To stop performing is akin to death for most artistes who have enjoyed the thrill of public attention. There is no retirement age for them like other employed persons. Unmindful of their advancing age they trudge along churning out bad performances, testing the patience of the public. Instead of leaving the people cherished memories of their beautiful performances, these artistes become objects of pity for their lacklustre attempts to stretch their popularity.
This is truer in the case of actors and singers. We see older actors enacting a role that dosen’t suit them, so confident of their ability that they can pull it off. But this invites derision instead of appreciation from the discerning public. Sometimes it gets to a point that even their diehard fans find it difficult to tolerate them.
I would like to focus on some film playback singers who have had their career extended by insistent music directors despite age clearly telling on their voice. Lucky are the singers who died at the peak of their career. One can add great singers like Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Saigal etc to this list. Both Rafi and Kishore died in their late fifties at a time when their singing ability was waning.
Once a singer is past 60, it is tough to maintain a young voice even if he or she follows a disciplined life. Unlike film singers, classical music singers mellow with age. But they too are not free from the travails of old age.
When talking about singers, let me take the example of the legendary Lata Mangeshkar first. Music critics say her best songs came in the 1950s and 1960s. No argument there. But many of her songs from 1970s to early 80s are pleasurably listenable. But as 80s advanced, her protégés Lakshmikant Pyarelal made her sing for most of their films. Ok she was tolerable during that phase. Personally, I feel she should have stopped singing for young heroines once she crossed 60 years in 1989. To me her last good song perhaps would be in Rudaali in 1992.
In the 90s, her already thin voice got more delicate. She sounded jarring to me whether it was the films DDLJ, HAHK or several A R Rahman compositions. Thankfully she cut short her singing assignments in films with age catching up with her voice. It is reported that she refused to sing for Salil Chaudhary in the 90s knowing well that at her age she wouldn’t be able to do full justice to his songs. A right decision indeed. We still can feast on and enjoy the memorable melodies that she sang for Salilda earlier
What happened to Lataji is happening to K J Yesudas. By late1990s, his voice began to sound tired and strained. Yet his voice had the magic to keep the listeners in thrall. Mind you, this singer had looked after his voice well avoiding anything that would affect his singing ability. But apart from age, his busy schedule began to take a toll on his voice. After 2000, the strain in his voice has got more prominent. Now the quaver in his voice is more noticeable.
But this did not matter to the music composer Raveendran, who gave several splendid songs to Yesudas during nineties. He kept squeezing the even the last drop of Yesudas’s voice by making him sing some tough numbers. He tested the aging Yesudas’s voice to its limit. Music composers still have faith in him to carry a song though he is clearly past his best. He still wins awards justifying the confidence of music directors in him. He is helped by the fact that many emerging singers try to blindly imitate him without bothering to establish their identity. Few like M G Sreekumar, Venugopal, who have attempted to carve a niche of their own, have succeeded.
Another case of extended career of a singer is S Janaki. She was, along with P Susheela, much sought after singer in the south Indian film industry in the 1960s and 1970s. I feel the texture of her voice changed from the mid 1980s. Malayalam film industry did not have to suffer much from her older voice because of the emergence of a fresh talented singer K S Chithra. After delivering some classic songs for music directors Ravindran and Johnson in the eighties she gradually faded away.
But Ilayaraja continued to use her voice for his Tamil songs. Lot of what she sang towards late 1980s in Tamil are eminently forgettable. The songs of Janaki for Ilayaraja that linger in your mind are still the Annakili and 16 Vayathinile songs which were composed in 1970s. In Malayalam if you are asked to select her ten best songs, at least half of it will be the ones she sang for Baburaj in 1960s, when her voice was so fresh.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
A Tribute to Johnson
When I heard about the death of music composer Johnson, I was reminded of Beatle George Harrison song `while my guitar gently weeps’. In the last few years before his death Johnson never appeared in TV channels without a guitar strung around his neck. Now that guitar must be mourning and strumming a dirge in memory of its master
Johnson Master as he was known, had an air of haughtiness in his speech and mannerisms, perhaps something he inherited from his guru Devarajan. He never bowed to anyone’s wishes and hated the film industry though he was a part of it. Devarajan was a stickler for perfection and never compromised on his music. Moulded by him Johnson turned out to be an ideal pupil supremely confident of his ability.
Taking a leaf out of Devarajan school of music, Johnson kept his tunes simple; enriching and embellishing the lyrics making it more beautiful. Many of his songs have a folksy, rustic and nostalgic touch evoking romance, pain, happiness or devotion jelling well with films having stories with rural backdrop. Establishing an identity was not difficult for such a talented musician. One could easily identify a Johnson song by listening to it. Late music composer Ravindran had once said that establishing an identity was a hallmark of a good composer.
His music highlighted the words often making average lyrics look brilliant. Remarkably, he did this after composing the tune first and then getting the lyrics written for it for most of the songs. Amazingly, Johnson did not have formal training in classical music. Yet, his proficiency in tuning semi-classical numbers was no less than his illustrious predecessors like Dakshinamurthy, Devarajan, M K Arjunan or his contemporary Ravindran. His fondness for raga Kalyani is well known. He has composed some excellent tracks in his favourite raga. Mohanam raga was close to the heart of his mentor Devarajan.
His ability went beyond setting tunes for songs to composing background music for films making him a total musician. That he has won national awards for scoring the background music shows the prodigious talent of this man. Before the advent of Johnson, film background music was cacophonous to the extent of spoiling the enjoyment of the whole movie. Johnson changed that ushering in a new trend where silence was given its due in films
I think no other music director has encouraged upcoming singers like Johnson did. M G Sreekumar, Venugopal , Sujatha, K G Markose, Minmini all had their bright moments in their career with Johnson. Just listen to the little gem `Eee thennalum’ from not very popular film Nee Varuvolam. It is sung by Daleema. Johnson had this knack of getting the best out of young talented singers even while churning out classics with established singers like Yesudas, Janaki or Chithra
One singer missing from his best songs list is surprisingly Jayachandran, who incidentally sang Johnson’s first song in films. At the start of his career, he made Jayachandran, arguably the best singer after Yesudas in Malayalam, sing some good numbers like `Kuru Nirayo’, `Moham Kondu Njan’ but they cannot be classified as great. Jayachandran again sang for Johnason, but the songs largely went unnoticed. Late in his career Jaychandran sang `Onnu Thodan Ullil’ in Yathrakkarude Sraddakku, which despite being a good attempt did not outlive the movie
He composed `Devi Atmaraagam’ in the film Njan Gandharvan in Miyan Ki Malhar raag, perhaps as a tribute to Devarajan under whose baton was born the classic song `Innenikku Pottukutham’ in the same raag. Just have a look at his semi-classsical repertoire:
`Nanda Suthavara’ in Sree raag from the film Parvathy
`Shivashaila Sringamam’ in Shanmugapriya from Kilukilukkam,
Arunakiranamani in Panthuvarali from Naseema,
`Mayamayooram’ in Pahadi from Vadakku Nokki Yanthram,
Devanganangal in Kalyani and Puriya Dhanasri from Njan Gandharvan,
`Neela Ravil’ in Sree and
`Parthasarathim’ in Chakravaakam from Kudumbasametham,
`Brahmakamalam’ in Malayamaarutham from Savidham,
`Sree Rama Namam’ in Naatta from Naarayam,
`Gopala Hridayam’ in Abheri and `Kalyanasaukandhikam’ in Madhyamavathi from
Kalyanasaukandhikam
`Paada Smarana Sukham’ in Lathangi from Sallapam,
`Aadyamay Kanda Naal’ in Vrindavana Saranga ,
Parvathy Manohari in Kamboji
`Sindooram Peythirangi’ in Rasikaranjani from Thooval Kottaram,
`Kaarvarnane Kando Sakhi’ in Desh from Oral Mathram
Johnson was lucky to have worked with many leading directors in their best films. He composed music for Bharathan, Padmarajan, Sathyan Anthikad, Siby Malayil and Kamal, Mohan- all directors known for making good entertainers imbibing the qualities of commercial and parallel films. He leaves behind a rich legacy of songs which are likely to enthrall generations to come.
I now proceed to the difficult task of selecting his best songs as it occurs to me. They are not in any particular order.
`Aadiva Kaatte’ from Koodevide ( I prefer this song over two other great songs `Swarnamukile’ and `Gopike’ by Janaki simply for its brilliant orchestration. No wonder it proved to be a turning point in his career)
Nanda Suthavara from Parvathy ( Somehow. I prefer this little gem sung by Vani Jayaram over the equally good `Etho Janma Kalpanayil’by the same singer)
`Devi Atmaragamo’, Devaganangal’ and `Palapoove’ all from Njan Gandharvan ( Probably, Johnson’s best effort)
Mayamayooram from Vadakku Nokki Yanthram ( This is my personal selection of M G Sreekumar’s song for Johnson. The popular choice will be `Kaneerpoovinte’ which conveys pathos so touchingly)
Melle Melle from Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam ( Tune, lyrics and Yesudas’s rendering combine to make it unforgettable)
Mynakaponmudiyil from Mazhavilkavadi ( Venugopal has sung several beautiful numbers like `Thaane Poovitta’ and `Poothalam’ for Johnson)
Shyamambaram from Artham (Another remarkable effort of orchestration lifting the song to great heights by giving it a melodious touch)
Rajahamse from Chamayam ( A classic from Chithra for Johnson in raag Hindolam)
Padasmaranasukham from Sallapam (Marvellous number in a rare raag Latangi. `Brahmakamalam’ is another contender for the spot)
These are just a few gems from hundreds of songs he has left for posterity. Truly an inspirational musician.
Johnson Master as he was known, had an air of haughtiness in his speech and mannerisms, perhaps something he inherited from his guru Devarajan. He never bowed to anyone’s wishes and hated the film industry though he was a part of it. Devarajan was a stickler for perfection and never compromised on his music. Moulded by him Johnson turned out to be an ideal pupil supremely confident of his ability.
Taking a leaf out of Devarajan school of music, Johnson kept his tunes simple; enriching and embellishing the lyrics making it more beautiful. Many of his songs have a folksy, rustic and nostalgic touch evoking romance, pain, happiness or devotion jelling well with films having stories with rural backdrop. Establishing an identity was not difficult for such a talented musician. One could easily identify a Johnson song by listening to it. Late music composer Ravindran had once said that establishing an identity was a hallmark of a good composer.
His music highlighted the words often making average lyrics look brilliant. Remarkably, he did this after composing the tune first and then getting the lyrics written for it for most of the songs. Amazingly, Johnson did not have formal training in classical music. Yet, his proficiency in tuning semi-classical numbers was no less than his illustrious predecessors like Dakshinamurthy, Devarajan, M K Arjunan or his contemporary Ravindran. His fondness for raga Kalyani is well known. He has composed some excellent tracks in his favourite raga. Mohanam raga was close to the heart of his mentor Devarajan.
