Deathly Hallows: Holes in the Plot

*Warning: Do not read this if you haven't yet read the book and don't want your surprises to be spoiled.

Though this is the last book in the series and all the details needed proper explanations by the end of this book, I felt she left many questions either unanswered, or vaguely explained or she provided scope for a lot more newer questions:

*What is inside the locked room in the Department of mysteries?

*How did Lily and James escape Voldemort thrice, as in the prophecy?

*What is Harry, Ron, Hermione and the others' professions after 19 years?

*Wouldn't Griphook have ensured that the sword wouldn't disappear due ancient enchantments when it is summoned by the Hat?

*What happens to the Dursleys?

*If the Elder wand ensures unarguably victory to its owner, how did Grindelwald lose to Dumbledore?

*If you answered that Grindelwald did not actually own the wand, he stole it from Gregorovitch, so the wand didn't recognise him as his owner, then even Dumbledore couldn't have become its owner. And neither Draco nor Harry. Technically, if you need to defeat or kill its previous owner to become its owner, then Voldemort who killed Gregorovitch is the true owner of the Elder Wand.

*How is it that there is no scope of Voldemort beating Harry with any wand? Harry did not win by his supreme magical abilities. Whatever dear Voldy tried on Harry seemed to backfire on himself, not just in this book, but ever since the first book when he couldn't even touch Harry. Dumbledore could have as well taken Harry and made him stand in front of Voldemort. He would cast Avada Kedavra seven times, each time killing his own horcrux and finally would kill himself leaving Harry with nothing more than a face full of lightning scars, which Madam Pomfrey would rub off with a No-Marks cream. It would have been easier if Voldemort had used Wingardium Leviosa to lift a huge boulder and landed that right on top of Harry's head to kill him. He wants Harry dead, he wants to finish the job himself and he wants to use only Avada Kedavra to do it. Talk about a dumb villain who doesn't learn from mistakes.

* Gaunt mentioned in sixth book that the Marvolo ring was from his ancestors which contained the Peverell Coat of Arms, who were supposedly the descendents of Salazar Slytherin. If Harry was the descendant of Ignotus Peverell, wouldn't that make him an Heir to Slytherin? So were Voldemort and Harry cousins or was he his uncle?

*It's highly absurd that with the entire Ministry under his control and all the Dementors serving him, he couldn't catch three young teenagers who had cast simple hiding spells around their tents, roaming from forest to forest, frequently appearing out in the public and casting spells in Muggle-inhabited area. Also three youngsters stealing from the Gringotts makes it wonder if that's the safest place in the world or would it be safer to keep your possessions on a table in the Leaky Cauldron with a signboard requesting everyone not to steal as God would be watching.

*If Harry could get into Voldemort's mind and guess his moves and locations, how much time would it have taken Voldy to do the same to catch Harry? Why didn't he use Legilimency even as much as he did in the fifth book?

* Ron speaking in Parseltongue? Wonder why he didn't make use of this stroke of ingenuity earlier. And great to know the Basilisk corpse is still lying around in the building waiting to be used.

*So Voldemort thinks he is the only one who knows about the Room of Requirement to hide his Tiara and no one else would even stumble upon it accidentally. Showing his exceptionally brilliant mind considering the fact that the whole of previous year Draco was using the same Room to repair the cabinet upon Voldemort's own plan. And leaving Carrow to guard the Ravenclaw common room with the Tiara lying in the Room of Requirement?

*And what was she doing when she wrote that King's Cross chapter? How abstract could that be? Was he dead? If he wasn't why was Dumbledore there? If he was imagining, how was Dumbledore explaining things about his past which he didn't know? Or was it the Matrix world?

The point of pointing out all these is that J.K.Rowling must write another book explaining these mistakes and making more mistakes in the process leaving way for the subsequent books.
Yours hopingly,
Ganesh.

