Alaipayuthey – Waves of Feel-Good Romance (My first PFC Post)

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“Originally published on Passionforcinema.com”

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This was a post published on Passion For Cinema (Broken Link), one of the websites which aims aimed at spreading awareness about good cinema.
 
In 1984, a genius director Mani Ratnam made his debut in a Kannada movie called Pallavi Anu Pallavi. In that movie, he embarked on a new journey with an entirely different genre of filmmaking. He ventured into the waters of Tamil cinema and made everyone turn around with his simple and subtle Mouna Raagam. As the name suggests, it is a ‘silent melody’, and this sure holds good as an adjective for Mr. Ratnam too! A brilliant post on the movie was posted on PFC recently. A short but effective romance segment in Mouna Raagam (a few bits borrowed from Pallavi Anu Pallavi) showed this man’s taste for romance. Without going overboard, he handled the romance in all of his films really well. Here’s mentioning a few more of his movies that had a very different and memorable approach romance segments: Roja, Kannathil Muthamittal, Nayagan, Bombay, Dalapathi, Geethanjali, Aayitha Ezhuthu/Yuva. Though, romance was not the main premise of most of these movies, these segments can be regarded as a few of the best-handled romance segments in Indian films.


In 2000, the ace director came up with an out and out romantic movie called Alaipayuthey (remade as Saathiya by Shaad Ali in 2002). With movies with heavy subjects such as Bombay, Dil Se and Iruvar being his past outings, this movie came as a surprise to everyone. I first saw this movie as a 15 year old, and I repeatedly watch it, and each time I watch it, this movie gives me a different perspective, even ten years after its release. A tribute to this evergreen movie follows, with the disclaimer that no amount of applauding will suffice for this brilliant effort by Mani Ratnam.

Alaipayuthey is initially the simple story of Karthik (Madhavan) and Shakthi (Shalini), who meet, fall in love, get married without informing parents and live separately with their parents. This is probably where a regular Tamil/Hindi cinema would end with the couple uniting. But, Alaipayuthey goes on to discover what happens when the couple moves in together, how the romance changes post marriage and times get strained too, and finally how the couple re-discovers the love that is lost between them.
The Mani Ratnam in this movie is definitely the hardcore romantic, and as always pays attention to the simple detail in day-to-day life. A movie based on war/politics maybe difficult to make, since it is really hard to imagine on that large scale and portray the same effect on screen. But what is more difficult is to compile casual happenings of everyday life, and present it in a way that the audience is not bored, but instead remark saying ‘Hey that happened to me too!’, ‘Why did the girl behave this way?’, ‘We faced similar troubles too when we ran away from home and got married!’ etc.

The romance segment, creative as it could ever be, took place with mostly the Chennai electric train stations and trains as the background. Karthik’s character is almost carved out of the same mould as that of Mouna Raagam (Karthik) in Mouna Raagam. His playful attitude when Shakthi first spoke to her, screaming ‘Yay, Ava Enna paatthu pesita’ (Yay, She talked to me), is probably the reaction of every guy in his late teens or early twenties. The responsibility he showed (within that childish nature) was well demonstrated by the fact that he introduced her to his parents in a house ceremony, with some comical moments. Waiting for his wife for two hours immediately after marriage was bliss to him, but eventually that changed, probably thanks to the boredom setting in after wedding. The final moments of the movie where Karthik talks to Shakthi while on her hospital bed are probably the cutest and the most romantic segments in the entire movie. Karthik appears as the caring husband just waiting for his wife to talk them. Madhavan scores a hundred percent in that scene.

Shakthi on the other hand is this simple homely girl, who definitely longs for Madhavan, yet hides it within herself due to familial pressures, but later succumbs to the love with Madhavan, asking him to marry her. A similar character portrayal was seen in Bombay, Saira Banu (Manisha Koirala), but it is definitely not right to compare the two characters in entirety. The transition from the pampered and playful girl to the girl-in-love and then to the ‘almost’ neglected wife is so very well very ‘lived’ by Shalini. The scene were Shakthi hands over a burning newspaper to Karthik saying, ‘Indha chuda chuda news’ (here’s your burning hot news) was one among the many interesting post-marriage scenes. She should definitely be proud of her performance in this movie, which was her swan song too.

