The curious case of Dravid's bat

I like people who write English (or any language) with a good sense of humor. Andy Zaltzman is one among them. This englishman has an humorous narrative style, and a fluent vocabulary. He regularly writes in cricinfo blogs, and the one he wrote on the world cup final (it's here) will always remain my favorite.

When someone asked a question, "I wonder how many time did Rahul Dravid tap his bat on the ground". And while responding to that lethargic remark, here is what Andy Z observed.

 "In answer to the query about the number of times Dravid has tapped his bat on the pitch, he has now faced 29364 balls (and counting) in his Test career. Let us assume that he taps the pitch an average of 6.5 times per ball when he is facing, and 3.7 times per ball when he is the non-striker, plus an additional 11.2 times between overs. And let us assume that, whilst batting, he has not faced as many balls as he has faced. Using my special abacus, I therefore calculate that Dravid has tapped the pitch approximately 409,138 times in his Test career. Give or take."

Quite an interesting personality, isn't he? You can read his blogs here, and even follow him on twitter here: @ZaltzCricket

Deiva Thirumagal - Movie review

Deiva Thirumagal (தெய்வத்திருமகள்) is a 165 minute video of true love between two kids, one aged 30, and the other, 5. Vikram, one of my favorite hero took everyone's breath away with his master-class act, playing the former, while a cute little never-known-before age-5 angel, whose name I am still trying to find out, stole the entire show. Both of them deserve a National award for their hard-work in this movie.

Like I always do, my reviews neither describe the story, nor rate it with a 5-point scale. I simply express my views about the movie, while suppressing the story at the same time. I don't want to ruin the suspense package by revealing it to someone who has not yet seen the movie. Whenever I love watching a movie, I encourage others to watch it by writing a blog about it. 

About the movie and Vikram...

This movie exceeded the expectations of many people and has given some real food for Vikram's brilliance. Giving him Masala movies and action roles is like sending in Sachin Tendulkar at No.11. There are other heroes like Vijay who can do such 'any-man-can-do' roles. "Dr. Chiyaan Vikram", read the title scroller. I never knew when he got it, but I am damn sure he deserve it. He has another 10 years of active-acting in him and I will be disappointed if he doesn't deliver 5 more such-roles. To me, He is the only man, close to Dr.Kamal hasan, when it comes to creative efforts and 'converting-into-the-character'. Surya is another person, although he chooses to remain in the commercial track, which keeps him going.

Good show by  the cast....

Not a tough job for the costume designer as anyway, Anushka wears the lawyer rope all the time, while Vikram immerses inside one of his two sweaters throughout the movie. Nasar portrayed that Senior Lawyer very well, but I thought Prakash raj would 've fit into that role very well. Anushka played an entirely different role, keeping aside her chubby smiles, and hip-hop masala-movie hoorays.Well done Anu.

Thumbs up to the dialogue writer..

Dialogue writing was crisp and commendable. There were few few words that gave big big impacts. When Amala Paul ask that little girl, "Why do you want your dad? Can't you live with us here?", she cutely responds back, saying, 'You live with your dad. Why shouldn't I live with mine?". That feeble voice not only silenced Amala but the entire audience. Thumps up to the dialogue writer. Santhanam, although not at his blistering best, made the best use of the opportunity and cracked some witty remarks wherever possible

An ace director is emerging...

I almost appreciated director A. L. Vijay for conceiving such a creative story, but later I got to know that the story line is based on "I am Sam", a 2001 Sean Penn starred English movie. Still, directing such a crew is really commendable and Vijay deserves laudations. This is the same man who gave us "madarasapattinam" last year. Music is pleasing through out the movie. G.V.Prakash is slowly reaching toward greater heights. All the best to him.

The show stealer...

Rightly so, the person goes behind the movie title. It's the cute little kid that stole the show. I searched "Deivathirumagal Cast" on google, but unfortunately, no one had any mention of this girl. Really shocking because the story is all about her life, and the credit is taken by others. After serious googling, She turns out to be, "Baby Sara", whose history and geography will soon get published on south Indian magazines. Talking about her performance, she blew away not only my mind but both body and soul. At her age, performing such a role is truly world class. Really loved it. After  the children I saw in Kannathil Muthamittal, Jillunu oru kadal, and Siruthai, this girl has entered the list of my favorite child actors.

Message?

Hmm...probably the integrity and love that vikram portrays. The man has no use of his senses, but he is truly inspiring. He puts his mind to work, which is very obvious at the end of the movie. We all are physically and mentally capable of using all our senses, but we possess not even half as much probity and love for others as what Vikram possess. Shame on me :(

Reactions from the audience...

I seriously cried on many occasions, and the longest one came at the end of the movie, when they both hugged each other. I was not the only person in the theatre hall who dropped a tear. Even the hardest of hearts cannot stand a chance of coming out of the movie without dropping a tear. The sun was shining at its best when we walked in, but after the movie, the whole place was full of water. Whether it was because of the tear drops of the audience, or because of the rain that just started, I couldn't figure out. Stared home after a greater deal of satisfaction.

What is Maan Karate?

A non-tamil speaking friend of mine did not come across this legendary skill, and I thought of introducing this art of the underworld. I remember one of my high school English text book, having a lesson titled, "Karate: a mighty weapon with the empty hand". I never knew what was the main content because I had the option to skip the questions under that lesson, thanks to the education system which gave me a only 3 out of 5 - choice. 

This is one of the smartest karate, if not powerful, invented in Tamilnadu, by a much recognised man called Thaamu. There are different versions of martial arts. Japanese karate known for its strength, Chinese kungfu known for its flexibility, Boxing known for its punches and etc etc. But no one of the above mentioned could come near Maan karate.

Maan in tamil means " Deer". The main rules of Maan karate is as follows.

1. Be flexible and fit like a deer.
2. Build up muscles like a deer.
3. Exercise each single free hour like a deer.
4. Be sharp and sensitive like a deer.
5. Look and listen to every movements like a deer.
6. Have your own weapon of choice like a deer having its horns.
7. In case of danger first run like a deer and then think what to do.

This is quite easy to learn, and really helpful in danger situations. Just start running like how a deer will do when it encounters an approaching tiger. Happy learning :)