A Stand Up comedy or a Sit Down tragedy? - Part 1

"Somebody's gonna get hurt real bad. Somebody". This is the only line that one of my friend showed me in the entire video and I was laughing like hell. I had been exposed to different kinds of comedies like slapstick, pun, witty, irony, sarcasm, satire, double entendres, insult etc through books, movies, serials and dramas. But, this was one of a kind comedy which I was seeing and experiencing for the first time. My friend informed me that it's a stand up comedy and its a big profession by itself. It has been more than 7 years since I have been seeing Russel Peters with his priceless wry and entertaining humor on observational comedy covering extensive areas like multi cultures, stereotypes etc thereby making me to go into a hysterical states of barrels of laughter. It was indeed a pity that I couldn't catch up with his show when he toured Chennai in 2015. Though the show was on a weekday, it would still have been impossible for me to have gone and enjoyed his remarkable piece of art as the ticket price was more than exorbitant - at least to me! It was not only costing an arm and leg but also eyes, ears, nose, kidneys and heart! I was very much disappointed that I had to beat a retreat after checking out the prices. Nevertheless, I was patiently waiting for the right opportunity to soak in the live experience of a stand-up comedy.

The golden moment presented itself to me through an TOI ad. There was a stand up comedy by Papa CJ to be held in Chennai at SMVCH. I was very excited that I can be a part of the show as the live action was on a weekend and also the outlay from my wallet was well within my budget. Immediately, I rang up one of my few unmarried friends to know whether he was interested to attend the show. I got a message later in the day ,exactly 15 minutes to be precise after the call to my friend, stating that 2 tickets were confirmed for the gig from eventjini.com.

I have never ever heard of Papa CJ in my life. All I cared about was to have a good laugh in a live killingly funny performance by a comedian. Still the curious cat in me wanted to know more about this Papa CJ before attending the event. A quick search in Google provided me with a lot of information especially the much needed confidence that this guy is indeed worth my time and money. Papa CJ has been in the business for more than 10 years, travelled extensively by performing gigs in several countries and has won many accolades from top jury. I felt I was going to an Russel Peters Indian substitute!

The D-day arrived. It was well past the show time. The event organizers mumbled a swift apology for the delay and proclaimed that the comedy piece would commence at 8pm. In the mean time, my friend and I were having an informal tete-a-tete discussion despite being within earshot of our neighbours! Our serious yet light conversation was fantastically interrupted by the loud cheers and chants from the audience who were hooting " Papa CJ" with animated vigour. There he was. In his black and black coat suit attire with specs and long hair - the internationally renowned Papa CJ was right in front of our eyes. 

He started with a few insulting ironical jokes thrown at the audience for always coming late ! The stage was set and the show had officially started. For the first 50 minutes, he had us spellbound in complete boisterous guffaws with his adult-oriented yet unadulterated comedy suiting the Indian audience to perfection. He gave anecdotes from his personal life and made fun of several incidents that we had encountered in the 90s like audio cassettes, multiple telephone lines, soaps as shampoo etc. Simultaneously, he was also undressing one piece at a time by starting with his shoes, socks, shirt and pant to go with the title NAKED! The ladies in the audience were thoroughly enjoying and waiting for the final boxer to come off from his body. Then, there was a reversal of fortune!

Suddenly things became very serious and sober when he started to narrate his personal incidents where he was beyond devastated and shattered to pieces before he began his career as full fledged comedian. He relived the mental trauma and psychological angst that he had undergone in the worst phase of his life when his marriage broke apart and how his 6 month old son had to be in the custody of his wife on the court's orders. Despite such a terrible ordeal, he began highlighting the importance of staying positive in life in spite of all the negative episodes that can literally suck up the hope and faith out of a person. Even in this highly emotion choked and a pin drop silent environment that ensued in the last 20 minutes of the show, Papa CJ ensured that the mood was not unsmiling and dour. He peppered his grave storyline with jokes by consistently engaging considerably with the front row audience. I was amazed at his improvisations and his ability to think on his feet at the speed of light!

