Kannada Radio Program on Stanford Radio and internet on April 1

Kannada Program about 'Money and Economy' on Stanford Radio 90.1 FM KZSU

'Sri Virodhi nama samvathsara' - Ugadi Habbada ShubhashayagaLu.

Please mark your calenders and listen to a Kannada program where we invite listeners to share with us their opnion about the current Economic situation.

What do you think will be your share of bevu and bella in the new year.?

Call us during the show and tell us how these tough times have affected you and your friends. Phone number to call during the program is 650-723-9010

Date: Wednesday April 1 2009
Time: 7.30 AM PST to 8.30 AM PST
Hosted by: Madhu Krishnamurthy
Radio in SF Bay Area: 90.1 FM KZSU
Listen on the Internet: http://www.itsdiff.com/

In the website at the top left corner please see in red and yellow "To Listen Live Click Below". Choose 128k or 56k based on your internet bandwidth.

You can listen to previous broadcasts by visiting the Kannada archiveshttp://www.itsdiff.com/Kannada.html

Review: Slum Dog Millionaire (2008)

2009 Feb 12

Movie: Slum Dog Millionare (2008)
Starring: Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Frida Pinto
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Music: A. R. Rahman
Photography:

Score: 6.7 out of 10

This movie seems to be THE cross over movie for Indian film industry. A movie set in India with Indian actors has garnered so much attention that it has become a sleeper hit. It has even secured the best picture award at the Golden Globes and now has landed 8 Oscar nominations. With all the hype, it is hard to see it with an open mind. But see it, I did.

The movie starts of with the protagonist a teenager Jamal who is in police custody and is being worked upon (desi style) to make him confess that he cheated in the game show "Who wants to be a millionaire" where he has won Rs 20m. But truth is on Jamal's side and so he keeps on saying that he won because he knew the answers. The Police Inspector becomes curious about Jamal's life and starts to listen to his story.

The story is about 2 slum dwelling orphans. They are Muslims and they lost their mother during the communal riots. They grow up in the slums. In order to feed themselves they do odd jobs and get robbed of their childhood.

They seem to be taking care of themselves when they are offered help by an organization which claims to take care of kids. They take good care of them initially and the kids are taught to sing. It turns out that they blind children by scooping out their eyes using acid. The older brother sees it being done on another hapless boy. He is now asked to bring his brother Jamal so that they can do the same to him.. The 2 brothers pull a swift escape from their captors. They also have a girl who is accompanying them. As they are running away from their captors they jump into a running train but the girl cannot make it. So she is held back by the bad guys.

What follows next is a sequence of trials and tribulations the boys undergo as they do bit jobs to survive. They turn out to be street-smart and become guides at Tourist spots where they look for tips from wealthy foreigners. One incident stands out where an American couple hire Jamal the main character to show them around. But as luck would have it their car wheels gets stolen by slum dwellers when they have gone out to see the sights. A big Indian in some kind of a uniform starts battering the boy putting him down and kicking him. The American couple gets him out of it and the boy says "You wanted to see the real India. See this is it". That one scene said a lot of things.

The younger one - Jamal - is a good one and the older one is made of more bad stuff. So Jamal leaves his brother and grows up to be a tea vendor in a call center company. But he also tries and gets on 'Who wants to be a millionaire.'

What follows from here is some what a typical Bollywood rags to riches story. Where the director Danny Boyle shows a lot of grip is in the early part of Jamal's life. But once the home stretch for the contest starts, it becomes very predictable and does not seem any different from the thousands of Hindi movies we have seen before in which the hero is a driver and falls in love with the rich man's daughter and earns 50 Lakh rupees by winning a boxing match to win her hand. In fact I feel a regular Hindi movie would have had more drama even though Slum Dog shines with the restrain it exhibits.

The exposure of the underbelly of India i.e the slums of Mumbai is well deserved. I do not have any sympathies for the people who think that this movie shows the bad side of India to get an award. Well! that is the truth. What is the point in hiding it.? That does not make the problem go away.

The 3 major actors Dev Patel, Frieda Pinto, Anil Kappoor and Irfan Khan have given good performances. In fact none of the grown up characters have to work hard at acting. There roles do not require any effort. That explains why there is not even one nomination for acting in this movie. But it is the child actors who shine. The director has made an entertaining movie but this is certainly not his best movie. But what matters is what the members of the Motion Picture Academy thought during the months of February and March in 2009. And they thought Slum Dog was a superlative film.

