What kind of futility is it to attempt to speak a few words about Mozhi, a movie that magically transports you into a world where words lose all meaning!

I didn’t know till a couple of days ago that Mozhi was supposed to be Jyotika’s last movie. After three hours of the movie, I come out with mixed reactions. Verily, this is Jo’s best ever performance. Why, this is one of the best ever by a leading lady in Tamil! And she’s quitting movies. Perhaps the only consolation is that she just might not get a bigger, better role than this. So retiring on a high is good after all, than just staying on and fading away.

So what’s Mozhi all about, you wonder? Karthik and Viji (Prithiviraj and Prakash Raj) are two musicians who work for Vidyasagar, the music director. They love their music, but they love fun much more. They get into a new apartment, and have lots of run-ins with Mr. Ananthakrishnan, the secretary of the apartment, the first of a lot of interesting characters about to enter into their lives. But none better than the bold and beautiful Archana (Jyotika) who pummels a wife-beater on the road.

Karthik takes an instant liking to her, and tries to “make friendship” with her. Unlike in Pachaikili Muthucharam, Jyotika doesn’t even speak to him and walks away. Only later does he get to know that she is deafmute and that she dislikes men, and in general anyone who tries to get into her silent, even melancholic world. A smitten Karthik tries all the usual tricks (walking the dog, early morning jog etc) and becomes Archana’s friend. With the help of Sheela (Swarnamalya, in an Alaipayuthey-like role), he even learns the sign language to communicate with her. All through, Prakash Raj is with him, and the pair of them have you in splits all the time.

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As the months wear on, Karthik wants to marry Archana, but is unsure about how she will respond to it. At one point, he is just so overcome with emotion that he asks for her hand in marriage. But her insecurity, and the impregnable wall of prejudices she has built around herself lead to retreating back into her shell. Will the language of love dawn on her?

In an interview last week, Prakash Raj told Anu Hassan that he admires a few actors because they are “director’s actors” – Prasanna, Mahesh Babu, Prithviraj. Prithvi as Karthik is fantastic, in a role which he named as his best. Sometimes taking the lead, and sometimes playing second fiddle to Prakash Raj, he excels across all scenes. Humour comes naturally, and in the serious scenes, he is pretty good too. His encounters with MS Bhaskar (who plays an absent-minded gentleman) are hilarious to begin with, and as he learns more about his condition, touching. The pick of the scenes is the one in which he simulates music to Jyotika like Adrian Brody does without touching his piano in The Pianist.

Prakash Raj has just as a big role as his co-musician. And the more you see him on screen as Viji, the more you wonder why he signs up to do the usual villain roles. Take Pokkiri for instance. He was wasted. It is an affront on this man’s acting talent that people even think of calling him to act in run-of-the-mill roles. In the same interview Prakash Raj revealed that he needed money to produce movies, and for that he will accept any role. Ok, agreed. If Mozhi is what we get in return, I’ll take the deal. Prakash Raj as Viji is hilarious through and through. As if his presence were not enough to bring a smile…

Swarnamalya returns to screen with a role reminiscent of Alaipaayuthey. As the person who understands Jyotika the best, she serves as a bridge between her and Prithviraj.

Jyotika. All I can say is Tamil cinema will give her a reluctant farewell. இதுவரை குறும்பினை மட்டுமே வெளிப்படுத்திய ஜோதிகாவின் கண்கள் இப்படத்தில் ஒரு வகை அழுத்தத்தையும், வார்த்தைகளுக்கு அப்பாற்பட்ட சோகத்தையும் காண்பிக்கின்றன. Her eyes, which have depicted only kurumbu till date speak a melancholy that rises from the depth of her despair and her dislike for the world, and its fickle people. Be it in scenes which require of her very subtle change of emotions, or the ones in which we witness her violent moodswings, Jyotika has delved into the depth of her acting prowess and produced a performance that will remain etched in memory for a long, long time.

I was so impressed with Rinko Kikuchi’s performance as the deafmute Chieko in Alejandro Inarritu’s Babel, so much that the only Oscar category I was interested in was the one for Best Supporting Actress. And I even felt that an award for Rinko (she didn’t win though) would be a vindication of Jyotika’s performance in Mozhi. Yes, Jo is just so good.

