Manju and Garbo

Manju and Garbo

I happened to see Manju Warrier the other day at Fab India. It’s almost ten years since she quit films. But she looked refreshingly young which left me wondering ( as I have done over the past few years} why she left movies at the peak of her career. How her fans like me cursed Dileep for cutting short a fabulous career abrubtly.

To me she is the best female talent to emerge in the last couple of decades in Mollywood. She was in the films just for four years during which she acted in about 20 movies. She has handled both comic and serious roles with ease and élan. I believe that whoever can do that is a good actor. Mohanlal is one classic example.

I’m often tempted to slot her as the best actress in Malayalam films. Had she continued for some more years she would have been definitely there. If you look at other great actresses in Malayalam films, most of them excelled in either serious or comic roles. But none has excelled in both genres like Manju did. For instance Sarada and Shobha have done well in tragic roles ( It is a bit unfair on Shobha as she acted only in a few films before she commited suicide). Urvashi has an excellent flair for comic roles. Sheela, Jayabharati, Shobhana, Revathi , Meera Jasmine are all good actresses. But I think Manju is in a different league altogether. Perhaps, a debatable point.

The manner in which she made her exit from films brings a comparison with Hollywood star Greta Garbo, who left films to lead a life of recluse in the 1940s. Both are fine actresses and both are born under the sun sign Virgo. The only difference is Manju got married and moved away from films. But Greta Garbo remained a spinster shunning all publicity till her death.

One can only wish that she come back to films and inspire scriptwriters and directors with her cinematic presence and acting ability.

love for boxing

I don’t know when I got interested in heavyweight boxing. Perhaps the stories of Mohammed Ali narrated to me by my cousin got me hooked to it. To love a sport in which India never figured may appear strange now. Though India has not got to the world cup football, we had our own football heroes. But it was not the case in boxing. Even now we have won medals only in the lighter category.

It may be because of the omnipresence of the legendary Ali. He used to dominate the newspapers whenever there was boxing match. The manner in which he was glorified in the press made us feel sorry for his opponents. There was no TV those days and I had to read the description of the fight in sports magazines to keep track of Ali’s exploits.

At the peak of his popularity there was a song composed on him which ran like `Ali floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee ….catch me if you can’. It has reference to his famous rope-a-dope trick. He takes punches on his body and wears the opponent down and then beats him.

I came to know about other heavyweight boxers through Ali. All his opponents became popular once they fought Ali. So the names Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, George Foreman etc became familiar. The Ali-Foreman fight in Zaire called `rumble in the jungle’ was given wide coverage. Ali defeated the super heavy Foreman in that much publicized bout.

It was years later I became aware that Ali was not the greatest boxer. There were other greats like Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Jack Dempsey etc. During the TV days Mike Tyson was the star for his on the ring and off the ring exploits. As far as I can remember his opponents never lasted one or two rounds. But he never stayed in the memory of his fans like Ali did. His career went downhill when he was jailed.

ESPN channel used to show all the classic fights in all categories of boxing. It is still a treat to watch those patchy black and white clips.

Prodigy called Shreya

Can Shreya Ghoshal be called a prodigy ? At the age of 26, she has won four national awards and seven filmfare awards. By no means a small achievement. Her last national award was for songs in Bengali and Marathi. The other three were for Hindi.

Her voice is malleable and can suit different occasions, be it pathos, romance or classical. But to me she is at her best in romantic and sensuous songs. You’ve to just listen to `Jaadu hai nasha’ from Jism. When I first heard the song, I was hooked without knowing who the singer was. Later I found out it was Shreya who had won a national award for Devdas in the previous year. I’ve been a fan of this Bengali singer ever since.

She has sung in several other languages including all the South Indian languages. And mind you she has sung quite well in regional languages. She won a filmfare award for `Munpe vaa’ song in Tamil. In Malayalam what surprised me was her diction. Unlike the other North Indian singers be it the greats Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar, Talat Mehmood or Udit Narayanan, Shreya did not sound like non-Malayali.

That is a rare quality and probably her strength. To sound like a Tamilian or Malayalee or Kannadiga when singing the songs in these languages is quite difficult for a North Indian singer. But several South Indian singers have sung beautiful songs in Hindi or other languages.

I think we’ll hear a lot more about Shreya in the coming years. After all she is just 26. By the time she hits 50, she could be having even ten national awards, definitely a record. Here is wishing the very best to her.

