Saw this Italian dubbed movie called 'I am not an easy man' on Netflix yesterday... An ultra feminist movie.. Am not much for the feminist culture but the movie was a revelation in terms of how much we have been unconsciously cultured as women into behaving and thinking in a certain way all the while thinking it's perfectly normal and biological. The protagonist, a modern day male chauvinist who considers himself gods gift to women and typically has no idea how much he rubs them off wrongly gets transported into a completely matriarchal female dominated world and gets a dose of his own medicine. The obnoxious guy has to deal with an alpha man-eater woman, a female version of himself in this surreal world and he ends up falling for her. This woman has a jar filled with pebbles for every one of her man conquests... And you have the men who have to call it quits at work once the woman has the baby... After all as the genetic pro creators they have done their bit.  The movie made me see the world through the man's eye and for the first time I realized just how annoyingly good the men have it and how unfair the world is for the women... It even made me have second thoughts about the way I was bringing up my girls...I recommend you watch it once...

The Pursuit of Happinesss

Caught this Oscar winner Woody Allen movie - 'Hannah and her sisters' on the torrent. Typical New York drama set in the 80's - the perky fast spoken Woody Allen ones... like all his movies portrays the mundane everyday things but conveys something deeper very nonchalantly. Allen plays himself, a hyper movie producer and a divorcee who happens to be a hypochondriac. An egotistical character who claims to be a sapiosexual (but will only date beautiful insecure women) and over time sees a severe want of promise in almost every woman he dates. A visit to the doctor for a migraine check up leaves him petrified as the doctor very cryptically asks him to do a "few tests .....just to rule out a few things"... Allen goes into a frenzy, he's convinced he's going to die, is cribbing to his secretary in this bewildered, tortured tone about how unfair life is, just this morning he was going about his life happily, with not a care, minding his own business, full of beans and buck so to say.....The secretary gently chides him and reminds him that just this morning he was very upset with someone and was going on and on about how nothing is working out properly, how bad business is, how unprofessional and volatile are the people around him etc.

Allen turns around and swiftly retorts -

" I was happy, I just didn't know it."

before resuming his indignant banter on the unfairness of life.

Truth be told, most of us are no different, may be the degrees vary. Happiness ain't good for us. We demand euphoria. Life as we know it seems to be the most ephemeral thing around us, a fact most of us refuse to acknowledge. People go about it with an attitude of immortality and love to complain about the mundane.

Imagine yourself in your last moments, as you lie contemplating the choices you had made in this life, what would be the one thing you would wish you had done more of,  close your eyes and think of the five people you would find it very difficult to say goodbye to... as you realize that you are never ever going to see them again, that one single thought might be the answer to a lot of restlessness and turmoil within us. 

Big little lies under the burqha...

Last week I saw this surprise package of a comedy drama series called 'Big Little Lies',  A seven episode series starring  Reese Witherspoon and the super classy Nicole Kidman among others.

The story is set against the backdrop of a murder that has little to do with the actual story and is more about women and their humdrum of daily existence who have had to choose between a career and family and are having to live with the guilt or feelings of inadequacy due to their choices. The restlessness of such women, the pressure to not just be a good mom but also appear to be one, the pressure of dealing with other tiger moms, ensuring the kids get into the right college, their emptiness brought about by the abrupt departure of their teenage kids, their search for a purpose brought about by the consequent emptiness...... The story has dealt with a number of issues which I wouldn't have understood or related to had I not been a mother myself including school bullying, both physical and psychological isolation of kids, power games played by moms to isolate their nemesis kids...........

The story is set in the rich picturesque community of Monterrey Bay with the beautiful Route 1 as the backdrop for many of the shots. But it could well have been set in any city across the world. Human behavior is universal, much as we would like to harp on about our individuality, the sad truth is we are a species that are uncannily similar when it comes to our relationships, especially the motherly instincts part of it.......

