Wondering who this guy with "aruvaa meesai" is? If you have played EA Sports Cricket 2005, you would have easily found out that this is Sachin Tendulkar! Yes.. This is how Sachin looks in the game! I dont have to say anything more about the how other Indian players look, in the game!

The sad part is that this poor-state is only for the Indian team. The players' faces and actions are beautifully replicated for the other teams. Here's a sample.Do I even need to say the men in the collage are McGrath, Gillespie, Murali, Gilchrist, Shoaib Akhtar and Pollock? These images are from screen shots of the game - look at how realistic they are!
I don't understand why they have done this to India, given the fact that India is one of the most cricket-crazy countries!

Even if we leave out these factors, the game sucks big time! This game is loaded with bugs:
  • The umpire calls wide or byes even if the ball hits the pad - this happens very frequently!
  • You are batting and suddenly you find that the controls are swapped!!! Yes... u are now able to control only the opponent team's bowler!
  • Sachin and Sehwag batting... Suddenly, the commentator announces that Laxman will face the next ball - and you are like "What the hell is happening???" . 2 balls later, its is Sachin and Sehwag again. Whatever Laxman scored in those 2 balls is added to his own score, but not to the team total!
  • One run to win. 5 balls remaining. You hit a six. And then, the bowler gets ready to bowl the next ball! For some strange reason (or lack of it!), you dont win, even though your score is higher than the your opponent's. Then, u get a single to win the game !!!
These are some bugs which I really faced - within some 3-4 matches (of 10 overs each) ! There must be a lot more in there! These are just the new bugs I am talking about. The bugs that were in the earlier versions find their place in this version too.

To make this game, what EA Sports must have done is this: Take Cricket 2004, add better graphics and lot more bugs - there u go... a new game!!!
This is easily the worst game I have played!

(Free-ya velaiyaadina enakke ivlo irritating-aa irukkae, Rs. 1039 koduthu indha game-a vaanginavangalukku epdi irukkum? )

Update: Abinand wanted to know how the other Indian cricketers look, in Cricket 2005. I have uploaded a few screenshots here. Look at these and have a hearty laugh!
By Aravind on Saturday, February 25, 2006 at 6:06 PM Post Categories: ,
If u think this post is related to Astronomy and are looking for scientific info about binary stars and multiple stars, better go here.
Becoz this post is about something else.

Did u all notice how SJ Suryah's name appears on the title cards in his latest movie - Kalvanin Kaadhali?

Multiple Star S.J. Suryah
By Aravind on Thursday, February 23, 2006 at 2:11 PM Post Categories: ,
Finally, got to watch RDB today - and one word that came to my mind - BRILLIANT!
I could spot lots of technical brilliance sprinkled throughout the movie. The transitions from past to present, and back - mannn.. too good!! I got goosebumps in many such scenes! Rakeysh Mehra gets a pat on the back for the way the songs are used in the movie. ARR's background music is mindblowing - few which I remember are the Khalbali remix that comes during the starting titles, the Anupam Kher-Siddharth scene and the Lukka Chuppi flute instrumental! For those (including me) who felt that there is very less of flute usage in the songs, good news is that ARR has made up for all that in the BGMs. There are lots of mesmerising flute bits in many points in the movie. Prasoon Joshi shows his class with wonderful lyrics and dialogues. The youthful comedy and one-liners that run throughout the movie are refreshing. Aamir Khan and co have done a great job on screen! Overall, a great movie!

Quite heartening to see that a non-conventional movie is doing good in box office collections too!

(However, there is someone who actually finds the movie and the music very very ordinary - Mr. Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM !!! Here's the biased, pathetic review by Taran and a rejoinder to it which i found in a blog!)
By Aravind on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 at 9:05 PM Post Categories: ,
... I complete 24 happy years on this planet!

(and my blog completes 6k hits! )
By Aravind on Saturday, February 11, 2006 at 7:20 AM Post Categories:

One fine morning in Mumbai. Shakti comes from kitchen and finds Karthik still sleeping. “Mani ettu aachu… ezhundhudhu Karthik”, she screams playfully. Seeing her in a ravishing green saree, Karthik gets up and starts singing “Pachai Nirame Pachai Nirame…”. “Poda… aarambichittiya kalangaathala….”, whines Shakti, blushing. But, she enjoys it herself. She loves any reference made to Alaipaiyuthe, as their names match those of the lead pair of the movie. Also, this was exactly how Karthik had impressed her in college, not long back!