West Indian T-20 team

It is indeed a formidableT 20 team. Will the West Indian T-20 team highlighted in The Hindu be the world’s best team like the Carribean test team? From the look of it one has to say yes. The names inspire awe: Greenidge, Haynes, Lara, Richards, Lloyd, Dujon, Marshall, Holding, Garner, Ambrose, Roberts and Walsh.

The big question is who to leave out. It has to be a bowler. Even then it would be five fast bowlers. No team has come up with such a lineup. There are no genuine spinners or all rounders. Richards is a part time spin bowler; Lloyd bowls medium pace; Marshall can bat a bit. That is it

Another point to ponder is that will the bowlers be able to stick to the strict rules on wides and no-balls restricting the height of the bounce of the ball. Most of them, except perhaps Marshall, will be well over six feet. I remember once English batsman Alan Lamb said jokingly that when Garner jumps before the delivery of the ball, his hand goes above the sight screen and hence the batsman will not be able to see the ball. It will be difficult for them to contain the bounce unless it is quite a placid pitch. The bowlers also have long run-ups and hence take longer time to finish the overs.

So the opposition may have a chance if the pitch is grassy. The team can amass a good total from extras if the bowlers try to bowl fast. But if they stick to line and length then there is not respite from the great fast bowlers. The ball doesn’t get old in T-20 for the spinners or medium pacers to operate. So no luck for the batsman there either. The batsmen will have to play like Sehwag and hope that the luck will favour them

Marvellous Martin Scorsese

I happened to watch the movie `Alice doesn’t live here anymore’ and was moved by both the performance of Ellen Burstyn and direction of Martin Scorsese. It is one of the earlier films of Scorsese, but his talent is quite evident. I had seen and enjoyed his `Mean Streets’, also made in the seventies.

The point I’m trying to make is that though he hit the big league with the classic `Taxi Driver’, the seeds of great things to come were sown years before. I’ve enjoyed most of the movies of Scorsese and continue to enjoy them. He is certainly one of my favourite post-war directors.

Just look at the bewildering variety of movies he has made over the years and it is hard not to like his movies. I’ve missed some of them like New York New York, The Last Waltz, King of Comedy, After Hours, Kundun and Age of Innocence. I’m still searching for the DVDs of these movies.

Take your pick from the list: Raging Bull, The Colour of Money, The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, Casino, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed and now the Shutter Island ( I’m waiting to see the last one). If Robert DeNiro was his favourite actor earlier, now it seems to be Leonardo DeCaprio.

My wish is that he should go on making films till his death for directors of his kind don’t come often.

Models of Humility

After scoring 200 for the first time in the history of one day cricket, Sachin Tendulkar was humility personified like he always been despite his enormous achievements. No great celebration for a record that is not likely to be beaten easily. During his speech at the award ceremony, he dedicated the double ton to the people of India who had supported him during the ups and downs of his 20 year career.

Throughout his career, Sachin has been an ambassador for the game. His personal life also has been exemplary. It is when you compare him with other greats in sports like Tiger Woods, Maradona or Shane Warne that you realize Sachin’s greatness. He is a worthy model for the children to emulate, particularly his passion, dedication, hard work and commitment.

Are there other personalties in India in this list of humble great achievers? I could think of two more. One is our former President and great scientist A P J Abdul Kalam. To many he was the most unassuming, friendly and approachable President India ever had. His great achievements as a space scientist sit lightly on him. His speech and action are humble to the core. Another worthy son of India.

The third personality I could think of is singer K S Chitra. She could be more famous in South India. But her achievements cross all boundaries. She has won six national awards till now, more than any other female singer in the country. That too, for Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi songs. Yet look at her. Always smiling and always humble and never blowing her own trumpet. I haven’t read anybody saying anything harsh about this gem of a singer who is sure to rise to greater heights with such an attitude.

Pallavur Appu Marar

Watching the Chenda melam at the temple festival in Maradu, my thoughts went to percussion maestro late Pallavur Appu Marar. He was considered a genius, equally proficient in Edakka, Chenda and Thimila.

I had seen his performance only thrice in my life, though I’ve read and heard about him lot more. First time I saw him was in Thiruvananthapuram in the eighties when I was in college. Marar was performing on Edakka at a jugalbandhi with other percussion artistes at the Central stadium during one Onam celebration. Somebody from the audience became restless at the slow build-up of tempo and let out a catcall. This upset Marar who immediately stopped the performance saying that he didn’t want to perform before such an unappreciative audience.

Second time I saw him was in the nineties during the Ilanjithara melam at Thrissur Pooram. Marar was leading the melam standing in the middle. He cut an imposing figure with a long chain and gold locket shining on his ample bare chest. I took many photos with my camera and completely enjoyed the melam forgetting the unbearable heat.

