Cannibal Holocaust- the Scariest Movie that I have ever seen!

(A DVD of the Movie)

                            Made in 1980 by the Italian filmaker Ruggero Deodato,Cannibal Holocaust(uncut/unrated) is one of the most controversial films ever made in the history of world cinema.Replete with extremely graphic scenes of sexual violence,cannibalism and ‘real’killing of live animals ,the movie is banned in more than ninety countries across the globe.Within a week of it’s Milan premiere(in 1980) the prints of this movie were confiscated by the Italian court and director Deodato accused of Murder as the court mistook it for a real ‘snuff film’ and that the actors werekilled in the course of it’s making!

                   The story begins with us being told about the 4 enthusiastic American docu film makers who had gone missing in the Amazon rainforests while they were on an assignment to make a film on the last existing Cannibal tribes.Anthropologist Monroe(Robert Kerman)ventures into the rainforests in search of the film crew a couple of years later.He comes across Yacumos,a Cannibal tribe and pretty soon he realises that there are a couple of other similar tribes as well;theShamatari and Yamomamos.Monroe manages to befriend one of them and in the process he finds out the atrocities committed by the film crew on the native tribes and their eco- system.The scientist soon discovers the decomposed remains of the film makers and the 16 mm film reels that they had used.Monroe takes part in a Cannibalic ritual with the tribe and gets the film reels in return with which he boards back to Newyork.A local Tv station wants to air the footage that Monroe had recovered but he insists them on watching the whole uncut version of it before getting it aired.

                 What we see next is the 40 minute long ‘footage’(titled-Green Inferno)that the film crew had captured in the Amazon.In other words this exactly is the point from which the movie becomes extremely graphic and disturbing to the core.The regular readers of this blog might be knowing that I have never been a fan of torture porn flicks like Saw,Hostel or Salo:The 120 days of Sodom .What makes Cannibal Holocaust different from the afore mentioned flicks is that in this Movie everything shown on screen seem so real that the viewer never feels that he is witnessing cruelty just for the sake of cruelty.

                Though the movie is just about 90 mins long ,it took me around 120 mins(the ‘extra time’ attributed to the 4-5 short breaks of 10-20 mins each whichI took in between ) to finish watching it.So graphic and gross are some sequences(especially ‘the green inferno’docu sequences in the latter half) that I sincerely don’t think any ‘normal’ human being would be able to watch this extremely violent movie at a stretch.Then why bother to watch it at all,you might think.Well,coz once you have started watching ‘TCH’ the movie slowly grows on you and you won’t really feel like switching the DVD player off until you found out what had happened to the 4 missing American docu film makers.

                There are several bizzare and gross sequences in the second half/found footage(Green Inferno).The abortion scene,the impalement sequence,the overtly long rape scenes in the pre climactic and the climactic portions are only a few among them.Though I could sit through the majority of them ,’the turtle butchering scene’ was one which I couldn’t stand at all.This was one episode which I believe was totally unwanted in the movie.The grainy,over exposed 16 mm feel of the docu footage adds to the scare factor of the ‘Green inferno’ footage which undoubtedly is a testimony to the sheer genius of Ruggero Deodato.The hand held camera shots in the climactic portions are also nicely done. Riz Ortolani's music suited the mood of the film.What we have to remember here is that ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ is a 32 year oldmovie made in a pre CGI era.But still what amuses me more is the fact that none of the successors of CH,be it the 1995 Blairwitch Project or the much recent Paranormal Activity franchise were even half as frightening as this 1980 flick. 

               Well after reading all this if you feel that the movie is all about graphic violence ,sexual depravity and cannibalism I am sorry to say that you have gone terribly wrong.If one is ready to overlook the repulgnant images and the violent content of the movie he will definitely get the loud and clear statements that the movie wishes to make.It asks pertinent questions about superiority,about being civilised and savage and on sensationalism.A keen observer will also notice that in Cannibal Holocaust Ruggero Deodato has also asked the same question which James Cameron raised in Avatar 30 years later.But all these positive aspects of the movie went largely un noticed by the most who saw the film as all they could see in the film was the extreme violence in it.

