"Gravity"-3D (English) Movie Review

You cannot make a bad film with a good script. "Gravity" is the film of the year so far that celebrates the spirit of American Cinema where script is the most sacred thing and everybody plays second fiddle to it, including a studio like Warner Bros. "Gravity" is all about living in outer space, up above the world so high, as the rhyme says. It's about two people Mathew Kawalsky (George Clooney) and Dr.Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) who are out on a mission to outer space called SKS-157 alongwith an Indian scientist. Their mission gets hit by debris from space from other Satellites exploding and soon the Indian engineer is gone. It's now down to two survivors but more disaster strikes the two Astronauts as they are routinely space-walking.  Matter of time before George Clooney lets himself untethered out of Sandra's rope to become a speck in space. 

It's now upto Sandra playing the role of Dr.Ryan Stone to come to terms with finding the remnants of the mission SKS and also  to tell the one helluva story that Mathew egged her on to tell even after he's gone, sitting on the edge of space. There's a second coming of George Clooney for fans who are disappointed to see him vanish within forty minutes of this out-of-this-world adventure. Thats the only cinematic flash by director Alfonso Cauron to bring back Clooney to his cooing fans. Be that as it may, "Gravity" is a visual extravaganza that captivates you till the sole survivor Sandra makes it back to Earth. With nothing but deafening silence and your own thoughts and your own voice with space-suits silhouetting your body weight maybe three or four times and yet floating uneasily like a feather in a no-gravity zone, Sandra Bullock packs a punch. George Clooney sharing screen with Sandra less than half the time than her space-suit once again shows why he gets the top bucks at Hollywood. Alfonso Cauron and his son who co-wrote the story give us a new high in cinematic experience that will stay with you for the rest of your life.  Music by Edward Rice takes the experience to ecstatic levels mixing a combination of philharmonic orchestra music with gentle bass and church-bell chords. 

Once calamity hits the lead pair and survival seems remote, you wonder whether this space odyessey has any twist or any elements that sustain your interest. But voila! thats where the screen-writing sizzles. Dialogues between Sandra and George pile up and a story for each character emerges. Sandra is a doctor who needs to be nudged and George is a retiree Mission specialist who inspires her to survive even as he is ready to blaze out of O2 supply and perish. Some visuals and dialogues here will make you freaked out on the experience and empathise with those mortals who leave our planet for extra-terrestrial explorations. How does the Sun Rise look from the above? How beautiful Earth looks from above while we have nothing exciting eking out our daily living? George Clooney gets the best lines even as he fades out faster from the screen: "There's nobody up here to hurt you", "One of us will have to survive to tell the story thats one helluva story", "How beautiful the Sun Rise is on the Ganges" and so on. 

Sandra's second innings is also worthy of note. She had to be in cruise-control for the entire film as per the plot but she pulls it off with depth and glory. Her monologues after it becomes clear she is the only one to report back are well-handled. There's one beautiful scene where she tunes into radio waves and hears a Chinese spy satellite guy. She yearns to decipher the other guy but couldn't make out Mandarin from Mandrake, she gives up and soon hears a dog howling mildly and she howls back matching the dog in tone, reconciling to the fact that when you are alone in space, any "other" voice is good enough. Experiences like these run their course in a short movie of less than 100 minutes but they remind you of the insignificance of life's petty issues when you are on the planet's surface and the significance of survival itself when you are a loner in a space thousands of miles above the Earth's atmosphere. 

Whatever be the intention of making this film, director Alfonso Cauron and his cinematographer have achieved a rare feat in Hollywood's history to create a blissful experience of a lifetime. It is like buying tickets for a space odyessey that orbits our own planet at comfortable speeds. Credit must go to the entire team of Warner Bros. for selecting a theme that will resonate with all Earthlings. Everytime you use your mobile phone or tune in to FM Radio or send an email or watch the Television, remember there's somebody up there who has gone forward in space but gone backwards in time so that we have our frills. Don't miss this film for the world! The 3-D effects are okay but not purposive.But if a rating be pinned, I am not going to be accountable for overlooking the few lapses that may be visible only on a second viewing. It deserves 4.75 out of 5.

"Ramayya Vastavayya" (Telugu) Movie Review

"Ramayya Vastavayya" is a hummable line from one of Raj Kapoor's most famous films. It became a title for a Hindi film also earlier this year starring Shruti Hassan and a new Bollywood hero which was a remake of "Nuvvosthaanante Vaddantaana". Now, Dil Raju produces it in his banner-SVCC with NTR Jr. in a title role and Samantha and Shruti Hassan. It has been a major disappointment for those who go to Dil Raju's brand of family entertainment with a healthy touch and also for NTR fans. Harish Shankar who made "Gabbar Singh" got caught in his own elusions of grandeur and consequently made a film full of mind-numbing violence and pathetic story. "RV" will go down for Dil Raju as an aberration in his catalogue of films as he must have gone missing on the sets.

Once again, a wafer-thin line becomes fodder for 167 minutes of head-banging violence and entertainment that heckles your sensibilities. Ranjeet (NTR) falls in love with Aakarsha (Samantha) and stalks her at college. Samantha gives in to Ranjeet's overtures and invites him over to her village for attending her sister's wedding. Mukesh Rushi, her father, faces threats from two brothers who honk him with life threats often. On receiving one such call, Mukesh Rushi gets trapped into confiding into NTR about an impending life threat. This time, NTR takes them to a safer enclave but actually becomes the dreaded assasin himself killing Mukesh on the spot. Flashback: NTR and his two brothers are actually victims of Mukesh Rushi's atrocitiies; the latter eliminates most of NTR's relatives and even  his first-love called Ammulu (Shruti Hassan). The second half is all about NTR's attempts to explain the flashback to Samantha and justify the killing of Samantha's father and how he finishes them off. Such twists are not uncommon in Tollywood scripts; it appears that most of such films appear to be dug out of a dark tunnel sitting underneath the main road of entertainment. No matter how many stories come out of such dark tunnels, its a null void full of sand and mud coming out of the director's minds and we have to watch such drivel in the name of entertainment. 

Director Harish Shankar's flawed handling of the megaphone extends our pains. He succeeds in getting Dil Raju his first "A" certificate in his catalogue of family films by sprinkling "double-meaning" jokes, sadistic and atavistic violence and characterisation of a voyeuristic villain Ravi Shankar who is maniacally obsessed with sex all the time. Harish also misses out on casting mainstream comedians - and instead gets quite irritating humor from Rohini Hattangadi and others. Only Kota Srinivasa Rao gives a flash of humour in a four minute sequence.He misses milking entertainment which got him name in "Gabbar Singh" and "Mirapakay" and also diluted the emotional quotient in the film that could have got highlighted at few places. An example is, the best song of the film -"Jabilli Neetho Cheppamma..." which comes after interval. Even though the song is great and picturisation good, because Samantha yet doesn't know that NTR is the guy who knocked her dad off, the nuances of the song didn't allow NTR to get highlighted. There are many instances like that which were missed opportunities for Harish to raise the bar of emotionality. Even the dialogues penned by him didn't enhance the impact because of an over-dosage of violence and under-recovery of humour. 