His ability went beyond setting tunes for songs to composing background music for films making him a total musician. That he has won national awards for scoring the background music shows the prodigious talent of this man. Before the advent of Johnson, film background music was cacophonous to the extent of spoiling the enjoyment of the whole movie. Johnson changed that ushering in a new trend where silence was given its due in films
I think no other music director has encouraged upcoming singers like Johnson did. M G Sreekumar, Venugopal , Sujatha, K G Markose, Minmini all had their bright moments in their career with Johnson. Just listen to the little gem `Eee thennalum’ from not very popular film Nee Varuvolam. It is sung by Daleema. Johnson had this knack of getting the best out of young talented singers even while churning out classics with established singers like Yesudas, Janaki or Chithra
One singer missing from his best songs list is surprisingly Jayachandran, who incidentally sang Johnson’s first song in films. At the start of his career, he made Jayachandran, arguably the best singer after Yesudas in Malayalam, sing some good numbers like `Kuru Nirayo’, `Moham Kondu Njan’ but they cannot be classified as great. Jayachandran again sang for Johnason, but the songs largely went unnoticed. Late in his career Jaychandran sang `Onnu Thodan Ullil’ in Yathrakkarude Sraddakku, which despite being a good attempt did not outlive the movie
He composed `Devi Atmaraagam’ in the film Njan Gandharvan in Miyan Ki Malhar raag, perhaps as a tribute to Devarajan under whose baton was born the classic song `Innenikku Pottukutham’ in the same raag. Just have a look at his semi-classsical repertoire:
`Nanda Suthavara’ in Sree raag from the film Parvathy
`Shivashaila Sringamam’ in Shanmugapriya from Kilukilukkam,
Arunakiranamani in Panthuvarali from Naseema,
`Mayamayooram’ in Pahadi from Vadakku Nokki Yanthram,
Devanganangal in Kalyani and Puriya Dhanasri from Njan Gandharvan,
`Neela Ravil’ in Sree and
`Parthasarathim’ in Chakravaakam from Kudumbasametham,
`Brahmakamalam’ in Malayamaarutham from Savidham,
`Sree Rama Namam’ in Naatta from Naarayam,
`Gopala Hridayam’ in Abheri and `Kalyanasaukandhikam’ in Madhyamavathi from
Kalyanasaukandhikam
`Paada Smarana Sukham’ in Lathangi from Sallapam,
`Aadyamay Kanda Naal’ in Vrindavana Saranga ,
Parvathy Manohari in Kamboji
`Sindooram Peythirangi’ in Rasikaranjani from Thooval Kottaram,
`Kaarvarnane Kando Sakhi’ in Desh from Oral Mathram
Johnson was lucky to have worked with many leading directors in their best films. He composed music for Bharathan, Padmarajan, Sathyan Anthikad, Siby Malayil and Kamal, Mohan- all directors known for making good entertainers imbibing the qualities of commercial and parallel films. He leaves behind a rich legacy of songs which are likely to enthrall generations to come.
I now proceed to the difficult task of selecting his best songs as it occurs to me. They are not in any particular order.
`Aadiva Kaatte’ from Koodevide ( I prefer this song over two other great songs `Swarnamukile’ and `Gopike’ by Janaki simply for its brilliant orchestration. No wonder it proved to be a turning point in his career)
Nanda Suthavara from Parvathy ( Somehow. I prefer this little gem sung by Vani Jayaram over the equally good `Etho Janma Kalpanayil’by the same singer)
`Devi Atmaragamo’, Devaganangal’ and `Palapoove’ all from Njan Gandharvan ( Probably, Johnson’s best effort)
Mayamayooram from Vadakku Nokki Yanthram ( This is my personal selection of M G Sreekumar’s song for Johnson. The popular choice will be `Kaneerpoovinte’ which conveys pathos so touchingly)
Melle Melle from Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam ( Tune, lyrics and Yesudas’s rendering combine to make it unforgettable)
Mynakaponmudiyil from Mazhavilkavadi ( Venugopal has sung several beautiful numbers like `Thaane Poovitta’ and `Poothalam’ for Johnson)
Shyamambaram from Artham (Another remarkable effort of orchestration lifting the song to great heights by giving it a melodious touch)
Rajahamse from Chamayam ( A classic from Chithra for Johnson in raag Hindolam)
Padasmaranasukham from Sallapam (Marvellous number in a rare raag Latangi. `Brahmakamalam’ is another contender for the spot)
These are just a few gems from hundreds of songs he has left for posterity. Truly an inspirational musician.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Nasal Voice
Plethora of male nasal singers makes one wonder whether the era of perfect voice in playback singing is over. Earlier we had a Mukesh and later Kumar Sanu who lent variety to the music. But look at the music scene now. You have Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Kailash Kher, Atif Aslam, Kumar Ganjawala, Himesh Reshamiya, Javed Ali who all have nasal voices. Others like Sukhwinder Singh, KK and Shankar Mahadevan too have a nasal tinge in their voices.
No doubt all of them are musically talented and have several hits to their credit. People don’t seem to care as long as they get a good song to listen even though the satisfaction may be short lived. I find that too many nasal voices sort of grate on the ears. One yearns for good clean voices of Sonu Nigam or Hariharan and they don’t sing often. Udit Narayanan has a refreshingly different voice, but is now past his best. South India’s best voices K J Yesudas and S P Balasubramaniam are also past their best. But surprisingly, there aren’t many nasal singers in this part of the country perhaps indicating that South Indians are less tolerant towards nasal voices.
It wasn’t like this before nineties. Apart from Mukesh no other nasal singer managed to hit the limelight. The fact that they never had good music director or lyricist to back them probably worked against their favour. Among the male singers, legendary K L Saigal had a nasal voice. I haven’t listened to all his songs. But music directors gave him songs that matched his voice. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Over sixty years after his death people still listen to his soft and soothing sad songs.
Mukesh started as a Saigal clone as there was voice similarity. But later found a niche of his own in sad songs aided by legendary music directors Roshan, Shankar Jaikishan, Salil Chaudhary and Kalyanji Anandji. The fact that Raj Kapoor chose him as his voice helped him immensely in his career. He was at his best in songs conveying pathos. He was the different voice along with Manna Dey , Talat Mehmood, Hemant Kumar when Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar were the main singers. The music directors knew his voice range and gave him songs which he could render well.
After Mukesh died, his son Nitin Mukesh with a nasal voice couldn’t make the grade as an established singer. Perhaps, he couldn’t match the nasal baritone of his father. Narendra Chanchal with his high pitched nasal voice did shine briefly but did not last as his type of songs didn’t come often. Then there was a long gap till Kumar Sanu phenomenon happened. Kumar Sanu tried to imitate Kishore Kumar with a voice of Mukesh. His sad romantic songs went straight to the heart of listeners. His reign ended as Udit Narayanan took over.
I feel it is the advent of Rahman that unleashed the present nasal voice culture in the film playback music. The defining film was Dil Se in which Rahman sang with his nasal voice apart from giving Sukwinder Singh the break in his career with Chayya Chayya song. Rahman experimented with different singers and several of them crooned with a nasal flavour. It has to be mentioned that southern singers Benny Dayal and Naresh Iyer don’t belong to this category thankfully. In a way, Rahman has opened the floodgates for nasal singers that it is no longer a rarity but has become a common thing.
Today, people don’t have the patience to listen to a good melody. They want fast tracks. And music directors are only happy to give them what they want. The result is that the nasal singers are made to sing fast and high pitched songs. The listeners like it now. But the moot point is that will these songs have the staying power of the classics of Saigal and Mukesh, which are listenable even now after so many years.
No doubt all of them are musically talented and have several hits to their credit. People don’t seem to care as long as they get a good song to listen even though the satisfaction may be short lived. I find that too many nasal voices sort of grate on the ears. One yearns for good clean voices of Sonu Nigam or Hariharan and they don’t sing often. Udit Narayanan has a refreshingly different voice, but is now past his best. South India’s best voices K J Yesudas and S P Balasubramaniam are also past their best. But surprisingly, there aren’t many nasal singers in this part of the country perhaps indicating that South Indians are less tolerant towards nasal voices.
It wasn’t like this before nineties. Apart from Mukesh no other nasal singer managed to hit the limelight. The fact that they never had good music director or lyricist to back them probably worked against their favour. Among the male singers, legendary K L Saigal had a nasal voice. I haven’t listened to all his songs. But music directors gave him songs that matched his voice. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Over sixty years after his death people still listen to his soft and soothing sad songs.
Mukesh started as a Saigal clone as there was voice similarity. But later found a niche of his own in sad songs aided by legendary music directors Roshan, Shankar Jaikishan, Salil Chaudhary and Kalyanji Anandji. The fact that Raj Kapoor chose him as his voice helped him immensely in his career. He was at his best in songs conveying pathos. He was the different voice along with Manna Dey , Talat Mehmood, Hemant Kumar when Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar were the main singers. The music directors knew his voice range and gave him songs which he could render well.
After Mukesh died, his son Nitin Mukesh with a nasal voice couldn’t make the grade as an established singer. Perhaps, he couldn’t match the nasal baritone of his father. Narendra Chanchal with his high pitched nasal voice did shine briefly but did not last as his type of songs didn’t come often. Then there was a long gap till Kumar Sanu phenomenon happened. Kumar Sanu tried to imitate Kishore Kumar with a voice of Mukesh. His sad romantic songs went straight to the heart of listeners. His reign ended as Udit Narayanan took over.
I feel it is the advent of Rahman that unleashed the present nasal voice culture in the film playback music. The defining film was Dil Se in which Rahman sang with his nasal voice apart from giving Sukwinder Singh the break in his career with Chayya Chayya song. Rahman experimented with different singers and several of them crooned with a nasal flavour. It has to be mentioned that southern singers Benny Dayal and Naresh Iyer don’t belong to this category thankfully. In a way, Rahman has opened the floodgates for nasal singers that it is no longer a rarity but has become a common thing.
Today, people don’t have the patience to listen to a good melody. They want fast tracks. And music directors are only happy to give them what they want. The result is that the nasal singers are made to sing fast and high pitched songs. The listeners like it now. But the moot point is that will these songs have the staying power of the classics of Saigal and Mukesh, which are listenable even now after so many years.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Dream Eleven
Comparisions are odious, they say. But cricket fans were forced to compare players from different era while choosing players for a dream eleven team that was announced by ICC before the 2000th test match started between India and England.
The final eleven chosen by lakhs of fans were Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist, Kapil Dev, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Curtley Ambrose and Glenn McGrath. It is obvious that the team was chosen by mostly youngsters. Don Bradman’s stupendous average of 99.9 must have led the fans to chose him as hardly any participant could have seen him play. He retired in 1948. His fame has grown over the years and his batting average could well be unbeatable. He is almost like God in cricket and shouldn’t be touched.
But what is surprising is that there is no Vivian Richards, Gary Sobers or anyone from fearsome fast bowling quartet of Roberts, Holding, Marshal and Garner. No Muralitharan or anyone from Sri Lanka, England or New Zealand. I would have included Gary Sobers for Lara and Marshal for Ambrose. Viv Richards would have to be 12th man. Just imagine that !
