Revisiting an Old Favorite is not always a good thing!

Anand and I often try to introduce our kids to movies and music from our times. So far there have been many hits and a few misses. With Ponniyin Selvan, Mani Ratnam made a huge impact on our kids. For a long time we put off showing them his classics as we thought it wont be age appropriate. But with my kids watching Leo, Jawaan and Jailer (with overtly violent scenes skipped) we thought might as well show them Mani’s movies. 

We were debating which one to pick between Nayagan (my husband’s favorite) and Agni Natchathiram (my favorite) and went with AN since we couldn’t find Nayagan. Anand wasn’t very enthusiastic and couldn’t understand how I could prefer AN over Nayagan. He strongly felt the movie to be inappropriate for the kids and I couldn’t understand why! Later I realized he obviously has a better memory considering he was in his teens when the movie released 😉 

 Since I hadn’t really watched the full movie after the first time I only remembered just the good things – handsome Karthik, somewhat good-looking Prabhu and the hospital scene copied from Godfather. All these from the bits and pieces I had seen over the years. I prepped my kids with - awesome music, a younger and fitter version of Periya Vellar from PS, the thrilling fight scenes, crisp storytelling, and on and on. 

When the movie started I was super impressed with how Mani sets the stage with the very first scene – the interview scene where Karthik beats up the interviewer (VK Ramasamy) for asking inappropriate questions about his father. And then the cringe-fest started: 

• We are repeatedly shown how everyone deals with and is affected by Viswanathan's two families
• There is a tit-for-tat in almost everything between Gautham and Ashok
• Amala’s loosu-ponnu character was so super annoying! Even my daughter commented her mental age is of a pre-kg girl and the pairing is like a pre-kg girl and a 11th std boy
• There are soooo many songs! We are in an age where there are hardly any songs, and even the ones are usually in the background without interfering with the flow of the story
• The Janagaraj-VK Ramasamy comedy track – what was Mani even thinking?! I thought he made family-friendly movies. The comedy just gets worse and worse as the movie goes. We had to forward all their scenes!
• Karthik-Nirosha romance was also cringey 

Except for the thrilling bit with the politician the movie ends up being a fight….strike that….a quarrel between step-brothers! With a peep into their love life and friendship. The scene I was looking forward to (the hospital scene) came so late into the movie that I had lost interest by then, and went back to my book. 

My kids were seriously wondering just why I recommended this movie! 

• They were too young to understand the family situation of Viswanathan or why Karthik was constantly angry
• They found Amala unbearable
• The Karthik-Nirosha jokes weren't age-appropriate 
•  They are so used to movies without songs that they were super annoyed with songs constantly interrupting the movie
• am sure there were more.....but by then I had left the scene :p 

But the best part of the movie, for me, is rediscovering the beautiful songs in this movie. 

It is often said that Raja-Mani combo produced the best songs. While I do love the songs in Mouna Raagam and Nayagan, am not a big fan of Dalapathi songs (except Yamunai aatrile and Chinna Thaayaval). Now listening to the songs from this movie I realize this has got to be the best that the duo produced. Every song is so beautifully composed and the singing is just amazing. I personally do not like songs with a strong Carnatic influence but that is just me. However, it looks like the songs were specifically composed to showcase different Carnatic ragas, so that explains why almost every song sounds like a keertana! After repeated listening, I find only Thoongadha vizhigal to be overly Carnatic, the others not so much. 

There is another interesting discovery from my listening – Ninnukori, Oru poongavanam and Va Va anbe are rather unlike typical Raja songs. I don’t claim to know his songs well and my preferences lean towards ARR. But Raja’s songs generally stick to a certain tempo and pitch, unlike ARR who goes all over the place with speed and pitch. Raja’s songs are never too high or too low nor fast. But these three are an exception. Ninnu kori is a very rapidly sung song while Oru Poongavanam, Va Va anbe tends to go very high and at times very low. In all these songs the timing of the pitch goes perfectly well with the lyrics. I also realized that my favorite songs of Raja (Poova eduthu oru, Putham pudhu poo, Inji iduppazhaga duet) all follow this format! I suppose you can make me listen to Raja songs even then ARR lingers 😊 

This is probably common knowledge, still – most of the music you hear in ‘Raja-Rajathi rajan indha raja’ song are often heard in chase sequences as bg music. I think it was even copied by DSP in Dasavatharam. 

Another interesting point is how the songs are spread between Chitra and Janaki – they each have a solo (Janaki one more than Chitra) and a duet. Both have done an exceptional job with every number. Yet Chitra got the national award – not sure why or how! I keep listening to the songs and I can’t pick one over the other at all! They are so wonderful in their own way! 

The lyrics of the songs are also quite beautifully written. Except maybe Thoongadha Vizhigal, all other songs are lovely. This is quite unlike that time period when most songs had very vulgar or crass lyrics. Wonder if Mani had anything to do with it. But then again I can’t get past the comedy track so not sure if I can credit him for the lyrics. 

The next day we found Nayagan on Prime - not sure why we didn’t earlier! Both loved the movie, and Anand gave his usual teary-eyed tribute to Kamal. So my pick is long forgotten! 

Side note: While writing this I wondered why Anand didn’t pick Dalapathi since that is his most favorite Mani movie. Then I remembered – we were earlier watching SIIMA awards where Kamal was repeatedly climbing stage to give or take awards. And it concluded with Kamal getting Best Actor Award (surprise! surprise!) for Vikram (the movie, not the oh-so-talented actor!). And Anand was exhilarated from watching his idol get an award, yet again, even after all these years, beating (bulldozing?) the younger actors (who had also done an award-worthy job!). So he badly wanted to go back and relive the thrill of watching Kamal at his best! This was also triggered by Mani receiving award for Best Director for PS and them talking about Nayagan-2. Btw, Vikram (the actor, not the forgettable movie) was not even in the picture! Anyways, thank god he was looking for a Kamal-Mani combo and not just Kamal. Otherwise, we would have ended up watching Guna!

My Favorite Male Solos......