Our last meeting was I think during the late nineties, when he came to perform on Edakka at the Maradu temple festival. This time I got to talk to him. Along with my colleague Pradeep, I went to interview him for the Indian Express. He was tightening the cord around Edakka. After all those countless melams, he was hard of hearing and we had to repeat our questions again and again but he answered all of them with a smile. Later I got to listen to his skill on Edakka

Invictus

Managed to get a DVD of `Invictus’ directed by Clint Eastwood. It is definitely a good movie but may not be the best of Clint. What sets it apart is the brilliant acting of Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela. I haven’t seen many other Oscar nominated films this year. But Freeman’s performance is worthy of winning a best actor Oscar. It reminded me of Frank Langella’s excellent portrayal of Richard Nixon in the film Frost/Nixon in 2008

It is a refreshing change for Matt Damon who has been appearing in a spate of action movies in the recent times like `The Bourne Ultimatum’. His acting ability is evident in the subdued manner in which he enacts the character of Springboks captain Francois Pienaar. A good candidate for best supporting actor Oscar .

The political turmoil in South Africa after the release of Mandela is relegated to the background and the focus is on the world rugby competition. Mandela manages to make the blacks forget the past misdeeds of the whites against them and support the South African rugby team in the world cup competition. To extract an entertainment value from such a theme is not easy but Clint Eastwood handles it well. But perhaps where he falters is the long drawn out rugby match scenes which are a drag on the tempo of the film especially as rugby is not a popular sport here.

Clint brings in lot situations for drama like initial rancour between the white and black security guards which later gives way to camaraderie,the surprise invitation of the South African rugby team captain for tea to the office of Mandela etc. Plenty of quotable quotes like ` Soccer is a game of gentlemen played by hooligans. Rugby is a game of hooligans played by gentlemen’, `I was thinking how a man could spend thirty years in prison, and come out and forgive the men who did it to him’... and "We didn't have 62,000 fans behind us, we had 43 million South Africans."

The title of the film was a mystery to me till I watched the film. It is the name of a poem written by English poet William Ernest Henley. Mandela used to read it for inspiration while he was incarcerated. He gives the poem to Pienaar before the start of the rugby world cup. Wikipedia says Mandela actually gave Pienaar an extract of Theodore Roosevelt’s ` the man in the arena’ speech..

Here is the poem Invictus which means `unconquered' in latin

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Dearth of Killer Instinct

Dale Steyn’s scorching pace and swing, which grounded a high flying India in the first test with South Africa, has set me thinking. Why India doesn’t have a true fast bowler, who can be called for short bursts by the captain to create a breakthrough when the rivals are going great guns. It is a question that is often asked in the cricket circles. Other than the spin bowlers, the most successful bowler for India has been Kapil Dev, who at best was a fast-medium bowler. Before the advent of Kapil Dev, the job of `fast bowlers’ of India was to roughen the ball for the spinners

By true pace I mean those bowling consistently above 140 km per hour. Take the crop of bowlers who emerged after Kapil like Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Zaheer Khan, Ashis Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, R P Singh, Munaf Patel etc. All of them can hit 140 km and above, but not consistently.

Is it because of the slow nature of pitches in India ? I don’t think so as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangaladesh, which have similar kind of pitches have produced good pace bowlers. Pakistan had Imran Khan, Waqar Yunus, Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akthar. Sri Lanka has Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando. Bangaladesh has Shahadat Hossain and Mortaza

Look at the other cricketing nations of the world. All of them have produced a genuine fast bowler over the years. West Indies had a string of fast bowlers in the past. Legends like Wes Hall, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Malcom Marshall, Joel Garner, Curtley Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. Even now their cupboard is not empty. Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor may not be as successful as their predecessors, but they are really quick

Australia fast bowling tradition of Lindwall, Miller, Thomson and Lillee is now carried on by Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson. Before Steyn, there was Allan Donald for the Proteas. New Zealand has Shane Bond and England has Steve Harmison. True, England hasn’t produced many genuine fast bowlers in the recent times. But they had Larwood, Freddie Truman, Brian Statham, John Snow etc. in the past.

In terms of physique our bowlers are tall and compare favourably with those in other teams. So it is not the reason. Perhaps it is the lack of killer instinct. Does vegetarianism affect the killer instinct? May be or may be not as it has not been proved scientifically. Moreover,majority of the present Indian bowlers may be meat eaters. It could be that from our early years we are constantly advised to be good to people and to curb our aggressive instincts. Some bowlers like Sreesanth do show aggression outside, but it is not reflected in his bowling.