To avoid heated arguments, it is better to name two teams: One consisting of players up to nineties, and the other comprising cricketers after that. This way one can avoid heated arguments over the selection. Constructing a team of oldies is difficult because one is not familiar with the players before the sixties though their exploits in the field are well known. So I will stick to players from the sixties onwards
Here goes my list : Sunil Gavaskar, Gordon Greenidge, Vivian Richards, Allan Border, Javed Miandad, Gary Sobers, Alan Knot, Ian Botham, Dennis Lillee, Malcom Marshal and Richie Benaud. There isn’t anyone from great Indian spinners Prasanna, Bedi, and Chandrasekhar as they were not good fielders. But any one of them can replace Benaud if the situation demands it.
The choice from the four all rounders, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee and Ian Botham, is a difficult one to make. Since the team has two fast bowlers, Imran Khan is out. Of the other three, it is anybody’s choice. I chose Botham because he has changed the complexion of a game both with his batting and bowling. The other two had done that with their bowling mostly. Kapil’s batting shone more in ODIs. Graeme Pollock and Barry Richards from South Africa could have been in the team had their career not doomed by apartheid.
The nineties list is easier to fill. Hayden, Sehwag, Ponting, Sachin, Lara, Kallis, Gilchrist, Akram. Warne, Muralitharan and McGrath. If you think that is a fine team. Then look at the bench strength. It has the likes of Dravid, Kumble, Vettori , Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Ambrose, Walsh, Steve Waugh, Azharuddin, Inzamam etc
The final eleven chosen by lakhs of fans were Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist, Kapil Dev, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Curtley Ambrose and Glenn McGrath. It is obvious that the team was chosen by mostly youngsters. Don Bradman’s stupendous average of 99.9 must have led the fans to chose him as hardly any participant could have seen him play. He retired in 1948. His fame has grown over the years and his batting average could well be unbeatable. He is almost like God in cricket and shouldn’t be touched.
But what is surprising is that there is no Vivian Richards, Gary Sobers or anyone from fearsome fast bowling quartet of Roberts, Holding, Marshal and Garner. No Muralitharan or anyone from Sri Lanka, England or New Zealand. I would have included Gary Sobers for Lara and Marshal for Ambrose. Viv Richards would have to be 12th man. Just imagine that !
To avoid heated arguments, it is better to name two teams: One consisting of players up to nineties, and the other comprising cricketers after that. This way one can avoid heated arguments over the selection. Constructing a team of oldies is difficult because one is not familiar with the players before the sixties though their exploits in the field are well known. So I will stick to players from the sixties onwards
Here goes my list : Sunil Gavaskar, Gordon Greenidge, Vivian Richards, Allan Border, Javed Miandad, Gary Sobers, Alan Knot, Ian Botham, Dennis Lillee, Malcom Marshal and Richie Benaud. There isn’t anyone from great Indian spinners Prasanna, Bedi, and Chandrasekhar as they were not good fielders. But any one of them can replace Benaud if the situation demands it.
The choice from the four all rounders, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee and Ian Botham, is a difficult one to make. Since the team has two fast bowlers, Imran Khan is out. Of the other three, it is anybody’s choice. I chose Botham because he has changed the complexion of a game both with his batting and bowling. The other two had done that with their bowling mostly. Kapil’s batting shone more in ODIs. Graeme Pollock and Barry Richards from South Africa could have been in the team had their career not doomed by apartheid.
The nineties list is easier to fill. Hayden, Sehwag, Ponting, Sachin, Lara, Kallis, Gilchrist, Akram. Warne, Muralitharan and McGrath. If you think that is a fine team. Then look at the bench strength. It has the likes of Dravid, Kumble, Vettori , Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Ambrose, Walsh, Steve Waugh, Azharuddin, Inzamam etc
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Look-alikes 2
I keep finding more look-alikes in life. I had written about a group of people who resemble each other, culled from the familiar faces one sees mostly in cinema and TV, in this blog. I thought some readers might add a few more to the list. But that has not happened. Meanwhile, I have some more cases of close resemblances. And mind you these are based purely on my observations. You may agree or not agree with it
Keyboard prodigy Stephen Devassy has some kind of resemblance to Indian cricket captain M S Dhoni. The similarity is more when they keep straight faces. Their smiles are, however, different.
Director Hariharan and comedian Kuthiravattam Pappu had a striking resemblance when they were young. Hariharan has put on weight and his face is different now. Similarly, Pappu’s looks also changed when he grew old. But just compare their old photographs, you will know what I mean. Incidentally, both are from Kozhikode.
My other examples are from cricket. Former England fast bowler Domnic Cork and South African tearaway pace bowler Alan Donald are look-alikes. When I see either of them on TV, I get confused for a moment. When they smile confusion worsens.
Aleem Dar is a Pakistani umpire officiating in the ongoing IPL matches. Doesn’t he look like former Pakistani fast bowler Waqar Yunus when he was younger? In my previous blog I had found a similarity between England fast bowler James Anderson and actor Jim Carrey. They have company in the form of Latin pop singer Ricky Martin. The resemblance is only from certain angles.
In the current IPL tussle the ousted Deccan Chargers have look-alikes in J P Duminy and Shikar Dhawan. They have almost same facial structure and short crop of hair. When they wear sunglasses, they look like identical twins.
First part of look-alikes can be found in my archives.
Keyboard prodigy Stephen Devassy has some kind of resemblance to Indian cricket captain M S Dhoni. The similarity is more when they keep straight faces. Their smiles are, however, different.
Director Hariharan and comedian Kuthiravattam Pappu had a striking resemblance when they were young. Hariharan has put on weight and his face is different now. Similarly, Pappu’s looks also changed when he grew old. But just compare their old photographs, you will know what I mean. Incidentally, both are from Kozhikode.
My other examples are from cricket. Former England fast bowler Domnic Cork and South African tearaway pace bowler Alan Donald are look-alikes. When I see either of them on TV, I get confused for a moment. When they smile confusion worsens.
Aleem Dar is a Pakistani umpire officiating in the ongoing IPL matches. Doesn’t he look like former Pakistani fast bowler Waqar Yunus when he was younger? In my previous blog I had found a similarity between England fast bowler James Anderson and actor Jim Carrey. They have company in the form of Latin pop singer Ricky Martin. The resemblance is only from certain angles.
In the current IPL tussle the ousted Deccan Chargers have look-alikes in J P Duminy and Shikar Dhawan. They have almost same facial structure and short crop of hair. When they wear sunglasses, they look like identical twins.
First part of look-alikes can be found in my archives.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
The Southpaws
It’s the IPL season. 20:20 games are a bowler’s nightmare and a batsman’s delight. It is raining fours and sixes in grounds of India. It doesn’t matter if you are right handed or left handed as long as you can hit boundaries. Cricket is a batsman’s game. But IPL endorses it more than any other format of the game. Unless you are a bowler of the calibre of someone like Malinga who can bowl well directed yorkers at will, you will invariably get some stick.
There is whole lot of players from different countries playing for ten different teams. Since there are many southpaws successfully playing the game, it will be interesting to make a team comprising left handers. Players batting and bowling left handed are not many. Majority of them are ambidexterous. That is they either bowl or bat left handed,
So I ‘ve decided to make a team with left handed batsmen who will not bowl if they are right handed bowlers and left handed bowlers who also bat left handed. This is because all the eleven players have to bat. It looks odd if someone bats right handed in a team of lefties.
So here are my choices. As per the IPL rules only four foreign players can be in the team.
Gautam Gambhir
Michael Hussey
Kumar Sangakkara
Suresh Raina
Yuvraj Singh
Ravindra Jadeja
Irfan Pathan
Daniel Vettori
Iqbal Abdulla
Doug Bollinger
Sreenath Aravind
Reserves: Adam Gilchrist, Chris Gayle, Shaun Marsh, J P Duminy, Shakib Al Hassan, Wayne Parnell, Shadkab Jakati, Jesse Ryder, Parthiv Patel, Abishek Nayar, Saurabh Tiwari, Pragyan Ojha.
Some bowlers like Zaheer Khan, R P Singh, Jaidev and Prashant Parameshwaran don’t find a place in the team as they bat right handed. I chose Michael Hussey over Chris Gayle as he is more consistent. But in the present form I think Gayle would be the choice. Suresh Raina will lend solidity to the middle order. But both Gayle and Raina will not bowl as they are right hand bowlers. The team has good left arm spinners in Vettori, Abdulla, Jadeja and Yuvraj. Pace bowling may look a bit weak with only Bollinger and Irfan being the experienced ones. Aravind is a young promising fast bowler. In case he fails to fire, one can substitute a foreign player with Wayne Parnell.
Who will be the captain? I prefer Indian captains. Gambhir is doing better than Yuvraj as captain now. So he will be the captain. Sangakkara and Vettori are the choices among the foreign players.
There is whole lot of players from different countries playing for ten different teams. Since there are many southpaws successfully playing the game, it will be interesting to make a team comprising left handers. Players batting and bowling left handed are not many. Majority of them are ambidexterous. That is they either bowl or bat left handed,
So I ‘ve decided to make a team with left handed batsmen who will not bowl if they are right handed bowlers and left handed bowlers who also bat left handed. This is because all the eleven players have to bat. It looks odd if someone bats right handed in a team of lefties.
So here are my choices. As per the IPL rules only four foreign players can be in the team.
Gautam Gambhir
Michael Hussey
Kumar Sangakkara
Suresh Raina
Yuvraj Singh
Ravindra Jadeja
Irfan Pathan
Daniel Vettori
Iqbal Abdulla
Doug Bollinger
Sreenath Aravind
Reserves: Adam Gilchrist, Chris Gayle, Shaun Marsh, J P Duminy, Shakib Al Hassan, Wayne Parnell, Shadkab Jakati, Jesse Ryder, Parthiv Patel, Abishek Nayar, Saurabh Tiwari, Pragyan Ojha.
Some bowlers like Zaheer Khan, R P Singh, Jaidev and Prashant Parameshwaran don’t find a place in the team as they bat right handed. I chose Michael Hussey over Chris Gayle as he is more consistent. But in the present form I think Gayle would be the choice. Suresh Raina will lend solidity to the middle order. But both Gayle and Raina will not bowl as they are right hand bowlers. The team has good left arm spinners in Vettori, Abdulla, Jadeja and Yuvraj. Pace bowling may look a bit weak with only Bollinger and Irfan being the experienced ones. Aravind is a young promising fast bowler. In case he fails to fire, one can substitute a foreign player with Wayne Parnell.
Who will be the captain? I prefer Indian captains. Gambhir is doing better than Yuvraj as captain now. So he will be the captain. Sangakkara and Vettori are the choices among the foreign players.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Batsmen too win matches
By winning the cricket world cup on April 2, 2011, Indians have proved wrong the saying that it is the bowlers who win matches. India’s strong batting line-up alone helped it to emerge as champions for the second time in the world cup history.
India had gone into the world cup with a formidable batting power led by Sachin Tendulkar and Virendra Sehwag. Its bowlers except Zaheer Khan were quite average. Harbhajan Singh was a far cry from the turbaned magician who bamboozled the Australians ten years ago. Though he didn’t get many wickets he was able to contain the batsmen as his name perhaps evoked a kind of awe in the minds of the opposite team based on his exploits in the past.
