Starring: Aamir Khan, Asin, Jiah Khan
Direction: A.R. Murugadoss
Music: A.R. Rahman
Production: Tagore Madhu, Madhu Mantena
Aamir Khan, the perfectionist is back with his new movie Ghajini. And for
the first time in his career he has acted in a South remake. As always the
marketing push by Aamir was exhilarating. The marketing done for the movie
can be taken as a case study in many b schools as it tried uncharted
terrains. With such a brilliant plan converted into hype, it made Ghajini
the most sought after title to be released this season. Has it lived up to
its humongous expectations? A definite Yes!
This Hindi remake of the Tamil Ghajini which was again an inspiration from
Hollywood's Memento pleased everyone with a tight screenplay and a top notch
performance from the lead actors.
The movie is about Sanjay(Aamir), a millionaire, who falls in love with
Kalpana(Asin) a model. Kalpana gets into a hustle with a local gunda,
Ghajini, who kills her and hits Sanjay with a rod which makes him a short
term memory loss patient. Now Sanjay should fight against all odds to avenge
the death of his beloved. How he does it with the help of a medical student
Sunita (Jiah) forms the rest of the story.
Audiences who have seen the Tamil version can get a little bored as
A.R.Murugadoss has made very few changes to the script and scenes until the
last 30 minutes. The screenplay is well laced with interesting events which
makes the 3 hours running time well worth the ride. What, When and How are
questions you should never ask in any masala movie, but there are a few
scenes which does sparkle against its Tamil version. The last 30 minutes for
instance is very good when compared to the Tamil version whose climax was
literally laughable.
Cinematography by Ravi K. Chandran is a major plus, as the pro has fully
utilized the freedom the director has given and come up with stylish
presentation of the scenes and innovatively captured songs sequences. Behka
and Ae Bhachu song will surely sparkle in his already sparkling repertoire.
His last see-saw camera movement at the fag end of the movie is just poetic.
Editing is top notch. Stunts are choreographed brilliantly as it relies more
on raw power than over the top flying antics. Music by A.R.Rahman gels well
with the overall feel of the movie, Ghuzarish, Behka and all the other songs
are brilliant compositions from the master musician but the background score
is jarring at times, especially the Villian's BG which is certainly not
expected from the Maestro.
Aamir lives the role of Sanjay Singhania. If Vikram took a dog as an
inspiration for his portrayal in Pithamagan, Aamir has taken a tiger for
inspiration. His acting in the pulse pounding climax is a proof of how
matured an actor he is; the pain, the intensity, the anger he showed here is
so high that we could actually believe that the wound and damage attained by
the strong henchmen of the villain is actually possible. As the
sophisticated millionaire he is dignified and looks very handsome. His
overly debated 8 packs has been flaunted effectively which is quite needed
for the movie. Asin has done her role with élan, but the chirpiness in the
Tamil version was missing a wee bit in this version but still a strong debut
in Bollywood- kudos. Jiah Khan has a meaty role and she has used the
opportunity to the fullest. She is a complete natural. Pradeep Rawant as
Ghajini has done a brilliant job, much better than the Tamil Ghajini. Riaaz
Khan who again dons the inspector role was over the top most of the time and
a complete let down
Overall the movie is a well packaged action masala entertainer, with some
great acting, a tight screenplay, great music and some extraordinary action
which makes it a complete paisa vasool. Go for it.
http://streetromeo.wordpress.com/2008/12/25/112/
--
regards,
Vithur
