An evening show at the Prarthana Open Air Theatre. Movie - Ayitha Ezhuththu. Expectations - Very High. Result - Disappointment in proportion direct to expectations.

Manirathnam has enjoyed creating this novel on screen. But what an average movie-goer who looks at entertainment value for his money, expects of a Manirathnam creation is a tad different. The movie looked more like a lift and join of ideas from his previous movies - Roja, Alaipayuthe, Nayakan, Mouna Ragam. But what we expect of Manirathnam is freshness, novelty, creativity at its zenith.

The movie appears a bit disjointed at some places and keeps coming back to the Napier Bridge scene, taking us back to the restless Maddy in Alaipayuthe. We have admired Mani's picturisation of songs so much over his past movies. But in AKK, except for "Fanaa", none of the other songs stand out. After the likes of "Pachchai Nirame" and "Kaadhal Sadugudu", AKK's "Unmai Sonnaal Nesippaayaa" is a big let down. Sidhdhaarth and Trisha remind us of Maddy and Shalini, while Surya and Esha's romantic encounters are reminiscent of Arvindswamy and Madhoo in Roja. The dialogues were pretty predictable, especially the ones between Sidhdhaarth and his father. Again, its probably because we are so accustomed to Mani's style that his dialogues have become kind of refrains and are etched in our minds forever.

Here are the positives - the cast, Surya's character sketch, Rahman's music and...and...well, am thinking hard but can't think of anything else. I liked Main Hoon Na better.

We watched Main Hoon Na over a weekend. Miraculously landing the tickets for a movie that was houseful for two days in advance, we were sort of destined to watch it that day. This post is kinda late for the movie that we watched two weeks back. But nevertheless, here are my two cents.

Main Hoon Na was a sweet entertainer. For those of us who were disappointed with Kal Ho Na Ho, Main Hoon Na is a real make over. The story see-saws between serious terrorist activities and a happy college environ. Shah Rukh as Ram Prasad Sharma is an impressive army Major. Sushmitha Sen makes the role of a Chemistry teacher formidable. The use of Matrix stunts has kind of become a routine in Indian movies these days, but still makes enjoyable viewing. While Amrita Rao as Sanjana is refreshing and Kiron Kher as the mother is dignified for the role, the one who steals the scenes and our hearts at the end is Zayed Khan. He was simply marvellous. He comes across as a damn damn cute, jolly-go-lucky Laxman Prasad Sharma aka Lucky. He epitomises Generation Next as perfect IBCds - Indian Born yet Confused Desis. Shah Rukh and Zayed's interactions in the college are awesome and so were the comical sequences involving Sathish Shah and Booman Irani.

If something was on the flip side, it was Sunil Shetty's acting. Was it purposefully downplayed that way or not, I am not sure. But I was tending to contrast his performance with Ajay Devgun in Khakee and that made it look all the more miserable I guess.

Otherwise, its a great movie. Just go and watch it. Its 100% fun.

Sunset time for Election fever. With an impressive branding/campaigning strategy, the NDA has imprinted the India Shining and Rath Yathra on our minds. Now time, oops, the count alone will tell water for water and milk for milk (dont mind the poor joke, cudn't stop myself from cracking that).

Sunset time for Cricket fever. Atleast momentarily. With the boys bringing home the cup from our cordial neighbours and all the ooh-aahing over now, this one more passion of the nation has slightly subsided now.

So whats up ? What do we all look forward to now ? What else - ManiRathnam's most eagerly awaited flick - Yuva aka Ayudha Ezhuthu, Of Course !

When I read Herman Hesses's Sidhdhartha, it wasn't much of an influence on me or my psyche. It was just another story of just another worthwhile seeker of truth. That was it. But I guess somewhere deep inside, it has made an impact. This impact probably got buried under the constant and petty chatter of the intellectual mind, which endlessly scouts for rationale and evidence.

Of late, this obscured impression in my mind has started surfacing. I realise what experiences can do to our perceptions. While our parents were content with believing and living in the words of elders, our generation chooses to experience first and believe next. This is exactly why 'Sidhdhartha' did not impress me before. And this is exactly why 'Sidhdhartha' refuses to leave my memory now.

I had then jotted down some sentences from 'Sidhdhartha', not for the intensity or profundity of the philosophy that it discusses, but for the literary depth and the summarizing effect that it had. I then felt that it was not my experience and I was no one to endorse it. But now, I just feel like sharing those words out here. Again, words cannot describe emotions quite well, but still Herman Hesse has really bought out few truths in simple language. The value of any knowledge, I feel is significant only after its experience.

