'Garmi' review: Another run-of-the-mill student politics story
Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia's last few offerings in the OTT world have one flavor in common - politics. Whether it was Tandav or The Great Indian Murder, his recent web shows have revolved around politics. Similar is the case with Garmi, which was released on Friday on SonyLIV. The nine-part series is about student politics infused with caste culture at Trivenipur University. Read our review.
A UPSC aspirant pushed into students politics
Arvind Shukla (Vyom Yadav), son of a professor, is an aspiring UPSC student who is sent for higher studies to Trivenipur University, against his wish. A bright student, he has only one drawback - anger. Even before he enters the university, he has his first encounter with crime, leading to multiple events that eventually force him to join student politics against his will.
Dhulia brings nothing fresh to the table
Student politics is one of the favorite subjects of filmmakers. There are several films that have been made around this subject. Tigmanshu Dhulia also picked the same topic but failed miserably this time. In Garmi, there is nothing new about student politics that other filmmakers haven't shown in the past. And thus, the powershift play in the series is highly predictable.
'Garmi' reminds you of 'Gulaal' but is a poor take
Police inspector Mrityunjay Singh (Jatin Goswami) talks about how the Rajputs should come together, in order to rule the country again; it will remind you of Anurag Kashyap's critically acclaimed film Gulaal but is a shoddy take on it. Garmi has a lot of caste culture involved highlighting vote bank politics and the different treatment of upper caste-lower caste.
'Garmi' fails to engage from the first episode itself
Dhulia's series is a nine-part show that paves a way for its sequel. Each episode is roughly about 40 minutes. The episodes are lengthy, given how disengaging the storyline is from the beginning itself. The highly predictable script is what makes it a boring watch. Dhulia failed to add interesting twists and turns to the plot that could have saved the boat from sinking.
It's the acting that breathes life in 'Garmi'
Garmi revolves around five characters - Shukla, Singh, Bairagi Baba (Vineet Kumar), Bindu Singh (Puneet Singh), and Govind Mourya (Anurag Thakur). Mukesh Tiwari as Dilbag, Satyakam Anand as Lal Bahadur, and Pravessh Rana as Dicky are interesting additions too. Everyone has shown their acting prowess. Yadav has convincingly displayed the innocence of a student and the anger of a man who can't stand wrong.
Better to skip this series
As mentioned in the review earlier, there are many films/series created on student politics. If this topic is of your interest, it is better to watch other titles instead of Garmi. The show comes off as a run-of-the-mill story, providing you with nothing fresh to watch out for. It gets 1.5 out of 5 stars from us, only for the casting and acting.