K continues singing and switches on the TV. Suddenly K stops singing, midway. S comes out from kitchen saying “Yaen niruthitta? Enna aach…” and she too goes spell bound on looking at the picture on TV. Sharmila Chinnasami’s voice was miratti-fying as usual “Bambaai (Mumbai) arugae road-in naduvil migap-periya thimingalam. Ulaga vignyaanigal viyappu.”

“Haiyyo… anga aepdi thimingalam…enna aachu-ne theriyala.. seekram vera chaanel-a maathu…” screams Shakti in excitement. Karthik switches to CNN. “Breaking News: Miracle in Mumbai” flashes on the screen. Same picture here too. Lots of cars crushed. Buildings damaged. Helicopters are flying all over, getting coverage for various news channels. A reporter catches one totally shocked scientist and asks for his opinion. “This is totally unbelievable. World's largest mammal in the middle of the city... that too about 50 kilometres from the sea! I am totally confused, as all other scientists. We can’t figure out what caused this. This has baffled the entire scientific community all over the world. This huge thing has just appeared out of nowhere!!!”

And then the camera pans to another side covering the damage. S exclaims “Hey! K... Anga paaru… Namakku nalla therinja area madhiri irukku… looks very familiar!!!”

K agrees "Hey!! Aamam… Namma usual-a pora Murugan Koil paaru background la...”

"Haiyoo... paavam andha area people. Problem mela problem… nethu night anga 'alai paainjidhu'. Bodhi Laboratories - Gajaala Sottu Neelam Factory-la edho accident.. Edho tank vedichiduchu-nu en friend fone pannaa… Indha thimingalam news vandhadhaala andha news pathi ellarum marandhutanga!”, adds S.

K shouts “Yaay!!! I have cracked it.”

“Enna aachu? Enakku onnum puriyala!”

He runs to the room and scribbles something on a sheet of paper and shows it to her… A wide smile spreads on her face – “adappaavi.. Ellarum anga kozhambittu irukkaanga! idhu thaana reason?".

Yes... K had cracked it!!!

This is what K showed S.

PS: This post is dedicated to Curses! Yaaru thitradha irundhalum, avanukku thaan modhalla
By Aravind on Wednesday, February 08, 2006 at 10:11 PM Post Categories:
Yeah!!!! I met him again - the last time I met him was during the A R Rahman concert in Bangalore, about 4 months ago!

This time, it was at my home-ground... hee hee IIM-B campus, I mean! Sivamani performed for Unmaad, the annual cultural fest!

It was great to know that he remembered me!! And as usual, he started off with "Thalaivaaaa... epdi irukkae". I was in the green room, with him for close to one-and-half hours - Yeah - 1.5 hours with Sivamani - I am sooo excited !!!! Though the concert happened at IIMB, I was Sivamani's guest and not the host! It was really funny to see my friends coming up to me and Sivamani so humbly, and offering tea and snacks!!! (what a pleasure hee hee). I then watched the concert from VIP Seating Area (Sivamani's guest, you see!)
Sivamani is a perfectionist!!! Of the 1.5 hours in the green room, he must have spent close to an hour, practicing! U think all his equipment was in the green room? No... He was practicing on walls, tables, chairs, cushions - whatever he could find!
We were generally chatting and the topic turned towards A.R.Rahman. We talked a bit about WATER. Then he said "Want to listen to some experiments by ARR? ARR generally experiments a lot and he sends them over to me quite often." I was more than willing to listen to music created by God. He played them from his mobile! The first one that he played was a wonderful piece of music - which A.R.Rahman had made from a baby's cry! He had recorded a baby's crying sound and worked on it to create music! The beauty of that piece can't be described in words!!! It was brilliant!

Then came the reporters from Zee News and CNN IBN. In the interview, he said, one of the most important persons behind his success as a solo performer, is his close friend ARR - coz he's the first person who started the system of crediting the accompanying musicians!!
Watch the mini-interview on any of these two channels on Sunday!

And of course, I forgot to mention - the concert rocked!!! Sivamani was too good!!!!
By Aravind on Saturday, February 04, 2006 at 11:35 PM Post Categories: ,
He is always nice to everyone. He is so considerate towards others feelings. He makes sure that (or at least tries his best to make sure that) whatever he does or says does not harm/affect anybody. He thinks a lot before doing anything so that his action does not hurt anyone! But, he feels so bad, when people whom he helps exploit him and think only about their job being done and not about how it affects him. Even in such a situation, he does not yell at them - he just feels bad to himself - coz he does not want to hurt them!

Why are the others not like him? - this is the question which is troubling him. Is it wrong on his part to expect that he be given the same treatment that he gives to others?
By Aravind on Thursday, February 02, 2006 at 7:42 AM Post Categories: