You've got mail

If you're like me, you'd go crazy when you see "If I knew your name and address, I'd send you a box of newly sharpened pencils".

How crazy is that? Isn't it?

Small things in life.

You've got mail is one of my all time favourite english movies. Let me warn you here.. It's not like watched hundreds of english movies. Maybe the total count would be less than 50.
So, within that I loved this one.

Its a perfect blend of literature, culture, romance and sarcasm.
The way they take a dig at impersonal superstores and starbucks clients.

It's no surprise that the movie was written by 2 women!.

There are plenty of cute songs all along and this one is really cute.
It helps you hope and dream.
It's perfect for me - just the right dose of seriousness and the right dose of love.
The last 2 days this movie's made me smile so much!

Thank you Nora.

Ooo ooo ooo
Ooo ooo ooo

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
And the dreams that you dream of once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true

Someday I'll wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
Birds fly, over the rainbow
Oh why, oh why can't I?

Well, I see
Trees of green and red roses too,
I'll watch them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.

Well I see,
Skies of blue and clouds of white,
And the brightness of day, I like the dark
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people passing by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I... I love you.

I hear babies cry and I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than we'll know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world.

Oh someday I'll wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me

Oh somewhere over the rainbow
way up high
and the dreams that you dare to
Why, oh why can't I, I?

Ooo ooo ooo
Ooo ooo ooo
Ooo, ah ah

Consistency matters

Yesterday we went to watch 100 days of love.
It had no english subtitles, so we can't claim to be the best people to review that movie in the first place.
It had good comedy but it didn't feel like a complete movie.
The parts looked patchy.
It didn't come together as a beautiful story.
The pace was bad. The first half literally dragged.
My favourite actor looked quite tired though no one can doubt his sincerity and effort.
But, it had its moments of brilliance.
It shows that the people behind the movie were smart.
They had an intelligent idea on paper.
They had a vision.
They had some awesome comedy.
They had a very realistic view to many things - love, career, etc.
The hero is shown as an earthy guy, not a greek god without any flaws.
Our guy drinks and does what most of us would do.

It had the best looking pair.
It had an awesome cinematographer who created magic on screen.
It was like watching one of those snow flaky, beautifully lit movies on christmas eve.
The music was too average to even talk about, except that one bit that comes in the trailer.

I think what was missing - was  consistency. A little more effort on everyone's part, especially the editor, the script writer and the director.
The script should have gone through multiple regressions.
The movie needed tremendous trimming. It was too slow paced.
Many scenes never gelled with the movie. They were totally un-necessary.
That's when it got me thinking. Many of us can make awesome 2 minute videos.
We can write tweets. We can do thinks that require a high peak energy for a short time.
But then, there are those beautiful 1000 page books...those 3 hour movies..which take a lot of time to make. The greater the time to make a thing, the higher the chance of us screwing it due to low energy.
So, if someone has written a beautiful 1000 page book or made a 3 hour movie which is great in its entirety, we bow down to them. They deserve special awards.

It takes a lot of discipline, perseverance, commitment and hard work to achieve such goals.
One needs to handle obstacles without getting drained.
One needs to conserve energy in all possible ways to just use it on the goal.
Together these make for the recipe of success..
I bow down to those who've achieved it.
Setting long term goals, working every single day for your goal and keeping the motivation and energy levels high over a long period - all are commendable.

Anjali Menon.. Bangalore Days.

"Actors are just different beings... as a director, one nudges them into feelings and places that may be new to them yet they slowly climb in and take us on a ride that leaves everyone overwhelmed. Respect!" - Anjali Menon.

2014 for me, movie wise was all Bangalore Days.
I watched and re-watched in awe.. the awesome acting.. the settings..the songs.. the story.. the small philosophical messages entwined subtly...it was a treat.

I don't think I have seen any movie like this where the actors brought so much to the movie. ( I don't watch a lot of movies in the first place so I am unqualified to make a sweeping statement). Their expressions were a treat to watch...the insecurities were portrayed so beautifully.

