Gam Gam Ganesha review: Anand Devarakonda & Co struggle to save this messy caper

In Gam Gam Ganesha—Udan Bommisetty’s debut directorial, new characters and plot twists emerge on the whim but seldom do they manage to have the impact that they intend to.

A comedy caper reminiscent of the work of filmmakers like Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino, Gam Gam Ganesha begins on a promising note.

It springs an occasional surprise, too, at us to keep the ball rolling. However, the final result is far from worthy of our attention.

It lasts about 2 hours and 20 minutes, with neither the tropes employed by the writer-director nor the performances of the ensemble cast working in the film’s favour.

Synopsis

The film follows Ganesh and Shankar, two petty thieves who are tired of burgling small Kirana stores and are looking to score a big heist to find a place in the sun, at least for now.

In parallel exists cutthroat politician Kishore Reddy (Raj Arjun) who is eyeing a win at the upcoming by-election but he finds the current chief minister in his way, seizing the big load of cash he had accumulated for his not-so-honest political campaign.

Both parties hatch a plan to solve their respective troubles and the rest of the film showcases how their paths cross to invite only more trouble.

New participants come in, new developments happen and new secrets are unveiled, as everything converges towards a manic climax that brings to the fore the key facets of the human mind like fear, greed and a sense of deceit.

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Goes terribly wrong

So, where does the film get it wrong? Well, let’s just say Gam Gam Ganesha is one of those films that often cuts to a lengthy gag (sometimes more than just one) when the story demands otherwise.

It’s a film that fails to recognise the tone it wants to adopt. However, under the garb of entertaining us throughout, it becomes aimless in its stride. At one point, both the gags and the plot cease to be engaging.

Granted, some of the humour in the film, in isolation, is worth a few laughs but when those jokes contribute very little to the proceedings, they simply become liabilities.

The Kurnool/Rayalaseema lingo adds a bit of rusticity to the experience, but that alone doesn’t save the day.

It’s perhaps the Jathi Ratnalu (2021) effect that still lingers in Telugu cinema that silliness is accounted for girth in the story.

Anudeep KV’s now-cult film might have been diluted as shorthand for success today but many tend to forget the fact that there resides a strong emotional core (however farcical that might be!) that helped audiences to root for the three misfits and see them through against the mightiest of antagonists.

However, in Gam Gam Ganesha, the investment on the viewer’s part is found lacking because the film doesn’t draw you close to the protagonist and his desire(s).

The need to be funny rather than compelling takes over the story at one point. As things only get convoluted with time, the film meanders without a strong purpose.

Even the explosive climax sequence, which has almost every single character brandishing guns, too, isn’t able to fully salvage the effort.

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Performances weighed down by bad writing

The performances, though, cannot be pulled up in this case for the writing doesn’t offer any of the cast members a chance to shine.

Anand Devarakonda leads the pack and while he packs the right energy, his protagonist Ganesh is undone by an unfocused approach.

Other well-known actors like Jabardash Emmanuel (who plays his sidekick/friend Shankar), Satyam Rajesh, Vennela Kishore, Raj Arjun, and Krishna Chaitanya, too, are weighed down by a script that has the potential, but not the inventiveness it requires.

At best, they all come together to deliver scattered laughs (and no scares because of the weak, cliched antagonism) that might amuse us at the moment and help the narrative (and our patience levels) sustain a bit longer.

In the same vein, the flimsy female cast of the film—including Nayan Sarika and Pragathi Shrivastav—is relegated to the background right from the get-go.

Both female actors are restricted to playing love interests in the film. But even then, the writing doesn’t allow them to make any impression on the viewer.

Part of the problem is that Uday Bommisetty tries to juggle multiple genres and tones during the course.

Regarding the technical aspects, Aditya Javvadi’s cinematography is impressive, particularly in the many action sequences.

Chaitanya Bharadwaj’s music works in parts in that the songs add very little value to the film but the background score, a blend of genres in itself, elevates the key moments of the film.

Verdict

Gam Gam Ganesha marks Anand Devarakonda’s return to the big screen following his breakthrough hit Baby (2023). It is evident that he wants to explore all kinds of characters as an actor.

The latest release certainly boasts credibility on paper but doesn’t deliver to expectations because of an unfocused narrative.

(Views expressed here are personal.)