Endhiran/Robot... Mindblowing Experience

Alright, I am back after 6 months.. Had a few things on my mind to blog but didn't quiet have the motivation to write. Endhiran/Robot's experience was exciting enough to write about.

I was eagerly waiting for this movie. Shankar, Superstar Rajni and Rahman together, the combination can never fail.

I saw the movie thrice.

• Friday 9.30 am Bollywood kharadi in Tamil
• Saturday Adlabs in Tamil with Subtitiles
• Sunday 3.00 pm Mangala with friends in Hindi

Saw the First Day First Show because I couldn't wait until Saturday for the show I had planned to see with Mom and Dad. And I wasn't surprised to see people like me skipping work for Superstar's Mega movie. There were quite a few families, and to come to a theater at 9.30 am, I wonder how early they would have started. The audience (very few though) burst out on the SUPERSTAR RAJNI graphics came on the screen. 3 hrs of non-stop entertainment. Though this first time I felt the movie dragged a bit. As I came out of the theater the broad day light blinded me for a moment. I don't remember when I had been to a morning show before.

Second show... this was the best experience. The theater was full of Rajni fans (Tamil Audience). We reached just in time to see the beginning SUPERSTAR RAJNI graphics. WOW you should have been there to see the audience GO on seeing the SUPERSTAR's name.. the paisa was already vasool. I also screamed SUPERSTAR on top of my voice :)
This time I enjoyed the whole movie, the second part which I felt dragged when I saw first was actually the most interesting part. As I knew what was coming I was looking at the details.

What I liked about the movie. Tried to maintain the chronological order -

1. The opening song... Superb.. it plays when the RObot shows its skills... helps people...


2. Hello World! I am Chitti the ROBOT.. Speed I terrahertz memory I Zettabytes


3. Rajni Sir has played the part of Chitti V.1.0 superbly.. An innocent Robot who just does what he is asked. But has the power of a 100 men.


4. The scene where Chitti says Dr. Vaseegaran is God for him. Very touching scene..


5. "90 DB way too much.. who is this Chelaatha" starts the BEST SCENE of the film.. You should watch it man...


6. Chitti helps Sana in Exams... cool


7. The local train action sequence. Awesome... You really start worrying when he runs out of battery... If you notice.. the Robot first tries to acquire where the purse is.. only after finding where it is it jumps out of local.. I liked that


8. The fire scene.. the animation of Robot swinging around on the building..


9. The scenes where Dr. V is angry with chitti for not doing as told. Especially the scene after Chitti is struc by a lightning and is revived and ased if he is feeling differently. Dr. V says he hasnt slept for days, didnt meet sana, but was working on Chitti. And it has all been a waste of effort.


10. The delivery scene.. It is superb... loved it. When Chitti tells the mother to stop screaming as it is frightening the kid...


11. The competition between Dr.V and Chitti V1.0 at Sana's birthday and when they are getting ready for the party


12. Chitti walks back dejected when Sana says she loves Dr V


13. Dr. V hits Chitti breaks his arms and legs. Chitti's head rolls and says "I love sana" before dying


14. Kilimanjaro song.. Aish looks smashing


15. Chitti V2.0's entry... the evil laugh.. superb


16. Chitti 2.0 action scene.... when he abducts Sana... it was mindblowing... TWO POINT OHH background sound....


17. Black Sheep scene... superb... SuperStar at his best


18. The CLIMAX is AWESOME.... if you see the screens where Dr. V is trying to insert a worm into the Robot Army, you'll see that the Robots were being commanded to acquire the different patterns. Complete with which RObo fits where.. the Nodes. CR1.. CR2.. and so on. The sound of the giant sphere of Robot's revolving... that is Resul Pookutty's work I suppose. The wall, cylinder, poll formations..to duck the missiles..cool And the best scene of the giant Robo appearing from underground and posing leaning on building... as if saying is that All you GOT? THAT WAS SUPER SCENE.. the crowd appreciated it.


19. The future forward to 2030 when Chitti is displayed in a museum and small girl watches him as her group leaves and Puthiya manidha (endhiraan.. endhiraan) song playing in background.. perfect finish indicating a SEQUEL in offing

I read a blogger say he liked the movie more when he watched it the second time. I totally back this. It happened to me.

