Special Post: Happy Birthday Superstar Rajinikanth!

Today is Superstar Rajinkanth's Birthday,Dec. 12. He was born on December 12, 1949. :) He is loved by many, for his movie starness, humanity,and simplicity. He was the first actor I became a fan of, still am. :) He was the guy I learned Tamil for,to watch his movies. After learning, I got to know more about him, and his movies. Wow, what a person. Its amazing to see how much people of Tamilnadu love him, he deserves to be loved like that. :) These days we all say that other actors will take Rajinikanths place, but really no one can, Rajinikanth is the one and only SUPERSTAR. I think its his personality that has made him a superstar, because of how he is so humble. He has done so much charity, and most of it has been under cover,as in no body knows what he did. And his punch dialogues are like WOW,so thought provoking and sensible. Not to forget  his intro scenes, for some of them I could just faint! Awesome intro scenes! He is also a very spiritual person, its great that he goes to the Himalaya mountains to meditate a lot :D.  Some of his best movies are( In my opinion):

1. Endhiran: This is a milestone in Indian Cinema, so obviously it is his best. Rajinikanth was great in the role of Scientist Vaseegaran and Robot Chitti. It was cool seeing him change from a nice,sweet robot to an evil robot who can destroy the world. But at the end you end up developing sympathy for the robot. He carries out both of the roles very well,as always :) Ash and him made a rocking pair :)

2.Sivaji- The boss: For its awesome story, and Rajinikanth. :) Though I think some other actress could have been better than Shriya, but she was ok not bad :) He was great as a confused, yet smart NRI. :) Love the concept of the movie :)  Also, LOVED Nayan's item number in the film :D Very folky :)

3. Baasha: It was a different thing for him to do a role like the one in Baasha, where once he is a don and the next thing we know he is an auto driver. But loved his role! He was good in the role of the don and a caring auto driver that will do anything for his siblings. Who can forget the song Naan Autokaran? It was one of the best songs of 1995! :D

4. Sri Raghavendra: Though I don't see this movie often, it is one of Rajinikanth's best performances of all time. I remember seeing it a couple of years ago for the first time, I was awed by his acting. I truly think he should have won the National Award for Best Actor that year, he totally deserved it. This film was Rajini's 100th film and it turned out to be a huge hit.

5.Thalapathi: When you watch this film, you will understand the true meaning of friendship. Its a tear jerking, Mani Ratnam film,in which Rajini excels in. In this film Rajini stars along side Mammooty , as his friend and his man. This movie definitely is one of the best Tamil movies made. Everything in this movie is heart touching, every single scene.
Here is my take on it: http://scooponthesouth.blogspot.com/2010/10/thalapathi.html

6. Padayappa- Who does NOT love this movie? If you are a Rajini fan, this movie is for sure in your top movies! It was a story penned by K.S. Ravikumar and it turned out to be a MASSIVE HIT! The scenes between Rajini's and Ramya K's character's arised so much intensity and suspense. Rajini's style was a HUGE plus point in the movie, the way he flips his cigar, the way he walks, talks everything!  :D Him and Soundarya made an awesome pair.! :D

7.Arunachalam- This was my first Rajinikanth movie ever! Loved him ever since. :) It was his style that caught my eye, and his face;its just too hard to describe his face. haha :D Really enjoyed the movie :) I really liked the song Ani Ani Anarkali :D
The song starts at 4:09
 

8. Chandramukhi- Though it was a remake, Rajini had his own style, of doing things in the movie :) I was totally mesmerized by the story :) Loved Jo's role a lot :) Him and Nayan actually looked pretty cute together :)
Here is my take on it: http://scooponthesouth.blogspot.com/2010/09/chandramukhi.html

9.Thillu Mullu- Love this movie for its comedy! Its hilarious! Just thinking about it makes me laugh! :D I think it was Rajini's first time taking of his mustache, he looked totally different after he did :D He definitely proved himself as a comedian also :)

10.Baba- Ok, even though this movie was not well received, I still liked it a lot, it had moral values to it. Also, it was what Rajinikanth wrote and he was happy about it, so I was happy for him and enjoyed the movie. Once again Avanga Style Adhiree! :D

11. Yejaman- Im pretty sure he stole every woman's heart back then as a very sweet,and caring husband! :D Nice, villagey role he had though. :) Meena looked toooo young compared to him.