The story also deals with the women's relationship with their menfolk, their sex lives, their equations with the other women. Reese Witherspoon (Madelaine) plays a spunky, quick witted mom who's quite influential so to say in the mommy circles. She's more feared than respected and the battle lines between her and another mom are soon drawn following a bullying incident at school. She's also battling her own demons being married to a great guy who worships her. But Madelaine herself is still trying to get over the betrayal of the first husband who walked out on her at a vulnerable time. Her husband who is aware of these turmoils within her harbours feelings of resentment on account of perennially feeling like a consolation prize especially considering their non existent sex life. Add to that a rebel of a teenage daughter who's crying out for attention by trying to auction her virginity online ostensibly for a noble cause inspired by none other than the bohemian second wife of the father. Somewhere in between all this she also has an extra marital affair and is later consumed by guilt.

Then we have Kidman playing the role of Celeste, the beautiful rich wife of a younger successful good looking architect with their two adorable twin boys. The whole community is jealous of the veritable passion between the handsome couple who cant keep their hands off each other after so many years of marriage. A visit to the school is met with sidey remarks to the tune of 'There should be a law against couples getting gooey post 40'.... But the scene inside the bedroom is far from perfect. The husband is an insecure violent guy prone to fits of anger which acts as an aphrodisiac for him from where he gets his high and therein stems the convoluted sick desire for his wife which leads him to beat and kick his wife which ends in them fornicating. Whatever happened to good old-fashioned affection, the tried and tested aphrodisiac. Whats more, she does not even confide to Madelaine (Witherspoon) her best friend in the zeal to protect her husband. Her defense of her husband is symptomatic of most wives who are victims of marital abuse and their reluctance to expose their husbands for who they really are. Its painful to see her put on a brave happy front in front of her friends who are blissfully unaware of the abuse she goes through at home. On the contrary, they give him these adoring Aww looks and envy her good fortune. Celeste, herself an erstwhile successful lawyer whose husband's insecurity prevents her from getting back to work finally gathers enough courage to prepare to get out of the abusive relationship with the help of her counselor. However, fate has other plans for her. A surprisingly entertaining binge watch with a feel good happy ending.

On the other end of the spectrum was this movie called 'Lipstick under my burqha' set in a second tier  city in India which is trying to find its identity sandwiched between Mac stores in the high street malls and women sporting jeans under their burqhas and is playing catch up with the big metros. Four women protagonists trying to break free of a male dominated, regressive, culture spewing  community which uses societal conditioning as a damacles sword against these women... We have the 55 year old Buaji, the famous halwai in town who secretly reads porn novels hidden inside magazines and harbours a crush on a younger man while outwardly doing all the things which Buajis do including attending Satsang and behaving like a righteous matriarch. Then we have the young minority community girl, the daughter of a burqha tailor who takes off her burqha once shes out of the house and jams with her friends singing Led Zepplin and Jim Morrison. Then we have a Muslim housewife who's trying to supplement the family income by taking up a clandestine job as a door to door salesgirl without telling her unemployed husband who treats her like a doormat while having an affair with another girl outside. She watches in horror through her burqha as her husband lovingly run his hand through his girlfriends hair, the man whom she'd believed to be incapable of  any affection...the man ready with a catalog of her indiscretions at the slightest sign of rebellion..
The movie was hard hitting and unpleasant to watch. The maker seems to have relied on a lot of shock value to see the film through. One of those movies that are purely made for the expression of art and loved by critics.

At the end of the day, its an unpleasant fact to admit that whether you are a rich housewife from Monterrey Bay or a voiceless wife from a minority community, its not an easy ballgame to have the final word on your life. Women need to develop that private arrogance within themselves, that bedrock of self-certainty that needs neither proof nor explication, a fact that we need to be aware of while bringing up our daughters.