In 1983, it was the Indian bowlers who did the trick after the team score a paltry 183. Who can forget the banana swing of Sandhu which fetched Greenidge’s wicket. It started the slide. West Indies lost because their batsmen were totally off colour, something which was rare. Their batsmen let them down.
West Indies and Australia dominated cricket when they had champion bowlers like Holding, Garner, Roberts, Marshall, McGrath, Warne etc They were sure to get wickets when they came on to bowl. India had fearsome bowlers in spinners in the seventies. After that Kapil Dev carried the burden as a strike bowler. After he faded out, Kumble was the only wicket-taking bowler India had. But he was not that effective outside the sub-continent.
The strong teams in 2011 world cup like South Africa, Australia and Pakistan had good team of bowlers who could bowl out the entire team. New Zealand’s entry to the semis was a fluke. South Africa had a rare off day. That was the biggest upset in the world cup. For, they had the look of the champions on paper.
If you look at the world cup champions down the years, you can see that they always had a good bowling attack to back up the batsmen. It is sort of 50:50 effort from bowlers and batsmen. If bowlers failed, the batsmen rose to the occasion and vice versa. It was the insipid bowling of India that let Austalia off the hook in 2003 final.
The 2011 Indian team was 70: 30 in favour of batsmen. Most of the teams had batted well against Indian attack in the league matches. India’s batsmen saved the day on most occasions. But chasing anything over 250 in a final is quite tough and challenging. More than skill, it is a test of mental strength of the team. What turned the tide in favour of India were its matches against Australia and Pakistan. Two demanding matches saw that Indian team did not wilt under pressure in the crucial final game against Sri Lanka after the twin strike by Malinga to dismiss Sehwag and Tendulkar.
Yuvraj’s reincarnation as a spin all-rounder couldn’t have come at a more apt time. Since the exit of Kapil Dev, India never had a pace bowling all-rounder except Irfan pathan for a brief while. That slot is still vacant. So is the position of a tearaway fast bowler.
India had gone into the world cup with a formidable batting power led by Sachin Tendulkar and Virendra Sehwag. Its bowlers except Zaheer Khan were quite average. Harbhajan Singh was a far cry from the turbaned magician who bamboozled the Australians ten years ago. Though he didn’t get many wickets he was able to contain the batsmen as his name perhaps evoked a kind of awe in the minds of the opposite team based on his exploits in the past.
In 1983, it was the Indian bowlers who did the trick after the team score a paltry 183. Who can forget the banana swing of Sandhu which fetched Greenidge’s wicket. It started the slide. West Indies lost because their batsmen were totally off colour, something which was rare. Their batsmen let them down.
West Indies and Australia dominated cricket when they had champion bowlers like Holding, Garner, Roberts, Marshall, McGrath, Warne etc They were sure to get wickets when they came on to bowl. India had fearsome bowlers in spinners in the seventies. After that Kapil Dev carried the burden as a strike bowler. After he faded out, Kumble was the only wicket-taking bowler India had. But he was not that effective outside the sub-continent.
The strong teams in 2011 world cup like South Africa, Australia and Pakistan had good team of bowlers who could bowl out the entire team. New Zealand’s entry to the semis was a fluke. South Africa had a rare off day. That was the biggest upset in the world cup. For, they had the look of the champions on paper.
If you look at the world cup champions down the years, you can see that they always had a good bowling attack to back up the batsmen. It is sort of 50:50 effort from bowlers and batsmen. If bowlers failed, the batsmen rose to the occasion and vice versa. It was the insipid bowling of India that let Austalia off the hook in 2003 final.
The 2011 Indian team was 70: 30 in favour of batsmen. Most of the teams had batted well against Indian attack in the league matches. India’s batsmen saved the day on most occasions. But chasing anything over 250 in a final is quite tough and challenging. More than skill, it is a test of mental strength of the team. What turned the tide in favour of India were its matches against Australia and Pakistan. Two demanding matches saw that Indian team did not wilt under pressure in the crucial final game against Sri Lanka after the twin strike by Malinga to dismiss Sehwag and Tendulkar.
Yuvraj’s reincarnation as a spin all-rounder couldn’t have come at a more apt time. Since the exit of Kapil Dev, India never had a pace bowling all-rounder except Irfan pathan for a brief while. That slot is still vacant. So is the position of a tearaway fast bowler.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Fast bowling all rounders
If Indian cricket team is lacking in something it is an all rounder who can bowl fast or at least fast medium or medium fast. All the other big teams in the world cup have such an all rounder. Some have two. For Australia there is Shane Watson. Jack Kallis for South Africa, Abdul Razzaq for Pakistan, Angelo Mathews for Sri Lanka, Andrew Russell and Kieron Pollard for West Indies, Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara for England and Scott Styris and Jacob Oram for New Zealand.
India has batsmen who can bowl spin like Yuvraj, Yousuf Pathan, Suresh Raina. Virender Sehwag hasn’t bowled in this world cup because of injury. They are at best part-time bowlers and not genuine all rounders in the strict sense. For India after the exit of Kapil Dev, Irfan Pathan was the only who could fit into that role. Saurav Ganguly was too much of a batsman than a bowler and that too of military medium pace.
A real fast bowling all rounder should be at least 60 % bowler and 40 % batsmen. The likes of Shane Watson and Jack Kallis are more batsmen all rounders. But captains rely on them to complete the quota of ten overs. If you look at the great all rounders of the past like Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee and Ian Botham, they are all fast bowling all rounders not just in ODIs but in tests too. At times their batting did shine more than their bowling. But they were essentially bowlers who could bat well. They had better bowling averages than batting averages.
In India’s case, the so called all rounders are batsmen but are called by the captain to bowl when the conditions suit them or when other bowlers are giving too many runs. Irfan started as a good swing bowler. But he lost pace and ability to swing probably due to a faulty action while his batting improved considerably. But he was in the team primarily as a bowler. When wickets dried up he lost his place in the team. I’m hoping that he will make a comeback.
In ODIs such an all rounder gives plenty of options to the captain of the team as he can be the fifth specialist bowler who can lend solidity to batting in the lower order. Indian team in this world cup has played matches so far with four specialist bowlers and seven batsmen and has been struggling to get the combination right. The other teams don’t face this problem as they have a fast bowling all rounder. Of course some teams face a dearth of a good spinner but that is another matter.
Even if India wins the world cup, I think to maintain its supremacy as a top ODI team a fast bowling all rounder is essential as the batsmen acting as part-time spinners may not be that effective in the pitches outside the sub-continent. When Australia reigned as a champion team for around ten years since late nineties, it had Steve Waugh and Andrew Symonds playing this role efficiently.
India has batsmen who can bowl spin like Yuvraj, Yousuf Pathan, Suresh Raina. Virender Sehwag hasn’t bowled in this world cup because of injury. They are at best part-time bowlers and not genuine all rounders in the strict sense. For India after the exit of Kapil Dev, Irfan Pathan was the only who could fit into that role. Saurav Ganguly was too much of a batsman than a bowler and that too of military medium pace.
A real fast bowling all rounder should be at least 60 % bowler and 40 % batsmen. The likes of Shane Watson and Jack Kallis are more batsmen all rounders. But captains rely on them to complete the quota of ten overs. If you look at the great all rounders of the past like Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee and Ian Botham, they are all fast bowling all rounders not just in ODIs but in tests too. At times their batting did shine more than their bowling. But they were essentially bowlers who could bat well. They had better bowling averages than batting averages.
In India’s case, the so called all rounders are batsmen but are called by the captain to bowl when the conditions suit them or when other bowlers are giving too many runs. Irfan started as a good swing bowler. But he lost pace and ability to swing probably due to a faulty action while his batting improved considerably. But he was in the team primarily as a bowler. When wickets dried up he lost his place in the team. I’m hoping that he will make a comeback.
In ODIs such an all rounder gives plenty of options to the captain of the team as he can be the fifth specialist bowler who can lend solidity to batting in the lower order. Indian team in this world cup has played matches so far with four specialist bowlers and seven batsmen and has been struggling to get the combination right. The other teams don’t face this problem as they have a fast bowling all rounder. Of course some teams face a dearth of a good spinner but that is another matter.
Even if India wins the world cup, I think to maintain its supremacy as a top ODI team a fast bowling all rounder is essential as the batsmen acting as part-time spinners may not be that effective in the pitches outside the sub-continent. When Australia reigned as a champion team for around ten years since late nineties, it had Steve Waugh and Andrew Symonds playing this role efficiently.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
In praise of saree
Draping a saree is an art by itself. The five to six metre piece of cloth needs to be worn skillfully or it could end up revealing more than what it conceals. Certain women look good in sarees and certain don’t. It is as simple as that
Do all tall women look good in saree? Height is certainly an advantage but shorties too can look equally elegant in a saree. It all boils down to how you wear and carry it, whether you are tall or short doesn’t matter.
Today, young women keep it for special occasions. Most office goers shun saree and opt for the ubiquitous churidhar kameez for the sake of convenience. They can’t be blamed because saree doesn’t give the freedom that churidhar does while traveling in a bus or riding a two wheeler. Generally, churidhar kameez is considered a safe bet as it covers the body and hides love handles as well!
There is another reason for evading saree. Just walking along the road wrapped in one can be tricky. If careless, this wonderful piece of garment can offer an open invitation for oglers and eve-teasers. But to those keen on flaunting their body covertly there is nothing to beat saree. It has given saree a dubious reputation in films. For songs shot in rain, the actress inevitably has to wear transparent sarees to get the seductive look. A clinging wet saree will melt hero’s heart faster than ice. Yes, there are a few saree aficionados who consider it safer and surprisingly feel exposed in churidhars !
I plan to focus on the celebration of saree. Since there are lots of celebrities, right from Indira Gandhi to my former colleague Leela Menon, who can make saree look like the best dress designed for women, I’ll limit the write-up to actors who stand out in the crowd in a saree.
Vidya Balan comes to the mind first. Here is someone who takes pride in donning one when saree is given the least sartorial preference in Bollywood. Saree with the combination of long sleeved blouses gives her killer looks something which other women crave for in variety of glam clothes. She played Amitabh Bacchan’s mother in Paa. But she pulled it off wearing lovely sarees that amplified her improving acting skills
The picture of Zarina Wahab in a saree is forever entrenched in the mind of Malayalis. After the runaway hit Madanotsavam in which she appeared mostly in western clothes, people were thrilled to see her in a simple Kerala saree crooning the melodious `naadha nee varum’ in Chaamaram. A North Indian, she looked every inch a Malayali in the film. Again in the movie Paalangal, she looked equally splendid in saree.
Sumalatha, who played the heroine of Mammootty and Mohanlal in several films, has a body which lends itself to wearing a saree. Her height is a plus point. Saree brings out her beauty in the song `Poomaname’ from Nirakkoottu
Shobana never looked more beautiful than when she was in saree. Saree began to look good on her in the late eighties as she began to mature as an actress. In the nineties she was the best advertisement for saree. One can’t imagine Ganga in any other dress but saree in Manichitrathazhu. Any other dress won’t have the same effect. Ok, in the crucial scene she came in dancer’s attire. But that was for a short time. In the Hindi version Vidya Balan was the right choice for Shobana as she is another stunner in saree.