NTR Jr. shines well in the film, his gait is ever confident, his dancing skills show greater variety and finesse (his body above torso is moving better than before) and his timing of comedy has got some impact and improvisation, fans will love his imitation of a few stars in Tollywood. After "Adurs", Chota K Naidu must get credit for showcasing NTR Jr. so well in the many shades that NTR shows up in the film. Stunts could have been shorter and less graphic in portrayal. Amongst the many stunts, one thing noticeable is that NTR comes up with a new weapon everytime - he starts with a mace ("gadha"), a hockey stick, an iron chain, a pick-axe and then guns galore...probably, this is Harish Shankar's idea to show him as the new heir to the 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Between Samantha and Shruti Hassan, Shruti steals the show in the flashback. Both Chota K Naidu and Harish Shankar seem to have got smitten by the cute girl who is getting bolder on scene. Since this is Harish Shankar's second film with Shruti Hassan, her character got etched out better than many other characters. Rao Ramesh gives another cool performance but his characterisation loses conviction in the second half. Music by Thaman SS is fine but only two songs stand out. There is lot of strain that can make us feel worn out on his music.

NTR Jr. should realise that the days of relying on family tree and thigh-clapping as a sign of machismo are over, not many heroes except those who benefit from such references are resorting to gimmicks. Veering away from violence and making entertainment as a form of team effort is the real recipe for success, not aiming to ambitiously carry the film on the hero's shoulders. Those heroes who rallied forth to undertake projects of benign entertainment are climbing up higher than reliance on hackneyed scripts and party symbols such as bicycles. My last two cents to heroes is: don't bank on directors who don't bank on solid stories. Tollywood today has a dozen heroes of bankable box office potential and has more severe competition amongst themselves than any other film industry - more competition than even entrepreneurs in the Silicon Valley, if you have to build embankments to keep yourself afloat for atleast 30 films in a career, bank on variety, invest in different stories and support family entertainment. 

"Ramayya Vastavayya" reminds at times the story of "Athanokkade" without any dramatic appeal or intensity. But for a less violent and better half before interval, it gets a rating of no more than 2.5/5.

"Jump Cut" by Krishna Shastri Devulapalli

A little context before we talk about the author - KSD and his second book "Jump Cut". Anyone who carries a surname as revered as Devulapalli ought to carry the stamp of a literary colossus. Let's start with the grandfather, the author's namesake, written the other way around - Devulapalli Krishna Shastri. If Telugu is called the Italian of the East, some credit must go to this man who wrote the most sonorific and lilting lyrics of Telugu language. There were producers who entered films only to make movies with songs penned by Devulapalli. At one time, somewhere in the 80s, when the rate of inflation remained pegged below the Hindu rates of growth, Devulappli was rumoured to be paid anywhere from Rs.15000 to Rs.30000 per song! A sum more princely than what the Nizam of Hyderabad used to pay his Prime Minister! Devulapalli became the most loved and endearing lyricist of his time and commanded premium even after he lost his voice. Then came his son, who is a cartoonist of redoubtable fame. He became famous too as "Bujjai" and one of the cartoonists to be counted. With that kind of a legacy of writerly gene and artistic flair, it is unlikely to have a muted gene that's neither. K.S.D is one such writer who combines the flashes of his grandfather's brilliance exquisitely in his writings but probably chose a range of careers as an adman, illustrator, children's book-writer and maybe even as a standup comedian before the writing bug bit him.

His first novel "Ice Boys and Bell Bottoms" was a coming of age novel, a kind of a Forrest Grump for Indian ethos with all the improbable things quirky and hilarious that happened to Krishna that got trapped in the book. Anyone who survives boyhood has enough material to write for a lifetime, so goes some writer's tip for overcoming writer's blocks. Krishna's first book as above is ample proof of this as he mixes the genre of autobiography and fiction effortlessly with lot of indefatigable humour which seems to distinguish his writerly career. It has won Krishna plaudits from writers like Anita Nair and discerning readers who don't necessarily buy and read only books recommended by Crossword bookstore owners and Landmark shortlists. I even heard one top Tollywood producer recommending it highly for ROFL effects.


Like Puri Jagannadh of Tollywood fame, I liked the audacity of Krishna who announced in 2012 HLF in Hyderabad that his next book will be based on film industry and it is titled "Jump Cut". Puri also, for the record, announces tantalising titles with unintended consequences. So, Krishna, as he spoke at the book-launch took almost two years to write this book which includes one year spent at the editor's table of Harper Collins. "Jump Cut" is itself a snappy title which demands a google or two, maybe even consult Warner Bros. or our own Annapurna Studios to decipher what it means and why the title.

Jump Cut, in film parlance, means an edit between two shots that feels abrupt or discontinuous usually intended for expressive or dramatic effect. Jean-Luc-Godard, a pioneer, is associated with "jump cut" even if he may have accidentally created it. It seems to now form a blind followership by directors of South Indian action films who love to challenge the illusions of continuous space and time within a shot that seeks to maintain continuity. It has become a motif for stylised action and dramatic shots. So, Krishna has selected a wacky title that is set in a different setting than what his first book talks about. It's about a protaganist aptly named Satyajit Ray-Raman who returns to Madras to be with his ailing father Raman, an Assistant Director to ace director Rajarajan and others in Kollywood (Tamil Film Industry). Raman passes away but not many come to the funeral which surprises Ray-Raman. His investigations lead him to a character called Rajarajan, the same guy who milked his dad without due credit and cash. He decides to fight one grand battle against Rajarajan for blatant plagiarism or violation of intellectual property rights. He weaves a surreal masala mix that reminds you of the loud eighties where the hero, his side-kick and a lady who needn't be his muse take the villain on a trip, work him into becoming more greedy and lead him to the scent of a woman and money trap that bring the house down. Three characters, Abie, Sumi and Selva are roped in by Ray in the most clandestine manner. There is also Padmini, a bold woman who turns on the hero's libido one night before her engagement to another guy. Would Ray succeed ? Will he go back to US? Will he get Padmini? How much will Sumi stoop to conquer Rajarajan? Read on to have these answered.

Krishna Shastri is quite a skilful writer who can collapse a potboiler of a South film plot into some salacious prose thats rich in variety, pace and narrative. Krishna delivers a punchy, naughty, sometimes raunchy but mostly energetic output in less than three hundred pages that must score high on entertainment. Except for the first seventy pages, when he takes time to set the tone for the launch of an offensive by the protagonist of the book - Ray, I found the book mostly riveting and intensely racy with delicate turns of phrase and even over-turns of the phrase, as someone pointed out at the book launch. Krishna has the gift of an eloquent story-teller who has a voice of his own (evident even in his first book) and an incurable flair for humor that refuses to go away all through his prose. Krishna has an additional gift of an observant eye that is as precise as detailed as a camera on prowl: he compares a plate of "jantikalu" (a salty delicacy) as a collection of "infinity" signs (as in mathematics), he spots the Sun coming out of the ocean like "a swimmer jumping for a breath of air", he defines a particular movement of hands like "doing a Shahrukh". Get the point? "Jump Cut" reads like an engrossing screenplay with tens of similes, metaphors, and expletives which remain recessed in most people's memories but seldom float on paper.

When you read the book, you know you are reading a new master of English prose with a dazzling voice and a narrative dipped in good humor and occasionally, very rarely, below the belt. Krishna Shastri, at the book launch, which I attended mentioned that he has plans to launch himself for a film-writing career too, which is not contextually far-fetched from the palette he is painting his life with right now - children's books, copy ads, humor columns and novellas. I am sure, South film industry will beckon him soon as humor and imagination are both in terrible short supply and KSD with his top-of-the-tree lineage is well-suited to command a price tag with a premium not unbeknownst to his family. Just in case, you think this is ending like a panegyric the way Ray drives Rajarajan into committing harakiri, wanted to remind you, dear reader, what not to expect and what isn't happening in the book?

