Kumuki - Movie review

They say breath-taking, breath-taking without really meaning it. Well, this movie does it, and I mean it. Kumuki is one of the highly anticipated movies of this year, for it stars the grand-son of the great Sivaji Ganesan in the lead role for the first time. It was quite evident from the guest list of this movie's audio release - the reputation Sivaji ganesan has in & around Tamil Cinema industry. How often or when have you actually seen Rajinikant and Kamal hasan participate in the audio release of a movie starred by debutants? Sivaji's heritage is not the primary focus of this post, and it's here if you are interested in more of him. 

Another visual treat of the year

About the movie, first impression, my favourite part. It's the cinematography that stood out. There was a beautiful place, beautifully picturized, and presented on screen. And the Music, Oh yeah! every minute, whatever was shown, appeared awesome to the eye and ear. It was a treat to watch (those hills and plains) and as well listen to the songs (which are a runaway hit since its release). I am waking up everyday listening to Shreya Goshal's voice for more than a month, because my roomie will play this album first thing in the morning. And I liked it myself. There were four relentless guys seated (they never sat actually) near me who danced and danced for every song, despite multiple expellant warnings from the security. It just showed how well the songs got into people. If there existed a people's choice award, this movie's getting it is highly likely.

The plot was so very different and screen-played so well that it makes your heart ticking, "Oh my...it's gonna  come now" every now and then but (to my disappointment) it never did before the last 5 minutes. I anticipated it to be a thriller movie that partly portrayed love but as the move progressed I realized that it was quite the opposite. The concentration on love and thrill could've been reconsidered. Some where I lost the interest in watching it. I liked many parts of it except for the mediocre climax. Keeping the element of uncertainty, that what-will-come-next aspect alive is the key to engaging screenplay. This movie does it successfully for a major part of it. Kumuki is a fresh attempt portraying fresh faces. A different experience altogether.

Credits to the director for making an attempt as brave as this. Double credit to Vikram prabhu for taking up such a challenging role in his debut film. After his grandpa and dad, the family's legacy in the film industry is sure to continue, with Vikram looking good to do more films. Playing a character as intense as what Karthi did in paruthiveeran, Vikram will make it to the list of top 10 debut performances, if there ever was one. 

The name is C R I C K E T

Prologue:  An unpublished blog, written on the early morning of April 2, 2011. It has stayed in my drafts until I saw it accidentally today. More than completing the reminder of it, publishing it untouched sounded like a nice idea. It was written at that moment, capturing the emotions of a nation better. However, the state of Indian domination in world cricket somehow took a stride since then. 

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Many Indian journalists who lived their life penning down press articles were left tottering today. Nobody knew what to do next or whether what just happened is real or not. Actually, what happened is, M.S Dhoni towered a SIX toward deep mid-on. That 6 not only crossed the ropes, but sealed a game for India, which eventually happened to be the final of the ICC ODI World Cup 2011.

  After winning the EPIC in 1983, India have finally done it again. 28 years of wait is over, and the hungry generation's thirst is finally quenched after all the painful, impatient wait. Blood turned to blue and started to bleed. A nightfull of celebrations was going on and on and on..The Sun did turn up 6 hours later, but the night wasn't over yet. It was a dawn of INDIAN DOMINATION in World Cricket. The Team which was already the best test team in the world, has now reached the top spot, by winning the "CUP THAT COUNTS". 

More memorable images - here

   I have never seen an entire nation cry together in extreme delight. It felt different. Very different. It wasn't the kind of formal handshake that happen all around and you go to bed after dinner. This is a night in which we forgot to have dinner, hugged and jumped, again and again, cried in overwhelming joy, and never went to bed. We continued to live that moment, flabbergasted completely, witnessing a special, many-year-memorable, re-written History, which is a World Cup Victory.  

Were Australians as ecstatic as me? When they won it three straight times? 1999, 2003, and 2007. I am not sure. This i

Movie Review: Life of Pi

It was quarter to nine, as I skimmed through my emails. "Let's watch a movie", said JP, my roomie. Little did I know then that I was in for the "ride of a life time", which is witnessing Piscine Molitor Patel's breath-taking journey. A visually vibrant and an incredibly impressive one to watch and get amazed.  Out of nowhere came this outstanding movie, and blew me away. It seems it is the "much awaited" of this year, and I just didn't know! For once in my life, I don't have to read the subtitle when a foreign language is being spoken in the middle of an English movie. For this is gonna get really popular, I can just quote the name of the movie to anyone if I wanted to introduce my mother language - Tamil. 

A pic. from patheos.com

If the plot of the movie is about faith, then its making has a lot to talk about. Getting rejected 5 times, before the book was accepted and published, becoming an award-winning best seller, and then a 9-year wait before the technology can evolve enough for the artistic on-screen portrayal of Pi's Life. Having survived all that and hitting the big screen is a great leap of faith in itself. Only a director with this amount of faith could've delivered a movie with such great heights of faith. One more 'faithy' fact is the debutant Suraj Sharma's selection for playing the lead role, who had overcome 2000 other nominations for the same role. Not in terms of plot but when popularity and "awards  in store" is considered, Life of Pi is the next Slumdog Millionaire.  

  

I am a photography lover, and this movie has master pieces all over it. Deep blue sea, a brown skinned man, orange-ish sunrise and the yellowish tiger. Oh...my....God, i thought. I just wished I was there myself (although not with that Tiger). There is some amount of titanicism in the ship wreck and some amount of avatarism in the portrayal of Nature. And I am happy the world got to see Munnar which is one of the most beautiful place in the Indian state of Kerala. Really loved watching it on 3D. And I admired the attention to detail. How pondicherry was described, how a poster of a older tamil movie is poster'ed on a wall to highlight how backdated the movie is, plus the biological changes Pi goes through, for having starved 277 odd days in extreme weather conditions. 

Although an adventure flick, Life of Pi actually attempts to define God. Not straight to the point, but has left substantial inferences from where we can figure a way on our own. Spirituality is sprayed all over this adventurous Pizza. Pi's life is as uncertain as 22/7. Pi's life redefines Hope and faith. Pi's life is waiting to "sweep you away". Don't miss this ride. 

Here are few articles that I read, before I sat to write this blog:

• http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/....tom-rothman-suraj-sharma-nyff-375217
• http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ang-lee-life-pi-...-film-festival-375299
• http://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/movies/i-can-...3d-ang-lee_123040.htm
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-edmund-m...2188397.html

P.S:

This is my first review of a English movie.