Bottomline:On the whole,Cannibal Holocaust(unrated) is an extremely scary film,one of it’s kind.The movie meant for a mature audience is definitely not for the faint hearted.Watch it if you dare!

Also read:Stanley ka Dabba;the sweetest Movie that I have ever seen!

-nikhimenon 2012.(You are not allowed to copy, any part of this blog and use it in your blog, article, "email forward" or any other non-commercial creative work unless you give me credit and provide the original URL)

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In Focus:The Sweetest and the Scariest Movie that I have ever seen..!

(An Official Poster of SKD)

           The week gone by had me tasting yet another failure in life(and quite a bitter one at that!);With nothing much happening in my professional/academic life and the post graduation admission still remaining a distant dream I should have become insane by now had it not been for the moviebuff in me.Watched a couple of movies last week which incidentally turned out to be the‘sweetest’ and the’ scariest’ ones that I had ever seen in my 25 years of existence .The two movies though belonged to entirely different genres had one thing in common- the striking cinematic realism that they displayed.The movies in discussion are Amol Gupte’s directorial debut Stanley ka dabba(Hindi, 2011) and the 32 year old controversial Italian film ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ (English,1980).While the former surprised me with it’s innocence and inherent cuteness the latter shocked me with it’s extremely graphic,repulgnant yet realistic content.

The Sweetest-Stanley Ka Dabba(Hindi,2011)

                    Hindi cinema has delivered a couple of good intentioned,well made Children’s films in the recent past (including Amol Gupte’s earlier work ‘Taare Zameen Par’,directed by Aamir Khan).Stanley ka Dabba produced by Amol Gupte Cinema and marketed by Fox Star India was a commercial success when it got released in May last year.Had bought it’s dvd about ten months back(though I felt like watching it only a few days before thanks to the lack of ‘big’ names listed on it’s dvd cover).What makes me write this piece now is that ‘SKD’ turned out to be one among the sweetest films that I had ever watched.Unlike the other desi flicks belonging to the same genre ‘SKD’ never takes itself too seriously nor does it resort to emotional manipulation (for that reason I liked Stanley and his friends more than Gupte’s own ‘TZP’) for pulling at your heart strings .

                   The Film is the story of 7 year old Stanley(played by the director’s son Partho) a student of class iv in a Mumbai Convent school.Stanley, the smartest and the most intelligent kid of the class turns up everyday without having a dabba of his own.His classmates are more than willing to share their food with him but Stanley, the self respecting guy he is prefers satiating his hunger by drinking tap water to taking food from his school mates.Enter Grumpy(Amol Gupte),the Hindi teacher who is obsessed with food and doesn’t really mind scavenging from his colleagues and often from his students.Grumpy too like Stanley doesn’t have a dabba of his own and for that same reason gets Stanley out of the class once.The humiliated kid decides not to enter the class until he gets a dabba of his own.Meanwhile there is an audition happening in the school for an important event and Stanley’s absence from class makes him unable to attend the audition.Why is Stanley not having a dabba of his own?Does he really succeed to get one for him?Will he be able to attend the audition and then take part in the dance event?All these questions are answered in the later half of the film leading to a riveting and a touching climax.
                   Stanley ka dabba is a gem of a film which tugs at your heart strings and leaves a lasting impression in your mind .Agreed,SKD doesn’t have a very long story to tell and what it has could have been easily told within a span of 20 minutes or so but what makes this movie a delightful watch is the brilliant performances of the lead cast(read Partho and his friends).For instance watch out for the class room sequences between grumpy(Amol Gupte) and the children .The scenes were so realistic that I often felt like having checked into a iv th grade class room of some random school.All the children especially Partho and the kid who played Aman Mehra did a terrific job.The issue of child labour has also been delt with tactfully in this entertaining movie.It’s heartening that small,meaningful movies like Stanley ka Dabba are still getting made in an otherwise ‘star dominated’ industry like Bollywood.

