Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu review - loads of style, too little substance

Many of the events leading up to the release of the film made me raise my eye brows. First was this interview of Gautham Menon with Sudhish Kamath from where it was pretty clear that Gautham did not share the perfect co-ordination with Kamal during the making of the film. Then came the audio release function of the film where both Kamal and Gautham spoke more about their future projects than about the movie that they had just completed together. Kamal who goes gaga for each of his projects (I still remember all the interviews he gave in the days leading up to Mumbai Express' release) was unusually silent on this project and all he said in an interview which appeared in the Hindu on the day of the film's release were just 2 words - slick & looks good. Well, all this only told one thing - that the movie hasn’t come out the way he expected it to be. And that pretty much is what we see on-screen too. An ordinary movie with too much gore & unwanted vulgarity.

A movie which starts off in a really interesting way loses its flow right after the second half begins and becomes almost a torture during the last 30-45 mins when the actual hunt is on for the villains. Like many have commented, Gautham Menon could have well called this movie KK -2 since there are so many things common between the 2 movies. I am someone who doesn’t hold Kaakka Kaakka in the highest regard. It was a good movie but not a great movie bcos even the only novel thing in the movie, encounter killing, though new to Tamil cinema, was not entirely new to Indian cinema. So, that being the case, when many feel that this movie ia badly made sequel to KK, you should easily gauge what I felt about this movie. Apart from numerous other drawbacks, to me the biggest let down of the movie was the fact that the actual killers were revealed almost right after the interval, after which the movie completely loses track where we all know that it is a matter of time before Kamal gets to them. Had the suspense been stretched a little more further (say, as in Gupt), it would have been much better.

The best part of the whole movie, to me, was the romance between Kamal and Jyothika. It was very neatly done and Gautham Menon once again proves that he is a master when it comes to subtle romance. But it is really unfortunate that the same romance stands in the way of the flow of the movie in the second half when it takes up much more screen time than the main theme. I also have to agree with the Sify review where it says that the romance scenes had more than a passing resemblance to the romance in the movie Lost in Translation. I also immensely loved the one-line witty dialogues that were superbly interwoven into the screenply.

This movie has everything that die-hard Kamal fans usually make fun of in other actors' movies - an introduction song, fight sequences where stuntmen take turns to hit the hero, a super hero cop whose hunch never goes wrong (it became all too monotonous after a while & calling it the Raghavan instinct was the cherry on the cake) and to top it all, the sticking-like-a-sore-thumb item number.

Coming to performances, it was refreshing to see Kamal act under a director's orders after a long time. He plays the role of the character, as always perfectly. It was also a welcome relief to see him not resort to his old gimmicks like when it comes to crying on losing a dear one. But he could have shed a few extra pounds which show him in bad light in scenes where he has to run. Jyothika somehow brings out her best for Gautham Menon. Kamalini Mukherjee is there for a needless cameo & a song. Prakashraj is as usual adequate in a cameo. I completely disliked the Pandya character in KK. So, it should come as no surprise when I say that the villain was a complete irritation. All the shouting & violence in the second half completely put me off. A role which should have sent chills down our spine only managed to draw laughs of ridicule from me.

Harris Jeyaraj's songs are easily the biggest highlight of the movie. In fact, the biggest applause during the film were not reserved for Kamal, but for the 3 super hit songs - Karkka karkka, Paartha mudhal naale and Vennilave. If there is one good thing that emerged out of the delay in this movie's releases, then it is the increase in the popularity of the songs among the public. The Paartha Mudhal naale song is immensely popular (one proof for the same is that out of 7 caller tunes that I encountered during my India trip, 4 were the Paartha mudhal naale song). Except for a couple of places, the background score was very good & kept up the tempo of the movie.

The songs picturization, except for Karkka Karkka, though left a lot to be desired. Gautham goes back to his Vaseegara days for the Paartha mudhal naale song. Just like how he killed arguably the best song of the century (?!) with a picturization which was more like the news for the hearing impaired, he repeats the same here with the Paartha mudhal naale song. I really can't imagine what should have gone through Kamal's head when this song was picturized. For someone who has made songs like Unna vida, I am sure he should have felt terrible. Like, when the lines go kaalai ezhunthathum en kangaL mudhalil thedi pidippathundhan mugame, Gautham has Kamal getting out of the bed & opening his eyes & seeing Kamalini Mukherjee. It was way too funny. I can't understand the selection of dancers for the Vennilave song, either. I mean, of all the hip-hop dancers that you would find in NYC, Gautham Menon selects this not-so-impressive group of dancers who in turn give us a rather very ordinary effort. In fact, it was the item number, though completely unnecessary, that was picturized the best. The choreography was simply superb.