Vidyasagar’s music is mesmerising, each song competing with the other for attention. Many music reviews have already rated the album highly. A big plus is that each song has been shot excellently, which adds to the effect. Perhaps because of the picturisation, I find myself liking “Sevvaanam Selai Katti” the best. Kaatrin Mozhi should feature in everyone’s list of the best ten songs of the year. The three short songs — Aazha Kannaal, En Jannanil, Mouname Unnidam — are also very good.

Of Radhamohan, the director, little needs to be said that has already not been revealed. After capturing many hearts with a no-nonsense romantic comedy in Azhagiya Theeye, the man who Prakash Raj reveals as his best find ever has put in such a fine job it is tough to spot one superfluous dialogue, let even an unnecessary scene. No melodrama. No fights. No nonsense. K.V. Guhan’s camerawork is excellent. The art direction in this movie requires a special mention. It will be impossible to miss the excellent interior decorations.

To sum up, Mozhi isn’t just super; it is superlative. It is the work of people who love cinema, people who are passionate about cinema. And it is for people who are passionate about good cinema. To such devotees of movies, Mozhi is nothing short of a pilgrimage.

 

Gautham Menon takes a break from his similar-themed cop flicks and explores the concept of infidelity and its effects on a loving family in a slickly-made, technically brilliant movie, in which Arvind Krishna’s camerawork, Harris Jeyaraj’s songs and background score compete with Sarathkumar for the tag of hero. I will take an early bet on this movie to be among the best three of 2007.

Venkatesh (Sarathkumar’s first role outside of his naattaamai or labour leader routine), is, in his own words, still crazy about his wife, Kalyani (Andrea). Who won’t be, if she is good-looking and welcomes you home singing “Un Sirippinil“? Their peaceful life suffers a setback when their son is diagnosed with an ailment, and the wife becomes downcast because of this.

Unable to stomach her sudden lack of interest in anything, Venkatesh looks to Geetha (Jyotika), a married woman whom he meets in the train for emotional companionship (that’s menspeak for flirting). Jyotika’s gaudy make-up in these scenes are a real spoiler, so much that when he first asks her what her profession is, you wonder if she’ll say, “… the world’s oldest.” the song “Karu Karu Vizhigalaal” (Oru Mallicharame) just happens. Delightfully placed, it blends with the sequences, and is probably the best picturised of all.

Casual flirting blossoms into friendship, and soon Venky becomes smitten. The scene where he calls her to say, “Enna, innikku train-la meet pannalaye? Are you okay?” draws a lot of “Over-a vazhiyire, thodachukko” type comments from the audience. The friendship slowly turns into a relationship, with Geetha being more than accomodating of Venky’s advances. The beautiful “Unakkul Naane” song, has been shot very poorly. There are a thousand ways of doing it right, and Gautham chooses none of those. Take the delightful solo violin (which, incidentally, reminds me of Ilaiyaraja’s masterful opening notes in the song “Mella Mella” from the movie Vaazhkai) , which is now the ringtone in everyone’s mobile phone. On screen, Jo and Sarath are falling over some human pillars. Awful! A real dampener.

As they proceed to think of making love in a secluded cottage outside the city, a stranger (Milind Soman) barges in, knocks off Venkatesh and sexually assaults Geetha. And takes their numbers, and starts threatening them, and extorts money. Who is he? How does he plan his every move to perfection? Is Venkatesh’s wife in the know? Will Venkatesh budge? The story unfolds with some very nice twists, which form the remainder of the movie.

Probably because PKMC is a remake of the English movie, “Derailed”, it carries a Hollywood effect. Must say, the handling of the story looks pretty advanced for a Tamil movie. Gautham’s screenplay, despite quite a few logical flaws, is taut and well-paced. Quite a few of my friends have told me that the first half was a drag. My opinion is that there could have been no other way. In weaning the screenplay out of usual masala-ic fare (okay, you must excuse Sarath’s machoism in the closing minutes), Gautham wins.

Harris Jeyaraj has sometimes been “accused” of reserving his best for Gautham’s movies. This movie doesn’t serve to correct that reputation. Thankfully, Madhushree’s horrific rendering of “Unakkul Naane” has been omitted. “Kaadhal Konjam”, though not the pick of the album, has been picturised well. My personal favourite is “Karu Karu Vizhigalaal”. The background score lends great weight to the movie.

Arvind Krishna, who deserved a National Award for his poetry with light in Pudhupettai, excels here too. When PC Sriram and Santosh Sivan decide to retire eventually, Arvind will be at hand to pick up the baton.

