Roger that!

I am writing this with the backdrop of what many sports and tennis fans state to be the greatest matches they ever watched in the history of this sport! It is with a pang of regret I realize that I missed it. :( I stopped watching tennis (did not stop following it on the web though!) when the Great Sampras retired in 2003. Not because I hated tennis. But I missed the drama that I usually associated with a grand slam championship. This in turn I associated to the fact that the Fedex started winning games at a canter. For all his domination I believed that tennis was becoming to boring to watch. Every other day I would read on the web that Federer won a new tournament. Losing just four matches in an entire year? I just could not patiently watch a human do that! More so the same individual who had dethroned Sampras from his perch? No way. When Sampras was at his peak, he also had few others like Agassi, Rafter, to an extent Becker, and of course the always eccentric Ivanesevic to give him company. But when Federer was at his peak, there was no competition at all. Or whatever competition that Fedex had was brushed aside by his pure might. But only over the past year or so, with the emergence of Nadal and Djokovic as serious contenders to Federer's throne on any surface for that matter, have I considered watching Tennis again. Yesterday's loss at Wimbledon, only goes to show that even Roger Federer is just a human. And now that he has finally lost a match at Wimbledon, his achievements at SW19 might finally sink in on laymen like me! 12 Grand Slam Titles? Just two short of a record equalling 14? This is where one has to appreciate Rafael Nadal too. For it is because of him, one realizes the scale of Federer's achievements. This is where one has to recognize people like Rafter, Agassi and Ivanisevic too. For it was because of them that we were witness to many a rivalry during the 90's. I still remember the epic quarter final between Sampras and Agassi at US Open when all the four sets went to tie-breakers. I still remember when Sampras decimated Agassi at a wimbledon final. I still remember the record breaking 13th for Sampras in the gloom of Center court. It was always interesting to see how Sampras would return after a loss or after critics ruled him out! The same applies now to. It would be interesting to see how Roger Federer would end the year? Would it be another year where he ends as world no. 1 or would Nadal finally overtake him? Would it be the first time in 4-5 years when Federer ends up without a grand slam title in a year or will the Fedex blast back onto the courts at Flushing Meadows and prove to anyone that the first 6 months of 2008 where just a blip (according to his own mighty standards atleast) ? Yes, now tennis would be interesting! Mighty Interesting!

Another Dasavatharam Review

Well so I join the infinite people who have already watched the movie and posted their reviews on their blogs and stuff. So without further ado, I shall start about how I feel about this movie. Let us bypass the story for even a 2 year old kid would by now be knowing it with all the hype about this movie. Is the movie good? Yes. Is it great? Umm...hmm...well...This is where I think I am not sure about it. It feels good to see a simple crime and chase thriller after quite a while. I believe if people where able to sit through movies like Gilli and Sivaji, then this would be no big deal. The make ups for the 10 roles played by Kamal are extraordinary. I guess it requires a super humane effort both on the part of the actor and the make up folks for the movie. The visuals have been taken on an extravagant scale. The scenes leading up to the tsunami with the Japanese and CIA villain fighting each other are good. If there was a particular scene that I would like to watch again it is the climax. It requires an individual with some guts to make a movie with something like Chaos theory I believe. And for most of the movie going junta back in India this would be something new and might be confusing. After all we are people whose staple diet with regards to a movie comprises of a Vadivelu comedy, a Namitha number, a duet in the Swiss mountains or the Tulip Gardens, some tear jerking mother son sentiment and a climax scene with one guy taking on all the baddies (the essential part here is that the chief baddie should have a huge potbelly). Something new like this might take time to be appreciated. Now does the movie have flaws? Yes indeed. The CBI officer checking out the microbes on Fletcher's body through a binocular kind of thing from a chopper seems to be ridiculously funny. And yeah is crap.
Other than that if you go into the movie not expecting t0 watch 10 kamals I guess one might find out in the movie that there is one Kamal too many. On the other hand if you just go in watch the movie without having an idea on what all the fuss is about, I guess one might not even realize that there are 10 Kamals indeed in the movie. Watching this movie was a definite new experience for me and I would put it definitely on top of some of my favorite movies in Tamil. After all one cannot complain about a lack of script in this movie when there are movies like ATM, TR's evergreen comedies etc etc running to packed houses.

Instinctive Diplomat

Today I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine about which is better? Being instinctive or being diplomatic? At times during conversations, words just flow out of my mouth. I mean, If I feel that what I speak is correct, I blurt it out, even if others think that it is crap. And that is how I take most of my decisions. I think about them for a couple of minutes. Think if what I am doing is correct or not? If it appears correct to me, I hardly spare a second thought. Coming back to the issue whether being instinctive serves you right or being a diplomat serves you right? Now let me provide my definition of being diplomatic! Diplomatic to me is, choosing one's word carefully and being cautious. I would agree to the point of being cautious if its some big decision. But for petty conversations amongst friends too, if one chooses to being diplomatic, it kind of does not serve the very purpose of having friends right? Even if you crap out something to friends because of your tendency to react instinctively, your friends should be able to understand you right? In that way being instinctive does help! And how about taking decisions? One should not regret making any decision at any point of time if it is taken on an instinctive manner! My personal belief though is that being a diplomat is what all those UN officials, IAS officers are for...A normal human being can live based on his gut feeling and intuition!

ITEM film?????????? ;)

Most of us would be aware of item numbers in movies where some seductress (of course then essence is to be skimpily clad) dances around in some pub or some lavish bedroom set. But how many of us have heard of an ITEM MOVIE itself?? OM SHANTI OM was one such movie. And now I hear that SRK is nominated for the BEST ACTOR award for this movie. Oh my god? what is going on? I guess the awards must also be something similar to the spoofs in that particular movie!

