Balaji's Weblog



Sapta Sagaradaache Ello - Side A
I knew for a while that this was critically acclaimed movie. On my flight from Chennai to Stockholm I started watching it. The first 20 minutes was a breath of fresh air. The makers have put in their effort and it was showing. The music and visuals were pleasing. I was rooting for the characters. But once I understood where the story was heading I couldn't bring myself to watch the rest of the movie. It was too close to reality, on a topic that was debated and enraged on social media to death. I had to force myself to watch it. Twice. After a while I got hooked to the story again and the love between them was depicted beautifully. The ending was poetic.

Arcane
This could've been a just-another-fantasy series. But the production quality, voice acting, animation, background music and world detail are so phenomenal that it makes the 2-season TV series one of the best ever in its category. The "elevation scenes" (action sequences, protagonist/antagonist introductions) are too good, goosebumps guaranteed. Indian commercial movies that rely on elevation should take note, this is how it is done.

Bluebox
The first manga I read was Akira 15 or so years ago. I read it only because the movie adaptation was in an IMDb list. I "properly" entered the world of manga when my kids were old enough to watch anime. One-Punch Man, Demon Slayer, One Piece are some of my favourites.
Blue Box is a high-school romance drama with a sports backdrop. It has likeable characters, an uplifting & moving story that is on equal parts emotional, romantic, tragic, heart-felt and motivational with a unique art style. I got hooked when I started watching it on Netflix with my daughters. Then I wanted more and continued with the manga. It would take several seasons to catch up with manga, I want to know what happened to them.

Kamal Haasan's 70 favourite Indian movies
On 70th Indian Independence Day celebrations, Hindustan Times requested Kamal Haasan (big fan) to curate a list of his favourite 70 Indian films and why. For obvious reasons, the list is limited to movies released till 2017.
The article is lost probably in a website rewrite but wayback machine to the rescue. If wayback machine fails here is my local copy sans images.

Poor Charlie's Alamanack
The Stripe Mode of this book is something I have never seen before for a book. The pictures, quotes, sections are well designed and it _makes_ you want to read the book. The book itself is a treasure. Don't miss the recommended reading and the Berkshire Mode.