"Tamassu"- movie review

Wanted to watch this movie for several reasons. The title sounded as if it was a very "thought about" kinds. A very powerful team was behind the making of it. Along with the big names like Agni Sridhar & the likes, there are also some untapped talents which see light in the movie. Good enough, but my experience ended up being a very so - so, leaving me feeling that there must be something in the movie that is worth appreciating., I am still thinking....

TOI gives senseless reviews is a known fact. TOI gives a 4 star for Tamassu , highly appreciated, but honestly I didnt feel it was that great. Worst to add while the review said First half is great, actually, The movie makes sense only in the second half. Dunno, when TOI will give perfect reviews.

I really want to appreciate the team, their hardwork & honesty , but I find it difficult to find a valid reason. May be some more home work should have helped. The movie is a package where sometimes you feel great, sometimes, Oh No!, sometimes, may be they could have tried better.

Worth Appreciating are some flash of brilliance sequences, some good songs, some good literature. Padmapriya- is worth mentioning. She makes a mark even in her scope-less role. Hey, whoever has done her voice-over, Kudos to you, I am sure without your support Padmapriya's character// her performance wouldn't have been as effective. You make her complete/ Coming to or rather Coming back to Padmapriya - one needs to admire her ease on the screen, She is for all those who believe that heroines need not necessarily jump & make cute faces, etc. funny huh !

Shivanna is good, but lacks consistency & continuity in performance. Dunno what happens to him, you'll see him suddenly jump from the seat, turning his eyes red for almost everything. Most of the times his body language doesnt match his expressions. Shivanna - its high time you work on this. His problem is , he is a Director's actor, he can't think on his own. May be because he comes from an old school of thought, where, you come, you do what is asked of you & you are done. However, his sincerity, his belief in the movie reflects in every frame. Memorable sequences, 1> the hammer one....2> when he takes on the goons in Naazar's house - daring it is 3> His Confession scene where he rattles out a long dialogue with comfort along with a couple of monologues. Emotional scenes are best suited for you.

Finally Sreedhar sir, mixed reviews, reason is clear, The potential is there, its got a good team but somewhere it doesnt convince . The concept of a Police Officer feeling guilty and rectifying one family's problem is fine, but the connection doesn't get established appropriately. We don't come out of the theatre thinking that the problem is solved., Happy ending....nah. I feel its incomplete. Even Shivanna doesn't look all that rugged in the first half for us to believe that he is trigger happy. So, the transformation is very unconvincing.

Nevertheless, the team does offer some good experience, I am sure we may not be there but we are getting There...& Guys & gals that can happen only when good or bad, we watch it & give feedback.

What with Sudeep commenting on his very own reality show that, by the time our " Pete Hudugi's" decide to come & watch a kannada movie in the theater in its 3rd week running, Producers like him would have to hang themselves waiting for audience. Look at the statistics he shared on the same show. Today KFI makes movies for an actual market of 10 lakhs kannadigas, whereas Karnataka has a population of more than more 5 crores, so where are the rest of the kannadigas & what are they watching ? Question to ponder....Any comments anybody ?

Pruthvi - Review

A Hard core Puneeth fan that I am, I was awaiting the release of " Pruthvi". Coming from a director like Jacob Verghese who gave us "Savaari" , I defnitely had huge expectations from this one. My curiosity led me to find out a couple of details on the net that it was all about an IAS officer fighting against the Bellary Mining Politics. Uff! I thought, that looked so much like, " That 70's show". I was definitely disheartened. That was not what I expected from a sensible actor like Puneeth. All the Ambarish, Vishnuvardhan & Devraj's of the world had done it already. :( ....

I still decided to watch it for the sake that I have already given a couple of Puneeth movie's a miss, instance Raam ( I didnt want to watch a remake). Thankfully I didnt regret my decision.

