Ghajini is Aamir’s Gunda
Ghajini Movie Review
Gunda ?? Yes, if you havent heard, read or seen the film yet then you seriously have missed something in your life. Do check it out. It’s Mithunda’s cult classic. For more, here is the link.
I belong to a tribe which sometimes gets to meet the stars and even ask them few questions. Short term memory loss, tattoos, polaroid camera and revenge drama…everything in the films’s promo was shouting out one word…MEMENTO! So, when i raised the same issue with Aamir, his reply was….lets have a bet. If its Memento, he will do what i want him to do and if its not Memento then i have to do what he wants. I was game. Aamir you won the bet but WTF IS GHAJINI!!!
I was expecting Ghajni to be Memento for dummies! But we were expecting much from a man called Murgadoss to grasp,copy,crack and re-write a film like Memento. When i was watching Ghajini, i honestly didnt think a bit about it because i was ROFL! Its such a stupid and senseless film, you can’t imagine.
SPOILER ALERT ( heheheh…am joking)
It revolves around Aamir Khan, whose girlfriend has been murdered and all he remebers is Ghajini. So, its all about Finding Ghajini, Gunda style! Rest is easy to guess. The little bit interesting portion in the film is the romantic angle between Aamir and Asin. But that also takes too many liberties. And like all good bollywood masala films (am told race was the last film to qualify in this category) there is no logic, no reason and no why! If you start questioning, you will have nothing left to watch. Its all about coincidence and so many coincidences in one film….i dont remember the last film which had same magic….whenever the director feels like, anything happens….even some kidney racket!! Am not even bothered to write all that stuff. Just enjoy! The thinking actor doesn’t want you to think anymore. Its all dhoom-dhaam-dharaap and ghoom-ghaam-gharaap.
Is it gory ? Violent ?
Well, if you can bear those typical tamil and telugu no brainer action flicks, then its not an issue.
The running time is almost three hours but it doesn’t bore much. Because it got romance, it got comedy in romance, it got action, it got Aamir’s six-seven-god knows how many pack, it got foreign locations, it got naach gaana, it got thoda senti-menti ishq too….Aur kya chahiye ? As any distrbutor would say, hit hai ji pikture hit hai!
Aamir is sincere in whatever he has done. But i really can’t figure out why he decided to do a film like this. Or is it some competition to be in the dumbest film and make it blockbuster of the year ? Asin is ok and good match for Aamir. But Jiah is unbearble. Now, i understand why Ramu never went beyond her legs in Nishabd. And like me, if you thought Aditya Chopra’s love funda was weird in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, check out what Murgadoss has to say. If Aditya Chopra was looking for Rab, Murgadoss is looking for Mother Teresa in her heroine! Can i please have some gud old honest and sincere lust! Think have to wait till Dev D. But why and how she falls for the hero, like million other things, this also remains a mystery. It just happens. What else ? Rahman’s music….like in Yuvraj, i don’t remember a single song after it gets over….think it gels well with the concept of short term memory loss. And am i done with Prasoon Joshi’s aas, barish, raas, guzarish…there is nothing new…words or thoughts!
2008 is the year of dumbfest in bollywood. SRK did Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Akshay had Singh is King, Salman had Yuvraj & few more, Saif was in Race and now Aamir has Ghajini. Aamir recently said that the three Khans are the Three idiots and i bet, it can’t get more idiotic. So, for the buffons of bollywood, come, watch and suffer! But as a colleague pointed out, Aamir is atleast going beyond the safety net, he is doing films with various filmmakers unlike Askhay and Shahrukh Khan, who can’t look beyond their friends. Well, there you score Mr Khan, atleast somewhere!
Tags: A R Murgadoss, a r rahman, aamir khan, Asin, Ghajini, gunda, Jiah Khan, Memento, Prasoon Joshio, Review
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
That means this is going to be a cult classic as well? Wow!!
“i don’t remember a single song after it gets over….think it gels well with the concept of short term memory loss”
hahah..this has to be the line of the year ROFLMAO!!
Super hain ji super!!
lekin hum bhi chutye banenge iss friday ko..
Sexy review bosso..par picture toh super-duper hit hi hogi bhaaya
[comment edited: violates PFC's comment policy]
“But we were expecting much from a man called Murgadoss to grasp,copy,crack and re-write a film like Memento.”
Am i supposed to assume that according to you, only Kasyaps and the likes would understand a movie like Memento?
I take offense. (and i am serious)
Where and how did you get to see the film? I havent heard of a premier being held…
(edited)
u think u know abt movies eh?? dis movie will b a huge grosser (edited)
the ‘review’ & the tone of it doesnt surprise me..since Aamir’s Ghajini’s inception ppl hv been tryin to run it down..I hvnt seen the movie but I hv become skeptical abt the way some ppl here hv been highly opinionated abt ‘certain’ kinda cinema..will write more after watchn the film
And if somebody feels Im being unreasonable..just check out all the links under ‘related posts’ just after this article..most of the times its been anti-Ghajini if I can say that..I may or may not like the film..also I dnt appreciate the way Aamir has been doin in-the-face marketing fr its release since last couple of weeks..its nt so Aamir Khan,acc to me it doesnt come naturally to him but Im sure he deserves a lot more than many in the industry just coz he gave us Lagaan(which acc to me ws a turning point in contemporary Hindi Cinema) & many other path-breaking films(not necessarily in terms of content but also in terms of guts)..I hv a strong feeling that Ghajini will be a superhit but what Im more concerned abt is ppl trashing an actor called Aamir Khan – who hardly ever repeats a role,a director,a co-star no matter how successful his association with him/her has been..thats called guts!
film is in legal trouble and not sure of release date yet…my main curiosity is on why aamir selected this movie…and to clarify that i need to see it
:(
@ no rocket science, See the movie, and iView your review on PFC. I will personally see to it that it is published. Whatever you say about Aamir Khan, I personally agree.
@oz
thanx OZ fr ur words..I surely will write abt my thots on the film here, after I watch Ghajini.
I watch the film on Thursday or Friday.
Hi Phoenixnu,
Where did you get to watch the film?
Going by the promos, I also thought it resembled a typical 80s flick with mindless, gratuitious violence. Aamir’s furious eyebrowing coupled with gnashed dentition and people flying up didn’t give me a good feeling. I think Aamir signed on just to take on the role as a personal craft related challenge.
But that I am going to watch is certain beyound doubt. Aamir is by far the best actor we have in Bollywood today. One observation that he made while analysing a movie stands out. It got Mr Bachchan agitated, humourless and sarcastic beyound expectations. It was related to Black.
Aamir’s simple yet sharp contention was regarding the first person narration the movie had. His question was: What’s the justification behind the first person monologue from a deaf, dumb and blind individual who has no means to transmit her feelings? By which POV are we being made privy to her feelings? If the audience or the characters surrounding her in the movie can’t hera her ever, how come it becomes conveniently possible at certain points in the movie?
Obviously, no one related to Black reacted because they hadn’t thought of it ever. Mr Bachchan was rattled badly hearing such about his defining movie and came up with the most sarcastic comments about Aamir Khan’s alleged ability to enlighten his lesser tutored professional brethren about movie-making.
