The most serious comedian...

This post is a tribute to one of the most talented comedian of our times, Leslie Neilsen, who passed away last day, leaving a lot of hearty laughs unlaughed forever.. Leslie Neilsen was appearing on screen since 1956, since five and a half decades, and was known for his serious roles till 1980, when he appeared in Airplane!, a spoof comedy, the first of its kind, and went on to appear in numerous roles mostly in movies of same genre, like his most famous Naked Gun series, Dracula- Dead and loving it and Spy Hard.  He used to call himself a closet comedian.

A spoof movie, if you have never watched one, is a movie that parodies other popular movies of the time, even copying scene by scene and giving a comic twist to the proceeding. Airplane! was the first notable movie of this genre and although Neilsen was not the protagonist of the movie, he stole the show, making his name synonimous with spoof movie genre. Spoof movies never get critical acclaim, but always garners lot of fans. After Neilsen acheived success, many popular actors started appearing in spoofs, the most notable being Charlie Sheen, who has acted in iconic movies like Platoon and action flicks like Terminal Velocity. Both have apperaed together in Scary movie third and fourth instalments. 

The funny part about this comedian, who started his career as a serious actor, is that he never left serious acting, even in spoofs. Majority of his scenes are acted with enough seriousness to pass off for a serious movie if not for the absurdity that surrounds him. Deadpan expression is perfected by Neilsen. I would like to call him the most serious comedian.    

Check out the iconic scene in Airplane!, he is serious and don't call him Shirley.

And the funny scenes from Naked gun series:

This is a horror spoof- Dracula: Dead and loving it:

Recommended watch: Movies from middle east

In a previous post, I had tried to list out five comedies that I felt others must see. Here I am making a list of four, from middle east, or Gulf countries, mainly Iran, that I feel are worthy of high recommendation. I really feel bad that I am not including a movie that should have been in this list, because till date I never had an oppertunity to watch full- Majid Majidi's The song of Sparrows. I had seen bits and pieces of this masterpiece, and would recommend it on that experiance alone. But the following movies are also equally great and entertaining. All the movies, except first are having humour as a strong under current.

Osama

Osama is not from Gulf, but Afghan. And no, it is not the story of Laden. Osama is a girl, who has to disguise as a boy, when she and her mother are left without a male support to their family in a male dominated Afghanistan ruled by notorious Taliban. Later on she is recruited as a child soldier by Taliban. When found out, she is tried and made to marry an old man with three wives. The title, I feel is meant to be ironical. The movie directed and written by Siddiq Barmak, has attained tremendous critical acclaim and many awards for the realistic portrayal of social situation in Afghanistan.

Offside

Offside is an Iranian movie which is a bit similar to Osama. Here a bunch of girls dress as boys to enter the football stadium in Tehran to watch the Iran's World Cup qualifier against Bahrain They are arrested and kept in custody outside the stadium with some policemen guarding them.  When football fever is raging around them, the girls as well as the guards are desperate to get a glimpse of the match. Unlike Osama, the narrative is humorous,very crowd pleasing. Jafar Panahi is the director.

Marooned in Iraq

The name sounds like a Chuck Norris movie, but don't go by it. This is one of the most entertaining movies I have ever watched. It is the story of an eventful, life changing journey by Kurdish singer Mirza and his two sons, from Iranian border into Iraq, in search of his former lover and band member Hannareh. THe movie is madness, where heart takes full control over head. The folk songs in the movie are just marvellous. See it to believe it!

Taste of Cherry

Abbas Kiarostami's masterpiece Taste of cherry can be boring for uninitiated, but if you like some serious stuff that reflects on life and existential perils, I would recommend this one. By serious I don't mean it is high philosophy that goes above the head of the viewer. The movie is very comic in a subtle manner. Mr Badii is roaming around a construction site, for a man to do his job for a pay. He encounters several men, but when he tells about the job, no one wants to do it. His job is to assist him in ending his life. At last an old assistant in a lab agrees. A very laid back movie that takes its own time to evolve, Taste of Cherry will be unforgettable experiance to the viewer.

A reason to live or An option to die?

My post on Guzaarish, the latest movie on Euthanasia, has attracted a fair amount of comments, with lot of different views being presented. The only unanimous view was regarding the movie, every one thrashed it. Now I feel some further explanation is needed about my view on the subject.

