Everyone in the tinsel world seems to know the sacred mantra - "Discover your winning formula and use it endlessly till you tire your audience out". When stars can follow this animatedly why not directors!! Director Hari has intently executed his working principle and fairly succeeded in his attempt sided with the marketing stalwart Sun Pictures who can package even the worst nightmare to look and feel like your most enticing dream.
Hari can duly be nominated for the best copier award who has managed a flawless remake of his own Blockbuster Saamy with different lead artists and a very few tweaks mostly insignificant to the actual plot and audience. There are too many familiar takes from the real McCoy that it gets very difficult not to see Saamy in every frame when you have actually spent $16 for Singam!!!
Surya, as always looks handsome. There is nothing much to look forward with his acting as he is played his part just fine. With the exception of a few places, when tackling the bad elements where he literally roars in an undesirable high pitch breaking with a croaky effect, he is passable.
The star's forte is his charisma in romantic clippings or at least that was how he came across to a few fans of his like me until he tied the sacred knot. He used to be an on-screen romantic delight with a spectacular co-star chemistry leaving a deeper impact than the movie itself. Of late the star's dancing skills are much better than his romance in the movie.
In Singam, the director has avoided chummy scenes with forethought honoring the obvious height difference which would most likely bring on criticism rather than appreciation. Thus, Anushka's presence is felt only in the few songs where she single handedly entertains the audience with her ample anatomy coupled with sensuous movements.
Comedy has taken a new definition with the so-called comedian Vivek. The scenes where this clown appears evokes every feeling but laughter with annoyance topping the list. All his scenes are a deliberate inclusion on a confirmed drooping mission. The movie would have been better off if VT Vijayan had considered using his "Cut" tool seriously on this buffoon's scenes.
With such a pathetic delivery, the Chinna Kalaivanar was bragging his soul out on the Cassette release function telecasted on Sun Channel a few days ago. His speech was so reassuring that I had my hopes very high only for an awful disappointment. He is the proverbial empty Vessel!
Surya's dance needs a special mention. It is not easy to have forgotten the Aval varuvala stunts by Surya which was called dance in those days. The star has scaled up enormously that he can very well be added to the league of dancer-actors in the industry - my personal favorites being "She stole my heart" and "Kadhal Vandhaale". Music was neither great nor boring..but DSP could have avoided singing in every song. He didnt spare the BGM either!!
I have a great regard for Prakash Raj who has played the anti role. In my opinion, he is one of the few versatile stars this industry has been gifted with. There are movies that I have watched including one starring Sibi Raj in the lead role, only because Prakash Raj was one of the casts. But for Prakash Raj, I wouldn't have cared to watch it even on Sun TV!! But neither was he convincing nor justified in the movie. The Prakash Raj air was completely missing. Looks like he had played the role just to add on to his bank balance!!
If you haven't watched Saamy, which I would think is inconceivable, then you might find Singam terrific. For those of you who are obsessed with Saamy (like me), Singam is yet another movie.
Being born into a Brahmin family, not being associated with any form of art is considered the biggest sin. To escape the disparage, my parents tried to push me into classical carnatic music at an age when I was hardly able to say a few words comfortably without any hesitation.
My dad strongly believes in "see yourself in your child". Probably that was one of the reasons he volunteered for my music classes when I was absolutely passive about the whole deal. Music is my dad's passion and enrolling me for the music classes was the duo's joint decision, filled with all the usual hopes and promises that never turned out quite as they planned, and too often brought out to be disappointing.
Undoubtedly music has always been a part of me - I should say in my blood. My lineage is packed with music heads whose prime hobby is to discuss the intricacies of music over a cup of coffee just as I would update V with the latest cinema gossips. It is quite a norm that at least one soul in every extended family circle has been making it reasonably big in music in their own territories and we (read me and my siblings) are probably the only ones who were not known for the music but everything else. A few of my kith and kin breathe, speak and live music, sing raga alapana, neravals and kalpana swaras so effortlessly when relaxing or calling friends over for a dinner.