I would be committing a cardinal sin if I were to forget cameraman Ravi Varman’s cinematography. He is the main reason for the slickness and the high-quality feel of the movie. The sights of the New York city have been presented amazingly well, particularly in the Vennilave song.

Harris Jeyaraj and New York City might help Gautham Menon achieve a hat-trick of hits. And that is a pity when you have someone like Kamal in the movie. But then, that is what is bound to happen when you stretch an 1 hour episode of CSI Miami/ NY to a 2.5 hour long movie.

FDFS experience - I actually wanted to watch this movie after coming to Seattle. And since this movie was releasing just a day before my return flight, I did not have great hopes of getting a ticket during the first day. But it turned out that the black market tickets were available in abundance. I went to Melody to watch Omkaara and on talking to a person over there, he offered me tickets for the First Day First Show at Sathyam. On talking to him further, I got to know that he had tickets available for all the weekend shows at all the theaters in Chennai city. The atmosphere inside the theater was completely contrary to what I expected. I mean I was watching the first day first show of a Kamal movie that was releasing after almost 1.5 years. But the excitement inside the theater was completely missing. There were the usual whistles when Kamal first appeared on-screen but then that was pretty much it. As the movie progressed, it was obvious that people were getting restless. In short, I can confidently say that the excitement level that I saw during Chandramukhi's screening in San Jose was far better than what I saw at Sathyam. It only goes on to prove why it is Ajith & Vijay, after Thalaivar, who are the best as far as opening is concerned.

Time to celebrate!

Well, its that time which comes in the life of every brother - yeah, you guessed it. It is my younger sister's marriage. The wedding got fixed just a couple of weeks ago, all in a very quick turn of events. Since the groom is from Sharjah and he wanted to have the wedding before his vacation got over, the wedding date was fixed for the 14th of this month. So, booked the tickets in a hurry and here I am sitting at work on the D-day, a few hours away from boarding the flight.

I am all excited about the trip for 2 reasons - sister's marriage (obviously) which gives a great chance to meet friends & family and equally exciting is the fact that this is my 2nd trip to India this year. That is something I love. I have always wondered if I would be able to do that and though not entirely by my choice, now it is coming true. Though it involves a good amount of money to make such frequent trips, the happiness & the satisfaction it gives you is worth every bit of it and simply makes one forget everything else.

And while I am there, hopefully I should get some to watch all the latest movies that I have missed seeing here, starting from Pudhupettai to the latest SSUE. But I do not want to set myself some targets to be met like I did last time around and incur the wrath of my mother.

I should be back by the last week of August. Till then, y'all have a wonderful time bcos I am sure I will be busy like a bee to even check out my favorite blogs (leave alone of blogging) :)

And today also marks the one year anniversary of my beloved Accord purchase. Wanted to do a detailed post on that one but since I was running short of time with the India trip preparations, couldn’t do it. One year of smooth, hassle-free and comfortable ride, it has been. That should sum up, how my experience of owning an Accord has been.

Jillendru Oru Kaadhal album review - Rahman in better form

This is Rahman's second album in Tamil this year and the hype surrounding the album was quite unprecedented, with comments like he would be back to 'his scintillating best' with this album and 'back with a bang' doing the rounds. Well, trust me. For all the hype and build-up sites like Sify gave for the album, the album is a disappointment. Except for 2 songs, I am sure the other songs will be heard around for a few months and then will die their natural death. Now, to the songs:

Munbe vaa - Easily the pick of the album. A very nice melody. Almost a perfect Rahman melody, straight out of his 90s repertoire. One of those rare ARR songs which impress you on your first listening. The Rango Rangoli chorus is just too good. I particularly loved the way Naresh Iyer joins the song in the charanam. A great touch by Rahman by having him not sing at all during the pallavi and have him start at midway through the charanam portion. Looks like Naresh Iyer has become Rahman's favorite these days. A very soothing song.