Dreams in Prussian Blue

Saw this amazing malayalam movie "Artist", a screenplay adaptation of the english novel 'Dreams in Prussian Blue' by author Paritosh Uttam. The artist portrayed by Faahad Faasil,, his brilliance increasing with every movie. Depicts the story of this painter and this girl whom he meets in art college, they fall in love and the woman leaves everything behind to follow him and his dreams. He paints, she works odd and even jobs so she can afford his canvases, his brushes and his professional quality paints. Puts up with all his eccentricities, his mood swings and the love strings them along till a tragedy befalls the painter. She arranges a meeting with an art gallery owner and forces him to come within five minutes so he takes a part time job and still continue his painting as she's not able to do it alone. As fate may have it, on the way he meets with an accident which spares him but takes away the one thing most precious to him, his eyes without which he'd much rather be dead as he's an artist and an obsessed one at that. She gives up her BPO job to take care of him and is soon forced to flip burgers and pack fries at a local eatery to make ends meet. Meanwhile the artist is hell bent on painting and soon starts again using spatial guessing and is again after the poor girl to provide him with paints brushes, the infrastructure. A mutual college friend, a guy, gets increasingly friendly during this time and helps her out during this tough time. Meanwhile the artist's demand for paints and accessories is ever growing and she finds it very difficult to keep up with the demands of his expensive hobby. The freind suggests that he pass on the dozens of bottles of Prussian Blue to her boyfriend that hes been trying to get rid of from a previous art event. After all, what would a blind guy know... A combination of her economic situation and a love borne out of compassion for her partner, she agrees to this deception. Meanwhile, the painter boyfriend carries on with his imaginative masterpieces blissfully unaware that all his paintings are all hues of the Prussian blue. The friend who had his own ulterior motives for helping out the poor girl starts to blackmail her to sleep with him under threat of revealing the truth to her boyfriend. She somehow manages to keep him at bay. As luck might have it, the blind artist regains his sight and becomes a celebrity ironically because of his paintings in the Prussian Blue hues.However, the ungrateful bugger preaches on to the media about how his love deceived him and how he fought life and came out successful against all odds. The woman is so disgusted, irate and disillusioned by the entire saga, she finally walks out as enlightenment strikes her about the selfishness and of the ingrate male species. A sad beautifully told movie, that somehow still leaves you with some hope as the woman walks out of the relationship with her head held high and her pride intact.

What men want

Why this question. Two of my top five all time favourite TV series I got hooked on to and binge watched were both about ambitious men who would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. Got majorly addicted to House of Cards and Breaking Bad. Then as usual underwent withdrawal syndromes once all seasons got over. Both stories ring of ambition - House of Cards has the poker faced Kevin Spacey as the ruthless politician who will stop at nothing to achieve his dreams which is nothing less than becoming the most powerful man in the world - the President of the United States so to speak. His statement "I have no respect for people who choose money over power"  pretty much sums him up. Breaking Bad stars Bryan Cranston as a brilliant high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with lung cancer and doesn't have long to live. He breaks bad by taking up methamphetamine production or more commonly known as meth among the rookie crowd (poor man's coke) to make a quick buck to leave for his kids before he dies. The series starts off with season 1 tracing his humble beginnings making meth in an RV to soon becoming  the drug kingpin by season 3. The whole plot is about how he keeps dodging the police and maintaining the front of a soft spoken family man who wouldn't harm a bird. Both the protagonists(HOC and BB) are ruthless and have a zero tolerance towards people who come in their paths. What however is different is the fact that Kevin Spacey's character has negative undertones and you do feel angry with him when he kiils the good-hearted  good looking politician Peter or Zoe Barnes, the ambitious but good at heart reporter. However, Bryan Cranston kills people by the score and yet you completely empathize with him. One of the most brilliant performances I ve ever seen and a very well deserved Emmy. His transition from being the pushover to the assertive "You are done when I say you are done" is amazing and totally plausible. Got me thinking, why does it feel so nice to see normal people like us breaking bad. Whats so appealing about a 50 year old high school chemistry teacher who breaks bad at an age when most people are planning their retirement. Its the man's desperate passion and determination to provide for his wife and kids even at the cost of being ultimately hated and despised by them and still continuing to do what he was doing till his last breadth. Something that the average family man can relate to. A sad ending to an otherwise absorbing tale. The message "Crime never pays" has been edged in surreptitiously without the story turning too preachy. No wonder the series bagged all the major emmy's this year. So I guess this is what men want, money and power, may be not necessarily in that order. Me for sure would sure love to see more of the trio, Walter, Skyler and Jesse.

