Happy Birthday, Thalaivaaa!!!

It has been so hectic here at my end that should explain the absence of posts here. But then Thalaivar's birthday is too special a day to miss out on posting something. So, here is my Thalaivar bday post. I wanted this collage here to unique in the sense all the pictures should be in black & white and should not have pictures from any of the recent movies.

This past year, has been undoubtedly one of the best years for me, as a Thalaivar fan. There has never been so much fun, so much excitement and so much beautiful memories like this year and all was possible due to one man - The Boss. I will cherish each and every moment of the days leading upto the release of Sivaji and the days after the release when I watched the movie 5 times in a 6 day-span. Though a long & hard wait is staring at our faces as we are still unsure when we will get to see Thalaivar next on the silver screen, Sultan -The Warrior should quench our thirsts partially till we get to see the Man himself on screen. So, here's wishing the born entertainer who has been enthralling his fans for generations together, a very happy birthday and an awesome new year ahead.

100 days reign of The Boss

Things have been pretty hectic here at my end and that is the reason for this scarcity of posts here. The fact that I was not able to post something even for the completion of 100 days of The Boss should bear testimony to the same. Anyway, got some time today and with the logic "Better late than never" at the back of my mind, decided to post about the 100th day celebrations of Sivaji, that we had in Seattle last Saturday.

Just like how I was apprehensive when the movie was screened during the 50th day weekend, I was a lot worried whether there will be decent enough crowd for my friend (who was the one screening the movie) to at least break even. He was screening the movie just for the sake of fans like me and I want o proudly disclose here that, it was just for the sake of me that he changed the timing of the show from the usual 1pm start to a 7pm start, just bcos I had something else going on during the afternoon. So, I was even more worried and I had in fact decided even before the movie that if my friend were to incur a loss bcos of the movie, I will share some of the loss. So, that was my mentality heading into the weekend.

On the way to the theater on the D-day, I get a call from my friend asking me if I still needed the 10 tickets that I had earmarked for my friends. I said "Yes, I do need that. But why are you even concerned about it?". He goes "The movie might be a sell-out and that is the reason why I want to make sure that all your friends get a ticket". I really thought that my friend was joking around. It was hard for me to believe when he first told me that bcos there was no way the movie could have had even sold half of the tickets.

I was one of the first to reach the theater and as time of the show neared, the crowd swelled and it was about 20 mins before the show did I realize that my friend was indeed serious. The theater was brim to the full and we still had people coming. Since we did not want family audience to go back without a ticket, fans like me (a good 15 of us) decided to relinquish our seats and watch the movie standing from the side (anything for Thalaivar J). Even after doing that, we had to send 30-40 folks back home bcos of the non-availability of tickets. During all this commotion, I was sporting a big smile, a smile of just having seen a miracle happen. A smile arising out of sheer pride being a fan of Thalaivar, the only man who can pull a crowd to the theater in this remote corner of the world. Like I had said a few posts before, it is hard for Tamil movies to attract the Seattle Tamil audience to the theater even for just 1 show. And The Boss was being screened for the 12th time here in Seattle and that too on the 100th day, by which time the movie would have been available for download from all web sites. In spite of all these obstacles, Thalaivar pulls off a miracle, thus proving his clout and hold over the Tamil folks, no matter which corner of the globe they reside.

At least half of the crowd consisted of fans like me and that only mean one thing - mayhem and celebrations inside the theater. It was almost as though we were watching the premier show on June 14th (a day I can never forget). As the movie progressed, Thalaivar fans who had been seated in various corners of the theater, started to group together in the place where we were sitting and the excitement naturally grew from then on. All the agmark Thalaivar scenes – Thalaivar intro, Vaaji song intro, Style song, Adhiradi song, Mottai Boss intro, to name a few – drew the maximum applause & whistles while some fans like me were busy at the front of the theater throwing up torn paper pieces before the screen.

Personally for me, I was starved - this was my first glimpse of Thalaivar on the big screen after close to 90 days and in spite of watching all those scenes and songs in the form of YouTube videos, the experience was just electric. I was way too excited and elated during the screening. This was my 7th time watching the movie and I simply wasn't bored for one sec. If ever there was one thing I felt during this watching (and if I were given a choice to make just ONE change to the movie, that would also be the thing), it was as the Adhiradi song was being played, when I really thought how good it would have been if only Lawrence had been made the choreographer for all the songs, instead of just one. Shankar who had made the movie as a Thalaivar fan for Thalaivar fans could have made this one more thing for us which would have made the movie even more memorable. The Adhiradi song is one song which I do not think I will ever get tired of watching. Everything about the song is just perfect, making it easily the best Thalaivar song of all time, when it comes to picturization.

I don’t know what else to say than "The Boss rocks!""

