(by Aman Basha)
“Gang Leader” is arguably one of the massiest flicks that came out in Telugu, more than two decades ago. Its star, Chiranjeevi was the man who brought mass to Tollywood, the ultimate star whose success is yet to be repeated by others who keep making movies, similar to the potboilers he made, not only in an attempt to replicate that success but because these aspects have become so deeply ingrained in the blueprint of Telugu Cinema.
In the new “Gang Leader” too, there is a character trying to succeed as a writer by blindly copying scripts of popular Hollywood thrillers and passing them off as his own. This character, cleverly named “Pencil” Parthasarathy may be a clever analogy to the director-writer Vikram K Kumar himself, who takes all the familiar items of a Telugu mass movie, the revenge, the romance, the family emotion, the brilliant hero, the bad guy and, unlike Pencil, creates something that feels wholly original despite its borrowed title.
While Vikram K Kumar is known for his clever scripts and unique dabs at different genres, he does something really clever and unexpected here: he does a “genre” twist, something a Tarantino would possibly do. The revenge angle, while being a catalyst for the story, is thrust away into the background, it’s literally used, even by a character to bring together a group of lonely people together and watch as they slowly become a family. Though twists, turns and action are a part of the story, it’s the bonding between these five women and man that’s the heart of the film.
Taking this basic, done-to-death revenge plot, he tries to imagine everything different: the heroine-seducing-a-comedian(the actual seduction is a hoot; and possibly a first for mainstream Telugu), quirky comedy, the freshness of watching women, that often underused, undervalued aspect of humanity, plotting revenge, the way revenge is actually taken and most cleverly, a character imagining possible scenarios. There’s even a scene that seems straight out of the Mahabharata (Parthasarathy is no random name choice after all).
The excellent technical values are of great help too, as are the in-form ensemble. As the villain, Karthikeya has a very minor part, which he manages to own due to his gigantic personality. The five female characters are a class of their own; the detailing put on each female is more than the average of 10 Telugu movies. Lakshmi and Saranya Ponnvannan are a delight to watch, their comic timing and expression working out great in roles they could sleepwalk through. Priyanka Arul Mohan is a revelation and I loved her arc with Nani, it feels true to character and goes in the most unexpected, refreshing ways, a constant and sweet undercurrent. All the five females share great chemistry and make you instantly root for them
But ultimately, the show belongs to the Gang Leader, Nani. The film which could have been a mess unable to make up its mind, feeling incomplete in every way, ends up a clever subversion of the revenge genre, due to the sheer effect of his performance. As Pencil, Nani gets to show his incredible comic timing, making one smile even in the simplest scenes. The chemistry he shares with the cast is incredible and it’s a pleasure to watch him recede to the background at times, allowing himself to be upstaged by others around him. He does comedy, romance, drama, emotion, even action and elevates the material. It’s a one man show and in a movie so different from Chiranjeevi’s Gang Leader, he still puts on the Chiranjeevi mask.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Naveen
September 24, 2019
Yes sir nice movie
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SeverusSnape
September 14, 2020
There was also excellent foreshadowing.
When the women go to meet Pencil for the first time, and try to leave after realising he’s a plagiarist, Lakshmi takes out a book from the shelf hoping it is a real one, but it is a fake. That book’s (apparent) title is ‘Mithunam’, which is a movie starring Lakshmi, and is about an old couple living a happy life alone. And that precisely is her story before the robbery.
When Pencil asks the grandmother to find what her grandson left for her on the building, she says ‘Revenge’, because she doesn’t have a grandson.
When they are watching the CCTV footage, the grandmother waits for the others to point out their relatives and finally points at the remaining guy, calling him her grandson.
The Mahabharata references throughout the movie: 5 women(Pandavas) seeking advice from Parthasarathy(Krishna), the interval shot, Parthasarathy’s divine ability to think up alternate situations(that almost mirror the reality), the Duryodhana-equivalents in both Gang Leader and Thalapathi(Nani is a big fan of Thalapathi) named Dev/Deva. The Yudhishthira-equivalent grandmother starts the war/revenge, but doesn’t want to take part later. Ironically, it is the Krishna-equivalent who finishes the revenge, Krishna did not take part in the war. Bheema cooks in Virata Parva, the second eldest in the family(mother-Varalakshmi, played by Saranya) is known for cooking well. Priya/Arjuna share a special bond with Pencil/Krishna
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SeverusSnape
September 14, 2020
(Don’t read the previous comment if you don’t want spoilers)
I also liked the emotional through line: Lakshmi calls him ‘Pencil garu’ in the beginning and in the pre-climax, calls him ‘Partha’ affectionately. I liked that subtlety.
I like how the story acknowledged Pencil’s OTT-ness. He has obviously seen too many movies and believes in signature styles and background score(The sunglasses and all). But his OTT-ness leads to them almost being caught(They needn’t have gone to 14th floor just to spook Dev out of his wits, that was typical ‘cool’ stuff). I don’t see many movies, but I don’t think there are many Telugu/Tamil movies that have their heroes getting into trouble for doing ‘cool’ stuff(cough‘V’cough).
Dev coming to Pencil’s house and shooting the women dead, followed by the ‘rewind’, reminded me of the interval of ’24’, also directed by Vikram Kumar.
I now think the problem is with the story. While watching, I and my mom were involved in the film. But my mom later told me the story seemed too far-fetched. But the entire movie is Pencil’s book, right? And he watches Hollywood and OTT stuff. So, five poor people get world class equipment to steal money, and the climax has Pencil going superhuman.
Tangential thought: What would be the cast of Gang Leader’s Tamil hypothetical remake?
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Varsha Ganesh
September 15, 2020
It’s unfortunate this movie was not much of a hit. I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was also a great movie to recommend to family. Very clean, enjoyable and thrilling without any gore.
Severus Snape – that was quite some comparison with the Mahabharata 😀 I think it’ll be a great movie to remake in Tamil with maybe someone like Dulquer? It needs a lead who has charisma without that overwhelming ‘hero’ power. I’d want Lakshmi, Saranya to stay on for sure!
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Vij
September 15, 2020
I think the problem with this movie is that, although the individual pieces are fresh and interesting, it’s not a particularly memorable movie (for me and others I know at least). I almost forgot that this movie existed for a while, even though I liked it a lot.
I think it’s somewhat forgettable bec it brings in multiple genres but never highlights one genre over the other (as in, it’s not a thriller, comedy, or masala, but somewhere in between). Of course, I’m not saying multi-genre films can’t exist, but they should be focused plot-wise to work well. This movie had multiple plot strings and many different genres, so it could have used a bit more focus.
Still think the movie was really creative though.
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Aisha
September 16, 2020
@ Varsha Ganesh
I think Dulquer might be too charming/suave for this.
Nani’s perfection comes from his careful balance of charm, mass, innocence, and wits, all while never losing maturity. I can’t think of someone else at the moment that melts the “personality types” of Indian heroes so seamlessly.
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