Ulidavaru Kandanthe - A comment

This is not exactly a review. I do not want to get into rating someone’s child. Yeah that’s right, from the moment I walked out, I just felt so happy for Rakshith Shetty(hope that spelling is right). He would’ve definitely protected this idea deep in his heart like a mother would keep her baby in her womb. He would endure all dejection, pain, failures, desperation and a sense of hopelessness before coming out with a movie like this.

                                 

The fact is that we’ve some real bad movies out there which had made us lose our interest in the KFI/Sandalwood. Some of them are still adamant on insulting our intelligence and throwing third rate stories at us. And it has taken some men of great courage and resolve to give birth to a new wave. First it was Lucia with its sheer brilliance on the face of extreme financial challenges. Then there was a lull, followed by Ugramm, which was original with fresh treatment. Two movies that made the nation go     ga ga over them. Yet they went unnoticed amongst ourselves. Some of us, even now, prefer watching chicken shit(oops) thrown at us by the khans (yes I hate all of them!! Apart from Irrfan Khan though).

Ok sorry that was a little bit of a personal rant. One of my closest friends watched Dhoom 3 twice and watched Lucia on dvd and said it was the shittiest movie ever that he saw. I have been looking for a new close friend since then (Ok I was kidding there :D, and yeah.. I will end the personal rant now).

So getting back to Rakshith Shetty and his labor pains (pun intended). We will unfortunately never get to know the struggle, the tears, and the pain behind the entire effort. But all I can do is applaud the same with tears in my eyes and urge people to go and watch the movie in theaters. And I will give you some reasons too. Be WARNED, spoilers ahead. And spoilers mean some of the main plot might be revealed.

Before that credit must be given to Suni, the director of SIMPLEAAG OND LOVE STORY, which in itself was a path breaking movie too. The decision to produce this movie will make your name immortal in the history of Kannada films. A huge shout out to him, because, every scene shows that the creator has not compromised even a bit on his creative vision. That shows the immense faith that you had put on Mr Shetty.  Hope you rake in a Box office jackpot and make amazing movies.

I am a movie buff to a very amateurish extent, but good enough to worship directors like Quentin Tarantino and I could instantaneously connect to the movie from the very beginning. And from then on, it was “UK”thon. I had goosebumps, a lump in my throat, a smile on my face, a tear in my eye and so on.

Right from the build up to the beginning title and credits till the very end, what Mr Shetty has managed to do is create a grand canvas which he fills with some colors never seen before, thanks to the cinematographer Karm Chawla. Having an amazing cinematographer has been one of the best moves (using an Arri camera could be the icing on the cake), but it is the music that takes this to an entirely different level, thanks to Ajaneesh Loknath. So, the very combination of a brilliant script (Mr Shetty), amazing cinematography and a haunting background score ensured that my boyish enthusiasm was catered to.  When the title eventually emerged (which by the way has an amazing font), I could only manage to shout out till my throat went hoarse. I am pretty sure, Mr Shetty will have tears in his eyes every time he sees the title.

Ok, let’s get a move on now. The movie has different chapters and sub plots. Such a narrative is unusual in the Indian film industry. Treat each subplot like a mini movie and you will definitely fall in love with it.

Mr Shetty pays homage to some of the greatest movies ever created E.g: Sin City, the usage of CGI(Computer Generated Imagery) to create the background while depicting the fishing scene and the heist scene. This, sir is an absolute masterstroke.

What else can go wrong when you have an awesome script, an amazing cinematographer and a brilliant music director? Not much right? Wait, how about the actors??

Rakshith Shetty has got the cast spot on. Right from the little boy who plays Richie Jr till Richie Sr played by himself, the casting has been perfect. While Tara ma’am made an entire chapter her own and made me cry with nothing but a simple stare at the clock, the sheer pleasure of watching Achyuth Kumar sir(the best actor in the industry right now) in pili vesha with an amazing background score (kaakig banna kaantha) got me my ticket’s worth. Talk about managing a casting coup there. But it is the other performances that actually surprise you. Democracy! Yes! That little firecracker steals hearts with a brilliant performance and his rapport with Kishore who shines again. Rishab Shetty, post Lucia comes up with a good performance as Raghu. Shankar Poojary is natural as Dinesh, Richie’s best friend.  Sheetal Shetty as the journalist makes sure we have the right questions in our mind with her performance as the investigative journalist.

