I am a huge Gene Kelly fan. And ever since I first watched An American in Paris a few years ago, I have wondered.

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And today, after finding both videos on Youtube, I am more or less sure.

Presenting Rajiv Menon and Prabhu Deva paying homage (with a National Award winning performance) to Gene Kelly…

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• At the outset, I am relieved that in Gowarikar’s version of 16th century Indian history, Rajputana women did not giggle every five minutes.
• The fact that this story is mostly fiction is very evident. While Gowarikar’s statement of disclosure makes it clear that this is not the only version that he came across while researching the subject, it’s a pity that people in India are mostly stupid.
• At the rate at which Akbar forced his opponents to make a trip to Mecca, wasn’t there a danger that all these people might run into each other and plot his downfall over mutton biryani and a nice strong hookah?
• And was poor Birbal edited out of the movie? What about Tansen? Todarmall hogs screen space! (more…)

Ten days ago, Lekhni tagged me and urged me to essentially recycle 5 of my old posts. Normally I don’t do tags. I mean, unless there is potential for me to play the fool and essentially evoke a few laughs even if the joke’s on me. With this tag, however, the laugh potential seems to be rather marginal, but then I remembered something else.

I realized that I was closing in upon a milestone. By the time this post is online, it will be 5 years since I started blabbering. My first post was posted on Blogger on the 10th of February, 2003. And barring a few months early on and around 100 days in late ‘04 and early ‘05, I have been posting rather regularly.

Looking at Lekhni’s tag, I realized that she had given me a good chance to take a retrospective look and to reminisce upon these five years gone by. But the problem with my blog is that, as my erstwhile tagline (( I have an ever-changing tagline now, courtesy Twitter?)) goes, it is the record of an egoist’s road trip through life with cricket, music, books, cars and movies for company.

Which means that this blog is about me and me alone. So, as the days go by, it becomes increasingly difficult to remember the odd posts that one has “written” relating to some of the keywords of this tag. Also, the difficulty is compounded by the fact that I took an oath, with myself as witness, that I wouldn’t post anything personal here. So the odd heartbreak has almost never found an outlet here, even if some friends (both online and IRL) have heard me obsess over it.

I have come to a conclusion that wherever I think I won’t be able to fit within the confines of the tag, I will bend the boundaries to my whims and fancies. Hey, this is MY blog and I do what I think is right. Also, my ego prevents me from sticking to the “1 post per keyword” rule of this tag. I will hence go ahead and regurgitate multiple links wherever possible. But let me just make the basic rules clearer to everyone. (more…)

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THALAIVAR?????

Rediff’s Rajaneesh Vilakudy says,

If top industry sources are to be believed, Shankar will work with Rajnikanth in Robot, which was planned to be shot with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead and as producer. But the project apparently did not work out owing to ‘creative differences’, with Shah Rukh himself confirming the separation.

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Is this India’s answer to “The God’s Must Be Crazy“? Either way, one’s hoping to see Senthil get back with a bang!

Everybody has a secret they fight to keep – a secret so dark that it makes their skin crawl and feel like numerous caterpillars have deigned to walk on it. For some, it is inappropriate thoughts. For others it is a petty crime. For yet others, it could be political affiliations, Nazi party memberships even, things that will make them outcasts in the current social fabric.

My dirty secret is something that will probably earn condemnation from most of my friends. Some will smile and make polite public noises about how it is all fine and yet privately swear off any association with me in the future. Maybe my inbox will be flooded with emails with “WTF” on their subjects. Maybe people that I haven’t spoke to in years will call and pray to get my voice mail because they don’t want nothing to do with me and yet are forced by social pressures to commiserate with my less than perfect life now. (more…)

Everyone (i.e. my two regular readers, one of whom is me) knows by now that I read movie reviews religiously. And what a lot of people would not know is that one of my prized possessions is a compilation of all of Roger Ebert’s reviews. I read reviews (I don’t base my movie choices on them, though) because sometimes, I think I need that extra help to understand what is being represented on screen. Yes, I have a simple mind that cannot (sometimes) comprehend a layered viewpoint. (more…)

Enna kodumai sir, idhu?

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.

- Anton Ego / Peter O’ Toole (Ratatouille, 2007)

One of my pet peeves has always been bad reviews and their reviewers, be it for movies, books or something else. And this line just stuck a chord with me. Reviews and reviewers are bound to be judgmental, but I can’t stand reviews that give away plot details, even if it is with the usage of a single word. (more…)