Sunday, October 18, 2015

‎Rudramadevi Review

‎Rudramadevi‬ is watchable in theaters. Anushka Shetty show all the way. Well the movie is not like Bahubali,even if the graphics work is not so good,it doesn't matter to me, but what disappointed me was the way the screenplay was written.This was supposed to be a historical film,but the history part was not handled well. Instead, this gives the feeling of watching a mass movie. Only character which tests our patience is Allu Arjun's. His appearance, dialogues were mocked to the core in theater :D grin emoticon.To compensate Allu Arjun,the director has used Vijayakumar very well.He comes only for 2 scenes and doesn't have any dialogue :D grin emoticon. If you are expecting some entertainer, then this movie is worth it. Anushka rocked. Her intro scene of taming an elephant received thunderous response. In some movies, the heroine fights will not work out and may look funny, but Anushka pulls it off with ease. Her fierce look,body language everything fits well. Deserves the Lady Superstar title :-) smile emoticon Ilaiyaraja's background score fits perfectly. Still the 'Raja' magic works smile emoticon sunglasses emoticon

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

BJP and the 'holy' cow

The Indian media is in celebration mode as they have got the much needed 'communal-violence' to report.It was an attack on one family and one man was brutally killed. So many people gets killed daily.Incidents of communal violence has been happening throughout the nation for a long time. Still the recent Dadri incident is something special.With Bihar elections fast approaching, pre-poll surveys showing positive sign for BJP and more importantly as the victim is a Muslim, this incident is more important to media. Usually I don't give much importance to such incidents, but this time even I am forced to write a second blog post on this incident.

The news channels has long back lost its credibility. Anyone, who is active in social media(especially twitter or facebook),would have understood about the news channels and their intentions. The behavior of some channels makes me think whether they are funded by some 'external forces' to create unrest in India.Media is known for its biased stand.If the victim happens to be a Muslim/Christian, media will work overtime and will send a message to the entire world that 'Muslims/Christians are not safe in India. Hindus are extremists. RSS/BJP is behind every communal incident.' 2 years ago, a woman was gang raped in Karaikkal. Allegedly, the rapists involved were Muslims and people close to VCK(Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi - a party which claims to be working for the upliftment of Dalits). That was a horrible incident. The incident was not given importance. Because the victim was a Hindu,she didn't have a strong background and more importantly the people involved in the crime were allegedly Muslims. This is Indian media for you.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/Ramadoss-Gives-Caste-Twist-to-Karaikkal-Rape/2013/12/31/article1974414.ece

Anyway this blog post is not about the biased media, it is about the irresponsible behavior of BJP. I am not associated with any political party. I am just a common man, while am able to understand how the media will twist an incident and give communal spin to it, being a ruling party(at centre) shouldn't the BJP be knowing this? When an incident like this is reported, it is the duty of the police to take action and it is the duty of the state govt to direct the police to take action. The UP state govt and the police has not done enough. Infact, it was the inaction and callous attitude UP state govt, has resulted in such a brutal murder.Instead of asking questions to state govt, the local BJP leaders and some MPs are issuing irresponsible statements.

They are trying to exploit the situation for electoral gains.The Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma has been making controversial statements repeatedly for the past few months. It seems this fellow has violated the prohibitory orders of police and entered the Bishada village days after the murder took place. Another BJP MLA Sangeeth Som accompanied him it seems ( source  http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/6803943 ). Another BJP party man says, if police takes any action against innocent people, the consequences will be different. Issuing such veiled threats in a charged atmosphere can potentially aggravate the situation. 

As usual,the BJP MPs known for their controversial statements - Yogi Adityanath and Sakshi Maharaj, has joined the party now. These are their statements :

 "We won't remain silent if somebody tries to kill our mother. We are ready to kill and get killed." - Sakshi Maharaj (source - http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/BJPs-Sakshi-Maharaj-Ready-to-Die-to-Save-Cows/2015/10/06/article3065946.ece ). While he makes sense in asking the UP govt why the CM raised the compensation from 10 lakhs to 45 lakhs and why Hindu victims were not given any compensation, the aggressive statements projects him in bad light.

Though Yogi Adityanath has not issued the statement directly,a member of his outfit Hindu 'Yuva Vahini' has said "We will go and meet Hindus who are being harassed by authorities concerned. We will provide them all possible help, be it tan-man-dhan-gun, if they are harassed," Tyagi said.

Such statements are uncalled for. Yesterday,Bihar's ex deputy CM Sushil Modi has said that if the BJP comes to power, there will be complete ban on cow slaughter in the state.Cow slaughter was banned in many states. Ban on cow slaughter is not something new rather it was not done by BJP first. Today Digvijaya Singh has confessed that it was the Congress which was first in banning cow slaughter.

"Congress was the first in banning cow slaughter, will consider backing central law on ban: Digvijay Singh"

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/49231773.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

In some states, BJP banned the cow slaughter too.Go through this link, you can understand, cow slaughter is banned in so many states and the law varies from state to state.

 http://www.ibtimes.co.in/beef-ban-states-where-cow-slaughter-legal-illegal-649249

The problem is not in making the cow-slaughter-ban a poll promise, it is the timing of the statement that matters. Well it may be argued that the Dadri incident is not an organized communal clash and it is being blown out of proportion.Anyway,the world is watching all this. There is a charged atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh and twitter/facebook. Will such statements not worsen the situation? 

The Union Home minister,Rajnath Singh says not to communalize the incident.The finance minister Arun Jaitley says such an incident brings bad name to India. The Prime Minister has time and again stressed on inclusive growth and assured of the safety of every Indian(which obviously includes minority). When the party's top leaders are being responsible, why does the local leaders behave like this? As usual,the pseudo-secular camp started demanding an explanation from the Prime Minister. I have mentioned about a gang rape at the beginning of this post. None demanded the then PM to issue a statement on it.Rather all these Azam Khan, liberals, Owaisi, Sharad Yadav, Lalu  etc expressed concern over the incident. They were not even aware of it,so demanding an explanation from Prime Minister is publicity stunt and politics too. This Azam Khan has written to UN that Muslims are unsafe in India. Dear Azam Khan,do you even know that people living in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir wants to live under India's control?

Rahul Gandhi visited the victim's family.Aravind Kejriwal too visited the family.Kejriwal is Delhi CM and he is not a national leader too.So many people died in dengue in Delhi.The Delhi CM has not visited a single family of the deceased.But he has time to visit Akhlaq's family.This is also communal politics.

If BJP too wants to going to cash-in on the situation, then there is no difference between BJP and others.Prime Minister office sought report on the incident from Minister of Home Affairs.Hope the BJP top leadership acts against people issuing such statements. These statements cannot be brushed aside as statements of some low level party workers. Some of them are MPs, their irresponsible statements cannot be tolerated and hope the PM and BJP president takes proper action against these people.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

The fake 'beef' violence



An UP Homeguard spread beef rumour to instigate attack on father and son.this was to seek personal vengeance.I said, it might be due to rivalry between two groups,but now it has turned out to be due to personal dispute.Initially the news was reported that 'Muslim man killed by Hindu mob for consuming beef'. And as expected fringe elements started their rants that Modi should speak about it.Only after Modi became PM for every stray incident he is expected to comment on it.Has there not been any personal dispute cases before? The fun is,law and order is a subject of state govt,not a single voice was raised against UP state govt :D UP is a state and not a union territory to claim police was controlled by central govt.Instead of taking action,the CM Akhilesh Yadav is challenging the central govt to ban beef export which in no way is related to this incident.So many people are getting killed in India,why,in UP alone. Minor Dalit girl was raped and killed (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/minor-dalit-girl-raped-killed-in-up/article6914581.ece), many such incidents were reported, did the UP govt announce any compensation to them? There were incidents of violence incited by Muslim groups, did any govt or politician use the word 'communal' then? People were dying of dengue in Delhi, Kejriwal didn't visit the family of any of the deceased, but he is now showing his secularism by visiting this Ahlaq's family.There were many jawans who sacrificed their life in border fighting for the nation, did any of these fellows visit their family?

The intention of media is to instill a sense of fear among the people that Narendra Modi is working day and night to finish off minorities, which can potentially prevent BJP from winning Bihar elections.During Delhi elections,incidents of church attacks were reported and without any proof, Hindu outfits were blamed for every reported incident. In all the cases reported,not a single Hindu group was involved. After Delhi elections, it stopped.

To top it all,for the rape of a 71 year old nun, Hindu groups were almost 'indicted by the media'.Later some Bangladeshis were arrested for the nun rape. All those liberals and wannabe-secular warriors,never regretted for blaming the Hindu outfits for these incidents.

The intention of writing this is not to justify the violence that took place,but to condemn exaggerating a personal dispute and reporting it as an attack on a religion. Otherwise, anyone involved in this incident should be punished. And politicians belonging to all parties(SP,BJP,Cong,JD(U),AAP) should stop their blame game and issuing irresponsible statements.

