Yesterday, while working out at the gym, caught a bit of My name is Earl, the titles mentioned a Vali Chandrasekaran as the writer. Curious, googled the name and found this blog. Same guy, looks like?
The other Chandrasekhar in Hollywood being Jay, the Dukes of Hazzard guy.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Ram wins for Jeeva
It is indeed an honor that a newcomer gets an international award. Jeeva won the Best Actor award at the Cyprus International film fest. The movie also won for music (YSR). Read in Tamil here.
The official website has only 2 awards listed, for Jeeva and YSR. Looks like tamilcinema stretched it a bit and gave 2 more to the movie.
That is something really!
Feels good!
The official website has only 2 awards listed, for Jeeva and YSR. Looks like tamilcinema stretched it a bit and gave 2 more to the movie.
That is something really!
Feels good!
Monday, March 27, 2006
A bit of this and that
Watched Sandakkozhi yesterday. Though there were shades of Run here, it was a good entertainer. This is the first Vishal movie I watched and he seems to have what it needs. Fights well, dances well, tall and muscular (not overly so), and seems to be ok with acting too. Meera Jasmine is cute and naughty, very few heroines seem to do well with comedy. This one does. Rajkiran seems to be gaining back a bit of importance in recent films, he gets a good role here. Was Lal the villain or a wannabe comedian?
May be I have learnt to pick good movies, but of late, most of the Tamil movies I have watched have been tolerably good.
The bitter half will be talking about all the hard labor of the last few days, when we decided to redo the little one's room. It did come out good, inspite of his complaints of curvy lines. I did what is called color blocking, using purples and pinks to complement Dora stick ons. I love doing up rooms, provided I don't get to do much of the labor ;-)
The older one had her annual party, and for once I decided not to bake the cake. That was a good idea considering all that work and exhaustion from painting. And for once, not much leftovers to clean up.
Watched sun tv's Friday review of kalabha kaathalan. Arya looks good, no doubt about it. But his voice needs some help. Definitely.
If you get a chance to see Bollywood Dreams, do so. They have captured the essence of Bollywood very nicely. And the guys will surely enjoy watching the 2 female leads.
May be I have learnt to pick good movies, but of late, most of the Tamil movies I have watched have been tolerably good.
The bitter half will be talking about all the hard labor of the last few days, when we decided to redo the little one's room. It did come out good, inspite of his complaints of curvy lines. I did what is called color blocking, using purples and pinks to complement Dora stick ons. I love doing up rooms, provided I don't get to do much of the labor ;-)
The older one had her annual party, and for once I decided not to bake the cake. That was a good idea considering all that work and exhaustion from painting. And for once, not much leftovers to clean up.
Watched sun tv's Friday review of kalabha kaathalan. Arya looks good, no doubt about it. But his voice needs some help. Definitely.
If you get a chance to see Bollywood Dreams, do so. They have captured the essence of Bollywood very nicely. And the guys will surely enjoy watching the 2 female leads.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Jeopardy try out
Want to try for Jeopardy?
Now is your chance to try it out. I have been a long time fan of this game show. There have been other game shows, their craze haven't lasted as long as it has been for Jeopardy!
Who knows? May be one of us would get to participate!
Now is your chance to try it out. I have been a long time fan of this game show. There have been other game shows, their craze haven't lasted as long as it has been for Jeopardy!
Who knows? May be one of us would get to participate!
Friday, March 17, 2006
ARR on CNN
Yep, this weekend on Talk Asia show.
Can we see it here?
Talking to Lorraine Hahn of CNN, Rahman said: 'You have like 18 hydraulics moving on stage...in three and a half hours... it's amazing stuff.' The interview will be showcased repeatedly Saturday, Sunday and Monday on CNN's 'Talk Asia' show.
Can we see it here?
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Che G's Bro wannabe
Inspite of those warnings about scary eyes, watched Maddy in Thambi yesterday.