I don’t think such reading of cinema can be expected from the run of the mill directors and actors we have in Bollywood today. This very line of thinking shows Aamir is one of the rare ones with the ability to dethread characters and plots that can give a different shine altogether to any movie.
Well for some Kill Bill too is no better than Gunda. Even mindless action and over the top revenge drama has the power to be engrossing. Lets see how Ghajini turns out to be.
@ Phoenixnu
Since Taran Adarsh has also come out with his review,I assume that you’ve also been there in a press show of the same.I’m yet to see the movie- in fact watching it tonite it in a paid preview.But yes I’ve seen the tamil original & believe me I did like the movie except for the last half an hour or so.When Aamir decided to do the remake I wasnt surprised at all.Similarly when I knew Asin is doing the hindi version too I wasnt surprised.Simply because Asin as Kalpana is very natural in the movie.Also Aamir must have thought he needs to do an out & out regular masala flick for a change.also when I got to know that the climax is getting altered I felt happy.So all put together I am for Aamir doing this movie.No I’m not a fan of Aamir & certainly dont like the way he’s overdoing the promotional bit for the movie ( thats another topic in itself) but certainly feel there’s nothing wrong with his choice of movie.I’ll be very surprised if the movie is rejected.But I do agree with you on the songs though- the tamil version had much better songs.And why the comment “Well, if you can bear those typical tamil and telugu no brainer action flicks, then its not an issue” do you mean to say there are no such flicks in hindi?
Let me comment more on the movie after I watch it tonite.
Accha aap ne phillum dekh bhi li aur review bhi kar di…. aur iss movie ko bakwaas bhi declare kar diya.. badiya hai boss… u better wait for Dev.D and please let us enjoy Ghajini..
“Well, if you can bear those typical tamil and telugu no brainer action flicks, then its not an issue.”
Just wondering if Drona, Kidnap, Tashan, Dus, Cash, Speed, Dhoom series are also typical Tam, Telugu no brainer action action flicks.
Bollywood has an equal share of no brainer action flicks, why single out Telugu and Tamil cinema only for it.
Ek baar dekhne do …
phir milte hai yahin …
Kuch to baat hogi movie me yaar …
Aamir itna bhi jhandu nhai hai ki kuch bhi kar le ..
Also Murgadoss is no Christopher Nolan for sure, and Memento is one of my favs.
But trust me if u make Memento as is in India, none will be able to make any sense of it. I have not yet seen the Hindi version yet, but have seen the Tam version of Ghajini, and as a hard core masala flick it works.
It is not obviously one of Surya’s best flicks, he had done much better stuff in Kaakha Kaakha, Pithamagan, Nanda. But for most of Surya’s fans down South( including me), Ghajini did not seem a sell out.
Cut Aamir Khan some slack guys. I mean whats wrong with him doing a pure masala flick. Down South Kamal does Panchatantiram, Vasool Raja, Pammal K Sambandhan for every Anbe Sivam, Virumandi or Hey Ram, and people have no issues with it.
@Inca said “Aamir is by far the best actor we have in Bollywood today…This very line of thinking shows Aamir is one of the rare ones with the ability to dethread characters and plots that can give a different shine altogether to any movie.”
Please give it a rest. As a non-indian viewer of Hindi and Tamil cinema, I have to say Aamir is the most overrated actor in the industry. If I hear one more time about his genius which I have yet to see, I’ll puke. A handful of his movies have been very good but for the most part the rest of them are your typical half-baked plots with mediocre or bad acting. It seems to me the media decides who is a “genius and perfectionist” and everyone goes along with their opinion like lemmings. Aamir is like every other actor in the industry (sometimes good, sometimes bad)except he has been lucky more recently. He is not exempt from criticism.
“But i really can’t figure out why he decided to do a film like this. Or is it some competition to be in the dumbest film and make it blockbuster of the year ? ”
I dont think this could be worse than Mela, Mann, Raja Hindustani or Fanaa, some of the worst Aamir movies IMO. And both Raja Hindustani, Fanaa were big hits also. Given a choice i would take Ghajini any day over those movies.
Sir, some feedback.
Your view / opinion is yours & you are entitled to it just as anyone else is.
However, these 2 comments show you in very poor light:
“Well, if you can bear those typical tamil & telugu no brainer action flicks, then its not an issue.”
“So, for the buffons of bollywood, come, watch and suffer”
Let people decide what they want to watch & enjoy without categorising people who do not agree with your world view as buffons (sic) or films of a certain region as “no brainer”.
PS – I haven’t seen Ghajini yet nor am I Tamil / Telegu!
I haven’t seen this movie yet but knowing Murugadaoss and having seen the Tamizh Ghajini, I am not surprised at this post. Does this mean Aamir is a bad actor or it is trying to put him down? No. No need to get sentimental about that. Watch the movie and give your opinion for or against.
@Ratnakar,
The Tamizh Ghajini was atrocious except for the romantic angle which was bearable. The movie was simply unintelligent. Doesn’t matter if it a blockbuster.
Look at Murugadoss’s profile: Dheena, Ramana, Stalin, Ghajini.
That tells you what kind of movies the guy makes. So one needs to set an expectation level irrespective of the actor involved.
There is nothing wrong with Aamir doing a masala movie. But what is wrong in trashing the same? I guess you did not see the reaction Kamal got for Dasavatharam here on PFC.
Relax dude! Just have fun watching Ghajini.
Cheers!
@ Sarang
Murgadoss is no Bala or Cheran or Gautam Menon( forget about Nolan for time being), but for me i did not find Ghajini, bad nor great, it was just average.
Or maybe its coz i generally like Surya, having watched his performances in Nanda, Pithamagan and Kakka Kakka.
.
BTW Ramana aint bad either, one of the few movies where i cud actually bear Vijaykanth. Stalin sucked though, a horrible copy of Pay It Forward.
I dont understand this grouse against the promotion … why should anyone not promote his / her movie? Why should hype not be created, if it is possible?
These guys have invested their time & money in a project …shouldn’t they have the right to promote it the way they feel best just as the viewer has the right to watch or walk away from the same product?
Jo chalta hai wohi mat banao, par jo banate ho woh to chalao!!
“Well, if you can bear those typical tamil and telugu no brainer action flicks, then its not an issue.” – that was an unnecessary comment. This one’s any day better than GUNDA..!
Let ’s take out the Aamir factor, the MEMENTO factor and review this as an independent Hindi movie. I’m sure that it will be better rated than any of the so-called action flicks like Cash, Dhoom-2 or Tashan.
Jiah Khan is a bad choice is agreed.! , but otherwise I think all this anti-ghajini talk is mainly because of the over-hyped marketing, which makes us want to hate it badly. Let’s take that factor out as well.
And about the music. I think Ghajini’s music is classic compared to other Hindi albums. It should not be compared to the original, because only the situations and storyline is same, the setting, and audience sensibility is very much different. Who knows that better than A.R.Rahman.
Aamir tries to balance hardcore masala flicks with meaningful cinema.For every Rang De Basanti there is a Fanaa,for Taare Zaamen Par there is Ghajni…and I think its not bad.This way he does not lose his front bencher fans who want to see him bashing up villains.At the same time he goes on acquiring new fans who like different kind of cinema.