My favorite male solos…

Female solo songs expressing love have always been my favorites. And there are so many of the kind! The first one that comes to mind is ‘Evano oruvan…..’ from Alaipayuthey. Then going all the way back you have such gems as ‘Naalai indha neram paarthu….’ (from Uyarntha Manithan), ‘En vaaniley….’ (from Johnny),’Kannaalaney….’ (from Bombay), ‘Kala kala vena pozhiyum…’ (from Rythm), just to name a few from my favorites. In all these songs the expression is of how she feels being in love. It is never about the looks or any physical form of love. But just the deeper feeling of being in love. The male versions are bordering cocky. It is either about how beautiful the woman is,  or how well he will take care of her,or what a wonderful life he expects to have from her, or how she is the definition of a perfect woman, you could go on…….. It is almost never about the feelings of being in love. In my observation this is rarely found in the male solos.  So, in all the noise of umpteen romantic songs I found a few rare songs where the lyrics, the singer and music bring together the beautiful feeling of being in love from the male’s perspective. Here are 8 of those songs that are in my favorites. Feel free to add your’s! 

Note: I am not getting into the meaning of the songs as it is not possible to retain its beauty in the translation. But where necessary I do pick a few lines here and there that made an impact. 

Also, the songs are in no particular order except I wanted to start with my all-time-favorite (Munpaniya) followed by my recent favorite (Mogathirai)

1. Song: Munpaniya

Singer: SPB

Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Lyrics: Pazhani Bharathi

Movie: Nandha

The lyrics of this song brings together the story of a boy who has been bereft of love, getting a fresh breath of life when he falls in love with a girl. The lyrics carries an understated bewilderment of the guy at finding love. This has got to be one of SPB’s best. His voice is so pitch-and-tone perfect. The nuances he brings in at the right moments are just amazing.The song gives me goosebumps everytime I hear it. And am never tired of waiting for those beautiful moments (‘maatram thandhaval needhaane….’, ‘naan unn moochile….’, etc.)

I always thought Nandha music is by Ilayaraja but today I was surprised to find out it is by Yuvan! I seem to keep making this mistake of attributing Yuvan’s classics to Karthik or Ilayaraja! I attributed 7G Rainbow Colony to Karthik raja! 

Somehow all soulful songs seem to carry flute music. The beats in the background carry just the right amount of subtlety to not impede the smoothness of the song. And after all the chorus, and different instruments,the flute is what stays with you. 

The interlude by Subha and chorus brings in the right lightheartedness to this heavy song, and also gives a glimpse into how the woman is feeling. When I had initially heard this song I somehow found this interlude jarring. After years of listening to different romantic songs and appreciating the multiple flavors within a single song I realize how well this interlude fits in to the song. 

What can I say about SPB’s singing! It’s out there for everyone to hear it, feel it, fall in love with it! He never stops to amaze me with his subtle beautiful singing. While not the same genre, ‘Thanga thaamarai magaley’ is another all-time favorite of mine in his voice. Of course there are hundreds of songs, but in very few he gets to exhibit such nuanced singing. 

2. Song: Mogathirai

Singer: Pradeep Kumar

Music: Santhosh Narayanan

Lyrics: Kabilan

Movie: Pizza

Sometimes Saavn does wonderful things. Adding this to my collection because I was into Santhosh Narayanan songs was one such. I initially found this song too hazy and couldn’t really follow it. We are so used to the standard format of movie songs, that I couldn’t really get a handle of this. Add to this, the completely new genre (not sure what it is but it has a lot of guitar and keyboard and harmonium also I guess…..dont really have an ear for instrument) made it harder for me to follow the song. 

For a long time I couldn’t really follow the point of the lyrics. The song ends with him expressing how all-encompassing she is in his life, but from the beginning it ranges from pointing out the beauty in nature to some vague lines on how he feels? I am still not sure but something about the soulful melody that latches on to you. Yet another thing that threw me off about this song: I assumed the last bit to be the typical complementary nature of a couple. The ‘unn samaiyal araiyil’ type. But after repeated listening I realized what those lines meant and was amazed by the depth of the lyrics. One of my other favorite line is ‘Unn kaadhalaal ennull nooru kanaa’. 

The song is by Pradeep Kumar, who I am not a big fan of! I feel he has very limited range,and rarely adds value to a song. But this song seems to work perfectly well for Pradeep’s style of singing. The singer only needs to deliver the lyrics without expressing too much emotions (unlike SPB or Sid Sriram?!) and let the focus stay on the music and lyrics. 

3. Song: Satrangi Re

Singer: Sonu Nigam

Music: ARR

Lyrics: Gulzar

Movie: Dil Se

Yet another classic of ARR where it looks like he is going all over the place but the end product is well put together! This is one of those ARR songs where everytime I listen to it I discover something new. This is one of his most arresting songs ever! I fell in love with it from the moment I first heard it. In our Dilse cassette, I would keep swapping between Chayya Chayya (the first on side-A) and Satrangi (the last on side-B)  repeatedly! This song is a 7.5minutes of pure awesomeness!

When I first heard the song, I couldn’t quite understand how the expression of his love and calling her the seven-colors of his life are connected. Mind you, my understanding of Hindi is very poor and this is Gulzar’s lyrics. So really tough to follow. But recently I came across a Tiktok video on this song and understood the connection. At that time and even now I feel Mani trivialized the depth of the song by making Manisha wear outfits in seven different colors. It seems so in-the-face. 

Taking pointers from this site (which also refers to the tiktok video I mentioned earlier), the song actually talks about the seven stages of love: Attraction, Infatuation, Love, Faith, Worship, Madness and Death. It is impossible to pick any single line of this song. While I dont get the exact meaning of all the lines, the song has an all-encompassing effect. This combined with Sonu Nigam’s rendition and ARR’s music makes it all the more beautiful. 

The more you listen to this song, the more you notice the nuances of the music and singing. The whole song I think is meant to show the mesmerizing effect love has on him. This is brought to life with the soulful rendition by Sonu Nigam, haunting humming by Kavita, use of what I found out is accordion (which to me sounds like pungi - the snake-charmer’s instrument). All this while, we have the consistent beats to keep a steady tempo. And the song itself varies in tempo throughout. Sonu Nigam’s singing starts slowly,  then goes into a frenzy and then slowly mellows down keeping in line with the ebb and low of the stages of love. The instrument at 5:55 alongwith the ‘ishq par zor nahi….’ is particularly touching. And Sonu brings it to a beautiful closure with ‘Mauth ki godh….’. By the way, another blog mentioned use of flute but I somehow can’t identify that in the song. 