New York nagaram - Can say the same about this song too. The way the song is sung (particularly the chorus) really makes you feel as though the New York city is sleeping. The song starts off with some really nice guitar pieces (like we saw in Rubaroo in RDB) and they in fact continue through out the song, in the background (sounding similar to the way he had used the guitar pieces in the Vellai Pookkal song). I used to be a big fan of Rahman's voice but somehow he sounds jaded in this one. Or is it just me, who is tired of hear him singing more often. I loved his voice in Lukka Chappi but somehow didn’t like his voice all that much in this song. Looks like he has tried to sound different on purpose in this song. A song to fall in love with.

Title song - Its a different attempt, in that he has tried a retro song. Lots of jazz in this one. Something like what the Maestro tried in Mumbai Express with the Yela nee ettippo song. Though the sounds used are kind of curious, the tune (if I can call it that) is very pedestrian and reminds you of many other popular songs. But I guess this is going to be used when the credits roll and hence should not really matter that this does not have a great tune.

Machakkaari, Kummi adi, maaricham - all pass muster. Nothing great to rave about. Kummi adi is slightly better, with a very catchy pallavi but then the song becomes uninteresting as it proceeds. Maaricham has more of Yuvan than Rahman. I leave it to you to decide if that is to be taken as a compliment or not :) Basically, all these are songs that would have been hits if they had come during the 90s when Rahman was ruling TFM. But now, with Yuvan and Harris Jeyaraj flooding the audience with the same kind of music, at a much better rate, these might be just one another of those songs.

Mazaa Mazaa - Just like there is the best number of the album, this should be given the distinction of the worst number of the album. Rahman has tried to do something different with this song but the song completely falls flat with a mediocre tune and some awful singing. SPB Charan sounds so exactly like his father at many places. But I am thankful that he didn’t have SPB sing this instead (one crap called Thazhuvudhu Nazhuvudhu is enough for someone like SPB)

2 great songs, 1 different attempt, 4 run-of-the-mill songs. That pretty much sums up the album. ARR has definitely tried to be more serious and focused here. By that I mean, this album is way better than duds like Godfather and ARR's other efforts of late but still a long way from those Rahman albums of the 90s. Bottom line - An above-average attempt from a once-great composer, who clearly seems to have lost his old magic when it comes to composing Tamil songs.

We all know this badly kept "secret" with ARR's songs - they grow on you, which used to be true then. But not anymore since the quality of his compositions have come down. And now when we have folks like Yuvan whose songs are instantly attractive & hummable, I probably do not have the patience to get used to these rather ordinary songs. So, I listened to these songs a bunch of times and then I was back to listening my current favorites - Thimiru and By2 (an album where all the songs are melodies and which will take no time to grow on you).

Monthly Sports Round-up - July 2006

Highlights from around the world of sports during the month of July...

July 2 - After 3 exciting draws where India had a chance to win each of the 3 tests entering the final session of the test, the Men in Blue put one victory across the West Indians, and thus ending the wretched run of 31 years without a series victory in the Carribean. Though the inability of Sachin's men to make 120 in the 4th innings at Bridgetown still rankles me, I was so happy that India, under Dravid, managed to win this test & with it the series. If there is somebody, apart from Dravid, who truly deserves this series victory, it should be Kumble, given his unsung hero status & the untiring dedication of the man who gives his best each time he is called on to bowl. I was so happy that he was instrumental in the victory, with his 6 wicket haul in the last innings.

July 2 - Michael Schumacher wins the US Grand Prix and cuts down the points difference between himself & Alonso to 19 points. He becomes the first ever man to win 5 races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Though he started from the pole position, he surrendered the lead temporarily to teammate Massa for the first few laps before overtaking him after the first pit stop & gaining control of the remainder of the race. In the end, it turned out to be an easy outing for this accomplished Ferrari driver. Though 23 cars started the race, only 9 were able to finish it, thanks to the multiple collision in the first lap involving 7 cars.

July 9 - Italy it is. As all the favorites wilted by the way side as the tournament progressed, it was left to Italy & France to fight it out in the final, which didn’t live up to all the expectations and befitting a tournament of this stature. This is Italy's 4th world cup win and it has come after a gap of 24 years. Zidane wins the Golden Ball ward for the MVP of the tournament. A small consolation for the man who had a very forgettable end to his distinguished career.

