K's film hangover of the week

Yet another Iranian film that proves why cinema will always be more heart than science...

Offside, 2006 - by Jafar Panahi.

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I have known him for the last 19 years.

I see him every time he is in town.

I know his entire family by first names.

I remember the exact year his father died.

I know of every major physical ailment he has had in his adult life. The back, the wrist, the tennis elbow and the shoulder.

I have always defended him in arguments with friends, family and enemies.

I love him.

I root for him!

overrated!

Am pretty sure all of us go through that one day in our mid life, when it finally dawns upon you, what an asshole you have been to many people, in your short life....friends, enemies, people who loved you, family and even people who have had absolutely nothing to do with you. Like the time when you gave a big piece of your mind to the call center guy who caught you in the middle of a terrible bad-hair day, or the night when you got unreasonably irate with your girl, for getting overtly emotional about a triviality (to you).

You dont necessarily become a 'better man' at the end of that day. You probably feel bad, repent and all that good stuff....but it doesnt change you much....if anything, you only become a bit more cynical towards life...and may be even come up with a list of the top 5 things that you think are highly overrated in life ;)

(in no particular order)

a. humility
b. loyalty
c. job security
d. god
e. Pamela Anderson

Gaffe Gal!

Just when you were about to hand the crown of the "Empress of Absurdity" to Mamata Bannerjee, Ms. Dixit snatches it away by making the comment of the last two centuries. This is what the Chief Minister of the capital of India has to say about a woman journalist who was shot on her way back from work..."All by herself at 3 am at night in a city where people believe...you know...you should not be so adventurous." God help us all.

Rock Star!

Springsteen, Mercury, Henley, Bono, Bocelli, Sivamani....theres a reason why these guys sound better live than on a CD. They soak in the energy of a live audience and get high on it, which brings out the best in them. Aruna Sairam has got to be right on top of this list. The way she can hypnotise the audience for hours together into a state of trance, is to be lived through to be believed.

It was the 'navarathiri' celebrations of the Mylapore Ramakrishna Home - Dad's Alma Mater and I had been waiting all afternoon for the concert. Lucky to get a seat in the overflowing hall, I was initially disappointed that 'Ghatam Karthik' was not part of the ensemble. But as it turned out, it was just a detail and over the next 2.5 hours, I was served everything I had waited for and then more - a Sahana oozing 'vandhanamu', a soul stirring 'Jaago' and a Bengali number that had half the auditorium swaying. She even did a 'Freddie Mercury', by making the the kids in the front row singalong 'maadu meikkum'.

The woman really is a rock star! Hers is probably the only kacheri, where you wont find 'rasikas' browsing through the 'raaga digest' to figure out what raagam the krithi is in. They are usually busy head banging! Seriously...