By 915pm, the show came to an end. However, his boxers were still in tact. He finished the program by saying that he was completely naked in front of the audience though his boxers were still on!

------to be concluded-----

NRD - A Laughter Riot!

Kamal Hassan was absolutely right when he said "Comedy is a serious business".

The year was 1996. I was just 9 years old studying in my 4th standard then. Still this is one of my most indelible memories in my 28 years of existence on this planet. It was already 620 pm. The show was due to start @ 630 pm in Udhayam theatre. My cousins and I made a lightning 100m sprint to the theatre. We were just entering the theatre when the screen was displaying the title of the film "Ullathai Allitha". We heaved a big sigh of relief that no scenes were lost because of our delay. Saying a big thanks to God, we occupied our allotted seats. What ensued for the next 150 minutes was sheer rib tickling humor. The storyline belonged to the Tipu Sultan era! It was kept very simple but the true power of the film was in the screenplay. Sunder C's hilarious screenplay was such that the full theatre was in stitches. Even the climax fight sequences evoked serious laughter from the crowd! When I left the theatre, I felt I had a complete entertaining experience replete and satiated with good acting, decent songs and extremely amusing slapstick screenplay. Since then, we have had some mind blowing and amazing full-fledged comedy films like Avvai Shanmugi, Kadhala Kadhala, Panchathanthiram, Mumbai Express, Vasool Raja MBBS, Tenali, Soodhu Kavvum, NKPK, TVSK, OK OK, Boss Engira Baskaran, SMS, Kalakalappu, Tamizh Padam, Saroja, Chennai - 60028, Moodar Koodam etc. Joining this elite list is none other than NRD - Nanum Rowdy Dhaan which got released on Ayudha Pooja.

When I saw the movie's official trailer for the first time, my initial reaction was "What the! The director has plenty of guts in spilling out the entire 150 minute story by the time our favorite maggi noodles could be cooked!". Usually, a teaser and trailer always captures the interest of the audience by revealing as less as possible with all the good scenes packed within the duration of the teaser or trailer. But, here was a trailer which was daring and breaking all the conventions of a normal trailer by disclosing the story in its entirety and that too in 2 minutes. It was simply dare devilry when Vignesh had let cat out of the bag even before the film was released. I had to literally laud the director's extreme confidence in his script. It caught my eye that it was not going to be a normal movie. I decided to catch up with this film even though "10 endrathukulla" starring Vikram was also getting released on the same day. I thanked my stars that I did not take the wrong decision after I heard negative reviews for 10 Endrathukulla from my friends. 

So, here goes the review for NRD. Of course, no story would be given away as it has been ensured by the director himself! :)

When Vijay Sethupathi's (VS) younger version was sitting in a police cell and wrote police as his ambition, the things began to get underway slowly. But when Rajendran convinced him that it's better to be a rowdy than a police and the manner in which the letters in police transformed beautifully into rowdy, I knew this movie was more than different. It was going to be something special like Pizza, NKPK, Soodhu Kavvum not only for VS but for the audiences as well. 

First, VS - OH MAN! This guy is not only talented but also extremely versatile in his expressions, body language and voice modulation. Like how Atlas supports the heavens in Greek Mythology, VS carries the complete movie on his shoulder. He simply rocks throughout the movie especially in the climax scenes where we are left in splits on seeing the tussle between Parthipan and VS. I will come to Parthipan in a while. Let's focus on the other important character in the film - Nayanthara. Gorgeous. Ravishing. An absolute delight - be it her costumes, makeup or her strong performance. The scenes between Nayan and Anand Raj - the entire theatre was chanting red shirt along with her!! It was indeed stellar. Nayanthara stole the show along with VS in this roller coaster comedy ride. RJ Balaji with his quick and funny one liners - "Murder panna vandha eduthula idhungaluku games kekudhu, thu!". I was actually glad that the director did not rope in Santhanam to reprise this role. It would have been a memorable and an unforgettable cataclysmic disaster. The Rowdy Shop set up was eye-catching with all the a la carte painted fluorescent on the walls of the den. It was downright and outright funny. Just when you feel the film is going a bit slow, Parthipan comes and dishes out things in his unique style. He was menacing and humorous at the same time. The pre-climax and climax sequences were a tribute to his exemplary acting prowess. Even Mansoor Ali Khan, Anand Raj and other supporting actors contributed and delivered meaty performances in this highly fun filled rowdy drama.