Many people supports the idea of awarding death to some one who is suffering from some fatal disease or injuries. Several factors that favors such a thought are pain, suffering, dependability, disability, dignity, mental anguish, causing pain and suffering to relatives and friends.

Now my view is that for any decision involving the life of a person, utmost care has to be taken, so that there is no margin for error. If there is any chance of an innocent getting executed, better not to have laws that favors capital punishment. A life taken is irreversible. Definitely there are people who deserve to die, but what if someone who is wrongfully accused gets a death sentence? It is a severe situation and don't tell me our, or any other constitution and laws are error free. I propose the abolishment of capital punishment for this one reason alone.  

Coming back to Euthanasia, a decision has to be taken that causes a damage, that can in no way be corrected afterwards. So on what basis can a system guarantee that a right decision is taken?. If a totally paralyzed person is decided to be awarded mercy killing, doesn't it matter that his consent is not taken? Or if a suffering person want to die, what way does it makes him eligible to exercise his wish? There are people who went on with their life even in a paralyzed state providing inspiration to millions around the world. So shall we encourage him to embrace death or shall we provide him enough support and motivation to embrace  life and go on with it.  From  my own post:

Brain dead patients whom doctors had certified dead has returned back. It may be a minority case, but still valid. If  the sufferer loses hope and decides to die, what makes it different from a suicide? How can the border line be drawn between a case of mercy killing and suicide? After all I believe suffering is a response to a situation by an individual. It is not a situation itself. Another person may, in the same circumstances fight with his will power to his fate and emerge victorious. (Imagine Stephen Hawking). There are plenty of cases where people with sever first degree burns throughout their body, went on to get cured and lead a normal life. There are cases were quadriplegic patients, bedriden for more years than the protagonist, bounced back .

Stephen Hawking is in an increasing state of paralysis and assisted by a speaking wheel chair for support. Now, what if he decided to end his life? There are inspiring stories of men and women who had fought disabilities and made their life worthwhile. (Please see the link in the above quote.) Instead of debating on whether to take a life legally, let us find out a way to support them and make their short life on earth better and joyful.  

This lady recovered from being in a vegetable state.

For almost 70 days, she was totally unresponsive. Doctors finally pulled her feeding tube. And, for eight days, she was dying.

Then Ms. Adamson began responding on her own. Doctors quickly put the feeding tube back in, and she recovered.

See this page for links to more stories like this. What shall we do? Provide a reason to live, or an option to die?

Enough of serious talk, enjoy these two great songs, Send Me an Angel and Losing My Religion:

Why I may never watch Guzaarish?

This time no review... I did not wach the movie.

And I never felt like watching it after seeing the promos, or hearing songs (songs are good, actually). After reading the reviews, I just gave up. Not that I believe reviews, there are times when I decide to watch a movie when a particular critic blasts the crap out of it. What may be the reason...?

I am no Hrithik fan.. Not that I hate him, I don't mind him being in a movie. Like, I watched Kites for Anurag Basu. But Hrithik being the hero alone is not a motivational factor to watch one. And Aishwarya... I can never accept that prettiness gives someone a right to act with the best of directors consistantly. But still I watched Raavan and hated it. Aishwarya is not a deterrant. "Kabab mein Haddi" rightly express my feelings towards her. Just spit out the bone, if you get what I meant.

That takes us to our directer Bhansali. I lost the respect to this man after watching Devdas. Pathetically unwatchable.. Khamoshi was too better with a dumb Nana. Although he redeemed himself with Black, I still  felt a bit put off by the European setting. Was that necessary?  Saawariya was a drag. Sony corporation's Bollywood dreams where shattered by this one. They closed their Indian movie making firm after it's debacle. Promos clearly indicates this latest movie is an assortment of all the worst things from his past movies- Devdas' silly sentiments, Black's aliens and Saawariya's fakeness.

And then the theme,  (after reading the first reviews) on euthanasia. It seems a magician is quadriplegic after a fatal accident and he wants to use his right for a dignified death. But is it a correct stand? For a theory we can assume that it is not wrong to award death to some one, who dont have much time left and is suffering very seriously by handicaps or severe pain. It sounds very convincing. But my question is this, who will decide that a man has no hopes or no future? Himself, his doctor or his family? Who is qualified for that? And if someone affirms it, what guarantee is there that he is right?

