The Kitchen Sink's In There Too
- Review By:
- PoseyDozer
- Date:
- April 5, 2009
- Movie:
- Ghajini
- Director:
- A. R. Murugadoss
- Released:
- 2008
- Good Guy:
- Sanjay Singhania
- Played By:
- Aamir Khan
- Bad Guy:
- Ghajini Dharmatma
- Played By:
- Pradeep Rawat
- MPAA Rating:
- NR
- Family Friendly Ages:
- Not for kids
If Shakespeare were alive today, I suspect he'd be writing scripts in Bollywood. Indian audiences who consume these movies demand comedy, romance, melodrama, action, musical numbers, and an intermission — all packed into one three-hour-long film. Ghajini exuberantly delivers on every count.
The movie's hero is Sanjay Singhania, the prominent CEO of a large mobile phone company. When Kalpana, a model who works for a cheesy TV advertising production company, gains notoriety by claiming to be Singhania's fiance, Singhania investigates. He can't help falling in love with the loquacious, beautiful and kind Kalpana, who is enormously likable in spite of her lies. Kalpana's kindness to a young girl who has been kidnapped and sold by thugs in the employ of Ghajini Dharmatma gets her into trouble, though. And it's Ghajini's name that impels Singhania toward revenge and drives the movie's violent action scenes.
Ghajini borrows some of its plot devices from Christopher Nolan's 2000 film, Memento. Like the main character in that movie, Singhania suffers from short-term memory loss and uses the same strategies to cope: body tattoos, Polaroid photos, notes, and maps. But when you throw in Ghajini's lavish, over-the-top song and dance numbers, the goofy romantic comedy sequences, and the snarling fight scenes, there's no longer any point of comparison. The two movies are utterly unlike one another.
Is Ghajini great art? No. But it's great entertainment. The song lyrics are corny and, translated into English, unintentionally funny. A lot of the acting is formulaic and many characters stereotypcial. But the two main characters are completely endearing. The dance numbers and action scenes are visually enthralling. The story, in spite of its length, is riveting. In short, Ghajini is a perfect Preposterone movie. Grab your buddies (or a date), some snacks and settle in. You're in for a ride.
You're right! It sucks you in and holds you to the very end. I went into this one with no preconceptions so I was taken completely off-guard. I was ready to walk after the first 15 minutes of dubious 'Memento' rip-offs... but that first song and dance number knocked me for a loop. From that point on, I found myself continually cocking my head to the side and doing the Scooby-do "Huhhh?" But loving it all the way Some of the unintentionally funny stuff with Kalpana and her need to be portrayed as something akin to Mother Theresa was also a lot of fun to watch. She was constantly dropping whatever she was doing to assist blind people across the street, help crippled kids to make it over tough terrain, and to raise money for sick mothers to get the medical treatment they needed. I don't know if some of the character development devices were supposed to be so heavy-handed... but they sure were entertaining. Great review... Thanks.