Bottomline-The next time you visit a restaurant and see a child cleaning up the table, you would definitely be reminded of this cute little film.It’s not very often that we get delightful movies like this.Miss this charming cinema at your own risk!

Read the next Post on-  Cannibal Holocaust; the Scariest Movie that I have ever seen!

-nikhimenon.2012(You are not allowed to copy, any part of this blog and use it in your blog, article, "email forward" or any other non-commercial creative work unless you give me credit and provide the original URL)

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RIP (Baby) Falak

Falak succumbed to Cardiac arrest yesterday(15/3/12) at 9 pm IST.

           

(Images-PTI,storyful)

Ps- In India, for every 100 girls dying in the age group of one to five years there are just 56 male child deaths

-nikhimenon

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Diggie Raja to be Gujarat Governor?

(In Pic:Rahul Gandhi ,the failed magician!)

Well,rediff thinks so.Read their hilarious post-poll photo feature!

-nikhimenon

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Hypocrites..!

(Image courtesy-researchimpact.wp)

• The Indian National Congress(INC)- Plays Muslim Quota politics in the U.P,Christian vote bank politics in kerala but still believes it's a 'secular party'!- {may be Dig Vijaya and co(for whom Osama bin laden is 'Osama ji') mean something else for secularism!}

• The Bharatiya Janata Party(B.J.P)- Watches 'Rape videos' in the Assembly but gets hurt by the 'sexy' remark!

• Saif Ali Khan(Actor,Hindi Cinema)-Beats up someone in a restaurant only to feign innocence later!

(Image courtesy-indianfusion.aglasem)

-nikhimenon

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Movie review: 'Ee Adutha Kalathu' is a Must Watch!

(A poster of the movie)

 

                   When actor Nishan,who plays an important character in the movie ‘Ee Adutha Kaalathu’said“ this movie will surprise you” in a tv interview a couple of days ago , I had dismissed it as yet another desperate PR attempt by an actor to promote his upcoming little known movie.But after having watched  ‘Ee adutha’ in a cinema yesterday I should admit that  I was proved wrong,terribly wrong.The movie did surprise me not once or twice but atleast half a dozen times when I was watching it.Brilliantly scripted,flawlessly executed and intelligently performed   ,’Ee adutha kalathu’ is a gem of a film that grows on you and lingers in your mind even long after you have left the cinemas. The narrative is totally un predictable and a new surprise is thrown at you when you least expect it.For instance,watch out for that terrific interval sequence involving Vishnu(Indran),Madhuri(Tanushree) and the lover boy(Nishaan) .

                     A mysterious serial killer is terrorising the city.Half a dozen characters finds themselves embroiled in it.As the movie progresses,the viewer gets to know more about these characters,their life, ambitions and on how they are related to the serial killer .There is Anup menon as the Scotland Yard trained IPS officer who often becomes the laughing stock in the Police department  as he is not able to solve the serial killer inspite of the ‘training’ he has got.Murali gopi is Ajay,the frustrated husband who humiliates his wife to cover up his disability.Tanusree Ghosh plays Madhuri,the failed Bollywood actress and Ajay’s wife who had once acted in a couple of soft porn masala hindi movies.Nishan is the lover boy who develops a crush on Madhuri .Last but not the least we have Indrajith as Vishnu,the intelligent and smart rag picker who loves his wife(Mythili),Children and his mother more than anything else in this world.There is also a sub plot involving  gangster Watson(Baiju) and his friend turned foe X(oops!forgot his name).All these characters are inter connected and how they are unfolds while the movie progresses.I wont be revealing anything more about the plot here as this is one movie which you will be able to enjoy more if you get into the theatre knowing little about it’s plot or it’s characters.But one thing is for sure,’Ee adutha… ‘will amuse ,entertain ,shock  and definitely surprise you!

