Kalagalappu - Tamil Movie

The Plot - 2 Odhavakkara boys, 2 redundant girls, no storyline but super funny scenes. Now we have our own Andaz Apna Apna and can call this movie a cult classic. That is Kalagalappu (Masala Cafe) for you.

As a die-hard fan of Chennai 28, I try to watch all of Mirchi Siva's movies. He is hilarious. I also think, Ilavarasan is a very under-rated artist. He is a great actor and has an excellent timing in all his movies and his delivery is so funny. Put Siva and Ilavarasu together and what you get is a laugh riot. Please check out Amitabh Mama scene (and you are welcome).

The 2 ladies are there for no reason. I don't know their names and couldn't tell one from the other. At least one of them leads to Santhanam, who makes you laugh a good amount. Also it was nice to see Hum Log thatha V.S.Raghavan having a slightly better role than what he had in Thamizh Padam. While I am at it, I must mention that the movie also tried to convey a "message" to mankind that natural (or organic?) food can be made tasty and is definitely healthier. The message, although good, is lost in the plot and one wouldn't mind that.

These small budget movies are not typically released in the US and you end up watching it on YouTube or some such site even though one might gladly be a part of the Box Office collection that such a movie might make. Hope someone thinks of releasing movies officially online as well so people can watch them legally online. Until that day comes......

Cocktail

I did it. Committed a sin. Along with a few friends of mine, decided to do something last night that I shouldn't have done. Disillusioned by some reviews I had read and by Deepika's hot looks, I watched the movie Cocktail.

Not the worst movie but I don't remember seeing a worse Hindi movie in theaters. The movie was made worse by the loud, jarring, annoying music. Jugni and the end song "And Jawani, Band jawani" are the worst. Maybe I should have watched it on YouTube or DVD months later. Now I feel I need to get some thiruttu DVD from Indian stores to make up for the money wasted.

1 boy and 2 girls, of which one of them is rich, the other homeless. So the paavam type always wins in all movies. The non-paavam type is made to look hot, wild and generally sleeps around with everyone. Boy sleeps with the rich girl and moves in while the "paavam" girl continues hating the boy. One day boy flirts with the paavam girl and gives her compliments and lo, they fall in love. Not unga veettu love enga veettu love, the kind that makes a womanizer like him, give up all his womanizing ways and go crazy behind "true love" kind of love. Why, you wonder. Adhudhan terilaye.

So the homeless, "paavam" girl steals the rich girl's boy friend and becomes an angel/hero. Why? I have no freaking idea.

Towards the end the movie shifts to India. Obviously the lovers unite but I am still wondering how the boy and the rich girl reach India before the other girl in spite of leaving hours or days later. I looked for some logic there. Kill me.

So the movie ends and when I wanted to come out because I couldn't take the "second hand jawani" song, someone was blocking the way and I had to stay to watch some bloopers/funny moments. We see Saif Ali Khan smelling his arm pit, lifting his shirt in front of the mirror and playing with his nipples. Oh cho chweet, what a treat!!

PS - The only good moments are when Boman Irani and Dimple Kapadia come on the screen.

Dollar Biscuit

Girl - Appa Appa Kadaikku Poreengala
Man - Aamaam Kannu. Unakku enna venum sollu
Girl - Dollar Biscuit, Dollar Biscuit, Dollar Biscuit venum

Thus went the ad for Dollar Biscuit on Radio. Majority of the people in TamilNadu know this ad. I always loved it. I imagined the girl to be my age and the scene that I envisaged made me envious of that house. When someone leaves the house, it's so easy to ask "Where are you going?" That's what comes naturally. But that's considered inauspicious. You can ask "Where will you return from?" or "Are you going to Work/Shop/hospital?" etc to avoid getting yelled. But that girl is smart enough to restrain herself and not ask her Dad where he was going. She actually asked him "Are you going to the shop?"

I wondered often what would have happened had I been in her situation. I would have asked my Dad "Where are you going?". From the corner of my house, my grand mother would yell "Hey Saturn, why are you asking him just when he is leaving", while looking at my Dad and that would have probably resulted in him retiring to the sofa and picking up his Hindu paper for the day. Knowing my grandmother's stature in our house, that scene wasn't totally impossible.

But the house in that ad was different. The Dad said "Yes I am. What do you want me to bring for you?" How much that impressed me then. And the jungle for Dollar biscuit was the answer to his question.

At an age when I didn't know too many currencies of the world, dollar meant a pendant with God figure embossed on it. I wondered if that biscuit looked similar to one of the dollars I had seen. I have never seen a dollar biscuit much less buy or eat. I think that radio campaign was a huge success for the dollar brand in terms of creating awareness but I wonder how many actually purchased it. I don't even remember stores carrying them. Never saw them. That is such a shame. That brand must have died. But I hope the owner of the brand or the maker of that catchy radio ad are doing well for themselves now. Nostalgia is a "birch".