First RNBDJ and now Ghajini
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iView Author: Sethumadhavan (Chennai/Vijayawada , India)
Email: sethumadhavan.n [at] gmail.com
Well this write- up is not a review of RNBDJ or Ghajini for that matter though I’ll be talking about both the movies. Yes I’ve seen both the movies and feel that there is something that binds these two movies together. Well these two movies as such are like chalk & cheese, there’s nothing common between them. What binds them together then is the hero in both the cases- SRK & Aamir respectively. If you are wondering whether I’ve gone crazy, hang on, let me explain. Critics and masses alike have been talking both positive and negative about RNBDJ.
For some the movie is a sweet romance very naturally shown with SRK as Surinder Sahni, carrying the film on his shoulders. For others the movie is just another SRK flick and they are just plain bored. First of all whatever be the final take on the movie, the fact remains that the movie is a big success. True it’s not the best from Aditya Chopra, YRF or even SRK, but SRK as Suri was able to bring in the crowd. Lot of people including me felt what’s wrong with Aditya. Why does this have to be his comeback venture. For all those people who thought so let me tell you Aditya has very smartly executed his plan to perfection.
How else do you explain the complete scripting of the movie to be over in a mere 12 days and the entire filming over in a mere 47 days. There are basically only 3 actors in significant roles, SRK,Anushka & Vinay Pathak. There’s no foreign locale or anything outlandish. So basically the movie is a very low cost venture and will turn out to be much more profitable than some of the other big hits of the year. But in spite of all this is surprising is not people either liking or not liking the movie, it’s a section of people continuing to crib that it’s a routine SRK movie and that he continues to disappoint with the same kind of roles. Look at the recent SRK movies excluding Bhootnath where he had a special appearance- OSO, CDI, Don, KANK,Paheli- I fail to see what’s similar in any of these movies or his roles.
All people have to say is why he doesn’t do a Swades or a CDI. Well every movie just cannot be a CDI or a Swades. Movies like KANK, Pahelo or Don may not be great but it had SRK trying something different in each of these movies. When will people start accepting SRK the way he his & allow him some space. No I am not a blind fan of his & do not say RNBDJ is a great movie. But I feel that he’s trying and not just so much caught up in the routine as people think. I know that Billu Barber and My Name is Khan will go on to re-iterate what I say, looking forward to them.
And now you have Ghajini- a typical masala flick. Is it an outstanding movie? Is it pathbreaking? Does it move you a lot? The answer to all these questions is a big NO. The movie from the very beginning (remember the promos very clearly had Aamir in the now overhyped “Ghajini” hair cut & tattoos on his body) screamed that it was a regular masala movie. But our friends have a problem with the movie again. And why is that?Well because Aamir is Aamir- he does a Lagaan, a RDB, a TZP, why on earth does he have to do a Ghajini?
My question to all these people- haven’t you heard/seen of Fanaa, Mela or a Mann? Cut back to his early days, do you know that along with a QSQT, Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke or a Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahin, he did atrocious movies like Daulat Ki Jung, Aatank Hi Aatank, Love Love Love, Tum Mere Ho, etc? Yes in course of time, Aamir has gone on to become a very improved actor, started doing fewer projects, most of them being genuinely different.
But wouldn’t the artist in Aamir also from time to time want to do something more run of the mill and routine to keep him going and entertained. For all those who only see the masala movie in Ghajini- haven’t you realized how Aamir has slogged on his physical appearance for such a “trivial masala movie”? Look at it this way- Ghajini probably was just a relaxation or a diversion for Aamir before he begins work on his next venture- which might be on more familiar ground for all that we know.
It’s a sincere plea from my side to fans, detractors and to everyone at large- watch a RNBDJ or a Ghajini and comment on whether you liked it or not. But please look at the film objectively and not with any pre conceived bias for or against a SRK or an Aamir.These two actors have been entertaining us for years and would continue to do so, let’s stop being their advisors atleast now.
