2031- Very touching story .. Hameed is Hameed!

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Once upon a time ..a small boy named Hameed lived in a tiny Moroccan village. All his classmates hated him for his stupidity especially his teacher who was always yelling at him "you are driving me crazy Hameed" ..one day his mother went to check out how he is doing at school and the teacher told her honestly that her son is simply a disaster, getting very low marks and never had she seen such a dumb boy in her whole career...the mother could not accept such a feed back and she took her son out from that school. she even shifted to another city ...

25 years later, that teacher got a cardio disorder and all the doctors have advised her to go for an open heart operation which only one surgeon could perform..
left with no other choice she did it and the surgery was successful ...when she opened her eyes ,she saw a handsome doctor smiling to her, being under anesthesia effect, she wanted to thank him but could not talk, in turn, he was staring at her face which started turning blue, she was raising her hand trying to tell him some thing but in vain and eventually died...
the doctor was shocked and was trying to understand what just happened, till he turned back and saw our friend Hameed working as a cleaner in that hospital who unplugged the ventilator to connect his vacuum cleaner......
If you were thinking that Hameed became a doctor, its because you have been watching too many Indian movies, serials or have been read too many motivational foward messages...😂
Hameed is Hameed. 😆
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2022- The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers (2007)

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It is a popular screenwriting textbook by writer Christopher Vogler, focusing on the theory that most stories can be boiled down to a series of narrative structures and character archetypes, described through mythological allegory. Vogler based this work upon the writings of mythologist Joseph Campbell, particularly 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces', and holds that all successful films innately adhere to its principles. The book was very well received upon its release, and is often featured in recommended reading lists for student screenwriters.

Summary of Content:
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The first part of the book describes eight major character archetypes in detail. Those are:
(1)Hero- someone who is willing to sacrifice his own needs on behalf of others
(2)Mentor- all the characters who teach and protect heroes and give them gifts
(3)Threshold Guardian- a menacing face to the hero, but if understood, they can be overcome
(4)Herald- a force that brings a new challenge to the hero
(5)Shapeshifter- characters who change constantly from the hero's point of view
(6)Shadow- character who represents the energy of the dark side
(7)Ally- someone who travels with the hero through the journey, serving variety of functions
(8)Trickster- embodies the energies of mischief and desire for change
Stages of the Journey:
The second part describes the twelve stages of the Hero's journey. The stages are:
(1)The Ordinary World- the hero is seen in his/her everyday life
(2)The Call to Adventure- the initiating incident of the story
(3)Refusal of the Call- the hero experiences some hesitation to answer the call
(4)Meeting with the Mentor- the hero gains the supplies, knowledge, and confidence needed to commence the adventure
(5)Crossing the First Threshold- the hero commits wholeheartedly to the adventure
(6)Tests, Allies and Enemies- the hero explores the special world, faces trial, and makes friends and enemies
(7)Approach to the Innermost Cave- the hero nears the center of the story and the special world
(8)The Ordeal- the hero faces the greatest challenge yet and experiences death and rebirth
(9)Reward- the hero experiences the consequences of surviving death
(10)The Road Back- the hero returns to the ordinary world or continues to an ultimate destination
(11)The Resurrection- the hero experiences a final moment of death and rebirth so they are pure when they reenter the ordinary world
(12)Return with the Elixir- the hero returns with something to improve the ordinary world
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1703- Truth about Religions - Islam , Hinduism and Christianity!

