The question is WHY.
When it comes to my taste in art and cinema I’m a total Bollywood propagator. Yes I’m all for Yash Raj chiffon romances, Farhan Akhtar’s reel-y real films, RGV’s cult films, Kunal Kohli’s ultrasmart films, Shyam Benegal’s arty films as well as unreal films like Jaane Tu… similarly I have a lot of faith on actors and definitely definitely Aamir Khan tops the list. He doesn’t make films, he does cinema. And why not? He has given people a lot more meaningful cinema than anyone else has. Starting from the rib tickling comedy Andaz Apna Apna to the hatke Taare Zameen Par he is definitely the “been there, done that” guy of Indian cinema.
And there comes his much awaited “Ghajini!” The story about this guy who suffers from short term memory loss (Remember that Tom guy in 50 First Dates?)and is driven by only one cause, take revenge from this Ghajini Dharmatma guy who killed his girlfriend. But how would do it? He forgets everything in 15 minutes! Remember short term memory loss? Well…another thing, he is a business tycoon and owns the country’s leading telecom service providing company. Now here’s a thought think about the day when all tycoons (with or without memory loss) get to taking revenge from some arbit small time criminal. Think of the country’s economy then? In recessionary times all business tycoons leave work and get to killing criminals! I mean will Mallya’s son or Narayana Murthy’s daughter do something of this sort?
Okay, and then a tycoon whom you have never seen on TV or read about in the newspapers! And which girl wouldn’t google a piece of information…I hate this over dumb and unreal portrayal of women. And then why revenge out of everything else…the whole nation is going ga-ga on Aamir, saying he has lived up to their expectations. What expectations? A movie where the hero looks scary and villainous than the villain! The chocolaty hero’s face haunted me throughout the night the day I went to watch it. And I mean if at all he was too eager to show off his 6-8-12-24 whatever pack abs, he could have very well done it a different movie, he could have chosen a different subject…for example the making of a body builder or something! The film might be making fat lollies at the box office but I see it as what Amitabh was to Boom. And these older heroes of ours…what do they want to prove making films opposite these new girls who are forever in awe of these men and it shows on screen! Ansd those Van Heusen suits! Those made Aamir look like Atal Vihari Bajpayee’s bodyguard! And they too are on the verge of becoming a rage in the nation. India gets moved by anything I swear, last time I visited a Van Heusen store, it was full of Ghajini suits. Imagine hunks around you walking around in look alikes of bulletproofs!
No wonder Mani Ratnam said Indians still need another 10 years to accept Dil Se
after Dil Se flopped in India. We are a country where a Sajjanpur flops but Ghajini will always be hit.
Jai Hind Jai Bharat.