For a change, there is some Tamil in the book which could have got translated for a wee-bit better appreciation, atleast as a foot-note or in the appendix. I could not digest the proportion of Tamil words hurled at me at the cost of a few Telugu words, whatever be the arguments for elevating a classical language to that of the national language. Two, there are flashes in between chapters which justify the title "jump cut" but they remain a style but do not enhance the narrative or the characterisation. Three, there could have been more research into the issue of Intellectual Property issues of a film industry which copies unabashedly from Korean and American films and everything in between. Just a passing reference to an imaginary website pilferingpenis.com (It doesn't exist, don't try!) doesn't help the cause. Four, despite a promising start to fiction, the plot doesn't have multi-layered depth that goes beyond the three-act filmy drama. At one stage, the plot gives away when Rajarajan becomes more gullible and naive than the most idiotic and rotund villains of films like "Adavi Ramudu" and "Sivaji" and there is not much drama coming.


Despite these shortfalls, "JumpCut" is a thrilling and luminous read from one of India's freshly-minted talents in writing. KSD will be a treat to read whatever he writes and if he works on the elements of drama and depth in his plots, he will be a phenomenon to watch out for.


"JumpCut" by Krishna Shastri Devulapalli, pp.296, Price: Rs.299.00, Pub. Harper Collins India

"Besharam" (Hindi) Film Review

It happens to every superstar. It happened now to Ranbir Kapoor. After hitting a purple patch in recent films, Ranbir Kapoor has starred in a disastrous film that is neither a love story nor an action film. Directed by Abhimanyu Singh Kashyap, "Besharam" must go down as one of Ranbir's most insane and inane film till date.

The story is like a line that is lifted from TV serials - not suitable for a film befitting Ranbir. Bablee (Ranbir Kapoor) and his flunkie keep stealing imported cars by knocking off the locks with a magic knob. They are chased by an about-to-retire police couple (Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh) in the first case. Bablee keeps running as a furgitive and gate-crashes into a pretty lass Pallavi Sharda (debutant). He bumps into her mother and finds it easier to serenede Pallavi through her mother. He succeeds after many false starts. One day, he flicks her own car from her office and then "shamelessly" tells her to drive down with him to Chandigarh to track the owner who bought her "stolen" car. Pallavi relents after her mother persuades and that loosens the romantic track between Ranbir and Pallavi. There is an anti-hero also for the first time in a Ranbir film - it is Javed Jaffrey  - the boogie-woogie judge - who engages Bablee on "car" assignments. The twist is that the car stolen from Pallavi contains a bagload of crores of rupees which he is coming after. In a climactic chase for that car, Javed Jaffrey, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh and Ranbir and Pallavi all come together in a gun-dotted sequence that lasts 25 minutes before the end comes soon. Happy ending but troubled viewing for those who went with expectations. 

What went wrong? Story thats loosely fleshed out with poor characterisations and half-baked convictions. Director doesn't have clarity on giving what he wants the many characters to speak out. Javed Jaffrey could have been menacing for a change but he is made a joker in the end. Pallavi Sharda has promising looks but her characterisation lacks punch; her melting point to accept Ranbir's love was inconsistent with her overall tone. Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh look slightly over the top with their inspid lines; they fight, they differ, they want to adopt a child and end up adopting a grown-up like Ranbir in the end - some sort of picturesque justice to a family drawn in the film for the sake of it - a purely avoidable situation.  Ranbir is quite good in his role and carries off his performance effortlessly, he fits the role of a "Besharam"  - flirtatious, mischievous, innocent and kind well but he could have passed up this role, either he okayed the script after his parents listened to or he must have got sentimental about playing a role with both of his parents seen as a screen couple. The law of averages seems to have caught up with Ranbir in this film - it is slow, cliched and woefully anachronistic plot. Screenplay could have been done by a clap boy, it was that simple or redundant. Music by Lalith Pandit, whoever he is, must be one of the forgettable scores of Ranbir's career so far. It neither enriches the film nor energises it. Comedy in a few scenes is sprinkled which get a few laughs but enough to redeem the film of its cardinal sins - lazy direction, sloppy screenplay, lacklustre story and frivolous handling. 138 minutes is not that long yet found the duration tortuous. What helps is the screen presence of Ranbir, Javed Jaffrey, a few laughs and the engimatic cuteness of newcomer Pallavi Sharda. For all that, it deserves a rating of 2/5.

A lesser known fact about Lal Bahadur Shastri

Lal Bahadur Shastri also shares his birthday with Mahatma Gandhi, on October 2,as we all know. Even though he ruled for just over two years, it was one of the most eventful tenures for an Indian Prime Minister - the time when Pakistan fought a fierce war with us. 

A lesser known-fact was revealed by my father today at a dinner conversation as he was reminiscing those tough days of war-years circa 1965-66 (and I was not even born yet). He said India was short on food grains and was importing them from outside. USA had a notorious scheme called PL-480 which restricted the import of food grains by India especially because Pakistan was in a bloody war with India and the US tried its best to upstage us - thinking we could be bull-dozed as it was a new man after Nehru. But Shastri was short in stature, not short in size of thinking or easy to be bullied. He lashed out against US for exploiting the situation. He also realised that the food grains were not enough to feed India's millions; there is a food crisis at hand if all Indians were to consume three meals a day. He went on air to exhort all Indians to show their patriotism for the country in a much more dramatic manner than what today's Raghuram Rajan or Chidambaram would ever make to save dollars and import bills. He asked all Indians to make a supreme sacrifice: Miss A Meal once in a week. The savings combined with this single act of a meal saved will save India millions of import bill of food grains and also a national embarrassment. It worked, it seems. Except infants and aged, most people volunteered to miss a meal, even some restaurants closed down for one session a week, and it became a national cause that everyone loved to stand for in one of India's greatest food crisis. Today, we are reasonably self-sufficient in atleast 20 out of 24 varieties of food grains but those days, a measure like this which was more a request from a Prime Minister carried far greater response; it resonated because politicians like Shastri came up from humble origins and lived like farmers, simple, honest and out to make a difference to the country without amassing fortunes in benaami accounts. Shastri was a true leader who commanded a rare respect that only diminished with time in sync with the shrinking moral compass of today's politician leaders.

My father adds that the simple "Miss A Meal" became a rage at one time. He remembers a famous cartoon too which shows women at Beauty pageants parading with their respective country banners: Miss America, Miss Soviet Union, Miss England, Miss France and so on. When India's turn came, it was a woman with a banner which read "MISS A MEAL". Good night, friends and remember this soul whenever you remember Gandhi too. I hope we don't reach a situation when someone remembers Ravi Shastri more than Lal Bahadur Shastri. That will be tragic.

"Atharintiki Daaredi" (Telugu) Movie Review

"Atharintiki Daaredi" is a smashing film power-packed with terrific performances by Power Star Pawan Kalyan, Nadia, Rao Ramesh, Brahmanandam, MS Narayana and Ali. It is definitely the most awaited film of the year because it involves star director and ace wordsmith Trivikram who can make the screen dance with his style of comedy, emotions and words that stir your senses. After a long drought since Ravi Teja's film, Tollywood's magic comes back with "AD" and credit must go to the entire team that made a family entertainer dripping with action, comedy, romance and emotions. 