The THIRD time I saw it with friends in Hindi. I was expecting a poor dubbing but was in for a pleasant surprise. The dubbing is superb. Rajni voice is done by a lecturer called Vyas.. and let me tell you he has done a fantastic job... If the movie is running to packed houses in Hindi.. the credit (well most of it) goes to him. Danny has lent his own voice to Dr. Bohra's character.. I noticed that the crowd reacted to the comedy/emotional scenes same way as the Tamil audience did.. which means a Movie has no language barrier..

I'll probably watch it the 4th time.. for the Background music. ARR is not called Mozart of Madras for nothing.. the scenes are great because of the background music...
I noticed the scenes where Robot shows his skills, strength also when he is helping people the Puthiya Manidha song score runs in background...
The scenes where Chitti is falling in love have Naina miley in background..
Chitti 2.0 has Arima Arima in background..
Everything falls in place,, making is a great experience.

Performance wise it is only Rajni, Rajni and more Rajni... Great acting by the Superstar.. May it be the geek.. Dr V, Innnocent Chitti V1.0 or the bad Chitti V2.0.. Superstar Rocks.. Chitti V1.0 's role is the best. Steals everyone's heart...
Aishwarya hasnt looked so beautiful..
Others have very less to do...

The movie definitely has it share of flaws..
The scene when Chitti V2.0 abducts Sana and the whole police force is behind him shooting blindly even when he has a hostage/human with him. It was not logical. But yes it gave great 2.0 action sequence. If they had to insert this sequence in some other logical scene the movie would have been longer.
That is the only flaw I can think of..

At the end special thanks to Shankar for making such a movie. Path breaking in terms of technology. Great concept.. An advanced Robot in Indian society.. No one can think of the scenes like Chelatha one and local train one. If Bollywood were to make a sci fi movie, they'll have the location as Singapore or Hongkong (koi mil gaya).. They don't have the aptitude or motivation to have India as the backdrop..

Finally, I feel pity for the people who think Rajni Sir is Superstar only because of his style and mannerisms. Movies like Padaiyappa and Muthu have made him what he is. Stories of Rags to Riches, divine roles (like the one of Muthu's father) have given him the demi-god status, which he humbly carries.

Hoping Robot would be biggest Rajni Movie!
Ending with the line from another Blog - "If you don't see ROBOT the loss is yours."

Karthik Calling Karthik - Paddy's Review!

Saw 'Karthik Calling Karthik' today, finally. Wanted to see it the day it released. But for lack of company, couldnt see it so far :(.

Anyways, I wanted to see the movie solely because of -

1. Deepika Padukone.. Wow.. what an actress she is. What roles she plays.. That 0f a modern self-reliant girl.
2. The songs "Uff teri ada" and "Heya". Both dating songs :)
3. Farhan Akhtar never gives an utterly bad product. IF he is in it, there should be some substance in the movie.

I liked the film. If it was not a mind-blowing film, it was definitely a well made film.
Loved all the scenes where Deepika figures.

I have always felt that the stories in which the character of person undergoes a change make impact. The movies always work. For instance -

1. A easy-going, not believing in love, Akash, in DCH starts believing in it at the end. He changes.
2. John Abraham changes from an irresponsible, partying, arrogant son of a rich man to mature person in "Taxi No. 921"
3. My favorite film Lakshya is all about the change in the person from an goalless rich youngster to a War hero
4. And so on..
   

The list is endless.. in fact in every movie you'll see a change element.

The point is, in KCK when you see the ordinary Karthik, doing everyone's work and gettting no credit, transforming into a stylish, confident professional, it gives you a high. When he enters the office in a smart suit, the other Karthik saying in background "IIM mein Top kisne kiya, CA exam mein marks ke saare record kisne todey,? tumne KArthik! Toh izzat kise milni chahiye? TUMHE." WOW what a scene.

Then when he cuts down everyone to their sizes.. by showing who is person actually running the place - you enjoy every bit. Especially his arrogant, ill-mouthed boss. That was an awesome scene. He gets the Head of Business Development post and a cabin. WOW! THen he gets the most gorgeous girl Shonali Super.. Loved the first part.

