Between doing evil and setting it straight!

Muran (2011)
Director: Rajan Madhav

Accidents happen suddenly and at random. We are made to believe that things occur for no rhyme or reason. In the churning of cosmic soup, the flapping of the butterfly wings may create a hurricane. Is it really? A perfect crime is committed when no trace of external interference with an act of nature results in a negative outcome. Nobody will blame anybody when a typhoon sweeps over a nation, as proving secret weather-changing experimentation via covert governmental projects is not easy!

This is a fascinating typical Tamil movie with a different storyline. Sadly, it is not an original offering, but its storyline is based on Alfred Hitchcock's 'Stranger on the Train.' (1951). The story has been modified to suit the local scenery and the turn of the tide of time. The strangers are not on a train but are hitchhiker-driver combo; the train is a car speeding on a highway from Bangalore to Chennai. 

Nanda is a musician. Upon his return from Bangalore, after a movie deal, his car breaks down. He manages to hitch a ride from Arjun, a weird character that he had seen the previous night drunk and about to jump off a balcony! Nanda takes the ride anyway.

Along the journey, Nanda and Arjun find commonalities. Nanda is in a loveless marriage, and Arjun is a wealthy tycoon's son wronged by his mean father. After a few friendship-bonding moments, Arjun proposes a mutually beneficial plan - each was to murder the other's misery... 

Nanda baulks at such a proposition and scoots off. He thinks it is all forgotten. Nanda's wife is increasingly irritating him and is overtly flirting with her working colleagues. Nanda himself feels like putting an end to her life when he feels the opportunity is ripe, but his inner consciousness stops him. Then Nanda receives a call from the police that his wife had been killed in a hit-and-run accident. Arjun had started his end of the bargain even without Nanda's consent. Then Arjun's cat and mouse game begins, trying to force Nanda to reciprocate.

It balances ending evil, doing the right thing and satisfying the sane conscious mind. Man, we have developed two contradictory assets over generations of mitosis and natural selection. We have gained the curse of a good memory and the often feuding of the reptilian mind and the policeman of our superego.

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Modern love

Kutty ♥️ Story ( Short ♥️ Story, Tamil; 2021)

Maybe because our attention spans get shorter, we seem to be content with short stories rather than full-length feature films these days. With the democratisation of viewing platforms, we, the viewers, never had it so good. Not only we get new faces to act, but we also have storylines that break the traditional, predictable plot of boy meets girl, meets opposition, but love conquers all. 

Securing finance for new ventures had always been difficult for moviemakers. Banks and other financial institutions were not forthcoming with loans. Hence, the association of producers and the Mumbai mafia and their associates. The Mafia dictated who could act and even approved storylines. Their network ensured only certain Moghuls could rule the silver screen. All that came to nought when OTTs paid their clients upfront and were liberal with their storylines. Herein also lie the problem, some say. They allege that breaking India forces try to portray only negative images of India (ala Slumdog Millionaire).

This collection of four short stories looks at love, what else, and its problems in four different scenarios. 

In the first story, எதிர் பார முத்தம் (Unexpected kiss), the age-old topic of platonic love is discussed. Is it possible for a male to build a friendship with another person of the fairer sex without having romance interfering in the bond? In their forties, a group of old friends reminisce about the protagonist's fling in college over a round of drinks. Now, married to a different girl, he denies any romantic link then or ever. The girl, after migrating, now returns and sets a meeting with the protagonist.

The next one, அவனும் நானும் (He and Me), talks about unplanned pregnancy in a college girl and the mountain of decisions she has to make to deal with it, whether to terminate, to give for adoption or modify her life ambitions. This, she has to decide amidst the fear of disappointing the parents and the society's hawkeyed look.

லோகம் (Universe) is a slightly different presentation. Two gamers, both with different avatars and anonymous identities, meet in a game. The male gamer falls in love with the girl in cyberspace but loses her contact when her avatar dies during a crucial moment. The lovestruck gamer reveals his feelings during a radio interview, and they are reunited. Most of the story is told in animation. The take message is that the world can be pretty depressing for some people, and they have to create false personas to find happiness. We hide our cracked interior by applying a thick mask of makeup to put up a happy front.

ஆடல்-பாடல் (Dance-Songs) explores the lopsided societal viewing of infidelity. A man's occasional fling is forgiven but not a woman's. A husband and wife, with a young child, have to deal with this problem. The wife lures her husband to respond to a flirtatious phone call and catches him read redhanded. He apologises, only to tell the wife that she had a short fling with her ex-boyfriend after her marriage. This riles up the husband. He uses his resources to uncover the identity of her boyfriend. After sleepless nights of research, he realises his double standard. They were no such person. Why does society expect the female community members to portray a perfect picture of chastity, but the bar is significantly lowered for the patriarchy?

It is an excellent and refreshing set of short stories, even for the not so lovey-dovey type. 

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The world at your feet?

It is not a mere pastime. Neither is it just a recreational tool to strengthen the body and mind. It is more than that. It is an institution. The followers are so many and so religiously follow it every turn of event that it can be called a religion. It gives hope to the downtrodden and something for the rudderless to look forward too. Many a poor boy get pulled off from the shackles of poverty as it provides an equal level field for all to play. It does not discriminate race, creed or breed.

I am talking about football, as most of the world names it. Soccer to the other half who until recently thought it was a sissies’ game. They exclusively reserved the good name to the brawn clashing duel of unthinking cavemen with a misshapenned oblong structure erroneously named ball.

A visit to the temple of Spanish football stadium of Real Madrid showed how this game had infiltrated into the soul of the Spaniards. With more century of history behind them and loads of stories of victories, near misses, fantastic saves, miraculous comeback wins and many many more, they can go on talking about it forever.

There can be no other more efficient lubricant than sports. One does not have to go far to ignite the amber of nationalism. Get the national team to compete against the neighbours, and the country would see a sudden surge in camaraderie amongst its citizens.

Something so good cannot be without its vices. If previously tobacco and alcohol were blatantly advertised with the game, now the hidden hand behind this establishment have wised up. Their approach has been subtle, and gambling is legalised. The question is much the general public can reap its benefits. Is it just an opiate to numb the people off the real issues that plague them on a daily basis?

The temple - Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Homeground of Real Madrid. 

The Chalices - Proof of their prowess.

The ever forgotten step-sibling - Valencia. 

https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

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