Cuisine paradox

Its been FOUR whole days since I landed in Kuwait and it has been a typical vacation. When I say typical, I have been relaxed yet active, haven't thought about work at all (for which I will have to pay next week), been a constructive contributor to household work, argued with my sister about the lifestyle of me and my dad in Chennai, followed a perfect three meal-snacks-juice diet and not thought about any of the usual crap that keeps me preoccupied (except for the certain someone dream all the three nights). To top it all, the bonanza of happiness that my cute little niece adds, has kept me busy and smiling all along. I haven't seen enough of her yet to write about it.

Well, no prizes for guessing, the title and the italicized, hyphenated phrase in the last paragraph has very well given away the intent of this post. I'm keeping it as simple as possible.

My typical menu in Chennai

Coffee (which I can't live without)

Bread toast/sandwich/poriyal

Dosai (with packeted Idli Molaga Podi)

Maggi noodles (the Chinese Chef in every poor man)

Corn Flakes

McDonalds/KFC (when I don't mind a drive to Velachery)

Subway (the weekly tester of the life of taste buds)

Pizza (the salary celebrator)

Noodle King (Home service of course)

If you take a look closely, I live on a so called western diet almost all the time. Basically, I love food. I enjoy my eating and I stop eating or don't eat when I feel I won't enjoy it. If I had as much as 5% of the passion I have for food, on any other thing, I'd be the master of that. Having said that, I was a big fan of all the above mentioned food, or at least I thought I was.

Menu in Kuwait (for the past four days)

Saturday

Breakfast - Idli (with onion chutney and homemade Idli molaga podi)

Lunch - Molagootal with kothamalli thogayal, curd rice, Morukootaan (from the previous day)

Dinner - Kuboos with Hamoos and Philaphel (Kuwait special) :P

Sunday

Breakfast - Dosai (with homemade molaga podi)

Lunch - Rasam with Podalangaa Kootu and curd rice.

Dinner - Repeat of the breakfast (we were out that evening and came home late)

Monday

Breakfast - Ravaa Upmaa

Lunch - Avial (with yam, carrot, potato and other vegetables), curd rice

Dinner - Vegetable soup and Sphagetti (Brother-in-Law Special)

Tuesday

Breakfast - Bread toast with a chocolate cream stuffed croissant

Lunch - Radish Sambar, Kovakkai Poriyal, curd rice

Dinner - Aappam and Green peas curry

Add to the above, a cup of coffee every morning and evening, some juice between breakfast and lunch, flaovured yogurt after lunch and some snacks with the evening coffee.

I know its just FOUR days, yet, somehow I have enjoyed my food more than forever. When I eat lunch at someone's house and they offer me a second yelping of rice, I'd always give my clichéd "I don't eat so much rice" dialog. It surprised me today that I am indeed serving myself an unusually large second yelping of rice to have with curd.

No matter how much I argue with my sister that me and my dad are indeed leading a satisfactory life in Chennai, when it comes to food, I can't but agree with her that we need to step up and bring about a big transformation.

I recollected what my mom used to say about how my uncles from the Gulf used to come to India craving for that one meal of hot homemade Sambar or Molagootal. It ironical that I had to travel all the way from India to enjoy the same. Only disadvantage here is that they are compelled to use Basmati rice for all kinds of cooking, the quality of which I should say is amazing.

Now that I realize what I have been doing wrong regarding my food, hopefully, I'll put it into perspective after getting back to Chennai.

Anyways, signing off on that note. Off and away to sleep with a clear mind (like always after writing in this space) and a properly filled stomach (now, that unusual). Oh! There will be that dream again. Hmmm. More on that later.

Jump the Shark

Saturday, 15th May 2010 was one of the most important days in my life. Its a day where I proved that I'm brave enough to face grave danger. Well, considering the present situation, people might have guessed easily that I watched Suraa* yesterday. But, that's just not it. I went one step ahead and saw Aasal* as well (on the same day).

But, I'm not going to talk about Aasal. Its too late now. Again, reviews about Suraa have been floating around for a while. But, I'm writing this just to prove wrong those dodos who think the movie is nothing but a piece of crap. The entire lot is mistaken. For all I say, Suraa is an epic movie, portraying different talents of various technicians who have handled different technology with the niche of a exquisite craftsman. We should call it Vijay's Magnum Opus for all the effort and brilliance that has been put into it.

PVR charged me Rs. 135 (15 bucks extra for online booking). Well, does it sound costly? I'd say different. The protagonist shoots himself out from the middle of the sea and swims to the shore like a shark with the tinge of dolphin style jumping. Ten minutes into the movie and I've seen what is worth 75 bucks. What a lovely way to introduce the hero and justify the title of the movie! Keep it up! The BG for the title song was good. Though nothing but a Rahman tune rearranged, it was pleasant.

