A friend of mine.....
Always with me at work.....
A giver of happiness.....
Places good notes in my ears.....
Strives to pass to me.....
All that he receives.....
Whether he likes it or not....
Just to make me happy.....
Bearing with my moods.....
And a change in them.....
My headphone.....
Stay with me forever.....
Apr 15, 2007
Apr 7, 2007
Hariharan's concert in Phoenix
It was the 23rd March, a few days before couple of submissions and meetings. I knew it was going to be a nasty weekend ahead, but I couldn’t give up something that I’d planned a few months ago. It was singer Hariharan’s concert ‘SRISHTI’ that was to take place in Mesa Phoenix
The concert supposed to begin at 7 pm started with an atrocious introductory speech, and a dance for a medley of ‘Nahin Samne’ from Taal, ‘Premalekha’ a song from a Telugu movie(sounded close to a song in a Tamil movie called ‘Nee Varuvai Ena’, probably a remake), and a song from a Tamil movie Ullasam. If this was an indication to the kind of songs he was going to be singing, I definitely felt I was going to hate the concert, since except for the first song, I didn’t enjoy listening to the other two.
I expected him to sing a couple of Ghazals as well and I was not wrong. I am not a person into Ghazals, but love listening to them whenever I get a chance to listen to them. He started with a couple of Ghazals and the strictly normal audience (nothing to do with the probability distribution), was getting bored and people began to talk and he was forced to cut them short and start singing movie songs. He made a mention at the beginning of the concert that he was going to be singing ‘Urdu Blues’ and some ‘Sufi Music’. The terms ‘Blues’ was coined because the uniform for people singing blues was Blue in color, seems interesting.
A list of songs/Ghazals that Hariharan sung that evening:
Kash Aisa Koi Manzar
Usne Jab Mujhse Kiya
Eh de Masti Hain – He began this song by teaching a few swaras to the Phoenix people, and made them repeat it, but ultimately ended up in a faster rendition which no one could repeat J. With this began Ga Ga Ni Ga Ri Sa Sa, Eh De Masti hain, Log Kehte Hain.
It was by this time that the audience became restless and began with an unusual song, but loved by everyone.
Nila Kaaygiradhu – This is from a Tamil movie Indira, set to music by ARR. He also gave an English translation to the song.
Yeh Lamhe Yeh Pal Hain
Ennai Thalatta Varuvaalo – A song from ‘Kadhalukku Mariyadhai’, something that I didn’t expect nor did I enjoy this one. This might be because I am biased against the Tamil actor Vijay.
He finally came up with the song from’Yaadein’, Baatein Bhool Bhool Jaathein Hain, Yaadein Yaad Aathi Hain. This song end with the
The Sankara Eye foundation that organized the concert, had a 10 minute show of what they were doing in
The second part of the concert had a greater number of songs. Hariharan was joined by one of his students Chandrayi, who was the female lead for the few duets he sung.
Bahon ki Dharmiyan – This was a really soothing number from ‘Khamoshi: The Musical’
Nelloru Nele Jaana - the dubbed version of immensely popular ‘Kurukku Sirithavale’ from Mudhalvan. He however seemed to sing a few lines from the Tamil version in the middle. But neither Hariharan nor Chandrayi could get their Telugu right.
He then began with a classical rendition of Krishna Nee Begane Baro, and followed it up with the Colonial Cousins version of the songs and ended it on a classical note. Only Hariharan can do it.
He next began ‘Tuj Pi Kahan…?’, and none of us knew this song, but ultimately it was a beginning to ‘Chanda Re aka Vennilave’ from ‘Sapnay aka Minsara Kanavu’ in typical Hariharan style.
It was the same with ‘More Saiyyan Ghar Nahin Aaye’ which ended in ’Roja Jaaneman’. Till then I didn’t know SPB and Hariharan had rendered that in Hindi. It seemed really good in Hariharan’s voice too.
He then sung his latest hit from the Jyothika-Kamalhasan starrer Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu – ‘Manjal Veyyil Maalaiyile’.
Next was the most awaited song – one of his recent hits, one of current favorites and what he called Sufi Music. Aye Hairathey Aashiqui from Guru. One of the features of this one was that Hariharan himself sung the ‘Dham Dhara Dham Dhara Chashm Chashm”, with great ease. Chandrayi sung this better than Alka Yagnik in the original.
Yamuna Theeram from the Telugu Movie Anand was his next song.
He had Ghazal next and a few Thukdas for an old friend in
It was then he said he was going to sign three songs before ending the concert.