Here again, Kavita’s humming and the Mirza Ghalib couplet seemed unnecessary when I first heard the song. All I wanted was ARR music and Sonu Nigam’s voice. But after repeated listening I see how beautifully all these fit together. 

At the risk of offending the fans of Tamil version, there is no way Srinivas’ singing or Vairamuthu’s lyrics can hold a candle to the Hindi version. The first time I (inadvertently) listened to the Tamil version I stopped immediately. Srinivas sounds whiny! not an iota of passion in his voice. I didn’t want to put down the Tamil version without properly going over it so I read the lyrics. Counting down the 7 stages of love is so in-the-face! And somehow it sounds more crass than passionate :(  

4. Song: Usure Poguthey

Singer:Karthik

Music:ARR

Lyrics: Vairamuthu

Movie: Raavanan

Yet another beauty by ARR this time in Karthik’s voice. How can anyone come up with a passionate song at the time of kidnapping and make it so memorable?! While Mani has given his own backstory to the kidnapping there is no denying that the antagonist is falling for a married woman. Just like in the DD-version Ramayan and here, I root for the Raavan character! 

I think this song is best heard and just heard. The picturization seems a little overdramatc with Aishwarya flying all over the place. The first time I heard this song I simply loved it but I did have a problem with ‘udhatta nee konjam suzhikkayile’. It is usually used in a vulgar context, but after seeing the movie you realize the context is very different. Again there could be two different meanings: Either she is quivering her lips from fear or from disgust! And given the context, to me the latter seems more appropriate. And that makes you feel all the more for the guy. 

Here again there is a certain flow to the lyrics and the tempo of the song. It is not just about the guy expressing how his love is forbidden and he has no right falling in love with this woman. The song starts off with how smitten he is with her, and how he longs for her. In the next stanza he jumps to justifying his love - that there are always people who break the laws and there is a new law written to accommodate such people, after all the laws are man-made (so why should I toe the line?!). The song (like most of ARR love songs) starts with a slow tempo and reaches a peak halfway and again after the second stanza. I don’t know if this is my imagination but I feel there is a certain stoicism in Karthik’s tone of singing. The song is a soliloquy of sorts - the guy having  a conversation with himself on his ill-fated love and his own justification for his love,  and eventually thinking about death. 

The one line I especially love is ‘Etta irukkira suriyan paathu…..’. Unlike the typical comparison of a woman with a flower, here the woman is the sun while the man is the lotus coming alive. I find this a very refreshing change in our lyrics. 

I also like the rustic elements of the song that goes so well with the movie and character. Fire in a teak forest, calling himself her maman (?!), thailaan kuruvi, manthirichha vitta kozhi, and few others. My only gripe with the song is the timing. He just kidnapped her and it is probably just an attraction. But the song is too passionate for a love-at-first-sight context! Anyways, you have to give it to Mani-ARR-Vikram combo to make you look beyond these issues and simply love the song! 

5. Song: Thalli pogathey

Singer: Sid Sriram, Aaryan Dinesh Kanagaratnam (ADK)

Music: ARR

Lyrics: Thamarai

Movie: Achcham Yenbathu Madamayada

This song is a perfect example of how beautifully one can write the confusing feelings of falling in love. Trust Thamarai to come up with such a beautiful expression of love. The guy’s emotions range from being confused at how he is feeling to being angry with himself as he cant stop thinking about her, and then the fear of losing her. Here the metaphorical comparisons are very refreshing. He compares her to a mighty ocean while he is an insignificant being. Often moon is compared to a woman’s beauty, but here the man sees himself as the moon that stays up the whole night. And then again, he compares himself to a wilting lotus. 

Like I mentioned before, lyrics from male POV are often cocky with the man assuming complete ownership of the woman - body and soul! With Thamarai we see a refreshing change - the man is just as shy yet eager for a physical relationship. And hopes she would understand his longing. 

Between Sid Sriram and ADK they bring the insecurities and longing of the protagonist alive. Somehow I feel at the beginning the woman’s humming is coming from a distance while the male is singing at a very slow tempo. Slowly the tempo builds and when you hear her voice closer, ADK jumps in with a frenzy! My favorite lines: Kangalil yekkam, Kaadhalin Mayakkam, Aanaal Partha Nimidam,Oruvidhamaana Thayakam. 

6. Song: Adiye

Singer: Sid Sriram

Music: ARR

Lyrics: Madhan Karky

Movie: Kadal

Another beautiful rendition by Sid Sriram. While the theme is similar to the previous song here there is also the bewilderment and curiosity of where this is leading. There are many wonderful lines in this song. I especially love how he compares himself to a kid (aattu kutty) - something associated with cuteness and innocence! 

My other favorite line is about how she brings out his insecurities:  Kannala kannadi senju, En achatha kaaturiyae . There is also the underlying meaning - that he is too scared (shy?!) to look her in the eye. 

It is surprising to find such a feministic song from Karky. I am a fan of his lyrics, but somehow this sounds a little unlike him. Also, my only gripe with this song is the chorus. A soulful solo rendition would have better suited the lyrics. 

7. Song: Ei Suzhali

Singer: Vijaynarain

Music: Santhosh Narayan

Lyrics: Vivek

Movie: Kodi

This is a very fast-paced number with beautiful lyrics and wonderful singing by Vijaynarain. All thanks to Santhosh’s music. Unless the music is obviously ARR a song rarely catches my attention. What really drew me to this song is catchy-teasing lyrics placed all over the song. I loved this song so much that I googled and found the lyrics and meaning when it was newly launched. This is from the singer’s blog and the translation is quite well written. All the same here is my two cents :) 

In one line he calls her a beautiful oleander flower (arali) - the hidden meaning being arali is not only beautiful but also poisonous. In another line he says he is frothing as he is unable to handle her beauty. 

While in most male POV songs the male is rather confident and knows how to conquer his love here he is scared of what she is doing to him and just wants to be spared. He also compares his heart to something as fragile as an egg shell. 

The song ends with a load of sweet nothings shared in nature. The lyrics are so beautiful that it actually comes alive when you listen to it. The guy suddenly realizes that he is drowning in love - as in he seems to find romance/love everywhere and wonders what has happened to him. He compares himself to a fish that thought it was caught in a snag only to wake up and realize it was all a dream and that it is still alive and in familiar waters. 

