An actor called Vijay

Second only to Rajnikanth….one can never find such a following for an actor in the whole of India.

Let’s compare him to other contemporary heroes...Vikram, Surya, Ajith, Maddy…

Vikram is not very young, but has his head firmly on his shoulders…likewise Surya, because his father is his influence.
Ajith can be appreciated because he made his entry into the cine-field all by himself, but he has a very big mouth that speaks more than what he does!! Maddy is still the handsome guy who came in Sea-Hawks, a Doordarshan serial.

Vijay, Vijay....

Son of a director….God to Tamil youth…what has he achieved better than Rajnikanth to deserve something so special??
In the initial phase of his career, Vijay acted in good movies like Kaathalukku Mariyaadhai, Poove Unakkaaga.

Nowadays, his movies only seem to increase consumption of headache tablets. When any of his movies are getting released, one can find the whole theatre covered with posters and a big queue of fans right from school kids to middle-aged men...all lined-up to see a maniac dance for half an hour in some foreign country and smash up the bad guys the rest of the time...

When did this trend start? Right from a movie called Thirupachi….followed by Udaya, Sachein, Sivakasi, Aadhi…

A string of pure nonsense movies….but all these movies run to packed houses in all theatres over Chennai.
He doesn’t stop with this, shouting punch dialogues at the flick of the eye…

He certainly gives T. Rajender and Gabtun a run for their money!!!

Anti-Vijay fans have now created an SMS template….and send it to people after the release of a new movie.

Saridon, Aspirin, Paracetamol consumption have increased after the release of
Then, there is a message that lists the various ways to commit suicide….
One of them is to watch a new Vijay movie…

Good God, what has happened to Tamil cinema??

The Blunder Years

Johnny Bravo....you must be knowing this guy if you have watched Cartoon Network...

Let me narrate a series of funny, but unfortunate events that happened to me and my brother..

Period: mid - 1990's...er...can't recall the time

Scene: I was around 7 years at that time...and my brother was 12 years. We had a BSA SLR cycle and my brother loved going on rounds. But we had been advised not to venture into the main roads...because our parents had told that only big vehicles run there....and if our cycle got caught, we would come out as pure juice!!!!

True to their word, my brother had never ventured into the main road....but then, i was sitting on the saddle and we were doing rounds on the cycle. A sudden change of plans....my brother suddenly decided that we venture out into the main road.

And we were there...on the main road. I held on tight to my brother. He pedalled on and we reached All India Radio, a good half a km away from home.

And then, we decided to turn. Just as we crossed the road, something hit the cycle with a thud...i remember flying in the air and falling around 10 feet away from the cycle. My brother was crying and so was I...and I was searching for the cycle. It was flung to a corner of the road with the wheel rim bent like a 'U'.
All the slum people then picked us up and brought us home. I had a deep gash on my leg, but decided not to tell anyone at home, not even my brother, and escaped that evening because I was wearing a full-pant. My brother escaped with some bruises on his hands.

The rule was broken and mother shouted at us for quite some time. The next morning, however, mother found out about my gash and we rushed to the doctor....luckily, i didn't need stitches since it had been 24 hours from the accident.

Blunder Years it was !!!

Bye
SS ShilpaKumar

Movie Review - 12 Angry Men

If ever there was one movie which I watched without moving away from my seat....this is the one. You 've just got to watch this.

12 Angry Men

Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb star among others in this masterpiece directed by Sidney Lumet. The movie is in black and white, but has the same effect as watching a Godfather.

The movie starts off in a courtroom on a hot and sultry day. A 12 man jury is given the task of deliberating the verdict.

The Crime An 18 year old Latino youth is accused for murdering his father. Though all the evidences point to him, not all of them are very convincing.
The jury is like the UN Security Council. Even if one member disagrees that the person is found not guilty, deliberations must restart again. if all 12 jurors vote guilty, the boy would be given a death sentence.

Henry Fonda as Mr. Davis finds something interesting in the boy's sober character. Lee J. Cobb finds nothing interesting in this case, and wants it closed as soon as possible.
And as the first round of voting begins, everyone except Mr. Davis votes guilty. And then as the results are announced, tempers flare, personalities clash and there is utter commotion. Mr. Davis cannot convince the jurors the reason for voting not guilty. But he persists with his explanation. As the story moves along, the jurors, who initially thought that case should be awarded an outright death penalty, actually start thinking logically. The jurors range from wise to idiots, racist to prejudiced. A verdict must finally be arrived at....The jury can take their time, but must decide on a verdict....will they deliver??

