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.

Little Italy - Always BIG in taste..!

Little Italy is one of my favorite ristorante whenever I have the feel and need to have the sumptuous Italian cuisine. The experience is consistently top notch on every occasion. I was near Anna Nagar when the alarm bells started to loudly honk in my tummy. Fortunately, there is a Little Italy and without any iota of hesitation, I simply went straight into the parking lot and up the lift to put the ringing bells at rest.

I wanted to try out their buffet to have a totally different ball game this time around. The spread included 2 welcome drinks - Musk Melon and Lemon Juices were available on that day. You have the liberty to replenish your glasses as many times and as much as possible with the welcome drinks to quench your parching throats with the healthy juices. There is an exclusive live salad counter where the choice of choosing the salad is yours. I left it to the food preparer to make my salad in the best possible way after painstakingly selecting the ingredients in my plate. Needless to say, it was really one of the awesomatic salads I had in my life.

The entrees included Soup, Garlic Bread, Bruschetta and Tortilla chips with Salsa. A special mention to the Garlic Bread - it was supremely fresh out of the oven, extremely soft, deliciously cheesy, gracefully melted like an ice in the mouth and will literally make you scream for more sticks.

I was already almost full by then itself when the cameriere gave me a many-a-page menu card to choose my main course. Little Italy has a separate a la carte for the normal dining and buffet. The Buffet menu template has a fixed assemblage of Pizzas, Risottos, Lasagnas, Pastas, Enchiladas and Quesadillas and we can maximum order two items from this set of diversified portfolio for the main meal. The White Pasta (I forgot its name) was extraordinarily rich and creamy that I couldn't eat more than half as the waiter brought in the Risotto as well. I just took some spoonfuls of the wonderfully looking and tasty Risotto and then I was like why-the-hell-did-I have-the appetizers-that much.

The desserts comprised of cakes, sweets and fruit cuts. In the end, I felt like a Kumbakarnan by having six months' worth of food in only one course!

Oh, by the way, you might think that the cost would be really expensive for such a tremendous spread of an immensely enjoyable buffet. On the contrary, it is very competitively priced @ Rs 499/, inclusive of all taxes, during the weekdays which is indeed a throwaway bargain for a place serving exceptional food and phenomenal service as Little Italy.

PS:
A word to  the wise: When you go as group of 4 or 6, you can easily try out the entire stack of their splendid scrumptious menu @ 499! 

Ciclo Cafe - Pedalling to a Palatable Ride

Seated in the comfy, well-lit and India's first cycle themed cafe, a flood of nostalgic memories struck me like Lord Krishna's Sudarshan Chakra! Until my food was served, I was transported to my childhood days where cycles were an integral part of my life - cycle races, commute to school in my first light roadster and go on long rides during the weekends by chatting to friends with the gentle wind blowing strongly in my unkempt hair. Ahh! Whooshhhh!! The waiter suddenly braked into my train or cycle! of sweet memories by spreading the cutleries on the table and serving the Bruschetta along with my Virgin Pina Colada. The strong whiff of the real tyres charmingly compensated for the borderline-okayish Bruschetta, which could have been a lot better, but the Pina Colada was smashing. 

I was more interested in the place than the food. The entire place was a cycle haven and it was indeed a heaven for all the avid cyclists. Ciclo cafe was delightfully pleasant to the eyes with their decor - right from the menu card which was extremely creatively in the form of a newspaper to the wall-mounted cycles, hangings of wheels, pictures, photos, gears etc. I was having a great time by visualizing the feel of cycling inside the cafe without the cycle! Once again, the waiter chose an inopportune moment to speed bump in my literal cycle of thoughts and feelings by bringing in the Arrabiata Penne Pasta.