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well said sethu
….. lets just be audience and not dictate our actors on their choice of roles…and also lets not watch movies with a prejudice or how successful/good the previous attempts of the actors and technicians were… Each movie is different and the attempt should not snubbed because of the person’s previous records…
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Well PFC is not rediff, and here there is a set of people who are little more than the regular film-watcher, so its natural not to root for RNDBJ/Ghajini and recognize the real talents like OLLO.
Haven’t seen RNDBJ, but Ghajini is just a badly made movie – in every aspect of filmmaking, it fails to impress me other than Aamir’s well-toned physique. I agree its as much a junta movie as RNDBJ and in the end, both will make good money.
With Rab De, at least you go with certain expectation, and I am sure you get your expectation’s worth – with Ghajini (from what I gather from PFC readers’ comments), its a huge mismatch. People have come to expect another classic given the unconventional theme, want to be surprised by the method actor Aamir – but what they get is a pure masala, mindless-script, unreasonable-story, bad-screenplay movie – This is not the Aamir Khan I used to know!
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Aamir Khan has become a public property, so ppl r right in criticising him for even small mistake from his part. but we fail to realise that even today, he is the only actor who is remembered for all hismovies just by the name of his character in the movie. the moment u say Akash, or Munna, or ACP Rathode, or Nikumbh sir, u hv that character-image floating in front of u. and thts only because he delves deep into the skin of every character to make it his own.
if he indulges in a more commercial film like ghajini for his own sake, more than anyone else, doesnt he have a right to unwind a bit? as Sethu rightly says, give him the freedom to indulge in his own guilty-pleasures from time to time to allow him to impress all of us in one more memorable character one moretime. and mayb in the next movie itself.
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When I went to watch ghajini,I knew that it is a regular commercial movie,but I was surprised that it was just a Bgrade movie with a villain straight out of 80s with same set of expressions and dialogues.I am someone who feels that if director tries he can bring some sort of variety even in a hardcore,masala,superstar film.I am not saying that SRK’s ‘DON’ was a great movie,but it was a better movie with that twist in end.In fact before the release of Ghajini,there was a rumour SMS about Amir being the killer.If director could really think in that direction,bring some variety,a suspense towards the end,it would have been a better film.Actually some one here pointed that there is not much difference between James, Shiva(new) and Ghajini and i feel that he is right,only difference is that there is a superstar in this film and those films don’t have a superstar and hype
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@ Sethu: nice read. i concur.
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Sethu: Good point. I wish to add something! Everyone is talking about Suri being such a fantastic performace and Raj being the routine Raj! Suri, no doubt was fantastic. But, in my opinion, Raj was more diffcult to play. Let any actor try saying inane lines(deliberately inane) like ‘Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, Phir Milenge, Chalte Chalte’ with so much conviction! or ‘ Naam to suna hoga’. It was an over the top bufoon-like, bordering on vulgarity Raj!! And he played it so beautifully.
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Skelly,Magik,Jha- thanks for the concurrence.
Anand- I do agree with you.What struck me initially was SRK as Suri, but when I saw the movie again I couldnt help but remind myself that
I’m actually enjoying Raj’s ” Taani Partner” act very well.And yes the ” Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke,Phir
Milenge, Chalte Chalte” is a simple but effective dialogue.
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Sethu, you’ve raised valid points. I concur. (as inspired from Catch Me If You Can)
Aren’t we stereotyping Aamir to always do “different” things ? or stereotyping SRK that he does the same things again and again.
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You are right.But one thing you should notice here that earlier when he did “ishq”,”mann”,”mela” attempting to do commercial cinema he had only Inderkumar or the odd Dharmesh Dharshan to turn to.Now for out and out commercial ventures also he is doing his bit of “homework” and working with unconventional people like Murgadoss and on themes like Ghajini.A Ghajini as a commercial potboiler is any day better than Mann or mela or Ishq.
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@6,7, Anand, Sethu:
I was reading SRK’s interview where he mentioned the same stuff. To get Suri was easy but to do Raj was difficult.
.