                   Taboo topics like Sex,sexual incompetency,Impotency are discussed freely without getting obscene and distasteful.The movie also takes a satirical take on the average ‘Malayalee’ attitudes and ‘his double standards’ in life.The film also has topical references to the recent 'Vilappilshala'(Thoppilshala in the film) issue,Tata's Nano car,the influx of migrant labourers from Bengal and Northern India and even the Malayalam super stars playing their age. As I said before,the movie packs in a lot of surprises.The first half of the movie moves at a very slow pace which is justifiable for the number of characters that the film has got.Though Arun Kumar and his script writer Murali Gopi have taken their sweet little time for ‘character build up’ in the initial half they have made good for it by spicing it up with a few witty gags,Bible references and a killer BG score ensuring that the viewer never gets bored not even once during the 2.40 min run time of the film.

The scenes which I loved the most are:

1.The one between Vishnu(Indran) and his mother.Watch out for how he compensates his mother for that lost gift his father had given her.

2.The Church scenes(the confession scene) between the priest and Madhuri.

3.The Interval sequence between Madhuri,Vishnu and’ the lover boy’(Nishan)

4.The scene in which Jagathy Sreekumar who plays ‘Theepantham’ Magazine editor barges into Ajay’s(Murali Gopi) cabin and threatens him

5.The post interval sequence in which Vishnu(Indran) and Madhuri(Tanusree) tries to hide their ‘secret’.”Ethu theatre anennu chodikkumbol parayanam,Sreekumar ennu”.Brilliant,man..!

6.The post climactic portions-(the wedding scene,the scene where Ajay finds the message written in Hindi inside the coffee shop).
7.The intelligent use of Bible quotes,signature tunes of certain popular T.V. shows at certain sequences in the movie.

What could have been better

1.The back story of Madhuri(Tanusree) seems a bit incomplete.The story of her father ends abruptly.How her mother has reached the present state also remains un explained(may be they might have cut them down during the final edit)

2.The climactic portions leading to the arrest of the serial killer could have been donein a better way.

The Performances

Ee adutha is one rare movie in which every other actor has given their best.Indran as 'Vettu'Vishnu is terrific and you can hardly imagine any other actor in his place.Indran is one actor who inspite of his histrionic capabilities hasn’t really got his due in Malayalam Cinema.Hope this movie gets him the much deserved standing ovation that he has been vying for.The 'Trivandrum/Parassala slang' that has become a bit cliched,thanks to Suraj Venjaramoodu and his antics is also used intelligently by him in this movie. Anoop Menon as the IPS officer continues his good work here too and so does Lena(Traffic,Randam Bhavam) who plays the young journo.Thanusree Ghosh as the frustrated wife is apt though at places the lip sync  is not up to the mark.The usually wooden faced Nishan proves that he can emote too if  guided by a sensible director and is backed with an intelligently written role.Baiju who plays Watson,Jagathy Sreekumar as the magazine editor,Murali Gopi as Ajay are nothing but brilliant.Mythili who plays Indran’s wife too doesn’t disappoint though she has a brief role in the movie.

Technical department and Songs:

Arun Kumar Aravind who adapted ‘Butterfly on a wheel’  as ‘Cocktail’ last year is back with a genuine and original movie this time.Ee adutha is a movie which he can definitely be proud of and most importantly Malayalam Cinema has got a sensible and intelligent director after a really long time.

More than anyone else I believe it’s the scenarist Murali Gopi who deserves the maximum accolades for creating a movie as sweet and entertaining as this.It’s hard to believe that this is the same guy who had scripted the disastrous Dileep starrer ‘Rasikan’ a couple of years back.Hats off to you,Murali Gopi.Though the inspirations from Anurag Basu’s ‘Life in a Metro’ and the second story in Dibakar Baneerjee’s ‘Love Sex aur Dhoka’(Nishan-Tanusree track)are obvious Murali Gopi never ends up copying from any of these two movies.The situations happen so realistically that you often forget that you are actually watching a feature film.Writing a multi narrative script is no easy job and in inept hands it might even end up confusing the viewer.But that’s where Murali Gopi scores.The links between the principal characters have been worked out really well  and by the time the end credits start rolling all the loose ends have been tied and you get an answer for every other event that has happened in the story.