You can read about the personal dispute in detail in the below link :

"According to a senior police officer, Vinay had a personal dispute with Akhlaq earlier and had been instigating a group of youths to attack his family, alleging that they were involved in cow slaughter."

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/dadri-lynching-up-homeguard-spread-beef-rumour-to-instigate-attack-on-father-and-son-says-police/

Saturday, October 3, 2015

The Tamil National Alliance and the UN resolution



The Tamil National Alliance in Sri Lanka welcomes the UN resolution.Just saw an interview of Mr.Selvam, Sri Lankan Tamil M.P., in Thanthi TV​ . He was sensible.While the SL Tamils and their leaders are sensible, some jokers in Tamil Nadu are doing comedies like attacking KFC(because it is an American firm) and threatening more protests against American companies.I have given below some of the important points from his interview. Hope some 'Dravidian' parties and 'warriors' doesn't 'brand' him anything :-)

"The previous SL govt(under Rajapakse) would not have even allowed the Tamil MPs to travel to Geneva and surely,Rajapakse would not have accepted the UN resolution. The current govt,has accepted the resolution,which means,the SL govt admits there were human rights violations. Also the present govt will earn the wrath of Sinhalese while the Sinhalese support will increase for Rajapakse. Inspite of all this, SL govt has come forward to accept the resolution. Rejecting it outright,will do no good to the SL Tamils.When LTTE was active,such an opportunity was also not provided by the UN.

The resolution doesn't have everything we expected,but with the clauses mentioned in it, we can make use of it. The resolution recommends the abolition of anti-terrorism act,which is an important aspect of it. By abolishing it,our Tamil youngsters,who are undergoing punishment in jails, can be released. Moreover, if we reject this resolution outright, we will never get the support of the international community.

If we don't give an opportunity to the Lankan govt, that will create a bad impression about us and we will never get any backing from other countries,including India.Let this be an opportunity given by us to the Lankan govt, probably, a last chance to the govt.

Opposition to the UN resolution is fine,infact opposition should be there.But we also shouldn't forget the fact that,it is America, which has brought a resolution against the human rights violations that happened in Sri Lanka.So,our opposition against the resolution should be meaningful. Violence or protests in front of US embassy will again create a bad impression."

Interview came in Thanthi Tv(Kelvikku Enna Bathil with special reporter Mr,Hariharan), once the interview is uploaded by the Thanthi Tv team,I will share the link here.

Everything is working fine in Sri Lanka, rehabilitation process is going on, not even their politicians complain so much about racism, as the people fighting for them in Tamil Nadu do.The reason is the leaders in Sri Lanka are honestly working for their people, but the leaders and some fringe groups in Tamil Nadu, are working day and night to incite violence and create unrest in the society. This is the difference between the leaders in both the countries.

Friday, October 2, 2015

Remembering 'Mahatma' Gandhi



Mahatma Gandhi - a lot being debated on the great man even now.Some people oppose Gandhi saying his non-violence approach was not effective and India would have got freedom much earlier,had they followed the Netaji way.Another group claims Mohandas Gandhi was a British Agent and gives lame facts to justify the claim.They go on to say India became independent,because British had no might to rule us further. Some Hindu groups too hate Gandhi and blames him for all the problems in the country.Ironically, people who are hell-bent on bashing these Hindu groups too hates Gandhi. Gandhi did some mistakes. Some of his political moves too were wrong.

He nominated Mr.Pattabhi Sitaramaiah against Netaji for the post of Indian National Congress president. When Netaji won and Pattabhi got defeated, Gandhi said, 'Pattabhi's defeat is my defeat'. We can conclude - the relationship between Netaji and Gandhiji was not so good. When you are fighting for a cause, it is practically impossible to avoid people with different ideologies. Obviously there will be difference of opinion and strategies against each other. As a common man,I was disappointed with Gandhi's stand on one particular issue.We can understand from the recently declassified files(by Central Govt) that Netaji did not die in the plane crash and he lived as a prisoner in Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin kept him as prisoner and he was executed there. Nehru didn't make any efforts to save Netaji.Its understandable, as he is a politician. But Gandhi too didn't make any efforts it seems.Ofcourse, we can get more details only when all the files are declassified, but my instinct says, Gandhi didn't make any efforts to save Netaji. Inspite of all this,what makes him a Mahatma?

Bhagat Singh was a hero. He fought for the nation boldly against the British and sacrificed his life.Netaji wanted to throw away the British rule using weapons and army.There were lot of warriors who fought against British.Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Veera Vaanchinathan,Bal Gangadhar Tilak etc. They were all patriots and what they did against British was an act of bravery.But that was not enough to throw away the British empire. They fought either individually or with the people belonging to a particular region.

Entry of Gandhi changed the scenario completely.He had the charisma to unite people.He converted the 'Swarajya' into a mass movement.People from all parts of the country stood behind him.The freedom struggle gained momentum and the British found it difficult to go. It was in 1922, people the Chauri Chaura incident happened,in which a police station was burnt.Gandhi immediately stopped the non co-operation movement saying that we were not matured enough to rule ourselves.This move came under severe criticism and there is an opinion among the current generation people too that India would have become independent well before 1947, had Gandhi not called off the movement. But Gandhi was right, an achievement through violence will not last long.In 1930 he again came back with Civil Disobedience Movement and Dandi march against the salt tax.From then on, no stopping. India had to wait for 17 more years to get freedom.

This is a nation built on Gandhian thoughts and that is why India still remains a democratic country. Since 1947, India has seen many Prime Ministers,it had an emergency,it had witnessed the emergence of many political parties, but irrespective of whichever party or PM in power,we are able to voice out our opinion against them independently. Don't refer to one or two stray incidents and say the Gandhian model is a failure.

There is a pic of Gandhi doing rounds in social media. In that pic, Gandhi is seen dancing with a foreign lady.It has gone viral in social media and none bothered to check the authenticity of the pic. The person seen in the pic is not Mohandas Gandhi, but an Australian actor posing as Gandhi shaking a leg with the lady.Such fake images and information about Gandhi has actually made many believe that Gandhi was a womanizer, while he was not so.

I strongly believe,it was because, we got freedom through non-violence, we are still independent and have seen these many developments. Had we got freedom through Netaji's approach, there were high chances of someother nation colonizing us.

While Netaji had a different ideology, similar to Gandhian ideology, leaders like V O Chidambaram Pillai and Mahakavi Subramaniya Bharathiyar - the national poet, too united people. Mr.V O C was the first Indian to run indigenous ships in Indian sea to counter the British. Mahakavi Bharathiyar, through his poems united the people and made them think.

We can debate a lot about Gandhiji's assassination. We can also consider what Ghodse had to say on his act and debate whether his arguments are acceptable.But that is a different topic and we have to come up with lot of facts and figures to discuss about it. This post is all about some misconceptions and facts about Gandhi and how effective was/is his ideology.

Gandhian principle is not just ahimsa/non-violence, it means not-to-give-up and also not-to-indulge-in-violence. Don't give up your fight until you achieve your goal, at the same time, be sensible. I don't find anything wrong in this and nothing better than this approach. With some 'enhancements', still the Gandhian ideology is the best. One may or may not like Gandhi, may or may not agree with Gandhian principles, but don't abuse him. Sharing fake images/information without checking their authenticity is sheer foolishness.Sharing them purposefully, to malign Gandhi's image, only shows the sick attitude of people. 

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Maya - The magic works very well



Maya,the Nayanthara starer is a unique horror film.Right from the beginning, till the end, the movie manages to keep you engaged.There are lot of scenes which may scare you, especially the visual and sound effects.We have seen lot of horror flicks with a storyline of a woman(or man too) getting killed by goons in a cruel manner and the victim takes revenge after becoming a ghost.Maya takes a different route.I don't want to reveal anything more than this. Nayanthara's screenpresence has helped the movie a lot.It is heartening to see Nayanthara accepting such roles.Well done :-). Different attempt from the director Ashwin Saravanan and it is convincing too. Appreciate the director for working on a good script instead of trying to ride on the 'ghost-movie-wave'.One or two scenes reminds us of Demonte Colony.Anyway Maya rocks.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Yatchan‬ - Movie Review



‪#‎Yatchan‬ is watchable. Kind of above average movie. it has an interesting plot,but Vishnuvardhan should have either made it as an out and out action film or a proper comedy film.there are some good scenes and some boring scenes too.with a decent climax, movie is watchable once. Yuvan Shankar Raja - time has come to give voluntary retirement.the build up towards the interval block became irritating because of the 'Champion' song.

