Audio Recording of the Interview with Ratnamala Prakash on itsdiff.com

The links to the interview are now working.
Please listen to audio archive of my live interview with Rathnamala Prakash on Wed Dec 16. 7.00 AM to 7.40 AM PST(Caifornia). Rathnamala Prakash is a famous singer in Sugama Sangeeta. (Light music based on Poetry). KZSU 90.1 FM (Bay area). You can listen to future programs on the internet from anywhere in the world. For older Kannada programs and other language programs visit. http://www.itsdiff.com/Kannada.html

You can listen to the interview here.
Rathnamala Prakash Interview Please click here.

Review: Kabaddi (Kannada Movie)

Dec 5 2009
Title: Kabaddi (2009)
Starring: All new people.
Director: Narendra Babu.

Score: 8 out of 10.

In my reviews I will only reveal what the movie is about. I do not want to spoil the movie for you.

My friends Ashita and Govardhan have combined their passion for Kannada movies and their entrepreneurial skills and have started screening Kannada movies frequently in the US. It is a good thing since nobody else is doing it and we get to see Kannada movies in spite of being far away from our native places. Tonight (Friday Dec 4th) was the first show of the new movie Kabaddi. Even though the movie runs through the weekend, Friday night is the best time to watch it. For one, Friday night is still nascent with the excitement of the coming weekend. Once we wake up tomorrow i.e Saturday morning it will be all down hill from then. It also brings back memories of watching 'Second Show' in Bangalore. So at 6.30 I called Ganesh, my friend since College and we both were there at 7.45. The movie was being screened in Sierra Theaters in Milpitas.

This a very new movie and is doing well in Karnataka now. It is a sports movie. It is about the Indian sport Kabaddi. The story is set in a small city - Mandya. A very dedicated and highly respected teacher called Guruji in the movie is building a Kabaddi team with the local college students - all aged less than 20. He and the team's sponsor Venkatesh - the local bigwig have the ambition of making it a high caliber team which would shine at the national level. Enter the Hero - Praveena a poor teenager. The affectionate Guruji sees in him a prospective Kabaddi star. But as it always happens in Indian movies Venkatesh conveniently has a sister who after the initial display of arrogance etc, promptly falls in love with him. So we have a poor boy and a rich girl, the girl's brother who does not like it and tries everything to stop it. Venkatesh is provided 2 thug like brothers. So taking care of Praveena is handled by the family. We are now in familiar territory. This boy-girl part adds the masala to this otherwise healthy movie. Since it is a sports movie, expect a lot of Kabaddi matches which are exciting to watch.

The movie is really well made. The director Narendra Babu has shown a lot of maturity, sense and restraint in developing this movie. The movie has a freshness about it which is really welcome in Kannada film world. For one, it is not a remake. Secondly and most importantly, all the actors are new comers. At least I did not know any of them except Avinash. They are all young, new and offer the viewers a chance to expect something unseen. They deliver it in good measure. All the actors have shown tremendous love and enthusiasm in the way they have portrayed their roles. Hamsalekha gives some good songs. I think he also plays one of the roles. The movie captures a lot of lively sequences involving the people, their life and their language and greenery in and around Mandya.


The unique thing about the movie is that it has an Arjuna Award winning Kabaddi player.

Overall it is a very good movie. It is very entertaining and very professionally made. Narendra Babu should be congratulated for a successful display of the art of movie making.

I do want to make a special mention. The guy who plays Guruji - he steals the show. He conveys a lot of emotions through his eyes and restrained acting. His acting is so dignified and subtle I feel it is one of the best performances I have seen recently.


I give it 8 out of 10.

Play Review: A Chrstmas Story

Dec 1 2009

Last Saturday on a whim, we decided to go to 'A Christmas Story' at the San Jose Repertory. We got a box seat where only the 4 of us could sit. At $119 for the family pack it was not bad.

The drama is about a boy's desire to get a Double Barrel Gun as a Christmas present. The story presentation is interesting with the elder version of the boy recollecting his childhood memories. We see the boy in the drama and the older version standing at the end of the stage. Similar to the trick we did in Namma Oorina Rasikaru. But we had Gorur in his older age only recollecting his village without him being a part in the recollection.

The stage setting and changes were made very efficiently. They had a turn table on which they had set up the inside of the house. When the table turned we could see the street view of the house. The main players were a working class father, homely mother, a 12 year old boy and his 7 year old brother. The drama was so well done that we were taken back to the 40s. The life of such a family, their simple and relaxed pace of life shows is what we missed.

The drama's main strength is the acting, sets and lighting. There is absolutely no music. So it was different from the Nut Cracker which was a ballet. But still this was worth it.

The bonus was that we got to see the Christmas in the Park in down town San Jose. The crowd was lean, the weather was warm and we were all not tired. I am glad we watched this show this Christmas season.

I give it a 8 out of 10.