How and Why Hindi Ghajini is better than Tamil!
iView Author: Anand (Chennai, India)
Email: withheld
People are loving it, people are bashing it…Critics are saying it is ok, Critics are bashing it. Rajeev Masand’s review hits bull’s eye as he has understood the spirit of the film and given a well analyzed review. So I am not here to review Ghajini as a film. Instead what I want to do is this: It worked beautifully in Tamil for the audiences and therefore became a huge money-spinner, but I feel Hindi version is better. Here’s why: (Warning – Spoilers throughout the post)
1. Sanjay Singhania Vs Sanjay Ramasamy – Have you heard the name Sanjay Ramasamy before? Tamil Cinema’s obsession with unique names coupled with its obsession for No.1 (You see – Sanjay Ramasamy was India’s No.1 Rich guy) lessened the connect with the film. Sanjay Singhania is a much better written role, his reviews with his team, his taking a private jet to London, his checking in at the VIP counter in the Airport, his photograph with the President of India in his cabin – In Hindi, Sanjay Singhania is more believable. Of course, Aamir’s touch helps. The way he requests Mark to make note of the address that Kalpana gives him is one instance where the comedy really works, in Tamil I found myself squirming in the seat in the same scene. The other nice touch is Aamir guiding a couple of European tourist in (was it French?!) the song Bhehka and Kalpana getting floored!
2. Cinematography – I hated RD Rajashekar’s work in Tamil. It was too stylized, too in-your face. Ravi K Chandran has toned it down in Hindi and that was a big relief. How I wish Anthony also had done so. So many jump cuts – what are you thinking Anthony? Do you think this edit style makes the film cool? In its heart, Ghajini is a sad film. Take the scene, in which Sanjay wakes up in Kalpana’s flat for instance. He wonders where he is, he goes to the bathroom and sees the note ‘Remove T-Shirt’. When he slowly removes the T-Shirt, he sees the tattoos and understands he has a job to do. The emotions here range from sadness to rage. But where is the sadness? Due to your jump cut, we have never been allowed to experience this sadness. You did this in Tamil and lessened the impact of the film. In the film Vettaiyadu Vilayadu, which also had an undercurrent of sadness, I was happy when I saw your toned down jump-cut style. But you have once again spoiled the Hindi version of Ghajini. Thankfully, Ravi K Chandran has salvaged some of the impact in Hindi.
3.Dialogues – Now it was too cheesy and dumb for me in Tamil. The classic being “ Oh – It is a 10 digit number; it must be a mobile number”. Most of the dialogues uttered by Sanjay Ramasamy, India’s no.1 Rich guy were way too cheesy. In Hindi, it is much better. Though a couple of classics are still retained in Hindi – One, in which Sanjay addressing a group talking about the difference between confidence and over confidence (it is changed to conviction and arrogance in Hindi and sounds much better). Two, the doctor says, “Oh, he has a very unique disease, it is called short term memory loss!”
4. Jiah Khan – Those who say that Jiah Khan is bad, please go and watch Tamil. Nayanthara hammed and she also looked too old to play a medical student.I found Jiah trying her best in an underwritten part. She definitely looked believable in Hindi.
5. The song before the climax-lead(as it is popularly called in Tamil): Now the song Rangola killed the film in Tamil. Surya looked like a buffoon. Thankfully, it is removed in the Hindi version.
6. Climax: The much talked about Climax. For those who have not watched the Tamil version, they may wonder what is the big deal about the climax, it is a regular simple Climax with an interesting knot. Not something one should brag about. But go and watch the Tamil version. There are two Villains, they kill a girl from the medical college hostel, Surya fights two villains in the climax and you stop caring about the whole god-damn hero; you know he will win, and you start worrying about getting out to the car park in time so that you are out of the multiplex before a traffic jam. In Hindi, you cheer for the hero, when he picks up the iron rod, people were actually clapping. And that’s the success of a good old Hindi Masala Pot boiler! And the movie extends for a full five minutes after the climax complete with a song and no one moved in the theatre!!
7. Aamir – Aamir – Aamir: Watch out for the last “Grrr” in the Climax fight – I rest my case!
Tags: Ghajini
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Anand-
Its an interesting comparison you’ve come up.
Let me tell you where I agree with you-
1. The climax in hindi- works any day better than the tamil one.while the tamil climax was very hackneyed, the hindi one was to the point & precise.
2. The camera work by Ravi.K.Chandran was brilliant & so heightened Murugadoss’s work better in hindi.
3. The idea to “dispense”away with the rangola song & instead have a softer “kaise mujhe” as the last song was very well done.
Where I dont agree with you or prefer tamil over hindi-
1. There was nothing wrong in Surya’s work & no I wont say Aamir got it better than Surya.both were good respectively.
2. If Sanjay Singhania explains to the tourists in some European language during the behka song- Sanjay Ramaswamy was doing it in English in the
Oru Malai song.A remake is supposed to be bring in improvisations- so whats the big deal.
3. overall I felt the music of Harris Jayaraj was much better than that of Rehman.3 years after the tamil release, I still listen to Oru Malai &Suttum Vizhi Sudare, dont know if I’ll be able to do the same with the songs in Hindi.
Sethu: Thanks for the comment. My take on the music is the same as yours. But I thought BGM in Hindi was better. I also did not like Surya’s performance as the avenger. He had a single expression and hence was not able to bring out the vulnerability. One of the reasons why the film did not work for me in Tamil was Surya’s performance.
Regarding the Tourist guiding – the language surprised me and I think thats what a good film is all about; keep surprising your audience.
You are giving a thumbs up to it because a poorer version existed in Tamil earlier. So for a favourable review only thing required is existence of a much poorer version earlier.
Let me give you a suggestion. Why dont you compare it with the real original version viz Memento?
Temple Oak:
“You are giving a thumbs up to it because a poorer version existed in Tamil earlier.” – I agree.