Deathly Hallows: Things I liked

A thousand and hundred bucks richer. Yay!!! But more than the fact that Snape was actually good (which was quite obvious), my theory about his feelings for Lily looked like she wrote the entire chapter with my blog as the reference. This book has certainly a lot to offer. With practically all the characters from the previous six books, and some usual characters showing unusual sides to them, the book had a mix of the expected and the unexpected. But as my friend put it, you'll definitely be surprised by certain revelations. Reading this book makes you realize how many clues Rowling had intentionally placed in her previous books, which went unnoticed by us till now. That's her magic. And that's what makes the readers want to read it more than once. She has craftily knotted all the loose strings that were hanging from the previous books and packaged the entire series as an independent entity. Bringing in the goblins, elves, centaurs, dragons, giants etc. she has tried to combine what all her previous books offered. Though the book started with a drag, the action started when you least expected it. Once the three leave the Wedding in a hurry there's no looking back and it's all explanations, revelations and realisations of what is in store for them and how they must prepare for the final showdown. I liked the fact that she told the readers all about Dumbledore's and Snape's pasts which was absolutely necessary since they were two of the few Central characters throughout the series. Kreacher's role in this book, explains a lot, not only about major plot details like how Voldemort had placed his locket in the cave, but also minor ones like how house-elves could apparate and disapparate inside Hogwarts. The Battle at Hogwarts was truly a fitting description of the Battle that is actually expected to take place for all the build-up given about the Dark Side and the Order Of the Phoenix. With a plethora of mythical creatures fighting both the sides, it created the defining atmosphere of a Global War of Good against Evil. When fans couldn't help wondering how Harry, who could not cast even a Cruciatus, would survive a Battle with the most dangerous Sorcerer of all time, she provides the ultimate solution in the form of the Deathly Hallows, the Elder Wand and the Blood of Harry in Voldemort. The dramatic final encounter of the two with an abrupt end, made it feel like Rowling took you on a roller-coaster ride which ended right at the bottom of the highest fall. She has made sure no one else writes sequels to Harry Potter, with her epilogue set 19 years later. But it would have been a better epilogue if she had explained what the characters went on to become, rather than just how many kids they had.

LIFE IN THE 1500'S in Good Old England:

An interesting forward that I would like to share and remember-
The next time you are washing your hands and
complain because the water temperature isn't just
how you like it, think about how things used to be.
Here are some facts about the 1500's: These are
interesting. Most people got married in June,
because they took their yearly bath in May and still
smelled pretty good by June. However, they were
starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of
flowers to hide the body odour.Hence the custom
today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water
The man of the house had the privilege of the nice
clean water, then all the other sons and men, then
the women and finally the children! Last of all the
babies. By then the water was so dirty you could
actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying,
"Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high,
with no wood underneath. It was the only place for
animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small
animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof.When it
rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals
would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying
"It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into
the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom
where bugs and other droppings could mess up your
nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a
sheet hung over the top afforded some protection.
That's how canopied beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something
other than dirt. Hence the saying "dirt poor."

The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery
in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh
(straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As
the winter wore on, they added more thresh until
when you opened the door it would all start slipping
outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance
way. Hence the saying a "thresh hold."

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a
big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day
they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They
ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat.
They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving
leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then
start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in
it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the
rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas
porridge in the pot nine
days old."

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them
feel quite special. When visitors came over, they
would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign
of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon."
They would cut off a little toshare with guests and

would all sit around and "chew the fat."

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food
with high acid content caused some of the lead to
leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning deaths.
This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the
next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered
poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got
the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the
middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust."

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The
combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out
for a couple of days.Someone walking along the road
would take them for dead (dead drunk) and prepare
them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen
table for a couple of days and the family would
gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if
they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a
"wake"

England is old and small and the local folks started
running out of places to bury people. So they would
dig up coffins and would take the bones to a
"bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening
these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to
have scratch marks on the inside and they realised
they had been burying people alive. So they would
tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it
through the coffin and up through the ground and tie
it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the
graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift")to listen
for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the
bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."And that's
the truth...