Courtesy: Krishnanunni Prakasan
Sunday, 7 July 2013
(Note :- This post is not intended to hurt anyone just plane Truths which I observed around.)
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 Well I always believe that no multireligious country can ever progress and I still believe in it .
My own personal experiences say a story . Even if i am born a Hindu i am not a fanatic Hindu nor a fanatic religious person like my brothers and sisters . I am proud of being a Hindu . I believe in Hinduism , Buddhism and Christianity . I am proud of being part of one of the oldest religions in the world .
And I wont be a hypocrite either . I know there are definite evils within the Hindu system like caste system , dalit mass murdering etc . Well as a Keralite and with the help of Communism and Christian missionaries . Kerala never had to face the evils of Hinduism . Well at least Keralites are not fanatics like their counterparts in the North . Keralites have matured enough to know that no religion is really practical . But lately what i have been observing and living has been pretty disturbing for me as well as it could affect Kerala in the future .
Its a fact that even the most modern religions out there aren't fool proof can only be beneficial to a human when he is depressed and religions and Gods can work as hope and could be used in effective way to prevent men from sinning other than that I see no use for religions including Hinduism .
I respect Christians but i hate the sect in Christians that say all problems in your life can be solved by accepting Jesus as saviour or there is only one God Jesus and you will burn in hell if you deviate from the path of Jesus . well to be frank of I have seen the movie Passion of Christ
and I had wept and I still respect Jesus for nonviolence he stood for and how he calls his followers to forgive sinners . and how he tells his followers to shun non violence . Jesus being the most merciful prayed for people of Israel for God or Creator to forgive them for the sins they did . So Christianity is a definite embracer of Non Violence and words of Jesus should never be twisted .
I think what Jesus meant was people who refuse the path of truth ( may be non violence and love for fellow beings ) would burn in hell .
So coming back to present life , I have been lately seeing the rise of Fanatic Islamists or Muslims in Kerala . The Religion Islam or their faith in Islam blinds them so much they lose their ability to see whole humans as a unit . They can only see two kinds of people around the environment they are living . One = Islam followers ( the good people to them ) and the non Islam followers ( bad people to them) . what i observed is disturbing these Neo Islamists never do business with people of other religious faith . These Neo Islamists will only engage in Business or things which would benefit their own Islamic people . They never do anything which would benefit followers of other religions .
They are so Narrow minded that they tend to forget that all Keralites and Indians belong to the same Genetic roots as their own , while they stand for a world filled with people united by Islam . This is a very disturbing fact and reality . Their attitude is let a Muslim do any evil or unworthy acts but we gotta always support that Muslim as he is a Muslim not a brilliant logic and it would lead to the formation of nations within a nation and it would soon lead to communal clashes . When all other religious communities start working for the good of their own people it will soon lead to a situation where it would demand separate nations for a separate community which is least desirable . So our nation builders did a big mistake by not eliminating Religions in the Independent India .
Fanatic Religious followers should be prosecuted and they should know the fact that Religions after a point would only cause Humans to be lost in fight against each other . As an interesting point Fanatic Islamists tell their followers to shun west and they condemn west for the problems in the current world .
But an Interesting point what had fanatic Islamists contributed to the modern world ? almost nothing the television , the internet , the modern medicines , the automobiles , the laptop , the mobile phones , the condom everything are western contributions or Jewish contributions to the humanity neither Islam nor its fanatic followers had contributed anything to the world. well I remember Talbianies demolishing thousand + year old Buddhist structures from Afghanistan another act of religious fanaticism so what do modern Islamic fanatics need , believe in a fanatic way and walk through the path of violence and take the head of anyone who refuses Islam and keep humans in fight against each other , Keep violence spread over ? training young kids to be suicide bombers and ultimately spread hatred ? no that's not what i dream of!
so we need a world without fanatic religions !!!!!
Posted by Krishnanunni Prakasan at 20:36

Truth about Religions - Islam , Hinduism and Christianity

1671- Sad reality of life!

(The story of Nisha Noor)
Courtesy:
http://my-random-thoughts-on-internet.blogspot.in/…/a-sadde…
06:01:2013
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Last month or so I came across this sad story of actress Nisha Noor, though i have never seen her acting it was a very unpleasant news , Nisha Noor was an actress of Tamil orgin, she had acted in adult movies , and movies like' tick tick' and 'Iyer the great' , the News was that She died at a local hospital in Tamilnadu , while she was on treatment , she was picked up from streets in near death condition , Hospital tests proved that she had aids , I gave a wikipedia search to get a glimpse of her face to see if i have seen her.