“So for a favourable review only thing required is existence of a much poorer version earlier.” – I think thats too much of generalization.
“Why dont you compare it with the real original version viz Memento?” – Whats the point? The sensibilities of filmmakers (and the target audience) are different.
From your comment, it is obvious you did not like the film. I enjoyed it :-)
Aah! 3 hours of sheer torture. It is no better than Yuvraj. I have seen first 3 minutes of Memento and tell you will prefer watching them a lakh times rather watching ghajini once more. I dont know how to shrug off the movie from my memory. Even songs, with which i was in love, i have developed a disliking for them after watching the movie.
The respect i got as a viewer from ‘Oye Lucky’ has reinvented my taste.
No ,….
The songs and the chemistry between Amir and Asin was the only saving grace of the movie …
Otherwise its too pedestrian…
Rehmans music is llike .. Heaven !!!
I loved the songs and the way they have been picturised …
I’m just a simple audience member..not too critical..like to watch movies without reading reviews so that I can form my own opinion..and I wud like to present my reaction to the movie.
For 3 hours I was glued to the seat..I never felt the movie was too long unlike dostana or sing is kingg..whose 2 hour plus duration seemed like ages. That’s one of my primary benchmarks for a film..if it holds for 3 hours than something must be really right. And Ghajini did just that..what really works and keeps the audience hooked is the 2nd part of the flashback…teh audience knws Ghazini killed Aamir’s girlfriend…and after the first romantic flashback has ended they just can’t wait to know why Asin was killed…and that’s what kept me hooked. Must say that I haven’t seen Memento yet..so mmaybe that’s why I enjoyed Ghazini better
“Have you heard the name Sanjay Ramasamy before? Tamil Cinema’s obsession with unique names coupled with its obsession for No.1 (You see – Sanjay Ramasamy was India’s No.1 Rich guy) lessened the connect with the film”
whats in a name????
“In Hindi, you cheer for the hero, when he picks up the iron rod, people were actually clapping. And that’s the success of a good old Hindi Masala Pot boiler!”
In Chennai, Bang and Hyd too, people were cheering for Surya, when he was thrashing the bad guys. And thats the success of a good old Southie Sambar flick, he he.
Ratnakar: He he!! Good One. But on a serious note dude, did you manage to see the Tamil version in all three cities?
I wanted to write this in Aamir Khan’s blog, but that didn’t allow me more than 100 chars. So here it is, addressed to Mr Khan.
Ok, I must say, I was very excited about it … somehow, last yr around this time I experienced magic with TZP. And from the promos, G seemed like you have again taken another unconventional theme. So I couldn’t resist the temptation.
I am in San Jose, California and they opened a new hindi movie hall near our house. So I settled for a 11:15pm show, which actually started at 11:45pm, and now 4am in the morning, I am writing this review.
I am sorry Aamir, it didn’t do it for me.
I surely am one of the biggest fan of your work. But Ghajini lacked depth. The action, colors, production design, script, dance was sorta over the top, but somewhat superficial. Give me a Lagaan, TZP, 1947-Earth, Sarfarosh, RDB, DCH any day!
Now to the details:
Having seen countless bolly movies, we have taught ourselves to let go ‘reasoning’ – but this one beats me, the multi-millionaire Sanjay is able to carry on a dual-personality life and no one notices?
Somehow the movie is very much like a movie from south, it almost feels like a dubbed movie than a remake. The action scenes, the over-the-top gestures, extra-colorful attires, the dialogues (feels like translated to meter the scenes rather than being written for the part). Sorry, nothing against south movies, but they are of diff kind. A movie made by a Bengali guy, one made by south guy, one made by Punjabi, or made by UP-Bhaiyya have diff level of sense and sensibilities, if you know what I mean.
Being a (part-time) musician myself, I do listen to the music very closely including the bground scores. First of all, most of the songs feel like inserts rather than part of the movie. Except may be one or two songs, rest are passable.
The editing, esp in the action scenes, seemed little cheezy and unconvincing. It was somewhat like a stop-motion effect, and efx created by skipping few frames in the sequence. The end-result is anything but convincing.
The only thing I can admire in the movie is the way you have built your physique – that’s amazing!
Seeing the movie about short-term-memory-loss, I have become like that – 15mins after the movie, I have forgotten it. (ask me about TZP 15yrs later, I would remember)
@ Anand
I dont think you can compare a Tamil( a Southie in general) with a Hindi Movie. As u rightly said about cant comapring Momento and Ghajini, the same reasons applies here. A dubbed movie might work, but the whole point in remaking was to change it to fit into the viewer’s taste.
When u complain about the “in your face” style in Southie, thats the way the audience like it there. U dont see Amitabh doing a clown act like Rajni in Shivaji. He plays his age and gives us mature cinema(Well most of the time, this is excluding KANK and pre KBC)
I have followed both southie and hindi movies, and most of the southie movies are way over the top and very few heroes will potray grey characters. In no way am i stating that Brilliant, Innovative and Path Breaking Movies are not being made down south, but on an avergae level, Meldorama & Heroism is still largely present in South
Shreyansh: Precisely boss! You have nailed it! And thats the reason why I do not like Vijay’s films, Ajith’s films, Vishal’s films, Silambarasan’s films. And thats why Tamil Ghajini did not work for me. And be rest assured, it is not the sensibilities of the Tamil film watching audience – it is the sensibilities of the filmmakers themselves. Take Anjaathe, Subramaniapuram, Poi Solla Porom and Vaaranam Ayiram..these were some of the profit making ventures in 2008; None of these had in-your-face photography, jump-cut stylised edits, Super human Heroism and Melodrama. The audience are willing; I only hope the filmmakers will.