Anirudh's sounds is an additional big pillar of this movie. His rockstar music punctuated with power packed BGM which was immensely head shaking and foot tapping along with well-placed songs in proper sync with the script was yet another highlight. Cinematography was spectacular and simply stunning - be it the beautiful Pondi or the night scenes. The scenes were visually pleasing and a treat for the eyes. But the biggest strength was the casting and the director's extra sensitive attention to details especially in the post climax where the movie ends by saying it is better to be a police than a rowdy!

NRD - Quirky, Wacky. Out of the ordinary. Laugh a minute. Light hearted. Entertaining and a thoroughly satisfying tryst with VS and co.

Laughter is truly the best medicine!

The Karmic Love - Teaser 5

The presentations were in full flow during the class hours. Rahul was as cool as a cucumber. Just like a cricket batsman knows that the best place to hit a ball is behind the bowler's head, he knew that giving a strong presentation in front of a large audience was his forte. Seated in the first row, Rahul was busy playing book cricket with his friend when one of his class mates was giving a boring lecture on "Microwave Radiation and its harmful effects". After successfully defending the cup and emerging victorious over his friend, a sharp noise made him to give an askance glance in the direction of the sound. Rahul's heart did a double jump. He saw his lovely Swetha smiling and nodding her head on the mundane topic. The microwave topic got over. Dr. Veeru summoned Sriram up to the stage for the next presentation. Rahul saw Swetha's eyes lit up brightly when Sri was walking rather clumsily and nervously, looking like an idiot, to the stage. His anger was mounting up and ready to erupt like a volcano. Keeping his cool under control, he wondered what Swetha saw in this floundering bullshit. Sriram began his presentation and all Rahul could hear was a drill boring a solid hole into his head and breaking his skull. He looked sideways and saw Swetha giving her most beautiful attractive reaction to Sriram. "Bastard" was the only thing which escaped from his mouth. His friend, Harsha , heard him swearing the expletive at Sriram. Immediately, Harsha kept his hand on Rahul's left shoulder and whispered "Don't do anything rash. It's your turn next". There were plenty of murmuring in the class. Dr.Veeru suddenly stood up and started to bellow in rage asking the class to be quiet and pay attention to the topic presented by Sriram. "My dear boys and girls. Take notes on the topics that are presented in the class. Who knows. Your question paper might have some 16 marks question on these topics" , thus smartly warned Dr. Veeru. Instantly, everyone were busy hustling their bags in search of note book and pen for taking the notes. Looking pleased with himself, Dr. Veeru said only 3 minutes were left for Sri to wrap up his topic. "And I have to bear this bloody ass for another 180 seconds" mumbled Rahul loud enough for Harsha to hear him say it. Harsha broke into fits of silent laughter. He was laughing so that that he went under the bench on the pretext of finding his pen and laughed even harder. It was perfect timing for Harsha to come back from underneath his desk and occupying the seat and Sriram to walk towards his seat. Rahul saw Swetha giving him a big thumbs up when he looked at her. Harsha saw Rahul giving him a cold and murderous look. Without any delay, he clasped Rahul's right hand and repeated again "Don't do anything rash. It's your turn next". Nodding his head, Rahul went to the stage as soon as his name was called upon by the rimless oval spectacled Dr. Veeru.  Rahul began to write the topic "Dreams" with the chalk on the blackboard.The moment his back was turned to the board, Rahul could hear muttering behind his back and was able to clearly identify Sri's voice even in that disturbance. He knew that the volcano was not only going to erupt but reduce it to ashes. Before Dr. Veeru could even utter another word on the commotion, Rahul turned swiftly and fluidly like a Karate Master and hurled the chalk right at Sriram. He could see the bewildered and angry expression on Swetha's face. The class fell into a hushed state of pin drop silence.  