He then sung Taj Mahal’s Apni Zulfen. This was followed by Nahin Saamne from
Mar 25, 2007
Hariharan's concert
The singing sensation Hariharan was here in AZ for a concert. More on this in sometime. It would definitely come up in a week, not like the unfinished SPB concert blog.
I got a picture taken with him and Shanta got his autograph. Really exciting moments.
I got a picture taken with him and Shanta got his autograph. Really exciting moments.
Mar 24, 2007
Khaana.. Saapadu... Oota...
In the Indian languages Hindi, Tamil and Kannada that is what 'Food' is called. Something that a Indian Graduate student in the US craves for apart from the usual pizza, burger, burritos, tacos etc.
Having been in this sultry Arizona desert for close to 17 months(excluding the 2-month long trip to India), I've had an opportunity to dine at most of the Indian restaurants in and around Tempe, including two of them in Scottsdale. "I am a connoisseur of food and appreciate good vegetarian in any form."(disapproved by Dilip and Supraja, I don't eat half the vegetarian stuff apparently) My self-cooking is something I dread the most, but I need to do it thrice a week, given the financial and health constraints that prohibits one from eating out everyday. And I have no clue why people appreciate my food at times :). Enough of self-criticism and self-praise.
I landed in the beginning of August 2005, and didn't get an opportunity to eat outside food until Oct 2nd, when the restaurant Gandhi was opened close to the campus. It was their first day and free food was given away. Starved for good food for close to 2 months, the best use of it was made by us, the Fall 2005 admits. My friend Sapna had her status on Yahoo! messenger set as 'Grab the free food in Gandhi'. There was naan wrap with rice and curry along with Mango lassi. This was the first time I tasted outside food in US, and it did taste a lot different from the same in India. We made the best use of it and got 2-3 wraps for each of us. It was such a shameless thing to do, but who cares anyways.
Then the Fall 2005 semester took it's toll on me and finally I was done with my three courses. It was in October 2005 that 'India Bistro' was opened on Forest Avenue and University Drive. My roommate Praveen and his friends were a regular visitor to that place right from start till it's end an year later. It was Rupa's graduation treat at India Bistro and it was my first proper dinner outside(after than the wedding in Atlanta). It was a buffet with the usual dishes which seemed extraordinarily out of the world then. I would give a 7 on 10 to this place, since it had a quite a bit of vegetarian food and most of them were good too. Their standard menu had chole, spinach curry, rice pudding, gulab jamoon, pulav apart from other curries and non-vegetarian items. It was not a surprise that I went there just for the gulab jamoon and the rice pudding. I went there a couple of times, and they scrapped the buffet off the dinner menu and it was just buffet for lunch. It closed in Sept/Oct 2006 and he opened Madras Cafe, in the place where Gandhi was, but this was short-lived too.
Gandhi too had buffet for both lunch and dinner, and during the crisis months of November and December, we would run for a quick dinner there. There were totally 6-8 dishes on the menu, with 3-4 being vegetarian. It was run by a Punjabi lady, and it was no wonder the dishes were too oily. They used to have two curries and two rice dishes with mango lassi and rice pudding. The thing that interested me more about this place was the large world map that they map on one side of the wall. I would give it a 5 on 10. I was there last, when I was done my Spring 2006 exams. It closed sometime when I was in India and was never opened again. Madras Cafe replaced it for a while.
Kohinoor the closest one to my apartment has been one thing that I dread to go to. I have heard about its dirty kitchen and more about its owner and the lady who scares me whenever I am there. I am there only when I am seriously hungry and have no other option. It's been 6-8 months since I've been there. I give it a 2 on 10. I have heard that the Copper Kettle express close by is better compared to this one but never been there.
Madras Cafe was a short-lived one, but had good dosas for cheap and some good curries too. I would give it a 7/10.
Leave behind the shortlived ones and the so-so ones. Now comes the really good ones here, and that have been around for quite sometime too.
India Plaza on Apache has a good variety of chaat and it pretty nominally priced too. I discovered this just a couple of weeks back. i would give 8 on 10 for it's chat. It has dahi puri that tastes the same as in Bangalore. It's bhel puri was good too.
Little India is the place you need to be if you want to have awesome chaat. It is managed by an irritating Gujrati guy, but it is okay considering the chaat stuff they have. They have Samosa chaat, Kachori chaat, dhokla, paranthas, papri chaat, golgappas and anything that you can think of. I'd been there 3-4 times and loved it each time. I would give it a 9/10 for its chaat. The only drawback is you need to wait if you are there on a weekend, since it is jammed packed and they have very few tables.