Going further back to Seventies, saree nearly slipped out of fashion. Bell bottoms were the rage. Saree was the rule and not the exception before this period. Sharmila Tagore, Zeenat Aman, Parveen Babi and Neetu Singh, Mumtaz etc ushered in a craze for fashionable wear. But saree held its own, thanks to heroines in serious films. I should say that Sharmila was quite graceful in a saree especially in Bengali films. Hema Malini did wear saree to a good effect in some movies. But being a natural beauty she looked riveting in any other dress like Aishwarya Rai or Madhuri Dikshit.
But the same cannot be said for cat-eyed Rakhee. I can’t visualize this Bengali beauty in any other dress. She was a typical example of saree suiting a short person. Just have a look at her in films Blackmail, Trishul, Kabhi Kabhi, Muqaddar Ka Sikander and Jurmana. The song `Sawan ke jhoole pade’ in Jurmana has her ample pallu billowing in the breeze to the words `aanchal na chode pawan.’. Another not-so-popular actress Vidya Sinha was gorgeous in saree despite her pleasantly plump body. Anybody who has seen the movie Rajnigandha will vouch for that.
Cut to new millennium and you have the glamorous Sushmita Sen in a saree sweeping a hapless Sharukh Khan off the feet in Main Hoon Na. So ravishing she looked that the viewers did not mind the fact that the saree didn’t cover all the parts of her six-foot frame.
When I discussed this topic with my friends they told me not to forget the doe-eyed south Indian beauty Bhanupriya. Saree adds to her dusky charms. Bhanupriya in saree made watching Azhakiya Ravanan a memorable experience. Like Bhanupriya, eyes are the first thing you notice in Madhavi. The allure of her eyes topped by a prominent bindi together with the simple and chic sarees she wore had a devastating effect on the Malayali viewers in the eighties. This was before she became popular as Unniyarcha of Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha. She projected a dignified persona totally different from her swimsuit-clad sultry siren image in Tamil films.
Sneha has taken saree to greater heights. She looks elegance personified in a saree. I’ve seen her appear in many Tamil song scenes in a saree. No wonder the heroes are floored! Talking of dark beauties one can’t ignore Nandita Das. Saree enhances her appeal. How quietly sensual was she in a saree in 1947 Earth.
Among the present lot of Malayali heroines Samvritha Sunil alone stands out in saree. Her height obviously helps to make her lovely in a saree. I’ve also felt that saree suited Samyukta Varma more than other dresses.
My fervent hope is that saree doesn’t run out of fashion in the invasion of new dresses over the years. For saree does make many Indian women more beautiful.
Do all tall women look good in saree? Height is certainly an advantage but shorties too can look equally elegant in a saree. It all boils down to how you wear and carry it, whether you are tall or short doesn’t matter.
Today, young women keep it for special occasions. Most office goers shun saree and opt for the ubiquitous churidhar kameez for the sake of convenience. They can’t be blamed because saree doesn’t give the freedom that churidhar does while traveling in a bus or riding a two wheeler. Generally, churidhar kameez is considered a safe bet as it covers the body and hides love handles as well!
There is another reason for evading saree. Just walking along the road wrapped in one can be tricky. If careless, this wonderful piece of garment can offer an open invitation for oglers and eve-teasers. But to those keen on flaunting their body covertly there is nothing to beat saree. It has given saree a dubious reputation in films. For songs shot in rain, the actress inevitably has to wear transparent sarees to get the seductive look. A clinging wet saree will melt hero’s heart faster than ice. Yes, there are a few saree aficionados who consider it safer and surprisingly feel exposed in churidhars !
I plan to focus on the celebration of saree. Since there are lots of celebrities, right from Indira Gandhi to my former colleague Leela Menon, who can make saree look like the best dress designed for women, I’ll limit the write-up to actors who stand out in the crowd in a saree.
Vidya Balan comes to the mind first. Here is someone who takes pride in donning one when saree is given the least sartorial preference in Bollywood. Saree with the combination of long sleeved blouses gives her killer looks something which other women crave for in variety of glam clothes. She played Amitabh Bacchan’s mother in Paa. But she pulled it off wearing lovely sarees that amplified her improving acting skills
The picture of Zarina Wahab in a saree is forever entrenched in the mind of Malayalis. After the runaway hit Madanotsavam in which she appeared mostly in western clothes, people were thrilled to see her in a simple Kerala saree crooning the melodious `naadha nee varum’ in Chaamaram. A North Indian, she looked every inch a Malayali in the film. Again in the movie Paalangal, she looked equally splendid in saree.
Sumalatha, who played the heroine of Mammootty and Mohanlal in several films, has a body which lends itself to wearing a saree. Her height is a plus point. Saree brings out her beauty in the song `Poomaname’ from Nirakkoottu
Shobana never looked more beautiful than when she was in saree. Saree began to look good on her in the late eighties as she began to mature as an actress. In the nineties she was the best advertisement for saree. One can’t imagine Ganga in any other dress but saree in Manichitrathazhu. Any other dress won’t have the same effect. Ok, in the crucial scene she came in dancer’s attire. But that was for a short time. In the Hindi version Vidya Balan was the right choice for Shobana as she is another stunner in saree.
Going further back to Seventies, saree nearly slipped out of fashion. Bell bottoms were the rage. Saree was the rule and not the exception before this period. Sharmila Tagore, Zeenat Aman, Parveen Babi and Neetu Singh, Mumtaz etc ushered in a craze for fashionable wear. But saree held its own, thanks to heroines in serious films. I should say that Sharmila was quite graceful in a saree especially in Bengali films. Hema Malini did wear saree to a good effect in some movies. But being a natural beauty she looked riveting in any other dress like Aishwarya Rai or Madhuri Dikshit.
But the same cannot be said for cat-eyed Rakhee. I can’t visualize this Bengali beauty in any other dress. She was a typical example of saree suiting a short person. Just have a look at her in films Blackmail, Trishul, Kabhi Kabhi, Muqaddar Ka Sikander and Jurmana. The song `Sawan ke jhoole pade’ in Jurmana has her ample pallu billowing in the breeze to the words `aanchal na chode pawan.’. Another not-so-popular actress Vidya Sinha was gorgeous in saree despite her pleasantly plump body. Anybody who has seen the movie Rajnigandha will vouch for that.
Cut to new millennium and you have the glamorous Sushmita Sen in a saree sweeping a hapless Sharukh Khan off the feet in Main Hoon Na. So ravishing she looked that the viewers did not mind the fact that the saree didn’t cover all the parts of her six-foot frame.
When I discussed this topic with my friends they told me not to forget the doe-eyed south Indian beauty Bhanupriya. Saree adds to her dusky charms. Bhanupriya in saree made watching Azhakiya Ravanan a memorable experience. Like Bhanupriya, eyes are the first thing you notice in Madhavi. The allure of her eyes topped by a prominent bindi together with the simple and chic sarees she wore had a devastating effect on the Malayali viewers in the eighties. This was before she became popular as Unniyarcha of Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha. She projected a dignified persona totally different from her swimsuit-clad sultry siren image in Tamil films.
Sneha has taken saree to greater heights. She looks elegance personified in a saree. I’ve seen her appear in many Tamil song scenes in a saree. No wonder the heroes are floored! Talking of dark beauties one can’t ignore Nandita Das. Saree enhances her appeal. How quietly sensual was she in a saree in 1947 Earth.
Among the present lot of Malayali heroines Samvritha Sunil alone stands out in saree. Her height obviously helps to make her lovely in a saree. I’ve also felt that saree suited Samyukta Varma more than other dresses.
My fervent hope is that saree doesn’t run out of fashion in the invasion of new dresses over the years. For saree does make many Indian women more beautiful.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Unknown melam fan
In the sea of wildly flaying limbs, I see his arms. There he is in the jostling crowd enjoying the paandi melam at Maradu temple festival. His arms are up in the air, active as usual, setting the tone for the melam rhythms. A languid smile lights up his thin mustachioed face as he stands there soaking up every nuance of the beats.
This piece is dedicated to an unknown man who I keep seeing at temple festivals. Wherever there is percussion–dominated temple ensemble or melam, in local parlance, in Ernakulam town and suburbs, he is invariably there.
By just looking at his arms you can gauge the changes in the rhythms. The melam proceeds at a leisurely pace and it seems a piece of cake for an avid melam devotee like him to judge the shift in the cadence.
His arm measures the rhythms and in between he extends it to signal the change in the tempo when all the instruments- chenda, elathalam, kombu and kuzhal join in unison. The slow and fast tempo alternates as the beats gather pace. In about two hours (sometimes it takes longer) the intervals between the ebb and flow of the orchestra disappears by which time the beating of chendas (drums) will reach a deafening high.
All this while he never loses focus and stands rooted to the spot in front of parasol-bearing caparisoned elephants lazily flapping their massive ears. His arms never get tired. If his right arm flags, the left one takes over.
As the pace of the melam quickens, so does his expressions. The smile is replaced by an ecstatic grin. Both his arms now come into play. His whole body sways slightly in tandem with the undulating beats. As the frenzied rhythms swell, he waves his arms and lets out a cry of joy inaudible in the thunderous reverberations of vigorous beating of chendas by over 100 performers and the roar of the cheering crowd. You have to make out the signs of mild shout from the puckering of his lips. I feel that the mela pramani,the chief drummer controlling the show,who in this case is none other than Peruvanam Kuttan Marar, picks up the cue for change in the cadence from this man's arms as he always stands face-to-face with the drummers.
The melam reaches a crescendo and then comes to a close. As the musicians pack up, he dissolves into the crowd as unobtrusively as he comes. I think of meeting him after the melams, but he has never given me a chance.
Whenever I go to listen to a temple melam, be it a panchaari, pandi or panchavaadyam, my eyes keep searching for this man’s face. It is probably easier to spot his arms as they will be precisely counting the rhythms. It is always a delight to watch him as he enlivens even a lull during a melam.
This piece is dedicated to an unknown man who I keep seeing at temple festivals. Wherever there is percussion–dominated temple ensemble or melam, in local parlance, in Ernakulam town and suburbs, he is invariably there.
By just looking at his arms you can gauge the changes in the rhythms. The melam proceeds at a leisurely pace and it seems a piece of cake for an avid melam devotee like him to judge the shift in the cadence.
His arm measures the rhythms and in between he extends it to signal the change in the tempo when all the instruments- chenda, elathalam, kombu and kuzhal join in unison. The slow and fast tempo alternates as the beats gather pace. In about two hours (sometimes it takes longer) the intervals between the ebb and flow of the orchestra disappears by which time the beating of chendas (drums) will reach a deafening high.
All this while he never loses focus and stands rooted to the spot in front of parasol-bearing caparisoned elephants lazily flapping their massive ears. His arms never get tired. If his right arm flags, the left one takes over.
