Ghajini EXPEreviewANCE: Aamir Khan like never before!
iView Author: Munis Syed (New Delhi/India)
Email: boxroomtalk [at] yahoo.co.in
Ghajini EXPEreviewANCE: Aamir Khan like never before!
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Aamir Khan the ‘thinking’ actor/film person experiments & is driven by his immense guts.Aamir Khan the superstar it seems knows the pulse of the masses.So this time, Aamir Khan the superstar is back after a long long time & has unleashed his star power in Ghajini like never before in his 20 years long career.Ghajini is not ‘great’ cinema.It may not even be ‘good’ cinema(I use the word cinema on purpose). But Ghajini is a great fillum.Unabashed about its dumbness & going all out with it.
Yes, technically this is not a review of Ghajini.Because I don’t have much to say about the film simply because the film doesn’t say anything.Its dumb.Its not the kinda film that you will watch on a Sunday,on TV after 6 months because you wouldn’t have much to chew on.You could instead watch Memento.That’s an achievement in filmmaking, Ghajini is not, but Ghajini is not even attempting to be that.And yes, the similarities between Ghajini & Memento are – tattooed body, polaroids with notes,girlfriend killed,boyfriend on the look out for the killer & yes, short-term memory loss.And hence,Aamir may have accepted it, but Im unable to accept Murgadoss’ claim that he watched/came to know about Memento only after making the original Tamil version of Ghajini.But the fact also is that the similarities end there.Ghajini is a different film in terms of story & screenplay.
So coming back to Aamir’s Ghajini.It is the ‘kinda cinema’ why many of us must have fallen in love with movies as kids & enjoyed it.When our mind is less polluted,less conditioned & less desperate to rationalize everything, including movies.
As the title of this post suggests, watching Ghajini was nothing short of an experience.It was like an event everyone had been waiting for(thanks to Aamir’s never-seen-before-promotional-campaign & the name Aamir Khan himself ).I went for the night show on Thursday.I, with my friend reached Delite theatre (Delhi..single screen) half an hour before the show expecting to buy tickets in black & guess what, even tickets in black were sold out..grrr..this just took my curiosity to the next level & inspite of this setback I decided not to leave the place until the movie started.And then just 10 minutes or so, before the show, a guy with 2 extra balcony tickets came up to my friend.We obviously went ahead & bought the tickets, almost triple the actual price with my friend unsure about doing so (the guy claimed that he had bought the tickets in black & that’s why he is selling them to us at the same price..hmm..nevermind).As the gate opened for entry they had already started the movie..GRRR (this time I wasn’t the only one doing this…the whole crowd expressed themselves by rasing their voices).Man was I already overwhelmed by it.You hardly witness this kinda ‘collective curiosity level’, so high.As we entered, the starting credits reminded me of Fincher’s Fight Club but that’s it.
Personally I don’t like Aamir Khan, either doing in-the-face marketing or doing loud,dramatic acting.I like & admire the Aamir Khan who underplays everything, even his success, his star power.I don’t enjoy him taking pot shots at SRK in press conferences. That’s not so Aamir Khan. That’s SRK, & no one does it better & sexier (taking pot shots) than SRK. But as far as the film was concerned it was different this time around because Aamir Khan had built a body that none of his admirers, fans, non-fans could have ever thought Aamir doing it in their wildest dreams. First reason, his persona, his height .Second, he is taken (& I suppose also admired) as a ‘sensitive’ actor & third, Aamir Khan is not ‘supposed to’ do ‘that’ stuff because we have Salman Khan,Sanjay Dutt,Sunny Deol,Hrithik Roshan for doing that.But I guess we underestimated Aamir Khan’s conviction for his films.When he screamed & roared I was seeing a new Aamir Khan.An Aamir Khan who could look convincing throwing strong built men in air & beating the shit out of them & looking amazing while doing that. The climax action sequence is performed very well by Aamir Khan. You have to watch it.I cant describe it.Its not that we have never seen something like that or even better than that before but yes, its Aamir Khan like never seen before.