This was the profile my parents had dreamt for us and did everything possible to get us there. Remember the proverb "you can take the horse to the water, you cannot make him drink"! Well here we are the horse and the mares. My parents did their parts fine on the nose - manage to hire a teacher in a town where music was a luxury, pay the fees they demanded though they were well aware that it would take a hit on their monthly budget, shepherd us diligently to the classes every week on time and in all excitement failing to see that their efforts alone will not help in the making of Chithra's and Susheela's at our household.
We were not even in the tolerable limits of singing though we ended up wasting dad's money for 7 full years:) It is "us" because dad didn’t want any disparity between his girls - so wherever we went, we went in 3's, a custom in my house that I hate till today.
Honestly, I was inclined more towards dancing and better off with it until recently when I have started thinking myself as a better singer. Well, this is only my thought and people who have heard me sing, feel it’s a nightmare worse than their worst nightmares.
To pursue my singing interest, I started on a music teacher hunt and tried my hands with several ones in town. A few of them did enroll me but for various reasons I couldn’t continue to be a part of their music school. Finally my dutiful search has paid its dues and come to a fruitful halt - I have found a teacher who to me is more than a teacher.
Gone was the era when people taught an art for the art value of it. In a world that is extremely commercialized, the only factor that keeps people still interested in imparting skills to the next generation is the almighty dollar. Interestingly art costs you an arm and leg - it is easy to provide an education but not an art. So, indubitably it is mighty tough to resist the lucrative temptation associated with this deal.
Am not blaming anyone here as commercialism seems to be the way of life. Amidst this economic crowd that exploit every possible means to spread the art right from voice chat mediums to in-person classes, Mrs.Gayathri Govind is everything that defines dedication and commitment without any monetary expectation.
I have never known my art classes back home that started on time - either we would be late to the class or the teacher would be heavily back logged due to an unexpected neighbor making an appearance for a quick trivial talk or borrow a spice that she forgot to add to her grocery list the day before or share a dish that she had made, not with an intention of sharing but to fish for compliments so that she could be the talk of the town for the next few days - sheer attention seeking gimmick. Won’t they even know that the teacher has students waiting for something slightly better than their agenda??
Old habits die hard - so accustomed to a convenient custom defined promptness, it never even occurred to me that music classes can also start on time and that I should be there on the dot. Gayathri's music classes always start on schedule. If am 5 minutes late I can be sure-enough to miss the first song. She emphasizes on being sensitive to other people's time, a lesson that I should have learnt in one of the Moral Science classes in my 5th Grade but then who took those classes seriously:) She can never afford a delayed start even if it means there is none in the class.
She not only teaches the songs but also treats you to plenty of impressive information right from the history of the poet, the meaning of the song/shlokas, the significance of the composition and much more, that let alone to myself I would hardly go in search for. Her zeal and enthusiasm for music when she wears the teacher hat needs a special mention.
She cherishes every moment she is with her students and relishes when her kid students walk into an alreay in-progress class reciting the shloka rather than having a fit over losing their favorite spot or express avidity in extracting more details from her like the hungry little sponges soaking up every drop of learning and gobbling every morsel.
It is a blessing to be acquainted with this lady and I consider myself fortunate by all means!!
The impression that this movie's audio track left behind is phenomenal that it would want anyone, even those who cannot comprehend a word from the language purchase the tickets for the FDFS. I was no exception to this fallacy. Excited by the banner (Read Gowtham Menon and ARR only) I was so desperate to catch up on this movie, that I even felt miserable when I missed the week it was released in NJ. Only after I spent 2 hrs and 45 minutes in the theatre last week (missed the first 15 minutes as always:)) did I realize that my lucky stars were trying to save me some money and time which I refused to see!
