Actor Atharvaa has been mostly seen in action oriented roles and for the first time he has acted in a Rom-com titled as 'Gemini Ganesanum Suruli Rajanum' directed by debutant Odam Ilavarasu. Let's see what the film has to offer.
Gemini Ganesan (Atharvaa) comes to Madurai to invite his past lovers Lavanya (Regina Cassandra) and Divya (Aaditi Pohankar) for his marriage. He meets Suruli Rajan (Soori) who helps him to find out the two girls. During their search, they accidentally meet Priya (Pranathi) who is also Gemini's ex-lover. There is another girl Pooja (Aishwarya Rajesh) who has fallen for Gemini's kind heart (!) and is waiting for his acceptance.
The story is all about Gemini's love and breakup with these girls and who he eventually marries forms the rest.
As the title suggest, 'GGSR' is the story of a Casanova.He is a smart and lovable guy who could easily win the heart of a girl but does not take love seriously. This makes clear what one should expect from a film like this. The film ticks all the boxes required for a film in this genre. There is colorful romance with not just one but four good looking heroines, glamour, comedy and a little bit of sentiment. Hence the film would satisfy the audience who expect a time pass entertainer.
There is nothing new in the concepts or presentation. Even with such an age old story, the director could have worked harder and added some fizz to the love sequences. As the hero attracts the girls with a drop of a hat, there is nothing interesting in the love sequences that take the predominant part of the film. But as said earlier, they may be attractive to young girls thanks to Atharvaa's smart and cure expressions and dialogue delivery and young boys due to all good looking heroines, with a couple of them oozing out glamour in the songs.
Also the comedy portions by Soori and 'Naan Kadavul Rajendran' do not work as much as expected in a film like this. Soori makes us laugh only in the last 30-40 minutes and his antics in the first half fail to evoke even a smile. However it has to be said that he sets the screen blazing in the last half an hour. He also gets to utter some serious and emotional dialogues in these sequences which he does aptly. There is also a hilarious twist involving his character and that is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the film.
The bigger problem with the film is the way it deals with its female characters and the portrayal of love. For a large chunk of the film the director uses playful romance of a romeo hero with almost brainless heroines to entertain the audience. The director shows girls falling (literally) on the hero. These are the tropes used to portray heroism in the 1990s and 2000s but the present day audience with enhanced awareness about gender equality in films may not relish such portrayals of boy-girl relationship. For the last half an hour the director makes amends with dialogues that criticize the hero for taking girls for granted but this blatantly looks like the course correction step to avoid criticisms. The only saving grace here is that the film does not justify the hero's exploitation of girls and also never resorts to women bashing in any form.
Atharvaa has given a very lively performance with cute expressions and a different dialogue delivery in funny scenes. His performance lifts many unimaginative scenes in the film. Out of the four heroines Regina and Pranitha are extremely good looking and seductive. Aaditi Pohankar fits the requirements of her role while Aishwaraya Rajesh gets to portray a somewhat dignified role but still a powerhouse performer like her can be utilized better.
T.Siva as Atharvaa's father has done a neat job while Mayilsami lights up the screens with laughter with the limited scope he gets. That reference to Sasikumar and Samuthirakani is simply hilarious.
D.Imman's songs are just passable and a couple of them grab the eyeballs for the way they have been filmed. Rerecording adds the fizz for the hero's romanticimage. Sree Saravanan's cinematography gives the best to add the much needed colorfulness for the film.
Verdict: As the title suggests 'GGSR' is the story of a Casanova. If you are clear on what to expect from a film like this and you don't have big expectations go for it and you may have a good time pass.
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