The best scene of the movie according to me is when a usually nonchalant Richie remembers the “Betrayal” with a puff with wet eyes.

And how can I forget “Mandva matthu Cuban hudugana kathe”, a masterstroke bringing Scarface and Agneepath together. That is one helluva tribute to pay.

 I really do not know why I started writing this. I have completely lost track now.

BoDa sheera!

Ok Mr Shetty, (if this so called post ever reaches you) it is time for you to get that Tuxedo dry cleaned. This one is going to take you places. Thanks to you and the entire team for a wonderful movie. Looking forward to more from you. Kannada cinema is finally growing up and people like you, Pawan Kumar, B M Giriraj are showing the way and making us proud.

P.S: Please try to buy the critics out. Either they do not understand films or they really want you to pay up for the publicity. 3 stars for UK and Lucia?? You gotta be kidding me.

Happy Women's day

I sat down today morning at 8 o clock, (quite unwittingly) to write a poem on a woman. With some real bad english grammar and an aspiration to write lines which rhymed, I tried to put some thoughts together.

I mentioned unwittingly earlier because, you really cannot sum a woman up. She is a lot more than what you can possibly measure.

She enters the world as a baby girl,
Lighting the lives of everyone around her,
Smiles, love and beauty she unfurls,
The little princess as a daughter and a sister.

Then she runs the race with the boys,
A tad intimidated but ever focused,
Defeating them easily as if they were toys,
She would then go about her work while the boys cussed

Then came the day when she was told,
She was no more a little girl, no more the lil princess,
She'd be stared down if she tried to be bold, 
Her threats would get ignored as vanity in excess.

She'd take it all in her stride,
Working hard for what she believes in,
Silently swimming against the tide,
All alone she kept on dreamin.

Now she has become a woman very beautiful,
People thought she was ready to be taken,
Men made advances, some decent some disgraceful,
Her "NO" was always mistaken.

With their frail and  hurt ego they would curse her,
Calling her disgusting names at their own whim,
She would learn to ignore it though initially she did suffer,
All because she had found her love in "HIM"

He is the one she expects to love her,
Not for what he sees in her but for what she is,
He can make her cry, he can make her suffer, 
She takes it all coz she's sure she wants to be his.

Hormones wreak havoc on her body, hurting her,
She doesn't show the pain, but inside she's screaming,
Some other times it will be him who hurts her,
Yet the next day she's goddammned beautiful and beaming.

She let's go of her dreams, clipping her own wings,
So that his dreams are fulfilled and he takes flight,
He would stand among the best, among the kings,
And that would become one of her favorite sights.

Then she becomes a mother, with her bundle of joy,
It was the same parasite that ate into her for nine months,
Now she becomes stronger for her child like a warrior of troy,
Shielding it from a very dangerous world every moment.

I sat here to write a poem on women's strength,
How stupid of me I wonder,
It's stretching to inifinite lengths,
O woman you re truly a Wonder!

Thanks to all the women for making the world a beautiful place happy women's day

Ten years ago...

I am writing this at 1030 P.M on an emotionally draining day on which I saw my home club Bengaluru FC get beaten by East Bengal (about which I ll write a little later). But this is my tribute to two legends who never got their due. 

Ten years ago.. On this very day, I remember waking up early waiting for something special. Back then India winning a cricket match was a pretty rare occasion. But this was a lot more than that...

Dec 12, 2003: 

Test number 2 of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The first test at Brisbane had been drawn. Steve Waugh won the toss and decided to bat first. This was also his farewell series. And the mayhem began. Ricky Ponting taking Indian bowlers to the cleaners. Probably starting from where he left off from at the wanderer's against India in the world cup final(another day when I had cried because India lost.. miserably). Australia ended day 1 on 400 for 5 with Ricky Ponting unbeaten on 176 and Adam Gilchrist unbeaten on 9. Australia were looking set for a pretty huge first innings score 

score. This was one of those days where we were oblivious to such performances from the Indian cricket team. Though they put up a good show at the Gabba, they were not expected to beat Australia in Australia. We spent our school hours cursing the Indian cricket team and the administration for its sheer inability to get together a good playing XI.

