Brown Country

IFFK 2009: Count Down Begins

2009-11-09T22:16:00.000-08:00

The 14th edition of International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) will begin on December 11 in Thiruvananthapuram. It is an eight-day affair, where, hopefully, some of the excellent films made in the world during the last two years will be shown along with some of all time classics.

Certain films I saw in last year’s festival are still running successfully in the box office of my memory: Three Monkeys (by Nuri Ceylan), The Photograph (by Nan T. Achnas), and Blindness (by Fernando Meirelles) as well as Ashes And Diamonds (by Andrej Wajda) and The Magician (by Ingmar Bergman).

Strangely, I have not seen a film from a cinema theatre since the last IFFK. Thought of watching some films, such as Oru Pennum Randanum (A Climate for Crime, directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan), Slum Dog Millionaire, Pazhassi Raja, and a Tamil film called Nadodikal. Adoor’s film vanished from the theatre by the time I had managed to arrange an appointment with it. Bad reviews from some of my friends encouraged me to abandon the idea of watching the other films mentioned here. Living in a village helps too in avoiding a lot of trash films (even if I miss a rare good one). I can’t imagine being able to do this if I were still living or working in Chennai or Thiruvananthapuram.

So, IFFK has become the only cinematic concubine I have. Hope they will show some good films this year as well and do not screw up my time. After all, I am about to use all my creativity to fabricate excuses for some days’ leave from my office.

SACHIN...an art !

2009-11-06T18:35:00.000-08:00

"U can do any sin when Sachin is in the crease,God will not punish u,
bcos even god wil be watching him play !! "

-a famous quote on the maestro

What makes Sachin so special ?
Is it his technical perfection, fine tuned improvisations, perseverence,commitment,humility or is it his never dying passion for the game ?No definitions can define him,no metaphors can compare him...and probably thats how an art should be !

The crowds rise,rivals perspire,and partners are inspired, when this man enters the pitch.The lone warrior who carried the team and the hopes of a million countrymen on his shoulders.The very presence of the little man spreads an aura of faith,confidence and elegance all around.

The records queue up in his footsteps waiting to get broken and rewritten.The high standards set by himself has placed him in an elite class of his own.But he has managed to handle the burden of expectations throughout his stupendous career that has spanned for almost 2 decades now !

Ofcourse there is not even a tint of doubt in his abilities as a batsman but as a finisher he has miserably failed in many an occasion.The latest being his blistering innings of 175(141 balls) in the 5th ODI against the, no longer "mighty", Australians at Hyderabad(5 nov 2009).Only to end up in the losing side, with the team falling just 3 runs short of the target.It was his 45th ODI century.He also passed another milestone in the process-17000 runs in ODI cricket.But it was nothing less than heartbreak for his "worshippers" who were craving for such an innings,to see his valiant effort go in vain.

All through the innings you could see the glimpses of his prime time.May be the last big sparks from the greatest cricketer ever,easing to the twilight of his glorious career!!

What Is DHRM and Why Do They Kill

2009-09-28T22:09:00.000-07:00

Click here to read the article.

WIMBLEDON 2009- EPIC, CLASSIC or SOMETHING more

2009-07-06T01:52:00.000-07:00

FEDERER vs RODICK 5-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 16-14 !!
If last year’s Wimbledon final was an epic then what was this year’s? It was yet another magnificent performance from the legendary Federer-the man who has taken men’s tennis to new horizons. And he can now sit on the throne of men’s tennis alone with a staggering 15 grand slam titles in his shelf. Each time we feel this is the best we have seen, he comes up with something more, keeping us wondering what next ? What makes him a true champion is supreme skill, graceful movement, perseverance, dedication, self confidence or may be a rare blend of all these.

In the absence of Rafael Nadal, the defending champion and world no:1 it was expected to be nothing less than a “cake-walk” for Federer at the All England tennis club this year as no one other than Nadal have come even close to the genius of Federer, especially on grass. But it was not to be, with a resurgent Rodick putting his everything for his maiden Wimbledon title. He was on command from the beginning firing on all cylinders with his huge serves above 140kms/hr . Something which reminded the body line bowling of the old legendary West Indian fast bowlers. Federer could not find the code for breaking those bazookas from Rodick which was extending the match for so long. But Federer held on for life with some neat serving sending down as many as 50 aces. Both players pushed hard as the game was turning into a marathon. Sometimes it’s too cruel a sport that, in the end, someone has to fall and this time it was to be Rodick. He was finding it hard to hide the tears of desperation at the presentation ceremony. But he can go with heads held high. With the kind of performance he put up, he has finally lived up to the expectations to be the man to represent America in the tennis world in years to come.

Its Srilanka's day out at Lords

2009-06-12T22:47:00.000-07:00

Tilekaratne Dilshan once again proved his class that helped Srilanka register their first super eight victory over Pakistan. Later Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralidharan ran through the Pakistan batting line up which sealed Lanka's victory by 18 runs.
Electing to bat first the Lanka's had a flying start with Dilshan and Jayasurya on the cockpit. Sohail Thanveer really had a wrong spell with his wrong foot, his first over had as many as 11 run ups which includes 3 wides, two front foot no-balls and three boundries. Srilanka put forth a total of 150 with Dilshan topscoring with 46. The Pakistan innings crumbled in the beginning as their opener’s didn’t waste much time in the crease. Shoaib Malik came in with a handy 28 which includes 3 consecutive boundries against Mathews.Younis Khan(50)and Misbah ul Huq(21) put a partnership of 66 for the fourth wicket , which could have turned the match around.Misbah's departure was followed by an "avalanche effect" and pakistan was bundled out for 131/9.Malinga claimed three wickets and Murali had two in his pocket. Dilshan ,the top scorer in the tournament was the player of the match.

