Surprise! I have got exclusive access to some information as to who will be the winners in this year's academy awards. And I share this only with the privileged few and that includes you :-). When the academy awards are presented, come this March before the svelte Anne Hathway could initiate the event here is the exclusive preview of that event initiated by a handsome ME :-).
Best picture : Avatar
All technical categories: Avatar
Best director : Jason reitman for Up in the air.
Best supporting actor : Christopher waltz for Ingluorious basterds
Best actor : Jeremy renner for The hurt locker
Best music : Quentin tarantino for Ingluorious basterds
Although for the best director category James cameron (avatar) & Katherine bigelow for "the hurt locker" are in serious contention I would like Jason to win the award.
One interesting fact is that Katherine begelow is the ex wife of James cameron. It seems that they have taken the fight to the academies!! I don't think such a scenario had ever been enacted anywhere in any awards!
I would say that all the above movies are as different as you could ever get. If Avatar is a sci fi imaginary world then Up in the air is a current reflection of the recession hit US with a lot of emotional quotient. If Ingluorious basterds (deliberately misspelt) is a world warII drama with blood and gore then The hurt locker is a current crisis in Iraq faced by the US troops. All punch in some extraordinary performances. For best actor category Jeff bridges and George clooney are also strong contenders but somehow I think Jeremy renner will win this time.
And at last in the best music category Quentin tarantino could win but our own A.R.Rahman has all the chance in the world to weave his magic once again. I say this because his music in couples retreat is worthy of an award, although I can't say the same for the movie! Now the countdown starts for the D day and here begins the waiting game!!!!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The secret of self realisation
At last I found out the secret of self realisation. The date was 23rd January 2010 and the day "Saturday". The venue happened to be the Music academy at the TTK road. You may possibly wonder how the ultimate goal of self realisation could be in any way related to that venue. Well, let me elucidate one of the defining moments of my life.
On that day two legends of hindustani music world came together for a musical concert at the above mentioned venue. They were Pandit Shivkumar Sharma - the santoor vidwan and Zakir Hussain - the tabla ustad. What they created on that stage was, as the cliche goes "history", "musical history" to be specific.
In the beginning, pandit Shivkumar sharma made a brief monologue about their musical journey and let the audience know what they were going to play for the evening. He uttered words such as ragas, aalaps and few others which frankly speaking I didn't understand a bit. It got worse as he announced which raagas they would play and also the style in which they would play them. I felt like listening to a Greek orator. It was precisely at that time when I started to wonder where the heaven I have ended up!, the magic commenced.
Till then I knew nothing about music. It made me feel like i know everything about it
Till then I was of the opinion that the purpose of music is enjoyment. It made me realise that the purpose of music is to feel it.
Till then I thought of it as just another musical concert. But it was a sort of personal revolution within me.
Till then I was just a man. It made me feel like a self realised man.
For the entire duration of that experience which approximately lasted for two hours fifteen minutes I was in suspended disbelief, I felt like I was in a state of tranquility, a state of thoughtlessness, a state of oneness. Then it struck me that the way to self realisation is through music.
The sad part is I actually didn't realise myself, but the good part is I felt like I had self realisation. That itself was an emancipating feeling.
Someone asked a great violinist whose name I couldn't recollect now, "I would give my life to play the way you play" for which the violinist replied "I did". Well, anybody who had listened to the musicians on that eventful evening would know that they had given their lives to their music. It was the evening that shattered my belief that there is no such thing as perfection, only excellence. The music was nothing but perfection which made me believe that perfection is a state that we ordinary mortal beings can just fancy.
Finally as Charles lamb wrote "You may break, you may shatter the vase if you will, but the scent of roses will hang around still", eventhough later that evening I returned to my home and indulged in the mundane routine of my life, that feeling of immense whatever one can name it, joy, bliss, happiness, ecstasy; it will be there with me forever.
Epilogue: One good news is that they promised to return to Chennai very soon. Whenever that happens you know where to find me on that day! :-)
On that day two legends of hindustani music world came together for a musical concert at the above mentioned venue. They were Pandit Shivkumar Sharma - the santoor vidwan and Zakir Hussain - the tabla ustad. What they created on that stage was, as the cliche goes "history", "musical history" to be specific.
In the beginning, pandit Shivkumar sharma made a brief monologue about their musical journey and let the audience know what they were going to play for the evening. He uttered words such as ragas, aalaps and few others which frankly speaking I didn't understand a bit. It got worse as he announced which raagas they would play and also the style in which they would play them. I felt like listening to a Greek orator. It was precisely at that time when I started to wonder where the heaven I have ended up!, the magic commenced.