Whenever I see the Penne Pasta, I have a mighty strong uncontrollable and insatiable urge to loudly sing Simbu's "Loosu PENNE" but due to Divine Interventions, I somehow manage to curb that ravenous desire to sing that dreadfully punny song! Overlooking the I-am-going-to-kill-you expression for the joke of a song, the Arrabiata Pasta was extremely good peppered with the right touch of piquancy. It certainly gave me the much needed zing to the other wise disappointing Bruschetta. The serving was well-timed as if they had a stop watch and a timer synchronized to keep track of their promptness! It is really good. It's only that the penchant for my long lost art of cycling which made me to feel that I was being rudely interrupted! I slowly turned the pages of the menu page for the dessert just as I used to turn my monster on wheels - with care and attentiveness. 

It was then I went on a Burj Khalifa-esque high! The Salted Caramel Cheese Cake simply blasted me out of my senses. With every bit of the bite, the Cheese Cake drove or pedalled! me into an insane mode of positive madness. I was like "Give me another of this gorgeous beauty for no charge". Despite the fact that even in an ideal world my wish will not be fulfilled, the Salted Caramel Cheese Cake was pure bliss and warms the cockles of your heart when you sink into the experience and savor every last piece of the mouth-watering glory.

Last but not the least, before signing off from this beautiful place, I went for a stroll in the ground floor and you can find all kinds of imported and premium brands like Bianchi, Schwinn,Cannondale etc. besides the accessories. The staffs were not shooting in the dark but were highly knowledgeable. In fact, they went to the extreme that they can possibly have a bespoke bike for my friend if I can give them his height accurately when I told them that my friend is looking for a Schwinn that would match his tallness. I know where to pitstop from next time whenever I feel the need to have a light snack. Do you?  . 

The Delish Battle of the Chinese

Okay. Fret not. Our descendants are neither having another big war lesson in the text books nor be in a complete state of catatonic comatose during the history classes as this battle is very different. It's a war of  taste. Tasty Chinese food to be precise!!

The encounter is between Mainland China Vs Flower Drum. May the best dish emerge victorious!

Some of my friends in TCS had recommended that Mainland China's buffet is really good. I have been wanting to try it for a long time. The opportunity got itself presented to me in a colorful platter! I stepped into one of the Mainland China's chain of restaurants at Phoenix Mall, Velachery. I was told by the hostess that they don't have the buffet in that particular place when I enquired them about the opening time of their lunch. I still went ahead to try out their other specialities only to be greeted by a vast space of empty chairs and a cheery Captain. The ambience was welcoming and had a good vibe on the overall mood of the restaurant. After comfortably settling in, the maitre d' hurried himself personally to cater to my starving stomach. In an unhurried manner, I ordered Chilly Teriyaki Potatoes and Exotic Vegetables Tofu. As I was completely unaware of the size of their portion, I decided to play the waiting game during the hunger time. The service was humongously prompt and courteous. The Chilly Teriyaki Potatoes were simply amazing sauted with the condiments. The Exotic vegetables & Tofu was equally good. The quantity was more for a single person and I had no other choice but to have it as a take it away. The dessert was indeed the icing on the cake! The Rambutan with ice-cream was fantastic especially with its presentation. It was smoking cool!  Though I couldn't go beyond the excellent starters sans the dessert, Mainland China is a place which I will definitely try again when I am on a voracious appetite.

Moving on to Flower Drum. Vegetarian and Chinese food are like the world famous Tom & Jerry. They don't go along with each other and fight a lot!  But, beneath the numerous tussles, there lies an intense love affair that is unspottable to the normal eyes. Fortunately, the big board on Prince Plaza can be seen amidst the heavy traffic on the Pantheon Road. I was super duper excited when my friend told me that there is an exclusive place for top class vegetarian Chinese cuisine. It was dimly lit and for a wednesday afternoon, the place was crowded. The order taker quietly brought in Tom Yum Soup and Kimchi followed by Khao Pad rice. The Kimchi and Pad Thai can actually serve 2 people very easily. I was not able to eat it fully and asked Jubie to pack away the remaining contents. Kindly do not order more than necessary and waste the delicious food. The service was prompt but not as efficient as Mainland China. But, the food was gorgeous. Finally, the dessert, which I couldn't spell and was more like a gibberish, - Kluay Buad Chee - translated as Bananas in Coconut Milk. It was nothing less than spectacular particularly the coconut milk. I was really reeling and dizzying under the heaviness of the dessert. The experience of having an authentic vegetarian Chinese made its worth in gold.

