Movie Review: Ghajini

It was billed as the showdown of the year - the two big Khans facing off, Rab Ne versus Ghajini, the new eight pack Khan versus the older six pack Khan, Anushka versus Asin, so on and so forth. Unfortunately, Ghajini is a complete let down, a B grade South Indian action flick with dollops of gore and violence, with absolutely no comparison against the superbly crafted Rab Ne. And while the King Khan dishes out one superb performance after another, the wannabe King resorts to his barber and his gym instructor, and lots of screams and growls to try instill fear in his audiences as the Indian Hannibal cum Super Man cum Hulk. All he succeeds in is assaulting your senses with mindless violence.

I agree I am a SRK fan, but I loved Aamir in QSQT, I loved him in Jo Jeeta, and in Dil Chahata Hai, and in Lagaan, and in countless other movies where Aamir was a great actor, with chocolate boy looks, and a lot of sense on his shoulders. Somewhere along the way, he lost it in the pursuit of being number one, wanting to be called the King. Obsessed with insulting the King on his blog, Aamir seems to have lost focus from what he was good at... acting.

Back to the movie. Inspired by a Tamil movie of the same name, which itself was inspired by a truly beautifully executed Memento, Ghajini is the story of a young business tycoon who falls in love with a wannabe model, but never reveals his true identity to her, because he loves being loved by her as the middle class simple fellow she thinks he is. It's not moot how she never figures out that he is in fact one of the richest men in the country, who moves around with a sleek fleet of black Band Mercs, accompanied by a platoon of assistants and security guards. When she is killed by a gang of child smugglers, the smart Van Heusen dressed businessman suddenly develops eight pack abs, gets a football haircut, learns to growl and snarl, and having lost his memory (he can't remember anything beyond 15 mins), learns to live with a set of photos and notes, and tatoos, constantly reminding him of his mission - take revenge on Ghajini.

The story has too many flaws. While Memento, with its back and forth narration, beautifully pieced the puzzle for you, Ghajini does none of that. It neither brings out the complexity of his life, except for one short sequence of him trying to find out his own house, nor does it bring out the anguish of a man unable to remember even his own name. There are too many unanswered questions, too many loopholes. The screenplay leaves a lot to be desired, although the camera work and technical brilliance of South Indian film industry will catch your attention, especially in a couple of unhummable songs.

For the actors themselves, well, there's really nothing positive to say! Aamir has a good body, one must admit, but coming as it is after every other actor and actress did it, it does leave a "oh, you too" feeling lingering around. He's a good actor, but frankly, an innovative haircut and some loud growling and screaming isn't a big ask. I would have liked to see more anguish, more mental agony, more basic instincts, more questions for the mind. Asin was billed as the next big thing to hit Bollywood after Deepika - she is a huge disappointment, her over acting and extremely ordinary looks coupled with a disastrous wardrobe, make her very uninteresting and boring. Jiah Khan was great in Nishabd as the Indian Lolita, and she has a couple of interesting moments, but overall, she doesn't make the cut. Ghajini himself is also extremely loud and amateurish, again reminiscent of the B grade action movies of the 80s and early 90s.

If you are a die hard Aamir fan with an avowed will-not-miss-a-single-movie existence, and you are comfortable with scenes of heads being smashed with iron crow bars and blood dripping out from taps inserted in stomachs, go ahead and spend the pretty long 3.15 hours on Ghajini. Frankly, a better idea would be to watch Rab Ne for the 3rd or 4th time.

Oh and yes, do keep your kids away from the movie... trust me on that!