Two Powerful Dialogues from "Gladiator": Imagine the husky voice of Russel Crown

“Fratres! Three weeks from now, I will be harvesting my crops. Imagine where you will be, and it will be so. Hold the line. Stay with me. If you find yourself alone, riding in green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled; for you are in Elysium, and you're already dead!

[The soldiers laugh]


Brothers, what we do in life, echoes in eternity.”

(Meaning of Elysium : A dwelling place assigned to happy souls after death; the seat of future happiness; Paradise. Hence, any delightful place.)

(Meaning of Latin word fratres is brothers or cousins)

.................................................................................................................

My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius. Commander of the Armies of the North. General of the Felix Legions. Loyal servant to the true Emperor, Marcus Aurilius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife – and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.

Invictus

In one of the business presentations, MD of ICICI Pru Company Mr.Nilesh Shah gave a tip about this Oscar Nominated Movie "Invictus". Back from the meeting, I tried my level best to buy the cd from local bazar, but in vain. Probably local's watch movies like enthiran etc and not Invictus. Not losing heart, I ordered the VCD through the internet and it was promptly delivered.

After a few days of arrival of the CD, I reserved yesterday night to watch this movie at home. I could feel fresh blood running in me, at the end of the movie. For anyone who need a pinch of self-motivation, plz see this movie.

The movie starts with Mandela being released from prison, when a 'White' sports coach tells his boys : "It's the terrorist Mandela, they let him out. Remember this day boys, this is the day our country went to the dogs."

Ultimately Mandela wins election and becomes president of South Africa. The movie deals with his leadership qualities in managing the differences between his country men - be it white or black and how he brings in unity while restoring the nation's pride.

The movie is centred around the South African Rugby team called "Spring Box" and how Mandela inspires the team to win the Rugby world cup held in South Africa in 1995.

The Rugby captain Francois Pienaar quotes at one place : "He's unlike any person I've ever met. I was thinking how a man could spend thirty years in prison, and come out and forgive the men who did it to him ..."

And when the sports minister of South Africa comments "According to the experts, we'll reach the quarter-finals, and no further.", Nelson Mandela replies : "According to the experts, you and I should still be in jail."

So experts do go wrong often.

And When Mandela was in Robin Island as prisoner for 27 years, he frequently keeps saying :
"I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul."
This is a small part of a large poem called "INVICTUS" from the Victorian Era. Repeating this quote made him get up when ever he fell down in his prison years.

Full Poem "INVICTUS":

"Out of the night that covers me,
black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thanks whatever gods may be,
for my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of fate,
my head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears,
looms but the horror of the shade,
and yet,
the menace of the years finds,
and shall find me,
unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
how charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the master of my fate - I am the captain of my soul."

And my special thanks to Nilesh for having shared information about this wonderful movie. The movie did help me a lot - to regroup my energy and look forward. For you to feel what I say ...... you need to watch this movie. No Execuse.

EAST INDIA Company is Back in Business:

East India company should be familiar to many indians. For those who don't, this is the company which set up its trading business in India and subsequently 'captured' the whole of India and ruled it till independence in 1947.

Originally started in 1600 by Queen Elizabeth-I, it controlled 50% of world trade at one point of time. But After World War II, the company was back to square one with limited or no business activity.

Recently EAST India company is back in business. But this time it is owned by an Indian : Sanjiv Mehta.

Here is a very interesting video of EASY India Company : Click Here

Signature Dish of India : Dosai ... That too Masala Dosai

I stumbled upon this video clip just now. It is a tribute to Dosai.
Click here to watch a short documentary on Dosai

Oh those britishers....

It is long known that Lord Maucaulay was the father of Macaulay's system of education in India. But why this system was introduced is not known to many. Kindly click the picture below to understand the reason. I hope it is self explanatory.

My haphazard thougts on Freedom fighters, British etc

Comments from Home:
I did have my own comments, which I was not able to post it in the main article. Following are a few:

• The kind of punishments and sufferings met out to our freedom fighters makes my blood boil. The jawlinwalabagh tragedy portrayed in “Gandhi Movie” or the death penalty shown in “Sirachalai” or “Madarasapattinam” makes my hatred for these 'cruel' British officers grow. Seeing the sacrifice of such freedom fighters should make us appreciate the importance of Freedom. I salute them.

• Majority of Indians were active during freedom struggle. And their only goal is to get freedom. They were active with extempore speech, jail punishment etc. But once freedom was granted, these ‘thiagigal or thondargal’ were jobless. They would not have known what to do. They were underemployed. Many sincere freedom fighters like VOC or Gandhi or Nethaji vanished from the scene without enjoying any material benefit. Similar has been the fate of people like "Nambi" in Madrasapattinam who worked for british. In this movie you would notice his face blank, walking alone post independence.
• Contrarily, the leaders (Thalaivargal) did take a political turn and became rulers and even today they enjoy the fruits of their freedom struggle. And there was yet other set of Indians who remained wealth through out – because they did not participate in the freedom struggle. They had enough capital (cash) to do business post independence. They may be the entrepreneurs and businessmen who got the early bird price in independence.