An assorted post

Bheema album- What Harris Jeyaraj has been doing with each album of his is just mind-blowing. Music lovers have differing opinions on songs of different MDs but when it comes to songs tuned in by Harris, there are no two opinions. Inspite of all his shortcomings, nobody can say that they do not like the melodies churned out by Harris Jeyaraj. I am a big fan of Yuvan but I enjoy the songs of Harris Jeyaraj equally bcos of the simple reason - they are instantly catchy, the tunes are very simple and more importantly, all it takes for us to start loving the songs is couple of listenings. Of course his songs draw the usual complaints - they are not innovative, they all sound the same, the tune sounds oh-so familiar but guess what? The songs are so much enjoyable and that is what matters at the end. And Bheema is no different and it was only expected bcos it is Linguswamy who is the director of the movie and who has always been very good when it comes to extracting the best out of his MDs. Every song you hear in Bheema just brings a smile to your lips, as to how this guy can come up with such simple tunes album after album.

The moment you listen to the Ragasiya Kanavugal song, you are instantly hooked on to it. The only thing that is jarring in this song is Madhushree's voice & Tamil pronunciation. The 'irage irage' chorus is just too good. Very soothing tune to go along with some catchy beats. Easily my pick of the album. But equally soothing and melodious, are the Enadhuyire enadhuiyre and Mudhal mazhai songs. Somehow Sadhana Sargam's rendition of the Enadhuyire song was not easy on the ears. Other than that, it was almost a perfect melody. Hariharan is at his best in the mesmerizing Mudhal mazhai number where that female solo humming, though being something we have come to expect in Harris Jeyaraj's songs, is so enchanting. Oru mugamO is a very interesting hero introduction song, sans heavy beats which are usually the trademark of such songs. Naresh Iyer and Karthik just compliment each other well. Siru paarvaiyaale is the typical Harris folk-cum-kuthu song and it is as catchy as any of his previous such songs. And me being a big fan of Harini just makes the job of liking the song much more easier. Rangu rangamma is a decent song and will rank as my least favorite number of the album. Overall, Harris Jeyaraj serves up one more thoroughly enjoyable album.

Sivaji second release - This is too good a news not to share this info with you guys. Last weekend, Sivaji was re-released in Seattle (you know, owing to popular demand :D) and thus also becoming the first movie to do so in Seattle's history of screening Tamil movies. Kireedom that was released couple of weeks drew very average crowds (one of my friends actually co-released the movie and let me just say that he hurts his finances pretty badly) and Arya that was released last weekend (along with Sivaji) fared even worse and had all of 11 people watching it. But guess how many people turned up for Sivaji? 410. That’s just freaking unbelievable. Seriously, when I got the news that Sivaji was going to be released again, though I was excited, I was also apprehensive as to the guy who releases it should not incur any losses. Bcos Tamil movies usually run for 1-2 shows here in Seattle. And Sivaji had already run 9 shows during its first release and now it was releasing again. But The Boss proved his clout at the BO in no small measure and pulled out another near-houseful show at Seattle. Though I was out of town and thus could not increase my count (which still stands at 6), talks are already on to bring the movie back to Seattle to coincide with 100th day of the movie's release. I should increase my count during then :)

2008 Accord - Though the concept car of the 2008 Accord coupe was revealed last year at the Detroit auto show, the sedan was kept under the wraps until it was unveiled yesterday. Being an Accord owner myself, I closely follow the changes that the model go through over the years. One of my friends' friend who works at Honda who had a chance to look at the model ever since last year, had only glowing things to say about the car (like "it will blow your mind away"). But after watching the video yday, I will have to say that it did not exactly do it to me :) It definitely looks more stylish and it just does not blow your mind off, say how the 2007 Camry did to all of us when compared to the 06 version. I feel that the body of the car resembles more like a BMW 5-series and it also looks like the car has much more interior space than its previous versions. Here is the link to the Motor Trend video.

Top 10 Sivaji moments

I had started writing this post much earlier but then wanted to post it on a day of significance and what better day than the 50th day of its release. Sivaji has been one movie which has almost become too tough to resist. Though I have watched it 6 times so far, I am still dying to watch it many more times. I keep saying to my friends that if I had been in India (or in some place where the movie is still running), I would have definitely watched it a minimum of 20 times. Seriously, I have not enjoyed a Thalaivar movie as much as I enjoyed Sivaji and more importantly, no Thalaivar movie has left me wanting for more, even after repeated viewings.

To quench my thirst for some Sivaji action, I surf around looking for You Tube videos of some scenes and songs. Since I do not download movies in general, there was no way I was going to download the movie and watch it in my laptop. Sivaji means so much to me and thus, anything less than watching it in a theater is unacceptable for me. I bought the audio CD, watched the movie in the theater for 6 times and will buy atleast 5 copies of the original DVD whenever it is released (Oh..the remaining copies are for friends as gifts).

As a Thalaivar fan, all I was concerned before the movie's release was that the movie should do well. And boy, has it done well. As every other site and news report says, the movie has already broken all existing records in Tamil cinema and I am sure when it is done running, it would have become the highest grossing movie in the history of Indian cinema. After Chandramukhi set all those collection records, movies like Anniyan did gross an amount which while remaining lesser than CM, was in the same league as CM. That is when Thalaivar probably thought that we should do a movie where the collections of the same should be in an altogether different league and Thalaivar's dream has come true in a big way with Sivaji. I am not sure if even Thalaivar's future movies can break the records set by Sivaji (though I will be the one who will be the happiest if that does happen).