Tandoori Times is one restaurant we went to recently. It has good tandoori stuff and the vegetable biriyani at this place is awesome. Prathap says that the chicken biriyani is good too. But the curry dishes like Navratna korma were ordinary. We got a bread basket with Onion, Garlic, Aloo and Plain naans. It was a good buy and tasted good too. I would give this place a 8 on 10. It doesn't have too many vegetarian options though. But on weekends there is a belly dancer, which made us feel a little too uncomfortable.
Delhi palace, on University Drive and Rural, is one of the oldest restaurants here and my favorite. They have a really good dinner menu and it is the variety that attracts too many people to this place. They have all varieties of north Indian dishes. I don't like the lunch buffet too much though. The Malai kofta, paneer dishes here are simply out of the world. And not to mention, the Samosas. I've never tasted better ones in the US. They have a nice variety of dishes and the it is my most frequented place. I've always seen more non-Indians than Indians here :), no idea why? And it was here I dined the last before going to India last summer and it was a really nice taste of India I got before reaching India itself.
Udupi cafe on Scottsdale Road, is one of the oldest restaurants and the pure vegetarian restaurants and is my favorite for the south Indian food. It is the only place that serves Dosas other than the India Plaza. I am not too sure if Pasand serves Dosas though. They have a proper menu of south Indian dishes starting with idli, medhu vada, masala vada, dosas, uthappam, apart from the north Indian dishes. But I would suggest, get the south Indian dishes here. I don't like the chutney though, since it is made from dessicated coconut. The lunch buffet on weekends has a lot of variety with pongal, vada, idli, dosa, jamoon, payasam and other north Indian food. I wouldn't mind going to this place at any time, just for the dosas alone. They have normal plain dosa, masala dosa, rava dosa, rava masala, chettinadu cauliflower dosa, tirunelveli spinach dosa, coimbatore ...(some dosa), spring dosai etc. Just the same dosa with different stuffing inside. It fills you too, and it is a good dinner. There are good starter on the menu which themselves tend to fill you. I would give Udupi a 10 on 10.
Jewel of the crown in Scottsdale would have been the real 'Jewel of the crown', but for Udupi Cafe. I have been there twice, and it has a good set of vegetable curry and gravy dishes, good paneer dishes, good naan, parathas. It's garlic naan is something that is out of the world. And it has a nice sitting area outside and during the 'pleasant' months of October, November and March it is good to sit outside and relish the good food in the good Arizona weather. They have a good set of starters too. Overall a good place to eat, and easy on the pocket too. A 10 on 10 for this too.
Pasand and India Gate are places that I've not been to, so cannot say how they actually are. Will update this when I go there.
I agree that the Indian restaurants in Tempe are not upto the same mark as in the Bay area and Chicago area, but that's the thing that we are offered here.
Having been in this sultry Arizona desert for close to 17 months(excluding the 2-month long trip to India), I've had an opportunity to dine at most of the Indian restaurants in and around Tempe, including two of them in Scottsdale. "I am a connoisseur of food and appreciate good vegetarian in any form."(disapproved by Dilip and Supraja, I don't eat half the vegetarian stuff apparently) My self-cooking is something I dread the most, but I need to do it thrice a week, given the financial and health constraints that prohibits one from eating out everyday. And I have no clue why people appreciate my food at times :). Enough of self-criticism and self-praise.
I landed in the beginning of August 2005, and didn't get an opportunity to eat outside food until Oct 2nd, when the restaurant Gandhi was opened close to the campus. It was their first day and free food was given away. Starved for good food for close to 2 months, the best use of it was made by us, the Fall 2005 admits. My friend Sapna had her status on Yahoo! messenger set as 'Grab the free food in Gandhi'. There was naan wrap with rice and curry along with Mango lassi. This was the first time I tasted outside food in US, and it did taste a lot different from the same in India. We made the best use of it and got 2-3 wraps for each of us. It was such a shameless thing to do, but who cares anyways.
Then the Fall 2005 semester took it's toll on me and finally I was done with my three courses. It was in October 2005 that 'India Bistro' was opened on Forest Avenue and University Drive. My roommate Praveen and his friends were a regular visitor to that place right from start till it's end an year later. It was Rupa's graduation treat at India Bistro and it was my first proper dinner outside(after than the wedding in Atlanta). It was a buffet with the usual dishes which seemed extraordinarily out of the world then. I would give a 7 on 10 to this place, since it had a quite a bit of vegetarian food and most of them were good too. Their standard menu had chole, spinach curry, rice pudding, gulab jamoon, pulav apart from other curries and non-vegetarian items. It was not a surprise that I went there just for the gulab jamoon and the rice pudding. I went there a couple of times, and they scrapped the buffet off the dinner menu and it was just buffet for lunch. It closed in Sept/Oct 2006 and he opened Madras Cafe, in the place where Gandhi was, but this was short-lived too.