A satisfactory attempt backed up heavily by the music and a capable lead lady makes VTV. I wonder if all those raving reviews I read were just to confuse the readers. "Feel Good", Magical" are the adjectives one gets to hear round the globe for this movie making it sound as though this movie is a "once in a blue moon" effor and can be straight nominated for the next Oscar. In reality this movie is just tolerable and definitely a very different attempt in having the same story line in both the halves with different cast.
The second half is the story of an aspiring director (Simbu) who shoots his own story which is the first half of the movie. This is a movie within a movie with identical halves and a twist which is very insignificant that it would be better off if I don’t mention it here. Don’t get me wrong - am not trying to keep up any suspense, it’s just not worth.
The feel good nonsense is what the director propagates about his own movie (read first half) post intermission which can only be thought of as a new strategy to trumpet. It has become GM's signature to have a good start and then drag the movie as though he is clueless and finally manage to somehow pick up all the loose ends and tie it to one big knot leaving a benumb effect. That’s what he has done in VTV too.
It starts off very well with pleasing numbers, magnificent picturisation and an illusion that you are finally watching a great movie. The illusion lasts only a couple of minutes when his express gets derailed and switches to the drag track which after a fashion reaches its destination when the audience is overwhelmed and restless to see the end card.
Simbu has done a fair job but if the director has tried to associate any class with him then he has awfully failed. His timing on the humor along with Gnanesh was mind-blowing. He needs a special mention for playing subtle and not his usual over engineering self. Kudos to the director for keeping this guy well under control which is an added plus to the movie. Simbu's foot work in the songs is a visual treat.
The real surprise to me came in the form of TRISHA. Honestly till date with the exception of 3 movies (Aayudha Ezhuthu, Ghilli and Saamy) she has always failed to impress me as an actress. She is one of those heroines who turn me off very badly and I have skipped a few movies just because she was playing the lead star. In VTV she has displayed breathtaking competence and was the perfect Jessie. I am easily convinced that anyone else in that role would certainly fall short.
She and Simbu play the contrast very well. Trisha is everything that defines class and Simbu is everything but class. It is so difficult not to notice this variation when both these stars appear on screen especially in scenes where they are seen together. She carries the air of dignity all through the movie with so much ease.
The best part I liked about Jessie is her characterization as a confused person. It is absolutely true with most of us and we (read girls) are still a mystery to ourselves. GM might have failed as a director with a poor execution of what could have been a powerful script but at least he has nailed down the presentation aspects of the lead lady with so much proficiency.
The one reason for which many didn’t mind the 3 hr mumbo jumbo is the music and ARR, in no uncertain terms is the real hero in the movie. His background score was tranquilizing and I loved the way Omana Penne blended into the screenplay. If at all this movie sees a successful 50 days, ARR would be the sole reason.
VTV - An average, can be watched once movie with the usual extensive publicity only this time blown out of proportion!!!
If I need a class movie to remember for my lifetime, a movie that would find its place in my evergreen DVD collection, a movie that I can watch any number of times for the substance and not just as a filler in the background to keep me company when am doing my chores, an out of the box subject with mind-blowing creativity then obviously Vijay starring movies will not be my choice. His latest venture Vettaikaran is no different to any of his earlier attempts with a tolerable first half and an ignoble second half.
The star has conveniently settled down in his adopted formula which he thinks will scale him up to the superstar status and is adamant about breaking his shells open. His own fans and general audience have done everything possible to discourage him of his insanity but it is evident that he is refusing to let go of it. He needs to get away from his absolutely failing blueprint for his own survival. Sir, please wake up and see the mishap it is causing to your own film career before you drown completely.
A tawdry storyline which might have been a chart-buster during the salad days of my parents with obvious twists, predictable flow, usual masala, an overdose of violence and peppy numbers make up Vettaikaran.
The star definitely has a good potential which we have witnessed in the past in a very few films like Ghilly, Pokiri. His comedy timing is something he can improve upon instead of wasting time on punches, unnecessary fights and replicating other successful stars efforts.
