'Ganapath' review: Tiger Shroff starrer is atrocious, headache-inducing, utterly meaningless
While watching Tiger Shroff-Kriti Sanon's Ganapath: A Hero is Born, I felt an array of emotions: anger, confusion, exhaustion, but most of all, surprise at how a film like this could not just be made, but also released theatrically! Meaningless and exasperating from start to finish, Ganapath makes tall promises but hands you nothing, making the list of Shroff's shockingly similar films just longer.
The plot of the film
The makers didn't think the plot was important, otherwise, Ganapath would have had fewer jargon-ish character names and more depth and character development. In the dystopian future, the world is divided (literally, by a wall), between the haves and the have-nots, and Guddu (Shroff) is prophesized as the chosen one who'll bridge this gap. Sanon plays Jassi, who helps him realize his true identity.
'Ganapath' is just more of the same
You can create a montage of Shroff's scenes from different films and you won't be able to tell a Heropanti 2 apart from a Baaghi 2. Ganapath is more of the same. He evidently comes alive in action and dance sequences and is unquestionably marvelous at them, but if even 10% of that effort went into acting, at least Ganapath would have been watchable.
Forced humor, 'tapori' language doesn't help
Minus the part where the poor people's leader (Amitabh Bachchan) narrates why and how Ganapath is the chosen one, there is no semblance of seriousness throughout the film. Add to it Guddu's consistent tapori language, and I was completely out of the drama. At times when it tries to bring some profundity, the scenes are undercut by jarring humor. My ears could have bled.
Praiseworthy action, but how much is too much?
Another gripe I've with Ganapath is the action sequences that stretch on seemingly forever, refusing to ever end. Even action aficionados wouldn't like a film that stuffs action into too many places for the sake of it (they only make sense during sequences of ring fights). You could take a nap or scroll through social media, and the action would still be on.
Suffers in all other departments
It is apparent that little to no work went into the writing and screenplay; one cannot expect only the VFX (it's not convincing here), performances (they give way now and then), and action sequences (executed with finesse but overlong) to shoulder the film. These aspects may provide bones to the skeleton, but what Ganapath desperately needed was a soul, a beating heart.
No emotional depth, nothing to connect with
The lack of the film's emotional heft is surprising because director Vikas Bahl's last outing, Goodbye, worked majorly because of how it pulled at one's heartstrings. Ganapath, contrastingly, is smug with Shroff's heavy lifting, so it backtracks when it comes to the screenplay. Ziad Bakri plays John, the central villain, and we're told he's ruthless, but, like other aspects, Ganapath lends him no depth/backstory.
You'll sense the twists from miles away
Most of the storyline is given away in the expository narrative by Bachchan at the beginning itself, and then, for over two hours, Ganapath is in a race with itself to demonstrate how headache-inducing it can be. The predictable, cliche storyline has been used and re-used often in Hindi cinema, so the dystopian drama setting is completely uncalled for. All gloss, no substance.
Run away as far as possible from 'Ganapath'
Ganapath is one of the most ambitionless, haywire films I had the (mis)fortune to see, and at no point did it engage/enthrall me. I cringed through most of it and couldn't wait for the end credits, such is the nosedive mode it stays in. The end teases a sequel, which I hope never gets made. That would be our real dystopia. Verdict: 1/5 stars.
