Ganapath: Part 1: Movie Name
Directed by: Vikas Bahl
Starring: Tiger Shroff, Amitabh Bachchan, Kriti Sanon, Elli AvrRam
Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Running Time: 136 Minutes
Release Date: 20 October, 2023
Rating:
Budget: ₹150 Crore
Production House: Good Co / Pooja Entertainment
In a dystopian future, Ganapath, a relentless and skilled vigilante, embarks on a mission to dismantle a powerful criminal empire that has gripped the city in fear, Ganapath becomes a symbol of hope for the oppressed in which leads dark.
Ganapath: Part 1 – Overview
Ganapath: Part 1 is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language dystopian action film directed by Vikas Bahl, who produced it under his banner Good Co in association with Jackky Bhagnani, Vashu Bhagnani and Deepshikha Deshmukh under Pooja Entertainment. It stars Tiger Shroff in the lead role with Amitabh Bachchan and Kriti Sanon.
The film was announced in November 2020 and underwent a long, heavy pre-production stage. Principal photography commenced in November 2021 and wrapped up in February 2023 with filming taking place in United Kingdom, Ladakh and Mumbai. It is India’s first Dystopian film.
It is reported to have a budget of ₹150 crore. Ganapath: Part 1 was initially planned to release in December 2022, but was postponed. It is now scheduled for theatrical release on 20 October 2023, coinciding with Dussehra.
The film was announced on 6 November 2020 by Pooja Entertainment, to be directed by Vikas Bahl starring Tiger Shroff.
The principal photography began on 6 November 2021 in United Kingdom. In May 2022, the final schedule was held in Ladakh with some additional scenes being shot in February 2023.
The film was initially supposed to release on 23 December 2022 (Christmas Eve), but was later postponed. The film is now scheduled for a theatrical release on 20 October 2023 during Dussehra in Hindi with dubbed versions in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada Bhojpuri languages.
Movie Trailer:
Ganapath: Part 1 – Movie Review:
Skyscrapers, fancy night clubs, sophisticated surveillance… this silver city looks so inspired by Neom! But no, director Vikas Bahl does not want his viewers to wander into Saudi Arabia’s futuristic city in-progress. He cleverly injects images of Lord Ganesha and tapori dialogues. And, one is transported back to Bollywood — the present-day version.
This swanky city has a dark side, where the poor live to cater to the needs of the rich, and ultimately die of hunger and oppression. The division is marked by an iron gate and electrified fencing. The mood is all grey in this brown junkyard, but hope flickers — when a mother tells her hungry son to hold on to life as Ganapath would come to their rescue or when a rebellious Jassi (Kriti Sanon) convinces Shiva that Ganapath is their only way out.
How do they know that Ganapath would come? Because of a prophecy by their community elder Thalapathi (Amitabh Bachchan), who keeps them together and has made a fighting arena to keep the spirit buoyed till Ganapath arrives. Did Thalapathi name his son Shiva (Rahman) because the saviour would be called Ganapath or did he name the saviour Ganapath because he would be born of Shiva? Mythology has a strong presence.
Anyway, the film is not about Thalapathi but about Guddu (Tiger Shroff), whose life story unfolds in a post-nuclear apocalypse world and his transformation from a self-obsessed fool to a people’s person. Guddu in his early avatar is a Casanova, a martial arts expert involved with a betting syndicate, frequents a night club and goes to bed with dozens of women. But this charmed life is soon disrupted as Guddu gets caught in a compromising position with the partner of his boss, John the Englishman (Ziad Bakri). The punishment for such a dalliance is grave. He is buried alive.
But Guddu can’t die. At least not until he proves his grandfather’s prophecy right. Bahl invokes divinity here and Guddu comes out of his grave, alive and kicking, to retrieve his red coat from the enemy and moving to the other side of the city, to his own people.
Guddu the Casanova has transformed into Guddu the lover boy, serenading the mean girl Jassi. Soon love changes all hearts concerned. Guddu gets to dance a lot in the first half and fight aplenty in the second. Tiger has proven his mettle in both throughout his career, and he does not disappoint here as well. But in ‘Ganapath’, he faces stiff competition from Kriti Sanon. Her action moves are convincing and she is in great shape.
But what’s not in great shape is the execution of Bahl’s vision. What’s the logic of taking viewers to a futuristic city and then confining them to a tacky club? Yes, that’s the only spot the camera focuses on. Even Guddu’s transformation to Ganapath is marred by poor graphics. In some scenes, it looks as if Tiger’s frames have been cut and pasted on computer-generated images.
And in the second half, when mercifully, Guddu ditches his taporiness, the never-ending training sessions and MMA fights take a toll, because of the sameness and the predictable outcomes. The syndicate boss, Dalini, remains a mysterious entity. Probably, they want to keep the intrigue factor going till they come out with the sequel. Yes, this one is being presented as part 1 with the tagline, ‘A hero is born’. Brace yourselves for a sequel.