The publicity/marketing/promotion has miserably failed, if anyone goes to watch ghajini expecting memento…..
well… seems like the author is a self-proclaimed critic of good movies…. it clearly shows that he just wants to bash the movie in all departments and has no clue abt what he is talking…I agree that Memento was a good movie – for its editing and cinematography… but was too abstract for anyone to get it in the first go… except for a few Einsteins. The movie had so many questions unanswered(may be thats how it was meant to be)… Memento would never have worked in India. It would not even had recovered the production cost… (btw it was no blockbuster in any hollywood standard)…
Ghajini is inspired from Memento in parts… and not a rip off…. it has been well adapted for the indian audience( I am talking about the real target audience of any profit minded producer)…
Ghajini has amazing cinematography, great music and slick editing, along with good performances from the lead characters.I beleive its gonna be a hit and their effort needs to be appreciated…
PS: According to me Nolan is an over rated director… and The Dark Knight was one of the crappiest movies of the year… to say in the authors own style… another telugu/tamil masala flick starring christian bale and aptly named joker.
@phoenixnu: “So, for the buffons of bollywood, come, watch and suffer”
Well, you seem have gone ahead and seen it before any of us. So I guess you should be the biggest of them buffoons!
Phoenixnu, i take an offense as well to that statement deriding southern cinema. Don’t know much about telugu but tamil cinema to me seems like more progressive most times than our hindi cinema.
I think you should relook at that statement of yours. I understand you must have been angry with the film but do re look at it.
Sarang@ 23
Have you seen Dheena,Ramana,Ghajini or Stalin?
I’ve seen them all.Dheena was a poor man’s version of Thalapathy- nothing great about it, but it had amazing songs by Yuvan Shankar Raja & I liked the picturisation of them by Murugadoss.And Ramana was a good movie- one of the better ones of Vijaykanth as pointed by Ratnakar.It was even remade as Tagore by V.V.Vinayak & was one of the biggest hits of Chiranjeevi.I frankly did not like Stalin.But yes Ghajini was good as a regular masala action flick.It was nice till the climax- which was bad ( and has been changed in hindi).and mind you all these movies have made money- so whats the big deal?Murugadoss is not a trendsetter- he’s good at making formula movies & thats what Ghajini is.I am sorry if there’s some other expectation from Ghajini.
With regards to marketing / publicity etc, I dont see why that has to evaluated as an art the way a movie is.
Marketing is a commercial function – the best product is useless without it (didn’t we have a few posts about Hulla & the lack of marketing support etc?). It is all the more acute in the case of a film because unlike a regular product that one person may use through a period of time or may find new buyers / users over a period of time, the former is very much a one time launch.
The only parties who can lose through too much marketing or overhype are the producers / distributors of the movie – they are the only ones investing in the same. So, let them take their chances including the risk that some people may be turned away. That is far better than a situation where a very good movie sinks purely because no one is willing to stick his neck out and let people know that it exists.
I do not know about the movie, but i see a trend that people trying to rip apart even before movie releases.
A s per music of the film is concerned, i think Rahman has done great experiment and also music in Yuvraj was good.
I do not think Aamir has saad anywhere it memento , he has maintained it is a commercial movie he has delivered that.
Lee,
There are areas where Aamir is genuinely in a different league.
He was the first one to restrict himself to one film at a time when no one else in the industry, more so the top notch ones, was anywhere close to such thinking. If this isn’t a stance, what is? If this isn’t the sort of thing for which an actor deserves unconditional praise, then what are we talking about?
Over interviews, he has detailed his homework for the roles he played in Mangal Pandey, Lagaan, Sarfarosh et al. Ghajini, even. The way he helmed, shaped and controlled Lagaan, Sarfarosh, Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par etc. is both well acknowledged and well documented. If that sort of thing doesn’t count, what does?
Ultimately, he’s got a kitty of Good and Bad films. But he’s got more Good than most of his contemporaries. How else do you judge a body of work, an actor’s calibre?
@shailesh…plz read what aamir wrote about memento in his blog..he think its confusing, not clear and he didnt like it. also, he said murgadoss wrote ghajini first and then he realised that a film like memento exists!! ya ya, m alice in wonderland! and thats why d take.
@sanjeev..likha hai na yaar i belong to a special tribe!
@no rocket science..plz do. btw, i loved TZP! u can find it here. and so m not anti-aamir.
@kaps..orfcourse u enjoy. whom i to stop u and when i hav told u to follow me.
@ratnakar, anurag n others…i was expecting this. but plz c why i wrote that..cz its tamil remake. so ofcourse the context is the same. the violence n action in tamil/telugu films hav differnt sensibility,taste…if u can understand what i mean…its d same. and no, m not defending bollywood. i wrote this line also….2008 is the year of dumbfest in bollywood. SRK did Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Akshay had Singh is King, Salman had Yuvraj & few more, Saif was in Race and now Aamir has Ghajini. Aamir recently said that the three Khans are the Three idiots and i bet, it can’t get more idiotic. So, for the buffons of bollywood, come, watch and suffer!
BTw, among the films i saw, paruthiveeran n kanchiavram are absolute favourite.
@phoenixnu
My comment was about one specific line in your blog, which means – a person whose name is Murugadoss cannot understand Memento.
Either it’s your prejudice or it’s your language.
Please choose!
@Phoenix
I ws not talkin TZP..I ws mentioning the way Aamir’s Ghajini has been discussed here since its inception..I dont go by the author bro..I go by the articles..u must hv expressed ur praise fr TZP & maybe even for Aamir Khan BUT I ws/am talking abt Ghajini.
A question for Aamir Khan or Ghajini Fans:
How many of you liked James or Shiva (New)? What do you think of those movies?
Simple questions, simeple answer needed.
@ratnakar 21…tahts why m saying its a tough choice! watch n let me know.
@sarang…spot on..thnx!
@kic..i absoultely love aamir for the way he promotes his film. only two actors…SRK n Aamir r producers’ delight….they r compltly dedicate n do everyting possible to promote the film…even million interviews in one day. others need to learn it from them.
@skelly…no, m not but i surely consider myself as intelligent viewer. nolan is over-rated…hehehhehoghohoho and i thought my jokes were bad! u made my day!
@ravi…m all for S&M. try it out…its gud fun!
about marketing…aamir got nothing to sell…so all he is selling is hair style. and in delhi, he turned gajju barber too!
@HG
I hated James and Shiva(new), but is that enough to deride Ghajini, which I am yet to watch. And what do you think of Kill Bill, which to many was just a mindless action movie?
@Honhaar Goonda
Rephrase ur question to “How many of you hv seen James or Shiva(new)?And if you have seen it THEN what do you think of those movies”..and after a week pose this questions “How many of you saw Ghajini & how many of you liked it?”…thats fair..isnt it..good luck bro
@shailesh…someone who says that he wrote ghajini first and then discovered memento and figured out…oh wow…what coincidences…m numb!
@no rocket science..its d same way we discuss evry other film..be it anurag kashyap’s no smoking or srk’s rab ne bana di jodi!