Till then I knew nothing about music. It made me feel like i know everything about it
Till then I was of the opinion that the purpose of music is enjoyment. It made me realise that the purpose of music is to feel it.
Till then I thought of it as just another musical concert. But it was a sort of personal revolution within me.
Till then I was just a man. It made me feel like a self realised man.
For the entire duration of that experience which approximately lasted for two hours fifteen minutes I was in suspended disbelief, I felt like I was in a state of tranquility, a state of thoughtlessness, a state of oneness. Then it struck me that the way to self realisation is through music.
The sad part is I actually didn't realise myself, but the good part is I felt like I had self realisation. That itself was an emancipating feeling.
Someone asked a great violinist whose name I couldn't recollect now, "I would give my life to play the way you play" for which the violinist replied "I did". Well, anybody who had listened to the musicians on that eventful evening would know that they had given their lives to their music. It was the evening that shattered my belief that there is no such thing as perfection, only excellence. The music was nothing but perfection which made me believe that perfection is a state that we ordinary mortal beings can just fancy.
Finally as Charles lamb wrote "You may break, you may shatter the vase if you will, but the scent of roses will hang around still", eventhough later that evening I returned to my home and indulged in the mundane routine of my life, that feeling of immense whatever one can name it, joy, bliss, happiness, ecstasy; it will be there with me forever.
Epilogue: One good news is that they promised to return to Chennai very soon. Whenever that happens you know where to find me on that day! :-)
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
SHERLOCK HOLMES
221 Baker street, in my opinion is the most famous residential address in human history. It's ironical that such a well known place ended up being the abode of the most famous detective of all times, "SHERLOCK HOLMES". Or may be because of his unparalleled reputation the address could have become so famous. Either way it's not good for a consulting detective to be so conspicuous. But we can forgive his helplessness because it's we who have raised him and his abode to such meteoric heights of our consciousness. Otherwise he is always a cool headed, unemotional, logical and deductive genius who long ago ceased to exist just in books and began living among us.
Everything is elementary to him, no such a thing as unexplainable. Inexplainable? perhaps! I can go on and on about him, but I suggest you better read his memoirs penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. For now I'll talk about the movie which has recently hit the theatres.
With a stupendously successful literary work such as Sherlock Holmes, which is like a treasure trove for movie makers, it's literally impossible to make a bad movie out of it. You just have to select right people to play the parts and the entire movie can reach sky high on the foundations of the book. Right people is an understatement to say about the actors who played the characters in this movie. Robert Downey Jr as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as his side kick, Dr.James Watson are amazing. Well as the cliche goes, there chemistry was ultra cool. Right from the word go, the movie kick starts and before you try to get a hold of the unfolding events you will find yourself deep into a mystery.
The movie starts assuming that audience are aware of the main characters, because here no time is spent for the their introduction except for the antagonist "Lord Blackwood". Irene addler to whom SH refers to as "The woman" in the book is played by Rachel Mcadams. Oh boy! what a beauty! Other characters such as the police officer Lestrade the landlady and Watson's fiance Mary are all there! There are a few slight deviations from the book which you will find in this movie. In the book, SH has got only admiration for Irene addler. Here he is a bit romantically inclined towards her. In the book Watson's fiance is one of SH's former clients. Here Watson introduces her to SH. In the book, SH is more cerebral. Here he is physical too with all the fist fights in slow mo. In my opinion when it comes to physical attributes, Rober downeyJr is not a perfect match to portray SH, but wait, as soon as he starts delivering the dialogues that mind block vanishes into thin air. Above are my reservations about the movie.
If you want to have a taste of Victorian England, this one is a treat to your eyes.With its late 19th and early 20th century settings and visual effects, the art direction is worth noticing. All the characters speak in British accent. All the characteristics of SH are highlighted in the movie. His prowess in disguise, chemistry and arriving at a solution through logical deduction are all shown superbly. It's like relishing a big fat feast for your brain. No wonder the lead actor got a golden globe for his performance! Gripping screenplay with no loose ends. All the questions are answered in the end albeit in a hurry. In the end it's a good movie to watch.
Wait, one more moment. What would one do to make a good movie into a terrific movie? One would give a call to Hans zimmer and entrust him with the responsibility of background score. If not for the movie, certainly for the music; you can all shut your eyes and just listen to the muscic.
