random thoughts.....

THE TRUTH ABOUT FILMS

2012-01-26T10:09:00.001+05:30

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

Celebrity Cricket League- A great thought.!

2012-01-24T07:21:00.001+05:30

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

Rajnikanth is a 'Superpower'!

2012-01-23T10:23:00.001+05:30

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

Shattered dreams.....!

2012-01-16T20:17:00.001+05:30

(Image Courtesy-Junta)

-nikhimenon

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

2012-01-16T19:00:00.011+05:30

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

Review Roundup: Padmasree Bharat Dr Saroj Kumar

2012-01-15T17:46:00.001+05:30

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

The 'AIIMS Exam' Fraud

2012-01-10T09:22:00.005+05:30

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

2012!

2012-01-01T00:40:00.001+05:30

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

The Top Five Malayalam Actors of 2011

2011-12-21T10:19:00.002+05:30

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

Bollywood: The Worst of 2011

2011-12-18T15:05:00.002+05:30

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

Sad...

2011-12-10T08:30:00.002+05:30

-nikhimenon

My Article featured in 'theviewspaper'

2011-12-07T07:52:00.001+05:30

My article- Sex Chat,booby girl and the explosion has been published in theviewspaper,a popular blog for youth.Do check it out.

Ps- If you liked the post,please don't forget to 'like' the post.

Thank you all for your love and support.

-nikhimenon

SCREWED.....!

2011-12-03T07:50:00.001+05:30

The dates for AIPGME 2012(All India Post Graduate Medial Entrance Exams ) have been announced! The exam will be held on January 8 ,2012.This means ~~we are~~ I am SCREWED!We were expecting the exams (in) Feb-March next year as the notification had not been out for long(usually it comes out 1.5-2months prior to the exam,this year nothing was heard till Nov 29 th).

-nikhimenon

How to Save Malayalam Cinema?-the 'Varnachitram' post..

2011-12-03T07:24:00.001+05:30

Here is the post which I had done for Varnachitram.com

-nikhimenon

Do you use your Laptop in bed?

2011-12-02T07:56:00.003+05:30

If you do, this one is for you.

(Image courtesy-google images)

-nikhimenon

This one is hilarious....

2011-12-01T09:59:00.001+05:30

Watch this Viral video,a damn funny one.
-nikhimenon

WTF:Celebrating 'Child Porn'..?

2011-11-29T07:59:00.002+05:30

These days every other GEC (General Entertainment Channel)airs atleast half a dozen reality shows.The most disturbing are the ones(dance shows)meant for spotting the ‘Child dancing sensations’.C’mmon,don’t get me wrong,I have no issues with the channels promoting really young talents.It’s the content of most of these shows that I find irritating.The kids are often made to do crude,distasteful and often vulgar dance moves in return for 5-10 minutes of fame .The other day, a 9-10 year old girl was seen gyrating her hips to a Tamil ‘kuthu’ song.The girl was doing the ‘sensuous act’ so well that had a Rakhi Sawanth or a Malaika Arora seen it, they would have definitely thought of their retirement plans.Why are kids made to do this kind of stupidity?What kind of entertainment is this?Don’t you think this is nothing but ‘Child Porn’?

-nikhimenon

Shame on you,Mr (Bharath) Salim Kumar!

2011-11-28T22:31:00.006+05:30

The Mullaperiyar Issue is burning in Kerala.No one from the Malayalam film fraternity except Amal Neerad,Ashiq Abu,Ranjith ,Suresh Gopi and Rima Kallingal showed the courage to voice their opinion on the issue in public.Ranjith even boycotted the 'Kerala State Film Awards' function as a mark of protest(Kudos to you,Sir!).The 2 superstars of Malayalam Cinema Mammootty and Mohanlal don’t seem to be bothered about the issue.They don’t wish to see stones pelted at their apartments in Chennai,Nungambakkam,T Nagar it seems.We can understand their concern. But what’s more disheartening is the manner in which the year’s National Award winner Bharat Salim Kumar has reacted.Instead of supporting the cause,the narrow minded guy turned this opportunity to settle his personal scores with director Ranjith.(remember the ‘Adaminte Makan Abu’ v/s Pranchiyettan’ war of words?)So according to Mr Salim Kumar’s weird logic,Ranjith and co who haven’t made a single movie on the Mullaperiyar Dam have no ‘moral right’ to voice their opinion on the issue.But then Salim Bhai,what about Aamir khan (who hasn’t made a single movie on corruption yet) so far lending his support to Anna Hazare for the ‘India Against Corruption’ campaign and Mr Rajanikanth supporting the ‘Hoganakkal Dam’ cause even without making a single movie on it?Both Aamir Khan and Rajanikanth are bigger actors than you,loved and respected by everyone.This is an issue of Moral support Mr Salim,when someone like a Rajani or Aamir or a Ranjith support a cause it’s natural that more people will notice the issue and ponder on it.Winning a ‘National Award’ is not everything (Salim)dude,grow up!
-nikhimenon

On Hindutva,M.F.Hussain and the 'Right Wing Extremists'.

2011-11-28T07:54:00.006+05:30

Disclaimer-This post contain some very strong opinions.Those who find them objectionable may needn't continue reading it.

The other day someone was heard lamenting on t.v how the right wing extremists had objected to the screening of the M.F.Hussain documentary.Predictably,the neutrals-so called 'liberals' have come forward accusing moral policing and even termed it as an attack on the 'creative freedom' of artists.Now let me ask you,how many of you have actually seen the 'so called creative works' of Mr Hussain?If you haven't,here is the link.Do you think painting nude,dirty pics of Gods worshipped by a certain section of the society and trying to walk away unscathed(accusing 'artists have no creative freedom in this country'!) in a 'secular' country like India is what creative 'freedom' means in the long run?What do you think would have happened if someone had done this to some 'minority communities' of this state?Right from our central government to the clergy men would have made a hue and cry over it.Obviously our country has got the 'saffron' clan,the V.H.P s,the R.S.S. es but don't we have A.I.C.C secretaries like Dig Vijaya Singh who capitalises on any other opportunity he gets to woo the so called 'minority' voters?Haven't we seen him accusing the 'right wing extremists' for even the 26/11 attacks and there by weakening our case against Pakisthan only to get himself some petty political mileage?

Attributing any kind of protests to 'right wing extremism' is outright rubbish.The normal Hindu people who feel insulted with Mr Hussain's works might not get to the streets and mark their protest but that shouldn't be mistaken as their open support to Mr Hussain's rubbish works.Creative freedom is not doing anything you wish ,the first thing that an artist must have is tolerance and respect to the beliefs and practices of all sections of the society.If he doesn't have it,protests and threats are inevitable and there is no point in crying over that....!!!

-nikhimenon

Poster Magic II- The Copy Cat Movie Posters

2011-11-21T19:47:00.016+05:30

We had a post on the best Indian Movie posters of the year a few weeks back.I think it's high time that we wrote aboutthe best copy cat posters of recent times.Here is the one.

1.Chappa Kurishu (Malayalam 2011),Amores Perros (Spanish 2000)

2.Collector (Malayalam 2011),Munich (English 2005)

3.Anjaana Anjaani (Hindi 2010),An Education(English,2009)

4.Vandhaan Vendraan(Tamil 2011),I Hate Luv Storys(Hindi,2010)

5.Hifajat (Nepali,2010),Resident Evil Extinction (English 2007)


(Wonder what they would have done if Photoshop wasn't there?)

6.Phoonk 2 (Hindi 2010),The Chaser

7.City Of God (Malayalam 2011),Ben-Hur (English,1959)

8.Velayudham (Tamil 2011),Assassin's Creed (Video Game)

9.Violin (Malayalam 2011),Saawariya (Hindi 2007)

10.Ra One(Hindi 2011),Batman Begins (English 2005)

Buzz: My favourite 'star' has entered the Big Boss house. Mr 'Agni'vesh has finally succeeded in bringing 'national-level' social change it seems!
-nikhimenon

WTF: The Sickening Sanitary Napkin TVCs

2011-11-18T22:25:00.005+05:30

I find the sanitary pad commercials extremely disgusting.These days every time I switch on the tv,I see atleast one ad in which a horribly dressed female tries to explain about it (and) it's use with the help of a blue coloured liquid and a piece of cotton.Women have been succesfully menstruating and attaining menopause since ages but still these napkin makers can't stop whining about 'those days','the cloth-pad-tissue comparison','the lack of self confidence and motivation in the non-napkin users'.Those females who don't make use of these 'whispers'(with or without the 'wings'/'tails' et al) and 'carefrees' will menstruate to death and rot in hell it seems.Of course,we are living in a world in which the one who makes the most noise steals the show.But why make the promos this much graphic?Why can't they make it more subtle?Haven't we seen seen enough demos of it (by pouring liquid into the pad and then squeezing it and cutting into two pieces)already?

-nikhimenon

Some Love stories.....

2011-11-16T12:10:00.004+05:30

..don't have happy endings.Neither did mine.I keep thinking about 'her' these days,don't know why!

(Thank you,google)

-nikhimenon

Sex chat,'booby girl' and the 'Explosion'....!

2011-11-03T00:02:00.017+05:30

u a girl??
for sex chat contact me.. I'm male,name **** chatterjee....

I received this e- mail yesterday night(Nov 1 st 2011,11.40 pm to be precise).No,dont get me wrong.I am not going to start a lecture on the deteriorating moral health of the 'gen- next' Indians nor am I thinking of writing an essay on the deep pits of (moral)turpitude that our country has fallen into.

Why does some random guy send me a mail requesting for sex chat all of a sudden?Neither have I got myself registered with some desi porn site nor have I published any erotic material in my blog till date.Who is this **** Chatterjee?Obviously,he must be some nerd who has hasn’t had the opportunity to touch anything feminine till date.Or how come someone be so desperate in these days of 3 Gs and sex torrents when even a 12 year old school boy finds shooting an erotic MMS with his GF as his favourite pass time? Anyways this guy reminded me of my sex hungry teenage years ,the nineties .So here goes nikhimenon into the flashback mode.

Dad had just bought a brand new HCL PC(the machine was supposed to help me in doing my homework,assignments,projects et al and thereby help me become a better student and a successful individual )with a vsnl(bsnl was 'vsnl' at that point of time) internet connection.In those days,the internet was slowly making it's presence felt in India.Everybody had heard about it yet no one knew what it was really meant for.Some equated this with the cable tv while some compared it with the 'wireless set' which the local police men had access to.Anyways everyone knew that it was something big,really big.

It didn't take me long to realise the true potential of the net.Then one fine morning, this 'sex chat' thing got my fancy.Someone in my class had ‘done it at home’ and he kept boasting for the whole week on how he hooked up with a girl through ‘yahoo chat’ .

(Image courtesy:images.google.com)

I still remember how thankful I were to the ' yahoo' people for starting a chat room that was big enough to cater to the wide and varied tastes of the desi perverts.But I soon understood that my dreams of a never ending ‘virtual sex life’ were as pointless as SRK's 150 crore super hero dream. Ofcourse I did indulge in sexchat (and managed to get a few consolation wins-read wet dreams- initially)but pretty soon I founded out that the girls who sounded 'hot' and tried to ‘arouse me’ were not girls at all but similarly frustrated desi men.The few 'real' girls that I actually managed to talk with were either nerds who were interested in discussing' really important things' like Global warming, the mating patterns of the polar bears , the probable consequences of y2k in the Indian I.T.Industry and stuff like that or unattractive and extremely goody- goody babes who would talk only about their life,their culinary skills and on how they manage to keep their parents happy by getting up early in the morning,brushing their teeth,avoiding bad talk with guys and blah blah.To add on to my woes,there were this sex bots which totally fool you by starting the chat as if they were some really good looking females.Then one fine day,this interesting conversation happened.Someone who called herself the 'booby girl' was on the other side.

Me-Hi

boobygirl369-Wat's up honey?

Me-Asl,M/F? ('m so desperate,I know!)

boobygirl369-What 're you up to these days,sweetie?

Me- You from India?What's your age?(A 16 or 17 year old girl,ideally a desi.My expectations have no boundaries)

boobygirl369-(As if it didn't see my last query)-horny,sweetie.m Sandy.Wanna sex chat?

Me-(Wt..do you think I am here for?)-ya.shall vhav sextalk?

boobygirl369-Wanna c me naked?wanna c my big boobs?

Me-(This girl really knows how to arouse a boy, I feel.The thought of seeing the greatest expanse of female flesh,-that too of a desi- 'live' for the first time in my life was making me mad.I feared I was going to explode)- YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

For the next 10 mins there is no reply.This is too much.Where has the hottie gone leaving the 15 year old me-'the half naked -ready to explode boy' all alone in the middle of the night?Asked myself staring at the computer screen as though a hornbill waiting for the monsoon.Beep.I see my yahoo messenger chat box once again.

boobygirl369 -Sorry,yahoo doesn't support my webcam.Visithotgirlsforu.com/payandproceed.Only $420 for 30 mins of service.Use pay pal/visa/mastercard.

Damn!Was I talking all this time to some automated machine/(sex)bot that gives horny messages just to attract traffic to some American porno site?(which even asks for a credit card for their service!)Did I unbutton myself only to see this stupid message flash on my computer screen?I was shattered.The time was 2 am.Could hear someone knocking at the door.-

'Nikhi,haven't you slept yet?What are you doing staying awake at 2 'o' clock in the night?'-The silence of the night made Dad's voice sound even louder.The knock was getting stronger.F***!

************************************

The next day,when I returned from school there was no PC in my room.It had found a new place in the drawing room along with a small note written in Bold letters which read something like this-

‘NO COMPUTER AFTER 10 PM’.

-nikhimenon(Feedback solicited.Copy rights to the author.Please don't copy)

(Image courtesy-google images,Ashish Mohta)

Update-This post has been published in theviewspaper- the popular Indian blog for youth.Thank you all for your support.

Damn, I lost a follower today...!

2011-11-02T19:14:00.000+05:30

Random thoughts had 48 followers till yesterday.But today after logging in to my blogger account I find that somebody has suddenly quit RT!Someone is fed up with my blog and my posts,it seems...!

-nikhimenon

Indian Rupee-The Best Malayalam Movie of the year so far

2011-11-02T17:06:00.002+05:30

Indian Rupee-The best Malayalam Movie of the year so far

Written and directed by Ranjith (after the super successful Mammootty starrer 'Pranchiyettan and the Saint'), Indian Rupee is a very good film with a relevant message.Loved this movie so much that I have already watched it twice .What I liked the most about the film are-

· The screenplay and direction by Ranjith-flawless.hats off to you Mr Ranjith

· Performances- Prithviraj Sukumaran- You were just awesome,man.As JP you were too good.Thilakan-What a comeback,Thilakan sir.Achutha Menon rocked. Jagathy Sreekumar-Superb as Gold Pappan .Tini Tom as C.H.- Good work indeed.

