Monday, December 17, 2007

Billa - Ajith's Billa, Not Rajini's


Let's set the record straight first. Billa 2007 is a faithful not like don. It's adaptation of Rajini's 1981 classic of the same name. If you come to the movie expecting Ajith to do a Rajini, then you won’t like it. This is a complete Ajith show with a totally different viewing experience.
The story is same as in the original Billa. The elusive don David Billa (Ajith) is accidentally killed by the police assistant commissioner Jai Prakash (Prabhu) while trying to capture him alive. So, he changes a petty thief Velu (Ajith), a Billa look alike into Billa to get inside information of Billa's gang and capture them all. Velu successfully infiltrates Billa's gang. Just when the gang and its mysterious chief, Jagadeesh (Rahman) was about to be captured, Prabhu is killed by Jagadeesh. Velu is caught in an identity crisis. He has to survive both the police who think he's Billa and his gang who by now knows that he's not Billa. He has to trust a girl who tries to assassinate him, Sasha (Nayanthara) to reveal his identity and capture the mysterious chief. How he successfully accomplishes the two tasks forms the climax.
Ajith as David Billa is stunning. He has lived the role of a don. He is stylish in his looks and brutal in his actions. His killing of a leaving gang member and his girlfriend were proof of his brutality. Ajith in his Armani suits, Ray Ban glasses and cars (BMW, Jaguar etc) looks dashing. He does negative roles with relative ease which most will agree takes more than a smile. Ajith as Velu could have done better. There will be inevitable comparisons of Rajini's comic relief as Rajappa compared to Velu. Ajith's incompetence in comic scenes shows here. But his overall screen presence is amazing.Nayanthara's transformation from a chubby actress to a slim, sexy babe is stunning. She looks out of the world for a Tamil actress with her bold & sexy looks though she does remind you of tomb raider. Namitha as the second heroine fits the bill of a gangster's lover. Prabhu as the police commissioner and Rahman as the Interpol officer & Jagadeesh showed their maturity.
The movie's high points were many. The overall outlook of the films is stunning and cinematographer Nirav Shah need a special mention for giving the viewers a never before seen viewing experience. Stunts sequences were choreographed with a touch of reality to it. The car chase scene needs a special mention with no over the moon flying of cars, though it reminds you of Fast & Furious - Tokyo Drift. Costume designing needs a special mention. Anu Vardhan has really worked hard to give the stylish looks for not just Ajith, but for every actor in the movie. The use of cars and weapons were all up to the point.
On the flip side Velu's character could have coiled better. He lacks the comic flair that is associated with his character. The transition of Velu to Billa is so fast, that you wonder you wonder how his gang believes him. Song choreography is a let down. Blame it on his spinal surgery, but Ajith's performance in the two fast paced song sequences (Vethalaya Pottendi & Seval Kodi) were less than impressive. Even his usual energetic face expressions were missing in the Seval Kodi song. Screenplay of the movie could have been a lot faster. It creates a boring atmosphere which many would not welcome.
Yuvan Shankar Raja has done well in the background score for the movie but could have done well in the songs, given his proven track record, especially with Vishnuvardhan.
Vishnuvardhan has done well to recreate a movie that still remains as one of superstar's best and done so with aplomb. He did not try to recreate Rajini's magic. Instead he has let Ajith bring his own power packed performance to the forte. This is a movie with a totally new experience. If you try to compare this with the original, then you may not like it. Dialogues were all up to the point. But the director could not help but steal a famous dialogue from the Italian Job where Charlize Theron says, "I trust you... I just don't trust the devil inside you"... Does that ring a bell? It fits the movie though. The Director's use of latest technology and gadgets were applaudable, especially cars and suits. His choice of locations needs a special mention too. He brings to you a feel that Tamil movies are changing for the good. Actions movies getting critical acclaim is a rarity. This could well break that trend by being a critically acclaimed film as well, along with commercial success. It takes more than a smile to recreate a blockbuster film that had a superstar at his best. Special salutes to both Vishnu and Ajith for making this happen. Overall, Billa 2007 is a faithful recreation of Billa. Forget Rajini and you’re in for a totally different and refreshing experience.

