The film completely belongs to Aamir Khan, no surprises there! He plays a multi-millionaire, cell-phone company chief, Sanjay Singhania whose life takes an ugly turn. He loses his love, Kalpana (played by Asin) and also suffers severe head injuries leading to short term memory loss; he can only remember things for fifteen minutes and then the slate is clean again. With the help of Polaroid pictures and tattoos on his body he constantly reminds himself to avenge Kalpana's murder. His only motive in life is to find and kill Ghajini, the man responsible for all his misfortunes. Very interesting plot indeed, whether inspired by Hollywood's Memento or not. However, throughout the movie I kept on thinking that they could have done better with the film – great script, lousy execution (except Aamir of course). Ghajini <http://www.rememberghajini.com/>
*AR Murugadoss' Ghajini (2005) *inspired by Christopher Nolan's Memento (2000) was one of the biggest Tamil hits of recent times. Ghajini version 2 is finally here. Here's a review for all those who have watched the 2005 Tamil version with the single (100 rupee?) question - How does Aamir Khan's Ghajini compare with the Surya version: *The Plot: *No major deviations except the climax which is a big improvement over the Tamil version. Ghajini - Theatrical Trailer *Aamir vs Surya: *Aamir wins hands down. He certainly carries off the Suave Business Tycoon part with a lot more style than Surya. And while playing Kalpana's (Asin) lover he has the same glint in his eye that we caught in all the recent Tata Sky Commercials. However the Chemistry between Surya and Asin that made Ghajini work is missing between this lead pair *Asin vs Asin:* Ghajini (2005) was probably the most important film in Asin's career and most people loved her as Kalpana the struggling model with a truck load of pranks and a warm heart. Problem is she hasn't got over playing Kalpana and keeps trying to reprise her antics in every role. Fortunately for her (And for us) this time she is really Kalpana all over again! *Nayanthara vs Jiah Khan:* Everybody might be talking about Asin but Jiah Khan is the surprise package in this film. She looks terrific and certainly makes her presence felt. Something Nayanthara didn't manage in the Tamil version. *Visuals and Production Values:* A big step forward. Ravi K Chandran shows us why he is one of India's finest cinematographers. The songs have been shot brilliantly and in the most exotic locales (Namibia etc.). Behka - Ghajini (Aamir Khan & Asin) AR Rahman vs Harris Jeyaraj: This film has some of AR Rahman's better music in recent times. But when you pitch it against Harris Jeyaraj's Ghajini Soundtrack it does pale a touch in comparison. This film has no one big chartbuster like 'Sutrum Vizhi' which is probably one of Harris Jeyaraj's finest compositions. *AR Murugadoss vs AR Murugadoss: *You rarely get a chance to improvise something you have done well the first time. AR Murugadoss has used his opportunity very well and has made one of the brightest Bollywood debuts for a South Indian director. Gujarish full song - Ghajini It might be a re-make of a Tamil hit, directed by the same film-maker (A. R. Murugadoss) but we could have done with a little less South Indian feel (no offence to my friends down south). The film looks like a dubbed version of a Tamil film. Also, the film does not have the finesse of an edge of the seat thriller; some good editing would have definitely helped this three hour long saga. Asin is good for her debut film as a vivacious model; she is comfortable, confident and suits the character. Jiah Khan was there. I do not know what else to say about her, I just feel sad for her. She was under a contract for two-years for a role that got her a total of fifteen minutes' screen time, fifteen and a half dialogues and a quarter of a song (lattoo lattoo… what was that?). Poor girl! The most important character in the film, Ghajini is played by little known actor, Pradeep Rawat. How I miss the larger than life villains like Dr. Dang (Anupam Kher), Mogambo (Amrish Puri) and Shakaal (Kulbhushan Kharbanda); here an actor who fits the bill of a villain's sidekick gets the title role, huh! There are many loopholes in the screenplay. For instance, in the age of internet and 24-hour news reporting, a business tycoon who owns the biggest cell-phone company in the country is not recognized by his alleged girlfriend. Only a Bollywood gossip magazine, Mayapuri writes about their affair… what about other papers and channels, they do not want their scoops I guess. Also, what about the police who calmly ignore all the brutal murders… only one inspector seems interested but that too not for long. Anyways, I am happy to ignore all of it but it is not a feel good Bollywood musical or rom-com so it gets a little difficult. I am a big A R Rahman fan (who isn't?) but he disappoints with this film's music and so does the lyricist, Prasoon Joshi. I am going to try and forget the styling, it has put me off a particular formal wear brand for at least six months… half sleeves satin shirt with waist coat and a tie - not to be caught dead in a board room like that. Action is the high point of the film and Aamir has done a fantastic job, he reminds me of The Incredible Hulk, only not green. All in all, the film could have been extremely good if it was at least thirty-minutes shorter, without too many songs, with a more contemporary look and tight editing. Go watch it for Aamir, but no need to buy those tickets in black. Ghajini Box Office : - The box office Tsunami - Hurricane - Cyclone, call it what you want to, has arrived and has sucked the entire nation into Multiplexes and single screens from every nook and corner of the vast country. Clearly, something like this has never been witnessed before and most certainly will not be witnessed in the near future. Unless of course, Akshay Kumar's Chandni Chowk To China manages to garner the same amount of hype. If you compare it to the other releases this year, most pale in comparison. The hype and curiosity is 2 - 3 times higher than the next biggest release of the year. As spoken about before, with such hype comes huge expectations and Ghajini has certainly lived upto all the expectations. The reviews from most critics that matter has been varying from good to excellent. The initial few who have managed to watched the movie during the paid preview shows have given their verdict - two thumbs up - to Ghajini. While many feel Ghajini is not upto the usual high standards set by previous Aamir Khan films like Rang De Basanti and Taare Zameen Par, one must not forget that Ghajini is a hardcore masala pot boiler, something that Bollywood is quite famous and known for. Aamir has proved that he isnt purely the King of classy intellectual films but can easily carry off mass entertainers like Shahrukh, Akshay and Hrithik do. Now lets end the talk or lecture as some in the comments section call it, and let the numbers do the talking. - The paid previews on Wednesday generated 7 crores, something completely unheard of. - Day 1 collections worldwide on Christmas i.e 25th December - 33 crores (gross)! Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi managed about 18 crores worldwide on Day 1. - Day 1 collections in India is around 10 crores (nett gross) while Rab Ne.. managed 7 crores. - Ghajini is expected do somewhere between 38 - 40 crores in its intial weekend. SRK's Rab Ne did 25 crores. - The full 7 day week nett gross of Rab Ne was 44 crores, Singh Is King was 43 crores and Golmaal Returns was 38 crores. Ghajini is expected, if it sustains on Monday, to hit 65 crores in its extended first week (8 days). - The percentage of occupany, which is very close to 100%, can only be compared to the 2001 blockbuster Gadar - Ek Prem Katha. While Gadar released on 290 screens, Ghajini has released on 1100 screens!!! - The overall Nett gross in India could touch 100 crores for the first time. Om Shanti Om (2007) with 86 crores and Dhoom 2 (2006) with 85 crores occupy the first and second spot currently. On the other hand, unfortunately, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi which was enjoying a decent run at the Indian boxoffice in its 2nd week, has been badly affected by the Ghajini storm. Will Rab Ne pick up after the Ghajini intial remains to be seen. All in all, Its Aamir Khan all the way at the box office during the last week of the year! http://www.diggpoint.com/watch-ghajini-as-aamir-hit-the-bulls-eye/ -- regards, Vithur
