Vaaranam Aayiram

This is one film so close to life that I forgot I was watching a film! Even the so maligned second half (just when will Indian cinema stop having intervals, so our directors can straight away make 110min movies!) is such a delight. For someone who sees life as a travel, for someone who sees life as love, for anyone who have ever lost love, for all of us who revel in family bonding and memories - Vaaranam... gives you not just a thousand moments but much, much more!

Beginning from the titles - you get hooked on. Voices singing to minimal music, sweet flow of letters on screen - and you know this is not the usual action flick that Gautham Vasudev Menon is by now so famous for! Enter Surya as this regular, real life Daddy - and you are prepared that there is something thats gonna ensue - a lifetime thats gonna unveil - and how! The son Major Surya reminisces on the influence of his dying father in every moment of his life. And then on, we relax...as we get into the drawing room of this real time family, as Malini (a simply outstanding and graceful Simran) takes you through a journey of their lifetime!

Vaaranam...is not just a heartwarming tale. Its also a brilliantly made film. Rathnavel shines in every frame, as his camera works well with faces and locations. The grungy Delhi sequence is one of the well executed action points in Indian cinema. Harris, of course is at his best, with every song getting the necessary reactions from the audience. Rajeevan has so wonderfully recreated the interiors of the family's house - as much as aligning the real time locations to suit the scenes.

So much of talk has flown under the bridge called Vaaranam Aayiram... most of it just plain 'it's slow', 'it's not dynamic', 'second half is not logical'...! What is so slow, un-dynamic and illogical about a guy who is on the verge of life? He goes about experiencing one bit after another, living life as it comes to him and takes the journey head on, getting into a deep pit of self pity and, like any mainstream cinema has, emerges a Hero (a sexy six pack one at that!) The druggie portions are told in such a true manner that a trained mind may wish for a hospitalisation of the addict. But, Rehab is not the only solution to an addiction. So many subtle things - be it dialogues or simple gestures suggest the strong bond between the parents and son, and that brings him back to Life. I was so GLAD that we FINALLY have a film that didnt belittle my intelligence to comprehend whats going on up there!

Surya is phenomenal. A class apart performance. Such a finely tuned in (and toned in!) mainstream actor...he makes you smile, laugh, cry (loads of it! Watch him in the phone booth scene as he talks to his parents from USA-WOW) and shiver (in the bedroom scene with Sameera!!) along with him. Now, HE is someone WE must be proud to showcase. He is such a Splendor on screen.

Now, There are movies he has made which are box office superhits. And then there is Vaaranam Aayiram which he has crafted - yes, that's the word... (painted, sculpted could be other synonyms). Gautham Menon enters that coveted league of filmmakers whose creative best shines through in every frame! For someone who has given 'fast paced' cinema, this film must have been so different even to conceptualise and moreover execute - to near perfection. To get that exact emotion right, along with getting the whole gamut of Art, Camera, Costume, Dialogue, Acting, Music - and not to forget the way he has picturised the hospital corridor moment between a much anguished Surya and Meghna's (an in sync Sameera Reddy) father, and the superbly choreographed (from an emotional end too) 'Anjaley' song, and the last scene in the film - the camera moving from the family at a top angle, with the father - a surreal figure walking away from them yet still 'being there' -

Gautham Vasudev Menon, please take a bow!

The colors, the images, the tears, the smiles - the wonderful women, this one superb dad, whose son most women will want to take home to Mom (Surya as this guy who falls and stays in love - guitar and all - totally YUM!) - Vaaranam Aayiram stays with you for a long time...and even then will make you wanna go watch it again.

Do we ever complain that Life is Long? Well, this film too is like life!

Watch it if you have a heart that's willing to hold more...love...!

Random Calm

Something will work out. I’ve a feeling it will. Fate seems to be taking me in even stranger directions. As individuals, each of us is extremely isolated, while at the same time we are all linked by a prototype memory. I thank God for this opportunity. Somethings we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away. They remain with us, forever, like a touchstone.