8. Song: Chittu kuruvi song

Singer: ARR

Music: ARR

Lyrics: 

Movie: Chekka Chevandha Vaanam

Oh what more can I say about this gem by ARR?! I have covered it all here. 

There are also some beautiful Kannada songs that I love. But not many are solo and even the solo ones I dont think I know enough to write about it. So leaving it out of this list. Hope you found some of your favorites here! Let me know your favorites too! 

One pleasant rainy evening - artoonsinn event

Prerna had a weird sense of deja vu while listening to her husband, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. There had been an influx of fresh graduates in his company which brought a breath of fresh air. The sight of wide-eyed freshers always kept the oldies on their toes, wanting to look young and energetic while imparting their wisdom from experience. Apparently they had some freshers in Aniket's department as well. As a Senior Lead, it was his responsibility to put them through an orientation and help them identify a career path.

Prerna and Aniket were a happily married couple with a daughter and son entering college. Their married life had been fairly uncomplicated. She had been a copywriter in an advertising agency while Aniket was already climbing up the ladder in his IT company. Once in the family way, she chose to become a homemaker.  

It was a pleasant evening with light showers. She loved these quiet family times with her family chatting in the living room, while she got busy in the kitchen. It felt so warm, cozy and just perfect. She got the expected enthusiastic response when she announced hot samosas and tea. Though her son followed-up with ‘just one for me Amma. I am cutting down on oily food’; and her daughter ‘me too Amma. I had a late lunch.’ That’s alright. She will save the balance for another rainy day!

She suddenly heard rolling laughter from her husband. Apparently one of the freshers was a very witty girl with a healthy humor. Prerna was suddenly taken back to her younger days. She was one of the college freshers hired as a copywriter in her agency. She hit it off with her Senior Lead, Rajesh, from the get go. After every witty remark, she always looked out for that chuckle from Rajesh. Slowly she gained confidence and interacted more directly with him. The extended coffee time, perfectly timed water breaks, stolen glances, unnecessary virtual chats….all came back to her. There was definitely some chemistry between them, though it never went beyond the office walls. 

She quickly stole a glance at her husband, when he happened to look her way. What was that look on his face? Guilt? Did he have a crush on this girl? If so, wouldn’t he keep it a secret? Why talk about her? Did Rajesh ever talk about me with his family? Was I the topic of a light conversation on a rainy evening? Or a guilty secret he never revealed? What did he even think of me?

Oh come on………..why fret over something that happened so long ago! It hardly matters now. But why is it suddenly so quiet in the living room? She noticed her husband lost in his own thoughts, her daughter pushing her snack around the plate while her son hadn’t even looked at his plate. And suddenly she felt a gush of cold air…

Author's Note:

Deja vu is a French word. It literally means 'already dreams'. It is a feeling of having already experienced the present situation 

Marete hodenu song - Jun 2019

This is my current favourite kannada song. It is beautiful for the lyrics and music. The lyrics is romantic, sweet and tongue-in-cheek. There are two versions to this song, but I like the unplugged one better-probably because I heard this first. 

Those who know kannada can appreciate it better, but here goes my attempt at translating it to English, just the first few lines:

I forgot what I started out to do....I was so struck by your lightning presence

Forgive me, but the fault is ur's if I fall into your arms

There is a beautiful bond between a fragrant flower and the snatching breeze

Luka chuppi song - Nov 2019

I was always so caught up with the fast numbers in this movie, I never really noticed this song. When I heard it recently I wondered how come I missed it! Then checking on YouTube realised - the picturization is so sad and the complete song doesn't come thru in the movie. Nor does the context bring out the beauty of the lyrics . 

This song is way beyond just a melody. This has to be one of the most beautifully crafted song of a conversation between a mother and her son. Lata's voice has the right touch of motherly feel to it, while ARR sounds so young, excited, vulnerable all at the same time! 

Though I knew the general meaning of the song, I went online to check the word-to-word meaning and it brought tears to my eyes. The play on the word 'dheep' and 'chaand' is so sweet. And when ARR sings 'Lage bin tere mujhko akela' there is so much longing in his voice! And the ending duet is yet another beauty. 

In case you dont know Hindi well, check the lyrics meaning here:

http://songnlyrics.blogspot.com/2006/01/lukka-chhupi.html?m=1

And here is the full song, not the movie version:

Listen to the song 'Luka Chuppi' on Saavn at https://www.saavn.com/s/song/hindi/Rang-De-Basanti/Luka-Chuppi/QQk0fAxGbmk?referrer=svn_source=share&svn_medium=com.google.android.gm&utm_source=share&utm_medium=com.google.android.gm

'96 movie review Nov 2018

Here is my review of the movie #'96. A beautifully crafted romantic movie in Tamil. 

Let me get my one gripe with the movie out of the way, the last 30min could have been crisper and I wish the characters had continued showing the same restraint. Otherwise, ’96 is one of the best movies ever! 

The movie is so wholesomely beautiful that it is hard to figure out where to start! It is a story with a very simple premise……school sweethearts meet after 20+years, what happens next? We have seen many movies portraying teen love, lovers meeting after their life take different paths, even an old man going in search of his lover! While it would be normal for both to have lead a normal life of career, marriage, family, etc., here the guy doesn’t get married. He stays single and still misses his lover. While we would normally see such a guy as a loser or a creep, we are left feeling sad and sympathetic. Full credit to the director and Vijay Sethupathi (VS) acting that he evokes a feeling of helplessness among us. You wish you could do something to make him feel better, but you know there simply isn’t. Probably because the movie starts off showing us what he made of his life that he becomes an intriguing and interesting character from the word go. And combine that with his amazing acting, you root for him all through the way!

I never feel comfortable watching movies that depict teen love. Somehow I feel it is never handled with the sensitivity or finesse it deserves. But this movie does a wonderful job of it. Rather than find a reason for love, the movie focuses on how two young kids bond with each other and how it is so deep, and broken so abruptly that it lasts rest of their adolescent and adult life. There are no cute girl gimmicks or macho stunts. It is a simple and quietly pretty and extroverted girl juxtaposed with a boy who suddenly discovers his feeling and is forever tongue-tied around her. No stealing glances, stolen kisses, etc. It is a really sweet portrayal of love. 

