You go da Dhanush! :)

He may not be tinsel town's most good looking bachelor,or you can call him the worst looking guy.
He may not look like your doll type hero, but if that's what your concept of an actor is,then no arguments.Please don't read ahead.

It is highly disgraceful and shocking,the way many people have reacte
d to Dhanush's bollywood flick.Just because he is a south indian,and he comes with a star kid image,for being Rajnikanth's son in law,that doesn't make him a loser,or any less in comparison to the other star kids,who have even disappeared into oblivion.
Self made are the words for him.

Also ,please get your facts right..
People knew Dhanush even before being Thalaiva's star son in law,he's known for his acting, and acting isn't about a doll face. Siddharth Malhotra is oh sooo gorgeous! Sorry if that was mean.But need I say anything more?
Rajnikanth's stardom will remain untouched for the kind of public support and love he has garnered with his own effort,no star has the kind of stardom he has pan india and across the world..

You can sit back and crib about a young boy,because all your ignorant minds have heard of  is 'Kolaveri'.If that did not make any great sense as you call it,then I believe "Dishkaaoo dum dum" and " Paa paa paoos" also never made sense.If that is the case,does bollywood make sense at all?.But people love being entertained,and that isn't a problem,

Try watching his movies.You may not believe in national awards because you never get to see one in your vicinity,but for those who love art and appreciate art,it is a big deal. Dhanush has one to his credit.

He doesn't claim to be a super star and the roles he takes up suits the kind of image he carries.He may not suit a specific genre of Bollywood cinema,but if the director chose him for the role,that means he is someone that bollywood can learn from.I hear the box office collections of Raanjhna has been good,but to be very honest I really don't care about the collections,because I loved the movie.

Acting like a retard,or a loser in love,or an average boy isn't as easy as acting like the lover boy who conquers hearts.
But even with this style of acting,Dhanush has done a commendable job.

All I have to say is.
.Dhanush! take a bow!
You GO! da !!!   : )

Hail Dale !

I've been away from frequent blogging for long now.It can be because of two reasons.One,because I dont have the time for it ever since I moved to Mumbai for PG in Media,and the second reason which most certainly is the real reason ,too much of chilling happened in 1 year,I spent more time going and getting things done,meeting new people,making great friends,so I was enjoying life and had no time to write about it.When you're there and at it,why share? is a very silly thought,but at times you get so engrossed in things and it literally tires you out that you then don't have the time and energy to write about it,eventhough fb's 'whats on your mind' and tweets are a relief when you're stuck in the midst of madness,and want to share something. But they say some things should never remain unsaid,and I feel some things should be written about. I grew up watching cricket with my dad and was never enamoured by any specific cricketer and neither had the belief that any player can be God.Any day I prefer tennis over cricket and Federer over any other famous cricketer. When I look back and look at myself now.I'm flattered,floored,literally 'stained' by Dale Steyn.I started observing him closely for sometime now,and I don't know how great my knowledge about cricket is,but I just know that he makes me wonder,keeps me glued to the screen,everytime he's on the field.When I was introduced to cricket as a game,I remember kids fighting for the bat.Every kid wanted to be a batsman ,but I feel its all in the bowler's hands.You can call me biased,and thats how much I'm influenced by the talent of a man,who has proven himself beyond Class is such that,it doesn't fall under any particular format.A classy player can give his unique style to any format of the game.When Dale bowls,you just feel he's ruling already,whether he takes wickets is secondary.When he takes wickets,its like a piece of cake for him,and an everyday story for us. The day Dale Steyn retweeted one of my thoughts on twitter,I actually felt like I had a sensible conversation with a star.A simple retweet made me feel like we sat over a cup of coffee and spoke about the good things in life. He he! I can finally say I am a fan. ps : I love Dale !

The people in our lives...clean minds..clean hearts(Vilapilsala,Kudumbasree)

As my little Shawn(sister's new born baby) lies inside his comfortable,cozy and mosquito free net bed ,my mind is full of the people we come across in our day to day life.Even though we can afford diaper rash creams,beds with mosquito nets attached,and get a hundred things that are useful and good for the baby as gifts,we still worry about the consequences of a mosquito bite,whether we are still doing enough to protect the little one from anything that can harm his health.Imagine the people who work for us everyday(the kudumbasree workers),who come and knock our doors every morning,so that our surroundings are kept clean,and we live a better life.