I even liked the “Macho” part a lot and few dialogues. e.g, where Suri becomes Raj for the first time
“Oh no Suri paape…no bhaaagna shaagna..only Taani ji’s hero banna..ab tu Suri I work for Punjab Power nahin hai..tu Taani ji ka heeeeeero hai..tu gaane gaata hai..tu dance karta hai..tu behen ki izzat bachaata hai..tu climax mein villian ko kutte ke maut maarta hai…”
or Chicken Little part.
.
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@sharath: i liked the movie ghajini mainly because i went with a frame of mind tat i m watching a south-indian movie in hindi, without voice dubs
. so, u cant really blame anyone here.
no offence meant to the south movies, but the fact remains tat the portrayal of the villains and hero-giri etc are still a staple part of south movies and 90% of the movies are of this format. they are still stuck in the 80’s and refuse to move ahead; also becasue the public wants to see such things
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“Well because Aamir is Aamir- he does a Lagaan, a RDB, a TZP, why on earth does he have to do a Ghajini?”
TO that question i will quote a statement of yours
“When will people start accepting SRK the way he his & allow him some space”
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Vivek- my friend- I think you havent read this carefully enough- given below is what I’ve written-
“The movie from the very beginning (remember the promos very clearly had Aamir in the now overhyped “Ghajini” hair cut & tattoos on his body) screamed that it was a regular masala movie. But our friends have a problem with the movie again. And why is that?Well because Aamir is Aamir- he does a Lagaan, a RDB, a TZP, why on earth does he have to do a Ghajini?”
So am I making mysels clear here.This write up is not about SRK vs Aamir.I respect & admire both of them- let me make it clear once again.
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Yes, please, I hope this thread does not end up being SRK vs Aamir thread.
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Vishesh – Oye Tiny to Kamaal hai yaar..little chicken was too much :-)
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I remember Rajeev Masand asking SRK if he does not want to anything different and play the usual stuff again and again..and he responded..syaing i have done it whenever there is been a chance to do so..and to be fair ..he has done a varied range of roles to his credit as clearly mentioned in this write up. Wish people shed away their pre notion of SRK always doing something monotonous.
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Vishesh,Anand-
I love the dialogues mentioned by you.Chicken little was seriously funny
Anindya- I do agree that Ghajini as a commercial potboiler is better than the films mentioned by you.
Bollywood ++,Sharath- treat Ghajini as a childish
indulgence from Aamir- this is not what he would do on a regular basis.
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In short,SRK & Aamir Khan r on the right track..they’ll be more concerned abt their image/reputation & career moves, fr which they hv worked their butts off fr last 2 decades than any other person on this planet & thankfully they r smart enough to keep their respective markets intact, & growing – thats an achievement which many dont notice & take fr granted..Aamir Khan has always been experimental(& Ghajini is no exception fr himself) & I believe SRK started it after Swades..so good luck!
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@ bollywoodplusplus
Hey hey hey hey hey…what’s wrong if Aamir was not able to meet your expectations? You are not his wife…are you?
Whether PFC or Rediff, both provided blogging space. So, I guess, you will have to buy out PFC to but necessary filters in place.
For me, I liked Ghajini as I was accepting a typical “Southern Masala Movie” and slick action. I call it “an entertainment of convinience” where in our entertainment does not falls prey to logic.
Also, I love Asin more than Aamir, she was so very charming…way to go for her
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A very gud and intelligent write up
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Thanks Rajeev- for the feedback.
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About RNBDJ : SRK was sincere as Surinder and Anoushka was charming while Vinay Pathak was just fantastic,But unfortunately,the movie in my opinion was let down by the screenplay which was too jaded…
Ghajini: Saw this one at the paid preview show in Adlabs Mangalore,loved the movie,was better than the Tamil version only because the muddled up climax in the original was replaced by a more taut ending….Aamir was frighteningly intense and Asin was simply endearing,but Pradeep Rawat’s role was terribly written,in fact it was simply atrocious….
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@sethumadhavan “treat Ghajini as a childish
indulgence from Aamir- this is not what he would do on a regular basis”
u are wrong here.Latest news
“Murugadoss to do a film with Aamir again.
