Review of Ghajini (2008) by Shail S — 23 Jan 2009

So they say this movie was inspired by Memento, wrong! It was actually inspired by Memento, The Hulk, and a hint of Planet of the Apes! Allow me to explain.

I couldnt stop laughing once Amir Khan first takes of his shirt and starts screaming and breathing like an ape (only the chest beating was missing). It was sad laughing at my favorite Indian actor being made to look and act so stupid. Why did his anger and emotions have to be so over-the-top? He goes on to jump on a police officer (who was an annoying character and even worse actor), is invincible when angry (even when beaten by a stick), and can punch a guy with such power that his face turns all the way back. Simply ridiculous action.

Besides the silly rage period Amir goes through, his acting is quite good. The other plus is Asin's acting. After an annoying start she develops into quite a charming character. Also, the villian was quite good. I enjoyed the scenes with him involved; the movie would have been better had he got more screen time.

But that is all I will say about the positives about the movie. I dont have any problems with remakes or copies as long as they are made well. But the direction is really poor in this one. Jiah Khans acting was awful; and her character was so silly. She was such a dumb person for a medical student. She was following Amir Khan like a journalist rather than a medical student, and giving away his secrets to the main villain rather than the police or some freakin authority figure! Yeah she had her reasons, but it was a poor part of the story. Whoever wrote the story and screenplay should be slapped. Also the love story between Amir and Asin dragged on for too long and was quite stupid. She treated him like such a close friend yet never bothered to get to know him. I think Amir Khan would have done a much better job had he been directing the movie. Also the background music was awful most of the time, it was over-dramatic and reminded me of the ridiculous Indian soap operas on star plus. Moreover, dont even get me started on the action, Amir Khan kills around 30 gangsters, none of them bother to pull out a bloody gun!! I rest my case!

This movie was poorly made and a huge let-down!!