickle was the ideal soothing agent for the stung tongue with the lingering stunning taste of the delicious Sambar Saadham.

The Buffet is priced @ Rs. 170. You cannot get such a terrific lunch which is exactly like how it is prepared at your homes. I was fondly remembered of my mom's and paati's sleight of hand when they create some culinary magic  - The strong happy emotions I felt when I dined here is something priceless!

The Always Irrepressibly Exuberant and Buoyant Diwali Bash

Ever since I stepped into the sprawling and verdant Amrita School of Business to pursue my MBA, there is only one thought that lingers and runs through my mind like the still waters of the  Amazon for the past 3 years whenever The Festival of Lights was around the corner - "When will we be having the gala Diwali fest @ the quaint and charming Ettimadai Village?".What's so special about this significant fiesta? EVERYTHING!!

For those who haven't been a part of this wonderful occasion, I would like to give a small and brief primer to get yourself acquainted with the history of this lively celebration. DG Sir and Shobhana Mam has been the cornerstone of this buzzing-with-lots-of-life evento by laying the foundation for The Outreach Programme to spread its magnanimous and wondrous wings to the underprivileged children of the neighbouring village which is very close to our college. We used to teach the children without fail on every Saturday despite our hectic case studies and presentations. DG Sir and Shobhana Mam took this initiative one step further by organizing a mega Diwali event where the volunteers can contribute whatever they could according to their wish - be it monetarily or by being physically present investing their own time and effort to make it a grand success. Punctuality personified Shobhana Mam always gives me the dates well in advance to book my tickets for this high octane and engaging celebration when I became an alumni. It is not only just for me but also for all the other volunteers who wants to be a part of this highly spirited affair. Shobhana Mam goes the extra mile by also arranging rooms for us in our hostels by cutting across the university's red tapes effortlessly.

DG Sir and Shobhana Mam are one of the most adored and respected professors in the campus for their down-to-earth personalities despite their highly regarded IIT-IIM and PhD degrees from world renowned universities like Berkeley besides their laudable work experiences in MNCs like Ponds. Without any infinitesimal iota of doubt, it is a taken corollary that a wave of volunteers are always attracted to this extravaganza like a moth to a bright flame just because of their persona and their immense respect towards them.

The pre-Diwali fest organizing is as exciting and fun-filled as the main picture itself. Before the D-Day, DG Sir, Shobhana Mam, Guna Anna, myself and whoever is interested and willing would march towards the streets and markets of Coimbatore to buy the goody bags for the kids as well as the prizes for the competitions that would be held on the action-packed day. It has always been a good learning experience by observation for me to learn the management ropes in real life from the Ponds perfectionist when he negotiates with the shrewd and case-hardened wholesale traders who tries to fleece their customers to pocket some extra cash in their kitties. The entire exercise, which goes very late into the evening, is extremely eventful when we hunt for the cheapest and the best shops that sells our required plenty-of-items-to purchase-in our list like soaps, oils, powder, tooth brushes etc. for all the children living in that reduced circumstances. Once when the shopping spree is done and dusted, we head to our resting and nesting place - DG Sir's home and his specialty cup of hot and steaming coffee!

Just like how we throng to a Rajnikanth's new release with full of life and gusto, the expressions on the children's faces are worth an infinite zillion dollars! So much enthusiasm, effervescence and the sparkle in their eyes when they show their ardent desire to display their talents in front of others and be deservedly appreciated for their efforts - You can actually feel a tremendous swell of emotions rising within yourself when you witness the happiness bouncing and gliding on their cute faces. The programme kick starts with the "Kadavul Vaazhthu" and the chain of events ranging from Tug of War to numerous Sports Competitions to the famous Murukku-hanging-eating contest. Separate events are held for both boys and girls catering to all ages. The kids also participate with such keenness and intensity that you can see their raw potential in its true unadulterated nature. The children also sing, dance and perform skits to exhibit their uninhibited talent and simply wow us with their performances.

As we are on the heels of songs and dance, the volunteers are not left far behind. They also give an exceptional display of foot-tapping peppy and melodious songs and  mesmerize the audience with their hypnotic singing abilities. Vidhya Sagar, Vishnu, Vaisakh, Kevin et al have simply blown away our heads with their dazzling renditions on the latest popular numbers which literally makes the kids go crazy with much agog and dance wildly to their mellifluous tunes. Our special set of photo experts, courtesy Gobi, Ashwin and of course, our very own DG Sir, capture all the candid moments with such precision that you can feel their clicks to laugh rambunctiously like the delightful frozen moments themselves.

