Vidyadhar Kagita’s Telugu film is unrelenting and an emotionally charged epic all along; production design and cinematography elevate the film to a whole new level
For the most part of its runtime, Vidyadhar Kagita’s Gaami remains a grand deceit. It willfully creates a labyrinth and almost gets lost in its own creation, until it springs a surprise on everyone involved in the experience. That is to say that the viewer remains as clueless as the film’s protagonist Shankar until the very end and the former discovers as and when, and just as much, the latter wraps his head around the story. And boy, does he endure a task to figure out just what in God’s name is the deal with himself as he embarks on a mighty journey that is both physically and emotionally gruelling. It’s a journey that demands patience and perseverance on his, and our, part but the payoff, luckily, is rewarding.
Shankar is an Aghora living in a Haridwar ashram but his time there has come to an end because he has become a liability. He brings trouble to the ashram, we learn, but not having a home to his name anymore isn’t his only problem. There’s a curious-looking, and sounding, disorder that he has lived with for a very long time wherein any human touch, even a simple caress of the hand on his skin, will immobilize him. A huge gush of energy runs through his body and before you know it, he is quivering on the floor with his life almost sucked out of him
Sprawling canvas, both picturesque and sterile
As a ploy, this bit is superb because you have a mainstream film and a mainstream hero but this hero cannot be part of a physical fight because of, well, the touch-me-not disorder. So, the director must ideate a different film altogether here to compensate for those thrills we expect from a high-stakes film such as this and still evoke the idea that the hero is important here. And right on cue, quite gradually, Vidyadhar begins a neat subversion game.
In fact, he doubles down and lends his hero another ‘weakness’ and says he has forgotten why and how he is who he is today, let alone knowing anything about his condition. Shankar must now head to the deepest crevices of the Himalayas, we are told, in which exists a mystical shroom that will cure all his maladies away. He is joined by microbiologist Janhavi (Chandini Chowdary) who has an agenda of her own to go on this incredibly tall and testing pursuit with him. But this physical journey through the snow is only a means for Vidyadhar to reveal that there’s lots more to the story and that the film, actually, isn’t about Shankar alone. Just as his world of Sadhus and impassioned spirituality, there reside two other such stories, and possibly two other timelines, that could not be more dissociated from one another.
First, there’s the dystopia-like medical facility somewhere on the Indo-China border where nameless teenaged lab rat ‘CT-333’ (played by Tumbbad guy Mohammad Sammad) is among the many humans held captive for minacious experiments. In parallel, we are transported to a village where Durga, a Devadasi on the verge of dying, must protect her daughter Uma from falling into the clutches of a few bad people. Shankar’s towering pursuit to find the cure then fully comes to the fore as we gather that he is subliminally connected to both CT-333 and Durga/Uma. And what his journey eventually reveals is profoundly way, way more than what he sought initially.
Vidyadhar Kagita scores high points in introducing these varied worlds to us and the production design (by Pravalya Duddupudi), ably supported by the cinematography (Vishwanath Reddy Chelumalla and Rampy Nandigam) accentuates them with some incredible detailing. The entire team has evidently made painstaking efforts to realize the sprawling canvas of the film that’s as picturesque and vivid as it is sterile and desolate. But the highlight does not stem from the visuals alone but from the efficiency with which the screenplay (written by Vidyadhar and Pratyush Vatyam) navigates such dense material. Just when we expect the film to yield and resort to clichés, it poses a new challenge to itself and consistently places its protagonists in extremely precarious situations.
Not half-hearted by any means
If Shankar is forced to forge a battle with Nature itself, the boy in the medical facility and the mother-daughter must fight the worst of human evil that has lurked among us all forever. Consequently, we get a superbly visceral and brutal edge-of-the-seat thriller that just keeps giving. More importantly, this is a film that valiantly pushes the envelope as far as storytelling is concerned Gaami, in a way, could do to Telugu cinema what Tumbbad did to Hindi cinema a few years ago.
I loved the fact that Vishwak Sen, in all his effervescence, gave it a go for an unlikely role that is largely one-toned and ‘non-heroic’ in its build. Yet, the actor exudes confidence and gives it his all, anchoring the tough narrative with his screen presence. He is extremely well supported in the cause by MG Abhinaya, Harika Pedada, Mohammad Samad and the ensemble cast, who bring great gravitas to the film.
Could Chandini Chowdary’s character have been written with more agency and novelty? Perhaps yes but understandably, her role is meant with the specific purpose of being an accessory to Shankar and the writers do a fine job in the end to round things off in that regard. I also felt that Naresh Kumaran’s background score wasn’t as ‘daring’ enough as the film itself and even though it does its job of elevating the tone, the soundscape should have better complemented the stunning visuals (including some top-notch VFX work).
But despite its share of shortcomings and tropes that don’t work, Gaami is a film that is emotionally charged and is not half-hearted by any means. As pointed out already, its nearly 2-hour-and-30-minute runtime can test our patience but the sheer conviction behind the making and the emotional strength of the story work wonders. It’s a one-of-a-kind theatrical viewing that must be given a proper shot.
