"Despicable me" – Enjoyable and fun

Does a thief have a heart?
Can kids change adults?

Yes - is the answer to both the questions. How and why are answered by this cartoon movie – “Despicable me”.

The movie is about a thief and his adopted kids.
The hero has sights on becoming the biggest thief of the world by stealing the unimaginable. On this mission he has a cunning enemy. To tackle this enemy the hero adopts 3 kids. Little does he know that this would change his life.

The 3D effects are less but good. The scene in the roller coaster is a must watch. The unique vehicle of our hero is a spectacle to watch in 3D. The hero’s factory workers and the factory setup is fun to watch. The entire concept of theft is good, especially for the kids who had flocked the cinema hall. Mockery of some real life institutions are done well. The kids are cute.

More 3D effects could have been introduced. Lack of big names for voice recording has not given the much wanted publicity.

Overall a cool 4 star movie. Small lessons on life and the robbery concept are good. Watch with friends and family. It’s good fun.

Goodbye

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 13; the thirteenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

She was dressed in her favorite red dress and he in his favorite kurta suit. Their worry was hidden in their wedding dresses.The son had enjoyed the evening in the temple and park.

The 3 sat for dinner in their dingy kitchen.

He collapsed half way through the dinner. She saw, did not react. Instead hugged her son, tight. The last she saw was her son crying loud, in her arms.

As the 5 yr old son also bid goodbye to life, he did not see the empty poison bottle lying on the floor.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Visualize the songs of Endhiran

Rajnikanth in Enthiran

Rajnikanth’s next big movie is ready to hit the big screens. The music is already released.
After listening to the songs, I created a picture in my mind on how the shots would be shot. No doubt  Shankar will be very different in showing the Tamil super-star.
Just adding to the hype created around Enthiran \ Endhiran or Robot.

Pudhiya Manidha –  Slow motion group dances. Back ground some visually appealing studio settings. Wind blowing across and leaves flying (or even cars flying around). But Boss will be steadily walking. Focus on the shoes and camera moving up. Rajnikanth performing some cap, coat tricks. Graphics adding some glamour.

Kadhal Anukkal – Scientific lab background. Not the college lab kind, but the ones like CERN labs. Rajnikanth getting converted to photon-electron \ air molecules and entering Aishwarya’s heart and nerves (or she entering his). Silver or golden color suits. Clearly a duet and no co-dancers.

Chitti Dance Showcase – This is a complete, out & out, robot dance tune. The drill dance & bharatanatiyam & MJ dance & tap dance & Brazilian style & James Bond style walk. Its only Rajnikanth. But multiple Rajnikanth. I can hear whistles all over the place when this is played.

Arima Arima – Some kind of Maharaja’s entry. Like Egyptian style or Roman style or Indian style. Rajni will just look and move hands and change costumes. Aishwarya dancing around him. He won’t dance.  The synchronization of the co-dancers is a must watch. 

Kilimanjaro – This is the song which is shot in the background of the big mountains. Some old ladies and animals in the background. Frequent changing tribal costumes of Rajni will be attraction apart from the “never-seen-before” locations. Some tribal dance steps from the lead duo. Traditional drums and instruments will be used by co-dancers.

Boom Boom Robo Da – Hifi graphics. Some unimaginable stunts from the Robot will be the showcase of this song. Flying Rajni, driving Rajni, sailing Rajni, swimming Rajni can be seen. Shot in local streets to malls to palaces. Probably can see one Rajni tricking another.

Irumbile Oru Irudhaiyam – Rajni’s break dance here. Aishwarya also probably dancing like a Robot. Flowers, coolers, cars, lighting will be the attraction. This could be the least attractive song of the movie.

What readers see and read?

 I was curious to know what my blog readers expect\see in my blog.
So adopted Google Analytics.
The hits to my blog have increased after I reviewed the a Kannada book.

Since July 14 (the day, I published the review) – the hits have increased.

I also checked the key search terms and found that most of the hits to the blog have come because of the review.

 So what’s the conclusion?

• Google Analytic is pretty handy
• There are people interested in Kannada books – Very good sign
• My blog is yet to catch attention of other search engines

Ridiculous prohibition!

Can you believe that this can happen in India?
Yes of course, it can happen only in India.

Maharashtra has got a law(or in the process of getting a law) which prohibits “Pinda pradhan” and “Mudra dharan”.  I read this article in Vijaya Karnataka (Kannada newspaper) on Sunday (1st August 2010). Surprisingly, I did not find this in English dailies.

Pinda pradhan is a ritual that  is being performed by a lot of Hindus as a tribute to their close dead relatives. It’s done on special days and even on the death anniversary day.  There is a special significance if this is conducted in Gaya or Varanasi\Kashi. The Govt’s reasoning is nothing short of ridiculous. Govt thinks that this is waste of money. Now govt decides on how I spend my personal wealth!!

Mudra-dharana is a ritual which the Madhva sect of Hindus follow. A heated 1 sq inch copper piece is placed on the hand or chest. The significance of this is explained here. The reasoning from Govt is that this is causing physical pain. I agree that burning causes  pain. But if it is done voluntarily, I cannot see a problem here. A relative of mine got this sometime last month. He is an Ayurveda doctor and he got this done because of its medicinal value (not sure of what exactly is the value though). But why target this ritual alone? Example - Acupuncture is also hurting. (I am not asking them to ban acupuncture.)

I hope the Maharashtra govt wakes up and takes some positive action on this matter...Immediately.

I lost my hair and football

It was a small quiz. A quiz in which I answered all questions, like many others. Luck was with me on that day. A lucky draw got me a football. The Euro 2008 football – Europass (from Adidas). 

It was a showpiece item in my home. It hung on the window bar in the living room for some days. After renovation, we put it in the attic for some days.
Then came the football world cup season. We woke he sleeping football. Put him in the car. As a show piece in the car, it hung near the rear glass (not sure what that is called!).
 

Yesterday went for a drive. Came home. Locked the car and went in. After 30 mins or so, came out. Went inside the car. The ball was missing. Theft. Nothing else was missing.
 

How?
 The backdoor window was left open when we got down. So there was no break in. Just pickup and go.
 

Why?
 My dad usually sits in the front seat. Via the switches next to the driver seat, I close the windows (only the front ones are power windows in my car). My dad sat behind yesterday. No habit of closing windows. He closed the door and walked away leaving the window open.  
 

I hope that the football is in the place where it has to be…On the ground and getting kicked.

On the same day, I lost a lot of hair too. And this happened early morning when I was fully awake and aware. At the hair dresser’s shop! Long hairs were cut short. He he....