As the pace of the melam quickens, so does his expressions. The smile is replaced by an ecstatic grin. Both his arms now come into play. His whole body sways slightly in tandem with the undulating beats. As the frenzied rhythms swell, he waves his arms and lets out a cry of joy inaudible in the thunderous reverberations of vigorous beating of chendas by over 100 performers and the roar of the cheering crowd. You have to make out the signs of mild shout from the puckering of his lips. I feel that the mela pramani,the chief drummer controlling the show,who in this case is none other than Peruvanam Kuttan Marar, picks up the cue for change in the cadence from this man's arms as he always stands face-to-face with the drummers.
The melam reaches a crescendo and then comes to a close. As the musicians pack up, he dissolves into the crowd as unobtrusively as he comes. I think of meeting him after the melams, but he has never given me a chance.
Whenever I go to listen to a temple melam, be it a panchaari, pandi or panchavaadyam, my eyes keep searching for this man’s face. It is probably easier to spot his arms as they will be precisely counting the rhythms. It is always a delight to watch him as he enlivens even a lull during a melam.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Boxing Flicks
The Fighter is a movie that received seven Oscar nominations this year including that for best picture and best director. It won two for best supporting actor and actress. What is so special about the movie? It’s a boxing drama about Irish boxer Micky Ward who is trained by his brother on a parole from jail. Mark Wahlberg dons the role of Micky Ward while Christian Bale of `Batman’ fame, who bagged an oscar, appears as his brother.
It’s just another example of Hollywood’s continuing obsession about movies with boxing as motif. Perhaps along with baseball, boxing may be the sports predominantly represented in the flicks churned out by Hollywood.
Interestingly, most of these films have been on the life of a particular boxer or inspired by his exploits in the boxing ring. Perhaps the best one was critically acclaimed Raging Bull, directed by Martin Scorsese, featuring Robert Deniro as middle weight boxer Jaka La Motta The film was brutally frank in depicting the boxer’s life
Sylvestor Stallone’s Rocky series took boxing to those uninitiated in the sport. The success of Rocky spawned not just one or two but five sequels, the latest one Rocky Balboa coming as recent as couple of years ago In the case of Rocky, Stallone was inspired by Chuck Wepner, an unfancied boxer who survived a 15 round fight with the great Mohammed Ali at his prime in the seventies.
Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby about a woman boxer fetched Hillary Swank a best actress Oscar few years ago. In 2008, there was Phantom Punch with Ving Rhames appearing as heavyweight boxer Sonny Liston who died allegedly from a drug overdose. Many stars have played the part of boxers in films.The Cindrella Man in 2005 had Russel Crowe as pugilist James L Braddock. Black superstar Will Smith came as Mohammed Ali in the Michael Mann directred Ali. It featured Ali’s epic fight with George Foreman in Zaire touted as Rumble in the Jungle. Daniel Day Lewis portrayed a boxer in The Boxer.
This fixation for boxing themes is not something that developed in the past couple of decades. Swashbuckling Errol Flynn played the part of real life boxing pioneer James J Corbett way back in 1942 in the movie Gentleman Jim. In 1949 the boxing movie Champion made a star out of Kirk Douglas. In the fifties Paul Newman successfully essayed the role of middle weight boxer Rocky Graziano in Somebody Up There Likes Me. It was the first major film of this handsome actor with sparkling blue eyes. In the seventies, you had John Huston’s Fat City on the life of two boxers Jeff Bridges and Stacy Keach at two different points in their life. Another notable boxing movie was The Great White Hope in 1970. It had James Earl Jones depicting the black heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson.
Considering the passion for the sport in the US, I think Hollywood companies will continue to bet their money on films on boxing
It’s just another example of Hollywood’s continuing obsession about movies with boxing as motif. Perhaps along with baseball, boxing may be the sports predominantly represented in the flicks churned out by Hollywood.
Interestingly, most of these films have been on the life of a particular boxer or inspired by his exploits in the boxing ring. Perhaps the best one was critically acclaimed Raging Bull, directed by Martin Scorsese, featuring Robert Deniro as middle weight boxer Jaka La Motta The film was brutally frank in depicting the boxer’s life
Sylvestor Stallone’s Rocky series took boxing to those uninitiated in the sport. The success of Rocky spawned not just one or two but five sequels, the latest one Rocky Balboa coming as recent as couple of years ago In the case of Rocky, Stallone was inspired by Chuck Wepner, an unfancied boxer who survived a 15 round fight with the great Mohammed Ali at his prime in the seventies.
Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby about a woman boxer fetched Hillary Swank a best actress Oscar few years ago. In 2008, there was Phantom Punch with Ving Rhames appearing as heavyweight boxer Sonny Liston who died allegedly from a drug overdose. Many stars have played the part of boxers in films.The Cindrella Man in 2005 had Russel Crowe as pugilist James L Braddock. Black superstar Will Smith came as Mohammed Ali in the Michael Mann directred Ali. It featured Ali’s epic fight with George Foreman in Zaire touted as Rumble in the Jungle. Daniel Day Lewis portrayed a boxer in The Boxer.
This fixation for boxing themes is not something that developed in the past couple of decades. Swashbuckling Errol Flynn played the part of real life boxing pioneer James J Corbett way back in 1942 in the movie Gentleman Jim. In 1949 the boxing movie Champion made a star out of Kirk Douglas. In the fifties Paul Newman successfully essayed the role of middle weight boxer Rocky Graziano in Somebody Up There Likes Me. It was the first major film of this handsome actor with sparkling blue eyes. In the seventies, you had John Huston’s Fat City on the life of two boxers Jeff Bridges and Stacy Keach at two different points in their life. Another notable boxing movie was The Great White Hope in 1970. It had James Earl Jones depicting the black heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson.
Considering the passion for the sport in the US, I think Hollywood companies will continue to bet their money on films on boxing
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Eternal Debates
Debate on who’s greater between two persons is something which is of interest to everyone. There are several examples where people have been divided in their opinion when assessing the greatness of two great personalities. And when this argument goes on for years without a clear winner it becomes a sort of eternal debate. I have a list of personalities about whom people have been arguing endlessly. May be the readers can add some more
The first example that comes to mind is of the soccer super heroes Pele and Maradona. Though they belonged to different generations, the debate is still going on who is a greater player. Pele has the support of the old timers while the youngsters plump for Maradona. There are even frequent polls on internet to establish their greatness.
A similar kind of debate exists in cricket too. Donald Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar, two great batsmen belonging to vastly different eras. Bradman retired in 1948 and so many among the present generation haven’t seen him bat. His average of over 99.9 in test cricket hasn’t been surpassed and it is likely to remain as an unbroken record.
Those who favour Bradman say he batted without a helmet on under-prepared pitches.
But Sachin fans say he has been playing tests, ODIs and 20:20 version. Unlike Bradman who played just in England and Australis, Sachin has played in all the cricketing nations and he might well reach century of centuries in tests and ODIs by the time he retires. But he averages in the 50s in test cricket.
Moving on to music there is this debate on two icons of hindi film music- Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar. Rafi reigned supreme for two decades till 1969 when Kishore Kumar took over the top spot and stayed there till his death in 1987. The current internet generation swears by Kishore Kumar but purists still vouch for the voice and the singing skills of Rafi.
Down south, you have debate on music composers Ilayaraja and Rahman. Both have legion of fans in South India. But like in all the above cases the younger crop is with Rahman while those in the age group of forties and above feel Ilayaraja is unquestionably numero uno.
These debates about who has the superior edge will continue over the years. In internet polls, the personality backed by youngsters usually wins as the participants are more net savvy. But the other guy comes tops in any survey in the print.
I’m searching for more examples. Are there such personalities among women? Possibly Martina Navaratilova and Steffi Graf. Can comic book heroes Batman and Spiderman be included. May be readers can help.
The first example that comes to mind is of the soccer super heroes Pele and Maradona. Though they belonged to different generations, the debate is still going on who is a greater player. Pele has the support of the old timers while the youngsters plump for Maradona. There are even frequent polls on internet to establish their greatness.
A similar kind of debate exists in cricket too. Donald Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar, two great batsmen belonging to vastly different eras. Bradman retired in 1948 and so many among the present generation haven’t seen him bat. His average of over 99.9 in test cricket hasn’t been surpassed and it is likely to remain as an unbroken record.
Those who favour Bradman say he batted without a helmet on under-prepared pitches.
But Sachin fans say he has been playing tests, ODIs and 20:20 version. Unlike Bradman who played just in England and Australis, Sachin has played in all the cricketing nations and he might well reach century of centuries in tests and ODIs by the time he retires. But he averages in the 50s in test cricket.
Moving on to music there is this debate on two icons of hindi film music- Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar. Rafi reigned supreme for two decades till 1969 when Kishore Kumar took over the top spot and stayed there till his death in 1987. The current internet generation swears by Kishore Kumar but purists still vouch for the voice and the singing skills of Rafi.
Down south, you have debate on music composers Ilayaraja and Rahman. Both have legion of fans in South India. But like in all the above cases the younger crop is with Rahman while those in the age group of forties and above feel Ilayaraja is unquestionably numero uno.
These debates about who has the superior edge will continue over the years. In internet polls, the personality backed by youngsters usually wins as the participants are more net savvy. But the other guy comes tops in any survey in the print.
I’m searching for more examples. Are there such personalities among women? Possibly Martina Navaratilova and Steffi Graf. Can comic book heroes Batman and Spiderman be included. May be readers can help.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Aquarius and Scorpio
These are basically two astrologically incompatible sun signs for marriage. Yet a spate of celebrity marriages has happened between people of these two sun signs in the recent times. Most of them between aquarius man and scorpio woman. In almost all the cases, the women are professionally more accomplished and older than men except in one case.
So what is it that attracts a scorpio woman to aquarius man ?
Let’s have the examples first. You have the beautiful scorpio Julia Roberts marrying the aquarian cameraman Daniel Moder, two years younger to her.After the failures of the previous marriages, Ms Roberts says that she has found the ideal partner.
Actor and scorpio Demi Moore married upcoming actor and aquarian Ashton Kutcher after divorcing Die Hard star Bruce Willis with whom she had three children. And mind you Ashton is 32 and Ms Moore is 48. Ms Moore professed some time ago that she has found true love.
And back in India we have couple of examples. You have the scorpio tennis star Sania Mirza breaking off her engagement and tying the knot with Pakistani cricketer and aquarian Shoib Malik after a brief courtship. This despite allegations that Shoiab had another wife in India. And worse,the marriage took place when Shoaib was serving one year ban from cricket. What a contrast to watch a shy Shoiab accompanying a determined Sania.
The glam queen scorpio Aiswarya Rai finally chose aquarian Abhishek Bachchan after rejecting offers from a string of suitors. She appears to be happy in the partnership with someone who lacks his father’s charisma.
To check the chemistry between the two signs I surfed the net and found this :
``They're a couple of cool characters, with just a hint of the complexity that lies beneath the surface. Aquarius likes to be friends first, and this gives suspicious Scorpio a lot of time to just observe. Scorpio is intrigued by human puzzles, and Aquarius is full of quirky traits to be curious about. They're both drawn to the fringes, and dates lead them to the experimental, the taboo or to unusual places. Aquarius doesn't blink at Scorpio's extreme views and moods, being a radical non-judger, and prone to off-the-wall opinions, too. Scorpio's biggest challenge here is accepting that Aquarius can't be possessed, as it's a sign that casts a wide social net.
