Hi,
In Kumaran hospital where Iam doing consultation in the evening, a very rich
guy was admitted -the self made fellow only forty yrs old owns a Benz.I presumed
that he must be a banian company owner.But to my astonishment I learnt that
he made his fortune from waste banian cloth bits.
I learnt the following from a coversation with him:
Waste cloth is a tremendous buisiness.They make kids dresses out of
somewhat big waste banian cloth pieces.With the smaller ones,they make
jatties for kids.And with the tiny bits they make doormats...
What he did not tell me was that with still smaller bits of cloth, Simbu
dressed up Nayanthara and Reema Sen in Vallavan.
Siva
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Hi,
Saw 'Battleship Potemkin'.I have read quite a lot about the movie and its maker
[Eisenstein] how it is regarded as a bible among movie makers and lovers especialy the
'Odessa steps' scene sequence[just type 'Odessa steps' and google search and see
how many entries you get-680000 to be exact!] and the movie surpaseed all my
expectations.
The screenplay of Potemkin has been published as a book in Thamizh and I have read the
article 'Odessa padikattukal - oru padinilai aayvu [roughly translated as Odessa steps-a step
by step study]
Potemkin is a B/W silent movie made in 1926 and it was intended to be a documentary
on a series of incidents related to the 1905 Russian revolution.
It cannot be blood which runs in you [it must be pepsi]if it fails to boil when you see Odessa steps.
Odessa steps have been imitated time and again in many hollywood movies.
The one which comes to my mind immediately is the Kevin Costner,Sean Connory starrer
Untouchables-but at the most,it gives you a 10 second thrill[which is for what hollywood movies are made-10
sec thrills].In Muthalvan a shot hs been stealthily inserted,
Kamal has tried his hand in Soorasamharam...The list must be a long one.So much flattery has
been showered on this single most important scene sequence in the history of cinema.
Siva
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Hi all,
How often do we think of the 3'rd sex.They are turned away everywhere.They are ridiculed
in our movies.We wish we never see them.
Well,I used to cringe with unknown fear whenever I see them.
Ok guys,all that changed after I saw a short film kurum padam [short film] 'atchu pizhai'
[printing mistake].It is a documentary about a 'thirunangai' [ali]'s life and I guess
it is the common story of all he ali s in India.They recognise themselves in their teen,
family ashamed of them,family and village makes them runaway to the nearest small town
where they are abused and molested by antisocial elements.They catch the train to Mumbai...
And read this blogspot.It is of an ali named vidya [she calls herself livingsmile vidya]
We get depressed of our petty problems.But for livingsmile life is a battle since she
was born and yet it seems she never stops smiling...
Siva
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Hi,
After a long hunt for the DVD,I finally saw the movie memento.I took me
2 sittings to come to an idea what
was happening.This one is both
a challenge and treat to your cinema sense.
It has nothing to do with 'Ghajini'except
for the core idea .
The dialogues were like haiku
poems.eg:
Carrie Ann Moss:"Why do you want to take revenge-afterall you
wont remember it"
Guy Pierce:"Its for her, not me-It
doesnt mean that the world ceases
to exist if you close your eyes"
Guy Pierce to other guy:"Did I ever tell you
I got this condition
[anterograde amnesia]?
other guy;"Only everytime I see you"
I need to see it another time
to enjoy it completely.
Siva
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Hi,
The latest Kollywood
news:
Sullan has acted in a movie called 'Sollamal thavikkiren'He acted as
a 'government doctor'[ and his wife in the
role of the patient's attender.]
He informed me that the makeupman was the one who first 'makeupped' Vikram.
Ok
Sathesh,this one is for you:-
Did you know that 'Sivaji's story is such a big secret that even Ssshankar
does not
know it? [I sent it as sms to my friends-it went a complete circle
and another guy forwarded it to me]
Siva
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Hi,
The 2006 Assembly elections had its reverberations in my personal life too and let
me share with you guys a most unfortunate incident.