Gandhi too had buffet for both lunch and dinner, and during the crisis months of November and December, we would run for a quick dinner there. There were totally 6-8 dishes on the menu, with 3-4 being vegetarian. It was run by a Punjabi lady, and it was no wonder the dishes were too oily. They used to have two curries and two rice dishes with mango lassi and rice pudding. The thing that interested me more about this place was the large world map that they map on one side of the wall. I would give it a 5 on 10. I was there last, when I was done my Spring 2006 exams. It closed sometime when I was in India and was never opened again. Madras Cafe replaced it for a while.
Kohinoor the closest one to my apartment has been one thing that I dread to go to. I have heard about its dirty kitchen and more about its owner and the lady who scares me whenever I am there. I am there only when I am seriously hungry and have no other option. It's been 6-8 months since I've been there. I give it a 2 on 10. I have heard that the Copper Kettle express close by is better compared to this one but never been there.
Madras Cafe was a short-lived one, but had good dosas for cheap and some good curries too. I would give it a 7/10.
Leave behind the shortlived ones and the so-so ones. Now comes the really good ones here, and that have been around for quite sometime too.
India Plaza on Apache has a good variety of chaat and it pretty nominally priced too. I discovered this just a couple of weeks back. i would give 8 on 10 for it's chat. It has dahi puri that tastes the same as in Bangalore. It's bhel puri was good too.
Little India is the place you need to be if you want to have awesome chaat. It is managed by an irritating Gujrati guy, but it is okay considering the chaat stuff they have. They have Samosa chaat, Kachori chaat, dhokla, paranthas, papri chaat, golgappas and anything that you can think of. I'd been there 3-4 times and loved it each time. I would give it a 9/10 for its chaat. The only drawback is you need to wait if you are there on a weekend, since it is jammed packed and they have very few tables.
Tandoori Times is one restaurant we went to recently. It has good tandoori stuff and the vegetable biriyani at this place is awesome. Prathap says that the chicken biriyani is good too. But the curry dishes like Navratna korma were ordinary. We got a bread basket with Onion, Garlic, Aloo and Plain naans. It was a good buy and tasted good too. I would give this place a 8 on 10. It doesn't have too many vegetarian options though. But on weekends there is a belly dancer, which made us feel a little too uncomfortable.
Delhi palace, on University Drive and Rural, is one of the oldest restaurants here and my favorite. They have a really good dinner menu and it is the variety that attracts too many people to this place. They have all varieties of north Indian dishes. I don't like the lunch buffet too much though. The Malai kofta, paneer dishes here are simply out of the world. And not to mention, the Samosas. I've never tasted better ones in the US. They have a nice variety of dishes and the it is my most frequented place. I've always seen more non-Indians than Indians here :), no idea why? And it was here I dined the last before going to India last summer and it was a really nice taste of India I got before reaching India itself.
Udupi cafe on Scottsdale Road, is one of the oldest restaurants and the pure vegetarian restaurants and is my favorite for the south Indian food. It is the only place that serves Dosas other than the India Plaza. I am not too sure if Pasand serves Dosas though. They have a proper menu of south Indian dishes starting with idli, medhu vada, masala vada, dosas, uthappam, apart from the north Indian dishes. But I would suggest, get the south Indian dishes here. I don't like the chutney though, since it is made from dessicated coconut. The lunch buffet on weekends has a lot of variety with pongal, vada, idli, dosa, jamoon, payasam and other north Indian food. I wouldn't mind going to this place at any time, just for the dosas alone. They have normal plain dosa, masala dosa, rava dosa, rava masala, chettinadu cauliflower dosa, tirunelveli spinach dosa, coimbatore ...(some dosa), spring dosai etc. Just the same dosa with different stuffing inside. It fills you too, and it is a good dinner. There are good starter on the menu which themselves tend to fill you. I would give Udupi a 10 on 10.
Jewel of the crown in Scottsdale would have been the real 'Jewel of the crown', but for Udupi Cafe. I have been there twice, and it has a good set of vegetable curry and gravy dishes, good paneer dishes, good naan, parathas. It's garlic naan is something that is out of the world. And it has a nice sitting area outside and during the 'pleasant' months of October, November and March it is good to sit outside and relish the good food in the good Arizona weather. They have a good set of starters too. Overall a good place to eat, and easy on the pocket too. A 10 on 10 for this too.
Pasand and India Gate are places that I've not been to, so cannot say how they actually are. Will update this when I go there.
I agree that the Indian restaurants in Tempe are not upto the same mark as in the Bay area and Chicago area, but that's the thing that we are offered here.