Just wish to mention that Hindi Ghajini has got released in 9 screens in Chennai, when compared to 5 screens by the Tamil version. Which means there is a overlap audience for both the films. Do they were different sensibilities while watching Tamil and Hindi? It is high time that Tamil filmmakers realize over the top style will fail to connect.
And comparing Tamil and Hindi – because the subject is the same, the script is mostly the same, actors playing the heroine and villain are the same, the editor is the same and the director is the same. I was happy that despite all this, the treatment was subtler!
The ending of tamil ghazini might have been a letdown, but i got a big bang out of seeing those twin sidekick villains !
Areas where Tamil version was better:
1) Surya’s performance was better compared to Aamir Khan. Wait..(before you start cursing me), I am not trying to tell Surya is a better actor than Aamir Khan.The point is the director failed to get the best out of an actor as talented as Amir. Surya’s performance as a mentally challenged was so good that I was able to sympathize him. But watching Aamir was like watching a WWF fighter.
If you had allready watched the Hindi movie, just watch Surys’s expression in this scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM6CJSzKAZg
One could see his helplessness and agony. For the same scene Amir was just shouting at the top of his voice and the only expression shown was anger.
2) BGM in tamil was better:
Yes. IMHO, Harris Jeyaraj’s BGM was much better than AR Rehman’s. If you think I am insane, just listen to the BGM in this fight scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wsxjxyeHRc
There are so many other scenes where I felt BGM was better in tamil. (Including the scene above where the heroine gets killed and the scene in the bus where the hero proposes.)
@ Anand
I have myself acknowledged the movies mentioned by you in my write-up in PFC on tamil & malayalam cinema of 2008.No doubts all these movies were good.But please note that except V.A none of the others had stars in it.And V.A had Surya but it was Gautam’s tribute to his dad & so it was not a typical’star’ movie.When you say audience is there to understand & accept such movies – let me tell you something else.You talk about not wanting to see Ajith’s movies- maybe you are only having a Billa or a Aegan in mind.But have you seen a Kandukondain Kandukondain or a Vaali or a Mugavari or a Kireedom by the same actor?In fact when Ajith did a Mugavari & a Kireedom the ending had to be changed after the movie’s release because the public ( read- the fans) didnt want to see a sad ending.So thats the problem with the tamil film audience.Its actually a catch 22- situation,with audience blaming the film makers & the film makers blaming the audience.So when audience makes you change the ending of movie like in case of a Kireedom or a Mugavari you have a big actor like Ajith shying away from realistic movies.A Vijay will never moe out of his formula movies- because he’s scared that his fans wont accept him.A Madhavan was brave to do Evano Oruvan- but how many saw it on the big screen ( I did)?In recent times a Pithamagan or a VA are exceptions of brilliant tamil films featuring top actors.Most of the other hatke movies like a Subramaniapuram, Anjathey, Poi Solla Porom etc are all made with relatively lesser known people.
Can’t Aamir interprete something differently? What if he thinks the character is more angry than helpless? I think the rage and quest for revenge are the mainstay of the character in Hindi Gajini. Why would he look helpless when all he has on his mind is revenge? He may be in a hopeless, helpless situation but HE doesn’t realise that. So, how can we expect him to show that? I think making him cry while killing Gajini was a nice touch and said it all. You can’t help but feel for the character at that point.
Ohhhh.. You doubt that people were actually not cheering for thamizh Ghajini in all 4 states of south India. It was the biggest hit in Andhra Pradesh. It did better than all the straight telugu movies. In Bangalore, it ran for weeks and it was released in all major theaters which generally screen hindi movies. It did really well in Kerala too. And about thamizh ghajini releasing in 5 theaters in Chennai, it was released when both Chandramukhi and Anniyan were doing extremely well at the box office.
Sethu: Yes, but Kireedom did not work for me anyways. I agree with Vaali and Mugavari but that was 6 – 8 years ago. (Ajith showed so much promise then – sigh!). All heroes have ‘punch’ dialogues now(except Surya). The turning point in Tamil films was Baasha. After which everone wanted to play a superhero with ‘punch’ dialogues. And they conveniently blame it on the audience when they try something different and it fails. But is the audience the real reason why the movies failed? Case in point: Sachin for Vijay, Kireedom for Ajith, Pachaikili for Sarathkumar. A word to all Tamil heroes – Look at the monster in the mirror guys. Dont cheat yourselves.
When Kuruvi, Bheema, Aegan, Satyam has failed and Ch-28, Mozhi, Subramaniyapuram, Poi Solla porom have succeeded, I want to ask a direct question to producers – don’t you think it is foolish to bet on subjects that treat their lead actors as gods?
@manjushaa
Well, I agree with you on the point that rage and quest for revenge are the mainstay of the character. But do you really think “revenge” is the correct expression to show when your girl friend is getting killed in front of your eyes, you are hit hard on the head and can’t move an inch to save her?..Only 1 in a billion can think about revenge at that very moment!!!.
Sethu: It is not just the lead actors; look at the cinematography and editing in all the movies – they look alike irrespective of the subject. Have you watched Saroja? Such a refreshingly different idea…look at the photography and editing..do you think such a film warrants this kind of stylised over the top techniques?
while you guys keep discussing one over d other ghajini has collected a cool 35 crore on the 1st day itself
dilipr: No..I did not say that. I was only wondering if a person actually saw the same film in three different cities!!
Coming to your point, It is obvious that the movie has worked big time in Tamil and Telugu and thats why it was a big hit. But I wonder if people cheered for the hero when he fights two villains. The movie was okay but I thought the climax spoiled everything.
Hi bollywoodplusplus :
Looks like some of the Aamir Khan fans have been disappointed with the movie. Because according to them it is too much Bollywoodish. They were expected some quality stuff from Aamir like TZP.
Those who went with that anticipation, are bound to be disapponted. But here one thing must be understood, and that is Aamir had always said that Ghajini is full on Commerical Action Thriller which he is doing after so many years. He had never pretended it to be an intellectual movie.