Unlike the review from Times of India, I thought that Pruthvi attempted to address a much bigger issue than just fighting against Bellary Mine Politics. I wonder why the reporter who reveiwed the movie didnt see the purpose behind the subject. Issues like Border encroachment, Money lords ruling our state, Young people giving up on education for a job in call centre rather than setting up a strong base for themselves, etc...I guess, we need to wake up about these. What Pruthvi is exactly this...open our eyes towards all these realities. Pruthvi advocates that its not only software & multinational company jobs that is there to success, a government job can also be fascinating. Today many of us are least bothered about what is happening to our state, its individuality & uniqueness. The protagonist's effort in emphasising the social responsibility of every government servant is amazing, " ಸರ್ಕಾರ ನಿಮಗೆ ಏನ್ರೀ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಮಾಡಿದೆ, ನೀವ್ ಸತ್ರೆ ನಿಮ್ ಹೆಂಡತಿಗೆ ಪೆನ್ಶನ್ ಕೂಡ ಕೊಡತ್ತೆ " is a slap on the corrupt officials who give in to bribe to make their future safe & secure. I guess, Media also needed that jolt of realising their social responsibility in the way the hero ridicules that they even telecast a child stuck in the borewell LIVE for 3 days. Above all Puneeth shines as a simple officer doing his duty & not as a star, Thankfully his character is not Stylised , nor does he appear as a hero throughout the movie.

However, my verdict in answer to the reveiw of Times of India. Guys, you need to understand that you have the power to encourage the kind of movies that will be made in the future. Your discouraging reviews for such movies can lead to good movies not being made at all. If this is your yardstick, then upcoming directors will never get an opportunity & moviemakers will have to stick to formula based stuff churning out of sandalwood. Movies like Pruthvi are needed for kannadigas who need to be aware of our current political scenario & realise our contribution to it.
So.... for heaven's sake , can we encourage some movies not because they are Puneeth or Sudeep movies, but for the content and substance.

People verdict:

Heard from people: Many said "Good movie - Puneeth is amazing", some said , " it is like Gangaajal- the one with Ajay Devgan" , " a strong sense of Kaakka Kaakka",... but we needed one for our land.

Verdict on the movie : Not for Puneeth fans but for people who are serious about the message that it carries more than the entertainment quotient. If you understand it, the movie rocks.

Verdict on Puneeth: Great performance...your genuinity/ dedication shows on screen. You prove that you are a Powerstar even with a subtle performance of this sort. Unlike your other movies, you have very few dialogues in the movie but very strong ones. In fact , we are very happy that you are walking on the lines of your father & are trying to give good movies that help create good values, people & society.

Verdict on Parvathi Menon: She is a gift to Kannada screen, I say this with utmost sincerity. We kannadigas should be extremely happy with the kind of movies she has been part of & esply. for learning kannada & dubbing in her own voice. A true mark of a performer. She is superb as a simple, educated house wife of a DC. Both Puneeth & Parvathi make a great pair on screen , portraying a beautiful picture of ideal husband- wife, simple love- support magic on screen.

Verdict on Director: Your honest efforts of making a good movie is seen , but you could have still tried to come out of the Kaakka Kaakka or Gangaajal type of influences. The climax is actually very unconvincing. But, otherwise, good movie. Thanks for not making the songs a commercial aspect, they are as it they should be , soft & subtle blending well with the flow of the movie & not stand alone points.

Finally & Finally:

A word to all kannadigas: Please encourage such movies, else, Puneeth will go back to ಲಾಂಗ್ & ಮಚ್ಚು , Directors like Jacob will be lost, Actresses like Parvathi will have to go back to being an eye candy or end up crying in a family movie.

.

Tiger, Tiger burning bright ....

Tiger Tiger. burning bright,

In the forests of the night;

What immortal hand or eye.