According to Murugadoss, he will not return to Tamil immediately. His next project will also be with Aamir Khan and after the completion of this project he will return to Tamil. “I have two scripts and want to work with Aamir again. I’m his biggest fan,” said Murugadass”
Already this guy has inflicted a big torture.He seems to be hell bent on corrupting Hindi audience again with his 80s style south action flick
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Sharath
I’ve read the recent interview of Murugadoss on IndiaFm in which he says he is now off for a well deserved vacation to his hometown Kallakurichi near Chennai & that he’ll back soon in Mumbai to sign & start work on his next movie.He hasnt mentioned about doing it with Aamir, but what he’s mentioned is that he would Aamir to be his consultant in bollywood- i.e look to him for advice.He’s also mentioned that his next movie would be a romantic flick & have nothing violent about it.So lets just wait & watch.After all let Aamir decide- it just cant be left to Murugadoss right?
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Vikram- I agree with you about the climax of Ghajini as mentioned by you.Already discussed those in detail on the other posts about the movie.
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Well-written article. Valid points all. SRK and Aamir are two different star-brands- each trying to keep upto their respective image. Even though both RNBDJ and Ghajini are not great commercial flicks but certainly belonging to good ‘timepass’ category for aam janta. I liked Ghajini and RNBDJ in parts and while doing that I realized that sometimes we all ‘intellectuals’(!) think too much to lose the enjoyment out of the movie experience. There was an earlier article on unnecessary YRF bashing which discussed this point very well.
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For me Aamir doing Ghajini was riskier than him opting to do a TZP or RDB because even if RDB and TZP did not do well commercially they would have been appreciated for their message. These films were risky in their own ways but imagine ghajini. A masala tamil film having the 90’s style villain, unrealistic plotpoints,songs popping out of nowhere and a director who does not even understand hindi. and now imagine Aamir who is associated with certain kind of cinema and ghajini is nowhere close to that. He does only one film at a time and for this he was required to push himself to extreme as far his physique was concerned(and he is not into body building). also Surya was highly appreciated for the same role and it suited Surya better because he is young. Aamir is more recognised to play realistic characters. but this was a fantasical character.
one more thing we believe that whatever an actor/filmmaker is doing is to impress us on our understanding of cinema. I believe they know what they are targetting and what they want to achieve. Aamir never says that he hopes that ghajini gets same kind of critical recognition that TZP got. they were only aiming to entertain certain audience and they have been quite successful in that. there are people who may not like a TZP or RDB and really enjoy ghajini. even their opinion matters because they are spending their hard earned money. As Aamir says he always gives more importance to the audience than the critics. and i think he is right because its audience from whom he is earning and the critics are earning from them(i am not against critics, they are just doing their job). I have mentioned all this to just say that while it is alright to say that one didn’t like a movie or a performance but what an actor should do or not do should only be left to him/her. and those who doesn’t like certain kind of cinema can always stay away from that. nobody is forcing anybody to go to watch a certain movie. in case of ghajini Aamir always said that its an escapist masala film. inspite of that some ppl say that what happened to Aamir of TZP, RDB and Lagaan. why stereotype him with certain kind of cinema when he has always said that he always wants to do something different every time. he has every right to enjoy himself as an actor and do what he thinks will give him creative satisfaction.
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VERY SUPERB EXCELLENT KEEP IN UP.
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@sharath (23)
“Already this guy has inflicted big torture … corrupt Hindi audience etc etc”
How pretentious can one get?? For all practical purposes, a much bigger share of the Hindi audience have enjoyed this “torture” …enough to make it the biggest hit of the year.
Moreover, he has not just picked up the current fad but made something totally different and that has worked. Kudos to him for that. Why is that “corrupting the Hindi audience”? Or are you under some grand delusion that what you like is good for the entire audience and what you don’t like corrupts the world at large?
At a personal level, besides an opinion, you have the same choice that everyone else has – to watch or not to watch! So, next time a Murgadoss film comes along, you know what to do.
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