But still, Aamir has made it in different way. And thats a welcome change. So he really deserves kudos for him coz he never had a image of a action hero ala Sunny Deol. Yes it has logic out of place most of the time. But still it captivates you for 3 hours. And that really a big achievement . Needless to say, Aamir will serve us a good intelluctual dish in Rajkumar Hirani’s Three Idiots. Till then enjoy Ghajini !!!
Abhay: Dont believe all you read. You will get a better perspective after about a week’s time. 35 Crores in one day – thats what a decent hollywood flick collects in the opening day 7 Mn USD!!
And about the commments on Ajith and Vijay. Ajith and Vijay cant ignore their fans. They are the BIG 2 of thamizh cinema because of their fans. Even when most Ajith films tanked at the box-office during 2003-2006 period he still managed to get a 90-100% opening in most centres for his every new film. So he is bound to cater to all his fans wishes.I accept that their films are mediocre. All kinds of films have a market in TN. See wht you want and just ignore the others.
@ Anand
I’ve seen Saroja too ( written about it in my analysis ( http://passionforcinema.com/tamil-and-malayalam-cinema-in-2008-an-overview/ ) of 2008.
I certainly agree with your feelings about all these movies.What happens when you have Peter Hein or Stun Shiva doing the larger than life fights in most star movies?and jump cuts & photography being taken just for the heck of it.Yes tamil cinema needs a change not just from the smaller film makers like Mysskin, Sasikumar or VenkatPrabhu but also from the big stars & producers.
Anand-
Venkat Prabhu’s next movie after Goa is with Ajith- so lets hope for something interesting from that project.
Regarding your 5 screens in Chennai for tamil Ghajini vs 9 screens for Hindi Ghajini as dilipr says there was competition from Chandramukhi & Anniyan then.Whats the competition for hindi Ghajini?RNBDJ is already 2 weeks old & I cant think of Silambattam, Abhiyum Naanum or a Tiruvannamalai as competition.
Also those days a big tamil movie itself would not release more than 8-10 screens in Chennai.Sivaji followed by Billa shattered this norm last year by releasing in some 18 odd screens in Chennai.This is now being followed by the others too.
dilipr: I am not too sure if Ajith or Vijay are bigger stars than Aamir or Kamal Hassan. When these guys can break the stereotype, why not Ajith / Vijay?
Secondly, my point is the general over-the-top execution of most Tamil films. That includes the cinematography, the action sequences, the editing, the colour schemes and the music. Irrespective of the genre of the film, most Tamil films are in-your-face in all these departments. My point of contention is that. I am not singling out Ajith or Vijay.
Sethu – dilipr: I think regarding the 5 screens/9 screens, I guess I did not make my point clear. I was only trying to say that there is bound to be an overlap audience for both Tamil and Hindi version. The same people watch the toned down Hindi version(in terms of over the top execution) and appreciate it. Why question their sensibility?
BTW, Chandramukhi released in April 2005, Anniyan in June 2005. By the time Ghajini got released, the life of the theatrical runs of both these films almost got over. What you have said about marketing films is right. I think in these 3 years the marketing of films have changed in Chennai. I agree thats the reason for high number of print counts for the Hindi version.
Abhay @ 21
Where did you get the 35 crore figure from ?The given link below very clearly says the Indian opening figure to be 10-12 crores & if I add overseas it may be @ best be 15 crores, very impressive but not even half the figure quoted by you.
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/trade/boxoffice_update/index.html
Anand
No way would anyone rate an Ajith or a Vijay as bigger stars than a Kamal Haasan or an Aamir
( atleast I wont).But then these are exceptional actors.And I like Kamal & Aamir for having been able to balance their choice of movies ( Anbe Sivam or Virumaandi with a Panchatantiram or a Pammal .K.Sambandham, TZP or RDB with a Fanaa or Ghajini).I think Ajith might still be able to do it- alteast going by his previous record.But I doubt if Vijay would ever cross the line.As I’ve mentioned earlier, lets wait for the Venkat Prabhu-Ajith movie & see
Anand regarding the overlapping of audience I would say the same exists for a Hyderabad or a Bangalore also where again the people have watched the telugu/tamil versions of the movie & are watching the hindi movie too.If you were to talk about sensibility of the audience, I dont think Ghajini would be the right example.I dont see too much of a difference anyway between the tamil/telugu ghajini & the hindi ghajini- just because it has Aamir doing it.Both you & I have anyways spoken about our views on both the movies & hence I wont repeat it again here.
I just saw “Ghajini” in theater yesterday. I was conditioned to like that movie(the anticipation was so high) and I did like the movie.
The movie was a commercial potboiler(no surprises there). And I can watch these any given day(for the songs, aamir, asin). Every scene was detailed and there were no missing links(I dont know why someone compared it to “Race”).
Thank god murugadoss didnt try to pull a “Memento” in Ghajini, and didnt get clever while editing. I didnt like the initial cop angle(wat was that???) and of course “Asin” looks pathetic, a sad slim copy of Manisha Koirala.
Asin was amazing, fresh, confident and wat not. Way to go……
I had lot of problems with Ghajini too. I was just trying to say that movie fared well and was well recieved in south. About Ajith and Vijay, i am just trying to explain their situations. Kamal has done the balancing act very well. Hope others follow it too.
1. I think both Anniyan and Chand had an impact on Ghajini. Ghajini released in december and both Anniyan and Chand were still running in chennai. I may be wrong. I accept with Sethumad on higher number of prints. I have seen people cheering for the last part. Many of my friends thought that the clmax was the best part. Believe me.
2. I hated when people touted Ghajini as revolutionary for thamizh cinema. The last 20 mins was horrible. And no need to talk about Nayanthara. I accept your points on these aspects of thamizh versions.