They ruthlessly dumped her in to street , only an inhuman monster can do that, Just like carnivores that clings on to the prey for the last bite of meat and ultimately leaves the Caracas to rot.
I showed her picture to my sister , faint hearted sister of mine said that she felt sad for the whole week , and even she commented if the girl did so much bad karma to suffer all this at the end.
The picture of her skeleton like body lying down holding a glass of tea and in the right her beautiful face , brought tears in to my eyes , someone she shared her body with , never bothered to come to look after her . What sin did she do!
Often stories of poverty, misery, tear and passion to live facing problems and lives that reach no where are untold in the glamorous world of movies. Only superstars and 'hot girls' get to be rich and marry some rich NRI BUSINESS MAN OR DOCTOR in USA OR DUBAI , and some of the unlucky ones like her are forced to lead life in solitude after the charm of her body is lost.
Sad reality of life!
(Nisha also known as Noor Nisha was a popular South Indian actress. She mainly concentrated on Tamil and Malayalam films. She was popular for her roles in the films like Kalyana Agathigal and Iyer the Great. She acted in several other films like Tik Tik Tik, the critically acclaimed Chuvappu Naada, Mimics Action 500, Ilamay Idho Idho etc. She was on the peak of her career during 1980 to 1986. She was used by R.Mohan, producer of Iyer the Great, into prostitution.Then, she left the industry unnoticed.)

1636- దటీజ్ బాపు !

1487- Act,— act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o’erhead! ( Psalm of life-HWLongfellow)

1327- 80s film stars reunite for a theme party

80s film stars reunite for a theme party
(The Hindu, Chennai, 20:01:2014)

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South Indian film industry’s most exclusive club, ‘The 80s stars’, had its get-together at actor Mohanlal’s beachfront property in Injambakkam on East Coast Road on Saturday evening.

Thirty two actors, including screen legends ‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth and ‘Megastar’ Chiranjeevi, were in attendance as ‘Complete Actor’ Mohanlal played the perfect host and even entertained them with a magic show.

This is the fifth such get-together of the actors ever since Suhasini Maniratnam and Lissy Priyadarshan hosted the first get-together for the 80s stars in 2009 and started an annual tradition.

There is, however, one detail that Rajinikanth and late Kannada ‘Superstar’ Vishnu Vardhan emphasised in the very first get-together: “Only actors allowed, no spouse or outsiders.”

Saturday’s party had a Hawaiian theme to it, and every one from Rajinikanth to Chiranjeevi, wore the printed shirts synonymous with the islands.

Leading ladies — of the likes of Revathi, Radhika, Radha, Ambika, Nadiya, Ramya Krishnan, Kushboo, Poornima Bhagyaraj, Lissy Priyadarshan and the organiser Suhasini, also wore Hawaiian style outfits.

Some actors including Kamal Hassan, Nagarjuna and Mammooty have expressed a desire to be part of these parties but have not been able to make it so far.

1205 - 'Dangerous Minds"

The other day, on an English TV channel, I watched the 1995, Michelle Pfeiffer movie- 'Dangerous minds'. It was a nice movie and following are some of the nice quotes from the same:-
"Words are thoughts, and we cannot think without them."

"keeping an 'A' is harder than getting 'A'. Almost anyone can get an 'A' once. But keeping it is an accomplishment."

"You know how to run, but not the way you could run if you are trained. The mind is like a muscle. If you want to be really powerful, you got to work it out. Each new fact gives you another choice. Each new idea builds another muscle. And it is those muscles that are gonna make you really strong. Those are your weapons, and in this unsafe world, I want to arm you. At the end of the term..........if you are faster, stronger and smarter, you will be that much tougher to knock down!"

 

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1118- LIGHT ANGLE- Sir Chuck Jadeja Norris

ANANTHA NARAYAN

The Hindu From a B-grade action movie star, Chuck Norris became the omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent superhero who could do no wrong. Illustration: Satwik Gade

Long before the legend of Sir Ravindra Jadeja, there was the chuckle-worthy folklore surrounding Chuck Norris.

It all began in the summer of 2005, when Ian Spector invited people to make up their own fun facts about Chuck Norris for a humour section in his website. Overnight the satirical factoids became e-mail forwards and thus was born the god of all gods.

From a B-grade action movie star, Chuck Norris became the omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent superhero who could do no wrong. Every aspect of his deadpan persona became grist for some rip roaring hyperboles. Here’s a selection of the sparklers that was later recycled as ‘original’ Rajnikant and Sir Jadeja jokes.

