Katradhu Thamizh is one of the best Tamil movies of this decade. Unfortunately, most people get lost in its social commentary and forget that it is, at its heart, a bittersweet romantic tale. This song is my favorite from the movie. Ilaiyaraja’s rendition is awesome; the percussion, especially as the song opens, is a Yuvan trademark.
All of Yuvan Shankar Raja compositions that Ilaiyaraja has sung are excellent. I’m trying to think of one which I don’t particularly like.
… Michele Hanson to the Club of Certified Fools. In a column published in The Hindu yesterday, Ms. Hanson, a columnist for the Guardian, portrays (the editor of The Sun) Rebekah Wade’s decision to adopt her new husband’s surname as an act of treachery against the women’s liberation movement.
What a shock to find that Rebekah Wade — smasher of glass ceilings, ruler of men, first woman to edit the Sun and soon to become chief executive of News International — is really a fluffy at heart. Married a fortnight ago, she has decided to take her second husband’s surname. He is racehorse trainer-turned-writer Charlie Brooks. So it’s Rebekah Brooks now, everybody.
I do not want to take sides in the argument whether a woman should adopt her husband’s last name or not. Western society has advanced enough in order to wrest such a decision with the woman. Especially a woman so powerful as the former Ms. Wade. If she decides to change her name still, one should respect it as a personal choice made by a woman who is intelligent enough not to rely on the advice of blockheads like Ms. Hanson. It could be borne out of the love she feels for her husband. To make this sound as if she was forced into making this change, or that the entire feminist movement will now come crashing down because of her decision is grossly misleading, in fact, just gross.
The question could, of course, be turned on its head. Why do men not change their names for love? (Well, they change much more than that, but still…) But no, I do not have an answer. My concern though is that we are trading common sense to make these -isms live.
The election results in Iran were indeed right?
Did you see that many people are calling for fresh elections in Iran? I do not support this. Here’s why.
If this happens, there is one set of people that is going to have unlimited fun. These are the folks everyone hates. You JUST cannot like them. But try as you might, you won’t be able to stop them. They are the most selfish people around. They think it is all about them. They think they are doing the world a favor. In fact, I would call them narcissists. Not egotists, mind you. These people derive vicarious pleasure in hearing everyone talk about them. They must be stopped.
They are… the undecideds.
No, we don’t want them to have all the fun. Join me in denouncing fresh elections in Iran.
“வீரம்னா என்ன தெரியுமா? பயம் இல்லாத மாதிரி நடிக்கிறது தான்.”
With Carlo Ancelotti moving to Chelsea, Kaka to Madrid, Maldini retiring and Pato (and possibly a whole host of others) wanting to move away, and with an old squad that seems older than it really is, AC Milan are verily a football club in crisis.
Have you watched Pasanga? You really must… even if you have watched it already!
Kamal Hassan, speaking at the audio launch of the movie, pointed out that whenever Tamil cinegoers are on the brink of declaring that Tamil movies have isolated themselves from realism, there comes a movie that dispels such doubts. Pasanga is truly one such movie. The movie depicts on screen the Tamil Nadu that we truly love – an ideal, timeless land that teems with life, and the warmth of its characters.
As a friend recently wrote to me:
The movie is very good, of course, with some inescapable cinematic elements thrown in.
I always find a middle India, small town India where there may be a lack of physical infrastructure, but no digital or information divide, thanks to the deep penetration of Sun TVs, Airtels, Hamam soaps, Lion Dates, Gold Winners, Ananda Vikatans, Hero Honda Splendors, Engg Degree Aspirations, availability of private English schools etc.
Tamil cinema has failed to depict this for so long. This director has attempted and succeeded.
For bringing to us an excellent movie filled with beautiful characters, not stylish ones who do supposedly cool things and end up making you look foolish and inadequate, director Pandiraj wins kudos!
My favorite character from the movie is Vaathiyaar Chokkan, the school teacher. Apart from the kids, who are the real heroes, he is the one person whose character has been given a near-complete treatment. He is warm, and possibly as a result of being the most educated person among the lot, intelligent, level-headed and sage. Sample a scene where he makes a mark.
Here is what Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court said in a 2001 lecture: “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”
Depending on where you are on the political spectrum, that is either “racist” or “a poor choice of words”, or somewhere in between.
Let us, for a moment, suppose that Chief Justice Roberts had said this in a lecture: “I would hope that a wise white male with the richness of his experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a Latina woman who hasn’t lived that life.” As you can see, all I have done is to flip the entities being compared.
Depending on where you are on the political spectrum, that is either “blatantly racist” or “obnoxiously male supremacist”, or somewhere in between.
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