· Music and BGM by Shahbaz Aman- Done full justice to (the late)Mullanezhi sir's 'EE puzhayum'.'Anthimanam...' is also hummable.The re recording done for the dowry scene and the pre climactic portions also deserves special mention.

So what are you waiting for?Rush to your nearby theatre playing 'Indian Rupee'-the best Malayalam Movie of the year so far.

-nikhimenon

?

2011-11-01T07:18:00.000+05:30

What will I do if i dont get through the post graduate medical entrance exam this year?

-nikhimenon

പ്രിത്വിരാജിനെന്താണ് കുഴപ്പം ?

2011-10-08T15:46:00.000+05:30

(got this from Facebook,thought i should share this here)

കഴിഞ്ഞ പത്തു വര്‍ഷ കാലത്തിനിടയില്‍ മലയാളത്തില്‍ സംഭവിച്ച ഒരു ഗുണപരമായ മാറ്റത്തിന് തുടക്കം കുറിച്ച ആള്‍ എന്ന നിലയില്‍ എങ്കിലും നമുക്ക് പ്രിത്വിരാജിനെ അങ്കീകരിച്ചുകൂടെ ? ഇന്റര്‍നെറ്റ് എന്ന ആധുനീക സാങ്കേതിക വിദ്യയിലെ പുതിയ ലോകമായ മുഖപുസ്തകതിലൂടെ ഞാനടക്കമുള്ള എല്ലാവരും പ്രിത്വീരാജിനെ കോമാളി ആക്കി ചിത്രീകരിച്ചു കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നു? എന്താണ് അയാളില്‍ കാണുന്ന കുറ്റം എന്ന് നമ്മള്‍ ആരും ചിന്തിക്കുന്നുമില്ല , ഒരു നടന്‍ എന്ന നിലയില്‍ മാത്രം അയാളെ നമ്മള്‍ കണ്ടാല്‍ മതിയാകില്ലേ ,അയാളുടെ വ്യക്തി ജീവിതത്തിലേക്ക് നമ്മള്‍ ടോരച്ചടിക്കെണ്ടാതുണ്ടോ? അങ്ങിനെ ടോര്‍ച്ചടിച്ചു തുടങ്ങിയാല്‍ കഴിഞ്ഞ പത്തിരുപതു വര്‍ഷമായി നമ്മള്‍ ആരാധിക്കുന്ന പല നക്ഷത്രങ്ങള്‍ക്കും നാണക്കേടുണ്ടാക്കുന്ന പലതും പറയുവാന്‍ ഉണ്ടാകും , മാണിക്യ കല്ല്‌ പോലുള്ള ചിത്രങ്ങള്‍ നമ്മള്‍ പ്രിത്വിരാജില്‍ നിന്നും കണ്ടെടുത്തതാണ് അഭിനയം അയാളുടെ തൊഴില്‍ ആണ്.
പിന്നെ ഇരുപത്തി എഴുകാരനില്‍ നമ്മള്‍ അരുപതുകാരന്റെയും, അന്‍പത്തി അഞ്ചു കാരന്റെയും പക്വത കാണാന്‍ ശ്രമിക്കുന്നത് തന്നെ കുഴപ്പമല്ലേ? ഇനി എന്താണ് നമ്മുടെ മലയാള സിനിമക്ക് വേണ്ടി നമ്മള്‍ കരുതി വക്കുന്നത് അറുപതും അരുപതിനോടടുത്ത തും ആയ രണ്ടു താര രാജാക്കന്മാരെ ഇനിയും കോളേജ് കുമാരന്മാരായി നമ്മള്‍ പൂജിച്ചു തുടങ്ങിയാല്‍ നമ്മുടെ ബുദ്ധിക്കു എന്തോ സാരമായ കുഴപ്പം സംഭവിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട് എന്ന് തന്നെ അതില്ലേ അര്‍ഥം ? മാറ്റങ്ങള്‍ സംഭവിക്കേണ്ടത്‌ ആവശ്യമാണ്‌ നമ്മുടെ വികലമായ മാനസീക വ്യാപാരങ്ങള്‍ മറ്റൊരാളുടെ തലയില്‍ കെട്ടി വച്ച് ആനന്ദങ്ങളില്‍ അഭിരമിക്കുകയാണ് നമ്മള്‍ മലയാളികള്‍ . അന്യന്‍റെ നന്മകള്‍ കാണാതെ അന്യനെ ഇകഴ്ത്തികാനിക്കുവാനുള്ള നമ്മുടെ ജന്മാവകാശം ആണ് പ്രിത്വിരാജിലൂടെ ഇപ്പോള്‍ നമ്മള്‍ സാധിച്ചുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നത്, ഇതൊക്കെ പറയുന്ന ഓരോരുത്തര്‍ക്കും ചിന്തികാവുന്ന ഒരു കാര്യം ആരാണ് പൂര്‍ണമായും ശെരി ആയിട്ടുള്ളവര്‍ എന്നാണു ? മറ്റുള്ളവന്റെ കുറവുകളിലേക്ക് ഇപ്പോഴും നോക്കുന്ന നമുക്ക് ഇനിമുതല്‍ നമ്മുടെ കുറവുകള്‍ കൂടി കണ്ടെതികൂടെ? സമൂഹം എപ്പോഴും ഒരു ഭ്രാന്തനെ പ്രതീക്ഷിക്കുന്നു എന്ന് ശിഹാബുദ്ധീന്‍ പോയതും കടവ് ഒരു കഥയില്‍ പറയുന്നുണ്ട് , അത് പോലെ നമ്മുടെ മനസ്സിന്റെ ഭ്രമ കല്‍പ്പനകളെ നമ്മള്‍ ഇപ്പോള്‍ കുടിയിരുതുന്നത് പ്രിത്വിരാജില്‍ ആണ് ,അതെ നമ്മള്‍ അന്യന്‍റെ അസ്വസ്തതകളെയും, ഭ്രാന്തിനെയും പ്രതീക്ഷിക്കുകയാണ്…..

NB- This article is not mine.I got it from facebook.Since the article made sense to me,i am posting it here.Credits to the original author.(link via മത്തായിച്ചന്‍)

-nikhimenon

90 days...

2011-10-06T11:48:00.002+05:30

                      That's what is left (approximately) for AIPGMEE 2012(All India Post Graduate Medical Entrance Exams 2012).Life as a Med Pg (PG worker)aspirant has been tough.Everyone(right from Gopalan chettan-the doodhwala to Ramani chechi-our housemaid) starts asking you -"Entha Pg kku onnum pokunnille?"("Not going for Med Pg?").
                       Sometimes i get the feeling that these people are more interested in seeing me fail than me getting through the Entrance.Ramu,the newspaper boy is so interested in my life that every 3 rd day or so he advises( as if I already dont know these things) me-" Chetta,M.B.B.S kondu ippo enthu aaakana,p.g. illathe oru karyavum illa ee kalathu..."(Bro,M.B.B.S is not enough these days,you need to take Post graduation").
Got so pissed with him today that i actually asked him -

"Ramu, ethu vare padichittundu?"("Ramu, how much have you studied?")
After a moment,came his reply-" Till 5 th standard"

                              This is life......!!!!!

Ps- Thank you Raj,PeeVee,Red Handed,Shukoor,Viya,Shreya,Maya,The Updater,Madhulika,Chitra,Sarah,Vijay Menon,Sh@s,abhilash ruhela for your love and support.It mean a lot to me.

-nikhimenon

Should i quit blogging?

2011-10-02T00:43:00.003+05:30

Though i have been blogging since the last 4 years or so not even once have i felt bored with it or thought of quitting it.But now i have seriously started thinking of abandoning my blog.No,i haven't lost my interest in blogging yet but something terrible has happened.Yesterday i got a very 'harsh' mail from somebody who happened to be my batchmate in college.The mail accused me of ruining his/her career by publishing 'false stories' about him/her in my blog.Though initially i didnt get what the mail was referring to, soon i realised it was this blog post of mine(Love,Sex Etc) that had forced him/her to write that mail to me.At this juncture i would like to clarify the following things

To malign somebody through this blog was never my intention.
Honestly i don't have any problems with anybody (dead or alive)in this world and even if i have, i will not even think of doing as silly as(writing a long story about him/her and waste my precious time in that futile attempt) this to seek my revenge.
This post is a work of fiction .Characters named J,K,N never existed.
Though nikhimenon(Nikhilesh) had fallen in love,the girl was neither a Christian nor a Muslim.She was also not from his College and is very much with him now.
nikhimenon has nothing to do with DPS or the 'mms scandal'.
Labour Rooms do exist in Medical Colleges but it's not a place meant for chatter and loose talk.
If i have inadvertently caused any mental/physical/psychological trauma to anyone by writing this blog post,i seriously apologise.

I never expected something as terrible as this.Should i quit blogging?Readers,please help me.....

-nikhimenon

Love,Sex Etc : mY LoVe StOrY-Chapter 1

2011-09-28T02:27:00.008+05:30

Warning: This is going to be the cheesiest post that I have ever written in this blog.Will be in three parts.The next two parts to be published soon.

I. The chase

Let's call her J.She wasn’t exactly the kind of girl for whom every other guy would have fallen for.Not fugly or anything but wasn’t exceptionally beautiful either.J was fair skinned (quite unlike the average South Indian girl of wheatish complexion)but if somebody had made a list of the most beautiful girls of our college I am sure that she wouldn’t have featured even among the top 30.Yet I got attracted to her.Obviously it wasn't her looks that charmed me.She wasn't one of those goody goody mallu girls either(some of my batch mates had even labeled her as 'that kind of girl who would spend too much time with boys') then what the hell was the basis for my attraction to this mallu Muslim girl, you might ask.Was it lust?frankly I don’t know.

In the M.B.B.S curriculum there is something called as 'internment'(labour room posting).The students are posted in the labour room for 12 hours a day for about 1 month.They are supposed to observe the functioning of the labour room and study the steps of labour(delivery) and other basic obstetric procedures and examination techniques during this posting.12 hours a day for a month and that too in a nasty place like Labour Room,might sound like hell to you.But in reality internment is a fun posting(even for those who hate OBG to the core).If you are a wannabe Obstetrician,you will love it (for this is the one posting where you can learn just about everything of Obstetrics and gynaecology)and even if you hate the subject you will definitely enjoy the 'internment'(for it's the only time where you can sit and chat with your friends as long as you wish without getting interrupted in between).I definitely didn't hate OBG neither did I like it as much as to think of making a livelihood out of it.She was a few roll numbers next to me in the college register.So both of us were in the same batch during the internment posting.Since I had heard a lot about her 'flirtatious behaviour' and the 'multiple affairs' that she was supposed to be having at that point of time, was a bit apprehensive when she started talking to me.
J was quite an interesting character.I am yet to meet a female who is as funny and honest as J in my life.Her brother was getting married a few months from then and hence the initial few days of our conversation revolved around that.By the end of one month(which also meant the end of the labour room posting)we were good friends and what I found special about her character was her honesty.She never tried to portray herself as 'that ideal mallu girl who never dares to look beyond her text books' to me and was even frank enough to admit that she had a good number of male friends .I still remember the innocence in her 18 year old voice when she had asked me once “Nikhilesh is it okay to love two guys at the same time?”-That’s J for you; dumb yet truly lovable!

For the next 2 months or so she was busy with her brother's marriage and me with the college magazine(I had got elected to the college union as the college magazine editor).Our friendship was limited to the couple of forwarded texts and the occasional 'what yu doin','hw r u' kind of smses.The magazine was ready to be launched.We badly needed some celebrity for the launch function.So along with my friends I started chasing the celebrities(not the bigger ones,the ‘chotta- motta’ ones)None of them except one complied and when even the guy who had finally agreed to come(the male lead of a TV soap which was popular at that point of time) demanded a sum which was almost half a lakh rupees we were in a fix.To get out of this predicament somebody came up with that brilliant idea to make a ‘short movie’.Though making a moving picture of half an hour duration without even the rudimentary knowledge about lens/frames/angles/shots(and other blah blah) felt a bit weird in the beginning,we realized it’s true potential soon.To make an ‘Oscar worthy piece’ was never our intention.The only aim was to get the conference hall ‘filled’ when the launch was taking place. Since no one (including us) knew what exactly a short movie was(dude this happened some good 7 years back) we were pretty convinced that the students would flock to the hall to check out our ‘monumental piece of art’.The short movie (shot ,written and acted by the medicos)could be screened just before or soon after the magazine launch.The plan was indeed a brilliant one.The story had five male characters and 2 female ones in it.The girls who had agreed to play the female characters wanted the scenes involving them to be shot last and hence we had postponed those 9 scenes for the last 2 days(of the total 10 days) of the shoot.
Everything was going well until the 7 th day of the shoot when I suddenly got a call from K(the female lead of our movie).
"Nikhilesh,i think i wont be able to be a part of your film?"
"What....what happened?"-I was surprised
"I have to go home"
"Why?you told this weekend you will be free na?"
"Something happened,I have to go home urgently.It will be better if you can find a replacement for my role"-her voice was getting louder .
Why this sudden trip to home,I wanted to ask.But before I could complete my query she hung up the phone.A few minutes later the second girl called and said pretty much the same thing.May be someone wanted to destroy our ‘short movie plans’,I thought.As a last resort I called J.(I still don’t know why I hadn’t thought of J for that role initially) and asked if she could be a part of our short.She seemed to have been expecting my call for she readily accepted my offer at once.In a way that short film ‘OOF’ was a turning point in our relation.

J not only helped us by playing one of those female characters but also helped us in getting the ‘actress’ for the other role.On the last day of the shoot I enquired whether she knew the reason for the sudden change of mind of the other two. She smiled and paused for a second and replied- “oh, they got scared..”

“What? Scared of whom? Me?”- I asked

“No,of the camera.The other day in the hostel we happened to see a video clip of a boy and a girl…”- J continued.

I instantly recognized that it was the ‘DPS MMS’ that she was referring to.Someone from our hostel had downloaded it from the internet two days back.It had just hit the net and was slowly becoming a rage among the ‘porn hungry’ school and college students of the country.

“So what?” I couldn’t control my anxiety.

“The girls fear that you people will somehouse misuse the footage and put it in the internet” she concluded.

“What the F…..! We are not making A PORN FILM here.This is just a Campus film which is meant for public screening….What did those b….es think about us?”-I shouted

“No,not like that..They don't want to take risks”- J tried to calm me down

Though I wanted to shout a bit more what came out of my tongue was something like this

“J,Then why did you come for this shoot?You don’t have that fear?”

