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| Image Courtesy: www.ytalkies.com
Cast: Mohanlal (Vineeth N Pillai), Manju Warrier
(Deepa), Innocent (Kariachan), Renji Panickar (CEO of GM Builders), Reenu
Mathews (Kalyani), Lena (Farah), Jacob Gregory (Maathan), Usha S Karunagapally
(Rosy – Kariachan’s wife), Kalpana (Bindhu Nainan), Minon (Ganapathy), Baby
Adhvaitha (Miya, Deepa’s daughter), Kochouseph Chittilappilly (playing himself),
Santosh Keexhaattoor, Dileesh Pothen, Sreekutty Ramesh, Kozhikode Sarda, Ajith
Genre: Family Drama
Directed by: Satyan Anthikad
Produced by: Antony Perumbavoor
Screenplay by: Ranjan Pramod
Music by: Vidyasagar
Cinematography: Neil D’Cunha
Edited by: K Rajagopal
Distributed by: Maxlab Entertainment (Kerala), Four
Brother’s Release (India), MAS Film and Entertainment Limited (Europe), Achu
& Achu’s Creations (Australia, New Zealand & Singapore), Aashirvad UK
(Rest of the World)
Release date: 27th March, 2015
Duration: 2 hours 29 minutes
Language: Malayalam
Ennum Eppozhum (എന്നും എപ്പൊഴും) – Satyan Anthikad film. A great thought provoking title with terrific pairing
of Mohanlal and Manju Warrier, who are coming together after a gap of seventeen
years (Kanmadam, Summer in Bethlehem), the plot could have been explored in a
much better manner. Rather the plot seems to be under-developed. A few
sub-plots are also introduced in the movie without a proper beginning and a
proper end. The focus of the movie shifts gears from the main theme to the
sub-plots in between. As a spectator, I did feel initially that these sub-plots
might be relevant to justify the title ‘Ennum Eppozhum’, but it did not turn
out to be so. Ennum Eppozhum superficially touches so many issues: land mafia,
corruption at the top level of justice, journalism ethics, relationship
conflicts, women empowerment etc. but fails to focus on these in a concrete
manner. Humour at the sake of frivolous dialogues reduces the gravity of the
plot. But ultimately, Ennum Eppozhum summarizes (justifies its title) which is
all about standing up for what is right as per one’s own conscience and it definitely
gives a very positive end.
The movie begins
with Vineeth N Pillai’s (Mohanlal) narration. He is a Senior Correspondent working
with women’s magazine Vanitha Ratnam. In spite of being a procrastinator, he is
able to hold on to his job due to his late mother’s rapport with the top boss
of the magazine. Initial narrations project how people are leading monotonous lives
– same morning chores, taking same route, going to same office, boarding same
bus etc. These give us cue in regard to Vineeth’s boredom with non-challenging
assignments. Vineeth displays a very casual approach to his work, ends up
reaching late for his office / meetings etc. He is warned many times by his
management. Vineeth’s challenges increase when a new Editor-in Chief Kalyani
(Reenu Mathews) joins the organization. Kalyani feels that complete revamping
of the organization is required and fresh minds have to be brought in and those
employees who are not good need to be chucked out. Kalyani finds Vineeth’s casual approach towards work very irritating. She
throws a challenge in front of Vineeth to do a cover story for Vanita Ratnam’s
special edition. Kalyani wants Vineeth to interview Deepa (Manju Warrier), a family
court advocate who hits the news headlines due to brave fight which she picks
up with the authorities after she falls in a pothole while travelling by the
scooty. It was not easy to get to Deepa, who is extremely engaged with her parenting
Miya (Baby Adhvaitha), as well as with her work and social commitments. Vineeth’s
entry strategies to get an interview from Deepa fail but he pursues
consistently. These definitely land him in unexpected situations.
How does Vineeth
manage to get an interview of Deepa for the cover story? How does the
relationship between Vineeth and Kalyani evolve? I am confused with the way
this relationship is handled in the movie.
