Ghajini (2008)

Directed by: AR Murugadoss | 170 minutes | thriller | Actors: Aamir Khan, Asin, Mohit Alawat, Jiah Khan

One of the biggest Bollywood sensations of 2008 is a remake of Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece ‘Memento’. As usual in Bollywood cinema, however, the story takes on a twist of its own.

It’s all about the amnesiac Sanjay Singhania. In the first scene of ‘Ghajini’ we see how he kills an unknown man with a water tap. Why he suffers from amnesia and why he seems to kill at random is completely unclear at first. The only hints we get are the tattoos on Sanjay’s body. In short, these amount to: ‘Kill Ghajini’. Why this Ghajini should be killed is totally unclear. You therefore have no sympathy for this dangerous madman. Until a detective finds an old diary of Sanjay, in which the love story of the immensely rich telephone magnate is recorded. From this story – told in an extended flashback – it becomes clear what is the cause of Sanjay’s amnesia and enormous anger.

Aamir Khan puts in a top performance as the frustrated Sanjay Singhania. He is terrifying as an amnesiac aggressive person. but turns out in the flashback to actually be a very sweet man. Khan knows how to portray this enormous contrast very well. Aamir Khan is one of the great Bollywood stars. He played his first roles in the 70s and really broke through in the 80s. In 2001 he also started producing films. His first production was ‘Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India’, in which he also starred. This film was a big hit in 2001 and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, among others.

‘Ghajini’ is a very exciting and romantic movie. The film doesn’t really have to be about songs, unlike many other Bollywood films. However, the good acting performances of Aamir Khan and the beautiful combination of past and present make up for this loss. However, ‘Ghajini’ (like many Bollywood films) is a long one: the film lasts almost 3 hours.