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Payum Puli - Review



#‎PaayumPuli‬ is average.it has a boring first half and a decent second half with a very usual climax. it seems Suseendhran has run out of ideas.Vishal looks good and has a very good screenpresence.He neither underplayed nor overacted,neat job. I didn't like him in movies like Satyam or Vedi where he played cop,but he fits well in PaayumPuli(he comes in cop dress only in 1 or 2 scenes though).Arul Doss' character is impressive.He comes only for 2-3 scenes,but he has done well to give a special mention. Paayum Puli jumps,but falls short :D

Friday, August 28, 2015

படேல் போராட்டமும் பெரியார் தொடர்பும் - வீரமணியின் வாக்குமூலம்


குஜராத்தில் இட ஒதுக்கீடுக் கோரி படேல் சமூகத்தினர் நடத்தும் போராட்டத்தை நாடே கவலையோடு பார்க்கும் நிலையில், ஒரு சில அமைப்புகள் மட்டும் இந்த வன்முறைச் சம்பவங்களை, பெரும் எழுச்சி என புகழ்ந்து கொண்டிருக்கின்றன. அதில் மிகவும் கவனிக்கப்பட வேண்டிய அமைப்புகள் - 1)சிவசேனை 2)திராவிடர் கழகம்(திக).இந்த இரண்டு அமைப்புகளுமே காலம் காலமாக வெறுப்பு மற்றும் வன்முறை அரசியல் நடத்தும் அமைப்புகளே.நேற்று விடுதலையில் திக தலைவர் வீரமணி 'காந்தியார் மாநிலத்திற்கு பெரியார் சென்றுவிட்டார் அடிமை ஜாதிகள் இனி விடமாட்டார்' என்ற தலைப்பில் ஒரு கட்டுரை எழுதி இருக்கிறார். இவர் கட்டுரையில் இருந்து நாம் முதலில் புரிந்து கொள்ளவேண்டியது என்னவென்றால் பெரியார் மற்றும் அவருடைய சித்தாந்தங்கள் எங்கு சென்றாலும் அங்கு அமைதி சீர்குலையும்,வன்முறை வெடிக்கும்,மக்கள் நிம்மதி இழப்பார்கள் என்பது தான்.இவர் யாரை அடிமை ஜாதி என குறிப்பிடுகிறார் என்று புரியவில்லை.இந்த போராட்டத்தை நடத்தும் படேல் சமூகத்தினர் பொருளாதார ரீதியாக மிகவும் முன்னேறிய சமூகம். இந்த சமூகம் வர்த்தகத் துறையில் ஆதிக்கம் செலுத்தி கொண்டிருக்கும் ஒரு சமூகமே.இதில் கவனிக்கப்பட வேண்டிய அம்சங்கள் என்னவென்றால்,இந்தப்  போராட்டத்தைத் தலைமை தாங்கி நடத்திக் கொண்டிருக்கும் 22 வயது ஹர்டிக் படேலின் நிபந்தனைகள் தான்.

அவரின் நிபந்தனை படேல் சமூகத்தினரை இதர பிற்படுத்தப்பட்டவர்கள் பிரிவில் சேர்க்க வேண்டும் என்பது அல்ல. அவர் கோருவது இதுவே : 'ஒன்று எங்கள் பிரிவினரையும் இதர பிற்படுத்தப்பட்ட வகுப்பில் சேர்க்க வேண்டும், எங்களுக்கும் இதர பிற்படுத்தப்பட்டவர் பிரிவில் இட ஒதுக்கீடு வழங்கப்பட வேண்டும், இல்லையென்றால் இட ஒதுக்கீடு முற்றிலுமாக நீக்கப்பட வேண்டும்'.

  மேலும், தன்னுடைய படேல் சமூகத்தைச் சேர்ந்த மாணவர்கள் 80-90% மதிப்பெண் வாங்கியும் தகுந்த வேலை கிடைப்பதில்லை எனவும்,அதன் காரணமாக தாங்களே சொந்தமாக தொழில் செய்ய வேண்டிய நிலைக்கு தள்ளப்படுகிறார்கள் எனவும் கூறியுள்ளார்.ஒருவேளை இவர்கள் இதர பிற்படுத்தப்பட்ட பிரிவில் இருந்திருந்தால் நிலைமை வேறு விதமாக இருந்திருக்கும் என்று கூறி இட ஒதுக்கீடு கேட்கிறார். அதோடு அவர் மேலும் ஒரு கருத்தை முன்வைக்கிறார்.அதாவது தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட மற்றும் பழங்குடியினர் இட ஒதுக்கீடு பெறுவதோடு நில்லாமல்,பொது பிரிவிலும் போட்டியிடுகிறார்கள் என்றும் இதன் காரணமாக ஒன்று இட ஒதுக்கீடு முற்றிலுமாக நீக்கப்பட வேண்டும் அல்லது அவருடைய சமூகத்தினருக்கும் இட ஒதுக்கீடு வழங்கப்பட வேண்டும் என்ற நிபந்தனையோடு போராடி வருகிறார்.இதோ அவர் பேட்டி : http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/get-rid-of-reservation-or-make-everyone-its-slave-says-hardik-patel/article7587411.ece .

வீரமணி கூறியிருப்பதில் உண்மை இல்லாமல் போய்விடவில்லை. இந்த திராவிடர் கழகம் என்றுமே தாழ்த்தப்பட்டவர்களுக்கு எதிரான இயக்கமாகவே இருந்து வருகிறது.தீண்டாமையை எதிர்த்து அன்று பிராமண சமூகத்திலிருந்தே பலர் போராடி இருக்கிறார்கள் - உதாரணமாக ராஜாஜி, வைத்தியநாத ஐயர் போன்றவர்களைக் குறிப்பிடலாம். இவர்களே, தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட மக்களை அழைத்துக் கொண்டு, மதுரை மீனாட்சி அம்மன் கோவிலுக்குள் நுழைந்து ஆலயப் பிரவேச போராட்டம் நடத்தியவர்கள். இதன் பொருள் பிராமணர்கள் நல்லவர்கள் என்பதல்ல.தீண்டாமையை விதைத்தவர்கள் என்று சொல்லப்படும் பிராமணர்களிலும் கூட சிலர் தாழ்த்தப்பட்டவர்களுக்காக போராடி இருக்கிறார்கள்.  ஆனால் இந்த திராவிடர் கழகம் இது போல ஒரு போராட்டமும் நடத்தியதில்லை. பெரியார் மற்றும் திகவின் நோக்கம் பிராமண ஒழிப்பு மட்டுமே என்று வாதிடுபவர்கள் உண்டு.ஆனால் உண்மை என்னவென்றால் இவர்கள் நோக்கம் பிராமண ஒழிப்பு மட்டும் அல்ல தாழ்த்தப்பட்டவர்களை முன்னேற விடாமல் செய்வதும் தான். அதன் காரணமாகவே ஹர்டிக் படேலின் போராட்டத்தை, பெரியார் வழி போராட்டம் என்று மார்தட்டிக் கொள்கிறார்களோ என்னவோ.

பெரியார் தாழ்த்தப்பட்டவர்களுக்கு எதிராக பேசிய கருத்துக்கள் முன்பொரு முறை முரசொலியிலேயே கேலிச்சித்திரங்களாக வெளியிடப்பட்டன. பகுத்தறிவு பேசும் இந்த இயக்கங்கள் சுலபமாக பிராமணர்களை தரக்குறைவாக பேசி தங்களின் சாதி எதிர்ப்பைப் பதிவு செய்து விடுகிறார்கள். ஆனால் மற்ற சமூகங்கள் தவறு செய்யும் நேரத்திலும் கூட 'இதற்கு காரணம் வர்ணாஸ்ரம தர்மம் தான்' என தங்கள் மேதாவிலாசத்தைக் காட்டுவார்கள் இந்த பகுத்தறிவு பகலவர்கள்.பிராமணர்கள் எண்ணிக்கையில் குறைவானவர்கள் என்பதால் அவர்களை இந்த இயக்கங்கள் சுலபமாக தாக்கி விட முடிகிறது.

இந்த ஹர்டிக் படேல் உண்மையில் இட ஒதுக்கீடு கோரி போராடுகிறாரா அல்லது இட ஒதுக்கீட்டை எதிர்த்துப் போராடுகிறாரா என்ற கேள்வி எழாமல் இல்லை.இட ஒதுக்கீட்டால் படேல் சமூகத்தினர் எந்த பிரச்சினைகளை எதிர்கொள்வதாக இவர் கூறுகிறாரோ அதே பிரச்சனைகளை பொது பிரிவில் இருக்கும் மற்ற சமூகங்களும் எதிர்கொள்கின்றனவே? பொதுப்பிரிவு என்பது ஏதோ பிராமணர்களுக்கான பிரிவு என்பது போன்ற தோற்றத்தை  இந்த திராவிட இயக்கங்களின் அடிவருடிகளாக செயல்படும் சில ஊடகங்கள் ஏற்படுத்திவிட்டன. பொதுப்பிரிவில் பிராமணர்கள் மட்டுமல்லாது நாயுடு,ரெட்டியார்(சில பிரிவினர்),மார்வாடி,ஜெயின் போன்ற சமூகங்களும் அடங்கும். இந்த அதிமேதாவி வீரமணி ஹர்டிக் படேலை ஆதரிக்கும்பட்சத்தில், அவர் முன்வைக்கும் பிரச்சினைகளுக்கு எதிராகவும் போராட முன்வருவாரா? அதாவது, இட ஒதுக்கீட்டால் பிராமணர் உட்பட பொதுப்பிரிவில் உள்ள பல சமூகங்கள் பாதிக்கப்படுகின்றன என்ற கூற்றை அவர் ஏற்கிறாரா?இட ஒதுக்கீட்டுக்கு எதிராக போராடுவாரா? அல்லது திராவிடர் கழகம் என்கிற அமைப்பு,ஒரு சில லாபங்களுக்காக, இடைநிலை சாதிகள் என சொல்லப்படும் சில சமூகங்களுக்காக மட்டும் போராடி, தாழ்த்தப்பட்டவர்களின் வளர்ச்சியைத் தொடர்ந்து தடுக்கும் ஒரு சுயநலவாத இயக்கம் என்பதை பகிரங்கமாக அறிவிப்பாரா? இதைத் தெளிவு படுத்த வேண்டியது திரு.வீரமணியின் கடமை.