From Karapakkam to Harrington Road!

It was Thursday. The weekend was to start officially in another 24 hrs. Grinding myself at work, I was suddenly called upon by my friend. Unfortunately, the work schedule was so tight that I had to tell him that I would give him a ring again after I reached my home. 

I called him up when Mahabharata got over in Vijay TV. As it might be expected, the circular black clock showed the time to be 930pm. After exchanging pleasantries, I was told that tickets were available for Indian Ocean concert on Friday @ 7pm in Sir Mutha Venkata Subbarao Concert hall. Having been enthralled and mesmerized by the voices of Hariharan, SPB, Shankar Mahadevan, Karthik etc. in many concerts, The only Indian Ocean which I knew was the blue waters on which Sri Lanka resides! I did not know head or tail on the band that my friend was asking me to attend with him.This Indian Ocean was very new to me. So what? and Why not? are always questions which I used to ask myself whenever I have a decision to take and make instantly. Immediately, without any hesitation, I said yes to my friend. Finally, the long call drew to a close giving the mobile operator quite a share of the mobile balance to them.

I reached the office in my usual time. Usually, I take 2 15 breaks - one in the morning and evening apart from my lunch time of 1 hour. But today, it was different. In order to have my regular office hours to be clocked for 8 hours and at the same time leave @ 6pm, I decided not to take the 15 minute breaks and also curtail my usual lunch hour by half so that I can finish my work and leave office by 6pm to reach the concert. It was going as per the master plan. A new work at the fag end of the day delayed my plan by very little time - 15 minutes to be very precise! So, I left my work by 615pm and travelled hurriedly to my home. By the time, I left for the concert , it was way past 7 - 710pm to be exact!

After missing out on crucial turns due to the heavy friday traffic, I was finally able to reach the Lady Andal school premises by 805pm for the big free concert. A quick call to my friend enabled a hassle free entry into the auditorium. I was greeted in by a melodious song in hindi with colorful lights dancing wildly on the stage.

A speedy search on the high-speed net connectivity gave me the much needed background information on the band. The Indian Ocean has been in existence for more than 25 years and that they are the pioneers of fusion genre in India. My friend is an avid carnatic music listener and singer. I learnt from him that this band experiments and plays carnatic music with the touch and flair of rock music. Indeed, the music was really refreshing. Quirky. Original. New. Soulful. Deeply-rooted in Indianism. It was a complete different experience for me. Rahul Ram, one of the founding members of the band, kept the mood light-hearted and engaged with the audience by asking us to hum and clap in tune with his tunes. He was also very witty and quick to think on his feet whenever they needed a short break. When the band started to sing "Ma Rewa", the entire crowd were up on their feet. My friend was in a state of hyperism. I was thoroughly enjoying both the music and the electric atmosphere. So, the wave of thunderous applause subsided only to renew again with even more vigor and energy when the band announced that their last song of the day was "Kandisa". The loud cheers from the audience would have surely given the crowd at Nehru stadium a run for their money! The song was indeed very soulful. Though I did not understand the meaning of the words, I felt a deep connect within myself when the song was being rendered. I was up and on my feet too cheering loudly for this band when the curtains were being brought down after the last song of the day.

Just like a surfer rides the high waves and soaks in the water thoroughly, I was completely hit by this wave of beautiful music and rendition which was so pure and pristine without casting aside their Indian origins. The music was also deep and soul stirring thus created an overwhelming sense of peace and tranquility even in such a spirited environment. Without question, The Indian Ocean was really like the Indian Ocean!

The Appetizing Atho !!

