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Actor Aamir Khan's latest film Ghajini rocked the box office, taking in 100 per cent collections across the country on its opening day Thursday, an executive of the movie's India distributor said.

Aamir Khan, who was present at the trial run of the movie at a preview theatre in Mumbai Wednesday, reportedly said that Ghajini has created a record by becoming the first Bollywood movie in recent times for which the tickets had been sold in advance for all five days of the opening week across the country.

According to trade reports, in view of the unprecedented audience expectation for the film, the multiplexes are asking the distributors to increase the number of prints. The decision in this regard has not yet to be taken.

The movie has been released within the country with 1,400 prints. Reliance BIG Pictures has released 213 prints overseas.

Meanwhile, Ghajini raked in Rs 70 million during 650 paid previews at multiplexes in India on Wednesday. "Although the movie has not received uniform favourable reviews, the hype created around it has worked wonders and there is little doubt that the movie will turn out to be a super hit," said a trade analyst.

source:zoomtv.in

Cast: Aamir Khan, Asin, Jiah Khan

Director: AR Murgadoss

Watching him in Ghajini, I don't think I've seen Aamir Khan having this much fun as an actor in a long time.

It's an old-fashioned entertainer with a half-convincing plot, packed with enough gratuitous violence to qualify as a B-movie really; and like the most popular B-movies ever, the biggest strength of Ghajini lies in the fact that it's a fast-moving roller-coaster ride that seldom gives you a moment to stop and think how stupid it might actually be.

In a premise clearly inspired by Christopher Nolan's Memento, Aamir Khan plays Sanjay Singhania, a hot-shot industrialist who turns into an obsessed killing machine dedicated to tracking down his girlfriend's killer. Having been hit on the head with an iron rod, he suffers from short-term memory loss and can't remember anything for longer than 15 minutes; as a result he must tattoo his body with instructions that will lead him to his prey.

Abandoning Memento's fantastic non-linear narrative and opting for the more conventional flashback device, writer-director AR Murgadoss throws in an engaging back-story in the form of leading lady Asin (playing smalltime model Kalpana) and a love story brimming with originality and the kind of gentleness that you don't see at the movies anymore. It's a romance that takes you by surprise, and to an extent puts the film's intense action into perspective too.

Faithful remake of the director's Tamil blockbuster, Ghajini is over-the-top and exaggerated in its comedy, its action and its drama, but what irks you most are the half-dozen or so creative liberties and coincidences that the makers resort to, in order to bail themselves out of tricky screenplay situations. Here's a little sample - you're expected to believe that Sanjay Singhania is a well-known millionaire industrialist, and yet no one has seen him in pictures or in person.

Logical loopholes like these would be the albatross of any half-decent film, but 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.

Of course much of the film's appeal lies in watching leading man Aamir Khan approach his role with an unmatched fervor. Whether it's beefing up for the part, or oozing that schoolboy charm, or then the manner in which he explodes in rage each time he's reminded of Kalpana's brutal death, you can't take your eyes off the screen when he's up there.

He finds a worthy nemesis in Pradeep Rawat who plays bad guy Ghajini, your stereoptypical 80s Bollywood villain, complete with gold chains, white shoes and menacing sneer. Rawat is decidedly loathsome, especially in the scene in which he enjoys watching our hero writhe helplessly as he offs his girlfriend in front of his eyes.

At the emotional heart of the film is Tamil actress Asin making her Bollywood debut as the mischievous, happy-go-lucky Kalpana, who benefits from a superbly-written character that is hard to get out of your head even when the film's ended. Asin has undeniable screen presence and such joie de vivre that you can immediately relate with the hero's anguish over losing her.

In a thankfully small role as the medical student who helps our hero achieve his goal is Jiah Khan who has a screechy voice and a forgettable presence.

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. For the Singh Is Kinng generation, here's another time pass entertainer.

I'm going with three out of five for director A R Murgadoss' Ghajini, this is Aamir Khan's way of telling us, 'Anything that Shah Rukh or Akshay can do, I can do just as well.'

Watch it for the ride.

Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)

source:ibnlive.com

As Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Ghajini vye to capture audience attention, it is once again the clash of titans at the Box-Office.

Both Shah Rukh and Aamir claim their right to stardom's ace seat. But as far as Three Idiots which incidentally is what Aamir's next film is called, is concerned the actor says the title should go to the three Khans of Bollywood.

"My next film Three Idiots will have me playing the character of an idiot along with Sharman and Madhavan but Shah Rukh Khan, Salman and I are the three idiots of the film industry," Aamir joked on a tour to the capital to promote Ghajini.

The actor tried to avoid questions from the fans about the infamous fight between Shah Rukh and Salman. "Fight! how can I dare to fight with Shah Rukh. He is a very good friend and I have a lot of respect and love for him."

The actor, who give special haircuts to fans joked," I am promoting Shah Rukh's film Billu Barber."

Friction between the two stars has been out in public for some time now with Aamir claiming in an interview that King Khan was "scared" to work with him.

