Dil Hi Dil Mein (2000) aka Kadhalar Dhinam, My first hybrid dubbing experience.

When I saw Dil Hi Dil Mein (2000), I felt like a genius, or an idiot, or both.  I kept thinking that since this was originally a Tamil movie titled Kadhalar Dhinam (1999), that is was probably dubbed into Hindi.  But then I’d see scenes where the lips were completely synching up with the Hindi, and Bollywood actors like Anupan Kher and Johnny Lever.  These guys don’t do Tamil movies, right? I felt like I did when I was a kid seeing dubbing for the first time in some Godzilla film on TV some Saturday afternoon.  As a 5 year old watching that, I knew there was something off with the voices; adult women pretending to talk like kids for the children’s parts, and lips not matching up with the voices.  Well here’s the genius part, when doing my post movie internet research I read this:

The film’s success prompted Hindi Distributors to dub the film in Hindi as “Dil Hi Dil Mein”. However, director Kathir had actually reshot scenes in Hindi featuring actor Kunal and Anupam Kher [Replacing the Kunal-Manivannan tracks] conversing in Hindi while Johnny Lever’s scenes replaced the Goundamani Tracks [Even though he appeared briefly for the Chand Aaya Haisong] with the same Titanic hairdo. Even the tracks dubbed from the Tamil version were re shot with Hindi synchronization sans for the first line of Roja Roja. Actor Nasser, though dubbed in Hindi, had given his Hindi synching in the song “Sawar Gayee”. Though actors Kunal and Sonali Bendre had synched their dialogues in Hindi, the rest of the film was dubbed and became a flop at box office. (wikipedia)

So there!  It’s not completely dubbed over, since some portions were actually re shot in Hindi, so those no-dubbing lips were completely synchronized, since they were speaking Hindi after all.  So this is what I will now term a hybrid dubbing film, since I don’t know what else to call it. Do you?  Here’s a bit about the film:

Kadhalar Dhinam meaning Lover’s Day (English) is a 1999 Tamil film directed by Kathir. This film is based upon love which started upon an internet chatroom and how it developed. The movie stars Kunal, Sonali Bendre, Nassar, Manivannan, Goundamani, Rambha, Visu and Chinni Jayanth. This film was also known as the transition film between the 20th Century and the 21st Century.Produced by A.M. Rathnam and the music was composed by A.R. Rahman. The film was released April 1999 and was a box-office record breaker.(wikipedia)

What I enjoyed most in this movie is the story of how Rosa’s wealthy, accomplished father, played by the very handsome Nassar, once was an orphan. Who doesn’t love a good orphan story? With his orphan background, he’s naturally drawn to help out Raja, who he has no idea is in love with his very own daughter!

Orphans unite! Here are some images to show the rough start Roja’s daddy had before winning his hard earned success. 

Well one of the things wrong with begging in this case was that they didn’t give the little girl milk, so she’d cry with passion and get more money from begging.  But they went too far and she died.

As an young orphan boy, Roja’s dad, aka son of the eclipse, was blamed for his sister’s death, since her begging money went to pay his tuition and satisfy his lust for education.

Well it sounds to me like his mom was projecting her guilt over her beti’s death onto her son. I hope he eventually grew to understand this. I do love these neglected orphan tales though.  All the suffering!

I found the Dorthy Hammil hair of the lead star, Kunal, distracting.  For those who aren’t old enough to recall, Dorthy Hammil was the gold medel winning figure skating darling of the 1975 Olympics, who stormed the world with her sassy hairdo.

Even Johnny Lever’s character wore the Dorthy Hammil hair:

“…and your tresses look like those of Dorthy Hammil.”

When I tried to find out more about Kunal, I was saddened to see that he committed suicide on Feburary 7, 2008, which is incidentally my birthday.  I heard Dorthy Hammil interviewed on the radio recently and she spoke of her struggles with depression, which must have been what Kunul suffered from, since untreated depression is the cause of suicide.  So sad.  But we have this nice movie to remember him by.

Now on a lighter note, who doesn’t like dancing with sticks? Do you know if there’s an official name for this style of stick dancing? You can see it here in “Daandiya Aattam,” from DHDM, with music by A.R. Rahman:

Thanks to memsaab for coming through with the answer to my question.  The dancing with sticks is called dandiya raas which has an interesting history you can read about at Dandiya: The Great Indian Social Dance. Look! The type of dance is right there in the title of the song, “Daandiya Aattam.”