“Sana(the replacement for the second female )was a bit afraid but I could convince her”- J

“Why convince her?You aren’t scared of us?-me in the shouting mode again

“ No,I do trust you”-J didn’t wait for my reply.She walked away from me.I could see tears rolling down her cheeks.

(to be continued….)

Disclaimer-

This Is A Work Of Fiction

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters(except the protagonist), places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

-nikhimenon

Eli(The Rat)- the short film produced by Vineeth Sreenivasan

2011-09-14T17:47:00.001+05:30

Vineeth Sreenivasan's directorial debut, 'Malarvadi Arts Club' didn't impress me much.But this short film ,Eli-The Rat produced by him and directed by Alphonse Puthren .M. looks promising.(somehow it reminds me of Johnnyy Gaddar)Check it out.

-nikhimenon

This song is just awful.....!

2011-09-10T10:47:00.000+05:30

Happened to see this Malayalam film song on T.V, the other day.Found it to be so bad that i ended up watching the whole thing.This is no 'Friday'(Rebecca black) that can go viral but still its' bad,painfully bad.I guess this one will be of benefit for many suffering from Narcolepsy.

-nikhimenon

The Best Indian Movie Posters of 2011

2011-09-08T00:22:00.000+05:30

Posters are often the first thing that we see of a Movie.While some of the them manage to grab our attention due to their sheer awesomeness,some others go literally un noticed either due to the lack of any high profile names associated with it or due to the zilch creativity that must have gone to it's making.Here is a look at the ten most interesting posters that the Indian Film Industry has produced this year.This post is going to be in two parts,the second part will be published next week.

10. Yuvan Yuvathy (Tamil)

Definitely one of the best posters to have come out of Kollywood this year.Though this supposedly rom-com starring Bharat and Rima Kallingal (her tamil debut ) turned out to be an awful film,we really loved this well designed teaser poster of the film.

9.Ek Tha Tiger (Hindi)

At a time when all you need to make a 100 c+ grossing hindi movie is a smiling Sallu bhai (with or without shirt)flaunting his six(or eight or ten;whatever you may call it)pack Abs in its' posters, this one is indeed a shocker.Well,this flick does have Sallu bhai and his former muse,Katrina Kaif in the lead roles but Kat is hardly visible in this teaser poster neither is Salman's face nor his well toned Abs.

8.Mujhse Fraanship Karoge(Hindi)

Looks like yet another mushy teenage love story from the Yash Raj youth films banner(Y Films) with a cheesy title.The 'facebook' inspired posters of the movie is sure to attract it's target audience,I believe.

7.100%Love (Telugu)

This telugu romantic comedy starring Naga Chaitanya(son of the telugu superstar Nagarjuna Akkineni) and Tamannah Bhatia in the lead roles was a runaway hit at the Andhra boxoffice.The promos really suited the mood of the film .The above one is really a kick-ass poster...!
6.180 (Tamil)

Loved this poster so much that i actually went to see this film at a nearby multiplex expecting it to be a fresh and funky flick.The movie was cliched to the core and disappointed big time but that doesnt take the credit away from the designer who made this minty cool poster.
5.Dirty Picture(Hindi)

Well,should i say more?
-nikhimenon

Again......!

2011-09-07T12:17:00.003+05:30

Sad.

PC says he wont be intimidated by terror.

Enough of this shit talk man,please do something about it.

-nikhimenon

Should DigVijaya (the 'diggie singh') be sent to Mental Asylum?

2011-09-05T22:04:00.002+05:30

Well, Anna Hazare has said so.I do agree with Anna.

What do you think?

Comment..

-nikhimenon

Publicity ke liye kuch bhi karega.II

2011-09-05T16:51:00.001+05:30

...and her name is Poonam Pandey.......!

(the link is to a semi nude pic,Reader discretion advised)

-nikhimenon

5 Men Who Should Not Have Been Gay...!

2011-09-05T00:26:00.000+05:30

Too tired to write something of my own.Thought of sharing this interesting post by Mahima Mathur published in whackk.

-nikhimenon

'Indecent Behaviour'-the Varnachitram post

2011-08-26T13:43:00.002+05:30

Here is the 'varnachitram' post which i had co authored.

-nikhimenon

This short is a good one.

2011-08-25T20:29:00.000+05:30

Ps: Its' not the part 1 of the malayalam movie 'Chappa Kurishu'.

''The Khans and the Bachans, have you heard of a man named 'Anna Hazare'?"

2011-08-22T00:19:00.010+05:30

Its' funny that neither the King Khan (who had even 'enlightened' us about his desire to promote India-Pak unity by letting the Pakis play in his IPL team )nor the 'Big /small Bs' have said anything about the 'Anna movement ' about which the whole country is talking about now.

Afraid about hurting the Government?

: The perfectionist Khan proves yet again that he is different from the others.
Ps: Anna and his team seems to have managed to make not only the government but also 'great intellectuals' like Ms Arundathy Roy feel insecure.Ms Roy, (a 'true patriot' and a sympathiser of the Maoists&like minded separatists like the 'Hurriyat' ) in her article in 'The hindu'(dated 22/8/2011) says she prefers not to be like Anna.Don't worry Ms Roy,even if the 'Outlook' and co ditch you and your 'enlightening' essays for someone like Kiran Bedis',nikhimenon and his blog will be there for you..!
Read blogger,Arnab Ray's version take on the same here

-nikhimenon

Shame on you,Mr Jagathy Sreekumar..!

2011-08-20T20:10:00.018+05:30

The other day came across an extremely saddening video of a man(who happens to be one of the best actors in Indian cinema) insulting a twenty something lady (read a popular VJ)in public (the venue-the grand finale of a reality music show that she was hosting).The people i am talking about are none other than the legendary actor,Jagathy Sreekumar and the 'popular' VJ (of 'Idea star singer fame') Renjini Haridas.

Though i am neither a fan of Ms Renjini haridas nor her fake accent and theatrics,i firmly believe that Mr.Jagathy had no business to diss the VJ (who is even loved by many.I still remember how my grandmother-a retired pharmacist,who passed away this July used to adore her style of VJ ing) in the manner he just did.Yes,he does have the right to express his views and no one can blame him if he believes that Renjini and co are abusing our mother tongue with her 'manglish' but is this the way to show his disapproval?Shouldn't he had shown the courtesy to tell her his views in person?

At this point,let's look how Ms Renjini reacted to this insult.She could have easily retorted to him in the same manner or could have even did a 'sreesanth'(remember the bhajji-slap-incident?) but the brave girl that she is,maintained her calm and carried on with the show as if nothing had happened..!(C'mmon,thats' what we call dignity,isn't it?.)Mr. Jagathy instead of blessing and enlightening the 'junior star singer' winners about the potential film offers that could come their way(whom in all probabilities will be forgotten by every one,including jagathy by the next season of the show) chose to play it to the galleries and win himself some cheap publicity by ridiculing Ms Haridas in national television, but what he eventually destroyed here was the good old Indian tradition of treating women as 'Devi' or 'goddess'!
Update:Since Berlythomas,a popular blogger and Renjini herself have written about the same topic (which surprisingly is more or less what i intended to say) on 21/8, i think i should say a little more about it.

berly thomas says as a reply to renjini haridas in his blog

//I was the victim of an individual who took advantage of his right to freedom of speech to publicly embarrass and ridicule me – //എന്ന് ഭവതിയുടെ കുറിപ്പില്‍ കണ്ടു. ആരാധ്യനായ ജഗതി ശ്രീകുമാര്‍ ചില അവതാരകമാരെപ്പറ്റിയാണ് അവിടെ പരാമര്‍ശിച്ചത്. രഞ്ജിനി ഹരിദാസ് എന്ന അവതാരകയെ അദ്ദേഹം പരാമര്‍ശിച്ചിരുന്നില്ല. മലയാളത്തില്‍ വേറെയും ടിവി ചാനലുകളും അതിലൊക്കെ ഡസന്‍ കണക്കിനു റിയാലിറ്റി ഷോകളും മലയാളത്തെ കൊല്ലാക്കൊല ചെയ്യുന്ന അവതാരകരും ഉണ്ടെനന്നത് ഭവതി മറക്കുകയും ജഗതി ശ്രീകുമാര്‍ തന്നെ ഒരു സിനിമയില്‍ പറഞ്ഞതുപോലെ ‘അത് എന്നെ ഉദ്ദേശിച്ചാണ്, എന്നെത്തന്നെ ഉദ്ദേശിച്ചാണ്, എന്നെ മാത്രം ഉദ്ദേശിച്ചാണ്’ എന്നു വിലയിരുത്തി അദ്ദേഹം (മിസ്റ്റര്‍ മൂണ്‍)ഭവതിയെ അപകീര്‍ത്തിപ്പെടുത്തിയെന്നു പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ച് പത്രത്തില്‍ ലേഖനമെഴുതിയത് ഭവതി അവകാശപ്പെടുന്ന തരത്തിലുള്ള ഒരു പ്രൊഫഷനലിസമോ തൊലിക്കട്ടിയോ ഭവതിക്ക് ഇല്ല എന്നതിനു തെളിവാണ്.

nikhimenon-Technically speaking berlythomas is right.But the average Malayalee (with his senses intact) who saw the programme and that video in particular,knew whom Mr Jagathy was mainly referring to.To say that jagathy' was making a blanket statement about all the 'VJ' s who speak bad malayalam and not on Ms Renjini Haridas in particular is like turning a blind eye to what that had really happened on stage,that day.

Berly continues...
//The man in question, who from now I shall refer to as Mr Moon, clearly overstepped the limits of what to say when and where, and to my agravation, had no regard or respect for the event at hand or the people concerned.//- ജഗതി ശ്രീകുമാര്‍ (മിസ്റ്റര്‍ മൂണ്‍)എവിടെ,എന്ത് എങ്ങനെ പറയണം എന്നറിയാത്ത ഒരു വിടുവായനാണ് എന്നാണ് ഭവതി ഉദ്ദേശിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നതെന്നു തോന്നുന്നു. ജഗതി ശ്രീകുമാര്‍ മലയാളികളെ സംബന്ധിച്ച് പറയേണ്ടത് എവിടെയും വെട്ടിത്തുറന്നു പറയുന്ന മഹാനടനാണ്. ജഗതിയെപ്പോലുള്ള ഒരു താരത്തെ ക്ഷണിക്കുമ്പോള്‍ അദ്ദേഹം ആരാണെന്നും എന്തു സംസാരിക്കുമെന്നും ഒരു മുന്‍ധാരണയെങ്കിലും ഏഷ്യാനെറ്റിലെ ഭവതിയുടെ സുഹൃത്തുക്കള്‍ക്കുണ്ടാവേണ്ടതായിരുന്നു.

nikhimenon-A couple of weeks back,Mr Prithviraj Sukumaran had made some comments about Mammootty and Mohanlal in an interview to Asianet and we all saw how the 'cultured Malayalee audience' reacted to it .Prithviraj Sukumaran might not be anywhere near 'Jagathy's' calibre and he may not be a 'mahanadan' ,but what he said about the superstars(that they should start playing their age) actually made sense.But everyone (including me believed that it was not politically correct of him to have blurted out in a media interview the way he just did).

berly says jagathy sreekumar was proving what 'AAnatham' was..

അദ്ദേഹം നടത്തിയ അഭിപ്രായപ്രകടനത്തോട് വ്യക്തിപരമായി എനിക്കും യോജിപ്പാണ്. പ്രേക്ഷകര്‍ക്കു വേണ്ടി ആണ് അദ്ദേഹം സംസാരിച്ചത് എന്നു ഞാന്‍ വിശ്വസിക്കുന്നു. അങ്ങനെ സംസാരിക്കുന്ന അധികം ആളുകളെ ഭവതി കണ്ടിട്ടുണ്ടാവാന്‍ സാധ്യതയില്ല. നട്ടെല്ല്, ആണത്തം തുടങ്ങിയ അപൂര്‍വമായ സവിശേഷതകളുള്ളവര്‍ക്കേ അതിനു സാധിക്കൂ. ജഗതി ശ്രീകുമാറിന് അത് സാധിച്ചത്, അദ്ദേഹം ഭവതി പറയുന്നതുപോലെ സോ കോള്‍ഡ് ബ്രില്യന്‍ഡ് ആക്ടറായത് മലയാളത്തിലെ ടിവി ചാനലുകളും മാധ്യമങ്ങളും കൂടി പ്രോമോട്ട് ചെയ്തതിന്റെ ഫലമായി അല്ലാത്തതുകൊണ്ടാണ്. മാധ്യമങ്ങളുടെ മുന്നില്‍ നട്ടെല്ലുവളച്ചു നില്‍ക്കുന്ന കലാകാരന്മാര്‍ക്കിടയില്‍ നിവര്‍ന്നു നിന്നു സംസാരിക്കുന്ന ജഗതി അധികപ്രസംഗിയാണെന്ന് സോ കോള്‍ഡ് അധികപ്രസംഗിയായ ഭവതിക്കു തോന്നുന്നെങ്കില്‍ അത് ഏതോ പഴയ തിയറിയുടെ പ്രതിപ്രവര്‍ത്തനമാണ്.

nm-Even i do agree with Jagathy's points but if ridiculing a woman in public is 'Aanatham' for popular bloggers like berlythomas,i believe its high time that people like him grew up!

//Some slanderous statements made by a man pining for attention- //ജഗതി ശ്രീകുമാറിന്റെ അഭിപ്രായപ്രകടനത്തെ ഭവതി വിലയിലിരുത്തിയിരിക്കുന്നത് ഇങ്ങനെയാണ്. ജഗതി ശ്രീകുമാറിന് മഞ്ച് സ്റ്റാര്‍ സിങ്ങര്‍ ഗ്രാന്‍ഡ് ഫിനാലെയില്‍ നിന്നും അറ്റന്‍ഷന്‍ സമ്പാദിക്കേണ്ട ഒരു സാഹചര്യം സംജാതമായിട്ടില്ല എന്ന സത്യം ഭവതിക്കറിയില്ലെങ്കിലും ജഗതി ജഗതിമയം,ജഗതി vs ജഗതി എന്നിങ്ങനെയുള്ള പരിപാടികളിലൂടെ റേറ്റിങ് കൂട്ടാന്‍ പരിശ്രമിച്ചുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്ന മലയാളത്തിലെ ടിവി പ്രൊഡ്യൂസര്‍മാര്‍ക്കറിയാം. അറിവില്ലായ്മയും വിഡ്ഡിത്തവും ഒരു കുറ്റമല്ല, എന്നാല്‍ വിവരക്കേടിന്റെ മുകളില്‍ പടുത്തുയര്‍ത്തിയ തത്വശാസ്ത്രങ്ങള്‍ ഒരു മാധ്യമത്തിലൂടെ വിളമ്പുന്നത് വായനക്കാരോടു ചെയ്യുന്ന ദ്രോഹമാണ്. ജഗതി ശ്രീകുമാര്‍ ഭവതിയുടെ വാക്കുകളില്‍ so called brilliant actor മാത്രമായിരിക്കാം, എന്നാല്‍ കുറ്റങ്ങളും കുറവുകളുമുള്ള ഞങ്ങള്‍ നെറികെട്ട മലയാളികളെ സംബന്ധിച്ചിടത്തോളം അദ്ദേഹം മഹാനടനാണ്,അക്ഷരാര്‍ത്ഥത്തില്‍ ഒരു ലെജന്‍ഡ് ആണ്.

nm-No one said here that Jagathy sreekumar is not a brilliant actor /legend in that sort but making statements like this in public is not something that a 'tolerant' well mannered human being would do.