I used to always wonder, how do actors get into the skin of a role. Do they really feel the pain or they're just super talented that their face can express it all? Do the emotions seep into their skin and heart? I would really like to see a movie being made...and watch the actors closely. I want to understand a bit of the process of script writing and film making. Hope someday I get a chance.

Here's a very good review of the movie!
http://cinemachaat.com/2014/11/23/bangalore-days/

Baradwaj Rangan's Kaaviya Thalaivan review

Learnings:
Kaaviyathalaivan, in a way, is the story of the transformation of a decent man into a monster, simply because fate has dealt him a bad hand, and making things worse is the fact that Kaali’s presence is a constant reminder of what he can never be.

So it’s all revealed through dialogue rather than incident.  

These are character shades, but we never get them, because all the film cares about is action — not what one THINKS but what one DOES.

It made me think why I dislike a whole lot of movies.
I am an average movie goer.
I don't claim to know it all.

I like movies with good plots and characters presented realistically. I like to know why a character does certain things. The character does not have to be all pure and noble. Just realistic.

In that sense I liked Karthik in VTV, Nithya in NEP, both the characters in Alaipayuthey.
People need to invest time in each aspect. I think there is so much emphasised on the look and feel and music and costumes and sets than on these.

The recent crop of Malayalam movies that I saw, really impressed me.
 

Director Vasantha Balan

http://silverscreen.in/features/vasanthabalan-interview/

Very nice interview. Don't know if Kaaviya thalaivan will live upto the promise though.

Gulzar and Rajinikanth

Only Gulzar saab and Rajinikanth can do that.
Do what?
Wear a kurta and not dye their hair and still find people interested in them and get work in THAT industry.
The rest have to fight - willingly or unwillingly - just to find work so that they can sustain enough to become a powerful brand like Gulzar saab or Rajinikanth from where they can go out with white kurta, white hair. Or maybe, by the time they become that powerful brand, the Ellie Saab gown has totally consumed them and they have lost track of the fact that they did all this so that they can be powerful enough to get work no matter what they wore.

Let's take someone like Richa Chaddha or Padmapriya. I have seen their clothing style change.I have seen them succumb to item numbers... Such intelligent actresses...It's truly an unfair world. The alabaster automatons with zero acting skills are ruling the Tamil movie industry and such talented people like Sneha, Padmapriya, Parvathy - etc take a beating. Same with Neha Dhupia, Gul Panag.
I am even happy that Vidya Balan survived this onslaught and got the much deserved recognition. How did she do it?

Deepika Padukone has the power to talk against TOI. But if it was a lesser known actress, would she have the power to talk against TOI? They might just destroy their career. How does one survive in such an industry?


P.S: OK, George Clooney and Ajith can also appear with salt and pepper hair and their movies sell.

How to survive in Hollywood or any XXX-wood.

http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/news/celebrity/2014/08/04/megan-fox-quotes-pressures-young-girls-fame-social-media#!image-number=1

I was astonished after reading this..

Movie dialogues in real life

I recently watched Nee thaane en pon vasantham. Wow.. Gautham, how do you do it?
He picks so many emotions.. he defines his characters so well! First it was VTV and now this.
Awesome work Gautham. I haven't seen NEP again ( My God, I think I watched VTV for 10 continuous days, it just overtook me and clung to me). So, I didn't want to do that with NEP.
But, I think NEP is more my kind of film than VTV. After reading the foll 2 reviews I started appreciating Gautham even more. I have always believed that when you have a scene or a dialogue, it should be justified. It should be there to clear up the character or build up for something in the end. Brangan and Balaji have done a great job at dissecting the movie. I loved these reviews. They clarified some of the scenes to me and why any dialogue was there in the first place. Many decisions and details are clarified in the passing, without fuss. Truly, my kind of film.. my kind of film maker.

http://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/neethane-en-ponvasantham-3455434576-7835/
http://balajithots.com/2012/12/30/neethaane-en-ponvasantham-an-introspection/

Since some people out here are die hard romantics, I was musing about the dialogues. There are some superb dialogues in the movie. When you hear them they tear you apart.