@Azad…kil bill is cool fun! it got d real TASHAN which is so diffcult to get!
No. There are more reasons to deride Ghajini.
Besides, like you hated James and Shiva.. the writer of this review has hated Ghajini. And your reasons for hating James and Shiva would be similiar to the above, no?
People liked crap like Dhoom and Dhoom 2 but people rejected crap like Cash.
It is all about brand.
dont know how the movie is going to turn out but i had a good laugh watching this.
http://www.oktatabyebye.com/gajodhar/index.html?Camp=promo&attrib=emailer/OTB
@ Honhaar Goonda
I’m no Aamir fan, but a hard core movie buff.I’ve seen Ghajini in tamil & also seen James.If according to you they are in the same league- I have no words to say, lets just say I’m stumped!!!
@ Pheenixnu – how many ppl will u answer? And apparently uve started an argument with Anurag. U had a problem with RNBNJ(before and after the movie was made) and the same with Ghajini(before and after the movie was made) and surely will NOT be suprised if you have a problem with movies with BIG starcast, but thats how Hindi Cinema works(mostly), u cant change it and dont try to(jus a suggestion).
Uve started an argument with Anurag? OMG. Cant believe it!! Kyon yaar…kyon…and outside PFC dont dare to say that RNBNJ or Ghajini are HITS & good films AND think its OK to change point of view now and then….
Jus guessing….u know…
I hate commenting on comments, but, sometimes there is an exception.
@skelly:”seems like the author is a self-proclaimed critic of good movies….”
And seems you are the self proclaimed critic of critics who derides (or tries to) anyone whose choice and sensibility doesn’t match yours.
“I agree that Memento was a good movie ” – Really? Aww..come on, where is your bar of standards that you have so mercilessly set high?
“but was too abstract for anyone to get it in the first go… except for a few Einsteins” – What is your IQ skelly ji? 27.5? Try solving Problems in Physics by I.E. Irodov, it will help your IQ(or the lack of it).
“Memento would never have worked in India.” – Whose fault is that? Nolan’s or ours?
Ghajini is inspired from Memento in parts… and not a rip off…. it has been well adapted for the indian audience – Indian audience which is intellectually famished and fed with bad choices to not appreciate a gem like Memento?
“Adapted well” How ji? By adding songs? by adding one more heroine?
“According to me Nolan is an over rated director… and The Dark Knight was one of the crappiest movies of the year…” – By gaad and ma kasam, I hadn’t read this before commenting to your previous lines. Saala, poora mehnat kharab kar diya..Skeely ji hum aapke fan hain! You roke!
@HG
I hated Dhoom pichak Dhoom, Casb, Bash, Mash, Lash, James, Games, Shiva, Liva. He, he, yeah some of those titles just made up. But when it comes to hating roobish, it matters little to me, what the brand or actor is.
BTW i liked the Tam Ghajini, no not a fan of it, but for me it was good time pass.
Have not yet seen Hindi Ghajini? But IMO, its just a pure time pass masala flick, nothing else.
@Skelly ji: Muah from my side! you really made my day!
Alive people change with time.
Alive people change with mood.
a widower claims when his daughter is around that he would nevery marry but nobody knows what is hidden behind the future. After some time he finds a woman who seems suitable to be married and he marries her.
Promo of Ghazini, was clearly indicating that its not Lagan, Its not Sarfarosh and its not going to follow league of TZP.
Aamir in Front open shirts, dreamy songs, foreign locals, everything was screaming that it will be a stylish film and content may be less.
It still may satisfy hard core Aamir Fans because he has never disappointed them and even in a film like Mela he entertains them because he works hard and takes interest in his role.
an individual should be allowed to do experiements.
People sing praises that few hollywood actors do 2-3 commercial films and then make one significant film.
people should let Aamir also follow this or such policy.
If film is bad, it will be flopped.
Aamir should not be flopped. Till an active actor is ready to do experiements, hope is always there.
BTW if Nolan is an overrated director just cause of TDK, i wonder what one makes of Insomnia, The Prestige.
Yaar come on, even David Fincher, made a hardcore masala flick like Panic Room, after The Game and Fight Club, so lets cut Aamir some slack here.
@RS and everyone: I guess whosoever has a problem with Ghajini is due to the following reasons:
1. They expect a certain standard from Aamir’s movie. We have taken for granted that Aamir will keep giving us those awesome movies that are both entertaining and path breaking. Let’s just say, we have become selfish when it comes to Aamir Khan.
2. We didn’t expect a gem like Memento to be adapted in as crass and as unintelligent ‘package’ like Ghajini.
@Inca(13),
That was very stupid act on part of Aamir Khan, as an actor, director and producer regarding Black.
He was wrong in his observation and hence he applogised to Mr Bachchan.
You must watch Black again to see how Aamir Khan was wrong about his observation regarding first personal narration.
So, James and Ghajini belong to the same league?? Let me decide after I have watched it tomorrow.
@RS: I never liked Panic Room, and I never had a problem with a masala flick, but still from the looks of it Ghajini looks a bad masala film. To say the least. Those mukka and villian flying in the airs. I guess we were done with those stuff in the early 90’s.
@ Tanul-53
I guess Point 1 is why we r seeing all this hulla, but this is not the first time Aamir has made a bad choice. Fanaa was lousy itself, and before that there was Mela. In 1999 for Sarfarosh and Earth, there was Mann. Actually to be honest i liked Surya’s look more in the Tam version, it was more understated and natural.
“According to me Nolan is an over rated director… and The Dark Knight was one of the crappiest movies of the year…”
ROFLMAO ….best comment ever …
I think its Ok for Aamir to make one Ghajini for every TZP…..it balances his star status and he has always done that …there was Fanaa after RDB….saying that we have every right to say the movie is pathetic if it is one …we cant just accept Ghajini just becoz we liked TZP …
@Anand: But, why does he need to a Ghajini? Is he in such dire straits? Also, whenever Aamir has done a good film, it has garnered money. It had also raised the tatse of our Indian audience. Barring, DCH, almsot every good movie of his has rakied in moolah, TZP was 6th largest grosser of last yr(Wiki says). So, the position at which Aamir stands right now, he can unfurl himself and boy! won’t we love that? I can’t justify his doing a Ghajini.
Tanul-60
I think the truth between “Aamir makes pathbreaking cinema” and “Aamir is overrated” lies somewhere in between.
Aamir has got a smart mind, so he picks up different topics that are audience friendly- like TZP, it touched an emotional chord, because of the child factor. Or RDB, he put in this anti establishment message, which again strikes a popular chord among the audience.
People quite often compare Aamir with Tom Hanks, but to date, i am not sure if Aamir would attempt a Philadelphia or Charlie Wilson’s War. Naah i am not putting down Aamir, he still remains one of my favorites.
But i think if ur speaking of pathbreaking, visionary cinema, i think its taking it a bit too far IMO.
But where Aamir excels is that he is able to sell his product well. And Ghajini will have that “hatke” tag, because though its a hard core masala flick, you know the STML thing is a novelty for Indian audiences. So people would come out saying, “yaar its a masala flick, but totally different”.