Every form of relationship along with the relationship between the lead pair was very well developed and portrayed realistically. Whether it was Karthik’s father pointing at his carefree and careless attitude, Shakthi’s mother talking to her and sister Poorni during breakfast, or the girly talk between Shakthi and Poorni at bedtime, each of these seemed so natural and unforced into the movie. A few memorable scenes also include, the marriage registrar asking one of Karthik’s friends if this is a marriage without elder taking part and saying there is a different thrill in that too, the lady in the bus that conversing to Madhavan and Shalini saying she is married for 15 years, or Shalini’s potential suitor ‘Evam’ Karthik voicing out his reaction after his father decided to ask for Shalini’s hand in marriage for his son. In addition, the interactions between Madhavan’s friends were something we would have definitely seen at some point of time in our lives.

A few characters might have got very little screen time, but each one of them definitely captured our attention. Each of the supporting characters SwarnaMallya, Vivek, Ravi Prakash, Jayasudha, Sukumari, Pyramid Natarajan, KPAC Lalitha alongside the other characters including Madhavan’s group of friends, all of these people have contributed in their might to this legendary movie.

The tribute to this movie will be incomplete without the mention of the contribution of the off screen technicians. A.R.Rahman had one of his best soundtracks in this movie, and the songs are a favorite even to this day. These included the soulful Evano Oruvan, where Shakthi yearns for Karthik’s presence, Snehidhane where Shakthi meets her ‘secret friend’ Karthik, the chirpy wedding song Yaaro Yaarodi, the colorful Pachai Nirame, and the mischievous Kadhal Sadugudu. The background score was effective, and contributed to the theme of the movie so very well. The cinematography by P.C. Sreeram was out of the world, especially in the song ‘Pachai Nirame’, where he brought colors alive on screen. This cinematography has been adapted by a lot of movies, even 10 years later. Crisp editing by A. Sreekar Prasad ensured that the segments were all short and effective. The movie had a non-linear screenplay, with flashbacks interspersed between current happenings, and this surely was one among the first Indian movies to adapt such a technique.

All in all, no amount of writing would do justice to this magical masterpiece of Mani Ratnam. Such romantic movies are not made everyday. Even if they are made, they do not cause an impact, like Alaipayuthey! Not even its remake Saathiya!

Cast/Crew of Alaipayuthey:

On screen:
Madhavan, Shalini, Jayasudha, SwarnaMallya, with special appearances by Arvind Swamy and Khushboo.

Off screen:
Mani Ratnam  (Direction), Mani Ratnam and R. Selvaraj (Writing), A.R.Rahman (Music), P. C. Sreeram (Cinematography), A. Sreekar Prasad (Editing).

Amma - To my mother

For a mother, every child is special. And for every child, its mother is special. The first of the many people in my life, my mother always has a special place for everything that she did, is doing and will do for me. Every mother is perfect in her own right, and the best mother that child could have got. I am writing this as a tribute to my ever-caring, ever-loving, and ever-forgiving mother. This blog post is for the Mother's Day contest on Blogadda.com, but as always I'd stay content just with this opportunity to write a tribute to my mother.

Maa
In many language

For every mother, sacrifice begins with childbirth. A mother will go to any extent to ensure the child's happiness and well being. Right from the time at the labour table to the admission at a kindergarten school, a child spends most of its time with its mother. When a child leaves for kindergarten school, the slight concern on every mom's face is a witness to how much they care for the child. Following this entry into school, many people including teachers, friends, inspirers and motivators come into the life of a child. But one cannot deny that a mother is, all of these things, put into one.

