GOATs of Tennis!!

When you have two tennis stars in their absolute prime (Federer and Nadal), how do you march past them and become one of the GOATs yourself with the most number of titles, just ask Novak Djokovic. Having nicknamed the ‘Joker’ for his playful antics, Novak has come a long way to lead the pack with nearly a quarter of a century of grand slams.

Highlights of Novak’s Career

Record 10 time winner of Australian Open to go with his 24 Grand Slams.

Record 428 weeks as No.1 tennis player with 8 end of year No.1 rankings.

Only person to complete Career Golden Masters and triple Career Grand Slam with my favorite: an absolute comeback from 2 sets behind in French Open against Tsipitas in 2021.

 

 

 

It would be a dis-service if one does not mention the other two modern greats in Novak’s company.

Highlights of Nadal’s Career.

22 time Grand Slam winner with a record 14 French Open titles.

‘King of Clay’ had at point in time won 81 matches without losing a game.

Highlights of Fedex Express

20 time Grand Slam winner with a record 8 time Wimbledon Titles.

‘King of Grass Court’ also has a record of 103 WTA titles to his name.

At one point in time, it looked like the Australian Open would be taken effortlessly by Djokovic, the French Open by Nadal and Wimbeldon belonged to Federer (loved the silkiness of Federer’s backhand shots down the line) and all of them were challenging each other for the US Open. Such was the stamina and geniuses of these three athletes that the world stood up in awe and applause. With Alcaraz and Sinner showing signs of the same brilliance of these GOATs, tennis is well served for the next decade.

With yesterday’s 5 set endurance match, Novak is one step closer to winning his favorite Grand Slam one more time. Wishing him and Alcaraz all the best for the finals on Sunday!!

EKO!! – Tables Turned.

As I finished up my last movie post and discussed it with my friends, a unanimous must-watch movie emerged from our group. ‘EKO’ directed by Dinjith Ayyathan, hosting some very fine actors, is trending on social media for all the right reasons and has gained widespread popularity. Eko serves as the third and final installment of Bahul Ramesh's Animal Trilogy, following Kishkindha Kaandam (2024) and Kerala Crime Files 2 (2025).

Spoilers Ahead!!

Highlights

Bahul Ramesh has beautifully captured a very mountainous terrain and lakeside house in all its glory brilliantly utilizing the fog to add an eerie layer to an unpredictable storyline. His writing is crisp and each dialogue or a scene needs to be carefully attended to understand the storyline.

Music by Mujeeb Majeed is fantastically mystical and forebodes the narrative of each scene. Even the silence in each of the scenes adds a layer of mystery to the narrative.

Sandeep Pradeep, Vineeth, Narain, Saurabh Sachdeva, Binu Pappu and Biana Momin have all given their absolute best with my favorite being Biana Momin for the emotions delivered through her eyes. Looking forward to the next part of the movie, if there is one.

Director ‘Dinjith Ayyathan’ has done a wonderful job of creating a visual slow-burn entertainer with quite an unexpected climax twist that turns the story on its head. The performance eked out from the silent stars, the dogs, is very commendable.

Questions Galore.

Will there be a second part for this fantastic movie?

If yes, will Kuriachan emerge from hiding/holding place by deceiving his guards? In fact, is he actually hiding the mountainous terrain or under their home?

Will the Malaysian dog-breeder, make a re-entry in the movie, to find his ‘Soyi’ and ask for forgiveness?

Will the 2nd movie have a climax face-off between Kuriachan and his disciple and Mlaathi Lady and her husband?

With a stunning climax and many more questions swirling, I can’t wait to find out if there is a sequel to this brilliant film-making attempt. If you have the patience to wait for a wonderful story to unfold, the two hours of the movie are worth your time.

Andhra King Taluka!!

Sometimes life plans a pleasant surprise at the most unexpected moment. What started as a 5 or a 10 minute filler watch turned into a fun filled few hours. ‘Andhra King Taluka’ directed by ‘Mahesh Babu P’ hosts Upendra, Ram Potheneni and Bhagyashri Borse and takes you on a roller-coaster ride of mass, emotions and the long-forgotten virtue of movies – to entertain.

1^st Half – Highlights

Cinematography by Siddhartha Nuni and George C. Williams captures each mood beautifully, with my favorite being the scene on the top of the carousel. Editing by A. Sreekar Prasad is super crisp and does not disturb the flow of the movie.

It takes a large heart to accept a second fiddle and Upendra has done justice to his role as a fading star.

Bhagyashri Borse has done much more than the regular ‘damsel in distress’ role and having loved her performance in Kantha, only wish her future movies reflect her true potential.

‘Andhra King’, in this movie’s context, Ram Pothineni was quite a revelation. His mass sequences, dance steps, pause in moments of anxiety and ultimately make believe a difficult storyline highlights his great potential. Wishing him the best for his future movies.

However, it was the song ‘Chinni Gundelo’ by Vivek–Mervin that got me to watch the movie in the first place. Hope to hear more such melodies from the talented music director duo.

 

 

 

 

2^nd Half – Rant

Directors unfortunately write up the first half and move the second half along in hopes that the audience will eventually groove up to it. Unfortunately this movie meanders along predictable lines so much that a beautiful and inspiring climax is put to shade.

What-If Analysis!!

What-if, the second half started by dwelling more stories for Ram Pothineni’s childhood struggles, his village’s struggles to get basic facilities completed and goes back and forth with current and past timelines. The hero watching the old Mahalakshmi theatre being built like his make-shift theatre would have been a great visual to watch.

As with many movies nowadays, the movie entertains magnificently in the first half just to leave you earning for more in the second. But if you have a couple of hours to spend to be entertained, this may be the movie for you.