Ghajini

Question:
What should a typical Bollywood paisa vasool masala film be like?

Answer:
a. it has a length of around 3 hours plus screen time
b. the hero of the film can do everything and anything, irrespective of his shortcomings
c. the bad guy is dressed in white pants, white shirt & white shoes, has a golden tooth and wears gold chains (trademark Bollywood Bad Guy)
d. the film has ample logical loopholes (generally seen in the early eighties movies)
e. decent music (1 or 2 good songs)
f. love story (a necessity)
g. good emotions
h. and finally lot of dishum dishoom

Or

The answer in one word would be - Ghajini.

Sanjay Singhania (Aamir Khan) suffers from a short term memory when he is hit on head by a metal rod by Ghajini (Pradeep Rawat) who also kills his girlfriend Kalpana (Asin). Kalpana was able to give a clue of her murder to Sanjay by whispering his name in Sanjay’s ear – “Ghajini”. And thus the hunt begins for Sanjay who can’t remember Ghajini’s face but knows the name. [Exactly opposite to the Tamil version where Sanjay (Surya) remembers the face but doesn’t know the name] Sunita (Jiah Khan), is a medical student who screws up Sanjay’s hunt and realizing her mistake, later helps him. And in the end Sanjay finds the villain and kills him for good. The end. Though the plot is basically good but the story has a lot of ambiguity. The only thing that’s interesting is the flashback love story between Sanjay and Kalpana. The romantic angle has freshness. The dialogues between Sanjay and Kalpana have mature humor worth enjoying and the feel of the love story is also innovative.

80 percent of the movie is a cut to cut remake of the Tamil version. Right from the opening titles of the film or Kalpana helping blind man to bus-stop, or Sanjay expressing his love in double-decker bus, everything is the same, shot to shot. Certain sets like Kalpana’s makeup room and her old house are also very similar. It is the last 30 minutes that the films are completely different from each other, both in terms of treatment and the story. The Tamil version has ended with Pradeep Rawat playing a double role as villain Lakshman and his twin brother, and with confusion arising between Sanjay and Chithra (Nayantara, the medical student). Interesting to note is that the Tamil version is titled Ghajini because the behavior of the protagonist is similar to that of Mohammed Ghajini. Whereas the Hindi version title is made simpler to understand by just naming the villain Ghajini.

The stark difference observed is in the character of Sanjay. Surya manages to be calm and steady while handling situations, whereas Aamir appears very aggressive- this would especially be true for those who have seen Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby in Memento. The character of Leonard is very well treated through out the film, and it’s easy for the viewer to believe he has a short term memory problem. Whereas in the case of Sanjay, the director A. R. Murugadoss has used the sound (of a camera alarm ringing) as a reminder (and to be in sync with the story). Check out the last chase sequence; it seems that the hero is very focused on his targets and kicks off everyone coming on the way. Well that’s what our typical Bollywood hero is capable of!

Both Aamir and Asin have carried their respective responsibility dedicatedly. Aamir fulfills the audience’s expectation as Sanjay who is completely opposite to TZP’s Nikumbh Sir. Asin did a wonderful job. She is the true surprise discovery of Ghajini. The irony is that she performed equally well in Tamil version but was not noticed as much. Rest of the cast does not have much to perform and remains unnoticed. Same goes for Jiah Khan and Pradeep Rawat.

Screenplay is ok but if we weigh it against Memento, comparison is out of question. Memento was critically acclaimed because of its innovative screenplay and non-linear editing. Ghajini falls short in every domain of filmmaking to Memento, which had brilliant storytelling by director Christopher Nolan, who reveals only the necessary and relevant incidents- keeping the plot and suspense unyielding and shocking. Even characterization is thought provoking; character of Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss) is shown in various shades which holds the viewer presumption entirely in dispute. So if I start measuring Memento against Ghajini (Tamil and Hindi both), Ghajini falls flat on floor. To me, it will be only be memorable for its publicity and profits earned.

All in all, Ghajini is not a good movie. I agree with critic Rajeev Masand that it’s a dumb movie which celebrates its dumbness. It is similar to Govinda – David Dhawan movies. You leave your brains and laugh when it is Govinda onscreen whereas in this case you leave your brains and enjoy Aamir. Yes, there is a difference between laughing and enjoying.. Or is there?