Survival of the Fittest

- a curtain raiser to Pudhupettai

Pudhupettai Selvaraghavan's 4th feature film is about "the rites of passage of a don"in the director's words.Those familiar with his style of film making will know that Selva's films showcase a brooding,on your face,realism.I have compiled below some links which attempt to give a balanced perspective about the man who is hailed to be "the poor man's Mani Ratnam" by some and among the best things to have happened to South Indian cinema by others.So here goes -

Birth of a don ,preview of Pudhupettai.

Watch the Pudhupettai trailer here.

The Hindu's review of Kadhal Konden.

Guru Subramanian,blogger on Kadhal Konden .

Why some good films are wrong films! -by Sudhish Kamath,journalist on 7g,Rainbow Colony.

Visit the official website of Pudhupettai.

What can we expect to see in Pudhupettai?I would say an unsullied,birds eye view,of Chennai's underworld,by the man who sees the world in shades of grey.

15, Park Avenue

(above) Konkona Sensharma as the mentally challenged Methi, in a still from the film.

Cast - Shabana Azmi, Waheeda Rehman, Konkona Sensharma, Rahul Bose Genre –Drama Directed by – Aparna Sen Story in brief – A tale of two sisters – Anu (Shabana Azmi) and Methi (Konkona Sensharma). Anu is a divorced Physics professor living with her mother and schizophrenic younger sister. Methi had led a comparatively normal life (albeit with traces of abnormality) until she went on a reporting assignment in Bihar where an incident changes her life forever.

Performances – Konkona Sensharma as Methi comes up with a performance that at once touches you and disturbs you at the same time. Her struggle to separate the delusional from the real is very, very, realistically portrayed. While all the other actors give good performances artistically there is very little for them to explore or portray. Needless to say ,both Rahul Bose as the guilty ex-fiancé, and Shabana Azmi as Methi’s sister who places her life on hold, stand out. The Ending – Will leave you totally stumped. Literally an ‘open’ ending! I quite liked it though. As most of the characters lead incomplete lives the inconclusive end is apt. My Verdict – I really loved the film. Though for the record I must state not in the same league as Mr and Mrs Iyer I was deeply moved by Methi’s struggle to find the elusive joy in her life.15, Park Avenue - a place that does not exist - becomes a metaphor for Methi's search for stability and permanent joy in her life. My Rating - * * * * out of * * * * *

100 Writeups

Rang De Basanti

Cast – Aamir Khan, Om Puri, Atul Kulkarni, Siddharth Music – A.R.Rehman Directed By - Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra Imagine two parallel stories from different ages running side by side and merging into one universal theme – revolution. The sheer audacity to compare a bunch of yuppie rebels without a cause with extremist freedom fighters and yet managing not to make this seem blasphemous! Rang De Basanti keeps you interested through the entire runtime of 157 minutes. But what could have been a great film ends up as a great idea. Sue an English filmmaker wants to make a docu-drama about a group of Indian freedom fighters. Her auditions to find the right cast miserably flop. As she befriends a circle of mostly college boys she realizes in flashes that this group could be her cast. While all seems pleasant on the outside most of the gang have different insecurities. Karan (Siddharth) for instance does not see eye to eye with his super rich father. DJ (Aamir Khan) conveys in an emotional outburst why he still hangs out with college guys. An unexpected event in the second half turns the lives of the primary characters topsy-turvy. This incident acts as a catalyst for them to take on the corrupt system .The movie starts slipping this point onwards and sort of becomes like a Shankar film (Indian, for instance). As Karan announces over the radio why the group decided to assassinate a senior politician, and urban youngsters react in national T.V. in favour of their action, one gets that sense of dejavu. While most characters are well etched out, the ones which I could relate to most were those of Siddharth and Atul Kulkarni.The screenplay is fabulous though at times the comparison of these rebels to our freedom fighters seem absurd. The music by our very own Rehman perfectly blends into the story and background. The whistle as his name flashes in the title credits is more than what even Aamir Khan gets!We are proud of you man!The promo of Rang De… reads 'a generation awakens'. They may have might as well made it ' a generation awakens to anarchy' - as that’s how the film comes across in the tragic finale at the All India Radio. - - - - - This is the 100 th writeup in my site.I would like to thank my family,friends and everyone else who has been reading what I write and encouraging me.

Humour / Waiting for Bayam

or the short film that does not exist ?!? Last summer Sridhar (he of Rebel in a Teacup fame) declared that he was shooting his 1st film along with his pal Dinesh.He was very excited about it and the to be short film was titled Bayam (Fear). He also proudly announced to me after our journalism class that they would be sending the film for short film festivals across the world. Me wannabe a filmmaker one day (if you didn’t know that already!!!) and went on a PR campaign promoting this entity. Virtually all my friends came to know about the now absconding magnum opus as I went gaga saying we must promote independent cinema in our midst. A few months passed and the director duo (ala Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) proudly announced the completion of their movie in Sridhar’s blog. Just when I was prepared to catch a pre editing screening of the film it went into a prolonged surgery on the editing table. It was stuck in cold storage for so long that I started getting my first doubts about whether there was any footage to edit in the first place (basically I started wondering if Bayam is the yeti of world cinema!). After I started pulling Sridhar’s leg about this, the master copy became just out of reach. It was rumored (by the co-director himself) to always be in his bag whenever we met, but only after we met! That is to say Sridhar would innocently say something like,'' Even today it was in my bag''. Now Dinesh and he have apparently screened it to a bunch of his friends.I am next in the hit list of prospective viewers. Sridhar has a last chance to prove that Bayam is not a myth he conjured to impress his fiancée! Amen.

Neofeminism

I don’t like gender-based bifurcation of issues. Inequality, discrinmination, abuse or any other problem needs to looked at as human maladies which need to be addressed and not divided into men’s and women’s issues. Unfortunately neofeminism ends up being no different from what it supposedly condemns – a male dominated society where women are constantly stifled. It ends up becoming just as immature and byzantine as chauvinism and neofeminists are more than glad to indulge in silly debates and conversations , which are in no way constructive. What exactly do I mean by neofeminism? I will try and define it in the context of our milieu. It is the narrow, convenient, misinterpretation of feminism, by a small section of urban Indians. It is exclusive of a large cross-section of Indian women who are in real need of empowerment. These jokers think that raising your voice against Salaman Khan beating up plastic Aishwarya Rai is being liberal and forward thinking! Wonder how many of these jerks even heard of the Imrana case. True feminism as I see it looks at empowerment of women as a whole rather than spin up pulp sentiments of the educated elite. It is an inclusive philosophy open to debate from men and women from all walks of life who are reasonable. Feminism and its ugly sister, i.e, neofeminism are as poles apart as Medha Pathkar and Shoba De.The philosophy of neo feminism is the philosophy of ‘cool’. It is a hopeless wannabe, which is more interested in wearing an attitude (remember the Weekender adds?) than highlighting any real issues. It is an insult to anyone with a genuine concern for women’s rights and human problems as a whole.