Growing up, along with SPB, Malaysia Vasudevan (MV), K. J. Yesudas (KJ), TMS, P. Susheela, S. Janaki’s voice was a constant presence in our home and became part of my most cherished memories. Initially, my listening of S. Janaki (SJ) was dominated by Ilayaraja’s (IR) compositions. So, I was of the belief that Ilayaraja introduced her as the playback singer. Later I found out she had been in the field
Adada Mamara Kiliye This song is from the 1978 film Chittu Kuruvi. Composed by Ilayaraja, written by Vaali, and sung by S. Janaki, it remains one of the album’s memorable tracks. Chittu Kuruvi was a celebrated music album. Many listeners may know the film for En Kanmani En Kadhali from this movie. Adada Mamara Kiliye is cheerful and sung from the perspective of a lovestruck young village girl. It has
“Memories. You are talking about memories …” – from The Blade Runner Growing up in 70s and 80s in Tamil Nadu, main entertainments were movies followed by festivals and books. Vacations during school annual holidays means attending marriage functions in hot summer, scorching heat. Going to movies were always family events. I carry some of the wonderful memories from those decades. Occasions and events got associated with movies we
Official Trailer: All but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time. They all run away from their home stretching their hands like an airplane. The community is bewildered and left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance. There are home CCTV footages that shows the children running out of the homes but no clues on where they ran to.
Official Trailer: Kalamkaval is an excellent example of how a generic serial killer story can be made interesting with a tight screenplay, a smart twist, and excellent performances from the lead actors Mammootty and Vinayakan. Kalamkaval is not a who done it thriller, here we know the identity of the killer in the opening sequence itself. What a brilliant opening sequence that is. A murder committed by a calm and
Official Trailer: In Wake up Dead Man, director and writer Rian Johnson sets the who done it crime thriller in a small church community. Detective Benoit Blanc has to investigate a murder that happened within the church on a Good Friday service. Rian Johnson uses the murder investigation premise to explore organized religion, faith, grace, and humanity. He beautifully merges the genre tropes with characters that stand somewhere on the
Official Trailer: Writer Bahul Ramesh asks an interesting question, is it protection or restriction, and then builds a wonderful mystery story around it. To expand the question, Kuriachan asks what do we train the dogs for, protection or restriction of the people? The question applies not just to people but also to the dogs. We get Eko from the same creative team that gave us Kishkindha Kaandam. In Kishkindha Kaandam
Official Trailer: 3 seasons and 30 episodes – while it is a slow burn you get hooked from the first episode thanks to Stephen King’s writing, visualization, and excellent performances by actors. Of course, we all know Stephen King is a great storyteller. He is in full throttle here. One can argue he has done better than this but the threads he explored in the third season is thought provoking.
Official Trailer: [SPOILERS AHEAD…] Sivanesan (Raj Kiran), father of Murugan (Dhanush) owns and runs an Idli eatery in a small village. Idlis and its accompaniments, sambar and chutney, are prepared in traditional way – using manual stone grinders – aattukal and ammikal. Villagers are fan of his cooking and big patrons. It is a landmark for the village. Murugan wants his father to switch to electric grinders. Father doesn’t want
Official Trailer: The opening stretch is one of the creative and energetic openings for a movie I have seen lately. Agan, the protagonist, enters the reception of his ex-girlfriend and wants to know the reason why she ditched him. In the heat of the moment when he tries to stop her, he inadvertently pulls the thaali from her neck. The ruckus that ensues uses is wonderfully shot using props one