Five Point Someone gets 10 GPA

I must be the only person to read the book “Five Point Someone” after reading the excerpt of the book called “One night @ Call Center” which I got as a forwarded mail. It is Chetan Bhagat’s next book to be released soon. Even though I read glorifying reviews on the book, I was impressed enough to buy it. But this small four page story introduced a simplistic yet effective story teller called Chetan Bhagat to me and hence this review.

“Five point someone” is about three friends Hari, Ryan and Alok. They are IITians. They are under performers (5 pointers). They have different ideas about life, different ambitions, different psyches and different problems but yet they become friends. It is all about how they spend their four years of life in IIT and how they managed to get a degree and a job after all odds in a span of four years. The author narrates the story which he claims as his own college story through the character Hari.

The most likeable thing about the book is the fun these guys have in all the circumstances, no matter how serious the situation may be (as we were in our college days). The sarcasm prevails all through the narration and that makes it quite an entertaining page turner. The characters are well etched out and almost after first few pages we are familiar with who will react how in any given situation. The author takes us to the world of these three guys where nothing matters except having fun. It is a big relief to read about under performers and their perspective on IIT system, instead of fundoos and muggers who know hardly anything except studies. It is one of the rare books which I read in on sitting and that say how racy the book is.

Having been a REC student, I had a close to IIT experience in my college days. So, I could relate to almost everything that happens to these guys in the book. It made me feel good and nostalgic about my college days. Eating in road-side dhaabas, night-outs, ragging, GPA system, assignments, bunking first hour, first sem GPS creating a lasting impression, Venkats, Aloks, frequent treats for no reason, boozing at the roof-top, using jargons while speaking that only a student of that college can understand (insti, ManPro, muggu etc.,) love, friendship, sacrifice all were part our college life too. And that made me to enjoy the book even better. I think there was no any special care was taken to include all these details that replicate the true college ambience as the author has written it straight from the heart.

There are some interesting subplots too. Though it gear up the pace of the story with some small twist and turns, I suspect whether these happened really. Firstly, the author making a promise to write a book about their college life when he finds Alok got injured badly due to suicide attempt. It is hard to believe that such a promise was really made by him to himself considering his character sketch. That was one of the strangest thought one can get in such a tragic situation. The love line of Hari is also unrealistic. They obviously fall in love with each other without any valid incidents or reason for their attraction towards each other. The Operation Pendulum (stealing the semester question paper from Prof’s room to get an A) also make me think that will anybody go this far. The C2D concept is really interesting, but in practical it is tough to apply.

Anyway, I like this book very much. Enjoyed the time spent to read it. I am going to read it again. Eagerly waiting for “One nigh @ call center” as the excerpt had an interesting premise.

Aa Aah Movie Review

It is hard to believe that it is the same director who did “A Aah” did a “Vaali”. The premise of the movie does sound interesting but the screenplay especially the second half is a total mess up. From the very first scene in which he explains the story of the movie to the audience, you can see the over confidence of S.J.Suryah be it in acting or screenplay or direction. The first half of the first half is really boring but it gradually picks momentum and pre interval scene makes us to sit up and have a sigh of relief that our money has not gone waste. Characters of Illusion are visualized like Ghosts. How do the illusions get such super natural power to bring storm. As Suryah says in one of the scenes, he himself has got confused about the concept. It is very clear that he was struggling to take the story further. S.J.Suryah as an actor is irritating in every aspect. His exaggerated reaction spoils the show. He couldn’t make Nila to act either. The songs are not well placed and pictured. A.R.Rahman’s music has gone waste. Background score is okay with some nice theme cues. In spite of all these cons, acumen of S.J.Suryah does peep in sometimes through his dialogues and in the way he has conceived some episodes. The scene in which Suryah suspects Nila for having an affair with another guy as she cuts the call by finding Suryah entering the room. The pre interval scene in which Suryah fights with the Nila’s boy friend for him touching Nila’s body, The Suryah - Urvasi episode, the Suryah – Santhanam episode where Suryah explains to Santhanam about the illusion that only he can see are the best moments of the movie. The other good aspect of the movie is Cinematography by Venu. The different camera angles are used with a purpose in this movie. Anyway, this is yet another dud in a row after ONOK and OKK.

"The Rule of Four" is Not a DVC

The Rule of Four is a thriller written by fresh writers Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason. I first saw the book in landmark Chennai. I went through first few pages of the book filled with lot of glorifying reviews. Even one of the reviewers has gone to an extent of saying that it is better than DVC. The comparison of the book to Da Vinci Code is what that tempted me to buy the book.