"Atharintiki Daaredi" is a familiar phrase in Telugu which is played with babies held up close in arms - it begins with a few poetic lines and ends with an affectionate hug that tickles the baby. The film also oozes out the ticklish tone filled with one man's quest to find a place in the hearts of the people residing in his paternal aunt's home in India.  Siddhu (Pawan Kalyan) is the heir to a billion dollar industrial empire in Milan, Italy run by his father (Mukesh Rushi) and grand-father (Bomman Irani). His grand-father has become a vegetable on a wheel-chair but his only wish in life is to see his daughter who he threw out of his home because she dared to marry someone despised by him. That couple, Nadia and Rao Ramesh, now live in India with a huge family and their pretty daughters - Samantha and Praneetha. Pawan Kalyan vows to get his aunt back to see his grandfather. How does Pawan Kalyan charm the household by first masquerading as a Chauffeur and later on, as Siddhu as his aunt already knows is the story with a narrative that runs like a non-stop comedy show with a rich assemblage of characters  - the usual characters seen in a Trivikram film except two missing members - Tanikella Bharani and Dharmavarapu Subramanyam. A major plus is the music by DSP, almost all the songs including the one sung by Pawan Kalyan are hummable with high melody score, one song that shows DSP on screen with Pawan borrows the kinky style of Ilayaraja in one "Charanam".

Trivikram has returned to a thorough family theme that shows only the non-invasive villainy for the sole purpose of showcasing Pawan Kalyan in some fabulous stunts. Otherwise, the film doesn't have villains in a conventional sense, most of the screenplay is between the central characters of Pawan Kalyan, Nadia, Rao Ramesh and Bomman Irani. That's a healthy comeback for Trivikram because that puts him miles ahead of the rest of the pack of directors who tend to be caught up with crass commercial sensibilities. A Tollywood film today runs on few pillars  - narrative that runs with a straight bat, comedy that fires on all fours, characterisation that can run its full course with consistency and distinctiness for each principal and peripheral character that shows up as minutes pass, screenplay that ties you to your seat, technical mastery over the aspects that make up the medium- cinematography, shot selection, logicality, editing, aesthetics and of course, music. Besides all these, dialogues that sync so well with the many worlds we live in daily life. In almost all these aspects, Trivikram has been a pro who is at the peak  and this film is a fine showcase to all those who want to see him taste mega success. The thing with Trivikram, I noticed from his first film (Is that a film with actor Suresh, "Praarthana" or Venu ("Churunavvutho"?) that he has this ability to weave a narrative with a built-in thermostat that guides when to explode and when to stay under a leash, it is almost like a sleeping volcano that erupts only at the cusp of a major twist or defining moment of the story. Even if his filmography in the earlier films have been occasionally nativised adaptations from Hollywood films or best-seller novels ("Manmadhudu" was a Mel Gibson film, "Athadu" was a Sylvestor Stallone film, "Nuvvu Naaku Nacchaav" was a Ben Stiller film; try google out yourselves), his films have a shelf life that ensures repeat magic on successive telecasts on TV or your own DVD re-views. In this film, Trivikram falters only with editing  - he might have had constraints in chiselling huge portions which do not add value like that club song with Mumtaaz or those long Brahmanandam tracks which could have got shorter to make a point. Clearly, 169 minutes is a bit long even if the director, to quote his own words in the film hasn't told a "story of Ben Hur in Burra Katha format". 

Trivikram has ensured every character in the film gets a line that makes them stand out. For a change, he has breathed new life into the characters of MSN and Ali. Nadia as the title character "Athagaaru" has given a stylish and dignified performance making her role one of the most nuanced "Aunt" roles in Telugu Cinema, never once loses class in her portrayal. Rao Ramesh gives another well-articulated performance, he and Pawan Kalyan together get the best lines of the film, but more on Pawan later.  Brahmanandam's performance is sometimes puerile sometimes garrulous but overall just-above average. His best laughs come in the elongated skit of Ahalya, Gautama and Indra. Between Samantha and Praneetha, Praneetha has a better screen presence and looks more gorgeous even if she appears in one song. Samantha will fade out faster than a one-trick pony at this rate of exposure, pun unintended, even if she is a lucky mascot.

Pawan Kalyan seems to have a magical chemistry with Trivikram that sets the screen on fire. As a practioner of Vipassana meditation, martial arts and Zen Buddhism, Pawan has shown a lot of class, effort and style in this role with a body language that's a hit with his fans. His dialogue delivery has been a unique trademark that pack a punch in every scene, of course penned by the director; he seems to have outgrown some of his whimsical mannerisms as he gets quite comfortable under the skin of roles of a lover boy, responsible heir and a star performer amidst other comedians. His dancing skills, surprise, have also improved considerably even if he chooses to uncomplicate his movements, its a sign of a maturing actor who is aging but at peace with his world and his body chemistry. If "Jalsa" has been voted one of the best all-time Telugu hits, then "Athaarintiki Daaredi" will be another feather for Pawan Kalyan because his contribution if the film does well will be huge. Obviously, he has developed as an actor a quixotic mixture of non-chalance, innocence, poise and confidence that can sometimes ooze out more doses but so what if the fans like him. He has experimented with choking scenes in "Teenmaar" and he repeats more in "AD" which will connect with families well. In quite a few scenes of "AD",  like in "Jalsa", Pawan shows a repertoire of improvisations in acting that make him an explosive actor almost impossible to predict. His stunts have always held out a special charm because he is a warrior of sorts in real life too. In this film, Peter Hein composes stunts but the best stunts come later, the first two stunts are wasted. There is a jingle thats already popular sung by Pawan Kalyan himself in the film thats uproarious and electrifying that comes at a particular climactic comic scene with Brahmanandam. 

"AD" bears the stamp of Trivikram and the magic of Pawan Kalyan and makes it a riot  that will make it one of the most watched family entertainers ever. It is generally clean, upholds the traditions of entertainment of Trivikram  (even if some themes recur from his earlier films) and gives a rich treat of wholesome family fare. The triumph of this film will ensure directors and producers pay special attention to family themes. At a time when Telugu pride is wounded and at an all-time low, this is a proud showcase for a fun-filled, chimerical entertainer that makes you cry and laugh out loud.  My rating: 4.25/5

"The Lunch Box" (Hindi Film Review)

Some films are born great, some films have greatness thrust on them and some films attain greatness, to borrow a bard's phrase. "The Lunch Box" is a film that is earmarked for greatness because of a mesmerising story, bewitching script, almost flawless execution and a starcast that comes tailor-made. It has already been premierred on most film festivals from Toronto to Cannes and has won rave reviews before being showcased in India.  Director Ritesh Batra has given one of India's finest film in years with a story that is as improbable as a six sigma error in the delivery system of the famed "Dabbawallahs". 

The six sigma error is  what changes life for a middle-aged wife Ila (Nimrat Kaur) when the lunch box that she packs with utmost affection and consummate culinary skills gets swapped by the Dabbawallahs with a box that reaches one Mr Fernandez (Irrfan Khan) who is on the verge of retiring as a Senior Accountant in an Insurance Company. He has a new under-study Nawazudding Siddiqui who is deputed by the owner to learn the ropes quickly. A subtle romantic track develops between the exchange of the "Dabba" between Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur every day, appendixed with handwritten letters inserted in the box. "The food was tasty but salty" and other inane messages soon develop into gut-level communication between two adults caught in their own worlds of loneliness and desperation; Nimrat has a happy home with a school-going girl and a workaholic husband who is insensitive to her, her sole refuge is an elderly neighbour Aunty who stays one floor above her flat but helps her with all the recipes and the sage counsel she needs. Irrfan, on the other hand, is a loner (lost his wife) who is good at work but unfriendly coach to over-enthusiastic Nawaz. His zest for life and empathy for others including kids who ball around in his home environs were inscrutable, until  both Nimrat through her tasty cooking and Nawaz through his simplicity and cheerleading enthusiasm  mend Irrfan's mental makeup for better. 