The discovery of India??? by Vasco Da Gama???Huh...

So I was playing basketball last week,  got a little too carried away and the result, am in cast for a month for a ligament tear. So right now you can call me a potato or a ladies finger or whatever your fave veggie is cause that's what I am doing right now, vegetating. The upside am catching up on my reading, movies on youtube I have always wanted to watch, those little things as home that have always been there on my to do list which I never got around to doing.Sorry am fibbing about the last one, still been procrastinating them:). Anyways, the first week went by like a breeze, I thought wow, another feather to my cap, my first sports wound, shouldn't I be proud. Truth be told, I was hoping, the doctor would take it off at the end of the week which was the reason for my elated mood. Imagine my horror when the doctor announced that it would stay on for three more weeks.

 The first day of the second week me got myself a mindless chick-lit. The high of the book lasted for exactly one and a half days after which the ants started building their hills on me with all the overdosing of sweet and mush and everything nice. Decided enough is enough, if I am going to entertain myself, might as well watch something more intelligent. The only intelligent movies in India are made in malayalam and bengali, (I know this statement is going to make me very unpopular) and thankfully, I know both the languages, so overdosed on those for a couple of days.

Saw this amazing malayalam movie called URUMI, a nt so recent movie but a must watch, beautiful movie, certainly on my next best films list. Prithviraj is certainly one of the most talented and good looking guys in India. The movie is about a warrior named Kelu who avenges his father's death by killing yes, Vasco Da Gama,

10 interesting things you should know about this guy who "Discovered"  Indians...

1. Vasco Da Gama was a merciless pirate, an expert at torturing prisoners.
2. Their ""discovery"" ship first landed in Mozambique, Africa. On the way from Africa to India, DaGama and his crew of convicted killers with commuted sentences, robbed and looted several Arab ships and killed the merchants aboard them. It was a Gujarathi aboard one of those ships who led them to India.
3.  On their first trip they were received with much fanfare on the shores of Calicut which was ruled by one of the richest, most powerful kings in India then, the Zamorin.
4. They proudly declared they came to India in search of spices and Indian Christians. But what they got with them for bartering were pieces of striped cloth, scarlet hoods, hats, strings of coral, basins for washing hands, oil and honey. To the king of the most richest land in the world who wore diamonds the size of thumbs and was bedecked in rubies and golds, these gifts seemed ridiculous. DaGama soon lost his respect and standing in front of the Zamorin and their crew was reduced to bartering these stuff on the shore for money for their return journey.
5. However, he went back to Portugal and claimed to have discovered India and got the kings support for a second fleet to come back.
6. This time they came back with cannons and guns. Their first victim was a Muslim ship returning from Mecca with 400 people aboard including women and children. After looting the ship, he set fire to the ship burning to death all aboard.
7. He then sent an ultimatum to the Zamorin, the hindu king ordering him to kill all muslims in his city or face retaliation. Meanwhile he started capturing the fishermen and chopping off their hands, feet and then heads after which he bombarded the city aiming to kill as many civilians as possible, thus bringing the thriving economy of the port city to a standstill.
8. The Zamorin send the palace priest to negotiate with DaGama, the same guy who had received him with such royal treatment on his first trip. Dagama chopped off his tongue and ears and send them as souvenirs to the palace.
9. With such peaceful methods, it wasn't difficult for them to set up their colonies all the way to Goa.
10. The first mutiny as we all assume was not in 1857, but in 1503 by Calicut warriors known as the Urumi led by the brave Kelu whose father was killed by DaGama. Though they were not successful in completely wiping out the Portuguese rule, legend has it that the brave Kelu killed DaGama (he did not die of malaria as the history books would claim) and his warriors managed to create enough havoc to the Portuguese army before being subdued.

