Vanna Vanna pookkal - Tamil movie review

Prashanth, Vinothini and Mounica play lead roles in this love triangle. 

The good thing about this movie is there are umpteen shots of nature - snakes, monkeys, flowers, waterfalls etc  Mounica's love for Prasanth is one sided and he meets Vinothini and falls for her.  She too starts loving him but by a cruel twist of fate they cannot get married. 

Some fantastic songs and refreshing cinematography.

Garden diaries - Swiss chard

Our swiss chard's peak time was in mid to late spring.  We were able to harvest fresh large greens for our stirfry and soups.  After that the heat has been too much for this plant and its barely surviving now.

Garden diaries - Rose

A rose is the centerpiece in any garden!

This beauty came to our home just as a cutting without any leaves in early May.  Quickly leaves appeared all over in the next few weeks and two buds made their appearance in early June.  Since then there have been no flowers.  Guess we have to wait another year for the next set of flowers.

Garden diaries - Sunflower

 These pictures were taken over four days and you can see that the last picture has the fully blossomed flower. 


Our first sunflower bloomed in mid June.  All others follow in succession. 


This beauty opened late June.

Garden diaries - Zucchini

 Our zucchini plant started blooming in mid May.  Female flowers started making their first appearance in late May.  The flowers were a bright yellow and bloomed early in the morning and closed by noon.





Female flowers are characterised by a swollen bulb and are closer to the base of the plant.  Male flowers are on a simple stalk and are taller.  Male flowers are abundant too.







In a couple of weeks (in mid June) our first full grown zucchini presented itself!

Pooveli Tamil movie review

Karthik, Kausalya, Heera and Abbas are the central characters in this lovely film.

The story line is good; the central theme is love (surprise, surprise).  Karthik and Kausalya have been school mates and they meet by chance after a few years.  Karthik is romantically inclined towards Heera but she does not show any interest as she wants to focus on her academics.  Kausalya had also  been romantically involved with Abbas and they were ready to tie the knot even without her parents consent but by a cruel turn of fate Abbas meets with his end.  Karthik accompanies Kausalya to her ancestral home to be a temporary solution to her problems but things take an unexpected turn.  There are multiple twists and turns to this story - first the arrival of Abbas's parents, second Heera's arrival when wedding preparations are in full swing etc 

Just to focus on the hero's goodness Kausalya's character has been portrayed as a little selfish and tight lipped.
 

Music is very soothing and pleasant.  The joint family scenes are very homely and village setting is adorable.

Thullatha manamum thullum Tamil movie review

Vijay and Simran are the star cast of this average entertainer.
The story line is based on the heroine's misunderstanding of the hero's true identity.  She knows him in person to be a rowdy (though the hero happens to  be engaged in rightful fights! of course!!)  but does not realize that it is him she has been wanting to meet eagerly because of his mesmerizing voice and beautiful tunes.  The suspense is drawn out through out the film. 

Narration is unique and keeps the audience engaged.  Vijay is a sentimental hero in this movie and spends camera time in ruminations, nostalgic recollections, talking with his God etc.  Music is pleasant but monotonous.