'Gangs Of Godavari' Movie Review

'Gangs Of Godavari' Movie Review

Cast: Vishwak Sen, Neha Shetty, Anjali, Goparaju Ramana, Hyper Aadi, Nasser, Maank, Vinod Kishan and others.

Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Cinematography: Anith Madadi

Producer: Suryadevara Naga Vami

Writer - Director: Krishna Chaitanya

Vishwak Sen is one young hero who made his own mark by selecting different scripts right from the start of his career. Krishna Chaitanya is a director who made acclaimed films like 'Rowdy Fellow' and 'Chal Mohan Ranga'. They both teamed up for a rustic gangster drama like 'Gangs Of Godavari'. The expectations are quite high on this movie and let us see how the movie turned out.

Story:

Rathnakar alia Ratna (Vishwak Sen) is an orphan who grows up in a Lanka village near the Kovvur area of Godavari district. He wants to grow big at all costs in the society. He commits a robbery and gets a soap dealership. He joins MLA Doraswamy Raju's (Goparaju Ramana) group and becomes a trusted man. He falls in love with Bujji (Neha Shetty) who is Doraswamy's rival Nanaji's (Nasser) daughter. Certain situations make him turn against Doraswamy and become an MLA with the help of Nanaji. The problems for Ratna start after he becomes an MLA. What are those problems? What twists will his life take? How does his story end? Answers to these questions form the crux of the story.

Analysis:

'Godfather' is a classic evergreen film in Hollywood. This is the most successful formula in world cinema. A lot of stories arrived that showcased the story of a man who started from rags and became super rich by building his own empire. A lot of movies arrived with a similar line in Indian cinema as well. But the backdrop and narration pattern change from time to time. The recent pan-Indian blockbuster 'Pushpa' has a similar story as well. Sukumar took the world of red sanders smuggling as the base for his story. Krishna Chaitanya took the never-seen-before Lanka villages in the Godavari area as the backdrop for 'Gangs Of Godavari'. It is the biggest highlight of this movie. Though the story moves in a predictable pattern, the different setup and interesting sequences along with good visuals and an intense background score portray this film as different from the rest.

As mentioned before, 'Gangs Of Godavari' is a movie that flows in a certain set pattern. The hero starts from zero, reaches the top, faces downfall and decides to give a strong ending to his story. This is the basic path of the movie which starts with the dialogue, “Leave Shame If You Want To Become Great.” We get an idea of the hero's character with this dialogue. A guy with such a mindset becomes a big shot in his area. This is how the first half runs and we get a feeling of freshness due to the Lanka villages backdrop. How the hero uses the people around to climb up in life is narrated in an entertaining manner. All his plans working out and the hero getting bigger with each passing day appears way too convenient but the proceedings never bore you. The audience will surely get a kick out of the scenes where the hero joins MLA and ends up beating him by standing against him as an MLA candidate. The youth will love the romantic portions as well. The interval block action episode will surely impress the masses and Vishwak showed his prowess in this scene. The hero elevation worked out wonderfully in this scene.

'Gangs Of Godavari' runs on a high till the interval. It is common for the audience to enjoy the rise of a person. But the public will feel despair when the lead character starts to face the downfall. This is why the second half looks a bit dull. Krishna Chaitanya should have scripted the latter half in a better fashion. The drama works to a certain extent but it pales as the time passes by. But a few scenes lift the falling graph and the Godavari boat settlement scene is one of them. Had the writer-director included more such scenes in the second half, 'Gangs Of Godavari' would have reached greater heights. The ending of this film is just okay. The climax is not what people would have expected. The director dealt the end portions in a sensitive manner. The payoff to Ratna's character is quite good. 'Gangs Of Godavari' is a mass film that pleases the masses but manages to not look like a regular routine commercial movie. Despite a few flaws and a less effective second half, 'Gangs Of Godavari' is a definite one time watch that you will enjoy.

Performances:

Lankala Ratna's character will become a memorable role for Vishwak Sen in his career. He played a role that is bigger than his image till date. It is quite rare to get such a powerful character at the early stages in his career. We usually prefer watching big heroes in this kind of role but Vishwak managed such a huge role with his top-rated performance. He portrayed all kinds of variations very well. He excelled in scenes where he brought out unseen shades from his character. His acting in a few mass scenes will bring cheers from the crowd. He delivers a commendable performance throughout.

Neha Shetty gets a role that has scope to perform. Though she did glamour show in a song, she fits perfectly into the role of a village girl. She did very well in a few scenes. Anjali proved her acting prowess once again. Everyone cannot portray the prostitute role convincingly. She showcased her professionalism and did a wonderful job. Goparaju Ramana got a meaty role in 'Gangs Of Godavari'. He used it very well and delivered a superb performance. Nasser showed his experience within the limited screen time. Tamil actor Vinod Kishan was okay in his role. Hyper Aadi was as a sidekick of the hero did good work. The actors who became rowdies in the Lanka area too did a fine job.

Technicians:

The technical quality of the movie is top-notch. Yuvan Shankar Raja hit it out of the park with his background score. The intense BGM elevates the proceedings a lot. The songs are decent as well. They go with the flow of the movie. The cinematography is another highlight. The visuals are wonderful and suited the theme of the movie. The production values are very good and the Sithara Entertainments banner has spent more than required. The quality can be seen on the screen.

Writer-director Krishna Chaitanya showed his pen power once again. Just like his first film 'Rowdy Fellow', he wrote amazing dialogues for this movie too. Many dialogues will hit you in the film and the spark is visible. Though the story is nothing new, he makes sure that the narration does not bore you at any point. The screenplay is quite tight in the first half. The second half had its moments but the graph goes down a bit. Krishna Chaitanya scores good marks as both director and writer.

Verdict: 'Gangs Of Godavari' – Intense Gangster Drama

Rating: 2.75/5