AK shows how it otta be done!

Have u seen the Nagarjuna-starrer Mass? Don No. 1? Chiranjeevi's Indra-The Tiger? Nope?? Well then the new AK starrer may not be ur cup of tea...or is it? well frankly i dunno....

AK continues to surprise the audience with a new turn as a loverboy-turned-maniacal killer in this south-ishtyle entertainer...The movie isnt wat u wud expect frm the perfectionist, since we are accustomed to being made to think aftr watching most of hs movies...and with hs habit of raising the bar a few notches high wit every movie, m not surprised tht most of us expect the moon frm hs next venture every tim...so its pretty much an anti-climax whn AK returns to the big screen wit a film as hardcore-devoid of logic-commercial as any and catches the viewers on the wrong foot...m not gonna get into any of the loopholes/cliches, which r plenty in number as wel as severity....simply bcz for the entire running tim of 3 hr 5 min (yep its tht long!), i dint look at my watch even once...and tht is a mark of hw engrossing/gripping ths movie is! its not a masterpiece, its not a landmark, it may not even b anothr feather in Aamir's gloriusly over-crowded cap, but entertaining it sure is! and hugely at tht!

The direction hs a distinct south-indian flavor and it works big tim bcz of the conviction wit which AK plays hs character...its lik he believes ths guy exists and it is him! ur willing to suspend disbelief during the corniest of action scenes....simply bcz they dont seem corny with AK getting into the skin of the character....any othr actor in ths role and i wud hv laughed my way thru the 3 hrs...hats off to Aamir for having the guts to try out a mainstream, commercial role and doing more than full justice to it...Asin is gorgeous and does a fab job...Jiah Khan is miscast! and i especially hated the guy aftr whom the movie is named...he and hs band of goons is so nauseatingly cliche tht they seem to belong to a completely diffrnt movie...the screenplay hs a couple of gaping holes...and the background music can get on ur nerves at times...but its all in keeping wit the mood of the movie...the action scenes r raw and stylishly shot and executed...music is a (not really necessary) filler...but every song wit AK in it is brilliantly shot and presented...unfair to othrs but true!

At the core however, wat keeps the movie togethr othr than AK, is the delightfully penned back-story, which is breezy and interesting, primarily bcz of the lead actors...and the clinching aspect for me ws tht the movie wsnt pretentious or preachy at al...it didnt pretend to b intelligent or sermonizing or morally correct...all it did ws entertain! and thts not saying less...bcz i dont remember a recent movie tht made me sit thru the entire 2.5-3 hrs without giving a single yawn or fidgeting uncomfortably or looking at my watch even once...

Finally, Ghajini is no Memento...its not even close in terms of class...but in terms of style and performance, it sure does pack a powerful knock-out punch!

Adding to the original post on 27/12:
Here's wat Mr. Masand hs to say...pretty much wat i hd in mind :)
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Ghajini works despite its shortcomings because it's a reliably dumb film that is unpretentious in its intentions. Unlike many dumb films that take themselves way too seriously, Ghajini is a dumb film that celebrates its dumbness......
Ghajini isn't a particularly good film, but entertainment it delivers by the bucketful. At a running time of 3 hours, the film seldom drags and therein lies its victory.......
this is Aamir Khan's way of telling us, 'Anything that Shah Rukh or Akshay can do, I can do just as well.'
"
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/masands-verdict-ghajini-is-dumb-and-celebrates-it/81344-8.html
Spoiler: Sanglichi Mulgi Sai Tamhankar plays an "important" part in the movie- tht of the second female lead's close frnd who appears on screen almost everytim she does...thts two in a row for Sai after Black and White...hope to c her in a lead role in a Bollywood flick soon :)