With all the energy expended and exhausted from the various activities, the next obvious conclusion is Food, of course! Lunch is always an indispensable happening where the wolf-hungry children and adults alike are served with Veg Biryani, Curd Rice, Fryums and Sweet. The collective effort of each and every individual, who does their earnest best to quickly walk, run and hop from one place to another for ensuring that everyone has had to their heart's content, is indeed a sight to behold! At the other end of the spectrum, another bunch of bubbly volunteers actively involve themselves to see to it that none of the gifts that had been purchased the earlier day is missed out while packing the goody bags. It is an extremely time-consuming and arduous task as we had to pack up the long list of items without overlooking or missing out any single present for any child. With seamless integration from the patient collaboration of the energetic volunteers, the substantially complicated wrap ups are done smoothly and efficiently. In fact, the whole process is actually made to look rather simple though it is way far from that!

By the fag end of the day, though everyone is dog tired to death, the atmosphere is still highly contagious with fire and vigour to still do more than what has been done. It is really an immensely satisfying feel when you know that you have been able to light up joy in another person's life and when it is children, the feelings and the emotions are thoroughly overwhelming and flowing like the thunderous Niagara falls. It gives us the sense of purpose and outwardness that life is merely not just simply working and getting yourself a hefty salary at the end of every month but is something way beyond that - to return at least something to the nature and society for the plenty of things that we are really fortunate enough to be born with - in short to live an enriching and fulfilling lives.

Just like how the Blue Chips and other Enterprises give a sterling performance on a Q-o-Q and Y-o-Y basis, the participants for this mega Diwali drive is surely to only increase exponentially with the coming years. DG Sir and Shobhana Mam - Without your tireless and persistently tenacious effort, the dashing Diwali blast that is being continuously held all these years would have remained a distant dream and a muted blast.

On behalf of everyone who has been a part of this wonderful event, I would like to thank you and Shobhana Mam for the fantastic memories that you have given us till now and going to give us in the future. Thanks a ton, Sir. Thanks a ton, Mam.

PS:
I had always wanted to write about this cracking experience for a very long time. Unfortunately, in order to cover all the essential aspects, it required a lot of time from my end. Forgive my adequately inappropriate timing of this blog, Sir. I will ensure that it is done a lot quicker from next time just like your snappy and exquisite photographs.

  

Ice Age: Collision Course - Aesthetically Impactful !

Just because the garnishings decorating the Biriyani is colorful and an eye pleasant, unless and until the Biriyani is cooked well and has the right ingredients to make it tasty, the beautiful finishing touches are nothing but a waste of time and energy. 

Ice Age:Collision Course begins with our Scrat who flies an alien ship to outer space when he tries to bury his beloved acorn and inadvertently activates the flying saucer in the process. What follows is a series of reactions that sets in motion an asteroid to head towards the Earth. Scrat really sets ablaze, literally and figuratively, the screens with his usual intense desperation to have a go at the nut which started way back in the first Ice Age movie when it was released during 2002. In fact, it is Scrat and Buck who saves this film from being blown apart without the asteroid strike.

The movie is gorgeous and visually stunning especially the Geotopia scenes. The effect is further enhanced and simply wowed when viewed in 3D. Unfortunately, the presence of a weak script completely lets down all the commendable work done by the VFX team. You don't have anything to say except Buck has a plan to divert the course of the asteroid from wiping off the existence on Earth and others follow suit not only to save the planet but also save themselves and their dreams. 

In this vapid adventure, Manny is very busy attending his family problems concerning his daughter and her fiance. He has some action sequences in the end and agrees to his daughter's wedding with Julian once when the world is saved. OMG! That was so unpredictable!! Even Granny has more role to play in this movie than Diego! Diego and his lady love are just a part of the group and merely walks, runs or talks without any substantial role to offer. Though the film has lots of puns to tickle your funny bone, you tend to get a bit irritated sometimes with Sid's antics and particularly the goofy characters in Geotopia. Geotopia is the boon as well as the bane for Ice Age 5. It was really amazing and eye-catching when the colours in every scene was made to dance on the screens with such richness and pleasantness. However, the silliness of the characters especially Shangri Llama really got under the skin to the point that I was internally screaming When-will-this-nonsense-get over.