Harry Potter And the Order of the Phoenix- Review

If there's one thing that can beat a never-before experience of watching a movie from the first row on the first day of its release by paying seventy rupees for a ten rupees ticket, it's reading the title "Harry Potter um Maya Kattalayum" in the CBFC certificate of the English movie I had supposedly paid for. We were half expecting Harry to be rescued in a thodapakuchi and fight the Death Eaters with his Mayamanthrangal. Thank god, the movie started with English dialogues. Obviously the book is better, as always with the Harry Potter series. But of all the other books this is the best screen adaptation of the book. Of course the first and the second movie did not require much adaptation, being very short and easier to script. Watching the first two was like reading the book. It's from the third that the director's had a real challenge. And only David Yates has come close to matching it. The third and fourth movies absolutely sucked.

Of course, it is difficult to picturise the entire book. I was not expecting to see Grawp or Arthur Weasley being bitten by the snake etc. And he could have definitely avoided the dragging conversations of Harry with Luna(with the thestrals) and Hermione(the one after the kissing scene). But there were many scenes I was really looking forward to, but didn't show up. Like the Magical Brethren fighting Voldemort in the end on Dumbledore's orders, Firenze entering the Main Hall when Trelawny gets sacked (what was the point of that scene without that wonderful climax), the Black Family tree (It was visible in the background of one scene, but wasn't explained- better that than the photograph that Sirius uselessly gave at the station). Even Dumbledore's escape was not satisfactorily portrayed. But the War at the Department of Mysteries had some stunning special effects and is really worth looking forward to. One thing that was irritating in the narration was the order of events. First it was all about the hearing, then it was all about Umbridge taking over as High Inquisitor and her villainous deeds, then it was continuously about Dumbledore's Army. Everything should have happened side by side.
Trelawny getting sacked was towards the end of the book and thestrals to be explained after Hagrid arrives.

The casting of Umbridge, Luna and Bellatrix couldn't have been better. They didn't act; they were the characters themselves. But since the movie came after the sixth book released, I expected some more importance to have been given to Ginny's looks. They should have anticipated the audience to look forward to her being stunning and fit for Harry to go out with. But she looks very ordinary, especially compared to Emma Watson.

When I was watching the movie, I came up with another theory. Not exactly theory. The prophecy was in row number 97. The Harry Potter series is from 1991 to 1997. Does the year '97 have any significant connection with the row number of the Prophecy? Like, that being the year when the prophecy gets fulfilled. Not sure if it has already been talked about in the fan sites. But I realised it today.

Note: Was it me or did Harry not have a scar in many scenes? (in Hog's Head, during the hearing, during DA classes, when he woke up from bad dreams etc.)

Goverment Killing itself?

I came home today from college and was surprised to see my mother opening the door. "What are you doing here? Didn't you go to the office?", I asked. "I told you yesterday. BSNL employees on strike. No office today. You never listen to me", she replied. Then I asked her the details of the strike. BSNL wanted to expand its subscriber base. So new equipment was needed for the expansion. A tender was started a year back. The lowest bidder would supply the equipments. The tender took many months to complete and finally one company was chosen. Before the tender could be approved by the then Union Minister for Communication and Technology, he was replaced and a new minister came in his place. The new minister felt the lowest bid itself was expensive and has requested for a re-tender. Due to this delay, BSNL went down from No.2 to No.3 in its ranking of number of mobile customers. If there is a re-tender, the delay would cause a huge loss to the company, which would affect the employees. I was both happy and disturbed by the details of the strike. Happy because, the employees are striking for issues other than salary hikes and other perks and are actually concerned about the pathetic state of their organization. Disturbed because, the issue poses a very high threat not only to BSNL but any government organization. The attitude and policies of the government is the first and the only obstacle to the growth of Government and Government-aided organizations.