SCORES AT AGLANCE

SRILANKA - 150/7 in 20 over’s (T.Dilshan - 46, Jayasurya- 26)
PAKISTAN - 131/9 in 20 over’s (Younis Khan-50,shoaib Malik - 28, Malinga- 3/17)

SRILANKA won by 18 runs

Bravo bravo West Indies...

2009-06-12T14:13:00.000-07:00

The West Indies outclassed, outplayed and outwitted India in their crucial super eight encounter. The man who carried West Indies on his shoulders was not Chris Gayle this time. It was Dwayne Bravo, one who belongs to an “elite” class of players who have got a special sort of “liking” for India. Although it was he who led from the front with 4 wickets and a blistering 66 not out off just 36 balls, the victory was the result of some fine team work. West Indies was out there with a clear game plan. They started off applying pressure right from the start with some canny pace bowling cramping the Indian batsman from both ends. This time supported by good efforts in the field too, which was very much unlike them.

The only part of the game which belonged to India was the partnership between Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan. Yuvraj played (or had to play) the saviour role yet again with a handy 67 off 43 balls when the team was in real trouble. His most beautiful hit was a sweetly timed chip over mid wicket which went for a six! The loss will certainly raise many questions. Dhoni’s batting form (or style) being on top of it. The lack of experienced players in the team is also telling off as the team finds itself difficult to adapt to high pressure situations. It’s time for the team and management to rethink and analyze its tactics, better sooner than later. In the present scenario, team India is in a do or die situation and should come up with solid performances to keep alive their, as well as a billions’, hopes of defending the title.

South Africa sinks England, Ireland drowned by the New zealand waves

2009-06-11T22:06:00.000-07:00

Super eight matches started yesterday and as expected South Africa and New Zealand emerged victorious. South Africa romped past England by 7 wickets while the Kiwis dumped Ireland by 86 runs.

England won the toss and elected to bat first. The top order trumbled in front of the hostile bowling from Dale Steyn and W.D Parnell. Rescue operation by Owais Shah(38) helped them to put a score of 111 on board. Jacques Kallis(57*) and Hershelle Gibbs(30)steadied the innings for South Africa after an initial wobble, and they went past the chequered flag with 10 balls to spare. Jacques Kallis was named the player of the match for his allround performance.

It was demolition work undertaken by New Zealand at Trentbridge when they thrashed Ireland by 86 runs. Ireland won the toss and elected to field, a descision that gifted the match to the Kiwis. Debutant Aaron Raymond showed his class with a well made 63 of 30 balls.He reached his half century in 23 balls.Later fireworks from Martin Guptill and Scott Styris put a massive target of 198 in front of the Ireland. The Irish were bundled out for 111 by some excellent bowling by Nathan Mccullum and Kyle Mills. Aaron Reymond was adjudged as the man of the match for his memorable knock.

SCORES AT A GLANCE

Super eight Match 1

ENGLAND - 111 in 19.5 overs (O.Shah- 38, Parnell- 3/14, D.Steyn-2/19)
SOUTH AFRICA - 114/3 in 18.2 overs (J.kallis- 57, gibbs- 30)

Soth africa won by 7 wickets

Super eight match 2

New Zealand - 198/5 in 20 overs (A.Raymond- 63, M.Guptill- 45, S.Styris-42)
Ireland - 111 in 16.4 overs(N.Mccullum- 3/15)
New Zealand won by 86 runs

TEAM INDIA - good ,better or the best?

2009-06-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

This is a frequently asked question these days. I am not too ambitious or patriotic either to say that this is the best team ever. But I will have to oblige to the fact that this is in fact a very well balanced team, and this balance was something India always lacked. There was a time, not long back, when India was Sachin and Sachin was India. The burden of the whole team’s batting department was on his shoulders. He managed it pretty tidily, but time has taken its toll over him. After all, he too is a human being.

Today India can boast of having the most number of match winners, ones with the capability of turning the match in its head. The team has the classy Gambhir and the blazing Sehwag at the top, followed by talented youngsters Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina, who are in fact stars in the making, and a solid middle order of Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni. What more can u expect from a batting line up? And with the Pathan brothers to follow with their fire woks at the lower middle order , India seems to be something like a giant banyan tree with strong roots which is too hard to topple over. And having a highly inspiring and determined captain in Dhoni India just seems to have finally got that knack of winning, and winning consistently.

Dhoni follows the often said tactic in football that attack is the best form of defense. He never lets the opposition to get over and doesn’t let the momentum go down at any stage of the game. Dhoni, who started off as a dasher in his early days, is being criticized for becoming more of a nudger these days. Now, he relies more on keeping the scoreboard ticking by quick singles and gentle pushes on both sides of the wicket. According to him, and may be rightly so, there should be a person in the team who can play the anchor role, especially when there are too many stroke players around.

The bowling department is also well settled with youngsters Ishant Sharma and Ojha coming up with performances that outshine their senior counterparts. RP Singh, one of the leading wicket-takers of the IPL, having a quiet time in the dug-out itself speaks of the strength of the bowling department.

And what more? Everybody in the team seems to be enjoying their game. Everything is well and fine as long as the team keeps winning. Good luck India!

