GHAJINI

Director: A R Murgadoss

Cast: Aamir Khan, Asin, Jiah Khan

Aamir Khan suffers from short-term memory loss in Ghajini, a cerebral disorder by which his memory lasts only for 15 minutes. Seemingly director A R Murgadoss suffered from the same while deriving from Memento, for he seems to have retained only about 15% of the original masterpiece and fabricated the rest as per his formulaic sensibilities. So while you still have the Polaroid camera, post it notes and a tattooed body from Memento, the nonlinear narrative and conspiracy theory is compromised for a prolonged romance track and exaggerated revenge drama. Sadly gimmicks like 8-pack abs or trimmed hairline can't cover up loopholes of a flawed script. Sanjay Singhania (Aamir Khan) has been hit on the head which gives him recurring bouts of amnesia, almost every fifteen minutes. He is hunting for a person named Ghajini (Pradeep Rawat), and to remember his target, he has inscribed his initials and related clues on his body, has pasted post-it notes all across his apartment and carries a Polaroid camera to click pictures of people important to him. An investigating officer gets hold of his daily diary that gives a background account of his character. Sanjay is an affluent industrialist and falls in love with a girl named Kalpana (Asin). The diary changes hands from the inspector to a medical student (Jiah Khan) but the flashback account continues to stretch from the first half to the second with a long-drawn-out love story between the two. With ample song-dance-romance, the story is Indianized but that's the only redeeming factor for the director fails to exploit the psychological side of the story. Don't cry a spoiler when I say that Ghajini killed Kalpana since that is awfully obvious from the very start with the tattoos on Sanjay's body and his quest to kill Ghajini. And if you still expect a twist in the tale for some suspenseful impact, be prepared to know that this one just ends up being a regular revenge drama. The action sequence in the climax is shamelessly stretched, as long as Sanjay can sustain his memory, for fifteen literal minutes. At its core, Ghajini is essentially a romance track culminating into a revenge drama. Only externally it is sewed up with the memory loss syndrome which could have been the highlight. And even the memory loss isn't sensibly justified in the script. The major flaw of the film is how Sanjay remembers Ghajini's sidekicks and traces them from nowhere. Almost every scene seems to have been written to cover up the earlier penned scene. The length could surely have been trimmed for the extra runtime doesn't add to the conviction like in a Lagaan or a Jodhaa Akbar. A R Rahman's music is melodious and songs are choreographed with typical South Indian flamboyancy. Strangely the background theme piece sounds like Sare Jahan Se Acha. Aamir is not bad but one expects more from the actor than Rajnikant style amplified-action sequences or anger bouts reminiscent of a hysterical Kamal Hassan from Abhay. Asin is pleasing and Jiah Khan is decent. Pradeep Rawat hams in the title role. If you are expecting an intelligent psychological suspense thriller, watch Memento. If you are looking for an intense desi action masala watch the Tamil Ghajini. For the Hindi version doesn't show much difference other than trimming the twin villain from the original into a single baddie. By now we are prone to digesting the exaggerated action in south cinema. It would still take some time to accept Aamir Khan doing the same. Rather, the question in first place is, would we ever want to accept Aamir in such avatar?

26th-29th Mumbai Attacks

The poem(THE SONG OF THE SENSIBLE) has been written by poet Gorakh Pandey and is my very inept translation.
The poet was a troubled human. Intelligent and anguished by the state of the nation. He had wanted to inspire with his writing and the strength of his thinking. When he failed he committed suicide. He was a brilliant student from the Benares Hindu University and later was with JNU - Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.
The entire day has been spent in front of the TV and watching in anguish and in anger the proceedings on the streets of Mumbai. I have been riveted to Times Now and to the incredible anchoring of Arnab. He has been at it non stop for almost 24 hrs; reporting, discussing, interviewing, taking opinion, tirelessly.
My pain has been the sight and plight of my innocent and vulnerable and completely insecure countrymen, facing the wrath of this terror attack. And my anger has been at the ineptitude of the authorities that have been ordained to look after us. I have simply loved and endorsed the sentiments expressed by one of those that came on for comments on the Arnab reportage, Suhel Seth. They were strong, precise and most apt. And of course I have had the greatest pride in those from the forces that have and continue to fight for our freedom. Brilliant officers and police personnel have laid down their lives for us. I can only but salute them and respect their sincerity in the call of duty.
And for God’s sake, let us stop reiterating that cliched ”Sprit of Mumbai” retort. Yes Mumbai is strong and resilient and shall not be cowed down by any such occurrence. But let us not conveniently use it as our cover sheet, pull it over our heads and go off to sleep. Because that is what has been happening every time. Incidents of grave disaster have continued to be camouflaged with ‘oh, this is Mumbai, we have a great spirit, we will spring back’. Fine, we will, of course. But who is assuring us that the disaster will not !!

As an Indian, I need to live in my own land, on my own soil with dignity and without fear. And I need an assurance on that.