So, who is the winner? 

Both Mainland China and Flower Drum are unique in their own way with the exception that Mainland China has a wide repertoire of non vegetarian items as well. Though being a pure vegetarian and yes, MLC wins the bout hands down by virtue of their superior service.

PS:
The comparison is drawn only to the MLC @ Phoenix Mall and Flower Drum. As MLC is available across Chennai, the service might differ from place to place.

The Lobster - An Outrageous Disconcerting Beauty

By the end when the screen became black, I was petrified as if I had seen a Basilisk! The final shot of the movie left me thinking in circles as to what might have happened to David similar to the famous spinning top in The Inception. Beyond the bewildering ambiguous climax, The Lobster was by itself a bolt out of the blue film which dares not only to break but also to simply smash the hell out of the conventional beliefs held by the society.

It started with an innocuous discussion on Steve Carruth with my friend who suggested me to see The Lobster which actually led me to see this disturbing piece of amazing art in the first place. Why do I call it "disturbing" or "disconcerting"? You will know soon enough.

The first scene where a woman shoots a horse until it dies lays the foundation for what was to unravel in the next 120 minutes. In a certain place, all the single people are expected to find themselves a partner within 45 days of checking into the hotel else they would be turned into an animal of their choice just like David's brother who became a dog. The Manager further tells David that his unique animal selection to be a lobster is actually good because most of the people choose to be a dog and that's why the world is occupied with so many dogs! All the guests in the hotel are given lectures and skits to explain the advantages and benefits of having a partner. They go the extent that sexual stimulation is given in moderation to them by the Maid and masturbation is a punishable offence! Another eligibility condition to become partners is that both of them must have a distinct and common trait. With so many rules in place and limited time to find themselves a life long companion, the guests were in a soup.  After many twists and turns, David heads to the forests to join the loners where the rules are even more stringent and gruesome. Dance solo with electronic music.No romance. No flirting. No kissing. And the punishment for kissing is a "Red Kiss" where the lips are cut off and the offenders are made to kiss each other! The leader warns David that the punishment for anyone to indulge in sexual behavior is "Red Intercourse" and asks him to imagine it. The stars were shining upon David and he meets a short-sighted woman like himself and falls in love with her. What happens after that, I leave it to you to watch and find out for yourself.

Now, dissecting the movie into its naked form, The Lobster is based on the prevailing mores in the society that it is essential for everyone to have a partner and that it is imperative they have something in common so that they can lead a happy life. This is precisely what The Lobster tries to blast in a dark jet black satirical way. For a true open minded person, marriage is something which is a match of hearts and not based on common features or traits to lead a happy life. If the two people in question have a shared characteristic then it's just an additional bonus. For those who are truly in love with each other, they see beyond the mundane trivialities and it wouldn't matter to them one bit whether the common interests exist or not.

The Lobster really makes a tremendous mark in capturing the essence of the traditional stereotype to bundle and give it as a bitter syrup to all the pedestrians. However, the handling of the subject is so unsettling that at times you feel it's safe to close your media player rather than to watch it. Whenever I saw an animal in the forest, my first instinctive reaction was to think whether it's really an animal or a human transformation and when David kills and skins one of the rabbits for his lady love, I was more than horrified. The director has done an exceptional job by strongly implanting the beguiling idea of transformation in the mind during the early stages of the movie and does not bother to look at the road since then. This is where the genius and sheer brilliance of the movie lies as The Lobster could have been a stunning sci-fi had the director progressed and proceeded on the "transformation" route but instead he chooses to go astray from that genre into uncharted territories. The background score was equally comfortlessly ominous as the cinematography. Howmuch ever deeply destabilizing, ultimately, the curiosity in you wins the battle and makes you to eventually sit up right till the movie's double-edged conclusion.