12.Mannan- I liked this film cause I saw a different Rajinikanth then the other films. It was a normal Rajinikanth, who loved his mother a ton. Nice story too, different than others.

13.Ram Robert Rahim- I always see this movie when its on TV! Love it! Obviously, Rajini's character is my favorite! :)


I have seen more, but not all movies of Rajinikanth, but these 13 are the ones that stuck out to me.They were the ones that were watchable at ANY time :) Tell me if you have any personal favorites, will definitely check them out! :)

Finally, here are 2 songs that describe his awesomely insane style! : 



WE LOVE YOU RAJINI!!! :) :) 

Surya Marathon :)

Believe it or not, all I watched this whole week were Surya movies! ( I had break). Now, I am like a huge fan of him. But still a huge fan of Prithvi,but in Malayalam :) Surya's eyes say everything,RGV was right he has power in his eyes, where he can emote: http://rgvzoomin.com/mr-eyes/ . Now here are movies I watched this week of Surya and ONLY him. :D In order from most fav,and down...

1. Sillunu Oru Kaadhal
This movie will always be my most fav movie of Surya,because this THE movie that I started liking him a ton :) Love his romantic image. Here is my post on it: http://scooponthesouth.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-love-sillunu-oru-kaadhal.html . Though it wasn't a hit, its one of those special movies for me. :) Love the music[A.R. Rahman] too especially the songs Munbe Vaa and Machakarri, the lyrics are wonderful[Vaali]

2.Vaaranam Aayiram 
Surya was awesome in this one, especially playing the role of a teen to an old dad! WOW! He had to go through a lot of physical strain to lose weight for the roles,especially the teens one. He played the role of Krishnan who was the father of Surya(played by himself). But he carried his roles through the film, wonderfully. I don't think anyone else could have done better! :) My fav pair in the film was Surya-Divya, they were so adorable :D Divya also proved she could match up to him. :) I loved how she went to any extent to get Surya, even joined the army :) The film even earned National awards, which it deserved :)
My post on VA: http://scooponthesouth.blogspot.com/2010/11/varanam-aayiram.html

3. Aayutha Ezhuthu 
Surya's role of Micheal Vasanth in this movie was very powerful. His role was based on George Reddy a student leader in the 1960s-1970s. He was very energetic and convincing in his role. He was also aggressive yet, sweet and smart/clever :) This role of his will always be one of most favorite roles, because it kind of reflects what Surya is in real life not just reel life. I liked the pairing of Surya and Esha, though she did look older than him.It was cool to see her in Tamil! :D To me it sounded as if Esha dubbed for herself, cause the way she talked in Tamil was weird. I LOVE this movie a lot now so I watched it twice this week :D My fav songs were Nenjam Ellam( Fell in love with lyrics),Yakkai Thriri,and Jana Gana Mana.
My post on AE: http://scooponthesouth.blogspot.com/2010/11/aayutha-ezhuthu.html

4. Vel
I liked this film because it was targeted towards the family audience which made it enjoyable,with comedy,action,romance and everrytthinggg. :D This was Surya's second time in a dual role as Vetrivel(vel) and Vasudevan(Vasu). Surya-Asin were just soo cute! :D Love their pair, I think they looked better than Ghajini cause Asin looked a little older and better for Surya. I liked Yuvan's mass music :D My favs were Onnapola ,Kovakarra Kiliye,and Ottraikannale. Ottrakannale was such a beautiful song, reminded me of Suttrum Vidi from Ghajini. But, I do wonder if Surya had a grudge against her during the shooting of Vel because of the blunder about Sillunu Oru Kaadhal.

5.Aadhavan 
This is another one of the films I liked because again, it was for the family audience, which K.S Ravikumar specializes in. :D But, he seems to do the same kind of twists over and over again. Though this was a good movie, it was easy to guess the twist in the movie,which I won't say cause some of you might not have watched the movie.It was fun to see Surya be all evil one minute,and all funny and nice the next. :D I enjoyed all the parts that were taken in the house,where Suryas real family lived,it was hilarious. :D It was pretty cool to see yesteryear actress/heroine Saroja Devi back on screen, her role was more of a comedy character, with emotional elements. :D Nayan looked pretty in the film, made a pretty okay pair with Surya. :) They looked great in the songs Vaarayo Vaarayo,and Hasii Fisile( my favs). 