Scrat almost destroyed one planet at one instance and wipes off the face of the Earth or Mars! in another.

Ice Age 5 had the potential to be something big with the extraordinary set of characters and a major catastrophic event to hurt the Earth very badly but disappoints. Nevertheless, it is surely a good one-time pop-corn pass where you can laugh, enjoy, come out of the theatres and forget it.

PS:
I am sure you would have now understood as to why I used the Biriyani reference in the beginning of this review.

  

The Legend of Tarzan - The Swing is off the mark by a longggggggggg way

When there is something new in the market, obviously, a competitor will not be far enough. They will immediately jump on the bandwagon and ensure that the pie is divided for them also especially if the product is commercially successful. Among the many wild boy characters to have danced with the untamed and undomesticated animals in the jungle, Tarzan is also a person whose roots are predominantly influenced by Kipling's Mowgli. Numerous movies have been released under the eponymous character and The Legend of Tarzan is continuing the wild legacy now.

Disney's The Jungle Book was a highly successful visual triumph. The trailers of The Legend of Tarzan also promised a similar feast for the eyes. Does the promise set by the trailers satisfy the innate uninhibited and unrestrained free and true feelings of the audience?  

The elephant scene where Tarzan bows to a herd of crossing elephants is more than enough to say whether The Jungle Book or The Legend of Tarzan wins the battle of visual effects. The crowning glory goes to Disney's Jungle Book for their attention to detail and superior VFX. However, The Legend of Tarzan's only savior is their cinematography and CGI in an otherwise dismal film.

The background of Tarzan is assumed to be known to the audience and the story directly takes us to the plot where Tarzan is looking polished and refined in his suit considering his raw and feral nature when he was suited up only in his loins. Mbonga wants Tarzan's head on the platter as he killed his dear son. In a flashback, it is revealed that Mbonga's son kills Tarzan's mother, Kala and as an act of revenge, he kills the boy in a fit of rage. Samuel L Jackson wants to expose the slave trade in the region and accompanies Tarzan in his quest to protect the weak people. Unfortunately, SLJ is made a mockery in the movie and is reduced to a mere sidekick by providing Should-I-Laugh-for this scene humor. Similarly, Christopher Waltz, who has effortlessly reprised scintillating performances in his earlier films, has also played down in his role as Captain Rom. Two very talented actors' potential in the dumps. Even the romantic scenes between Tarzan and Jane did not evoke the intense love that was showed between them in the 1999 Disney version. There was no sense of even a remote feeling of sympathy or pity when the chief refused to be on his knees before he was brutally murdered or the tribal people captured as slaves and their villages burnt down though these two scenes should have been the gravitas of emotionally charged up scenes. It's pictured like "yeah..it happens..so what?" and makes totally uninvolved towards the characters at that point when it should have been otherwise.

Likewise, the legendary Tarzan swing, the highlight of the protagonist which should have been relished and devoured with gusto by the audience, was simply missing the He-nailed-it feeling and factor. It was like some Tom, Dick and Harry swaying through the trees. 

Overall, The Legend of Tarzan's trailer was way better than the movie itself.

The Jungle Book - A Tome of Endearing Memories

Before the advent and immense popularity of the Cable TV, Doordarshan was enjoying the liberty of being the sole monopoly as far as the TV channels were concerned. Without having an embarrassment of riches at our disposal, there was no choice but to watch what was being telecasted. Fortunately, there were really great shows that were showed to relieve the monotony in everyone's lives. One such awesome program was Rudyard Kipling's 'The Jungle Book' and his master creation 'Mowgli'. Growing up with Mowgli and the cubs along with Bagheera, Baloo, the troublesome Bandar Log and the minatory and blood thirsty Shere Khan, the Jungle Book was a tale of fearless escapades highlighting the core values of family,friendship, love and courage. When Disney announced that Jungle Book would be a live-action film and Jon Favreau to steer the ship, I was completely ecstatic and my expectations were over the moon. Does The Jungle Book live up to the expectations?

