Rajster's Weblog

Ressurection, well almost!

rajster — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:59:25 +0000

And so finally my laptop resurrection is complete. Almost 2 weeks without a laptop was something to be dealt with. I am still unsure of how i survived a complete week without my most beloved companion. It took a toll on me for sure. I started sleeping as early as 930pm (the last time i could remember i slept that early is i do not know when). There was a sense of knowing nothing. I just did not know what was going around. Good things happend during this time too. I finally took time off to read. Completed a couple of novels. But then that too got boring and i fell asleep trying to read the past couple of days. During this time my phone became my life support (thank god for smartphones).

But, all’s well that ends well. Today my laptop looks as good as new. It was worth the money and the wait.

And then leaving aside the laptop chronicle. The past couple of days were totally screwed up. My top floor was totally running haywire and wrecking havoc so much so that i had to take evasive action doing minimal of the normal things i used to do. That feeling was unbearable. It was like i was surrounded by dementors(shame on you if you do not know what that is!!!). But then this quote was repeatedly coming in intervals to my mind, i really have no clue why, but it did have many answers to my own delusions.

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives. Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
People who really want help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway. Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world your best anyway

- Mother Teresa

What it conveys is very powerful. People will do things. Things will get f****d up, but then just because these happen you do not need to change yourself. You keep doing things the way you do it always. Still a bit confused if thats the right way to go about it!

All sleepy, maybe in another post with a clear mind. Till then. Cheerio.

Nanban-Friend for all Seasons

rajster — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:00:04 +0000

STARRING: ‘ILAYATHALAPATHY’ VIJAY, JIIVA, SRIKANTH, SATHYARAJ, SATHYAN, ILEANA

DIRECTOR: SHANKAR

Director Shankar is back after his world acclaimed ENDHIRAN with SS Rajinkanth with the remake (yes, you read it right!) of perhaps the biggest Hindi blockbusters of all time ’3 idiots’. Remaking a movie and making it work is always difficult, since it will eventually bring in comparison of performances. But Shankar not only remakes a world renowned movie, he actually makes it an enjoyable ride.

The story is nothing new and even the scenes are a frame by frame copy of the original, except for the actors and the language of course. The movie begins with 2 friends Sevarkodi Senthil (Jiiva) & Venkataramakrishnan (Srikanth) along with their arch nemesis Srivatsan (played brilliantly by Sathyan), who wants to prove a point to them going in search of their long lost close friend Panchavan Parivendan aka Pari (Vijay) who had changed their lives forever. During the course of the movie we are told how Pari had won their hearts over with his unusual methods and happy go lucky attitude, how he expresses displeasure against the current educational system, their ordeals with their director of the engineering college Virumaandi Santhanam aka VIRUS (Sathyaraj), how Pari falls for Ria (Ileana), daughter of VIRUS and then a happy reunion of the friends.

It is hard for the first few minutes to avoid comparisons with the original, but once the movie crosses the half an hour mark, the actors take centre stage and makes you forget the original. Full marks to the actors there. Vijay graduates from a mass to class hero. He fills in for the role made immortal by Aamir Khan, and although he falls short of emulating Aamir, he does a very good job. Be it in emoting, in cracking jokes with friends, giving free advice, Vijay delivers nothing short of a stellar performance. Jiiva excels as the usually fearful Senthil, pulling off his hilarious one lines with ease. Srikanth does a decent job with his performance, as the narrator of the story, his voice is a perfect choice. Legendary actor Satyaraj hams a bit as Virus, but does a decent job. Ileana does what she has been asked to, with the voice over of Andrea spicing up her character a bit. But the revelation and the best performance of the film comes from Sathyan, who not only fills in the role of Srivatsan perfectly, but brings the house down with his antics and expressions. A career best performance.

With Shankar at the helm, you do not need a better person behind the camera. Full marks for keeping up with the original and not ruining the essence. The camera work by Manoj Paramahamsa is soothing to the eyes as are Harris Jeyaraj songs to the ears. Dialogues by Shanker & Madhan Karky are witty and add to the essence of the film. Full marks to Shankar for again crediting Raj Kumar Hirani & Abhijiat Joshi for the screenplay. Something all directors can learn from. Overall Shankar dishes up what you can call a PERFECT REMAKE, which not only keeps the essence of the original but also is an engagingly entertaining watch even though its over 3 hours long.