Of the actors, Milind Soman, despite his limited screen presence is the most convincing. Someone please tell Gautham Menon that he doesn’t always need to lend his voice to his villains. Jyotika’s performance oozes confidence and hence is effortless. Andrea is a good find, and though her expressions are plastic to begin with, she does a great job as the movie unfurls. Sarath’s acting makes you wonder why he doesn’t choose more roles like this one.

Overall, Pachaikili Muthucharam gives you the effect of having watched an English movie. Tamil cinema can definitely do with more such movies. The commoner may not like it, but (and this might sound like “the emperor’s robes”) if you like good cinema, you’re sure to love it.

 

The following letter was sent to an executive working for Hutch South a month ago. I did not want to publish it. But since they still haven’t responded satisfactorily, I care zilch about them.

Hi,

Before you discard me away as just another grumpy customer, please read the following experiences I have had (endured) with your Customer Service (or the lack of it) over the past few days.

The latest bill (December – January) I received from Hutch indicated that I had been charged for the 100 free minutes that I am entitled to when calling local mobiles. I promptly called up Hutch Care on Friday morning, and spoke to a certain Mr. Vivek Kumar, who informed me that I had been migrated from my previous plan to a newer plan, under which I was no longer allowed any free local minutes.

Mark this as complaint number one. I am wondering why Hutch migrates users across plans without even displaying the basic courtesy, decency or propriety of informing them that they are being migrated. That all customers have been informed by an SMS sounds a lame excuse. A plan change is, in my opinion, requires to be communicated in a more ‘serious’ mode. Sending it via SMS, when I (and other customers) are already subject to a barrage of junk “Would you like to download this ring tone?” messages from Hutch every day, makes the message liable to inattention. It is not so much about the 50 or 100 extra rupees that I need to pay in addition. It is about the nonchalance, even indifference the company has in its treatment of customers, amply evident from the above, and deeply annoying.

If an automatic plan migration has happened, should the customer not be informed by regular mail? I do not want you to wait for me to approve of the migration. At least Hutch could have specified the same in the bill. Even a divorce requires a written document, Sir. Is this how you play around in a ‘relationship’?

I had registered my complaint with Mr. Vivek Kumar, who assured me that since Friday was a national holiday, he would arrange for a Team Leader to call me back in the ensuing 24 hours. It should have been 11 AM when I received this promise.

Saturday. 12:30 PM. No callback. Customer care?

I called up Hutch Care again, and was responded to by a lady executive (I forget her name; should be either Ms Philomena). She told me the same things that Mr. Vivek Kumar told me, but she was informed that I needed a TL to call me back immediately.

Ten minutes later, a supervisor from Hutch’s Customer Care team (I guess her name is Antoinette) called me up. She took a more legal angle to the issue, citing that Hutch was merely complying with TRAI’s regulations not to give me local minutes. I wonder if there is also a TRAI regulation barring the company from informing me of the change in plan. My question to her was just that, for which I didn’t receive a satisfactory answer. It is also surprising to note that just a couple of days ago, Hutch executives were hawking more free minutes in my company’s premises. TRAI? What TRAI?

I requested the supervisor to put me onto someone who could solve the problem. Which problem? Just how many? Problem number one was the lack of intimation. Problem number two was the inability of customer care to resolve the issue. Problem number three is the inability to customer care to live up to promises. Which problem would be solved, I wonder.

The time frame that was requested of me was 24 to 48 hours, for a relationship manager to contact me. This was promptly denied, because the issue was already into its second day with no resolution in sight. I demanded that ‘that whoever’ who was supposed to call me should do so in the ensuing 30 minutes. This was assured. The time was 1 PM, Saturday afternoon.

Saturday. 7:30 PM. No callback. Customer care?

I called up Hutch Care again. This time, Mr. Mohan responded. He sincerely apologized for the fault of his colleagues, but could not find a resolution. I do not blame him for this, because he was unable to solve something his supervisor could not. He assured me that a strong complaint had already been registered, and that a relationship manager would definitely call me back and resolve the issue in the next 24 hours. I also requested Mr. Mohan to inform the supervisor to call me, because I wanted her to calculate for me how many 30 minutes had past since she had assured me of a callback from the relationship manager.

Monday. 3 PM. No callback. Customer care?