When questioned about Shah Rukh Khan's recent claim of being the biggest star in the industry, Aamir took an indirect dig at the actor by saying, "People who are No 1 don't state the obvious. For me Amitabh Bachchan is No 1. Does he ever claim about it. Does Lata Mangeshkar claim about it. Superstars don't need to say anything about their status."

Asked about competition between him and Shah Rukh Khan with Rab Ne... and Ghajini releasing almost simultaneously, Aamir said, " The public will answer that. I don't compete with others. I compete with myself. Talk about the competition is nonsense."

Talking about his role in the film Aamir jokes, "My character suffers from a short memory. So, he keeps forgetting my dialogues on the sets troubling my director. I was so engrossed in the character, you see."

The actor is pulling all the stops to market his film, which is a remake of a superhit Tamil film. Aamir turned barber today and gave Ghajini style haircut to fans in Delhi to promote the film.

The star appealed his fans to sport the hairstyle. Aamir also denied that the film was violent or unfit to be viewed by children. "It is not about massacre. It is an action film which centres around a rather beautiful love story. It talks about a person's life and how he deals with certain situations," the actor said. Aamir is using a very personalised way to promote the film ahead of its Christmas release.

The Box-Office responses of the film is eagerly awaited after Shah Rukh's film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi released recently to good opening collections, according to the producers. Ghajini will probably give an audience verdict of who is the best among the two stars -- Shah Rukh Khan or Aamir Khan.

source:ibnlive.com

Aamir Khan ‘dedicated’ Sunday afternoon to his physical trainer, Satyajit Chaurasia, who helped him sculpt his body for Ghajini.

Flanked by bodyguards, the actor invited his media friends to the Barbarian Gym, Versova, to introduce everyone to the trainer and ---- about how they worked out together for 13 months to achieve the results desired by the film director AR Murugadoss. A 10-minute ----- traced the body sculpting, showing the gradual changes in the actor’s body. “I hated it in the beginning but didn’t want to let my director down,” said the ever-so-perfect actor. When questions about the six-pack abs of the other two Khans were thrown at him, Aamir answered them with enough caution to not upset them. “I am not competing with anyone here and did what was required for my film,” he replied, politics well in check.

Showstopper The trainer let out how Khan’s yelps when made to do a dozen pull-ups could be heard even in the restaurant above the gym. “If Aamir bhai didn’t follow my instructions, I would simply give him a tougher exercise set. That used to drive home my point,” laughed Satyajit.

source: screenindia.com

Ghajini is next week's big release and Aamir Khan is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the film releases with a bang. Among the innovative marketing drives for Ghajini was this attempt to get people to copy his now famous bald look from the film.

Over a 100 employees of a leading multiplex chain got themselves Aamir's bald look from Ghajini and Monday morning saw Aamir himself posing with his look alikes.

“I think that the staff and the chain are being a part and viewing this film as an event, I'm very happy,” says Aamir Khan.

And it is believed that the staff members were not forced to go under the barber's scissors.

“My girl friend was opposing this but I said I will do it,” says a staff member from the Big Cinemas.

But if you don’t get to meet Aamir, you can catch a full sized Aamir Khan statue with his 8pack intact at any mutliplex near you.

“The intention of the statue is just like that of a trailer for the movie,” adds Aamir Khan.

Hopefully the film delivers much more than the trailers promise.

source:ibnlive.com

Post Mumbai terror, bollywood business has been hardly affected. Most of the cinemas in Mumbai call off shows due to less audiences. Perhaps this may've prompted people to assume that Aamir Khan's much awaited ‘Ghajini’, which is confirmed for Thursday, 25th December, might get pushed to the New Year. But it's not true!

Madhu Mantena producer of 'Ghajini' express that the film will release earlier. Till now, the film was slated for release on Thursday, 25th December, but the makers have decided to release it on Wednesday, 24th December night. "We're organising paid previews across the country on Wednesday night, which means we're releasing ‘Ghajini’ a day earlier," Madhu Mantena says.

Sure, the release date of ‘Ghajini’ has been altered. It's Wednesday, not Thursday!!

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan on Tuesday said that his forthcoming film 'Ghajini', which is scheduled to hit the silver screen on December 25, will be his first full-fledged action film.

"After 'Fanaa'(2006), 'Ghajini' will be my first commercial entertainer in a long time. It will also be my first out and out action film," Aamir said at the formal trailer-teaser release of the movie in Mumbai.

The action in the film is quite special, he said.

"We wanted to release the film during Diwali but it got delayed due to the muscle-tear injury I suffered during the film's shooting," Aamir said.

Aamir, who has sported a muscular build in this film, said that he had to work-out for almost an year to get the physique.

"I started my work-outs during the post-production of 'Taare Zameen Par'. I exercised at least 3-4 hours everyday," Aamir said.

"It was only after 2-3 weeks of training that I realised what I had gotten into. I realised it was more of a mental game than a physical one," he added.

'Ghajini' is a remake of the Tamil film of the same name which in turn was inspired by psychological thriller 'Memento' directed by Christopher Nolan.

Directed by A R Murugadoss, 'Ghajini' also stars actresses Jiah Khan and Asin Thottumkal.

source:screenindia.com