Whats in a movie?

Typically as a Chennaiite, I have this insatiable appetite for any kind of movie that gets released in theatres here. Due to international distribution issues, the movies we get here are the ones which are big budgeted and that too with a huge star cast tagging along. Smaller movies either don’t get released or gets crowded in the milieu of the already prevelant regional cinema.

So, we are literally stuck to all these English movie channels – which too only play safe, masala types movies. Bringing in the refreshing change were UTV World movies and Lumineire which I guess brought in the concept of World Cinema to people like me. Of course, MGM and TMC are still working on the age old classics.

This post, I would like to talk about my most favorite movie ever.. “Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain”, a French movie which I accidentally stumbled upon on Zee studio (!!) when I had taken a day off college. Of course, I didn’t understand French and yes, there were subtitles and I didn’t understand the crux of the movie when I watched it the first time. I looked it up on the net, downloaded the original version without the subtitles just to have a feel of it. Something about the movie, I’ve never been able to put a finger on, made me watch it continuously on a loop. I’d never had watched any movie these many times, nor had any movie ever made me feel that way. Feel what way? I still do not have an answer to that question.

It has a quirky feel to the cinematography, the freshness of everything that it captured, the frames were handled delicately, the characters, each having its own story, value and depth. Somehow, I started feeling and understanding the dialogues, and kind of blended with the movie’s essence. The freshness of the movie has its own appeal. I particularly enjoyed the description when each and every character gets introduced. I guess a person’s character does get defined to a certain extent with their personal habits?

The background score was altogether a whole new lease of life for me. And the more one listens to Yann Tiersen’s tracks, one gets further pushed into surreality and will end up falling in love over and over again with the movie. I never believed there could be a greater God that Ilayaraja, but then, this person has completely changed my life forever.

This movie might not the best movie ever made, but to me it is. The simplicity underlining it, shows us the meaning of different human relationships. I’m still not able to pour out everything my heart about this movie, but I guess, this was a long pending one. My love for Amelie and Nino will continue with every watch and I shall continue watching the movie as though it is the most precious treasure I’ve ever been given.

PS: my Bffs TJA and LAS did watch it for my sake, but couldn’t stand the movie. I did love the fact that they enjoyed the Cat’s reaction at the very end of the movie. Love you guys for watching it.. Pettai Maama watched it only grudgingly, I guess he enjoyed snoring away to glory throughout the movie. Not that I am complaining, I do enjoy watching it alone! Thanks a lot you guys for putting up with me….

An Ode to Rasathi....

Of late, P.Maama and self have been listening to 80's hits of Ilaiyaraja Sir's on a loop. And one remarkable singer who does stand out is Sir Malaysia Vasudevan. Particularly...




The simplicity of the voice and the acoustics are just pure and innocent. It was quite a shock to hear that he's passed away. The man, whose voice was a stroke of fresh brilliance... Here's our Prayers to the legend...RIP

Aadukalam- Worth the wait..

Its been a while since we have gotten to see such a movie.. yes.. it was a well hyped and long waited one for Dhanush who was waiting for his break. But let me tell what hooked me through- the album!! All the songs.. and I mean each and every song has magic in it. GV has done it flawlessly. I was especially stunned by the Hip hop number by Yogi B. The English version of it literally Supercool.. The whole package induced the interest for the movie’s release

And was it worth it?? Oh yes.. it totally was! This was not a movie about Dhanush’s heroics; it was rather a movie about how jealousy murders a man and chain of events it leads to. What I love about the movie apart from the technical brilliance is the powerful screenplay which keeps the viewers stuck to their streets. I do remember that till the end of first half, the audiences were watching the movie with rapt attention, just eager to watch more and more at the turn of events. There is no specific villain, Vetrimaran bluntly puts on our faces the fact- Man is his own enemy! All of the characters were shown with their own good and evil side. The rooster fights scene, which I believe were all graphic, were surreal. Kudos to the CGI team! The second half was tad too long, we could have had some more of Ratnasami’s character too..but I guess it would have just twisted things too much. The hero of the movie in my opinion is Pettaikaran (portrayed by JayaBalan) who has acted flawlessly.

On the whole, it is too good to miss the movie….i strongly recommend to everyone out there to give it a watch. Believe me..it is WORTH IT!!!