Balaji's Thots

Though Tamil cinema, with movies like Singam, Penn Singam and Singam Puli, is beginning to resemble a jungle, this post is actually not cinema-related. After the jigsaw puzzle phase, the kids and I are now in the wooden animal puzzle phase. We first purchased these puzzles (at Michaels, the arts & crafts store) so that [...]

2010 has already seen films from both Ajith and Vijay, neither of which performed well. This Friday sees the next big ’star release’, this time from our most reliable star Suriya. With his steadily-rising star status and track record, Singam, his  third teaming with Hari has understandably raised a lot of expectations.
Among the big stars [...]

After the historical comedy Imsai Arasan 23aam Pulikesi and the socio-fantasy Arai En 305-il Kadavul, cartoonist-turned-director Chimbu Deven is back with another film in a rare and unique genre, the comedy Western. Part-homage and part-spoof, Tamil cinema’s answer to Blazing Saddles is a bit uneven with the homage part working better than the spoof part. [...]

After a couple of weak entries, Dreamworks comes up with a winner in their latest animation offering How To Train Your Dragon. With good visuals, a lot of action and subtle morals, the film has something for everyone. The film is set in the time and land of the Vikings, for whom dragons are the [...]

The style of Thaakkudhe… is like that of a Qawwali number with the fast pace, stressed words and rhythmic beats and so its a bit faster than the pathos-like songs that Yuvan usually sings. He sounds off-key as always at many places but the strong tune helps carry it through to once again – after [...]

Birthdays, mirrors, spouse, friends… these and many more serve as constant reminders that I am growing old. But my little one is turning out to be the biggest reminder of my advancing years these days.
There’s no escaping the fact that my kids growing up automatically means that I’m growing old too or the realization that [...]

Fellow blogger Filbert and his friend recently started a website devoted to information about the locations that Indian movies have been filmed in. I felt it was a rather neat idea and I had fun browsing through the site. So here’s an introduction to the site from the author himself.
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If you are a frequent commenter [...]

Actors usually strive to present something special for the landmark movies in their film career and the half-century mark definitely qualifies as a pretty big landmark for an actor in Tamil cinema, which has been witness to so many short careers. But Vijay unfortunately takes things a step back in Suraa, his 50th film. With [...]

While Maayaandi Kudumbathaar made news by bringing together 10 directors in 1 film, Rettachuzhi created even more buzz by virtue of having two of Tamil cinema’s biggest directors face the camera. But in the end, the movie has nothing else going for it but that casting news. With a flimsy, familiar story narrated with an [...]

Whenever I think of individuals who strive to take Tamil cinema to the next level, Kamalhassan and Manirathnam are the two names that immediately pop into my mind. I expect something different, something special in their movies and more often than not, those expectations have been met. I naturally don’t expect anything less from the [...]