The premise of the book is something similar to that of DVC. Hyneretomachia is a book written 5 centuries before. The content of the book is so unique and complex to understand as it is written in many languages. It is believed that this puzzling book contains biggest truths and secrets of history. Ever since it got published, many of the research scholars tried and failed to decipher the text in this book. After 500 years, here comes a Princeton university student called Paul Harris. He takes up deciphering the text of Hyneretomachia as his project.

The novel takes us through the journey of Paul in deciphering the text and searching the secret. It moves in a moderate pace answering each of the following questions. How Paul deciphers the text? What is the hidden truth and secret of the text? Did they find the secret?

The story has a nice blend of emotion and action. The friendship between the four guys Tom, Gil, Paul and one more is well depicted. The emotional bonding between them in spite of all the differences reminds me my college friends. There are a quite a lot of action blocks thrown in often. Though they don’t give an edge-of-the-seat experience, it helps to gear up the momentum. The love line of Tom is also a very well conceived and written one. I especially liked the part in which Tom gets caught between his growing interest on the book and his lady love. Tom’s lady love feels that he has to stay away from the book as it may turn a man madly addictive to it. The way in which Paul decodes the text step by step is brilliantly thought of and written. The puzzles and the way the answers are arrived keep us glued to the book. Especially the book turns very interesting in these deciphering parts as these sorts of puzzles and riddles in the book are something we haven’t heard about before. I don’t know whether final reason and story found by Paul for writing such a book is true or not but it is also against Christianity as it was in DVC. Unlike DVC, the emotional content is at par with the action and the writers have struck a right balance between the two.

But the book is not without its negatives. The first 100 pages really tested my patience. There were too many parallel tracks distracting the pace, the long description of characters and places, the nude Olympics, the dating, tunnel action block all seem to be too long a build up for such a story. All these initial pages have very less relevance to what comes later except for Paul’s episode. At least I don’t find many. After reading the book, when you think back how it all got deciphered, you wonder where it started and how it proceeded till the end. We forget the flow. The techniques are not clear and even ambiguous sometimes. It sounds interesting while reading but we can’t remember even a single stage of decoding after completing the book. The loose ending will obviously disappoint anyone considering the buildup all through the book. Also the reason told for writing such high IQ puzzles to understand the book and the so called secret in it is not convincing.

It is a strange book which equally bores and interests you at various stages. I could not wholeheartedly say you to read the book for its interesting parts nor could I say to stay away from the book for its boring parts. Anyway try it at your own risk. But please don’t buy it with high expectations and especially don’t expect another Da Vinci Code in it.

Worst Criticism on Thiruvasakam Album

I don’t know why some cynics like X and Y, when writing about IR’s music in Thiruvasakam album, talk and complain more about everything else except music. They talk about the big budget, the producer, the public fund, IR’s ego, the way it was promoted and marketed, IR’s film music, about Thiruvasakam and Manickavasagar, about its religious meaning, about everything else except its music.

The reason is mainly because these people don’t have ears for good music. It is not that they are worried about adulteration of Indian classical music. It is that they don’t know anything about either form of music and as a result they couldn’t appreciate a good collaborative effort like this. Their argument about the other issues related to the album may even be true which I don’t mind but when they say that the music is bad, it truly shows their ignorance in the music form to which this album belongs.

I do sometimes feel that IR is an egoistic person but such a feeling doesn’t stop me from enjoying his music. Some stupid are complaining that Illayaraja has used Thiruvasakam for his tunes and has not composed music for Thiruvasakam. For that they claim that IR’s introduction speech in the start of “Putril vazh” song itself is the proof. I wonder whether there guys heard “Polla Vinayaen”. I can’t imagine how blindly they have criticized the music and has published it openly without any hesitation. Is it possible to compose a tune like that of “Valvinayaen thannai” and use the verses from some literature to fit it in the tune? Or is it possible to compose the tune of “Umbarakatkarasey” without the verses. One of the great aspects of this album is that the verses are given prominence and tune is set aptly underlying the theme and the notes truly carries the emotion that it intends to evoke. And even worse is the statement comparing this oratorio to other Tamil Devotional albums of L.R.Eswari, Iyyapan albums etc., clearly shows how extremely ignorant in music and myopic these people are.

Another gentle man has commented on Illayaraja’s voice. Illayaraja’s voice is what that gives a unique divine sound to the music. I never get angry easily but this statement took me to my extreme limit. Is he sure about what he is talking? Can anyone think of “Janani Janani” song without IR’s voice? He says that he could visualize only Raj kiran and Ramarajan while listening to Illayaraja’s voice and that clearly shows how pathetic his music taste is and myopic a person he is. Do anyone of us ever have had such a visualization while listening to “Thamae thamakku sutramum” and “Masatra sothi”.

