Avatar vs Vettaikaran at Chennai BO

Its going to be an exciting weekend at the Chennai box office with James Cameron's Avatar and Vijay's Vettaikaran clashing with each other for box office supremacy. Both are much anticipated, most awaited movies of the year. Both movies have been promoted well.

 

Avatar has been in the making for close to 4 years and is reportedly the world's costliest movie ever. It is releasing in both 3D and 2D versions. It boasts of never-before-seen advancements in 3D and CGI technology. Most importantly, the director of Avatar is James Cameron whose previous works include Aliens, Terminator, Terminator II, True Lies, Abyss and Titanic. The movie has already generated lots of positive buzz around the world. Those who got the see the paid previews are raving about the movie.

Vettaikaran has also been in the making for a while now. Sun Pictures are releasing the movie and they have been hyping it up for the past few weeks. Some people say Vettaikaran is make or break movie for Vijay as his past few movies have not exactly set the cash registers ringing. The storyline of Vettaikaran is unknown as of now. If initial reports are to be believed, Vijay is playing a college student (yet again!). This time around he is a plus two student who fails over and over and finally reaches college. He gets to romance Anushkha and also fights off the baddies in his own style. Vettaikaran songs are already a hit with frequent playtime in FM radio stations. With Vijay's mass appeal and aggressive promotion by Sun pictures, Vettaikaran should bring in the crowds in large numbers.

My gut feel is that both movies will take a bumper opening at the BO. How they fare eventually will depend on the quality of the movie and the word of mouth generated after the initial weekend. Lets see who reigns over the Chennai BO this weekend!

Se7en

Happened to watch Se7en on TV yesterday. A dark, disturbing film, gripping till the last frame.

The movie stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey and is directed by David Fincher. This is the second time I am watching this movie and this time I was able to follow the dialogues better, thanks to the sub titles.

The plot is about 2 detectives, played by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, trying to solve a series of murders that seem to be inspired by the '7 deadly sins'. There have been many movies with similar themes in the past, but what makes this one different is the picturization. The director employs a dark visual tone almost throughout, with frequent visuals of dark alleys, rooms, and constant rain in the night. Music by Howard Shore blends with the visuals very well. There is a lot of strong language throughout along with some gory scenes, so the movie may not be ideal for kids.

Casting is another area in which the movie scores. Brad Pitt, Freeman and Paltrow are very aptly cast. Although Kevin Spacey has very little screen time, his character is well etched and remarkable. Watch out for the climax, its totally unexpected and shocking one. The movie is a must watch, especially if you like the drama/mystery genre.

David Garret 'Smooth Criminal' cover

Was blown away by this amazing performance by David Garret - a cover version of MJs Smooth Criminal.

Before viewing this video, I never thought anyone can play a violin version of this song. This could be one of the best tributes ever!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXkEMwrNjyk

R.I.P Murali

Malayalam actor Murali passed away yesterday. He was 55 years old.

Murali was one of the finest actors to have graced Malayalam cinema in recent years. He started off with theater and small roles in movies, went on to play leading man, and turned to character roles later on. He has performed in a variety of roles in his movie career, except for comic roles. In some of his earlier movies, he played villain or the villian’s side kick. He then moved on to play the friend of the protagonist in movies such as Lal Salaam, Amaram, etc. It was in the early 90s that he got a break as a leading man. I think Aadharam was his first movie as hero.

I still remember watching Aadharam in theaters. He was so good in the movie and the movie was a hit during the early 90s. After Aadharam, for a brief period during the early 90s, Murali was even considered a threat to the Malayalam superstars Mohanlal and Mammooty. He had a couple of memorable years with movies such as Venkalam, Champakulam Thachan, etc. However, he could not sustain the box-office draw for long and subsequently went back to donning character roles.

For me, some of his memorable roles in Malayalam are Aadharam, Lal Salaam, Amaram, Dhanam, etc.

I had a feeling he was kind of dormant for a while in Malayalam for the last few years. Did not hear much of him since 2004. May be its because I’m not following Malayalam cinema as much as I used to do before. And now suddenly I hear Murali is gone. His death is a huge loss for the Malayalam movie industry. This year seems to be really bad one for Kerala stars. Murali is the third talented personality from the Malayalam movie industry to bid adieu in the last few weeks, after Lohitadas and Rajan P. Dev.

The man may be gone, but movie lovers will remember him through the many roles he portrayed on screen. May his soul rest in peace!

The triumph of willpower over adversity

Saw this video and felt truly inspired. This woman may not have arms, but she has what it takes to survive - "willpower"

Amazing Photos of Indian Wildlife

Came across a couple of web sites which deal with Indian wildlife photography.

http://www.thejunglelook.com/
http://kalyanvarma.net/

I was always a fan of breathtaking photographs and was impressed on the first look itself, especially the kalyanverma site. Great set of photos of rare wild animals and birds. Its a pity we can see them only in photos nowadays!

Big Day for Indian Music at World Stage

AR Rahman wins BAFTAS for best music score for the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Zakir Hussain wins Grammy for "Best Contemporary World Music" for his "Global Drum Project" album. Two more Indians were nominated for the Grammys but they didn't win.

Wow! What a day for India & Indian music at the world stage. It seems to be raining music awards these days in the Indian sub-continent. Reminds me of the idiom "When it rains, it pours"!