Brain dead patients whom doctors had certified dead has returned back. It may be a minority case, but still valid. If  the sufferer loses hope and decides to die, what makes it different from a suicide? How can the border line be drawn between a case of mercy killing and suicide? After all I believe suffering is a response to a situation by an individual. It is not a situation itself. Another person may, in the same circumstances fight with his will power to his fate and emerge victorious. (Imagine Stephen Hawking). There are plenty of cases where people with sever first degree burns throughout their body, went on to get cured and lead a normal life. There are cases were quadriplegic patients, bedriden for more years than the protagonist, bounced back.

The argument on Euthanasia will go on with lot of points argued for and against it, but I don't think I have to watch a movie with a loser deciding to commit suicide because life was unfair. (I still regret watching another loser, who drank himself to death some years back, courtesy our Bhansali)  I am satisfied with watching Andy Dufrane hoping to get out of The Shawshank Prison and working towards it for twenty years against all odds.         

A movie on my Life

Sunday mornings produces sudden flashes of creativity. Especially while you are lying on  the bed, when supposed to be getting ready for office, to fill in the shoes of an absent colleague, take up his responsibilities and land him in a bigger mess when he returns the next day. I knew today was such a day  when this thought came into my mind. Why not a movie on my life?..

It is a great idea.. These days biopics are the in-thing. Mark Zuckerberg, Nelson Mandela, Ed Wood, Che Guvera, Harvey Milk, Homer Simpson... What? Last one is not a biopic? I thought all these days... Well! forget it.. But if you make one on me, it is sure to generate a lot of buzz. I have envisioned the whole movie. It will be a serious commentry on the current events with a strong politial undercurrent. Almost a Godfather meets Austin Powers... 

I have even thought a great name... "The Anti- Social Network"... How is it? And the tag line is "He found out how to face Bhookh*".  But the greatest challenge is to find a suitably talented actor to portray the protagonist, some one who is sufficiently talented to give a serious, complex and at the same time simple performance... I hope that bearded dude in the movie "Hangover" will qualify, or that Khazak journalist from Borat...!

* For all those anpadh, gavar log who don't know Hindi, Bhookh means Hunger...

Recommended watch: 5 comedy movies.

Here I would like to introduce five English comedy movies that I find  truly amazing... I have tried not to include the ones that  are frequently watched... So here you can find an assortment of comedies belonging to different sub genres- a heist movie, a buddy comedy, a biopic, a war movie and a mockumentary...

The Pink Panther:
No, not the Steve Martin slapstick one... this is the original, 1963 movie starring Peter Sellers as Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Actually this movie was centered on another character, Phantom or Sir Charles Lytton played by David Niven. But after the release, Seller's character became so popular for his antics that the rest of the franchise was made centered on Inspector Clouseau.  If you love the recent additions starring Steve Martin or even other Sellers movies, most probably you will be slightly put off by this one. The comedy is very subtle and sophisticated here. But I find it more adorable. 


Phantom, a master thief is out to steal a precious diamond, Pink Panther, belonging to the Indian Princess Dala. Inspector knows phantom will target the diamond and arrives at the same hotel where the princess holidays along with his wife. A social playboy Charles Lytton, actually Phantom himself, is trying to flirt with Dala. He also has an affair with Inspector's wife. Lytton's playboy nephew, George also enters the scene, with similar plans and falls for Madame Clouseau. What follows is an outrageous cat and mouse chase, and finally the clueless Inspector gets framed for robbery. 


No youtube video available for this movie.. too bad, but you can watch the trailer here. (Watch for the bed room scenes... pure comedy.)


Quotes
[Having made her tipsy with champagne, Sir Charles Lytton kisses Princess Dala]
Princess Dala: If I were my father, I'd have you tortured.
Sir Charles Lytton: No. If you were your father, I doubt very much if I would have kissed you. 


Police escort: Tell me, inspector - Signor Phantom - all those robberies. How did you ever manage it?
Inspector Jacques Clouseau: Well, you know... it wasn't easy. 






