JAI HO!!

SLUMDOG MILLLIONAIRE SWEEPS 8 OSCARS [:)]


The Kodak Theater, LA.

"INDIA IS NOW AT THE CENTRE OF THE CENTRE"

I bet, this day, is gonna be frozen on the sands of time. It is not only the honour to India but also to its spirit which was potrayed in the film...

At the grand Kodak theatre in Los Angels,the fairy tale from rags to riches about a chaiwallah who strives hard to find his lost love stole the show by winning 8 Oscars of the 10 nominations! The winning categories are:



BEST MOTION PICTURE
BEST DIRECTION
BEST MUSIC [JAI HO]
BEST SCORE
BEST FILM EDITING
BEST SOUND MIXING
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY



It was well-predicted that the film would win the BEST PICTURE award. This award indeed reflects Danny Boyle's hard work. Inspite of some people opined that the movie depicted the slums awefully and even the welfare of the child-actors(omg, what an amazing acting!) were questioned.True, but atleast a part of it is the reality, right?? Hard to accept the reality, isnt it?? So,it is the society's responsibility to make the difference. Questions apart, Danny Boyle deserves this award...
CONGRATULATIONS for your spirit, hardwork and faith[:)]


The amazing kids at the Oscars

I could not sleep the previous night, honestly. About midnight I managed to doze...
But even then, I dreamt of newspapers flashing the victory of the film! Iwoke up today morning wishing and praying that it should come true! THANK YOU ALMIGHTY! I am so happy for the film and especially RAHMAN ji ( I'm a crazy fan !).



Been a dream run for the MOZART OF MADRAS.He's truly phenomenal and inspirational! As we are basking in the music of "MASAKALLI ", this news is indeed a great one, the maestro could give his fans! His original score and sound mixing truly deserves an oscar. And it was of course, predicted. It would have been surprising only if he hadn't got the award. But what I still dont understand is , why a few people didnot like the score.JEALOUSY??, well, may be...He is the same person behind the revolutionary ROJA, the soul melting GURU,VANDE MAATHARAM, the peppy YUVAA...Besides, when you cannot expect a melancholy or running-around-trees-romance kind of music when its a matter of life and death! Moreover, if you dont have quality, you certainly cant win an Oscar.So, please for heaven's sake, dont ever try to comment in such ways, remind you, how many films were rejected half-wa and didnt even make up to the nominations.

What is really great about him, is that, after accepting the award, he first thanked his mother and also spoke in Tamil! ( ELLA PUGHAZHUM IRAIVANUKKE, which roughly tanslates to " ALL credits to THE ALMIGHTY", which is actually the first verse of one of his tamil scores for the movie, AZHAGIYA TAMIL MAGAN).He also answered that he would do a balancing act when a journalist asked if India would lose one of its great composers to Hollywood.Now, thats a relief...How many people have you ever come across in your life, who is so humble and down-to-earth, just like him?? HATS OFF TO YOU AND I PRAY TO GOD THAT ALL YOUR VENTURES IN FUTURE SHOULD BE SUCCESSFUL!




The relatively unexpected award that turned out to be a huge surprise was RESUL POOKUTTY for the best SOUND MIXING.Its been a great day for INDIA at the world's stage.CONGRATULATIONS! And Ofcourse, M.I.A, did a wonderful job too!



And, dont forget, "SMILE PINKY", the documentary which bagged the Oscar in its category. It would surely bring about awareness about the cleft-lips and giving such children a new lease of life...A refreshingly new theme, directed by MEGAN MYLAN from KERALA!

oh, you have to admit, Whatte day! I hope the luck also favours Rahman's school of music "K.M. conservatory" and rise to fame...So lucky that the people of Hollywood have found a great music director for themselves and no wonder, he will become busy than ever!
THREE CHEERS TO THE TEAM OF SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE[:)]

THE DARK KNIGHT ROCKS!!!!

A FAN REVIEW...........



