- Date of Release: 18 July 2025
- Genre: Drama
- Language: Hindi
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Tanvi The Great
Introduction
The superpower derived from the differentially-abled is a classic template of celluloid that you just can’t go wrong with. Previously there have been classics in the form of Taare Zameen Par (2007) that have sensitized the invisible issue of a learning disability expertly. Even lately a fun-ride like Sitaare Zameen Par (2025) made you laugh and cry while creating a discussion around the entire spectrum of specially disabled individuals. But this template goes horribly wrong in the new Hindi film Tanvi The Great. At its core, the film ought to have been a coming of age story of a young 21 year old suffering from Autism, a condition in which a person finds it difficult to communicate. I really did not mind the Jhilmil (from Barfi (2012)) coded portrayal of the debutant performer Shubhangi Dutt in the title role of Tanvi. But when the core of the drama is shifted to patriotism, you have lost out on the coming of age journey that had to be the focal point of this drama. Again, Patriotism isn’t wrong and I admit that everyone must have it inculcated in you in some shape or form. But unfortunately for Tanvi The Great, it doesn’t seem to be a DNA of this film but instead, a borrowed derivative of a concept that deviates from the core messaging of the film.
Story & Screenplay
The starting point of Tanvi The Great has seeds of a coming of age drama – a 21 year old is forced to stay with her grandfather Colonel Pratap (Anupam Kher) in the hilltown of Lansdowne after her mother Vidya (Pallavi Joshi) has to attend a World Aurism Foundation conference in the US. There are a couple of things that immediately don’t sit right – the conference is essentially used as a Wikipedia page to educate the viewers about autism. It is the classic mistake of telling the viewers versus showcasing it through the challenges of Tanvi. The focus also lies with the character of the grandfather, who until then is mourning the loss of his son (& Tanvi’s father) Captain Samar Raina (Karan Tacker), who had died before fulfilling his dream of serving at the highest point at the Siachen glacier. And so the conflict of the goal transitions into that of ambition for Tanvi who wishes to fulfill her father’s wish. But, therein lies the issue.
The entire drama wishes to patronize the Indian Army while treating its protagonist and her issues with autism as a secondary character. It is a very specific issue here wherein the focus never remains that on autism, but merely using it as a roadblock for a larger goal. And that is the straight up writing flaw, given how the messaging on patriotism gets on your nose. In a scene, you see Tanvi questioning the context of bravery at an army event, to which the reply is ‘anyone who wears the uniform’. In another, you see the national tricolour blend on her during a random song that appears out of nowhere. If you look closely, neither of these events even remotely highlight the issue of autism that ought to have been the core sentiment.
I was surprised at how the issue of autism was further used as a roadblock in the screenplay, that made a searing case of an anti-thesis as far as the messaging of the film goes. It immediately acts as a roadblock for her aspirations to be in the Indian army even to begin with, despite a guilt-driven Major Srinivasan (Arvind Swamy) taking her under his wings. It then hardly is a coming of age story, whereas the actual core lay elsewhere with respect to Tanvi’s trait of singing, a plot point involving Raza Saab (Boman Irani) that is nicely forgotten. In fact, a tacky sequence involving Tanvi using her newly developed skills of ‘never to leave your teammate behind’ to save Raza saab from a car crash, formulates the ‘changed’ crux of the film. The intentions are noble but the emotion isn’t.
The patriotism is almost used as a mandatory syllabus in the film, a fact that is further reiterated in a scene involving a Gen-Z character who speaks ill of the Imdian army and the sacrifices that they make. This for me remained lazy writing because the whole sequence was more manipulative than hard-hitting, generalizing the Gen-Zs and in the process, making Tanvi (the only other ‘sensible’ Gen Z in the film) look heroic. Pitting one against the other, particularly when both the fathers of the two Gen-Zs of the film were army personnels, was just not the right way to go ahead and it remained heavily doctored to say the least! And that was a boomer’s world-view of the Gen-Zs, nope….not done at all!
One of the few sensible moments in the film arrives later on, when the SSB interview round featuring Tanvi chooses to be grounded to reality. In a scene, you spot a changed Tanvi in short hair (cured of autism??) who couldn’t distinguish between good or the bad, almost in a way choosing humanity over collateral damage in times of war. And that was the reality of an innocent mind, who then wasn’t suited for the Indian Army. But trust the writing to damage this moment by breaking the army rules in the very next moment, when the system chooses to do her a favour. It formulated a ridiculous final act because that ‘fictional’ event is far from a reality from the point of view of the Indian Army. The gradual shift of autism was a well-intended subplot in between, but that again was overpowered by excessive patriotism that didn’t allow the emotions to land in the film. Again patriotism remains important for every citizen of this country (and I strongly believe in that), but just like it cannot fit in every movie on celluloid, it didn’t need to be the building block of the screenplay here.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are pretty basic and preachy here that don’t really focus on the emotional core of the drama that is often restricted to brimming on the surface. The music hardly taps into the emotions and remains instantly forgettable. The BGM just doesn’t string together the emotions to elevate the impact of any scene in the narrative. The fact that the drama also consistently stays flat is also due to its insipid score. The cinematography is decent but when the drama chooses to rely on VFX to showcase outdoor locations, it is then that the film turns into a travesty. The VFX is inexplicably bad for a 50 crore film, and it is infuriating because I have seen way better VFX in much low-budget films in recent times. There is no real excuse to fail in this department.
The editing is lacklustre too while not quite accounting for multiple lags in the screenplay. The fact that the drama is a whopping 160 minutes long, tells you a thing or two about the repetitiveness of the screenplay in focusing on all the wrong plot-points. Director Anupam Kher returning to filmmaking after 23 years (post the 2002 Hindi film Om Jai Jagadish) doesn’t do justice to the subject matter at all. The direction is woefully lacklustre and fails to stick to the core conflict of autism while spilling over other areas in the screenplay that didn’t quite justify their presence. The direction was listless while failing on the grounds of even attempting to create emotional moments in the narrative. I remained unflinched throughout the film! And that sums up the poor direction here (and dare I say, a better director may atleast have elevated the drama to the extent of making it watchable).
Performances
The performances are decent although not one actor stands out in the narrative. The cameos by Nassar as Brig. Rao and Karan Tacker as Captain Samar are decent but they hardly have enough screentime to showcase their acting chops. Boman Irani as Raza Saab and Jackie Shroff as Brig. Joshi, code-named ‘Tiger’ (because meta-reference out of nowhere) often remain on the fringes while being one-note characters in the mix (although they weren’t bad at all). Pallavi Joshi as Vidya has an effervescent presence onscreen and she is simply wonderful to witness here.
Arvind Swamy as Major Srinivasan is incredibly good and he holds on to his character well, despite his characterization being sketchy. Anupam Kher as Colonel Pratap is first rate as well but still letdown by Anupam Kher the filmmaker, particularly in the manner in which his character arc is handled. Shubhangi Dutt as Tanvi is good but not quite great in her character. There is a definite Jhilmil-coded approach here but her performance is often overshadowed by a misplaced core that threatens to derail her sincerity. It isn’t the fault of the actor who still manages to hang on, but more the writing that doesn’t elevate her character by any stretch of imagination.
Conclusion
Tanvi The Great may be well-intended to begin with, but the lacklustre writing and execution make this a rather forgettable affair. This drama is far…..far from great. And in the midst of so many positive reviews of the film, my ‘critical’ review is ‘different, but no less’ 🙂. Available in a theatre near you.