It’s hard to distinguish between dreams and reality. Something to calm down. How he was able to unearth them, I’ve no idea. It was a moment frozen in time. I can’t get that scene out of my mind. It seems like forever – time, driving me to the edge of the world. Color had returned to the world around me. It was all too strange and all too sudden. I cried quietly, without making a sound.

It was as if these were things he had to get through, so he just did them. Inside himself. I feel like I left a part of my soul in those woods.

Nope. These are not words from my mind. These belong to Richard Bach. These are lines picked at random from one chapter of his latest book – Curious Lives (Ferrets Chronicles)

Though I must admit that I couldn’t get past even four chapters from this famous writer’s latest book on ferrets and a world beyond the ordinary! Im a huge fan of his Bridges Across Forever. I’ve pages and pages of text marked as one of the best examples of romantic tension and emotional dialogue writing. But somehow this book fails to deliver. So what did I do with it? Just picked out random lines and Voila! They seem to make sense, albeit in a lofty way – but sense…they make. If seen from a perspective of plain happenstance. Somehow those words above have a calming influence over my at-times hyper nerves. So for that and hoping it will bring you some solace too…these lines find a way into my blog.

Aah! The Wonder of Random-ness!

It's not Boring Biology - It's Quirk...!

HAhaHAahhaaaHAa...
Keeekeeeeiiiiii Hooooohoho hoHOho ...
Wooooohoooooo.... Hahahaaa hahaa hahahahaaaa...

Yes. That was me laughing, at regular intervals in the wee hours of midnight reading on the birds & the bees (of actually every species on this planet!) by a self admitted non-PH.D (like Aristotle, so he says ahem!) biologist Joe Quirk (please click on his picture if you wanna read on his trivia).

It's Not You. It's Biology - is the single most wonderful piece of info-tainment that has possessed my senses in recent times. Read it. You will actually be tempted to read some paragraphs aloud (Including the Preface & Epilogue; And the author's Useless Index & No payment but Acknowledgment page/s). Hmmm...where was Mr. Quirk all this while. He talks with so much wit. Yup, his writing sounds like he's talking to us, alright. His website says he also writes copy (read poetry) for some niche brands, which is not surprising at all.

Believe me fellas when I say that post a reading of this book, you would wish you had him as your Biology (more Zoology) teacher than anyone you've ever known. Because he calls a sperm a sperm and an egg (well, obviously) an egg! And he also deduces at the end of his book that all organisms were in the beginning...hold your breath all ye faithfuls....F E M A L E.

Yes. You read that right. Which is why both men and women have traits from both genders. Which is why a normal single gender brain will have female flairs like color sense, endurance, better parenting skills, cognitive skills etc. If this is the end, the beginning is also equally interesting. Quirk writes that the reason for the male species to evolve into the men we know them to be now...is thanks to the Female Preference or as he puts it the Female Sexual Choice. The more nesting/preserving skills the male possessed the more he becomes attractive to the steady and stoic female. Females chose males who could protect no sooner than procreate. Hence power, social status and ability to keep her and her baby from outside harm becomes the single most wanted quality in a man. The womb is the center of all co-habitation in hominid (this is again a Quirk choice of word to describe us as against the familiar Homo Sapiens) pair-bonds (read male-female unions). And the only reason or rationale that has crept in thanks to the recent addition to the hominid brain is the neocortex (which is our head) to the constantly erupting, emotion rich hypothalamus (which is our heart). So next time you think it's your heart or head talking, listen well - it's all your brain, idiot! And what is the reason behind the hominid pair-bonding - it is LOVE.

To begin with sex and end with love is itself entertaining. Did you know that you & I share more of our traits with no, not apes but marine animals, predominantly the dolphins? Well, we got it right this time, if not in our 9th standard! Mr. Quirk's narrative is in your face. With no apologies. He almost sounds like how Robert Downey Junior does in most of his films, or as Quirk himself says in the chapter on Free Love Causes War, a la Jim Carrey in Dumb & Dumber. My most favorite line from the book is this one on adulterous copulation (We are all grown ups aren't we? So stop the hush-hushing & let's get on with it!), is when Quirk (how I just love to call him that!) talks of a research on adultery among birds...