The Excerpts -

** A goal stood before Siddhartha, a single goal: to become empty, empty of thirst, empty of wishing, empty of dreams, empty of joy and sorrow. Dead to himself, not to be a self any more, to find tranquility with an emptied heart, to be open to miracles in unselfish thoughts, that was his goal. **

** What is meditation? What is leaving one's body? What is fasting? What is holding one's breath? It is fleeing from the self, it is a short escape of the agony of being a self, it is a short numbing of the senses against the pain and the pointlessness of life. **

** He saw: this water ran and ran, incessantly it ran, and was nevertheless always there, was always an at all times the same and yet new in every moment! **

** "This," he said playing with it, "is a stone, and will, after a certain time, perhaps turn into soil, and will turn from soil into a plant or animal or human being. In the past, I would have said: This stone is just a stone, it is worthless, it belongs to the world of the Maya; but because it might be able to become also a human being and a spirit in the cycle of transformations, therefore I also grant it importance. Thus, I would perhaps have thought in the past. But today I think: this stone is a stone, it is also animal, it is also god, it is also Buddha, I do not venerate and love it because it could turn into this or that, but rather because it is already and always everything - and it is this very fact, that it is a stone, that it appears to me now and today as a stone, this is why I love it and see worth and purpose in each of its veins and cavities, in the yellow, in the gray, in the hardness, in the sound it makes when I knock at it, in the dryness or wetness of its surface. There are stones which feel like oil or soap, and others like leaves, others like sand, and every one is special and prays the Om in its own way, each one is Brahman, but simultaneously and just as much it is a stone, is oily or juicy, and this is this very fact which I like and regard as wonderful and worthy of worship.--But let me speak no more of this. The words are not good for the secret meaning, Everything always becomes a bit different, as soon as it is put into words, gets distorted a bit, a bit silly--yes, and this is also very good, and I like it a lot, I also very much agree with this, that this what is one man's treasure and wisdom always sounds like foolishness to another person." **

Fleeting thoughts, fleeting emotions
Fleeting people, fleeting convictions
Fleeting ideas, fleeting impressions
Fleeting habits, fleeting opinions

Fleeting relations, fleeting appearances
Fleeting places, fleeting circumstances
Fleeting comments, fleeting strifes
Fleeting world, a fleeting life.

Why agonise on what transpired today
Tomorrow does not know what today I say
When a bright new world dawns tomorrow
It ushers in more grace, new joy, fresh sorrow

With change innate in every new instant
The past, the future are hazy and distant
With this very moment that melts into the next
Let my mind surrender to a tranquil rest

What is now will soon be was
So, I'll never lose heart for this will also pass.

I watched Malini Iyer on Sahara Entertainment last week. You know what ? I actually liked the episode. And you know why ? Because I am bored with the junk that Ekta Kapoor's K-series soaps are churning out. Apart from the seasonal and festival flavour that these soaps share by way of Holi, Diwali celebrations, Valentine's Day parties, and so on, these soaps also use similar plots most of the time. Here's one instance - I watch Kasautti Zindagi Ki on Star Plus and Kkusum on Sony. In Kkusum, Abhay, under the intoxication of Bhaang expresses his thoughts to Maayee, mistaking her for Kkusum. And in Kasautti, Anuraag does the same thing. He mistakes Aparna for Prerna and rants out to his heart's content. And this re-use of plots, necessitated by the dearth of creativity makes it too conspicuous that they have run out of material to carry the story forward. Now, here are some of those stereotyped techniques used like dictums in K-Series soaps when they run out of ideas to take the story further (which they invariably do) -

1. Kill an important character, thereby trying to paint an illusorily major twist to the story
2. Force in a new character who will be a pivot to the story going forward.
3. Fast forward the story by eight to eighteen years, so that the next generation is available to create some material for the story. And in between these, hide a lot of truths about who the father is, who the mother is, etc so that deciphering all that would give enough time to think about the storyline.

I stopped watching Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chaand and Sanjeevani after not being able to withstand the crap that they were churning out. Well, I don't mind being fooled as long as I don't realise that I am being fooled ! :-)

And that is why Malini Iyer comes as a breath of freshly perfumed air. It has Sridevi's typical over-action and her Madi Saar does not gel with the rest of the scene. She speaks an unnaturally accented mocked up Iyer tamil and is overly decked up for a normal day. But still the attempt is novel and more importantly, there is a new story every week.