Kannum Kannum KoLLai Aditthaal

Kannum Kannum KoLLai Aditthaal

By Venkat Raghavan

(Again) With no expectations I went to see this movie.  The title was catchy.  It seemed to say something beyond the romanticism of the phrase.  Posters alluring.

There was one more reason.  Dulqar Salman.

The director was unknown (maiden venture) but Dulqar Salman as an actor wouldn’t feature in a trash was my thought.  

No, this is *NOT a game changing* movie like a _Vikram Veda, Super Deluxe_ or totally experimental like my previous review _Othaseruppu_ either.  

But it is a thoroughly entertaining new age movie that is reflective of talent and outlook of the current crop of young movie makers and their *bold departures* from norms.  

Siddharth (Dulqar) sees Meera (Rita Varma -oh she acts well) and there is instant spark.  He follows her everywhere.  And on a fine day tells her that he is totally in.  She is taken aback but is persuaded to think over and she leaves irksome.  On the appointed day, Siddharth and buddy Kallis (Kaleeswaran) expectantly wait for her at a park and she turns up ridden by someone in a Royal Enfield bike.  After moments of anxiety, they see the rider is also a female.  And after further tense moments she agrees to court him.  

Siddhu is a freelance app developer. Kallis a freelance graphic designer.  Meera is a beautician who renders services at clients’ home.  She is meticulous, values every penny. (teaches shop keeper a valuable lesson when instead of small change he offers toffee).  She grew up in an orphanage and obviously is charitable towards needy.  As Siddhu tries to keep Meera amused Kallis tries to woo Shreya the bike riding companion of Meera.  She is an independent small time caterer. 

Siddhu and Kallis in their romantic spree, find themselves completely emptied of their pockets as they were busy gallivanting with girls for a month without bothering to work.  Time to get back to work so coffers can be replenished.  Now we get a real peek in to their ”actual” work!!   It is not app developing or graphic designing.  It is *online shopping fraud*.  

_Modus Operandi:_ they shop online for expensive high spec laptops.  They do it under bogus names, addresses and payment methods.  When the goods arrive they collect in the vicinity of address (and not at the exact address) making it appear as though accidentally they had stepped out or some such.  They skillfully replace the original expensive parts inside with cheap alternatives and then return the merchandise on some excuse under the policy of goods return within a few days.  These expensive parts they sell and make money.  

They don’t do the same thing too long.  So they switch to robbing things left inside luxury cars by copying the radio signals of the remote unlock.  

The scene then shifts to a tough Asst Police Commisoner’s (Gautham Menon) house where his daughter who is playing on her new laptop providentially escapes as the laptop blows up.  ACP after going through gadget experts, doesn’t take long to smell the mode of crime, gets police cyber cell follow the online goods return trail and is waiting for the next such return to happen.   But it is not happening. (the boys are now on cars remember?) 

But Siddhu and Kallis are done with.  They are done with their con life.  They have now made 40 Lakhs of rupees and propose to Meera and Shreya they start a new career setting up a Saloon (for Meera) and a restaurant (for Shreya) in Goa with 40 lakhs as investment from their life long savings.  They also plan to get married first.  They drive down to Goa in Siddhu’s car.  They are put up in a nice hotel.  The night falls, as the boys come back separately from the bar back to their rooms, they see ACP at the hotel reception making enquiries.  Even as they head to their rooms, they find the ACP already there with a few cops.  The totally flustered guys in complete pale open the rooms and the *girls aren’t there!!*

Now this is HALF-TIME guys.  If you think I have given away anything, there are more twists and turns in the second half.  The narrative and scenes are built around cyber crime.  

_Now what did I most like about the movie?_

It is a movie with no judgment on morality. No justification for character’s choices or actions. No intimate duets or female exposure.  No pretense whatsoever.  The only niggling thing is the apparent ease with which they break technology. (some logical liberties)

It is two happy go lucky couple who are extremely clever.  The movie is light, romantic, suspenseful yet humorous.  

Ultimately there is no compulsion for justice or karma.  

_That is Tamil mainstream movie making at its new age best._

Beer is a beer - by Venkat Raghavan

*What can beat a good beer drinking experience?*

The answer is best Beer drinking experience preceded by a brewery tour education.  

