Indian Cinema at its worst

The desi version of the Hollywood flick Memento , one of Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece and arguably one of the cult movies in the way films are being made in Hollywood , Ghajini starring Mr. Perfectionist Aamir Khan belongs to the class of crass Bollywood masalas that go on to become money-spinners without there being any storyline whatsoever. Other notable films in this elite list include Om Shanti Om, Singh Is King etc.Such films come riding on a wave of expectation and frenzy being generated by their million dollar promotion campaigns and even before the audience realize that they have been made ‘MTV bakras’, the film has already hit the jackpot and is a super hit. Perhaps, none of the moviegoers earn their money “hard” which is why a section of them even go for a “revision”. Also the layman who has gone to the multiplex for the first time to watch these terrible movies being swayed by the hype created all around, with some actors even going to the extent of donning the hat of a barber, he is left with no alternative but to enjoy the 3 hours of first class A.C and come out smiling at the end of the movie for having a good nap and say sweet somethings about the head(movie!)ache when faced with the overzealous media. And this brings us to the basic question as to why such movies are made in the first place. Those of you who have had the privilege to watch Memento will admit that everything other than Asin about Ghajini was like a horror film gone terribly wrong with the end result being a C grade Tollywood soap opera that leaves you with a feeling of indigestion. Recount the scene when Ghajini, the villain is just about to thrash Asin with a poker in the head, when he impetuously plonks the iron rod a couple of times on the ground that reminded of an overcautious Rahul Dravid hitting the pitch with his bat on a “green top” in an attempt to smother the uneven bounce and sideways movement .And then he hits Asin with such grace which reminded of the now fallen from grace Tiger(in the)Woods hitting a birdie. And Aamir Khan takes idiocy to an altogether new level with his shouting antiques every time he is confronted by the hapless police officer who appeared like a mouse in a lion’s den only to be bullied around. The officer’s inclusion in the film was quite inexplicable and when they could find no further part for him in the storyline, he was done away with by being hit with a speeding vehicle. And can anyone tell why Jiah Khan, who was only there to cry and cry more to create a flutter around herself and being rightly reprimanded for that by Ghajini and his men, was part of the film at all? And admittedly Aamir Khan didn’t understand the theme of Memento which inspired him to make the easily gullible desi version for the desi men and women. This is what you mean by social reform with a difference in the process making him a laughing stock of the B-town. But when such movies go on to become the highest Bollywood grosser, it reinforces the question- whether the Indian movie audience can at all appreciate the difference between good cinema and bad cinema or do they have to necessarily like a B-grade movie just because the cast includes a certain someone called Aamir Khan!!!!!