ஹர்டிக் படேல் என்கிற ஒரு தனி நபரின் பின்னால் 18 லட்சம் பேர் திரண்டனர் என்பது வேதனைக்குரிய விஷயம்.குஜராத் மாநில அரசு மென்மையான போக்கைக் கடைபிடிக்காமல்,வன்முறையைத் தூண்டிவிட்ட இந்த ஹர்டிக் படேல் என்கிற இளைஞரைக் கடுமையாகத் தண்டிக்க வேண்டும். உளவுத்துறை மேலும் எச்சரிக்கையுடன் செயல்பட்டு இது போன்ற போராட்டங்கள் குறித்தத் தகவல்களை அரசுக்குத் தெரிவிக்க வேண்டும். அந்தத் தகவல்களை அலட்சியம் செய்யாமல் தகுந்த முன்னெச்சரிக்கை நடவடிக்கைகள் எடுக்கப்பட வேண்டும்.இட ஒதுக்கீடு வழங்கப்படமாட்டாது என்று குஜராத் அரசு அறிவித்திருப்பது பாராட்டுக்குரியது.




Thursday, July 30, 2015

Curious case of Yakub Memon




There are some people who are 'curious' to know why was Yakub Memon hanged. There is a false propaganda carried out by some pseudo-liberals who never bothered about victims of terrorist attacks but are only worried about the terrorists.Usually the argument on such cases will be that the 'accused' is innocent,he was misguided by people around him,he was so young that he didn't have the maturity to understand what he was actually doing,due to surroundings and unfortunate circumstances he committed this crime etc etc etc.But this case is little bit different.

As usual,the wannabe liberals, started abusing our judiciary system.The case was going on for the past 22 years, since 1994.These people have outright rejected the arguments of public prosecutor and the judgement given.They are quoting an article of late RAW(Research and Analysis Wing) officer, Mr.B Raman,which went unpublished way back in 2007.Recently,after getting permission from his brother B S Raghavan,the article was published.Based on this article,these fellows are running a campaign as if Yakub Memon was an innocent guy and he helped the investigating agencies in all possible ways,he was assured of not getting death penalty,he voluntarily came forward and surrendered etc,only thing is he helped his brother Tiger Memon,who is the mastermind behind the blasts,without knowing about the bomb blasts and since he was a chartered accountant,it was possible that he was unaware of the activities of Tiger.The saffron govt has hanged Yakub Memon. And 'sudden-patriots' like Shashi Tharoor calls this a cold blooded murder.Nonsense.

If someone tells such a story to you,just reply them in word - 'stupid'.Raman's article only says, Yakub was uncomfortable with ISI and wanted to surrender to the Mumbai police,but his relatives advised him not to surrender and return back to Karachi.While he was all set to return,the Nepal police arrested him based on suspicion and then he was brought back to India. Raman, not a single place in his article, claims Yakub was innocent.He clearly says Yakub Memon and his family members were involved in the conspiracy and they cooperated with ISI till July 1994.Further,the article reads, Yakub deserved death sentence for his conduct and role before July 1994.Then, he has written that since Yakub cooperated well with the investigating agencies and his conduct was good, "there is a strong case for having second thoughts about the suitability of the death penalty in the subsequent stages of the case.".

So the article which the liberals are using to prove Yakub's 'innocence' itself clearly says he was involved in the conspiracy carried out by ISI.Then where does the question of innocence arise? Yakub was given a fair trial. He had 22 years of time to prove his innocence.Death penalty will be awarded only after thorough investigation.He was given death sentence in 2003, which means after a 10 year investigation,he was awarded death penalty and he had 12 more years to prove his innocence. The following image from the The New Indian Express explains it all.



Just because someone has surrendered,it doesn't mean they should be let off.If the crime deserves a death penalty,the criminal will be given death sentence.Before sympathizing for people like Yakub Memon,spare some time for the families of 257 people who died in the serial blasts.Moreover though Raman says,as Yakub's conduct was good post July 1994 and there should be second thought on death penalty to him,it is not necessary to reconsider the punishment awarded.What Raman wrote in his article was just his opinion.Merit of the evidence and the impact of the crime will only decide the punishment, not the personal opinions of investigating officers.

Let us assume that Yakub was let off based on Mr.Raman's 'certificate' that his conduct was good post July 1994.What if he commits an even bigger crime after being let off?What is the guarantee that he wont do that again?Think..

The review petition on death sentence was rejected by the Supreme Court in 2013 itself,which means when Dr.Manmohan Singh was PM,which means there was a secular govt.On what basis these people accuse Modi sarkar and color the verdict 'saffron'?Its contempt of court.As usual the Muslim card is also being used.If they can ask such a question that was Yakub hanged because he was a Muslim? ,then they owe an answer for these questions as well, 'are these people supporting terrorists and terrorist activities?are these people supporting a terrorist because he is a Muslim?". One more info - statistics says,out of 1414 convicts only 72 were Muslims and 1342 were Hindus.

"..a new report by Death Penalty Research Project of the National Law University (NLU), Delhi shows that of the 1,414 prisoners in the available list of convicts hanged in post-Independence India, only 72 are Muslims—not even 5 per cent of the total executions..." - source-click-here

All these Muslim card-victim card and all will not work out dear liberals.

My appeal to sensible people,let the law take its own course,don't believe the false propaganda of pseudo-liberals and pseudo-seculars.Yakub's criminal culpability was proved beyond doubt. If you have any questions about this issue,you can post it in the comments section.

Mr.B Raman's article is given below. Courtesy rediff.com

Memon brothers and the Mumbai blasts

I have been going through a moral dilemma in my mind ever since I read in the media about the sentencing of Yakub Memon to death by the court, which tried the accused in the Mumbai blasts of March 1993, and his tantrums in the court after the death sentence was pronounced.

Right though the trial, he has been claiming that he was not arrested in Old Delhi as stated by the prosecution, but in Kathmandu, Nepal. This was disputed by the prosecution, which asked for the severest penalty against him and others, who were sentenced to death. All those sentenced to death have the right of appeal to the higher court and to petition the President of India for clemency if their appeals are rejected.

I have been repeatedly asking myself: Should I write this article? Would I be a moral coward if I did not do so? Would the entire case get unravelled if I wrote it? Would the undoubtedly guilty escape punishment as a result of my writing it? Would my article be adversely viewed by the court? Would I be committing contempt of court? It is impossible to have definitive answers to these questions. Ultimately, I decided to write this in the belief that it is important to prevent a person, who in my view does not deserve to be hanged, from going to the gallows.

As the head of the counter-terrorism division of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), I had dealt with the external aspects of the investigation between March 1993 and my retirement on August 31, 1994. I like to believe that my work, with the help of some outstanding field officers of R&AW, was highly appreciated by P V Narasimha Rao, the then prime minister, who described our contribution to the investigation of the external aspects as worth its weight in gold.

I was disturbed to notice that some mitigating circumstances in the case of Yakub Memon and some other members of the family were probably not brought to the notice of the court by the prosecution and that the prosecution did not suggest to the court that these circumstances should be taken into consideration while deciding on the punishment to be awarded to them. In their eagerness to obtain the death penalty, the fact that there were mitigating circumstances do not appear to have been highlighted.

It was an outstanding piece of investigation by the Mumbai police and the Central Bureau of Investigation, with the excellent help of the IB. The nation ought to be proud of the officers who handled the investigation and prosecution, for their outstanding success in painstakingly collecting all the relevant evidence and placing before the court a watertight case.

The aura surrounding them would have shone even brighter had they taken the initiative in underlining before the court that there were some mitigating circumstances and that keeping those circumstances in view, they would refrain from asking for the death penalty even though perpetrators of such barbaric acts of terrorism deserve the death penalty.

The prosecution was right in saying that Yakub was arrested in Old Delhi. Yakub was right in claiming that he was not arrested in Old Delhi. In July 1994, some weeks before my retirement, he was informally picked up in Kathmandu, with the help of the Nepal police, driven across Nepal to a town in Indian territory, flown to Delhi by an aircraft of the Aviation Research Centre and formally arrested in Old Delhi by the investigating authorities and taken into custody for interrogation. The entire operation was coordinated by me.