My mother is my first teacher, best friend and a constant inspirer and motivator. For the fact that I could begin my schooling early, she took a transfer to a different city, and was away from my father for a good two years, managing her life and my initial years brilliantly. The family would be re-united every weekend, thanks to the innumerous trips, my father or my mother and I would make. As a single child for 4 years, I yearned for the company of a sibling, and that was the sole reason for my mother to give me the much-needed company of my life, my sister Nikila. I will always be thankful to her for giving me this yet another important person in my life. Not to mention the complications she had during my sister’s birth and a few devastating happenings in life following it, my mother has risen past all odds and continues to do so.

One of the very few ladies to ride a two-wheeler back in the eighties, she has always been the independent woman, which every young woman of today would take inspiration from. A lot of my female friends say that they look up to my mother and seek inspiration and advice from her on how to lead a successful professional and personal life.

As a high school teacher, she has seen every type and stage of adolescence right from the early eighties till now. And this has made my growing up process very simple. At every stage of my teenage and now during my early adulthood, my mother has been the person who spoke to me about the most delicate matters, which any one else would hesitate to talk about. A few things cannot be talked even to the best friend; but to my mother, yes.

Though, I am surely the pampered and the spoilt kid even to this day, I definitely had a few restrictions in life, which probably made me cringe at that point of time, but definitely appreciate my mothers efforts for keeping it that way. Compared to my other friends who had a lot of independence from their parents (read mothers), and eventually went astray, I can probably say I was given the right amount of independence, and this indeed has helped me become a bit more responsible and an independent individual now.

It is after coming to the US for my graduate studies (almost 5 years back), that I was able to see how big a role she played in my upbringing and how well she had groomed me to face the real world. I might be the childish person even now, but I now see how my mother hid my childishness into the mould of a responsible adult, such that the responsibility surfaces whenever required. This was specifically pointed out by a few of my friends’ mothers and this definitely made me feel really blessed to have such a mother.

To end this post, I not only salute to my mother for all the sacrifices she did in order to ensure a better life for me, but also to the many other mothers who were a part of my life during different stages in my life. This blog post is also dedicated to every single lady teacher in my life, my first employer at ASU and my PhD research advisor at ASU.  You all have been instrumental in making every aspect of my life a successful one.

Quoting from a song in the Tamil film 'New',

‘Imai Pol Iravum Pagalum Ennai Kaatha Annaiye, Unadhanbu paartha pinbu adhai vida vaanam bhoomi aagum siriyadhu’
‘You protected me like an eyelid all day and night, seeing your affection even the sky and earth are belittled’

(All rights of the song rest with lyricist Vairamuthu, composer A.R.Rahman and the film maker S.J.Suryah)

‘India after Gandhi’ by the Man of Modern Middleground - Ramachandra Guha

He was someone, about whom I had heard from people who read his books, and people who attended his talks. Having not read any of his books, I went in with an open mind to hear someone speak about modern-day India. Mr. Ramachandra Guha, the author of India After Gandhi: The History of the World’s Largest Democracy gave a talk here at ASU, and I am producing almost a transcript of the talk.

All rights exist with the speaker, and certain errors might have crept in while writing the blog. My opinion on a few statements is also interspersed within. (Will write a opinion blog soon)

Mr. Guha began the very well attended talk with an unusual statement ‘India is the most unnatural nation.’ He mentioned that other countries usually have a ‘shared language and faith and a common enemy.’ With this, he gave examples about the British and the French and their mutual conflicts. A critical analysis of Pakistan being a superbly European nation, especially with the political system there, was interesting. In contrast, Indian does not privilege a specific religion, and has the largest population of Hindus, Christians (more than Australia), Muslims, Sikhs etc., more than any other country in the world, he said.

Due to the collective leadership in this ‘multilingual political unit’, we also see the denomination in 17 languages on an Indian currency note. Hence he again stressed on the fact that India is the most unnatural nation, and the ‘World’s least likely democracy.’ Unlike the US elections where the candidates are identified by their political party or name, he emphasized that it was the political party symbol in Indian ‘democratic’ elections that reached out to the millions of people. He commented on the Indian democracy to be a 50:50 working democracy in typical Johnny Walker (Bollywood) style.  He next drew reference to the Florida election in 2000, and mocked Indian democracy probably works better than that.

