Monday 31 December 2007

Genius? Crap? Melody ? Three Youtube videos


Kavya Madhavan stars in Classmates: our song of the week video

TRACTOR FIGHT Ever seen a tractor fight like this? It is not much of a thing apart from a novel concept, a 63-second video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcGMT1AJsqI

DWARF DANCE
One of the most viewed videos on youtube is this little disco piece from a Rajnikanth film...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVuIBpJ6B4E

Classmates Soundtrack: Song of the week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCp66YgN9HA

Happy New Year? The ERNEST HEMINGWAY way


No, not Santa Claus, but the great writer Ernest Hemingway..

Every day is a new day
Said one Ernest Hemingway
So why fuss
Happy New Year anyway

Sunday 30 December 2007

Sleepwalking Person of the year: Guess Who?

All these magazines and newspapers choosing their so called person of the year, why should we be left behind..
Only that human beings do not deserve it this year or any year.

THE SLEEPWALKING AWARD GOES TO:

The Albatross

The bird with the largest wing span and the only one that comfortably dozes off while flying at 25mph. Now, which human can do that?
The award citation follows in susequent posts...

Friday 28 December 2007

Secret Collage At Home: Stunt Driver and other clips

On the inside of "my" cupboard, I have placed cutouts from various newspapers and magazines. The whole thing is now so spread that it wouldn't show clearly on a single photograph, so here are a couple of bits...





Leching?


No...


Just an innocent guy with a fanatic love of books...

Tuesday 25 December 2007

Movie Review: Taare Zameen Par: On education, a lost childhood & lack of empathy...

December 24, 2007
Rahul Talkies
6:30 pm show


Ever wondered why school was so nightmarish to attend? No review today friends, and this is not out of laziness. I would not want to point the so called errors like some strict heartless teacher of a school. When the effort is so sincere and skillful, does every scene have to be of cinematic brilliance? Taare Zameen Par is a film with a heart of gold, thought provoking, endearing and immensely watchable.

Part emotional blackmail, a bit contradictory and part masterpiece, just go out there and watch it on 70mm.

Child artist Darsheel Safary puts in an amazing debut performance in his role as a dyslexic child
Aamir Khan plays a supportive drawing teacher. This is his directorial debut too.
Prasoon Joshi's simple, sensitive lyrics have being set to music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy

WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS: Santa Claus Cartoons



Reindeer Blues




nicholsoncartoons.com

Monday 24 December 2007

Sunday 23 December 2007

Sighgad Fort Trip: More outlines

Silhouette
sil·hou·ette
A dark image outlined against a lighter background.


Raincloud emerges into the frame like a guerrilla warrior of Shivaji's army would have 350 years ago


Raincloud's mysterious gestures continue


What the heck? The mystery deepens...

Saturday 22 December 2007

On Sighgad Fort with Raincloud: Part I

December 21, 2007, Friday

Raincloud recreates a man asking for help


Raincloud attempts to sleep on a hot baking rock


The Khadakwasla Dam shines a bright blue; a bird's eye view from the fort

Travel Photo Feature: Sighgad Fort with Raincloud: Part II

December 21, 2007, Friday

Raincloud outlined on a fort wall


Down on his knees, Raincloud clicks a fort gate


This is I. Outlines look better rather than sad faces

Thursday 20 December 2007

This began as a movie review post...

YAWN...
Yes, I thought of writing lengthy reviews of each of the three films I saw in three days, including ten separate reviews of Dus Kahaniyan (Ten Stories) but somewhere in between the road diverged.
Kick the review, I say, you never know a movie until you see it. Whatever the reviewer may say, you may find tiny bits wonderful even in a 'bad' movie.
Let your friends and scream their irritation, their boredom, you still have to watch the movie, no other way about it...
So forget it! Until next time, that is, when I do not feel so lazy..yawn....

Saturday 15 December 2007

Three Days, Three Movies: Dus Kahaniyaan , I Am Legend and 1408 : Single Screen Theaters and Multiplexes

Watch out for the movie reviews of these three films in subsequent posts, which I hope to post soon...

THURSDAY, December 13
WESTEND is one of the best single-screen theater in Pune. Balcony tickets cost 50% to 60% less,70 rs to be exact, with great seats, a great screen and sound system and umpteen trailers of upcoming releases.

SOME GREAT STORIES; LARGELY AVERAGE TREATMENT: DUS KAHANIYAAN


FRIDAY, December 14
With a former workmate I am at INOX for the 7:15 pm show of this Will Smith starter. Tickets are at 160rs each, without any extra facilities, in fact the quality is the same as offered at WESTEND.

GOOD BUT NOT CLASSY: I AM LEGEND

SATURDAY, December 15
E-square is a happy contrast to INOX. This Still, we had to wait outside the screening hall and are allowed inside just before the screen flickers with the opening credits.

FORMULAIC SCARE GAME: 1408

Monday 3 December 2007

Indian Film Soundtrack: Song of the week: Blowing every worry away...

I am moving along with life / blowing every worry away in smoke / to rue destruction was useless / I am moving along, celebrating destruction....
would be an attempted translation of this 1961 song from the soundtrack of Hum Dono.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCBSaUPZmGc
ALLOW VIDEO TO LOAD FULLY FOR UNINTERUPPTED VIEW
Preferably close your eyes and allow the music to takeover.

THE SONG MAKERS

Sahir, a very difficult man to get along with for his ego and drinking bouts, was a great lyricist and wrote many beautiful songs for Hindi films.


For Jaidev, this was a fleeting moment of fame in his life as music director; and for Mohd Rafi, well, yet another song for his angelic voice.

Saturday 1 December 2007

Celebrating the Indian film soundtrack: Song link of the week: Ghajini


Harris Jayaraj at work

By a hazardous estimation, a hundred new songs are being composed in the Indian film soundtrack world every day.
Most of them are for films in Hindi,Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, the languages in which most of the films are made every year. Most of the films are trash, but for the ironically beautiful music.

Even though you might not understand the lyrics; the songs stand alone. Truly, there is nothing as infinite, as far-reaching as music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm8UyF-ZLtQ
(ALLOW THE VIDEO TO LOAD FULLY TO ENJOY THE SONG WITHOUT ANY INTERRUPTION)

Here is a link to the 2005 Tamil soundtrack of Ghajini, the film is being remade in Hindi starring Aamir Khan. The music for the Hindi version is by AR Rahman though.
Harris Jayaraj scored the music for the Tamil version.