He had come to Kathmandu secretly from Karachi to consult a relative and a lawyer on the advisability of some members of the Memon family, including himself, who felt uncomfortable with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, returning to India and surrendering to the Mumbai police. The relative and the lawyer advised him against surrender due to a fear that justice might not be done to them. They advised Yakub to go back to Karachi.

Before he could board the flight to Karachi, he was picked up by the Nepal police on suspicion, identified and rapidly moved to India.

He cooperated with the investigating agencies and assisted them by persuading some other members of the Memon family to flee from the protection of the ISI in Karachi to Dubai and surrender to the Indian authorities. The Dubai part of the operation was coordinated by a senior officer of the IB, who was then on deputation to the ministry of external affairs. Neither the R&AW nor I had any role in the Dubai part of the operation.

The cooperation of Yakub with the investigating agencies after he was picked up informally in Kathmandu and his role in persuading some other members of the family to come out of Pakistan and surrender constitute, in my view, a strong mitigating circumstance to be taken into consideration while considering whether the death penalty should be implemented.

There is not an iota of doubt about the involvement of Yakub and other members of the family in the conspiracy and their cooperation with the ISI till July 1994. In normal circumstances, Yakub would have deserved the death penalty if one only took into consideration his conduct and role before July 1994.

But if one also takes into consideration his conduct and role after he was informally picked up in Kathmandu, there is a strong case for having second thoughts about the suitability of the death penalty in the subsequent stages of the case.

http://www.rediff.com/news/column/exclusive-b-ramans-unpublished-2007-article-why-yakub-memon-must-not-be-hanged/20150723.htm

Monday, July 27, 2015

Dr.A P J Abdul Kalam - the man who taught how to dream



July 27,2015 is a sad day for India as it has lost an eminent scientist,great president and a humble human being Dr.A P J Abdul Kalam.He played a key role when India carried out nuclear tests in Pokhran during the Vajpayee regime.

In India, the President post is more like a rubber stamp,but Dr.Kalam used some exclusive powers, given to President,which not many of his predecessors used.Dr.Kalam will be remembered for two of his important actions as a President. One - it is said that, it was Dr.Kalam who stopped Mrs.Sonia Gandhi from becoming the Prime Minister of India citing the citizenship issue.Two - he exercised his power under Article 111 of Constitution and sent back the "Prevention of Disqualification Amendment Bill,2006" for revision.

As a President,govt offers him free Iftar during the month of Ramzan,but Dr.Kalam gracefully ordered the food to be served to poor children. Even after completing his term as President,Dr.Kalam continued his social work.He has given lectures in many colleges and schools.He stayed in Anna University.He paid for the food consumed by his family members in Rashtrapathy Bhavan canteen.

It was Dr.A P J Abdul Kalam, who gave confidence to the demoralized Indian youngsters that one day India will become a superpower.His 'Wings of Fire' was able to ignite many young minds.This book has a special place in the annual book-fair conducted in Chennai every year.His Vision2020 convinced us that India will be the superpower in 2020.India may not become a superpower in 2020, but we will be on track.

Watch this 2 minutes video.The words he uses,his majestic voice and gallant body language will inspire anyone.




The man hails from Rameswaram.He was born in a poor family,but now the entire world weeps for his demise.This is called 'achievement'.His house was shown in TV channels.It is so simple that none will say its a former President's house.Nowadays even panchayat presidents owns properties worth lakhs and crores,but inspite of being a President of the nation for 5 years,this man lived such a simple life.Once I have seen Dr.Kalam, during my college days,at a close distance.When one of my friends went near his car and asked for an autograph,the man patted the guy on his shoulders and politely said 'son,its getting late for me.I have to board the flight at 4.30,if I give my autograph to you,others will be disappointed as I cannot sign for everyone now".Such a humble and sincere man he was.

The man who taught us the value of dreams is no more.I started blogging in the year 2009.I gave my blog title as 'Start Dreaming' inspired by Dr.Kalam's words only.Though his age is 84,it is too difficult to overcome the sadness.

Our request to the central govt is to set up a university,mainly for scientific research and name it after Dr.Kalam.Our deep condolences to the family members of Dr.A P J Abdul Kalam. May his soul rest in peace.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

A Joke Called Liquor Ban in Tamil Nadu



In Tamil Nadu, whether you find hospitals or not,you can find liquor shops in all parts of the state,even in remote villages.Nowadays the situation has developed to such an extent that if someone says 'drinking is a bad habit',he will be branded as a 'retard'.In olden days,some excuses were given for drinking - to overcome sadness,to celebrate a success etc.Also our male-chauvinistic society was so 'narrow minded' that women were not allowed to drink. Now there is a new trend - 'drinking is to get social with people'.What a fantastic reason.And yes,now ours has become a feminist society as well, as there is no gender based discrimination in drinking. So this is for common man. Infact, the points I mentioned above holds good for the people of entire nation,but this article is all about the recent developments over liquor in Tamil Nadu politics.

In Tamil Nadu,the govt itself runs the liquor shops under the name TASMAC(Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation).All of a sudden, some kind of 'enlightenment' happened to Tamil Nadu media and politicians,that all are jumping to earth and sky about the TASMAC and liquor shops. There are 2 types of arguments against TASMAC - 1)Govt should not run the TASMAC,but private firms can run(as drinking is one's privacy)- this is a brilliant argument. 2)There should be a total ban liquor.I am not sure what kind of impact will the point 1 mentioned above can create in the state. The argument is so stupid and lame that 'how can the govt itself give warning about the after-effects of alcohol and run the liquor shops too?'.According to this logic,it is ok if someone drinks in a private shop and develops some disease,but it is not ok if the same happens in a govt owned liquor shop. This argument happens in most of the places - work place,among college guys,in social media etc. If the private vendors take over liquor business,still shouldn't they get approval from govt? Now doesn't the same hypocrisy arise? Govt preaching about adverse effects of alcohol on one side and it gives license to private vendors to carry on liquor business,so is that fine? People who argue like this may get a sense of satisfaction that they have teared the ruling govt into pieces with their argument. The govt took over the TASMAC to prevent cartelisation and revenue loss. Since the govt took over TASMAC, the illicit liquor flow has been controlled to a great extent and the govt too got good revenue.

When private vendors sell liquor, what will happen? Or it should be like,what happened when private vendors had the license to run TASMAC. Relatives and benamis of powerful politicians ran the TASMAC shops,they got huge revenue but never paid the taxes properly.They supplied poisonous liquor which resulted in the death of many people.So should we support TASMAC?No,that is not the point here.Running the TASMAC shops by private vendors will do more bad than good.

Regarding the point2 of imposing a complete liquor ban,I am fine with it.I have spoken about it on many occasions.I have also written against drinking in the past.If a liquor ban is imposed,I will be the first person to support it.But this article is not about my opinion,it is actually about the recent stunts by our politicians.

PMK leader Ramadoss and his son(who thinks he is the next CM,he also has formed ministry with his family members it seems),were constantly speaking against liquor shops, only since 2002.Actor Rajnikanth made a statement against forest brigand Veerappan.Rajni called Veerappan a demon and went on to say, he should be shot dead.This has irked Ramadoss then and he started his activities against actor Rajni.Ramadoss said,Rajni spoiled the youth of TN by endorsing smoking and drinking in his movies and sought for a complete ban on his movies.He openly asked his community people to boycott Rajni movies and they held rallies too.In many places,PMK people allegedly,vandalized the theaters.The movie reel was taken away from a theater in Jayamkondam(Source-The Hindu,click here) by some PMK men.If Rajni says something against Veerappan,why should Ramadoss be bothered about it? The reason is - Veerappan belongs to his community as well(source-click here). This is a clear case of caste politics.Later in 2004,Rajni voiced out against PMK and asked his fan clubs to defeat PMK in all the 6 constituencies where they contested.Unfortunately PMK won and Rajni was not ready to experiment anymore.He 'bought' peace with Ramadoss and stopped using smoking/drinking scenes in his movies.After Chandramukhi's release,Ramadoss called Rajni his friend('Nanbar' Rajni).The entire episode was twisted as if Ramadoss changed Rajni and PMK is a party against drinking/smoking.Recent request by Anbumani to actor Dhanush to quit smoking, is yet another gimmick on the same line.

Was there no smoking/drinking scenes in Tamil movies before Rajni's entry into the industry? What's this then?



Except MGR,almost all actors have acted in smoking and drinking scenes.Why should Ramadoss single out Rajni?Let it be a case of personal enmity.This man says ADMK spoils Tamil Nadu by running arrack shops.The ADMK govt took over liquor sales in 2003 and TASMAC became a govt institution.Inspite of knowing this,why did he join the ADMK alliance in 2009? He got 7 seats and fought the elections under ADMK leadership.Was he not aware of TASMAC shops then?Isn't this enough to prove PMK's stand on liquor ban is publicity stunt?If you need more details about PMK, you can post a comment under this article,I will respond.