Naseeruddin Shah in one his interviews around the time of Mangal Pandey commented on Aamir Khan saying something like “Aamir miya ko lagta hai ki looks change karna acting hai”.Though he didn’t say it in a negative way & sounded genuine airing his opinion & also If I remember correctly praised Aamir Khan inspite of his opinion.But my point is, it doesn’t matter what is an actor’s approach to his/her performance in terms of characterization & other technical aspects.What matters is his/her conviction,sincerity & Im dead sure that Aamir Khan is one actor who has both of it in loads plus, he has got guts to attempt the outrageous.Ghajini is outrageous for Aamir Khan’s fans who admire him for his more subtle qualities, on or off screen.One more interesting observation – If Aamir Khan knew from the beginning that GHAJINI’s format would be popular, mainstream & hardcore commercial, then why he himself didn’t produce it & make huge money for his production company??It surely involved lesser risk & higher chances of being a huge grosser at the box office compared to Lagaan,TZP & Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na.Is it because he wants to maintain a certain quality,standard in terms of content for his productions & doesn’t want to break it??If that is the case/intention then Aamir Khan’s sincerity despite his extraordinary success, according to me, is unparalleled & commendable because Ghajini is surely not the ‘kinda cinema’ many of us associate with Aamir Khan & wouldn’t even like to associate with him in future even if we have enjoy Ghajini.Though I believe Aamir knows his fans’ expectations from him but despite that he goes ahead & does Ghajini.We would want ‘the old Aamir Khan’ back(including me), who quietly with his films challenges the ways of mainstream Hindi cinema not just in terms of filmmaking but also in terms of how the industry approach filmmaking & aspects of it.But what does Aamir Khan do.He takes a U-Turn & says – look guys,I am doing Ghajini.I want to have some fun! I think fair enough.
There has been a lot of criticism of Ghajini here, since its inception.Nothing wrong in it but what upset me was that there hasn’t been anyone who has spoken in favour of Aamir Khan on Ghajini. We didn’t know how Ghajini would turn out but we knew Aamir Khan – “our old Aamir Khan”.We knew about his conviction to his films.We knew about Lagaan.We knew about TZP.Yes, many people criticized TZP & many praised it at PFC & rightly so because all of it was done after the TZP release.But sadly that was not the case with Ghajini.I am not angry but I am upset because all the while in the last 6-10 months there wasn’t a single dedicated post defending Aamir Khan’s choice to do Ghajini.I don’t know why.I don’t understand it.Anyway this post is not just supposed to be a reaction to that.So…
Irrespective of how Aamir’s Ghajini would be perceived as ‘cinema’.Acc. to me & reports, the fillum has achieved its purpose by raking in the moolah.By making new records in terms of box office collections.And by doing that it has given more power to Aamir Khan to go ahead & again make films that will quietly challenge the ways of the mainstream cinema.Till then Remember – Ghajini is a blockbuster. That is what it was always meant to be.Isnt it? I think so.
I feel sometimes we should accept actors/filmmakers whom we admire consistently, to do the outrageous to ‘us’ as their fans, because we may like them for certain qualities but we share them with million other fans who may like them or start liking them for certain other reasons that are in conflict with our reasons of liking them. Aamir Khan is a superstar & Aamir Khan is a cultAnd this time its Aamir the superstar & like never before. Anyhow, more power to Aamir Khan.
Bring on “our old Aamir Khan” now!
Tags: aamir khan, Ghajini
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This movie is fabulous its rocking. i have already watched the first show. and may be i will watch it again for Aamir.