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Bommarillu (2006) & Genelia D’Souza. Sometimes I sneak over to Tollywood.

I know this is a Bollywood blog, but sometimes I have to talk about Tollywood.

I saw my second Telugu film the other day: Bommarillu (2006).  The first Telugu film I saw was Varsham (2004), which I enjoyed just as much.  I was excited to see Genelia D’Souza in a movie, since her much anticipated Bollywood film Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is set to debut this weekend. If you’re curious as I am about JTYJN, Nawab theBollywoodFan has translated the songs from the movie (music by A. R. Rahman!) and given a lot of great preview information at his site.  He’s also had some brushes with the film’s director, Abbas Tyrewala, that you can read about here.

D’Souza is adorable ADORABLE as Hasini in Bommarillu.

She’s like the daughter of Kajol and Rani if that were possible, with a dash of Tanuja, and twist of Gidgit; meaning if she were any cuter she’d explode.  The movie reminded me of DDLJ, KKHH, and Cinderella.  Its appeal is vast, but in particular, I think all 8-12 year old girls out there would adore this movie.  Second to D’Souza, my other favorite part in the film was the domineering father, marvelously played by the brutally handsome Prakash Raj.  I was delighted to find that when this move is remade in Hindi, one of my favorite hot villains, Nana Patekar, will play the father.

My favorite number from the film is Laloo Darvaja, with music by Murali, Naveen, Priya Prakash; lyricist: Kulasekhar.

Here’s another song from the film, Bommani Geesthe, with music by Jeans Srinivas, and Gopika Poornima, lyricist; BhaskaraBhatla.  Reminds me a bit of DDLJ :

Would you like to know more about Bommarillu?  Then head over to theBollywoodFan, Apni East India Company, Sai and Shujath Talk Cinema, and Baba Aur Bollywood for some excellent insight. If you consider yourself to be intuitive, this screen capture from the film could be interpreted as a spoiler:

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Bollywood Bewaafa! Bollywood, I’ve been unfaithful…

Bollywood Bewaafa!

Bollywood, I’ve been unfaithful. Please allow me to explain. Maybe it’s because it’s spring, and sometimes that’s the season when hearts wander, but I’ve been back to my old self, sampling the world and enjoying it. Yet still I keep getting reminded of you and all the great times we’ve had. I’ve cheated on you with China, (my ex), Egypt, Ethopia, and Kerala. I’ve cheated with films, documentaries, food and even books. Here’s how it happened:

I saw a Chinese movie a few weeks back called Luxury Car (2006). It was bleak, depressing and very good, but it brought me back to Bollywood. How you ask? Well it was directed by Wang Chao, who studied under director Chen Kaige, who made some movies starring the lovely Gong Li. Gong Li was the first actress I saw that moved me to want to see all her films. It was only after running out of movies with Gong Li, did I think maybe I’d like to see another movie with “that guy from Devdas,” who I later found out was Shahrukh Khan.

Then I was listening to NPR and heard a mini documentary on Umm Kulthum. Now hipped to Umm Kulthum, I promptly went to the library to get “Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt.” It’s an excellent documentary on a fascinating life. While watching Umm-ji’s life story, I thought of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.

‘All Arabs agree,’ reads The Rough Guide to World Music. ‘Umm Kulthum is indisputably the Arab world’s greatest singer.’ The name Umm Kulthum may not strike a chord to Western ears, but she was a larger-than-life presence in the Arab world. The Egyptian singer’s career was long, its heyday extending from the 1930s to the 1960s, and her music became a powerful symbol of Arab nationalism. When she died in 1975 at the age of 70, 4 million people poured into the streets of Cairo to mourn her passing. Today, her music is everywhere. Even at truck stops, CD kiosks are brimming with Umm Kulthum’s many recordings. In the 1950s and ’60s, her fame grew, thanks to her legendary live radio broadcasts. On Thursday nights, the streets of Cairo would empty as people gathered around radio sets to hear the great singer. You can still hear a lot of Umm Kulthum on Egyptian radio today. In honor of her famous broadcasts, her music is played at 10 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month. (NPR)

Can you watch and hear this and not want more? I couldn’t.

Come, enough, we’ve already missed so much. O love of my soul. What I saw, what I saw before my eyes saw you was a wasted life. How can it be counted? You are my life whose morning began with your light. You are my life.

Is even Umm telling me in this song to get back to Bollywood?