Mar 20, 2007
Mozhi - A breath of fresh air
I would say my Spring break ended on a really nice note. I happened to see the Tamil movie 'Mozhi - Pesum Padam' starring Jyothika, Prithviraj, Prakashraj and Swarnamalya on 17th March in Harkin's down the Mill Avenue here in Tempe.
Having heard a lot about the movie(good things, of course), it made sense for me to spend some time and money on this movie. But it was a early show at 11:30 am, which is like 7 am for me especially on a Saturday. But this semester has seen an early Saturday for me, I hold office hours 8 am - 12 noon. I happened to rise pretty late, and fortunately was dropped by my roommate at the theater after picking up a few friends.
The theater seemed to be filled entirely except for the first two rows(which is a rare phenomenon for a Tamil movie here). It was entirely family crowd except for a few students like us.
The movie began with a village belle coming down from a hilltop temple and striking a conversation with a beggar there. It all seemed silent(without the rerecording) except for the dialogues spoken. I felt - Are they playing the right movie?. Well, the same scenes were played using rerecording and the characters Karthik(Prithviraj) and Viji(Prakashraj) were introduced as musicians assisting music director Vidyasagar. It was a nice way to introduce the characters, different from the usual opening song or fight. But the opening fight was reserved for Archana (Jyothika), who rescued a poor vegetable seller from being beaten up by her husband. Well, it was then that love struck Karthik in a comical way - Lights above his head glow up and there is the bell of Kwality Wall's icecream cart sounding. Nice way to detect if romance has struck someone.
I wouldn't want to go into the details of the story/plot, which was fairly straightforward and predictable. The music was pretty melodious and soothing, but nothing pathbreaking. I loved Katrin Mozhiye, a really nice melody and picturised well too. There were 3-4 one-minute numbers which were fillers in between and didn't hamper the flow of the movie.
Well, there was comedy in every single scene of the movie, except for the really serious scenes involving Jyothika and Prithviraj. The way Prakashraj proposes to Swarnamalya, her reaction, her parents' reaction and Prithviraj's reaction to it was really well made and was comical.
Swarnamalya was good in the movie too, in a role similar to her Poorni role in Alaipayuthey. And she did good justice to it. Hope she continues to shine this way.
Prithviraj, my current favorite after Parijatham and now Mozhi, is a good artiste who can act well and make you laugh too, esp his expression in Parijatham's fictitious 'Ponnu Paarkum' scenes were awesome. His combo with Prakashraj is something that turned out to be really good in the movie. In the scenes where he yells at Jyothika about her imaginations and also when he makes Jyothika feel music through the speakers and later proposes to her, he expresses his acting capabilities well. But for sure, this hero cannot dance too. And his antics in Kannal Pesum Pennae songs were simply hilarious. His dressing sense in the first song were atrocious with him in orange pants etc.
Jyothika, in her swansong proved what she was. And for a Jo-Fan like me, this was the perfect one to watch, after being slightly disappointed with her Pachaikili Muthucharam. She spoke no words, except when Prithviraj imagined a voice for her. As usual her eyes did all the talking, but her Chandramukhi-ish yelling in the climax scene could have been done away with. The way she says that she is deaf and dumb was simply superb. As said earlier she had a heroic entry in the movie and stayed that way. She made sure that she was the only one suited for the role. I only hope she continues to act after a while. She had very little make-up like in Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu, Silendru Oru Kadhal, and looked good in the final scene when she was all made up.
Prakashraj as an actor was excellent with all the one-liners and his chemistry with Prithviraj is comparable to Munnabhai-Circuit combo's chemistry. He as a producer has succeeded in all his movies. I loved Kanda Naal Mudhal and Azhagiya Theeye. It is very rare to see a producer have such quality movies these days. I would say this was a a fresh breather for Tamil cinema which is filled with movies involving heroism, action, infidelity and glamour. Prakashraj needs to be applauded for this.
Music by Vidyasagar. He proved his touch in Katrin Mozhi which plays twice in the movie, once when the four have a joyous moment, and during the ending credits. Sevvanam Selaikatti is a nice number and colorful on screen too. The SPB number 'Kannal Pesum Pennae' was hilarious, but the music is jarring at times. The solo sad song is a good one too.
My favorite lines from Katrin mozhi(no idea what purinthividil means - does it mean if understood?)
Iyarkayin Mozhigal Purinthividil
Manitharin Mozhigal Thevai illai
Idhayathin Mozhigal Purinthividil
Manitharku Mozhiye Thevai illai
Comedy involving Brahmanandam-Prakashraj and MS Baskar(who is in the year 1984) were in flow with the movie and were very decent, something rare to see in movies these days.
