Ghajini — Movie Review

Ghajini is exactly what I was expecting and probably even better and before you jump to any conclusions let me tell you that I was expecting Ghajini to be Masala film with lack of logic and some mindless action . And this is what I got , a big disappointment . I was still hoping against the hope that may be there would be just mindless action and still it would have an intelligent story but as it turned out it just had mindless and logic less action with a story that had been borrowed from west and some Indian Masala added to it . Do you remember those old action films of Amitabh and others of that era that had that typical Revenge (Badla) plot with hero running after the villain and in the end beating 50 odd people on his own and taking his revenge . Well , Ghajini is exactly that kind of formula cinema .

What has struck me even more is the fact that Critics like Rajeev Masand (IBN) and Mayank Shekhar (Mumbai Mirror and TOI) have rated it much higher than Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi . Most of the critics argued while reviewing RNBDJ that they found it hard to believe that Anushka doesn’t identify his husband just because he shaves off his moustache . And those critics probably left their brains at home while watching Ghajini which from start to end has a long list of logical flaws in it which don’t make sense at all . Those critics didn’t even keep in mind that at least RNBDJ had an original plot and not an inspired one whereas Ghajini has many similarities with Memento . I mean how biased are these critics , leave aside Taran Adarsh (of IndiaFM) who thinks Ghajini deserves 4.5 stars out of Five . Mind You , he has given Taare Zameen Par 4/5 and Chak De India a mind boggling 2 out of 5 .

Leaving the critics aside , I thought that Indian films and audience were finally getting more intelligent and liked only those films that were a little different and didn’t have that formula feel to it . But I was maybe wrong because the films that worked in 2008 like Race , Singh is Kinng , Golmaal Returns etc. are all masala entertainers having all those emotions with very less emphasis on story . Though Ghajini has been marketed as an Action film but let make it very clear that it is a Masala film with a little more of Action .

Frankly speaking , Ghajini is not even worth comparing to Memento . If Memento was a brilliant film then there is no shade of brilliance in Ghajini . Any young upcoming Director from south could have made this film who has grown up watching films of Rajnikanth in which he is always a superhero with no superpowers and yet he beats a group of people to bring justice . The only similarity is the basic theme of the protagonist and rest all is Indian Masala that too with a lot of inspiration from South Commercial cinema .

The film in the first place jumps from Romantic angle to Intense angle almost suddenly many times leaving a mixed feeling . The worst that suffered from this was the Romantic super hit song Guzarish . The song almost starts instantly after an intense situation where audience is in a thinking mode . There is no Romantic build-up before the song and hence the only good song in the film also got a little wasted . Leave aside the other songs which were more of item numbers with no link to the film . Can you believe Jia Khan does an Item No. sort of song (Lattu) at a College Function in very glamorous costume which by the way is a Medical College . Jia becomes a detective from a doctor and all of sudden starts investigating Aamir’s case . How real is that ? Well , I can mention several such loop holes in the film but I don’t want to , you can see them yourselves . When I heard Kaise mujhe on the album I thought it would be in more of a sad situation but Aamir is all happy when this song is there . The song didn’t go along with his mood but the Lyrics did .

Asin is a pleasant surprise and acts quite well and has good comic presence . Though she acted well but I felt that she was just overdoing in some of the scenes which is quite a turn off . She can act but the Director would have to make sure that she doesn’t start over-acting . Her role was adorable but not so much believable . In any case the whole film is a bit over the top so you won’t mind Asin’s acting also . She was cute but didn’t make such a good pair with Aamir and the chemistry was a little less . Jia doesn’t have much of a role and hence was kept out of the publicity .

One more thing that makes it a typical Formula film is the length of the film which is just about 3 hrs and the pace with which it moves is also of the 80’s and 90’s . The hammering background score makes sure that no one gets asleep while watching the film . In some parts the score is good but for most of the parts it is a bit over the top . There is also a vague Character of a Police officer who serves nothing in the film or story apart from adding a little bit of action .

The only one positive was the Cinematography which was great and Ravi K. Chandran needs to be applauded for that . The director A.R. Murugadoss also does an average job and he at least made sure that film doesn’t become unbearable and kept it a little entertaining . The art direction didn’t impress me that much but was still not that bad . I hope Murugadoss comes up with a little less commercial film and more of an original one , the next time .

At last coming to Aamir Khan who according to several critics acted quite well and it is completely his film . Well , there is no doubt that it is completely Amir’s film but the acting part isn’t that good . I am also an Aamir fan and I’ve seen him act at least Ten times better than what he did in Ghajini . Such roles first of all don’t suit him and I hope he never selects such a character in the future . I am sure nobody would remember Aamir in Ghajini in the future . They might remember Ghajini because of Aamir’s 8 packs though . Aamir can do so much better than what he did in this film . Shouting and Killing like an animal doesn’t suit him that much if you ask me and for that matter it wont suit any actor of today .

There is no doubt that Ghajini would be blockbuster and you can also watch it to see Aamir in a masala film for a change . But I just hope that with the success of films like Ghajini , Golmaal Returns and Singh is Kinng the producers don’t get encouraged to make such cinema more often because it took almost three decades to come up till hear for the industry and I hope it doesn’t push itself back to its roots . If this trend continues then we would get to see Superstars getting together and pulling off a blockbuster for a similar story every time .

Movie Rating : Two and a Half out of Five Stars ; Aamir in a Masala film to its core is one thing that I don’t want to watch .