...Among red-wing blackbirds cultures that are morally upright, 6% of the female copulation are adulterous, and 23% of nestlings are born from adulterous matings. Even red-wing blackbird females whose husbands have vasectomies are managing miraculous conceptions! (I want to meet the graduate student who gives a bird a vasectomy. For this, his mother sent him to college?)

Wait.There are lots more of such Quirk-isms in paranthesis that's guaranteed to throw you off your bed if you dont hold onto the sides, tight. Pick up any chapter at random and you will find the author's tongue firmly in cheek, so much so we will end up biting ours if we dont let out the loud laughter, no matter how badly you may want your neighbor to snore on...!

To Men on Wooing ... in Chapter 31 (Ok. I'd rather have you read the chapter titles like a Bible, Thank You for making me a Believer Mr. Quirk!)

... forget your butts and guts. I'll tell you what really gets you laid: Bullshit. If you can't talk up a storm, you'll die celibate. Here's my scientific proof. You know about 60,000 words. You only use 4,000 of them regularly. The other 56,000 account for 2% of your speaking. Pick a word from that extra 56,000. You use it about once every million words you speak. A million words is about 20 times the no: of words in this book. To function socially in this world, you will need fewer than 1000 words. Out of your bloated vocabulary of 60,000 words, 100 words accounts for 60% of your conversation. Then why did you memorize 60,000 words? You big show off! Whom are you trying to impress? Mates. Guys, I don't care if it does work for the gibbon, yelling 'woo' when you see a rump wont get you sex. We need wit to woo. Our peacock tails are human tales.

Ya, Ya. Don't forget to recall who told ya Quirk is so and so...in between your peals of laughter!

The reason why men and women are different, why men are afraid of commitment, why women want love first sex next (and men of course want it the other way), why men cheat and women nurture, why men became who they are, and women have a big role in shaping them thus - all these genetic theories, data, deductions, biological terms and understandings with cross species examples and cultural references from the history of human civilisation till date, with every single line or chapter or word that spells entertainment and wit, I take a moment to catch my breath - WOW...!

My favorite chapter is Why We Bitch? No. I wont tell you why. You read and tell me if you agree.

{For more on Mr. Quirk log on to www.joequirk.com or get your own copy of this book. I believe only in borrowing or buying books - not in returning or lending them.}

What's up with me?

Ok. So its been quite awhile since I wrote. Since I even wanted to write. The reason my fingers go 'tch tch tch' on my laptop this morning is ...wait, I'm thinking. Hmmm...well, let's set that thought aside and dwell on more important things, shall we? Things I've been doing that's been occupying me, let me just list them out - a stock taking activity for the day!

- I joined driving class last week. For friends like Deva, Tsu, Priya and my mom, this is possibly the biggest step I could take next to jumping into the pool! I had driven earlier, many years ago, but didnt go beyond LLR since I wasn't too keen on driving as such...but behind this 'blog' reason is the real one - which is, my fear of being on the road. I've always been chided by my inner voice, which used to tell me that if the rest of the people drove properly then I can drive - but the first move has to come from outside, get it?! What a wrong perspective! Being confronted with some of the most excruciating circumstances in recent times, I've finally confronted that point of view. This step towards driving is also a psychological high-jump for me - to first, LEARN to drive through and within what I have around me - the big trucks & buses, the medium autos, the dozen and more varieties of cars and not to forget the cycles and fellow travellers on foot! I personally feel that the driving style of a person reveals a lot on their attitudes, patience levels, maneuvering abilities...much like how these traits determine the quality of our adult life in our personal & professional space! This is something I'm still learning to do and I hope I will be able to keep it up for real as well. My fears remain unchallenged till now, as I've some very experienced drivers telling me what to do...but one week from now, is the test! I breathe in & out at that thought, ahem.