3. Vijay and ajith are no where near Kamal or Rajini or Aamir. But the trade circle expects them to become as big as Kamal and Rajini in the future. They are touted to be the big 2.
4. I accept your thoughts on Kireedom. What about Mugavari? It failed at box-office. It was a well made sensible film.
5. Kalai, Aegan, Kuruvi were flops but Anjathey and other small movies did well. Many in cinema industry acknowledged it. But here is the googly, Sillambattam is doing extremely well. Its a horrible film. What do you say?
There is place for all kinds of cinema here.
dilipr: Have not watched Silambattam – no plans either!
as a big aamir fan i am m going to be very honest
ghajini was shit by his standards
for some reason this year hes trying to be “commercial”
hes coming on das ka dum,meeting salman khan,making a shitty film that will still make a lot of money
like a girl in a Freudian world who suddenly realities she doesn’t have a penis and tries to strap a dildo on to be accepted
aamir your special for not have a “penis” (pardon the horrible metaphor) keep it that way
agree with the views above . and also the music is much superior . for all the success the tamil soundtrack garnered it was still a soulless pile with such nerve grating work like rangola , x machi y machi . even the immensly overplayed suttum vizhi was unbearable for me due to the radio overkill another good song killed . i didn t think much of rahatullah . on the contrary we have the wonderfully eccentric behka , the more traditional yet soulful , guzarish , kaise mujhe . of course aye bachu and latto are no gemstones but atleast they don t hurt your nerves .
Vivek: Your comment will discourage Aamir, for sure :-)
Sandeep: I did not care for either the Tamil songs or the Hindi songs. I liked the BGM better in Hindi. But in terms of picturisation, Hindi songs were toned down and hence I felt better.( They were still over the top, mind you). Thanks for the comment.
“Aiyyo, I just watched a Madrasi film with Aamir Khan in it!” That was my first reaction as I stepped out of the theatre…
I have been silly. ‘Memento‘ was a complicated film made not to be understood by anyone. ‘Ghajini‘ is an uncomplicated film made for no understanding, just pulp.
Read full review:
http://www.bombaybitch.com/site/ghajini_movie_review_forgive___forget/
Sandeep- Today radio overkill is bound to happen whenever there is a blockbuster song- a recent example being “naaku mooku” from kadhalil vizhunden.For all the crappy X machi & rangola and a very average rahtollah, I have a suttum vizhi sudare & an oru malay which I can listen even now 3 years after the movie’s release.Granted the songs are picturised better in hindi- thats whats called improvisation.But will I wanna listen to any of the hindi Ghajini songs after 3 years- nah!
I agree completely on every point of Anand..all his seven points are apt…and true! I would only like to add ARR’s music to his list. The BGM’s were awesome..and the songs just get better day after day!the more i listen to them..the more am fallin in love with them. And come on Harris had one ofasa imola ghajini tune..which he played over and over again in different variations..and called it the ghajini theme!lame copycat harris is!ARR’s music simply rocked in this movie!
Abhishek- Copycat or not Harris Jayaraj had 2 solid songs in the movie – Suttum Vizhi Sudare & Oru Malai which can still be heard- but I can vouch that wont be the case for ARR’s songs in hindi Ghajini.For ARR’s standard the music was very ordinary.
Anand, to answer ur query, i saw Ghajini for first time in Bangalore. And couple of weeks, later was in Chennai for some work, and once it was over, with nothing much else to do, saw it again there. And later going to Hyd for some personal visit, saw the dubbed Telugu version. He, he, take it now.
Well to date i still prefer listening to Oru Malai, over Behka. And Suttum Vizhi over Guzarish.
Ratnakar – Great man!! You know, I watched Roja in Chennai(Tamil), then when I went to Belgaum, it was running for the 20th week and I saw it there( again Tamil) and after some time when I went to Karwar, it was running there for the 50th day(again Tamil)! I saw it there as well. After a few months when I went to Kolkata, I again saw the Tamil version there(I also had a beer during the interval – I do not remember the name of the theatre – Can anyone help – This was in Dec 1993).
Sethu – Ratnakar: I also prefer listening to Oru Malai and Suttum Vizhi. But I prefer WATCHING Ghuzharish and Kaise Mujhe…
I hated X Machi, Rangola, Rahatllah(or whatever!)..I did not hate any of the songs in Hindi, but I was indifferent to all of them(while listening to them).
I havent seen the tamil version. But I felt that the Hindi version owes a large amount of its impact not to the brutal violence but to the tragic love story (Masand is right). Was it so in Tamil one too?
Sanjeev – Absolutely. I think the main reason why the film succeeded was due to the love story.
Anand
The theatre in Kolkata is most likely to be
Lighthouse
Anand on 2nd thought the theatre in Cal must be
Roxy.Roxy is known to screen South Indian movies in the weekends especially telugu.
Hey Sethu,
im really impressed with ur Kolkata knowledge. u stayed there for long? Im from Kolkata, and its indeed Roxy Anand is talking abt. I remember the movie (Roja) playing in nearby Metro with a dubbed version, and Roxy having the weekend shows in morning hours. unfortunately, i was not exposed to Tamil/telugu movies by then, so settled for the hindi version. the original, though, wud always remain a step ahead. I watched it in tamil much later, and picked my first tamil words — chinna chinna aasai…
I am not sure if it was Roxy or Lighthouse. It was the Tamil version of Roja and it was a weekday night show. And the best part was the beer man! It was my first job, and lots of money in hand and imagine getting a beer inside the theatre!!
