A day in the life of LIFE

Well, I know you’d find this as one of the strangest titles that has appeared on a blog post, but this actually fits the bill in more ways than one. Let me explain.

I am just back from the screening of “Ghajini” @ Inox, M.G. Road, Bengaluru. Hence thought of compiling my experience with the movie in this post.

For starters, the movie, in my opinion should have been named Sanjay Singhania instead of Ghajini for the simple reason that this is the name of the protagonist in the movie and revolves around him. Also, just as “Har fillum mein tumhara naam Vijay kyun hota hai?” that was asked of Big B, Singhania is the most common name that suits the ubiquitous businessman of Bollywood flicks. The not so nice name of “Ghajini” that reminds me of the plunderer who made frequent appearances in my class V history text book, happens to be that of the big bad villain in the movie.

Without divulging the plot, let me try and provide the readers with a personal opinion on the movie.

Ok, before that, let me outline the preparations that we had undertaken prior to watching the movie.

This was a family outing that included my octogenarian grandma who is a keen movie watcher and a current affairs expert. A call from my buaji two days ago warned that the movie contained a high degree of violence which might not be suitable for ages 60 and above. My lion hearted grandma dismissed the statutory warning with disdain quoting that she could not be shaken by a mere movie. (Incidentally, she had watched the movie Anniyan (Aparichit in Hindi) and had found the violence digestible)

We however did not want to take a chance and had the necessary precautions in place –ear plugs, eye masks, water and other paraphernalia. I also chose the seats that were close to the emergency exit just in case she wanted to avoid the gory scenes mid way. Our seats in the hall resembled those on a long haul flight from Bombay to Boston – I missed the air hostesses though..

The movie began with the usual scenes of action and *dishum dishum*. Even as the eight pack Aamir(competing with the six pack Shahrukh) thrashed the hooligans and sent them to the cleaners, the entire audience sat staring in awe. A blow to the left and one to the right, and this was enough to have the watchers mesmerized. I was in charge of monitoring my grandma – if at all she experienced any discomfort. To our surprise, all the serious stuff that the actors tried to enact and demonstrate as a testimony to their bravado, attracted laughter from my grandma who found the sequence comic. So much so for the statutory warning!

Once we were all in the groove – the movie began sinking in. The ever charming Asin made her presence felt in her Hindi debut. Her grace, demeanor and acting matched what was expected of the role. The music of the genius – AR Rehman with the lyrics of none other than Prasoon Joshi did justice to the exotic locales featured in the songs. Then of course the “life size acting” by none other than the master performer Aamir completed the movie. Oh! Did I forget Jiah Khan…She’s almost like a cuckoo who pops out of the clock when you least expect her to. Her role is analogous to Parthiv Patel being the 12th man in the 2nd innings of India versus Nigeria.

But I must admit that the first half of the movie is as natural as it can get – the exuberance of youth portrayed by Asin definitely bowled me over and reminded me of the liveliness of Kareena Kapoor in “Jab We Met”. Some of the most subtle emotions are brought out in the best possible manner. The second half is packed with action primarily focusing on the “hero” accomplishing his mission. Tightly gripped but gets just a little prolonged at times. All in all, definitely a movie to be watched - at least the first time. My rating - 4 out of 5. applause!applause!

Many might disagree with me, but, folks, I kinda liked the movie. Very well packaged indeed. Btw, even as I type this post, Times Now reports that a computer game "Ghajini" has also been released, with some part of the background voice given by Aamir himself. Talk about publicity....way to go...

As for our family outing, the ambience of Inox transitioned into the comfy environs of Mc D’s (yup I have frequented it thrice in the past 5 days – they almost thought I was an employee out there…)

Aamir – good job mate! You’ve left Shahrukh far behind…

Till next time - I’ve decided on my next flick; Chandni Chowk to China..Deepika here I come…