Add a ravishing model who is only a film old!
Add a superstar!
Add a six pack to the superstar!
Add 10 blockbuster songs!
Add lavish sets...
Add good spoofs!
And finally just have a wafer thin story!

the recipe is perfect for an ITEM MOVIE!

Heights of vettiness!

Some time back, I had been on a trip to Chennai. A trip for a whole 35 days. I was absolutely excited. Punch Drunk to be honest! After a relatively uneventful flight journey, the moment my sight landed on my Dad and my Bro when they were waiting for me outside the airport, was one of the best ever moments of my life. I felt as if I was on whole new lease of life! Next was when my mom hugged me and I entered the new house that my family had moved into. And now starts the most frustrating part for any guy returning from the land of dreams to his native! Immediately the next morning, I was forced to make a series of calls to relatives, answer calls from relatives, and family friends. Call it courtesy, call it respect or whatever. The cliche here is everyone asks the same question!

"Padichi mudichitu angaye settle aaga poriyaa??"

"Padichitu inge vandhu velai pannu!"

"Ange edhaavadhu ponae paathu marry panityaa?"

Initially it kinda felt good being the center of attraction and all that! After a point, it became irritating. And towards the end it became unbearable, to the point that, as a reply to a similar question popped by my grand mother, I said, "Paati kavale padaadhingo. Ange oru ponnu paathu vechirkaen. Neengo thaan vandhu enga kalyaanatha nadathi vaekanam!" My mom who was over hearing this entire conversation, though did not find it all that amusing, that I was playing with a 93 year old lady! :P This is the crux of the problem. In spite of all this, I found the holiday to be exhilarating. So many people being concerned about my well being. So many people questioning my decisions. Each day just hog the most amazing food, watch tv, sleep umpteen number of hours and leave the decision making to my parents. But here, though I am not pestered by silly questions, at times I regret that there is no one to question the whats and the whys of my activities. And the worst part of it is, even if I need to talk my parents, I need to pay a bill of 60 dollars a month just for some 5 minutes conversation each day! Call it the musings of a grad student!

Political or Hogenakkal?

The TamilNadu government is constructing a drinking water project at Hogenakkal, with an aid from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, near the border with its neighbouring state, Karnataka. The Hogenakkal Water Supply and Fluorosis Mitigation Project is expected to benefit about 3 million people. Tensions arose when the politicians from Karnataka, claimed that a 400-acre island at the point where the river Cauvery enters Tamil Nadu to form the picturesque Hogenakkal waterfall is part of their state. It is a pity that even after 60 years after independence, people dispute over state borders. It is also hilarious to note that the state units of the same political party on either states, claim the land to be part of the respective states and blame one another. This clearly shows that the politicians are trying to create and politicize an issue which never existed, in the first place. Then the film industry on either side organized protests and counter protests...Now all of a sudden Chief Minister K, says that the solution should be found in a peaceful manner and wants to hold talks with the new Chief Minister of Karnataka after the elections in May. Pardon me for the satire, what if there is a hung assembly in Karnataka? Who will the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister go and talk to? Caught in the middle of this insanity is the common man. The parties play politics based on issues like water. I say it is trivial. That is because, getting his/her share of water is a right for every human being. We cannot keep on fighting for issues like these. The government always finds prompt solutions for the filmy problems where one state refuses to screen the movies of the other state's language. Yet they have not tried to solve this cauvery issue for the past umpteen number of years. Is it a deliberate ploy on the part of the politicians that when an election is looming, they play vote bank politics and when they form the government, the same ppl forget about the various promises made to the common man? No wonder, even as the literacy rate increases the voter turn out is reducing each and every election. Who said that this was because of the elections being held in Summer or any other reason? I am beginning to believe that the common man is tired of reading much into these fake promises made by the so called protectors of the people. When the politicians are not able to solve the problems of Kashmir, I do kind of agree that these are international issues, involving international bureaucrats and might take time. But when there is so much wrangling going on, between people(politicians) of our own country forget solving Kashmir, the politicians should be ashamed of themselves, should be ashamed that they are a black mark to humanity in itself.

The fated four letter word

There is this four letter word that is synonymous with tough times. It goes hand in hand during those tough days. It is not love. It is not hate. It is HOPE.

Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope sets you free.

As a Cricket maniac or addict or whatever, I have been hoping that India wins a world cup. But that’s what makes me see the game all the more. As a human being, I hope that I have a better tomorrow than today. That’s what makes me look forward to the morrow eagerly. But when does a person fail? When he is scared! When he is afraid of the consequences his actions result in. Hope is the very essence of life. I saw Shawshank Redemption. Never in my life have I been affected by a movie as much as now. It is tough. It is difficult to maintain your hope and patience during tough times. But that I believe would be the driving force and make the individual look forward to the next day. Even I get scared some time. And then I delve into things that are not even under my control. I get frustrated. Basically I let my fear of failure dictate terms to me, when I should not let that happen. This movie has shaken the very foundations of my thought process. And I do not realize how I came to miss it all these days. A person who is afraid most of the times, who is scared, is nothing but a prisoner. A prisoner who is being held captive by fear! It engulfs the poor person and literally destroys him. It drives him insane just like a prison is bound to do. But even within a prison, you can choose to stay positive and be hopeful that some day the individual will be set free. This would help in keeping him sane enough. But the choice is with us. To remain captive or to be an independent individual! For no bird can be held captive in a cage for long. If the bird chooses to fly away, it can!