Shahnad Jalal’s frames are captivating and he could successfully give a slick and urban look for the whole film.Expect to see more works from this talented guy in the near future.The editing is crisp and competent.This review will be incomplete if I don’t mention about the brilliant BGM that this movie has got.The re recording is excellent and it adds to the beauty of the film.The movie has got two songs,’Farzana’ and ‘ Oru Vazhiyayi ‘.Both of them are hummable and have also been picturised well.

No movie is perfect.Neither is ‘Eee adutha kalathu’.Some of the sequences especially those towards the climax seem illogical and could  definitely have been done in a better way.But still all those minor blemishes can easily be overlooked as this is one movie which is genuine,entertaining and totally worth the price of your movie ticket 

So what are you waiting for?Catch this brilliant movie at a cinema near you for this is one which deserves to be seen in a really good Multiplex and not in a bootleg DVD.Five on five for this excellent film.Miss this at your own risk!,പിന്നല്ല!

Final Word: Must watch!

- reviewed by nikhimenon@gmail.com.Copyright protected.Please don't copy.This review cross posted here

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On Rotation policy,Dhoni and the B.C.C.I.

To be entirely honest I don't really understand what the big fuzz is about Dhoni going for the rotation policy in the ongoing tri- series in Australia.What's even funnier is that there are even 'legends' who believe that this so called 'rotation policy' is nothing but an insult to 'Sachin Tendulkar' and the other seniors in the present Team India.What the ......!I am sure these 'sympathisers' are nothing but jealous of Dhoni and his tactics-(which brought the much elusive cricket world cup back home after our 28 year long wait)and that they are just trying to pull his legs with every other opportunity they get.After all, what's wrong in giving opportunities to youngsters (ManojTiwari,C.Pujara,Raina et al)and thereby grooming them for much bigger cricket competitions in the future?Let the seniors continue to play in the longer version of the game as long as they wish.Neither Sehwag nor Sachin/Gambhir are in the best of form these days.Morever we have a recent example in Ricky Ponting and CA.So why hesitate?

Still the B.C.C.I is clueless about all this.It seems to be interested only in minting money!

-nikhimenon

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Feb 14..!

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(Image- from FB)

-nikhimenon

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The Most Disappointing Malayalam Movies of 2011-Part 1

Here's a look at the Malayalam Films which promised a lot and delivered little when they reached cinemas last year.

10. China Town

Rafi Mekkartin’s Mohanlal-Dileep-Jayaram starrer was one of the most anticipated movies of 2011.But the movie turned out to be  nothing but an insult to audience' intelligence .It’s hard to believe that an actor of Mohanlal’s caliber agreed to do a retarded movie like this.Though the first half of the movie had a few entertaining sequences the latter half was plain horrible.On the whole this Antony Perumbavoor produced malayalam flick was a huge disappoinment.

RT rating-2/5

9.Shankaranum Mohanum

The movie was tauted as the first commercial venture by the art house director T.V.Chandran(Ponthan Mada,Ormakal Undayirikkanam,Soosanna,Mankamma).But only when it reached the cinemas did we realise how bad a movie it was.Jayasurya's 'kannuruttal-pottankali' acting made only the matters worse.A Dud.

RT rating-1.75/5

8.Doubles

An utter waste of time,money and resources.This Sohan Seenulal directed misadventure had Padmasree Dr Bharat Mammootty ,Tapsee Pannu and the yesteryear actress Nadia Moydu in the lead roles but had nothing in it to do justice to those talented artists.

RT rating-1.5/5

7.The Train

A wannabe 'Mumbai Meri Jaan'.Even Padmasree Mammootty’s extended cameo couldn’t save this disaster directed by the award winning director Jayaraj.

RT rating-1.25/5

6. Race

Anoop Menon and co 's Cocktail(Tim Burton's Pierce Brosnan starrer' Butterfly On a Wheel') which released last year revived the 'rent a DVD,make a movie' genre in Malayalam Cinema.So when Kukku Surendran and his friends got impressed with the 2004 film 'Trapped',they didn't hesitate to make it’s malayalam version.The result-a disaster named 'Race'.

