Sunday, July 26, 2009

Ghajini vs. Memento

Ghajini vs. Memento
(contriuted by: vjkdua, July 26, 2009)



Earlier this evening I was reading about an opportunity HT group gave to Chetan Bhagat to write a short story. Bhagat was of the thought that there are few such opportunities and welcomed it more because of the free hand given to him. The topic of his choice seemed more obvious to me and was discussed over a few weeks back at NDTV, where the author also showed his presence.

These thoughts from Bhagat made me get back to my thoughts on the film ghajini, based on the 1992 Hollywood flick named 'Memento.' A few days back, I wrote to Aamir Khan at his BLOG and posted my thoughts on how I felt about the two movies. ghajini on one hand shows a man building up his muscle power to fight the goons who took away his girl, while Memento's central lead, would only be seen scratching his body hair to put rememberance thoughts.


This act by the two leads made me get deep dive into the process which made them do so(build body, put thoughts on the skin). For sure, both had similar experiences (though I faintly recall, how and why the Memento lead got to this situation, however considering the event which spurs it all is losing the love of their life.)


If one gets into the thinking mode and puts oneself into others shoes (here, others skin), one gets to think that if such a traumatic experience comes to oneself, how many of us would be in a position to take revenge, after all who would not want to get evil with the evils who did it all.

The first thought comes to the alive mind, is how would one emotionally react to the situation on realising that one's loved one is no more with them and it brings to shatter the dreams one had. For sure, it must be a great emotional loss and must be unbearable and one would want to die.

However, as one comes to sense (here, the loss of sense and memory was referred as short term memory loss with a 15 minute timer). After all, when such a loss happens, how would one realise that there has been such a memory loss. Would it happen one fine day, that the man shall look into the mirror, and ask "Hai you talking to me ?" (for sure it can only be asked if are a DeNiro fan), however coming to the reality of such a situation, it seems difficult as to how would one experience such a (memory) loss.


To understand the situation more, let me get into other similar situation though cannot find one of same magnitude, yet situations from forgetting where I left my book, cheque book, my wallet or any material object, in my case, it has to be a pen, after all what would you expect a writer to react to, on losing an object of his affection (I aint got a pretty kalpana in my life though).


I took a little gap, a breather (as IPL folks would say a refreshing break...all for commercial reasons, i got to find more such reasons for me though), Now that the break is over, I am back in action, and would straightaway go to the climax of my thoughts. After all what made me get deep dive into the mind set of two leads. The questions that come to my brawn brain are:

1. Is one emotionally in a position to get to onself and take revenge;
2. Is everyone capable to take revene in such a manner (for sure if everyonez being talked about, movies and their central leads, dont belong to that category, you gotta be an extraordinary, ordinary man..woofff... to get such an opportunity)
3. Would the approach be to simply put on flexi muscles and get ready for the job (though here there seemed many other tasks involving clicking pics of every piece of rememberance and creating a billboard and stick up all those pictures, must have taken a while)
4. How do I realise, if I am going through a short term (memory) loss, only a smart would man realise that...after all;


These thoughts are worth thinking since this is what creates a difference in the presentation of the two leads (ghajini vs. Memento).

However, the latter as I always felt scored over the other in terms of the reverse order of the screenplay and the originality of it, which would have been alarming for the Indian audience, for we consider them too mentally alive, but often are so engrossed with the day today lives, that one can only assume that they get used to the mediocrity of life and fail to appreciate, such nuisances of reverse order of screenplay. I think only the Hollywood audience, though none less the generation of today as well would have been able to adapt to such story telling, however it would have doomed Aamir's sky-rocketting Box Office Collections. However, here I end my thoughts about comparing the two flicks.

Though the only question that raises an alarm in my head is - would one have the courage and determination, to build up muscles and go for the kill.


For sure if you have a gymn guru your side, whose ready to put you to a regime why wouldn't you go with a bulging body to let the goons be surprised and after all it adds to the film climax. However, Memento lead with visible skeleton of his body, could do none less however would not have fitted into the image of an emotional-ready-to take revenge hero, if presented like wise in the Indian version.


Whatever approach one may follow and how hard one may train, the loss of losing one's LOVE is common to the two movies.

There may be more questions, raised on what sort of indianisation we do the originals and how typecasted we still are, more of it, later.