The kudumbashree workers collect our waste everyday,clean our roads,for the small little amount they can take back home.This venture that employs many women in our state is of great help for them ,and more importantly for us.The current dispute about the waste disposal and the factory at Vilappilsala is very unfortunate in a state that is known for its culture,a state that is known for being the best in health care,and is named nothing less than 'God's Own Country'.

The High Court verdict on Vilappilsala is that the factory should continue functioning as it used to.Even though this verdict is what we people would find convenient ,for our own selfish needs.My heart goes out to those people living near Vilappilsala,who have been fighting this issue for years.They have families,they have children,even they hope for a better life.

The Kudumbasree workers who lost their jobs would be re-employed ,and it would be nice to see them back to work,earning again.But what about the plight of the people near Vilappilsala?.They say that even a single truck of waste would not be allowed there,unless the truck drivers are ready to drive over their bodies.If waste disposal,is a burning issue for us,the factory functioning there is a bigger threat to their lives.
Is it possible to resolve this issue with respect for the sentiments of all concerned?

'The Dirty Picture' !! *Vidya Balan*

If SRK and Rajnikanth have created their trends in the film industry, if Senior Bacchan has created a name with  his dynamic personality,the only woman in tinsel town who can compete with the leading men and who has the ability to grab eye balls with whatever role she does,is the *indian kudi* Vidya Balan.I remember writing a blog entry about her,a few months back,and for me! missing a movie of hers is a crime.
So after the long wait,I did go watch Vidya's movie 'The Dirty Picture',the very reason why I call it Vidya's movie,is because I wouldn't even bother to go to the theater,if the leading lady in the movie was someone else.I am not a fan of reviews,or cinema critics,because at times,you see a set of 'wanna be' pseudo intellectuals who believe movies that entertain are only meant to be food for the brainless,and certain others who would rate a movie,according to their preconceived notion about the movie.

So I was there ,seated,with my pack of cashew nuts.The only little teeny weeny bit of worry that I had this time was Ekta Kapoor! :p and wondered whether she would make this movie look like one of her television soaps :p ,but trust me! not at all,special care taken so that SILK(Vidya) gets to perform out of the box.

The movie started and the theater was all silent,Reshma(Vidya) on the screen,a village girl,yet seductive.The girl next door,yet impressive.The role slowly progresses,becomes SILK,the dancer star,the struggler,the lover.The bold Vidya Balan,who was bold enough to get out of her shell,and become SILK,in the real sense.The story was dramatic,fun,yet very real!!.We may have a lot of losers who would have already tagged Vidya as a bombshell,just because of her courage to take up such a challenging role,and that is the very simple message of the movie,of how hypocrisy among the masses can make or break a person.We have men who love watching women hot,and film makers who take complete advantage for their profits,and yet,the same men who later tag the women as 'dirty'.We also have another class in our society,women who like being hot,and who envy women who are hot,and then give out a very 'holy' image of themselves.

The Indian entertainment barter was highlighted very intensely,body for money,money and luxury,luxury and the consequences that come with it,critics who give life,critics who kill,critics who judge professional life as personal life,when personal life no one knows,no one sees,no one wants to understand

The entire star cast including Tushar Kapoor have done a good job in bringing quite a challenging story to life.I specifically mentioned Tushar Kapoor because I read some real bad reviews about the poor chap,when the truth is ,he did the 'i am so dumb' role quite well,far better than his history of geek like grin and flops.To add to that,I've started liking Nasrudeen Shah and Emran Hashmi,Nasrudeen sir ever since Ishqiya(vidya's movie) and Emran Hashmi ever since Tum Mile(with soha ali khan),and this time too,I had no complaints
As they say..No news is good news..thats about the others..But my core focus was on Vidya Balan,and she deserved every bit of it :-).

If I were a boy,I would definitely say "Oo la la oo la laa..tu hein meri fantasy..." ,not praising her body(the build up,for this particular movie),or her looks,but for her sheer confidence,courage and the extreme 'I am She'(miss India world tag line) attitude.
Taa daa...!!
hoping for more of VIDYA on the big screen

ps: You can neither typecast her,nor can you hate her,because in three words,She is 'entertainment,entertainment and entertainment!'(just like the movie dialogue) with a lot of sense!

TNG MY DAD! :-)

A pencil sketch of my dad,done on computer paint application.This sudden interest in blacks n whites,and pencil sketchin,on the computer,was what inspired me,after I did the MJ Yak sketching,with color,this was another experiment! :-)

Basheer's humble world of words...