Chuck Norris can strangle you with a cordless phone

Violence is an integral part of the Texas Ranger’s charm. Naturally, fans tripped over one another to compose hosannas around his fear factor. That’s how ‘Chuck Norris can hit you so hard, your blood will bleed’, ‘He doesn’t shower, he only takes blood baths’, ‘He can make a happy meal cry’ kind of bombast came into being. The impossibility of taking a panga with Chuck was best captured by this punch line: ‘Once a cobra bit his leg. After five days of excruciating pain, the cobra died.’

Chuck Norris can speak Braille

To create a megastar aura, the protagonist must breach the wall of credulity. Chuck Norris, by definition being larger than larger-than-life, was credited with absurdly jaw-dropping feats to bolster the image of The Amazing One. Which is why we get to hear of accomplishments like: ‘Chuck Norris can delete the recycle bin’, ‘He can make the onions cry’, ‘He can play the violin with a piano’, ‘He can kill two stones with one bird’ and ‘He can squeeze orange juice out of a lemon’!

Chuck Norris’ blood type is AK-47

Fearlessness is another key element in myth making. Jokesters of the Chuck cult did their bit to perpetuate this misimpression. The story goes that when young Chuck Norris was in middle school his English teacher asked him to pen an essay on ‘What is Courage?’ The little boy thought for a nanosecond, scribbled only his name on the blank answer sheet and submitted that as his piece. The gobsmacked teacher gave him an A+.

Chuck Norris runs on his treadmill until the treadmill gets tired

Incredible physical deeds offer one more valve for generating laughs. Stuff such as ‘Chuck Norris beat the sun in a staring contest’, ‘He once climbed Mt. Everest in 15 minutes, 14 of which was spent on building a snowman at the bottom’, and ‘Chuck Norris grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his own rage’ provide clues as to why ‘Superman wears the Chuck Norris suit’.

Chuck Norris is the only person that can punch a Cyclops between the eye

Chuck is an icon among nerds as he offers the perfect algorithm for expressing cerebral wit. So, be it the chemistry laden ‘Chuck Norris doesn’t recognise the periodic table, because the only element he recognises is the element of surprise” or the biological ‘Oxygen requires Chuck Norris to live’, or even the very mathematical ‘Chuck Norris counted to infinity, twice’, the geek always has the last laugh.

Chuck Norris doesn’t flush the toilet. He scares the s**t out of it

Word play is on steroids when the subject is Mr. Norris. ‘The only reason Thor is the god of lightning is because Chuck Norris stole his thunder’ and ‘His daughter lost her virginity, he got it back’ are some samplers that go to prove the adage that ‘Chuck can inject some fun even into a funeral’.

(The Hindu, Week's Ends, 21:04:2013) 

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The things movies teach us

via facebook/ GKB Opticals
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Everybody loves a list, especially their own

NAMAN RAMACHANDRAN, Sight & Sound’s South Asian cinema critic, recalls reading his first Top 10 poll and voting in the latest.

  Some 25 years ago, when I was a teenager growing up in Bangalore, I chanced upon a film magazine at the British Council Library. It was called Sight & Sound and was published by the British Film Institute (BFI). I was captured by the quality of writing and the in-depth analysis of films (to call them mere reviews didn’t seem appropriate) and I thirsted for more. Reading through back issues I discovered the delights of editor Penelope Houston’s masterly writings on my favourite director of all time, Satyajit Ray, particularly her essay on Charulata in the winter 1965/66 issue. The piece, coupled with the corresponding chapter in Andrew Robinson’s 1989 biography, Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye (also borrowed from the British Council Library), made me watch the film again and again and reassess it with new eyes. That’s when I knew that I wanted to write about films for the rest of my life.