RT rating-1.10/5

5.Teja Bhai and Family

Prithviraj cuts a sorry figure trying to pull off a screw ball comedy.Writer-director Deepu Karunakaran fails miserably in his attempt to be a 'Priyadarshan'.With a silly plot,outdated gags and an irritating Suraj Venjaramoodu cracking crude and often vulgar jokes,TBF was a truly horrible film.

RT rating-1/5

Ps-The movies featured in this list might not essentially be flops but turned low on the immense expectations that they came with.  

                                                                        -(to be continued)-

-nikhimenon.

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Yuvi,get well soon.

We wish Yuvraj Singh-India's Cricket World Cup hero a speedy recovery.

-nikhimenon

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THE TRUTH ABOUT FILMS

The other day happened to read this post by critic and indie film maker Sudhish Kamath.It appeared to make sense to me.Meanwhile, Sudhish's latest independent film 'Good Night | Good Morning' has opened to mixed reviews .

(The poster of Good Night/Good Morning)

-nikhimenon

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Celebrity Cricket League- A great thought.!

Don't know how many of you have heard about the 'Celebrity Cricket League'(CCL) which is into it's second season this year.For the uninitiated,CCL is a T20 tournament something like the 'IPL' with celebrities from Bollywood(Mumbai Heroes),Kollywood(Chennai Rhinos),Malayalam(Kerala Strikers),Kannada(Karnataka Bulldozers),Bengali(Bengal Tigers) Cinema as it's team members.Expectedly the purists and the cricket experts have already raised eye brows and have even dismissed the event as 'just another marketing gimmick' which promises nothing but 'school level cricket'.But after watching Sunday's match(January 22 nd,2012) between the 'Kerala Strikers'(owned by Priyadarshan,Mohanlal and Mr Shaji) and Sohail Khan's 'Mumbai Heroes' I can definitely say that it is undoubtedly a 'paisavasool' affair.At a time when even the B.C.C.I. is least bothered about what it's team is doing in Australia watching our filmstars play cricket was entertaining.In a country where something like the 'IPL' grabs more eye balls than it's own National game-the hockey,at a time when a Chetan Bhagat sells atleast a million more copies than an 'Amitav Ghosh' or a Salman Rushdie, Celebrity Cricket League will be a sure shot winner.Period!

-nikhimenon

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Rajnikanth is a 'Superpower'!

This 'website' is supposed to be running on Superstar Rajni's power.
Check it out.

Ps- Switch off your Internet Connection to view the site.

-nikhimenon

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Shattered dreams.....!

(Image Courtesy-Junta)

-nikhimenon

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Book Review: Aslam Rahaman's 'The Fortune Hunters'

THE FORTUNE HUNTERS
AUTHOR: Aslam Rahaman
Genre: Romance
ISBN:9789381576816
Flipkart:http://www.flipkart.com/books/9381576816
NO. OF PAGES: 177
FIRST PUBLISHED IN 2012 BY FROG BOOKS
PRICE: Rs.150 (Flipkart price-Rs.143 after discount)


'The Fortune Hunters', Aslam Rahaman's debut novel  is a cross cultural Hindu-Muslim love story set in modern day India.

The plot-Aamir,a young Muslim is a happy go lucky guy who falls in love with Ragini who belongs to a conservative Hindu family.Set in New Delhi 'The Fortune Hunters' is the touching saga of their love which crosses all barriers of religion.The story is narrated in part by Aamir,the protagonist and by an omniscent narrator. The story leaps back and forth in time over a five year period.Though the book has got a wafer thin story line the twists and turns happening at regular intervals  and the witty one liners  makes this one a real page turner.

The Characters-The book is basically the love story between Aamir,an MBA graduate(thankfully no college sequences are there in this book!) and Ragini,a young Brahmin girl.Aamir's friends Devesh and his friend Manjari,Rohit,Aamir's brother Sohail, are some of the other characters.What I found brilliant about this book is how the lead characters were built – tangible, and believable.Aamir is the typical middle class North Indian boy while Ragini is the small town conservative Hindu-Brahmin girl.The other notable character is that of Manjari,the smart chick.

