After another sabbatical of a year the much-loved actor Aamir Khan returns to the big screen this Christmas arm-in-arm with debutant Asin and the director of his new film Ghajini, A.R. Murugadoss.
Having already made the film a sure-shot hit in the tamil language, Asin and Murugadoss in unison with Aamir Khan have a lot of weight on the shoulders. 1. Will Aamir Khan leave the crowds speechless with yet another performance? 2. Will debutant Asin be able to move beyond the shadow of his stature and make a mark for herself? 3. Will Murugadoss make a film which is apt for Hindi cinema? Yes, Yes and Yes! Saying Ghajini is a sure-shot hit is an insult to its director and its actors and hence, the tag of a Blockbuster should surely do it justice.
Plusses
The writing and direction beautifully helmed by A.R. Murugadoss is of high quality and ought to be one of those rare creations where almost everything about it becomes historic. The story and plot are so solid, so intelligent that it provides a sturdy backbone of a potential blockbuster. That being said, post Abbas-Mustan’s Race, Ghajini provides the smartest script ever for a hardcore commercial flick. Directing a commercial flick is no easy task as a director needs to have a flair for every genre that the project brings to the table. In the case of Ghajini, Murugadoss succeeds with distinction marks as he can pass of as any other Farah Khan or Karan Johar whilst at the same time succeeding as the next Madhur Bhandarkar or Vishal Bhardwaj. What more, the talented director, in some scenes, chooses to tell the story artistically- a facet which is very rare in today’s commercial cinema.
The film is technically sound. Beautifully shot by Ravi. K. Chandran, Ghajini is given a very international, stylish look with the odd, quirky camera angle which adds to the artistic edge to the film. Kudos to Chandran Saab for allowing Mumbai to look its best and making it seem like a desirable place to be in. Music by A.R. Rahman is fantastic. It grows on you with every song and every tune is different from the other. Lyrics by Prasoon Joshi stand out the most in Guzarish and Kaise Mujhe which are two beautifully written, poetic songs which you take home with you. Art direction and costumes are also excellent. Aamir Khan’s nostalgic pad is innovative as are the sets created in Aye Bacchu and the actors look very natural in their clothing. Editing done by Anthony is fantastic, but the film is like a loosely tightened screw – the tighter it would’ve been, the better. The action sequences are excellent. Never have the Indian audiences been exposed to such intensity and it is high time that we get use to it. It exhibits every kind of hurt, pain and anger involved within the story of Sanjay Singhania and hence, all violence is apt.
The scene in the train and in the apartment when a gang of mules are waiting for Kalpana are memorable as is the clever scene in the Hostel.
Aamir Khan is a complete natural. It is his body which does the talking this time around and with every move of the eyebrow, with every twitch of the fingers and nostrils you see that Aamir is one of the most talented actors Bollywood has to offer. In intense scenes he pulls off growling, howling and scrunching his character’s face with elan and with lighter scenes gives a very natural performance. He is the show-stopper, the main-man that deserves an ovation as each scene of his closes. An award-worthy and historic performance.
Asin is simply divine. She looks sweet and plays the part of Kalpana with sincerity. She remains in memory despite being in Aamir Khan’s shadow and is an absolute darling. Where has this girl been until now? Asin is definitely the next big thing in Bollywood post Deepika.
Jiah Khan excels with every scene, impressing us more and more as the reels turn. Her expressions as she unravels Sanjay’s mystery are excellent and her body-language, especially when Aamir chases her into the shopping mall, is first-rate.
The supporting cast is absolutely fabulous. The girl in the train to Goa does a fabulous job of being scared whilst Ghajini is excellent. He’s scary, he’s evil and he makes you want to spit venom on his face.
Minuses
The film for the most parts moves at a good pace however the overall length is not friendly to your patience, especially when Aamir is scene staring at the vision of Asin at the end. The film could’ve done with some extra editing to cut off the flab but in most parts, both the edits and the length are needed to do full justice to the story Murugadoss has written. But yes, the length does begin to get on you, particularly towards the end of the first half.
In short Ghajini is the definition of intelligent commercial cinema and blockbusters alike. It has potential break records all over and emerge as a historic motion picture far beyond the likes of Singh is Kinng and Golmaal Returns which are less-than-worthy when compared to this. TWO WORDS – MEGA BLOCKBUSTER!