Alright now to the top 10 Sivaji moments. Moments that took my breath away, moments that made me cry out loud, moments that made me leap from my seat, moments that got me excited way too much, moments that tingled my spine or to put it simply, moments that only Thalaivar can provide. I thought of ordering them but then, that would just not be fair. Though I like some of the moments listed below better than the others, there are atleast a good 3-4 moments which I simply can not put in any order bcos each one of them is just as stunning as another.

1) Sivaji-kku appuram evan-da
Sujatha had said in an interview before the movie was released on whether there will be any punch dialogs in Sivaji to which he replied We have made Vivek do the honors instead of the Superstar. Punch-kku punch. Dignity-kku dignity. I simply loved it even when I read the interview and when I saw that scene when Vivek says Six-kku appuram seven-da...Sivaji-kku appuram yeven-da, it was just too good to be true and we all shouted Yevenum illa-da

2) Singam..Single-aa thaan varum
I don't think I need to say anything about this scene as this scene and the dialog have become part of folk lore. I was completely speechless when I saw this scene for the first time. I simply loved the way how there is a gap in this dialog. He first says Kannaa, panninga thaan koottamaa varum and then hits the goondas who fly in the air and it is then as they are falling down like nine pins, he finishes the dialog by saying Singam, single-aa than varum That glitter in his eyes as he says this is so typical of Thalaivar

3) Thalaivar's mind-blowing intro in the Adhiradi song
Though I personally liked the way how Thalaivar lands on the ground after flying & picks up the guitar, many friends of mine liked the way he is shown lying on the bike with his face covered with that hat and with his feet crossed. Whichever is your pick, those few seconds when the Adhiradi song starts are simply out-of-the-world. (it is to be noted here that I have already run out of adjectives/ superlatives) I will have to add here that whatever follows (the whole song basically) deserves another entry in this list. But for the sake of repetition, I am leaving it out.

4) Thalaivar riding that bike in the Style song in that blue jacket.
I am not sure how many of you noticed this. To be very frank, this was the only hairdo in that Style song I was kind of apprehensive about when the stills were released (my personal favorite was the one he sports when he is wearing the orange overcoat and I was actually disappointed that Shankar did not give adequate screen time for that outfit). But once I saw that blue outfit on the screen, all my doubts evaporated into thin air. The way he nonchalantly chews the bubble gum while driving is breath-taking. While on the same dress, the following scene where Thalaivar's mirror image and Thalaivar do different things in slow-mo is equally awesome and thus has to be given its due recognition.

5) That walk back to the auto in THE teakada scene.
The whole teakada scene is spectacular & will rank way up there among the best Thalaivar scenes of all time. But the way the scene ends with this particular walk is just the crowning glory of the whole scene. Everything about that walk is mind-blowing - first the way he gets up from the bench after stylishly gets his right leg over the bench, then walks back by looking sideways without looking at the camera, all the time chewing the Bajji and then how he gets into the auto & says Polaam right, there can not be a better moment than this. It was no coincidence that Thalaivar’s daughter too cites the same scene as her most favorite scene of the movie. We (myself & my friends) all talk about how the shooting spot would have looked like on the day they canned this scene. Given the fact that Shankar himself is such a huge fan of Thalaivar, I am sure they all would have enjoyed this scene to the hilt even while filming it.

6) Thalaivar's entry in the Haneefa stabbing scene
You don't realize what hit you. That is how I felt when suddenly the doors open and Thalaivar strides into the room alongside the other goondas. As he answers Haneefa's question as to who it is, by saying Boss in how own magnetic voice and enters the room with that background by ARR is definitely one of the high moments of the movie.

7) Vaaji vaji song walk
Thalaivar's walk is something that leaves every Thalaivar fan in a trance and that midukku in his walk is simply unparalleled. Among all the walks in the movie, I actually loved this one in the Vaaji song. This actually comes for a few fleeting seconds. Right when the song starts, after Thalaivar gets out of that pallakku, he is first showered with rose petals & then he flashes his trademark smile, which instantly sent me into a daze already. And it is then that he is shown walking along the corridor with the sword in his hand. Amazing. Awestruck.

8) Music store fight scene close-up
Right in the middle of the musical store fight where the fight shifts from the main area of the store to a storage area full of guitars and drums, first, Thalaivar's eyes are shown in close-up and then his majestic walk, with the Power ranger jetix thaan-da Pathu viralum gimmicks thaan-da lines in the background. Another moment when Thalaivar just makes you scream out of pure adrenaline rush.

9) Helicopter backdrop walk
Well, there are 2 walks with the helicopter in the background and needless to say which among the 2 is more hair-rising than the others. The one in the all-white attire was the clear winner. (Its not that the one with the all-black outfit is bad but somehow, I have always liked when Thalaivar comes in a all-white dress , right from the Raajaadhi Raja days) This scene is a very unique one. First up showing a helicopter up-close & landing with the dirt flying is majestic in its own way. But as only he can, Thalaivar simply overshadows the presence of the helicopter in the background with his mere walk. A doubtless Wow moment for any die-hard Thalaivar fan.