Following this, he provided an instance where non-Indians endorsed the Indian system. JBS Haldane, a Scottish biologist who immigrated India and embraced the Indian culture, apparently answered a journalists question on moving to India, by saying ‘60 years of wearing socks is enough. ’ The opinion that India is a better model for world organization than any other country in the world, being the closest approximation to the free world is definitely true. JBS Haldane also mentioned that this model may break, but it is still a good experiment. In response to a professor from Berkeley who labeled India as a ‘land of scoundrels,’ Haldance mentioned that it was better to be a scoundrel in India than elsewhere.

It is this part of the talk that actually got me immersed into it completely, and that Mr. Guha has simple yet effective instances to drive in a point.

Mr. Guha next made a thought-provoking and simple analysis of the problems that plagued India, each and every decade after its independence. And each of these problems has ‘tested the democracy of this single unified nation’. It was the communist approach that a few politicians adopted, taking inspiration from China and Russia that plagued India right after its independence in the late 1940s. Following this, we had the conflict of language leading to formation of separate states in the 1950s, and the Burma/China conflict and drought in 1960s. The emergency decade of 1970, where Ms. Indira Gandhi imposed a curfew on basic right of life was yet another disturbing phase in Indian history, followed by the Sikh riots in 1980. The rise of Hindu fundamentalism leading to the Babri Masjid-Ayodhya riots in 1990 coupled with the never-ending Kashmir border issue with Pakistan made our problems worse. And this decade was filled with terrorist attacks all over, the Godhra riots in Gujarat and the instability in Kashmir. What I’d have probably liked to hear is how India actually bounced back from each of these problems as an emerging superpower today.

The next interesting part of the talk was the five major conflicts and challenges that India majorly faces. He listed the five points and commented he on each of them.

1. Identity politics involving language, caste and religion: the fact that Kannada speakers in Bangalore are in minority and feel insecure, underlines this point. Similarly, the Hindu caste system which almost got abolished in the city culture and the competitive fundamentalism between religions is yet another challenge.

2. Border States: India being ‘50% democratic and 80% united,’ has more Christians in Kerala who where there earlier than in Europe, apart from Muslims and Christians living united, with the highest literacy rate. Mr. Guha also provided an instance where he saw a Rajasthani pickle seller amidst booksellers in a big fair in Kerala, thus showing more diversity. Contrastingly, two neglected states Nagaland and Manipur along with the troubled state of Kashmir demand for separate country status, which is not idealistic.

3. Instability on neighboring country: Compared to Canada which is the luckiest country in terms of borders (with the not-so-troublesome US below and Arctic Circle above), India has Pakistan (political anarchy), Srilanka (recovering slowly from the civil war), and Nepal, which makes contributes to our troubles.

4. Growing Maoist insurgency in the heart of India (almost 1/5th of India) is another  concern.

5. Abuse of natural environment, and domestic resources has cost India a lot in the bargain. Indian cities are known for the highest pollution, dead rivers, and non-existent forests. With this, the never-ending environmental crisis is threatening the economic development of the nation.

I couldn’t help but agree with Mr. Guha on all of the five topics, but somehow felt that the lack of efficient leadership and corrupt political system was another factor affecting India’s growth. But Mr. Guha conveyed that point at the end of the talk.

The final point of the talk was on how India can become a 60% democracy, since 100% democracy is practically impossible and 60% is good enough for the country’s growth.  It all depends on the state, private enterprise, and the civil society, of which the latter two were not present earlier. And now we have ‘an active civil society, good private enterprise and a corrupt state.’ It is this system that needs cleaning now, in my opinion.

Mr. Guha ended this talk with a statement by Ashis Nandy (Political psychologist): “In India the choice could never be chaos and stability but it could only be manageable or unmanageable chaos……….”

He answered a few questions from the audience; one of the answers included ‘US is both a democratic and an imperialist country,’ and pointed out instances where it tries to be democratic and other cases where it is imperialist.

