Nelliyampathy - So near and sooo good.

That was one hell of a looong weekend, a lot of things happened a reunion, a buffet dinner, a stand-up comedy show, a wedding, a betrothal and an awesome trip to end the long weekend. Only thing missed was a movie. So two things were off my bucket list, Alex's standup comedy show, where I bumped into my ex-MD, it was kinda awkward. But, Alex was incredible for two hours with his non-stop comedy, music, mimic, etc. And, the second was a short trip to Nelliyampathy. Been hearing about this place for a long time and finally, we went there and it was sooo good.

Pothundy Dam

The trip was actually a pre-planned, but also an unplanned trip. This trip was planned as a reunion of boys since one of our friend's is back from US after more than three years. After a lot of discussions, we zeroed in on the place to be Nelliyampathy, which was near to Coimbatore yet we haven't visited there. But, as usual, one guy backed out, leaving with just three of us. So we didn't go ahead and book any hotel and almost dropped the plan. Since I couldn't get a return ticket for Sunday night to Chennai and another guy had some work Tuesday, we thought let's go to "some place" on Monday. My first boys only trip after getting married and it turned to be quite good.

At first, we thought we could visit Aanaikatti, another place very near Coimbatore. While we are on the way we even thought about other possibilities like Top Slip or towards Pollachi. But, finally, we thought why not go ahead with our actual destination Nelliyampathy and decide what to do next.


Before entering the hill there was a Pothundy dam, and as usual, it was full of water like any other place in Kerala. It was almost after lunch and looks like it was the usual place for couples to hang out in that hot sun under an umbrella. We didn't want to embarrass them further and we left it and reached the check-post. That's where we came to know that we can't leave the hill in the evening it will be closed after 4 PM. So, we had to stay the night if we decided to enter. We were like why not, let's stay a night here.

We saw a small waterfall on the way up. It was quite a closed place away from the road and after clicking some photos ended up having a bath and it was refreshing. Once, we reached we got a hotel easily, it looked quite new and clean. And, in the night we went on a night safari off-road in a jeep, where we got to see some Samba Deers and Bisons. And, he stopped us on a top of a small hill and the view of the city lights from that top was breathtaking. We were just four members at that top in the dark, expecting some wild animals. It was surreal. Nelliyampathy doesn't even have a wine shop, you have to go down 30 kms if you have to find some. So, we didn't get anything.

"Karady?" Waterfall

The next day morning, we just visited two more places. First one was another falls, I think that place name was Karady. It was quite big than the previous and nobody was there. We were little hesitant whether to get in, but after some time we couldn't resist and it was too good. It looked lovely as well, we went as far as we could and the next place was a hanging bridge. It had a nice view and we took so many photos and some slo-mo videos walking in that bridge. And, the weather was just perfect after a little rain in the early morning. And, returned home by the next afternoon.

It was such a short, but a very fulfilling trip. We went without any plan or expectations, but the places were so good and more importantly without much crowd or I can say anybody else other than us in all the spots. It's a shame that we have never visited this awesome place which was less than a three-hour drive from our hometown, but better late than never. So, not just Ooty, we have another destination now in case we decide to skip town.

Kaala - பெரும் மகிழ்ச்சி

This is what I wrote after watching Kabali FDFS,  மகிழ்ச்சி, சற்று குறைவே. But, Kaala was பெரும் மகிழ்ச்சி. This is the Rajini movie I should have watched in the early morning FDFS show. It was very surprising that Rajini wanted to do another movie with Ranjith. I was happy to know that at least Rajini himself was happy doing a Kabali. And, Ranjith didn't really disappoint the Rajini fan as well as director Ranjith's fan in me. I feel this is the most balanced Rajini-Ranjith movie we can get.

It was like Ranjith heard every comment about Kabali and decided to do something about it. Right from the voice-over at the start of Kabali, I felt Ranjith's voice didn't suit and it was replaced here. Then, the cast, everyone complained about Ranjith is using the same faces in all his movies. So, he went for some fresh combinations here and it worked well. Then, the weak villain in Kabali, who was no match at all for the Superstar and he gets Nana here and their combination scenes sets the screen on fire. And, everybody felt the portions where Rajini travels in search of his wife was too stretched, though I liked it. Kabali had too many assassination attempts on Rajini and none were powerful. Even here there were a few, but each one was handled really well. Here, he does give enough space for some sentiments, but doesn't overdo it. And, the final product was one of the best of Rajini and also Ranjith's as well. 

Let's talk about the ladies in the movie, Ranjith brings back Eswari Rao and what a power packed role and she aces it with an fantastic performance as Selvi which matches Rajini. Her first scene was enough to show her power, a long scene (single shot ?) which introduces us to the whole Kaala family, mind you his family was really big. As the lyric in Thanga Sela song says, "Nee illati naan onnum illa", it was really evident, wasn't written just for the song. Then, we get a reunion of ex-lovers with an amazing song Kanamma with Huma Qureshi, I really felt she was too young to be Kaala's ex, but she wasn't just for the song though. She was very much part of the movie, so is Anjali Patil. The way Anjali says, "oh you really want me to bow before my in laws", just thought how "Padayappa" would have reacted to that :D :D. Kudos to Ranjith for writing these roles in a Rajini movie.

Then, the next big thing is SaNa's songs and scores. Man, he just continues his terrific form from Kabali with his non-Rajini-but-Ranjith style sounds. When we get that Katravai Patravai in the climax it was terrific and so is his other BGMS especially for that rain fight. And, the way Ranjith uses Rap again was really too good like that "nikkal nikkal" before the interval. 

And, Rajini was at ease here as Kaala, once again he surrenders himself to the director. The opening scene itself, he doesn't hit a six, he gets out without scoring a run of the final ball. Then, even after that famous "Kya re, setting ah" scene we didn't get a mass fight scene, his son and others saves him. And, then we get to see "mass" rain fight, just like the famous Badshah, after enough waiting. That was easily the theatre moment of this year. And, his "I love you di" scenes with Selvi and his awkward scene with Serina, keeps reminding us about the Rajini the performer. And, the "Kumaru, yaar ivaru" scene, waah.

The villain Nana Patekar, his uncanny resemblance to you-know-who and his scheme's name "Pure Mumbai", his favorite god Ram everything points very clearly who he is and Ranjith doesn't hold anything back he tells you everything clear about whom he wants to project as villain. It was surprising that Rajini accepted it, cos he was the one who rejected Mudalvan.

Ranjith's very clear about what should he talk about and for whom he should talk about. And, also what are all the cliches that should be changed, like Kabali wearing a coat or the name Kabali itself. Here, the color black and white and what they represent.

At the end of the movie, my only question "Does the Real Rajinikanth saw the Reel Rajinikanth's Kaala?"