If any private company wants to declare a tender for the same reason, the CMD of the company would have a meeting with the representatives of the companies, the tender would be quoted within a week, there would be negotiations with the lowest bidder to reduce the price and the order would be placed within 15 to 20 days. When it comes to a government tender, the reasons for opening the tender must be analyzed by a team of executives and a 50 page report must be produced and signed by the concerned heads, which takes a month or two. Next, a detailed report of the required equipments and their descriptions must be written and sent to the participating companies. A half page advertisement in all the English newspapers containing all the details of the tender must be published. The companies are given another month to decide and quote their price in sealed envelopes. A date is fixed for opening the sealed covers and the Prices and Conditions of all the companies are thoroughly analyzed and documented by a team of professionals. The best company is selected. Their worldwide credibility and popularity is checked by another team. It is checked if they will be able to produce within the deadline with their resources. Then the company is called in again for negotiations. "You gave the same equipments for Rs. 3950 to MTNL. Now you are quoting Rs. 4150. Please reduce". "No sir, cost of labour has increased, raw materials price increased." "Ok.... give for Rs.4050." "Ok, sir." Now there is another rule in government organization that the entire tender must not be given to the same company, to avoid problems which you can guess. 50% is given to the lowest bidder, another 20% to the next lowest bidder after negotiations for the same price and so on. After all this toiling for 6 to 8 months, the tender goes to the concerned minister for approval, who has no knowledge of the past procedures, but is of course guided by his own qualified group of professionals. And if the private competitors somehow get a whiff of it, they will make their contribution to the problem. Reminds you of Adiseshan of Sivaji, right? "The cost is Rs. 4050, but last year MTNL finished the tender at Rs. 3950. We can't afford this. Start a new tender."

The worst part of all this, is that BSNL is not even a government organization. It has long been made a Public Sector. The approval of the Advisory board and CMD must be sufficient to close any tender, yet the Minister's opinion is being awaited. If a Public Sector gets the Navaratna status, this can happen. With small companies like BHEL etc. getting the status, it is a pathetic situation that one of the largest and the most profitable organization still not being able to make its own decision. The overflowing subscribers requesting for CellOne connections are being made to wait for days, not because there are not enough towers or bandwidth to accommodate traffic, but because there are not enough Sim cards being manufactured to keep up with the demand. And it's not like private companies where the company manufacturing the Sim card can be sacked and the tender given to a new company. There is no way, other than to keep begging them to supply on time. And God knows if that company is serving other interests. Next you know, the company that was donating 4000-5000 crores as profit to the Central Exchequer during yearly budgets and was compensating for the losses of Postal and Railway Departments, would be shown as running at loss due to competitors and would be slowly shut down in a phased manner.

Why should we vote for Taj Mahal?

I get at least ten messages everyday asking for a vote for the Taj Mahal, to help make it into the seven wonders list. Starting from the Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Golconda fort, Fatehpur Sikri, Palaces of Rajasthan, Temples of Tamil Nadu, Ajanta Ellora caves to the Islands of Andaman Nicobar, waterfalls of Karnataka, hill stations of Kashmir and the East, riverbeds of the Ganges to the Himalayas, everything is ours to cherish and ours to feel proud of. Who are they to say if the Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders or not? And who actually started the campaign? The UNO being a recognized international body maintains a list of all the archaeological sites of the world. A list and not seven or eight. This campaign for the seven wonders was started by a private organization which profits from all the clicks it receives in its website, all the messages received through mobiles and all the phone calls made by the so called "true-patriots" wanting their country's landmark to appear in the list. This is just a form of Brand Promotion by the private organization and a media gimmick. And people might have been wondering for long as to why the Indian Government was not as much as lifting a finger to promote the Taj Mahal internationally." 'The New 7 Wonders of the World' campaign has been launched by the owner of a Swiss website. The whole campaign is a media hoax," says Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society here. "How can the whole government machinery be used to hype a campaign launched by a private entrepreneur?"