For a change, a speaker was not too preachy and not boring, and kept the attention of both Indian and non-Indian audience occupied for the entire 45 minutes. His skill of providing an example to prove a point with subtle humor is definitely commendable.  Another point to be noted is that, he never targeted a country/group directly; instead he posed a real instance and mocked at them. I am sure such skills are partially natural and partially acquired with experience. He truly is the ‘Man of Modern Middleground’

At the end of the talk, I purchased the book and got the book signed by him and spoke a few words. The final remark from this cricket-lover was that ‘Tendulkar is the greater cricketer than Ponting, and the only mistake Tendulkar made was to evade customs duty for his Ferrari. Ponting has not faced his own Aussie Bowlers, while Tendulkar has.”

A refreshing, and a thought-provoking talk! Cannot wait to read his book!

(Photography credit: Arvind Ramachander, Cricket Credit: Akshay Pulipaka, Nilotpal Chakravarthy)

A Tribute to Anil Kumble

This post is not about a man, but about a hero, a legend or whatever superlative adjective you can use on a person who has had a positive impact on your life. I once had a blog-post on him when he bid goodbye to what he did best, and it indeed was a very sensitive topic for me to write. But I jumped in joy, when I heard of his return to what he did best, but in a different form.

(Image Courtesy: cricinfo.com)

This blog post is for a contest on Blogadda.com, I'd stay content just with this tribute to the greatest leg-spinners ever in the world of cricket. (I'd definitely love to win the nice memorabilia, though!) I will borrow liberally from my previous post, but will definitely have new stuff.

Though Anil Kumble, a fellow Bangalorean, debuted in 1990 in international cricket, it was during the 1993 Hero Cup final against West Indies at Kolkata (then Calcutta), where he had an unbeatable bowling spell of 6/12 (Courtesy: Neil), that I noticed this legend. That was actually the first match that I watched enthusiastically, religiously and there was no looking back until 2003. That bowling spell could probably not be bettered by any bowler then or now, and still remains one of the finest bowling performances ever.

For a nine-year old in me then, Anil became an inspiration to strive hard and achieve the best in life. A young lad from my own city garnering national and international glory and fame was a moment of pride for all of us. He also happens to be be from the same school I studied (I believe he studied till 7th Std), and that's another trivial link I will always treasure. I also happened to see him as the Chief Guest for my school's Sports' day function. He was really polite, humble and gave a really 'inspiring' speech! I don't really remember what he spoke in his speech, but I would say that was probably the first speech that I listened to completely!

In his career, Anil has has a series of highs and lows. While he was held at the top for his highs and criticized for his flaws, one can never debate on the fact that, he always played for the team and never was concerned about individual records or personal glory.

Records kept tumbling when Anil was in his best form, and Anil Kumble was the leg-spinner that couldn’t be paralleled by anyone else. Shane Warne – the legendary Australian spinner was probably the only person that he could be compared to at that time.

A 10-wkt haul in a test innings is something that every bowler would dream of getting at least once in his career. However, this great spinner was the only one in 50 years to achieve it and the second person in the history of test cricket. His last test was at the same venue he achieved it (Feroze Shah Kotla grounds, Delhi), what a great way to wrap up an illustrious career which could have lasted way longer than what it actually was, especially seeing his performance in the IPL 2009 and 2010.

He also surpassed Kapil Dev's record of scalping the highest number of wickets in test cricket (434) and went on to join the elite 600 test wickets club along with fellow spinners Muttaih Muralidharan and Shane Warne in January 2008. I believe he is the highest Indian wicket taker in test cricket, and I doubt if any bowler of this generation will surpass that one.

The only disappointment was that he didn’t have a hat-trick in his career. Also, I guess the BCCI pressure late in his career must have forced him to call it quits from the tests. I usually never like to associate cricket or any other game with regionalism or politics, but surely Kumble was indirectly a victim of this and had to play second fiddle to many other under-deserving players in the team then.