So the next time your kid comes home with mumbo jumbo about the discovery of India, please tell him/her the reality about Vasco DaGama. He was a pirate who looted India and murdered Indians. Please don't credit the violent buffoon with discovering our 5000 year old culture.

(The author of the blog has written the above blog based on folklore, hearsay, the movie Urumi and facts gathered from around the internet and does not vouch for the authenticity of the information produced above)

Lipstick jungle

Just finished a chicklit called Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell. Should say am not a big fan of chicklits  They bore the hell out of me. Can't get past the 10th page in most cases. But this book was different. Unlike most chicklits that have a mediocre woman struggling with her daily existence until she meets a man way beyond her means who is  unbelievably rich, has the women of the of the world swooning over him, and to top it all is the most kindest understanding guy that you will ever meet and for some strange unfathomable reason has decided to fall for the female equivalent of the average joe who is our protagonist.

Anyhow, this is not that book. This is the story of three highly ambitious women who are at the top of their careers. A refreshingly honest, brilliant and unpretentious book about how women's attitudes have changed from the nineties onto the present day. The story is based in the city of New York (duh) which is the backdrop for ninety percent of all American stories. These are women who will question age old norms of womanly existence, why shouldn't a woman be a billionaire, why is the baby always the woman's responsibility.

Women who are not on the defensive but on the offensive for a change, the men around them better watch out. All the games they would play to get ahead without an ounce of guilt. How they dream about ruling the world. When it comes to ambition nothing is too much for them. 

It takes a long time for one to realize that humans are complicated beings. You would imagine that life would have been easy had people been nice and friendly and uncomplicated but at some point it becomes necessary to start playing games if not for achieving anything at least to survive and dodge various bullets coming our way. That is the law of the lipstick jungle. The book has reiterated what women have known for years but couldn't quite admit to themselves. That they are no different than men when it comes to ruthlessness and ambition.

Good Looks

What makes a person good-looking, attractive, and appealing to the opposite sex. Me thinks you need a lot more than just the face and the body. Don’t get me wrong in the next few sentences; I think Indians are extremely good-looking. But unfortunately for those who do pass the super stud category and reach a god-like status, there is one thing which is sorely lacking. Humility, of course, that goes without saying, but more importantly the ability to wear their good-looks on their sleeves and be casual about it and accept themselves as they are. THEY ARE JUST SO FULL OF THEMSELVES. And why wouldn't they be? We have set low standards for ourselves when it comes to entertainment and are obsessed with the lifestyle and affairs of a dozen people.

What is the definition of attraction? Appealing, interesting, mysterious, friendly looking, alluring, enigmatic, likable, engaging, charming or one or more of these qualities and most importantly the acceptance of their good looks and being cool and casual about it and not being conscious of it every living moment. How many of our icons have even one of these traits. Now think George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Jude Law, Daniel Craig, MS Dhoni, Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar to name a few . You look at these people and you get the feeling that they are just going about their normal daily lives doing their jobs, “So I look like God, so what’s the big deal.” But either these guys have mastered the art of public relations and the image they portray to the public or they actually must have an amazing attitude. Sorry to say, our heroes still have a long way to go. You guys had it but people put you up on a pedestal so high you started thinking you were born there. You guys are just putting it out there and crying so badly for attention it is plain obvious. When people describe somebody as charismatic (by the way there is no such word in the dictionary, there is only charism), it is more the proliferation of an idea in their brains fed through the media than one’s personal opinion. In India especially, you need one or more of the following to be described charismatic….

