Myna

I was not too keen on watching this movie. Myna was released in November, 2010. I was sure it was going to be some graamathu kathai with "louvves" thrown in which does not appeal to me at all. The Arien mentioned that I had said the same thing 'bout Aadukalam which I had actually enjoyed. Hmmm...

Well, this was the movie which had a Vizha (Celebration) for its hit status and Kamal Hassan came and said a few words 'bout how great the movie was and how he shed tears and all tht - actually, that should be the one reason for not watching this movie. This whole Vizha stuff is overdone - they have a Vizha for almost anything nowadays. Forcing popular actors to say a few words, making some TV actress dance for the songs from the film etc. etc. After all tht the movie is a total blaade and you wonder why they are having a Vizha??!!! Blade da saami. Hmmmm...

Image Courtesy: http://www.chennaionline.com/

The Story: (No Spoilers)

Surali is the hero, who as a boy rescues Myna and her mother when they get thrown out of their house. He requests an old lady for whom he has a lot of affection, to take care of both of them. Myna's mother makes Kuzhi Paniyaram and other tiffin items and earns her livelihood. Myna goes to school while Surali is a wastrel. Myna's mother always calls him her Maruman (Son-in-law) but when Myna grows up, she decides to get Myna married to someone rich from Dubai. This upsets Surali who has a nasty temper, he picks up a stone to kill the mother. The mother reacts by filing a police complaint and Surali is put in jail for 15 days.

In the meantime, the mother arranges for the wedding. Surali comes to know of this and escapes from the Jail to stop the wedding. The entire police station and all the constables are forced to abandon Diwali celebrations. One police constable and the Inspector go in search of Surali. Meanwhile, Surali reaches home and confronts the mother. The mother locks the door and stays inside with Myna while threatning to commit suicide by burning herself. Myna informs her mother that she would rather die than marry the Dubai Mappilai and the mother can go ahead and commit suicide. She walks out with Surali only to be caught red-handed by the Inspector and the constable. What happens after this forms the rest of the story.

Watch the movie and let me know how you like it. I felt the movie was well-edited and had a good story which was presented well. It kinda reminded me of Aadukalam. Naturally, the Hero's looks meet the requirements of a gramaathu wastrel (unshaven look, curly hair tht fell over his forehead, overall an unkempt appearance).

Deiva Thirumagal

A new movie starring Vikram, Deiva Thirumagal, released last week, with absolutely no hype. If that was not plain weird, I wonder what is. I had not even seen a single trailer. In fact, when I found the movie listed, I did not want to see it until I found out that it was Vikram's movie. And then my Arien aunt insisted that she wanted to watch a Tamizh movie and she said she did not want to watch Vengai starring Dhanush. So, we booked tickets online and went for this movie.

The story revolves around a man who has the mental capability of a five-year old and his daughter, Nila. The mother is no longer alive. And the relatives from the mother's side do not think the father is capable of taking care of the child and separate the two in a very shocking manner. In a funny twist of events, the father meets a lawyer who finally takes up this case. The father's role is played by Vikram. And he has done a fantastic job. Baby Sarah as the daughter has also done a great job. Amala Paul has a small role and she has done her job well. Anushka plays the role of the lawyer. Nasser is the lawyer from the other side.

The movie is quite slow, funny in bits, has absolutely no dishum-dishum, and jes 'bout ook. The Arien aunt fell in lowe with the movie. She is the same person who was very shocked after watching Kaminey, here. I did not like the movie much. I felt the premise was interesting but the movie failed to match it. Its quite possible that a movie about a mentally challenged person is kinda not my favorite type of movie. I did watch Sadma but tht was a looong time ago and while Vikram is almost as good as Kamal - this movie seemed too indulgent. I was quite bored at times. There was a totally unnecessary song between Anushka and Vikram which should have lead to some romance but it did not. Probably the idea was to develop that bit but it got cut or maybe Anushka feared that Amala Paul may end up walking away with the heroine tag and insisted on the song. Y G Mahendran was wasted in a role that did not require him to do much and he delivered. After over-indulging in some places, the story ended in an abrupt manner as though someone had yelled "CUT!". This movie should have been edited better.

the winner

Beginning of July we visited Chennai. The trip was hectic and at the same time quite relaxed. As I was leaving, I picked up the camel club by David Baldacci from my cousin's bookshelf. My SIL offered me another book, the winner, by the same author and so I was all smiles. However, it was only last week when I actually started on the winner because I was keen on finishing The Reversal. I have not read any other book by this author and the fact that the book was recommended by my SIL was an added plus.

The winner is interesting. The story is about an evil genius, Jackson, who carefully chooses 12 people who will ultimately win the government-sponsored lottery for a particular year. He plans to use their money to get what he wants. He fixes the lottery so that his chosen 12 win. Of the 12 people he chooses, LuAnn is the weakest link as well as his nemesis. LuAnn and her baby, Lisa, stay away from the US of A for 10 long years, as instructed by Jackson. This is easy for LuAnn because she is wanted for murder in the US of A. Meanwhile, a reporter is writing a story on how lottery winners usually end up bankrupt and he finds that 12 winners (Jackson's 12) have surprisingly kept bankruptcy at bay and are quite wealthy. This makes him wonder if they had some help. Amidst all this, LuAnn returns to the US of A under an assumed name, Catherine Savage, and purchases a huge property to settle down after years of looking over her shoulder. The reporter makes the connection and realizes that Catherine Savage and LuAnn Tyler are one and the same.

The premise is interesting but it ends quite tamely. Some portions defy logic and no effort has been taken to develop the secondary characters and so mid-way, it gets to be a general rom-com with some action thrown in. Otherwise, it is a good read.

The Reversal

A visit to the bookstore and I saw the new book from Michael Connelly. As usual, I picked it up without thinking. After I billed it, I remembered that I had not liked his previous one, the one in Hong Kong, 9 Dragons. Kinda late realization but then I have always had a soft spot for his books and so I hoped for the best. I was not disappointed.

The Story:

When Mickey Haller is invited to prosecute a case for the LA District Attorney, he knows something strange is going on. Mickey's a defence lawyer, and to switch sides like this would be akin to asking a fox to guard the hen-house. But the high-profile case of a convicted child-killer who spent almost 25 years on death row before DNA evidence freed him is an intriguing one....

What do I think of the book:

This feels like the first book where Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch work together, while in fact, it is not. The story is quite interesting. Mickey Haller is pulled into this case by the DA's office and for the first time, Mickey is prosecuting for the people instead of for his client. His first ex-wife is his co-counsel, in this daunting case. Mickey Haller chooses Harry Bosch as his investigator to investigate the missing links. The story consists of individuals who are good at what they do and believe they do not need any assistance but are forced to work together for a common good. This book enabled me to view the case from both their perspectives.

I always preferred Harry's approach to a case. He was somewhat like a dog following a scent. I always felt like cheering him on, encouraging him to find that elusive clue that would help him break the case. I frankly, did not like Mickey Haller all that much. However, in this book, I realized how Harry's attitude can be detrimental to the case.

One of the big pluses for me was that I was reading this book right after watching Lincoln Lawyer. So whenever I am reading about Mickey, I am in fact, imagining Mathew McConaughey saying those things. Of course, I was also wondering who would play Harry Bosch. Back to the book, I enjoyed it. I was quite surprised with the ending but again I felt that Michael Connelly did not shy away from stating the facts. Read it and let me know what you think.