Though it would do good in the interest of the Indian Tourism Industry, the government has abstained from actively supporting the cause by describing the campaign as 'economic exploitation of the sentiments of the Indian people.' No two monuments are alike and they should not be compared. It is an injustice to the status and dignity of the Taj Mahal. Without understanding this basic point, the way the Indian youth is campaigning for votes through the internet, orkut, cell phones etc., goes on to prove how carried away we are by the western influence unconsciously.

Was the Black Money really made White?

Saw Sivaji once again yesterday with family. As good as the first time. Probably even better. A movie made wonderfully with the director's understanding of the logic that a commercial fast-paced movie needs no logic. But, how the basic plot of the story having such a huge loophole, went unnoticed by the audience is beyond the understanding of the audience. The movie deals with the hero snatching black money from the business and political big shots and turning them white through Hawala transaction. So, what really happens? The black money obtained here is given to the dealer at India. Rajni collects and equivalent amount of money to be turned white, from a white there. But what happens to the black money given here? It'll obviously continue to circulate only in India.

The money collected here is transferred to the dealer at another country not in cash but in kind. In other words, the Indian dealer pays in Indian currency, for the cargo bought from an Indian seller by the foreigner. Because the cargo exported from here is usually something illegal a large sum of money transferred from one country to another would be subjected to a series of questioning, as to the kind of cargo being exported etc. Hawala transactions are mainly done by compensating the rupees given here to be converted to dollars and the dollars given there to be converted to rupees. It provides the basic finance for goods like drugs, weapons etc. being transported across borders. So by funding for such activities, Sivaji actually promotes Hawala transactions and N lakh crore rupees is still circulating only in India as black money. Technically, the black money is not turned white.

I don't know if you followed me. But, think about it. People watching a movie which is fighting black money, by buying black tickets is another aspect to be introspected. All these arguments aside, a movie is for entertainment. The three hours that we pay to enjoy ourselves, must be worthwhile. A little exaggeration, larger-than-life hero, seeing our wishful thinkings being realized on screen, giving you a "Gosh, how would it be if it were true?" feeling is all that we want and that is definitely taken care of in this movie. A very "intelligent and mature" person will always be captious and carping about any movie (Yes... I'm preparing for GRE). He may like a movie, but he will definitely not enjoy it. We need to lower ourselves at some points and let ourselves enjoy every moment of life.

"Guess who's the hero of Shankar's next movie..."
"Who"
"Dhanush!!!"
"What???"
"Pera kaetta odane chumma adhiruthilla!!! Just kidding..."

Cricket is Life

This is not one of those blogs where one explains how important a role cricket plays in the life of an average Indian and how crazy he is about the sport. This is about an analogy drawn between the game of Cricket and a person's life that I happened to hear in a recent speech given by an eminent orator and it really interested me. I 'm putting it in writing for two reasons: First, I would like to share it with those who haven't yet heard it. Second, I would like to remember it when I come back to my blogs in the future.

If one observes the game of cricket closely, one is sure to notice the subtle similarities it holds with a person's life. Everyone in this world is striving to become successful, just like a batsman is trying to score well in his innings.

1. The bowler is delivering a ball to the batsman, who is trying to hit it with his bat and try to score runs. As simple as that. But why are there ten other people in the field trying to stop him from scoring. Whenever we try to become successful, there are at least ten people trying to stop you from doing it.

2. Forget about the ten people. Why are there ten thousand people watching you play? They shout if you hit a six, they shout if you hit a four and they shout if you become out. Whenever we try to do something in life, the society is full of people who really don't care if you succeed or fail but are always there to criticize or advice you for your every action. Just like a batsman ignores the crowd while playing, so should you in life.

