Just pass me the Crocin, will you?. Review on Ghajini (2008)

Rs. 200 crore and counting... one of the biggest hits of all time... Aamir Khan's first movie in over a year... and an utter and complete waste of time and money.

Why? Well, so far as I can work out, there are 2 kinds of people in the world; those who like Ghajini and those who don't. I can safely say that I fall in that second category.

Ok, given all the reviews written on the subject, I am not going to delve into the plot or other such nuances. Let me just give you my view on the entire experience.

First of all, I must admit, I have watched Memento... and that, I guess, was the first mistake I made. I had raised my expectations too much probably, and should have realized that a Bollywood movie on the theme would be more of a Masala Flick.

But hey, this is an Aamir Khan movie, the Aamir Khan who has given us masterpieces like Lagaan, RDB, TZP and many, many others. So naturally,I expected a top notch performance, good script and even though people warned me about the violence, I expected it to be bearable...

But lo and behold, within the first 5 minutes, I realized, staying enthralled through the course of this movie would be not easy task.

For one thing, the Violence... yes, it is too much, too grotesque, and frankly, too much in bad taste. It is more vulgar than a Rakhi Sawant performance, and spoils your mood (which was lifted during the flashback sequences). That is one aspect of the violence.. the other side, is how comical it actually is.

It feels like a cartoon at times, with Aamir having power like the Hulk, tearing everyone apart, and running at a speed that would have Micheal Johnson proud. In some ways, it is like an insult to Rajnikanth. There,the action is literally mind-blowing; but it is carried off with a flair and panache which he manages. Here, it borders into the ridiculous; it tries too hard to be serious and loses the effect. In particular, the scenes where Asin was killed and in the end, when Aamir is stabbed with an iron rod, are painful to watch.

Then comes the Plot and the Performances. The flashback sequences are funny, and make the movie bearable to watch... until Asin carried off her wonderful overacting skills even when they are not needed. Remember Kareena's character in Jab We Met? Well, multiply that annoyance factor by 10 and you have Asin's character in Ghajini... Also, the villain,whose name is... Ghajini (doh!), looks constipated all the time and not at all scary. In fact, he is more revolting than scary; and the way he delivers the 'Short Term Memory Loss Patient' lines made me want to pull my hair out and laugh my guts out at the same time. A completely wasted performance there. Jiah Khan tries hard in her small part; but her role is mostly overshadowed by the badness of all the other acting surrounding her.

I though Aamir would save the day, like he always does. But frankly,this is one of the times when he just didn't bother. Now I know why they went to such pains to point his, frankly amazing body... because it is not shown in his Acting. His role as Sanjay Singhania in the flashbacks is very enjoyable; cue vintage Chocolate Boy Aamir behavior... but like SRK, working out and building on so much muscle has made his face loose the 'cuteness' factor which worked so well for him on other occasions. As the ravaged soul who has lost his lover; he is too irritating. Why? His grunting and screaming on all occasions gets ear-splittingly annoying after a while. Instead of a lost soul, he is an animal... literally. If that's what they wanted to portray, then,all and well, but I found that aspect of his character revolting.

Music is also not among the best of all the AR Rahman films that have come out in the past year; but they mercifully bring a bit of sanity to an otherwise hyperactive movie. In particular, Guzarish, which looks good in the TV promos, looks stunning here. The shooting in the desert is really brought to life in the theater, and is a very soothing 5 minutes of cinema. Sadly, the songs for Asin 'Hey Bachchu' and Jiah 'Latoo' look like they were made by a juvenile delinquent, in particular, ther ridiculous choreography and dance scenes. Asin cant carry off her song, while Jiah tries to compensate with some oomph... which works to an extent. Behka is ok, and Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye... is a nice number as well, and serves to smoothen out the pace of the second half.

The sounds used in t he backdrop are too harsh and may have, in part,contributed to the headache I got by the end of the movie. It is just too loud, with every punch and fall of a body being deafening. It is that background score that does not allow you to relax for even parts of the movie (which wasn't helped by the grotesque violence and over acting the first place).

And at a run time of 3 hours; Ghajini is simply a downright headache inducing pill which I wish I hadn't taken. But I guess hype works, and that's why is has succeeded so well. I just wish, I had not inadvertently contributed some of my money to make that figure happen... but well, I did.