The songs are the only bait in the movie. Very energetic and ebullient that makes even one with 2 left feet rock n' roll! The star's so-called mass factor is felt in all the numbers. The one with his junior on screen is a visual treat!
Anushka looks very cute and thats it. There is hardly any scope for her to act in the movie which has now become the garden-variety of the tinsel world. Do not expect anything significant from the lead lady seems to be the mantra and Anushka has wholeheartedly lived up to it. She is a part of the movie package just for romancing around with the star in a couple of duets.
If you have to be accepted as a hero in the Kollywood, a fight sequence is the sine qua non. Probably for mass heroes the requirement is mandated heavily. How can Vijay, having been accepted as the mass hero not fulfill this fundamental mark? So to address this element, in all sincerity, he is seen fighting different set of goondas, every 3rd minute in the second half.
The director needs special mention for the choice of characters for the roles. The villain is definitely threatening and a good challenge to the hero. But that alone doesn’t justify the 1 hr twinge (read second half).
After 3 colossal flops in a row, the star has tried hard to make a come back but unfortunately hit the skids. The cast and crew of Vettaikaran thought they have given their edition of Vetrikaran but it turns out that all of them were crazy.
If the movie had maintained the same pace as how it started, it could have carried through better. But looks like the star and the director suffered a partial amnesia in the beginning that they completely forgot the star's recipe and fortuitously were in the right track. But close to the intermission they have regained their heed and resorted dutifully to the stars modus operandi which is a disaster.
The effort is a blatant Vijay movie made exclusively for his fan base with a fair to middling start and a nauseating end. Relax, take a break and it’s not bad at all to skip this one if you are not a Vijay fan!! If you are still desperate, try torrents or even better wait for the next religious celebration. For all you know, to retain their house Sun TV might treat you to this movie!!
Kolangal, (Kryolongal to many) has finally seen the "End card" after a long 6 year life. This Mega serial had been the heart and soul to many round the globe. It’s a convenient norm to always tie up serials to the females in the families and the most convincing reason stated for the same is "Serials are targeted for the ladies in the family". Interestingly Kolangal broke all these mistaken false speculations. The intended audience for these serials is not the matrons alone but the family as a whole.
I personally know so many males and so-called heads of the families who would lose their sleep over this daily soap if they had to miss it for any reason.
The huge audience for this jest is no justification to its miserable story line and languid direction. Mr.Tholkaapian has proven his expertise in the art of dragging. Kolangal profoundly stood by for the word "mega" in the serial world with absolutely no substance still managing exorbitant witnesses. I have never known any serial that can play the limp game as much as Kolangal did, trying hard in every possible way.
Some of the mind-blowing strategies that the director followed which helped him a great deal in the drag deed are:
1. Every artist in the serial right from the lead lady to the most insignificant dramatis personae will have to necessarily have a recap of some incident(s) from his/her past helping viewers to refresh their memory of the long forgotten episodes.
In effect, this tactic met a dual purpose - reduce production cost and increase the life span of the serial.
2. Anyone who ventures in an adventurous deed which in most case would just be beating the traffic to reach home from work will be given a background score singing the praises of the artist. The actual agenda for these songs will be to drag the episode for the day and if possible extend to a few more days in the week.
Kolangal is a very simple story narrated in one of the most complicated manner. The director has tried every means to interweave tale within tales and give it a magical merry-go-round feel where one cannot escape, round and round you go always to end in the same start point. Those who have followed this horseplay from day 1 would agree with me.
This serial was a sweet torture to most of us. I have never been very fond of this daily soap, have always grumbled about the happenings in the serial but still couldn’t afford to miss an episode.
It’s not easy to forget the annoying expression queen Devayaani from "Ninaithen Vandhaai" days. It was the same lady, not straightened out an inch in acting who started championing this serial as Abi.
With 6 years of life as Abi, dumped with all available cans of worms on her, all we have seen of her is a pale, dull, spiritless lackluster lady who is fighting day in and day out for her survival but with a marked advancement in her acting capabilities. Having followed this serial diligently I can see an enormous difference in the lady's competencies. She has ameliorated leaps and bounds and deserves all credits for retaining the spectators for the era.