The only problem was that Sight & Sound was a quarterly and I ran out of reading material soon enough. That changed in 1991 when the magazine merged with the Monthly Film Bulletin, also published by the BFI. Subscribing to the magazine from a newly liberal India was a bewildering process involving copious amounts of foreign exchange and RBI clearances and I settled for sourcing issues in second-hand shops. One of the features that fascinated me about the magazine was the once-in-a-decade Greatest Films Top 10 poll, voted for by a medley of international critics. Everybody loves a list, even if it is to compare with one’s own and disagree. Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (1948) topped the first ever poll held in 1952. Thereafter, from the 1962 poll, Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941) reigned at the top for a remarkable 50 years, before being dethroned in 2012.
After working in the media across the world, including a stint as a film reviewer for some Indian publications, I found myself in London in 2000. An internship at the BFI soon led to a job there, working on the Institute’s most ambitious celebration of South Asian cinema ever, titled ImagineAsia. From scouring Bangalore’s back lanes for Sight & Sound , the magazine’s headquarters were now just a corridor across from me and I lost no time in introducing myself to the editor Nick James and impressing upon him my writing credentials. Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (2001) broke into the U.K. box office at number three and that’s the first film I reviewed for the magazine and I’ve been writing in those august pages ever since. It continues to be a humbling experience to be able to live one’s childhood dream.
My joy knew no bounds when I was asked to vote in the 2012 poll. Some of the guidelines were: “We realise that this is not the easiest of tasks, but we want you to know that this is a major worldwide endeavour that will help us all to remind people of film’s rich history and to refine what we mean by the best of cinema.
“As for what we mean by ‘Greatest’, we leave that open to your interpretation. You might choose the ten films you feel are most important to film history, or the ten that represent the aesthetic pinnacles of achievement, or indeed the ten films that have had the biggest impact on your own view of cinema.”
I chose a combination of all three and here are my top 10 with brief rationales. (For this exercise, I watched all the films on my long list again with a view to eliminating nostalgia and to see if they had dated or not.)


5. Gandhi: 
Richard Attenborough
Detractors may carp about Attenborough presenting a roseate view of the Mahatma and the omission of some negative facts about him, but the film remains a grand journey populated, literally, by a cast of thousands and guarantees moist eyes by the end of it.

 
The top 10:5. Gandhi


2. Apocalypse Now: 
Francis Ford Coppola
Even though the Redux version added footage and extra depth to Coppola’s masterpiece, the original cut remains one of the greatest films simply because it is tonally brilliant, with not a false note anywhere.


The top 10: 2. Apocalypse Now


8. Sholay: 
Ramesh Sippy
Though derivative of Kurosawa and Leone, Sippy crafted a faultless curry western that set the bar for action, emotion and comedy unrivalled since in Indian popular cinema.
  


The top 10. 8. Sholay 

1. Charulata (The Lonely Wife) :
Satyajit Ray
It was very tempting to include Ray’s Apu Trilogy on this list, but that would have consumed three votes. For me, Ray’s Charulata is the perfect film and I’ve watched it more often than the Trilogy. As Ray himself has said: “The one film that I would make the same way, if I had to do it again, is Charulata.” Good enough for the master, good enough for me.

The top 10:1. Charulata,



7. L’Avventura: 
Michelangelo Antonioni
The austere flip side to Fellini’s exuberance, Antonioni practically wrote the book on disconnection.

 

The top 10: 7. L'Avventura



  6. La Dolce Vita: 
Federico Fellini
Wonderful snapshot of Roman society at the time, a sneering look at hedonism and at the same time an exploration of human emptiness.
 


The top 10:.6. La Dolce Vita



9. Ikiru: 
Akira Kurosawa
Kurosawa, ironically, finds an affirmation of life from his protagonist who is doomed to die.

 

The top 10: 9. Ikuru



3. Sunrise: 
FW Murnau
For sheer visual poetry, nothing comes close.
 


The top 10:3. Sunrise



10. Raiders of the Lost Ark:
Steven Spielberg
Since there is no rule that says commercial cinema cannot be included in lists of the great and the good, Ark makes it in for its sheer joie de vivre and the fact that no action adventure since has managed to even come close to Spielberg’s masterpiece.

 

The top 10: 10. Raiders of the Lost Ark.



4. 2001: A Space
Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick
Though the effects may seem humdrum today in the light of advanced technology, no other science fiction film can capture the majesty and the nothingness of space plus a sense of the existence of a supreme otherworldly power that Kubrick achieved.

 

The top 10: 4. 2001: A Space Odyssey



Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo pushed Citizen Kane to second place this year. I’m pleased that two of my choices ( Sunrise and 2001 ) made the top 10. Pather Panchali is India’s only placing in the top 50, at number 42. Nick James said, “This result reflects changes in the culture of film criticism. The new cinephilia seems to be not so much about films that strive to be great art, such as  Citizen Kane , and that use cinema’s entire arsenal of effects to make a grand statement, but more about works that have personal meaning to the critic.” I couldn’t agree more.