10) Mottai boss intro
The less I write about the Mottai boss, the better bcos if I start my ranting, I just can not stop. Thalaivar's majesty in that get-up is truly unbelievable. It is for that one get-up alone I will say Sivaji is the best Thalaivar film ever. The moment he gets down from that helicopter and starts walking in never-before-seen style of walking, I was shouting Thalaivaa to the hilt. It is for moments like these that fans like me die for and Thalaivar fans have to thank Shankar for showing us all a facet of Thalaivar we would not have seen in our life times if not for him.

So, there goes my celebration of the successful 50th day completion of THE movie. As always, would like to hear any other goose-bump moments you guys feel would have made it to your list.

Thalaivar-in peter

The one thing that definitely captures one’s attention in Sivaji is the numerous English words/ dialogs that Thalaivar speaks. I just thought that I will make a post, listing all of them. I have also tried my best to arrange the dialogs in the order they came in the movie. (For folks who come here looking for non-Sivaji related posts, trust me, this would be my last post (atleast for the time being) :))

See you there.

Software System Architect.

Is this our Chennai?

I feel shy, you know.

I feel embarrassed. I feel shy and uncomfortable when it comes to talking to strange women, you know

Assistant Electoral Enumeration officer from the Election Commission of India.

It is all a mistake.

Nuts.

Sweet mummy.

Let's rock, Baby.

Oh give me that color,ya.

Washroom, please.

Please do something, doctor.

You are great, doctor.

Remarkable, doctor.

I will follow all the rules. I will fill out a zillion forms.

You are a very very special guest for us.

Loafer.

Steel body.

Who do you think you are.

I was cornered. I was helpless.

It was coincidence. Damn it.

Shit.

Give me a break, yaar.

Rich get richer. Poor get poorer.

Professional ethics.

I am Sivaji buddy.

Sivaji was my good friend. But he is no more.

and last, but not the least,

Cool

Am I missing something?

Post Sivaji Trauma

Symptoms:

• Feeling of euphoria (of having seen their Thalaivar after 2 years) and emptiness (bcos of the 2 year wait ahead that stares at them) at the same time
• Ending every other sentence with the word 'Cool'
• On being asked what their name is, the answer invariably ends with Pera kaetta udane chummaa adhiridhulla
• Repeated & vain attempts to horizontally toss a coin.
• Speak in husky tones bcos voice is so weak and coarse after hours together of shouting of Thalaivaaaaaaaaaa.
• Trying to pop a bubble gum into the mouth, by hitting it against any solid surface, preferably the left hand or others' forehead
• On being asked on why they have come alone (does not matter who is asking that question and where that question is being posed), they answer Kannaa...panninga thaan koottamaa varum. Singam...single-aa thaan varum
• Severe neck pain as a result of trying to alternate their coolers/ goggles that is between their noses to behind their necks and vice-versa.

Victims:

• Fans of an actor, affectionately called Thalaivar, who simply can't get enough of him
• NRI fans in particular are the most affected as Sivaji does not run for more than 1-2 weeks in most centers.

Recommended Medication:

• Sivaji DVD
• Another viewing of THE BOSS

Sivaji - The Syle Samraat at his scintillating best

Thursday night's review was the Thalaivar fan in me writing it. So, now that I have seen the movie 4 times, I thought let me try writing a more balanced review, which is almost next to impossible. So, if there is anyone who is here expecting to read a unbiased review, then please do not read further :)

Hype kills is one of the most used phrases associated with anything and everything that is given even a wee bit of hype. This holds good for stars and events across all fields, be it politics or sports or movies. And when the hype surrounding such a thing is as huge as the one that surrounded Sivaji before the release, it becomes almost impossible to live upto the huge expectations. It is in this context that we need to look at what Shankar has accomplished with Sivaji. He has handled that expectations admirably and has given a movie that both Thalaivar fans and neutral fans alike would relish for years to come. Like I had said yday, IMHO this will go down as THE best Thalaivar movie of all time. No doubts about it. I might have gone overboard when I said that the movie is 100 times better than Baashaa but I still would say that this is the best Thalaivar film of all time, even beating Baashaa.

The first thing that stands out in the movie is Thalaivar's looks. Thalaivar looks ravishing throughout the movie. Thalaivar just oozes style all through the movie. I can not recall any movie where Thalaivar's style has been put to such extensive use and that is precisely one reason why I rate this movie so highly, as his best. If we take Annamalai and Baashaa (2 of Thalaivar's power movies in the last 15 years), we all could easily recall a good 3 scenes from each movie as standout scenes, where Thalaivar's style gave us goose bumps. But in Sivaji, there are just so many scenes that you will lose count of such scenes. The one scene which comes right after the interval is just too good and should be placed right up there in the best scenes of all time in a Thalaivar movie. So, if you are someone who spends a lot of time during the intervals in getting something to eat, you better hurry up inside the theater. You would not want to miss out a single second of action from that scene.

His voice is markedly better than what we heard him in Chandramukhi (and of course, Baba). It kind of takes a while for us to get adjusted to the Thalaivar voice that we are so used to during the pre-Baba days. The ganeer kural is back and is simply rocking. Costumes are mind-blowing. Shankar makes Thalaivar wear so many costumes that before we could even admire him in a good costume, he changes to the next awesome one. His suits are amazing with the matching ties adding to the effect.

