Movie Mania...

         Happened to catch two tamil flicks this week. One was "Muran" which promised to be something different(IT WAS NOT..Grrrrrrrrrr) and the other one was  a tribute to mindless cinema titled "Vedi". The reason behind watching the latter was because it had my favourite actress Sameera Reddy and the other being the hero Vishal who incidently happens to be my sis's heart throb.It is a remake of a popular telugu flick and true to its roots, it is sprinkled with an unhealthy dose of violence. It has a track for humor provided by Vivek who is back after a temporary hiatus on the big screen. A point has to be made to the Director Prabu Deva and the writer of the comedy track. Trying to inject ballons in the body and pretending to have six packs is way too amateurish for today's movie watcher. Instead the duo must be made to watch "Boss engira Bhaskaran" to grasp the nuances of tickling the funny bone . Now that ladies and gentleman was the real comedy track of cinema. 
            Gone are the golden days of tamil humor which comprised of giants like Goundamani, Senthil, Chinni Jayanth(the scene in Idhayam where he prepares to inject a patient-priceless facial expressions), Manivannan followed by Vadivelu and Vivek. While movies till the 90's and mid 00's had a separate track for comedy, in the present era of Tamil Cinema the comedian is a part of the main plot. Though usually restricted to playing the aide of the protagonist it is just their dialogue delivery and their spontaneity which makes up comic interlude in the movie. Santhanam seems to be the num ero-uno in the present crop and it should be hoped that he does not settle into a predictable bad mouthing(Goundamani) or preachy(Vivek) routine.
              So what does Sameera reddy have to do in a flick like "Vedi" apart from looking made up in song sequences?? She has to be  a damsel in distress waiting to be saved by our good hero.. No No Wait.. There is a sister role in the movie who does this part. SD is cast in a blink miss role but despite the limited screen presence she is a delight to watch. Hope she gets to mouth sensible stuff in her upcoming ventures as one can never forget her say " U look like a million Bucks " to the dazzled Surya in Vaaranam Ayiram . Tamil cinema has ventured beyond Villages and Panchayats and the ever present Nattamais. Directors Like GVM (Gautam Menon ),Vishnu Vardhan, and Shankar have raised the bars of Tamil Cinema thereby projecting their women leads as sauve and independent contrary to their naive and dumb projections in the past. 
                As for Vishal, he does the one thing which he is good at- keep bashing up the bad guys from start to end. After "Avan Evan " where he proved to the industry that he is a force to be reckoned with, Vedi is not an appropriate  follow up. Wish he would concentrate on ventures that would put less emphasis on his muscles and more on his acting skills. 
          Less is better said as in  the case of "Muran " which is said to be inspired by an Alfred Hitchcock movie. It claims to be a thriller and though has a concept not much seen in Tamil Cinema(killing for mutual favours - gimme a break), it is one movie which is not suitable for kids. Demeaning references to the father, extra marital affairs and justifying one's life by killing another are not required in today's world populated by the above mentioned happenings in the techno and print media.
                 Waiting for Surya and Vijay  this Deepavali. May the best movie win!!!
             
           
         

        

Tamil Boys and Sambhar sadham!!!

       There exists a legendary bond between Tamilians and Sambhar sadham. There many be zillion versions of making this lentil and vegetable concoction but the one eaten from our mother's or grandmother's hands would win hands down in a Bobby flay style Throwdown.(Bobby flay has a show on Food Network T.V where he challenges home made or regionally popular recipes with his own versions whereby he eventually loses the throwdown in a predictable format..). Now being the true blooded tamilians as we are , me and S(the better half) love sambhar but being in the U.S for quite some time and being exposed to multi-cuisine culinary delights, we are not overly passionate about it. Sambhar still is a comfort food but is not cooked by me on every other day as in many Tamil households.

         As i had mentioned earlier the  legendary bond with this dish is shared by my little hurricane H. It might sound a bit exaggerating but such is his love for sambhar that he would be happy to have it at any time of the day or for all the three meals in his day. He calls it as pappu sadham (Pappu is Dhal )  and we were amazed by his love for this dish with the conversation we had with him this weekend. It  was a usual day with me at the kitchen and H was talking to me about his school friends when of the the blue he said"mom, i like xxxxx". (She was a little american girl in his I grade class) 

 Me - "Oh is it? Is she your friend"

H  - "Yes ma. I really like her and is not mean like yyyy"    

I wasn't paying any real attention to his rambles which was about to change because he managed to get it by saying-

H - "Mom, I am going to marry her when i grow up"

