Apocryphal Stories !!!

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High Strung Book review

Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors were names we knew from the countless tournaments they played and won. For instance, when McEnroe defeated Borg in a five-setter, I didn’t know that it was the first time Borg had lost a five-setter in 14 times. Time and again, he found the resolve to come back from a deficit and plot a Houdini-like escape. So, when he lost that game, something broke within him as well. I have not seen an author, apart from Gideon Haigh, write about his subjects without talking to them. He relied on books on them for his research. He acknowledges the help he got from these books and lists all of them out. When he talks of Bjorn Borg as a Viking god, you might think that this is another one of those books that speaks highly of its subjects. As you keep reading, you also find out that he explores the vulnerabilities of these players without being rude or actually prying on them. He talks in detail about Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Illie Nast

The enigma of Shaun Marsh

It’s said that first impression is a lasting impression. Shaun Marsh, would disagree with the saying. He made a good impression on both his ODI debut and Test debut, but finds himself out of reckoning in both the formats. Making his ODI debut after a successful IPL season, he acquitted himself well. He scored a polished 81 in that match. That the debut came 5 years after Steve Waugh picked him to be a special player is a surprise. After that match, he went through a normal run in the Sheffield Shield and didn’t come into the collective notice of the selectors till the breakthrough IPL performance Looking at his career, one thing is prominent. He finds it difficult to maintain good form over a period of time. In fact, every good innings of his is a microcosm of his career. His knock of 85 (against Melbourne Renegades), spread over 52 balls showed us the reluctant starter, the team man, the excellent reader of the match situation and also, at times, a man who can’t will

Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum review

Why waste dialogues when a few visuals can convey them? Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum sets the tone early in the movie when they show a tribe getting displaced because of mining activities in the region Why waste dialogues on an actor, when his eyes can do the trick for you? LB Sriram, often an underrated actor has but a few dialogues in the movie. He is always digging and storing away soil for future use. He says, “Thindi lekapoina parvaledhu, mattini adigithe peduthundhi. Matti-e lekapothe? “ (We can always depend on the soil for food (agriculture), but what if there isn’t soil available?” Dialogues in the movie are the lifeline. It helps that the diction of Rana is top notch in the movie. Early in the movie, when the credits are rolling, a couple sitting on the porch say, “Nyayam, annayam lo Annyayam chelltuthundhi, endhukante annyayam lo oka aksharam hechhu ga” (When it comes to justice and injustice, it’s injustice that always prevails because it has more alphabets)

The problem with genres in Telugu cinema is that there exists a template for every genre. The same is true for the so-called ‘Fantasy’ or ‘Socio-fantasy’ genre too. The premise for these movies is established in the beginning and the audience are all waiting for the good to prevail over the evil. Dhamarukam, a movie that has faced problems from the time the makers announced a release date. After postponements and public humour, the movie’s prints did turn up at the theatres today. The ticket counter people themselves were perplexed at the multiple postponements. In fact, yesterday when I asked them as to why the internet booking wasn’t opened for the movie, they replied saying they weren’t sure if the prints would come. Once you get to see the movie, you would be surprised that the amount purported to have spent on the movie was actually spent. The CG work on the movie is nothing to write home about. What makes you sit through the movie is dashing Nagarjuna. The directo

Superman or Bradman of 2012

Who averages 1022 in Test cricket this year, every time he crosses 100? Who is the player having a conversion rate of close to 80% in scoring centuries? Who is it that has broken the record of Bradman and Ponting today by scoring an unprecedented 4 th double ton in the calendar year? The answer to all of the above is Michael Clarke, the captain of the Australian Test team. From the time he has been made the captain, he has been contributing with the bat. The century in the final test in Sri Lanka, where Australia conceded a 163 run lead remains fresh in the mind. His batting in that innings was of such top quality that not a single run came off the edge (outside/inside) of the bat. Then came the century at Cape Town. People remember it as much for the stroke play as for the examination of his technique against shorter ball by Steyn. Today too, in the initial phase of his innings, he was subjected to the same treatment by the same bowler. Steyn came back with the same q

Cameraman Ganga tho Rambabu review

When asked his opinion on Monty Panesar, the legendary leg spinner, Shane Warne said “Monty hasn’t played 33 Tests, he has played the same Test 33 times.” Hilarious, it surely was, but it also tells us that the lack of variety can never go unnoticed. Puri Jagannadh is also treading the same path as Monty Panesar now. His movies have become monotonous. No two ways about it. Protagonist leading a normal life, rises in staure, opposes authority and finally, gets his way. This has been the standard flow in the majority of his movies. A more recent addition is the way they talk to/about women. In spite of all these blemishes, there are moments of brilliance in the movie, depending on your perspective that is. The scene where Pawan Kalyan confronts Prakash Raj on his knowledge about Telugu Thalli and the scene where he explains to Tamannah that every man is a poet in his own right are pointers to a brilliant dialogue writer hidden in the reckless director that we have come to k