'Gargi', which is presented by Rana Daggubati, hit the screens today. In this section, we are going to review the box-office release.
Story:
Gargi (Sai Pallavi) feels let down by the sudden turn of events on a day when her father Brahmanandam (RS Shivaji) is detained by the SR Nagar police for allegedly raping a 9-year-old minor girl. Gargi, who works as a school teacher and is waiting to get married to her boyfriend Balaji, is clueless. She feels that her father has been and wrongfully incarcerated owing to police high-handedness. She teams up with a part-time lawyer named Gireesam (Kaali Venkat) to secure justice. Who is innocent and who is the culprit?
Analysis:
Director Gautam Ramachandran's narrative works well for the most part. It does hit choppy waters in the middle portions, but the climax is fairly engaging.
The film is not interested to narrate a standard-fare crime thriller. It is told as Gargi's story and that's why the title. The fact that the title of the film is after her character is a give-away. The world-building is not done urgently and over-indulgently.
In the initial portions, Gargi is seen listening to the news while at her workplace. She is indifferent to the news of rape, probably because she has been numbed by sexual harassment as a child. Colour yellow has come to be associated with traumatic memories.
Kaali Venkat is introduced as a pharmacist in Gargi's neighbourhood. Eventually, he becomes her beacon of hope in tough times as a part-time, no-nonsense, ethical and compassionate lawyer. How the face of Gargi's incarcerated father is hidden from plain sight for a good part of the movie is an example of creating tension.
The final act is edited with care, and the air of tension that hangs over the film reaches its consummate evolution here.
On the flip side, the courtroom portions could have been done better. The transgender judge's sexual identity hasn't been leveraged well. The defence lawyer's background as a pharmacist comes in handy but it is convenient. Though there are no contrived segments in the legal drama and the pacing is largely proper, somehow it doesn't manage to engage the audience throughout. It's a blessing that the film doesn't talk about the media trials in a routine manner. The love track is also narrated without much fuss.
Sai Pallavi's A-class performance could fetch her awards. In a few ways, her performance transcends the nuances seen in her Vennela act in 'Virata Parvam'. She has fewer lines, but the impact is nevertheless strong. Saravanan, Kavithalaya Krishnan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, and Livingston play different parts.
The background score by Govind Vasantha adds to the film's atmospherics. Sraiyanti and Premkrishna Akkatu's cinematography is on the plus side.
Verdict:
'Gargi' is a technically-adept movie. Writing-wise, it has some shortcomings. The performances are able.
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