An absorbing movie,about a novel concept with the high dose of violence songs and glamour- is Ghajini in a nutshell. What makes it stand out is the performance of the lead pair- Surya and Asin. Another feather is the excellent camera. Inspired from the Hollywood thriller Memento, the director has done ample changes to fit it into the Indian scenario. A patient (Surya) suffering from Short term memory loss becomes the subject of interest of a glamorous (?) medical student Chitra(Nayantara), who is warned from going any further. When does any girl in a movie listen to sane advice? So Chitra tries to know more about the patient, while the patient goes on a killing spree. The story of the man is shown in flashback through the eyes of an Inspector (Riyaz Khan) who is probing the murder case and gets killed before uncovering it fully. Then it is left to Chitra to bring out the whole truth behind the Hero's present condition and help him take revenge.
Surya is Sanjay Ramaswamy, a business tycoon who falls in love with the vivacious and aspiring small time model Kalpana (Asin). Kalpana is basically a simple girl with a loving and kind heart, who lies about Sanjay being in love with her . Once Kalpana saves some girls from the clutches of a group of kidnappers .She gets killed by child traffickers while Sanjay, who is a witness to the murder, is grievously injured, leading to his short term memory loss. The director Murugadoss and Surya have put in a lot of efforts trying to show the plight of the person who cant remember anything for more than 15 minutes. The way he tattoos his body with important names and numbers, takes pictures of the people he would want to remember etc is done innovatively.
The villain Rawat is the typical baddie and his double role really seems unnecessary.
The positives:
Surya is the heart and soul of the movie. He brings out the difference between the two characters fantastically. From being a suave and stylish billionaire to a mentally and physically tortured patient, Surya is simply brilliant. Be it the gentleness of love, amusement, frustration or anger... he coveys it so beautifully through his eyes. He also plays a perfect foil for the bubbly Asin.
Asin is the surprise package of the movie. She is smart yet caring, loving yet mischievous and never once does she go overboard. The camera has really caught her at the right angles. Kudos to the director and the actor for making the character of Kalpana lovable and extremely elegant.
The pair of Surya and Asin are perfect in every way. They look good and vibe well with each other.In fact, the audience is left with wanting more of this lovely couple. Luckily there is no silly comedy track which deviates from the main story line.
The cameraman needs special mention for the classy work.
The negatives:
Nayantara- The character of Chitra is poorly etched. Though a lot of effort has been put in, to look glamorous, she ends up looking ugly and out of place.She sticks out like a sore thumb. Items numbers, running, glamorous outfits... are not the forte of Nayantara.
Pratap Singh Rawat (villain)- is the usual archetype- nothing much of a variation.
There are a number of loopholes as well- which could have been easily avoided. Like Kalapana not using the cell phone when caught in the house with the killers, despite having it with her all the time.
The violence is senseless and the action scenes are too prolonged, giving a headache. Killing seems to be a pass time for both the Villain and the Hero. Whoever could get away so easily killing so many people?
The film could have been shorter by at least 30 minutes- which would have made it sleek and kept the interest going till the end.
The Music is not upto the mark. Except for the numbers Sutrum Vizhi sudare and Oru maalai ilaveyil nerum... none of the other songs are worth listening too. Most of the song sequences are too clichéd and disturb the flow of the movie. The movie could have been better with less songs or no songs at all. The back ground music is jarring. Harris Jayaraj is a bad backgound music composer. The Choreography is also a let down. With such a lovely pair, better choreographed songs would have a big plus.
Overall this movie is worth a watch because of the refreshing lead pair and the interesting presentation of a new idea.Director Murugadoss has lived upto the Expectation and hype created by Ghajini... but it does not belong to class of 'Ramana'. Maybe next time he will concentrate more on the main story rather than the 'so called' commercial aspects.
