Gandu (2010)

Gandu (2010). 1h 25m | Unrated

“Having stumbled across my review of the directoru0026#39;s previous venture Bishh on this site (written some four years ago), there came a natural compulsion to jot this down as well. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAfter the experience of Bishh, my expectations when I finally came across this u0026#39;bannedu0026#39; film was not high. The steamy trailer did little to pique much interest although it became a rage among the online (and offline) masses. To be honest, it felt somewhat gimmicky and I was afraid the film was going to turn out to be something similar. Well, it didnu0026#39;t. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGandu is, despite its name, brilliant. The moments of transgression this motion picture dares to make were outlandish, perhaps even u0026#39;affectedu0026#39; by a certain sense of the word, but never fails to make a mark. The cinematography is vibrant, the music stimulating. The writing may not have been perfect, but what do I know of perfection… I liked it. There was a profound u0026#39;honestyu0026#39; to the angst (I was tempted to write u0026#39;psychedelic honestyu0026#39;) and it was provoking, even without a blunt before the show. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJoyraj and Anubrata were perfect to the T u0026amp; Rii was her best yet. Kamalika was hauntingly natural. The direction had a rudderless precision to it that strikes the right chord, and the interesting play of subtitles didnu0026#39;t harm one bit.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI donu0026#39;t know if I can agree with a fellow reviewer calling it one of the best Indian movies ever (although I u0026#39;dugu0026#39; the Midsummer quote), but Gandu is definitely a benchmark as far as Indian Independent Cinema is concerned. Itu0026#39;s art, and a fine piece too!”