The music is really no big deal. But A R Rahman has been nominated for 3 Oscars. But the 2 song nominations do not deserve them. They have no special musicality even by Bollywood standards. So this is one of the Academy's idiosyncrasies.



I think this should be a 6.7 out of 10.

Review: Water Lillies (French with English subtitles) Naissance des pieuvres

2009 March 17

Score: 7 out of 10

Title: Water Lillies (French with English subtitles) Naissance des pieuvres
Starring: PAuline Acquart, Louise Blachere, Adele Haenel
Written and Directed by: Celine Sciamma

I have tried to give only an abstract without telling the story. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. We have seen enough of coming off age movies in US with the list including American Pie or Superbad . Mean Girls by Tina Fey explored the dynamics between adolescent females in a college setting. But this little French movie is very ambitious in its desire to explore sexuality of teenage girls. With the backdrop of synchronized swimming classes and competitions this movie plumbs the depths of the psychology of young girls who are stepping into adult hood.

There are 3 girls who have all given fantastic performances. Especially I liked the understated and mysterious portrayal of Floraine by Adele Haenel. But the central role if any could be the girl called Marie who lives with her fat friend Anne. (played by Pauline Acquart and Louise Blachere) I am amazed how much of hidden emotions the young girls can bring to their roles. Pauline and Adele both show their characters even in the way they walk. The movie is funny at times and most of the times sad. Not because of any earthly tragedy but more for the state of mind of teenage girls - how burdened they must be to have to go through all those issues - being popular in the school, wanting boys to notice them even pretending to be an easy-girl while in reality she is anything but. Another impressive thing about the movie is how nuanced its characters are - just as we are crystallizing an opinion about a character we see a more subtle twist which questions our belief - not from a gotcha style - but more for what any human would have done. I am talking of pretenses and exploiting fellow humans - while being completely oblivious to the hurt that is being caused. The swimming pool scenes are like a breath of fresh air.

It is a simple movie with complex emotions. Well directed and Well acted.

I will give it 7 out of 10.

Review: The Frozen River (2008)

2009 March 4

Movie title: Frozen River (2008)
Starring: Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermot, Gargi Shinde, Rajesh Bose
Written and Directed by: Courtney Hunt
Cinematography: Reed Morano

For a while I had been yearning to see a movie which is set in the snowy north. I am thinking of something like the movie with Billy Bob Thornton. (Can't remember the name - something to do with a Plan). So it was only lucky that Melissa Leo got nominated for the best actress award for Frozen River made me check it out from Netflix.

How do people react to temptations ? Well that depends on what your situation is. You could be a person with hard set values but what happens when you are at that point where the time, place and people will nudge you into doing it. Just that one time ! . As we have heard wise people that once you commit a felony you have to keep doing more to save yourself. It become tragic when you are good person except for that felony. This is the central theme running in Frozen River. It is laid out in the form of a story which involves misery, love, humane qualities and having to face consequences.

Melissa plays a single mother with two boys. They live in a mobile home somewhere in Northern New york state. Her husband just walked out on her and she has to pay the mortgage or they will be put out of their home. She is managing these difficulties with a job in a convenience store. Now that her husband has disappeared she goes looking for him and finds his car parked outside an Indian Casino. While she checking for her husband inside an Indian women takes her husband's car away since the keys were in the car. Melissa follows her in her own car. After some arguing with the Indian, the Indian proposes to buy her car. As it turns out this Indian women is an accomplice a gang which smuggles aliens into US from Canada. She offers Melissa 800 bucks if she goes and meets the gang leader. This leads to Melissa's car being used for smuggling 2 Chinese. Melissa does this because of the money. She resolves not to do it again. But she finds valid reasons to do it again and again and again.

If you think how the border security forces did not catch the answer comes from the Indian woman. "They will not stop you. You are white".

This tale continues and gets tenser and tenser. We struggle when Melissa struggles while making that hard choice. There are no melodramatic elements. Instead there is the universal emotion of humane behavior which includes lie, love, greed and helplessness.