After 5 years of marriage,I discovered to my agony that my wife is a ADMK
sympathiser.[Remember a movie-forgot the name-in which the guy finds out that his wife is
an alien]
My wife sees Jeyalalitha as a role model for women and an iron lady ['who swam
through a river of fire'] who can arrest a Sankaracharya and 'make us feel like
citizens of a true democratic country' .Also she feels indebted to J since it was J who
brought councelling system for PHC medical officers[and my wife got transfer from Valparai
to Madukkarai 'without spending a paisa']
Guys,I tell you,I tried every trick in the book,used all my negotiating skills.[which would
put Norwegian peacemakers to shame]but failed miserably in changing her mindset.
Finally I threatened her that I will poison her morning coffee with laxatives on election
day.But she replied that in that case,she would call up
local ADMK guys who would carry her to the polling station in a stretcher with IVF
flowing and she would cast her vote for puratchi thalaivi,ithaya theyvam,amma
avarkal,before her last breath.
.....And she voted for rettai ilai.
You can imagine my plight.I was dumbfounded.Never in my family have any one voted
for any thing but uthayasooriyan.I myself was planning to vote for 17-O,but because of her I
voted for uthayasooriyan to compensate for the evil.
Now,the damage been done,I have become wiser and think thus:
I will live long and die in peace as far as she does not become a party member,become
an MLA and turn our home into an ADMK party office.
Ok guys the moral of the story is that it is always too late before you realise it is late.
Thank you for your patient reading.
Siva
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Hi,
Today when I went to labour ward for a call over,I saw the folowing incident:
All of you know how a govt hospl ward verandah looks like.Overflowing
waste drums,vethalai and non vethalai spitmarks on the wall.Lazy fellows
sleeping at 12.30 pm,aayas nachufying attenders for money,small traders
selling edibles....Among them an old lady was sitting with her back resting on the wall
and her legs stretched-must be more than 60 yrs old -wearing white saree with 1/4 kg
kundalams on her ears, munching vethalai paaku.
Suddenly one aaya appeared and told the old lady "paatti.aambalai payan
poranthirukku"
The paaatti's face glowed.She straightened up,spat out vethalai echi on the wall
between her 2 fingers and CAN YOU GUESS WHAT SHE DID NEXT....?
She took a Nokia 1100 celphone from her surukkupai,punched out a few nos
and shouted out "Dey Ramasamy,ambalai payan poranthirukan da"
Siva
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Hi,
I saw these 4 movies which will be listed in any movie lovers all time
best list,thanks
to Anand who provided the DVDs and my wife who stayed
away.
CITIZEN KANE
Regarded by many critics as the best movie
ever made Citizen Kane
tells the story
of Kane who became the newspaper giant of America.Orson Welles has
directed
and acted in the title role and the story spans through 4
decades which I think
is stupendous.It speaks what sucess
can do to a man and makes a subtle
mockery of the American dream.To involve completely in the movie one
has to be well
versed with American history from 20's through 50's.For
me Citizen Kane was too American but it did have great moments.
VERTIGO
Vertigo is a great crime thriller of Alfred Hitchcock.You can almost
feel the dizziness of the hero.'Torsades de pontes'
is the word which
came to my mind as I watched the last 30 mins.However my fave Hitch
movie is Psycho.
DR ZHIVAGO
A
mammoth of a movie based on the novel by Boris Pasternak.It is the
story of the Russian revolution,its impact on the country,the
society
and an individual
family man Zhivago a doctor and a poet.
CINEMA PARADISO
It is one of the best movies
I have seen.It tells the story of a
little boy in a small
Italian village who is obsessed with movies shown at
the only movie
hall in the village'CINEMA PARADISO'.I cried seeing this movie.I
became so involved with this little
guy's story taking place 1000s of
miles away.That is the power of the medium called cinema.I assure you
it will take
you to heights you have never been.
Siva
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Hi
Do you guys know about Gujarat Xray ?
If a patient is not satisfied and keeps complaining that he was not given adequate
care a 'Gujarat Xray' will be taken for him.