I know understood why Illayaraja didn’t release his First Symphony he composed for London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Quality SEL's - Dil Jo Bhi Kahey Album Review

Shankar – Ehsaan – Loy team comes up with yet another winner in Dil Jo Bhi Kahey album after “Bunty Aur Babli”. What makes this trio stand out among the composers is their urge to try different genre of music in each and every album. This group though initially had a Rahman hang over in their compositions has now managed to establish a unique sound of their own and you realize it when you hear this album and the thought that I crossed immediately after listening to this album in mind was “typical SEL stuff” and of course that is what every composer strives to achieve. The album has got totally 9 songs and the lyrics are penned by Javed Akthar.

The album starts energetically with a typical title track DJBK. Shaan shines with his enthusiastic and energetic singing in this song. Undoubtedly, it is the catchiest song of the album. One of the trios being a guitarist, SEL’s songs always would have an innovative and apt usage of Guitar and that is there in this song too. The “Oh ve ho” part which is a harmony of chorus, peppy beats and strings is a real treat to ears. The minimal semblance of this song with “Main aisa kyun hoon” song vanishes by this “oh ve ho” part.

Then we have trademark SEL melody in Kitni Narmi se which is like a fusion of their melody of “Kal ho naa ho” and rhythm of R.D.Burman’s classic “Ek ladki ko dekha” but yet the song is pleasant to listen mainly because of Sonu’s soothing rendition. The song has a stream line flow till the end, focusing on the melody without any deviations. The piano pieces sprinkled all through the track add beauty to the melody.

It starts in an unconventional note with guitar backing and slowly moves to typical pathos melody in the track Kaun jaane. The song is yet another sample of the Shankar’s expressive singing abilities. The flute pieces in the interludes leave a soothing effect. The song gets elevated when soft rock beats accompany the melody often in between.

Opening title theme has a brief stream of notes making a beautiful melody. The music starts with Caralisa’s silky voice and the orchestration that follows explores the beauty of the main theme further. A very sweet romantic theme it is.

Mere munna that starts with enigma beats is a philosophical melody. The song proceeds in a predictable manner and it is fairly catchy. I think song will work well with the visuals. The “to be not be” bit is nicely interwoven with the song. On the whole, this is the only average number in the album.

Tu nahi jab yahan has lot of voices (Shankar, Shreya, Mahalaxmi, Sudesh Bhosle). The song that starts like a pathos melody but quickly gains momentum. The composition of first ten lines until some beats starts is truly awesome with great emphasis on melody. Performance of all the singers is topnotch. The song can be heard just for the catchy interlude.

Cest La Vie adds to the variety of the songs in the album. I don’t think song of this genre has ever been tried in bollywood before. I don’t know what the name of this genre is and if I am not wrong it is Jalsa as the song mentions at the starting. Though it sounds similar to Rahman’s “Signore” song from “Kannathil Muthamittal”, I have no complaints as when you are new to a genre of music; all the songs in it will sounds similar. The rhythm and the beats are catchy and take us to a celebrative mood.

Beach sequence is short theme music track with peppy beats and Caralisa’s singing in a strange language flows in the background. Sajna Angana aayo re is a 1 minute track that has got nice alap by Javed Ali and catchy folk rhythms.

The album is refreshing as like any other SEL’s album. Go for it.

Oru Naal Oru Kanavu - Movie Review

When the opening credits started to roll, the whole crowd clapped for two names once for Maestro Illayaraja and then for Fazil. The former with his soulful melodies doesn't disappoint the crowd but the later with this pathetic movie disappointed everyone. Do i need to review this movie. I don't know what happened to Fazil. Is he the same director who did movies like Kadalukku Mariyathai, Poovae Poochoodava, Varsham 16 and Manichitratazhu. Even a first time director would have a better job. Even "Kannukkul Nilavu" was far far better than this movie. Stroy, screenplay, dialogues, direction, casting, characterisation, cinematopgraphy, performances and every aspect of the movie is at its worst. People are laughing loud in the cinemas in every other scene not because it has such a class comedy but because of its pathetic composition. People laughed aloud when "Kaatril Varum geethamae" song started, what more sample you want. All the songs are badly placed. Half of the people left the theatre after the intermission. Please , please don't waste your precious time and money on this movie. It is one of the worst movies i have ever seen in my life.

P.S: There is a title song in the movie which is not included in the album. It is yet another nice melody with voice of Bhavatharini.

