Here's more than just a sneak peek of Gajini. I can be so generous as to critique the movie for any potential viewer who also happens to read this blog. My succinct opinion of the movie - it's ok. Mediocre.

I would imagine the plot is hardly a surprise, given that at least two movies on the same theme have already been made. I have not watched the Tamil movie so cannot take the liberty to compare.

The movie manages to grab attention in parts but fails to sustain it for the remainder. It could definitely be shorter by an hour, at least. I'm guessing the editor fell asleep while doing his job and it's hard to blame him. The romance lacks conviction and falls flat. There is no chemistry whatsoever between Aamir Khan and Asin. And when a character is avenging the death of a beloved, he had better be able to convince you that he is insanely passionate about her.

And yet again, I'm not sure you can blame the lead actor because simply put Asin is intolerable. Unbearable. Extremely trying on the nerves. After a staggering number of movies that bear testimony to the fact that VERY few actresses can pull off the whole "i'm so cute/adorable with strong ideals/convictions" image, actors, directors and screenplay writers should be much more discerning about using this stereotype. Jiah Khan does little for the movie. She desperately needs some acting and voice modulation classes. Aamir Khan is good but his is not a superior performance and definitely not one that will help overcome the other weak links of the movie. But brownie points to him for that great body. He looks fantastic and much younger too.

The plot is not consistent in the sense that Aamir's memory span is not consistently 15 minutes. It is when the director needs to play on it but at other times, it's open to slight modifications or adjustments. The songs just present themselves for no reason at all and even Rahman's music lacks the zing. Prasoon Joshi's experiment with novel lyrics went a little awry to an extent that the words just sound odd. But some of the camera angles are interesting and the action sequences are powerful. A lot of gore and raw anger but works well.

Gajini had a chance of working well, say 10 years ago. At a time when Hindi cinema is veering towards movies that have "real" characters and plots, the whole 'ruthless goon who kills people just to kill time' and the 'avenge for love' angles are jarring. I doubt even an Aamir Khan can pull it off.

And if you are someone who has watched Memento, here's a handy tip. A bit of a hiatus in memory would be useful; you don't want to believe that one movie has anything to do with the other.