And I think it was the 5th or 6th time that I saw Roja in a theatre. There was a training program and guys from all over the country were there, I took about 5 – 6 guys from East and North and West and they simply loved the film and they fell in love with the music. Everyone asked me to buy an audio cassette of the film from Chennai and courier it to them! I remember wondering, why dont they dub this film in Hindi? It should do decently!! :-)
Jha-
I have a very strong affinity with Kolkata.Did my MBA from Jamshedpur- as you know Kolkata was the nearest big city & so we would go to Kolkata very often- lots of my batchmates were from Kolkata.Later I also went on to work in Kolkata for a year.Have lots of friends & contacts there.Love lots of things about the place- the food, the puja,the women
etc.and yes I know most of the theatres & food & drink joints in Cal- thats how I I got along there.So viva Kolkata!!!
Apart from Roxy, Priya cinema is another place which plays South Indian movies ( mainly weekends).I also got to watch Malliswari a telugu movie with Venkatesh & Katrina Kaif in Inox then.Movies like Sivaji & Dasavatharam have released in some 4-5 multiplexes there.Anand it has to be either Lighthouse or Roxy & my bet is on Roxy.I dont know of any other city in the country which has bars inside a theatre.No I am not refering to malls which have pubs/bars apart from multiplexes.I am talking about bars inside proper theatre ( read standalone) premises.
And last month I went to Kolkata Sethu..was amazed to see Saltlake, man has it transformed! Felt really happy.
Anand- yes Saltlake now is lovely.The entire Sector-5 area is the yuppy I.T-ITES area now.Go to City Centre there during the weekend- its awesome.Kolkata now seems to be slowly emerging out of its deep slumber.But I would always hope to see that its traditional sights like Maidan,Victoria Memorial,Museum,Howrah Bridge etc
But I would always hope to see that its traditional sights like Maidan,Victoria Memorial,Museum,Howrah Bridge etc co-exist along with the new marvels like the Forum’s & the City Centre’s.talking about theatres I hope to see Priya,Metro,Menoka,Basushree etc co-exist & thrive along with Inox,Big Cinemas etc.
WOW, i cant believe we r discussing kolkata entertainment here.. so excited..
@ Sethu: u shud chk out the south city mall/multiplex now, its one of the best in India. there used to b really good thetres playing exclusively english movies, like Jamuna, Lighthouse, Globe, Tiger. unfortunately all these r closed now. Priya & menoka r of course doing very well, and giving the multiplexes a run for their money. City Centre (Inox) is really happening on weekends. butthe best bet for me is Nandan, which has all the oscar-winning/nominated/worthy movies being played. the ambience, the ‘no-interval’ concept, andthe tkt prices at 30, 40 & 50 even in today’s date is unbelievable.
Jha- Yes I’ve heard about the SouthCity Multiplex & will check it out the next time when I’m there.
Oops how could I miss out Nandan.I think Nandan is a great place to watch movies & certainly wish every big city had a Nandan or a Siri Fort auditorium.I remember watching some really good movies @ Nandan and plays at the next door
( Academy of Fine Arts/Rabindra Sadan).I guess Kolkata has that charm to make one go nostalgic.I miss the rolls, mishti,chinese food @ Tangra,booze@ Olypub,the live music @ Someplace Else and movies of all kinds
Guys – I am making a note of everthing, next trip to Kolkata is going to be exciting..
Jha – Particularly excited about Nandan!!
Great article Anand,…will comment after i see the movie…
in town already, shall we catch up
Ravi
To think that I read the article and was impressed enough to go through all the responses, one by one, that started from talking about filmic comparisons, then went on to discuss other south indian films and then rambled on about calcutta/kolkata theatres ! Hello, does anyone want to return to the topic at hand?
i haven’t seen the tamil film, but this was HORRIBLE. i saw it last night, and i already don’t remember anything from the film. the shallowest dumbest film from aamir or anyone this year.
too many holes but with a film so dumb, there’s no point asking questions is there?
i haven’t seen the tamil film, but this was HORRIBLE. i saw it last night, and i already don’t remember anything from the film. the shallowest dumbest film from aamir or anyone this year.
why was mr singhania so pissed off and angry all the time when he didn’t remember his past anyway. in memento the dude remembered everything uptil the accident, and hence the revenge made sense.
too many holes but with a film so dumb, there’s no point asking questions is there?
Arup by any chance are you from bombay ? and were you an ex-student of NM college ?
Hello///…
First see the TAMIL version.
Its 100 times better than HINDHI
Surya’s acting was amazing, marvellous…
Ameer. over actio.. he is not at all fit for tat characters….
Worst movie…!
They(including Ameer) spoiled the IMAGE of GHAJINI movie in TAMIL version…
They should have DUBBED the movie…
Useless remaking it…
How u people are comparing with TAMIL versioN?…
Its not even eligible to compare with TAMIL version…
SEE the movie in tamil, u all will accept me.
Also AR RAHMAn’s Background suck a lot..!
Hi all my Gajini ratings.
1)Music -> I will Give it to A.R.Rahman(excellent of his own standards)
2)Asin -> No change in tamil an Hindi.
3)direction -> Murugadoss removed unwanted scenes from tamil gajini an filled gap in hindi.
4)Nayantara’s role was perfect compared to Hindi one.
5) Hero:- SURYA Was more impressive.
Iam one of AMIR’s die hard fan.Personally I belive he falls short of SURYA.
Surya Wins:
1)dressing of Tamil Sanjay is good compared to Hindi(dosent portray a business man and more concentration was showed on exposing his body).
2)Small small expressions showed by Surya was eye catching.
3)Love scenes with Asin also Surya wins.
4)Emotion Parts.
5)Expressions in Songs and style.
6)Surya is younger compared to Amir.
7)One more thing impressed me a lot is Surya’s usage of left hand in the film(during signature, picking up mobile, driving).
Amir Khan Wins:
1)Body Build up.
2)Climax scene acting.
3)I dont have none other than star value to say.
Overall my view Amir Khan reached people easily with his star value than his acting.
If anyone removes Star value of Amir khan an judge the acting, SURYA will be the winner.
Saying about movie I will give it to Hindi Ghajini is well organised than tamil.
