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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Mindspark : Nanban









Nanban(2012)
Director : Shankar
Screenplay : Shankar,Madhavan Karky
Story : Rajkumar Hirani,Abhijat Joshi,Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Music : Harris Jayaraj
Cast : Vijay,Jiiva,Srikanth,Sathyaraj,Satyhan,Ileana,S.J Suryah
Language : Tamil
Distributor : Gemini Film Circuits
Running time : 188 minutes
Rating : PG-13



 '3 Idiots' is a masterpiece by all means and i’m proud of the fact that the film remains the highest grossing film in all of India to date and not some mindless rubbish masala.The biggest stars of that film is its story and screenplay,which should be the case with any movie being made out there,if you ask me.Rajkumar Hirani,with all goodwill and inspired talent that he possess, has managed to create an interesting and entertaining screenplay which can be readily adapted into any language anywhere in the world but being the box-office phenomenon and epitome of filmmaking excellence ‘3 Idiots’ was and still is,most filmmakers would shy away from the idea of remaking it in their respective native setting,fearing whether their take would match up to the original but one man instead rose up to the challenge and lapped it up like the pro he is...Shankar!!!!!!!!!!!

              It puzzled me at first of why a hugely successful director like him who NEVER made a film where he didn’t have full creative control over the screenplay would want to direct a remake,that too with a frame-by-frame approach?Come on people,its always been other directors imitating and emulating Shankar,not vice-versa,and most fail as that man has developed for himself a practically inimitable style of filmmaking.So why the paradigm shift with Nanban?The answers came bombarding my mind like rays from a plasma gun hitting a granite plate.That man felt very very close to the film,from my POV,it appealed to him personally in a big way,that’s why!!!!!Now  what makes me say this?Consider  these points/trivia :-

1)     1 )  The core theme or message in ‘3 Idiots’ is about pursuing one’s PASSION, make a living and carving a career out of their heart’s desire.Strive for excellence,never settle for less and success will follow suit.Shankar is a famous living example of this adage as each of his films is made with a penchant for excellence(and he never settles for less,if he needs Rs165 crore to make a movie the way its SHOULD ME MADE,then Rs165 crore it is or else forget about it,Mr.Producer !)

2)    2) The setting of the film is at an engineering college(IEC).Shankar himself is an engineering undergraduate with a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering.I strongly believed that he identified very closely  with Madhavan’s character in the original-engineering student with his heart elsewhere,wildlife photography,to be precise.In Shankar’s case,its obviously filmmaking (which also brings another revered filmmaker to mind,also a Mechanical Engineering graduate,also made wildlife photography the passion of his protagonist in his film,its none other than the genius dude Selvaraghavan with his recent masterpiece ‘ Mayakkam Enna’.J)Another one on the “Mech.Eng list’ is Gautam Vasudev Menon,and ehem..there’s also another ‘in the making’..hehe..err..nevermind,we leave that aside now !:p

3)      3) Another core message of the film is OPTIMISM,with Aamir Khan’s Rancho/Phunsukh as the torchbearer of the adage ‘All Is Well’.All of Shankar’s film are highly optimistic,from Gentlemen to Endhiran,never has he made a film without the protagonist’s grand triumph in the finale.And since he also wrote the screenplay of almost all of his films,its clear that it reflects his own values and attitude towards his career and life in general(hence ALL the box-office collections of his movies happens to WELL,very WELL in fact !)

4) 4) Shankar’s films has common thread-an everyman(or a group of everyman,like ‘Boys’ and this),sick of the injustice,incited on a personal level, rising up the challenge to seek justice and then triumphantly revolutionises the society ).Despite the absence of the towering heroism or super-underdog set against a gross malaise or decay of the society,’3 Idiots’ effectively highlights the ill-driven education system in India(also most parts of Asia,especially) which is obsessed with results with its ‘by-the-book’ approach of education,completely ignoring the creative freedom of learning.Also,the film endearingly portrays the dilemma of most Asian societies with their highly-biased perception  on the idea of ‘ideal career or profession’,i call it the EML(Engineering,Medicine&Law) syndrome.For Shankar,the character of Ranchodas Chanchad perfectly fits the bill of his ‘grand protagonist’ ,albeit in a subtle but definitely powerful manner.

                 Having said all that,i must reiterate that whatever i wrote above is my personal perception of why Shankar chose to remake this film especially amongst hundreds of other Hindi blockbusters.Of course,its also obvious why,of all directors,with dudes like M.Raja around,who’s famous for making remakes didn’t take up the challenge even with the awareness that they already have a winning screenplay capable of winning millions of hearts.Why?Its simple.It takes a local giant to remake a fellow giant.What’s fortunate is that on top of the undisputable box-office track record that Shankar holds,he coincidentally happens to be the best man for the job(based on my trivia above!).One of the hallmarks of a great director is his/her critical judgement on casting and despite my initial doubts of Shankar’s choices of actors for ‘Nanban’,i walked out of the cinema with a smile and felt that all the choices he made was fully justified.Vijay actually suited the role perfectly,something which didn’t strike a chord with me the first time i came to know that its him who’s gonna fill Aamir’s Khan’s shoes.All i can i say is that Vijay lived up to his title of ‘Ilaya Thalapathy’,well,its a youth-oriented subject,speaking from a director/producer point of view ,in terms of marketability factor,there can be no wiser choice than to cast the local ‘Godfather Of Youths’(who really looks believably young considering his age) in the hugely positive and impactful main role which he justified the best he could.As for Srikanth,he also kept up,but didn’t quite match up to Madhavan’s take in the original whereas Jiiva fared much better,i would say as well,sometimes even better at times to Sharman Joshi in his role.Satyaraj,being the excellent character actor he is,did a fantastic job as the Tamil Virus.Special praise must go to Satyan as he really gave one of his best performances of his career as Silencer.As for Ileana,she did what she could matching Kareena’s performance expression by expression just like the film itself remade carefully frame by frame.Of course i enjoyed the cameo by S.J Suryah,it was a delight to see him with his over-the-top histrionics on screen again

