DragOn – Righteously Entertaining!!

In 90s and 2000s decade, there were many actors who rose up the ranks to become stars in Tamil movie industry. Unfortunately, the last decade and half, we only have a couple who have made it through. But this decade has seen the rise of a new star, Pradeep Ranganathan, who with ‘Comali’ as a director and ‘Love Today’ and this movie ‘Dragon’ (as an actor) has made a mark with entertaining movies which also leaves you with a non-preachy message that is very relevant to the current society and the times we live in.

Highlights

• Leading ladies, Anupama Parameswaran and Kayadu Lohar have done quite a good job in their respective roles and add value to their onscreen persona.

• Supporting director-actors GVM and Mysskin add depth to their roles while Youtubers VJ Siddhu and Harshath Khan provide us with necessary laughs and light-hearted moments.

• Editing by Pradeep E. Ragav is crisp and to the point. Niketh Bommireddy lenses convey the story with the highlight being ‘Vazhithunaiye’ song shot across Europe.

• Music Director Leon James gives us a beautiful melody ‘Vazhithunaiye’ in eternal Sid Sriram’s voice.

• Story and screenplay is precise and on-point and all kudos to director Ashwath Marimuthu. His cameo in the movie moves the story forward.

• But the star of the show is undoubtedly, Pradeep Ranganathan. Showcasing amazingly versatility in voice and body modulation, he single handedly carries the movie on his brittle shoulders. 

 
     
 
 
After ‘Oh My Kadavule’, director Ashwath Marimuthu has hit the jackpot with a unique but relevant story with a very appropriate message. Expecting another collaboration with this actor-director combination. If you have a couple of hours for a breezy movie, Dragon is the one for you. Lookout for the surprise in the movie’s climax.

Sookshmadarshini– Intriguing!!

Just when you feel that you have seen/heard as many crime thriller stories as you can, you come across a movie recommendation that makes your day/week after watching it. Nazriya starrer ‘Sookshmadarshini’, directed by M. C. Jithin falls in that league.

Spoilers Ahead!!

Highlights

• The cinematography by ‘Sharan Velayudhan Nair’ crisply captures the essence of a community of close-nit families beautifully and then moves up the pace using sharp angles towards the climax.

• Music by Christo Xavier keeps you on the edge as the movie picks up pace in the second half.

• Direction by M. C. Jithin is top-notch with a meticulously crafted storyline and tightly knit suspense.

• Amazing performances by all the supporting characters including Nazriya’s friends played by Akhila Bhargavan (Sulu)and Pooja Mohanraj (Asma).

• Basil Joseph as the antagonist plays his character to the hilt, transitioning seamlessly from the next-door neighbor to the scheming villain.

• However, the icing on the cake is Nazriya, who portrays each and every emotion effortlessly including a heart-racing climax and does not look a day older than Raja Rani movie, which was released nearly a decade ago. 

 

Malayalam movies take some time to get started. This movie falls within that category and if you are ready to spend some time soaking in the canvas that the director brilliantly sets up, you are in for an amazing ride. Do look out the twist in the climax, aptly helmed by Manohari Joy, who plays antagonist’smother. Kudos to the entire team and sincerely hope to see moresuch off-beat thrillers in Tamil as well.

Cruise Diaries!!

When the winters are dark and deep, it is perhaps pertinent to look at our joyous events/adventures of our past to light the glimmer of hope: a Harry Potterisque trip down the memory lane. Movies like ‘Cast Away’ and ‘Life of PI’ have ingrained a deep sense fear of the ocean, but I was pleasantly surprised to experience quite the opposite in our family vacation on our MSC cruise which carousel ’ed us from New York to Bahamas and back in a week over the Thanks Giving week.

 

 

The Journey!!

Day 1: Adventure Begins

We woke up quite early to drive down to Brooklyn for our 9:30 AM check-in even though the ship was set to leave at 3 PM. After quite a smooth check-in process and lengthy walk, we settled in on the best food that our ship had to offer, a multiplecuisine (all you can eat at anytime) type of buffet on Deck 15, which we frequented countless times. The ship made a memorable pass under the Brooklyn bridge as we spent the rest of the day exploring the various activities the ship had to offer.

 

Day 2: Adventure Continues

The made-to-order omlette station (courtesy ever-smiling Mohit) greeted us with sumptuous breakfast to wake us up coupled with amazing cappuccino/ hot chocolate. The day meandered through exploring the various activities, indoor swimming pool, hot sauna, kids play area, lounge area to hang out, all quipped gym and a late night dance party as the weather mellowed during the later part of the day as we crossed the maritime waters over North/South Carolina.

 

Day 3: LandFall

After nearly 2 days at sea, the ship made landfall at the beautiful port of Cape Canaveral, the hometown of erstwhile NASA space launches. As much as we want to explore the amazing NASA center, due to lack of time we head out to a nearby beautiful beach and the balmy waters welcomed us warmly. However, we missed watching the test flight of one of Space X rocket flights as it got postponed.

 

Day 4: Nassau Bahamas

As our ship docked precisely in the shallow waters of the port of Bahamas along with other massive cruises, it reminded of our own Central Train Station, which housed the trains in the various platforms. Some of our families grouped into a memorable outing to the places below.

Waterfall at Queen’s staircase

Rum cake factory

Chocolate factory with Rainbow umbrellas.

Bahamar hotel

Atlantis hotel (housing with a humongous basement aquarium) and fire on water show.

 

Day 5: Ocean Cay

On our last day to land, we visited the most beautiful private island of Ocean Cay, specifically designed for MSC cruise passengers, with the ship rotating nearly 360 degrees to land up most accurately on the port. We head out to the most popular Bimini beach, with most of the day either floating and/or swimming in the shallow waters of the beach including a short canoe ride. With our hearts still firmly planted on the beach, we were ordered to return to the ship earlier than usual due to a medical emergency, missing out a lighting show at the light house.

 

Day 6 & 7: Back to Home

We set sail back to our homeland, en route Miami, dropping off the injured passenger. Explored more activities in the ship including the ‘Himalayan Bridge’ which was a rope course across the windy back side of the ship. Consuming countless Mojitos, early morning health drinks, Deck 15 buffet and amazing Deck 6 dinners, we landed a week later, safe and sound.

This trip would not half as enjoyable without all our ten friends and family. Looking forward to many such adventures and experiences in future.