I am not a fan of these two, but I loved both versions of the movie.
I go with rambalaji! Surya did really good in Tamil Ghajini. I am guessing the author doesn’t understand Tamil. Probably understands Hindi. If anyone ever tried to watch a different language movie, different cultured movie, even with subtitles, they might not understand very well. They would never get the same FEEL that the audience that understands get. That’s what going on here.
Overall, the movie in hindi was good, but to compare with acting, it’s definitely surya that steals aamir’s points!
We all know that why the movie in hindi is good. But why the tamil version is better and why Surya is better than Aamir? Almost all are said by rambalaji but here goes more.
*First goes first. surya’s expressions. they are priceless even if u don’t understand the language.
*Surya-Asin pair had a really good chemistry compared to Aamir-Asin. Maybe because surya is much younger than aamir.
*Surya’s eyes are way more expressive than Aamir.
*People around surya were not satisfying (i don’t mean Asin but the other characters). That maybe one of the reason that surya standed-out, whereas people around Aamir are a lot better, making Aamir not stand-out AS WELL.
*The music was an highlight in Tamil Ghajini. As a big fan of AR Rahman, for a movie like Ghajini, he could have done something better.
*Asin was a little annoying in Hindi as the movie goes on, whereas in Tamil, she was cute and bubbly. Resulting the chemistry between the actor and her having a better one in the Tamil version.
*Surya’s dressing is much better than Mr.Khan
*I have to mention expression again. When the actor has the watermelon in his hand and direct his staff members to go away. Surya steals that thoroughly!
*It took forever for Asin and Aamir to step on that “cement thing”, i felt it could have been a little short.
*Asin’s expression had more value in Tamil. It was much cuter. Also her voice. It seems like someone dubbed for her!
*Surya speaking English was more decent
*Villain sucked big time in both versions
I don’t mean to be against Aamir or anything. I like him, but felt that surya is much better. I expected a lot from Hindi ghajini. It overall satisfied me but I wanted something more.
But, I have to say it IS the best Bollywood movie in 2008.
regressive 70-80’s type movie.. we are discussing it as if its some masterpiece in action cinema..south mein to logo ko yahi bakwaas pasand hai par hindi mein bahut hi zyada potty movie thi.. movie was super bundle..only interesting part of story was the memory loss and it was butchered by moorga daas and company..lagta hai usne memento dekhi.. samajh nahi aayi..socha isko indian style mein banayoonga..aamir ki acting to poocho mat..”doga” ka role kar raha tha kya “Grrr. Grrr..” bas dekh kar bhool jaane wali movie hai.. one of the worst movies ever seen..i m sure tamil wud habe been worse..I have seen Surya’s kaakha kaakha and some times I wonder why pedestrian stuff is hailed as masterclass in tamil cinema..Kaakha Kaakha was regular 80s movie. nothing new other than surya’s decent performance.. completely forgettable though
Praneet, there are lot of South movies, which are not necessarily of the sensibility u described. Start watching more, before u just shoot your mouth off randomly.
Ratnakar: I suggest we ignore these kind of ‘rediff’ comments; the objective of these kind of comments is to invite an argument that is pointless.
Praneet,
When you say this is a hardly a masterpiece to be discussed so much I’m with you.Lekin is baat ko kehne ke liye South Indian filmon ki ninda kyon kar rahe ho?Pehli baat to yeh hai ki main is baat se sehmat nahin hoon ki Kaakha Kaakha ek “pedestrian” movie hai- its a very stylishly shot action movie.and if you are interested I can give you a whole list of South Indian movies- mainly Malayalam,Tamil & Telugu- which you can watch & hopefully change your opinion on South Indian movies.
@ Anand-72
Thats what i am concerned, of late PFC is becomming close to a Rediff Message Board. Too much trolling going around.
Anand@ 72- good point & I agree with you.
On another note I saw the telugu version yesterday & here are a few of my observations-
1. Surya’s performance in the movie is very impressive.especially in the scene when Kalpana
( Asin) is killed, his facial expressions are awesome.while I wont say Aamir did a bad job, I would certainly repeat that Surya did an equally good job if not better.
2. The romance between Surya & Asin reached out to me better than the romance between Aamir & Asin.
3. Songs- I’ve already mentioned I like listening to Suttum Vizhi Sudare & Oru Malai even now when compared to their hindi counterparts.I kept an eye out for the picturisations of these 2 songs as mentioned by you & I feel that at that time- 3 years back & with the budget the tamil version had, the songs have been fairly well picturised.
But yes Nayanthara looked horrendous ( this was before her Billa makeover ) – Jiah Khan is shades better and yes as mentioned already the climax in tamil sucked majorly.
Sethu: I also managed to catch it on Gemini TV yesterday!
good review… keep watching… keep writting..
Anand- I caught it on Gemini TV too.Must say its a smart move by them to show it when there’s so much of Ghajini mania on
Anand and Sethu, me too saw it on Gemini yesterday, he, he.
DipkSIR: Thanks man!
I am a lucky guy that I haven’t watched Tamil Ghajini till now.I found hindi version pure torture,so I cannot imagine how bad Tamil version might be if u go by this post.One good thing about this crap movie is that after a long time we get a cartoon villain to the likes of Gulshan grover and Prem chopra,Shakti Kapoor who did well in the torture series in 80s and 90s.But unfortunately the villain here fails to hold a candle to his illustrious predecessors.One more difference between 80’s,90’s torture flicks and this one is that there is no rape scene.Rape seems to be out of fashion nowadays in hindi cinema.Otherwise it is a picture perfect candidate for torture series.
