Conferences, weddings, Mani Ratnam and more
It’s been sometime since the great grandfather of all conferences got over; despite the lofty ideals it was simply a show of power by the ruling family who seem to run the state like the royals of old. It is sad that the fortunes of the future are in the hands of the ancient.
The great grandfather conference reminded me of the mother of all weddings when a one time foster son was married off in an extravagant show of wealth and power and crass misuse of public machinery. You can draw as many parallels as you may choose to but the net result is interesting, the raison d’être of the event the foster son is out of public domain and I hope that this conference does not kill what it celebrated.
The bandh gave an extra holiday to those mad regions run by madder men who fail to understand that fuel is paying so many other bills and if they will agree to a termination of the government’s largesse under the name subsidy then fuel pricing can be reduced. And for all those brilliant men who said that this will hit the common man, let me tell them where it hits me another common man:
- when the government senselessly gives away free TVs to people who end up selling it to others for a quick buck
- when the government gives food at 2 rupees or so and most of it is sold in the black
- when the government builds free housing to many who let it out and still live in shanties
wake up people the list goes on, I pay for all the stupid decisions the government makes and I for one would like cheaper petrol but which politician today has the guts to cut these?
Raavanan is a hit, Raavan is a flop and I have no clue on the status of Villain. This just goes to show that Mani Ratnam cannot have a one size please all, remember Guru? Come on Mani please resume making movies for your core audience, us Tamizh Makkal who still believe that Godfather pales to Nayagan. We have grown with you and have enjoyed the monosyllabic dialogues in the darkest of locales because some where you spoke to us. Why did you stop? And I wonder if I missed your wife’s review of the movie on her TV show.
Finally AR Rahman has made Semmoli the caller tune of choice for many. The song grew on me slowly as many other ARR numbers and now I can’t stop humming it at least the chorus part. I love that part where that folk singer (do not know her name) sings with a small jig and absolutely dislike Shruthi Hassan’s bit, Blaaze is the surprise part along with that singer (looks like Neha Bhasin). But it makes me wonder why we need so many non Tamizh singers to sing this or is it simple a sign of our inclusiveness?
The great grandfather conference reminded me of the mother of all weddings when a one time foster son was married off in an extravagant show of wealth and power and crass misuse of public machinery. You can draw as many parallels as you may choose to but the net result is interesting, the raison d’être of the event the foster son is out of public domain and I hope that this conference does not kill what it celebrated.
The bandh gave an extra holiday to those mad regions run by madder men who fail to understand that fuel is paying so many other bills and if they will agree to a termination of the government’s largesse under the name subsidy then fuel pricing can be reduced. And for all those brilliant men who said that this will hit the common man, let me tell them where it hits me another common man:
- when the government senselessly gives away free TVs to people who end up selling it to others for a quick buck
- when the government gives food at 2 rupees or so and most of it is sold in the black
- when the government builds free housing to many who let it out and still live in shanties
wake up people the list goes on, I pay for all the stupid decisions the government makes and I for one would like cheaper petrol but which politician today has the guts to cut these?
Raavanan is a hit, Raavan is a flop and I have no clue on the status of Villain. This just goes to show that Mani Ratnam cannot have a one size please all, remember Guru? Come on Mani please resume making movies for your core audience, us Tamizh Makkal who still believe that Godfather pales to Nayagan. We have grown with you and have enjoyed the monosyllabic dialogues in the darkest of locales because some where you spoke to us. Why did you stop? And I wonder if I missed your wife’s review of the movie on her TV show.
Finally AR Rahman has made Semmoli the caller tune of choice for many. The song grew on me slowly as many other ARR numbers and now I can’t stop humming it at least the chorus part. I love that part where that folk singer (do not know her name) sings with a small jig and absolutely dislike Shruthi Hassan’s bit, Blaaze is the surprise part along with that singer (looks like Neha Bhasin). But it makes me wonder why we need so many non Tamizh singers to sing this or is it simple a sign of our inclusiveness?
Very well written (as usual). Thoroughly enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeleteCompletely in agreement on your views on ManiRatnam. I keep asking - Is 'THE MANI RATNAM' we grew up admiring, slowly fading away? I think Alapayuthe was the last movie that screamed 'Mani sir' in every frame. Ohh...and I haven't watched Raavan(an) yet so I wouldn't use it here but see, the point that I haven't rushed to the cinema for a first-day show of a Mani Ratnam film itself is a discouraging sign. This is not how I used to be. What's wrong ??
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