- White, yes white white skin with a balding plate that reflects the sunlight better than a prism.

- Or you are a woman who is not exactly pretty but has a lemon sized bindi and are vociferous enough to attract attention.

- Or you wear saffron robes and a weird hairdo and again vociferous enough to attract attention

- Or you have spent a small fortune on dental cosmetology and have managed to get yourself a fortune smile that makes up for your average face.

- And of course you have the right media contacts to make sure you are imprinted in public memory forever.

If there is one person who has the icy cool component in him, it's Farhan Akhtar. It was his understated performance playing the joker without making a fool of himself in Zindagi Na Milegi Dubara that made the movie so appealing to me . And to top it all, finally we have a hero who has the brains to match his brawns. Well, there is a thin line anyway between the two. There is no way you can look sexy without the brains.........after all brain is the biggest sexual organ. 

I certainly like our heroines better. In spite of being given a raw deal, being made the eye-candy in movies, they carry themselves so much better and have the intelligence to match their looks. Otherwise they couldn’t have made it to the most desirable list in a country where there are millions of good looking women. Let’s face it and don’t consider me cheeky, the ratio of good looking women to men is highly skewed in our country. And thence I conclude my thesis on this very important topic of err… Good Looks. Would luuuv to know your take on this……

Arbitrage or Wall Street

Caught Arbitrage this last weekend on netflix and must say the old guy (Richard Gere) still has it in him. Don't know many people who can look so good portraying a 60 year old. Arbitrage essentially means hedging your risks plus some, as in not only do you hedge your risks you actually end up making some money in the process. The title is symbolic of how the businessman is managing his life itself. The film reminded me of Michael Douglas' Wall Street. Except that Arbitrage had a lot more to do with Wall Street that Wall Street itself. I always related Gere to this romantic hero and this is was his most anti avataar of himself. Gere plays a hedge fund magnate who has dipped into his investor funds and made some bad personal investments, of course, he did not know they were bad when making them. This leaves him with a hole of about 400 mill dollars in his investor funds which he covers up by taking a loan from a friend. His only option now is to sell off his business and fill up the hole with the proceeds.  Shrewd businessman that he is he almost manages to pull off this coup without the regulators or the media getting any wind of it when a blast from the past comes to bite him. The scene where he explains his predicament to the daughter would be my favorite. His desperation at his current situation stopping short of pulling his hair apart looks so realistic that you forget you are watching a guy acting. Plus your heart goes out to him as he handles all the issues in his life one after another, the ones closest to him causing him most anguish, starting from his friend who lend him the money, his daughter hammering him about the mismatch in the numbers, his mistress with whom he shares a passionate affair always complaining about his absence, his wife in her own way, the cops who suspect him of manslaughter, each of them blissfully unaware of any of his other issues.

Wall Street is the story of a hostile takeover businessman who targets companies with hidden assets (read pension funds) and scrap sells them often with drastic effects on the company, its owners and it employees. The character portrayed by Douglas, another great actor, is completely negative. The protagonist of the movie is Charlie Sheen (I think his only serious role to date) who gets caught in Douglas charm and manages to get out just in time, whereas Gere in Arbitrage, in spite of his negative undertones is still the protagonist. 

All in all, I liked Arbitrage better considering the situation is so much more real and likely to happen. Also, the story is told with a personal touch and Gere's acting is flawless. Wall Street seems more like a thriller in comparison though an interesting one but falls one notch short of Arbitrage. I know many people would disagree with me. Lemme know what you think.

Ten great movies

Here is my list of ten really beautiful movies that come off the top of my mind right now. I ain't a movie buff or am I? So these are movies(excepting the regional ones) which most people would have watched. Of course the later ones more prominent on the list considering they are more fresher in my mind. This is not a pre-compiled list.