ICC T-20 World Cup – Day 5

2009-06-09T23:34:00.000-07:00

Pakistan extinguish the orange revolution

In the first match of the fifth day, Pakistan batted and bowled sufficiently well to put an end to the Orange revolution that many Dutch fans and Indian fans had hoped for. Their performance was scratchy despite the win, particularly their fielding. It still remains a throwback to pre-Jonty Rhodes era.

Batting first, Pakistan scored 175 for 5 in 20 overs against a bowling, which was industrious, but not threatening enough. Kamran Akmal, the man of the match, top-scored with 41 (of 30 balls). He was well-supported by Shoaib Malik (30 of 28 balls), Younis Khan (36 of 20 balls), and Misbah-ul-Haq (31 of 20 balls).

The Dutch needed to score 151 runs to get through the super eight by virtue of a better net run rate. However, they catapulted in front of a do or die situations, much like their more famous and illustrious football teams in recent decades. They were all out for 93 runs in 17.3 overs. Shahid Afridi was the star of the Pakistan bowling by taking four wickets for just 11 runs.
The Dutch batsmen gave the impression that it was the first time they see a leg spinner bowling googlies and top spinners and appeared flummoxed by that fact.

Pakistan fielding was similar to what we see in beneficial veterans' tournaments. Pakistan fans knew that luck was on their side when they saw Salman Butt actually holding on to a simple catch, after dropping some similar and easier ones in this match and the previous one.

Score: Pakistan (175 for 5) in 20 overs beat the Netherlands (93 all out) by 82 runs.

South Africa prevails in a photo finish

It's really embarrassing that South Africa hasn’t yet won any form of the world cup, whether it is the traditional 50-50 or the recent 20-20. It’s a team with immense manpower lead by a young and dynamic captain. The Proteas has made their intentions clear with their second consecutive win in the tournament, albeit a narrow one against New Zealand. It was yet another nail-biting last ball finish with South Africa emerging victorious with the slimmest margin possible.

South Africa set a total of 128 in 20 overs with the help of some cautious batting from Graeme Smith (33 of 35 balls), Jack Kallis (34 of 23 balls), and JP Duminy (29 of 23 balls).

In reply, Brendon McCulum (57 of 54 balls) and Ross Taylor (22 of 31 balls) seemed set to take the Kiwis past the target. But some great bowling from Van der Merve sealed the fate of the match in favor of the Proteas. Jacob Oram (24 of 18 balls) made a valiant effort. But South Africa, for once, held their nerve. Van der Merve was adjudged man of the match.

Score: South Africa (128 for 7) beat New Zealand (127 for 5) by one run.

ICC T-20 World Cup – Day 4

2009-06-08T23:30:00.000-07:00

A day of upsets and early exits

The fourth day saw the tally of casualties expanding to three, when Bangladesh and Australia joined Scotland in the departure lounge. So far, seven teams have qualified for the super eight: India, South Africa, England, and West Indies in one group, and Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Ireland in the other group. Either Pakistan or the Netherlands will join the latter. If the Netherlands qualifies, which is very much possible, one group of super eight will have New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Super eight? No way. "Modest four" might be a better label.

Match 1: Ireland hunts Bangladesh

Bangladesh needed to win this match to keep their super-eight hopes alive. However, Ireland proved a tough nut to crack. First, they bowled and fielded with good discipline to restrict Bangladesh to 137 for 8. Had it not for the pyrotechnics of Mushrafe Mortaza (33 in 16 balls) in the last over of innings, which resulted in 20 runs, they would not have reached even this score.

However, the score eventually proved inadequate as Ireland chased down the score handsomely with 10 balls and 6 wickets to spare. The O'brian brothers, Niall (40 of 25 balls) and Kevin (39 not out of 17 balls) – the lesser known brothers in the tournament amidst the Pathans, Husseys, and the McCullums – did the bulk of the scoring. Niall O'brian was chosen as the man of the match.

Scores: Ireland (138 for 4 in 18.2 overs) defeated Bangladesh (137 for 8 in 20 overs) by 6 wickets.

Good bye Australia....

2009-06-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

The 8th of January will be considered a black day in two parts of the globe. One was in Kerala where the communist party launched something called "Karidinam" (means black day) protesting against the governor's decision to grant permission for the prosecution of Pinarayi Vijayan, the Ricky Ponting of the communist party in Kerala. The second black day was experienced by "cricket Australia" when Kangaroos were outwitted by the Sri Lankans, thanks to excellent batting displays by Kumar Sangakkara and Dilshan and splendid bowling by Ajanta Mendis that left the Aussies dumbfounded.

If the same thing happened to Australia two years back, it would have brought a bit of embarrassment; but this time it was rather expected from them. One doesn't need an autopsy to find the causes of this fate (rather ill-fate), because things are quite clear as the white skies. The primary reason is that they yet don't have a perfect replacement for the "eternal three", Adam Gilchrist, Mathew Hayden, and Shane Warne. The second is their lack of team coordination. You don't expect someone like Andrew Symmonds to be court-martialed for boozing. Anyways, all eyes are now pointing to Ricky Ponting, "the punter", the king who has lost his crown.

The Australians would be glad they don't have to face their home fans quickly, as they stay in London for the ashes. The Lankans clinched the match with an over to spare, when Kumar Sangakkara played a captain's knock with a well-made 55 supported by Dilshan's 53.

Score: Sri Lanka (160 for 4 in 19 overs) beat Australia (159 for 9 in 20 overs) by 6 wickets.