A great director with an awesome script, a hard-working hero and hard-core villains, what more can you ask for? Now that, the film is released, after seeing it you can understand why it took so long for the team to finish it. The explosion scenes, though remind you of the fateful 9/11, are realistic.

Bale as Batman riding the bat-pod

Honestly answer my question, when was the last time you saw a hero only of actions and no unwanted superficial dialogues?(Of course, it's quite common in comic heroes). I bet, you will be ramming inside your brain, for atleast a minute, searching hard to find the right answer.Now, here's a hero whom you are looking for.....He is intelligent, suave but doesn't show-off and that is contributing to his style factor. That's a happy news for the Batman fans.Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman, takes off the roles in style his hardwork is reflected in the scenes.One would hardly blink one's eyes especially when he comes after the joker in his Bat-pod.


"Psychopathic, Mass-murdering, Schizophrenic
with Zero empathy"----Joker........The name and
the character are totally different......But that's how
a villain has got to be. With his sharp looks and
unique laughter, Heath Ledger has set a new record,
one has to admit.The way he delivers the dialogues,
a kinda never-seen-before.It is really pathetic that
the entertainment industry has lost one of it's great
actors.You can't help yourself to remove the scenes
from your mind, I bet, especially the Joker's. Wonder
anyone can replace him in the future sequels(if any).
Nolan's choice is absolutely correct.Heath Ledger, as
Joker in the film, truly threatens you by his acting.
Every time he laughs in his unique way, your sure that
the danger is not far away.A kind of threatening yet
smart acting.You can find a terrifying villain hidden in his portrayal of the Joker not only in his with his chalk-smudged face and lavishly smeared lip-stick but also his expressions.





Aaron Eckhart as HARVEY DENT/TWO FACE alsoadds thrill to the film.As he says, "You die a hero,or you live long enough to see yourself become the Villain", he eventually turns into the antagonist,Two- face after the loss of his love, Rachel Dawes.Joker lures both Lt.Gordon and the batman into a trap and in the process Rachel dies for which joker manages to make Harvey believe that Gordon and Batman are at fault. And speaking of Rachel Dawes, Maggie Gyllenhart handles the role quite well as Rachel, torn in between Bruce and Harvey.Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and not to mention, Micheal Caine were at their best....




Nolan worked on the origin of Batman in his previous
film, on how Bruce Wayne turned into Batman, honestly,a treat for batman fans. But now you wonder how did the Joker enter into the city.....the film starts with Joker robbing a bank and plotting to have all money without sharing with his partners....But how did he come to Gotham all of a sudden? If you are aware of the comic version, joker's origin is also one big
story.Even Batman seems to be usual with his elusive look and digitally modified voice. Although his origin had been told, here he seems well-set with the city of Gotham without attempting to advance his character.But these don't matter when you are engrossing deep into the film (Trust me, You can't help that) and Nolan has succeeded in this.

Remember the cool dialogues in Batman Begins?...The one like....
"Bruce, you are supposed to be dead......"
"Sorry to disappoint"......

Here Joker fills the bill.He says: "I'M LIKE A DOG CHASING A CAR, CHASES IT FOREVER BUT DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO AFTER HE CATCHES IT."

I use a knife because guns are too quick. Otherwise, you can't savor all the emotions. You know who people are in their last moments

AND WHEN MEETING THE BATMAN....."This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object".
-truly a villain...

A must watch for all movie buffs and Batman fans.....Please dont miss this one at any cost.But not one for your kids, even joker alone is capable of terrifying your kids, so not advisable.

Below is a video which has the scenes of Joker with LP-By myself as the bgm....Please do watch it and post your comments.

