Photo Essay : A night at Elephanta

After escaping from office I directed myself to Gateway of India hoping to meet my friend from where we have to catch one of the special ferries which will take us to stage of Elephanta festival. The performers for the first day were Alarmel Valli renowned Bharata Nattyam dancer & the well known Pandit Hariprasad Churasia & co-artists. We got ur seat(small bed with a pillow) in the alloted space for our fees. It was comfortable seating, but nearly 30-40 feet away from the stage. The stage was having a small idol of Ganesh to the right & at the center it was the replica of the Trimurti of Elephanta itself.

Alarmel Valli started off the day with her performance. Her performance included a poetry from the Sanga Illaikiyam (Very old tamil literature period) of Kalitthogai.Her performance was very pleasant for the evening. Her talents were exhibited very well.

Then came Pandit & his group. His group included Vijay Ghate (on Tabla), Bhavani Shankar (on Paakavaaj) & Pandit's disciples. This is first time I'm attending Pandit's concert. Just relaxed & enjoyed it. Vijay Ghate & Bhavani Shankar did their job perfectly.

In complete it was a great experience being at such a place rich in heritage with some exceptional performances.

The Stage


Trimurti


Trmurti & Ganesh


Alarmel Valli - Bharatha Nattyam Performance


Hariprasad Churasia - Flute Performance

Mozhi - A poetry of silence

A clean, fantastic movie to enjoy. From the intial title to the end its a feast for all 5 senses. One more feather in Prakashraj's hat as a producer for simple, realistic movies. After "Kanda Naal Mutal"(another Prakashraj production) & "Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu" this is the best Tamil movie I have seen in the recent times. Jyothika has yet again proved her mettle in a very matured character which is far from what she is famous for(mischivious & funny). Let it be "Maya" of "Kakha Kakha" or Aradhana of "Vettaiyadu Vilaiyada" or other characters from "Sillenu Oru Kadhal" or "Pachai Kili Muthucharam" & the "Chandramukhi", her performance has improved over the films. My respect for her has increased doublefold.

Her expressions are speaking for her in this movie where she is a deaf-mute. The introduction itself very dramatic for herself. Karate kicking a drunkard who is beating his wife in the platform. Let it be the scenes where she tries to feel the music or the other emotional scenes, she scores without much effort. She has depicted the mood of the character very well. Especially the scenes where she shows anger, inability & the fear of her own.

Prithiviraj as the hero of this movie has done a commandable job. Expressed his feelings very well. Comedy is coming to him very naturally. The main success of this movie is that the story & humour goes hand in hand. He has a kindness in his face & smile which has helped in this movie a lot. For example his kindness to Bhaskar who is mentally disturbed by his son's death some 20 years ago & lives in his world of 1984. The other scenes where he scores are when he meets this roadside deaf-mute girl who sells roses, at the deaf & dumb school where he is thanked by the kids. By Bhaskar's words "Very brilliant boy. He go places in the future".

Prakashraj - Do I need to say anything? He has played the role of a good friend of our day to day life and he has done more justice to his charactner. His timing is very impressive. He has taken comedy into the songs by dancing(?) in them. His sequences with Brahamanandham is hilarious. He has exceled in the scene where he explains to Prithiviraj about his love. His dressing could have been more decent. May be this is chosen to show him more younger.

Swarnamalya has been used very well after Alaipayuthe. Another role in this movie to reinforce friendship. The foursome of these characters are very well portraid. The one actor I was amazed after seeing this movie is Bhaskar. This guy is having very good talents but never used before. I used to get irritated when I see him in TV serials or in other movies. But in this movie he has done his best.

Music is the main part of this movie. Vidyasagar has produced a complete melody throughout the movie. Songs are very pleasing to hear. Background score resembles that of Symphony. The santoor music in the School scene is very good although reminds me of Rahul sharma's albums(Santoor maestro). Only Sorry song is forcefully added. Camera work by Guhan is also great. The locations of the green beach or the rock fort of Golkanda everything is well captured. Art direction needs a mention here. The interiors of Jo's house which is very dark depicts her hard, strong character. While the light colour combination of Pritiviraj's house shows his softness, kind nature & fun loving person. Also Jo's house holds very traditional look while Pritiviraj's house is very modern. These small details are also given very good attention which is appreciatable.

The love of Prithiviraj is very much cinematic while the love of Prakashraj is very natural. Al bait the bulb glowing & ringing bells are adding funny touch to these scenes where these guys experience love. This movie is a definite one for this season.

This is melodious, musical, emotional, comical. All in one. The movie speaks for the director. Well done by Radhamohan.

P.S : Hey I did learn some sign from the movie. The concept of helping the needy is one more important point of this movie. Instead of wasting money for birthday parties & treats please donate whatever u can to the orphanage homes, disability schools & for the underprivileged people.

Thanks
Prem