About Thalaivar's energetic performance - One word to describe that would be Wow. Thalaivar has given his best performance since Baashaa happened more than 15 years ago. He rocks big time. Stupid & jealous politicians can stop Thalaivar from doing his trademark cigarette flip. But Thalaivar's style in this one - the way he tosses the chewing gum from his right hand to his left hand before the gum makes its way to his mouth is just terrific. And the way he does the same in the climax scene on Suman's forehead was simply brilliant. Equally stylish is the way he catches the Saraswathi vedi in his mouth and lights it. His walk in each and every scene is so majestic, particularly in the scene where he sends Suman to jail & walks back to his car. And finally what to say about the shaven head - how many heroes have done that in the history of Tamil cinema? Thalaivar has put all of their efforts to shame and I am sure anyone planning to do so in the future, will have second thoughts on doing the same. Thalaivar simply rocks in that get-up.

Frankly, Chandramukhi was a letdown for Thalaivar fans and no one still knows why the movie ran. Chandramukhi was basically a comeback vehicle for Thalaivar after the Baba debacle. So, Thalaivar has set out to satiate his fans' thirst & hunger with Sivaji and thus it is a feast for all Thalaivar fans. One of the frequently asked questions about Sivaji is "Is it worth the 2 year wait?" I would even wait 5 years for such a movie from Thalaivar. It is that good.

Coming to the picturization of songs - well, Shankar is the best in the business and he proves it again beyond doubt here in Sivaji. Like I had said in my post last night, the Adhiradi song will go down as one of the best ever picturized songs in the history of Tamil cinema. Shankar's imagination runs wild in this one. For many Thalaivar fans, the only silver lining in Baba was the Maaya Maaya song where Thalaivar's dancing was so good that it was actually a revelation for many fans. Reason I am mentioning here is bcos Lawrence who choreographed that song is the one who has done the magic in Adhiradi too. The reason behind why Lawrence alone is able to come up with such awesome steps for Thalaivar is actually quite simple - he is a Thalaivar fan first and a choreographer next. I was simply going crazy during the Adhiradi song, which is pure fantasy portrayed on silver screen. Thalaivar's costumes in this one are mind boggling.

Next comes the Style song. For all those morons who mocked when the Bilbao shooting shot stills were released more than a year ago, this song gives the perfect middle finger. What a grand picturization. Another example of what is possible when Shankar puts his creative thinking cap on. To even conceive the idea for this song, is something that no other director could have done. And then to go on & picturize the song the way it has been done, hats off to
Shankar. The location was awesome and Thalaivar's dance steps in this one are again priceless. Shreya's dancing in this one deserves special mention. After Ballelakka got over, I was having a minor gripe that Shankar did not show Thalaivar's walk enough for us to savor in that song. But that gripe was short-lived as Shankar makes sure that we get enough of Thalaivar's majestic walk in the Sahana song. Thalivar looks so handsome in that song. Thotta Tharani's set in this song and the Vaaji Vaaji song are unbelievable. I was saying to my friends When have we even seen such grandeur in Thalaivar movie before? Vaaji Vaaji song was very entertainingly picturized. Loved the way Shankar had used the dwarfs in the song. Particularly the one time when Thalaivar walks in, as they are dancing and the way he drives them away saying 'Hey'. Again a sincere request to other actors - please refrain from wearing the king/ emperor costumer in the future. No one can look as majestic as Thalaivar in those costumes and wearing those costumes after Sivaji is only going to make them look ridiculous. That leaves us with Ballellakka - easily my disappointment of the movie. The locations were awesome in this song. Shankar does his best to make the song look colorful. Nayanthara was amazing as she dances with all her enthusiasm. So, where does the song go wrong? Thalaivar's dance steps. They are very unconvincing and I wish, somehow they could have come up with better steps, that would have suited Thalaivar more.

In a Thalaivar movie, there is hardly any focus on the heroine and I usually do not write about the heroine. But Shreya was just too good to not write anything about. Shankar again proves why he is one of the best directors. His casting of Shreya is simply a brilliant idea. She is gorgeous and contrary to our fears, does not really look too young for Thalaivar. Her dancing in all the songs was amazing. Her acting was adequate. It is really an achievement if a heroine gets noticed in a Thalaivar movie and Shreya has just accomplished that in Sivaji.

About comedy and Vivek - like I had written in my trailer post, this is how comedy should be in a Thalaivar movie. Very clean and completely enjoyable. This is where Shankar scores. The 'vaanga pazhagalaam' sequence is such an enjoyable one and the very idea brought a smile to my lips. Also, the scenes where Thalaivar tries to become fair have been shot in a very humorous manner. Vivek probably comes up with his best performance yet, in a movie where he does not even have a separate comedy track. His one-liners in so many scenes make the otherwise ordinary scenes to memorable ones. Like when he says Take OK. Camera off, the theater just erupts.