- I joined drawing class. This has also been a lifetime dream to learn how to draw (like an artist, do you mind?!) and possibly have a collection of my own someday! Ranjit Sir is the best artist/teacher one can find in this part of the world. Despite his busy schedule and immense popularity with his ever growing student-list, he said 'yes' to teaching me how to use simple strokes to translate what I saw in front of me. A small mud-pot. Re-creating that image onto paper, I felt like...wait...I'm thinking again... let's say I felt like coming close to creation itself?! When I complete a drawing, and take it away from me to see if I've done justice to it, and when my teacher says I have - oh, my god..it most certainly makes me react like our beauty queens do when they win their crowns! Still trying to get some images right before my next class this week - still struggling to get the dimensions right, but its only been 1 class I say...! Chill.

- I saw one of the most brilliant works on celluloid - by the German filmmaker Werner Herzog. Aguirre - Wrath of God. The title of the film is the name of the hero or we should actually call him the anti-hero, played by Klaus Kinski (who pales the likes of Brando with his seething rage and simmering eyes!). Wrath of God is about a troop of Spanish soldiers who set out to find El Dorado. It's hardly an adventure flick - don't go for it expecting an Indiana Jones. This is Herzog's most famous film, one where he excels in drama, action and vivid story telling, if you know what I mean! Power and Fame being Aguirre's only goal, this commander's tryst with his maddening objective puts an entire race into oblivion. Recently, Mel Gibson made his Apocalypto - from the Spanish leader Pizzaro's point of view - of how they took over the Andes mountain range and with it the many Indians who were dwelling there. But I must say that Gibson's work is a poor cousin to Herzog's masterpiece. Both Kinski & Herzog had this unique semblance of rage within themselves that translates onto screen as well. The climax shot is a stand alone ovation point - where Aguirre, is left on a lone raft amidst the long-winding Amazon river, the poisoned arrows from the Incas hiding in the forests killing his small army & his 15year old daughter, Aguirre inspects the raft (Kinski with a lop-sided walk and twitching cheeks - wow!) that is now occupied by a pack of little monkeys, one of which he picks up tauntingly to tell the monkey who he is, 'The Mighty Wrath of God', a desperate sign of control and power - a trait that haunts him & his troop throughout this mis-adventure! Herzog made his film on man's search for the City of Gold (El dorado) from Aguirre's point of view. Mel Gibson just gave us a linear narrative of the entire history of the Spanish Inquisition. Herzog cleverly eschews the unnecessary details and zeros-in, on the travails of man in search - just that, still a searching race, we are - troubled by our own trappings of either emotional needs or materialistic ones, much like Aguirre himself! Herzog's film is a statement of a higher universal truth - well worded and superbly enacted by the unpredictable and most splendid actors, Kinski excels in every single frame - just see him do an about turn in stunned silence, when he hears the newly appointed Spanish King - (a thorough glutton whom Aguirre anoints in place of Pizzaro just to faciliate his decisions) grant 'cleansing' to the wounded commander (read shot at by Aguirre himself!) instead of ordering to execute him! Wow! What an outstanding piece of work! Anyone who sees this film, would not even want to attempt film-making! Herzog is a Master, before whom we all kneel in humble mercy!

- I liked Amitabh Bachchan's posts for day 66 and his follow up on it too. Particularly, his copy/paste of interviews is thoroughly enjoyable! Good move on his part to show how the media is mostly cliche'd in its approach towards our biggest star. Also, after many years of being so good at what he does - Amitji, still frets and worries over how he would perform the climax scene of an upcoming film. Fans wish him good luck, to which he reacts saying that one has to toil at it - everyday - for nothing in life comes easy! How simply said but how profound a line! I reflect on my own 'moments', and yes, nod my head and smile in agreement. Nothing came easy for me - even typing this piece is a fair amount of toil! I've noticed how this realisation does make a difference to our lives. Many of us fail to look into this simple fact and do not give our best to what we do. Well, life is a great teacher and to each of us, it will give us our lessons and its upto us to take from it or ignore the signs. But move on, life will, and if we fail, it will still move on leaving us behind.

Gosh, this has turned out to be one long post. Due to the fuel strike in TN, I'm up from 6am, driving class canceled for the day and still typing into my blog, thinking....ah, we are back to my one thought we began this with...! And...well, right now, BLANK is what I have for a thought.