Thanks to armacino89 for the video.

Click here for a subtitled rendition of the same tune, and here for another.

First I cheated with films, documentaries, China, Egpyt. Then I cheated with food, Ethiopian food!

When eating out, instead of dining at one of my favorite Indian restaurants, Best of India, I strayed over to Fasika and dined on Ethiopian food, which I hadn’t had for years. My mind was seduced by the wall mural of Victoria Falls and other images throughout the restaurant of Lalibela, Axum, and Addis Ababa. My interest was peaked, but how could I even think of traveling to Ethiopia before I see my mother India? That food was really great!

I also cheated with books. When I’m not watching movies, I enjoy reading and I’d heard the “The God of Small Things” was an excellent book. It’s set in a village in Kerala, India, so I was slowly getting back to Bollywood, more or less. I know the author, Arundhati Roy, wrote “In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones” which was one of Shahrukh Khan’s first gigs. Bollywood calling me again. Then within the book, Roy makes reference to a tragic love triangle (sound familiar, Bollywood?) in a Malayalam film Chemmeen(1965). It’s not Bollywood, but it’s the Malayalam film industry, so I’m getting closer to coming back Bollywood.

Bollywood was so majestic, waiting gracefully as I looked around enjoying all the world has to offer, all the while being reminded of him. Really, I never left, you were always in my heart, I mean in my dil.

Forgive me Bollywood, for I have sinned!

I confess to almighty God, (Bollywood) and to you, my brothers and sisters,that I have sinned through my own fault,in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.

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Video of the Day: “Dhak Dhak Karne Laga” from Beta(1992) and the Texa Tonka Mall

Yesterday I had a life just like Babita in yesterday’s video clip. Such generous dosto were Nandini, Brahmanadam and Gurubhai! Hard to believe it was Gurubhai‘s first time eating Indian food. They showered me with unique, lovely and valuable gifts, the most valuable being their waqt. We dined on scrumptious delicacies at Best of India in the cozy little gem of a strip mall: The Texa Tonka Mall. Strip malls can really be quite charming if you give them the chance.  The Texa Tonka not only has a great name, but is home of Best of India, Namaste Plaza, and Axman! After the great meal with yaaro, I was lucky enough to watch Beta, which has the most tight slaps to the face I’ve ever seen in a Bollywood movie.  A perfect birthday fo Sita-ji!

 Beta (Hindi: बेटा, Urdu: بیٹا, translation: Son) is a 1992 Bollywood movie directed by Indra Kumar. The film featured the pairing of Madhuri Dixit with Anil Kapoor, who were previously paired in Tezaab and Parinda. The film is perhaps best remembered for the hit song “Dhak Dhak Karne Laga”, which earned Dixit her nickname as the “Dhak-Dhak Girl” (“dhak-dhak” = heartbeat). Beta won four Filmfare Awards including Best Actress (Dixit), Best Actor (Kapoor), Best Playback Singer (Anuradha Paudwal for “Dhak Dhak Karne Laga”) and Best Supporting Actress Aruna Irani. It’s a remake of Tamil blockbuster Enga Chinna Raasa directed by Bhagyaraj. Beta is the story of Raju (Anil Kapoor), the only child of a widowed multi millionaire. Raju’s father can provide him anything he wants but Raju’s only desire is to get mother’s love, in order to please Raju, his father gets married to Nagmani (Aruna Irani), thinking that she will take care of Raju more than his real mother would. Raju becomes completely devoted to his stepmother, doing whatever she wishes. Time passes by, Raju grows up and gets married to Saraswati (Madhuri Dixit). Saraswati discovers that Nagmani’s motherly love for Raju is fake and all what Nagmani is interested in, is capturing Raju’s wealth. And thus begins a battle within the household between daughter-inlaw and mother-in-law. (wikipedia)

Today’s video is so caliente, it should be rated R for racy!   My movie watching yaar fell in love with Madhuri during this song, and his love only deepened as the movie progressed. Can you say Filmfare award? Enjoy “Dhak Dhak Karne Laga” by playback singers Udit Narayan and Anuradha Paudwal from Beta.  

Thanks fo tilluskc for the video.

Lyrics

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Video of the Day: “Pretty Woman” from Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) or “How Kal Ho Naa Ho changed my life!”

Today’s video is “Pretty Woman” with music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, by playback singer Shankar Mahadevan, picturized on King Khan from the movie Kal Ho Naa Ho.  I’ll get to that later but let me give you a little background first.