Being born and brought up in an orthodox Brahmin family, I have been subjected to the rules and customs as in an usual and traditional TamBrahm family. Though I had understood that the rules laid out by the forefathers were for the benefit of the pursuer, I have always wanted to traverse and explore the limitless boundaries beyond the limited regulations set by the authorities. One such item on my agenda was to discover and indulge my taste buds to newer and fresher savories to satiate my hunger for different and exotic food. I will never ever deny that 'parupu sadham' with 'vetha kozhambu' and 'vendakkai' is a deadly combo but I have always had the opinion that experimenting with food enables an individual to be multi-minded than be an one trick pony. So, after trying out my hand at Mexican,Italian,Chinese,Thai and Greek , I had wanted to sink my teeth into Burmese food and relish their unique tastes. As luck would have turned out, one of my friend was from Sowcarpet. He knew completely on the ins and outs of the mouth-watering street food in and around Sowcarpet. He suggested that a street parallel to Chennai Beach station is entirely dedicated to Burmese food. He particularly asked me to try out their signature dish 'Atho'. Ever since my friend recommended this place for Burmese food, like the King of the Jungle circling and waiting for the opportune moment to pounce on its prey, I was bidding my time and patiently waited for the right opportunity to have an open battle with the Burmese!

A stroke of luck combined with right decision making helped me to see the inaugural ISL season 2 ceremony at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. I decided that the time was ripe for me to wallow myself in the street food of Parrys. So, once when the match was over, I had asked my friends whether they would be interested in trying out Burmese food for dinner. They readily agreed and we were off hunting for the exact location in an auto. After zig-zagging through the crowded Chennai traffic, we finally reached our destination - Chennai Beach station. But, there was not even a single food stall in sight. Initially, we felt that our timing was awry. It was already 15 minutes to 10. But, I am not a person who caves into disappointments. Using the best GPS in the world - my mouth, I enquired the nearby autowallahs to the whereabouts of the Burmese food. They gave me the directions with simple and understandable landmarks in the vicinity. We followed them to the t and was welcomed rather ceremoniously by the sweet smell of tantalizing aroma coming from both sides of the roads.

What I initially thought was tantalizing aroma was actually the filthy smell of rubbish and garbage that were strewn out shabbily on the roads. I was so intoxicated by the mere thought of Burmese food that my sense of smell delved into a delusional state! So, after the bitter knock on the head, I was walking up towards the left side of the road when I saw streams of people standing in front of a brightly lit food stall. A big smile dawned upon my satisfied face on seeing the helper shouting "tasty atho tasty atho". It was finally time though the time was just past 10pm.

The roadway leading to the shop was very insanitary and unhygienic. The entire place was squalid and disgusting. If any girl would have come with us, then her only reaction would have been to scoot out of the place at the earliest whiff of that nauseating odour! I had many an experience to eat out on road side food stalls during my numerous trips to various places. So, when I had to compare those places with this ambience, I felt this place was rich and healthy! Though the place did not a provide a clean and salubrious sight to the eyes, I was able to clearly distinguish that unique flavor from the hot Burmese Atho even in that stench which reeked with sewage and rotten garbage. I strictly told the helper that I want a veg atho. To which he politely replied that all the items are only veg. So, I asked him about the other varieties in their a la carte and he told me to start with soup. It was not just any soup. But, banana stem! Even as a child, I hated the raw banana that was used to be served by my mom as a part of our normal diet for a healthy meal. I wondered what different it would be this time. Surprise Surprise!! The banana soup was steamy hot and spicy. It was just disappearing into my mouth like a famished Kumbakarnan! Now, emboldened by the brilliant taste, I was bold enough now to taste the banana stem which was floating like a boat in the soup. My Gawd! It was heavenly with ginger, pepper and other spices. Once I scrapped out the last drop of soup from the bowl, I was ready for the next course - Atho! My friends ordered an Egg Atho and I had ordered a Veg Atho. 

Atho was nothing but short and thin noodles that was tossed up with a host of vegetables whose list included long and finely shredded cabbages, carrots, fried onions, beans and spices. Even if I had been on a quarter filled up stomach also, then I would have really ended up wasting at least half of the wonderful contents! Luckily, I was so ravenous that the Atho was fast disappearing from my plate like the athletes in a 100m dash! For a moment when I realized that I had eaten fully , I pondered as to what would be the cost of such a gigantic dinner plate. To my utter surprise, when I heard it was just Rs 20 for a single plate, it was too good to be true for such a quantity yet that was the truth!

