Tik Tik Tik (1981)

3:30 AM
30 July, 2014

A thriller starring Kamal Hassan, Madhavi, Radha and a third actress. It also has Thengai Srinivasan and V. K. Ramaswamy. Dilip(Kamal) is a photographer to the 3 models. The 3 of them happen to have a capsule with a diamond inside it embedded in their thighs. And the capsules were put in their thighs in a surgery that occured when they were teenagers.. and none of them have any memory of it. :/ Dilip calls himself the brother of one, one is his girlfriend and the other is a prostitute. FML. When Radha and the prostitue are killed, Dilip is framed forcing him hide from the police. The one's who are framing his are whats-his-face (Thyaragarajan) and the hotelier, Oberoi. Oberoi is the funniest and most disgusting character in the movie. There's one scene where he rolls around in his boxers on a bed that's littered with diamonds. Not to mention the "Yamakku sattamum theriyum..." BS. And his annoying glasses. And poor Nisha Noor who has to be his maid and get groped by him. Dubbing for Oberoi also sucked. This was a fucking disappointing movie by Bharathiraja. But the music was good. It was scary and fast paced when it was supposed to be which spruced things up. The story was good enough and the music made things better. Thank you Oberoi for fucking things up. #ForFucksSake.

Now to the good stuff about the movie. Madhavi in blue. 'Nuff said.

Tumhein Dillagi Bhool Jani Pare Gi - Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Flutterby

Source:
http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/butterfly-eyes-genevieve-esson.jpg

Avan Aval Adhu (1980)

Avan Aval Adhu = Concentrated BS. That's 2 hours and 20 minutes of my life I'm never getting back.
Also, Lakshmi and Siva Kumar make shitty decisions when it comes to movies they choose to act in. Unfortunately, it is unwitting people like me who fall prey to those choices. Thanks to you too, Sripriya. FML. :x

Niram Maratha Pookal (1979)

Fancy movie. Pah, what English. Vijayan, the romantic hero. Ugh.

Also,

Source:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTPPwBuQ-XcJvR5qLyGMW5F0XS_wuxjaXoyPWAAaEJ9TWMnJhBsdZzHaRX6FjqAjGi_MmDpXJXIVzYfZTK_VkOg5w8qnkkoHo1ls38S1twKlbr6_0j6dRCg8cbfyFEP_3JIpeCn_sqa8/s1600/Red+Soles.jpg

Funny Picture

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmw6kAp2tO00yXLaeQFB33ntvt7J2xshpKP0ocJhJg6aLa3Tom_s6Q3R95QvI1wjGTzlLo-yn4__NmS2Tm8tXy-dd10lbDfYDSONSClk7XKcg90UamBRikyszb9q-eBPAFKSHiMeb7dL4/s1600/altar+paintings.JPG

Kudumbam Oru Kadambam (1981)

This is one of Visu's best movies. I loved it!!!!!!
There were some hard-hitting dialouges and class-A acting from the actors. This is the sort of movie that is in the range of Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu.

Kudumbam Oru Kadambam = 100/10

It.

Source:
http://smg.photobucket.com/user/theinsanelemur/media/laying.jpg.html

Sudha Raghunathan - Kanda Naal Mudhalai

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-ZfdrpOVnA

Paintings two

Sources:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/59883870019185785/
http://full.creative.touchtalent.com/SIMPLE-MODERN-ART-87406.jpg

Effin' Tan Lines

Who knew the sunlight on this part of the globe is so intense! Thanks for all the crazy tan lines :/
I now have racer-back tan lines on my back. FML. I am also grey now. Who the fuck knew people from that part of the globe in this part of the world tanned this way and turned grey!?!

Oru Kaidhiyin Diary (1985)

Kamal again.

"Vedikapathukittu irunthavanukku vedaantham pesa thaanda theriyum, vethanaiyoda vali theriyathu"
- David (Kamal) in Oru Kaidhiyin Diary.

1. Kamal can speak English with an old British accent. To Kamal - give it a rest.
2. Malaysia Vasudevan is a fucking pervert. Yuck.
3. Jankaraj should come back to act.

Raaja Paarvai (1981)

The movie I watched tonight was the 1981 hit Raaja Paarvai. It's a very good movie 80% of the time. Kamal Hassan is a blind man. He meets Nancy (Madhavi - I love her!) and they fall in love. This is definitely one of Kamal's better movies. Madhavi is awesome. The remaining 20% of the movie that starts with Nancy's marriage being arranged with another guy is when the movie starts to suck. I'll include the way Nancy treats Kamal to the sucky 20%. Nancy's family, esply. her dad does a great job at being the dad, and L.V. Prasad(! This was the first time I heard about him) was very good as Nancy's grandfather. Cheenu played by Y.Gee. Mahendra was a tad annoying. So was Raghu's (Kamal) step-mom. (Wow, this sounds like a total drama huh, stepmom, marriage and whatnot). I wasn't very happy with the way the movie it ended either. :/Raaja Paarvai - 8/10. Even 8.5.