Naman also covers South Asia for Variety and the U.K. and Ireland for Cineuropa. His biography of Rajinikanth will be released in Decembe.



(The Hindu, Magazine, 12:08:2012)
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Morphine for the mind

A five-year-old girl battling cancer clings toAR Rahman’s melodies for comfort and healing. 
Nikhila Natarajan

 There’s no particular reason that I write this today, just that two long and cursed years of chemotherapy are timing out for my five-year-old daughter Niharika. From the day her treatment began in Chennai’s Apollo Cancer Hospital, Rahman’s music has been morphine for her mind, where she has fought her lonely battle — lonely because cancer pain is unique in its ability to wreck you.

And, like degrees of pain, there are many genres of great music but in the worst of times — and it’s always bad with chemo — Rahman is the only fix for us. His music lifts Nika up where she belongs, she takes wing and escapes the present, the catheter in her chest, blood draws, chemo, anesthesia, syringes and the lingering yuckiness.

On the night before Deepavali 2010, Nika, barely three-and-a-half years old, was diagnosed with acute leukemia, the kind that can kill in six weeks. You can never have your backpack ready for this enemy. In a daze, I gathered some clothes, money and entered a world that smelt funny, the kind of smell that doesn’t let you eat. Leaning over the steel bed’s cold frame in Room 1335, I dug into the music bank in my head and sang to Nika my Rahman favourites. With white hospital walls closing in on us and only memories of a charmed life lived on the playgrounds of America for company, the stage was set for a certain kind of music. “ Oru deivam thantha poove ” and “ Arziyaan ” kept us going for 45 days, Nika pulled through. “Congratulations, she is in remission. This kid has a lot of fight in her,” said Nika’s oncologist, Dr.T. Raja.

I have heard Rahman’s songs in every city I lived: New Delhi, Noida, Bangalore, New York, London, marvelling at how a simple tune turns achingly beautiful, barely out of reach. But I was listening from a place of ordinariness, where guys from the blood bank wearing a starched white and white uniform, like a bad joke, are not struggling to find a vein that works at 4 a.m.; I lived the life of just about anyone in Banjara Hills and Adyar, heard “ Chinna Chinna aasai ” in 1992 and knew a genius had arrived but it takes a kid on life’s edge to tell me that great music is like being able to call God on his mobile phone.

Which God, by the way? Ha, ha, gotcha! The travelling Ganesha in my jeans pocket, I say; Jesus says Nika’s daddy; Nika’s blood is a cocktail of donations from Muslims, Christians and Hindus. Rahman’s devotionals silence all faltu religious noise. Nika’s every physical experience goes by the name of a Rahman melody. “ Chale Chalo ” makes her believe she can stand on a broken leg, like Jaden Smith in The Karate Kid , and hit back. Zubeidaa ’s “ Dheeeme Dheeme ”, Guru ’s “ Ae Hairathe ” promise Nika that her hair will grow back, life is good, “ Nila Kaigirathu ” reminds her that an oil lamp burns bright for her in her grandmother’s house, “ Roobaroo ”’s recklessness sets her free, “ Jashn-e-Bahaara ” gives her peace.

Some days, the nausea sucks so much, Nika is unable to even look at food. When dextrose and saline begin trickling through her veins at 30 ml per hour and “ O Paalanhaare ” or “ Khwaja mere Khwaja ” play in the half light of a hospital room, Nika wills herself off the couch and dances in slow circles, one palm facing upwards, like Hrithik Roshan in Jodha Akbar ; that is what Rahman means when he says that music is a spiritual exercise. For lack of a better word in English, it’s an ehsaas .

Nika is often on an empty stomach for hours before chemo and fed up with the grind. “Don’t talk, just put on ‘ Luka Chuppi ’,” she orders me from the back-seat, as I drive on auto mode through familiar back roads to Hopkins. Nika is 5, the Hindi she knows is from my random conversations, but she understands this song’s each cadence and octave, she practises it tirelessly and when she gets it right where the tune changes she is no longer a cancer patient, she is a rock star.