She has a great potential beyond doubt which was failed to be explored on the silver screen. She can play around with her expressions in a very pleasing manner too. She was the backbone of this soap and a real boon to the serial. One cannot miss to observe her efficacy especially in scenes where she interacts with our clown (read as director).
There is so much contrast to their facial appearances, when Abi is playing around with relevant smiles and smirks with so much ease the buffoon is struggling to differentiate between the 2 and is dexterously wearing a fixed expression inappropriate to the core. The last few episodes were a thorough justification to her flourishing as an able actress, a proof that can she can maneuver any role extremely well.
Keep up the good work Madamoiselle!!
Food has never been my strong suit though I love to cook. My interest in cooking is purely because of V who truly believes, he lives to eat!! Being in NJ, with just one depressing season for most part of the year, to add some color to our lives, all we are entitled is to have get togethers at someone's place, either a potluck or a feast at the host's cost. My main catalyst for these social occasions has always been the crowd and never the food. With one of my neighbor's recent lunch invitation, for the first time I have forced myself to look for something better than just the mob:)
The S's hail from Palakkad and the awesome foursome (read husband, wife + 2 kids) are embodiments of hospitality. They are extremely artful in making you feel at complete ease when around. Between her very busy schedule of attending birthday parties, luncheons, servicing friends and families stop overs, travelling within and outside the country as frequently as possible, running the shelter for her girls friends sleep overs, organizing community functions, catching up with her native mates who dominate the neighborhood, following a few multi-lingual daily soaps in leading channels dedicatedly, not missing even a single movie that gets released in the 2 easily accessible theatres, she hardly finds time to breathe. Nonetheless the busy lady managed to extend a lunch invitation to us and another friend who lives in the neighboring community.
Though it was the elders at my place who were the actual reasons for the meal call, we planned to mark full attendance. I was overly enthused not about the big feed but to check out her ethnic costume collection and the appropriate accessories that she had stacked from her recent visit to the motherland!! I tried taking a guess at her menu and was somehow sure she was going to treat us to an enormous lunch buffet in authentic Kerala Style and my guess was perfect! As though reading my mind, she called to check if any of us had any apprehension to Jackfruit!!
In the whole universe, to the best of my knowledge the only state where this invasive species enjoys a status more than just a fruit is Kerala. When most part of the world is still unaware of the existence of such a massive produce and the population who have awareness don’t necessarily have any special fondness, it is only in this coconut island that every soul devours this fruit. Apparently it also happens to be the "State's fruit"..no wonder it finds its extensive use in every other household. The inmates do a thorough justice to all parts of the fruit. They are capable of using this fruit in every category of a meal - right from an appetizer to a dessert!! For an instant I even thought she was planning an elaborate Jackfruit meal! Good lord, she spared us from the inconvenience!!
I tried to probe on the menu for everyone else’s sake but as always she didn’t give even the slightest hint. On the D-day Jay was down with a bug and we had to take turns for the lunch. V and his parents made the first trip and I was planning to join the S's later. It was well past the lunch hr when I stepped in and I could smell the aroma of the foods right at the foyer which immediately started working hard on my digestive juices. I was literally starving because I had strategically skipped my breakfast!
I walked straight to the dining table and was taken aback on my plate...it was the banana leaf that she had got for this occasion driving 70 miles one way. When all gatherings these days are driven by self service and powered by paper stationeries, banana leaf and host service was a sweet welcome. It reminded me of the festive occasions back home. I was deeply touched and by then the other friends who claimed to be waiting for my arrival to start, was already on their third helping.
Taking my seat at the head of the table ready to hog, I couldn't help notice a pitcher right in the middle of the table filled with a transparent liquid which I assumed was water, with an inverted half coconut acting as the cover on top. I was anticipating rice when Mr.S took the half coconut away and offered the liquid from the pitcher. It was not water but tender coconut. The half coconut was a representation of the source of the drink. What creativity!!
