Asin loves Archie
Asin and her Japanese co-star Tadanobu Asano will start training in Kalaripayattu for Bharat Bala’s film 19th Step from June 4.
The gorgeous Asin (who most of Bollywood is threatened by after she walked away with Best Debutant trophy at the Filmfare Awards) had hurt her hand, and hence, the training in the traditional form of martial art had to be deferred. Asin says, “My hand is fine now. I’m in Chennai for a couple of days for some commercial, then I will fly to Cochin and later to Trivandrum for the kalari training.” Asano has also arrived in India. He took the train from Cochin to Chennai to meet Kamal Haasan the other leading man in the film. He will join Asin for their on-screen combat. While on the topic of Asin, the girl is still loyal to her childhood memories (her family albums, toys, dresses and gifts). Her greatest love was and still are her favourite Archie comic books. “I have been stuck on them since I was nine years old,” she reveals. The Ghajini star says she has the biggest collection of them and still keeps adding to it. She can’t go anywhere in the world unless Archie accompanies her.
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The gorgeous Asin (who most of Bollywood is threatened by after she walked away with Best Debutant trophy at the Filmfare Awards) had hurt her hand, and hence, the training in the traditional form of martial art had to be deferred. Asin says, “My hand is fine now. I’m in Chennai for a couple of days for some commercial, then I will fly to Cochin and later to Trivandrum for the kalari training.” Asano has also arrived in India. He took the train from Cochin to Chennai to meet Kamal Haasan the other leading man in the film. He will join Asin for their on-screen combat. While on the topic of Asin, the girl is still loyal to her childhood memories (her family albums, toys, dresses and gifts). Her greatest love was and still are her favourite Archie comic books. “I have been stuck on them since I was nine years old,” she reveals. The Ghajini star says she has the biggest collection of them and still keeps adding to it. She can’t go anywhere in the world unless Archie accompanies her.
and some more. Regardless, it always seems to be a reason behind a film's success. If it exceeds 
Drawing contrasts between the two version of Ghajini is quite difficult because director A R Muragadoss remained quite true to his original masterpiece. In fact, rarely did they differ from the original dialogues. Of course one does not blame him the least bit. Why sabotage something that is already a hit formula. Although, some small tweaks were made in the script and screenplay to prepare it to appeal for its new targeted audience. Unlike Tamil cinema audiences, Hindi cinema audiences may not have the stomach for the violence that Tamil cinema is accustomed to. The makers rewrote small sequences in the action segments of the film which was a very wise decision to ensure appeal to its new audience. In addition, the glamour quotient has been raised in particular for song sequences, perhaps with a higher production value (merely a speculation). However, A R Muragadoss didn’t stray off completely from the true essence of Ghajini, which is that at heart it remains an action packed adventure so definitely don’t go in expecting a totally action-toned-down version of the Tamil Ghajini.
The main focus of drawing contrasts that perhaps you are interested in is the performances. Was the perfectionist really perfect for the role? Was Jiah the right counterpart to Nayantara? The former is a difficult question that we’ll get to in due time but the latter is quite easily answered. And that is no. Jiah Khan simply did not look the part of a final year medical student. Perhaps this role should have come at the time of her career when her talent had been better groomed. As for now, the maturity required for the character was certainly not present in Jiah’s performance. She did not look or act the part. One wonders why Nayantara wasn’t brought over for the role like Asin had been or why Kangana Ranaut didn’t remain signed on. After witnessing Jiah’s performance, you’re almost certain anyone would be better than her.
Surya Shivkumar was the original Tamil actor who did the role of Sanjay Singhania (originally Sanjay Ramasamy), and when one has witnessed his performance it is hard to imagine that someone else can step into the same shoes. Although, it can safely be said that Aamir Khan came very damn close to delivering an as perfect performance, and in fact it is almost impossible to think of anyone else in the Hindi film industry who’d do justice to the part. Aamir’s performance is both endearing and heart breaking depending on what was required, particularly in the opening sequence where the audiences discover his mental situation. You really feel the pain of a man who everyday has to wake up and find out that the woman he loved the most in this world is no longer in it. The only sequence, in comparison to the original, in which Aamir fails is bringing across the expression of confusion. Surya was more successful in bringing across the emotions of a man who is constantly lost but still is on a mission that he is not too sure about what it is anymore. This was a particular highlighted expression in the original introduction sequence of Sanjay where he is beating up Ghajini’s goons but at the same time is very lost as to what he is doing or why he is doing it. In order to successfully convey this situation a better use of background score was also needed. Like our very own reviewer, Aly Kassam, pointed out in his review of Ghajini, the background score was amateurish in various portions. Even though it may seem as if it doesn’t contribute much to the performance of an actor, it certainly does contribute in getting across a character’s situation because it creates an atmosphere of emotions for the audiences to feel.
Lastly, the music of the original was a chartbuster to say the least, and it was very wise to entrust this big responsibility upon the man that never fails, A R Rahman. Of course picturisation was bollywood-fied without any typical Tamilian numbers such as 'Rangola' in the original, which would not have been a hit up North as much as down South.
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