The writing-The language is pretty simple which makes the book an easy read.The author who is very well aware of his target audience  hasn't resorted to unnecessary wordplays or other gimmicks.Most importantly this work is devoid of the clitches that is often associated with a book of this genre.The protagonists don't try to be 'cool' as it's often the case with the routine MBA/college love stories these days.Rahaman's Aamir and Ragini are normal middle class Indians whom the average reader can easily connect with.The book is peppered with witty one liners and some really interesting incidents which is sure to go down well with the Young urban reader.The scene where Aamir discovers the Bengali cuisine on his first visit to a kolkatta restaurant is genuinely hilarious.Similarly the marriage scene of Aamir and Ragini has also been narrated really well.So were the climactic sequences happening inside the court room.Though Aslam has succeded in telling the love story between Aamir and Ragini  in a convincing and entertaining manner it is a pity that the author hasn't bothered to dwell into the age old Hindu-Muslim cultural differences when he had enough opportunity to do so.

                On the downside the book suffers from un necessary detailing at  places(the Sofi-Tabassum episode) whereas some vital incidents in the story gets very little importance(the scene in which Aamir discovers the truth about Ragini's friend Madhu).Corny lines are also there in plenty.For instance,in a particular scene (when Aamir is teased by Pinaki on his one night stand with Manjari) Aamir delivers this corny gem-"Virginity is never dignity but it's a lack of oppurtunity'.Repetition of some phrases and the minor grammatical errors which creeps in between also hampers the free flow of the narrative.The excessive usage of technical jargon at places could also have been avoided. Anyways at a time when atrocious works like 'Revolution 2020' are turning out to be the best sellers I believe Aslam Rahaman has got a winner in 'The Fortune Hunters'. 

Rating- 3/5( A decent debut)

(Aslam Rahaman is a young financial professional based in New Delhi where he lives with his wife and his son.'The Fortune Hunters' is his first published work.This is an author requested review) 
-nikhimenon

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Review Roundup: Padmasree Bharat Dr Saroj Kumar

Sajin Raghavan's directorial debut 'Padmasree Bharat Dr Saroj Kumar' had generated a lot of curiosity prior to it's release.The movie was supposed to be a prequel to the 2005 Malayalam hit 'Udhayananu Thaaram'(which was later remade in Tamil as 'Vellithirai' and in Hindi as 'Shortkut-the con is on').With  Sreenivasan himself penning the script(and playing the title role of Saroj) 'PSK' was tauted as a sure shot winner.But it seems Sreeni and co have failed to recreate the magic of 'UT' this time.The reviews are mostly negative and the public opinion about the movie is also not very encouraging.
          Sify writes...

                       There are certain relevant issues that are being pointed out in Padmashree Bharat Dr. Saroj Kumar, in true Sreenivasan style. Like why should we make so many films in Malayalam when even the Russians make only around 30 odd films annually? Though it succeeds in raising such genuine questions, unveiling some of the ridiculous star tantrums and questioning some of the existing theories, the film fails to become an engaging watch.Just as he actually is, superstar Saroj Kumar’s antics and his life turn out to be too loud and simply boring, in the end 

          Ben(a blogger and film critic) thinks Sreeni & co have overdone everything.
                      Sreenivasan had come up with an interesting script along with Roshan Andrews in "Udayananu Tharam". Unfortunately, the same cant be said here as the film is just a mish mash of several real life events. Though it has been termed to be a satirical, I would rather term it as a distasteful take on the industry. Majority of the scenes were shot with reference to Lalettan be it the Lt.Col, Income tax raid, elephant tusk or his spat with Sukumar Azhikode, along with references to Prithviraj's English & Jayaram's Padmashree. However, there are a few genuinely humorous scenes such as Saroj's intro. With such a mediocre script on hand, I would term Sajin's efforts as decent while Deepak Dev's music was impressive in a rather pathetic film
 .
                 As it's often said,'Adhikam aayaal amruthum........!'