I also think that as much hype was there about this movie before release,there seems to be as much hype and wrong information about its boxoffice collections by the likes of Taran Adarsh.I watched this movie in a suburban theatre(single screen class B) on Monday and I expected that I may not get ticket,but was surprised that tickets were easily available and there were hardly 50 people in theatre.This film is meant for B and C audiences and this one belongs to that.So i have clear doubts whether it is accepted by audience
Surya in flashback was better than Aamir in flash back…. Reasons: Costumes, acting etc…
Aamir as the killer is far better than surya as killer….
Reasons: Aggression, and screenplay changes.
This is my view…
SORRY AAMIR… EXPECTED A LOT FROM YOU…
My intention was never to badmouth South Cinema..infact i kinda like their brand of cinema sometimes..i saw chandramukhi wo subtitles with friends and was pitch drunk and enjoyed it.celebrated thalavar’s bday in college.watched saroja FDFS wo Subtitles….but i just fail to understand when my friends hail sethu and kaakha kaakha as the showpiece of Tamil cinema..at their heart thery are regular masala movies..u guys can go gonzo here discussing nayanthara acting talent vs jiah khan’s..but i lost 3 very valuable hours cos mr Aamir khan decided to go the jeetendra way..i havent watched many South movies but correct me if i think that general perception of Tamil cinema is masala movies with over the top action and humour..aur “rediff type” to bilkul nahi hu main Mr. RS cos i have better things to do in life than post reams and reams of droll on PFC..not everybody who voices his disgust is a troll..i din even target south indian movies in general..just said that why discuss that hindi ghajini is better than Tamil when both are shitty movies..
Praneet:”why discuss that hindi ghajini is better than Tamil when both are shitty movies” – simply because I enjoyed both the films and felt Hindi was better.
hey,
The hindi climax was refined from tamil climax because they can easily identify the flaws and the crowd experience of the film. Also the hindi Ghajini is nothing but a body show, to display his 8 packs whereas surya’s body develops along with the story.
And no doubt tamil songs were better and much more precise to the story. U can rename the hindi ghajini to just “Aamir” because it’s all about aamir and not the story.
I have totaly agree with Anandh. Tamil version sucked at lot of places except for Surya.
Hindi version is refined. The point 6 abt climax is so true, those 2 villans go to some girls hostel and do some crazy stuff, de nude a gal and kill her what the f@#k.. crazy 1 word.
I took one of my american friend to sathyam for tamil ghajini and this scene was shit knowing that that guy watched MEMENTO(a g8t flim) on which ghajini is based.
Anyways my hats off to Aamir khan for refining AR Murugadas shits and giving an absolute , never stop/dull and hit/run movie….
-R
well…I was never quite a fan of Surya but now I am. Especially after watching the stupid performance of Aamir in the same role. I felt even if he tried just imitate him he could’ve done a decent job.
Harris Jayaraj Background Score was awesome. A.R.Rahman at his worst.
As most of you agree, no onscreen chemistry between Aamir and Asin. Whereas Surya acted and looked stunning.
Inspite of having a illogical climax and few flaws I liked the Tamil Ghajini cuz it had a life. Hindi Ghajini lacked life.
Amir was trying to show off his biceps which was really annoying :| …c’mon how many times have u seen a mutli billionaire tucks his shirt’s sleeves up while attending a press conference…a plain suit n coat would’ve done a better job..!!Anyways the ending was much better in the hindi version…Even I thought role of a medical student didn’t suit Nayan..but after seeing Jiah’s performance I feel Nayan did a very good job :|
Hindi versions of ‘X-machi’ n ‘Rahatulla’ are much much better…removal of ‘Rangola’ was good too…but Behka is crappy piece of shit compared to ‘Oru Malai’…even if ‘Guzarish’ is good its still nothing compared to ‘Suttum vizhi’ which is an evergreen hit!Comparing Surya’s n Amir’s acting Surya did a better job…well most of u guys must think I’m from TN or I’m a hardcore tollywood fan…the answer is NO..!!!I have only seen less than 5 Tamil movies in my entire life..I’m from Kerala n being a south Indian dose not have anything to do with supporting tamil version…I prefer Malayalam movies more which are more realistic than Hindi n tamil
If it was a ‘Don vs Billa’ I would defenitly go with DON..
n yea Since the tamil version was released long time back they were able to find its flaws n refine it for the Hindi version..that’s why it has much better ending..u can’t just call tamil version crazy,shitty blah blah blah cuz of that…thanks to it the hindi version could get a better ending …even with all those flaws in tamil version..it stands taller…
P.S : Those who loved ‘Chandramukhi’ go and watch the real Malayalam one ‘Manichirtathazu’ and realize the difference..!!U’ll understand that ‘Chandra mukhi’ is just a f****** piece of s**** compared to ‘Manichitrathazu’..!!!
Hi guys why degrading tamil films..you are just crying foul and musing..all of us know tamil films are now the biggest after bollywood..and rajni and kamal have took them to greater heights..and ajith and vijay are ready to replace them whenever they want..surya and vikram are also in the next grid with their versatile acting..tamil films have been commercial for years..none can change everything just like that..if tamil ghajni had a climax like the hindi one..it would have surely flopped..and ppl see ajith’s classic portrayal of a bharatnatyam dancer..vijay’s style personified performance in azhaigiya tamil mahan..thats what tamil cinema is about performance with style..and those who hail the malayalam version of chandramukhi watch rajni’s vettaiyan portrayal jo’s portrayal and vadivel’s comedy..chandramukhi is class ppl!!
Nice post- don’t know how I missed reading this. I agree with you. Hindi Ghajini is much improved and the THE CLIMAX is main difference. I am sure Aamir had a hand in how the movie ended or maybe he didn’t interfere with the ending as maybe the Tamil producers may have done…
.
The Tamil climax is totally crazy…
Hindi Ghajini is a good movie as long as it is not compared with tamil version. But Tamil version in warmer, more serious and more natural than the hindi one. But the climax is better in Hindi version. Music definitely better in Tamil, ofcourse both music directors are Tamilians.