This is a pivotal Bollywood movie for me because it’s partly responsible for my current addiction to the genre. I had seen Devdas along with Nandini and other dosto at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis back in September 2003; the seed was planted. In the following years I saw Monsoon Wedding, Bend It Like Beckham, and Kandukondain Kandukondain. These Indian related movies swirled in my head a few years. Skip forward to August of 2006 and I’m looking at a Netflix page thinking, “Hey, I’d like to see that guy from Devdas in something.” I figure “that guy” is Shah Rukh Khan and put Kal Ho Naa Ho in the queue because it’s recommended. So I watch this movie and am stunned by how LONG it is! I’m disappointed that it’s set in what is supposed to be New York. Hey! This isn’t right, I wanted a real Indian movie set in India. Then I see this “Pretty Woman” scene and get that feeling you get when you’re embarrassed by someone, even worse that being embarrassed for yourself. But THEN the movie takes this turn that I never expect. Shah Rukh Khan is so dramatic that I’m sucked in. It has a love triangle, self sacrifice, and an emotionally wrenching hospital scene. So half way through, I accept it as a good movie and all I know is I want more! Then I saw Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, followed by Main Hoon Na. Then I watch Main Hoon Na again with Nandini and I sense another Bollywood junkie. It’s like SRK was a gateway drug to Bollywood. Next discovery is the pure cocaine of Amitabh, and the angry young man movies. HOOKED! I pick up a Hindi street naam of Sita-ji after watching Dance Dance, to keep it real. So the addiction begins! I stay with Bollywood, because it’s what I know, it’s safe. I believe that if I slip into Tollywood and Kollywood, and I’ve had a taste of the Telugu and Tamil scene people, it would be like taking crack, possibly meth. I have to stay away from Rajinikanth for now. And Lollywood would be like heroin, unmanageable. I need to stay as clean as I can, so it’s mostly Bollywood for now. I saw Nandini the other night, and we whispered a bit about Nollywood, careful to not let too many people hear, but knew to back off, it was just too dangerous. And we know that kal ho naa ho, but it’s still good to play it safe.

Kal Ho Naa Ho (Devanagari कल हो ना हो, Nastaliq: کل ہو نہ ہو, English: Tomorrow May or May Not Be) is a 2003 Bollywood film set in New York City. It stars Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, and Saif Ali Khan. The film was directed by first-timer Nikhil Advani; it was produced and co-written by Karan Johar, better known as the director of the hit films Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001). This movie resembles Dil Chahta Hai (2001) in blending Bollywood and Hollywoodconventions with high production values. While copyright violation has long run rampant in the Bollywood film industry, Kal Ho Naa Ho is notable for having licensed the rights to Roy Orbison‘s “Oh, Pretty Woman” for an extended musical sequence taking place in the streets in New York. Because of its familiar setting and music, accessibility to non-Indians, good production values, and respect for copyright, Kal Ho Naa Ho has been used to introduce Bollywood to markets where Indian films have been rare. Naina Catherine Kapur (Preity Zinta) is an angry young woman, for more than one reason. Her father committed suicide when she needed him the most, leaving Jennifer (Jaya Bachchan), his wife, to raise their children all alone. Lajjo (Sushma Seth), Jennifer’s mother-in-law, blames Jennifer for the suicide. Furthermore, Jennifer is unhappy because Lajjo refuses to accept Gia, a six-year-old girl whom Jennifer adopted, as her granddaughter. In addition, the restaurant Jennifer operates is faltering. The only factors that redeem Naina’s life are the toiling and tolerant Jennifer and Naina’s bumbling MBA classmate Rohit (Saif Ali Khan). Aman Mathur (Shah Rukh Khan), a happy-go-lucky man, arrives in Naina’s neighbourhood and soon changes everything with his contagious joviality and zest for life…(wikipedia)

And speaking of New York and India, our friend Brahmanandam, a.k.a. Tim, sent a great link to Indian restaurants in New York City; “A Passage to India,” by Matthew Fishbane. Click here to check it out the article published in the January 13, 2008 in the New York Times.

So here it is, “Pretty Woman”:

Thanks to nacromanser for providing the video.

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Video of the Day: “Nuvosta Nantey Nenu Vadantana” from Varsham (2004) in honor of Director Sobhan

Today’s video is the song “Nuvosta Nantey Nenu Vadantana” from the Telugu movie, Varsham (2004), in honor of the passing of its director, Sobhan-ji. I loved this movie! It’s too bad the director died. I wish more Telugu films had English subtitles.

