Ghajini () is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by A. R. Murugadoss and produced by Salem Chandrasekharan. The film stars Suriya and Asin in the lead with Pradeep Rawat as the main antagonist, along with Nayanthara and Riyaz Khan in the supporting roles. Harris Jayaraj composed the soundtrack and background music, while R. D. Rajasekhar and Anthony were the film's cinematographer and editor, respectively. In the film, Sanjay Ramaswamy (Suriya), once an eminent businessman, develops anterograde amnesia due to a head injury he got while attempting to save his fiancee Kalpana (Asin) from getting murdered by a gangster (Pradeep Rawat). After that, he sets out to avenge her murder with the aid of photographs from a Polaroid Instant camera and permanent tattoos on his body.
This film is loosely based on Hollywood movie Memento.The film's production began shortly afterwards in April and was completed by September on the same year. The film was shot at Chennai, while two song sequences were filmed in Switzerland. It was dubbed and released in Telugu by Allu Aravind in November 2005, and received positive reviews with praise for the performances of the lead pair and the plot. It was remade into a Hindi film by Murugadoss again in 2008, with Asin, Rawat and Khan reprising their roles while Suriya's and Nayanthara's roles are played by Aamir Khan and Jiah Khan. The film's story takes inspiration from the Christopher Nolan film Memento (2000) and the 1951 film Happy Go Lovely.
Plot
Chitra is a medical student, who along with her friends are working on a project about the human brain. Chitra wants to investigate the curious case of Sanjay Ramaswamy, a notable Chennai-based businessman who is reported to have anterograde amnesia. Her professor denies access to Sanjay's records as it is currently under criminal investigation. Overcome with curiosity, Chitra proceeds to investigate the matter herself in secret.
Sanjay is suffering from anterograde amnesia; he loses his memory every 15 minutes and uses a system of photographs, notes, and tattoos to recover his memory after each cycle. It is revealed that Sanjay is ultimately out to avenge the death of his lover Kalpana and that he is systematically killing the people responsible. Sanjay's main target is Lakshman, who is the head of a Kolkata-based human trafficking network and a notable socialite in Chennai. Inspector Ravi is on the case of the serial murders, who tracks Sanjay at his flat and knocks him unconscious. Ravi finds two diaries titled 2002 and 2003 where Sanjay has chronicled the events of his life.
2002: Sanjay Ramaswamy is the owner of the AirVoice mobile telephone company, who meets Kalpana, a struggling model, and secretly develops romantic feelings for her while introducing himself as "Manohar". Eventually, both of them spend time together and gradually develop a liking for each other. The diary ends with Sanjay proposing to Kalpana and promising himself that he will reveal himself as Sanjay Ramaswamy if she accepts.
Present: Before Ravi can read the 2003 diary, Sanjay regains consciousness and ties him up. He tracks down Lakshman to a college function where Lakshman is the guest of honor. Sanjay takes pictures of Lakshman and decides to kill him. However, Sanjay mistakenly attacks and kills one of Lakshman's goons in the parking lot. Lakshman is perplexed and fails to recollect the incident. He decides to find and kill his enemies one by one, but Sanjay is not among them. In the meantime, Chitra visits Sanjay's flat and finds Ravi, beaten and bound. Chitra finds the two diaries and frees Ravi. Sanjay arrives suddenly; he remembers neither of them and chases them out. Ravi is eventually hit and killed by a bus, while Chitra barely escapes, going into a phone booth.
Believing Lakshman is in danger, Chitra informs him that Sanjay is after him. Sanjay discovers that Chitra had warned Lakshman and goes to her dormitory to kill her, where Chitra calls the police and Sanjay is arrested but later freed. Lakshman discovers about Sanjay through a police inquiry and arrives at Sanjay's flat, destroying all the photographs, and notes, and scratching off Sanjay's tattoos. Chitra reads the 2003 diary, which states that Kalpana accepted the proposal, but on the condition that she marry only after she completes her past commitment. The diary ends abruptly as Sanjay left for a business trip. Chitra investigates further and discovers that Kalpana was traveling to Mumbai for a modeling assignment by train when she rescued 25 innocent young Tamil girls being trafficked to Mumbai and Kolkata.