NANOTECHNOLOGY: A new concern~~

A lot has been talked about this Nanotechnology and most of them are yet to be brought into reality; some even to be proved in theory itself.
More features are being proposed in this domain and it seems that in the near future things will turn out to be like the ones we see in fictions and cartoons!
Nanotechnology is a world in itself; it has a lot of facts and myths surrounding it.
Through this post, I bring out certain facts and dispel some myths using the information which I've managed to collect through some authentic sources on this topic.I hope there are a lot of awareness about Nanotechnology these days and so it doesn't require an introduction.

Now,coming to the point, a recent research conducted by scientists were published in the journal,NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY.The research warns about the nature of Carbon Nanotubes, of which some were hazardous like the ASBESTOS sheets if they are inhaled or intaken in considerable quantities.Now,that's bad, right?

Well, what actually is this CARBON NANOTUBE? Single walled Carbon Nanotubes
They are precisely an allotropic form of Carbon
which has the precision to the Nano scale which
makes it an important tool in almost all the
Nanotechnology.In short, it is the backbone of the
Nanotechnology itself.The interesting thing is
that these tubes are as light as plastic but also
strong as the steel.There are single-walled and
multi-walled nanotubes.These Nanotubes are
suitably manipulated to provide efficient batteries, Multi-walled Carbon Nanotube
life-saving batteries, many electric and electronic
equipments and many more.The problem is that
these Nanotubes now are said to possess the
properties of Asbestos.The asbestos sheets are
one of the occupational health hazards in the whole
world. The exposure to the asbestos can also cause
Mesothelioma, a cancer.



Carbon Nanotubes (multi-walled):

A research was conducted by the scientists led by Professor
Kenneth Donaldson at the University of Edinburgh,U.K.
Several long and short Carbon nanotubes and asbestos
fibres were injected into the abdominal cavity of Mice
and the results were observed.The Carbon Nanotudes possesed the properties of the asbestos fibres. They both caused some
pathological symptoms which were supposed to be precursors of Mesothelioma.Asbestos fibres are very thin, and so they have the
capacity to penetrate deep into the lungs but they are too long to penetrate deep into the lung's protective and sensitive mechanism to remove the foreign particles entering. But, Donaldson still has a
lot of questions which are yet to be cleared : "We still dont know,
whether the carbon nanotubes are air-borne and inhaled, or whether, if they do reach the lungs, they can work to the outer sensitive lining.But if they do get in there in sufficient quantities, there are chances that people will get cancer-perhaps decades after breathing the stuff". Also they researched only about the fibre-like behaviour and did not account for the other aspects that might damage the lungs. He added that more research is needed if need to understand to use them safely.Statistical data reveals that the sale of Carbon Nanotubes may reach even upto $2 billion annually within the next 4 to 7 years, according to an article published by Chemical Engineering & News(U.S. Publication).

Obviously, this has raised concerns about the safety of Nanomaterials because now itself, several products which are manufactured using 'Nano techniques' are available in the market.Anthony Seaton, one of the co-authors, reminded that cancer caused by Asbestos was reported in 1960s and 1970s which later decreased due to restricted usage before 25 years. Donaldson also adds that Short and curly Carbon Nanotubes do not behave like asbestos fibres and by studying the properties of the long, thin Carbon Nanotubes, these hazards can avoided.Despite all these threats, the professor says"It’s a good news story, not a bad one. It shows that carbon nanotubes and their products could be made to be safe."Indeed! “This is a wakeup call for nanotechnology in general and carbon nanotubes in particular,” says Dr. Andrew Maynard, another co-author. “As a society, we cannot afford not to exploit this incredible material, but neither can we afford to get it wrong—as we did with asbestos.” Let's hope that we will get a solution to this and put Nanotechnology to good and safe use for the betterment of man-kind.

Source: http://www.nanotechproject.org/
posted for educational purpose only.
Thanks to http://www.nanotechproject.org/
A PDF of the paper can be found on the journal’s website: www.nature.com/nnano

NADAL WINS WIMBLEDON MEN'S SINGLES TITLE 2008

PERSEVERANCE PAYS..............