The Dark Knight - A must watch purely for the masterpiece called Heath Ledger. When I watched the movie, I had no idea who this guy was. The joker's makeup was complete and I assumed the actor to be a senior mature person of may be 50 years. It came as a shock to relate this amazing performance to a guy I had watched in a very okay romcom with Julia Stiles called - '10 things I hate about you' wherein he plays a teenager trying to woo a haughty girl. Another one of those stories and there aren't many where the sheer aura of the villain completely overshadows the hero. And of course, the genius of Christopher Nolan to transform a boys comic book series to a saga of so much depth. The second part of this series was equally engaging but we sorely missed the clown.

Bharatham - For those who haven't watched Mohanlal in action, well, what can I say, there is a part of your soul yet to be stirred. And for those who think he is just another superhero down south in the lines of Chiranjeevi or Rajni, well, they aren't supposed to read my blog. I really can't decide on a fave mohanlal movie. They're all gems - be it Aye Auto, Nadodikattu, Raja vinde Mahan, akarai akarai, ten mavin kombathu, pattana pravesam, kireedum, Chithram. I selected Bharatham purely because I felt even a non-malayali can relate to it which I am. There is no regional fervour, just a simple incident narrated through a power packed performance, the likes of which no one in Bollywood can ever hope to emulate.

Memoirs of a Geisha - This film is inspite of the undertones of lechery and sadness that runs through the entire movie, an extremely romantic and gripping movie of a woman's pursuit of her love. A must watch.

Schindlers's list - Another movie about the holocaust, yes. But one movie that was so realistically shot that till this date I can't believe it was a movie. The shots of the skinny bodies going into the gas chamber, the rows of naked people waiting to jump into the fire, the children being seperated from the parents. For days after I saw this movie I was depressed and so angry that one man could influence so many people and could wreak so much havoc. Till this date all news channels use clips from this movie to mention anything relating to the second world war or holocaust.

Life is beautiful - The only movie on the world war that could be termed cute, humorous and endearing.  All about a man trying to protect his son inside a nazi death camp using his sense of humour and never ending positivity. Ideal parenting lesson.

Gone with the wind - One of the most romantic movies ever made, the smile will linger on your face for a long time after you have watched this one inspite of the sad ending.  A huge amount of feel good factor this one had. Cant figure out why.

Naayakan - Almost everybody in their 30's would have caught either one of the versions of this movie. This movie lingers on in my mind because of the soul stirring music of Illayaraja, and of course, goes without saying because of Kamal Hassan..

Pirates of the Caribbean - The story highly unusual and hugely entertaining and totally funny. This is some serious entertainment. And the movie that made Johnny Depp a rage. Not a dull moment. The perennially drunk pirate in his british drawl getting out of sticky situations using his humorous powers of reasoning. The cannibal scenes are memorable, the best part is when he spatters salt and pepper over himself with a sheepish smile when he is caught escaping.

Nadodikatu - This is the story of two dirt-poor good-for-nothings, one a loafer and the other a joker who unknowingly solve a crime and go on to become police officers. Inspired by the Pink Panther's theme of the comic crime solvers who accidentally solve crimes, this was Mohanlal Sreenivasan combo at their best. This was days before Mohanlal became "The Mohanlal" and thankfully he didn't have to do those Mohanlalic things, read, fold his lungi and curve his moustache.

Rang De Basanti  - I saw this movie and it reminded me of the chaverpada (suicide squad) of Kerala. These warriors were specially selected at childhood and trained all their life to go to war at the age of 16 against the huge army of the Zamorin. The result was certain death and the payback was nothing but glory. Nevertheless they fought till their last breadth killing multiple soldiers of the Zamorin for every chaver life.  The film is endearing and does pull at your patriotic heartstrings and   makes you believe that you might be able to make a difference if you really tried.

As the list draws to an end, I realize there are so many more that I would love to mention here but would keep them for a later date. So let me know your faves.