And that becomes a sticking point, as Aquarius likes to have lots of friends, many of them casual acquaintances. Scorpio in contrast, has a handful of intimates with which to share the soul's journey. Being a sign of mind-body-soul merging, Scorpio longs to plunge the depths of love with their partner. An air sign, the nature of Aquarius is once-removed, yet this is a sign with cosmic wisdom to match Scorpio's. As the Waterbearer, Aquarius is like a conduit for divine energies, and while they may not "feel" deep, they can understand Scorpio's depths. If Scorpio trusts this and experiences the bond on what could be called the spiritual plane, a strong foundation can be built.
Both have minds that like to stay fixed on something, but Scorpio is probing and Aquarius is more conceptual. Scorpio wants to dive to the bottom, and emerge with a multi-dimensional view. Aquarius likes to look down from a great height, and see how things are connected from that distant perspective. If they understand this key difference in outlook, they become a creative team par excellence. If not, both can feel profoundly misunderstood.
Being so strong-willed, this is bound to be one intense relationship. They've got the determination to create exactly the kind of life they want. With Aquarius thwarting convention, often this is a pairing that's unusual in some way. Both like to remain enigmatic, even to those they love. It keeps the relationship fresh since there are always more layers to uncover. Aquarius can be loyal, but Scorpio will have to accept that it won't ever be a full surrender. It's a lifelong friendship full of respect, freedom and intimacy. ‘’
So what is it that attracts a scorpio woman to aquarius man ?
Let’s have the examples first. You have the beautiful scorpio Julia Roberts marrying the aquarian cameraman Daniel Moder, two years younger to her.After the failures of the previous marriages, Ms Roberts says that she has found the ideal partner.
Actor and scorpio Demi Moore married upcoming actor and aquarian Ashton Kutcher after divorcing Die Hard star Bruce Willis with whom she had three children. And mind you Ashton is 32 and Ms Moore is 48. Ms Moore professed some time ago that she has found true love.
And back in India we have couple of examples. You have the scorpio tennis star Sania Mirza breaking off her engagement and tying the knot with Pakistani cricketer and aquarian Shoib Malik after a brief courtship. This despite allegations that Shoiab had another wife in India. And worse,the marriage took place when Shoaib was serving one year ban from cricket. What a contrast to watch a shy Shoiab accompanying a determined Sania.
The glam queen scorpio Aiswarya Rai finally chose aquarian Abhishek Bachchan after rejecting offers from a string of suitors. She appears to be happy in the partnership with someone who lacks his father’s charisma.
To check the chemistry between the two signs I surfed the net and found this :
``They're a couple of cool characters, with just a hint of the complexity that lies beneath the surface. Aquarius likes to be friends first, and this gives suspicious Scorpio a lot of time to just observe. Scorpio is intrigued by human puzzles, and Aquarius is full of quirky traits to be curious about. They're both drawn to the fringes, and dates lead them to the experimental, the taboo or to unusual places. Aquarius doesn't blink at Scorpio's extreme views and moods, being a radical non-judger, and prone to off-the-wall opinions, too. Scorpio's biggest challenge here is accepting that Aquarius can't be possessed, as it's a sign that casts a wide social net.
And that becomes a sticking point, as Aquarius likes to have lots of friends, many of them casual acquaintances. Scorpio in contrast, has a handful of intimates with which to share the soul's journey. Being a sign of mind-body-soul merging, Scorpio longs to plunge the depths of love with their partner. An air sign, the nature of Aquarius is once-removed, yet this is a sign with cosmic wisdom to match Scorpio's. As the Waterbearer, Aquarius is like a conduit for divine energies, and while they may not "feel" deep, they can understand Scorpio's depths. If Scorpio trusts this and experiences the bond on what could be called the spiritual plane, a strong foundation can be built.
Both have minds that like to stay fixed on something, but Scorpio is probing and Aquarius is more conceptual. Scorpio wants to dive to the bottom, and emerge with a multi-dimensional view. Aquarius likes to look down from a great height, and see how things are connected from that distant perspective. If they understand this key difference in outlook, they become a creative team par excellence. If not, both can feel profoundly misunderstood.
Being so strong-willed, this is bound to be one intense relationship. They've got the determination to create exactly the kind of life they want. With Aquarius thwarting convention, often this is a pairing that's unusual in some way. Both like to remain enigmatic, even to those they love. It keeps the relationship fresh since there are always more layers to uncover. Aquarius can be loyal, but Scorpio will have to accept that it won't ever be a full surrender. It's a lifelong friendship full of respect, freedom and intimacy. ‘’
Sunday, January 16, 2011
best actors II
It’s time for the second list of best actors. These are genuine actors with hardly any star appeal to draw crowds. But all of them have the ability to keep the audience glued to their seats with their acting skills. I think they are comparable to the best in the world. Some of them like Naseerudin Shah and Om Puri have performed in Hollywood films. Here goes my list.
1. Naseeruddin Shah 2.Bharath Gopi 3. Om Puri 4. Nedumudi Venu 5. Paresh Rawal 6. Thilakan 7. Anupam Kher 8. Manoj Bajpai 9. Prakash Raj 10. Boman Irani .
It was a difficult one since our country is a veritable storehouse of talent. I had to leave out many others all of whom are worth another list. But I hope nobody will be disappointed with the list though one can argue with the rankings.
Who would have thought an ordinary looking, slender, bearded man would become one of the finest actors ever to have graced the Indian screen. After showing his versatility in a variety of roles, Naseeruddin Shah is still going strong. He was the darling of parallel cinema and directors like Shyam Benegal, Sai Paranjape, Govind Nihalani and Saeed Mirza groomed him and made him what he is today. If you want to know what acting is all about, just watch Shah as a parsi in the movie Pestonjee.. He shifted to villain roles in commercial films later in his career. He played a suave villain in Sarfarosh. Glimpses of his talent can be observed in the recent movies Monsoon Wedding, Iqbal and A Wednesday.
Bharat Gopi made baldness popular in Malayalam films. Perhaps it represented a welcome change when actors used to wear unsightly wigs. After his breakthrough film Kodiyettam, his talents were moulded by directors like George, Bharathan and Mohan. Who can forget the tabla player in Yavanika and the deaf and mute in Ormakkayi. Generally considered as the best actor in Malayalam films
Would anybody have given a chance to Om Puri in films looking at his pockmarked face ? But he is now as acceptable to the Indian households as any other actor. From a police officer with boiling rage inside to the comic characters in Priyadarshan films, his range is beyond compare. Over the years he has maintained a good presence in TV as well. The tele film Tamas brought out the best in him. His entry into comedy began with Kakkaji serial in the TV
Nedumudi Venu is another performer who has enriched Malayalam films with his acting. He made acting look so simple with his skills. He is an ideal choice for rustic characters as can be observed in movies like Thakara, Kolangal, Kallan Pavithran etc. Directors Mohan and Bharathan gave him some of his finest roles. His best performances have come in the eighties after which he mostly played elderly charcters.
These days you get to see Paresh Rawal mostly in Priyadarshan films. He seems a natural in doing comic characters. But same man enacted the role of Patel in Sardar and that of eunuch in Tamanna. He has a face which can portray a range of emotions.
Thilakan entered films in his forties and still made a name by playing strong characters. Though he learnt his skills by acting in theatre, he has adapted himself quite well in films. But as is the case with many other actors, theatre is his first love. I have often felt that like Nedumudi Venu, Thilakan inspired other actors to give their best. Imagine Kireedam and Spadikam without Thilakan.. He could have missed good roles as he is at loggerheads with Malayalam film industry now.
Like Gopi, Anupam Kher is another bald actor who has made baldness his strength. He never cared to hide his baldness which didn’t deny him roles. But I feel he got typecast as comic villain in many hindi films after his splendid performance in Saaransh. Only in the recent time he has got roles like corrupt politician in Rang De Basanti and as a cop in A Wednesday, where he can show his acting skills.
Manoj Bajpai exploded into filmdom with his role Bhiku Mhatre in Satya. Since then he has done several fine roles. He got a good role in Rajneeti. But I feel his talents are not exploited fully. His best is yet to come.
Prakash Raj has entered this list through his performances in Iruvar and Kancheevaram. Even when he plays villain he does it in his style like he did in Wanted. Again an actor who can go miles provided the industry gives him the good roles.
Boman Irani became a popular actor through his performances in Munnabhai MBBS and Three Idiots. But just watch him play the real estate shark in Khosla ka Ghosla. He had the right mannerisms. Another talented theatre actor, whose skills remain unexploited.
Raghuvir Yadav, Atul Kulkarni. Utpal Dutt, Robi Ghosh, Nasser, Irfan Khan, Pavan Malhotra, Jagathi Sreekumar Nana Ptekar.
The list of those who have missed out is long. Some of them like Atul Kulkarni stand a fair chance of delivering mind blowing performances.
1. Naseeruddin Shah 2.Bharath Gopi 3. Om Puri 4. Nedumudi Venu 5. Paresh Rawal 6. Thilakan 7. Anupam Kher 8. Manoj Bajpai 9. Prakash Raj 10. Boman Irani .
It was a difficult one since our country is a veritable storehouse of talent. I had to leave out many others all of whom are worth another list. But I hope nobody will be disappointed with the list though one can argue with the rankings.
Who would have thought an ordinary looking, slender, bearded man would become one of the finest actors ever to have graced the Indian screen. After showing his versatility in a variety of roles, Naseeruddin Shah is still going strong. He was the darling of parallel cinema and directors like Shyam Benegal, Sai Paranjape, Govind Nihalani and Saeed Mirza groomed him and made him what he is today. If you want to know what acting is all about, just watch Shah as a parsi in the movie Pestonjee.. He shifted to villain roles in commercial films later in his career. He played a suave villain in Sarfarosh. Glimpses of his talent can be observed in the recent movies Monsoon Wedding, Iqbal and A Wednesday.
Bharat Gopi made baldness popular in Malayalam films. Perhaps it represented a welcome change when actors used to wear unsightly wigs. After his breakthrough film Kodiyettam, his talents were moulded by directors like George, Bharathan and Mohan. Who can forget the tabla player in Yavanika and the deaf and mute in Ormakkayi. Generally considered as the best actor in Malayalam films
Would anybody have given a chance to Om Puri in films looking at his pockmarked face ? But he is now as acceptable to the Indian households as any other actor. From a police officer with boiling rage inside to the comic characters in Priyadarshan films, his range is beyond compare. Over the years he has maintained a good presence in TV as well. The tele film Tamas brought out the best in him. His entry into comedy began with Kakkaji serial in the TV
Nedumudi Venu is another performer who has enriched Malayalam films with his acting. He made acting look so simple with his skills. He is an ideal choice for rustic characters as can be observed in movies like Thakara, Kolangal, Kallan Pavithran etc. Directors Mohan and Bharathan gave him some of his finest roles. His best performances have come in the eighties after which he mostly played elderly charcters.