Dec 13, 2003:

Day 2 saw Ricky Ponting reach his double hundred. Man! That guy was a run machine. There were times I prayed to god that he doesn't break Tendulkar's record. He posed a real danger to Tendulkar's record considering the rate at which he was scoring. I do not want to write further about his innings because that is not what I want to write about right now. He scored 242 from 508 deliveries. For the rest of the statistics, please refer to cricinfo.com. The Australian innings folded up at 556 and it was India's turn. By the way, Irfan Pathan made his debut in this match. So basically this was the time when all the girls in our schools used to go gaga over this "so cuuuuute" guy. I just have fond memories of him clean bowling Adam Gilchrist with a toe crusher. Sad that he is not in the scene now. 

India's opening pair back then was Akash Chopra and Virender Sehwag. Akash Chopra, FYI was this guy who according to me bunked the batting classes in which the coach explained to the pupils the significance of having a good backlift. The man barely had a backlift! This turned out to be a boon in a way because he was very effective in seeing the new ball away. He is now busy analyzing alastair cook's batting currently as a part of the Ashes pre match program in Star sports hindi. Anyways, the opening pair lasted for 12 overs and 66 runs. Akash was the first to go. Then it was Sehwag ,Tendulkar and Ganguly in quick succession. India, 85 for 4 trailing Australia by 471 runs. No surprises for me. Test matches never mattered to me back then. Only when they wore "colour dress" and lost, I used to cry. 

"People say that Sachin is God… Ganguly is God of off side… Laxman is the God of 4th innings… But when the doors of the temple are closed, even God is behind The Wall of India." I never liked Rahul Dravid. He never used to hit sixes and wasted too much time. He used to waste so much time while wearing "colour dress" matches that his dress was always a shade darker than the rest thanks to perspiration. Laxman joined dravid at the crease. Laxman on the other hand adorned the door of my room. He had scored 281 in Kolkata and everyone told me that was cool. No one told me that Rahul Dravid had scored 180 and that was cool too. That man was so happy to be behind the scenes. 

Dravid and Laxman managed to hold fort and ended day 2 on 180 for 4. And it was not as easy as I am putting it. Having the aussies go at you when you are down and out is nightmarish as Threscothick and lately Jonathan Trott found out. They had guys like Hayden, Brad Williams who could easily blow people like Dravid again if they were pitched against each other in a street fight.  

Dec 14, 2003:

Day 3. When Laxman is around, no aussie can down a beer freely. He is their biggest nightmare and he chose this day to torment the aussies again. With Rahul Dravid, he went around building an innings of high calibre. I vaguely remember Gulu Ezekiel's words describing their partnership consisting of shots which were crafted with the "precision of a mathematician". And thankfully there was no Siddhu in the commentary box during that series. I am doing no justice by putting this in one sentence, but here it is - RAHUL DRAVID AND VVS LAXMAN BATTED THE FIRST SESSION OUT!! Rahul Dravid 83* VVS Laxman 87*. India 252 for 4.

Post Lunch, Rahul Dravid reaches his century by hooking Jason gillespie for a six. Yes! This was a miracle!! Rahul Dravid getting to his century with a sixer. Laxman soon followed suit, got to his century with a wristy flick on the leg side for a single. These were centuries of real calibre. There was grit written all over it. Yet the celebrations were subtle. Just a plain jog with raised hands and a humble smile on the face with a dash of gratitude. If you want to know what it doesn't look like, watch Virat Kohli reach his century (He's the best the way he is, I am not complaining).

Okay so two centuries scored, that will be enough for us to be delighted about before the eventual result will be out. That was the case back then. Batsmen used to score good looking centuries on foreign tours. Victories?? Who cares? Even now, we get to see all those innings on Star Sports 1, 2, 3, 4 every day. 

However these guys were not finished yet. They cut, drove the ball inside out, flicked, and rahul dravid even stepped out of the crease and smashed the ball over the bowler's (miracle time!!)head to the boundary. And then Laxman gets out for 148! The score 388 for 4. Andy bichel takes the prized scalp. "In the adelaide desert, there is an oasis and it is called Andy Bichel" - Alan Wilkins. Aussies were back to guzzling beer as the players went to the dressing room for a tea break.