Alright now to the tough part. Some things that I did not like in the movie. Stunt sequences were a let down. It was evident that Peter Heines and his team have put in so much effort into the fight scenes but they go overboard mostly and thus end up being a disappointment. But hey? If folks loved the Matrix style stunts in Anniyan and the getting-below-the-race-car fight in Indian, they will lap this one too. Though the way the drive in theater fight scene ends in a nice way with car going into King Kong's mouth, the way all those cars were flying around was a disappointment. The success of stunt scenes in Thalaivar movies lies in the fact that Thalaivar's face should be shown as he is hitting the bad guys, something that was never done in 2 of the stunts in Sivaji. Shankar has definitely missed a trick there. Thalaivar has put in a lot of hard work in the fight scenes. I only wish that was shown in a more clear way.

As far as the story & screenplay is concerned, Sivaji definitely is not water-tight and surely does not have the punch that we have seen in the Shankar vigilante movies before. But then there is a difference between those movies and this one. Shankar did not have a star big enough or even remotely close to Thalaivar in stature, in any of those movies. So, he had to take extra care in dwelling deep into the issue he took in his hand and spend enough time on that. But on this one, he probably thought that he has Thalaivar with him and so instead of spending a few more scenes on the actual issue at hand, he diverts his focus on some scenes that would satisfy Thalaivar's legion of fans. In every interview that he gave in the lead-up to the movie's release, Shankar kept saying that he has achieved that fine balance between a Superstar movie and a Shankar movie. I think that is an exaggerated claim. It was like saying Oru koodai Thalaivar, Oru Koodai Shankar, Ondraaga sErtha padam thaane Sivaji But after seeing the movie, it should be rather Rendu koodai Thalaivar, Oru koodai Shankar, ondraaga sErthaa padam thaane Sivaji That is the mix that Shankar has gone with. Shankar had a choice to make: He can make a movie in his own style with Thalaivar just playing the role of hero in it or he could make a movie exploiting Thalaivar's superstar image with his directorial specialties taking a back seat. No wonder that he has gone with the latter choice. Given the amount of money that was at stake in this movie, it was only logical that Shankar decided to play to the gallery i.e. the millions of Thalaivar fans across the globe.

The only other disappointment of the movie - ARR's background score, especially in the fight sequences. Except for the Sega fight-aa song (which was not even used fully) and the bit that is used whenever Suman comes on-screen, the re-recording was, to put it mildly, pathetic. May be he was just content that his job was done, after he had come up with a very good album satisfying everyone. He surely could have done so much better in the BGM department, for a movie of this magnitude. Though Thalaivar's mere presence lifted so many scenes where ARR failed, those very scenes could have actually been elevated to Himalayan heights if only ARR had done his job better. There have always been questions about his re-recording capabilities and they are only bound to get louder after his Sivaji bungling. BTW, the secret that Blaaze told me was the rap that comes in the climax when Mottai Boss appears. It was a surprise bcos that rap was not part of the original audio CD. If anybody comes across a link to download that rap, please pass it along.

Alright, so where does this leave me? Let me try answering a few questions.

Is this Shankar's best film ever? No, not by a long way

But, is this Shankar's most challenging movie ever? Oh yeah.

Is this Thalaivar's best film ever? No, Mullum Malarum will always be my pick for that.

But is this Thalaivar's best Superstar film ever? Yes and again, by a long way.

And does it live up to the gargantuan pre-release expectations? Most certainly Yes.

Overall, for non-Thalaivar fans Sivaji is a serving of full meals and for Thalaivar fans, it is a feast which has to be tasted a good 5 times to get the complete taste out of it.

Sivaji - Most complete Thalaivar movie ever

Just got back from watching Sivaji. It is 1 am here and more importantly, Iam just too excited to write a coherent review. So, just penning down my random thoughts before I hopefully get to write a full-fledged review soon:

Thalaivar was wrong. He said that Sivaji is 10 times better than his most favorite film, Baashaa. But I have to disagree with him. Sorry Thalaivaa, Sivaji is 100 times better than Baashaa. With Sivaji, Thalaivar has a new problem at hand. Seriously, there is no way any other director can even think about making a movie that is remotely as electric and powerful as Sivaji. Post-Sivaji, Thalaivar is like a mountaineer who has climbed Mt. Everest. What other peak is there on the face of this earth that could challenge him? And most probably that would excite us watching him undertake that challenge?

The Adhiradi song along is 10 times the worth the price of your ticket. Shankar proves why he is the undisputed king when it comes to songs picturization. If you thought the picturization of Kannum kannum Nokia was mind-blowing, it is safe to say that you are not ready for Adhiradi yet. It will go down as one of the best picturized songs of Tamil cinema.

Thalaivar looks amazing throughout the movie. I loved the second half hairstyle better than the ones he sports in the first half. Mottai boss simply rocks.

I simply loved the first half. Comedy was so enjoyable. Vivek was at his hilarious best.

Shreya has done her role absolutely well. She looks gorgeous.

About Thalaivar - I think it is time the folks at Webster change the meaning of the word Style. What a style…what a power-packed performance. What a screen presence. There are just too many minute things in the movie that you will have to watch the movie a good 10 times to admire each one of them and also to appreciate how much thought Shankar (and his team) have put behind each one of them.