അദ്ദേഹം സംസാരിച്ചത് പ്രേക്ഷകര്‍ക്കു വേണ്ടിയും ജനങ്ങള്‍ക്കു വേണ്ടിയുമാണ് എന്ന് ഭവതിക്കു മനസ്സിലാവണമെങ്കില്‍ ആ പ്രഭാഷണം സോഷ്യല്‍ മീഡിയയിലൂടെ പ്രചരിക്കുന്ന വേഗവും കുതിപ്പും കാണണം. അവരെല്ലാം ജഗതിച്ചേട്ടനു കയ്യടിക്കുന്നത് ഭവതി കേള്‍ക്കുന്നില്ലേ ? ജഗതിച്ചേട്ടനു കുഴപ്പമുണ്ടെങ്കില്‍ തീര്‍ച്ചയായും നല്ലൊരു ശതമാനം മലയാളികള്‍ക്കും കുഴപ്പമുണ്ട്. ചിലപ്പോള് ഭവതി മാത്രമാവാം ശരി.പക്ഷെ, ഭൂരിപക്ഷത്തിന്റെ അഭിപ്രായം വിജയിക്കുന്ന ജനാധിപത്യത്തെയും അഭിപ്രായസ്വാതന്ത്ര്യത്തെയും ഭവതി മാനിക്കുന്നു എന്നാദ്യമേ പറഞ്ഞ നിലയ്ക്ക് ജഗതിച്ചേട്ടന്‍ പറഞ്ഞ കാര്യങ്ങളെ അപകീര്‍ത്തികരമെന്നു കരുതി തള്ളക്കളയാതെ നന്നാവാന്‍ പരിശ്രമിക്കണമെന്നാണ് എന്റെ വ്യക്തിപരമായ അഭിപ്രായം.-continues berly

nm-now i think it's time for some boring history lesson.....
Its' common knowledge that Asianet and the producers of the show had replaced Ms Renjini with somebody else who talks very good Malayalam for the second season(techinally it was the third as the first season which used to be aired on the weekends was a big flop and had almost gone unnoticed) of the show..But the TRPs fell drastically and the channel was forced to bring her back and neither the channel nor the VJ has looked back ever since.People like berly thomas should realise that there is a much bigger world outside the net,the blogs and the social network medias.

In berly's post ,he was talking about the 'national television' (i have also used that word in this post)comment that Renjini has made.What i meant was Asianet was a channel that is available nationally and that its not a local cable channel which is available only in, say a 'Pala' or a 'kunnamkulam'.I honestly dont know what Renjini haridas had meant.

Ps: The irony is that Mr Jagathy's daughter also used to anchor a cookery show for asianet sometime back.With due respect to the lady,i must say that she was plain irritating.Whats' your take on that, Mr.Jagathy?

-nikhimenon

If Mahathma Gandhi were alive today.....

2011-08-19T18:18:00.001+05:30

...1.Manish Tiwary and co would have called him an R.S.S. sympathiser
2.Dig Vijaya-the diggie singh - would have accused him for spreading hindutva terror in India
3.Some random Congress spokesperson would have suspected 'American hands' behind Gandhiji's agitation.

Support Anna Hazare for a corruption free India.Jai Hind!

-nikhimenon

Now i know why the Congress messed up with the 'Anna' episode....

2011-08-18T10:24:00.000+05:30

A couple of weeks ago,PC and his party messed a self goal with the 'Baba' and his 'satyagraha' at the Ramlila Maidan.On the 16 th of August they repeated the same blunders with 'Hazare'ji and his fast.Just as i was wondering whether the U.P.A and it's leaders had become totally dumb,came this 'enlightening' revelation by a congress spokesperson named Rashid Alvi .

Do i have to say more?

-nikhimenon

'Not a Love Story ' looks like a soft porn film..

2011-08-17T16:09:00.000+05:30

RamGopal Varma's take on the 'Neeraj Grover' murder looks like a B grade soft porn flick.An ugly heroine dancing to the tunes of the iconic 'Rangeela' song (i must say that this new video picturised in the shoddiest manner possible is nothing but an insult to Ms.Urmila Matondkar who acted in the original),a hero who looks completely out of place and a story line which the whole world knows already- this flick looks like its' another 'Aag' from RGV.

But does anyone really care about him anymore?

The movie is set to release on the 18 th of this month.

Its' confirmed, 'Aduthoma' and 'Pranchiyettan' had evaded Income tax!

2011-08-09T10:16:00.004+05:30

rediff.com, reports(on Aug 8,011) that Mammootty and Mohanlal, whose premises had been raided by the Income Tax department, have admitted to having assets beyond their known sources of income.

Ps: We hope that their fans would launch a facebook/youtube campaign against the Azheekkodus and the income tax department soon...!

How did this girl become so 'big' all of a sudden?

2011-06-27T16:06:00.003+05:30

Happened to see a few stills of (Baby) Sanoosha,the 'Kaazhcha' girl.Kaazcha was released sometime in 2004 in which she played the 8 year old daughter of Mammookka.Indian cinema has seen a number of child artist-turned-heroines in recent times,right from our own 'Mamattikuttiyamma (baby) Shalini' to the 'koi Mil gaya' girl 'Hansika Motwani'.Sanoosha turned heroine with Vinayan's tamil movie 'Naale Namatheye' 2 years back and is doing her first Malayalam film opposite Dileep.But what astonishes us is the sudden 'hyperstimulation' of this girl's Growth Hormone receptors.

(For the uninitiated,thefirst is a still from her 2010 tamil movie,'Renigunda', in which she played the female lead.The last two from a recent photo shoot .Image copyright- metromatinee.com)

Anyways,we wish her all the best and hope she gets a sensible 'stylist ' before she turns up for the next photo shoot.

nikhimenon@gmail.com

Pirates!

2011-05-31T15:00:00.004+05:30

Piracy has been crippling Malayalam Film Industry as of late.Almost all the recent Malayalam Movies are readily available in the Internet either as torrents , direct downloads or in the form of 'emdedded' videos( the last ones being the most dangerous -these are the 'youtube' types,no one claims responsibility for it yet everyone can access it free of cost) .It won't be an overstatement if I say that piracy has become some sort of a global phenomenon afflicting not just 'mallu' or 'hindi' movies but even their Konkani and Marathi counterparts and it can never be stopped or prevented completely (yes,let's accept the fact) .But can’t we do something about it before it destroys our industry entirely?As far as Malayalam cinema is concerned I think all is not lost yet.If the industry insiders wake up to the situation and act sensibly, we can effectively control this growing menace to a certain extent .This post tries to look at 10 steps that can possibly protect our good old Malayalam cinema from the clutches of these ruthless ‘pirates’.

1.Revamping the existing cinema halls with better facilities and Establishing more number of Multiplexes: Most of our present day theatres are in a pathetic state.Even in a metro like Ernakulam,the situation is no different.Most of them are extremely dirty with seats torn and rats crawling under the seats.The existing theatres should undergo a facelift and provide the movie buffs with better sound and projection facilities .Starting more number of multiplexes in major cities will also help.The success of the Ernakulam multiplexes being a testimony to the fact that there is a potential multiplex audience even in a small state like Kerala.Providing tax concessions by the Government to the well equipped theatres would also be a sensible decision.

2.Increasing the number of release centres/Wide Release Strategy:What is the point in limiting the release of a new movie to just about 60-70 theatres(95-100 for the big M movies) when there are atleast 700 movie halls across the state?The second run theatres are no longer a viable option and by the time the movie reaches them ,the pirated versions must made inroads to even the remotest village in the state either via unauthorized dvds or through the 'local cable tv' channels which air them illegally .The only way to increase the number of footfalls in the small centres is to allow them to have a simultaneous release of the brand new movies.I guess the higher amount of ‘advance’ that they can garner from the 'A list' theatres is what that lure the producers to go for a ‘limited’ release.
3.Reducing the time interval between theatrical and home video release: The dvd release of a successful movie should be done anywhere between 110-125 days of it’s release where as for a flop movie a time gap of 35-60 days would be reasonable.With Kananmani,Kandahar.Best of Luck paving the way,I wish more movies follow this healthy trend.
4.Uniformity in the ticket rates- Too high pricing of tickets will certainly act as a deterrent for the moviegoers.There should be some sort of uniformity in the ticket rates of theatres within the same town/city. For cities like Ernakulam,Tvm and Calicut a ticket fare of 70-75 Rs/- and for smaller towns something between 50-55 would be reasonable. Our neighbouring state,Tamil Nadu, had successfully implanted this practice (of standardizing and controlling ticket fares)a couple of years back,so I think it’s possible to do so in our state also.
5.’Competent’ Advance Booking system- Tele-booking system,internet booking et al will certainly attract more family audience to the theatres.The advance reservation system in our theatres are still in the primitive state.For instance In a big city like Ernakulam though most of the theatres have all the afore said (booking)facilities they are highly incompetent (except for the plexes which have highly efficient advance booking plans)to say the least.The internet booking system for the single screens rarely works while the tele-booking numbers rarely respond!

6.Authorised Internet release on Pay per view basis- This is something that can be a double edged sword if not handled tactically.May not be practical in today’s scheme of things but again we have a predecessor in the form of ‘Chandan Arora’s ‘Striker’.

7.Implimenting more stringent Antipiracy laws- Those who violate the copyright laws should be thrust upon with with heavy penalty.Similarly, stringent action must be madefor preventing movies illegally getting uploaded in ‘youtube’ and other video sharing sites.Recently Mrs Mallika Sukumaran and the ‘Youth icon’ Prithviraj Sukumaran made a big hue and cry over somebody called John Kodiyan and his illegal site ashmagic.com,but frankly speaking I don’t think they will be able to book him since what the accused did was providing an ‘embedded video’ link in his controversial website.As I said before,an embedded video may not necessarily been hosted by the afore said website and this itself makes Mallika-Raju’s case a bit weak.

8.Ensuring the security of the digital prints –Gone are the days of Cam-coder rips and low quality pirated VHS prints.The pirated versions of most of the recent releases are of very high quality (DVD SCR/PDVD-Rips) and it’s pretty evident that atleast some of these prints are the stolen ‘stuff’ from lab/digital cinema servers.Rember the ‘What’s your Rashee?” fiasco?.Unless Proper security of the digital prints is ensured things like this are bound to happen again.

9.Make good movies : No one is going to watch a bad movie at a good theatre .Imagine watching movies like ‘Raghuvinte Swantham Rasiya’ at a movie halls?On the contrary,if the movie is good,people will still flock to theatres no matter how good or bad the available pirated prints are!Remember the case of ‘Enthiran’?

10.Realistic Budgets: Proper planning and completion of movies within realistic budgets would certainly help the producers and distributors to attain ‘break even’ status even before the bootleg DVDs hit the retail markets.

We hope our Industry big wigs take care of atleast a couple of these things.Wishing Malayalam Cinema all the best,

-nikhimenon@gmail.com

Ranjith should have kept mum.

2011-05-25T16:43:00.001+05:30

I think the recent war of words between Ranjith and (Bharath)Salim Kumar over the National Awards was unwarranted.Both of them are good in their own fields and we love them as long as they manage to entertain us.Petty quarrels like these will do no good for both of them.

Varnachitram has written a sensible post on Salim Kumar's win, here is the link

PS: What is poor Major Ravi doing here?!

- nikhimenon

This one is damn funny....!

2011-05-16T12:05:00.000+05:30

Guys,this one is really funny.

PS: I hope Prithviraj fans dont mind..Myself a big fan of Prithvi-the actor,not Prithvi-the Superstar!

The 'Communal Singh'

2011-05-03T23:26:00.000+05:30

Diggy Bhai is back....This time,he is sympathising with Osama!

Ps: The video features Diggy Bhai in the 'Anti -Anna Hazare' mode.

nikhimenon@gmail.com

'China Town' is a 'retarded' film..

2011-05-03T23:12:00.000+05:30

The latest multistarrer in the town- 'China Town' turned out to be a terrible experience for me.Mohanlal playing a goonda,Dileep repeating the stale numbers used by 'Ayyappa Baiju' in stage shows and Jayaram redoing his grunting and growling act',that is what 'China Town' has to offer .Never expect a 'Punjabi House','Hello' or even an 'Ee Parakkum Thalika'(a low brow comedy,but enjoyable to a great extent) from this mess of a film. Rafi Mekkartin and co have wasted not one but three of the most talented actors(Mohanlal,Jayaram,Dileep) in Malayalam cinema in this idotic film. If you are an imbecile or a toddler, you would thoroughly enjoy the movie;else stay way from this mess.

Ps: I am extremely tired to write a detailed review for this terrible copy of 'Hangover'.Believe me, this is one of those rare films' the prints of which deserve to be used as toilet paper!

nikhimenon@gmail.com

The Gujarat model and the Indian 'secularists'..

2011-04-15T18:47:00.001+05:30

This article by B. Raman was published in rediff.com and i think is a quite sensible one.

The link is here

Silence(short film)-the youtube link

2011-04-06T07:49:00.000+05:30

nikhimenon@gmail.com

The youtube link of our second short film 'Silence'.

It was the official entry to International Video fest,Kannur;

The Kannur film chamber Short film fest

Montage 2011,organised by BPC to name a few.

The Great Indian 'Peace Talks'

2011-03-30T12:57:00.003+05:30

Indian Politics has become as predictable as a boring Madhur Bhandarkar movie.Its only the lead actors and the props that changes once in a while(in 5 years, to be exact).The story,screenplay,the net result and everything else is exactly the same all the time.During their spare time,(i.e. when they aren't busy reading 'The Warren Buffet way') our Prime Ministers indulge in their favourite pastime-the 'India-Pakisthan bhai-bhai thing';invites someone from our neighbouring country(which sends men in fishing boats to do research on the Indian fishing industry every now and then)for a cup of coffee,discusses matters of critical importance like 'the changing patterns of North East Monsoon','the mating habits of the Polar Bears and it's influence on the Global warming' to name a few.