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

This is when I fell in love with this majestic animal, while I was in school, my teacher reciting this poem by William Blake made it so beautiful, that I could not but understand what royal pride it carried in itself. Everything about it....its eyes, its look, its walk , means perfection. Fearful though, but I have always nurtured the idea of petting a tiger cub in my arms. Sounds stupid, but, I know I may not be able to touch a real Tiger, hence, the cubs. Savour this....

"When the stars threw down their spears

And watered heaven with their tears:

Did he smile His work to see?

Did he who made the lamb make thee?"

Fear or Stupidity, Love or just Admiration, There's something about this wild beast that I have always loved. May be that is why I don't feel very good when I hear that we have only 1411 Tigers in India. I don't know what I could do or stop this from happening. But I know for sure, that they don't deserve this. All that I could do sitting in a city to save our neighbours in the forests, is to voice out my support online. I urge you to do it too. Join in & Roar ......

http://www.saveourtigers.com/JoinTheRoar.php

[ Caution : Be prepared for a Tigerous Roar....once you log in, scared me for sure :)]

Phir Mile Sur.....a Review

It's that time of the year that we wake up to salute our country & tell her that we are proud of being part of this wonderful nation. It's REPUBLIC DAY.... all the channels on the (no more) idiot box are weaving their own set of programs to create enough patriotic feelings amongst the viewers. While some of them did their bit with one or two patriotic movies and some songs, may be some discussions, what stood out was ZOOM tv's efforts to recreate one of the most cherished memories of our association with television industry. The Times of India group & Zoom brought to us a very beautifully recreated " Mile Sur mera tumhara" which was almost considered an anthem in those days(nearly 23 years).

The first one definitely had a much younger Amitabh & the recent one includes many more stalwarts, celebrities of today's India. Should we say, we see a much stronger India, a much bigger India, a much more stylish India. Well, we also miss some legendary faces like Bhimsen Joshi, Balamurali Krishna, Pt. Ravishanker & others but, we have the next genre artistes who are taking the legacy forward like Anoushka Shankar, Rahul Sharma, Aman- Ayaan, Shankar - Ehsaan - Loy & Louiz Banks holding up the pride of India in the video.

The video wins where it lives up to capture the strength of India in all spheres. Music, choreography, styling, conceptualisation is amazing. Hats off, to Salman who includes the hearing impaired & Shilpa Shetty who brings in the cause of Women upliftment. Unfortunately , it left me a little disappointed to see that the video doesn't capture the true essence of a kannadiga like it does with all other Indian Languages. While actors Vikram & Surya represent Tamil, Mahesh Babu represents Telugu, Mammootty, KJ Yesudas & his son Vijay represents Malayalam, Atul Kulkarni & Sonali Kulkarni represent Maharashtra. Its a treat to watch them all in their true essence of their regional flavours, Some shine in their ethnic costumes like Prasenjit- Rituparna ( Bengali), Atul- Sonali(Maharashtra), some just celebrate the sweetness of their language mouthing Mile sur in their own Language( like Vikram , Surya & Mahesh Babu). That's exactly what we miss in the kannada bit of Phir Mile Sur. I am sure the previous one where we just had a one liner with Prakash Padukone singing " Nanna danige ninna daniya.." was so much more effective than the current one. With all due respect to Dr. L. Subramniam & family who represent the Kannadigas in the video, My question to the makers is that "Didn't you find a Kannadiga amongst 5 million kannadigas who could do our bit for this National Video?"," What is so kannada about this bit?". Coming from a Cosmopolitan like Bangalore, I could relate & understand every other line in Tamil, Telugu & even Marathi, but I couldn't follow my own language in this video. The lines were "not so Kannada" coming from a set of Non Kannadiga family. Kavitha Krishnamurthy & family- we respect you yes, but , I dont think we can stand or appreciate mispronunciation of words in the little slot we have here & Sound so "not-kannada" on national TV. However, I would have appreciated if the makers would have done a little more research & checked out the talent here in Karnataka who could do justice & much better represent the Identity of Karnataka. I may be sounding very chauvinistic or very strong, but dear makers I don't think Karnataka requires borrowed talent to hold our pride. All that I want to say is , if you could have been so choosy about getting the best Gujarathi singer to feature the Gujarathi bit where he sounds Gujarathi, the audience could see Gujarat there, & likewise Kerala & culture of Kerala was so evident in its bit, but we didnt see Karnataka in the Video.