"I do not know,if it was the best............Probably................Probably the best, yes!" -RAFAEL NADAL,winner,Wimbledon men's singles 2008.

RAFAEL NADAL with the Wimbledon title:

Tennis lovers can't ask for anything more.It was a spectacular event at the Wimbledon court with the two great tennis masters against each other at their best.The match is the longest ever running to about 4 hours and 48 minutes, a treat to all Tennis lovers indeed! Amidst the crowd cheers and showers, Rafael Nadal gained his first Wimbleton title ever, stopping the former champion, Roger Federer to become the first man since the 1880s to win a sixth consecutive championship at the All England Club.Nadal is the second Spaniard to win the Wimbledon men's singles title after Manolo Santana who won it in 1966.He also follows Bjorn Borg to win French Open and Wimbledon together in the same year.

Federer and Nadal before the commencement of the match:

It was indeed too close to Federer who could have won the title to add another feather to his cap.But it seemed that Nadal was quite more deserving than the Swiss, who beat him as 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7.Remind yourself, Nadal lost to Federer in the 2006 Wimbledon final in four sets, and the 2007 final in five,he was persistent to win.This time, even though it was quite dark and rained, both the players did well and were in their form.Rain delayed the match by about 35 minutes after which the play resumed.Again in the third set slight showers caused a delay of 1 hour, 21 minutes, then another of 30 minutes at the fifth set when it was 2-2, deuce.May be it rained for the spectators to take some breath! When the points showed 7-7, Nadal started to reign as Federer did not do well using his forehand.In the fourth set there was a tie breaker.During the tie breaker at 6-5,Federer overpowered with his incredibly fast serve (127mph) which cancelled the match point.By this time there would have been low visibility for the players.At 8-7, he ruled by his backhand.His Forehand shot at 9-8 earned him a point.Nadal was also in his form, despite a few errors.He double faulted to his opponent at 5-3.He accidently tumbled on to the ground in the third set.The match was indeed a thriller (Federer hit 25 aces altogther) but one can see that it was not a great show of mastery or like that.It was, in short, suspensful,just the usual Federer-Nadal clash; but that's what all a spectator needs.Finally, after a long battle Federer hit a forehand on to the net during the fourth match point which made Nadal the champion.

Nadal fell on to the ground as the crowd cheered him up.
"I am very happy for me, but sorry for him, because he
deserved this title, too", said Nadal.
He gained and lifted the championship trophy which Federer congratulating Nadal after match
Federer had for the past 5 years.
"Look, Rafa’s a deserving champion, he just played fantastically.Probably my hardest loss, by far, I mean, it’s not much harder than this right now",said Federer as he congratulated his opponent, “He was rock-solid, the way we know him, he has definitely improved his game".
Critics compare this to the match where like John McEnroewas beaten by Bjorn Borgin five sets, in 1980s; it was a great game,indeed."It’s rough on me now, obviously, you know, to lose the biggest tournament in the
world over maybe a bit of light",Federer said.Of course, losing a grand slam title short of just two points is too hard,
especially if it is Federer,he even reminded before the finals
that he was good on grass.This is Federer's first loss on
grass in 66 matches.

Federer, as runner up with his Wimbledon trophy,2008:


Now the question remains.Will Nadal overtake Federer in his rankings?If so when?It's really tough for Federer if he has to get off his rank 1 which he has been holding for a for a record 231 consecutive weeks.(Nadal holds the rank 2 for a record consecutive 154 weeks).

Whatever the statistics may say, it was indeed a great match!
Watch out for the highlights of the match in the video below. (Thanks to www.wimbledon.org)

CONGRATULATIONS RAFA & ALL THE BEST TO FEDERER

BATMAN ROCKS!!!

HI,Dudes & Dudettes: Check out this Batman video,It's mine and it's good!