The baby faced Parthiv Patel came out to bat and managed to look like the hero of a Prabhudeva block buster. Boyish charm meets a couple of hard punches. But before the interval, he got ambitious and fell from grace like the complacent villain. 447 for 6.Soon it was the turn of comedians who had miniscule roles. Ajit Agarkar came, finished his lines and left in a hurry. Dravid was joined by Anil Kumble (another legend) and the duo managed to stick around till EOD (End of Day). India 477 for  7. Dravid sitting tightly at 199, refusing to give his wicket away. The usually tough aussies shook hands with him as he left the field. This test seemed to head for a draw. And that is precisely why I used to hate tests. 

Dec 15, 2003:

Umpire David Shepherd says "Play" on the morning of Day 4. Dravid dispatches the first ball from Stuart MacGill for a boundary and reaches his 200. Atleast now shouldn't you run and scream your lungs out! Come on you are a bangalorean, you must know some of those cuss words which when used while celebrating gives it a different feeling. Dravid is happy to jog, raise his hands and shake hands with Kumble. He goes back to his crease and takes guard with his britannia bat. Nike and reebok did not see money in cricket back then. Besides Dravid was more suitable to endorse Raymonds. Then Kumble gets out. Irfan Pathan gets out too trying to hit a full toss out of the park, only helping it to the bowler's hands. India:518 for 9. Finally Dravid tells Aussies "Okay, you guys take batting now" and hits one more in the air only to be caught this time(no miracle this time). India folded up at 523 just 33 runs short of Aussies' 556. The actual miracle was yet to be witnessed.

Ajit Agarkar was one guy who never NEVER got his due. If India lost, most of the blame would be pointed at him. The guy had a decent record. Has a century at Lords', but still he was the first one to be cursed when India lost. He was more like the Ishant Sharma/Ravinder Jadeja/Rohith Sharma of the early 2000s. He chose to make this day his and made me eat my words too. He took 6 wickets for 41 and broke the back of the australian batting line up. I am unable to fill in any descriptions because Youtube is not getting loaded. Anyways Ajit, you have always been an unsung hero. 

But a huge salute from me today. Agarkar acounted for Langer, Ponting, Katich, Bichel, Gillespie and MacGill. Tendulkar managed to grab a couple and all of a sudden the tables had been turned!! Australia were bundled out for 196. At the end of day 4 India were 37 for no loss chasing 230 for what was a historic victory.

Dec 16, 2003:

Indian team back then had this unusual tendency to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They could give the South African cricket team a run for their money in that regard. The events of this day resembled this sequence from one of the best Kannada movies ever made called "Nagarahavu". The sequence is simple. The heroine(Aarati) becomes a victim of eve teasing, complains to her brother(Shivaram) about the same and the brother overwhelmed by the culprit( Rebel Star Ambareesh) enlists the help of his best friend (Sahasa simha Vishnuvardhan) to take the culprit to task. Something similar happened in the fourth innings. From being at 1 for 79, India started to lose wickets regularly. Rahul Dravid stood at one end, while the rest walked in tried and failed and went back. 1 for 79 became 2 for 79 followed by 3 for 149, which saw Tendulkar go, followed by Ganguly (170-4) and Laxman (221 -5). This must have felt like having all your colleagues leave early on the day that your team needs to make an important release. 

Dravid never looked tense. He never complained. He had done it before, he would do it again. This man has done everything on the field from batting, bowling to wicket keeping for his team. He batted an entire day for the team without losing his composure or his wicket. He fought hard and fair, refusing to give an inch to the opposition. His last shot of the day was as good as the first. For people who questioned his fitness, this would be my question to them. Can they bat an entire day out? To do so at a foreign country with a pretty hostile media contingent and a much more hostile crowd, you have to be special. Dravid is special. He marshalled the resources available to him. Talking the other batsman into being comfortable.

After some really tense moments, the final moment had arrived. And I do not need youtube to recall it. I have it etched in my mind. It is 1236 AM on December 16, 2013. Close to 10 years since that moment.

India needed a single to wrap the match up. Sourav Ganguly had made his way to the boundary from the pavillion, waiting to run into the field at the onset of victory(He was tired of biting nails during this match I suppose). Stuart MacGill dropped that one short of length. It spun away from the right hander. Dravid, eyes and head steady reaches out for it and cut it past point. He knew it would go to the boundary. He smiled, ran to the non strikers punching the air subtly as if air would mind his actions. He took his cap out, kissed the BCCI emblem and raised his hands and his britannia bat.