Watch the movie to find out....

I give this movie the maximum ratings on any scale. I hope you found this review useful...do post your comments.

Bye
SS ShilpaKumar

In the Spotlight

Just two days before the second test match, Sourav, Rahul and Greg are having a heated discussion. The cameraman who caught them in an animated discussion before the first test match @ Lahore follows them wherever they go.


Saurav: I will go in first this time.
Rahul: I will go in this time.
Saurav:
Rahul, you went in first last time.
Rahul:
Doesn't matter....I am the captain and I get to decide.
Greg:
I have tremendous respect for both of you. Now stop fighting like kids over here. I wish to continue with the policy of experimentation.
Rahul: Greg, I agree with you on that.
Saurav starts showing some gestures with his hand...

The cameraman is relishing this footage and is all ears over this conversation.

Saurav: Once I go in there, I may be a slow starter. But I make fast progress!!
Rahul: Saurav, I know you more than what Greg knows about you. People in India have been making fun of how soon you come back to the dressing room.
Greg: All right guys, enough of this conversation. As long as the processes are there, the rest will fall into place automatically.

After saying this, they all leave the place.

That evening at the press conference, the journalist who has the footage asks some questions.
Journalist: Why were you having such a heated discussion?
Greg: How do you know that we were having a heated discussion?
Journalist: I have proof that you were in a heated discussion....now please tell us....
Weren't you asking Sourav to open the innings in Faisalabad?
Greg shows the middle finger to the media persons
Greg: I really mean it this time!!!
See, no injuries on the finger!!!
Greg: I don't really understand what your business really is in the team's bathroom!!

Greg:
We were talking about who should go inside the bathroom next, you morons....not about who is going to open the innings at Faisalabad.

Numero Uno and Deux

As I had promised earlier....here are my top 2 funny moments in Tamil cinema

2. How can i miss out on a K. Balachander movie?
with Kamal playing the lead role...or rather roles..
Yup...you guessed it right...Michael Madana Kamarajan.

Right from the start to the end, the movie has a good dose of enjoyable comedy. Be it the businessman's assistant Bheem Boy trying to stop a speeding car using his shoes or the mental father who hits himself!!
Kamal just excels in this movie.
My funny moment is when cook Kamal is talking with Oorvasi...the mallu accent just flows there...
Both of them get introduced this way
Kamal: Gnaan, kamarajan aakum...
Oorvasi: kameswari..
kamal: illa, kameshwaran...
Oorvasi: Kameshwari...ennoda paeyuru...
Kamal: OooooH....
Then oorvasi's paati lifts the 'Paaku' potti.
And the scene where a fish actually falls into a sambar container and the people relishing the food is too good!!

Numero Uno....
1.
Number 1 definitely must be the Superstar, isn't it??
But nah...Pandiarajan and S.Ve.Shekar are here with 'Kathanayagan'
I can reproduce the dialogues of this movie by heart...
the movie starts off with two guys Mani and Ramani, one a B.Com first class holder and the other an SSLC.
The scene where they buy a cow and bring it home is absolutely rib-tickling...
and while they are sleeping, someone is silently milking the cow...and it makes some noises...

Mani: Delhi pasu oda koral evvalo inimaye irukku illa...
Ramani: P.U. Chinnappa ve padara mathiri irukke
Mani: Mundam...enda chinna level la sollara...P.U. Periappa ve padara mathiri irukku!!!
Ramani: 2 delhi pasu vaanganum, 4 bombay pasu vaanganum
Mani: Mothama oru desiya paal pannaiye arambikkanum..
Ramani: Oru sondha veedu kattanum..
Mani: Adhukku evvalu vadagai irundhalum parava illa..
Ramani: Mundam, sondha veetukku edhukku da vadagai..

I recommend watching this movie any time of the day, any day of the year...

So, until my next post...

SS ShilpaKumar

July 1999 - I flunked in Math!!