In the middle of all this came radiation to Nika’s head. For days, we drove out of home when it was still dark, Nika running on empty, the car on a full tank. “I want song number 27, ‘ Rang de Basanti ’,” she would say, getting into her car seat. Something about its beat and rhythm appealed to her immensely during the radiation phase. “ Thodi si dhool meri dharti ki mere watan ki, thodi si khushboo baurai se mast pavan ke… ” How did I land up here? I think. America, Johns Hopkins, leukemia, chemotherapy, radiation, driving, driving, driving… “ Yuhin chala chal rahi .”

Two-and-a-half years on, the promise of a healthy life is within reach. Jai ho, Rahman bhai. Nika’s healing, like your music, is the hand of God. Ella pughazhum iraivanukke .

(Magazine, The Hindu, 27:01:2013)

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వీరి వీరి గుమ్మడి పండు.........

నూకయ్య... ఈ పేరు చాలా ముతకగా ఉందని నోకియాగా మార్చుకొన్నాడు ఓ సినిమాలో కథానాయకుడు. హీరో అన్నాక ఆ మాత్రం స్త్టెల్ ఉండాలి కదా?! 'పేరులో నేముందిలే...' అనుకోకుండా అందులోనే ఫేముందని... నమ్మడం సినిమాలకే పరిమితం చేయడం లేదు. బయటా ఉంది. అందుకే చాలామంది కథానాయకులు, నాయికలు, దర్శకులు, నటులు తమ అసలు పేరుకి నగిషీలు దిద్దుకొంటారు. శివ శంకర వరప్రసాద్ చిరంజీవి, భక్తవత్సలం నాయుడు మోహన్‌బాబూ అయిన వైనం అందరికీ తెలిసిందే. అలా పేరు మార్చుకొని పేద్ధ పేరు తెచ్చుకొన్న తారలు చాలామందే ఉన్నారు. వారి అసలు పేర్లు ఏంటా...? అని 'ఈనాడు సినిమా' ఆరా తీస్తే... ఇదిగో ఈ చిట్టా తయారైంది.

కమల్‌హాసన్ అసలు పేరు పార్థసారధి అని ఈ మధ్యే తెలిసింది. అందరికీ ఆయన కమల్ అయినా... అమ్మకు మాత్రం పార్థూనే. కొడుకుని ఆమె కమల్‌హాసన్ అని ఎప్పుడూ పిలవలేదు. మోహన్‌బాబుని ఇప్పటికీ 'భక్తా' అని పాత పేరుతోనే పిలిచే సన్నిహితులున్నారు. తమిళ హీరో విక్రమ్ అసలు పేరు జాన్ కెనడీ. ముద్దుగా కెన్నీ అంటారు. టీచర్లు, క్లాస్‌మేట్స్ ఇప్పటికీ ఆ పేరుతోనే పిలుస్తారు. ఇక జగపతిబాబు అసలు పేరు జగపతి చౌదరి. మిత్రులు చౌ, చౌదరి అనే అంటారు. ఇక కృష్ణభగవాన్ పేరు... పాపారావు చౌదరి. ముద్దు పేరు కిట్టబాబు. ఆయన్ని కిట్టబాబు అనే మిత్రులు చాలామంది ఉన్నారు. ఇక - డానియల్ రాజయ్య అంటే 'ఆయనెవరు?' అని మనం అనేస్తాం. అది ఇళయరాజా సొంత పేరు. గోపాలరత్నం సుబ్రహ్మణ్య అయ్యర్... అని ఇంత పేరు పలకలేక మణిరత్నం అని మార్చుకొన్నారు. తమిళ కథానాయకులు సూర్య, విక్రమ్, ధనుష్‌ల పేర్లు కూడా అసలు కావు. సినిమాల్లోకి వచ్చాక మార్చుకొన్నవే. మన హీరోలు రవితేజ, సునీల్, నాని... వీళ్లూ ఆ జాబితాలో ఉన్నారు. కథానాయికల విషయానికొస్తే చాలామందివి కొసరు పేర్లే.
మురళి మోహన్ (మాగంటి రాజబాబు ), గిరిబాబు (ఎర్రా శేషారావు), స్నేహ (సుహాసిని), నయనతార (డయానా మరియం  కురియన్), భారతీరాజా (చిన్న స్వామి ), చంద్ర  సిద్ధార్థ్ ( చిట్టాబత చంద్రశేఖర్)