These days you get to see Paresh Rawal mostly in Priyadarshan films. He seems a natural in doing comic characters. But same man enacted the role of Patel in Sardar and that of eunuch in Tamanna. He has a face which can portray a range of emotions.
Thilakan entered films in his forties and still made a name by playing strong characters. Though he learnt his skills by acting in theatre, he has adapted himself quite well in films. But as is the case with many other actors, theatre is his first love. I have often felt that like Nedumudi Venu, Thilakan inspired other actors to give their best. Imagine Kireedam and Spadikam without Thilakan.. He could have missed good roles as he is at loggerheads with Malayalam film industry now.
Like Gopi, Anupam Kher is another bald actor who has made baldness his strength. He never cared to hide his baldness which didn’t deny him roles. But I feel he got typecast as comic villain in many hindi films after his splendid performance in Saaransh. Only in the recent time he has got roles like corrupt politician in Rang De Basanti and as a cop in A Wednesday, where he can show his acting skills.
Manoj Bajpai exploded into filmdom with his role Bhiku Mhatre in Satya. Since then he has done several fine roles. He got a good role in Rajneeti. But I feel his talents are not exploited fully. His best is yet to come.
Prakash Raj has entered this list through his performances in Iruvar and Kancheevaram. Even when he plays villain he does it in his style like he did in Wanted. Again an actor who can go miles provided the industry gives him the good roles.
Boman Irani became a popular actor through his performances in Munnabhai MBBS and Three Idiots. But just watch him play the real estate shark in Khosla ka Ghosla. He had the right mannerisms. Another talented theatre actor, whose skills remain unexploited.
Raghuvir Yadav, Atul Kulkarni. Utpal Dutt, Robi Ghosh, Nasser, Irfan Khan, Pavan Malhotra, Jagathi Sreekumar Nana Ptekar.
The list of those who have missed out is long. Some of them like Atul Kulkarni stand a fair chance of delivering mind blowing performances.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
best actors 1
Any attempt to list the ten best film actors in India is always going to be a difficult task as anything connected with arts could be quite subjective. To make things easier I have gone for two lists- one on the finest actors among the heroes having star appeal and the second ones on character actors who have sometimes donned hero’s costume. If I try to make one list then it could be a mix of these two lists, which I think is not fair. I know even such lists will not be complete as I’m not familiar with all regional language films. My knowledge is limited to some parallel films I have seen in some regional languages.
I’ve mainly considered the actor’s ability to do various roles with different emotions, particularly tragic and comic characters.
So here goes my first list of best actors with star appeal
1. Dilip Kumar, 2. Amitabh Bachchan 3. Mohanlal 4. Kamal Hassan 5. Sanjeev Kumar 6.Mammootty 7.Sivaji Ganeshan 8.Soumitra Chatterjee 9. Aamir Khan 10. Mithun Chakraborty
I haven’t seen many films of Dilip Kumar. But what I have seen is sufficient to put him in the top of the list. Devdas, Mughal-e-Azam, Ganga Jamuna, all bear testimony to his acting prowess. He is mighty good in comic roles too.
A man who broke into the filmdom with an angry young man image then performed comic roles with inimitable flair, Amitabh Bachchan continues to surprise me. Even at this age, he is able to enact an award winning role in Paa. A stupendous feat in itself
A consummate actor who made the audience forget his unconventional looks on the strength of his performance. I think nobody has performed the common man as well as he did. From villain to anti-hero to comedy to super human roles, he has done all with panache. One wishes that he is more judicious in the selection of roles these days.
Initially, Kamal Hassan had lot of mannerisms, which he shed gradually when he began to experiment with different roles. He might be the only actor in Indian films who has donned such variety of make-ups. Dwarf, woman, old man are just a few in the list.
Sanjeev Kumar, another fine actor, who could have continued for some more years, had he taken care of his body. Unfortunately, he is remembered for his roles in blockbusters like Sholay and Trishul. Just look at his portrayal in Koshish, Khilona, Andhi, Mausam to get an idea of his talent. The plum role in Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ki Khiladi was like a jewel in the crown of his career.
Mammootty has won critical acclaim for serious and powerful roles. A recipient of Bharat awards several times, Mammooty’s talent in comedy was suspect. But not anymore. He has proved that he is as good as anyone with his recent performances in films like Rajamanikkyam and Pranchiettan.
Sivaji Ganeshan should have been higher up in the list had he been born outside Tamil Nadu. Though his histrionic abilities were never in doubt, they were wasted in melodramatic Tamil films, where he often went over the top. You have to watch Thevar Magan and Mudal Maryaadai which came in the fag end of his career to guage his prodigious talent.
I have seen Soumitra Chatterjee only in Satyajit Ray’s films. That the great Ray had faith in his acting is enough to put him in my list. Apu Trilogy, Charulata, Aranyer Din Ratri, Sonar Kella,….the list is long. He has done different roles superbly under Ray’s guidance.
Pint-sized Aamir would never have been in my list had he quit acting in the late nineties. His best roles came in the last ten years or so. The phase starting with Sarfarosh. Dil Chahta Hai, Lagaan, Mangal Pandey, Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par, Gajini, Three Idiots. Certainly, an anvious line of films and roles. Among the three khans he is the best and he has certainly matured as an actor.
Anybody who could act in scores of trash commercial films and then come out and do the characters in Swami Vivekananda, Agneepath, Guru etc. deserves to be in my list. Mithun Chakraborty had a glorious start to his career with national award winning performance in Bengali film Mrigaya. After his stint in commercial films , he again won national award for Bengali movie Tahader Katha. Only a good actor can do it.
Await my second list !!!!
I’ve mainly considered the actor’s ability to do various roles with different emotions, particularly tragic and comic characters.
So here goes my first list of best actors with star appeal
1. Dilip Kumar, 2. Amitabh Bachchan 3. Mohanlal 4. Kamal Hassan 5. Sanjeev Kumar 6.Mammootty 7.Sivaji Ganeshan 8.Soumitra Chatterjee 9. Aamir Khan 10. Mithun Chakraborty
I haven’t seen many films of Dilip Kumar. But what I have seen is sufficient to put him in the top of the list. Devdas, Mughal-e-Azam, Ganga Jamuna, all bear testimony to his acting prowess. He is mighty good in comic roles too.
A man who broke into the filmdom with an angry young man image then performed comic roles with inimitable flair, Amitabh Bachchan continues to surprise me. Even at this age, he is able to enact an award winning role in Paa. A stupendous feat in itself
A consummate actor who made the audience forget his unconventional looks on the strength of his performance. I think nobody has performed the common man as well as he did. From villain to anti-hero to comedy to super human roles, he has done all with panache. One wishes that he is more judicious in the selection of roles these days.
Initially, Kamal Hassan had lot of mannerisms, which he shed gradually when he began to experiment with different roles. He might be the only actor in Indian films who has donned such variety of make-ups. Dwarf, woman, old man are just a few in the list.
Sanjeev Kumar, another fine actor, who could have continued for some more years, had he taken care of his body. Unfortunately, he is remembered for his roles in blockbusters like Sholay and Trishul. Just look at his portrayal in Koshish, Khilona, Andhi, Mausam to get an idea of his talent. The plum role in Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ki Khiladi was like a jewel in the crown of his career.
Mammootty has won critical acclaim for serious and powerful roles. A recipient of Bharat awards several times, Mammooty’s talent in comedy was suspect. But not anymore. He has proved that he is as good as anyone with his recent performances in films like Rajamanikkyam and Pranchiettan.
Sivaji Ganeshan should have been higher up in the list had he been born outside Tamil Nadu. Though his histrionic abilities were never in doubt, they were wasted in melodramatic Tamil films, where he often went over the top. You have to watch Thevar Magan and Mudal Maryaadai which came in the fag end of his career to guage his prodigious talent.
I have seen Soumitra Chatterjee only in Satyajit Ray’s films. That the great Ray had faith in his acting is enough to put him in my list. Apu Trilogy, Charulata, Aranyer Din Ratri, Sonar Kella,….the list is long. He has done different roles superbly under Ray’s guidance.
Pint-sized Aamir would never have been in my list had he quit acting in the late nineties. His best roles came in the last ten years or so. The phase starting with Sarfarosh. Dil Chahta Hai, Lagaan, Mangal Pandey, Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par, Gajini, Three Idiots. Certainly, an anvious line of films and roles. Among the three khans he is the best and he has certainly matured as an actor.
Anybody who could act in scores of trash commercial films and then come out and do the characters in Swami Vivekananda, Agneepath, Guru etc. deserves to be in my list. Mithun Chakraborty had a glorious start to his career with national award winning performance in Bengali film Mrigaya. After his stint in commercial films , he again won national award for Bengali movie Tahader Katha. Only a good actor can do it.
Await my second list !!!!
Rahmania
Ask any youth who is the greatest Indian film composer? The answer is likely to be A R Rahman. He has become a living legend for them with his brand of music where the singer is often immaterial. The oscar award has only added to his halo.
But is he a great composer he is made out to be ? My answser is no. He certainly doesn’t figure in my list of ten great film composers. No doubt he is highly talented and when he broke in to the industry with Roja, his music had a certain freshness which he carried for few more years. Whenever he does a melody track, it sounds great. But often his songs are drowned in heavy beats or BGMs that a singer’s role is limited. It is good to experiment with new singers but he sometimes overdoes it.
In the last three years, his music has been patchy. Some good scores and many forgetful ones. The song that won him an oscar was not his best and all the Indians know it. Blue and Raavan are disasters. Jodha Akbar and Delhi 6 have a few good scores. The music in Enthiran is nothing to crow about. In Tamil, his Vinnai Thandi Varuvaya has some good scores but his hesitancy to use established voices is often his undoing. It is his strength if done sparingly.
I think in Hindi, Shankar Ehsaan Loy and even Pritam, who is criticized as a copycat, are doing better than him. Their Rock On and Life in a Metro are sort of trendsetters. In Tamil Harris Jayaraj’s music is more in sync with the youth. I think that like Ilayaraja in the later years of his career, Rahman too is getting influenced by his earlier tunes.
But is he a great composer he is made out to be ? My answser is no. He certainly doesn’t figure in my list of ten great film composers. No doubt he is highly talented and when he broke in to the industry with Roja, his music had a certain freshness which he carried for few more years. Whenever he does a melody track, it sounds great. But often his songs are drowned in heavy beats or BGMs that a singer’s role is limited. It is good to experiment with new singers but he sometimes overdoes it.
In the last three years, his music has been patchy. Some good scores and many forgetful ones. The song that won him an oscar was not his best and all the Indians know it. Blue and Raavan are disasters. Jodha Akbar and Delhi 6 have a few good scores. The music in Enthiran is nothing to crow about. In Tamil, his Vinnai Thandi Varuvaya has some good scores but his hesitancy to use established voices is often his undoing. It is his strength if done sparingly.
I think in Hindi, Shankar Ehsaan Loy and even Pritam, who is criticized as a copycat, are doing better than him. Their Rock On and Life in a Metro are sort of trendsetters. In Tamil Harris Jayaraj’s music is more in sync with the youth. I think that like Ilayaraja in the later years of his career, Rahman too is getting influenced by his earlier tunes.
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