Director: Kishore Pandurang Belekar
Language: Silent
Do silences speak louder than words? Money definitely does. Or maybe Gandhi. That’s precisely the reason why Gandhi Talks chose to be a silent film. Why waste energy on banal dialogues when you have characters’ thoughts and emotions do the talking? It’s also fitting that the film has come out in 2026, unlike Kamal Haasan’s 1987
There’s a lot of mirth involved in the chemistry between the actors that enhances the performance of this contagious ensemble. Sethupathi is someone who always conveys through restraint and minimalism. The always luminous Hydari also gets to play along with a plethora of nuances. Swami’s the most traumatic fate, with cruelty perpetually haunting his entire being. He’s mauled by one tragedy after another, but the swag is unshaken. Gandhi Talks (which was reviewed by Firstpost when it premeired at IFFI in 2023) is a film that makes an attempt to mirror the socio-economic discrimination of Mumbai. It’s an apt city to base the story in, given the vast divide that shall always be a reality. It’s a film that relies on the dichotomy of a city that never sleeps. But didn’t the makers have a hankering to make their actors open their mouths even once? We get to see a courtroom proceeding, media procession, and a political rally. All entirely fueled by music!
But once you get to know these people and why they do what they do, the question about the lack of conversations may become redundant after a point. There’s both playfulness and pain in the way the conflicts in their lives unfold. It also shows how the people of Mumbai can be divided by Gandhis but united by circumstances. That life happens to all. Sethupathi wishes to marry Hydari, but a cup of tea (in a nicely executed expose) ruins his moment. Swami has lost everyone and everything, and there's a twist in the tragedy that befalls on him. Jadhav’s the only one marked safe. He’s mostly for humour. Mumbai is a city that can be comical in more ways than one after all. There’s some suspension of disbelief to be had too right after we arrive to the second half.
That a man from the streets is able to breach the security of a wealthy businessman’s abode not once or twice looks ludicrous. But there’s so much happening in that entire stretch, it’s impossible not to be swayed by the perfectly timed humor that camouflages the entire implausibility of the gag. Watch out for a scene involving a bathtub. Gandhi Talks also gives a hat tip to the good old days of Indian cinema that somehow stopped appearing on the big screen. We see one of the characters in a casino playing a game of cards. Or playing a piano alone in his house. It’s a film that wishes to march ahead with its narrative with all its buoyancy but not without winking at nostalgia. The film is basically a comical commentary that tries to encapsulate as many issues as possible. It is silly, satirical, satisfying, if not necessarily spectacular in its craft. But let’s not write too many words about a piece of work that relies on silences.
Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)
Gandhi Talks is now playing in cinemas. It premiered at the International Film Festival of India in 2023