Rather than question his everlasting love for her, everyone accepts his feeling for what it is and lets him be. Isn’t that wonderful? There is no need to look for a certain goal or an end. Just a feeling you want to carry forever, and be content with it! And there is no condemning her for moving on with her life either. The impromptu way in which they discover the misunderstanding and how they missed a chance at life together is so realistic and painful. The unassuming way in which VS reveals his attempts to meet her and keeps track of her can only leave a girl feeling special. How bittersweet is that! 

Do you get that unexplainable vague, yet wonderful feeling when you hear a really beautiful romantic song? A song that is so encompassing and consuming? For me songs like ‘naan paesa ninaipathellam…’, ‘eghirikudhithaen….’ (from boys), ‘ninaithu ninaithu…..’ (7g rainbow colony), ‘yae kahaan…’ (silsila) does that. And now this movie!

About that Chittu Kuruvi song.... Dec 2018

About that Chittu Kuruvi song....

It’s been a while since I fell head-over-heels into an ARR song. Considering the number of songs he has recently composed, that is really sad. While his music for Vijay movies are not my type, I was eagerly waiting for CCV songs. You know how we often like his songs after watching the movie, or reading the lyrics? So I decided to seriously ‘pursue’ those songs after watching the movie. But it was such a disappointment! The movie was so bad, and the songs hardly made an impact. I did make a valiant attempt at listening to the songs. But I couldn’t bear to listen to them after a few seconds. After skipping all the songs I completely gave up.

But somehow the Chittu Kuruvi song kept nagging me. I did like it in the movie, but somehow when I heard it online it didn’t make any sense. The song seemed to jump from one mood to another and for the first time ever I didn’t think ARR’s voice suited the song (blasphemy!). I thought he sounded too old for a youthful song like this. I was so-so disappointed. I couldn’t believe a wonderful combination like this could produce such a terrible collection of songs.

Being an ardent fan of ARR, I next tried starting from the lyrics and that is when it hit me, hit me HARD! It turned out to be such a wonderful song! The change in mood, voice modulations, everything made sense!

For the uninitiated: The song is about a guy falling in love with a girl, and then the girl leaves him. He is heartbroken and also sad for the girl wondering how difficult it must be for her. Then he realizes she is actually happy and doesn’t seem to be bothered by leaving him. Now that is just the crux of the story.

This is said in the form of a guy who loves nature and finds peace and wisdom from nature. Then a sparrow comes along and wants to be friends with him. The sparrow calls him closer and asks if he likes her. The guy is enthralled by the dramatics of the sparrow and compares her (and his feelings) to a beautiful dream or a song he heard in his dream. He even wonders if the sparrow simply feels sympathetic towards him.

Then there is a long rain and the sparrow flies away. The rain becomes more intense with lightning and thunder. He wonders if the sparrow lost its way. He feels sad for losing the sparrow, and also how heartbroken the sparrow must be on losing him. Later he realizes the sparrow isn’t sad, but is very happy. Instead of enjoying the beautiful rain, the guy is left crying for losing his lover.

As you can see there are so many emotions in this song. The peaceful moment before the sparrow comes in, the feeling of falling in love, then his confusion over why the sparrow loves him, and then the heartbroken moment when he loses her, and finally the realization that the sparrow is happy, but he is still in love and missing her. How does he manage to get all these emotions in a <6min song! Seems so impossible, but then here it is! And he is rocking at it!

Now I realize everything part of the song fit so perfectly! The lyrics (the beautiful Tamil words!), music, ARR’s voice, modulations, music, ARR’s voice, modulations, lyrics…….oh god am going in circles…….just like the song in loop right now!

You know how some songs are so beautiful that it encloses you and makes you feel like you are in an island with just the song surrounding you? Well, I have had that feeling for many of his songs….Evano Oruvan (Alaipayuthey), Kannalanae (Bombay), Rehna Tu (Delhi6), Satrangi (Dil Se), Thayya (Dil Se), to name a few. Now here is one more such song.

Thanks to this site for opening my eyes (and ears and heart) to this song: https://www.tsonglyrics.net/2018/09/mazhai-kuruvi-lyrics-english-meaning.html

Here is that beautiful song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt4-FwVe1Fk

Vaksana Farms - Dec 2021 vacation

Vaksana Farms 

After a tiring trip in Kumbakonam visiting temples, a quiet and relaxing vacation is what we needed and that is exactly what the Pico farm delivered! The elegant farmhouse with it’s glass exteriors give you a view of the beautiful greenery around from the cool indoors. Set among farming lands in a somewhat remote village, you can be assured of peace and tranquility, far away from the hustle-bustle of the city and noise of the highways.

True to its name, the farmhouse is a small duplex house with a kitchen, study and living room on the ground floor and sleeping area in the first floor. The house is filled with posters of kid’s favorite – Tintin, Asterix-Obelix, etc., immediately drawing the kids in. There is also a variety of books if you would just want to sit back in the reading nook in the living room and enjoy some quiet reading time. While there is no TV, there is a good internet connection if you want to stream something on your device.

The farmhouse has few dogs, cows and a pony – and these kept our kids busy all the time! For once, I was not worried about where my kids are and what they are upto. The dogs and the puppies were safe and my kids couldn’t get enough of them! The pony is a different story J I can’t decide if he loves people and hence keeps coming to us, or just doesn’t want us there :D He needed some strong words and a pat from Mr Sivaraman to send him away. The pony unfortunately had to be tied up most of the time since he was just too big for us to deal with.

One key ingredient to make a place warm and happy are the hosts and the food -  Mr Sivaraman and his wife had this in abundance!  They made our stay all the more memorable with their warm welcome, home-cooked meals and regular check-in to make sure we are comfortable and have everything we need. I was truly amazed at the number of food items our hostess churned out for us! Within the realms of traditional vegetarian South Indian cooking, she managed to prepare so many different varieties of food and from different ingredients! I also felt guilty and wondered if I should lend a hand…….but then this is my vacation and I am a hopelessly lazy person :P A special mention to Shekar, his wife and Pushpa who support Mr Sivaraman and his wife in running the farm and farmhouse.

While I was not planning to step out anywhere, KIruba’s list of places to visit was tempting. So we ended up going to Akkarai Kali Amman temple. The drive was amazing with mostly a sea of greenery on both sides of the road! While I have driven through villages with paddy or sugarcane fields on both sides, this is the first time I came across clumps of plantain farms, sometimes casuarina trees, mango farm, etc. The temple is situated in the middle of a lake and you would have to walk through a shallow river to reach it. Since there was no one around to guide us, we didn’t want to risk going through the water – none of us know swimming and the water was quite slushy. However, we had a good time playing near the bank and attempting to reach the falls. Despite all the beauty of nature, here again we found trash and filth near the water falls. There was even an overturned garbage can. So we avoided the place where the water falls flows through the rocks.