6.Ayan
OKAY, Surya was EXTREAMLY stylish in this film! Made my jaw drop :D The part where he puts the diamonds around the water bottle,and on his head, is like WOAH DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING! His English actually sounds cool, best I have heard after Prithvi's it doesn't have a strong accent to it. His style is what made him up in this movie. :D Him and Tammana were a good pair, if only she was a bit taller. :P :D Loved them in the song Nenje Nenje, very sweet. A classy film I must say. :)

7.Singam-( Surya's 25th movie!)
Mass with Class is what describes this movie! :D We saw the rural Surya,but when he comes to the Chennai he is very classy with those t-shirts and jeans, not to forget the sun glasses. :) The film was good, but I was getting annoyed when he opened his mouth like a lion! He looked funny :D But, he is one of my most fav actors, so I forgive him ;) The Surya-Anushka pair was BEAST! They looked AWESOME together! SOOO CUTE ! Though Anushka is a bit taller than Surya, they looked fine. :) My fav songs were Kadhal Vandhale,En Idhayam,and She Stole my Heart. :) But from Anushka's acting in Tamil films, I can tell she does not know Tamil well at all. I say this because,she does not emote well when she acts in Tamil films,while in Telugu she is full of emotions in any film. Or maybe its just the dubbing artist of Anushka, but I really don't think so. She was better in Singam acting wise than in Vettaikaran or Rendu.  What I liked about this film was that it was reasonable, it didn't have stupid, unnecessary things in between.
One of my fav dialogues hehe :D : 

8.Mounam Pesiyadhe 
In this we see Surya as a guy who believes only in true love,and thinks all other lovers are non-true. He is brilliant in this role, because the role totally suits him and his looks. lol :D This was Trisha's second role as a heroine, and she was ok. She had unnecessary emotions at times, which were annoying. I liked Laila's cameo, it was cute and touching. :) Surya's eyes were so cool, ( Yes, I know they are contacts), but still! :D

9. Ghajini
One of Surya's Blockbuster films,and one of my favs! Surya was just AMAZING in the role of Sanjay Ramaswamy , when he had short term memory loss! The body language was like WOW. Asin was great too, I think she was only 20 when she did that role, so wow :D. This was THE movie where we saw Nayan change to a glamour doll, which shocked me, after I saw her in Chandramukhi. She was good for her role, not too much, not too less. But I thought the 'X machi Y machi' was not needed. lol :D It was sad to see Sanjay not tell Kalpana that he was actually Sanjay. :( Kalpana did not deserve to die, it was too sad. But overall a good movie. :) My fav songs were: Sutrum Vizhi(became such a HIT in both TN and AP!),Rahatulla,Rangola,Oru Maalai,and X-Machi Y Machi. So yeah basically all of them :D 

10. Unnai Ninaithu
This was Surya's 9th movie,in which he starred with Sneha and Laila. This movie was funny,romantic,realistic,and emotional. Surya's characters name was Surya :D I really enjoyed the comedy track of Surya and Ramesh,Ramesh was hilarious :D It was really different seeing Surya then and now look at him! :D I liked the Surya-Sneha pairing a lot, they looked good together, I don't know why, they just did. Surya was such a softie in this movie, cute to see him like that. :) I liked the way the movie ended when he doesn't say anything just walks away with Sneha. :) 

11. Aaru
Surya was great through out the film,his acting, the way he talked,body language, so natural. But the story didn't seem as strong to me. I liked it but, most of the movie was fighting( dishyum dishyum!). Surya played a harsh,mean guy outside, but a sensitive guy at heart,Aaru. Trisha plays his lady love,Maha. I love how Aaru takes revenge on his use to be boss, cause he SOO deserves it! MUAHHA :D But at the same time its very emotional for him to do so. Maha is the one who falls for Aaru first, I love the scene where she goes up to Aaru's place and tells him she loves him :D SO cute :) The music was very massy by DSP my favs were: Thottuta,Nenjum Ennam,and Soda Bottle. 

Yes the title is weird but its the proposing scene: 



Did I sound like I saw these movies for the first time? Well, no I have seen all the movies above before a ot of times. I have seen 22/26 of Surya's movies :)  When I was talking about how his role in AE reflects him in real life, I was talking about the Agaram Foundation Surya found : http://www.agaram.in/index.php?pollId=7  


Surya keeps proving with every movie that he is one exceptional actor! :) And an exceptional person, with each day :)

Special IG post: The changing times of Vijay

Normally I don't post the special articles of IndiaGlitz, but this time I did cause I believe in Vijay and he is my most favorite actor in Tamil.

