Gajini - A Review

Saw the Asin-Suriya starrer on Saturday. At the outset, the film was a disappointment as it did not live up to the high expectations set mainly due to it being directed by Murugadoss who had earlier directed the super-hit "Ramanaa" starring Vijaykanth. The director promised a lot with his first offering but has submitted himself to the whims of Kollywood in this movie.

The idea of how a short-term memory loss patient survives was novel, the use of polaroid photoes in particular. But having Suriya to tatoo all over his body (that too in different font styles) can at best be considered a fashion statement.

Thanks to Asin's bubbly, effervescent character, the first half of the film moves real fast. Somehow, her character reminded me of Karthik's cameo in "Mouna Ragam". There was this scene where Asin helps a blind man cross the street, on the whole way explaining what's happening in the neighborhood which was a direct lift from the Oscar winning "Amelie". In one way, we should appreciate the director though, as thats how our Tamil audience will get to see a taste of French/International cinema. And in another scene Asin cleverly helps school girls on crutches to cross a gateway with animal trap pipes. Its a good scene, only that it was a little stretched & the BGM played havoc. It would have done more good if they had had the scene in silence or the screeching sound of the gate getting moved or may be a very light music in the background.

Asin helping the physically challenged & the girls in distress does come out well though the message the director wanted to convey - that of woman empowerment - comes out poorly. In these days when college students, girls in particular are asked not to wear low-hip jeans & sleeveless/tight fitting tops by the self-appointed moral police, when Kushboo's views provokes anger & the expressions of woman poets get ridiculed, I should say Murugadoss had wasted a good oppurtunity as he could have sent the message even more strongly.

The unnecessary songs inbetween slowed the tempo of the movie very much. When will our directors learn how to use the songs to good effect? May be we can follow the Hollywood style of placing part of the respective song in the BGM alone instead of showing the whole song shot at some exotic location. (but hey, according to this rediff report, may be our music directors will get offended if the songs aren't given prominence!)

While Asin's on-the-spot creativity evoked good humor initially, the director suddenly pulls the plug on her when she's alone in her house with 4 goondas waiting to kill her. A more better plot towards the end would have helped the movie. Also, showing the second twin villain at the end was a wasted effort so was that of the Police Inspector who promised much while investigating but soon dies crashing against a oncoming lorry while running face-on. Nayan Thara comes & goes with little impact. And hey, why is the film named Gajini? Any guesses?