If anyone ever thought “a beer is a beer is a beer, so what dear?” a trip to Geist factory is all you need… to be clear! 

It happened almost unplanned.  Ashok had asked for a smaller lunch meeting (four of us) before the evening gala he hosted.  I wasn’t sure if we needed it.  We spoke and then Ashok called back to say we are going with Mohan for a brewery tour.  Exactly what I wanted!  Mohan had deferred his joining a weekend getaway with friends to accommodate the brewery tour.   

I am a beer drinker.  I know what goes in a beer.  That is what I thought.  But as Mohan took us through the various stages of beer making, my elementary education precipitated like the unwanted residue after the beer brew is ready, and my knowledge was aglow like the golden liquid of Geist beer.   Sparkling too!   

In short, this is what happens in the brewing process.  Malt is the basic ingredient of a beer.  Malt is nothing but a grain (barley, wheat for instance) that has been allowed to germinate, but stopped prior to full sprouting.  This -stopping of continued germination- is done typically by roasting the grain.  Malting allows the releasing of grain’s sugars easier.   The next is the process of mashing when the malt is mixed with water and is heated and churned.  The resulting sweet liquid obtained is called wort (a new term I learnt yesterday).  Then the wort is moved to another large vessel where it is mixed with Hops.  (Hops is a herb, a plant that is a cousin of marijuana).  It is heated and treated.  Then removed to a final container where the yeast is added.   Before it moves to this final container is a heat exchanger where the liquid is cooled down rapidly to the desired temperature.  It is in this final container where the yeast acts on the sugars in the liquid to release alcohol and carbon dioxide.   And then it is bottled and moved to cold storage.    

If you ever read a laddu recipe and thought you could make great laddus first time or everyone following the recipe would end up making similar laddus, we know we would be far from right, right?  It is much more intricate.  It depends on the quality of the ingredients, the consistency of the batter mixture, the frying time, temperature, the sugar syrup’s consistency, and the right flavoring.

Then… getting it right is one thing, and making it special is another!  How do Mohan and his partner Narayan (_what a delight it was meeting Narayan_!) make Geist special?

All of the malt is imported from Bavaria, Germany.   Bavaria is the citadel of beers as we know.  They add absolutely nothing else to the wort.  In most commercial beers, if you have noticed the labels, you will find mention of sugar and other ingredients like corn syrup.  The water is sourced from the same compound.  It is RO’ed and then minerals added.  The hops are the other special ingredients imported.  It is the hops that lend the distinct flavor.  One of the varieties that lends a citrus flavor was so delightful as Mohan let me take a sniff inside the walk-in cold storage where it is kept at 5 degree centigrade. 

Geist beer, depending on its variety takes anything between 11 days to 22 days from the water and malt mixed stage to the bottle.  In regular commercial beers it could be 5 days!   Good art takes time.  Best dal (yes, the innocuous dal) is the one that simmers overnight!  

The carbonation in entirely natural!  They don’t infuse the fizz!

Above all, they make their own yeast!  A laboratory in house for this purpose.  Mohan says “*Yeast is everything is a beer*!”.   No using of commercial yeast!   

Geist is Vegetarian!  In order to hasten precipitation, breweries typically use some compounds, a main ingredient of which is obtained from fish.  Geist doesn’t use this.   My vegetarian conscience, that too on a Saturday, was gratified. 

Geist beer once cased, is stored at a temperature of 5 degrees and transported to the outlets in refrigerated vehicles.   

Apart from making the beer great, what else Geist does?

The “spent grain” - the residue from the beer making is supplied to cattle farmers.  This proteinaceous feed evidently improves milk yield by 20% and above.   They also dispense with the other residues that go as manure. 

Finally down to the real: that is, drinking beer!    

I had a taste of five varieties of beers, under the perfect setting of a big banyan tree and a Pipal tree.  On a sunny afternoon a perfect quencher to start with.   The beers endear you and the names too!  Weiss Guy for instance.  If Kamacitra is intriguing (the citrus flavored one) JamesBlonde is gripping!  I am not giving any more on this subject, experience it yourself!  You may realise those trees are Bodhi, like I did!!   

Last but not the least! 

Come April, there will be a restaurant!  In the same compound adjoining the Bodhi trees.  *I am going!!*