Picture Perfect

I was remembering some of the best songs from Mani Rathnam's movies and started realizing how well they were picturized.

When I listen to a melodious music (I like ARR's music a lot), I start having certain expectation about how the song should be picturized for the kind of the background score in the song. Since I do not really follow Tamil very well, but love listening to ARR's music , I end up listening to the song first before watching it.
Infact, the melody of the song touches the heart so much, that I go in search of the lyrics and the translation of the lyrics. Likewise ,I also start having certain expectation on how the song should be ideally picturized for such beautiful music. Often I am disappointed with picturization, the one director who is perfect in this is Mani Ratnam.
When you listen to the initial background music in "Kannathil Muttamittal", you feel there should be a slow motioned run, and when we watch the song - both male and female version - the picturization in the Srilankan Landscape is just breath taking. The "Pacchai Nirame" song is another example of beautiful picturization. Another one which I remember is "Tu hi re", for the pain expressed in the song, the way it has been picturized on the beach and in the fort especially, in between when there is a music, it is just excellent.Another example is "Narumugaye", specifically picturized in black and white to suit the song.There are plenty more like "Dil se re","Chaiyya Chaiyya","Chinna chinna aasai" or "Ye haseen Wadiya" from Roja.
In comparision, if you watch the picturization for "Mannipaya" from VVT , it is disappointing. Same way with "Aao na " song in "Kyun ho gaya na" or "Anjali Anjali Pushpanjali". I am a fan of slow beats and both of these songs are melodious and meaningful. But they have not been picturized very well to suit the song. In mannipaya for example, one of the most meaningful verse in the song, is sung by the heroine over phone :). In Anjali Anjali song, the first part of the song, which has the beautiful saxophone and keyboard part is picturized in a disappointing way.Imagine this being picturized with both scores with a beautiful background. Instead the heroine is in a bathroom :).

A bond(007) a day keeps you sound

Nowadays star movies is playing Bond movies everyday. What I like best about the movies is of course Bond himself and the stunts and Gadgets used. For a guy of course the list would include the beautiful ladies. This is the first time I saw Roger Moore as Bond. But my personal favorites among the Bonds is Pierce Brosnan and Sean Connery.There is no match for them in Daniel Craig. Among other characters, I like elegance of Judy Dench.

The best part of the movie is usually the opening , the stunts are excellent like the plane scene in "Tomorrow Never Dies" or the run in "Casino royale". In the casino Royale scene, the interesting part is that the Guy whom Bond is chasing finds his way without raking or breaking anything, but Bond just destroys anything that comes in his way :).

But if you think about it, Bond movies are nothing but a glorified Bollywood movie. Unlike some of the other Hollywood Movies (which is the reason why I prefer them) , there is no new ideas(like in Mission Impossible) or the thoughts(Memento-beautiful idea for a movie) or plans(like in ocean series). But that's the reason they are 007 movies isn't it?. So they are glorified bollywood movies why?- they have the typical masala - Hero(Bond), Heroin(multiple beautiful ladies with skimpy dresses), Daaku (of course he is the one whom bond is chasing) and charlie(filled in by MoneyPenny or the scientist who keeps getting the gadgets). Not to forget the ending is always good , Bond is always victorious, of course they have to keep the gate open for the next series.

But finally what matters to a viewer is entertainment which is sufficient in these movies and they will continue to be of their own class for that reason.

Watching Inception

This is an amazing movie and the directors / writers imagination is awe inspiring. The matters related to subconscious are usually hard to be explained. Inception does that perfectly well. The minute I heard the directors name , I could realize its his game. The other movie which is quite amazing and directed by Christopher Nolan is Memento. Getting the viewer to understand and get involved in such movies is a hard job and these movies are doing just that so well. They are in a class of their own. Its a worth watching movie in 2010.