Cut...

Back to real life. I get to hear many of these senti dialogues at home. I really run away from such dialogues in real life. You just cannot deliver such dialogues in life. I think a lot of unspoken actions and gestures are what make real life sweet, than these dialogues. Ofcourse there is no Ilayaraja BGM for the dialogues or beautiful settings, but boss.. we'll keep such dialogues to movies. They really sound funny in real life. Also, I think the waiting and longing and musing and songs that we play when we're alone in our house or car, are more emotional than when we actually meet the loved one.
Wondering, if we really need a loved one or can go on with just imagination, since that's what seems more romantic than the actual meeting...the thoughts and imaginations supersede the reality.

The movies you want to direct

Many of us are enamoured by the world of movies. Atleast many of us South Indians. We all grow up watching a certain era of movies. The 70s or the 80s or the 90s.. whatever.

We dream of the characters.. We cast them afresh in our mind. Our hearts ache for the characters. When the boy gets the girl, we feel as elated as we'd feel had we won a Nobel. The BGMs keep playing in our ears without our iPods. We dissect, analyse, replay, rework and do everything that the director did, before the movie reached us. Some of us spend more time than the director spent, making the movie. Basically part of our body constitution is cinema. We need air, water, food and cinema.

I'm not a huge fanatic.. but once in a while there comes a movie that shakes my ground. That blows me. My senses freeze. Time stops. I wander in that movieland. I live the characters in my head. I re-listen to the conversations. I try to make sense of everything. I practically spend (or waste, as you may call) a couple of days or a week for that one movie. That's my 'give back' policy to the director. I feel, all this time invested, reaches the director, so he can make more better movies next time.
Recently the ones that took away a huge part of my time were:

The dark knight
Inglorious Basterds
The Lives of Others
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya.

Maybe because Tamil is my mother tongue I appreciate a well made tamil movie more than English movies. I also like Tamil songs a bit better than other languages.

So, as a somewhat self confessed lover of movies, I have the same problem as Gautham mentioned. He said he has visuals running in his head always. He needs to put that to paper and make the movie.

For me, I have these huge conversations, huge characterisations in my head. How we could have a more interesting lead pair.. more interesting, funny, witty, intellectual dialogues...more realistic settings and occasions where people meet...the obsessions of the characters.. what kind of books do they study? How do they live their life? What songs play in their car? An elegant and respected portrayal of the working woman and her workplace...her knowledge.. most often it's 2 people and conversations. This visual runs almost always. It's a little easier having it in your head. You could choose the faces. You're not limited by market issues. You can twist the characters. You can give them shades. You can show their vulnerability. You have have these fantastic dialogues which the masses may not understand. You can invent a beautiful chemistry between the lead pair. You can have mindblowing love flowing around.
All this in your head, will suffer the lost in translation syndrome, were it to come to paper and from paper to someone else's head to the face (the final acting). How much gets lost?
Also, when you want to make experimental movies with different cast and different narrative styles, the markets and producers hesitate to take a risk. I really doubt how profitable some movies are. Some people make movies just for passion. We recently saw how sick the Vishwaroopam episode turned. Kamal would have gone nuts because of that. We, as citizens have created obstacles for our beloved film makers. We eat and drink their food and we spit on them. When they expect the most, we let them down. Whoever was behind that ugly controversy, which led to loss for Kamal, hail them!

So, here I am.. the visuals running clearly, auto correcting themselves and feeding (and ruining) my other senses. My short movies are not affected by the classes or masses or market demands or corporate production houses. It just runs happily in my head. Only let down is, my work suffers enormously (If, I am working). Else, I make and watch movies for free. I am my own master!
That's a freedom. Someday when you've made too many movies and are exhausted, you may come to this state where you're content with the movie playing just for you.. in your head.

