One Song: Sundari

I attended a concert by S.P. Balasubrahmanyam last evening and gathered some interesting trivia that I had somehow missed earlier. It adds so much richness to what I know and love about this song.

'Sundari kannal oru seidhi...' is a song composed for Mani Ratnam's Dalapathi composed by Ilayaraaja and is touted to be an example of not just his composition but also his orchestration capabilities especially with the strings section. It was recorded in Mumbai with S.P. Balasubrahmanyam and S. Janaki using R.D.Burman's musicians. Apparently when they finished the recording, the musicians put their instruments down and gave Ilayaraaja a standing ovation.

It was also picturised beautifully, as a dream sequence between Shobana and Rajinikanth. He is a warrior and war (personifying society) keeps intruding in their life together. Sure, Rajini's hairdo looks a little funny, but do take his Indian Samurai-ness with a pinch of salt. Dalapathi itself is a wonderful interpretation of the story of Karna from the Mahabharata. But I'll leave the movie review for another day and another post.

Here's the song on Youtube.com

Up In The Air

I can't review this movie without going into the story thereby ruining it for other people. 

**Spoiler Alert**

Up in the Air is based on a novel, and this is one story I would have preferred to read as a book, but then, I'm not sure this would be my kind of book.

There is a character arc in the movie but it winds right around and brings the protagonist back to where he began, maybe even further back. Ryan Bingham (George Clooney. Sigh.) fires people for a living. He works for a company to whom corporates outsource the severance process. So, he travels the country to tell numerous people they have been 'let go of' in as dignified a manner as possible. He bonds with Alex Goran (a very elegant Vera Farmiga) over a conversation on loyalty cards and they work each other into their hectic travel schedules crisscrossing the country for their respective employers.

One day, Bingham and his colleagues are told that a young intern, Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) has created an internet-based program that enables the 'firing' to happen long distance, through video conferencing thereby saving the company considerable expense on travel and stay for their 'firing executives'. Bingham is opposed to this impersonal method and is arm-twisted into taking her along with him to understand his job better.

Bingham mentors her, shows her the ropes. I expected some resistance, but he is supportive of her right through to consoling her on occasion. 

Along the way, the workaholic who feels at home in an aircraft realises the value of relationships. He forges a rather belated bond with his sisters and is on the precipice of falling in love with Alex. But then, he has his heart broken. When the software is shelved, Bingham, goes back to travelling the country.

It's that abrupt. What can I say - if the sole reason Clooney is in the movie, is to bring in the women, I must put on record  that he sure does heartbreak with dignity, but there is something to be said for a charmer with a pitiful countenance. And the sad part is, he doesn't recover even at the end of the movie. To me, Clooney represents old-world suave, the eternal bachelor. Put him in a harshly lit airline terminal of a movie, and all the charm drains out of him.

The movie ends in what I consider a worse place than where it began with a few good deeds done along the way. It's just him and that giant board of scheduled departures in the airport terminal. 

Bingham was alone, now he is lonely. 

It's tragic.