cliche...cliche...Ghajini....

After almost a month of its release, I finally saw 'Ghajini' last Saturday. Although the premise was interesting, the movie did not work for me. It was disheartening to see Aamir Khan - I am a fan of his - to be associated with a movie containing too many Bollywood chiches, after having worked on novel movies (by Bollywood standards) like Rang De Basanti and Taare Zameen Par. 

The romance build-up between the Aamir and Asin wasn't convincing. Apart from a scene or two, the comedy wasn't genuine. I just could not buy the fact that someone can be so silly - not to mention foolishly gutsy - to play up such an outrageous story the way Asin did and go along with it even after knowing that the story had inadvertently been carried in the press. The plot did not work for me. Plus, nobody recognises Aamir when he freely roams the street, in a BEST bus, etc., after the gory incident in which Aamir loses his memory. This, after supposedly running what seems like a very successful company (they got the licence to get all London/Europe/international calls routed through their network), writing guest columns in India's largest business newspaper and giving interviews to CNN. 

Another silly thing. When Aamir is dating Asin and the two stop at a roadside stall to eat watermelon, his company executives happen to pass them by and spot him. They do a salaam to him. Now which company executives' subordinates do a salaam when they bump into their bosses on the road? At least I don't!!! 

Lastly, on the performance front, Aamir was good in the first half of his role, as the company executive. But all this six/eight pack act of teething with anger, howling like a wounded tiger in the bathroom and hospital looked artificial. Plus, I wonder how he still maintains this body after the incident despite losing his memory. You need lots of diet and the right work-outs with the right kind of equipments to maintain a body like that. How did he remember do all that after the incident?  

Like a typical cliche Bollywood film, the songs do not fit in. Jiah Khan's song looked the most forced. One moment we're shown a rickety-rackety stage of her college auditorium where her performance was due, and the next moment it magically gets coverted into this super-duper magnificent set where Ms Khan descends to do her item number! Please! And the clothes looked quite flashy too. Another cliche: all songs were shot at exotic locales. 

Finally, it sounds quite impossible that someone could bash up so many people at one shot. That's one cliche we thought we'd seen the end of, especially in an Aamir Khan film. And ripping off the tap from its sink? Wow, kamaal ka strength!!!! 

Overall, I feel the film just about passes the muster. On the positive side, the movie cleverly switches between the past and the present and offers a decent thriller than most of the stuff doled out these days. The execution could have been better, the editing could have been much better. 

K-rating: * * * (out of 5)