Rajster’s Verdict:

Nanban- A Friend for all Seasons! Pong”all izz Well”

A Year that was…Total Recall 2011

rajster — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 08:07:52 +0000

2011 in many ways has been the year of reconing…the year when everything happened, lessons learnt, new friends made, lots of thinking, appraisals, personal insecurities, waiting, hope(lots of it), rejection, job issues, bouts of happiness, a sweet 25 filled with surprises…you name it, 2011 has it all. But, i believe it had more to do with this time of my life(read as quarter life crisis), but then still 2011 wasn’t all that great personally except for a few moments of pure joy.

Here is an account of some important life lessons that the year 2011 has taught me overall;

1. Life Sucks. Live with it.

2. Change often seems so near, yet you just need to WAIT & KEEP WAITING sometimes. PATIENCE is the key, finding the right lock is the difficult part.

3. “Waiting hurts. Forgetting hurts. But not knowing which decision to take is the worst of suffering.”―Paulo Coelho. So very true.

4. Even when your boss screws up something, you are to blame.

5. Working under 2 bosses is a pain in the A#se.

6. Joy of Giving. The satisfaction you get is something unparalled.

7. When you are angry, it is always better to keep quiet. In that way, you avoid being an idiot!

8. Expectation always hurt. Even the samallest one hurt. So never expect, rather let the things people do surprise you.

9. Some people will never change. Just stop trying to change them.

10. When you have a problem, it is always better to spew it out in a blog or in a paper rather than just telling it to people. Not because you do not want to tell them, but because they have their own share.

11. When you like someone, you pretty much like everything they do…and when you start to hate the same person, you begin finding faults in the same things that used to make you like them #truestory

12. Office without Facebook is like the worst thing EVER!

13. TRUTH HURTS!!! But, its always beter to tell the truth rather than comforting with a lie*

14. Discussing old memories on a night out with friends…PRICELESS!!!

15. Sometimes, your best friend WILL forget your birthday. Sucker up and stop making a big deal of it. One day that might be you.

16. Birthday bumps do not pain the day you get them. It pains like hell the next day and the next day.

17. Saying NO is like the hardest thing since evolution. Especially if you are the can can types.

18. You know somethings. For everything else, there’s GOOGLE

19. Never let your father choose eyeglasses for you. NEVER!!!

20. Boys & Girls can be best friends.

21. When the whole world is on a holiday (read as SUNDAY), it always sucks to work on that day. Week after Week.

22. When things do not go your way, you tend to feel nothing’s going right only to you. Look around, pretty much everyone is going through the same.

23. Never bother to explain to people who are not willing to listen. Those who know you will know why you did it (P.S. They might ask for an explanation too, but yeah you should know the difference)

24. Cooking is not as tough as you think it is, all you need is a bit of dedication and a sense of taste.

and i will leave you with the most valuable & important lesson i learnt, a lesson that i will never ever forget, a lesson that holds true even if you aren’t a big fan of it…

25. NEVER EVER TRUST ANYONE!

There were many more, but these were the most important things where my beliefs were taken for a ride. Come 2012, i will not say i will be a changed man…but i will definetly be more considerate and hopefully a lot wiser.

Cheerio

2011-The Year in Music-Hindi Top 10 Songs

rajster — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:14:23 +0000

Hindi film music experienced some unconventional experimentation of music in the year 2011 ans we were treated to some wonderful music in the process.