I always doubted genuinity of sify movie reviews and it is confirmed now.
Read sify's review of Oru Naal Oru Kanavu here

Kanda Naal Muthal Music Review

Yuvan is back to form in Kanda Naal Mudha after some average albums like “Daas”, “Arinthum Ariyamalum” and “Oru Kallooriyin Kathai”. V. Priya (director of the movie) has extracted something that we haven’t heard much from Yuvan. The album has got both class and mass appeal. I would say this as a complete album in which I like all the songs equally. The album is refreshing in many aspects and they are option of the different genre of music, the choice of singers, orchestration and finally cute lyrics by Thamarai. No doubt Yuvan is the perfect blend of IR and ARR and this album is one more sample of it.

Kanda Naal Muthalai is a peppy classical number and a nice fusion. The looping beats in the background fits to T with the rhythm of the classical melody. The flute and sax pieces in the interludes are well composed. Less usage of ghamukkas and swaras makes this classical song sound very straight, simple and pleasant to ears. Subiksha sounds like Bombay Jayshree but does a fine job in rendering the lines with right diction and expression.

Pani Thuli is a beautiful melody with techno beats in the background. I always like discrete beats set to a rhythm and that too when used for a melody as it is done in this song. Synth stuffs are minimal and don’t disturb the main melody. The charanam part is more beautiful than the pallavi. I don’t want to praise Shreya for her perfect Tamil diction again and again as I no more consider her as a Hindi singer similar to Chitra not being considered as a malayali singer. Shreya’s sweet expressive voice adds more beauty to the melody and so is KK. The Thanvi’s chorus part synchs well with the main melody.

Yerimalai Naanae is my pick of the album. It is a great fusion of filmi periodic war music and opera music. The orchestration is excellent all through the song. The church bell sounds and a banging beat that accompanies the rhythm in the background give a grand feel to the song. Yuvan has tried operatic music before in “Theme of Joy” in “7GRBC” but this song is different as it is fused with music that sounds like grand score for a war sequence. Shankar Mahadevan and Vasundra das are great choices and they do a great job with their dominating voices. The interludes that deviate completely from the main pattern of the song are surprising and add a new dimension to it.

Merke Merke is an easy melody that will immediately stick to our memory. You will just wave your head in synch with the catchy rhythm of the song. The song flows smoothly without any deviations, even the orchestration in the interludes plays the main tune again. Shankar Mahadevan is expressive as usual and Sadhana Sargam is silky.

Koo Koovena is a very joyful and fun number. Funky beats, funny lyrics, catchy vocal tune and expressive singing make this work. I think the song will appeal more with the visuals. Mahalaxmi Iyer has a very sweet voice and it is refreshing to hear her back in Tamil. Karthik has got to deliver few dialogues in addition to singing and he has done it pretty well with right expressions. Harish Ragavendra sounds like a soft innocent guy caught in the fight between the other two.

Pushing it hard is another catchy number that will rock the young minds. Usually I don’t like this kind of songs but I like this song very much because it has got meaningful unadulterated Tamil lyrics that go like a debate on marriage and English lyrics are plays it part alone. Yuvan, Premgi (Rap) and Clinton have sung this number.

On the whole, yet another real winner from Yuvan Shankar Raja.

My Wife's Murder - Well Done

We have seen a lot of murder mysteries before, in which there will always be a suspense (about who is the real murderer) element and many twists and turns to keep the audience glued to the screen. But in Jijy Philip’s “My Wife’s Murder” there are no such elements, we know who the murderer is and we know that the police will surely find him and yet the realistic treatment and the logically convincing screenplay woven around a single incident with very few well etched characters involved grips the audience.

Screenplay
The movie picks momentum from the very first frame and sustains it till the end. Not even a single scene is unnecessary. The way Ravi (Anil Kapoor) hides the truth and the police (Boman Irani) seeks the truth is what makes the movie racy, thrilling and entertaining as a whole. Actually I was waiting for some twists at the end, but the major twist is that there is no any twist, the narration is pretty streamlined and goes in a predictable manner but even then it works. Though the movie can’t be said as a thriller, there are few jerky moments in the movie. The ending may disappoint some but it was completely satisfying for me because of its emotional content.

Performances
Anil Kapoor has given a subtle and sensible performance, may be one of the best in his career. His unshaven face, always tired looking eyes and his body language gives a life to the character he plays. Watch for his expressions in scenes immediately after the murder. The shiver in his body, his eyes and face expressions deliver a mixture of emotions anger, shock and fear together well. Nandana sen is adequate. Boman Irani as the police officer does a fine job as always. The two kids are unbelievably natural and help a lot for the realistic feel of the scenes in which they involve.