BATMAN BEGINS & THE DARK KNIGHT
(Combined with"Faint"from 'LINKIN PARK')




THE DARK KNIGHT is a sequel to the film, BATMAN BEGINS.The cast comprises:

Christian Bale as BRUCE WAYNE/BATMAN
Heath Ledger as THE JOKER
Aaron Eckhart as HARVEY DENT/TWO-FACE
Maggie Gyllenhaal as RACHEL DAWES
Micheal Caine as ALFRED PENNYWORTH
Gary Oldman as Lt.JAMES GORDON
Morgan Freeman as LUCIUS FOX
Eric Roberts as SAL MARONI
Micheal Jai white as GAMBOL
Cilian Murphy as Dr.JONATHAN CRANE/SCARECROW
Nestor Campbell as MAYOR ANTHONY GARCIA
William Fitchner as Gotham national bank mananger
Antony Micheal hall as MIKE ENGEL

Singaporean actor Ng Chin Han reportedly has a "major and highly-confidential" role in the film.
The budget of the film is estimated at US $180 million.The distributor of the film is Warner bros.
The film is to be released on July 17 (Aus), July 18 (U.S.A.) and on July 25 (U.K.).

VETERAN'S DREAM VENTURE~"MARUDHANAYAGAM"~

Kamal in and as Marudhanayagam:

Now "ULAGANAYAGAN" Kamal hassan's fans have more reasons to be happy.The actor's cherished venture "MARUDHANAYAGAM" is being revived and this has become the talk of the town.Predictably not surprising,because the man of several talents always proves himself in his every other film and this is a sure shot.According to sources,after completing his next film which is tentatively titled,"MARMAYOGI",that brings several stars together along with the great actor,this magnum opus would be released.


MARUDHANAYAGAM is all about the historical warrior who became a commander in the British East India Company by his war skills and his tactics.His original name was MOHAMMAD YUSUF KHAN.Born in 1725 in the village of Panaiyur,Ramnad,he protested against the practice of social evils like untouchability.


He left Panaiyur,went to Pondicherry and later to
Tanjore,where he joined as a soldier in the troops.He then
left to Nellore where a series of incidents led him to join
the Carnatic wars(1751).This war established him well.He wooed a Portuguese lady,"Massa" and married her.

Gradually,he rose to the level of governing the entire Madurai city when there was administration crisis.He proved himself as an able administrator. Company officials considered Yusuf Khan "the bravest and ablest of all native soldiers that ever served the English."After a rally of incidents,due to a dispute,the British troops ordered death sentence to him.

In 1765,his fort was surrounded by the British troops and so he had to remain hidden inside the fort for several days without food and water along with his men.(Said that he survived on the meat of Horse and Monkey but some deny).
But he still battled with great determination,killing a considerable number of the British troops.

But,the Arcot Nawab bribed Srinivasa Rao Marchand,the captain of the French mercenaries and Khan’s doctor Baba Sahib to kill him.There were 3 conspirators,one,a European, was whipped by Yusuf waiting to take a revenge.



Once when Yusuf Khan was offering prayers,both pinned him to the ground and strangulated him in their turban.The youth nearby,who tried to rescue Yusuf was also killed.On hearing this,His wife came with the troops ,but they were not able to defend the mighty British solidiers who helped the traitors.The saddest part was that the whole incident went unnoticed and a major part of Khan's troops were unaware of the incidents.He was smuggled to Madurai,where he was hanged.



Several facts arose on the death of the warrior which might have made our artist to do the film.

Some claim that when he was hanged the noose broke twice and he fell down.Some claim that neither he came down nor the hanging rope went up.This was due to his YOGA training as some say or due to his divine magic power according to a few or even some claim he had a golden magical ball beneath his arm.One night,a soldier who guarded his body,appealed to the Nawab that Khan appeared in his dream and threatened to return on the third day to take revenge.The Nawab immediately ordered to cut Khan's body and to bury his head in Trichy,arms in Palayamkottai,legs in Tanjore and the remaining body in Madurai.It is also believed that his body parts were kept for public to see so that it could create fear in their minds.Only then it was said to be buried.