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi — Movie Review

The film for which everybody was waiting since a long time , the film that marks the comeback of the famous Jodi of Aditya Chopra-SRK and the film that would probably take the industry out of the slump it is facing , RNBDJ , released with huge expectations this Friday . People would always expect something good when names like Yashraj , Shah Rukh and Aditya Chopra are associated with a film . SRK also comes back on screen after almost one whole whole year so even his fans are expecting a lot from him . So does the film matches to all these ecpectations ? The answer lies ahead .

The primary aim of any SRK film is to provide three hours of Indian Entertainment to the viewer so that at least he or she can forget his/her daily life for sometime and yet can see his/her life in the film to an extent . And RNBDJ serves this primary aim to its fullest . This time round though there are no Huge Lavish Sets that catch your eye , instead there is a simple Punjabi Kothi that looks much more beautiful than a Haveli . The film doesn’t take you to the Highways of Europe like DDLJ does but it does take you to congested lanes of Amritsar . The protagonist is not a Rich Son “Raj” but instead it is an average looking Suri Sahni who is just an average employee of Punjab Power . Still , the film has all those dramatics that any Aditya Chopra film has because it is his style and he knows that only . He creates a Commercial yet Story Oriented film that would please not only the intelligent audience and critics but also the lay man on the street . Adi’s last film Mohabbatein though was a hit yet it was according to me one of the most pathetic films of SRK’s career . The film was poorly inspired by Dead Poets Society and also had greats like Amitabh and SRK delivering some of the most Cliche dialogues and the situations were age old .

So does this mean that RNBDJ doesn’t have those Cliche moments . The answer is No , it has those cliche moments but they are very few in number and don’t last that long . So if you can digest few of those cliche melodramatic moments then this film is for you . The film is completely based upon the central character Surinder Sahni who is an average guy who somewhere in the corner of his heart wishes to be a Hero that we see on screen and has a Golden heart . His heart makes him a bigger hero than any of those on screen heroes who are more fake than real . Suri is very real and very believable . He finds happiness in simpler things in life and doesn’t aim to become a big shot with all the flamboyance .

He is a man with all the values and he meets this girl , Taani , who probably is the compliment of his personality and is all bubbly and vivacious . Taani loves to live life and believes not only in love but also in a Happily Ever after philosophy . But fate takes its turn and she ends up with Suri who she likes as a person but can never fall in love with .Suri on the other hand falls completely in love with her the moment he sees her . Suri with some help from Bobby (Vinay Pathak) transforms himself into Raj to make her happy . Raj looks good and expresses whatever his heart feels right away . But there is a small twist in the story that I have not revealed and I want you to see that for yourself .

The film successfully portrays all the characters in their true elements and there is no larger than life premise . Some parts still have that Fantasy Love and one has to go along with it to enjoy the film . The most entertaining thing in the film isSRK and his character , of course . He carries the entire film on his shoulders through his Fine performance . It has all those humorous moments that anySRK film has . This time round though he makes you Smile for most of the part rather than make you laugh your heart out . He makes the viewers feel good about his character and makes people realise that how they can find more happiness in small things in life that even an Academy Award cannot give .

There are not many emotional moments in the film and those that are there are not forced in . The film in all is a full on entertainer which has elements of both a Light Hearted and Commercial film . You will fall in love with not only SRK’s character but also remember the characters like Taani and Bobby . SRK very well acts out the simple average man’s character and shows all the shades of it . His acting is one of the strong points of the film . His body language in the film is one thing one should notice to realise that how good an actor he is . He not only changes his clothes but also changes his walking style and mannerisms . Anushka also plays her character very well and she looks beautiful on screen in both Indian and Western Attires . She acts very naturally and her smile will leave boys asking for some more .Vinay as usual acts his part very well and he also has a good role in the film . Vinay has struck a nice balance by doing both commercial and off beat cinema performing equally well in both .

Adi’s Direction I feel didn’t have much to do because the film lies completely on the shoulders of SRK .But still he doesn’t do a bad job and in films like these the central character has the major part of responsibility . The music of the film by Salim-Suleiman is also one of the strong points . Haule Haule being the best and Dance Pe Chance being an absolutely rocking number . Anushka dances really well in the film and SRK is as usual . Then there is “Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte” which is a surprise visual delite that will please everyone . The film’s music goes along with the film and doesn’t hinder the film or its pace in any manner .The choreography and the group of Shiamak Dawar and Vaibhavi Merchant is great and plays an important part in the film. The background score by Salim-Suleiman is also good but sometimes it looks out of the place because it is very much inspired from the films of west . The cinematography by Ravi K. Chandran is fine and at times quite brilliant especially in the scene where Anushka enjoys the raindrops from her window . The story by Aditya Chopra is good but the screenplay is a little weak in some parts .

Overall , its a nice film that not only entertains you for its length but also makes you feel good . The film has released in a time when people are a little disturbed by the recent attacks on our country (and notMumbai) and the film will definatly take some focus off the heinous act and make people return back to normal .This film would appeal more to a mature audience and a little less to the youth . Watch this film forSRK and his acting and also for Surinder Sahni who exists everywhere and probably a part of him exists in all of us . The only negatives being some small parts in both the first and the second half where the film gets a little weak . Still, the film is worth a watch till the last credit rolls down , why I say so would be clear to you when you’ll watch the film . You might end up clapping in the end .

Film Rating : Three and a Half out of Five Stars ; For SRK’s fine performance and Surinder Sahni’s character.