Hindustan Times "Reporting"

Deepika joins Ranbir in Ooty!

I love HT for such outstanding reports! I am eagerly waiting to know what they had for dinner.

"Darshan" takes too much white space !

I'm sure that Director Priyadarshan is not amused with this headline.

The movie Billo Barber is a remake of a Malayalam film. Irfan Khan and Badshah Khan are playing the lead roles in this much awaited film. The film is based on the fabulous relationship between Sudama and Krishna and is expected to hit the silver screen by this Diwali.

It seems like every friendship story between a rich man and a poor man can be extrapolated as a relationship between Sudama and Krishna. Whatever !

Kuselan - post mortem

Kuselan is a slow, boring movie. The only few scenes that are interesting are the ones which feature Rajnikanth and unfortunately there's not enough of them to sustain interest. I have never been a fan of P Vasu ever since he made "Chinna Thambi" and this movie further substantiates his reputation as a pathetic screen play writer/director.

At last some honest post mortem of the movie are cropping up - check them out here and here. As the review states, Nayanthara has been effectively "used". It reminds me of SJ Suryah movies. That's all to say!

All those late nights ...

Sarathkumar's daughter is making her acting debut in Poda Podi with Simbu.

Varalaxmi or Varu as she is called at home has done her PhD in microbiology and has an MSc in management from the Edinburgh University in Scotland. Varu has also done a six-month acting course from the prestigious Anupam Kher's Actor Prepares academy in Mumbai.

Very impressive academic achievement. All those late night studying of complex molecular structures is going to be a big waste if she is planning to taking this acting thing seriously. Not that there is anything wrong with that. If she just wanted to act in the first place, she could have avoided all those tough exams and long night study sessions.

I guess she must be one of the very few PhDs in the film industry.

More on Writer Sujatha

Feel like crying after reading this.

தண்ணி, பேப்பர், ரிமோட், சாப்பாடுன்னு எது கொடுத்தாலும் சின்னதா “தேங்க்ஸ்..” சொல்வார். “எதுக்கு என்கிட்டயும் தேங்க்ஸ்..?”னு கேட்டா, “உன்கிட்டயும் தேங்க்ஸ¤க்கு ஒரே அர்த்தம்தானே!”னு சிரிப்பார்.

Desikan recollecting Writer Sujatha's last few weeks/days.

'சொர்க்கம், நரகம் இதில் எல்லாம் நம்பிக்கை இல்லை. இரண்டும் இங்கேதான் என்று எண்ணுகிறேன். அப்படி ஒருக்கால் இருந்தால், நரகத்துக்குப் போகத்தான் விரும்புகிறேன். அங்கேதான் சுவாரஸ்யமான ஆசாமிகள் இருப்பார்கள். சொர்க்கத்தில், நித்ய அகண்ட பஜனைச் சத்தம் எனக்கு ஒரு நாளைக்கு மேல் தாங்காது'

என்று அவர் தன் எழுபதாவது பிறந்த நாள் கட்டுரையில் எழுதியிருந்தார்.

Another classic Sujatha touch. Hmmm ....

Who cares?

Why should anyone care if Saif Ali Khan's tatoo of Kareena Kapoor is real or not? Leave me alone!

RIP Writer Sujatha

Writer Sujatha (Srirangam Rangarajan (1935-2008)) - one of the greatest and versatile Tamil writers passed away on Feb 27, 2008.

Please check this article written by him after he turned 70. Looks like he sort of knew that his end was near.

May his soul rest in peace.

Aadhalinaal Kaadhal Seyveer is one of my favorites. I read this for the first time about 20 years ago. I still remember this incident from that novel written in his inimitable style - one of the character has to explain how to use an Indian toilet to a visiting American Professor who had a little too much of Molagapodi with dosai :-)). Of course, how can any fan forget his "Srirangaththu Devadhaigal"?

Sujatha's famous "mexico salavaikari joke" remains untold !

Picture courtesy: www.desikan.com

I even look sexy in salwar-kameej: Neha Dhupia

I have read some of the "best" interviews by Neha Dhupia. I don't think she thinks a moment before uttering anything. If you are intrigued, you can check out the rest of the interview here.

Q: Do you think that your last two films “Sheesha’ and ‘Julie’ has had a role in projecting you as a sexy actress?
A: No, I don’t think so. Today even if I wear a salwar-kameej people say that I look sexy. However, like many others, I don’t take this as a compliment.

I have received a compliment that is unique. During the
question-answer session after ‘Mithya’ was screened at the ‘Osian Film Festival’, a female critic came up to me and openly said, ‘Neha, I have watched many of your films, but I feel that after this movie, you have emerged as an excellent actress’.

Q: On what basis do you select your roles?
A: When the story of a film makes me feel bore, I don’t accept
the film. And to a large extent, I depend on my experience while selecting films and roles. After all, I am also a human being who has learnt from her mistakes.

I don’t regret making mistakes as I have learnt a lot from
them. I can assure one thing to the audience and that is from Mithya’ they would be seeing me in good and meaningful
cinema only.

Q: On what basis did you choose your last film ‘Rama Rama Kya Hai Drama’?
A: Actually, when I had read the story of the film, it attracted me. Unfortunately, the final product did not turn out that way. Moreover, I am not responsible nor do I have a hand in a film being good or bad.

There are many times when I have to accept films for friendship sake, but now I have realized that it is often wise to say ‘no’ to some offers.

Shriya's skirt issue won't go away

With the enormous attention that Shriya's skirt has raised, she should auction the now made world famous skirt and donate the money to her favorite charity.

I bet some of the TN Ministers may be more interested in bidding for the skirt based on the interest they have been showing on this non-issue

Public Works Minister Durai Murugan responded saying: "There can't be a yardstick to judge obscenity. We cannot say to what extent a woman should expose herself and what kind of undergarments she should wear."

"It is all in the eyes of the beholder", added Durai Murugan.

His colleague, Electricity Minister Arcot Veerasamy, chipped in: "All that we can do is advise them (the actors) to be appropriately dressed."

Deputy Speaker V.P. Duraisamy had the final say. He told the PMK legislator: "You seem to have seen all these programmes scene by scene."

What a waste of tax payer's money !

Shankar's Robot

Is Director Shankar's Robot (Rajini in lead role) based writer Sujatha's "En Iniya Eyandhira" story that was published in Ananda Vikatan in the 90's?

Watch out, here comes the Attire Police!

Here we go again. A local Hindu organization has filed a case against actress Shriya for wearing an outfit that offended Hindu culture.

She may not worn an outfit that befits the event, but let me assure you that there is nothing objectionable to the outfit. For the record, I am not offended.

It is high time that we stop spending valuable tax payer's money and super precious court time in handling cases like these. I guess the courts have millions of important pending cases to rule before figuring it takes cases like this. Indian judiciary system must do something about victim less crimes and handling frivolous cases like these.

Some of these people must find something to do with their lives.

Guys, you can check out more of Shriya here.

This headline caught my attention.

Why Saawariya is not doing well in Tamil Nadu

I am not a Sanjay Leela Bhansali fan. So please do not look for objective criticism of the movie Saawariya from me. You can check out reviews here and there.

Saawariya is not doing well in Tamil Nadu mainly due to its name. Saawariya in Tamil means "are you ready to die" or something close to that. People probably may not want to see this movie with an inauspicious title released on a festival day like Diwali . Om Shanti Om is doing well, I understand. The positive connotation with the name may have played part in its success.