Review of Ghajini

Hey...I am back after a hiatus of almost 5 months with another review of a bollywood film called Ghajini. Well....why did I not review any other movie during the past few months? The reason being I did not feel any movie was upto that mark!! Morever I just review the movies that I watch at a cinema hall and not the ones I watch at home on a DVD.

So now you would assume that I did watch Ghajini in the cinema halls....right? You guessed it right...I watched it on Dec 31, 2008 @ 7 pm at the Hollywood Theaters in Irving, Texas. Before we get onto the actual movie review I would like to take a detour and mention the fact that I feel priviledged to be in a place like Dallas metroplex which can boast of the only South Asian Radio station that airs on FM round the clock which is 24x7x365. It's called Radio Salaam Namaste and before you jump to any conslusion, I am in no way associated with them :). It is owned by a company called as "Everest Heights" that is in the process of constructing the first ever South Asian mall in US. More info on this can be viewed at http://www.everestheights.com/.

Back to the movie....This being the last movie to 2008 there were lots of expections from Ghajini. To top it all it was Aamir Khan's first movie of 2008 and as usual we all expect something different from him over the past few years and for which he delivers consistently. Ever since the first promo was released with Aamir in his 8-pack abs, there has been this kind of curiousity that we have not seen in Bollywood for the past few years. The think-tank of Ghajini also released the video of Aamir Khan building his body over a period of 13 months which is pretty much evident on screen.

Aamir in this interviews classifies this film as an Action film....but I would differ on his view. It is a complete Bollywood masala package which includes romance, action, comedy and is by all means a thriller. Aamir suffering from a short-term memory loss and that he can only remember only for 15 mins and the way he tries to cope up with this shortcoming has been remarkably illustrated on screen by the director. Of course it is a revenge saga...but has been treated in a 'different' way. The story has a lot of conviction and also the potential to keep the viewers engrossed. As usual I will dwell on the various aspects on Ghajini in the forthcoming lines ....readon ......

The director & writer: A R Murugadoss -- He has a story that capivated the audiences from the start to the end. I really do not care if he picked up the story of Memento but from what I saw was a splendid direction from him. In one of his interviews he heard him say that this is his 5th film (first in Hindi). Aamir had infact recommended Salman Khan for this role. But what Murugadoss told Aamir was that if Salman does it then it would be just like any other film but if Aamir does it then it would be different and now I know what he meant by that. Hats off to the director for making this movie engrossing inspite of it being 3 hrs long. I have heard people say its better than the Tamil original version which very well could be the truth since the last 30 mins of the hindi version was totally changed as compared to the Tamil version.

The actor: Aamir Khan -- He is not called "Mr. Perfectionist" for nothing. He delivers an incredible performance which needs a standing applause. After watching the film I realized that this may be his first movie ever where he seems to deliver more with his eyes and his body expressions than his dialogs. I hardly remember him talking throughout the movie. First rate performance does he deliver and Aamir does know when to flash his well-known smile/smirk when romancing Asin in the movie. Aamir has never looked so good in the past few years. I remember his jaded face in Rang De Basanti or even Fanaa where I was like 'what the heck has happened to him??". All those things are history now and he looks as fresh as ever and with his well toned body he rocks!!

The actress: Asin -- Wow...what a debut film for Asin in Bollywood!! To top it off, it's with Aamir Khan ...what more can an actress wish for! She seems to have this great presence on the screen along with an infectious smile which keeps a kind of joy on the audiences faces when she is on the screen. Her dresses are awesome and she looks great in bright dresses....e.g a red dress. She provides us with a very good performance from the start to end and makes her presence felt. As in fact as I mentioned above, she is doing most of the talking even when Aamir shares the screen with her. She seems to have no problems talking in Hindi and she looks very good in the songs in which she is a part of.