Finally, when we started to bid adieu to this place, my eyes lingered on a Kolkatta pan shop. I have always had a weakness for sweet pan ever since the old woman in front of Sathyam theatre asked  me to try one during my engineering days! Crunching and munching on the sweet pan, I made a hurried walk towards the station to catch the 1040 pm train. We had 10 minutes plenty of time ahead in front of us. The evening was not only truly scrumptious but truly memorable as well.

A Glitzy Affair!

When I was told that the tickets were available for ISL's opening ceremony to be held in our Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, my immediate straightforward reaction was "Dude. I don't follow football at all other than to watch World Cup matches". "Okay. Just let me know if you change your mind" came the quick candid response from my friend. I wondered and pondered for some time as to why not I also try a new and different game apart from following the sport that had single handedly united our country as a whole...at least almost! The game I follow very closely is also being passionately pursued very religiously and fanatically, like the Cuttack incident, by billions of Indians across the country. It goes without saying that it's Cricket. I decided that I can try something newfangled that could open up me to fresh experiences in life. So, without further ado, I called up my friend enquiring him whether he still had any remaining tickets for the opening ceremony. I was very glad that he did not say the disappointing 2 letter word 'No'. We reached the stadium hassle free by train and were in time for the grand commencement of ISL season 2. 

After the regular checks at the entrance, we marched towards our designated stand for a fun-filled evening. In the meantime, I was asking my friend on the background of ISL to know more about the tournament. His response was a single and simple statement "ISL is the Indian version of EPL". Luckily, I knew what was EPL. So, I understood what he meant by it. On questioning him on the number of teams, he further explained me that there are 8 teams competing in the tournament and that the current champions are Kolkatta. Now, I had the rough understanding on the context as to what I was getting into. The loud blares from inside the stadium gave me the cue that the spectacle had just begun.

The opening event was star studded with many high profile celebrities like Mukesh Ambani, his wife Nita, Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and his wife Aishwarya. And of course, THALAIIIVVAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!!  The entire stadium broke into a hysterical state of madness when Thalaivar's visuals were displayed on the big screen. I was sure that even an alien in the Andromeda Galaxy would have become partial deaf at the intensity and loudness of the feverish decibel levels then! 

When the banners of all the teams were unrolled and spread out across the pitch, it was time for the party to begin. Alia Bhatt's scintillating moves to popular Bollywood numbers drove the spectators to cheer for her madly and wanted more from her. Following her fine performance, Bollywood queen Aishwarya Bachchan simply sizzled the complete stage with her graceful grooves. Once again the crowd broke into a delirious state of frenziness when Ash danced for a song from the Tamil film "Enthiran" and Rajnikanth's smiling visuals were shown on the giant screens. Her father-in-law  Amitabh Bachchan and her husband Abhishek were cheering her from the VIP lounge. 

The crowd fell into a hushed state of silence when the MC was inviting Master Blaster and THALAIVAAARRRR to the stage. The alien in the Andromeda Galaxy which was previously mentioned  would have become fully and permanently deaf! Such was the vociferous reception by the berserk local Chennai fans in the stadium for Rajnikanth when he was traversing to the stage in the buggy. And the energy he showed while he hugged Sachin was simply matchless! With Nita Ambani loudly proclaiming " Let's Football", the second season had officially begun. 75% of the stadium's capacity were literally bringing the stadium down for the match to begin. However, there was one more high profile celebrity to perform amidst such an already star studded power packed performances. The Musical Maestro - AR Rahman!! Just before the start of the match, his rendering of our National Anthem set the tone perfectly for a high octane match between Atletico De Kolkata and Chennaiyin. 

The night would have ended on a real high for all the Chennai fans after seeing all their favorite stars in a single stage but Atletico triumphed over Chennaiyin who capitalized very shrewdly on the lapses of Chennaiyin. Despite their team's defeat, the close to 30000 people had an indelible memory in their lives. I was completely thrilled and exhilarated at the day's events. I was very glad to have taken the right decision. 

