Thalaivaa, my view

Yesterday, we went to see the Tamil movie, Thalaivaa, starring Vijay.  Thalaivaa means Leader.  I am not a big fan of Vijay.  We read that there is a big controversy surrounding this movie. Therefore, wanted to see this movie out of curiosity.

Movie is just a mediocre one.  The usual Vijay movie - dance, fight, dance, fight. What is difference in this movie is his portrayal as the Don who is calm and collected in the second half.

Songs and music are excellent.  Music Director is G. V. Prakash (A. R. Rahman's nephew).

The story begins with Vijay living in Sydney, Australia, having his own water bottle business and having a good time winning the dance competition.  His dad (Satyaraj) was in Mumbai, is the local popular Don. After his death, Vijay takes over his place in Mumbai. And, then the usual masala.  This movie reminds me of the other popular movie, Kamal Hasan's Nayakan.

The word "Bro" (meaning brother) was uttered several times in the movie and it started to irritate me.

I read certain people in Tamil Nadu do not want this movie screened because certain dialogues are critical of the government.  Well, I have seen so many movies where the hero is critical of the politicians and police.  Nothing new in this movie.

Some friends told me Vijay has political ambitions and a few politicians are seeing him as a threat. Therefore, this objection to screen the movie in Tamil Nadu.  The only vague reference I could see was a one line where Vijay's lawyer tells him (I paraphrase):

People are waiting for you.  They want you to come as their leader.

I can understand why certain politicians take umbrage.  Tamil Nadu politicians are very sensitive.

This movie did not get Entertainment Tax Exemption because the government said it has more than 400 English words and very violent.  I am not a fan of Vijay. But this is ridiculous.

I have issue with this film portraying some people as world leaders:  Here is a partial list:

Abraham Lincoln

Mahathma Gandhi

Nelson Mandela

Winston Churchill

Karl Marx

Vladimir Lenin

Mao Zedong

Ho Chi Minh

Fidel Castro

Che Guevara

and a few others I forgot.

In my opinion, Lincoln, Gandhi, and Mandela are fine.

Churchill - I don't agree.  He is the one bad mouthed Indians. He called Indian leaders as "low calibre and men of straw".  He described Gandhi as "half naked fakir".

Other leaders - They all have embraced communism.  If you like communism, it is ok.

He could not find anyone else (other than Gandhi) from India.

Vijay trying to portray himself, in a subtle way, as equal to these world leaders? Come on, give me a break.

Kanagabishekam

What is Kanagabishekam? 

 

The literal meaning of the word is “to be showered with gold”.   Kanagabishekam is a religious ceremony that is performed in South India.This religious ceremony happens rarely because there are very specific requirements that a person must meet in order for this ceremony to occur.

 

So who is eligible for Kanagabishekam?

 

First, only men can have this ceremony. (Sorry ladies)

Second, a man (Person A) must have a son as his first child (Person B).

Next, that first child (Person B) must also have a son as his first child (Person C).

Furthermore, that grandson (Person C) must also have a son as his first child (Person D).

 

Finally, all 4 men (Persons A, B, C, D) must be alive and then a Kanagabishekam can be performed for the original patriarch (Person A – who is now eligible)… and it will be performed by his great-grandson (Person D).

 

Once again, sorry about that ladies.  I know you REALLY wanted to have this ceremony more than anything else in the world but hey those are the breaks. Men are ineligible for baby showers (unless you are Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie “Junior”) and women are ineligible for this.

 

I am not trying to stir up controversy about males and females. I’m just writing about a rarely performed religious ceremony in South India. 

 

And now for the bottom line - Prince Philip is now eligible for Kanagabishekam.

PS: Nowadays, people tweak the custom and perform Kanagabishekam when someone live to see his/her great grandchild.

News Anchors

We all know many news anchors all over the world are just plain dumb.  All they do is just read what is placed in front of them or what they see in the teleprompter.

 

Remember the Asiana Airlines crash a few days ago here in San Francisco.  A local television station, KTVU, called the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) in Washington, D.C. and asked for the names of the 4 pilots who were in that plane.  A summer intern in that office wanted to play a prank with this television station.  So he gave fake funny names to KTVU.  If someone reads those names he/she will immediately realize those names are fake.  But the news anchor read those names with a serious face.  Here it is:

 

 

 

I was ROFL.

 

KTVU and NTSB later issued apologies.

 

This prank skipped the news writer, news director, news producer, and the news anchor.  No one read the names before airing?

 

A small minority thinks that this is a racial slur.  Surprisingly, this does not come from Asians.  They take this as a joke and enjoying.

 

I know we are all sad about this tragic accident.  We should not make fun of it. But these “obvious” prank names and the entire news department at KTVU did not catch it makes me laugh.  This was one of the most hilarious moments in live TV.

 

Captain Sum Ting Wong

Wi Tu Lo

Ho Lee Fuk

Bang Ding Ow

 

I am still laughing.  I feel bad.

PS: Breaking news from SGtv:  The summer intern, we just learned and confirmed by the NTSB, is from the Leipzig University in Germany.  His name is Lou Dei Kruss. Stay tuned for the 11 o’clock news.