As you are already at home with The Jungle Book's storyline, it will be a completely boring and monotonous review if I were to narrate it even in a nutshell. So, looking past the narrative, The Jungle Book is nothing short of a mesmerizing visual extravaganza - the lush green forests and its rich landscape, the feral chases, the beautiful images of the animals so vividly and lifelike and the amazing steep climb to abandoned city and the city itself where King Louie resides - you just cannot single out a particular moment where the movie was dull as far as the VFX is concerned. It was so realistic to the core that when Shere Khan was doing one of his jumps, it felt like the murderous and scar-ridden tiger was springing on leaping on me - The power of 3D compounded infinity times because of the authentic and naturalistic setting.

The strength of a good animated movie is only as strong and good as its voice cast. Fortunately, The Jungle Book has got a tremendous set of performers who has literally unleashed a fresh breath of life into all the characters. Kingsley as the wise and protective Bagheera with his deep silky vocalization was mind-blowing. Idris Elba was more than menacing and frightening in his adaptation as Shere Khan. Lupita as Raksha made me to turn on the water works at places where she fiercely defended Mowgli out of her true love for him. Similarly, the rest of the characters had the apt voice cast to give a fantastic viewing and aural experience. But, it was Scarlett Johansson in her portrayal as Kaa that really cast a spell not only on Mowgli but also upon everyone just as the python's hypnotic ability. Though Kaa's role was very power-punching and highly effective even in the very minimal time, it could have been better if Kaa had been given some more screen presence so that the audience would have been immersed in the trancing expressions of Scarlett Johansson. 

Ever since its creation by Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book has been running wild through cartoons, animated pictures etc. for more than a century. This faithful adaptation to the novel was simply dazzling for the sheer amount of time and effort in bringing life to the characters by the VFX team and cinematography. Though the program was in Hindi and I couldn't understand the dialogues word for word, I still managed to sit through the show for its peppy title song and see Rudyard Kipling's creative brilliance in all its splendour. The Jungle Book made me to relive my childhood days where I used to sit hungrily in front of the TV and watch Mowgli's daring adventures and his final face off with Shere Khan. Everyone in the 80s and 90s era would feel the same. This Jungle Book is a spellbinding blast from the past experience.

The Secret Life of Pets - A Warm and Overt episode worth watching once

There are millions of Minion fans across the world and it was a fantastic marketing strategy on the part of Illumination Entertainment, the makers of our beloved Minions, to showcase a short film titled 'Mower Minions' just before The Secret Life of Pets began its obvious and frolicsome journey. The Minions created a laugh riot which was actually whacking hilarious than the actual movie despite their very short screen presence. It goes without saying that the Marketers had the intended and desired animal magnetism (Pun intended!) on the crowds for their latest venture by cleverly employing and taking full advantage of the gibberish-speaking and ludicrous yellow-coloured creatures.

The Secret Life of pets is no secret at all! At least for us and not for the pet owners in the movie. It shows us how the pets lead their lives once their caretakers step out of their homes to work in a very comical way. Max gets ruffled when his master, to be very precise - mistress, adopts and brings home a big brown dog named Duke. Like with every normal being, Max feels that Katie would be showering her love and affection on the newcomer rather than on him. Duke also intimidates the poor and small Max with his sheer size. Things doesn't go as expected when the 2 dogs share a mutual resentment and animosity that escalates into their capture by the Animal Control along with other stray animals. It is here that we are introduced to the apparently innocent but really adorable bunny, Snowball. Living in the sewers with countless discarded pets by human beings, Snowball and his crew are set out to have their revenge on the former masters for their betrayal and gross injustice by abandoning them when their masters felt that they were no longer necessary. Whether Snowball has his way, what happened to Max and Duke relationship is revealed in an entertaining manner by the director. 

There are no big twists and turns in the film but it has got plenty of laugh like a drain (Again, pun intended) moments - The Dachshund getting its back rubbed by an electric mixer, the gluttonous Chloe resisting and finally yielding to its food temptation from the refrigerator, a Poodle blaring hard core music and has a rave party in his home, animal puns along with the antics of Max's friends and Snowball's accomplices. The mother of all risibleness has got to be the scene where Chloe is shown on the gigantic screen on Youtube. 

The Secret Life of Pets is a good family weekend watch with kids especially if you love animals. You will relate even more if you had or are having a pet dog, cat etc., treating them with equal respect and considering them as your best friends. A tear or two would be definitely shed from your eyes when the last scene disappears from the screen.

