Vijay Sethupathi and Aditi Rao Hydari in 'Gandhi Talks'.
Credit: Special Arrangement
In an industry filled with blaring clatter, ‘Gandhi Talks’ speaks with no dialogue!
There has been a silent ‘class’ wave in Tamil cinema in recent history. Pioneered by the likes of Mari Selvaraj, Vetrimaaran, and Pa Ranjith, the films investigate the ever-present divide that exists in ‘classes’ and ‘caste’. Following within the same lines of consciousness, Kishor Pandurang Belekar’s ‘Gandhi Talks’, designed as a formal experiment, as a film with no dialogues, the dichotomous lifestyle of the rich and the poor becomes the pulse of the film.
The story, standing on par with the zeal of the ‘wave’, happens to be about Mahadev (Vijay Sethupathi), an unemployed graduate, who plans a heist to break out of poverty, marry his love (Aditi Rao Hydari), help his ailing mother, and start a new life. The film is veneered with dark humour while the dread of the class rebellion simmers underneath.
Although, very simply, the attempt at such a fresh experiment with major stars is commendable, the film seems to struggle to integrate the pace and the lack of dialogues in the film. The editing doesn’t adapt much to this unconventional endeavor, which further derails the poignancy of what the film is attempting to do. Silent and slow cinema depends a great deal on the acting to flesh out the vividness of the characters and the story. The film is guided emotionally and tonally by Vijay Sethupathi, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Arvind Swamy’s performance and A R Rahman’s music. The form seemed like it could have done more to accentuate their roles.
Although the film falls short, the audacious cinematic gamble, in a time of creative draught, needs to be celebrated.