Meanwhile nikhimenon has got exclusive access to one of the new 'leaked' wiki leaks cable.This one is a 'conversation' between the Prime Ministers of two neighbouring countries.Apparently they were watching a cricket match between the nations ,they represent.

Singh: Bro, happy to see you after a long time...

Ghee-laa-Nee:(as if he has met his long lost brother)-,Bhai,Kaisa hai aap?

Singh: So,Wassup?

Ghee-laa-Nee: Thank you for the invite.Had been looking forward to this meeting.

Singh: Ever since the 26/11 thing, we had been asking you to...

Ghee-laa-Nee:(interrupts) Whom do you think will win today's match?

Singh: Ooh,MSD and his team for sure...but we have got pretty convincing evidence that the terror attacks against our country are being masterminded in your soil.

Ghee-laa-Nee(in an animated expression):Afridi is bowling well,right?

Singh:(sighs)So we would like to interrogate Mr Hafiz Mohammad Saeed in connection with the 26/11 attacks.

Ghee-laa-Nee(with eyes closed as if he is in a trance):That guy from kochi,cock-aa-coo man,what's his name, haan 'Sseeshaanth',is he not playing in today's match?

Singh: Let's discuss about Kashmir then,we have got evidence about Pak sponsored militant groups operating in Kashmir.

Ghee-laa-Nee: Yeah, Kashmir is a beautiful place! (sips coffee), Btw i heard things are not that well there.Some flag issue and violence?It's horrible that people resort to this kind of violence these days,right?

Singh: Mr Ghee-laa-Nee,the issue here is not that.I'm talking about Pak sponsored terror in the Indian soil.

Ghee-laa-Nee: ( mobile rings,picks up the phone)Hello,who is this?Who, hafiz Saeed ? (the tone changes,to a whisper)What?Mumbai?(with a horrified expression) No, not now.I am here in India,very much near Mumbai,lets postpone it to someother day.

Singh: I would like to hand over the 26/11 Dossier to you.

Ghee-laa-Nee:(pretending never ever he has heard the word ‘Dossier’)-..? Dosa, wow! I love Masala Dosa.Btw i would like to meet Mr Rajani Kanth, the robot....

Singh:(slowly losing his patience )-I said,you people should stop funding for militant groups like Let.

Ghee-laa-Nee:What are you talking about Mr Singh?I said,I have come here to promote Cricket?

Singh:(agitated)WTF, Cricket is already a rage here.It doesn’t need your promotion.Let’s talk about Kashmir,Terrorism et al.

Ghee-laa-Nee:R.S.S.,R.S.S.,R.S.S. (walks out in a fit of rage)

Two days later

A bomb explodes somewhere in the suburbs of Maharashtra,31 kms from Mumbai.Panic sets in.The Home Minister and the P.M. release their statements which read something like this..

“ NO MORE TALKS WITH PAKISTHAN UNTIL THEY STOP sTATE SPONSORED TERRORISM IN INDIA"

-thought by nikhimenon@gmail.com

August 15 -the review

2011-03-24T21:13:00.001+05:30

August 1 ,which got released in the late eighties was based on the 1971 novel, The Day of the Jackal, by English writer Frederick Forsyth.23 years later,S.N.Swamy and M.Mani(the producer of August 1)have come up with it's sequel tilted August 15.Mammooty reprises the role of Perumal,(who was the DySP, CB-CID 23 years ago)in this sequel directed by Shaji Kailas.

The plot and the characters:V.G(Nedumudi Venu) is the C.M. of the state of Kerala.He is in loggerheads with the secretary of the party(Saikumar).The lottery,Sand mafias want the C.M. to be killed.So they hire an Assassin(Siddique)to get their job done.What happens next is what August 15 is all about.

Mammootty as Perumal: Mammootty is Perumal,the CBCID .Perumal looks good,rides a Royal Enfield,attends calls in his mobile,walks in slo-mo with a peculiar gait and a loud BGM playing behind,teases his superior officer Peter Zachariah(played brilliantly by Lalu Alex)to kill his time,plays with Photoshop and even cracks funny dialogues like this through his mobile phone(which rings with a 'Nokia tune' all the time!)

Perumal: (to someone called Ammini George)-Hello,Ormayundo ee mukham?.
Ammini: (who is on the other end of the line)-Pinnillathe,Engane marakkananu!

Siddique as the killer: Siddique,who is a really talented actor is wasted in this poorly written role .A cat and mouse game between the assassin and Perumal was what we had expected from this movie,but sadly there is nothing of that sort here.He repeats his 'Bada Dhosth' act here also.

Loop Holes galore: Siddique,the assassin gives an anonymous call to all the leading newspapers and the visual media.Alas,the content of what he told them is the headline of all the newspapers,the next day! The doctors who are treating the C.M,the private secretary to the C.M and a couple of other insignificant people are always a part of the super confidential meetings called by Perumal and co to find out the killer! The super intelligent Perumal browses the poison page in our good old wiki and finds out the toxic substance that the killer has supposedly used to harm the C.M.!

The Best Scene: The confrontation scene between Perumal and the ADGP Peter Zachariah (at Peter's office) .This one is a pretty hilarious scene,thanks to the brilliant actor Lalu Alex.As Peter Zachariah,he is a real treat to watch and is unarguably the only saving grace in this otherwise dumb movie.The scene at the Party secretary's house involving Perumal,Peter and the secretary(Saikumar dressed up like the CPI(M) secretary,Pinarayi Vijayan)is also a cracker.

Meghna Raj and Swetha Menon– The 2 main female characters in the movie have less than ten minutes of screen time in the whole movie.They blabber something and fade into the oblivion.

Background score – The re recording is competent.It serves the purpose of waking up the few who have already gone into deep slumber.

Good Acting: Lalu alex as the ADGP is the only good thing about this movie.With his impeccable comic timing,he steals the show.

Shaji Kailas' direction: Nothing worth writing about.There are a lot of weird shots in the movie.Multiple extreme close up shots of tea being poured into the tumbler are included in this movie,the reasons for their inclusion is known only to the director,i guess.

What went wrong: S.N.Swamy repeats the same mistakes which he made in Sagar Alias Jackey,Baba Kaliyani,Positive,Rahasya Police.The Perumal in August 15 is only an extension of the character played by Mohanlal in Baba Kaliyani.The styling,body language et al are repetitive and even reminded the iconic 'Sethuramayyar' at places.The story is exactly the same as that of August 1.To spice up the proceedings a bit,the recent clash within the CPI(M) is also delt with topically but the treatment and the writing is so bland that it fails to become even remotely interesting.Nothing much happens in the first half.But the most terrible thing with the script is that the mission,the assassin,the motive,the conspirators,the method and almost everything else get revealed way too early(within the first fifteen minutes to be exact)leaving behind Perumal nothing much to do for the next 2 hours or so.So we can't really blame him for walking in slo-mo and mouthing silly dialogues,right?

The climax: Some 25 minutes before the climax we are made to believe that the assassin(Siddique) has a deadly plan to carry out on the 15 th of August,the Independence day.But even after the end credits started rolling,neither Perumal nor i had any clue about what S.N.Swamy was talking about.A badly choreographed action sequence shot in some C class theatre followed by the mandatory S.N.Swamy twist (which is the end result of the 'inky -pinky-ponky' game between the script writer and his characters)were what we had in store instead!

Verdict: Drona 2010,the Shaji Kailas directed M.Mani production with Mammootty in the lead role was a disaster .The gentleman he is,Mammootty gave dates to the producer M.Mani again so that he can make up for the losses incurred in his previous film,thus August 15 was born.We wish Drona 2010 had never happened.
Rating- 3/10(Stay away from this dud)

reviewed by nikhimenon@gmail.com

Christian Brothers-the review

2011-03-20T22:08:00.004+05:30

Christian Brothers-A Wannabe Twenty Twenty!

Joshiy and his team have reworked their ‘twenty twenty’ template to make a half baked thriller called ‘Christian Brothers’.There are foreign location songs,superstar Mohanlal in a larger than life role,father-son sentiments,Dileep’s comic acts,twists which come in every thirty minutes ,Suraj Venjaramooodu’s bufoonery, an interval punch similar to what we saw in Twenty Twenty,fight between the superstars(Mohanlal,Suresh Gopi), a little bit of skin show(in the form of Laksmi Rai) and everything else needed for a commercial potboiler;yet the movie fails to engage you completely.Christian Brothers will be lapped up by the fans of the Superstar for sure and in all probabilities will become a big hit.But for an ordinary movie goer it is just an average fare.

Story and the Script: Scripting for a multistarrer is no child’s play.Uday Krishna and Sibi K Thomas have come up with a no brainer script this time too. ‘Christian Brothers’ is marginally better than their own ‘Pokkiri Brothers’ but is not as entertaining or racy as Twenty Twenty.The loop holes in the script are far too many.

Christy (Mohanlal) is an informer to the Mumbai Police.Meenakshy,the daughter(Kavya) of the Kerala Home minister gets kidnapped and Christy is called for help(remember Sagar Alias Jackey?).Christy happens to be the brother of Jojiy(Dileep) who is madly in love with Meenakshy.Some unexpected twists later,Meenakshy’s kidnapper George Kutty(Suresh Krishna) gets killed and Christy is the suspect.Enter ~~Antony Punnakkadan~~ Joseph Vadakkan,the super cop played by……..you guessed it right! There are also a number of subplots involving Laksmi Rai,Lakshmi Gopala Swamy,Jagathy Sreekumar et al.Biju Menon,Vijaya Raghavan,Jayan play the baddies while Saikumar(!) plays Mohanlal’s father.As in Pokkiri Raja there is a father-son sentiments track here too.Sarath Kumar as Andrews has a very small role and features in two important sequences.

The main problem with the movie lies in its’ script itself.It is a remixed version of ‘Twenty Twenty’ and ‘Pokkiri Raja’.The first half (in which issues like land grabbing have been delt with topically)is a bit confusing and also drags considerably.The much hyped fight between Joseph aka Thomichan(Suresh Gopi) and Christy fails to make any impact.Those who have seen twenty twenty would easily predict the interval twist involving the Underworld don Andrews and Christy.The father character of V.Mapilla(Saikumar)is a xerox copy of Nedumudi Venu’s character in Pokkiri Raja.

Direction: Joshiy has done a decent job at handling all these big stars efficiently.CB is the kind of movie which relies heavily on it’s star power rather than a credible story line to get itself worked at the boxoffice and the veteran director has made full use of his huge star cast here.

Cast and Performances: CB is Mohanlal’s show all the way and his character,Christy will be a treat for his fans.Though the movie has nothing challenging for an actor of his calibre,it will give him the much needed hit.Suresh Gopi repeats his daredevil cop act for the n th time and honestly i didn’t like his character much.Dileep plays his usual comic acts with elan, manages to raise a few laughs whenever he is on screen.Though Sarath Kumar has a very small role he looks aged and tired on screen. The leading ladies have nothing much to do.In big budget movies like this,the female characters are casted just for the eye candy bit.Even no such luck here.All the heroines except Kaniha looked plum and totally out of shape.Suraj Venjaramoodu manages to irritate the audience with his stale jokes.

Editing: Its' a good thing that Ranjan Abraham hasn’t gone after fast cuts and other gimmicks.But at almost 3 hours,’Christian Brothers’ is tad too long. Wonder why Suraj Venjaramoodu,the ’sayyavve’ song picturised on Mohanlal and Laksmi Rai, the character played by Harisree Asokan and even Lakshmi Rai were included in the film. A lot of scenes in the first half of the movie were really unwanted and the lag was overtly felt at places.

Cinematography: Anil Nair has done a shoddy work with his camera.The movie suffers due to excessive lighting.Lakshmi Rai hasn’t looked so bad on screen before!Extreme close up shots were also there in abundance.Every pore and crease on her face were clearly visible,thanks to the mediocre camera man.Another instance in which Anil Nair’s camera plays the spoil sport is the London scene in which Dileep is talking to Kavya through phone.The whole scene is lit up in such a way that even a ten year old can spot the thick layers of make up used on Dileep’s face.

Songs and BGM: Deepak Dev hasn’t disappointed much.The songs are hummable especially the ‘Moham Kondal’ track.The picturisation of the other two tracks ‘Karthave’ and ‘Sayyave’ are lousy,to say the least.While the ‘Karthave’ song has a ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’(CID Moosa)/’Kavilinayil(Vandanam) hang over to it,the ‘Sayyave’ track suffers due to the un necessary skin show by Laksmi Rai.Both Lakshmi Rai and Kavya Madhavan looked plum and ugly.The re recording reminded of twenty twenty.

Verdict: Christian Brothers will be loved by the fans of Mohanlal,Dileep and Suresh Gopi.For others its only a watchable fare.CB is no Twenty Twenty.Though it tries too hard to be one,it only ends up as a pale imitation. Rating-5/10

reviewed by nikhimenon@gmail.com 2011

Are you ready for 'Christian Brothers'?

2011-03-18T08:07:00.002+05:30

The Joshiy directed multistarrer 'Christian Brothers' is releasing worldwide today(March 18,2011).The movie has an array of stars including Mohanlal,Dileep,Sarathkumar,Suresh Gopi,Lakshmi Rai,Kavya Madhavan.Scripted by the hitmakers Uday Krishna and Siby k Thomas,' CB 'is all set to become the biggest Malayalam hit of the year.The movie is also crucial for superstar Mohanlal who is going through a lean phase in his career.This malayalam biggie is releasing in more than 154 centres across the state.

The cast and crew of Christian Brothers:

Cast: Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Dileep, Sarath Kumar, Kavya Madhavan, Kaniha, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Lakshmi Rai, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Babu Antony Director: Joshiy Producer: A. V. Anoop , Maha Subair Banner: AVA Productions, Varnachitra Music: Deepak Dev Cinematography: Anil Nair Editing: Ranjan Abraham Story/Writers: Sibi K Thomas, Udaya Krishna

Running at Q cinemas,Cinemax,Saritha cinema,Savitha,Sangeetha(1 show)-Ernakulam and in other major centres across the state.

The official promo of the movie is here

-nikhimenon

'The Great Indian Love Story'- A terrible book!

2011-03-13T20:12:00.001+05:30

Ira Trivedi's 'The Great Indian Love Story' tries to explore the darker side of Delhi and it's socialite class.Though her intention to tell a bold and provocative tale on the lives of rich and the mighty is noteworthy it's treatment is so bland that the story loses its track right after the first few chapters itself.The characters appear as if they are sleep walking through a Madhur Bhandarkar movie with almost everyone sleeping around with everyone else and there is too much talk about drugs,sex and lacy underwears!