Overall, a feel good movie and definitely in my favorite movies list. And truly a 'Pesum Padam'
Having heard a lot about the movie(good things, of course), it made sense for me to spend some time and money on this movie. But it was a early show at 11:30 am, which is like 7 am for me especially on a Saturday. But this semester has seen an early Saturday for me, I hold office hours 8 am - 12 noon. I happened to rise pretty late, and fortunately was dropped by my roommate at the theater after picking up a few friends.
The theater seemed to be filled entirely except for the first two rows(which is a rare phenomenon for a Tamil movie here). It was entirely family crowd except for a few students like us.
The movie began with a village belle coming down from a hilltop temple and striking a conversation with a beggar there. It all seemed silent(without the rerecording) except for the dialogues spoken. I felt - Are they playing the right movie?. Well, the same scenes were played using rerecording and the characters Karthik(Prithviraj) and Viji(Prakashraj) were introduced as musicians assisting music director Vidyasagar. It was a nice way to introduce the characters, different from the usual opening song or fight. But the opening fight was reserved for Archana (Jyothika), who rescued a poor vegetable seller from being beaten up by her husband. Well, it was then that love struck Karthik in a comical way - Lights above his head glow up and there is the bell of Kwality Wall's icecream cart sounding. Nice way to detect if romance has struck someone.
I wouldn't want to go into the details of the story/plot, which was fairly straightforward and predictable. The music was pretty melodious and soothing, but nothing pathbreaking. I loved Katrin Mozhiye, a really nice melody and picturised well too. There were 3-4 one-minute numbers which were fillers in between and didn't hamper the flow of the movie.
Well, there was comedy in every single scene of the movie, except for the really serious scenes involving Jyothika and Prithviraj. The way Prakashraj proposes to Swarnamalya, her reaction, her parents' reaction and Prithviraj's reaction to it was really well made and was comical.
Swarnamalya was good in the movie too, in a role similar to her Poorni role in Alaipayuthey. And she did good justice to it. Hope she continues to shine this way.
Prithviraj, my current favorite after Parijatham and now Mozhi, is a good artiste who can act well and make you laugh too, esp his expression in Parijatham's fictitious 'Ponnu Paarkum' scenes were awesome. His combo with Prakashraj is something that turned out to be really good in the movie. In the scenes where he yells at Jyothika about her imaginations and also when he makes Jyothika feel music through the speakers and later proposes to her, he expresses his acting capabilities well. But for sure, this hero cannot dance too. And his antics in Kannal Pesum Pennae songs were simply hilarious. His dressing sense in the first song were atrocious with him in orange pants etc.
Jyothika, in her swansong proved what she was. And for a Jo-Fan like me, this was the perfect one to watch, after being slightly disappointed with her Pachaikili Muthucharam. She spoke no words, except when Prithviraj imagined a voice for her. As usual her eyes did all the talking, but her Chandramukhi-ish yelling in the climax scene could have been done away with. The way she says that she is deaf and dumb was simply superb. As said earlier she had a heroic entry in the movie and stayed that way. She made sure that she was the only one suited for the role. I only hope she continues to act after a while. She had very little make-up like in Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu, Silendru Oru Kadhal, and looked good in the final scene when she was all made up.
Prakashraj as an actor was excellent with all the one-liners and his chemistry with Prithviraj is comparable to Munnabhai-Circuit combo's chemistry. He as a producer has succeeded in all his movies. I loved Kanda Naal Mudhal and Azhagiya Theeye. It is very rare to see a producer have such quality movies these days. I would say this was a a fresh breather for Tamil cinema which is filled with movies involving heroism, action, infidelity and glamour. Prakashraj needs to be applauded for this.
Music by Vidyasagar. He proved his touch in Katrin Mozhi which plays twice in the movie, once when the four have a joyous moment, and during the ending credits. Sevvanam Selaikatti is a nice number and colorful on screen too. The SPB number 'Kannal Pesum Pennae' was hilarious, but the music is jarring at times. The solo sad song is a good one too.
My favorite lines from Katrin mozhi(no idea what purinthividil means - does it mean if understood?)
Iyarkayin Mozhigal Purinthividil
Manitharin Mozhigal Thevai illai
Idhayathin Mozhigal Purinthividil
Manitharku Mozhiye Thevai illai
Comedy involving Brahmanandam-Prakashraj and MS Baskar(who is in the year 1984) were in flow with the movie and were very decent, something rare to see in movies these days.