In our very own way , Karnataka's cultural space is booming with Talent which can uphold true spirits of being a kannadiga. I am sure, we would have loved to see a Rajesh Krishnan or a Hemant, Archana Udupa or MD Pallavi, Upendra, Puneet Rajkumar or even Ganesh standing in for us. Finally its not about other languages being represented well and our's not. We are aware that its about national integrity & each region getting its own chance to salute the nation in its own way, but dear makers both, Aarti Gupta & Kailash Surendranath, nothing about the Kannada piece in the video is Kannada except for the location which is Big Banyan tree.

& here's Karnataka for you - namma Naadu - My country ! I have put this together & just wanted to give you a dekko into the talent pool of our land. Needless to say, everyone who features in this video belongs to Karnataka, & the list is not exhaustive.

Happy Republic Day !!

God ! Do you hear us?!

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This is really sweet........

When a boy is quiet ... millions of things are running in his mind.
When a boy is not arguing ... he is thinking deeply.
When a boy looks at u with eyes full of questions ... he is wondering how long you will be around.
When a boy answers ' I'm fine ' after a few seconds ... he is not at all fine.
When a boy stares at you .... he is wondering why you are lying.
When a boy let you lays on his chest ... he is wishing for you to be his forever.
When a boy wants to see you everyday... he wants to be yours 4eva.
When a boy says ' I love you ' ... he means it.
When a boy says ' I miss you ' ... no one in this world can miss you morethan that.
Life only comes around once make sure u spend it with the right person....
Find a Guy .. who calls you beautiful instead of hot...
who calls you back when you hang up on him...
Who will stay awake just to watch you sleep...
Wait for the guy who ...kisses your forehead...
Who wants to show you off to the world when you are in your sweats...
Who holds your hand in front of his friends...
Who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares about you and how lucky he is to have you...
Who turns to his friends and says, ' That's her!! '

.....................

..........

Yes, its a forward, but touched me deep enough to think that if there is one thing that is missing in the men of today's genre, it is clarity on what they want out of life. I am sorry it may not be right on my part to generalise, but to a certain extent it is true. One can still wonder how men are ok with spending another day in their life without having any meaning to it, how they can sleep, eat, drink & party without a reason. How they can doze off in a busy bus, when their wife is still struggling to meet ends. How they can give up to adultery. How they live up to the minute & live only for the minute. May be this "living up to the minute" attitude, is what leads to many complications in our lives.

Thank God ! the world is not only full of these men, to the goodness of God , he also gave us some who are sensible enough, not to "live for the moment".

God, can you send more of these, we are short in supply !

Dil ki awaaz bhi sun.....

Gham ne hasne na diya, Zamane ne rone na diya,
Is uljhan ne chain se jine na diya,
Thak ke jab sitaron mai panah li,
Neend ayi to teri yaad ne sone na diya…


Zindagi Jaise ek saza si ho gayi hain, Gham ke sagar mai is kadar kho gayi hain, Tum aajao wapis yeh guzarish hain meri, Shayad mujhe tumahari aadat si ho gayi hain…..




ik nazar dekh le , Jeene ki ijaazat de de.. rooth ne wale woh pehli si muhabbat de de


Ishq maasoom hai , Ilzaam lagaane pe na ja.


Waqt insaan pe aisa bhi kabhi aata hai, raah mein chod ke saaya bhi chala jaata hai.

Din bhi niklega kabhi , raat ke aane pe na ja...

Meri nazron ki taraf dekh , Zamaane pe na ja.