Everything is elementary to him, no such a thing as unexplainable. Inexplainable? perhaps! I can go on and on about him, but I suggest you better read his memoirs penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. For now I'll talk about the movie which has recently hit the theatres.
With a stupendously successful literary work such as Sherlock Holmes, which is like a treasure trove for movie makers, it's literally impossible to make a bad movie out of it. You just have to select right people to play the parts and the entire movie can reach sky high on the foundations of the book. Right people is an understatement to say about the actors who played the characters in this movie. Robert Downey Jr as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as his side kick, Dr.James Watson are amazing. Well as the cliche goes, there chemistry was ultra cool. Right from the word go, the movie kick starts and before you try to get a hold of the unfolding events you will find yourself deep into a mystery.
The movie starts assuming that audience are aware of the main characters, because here no time is spent for the their introduction except for the antagonist "Lord Blackwood". Irene addler to whom SH refers to as "The woman" in the book is played by Rachel Mcadams. Oh boy! what a beauty! Other characters such as the police officer Lestrade the landlady and Watson's fiance Mary are all there! There are a few slight deviations from the book which you will find in this movie. In the book, SH has got only admiration for Irene addler. Here he is a bit romantically inclined towards her. In the book Watson's fiance is one of SH's former clients. Here Watson introduces her to SH. In the book, SH is more cerebral. Here he is physical too with all the fist fights in slow mo. In my opinion when it comes to physical attributes, Rober downeyJr is not a perfect match to portray SH, but wait, as soon as he starts delivering the dialogues that mind block vanishes into thin air. Above are my reservations about the movie.
If you want to have a taste of Victorian England, this one is a treat to your eyes.With its late 19th and early 20th century settings and visual effects, the art direction is worth noticing. All the characters speak in British accent. All the characteristics of SH are highlighted in the movie. His prowess in disguise, chemistry and arriving at a solution through logical deduction are all shown superbly. It's like relishing a big fat feast for your brain. No wonder the lead actor got a golden globe for his performance! Gripping screenplay with no loose ends. All the questions are answered in the end albeit in a hurry. In the end it's a good movie to watch.
Wait, one more moment. What would one do to make a good movie into a terrific movie? One would give a call to Hans zimmer and entrust him with the responsibility of background score. If not for the movie, certainly for the music; you can all shut your eyes and just listen to the muscic.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Ayirathil Oruvan
Today I watched the Tamil movie "Ayirathil Oruvan" thanks to a generous treat by one of my friends. Tentatively named after the yesteryear movie of the same name, which starred the first superstar of Kollywood, the great M.G.R; this movie is an earnest attempt to unfold a grand spectacle in the Tamil film industry. If grapevine is to be believed, this movie has been in the making for the past 2 and half years, something very uncommon.
I categorise this movie under fantasy, historical, adventure drama category(Uh!). In the beginning the movie resembled Indiana jones' and mummy. In a shadow chasing scene its resemblance to such sequence in "Mackennas gold" is unmistakable. When you come to know that there is a covert population in a secret location that's being chased by another civilisation for the purpose of recovering a lost treasure and that too generations down the line, I somehow could see the plot line of "Davinci code". The sequence in the amphi-theatre is a straight lift off from "Gladiator". The make up and the mannerisms reminded me the "Lord of the rings" and lastly the music composition during battle sequences with sudden quietness for a short duration reminded me of the battle sequence in "The chronicles of Narnia 1st part". It seems that Selvaragavan the director was caught in between two strong factors, "Inspiration" and "Creation". By the time his inspiration ends the creation begins, the entire 3 hours and few odd minutes come to an end and curtains go down. This is true because in the end, you can see a hint about a possible sequel that would hopefully cover the balance portion that's left unfinished.
Having criticised it, I have to confess that this is one of the genuine endeavours to expand the horizons of the tamil movies. Even if there are some loose ends, it unfailingly proceeds to unfold a story instead of sticking to the same formula that's very typical of kollywood. Here there are no introduction hero worshipping song, no punch dialogues to splinter your ear drums, no over the top melodrama. Instead you get to see two strong female leads which is a rarity. They are delightfully beautiful and look ravishing, a hero who is very good with his role, nice picturisation and reasonable visual effects given the budget and technological limitations.
In my opinion, the director started drawing a human picture, but in the process he got so engrossed in the details that he consumed the entire canvas to draw just the face.
Epilogue: I appreciate it for its bold attempt but makes me want more with its execution.
