Kill the Overkill - Sivaji (The Boss)

**The scribble that follows is not a review of the film; it is just a mere outcome of my disappointment with the film (I had written this review on mouthshut.com 07/13/2007)**

Story Outline
An NRI returns to India with a lofty goal of setting up infrastructure that will provide free education and medical services to every Indian. He puts his savings of 20 years on the line to realize this goal. The first half of the story deals with how he tries to get closer to the goal in the "Indian" way and fails, and the second half with how he does the same in the "Sivaji" way and succeeds.

My story about the story
I wish the story looked as gripping on the celluloid as it must have looked on paper. I felt, somewhere and somehow, screenplay managed to kill the script. In executing the script, Sankar has overdone all that he is good/fabulous/fantastic at, a lot of times doing away with way too much than is required. It is like a gold bait that gets no fish. I would rather have an ordinary bait and have fun fishing.

Sometimes, less is more
As appealing as the concept of the story is, more than once the pace is interrupted by songs, and sadly by the grandeur of them! May be it is a too-MUCH-spoil-the-broth kind. Why picturize three songs that weigh equal on scales of grandeur, costumes, richness and choreography? I would have loved to watch just one of those songs and be left with wanting for more (like in Bharateeyidu/Indian). Afterall, an icing on the cake should
never BE the cake. And a word about choreography, it was bland, euphemistically speaking.

Choice of male lead?
I know this heading has no place for Rajni’s films. Afterall, he always does justice to the roles he plays. With all due respect to his acting prowess and style, there were times during the movie that I felt Rajni was not fitting the role very well. Or was it the other way round - was the characterization not done in a way that befits Rajni? But then, with Arjun cast in Oke Okkadu and Kamal Haasan in Indian, I guess Sankar was left with Rajni, who is of the same calibre as the aforementioned actors. But, anyday, either of the former two would have fit Sivaji’s role better than Rajini, given the way the role was executed on screen, involving lots of action.

Music?
One other heading which cannot claim a place in reviews about music that has anything do with A.R. Rehman. The background music and other non-vocal (I hope this is not the professional term used to mean what I meant) bits are good, but the songs failed to make any impression on me, whatsoever. More than once during the songs, I checked if I was getting too confounded by the grandeur of the songs and thus not letting the music make its impression on me. I closed my eyes to "feel" the music, but felt nothing, except for an increasing impending need for the song to end (guess it was way too painful to acknowledge the fact that ARR’s music was not making any impression on me).

Brainy or Brawny?
Either make a KRISSH or a Rang De Basanti, I don’t think the combination works too well. The former has to do with brawn (translates to lots of action which in turn translates to tonnes of graphics), and the latter with brains (translates to an intelligent script and the execution of it). And mixing the two - brain and brawn - in superlative amounts unfortunately takes the mix that far from reality. I felt Sivaji fell into this category, lots of times making itself far from plausible and thus losing its grip on the audience. Afterall being an NRI does justify 250 crores of savings, but can that really justify possessing superpowers? (there was this action sequence which reminded me of Hrithik in Krissh, but then the guy HAD superpowers)

May be I am all wrong in my scribble. May be I just have to blame the exorbitant expectations Sivaji had set for me, thanks to the inundating trailers on TV and the "exclusive news" channels going out of their way to do 30 minute programmes about the movie. May be I should have just shut up knowing I will be swimming against the current. Pchhh!

Tracking ULIPs And Other Investments

Given the current roller-coaster syndrome of the market, I felt a compulsive need to track my investments in India - investments I made ages back, and never bothered to track/manage. Majority of my investments are in ULIPs (duh! i know) and some in MFs. And I have been on a e-hunt (aka googling) ever since to find a website that will let me track different kinds of investments, esp. ULIPs. Apparently ULIPs were ignored for the longest by sites like moneycontrol, rediff money that provide financial portfolio management tools/software. May be because ULIPs weren't original to begin with (hybrids of MF and Insurance) or because they were the last of the crop of investment options.

After excessive googling, and giving up, I accidentally ran into the portfolio manager on moneycontrol and notice that they do allow tracking of ULIPs. I do not know when they added that feature, but I am glad that they did. The portfolio manager lets you track Mutual Funds, ULIPs, Bullion (Gold etc.), Fixed Income, Loans, Properties, Other Assets and Other Borrowings. It shows you the net worth with some neat options for drilling into details of trends/analysis.

http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/bestportfoliomanager/stocks/mutualfunds/loginportfolio

This would be the equivalent of asking for the moon, but it would be awesome if moneycontrol adds other investment options like Postal (NSC, RD, FD, MIS) to their Portfolio Manager.

Tazo Chai - The Reincarnation of Tea (TM)

This is one Tea that redefines the idea of savoring tea, esp. for souls residing (read dangling) in places far far away from the scent of home (India).

Before I plunge myself into the actual review, I have to mention that I am not quite sure of all the places where this product is available. I know one for sure - Starbucks - and that, I think, is global enough for most of you to be able to try, without having to wait for eons (that if, my review succeeds in pseudo-titillating your taste buds).

Now to the actual review...
The object in discussion is Tazo Chai, with special emphasis on the tea bags of that flavor/brand. Its tagline reads "The Reincarnation of Tea" and to quote its marketing personnel... ’’Tazo Chai is a sensual experience that comes from many exotic parts of the world.’’ It is a flavor of black tea I find particularly refreshing, and one that reminds me of masala tea we generally make at home. The ingredients list on each of bag proclaims presence of ginger root, cinnamon seed, cloves and star anise seed (?), besides black tea itself. It is a no-brainer that the presence of all these very-Indian spices is what makes it different from the rest of the crowd. In order to make this tea/chai, all one needs is sugar and milk, and you get the closest-possible masala tea in a matter of minutes. And the aroma that fills your surroundings, while in the making, is unbelievably clear, refreshing and soothing.

Tazo Chai can be had, atleast in three ways (in order of my preference) : 1) Order one at a Starbucks store where a peppy pro will make it scalding-hot for you in 2-3 minutes 2) Buy a carton of tea bags of this flavor and fix yourself a cup of tea whenever your reflexes demand one or 3) Get a cartonful of Tazo syrup (or called something similar) and make yourself a cup at your will.

Option 2) - tea bags - is what actually motivated me to write this review. It is most convenient since the tea can be made in 2-3 minutes...tea bags as always are most handy...and you don’t need to drive down to a Starbucks store. All you need is some hot water and milk (or milk-type coffee/tea mates - half and half, creamer etc.) and you have a hot cup of refreshment waiting for you to savor. And much better if you have a microwave handy...that way, you can make it as hot as it can get. For me, it is undoubtedly the best tea I can fix myself, when at work.

If you like to try it before you purchase the carton of tea bags (they come in packs of 24 and cost about $4), you can try Chai Latte at Starbucks and then think about it. Beware though, that the tea made out of tea bags at home, will taste a bit different than the beverage fixed by a Starbucks pro - guess it is because of the missing milk cream, or may be lack of the mystique touch of a pro!

Good Luck!

P.S: And if it matters to any one, fine print on the tea bags claims that all ingredients are organically grown.