The Villian: Pradeep Rawat -- Hmmm..does this name ring a bell? Not really but I am sure if you see a lot of hindi films then you will recognize this person. He was also a part of the famous Lagaan team. Incidently he plays the same character in the hindi version that he played in the Tamil version of Mr. Ghajini. He does a pretty good job while some may argue that a better known person might have suited more to this role but......never the less he does a good job. I read somewhere that during the filming of the Tamil version, it was Pradeep who had recommended Murugadoss to approach Aamir Khan with this story and the rest I can say is History!

The maestro: A R Rehman -- Wow is the word I would use to describe his compositions for Ghajini. He did not pick a single song from the original version. Well....he was not the music director for the original version and he comes up a winner with the songs. Behka, Guzarish, Bacchi, Latoo, etc very instantly liked by your truely the very first time....hmmm...wait a second. That is not what happens with Rehman's hindi tunes....one has to literally listen to them a lot of times before they catch up on you. Nice songs and excellent cinematography which makes the songs extremely watchable on screen.

The Songs --

1. Aye Bachhoo: Suzanne renders this song as only she can. This is an song that is exactly after 30 mins into the movie which introduces Asin to us and is nicely picturized with various bright colors which makes the song extremely watchable. Mind you courtesy of lots of make up on Asin her real face is seen only in the scenes to follow.

2. Behka: Karthik (I don't know who he is but...) is the singer here who sings this with a lot of ease and is easy on ears. This song is exactly 25 mins after the Bachhoo song. I simply loved the picturization of this song with a vibrant colors which brings out the real mood of Aamir in this song. Fabulous ....and we are not yet at Guzarish :)

3. Latoo: Shreya Ghosal sings this and is evolving as a versatile singer (remember Ahista Ahista from Bachke Aye Haseeno). This song is 24 mins after the previous Behka song picturized on Jiah Khan. A very important note here is that this song if I remember correctly is only a filler and not even the first paragraph is shown since the story moves ahead and does not act as a hiindrance. Great editing if I may say.....

4. Guzarish: Javed Ali (the man behind Nagada Nagada song) is in charge here. Interestingly this song starts with Sonu Nigan humming and then Javed Ali takes this song to altogether different level. This song is 24 mins after the previous song and is the highlight of the film. As with the other songs the picturization is fabulous and Aamir Khan with his 8 packs rocks this song with able support from Asin. Again great locations and awesome photography!

5. Kaise Mujhe tum: Benny and Shreya render this song is a sober way which is meant to reflect the mood of the actor. Again this song just keeps the story moving and is not a hindrance :).

The Lyricist: Prasoon Joshi -- Hmmm...why am I not surprised to see Prasoon once again when Aamir Khan is related to a film. This cannot be a mere coincidence. Let's look at something here -- Fanaa, Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par and Ghajini. What's common in these films? All are Aamir Khan films and surprise surprise all have lyrics by Prasoon Joshi :) !!! Once again Prasoon comes up with wonderful lyrics and keeps his successful association of hits with Aamir Khan!

Closing comments -- It's wonderful to see such a nice thriller made in Bollywood. Of course there was one such not long ago called "A Wednesday" which ofcourse was a classic in itself. There is some violence which might not be good for kids but mostly the film is viewable by all audiences. Ghajini being remade in Hindi along with the climax of the movie (about 30 mins) being different in itself is a huge thing. I read some comments about the Tamil hero Surya who acted as the lead role in the original version that he loved the new climax better than the one from his own movie. He also said that he had to convince Aamir for this role which I think suits Aamir to a T. Hats off the "Mr. Perfectionist" for giving us another treat in form of Ghajini. Please watch it at the cinema hall ...it's more than worth it.

Next for Aamir Khan: I am now eagerly awaiting the release of his next film "3 Idiots" to be directed by Munnabhai fame "Raju Hirani".......Keep them coming Aamir. BTW...how about a sequel to Andaz Apna Apna? :)

Signing off.....Koustubh Warty