Iraivi - An Earnest Ode to the Goddesses

Riding very high on the back to back successes of the supernatural-con 'Pizza' and the gangster- comedy 'Jigarthanda', Karthik Subbaraj's 'Iravi' was, undoubtedly, one of the hotly anticipated movies of 2016. He has carved a very fine niche for himself as an indie director who goes against the mainstream masala routines that regularly hits the theatres on every Friday and most of them doesn't even see the daylight, literally and figuratively, by Saturday morning! Does Karthik's 'Goddess' satisfy the hunger of her famished devotees for an objectively good film?  

With the exceptions of 'Vaali' and 'Khushi', SJ Suryah has been hurling himself headlong on the slope of steep descent especially after he chose himself to cast in his movies. By the end of 'Iraivi', I was like where-was-this-SJ Suryah-hiding-all this while. My God..Okay..Goddess! Beyond the shadow of modicum of a doubt, SJ Suryah, as the struggling and hard drunkard, is the show-stealer amidst a competitive showcase of fine acting display by all the major characters in this close to 180 minute very long story. Be it the scenes where he speaks with Yazhini or where he reforms into a teetotaler or the mind-blowing climax performance where he calls up Yazhini and says that he doesn't love her but only his drinks and goes on a soliloquy about the may-haves and could-haves, Suryah has given the performance of his lifetime by portraying and really living as a continual alcoholic who has his issues with his movie's producer and how it has deeply affected his relationship with his wife and others. His hysterical spectrum of pain and anger, his calm demeanor when he is reformed and the climax - Take a bow, Suryah, Ji !

As Michael, Vijay Sethupathi has rocked the scenes by being consistently unfaithful to his wife,Ponni, on more than one occasion - going behind her back to Pooja or sentenced to imprisonment for killing the producer in a fit of mad rage or his naivety for trusting Jagan or his reactions when his own daughter calls him 'uncle'. His confrontational scene with Jagan in the pre-climax sequence where he tremendously holds up his boiling anger and slowly walks towards the door but erupts uncontrollably when Jagan makes the slightest of threats to him to treat Ponni well which showed the intensity with which he had seen through the role as Michael. It was very much reminiscent of the famous 'Manmadhan' scene where 'Mottai' Madhan breaks open Seenu's head but here it is in a much more powerful and aggressive way. In Michael's case as well, we see he wants to get reformed after he is in jail and wants to spend quality time with his wife and kid but by certain quirk of fate, he is met with the sad end.

Just as I was thinking that the National Award winner Bobby Simha was being more than under utilized, Karthik Subbaraj gives us a meaty subplot in the second half. I was literally wowed and shell-shocked when he makes a reference to Kanagi during his college lecture. That was one of the most hard hitting dialogues I had encountered and which I am sure would have created a big disturbance in real life had such a highly forward and progressive dialogue been written 15 years ago. I was literally clapping hard for the barrage of tirade about how the women are being toyed, thrown around, oppressed and repressed by the men for centuries together when he was telling his mother for his justification that he intends to marry Ponni because she doesn't deserve a person as bad as Michael. As things get slowly unfurled at the fag of the film, it is revealed how he had schemed against Michael to be with Ponni and give her the life which she deserves but is pulled into the abyss of his own death through his own actions.

Hey..This is Iraivi...and You have spoken mostly about the douchebags in great detail....I can see, or hear, your mind voice magnified to infinity times! Yeah yeah...The last is always always and specially reserved for the best.

Persevering Patience. Exemplary Endurance. Gritty Grit. Dogged Determination. Fighting Fortitude. Resounding Resilience. Tremendous Tenacity but ultimately Total Betrayal. Dreams Shattered. Ambitions Broken and finally, Silent Resignation and Acceptance. Ponni's and Yazhini's life symbolizes the real and true life of millions of women across the world who are subjected to the atrocities of man's whims and fancies to satisfy their gigantic male ego. Anjali as Ponni has pulled the rabbit out of the hat through her stunning performance in her complex character.

Kamalini Mukherjee as Yazhini actually left me in tears at certain portions of the movie especially when Yazhini still loved Arul, trusted and hugged him tightly when he said he has turned a new leaf even on the day of her engagement. That showed her intense true love for him. Likewise, for Ponni, I was giving a resounding clap in the theatres when Vijay Sethupathi asks her whether she had slept with Jagan and the way she resolutely responds to his distrustful and distasteful doubt.

