There are little joys to hold on to in Gandheevadhari Arjuna. One of them is (which is really more of a relief) the absence of Muslim fundamentalists in this high-stakes, life-or-death thriller. This is not to discount their threat, nor is it reason enough to make a film better on its own but, this has been a trope done to death in films across this genre, to the point where you wonder whether the presence of bad Muslims is just a crutch or plain propaganda. Gandheevadhari Arjuna relieves itself of Bad Muslims and by default the need to install a good Muslim to balance the narrative and establish good intentions. But the relief dies quickly sometime in the middle of the film, when you realise the obviously contentious Muslim angle swapped out for something safer, and sadly, profoundly uninteresting. If you have been one to zone out as a school-going kid at all the environmental science lectures, this is not the film for you. Adulthood is long and depressAing as it is and not one second of it should be dedicated to listening to platitudes on the importance of a planet being saved. That is, unless, you get a really interesting story out of it. Since there is no space for such an exception to find footing in this film, it might as well find itself a mention in the thankless throes of preachiness.
Director – Praveen Sattaru
Cast – Varun Tej, Sakshi Vaidya, Nasser, Vinay Rai, Vimala Raman
Gandheevadhari Arjuna is not even a film for you if you are a fan of this particular genre. Of course, not every film in the international, somewhat political thriller space will appeal to its fans but we, as a cinema-going audience have gone far beyond finding ourselves satisfied at a mere nod to a genre’s conventions and little else. There is a mercenary here played by Varun Tej (though there is nothing mercenary-ish about him, which makes you wonder if a scene about him being an undercover/ embedded agent has been cut out of the film). The rest of the usual suspects comprise a police officer who keeps munching on chips and McDonalds while at work (Narain), a woman who has to work with her ex, a villain who creates personal stakes to get something he wants and a student on a mission. And we thankfully get a film that uses real locations throughout its runtime, though how sad it must be if the lack of green screens is what we are grateful for, as the citizens of cinema in 2023.
The penury of relief continues with the presence of Nasser. It is always a pleasure to watch him, even when is merely going through the motions. Be it in a D-Day or a Jengaburu Curse or an F2, where he has played high-ranking government officials of different shades, he has an assured, strong presence.
If one has ever wondered how a film set in London with leather jacket-wearing heroes saving the day, a day where a United Nations conference should take place to be precise, will find takers in audiences outside cities…then you must look at the women in the film. For all the globetrotting, goose-chasing missions, Gandheevadhari Arjuna does circle back to the plight of two mothers. There is one mother facing the risk of losing her child, while another child faces the risk of losing his mother. One wins, other loses. Now this isn’t a pithy relief, nor does it form the basis for drama worth getting invested in. It just exists, and it speaks volumes about how we continue to tell our stories despite tinkering with the packaging of it all. We still have a long way to go in terms of crafting thrillers and high-octane, stylish action flicks in this industry, despite the presence of one Adivi Sesh. There is very little relief offered intermittently throughout Gandheevadhari Arjuna, but that truly begs the question – Is that what people actually come to theatres for?
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