Be Kind Rewind:


Jack Black and Mos Def swedes, (a name they have kept for remaking popular movies into small versions of self made videos) block busters like Ghostbusters, Lion King, MIB, when Jack Black enters the video shop magnetized  after a freak accident and erases all tapes. Customers loves the movies and they become local celebrities. In order to save the video shop, they have to shoot a final original movie about a jazz singer who is believed to have born there. 


The sweding scenes are hilarious. You cannot stop laughing. The climax is emotional and really makes you a bit sad.  


Trailer



Quotes:
Mike: [to Jerry as they begin to remake Ghost Busters] I'm Bill Murray, you're everybody else. 


Jerry: [Alma is providing the voices for "The Lion King"] Listen to me. I need to you say the line. I need you to say "I will piss on the bones of your ancestors"...
Mike: No, no! That's not in the movie!
Jerry: [interrupts] This is the next Lion King. This is Part II.
Alma: Roar! I will piss on the bones of your ancestors! 


Ed Wood:


Coming from the unfailing team of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp this had to be special. And it is! This is a biopic of legendary director Ed Wood, who has the distinction of bearing to his credit, some of the worst movies ever made. What makes this movie special is the convincing portrayal of Ed Wood by Johnny Depp. Armed with a never say die attitude and women's inner wear Ed Wood went on making movies after movies, believing in the "good" work he is doing. The conviction he has and the ways he find out to raise money for movies is unbelievable. 


Trailer
  


Quotes:


Edward D. Wood, Jr.: Boy, Mr. Lugosi, you must lead such an exciting life! When is your next picture coming out?
Bela Lugosi: I have no next picture.
Edward D. Wood, Jr.: You gotta be joking, a great star like you? You must have dozens of them lined up!
Bela Lugosi: Back in the old days, yes... Now, no one gives two fucks for Bela.
Edward D. Wood, Jr.: But you're a big star!
Bela Lugosi: No more. I haven't worked in four years. This business, this town, it chews you up, then spits you out.
[pauses]
Bela Lugosi: I'm just an ex-boogeyman. 


Edward D. Wood, Jr.: I like to dress in women's clothing.
Georgie Weiss: You're a fruit?
Edward D. Wood, Jr.: No, not at all. I love women. Wearing their clothes makes me feel closer to them.
Georgie Weiss: You're not a fruit?
Edward D. Wood, Jr.: No, I'm all man. I even fought in W.W.2. Of course, I was wearing women's undergarments under my uniform. 


Edward D. Wood, Jr.: And cut! Print. We're moving on. That was perfect.
Ed Reynolds: Perfect? Mr. Wood, do you know anything about the art of film production?
Edward D. Wood, Jr.: Well, I like to think so.
Ed Reynolds: That cardboard headstone tipped over. This graveyard is obviously phony.
Edward D. Wood, Jr.: Nobody will ever notice that. Filmmaking is not about the tiny details. It's about the big picture.
Ed Reynolds: The big picture?
Edward D. Wood, Jr.: Yes.
Ed Reynolds: Then how 'bout when the policemen arrived in daylight, but now it's suddenly night?
Edward D. Wood, Jr.: What do you know? Haven't you heard of suspension of disbelief? 


Edward D. Wood, Jr.: [on phone with Mr. Feldman] Really? Worst film you ever saw. Well, my next one will be better. Hello. Hello.


Sorry if the quote section turned too long... movie has some really awesome moments...


Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 


Peter Sellers again, in three roles. That guy was a genius... Directed by Stanley Kubrick, this black comedy tells an imaginary situation that happens while cold war. A US general goes nut, imagining Russians are contaminating Americans through water, and orders a nuclear strike on Russia, which can be stopped only by coding a password known only to him. He commits suicide. Now Russians had already built a doomsday machine, which will annihilate the whole world if ever anyone strikes them first... Now it is on the shoulders of President, the responsibility to save the world, by informing Russian premier, of the unpleasant situation.. 


Trailer:



Quotes:


President Merkin Muffley: Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room. 


[after learning of the Doomsday Machine]
President Merkin Muffley: But this is absolute madness, Ambassador! Why should you *build* such a thing?
Ambassador de Sadesky: There were those of us who fought against it, but in the end we could not keep up with the expense involved in the arms race, the space race, and the peace race. At the same time our people grumbled for more nylons and washing machines. Our doomsday scheme cost us just a small fraction of what we had been spending on defense in a single year. The deciding factor was when we learned that your country was working along similar lines, and we were afraid of a doomsday gap.
President Merkin Muffley: This is preposterous. I've never approved of anything like that.
Ambassador de Sadesky: Our source was the New York Times. 
General "Buck" Turgidson: Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines. 


Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan


Borat is a Khazak journalist on a trip to USA to learn about their culture and thereby benefit his nation. Disguised comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, roams around the States, making pranks on unsuspecting people, famous and not. This movie is an insight into the cultural trends of the modern world. A must watch...


Trailer:



Quotes:


Borat: Although Kazakhstan a glorious country, it have a problem, too: economic, social, and Jew. 


Borat: What kind of dog is this?
Zookeeper: It's a tortoise.
Borat: Is it a cat in a hat?
Zookeeper: No... it's a tortoise in a shell. 


Borat: This is my country of Kazakhstan. It locate between Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, and assholes Uzbekistan. 

Wish you all a happy viewing :-)

War of the Words...

"Harry, Ron says I am pretty, but Andy says I am ugly. Who do you think is right?"....
"Well dear, I think both are right! Actually you are pretty ugly..."
:-)

The Survivor....!

Can you believe what might have the condition of the people in that car...? If my good friend who was there in that car is to be believed, not even a scratch was happened to the five guys who were involved in the accident... Damn good luck I should say... The driver went with police, two guys were taken to hospital for a sprain on their hands, my friend and his colleague walked back to their home...

Is accepting mistake enough?

US secretary of State Hillary Clinton accepted that part of the war against terror they are fighting is created themselves. (See the full story here)

"Part of what we are fighting against right now, the United States created. We created the Mujaheedin force against the Soviet Union (in Afghanistan). We trained them, we equipped them, we funded them, including somebody named Osama bin Laden. And it didn't work out so well for us," 

I appreciate the courage and honesty, required from her part to openly accept the fault, that has caused countless death, violence, political unrest and disturbance throughout the world.  Every policy maker has to think of all the possible consequences, while deciding on very critical issues pertaining international issues, or else the result is in-front of us. Just to weaken the then Soviet Union, US has created a Frankenstein monster which ultimately caused the fall of its creator itself. 

(Incidentally I watched Stallone's Rambo3 last day which metaphorically and unintentionally tells this story. Its VHS release is dedicated to brave Taliban fighters! Stallone can follow up this story as Rambo5, were John Rambo fights against the innocent kid to whom he gifts a used bullet shell in the climax, who in course of time goes on to become Osama.)

But the most important question is, has they learned from this mistake? Are the policies that they are taking in international issues currently or the issues they endorse openly, adequately fool proof? Will they, or any other nation in the world cause the rise of another Osama, due to petty selfish decisions made just to boost an over inflated nation wide ego?

Mutant mosquitoes and population drop...

A swarm of genetically modified mosquitoes are unleashed in a remote island as part of a scientific experiment... Does it sounds like the plot of a B grade Hollywood movie, probably titled "Attack of Mutant Mosquitoes"? No. This is a real incident. In Cayman islands, scientists released batches of mutant mosquitoes, all male, with the noble intent of wiping out Dengue fever totally. This mosquitoes, that are sterile mates with the female ones, and no off springs are produced, thereby creating a decrease in the mosquito population. The experiment is highly successful as there was a down of 80% in the number of mosquitoes in the region compared to other places where mutant male mosquitoes are never unleashed. But anti genetic mutation campaigners allege that no study of the long term impact on eco system is conducted before this experiment.

But I don't think this is a brand new strategy to deal with such issues. Whatever the west brings up as a new scientific leap is already practiced and perfected in India long back itself. Remember Zero, value of pi, stainless steel, concept of solar system, atom and the art of bribing policemen? Decades back in India a prime minister and her son has tried the method of sterilising men to control population... It took west three decades to catch up with us and that too with only mosquitoes... Such a shame..

The article responsible for the post.