I was sipping my drink and Mrs. S served the sweet - Jackfruit payasam. As I understand from the detailed explanation S offered on the recipe of this sweet, the fruit needs to be extremely ripe and the base preparation is a very cumbersome one eating up hrs of time. It was not until the end of the 20 minute monologue we understood that her real effort was only in explaining the process and not in the actual preparation. S had conveniently used the base (jam) she had brought and stacked from India!!! Still effort is an effort and the sweet tasted delicious. I helped myself to 2 glasses which is very unusual given my affinity for sweets!!
From the time I spotted the form on the internet to mailing it across to the channel’s administrative office on time, being shortlisted for the selection process and getting selected for the grand finale was all accomplished so smoothly. All of it seemed to have come to us so easily. I always have a feeling that there are no freebies in life. You work for what you got, or you wound up with nothing. A tiny part of myself kept reminding me of this and on a serious thought we were going to face the climax without many efforts from our side which scared me enough to think the final results would not be so favorable. I was determined not to let these blind thoughts ruin my excitement and consciously avoided the contemplation.
August 27, 2009
It was a lovely Saturday, the day after the Varalakshmi Pooja. I was already in Chennai on the Wednesday of the week to join my extended family for the religious celebrations and my partners were going to connect with me directly at the set the same morning. We had literally broadcasted the whole world that we were going to participate in the Jackpot show, very confident about the victory without worrying the consequences a bit if the result was otherwise. Somehow we never considered the flip side of the outcome as though we were born only to win!
We were asked to come prepared for a whole day shoot starting at 8 am. Each of the participants was allowed to bring in 2 guests and I promptly showed up at 7:45 am with V and my sister who cursed me all the way through, for having woken her up early. She had never seen sunrise in a few years then that too on a Saturday - after all she was a college kid...what more can one expect:)
When my team members joined me, the superstitious Meena was fully awake in me. I started explaining my team mates the signs of success that I had got from the Almighty the day before during the Pooja in the form of a flower falling down when I finished my prayer fluttering my eyelids open, the aarthy staying lit till I completed the Pradakshinam and the lamp's longevity throughout the day. V was the first to mock me for these childish beliefs - he always takes a polarized position and stays glued to it when it comes to Gods and beliefs but this time he had a counter and I should admit a more realistic explanation for all of my thesis.
Here goes his breakdown - when you continuously keep showering flowers on the idol mounted on a plethora of goodies which hardly have any balance, the flowers are bound to slide down - not only you, all in the room had noticed the falling down flowers which holds no significance other than one more proof to the theory of gravity. More the camphor’s longer is the life of the aarthy and when one keeps adding oil to the lamp at regular intervals as a way of monitoring it, the lamp is bound to stay illuminated throughout the day. According to him none of them were any signs or messages from the Almighty as I claimed! Though his comments were very disappointing inspite of its sensible meaning I chose to ignore and walked to the open space where I met a few more souls.
I was expecting one more team apart from us. Interestingly I saw a clump of human faces most of them ladies who looked more to me like fellow participants. As always, when I probed I was shocked to find 5 more teams shooting the same day. The organizer clarified that they were recording 3 shows the same day which confused me further. I was still holding on to the New Year farce and inquired only to make a fool of myself. The response I received from one of the technicians who was by then chuckling at my question was "New yearukkellam celebrities dhaan madam koopduvaanga" (They will invite only celebrities for occasions like New Year). I diligently interpreted his chuckle as a snicker - thanks to my female antenna.
It was a complete let down and I was fuming inside. Knowing my temper very well my partners started worrying if I would cancel our participation and pack up. Surprisingly I was not inclined towards any drastic decision and was a good sport about the bitter pill. As it was a team effort, I didn’t want to spoil the others excitement for egoistic reasons and had resolved to stay clam throughout the shoot.