Lot of sub-plots
emerge in the background. Lena portrays the character of Farah, Deepa’s friend,
who runs a boutique. Innocent as Kariachan (a retired postmaster), and his wife
Rosy (Usha S Karunagapally) play the role of guardian angel neighbour of Deepa.
Although most of the verbal tiffs between Vineeth and Kariachan, Vineeth and Maathan
– Vineeth’s room mate cum assistant (Jacob Gregory) get a bit overboard at
times, but some moments do add to the humour quotient of the movie. Young Minon’s
(Ganapathy) advice to Vineeth to woo a girlfriend is hilarious.
We have seen
this Mohanlal many times on screen. It is great to see Mohanlal and Manju
together on screen. I loved the frames where Manju stands unperturbed when she
is threatened by mafia or her non-submission to wrong elements of the society
or her standing firm even amidst crisis.
This movie is moderately
paced. Songs don’t detract the attention, rather it flows in rhythmic pattern
in the background of the story. Songs support the touch of unexpressed love
projected in the movie.
Highlight of the
Movie: Effortless dance
performance by Manju Warrier. A visual delight indeed. Another moment where
Lena interacts with Manju in regard to her fascination for travel. She says
that how scenes move in front of us when we travel. She adds to it by saying
that let us atleast try to be happy, appear to be happy. Scenes would change
and a day will come, when we will really be happy.
Ennum Eppozhum,
a plot / cast with tremendous scope, although went a bit awry, still a delight
to watch for Mohanlal and Manju. Watch it, you would walk out of theater in a
happy mood.
Rating : 3 / 5 (Good)
|
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Review of Ennum Eppozhum (എന്നും എപ്പൊഴും), a Malayalam Movie
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Nashta – Combination of Health + Taste
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| Image Courtesy: Kellogg's 'Anaaj Ka Nashta"
Breakfast is the first meal and also the most important meal of
the day. Breakfast is the combination of two words: Break + Fast, i.e. breaking
one’s fast of prior night. Being a foodie, I enjoy and relish every meal, I
never ever miss my breakfast. This gives me tremendous amount of energy for the
whole day. However busy I might be, or however early I need to leave for my
work, I do ensure to have breakfast. I have read somewhere that skipping
breakfast can result in overeating later in the day. Whereas, a healthy
breakfast, on the other hand, gives us energy, satisfy our appetite, and set
the stage for coherent thinking as well as smart decisions all day along. Yes,
you read it right: “A Healthy Breakfast”. We take breakfast, but don’t ensure
to have healthy breakfast. I am intending to visit Gupta family to understand
more in regard to healthy breakfast. Do you want to join me?
Let me introduce to you the Gupta family. This family is a four
member family with Gattu ji (Gupta Ji), his wife Shalu (Mr. Gupta), and two
kids – elder daughter Ritu and son Rohan.
Lot of people keep asking them: “Nashte pe kab bula rahe hain”.
What I have heard from various people is just amazing. How many recipes, you
can make out of corn flakes? One…Two…probably that is all. But Gupta family is
popular for their yummy breakfast, varieties of items prepared using corn
flakes. Her name is Shalu (Mrs. Gupta), who prepares interesting breakfast varieties
using Kellogg’s Cornflakes. Isn’t it interesting?
Her breakfast menu is interesting. Wow, what a great start to a
day with a great breakfast, which is yummy as well as healthy. You name any
occasion, Shalu, the magical chef of the family will have a specific breakfast prepared
with the magical ingredient Kellogg’s cornflakes. It seems, she has almost 100
varieties prepared out of Kellogg’s cornflakes. Check out some of these on your
own:
Image Courtesy: Kellogg's Anaaj ka Nashta
The list is breathless… Gupta family’s nashta is light and
filling and after all very healthy. It can be prepared in couple of minutes. I
am curious to come to your house Guptaji to understand the recipes of preparing
atleast a few of breakfast items out of Kellogg’s Cornflakes. Also, I want to
explore the taste, am sure, some might be sweet and some might be salty and
some might be spicy. I am excited. Guptaji, Nasshte pe kab bula rahe ho mujhe?
Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Nashta is perfect Combination of Health + Taste
This article of mine is about Kellogg's India - kellogg’s cornflakes
- https://www.facebook.com/anaajkanashta |
Book-Review of Ramayana : The Game of Life – Shattered Dreams
Author: Shubha Vilas
Genre: Mythology
Publisher: Jaico Books
Publication Year: 2015
Number of Pages: 387
Price: Rs. 350
About the Author - Shubha Vilas: He is a spiritual seeker and a motivational speaker, holds a degree in engineering and law with specialization in Patent Law. His leadership seminars are popular with top-level management in corporate houses. He also helps individuals deal with modern-life situations by applying the teachings of the Bhagwad Gita, Ramayana and other dharmic traditions. (Courtesy: Amazon.in)
Ramayana: The Game of Life – Shattered dreams, by Shubha Vilas is a sequel to his previous work – Ramayana:
The Game of Life – Rise of Sun Prince. I can’t draw the comparison with his ‘Rise
of Sun Prince’, since I have not read that, but I found this book to be unique in
its own way. Ramayana is an age-old epic and we are no strangers to the story.
Although mythological tales have been reiterated many times, this book links
the stories very deeply with the philosophies of life. As the title of the book
says, indeed it talks about ‘Game of Life’. A very interesting read which
explores the epic’s various dimensions, basically revolves around the incidents
leading to Rama’s exile, Lakhsmana / Sita deciding to join Rama, Dashratha’s
death and Bharata’s humility and his persuading Rama to come back.
I must admit that it was quite challenging to finish reading it
within a span of seven days, since it needed an in-depth reading. I felt like going
back and re-reading it again. I also wanted to just sit back and ponder upon
the beautiful concepts / philosophies of life mentioned in the footnotes. I
wanted to look within myself and focus on my insights as a reader. Simple yet
powerful leadership sutras are also mentioned in the footnotes. Rather, almost every
paragraph of the book talks about a concept. Various chapters are titled in a
very interesting manner which raises curiosity to understand how the chapter
justifies the titles. An excellent effort to revisit the epic with an in-depth
analysis.
Shubha begins the book with Dasaratha’s running breathlessly.
Between his delusions and his consciousness, Dasaratha realizes that he is in
fact fighting two monsters – the monster within and the monster outside. Which
of the two monsters was Dasaratha fleeing from? Dasaratha desperately wants to
change his and Ayodhya’s ordained destiny. Dasaratha’s moonbeam is none other
than Rama.
We all are aware of the main plot of Ramayana, but what makes
the narration beautiful is the sub plots and stories of characters apart from
Rama and Sita weaved with the larger context. It is also interesting to
understand, how Nemi became Dasaratha and how Dasagriva (Ravana) was born with
the attributes of both races – Rakshasas (asuras) as well as that of Brahmanas.
Apart from Rama and Sita’s stories, other stories and characters
are also discussed in detail, be it Dasagriva’s rivalry with his half-brother Kubera,
the flying tyrant – Pushpak Vimana, the invincible father-son duo
Ravana-Meghananda, Ravana’s journey to become Trilokeshwar, Manthara corrupting
Kaikeyi’s mind (detailed version), Rama meeting Trijata, the boatman Guha, Charioteer
Sumantra’s bidding adieu to Rama, the Hope March. Anasuya’s covert prediction
of future to Sita etc. The book explores
various relationships and its intricacies beautifully.
Shubha discusses life’s philosophies so minutely. Some of them
which I found so useful are:
- Six inner enemies
- Why do people who love each other suddenly realize that they have nothing in common?
- How does one handle reversals in life?
- Can negative emotions be tools to display positive love?
- Confronting blame and praise
- The five tips on management, a good leader should adhere to
The insights which I gathered from the footnotes are many, but I
want to make a special mention of a few of them, which enticed me, and made me
fall in love with this book:
- Life is a combination of hope and despair, the one that dominates you carves your personality.