In lighter vein, for people who don't know him too, the Anil Kumble Circle (on MG Road near BRV) in Bengaluru should strike a thought in their mind :), of who this man was! Sincerely hope that the Metro Rail construction in Bengaluru doesn't make this landmark disappear.

(Image Courtesy: http://www.royalchallengers.com/player/anil-kumble)

In 2009, I was really happy to see him back in the cricket world in the form of the ever-entertaining IPL. He drove our Royal Challengers Bangalore team into the finals and such was his leadership quality, which was also demonstrated during his short stint as the test caption in 2007-08. From a team that was ranked 7th amongst 8 team in IPL 2008, Anil Kumble has come a great way in charging them to a consistent #2 in the 2010 edition of the IPL. And it will not be wrong if I say, this IPL has re-kindled the cricket-lover in me, and this is all thanks to Anil Kumble.

The two bowlers – Kumble and Srinath made me watch cricket, or in other words as in the Coca-Cola ad then – Eat cricket and Sleep cricket. The 1996 World cup in the Indian sub-continent was a showcase for them. I still remember the time I used to write captions from the ads then on my cricket bat, and stick the cricketers’ stickers on my bat. I used to think, these guys would play for India forever! How I wish it was true!

Kumble's cricket (regular first class/ODI) will be missed by everyone, and it is definitely a pleasure seeing him perform in the IPL the past two years, even after retiring. As one of the many fans who watched cricket solely for the competitiveness and the people who played for the team and not for themselves, I bow down to this greatest legend ever.

Mr. Anil Kumble: They don't make cricketers, leaders, gentlemen, and selfless people like you anymore! May God shower the choicest blessings on you!

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This entry is posted as a part of the Contest by BlogAdda.com

Media hoggers

Disclaimer: Nothing against the people mentioned in the post

Off late there have been quite a few media-hoggers, who didn't deserve to be in the limelight.

3 Idiots was a well-made movie, but the author of the book which the movie was based on going to a very low level and cribbing all over the Twitter world was something that was unbearable and showed his publicity hunger. Agreed, Chetan Bhagat changed the way of writing, with his common style (which I am bored of now, need better writing :P ). But after signing an agreement, and having seen the movie that elevated an otherwise mediocre book, he doesn't need to go over-the-top.

First of all, Saif Ali Khan surely didn't deserve a National Award for Hum-Tum, and now he gets Padmashri, an award that the likes of incomparable legends have got. Agreed, he was the heart of Omkara and a few other movies, but the award is still not justified. He initially admitted he doesn't deserve it and now says he deserves it and will work towards justifying the award. Just hope that doesn't mean him acting in more irritating movies with the so called 'Tam Kroose' look he sported in Hum Tum.

Finally, the makers of Phir Mile Sur should have watched the earlier video and see what National integration meant. Agreed the earlier video had film stars too, but we didn't have a street beggar sing nor did we have a rock star performance nor a rain dance nor a disgraced actor nor actors who just turned up in their night clothes seeming as though they built the Worli Sea Bridge! And it is too long a video, where the defence and sport sector combined together got enough footage as what Deepika Padukone's rain dance performance got.

2009 - In a nutshell

- Personally, a year that I would erase from my life, though it taught me a lot about life
- A year that taught me to be by myself, rather than depend on friends and others
- A year that introduced me to Facebook and Twitter and demonstrated to people my activeness in social media; when I blogged less and tweeted and updated my status more
- A fruitful year research-wise – made great breakthroughs in my research apart from learning from many mistakes

Wishing everyone a wonderful, successful and colorful 2010! Happy New Year!

Star On-screen Performers 2000 - 2009

Another list of the Star On-screen Actors who debuted during 2000 - 2009

Hrithik Roshan – For sure, he made a dashing debut in Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai before stealing the performance in Koi mil Gaya apart from appearing a zillion forgettable movies.

Madhavan – The boy next door in Alaipayuthey performed extra-ordinarily in Nala Damayanti (Ramji Londonwaley) and many other Tamil movies.