Monday, May 14, 2007

The Agonising Wait

8 m0nths ago, when i set out to the UK for higher studies, I dreamt of this day to come.. May17th is the day that I'll be going back to my beloved India for a 2 week visit. Family emotions, reunion of friends, catching up with relatives are all that's in store for me. Bike trip (my favorite of all the plans), meeting a best friend who I last met 10 years back, hill station tours with family and friends, release and the prospect to viewing 'Shivaji' on day one and my birthday will make this short trip, the most busiest and the most memorable one.

But the most agonising part of all this are the days that lead up to it. Days that went in a flash become longer and longer.. The more phone calls u make to ur dear ones, the more anxious u become.. Every dream that u experience will be either in a flight or in home or roaming with friends.. That's the part i'm in now.. The agony just cannot be described fully.. Lots of NRI's will go with my views (I mean the ones who WANTS to come back to India).. The one important fact that compunds that agony is my exams. Exams on the 14th and 16th is the last thing I want before the departure. The more I think of it, the more I hate exams and the more I love to go back. But i one way i think i got to experience this feeling... It just gives a burning drive to make the the 16 days, the most memorable in my life..

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Shark above my head !!!! r u kiddin me???

Sea always fascinates me. It looks like a big tank of water and nothing more. But there are hell lot more to it than just water. We humans and many other organisms occupy one third of the world. What about the remaining two third? Imagine the number of organisms under the water. Imagine diving deep down the Marianas Trench (11km deep). You would have bursted into pieces b'coz of pressure by then. If Mount Everest were placed inside of this trench, it would disappear. . Imagine being a witness of a huge valcano eruption or a great earthquake happening under the sea. U'll be first to see how tsunami begins after an underwater earthqauke. Even the world's tallest mountain range and the tallest peak is under the sea.







Leave the facts aside. Just imagine looking at the millions of organisms inside the water. There are milions of organisms unknown to the humans lying deep down the ocean. There is a giant squid of 14m length deep down the pacific ocean. Imagine coming eye to eye with it. Imagine looking at the largest of blue whales swimming next to u. Sharks, sting rays (too bad, one of them killed Steve Irwin) or a jelly fish in front of your eyes could be a dangerous sight. A little clown fish, a sea horse, dolphins are the ones that gives a smile on your face and joy in your heart. Looks like a fantasy isnt it. But its a dream that i lived under the submarium in Hull, England. Read on.

Hull is located in the East Yorkshire county in England. There is an underwater submarium in Hull called "The Deep". Three floors of water and 8 inch thick glass made it a sanctuary for water organisms and a great experience for sea lovers like me. It takes more than 10 hrs to reach Hull from my place, Brighton. But when u have an everlasting passion and interest, who really cares for time. So a gang of 8 friends headed by Vishnu landed in Hull by mid day. After a customary roam around the city centre we were off to our prime location, the submarium. Yes, I lived my dream. Sharks, Sting Rays, Clown Fish, Dolphins and all kinds of inhabitants of the sea swam over my head. It truly was an experience of a life time. Dreams do come alive. Mine just did.

I've published a few of the submarium pics over here for all you friends to enjoy. I now have a personal agenda to become a qualified scuba diver. That will only expand my dreams. Enjoy these pics.
Posted by Picasa

Sunday, April 22, 2007

My (former) Work place.. Or is it??


When somebody goes for work in a place, the most obvious things he would expect are a calm environment, strict demanding managers, tip toe silence and most importantly formally dressed employees.. Now that's a myth in my work place... I walked into zenith call centre hoping to do what I did in Allsec.. The first thing i noticed in my work place is there was the music played on the floor.. I presumed they were having a break... Once my interview was successful (just another formality), i was asked to listen to one of the senior reps thr.. (She was only 10 shifts old by the way)... When she and others were making calls still the music was on and loud.... u can’t hear what the person on the line speaks... This female who TRAINED (couldn’t get a better word) me was unbelievably hot.... I was struggling to be on my own in front of her... Sometimes it becomes difficult to look only at her face.... sheeeesh.. Fine.. No more double meaning stuff..