So, where do I place Sivaji? Dare I say it? Yes, I am going to say it. Sivaji is THE BEST Thalaivar film ever. Period. And I am sure there is absolutely no way that there can be a better Thalaivar film than Sivaji (unless of course Shankar decides to cast Thalaivar in)

Bachelor Of Social Service

Regular readers of this blog and my friends know that I easily get excited by anything remotely associated with Thalaivar. Given that, just imagine how my hysteric reactions would have been on seeing this completely unbelievable trailer. I was literally jumping and screaming in joy on seeing the trailer. With the Thalaivar fan in him overwhelming the director in him, Shankar has simply created magic on-screen. I am sure every fan of Thalaivar will have their own dream of how Thalaivar should be portrayed on-screen. And if the trailer is any indication of what is in store, I am sure that the dreams of every single Thalaivar fan have been answered with Sivaji.

What a style...what an action...What a dialog delivery...Thalaivar is simply electrifying. My favorite moments from the trailer:

1) Rich get richer. Poor get poorer.
2) Idhu thaan en ooru. Idhukku nalladhu seiyyaama vida maatten.
3) Yaaru...Kaun Hai...Yaar nee and Thalaivar saying Boss. Wow...Thalaivar rocks when he says Boss.
4) Of course, Bachelor Of Social Service and the way Vivek says it.
5) Thalaivar's trademark walk with the helicopter in the background. There is simply nobody who can match Thalaivar in the way he walks. Enna oru gethu.
6) The shoe with the awesome looking knife at the bottom.
7) Saagura naal therinju pOchunnaa, vaazhura naalum naragam ayidum. Sandhosham thaanga mukkiyam.
8) Thalaivar signing a document with pens in both the hands
9) Thalaivar swishing his finger before the camera and making a line with his finger
10) The way Thalaivar sways away from the guy trying to hit him from the back with a guitar and also stylishly catching the bubble gum in his mouth while doing so

There is a very fine line that directors directing Thalaivar should be very careful in when it comes to portraying Thalaivar's style. In the sense that, Thalaivar's stunts and actions should be unbelievable in some way but care should also be taken so that it does not end up looking ridiculous. For example, let us look back for a moment at that volleyball fight in Baba. I am sure most of us disliked that fight scene. But here, every single style of Thalaivar is rocking and above all, walks that fine line quite admirably.

The comedy scenes look so much better with the following joke bound to go down as one of the best jokes ever in all of Thalaivar movies.

Thalaivar: Yaenmaa ennaiya karuppaa petha?
Vadivukkarasi: Vellaiya irundhaa azhukka aagiduva-nnu thaanpa karuppaa pethen
Thalaivar: Sweet mummy

This is how comedy should be. Clean, hilarious and so much enjoyable. Watch Vivek's reaction to what Vadivukkarasi says. That elevates the scene to ROTFL levels :) Though Chandramukhi had some really funny moments with Vadivelu, I completely detested the double meaning jokes in that movie. I mean, why does a Thalaivar movie even need jokes like that? Not for nothing that Thalaivar has fans right from 5 year olds to folks in their 50s and 60s. I am really happy that Shankar has made sure that comedy is enjoyable and not something which makes a section of the crowd uncomfortable and frown.

For folks who want to download a copy of the trailer, the download links are here and here (the second one is a flash file but the quality of that is the best among all the formats currently available)

We often come across phases like 'feels like an eternity', 'can not wait to happen' but I am (and so is every Thalaivar fan around the globe) literally experiencing each and every bit of that right now. June 15th seems to be light years away. Like one Thalaivar fan had commented, if I were given the power, I would advance the time by 2 weeks so that June 15th is today and now.

Thalaivar varraar...paraak paraak

In Shankar, we (Thalaivar fans) trust

Have seen Thalaivar in such amazing get-ups in the last 15 years or (to be more accurate), since Thalapathy happened in 1991? We can see Shankar, the magician, at work in all these stills. Shankar has more than lived upto our expectations, with both the songs and the stills released. And BTW, the remaining songs rock too and will soon come up with the full fledged post on the same.

Billa Ranga Baashaa thaan...Ivan pistol pesum beshaa thaan

Sivaji album's beta release - ARR finally gets it right, courtesy Shankar

Regular readers of this blog know how big a fan of Thalaivar I am and in fact, the name of this blog was named after the real boss, Sivaji. I was feeling bad that I wasn't writing anything about the movie after naming the blog after it. But the real culprit was Shankar and not myself. Until now, the release date of the movie has not been officially announced and all we know as of now is the audio release date of April 4th.

But today morning, I start browsing and come across the news that AVM has released some promo CDs with 3 songs to a select group of people and some folks from among them have taken the burden to upload the songs to a site from where we could download them. The tension in the air was almost unbearable as I was downloading the songs. After almost 15 months of waiting, these 3 songs were the first feel of how The Boss has shaped out. Shankar had successfully quarantined us from any news about the movie for these 15 months and I have been hating him for that. But all those thoughts vanished as I started listening to the songs. Though it is not a moral thing to download stuff from the net, I went ahead & did it bcos I know for sure that I will buy the audio CD of the movie whenever it comes out. So, no feelings of guilt in this.