The film builds up in 110 minutes of pacy narrative with sharp characterisations. Ritesh Batra has earlier made a documentary on "Daabwallahs"; now he creates a story of a lunch box mistakenly delivered by them. That could be a reason to fuss and file defamation charges from the gangs of dedicated workers who were invited for Prince Charles's wedding and etched into a Harvard case study. But the film stands out for transmitting the DNA of the times, for telling a story with a freshly different pair of Director's eyes, without pretensions, different values and uninhibited by the compulsions of cinema. Entirely shot in Mumbai's local trains and the nerve-center of Mumbai's concrete jungles of Malad and Dongri, there must be around 350 picture shots that make you live in the office and residential spaces of a society that thrives on chaos, packed with people like swarms of bees yet friendly and humane. Soundtrack of the film is by some foreigner, makes a point with regular musical instruments at just three to four instances in the film but by and large relies on the natural sounds of the deafening dins of moving locals, orchestral nature of an office canteen bustle. Occasionally, the kids on the moving locals break into a hit Kumar Sanu song and that becomes a lead sound track for the next few scenes. 

Personally, I felt a cute connect between visual and verbal literacy in this film. At a time when the biases of the film-makers are mostly towards song-and-dance and surrealistic and loud entertainment, Ritesh Batra re-creates a story that gives out as much from the imagery as from the words spoken by the three main characters - Irrfan Khan gives his best messages to Ila only in English and he gives almost a Thoreau-like commentary on issues of happiness and misery, Nimrat Kaur (that Cadbury girl caught in traffic jam with a mouthful of Five Star) is innocent, adventurous and vulnerable at the same time. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is at his entertaining best rubbing shoulders with an elegant Irrfan but has occasionally stolen the thunder; all three characters speak as much with words spoken as with their body language. In that sense, the verbal literacy is probably taken to newer highs than the visual literacy of the film. References to the 80s TV classic, "Yeh Jo Hai Jindagi" and old victorian values of diligence and restraint are messages the director wants the audience to take home despite an ending that is not so poetic. There are references to Bhutan's Gross National Happiness as opposed to our own GDP fixation.

When a film's reputation darts faster than the buying interest in India, you have to expect the Goliaths of the industry to rally behind it. No wonder, "The Lunch Box" is now a collaboration of Indo-German-French productions and the two Goliaths here are Karan Johar and Ronnie Screwala. That must give all the push needed to qualify this as India's sole entry to the Oscars. Because of the screenplay and the pacy narrative, you wouldn't feel bored even for a second. But there are flaws in this notable experiment, mostly loose ends the director forgot to tie in his stickiness to the main storyline. When Ila's husband tells her why she is making Aloo Gob every day for lunch, we don't get that. When the Dabbawallah refuses to accept the mistake of  swapping of boxes, he doesn't give a credible answer but a Harvard student might know what the director concealed. Again, not once does it occur to the two characters corresponding over lunch box to connect with the new modes of mobiles and emails. One more, Ila discovers she is trapped in a sex-less marriage because her husband is having an affair, but that is left unconfronted till the end. Obviously, there are quite a few gaffes in a film that seeks to break new ground in story-telling. But as the line in the film goes, sometimes, " A wrong train also can take you to the right destination." Ritesh Batra and team deserve a thumping watch for "The Lunch Box". My rating is 4.75 out of 5. 

Dr.Subramanian Swamy's speech at Hyderabad

Dr Subramanian Swamy is blessed with an intellect that is sharper than his age and has a wit that is trained to take jibes at opposition members. It used to be Congress-I most of his career and now in his new hat at BJP, he shows an unrelenting fervor to diatribe against the misdeeds of the  UPA-I and II government.

I showed up at 10.30 am at Public Gardens for Dr.Swamy's speech but for a change he chose to be unpunctual or atleast the organisers of BJP have miscommunicated the time of starting. It started at 11.15 am or so.

The topic of the talk today was "The Decline of the Rupee under UPA-II". Quite a heady topic and a relevant topic. He divided his speech into four parts - First part covered the fall of the Indian Rupee (INR) against the US Dollar (USD or Dollar) all through the Congress years. Second Part covered the main reasons for the fall of the Rupee. Third part covered the blatant corruption that has grown under Congress regime. The last part was focusing on whether Indians should live on hope and what we should learn from these misdeeds.

First Part

Dr.Swamy was clear that the present decline of the Rupee was not isolated to the current regime of the UPA, it started right after Independence of India because of the lopsided model adopted by Nehru as Prime Minister. Nehru suggested we follow the soviet model of industrialisation, but the Soviet model was suited for a different country - it meant agricultural resources being harnessed from agriculture and funnelled into heavy-duty industrialisation. But the Indian adaptation was inadequate -  most of the resources were already depleted by the British and hence it proved a faulty model right from the start. Soon, the industrialisation turned into a slow process and within few years after Independence, in 1957 or so, Dr Swamy said Nehru fixed the exchange rate of INR at 4.50 to a dollar. It declined rapidly ever since. 

It declined further during Indira Gandhi regime and improved once during Morarji Desai's rule when INR appreciated from 8.75 under Indira's regime to 7.75 to a dollar. All along we have had fixed exchange rate. The situation deteriorated all through the seventies and eighties even under Rajiv Gandhi government. The only other time that the Rupee appreciated was during PV Narasimha Rao's regime. Dr.Swamy quipped that the choice of PVNR was itself an improbable one in the 90s in the aftermath of the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi; Rahul and Priyanka were too young and Sonia wanted to keep someone who is bound to go in six months. Dr Swamy pointed that much to her chagrin, Sonia Gandhi found that PVNR was getting hale and hearty after getting the Prime Ministership. PVNR is indeed the real architect of the reforms as he appointed Dr Manmohan Singh as the FM and several other talents in the ministry of improved sentiments. At one moment, Sonia Gandhi was getting so frustrated with PVNR's rising stature and statesmanship that she even asked him to announce resignation from President post of the Party. PVNR said it is well within the precedents of the Congress Party since the times of Nehru and Indira for PM to also hold the Party post of Presidentship. That was when Sonia's aides engineered the split in the party, the Tiwari Congress to weaken PVNR's hold. Dr Swamy also forgot to mention the famous Harshad Mehta scam in which PVNR was falsely implicated. Dr Swamy said that the way PV Narasimha Rao was treated is the shabbiest chapter in Indian politics; he has given one of the best administration and set the base for India's liberal reforms forever. For all that, PVNR became a footnote and a pawn in party politics. Dr Swamy assured the audience that whenever the next non-Congress government is formed, they will like to award Bharat Ratna to PV Narasimha Rao for his stellar contribution to the country. By contrast, Mr Singh is like the "Sing" in circus which dances to the tunes of the Ring-master who is Soniaji, said Dr Swamy. He once asked Dr Manmohan Singh what is the meaning of 2G. Dr Singh said it is nothing but Rahulji and Soniaji. Back to currency rates, when BJP ruled later under Vajpayee, INR touched 41.31 but depreciated a mere Rs.4.50 to a dollar, thats about ten percent.

Second Part

Talking about the current decline of the Rupee, Dr.Swamy said it is  no surprise that it has depreciated more than 25 per cent in the last few months and it is a combination of atleast three or four factors, which will be enumerated later. Dr Swamy emphasised an opinion that by the end of September, INR will touch 75 to a dollar because of a vortex of complex factors at work which were always initiated during UPA rule. He said Currency Rates are a function of demand and supply. The higher the supply of dollars, the lower will be the dollar to a rupee and vice-versa. Hence, in today's scenario, rupee is plummeting against the dollar because there are more rupees in the system than the dollars and we are all importing mostly useless items which are not made in India. 