Tanul,
Just trying to justify Aamir doing a Ghajini :
Even if TZP was a hit, i dont think it was hit across all the classes …look at Singh is King or OSO…they were blockbusters across all the states and masses…
Sethu…
Same genre. Pucca Masala fillums. Under one umbrella.
Ghajini – got a bit of Memento and Abhay, but it is a masala film at the end of day.
Is it just me or anyone here think that Ghajini could have been made into a sleek thriller…..i have not seen the film as yet but going by the trailers and the buzz after its release its anything but a good, tight thriller …Aamir could have used the same subject and made into a cool action thriller….
@RS 60: I guess I wrote the wrong word to represent my feeling. Instead of path breaking, what I meant was, a good movie, which is not only entertaining, but one which enables you to take something with you on the way back. Also, Aamir Khan is doing good work but not exceptional work by any stretch of imagination. It is just that none of the ’stars’ are doing anything, so whatever Aamir does is deemed as ‘path breaking’ or ‘pushing the envelope’. Aamir is the ‘Andhon me kaana raja’. It is just that we don’t want him to be blind, not even for that one movie.
Tanul, Hmm good points, u have given me something to write about Aamir now, maybe after the Christmas break.
@RS: You better acknowledge me in that post of yours!
@ Tanul,
So, Aamir should work based on what “you” like? Huh??? Why not some of his other fans …the so called “buffons”? Have you ever considered that they may – just may – find a pure masala flick with nothing to take away as enjoyable?
@kic:
‘So, Aamir should work based on what “you” like?’
Yes.
@ Tanul-70
Do watch David Fincher’s The Game, maybe u cud get some ideas on how to make Aamir work in the movies u like, LOL.
HG @ 64
When did anybody associated with Ghajini deny that its not a masala flick?Whats wrong in doing a masala flick in the first place?your comparison of Ghajini with James or Shiva because they are masala flicks is like saying whether Big B does a Don or Amar Akbar Anthony- WTF its as good as a
Jaadugar or a Ganga Jamuna Saraswathy because they are all masala flicks!!!
@All: I’m really not averse to masala flicks of any kind. But, sometimes they really go too overboard. Now, going overboard here becomes very tricky, because there is no definition of it, it can just be seen and understood.
@kic: that was just too sarcastic on my part. But, tell me where did I write that I want Aamir to make a movie that cater to my taste. I never said that, however, if, Aamir does decide to makes a movie which insults my intelligence and choice, I would voice my opinion accordingly. So, that doesn’t give anyone( you or whosoever) question me and my tastes, I never told you to go and do/watch a certain thing. To each is one bhaiya! Laissez faire..!
@ RS 71: lol… No yaar, that was jsut too sarcastic on my part, have explained in my prev. comment!
@ 73: second last line shud read: to each his own..
Aamir is sincere in whatever he has done. But i really can’t figure out why he decided to do a film like this. Or is it some competition to be in the dumbest film and make it blockbuster of the year
phoenixu if you notice aamir this year is trying to do whats new for him
hes coming on tv shows,hes judging dubm dance shows
hes speaking to the media more hes trying to do a masala flick
i have no clue why but someone please be honest and tell him that its not his thing
aamir go back to making different films that are critically and commercially appreciated its what your good at
i have a very scary feeling that 3 idiots is going to be another disaster
hopefully delhi 6 and dehli belly will offer something intresting
btw am i the only one who thinks rab ne bana di jodi was shah rukhs best and most entertaining performance ever ?
@ Vivek
Whats Delhi-6 & Delhi Belly got to do with Aamir?
Vivek, i think u meant 3 Idiots and Delhi Belly.
Delhi Belly is being produced by Aamir.
Regarding 3 Idiots, it wud be nice if Rajkumar just makes the movie on his own.
FPS itself was vastly overrated, and as far as Chetan Bhagat is concerned, he is the Karan Johar of the literary world for me.
Delhi Belly is produced by Aamir – agreed- but isnt Vivek here talking about the actor in Aamir when he’s mentioning Delhi-6 & Delhi Belly?
@Phoenix
didnt get what point u were replying to in ur last comment to me..my point ws simple..I ws talkin abt how Ghajini is being run down here..not just now..since its inception..i wsnt talking abt TZP..just stickin to the subject brother
I never said that, Sethu. All I said was they are masala films. Never mind.
Anyway, What on earth is wrong with Jaadugar?!
@HG,
If I may try to answer this question of yours
“Anyway, What on earth is wrong with Jaadugar?”.
——
Even if one has not grown up watching Amitabh Bachchan films,
Even if one has not seen his films in chronological films,
Jadugar is still a stale film where Prakash Mehra’s direction looked exhausted
and he made Amitabh Bachchan looking exhausted except few initial comedy scenes. Once AB reaches to Amrish Puri’s territory film becomes bogus and inconsistent too.
—
Those who have seen his earlier films, for them a degradation was very much clear and if a person became blind just before the release of Jadugar, he could have identified the degradation simply by listening to the film’s dialogues.
Ajooba still had better standard than Jadugar, GJS and Toofan.
Constructive creativity had left minds of Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra by the year 1985.
After that they produced mimicries and not creative films.
—
But there were still mimicry artists who were imitating Amitabh Bachchan’s films so even these bogus films had better standard than those copied versions done by other actors.
That should satisfy difference between an Aamir Khan film and a James or a Shiva.
If everything is bad, audience has a satisfaction to see a dedicated Aamir Khan.
same thing is lost in case of Shiva and James as almost everything is bad including performances by lead actors.
@ HG
Jaadugar was going great initially when it was focussing on Big B as “jaadugar”- i even loved the songs- “main jaadugar, mera naam goga” &
” padosan apni murgi sambhal” they were hilarious.But when the movie got into the
fake swamiji act, the movie undid all the good work of the first half an hour.
@ RK
I completely agree with you about Manmohan Desai & Prakash Mehra- they had got into a habit of churning hits so continuously with Big B, that they didnt start looking at the quality of the movies they were making from the mid 80’s.But yes considering the general quality of the bollywood flicks at that period, even the flops of Big B were classics compared to most of the other movies.
@Rk – bhai, agreed about Ajooba. The story was very good, and that too in a genre where we haven’t ventured much despite having abundant source of fantasy stories and fables! Akhir kyon..!!!
Well the stay has been lifted on the movie.I’m watching the movie 2 hours from now.Will comment on the same after I watch it.
@Tejas,
Are Bhai, ye “Akhir Kyun” to aise chamak raha hai, as it resounds in a film based on some social reform like “Ye Aag kab bujhegee” or “Nikah”. where a character screams to his/her loudest capacity in the climax, Judge saab or samaj ke thekedaron, aisa kyon hua, akhir kyon?
This akhir kyon should be known properly by people working in film industry and those who have inside info.
we can guess from outside and can cover audience and those who write on films.
People may follow double standard. They will praise mask of Zoro but will call Ajobba- Talwarbazi wali film which has old concept. Johnny Depp will be praised for playing a pirate but AB will be criticised doing something similar.
Hindi cinema missed an opportunity, if Gurudutt was alive and if he was successful in making a film on Sindbad or arabian night concept then perhaps such subjects could have remained in A-category.