- The easiest way to forget your limitations is to shift the focus from self-absorption to active-facilitation.
- Every protector needs protection. Being constantly reminded of such a need keeps the protector humble.
- The danger of anger is that it suddenly makes one a stranger to others.
- The pain is supremely acute when an unavoidable and uncontrollable obstacle terminates an expectation that was very close to being met.
- The highest manifestation of gracefulness is gratefulness.
- The easiest way to evade truths was to shrug them off as fantasies spun by fertile minds, rather fearful minds.
- Expressions of love may be illogical, but expressions of expectations should be logical.
What could have been avoided or improved? I felt, at certain
instances, concepts are connected just for the sake of it. Also, at one point,
when Sita calls Rama by his name, the footnote says: Sita was so hurt that she
addressed Rama by His own name. In traditional societies, women did not
directly call their husbands by their names. That Sita was hurt was evident
from that one utterance. She realized her mistake immediately and ensured that
she never repeated it again. Didn't this footnote reflect male chauvinism or
non-acceptance of diversity? Too much description at times slows down the pace.
Yes, the story of Ramayana is not new. Various philosophies
discussed are also not new. But yes, what makes this book a must-read is the
simplicity with which the plot has been presented and related with the Game of
Life. It turns out to be self-help book, a wonderful merger of spirituality
with way of life. The learnings can be easily comprehended and applied by
anyone, be it of any age, gender or walks of life. The book is packaged with an
attractive cover-page and easily readable fonts (with appropriate font size) in
inner pages.
Picking up from Author’s Note, it begins with a bewildering
dilemma and ends with a riddle.
Ramayana: The Game of Life – Shattered Dreams is a Value-based
book which would definitely entice you. Happy reading!!!
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)
This
review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian
Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!
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free books!
Sunday, March 22, 2015
24 X 7 of Happiness
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| Image Courtesy: |
“Happiness is anything that brings a smile to your face” – I
completely resonate with this statement. It is actually an emotional state of
well-being. It is the mental framework which we adopt. Today, when I have sat
down to write about what happiness mean to me, I feel, every moment of life can
bring a lot of happiness to us. It is all about how we perceive our lives. It
may not be possible to have the best of everything in life, but are we able to
be happy and grateful of what we have in our lives? People often ask me, how
one can be happy amidst tough situations. I say, it is not easy, but it becomes
definitely easier to be happy by looking at the brighter side of life.
Offlate I watched a movie called “The Second Best Exotic
Marigold Hotel” (my review is at http://moviereviewsbybinduc.blogspot.in/2015/03/quick-review-of-second-best-exotic.html).
In this movie, if somebody is in search of a soul-mate, somebody else is search
of true love, the lead protagonist wants to achieve a lot through his
profession, somebody wants to decide between the two relationship to make a
permanent tie with one of them… the list goes on, but the ultimate thing is
that everybody is in pursuit of happiness. Aren't we also like that in real
life.
But the tragedy is we don’t know, what would fetch us happiness.
Either we are dependent on others to fetch us happiness or we are escaping from
the negativities of lives so as to get pseudo-happiness.
I believe that my happiness is definitely dependent on so many
factors but the basic fact is whether I am able to feel the happiness within.
Do I look outside for reasons to be happy or do I look within for reasons of
happiness ? How can I keep my people, near and dear ones happy, if I can not
keep myself happy. I feel, it is very important to feel the happiness from
within, then only I can spread happiness in and around. Happiness is one attribute,
the more we share, more we get.
What are the sources of my happiness? Let me share with you my 24
X 7 of Happiness (please ignore the order of listing).
Being Alive: Morning when I get
up, I get that first breeze of happiness: “Thank God, I am alive and have
another day in my hand.” The very thought of being alive gives me tremendous
energy.
 |
| With Mumma - My biggest critic |
My Family: Just having meals
with family gives me a feeling of satisfaction and happiness. When I come back
home after work, I find Mumma waiting for me eagerly to understand how my day had
been, gives lot of happiness. When I just sit with her at the end of the day to
interact with her and listen to her, It just feels so nice. She is a big critic
of mine who keeps me grounded.