First reason according to Dr Swamy is the price paid for telecom scams. Because most the Indian players who won the bids paid huge money to their foreign companies like Swann Telecom, Docomo etc.for the licenses, and the stakes are all split between the culprits all the way from Raja to Soniaji, Dr Swamy said the current exchange rates are favoring payment of royalties/ payments/considerations for the foreign companies in dollars which is creating a huge demand for them as against Rupee payments. Similarly, there are scams in Coal, etc. which is creating a huge vacuum in the country in terms of credibility and huge question marks on the government's role in corruption.

Second reason is the commonly debated point, of late, that rupee is hitting new lows because of the need to wire back the Swiss Account money of politicians close to Rs.70 lakh crores sitting outside India which is coming back to India at these high levels of exchange rates. Contrary to normal practice, Dr Swamy says the Swiss Banks actually charge service fees on the accounts held by Indians, they don't pay interest to the account holders as it is all unaccounted money. So, it is actually a jackpot for Swiss Banks to charge atleast 2 per cent service fees and then invest the money in USD Treasurys fetching 4 per cent yield, earning a whopping 6 per cent return in dollar terms. So, the UPA government politicians feel it is better for this money to come back to India rather than sitting idle in Swiss Bank Accounts. Hence, another case for a massive Rupee depreciation. Dr Swamy says, even the Finance Minister Chidamabram has a list of all the Hawala Agents in the country who are facilitating this massive trade right now at these elevated levels of exchange rates.

Third Reason, according to Dr Swamy for the Rupee Depreciation is P-Notes, Participatory Notes. Only Indian Passport holders, he says, avail of these instruments. An example of how this works, he says, goes like this. An Indian walks into a branch of Fidelity, Morgan Stanley or GoldmanSachs in a New York office, produces his Indian passport office and then gives them a stash of cash. Against this pile of money which is usually black money in Rupees, the firm will start trading on the client's account, kept confidential, in the Indian stock markets, sometimes over-trading but mostly generating more cash through legal channels of portfolio investments. Dr Swamy says, the rule is simple: pay in Rupees, get back in dollars. Another reason why demand for dollars will shoot up. Dr Swamy said P-Notes are the worst instrument available for creating unstability in Indian financial markets. He said even the Tarapore Committee has recommended for abolition of PNotes for the damaging effects on the stock market cycles but the government doesn't care. He also said Mr MK Narayanan, the National Security Advisor also was of the view that P-Notes are dangerous for India but the UPA Government is behind this P-Note business, he says and hence are unable to abolish them. He said many of the Indian companies have offices in Mauritius, in the same street, in the same building, in the same block, in the same room, which is usually locked up - which is creating funnels for money coming back through P-Notes. The Government   and the FM are aware of this but do not raise an eyebrow to stem the rot. P-notes are one reason the Government has destroyed genuine stock market cycles for wealth creation. Today, the Middle classes have left the stock market because of negative returns. P-notes are the only reason, he says, that Indian Passports are relevant for participation in them.

The last reason, as per Dr Swamy, is the massive punting  - aggressive short-selling by Mr Karthik Chidambaram, son of FM Chidambaram in a nexus of operations in Dubai and Singapore on the Rupee at levels above 75 to a dollar, which means, if Rupee appreciates, he will get wiped out of the short-selling and derivative trades. Dr Swamy said that the son of FM has gone so aggressive on these trades outside India sitting on the fringes of Singapore and Dubai that the shorts have become too strong for any recover of Rupee against the Dollar. Dr Swamy said all it takes to wipe this speculator son out of bounds is to allow RBI to pump in about $ 20 Billion to kill the speculators. He said RBI can easily manage to quell this trade out of its Forex kitty of $ 277 billion but the Government of India is not allowing because of FM Chidambaram. Instead of doing this, the FM and the PM are talking about time-pass measures like laying hands on the Tirupati Gold or Anant Padmanabhaswamy temple gold etc. Dr Swamy said we all know what happened to the government when they tried to tinker with RamSethu bridge. He said that considering the coal scam is itself Rs.4 lakh crores and our total tax receipts is in the range of Rs.4.5 lakh crores, there is no need for levy on Temple Gold reserves etc. and we needn't even levy any taxes because the Swiss kitty is itself Rs.70 lakh crores. Back to the Rupee, Dr Swamy said if the RBI is allowed to intervene with just $20 Billion out of its Forex Reserves, the trades of Karthik Chidambaram will end, and INR may even touch 50 again.

Against the backdrop of so many scams, Dr Swamy says people like Kapil Sibal still say there is zero corruption in telecom scam or anything. We should believe him, Dr Swamy said, because Kapil Sibal cannot count anything beyond zero! Talking about Chidamaram, Dr Swam said he is the most corrupt man in the country, probably next to only the Italian Matha. Not just that the FM is allowing his own son to punt on the national currency on short-selling spree but Chidambaram is the biggest culprit on many other issues and scams. Dr Swamy said he was happy with the stance taken by RBI Governor in his farewell speech blaming the fault lay with the government measures not with what the RBI has done so far. Dr Swamy said he has tried so many ways in which to legally prosecute Chidambaram for his follies but he has been escaping all of them because he is also a lawyer. But he said, there are enough time-bombs planted by Dr Swamy to bring Chidambaram to justice. He said, sooner or later, he will get the FM to the jail as even Raja has not escaped in the past. Dr Swamy said that the Cook of Tihar jail was complaining that he can prepare only Aloo Puri but ever since so many Madrasis have been transferred to Tihar jail, he is forced to cook more of Masala Dosa, Idly and so on instead of his staple fare. Dr Swamy said he has advised the cook to learn some Italian Pizza also just in case...!

Third Part

Having delineated the reasons for the decline of the Rupee and giving the backdrop of UPA's colossal failures, he said the reason for the unprecedented corruption in the country is the greed of the politicians and the greed of the people. He recalled that when he attended the Harvard University, one of the professors asked him about Mahatma Gandhi - that he wore so less clothes. Dr Swamy said that is the civilization of India -because here the virtue lies in renouncing everything and sacrificing your luxuries. He pointed out that, compared to Indians, Americans in particular and Westerners in general gave too much importance to luxuries and dressing sense and minor points. He said if you look at the Pope, he is dressed in so much opulence unlike others in India. Dr Swamy recalled that once in a famous presidential debate between Nixon and Kennedy, Nixon lost the vote because in that debate, Americans noticed that Nixon hasn't shaved properly. In summary,Dr Swamy said that Indians were always living in simple means and that will steer us to better times away from corruption. For instance, Railway Reservation system used to be corrupt but not any longer as corruption levels have drastically come down.

Last Part

Dr Swamy, in this part, moves from the topic of Rupee in Decline to the part on what to look for in future amidst so much negativity. He said that of all the 46 civilizations that we read about in World History, 45 of the ancient civilizations has perished but India is still suriving because of our courage and the will to stand up against opposition. Examples, Rana Pratap Singh, Jhansi Lakshmibhai, etc. We must never lose of this courage and the will to act, dr Swamy said. Conversions to other religions have happened for centuries in other parts of the world but India still remains Hindu upto 80 per cent. Persia used to be the land of Zorastrians but this has become muslim. Eurupe was converted into Christianity in less than 150 years and so on.

So, many forces are at play, he says, which are trying to destabilise India but we must not lose courage and optimism. A person like Julia Roberts has embraced Hinduism which speaks of the uniqueness of our culture, he says.