Aziyatha Kolangal (1979)

2:06 AM,
July 13, 2014

I just watched Balu Mahendra's Aziyatha Kolangal.
OMFG. What the hell?!
I can't even bring myself to tell you what the movie is about. It's weird. And cliched.
It's got Kamal Hassan, Pratap Pothan and Shoba(Balu Mahendra's wife)
Kamal has a 7 min role.

Tamil movies need to start giving credit to ALL the actors in a movie, irrespective of the persons role. I'd like to know who the 3 teenaged boys who played Kamal and his friends are.
I'm pretty sure the one who died in the river is the same guy who played Chakky in Chinna Veedu. If he is, he's the guy who directed Unnai Pol Oruvan. Yup. Who the hell are the other 2 kids? :/

Donna Summer - Protection

Night after night
I keep holding on
You say you love me
Then you leave me so lonely

Baby, I don't believe a word
You're sayin'
I think it's all some evil game
You're playin'

Still all day long all I do is think
About ya
You got me believin' that I can't
Live without ya
Well if ya want it, well here is
My confession
Baby, I can't help it, you're my obsession

Protection, that's what I need
I need protection, baby from your love
Protection, that's what I need
I need protection, baby from your love

I wait at home by my telephone
When I call your house, baby
You're not home
Knock on the door and rush
Down the stairs
When I open up, baby you're
Not there

When we're together and ya put
Your arms around me
Your love sweeps away all the
Confusion that surrounds me

You keep my mind
Forever, ever in doubt
You want me believin'
That baby, I can't live without

Protection that's what I need
I need protection, baby from your love
Protection, that's what I need
I need protection, baby from your love

We stand alone, at my window
And stare out, at the shadows
Down below
I feel your fingers on my face
I want to stay, I want to run away

Protection that's what I need
I need protection, baby from your love
Protection, that's what I need
I need protection, baby from your love
Protection, that's what I need
I need protection, baby from your love
Protection, that's what I need
I need protection, baby from your love...

Source:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/donnasummer/protection.html

To the Australian dude - June 1, 2008.

We die to each other daily.
What we know of other people
Is only our memory of the moments
During which we knew them.
And they have changed since then.
To pretend that they and we are the same
Is a useful and convenient social convention
Which must sometimes broken.
We must also remember,
That at every meeting we are meeting a stranger.

-T. S. ELIOT

Avatharam (1995) - Spoiler alert!

So the movie I spend 2 hours watching is Avatharam, starring Nasser, Bala Singh, Revathi, Delhi Ganesh and Vidhya in a smaller role. This is Nasser's directorial debut and Bala Singh's acting debut.

Delhi Ganesh is the head of the village koothu pattarai that employs Bala Singh(Baacha) and Nasser. The womanizing Baacha assaults some of the women in the village and is kicked out of the troupe by Delhi Ganesh.

It's a new day and time to put on the next naadagam. Delhi Ganesh is to go on stage but is found dead by Nasser. Nasser takes his place and the show is a success. But his death has caused unrest. One of the actors in the troupe gets an earful from his wife for counting on acting to earn a living and failing to provide for the family. Resigning to the obvious, he apologises to the troupe and quits. What follows is the resignation of the rest of the members of the troupe for similar reasons. Nasser is now the only one left with faith in the profession. He decides to move to the city to become an actor and asks Ponnamma (Revathi) to come with him. Once in the city, he goes in search of a contact who his friends back home have asked to help Nasser in search of a career in the movies. Lost and out at night, they meet Vidhya who gives them food and shelter for the night. He also runs into Baacha who seems like a changed man. Nasser and Ponnamma leave with Baacha who promises Nasser to introduce him to a movie director. Ponnamma expresses fear and unease at the thought of staying at Baacha's house but Nasser refuses to listen. On the day of the introduction, Baacha drops Nasser off at the shooting spot, comes home, sees Ponnamma having a bath, rapes and kills her. He approaches a friend and police officer to save himself. It's the end of the day and Nasser is home, where he finds Ponnamma, clothes askew and with blood on her legs. Baacha and the SI enter and Nasser is arrested on grounds of rape and murder. Baacha testifies in court of Nassers's supposed womanizing nature. Nasser is sentenced to time in a mental rehab center. Nasser then escapes to Vidhya's house where she calls the police on him. He escapes and goes in search of Baacha. His fellow actors from the troupe are now in the city to help Nasser. They get in touch with Baachi to tell him that Nasser wants to talk to him. Baachi goes to the police with information on where Nasser is hiding - Vandaloor forest. Baacha, Nasser's friends and the police go to the forest and split up in search of him. Nasser meets Baachi and the latter admits to raping and killing Ponnamma. Baacha is then chased through the forest, all the while being teased by fleeting appearances of Nasser's garishly painted face. At one point, Nasser's face is transmogrified into that of a lion's(Narasimha) to hint at the way Baachi was about to be killed. The arrogant Baachi is now scared and prepares to fight Nasser. He takes shelter in a cave of sorts but Nasser catches up with him. In the end, Nasser smiles ever so lightly, after which it fades into sadness as the music of Thendral Vanthu Theendum Bothu plays in the background.

