Gajini…You got it wrong Amir!!!

This was one movie I was very excited about watching. And the first movie we saw on our Brand New Sony Bravia, with  audios also on our Brand new sony Hometheatre! Ahem!

 

The theatre experience was remarkable!! The movie? Welll…not so much!

 

Perhaps it would have helped if I hadn’t watched the Tamil original at all,

but unfortunately I had seen it in bits, so the gist of the story was known

to me, which eliminated  any surprise factor altogether!

 

Then again-what is the gist of the story? Revenge isn’t it…a lover avenging

his partners death and killing the bad guys. So nothing new there then!?

 

Well sort of! The novelty lies in the fact that our hero suffers from

antenograde amnesia which means that he has a memory span of 15 minutes and

forgets everything thereafter. To remind himself of people , places and events, he takes photos on his Polaroid, which he carries with him everywhere he goes. And he decorates the walls of his house with notes, pictures and memo pads.

Amir, ever the perfectionist plays this sometimes lost and puzzled, and almost always angry and vengeful man to a T. The other part of his character- a charismatic businessman who falls in love with lill Miss Sunshine, is a role that Amir has played often before and something that comes naturally to him.

Asin as the chirpy do-gooder is almost lovable and memorable, just as Jiya Khan is most certainly unbearable and totally forgettable!!

 

What distinguishes an otherwise predictable plot, is the films backward narrative

and the resulting brilliant, innovative structure.

The background music and by this I literally mean the music playing in the background is excellent!! The song and dance sequences though are average! When you know that A R rehman has rendered the music, you expect every song to be excellent, but the only song I can remember now is Gujarish and that thanks to 9Xs repeated broadcasting!!! I cant think of a single song that warranted a place in the movie and really the last thing one needs in a fast paced thriller is for the hero to break into a song and dance at the drop of a hat and wear outfits from Rangeela and Fida days, just to check whether they still fit on a well earned 6(8?) pack body!

 

Talking of body (Kumar Gaurav turned Schwarzenegger) …That’s probably the only reason I would allow Amir to get away with that violent, illogical, sometimes upsetting excuse of a movie!!!!

 

Incase you haven’t figured, I am now getting to the bit where I tear the movie apart. Much at my own risk, as half my friends reading this are members of atleast one of these fan clubs-Amir, Asin, Rehman or just Tamil Gajini!

 

But seriously guys!! Did you really like this?? Or let me frame it better. Did you ENJOY this?

I had my moments of appreciating the acting skills or the music or the handling…but overall the experience was more distressing than pleasing!

Rusted swinging metal rods for godssake?? And over and over again incase you managed to miss it the first time!

Innocuous taps used as daggers!! Girl trafficking as part of a larger scheme of organ trafficking shown as something run of the mill during a regular train journey. Unnecessary and numerous deaths-the police officer for example-was he simply a pawn in the script as a means of narrating the love story sketched to eloquent detail in a busy businessman’s diary? Or was there another reason why his character found place in the story?

 

Dark, gory, relentless violence and the movie had a U/A rating? I hope parents aren’t stupid enough to be taking their kids to watch such movies, but if like me, you are watching it at home and your kid walks in and looks at the screen with wide eyed wonder and then smiles and does his own impression of a hammering raving maniac, what do you do then?

 

I suppose its not the only violent thing kids are exposed to and one has to exercise caution in what one lets kids view anyways. But I am no kid, yet it got too repulsive for me as well! There is a fine line between violence and action  and Gajini on all counts was too violent for my Liking!!

 

And that’s not the only reason the movie falls flat! Though there isn’t a law which mandates that Hindi movies should be logical, yet….a 6 car convoy for a man who is later willing to travel by BEST and selective memory, even in a confirmed patient of amnesia-its all a bit too far fetched!!

 

Gajini, could have been a gripping and powerful pychological thriller and could have taken us to the dark recesses of a confused human mind. But in the end, it was a typical Hindi Masala movie trying to deliver on everything-humour, song, dance, romance, violence, thriller…and in trying to be everything it didn’t quiet succeed in being anything at all!

 

Do watch it once, but I suspect very few people will want to see it a second time unless ofcourse they forget the agony and end up rewinding the movie every 15 mins!!

P.S I Love You…

The odd thing about this one was that I saw the movie before I read the book. (Thank you Pal for lending it to me and I will give it back to you…someday!)

When I picked up the book, it was with very little expectation. The movie had been very likeable- a chick flick, the kind one must watch cuddled under a blanket and with tissues handy!
Since I thought I knew the story and knew how it would unfold, my anticipation of being able to appreciate the book was minimal!

I was pleasantly surprised! So also, my faith in the belief that a 100 page book is a stronger medium of expression than a 120 minute film, was restored. Actors, even the best ones, can not bring to life characters that an author can print on your imagination, by subtle play of words and vivid portrayals of every individual playing a part in the story.

Coming back to P.S, it’s a story about Holly and Gerry. Gerry dies leaving Holly to grieve alone, surrounded by reminders of her late husband and a void she cant fill up. After battling death alongside Gerry in his last few months, she is still not prepared to battle life all by herself.

Just when you begin to wonder how our heroine will fare, there arrives an envelope full of letters, each marked for a month, all written by Gerry, ones that he meant for Holly to open after he had left.
Those letters (notes) bring Gerry back to like for Holly and ultimately help her to start living again. Each of the letters are signed P.S I love you!  

While the movie and the book have the basic concept in common, there are quite a few differences. The book is set entirely in Dublin and Holly and Gerry are shown as childhood sweethearts. Whereas the movie is set in America, various new characters have been introduced while some important ones (like Hollys brothers , her father and her future boss) have been omitted. And some personalities have been changed completely e.g in the movie, Hollys mother is shown as a stern strong woman who lives life alone and was never fond of her son in law. The mother in the book is nothing like that!

The movie was a poor adaptation of the book. Yet, the movie by itself was thoroughly enjoyable. And Gerard Butler portraying Gerry was totally worth the time spent I am sure there are some Hillary Swank fans as well out there who could watch the movie only for her sake…I am not one of them.

My recommendation-Do read the book. Its tear jerking, but not sad! And  if at all, you do plan to see the movie, then see it before you read the book, so you don’t end up trying to draw parallels!