Grapes of Wrath

A calm & relaxed weekend, I was happy to receive my dad who just returned from his yearly visit to Shirdi. When we sat down for a cup of tea together what we spoke was not of the darshan or the journey. My dad was not his usual self when he spoke of the Money Market, the downsizing in the Out sourcing industry , about the tight fisted banks etc, etc. "Etc, etc" !!! - I must be sorry , I took it so light. I visited my Car dealer today, he also seemed to have understood why his sales numbers are looking not so good.

I felt it was quite strange , everyone seemed to be talking about it and everyone are talking quite seriously about it. Everyday News paper is awaited to see what other turn has the market taken this time. This actually put my little brain into act, wondering what could have happened, what could be the intensity & impact of this entire phenomena? What ? what? what ? Why? why ? why?



Interestingly , I got quite a few answers from one of the discussions with a VSL (Very Senior Leader*) during a Brown Bag*. He started with a beautiful Example, " Have you seen an Hour Glass? " he asked. " The contents of the hour glass when inverted pulls down everything that is there with it to the bottom..... and that is exactly what is happening to the market". Quite simple isnt it? . Talk about House of cards, or a building relying on several pillars , one of them cracks down , the structure is bound to fall. In reality, The Banks fell and are pulling down the entire economic structure with them. Dating back to couple of decades, when the market was good some of the Financial institutions made a mistake of over rating the market growth and took up the risk of lending and lending and lending with very little/without security. The so called "Assets" of the bank also could not bail the banks out of this situation, hence, the Banks had to close down. Now, this calls for a chain reaction where Banks are the " Hearts" of any Economy coz they pump in money in to the market by providing Finance to manufacture , sell & grow. Having left with very few options of raising funds , the Industry avoids taking risk and avoids new venture/ projects, etc. While this is happening in the "Seller Market", lets look at the Buyer Market, his purchasing power comes down ( No finance available), he gets stringent with his choices, demand goes down, prices go up. Uff , now this is getting into too much of Economics ( I wish I took my Economics paper more seriously while in college, huh! ). So, we definitely understand it is a chain reaction that is going to affect every segment of the Economy. But , is there something that we can learn out of it? May be, yes.

Lets turn to History for some time, this down turn is not the first of its kind in the human history. Who can forget having read about the 1929 , Great Depression in the United States. I have been referred a book to understand the same from a different perspective, its called the Grapes of Wrath, while this gives us a Social perspective of the Great Depression , the Phenomena can be better understood on the Wikipedia . Should we now say History repeats itself. May be / May be not , its too early to come to conclusions. But, America some day had to pay this price. I am sure you would agree if I said , somewhere, America's callous lifestyle is one of the reasons for this entire phenomena. I still remember, having heard that Half ( or was it 75%) of America lives in credit. I may sound too nasty singling out America for this. Well, this applies to all those who believed in a life style of buy now , pay later. India according to me was just getting there and facing a boom that was too superficial. For ex: Bangalore's real estate.

We talked about learning lessons, May be this is one of the biggest lessons, we can learn today. Sometimes it is good to have a conservative approach or shall I make it sensible approach ( I was really sounding conservative when I said that). A sensible approach towards everything including our spending habits, our work, our life, our people, our learning. Simply , can we keep our feet on the ground and not in the air. It calls for some discipline in every one's life to condition ourselves, professionally, personally, mentally, physically , spiritually. What do I mean ? picture this, Professionally - bring in more dedication in to work - more selfless work. Personally - know what exactly you want & bring in more focus to achieve the kind of life you want. uff , not again, you know me , me me , the preacher. But honestly guys, we need to give it a thought. Don't you think we need to change & for the Better? Remember , its all Micro before it turns Macro. so, lets start at a micro level and be the change we want to see.

Leave in your comments to let me know if you agree / disagree / hate / love my thoughts. whatever you do , my thoughts are still mine and mine only.