Melissa Leo definitely deserved this Oscar nomination for the lead role. There are many close up shots and she has daringly displayed a very measured and subtle performance. The Indian woman is good too. She has some of the best moments in the movie which are very heart felt. But the 2 boys were very good. Especially the older one who is struggling to accept the fact that his father deserted his mother. He has that anger that it was mom's fault. He has displayed good emotions.

The photography, lighting and music are all very good. The director has told the story without letting it slip her control.

I would give this movie a 7.5 out of 10.

Review: I have loved you so long (French 2008)

2009 March 16

Title: I have loved you so long (2008)(Il y a longtemps que je t'aime)
(French with English Subtitles)
Starring: Kirstin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein,
Written and Directed by: Phillipe Claudel

When you see a person and get introduced to her by a few tell tale mannerisms of that person you form an opinion. If that person is being closed to the point of being rude then you think you know that she is no good. That is how the movie starts and the person who is at the receiving end of your judgment is the talented British Actor Kristin Scott Thomas. She gives a stellar performance in this beautiful, well crafted and performed French movie about human emotions, life and the twists and turns life brings on the most undeserved and unsuspecting victims. The movie is a great exposition of humanity and love and understanding.

The movies starts with Juliette Fontaine (Kirstin Scott Thomas) waiting in a depressed state in an airport when another young women comes excitedly to receive her and take her home. The beauty of this movie is that it is narrated such that every minute into the movie we learn more about the characters and this has the effect of the characters growing on us. Kirsten plays a woman who has something serious happened to her in life which we will only find out later into the movie. Luca is the young woman who comes to meet her. Since the reader will probably enjoy watching the movie as it unfolds I will try to be very secretive about the plot and the relationships between the various characters. The actress playing Luca has given such a beautiful and tender performance that is hard to say who has given a more noteworthy performance between the 2 leading ladies. I have no hesitation in nominating both for the best female lead actor roles. Elsa Zylberstein disappears into her character and makes the audience understand and imagine her part without really showing herself in her past. Her behavior the present gives the viewer a clue of what she was when she was younger and her relationships with others in the movie.

I was surprised that Kirsten Scott Thomas spoke French. It is a treat to watch her make the audience slide from one feeling to another towards her. She can be sad, she can be joyous and she can be that person who is just transitioning from being to sad to being joyous. Elsa Zylberstein says a lot in how she reacts to Kirsten Scott Thomas. It appears that she is made just for the role in this movie but hopefully that was just he convincing acting. I am sure she is a very versatile actress.

The story offers an excellent plot for good acting and direction. The small town French setting is very pleasant and the various characters we meet are interesting. The director of the movie has handled the subtle theme very well. It is a movie that everyone should watch.

I give this movie 8 out of 10.

Review: The Visitor (2008)

2009 March 1

Title: The Visitor
Starring: Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, Danain Gurra, Hiam Abbas
Directed by: Thomas McCarthy
Written by: Thomas McCarthy.

This movie caught my attention when the lead character says "I am not busy. I just pretend to be busy". Among things this line what makes the Visitor touch our souls in a very effective manner. I can easily identify with it. I empathise with the character who says that. That should explain why I liked this movie.

The story is of a middle aged College Professor who is a very bored, inexpressive and dour fellow. He is also untalented but drives himself to learn piano unsuccessfully which only adds to his frustration and need for isolating himself. In such a pathetic existence an unexpected even happens which is something he had contemplated in his wildest dreams. Obviously he is incapable of handling it. He has a visitor who is an illegal alien. So what starts of as a cold happenstance between 2 of the most dissimilar characters starts to warm up and in spite of his inability the Richard Jenkins character does things which needs him to reach into the depths of his soul to bring out his passion.

Richard Jenkins gives a good performance. The challenge for him is that his character does not express any feelings. As Terry Gross of Fresh Air put it he has act like the guy who is expressionless and still bring out what is happening inside of him. This is a very nuanced performance as compared to performing a characters which has very distinct and easily identifiable character traits. No wonder Jenkins was nominated for the best. Unfortunately he did not win. Sean Penn's performance in Milk was too good to be surpassed.

A nice movie with good performance by Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, Danain Gurra and Isreali-Arab actress Hiam Abbas. The director makes sure that the story is well paced. The only surprise was the appearance of the Syrian woman (a Muslim) in a somewhat western outfit. It is not inconceivable but definitely unexpected.

This movie gets a 7.2 on 10.