Monday, February 23, 2009

Ghajini: Aamir Khan rules!

You must have heard much about Ghajini, and now you are going to hear more (from me)! This Aamir Khan starer is certainly one of the best films of 2008, and people are appreciating it more than Shah Rukh Khan's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (will review it soon). It is a complete comedy and action mixture, which everyone has enjoyed. And another great thing is its story -- that is too good, every Aamir film contains a good story, perhaps that's why he is a perfectionist.

The film is a remake of the Tamil film with the same name, and in the lead role of actress, Asin Thottumkal is starred. Asin is a very cute actress, and she isn't a newcomer in the Film Industry because she has done many Tamil films, and this time she was accepted for a national (and international) audience by the film's director A.R. Murugadoss. The cinematography is great, and I really enjoyed it in the theatre.

The story begins with Sanjay Singhania, who owns a company named Air Voice. He is suffering from short-term memory loss, in which he cannot remember a thing up to 15 minutes. He leads a very difficult life. On the other side, there is Sunita (Jiah Khan), a medical student who tries to help Sanjay with her medical knowledge.

Sanjay was a normal guy earlier, and he was not suffering from any disease. He had a love, Kalpana, whom he was to marry but a person named Ghajini killed her (that's why the film's named 'Ghajini') and he hit a rod on the head of Sanjay, because of which he suffered from the memory-loss disease. He has notes about Ghajini, and he takes his photograph is a party. He just wants to kill Ghajini, because he killed his love.

And Sunita is the only helper of Sanjay in the whole process. Though, her role gets a little negative in the middle of the film. But 'every good thing comes to a good end' :) and that's how the story comes at a good end. Sanjay takes revenge from Ghajini and the film is finished with the song Kaise Mujhe, a perfect fit in the situation.

Do you feel the story is short? Well, the story is, but the film isn't. It is a 3 hour long film, which is a rare thing nowadays. The films releasing these days, are not more than 2 hours. But Ghajini isn't any boring in the three hours. It is a complete masala-entertainer.


To get the six-pack abs, Aamir had to work-out for three to four hours at gym everyday. This type of body needs much care about diet and excercise.

The music is given by A.R. Rahman (who is always the best, no need to tell) and the best song in the film is Guzaarish with vocals by Javed Ali and Sonu Niigaam. In the following interview, Sonu told that he sang the whole song in 2006. But the lyrics of the song had completely been changed and it had to be re-recorder. Sonu was in New Jersey then, and he couldn't make it. So Javed Ali came in.




Imagine if Sonu had sung that song, it'd have been 10 times better (not saying Javed Ali was bad). But only his humming gave the song a refreshing feel, and that's more important, right? From an interview on Sonu's site:

How come you did the "guest alaap" appearance on Guzaarish in Ghajini?
You blame Aamir Khan for that yaar! I had sung the whole song in 2007. Then, I was away in US with my wife because she was about to deliver then. Meanwhile, the song's brief changed. It was re-written. The composition was retained but they were running out of the time for the re-recording. I couldn't make it, so Javed Ali cam in. I must thank A R Rahman for retaining my alaap.. he really pushed for me there. I love the way Javed Ali has sung the track though.

The film, when released, had earnt more than 2 Crores in just two weeks. And this is the proof of people liking it. It was promoted very well on TV, Internet and at Aamir Khan's blog as well. Here is an excerpt from his post about the release of Ghajini:

Just before any of my films release I go into pendulum mode. One sec I feel very optimistic about the film and the next I’m sure no one’s going to like it. I lose my smile my appetite, my sleep. On the whole I am listless and walk around like a zombie. VVC (Vidhu Vinod Chopra), who was talking to me yesterday, accurately described it as Prenatal Depression. The film is about to be delivered and will be out of our systems so to speak. Then it will have a life of its own which we have absolutely no control over. Sigh. It too tough, making films. All the 2 years of planning, preparation, creative discussions, the struggle to shoot the film and the sleepless nights of post production ultimately culminate in a 3 hour experience in the darkness of a cinema.

Here's an interview with Aamir and Asin:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Movie Rating: 4/5 (Excellent) ****

Music Rating: 4.10/5 (Excellent)

Of course, there are a few violent scenes which might scare people (especially children), but after all this, Ghajini has a lot of things to enjoy - including the comedy, action, romance and beautiful songs by Rahman. It's a film that will never disappoint anyone, at least those who are true Bollywood fans!

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