July 9 - Federer finally overcomes his nemesis of this year, Nadal, beating him in 4 sets to win his 4th straight Wimbledon title. Though the match surely showed glimpses of Nadal's potential on grass, Federer was in control throughout the game. With his 4th straight title, Federer joins some elite company - Sampras & Bjorn Borg - as the only 2 other men to have won 4 straight Wimbledon titles. The Wimbledon championships threw up another interesting statistic about the state of affairs of tennis in the US - this is for the first time since 1911, that there was no representation of the US in both the men’s and women's quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Sad to see that the country that produced legends like Sampras & Connors is struggling to produce world class talents in tennis.

July 16 - Michael Schumacher wins the 8th French Grand Prix of his distinguished career, as gets the better of Alonso for the 2nd consecutive race. It was a 1 & 3 finish for Ferrari with Alonso coming second. The difference between Alonso & Schumacher is now down to 17 and the home stretch of this F1 season is gearing up for a great finish.

July 23 - Tiger Woods wins the British Open by a 2 stroke margin, thus increasing his total number of major championships count to 11, in the process narrowing the difference between him and Jack Nicklaus to a mere 7 majors. It was a dominant victory for the golfing phenom, as he lead comfortably from round 2 onwards. The final round saw him play more conservatively, sticking on to his lead and not trying anything adventurous. After the victory though, Tiger breaks down into uncontrollable bouts of tears, in the arms of his caddie and his wife. Next up is the PGA Championships in Medinah Country Club near Chicago this month.

July 23 - Floyd Landis wins the Tour De France, thus making sure that the cycle world's most grueling & prestigious championship title remains with the Americans for the 8th consecutive year. But in completely unexpected developments, days after the race got over, news surfaced that Landis' urine sample was found to contain more than acceptable levels of testosterone. The American rider has vehemently denied the same claiming that the reason for the abnormal level is due to his natural metabolism, while the whole world awaits the result of his backup sample, which if returns a positive result, Landis will be stripped of the title. I feel really bad for the guy, in case this is all a mistake. In this age of technology when even the minutest of infractions can be zeroed in, I believe that Landis would not have done this on purpose. If that is the case, this is all a great tragedy bcos his title victory will always be viewed with suspicion, with an asterisk near it, which is something any sportsman would hate to see. The days ahead will be interesting...

July 30 - It was again a 1-2 Ferrari finish as Schumacher and Massa took the first 2 spots of the German grand Prix, with the German earning the 89th victory of his distinguished career. If it was Alonso who dominated the early part of this championship by winning 6 out of the first 9 races, it has been Schumacher all the way during the past 3 races, as he conjured up his 3rd consecutive race victory. The German thus further cut his deficit between him & Alonso by 6 points as the points difference between them now just stands at 11 points. If Schumacher can win the remaining 6 races of the season, then he will win the championship no matter what Alonso does. Next stop is the Hungarian Open, next Sunday.

July 31 - Well, you have to write something about it if 2 players go on to make 624 runs in well under 2 days, with each of them scoring mammoth centuries (one of them in the process becoming the 4th highest scorer in an innings in the history of test cricket). Scoring 500+ runs partnership is not new to the Sri Lankans as they already held the world record for the highest partnership for any wicket (they did so against Sachin's Indians in that forgettable match where they scored 900+ runs and the match went on to become a dull draw). Though I am highly critical of this approach of the Sri Lankans in that they kill whatever little interest the watching public has in test cricket, the fact that they managed a result out of this one made me write about it. Murali just keeps taking 10 wickets a match, as though it were his birth right and as though someone will shoot him to death if he gets anything less than 10 wickets in a test :)

Best individual performance of the month - This has to go Jayawardane and Sangakkara for their world record setting partnership of 624 runs. 157 overs, 942 balls, 79 boundaries, 0 wickets. It should have been truly heartbreaking for the South Africans. It is really an achievement to bat with so much concentration over such a long period of time. So, here’s to Jaywardane and Sangakkara for their mind-boggling partnership.

Best sporting event of the month - Though the game did not live up to the dizzying expectations of the best sporting event of the year, the final of the World Cup has to be given the status of the best sporting event of the month, atleast. After all, you don’t get to see it for the next 4 years, whatsay? If not anything, Zidane made sure that this final will stay in our minds for years and years to come.