Adding insult to injury, when the coordinator came around asking for every team captain's name, he never bothered to stop by us but I did see him write something. Desiring knowledge, when asked he amazed us saying that he has got the name. Exchanging strange looks we demanded further explanation only to be aggravated further. He pointed in my direction and said I have written her name - though he had it right we were lost as we never mentioned this to anyone.
As though understanding our dilemma he came forward with his vivid interpretation that this was no trade secret and his exact words still ring in my own ears uncomfortably "she speaks so much so we assumed she should be the spokesperson". That was the last straw. They had stretched me too thin for the day. All my earlier resolves were forgotten and I wanted to walk out but the pleading faces of my counterparts held me back.
The next test to my patience was when they announced the shooting slots - not sure how they decided who is going when but we got the third slot. I had to protest to this one too just as a way of taking revenge for all my earlier chagrins. After a lot of noise we got the first slot. By then our team was quite popular (read as notorious) on the sets.
Our opponents were a bunch of college pass-outs from Erode which only doubled our over confidence on the Easy Street. In our own minds we were already the winners. We then walked to the green room where we were greeted by professional hair dressers and make up man to help us look good in front of the cameras. With one final look at the mirror, convinced with my appeal I went to the main arena, ready to get the first sight of the grand sets of Jackpot show.
What I saw there was a complete blow. What looks so elegant, handsome and impressively majestic on the TV was in reality a pale, archaic, lifeless stage erected with huge cardboards displaying the channel’s, show’s and sponsor’s names. It was hard to believe the entire stage set up was constructed in a space not more than the living room of a middle class home. Only then I realized the real heroes of this show are the light and sound technicians who unfortunately get to work only behind the screens.
Worst was the sound proof room they send one of the participants in the final rapid fire round. There is no such thing existing in the set. All they have is a makeshift wooden cabinet no way close to even a reliable cupboard which is the assumed sound proof room. If you sneeze hard the joints would crack - that is the quality of the cabinet and they heartlessly showcase it as a sound proof room.
The participant is made to stand in that space with huge head phones during one of the recess for a quick shot and then sent out of the arena to avoid overhearing of answers - beyond doubt a very complicated way of accomplishing the goal though it appears differently on screen. God only knows why they even give her the head phones when the show is no way ready to resume and you will surprised to see the final output. It would appear as though the sound proof room had kept her from eavesdropping and heights of absurdity is when she is called in for her turn the anchor would question about the music she pretended to enjoy in the sound proof room. Holy Christ!!! How better can they volunteer for their self mockery??
If the sound proof room was bizarre, the backstage from where we had to emerge out waving our hands at the audience looking more like politicians was a nightmare. There was hardly any stage at the back. It was a narrow strip of a wooden plank where we were asked to stand most of the time praying and genuinely hoping that we wouldn’t fall off the plank or worse push the backdrop down. With so much of inconvenience hiding behind the curtains, our choice of costumes only adding to the awkwardness, we were expected to wear the plastic smile in measured steps and take our honorable positions to play the game. Not sure how I managed to climb down those so-called steps without tripping even once. It was definitely a miracle!
We had already spent enough time back home deciding our order on the stage - it had a lot to do with who amongst us was going to play which round. When we were trying our positions on the stage, fixing the mikes and testing them, endlessly waiting for the anchor to get prepared, the technicians altered our positions. They spared my spot as I was the head honcho but all others physical place was shuffled. We couldn't win the battle this time as the positioning had to deal with our heights and their camera positions. We gave in grudgingly and continued to wait for the hostess.
It was only a moment later when all of us had taken to maintain pin drop silence, did I catch a glimpse of a lady behind the assemblage of supervisors. It was the merest hint, the quickest impression and then suddenly I saw her standing there, the woman whom I had admired from my school days for her beauty originally, acting later and compeering recently. Her face was glowing, her attire was exquisite, her accessories were meticulous and she had the smile which would make any men's knees melt in a minute. Just being near her made one feel very nice. There was definitely something about her that made you want to stare at her in fascination. She had a startling dignity about her and for me it was my dream come true.