He will be taken to 'dark room' and asked to stand before a large 'white machine thing'.
He will be positioned in a particular way and be intructed to close his eyes
at lest it would be damaged by the harmfull rays.Then the 'technician'
will open and shut the door in a flash.
Aftersome time he will open the door again to take the 'wet' film from the freezer
compartment and offer it to the awestruck fellow.
It was practised in Tirupur GH untill the 80's .They had to stop it after
refridgerators became a common thing.
Now,if you think this is hilarious what are you going to say when I write about
a true story out of Stanley's practise..
Stanley's story is this:
Stanley got a middle aged, thin built fellow complaining of cough with expectoration,
<wt,<appetite and evening rise of temperature.He explained [with great difficulty] that he would need a Chest X
ray to the fellow.But he insisted on an injection and some tablets.Stanley gave what he wanted and sent him away telling that
he would return soon and he definately has to take [let me proceed in local language from now] the nenju padam.
They guy no wonder came back after a week.This time the fellow was submissive and agreed to take the nenju padam.
He came back with the nenju padam the next day.Stanley was surprised that the cover was too small for an Xray.When opened
it he had the shock of his life.There was a cabinet size photograph
of the fellow barechested.
Can you believe this?Till date Stanley preserves the photo.
Siva
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Hi,
I thought of writing a review of Ran but I guess I ended up in something like an intro to the movie.
Ran [meaning chaos] is an epic of a movie.[These days Iam running out of superlatives
in my limited vocabulary]The story set in 17'th century Japan
is about an aging warlord and his 3 sons.
Ran is the costliest ever Japanese movie made and it features the deadliest ever battle scenes in the history
of world cinema.It makes all the war movies mighty Hollywood has produced
like Bridge on the river Kwai,Thin Red line,Saving private Ryan,Braveheart,Patriot etc look like
Tom and Jerry cartoon.
Of the 30 movies Kurosawa made [Ran is his 27'th movie],most of them are 'straight' movies.
He has experimented in some of the movies and 'Rashoman' is one of them.
In 'Rashoman' he tells an incident as seen by 3 different persons.
[Kamal had copied the technique in Virumandi].I too am confused by and hate these experiments.
But I hope that they will become 'visible' for me as my 'rasanai' develops.For eg, I saw an Italian movie 81/2
directed
by Federico Fellini.The movie is rated highly but I could'nt make the head or tail of it,but I wont
'faecalise' it as you did Thenga.I would rather say Iam blind....
Kurosawa has written screenplay for the Hollywood thriller 'Runaway train' starring Jon Voight.I saw it in Central theater
in 1990.His '7 Samurai' has been remade in to a western 'Magnificient 7' starring Charles Bronson.
Akira Kurosawa has been Dhronacharya to many Hollywood creative artists like George Lucas
and Francis Ford Coppola.[When Kurosawa was rising money for 'Ran',those 2 guys helped a lot it seems.]
Siva
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Hi,
Saw Kaathal again.I guess it is perhaps the best entry after 'Sethu'.
I was amazed by the following:
1]The intro montage shots of madurai
2]'Thandatti karuppayee thazhaiyoothu maruthayee' song and picturisation
[aayirangaal mandapatha 1/2 naalil parthavuha unnazhaka parthidavae 1 matham aakumadi]
3]Selection of movies in the movie:
Iswarya's family watch 'Kaathalukku mariyathai' [with tears in their eyes] on the fateful day when Murugan and
Iswarya elope
At the same time the bus in which Murugan and Iswarya travel features a Rajini movie.
Murugan and Iswarya watch a Jackie Chan movie 2'nd show on their 1'st day at Chennai
[How movies are part of our life]
4]Most of Murugan and Iswarya's love sequences are on Madurai Chennai highway [Chennai
340 kms]
Chennai the dream city for south people
but when they come to Chennai the city does
not even offer them toilet and bathroom.
5]Last but not the least the climax takes palce under Thanthai Periyar statue[what a wonderful place].
Siva