Here is the list of the songs that were played on loop innumerable times, stole our hearts during the course of the year;

1. Rockstar-The Complete Album (A.R.Rahman) [Just naming one song from the album would be a crime. This is what one calls a complete album]

2. Tere Liye/Bekaraan (7 Khoon Maaf-Vishal Bharadwaj)

3. Khwabon Ke Parindey/Senorita (ZNMD-Shankar Ehsaan Loy)

4. Hona Tha Pyaar (Bol-Atif Aslam)

5. Yun Hi/Sadi Galli (Tanu Weds Manu-KRSNA)

6. I Love You (Bodyguard-Himesh Reshammiya/Pritam)

7. Hawaa Hawaei/Khoya Khoya Chand (Shaitan-Various Artists)

8. DK Bose/Saigal Blues (Delhi Belly-Ram Sampath)

9. Chammak Chalo/Dildaara (RA.One-Vishal Shekar)

10. Jaane Bhi Toh (Force-Harris Jeyaraj)

Album of the Year: Rockstar (A.R. Rahman)

Surprise package of the Year: Tanu Weds Manu/Delhi Belly

Songs that just missed the cut…

Kutta (Pyaar Ka Punchnaama)
Dinka Chika (Ready)
Aache Lagte (Aarakshan)
Te Amo (Dum Maaro Dum)
Dilli (No One Killed Jessica)

2011-The Year in Music-Tamil Top 10 Songs

rajster — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:19:43 +0000

2011 has been overall a great year for music lovers over the world across all genres. The roost of young and talented music directors like Thaman & GVP have taken center stage with the industry big shots.

Here is the list of the songs that were played on loop innumerable times, stole our hearts during the course of the year;

1. Sara Sara Sarakaathu (Vaagai Sooda Vaa-M Ghibran)

2. Yennamo Yedho ( Ko-Harris Jeyaraj)

3. Mazhai Varum Ariguri ( Veppam-Joshua Sridhar)

4. Vennilavae/Vizhigalil (Deiva Thiru Magal-GV Prakash Kumar)

5. Kadhal En Kadhal/Voda Voda (Mayakkam Enna-GV Prakash Kumar)

6. Santhikaatha Kangalil/Nee Korinal (180-Shareth)

7. Anjana/Nagaruthe (Vanthaan Vendraan-Thaman)

8. Vaanam(Deivam Vaazvadhu Engae)-Title Track (Vaanam-Yuvan Shankar Raja)

9. Maalai Mangum Neram (Rowthiram-Prakash Nikki)

10. Why this Kolaveri/Come on Girls (3-Anirudh Ravichander)

Music Director of the Year: M Ghibran

Album of the Year: Vaagai Sooda Vaa

Best Debut Album: Vaagai Sooda Vaa (M Ghibran)

Songs that just missed the cut…

Kalasala (Osthi)
Ambalaikum Pombalaikum (Kazhugu)
Vilayaadu Mankaatha (Makaatha)
Govindha/Sotta Sotta (Engeyum Epodhum)
Oru Malaioram (Avan Ivan)

Benchaped!

rajster — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 20:57:40 +0000

25 years of existence on planet earth. Still clueless about what’s in store. Still that insecure soul. Still that wandering mind. Still a lot of things, but then always up for the challenge! Bring it on LIFE!

And a very Merry Christmas to all you lovely people. May this festive season be one of joy and prosperity to each and everyone of you.

Reality Strikes!!!

rajster — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:59:10 +0000

As i wander-Empty and confused,
My mind filled with disbelief,
Wake me up and tell me,
It was all just a dream.

The lessons learnt

rajster — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:09:08 +0000

Early morning standing in the bus for an hour made me think of so many things. But then this one thing kept coming back. It just randomly flew from nowhere as i was standing there thinking, if not calculating who is gonna get down next so that i could get a seat. I was surprised how much this simple act of standing in the bus could be so much related to life.

The seat is what we want in life, our standing signifies our position. We want the seat so much and we calculate in our minds who might be the next person who might get up and try stand next to him/her to get the seat. Sometimes you never get the seat, sometimes you are so close yet it slips away, sometimes you get it after a long wait & sometimes you could be standing and a person who gets in the bus later than you can get a seat. That’s how life is. It’s not fair all the time, but all this while we still stand there waiting in HOPE that we might still get what we want.

I got my seat although i had to wait for more than half the journey standing, and how i wish life was as simple as getting a seat on the bus.

Was i right in thinking so? You tell me.