3. It doesn't always need those ten people to get you out, in cricket. Sometimes, the partner with whom you are playing, runs to your side when you least expect it and in a panic you don't know what's happening and you get run out. Similarly, it doesn't always require your enemies to defeat you in life. Your close allies can also be responsible for your downfall. There are also those "Kudave irundhu kuzhi parikkaravanga."


4. Does the bowler deliver every ball to you with the intention of making you score? Definitely he is trying to get you out with every ball he bowls. We must succeed in our life by utilizing all the efforts that the world takes to bring you down. In other words, we must use the attempts to make us fail, as the stepping stones for our success.

5. Last but not the least, when the opposing team shouts "Howzaaaat?" and the whole crowd is on its foot shouting with maximum volume almost threatening the umpire to give an out. The umpire lifts two fingers and says "Not Out", everyone in the stadium shut their mouth and sit back. However strong is the voice of Adharma, a meek signal from Dharma is what prevails in the end. Everything else gets defeated at that very moment. There will always be moments in life when you "think" you are defeated unfairly, but always have hope on justice and yourself.

There are many such aspects where Cricket and life are alike. These are some that I remembered.

Select A Name and Villain for Ghajini remake!!!

Check out Aamir Khan's blog about his views on doing a remake of Ghajini which he has written in ARR's studio. Aamir Khan has asked for your opinion on an appropriate title and your choice of villain for the movie. Well, actually don't bother... there are already more than 1000 comments and I doubt if he'll even have the time to go through them and take your opinion. But, you can have a look at his thoughts, his opinions and what made him go for the remake etc. And I 'm happy that he agrees with me on one aspect.... the last 30 mins of Ghajini was too commercial and didn't fit the stylishly shot, rest of the movie. It definitely has to be given more thought in the remake at least.

Snape Loved Lily???

"Snape is definitely a good guy." Ya heard this... so what? It's quite obvious, isn't it? With six books continuously trying to make you mistake Snape for all the bad things happening to Harry and finally turning him into a near-hero status, it's not that easy to accept him as the bad guy with just one act - of killing Dumbledore. Dumbledore never feared death and was literally begging Malfoy to kill him till the Death-Eaters arrived and it doesn't make a bit of sense for him to ask Snape to leave him alone by saying "Please severus...". For all we know, it might have been Dumbledore's plan from first to get himself killed at the right moment, of course for something bigger and Snape could have hesitated at the end, so that Dumbledore was forcing him to kill him as quickly as possible. You can read all this here and thousands of other fan sites.

But what none of them could explain was the million dollar question "What made Dumbledore believe Snape, at first?" Here lies Rowling's skill at not letting the readers know too much too soon. With the little information we have on Snape history, there no way of answering that, with as much conviction as saying R.A.B is Regulus Black. From this point forth, we shall be leaving the firm foundation of fact and journeying together through the murky marshes of memory into thickets of wildest guesswork.

Snape Loved Lily

We know nothing of the feelings of Snape towards Lily Potter apart from that one memory where she tries to protect him from James. Of course, he insults her and calls her a mudblood. But what else do you expect when he is angry and vulnerable? Also, it is possible that that one act could have made him feel ashamed of himself later when he went to his room and could have planted the seeds of his feelings for her. Of course, these feelings were not reciprocated, as Lily later went on to love James. I'm saying Snape never had the courage to express his love for her. This is purely my guess, but it seems very logical as it answers many questions like:

1. Why Snape hated James to such an extent?
2. Why Snape hated Harry? (He resembled James and couldn't stand the fact that he was the product of Lily and James' love)
3. Why he felt sorry when he heard that it was actually Harry Potter that Voldemort tried to kill when he heard of the prophecy? ( Now this is the strongest clue for my theory. Snape didn't know whom the prophecy referred to initially. He went and told his master about it. When Voldy went to the Potters' residence he killed Lily before trying to kill Harry. This made Snape sorry for what he did. It hurt him badly. He never expected this to happen. Again it re-affirms the fact that Dumbledore keeps harping on: "Love is the greatest thing in this world". It made Snape think if what he was doing was right or wrong. He came and pleaded to Dumbledore telling him his innermost feelings for Lily. No amount of Occlumency would have hidden such deep, heart-felt regret. And Dumbledore is not one to be easily deceived of such things. He believed Snape and made him turn against Voldemort.)
4. What's so significant about Harry's green eyes that Rowling keeps telling she'll explain in every book? ( Snape in the final battle between Voldy and Harry, will be reminded of Lily when he sees Harry's eyes and help him or die protecting him or something like that.)
5. What are the two important things about Lily, that Rowling said will be revealed in the next book? (Well, this surely appears to be one of them)

These are some of the questions that will definitely be answered to an acceptable degree if my theory is true. Again, this is just my "theory". But definitely "my" theory. Hope it turns out to be true.

P.S. Let me put this in writing. I have a bet with my friend Rahul. He says Snape is bad and I say Snape is good. The bet is for a thousand rupees. This is just so that I don't forget to collect my money later.

Sivaji: Movie Review

At a time when it is enough for the superstar to make a guest appearance in movies for it to run 800 days, comes this visual extravaganza by Shankar… something that a Rajni fan would literally die for. It is clearly not one of Shankar’s best stories, but given the tremendous amount of pressure of directing the Superstar and satisfying his fans, he has done a marvellous job. It is also clearly not one of Rajni’s best movies. I would still prefer his Basha, Padayappa etc. but they were of a different era altogether. When there was far less expectation from him. In fact, if Rajni had acted in Mudhalvan THAT would have been something out of the world. With the given script, Shankar has brought out ten times more than anyone can expect to get out of it. One small doubt… Why do they show black money to be possessed only by politicians, higher officials and businessmen and not by Cinema Actors and Actresses?

Rumors like the budget of the Sahara song being the entire budget of the movie Veyyil, are not hard to believe. The picturisation of the songs were one of the best ever in Indian Cinema and Vaji Vaji, Sahara and Athiradee make the movie worth watching again. If not for the songs, if not for the stunts (especially the car fight), if not for Rajni or Vivek, the movie is definitely worth watching for Shreya (…slurp). She’s one of India’s naturally beautiful actresses (unlike Asin who wears a ton of make-up) and definitely no other heroine would have suited better for the role (I mean songs). The money spent lavishly for the extravagant sets in the songs have been intelligently compensated for, in the heroine’s costumes. Generally when songs are picturised with foreign dancers, our heroine would be the worst in the group. But in Style song, Shreya makes India proud. Vivek does a wonderful job expressing no fear of acting with the Superstar. Usually when Vivek comes in all the scenes in a movie, the movie doesn’t do well in the Box Office. Sivaji will definitely break that curse. Shankar can never rest until he tries something new in all his movies. This time he has tried everything he can with Rajni, making him fair, shaving his head, made him dance, made him imitate other actors (too good), and even killed him in the story. The fair Rajni, though wasn’t better than the usual Superstar, was a different idea and worked out very well. But some people feel he looked like he was affected by leprosy.

One thing that Shankar has to be appreciated for, is that with Indian Cinema being ruled by Bollywood, he made the entire nation turn and take notice of our Cinema and actually made them feel jealous. Though I doubt if the movie would run for as many days as Chandramukhi, mainly because it has released in literally all the theatres in Tamil Nadu. When I went to Tirunalveli a few days back for a trip to Kutralam, all the small theatres in all the villages were running it with many shows not completely filling up. Usually Superhit movies release in fewer theatres so that people in remote places travel to see it even after many days.

It would be difficult for Rajni to act in any other movie after this, as no other director will be able to show him this young. Of course, maybe if you spend a sixty crore. This movie has definitely taken him to a different level. Rajni has proved once again with this movie that he will always be the reigning Badshah of Tamil Cinema forever. As for Shankar… Better luck next time.