The second half gave the reasoning why all that happens. It is a little heavy.. but so real.. how he wants to reach a place he himself deosn't want to know. Totally avoids phone to keep the other Karthik away. I liked it all.. And the scientific reasoning of what actually what has been happening was so correct/believable.

But I caught one goof-up though. That, the first time he gets the call, the other Karthik intervenes while he is committing suicide "asking him what he was doing? killing himself.. There is no need for it. I am here now!". How could he know he was going to commit suicide later. If you have seen the movie you would understand what I am saying. I am sure the psychiatrists may come up with a convincing explanation.

Overall a nice film!
Should watch only in Cinema Hall to catch the thrills. There are a few super thrills! I am sure it would less fun on TV!

IPL 3 Teams who are supported, ones who no one cares about and ones who are hated and WHY?

This time no Bollywood. But yeah Bollywood elements are present in the matter. Not my fault.

This one is about IPL 3. Though I am not a fan of Cricket, my interest diminished when I realised the sport has actually not helped other games if not killed them. Anyways, I thought IL3 wont be fun at all, as it is the same game, same players. But to my amazement it is so goddamn entertaining that you cant help missing it. It is something that everyone in the family gets involved in and it becomes a family activity. EVen my mom is so keen to see who is winning.

What I wanted to write about is that the idea of IPL being introduced, which I infer from the earlier advertisements which were aired, of people being loyal to their cities is so untrue. Or atleast I feel so.

A Mumbaite is not necessarily going to be backing Mumbai.. If this is wrong, good enough, may be it is true for people from other cities like pune.

Following is what I believe why people back some teams and dont care about few others and also hate a few Teams :)

First the Teams who are not supported or outright hated -

1. Rajasthan Royals and Decaan Charges –
1. It feels as if the Shane Warne and Gilchrist will be taking the trophies to Australia.
2. Another reason why everyone hates Rajasthan Royals, is no one likes Shilpa Shetty dancing in the VIP box celebrating her team's victory. I am being a not male chauvinist here, it is the truth.
3. Everyone is in awe of Symonds, but no one really likes him.
4. Deccan Chargers have a lack of Indian icons.
   
   
2. King's 11 Punjab – No one supports this Team.
1. I even doubt if the Punjabis do. I guess they would rather support Delhi.
2. Again a female owner. I guess everyone hated the drama of her hugging each player. It was too much to bear. Silly and laughable too.
3. Terrible disintegration in team.
4. Sreesanth :)

It is not about the captain. No one cares if the captain is Sangakarra or Yuvraj.

Teams no one cares about if they win or lose -

1. KKR - I sincerely believe no one cares about KKR winning or losing. I guess the Kolkatans like Ganguly. But other than them no one really cares.
2. Bangalore (I dont even remember their Teams name LOL) - For this I have no reason.
1. Maybe everyone is tired of seeing the triumphs of grandpa Kumble.
2. Maybe it looks more like a South Africa team with the likes of Kallis, Boucher and few others.
   
   

Teams everyone supports -

1. Mumbai Indians - After all it is Mumbai meri Jaan! :)
1. Actually no, it is because of the GOD himself Sachin Tendulkar. No one can see his shoulders drooped. He is hero and everyone wants to see him triumph.
2. The low profile owner Nita Ambani, who prefers sitting in the dugout with the Team. Rather than dancing in the VIP box.
3. The foreign players, mostly contain Sri Lankans.

To add a note I really want to buy a Mumbai Indians T-shirt.

2. Delhi Daredevils –
1. Because of the devil himself Sehwag. I cannot believe anyone not loving it when he is batting in devilish form.
2. Captain is Gambhir (read Indian)
3. Together when Gambhir and Sehwag bat, it seems to be the Indian Cricket Team batting.
4. A good presence of Sri Lankans again.
5. Dirk Nannes, I see him mingling with the team so well.
   
3. Chennai Kings –
1. Solely because Dhoni is Captain. You feel like it is INdian Team.
2. Hayden, eveyone loves it when the Hulk goes down the line hitting balls out of the stadium.
3. Ntini, Morkel their attitudes are so cool.

Apologies if I have hurted any fan J