Pet Topic

It’s been quite a few days since my last post. And I have received quite a few messages on when I would be updating it next. It is flattering to know that my blog is quite frequently read (read most probably after people check all their mails, news, scores, more mails, more news). It also puts an extra bit of pressure on me to come up with something that my bloggees would like reading.

Ok ok..that was stretching it a bit too much. Knowing the quality of my blog it really isn’t that much of an effort to sustain the level. (But it is fun to inflict pressure upon myself and then perform badly..thus armed with an excuse. Ala Tendulkar.)

Partly because of this pressure, and predominantly because of an absolutely strong “writer’s block” I have decided to write an entry on one of my pet topics. A topic on which I would hardly break a sweat.

This would definitely hit the bottom of the popularity ratings. I wouldn’t be surprised if I were to receive a few death-threats. But that has never deterred me. Apparently according to my mother I have the stereo-typical Iyengar adamancy to the fullest. We Iyengars love to argue..and the more lopsided against us, the more pumped up we get. So this should be fun.

“A hero leads a normal life. He suddenly finds himself on the wrong side of the law. He is on the run, is rescued, meets a female, and falls in love. They decide to wear ridiculous outfits, perform stunts that defy all natural laws and kick the jeepers off the bad guys. Throw in some highly emotional drama, family problems for the side-artistes, an even more unbelievable climax, and an almost predictable ending.”
Am I talking about Kamal Hassan’s Khakhi Chattai? Sunny Deol’s umpteen movies? 99.99% of all Indian movies? Nope!
It is the story of Matrix in a nutshell.

Cynicspeak:”Dude..Matrix trilogy was one of the biggest grossers ever. Don’t you dare speak ill of it”
Chillispeak:”Yeah yeah..and so was Titanic. And we all know that movie was CRAP”

Can you name the good English movies in the last 5 years that were NOT:
· Inspired by Ramayana/Mahabharatha
· Remakes
· Supposed “comedies” (basically toilet humour as Ameya used to call them)
· Tutty fruity romances masquerading as comedies
· Spoofs
Hmmm…frankly I can’t remember more than 5. Isn’t that a shame!..from what is supposed to be the warehouse of best movies?! And believe me when I say that I have a pretty low threshold when it comes to English movies. I watch them the exact same manner that people who watch and pan Indian movies do.

All I ask for are movies with a strong plot/screenplay, more substance, less style/SFX, better histrionics, and lesser hysterics from the actors. When that happens, I shall gladly delete this post from my blog. Until then, I shall stick to my quota of Tamil movies.

Looking back at what I’ve written, I must say that my feelings have been expressed half as harsh as they actually are. That speaks of tremendous control on my part.
Truth be told, it speaks about my fervent desire to NOT lose whatever little readership I currently have. Pretty selfish I know!

Finally to the apologies section - I sincerely offer my deepest apologies to almost all the people who I know would be reading this. None of them would have liked this. I pledge not to talk about English movies, Tendulkar’s incompetence, EPL’s lack of quality, etc in my future posts. Hmm..make that future 5 posts. Knowing me, I doubt I have even that much self-control.