I cannot ever forget this experience. I was in the twelfth standard and was quite serious about studies and attending tuition classes all around. The Mid-term exams had just got over at school and the teachers had started distributing the answersheets.

And for the first-time ever in my schooling history, i had flunked. And rubbing salt to my wounds was the fact that the headmaster had asked our parents to come and meet him.
That was the worst day of my life. I didnt speak with my close friends for a day and didnt tell my parents either. Then, the next day, one of my classmates, Andrew, came by car and guess what, his driver spoke good english.

Then an idea struck me....

When the driver came to pick up Andrew in the evening, I explained the situation to him clearly. He accepted and off we went to the Headmaster's room. And the driver took over from there.

He said "Headmaster, I am chandru's brother..Our parents have gone out of station. So i have come here on their behalf...Chandru is a really good student and will do well in the next exam".

I was stunned....this guy spoke more than what i had on my mind. Then the headmaster marked something on his records and said..."You may leave now...."

Yippee...problem solved...

Then, one of my friends, David Jayan arrived....He was surrounded by a gang and was in an animated conversation. I heard him saying "Andrew's driver speaks good english da...I will take him along with me to see the Headmaster".

LMFAO........I went straight to him and said "I've already done that!!!!!"

10 funny moments in Tamil cinema (contd...)

Yesterday, you would have seen the bottom 4, now, we shall see the next 4.

At number
6. Kamal Hassan, Yuhi Sethu in Panchathanthiram. The jokes in this movie are pretty vulgar. But the scene i am referring to is when the whole gang goes to Bangalore by van and they are stopped midway by the police.
Yuhi Sethu excels as the innocent Iyer guy...what follows is a series of rib-tickling conversations...

"Munnadi.... pinnadi enna irundhudu??"
Kamal, sitting backwards, says, "Pinnadi engine...munnadi onnum illa"...then the policeman asks the guy in the front seat..."pinnadi munnadi enna irundhudu?"
"sir, munnadi engine...pinnadi onnum illa..."

Kamal absolutely revels with Slapstick

5. At number 5, Cabtun is back...This time...its a serious joke.
The movie is Ramana. Cabtun is seeing seriously typing something on the computer....and the camera slowly swivels from the back towards the front. Cabtun is still typing, one can see photographs changing on the screen. But wait...haven't I seen that application somewhere...Cabtun is still typing, but i can't control my laughter anymore....the application is Windows Media Player!!!

4. It has to be Vivek in Minnale at number 4. Maddy, Vivek and Co. storm their way into the villain's residence. Vivek starts shouting as soon as he enters the house...the villain finally comes out. Maddy has a tiff with the villain and during all this commotion, the villain's parents come out....then Vivek shouts
"Dhoda...Horlicks uncle um Soap aunty yum varannage paaru da..." (Look guys, Horlicks uncle and soap aunty have come here).

3. How can one ever forget Vadivelu and his bag of tricks in 'Winner'. The film's strong point was Vadivelu's comedy, with the loose points being Kiran's dress :D.

Starting from "Ungala ellam paatha enakku paavama irukku..." (I feel sorry for you guys) to the end of the movie, one just cannot stop laughing.

In one scene, he rests on the floor and places his legs right on top of the door, but doesnt lock them....One of the kids rides a cycle, crashes through the door...and drives straight to Vadivelu's Box-Office!!!!


Shall post the top two tomorrow....
Until then...

SS ShilpaKumar

10 funny moments of Tamil Cinema

10 funny moments of Tamil Cinema

Who are the best comedians in Tamil Cinema? This list includes all frontline comedians and frontline heroes too...

well, lets start from number 10

10. This is from a very old movie, by the name 'Sabapathy'. Sabapathy happens to be the servant of a rich house. He does what is said, literally!!
This may not sound funny....but you have to look at the movie to actually enjoy it...
The owner asked for "Odachcha Soda"...which means Soda with the seal opened (literall means broken soda), but this guy breaks up the bottle into pieces and brings the soda.
We can call him an ancient version of Suppandi


9. Vijay and Vivek in Priyamanavale...

Scene: Vijay is bowling at an alley and all figures seem to like him....Vivek is heartbroken on seeing this....and vents out his feelings to Vijay.
Just then a foreigner likes Vivek and explains something to Vijay. A series of comic dialogues follow...and the cigarette from Vivek's mouth falls down....
The expression on Vivek's face...Priceless..