7 January 2008 Director Sobhan expired
Young director Sobhan who directed films like Varsham, Chanti and Bobby expired today due to acute cardiac arrest. He was in the house of Bhumika when it happened. The Bhumika couple brought Sobhan to Image Hospital, Madhapur. But he expired by the team he is reached the hospitals. Idlebrain.com mourns the death of this young director and expresses deepest condolences to bereaved family. (idlebrain.com)

Varsham (Telugu: వర్షం) is a Tollywood film produced by M.S. Raju and directed by Sobhan. The film stars Prabhas, Trisha Krishnan,and Gopichand. The film’s super hit music was composed by Devi Sri Prasad. This film turned out to be a big success. The film was remade in Tamil in the name Mazhai starring Jayam Ravi and Shriya Saran. Venkat (Prabhas) and Sailaja (Trisha Krishnan) are youngsters who first meet in a train. Venkat is mesmerized by Sailaja’s beauty, charisma, and child-like behavior. Sailaja, also, is impressed by Venkat. Due to unfortunate circumstances the two are drawn apart. By this time, the antagonist Bhadranna (Gopichand) is also mesmerized by Sailaja. Venkat and Sailaja meet in Warangal again and believe that they are meant for each other because it rains every time they meet…(wikipedia)

“Nuvosta Nantey Nenu Vadantana,” music by Devi Sri Prasad, featuring playback singers Chitra and Raqeeb Alam. Watch the super hot Prabhas and Trisha Krishnan here:

Thanks to damavailable  for the youtube video.

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Video of the Day: “Kannalanae” from Bombay (1995)

Today’s song is “Kannalanae” from Bombay (1995). I remember seeing this film and thinking in the music numbers the lips weren’t matching what they were singing and that Manisha Koirala should really work on her lip syncing skills.  I then much later realized that they were singing (or pretending to sing) in Tamil, and the movie was dubbed into Hindi. Duh! Of course I fell for Arvind Swamy  after seeing this movie. Didn’t you?

Bombay (1995) is an award-winning Tamil feature film drama directed by Mani Ratnam, starring Arvind Swamy and Manisha Koirala, with music composed by A. R. Rahman. The film met with a strong reception upon release. The film is centred on events, particularly during the period of December 1992 to January 1993 in India, and the controversy surrounding the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. Increased religious tensions in the city of Bombay (now Mumbai) led to riots. Shekhar (Arvind Swamy) is the son of traditional Hindu parents. He is studying journalism in Bombay and returns to his village where he comes across Shaila Bano, (Manisha Koirala), a Muslim schoolgirl. The story revolves around their relationship in the midst of religious tension. The film caused huge controversy upon release in India and abroad, for its depiction of inter-religious relations. Well received critically and commercially, it was screened at many international film festivals including the Philadelphia Film Festival in 1996 where it was an audience favourite.It was subsequently dubbed in Hindi and Telugu. The film was banned in Singapore, Pakistan and Malaysia upon release. (wikipedia)

“Kannalanae” with playback singer K. S. Chithra, I think that this is the Tamil version, maybe tomorrow I’ll add the Hindi version titled “Kehna hi kya,” or do I have that the other way around?

Thanks to aruhten  for the video.

For about the film, check out The Bolly Blog’s review HERE.

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Video of the Day: “Munbe Vaa” from Sillunu Oru Kaadhal (2006)

Today’s video is the song “Munbe Vaa” from the movie Sillunu Oru Kaadhal starring Surya, Jyothika Saravanan and Bhoomika Chawla.