Probably because of the timing of our trip (too soon after the heavy rains) there was not much to see or do on the farm. That is something I was looking forward to, especially for my kids to experience. I hope to visit again during a more appropriate season. Until then, thanks for a memorable 2021 year-end vacation!

Modern Love Chennai - Review

During my Kerala trip I started watching Modern Love Chennai, and managed to complete the series a few days back. I have watched the Mumbai, New York, and Amsterdam series. And by far the Chennai series is probably the only one where I found my most favourite and many favourites as well. I don't really remember the earlier ones that well but what stands out is Anne Hathaway’s ‘Take me as I am Whoever I am’, ‘Hers was a World of One’ on gay couple adoption in New York series; ‘Raat Rani’, ‘Mumbai Dragon’,  ‘My Beautiful Wrinkles’ in Mumbai series; ‘Episode 2’, ‘In the Eye of the storm’ from Amsterdam. Music was also mostly wonderful in the series. The composition of the theme song, and individual songs in most of the stories was quite good too. 

Before I start with the beautiful ones, let me get the biggest disappointment and in-retro redundant story out of the way - ‘Paravai Koottil Vaazhum Maangal’. Why tarnish the memory of a beautiful movie like Marupadiyum? Of all the philandering husband stories, Marupadiyum is probably the only one with a strong female lead who stands up for herself, decides to find her own identity and become an independent woman. 

I watched Marupadiyum when I didn’t fully understand the gravity of the story. But what struck me is the end to the story - I found it very refreshing, filled with hope and zest for life. And much later when I heard the song ‘Nallathor veenai seithei’ I could fully appreciate the depth of mental turmoil that Thulasi (Revathi’s character) goes through. The whole story is centred around how a woman - who is dependent on her husband financially and emotionally - maintains her dignity and self-respect, and finds her inner-strength to live independently in this world. While this might not be so scary or novel these days, it should be seen in the context of our society during the 1980s and 90s. Now to think about it, wonder if using Bharathiyaar’s song was yet another subtle hint at the strong woman he envisioned! 

With this stupid ridiculous dedication, Bharathiraaja has muddled up the idea of a modern independent woman with being detached and emotionless. How else would you describe a woman who leaves her kids behind with her husband and the ‘other woman’ and decides to live an independent life? To me the character seemed a spineless sacrificial lamb! The story gives rise to so many questions! Who is she to decide that the kids should be separated from her?Don’t the kids have any say in it? Can a family life with kids be so easily replaced by work life? Is it so easy to make kids live with a new woman and they not even miss their mother? Is a woman’s role in her family so easily replaceable? The story ultimately reduces the role of a woman to being a wife, cook, maid, nanny…..but what about the emotional connect? the bonding? How can anybody in their right mind come up with a story like this?! 

And giving characters the real name of the actors in Marupadiyum is such a genius stroke! Arrgh….And what is with the husband character? During the whole awkward episode he seems like another furniture in the room, albeit smoking at times. The only thing the movie got perfectly right is the awkwardness of the whole situation. The extended silence, inability to make small talk, etc. If those weren’t bad enough, she invites the ‘other woman’ to stay over for the night. I kept watching the whole movie hoping there will be some sensible conclusion to this story. Maybe they all realize their mistake and decide to go back to their earlier life, or maybe decide to put this off until kids are out of the nest? But no……….the director managed to keep the awkwardness until the end. And what exactly was the point of belatedly telling us about their first meeting?! To show that she is still hopelessly in love? Or that a love based on intellectual interests will not last? All in all, the father character (Delhi Ganesh) seemed to be the only sensible one. But unfortunately he wasn’t heard by anyone and was made to feel like pazheya panchangam. Moving on……

‘Ninaivo oru paravai’ is the other story I wasn’t ok with. Not that there was anything bad, but I really didn’t get the point of it. A lot of banter between the couple, their interests, etc., were interesting and engaging but the story seemed over-sexualized and unnecessarily so. Until the end we dont get to know why they broke up their relationship. I don’t know if the intent of the story is their relationship arch and the reason for breakup is redundant? But somehow the relationship arch didn’t seem strong enough and warranted an explanation for their breakup. There was also a hint that what is happening in real life was written as a script by the hero - here again there was not much depth to this storyline. On the whole the story seemed very muddled up. What I did love about this story was the beautiful songs in the background. Of late I have taken to watching some English series where mood and feelings of the characters is expressed through beautiful songs in the background. So beautiful that I make it a point to read through the lyrics. It was refreshing to find a Tamil movie adopt a similar style. I especialy loved Kadal Alaigalil ‘Aanaal’ song, Thaen Mazhaiyo songs in this movie. 

All other stories were lovely and beautifully done. ‘Lalagunda Bommigal’ shows the stark reality of girls conned by lecherous men and the unlikely event of a serial conman turning out to be a loyal husband. ‘Margazhi’ is yet another beautifully crafted story of a young girl who finds love and attention during a difficult phase in her life,that helps her come out of her loneliness. The story is quite subtle and interlude between them when they play and disucss about music is very well done. When she realizes her innate qualities when he expresses what he loves about her is very touching. The story does have a documentary feel with tedious scenes. And I am not a big fan of Ilayaraja’s songs in this story. It vaguely reminded me of some old song and not in a very good way. And I wish he had allowed some young singer to lend voice, atleast that might have made the song more pleasing to listen to. I am not sure if this is a popular opinion, but I felt like the movie is trying to say Margazhi has many significance - it is a celebration of music of different kinds and not just Carnatic, music can be enjoyed in many ways and not just in the form of concerts, it reminds you to discover and enjoy music for the sake of it.