It's been exactly a decade since that victory and the only thing that might come close to it would be the T20 world cup victory in 2007, for the sheer fearlessness of the team under MS Dhoni. But it was Adelaide on December 16, 2003 that I started loving "White Dress" cricket and people like Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble became my heroes(even Ajit Agarkar) to a great extent. 

These people under Ganguly's leadership were responsible to instill the belief that Indian cricketers could beat other teams in their own dens. And yet they were sent off into obscurity by an ungrateful and insensitive administration. 

Here I rest my case. Thanks for reading and bearing my nonsense.

Lucia Lucia Lucia!!!

Ok, I ll get straight to the point on this one. Me and my friends Shashanka and Sanketh (in the pic) 

have become online distributors for the kannada movie "Lucia", which is a very brave attempt towards making good cinema.

Since it's theatrical release, it has been going places with the likes of Anurag kashyap saying very good things about it(In pics again)



So, do watch and enjoy this awesome movie from our link below.. We have attempted to be a part of this unique idea and have signed up as online distributors for the movie.

P.S: As of now, it is available only to worldwide audiences and not in India.

Foeticide

A man is killed for marrying a girl of higher social stature by her brothers. His wife is pregnant.

Here I am, a part of a woman,
Resting inside her, feeling protected,
She is my mother, she is the one,
Trying her best to keep me unaffected.

Then there is a man who is always around,
He always talks to me, I kick around in joy,
With him, my mother feels we're safe and sound,
Tells me that he's my father, and I, his baby boy.

Sometimes when he's not around, she cries,
Bearing the pain I cause, which she still denies,
Fearing the world, she tells me that I am the one,
A hope of acceptance,all the bad blood shall be gone,

One day I wake up from my sleep to excruciating pain,
My mother seems to be fighting, trying to break away,
She never thought of stopping through all that strain,
Her nightmares had come true, her dreams went astray.

I waited for my father, so that she would calm down,
All this pain would end and I'd go back to sleep,
I heard her telling that while he was out in the town,
Someone had put a bullet in his head skull deep.

She collapsed to the ground suffocating me,
Crying aloud over her destroyed dream,
"Your father ain't gonna come", she tells me,
"Soon it'll be me, but I've to live for you."

I won't buy that ma, I've heard u blame them,
I don't want you to raise me with shame,
I ain't a bastard, I don't want to live like one,
I don't want to come out and be an orphan,

I don't want to be your purpose to live,
In a world of hate, violence and strife,
This is the best thing to you I can give,
I close my eyes, I let go of my life.

Taxi Driver

With a vision restricted to the size of the windshield,
He spoke about the fruits his efforts would yield,
Hands on the steering wheel, his story he would share,
Oblivious to other vehicles' head lights' glare.

Stopping the vehicle to him meant procrastination,
He was eager to get back into the middle of the road,
With a little regret over not getting an education,
Dreamy eyes reflecting a cheap neon light signboard,

He still dreamt of making it big in life,
He laid his plans out in front of me,
Wanting to  put an end to all his strife,
A Bigger, better man he wanted to be.

The devil took over him when he fought,
Over another driver's momentary indiscretion,
A day's hard work was all that he had bought,
It was the day's share of anger and frustration.

Yet he was all smiles when he stopped for me,
Promising that the next day he'd be on time,
And he drove on with all dreams in his mind,
And I walked alone, with mine...

The warrior

He did not dream of a million dollars,
Neither did he dream of instant fame,
Trying to stand with the white collars,
He continued to play the beautiful game.

Dribbling the football like he always did,
For years,it was a gift that he never hid,
Years that he spent under the burning sun,
Bare footed, the football was his only companion.

All those years counted down to that single moment,
The blisters on his foot, his injury prone legs,
Memories of a long struggle called life he buried,
Alongside his demons behind a netted rectangular box.

And so began his waltz, filled with adrenaline,
He was dribbling the ball, again under the burning sun,
Watched by his father, he was a lot more keen,
Trying like he always did, to be his favourite son.

Every single second mattered he was told,
And he ran across the field not wasting any,
But soon something inside him pulled him down,
Done and dusted, his eyes were forced shut.

He died a little later in his father's arms,
The beautiful game was his life and it was over,
His escapade to a beautiful life had done its last harm,
The burning passion in him finally faded away...

Dedicated to D.Venkatesh, Striker, Bangalore Mars, who died on field during a BDFA Division A match. Respect! RIP.