Next joker is Vaiko.Vaiko was a loyal DMK member.He was expelled from the party as he supported LTTE and DMK feared LTTE may kill the DMK chief Kalaignar Karunanidhi.Then he formed a party on his own(MDMK).I will tell why I have mentioned this information later.Vaiko was in ADMK alliance in 1998 Lok Sabha elections and won some MPs.Then Vaiko was arrested under POTA act by the then chief minister Jayalalithaa for supporting LTTE.After almost 18 months he was released.Again he joined the ADMK alliance in 2006.He campaigned like a loyal ADMK man in 2006 assembly elections,2009 Lok Sabha elections,2011 assembly elections too.But,he was not happy with the no. of seats offered to him during 2011 elections and he quit ADMK alliance,but his party didn't contest the elections too.He was with ADMK for atleast 5 years,after TASMAC was taken over by govt.Now he says TASMAC shops should be closed.

There is no liquor ban in some states ruled by BJP and Congress.One may again intelligently argue, govt doesn't own liquor shops.Such people can scroll above.So their demand for a complete liquor ban is laughable.This holds good to communist parties as well.I don't want to comment anything about Vijayakanth's DMDK.Upto the readers to make a decision about it.

PMK,MDMK,DMDK,BJP,Cong and Communists - these are all nothing compared to DMK. Recently,the DMK chief,Mr.M Karunanidhi announced that there will be a complete liquor ban in Tamil Nadu,if DMK comes to power.What a noble gentleman Mr.Karunanidhi is.There was complete liquor ban in Tamil Nadu until 1971.It was the same Karunanidhi who lifted the liquor ban.Former Madras chief minister and founder of Swatantra Party,Mr.C Rajagopalachari(fondly called as Rajaji),met Karunanidhi personally and requested him not to lift the liquor ban in the state. Karunanidhi not only lifted the ban but also said that Rajaji requested a Rajya Sabha seat for his son C R Narasiman.

People should know about Rajaji.Let me narrate a small incident here.Once Rajaji was offered a free ticket to watch cricket match in stadium.His grandchild took one back.He called the child back and said,'This is the Chief minister's ticket and not Rajaji's ticket and therefore leave it here'.He himself did not go to the match.Source-Corruption at the Grassroots: The Shades and Shadows By N. Narayanasamy).This is just an example.It is possible to list out many such incidents and prove how honest was Rajaji.He formed a party against congress(Swatantra Party).Not even his son was aware of it until the official announcement came from the man himself.But Karunanidhi says Rajaji asked a Rajya Sabha seat for his son.

Karunanidhi, who justified the act of lifting the liquor ban in TN then,by giving false information from literature as an example,now says he will ban liquor in Tamil Nadu.Should we not laugh out loud on this statement?By allowing free flow of alcohol in Tamil Nadu,it was Karunanidhi who spoiled Tamil Nadu.An entire generation,which was not aware of alcohol,started drinking because of this man.DMK and Karunanidhi are the root cause of all the evils in Tamil Nadu.But his statements are seriously highlighted by a leading Tamil weekly called Ananda Vikatan.After this statement by Karunanidhi,the magazine wrote, 'its dream of seeing a liquor-free TN may come true soon'.Lot of magazines support this claim.Their dream is not to see TN as a liquor-free state,but to see Karunanidhi as Chief Minister again.

TN will go for elections in 2016(the probability of advancing the elections cannot be ruled out).That is why our media and politicians are 'suddenly' concerned about the younger generations getting spoilt because of liquor.A leading Tamil news channel,Thanthi TV,even went to the extent of telecasting a school girl shouting under the influence of alcohol.Though her face was masked, is it so difficult to identify that girl?People of her locality might have easily identified who that girl was and would have 'branded' her with 'terms'.We are also coming across a very disturbing news of toddlers forced to drink by elders.For all these problems these magazines,TV channels,social activists and politicians conveniently blame the state govt and the govt-run TASMACs.

Did school children not drink before TASMAC was introduced?I have personally witnessed children studying in 6th,7th standards smoking and drinking.There was no govt run TASMACs then.They were able to buy and drink liquor easily.Such incidents has been happening for a long period of time and just like that blaming govt run liquor shops,one may satisfy himself that he has done a great service to this nation.But the ground reality will remain the same.

Through this article am not endorsing liquor shops or drinking.I stand by my view - drinking is a bad habit and it can spoil an entire generation.At any cost a liquor ban is must.When the Kerala govt wanted to impose a ban on liquor in Kerala,the Supreme court asked the Kerala govt to follow Gujarat model on imposing the same same(source-click here).But this step has to be taken by the state govt. The TN state govt should think about the welfare of people and go for a liquor ban in the state.Neither the ADMK nor the DMK showed any intent to shut down the liquor shops,instead they openly supported increasing the number of shops.TASMAC was taken over by govt in 2003,DMK was in power for 5 years after that(2006-2011).Both the parties heavily depended on the TASMAC revenue while in power.There are certain rules and regulations in running a liquor shop like there should be some minimum distance between one shop and other,there should be no liquor shops in residential areas,near religious places,near educational institutes etc.But the govt itself violated all these rules and like some provisional store,there are liquor shops in every street. As a first step in reducing liquor flow,the govt should atleast come forward to reduce the number of shops and follow the rules mentioned above.Because I have mocked other parties,it doesn't mean ADMK is an angel. ADMK is equally bad.

The press should behave with some responsibility.Instead of behaving like official mouth-piece of DMK,they should pass constructive criticism on govt.Only if the journals follow some standard,it can make the people think.The only intention of most of the leading Tamil weeklies and dailies seems to be to bring down the ADMK govt and make Kalaignar Karunanidhi as chief minister again,which is unfortunate.









Wednesday, July 15, 2015

M S Viswanathan - The Legend lives on


      M.S.Viswanathan 24 June 1928 - 14 July 2015

M S Viswanathan, popularly called as MSV,is no more.Ofcourse he is 87,so one can say 'its not a young age'.May be true.But there are people who grew up listening to M S Viswanathan's songs.If I say, 'MSV's music made my childhood awesome',it can't be an exaggeration.It doesn't mean I haven't listened to other music directors,but only some people find a special place in our hearts and MSV is one such person.

MSV refined music in Tamil cinema and now he is like a library to all the music directors. Prior to MSV,music followed a 'drama' style.The movie will be full of songs,infact dialogues will come in between songs.That was a trend.But MSV has given a new dimension to music in Tamil cinema.It is not like before MSV music was bad,but only means MSV was a trendsetter.The number of instruments used,the way background music was given,singers were chosen etc, all changed with MSV's arrival.May be there were legends like K V Mahadevan who were good at it too,but MSV was still someone special.Along with Mr.T K Ramamoorthy,MSV has composed lot of memorable songs.

One important quality of MSV is the amount of respect he showed for lyrics and also lyricists. There were instances of MSV composing music for lyrics and also lyrics being written after the tune was composed.He had a golden run in the industry with veteran lyricists like Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram, Kannadasan and Vaali. I have read lot of incidents about MSV. Once Kannadasan came to studio early while MSV has not turned up and he was not picking up the phone call too. Then it was understood he was still sleeping.But Kannadasan had to go, so he wrote the lyrics starting with the lines 'avanukenna thoongi vittaan,agapattavan naanallavaa'(meaning he slept happily,but I was caught here).After MSV came to studio,he had a smile on his face and as the lyrics matched the tune perfectly,he went ahead with composition with the same lyrics.

There was an argument between Vaali and MSV while composing a song.MSV challenged Vaali for a song and said if Vaali could impress MSV,he would give him his gold ornaments.Vaali accepted the challenge and gave the lyrics to MSV,in return MSV gave his gold chain to Vaali as he was highly impressed with the lyrics,which then Vaali politely refused.So much respect he had for lyrics. Vaali himself has struggled a lot to establish himself in industry.Vaali was highly talented,but he was waiting for the right opportunity.After he wrote for the MGR starer 'Padagotti' for which MSV was the music director,Vaali became a 'star' lyricist.Infact,MSV has recommended Vaali's name to many producers and Vaali himself has written this.Not only to Vaali,MSV gave break to great singers like SPB,Vani Jayaram etc.

People said with Ilaiyaraja's entry into Tamil Cinema,MSV's domination ended.But the reality was different. With Ilaiyaraja's entry, Tamil people's love for Hindi songs faded away as Ilaiyaraja's tunes were fresh.Undoubtedly Ilaiyaraja went on to become a trendsetter and rightly he is being called as the 'Isaignani'(musical genius).With time,people's taste changes and trend changes accordingly. Ilaiyaraja could only create a place for himself(which none can replace),but his rise could not sideline MSV.Viswanathan continued to compose music and gave memorable songs. Just like that one cannot compose 16 songs for a movie - Ninaithale Inikkum and make all the 16 as super hit songs. Once MSV was invited as chief guest in a college.Ilaiyaraja was at a peak at that time.When MSV went to stage,students started screaming 'sing Siva Sambo'(Sambo Siva Sambo is a song from the movie Ninaithale Inikkum).MSV said,'wait wait I will definitely sing Siva Sambo' while going to stage. Even after Ilaiyaraja's entry, MSV continued his golden touch with movies like Ninaithale Inikkum,Billa,Simla Special,Thillu Mullu,Varumayin Niram Sivappu,Thirisoolam,Ranuva Veeran etc.