• Earlier India was ruled by many kings and small time chieftains. These guys were fighting with each other. But when british started capturing them one by one – there was a huge freedom struggle – on side by these kings and other side by common men. Ultimately freedom was given to India and the main reason was common men like Gandhi. India now became democratic. Sardar vallabai patel was given charge to convince these kings to give up their kingdom in exchange of some compensations. Had it not been for the british, India would still have been ruled by ‘kuru nila mannargal’. I feel British have done a good job in making us realize the value of unity and settle down democratically.

• I do come across many ‘samy’ names like Ramasamy, chinnasamy, duraisamy etc. For instance, the name Ramasamy means God Rama. May be chinnasamy could mean small samy. But this Duraisamy is rather critical : It means God Durai (vellaikara Durai). Many ‘Educated’ Indians were working under British in the cader of clerk, accountant or assistance. These are the British Loyals. Expressing their loyalty, they have equated the White Men (British) equal to god and named their wards as “Durai Samy”. This name Duraisamy is common amoung children born to Indians who were British Loyals during freedom struggle. Now the relevance of “Durai Samy” in today's world – I donot know.

• Many Hill stations – be it plantations of tea/coffee or recreational places like Kodaikanal was once lived by tribal people only. To beat the heat of summer, these british officials initially trekked and later built motorcade single roads. Had it not been them, it would have taken more time to build. Infact, in many coffee estates I have seen white men’s bunglow’s still lived by the current owners of these estates. They live like vellakara dorai

• In this movie Madrasapattinam, when we look at the Central Train station in Chennai, it is such a massive building on the banks of coovam ‘river’. They have built this station in 20th century with capacity to handing the population of 21st century. Such has been the vision of these planners and engineers. But today, before the project could be executed and commissioned it gets outdated – such shortsighted have been today’s planners.

Though Britishers have plundered india (Just like terrorists), they have unfolded new chapters like democracy, abolishment of royals, creating new natural resources. In fact, when they had to leave india there is no doubt they would have left with heavy heart. All the estates, all the bridges, all the roads, all the ports, all their efforts have gone in vein. They could not last to enjoy it.

Madrasapattinam : Good Movie to watch

Lavishly mounted and recreating the era with precision, Madrasapattinam gets you transported to the last days of the British rule in India. It is a "Must watch" movie - That too in a Big screen like Big cinema.

With block buster names like Manirathnam's Ravanan in show, 'stock market' intitution did guide me to watch "Madrasapattinam" this sunday. And it was right.

Though the theme is similar in theme to Titanic, the preindepence screen set's are particularly refreshing. The cast by Arya and british actress Amy Louise Jackson was great and natural.

Arya : This is the first movie of Arya that I watched. Simply excellent - far ahead of many actors in India. A macho man, he fits in the rold of a pre-independence citizen very well.

Amy Jackson is a 19 year old British model, actress and Miss Teen World 2008. Jackson is from Knowsley, Liverpool, United Kingdom. She closely resembles bollywood Preity Zinda. With original british accent, romantic look, beautiful smile - she fits in the role well. In the link above, Amy thanks Arya for all his help in settling down with nitty gritty of the role.

AL.Vijay : He is one man who deserves all credit for this movie. Fantastic. He has exceeded many established directors. Though he has directed lots of movies in tamil, this movie would stay as his turning point in the days to come. For your kind information : Vijay worked as assistant director to Mr.Priyadharshan who directed Siraichalai and kanchevaram.

Kalpathi Agoram is produced of this movie. He is known for encouraging new talents. Udhayanidhi Stalin, who owns Red Giant Movies, has acquired the distribution rights of ‘Madarasapattinam’ at a huge cost from Agoram, it is reported.

My Observations about this movie:
(1) It is a rare opportunity to watch chennai side by side in 1900's and 2010. The digital works at Reliance Media works has been beautiful.
(2) The events like freedom struggle, life style, culture in 1940's have been well portrayed. You could see trams running in the roads of chennai. People who love history would admire this movie. It does instill a tinge of patriotism.
(3) Fresh faces like Amy Jackson and host of english actors make this movie look genuine.
(4) Photography in particular in the Lalit mahal palace, mysore etc have been wonderful. The rich interiors and grandeure of the british era is well visualized. And next time's visit to Taj Hotel in Pasumalai, which happened to be the residence of the chairman of Madura coats, you may be in a better position to appreciate the building structures.
(5) The movie ends with happier note. There is NO sorrowful, weeping climax. Good.
(6) Today's crook's are amply displayed in the character of the person who acts as travel organizer. His reckless charging nature is a warning to all those who charge sky high price for the services rendered. But that is the fact. Hope thse guys change atleast after seeing this movie.
(6) Last but not the least: Atlast here is one movie where you donot have vadivelu jokes, no kuthu pattu, no vulgarity, no aruval, no rowdism etc. Watching this movie, you would probably walk out without any headache.


So, what are you waiting for. Just pull up your socks and watch this movie immediately. Watching it in Big Screen in theaters like Big Cinemas is really good.

Do post your comments, after watching this movie. I sure you would thank me. All the Best.

Note: Even if you donot have habit of watching movies, you may relax the rule and watch this movie. If there is a life, it is to be lived. Start up now.


Statutory warning: I did take my children for the movie. They say it is a 'Mokkai' (meaning boaring movie). So avoid young children.

Click here for Amy Jackson's Interview