Even assuming that I granted your supervisor her 48 hours to arrange a callback, it is past that time. With every passing hour, only the number of complaints I have and my increasing diffidence in your ability to solve them are rising.

For all this, I should be among the first 1000 customers of Hutch in Chennai. For having stayed with your service for almost 5 years now, I deserve to be treated like this. Let me also inform you that it makes no economic sense for me to use a Hutch connection. Most of my friends and colleagues use an Airtel CUG connection, and every time I call them, I pay. The only reason I stick to Hutch is the fact that I have been using your service for a long time. You call this a relationship, Sir. Is this how you respond to customer loyalty? I wonder if fidelity in relationships is such a crime.

Thank you for your patience, Sir. And since mine is almost exhausted, I rest my case. I have decided to surrender my two existing Hutch connections. Would you please be kind enough as to indicate the procedure involved in the same?

I also plan to send modified versions of the above to a few newspapers, my blog, and to Reliance Mobile too. After all, for someone who demands to be intimated, I should inform you myself, shouldn’t I? And I am suprised why Reliance and Vodafone are queueing up for a stake in your company. 19 billion dollars? For this kind of service? God, have mercy on them.

Yours,
Vijay Krishna
98840 —–

P.S.: If you intend to call me on this number, please do so fast. The card would not be in use for much longer.

 

Wednesday afternoon, right after lunch, the phone rings…

Lady: Mr. Vijay Krishna?

Me: Yes.

Lady: I’m calling on behalf of ICICI Bank. Based on your credit card transactions, we are pleased to offer you 25000 rupees cash

Me: (heck, I spent less than 25K, so how did I get lucky?) That’s very nice

Lady: Are you interested, Sir?

Me: Yes, ma’am. Cash, cheque or bank transfer?

Lady: No, there is a procedure…

Me: Wait. What procedure? You’re giving me some cash, that’s it, correct?

Lady: No, Sir. 25000 rupees cash loan.

Me: Bloody, tell me the “loan” thing first. I thought you were giving me money for free. Thanks. I don’t need it.

Thursday, similar time…

Lady: Hello, I’m calling from CitiFinancial.

Me: (already in a bad mood) So?

Lady: We are offering you a loan…

Me: Did I ask you for a loan?

Lady: No, but I’m asking you (ah, smart Jane types)

Me: Hell, who told you I need money?

Lady: No, Sir, this is just a random call…

Me: If it is a random call, then why did you call me? (he! he! yaaru kitta?)

Lady: (hangs up)

 

Craig Bellamy clubs Barcelona

Genius has an infinite capacity to self-destruct. Which is what Liverpool found out to their great joy at the Camp Nou last night. How else can a team, which cannot lay claim to even a few seconds of imaginative / creative play, beat the reigning European champions, whose degeneration looked complete? Discipline is the word. That’s what Barca lacked, and what the Merseysiders had in abundance.

Given the abysmal form almost everyone is in, and with a defence which invites strikers to have a go at them, it is tough to see how Barcelona can go to Anfield and return without getting badly bruised. In theory, their title defence is over.

 

I’m supposed to get paid for writing this review. Despite this, I hope to present my honest opinions.

Because quite a few Web 2.0 ideas are easy to replicate, these services give rise to clones. We know many sites that try to ride on the popularity of Orkut, Flickr and Digg. Video-sharing, revolutionised by YouTube (as evidenced by Google’s big-money takeover), isn’t without its fair share. So what makes AapkaVideo.com different?

First, the content. Desi-centric, which is the site’s raison d’etre. Today, for example, the site welcomes you with videos from Eklvaya.

The site’s design and layout are good. And so is the categorization. The first page has a list of popular tags, and popular videos too.

Video uploading is easy too, and surprisingly, users can upload files of a large variety of different types.

There is a lot of scope for additional features. For example, the site can introduce a rating system. Currently, the only provision for viewers is to classify a video as “Offensive”. Secondly, the search results page can use Google-like page numbering instead of just the Next and Previous buttons. Finally, the videos won’t load on Mozilla. Maybe the number of Mozilla users is just a minority, but still…

Overall, I would give the site 6.5 on 10.

 

Liverpool are reportedly upbeat in their preparation to face European champions Barcelona next week. Barca do not look like the force they were last year, and the recent spat between Samuel Eto’o, Ronaldinho and Frank Rijkaard has made things only worse for them.