Vijay bashing in media, particularly online and mobile media, is being now considered a fashion by many. What started as a pass time during Aadhi and ATM days has now become a serious game with the announcement of Vijay playing a scientist in ‘3 Idiots’ remake.

It’s totally unfair to demean an actor who has given stupendous hits in the past but facing some difficult terrain now. Rising and falling is part of life’s journey and there is nothing un-natural about it.

How many funny jokes were developed when successive movies of other actors failed at the box office recently? In fact if you dig up facts in history, you will find many actors who had worse flops run than Vijay and yet managed to reclaim their position at the top of the ladder.

Tamil film fans, most of them if not all, are polarized much to the characteristic of the land and customs. MGR-Sivaji, DMK-ADMK, Rajini-Kamal, Thayir Sadham-Nattu Kozhi Kuzhambu etc. etc. But there exits many things in between the pole stars. And they are as good as the extremes.

If you say ‘Sura’ is a crap, you must have the nerve to say ‘Pokkiri’ is good. While talking about the shortcomings of ‘Vettaikaran’, you should also talk about the high merits of ‘Ghilli’ as well.

Remember an actor cannot climb to a place as high as where Vijay is today if he doesn’t have talent. So with all trust be assured that Ilaya Thalapathi Vijay is still in the race. And he knows how to do it. Just like all super stars even he had come up the hard way. People who had seen Vijay in films like Naalaya Theerpu, Sendhoorapandi, Rasigan, Deva, Vishnu and Coimbatore Maaple in his early days wouldn’t have believed him to reach a place on top as he is today. Pat came ‘Poove Unakkaga’ and things changed.

Director Vikraman in a way mellowed Vijay’s fiery image by making a good boy next door. With this film Vijay contrasted his image showed he too can perform if given a role of substance. Again with soft romances like Love Today, Priyamudan, Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, Thulladha Manamum Thullum and Kushi, Vijay reaffirmed that he is a good actor provided he is given a good script and an able director handling it.

Wouldn’t you appreciate the characteristic way with which Vijay also succeeded in doing action flicks at the same time doing his soft romances also? How about the year 2001 in which Vijay majestically carried himself in three films - Friends, Badri and Shahjahan - which are from corner to corner different from each other. And all were hits you see.

Again Vijay rises fast in the same speed he falls. A unique characteristic. Remember what the Super Star said at the launch f his ‘Chandramukhi’ after the unpleasant ‘Baba’? He said that he is not an elephant which takes time to get up but a horse which gets up quickly as it falls. Vijay who has moulded himself upon the image of the Super Star knows what it means.

If a ‘Vaseegara’ lets him down he jumps back with ‘Thirumalai. If a ‘Udhaya’ disappoints there is a ‘Ghlli’ to straighten the record. 

If an ‘Aadhi’ goes down there is a monstrous hit ‘Pokkiri’ comes to reaffirm the faith.

So it’s definitely not too much time Vijay had given a hit. Few flops in a row don’t erode away Vijay’s popularity and his stature in the industry. True, he is having some bad time after ‘Pokkiri’ but if you go by his current projects it is clear Vijay is all set to shake off his adversities. He has now understood where things went wrong.

Vijay is taking smart moves for the future and his forthcoming films Kavalan, Velayudham and 3 idiots remake will surely put him back on the track. He doesn’t want to repeat a ‘Sura’. For the ongoing projects Vijay has chosen proven writers and established directors. Siddique is a craftsman and he has proved that in his earlier film with Vijay. ‘Friends’ film in the combination of Siddique and Vijay was a 200 days film.

Similarly ‘Jayam’ Raja who knows the pulse of Tamil audience is handling Vijay in ‘Velayudham’. The story of ‘Velayudham’ is of Robin Hood type which suits Vijay best. And his role ‘3 Idiots’ is meaty and Shankar will surely shape him well. In fact Vijay was considered first for ‘Mudhalvan’ and that shows Shankar was ready to direct Vijay long time ago.

Here another interesting point to note is that Vijay still hasn’t lost his confidence on remakes but he has cleverly got seasoned directors to direct the film. It’s like having the best of both worlds.

With proven stories in hand and skillful directors handling him, Vijay will rock again.

Source: http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/61740.html