Big filmmakers define the path.
in 40s and 50s Swashbuckler films were quite successful and they remained successful till Rajesh Khanna became super star and after that only Dharam Veer could be said as super hit, and slowly this genre started going into oblivion.
Super stars of todays time will hardly accept role of a prince or an old warrior kind of character.
Though physically todays stars are more capable than stars of 50s and 60s to play warriors and they should look appealing.
I hated James… but pretty much liked Shiva :P .. anyone??
Honhaar gunda ji… I answered ur ques… any vishesh tippani??
@Rk bhai – yeah, woh Magik ke thread mein filmy dialogues mar raha tha to yahan bhi nikal gaya!!
I feel why we do not make lot of films based on Indian literature (whether fantasy or fiction) has to do with our tradition of approving things only after Goras adopt and approve it – by then it’s too late because Goras have patented it. Imagine the work of Kalidas being trademarked by FOX studios or Warner brothers and made into films with Keira Knightley as Shakuntala..yes..that will happen but we will not make them on our soil!!
In a subtle way PFC has become a south-north bashing ground. Most bloggers here are prejudiced against south.
Oz ..do something about it.. Wheres your torture series…. lets have some fun….
@ 20: Lee, I concur with you totally.
.
Some how Ghajini dekhni ki feel nahi aa rahi hain.
.
May be because its “inspired” by Memento or too much over publicity of the movie (and some of it I felt was becoming too nasty especially by media-twisting things) I dunno if I will see it now or later.
.
Watching James is a guilty pleasure. I love the back ground music every time James comes on the scene.
@sethu
i meant that in genral it had nothing to do with aamir in genral
i hope that theyl both be good films
that statement had nothing to do with aamir
@phoenixnu – If u r an intelligent viewer then how come u commented on regional movies in general when u have not watched some wonderful movies being made there….If thats the case hollywood and bollywood makes crappy movies too
@Tanul – Well nice to have got a comment from an Einstein… I am glad that you loved the movie…
In my personal opinion I would rate “The Butterfly Effect” and ” Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind” over “Memento”.
If Memento would’nt work in India, the fault is with the director ofcourse…he should know the audience he is presenting to…Come on, tell me frankly would that movie be a blockbuster in India..Would any producer approach the director again…..Assuming Nolan was a director in India he would have been another talented guy lost among like minded people.
And interesting tanul, do u review movies the way u went about commenting …. I mean dont watch the whole movie and start writing from the word go… If thats the case then I seriously wonder if thats how you reviewed Memento too….
@ratnakar – well… I loved Insomnia and The Prestige…. But then again, TDK was a big let down in all respects….
I’m in Mauritius. Watched Ghajini on Tuesday. It’s completely paisa vasool. Aamir rocks. This guy is truly a genius. I was left spellbound. Great movie. I recommend it to all. Do watch GHAJINI
Saw it. Pretty disappointing. Every time you feel the movie is picking up and they’re building onto something, it kinda falls apart. Also thought the rod scene was well executed but pretty disturbing. U/A rating but wouldn’t watch my kids watching that one. More like a crassy masala flick than anything else. Lesson learnt: REDUCE EXPECTATIONS!
racist threads should be banned
This film isn’t better than Gunda as Gunda is original and Ghajni is a remake. Gunda had everything, awesome dialogues, brilliant dialogue delivery by Mithunda and good story. The area where Ghajni scores over Gunda is the budget, technical department, Gunda was just a low budget film.
Just back from the movie- nothing great ,routine masala movie.But then I never had any lofty expectations as I’ve seen the tamil Ghajini & knew what I was heading for.Well the promotion continues- At the multiplex I got a voucher for a 1 week trial workout,facial & a Ghajini haircut @ a hep spa cum gym.Dont mind the workout and facial – but spare me the Ghajini hair cut please
But with most of the hindi audience not having seen the tamil/telugu Ghajini or even Memento, I somehow feel the audience would watch the movie in large numbers just for the curiosity factor alone.A great movie it definitely isnt, but it somehow might become a very successful movie.
@Skelly ji: I have seen Memento, now, if that quells your doubts for the time being. I reiterate, I don’t have any problem whatsoever with you liking Ghajini(Tam one, hindi one). I’m not here to devise a yardstick as to what is good and what is not, what I had a problem with you snubbing the author of this article and ahem..Christopher Nolan. Aur ji humein Eintsein kehne ke liye thank you, mummy ko bolunga to wo khush ho jayengi! Btw, merry christmas!
@Tanul- hmmm… I am glad that u r not coming up with a goodness for something artistic..(yeah…ppl have their own perceptions on the same piece of art)… Well i have a problem with the author’s language and arrogance….Ok, he did not like the movie, but that does not mean u present it in such a crappy manner..and the fact that he is so ignorant about other regional movies and comments on them by watching some clips from youtube…..So if he can snub the movie and the technicians, I have the right to snub his writing…. and yeah.. merry christmas to you too:)
AAMIR Hain Changa Munda
I have seen Memento, Tamil version and today saw Hindi version.
The reason of watching the “mother Two’s” was my curiosity in Aamir Ghajini. It was tough enough to decipher Memento but it’s even tougher to comprehend what the reviewer actually had (or didn’t) before writing this one.
in honesty this one is a mockery of a review its been some time since I have seen some objectivity on PFC is the writer suffering from post colonial trauma are we here in a collective state of denial and amnesia anyway gosh I have come to this site often to read some great articles here.
Below are my humble observations.
I remember the era of watching movies in single screen theaters the enthusiasm the whistles I felt the same watching it at BIG cinema Vashi.
It’s been a long time since I have witnessed anything like it in multiplex it also struck me how with advent of multiplex there is alienation among filmmakers the challenge has shrunk in multiple screens. But this movie has clear intention of catering you the same era the same Massala and it’s been honestly proclaimed in the unrelenting marketing campaign we have witnessed.
It took me some time to come to terms with a manically intense Aamir matter of fact I sighed a huge sigh of relief as the love story unfolded which clearly is a major triumph of
Ghajini otherwise today viewers would otherwise find difficult to connect with the intensity of the violence depicted here and its disturbing its only Aamir who makes the wild rage justifiable.
You can copy anything but to right a screenplay which will hold audience attention for almost three hour is nothing short of achievement the movie unravels at furious pace holding you till the very end matter of fact the last 30 half an hour will leave you out of breath not a soul moved in the theater which was jam packed.
While at the end of first half you will try to reason a very different Aamir it’s the second half which takes the movie a notch up. Murder sequence of Asin is spell bounding the emotional connect with audience is complete and it led to an enthralling climax I have seen for a long time.
Music is one the very strong protagonist here and act as soothing balm against the violence song picturisation is marvelous cinematography is outstanding especially the action sequence. Asin did justice to her role and bought much needed sweetness to the macabre.
Jiah was surprisingly good the villain Mr. Ravat is effective I am no student of cinema but I thought editing was clinical.
But this movie belongs to Aamir all the way you will both love him and despise him he evokes vulnerability, volcano rage with equal ease. He has very little to say in this movie his eyes and his body does all the talking his intensity has level of craziness you will find it hard to take him out of your mind long after the movie is over.
