'Gam Gam Ganesha' is directed by newcomer Uday Shetty. The Summer release is produced by Kedar Selagamsetty and Vamsi Karumanchi. What is the film about? Let's find out!
Plot:
Ganesh (Anand Deverakonda) and his all-weather buddy (played by 'Jabardast' Emmanuel) are tasked with stealing a diamond worth Rs 7 crore from a jewelry shop. Once they are done with the mission, they are in for a cat-and-mouse chase.
In a parallel track, a political heavyweight named Kishore Reddy (Raj Arjun) is in for the shock of his life when one billion rupees is misplaced due to the wrong delivery of a Ganesha statue ahead of Vinayaka Chavithi.
The story moves to Nandyal in Rayalaseema, where Ganesh and Kishore Reddy lock horns with each other in eccentric ways.
Performances:
Anand Deverakonda tries his hand at an unabashed comedy role. He lets the story overtake him in both the halves. In whole segments, he is not to be seen anywhere. At times, his absence does affect the film's ability to involve the audience. Raj Arjun, who plays the chief antagonist, doesn't add to the whacky nature of the crime comedy. If anything, he subtracts from the movie!
Vennela Kishore is the only comedian who draws laughs aplenty. His character is short-lived, but for the time he is present on the screen, it is a laugh riot. Satyam Rajesh's tryst with a spurious godman leads to an interesting twist in the climax.
Technical Departments:
Crime comedies started to become the technician's preserve with 'Swamy Ra Ra' in Telugu. It is only since that film that our filmmakers started to see background score as a key input that could make a lot of difference. Chaitan Bharadwaj soaks into the trend and gives a thorough output. The cinematography and the editing could have been way better, though. The fights could have been less cacophonous.
Merits:
1. The film's idiosyncratic brand of comedy has occasional sparks.
2. Showing two friends as innocuous partners in crime consumed by self-interest is another plus.
3. The drama built around the Ganesha statue may not be intriguing but it is decent.
4. The climax is good.
Demerits:
1. The love tracks (one each with Pragati Srivastava and Nayan Sarika) should have been cute/funny. Instead, they are cliched.
2. The subplot involving Rudra, a henchman, is routine.
3. The idea of a hidden treasure in an unlikely source has been overdone by crime comedies. The writers should have come up with something more interesting.
4. The treatment of the confusion screenplay around a misplaced fortune is not smart.
5. Anand doesn't have an impactful screen time. His conversations with his sidekick continue to be in the comedy zone even in the second half.
Vox Verdict:
'Gam Gam Ganesha' would have seemed original ten years back. In 2024, though, you must watch it with subdued expectations.