Technically
Cinematorgraphy by P.S.Vinod is raw and realistic. He has gone for a pattern that is dark and dull that sustains a tensed mood throughout the movie. The background score by Amar Mohile is one of the worst I have ever heard in my life. I don’t when these guys are going to learn the importance and the impact of silence in such movies. Hardly there are scenes without music in the background. The continuously banging beats in the background pains our eardrums. With a neat background score, this movie would have created a much greater impact. Anyway, I like this movie very much. It is yet another quality product from RGV factory.

Lots of Interesting News

Rajini - Shankar Togather. Most probably A.R.Rahman would be opted for music. Cinematography - Santhos Sivan (90%) as he is one of the best cinematographer with whom Shankar have not worked so far. Art direction will be Sabu Cyril. And the big question is the heroine. Any guesses.

Kamal - K.S.Ravikumar again for "Dasavatharam" publicised as a comedy entertainer. Wish the movie strikes with the audience unlike Kamal' other recent comedies. The ten roles seems to be a great idea but making a convincing screenplay for it is a big challenge and let us see how Ravikumar does it. Obviously the dialogues would be written by Carzy Mohan. I wish Illayaraja scores for this movie.

Vikram's next is with Vishnuvardhan who made waves by making a clean entertainer with "Arindhum Ariyamalum". I have no much expectations on this project as i think AA borrowed a lot from Maniratnam movies and i doubt whether he can come up with a genuine script and screenplay that can match the calibre of Vikram. Undoubtedly Yuvan will be the composer for this movie.

It is surprising that AVM selected Ajith as the hero for their next movie. I think Ajith is Ganguly of Tamil cinema. He is totally out no matter how many kilos of weight he looses. He is a loser.

Btw, It is surprising to know that the son (who himself is a composer) of the composer who made "Thiruvasakam" doesn't know to write notes for his song.

"Mangal Pandey" Background Score Review

Every composer won’t get a chance to score background music for such large scale period movies where they have ample scope to prove their mastery over music. A.R.Rahman was very lucky in that sense as most of the bollywood directors approach him whenever they take up historic or patriotic subjects. So far we had two OST albums from ARR one for Warriors of Heaven and Earth and Bose which had some great orchestral pieces and now Mangal Pandey adds to the list (Album is going to be released soon).

Mangal Pandey gives much more scope for ARR to prove his versatility in music as it has got varying emotions all through the movie. Though there is no much scope for ARR to enhance the intricate emotions through his music in the background (as there are no visuals depicting intricate emotions), it has got all basic moments of a war film which requires grand orchestral pieces which ARR has used quite well. The sounds-like feel in some of the music cues is only minus point that you can find in this score but I am happy that score is not a single theme based; every situation has got its own unique theme.

There is a typical sudden and rapidly ending grand choir piece (sounds-like Yuva/Ayuhta Ezuthu title music) when we see Amir’s face for the first time on screen. This cue can be said as the theme music of the movie which gets varied and repeated in some other pieces.

Similar to “Waltz of Romance:” in Lagaan, there is good waltz music scored for the English party sequence, which sounds in the fore for very few seconds and runs mildly in the background after that.

There is a friendship theme to underscore the deep emotions between Mangal and Gordon. This piece involves a full-fledged string section playing a nice melody. A dark melody played in flute emulates the love flourishing between Toby and Jhwala. It has some pathos feel in it sounding the mood of Jhwala.

There is a sweet alap played back during the secret meeting of Aamir meets Rani.

The best cue comes when the villagers and the sepoys get together with lights in their hands against the British who have come there to collect the stolen riffles. The music, which starts with horn piece slowly, moves to a grand choir and orchestra giving to the visual.

The marching theme set to some quite different rhythm scored for the grand parade scene where we see thousands of sepoys is again good.

There is a great pretty situational and emotional cue composed for the scene when Aamir comes to know the truth about the kartoos, the shock and anger are well infused in the music by using some strange string playing classical notes along with percussions and temple bells (gives a religious tone).

There is a full throttled orchestral piece, which is an extended for the scene where Aamir stands alone against the British troops.

And finally the End credits have a full length score with strings and thundering percussions, which is nothing but a western orchestration of Mangal song. Initially it sounded like a western classical piece but I recognized it when it moved to a flute piece playing the tune of the second stanza of the song.

The Mangal (Aatma) song itself serves as a nice background for the climax. On the whole, the background score is pretty good and gives an international feel to the movie along with other technicalities. I am waiting to find all these tracks in the OST album that is going to be released shortly and also it may contain some of the cues that i missed to notice while watching the movie.