Okie, he  now had my full attention and I was speechless for a few seconds. I was contemplating as what i would say further to my 6 year old baby about marriage or discuss with him about my prospective future American daughter-in-law.  
Me - "Why do you want to marry her sweetie"
H - " She will take care of me when i am  big  'cause u guys will be old by that time".
Me - ??????????????
Me - " But you can take care of your self when you are a big boy right"
H- " Then why did daddy marry you?. "
He continues by saying " Mommy when i grow up somebody has to cook for me right. I need food and you will die when you are old".  As i keep staring at him trying to get a grasp of this conversation I get my little break through when he says " xxxxx will make food like you and look after me when i grow up". 
      The devil in me is happy with this statement. I keep a sorry face and tell him " Then i guess you will forget about Pappu sadham and other indian food stuff and start eating sandwiches".
Its now H's turn to get startled as he says " Why should i eat sandwiches?. Im marrying xxxx because she'll make Sambhar at home"
Me - " I dont think xxxx will make sambhar for u. She's an american and she will make food that she eats and loves like sandwiches and meat. "
   Poor H!!!!. He looks like he's about to cry any second. He questions innocently, "Are u sure she will not make it for me. I love it soooooooooooo much."
Me - " More than xxxxx"(shame on me to capitalize on his obsession)
H - "Of course Mommy. I love sambhar sadham more than xxxx"(Wish he would say so when he is 20+). I want to eat it only like the way you make it. Cant she do it the same way?"
Me - " Maybe H. But i am not sure about it. Even if she does i don't think she'll do that everyday 'cause she might not like it and want to eat it everyday".( Trying to emphasise that he must respect his woman's wishes. good job Mom!!!!!!!) 
H remains silent for some time and then says " Then i do not want to marry her. I want someone who makes good sambhar sadham" and whizzes off to get his scores even with Francesco Bernoulli (Cars II character ) in Wii .I am immensely relieved that my son his mine for this moment and possibly reserve my worries for the prospective daughter-in-law for later.
    So watch out all u little girls.. U do not need killer looks to get to my baby's heart but all u need are skills for making a mean Sambhar !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. No updates about chennai in this post. Will get back with Deepavali shopping in chennai in my next.. Till then Ciao....

       

TGIF!!!!

        TGIF - The most popular phrase used by many after a hectic workweek. It actually stands for "Thank god its Friday" and the dawn of a Friday undoubtedly kindles every person's sagging spirits to welcome the 2 day weekend. Growing up in India where the concept of a two day weekend is still not popular (except in the techie community),  we as kids in the 80's era would wait for sunday to watch goldies like "Ramayana","Mahabharata" and later the ever famous "HE-MAN and the Masters of the Universe" during the day in our beloved DoorDharshan.(I still remember their famous logo "Desh ki Bhavanaoo ka Dharpan-Doordharshan"-roughly translated Doordharshan is a mirror of the country's sentiments) . It would be followed by a heavy lunch and the ever beloved snooze with the family at noon. Life then was quiet with less distractions sans video games, shopping malls, multiple TV channels(barring DD1 and DD2), Email, Net surfing, and more precisely Facebook. 

        Cut to today's scene in the United states where a 2 day weekend starts on friday evening where my 6 yr old hurricane H storms into the house negotiating whether he'd be allowed to play games on the  IPad or his favorite Wii Game. He would smartly give me only 2 options, with him always ending up the winner. Home Kitchens would be invariably closed on Friday night to dine out or order take out (mighty "Pizzaaa"). Saturdays would end up in jetting up H back and forth to various classes(read extra curricular) and Sunday would be the day for catching up with friends (post on the famous Potlucks coming up later). Though there is nothing much significant happening in the weekends it is still a welcome break from the back breaking routine of the weekdays which inevitably includes waking up early( I suck at it.).

         Eventually today being a Friday i am mostly relieved by the thought that i would not have to plan and get two lunch boxes for my husband and kid for the next day. Planning kid approved snack and lunch boxes for school children in United states involves so much creativity and planning for moms that the job would rival that of master chefs(no pun intended) in the food industry. The issue becomes even more complicated in packing vegetarian lunch boxes added to the fact that the kiddo never takes sandwiches to school.

        So by all means i have the luxury of  not worrying about packed  lunches for 2 days and before signing off an update about Chennai that i have promised to stick on to. The news is out that phase 1 of the coveted Chennai metro rail project would be completed in 2015. Though it still implies the fact that chennaites would still have to brave another 3-4 years of traffic congestions due to the construction activities, the arrival of the metro rail would undoubtedly put Chennai in par with its rival metros in India. For more information please check the link http://chennaimetrorail.gov.in.     

                              Have a Happy and Fun filled weekend.

FIRST STEP INTO THE WORLD OF BLOGGING!!!

             The  Day has finally arrived. After months of  procrastination I am finally here with my first post. I started this blog to record the  days of my life with my ever demanding 6 year old and to share some updates about the happenings in my home city CHENNAI in the state of Tamilnadu ,INDIA. I am a self confessed lover of this fabulous city which according to many is often perceived as nothing but one which invariably stays HOT all 12 months in a year. This metropolitan takes its own sweet time to charm its way into the hearts of people but once in, you could never deny its effect on you. 

             I will attempt to post some interesting updates from time to time and what better way to start than writing about the ever popular "freebie schemes " in  the state of TAMILNADU. This is nothing but free goodies promised to the people of the state of Tamilnadu(based on their levels of income) by every major politician (read only 2, our effervescent DR. J.Jayalalitha and of course Dr. M.Karunanidhi) during the time of the assembly elections once in every 4 years. It so happens that Dr.J the Chief Minister has announced in chennai today that her promise in delivering free goodies(blenders, wet grinders, fans, laptops, livestock to farmers,,,,,,) would commence from tomorrow.

            While there were endless debates raged about these freebies even during the time of her predecessor Dr. M.K (he gave free color televisions!!!), the scheme promised by our Dr.J has caused so much fanfare that political analysts and media amusingly speculate that it will be fun to watch the next election promises as the current ones are endless by themselves.

            Scores of money spent for this purpose could be wisely utilized in creating better infrastructure,  more jobs, education reforms and much more for the betterment of people  because it seems ironical that power needed for running of these electrical  freebies is still unaffordable for the majority of the voters covered in this scheme. Erratic power supplies and ever rising electricity charges are the two major demons for these people to battle with in their day to day existence. 

             Would our netas ponder on these facts and come up with people friendly schemes ????