8. Cabtun and Isha Koppikar (did i get the surname right?) in Narasimha

Isha decides to have some fun by jumping from the top of a building. What are her dimensions? 36-48-36. The building is not even the height of LIC...but she is falling down for the next 5 minutes...Cabtun sees her from a distance and runs up the stairs...Asafa Powell has just fainted on hearing this news.
Cabtun jumps off the top floor...Isha is still at the 5th floor, her weight having caused some friction with air, thereby rising up and then losing some weight before falling down...
Cabtun then catches Isha near her belly and then....well, you guessed it right..a romantic song...
Cabtun and Isha then land on a lorry filled with roses...only later does the director tell them that it was an Onyx 'kuppa' lorry.

7. The all time super-hit movie in Tamil cinema - Karagaattakaaran

The Senthil - Goundamani duo were at their peak in this movie. There were too many comedy scenes in this movie. The outstanding one was the 'Vazhapazham' joke. And then in one scene, Kovai Sarala shows off her popularity. Then Goundamani says "enna di...Japan la Jackie Chan koppitaanga...America la Michael Jackson koppitaanga...enna di color colora reelu suththura?"

The next 4 will be on my next blog....
Until then....

SS ShipaKumar

Movie Review - The Shawshank Redemption

This movie had great ratings everywhere, imdb.com, Yahoo movies. I'm not talking about The Godfather. Another movie called 'The Shawshank Redemption'.

People had written rave reviews about this movie, but i found it to be a slow-moving but interesting movie. In the lead are Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins.

Tim stars as Andy, an investment banker sent to jail for the brutal murder of his wife. He is given a life sentence and is sent to Shawshank prison.
For the first few months, he faces several circumstances where the jail inmates beat him up just because they dont like him. Over time, he starts fighting back. He now makes a new friend in Morgan Freeman(Red). Morgan is famous for getting things that the inmates need.

One fine day, a jailor is narrating to his colleagues about a lump sum of money and his worry over how to invest the amount. Andy overhears this conversation and advises the jailor on how to invest the amount in return for some bottles of beer.
'Red' has been in prison for a good 35 years, and every time he appears before the committee which grants pardon, he is asked to continue with his term.

Andy comes up with new initiatives at Shawshank to start a new library. He keeps on writing to various organizations to donate money to build a library. One day, Andy is pleased to know that funds have been sent to buid the library.

Now, a new batch of inmates arrive at Shawshank and one of them says something shocking. Also, Andy is not please with the events going on around Shawshank, especially with the Jailor and his mates. It is then that Andy spreads the power of 'Hope'.

After a series of unbelievable incidents, Andy escapes from Shawshank....the first person ever to do so. And after escaping from prison, reveals the unspoken truth.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nice movie to watch, but it was pretty slow. And by the way, my movie collection has grown to 161!!

My next movie review will be 12 Angry Men.

My first and last crush!!

Are my posts getting too predictable?? well, here's something interesting.

Well...
Here I go again...I was reading an article one of my pals had sent about 'crushes' in a software engineer's life...

Then i thought why not share my only crush with you all..

I was in my seventh standard and we had a new French teacher and her name was Anitha. Guess what, she took science too. During the first few days of class she used to ask who is among the highest scorers, I was a low-profile guy then.

Well, then came the Quarterly and Half Yearly exams and I wanted to impress her and that I did.I scored the highest marks on both occasions and i really became her "pet" in class. Most of the times, I used to get "special attention"...my assignments would then be the benchmark for everyone.....those were the days!!!

She really was beautiful alas, but she was already married....Hmmph....
Well, i havent seen her in 5 years...friends told me that she had gone to australia...and came back recently....yippy...
Now i am in office...thinking abt those "Wonder Years"....nothing can absolutely beat school life and college life...no Deadlines, no coding...that was life...

Well, was it worth mentioning as a crush??
Plz do post ur comments...

Bye for today,
SS ShilpaKumar

Excitement in the air

I just cant stop thinking about the cricket match. Will Irfan and Agarkar bowl their hearts out? Will Sachin, Saurav and Rahul play well? These are some of the questions not only on my mind but on a billion others as well...