The film was supposed to be done with the support of Queen Elizabeth herself.The budget of the film is reportedly told as Rs.200 million.But due to financial controversies,the movie has not been completed yet.The film was initially said to be released in 1999.At that time the BBC expressed it's desire to release the dubbed version of the film on television.Lot of controversies arose:regarding the caste of the Protagonist,Yusuf Khan-some claim that he belonged to the Islam community right from the beginning whereas some claim that he originally belonged to the Vellala caste who later converted into a Muslim.Also,a few felt that the story depicts the British in order to create a bad impression.Moreover, the history goes like Khan himself was used by the Nawab to defeat the local chiefs where he was made the ruler.He also spearheaded the French troops which tried to overpower the British East India Comany at Madras.When things grew big between Nawab and him,it forced him to rebel.So,when,Kamal Hassan expressed that Yusuf Khan was indeed,'a Pioneer of freedom struggle' and was not given the enough praise and the place that he deserves,controversies sparked out.

But rubbing away all the contorversies,the cast and the crew makes one think that the film would be a visual treat to all film lovers.Kamal Hassan is reportedly producing,directing and acting in the film.Ravichandran is the camera man and Sabu Cyril is the art director.Birju Maharaj handles the choreography while Music is by Ilayaraja along with Andrew Lloyd Webber.M.s.Subbulakhmi,the late legendary Carnatic singer was supposed to sing in the film.But we are really unlucky,we have to admit, for the great singer is no more.The cast also includes Om Puri,Nasser and more stars.(as announced during the official press meet in 1995 app.)


It has been a long,long time since the official announcements about the film was made but since then only promotional stills and a trailer has been made.But they are Breath-taking and Poignant.A very few-minutes trailer cost the producer
RS.15 million!!!!!!!
LET'S HOPE THAT KAMAL WILL ONCE AGAIN SUCCEED THROUGH THIS FILM.
Watch the legend in action: "Marudhanayagam trailer":

THE GIRL FACTOR

“THE GIRL FACTOR"

I actually preferred not to blog on this topic only for one reason:Most people have talked on this topic and I’m not gonna blog something new about it.Talking about the difference of opinion between a guy and a girl,my friend argued that “You know Sue!It all started during the period of Adam and Eve.If only she did not ask him the fruit……………..” and he continued.I was really feeling sleepy.But at one point I really lost my patience and I argued that Adam could have resisted Eve’s idea and after all it was he who picked the fruit,right…”

Finally we agreed that this is some age old topic which
would never end if it would were put into a two dimensional argument.Above all these we are GEN-NEXT,right?So when he said “women are complex creatures”
I really wish to clear some myths
on women.Try undestandin’ girls by
understandin the following
[p.s.I did this by observing a few of my friends,HONESTLY NOT MINE]

A girl wants to be respected and dignified.It could be about her Beauty,her Brains, anything like that……

Wherever a girl goes her eyes will revolve in 360 degrees and take a list of people who look at her.[Trust me,men are relatively “very slow” at this].

"What, yesterday's your birthday? How sweet...BELATED
BIRTHDAY WISHES. Yes, Baby, I'm so sorry that I forgot your
Birthday". Remember your birthday?? Iron what?? A girl has
to be wished on occasions like anniversary and birthday but dont
expect her to reciprocate the same. Its not due to amnesia, but
its a kinda laziness. Note that a gift to her is important very much.
Its there in almost every girl's wish list...

One practical example:A boy will start a proposal saying, ”Look!

I like you ,Shall we be good friends?”.But a girl turns down a proposal

saying, “Look I reallllly like you.we shall remain as good friends.”

The catch is that ‘Girls are foolishly diplomatic at times’.

(TO BE CONTINUED)
WATCH OUT FOR MORE “THE GIRL FACTOR” IN MY NEXT BLOG!!!!!!