The story: Though the story is narrated by Riya,a U.S. educated twenty something girl who befriends Sereena Sharma at a high end Delhi gym,'The Great Indian Love Story' is more of a story of Sereena and her sexual escapades.Sereena herself is having a troubled life,her father has died recently and his mother has happily married a guy who is half her age.There is also a sub plot involving Parmeet(Sereena's mother) and her extramarital affairs.The story goes and on with nothing really happening in the narrative except Sereena(who also gets pregnant in between) and her mother having sex with multiple partners!

The writing: The language is plain and quite simple.Ira has done away with long descriptions and un necessary detailing.But the basic problem with her writing is that though there are only a few characters in this book none of them have been etched out well and as a result the reader is not able to empathise with any of them.Neither has she justified the weird behaviour of Sereena or her various boyfriends. The character of S.P.Sharma also seems half baked.The pacing of the book is also a major drawback.As i said before ,a lot has been written(that too in a disspirited,un interesting manner) on the protagonists' sexual adventures which just turns you off.The saddest part is that though the book calls itself a 'love story',there is not even a trace of true love between any of the characters here!

The climax: This book has got the weakest climax among the books which i have read recently.Though it depicts the tragic fate of Sereena and her friend Amar khanna it neither touches nor shocks the reader.It only serves to remind you that you have come to the end of an un inspiring, wannabe 'society tale'.

Verdict: Stay away from this trash!Rating -1/10(wonder why Penguin India is publishing trash like this!)

reviewed by nikhimenon@gmail.com

'AMMA's' no show....!

2011-03-04T18:29:00.001+05:30

The stage show organised by the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists(AMMA) inorder to raise funds for the organisation seems to have been a 'memorable' experience for atleast a few.The shows at Kozhikode and Bengaluru were postponed earlier due to the 'Shivarathri' celebrations(kozhikode) and the Worldcup match respectively(Bengaluru,27 th Feb). Thilakan chettan,we miss you and your 'manorama calendar'-sighs Innachan and co!

Coming to the quality of programmes that were staged, well; Surya T.V. will tell you that!

-nikhimenon

Publicity ke liye kuch bi karega...!

2011-03-03T15:06:00.000+05:30

Any idea about what i am talking about?!

See this

-nikhimenon

Rathinirvedam (2011)- An Unwanted Remake?

2011-03-02T18:28:00.001+05:30

The yesteryear classic 'Rathi Nirvedam'(Bharathan,P.Padmarajan) is getting remade with Shwetha Menon(oops!) and new comer Sreejith(remember 'living together'?) in the lead.T.K. Rajeevkumar who hasn't made a decent film since his debut(except for a 'Kannezhuthi Pottum thottu','Pavithram') 'Chanakyan' is behind this 'crime'.Being jobless is a horrible thing,we know;but why can't these 'out of work' directors spare classics like 'Rathinirvedam'?

The fall of Fazil- II

2011-02-23T04:52:00.007+05:30

Fazil’s fall from grace has been insidious. His last five movies itself testify this. They ranged from bad to worse. The progressive deterioration in the quality of his films and their inevitable commercial failures have been due to varied reasons.

Bad writing-One of the factors that can be attributed to hisrecent failures is the reluctance to part with his pen! Almost all his movies post Aniyathipravu have one thing in common- a lame and often an insane (read ‘Moss and Cat’) script! While his contemporaries like Joshiy, kept themselves updated with the changing trends by collaborating with a Renji Panicker or even an Uday Krishna- Sibi k Thomas, Fazil continued writing mushy romances and half baked dramas which might have worked in the nineties .

The Manichitrathazhu Effect- Fazil has not really been able to come out of the brilliant success of his cult classic ‘Manichitrathazhu’. Just like Bhadran(Spadikam-Udayon) , Fazil is desperately trying to repeat the success of his most famous film. Movies with weird/ paranormal themes work only if you bring some kind of believability into them. But his recent trysts with the paranormal (Vismayathumbathu,the yakshi episode in ‘Living Together’) defied all kinds of logic and left the audience high and dry with their sheer absurdity. The ‘Vismayathumbathu’ climactic sequence for instance, where the spirit/soul tries hard to get back into the body of the comatose (Nayantara) turned out to be unintentionally funny.

An overdose of tele-serials- most of his successful films have dealt with an imbalance in the family and they revolved around the efforts of the protagonist to overcome the situation and the ultimate restoration of the normal equilibrium of the house, thereby emphasizing the Freudian theory of family and relationships. This worked perfectly in the doordarshan era (which used to go into a week long mourning every time some politician left bhoomidevi’) when private television channels remained a distant dream. An average malayalee who sees atleast half a dozen similar stories everday(thanks to the Baiju Devarajs and the K.K.Rajeevs)in his television set, finds no charm in spending fifty rupees to watch the same thing again on big screen.

Bad Marketing- His last few movies have been plagued with bad marketing. Fazil no longer has a Navodaya or a Swargachithra with him which in turn is getting badly reflected in the marketing of his recent movies. By the time the songs of ‘Moss and Cat’ got aired in the television channels,the movie had left the main centers!

Dated presentation and old fashioned story telling-Today’s youth who are fed on a staple diet of latin American/telugu/hindi/Gautham Menon films are no longer able to connect with the old fashioned story telling of fazil. His songs still have a heroine dancing all the way to glory in the company of half a dozen precocious children or the hero and the heroine singing over their cell phones!

-nikhimenon

The first part of the post can be read here.A shorter version of this post can be read at varnachitram.com,a popular blog on malayalam cinema.

Chanakya's Chant by Ashwin Sanghi-BOOK GIVEAWAY

2011-02-22T21:07:00.003+05:30

There is a happy news for all the book lovers out there.bookreviews has selected Ashwin Sanghi's second novel for their first book give away.The book is published by Westland Tranquebar and has garnered mostly favourable responses.A review of this book can be read here.More about the contest here.The contest is open to those residing in India only.The wiki page of this book is here

-nikhimenon

Good bye,Mumbai.

2011-02-21T10:47:00.001+05:30

The one week holiday in Mumbai gets officially over today. I must say that i have fallen in love with this city..

The fall of Fazil- I

2011-02-20T14:58:00.012+05:30

Some directors refuse to grow up.They just repeat the same thing again and again without even realizing that their once loyal audience have moved on.Unless you are a ‘SathyanAnthikkad’,this ‘old wine in an older bottle’ type of film making is only going to accelerate the demise of your career as a film maker.Fazil is one such film maker who is still living in the eightees.We happened to see a couple of songs from his latest movie ‘Living Together’ with new comers in the lead role.Though the songs are not that bad ,the visuals are of the kind that would make even East coast Vijayan swoon nasally 'Ishtamalleda,enikkishtamalleda’.

Let’s look at Fazil’s last five Malayalam movies as a director-

Moss and Cat(2009)-The plot?- We are yet to figure it out.

B.O. Status- disaster

Vismayathumbathu(2004)-A good thought gone terribly wrong.A saucer flying in the air,an over the top harishreeAsokan desperately trying to make us laugh and an insane Kalpana trying to woo a confused Mukesh.What started off as a mystery involving the missing medical student Reetha (the movie was initially titled as ‘AvalEvideyanu’) turned out to be a disappointing flick.

B.O Status-Flop

Kai EthumDoorathu(2002)-A wannabe ‘Aniyathipravu’.Fahad Fazil (then known as ‘Shanu’) gyrating his hips as though he is some chinese made doll running on a defective battery ,a blue eyed Nikitha struggling to get the lip sync right and a disinterested Mammootty making a guest appearance to help out his old friend and ‘Mammattykuttyamma’ director,Pachykka. Kai ethumdoorathu was a (boring)love story which should have been made in the eightees.

B.O Status- Flop

Life is beautiful(2000)-Fazil's take on the Robin William's starrer 'Dead Poet's Society'.A bad movie which had some really good songs like 'Valittezhuthiya','Ini enthu nalkanam','Keli nilavoru'.
B.O. Status- Flop

Harikrishnans(1998)- A slapstick comedy disguised as a murder mystery.ThoughFazil could bring together the 2 Ms of Malayalam cinema, after seeing the movie we wished Hari and Krishnan had never said yes to such a lame and mundane script.Produced by Mohanlal’s own production house PranavomInternational,Harikrishnans was a super hit.

Fazil also made a couple of tamil-telugu films in between(which were mostly the remakes of his own yesteryear malayalam hits) .None of them were hits.When you are a film maker, flops are bound to happen but what bothers us is the consistency with which he has been making horrible films,of late.

What has happened to the legendary film maker who has given us gems like 'Manichitrathazhu','Manivathoorile Ayiram Shivarathrikal'?

(The second part of this post can be read here.A shorter version of the post has been published in varnachitram.com which can be read here)

-nikhimenon

Why are the N.S.S. still backing Mr Balakrishna Pillai?

2011-02-18T15:17:00.003+05:30

Mr Balakrishna Pillai has been convicted in the Edamalayar Corruption case and we are genuinely happy about the verdict.Though corruption isn't an uncommon thing in our country, getting the corrupt booked is as common as a Vinayan film making it to the Oscars.But we don't understand why the N.S.S. is still backing him.Do they really believe Mr Sudhakaran's rants?

-nikhimenon

A Rape and it's Aftermath

2011-02-07T06:55:00.002+05:30

In an unfortunate incident,a twenty something girl lost her life.A shocking one indeed.What worries us more is the fact that this happened not in Mayawati's U.P or Omar Abdulla's J&k but in our God's own country.

Some random thoughts on the possible repercussions of this incident.

1.Right from Ms Sara Joseph to our neighbour 'Shantha' chechi gives statements to the media on the horrors of travelling alone in a train.

2.The 'christian' channel,'the muslim' channel and the 'secular' channel sympathise with the girl only to resume their fight over the spilt ice ceam a few days later.

3.The Chief Minister assures the public that he would put all the rapists behind the bars sooner or later.

4.The 'Party' channel launches a sting operation while the 'secular' channel cries fowl.

5.The hindu party demands judicial enquiry into the mishap whereas the women organisations want the C.B.I to do a dummy experiment.

6.The Blame game starts: -The media blame the police.They inturn accuse the railway officials who on the other hand put the blame on the girl herself for travelling alone in the train.

7.'ABC' commission headed by the retired high court judge begins their probe on the accident.Six months later, submits a 10,999 page report to the government which is read by none.

8.The channels start pondering on more serious issues like this.

9.Shaji Kailas and S.N Swamy announce a movie titled 'Trainile Kolacase'.

10.Someone else gets raped,repeat 1 to 10.

-nikhimenon

Dhobi Ghat(mumbai diaries)-the review

2011-02-04T21:58:00.002+05:30

Just not good enough!

The main problem with Kiran Rao's self indulgent directorial debut 'dhobi ghat' is that it tries too hard to be 'serious' cinema,yet falls short in it's attempt.The movie is well shot,has brilliant music by argentenian composer Gustavo Santaolalla, complimented well with competent performances from the lead cast(comprised mostly of rank newcomers,except the big 'Khan') but is put down by mediocre writing.Too many things happen by chance in Ms Rao's world which is definitely one of the main drawbacks in the screenplay. The movie manages to be an ode to the much loved city of Mumbai,but seldom rises above being just that.

There are only five characters in the movie; Anand,a maverick painter (played by Aamir Khan) who is a divorcee; Shai,an investment banker(Monica Dhongra) from the U.S. who is on a sabbatical; Munna,the dhobi who develops a liking for Shai; Yasmin Noor,a newly married bride with a troubled present with whom we get aquainted with via the lost mini dv tapes chanced upon by Anand in the apartment to which he has recently moved in.The last character is the city of Mumbai herself presented in all her beauty and chaos.There is the Mumbai in rains, Mumbai of Ganesh visarjans, Mumbai of Marine Drives Mumbai of Mohd Ali road during Ramzan – anything and everything an average mumbaikar goes nostalgic about.The movie is slow paced, quite expected of one which belongs to this genre.

As a lot has already been written about this movie by the so called critics and the 'intellectuals', i don't think that there is any point in writing a very long review of the movie.Just sharing a few thoughts on this one.

Kiran Rao and her husband had already made it clear(in the pre release media briefings) that 'Dhobi ghat' is not the conventional mainstream hindi film and had quite uapolegetically stated that it would cater only to a niche audience.Quite a smart move indeed.But i seriously doubt the acceptance of 'dg' even among the so called 'niche' which Ms Rao and her husband were referring to for the movie neither has the sensitivity of an 'Amorres Perros'(Alejandro González Iñárritu,2000 )or a 'Life in a metro'(Anurag Basu,2007) nor the provocativeness of a 'LSD'(Dibakar Banerjee,2010).However Kiran Rao hasn't shied away from including almost all the cliches which usually one associates with the 'film school' type movies.As Raja sen rightly pointed out in his review,the film comes across as earnest but hollow.

Dhobi ghat essentially belongs to Prateik Babbar who is an absolute delight to watch.He has a teriffic screen presence and as the dhobi Munna(who is also a rat catcher/wannabe model/male escort), literally steals the show in dhobi ghat.The scene in which he is watching a movie with Shai at the multiplex alone is sufficient to explain what an excellent performer he is.He also surprises us in the climactic sequence of the movie.Monica Dhongra as Shai is also competent and her subtle portrayal of the confused NRI was effective.Kriti Malhotra was also sincere though one gets the feeling that her character(yasmin Noor) could have been developed a bit more. The final revelations about her doesn't shock us much as we had almost guessed something bad to have happened to her.Aamir Khan as Anand makes up for the absence of a saleable star in the movie.As Anand,the painter he has delivered a decent performance.

On the whole,Kiran Rao's Dhobi ghat is a movie which ends up as an average fare despite excellent performances and high production values due to mediocre writing.Buy a Dvd of 'Life in a Metro' instead.

Rating: 5.5/10

-nikhimenon

Ekta Yatra and some unanswered questions..

2011-01-26T07:50:00.002+05:30

Bharathiya Janatha party could have done away with their plan to hoist the national flag at Lal Chowk today.They might have their own political agenda but......