Do the Earth a favour: Gypsum

I was going through this news paper suppliment today while I came upon this article about using gypsum for construction of buildings, minimising the usage of bricks, wood, sand and water. I am feeling thats great because dependency on all these things- sand, water, wood especially is creating hell a lot of ecological problems. In Kerala, I have heard, Government has made the laws on buying sand so stringent that it is having an adverse effect, sand mafia, that deals with underground buying and selling of sand! Ultimate effect is more price for sand and increased raping of seashores and rivers... We cannot reduce construction of buildings, we cannot ignore our rising population's basic need of sheltor, and the only way to deal with it is find alternate sources of construction...

The article about which I mentioned earlier puts forward gypsum as a proper substitute.

• It has great insulation properties making it fire, moisture and impact resistant.
• More savings in electricity, due to the less electrical conductivity.
• Light weight and very flexible, making it suitable for dry walls and false ceilings.
• Fast to construct.
• Durable- seems the pyramids where made out of it. Any more proof ?
• Green, recyclable!
• Better aesthetics.
• Helps in water conservation.
• Not messy as is the case after using mortar and bricks.
• Better material substitute for sand cement plasters.

I am not sure if it has any disadvantages. But after reading the article, I feel it cannot be used for the outside walls, because it is not tough.. Some one please correct if I am wrong.

Bonus

My new indiblogger rank has jumped to 73. After debuting with an impressive 72, it was a let down to plunge into 48. 3 months of a non blogging period... Thanks to all fellow bloggers for the support..  On that note, enjoy this great song...

Drinks first, food next...

I had seen this bizarre new theory on the origin of civilization while browsing on Gawker.com... Before going to details, let me take you back to some history lessons. We all had learned that some where at the end of stone age, humans, who till then survived by hunting and collecting berries from wild, found cereals and started cultivating them near river banks, settling there permanently and biding good bye to the nomadic life of their ancestors. This one event caused the civilizations, and ultimately we ended up in the present way of living. This taming of cereals, (rice, wheat and other grains) as we learned in our history classes, was basically for food.

If you have studied the Kerala board high school syllabus, some time around late nineties, you might be remembering a chapter about a Russian village, which had surplus rice and the devil teaching those villagers the art of brewing vodka and finally bringing them all and under his grip. So we all came to conclude that surplus grain made men brew alcohol and all of us innocent beings thus became possessed by the evil.

But a recent theory by Brian Hayden, a Canadian Archeologist, totally refutes our innocence and postulates that, cultivation of cereals was in the first place meant for  fermenting beer and not the other way around, making beer responsible for making us live the way we live now... . In a way it makes sense. If it was for food, why should one cultivate cereals, when other edibles like fruits and berries are available? To get rice or wheat to a dining table is quite a cumbersome process, and to think that our ancestors wanted to take all this risk just for that seems unconvincing. But bringing beer to the equation makes the whole problem seem solved. People can go to any length for a drop of alcohol...

Myna: Refreshing, but for the climax...

While I started watching the Tamil movie Myna, inevitable comparison with similar hits of past, Paruthiveeran and Subrahmanyapuram was being made in my subconscious. The bearded and rough hero, rustic setting, dialect, wonderful character actors, melodious songs and  an innocent and almost under aged heroine, all  reminds  of  the above said movies.  But Myna  is different from them in some aspects, mainly humor. The humor in the movie is very refreshing. Actually the whole movie is laced with very subtle comedy, not slapstick, but oral and situational... The movie cannot speak of a coherent script, but the wonderful characterization and luxurious visuals more than makes up. 

The only down side is climax, which seems forced, and made up just to cash in on the success of other two movies that I referred in the starting. But that also is nicely depicted and not awkward in any way. 

Police are on look out for a criminal, in a village in the middle of a jungle. No, this is not the story of Raavan. The characters are not pseudo idealized or  made larger than life. The only similarity is the beautiful, greenish,  elegant back drop. And this one movie is paced in a mellow fashion so that the full beauty of locations can be enjoyed by the viewers. It is the story of Suruli, a young villager who is in love with the girl Myna, whom he has rescued from poverty in childhood. Her mother tries to marry her off to some one in a better position than him, forgetting all the good he has done to them. When he reacts violently, she falsely accuses him and he ends up in police remand. On the marriage day, (on a Deepavali) he absconds and reaches the village to stop the marriage. The police officer who is in charge, some how manages to get one days time to get him back and reaches the village in the middle of a jungle accompanied with a constable, who is responsible for the break away. Suruli manages to elope with Myna, with the help of police officers but on their way back get lost in jungle. How the foursome reaches back in time to save the hide of police officers makes the story.  

