GUNJAN SAXENA – MOVIE REVIEW

GUNJAN SAXENA – MOVIE REVIEW

Close on the heels of a haughty, confident, amazing and remarkable talent “SHAKUNTALA DEVI” comes the steely and assertive air power of “GUNJAN SAXENA”’ depicting women excellence at the forefront. This movie again is inspired by true events. The film is produced by Dharma Productions and Essel Vision Productions, written and directed by Sharan Kumar. The film is on NETFLIX.

GS is tightly written and has a very clear narrative without being over the top or jingoistic. It takes off staidly in its discourse that many Indian homes have endured over the years. Yes, there are many scenes that most would be able to relate to thereby striking a chord. Ironically the villain in the film is the IAF, or at least the colleagues of GS at the IAF. As usual it is towards the end that the villains redeem themselves with a salute. The hero of the film despite GS and her story is her father. With very few characters getting screen time, the film does not really fly high. It sticks to being most of the time on autopilot with a clear manual. The lack of thrill and intensity even during the war scenes lands this fighter aircraft too gently.

Jhanvi Kapoor is good initially as the girl next door, but as the film progresses, she fails to soar. Pankaj Tripathi is the one who has the best lines in the film and delivers. Angad Bedi is good and so are the minimal others.

Manush Nandan’s cinematography is neat while the background score by Eduri is strictly OTT material. The songs by Amit Trivedi are good. Nitin Baid edits this film and keeps it crisp. Dialogues are OK and direction is good.

Had this been a theatrical release, GS perhaps would have been a tad louder and more vocal but as an OTT release the film remains quiet, soft, subtle and too cosy for a film called “The Kargil Girl”.

GUNJAN SAXENA – GUZARA !!

2.5/5
B.U.Shreesha