The movie tries to give you all in the large platter Romance, Thrill, suspense, comedy, great music and somehow knit them together for an entertaining outing.
Be warned the depiction of violence the ferocious look of a wounded tiger and his rage this movie will take some time to get out your system.
Watch the action sequence when Aamir attacks the Police officer that’s the kind of raw animal rage we have never witnessed.
Yes there are many questions you can ask but will you this movie is very much a remake of its Tamil version except the last half an hour.
There is no doubt in that the basic idea is being taken (stolen if you will) from memento but is there anyone worth his salt here on PFC who can raise his hand and say give me
40 cr. let me make a remake of memento and in the process make 80 cr. as well.
After watching the movie I am feeling miserable. people were laughing at the action scenes.
Aamir u r Gem……u r d best….one of d all time best performance…..fulltoo paisa vasool… jhakkas filim bole to ekdum rapchik….a must watch movie for u all aamir and action moviez fan…
“Baaki kuch to log kahenge logon ka kaam hai kehna……”[:P][:)]
Pheonixnu
“Rahman’s music….like in Yuvraj, i don’t remember a single song after it gets over….think it gels well with the concept of short term memory loss”
I agree with u there
I want to mark this to OZ:
I am sick and tired of posts (not comments – you can’t do anything about them) which take a high moral ground and ridicule people who enjoy movies like RNBDJ and Ghajini. You need to do something about it. I loved Ghajini and though I thought RNBDJ was a bad film immediately after watching the film, I am not able to get over the film. I now think that the film has soul and therefore has disturbed me. But when I read posts in PFC, I feel like an idiot and out of place. I thought this was a wonderful site which provided a fantastic platform for like minded people who enjoy cinema to have healthy debates. But when I read such posts like this one, I feel awful. So OK, I like this film, it is a decent commercial Hindi film, it did not claim to be otherwise, why are you allowing authors to ridicule people who enjoy such films? Case in point:
“Or is it some competition to be in the dumbest film and make it blockbuster of the year ?”
“Aamir recently said that the three Khans are the Three idiots and i bet, it can’t get more idiotic. So, for the buffons of bollywood, come, watch and suffer! ”
Phoenixu – Perhaps it may not matter to you – but I will not be reading your posts anymore.
I watched it last night and it sucked. I don’t think the last half an hour was spell binding, it was exhausting rather. People were cracking jokes. And with inane dialogues like ‘you short term memory loss patient’ mouthed by the villain, we really can’t be blamed. It was a bludgeon of a movie. Everything was overdone. And plot was more convenience than anything else. And Phoenix, I agree with your Telugu and Tamil movie comment. But it’s not the mindless action flick. It’s a sensibility issue. The ’sensibility’ or the nature of the action sequences in the movie is very South Indian. And it’s not a deregatory comment I am making. Just saying that it looks rather out of place. And editing was really forceful. in-your-face. Well, that’s all the qualms I have about this movie. And yeah, the best thing about the movie is the performance by Asin. And when was the last time we had a similar scenario in an Aamir Khan movie.
Isnt it possible to like French New Wave and Ghajini together?If the former can be a case of acquired taste…so can be the latter.I think I had very low expectations out pf the movie..i guess that helped like it.So its all about your expectation levels seriously rather than any cinematic tastes or prejudices.
so what is the truth ? no doubt its the biggest opening ever for a film , biggest advance booking , it was the biggest release(the no of prints) . but is it being appreciated? what is the truth on that ? i have heard most people find it average , i have also heard people walking out midway through the second half.
no one found it brilliant thats for sure. will some more people please come up and review the film . just dont tell me it lacks logic , most hindi films do . ok just tell me is it better than fanna or worse and i would know if its worth watching.
a word about the music , if you dont bother with who’s given teh music its pleasant enough , just liek yuvraj , pleasant if you dont bother to know its ar rahman’s .
i wanna ask another thing . is it the expectatiosn thats making people feel let down?
@Anand107:
U can run frm here but u can run away frm reality n truth..if a movie is bad its bad. Just becuase u have or want to watch it, nobdy is going to say its a great movie. Ghajini is awfully flawed and rubbish movie and desrves this vitriolic review, especially if people use unfair means to hype something like this.
@ratnakar: Sir, you are knowledgable and correct but I feel u took exception to Southie comment. I think in retrospect the comment is contextually befitting. If tomorrow someone remakes Gunda in Tamil/Telegu, the bottom line would call out out to all no brainer Bollywood crap
@ Sags
Its had the same number of prints as RNBDJ had- so its not the biggest release or the biggest advance booking, but yes one of the biggest.regarding the movie- its a masala movie for sure.Watch it without any expectations.Its inspired by Memento big time, but completely Indianised.all said & done- its a profitable venture.And Asin is a find for bollywood- no two doubts about it.
Perfectionist mr.khan has completely lost the plot here. the kiddish romance, anachronic dialogues ,terrible screen play and the length are enough for me. apart for the cinematography nothing was great about it. i was disappointed. having a wonderful and exciting theme i had high expectations.
Anand, Please iView your review of Ghajini. Bring more of the positives that you saw. That is how you can make use of this open platform to your benefit.
So all the artier-than-thou stances aside, is the movie bad in a good way or just bad? I mean bad in a deep-fried-chocolate-glazed-donut-heart attack inducing bad but yet good..kind of way?
or just bad?
Gopi
well you have every right to have that opinion yes i laughed in the last half hour and i will still stick neck out and say it was spellbounding.
now reveling where exactly were ppl laughing would be inappropiate and i have a feeling the way ravat mouth “saala short term memory patient” would be quite popular.
i have seen it twice and have not seen leaving the hall forget about that nobody wanted to miss a miniute of this movie. A three hour movie is no boon to your gald bladder and saw poor folks rushing back and forth.
without a shred of doubt the biggest asset of the movie is its taut pace it just does not let your attention waiver.
wathing Aamir beating the guts out of more then a dozon goons in perhaps one of the most breathing taking action sequence you will watch.
now we all have grown out of this kinda of acion or so we thougt ppl shamelessly enjoyed it.
actually Rajiv masand has put it aptly “its a dumb film which celebrates dumbness”.
i can petty well understand the reason of such no hold barred marketing because somewhere Aamir would have liked to warm up the audiance as to what to expect because its the kind of massala movie we haven’t not seen maybe since Gadar.