First thing to note is that I am not going to review the songs. Being the Thalaivar fanatic that I am, I can not 'review' the songs. Rather, I will go about appreciating the highlights of the songs and that is what this post is. I mean, when it comes to anything associated with Thalaivar, rational thinking and reasoning just disappear. You get so much involved in it that its is difficult for me to pass a measured judgment.

Before I start writing my thoughts on those 3 songs, I have to mention that IMHO there has not been a better album for a Thalaivar album since Annamalai got released around 15 years ago. And ARR frankly has been a major disappointment in that regard with his first 3 albums for Thalaivar - Muthu, Padaiyappa and Baba. Except for the awesome intro music for the Oruvan oruvan mudhalaali song, ARR has nothing to show for. To bring in a cricket analogy, scoring music for a Thalaivar movie is to be able to be playing a Sehwag innings. Though his technique is suspect, not all of his shots are just wild slogs. Basically, his innings is a good mixture of textbook cricket shots and some wild slogs too. Same is the case when it comes to scoring for Thalaivar's movies and frankly nobody has it done better ever since Deva gave us Annamalai. Vandhendaa paalkaaran is still my favorite Thalaivar intro song (may be the way it was picturized too had something to do with). There are 2 melodies in Annamalai - Annamalai annamalai, Rekkai katti parakkudhaiyya annamalai cycle and I still love listening to them. Then comes the Thalaivar thathuva songs in Vettri nichayam and Oru penn puraa. And the album signs off with the song for the masses - Kondaiyil thaazhampoo. What an album it was...

But the problem with ARR is that he is someone like Dravid who only knows to play classic shots and so when ARR tries his hand at composing a Thalaivar-style mass song, he completely messes it up (say, the En peru padaiyappa song or the more notorious Baba…cinema cinema song). He is basically caught in the middle of nowhere when it comes to scoring music for Thalaivar songs. But that definitely appears to have been changed with Sivaji. And I feel that the man behind that change is none other than Shankar. He is clearly the one who is calling all the shots and all these 3 songs have Shankar written all over them. But to me the hero of the album so far has been Vairamuthu. He has come up with some awesome lyrics in all the 3 songs.

Oru koodai sunlight - Typical Shankar song. This is the song that was shot in Spain with Thalaivar in all those funny costumes and get-ups. Highly techno song. Only sore point is the presence of the beats which we have become familiar with the karu karu vizhiligalaal song from PMC. There is no tune as such in this song. There is someone smiling at couple of places in the song. Wonder if its Thalaivar. No matter who actually smiled, I am already looking forward to Thalaivar flashing his magnetic smile on-screen. The lyrics in the song sing Thalaivar praises all through. So, here is how it goes:

ada ada ada asathudhu un style
nada nada nada nadapadhu un style
gada gada gada siripadhu un style
pada pada pada pesuvadhu un style
suda suda suda thoduvadhu un style
thada thada thada adhiradi un style
adikadi mudi kalaivadhu style
vara vara ellamay style....

I loved the way the stanza ended - vara vara ellaamey un style. Awesome. Thalaivar is the epitome of style. Everything the man does is style and what better way to put it than this way. And then the songs ends with these 2 lines:

hero hero heraadhi hero
staro staro nee superstaro

Whenever the mention of Superstar is made in the lyrics, I just get so excited and it is no different here.

Sahana saaral thoovudho - I don’t get this. Looks like neither does ARR. What in the world makes him use Udit Narayanan for Thalaivar. We already have a bad experience in Muthu. I can't understand how Shankar let this happen. There is this 60 year old man called SPB who could have done a great job with this song. But the good thing is that we do not have too much of Udit sodhappalgal in this song. Awesome melody. Better than the Vaaji vaaji song. This truly is a vintage ARR melody. Easily the best melody that ARR has composed for Thalaivar. ARR pitches in the interludes for the theem thana thana na bit. I loved the female voice in this song. Don't know who it is. Would have enjoyed and appreciated this more if somebody else had sung this instead of Udit.

Vaaji vaaji Sivaaji - One of those rare ARR songs that is instantly likable. I wouldn't go as far as saying that this is a trademark ARR melody since the freshness is definitely missing. Charanams are rather average. But the plus side of this song is that ARR has got the Thalaivar factor right. This song will go down well with Thalaivar fans. Hariharan is perfect for this song. The aambal aambal...mouval mouval chorus is catchy. I am sure there will be a big research launched by Thalaivar fans as to what the words aambal and mouval mean :)

No matter how the songs are, we, the mighty army of Thalaivar fans, will lap it up and make the sure that the audio becomes the biggest hit in the history of Tamil cinema. I am sure that is going to happen with this album too. I have already listened to the songs almost 15 times. One thing is for sure though - the songs are sound so much better than the songs in Chandramukhi. There are reportedly 6 songs in the album and thus the SPB song and the song which Thalaivar has sung are still pending. Just can not wait for them to be released.

The Boss has started his reign ,starting with our ears, in style...