I categorise this movie under fantasy, historical, adventure drama category(Uh!). In the beginning the movie resembled Indiana jones' and mummy. In a shadow chasing scene its resemblance to such sequence in "Mackennas gold" is unmistakable. When you come to know that there is a covert population in a secret location that's being chased by another civilisation for the purpose of recovering a lost treasure and that too generations down the line, I somehow could see the plot line of "Davinci code". The sequence in the amphi-theatre is a straight lift off from "Gladiator". The make up and the mannerisms reminded me the "Lord of the rings" and lastly the music composition during battle sequences with sudden quietness for a short duration reminded me of the battle sequence in "The chronicles of Narnia 1st part". It seems that Selvaragavan the director was caught in between two strong factors, "Inspiration" and "Creation". By the time his inspiration ends the creation begins, the entire 3 hours and few odd minutes come to an end and curtains go down. This is true because in the end, you can see a hint about a possible sequel that would hopefully cover the balance portion that's left unfinished.
Having criticised it, I have to confess that this is one of the genuine endeavours to expand the horizons of the tamil movies. Even if there are some loose ends, it unfailingly proceeds to unfold a story instead of sticking to the same formula that's very typical of kollywood. Here there are no introduction hero worshipping song, no punch dialogues to splinter your ear drums, no over the top melodrama. Instead you get to see two strong female leads which is a rarity. They are delightfully beautiful and look ravishing, a hero who is very good with his role, nice picturisation and reasonable visual effects given the budget and technological limitations.
In my opinion, the director started drawing a human picture, but in the process he got so engrossed in the details that he consumed the entire canvas to draw just the face.
Epilogue: I appreciate it for its bold attempt but makes me want more with its execution.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Ode on a Grecian Urn
"Ode on a Grecian Urn" is a poem written by John keats. If I remember correctly, this poem was in 11th standard syllabus. The beauty of this poem is that it glorifies the moments that had been depicted on an Urn through a series of paintings. The urn is part of Greek's history. It captures the essence of all the emotions viz, longingness, desperation, ecstasy and a whole lot of other entities in one particular moment. John keats feels that the artist succeeded in immortalising that moment forever. Drawing a parallel from his another famous line "A thing of beauty is a joy forever" this urn is the epitome of all that is beautiful and in turn is a joy forever. It makes me deduct that anything that is beautiful and anything that is joyful can belong to this moment alone. Anything that belongs to the past you can think and can only try to bring back those memories. Anything that belongs to a possible future, you can just imagine and can only calculate the permutations and combination of the events. But if you are to feel the beauty and joy you can do that only at this moment. For that matter anything that involves feeling can only be felt at this moment, not in the past and never in the future. We can surmise the above philosophical maze in a simple sentence and that is "This moment is inevitable".
It seems John keats felt the same way and gave life to his feelings in a way that is best suited to him; thorough his poetry. "Ode on a grecian urn"
It seems John keats felt the same way and gave life to his feelings in a way that is best suited to him; thorough his poetry. "Ode on a grecian urn"
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Do we actually need a GOD in our lives?
Do we need a God even if he exists?. I don't mean to say that he doesn't exist, but at the same time I would neither say that he exists. I say this because I haven't experienced Him to say that he exists and at the same time no amount of science and logic could explain me how else could this universe and life could have been created except for a power that's beyond the reach of a person through his sensory organs.
We all at one point or another would have certainly asked for God's help when things got out of control or situations quite grave. We even blame him and swear at him for all the pain, suffering, death and destruction in our world. This seems like blaming the neighbour for our domestic issues. Not only do we refuse to take responsibility for our mistakes, we expect someone else to sort out the mess for us.
If there is a possibility of, we human beings acquire a capacity to be unaffected by the external environment, then we end up in eternal happiness. Instead of expecting bad things not to happen (which is an impossibility in our world) if we can face them with equanimity we are bound to be happy for eternity. If this is what keeps us happy, then in my opinion that's what we should want, that's the God one should desire, that's the state one should attain. Who needs an external God in this case????
We all at one point or another would have certainly asked for God's help when things got out of control or situations quite grave. We even blame him and swear at him for all the pain, suffering, death and destruction in our world. This seems like blaming the neighbour for our domestic issues. Not only do we refuse to take responsibility for our mistakes, we expect someone else to sort out the mess for us.
If there is a possibility of, we human beings acquire a capacity to be unaffected by the external environment, then we end up in eternal happiness. Instead of expecting bad things not to happen (which is an impossibility in our world) if we can face them with equanimity we are bound to be happy for eternity. If this is what keeps us happy, then in my opinion that's what we should want, that's the God one should desire, that's the state one should attain. Who needs an external God in this case????
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