Gaganachari
Introduction
And this is what I call brave, brave filmmaking. On the face of it, the Malayalam film Gaganachari might seem like another one of those dystopian dramas wherein you have a bunch of characters surviving the apocalypse. But when you choose to dig in deeper, you will see that it is a raging commentary on the political climate of the country. The setting is simple – a dystopian world set in Kerala that is mostly submerged in floods that is hilariously depicted by two astronauts singing Malayalam numbers at a satellite, only to break this information to their contempories on what seems like a futuristic version of Earth. On probing further, the year is 2043 and the Earth is supposedly attacked by Aliens whom we are told often go on hunts at night. But the film doesn’t wish to splash straight into the issue – in fact, it wishes to exploit some of its tongue in cheek humour through its character in a format that resembles a mockumentary straight out of the Malayalam film Aavasavyuham. But while the latter dealt with climate changes as a commentary, the commentary in Gaganachari strictly remains a political one.
Story & Screenplay
Almost the entire first act and probably the half of the second act in Gaganachari are devoted to the world building and characterization, the former contributing towards a searing political commentary, and the latter towards the unabashed humour. So, you are introduced to Victor, a former Major in the Indian Army who doubles up as an alien hunter in the modern setup. He was built a sleep pod and stays with his two inmates, Allan (notice the similarity to Alien) and Vibe aka Vaibhav, two diabolically opposite personalities, and their AI friend Raghavan. Victor is an orthodox personality who has conservative ideas, while Vibe being an influencer of his generation (hilariously cut short when the internet was banned by the Government) still manages to indulge in ‘activities’ during the new-found night life of the town that has seen many deaths by the hands of ‘aliens’. Allan on the other hand is a loner, never indulged in any physical activity while being a cinephile, a creative idea that contributes to several pop-cultural references of Malayalam films from the 80s and 90s (and proud that I could latch on to some of them, thanks to my DIGI Family on Youtube).
The politics in the drama is often used as a passing reference in the film but if you are aware of the political climate then you will instantly latch on to the references. Be it the banning of the internet to the folks inventing an alternative to B*ef called Geef, are some of the hilarious references that will have you in splits. In fact if you look closely, even the character traits of the characters are almost divided on the basis on their political affiliations, while living under a same roof, a reminder that all of us can agree to disagree but still stay in harmony. The references to a potential alien attack is made clear early on with the view of a spaceship of sorts that looms the sky, only for the alarms to set off in the town. And to maintain a ‘strict’ governance, you have two police officers who essentially are mouth pieces of the authorities, taking bribes in order for some activities to be carried out. This entire setup is chaotic and moves at a break neck pace while contributing to laughs aplenty.
The stakes in the drama are raised with the introduction of a muted alien who is unknowingly lured by Vibe into their apartment. The hilarious trait exhibited by the character of the alien is that ‘she’ has to maintain a balance in life, be it with any of her emotions including hunger to avoid her from flickering. Because the moment she does, she would be tracked by the authorities. This triggers a playful relationship with each of the men in the house – Victor is afraid of being jailed, Vibe is essentially a liar who gets a hilarious life-lesson of being transported to a different timeline, mentally speaking, and Allan just longs for love. In fact, there is also a steady commentary on gender and how men try mindless antics to woo the woman that they love, whereas in reality you just need to be yourself, a lesson told through the gaze of Allan who is very affable. The commentary on love with respect to gender is nicely showcased too. And the pop-references just got more intense – I cracked up at the Thanmathra reference along with Summer In Bethlehem (featuring Gokul’s father Suresh Gopi).
There are wicked turns in the screenplay that at times get a tad repetitive, for instance – the love angle of the alien is stretched a tad too far although the innovations of the character, like the integration of a free version of her voice resembling an old lady does contribute to a fww laughs. But I was so lured into the world that I didn’t seem to mind it at all, even following a mindless finale that didn’t have a buildup of the ‘ritual’ before the grand reveal. What I enjoyed was the form wherein the alien represented The Bride from Kill Bill, with her costume and actions before running riot with her perpretrators. The ET reference was quite evident too thus triggering a universe of possibillities should the makers choose to continue with this franchise. In fact, the animated zinger at the end was just a hint on how the trio may go in space to find Allan’s love! The screenplay is playfully provocative and wonderfully well penned.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are sharp and by all means hilarious even while being presented in the form of a mockumentary – a mocking account of a documentary laced with political and social commentary. In fact, the rhythm in the narrative is more to do with the lines that maintain the pace of the drama. The music is wonderful and the songs represent the different moods of the drama really well. The BGM is playful and really enhances the impact of the scenes while maintaining its rhythm through the musical notes. The cinematography is unbelievable. The shots (probably AI generated) are so brilliant that it makes the world believable to the core. The VFX has to be one of the best that I have witnessed this year given the budget of the film, it was simply brilliant. The editing was sharp with such seamless transition shots even while retaining the chaotic flavour of the drama. Director Arun Chandu is an epitome of brave filmmaking given the political commentary that was seamlessly integrated in the drama. But he never got carried away with it, while the focus remained on the core ‘alien’ conflict and the character dynamics that followed. The direction was stupendous while having method to all the madness that was carried out in the film.
Performances
The performances are incredibly good here. John Kaippallil as Rage has his moments to shine and he was superb to witness here as a mouth-piece of the authorities with a tinge of humour. Aju Varghese as Vibe has such a humourous vibe to his character that you are willing to look past his superficial flaws. He is an actor blessed with an immaculate sense of comic timing wherein he just hits it out of the park here. Ganesh Kumar as Major Victor is absolutely brilliant with the rhythm of his character, and his antics and downright hilarious that had me in splits (a mock sword fight between ‘right’ and ‘left’ was superb to witness). Gokul Suresh as Allan is just so funny while being so effortless in the film. He also brings in some tender emotions of love and loneliness in the mix that absolutely hits home and makes for a wonderful watch. But my performance of the film comes from Anarkali Marikar, an utterly complex character that isn’t given any lines (she at times speaks through a recorded voice without any lip movement), and still she needed to portray a range of emotions. Anarkali is brilliant in this aspect while also scoring in a combat sequence at the end, thereby putting forth a towering act.
Conclusion
Gaganachari has got to be the most crazy film that I have witnessed all year! It is a raging political commentary packaged in a hilarious Sci-Fi Mockumentary Drama that absolutely hits it out of the park with its humour. It is one of the most unique sci-fi films that I have ever witnessed, and although not perfect in any way, it still makes for a brilliant watch through and through. Another genre-bending film coming from the Malayalam Film Industry! Available on Amazon Prime and Highly Recommended!