Well this is my thinking. I could be wrong. I invite comments

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Magic of M K Arjunan

It is heartening to note that this time noted Malayalam music composer M.K.Arjunan is getting the Swaralaya- Kairali Yesudas award. It is high time that this underrated composer’s efforts were recognized. I have often felt that Arjunan hasn’t got the credit he richly deserves despite composing some of the best songs of Malayalam in over 100 films. He is being conferred an award in the name of a singer who gave voice to his numerous unforgettable melodies and semi-classical numbers

From his debut in 1968 with `Karutha Paurnami', he has made some excellent scores. His best years were till 1980 when he was consistently brilliant in setting tune to Sreekumaran Thampi's or Vayalar's lyrics. He produced a few memorable songs after 1980 though he was active throughout eighties. Early in his career he was associated with Devarajan school of music, but later broke away to develop an independent style. Many of his songs had good use of guitar. His association with R.K.Sekhar and his Oscar winning son A R Rahman has been repeated often. Sekhar was his music assistant .

I think he should rank along with Dakshinamoorthy, Devarajan and Ravindran in the category of semi-classical songs in Malayalam films. In fact I should admit that I like some of his semi-classical songs more than the songs of the other three greats.

I’m listing some of his songs with semi-classical touch together with name of the film, year, singer and lyricist. Some are very popular and some may be rarely heard. He has done many other raga-based songs as well.

`Bhamini Bhamini’, Adyathe Katha, 1972, K J Yesudas , Vayalar

`Dukhame’, Pushpanjali, 1972, KJY, Sreekumaran Thampi

`Priyathame’, Pushpanjali, 1972, KJY, S.Thampi

`Akashagangayil’, Ragging, 1973, S Janaki, P J Antony ( a rare gem)

`Ramba Praveshamo’, Poothenaruvi, 1974, KJY, S Thampi

`Anuragame’, Hello Darling, 1975, KJY, Vayalar

`Dwarake’ Hello Darling, 1975, P Susheela, Vayalar

`Thiruvonapulariyil’ Thiruvonam, 1975, Vani Jairam, S Thampi

`Kalivilakkin’ Tourist Bungalow, 1975, KJY, ONV

`Swarangal’ Kanyadanam, 1976, P Jayachandran, S Thampi

`Adathin Achumbitha’, Light House, 1976, KJY, S Thampi

`Sooryakanthi Poo’ Light House, 1976, KJY, S Thampi

`Aayiram Ajantha’ Shanghupushpam, 1977, KJY, S Thampi

`Sapthaswarangaladum’ Shanghupushpam, 1977, Vani Jairam, S Thampi

`Arinju Sakhi’ Aalmarattam, 1978, Vani Jairam, Venu ( a rare gem)

`Arayal Mandapam’, Jayikkanai Janichavan, 1978, KJY, S Thampi

`Ezhu Swarangal’, Jayikkanai Janichavan, 1978, KJY, S Thampi

`Ravivarma Chithrathin’, Raju Rahim, 1978, KJY, R K Damodaran

`Leelathilakamaninju’, Irumbazhikal, 1979, KJY, R K Damodaran

`Anuvadamillathe’, Puzha, 1980, KJY, P Bhaskaran

`Vachalamakum’, Ambada Njane, 1984, KJY, Poovachal Khader

Those who have an ear for classical music can surely enjoy these songs. I hope the readers would add more to the list.

Quiet Sreesanth

Has Sreesanth said good bye to his tantrums ? He has definitely become quiet now. No antics after delivering the ball. Only thing that reminds of old Sreesanth is the hand movement while walking back to his bowling mark. But I think that Sreesanth minus his tantrums is less effective. Except his return test, he hasn't had much success and now that he is injured too.

Sreesanth reminds me of tennis genius John McEnroe of the eighties. I know talent-wise there is no comparison. McEnroe is considered a tennis great. The only similarity is that both are sun sign Aquarians ( McEnroe born on Feb 16 and Sreesanth on Feb 6 ) and both are known for their on-field tantrums.

In McEnroe's case, one felt that his cursing and racquet breaking tantrums often spurred him to perform better. Or it could be that the opponent loses his concentration on seeing such antics. Sometimes, it had opposite effect too, with McEnroe losing the game. I often felt the same way about a lesser talent like Sreesanth. His antics sometimes fired him to bowl better and it has the opposite effect when he is controlled by the tantrums.

Well it remains to be seen whether quieter Sreesanth is as effective as the earlier angry one.