The movie has many chilling scenes like Baacha spying on Ponnamma bathing, Nasser's dream sequence which convinces him to avenge Ponnamma's death and the court ruling that cements Nasser's confinement to a mental health institution. The bizarre Thendral Vanthu Theendum Bothu, by Illayaraja is one of the most beautiful songs of Tamil cinema. As a personal favorite, I recommend watching Rajesh Vaidya's veena version of the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQb_FptYvWw

TVTB in the movie is a sad/sweet song. Surprisingly, Rajesh Vaidya's veena version seemed uplifting and even cheerful at certain instances.

Revathi does a decent job of playing a blind woman. Bala Singh is good as he always is in the role of the villain, something that he proves in numerous roles after Avatharam. Having seen those first, his performance comes as no surprise. He gets everything right, from the sweaty brows to the frizzy hair to the sleepy scratching of his side boob when he's talking to Nasser's friends. Now I'm conflicted because it now seems like it's not all Bala Singh's talent, but his natural looks that help him play such convincing roles. Nasser, sadly, could definitely have done better.

What is commendable are the roles given to actors who usually play funny men in mainstream cinema. I guess when the director isn't making a commercial movie or when the director is this new guy, you can expect interesting stuff.

I am big fan of the proper usage of Tamil in cinema and Baachi's dialogues are certainly interesting. I love hard-hitting dialogues. Considering the snuff that comes out of actors' mouths these days, it really is a splash of refreshingly cool water over your brain when you hear quality(for lack of a better word) Tamil words in dialogues.

Now to the sad bit - I thought 70% of the movie made sense; it was entertaining and it was a whole new concept. I guess it's obvious that Nasser was trying to pay his respects to drama and plays because all the climax scenes had that naatak feel to it, esply. the crescendo during Baacha's chase scenes and the pseudo-surreal transmogrification. But employing these tactics in a movie, in my opinion, didn't work out that well for Nasser. This doesn't mean Avatharam is not worth a watch though.

oooh new feature

Ook. It's a word!

I'm gonna try and write some more.
Ho.

Reminisce and all that good stuff.

Women of the 80's

The fat woman who played that villainous role in Krishnadaasi.

Chandrashekar's wife in SAM.

Kismu's (?) daughter-in-law from Varavu Nallu Uravu.

Sarojini from Samsaram Athu Minsaram.

And who can forget Kuriakose's sister from Aval Sumangalithan (RIP).

Damn, how I could use a cigarette right now.

All of these women happen to have played familial roles at the time. Most of them have pretty much disappeared since. Sad shit.

You know who else I like? Gouthami and Pratap Pothan. Although I realize that writing the two names in the same sentence is an insult to the former. Sorry about that.

You know who I'm not such a big fan of? That sad, victimized daughter-in-law in Penmani Aval Kanmani. Sheesh. :/

You know who else can be hi-larious? S Ve Shekar and Pandiarajan. 

Oooh you know who else is cute? Dilip from Varumayin Niram Sivappu. Oh yeah. He was Sarojini's husband from SAM.

You know what movie isn't that bad, judging by the reputation of the lead actor? Annamalai. 
Also, Kushboo is the bomb!

S'all for now.

To Dingchak - About Visu

As much as I found Dingchak's post about Visu hilarious, I have to say, though the content is amusing and his patriarchal opinions fucking annoying, he had some hard-hitting dialogues and his movies were realistic. Too bad his talent was used to make irritating movies with patriarchal thoughts.

Dingchak, if you're reading this, Samsaram Athu Minsaram is not the worst of the lot. Varavu Nalla Uravu is!! It's a fucking sob fest.

Also, say what you will about Visu, but his brother, Kismu or whatever the hell his name was, wasn't so bad, imo. He could act. He was cool and his views weren't patriarchal. But then again, since the movies he acted in were all directed by his brother, I don't think Kismu's (?) views were expressed.

Also, praise be to Manorama. She. Can. Act. Respect.