As we are on the topic of response, no one can take anything away from Pooja. She comes in for a very few scenes but leaves an impactful impression on the audience through her immodest, brazen and unflinching portrayal as Malar when she declares that she wanted Michael only for her own carnal pleasures and even had the gall to tell Vijay Sethupathi right in front of his face when he comes to ask her for alliance. Karthik Subbaraj has really created a very strong bold character for the Tamil audience - the likes of which has not been seen for quite some time.

The intelligence of the director is out there in the open when he beautifully used rain as recurring trope for freedom as well as for restriction from the point of view of the different women. Also, the way he showed the clapping monkey toy to tumble down to explain how the subsequent scenes were going to turn out really made me to sit in awe and admire Karthik Subbaraj's Iraivi though the movie was constantly punctuated with alcohol, profanity and blood.

In the end, this TRIDEVI saga really punches you in the face with a heavy message to the society in a very subtle manner.

PS:
Though the review is a bit overdue, I really wanted to pen ,sorry, type down my thoughts to wholeheartedly acknowledge and appreciate the gargantuan intellectual effort by Karthik Subbaraj.  

Did Shane Carruth borrow his brains from an alien bank?

Browsing for the best time travelling movies to have been released till date and the internet, melodiously and crystal clear loudly, sang the glory of 'Primer' in one voice. Touted as one of the best for the time travelling concept, it was said that Primer will make 'Inception' look dumb. This piqued my interest further as the 'Inception' was one of the most original and daring sci-fi film to have been ever made in recent times. With its never-heard cast and director, it was nothing short of blatant irreverence to say that an out-of-nowhere film as 'Primer' was a cut above the brainy masterpiece as Inception. However, it was only after watching the 60 minute odd debut movie by Shane Carruth that I understood as to why the tall claims that it is better than Inception was actually true and not mere claims. Needless to say that I had to chew my own personal belief when I watched Primer even for the second time and still couldn't make head or tail out of it.

Made on a shoestring budget, Primer is a straight forward heavily complex movie that will definitely give the non-linear narratives a run for their money. It's all about how 2 engineers accidentally discover a time anomaly and then build a machine to make themselves rich. Unfortunately, absolute power corrupts absolutely. The story becomes giddyingly ingenious, dizzyingly intricate and amazingly confusing that by the end of the movie, I felt like someone had kept a big boulder on top of my head and was breaking it to pieces with a hammer. As soon as Primer got over, my first reaction was to type in Wikipedia and understand what the hell I sat through for the one hour I was watching it. Regrettably, Wiki's explanation was again too much for this Vicky! Never have I explored the vast corners of the Internet to get some understanding on the matter at hand particularly for a film. But, yes. Primer deserves it. Close to 6 hours and the web was teeming with tons of information on the subject yet the overall picture was still hazy. Such is the level of labyrinthine complexity of the plot that it made not just my head to scratch but millions across the world to lose their sleep over and help people like me by shedding some light on this please-make-me-understand movie. There was actually a note in one of the websites that there is a real research paper written on Primer. I was not sure whether it was a grapevine but considering the amount of scientific jargons that were used in the first few minutes of the film to explain the technicalities, it could have been very well true too. By the end of it, there had been at least 9 timelines existed in Primer with the constant shuffling of the original and future Abes and Aarons. But, strictly speaking, only Shane Carruth would know for sure how many timelines were played out in Primer!

Just like Primer, his next venture 'Upstream Colour' was also written, directed, produced, edited and starred by Shane Carruth besides having control over the cinematography and background score. Though Upstream Colour is not as utterly baffling as Primer, the plot would still definitely make you to be all at sea if you don't watch and understand this wonderful sci-fi very closely in your first viewing. The colorful cinematography with its poignant BGM added the extra level to the story's intricacy of how a parasite's life cycle is traced, what are its effects on the people which makes them oblivion to the fact as to who they are and eventually culminates into a face-off at the end. I have ensured that there are absolutely no spoilers in this slow yet stupendous cerebral cinema outing. 

Steve Carruth is the rare breed of audaciously authentic thinkers in this age of mostly reboots, remakes, prequels and sequels in Hollywood. Considering the degree of complex density he has cleverly and tightly packed in his two day outs,The Modern Ocean is sure to be a cracker especially it is going to be Shane's first big budget film with top stars like Keanu Reeves, Daniel Radcliffe and Anne Hathaway. Awaiting the sail soon.