Football Nightmare

Today is my birthday. Some days ago I read that GV Raja football tournament is being organised again in Thiruvananthapuram after a gap of around 25 years. And it has brought back nightmarish memories

I distinctly remember the last tournament in the mid eighties. I was standing in queue to buy tickets to watch the final at the Chandrasekhar Nair stadium which was jam-packed. I don't remember the teams in the final. I heard a huge wail from the stadium and as I turned my head, I saw the overloaded makeshift gallery collapsing sideways with a thud. Hands and legs were flaying all around and it was a ghastly sight which was over in seconds.

It took me few seconds to realise what had happened. I ran towards the stadium. By that time a big crowd had gathered around the collapsed gallery. trying to extricate people who got stuck between bamboo poles. I was so shocked that I left the place immediately thanking God. If I had got tickets early I would have been in that gallery. Many were seriously hurt and some succumbed to injuries.

The tournament was not played for years after that accident. It is being resumed now and I sincerely hope there wouldn't be makeshift galleries erected on poles made of bamboo or wood.

Kerala Cafe

When I went to see the movie Kerala Cafe, I knew it was portmanteau film consisting of ten small films directed by ten directors. But I didn't know which film was directed by whom. So while watching the movie I kept guessing the directors of each film. Of course I had no idea about the style of some directors like Uday Ananthan, Shankar Ramakrishnan and Anjali Menon.

I could guess three correctly. The surprises were Shyamaprasad film `Off Season' and Shaji Kailas's `Lalitham Hiranmayam'. Known for his serious themes, Shyamaprasad seems quite at ease in handling comedy. May be we can expect a full length comedy from him in future. I wrongly guessed that Lalitham Hiranmayam was made by Shyamaprasad as it had some heavy duty emotional scenes albeit short ones. But Shaji sprang a surprise. I forgot that Shaji has a flair for melodrama, which is evident in his action films like Aaram Thampuran and Natasimham.

I could guess B Unnikrishnan as the director of `Aviramam' as the director has a fixation for themes in which the protagonist is in financial troubles. The other correct guesses were `Bridge' by Anwar Rasheed and `Makal' by Revathy. In Bridge, Rasheed has gone the way of his compatriot Amal Neerad. Spectacular visuals of Kochi landscape. Has anybody captured the filth in Kochi so well in camera? From the love for Kochi terrain I could guess that it should be someone very familiar with the place. `Makal' was the most easy guess as the story about child prostitution told so touchingly could only come from a woman director.

If I was more alert I could have guessed Lal Jose as the director of `Puram Kazchakal'. Anjali Menon's `Shubha Yatyra' was a delight and she should be directing more mainstream films.

LOOK-ALIKES

Look-alikes or clones are an interesting subject. I've observed stark resemblances of personalities in different fields.

The first one that comes to mind is the late Hollywood actor Patrick Swayze and Australian cricketer Shane Watson. Tamil actor Jeeva and Sri Lankan cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara resemble each other.

I've noticed a similarity between Hollywood actor Tom Hanks and Bollywood hero Aamir Khan. Perhaps Hanks looks older now. Hollywood actor Jim Carrey and English cricketer James Anderson are two personalities who look like each other. But Carrey has aged now.

Among women I find a similarity betwenn Anjelina Joli and Malayali singer Jyotsana. The latter could be a desi version of Jolie with her bee-stung lips.

I hope readers could find more such look-alikes

I'll begin my first post by saluting Clint Eastwood who is having an amazing run of success as a director in the ripe old age. He'll be 80 this year. I'm eagerly waiting to see his new film Invictus in which he has teamed up with his friend Morgan Freeman. Whenever he teams up with Mr Freeman, the result is a hit. Who can forget Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby. In the new movie Freeman plays Mandela. It should be definitely worth watching.

I 've seen lot of Clint films during by college years. I wouldn't say I was his fan ( although now I'm one)> But since many of the films he acted and directed came during my college daysin Thiruvananthapuram, I went and saw them. I got to watch his popular spaghetti westerns in the eighties. This tall, laconic man with gun or horse often as a companion ( I remember in one movie he appeared with an Orangutan ) never impressed me as an actor. His best expression was squinting his eyes. He was no great shakes as a director then.

But after Unforgiven in 1992, my opinion about him as a director has changed. And just when he is improving as an actor, he has decided to stop acting. He seems to be like a good wine maturing with age. Just look at the films made by him in the last decade. Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Letters of Iwo Jima, Changeling (in whic Angelina Jolie appears in a different role) and Gran Torina- all excellent films.

Already he has been nominated for best director in Invictus. Hope it will be a class film