Gaganam Review

                    

                 First things first! Gaganam is not a regular masala movie and people who crave for commercial potboilers can safely stay away from it. This movie is going to get excellent reviews from every corner as it is a sincere attempt to serve the audience with a non-regular cinema.

Gaganam is path breaking movie in many ways. Find out the reasons in our Gaganam Movie Review…

Story:

A plane is hijacked with hundred passengers on board. The five member gang of terrorists demands to set free one of their best man Yousuf Khan. Major Ravi (Nagarjuna) with his crew comes to take control over the situation. However, Home Secretary (Prakash Raj) who despite having full respect on Ravi doesn’t give him a positive nod as there were no orders from the Indian Government. They agree to release Yousuf Khan for the sake of hundred lives. But things go out of everybody’s control and the hijackers kill two people. In a do or die situation, Major Ravi starts operating his mission. How does he get his mission accomplished forms rest of the story?

Analysis:

Gaganam is a full fledged hijack drama which doesn’t deviate at all from the main plot at any instance. This is probably first of its kind thriller movie on Tollywood screen. There are no songs or so called commercial ingredients in Gaganam. Moreover it has a star hero in the lead role. The director sincerely tried his best to keep the audience glued to the screen with his screenplay.

Understandably, Gaganam starts off on a slow note as the director takes some time to get to the first plot point. Despite being path breaking in many ways, Radha Mohan stuck to basics of storytelling. He strictly followed the three act structure to narrate this story. He got everything right in each of the acts. However, the narration slipped down here and there as the director tried to sprinkle humor to provide some relief to the audience amidst the serious and engaging drama.

The comedy part is intelligently woven into the narrative. Especially, the satires on commercial heroes and their fans is fun to watch. There is ample entertainment in the film even when the proceedings get serious. Radha Mohan should’ve taken care about showcasing the emotions of hijacked passengers. They are not shown effectively.

Barring few flaws, Gaganam is an interesting watch all through. Interval twist and the last hour is simply superb.

Performances:

Fifty plus and still super fit Nagarjuna suits the role of a commando to the T. He gave a subtle but striking performance. The star should be commended for taking up such role which doesn’t give him any scope to showcase his heroics. Nagarjuna once again proves that he is a true trendsetter.

Prakash Raj’s role is brief but he leaves an impression with flawless performance. Poonam Kaur has a better role than Sana Khan and she did a fine job. Vijay, Bharat Reddy, Harshavardhan are good in their respective roles. Brahmanandam’s comedy is Okay. Prithvi as Shining star and his fan provided good laughs.





Technicalities:

KV Guhan’s cinematography is the major asset for this movie. Major part of the film is limited to two locations. But you hardly notice that it is confined to limited locations due to Guhan’s superb camera work. Background score is riveting in key scenes and just okay in few. Editing is fine. Dialogue could’ve been better. Production values are good.

Radha Mohan is the real hero for this film. He has thrown a challenge to himself to keep the audience interested for two hours without any diversions. He came out in flying colors. His work is splendid in the second hour and it holds the key for Gaganam’s performance at the box office.

Plus Points:

- Interval twist
- Edge of the seat second half
- Thrilling drama
- Nagarjuna’s simply superb performance
- Cinematography

Minus points:

- Few unnecessary scenes involving the passengers
- Slow pace in the first half
- Dialogue

Final Word:

Gaganam is a must watch movie for all the movie lovers. It may not go down well with the masala craving audiences but will definitely strike the chord with the class audience in A centers. It is simultaneously made in Tamil as Payanam and both the versions kept together, Gaganam should rake in good profits if the audience are in a mood to encourage novel attempts. Go for it.

Gaganam Review rating: 3.25/5

Banner: Sri Venkateswara Creations
Cast: Akkineni Nagarjuna, Prakash Raj, Poonam Kaur, Sana Khan
Music: Pravin Mani
Cinematography: K.V. Guhan