Basheer is no unfamiliar name to any malayalee.I needn't take his whole name for people to understand who I'm talking about.Such is the world he created with his writing,a thought driven world he created that inspired many,with mere simple language,and his simple style of writing.He was never a perfect writer by the usual standards.You cannot place his writing under any particular influence.His books were those that a common man could read,without the help of any other reading aid like a dictionary..Like Albert Einstein said about Gandhiji. "Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood".I wouldn't be exaggerating if I felt the same about Basheer.I remember the days when I wasn't very fond of reading malayalam books except magazines and papers,and my dad's books,and his book 'Baalyakaalasaghi' kept me glued for two days.Reading the book twice continuously,without even changing my school uniform.In his simple language he depicts the lovely story of Majeed and Suhra and their childhood romance,the tragedies of real life.He even said that Majeed of Baalyakaalasaghi is himself,and what inspired him to write that book was the nightmare he had,about his childhood companion Suhra's death.All the books Basheer wrote were small,yet filled with thoughts ,that he liked conveying indirectly.The size of the book never mattered ,no author would ever dare complaining that Basheer wrote less,because what he wrote was filled with matter,food for our thoughts.

An ordinary man,with no extraordinary skills in writing was called 'Beypore Sultan' ,just to denote the greatness in him,is what author Ponkunnam Varki said ,He wasn't any Sultan ,or a person who wants to show off his great skills.He was a man who wouldn't lie even to get anything done,a man who wouldnt fill his mind with negative thoughts,a very innocent lover.His humour cannot be matched,and the way he conveys very relevant social messages,is unbelievable.

Basheer never created stories,to believe his stories ,all you need to do is believe in him,in his life.

OV Vijayan said it so rightly ,Malayalam needn't necessarily be influenced from the Dravidian or Sanskrit style of writing.That is exactly why, what Basheer wrote was different,but even he was a malayalee,and an Indian.

What is known in his name 'Basheer' is a broad literary world.There are authors who would die to get Basheer's space,who were awestruck to realize that such a simple person,can create such mass appeal.Writers wanted to write like Basheer,they wanted their books to be read like Basheer's was,by every strata in the society.Not just in his stories,even in his conversations and letters,there were characters,there was  humour,there were social messages,on issues like dowry.He was never a perfect person,there was a phase when he used to drink too,and lie on the floor and act like a baby.His fellow mates knew him very well.There are people who also say that Basheer did not contribute much after his marriage.

But all I know is,I knew a different world of malayalam,a different world of humour,a different world of love through him.Infact his novel introduced me into the world of love,and all those little things of day to day life. :-)

ps: There is a lot more to him,a lot more to his books and his life.My attempt was to just tell you ,why I am so fond of him as a writer,and how he inspires me.In a world where people need to know,there were people greater,and way more humble! 

In the memory of Chintha Ravi uncle

Dad's group of friends were never strangers to us,unlike few other malayalee families where the men of the house would hang out with their friends,would be away late at night,but the wife and kids wouldn't know the man's circle of friends,his close friends,and the likes.For us it wasn't just quite different,but it was a lot different from other families.As a typical journalist's kids we grew up,My sister and I were involved in every phase my father passed,as a journalist,his friends,his colleagues,his admirers and fans and the outside world.

My mother who has always been a very social person ,never set curfews for my dad,since she believed he knew his limits,and his close friends were close to her as well.When I heard the news of Ravi uncle's demise,the pictures of our medical college flat,the ash trays lying around,the mess there,it all started playing in my mind like a horrifying video,shot after shot,each clip playing an replaying.Ravi uncle used to live in our medical college apartment,for a period of time,that apartment was more of a bachelor's playground,where there were married men discussing journalism and other topics over drinks and cigarettes,my dad's hangout zone it was,press club wouldn't stand a comparison.My mom never cribbed about cleaning the mess,since she knew how important those people were in dad's life.OK Johny uncle,Ravi uncle,Pradeep uncle and many others who visited often.

I fall short of words to express how he connected so well with my dad,and never would I be able to even explain his greatness verbally,he was like family .I was a small kid when 'Endae Keralam' used to be telecasted on Asianet,but I feel like I saw the programme only yesterday.Medical college apartment is still there,tenants from IT companies occupy it,they pay the cheque on the first day of every month,and that is all we know about it.

I can tell you how blessed I am ,to have met such a lovely person in my life.

He was a man with a lot of thoughts,a man who wished he could do a lot more,but that is destiny,he died before fulfilling many of those wishes.The memories he left behind will hold us through,all our lives.I still feel incomplete,and want to write more,but I just can't get the flow here..just cant seem to.