Right from childhood Kundavi has been brought up in a small village called Ambasamudram. She has two good friends right from school and one day both of her friends got married and leave. Kundavi’s father then fixes up her marriage with Goutham (Surya). Both look gloomy and dull during the wedding. Then the scene drifts to a period after six years in Bombay where they have 5 year old daughter and live as a happily married couple. Goutham works as a chief mechanic and he designs a new function for the car and he gets to go to New York for a short period. During this time, Jyothika somehow catches hold of Goutham’s old diary during his college days and the story goes back showing Goutham as a college wiz kid. In college, he was the popular guy who gets attracted to Aishu (Bhoomika Chawla), a local MP‘s daughter. Gautham and Aishu fall in love and they decided to get married. At the registrar’s office after Gautham ties the thali, Aishu’s father and his men beat him up and takes Aishu away. At the end of the diary, Goutham had written a note that basically said “if I have one wish, it would be to live with Aishu happily at least for one day.”From flashback, the scene now turns to the present as Goutham comes back from New York and finds his wife changed. She works late and avoids him. At this point, Kundavi goes and finds out Gautham’s lost love Aishu. Aishu has changed to a western clad modern girl in contrast to the salwar kameez girl in college. Kundavi tells Aishu to come over to her house and she tells her husband that he should live happily with Aishu for a day. Half heartedly though, Kundavi leaves her husband and goes. What happens in this one day forms the rest of the story. (wikipedia)

I’d sure love to see this movie! Any English subtitles? This is my Christmas wish: Tamil speaking people of Kollywood, I beg you, please subtitle your movies in English, like the kind people of Bollywood do! Must I learn Tamil to partake of your movies?  (Yes, I know some of the Tamil movies DO have English subtitles, but not as many as Bollywood.)

I LOVE this song! I love Shreya Ghoshal‘s voice!

Music composed by A.R. Rahman, with lyrics by Vali, playback singers, Naresh Iyer & Shreya Ghoshal. (Selected as Best Song of The Year 2006)

Thanks to rajhanish for the YouTube video. Lyrics in Tamil, sorry no English translation yet. Here’s a good blog about the movie.

p.s. It’s August 30, 2008, and I finally watched Sillunu Oru Kaadhal, and of course easily found an English subtitled version at Netflix. I really enjoyed it!

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Video of the Day: “Kannamoochchi” from Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000)

Here’s some more Tamil, like yesterday’s video it’s from Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000). The movie stars Mammootty, Aishwarya Rai, Tabu, Ajith, & Abbas.  Here’s my co-blogwallah Nandini’s favorite song from the movie, “Kannamoochchi.” The song’s music is by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Vairmuthu, and features the fabulous vocals of  Chitra & K.J. Yesudas, picturized on Aishwarya Rai‘s dancing.

Lyrics in Tamil with English translation. Here are the Lyrics and English translation for all the movie’s songs.

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Video of the Day: “Engae Enathu Kavithai” from Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000)

Kandukondain Kandukondain (Tamil: கண்டுகொண்டேன் கண்டுகொண்டேன்) is a 2000 Tamil film directed by Rajiv Menon. The film was also dubbed into Telugu as Priyuraalu Pilichindi. The film is a contemporary Indian take on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. Starring Mammootty as Bala, Aishwarya Rai as Meenakshi, Tabu as Sowmya, Ajith as Manohar, and Abbas as Srikanth.

Set in modern India, it’s a classical tale of a widowed mother and her three daughters: Saumya and Meenakshi who are grown-up and beautiful, and Kamla who is still at school. They live with the widow’s father in his grand country house. The father, who is ill, dies unable to communicate that he wants to change his will. Everything is left to his son, Sam, and Sam’s mean wife. The family of women, who have spent years looking after the father, are evicted by Sam and his wife and are forced to move to Madras. Before this, both elder daughters have developed a romantic interest: Saumya with Manohar, a budding filmmaker returned from America who wants to make his mark in Tamil cinema; and Meenakshi with Srikanth, a young businessman who is involved in some dodgy investments. Major Bala (who is disabled) and his uncle befriend the girls and their mother. Bala, who was a commando major in the Indian army, is shown in the first scene being blown up, resulting in the loss of his leg. He drinks too much as he feels sorry for himself….(wikipedia)

The USA release is titled “I Have Found It.”

Watch the distraught Aishwarya Rai, as Meenakshi, achieveing her dream as a singer, but it means NOTHING because the man she loves is marrying another. But things aren’t so bad, for Mammootty, as Bala, is about to step in and make things right.

“Engae Enathu Kavithai” sung by K.S. Chitra & Srinivas, music by A. R. Rahman. Chitra’s voice is one of my favorites! Just listen to its beauty:
.

 

Thanks to youtuber guru8537 for the video that includes an English translation. Look what BollyWhat? has to say about it. Lyrics in Tamil.

And if you’re interested in my favorite new internet obsession, it’s watching contestants on “Idea Star Singer 2007,” the Malayalam version of the Idols show.  I particularly like Vani Jayaram. Check out her version of today’s video: “Engae Enathu Kavithai”

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