Tail piece: What will be Ponting saying in the press conference today? It might be something like "ini kaavile paatumalsarathinu kaanam" (Jagathi Sreekumar challenging Mohanlal in Yodha).

ICC T-20 World Cup – Day 3

2009-06-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

Minnows will be minnows

The third day' play produced two boring, one-sided games. In the first game, Scotland felt the powerlessness of minnows against the all-round efficiency of South Africa. There is nothing much to write about the match other than the scores.

Score: South Africa 212 for 5 (de Villiers 79 from 34 balls and Kallis 48 of 31 balls) beat Scotland 81 all out, by 130 runs.

England's resurgence

In the second match, Pakistan's performance in the ground mirrored the state of affairs in the country. The only thing worse than the law and order of Pakistan seems to be their cricket team's fielding. England was not complaining though. The return of Kevin Peterson provided the much needed firepower to their middle order.

England, put into bat by Younis Khan, exploited the power-pay overs better than they themselves might have imagined. Luke Wright (34 of 16 balls) provided the early impetus. Peterson (58 from 38 balls) maintained the run-scoring tempo and England finished with a decent total of 185 for 5.

The decent total soon became a formidable one when Pakistan started their innings. Wickets fell at regular intervals and run rate kept on climbing. It appeared that only Younis Khan (46 not out of 31 balls) was interested in actually chasing the total. Pakistan finished with a paltry 137 in their quota of 10 overs.

Score: England (185 for 5) beat Pakistan 137 for 7, by 48 runs.

What this means is that England has virtually ensured their super-eight berth because of their superior net run rate. Now, it is a toss-up between Pakistan and the Netherlands. Pakistan has to beat the Dutch by a big margin to qualify for the super eight. Incidentally, England will be in the same group of India and South Africa.

FRENCH OPEN 2009: THE EMPORER RETURNS ?

2009-06-07T00:20:00.000-07:00

The stage is well set for Roger Federer to ascend to the zenith of men’s tennis. If he wins today’s final he will equal Pete Sampras’ record of the most men's singles grand slam titles. He will also become only the sixth man in the history of the game to win all the four majors. The only man who had stood in between his lips and the crown for the last 3 years is not in the picture this time around. It's never easy-pickings in a grand slam final but this man seems to be in a class of his own. Such high are the standards set by himself, that even reaching the French open finals in four consecutive years appears modest or just average. However many tennis fans would really miss the grueling , yet exotic Federer-Nadal tussle that they got used to in the grand slam finals of recent times. The Swiss master has been haunted by the Spanish nightmare for more than enough now, and it seems all he had lacked was this small bit of luck.

Tail piece: The other finalist is Robin Soderling…. Robin who?

ICC T-20 World Cup – Day 2

2009-06-06T22:20:00.000-07:00

Kiwis win the cricketing sevens, Calypsos slaughter Kangaroos, and India kicks away the Bangla banana skin

The second day of the capsule cricket world cup witnessed more sixes and more brutal hitting than in the first day, but no upset of seismic proportions. Scotland failed to emulate the Dutch, though they did manage to give a scare to the Kiwis. West Indies, absurdly ranked 11 in this tournament, produced what one can call an upset, by pulverizing Australia. Finally, an efficient performance from the "rock stars of cricket" ensured that Bangladesh did not repeat their 2007 World Cup performance against India.

Scores in brief

Match 1: New Zealand (90 for 3 in 6 overs) beat Scotland (89 for 4 in seven overs) by 7 wickets
Match 2: West Indies (172 for 3 in 15.5 overs) beat Australia (169 for 7 in 20 overs) by 7 wickets
Match 4: India (180 for 5 in 20 overs) beat Bangladesh (155 for 8 in 20 overs) by 25 runs

Match 1: Kiwis wins the cricketing sevens

The first match of the second day, between Scotland and New Zealand, was reduced to a sevens match – that is, seven overs per side, and not seven players per side as in the football version of the sevens. Scotland were nursing hopes of an upset win similar to the Dutch victory over England on the first day. They raced to a backyard-cricket- or school-ground-cricket-like score of 89 for 4 in 7 overs to raise hopes for yet another upset. Gavin Hamilton is the most familiar face in the Scotland team. But he did not have to bat, as obscure cricketers like Ryan Watson (27 in 10 balls), Navdeep Poonia (27 in 15 balls), and Kyle Coetzer (33 in 15 balls) produced a slog-fest.

In reply, New Zealand were not as generous as England had been. They reached 50 in 2.4 overs, and then went on to score the required 90 runs with one over to spare. Jesse Ryder (31 from 13 balls), Ross Taylor (21 from 10 balls), and Brendon McCullum (18 from 8 balls) were the main destroyers. Despite the heavy hitting all around, the man of the match award went to Ian Butler who took 3 wickets in 2 overs by giving away "only" 19 runs. He gave away just 8 runs in the last over. In fact, the last three balls of the innings resulted in wickets. But the second wicket was a run out, so I think it will not be considered as a hat trick.

Match 2: Calypsos slaughter Kangaroos

The second match of the day, between Australia and West Indies, turned out to be a total mismatch – but not the way one would imagine. It is Australia who looked like the West Indies in recent times. West Indies in fact looked like the fearsome Windies squads of 1970s and 1980s. Jerome Taylor is no Michael Holding or Malcolm Marshal. But yesterday he was good enough to send back Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting in the first over of the match. The score of 3 for 2 soon became 15 for 3, when Fidel Edwards got rid of Michael Clarke. But Australia recovered and scored what appeared then a challenging total of 169 for 7, thanks mainly to a subdued innings from David Warner (61 of 51 balls). He was supported well by Brad Haddin (24 of 19 balls) and the Hussey brothers, David (26 of 16 balls) and Michael (28 of 15 balls).