Edutha eduppiliye, comedy padamnu therinju pochu. T'ai chi Maddy style was oh so funny! Then those eyes - reminded me of Halloween, when we can buy those plastic eyes to scare people. Direction was quite lacking. Dialogs were so 70s-80s style.
The worst was Pooja trying to be a great dancer. Man, she butchered that wonderful thillana. Thankfully she doesn't exhibit her 'skills' too much, but enough to make real dancers barf! Biju Menon seems to have gained a few pounds since I last saw him.
To cap it all, ending credits are again accompanied by Maddy style T'ai chi! And oh, were they being sponsored by a Shampoo company or what? Sometimes, I felt like I was watching a very looong shampoo ad, what with Maddy flaunting his glorious mane!
Three things to keep you off this movie - Maddy's eyes, his T'ai chi, Pooja's excuse for B'natyam.
Edutha eduppiliye, comedy padamnu therinju pochu. T'ai chi Maddy style was oh so funny! Then those eyes - reminded me of Halloween, when we can buy those plastic eyes to scare people. Direction was quite lacking. Dialogs were so 70s-80s style.
The worst was Pooja trying to be a great dancer. Man, she butchered that wonderful thillana. Thankfully she doesn't exhibit her 'skills' too much, but enough to make real dancers barf! Biju Menon seems to have gained a few pounds since I last saw him.
To cap it all, ending credits are again accompanied by Maddy style T'ai chi! And oh, were they being sponsored by a Shampoo company or what? Sometimes, I felt like I was watching a very looong shampoo ad, what with Maddy flaunting his glorious mane!
Three things to keep you off this movie - Maddy's eyes, his T'ai chi, Pooja's excuse for B'natyam.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Tamil Razzies
Where ever you see, people are giving away movie awards like the candies on I-day. I think we badly need a Tamil equivalent of Razzies. Now, that would have a healthy competition.
Worst actor nomination:
1. SJ Surya (tops my list)
2. Chimpu
3. Dhanush
4. Gabtonne
5. Ravikrishna
6. Sibiraj
Worst actress nomination:
1. Namitha
2. Sonia Agarwal
3. Sa(a)da
4. Ankitha
Worst Movie nomination:
Hard to pick just one here. Suggestions invited.
Worst actor nomination:
1. SJ Surya (tops my list)
2. Chimpu
3. Dhanush
4. Gabtonne
5. Ravikrishna
6. Sibiraj
Worst actress nomination:
1. Namitha
2. Sonia Agarwal
3. Sa(a)da
4. Ankitha
Worst Movie nomination:
Hard to pick just one here. Suggestions invited.
Pi day
Today is Pi day. Why? 3.14, that's the date. So a good day to celebrate your love for Math. If we can have boss day, secretary's day, even a dog day, we can surely have one math day.
Check the braingle web site or go eat a pi(e)!
Check the braingle web site or go eat a pi(e)!
Monday, March 13, 2006
The clown and ten
I rented out Shalimar the clown from the library recently.
Don't ask me why I picked this. Probably because there was a part of India in it. And also because it was Rushdie's. I read it through in a very disinterested way. The only thing that I liked about this book was the description of Kashmir, the beauty that was. Rushdie likes to ramble quite a bit. He starts talking about one thing and goes off on a tangent. The book is full of such tangents. I don't think I am going to read any more Rushdie novels unless it comes highly (very highly indeed) reco'd.
Saw Dus on Sony yesterday. It was not a bad movie. Some parts of it were even interesting. I watched it mainly because Abhishek B was in it. 2 things that would have put me off this movie - Drugged Dutt and Eeesha Deol. Could have been better of course. And now I hear, there is going to be a sequel named, guess what, 11. Natural progression!
Seems like the creative heads in Bollywood have stopped adapting from the west and recycling their old stuff. Kabhie Kabhie is probably heading for a remake. Then of course, there is Sholay, Guide and Don.
