Cast: Vishwak Sen, Neha Shetty, Anjali, Nasser, Hyper Aadi and others
Director: Krishna Chaitanya
Ratings: 1.5/5 stars
After impressing in the role of Aghori in ‘Gaami’, young actor Vishwak Sen returns in a dark role in his latest film ‘Gangs of Godavari’. He puts in a good performance but goes overboard at times and tries to salvage poorly-etched action films. He is good in action episodes and in love moments. The protagonist becomes ruthless and selfish since his father (Sai Kumar) was killed by his people living on an island for opposing a feudal lord (Nasser). However, the father-son bonding goes for a toss due to the truncated screenplay, so when the hero lights the pyre of his father(the toughest moment of his life), the audience fails to empathize with him.
Director Krishna Chaitanya was caught in a wrangle-whether to make a film where upper caste rulers are merciless towards lower caste or to make a low-caste hero reach the height of power by becoming an MLA and ending up making a mishmash. Probably, the director was in a hurry and pushed through things to make a hero-centric film where the hero rises from being a small thug to head sand mafia gang and much faster, an MLA within no time, like 'Pushpa,' to leave the audience in despair. Allu Arjun earned this larger-than-life image after 20 years of hard work and huge talent.
Coming back to Gangs of Godari, unfortunately, when the hero resolves to reform for the sake of his wife and kids can't draw huge sympathy since it looks quite contrived. Actress Anjali utters a few cuss words as she plays a prostitute who is in love with a hero, while Neha Shetty is limited to a few tear-jerking scenes and nothing much. Another big disappointment is the pathetic musical score by Yuvan Shankar Raja who belts out spineless songs and music.
The film opens in jail, as Vishwak Sen is attacked by his opponents who want to eliminate him, while he fights out. In the flashback, it is revealed that he loves Anjali and also aspires to become rich overnight to gain respect and dignity. Thereafter, he joins the ruling party MLA (Goparaju Ramana) and involves himself in sand smuggling. He also falls in love with pretty Neha Shetty, the daughter of rich landlord Nasser. He manages to hoodwink his boss and becomes an MLA. What will happen to his life thereafter, forms the rest of the story.
Vishwak Sen is a good actor but he could have restrained himself in a few emotive sequences while saving his family from attacks. He is cool and confident while playing a lover boy, but it is hard for him to carry a larger-than-life role. Neha Shetty who rose to fame as ‘Radhika’ in ‘DJ Tillu’ becomes a mother of two kids in this movie and she tries to reform her ruthless husband. Anjali scores well, while Goparaju Ramana is a misfit to play a dreaded villain. Hyper Aadi and the team evoke a few laughs.