Overall, a feel good movie and definitely in my favorite movies list. And truly a 'Pesum Padam'
Mar 15, 2007
UNICEF stuff
Well, I didn't want to spam people by sending in this UNICEF invite. The people visiting my blog please click on this: http://friends.unicefusa.org/r/8ff5024223e8102a8408
Donate money without spending a penny.
Donate money without spending a penny.
Mar 3, 2007
Unakkul Naane
Another song blog, but a little shorter one this time. I haven't heard it that many times for it to have a great impact on me like Paartha Mudhal Naale or Suttum vizhi Chudare. For people who don't know what song I am talking about, it is "Unakkul Naane Urugum Iravil, Ullathai Naan Sollava" from Pachaikili Muthucharam, starring Jyothika directed by Gautham Menon. Is it a coincidence that I need to love any song Bombay Jayshree sings for Harris Jeyaraj. I am not a great fan of him at all, but somehow the combo of the two of them creates magic. I simply love this song, still figuring out why?
One of the reasons could be the excellent violin pieces that plays between the two charanams. Amazing clip, one that I've liked after YSR's magic in Oru Naal in PUdhupettai. Another song with an excellent Violin piece was "Azhage sugama" and "Anbe sugama" from Paarthale Paravasam by the genius ARR. But the violin piece in this song is simply exquisite, simply apart from the other two equally good ones.
Another reason is the way, BJ takes pains in stressing each word in the second charanam, "Thee pol then pol salaname dhaan, madhiyen nimmadi sidhaiyayndhal " after which the lines pick up the tempo. This was really good in the age of singers who swallow half the words while singing or the music takes over leaving the lyrics unheard.
Another version of this song, a more western one with Madhushree, is equally good, except for the fact that Madhushree cannot infuse the same feeling that BJ did. Maybe it's her Tamil written in Hindi/Bengali. The classical one with BJ, wins when compared to Madhushree's version. But I love the song on the whole.
One of the reasons could be the excellent violin pieces that plays between the two charanams. Amazing clip, one that I've liked after YSR's magic in Oru Naal in PUdhupettai. Another song with an excellent Violin piece was "Azhage sugama" and "Anbe sugama" from Paarthale Paravasam by the genius ARR. But the violin piece in this song is simply exquisite, simply apart from the other two equally good ones.
Another reason is the way, BJ takes pains in stressing each word in the second charanam, "Thee pol then pol salaname dhaan, madhiyen nimmadi sidhaiyayndhal " after which the lines pick up the tempo. This was really good in the age of singers who swallow half the words while singing or the music takes over leaving the lyrics unheard.
Another version of this song, a more western one with Madhushree, is equally good, except for the fact that Madhushree cannot infuse the same feeling that BJ did. Maybe it's her Tamil written in Hindi/Bengali. The classical one with BJ, wins when compared to Madhushree's version. But I love the song on the whole.
Jan 27, 2007
Guru - A Mani Ratnam Film - Music
The title says it all.
It was sometime during the Fall semester that I knew Maniratnam was doing a movie starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai. And mid-November I heard that there was a music release function, but the audio was out only by nov 18-19th(don't remember the exact date). I was on the website www.musicindiaonline.com and see that the Guru audio was already on there, while the music was yet ot hit the stores(which was a couple of hours away).
I heard the songs and I first one that I heard was Baazi Laga, which actually seemed very ordinary. And I was curious to see to how Bappi Lahiri sounds, becuase there was a hype surrounding the song he sung, this too failed to interest me(but only for the first couple of times).
After this came Ay Hairathe Aashiqui, Jagaa Man.. Pairo se zameen ...........(literal pause in the song). As written in one of the blogs, Rahman can do wonders with music and the "lack of it" as well. I fell in love with the song the first time I heard it. Alka Yagnik proved that she is a seasoned singer (a few of her other songs that like are Mehendi Hain Rachnewali, Maahi Ve, Taal Se Taal Mila, Kuch Kuch hota Hai, Ghoonghat hi Aadh se etc). I hadn't heard too many of her songs. But after this song, I went on to listen to her other songs and she seems to have had a lot of soul-stirring melodies to her share too. But her diction in this was too plain. [Her 'Ashiki' sound literally as 'Ashikuyi'(Supraja's observation)]
Then came Mayya Mayya, and this one is sung by Maryem Toller and Chinmayi. Maryem I believe is an Egyptian by birth and trained in Arabic singing. I just loved this, even though I knew this was picturized on Mallika Sherawat and I am no great fan of her. But, this seemed to have a distinct flavor apart from all the other songs that I listen to these days. And this turned out to be true. I was amazed to see how Mani had incorporated the title credits in the same song.