The Hat Trick – Part 3

After the morning debacle, it was time to ride to Express Avenue to catch up with Johnny Depp’s latest flick “The Black Mass”. The journey to EA was more than eventful. The traffic police caught him for not wearing the helmet.  In his hurry to reach the theatre @ 8am, he had forgotten to wear his metal head cap. As soon as the traffic police pulled him over for breaking the safety law, my friend’s initial reaction was to give me a quick signal so that I am not there in the vicinity when he spins his own yarn to them. He knew that I couldn’t suppress my laughter when he is in his own story telling world. After waiting for more than 15 minutes, my friend hurriedly asked me to give Rs. 100 so that he could pay it as fine to them. 20 minutes later, he emerged victorious with a beaming smile on his face with a printed ticket in his hand. I couldn't stifle my giggle and burst out into fits of laughter on seeing my friend's ingenuity from escaping the clutches of the court to retrieve his vehicle. Driving slowly and my friend's abundant knowledge of short cuts in that area, I was able to reach the EA with more than 1200 seconds to spare for the movie to begin despite the comic obstacle. 

I had another bout of shock when I called up my friends with whom I was supposed to meet at EA and learnt that they were still in Guindy at that time. Taking a couple of pictures for an elderly couple, I was able to beat the time with my amateurish photographic skills. My friends were well in time and we started to watch "The Black Mass" after Depp's very much disappointing outing with "Mortdecai". Infact, his previous films - Dark Shadows, Lone Ranger were also as disappointing as Mortdecai. But, the reviews for "Black Mass" was good with "Sherlock" Benedict Cumberbatch in the film as well. So, we were expecting Captain Jack Sparrow to deliver his suave performance. The movie was based on a true story and Depp's character as James Bulger was very impressive. Mean. Menacing. Ruthless. Depp had all the ingredients of a gangster and delivered a power packed weighty performance. It was finally good to watch Depp in his full splendour. Yeah. I am a Johnny Depp fan! So, it was really heartening to see him in such a manner. Though the movie was slow, it was compelling unlike Puli. So, after a short ride to Black Mass, rats started to skip in my tummy and only then I realized that I hadn't had anything to eat since morning other a small popcorn. Munching to our heart's desire at Zaitoon, it was time to bid adieu to my friends and march to the Mars mission @ Sathyam

Problem Solving. Creative Engineering. Spontaneous Innovation. Frustration. Anger. Wisecracks. Cooperation. Coordination. Faith. Hope. All for a survival. Science beautifully wraps all these elements into a single intricate story to remain alive and  make through this tough ordeal on an unknown and lifeless environment which is hostile for any person to be alive. I wondered what would be the effect of 3D for such a film. But, the depth of the picturesque Martian landscape was better than one would have imagined because of the 3D effect. The Martian was an edge of the seat thriller though you know what's going to happen at the end in the beginning itself. But, it's the screenplay that keeps you engaged and you show a sense of empathy to Matt Damon who had reprised a similar role in "Interstellar" as well. Damon's convincing acting and intelligent dialogues made it a memorable movie. Dialogues like "I am the greatest botanist on this planet". "In your face Neil Armstrong". "Hi, I'm Mark Watney and I'm still alive... obviously". "I admit it's fatally dangerous, but I'd get to fly around like Iron Man". And when he did manage to fly as Tony Stark in the metal suit , the entire theatre was behind this guy who had single handedly managed to survive the unkind and unfriendly Martian tribulations. The Martian was indeed a tribute to NASA for their achievements to have the courage to go into the unknown and explore the deepest abyss of the universe.

Epilogue:

After a fantastic day's trip excepting the morning catastrophe, the day ended on a really high note when as soon as I stepped into my home, Duminy was thwacking and blazed away Axar Patel for 3 consecutives sixes and single handedly turned the tide in South Africa's favor that enabled them to clinch the first T20 from the jaws of defeat. As a matter of fact, as soon as I saw the 3 sixes, a bright idea lit up my mind to have my new blog into 3 parts weaving my reviews for 3 back to back movies and the 3 sixes with the title "The Hat Trick"!


                                                                       x--concluded--x