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New audio albums that are added to the commute time listening are
and music of Maryada Ramanna continues to be the hummable companion.
Bought audio CD of Jhummandi Naadam last week. This album occupied the commute listening spot (actually, shared the space with Subhapradam) for the last many days. Almost every song in this album brings a smile on my face – smile resulting from the thought of popular local dish, Khichdi. Not really the dictionary meaning of Khichdi, but the pop culture variant of it – a mishmash. This album is a hodge-podge of earlier albums of K. Raghavendra Rao, Keeravani and Mohanbabu. Gets a grain or lentil from albums like Major Chandrakanth, Allari Mogudu, Allari Premikudu, Alludugaru, Pelli Sandadi, etc.
Naturally, the album bloats to 9 songs and offers a wide range: patriotic to mass; folk to rap; decent to masala. As with any Keeravani album, almost all songs are rewindable and hummable. This album is definitely worth buying. After a long time, S. P. Balu feasts the ears. However, his songs in the other album Subhapradam are of higher grade. More on that album later.
Managed to watch Avatar after about a couple of months of its theatrical release. Got tickets for the 10.30pm show on Saturday at Prasad’s IMAX-3D. The movie impressed all eight of us that went together, my family and my brother’s family. The visualization of Pandora is amazing. The name Unobtanium felt like a spoof on Asterix comics. There is a continuous feed of well intertwined story and visual effects, making the entire 2:46 hour movie enjoyable every minute. The price paid for IMAX-3D version is worth every single Paisa. No wonder the show is full house even after two months.
Saturday evening is a bit lazy at home. The weather is cloudy and a bit chilled. The evening menu is Chicken Biriyani, the first non-veg dish in about 3 weeks at home. So winded up all my important activities by 8.00pm and had a long dinner, watching the Telugu Cinema Event live telecast.
The event is to help the victims of the recent floods. The event has a few heart-touching moments. It started on a good note, but kept on deviating from being interesting quite a few times. Every music director in the industry is given a chance to play their songs, that led to some really boring moments. The best I feel are Devi-Sri, Keeravani and everything that included S. P. Balu.
The comedy skits are mostly good. Jr. NTR, Mohan Babu, Jayasudha, Sunil, Brahmanandam, Bharani, Kota, Ahuti Prasad, Kovai Sarala, Jhansi, Suma, Ali, Venu Madhav, Sivareddy, … That is a nice feast.
The best dedication for the event is demonstrated by Balakrishna. The dance events I have seen are mostly good, but the camera crew failed to capture the dance events properly. Surprise is Prabha’s dance with Krishnamraju. At her age, her dance movements are more controlled than that of the younger lot.
The commentary and the advertisements are horrible. Enough said.
Not sure how late the event continued, but I switched off the TV a little after midnight.
Good to see such an event coming from the Industry. But it should have been planned better. A better commentary would have made it a lot better to watch. Especially with talent like Jhansi and Suma being there.
Delayed upload of pictures from Spurthi’s birthday:
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| SpurthiBDay2009 |
The day started a little lazy today. Headed to Kompally and watched Magadheera Telugu movie. After the movie, ate typical lunch (Mamus burgers for kids and assorted Indian/Chinese for others) in the multiplex itself. Then we headed to Splendid Aparna Palm Meadows, to check the construction progress of the house. The keys are not with the onsite guys, so couldn’t get into the villa. Visited Neelu’s villa and then headed to Neel’s house. Met a few cousins there. Then we met Rajkumar’s family and reached home. Here are the pictures from the day.
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| Anniversary2009 |
Here are the audio albums purchased in the last few days:
Yet to listen to the songs.
The promos of the movie Love Aaj Kal is one of the best I have seen in recent times. The TV promos are good enough, given the nice music. When I checked out their website, I got a pleasant surprise. Here are the good things I like about the movie website.
Very sensible website indeed!
BTW, the topic of discussion between me, my wife and my daughter is the dress style of of Deepika in the Chor Bazaari song from the movie.
“Once Again, I must ask too much of you Harry”
says a feebling Dumbledore. And he is not alone. All fans of the series seek the same too. The latest movie in the series delivers the drama, but it could have been better.
I get a feeling that the movie adopted a visual theme of a slightly reddish tinge when compared to the previous installments. That falls in line with the intended state at the end of this movie. The mini island in the middle of Lake Inferi reminds me of Superman’s planet Krypton. The reddish fire summoned by Dumbledore reminds me of the backdrop in which Anakin Skywalker fights with Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge of the Sith. But the biggest letdown is the scene on the Astronomy tower. The book describes Harry’s helplessness, immobilized under the invisible cloak, very well. The movie doesn’t depict it well enough to make it dramatic enough.
Overall, the movie is a good watch. I enjoyed the book better.
Took kids to the movie Kick on Saturday. The movie defies logic at all times, but is an out and out entertainer. There are times when I was laughing so much that I was gasping for breath. The RaviTeja-Brahmanandam comedy does it again. If you are looking for a sensible movie, skip this movie comfortably. But if you are a slapstick comedy fan, go for it.