Booscuthalaa - Untying the Knots

Have you ever seen people eating idly with 2 spoons?..No?..Welcome to Bangalore. Even the slightly decent eateries here offer a spoon with every dish served, even for a dosa. Now, are we still in India? ..Very much indeed, in the IT capital of the nation. Being a relatively newcomer here, I really am unaware of when exactly this practice of eating SouthIndian dishes with Western cutlery originated. Initially, I used to put the spoons away and eat with my fingers but oh, I turn around and see every other person(even an octagenarian couple)cutting(!) their idlies with spoons. This is not the only thing with this city. Everything about the place is overhyped. Simplicity and thriftness are just shown the backdoor anywhere you go. I must mention the public transport rates in this context. A normal bus ticket(normal, because there are deluxe buses) for an approximately 6km distance costs Rs.10. Also, this I think, will be the lone city in the country to have diff...

After almost 17 years at Madurai, I had to shift to Chennai for my college education. It was a huge transition for me but I loved it, the main reason being FREEDOM. Moreover, I just wanted to get out of Madurai for a while(17 years in one place is a long time !!!). The CEG hostels (Block 2 room 39, if I'm right) welcomed me with their shabby cobweb-infested rooms and to make things worse, I had to share a room with three other fellow-cegians.However, very soon I realized that hostel was a great place to be and thanks to my roomies( I think they would have had a bad time with me around :-)...., and wingies( if there's a word like that, one row of 10 rooms is called a "wing").., hostel turned out to be a melting pot of intellectuals, gossip mongers and most importantly,great friends. With several relatives in Chennai, I would visit one each weekend(wonder what a nuisance I must have been to them) during my first few months at the hostel. Bu...

It is a pleasant surprise to see television artistes like Swarnamalya and 'Pattabhi' M.S.Bhaskar in convincing roles in the silver screen after a long time, thanks to Mozhi. Meaningless stunts, dialogues with double entendre, glamour that often crosses the border into vulgarity, melodrama - all these get a big NO NO in Radha Mohan's "Mozhi". Rather, it is subtlety that reigns supreme throughout. However, there are several moments that almost move you to tears . This movie certainly does not belong to the 'art' cinema category. It is pure, delightful and humorous. This can be a very tough subject to handle but Radha Mohan, the seasoned director he is, has crafted it with elan. The best part of the movie being that, the protagonist never lets anyone sympathize with her. On the contrary, she is shown as a confident, self-reliant, well-educated person. Jyothika as Archana is just brilliant, delivering an exemplary performance that is extremely memorable. Prith...