P.S. To avoid such future posts, kindly request the bus driver and public to allot a seat to me. Ha ha ha. Cheerio

Osthe-Paisa Vasool

rajster — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 23:48:30 +0000

STARRING: YOUNG SUPER STAR STR, RICHA GANGOPHADAY

DIRECTOR: DHARANI

RATING:

After brilliant commercial blockbusters like Dhil, Dhool, Ghilli & the mediocre Kuruvi, Dharani is back at what he does best…commercially entertain. With Osthe, the remake of much acclaimed Salman Khan starring blockbuster Dabangg, Dharani proves he is still one of the best in business.

The story is nothing new and most of the scenes are a ditto copy of the Bollywood original Dabangg. But, Osthe mainly works because of its cast, sleek screenplay and many witty one liners. The story is of a corrupt cop “Osthe” Velan(STR), a demon to the local goondas and corrupt politicians, a robin hood to the poor. Osthe Velan has a love hate relationship with his father(Nasser) & younger sibling Balan(Jithan Ramesh). It’s love at first sight for Osthe velan when he meets Neduvaali(Richa Gangophaday) during one of his goonda thrashing sessions. Boxer Daniel(Sonu Sood) is the local bad guy eyeing an MLA seat. How their tracks meet and what happens in the end forms the rest of the story. Even though its an already known story, with the right mix of comedy, romance, action,e motions and perfect song placement, Osthe is a complete package that gives you full value for your money without a single dull moment.

Coming to the performances, as much as i think that no one could match Salman Khan’s charisma and an actor like Vikram or even a Vijay could have done a better job as Osthe Velan, STR does not disappoint. He is the pivot along which the story revolves around and the young actor finds his feet oozing with energy, emoting, dancing, romancing with ease, making the goondas fly in the air with his punch and spew out one punch dialogue after another. MASS indeed. Richa Gangphaday as Neduvaali after an impressive debut in Mayakam Enna, has little to do. But with her expressive eyes and wonderful expressions she gives ample support. Santhanam is the other HERO of the film. If Osthe was entertaining than this man is the main reason. With his typical one liners, he brings down the house. Watch out for his special step in the Neduvaali number. You will die laughing. Sonu Sood as Boxer Daniel does his villainous role to perfection as he did in the original. All the supporting cast like Revathy, Nassser, Jithan Ramesh, Saranya Mohan, Thambi Ramiah, Mayil Saamy & VTV Ganesh fit their roles to perfection and do a commendable job worth mentioning.

Gopinath’s camera captures the mood brilliantly with vivid colours and brilliant colour tones. Thaman’s music blends well with the film and the songs are sure shot winners. Be it the foot tapping kalasala or the melodious Vaadi vaadi. A feather in Thaman’s cap. Although presented with numerous over the top fight scenes and the hero flying around like a bird at places scaling buildings, Dharani’s screenplay is tightly packed with the rest of the elements in equal proportion and moves along a rapid pace to keep you interested.

Rajster’s Verdict:

Osthe lives upto it’s tagline THE MASS. Watch it for pure timepass. Full PAISA VASOOL!!!

The Eye Twitch!

rajster — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:14:37 +0000

My right eye has been twitching since last week. I really do not know what the reason was. So, who better to ask than GOOGLE himself(or is google a woman? Oh! well we will discuss it in another post). So lets get in detail to what google says;

A right eye twitch in men(there is gender bias here too) generally means “Good Omen”. Good things are gonna happen to you. And a left eye twitch signifies “Bad Omen”. bad things await you. It’s a mirror image when it is taken in reference to the opposite sex.

Also, generally eye twitching is associated to lack of sleep, stress and so many other factors. And thats where it all ended.

Finally, what does my RIGHT eye twitch signify?

Good Omen, ill stand and laugh right at you cos right now whatever is happening related to my plans and life are not even close to OK and we are talking about GOOD here(i was so drawn to using expletives in this sentence). Actually, I could not stop laughing when i read what the twitch signified. So long for superstitions.

So, people GO SLEEP and ill try to find some too cos i believe the lack of it just caused my eye twitch. And if in case something drastically changes over the coming few days, i’d like to believe it’s still that!

Cheerio