REVIEW: Aamir Khan's Ghajini

If Akshay Kumar had a Singh Is Kinng and Shah Rukh had an Om Shanti Om, Aamir Khan finally has his Ghajini. This star driven, mega hyped action flick is an Aamir Khan vehicle from start to finish.

For years Aamir the actor has been praised for his ability to rise above his super stardom. But this time around it's the star who towers over the film. For the first time, Aamir Khan has perhaps become bigger than the film. He dances, he fights and does just about everything a stereotypical Hindi film hero is expected to. In the process he delivers a three-hour-hour plus formula film that's designed to keep all its investors happy. So by the time the true verdict on Ghajini emerges, the film would have broken new records. Monetarily.

Fans of Khan who swear by his choice of subjects may be in for a rude shock. This film is as commercial as Bollywood can get.

The simple formula:

By now Ghajini's plot is pretty well known. Hindi cinema's most tried and tested theme - revenge - is reproduced with a slick, modern twist. But the heart is vintage Bollywood. Remake of the hugely successful Tamil film by the same name, Ghajini draws basic inspiration from the Christopher Nolan film Memento. But the similarities with Memento begin and end with the tattoos and Polaroid camera. That aside Ghajini is a straightforward, no nonsense, violent, revenge drama about one man's search for his girlfriend's killer.

Victim of a brutal head injury, business tycoon Sanjay Singhania (Aamir Khan) suffers from short-term memory loss. His daily routine depends on a bunch of photographs and series of reminders spread all over his house. In his quest to find the murderer Ghajini (Pradeep Rawat), he tattoos the clues and leads on his body that keep reminding him about his unfinished business. Helping him is a medical student played by Jiah Khan whose real contribution to his search is a scooter and shouting just at the right time during Sanjay's fistfights.

The charming love story:

Ghajini's strength lies in its gripping screenplay. As the plot unfolds and you find out more about Sanjay's story, there is little time for the viewer to think. The raw action sequences are amongst the finest you will see in a long, long time. Watching Aamir's character grapple with his 15 minute memory span makes for an engaging watch.