Movie Details : Thriller, released on 25th December 2008

Aamir Khan – Sanjay Singhania
Asin Thottumkal – Kalpana
Jiah Khan – Sunita
Pradeep Rawat – Ghajini
Riyaz Khan – Fawwaz

Music – A.R. Rahman
Cinematography - Ravi K. Chandran
Editing - Anthony Gonsalvez
Running time - 181 mins
Country - India
Language - Hindi

Review

This is the third remake of the story, the original being Memento and the second version being the Tamil version of Ghajini. The movie revolves round a character who has Anterograde Amnesia or Short Term Memory loss.  In this version, a rich businessman sees his fiancee being murdered in front of him and as a result of this trauma during the murder which he sees in front of his eyes,  his whole and sole aim is to take revenge inspite of suffering from short term memory loss. The movie is all about how the character goes about his revenge.

Where the movie wins (without any comparison to Ghajini predecessor)

The movie wins in Aamir Khan’s portrayal of his character. He is intense in his anger and in the role of a helpless victim. He goes through the different shades of characterization with beautiful overlaps and it definitely shows what focused insane anger can do and at the same time, it switches off in an instant when the memory switches off. And bringing forth that repeated intensity in his portrayal of the character was done with great aplomb.  His helplessness and innocence as a character rediscovering himself is as new as a newborn infant and the nuances are very well blended. The interplay of emotions between extreme rage, helplessness and total unknowing in a matter of seconds is beautiful.

Loved the two songs, Behka ye Behka and the desert picturisation.

The other two were waste of time.

The movie also brings forth a very touching love story where you are satisfied with how it unfolds. Asin did a good job of lightening up the scene with her presence. It was humorous and soothing and one could actually understand why the actual character would fall in love with her.

Editing and Cinematography wins hands down.

Where the movie loses

When there is such a powerful characterization, the supporting roles could not do justice to his emotions.  The first letdown was naming the reason for  spending so much emotion on a character called Ghajini.  The Tamil title Ghajini according to one web resource has been derived from the fact of Sultan Mehmud Ghazni’s continuos zeal of attacking in late 990′s on an Indian north-west region and not giving up attitude which could explain the root of the concept and the progression of the character.

And even if a character was built with the name Ghajini, the actor could not do justice to the personality of the name and the character it brings to mind. And there the movie falls a little flat.

The second letdown was unnecessary dialogues which were mouthed by the negative role. If you keep throwing “short term memory loss” after every few minutes of speaking a sentence, it does make it powerful as it could have been if it would have been mouthed at specific points in the movie.  Whenever this character demeaned the main role, the audience actually burst out laughing. I dont know if this was the objective of the director/writer. To me, his presence should have been worked on to make more powerful and more impressionable.. someone who would deserve that emotion of hate and revenge.

The third letdown was have the fight scene drawn out too long and making it a tiny bit unrealistic.

The last letdown was the climax. I liked the Tamil movie’s climax as it seemed like a natural progression. Sometimes its wise not to interfere with the director’s cut and add in some lengthy course of sweetened climax when the movie demands a natural flow of bringing the concept to a close.  It did not explain how the character suddenly could turn from a raging murderer to someone so docile and how he could get away from the law. In that respect, the Tamil version gives a natural conclusion and leaves the audiences with a sigh of realism.

Movie as a whole

As a package, its a worthwhile watch. The starting is quick and the middle lags a lot while it picks up the pace after intermission. There are lot of loopholes which a smart audience can pick up and actually mock when it could have been handled better.. much better.

I am really interested in watching Memento now since the actual story is so gripping.

If you have watched the Tamil version, you might be disappointed with the Hindi one. So leave your comparisons outside the theater and just go watch for Aamir Khan. Rest is all a blur..

Hope you all have a great New Year. I have a feeling that this year is going to be good..