-nikhimenon

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The 'AIIMS Exam' Fraud

Sunday's(Jan 8,2012) All India Post Graduate Medical Entrance Exam(AIPGME 2012) was an extremely tough one.Some of the questions were so tough for an M.B.B.S. graduate however hardworking he or she may be.Now they say that the questions had got leaked and a couple of  20 something MBA s(!) have been arrested by the police.
C'mmon,if this is the case with the exam conducted by the most prestigious Medical institute in the country(for admitting students into the Govt Medical colleges/Med-PG seats in the country) in the 'most efficient,foolproof and transparent manner',you can't really blame the private medical colleges/donation universities for 'fixing' their entrance exams!
The whole system is rotten .An 'Anna Hazare' can change nothing!

-nikhimenon,a PG aspirant 

ps- All Pg aspirants reading this post may go through this and this

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2012!

New Year greetings to all the readers of RT.Wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2012.

 PS-The Exam is on Jan 8 th....!


-nikhimenon

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The Top Five Malayalam Actors of 2011

5.Kunchakko Boban- The year was a very good one for this eternal 'lover boy' of Malayalam Cinema.He appeared in half a dozen commercially successful movies this year.Though his acting skills continue to remain as mediocre it's his choice of films that earns him a place in this list.

4.Parthipan-Madhav Ramdasan's 'Melvilasam' was one of the most talked about Malayalam Films of the year.Unarguably it was Parthipan's brilliant,subdued performance that made the movie worth a watch.

3.Jayasurya-Jayasurya is one actor who showed tremendous improvement in his histrionic abilities this year.He delivered noteworthy performances in Bobban Samuel's 'janapriyan' and V.K.Prakash's recently released 'Beautiful'(which is even regarded as his best work till date).

2.Prithviraj Sukumaran-2011 was an eventful year for the actor.His year started with a dud called 'Arjunan Sakshi',followed by a critically and commercially succesful 'Urumi'.Though he had to face a lot of flak for his 'Teja Bhai' and his off- screen antics he could end the year on a high with a career best performnace in the recent hit 'Indian Rupee'.

1.Salim Kumar-Salim Ahmed's 'Adaminte Makan Abu' was Salim Kumar's transformation from a 'crass comedian' to an actor of substance.He went on to win the National Award for the best actor and the Kerala State Award for the same this year.Truly remarkable!
Ps- I haven't included Mohanlal in this list as I believe his role in 'Pranayam' was something like an extended cameo .Among his other 3 releases of the year-'China Town' and 'Christian Brothers' were truly horrible while 'Snehaveedu',Oru Marubhoomikadha' were average flicks.
Psps-All Mohanlal/Mammootty/Dileep/Prithviraj Fans are requested not to write abusive comments. The comment box will be strictly moderated...!
-nikhimenon

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Bollywood: The Worst of 2011

Here's my pick of the worst of Bollywood this year.

Worst Movie-Haunted 3D(Vikram Bhatt)
Actor-Sachin Joshi(Azaan),Chirag Paswan(Miley na miley hum)
Actress(in a lead role)-Nargis Fakhri(Rockstar)
Director-Aneez Basmee(Thank You,Ready)
Screenplay-Anubhav Sinha/Kanika D/Mushtaq S/David Benullo(Ra-1)
Actor(in a supporting role)- No Winner in this category this year
Actress(in a supporting role)-Lisa Haydon(Rascals)
Editor-Manan Sagar(Patiala House)
The Worst song of the year-Pyar do...(Thank You)
The Most irritating Actor of the year-Akshay Kumar(Thank You,Dezi Boys),Govinda(Naughty@40)
The Most irritating Actress of the year-Sonam Kapoor(Thank You)
The Worst Comedy Movie of the year-Chatur Singh Two Star
The Wannabe Award-Shahrukh Khan(Actor,Ra One),Kiran Rao(Director,Dhobi Ghat)

                                                          
-nikhimenon

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