Not a Penny More, Not a Penny less

Nota penny more, not a penny less: (By Jeffrey Archer)

The novel that I read after DA Vinci Code. and the expectations after reading a novel like DA Vinci code are always high. And reading Not a Penny more, not a penny less made me feel the same excitement that I felt when reading DA Vinci Code. It has the required fun, suspense and twists that would make the reader glued to it. It has clever plans made and changed which holds the reader's interest.

It begins with the story of a boy(Harvey MetCalfe) who becomes a millionaire by learning to understand how the Stock Exchange operates, listening to conversations when working as a messenger boy in stock exchange.

The novel starts with the words "Making a million legally has always been difficult. Making a million illegally has always been a little easier. Keeping a million when you have made it is perhaps the most difficult of all. Harvey Metelski (Jeffrey calls him Metelski at some places and Metcalfe at others) was one of those rare men who managed all three."

Jeffrey details the happenings in stock market and how Harvey makes acquaintance with various people and gets to becomes the millionaire.

Harvey becomes an expert in share fraud. He cheats four strangers(Stephen, Jean Pierre, Adrian and James) into buying shares for a company that he buys by making them believe that the shares would increase. They invest everything they have but in the end, find themselves penniless.

Stephen gathers together the other three to get their money back and decide that they would steal back what they had been cheated of i.e "Not a penny more, not a penny less". In their mission they decide that all four would come up with a separate plan to extract their one million dollars back from Harvery, without him becoming aware of it.

The rest of the story is how they act on their plans and how the change in Harvey's actions make them change their plans is the best part of the story.

In the end, the sudden change of circumstances and state of affairs adds the comical stuff to the novel.

Truly a book that would make the reader satisfied of spending time with.

Pokiri

Pokiri - Telugu word meaning mischievous guy. This movie is a great treat for Mahesh Babu fans. I had never liked him before this movie. For the first time, I can say that he is good.
The movie shows him as one guy who would do anything and work for anyone who would gives him money. He is very powerful and has guts that make others fear him. He works for a mafia don and finishes off his rival mafia group thus becoming the don's favourite and envy for the others peers in the mafia.
Ileana looks cute and beautiful. Mahesh babu's attitude towards her has been one plus point for the movie. No heavy dialogues, nothing, just simple and casual behaviour of his towards her is good and very much new. He does not regret what he does and tells her the same.
There are two songs that I liked in the movie.. one 'Godavari... ' and the other 'vaddantunna chustune unta.....' and the dance steps given to mahesh are quite good. Makes you feel like watching the songs again and again.
There is also a comedy track with brahmanandam as a software engineer who is bugged by beggars.

A last minute twist to the story delights the movie watchers. All in all, a good movie to spend three hours.

Gajani

Gajani..
One movie that I liked after a long time.. I had never heard of it before, I really don't know when it was released but when I watched it, I wondered why people have not been talking about it. There are very few movies that carry some message in a beautiful manner and this is one of those few.
It is the flashback story of a business tycoon 'Surya' (now the victim of short-term memory loss, he does not remember anything for more than 15 minutes) and a simple girl 'Asin' (who is an aspiring model). She is from a middle class family and has been looked down by her boss. Her boss mistakes her to be the business tycoon's girlfriend and she keeps quiet because of the importance and respect that everyone start showing towards her. So when this news is flashed all over, Surya decides to meet her in person and on the way, sees her helping some blind children and is impressed. When he sees that she is the same girl who has been spreading the rumours, he falls in love with her, though he does not reveal his true identity(tells her that he is from a poor family and a struggling actor). Gradually both fall in love. The part where she gives him money by selling her CAR (which she had dreamt of buying to fulfill her father's wish) so that he can spend it to treat his mother (actually he lies to her that his mother is not well when he has to go out of town for a business meeting) is very touching.
And then she is killed in front of him, when trying to save some girls from being kidnapped. She dies without getting to know that he is the same business tycoon. He then starts on the mission to take revenge for her death and how he manages to remember them (keeps a alarm that rings every 15 minutes to remind him to look into the different photos that he keeps so that he can remember them) is very new and very nicely written and very nicely enacted.
Truly one movie which everyone should watch atleast once....