Don't ask me why I picked this. Probably because there was a part of India in it. And also because it was Rushdie's. I read it through in a very disinterested way. The only thing that I liked about this book was the description of Kashmir, the beauty that was. Rushdie likes to ramble quite a bit. He starts talking about one thing and goes off on a tangent. The book is full of such tangents. I don't think I am going to read any more Rushdie novels unless it comes highly (very highly indeed) reco'd.
Saw Dus on Sony yesterday. It was not a bad movie. Some parts of it were even interesting. I watched it mainly because Abhishek B was in it. 2 things that would have put me off this movie - Drugged Dutt and Eeesha Deol. Could have been better of course. And now I hear, there is going to be a sequel named, guess what, 11. Natural progression!
Seems like the creative heads in Bollywood have stopped adapting from the west and recycling their old stuff. Kabhie Kabhie is probably heading for a remake. Then of course, there is Sholay, Guide and Don.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
kids and their mother tongue
This post has been inspired by Vikrum's. Ever since I came to this country and observed how parents here try to instill some thing of their roots in their offsprings, I have been affected by this side of parenting. Teaching your kids to speak your language.
To me, it is more to help them be at home when visiting with family and friends. It is also a bit about passing on what (little) I know of my culture. I try to have writing sessions every Saturday in Tamil. It is not too hard to learn to write the alphabets and to read fluently. My problem has always been writing. I cannot write as well as I do in English. So teaching my kids write, in a way helps me too.
I have always encouraged them to learn languages. Both my husband and I are polyglots and would like that for our kids too. It is not just about the mother/father tongue. And learning a new language before they turn 5 helps them speak better in that language.
I remember being shocked at this dad who would not speak to his son if he didn't speak in Bangla. Now, I do that too. May be not at that strict a level. When we lived in Florida, we had quite a few hispanics in our neighborhood. All the kids spoke fluent Spanish. For that matter, most Gujarati kids speak their language quite fluently.
Is it because they hear it more? We try that too. We make it a point to speak only tamil at home. The kids understand quite well, if they have to speak, they stumble, but they try. I am glad for that. In order to learn, you have to be receptive. So, we let them struggle and help if necessary, but I have hope that they will be fluent soon.
Most parents don't want to try. Nothing is easy. Everything takes effort. I remember the early years of struggling to learn Hindi. What does help is to hear it spoken often. They don't have to become scholars in that language, but enough to be comfortable with it. We have boundaries, while at home and with other tamils, speak it. I don't force it, but say that this is the only way they can learn.
When we have the grandparents visiting, their tamil seems to come easier. Watching tamil on TV helps too, unfortunately, there are very few age appropriate programs/movies for them. They might never read and enjoy Ponniyin Selvan in the original form, but if they can share a joke from anantha vikatan with you, that in itself is something. And who knows, may be someday they will want to read Ponniyin Selvan all by themselves.
To me, it is more to help them be at home when visiting with family and friends. It is also a bit about passing on what (little) I know of my culture. I try to have writing sessions every Saturday in Tamil. It is not too hard to learn to write the alphabets and to read fluently. My problem has always been writing. I cannot write as well as I do in English. So teaching my kids write, in a way helps me too.
I have always encouraged them to learn languages. Both my husband and I are polyglots and would like that for our kids too. It is not just about the mother/father tongue. And learning a new language before they turn 5 helps them speak better in that language.
I remember being shocked at this dad who would not speak to his son if he didn't speak in Bangla. Now, I do that too. May be not at that strict a level. When we lived in Florida, we had quite a few hispanics in our neighborhood. All the kids spoke fluent Spanish. For that matter, most Gujarati kids speak their language quite fluently.
Is it because they hear it more? We try that too. We make it a point to speak only tamil at home. The kids understand quite well, if they have to speak, they stumble, but they try. I am glad for that. In order to learn, you have to be receptive. So, we let them struggle and help if necessary, but I have hope that they will be fluent soon.
Most parents don't want to try. Nothing is easy. Everything takes effort. I remember the early years of struggling to learn Hindi. What does help is to hear it spoken often. They don't have to become scholars in that language, but enough to be comfortable with it. We have boundaries, while at home and with other tamils, speak it. I don't force it, but say that this is the only way they can learn.
When we have the grandparents visiting, their tamil seems to come easier. Watching tamil on TV helps too, unfortunately, there are very few age appropriate programs/movies for them. They might never read and enjoy Ponniyin Selvan in the original form, but if they can share a joke from anantha vikatan with you, that in itself is something. And who knows, may be someday they will want to read Ponniyin Selvan all by themselves.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Dishyoom
Got to see this yesterday night. Jeeva looks promising inspite of his juvenile looks (meesai kooda seriya molaikkalai) and Sandhya seems to have gained a few since Kaathal. Movie is not bad with the shortie Amitabh providing some good laughs. There is only one thing wrong with this movie. Climax - sothapittaanga. It was too funny to see Sandhya's responses using her tears. BTW, when you are lying down, do the tears flow from the center of your eyes or from the outer edges?
Sandhya's mom was too young for that role. She looks prettier too :-)
A nice story, about women using friendship as a shield against falling in love with unsuitable(?) men. Camera was handled well. The best thing about the movie was there were no heavy scenes really, which is quite amazing for a tamil movie.
Sandhya's mom was too young for that role. She looks prettier too :-)
A nice story, about women using friendship as a shield against falling in love with unsuitable(?) men. Camera was handled well. The best thing about the movie was there were no heavy scenes really, which is quite amazing for a tamil movie.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
"Will" Ash star in Hollywood?
Ash is back again in the media, this time with the possibility of a role in a Will Smith starrer sometime end of this year or so. She is one of the few that travelled the distance from B to H. There have been Indians in H and there have been Indians in B who have been known in H, but this will probably be the first(?) time that someone who has established herself in B, moves on to H while managing to have a foot in each wood.
There is talk of AB Jr. linked to her which, I would say, is not a bad choice. Then there is talk of Samyuktha (Prithviraj) in the making, Umrao Jaan, Jodha Akbar with Hrithik. All of them, roles that should make her shine.
Not long ago, when an actress reached 30, she was delegated to sister or (widowed) mother roles. Nice turn, indeed. Talking about 30s, Mrs Nene is promising a return. Going by her performance in the Filmfare awards show, she hasn't lost her touch.
There is talk of AB Jr. linked to her which, I would say, is not a bad choice. Then there is talk of Samyuktha (Prithviraj) in the making, Umrao Jaan, Jodha Akbar with Hrithik. All of them, roles that should make her shine.
Not long ago, when an actress reached 30, she was delegated to sister or (widowed) mother roles. Nice turn, indeed. Talking about 30s, Mrs Nene is promising a return. Going by her performance in the Filmfare awards show, she hasn't lost her touch.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Blank Noise
Came across this blogathon against street harrassment.
Any girl who grew up in India most probably faced it at least once in her lifetime. Did she ask for it? Not everyone is a sado-masochist, thank you.
Can we do anything about it? Not much. Other than wearing protective steel or titanium armor.
A crowded bus needs a big bag, sharp heels and strong elbows if you are a girl. Law of the land.
A thousand Bharathiyaars cannot buy us emancipation.
Any girl who grew up in India most probably faced it at least once in her lifetime. Did she ask for it? Not everyone is a sado-masochist, thank you.
Can we do anything about it? Not much. Other than wearing protective steel or titanium armor.
A crowded bus needs a big bag, sharp heels and strong elbows if you are a girl. Law of the land.
A thousand Bharathiyaars cannot buy us emancipation.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Altruism, purely human?
Read this study this morning.
Is that proof that some of us are turning into apes? :-)
Would 3- and 4-year-old chimpanzees find and hand over objects that a familiar human "lost"? The chimps frequently did help out if all that was required was reaching for a dropped object — but not nearly as readily as the toddlers had helped, and not if the aid was more complicated, such as if it required reaching inside a box.
Is that proof that some of us are turning into apes? :-)
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