West Indies started the innings as if they were playing against the newly formed team from Afghanistan. Before Australia knew what hit them, West Indies had reached their 50 (in 4.1 overs). At first, the runs came from an unexpected source – from Andre Fletcher (53 in 32 balls). But soon Chris Gayle (88 in 50 balls) took over. He was in a murderous mood in the fifth over of the innings bowled by Brett Lee – 27 runs including 3 sixes and 2 fours. More than the number of sixes, the manner in which they were hit must have hurt the bowler. Two of the sixes went out of the ground. In fact, Brett Lee's bowling figures resembled that of Ajit Agarkar in the recently concluded IPL: 3 overs no maiden 51 for none. Ricky Ponting tried many things and made several bowling changes. The Windies never lost their momentum and surpassed the "challenging" total with 25 balls to spare. Chris Gayle obviously was the man of the match.

Match 3: India kicks away the Bangla banana skin

The match against Bangladesh was a potential banana skin match for India, similar to the 2007 World Cup match in Port of Spain against the same side. India had lost that match, and eventually made a tragic first round exit from the tournament. Yesterday too, it appeared that they had sighted a banana skin somewhere and were cautious to avoid it. After a streaky knock from Rohit Sharma (36 of 23 balls), who partnered Gautam Gambhir in Sehwag's absence, Gambhir (50 of 46 balls) and MS Dhoni (26 of 21 balls) were too cautious and relied on singles and twos to get the scoreboard moving. Dhoni got out when he tried to accelerate the scoring. In came Yuvraj Singh and he kicked the banana skin, if there was any, emphatically out of the ground with a typically belligerent 41 of 18 balls. Irfan Pathan chipped in with 11 runs in 3 balls and India reached a respectable total of 180.

Bangladesh started the innings with their typical giant-killing ambitions. They took only 32 balls to reach the 50 and looked good for a fight. However, the introduction of Pragyan Ojha changed the course of the match. He took 4 wickets 21 runs in a man-of-the-match-winning performance. Bangladesh eventually managed 155 for 8 in 20 overs. Junaid Siddique (41 from 22 balls) was the top-scorer.

Tail Piece: Seeing the way Gayle and McCullum blazing away yesterday, one finally gets answer for this oft-repeated question: who was responsible for the debacle of Kolkata Knight Riders? Pluto, dear Pluto.

Dutch turns Lords into Waterloo

2009-06-06T00:33:00.001-07:00

It was indeed the greatest day of Dutch cricket when they outwitted host England by 4 wickets in a nailbiting last ball finish. The curtain raiser for the second edition of T-20 world cup thus ended with a big-bang. The england fans would never forgive Stuart Broad for his missed run out oppurtunity in the last ball which actually gifted the match to the Dutch.Thus the 6th of Jan would indeed become a dark day in the history of English cricket, something like "the Marackaana disaster".
The sporting world was stunned 7 years back when Senegal defeated France in the opener of the soccer world cup. One wouldn't have heard of El Hadji Diof or Henri Camara untill that day. The same thing has happened here. One could hardly remember a Dutch player, except Nannes who plays for the Delhi DD in the IPL. Stuart Broad wouldn't have expected anything worse than Yuvaraj Singh's six sixes in the previous edition of T-20 World Cup.

England did not start the match all that badly. Ravi Bopara(46) and Luke Wright (71)gave them a good start with a century partnership, which helped them set a target of 163. It was indeed a pretty decent total - or so everybody thought.

Chasing a total with a required 8.1 runs per over, the Dutch stareted briskly reaching 50 in 5 overs and 100 in 11 overs. Thanks to some bold batting from Reekers, Tn de grooth and Borren. Towards the end RN Doescate and Edgar Shiferli held their nerve to take the Dutch's "Noah's Arc" across the sea. The Dutch team burst out in jubilation after scoring, what i suppose, the first in a Cricket world cup. For them, it is no less than clinching the title.Tn de grooth was the player of the match for his hard fought 49 of 30 balls.
The Dutch have made it clear that they did not come here for the usual "fill the gap" routine. This is all about T-20, you can expect the unexpected, and you can see a high octane action every time. You see the ball dissappearing into the stands , feilders at backward point floating in the air defying Newton's laws of gravity, and some times burst of emotions like the one we saw at Lord's. Anyways there's lot of action to come in the next 2 weeks.

DECCAN CHARGERS MAKES IT TWO IN A ROW

2009-04-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

The Deccan Chargers won their second straight match in IPL season 2 with a well fought win over the Banglore Royal Challengers. The Chargers seems to have worked hard on their game after a miserable performance in first edition with only 2 wins in 16 games. With the kind of aggression they show with the bat, ball and on the field the Deccan Chargers have made it clear that they are not mere minnows this time around. If they can maintain the same momentum and intensity throughout the season it may be they who write the rags to riches story which Rajasthan Royals did last time. Adam Gilchrist, the captain led from the front with a blistering 71, with good support from the classy Rohit Sharma who scored 52. The Chargers ended their innings at 184, the highest team score recorded in this season till date. The Banglore Royal Challengers put up a good fightback led by the solid Rahul Dravid (48) and Virat Kohli (50) only to finally end up 24 runs short of the target.