I have 4 browser windows open....er, just to see the score..
Well, don't glare at me...most cognoscenti will be doing just that, trust me!!

Shall post my movie review by evening...
I will be choosing from Vertigo, The Shawshank Redemption, The Exorcist

Until then,
Goodbye

SS ShilpaKumar

Movie review - Groundhog day

I had promised i would provide a movie review whenever i found time. I now provide a review of the last movie I saw at home "Groundhog Day".

The movie isn't all about comedy/ humor. Bu the the series of events that unfold are really funny. I really enjoyed watching it...

Phil (Bill Murray) is a weatherman with a news channel. He is a cynic and has a very low regard for others opinion. Rita (Andie Macdowell) is his boss. Every year they have to go to Punxsutawnhey to cover 'Groundhog Day'. They reach Punxsutawnhey and cover the event. Phil happens to meet one of his long lost classmates, Ned Ryerson, who happens to be an insurance agent. Phil feels like leaving the place once they've covered the event, but Punxsutawhney the beaver had earlier predicted that spring would be delayed by two weeks and that a blizzard was on its way.

Phil heeds all the warnings and decides to leave the town immediately....but on the highway he can find a chain of cars all halted because of the blizzard.

The next day, Phil wakes up to find something strange. The clock shows the same date and the radio announces that it is Groundhog day today. The same chain of events happen to Phil....he meets his insurance agent friend, fails to give alms to a beggar freezing in the cold, covers the GroundHog day event once again and does whatever he had missed out the previous day. He even tells Rita that something strange is going on in his life. But even the psychiatrist does not have a solid reason.

Phil now wakes up everyday to "Groundhog day". He steals money from the bank, gets caught by the police and even predicts the series of events at a restaurant. But still gets back to bed every morning for Groundhog day. He decides to shed his cynicisms and starts moving with people and respecting their opinion. He learns to play the piano in a day's time and helps people around him. He then meets the beggar who has been asking him for alms everyday. He takes him to a good restaurant and buys him whatever he needs, but on the way, the old man dies. The next day, Phil meets the old man again and spends some nice time with him, but still the man dies.

Phil then realises how he has been all his life and decides to turn over a new leaf. Once he did that, he woke up the very next day to bright sunshine and a brand new day!!!

Football

The excitement is in the air, but Websense has cut any possibilities of viewing the score @ work. Well, cricket enthusiasts will find some loophole or another proxy to view the score....

Had an eventful start to the day. One of the bus tyres got punctured on OMR. The driver said "Dont worry...only one side of the tyre is puctured...we have one more wheel, please get it". I was reminded of a scene in the movie "Karagatta Kaaran" where the car's tyre would go running on one side of the road.

Was listening to Radio Mirchi on the way. Some people @ Vysarpadi in the sub-urbs of Chennai were coaching slum children to play football. The football coach had a reason. The anti-social elements present in the area had hired well-built boys to work for them. The coach hired well built-boys as well, but made sure that their energy was being utilized positively.

And the results, one of their students, Augustine, is currently in Portugal playing a Football tournament. They have some more names coming up on the state level as well. Financial constraint was one of the hiccups that hindered the coaching...they had to use footballs that were stitched. And inspite of several hurdles in their way, they have managed to come out on top. If only someone could help them in buying footballs or aising them financially, i believe they definitely have the potential to take Indian Football to some heights.

I'm on Blogger now

Man....it takes months and years to get a valid user name for signing up with blogspot...
Anyway, Silver Spoon Shilpakumar is officially underway.



Cheers,
Chandru

er..My second post

Getting a URL for the blog @ BlogSpot is as difficult as asking Sidhu to stop talking!!
Well, how about these for BlogSpot addresses??

monstersinc.blogspot.com
harypotter.blogspot.com
milkyway.blogspot.com

how do i know these addresses? I was so desperate to get a URL that i tried all the possibilities that came to my mind.

Now, why did i choose rapidex.blogspot.com?
I was thinking about the movie 'Minnale' where Vivek would be teasing one of his friends for talking in English.

Why 'Silver Spoon ShilpaKumar' for a title? Never did a nick sound so crazy to me....
earlier on i was posting my blog at http://360.yahoo.com/coolguy12234

I now solemnly take an oath to update my blog almost everyday!!!!

Cheers
SS ShilpaKumar