While being utterly faithful to its Tamil original, barring the considerably spruced up climax, the Hindi version of Ghajini brings forth some of the most oft-repeated flavors of South Indian films – gut-wrenching violence, blistering narrative pace that camouflages the 3 hour duration and, most notably, the rapid, bordering-on-psychedelic editing style, courtesy Antony. Aamir re-enacts Surya’s role with a certain animal aggression that works well within the context of the film. Asin replicates her role unerringly, while Jiah is as irritating as her Tamil counterpart, Nayantara. Rahman’s music is functional, and the background music is insistently loud. The traces of intelligence peppered across the script props the film – the smart use of short-term memory loss; the lyrical innocence of the Kalpana episode; the choice of Pradeep Rawat for the title character that works due to him not having any pre-conceived image – all contribute towards the film’s appeal. Aamir’s choice of Ghajini may seem strange given his recent body of work, but he does mighty well in this revenge saga that has its audiences rooting for the protagonist clearly forgetting the manic violence that occurred 15 minutes back, thanks to the strong emotional undercurrent and its contrast with the bleak proceedings.
Keywords: Aamir Khan, Asin, Jiah Khan