This Blog is dedicated to the spirit of movie makers ready and raring to make more meaningful movies and the critics my kind wanting to highlight the critical areas of today's cinema, besides I want to thank my ex-manager, Sid...aka...Mr. wai wait wait, who gave me the inspiration to begin using the online forums and write something deep inside me. Besides, my buddy, Nitz...as we love to call him, who would be too busy to read it all, hope he finds time to read it. In addition, I would like my new fb friend, Mr. Khalid Mohamed, who gives me more a reason to write and hope, I have been able to write following his footsteps (i knw sarjee...getting too emotional now) but hope that Khalid ji goes on to read it and gives me a word of advise or two. And not to say the least, Chetan Bhagat for whom I already wrote a few words at the start of my blog, thanks for the simplicity of thought you offer in your work.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

MJ - R.I.P (1958-2009)


Jacko…R. I. P
(High energy performer, great inspiration)
Contributed by: vjkdua, July 05, 2009



So finally I get back to writing about MJ...>> as ever i dunno where to begin from...but itz been 5 days i have been following every news and view about him....talking about him..listening to his music...everyday there is some advancement...

letz begin it from the Beginning...I have olrdy spoken so much about him that itz kinda diff to repeat it ol in absence of an audience. I do have an audience in my mind...so lemme write about MJ thinking of her...after all who doesnt needs an inspiration to write....>> so here i write for him thinking of you...you are my mysterious friend...>>someone only i knw about...!

It was 7.30am June the 26th and i was out of bed soon dis time with my new schedule to lead life more meaningfully and just as when i began, someone finished his story...here i was making a call to confirm the arrival of my cab and to my surprise flashes the newz about the king of PoP...being no more on Earth...he left for heavens..coz his heart wont pump him more blood...it was a surprising newz..shocking...and as days go ahead...it still cannot be believed.

Playing in the background are the beats from...Billie Jean...hmmm hhmm uuhh unn hh un hhu unhhu ...i am d one...!

m so very tired lying in my bed...listening to him dat my bodyz paining but it cannot be more than the pain jackson went thru...i feel his death has got me so very close to myself...he was a soulful person...! a high voltage performer..

Here I shrink the screen, unplug the headset, switch off the modem and look behind the wallpaper with jacksonz picture, searching eyes..Grey Aviator...needled wig with long hair..red lips, pointed...worked over nose...as though thinking wats my next move..

Here's the picture I was looking at:



Till few sec back, song playing in the background, has now been replaced by a running MP3 and so very visible to me while I can, not only write and but watch him as well. This song has been running for over 10 hours on my laptop and am still not bored of it...how could i be...if the rest of the world wouldn’t ...crowds in uncountable number dance and humm to his music...every move of his is reacted to, people yearn for his presence his silence (aka his presence) makes the audience so damn crazy...he lifts a briefcase...he moves, pulls a hat out and wears dat silver glove...every move is so very orchestrated and awaited that people cheer for him...there isn’t anyone in the crowd whose silent...every one has flow in their body...every jerk in his body so very well synched with the music...as though the music is emulating him and not him reacting to the beats...

Billie Jean...as my first perception was, was a tribute to his guru, the one who taught him MoonWalk... but after 4 days i know itz a song about a gal who claims to be the ONE...and has got him a son...and jacko says it isnt his SON....weird...ha ha ha...atleast in indian context this may be very amusing(as a song, however the story is the same ol ovr d wrld) ...Jacko wrote, sung and performed on it and it so very much tells his own story....with his mom telling to be careful when falling in love or else a lie may become a truth...though not exactly as may have happened to him...but yes every story about him became a mystery..be it child molestation...him experimenting with his body, buying Elephant Man's bones...to being not a MAN and what not...!

Lyrics from Billie Jean…
People always told me be careful of what you do
And dont go around breaking young girlssss heartzzz
And mother always told me, be careful of who you love
And be careful of what you do, cause the lie becomes the truth

But the black boy aged 5 performing Jackson Five turned into the most enthralling power packed performer. Borne as the 7th child in a family of 9 siblings...Jacko began performing at the age of 5 beginning with JACKSON 5...and reached heights. By the time he was 13, he began performing solo, age when not many can think of beating those chart numbers...so he began life performing at peak and this was what led him to maintain the standards...people fail to understand.



As stated in interview with Oprah, Jackson admits to have lost his childhood and the purchase of Neverland (Ranch) was a wish to relive and fulfilll the dreams he could not as a child.

But the five year old had immense talent and agreed in an interview that he never sung anything he didn’t feel about..a remarkable thing for a little kid to say.

