Category Archives: Movies

Am super-excited!

It’s a Friday today and weekend is just a few hours away! šŸ™‚
There is a T.M.Krishna’s concert today! šŸ™‚
It is Sanjay’s first concert of the Season tomorrow! šŸ™‚

Today morning, I had so many things to be happy about and I was, indeed, so very excited that I thought it wouldn’t be possible for me to be more excited than I already was, when I saw in ‘The Hindu”s ‘Friday Review’ that Mani Ratnam is going to be one of the guests of honour at the release of the DVD of T.M.Krishna and Bombay Jayashri’s ‘Margazhi Raagam’!!!

The day in 2005 when I saw in ‘Metro Plus’ that DVDs of Mani Ratnam’s movies are going to be launched by Mani Ratnam himself still remains evergreen in my memory, while seeing Mani Ratnam and even getting his autograph still seems like an unbelievable dream!! Despite all the excitement, there is this big disappointment that my sister is not there in India now. šŸ™ She wasn’t able to come for the DVD launch of Mani Ratnam’s movies itself! šŸ™ Anyway, irrespective of whether I see Mani Ratnam this Sunday or not, I am super-excited!!! šŸ™‚

The ‘Margazhi Raagam’ DVD launch is going to happen at Cafe Ashvita in Radhakrishnan Salai on December 6th (4 pm – 5 pm). I don’t think any invite is needed for this. So, all you Mani Ratnam fans out there, mark your calendar! šŸ™‚

Kannathil Muthamittal Revisited

Watching the last half an hour or so of Kannathil Muthamittal on K TV today morning, I remembered the post of mine that has been lying unfinished in the drafts for a long time now.

Sometime in June last year (this post has been in draft from that time!!), there was this thematic concert of T.M.Krishna that I went to. The theme of the concert was ā€˜Relationshipsā€™. As I heard a moving rendition of Mahakvi Bharatiyarā€™s ā€˜chinnanchiru kiLiyeā€™(which he had chosen for the relationship between a father and his daughter) by TMK ā€“ how does he manage to bring so much bhava in everything that he sings! TMK rocks! šŸ™‚ ā€“, I couldnā€™t help remembering the movie ā€˜Kannathil Muthamittalā€™ the moment he sang those lines in the song. šŸ™‚ As my thoughts drifted towards the movie, the first thing that came to my mind was what an apt title Mani Ratnam had chosen for the movie!
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Women in Mani Ratnamā€™s movies

Sangsā€™ post was what made me write this post. She has written that most of Mani Ratnamā€™s heroines are epitomes of innocence. But, I donā€™t think so.

Taking their own decisions, choosing how their life has to be, speaking their mind out and at times, being real stubborn ā€“ to me, these are what characterize the women in Mani Ratnamā€™s movies. Of course, some of their decisions do get influenced by their parents or others around them. But that, definitely, doesnā€™t make them innocent.
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The Wedding Song!

The first time I watched the trailer of this song, the colourful and joyous atmosphere, the foot-tapping beats, girls singing and dancing happily in a teasing tone and the eyes of the handsome hero and the heroine meeting each other were enough for me to like it instantly. I remember listening to the full song only after watching the trailer.
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Father-Son Relationship in Mani Ratnamā€™s movies

I have often wondered about the portrayal of father-son relationship in Mani Ratnamā€™s movies.

Characters played by Murali & Sarath Babu in Pagal Nilavu, Mohan in Mouna Raagam, Kamal in Nayagan, Mammootty in Thalapathy, Arvind Samy in Roja, Prashanth and Anand in Thiruda Thiruda, Mohanlal in Iruvar, Madhavan in Kannathil Muthamittal and Suriya & Madhavan in Aayitha Ezhuthu ā€“ Father of none of these characters are alive. In Nayagan and Aayitha Ezhuthu, it is evident from some scenes that their fathers have had a positive influence on Kamal and Suriya.
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Bombay

At first look, this movie starts off as just another love story set in a village. A guy getting floored by the beauty of a girl ā€“ thatā€™s all. Unlike Rishi (Arvind Samy) and Rojaā€™s (Madhubala) in Roja or Karthik (Madhavan) and Shaktiā€™s (Shalini) in Alaipayuthey or Manohar (Karthik) and Divyaā€™s (Revathy) in Mouna Raagam or for that matter, even Gautam (Prabhu) and Anjaliā€™s (Amala) in Agni Nakshatram, which are love stories where their initial courting scenes to the scene where they express their love for each other itself are some unforgettable scenes, with the dialogues making them all the more memorable, this movie doesnā€™t have any of those. Except for the scene where Shekhar (Arvind Samy) gets into the same boat as Shaila Bhanuā€™s (Manisha) and tells her of his love, there are practically no dialogues between the two of them. But thatā€™s where the song, ā€˜Uyireā€™ comes in – there couldnā€™t have better words than the lyrics of the song to express their love for each other.
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The Best Song Ever!

8 years it has been since the song got released. Still it is the only one song that I wouldn’t hesitate to call as my most favourite one among everything I have listened to till date. Be it Tamil, Telugu or Hindi, it is one of the few songs which sounds beautiful in all the languages, though I must admit that I don’t understand most of what is sung in Telugu. It does not matter whether it is Hariharan or Sonu Nigam who is singing it. Both their voices suit the song perfectly. And what should I say about the variety of emotions it evokes in me today? Whenever I remember all those wonderful times I spent with my sister discussing about this song endlessly after we first listened to it, both of us watching the video of this song on repeat mode almost every single day after watching the movie and becoming absolutely crazy about it, later listening to the Telugu version of this song and realizing that it sounds as nice as the Tamil version (unlike most of the songs) and listening to that too on repeat mode, the Hindi version too getting added to the list after a few years, all the while becoming more and more passionate about Rahman’s music and Mani Ratnam’s movies with every passing day – Oh it makes me so nostalgic! When I think of the times I have immediately cheered up on listening to/watching this song or when I found this song to be the greatest stress buster after a stressful day, all I can do is say a big thanks to Rahman and Mani Ratnam for giving us such a lovely song and wonder about the power of music! When I think of the times when I was so happy and watching/listening to this song made me all the more happy, I know that’s the magic of Rahman’s music and Mani Ratnam’s picturization of it only makes it all the more beautiful! And what about the times when just thinking/talking about this song, brought a smile to my face instantly? 8 long years and yet nothing has changed. Even today, our faces light up immediately if we see the song playing in one of the channels while channel surfing! Even today, this is the song that I turn to when I am so irritated with a lot of things or am feeling a bit stressed. Even today, I consider watching this song to be a great way to unwind at the end of the day. And even today, the mere mention of this song is enough to bring a smile to my face. šŸ™‚ And till date, this song has remained THE best picturized song of Rahman and I am sure it is going to remain that way forever! The combination of A.R.Rahman’s music, Mani Ratnam’s excellent song picturization, Vairamuthu’s beautiful lyrics and P.C.Sreeram’s cinematography at its best! Now don’t tell me you don’t know which song this one is! šŸ˜‰