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The Truant Tales

Expect nothing. And I'll live upto it.

Ghajini

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Ghajini is the Bollywood version of the Kollywood (The Tamil film industry) version of the Hollywood classic "Memento". It was one of the year's most anticipated Bollywood releases. And, does it live up to he hype? Yes and No. Let me expound furthur:

It is true that I judge Bollywood movies with a lower standard. Bollywood are marketed for the mass audience and subsequently changed to suit their tastes (The concept of "independent movies" is still in its nascent stage).

The main character has anterograde Amnesia, a condition brought on by a severe blow to the head, which basically implies that he can't form new memories (a 15 minute memory). He spends his every waking minute, in the quest for his fiance's killer. Yes, the revenge plot again. This story is unfolded by a series of flashbacks (and extremely detailed diary entries). But, that's where its resemblance with Memento ends.

While Memento was a thriller that dealt in the morally ambiguous, Ghajini pretty much stuck to the 'Bad guy' vs 'Good Guy' act. While, Memento had incredibly complex character development, with even more complex sub-plots, Ghajini has mainly two-dimensional characters - The wife is unnaturally good to everyone around her, while the baddie is unnaturally bad and the rest are just forgetable.

Ghajini also concentrates on the romance between the leads. And, even though that makes the movie package-able to Indian audience, it tends to dilute the unfolding of the story and the pace of the film. At 3 hours, the movie is about half an hour too long. The movie does lag in the first half. But, the last 45 minutes, beginning with the killing of his fiance and then concluding in the 'vanquishing of the baddie'
in his 'seemingly impregnable fortress', is fantastic.

Ghajini is all about Aamir Khan. He's built up, looking like the Incredible hulk. Even though his look might be a marketing gimmick, it does lend credibility to the carnal, raw, almost animal like aggression of the 'hero'. He screams around for every little reason and, mostly, roams about shirtless. But, his performance stands out in the movie (especially in the climax when he snarls at the villain). The supports are average at best, with Jiah Khan as a medical student (who breaks all laws of medical ethics by divulging medical records to random people) being totally wooden.

Overall, I would say that the movie was a little better than average. It should have been tauter, better edited, with probably a song or two removed. But, with slim pickings this season, it is a pretty enjoyable watch.


6 out of 10

1 star removed for bad pacing.
1 star removed for being an unoriginal concept.
1 star removed for bad acting (Jiah Khan being responsible).
1 star removed for some pretty inane dialogues, small plot holes (screenwriter's amnesia).

Wall-EThe Day the Earth Stood Still

Comments

manzaboy 12. January 2009, 03:58

waw. ghajini is the best movie of the year in 2008 than rab ne bana di jodi. Hello king nutin. Nice to meet u. Amir khan is the best.

Kingnutin 13. January 2009, 11:51

I still think that 'A Wednesday' is the best movie of 2008....Even though I still have to see 'Aamir' and 'Welcome to Sajjanpur'.

myriadmagus 10. March 2009, 16:40

i do agree Aamir is a versatile and down to earth professional actor, some how he was well suited in for the flash back scenes in the movie, apart from A.R.R music i really didnt think any thing was worth watching. And Murgadoss did way better in tamil than in Hindi...the so called change actually changed my mind to think if he really wanted to make this kind of change P:

Kingnutin 11. March 2009, 13:55

Everyone's been telling that the Tamil version is better, but that's always the feeling for the original. I can't understand Tamil, so seeing Ghajini without the sub-titles is out of the question.

myriadmagus 11. March 2009, 14:00

lol google is your friend .. you can always get subs some way or the other
, somehow watching a movie in its native form wont come any where near to watching it with subs
thats my take on subs :D

Kingnutin 12. March 2009, 06:22

yup...I agree with you. With subtitles you'll be distracted constantly by the words in the bottom. Moreover, the jokes aren't that funny when seen in the sub-titles.

myriadmagus 12. March 2009, 11:16

true jokes will loose its charm P:

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