Vikram Vedha (2017, Tamil)

 "It's easy to choose between right and wrong. But hard to choose between 2 wrongs."

Vikram is an honest police officer who is out to rid the world of as many criminals as possible. But he has 2 major flaws: 

1. He sees everything in black and white.

2. He uses illegal / immoral means to achieve his goal, esp. in encounter killings.

The counterpart to Vikram is Vedha. A gangster who has committed 16 murders. Terror and a law unto himself. But extremely loyal and family oriented.

Vikram is out to get Vedha. The main story starts with an encounter where many of Vedha's aides are killed. That sets in motion a chain of events that draw us into the gray area of right and wrong, puppet and puppeteer. The encounter has multiple facets, all which pose moral questions as well as pose a mystery.

Vedha surrenders himself in a major surprise to Vikram. But soon he's out on bail arranged by his lawyer - Vikram's wife. And the mind games begin. 

Vedha tells Vikram 3 stories that shake his entire belief system.

Based on Betal Pachisi, this is a good adaptation. It takes the gist of that tale and gives it a good flavor of its own.

Acting is first class. Madhavan as Vikram is good as usual. Vijay Sethupati as Vedha does a good job in being understated instead of over the top.

The twist at the end is delicious. I didn't see it coming.

Totally worth a watch.

Dhareshwar Math Mandir (Patan, Satara)

 Dhareshwar Math Mandir is a cave temple located in Patan taluka, Satara district. Google Maps will show you directions.

It's a cave temple, hundreds of years old. Water always falls down on the outside 365 days a year without any apparent water source above. पाण्याची सतत धार म्हणून धारेश्वर. 

Swayambhu idol of Lord Shiva was discovered by villagers inside this cave. Then they found out that it was a temple and restored it. The idol apparently grows a little every year. It was underground, now it has come overground.

The story goes that Lord Ram visited this temple after defeating Ravana. 

There's a visit by Pandavas during Agyatvaas mentioned too. 

The Pujari was a kind, gentle sort of guy. It's a Math. So there have been (22?) Swamis so far, many of whom took Samadhi there as well. While telling the stories, the Pujari mentioned that Pandavas restored the temple and then later Lord Ram visited it. I didn't have the heart to correct him on chronology :-). 

Road leading up to it was horrible towards the end. Rocky and a little dangerous. We  thought we would reach the Lord directly at a point in time :-). 

Oh, and the monkeys! There are lots of them. So beware - keep car doors and windows closed. If you want to feed them - we did - then keep all the food ready to give / throw. They are fast, and will reach you in the blink of an eye. So just be alert. None of them troubled us, but they are always on the lookout for food.

It's just something about a cave temple that I like. And unlike some places this is not dark and gloomy inside, it's quite well lighted.

All in all, this place is definitely worth a visit.