After the so called training i was put into calls.. That was total fun.. The best pat was i really didn’t know what i was selling.. But still managed to make about 100 calls in a 3 hr shift.. One more funny thing is, there was no computers in that CALL CENTRE.. We had to take down all the information in a paper.. and the music was on all the time.. So u can imagine the situation.. The team leaders was another joke.. The two TL's that i had was of my age.. Will thr be any control? of course not.. They were the ones who increases the volume of the music when somebody reduces it.. Wow.. Perfect example of how TL's should be.. But on a whole the whole place was a bunch of crap.. No regrets when i left the job in 2 weeks.. Couldn’t take it anymore.. Holy crap.. Don’t wonder why ur work place is not like this.. This is one of a kind.. The only one..

Monday, April 02, 2007

Psychic model!!!!!!!

U know I started doing modeling in the UK. I’m by far the most wanted model in Sussex today.. I’m not kidding.. I’m modeling but in a different field.. Psychology… Now that will make a few (even lots), very much relieved.. May the world be in peace..

As lots of u think being a model in psychology experiment is not as if you are going to be given an unchecked pill that’s gonna strangle ur brain.. (I’m a brainless freak anyway..) It’s more about ur mental abilities.. (see.. that’s again a problem.. but still…) Most importantly u get cool money.. Now I’m not talking abt money given from a fridge here.. (ok.. I know it’s getting a bit cocky here).. In simple terms ur getting paid for doing very simple experiments..

The first two of them that I have been in was the coolest.. One had a few questionnaires and a video clip to watch.. I was expecting some kind of a horror movie or even something like Baywatch (ok ok.. lets stop the imagination there) Actually I got to watch the song ‘Acuna Matada’ from ‘The Lion King’.. A few questionnaires and I’m done getting 3 pounds in half an hour.. The second one was even better.. A few questionnaires to start with and a little interview where the experimenter asked me ‘what is the one thing that u worry in life’, for which I told ‘nothing’.. She was a bit taken back by that.. I didn’t want to disappoint her, so I told that my memory absolutely sucks.. A few questions on that and 3 pounds again.. I got 6 pounds which I used for my haircut.. How cool was that?

The third was longer and involved non-smokers.. What an advantage!!! 5 hours of memory experiments, a pill that contained nothing and a nasal spray that did nothing. That’s all for 5 hours and I’m 25 pounds richer.. Now that’s what I mean by cool money.. Another experiment like the first one and I’m 4 pounds richer again.. Now stop dreaming abt coming here.. U need a 400 pound ticket and Visa for that.. (The first one is easier to get than the other.)

U know what’s even cool.. This will probably happen this month.. I’ve signed up for a psychology test where you’ve to go in the morning.. Eat what they give for breakfast, (Corn flakes) and give a feed back.. 10 non-consecutive days of experiment and u have 50 pounds in ur pocket… This is what they call “paying u for eating sugar cane”. . I can see a few bellies burning.. Don’t worry abt it.. Don’t spoil my rest room with ur jealousy.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

To the Heart of Bioinformatics


There are some things in life that are driven by instinct. This blind instinct has no reason but still has a lot of significance in somebody’s life. You will have a constant feeling like this, “I don’t know why, but still I feel that this is going to be mine”. It happened to me during my school days. For some reason I always wanted to be study in VIT. I did not know why. When I first encountered the name Bioinformatics, for some reason I liked it, which is why I selected it in the first place ahead of biotechnology. The same instinct stuck me with another name called EBI.

I was in the 2nd year of college when i first heard of the European bioinformatics institute [EBI]. It was actually in a bioinformatics training institute in Bangalore when its head spoke of how we have great future in places like NCBI, EBI, and EMBL etc. It got stuck in my mind since then. It was always a dream to be a part of EBI. Now I’m not saying here that I got a job in EBI. But I had a chance to visit EBI and Sanger’s Institute in Cambridge for EBI open day. But then, there’s an old saying that fits in the bill here. WELL BEGIN IS HALF DONE. You’ll never know!! Sanger’s Institute and EBI stood in the middle of nowhere in Cambridge. It’s a very quiet place to be in work. Dream place if you want to be a researcher. They have all the facilities inside their campus. Cafeterias, Gym, Sports Field, Park, Lake, you name it and they have it.