Why has the hoisting of the national flag become a law and order situation in Jammu when it's still a part of the Republic of India?
Is Mr Omar Abdulla trying to appease the so called 'intellectuals' and the 'secularists'/separatists by blocking the hoisting of the National Flag at Lal Chowk?
As the B.J.P claims,do the people of Jammu hoist the Pakisthani flag instead of the tricolour at Lal Chowk on the republic day?
Is it fair from the part of B.J.P to resort to provocative acts like this at a sensitive place in Jammu,when the Government itself had earlier backed away from it?
The Government is repeatedly saying that raising the tricolour will disrupt the peace in Kashmir.But if they can't ensure a peaceful flag hoisting in the republic day,then what is the so called 'peace'that they are talking about?
One of the greatest 'intellectuals' of our country Ms.Barkha Datt has written in H.T. - Hindustan Times (January 21), : 'So, while the Ekta Yatra seeks its legitimacy in the cover of 'nationalism', in fact, it is a patently dangerous and destructive political approach that will only tamper with an already-fragile peace in the state. If Jammu and Kashmir erupts into unrest and violent regional conflict as a result of this yatra, won't that be the very opposite of national interest?'.There is a saying in Malayalam 'Thummiyal Therikkunna Mookkanenkil ,innallenkil naale mattoru thummal vannal athu therikkille?'
Right from Ms Mehmooba Mufthi to Mr Omar Abdulla says that the B.J.P.has nothing more than their Political agenda behing their ~~Rath~~ Ektha Yathra,but should we overlook the plight of the poor Kasmiri Pandits who are forced to flee from their homes?
Why did the B.J.P not conduct a similar yathra when they were in power?

nikhimenon

Screening of 'silence'- short film

2011-01-25T07:20:00.001+05:30

The short film 'Silence' will be screened in the competition section(short film) of the film festival held by the Kannur film chamber.'Silence' had earlier gone to 'Montage 2011', organised by B.P.C.,Piravom and the 'International Video Fest' held at kannur.The screening will be on the 28 th of this month.

Venue: Jawahar Auditorium,Near old Bus stand,Kannur

Date: 28,January 2011

Time: Will be informed later

Everyone is invited.More about the movie here,here and here.

Suresh Taneja's 'We can pull it off'-the review

2011-01-16T13:12:00.215+05:30

At a time when even the judiciary isn't entirely free of corruption,Suresh Taneja's debut work as a writer 'We can pull it off' comes across as a relevant book.Suresh not only envisages a corruption free,super power India by 2030 but also puts forward a novel strategy to achieve the goal.

'WPTO' tells the story of G4,(Vikram, Yuvika, Manisha and Akshay).They chance upon certain unexpected events during their vacation of 2009 which inturn force them to fight against the rotten system.In this fight for justice,they are also joined by the eminent journalist ,Varsha Dutt, a character modeled on the high profile NDTV journo,Barkha Dutt.It is quite ironical that the book has come out at a time when even Barkha herself is under the scanner for her alleged association with the corporate lobbyist,Niira Radia.The narrative flips back and forth between the India of 2009 and that of 2030.

Debutant writer Suresh Taneja deserves accolades for having chosen corruption as the subject of his first book.WPTO is an honest and sincere attempt which manages to make a lasting impact on it's readers.The best thing that I liked about the book was the description of India of 2030,which had become a super power .

The plot- The biggest strength of this book is it's plot and the concept which it tries to convey.Some of the statements which it makes ('Corruption in the government sector can be attributed to the widespread economic disparity between the public and the private sector';'We don't want to be labelled as the citizens of a corrupt country')are hardhitting and needs to be pondered on.The concept of 'Corruption density index' was something which i liked very much.There are references to 'The satyam' and 'the cash for vote' scandals in the book which ifound quite interesting.But the abduction of Varsha Butt episode was outright childish and could have been easily done away with.

The Characters- There are too many characters but sadly none of them have been etched out well.The adults in the book often behave as if they are just out of school and mostly mouth cheesy dialogues.For instance,this is what a character says about one of her childhood friends-"wow! she is a combination of beauty and brains?".All the characters have been portrayed in a positive manner and for the same reason some of them lacked believability.

The writing- Probably with the intention of getting a wider readership,the author has kept the language as simple as possible.But the language is so plain at times that I often wondered whether i was reading a book that is actually meant for young adults.Certain phrases get repeated again and again which hampers the free flow of the narrative.For instance,the phrase 'it's only the tip of the iceberg' comes every ten pages or so.A couple of grammatical errors have also crept in which can adversely affect the commercial prospects of the book.'We can pull it off' is that rare book which is brilliantly conceptualised but ends up as an average fare due to lousy characterisation and bland writing.

On the whole Suresh Taneja makes a decent debut with 'We can pull it off' and hope he comes up with another interesting issue based book in the near future.

Title : We Can Pull It Off…
Author : Suresh Taneja
Publisher : Frog books,a division of leadstart Publishing
Prize : INR 200/-

(The author is a C.A. by profession and is employed in a large listed companyas it's chief financial officer.This is his first completed work as an author.He can be contacted at taneja_suresh@hotmail.com)

reviewed by nikhimenon@gmail.com

Download 'Silence'-the short film

2011-01-12T12:25:00.006+05:30

These are the links for downloading our first short film 'Silence'.It was recently screened at the 'Interational video fest' held at kannur.'Silence' was also an entry to 'Montage 2010',organised by BPC,Piravom. Part 1 http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XNK8E89L, Part 2 , Part 3,Part 4. Go to the link, choose the regular download option .Once all the four parts have been downloaded extract the rar files using winrar and play the file using vlc media player or mediaplayer classic with the appropriate codec installed in it. Be warned,'Silence' is a film that is made on a limited budget,has mostly first time actors in it and has been shot using an HD handycam! Be kind. :D More details on the film here and here.The youtube link of Silence here

Traffic- the review

2011-01-11T10:50:00.003+05:30

Rajesh Pillai's debut movie,'Hrudayathil Sukshikkan' which came out in the year 2005 was a poor copy of the hollywood hit 'Meet the parents'.But his second movie 'traffic' which is also the first malayalam release of 2011 is not only an original one but also manages to keep you in the edge of the seat throughout it's running time.

Traffic has 6 main characters -an aspiring journalist (vineeth),his friend(asif),a superstar(rahman) and his family,a young cardiac surgeon(kunchakko),his friend(krishna),a police commissioner(anup menon) and a traffic police constable(srinivasan).An accident changes their lives forever and how they tackle with it is what the story is about.(As i don't believe in giving out the story line completely in the review,i am not going in further into it;find it for yourself at a theatre near you!)

The good thing about the movie is it's script which hooks you in compeletely.The better thing is that unlike it's most recent counterpart (Cocktail) it's genuine and not a frame to frame copy of some canadian/latin american flick which fakes as an original one.Almost all the characters have been etched out really well and the script writers have tried to give justification for almost all of their acts and deeds.The events unfold in a brisk manner,gives you a surprise every now and then,manages to tickle your funny bone(the interview sequence/the 'politician' scene) occassionally, yet doesn't end up as a big joke once it is over (remember 'tournament'?).The interval punch is brilliant and keeps you guessing about the different probabilities that can happen.

Though the movie doesn't have a hero or a heroine as such ,it hasn't deterred the lead actors/actresses in delivering competent performances.All of them have performed brilliantly and the pick of the lot is Saikumar,playing the anguished father.Rahman ,Anoop Menon, Asif ali were also good.Kunchakko Boban was ok. Among the females it was Lena who had a meaty role though at times her dialogues were too silly and artificial.

Coming to the technical department,you can't find much fault there with almost all the departments faring well.Special mention must be given to the brilliant bgm by Mejo joseph and the cinematography by shyju khalid which matches the mood and tone of the film entirely.The editing is also tight with no unwanted scenes or unnecessary fights.

On the downside,there are a few instances in the movie(especially towards the end) which defies logic(the colony scene for instance).Likewise it's not clear why dr abel behaves in that manner once he realises that the car has hit her(it's pretty clear that she has no idea about the one who has hit her, from the previous scene).Similarly the whole idea of covering that much distance within a span of two hours also lacked believability.

All these flaws apart, 'Traffic' is the perfect entertainer for the season.It is the kind of cinema that thrills you,amuses you,frightens you and even makes you stand up and applaud once the show is over.Hats off to rajesh pillai for giving us this movie.

Verdict: Go for it!

The 5 lessons that Malayalam cinema taught us last year

2011-01-03T12:45:00.003+05:30

Major Ravi has seriously no talent at writing and directing!-Even after four films,Major ravi seems to have absolutely no clue about what he is doing.This seriously make us wonder how he made a reasonably good 'Keerthichakra' 3 years back.Wasted the two legends of indian cinema(Big B and lalettan) in a below average flick named 'Kandahar'.

It's time for Meera Jasmine to retire gracefully!- The malayali audience have got sick of Meera's 'damsel in distress' act.They neither cared about her sob fest 'Paattinte Paalazhi' nor the equally ridiculous Saji Surendran misadventure 'Four Friends'.

Sathyan Anthikkad should reinvent himself!- Sathyan does the same thing again and again and manages to achieve reasonable success.But with 'kadha Thudarunnu' ending up as an average grosser at the boxoffice, we seriously hope that he tries something new,the next time.

Amal Neerad should get over with his fetish for ultra slo-mo shots: It was just fine when he did it for the first time in the slick Mammootty starrer Big B'.But it's not cool anymore,dude!

Dileep and Ranjith are back with a bang!- Dileep had a forgettable 2009 with almost all of his movies biting the dust.Though ranjith made the critically acclaimed 'Palerimanikyam' and 'kerala Cafe'(production) last year ,none of them were hits.With 4 super hits(one as the producer) and one average grosser to his credit,Dileep proved this year that he is still a bankable star while Ranjith got that elusive hit with the crtically acclaimed 'pranchiyettan and the Saint'.

- written by nikhimenon@gmail.com

'Silence' selected for short film competition..!

2010-12-29T14:38:00.001+05:30

I am extremely happy to inform you all that our short film, 'Silence' has been selected for the 'International Video fest' to be held at kannur in the first week of january.'Silence' will be competing with twenty seven other shorts from different parts of the country.

Silence is the story of Rajesh,an 18 year old boy who after clearing the I.I.T JEE is on his way to join the institution at kharagpur.He happens to save a stranger who is severely injured in a road traffic accident.How this incident changes the lives of these two men is what 'Silence' is all about.

Silence is a story about people,relations,hope,longing and hidden truths.The movie was shot using Sony HD handicam.The major locations of the movie were Kochi,kolenchery and Kumily.

Cast and Crew Credits

Director: Dr Nikhilesh Menon.R.

Banner: Sanskriti movies/Random thoughts/End dream Media

Producers: Dr Kiran Gopal/Dr Sarath R.S/Dr Nikhilesh Menon R

Project designer,Co- ordinator: Mr Harish Krishnan

Screenplay,Dialogues: Dr Nikhilesh Menon R

Director of Photography: Dr Sarath R.S/Dr Joseph Sabu

Story Board: Dr Joseph Sabu Pulinattu

Editor: Mr Harish Krishnan

Sound Editor/Designer: Rajeev,Bright

Composed by: Jarvis Raju Vadakkan

Creative assistance: Mr Harish Krishnan

Cast

Dr Kiran Gopal- Rajesh

Dr Unnikrishnan C-The stranger

Dr Joseph Sabu-The stranger's friend

Ashwini- Ash

Dr Saumya Ramachandran-Rajesh's Girl friend

Dr Viji Paul Thomas-Doctor

Dr Aju Jose-News reporter

Dr Nijad k.k.-Male nurse

Dr Biby joseph-Attender

Extras-Dr.NikhileshMenon.R,Abid,Jarvis,MasterArun/Master Roshan,rajeev,reghu(the mob)

Studio-Bright studios, Ernakulam

Sony vegas pro 9.

Some of the other movies which are in the fray are Fill in the blanks(Vinod krishna),Aleena shanthamanu(Ashok R Nath),kilukkam(Biju c das)Davyadooth(shaji),niyogam(vyasan),The return(sherry),A stream of love(Shaji)

-nikhimenon@gmail.com

ps: More about the competition can be read here

Is Your baby ruining your sex life?!

2010-12-28T22:31:00.002+05:30

the machoman!

Times has written an enlightening article on this topic.Those of you who wish to get 'enlightened' click here.The losers like me who are reading this post can click here.

Wishing you a happy sex life,

-nikhimenon@gmail.com

'Tournament: Play and replay' - the review

2010-12-27T16:43:00.006+05:30

Too many cooks spoil the broth!

Lal's third outing as an independent director,'Tournament: Play and Replay' after the decent '2 harihar nagar' and the mediocre 'In ghost house Inn' ends up as a disappointing film.The script goes haywire post intermission,the twists get repetitive and culminates in a climax which is silly and idiotic to say the least.

                 The intention of the director to make a breezy road movie ala 'Saroja','Gamyam' is quite evident and he almost gets it right in the first half.The four friends who are about to attend the selection trial for the upcoming 'kochi' Apl team are introduced quite convincingly.A song later,one of them gets injured in an accident making him unable to attend the trial to be held in bangalore a week later.So the other three starts off to bangalore along with their common friend,Aswathi(played by new comer Roopa Manjari).Several unexpected events happen during their journey (along with a couple of twists thrown at the audience every fifteen minutes or so),new characters pop up at regular intervals (cracking mostly toilet jokes).I am not going on further into the story line as there is too little of it here actually!

   As i had mentioned earlier the first half is breezy and entertaining barring the suppossedly funny track involving the truck driver and his cleaner(kochu preman and bijukkuttan respectively).The three songs which belong to this half have been picturised well.The back stories of a couple of incidents also get revealed in the first half itself.Though the format is new to the malayalam film industry i must say that it has backfired here terribly.

Post intermission,the script loses track and wanders aimlessly.The sequences involving indrans,the tribal people and the jeep which has lost it's driver in the second half are atrocious and totally unfunny.The twists in the second half become predictable as the audience have become smart after the unexpected turns they had witnessed in the former.The climax is a let down and it can only be termed as an 'ending of convenience'.Lal was almost successful when he did it for the first time in '2 HHN',but not anymore.

                The main problem with the movie lies in it's writing and characterisation.It's often said that one can't paint everything on black and white.Agreed,everyone has shades of grey but does it necessarily mean that the world we are living is full of crooks?

                 On the technical side,'tournament' is something which has high production values.The visuals are rich,the back ground score is decent(done by Alex Paul),the editing is also fine.Music by Deepak Dev deserves special mention and is far superior to that in Lal's first two films.The songs have been picturised well and suits the mood of the film.

                 All the actors have done their part well and one rarely gets the feeling that this is their first film.Fahad fazil,the experienced one among them was okay as he had nothing much to perform.The guy who played the role of the (real) John Subramaniam was also good though he almost went a bit over board at times.The actor who played the character of the fatty 'Usman Ali' managed to raise a few laughs .The protagonist 'Bobby' was fine.New comer Roopa(Aswathy) had a meaty role and she looked good.

Overall 'Tournament: Play and Replay' is a film which looks slick and cool with some decent performances from the lead cast,with no Suraaj Venjaramoodu in it,but ends up as a below average affair due to sloppy writing and too many silly and predictable twists.

reviewed by nikhimenon@gmail.com

The face lift..

