Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Yeh dil mange more :)

Baby chick, white chick, have you any dress,
Yes honey, yes honey, three wardrobes full,
One for the fashion, one for my taste,
And one for the tradition that is long down the drain.

It was during this sunday (13-01-2008) when I saw 'Neeya Naana' a debate program in Star Vijay I heard a girl say she spends around 5000-7000 for a month's beautificaion process.. I just thought "Neeyellam nalla irupia?"..Only then I came to know namma thai thamizh naatla paathi ponnunga ipdi than irukanga nu... Kali kaalam da saami..."I want more" is generally the attitude which women have when it concerns anything related to beauty. The moderate size wardrobes do no justice to the dresses, beauty products, jewels and other accessories which a girl owns. Nothing short of an abyss would actually do justice.A girl starts filling up her wardrobe right from her childhood. (Some "modern" girls use these dresses even after they grow up) That is understandable however, a baby always wants more. It is cute then. After seven donkey years, if you still have the same practice, it is obviously more irritating than cute. One of the main reasons a guy tells his lover, "Nee kattina pudavai-oda en kooda vaa" (come with the saree u are wearing) is to avoid having a 500 sq.ft wardrobe in his 800 sq.ft. apartment. So, that is said more with fear than with magnanimity.
The way guys and girls buy dresses can be summed with ease up in one sentence. Guys buy dresses for occasions and girls create occasions to buy dresses. Even a stone age leafy costume on World Environment Day would do because its a new addition to their collection nonetheless.
"Hey new dress is it? What's special?"
Boy (beaming) : Its my birthday you see.
"Hey new dress is it? What's special?"
Girl (how could you ask me such a question?) : Ofcourse..this is second Saturday you know. Got one for tommorow too, heard its the second Sunday.
Though every girl has a mini Naidu Hall at her place, they constantly spot new designs. Ok, nobody would complain if they stopped with the spotting designs thingy. It goes without saying that shopping is due that weekend.

HEADLINES : Common Entrance Tests cancelled for the current academic year.
Mom : That newsreader wears new sarees everyday and all of them are fantastic. Wonder where she gets them.
Aunt : Yeah, last week during the Tsunami news braodcast, she wore a yellow saree with pink border. It had a zari like the one you got for your anniversary in 1905.
Sister : Amma, look at that chain she is wearing, I want one like that.
Dad (to himself) : Bank poi paisa edukkanum. Indha maasam bonus ippadi indha Shobana Ravi-aala naasama poguthu.
Commonplace happenings eh? Its always a mini mega-serial at home even when Tsunmai strikes or WTC collapses.Variety is the spice of life, agreed. But you girls are already spicy enough, dress doesn't matter :-)Similarly, the make-up thingies are usually overdone. Powders, creams, lotions, lipsticks, lipglosses and a dozen other items yet to be named are an integral part of a girls' purse. Makes you wonder if make-up or make-over is the right word for the process.Certain things for which girls go to beauty parlour really make me laugh.
Me : For what are you going there?
Girl : Bleaching and threading.
Me : Bleaching I know, they did that for toilets before all this Harpic and Domex came in...but threading?
Girl : Thats for removing these hairs. Shaping your eyebrows and stuff. They tie a knot with a thread and pull it out.
Me : Tamil-la sonna m***** pu*********?
Even the hottest of babes go to the parlour to become hotter. That's something that puzzles me.Why do girls always have this "Yeh Dil Maange More" attitude? Is it that they never stay content with what they have? Or is it hormonal the way men and sex are inseperable? Why? Kyun? Yaen? Yaendi? Yaenulu?The only time a girl's "I want more" attitude is fruitful is in....guys know what I mean ;-)
Disclaimer : I've described in detail about the situation and I am not complaining. Won't be complaining till I get married atleast :-) So it is just curiosity...which is probably gonna kill this cat? :-)
Note : Feel free to bash the author. Controversies and fights are encouraged :-)Cheers :-)
Note 2 : ipdi evlo post eluthinaalum en blog padikra ponnunga soodu,soranaye illama commente pannama irukathu keeevalama irukku :) innum kevala padanuma venama nu neengale mudivu pannikonga

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Taare Zameen Par - Aamir puts SRK in shame, big time

Foreword : This is my 25th post. Thanks for all those who've helped me keep this blog alive. :)

Don't sign off on your list of the Best Films of 2007 just yet, because ladies and gentlemen, the year's most honourable film has arrived. Taare Zameen Par, directed by Aamir Khan and written by Amole Gupte is the one film you have to watch, because it's a film with a big heart, an important issue, but mostly because it's a film that could change your life.

Who can't relate with Taare Zameen Par's eight-year-old protagonist Ishaan Awasthi who can't get his head around his studies? Be it words or numbers, he struggles to make sense of them, falling way behind his classmates, much to the frustration of his teachers and his parents.
Naturally, it doesn't help that his elder brother is a class topper and a tennis champ to boot. Ishaan meanwhile, is a dreamer who's fascinated with little fish, and spends most days punished outside class letting his imagination run riot. At home, he's mixing colours, painting away instead of doing his homework.

Convinced that some strict discipline will straighten him out, Ishaan's father packs him off to a boarding school, much against both his wife and Ishaan's wishes. Unable to deal with this betrayal, Ishaan goes into a shell at his new school, not only failing to show any improvement in his academics, but also no longer inspired to paint. When substitute art teacher, Ram Shankar Nikumbh, recognizes in him all the symptoms of dyslexia, he takes it upon himself to help Ishaan.



First educating his parents about his condition, then urging the school's principal to give the boy more time to catch up, Nikumbh devises unconventional methods to teach the boy, and succeeds eventually in changing his life forever. There should be no doubt whatsoever in anybody's mind after watching Taare Zameen Par that the real hero of this film is its remarkable, rooted, rock-solid script which provides the landscape for such an emotionally engaging, heart-warming experience.

Between the writer and director, they construct some of the most memorable moments you're likely to come across on screen. Take that simple one that illustrates the everydayness of a schoolboy's life - the one in which we see Ishaan biding his time, punished outside class, moon-walking in the corridor and burping away enthusiastically. Or that heart-wrenching scene in which Ishaan's mother discovers a flip-book he made which reveals just how vulnerable he's been feeling.

It's not just the little moments that stay with you, but also the film's crucial scenes, which are handled with such rare maturity. "Meeri maa.." song and the "3 into 9" sequence for example. :)

And then there's that other scene which I consider the most important in the film - the one in which Nikumbh visits Ishaan's home and explains to his parents what exactly is the problem with their son, and how they may have damaged his confidence even further - it's a poignant and delicate scene because Nikumbh is at once confrontational, admonishing, comforting and hopeful, and it works also because it's performed so instinctively by Aamir and the actor playing Ishaan's father.

Plus :

* Darsheel Safary - The boy who was Ishaan - vaippe illa.. sema... I could see him telling Aamir "Macha naan pathukuren, nee konja neram nadikama iru"

* Aamir

* Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy - especially the meri maa song was damn good. Kudos again guys

* Sethu for photography
* Rest of the cast and the crew for the wonderful effort :)
Minus:

The movie was kinda lengthy and the last scene could've been even better :)

Lest you be mistaken, let me make it clear that although it's centred around a dyslexic protagonist, Taare Zameen Par is not a film about dyslexia. Nor is it a film about any disease or disorder. It's a film about parents and children, about the pressures we put on our kids, about how we push them into becoming assembly-line products instead of encouraging them to find their own unique strengths. It's also about finding our heroes.
Verdict: WATCH IT!

Rating : 60/100