What would you do with INR 500?

This is one of the most touching video ever. I was speechless for a long while after watching this.

Vaaranam Aayiram – Movie Review

Just like a million other tamilians around the world, I was really excited about Vaaranam Aayiram movie release. The music is a blockbuster - probably one of the movies of the year where all the songs were stupendous. The music added to the expectation level and if only the movie was half as good as the songs it would have been a run away hit.

I had read a couple of reviews on Friday which lessened my expectations of the movie as it had average ratings. So I geared up for the weekend to watch the movie having informed my friend to get the tickets if possible. To my disappointment he was unable to get it and hence we were saddened. However, something made us feel that we would like the movie as it was labeled as emotional drama. So, we decided to go to shanthi theatre as we were sure to get black tickets. We paid 150/- for a 60/- worth ticket and got in.

The 1st half was fun, it was breezy with 4 songs picturised beautifully. However, 2nd half is so messed up that it gave me a headache, back ache, thoughts of leaving the theatre. I mean I cannot really pen down my feelings here – the 2nd half was such a huge disappointment. I felt as if Gautham had only 1st half in his mind and lost the plot there after. Beginning with getting addicted to drugs, to how he recovers from it (the Delhi plot was a piece of crap), the army, his 2nd love – it was dismal.

Surya has to be given credit for his performance – he has done a great job in different roles. One could see a lot of hard work in his looks - school boy, father, college, when he gets into drugs so on. He has danced well too – yes believe me its probably one of his best dance performances. Simran has done well too – with her looks of 70’s and her performance as surya’s mom is pleasant. Sameera Reddy and Ramya (Divya) didn’t really have a role in the movie but didn’t disappointment as well.

So where was the let down – despite everyone playing their role? Well, it was the screenplay and the 2nd half plot. Also, the movie was promoted as a great father – son relationship / smoking is injurious. However, I never really found a story in this movie. The father – son relationship was not touched well except for three scenes to be precise. The smoking effect was in no way touched except showing that ppl can die of cancer if they smoke heavily (as if no one knew it!!!). The word “Daddy” is still echoing in my ears and I really didn’t understand why there was so much usage of English?

Gautham Menon – you have definitely let down your fans with this movie.

Thank You Sourav Ganguly

A 100 in his 1st innings and a duck in his final innings - that pretty much sums up Ganguly's career. A career that was filled with ups and downs. Sourav - the cricket loving public will miss you. You have been a great player, a wonderful captain and an inspiration to millions. A small Thanks from one person in a corner of the world for everything you have done and achieved for team INDIA.

Barack Obama’s Historic Victory Speech

November 5th 2008 would definitely go down in the history books. Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States of America and the 1st African American ever. It is one of the most defining moments in the history and I personally feel that it’s the best thing that could ever happen for the world.

Think of the Apartheid, think of all the people who suffered during the racial crisis and think of today, you cannot help but be happy and proud. I have become a huge fan of Obama’s speech and his victory speech yesterday addressing the world from his home city of Chicago was the best speech ever I have listened to. With the same inspiration and flourish of words that have been a hallmark of his campaign, Obama spoke to an adoring crowd. His speech was a call to unity and an acknowledgment of the momentous moment in history that has been made.

I seriously don’t have words to express what I actually feel about the speech. Obama – I salute you just like a million others would do – you have been an inspiration to a lot of ppl and I am sure you will continue to be for generations to come. As I was watching the speech, there were couple of things which was running in my mind all along- It was astonishing to see every one had the United States of America flag and not a single democratic flag. At one point of the speech he would praise and thank opponent John McCain which I can never imagine from an Indian politician even in my wildest of dreams.

To Sign off - As an Indian, I wish and hope one day the politicians of India would learn a lesson – “Yes, We Can” – “The change I believe in”









"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he’s fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House. And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics – you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to – it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington – it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn’t do this just to win an election and I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime – two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor’s bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers – in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House – a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America – that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America. "

Anil Kumble - A Legend

It’s been a sad couple of weeks for Indian cricket although we are leading the series against Australia 1-0 with a test match to be played. 1st it was the shocker from Sourav Ganguly and now its Anil Kumble. Both legends of Indian cricket, who had a lot of similarities I must say.

Before I write more I was astounded when I saw a statistic shown in one of the news channels here. Anil Kumble has taken a stunning 619 wickets in 132 tests and Kapil Dev with 434 wickets in 131 tests. I agree, it would have been a lot more difficult for Kapil who is a medium pace bowler to take wickets in Indian conditions compared to Kumble. Still, a difference of 185 wickets and just a test match more played by Kumble, it’s a staggering achievement indeed. What’s even more surprising is all through his career, Kumble was never regarded as a great player. He was never in the ranks of Sachin / Rahul. He was the most underrated player ever to be honest.

After the Sydney fiasco, Anil Kumble famously said “This is the 1st time I have ever been to a match referee’s room” and that because he was the captain and not the player under scrutiny. Anil was always a tough gentleman who gives 100% every day, every over, every ball. He is a definitely a match winner in his own right. The number of matches he has won for India single handedly is unimaginable. When at peak he used to pick up tailenders wickets in a jiffy. He was just unbelievable as a bowler at his best, one would sense a wicket every over that he bowled. Such was the passion, commitment, mental strength that can be made out of the fearsome lad.


Kumble had gone through a lot of ups and downs and not many ppl never gave credit to him for his achievement thus far. However, he for sure will be missed and big time to say the least. It’s not at all easy to fill in his shoes and I seriously doubt if we will ever see a leg spinner for years to come who would serve the Indian cricket the way he did.

I think the Indians have seen enough retirement in a span of 2 weeks, so let Sachin play for another 4 years at least, may GOD give him all that he needs for it.

Aegan Review

Aegan is an inspiration from Main Hoon Na – the Sharukh Starrer 4 years back if I remember correctly. I did watch Main Hoon Na then and I liked it and I watched Aegan last Saturday and I liked it too.

Aegan is definitely not a great movie, but it’s a simple movie which you can enjoy at the theatres. It’s definitely not boring and is one of those movies which are just a breezy entertainer with a little bit of masala in it. I am sure a lot of ajith fans might be disappointed since it didn’t live upto the expectations. I don’t really think that ppl expected a comedy entertainer from Ajith as the promos hinted an action packed adventure.

The first half is hilarious to say the least, while the second half is average. The regret was the way the movie ended, the last 30 minutes or so, things just happened at a rapid pace which didn’t make much sense, however I still believe it would have been worse if a lot of things were explained. So I think it was best that the director left it for us to interpret by running through the scenes of Ajith’s childhood.

I love the couple of scenes where Ajith starts singing Unnai Paartha Pinbu Naan after he meets Nayanthara. However, the big surprise was the comedy act from Jayaram. It was great and rib tickling indeed. Nayanthara is sensuous but doesn’t really have any role in the movie. I am actually amazed that most of her movies she turns out to be a virtual non existent apart from the skin shows. Navdeep and Piaa have done a reasonable job as well.
The music of the movie was ok with a couple of songs stand out (Freedom, Naan Ellarukum Friend).

Overall, if you watch the movie with no / less expectations it’s definitely worth a time pass.