MSV worked with Ilaiyaraja too in the movies 'Mella Thirandhadhu Kadhavu' and 'Vishwa Thulasi'. He is not only a great music director,but also a great singer.He sang many songs for other music directors.'Unakkenna kuraichal' from Velli Vizha music by V Kumar,Vidaikodu Engal Naade from Kannathil Muthamittal and AalaalaKandaa from Sangamam music by A R Rahman,Megame from Madrasapattinam music by G V Prakash etc.Madrasapattinam released in 2010. MSV's voice had the magic till his last breath.God's gift.

MSV was one among the very music directors who used the instruments perfectly. The piano usage in songs like 'Paaduvor paadinaal aada thondrum'(Kannan en Kadhalan),'Enakkoru Kadhali Irukkindraal'(Muthana Muthallavo),'Ellorum nalam vaazha'(Enga Mama),Saxaphone usage after every line in the song 'Kalyana naal paarkka sollalama'(Parakkum Paavai),violin usage in 'Engey Nimmadhi'(Puthiya Paravai) etc. are genius work by him.These are all just samples.

MSV along with T K Ramamoorthy has given 'n' number of hit songs.T K Ramamoorthy was a master in Violin while MSV was a master in Harmonium.The song 'Engey Nimmadhi' held the record for using more number of violins those days.Puthiya Paravai was an altogether different experience. It was a thriller and the song 'Paartha Nyaabagam Illayo' with a haunting humming and terrific instrument usage would have definitely frightened some people those days.I didn't have the privilege of watching it in theaters as the movie released 23 years before I was born.Last month Jaya TV telecasted Puthiya Paravai,still the movie has not lost its charisma to attract new age audience too. You should watch this song to understand this :


Many songs like Koduthadhellam Koduthaan(Padagotti),Athai Madi Methayadi(Karpagam),Ullathil Nalla Ullam(Karnan),Nenjam Marappadhillai(Nenjam Marappadhillai),Sonnadhu Neethaana(Nenjil Or Aalayam),Senthamizhthen Mozhiyaal(Maalayitta Mangai),Manaivi Amaivadhellam(Manmadha Leelai),Kadavul Amaithu Vaitha Medai,Deivam Thandha Veeda(Avaloru Thodarkadhai), Vetri meedhu vetri vandhu(Thedi Vandha Mappillai),Odum Megangale,Adho andha paravai pola(Aayirathil Oruvan),Kettadhum koduppavane Krishna Krishna,Deivame(Deiva Magan), Madhavi Pon Mayilaal thogai viriththaal(Iru Malargal),Puthiya Vaanam,Rajavin Paarvai Raniyin pakkam(Anbe Vaa), Manithanenbavan(Sumaithangi), Paramasivan Kazhuthilirundhu(Soorya Gandhi),Pazhamudhir Solayile,Anbulla Maanvizhiye(Kuzhanthayum Deivamum),Adisaya Raagam,Yezhu Swarangaliley,Kelviyin Nayagane(Aboorva Raagangal) etc etc etc. I can keep typing his hit songs. To list out his hit songs itself I can write atleast 5 blog posts.

He has composed music for devotional songs like Pullanguzhal Kodutha Moongilgale.He has composed music for the song 'Allah Allah nee illadhe idame illai neethaane ulagin ellai' and he himself sang this song. This song was composed for the movie 'Mohammed Bin Thuglak'.The lyrics for this song was written by Vaali.The then CM MGR was not happy with MSV composing music for this movie as it was a political satire.MSV was very close to MGR,but that didn't stop him from working for this movie.

He has composed music for over 1700 movies in Tamil,Malayalam,Kannada and Hindi.The nation should have celebrated him like anything and he should have got a Bharata Ratna during his lifetime itself.Unfortunately,he was not even honored with a Padma award.Not sure what was wrong with the juries.Vani Jayaram got national award for the best playback singer category for the movie Aboorva Raagangal(music by MSV),but M S Viswanathan did not get the award.Ofcourse Vani Jayaram deserves it,no doubt about that. During a felicitation function(I think it was for A R Rahman),people raised the concerns of MSV not being honored with national/padma awards.But Mr.Viswanathan gracefully said,'the love and affection of fans is my biggest award.I could see so many people getting award in the industry,I am so happy about it.'.So what if the successive govts didn't give him any award? That will not degrade him,that has only made those awards meaningless. Today a leading Tamil daily mentioned about MSV's proximity to MGR and Kalaignar Karunanidhi,but still he has not got an award.Had he considered these awards so important,easily he could have 'got' it by making MGR or Kalaignar to recommend his name.But he didn't do that,man of self-respect. Ms.Jayalalithaa is the only Chief Minister to recommend his name for Padma awards,but the central govts as usual ignored a legend from Tamil Nadu.If MSV doesn't deserve these awards then who else deserves them? MSV is on par with legends like Naushad Ali.Because MSV was not given these awards,only the awards lost its respect.

M S Viswanathan was not only a great music director but also a nice person.He has never spoken anything against anyone.MSV took care of his Guru Mr.S M Subbaiah Naidu(he was a great music director as well) and his wife till the end of their life.Royal Salute!!!

The song 'Vaaraayo thozhi vaaraayo' is a common song in marriages happening in Tamil Nadu and also for some other happy occasions. Music was composed by MSV.So MSV will be behind the happiness of people of future generations too.MSV composed music for 'Thamizhththaai Vaazhththu'(தமிழ்த்தாய் வாழ்த்து) and even today school children sing Thamizhththaai Vaazhththu in the same tune. As long Tamil is alive,people will sing Thamizhththai Vaazhththu and as long as people sing it,MSV will be remembered.Tamil is immortal and so is MSV.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Bahubali - The Epic



The most expected movie of the year - Bahubali,directed by S S Rajamouli, has finally hit the silver screens.I watched the Tamil version.Rajamouli gained popularity all over India after his fantasy flick Magadheera - starring Ram Charan.The dubbed version itself was well received among even non-Telugu speaking audience.Then he went on with Eega(Naan-E in Tamil and it was not a dubbing, but a bilingual),which again went on to become a super hit.Now he has made Bahubali as a bilingual again(some say its trilingual - Tamil,Telugu and Hindu,but not sure).What's Bahubali all about? I can answer in one word - Grandeur.Ofcourse Bahubali has more to offer.

Well in the name of review,I don't want to reveal too much about the story. Infact,more than story it is the narration and the visuals that keeps us engaged till the end.This is how the movie goes on - the tribal people see a hand carrying a kid in water,asking for help.The kid is brought up by Rohini and she names him Shivudu. The boy keeps asking whats there in the hills behind waterfalls and he attempts to climb that hill many times,but he fails.Needless to say,who that kid is - hero Prabhas. One fine day he sees an angel like girl calling singing and dancing at him,Somehow he climbs the hill and finds out a rebel group.Who are they?What's their goal?How Prabhas joins them and what he finds out? This is what Bahubali part-1 is all about.

Rajamouli's screenplay has more scope for 'mass' scenes than any suspense element.Performance-wise everyone has done their part very well.Tamanna as Avantika, has tried her best to act as a rebel.Her angry expressions and fights justify her casting.Other heroine Anushka as Devasenai, has less footage compared to Tamanna, but its a powerful character.Anushka's make-up and dialogues are well received by the masses. The very first scene when Anushka was shown,people started whistling.Glad to see a heroine having such a mass appeal,especially when her character is not an usual glamorous one.Sathyaraj rocked as Kattappa - the loyal slave.In one scene Sathyaraj fights with 'Kicha' Sudeep.It was choreographed very well.The energy shown by Sathyaraj in that scene makes it a treat to watch.Sudeep as Aslam,comes in just 1 scene.He may get more footage in second part it seems.Still I doubt it as he gets a special 'Thanks' in the title card.

Palvaalthevan(Rana) is a ruthless king.He kills his own people,tries to kill his cousin,doesn't mind people dying when his 100 feet gold statue is raised.Such is his lust for power.He looks good and has a good screenpresence.He had to work really hard to be accepted as a villain.His hard work paid off. Prabhas as Bahubali and Shiva fits to the character perfectly.He is not such a big mass hero, but his tall and strong physique is appealing.His physqiue makes some scenes like lifting the Shiva statue believable.There are mass scenes for Prabhas.His entry into the Magizhmadhi kingdom is the best sequence. Theater erupted to a thunderous response for the golden statue scene.There are more mass scenes like his walk after chopping off the head of a prince,lifting the Shiva Lingam,fighting in battle field etc.