So, the movie goes about rib tickling the audience then and there. Well, then comes this interesting turning point of the movie where Suraa is disguised as a Sardhar Customs Officer. He and his friends shoot nothing but a set of what I can only call Diwali-Rockets at a smuggler's boat. The deceived smugglers cry out loud that they are attacked using Rocket Launchers by the Indian Customs. Wah! Sheer brilliance! The movie is already worth 300 bucks. Isn't it?

"He is so stereotype. Doesn't bother changing his looks for every movie and is hesitant to join the six pack gang", a popular statement about Vijay. Finally, he decided to do something about it in Suraa. I'm sure he sat down and thought about the various troubles he could go through. Poor guy, had he the thighs of Ajith in Attakaasam, he'd have reduced multiple kilos and proved it. He did not go Surya's way building his body (Vijay is pretty ok body-wise) or Vikram's change of looks (Thank God he did not). In the end, he decided to wear a jet black leather jacket, a tight black t-shirt and a tie (like) on top of the T-shirt throughout the second half of the movie. Well, whats the big deal in that? Try doing it in the Chennai weather and you'll know. Hats off Illaya Thalapathi!

Stunt sequences need a special mention. They have rented out L&T cranes that make horror sounds, as Suraa beats a couple of hundred people. Well, to make it seem natural, that the sequence is happening in a construction site, these cranes continue to keep working. Except that they are lifting air (which is very heavy) and putting the air from one side on to the other. Well, I've not explained this part that well. You gotta watch it.

I can see that the director was very particular that he establish his aptitude for technology in Suraa (easily understandable from the Rocket Laucher scene, yet, one more comes). The Villain employs Chinese/Japanese programmers (they looked like Nepalis though) to program a bomb that could only be detonated/switched off (as in chuich off) remotely from a boat. "Ha Ha", laughs the gagged up Suraa. Well, he was intelligent enough to invite the Villain's family as chief guest to the function that is to be bombed. What are the odds that the villain, the goons and all the programmers evacuate the boat that chuiches off the bomb, to hit Suraa black and blue. Rookie Mistake!!!! Lucky they were, that Suraa could untie himself and jump onto the remote boat and chuich off the bomb (actually he pulls out every single wire in the surrounding). I wonder if he unzipped his pants as well, just in case, you know! Phew!

So people who think this is a bad movie say so, only because they are ignorant to see all the greatness! Hail the Team Suraa!

A lots of good and true things have been told in this movie about politicians, land mafia and the plight of the fishermen. Only, I don't think the messages conveyed haven't sinked in because the audience were too busy laughing their a**es off! :)

I've not mentioned Vadivel or Tamanna because they are all masked with the unintentionally funny gimmicks of the daring Shark! :)

*Suraa (means Shark) - Latest movie of Tamil actor Vijay**

*Aasal (means Original) - Latest movie of Tamil actor Ajith**

Vijay & Ajith - Two jokers of Tamil Cinema who don't realize that Superstar is what he is because of 25+ years of hard work.

PS:

1) The phrase, "Jump The Shark" was born as a metaphor for when a show (TV series) completely loses and forgets why people watch it. :)

2) I like Vijay and Ajith as actors, yet so irritated with what they are doing these days. Fans excuse the review! :)

Vetti aapicer special movies

There is no need to define the term in the title. There is not a better feeling than be a Vetti aapicer. One may ask what's the big deal? My answer would be "Try!"

There is a scene from a Tamil movie where Vadivel challenges a guy to be a Vetti Aapicer for one hour or else take 10 whackings with a whip, and you know who wins the joke. Another instance I always remember, is from F.R.I.E.N.D.S, where Joey proves to Chandler that the coffee shop is less than 100 foot steps from their apartment, and Chandler replies, "You've got way too free time Joe!" (or is it for some other reason he says that?? whatever...)

Well, to clarify all the doubts, I'm employed and am busy with my work. This post also doesn't refer to any of the anybodies I know who are vetti! :P

The thing is that my system is under repair, I guess the hard disk committed suicide, and with it went my entire collection of anything and everything. So, @people-I-know, don't be surprised when I come to you hunting for all the photos you might have taken from me. Unfortunately, I've got a great memory in these respects.

So, having nothing to do at home or the small matchbox I live in, or to console myself about my PC, which is in coma, I've seen "almost" every movie in my list and I covered it in the last 2 weeks. Simawl reviews following.

Goa - Watchable (once)
A very light-hearted movie with nothing called story, but rightly tagged as "A Venkat Prabhu holiday". Very late to say this, but, please don't go with any Saroja or Chennai 28 expectations and you will return satisfied. Sampath has acted very well. Jai's English dialogues were so hilarious that I can't stop laughing about it even now. Everybody were something different and nice, but Premji was so cliched and boring. Pia was so adorably cute and I've not stopped thinking about her as well. :P The song Idhu Varai was so romantic with Andrea's sexy voice. Cheers to the song!