Perfection in action

Lately I have been listing to a lot of ARR's creations. When ever I hear one of his best ones like - "Narumugaye" I feel Iam realizing Perfection at work. It is wonderful to hear his music sung by the best classical musicians the likes of Unnikrishnan, Hariharan . The other observation is the way the different musical instruments converge in the songs. Even in a simple song like "munbe vaa", there are atleast 4 instruments playing in the background. And in the song "Mannipaya, there is a little instrument, which keeps making sound(dont know which instrument). But its superb to see that the background music is always so good in all his songs

There are few people around us who are perfectionists in what they do.
Mani Ratnam is another person whom I think is a uncathed Integral perfectionist.
When we watch any of his movies, the viewers have an ideal blend of a story, quality acting, excellent music , near perfection lyrics and the best ever camera work to mention a few.
All this is possible only because he chooses the right people for the right job, and probably gives them sufficient independance in shaping their piece.

I was recently checking out the Bombay Jayashree's website and she seemed another person who falls in the same category. Here is one of the poems hosted on her website, it is an excellent one and I added it here. With her music, she touches the intangible feelings and hearts of thousands of listeners.

All this is possible only because these people have found the purpose of their lives - their Passion. They live the passion day in day out and can only become better day by day.


does not music
light a spark
fan a flame
set a soul on fire?

the fragranc of the flower
the song of the bird
the rising of the waves
the flaming of the fire
the swaying of the leavs
does the wind ever wonder
why it blows?

and the raindrop flows into the river
and the word into the note
and the river into the sea
and the note into the raga
and the sea into the ocean
and the music into the soul
can the raindrop remember
where it lost itself
and where it found itself?

Listening....
to the silences within
'and the sounds
of silences

-Bombay Jayashree

Importance of Language

Recently I was visiting Kerala - God's own country truely .... . We were in a rush to visit scenic places.Since spices are Kerala's speciality, I wanted to get , some of it too. I got into a small shop and started my shopping with Tea powder. The shop vendor did not understand anything in english not even numbers . Yep. Neither hindi, the only other language which he could understand bearly other than malayalam was Tamil which I could not converse with. I can sparsely understand tamil if somebody speaks, but can't form sentences .

When I asked him for species , he said he doesn't have . his shop was stuffed so badly and I was in so much hurry I could hardly see anything around.Guess who came in for my help... the god sent messenger in god's own country :) .

A small cute guy, about 6 years age came in to buy something. He became our translator . I gradually bought tea powder, cinnamon,cumin seeds and finally black pepper . All with the help of the small guy's transalation work. Finally the small guy totalled the amount.

I shopped so much and with all the problems of language, the shop keeper could not follow my bargaining prices . But finally , I got him to give me an extra big piece of chikki .

Giving some of it to small guy(in all the hurry,I forgot to ask the guy his name), over the ride to the next scenic spot, I for the first time realized the importance of language practically.

matinee thoughts

I was watching a movie late night yesterday - two lovers (Joequin Phoenix and Gywneth Paltrow).
The guy is a bipolar in this. His parents are doing their best to have a safe and insured life for him. at one point in the movie his father asks him - "Are you happy?" this is with respect to the events happening.
This is probably something we miss very often in our daily lives. We forget to ask this simple question our selves and the close ones.

Looks like we are advancing

We are really advancing, I felt.
I recently lost my mobile, well somebody flicked it when I was on my way to office.
The whole system was so good, I could immediately block my sim card .
The next day I had a duplicate sim card with the same number , the process was so easy and hazzlefree. I walked into a airtel shop, showed him identity proof and filled a simple form, paid 50 Rs and lo I had the duplicate sim card.
It was whole new experience, although I had lost my mobile , but this experience made my life easier. I only hope this kind of smart systems and hazzlefree systems get into the system of administration.

For a while when you look around, we are not smart people but rather very thick skinned dumbos when it comes to administrative system., If I could ever get my passport or a new gas connection so quickly the way i got my duplicate sim card, that day, I will start believing that we have advanced,.

Things apart, am now reading The Prize ( Irving Wallace) and The mother ( Pearl S Buck). Both are beautifully written. The plot is interesting in The Prize, but the language , expression is so beautiful in The Mother. No wonder Pearl S Buck won a nobel prize. Interestingly The Prize is all about the nobelprize winners