Ghajini

Ghajini.... is a remake of a Tamil film! Now while imitation IS the sincerest form of flattery.... it also does set a high bar. To begin with it being an Aamir Khan flick...the expectations were already exorbitant which turned out to be disastrous!
FYI South Indian action films {Tamil ones atleast} generally draw their inspiration from their very own revered “Rajnikanth” whose action sequences are not regulated nor influenced by laws of physics {mainly gravity}! To be honest... I enjoy those action scenes wherein the director portrays the hero like a supernatural being! I am a little embarrassed to admit that it does impress me.... for reasons unknown!
(.... PS: I love Tamil movies and after a tedious search have discovered them on YouTube!)

So having seen the Tamil version of Ghajini {with English subtitles ofcourse } I go to the theatre expecting some gross, unchecked violence. I am prepared for Aamir Khan’s version of Ghajini which I am sure has his influence and his personal touch to it even though he is not the director! Consecutively I WILL that he has the vision to glorify it more in order to cater to the needs of bollywood cinema and its viewers!

Overall I would give the movie 60 percent all of which.... solely due to Aamir Khan’s performance. While I fail to understand his rage which was fueled by frustration and inconceivable loss, I admire Aamir Khan’s performance and the intensity with which he has played that role. However that’s it.... that’s the only thing which was worth appreciating! There are some parts of the movie which I found endearing but those moments were lost as soon as the songs came along! There was no place for songs in the movie and it seems as though the director has searched the movie long and hard in an attempt to strategically place the songs.... but sadly his attempts are futile! The songs only worsen the movie’s standard even though some of them are good on their own. It’s their placement that I do not like! The only exception to the above is “Kaise muze tu milgayi”..... aamir’s performace in this section of the movie was B.E.A.U.tiful.

The female actors are wonderful actually! I believe “Kalpana” who plays Aamir’s love interest is a veteran actor (south Indian actor)...and plays her role expertly with a dash overdone. The other female actor.... well she didn’t have much part to begin with.... so no harm done.

What actually kills the movie are the fight scenes which were the crux of the story. Somehow those Rajnikanth specialty moves look good only on Rajnikanth and his peers of the south Indian film industry! To begin with.....the movie was not supposed to fall in the entertainment quota of films and obviously banked on wooing the audience with nerve racking thrills, spectacular action sequences and heart wrenching drama. Ghajini established the latter but failed miserably in the action department. The concept “I am so angry that my desire to revenge my fiancé’s death has deranged me” is a little too intense to fathom and needed delicate handling to make the right impact however this failed as it was a little overdone. Some scenes were ingeniously shot and will save the movie from being marked as a “Flop”. All in all Aamir Khan’s part as expected is fabulously done with drive and energy that scintillates on the big screen. Aamir Khan has also painstakingly worked on his body to obtain the chiseled look which makes him look like a 25 year old.... yet I can’t help but wonder if this was Aamir Khan's answer to ShahRukh Khan’s “six packs” {in Om Shanti Om} since the two appear to have locked horns with each other!

Overall the movie is a letdown! But then that’s what happens when someone does a “remake “or makes a movie based on a book! The movie cannot compare to the original one or to the book. I guess in my books, the Tamil movie was well made making the Hindi remake of Ghajini a colossal challenge!


PS.1. The movie has a rather large probability of being branded as one of Aamir Khan’s blunders {in line with Mangal Pande and Mela... my opinion of bigtime flops and waste of time!}!

P.S.2. This was the first Hindi movie I watched in a movie theater without an intermission and I have NEWS... without the break... my mind craves for popcorn/samosa/tea/bathroom break.....that makes the movie seem to be abnormally and painfully long!