Ghajini: The Movie Review with a twist!

One more “Ghajini” review? I know, we are not interested. Then what is the need of having one – probably to explore the “what if” phenomenon, and then to discuss how did the movie fare. So don’t expect this review to discuss the story and its aptness, music, cinematography and a whole lot of other stuff that a typical review is expected to cover.

Ghajini is one of those rare movies wherein we like the characters and performances and the direction and the technical brilliance and the concept (although copied) and the action and the romance and a lot more, yet feel that something somewhere was actually missing to create the magic of Cinema that we are used to associating with someone like Aamir Khan – the multitalented actor, director and producer who is known to look beyond the oblivion in his movies – irrespective of it being his own production or not.

Ghajini works in portions – the highpoint being not the revenge but the easy to eyes and heart love story as was told in the flashback. Asin more than just makes you smile – she has a character which talks oodles about the potential that this new kid on the block (for Bollywood) has and is hard to miss on the screen. Her biggest achievement lies in the fact that she has been able to leave an impression and is in no way overshadowed by the convincing performance that the “thinking” Khan delivers yet again. Part of the credit also goes to the way her character has been developed – Jiah certainly did not have the luck and luxury of such an evolved character and delivers an uninspiring performance which is a culmination of the failures.

It being a review, it would certainly rate the movie – yes a very generous 3/5 and let’s dwell upon why. First things first – the movies isn’t about bringing a social revolution – so stop comparing it with TZP or RDB right away; it just won’t be a fair comparison. It is not meant to change our worlds.

If you want to understand that why did the movie deserve an extra point instead of a 2/5 – please think and picture this. Sanjay Singhania – the entrepreneur could have been equally well played by Shahrukh Khan; though his performance as Singhania in life after Kalpana would have been disastrous to an unimaginable extent. What Aamir did to his body and mind makes you respect him – there was no other way you could have imagined a man with the mind and strength of a wild boar. That is exactly what he was supposed to be to do what the story expected him to.  Compare this to SRK’s six pack abs and more importantly its need in the movie – Om Shanti Om and you know how cheap rest of the Bollywood can get for publicity – and mind you, it went on to become the biggest hit of 2007 – shame on us!

That apart – Singhania post the memory loss is a man of few words – it’s his eyes that do the entire talking – try finding a Bollywood contemporary who would be able to deliver anything even close to what we see in Ghajini – and you know why the movie is special. (Let me not even think about an Akshay Kumar or Sunny Deol for that matter).

Asin as Kalpana edges out the cute-girl-next-door Anoushka as Taani in a memorable performance. (Sorry, but this comparison was obvious: Anoushka as Taani was actually convincing enough in RNBDJ – although the two characters were entirely different.)

Ghajini is a classic example of less than perfect Cinema which still makes a compelling watch – as it dares what others feel shy of – unless you appreciate an effort, you can never expect it to ever reach where it should have been. There isn’t a point being stuck up with clichéd ideas – let’s dare to watch and let Bollywood dare to produce “different” cinema. Someday, different would also be great! Cheers!!!

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Dasvidaniya - The Review

Dasvidaniya is a film that you will probably connect with. Vinay Pathak and his team deliver it third time in a row after Bheja Fry and Mithya. As for what makes Dasvidaniya worth a watch, there are ample reasons for that.

When you have a gang of actors like Vinay Pathak, Saurabh Shukla, Rajat Kapoor and Ranvir Shorey the director's work becomes easy. The debutant director Shashant Shah looks in form in the film but I am not too sure if he would be able to pull of something like Dasvidaniya again. Remember Sagar Bellary of the Bheja Fry fame? Last heard he was planning sequels to Bheja Fry. I hope I am not sounding too much of a cynic but this is more of an actor's film rather than a director's. So, I am not going to attribute a larger share of the success of Dasvidaniya to the director.

Vinay Pathak - the actor turns into a producer with this film. Having played character roles so far in Bollywood, I think he must not be having the kind of money a Subhash Ghai has to splurge on something as inane as Yuvvraj. That shows in the film. The production value is very poor indeed. The outdoors are evidently manipulated. What is shown as Russia might as well be some place near the Amby valley. Sure the story is not about Russia but when the title is Dasvidaniya, you ought to show that dude. If money was the problem, we should probably excuse him because the overall product turned out to be good.

The music is refreshingly good. Kailash Kher's music does stand out in the film. It is difficult to compose music in a film that doesn't have too much scope for a song and dance. It is not a Yash Raj movie where situation for songs are created and picturised in exotic locales to add to their value. The movie has three songs and they gel well with the mood of the film. Maa is the better one of the lot because of the sentiments attached.

The story is not well developed. There are no surprises and it toes the "expected" line. A man suffering from cancer decides to do what he always wanted in life but could never do. The team probably wanted to pick a straight forward story of a terminally ill man and give the meaning of life their own interpretation. I must mention here that Dasvidaniya is not inspired from Anand. Anand was about spreading happiness in everyone's lives before exiting the World's stage while Dasvidaniya is about making oneself happy (not in a selfish sense though!). It is inspired from The Bucket List in that sense. The screenplay is good. The characters are introduced in the plot seamlessly. The dialogues are intelligent.

One place where the film scores heavily is acting. And that again was expected when it comes from the stable of competent actors like Pathak and Co. They are all good actors but it is easier said than done. Vinay Pathak plays two characters - one of the seedha Amar Kaul and the other of his hidden shaana Amar Kaul. It is unbelievable how he convincingly plays both of them. They look two distinctly different people. Very few actors besides Vinay Pathak can portray that. You have to look minutely to witness the subtleness with which he changes expressions on his face.

There is a scene where he gives a lift to his childhood sweetheart and she gets a phone call. He thinks its her boy friend and gets sad but the very next monent when he realises that it was her mother, his expressions change to being happy suddenly. Very natural! Another scene that needs a mention is the one where he expresses his love to her. There is no dialogue exchange but the emotion is conveyed. Though it is cliched to say I Love You in films, this one scene would probably count as one of the better ones among the lot that capture the moment.

Rest of the cast supports Pathak ably. No one has a lengthy role but they make their presence felt. Saurabh Shukla as the inconsiderate boss, Gaurav Gera as the estranged brother, Sarita Joshi as the mother, Ranvir Shorey as the Chunni Babu (of Devdas fame) reincarnation and Rajat Kapoor as Amar Kaul's childhood buddy. Everyone gives the film the support it requires.

Dasvidaniya will not be an Anand that will be remembered in the years to come. Probably because the story is not novel and has oft been retold in different ways. It will at best be remembered as a profitable attempt catering to the taste of the urban audience that watches films in multiplexes. But it will always be a film that will probably cheer you up and tell you that life is a bigger deal than death is!

Though its quite late in the day, go watch Dasvidaniya if you haven't. My rating 3.5 out of 5.

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