Vikram – An actor who was overlooked for most of the last decade, had a new lease of life in Sethu and excelled in roles including Pithamagan and Anniyan.

Surya – An unlucky actor last decade, found his luck in Khakka Khakka and Nandha before settling for ‘Vijay’ish roles in Ayan and Aadhavan.

Dhanush – For someone thin and un-heroic like him, this Kadhal Konden star has come a really long way.

Jothika – My favorite female star had eyes and expressions that could speak a 1000 words and she made the best use of it in many many memorable movies.

Katrina Kaif – Not my favorite, but she sure has lucky charm to make any movie she stars in a hit; just hope her acting gets better too!

Priyanka Chopra – Surely a star-performer including her roles in Fashion, Aitraaz and What’s Your Rashee?

Preity Zinta – Though she debuted during the last decade, she made her mark in an un-wed mother’s role in Kya Kehna and then made herself a worthy star with movies like Dil Chahta Hai, Salaam Namaste etc.

Kareena Kapoor – Will never call her a good performer except for Jab We Met, but she has survived this decade and is going strong!

Abhishek Bachchan – Probably another actor whom Mani Ratnam gets the best out of (Guru and Yuva).

Asin – Kalpana in Ghajini is probably one of the most chirpy characters in recent Tamil/Hindi cinema; hope she gets more laurels.

Konkana Sen Sharma – No one could have enacted her role in Mr. and Mrs. Iyer or 15 Park Avenue or Life In a Metro or Luck By Chance; she is a boon to Indian movies.

Ranbir Kapoor – Almost written off after a dud in Saawariya, he is now the pin-up boy after an extremely enjoyable Wake Up Sid and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani.

Emraan Hashmi – This serial kisser had good music and decent storylines in a few of his movies and made a mark.

Mallika Sherawat – Partially responsible for giving Emraan Hashmi a successful career; and no one can break the record 17 smooches on screen.

Star directors 2000 - 2009

Continuing with the list star performer this decade, here's a list of star directors who debuted during 2000-2009.

Rajkumar Hirani – For his Munnaibhai series which had a dose of message along with good humor, this director of 3 Idiots deserves a big applause.

Anurag Kashyap – For Black Friday, Dev D and Gulaal, all within a span of 3 years, this director has been a consistent experimenter; Indian cinema needs more people like him.

Ashutosh Gowarikar – Re-invented himself with Lagaan and went on to make Swades and Jodhaa Akbar before he faltered with What’s Your Rashee? (I loved the movie though!).

Sriram Raghavan – With Ek Hasina Thi and Johny Gaddar, this creative guy re-designed the genre of thrillers.

Shimit Amin – Surely needs to applauded for Ab Tak Chappan, Chak De India and more recently Rocket Singh.

Gautham Menon – Gave the real-life couple Jothika and Surya, a new lease of life with a fresh Khakka Khakka after giving a routine Minnale and before giving an honest Varanam Aayiram; looking forward to Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaya.

Jeeva – This late cinematographer turned director gave a realistic Ullam Kaekume and a creative 12B before passing away while shooting Dhaam Dhoom.

Selvaraghavan – Though I have never seen his earlier movies including Kadhal Konden and 7/G Rainbow Colong, he sure will find a watcher in me for his magnum opus Aayirathil Oruvan.

Bala – I haven’t watched a single movie of his either, but he brought the actors in Vikram and Surya to the forefront.

Farhan Akhtar – His name will surely be etched in golden letters in everyone’s cinema diaries for his evergreen Dil Chahta Hai.

Madhur Bhandarkar – By giving realistic movies about the showbiz in Page 3 and Fashion, he has establishing a fan following amongst the cine-goers.

Imtiaz Ali – Socha Na Tha was his best, Love Aaj Kal was practical, and Jab We Met was chirpy; he showed one could say simple stories in a different way with hilarious dialogs.

Karan Johar – Though he came around in 1998 with Kuch Kuch hota Hai, he redefined family dramas with Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and also (falsely) showed the NRI families; turned into a successful TV host and a producer too!