In short, another persuasive oration from Dr Swamy on a relevant topic with the usual nail-biting observations and sweeping conclusions. He said that the glory will return when this government is over-thrown.

Note: All the views expressed above are paraphrased based on Dr Swamy's speech today. He spoke in Hindi and I have merely translated the speech in English. I have not added my commentary on the speech nor verified the veracity of its contents. 

 

 

Duvvury Subbarao's farewell speech puts RBI on top.

RBI Governor Mr Subbarao may not have earned the popularity that other Governors have earned but that maybe more because of the misgovernance of the UPA Government. Subbarrao's biggest follly is that he tried to fight the wrong dragon (inflation) while killing growth. But the dilemmas of Modern Central Banking in Emerging markets is getting tougher by the day. I have interacted with atleast two deputy governors (S.Venkitaraman, S.S.Tarapore) and one RBI Governor Dr.YV Reddy (I was travelling first-class next to him in a flight from Mumbai to Hyderabad). The minds of these people are quite different from the minds of businessmen and professionals and housewives and students in our midst. They have to track so many variables and have to take decisions that may not be pleasant to most people and yet be guided by impact on the society as well. While I will share my experiences of my interviews with such top-brains later, this one is to put in right perspective the achievements of Subbarao after his farewell speech recently.

1. He has extended the streak of fearlessness and autonomy set forth by the preceding Governor Dr.YV Reddy. He was always clear that for every step the RBI takes, the Government has also to match it with fiscal initiatives. Too bad, the UPA Government slipped on many counts in this ground and wants to blame everything on RBI for the follies of the slippages on GDP growth, the exchange rate, etc.

2. Mr Rao, I believe, carried a resignation letter in his pocket everyday. So, nobody could have arm-twisted him to do anything that was not in principle appealing to his perception of Central Bank sensibilities. Neither the nincompoop Shankar Sharma with his unethical market behaviour or his un"bear"able fixations, nor opposition leaders like Yashwant Sinha and Arun Jaitley nor businessmen like Ambanis and Kris Gopalakrishnan nor PM or his FM could influence Mr Rao to curry favors on easing of monetary policy.

3. The incoming governor, Raghuram Rajan, will have a lower base of expectations and a weakened currency regime and an economy that will eventually climb the wall of worries. But the times that Subbarao managed are the most difficult and will help him earn more than a footnote in history even if he is thanked less now.

4. Inflation, is clearly, under control but beyond a point, if it refuses to die down, there are many factors at play - supply-side bottlenecks, reckless fiscal policy, exogenous forces at play, Fed's exorbitant privileges, etc.

5. Mr Rao is the first governor to open the doors of transparency and increase the frequency of interactions with public. He started the practice of monetary policy review eight times a year instead of four-six reviews a year in the previous stints.

6. Subbarao also participated in the most enlightened debates on central bank policies and its transmissions on the broad economy besides opening the Pandora's box on corporates getting new bank licenses, role of CRR etc. Of course, the debates that RBI had with the top guns at SBI are stuff of legend now - but that is only to be expected because SBI always felt it is more senior (and hence more ancient) than RBI in age.

7. Subbarao, like Dr.YV Reddy, opened the culture of TV debates and informal talks and continued the respect of peers across G-20 countries. He has also acknowledged the complexity of having multiple regulators and created the framework for right debates between the relevant regulators. If the US has today got six regulators, RBI also has created room for co-ordinated maneuvres. 

8. Willingness to act tough and learn from the history of banking crises has helped Subbarao to earn credibility. You should read his prescient essay on Basel-III norms to understand the mind of the man. Ministers like Chidamabaram who sit on intellectual tags and cannot steer clear of personal and career conflicts will never be able to hold a candle to men in public institutions like Subbarao who have nothing but unquestioned integrity, broad experience, nonconflicted judgment devoid of pollitical partisanship and the will to act. 

9. One fatal flaw that undermined Subbarao's endearing appeal is the rapidity with which he raised interest rates while cutting the interest rates in a lazy manner. He has realised the mistake but with grave consequences for the economy. He would have loved the unleashing of animal spirits had he taken more than baby steps in cutting interest rates for the little leg room that showed up somewhere in the period from September 2012-June 2013 but that proved to be a remiss too costly to miss.

10. Subbarao, despite that one fatal flaw, has kept the flag of autonomy in a developing country Central Bank unusually high. Let there be no doubt about his competence, his sense of humor, his resolve to tame inflation which was touching double-digits, his integrity and his independence. If RBI has earned its spurs today as one of the most respected central banks on the planet - whose working papers, whose policies and methods have become beacon lights of textbook economic responses, then let's credit Subbarao for joining the ranks of the great institution-builders.

 Subbarao is one of the commonest names in Telugu, it means the lucky one in Telugu. Even though Subbarao's stint in RBI has proved unlucky for India, it is not uneventful. In another country, another time, there would be a testimony of sorts. But this is India, we are like this only. Goodbye, Mr Subbarao. I will end with the words of Paul Volcker that clarify on how to size up crntral bankers: "The Federal Reserve, after all, has only one basic instrument so far as economic management is concerned—managing the supply of money and liquidity. Asked to do too much—for example, to accommodate misguided fiscal policies, to deal with structural imbalances, or to square continuously the hypothetical circles of stability, growth, and full employment—it will inevitably fall short. If in the process of trying it loses sight of its basic responsibility for price stability, a matter that is within its range of influence, then those other goals will be beyond reach."

"Madras Cafe" Hindi Film Review

Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991 is one of the most dramatic events in world history and deserves a film for the multi-layered twists and plotting that went into the act by the perpetrators  - the LTTE. For some reason, the Gandhi dynasty was more than forgiving of the whole episode and didn't want to de-classify the details of the assassination or probe further even after incriminating evidence reported by the SIT Chief D.R.Karthikeyan in the book "Conspiracy to kill Rajiv Gandhi: From CBI Files". There was also an exhaustive video film on the filming of the investigations into the plot to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi which was available for sale until a few years but now seems to be off-limits for some uncanny reason.  Even though the wounds have cleared up, "Madras Cafe" is a brilliant re-interpretation of the plot by the Tigers of Sri Lanka to eliminate Rajiv Gandhi at the height of a fiercely fought election.

Shoojit Sircar, who made "Vicky Donor" earlier, is the director who has picked up an intelligent array of artistes  - John Abraham as the RAW officer, Siddhartha Basu (remember India's original QuizTime Star) as the IB Chief, Piyush Pandey (O&M Country Head, India)  as an important Cabinet Secretary, Prakash B as a double-crossing Intelligence Director camping in Lanka and Nargis Fakri as a foreign correspondent. In 130 minutes of footage, Shoojit Sircar takes us on a gripping tour of those tumultous years of Indian Foreign Policy misadventures on creating the cauldron of IPKF Army to quell the LTTE uprising in a civil-strife Sri Lanka. While it starts off as a re-run of the strategic moves by the think-tank team of Rajiv Gandhi who were working behind the scenes, the film's screenplay moves at incredible speed to give edge-of-the-seat excitement about the buildup of the efforts by the rival teams, the LTTE, to finish off Rajiv Gandhi. Most of the narration moves forward but reminds us of the milestones at various times before the d-day of Assassination - three years before, two years before, six months before and so on. Besides, "Madras Cafe" is the actual place where the members of LTTE alongwith the arms dealers etc. have met for the conspiracy. "Madras Cafe" ends with the Ex-PM's assassination and the team's frustration in  preventing  the fateful end despite nailing the linkages to the LTTE. What makes the film worth watching is the racy and crisp narrative of Shoojit Sircar; he  modified the story to suit the documentary style with promising story-telling and little deviations into the realms of controversy - no reference to history of the conflict in detail between the Sinhalese and the Tamils, no sighting of the Sri Lankan Army, no insinuations about dark-goggled politicians, or the involvement of the local people. Whatever be the failings of the film, Shoojit Sircar stuck to basics of crafty direction with an equivocal stance on the contentious issues facing Lankan Tamils. 