Me and 5 of my friends set of early morning from Brighton in a train. In a 15 min uphill walk to the station we were encountered by snowfall. What a perfect start for the day!!! I had a burning desire to be in semi formals on that day. That compounded my shivering. But again, if u got to have some, u got to lose some. Nevertheless, we were in the EBI campus well ahead of schedule. After a typical English breakfast, we were off for a little tour of the Sanger’s institute, home of the human genome project. We were briefed about the history and happenings of the place. We were able to see the EBI database and the sequencing machines as well. Then it was time for some conference in which we dozed off, literarily. Selva had to wake us up every time we dozed off. One reason is I had a night out, so I’m obviously tired. The other reason is that all the speakers were so boring (for that sake which speaker is interesting in any conference!!). The best part is the breaks where we got to meet a few other students and the ones who spoke as well. At least they were not that boring in a one on one conversation. I also had a chance to speak with Mr. Tim French, Asst manager with Astra Zeneca. He gave an industrial perspective on bioinformatics and his company’s recruitment needs. That was indeed helpful. With that it was all over for the day. Looks pretty simple and boring day but the sheer experience of being in the heart of bioinformatics and talking to a few good men made that day very special. Let’s see if my instinct lands me in the EBI. That’s quite a long way to go and worth another posting.
Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Chandramugi and Casino Royal - Out of the ordinary hits

Now if u think that this is gonna be a review of the two blockbuster movies & comparing the scenes, then think again.. It's not a usual movie review that i'm gonna put but rather a different kind of a comparisn.. Read on..

Both movies were Blockbusters with a huge star value tag attached to them (Chandramugi - Super Star Rajinikanth, Casino Royal - James Bond). But the very fact that both failing to live up to the tag, still went on to become blockbusters is what amazed me a lot.. The general feeling after seeing both the movies was, "Hmmm.. Yeah nice movie.. but... not typical to the tag".. Here are the reasons why..

Let's start with Chandramugi... Super star movie after 3 years.. Big time hype.. Amidst all the expectations and ticket counter tussles, i watched the movie on the first day (It's a sin not to watch super star movie on the first day)... After 3 hrs, when i came out discussing with the friends, the common feeling among all of them was, "Very good movie.. But not like a super star movie"... I mean, I just watched a rajini movie that had no style factor, negligible punch dialogues as well as no cigarettes.. The only saving grace for die hard rajini fans was the climax where he dons the 'Vettaya Raja' avatar where Rajini does a negative role to perfection... Inspite of all the missing Rajini factor that the movie grossed a record Rs.1102 crores (33rd in the most grossed movies in the world) is a testimonial to Rajini's sheer presence in the movie.. I'm saying this with all due respect to a powerful performance from Jyothika...

Casino Royal... Bond movie after a long time with a new blond bond.. Sure its a blockbuster action movie.. But where is Bond in the movie.. Let's face it.. Bond actually gets hurt.. Bond falls in love.. Bond cries for his love.. Bond has an Aston Martin that breaks down in two scenes and most importantly, Bond sleeps with an unmarried woman... huh.. Are you kidding me.. But with some spectacular stunts and good acting from Daniel Craig (Now hailed as the Best Bond since Sean Connery), the movie was a blockbuster hit around the world...

The very fact that these two movies able to be blockbusters inspite of an underplay to the tag means that people's interest sure is changing all over the world.. In my view its getting better.. Movies with good story lines like United 93, Million Dollar Baby, Crash, Munich, Kanda Nal Mudal, Kaadal, and others relishing critical acclaim as well as commercial succss... So keep watching good movies... Peace..

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Haircut, Ice skating, Pissing in a street.. err.. Am i talking about New Year Celebrations?

Years after years after years we've seen new year celebrations all over the world telecasted in TV.. It's been one of my dreams to be in person in one of those places for new year's day.. Since the day Abilesh and me got offers to study in the united kingdom, we were determined to celebrate New Year's day in the city of dreams, london.. More fitting, it also happened to be our 100th day in UK and the first time we met after leaving family and friends back in India.. It was all about the excitement of meeting a best friend after a long time and the eagerness to be in the celebrations for a new year. Victoria Station in london was all buzzed up with people coming in for the celebrations. One could see the excitements on their faces, leaving me with a relief that i'm not alone..