It is a very tough pick between ‘Imaigal’ and ‘Kaadhal enbadhu…..’. While one is a very deep and heart touching story the other is a breezy romantic story of a girl falling in and out of love and eventually finding her soul mate. Despite the short duration, Imaigal has packed a lot of layers into its story and is beautifully enacted by Ashok Selvan and TJBhanu. The story brings out the difficulties of a parent with a medical problem/disability while caring for a young child,  how our youthful dreams are overtaken by the practicalities of a family life, how our interests and hobbies go into the backburner once we get busy with out lives,  etc. The story not only shows the frustration of a woman who is partially blind, but also of the people surrounding her, especialy her husband. While you can feel the fear and frustration of the woman, you can also empathize with what the man is missing out in his life. It would seem tad selfish, but living a monotonous life day-in and day-out is sad. 

Where was this Ritu Verma all these years?! She seems like a very familiar face but not sure if I have actually seen her in any earlier movie (except Nitham oru vaanam’). She is so bubbly, spontaneous, cheerful, unabashed……it is like the younger day Khushbo, Jyothika, Laila, Asin, all packed into one! She manages to maintain her energy and humor throughout the movie! It is very refreshing to find a heroine with a great comedic sense. The story also manages to stay true to romantic-comedy genre by creating a humor out of every situation. Her quest for finding a breakup song for a woman is especially funny. The umpteen homages to significant scenes from Tamil romantic movies are so well done. The scene with Baradwaj Rangan is quite funny, especially since he comes across as a very serious film critic while the situation in the story is so naive and juvenile. 

I ended up watching Imaigal, kaadhal enbadhu….. and Margazhi twice in as many days. It was that good! I think this has set the bar really high for any future Modern love series. 

My PS-2 Review

Prologue: So I did read the book again after watching PS-1 though only until Arunmozhi’s ship sinks. I think a big miss in the movie is the visions of Mandakini that Sundara Chozar sees that makes him mentally unstable. Kundavai plots to bring Arunmozhi safely back to Tanjavur and not Sundara Chozar. A very interesting scene in the book that reveals a layer to Sundara Chozar’s character is the one with the poets. Unfortunately this is not shown in as much detail. Also, the conversation between Aditha and Parthibendran in Mahabalipuram where Aditha ruminates about the futility of war and how contribution to art and welfare is the true legacy left by a King is also a very interesting one. However, it is probably too much to ask from a movie. Now coming to PS-2……

I actually saw the movie twice. Once with kids and Anand in Chennai soon after it released, and again in Bangalore with my sister. I loved the movie both times :) Before I forget……what is with Satyam (or should I now say PVR) charging you for butter in the popcorn?! What cheapos?! I remember Satyam CEO writing a long letter to his patrons at the time of PVR takeover about the continuity in their quality of service, and specifically the continuity in the quality of popcorn. I suppose he left the pricing vague and the vultures in PVR zeroed in on it? Unfortunately I ended up giving money to PVR again when I saw the movie in Bangalore. Seriously pathetic. 

Back to the movie…….

Between the four of us, we were armed with the (refreshed) knowledge of two versions of translated Ponniyin Selvan books, 1 ACK version to quickly identify any deviations from the original! Considering the complexity of the story, we were pretty sure the movie would be highly disappointing. But we actually ended up falling in love with Mani’s version! Mani has managed to give it just the right amount of tweaks to stay true to the spirit of this story. 

While the first part was all about introducing the characters, the second was about their relationship, the pivotal role they play, and moving the story forward to bring it to a logical conclusion. 

I remember the whole episode of Aditha Karikalan-Nanthini’s past and the role Kundavai plays in it narrated very briefly in the book. But it made sense to go into the details of this relationship in the movie for the viewers to appreciate the depth of the relationship and Aditha’s anger and frustration. 

While none of the characters get much screen time (except Vikram of course!) the time they do get is very meaty and exhibits layers in their characters without making it obvious. The only characters I wish had more screen time were Vandiyathevan-Nambi, and Vandiyathevan-Kundavai. 

Without many scenes or interactions Mani has managed to show a strong connect between Vandiyathevan and Kundavai. I dont know if this is my own extrapolation but I felt their common interest and goals drew them closer and hence the chemistry between the actors as well. Both loved and wanted to defend the Chola empire, both were focused on protecting and keeping the two princes safe, despite knowing the dangers of the expedition Kundavai asked Vandiyathevan to go to Lanka and he in turn took on the mission with pride and bravery. And the actors are such an unlikely pair! I dont think we have seen them together in any movie before but they turned out to be so good together. 

One of the best scenes in the movie is when the three siblings meet. This doesn’t exist in the original. Despite deviating from the original, this scene is so beautifully crafted that you can’t really complain. Mani has exhibited enough restraint to keep this from wallowing into an emotional scene. What is particularly significant is Arunmozhi’s and Kundavai’s understanding of the emotional turmoil Aditha is going through and their unwilling acceptance of his decision to go to Kadambur palace. 

Another interesting deviation from the original is Kundavai putting together the pieces of Nanthini’s past and guessing her mother’s connection to Sundara Chozar. While the book exhibited Arunmozhi’s intelligence and generosity in the way he figured out and accepted Mandakini’s relation with his father (and Nanthini), in the movie he comes across as clueless as to why she looks like Nandhini. This unfortunately puts Arunmozhi in a bad light, but added more weight to Kundavai as she puts it together and confronts her father. The saving grace is how Arunmozhi handles the coronation at the end. Especially his dialogue ‘peraasai thaan arasar ku azhagu’. 

I think the whole twist in the tale of baby swapping and Madhuanthakar-Sendhan Amudhan backstory is too much for a movie, especially if it is a two-part movie for a 5-part book. Mani’s way of completely removing that piece and yet keeping the spirit of the book by showing the different faction’s love and loyalty towards their empire seemed apt. My daughter cried foul ‘But he is not the real Madhuranthakan?This is so wrong!’ But eventually (after we convinced her that Kalki’s is a fictional story and that is not what happens in reality) she agreed that the ending makes sense. On a side note: I am not sure how many mother-daughter tend to be fans of same actors but we can. I am a proud mother of a daughter who is also a fan of Vikram after this movie. By the way, she also loves the younger day Amitabh Bachchan (after a good dose of Sholay, 2 aur 2 paanch and few other ‘my younger day’ favorites of mine). 

Now coming to the other ‘best’ scenes and the actor who myself and my sister drooled over! It is a hard pick between his 3 scenes - when he enters Kadambur, his meeting with the chieftains, and his last scene with Nanthini. When he enters the Kadambur palace, the way he baits the Kadambur chieftain, piques on Pazhuvettarayar for marrying a young woman by repeatedly calling him ‘paatta’, the subtle transformation on seeing Nanthini all this while manoeuvring a restless horse is just amazing! 