I am not sure whether filmaker set out to do that or it just happened but the movie has a deep rooted emotional presence which will remain with you way after the movie is over for a massala movie its dark its aamir potryal maybe that takes this movie beyond where they might have set out to go.
imagine truma of a guy who has to relive the horror of painful death after every 15 minutes. more then the tamil film Aamir has successed in brining about that pain.
the problem most of audiance will have is the adjusting with the first half where beastly raging aamir leaps on you as he leaps on the policemen my gosh what was that.
now bringing “oldboy” would be termed as “Blasphemy” ad i surely would be stoned to death over here but the point is “Oldboy”(surely ghajini is no way dare to compare it nor does it have any intention) was one of the most disturbing moive i have watched and thats not just because of the graphic violence but the emotional violence.
this is the best compliment one i can give to Ghajini but the emotional violence and rage so beautifuly displayed by Aamir is something which you will take home and it will stay in your subconsious mind like most of the massala movies you don’t come out eching Hurrayyy but most of you will come out quitely I am afraid Ghajini has achived more then it set out to.
thanks to aamir.
watched the movie tonight. i thought the movie rocked. My movie diet for the last 5 days have been Ran (kurosawa), throne of blood , seventh seal, memento, ghajini (tamil), taxi driver, gahjini (hindi)… all in all a very satisfying week
will be watching ghajini again tomorrow
meh.. watched it yesterday in upstate ny. Can’t even imagine why (the hell) did Aamir decided to twist, turn, grind, mix an idea from Memento and make it a seriously ill-minded south indian action flick with huge monstrous villains and such?? Absolutely no theme, and no plot. To top that, Aamir didn’t mind wearing his half sleeved shirt with sleeves up as if he was too insecure amongst the likes of well-built John Abraham, Hrithik etc! Totally dumb.
Yes, the movie leaves many questions unanswered. It totally defies logic in many situations. eg. a big tycoon with a medical problem living alone with all his memory loss toolkits and other paraphernalia and coolly going about murdering people without anybody coming to know about it, The police not noticing and tracking down the missing police inspector plus ambiguousness about gajini’s stature as to whether he is a sadak chhap gunda or a high profile, sofisticated crook cleverly hiding his criminal activities, Everybody using ancient tools for killing when the goons as well as aamir has an access to a gun, the extent and details of memory loss etc. The love track also is quite logic defying but despite all these flaws, Gajini works for the majority of people. Its Aamir Khan who makes all the difference. He is excellent in both Romance as well as action tracks. Romance is something he has done before, but action of this kind is something he has tried for the first time and has done very well in it. He carries the film on his shoulders so effortlessly.
The other thing that works for the movie is a very good pace and smart editing which keeps on mixing the pieces of past and present in such a way that it keeps you interested and excited all the time.
I watched the film in a packed theatre and found that people were totally involved in the proceedings. There were sighs, ‘Oh no’s, claps and whistles at appropriate points. People were with Aamir all through the movie.The way Aamir displays the burning rage and a quest for revenge handicapped by a memory loss has to be seen to be believed.
I see only 2 reasons for Lee to have used such a strong language in this post. (1) He really disliked the movie a lot and write this in anger, thereby writing stronger stuff than he would have after 2 hours (2) He was expecting far too much and was disappointed and to top it, is no Aamir fan.
I have not seen Ghajini so I wont comment on the film. But yes, I understand why Aamir chooses to do a Ghajini. I am no fan of the man that he is, but yes, one cant deny the sincerity of his work. All the positives of his process of selecting a film are already mentioned above so I wont repeat them. But I really respect the way in which he balances all kinds of films in his kitty. He cannot keep acting in films for ‘the multiplex audience’, as Taran Adarsh would put it! He needs to keep all his fans happy. And his fans sit in the multiplex in Bombay and in the stall in Indore.
I would much appreciate, Phoenix, if you were to reply more to the overwhelming number of posts that your blog has received. It’s only fair!
Before watching the movie, I had disliked this post and raised my concerns. But after having watched Ghajini, I agree with most of the points stated by pheonix. Sure its a masala action film, but there is a difference between a ghayal and a gadar. Both can’t be put in the same league. Maybe I was expecting an action film like Ghayal or even Kill Bill, but what I saw was no better than James and Shiva(new). The only redeeming factor of the movie was Aamir’s performance. I have seen the Tamil version too, and have somewhat liked the first half. But I couldn’t enjoy any portion of Ghajini(hindi). I have no complains against Aamir, its me who is to blame. In fact, I had never seen a single promo of Ghajini before watching it(except for some of the song promos). I should have seen that, because the intent of the movie is clear in the promos. After having wathced the promos now, its quite visible that the makers were making a James and not a Ghayal.
abhi tak isne ye nahi bataya ki isne movie dekhi kaha…..:PPP…
I saw this film solely on the conviction that Aamir will act in or make films of some basic quality. Boy, was I wrong!
This is easily the worst film I have seen this year. There was nothing – not one redeeming factor – in the film. A lot has been discussed above, but the direction, scripting, acting, (the horrific) background score – were all uniformly bad.
I don’t know this director, but obviously it is some idiot masquerading as a film director. People have praised Aamir’s performance. To me, it was a phoned-in performance. Actually, I was laughing when he did the angry/hurt/screaming bit – it just did not connect.
This is one pathetic excuse of a film. I’d rather see RNBDJ again – it atleast had a wonderful concept, even though things went terribly wrong after the initial wonderful 30 minutes.
The film aint grotesque. I seen better action in Shiva/James. Heck, even Sarkar had more fierce action. Am disappointed. Everytime Aamir Khan did “Grrrrrrrrr” – it made me laugh. The film ain’t no way better than Shiva/James. Perhaps, Asin is better than Kothari.
the greatness of aamirkhan as an actor can be judged by the fact that he did a movie like ghajini and that it was liked by people(except for some extra terrestial super intellectual guys)… come on guys we go to the cinemas for entertainment and ghajini provided that for 3 hours.. aamir had specified earlier that this is not taare zameen par but a hardcore mainstream cinema.. and the fact that aamir did this movie shows his versatility.. just think that shah rukh, salman, govinda, abhishek, saif… all have been doing what they are best at and never turning from their trodden path… just imagine after seeing TZP one year back would anyone except aamir himself would be convinced that he could have done this movie… one of the scene that proves the point is when he wakes up dazed and moves aimlessly in the house… reaches for the tap and see remove t shirt.. the expressions that changes on his face from condusion to anger and fury all in one shot was one of the best acting performance… all one can say that aamir khan had a good time as an actor…
“Well, if you can bear those typical tamil and telugu no brainer action flicks, then its not an issue.”
At times Tamil or Telugu or Hindi every one will produce those dumb no brainer films. These no brainer movies doesnt belong to a particular region.
I think author didnt check all the movies released in bollywood in 2008. If he had watched all those Super Block buster dumb and silly Hindi movies he wouldnt have the dare to write the above statement.
P.S: Iam not a tamilian nor a telugu.
I absolutely loved your article. I completely agree with you. It was a stupid movie. I dont know why Aamir Khan did the movie. It appears the stupider the movie the greater the hit nowadays. And to think I dragged my wife to see both Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Ghajini. I was expecting better from Aamir. He has done such great movies over the last few years and now he has undone all that with this rubbish. I think he just wanted to be No.1 and decided to hell with it.He saw how the ridiculous Akhsay Kumar movies are becoming hits and decided he wanted that too. Idiot! stop this nonsense. Go back to Lagaan, Dil Chahta hai.Stop trying to win this rat race.You are above these things.
Iwant tosee Gajni movie
I finally saw Ghajini yesterday. I didnt really like the movie, mainly because of the violence. I dont think Asin is suited for Hindi movies. She has that typical south indian habit of overacting and over emoting which is so typical of south Indian movies
An Indianise version of Bourne Identity + Supremacy + Ultimatum with a change of background to a romantic one instead of US-Russia one.
But a very good effort by Aamir