When I Skype every night with dearest brother and family, who are in USA, it adds so much to my happiness. I am so much emotionally dependent on my family. Today’s digital media revolution helps me not to feel the distance and interact with brother and family, be it through Skype, Google hangout etc. it just gives me so much emotional security.
 |
| My Jaan (life): My dear brother, bhabhi, nephew and niece |
From India, through
digital media, I have seen my lovely nephew and niece growing up. The distance
is never felt. I feel so happy. When they visit India, just spending time with
them, hang out for movies, Golgappes, Chaat, Jelebis etc. makes me so happy.
Thank God, my family is my emotional anchor.
 |
| Life would be boring without you all dear friends |
My Friends: I might not be able
to sit physically with my close friends always, but whenever we catch up
through any form of media, it gives loads and loads of happiness. Friends are
so much part of life, with whom we can cry, laugh, and also not shy away from
being emotionally vulnerable. When we get together, we begin from where we
stopped. Life gets much more beautiful with them.
Being Healthy: I head
for my gym / swimming and the weighing scale shows 0.5 kg less weight, it
brings a smile on my face. Wow, my effort to keep fit has worked (this is a
typical female thought, isn’t it). I am sure, this brought smile to your face.
Oh yes, I understand that, I am far from my goal, but yes, the very thought to
keep fit gives me happiness.
My Profession: What a
wonderful thing to speak about life! As a trainer, when I interact with people,
there are lot many happenings which give me immense happiness. I get an
opportunity to strike the right chord with strangers.
 |
| Snapshots of Training - Where I end up living my life... |
A complete stranger group
turns out to be good acquaintance as the session moves further. When I am able
to convert the cautious affiliation seen in the eyes of the people into getting
to curious mode to know more, learn more, makes me happy. When I am able to
give a reason to think to the participants in the programme, that makes
me happy. When at the end of the programme, participants share their emotions,
I feel happy.
Having a business partner who shares my vision of running an
ethical organization also adds to my happiness.
My Interests: Being
a movie buff, I wait for a Friday to catch up with the movies. Rather I
actually look forward for good movies to release.
My Blog: Blog is one of the
best thing which has happened in my life. I have been a blogger of movie
reviews since last 14 months. Watching a movie and reviewing it, and expressing
my viewpoints through my blog and ultimately when I get likes, comments from my
friends and networks, it gives me immense happiness.
Blog has given me lot of space to express myself, network with
fellow bloggers, could strike chord with so many of them, and got so many good
friends, whom I haven’t met in real life but know them so well through their wonderful
works. This gives me so much happiness.
Feel absolutely blessed to get the attention of so many people
from different walks of life for my blog – actors, singers, filmmakers,
writers, friends… My blog changed my world positively and the space where I
used to be. Blog has fetched me so much of happiness.
My Sleep: When I am able to
catch a good sleep as soon as I hit bed, this gives me lot of happiness and
energy to look forward to another morning, and also hope to correct my mistakes.
Probably I can go on and on, since this simple word happiness
has such a deeper meaning. Still, let me sum up, happiness is not the absence
of Sorrow, but happiness is a state of mind, which gives me courage to get over
the negative situations in a positive manner. I can just look up to God and thank Him for
giving me such a blissful life. Thank you God!!!
Dedicated to all of you, you all matter to me so much - my source of happiness (Just incorporated your images, not the names). I just want to bring lot of smiles to all of you my dear ones through this post. Did I make you happy???