Acting department is handled wonderfully by all the four protagonists, the love story is very mellow and subtle, the character actors, most of them in blink and you miss them roles does commendable work to keep the story from being monotonous. Watch out for that dig to malayalees, when a human rights person, puts the police in some tight spot in Munnar. Director Prabhu Soloman has made a movie with its heart in right place and provides nice relaxation to viewers, except in climax, after which we will wonder, "Was that required?"    

In the beginning was the 3G...

While looking at the profile of a fellow Indi blogger, I noticed that a recent post by him has won an absurd lot of votes, and many previous posts that I personally enjoyed and would have voted twice if the rules permitted where lying very low in the vine... Then I did some research, and found the reason, it was a post for the TATA Docomo 3G Life Blogger contest. Hm.. great idea, contest posts gets more votes, meaning, more visitors as opposed to other ones.. Thus I, who never contested with fellow bloggers, is up to enter this thing... if I lose I will end up with some visitors, if I win there will be some prize.. What is it?.. Rs 50,000! That is a nasty lot of money for a blog post.. Fellow contestents beware, I have entered the arena!!!!!

In the beginning was the 3G, and 3G was with God and 3G was God... Now you might have got a rough idea how much big this 3G thing is... 3G is coming to India powered by TATA Docomo... They have even booked his flight ticket in advance. Before 3G, obviously there was 2G, who came on Economy class of Air India and there was 1G, who was  called by friends, Romans and countrymen as G affectionately, (also may be because then they did not knew he will begot 2G), came in a ship that delivered rotten sheep skin from Ghana to a Nawab. (Why would a Nawab require rotton sheep skin from Ghana is still a mystery and historians are on the work...) This pretty much sums up the history part.

This 3G guy, will come to India and change our life, like how Coca Cola came and changed our life. (I am not sure how. I will find out and tell you another time, we should not miss our focus.) 3G life is going to be awesome, you can download lot of movies pretty fast.. (that is what they give in the contest page, in a blink of an eye, they wrote.) You can make lot of money bootlegging them and selling underground... And it seems marriages will  happen by video conferencing..(again from the same page). They did not write anything about the things after that... No, no, not that! I meant shopping for furniture, arranging kitchen. There was something about cars in that page, which I cannot recollect. Hm.. then.. Actually... Finally... So there are many benifits and our life won't be the same...

I am sure you are not satisfied with the advantages of 3G para, but thing is that I am not able to google, to collect more info, because I don't have internet connection right now and I am typing on Word... you know...! I will add them when I upload this thing on blog later when I manage to get somewhere there is connection. (If I does not forget it by then.) But in next segment I will tell you what 3G has done to other countries...

3G was in Dubai when they made Al Bhurj, the tallest building on the planet. There are unconfirmed reports that he was present in France while Eiffel tower was being erected.  Some secret CIA dossiers suggests his presence even when they were building Statue of Liberty... All the US presidents till George W Bush have sighted 3G in their dreams and Nixon was so scared that he wired the Watergate complex, resulting in that scandel... what was its name? I forgot!

3G gives colour to the butterflies, scent to the flowers, depth to the ocean, height to Everest, vastness to the sky... 3G is responsible for sun rising in East and setting in West, for the universe standing in the space and not falling down, for tides, black holes and tiny spot on moon... In short 3G is just second to Chuck Norris.... I think this para makes up to all that goof ups happened initially...

So guys, it is your duty to vote me and get me my 50,000... I am also ready to deal in a profit sharing basis with individual voters, commision agents are welcome to make a bulk quantity of people vote for me and earn some percentage of prize money...  

To crack or not to crack: Psychology of crackers

Its Diwali time. One half of the Indian population is busy buying crackers and the other half is busy condemning the former for that. Those who are for crackers considers others as chicken hearts and the chicken hearts thinks cracker lovers are inconsiderate. 

I don't want to pass any judgment here. I used to love crackers as a young kid, but these days I never crack anything noisier than a joke. But I don't hate them too. I love watching a good cracker show on TV, where I can increase or reduce the sound according to my convenience. I would watch one more for the visual part. The one in the movie, Lord of the Rings:Fellowship of the Ring, comes into mind.