Performances by the starcast are just apt and measured for the emoticons they display: Nargis Fakri is strictly professional with John Abraham, Siddhartha Basu is the trusting boss of John Abraham with a precise brief and then the important trio of LTTE including Prabhakaran, played by well by a veteran Tamil actor. The actor who steals the thunder is a veteran Kannada theatre artist  Prakash B who plays the role of a boot-legger, corrupt Intelligence officer who calls the shots until his cover is blown by John Abraham. John Abraham looks appropriate but his acting never got the better of his cool body. Dialogues are pithy and journalistic in appeal, more like soundbytes that appeal to the intellectual senses. BGM score by George Joseph and T Tambi is a backbone of the film that helps build the tempo and the crescendo. Shantanu Moitra is a folksy music composer who gets the credits as music director but only one song is shown in the end as the credits roll. 

"Madras Cafe" is going to be a classic in the way an assassination plot can be made to look engrossing with almost zero emotional and entertainment value. Director Sircar gives a good spin to the story of the plot by bringing in inferences to the Military-Industrial Complex, Arms-dealings, Economic Hit Men without fully explaining them. He  doesn't show the people of Sri Lanka, how they are affected, how their government and the army was thinking, what is the context in the conflict between the Sinhalese and the Lankan Tamils ( I covered this earlier in my blog)  and how the IPKF operated in Sri Lanka which caused so much consternation amongst the Tamils. It could have been an emotional high if some sympathy could have been created either for the Lankan Tamils or the Eelam Tigers fighting for their causes. By concentrating on the Intelligence Taskforce efforts to fix LTTE and later unravel the plot to assassinate Gandhi (in vain), Sircar misses a golden chance to resonate with the audience. 

Even if there's nothing offensive in the film, "Madras Cafe" is banned in Tamil. In the end, the authenticity of the original events does  not hold up  to the real  events that transpired post-assassination. There is no mention made of the Justice Verma commission in passing or about the people who were eventually exonerated - Cabinet Secretary Vinod Pande, Intelligence Bureau Chief M K Narayanan (Siddhartha Basu), Secretary Ministry of Home Affairs Shromani Sharma and Secretary Security GS Baj Pai. All the four officers excluded themselves saying they were immune from any actions as they had already retired. But in the film, they show that Siddhartha Basu himself resigns. Eventually, as history proved, Congress leaders themselves allowed Justice Verma commission report to die a natural death. But "Madras Cafe" lives on, its a moving feast of slick adventures and misadventures of intelligent cops who couldn't finally prevent the assassination of their ex-Prime Minister. "Madras Cafe" may not be the last word on the subject but its a welcome experiment by Bollywood to make more relevant cinema that throws light on issues burnt into our national consciousness. Rating: 4 out of 5 for a gripping watch.

Malathi Chandoor - A life of wisdom, clarity and simplicity

Malathi Chandoor's passing at age 87 hasn't got the due attention amidst a day of a high-profile Telugu wedding and the never-ending saga of Telugu state divisions. Malathi Chandoor has been a literary sensation in her own right for over seven decades. She inspired many women to move out of their comfort zones and become economically productive. My mother owes her formative years to becoming a die-hard fan of Malathi Chandoor since she began a column "Pramadaavanaalu" in Andhra Prabha weekly. That column, my mother says, had  covered most FAQs in crisp capsules on topics ranging from The Consitution of India and Career Planning to History, Science, Economics, Astronomy and even Culinary sciences. 

Over the years, she earned respect as one of the most-well-read and well-informed Telugu writers getting an audience that spans all ages. I remember "Vantalu, Pindi Vantalu" (Recipes, Traditional recipes) which my mother used to refer for cooking up delicacies we used to gorge on - Mysore Pak, Bisibele Bath, Sambaar - dishes that have now become commonplace. But in those days that book was handy for winning plaudits in the kitchen for womenfolk.

Malathi Chandoor wrote several easy-reading novels with clean  fare that may not have found the dizzy appeal for  cinema scripts like Yandamoori Veerendranath and Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani. But she had her mark that found her niche audience. She has also translated over 300 famous English and European language novels into Telugu; "Paatha Kerataalu" was one such successful column. Telugu novelists like Yaddanapudi have outgrown fiction to write lengthier treatises on self-help themes to cater to a wider audience but Malathi Chandoor stuck to her forte of penning the occasional novels but maintaining her sagacious grasp of matters that baffle us everyday - Personal Finance, Legal problems, Subprime Crisis, Corruption in Society, Received wisdom in bringing up kids, What to look for when marrying, How to balance work and life, Importance of learning history etc. In a world that's full of information, hers was a voice of clarity that struck gold with lakhs of readers. Often, the questions posed by her readers are longer than answers but you will never find an out-of-place solution to the dilemmas presented by her audience. Concise, practical and crystalline are her answers. "Swaathi" the Telugu weekly carries her column and many readers who grew up on her writings like my mother might be reading the columns to all family members at the dining table. For most of what my own mother achieved in her life be it taking up teaching, rearing up kids, making them read and study well, taking up Social Sciences, pursuing a Ph.D, writing articles and starting a Girl's college - she owes much to Malathi Chandoor. Infact, we now tear off the page of Malathi's column and make a bound copy of her summary on a diversity of topics. I strongly hope that "Swaathi" publish her columns into books. Ditto with Andhra Prabha columns.

Besides her versatility and knowledge, Malathi Chandoor was gutsy. She carved out her own cult distinct `from her husband Chandoor Nageshwar Rao who was a creative writer since age 20. She didn't give up her writing after her husband passed away recently as she traverses a range of topics. She recently protested against Ramoji Rao of Eenadu group for publishing false reports about Potti Sreeramulu University. Unlike many writers who became saints from questionable background (like Malladi Venkata Krishna Moorthy) or writers who built reputation on faulty pillars of values (like Yandamoori) or writers who created exceptional impact on the women of the Telugu society for a generation or two with  nativised Western sensibilities (like Yaddanapudi), Malathi Chandoor lived a life of simple living and high thinking from beginning till the end. For her column in "Swaathi", she uses a tagline that goes something like this: "Human Happiness and Moral Duty are inseparably connected." That line itself says a million words without expanding much and that itself should seal the nobility and the timeless appeal of Madam Malathi Chandoor's writings. One only wishes Malathi wrote more books of non-fiction considering that her popularity could have outsold those who had lesser credentials. 

She has always understood the power of a word, the power of a written word that can make someone's mental makeup right, heal someone, inspire a professional or nudge a housewife into budget planning or give hope  to a Retiree couple. Incidentally, the last "agony" our Aunty answered was from an elderly couple who are living off EMIs coming from their house under "Reverse Mortgage" now getting pressured by both daughter-in-law and daughter to sell the home. Malathi's suggestion? File a PIL through an advocate against both of them to leave the old couple in peace. Hints and Tips like this are more than a household suggestion that can help millions of hapless old parents who are getting torn between affection and insensitivities of children. Mrs.Malathi Chandoor  - you have been a writer that inspired many like my mom with writing that is practical, homely and clear. You were the original "agony aunt" for many readers like my mother. Cancer has withered you away  but your worldly-wise nature will win you more fans in the other worlds.