Vikram is just as amazing when he confronts the chieftains for springing Madhuranthakan as the heir despite Sundara Chozar anointing Aditha as the prince. I couldn’t help but notice that Vikram is the shortest of the actors in that scene yet with the strongest screen presence. 

The final scene between Nanthini and Aditha is yet another gem in VIkram’s acting. How does someone look so handsome, confident and yet so vulnerable! His acting is just unbelievable in this scene. 

Unlike PS-1, music in this part was really good! My favorite is the Ilaiyoor Soodaar. It sounded like a very deep and poignant song. The composition, visuals and singing were very beautiful in the movie. Unfortunately I am unable to find the lyrics with translation. While Aga-naga is a little annoying to listen to, it is quite good in the movie. I guess there was nothing much to complain about the background score either, though it is not something I usually notice. 

While I don’t pay much attention to the settings or visuals, one worth mentioning is the sculpture of Raavana holding up Shiva and Parvathi. It is a very beautiful relief on a stone. While it looks like it is facing the King, it is actually facing a sculpture of Rama’s pattaabhishekam. Interestingly, I came across a Chariot which had Raavana carrying the idols of Shiva and Parvathi in Thiruvannamalai temple. 

I dont think I will finish the rest of the book. Unfortunately, now when I read the book I visualize with the actors from the movie. So it kinda kills your experience of reading the book. Also, I have got the scenes from the book and movie so jumbled up! However, the next time they put up the Ponniyin Selvan drama, I will take my daughter along. Few years back when I saw, I found it a drag because a) I had forgotten the story b) I was all alone so no one to discuss what is happening on stage and c) the Tamil was too tough to follow. This time I will have her for company. She has read the story 3 times - all translated versions but different authors. So hopefully it will make for some stimulating company! 

About the Shiva trilogy.......

I ended up reading The Secret of the Nagas (second in Shiva Trilogy) just to make sure it is safe for my 11yr old to read. Having read the book twice I really didn’t want to read it all over again! Now that I have finished the book, I so wish I hadn’t read it! Not just because I now HAVE TO read the third to remind myself of what happens next, but also because I found too many problems with Amish’s style of writing. Problems that I either ignored or refused to acknowledge in my earlier reads…..

After reading the first three books of Ram Chandra Series (am a little weary of reading the last one in the series) I really ddin’t want to read anymore of Amish’s books. His portrayal of Ravana as some psycho killer really leaves a very bad taste. I grew up listening to my grandmom and aunt singing praises of Ravan for his valor, intelligence, etc. Abduction of Sita was seen as a minor flaw in his character rather than a serious offense. While today with our maturity and awareness it seems unforgivable that a man would forcibly abduct a woman and keep her imprisoned, at that time all I could see was the sappy Arun Govil (as Ram) vs the regal and fearsome Arvind Trivedi (as Ravan) in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan. My admiration for Ravan was reiterated with Vikram’s portrayal of Beera in Mani Ratnam’s Ravanan.

Anyways, coming back to the Shiva Trilogy…………….

The first time I read the books it was so exciting and thrilling! While we come across analogies and reproduction of many western mythological stories, we have rarely come across an Indian counterpart except what we see in Amar Chitra Katha or the serious ones written purely based on the classics. So Shiva Trilogy filled a gap that I didn’t even realize existed. What made the book even more dear to heart is your favorite god being the protagonist in the story. While I do know Amish takes a lot of creative liberties in his portrayal of Shiva it was hard to not fall for the charming, romantic and handsome fictional Shiva in the book.

So I thought it would only be a bit tedious to read the book all over again, otherwise it should be an ok read. Unfortunately, I was left with feeling extremely irritated with Amish’s style of writing. It is not just the poor choice of words, grammatical errors, poor proofreading,….

For instance, no one ever just laughs in this book. They almost always ‘burst out laughing’. Irrespective of the situation, the surrounding, mood of the scene, they burst out laughing. Is it so hard to find an alternative way to describe laughter?

If I hadn’t known better I would have thought the book is actually the script of a Sanjay Leela Bhansali book. Time and time again Amish insists on listing every single person who accompanies Shiva wherever he goes….whether he is in a Vishnu temple, or on a ship, or paying respects to a King. Every single time there is a list of people who have accompanied Shiva. By the way, the list almost never changes. So why get into this level of detail every single time?! It is almost as if Amish had a checklist of things to say at every scene and he was just making sure it is covered. But what was the proofreader doing?!

And coming to how a scene is described….you know how in SLB movies and TV Soaps one person says something and then the camera pans to every single person to show their expression? That is how most of the scenes feel in this book. Just like in those movies/soaps this level of detail doesn’t serve any purpose.

Many a time the dialogues are so petty and unrefined. Especially the ones by Kali. They seem unnecessarily insulting to the other person and overly self-appraising.

The first two times I read the book, I found Amish’s way to interspersing characters and stories from our mythology into this story very clever and also gave us an interesting perspective. But after reading the Ram Chandra series, I am not so sure anymore. Especially the way Jamadagni story turned into one of Honor Killing doesn’t seem right. Honor Killing is too serious a topic to be used here.  

Of course, all this doesn’t take away the significance of this book and what it means to many of us. This is the first of its kind (at least to my knowledge?!) and gives the reader quite a thrilling and exciting ride. The book moves from adventure to adventure keeping the reader hooked and often wondering how did we get here? Like I said, this is my third read and I still wonder how did a certain situation come about?!

The philosophical discussions between Shiva and Vasudevs is quite interesting too, and is often thought provoking. Maybe because I usually don’t read spiritual or philosophical books, I found Amish’s take on Good vs Evil quite interesting. I also love how he made Mohini into the supreme goddess and the companion of Rudra. This puts a spin on how we view Rudra (as a representation of shiva in the form of chants and rudraksh seed) and Mohini (as Vishnu in the form of a beautiful woman). Considering how we revere Shiva and Vishnu as the two supreme deities, Amish’s take on Rudra and Mohini makes so much sense and fits right in place!

So now am off to get started with the 3rd and last instalment of this series. I only vaguely remember a little bit of what happens in this book, so am sure the suspense will still hold good 😊 Also since I have voiced most of what I find annoying, I should be able to ignore these flaws unless I find something new to complain about!