Ghajini became the only Indian film to earn one

Ghajini is a 2008 Bollywood film directed by A. R. Murugadoss and produced under the Geetha Arts banner by Allu Aravind. The film is a remake of a Tamil film, of the same name, which was also by Muragadoss and starred Surya Sivakumar and Asin. It stars Aamir Khan and bollywood débutant Asin Thottumkal. Jiah Khan, Pradeep Rawat and Riyaz Khan are essaying supporting roles.

The movie is an action-thriller, with strong romantic elements, that explores the life of a rich businessman who suffers from anterograde amnesia following a violent encounter in which his love interest, model Kalpana was killed. He tries to avenge the killing with the aid of Polaroid Instant camera photographs and permanent tattoos on his torso. The character of Aamir Khan will also feature in a 3-D game titled Ghajini:the game, which is based on the same movie.

The film is a perfect masala film, a revenge thriller, a genre which was very popular in the 80s. But what sets the film apart from a typical pot boiler is the way the screenplay has been structured, oscillating between flashbacks and present time. There is also a good balance of romance, suspense, action and comedy. Plus the biggest asset – Aamir Khan! The story has two major flashbacks, but unlike many films where flashbacks do nothing for the film itself, this one actually aids in building the character and adding intensity to them. Having seen Sanjay’s past life, you see reason for his current actions. The film at no point justifies the actions but it does give you reason to go with the flow.

Apart from being one of the biggest films of all times GHAJINI seems to be scoring on the front of merchandizing as well. While Shah Rukh Khan did not publicize the manner in which he had acquired his six-pack abs as a merchandize, Aamir Khan's GHAJINI has gone ahead and done it. In one of the first tie-ups India Games has tied up with the trainer of Aamir Khan - Satyajit Chaurasia - and has offered the viewers a downloadable five-minute guide through mobiles christened as Ultimate workout.

Amongst the sequences that stand out are Aamir’s first encounter with Asin, Aamir visiting Asin’s boss’s party, Aamir’s outburst in the hospital, Asin’s murder sequence and of course the action packed climax where Aamir for a moment forgets what he is fighting for when he comes face to face with the villain!

In an author backed role, Aamir has outperformed himself, making us fall short of words in his praise. He is not only utterly convincing as a killing machine but he is extremely loveable in the romantic comedy sequences with Asin. South starlet Asin in her Bollywood debut leaves a lasting impression. Jiah though fits the part somehow pales in comparison to Asin. Her accented Hindi irritates. Pradeep Rawat brings back to Bollywood, the true villain that was missing since long time. He is menacingly good.

As a nation which is caught in the frenzy of GHAJINI hair style, the launch of the body building guide is sure to set the cash register on fire and would be able to churn out a whole new crop of health aficionados. Aamir would be doing a yeomen service to the cause of the health, which is indeed an unplanned by-product of GHAJINI being thrown up owing to unique convergence of technology and marketing acumen facilitated by a generation, which is crazy about downloading everything on to their mobiles.

Murugados’s direction is terrific and the master story teller that he is, he just doesn’t give the audience a moment to think even in 180 minutes running time film. Technically it definitely stands amongst the best films of 2008. Superb editing (Anthony), excellent camerawork (Ravi K Chandran) and amazing sound design (Resul) take the film to an altogether different level. The action by Peter Hains and Stunt Shiva keeps you on the edge of your seat. But some action sequences have turned out a bit too gory and not meant for the faint hearted. But with Aamir giving his everything all out in them they end up being a treat to watch. A.R. Rahman’s melodies are a treat to watch onscreen having been excellently picturised. Also, none of the songs hamper the proceedings.

Body building as a concept used to be inspired from the images more associated with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger but with GHAJINI built-ups available in the market, the yearning to do it would have more passion, as the idol to aspire to is seeped in the Indian sensibilities and taking into account the Indian ground realities.

The concept of memorabilia associated with films was not succeeding earlier may be owing to the fact that it was working in a superficial manner in the sense of either releasing dolls, or other images associated with films, but not revolving around intricate USPs of the films as it has been done in GHAJINI. In this sense GHAJINI could indeed turn out to be an interesting case study in marketing associated with a film.