Now, crackers can be broadly divided into two, those that make sound and those that make a little less sound. In short, sound comes with the package. Unavoidable.. And taking sound out of a cracker show would be like watching a silent movie starring Nana Patekar. I would strongly advise against that dull  and boring exercise.

Why do some people love crackers, while some abhor it ? I had closely observed both the kinds, and the biggest difference that I have come up, between them is that former bursts crackers...(That paragraph was just meant to show that some serious effort is put on making these posts, like character study, observation and the kind.)

The answer becomes very clear, if we look at the reactions when a cracker bursts. In such a situation our brain enters a flight mode. Shock, excitement, blood rushing to central nervous system... Same things that happen when you watch an action piece or a horror movie, or when you booze or do bungee jumping or while on a roller coaster ride... Kick... that is the answer in one word... Any stress that is produced in a controlled environment with adequate safety measures give enjoyment...

Wish you all a safe Diwali...

First Information Report

While going through the latest posts in my reader list, I came on this post which was about the background check that is an essential before any marriage proposal. A very humorous incident was narrated there, which reminded of such a thing that happened to me some time back. One of my very close friend, (lets call him LA) called up one fine day asking for a favor. His room mate's parents have found a girl for their son, and he wants to get a background check on her. The girl studied in the same college were I studied, as 4 years my junior. I was not there at that time and had never met her. So LA wanted me to inquire about her with any one who studied there at that time, whom I knew. 

I am pretty bad at keeping contacts with people with whom I don't have an emotional attachment, and after thinking a long time, decided to call one guy, who was two years my junior (Lets call him JS) with whom I was pretty close then. (Later I happened to associate with him and had to severe my relationship with him because he was the cause of some pretty bad damage to me.That is another story anyway.)  

So I called him up and asked for a favor. I told him I wanted to ask about this girl, who studied as his junior and it was part of a "Pre marriage investigation". He plainly told she is a good girl. I was much relieved as I dreaded the situation where I have to break a bad report about a girl... Then conversation turned to other trivial matters. 

I was about to bid good night, when he told, "Harishetta, just because you have asked me about this girl, I want to tell something."

My heart fell. 

"Actually, at that time, I was pretty close with her."

"Hm.....!???"

"It started initially as a rumor, originated from the friends. After some time we were quite close. But I never proposed to her. And later I decided not to pursue that case. After passing out of college, I never met her or had any contact.  First I decided not to tell you this, but later if you come to know from some one else, it will not be good. That is why I am telling you now. She is really a nice girl..."

"So... what shall I do now..?"

" I don't want to destroy a good future for her. Nothing happened between us and what ever that float around was all rumors. I liked her and was friendly.. "

Shall I laugh or cry..? What a choice...in the whole world, this is the man whom I called for my FIR enquiry..

Dude, where is my Dragon? ...

Happened to watch this incredible animation flick, "How to train your dragon", based on the children's book by the same name. It is the story of a young, timid Viking kid from the family of Dragon slayers, deviating from the hereditary occupation and mastering the art of Dragon training. The animation is top class, it has a very live action feel to it, the characters are believable and voice over is wonderful. 

The only one let down is Toothless, the dragon that Hiccup, the viking kid captures and trains. It does not rise above the animation level despite the enormous screen time it has. The other dragons, in some very delightful cameo appearances are more lifelike and evokes positive reactions from viewers. I especially love that psychedelically colored dragon which is defeated by Toothless. And the monster dragon that appears in climax is also too good. While watching the tired acting of Toothless, I was remembering Draco, the dragon from the movie Dragon Heart, voiced by Sean Connery, which was very lovable and touches the right chord of viewers. That is my second favorite dragon just a notch below the real life oriental dragon, Bruce Lee.

Among humans, Hiccup's father and the master dragon slayer, walks away with all applause. With the voice of Gerard Butler, this character is very convincingly portrayed. Hiccup is also a pleasure to watch. The characters of Hiccup's love interest and fellow trainees of the dragon slaying class are entertaining, though underdeveloped, but no complaints. I will wait to see more of them in the sequel, if they ever make it.

Dragon flying is the in thing in Hollywood these days, it seems. The visuals are very similar to that of Avtaar. It looks cool on screen...