When i finally me Abi I was pretty much amused than excited. The reason is, he havent had a hair cut since he came here and looked like a pre historic tribal in the forest of the amazon. He more so looked like the aryan nomads who settled in India abt 5000 years back.. I thot even the tribals in Apocalypto lokked decent.. So much for spending 6 pounds for a hair cut.. I was even more amused when he said he's gonna have a hair cut anly when he goes to India.. That's in the month of may.. I started to reconsider my decision to visit manchester often.. But then friendship came first to hair cut.. He told me that he's gonna look like great Kamal Hassan in Devar Magan by the time he goes to India... Kamal fans, forgive me..

After all these hair amusement we finally set off to East Ham, a south indian place in london.. It was nice to be in that place it typically looks like a street in chennai. Grocery stores with names in tamil, music stores playing fast paced tamil songs, temple with lots of people in sarees, traffic ignoring road crossings, Ananda Vikadan, Kumudam and Kunguman in the stores etc etc.. It was a virtual Chennai street. Amazingly i was able to give equal company to Abilesh in the buffet lunch.. Now that's surprising is'nt it.. I ate half of what he ate when we were in India.. Now its equal..

We were off to Greenwich, to say that we are standing right in the middle of the world, if not top of the world.. Fate decided otherwise.. The place was closed before we reached thr.. By this time all of our friends joined as well.. The next destination was Canary Wharf, the business capital of london with all those high rise buildings.. Thr was this ice skating going on.. I cautiously decided nt to try it.. A friend and his brother went for it, scratched along the walls, fell down n number of times and finally came out looking like drunk men.. Too bad they didnt follow a genoius' (that's me.. lol) decision..

The time was 8'o clock in the evening on New year's eve.. That was the time we were supposed to be at the victoria embarkment for the celebrations.. Victoria embarkment is a road perpendicular to the big ben overlooking the london eye just across the river.. The place was all crowded with people from all over the world who have come here for the celebrations. Its an electrifying place with loud music playing in the background and people dancing to its tunes.. It is a place to be with on a new year's day celebration. We then have walk back for abt half a mile to get beer.. As always i had pepsi.. As the countdown began, the crowd went crazy with all the shoutings and screamings.. Exactly at 00.00 on 1.1.2007 couple of crackers went up the sky and bursted signalling the start of a new year followed by the famous 12 gongs from the big ben... And then it's show time.. I can only describe the fireworks that went for the next 10 min in one word.. SPECTACULAR.. u gotta see it to believe it.. Every single person was glued to the sky... It's the best set of fireworks display i've seen in my life... After the fireworks started a slow walk back to the hotel.. Even a snail would have moved faster.. But that's abt the crowd.. It was just so huge and we had only one way to get out..

Then came a real problem.. I drank so much of Pepsi, (Yeah only pepsi) that i had to piss urgently... the hotel was abt 2 miles away.. I'm damn sure that my bladder is nt gonna hold up till then... Then i saw it.. Not a toilet, but a dark deserted street... What's more delightfull was the fact that i could see many men pissing thr.. i'm nt alone... So much relief for me that i didnt even mind a few girls who passed by me when i was pissing... who cares really.... The best part is we had planned to stay overnight in the victoria bus terminus.. But the friend and his brother (Remember.. ice skating) had booked a hotel room and asked us to join.. Thank u very much... What's more surprising was that was a 5 star hotel.. Change for fortunes...

We woke up on new year's day (when did we ever wake up early)... We were off to east ham again... This time to have idly, dosa, pongal and kothu parota.. Felt like heaven u know... After shopping some typically indian items (ananda vikadan, good day biscut, vellam, muruku), we were off to victoria bus terminus again for the trip back home.. I left london with a satisfying feeling of being a part of a gr8 celebration and with a amusement of when is Abi gonna have his hair cut.. I have a gut feeling he's nt gonna do it that early.. Kamal Fans, I'm sorry again...