After all there may be many who begin at such a less age, reach heights...but Jacko had an aura at age 5 when performing with his siblings...As i heard, read, faintly recall that Jacko was beaten up when failing to perform as expected by his Dad...may be that discipline and the harsh treatment made him perform so very diligently as he grew up...so he was trained hard from the moment his talent was recognised...and his success is so very much attributed to his parents...his father especially...not many may heard about..!

As a kid he says, he would come back home after school, and then move to studios peforming, giving interviews. Jackson asmits what his father made him go through and he would cry when he would be on the way to work, seeing kids play in the garden and he would miss that. He says he was so very scared of his father's sight. But he was also embarrased to haev shared it all, but him talking about forgiveness (to his father) gives an idea what he and his siblings went through. Acc. to MJ...he was a golden goose for his father.



By the time Jacko was 18 he had beaten every chart number that existed.





However this is the end of my know how on him and how he performed after that...his death made me read, listen, discuss more about him...then what i did my entire life. So very subconsciously I followed him in my dance moves...dancing which i was so very afraid of, but listening to chart numbers from Black Or White, Thriller or Remember the time…makes me remember those days, when he was at the peak of his career, somewhere he never got off from.. There are few who maintain such standards and consistency, however his success is so very much attributed to everyone from his parents to siblings, audiences who liked and praised him, to his album directors, and other technicians…besides his friends…

He was a power performer and learnt the art very early in his life and continued to learn new things and kept giving those performances with the same zeal. As I witnessed having seen him perform on numerous albums, repeated times at varying locations. What was common at all performances was the audience reaction, crying girls, falling over bodies, dancing bodies, his zeal and passion…except the geographical change, referring to his visits worldwide, be it Japan, Kuala Lumpur, India, Australia…he was on a mission to win over the world.

Adding to his stored responses by training hard before each performance and learning new moves, he gave the world a handful number of exciting video albums.

Not only he lived like a king, but he died very much so, making him a Legend. He still lives in people’s hearts and shall never die.



His signature Moonwalk moves…something many have performed, however none made it so popular as much he did. He was ably assisted by technicians who must have added to his performances..but a performer gets better when marketed well..you cannot market and make someone perform if he is not worth it. In the process of maintaining the performance standards, Jackson as people perceive experimented with his body to change the skin color, sharpened his nose and what not.



His energy levels make me an intense follower of him since he is able to get me an insight about myself. The energy he vibrated touches us all…whether we may like or dislike him, we talked at length about his achievements, his failure to manage controversies…and what not. But he became a part of our discussion. The best thing heard about him was how he “brought people more close when he died.” He shall be remembered forever as long as the world persists till another world beater comes and supercedes his performance. However Jackson was not just a performer, he had an aura about, he had the energy, he came up with and he put all efforts to maintain the expectations he set to his audiences.

Someone so soulful like him made such a remark on the people around him, however we fail to understand that not everyone is destined to live and die like him. So there must have been some force that made him perform so and added to those moments that made him larger than life.

I just went through a 1995 interview Jackson gave to famous television anchor Oprah Winfrey and it reveals how soulful, innocent and emotional Jackson was. He had immense love for children and had created an entire set up for cancer impacted children at his Neverland Ranch, where kids would come every 3 weeks and be entertained via joy rides and other means including an in-built movie theatre where Jackson would himself spend time with the kids. Such a person cannot be believed to have done what media allegations blame him off.

He admits being harshly treated alongside his siblings by his father and also very logically and with ample reasoning denies all controversy created by tabloids. Jackson popularly known as the king of pop was termed so by his closest and dearest friend, Elizabeth Taylor who humorously says she would have wanted Jackson to propose her. Being very soulful people and having had similar childhood experiences, Taylor and Jackson became best of friends and the former must have shared the vast experience of how to deal with the burden of stardom and do much as much possible for the needy using one’s celebrity status.

Why I watched the interview..it got me answers as to why I felt so close and linked with Jackson. The answer lies in the following:

“Jackson takes me close to my father since him being successful, being a celebrity had a price to pay which is least understood, hence there is a lack of ‘realisation’ by people around (though I know his controversies are attributed to media), a word very commonly used when remembering my father.”

“After all why do we realise only after someone goes away….may be they go away to make you realise their worth.”

I have read more and may want to put down my thoughts on the same. Let me till the moment go ahead and submit all I have written and then follow up with further details.

My favorite albums of his...Billie Jean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ6TcvXqtHM

Michael Jackson - Superbowl Performance - Live
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HbTjFn7KjE

Lots more to come…!