There has also been talk of the Premiership’s Big Three trying to sign Eto’o if he is quitting Barcelona at the end of the season.

That does sound bad. But wait! Why do I sense something fishy here? Could it all just be a part of the Catalan club’s mind games ahead of the crucial home game?

We do not know clearly yet why Eto’o who declared himself fit to play last weekend refused to take to the pitch as a substitute. And then three public spats. Ronaldinho blasts his teammate. Rijkaard declares him “not a team man”. And Eto’o shoots back saying whoever called him “not a team man” is a liar. You mean, all in the space of a couple of days? Incredible.

The “other” Reds of the Premiership might do well to brace them for a surprise when a fit Eto’o walks into the Camp Nou hand in hand with his Brazilian teammate and run rings around the Liverpudlian defence.

But hey, that could be just wishful thinking on my part! Viva Barca!

 

For all the talk about getting the right combination and infusing young blood, India’s squad for the World Cup is just plain old fare.

I would pity the selectors though. They really had little choice, and once you saw Sehwag’s name on the sheet, you knew they had thrown in their towels. Here is a man who was dropped for consistently underperforming. He comes back against Sri Lanka. India are in a strong position. He plays with such infectious diffidence and gets out cheap. (Honestly, one felt pity for Najafgarh’s favourite son. He was more comfortable back in the dressing room than in the middle.) Next day, he is queuing up to collect his flight ticket to the Caribbean. More on Sehwag’s selection here…

If you had watched the Rajkot game, you would have seen a marked difference between Sehwag’s approach and that of Dinesh Karthik. Karthik played with so much more confidence you always knew India would coast home if he were around. Some would argue “But Sehwag was short of confidence, because he had been dropped!” Pray how does diffidence help him at all? What if he is just that in the World Cup? Sehwag’s selection is because he is good fielder and can get a few overs through easily. If he bats well, I would count that as a plus.

Rajdeep Sardesai, in his usual come-slap-me style, asked Mohinder Amarnath this evening, “Do you think Dinesh Karthik is one of India’s seven best batsmen?”, as if Karthik had been picked to fulfil Tamil Nadu’s quota in the national side. Bloody hell, put your stats on the stove, Rajdeep. Here is a young chap who’s playing with such maturity and has won a few tight games for India. In terms of form, consistency, dependability, and technique, he is currently next only to the masterly trio of Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly. And did you not read Chappell’s comments on Karthik? Rajdeep, don’t waste airtime like a twat.

I would have liked the selectors to have tried out VVS Laxman for the World Cup selections. But Chappell’s belief that Laxman is only a Test batsman effectively sealed it. But did not Sreesanth evoke similar comments?

 

… is what Arsene Wenger told Alan Pardew as he couldn’t stomach Marlon Harewood’s late winner for West Ham United against Arsenal.

Some moments from today’s game:

42 mins: Henry breaks into the box from the left, seems lose the ball then throws himself to the ground. He’s very, very lucky not to go into the book for that dive. If that was Cristiano Ronaldo he would have been lynched.

78 mins: Yet again Rosicky’s corner is poor, failing to beat the first man for at least the sixth time in the second half. Wigan then break and Heskey goes down in the area under a ‘challenge’ from Flamini. Nothing given

81 mins: GOAL – OWN GOAL HALL!Flamini is put through on the right edge of the area and slides the ball across the area, where Hall puts in to his own net. Wigan aren’t pleased, firstly because Flamini looked offside and secondly because Henry needlessly taunted Kirkland after the goal, presumably about the Wigan keeper’s alleged timewasting throughout the game.

85 mins: Lehmann is now playing the same time-wasting games that Kirkland was earlier in the game. No complaints from Henry this time, interestingly.

Maybe Mr. Wenger should reflect on his team’s lucky victory at home against Wigan Athletic. Arsenal, thou f***king disgrace.

P.S.: The only good thing about Wigan’s defeat (other than the obvious reiteration of Arsenal’s deviousness) is that Charlton are still in with a half-chance of staying up.

 

A friend writes in to ask why I don’t write about football these days…

Well, it’s been quite a while since I wrote about anything at all. But football? The going has been so good for Manchester United this season, I don’t want to sing praises and, as luck would have it, brace for a downturn.

Meanwhile, do savour this interview with the King (from the redesigned Times Online).

 

The Itemized Bill

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