My Name is Khan - I loved it, Screw the rest! :P
Brushing aside other reviews, I loved the movie. I never felt that SRK has over acted, which I thought otherwise before seeing the movie. The first half was a good mix of humor and emotions, but the second half was intense and in a good way. Kajol was not so cute as featured in the trailers. Well, she looked the age she has played. When the movie was in the making, I felt, its just gonna be some kind of drama crap, portraying SRK as the King Khan or something. The movie was nothing like that, but the title is still so apt. Leaving it there.

Striker - Fantastic Attempt
Siddarth has been my favorite since Ayitha Ezhuthu and I'm always interested when I hear his name in the cast. Rang De Basanti (the first Hindi movie I saw in the big screen) and Bommarilu (the only Telugu movie I've ever seen) were two movies I saw, only for Sid and Striker was the latest addition. It is a great attempt. There are obvious problems (not calling them flaws) in the screenplay and the language was difficult to follow. They could have definitely tried to come up with a better link between carrom board and communal riots. Claps to the song "Cham Cham" - simply wow! Its a soothing qawwali type number and the first time I heard it, I knew I had to change my caller tune.

Tamil Padam - ROFL
None other than Shiva could have filled in for the protagonist. The spoof suits him so very well. The side-kicks of Shiva have done their best to keep up and it has worked out pretty well. Every formula of Tamil movies have been targeted. I believe the director made a list of all the films he hated, wrote against them the reasons and the script of Tamil Padam was ready. However, a 2hr plus Lollu-Sabha is more than too much to take. Looking at it as individual scenes would make a lot of difference than looking at it as a movie. This is a movie for all those Peter people with this pickup line, "Taaaamil movies are crap!".

Naanayam - Something different?
Fascinated by the magnum opus in movies like Oceans series and Bank Job, many directors want to re-use those concepts in Kollywood and we have a winner here. A no-nonsense storyline, simple screenplay and at times irritating but credible cinematography. Prasanna (again, one of my favorites) plays security officer of a bank and scores as usual. Sibi was a bad choice, but I can see him grow as a villain in future. Let's wish him luck. I never expected SPB to play such a different role. What pained me was, when I was walking out, I heard a lady say to her husband, "I warned you that we should have seen Vettaikaran" - one reason why Kollywood directors never bother to attempt out of the way stuff.

PS:
1) Well, I've asked at least 10 people till now and none of them want to accompany me to see Avatar.
2) I'm looking forward to Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya, releasing this weekend.
3) I hope to setup my system again this weekend. Prayers requested! :(

A Dog, Me and My work

It was a fine evening. I was just back to my desk after a small discussion. Unusually, Ananth pinged asking if we wanted to go to the cafeteria. Either he was so hungry or he has started taking gym seriously again, that, he doesn't want to go there on an empty stomach. (Dude, if you are reading and smiling, welcome). Swetha and myself went to his cubicle; he suggested we go to the tea shop downstairs, which actually made me happy because the cafeteria is sadly getting tasteless by the day.

The elevator opened out to the ground floor and we walked outside the building. Nithya and Reshu were sitting by the lawn. We greeted them and headed to the shop, which is a hand cart type and closed in a way to form a counter. Ananth had mentioned that they were here and, we thought, perhaps, waiting for Janith and Nithin to bring something. I could see Janith devouring on a bajji look alike and Nithin searching for something in the big plate of Bajjis, Bondas, Samosas and other unhealthy but damn tasty stuff ("snacks"). I was surprised to see Molaga bajji and pulled it out of Janith's hand - natural instinct! Soon, Reshu and Nithya realized that our presence rules out food reaching them and were sensible enough to join us in the tea shop.

The big plate of all the snacks was being emptied rapidly, one item at a time. The molaga bajjis were too good. As we were relishing the snacks, a stray dog, kept circling around us, wagging his tail, with its tongue almost fully out. I'm sure that if he could speak, he would have definitely asked us to share whatever possible. At first, we neglected him, though I felt a small pinch of guilt and I noticed it on others' faces as well. Nithya went all "Awwww" like.

Recently, I learnt from someone that we shouldn't serve salt to dogs (most likely false, I believe) and I looked into the shop to see if there was anything to give him. The buns attracted attention and I pulled out one (natural instinct, again, :P) and put it near the dog.

He went near the bun and smelled it. As you can guess, and only to make me feel humiliated (I KNEW IT), he discarded the bun and kept looking at us. Yes, there was heavy laughter following that. I even noticed a couple of people other than us, laughing. I was so pissed that he insulted me and my bun, so, I looked away and the others just neglected him. He kept staring at us for a while, then went back to the bun and smelled it again, as if giving due consideration. This repeated a couple of times and finally, he started eating the bun. Well, had no choice.

Having eaten the bun, he came back to us and continued looking. Well, for an arrogant dog that rejected food, he had a nice appetite and relatively less self control. Reshu tried to shoo it away, we moved a bit and nothing was good enough for it to leave.

It was looking away from me and in an attempt to crack a PJ, I said, "Well, I'll get you one more bun, only if you would come to my desk and run that script assigned to me".

Instantly, it just turned its head towards me, shrugged slightly and walked away.

Realizations are indeed unbearable! :(