Rajamouli has shown the quality called 'Rajabakthi'(people's devotion towards the king) very well.I have read this in novels as well,how a 'good' king will be treated by the people of his country.In one word - he will be treated like a God.We can see that from the expressions of people.It was so natural especially in the statue lifting scene.

CGI work was ok,not bad.It could have been bit better,but with an Indian budget,we have to compromise on this aspect.Flying scenes,the snow ride etc were bit amateur.But the battlefield scenes are the highlight of the movie.It was picturised so well that one could feel as if he is returning from real battlefield. Of course, one can argue that there are better Hollywood movies.Always there will be a better option,without comparison I can say the battle scene was marvelous.The funny language of 'Kalakeyas',the competition between Rana and Prabhas to outsmart each other in defeating the enemy to get crowned,Prabhas' inspirational speech and the grand sets and CGI work makes the battlefield scene a mind blowing experience. 

There will be comparisons between Magadheera and Bahubali.The question of whether Bahubali is better than Magadheera is unavoidable.Magadheera cannot be called as a period film as only the flashback portions involve all those wars and kingdoms.But Bahubali is completely a period film. Magadheera had a reference to Sagapthiya Vamsam, people of which will kill atleast 100 people before their death in wars to save the country, with the hero Ram Charan himself playing a warrior from Sagapthiya Vamsam. Bahubali has Kattappa,a strong and bold warrior,who is capable of saving the entire kingdom,but remains a slave to kings due to the promise of his ancestors.Magadheera had electrifying scenes like confrontation between Ram Charan and SriHari,RamCharan and DevGill etc. Bahubali doesn't have such confrontation scenes with villain directly.Probably I should say till now we didn't see such a scene as the movie is still not over.The director gives a clear lead to second part in the climax.Otherwise both the movies follows the 'mass template' faithfully. There are scenes of head chopping,item song etc in both the movies.Magadheera had better songs compared to Bahubali. But Maragatha Mani's BGM gives the much needed mass feel.



I have written about almost all the important characters except Ramya Krishnan.She deserves a special write up.16 years ago,her Neelampari character was a huge hit among masses.Her acting had such a reach that people teared off the screens in some theaters because she insulted Rajni(in movie). In these 16 years she has done many movies,but her Sivagami character in Bahubali creates the same impact.You get goosebumps when she feeds both the babies and says both are her sons(Rana and Prabhas), runs the kingdom in the absence of an able king,fights the traitors,brings up the children. The crowning scene was terrific.Ramya understood the character very well and has given what it actually needs.She stands up tall,with a proud smile on her face praises one prince and crowns the other.If I remember correctly only Ramya speaks punch dialogues,ex 'adhuve en kattalai,enadhu kattalaye Saasanam'.Splendid performance.If you ask me to watch it a second time,without any second thought I would go mainly because of Ramya Krishnan.She has lived as Raj Mata. I am sure Ramya will have a part in second part too.

We should ignore people who sit in home and say "my uncle's sister's friend's brother's daughter texted me 'Bahubali' is average,so its average".We have seen movies like this since black and white days.MGR's 'Adimaippen' had somewhat similar script.But that we can say for any movie. Bahubali is a tested and tried formula script with grand visuals and soulful performances.Royal salute to Rajamouli for making the characters speak proper Tamil.Credit goes to Karky(dialogue writer) as well. Its not only a visual treat but its epic. Go for it!!!

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Papanasam - Recreates the 'Drishyam' Magic



Papanasam is a faithful remake of the malayalam classic 'Drishyam'.I am writing this review after watching both the movies - Papanasam and Drishyam.Before watching Papanasam,I had an opinion that it was highly impossible to recreate the magic of Mohan Lal's Drishyam. There were reasons for that.Be it Mohan Lal or Meena or the children who acted as their daughters or even the Muslim who runs the tea-shop,their performances were very natural. On the other hand,I thought Kamal may overact and spoil the character in an attempt to overtake MohanLal.There were many who thought like this.But 'Papanasam' gave a tight slap to us.We felt like Kamal through his 'Choyambulingam' character saying 'chinna pasangala yaar kitta?' to us.

Remaking a classic, which was also commercial blockbuster, is like walking on a tight rope. That too, Drishyam is a complicated case.Mohan Lal's George Kutty character doesn't demand any special appearance or loud dialogues.George Kutty is a common man, who earned all his properties by sheer hardwork and leads a happy life with his family.How he faces a difficult situation and how he overcomes it.That is what the protagonist of Drishyam or Papanasam is supposed to do.When Mohan Lal has already done this perfectly,the task of doing this role again in a different language is going to be a real challenge.Kamal took up the challenge.

The story is simple.Choyambulingam(Kamal) is an ordinary man,who has come up on his own, marries Gautami without getting any dowry.He has 2 daughters.At times voices out against the corrupt policeman(Kalabavan Mani).One day his family faces an unexpected problem.What the problem is?Is Choyambulingam able to solve it?If yes, how? This is what Papanasam is all about.Recently,we have seen lot of thriller/horror movies.In such movies, the screenplay will revolve around an incident and the audience will be left guessing - 'who is behind the incident?'.But Papanasam is a different thriller.Here you will be tempted to know what will be the next move of the protagonist rather than thinking 'what would have happened when the incident took place'.You will understand this while watching the movie. 


Biggest success of Papanasam is its casting and performance.Baby Esther and Asha Sarath played the same roles in original version as well.I thought Gautami is a miscast after watching Meena.I felt Meena had a better screenpresence than Gautami,but that did not spoil the character.
Gautami has done well.Hope she gets more offers after Papanasam. The elder daughter Niveda,corrupt policeman Kalabhavan Mani,Ilavarasu as constable, Arul Dass as sub-inspector have done well too.Nothing was artificial.Baby Esther's eyes, expressions and dialogue delivery would leave you spellbound. Asha Sarath as a tough police officer and a caring mother has done exceedingly well.It seems she is doing acting in this role for third time( after Malayalam and Kannada versions).

 But it was M.S.Bhaskar as the tea-shop owner stood out.He was damn brilliant.People will usually say 'he lived as that character',that sentence will suit Mr.Bhaskar very well.His local slang,expressions,body language etc proves his quality.I can proudly call myself as a fan of this actor.He was terrific in movies like Mozhi,Uttama Villain etc.Compared to those movies,he has less footage in Papanasam,but he has proved his mettle in this role too.Other than M S Bhaskar,I feel one more character has come out very well in Tamil - Anant Mahadevan's Prabhakar,who comes as husband of Asha Sarath.He was impressive with his innocent expressions and body language.This particular character alone I feel Tamil version is better than Malayalam.

Ghibran's BGM and songs are pleasing.The background music is neither too loud nor quiet. Ghibran has given as much as the situation demands.Sujith's cinematography takes you to Papanasam itself.Lovely visuals.'Yeya En Kottikara' song has a soothing music and pleasant visuals.


 I have mentioned lot of positives about the movie,but Kamal as Choyambulingam elevates the standard of movie.Full credit to director Jeethu Joseph.Though he has directed the original version,it is not easy to create the same impact again.Handling Mohan Lal and Kamal has its own advantages and difficulties.They are known for their acting skills,so it is quite normal for even an average movie-goer to expect some impressive performance. The advantage is they are capable of doing it,difficulty is extracting it perfectly.The director has mastered the art it seems. 


There are some scenes which are enough to differentiate Mohan Lal and Kamal.Mohan Lal shows an unimaginable calmness in his face and his body language conveys the message 'you have underestimated me and you are going to pay for it'. The same scene,Kamal does bit differently.He just gives a sarcastic look towards the police. It was like saying 'now you might have understood who Choyambulingam is'. Audience were crazily whistling and clapping for this particular scene.Again in climax, Mohan Lal maintains his calmness on his face still we are able to notice the tears in his eyes.Here too his expressions and body language says,'yes,it may be wrong.even we are not happy with that,but there was no other option,for me my family is important'. Whereas Kamal was completely different from Mohan Lal in climax.He starts of kind of normally, gradually he gets emotional and suddenly he breaks-down.Splendid performance it was. In short, Mohan Lal and Kamal have acted differently but with complete perfection. Those who have watched Drishyam and Papanasam will never say Kamal was better than Mohan Lal or Mohan Lal was better than Kamal.

There is another important point about this script.Anant Mahadevan once says 'our son is misusing your affection'.Parents should control their children - both son and daughter. When parents fail to control their children on some aspects,they will only end up suffering.Just because someone is a 'son',he doesn't get the license to do some 'small' mistakes. Ignoring some 'serious' mischief of the 'sons' is the starting point for most of the crimes in the society.

As I have mentioned in the title, the Kamal-Jeethu Joseph combination has recreated the 'Drishyam' magic in Papanasam too.Instead of walking out of theaters, when the hero does not fight with the villains using muscle power and uses his brains,the audience are whistling clapping like anything.Papanasam is going to be a huge hit for Kamal and undoubtedly this is the best movie of Kamal in the last 12 years.To be honest,I don't find any negative points in this movie.It is flawless. If you are a fan of good cinema,without any second thought,book your tickets for Papanasam.