Petta - Hits & Misses !!

    When Rajini movie is just released your emotions seems to be brimming especially when you are a Thalaivar fan so want to give myself some time before I pen this blog. I just want to go over hits and misses of Petta – Thalaivar’s latest offering which turned out to be a huge blockbuster. First thing first – Let us not forget Thalaivar is almost 70 and many in his age are learning to tie diapers for their grand kids but here is a man who is literally ruling the box office. Many actors in 70’s have completely retired or doing character roles per their age. So delivering a movie at the age of 70, playing a mass hero and still able to compete with younger stars alone deserves huge round of applause. During January I attended series of marriages and at one point all I was looking for was a simple curd rice made the traditional way. Similarly Rajini fans have seen Thalaivar in different avatars like Kockadaiyaan, Kuselan, Enthiran, 2.0 but there was this plain simple “Mass Masala Rajini Film” that was missing and Karthik Subburaj being an ardent fan all he did was just delivered a pucca Rajini film. Karthik basically made sure that the movie is a crowd pleaser – Thalaivar’s uttering of “naan veezhven endru ninaithayo” already made throats go dry in the beginning, “Sirappana tharamaana sambavangala inime dhan paaka pora” was kick ass dialogue. Thalaivar and VJ Sethupathy opening the doors simultaneously was absolutely MASS especially with Ani’s BGM…Similarly every now and then there was mass elements throughout the film and “Kola mass” dialogue in the movie was aptly written. I loved the romance portion with Simran – though it was brief but it was sensible. 

   Now coming to Marketing of the movie …Sun Pictures and Kalanidhi Maran can teach you Marketing than what Stanford can teach you sitting in a classroom. Many may wonder after Sarkar and Petta why is Sun Pictures producing/distributing Kanchana 3 ..well there are reasons. First by agreeing to distribute movie like Kanchana 3 they give big boost to the movie which then prompts the makers to give a nice product and then it increases the business value of the movie. Now they also negotiate with the Theatre owners in such a way that if you agree to screen Kanchana 3 then we will give you rights to screen Sarkar and Petta ..something like a 2+1 deal ….now after all this numbers come into equation and they show losses on the small movie and take home big profits earned from Sarkar and Petta. Kalanidhi Maran is an absolute smart person and he is a pioneer in whichever field he ventures into. Can you name a single person after incurring losses owning an aircraft company but still able to overcome and shine in other endeavors?

      Now coming into the minuses of the movie ….I thought the biggest drawback was the way characters was established and how scenes were hurried. As a writer it takes few scenes for audience to sketch a character and by taking through few scenes slowly but surely audience get connected to the character and the overall story revolving around the characters. Take Ramya Krishnan for example in Padayapa, Director was able to show her as arrogant woman by series of events through the story. The way the flashback episode handled in Petta and the whole incident of shootings was very loosely written and the main culprit was Karthik was too quick in jumping into this scene where I personally felt he should have taken some more time in allowing the audience to go back to the past. Gun shooting was like “Pottu vedi” and it did not create any awe. Rajini’s biggest plus as a mass hero have been kids and lady audience enjoying his movies especially the humor portion. Now there was far little humor but where is the emotional quotient which is another main ingredient in a mass masala movie ? Mass movies like Annamalai or Padayappa had a good emotional quotient. Another big drawback was gun shots ..I thought it was way too much gun shots in the movie and unfortunately gun shots mean very little to the overall proceedings but it is used just to give an image that it has got some heavy action sequences. My opinion was Vijay Sethupathi’s role could have been much longer and he could have donned the main antagonist. Karthik’s take on villain being in North and being medically unfit did very little to prove his body language as a baddie. After seeing Trisha’s role I was very disappointed especially after her performance in 96. I can understand that she wants to pair opposite Thalaivar to make her career full but as an actress she had every right to demand one or two scoring scenes to director. A writer can create any situation to make actors perform and there should have been 1 or 2 scenes to highlight her acting prowess.

    Overall Petta was good ..I enjoyed the movie. Within span of 6-7 months Thalaivar had 3 releases and I believe Thalaivar realizes the only ay he can make fans happy is by making movies. I am sorry to say but his political career may either not take off or he may fail miserably in Politics. I took my son for 2.0 and he enjoyed the movie and I just hope Thalaivar makes more and more movies and continue entertaining us through generations.

Marriage between Egg & Parotta !!

   I just love trying new restaurants and being a foodie my taste buds is always on a lookout for yummy dishes …One thing which I missed very badly was ‘Mutta Parotta’ or in other words Kothu parotta made the traditional way. This is one signature dish which is very famous in all night kadais in Tamil Nadu …..The same dish can be made in many different ways but the local flavor in which it is made is simply awesome and am going to take you guys over this dish the way it is prepared. There is one such shop near my place and I believe this guy has been in business even before India got its independence and I bet you he has wealth to buy 50% of POES Gardens, Chennai. All being said he is still considered to be ‘night kadai’ owner. Whenever I visit the shop he greets me ‘enna pa romba naala kaanom’ and orders his staff to lookout for a seat for me; My feeling at that time would be as if name was adjudged for Oscar nomination only to realize later he pretty much does the same ritual to every person visiting the shop. Then without any doubt I order ‘Mutta Parotta’ every damn time I visit this place.

   Let me go over the marriage that happens between Egg and Parotta. Consider ‘Egg’ as bride and ‘Parotta’ as groom …for any marriage venue is the key …in all Night kadai the big round black aduppu is pretty much lit by wood and once it is lit around 6pm then goes to bed only after midnight. Basically it is hot all the time due to the non stop dishes made on it. This plays a role since all fancy restaurants they use LPG and it is switched on only based on need. So venue is ‘Adapu’ where we first call both the parents – onions and tomatoes …Chef is affectionately called as ‘Master’ and he sautés onions and tomatoes along with chilli powder, garam masala powders etc., Tomatoes are not cut by the way ..they are literally squeezed like how a middle class does to the colgate paste in its ending stages. To add more spice to the proceedings he adds green chilies which can be the Nathanaars ….He sautés them well and in every marriage pangalis and relatives play a significant role and he adds fresh curry leaves and coriander leaves. Unlike chefs who may have curry leaves refrigerated these guys just take absolute fresh curry leaves. Now the bride comes in ….Master takes egg in one hand and gently taps couple of times only to see the egg joining the party ….now comes groom ..parotta is torn apart just like how every grooms are after marriage and then added to the gang …….Festivities happen and this is where gravy is poured into the ingredients. Now it is Master all the way …he takes two tumblers upside down and he goes with the rhythm which can even make drums Shiva mani proud of the sound produced. Normally master makes multiple quantities and he then segregates into different plates. Finally mutta parotta is served on plantain leaf red hot. Trust me marriage between egg and parotta made the traditional way always taste better and creates lasting impression.

     I see many Indian restaurants abroad and over here have a category called ‘Street food’ section where they have this dish. I think for people who do not want to step into Night kadai then they can enjoy ‘Kothu Parotta’ from restaurants but for people who do not mind visiting occasionally to such shops I highly recommend they should try this signature dish from Tamil Nadu.