2010-12-21T13:44:00.000+05:30

nikhimenon@gmail.com

After spending six long hours in the net and editing the html scripts of atleast two dozen templates, managed to give a decent face lift to random thoughts.Hope the new design is more user friendly and easy to read.

Ps: The second part of NBS film awards is currently in the 'draft' box.Will be published soon.

NBS Film Awards 2010-Part 1

2010-12-15T08:25:00.023+05:30

awarded by nikhimenon@gmail.com

This year’s NBS film awards…(The second part of this post will be published next week)

1.    The best Feature film- 'Once Upon a Time in Chennai'.The Award- the shades used by Rajnikanth in the movie,Enthiran.

The plot- Sajan (D.Rajan) is a school drop out who dreams of making big money.His father is Satyendra,an honest lower division clerk in the irrigation department. Satyendra gets falsely implicated in a PVC pipe scandal which results in his dismissal from the service.Struck by poverty and hunger,Satyendra takes his son to Galeinjer,the local politician(who is a godfather like figure to the people and a man of principles) and pleads for help.Galeinjar appoints Sajan as his private secretary.Sajan slowly becomes Galeinjar’s trusted aide.Meanwhile Galeinjar gets married and goes to Guatemala for honey moon. The Clever Sajan takes advantage of Galeinjar’s absence and bribes his party members to vote for Thalaivi’s party in the upcoming by-election(thalaivi had promised sajan, 3 jeeps full of money in return!).On his return from Guatemala,Galeinjar comes to know about this and slaps Sajan for his misdeeds.This infuriates Sajan and as a revenge,he files his nomination against Galeinjar in the next parliament election ,defeats him and also becomes the next telecom minister with the help of the Godmother.The movie ends with the wide shot of Sajan and his 3 jeeps(full of money).

2.    Best Actor- D.Rajan for pulling off the character of Sajan with panache (Movie-Once upon a time in Chennai).

      The Award- The hat used by Quick Gun Murugan

The winner also gets a Dvd of nikhimenon’s latest blockbuster movie,’Maut ki Dukaan’.

3. Best Actress in a leading role- Hira Badia (Once upon a time in Chennai,Godmother)for breathing life into the character of ‘God Mother’ in ‘OTIC and it’s sequel ‘Godmother’. The Award- The dupatta used by Neha in the movie ‘kareeb’

The Plot of Godmother-As stated earlier,’Godmother’ is the sequel to ‘once upon a time in Chennai’.Badia plays Ragini,who is a telephone operator in ‘Data Corporation’, country’s largest mobile company.The C.E.O of the company,Mr Batan(played by Vatan Data) falls in love with Hira.Meanwhile Rajesh joseph,a clerk in ‘Data Corporation’ gets pissed with Hira’s progress in the company.So he makes an MMS of Vatan making love with Hira and leaks it to the media.The movie ends with the close up shot of a depressed Vatan.

4 Best Actress in a supporting Role- Sona Gupta( ‘This is it’) is a surprise entry to this year’s list.She bags this coveted award for her role in the film ‘This is It’.It was the story of an aspiring actress,Yinta whose life takes a U- turn following a wardrobe malfunction.

The Award-The ‘snake’ dress used by Mallika Sherawat in ‘Hiss’

The winner also gets a pink chaddi sponsored by V.I.P.

5 Best Still Photographer- The man who took this Snap (Movie-‘This is It’).The Award- The wig used by Akki Bhai in ‘Action Replay’.

6 The Promising talent of the year- Rangan Mohan yeddie (Movie-Kursy ki Aawaaz) . The Award- The chair used by K.B.Kiddyurappa in the movie 'Yeddie and the Undie'
Immense screenpresence,terrific looks,impressive histrionic skills; Rangan has everything that's needed for a true super hero.After parting ways with the Kaangress studios,Ranjan is all set to launch his new banner, 'Rangan Films'.
Last year's NBS awards

" Trust me,he will behave himself"

2010-12-13T22:10:00.003+05:30

buzz by nikhimenon@gmail.com

"//He Will Behave Himself. Trust Me, He Will Behave Himself//"- oops.! Its not nikhimenon justifying his pet dog through his blog.He is just quoting a corporate lobbyist . Apparently Ms Nira Radia,(tata ji's privacy keeper) was referring to the (former) telecom minister of the largest democracy!

Ps: Neither the desi news channels nor the sardesais' seem to have heard this.So posting it here too.
Hats off to Outlook india,shame on you Barkha!

The Six Movies that influenced me the most,this year.

2010-12-05T23:44:00.004+05:30

thought by nikhimenon@gmail.com

1.Love Sex Aur Dhoka(Hindi,2010)

LSD was Bollywood’s answer to ‘The blair witch project’ and ‘Paranormal activity’.Though the concept of using hand held cameras and passing off the visuals as third party footages was nothing new,Dibakar Banerjee (Oye lucky lucky oye,Khosla Ka Khosla)could successfully make use of it in telling not just one,but three provocative ,disturbing and (most importantly) interlinked stories.Undoubtedly,a masterpiece!

2.Pranchiyettan and the Saint(Malayalam,2010)

Pranchiyettan was unarguably one of the most successful(both critically and commercially) and honest malayalam movies of the year.Though the movie had no story as such to boast off and relied on three major incidents in the life of Cherammel Eenasu Francis(played brilliantly by Mammootty) to take the narrative forward,it was a gem of a film.Some of the references were quite obvious (~jewellery ad,padmasree)while someother were subtle and intelligent.After Kayyoppu and Thirakkadha (I seriously believe that his ‘palerimanikyam’ was highly over rated),another good one from Ranjith.

3.My Name is Khan (Hindi,2010)

Karan Johar’s’ MNIK’ was the story of Rizwan khan,a man with Asperger’s syndrome who was on a quest to personally deliver a message to the US president.Kjo,the master of ‘Raj-Simran’ stories talked about a very serious issue(of terrorism and religious tolerance) in his own trademark stye(read emotionally manipulative/bollywoodish)but what he had to tell was definitely worth listening to.Even SRK delivered a restrained performance and this movie is easily his best work to date.

4.Vinaai Thaandi Varuvaaya(Tamil,2010)

In a touching climactic sequence ,Karthik(Silambarasan)tells himself ‘Kathale thedi pokanathu kathal alla jessie,athu thaniye nadakkanam'.

Gautham Vasudeva Menon’s VTV was so realistic that you could actually feel the hero’s pain (in not being able to unite with his lady love) and sympathise with him.VTV gave a new lease of life to Silambarasan's acting career and he was indeed good in this film.Hats off to Gautham Menon,for giving us this beautiful tale of love.

5.Magadheera(Telugu,2009) and The Social Network(English,2010):

( ‘Magadheera’ was released in Aug,2009.Since it is one of the few good movies that I have seen this year,it gets a place in this list)

A princess and her bodyguard fall in love. Both of them die in a battle prior to their marriage. Four hundred years later they are reborn and the problems repeat again one by one.Magadheera was not a great movie by any yardstick,but was escapist cinema at it’s best.Afterall,one hundred and sixty minutes of pure,unadulterated fun isn’t a bad thing,right?

David Fincher's ‘The Social Network’ had a great script,riveting performances from the lead cast and an effective background score.A truly remarkable film.

Ps: I am yet to see,Peepli live and Inception…

‘Bala takes the plunge’ is funny in parts..!

2010-11-28T09:46:00.005+05:30

reviewed by nikhimenon@gmail.com

             The Chetan Bhagat effect in the Indian publishing industry is undeniable.He inspired quite a number of men and women to write on ‘the young urban educated Indian’ in simple(often plain) language. Even the international publishing giant,Penguin started a new line of low prized books,aimed solely at the masses(or the ‘new readers’). Most of the popular bloggers(Amit Verma,Sidin Vadukut,Arnab Ray,Meenakshy Reddy Madhavan et al) turned authors overnight evoking mixed responses.As Mr Surender Mohan Pathak, the grandmaster of Hindi crime fiction rightly said in an interview ‘there is a Chetan Bhagat kind of book releasing every fifteen days,these days’.

             ‘Bala takes the plunge’ is humour columnist ‘Melvin Durai’s debut novel published by ‘Hachette india’.Prized at a modest 195 INR,this book has the potential to become the next ‘big thing’ in the so called ‘commercial fiction’ market provided it’s marketed well.

             Melvin’s prose is more like an ‘Anurag Mathur’ than a Chetan Bhagat.’Bala takes the plunge’ is the story of Balasubramanium,a middle class tamil boy who dreams of making tamil films and directing his favourite actor,Rajnikanth.After completing B.E. from Tiru Harischandran Institute of Technology(THIT),he ends up in the U.S. as the director of design at FlexIt Inc which makes exercise machines.Bala’s life in the U.S and his attempts to find a suitable match forms the rest of the (?)story.The plot and it’s treatment is quite similar to Anurag Mathur’s ‘The Inscrutable Americans’ which came out almost two decades ago.But still,’Bala takes the Plunge’ manages to raise a few laughs and that’s where Melvin Durai scores.Traces of black humour can also be seen in the flexerciser episode.

            The two scenes in the book which I liked the most were the one in which Bala joins the Sociable fun ride group(Melvin also manages to make a few statements here) and the one in which Bala names his dog America.

        On the downside,the book has cheesy lines in plenty,right from the very first page(‘’ ..the IIT where brainstorms were common than rainstorms..’’,’’I haven’t tried any cream in my life except ofcourse ice cream-,…’but if you asked me to name my favourite dish,I would have to say satellite dish’-*wtf!*).The chapter about the Matrimonial ads (chapter 10) was not that funny and something similar had been done in a funnier and much more effective manner by Arnab Ray in his book-‘May I hebb your Attention Pliss’(Harper Collins,2010)

        On the whole ,’Bala takes the Plunge’ is the kind of book which you can make use of on a boring Sunday afternoon.If you are not looking for a light read,please stay away from this one.

Verdict: Decent debut.

Nothing Great about 'TD Dasan VI B'

2010-11-27T10:24:00.004+05:30

reviewed by nikhimenon@gmail.com

‘Mohan Raghavan’s debut feature film ‘TD Dasan VI B’ got positive reviews from almost all the leading Malayalam movie portals when it was released early this year.Obviously nikhimenon’s expectations were sky high when he bought the dvd of this small movie.The covers had a fully dressed up Swetha Menon(thank God,she sn’t playing a pro this time! -thinks nikhimenon.) along with Biju Menon(oops.!) and two child artists.

100 minutes and a moserbaer dvd later nikhimenon was back with some startling discoveries and…..

· TD Dasan VI B is a simple but pretty ordinary film which has it’s heart in it’s right place.

· 11 year old Dasan’s search for his father would have been a compelling watch,had the makers concentrated a bit more on the scripting avoiding cliches’ like the lunatic (who comes out of nowhere and fades into the oblivion in the beginning of the movie ),the un necessary ‘movie within the movie sequences’ (honestly, the track is quite underdeveloped and it adds nothing much to the narrative),to name a few.

· Both the child artists were quite competent.The boy who played Dasan(Alexander) deserves a pat on his back

· TD Dasan had a decent and (most importantly)an original story to tell which couldn’t live upto it’s potential,thanks to a mediocre script.

…………some annoying querries…..

· Will Ms Swetha Menon ever be able to play a morally correct character in a Malayalam film?

· Biju Menon’s character is shown as an Ad film maker in the movie.One fine morning, he calls his assistant and says that the story for a movie is ready.C’mmon ,is it so easy to start making a movie?One needs a producer atleast.. right?

· What was the ‘movie within the movie track’ doing in this film?

· Why does Malayalam Cinema prefer an Alex Paul or a Suresh Peter to a Sreevalsan Menon or a Jason J Nair when the latter is available at a cheaper rate with better music?

· What made the reviewers think that this movie (‘TD Dasan VI B’) is some sort of a masterpiece?

Verdict: 2.5/5(Not bad)

ps: Mr Jagadish,please don't torture us more..!

Finally,the movie came out....!

2010-11-21T18:29:00.002+05:30

nikhimenon@gmail.com

Finally our short film ,'Silence' came out yesterday.It was screened at the conference hall of the Medical College hospital for which more than 500 people turned up,including doctors,medical and nursing students and the non teaching staff.To be frank,in the few days prior to the screening of the movie ,i had been through hell!Misunderstandings,technical glitches,financial constrains....there were too many complications...There were instances which even made me think about dropping this project altogether.Anyways all were happy with the final product once it came out.

The biggest compliment for the movie came from my Associate Professor Dr Vijy Paul Thomas.He didn't say a word but hugged me and gave a smile after the screening! Dr Jomine also had some good words for me.Everyone seemed to have loved the movie .There were a few interesting criticism too(honestly we were expecting that since the movie delt with a complex and serious issue).At this point of time i would also like to mention that a major share of the success of this movie goes to Mr Harish Krishnan who not only edited this short film brilliantly but also corrected and guided us through out while making this movie.Harish was also kind enough to help us in taking some difficult shots.Joseph Sabu,Sarath R.S,Unni C and Kiran Gopal all had worked really hard to bring out this movie.

Right now,we are planning to make some corrections and send this movie to selected amateur short film competitions.

2 months and 3 movies..!

2010-10-21T11:59:00.003+05:30

nikhimenon@gmail.com

Had been busy with making a short movie during the last couple of months(by God's grace, 85% of the shooting is over now).Anyways did manage to watch a few new movies.Here is an ultrashort review of them.

1.Anwar:

This Amal Neerad directed 'Prithviraj' flick deals with terrorism topically,still with it's lush visuals,ultra slo-mo sequences and a decent story line( haven't seen Traitor' though )manages to entertain.Prithviraj is competent,Mamtha does the damsel in distress 'act quite well while Prakash Raj and Lal deliver solid performances.The comparisons with Amal's earlier films are inevitable though.

Verdict: Anwer has a story to tell which Big B and Saagar didn't have.

Overall-Racy and Entertaining

2.Pranchiyettan And the Saint:

Renjith's new movie 'Pranchi' is definitely one of the better movies of the year.It may have it's flaws,but with it's shear honesty,sarcasm and a brilliant performance from the legend 'Mammootty'(who delivers the thrissur slang with panache),the movie is definitely worth a watch.

Verdict: Don't Miss it!

3.Shikkar

Mohanlal's much hyped Padmakumar ' movie was a disappointing flick for me.Loosely inspired from 'Madhupal's Thalappavu' and Blessy's Bhramaram,the movie had an extremely disppointing first half(with some boring jokes from 'Jagathy Sreekumar' and Suraaj.The only saving grace being ,the stunning cinematography by Manoj Pillai.
Verdict: Nothing new.