Next cam Jaage Hain, which I guess would be a theme that would be running through the movie. This had amazing vocals by Rahman and the Madras Choral group. And I love the lyrics
"jaage Hain Der Thak hamen, Kuchch Der sone dho..... thodi si raat aur hain Subah tho hone dho".
Finally I heard "Tere Bina" sung by Chinmayee and Rahman along with others. It started the same way as Ay Hairathe but in a paced manner. This was "THE" song that I was looking for. Chinmayee, earlier I had heard her in Oru Deivam Thandha Poove from Kannathil, and she was amazingly good in the song. And she was good in her rendition of the title track for the soap Anbulla Snehithiye. Overall I loved this song and knew that the song video was one to watch out for. But, seeing the 1 minute clip on Youtube, I felt this was a Sanjay Leela Bhansali kind of song, especially, I could see only Salman khan with Aishwarya throughout the song as in Hum Dil De chuke Sanam. But, the choreography for Abhshek was funny. In the movie this comes in a portion where Aishwarya leaves Abhi after learning he married her for the dowry, this sat in place and at the end of the song Abhi comes in a car and aish who is waiting comes and hugs him, and that's Mani, not losing time because of a song either.
I was waiting for the movie all through my winter break listening to this audio. And this came to the Tempe Cinemas on the 12th Jan and this was going to be my first movie of the year and perhaps only one too. This was a solid packaging of a 10 hr movie in 2 hr 45 minutes. I have no words to describe the movie. Maybe that would be another blog.
It was sometime during the Fall semester that I knew Maniratnam was doing a movie starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai. And mid-November I heard that there was a music release function, but the audio was out only by nov 18-19th(don't remember the exact date). I was on the website www.musicindiaonline.com and see that the Guru audio was already on there, while the music was yet ot hit the stores(which was a couple of hours away).
I heard the songs and I first one that I heard was Baazi Laga, which actually seemed very ordinary. And I was curious to see to how Bappi Lahiri sounds, becuase there was a hype surrounding the song he sung, this too failed to interest me(but only for the first couple of times).
After this came Ay Hairathe Aashiqui, Jagaa Man.. Pairo se zameen ...........(literal pause in the song). As written in one of the blogs, Rahman can do wonders with music and the "lack of it" as well. I fell in love with the song the first time I heard it. Alka Yagnik proved that she is a seasoned singer (a few of her other songs that like are Mehendi Hain Rachnewali, Maahi Ve, Taal Se Taal Mila, Kuch Kuch hota Hai, Ghoonghat hi Aadh se etc). I hadn't heard too many of her songs. But after this song, I went on to listen to her other songs and she seems to have had a lot of soul-stirring melodies to her share too. But her diction in this was too plain. [Her 'Ashiki' sound literally as 'Ashikuyi'(Supraja's observation)]
Then came Mayya Mayya, and this one is sung by Maryem Toller and Chinmayi. Maryem I believe is an Egyptian by birth and trained in Arabic singing. I just loved this, even though I knew this was picturized on Mallika Sherawat and I am no great fan of her. But, this seemed to have a distinct flavor apart from all the other songs that I listen to these days. And this turned out to be true. I was amazed to see how Mani had incorporated the title credits in the same song.
Next cam Jaage Hain, which I guess would be a theme that would be running through the movie. This had amazing vocals by Rahman and the Madras Choral group. And I love the lyrics
"jaage Hain Der Thak hamen, Kuchch Der sone dho..... thodi si raat aur hain Subah tho hone dho".
Finally I heard "Tere Bina" sung by Chinmayee and Rahman along with others. It started the same way as Ay Hairathe but in a paced manner. This was "THE" song that I was looking for. Chinmayee, earlier I had heard her in Oru Deivam Thandha Poove from Kannathil, and she was amazingly good in the song. And she was good in her rendition of the title track for the soap Anbulla Snehithiye. Overall I loved this song and knew that the song video was one to watch out for. But, seeing the 1 minute clip on Youtube, I felt this was a Sanjay Leela Bhansali kind of song, especially, I could see only Salman khan with Aishwarya throughout the song as in Hum Dil De chuke Sanam. But, the choreography for Abhshek was funny. In the movie this comes in a portion where Aishwarya leaves Abhi after learning he married her for the dowry, this sat in place and at the end of the song Abhi comes in a car and aish who is waiting comes and hugs him, and that's Mani, not losing time because of a song either.
I was waiting for the movie all through my winter break listening to this audio. And this came to the Tempe Cinemas on the 12th Jan and this was going to be my first movie of the year and perhaps only one too. This was a solid packaging of a 10 hr movie in 2 hr 45 minutes. I have no words to describe the movie. Maybe that would be another blog.
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