Vinnaithaandi musings

I remember being hugely let down by the movie. Somehow I could not understand the fickle nature of the movie. But, I go back to the movie, through the songs and the picturization. The movie looked like a promotion for Kerala tourism with such beautiful places highlighted. On the big screen the waters and boats and Mannippaya, look fabulous.

I loved the songs (even more now, when the lyrics have been chewed enough), the picturization, especially the way the guy touches the girl's feet time and again. When you're in love, these small things - the curls in her hair, her hair length, her clothes, the way she talks, the way she walks, her hands.. her feet.. all are huge obsessions. Somehow the part showing him repeatedly touching her feet, made a lot of sense to me.

Thamarai - is unbeatable. Weaving her magic with words and incorporating the kural into mass movie lyrics, is a feat she has achieved. Her story, like that of J.K Rowling's, is an inspiration for every talented artist.

Gautham has definitely scored a lot in terms of style (the climax), narration, truthfulness of the characters and the nuances of love that he has brought, which probably is more reflected in Nee thaane endhan pon vasandham than in VTV. Brangan dissects some movies (maybe his favourite themes or directors) way better than the movies he detests.
http://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2010/03/06/between-reviews-love-factually/
http://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/neethane-en-ponvasantham-3455434576-7835/

The one thing that really sparks the screen is definitely Simbu. Trisha was a non starter for me. I truly despised Gautham's choice here. To be a very expressive girl like Padmapriya or Nithya Menon would have been the best Jessy, but the director knows best. He needs to package and SELL the movie too, after all the efforts he took to make it.

Simbu, was a revelation. Look at all the songs.. the guy breathes life into this role. I haven't wathced his other movies but this is a landmark for him. He, like Shriya Saran (who catapulted to fame after the dreamy songs in Sivaji the Boss) fails to convert all this fandom to everlasting glory. But, that's his personal choice and style. As for this movie, he has probably killed himself for each shot. Each expression is perfect. He looks the part and plays the part like no one else could. I could not think of anyone else to do the male role. Kudos Simbu. Anyway, I wish you great success in future. I think you just missed the opportunity to have become the SRK of Chennai. Hope life treats you with one more chance.

There are some superb scenes.
The scene at Central park - where Gautham shows us how he wished his real life Jessi would have reacted - that is just wonderful! It gives both the characters a nice touch... and whoever the real life Karthik and Jessi are.. would get some closure!
Actually if we carefully see he's constructed extremely sensitive scenes all around. The expressions. The dialogues.. whoever wrote and constructed the scenes.. did it with such elan and sensitivity! I don't think I've seen this kind of intricate work - where the exact feelings of two people are portrayed in such detail. We usually skim through these small, beautiful details - replacing them with songs and dance sequences (the dreaded run around trees or chiffon sarees blowing in the wind in cold Swiss mountains). This is a refreshing take on love.. portraying all the angst.. the unreasonableness of some parties.. the repeated reference to some dialogues - naan en unnai love pannen jessy, Nandini falling in love similar to Jessy, the reference to "that moment is gone" again.. 3 varushama idha dhaane pannittirukka..the way the guy has a lot of respect for the girl.. that's amazing.. Is it Gautham's voice? His perspective?..from what I have seen, all his movies portray women superlatively.. with such sensitivity.. whether it's Maya in Kakka Kakka or Priya in Vaaranam Aayiram.. or Jessie in VTV.. Very sensitive. One of the best things about technology is the ability to store and view and rewind your favourites and listen to every dialogue, every BGM - in detail! The BGMs at some places are so good - reflecting the tension or the romance...with music. Otherwise you cannot do that in a theatre. The number of times I have watched VTV, I would have spent a year's earning on theatre if there was no youtube/ DVD. That's one of the best things about technology. 

VTV is a different kind of movie. It needs a little more mature audience than me. But, it has its moments of glory. Moments that will remain in so many fans's hearts forever.

John O John!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj1vKcxZ2fU

For some reason, I love this guy. He reminds me of a very dear friend.. He is boringly charming and seems honest. There is some reason we connect with actors.. Some vibe...