                As for other aspects,a Shankar’s film is not complete without his trademark lavish song picturizations,which sets him a notch higher than his contemporaries in this department.And for the rest,cinematography,music,art direction and editing is typically what you can expect from a Shankar’s film,rarely disappointing.All in all,all is well...hahaha..to be honest,with all these elements in place,its very hard to go wrong ,and thankfully,it never does.In a nutshell,its definitely a welcoming breeze of fresh air for Tamil filmgoers who haven’t watched ‘3 Idiots’ and a nostalgic trip down memory lane for those who have,only its in their local flavour.Go watch it and get inspired people !


From the heart with love and passion,
Amreish Siman

Tuesday, January 17, 2012












Swamy Ramalingam(Vallalar) described his journey up antahkarana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antahkarana)  in a thirty-two verse poem which begins by describing the spine as a mountain of light,the mythical mount Meru,abode of Gods,Olympus Of The East.

In the Hall of Solid Gold goes...

What visions I saw.
What wondrous visions !---Oh Mother
What wondrous visions !

Kannihal (stanzas):

1) A mountain of light appeared.
There was a street in it.---Oh Mother
There was a street.

2) I went along that street
and in the middle of it
there was a platform.---Oh Mother
There was a platform.

3) I mounted the platform
There I discovered a hall---Oh Mother
There was a hall.

4) I searched the hall
and found a mansion
rising above it.---Oh Mother
There was a mansion.

5) All of its seven levels
were filled with wonders.
How can I describe it?---Oh Mother
How can I describe it?

6) In one story
there was a glittering pearl-white stone.
It turned into a blue sapphire.---Oh Mother
It turned into a blue sapphire.

7) On another world plane
that blue-black stone
transformed itself into red coral.---Oh Mother
All became fruitful.

8) On another plane
the green emerald
became a red ruby.---Oh Mother
It became a red ruby.

9) After that level
I saw a giant pearl
Become a diamond jewel---Oh Mother
It became the great jewel.

10) In a different plane
I was confronted with
a vast mass of coral
changing into moonstone.---Oh Mother
Changing into moonstone.

11) The next level I speak of
is decorated
with a multifarious array of jewels.
These turned to gold.---Oh Mother
These turned to gold.

12) In another place
All the gems I've spoken of
Became crystal.---Oh Mother
Became crystal.

13) Above the seven levels! 1
There was a pillar
A most agreeable golden pillar.---Oh Mother
A creative golden pillar.

14) The time when I saw
the golden pillar and climbed,
I saw a freshness...;
How can I describe it?---Oh Mother
A freshness...; How can I describe it?

15) While climbing there
I viewed a sort
that can't be spoken of.
Of boundless measure!---Oh Mother
Of boundless measure!

16) There and there...;
were Shaktis
in the thousands and thousands
They were coming!---Oh Mother.
They were coming!

17) I was not deceived
by the delusions that assailed me
But attained a special state of grace.---Oh Mother
I attained the special grace.

18) By the ways of the adept
I climbed that great pillar
And saw its jeweled peak.---Oh Mother
And saw its jeweled peak.

19) Above the jeweled peak
There stood the mountain's summit.
It was then that I saw it.---Oh Mother
It was then that I saw it.

20) Above the mountain&'s peak
In 1008 carat gold
Was the temple!---Oh Mother
Was the temple.

21) I saw the temple,
and there was its towering gate.
Without hesitating, I went inside.---Oh Mother
Without hesitating, I went inside.

22) Inside the towering gate
were Shaktis and Shaktas
in the tens of thousands, many tens of thousands.---Oh Mother
Tens of thousands, many tens of thousands.

23) There they were colored...;
colored white and colored red
of the colors five they were.---Oh Mother
of the colors five.

24) There they all asked
"Who is this here?";
I went beyond.---Oh Mother
I went beyond.

25) Having gone beyond
I came to the sacred doorway.
Where there were five Shaktis.---Oh Mother
Where there were five Shaktis.

26) These other Shaktis stood
to show the path above.
I reached the jeweled doorway.---Oh Mother
I reached the jeweled doorway.

27) Contemplating in that doorway,
there was a woman and a man...;
Two of them were there.---Oh Mother
There were two of them.

28) I drew near that holy entrance
and there they revealed...?
I looked out with love.---Oh Mother
I looked out with love.

29) The Mother of Bliss
was at Heaven's Gate!
My Mother!---Oh Mother
My Mother!

30) I looked upon her,
received her grace,
and dined on nectar.---Oh Mother
I dined on nectar.

31) With her support and grace,
I saw the sanctum
of the Dancing King!---Oh Mother
I saw the sanctum!

32) I entered the sanctum
and attained all that can be attained!
Only God knows!---Oh Mother
Only God knows!

source : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Swami-Ramalingam-the-Vallalar/133695419990049

With love and passion,
Amreish Siman