I agree with munis but not with joylyn who feels the movie was fabulous. Aamir overshadowed the film in many ways. the movie, by itself, was pretty much without substance and all it needed was a superstar to boost it up. Heard somewhere that the hindi version is slightly diluted as compared to the tamil one; can’t comment on that as I haven’t seen the tamil version. But the hindi version, by itself, leaves a lot to be desired. Asin and Jiah were pretty but, acting-wise, pretty below average, plastic and over-rehearsed. Was surprised to see Anjum Rajabali sahab in the role of the doctor, but understood why when he took the podium in a function. Had seen him do the same thing in the recent Screen-writer’s conference with great elan. in a capsule, full marks to Aamir to try to breathe life into a lifeless film.
u gotta be kidding with the whole fanboy talk. aamir khan (who i really like) has made a horrible film, and no amount of defence from fanboys whatever the reasons can redeem the fact that it is a pathetic film, with no depth, no great action (chucking people flying through the air and going grrrr doesn’t make great action), no nothing. it’s a silly bollywood film with all the love and stuff, no revenge drama. there’s hardly any revenge, except a coupla stupid fights where aamir khan is the new rajnikant. bullshit film, easily forgettable. infact i came back home n saw memento again after years (i had seen it on release) and forgot ghajini ten minutes into memento. there was not one scene or shot worthy of remembering. i don’t care if aamir khan was trying to have fun or decided to get paid 5cr to work out and make a great body, the film is CRAP compared to the publicity it’s garnered over months n months now. tsk.
@navneet
Hi this is Munis..yes I am a “fanboy”..Im nt tryin to defend anything bro..Im just expressing myself..u hv the right to feel that its a pathetic film & I believe u feel that coz, as u said that u like Aamir too..as I mentioned in the post Ghajini cud b outrageous to some/many Aamir fans/admirers, for whom reasons for liking Aamir Khan cud b in conflict with what Ghajini is..I also particularly dnt think its the ‘best commercial masala movie’ but the movie has managed to create overwhelming “collective hysteria” thru marketing or thru whatever..the post is about the experience & not necessarily the movie per se.Acc to me its not supposed to be an ‘unforgettable’ film anyway.
i agree. but then u can try and turn any shit into mass hysteria today – such is the power of marketing money and brands. that doesn’t turn into an experience. at least for me. the experience has to be the film itself, not the packed hall.
i hope this site had a more bulletin board feel to it so we could discuss one film under one thread – there are 5 ghajini threads running all over, and it’s frustrating to post random thoughts spread all over.
pt being it’s one of aamir khan’s “bad” and totally forgettable film, and no amount of pre-movie publicity or brand whoring can change that once u’ve seen the film. i like aamir khan a lot but i can’t just see him shag on screen and go yay AAAAAMIIIR khan!
@navneet
I understand..i guess u will hv to wait fr the next Aamir Khan movie,3 Idiots if Ghajini left u so dissapointed & overwhelmed..good luck brother
@ Navneet
I’ve read all your comments across the various threads on the movie.But there’s nothing random about your thoughts.You’ve kind of repeated the same thing again & again- yes including the words.Ok you didnt like the movie like many others over here- but do you have to strain yourself so much & still complain?Someone here has clarified that he’s trying to talk about the experience of watching a film & not the film.But no sir you dont accept it.Hope you get over the Ghajini effect soon-all the very best.
‘Ghajini effect’, Sethu ji, you make it sound like a disease..lol…!
u’r right sethu.
and i’m over the ghajini effect already, thanks.
Dude!!!
I agree with you that his isnothing compared to Memento. You and I and many movie buffs can watch Memento anytime. But what about people who have a family and wants to enjoy the weekend will surely watch this movie because there a genuine a love-story behind its back-drop even though it didnt convince you. For the public and the masses, they’ll like it. And that’s the reason why DDLj is still running. And coming to Aamir, i think he had the guts to take the challenge of transforming from a simple and charming Sanjay to the killing machine who wants to take revenge for the death of his lover. I think his is one of the competitie performances of the year, compared to Hrithik(Jodhaa akbar),Naseeruddin Shah(A Wednesday),Imran Khan(JTYJN), SRK(RNBDJ). Its just my opinion. Didnt mean to hurt or insult u.