Gayle powers Knight riders to 11 run victory

2009-04-22T08:17:00.001-07:00

Kolkata knight riders registered their first win in ipl season 2,in a rain interrupted match at Kingsmead,Durban which was decided by the Duckworth-Lewis rule.The curse of the rain Gods seems to be haunting the Punjab kings X11 even after putting up a pretty solid performance with the bat after, loosing their opening match to the Delhi daredevils in a similar fashion. After losing opener Karan Goel for a duck (thanks to some tight seam bowling from Ishant sharma),the Punjab kings soon gained momentum with some good strikes from Irfan Pathan who was promoted to no:3 , supported by Ravi Bopara. Then it was Kolkata’s turn as they got the much needed breakthrough through ex-captain Sourav Ganguly who sent both Irfan and Bopara to the pavilion in the same over.But Kolkata could not capitalize on this as Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh got into business and built a solid partnership with Kumar Sagakkara to take Punjab Kings to a decent total with good support from Mahela Jayawardene later on, ending the innings at 158.But misery came this time around for the Kings in the form of Chris Gayle,the big hitting West Indian who smashed 4 sixes and 2 fours in an unbeaten 44 off 26 balls to take the Knight riders to 79 in 9.2 overs, before heavy rain stopped play.

IFFK 2008 – Final Day

2008-12-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

IFFK 2008 is over. Parque Via directed by Enrique Rivero won the Golden Crow Pheasant award for the best film. Mariana Rondon, who directed the movie Postcards from Leningrad, was adjudged the best director.
Huseyin Karabey who directed My Marlon and Brando bagged the award for the best debutant director. Machan directed by Uberto Pasolini got the spectators’ award for the best film. You can find more details about this and other awards here.

I could not watch any films today. But anyway, I enjoyed the festival. I encountered several good movies and a few bad ones. But there are three films that stand out in my list. These are The Photograph, Half Moon, and Three Monkeys.

For me, the main problem was the Retrospective section. Although Amos Gitai and Karen Shakhnazarov are well respected, they do not have any chance against Pedro Almodovar or Kim Ki Duc. However, the 50 years ago package is an excellent addition.

So, for the next one year till December 2009, we have to contend with the acting and plots of real life. Hope we can enjoy all that just like we enjoyed the movies in IFFK.

IFFK 2008 – Day 7 – Night

2008-12-18T18:23:00.001-08:00

Remya Theatre was jam-packed for Song of the Sparrows, directed by Majid Majidi, one of IFFK’s all-time favorite directors. I was fortunate to get a balcony seat even though I had reserved a seat via the online reservation facility. There were instances, particularly during the screening of Breath by Kim Ki Duc in Kalabhavan Theatre, in which people who had reserved tickets online had to leave the hall shaking their heads because there were no seats available. Also, the DGP of Kerala Police was also present along with family members. So policemen were naturally on their toes.

Well, the film did not live up to my expectations. It is a story about a middle aged laborer who works in an ostrich farm. He is happy despite their poor financial position. One day, an ostrich runs away and as a result he loses his job. He goes to Tehran to get a hearing aid for his daughter and ends up working as motorcycle taxi-walla. His life actually flourishes and he brings a lot of scraps, like broken doors and window frames, from the city in the hope that these would help him to collect enough money to buy a hearing aid for his daughter. He in fact makes a heap of these items. His life takes a new turn as all these items fall over him and he is severely injured. The rest of the film is how he and his family cope with the new development.

As one would expect of a Majidi film, Song of the Sparrows is picturized extremely well. It provides a kind of feel good factor. But beyond that, there is not much in it, or I could not find any thing. The film does not invade your heart, or brain for that matter, like Three Monkeys, which I saw just before this one. But judging from the reaction of the audience – thunderous clapping at the slightest provocation – I think the film is well received here.

After the film, I went to see the Open Forum. The theme was IFFK 2008 feedback. There were good things said about the festival – a few negative aspects as well. The good things included online reservation, a number of good films, and sincere effort from the part of the organizers. The negative things included usual culprits such as lack of sufficient number of good films, poor scheduling, and signature film – and strangely online reservation also. The organizers said scheduling has a lot of constraints such as availability of prints, screening facilities in theatres, and specifications regarding the number of screening from distributors. Interestingly, a number of delegates chose the opportunity to criticize the mainstream Malayalam directors for lack of good films in Malayalam. One of the participants said these people should not be allowed to select films for the festival and hold any organizational positions. He was obviously referring to Kamal, the Malayalam director who was the chairman of the preview committee for competition, Indian, and Malayalam cinema.

Afterwards, I went to Kairali Theatre to watch the Turkish film My Marlon and Brando, directed by Huseyin Karabey. It tells the story about a girl trying to make a trip to the war-torn Suleimania in Northern Iraq to meet her lover during America’s war against Saddam Hussein. The first half of the movie narrates the anguish and agony of the girl waiting for the lover in Istanbul. But then she takes a brave, but dangerous, decision to go to Northern Iraq. The second half of the movie shows her journey. The Turkey-Iraq border is partially closed. One can come from Iraq, but entry to Iraq is not allowed. So, she goes to an Iranian town close to Suleimania, and waits for her lover to turn up.

My Marlon and Brando is a subtle realistic movie, not a sentimentally romantic one as the synopsis may have indicated.

