Gaami

The story is laced with intriguing elements, and while there might be a handful of moments that don't fully hit the mark, the overall narrative is quite engaging. The screenplay demands your undivided attention and a keen mind to fully appreciate its depth, adding a layer of sophistication to the viewing experience. There are moments where the pace might seem leisurely, but these are more than made up for by the sheer visual spectacle on display. The film features breathtaking visuals, from exotic locales to state-of-the-art VFX, complemented by exceptional cinematography and impeccable color grading. The background music enhances the atmosphere significantly, and while the songs are decent, the outstanding sound quality elevates the auditory experience.

Vishwak Sen's dedication shines through in his performance; although it might not fully meet the demands of the role, his effort is commendable. The rest of the cast delivers with commendable zeal, contributing to a well-rounded ensemble. For those considering watching this film, it's best experienced in a theater that does justice to its superior sound and visual quality, ensuring the fullest appreciation of its technical excellence.

Gaami is a story of a reclusive Aghora trying to find a cure for his condition. We are introduced to three parallel plot lines, much like an anthology, and we get to see the characters struggling at various levels. The rest of the story is about whether they would be able to overcome their struggles.

While this story had a lot of potential to be a blockbuster thriller, the director's lack of conviction in handling the subject makes this an average watch. The writers take almost 45 minutes to kick start proceedings in act 2 while not giving us anything to hold on to in act 1. While transition to act 2 starts with an interesting premise, the director could not sustain that curiosity into act 3. The movie falters quite drastically in act 2 with illogical adventure set pieces that seem ridiculous.

This writing needed good dialogues but what we get instead is a bland exposition that barely creates any impact. There are too many liberties taken which dilute the seriousness of the plot. Although the movie redeems itself a little bit in act 3, by the time it gets there all the interest is lost as there are too many unanswered questions in the end.

The director focused more on the visuals instead of focusing on storytelling. We barely get any reasoning for the events happening on screen and we are expected to somehow connect emotionally with the characters which did not happen.

Bottomline, this story had a lot of scope and potential to be a spectacle in the right hands. But director Vidhyadhar Kagita fails to deliver the impact.

On paper, the story of "Gaami" is impressive but when translated on to the screen, the impact is not the same. The newbie director, Vidyadhar does not allow his lead character, Shankar to connect with the audience. Never does the audience feel sympathy towards him or else feel sorry for him. By making his lead character a brooding and introvert, director does not allow the character to grow on the audience. Even with his sympathetic friends, Shankar behaves in a closed manner. There is no urge from Shankar to find a cure to his condition. He is forced to take the journey to Himalayas after he is thrown out of the Ashram. He does not own the journey and at all points of time, he tries to put a pause to his journey. With this handicap in the character graph, Director relied too much on the final twist in story to give an emotional high to the audience but by that time the final plot is revealed the audience is jaded and tired of watching the same scenes in a loop. The entire purpose of Shankar's journey is not understood. Also not understood is the existence of Jahnavi's character in the screenplay. She does not add any value to the proceedings. It is the track of the child Uma and her bonding with her mother which really gets the audience hooked to the story. I just wish the director thought of one scene where Shankar opens his heart and speaks with Jahnavi thereby connecting him to the audience. There are too many liberties taken by the director to take the story forward. He creates an impossible situation for the characters but does not show the way on how they overcome the situation. He does not allow the characters to make a bond with the audience with their tenacity and resolve when faced with adversity. That is where Gaami loses its plot.

Gaami is a man's journey to seek how it feels to get the physical touch of his own people and his adventures to get rid of the problem he has and feel the contact.

Positives:

1. The incredible hardwork of the Dir. Vidyadhar is clearly seen in each frame he directed with limited resources he had.

2. The Classic Shankar Mahadevan vocals playing in the background when Shankar is in full mood to achieve the maalipatra for leaves behind the mark in the movie.

3. The 3 characters speak a lot even though all of them get limited screen time.

Negatives:

1. Some loopholes 2. The plot twists were something that would easily get predicted if you are fond of the particular genre of the film (hollywood) but this was the very one of a kind in TFI which is the only thing matters.

3. The screenplay was good but it would be great to see if it was rushly paced in the 2nd half too feel the damn tense environment.

At the end it is a film every Cinephile must watch.

It's a really gutsy attempt from the makers to offer a unique experience to the Telugu audience, but that's all where it stops.

Apart from the adventure part, the movie has got two other subplots, which aren't really integrated well into the main plot. Being a medico myself, I predicted the story and the climax right at the beginning. Was waiting how director would execute that, but it was done so lazily. Also, the whole lab experiment seemed pointless, was dealt in the most half-baked manner. Also, the entire Himalayan voyage had so many cinematic liberties, done for the sake of plot convenience and progression.

Technically, the hardwork of all the crew is seen in every frame, superb job.

Director Vidhyadhar has done a decent job, but somewhere that killer punch was missing. Nevertheless, it was a good watch, but expected much more.