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Entertainment 101

Anything to do with movie reviews, cinema, radio, music and other forms of entertainment

Indian Cinema 101: When the Hero Actually Kills the Villain!

hero kill

When was the last time you saw one of the most famous Tamil movie hero MGR actually killed a villain in a movie? The harshest response from MGR that I can recall is whipping back his “Uncle” Nambiar in the movie, Enga Veettu Pillai. Image source: Google.

Back in the 1950s, all the way to the 1990s, the Tamil movie heroes are literally worshipped as being good, kind, and helpful and will never hurt anyone. Often coming from a poor or working class, they are treated to be “one of us” – one would understand the struggles & challenges of the common man.

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Genius of MSV Part 2: Alex in Wonderland’s Keep It Simple

alex in wonderland

Continuing from Part 1 on the late Mellisai Mannar MS Viswanathan (MSV), this comedy segment by Indian stand-up comedian Alexander Babu’s Alex in Wonderland is simple amazing!

Alex truly breaks down the creativity and simplicity of MSV using the 4-beat on the bongo drums which is applicable to a number of MSV hit songs.

Note: Image source: Evam Standup Tamasha Youtube Channel

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IT 2017 – Disheartened Scenes

Read These First:-

IT

(If you have read the IT, the novel, the clown known as Pennywise The Dancing Clown is actually an alien – a shape shifting monster ended up on prehistoric Earth during an asteroid impact and made its home under the land and would sleep for approximately 27 to 30 years at a time, using its time awake to wreak chaos and feed on human fear. Image Source: Amazon / Wikipedia)

IT came out in 2017…

Had anyone watched the evil clown movie called IT?

This horror movie came out in 2017 – I had wanted to watch it in theater back then but I did not have any chance and over time I had forgotten about it. Then last week, I managed to catch this movie and I now know why people got scared of clowns (more sighting happened in US before this movie came out). Seeing a clown with a red balloon standing in front of you did would have sent a shiver down anyone’s spine. It is worst if you (like me) prefer watching this movie late at night, expecting the unexpected.

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Kodi Lee: You Are The Reason

Read these first:-

Nice and well done!

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When I first heard Kodi Lee performing – there was some special indeed and which is why he got the golden buzzer on his first performance (it would have been cruel if the judges had not done that).

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Favourite Hindi Song 101: Saree Ke Fall Se by Pritam 2013

shahid hindi song movie

This Hindi song that has been humming in my head for the past 1 week. Image source: The Indian Express

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Movie Review 101: Love It!! Star Wars The Force Awaken – 5 Stars!!

star wars

(The first of the 3 under Disney – the world of Star Wars have moved on and rebooted with a mix of old and new characters and some dose of the old movies. Poster source: http://www.starwars.com)

“A long time ago in a galaxy far far away…”

Those iconic words alone had my heart pumping hard and left me in a trance. The new Star Wars movie is THE movie that both me and my son have been waiting for ever since the rumours of a new Star Wars movie first started on the net a few years ago.

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Genius of MSV Part 1: Why Old Songs Will Melt Cold Hearts

old songs

(No matter where you are right now, no matter how old you are, I am sure you always have your favourite old songs by these dynamic duos that you don’t mind humming the whole day long. Image source: Silverscreen India)

Despite “starting off” with the music of Illayaraja and later discovering the new age music of A R Rahman and then Yuvan Shankar Raja, Harris and all the new music directors, I always had soft spot for the music from the 1960s and 1970s in particular songs composed by MS Viswanathan – Ramamoorthy (MSV) and penned by the great poet Kannadasan (I also liked songs composed by KV Mahadevan and AM Raja).

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My Favourite 1980s English Song: Just Another Day in Paradise By Phil Collins 1989

phil collins just another day in paradise homeless

Firstly watch the video by Phil Collins:-

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Secondly re-read and embrace the lyrics:-

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Tamil Song 101: Kamal’s Pon Maanai Catchy & Wonderful Classic 1984

kamal haasan music song tamil

(The many faces of the great man in multiple roles all these years and he still making headlines even now. Image source: http://www.bollywoodlife.com)

In terms of acting, after the great Sivaji Ganesan, we were lucky to have Kamal Haasan taking up the lead when it comes to powerful acting. And over the years, he has not let us down with a powerful storyline and acting (still remember this?).

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Random Thoughts 101: Don’t You Feel Like…

feel

Sometimes when you read the headlines and on the state of the nation, don’t you feel like looking down in sheer frustration and then look up and say a silent prayer? Image source: Inc.

Yes, no doubt there other positive things to look out for – a roof over your head, good health, lovable family and friends, good job with enough pay to take care of your family and live rather comfortably.… [Click to read the rest] “Random Thoughts 101: Don’t You Feel Like…”

Ilaiyaraaja: Project “Then, Now & Forever” 2013

Western classical music is perspective – look at the number of people involved in a symphony! Our traditional music is lonely – Ilaiyaraaja

ilaiyaraaja sp bala s janaki old photo

A very young Ilaiyaraaja with the very talented SP Bala and S. Janaki in the early 1980s during a recording session. Image source: The Federal

As long I could remember, I have been listening to Ilaiyaraaja music since I was still young and started to have an appreciation of his style of music – all the way from the 1970s (you are aware that Annakili was not his first movie and that he had to impress the producer Panchu Arunachalam by singing a song that his mother sang and using the table as a music instrument?) to his latest flick in “Neethane En Ponvasantham” – thanks to my Dad who was a big fan of Ilaiyaraaja (Ilaiyaraaja means the “younger” Raja – that is because the Tamil music industry already had another music director named Raja – the famed A.M. Raja).

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Favourite Hindi Song 101: Crazy on Luka Chuppi by AR Rahman 2006

rang de basanti hindi movie song luka chuppi

(Luka Chuppi from the award-winning Hindi movie Rang De Basanti – one for the weekend. Image source: Bollywood Hungama)

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