IFFK 2008 – Day 7 – Afternoon

2008-12-18T01:26:00.000-08:00

I saw two movies today so far: the Japanese movie Achilles and the Tortoise by Takeshi Kitano and the Turkish film Three Monkeys by Nuri Ceylan.

Achilles and the Tortoise is a riches to rags tale of a child who was made to believe that he is a world class painter. It can be divided into two parts. The childhood of the protagonist in which picture postcard frames make a procession and his adulthood which is hilariously sarcastic. He is born to a business magnet who has all the wealth and associated power at his disposal. Because of his father’s wealth everybody praises the boy’s talent. Soon the business collapses and his father and stepmother commit suicide. For a brief while he stays with one of his uncles, who is reluctant to accept him. Then later he was sent to an orphanage.

He sticks on to painting throughout his life. But his paintings are never accepted. He works in a press, attends an art school, and in between marries. His wife is quite supportive of his painting activities. The second half of the movie is filled with a number of humorous incidents, mainly exposing the hypocrisy in the world of elitist arts. One of the characters says: “If you give a Picasso and a bowl of rice to an impoverished man in Africa, he will take the bowl… Art is one big fake.”

Three Monkeys is a tense, out and out art house movie – and a fantastic one at that. It tells, or rather makes us find out, the story of a man, his wife, and their son. The man has agreed to own a crime committed by an influential politician. He will get a large sum after his jail term. Meanwhile his wife starts an affair with the politician. The son finds out the affair. After he was released from jail, the man also becomes suspicious. The film reaches the boiling point when somebody kills the politician.

More than the story, the kind of tense atmosphere it creates is the most notable aspect. The tension between all the character – father and son, mother and son, and the man and his wife – is maintained throughout the movie. The visuals stealthily convey the inner feelings of the characters.

Next I am going to watch the Iranian film Song of the Sparrows by Majid Majidi in Remya Theatre.

IFFK 2008 – Day 6

2008-12-17T08:49:00.000-08:00

Gospel According to Maradona and a Memorable Photograph

Today also I had to satisfy with just two films, or to be precise one film and one documentary. I had decided on watching Tokyo Sonata in New Theatre, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa – not just because of that famous and irresistible (to filmgoers) surname, but also because it was recommended by a number of experts. But a review in today’s Kerala Kaumudi, about the film The Photograph, convinced me to change my plans. The report stated that the film has ended the reviewer’s days long search for “the” film of IFFK 2008. So, instead of turning right from Thampannoor bus stand I turned left to Remya Theatre.

The Photograph, directed by Nan T. Achnas, is a brilliant and classy film, so far the best I have seen in the competition section. It portrays the lives of a prostitute who is struggling to find enough money to raise her daughter and to provide medical treatment to her aging mother and an old emotionless photographer. The paths of their lives meet when she becomes his tenant. He is probably the most unfortunate photographer in the world – and she the most unfortunate mother. In his youth he learns some people are killed in a train accident and starts taking picture of the dead bodies. There are only broken limbs and other body parts. After a few clicks he realizes that the dead are his own wife and children. And he was on his way after abusing and abandoning them. He lives the remaining of his life in that guilty conscious.

But it is not a tearjerker as the scale of tragedy indicates. It is a pleasant and “sunny” movie. Excellent, and non-intrusive, photography and music are the highlights of the movie. Beautiful frames bombard you in incredible frequency. The pace of the movie is also just right. The fingerprints of a person who knows the secret of filmmaking are very much evident on each frame.

After the movie I dribbled through the crowds of Overbridge to Kripa Theatre to watch Emir Kusturica’s documentary Maradona. A genius on another genius. Considering the No Smoking band background of the director, it is predictably filled with lively music as with the best of goals of Maradona. It is like 20-20 (I mean the Malayalam movie) of world politics, past and present: Fidel Castro, George Bush, Hugo Chavez, Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher, and Evo Morales make appearances. The documentary is mostly based on casual talks between the footballer and the director at various locations and countries.

In the documentary Maradona’s life is analyzed on various angles as a teenage prodigy, successful footballer, drug addict and an activist. Like the films of Kusturica, the documentary also provides a number of hilarious moments. There is a religion called the Church of Maradona. It has a peculiar way of baptism: by scoring a hand of god goal! Also, there is a scene in which stripping women in dance bars complain that people stop watching them when Maradona’s goals appear on television.

There are several quotable quotes with Maradona’s pungent humor. This one about the FIFA presidents is what appeared best to me: “Havalanche [former president] was an arms dealer. Blatter [current president] sells bullets”. Also, he became very emotional when he says that he is jealous of his wife because she could spend more time with the children. Also, he says that he would have been a better player if not for his habit of taking cocaine. (But how can one play better?)

The documentary also contains a number of stunning goals scored by the most famous left foot of soccer and one with the fist. Animations – in which Maradona toying with Western leaders – and scenes from several movies of Kasturica are interspersed to the narrative to enliven the documentary.

IFFK 2008 Day 5

2008-12-16T08:08:00.000-08:00

I managed to see the movie Blindness. There was frantic rush for this movie despite today’s being its second screening. The queues (there were two queues for some reason) extended to the narrow roads outside Ramya-Dhanya theatre complex. The movie was worth standing even a lengthier queue, if that can be a yardstick. I have a feeling that it is likely to be the film that we are going to mention about this festival in future.