Finding Dory - A Spellbinding Visual Hide N Seek!

What is it with Pixar movies and handkerchiefs? Someone should really do a regression analysis and establish the correlation between the 2 variables to explicitly show the strength of their relationship to this world! 16 films prior to Finding Dory and every single one of them had freely let my tear glands open up to cascade slowly and silently while watching the Pixar wonders. I went into the IMAX with a small bit of wish in me that Finding Dory would be Pixar's awry. But, that was not to be the case. When Dory reunites with her parents, I tasted something salty in my lips. No, it was not the tasty trail of the popcorn! I had no idea when and how my hot tears started to stream down my face. But, one thing that I realized was that my handkerchief was drenched beyond dryness and that I had to carry minimum two with me whenever I visit a Pixar wonder. Casting aside my emotionally tearful tryst with Finding Dory, without further ado, let us deep dive into the oceanic awe created by Stanton & Co.

Finding Dory swims from where the director had left Finding Nemo which was released 13 years ago. I was super excited when I read the news that Finding Dory was getting released and was completely over the moon when I saw the trailers. Such was the profound impact that Finding Nemo had on me when I saw it for the first time - be it the splendid visuals or the gorgeous screenplay - Pixar took the animation level to a different planet altogether. So, it was as easy as ABC that Finding Dory was again going to be nothing short of another visual spectacle. The real question to me was "How different is it going to be from Finding Nemo especially with Dory helming the reins of this second instalment and Nemo pushed alongside as the sidekick or is Finding Dory just another sequel to cash in on the immense popularity of its predecessor"?  Put on your oxygen masks and swim further to find out.

Dory's herculean memory stumbling block was a roar this time as well. For some time. Unfortunately, there were times when you were actually yawning! It was understandable too. As Dory is the captain of the ship and considering her special needs, the repeated amnesic jokes were making it difficult for the smiling muscles to smile! If it hadn't been for the bad-tempered yet good Hank, the Octopus or from Dory's perspective - a Septapus! - Finding Dory would have been truly forgettable! It was a master stroke on the part of the writers to use the real defence mechanisms of an octopus in the movie - like camouflaging, squirting ink or moving quickly instead of giving it unnatural super powers. We have had enough super hero stuffs in the last 2 months and the octopus would have been the latest addition to that list! Fortunately, sanity might have struck the writers and they had beautifully used the many-colored octopus and their numerous counter defences to help Dory in her quest to be with her parents so that he can gain his freedom by being safely in an enclosure. Marlin and Nemo do their parts with ample assistance from the crazy-eyed Becky in tracing out Dory when they were separated due to a giant squid attack. As luck would have had it, Fate brings Dory to be in touch again with her childhood WhaleShark friend, Destiny and a neighbouring echolocator Whale. How Dory reunites with her parents with the help of all her friends is told in a poignant and smart way that actually has a lot of learning lessons in real life. The most important of them all is that it is sometimes okay to be without any plans or rationalizing too much on a situation but doing things by simply having a leap of faith - The Dory Way!

Stanton would have scratched his head that the movie lacked an action sequence. So, he cleverly packed a spectacular truck-falling-off-the-bridge scene to free all the fishes, Hank and Dory. The good thing about the climax block was that the sequence did not seem like a fish out of the water! Forgive my dreadful pun, it was indeed a gorgeous delicacy to the eyes. The IMAX effect made sure that every penny spent on the expensive ticket is value for money.

Is Finding Dory that good? Finding Dory is not as good as Finding Nemo but is sure to be Oscar Nominated. So, will it go all the way? Disney's Zootopia is my hot contender for this year's top spot due to its outstanding satirical narration told lucidly in a very humorous manner.

But, Finding Dory is definitely worth a second time just for Baby Dory. OMG! Baby Dory literally broke the gates of heavens in my heart. And I am very much confident that you will also be head over heels in love with Baby Dory. Just head to the nearest IMAX theatre to indulge in some rich Pixar amazement to be madly in love and have fun with the fishes.