Ghajinikanth Review: Forgive and forget

Director Santosh P. Jayakumar‘s first two films  Hara Hara Mahadevaki and Iruttu Araiyil Murattu Kuthu won attention for the adult content the film carried. It is for this reason that his latest film Ghajinikanth was promoted as a family entertainer. A remake of the Telugu film Bale Bale Magadivoy, this film is a comedy entertainer starring Arya and Sayyeshaa in leading roles. The film does try to stay true to its genre, however, it falters due to its inconsistent writing and the lack of genuine jokes.

The story of the film revolves around Rajinikanth (Arya), who is named after the superstar when he was born in a theatre screening which screened Dharmathin Thalaivan. Not just the name, he also shares a trait similar to Rajinikanth’s’ in the film Dharmathin Thalaivan – he has a forgetful nature. This nature lands Rajinikanth in a series of embarrassing situations, so much so that his parent’s find it a tough task to find a suitable match for marriage. He later falls in love with Vandhana (Sayyeshaa), who is unaware of his nature. Will she ever find out? That forms the crux of the story.

Ghajinikanth is a long and over-stretched comedy film without good laughs. It also lacks a genuine sense of curiosity with its inconsistent writing. This brings us to speak about the love angle between Ghajinikanth and Vandhana in the film. The director employs the usual troops for the introduction scenes of the heroine. Heroine walking in slo-mo, being friendly to children, smiling randomly, giggling without a reason – and the hero admiring all this and falling in love. This is not just a cliche, but also an ingredient for boredom. Vandhana’s character is written keeping in mind one very important factor: The girl should be smart to look like she’s just out of a saloon, and dumb enough to give a competition to all the silly and badly written female roles in Tamil cinema. And the character does just that! She believes in everything the hero says. And never questions him. I was waiting for Sayyeshaa to break out of her role in the film, and scream out loud saying ‘If you guys write better roles for me, I don’t have to go through this’. Because she lip-syncs well, seems dedicated and shows interest in dance.

The performances don’t shine through. However, the scenes featuring actor Naren are a laugh riot. He’s in such terrific form, that directors can take note and cast him in good comedies. There’s another scene which takes place at the baby naming ceremony which draws a lot of laughs. These scenes are genuinely funny, as the situation creates laughs. The second half of the film is what is engaging. With the story moving swiftly and giving some twits, the interest to watch the film is temporary. However, this can’t be said about the rest of the film. The characters try to create a comic situation, which doesn’t seem organic.

The film does get its story right, which is quite interesting. What seems interesting is the lack of a compelling factor that convinces you to sit through. Sadly, just like the protagonist who has memory loss, this film will urge to do practice the same technique after you’ve watched it.