She greeted us gracefully and started her speech on women empowerment. It seemed like a decade when she was finally done with her extempore. I couldn’t really gather what she was trying to get across with so many retakes and interruptions. We had to break as the hostess had already exhausted herself rendering the half a page, 5 minute herculean message. When we resumed, as a custom she took us through the rules of the game, needless to mention with a lot of cuts and retakes, and then it was finally happening.
I was called to the podium for the first round. I was incredibly distracted by her that it took quite a long time for us to get the correct answer other than our names. We opened our account only in the 4th round which was all about loans. Our being in the professional world proved its worth over those college kids on the opposite side for the first time in the day. We were extremely thorough on all the loans when they were completely ignorant on the same:)
The round which was the deciding factor for the Jackpot was a General Knowledge round. We were given the questions in advance and most of it seemed simple. We had to challenge each other bidding for the number of questions we would answer. As the captain I had the responsibility to decide the number at which we could choose to get challenged or challenge the opponents. For a minute I forgot the numbers represented the number of questions to which we knew the correct answers or at least thought so.
I was just going on increasing the bid until the other captain took the smart move and challenged us. I had opted for 9 on 13. My team mates had already started cursing me for such a pathetic decision. A few of our well-wishers from the audience even thought I was out of my mind! I think it was the elation at being there, the adrenaline that had spurred me on which had begun to fade by then and the non-readiness soon after the dance performance all added up to the ambivalence.
We did considerably well, given the high number I had bid. Some of the obvious questions we missed and the question we were very hopeful that we had the right answer was improperly handled by the administrators which no one (especially the viewers) except for those who witnessed the live drama would ever know - thanks to their skilled editors.
The in-or-out question was "Budha engu parinirvanam adaindhar".
As handicapped as I am with pure Tamil, I requested an English translation and the bright hostess translated this to "Where did Buddha attain enlightment".
Clearly the answer to the English version of the question is Bodh Gaya. Unfortunately the Tamil version doesn't share the same answer as parinirvanam has nothing to do with enlightment - it is death. This was a multiple choice question and I chose Bodh Gaya very positively which only turned to be a disaster. It was the key that opened the door to our exit. I argued on the spot but it was worthless. And in the final output they had carefully edited the English version of the question and the following discussions:( We walked out upset but rejoiced when the other team did not win the Jackpot! Does it sound too sadistic..afterall we are ordinary humans:)!
Our favorite organizer who had arm-twisted enough came to express his condolence and told us the program would be aired on January 22nd the following year. As the results were not what we had hoped for, I hardly registered the date of telecast. I was more bothered about facing the crowd to whom we had advertised enormously. All our enthusiasm which was seen in the beginning of the day was lost and we walked out with our eyes cast down. I was not ready to make peace with an incorrect answer throwing me out of the game. But we were not heard and had to go with the majority.
With my work demanding my geographical relocation I had to leave the country soon after the shoot and this event completely slipped out of my mind. I hardly told anyone about the telecast. My own folks missed to watch it from lack of information. But much to my astonishment many of my friends and family had treated themselves to my show. I never knew this program had so many regular eyes until I got my performance's feedback from all over my "known" circles without even me asking for it:)
This show also played a vital role in the reunion of thyself with a couple of my beloved lost childhood friends. I was absolutely convinced by then that these friends’ episodes in my life were a dropped chapter and a re-entry was never possible. All my assiduous efforts including the major social networking sites to track them down did not give the desired results. What cyber technology couldn't do media made it happen:) Is that why they say media is any day powerful!!
It was a great experience though phenomenally tiresome and one that I would cherish forever!!
The videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0uJD15r9gw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRO-Q5KtyBM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LDBgYtMjHQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GKVqB4P48o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MhoVRmKvV8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scP5jqLuyW4