Blindness, based on a novel with the same name by Nobel Prize winning writer Jose Saramago, is directed by Fernando Meirelles. The film is a mix of fantasy and allegory topped with merciless satire of the human nature. Its story goes like this. People in a city suddenly start losing their eyesight one by one. It is not the conventional type of blindness. But what people “see” is whiteness around, not darkness. Soon the early birds were confined to a specially created sanatorium, because of the infectious nature of the disease. A doctor is also affected by the disease. His wife is the only person who can see. But she also pretends as blind. Food will be provided from outside. The film narrates how people react to this situation. Soon a group of inmates take control of the sanatorium, very much like an armed coup. They began to enjoy the privileges like better food, woman, etc. But the inmates manage to escape from the sanatorium. What they see outside is a city devastated by the outbreak of blindness.

The film has been shot with great imagination. The first scene itself, in which a man driving a car suddenly losing his eye sight at a traffic signal, is an example. This film is a treat for those who love cinematic metaphors and symbolic narration. At certain points, the film brings to mind the novels such as Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies.

But that was all for today. I came back to the office in the afternoon.

There has been decent mainstream media coverage of IFFK 2008. Kerala Kaumudi reporters are generally disappointed with the quality of the films of this festival. A report on The Hindu focuses more on the problems and budget of organizing the festival. If you want to read decent write-ups about the films in the competition section, check out for articles in dearcinema.com and manoramaonline.

IFFK 2008 - Day 5 - Morning

2008-12-15T21:43:00.000-08:00

Today morning, I watched the film Short Sharp Shock Turk, directed by Faith Akin, part of Akin Retrospective. It is a story of three youths growing up in “dirty” streets of Hamburg. They are fun-loving blokes. Things take a serious turn when one of them decides to join a mafia group, while another decides to live a “normal” peace-loving life. To make thing worse, the person who wants to lead a normal life starts an affair with the girl friend of the mafia-going person. The film portrays how their friendship tragically and fatally breaks up. But, may be because of the fatigue of the last four days, I could not spot anything extraordinary in the film. Not my kinda movie, I guess. But the film shows us a novel way of expressing one’s love: “We just did not fuck. I love you”. That is what the girl tells the bloke when he feels guilty about making love to his best friend’s girl friend.

Next I am going to Dhanya Theatre, where Blindness, directed by Fernando Meirelles, is going to be screened.

IFFK 2008 Day 4

2008-12-15T09:00:00.000-08:00

I saw two films today. In the afternoon I returned to office to check whether I still have the job. These are the troubles of watching films during the times of recession. I think I have to follow this trend on the days to come also.

In fact the first film I saw today, a Hungarian film titled Adventurers (directed by Béla Paczolay), would inspire anybody to say goodbye to such mundane things as egotist bosses and silly deadlines. The film is about three men: grandfather, father and son (played by different people; apparently, Kamalhasan does not have much influence in Hungary.)

The film starts stylishly. A middle aged person picks up a much younger person and they are off for a trip. Later we find out that they are father and son and they are going to meet the grandfather. The father has quitted his job as a trumpeter and the son does not have any job even to quit from. After some brief adventures on the way, they find the grandfather who wants to relocate to Budapest and stay with his son. But his son is reluctant, because he does not have any house. At last the grandfather has his way. The rest of the film narrates the fun-filled account of their journey.

At last they realize that a streak of wastefulness has been genetically embedded on them. And they decide to live with it, nevertheless. The film for most of the part retains a Dil Chahta Hai like carefree atmosphere. Also the mannerisms of the “son” resemble that of Aamir Khan in the Hindi film.

The next film was also about the relationship between father and son. But it is more like an arthouse film than an entertainer. Yellow House directed by Amor Hakkar is a film in the competition section of the festival. It is set in an arid village in Algeria. A farmer learns that his son, who was working in the armed forces, has been killed in an accident. He makes a trip to the place of tragedy on his tractor and brings the dead body of the son to the village. To wash away the sorrows of his wife, he paints his house yellow, based on a pharmacist’s advice. Later he brings home a TV and video player to watch the video footage of his son.

This simple story has been narrated in the true neorealistic style. At times the film becomes very slow. But it springs back to life through incidents that show the tenacious spirit of the father. It is a serious film which offers different parallel readings such as this and this. And a person who calls himself "payyan" has this to say about the first three days of IFFK 2008. If you want more IFFK stuff, try this blog also.

IFFK 2008 Day 3 – Night

2008-12-14T09:21:00.000-08:00

The Mindset of a Terrorist

The Rider Named Death, directed by Karen Shakhnazarov, is a movie about terrorism. The fundamental question the film raises is how the political killing differs from personal killings in the context of terrorist activities in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. It is based on a book called The Pale Horse.

The protagonist of the movie is a communist terrorist (should it be naxalite or revolutionary for political correctness?), who fights against the tsars and their dukes. The whole movie is narrated from his point of view. His primary aim is to kill a duke. Along with some followers, he makes several futile attempts to kill the duke. In between they also discuss their anxieties and doubts about killing a person. Finally he does manage to kill the duke. But the question of morality of killing continues to haunt him.

The film sheds light into the psychology of terrorists. It quite rightly predicts that governments cannot contain terrorism, because terrorism is the attack of a few individuals against the government.

The film starts with a bang. A stunningly beautiful lady walks into the office of a duke (after getting permission, of course). Most of the delegates would have expected them to make love. Instead, she takes a gun and shoots him, bang bang.

Before the start of the movie, the director Karen Shakhnazarov gave an introduction to the movie. He made reference to the Mumbai terrorist attack also.