Hu Munis,
I think that this (Gajini) is a huge backward step for Aamir, not expected from him after Taare Zameen Par. This is like Sachin scoring a duck after a match winning hundred. I want to see Aamir of TZP, Rang De or Dil Chahta Hai, not this masala stuff. This is the kind of movie that every single Tamil hero does and we (the tamil viewers) are sick off. I hope Aamir never does anything like this again; leave this for Sunny Deol, Salman Khan,Sunil Shetty or Vijay, Vishal etc.
@Raj Balakrishnan
“I think that this (Gajini) is a huge backward step for Aamir”…”I want to see Aamir of TZP, Rang De or Dil Chahta Hai, not this masala stuff”..exactly what I hv tried to say in my post..Ghajini cud b outrageous for many Aamir fans who associate & probably admire him more for his subtle qualities but I feel for Aamir as an individual Ghajini is an adventure like he never attempted before in his career..I like CNN-IBN’s Rajeev Masand’s take on the film.He ends his review with this line “Ghajini is Aamir Khan’s way of telling us that ‘Anything that Shah Rukh or Akshay can do, I can do just as well’”
@Raj Balakrishnan: give him a break. he was just chilling out making a cool movie like this, after being tormented in tzp, rdb etc. he was just having a ball where he did not have too much to bother and think abt, especially with the short term memory loss
I don’t think this is a backward step for Aamir. In fact, like always he is stretching his limits and discovering how far he can go. He decided to do a an action thriller, a masala potboiler and tried to check how well he can do it. What difference he can make to a plain vendetta movie? How convincingly he can play it? With the acceptance of that challenge came the menacing bald look and the strong muscular body. These were not the marketing ploys as some people have opined elsewhere on this fourm.
Once Aamir decided to do this movie, he gave it his all. Not only did he build a superb body but also thoughtfully added the nuances and special touches in both the romantic as well as the action and emotion tracks of the film. The ‘thinking’ actor this time, didn’t question the logic of the film but put in a herculean effort to make it look convincing.
I think this just goes on to show his versatality. This was yet undiscovered facet of his strength as an actor and we should appreciate it.
Aamir is constantly trying to break the mould and not have an image. By constantly expecting ‘intelligent’ or ‘realistic’ films or films with a social message from him, we are in fact trying to put him in the mould.
I think Aamir is excellent in Ghajini and let’s applaud that.
Ghazni is a good entertaining MASALA FILM after a long time.
Even Singh is Kingg was Masala but did it seriously entertain..I don’t think so..but Ghazni did entertain.
Sometimes u gte it wrong when u try do walk the fine line between massala and intelligent filmmaking like in Fanaaa…that was Masala but definitely not entartaining.
Ghazni doenst pretend to be intelligent film…it promises dollops of fun at the extent of being stupid at times but it works..and somehow it has lived up to all the publicity
u guys r insane…..d u xpct him to make movies like tzp rdb every time !!! c’mon …this is a pure entertainer …accept it and watch it …without whacking up ur minds thinkin stuff lik dis… ghajini is on way to become all time superhit ‘entertainer’ or masala movie or whatever u wanna call it…
What do you think about RBDJ?Compare to Ghajini
If u r against experimenting u r against Amir.Whatever u say ,just think who has succeeded without experimenting,without thinking and witnout
taking risks?
too many threads. in the middle of a lot of work – clarified some of my thoughts here:
http://passionforcinema.com/ghajini-aamir-khan-and-joie-de-vivre/comment-page-2/#comment-290124
@navneet
You said – “..and i’m over the ghajini effect already, thanks.”..it seems u r possessed..good luck anyway!
Thanks guys! I’m so glad somebody is finally speaking up for the right of Aamir to choose his own challenges! I’m also one of these admirers of ‘the old Aamir’ who gave us TZP, Lagaan, RdB and the fact that he has several times succsessfully challenged the stereotypes of a superstar and of Hindi mainstream cinema. But let’s not press him again into another stereotype: that of the “intellectual” filmmaker! Why don’t we just enjoy the experience of being surprised by what he is able to achieve when he puts his mind on a project. Be it scriptwise or in this case performance wise! The worst thing that could ever happen to the phenomenon Aamir Khan is to cage his creative passion into a box!