Ghajini - a remake of Ghajini

Ghajini is in problem on and off the screens. Case against screening the movie in Tamil Nadu due to copyrights sort of issue. Madras High Court raises interim suspension over screening the movie in Tamil Nadu that was all set to hit theatres on the Christmas day. Politically fortunate enough as usual that the Madras HC showed green signal for the movie.

24th December, i was browsing through the sathyam theatre website and found only one ticket left over for the 25th December 7:30 AM show and in the excitement of the website successfully loading, i booked that only available seat and took a printout of the ticket.

25th December, i woke up at 6 AM, was in double mood whether to go for movie or not. Decided. Am going to watch the movie. Got ready within an hour. Went to Saravana Bhavan and had 2 idlies and a coffee before going to the theatre at 7:15 AM.

Show started exactly at half past 7 and there was not much crowd as the confusion of whether the movie will be released or not prevailed till the previous evening. However the hall was full in an hour with only few seats left unoccupied.

I haven't seen the complete tamil version of the movie, but with the bits and pieces i have seen, it was like an exact remake of it with only the hero and villain being different. It was something like a recollection of each and every scene of whatever i have seen of the tamil version.

Different looks of Aamir Khan was interesting with each excelling on its part in the movie. Aamir had definitely put in enormous effort for the 8 pack abs and was perfect in the body structure. However, i feel his biceps was exposed too much in his character as a businessman which made much of it over his formal attire.

Asin had a fantastic debut in Hindi and was so easy and natural in acting, Aamir pairing with a debut actress after Lagaan, Asin was extremely professional than in the tamil version.

There seems to be a turnaround in the climax though when comparing with the tamil version, the cinematography by Ravi K Chandran was excellent that made it very colorful. Music by ARR was already a hit before the release and it was noticeable that Aamir is not so good in his dance especially in Behka Behka song which he managed to make it but was not free flowing to say, something like how Rajini in Oru Koodai Sunlight from the movie Sivaji.

The first song of the movie was Aye Bachu which was the intro of Asin and followed by Behka Behka and Latoo in the pre-interval phase. The best scores Guzarish and Kaise Mujhe were in the post-interval, Kaise Mujhe defeating the rest of the songs and really pulling the concentration of the audience to it that it was emotional. It also has the touch of Ismail Darbar's in Devdas, and what is more surprising is that, why the song "Aazaadi" from The Bose - Forgotten Hero didn't hit the top of the chart but Kaise Mujhe did very early. However, the background score of ARR throughout the movie was not as it used to be due to frequent change in the focus of artists and more action.

Aamir was at his best during the last 30 minutes of the 3 hour movie. The stunts looked very powerful and Aamir has done it exceeding well. His rock solid body came into action during the stunts and his eyes poured fire.

The movie has a finishing touch of TZP and that will definitely make it a successful one for Aamir. However, Ghajini is no way near to Dil Chahta Hai.

Overrated HSB - Hotel Saravana Bhavan

HSB (Hotel Saravana Bhavan), the brand that stands as a rock among all the hotels in Tamil Nadu is the nucleus for any South Indian to drop out their tongues to taste the delicious traditional South Indian cuisines. Anyone who goes to the hotel should enter pocket full to come out stomach full. It's one of the costliest South Indian hotels that is spread across many places in Tamil Nadu and some important cities of India, USA, UK, Singapore, Dubai, UAE, Australia, etc. In fact it is the only South Indian hotel to have established so well geographically.
It is one of the hot spots for so many people with no age limit. They always have Kripanantha vaariyaar greeting them at the entrance to have a wonderful food and pay for it.
We (SNMS 98 group) have been to HSB so many times in the past and have thoroughly enjoyed all the treats that our guys have offered. Today's at the Ashok Pillar HSB was no exception.
We were all at the terrace of Kishore's house as usual, and decided to go to HSB for Subbu's treat. The moment the place was decided, the "Never Say NO" person of our group Mr. Vinod was in no stage to control the sudden hunger that erupted inside his stomach like the lava that comes out of volcanos (don't know when the lava comes out of his volcano). He and baya didn't wait for anyone there and rushed to the hotel and were waiting in the queue. Kishore as usual took his time to get ready leaving Subbu and Guru sharing thoughts on Bhagvad Gita at the terrace. Kishore was ready and they left for the hotel to join the waiters. They had to wait for few more minutes before being called to take their seats. Menu cards were placed in front of NSN Vinod Rao and the lone family man Guru bhai. Vinod passed it on to Kishore and was waiting for others to get an idea of what to order as if he hasn't tasted Indian food. Idly, 14 idlies 2 plates, ghee roast, onion rava dosai, sambar vadai, gobi, etc... the first round of order started with these. All of us were served and we were busy tasting our dishes. However, a white half spongy head was rotating like a compass with its leg on its plate and its head smelling others dishes. Yes, it was none other than Vinod who never says NO to whatever you give to eat at anytime in 24 hrs until the lava comes out with enormous sound. All of us felt for that innocent hungry eyes of Vinod and offered him for formality to have a taste of our dishes. But this formality is just a normality for him, and he jumped into everyone's plate and started playing hard. The first round was over in minutes. A glass of water for all and rest for few seconds. The mixture of so many dishes were carefully transported from Vinod's mouth to different parts of his body in various proportions. Second round: Onion Utthappam, Kal dosai, paper roast, 2 rasmalais plus two more rasmalais and then one more. No stomach was empty there and a cyclone inside Vinod's. The left over sambar, chutney, etc, etc. didn't go waste; Vinod was there to take care of them. It again took only few minutes to finish the second round. Three more rasmalais were ordered to finish the dinner and all the eyes were on Subbu who was well prepared to pay the bill. 1500 rupees... No No 1200 rupees.... around 800 rupees.... came the bill amounts from each one as if it is an auction. Subbu was silent with fingers crossed waiting for the bill. And it was 848 rupees ONLY!!! We definitely overrated HSB and had this known to us earlier, we would have been served with many more from the list. A Lesson learnt.