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Review of 100 Days of Love
Cast: Dulquer Salmaan (Balan K Nair aka BKN),
Nithya Menon (Sheela), Shekhar Menon (Ummar), Praveena (Adoor Pankajam),
Vineeth (S.P. Pillai), Rahul Madhav (Rahul), Aju Varghese (Romanch)
Directed by: Jenuse Mohamed
Produced by: K.V. Vijayakumar
Written by: Jenuse Mohamed
Music by: Songs - Govind Menon; Background Score -
Bijibal
Cinematography: Pratheesh Varam
Edited by: Sandeep Kumar
Distributed by: Tricolor Entertainment, Aan Mega Media,
Indian Movies UK (Europe), USA Indian Movies (USA and Canada)
Release date: 20th March, 2015
Language: Malayalam
Duration: 2
hours 35 minutes
100 Days of Love is a sweet romantic movie with Dulquer
Salmaan and Nithya Menon in the lead. Directed and written by Jenuse Mohamed
(popular filmmaker Kamal's son). Set in Bangalore, it speaks about modern-day
love relationship, infatuations, social-media make-up or break-up, marriage
just turning out to be a set-up of security, so-called stability and
conveniences, taking a practical approach etc. It is true that the movie is not
projecting any new story, but is definitely able to hold the attention of the
audience with light-hearted moments, subtle humour. Although occasional drag is
felt due to moderate pace of the movie, it never gets boring. The best part of
the movie is that characters are not over the top, rather all of them are so
much believable in nature. It does not have the roller-coaster of emotions;
rather a very soft take is taken on matters of heart. Names of the protagonists
are interestingly chosen and it does add humour in the dialogues.
Movie begins
with the narration of the story of 100 days of love by BKN aka Balan K Nair
(Dulquer Salmaan). He is from an affluent family (family is settled in Dubai),
but he chooses to be in Bangalore to pursue his career on his own. He is a
columnist and feature writer in a national daily and also aspires to be a
cartoonist. He is passionate about designing comic / cartoon strips and getting
the same published. Balan is in a recovery phase after a painful break-up. He
has challenges in the professional front as well since he is shown the door
after having a fight with one of his superior. His enemy number 2 (he has an
enemy at number 1 position as well, but I am not revealing the same, want to
keep it as a suspense) Romanch (Aju Varghese), though less talented than
Balan, scores over him and gets confirmed in the organization. The exchange
between Balan and Romanch is hilarious where Romanch sympathizes with him and
also offers him some food vouchers so as to humiliate him.
Balan stays with
his friend Ummar (Shekhar Menon), a gamer. Their interactions are
also very interesting.
The 100 days of
love begins when Balan happens to meet Sheela (Nithya Menon) coincidently in a
rainy night when both of them happen to take the same taxi. Balan feels an
instant connect with her. She leaves her camera in the taxi itself. Balan takes
it home along with him with a hope of finding her and returning the camera.
Balan gets amazed to see her age-old handheld camera which had a roll with a
capacity to click 12 photographs only. Balan feels for Sheela but is troubled
since he is not aware of her whereabouts.
Ummar suggests
Balan to get the film roll washed and developed, which could probably give them
clues about her whereabouts. The search begins to identify a college chemical
laboratory, a garden, a theater, a cafe etc. seen in the photograph. They get
disappointed with their failed search attempts. Once again, coincidence happens
and Balan comes face to face with Sheela.
All that Balan
fancied was to convey to Sheela 'I love you' on meeting her, but when they
meet, is he able to actually say these three magical words to her? Do they fall
in love? What is Sheela's take on love? Did she feel the need to fall in love
at all? How does the climax shape up? Watch the movie.
Dulquer and
Nithya form a wonderful pair in the movie. Shekhar Menon is superb with his
comic timings. Rahul Madhav justifies his character very well, am not revealing
anything about this character. Aju as always generates a lot of laughter
through his cameo. Vineeth and Praveena play Nithya's parents. I was surprised
to see Vineeth playing father to Nithya, but he was convincing. Praveena had a
limited role to play.
A beautiful
moment which I want to make a special mention: When Balan interacts with Sheela
and asks her whether she wants to be original or just live life without
accepting the realities of life.
Suggest you to
watch this soft and sweet movie.
100 days of love
is a sweet movie celebrating Life and Romance.
Rating : 3.5 / 5 (Good +)
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