The beauty of Radha Mohan’s films lies in human relations, the interpretation of feelings and emotions in varied forms. The conversations look very ordinary but on second thoughts it has profound meaning and is a result of deep psychological analysis. The director this time screens terror focuses more on emotions than on violence. It is about how a journey on a plane is interrupted by a terrorist group who hijack it and takes passengers as hostages, plants explosives somewhere on board and demands the release of their boss from jail. From there on we get to see the agony the passengers go through, the anxiety of the kith and kin, stressful situations the government officials and mediators face, the media’s excitement and pressure to get exclusive news and finally the entrance of new characters towards the climax who help the story move to a smooth and a rapid finish.
The Telugu film industry has always been at the receiving end for excess focus on commercial elements and illogical plots. Though there are a few exceptions, the number of breakthrough films has been much lesser in the industry, which is ruled by a star system. But once in a while film like ‘Gaganam’ surfaces and you are surprised to see audience applauding such attempts. The film appears slow initially while introducing the characters, sometimes a film star’s conversation with awe-struck fan borders on boredom but post-interval, the action is heightened and the involvement of the audience with the characters is likewise increased. To beat the monotony of seeing the same visual inside a flight, the story moves back and forth showing how the dreaded terrorist was kidnapped and how the situation changes frenetically when the mediators learn they have a tough task ahead and bring in a junior artiste to secure the release of the passengers. There are no loud and funny dialogues but you laugh at a genuinely funny line during a heart-pounding moment. Nagarjuna makes use of a superbly scripted thriller to dish out a highly believable performance, the best in recent times. Be it his poker-faced reaction to Brahmanandam’s egoistic and crazy behaviour or his heightened impatience and frustration at the government’s indecision as time runs out, he does it with his simple yet imposing presence by not being the hero of the story.
Nagarjuna’s brilliant performance apart, ‘Gaganam’ steals the viewers’ heart because of the wonderful directorial work of Radha Mohan who has also written the story and screenplay. The director showed his brilliance in films like ‘Mozhi’ and ‘Abhiyum Naanum’ and with this film he has risen a few notches above to prove that he is one of the best creative minds in the Telugu film industry. The concept of plane hijacking may not be new, but the way ‘Gaganam’ has been narrated, it makes you feel that the film really belongs to the talented director. His script also touches upon many contemporary elements to show how TRP-hungry channels use such incidents for their own advantage.
Partially inspired by Kandahar plane hijack episode, the film opens with a group of terrorists hijacking a Chennai-Delhi passenger flight makes an emergency landing at Tirupati Airport. They demand that a dreaded terrorist should be released from jail and thus begins a game of intrigue and anxiety. The politicians are worried about their vote banks and the ‘babus’ (government servants) don’t know how to save the passengers as they are controlled by the ‘netas’ (politicians). While senior officer Vishwanathan and a national security officer are trying to negotiate with terrorists, the netas in Delhi decide to release the terrorist who gets killed in a road accident. Finally, the situation is saved by a daring commando Ravi who executes a brilliant operation to free the passengers.
Nagarjuna is the heart and soul of the film. His stellar performance certainly deserves a big recognition. Prakash Raj has a brief role but still makes a big impact with his energetic performance. Sana Khan too has a brief role. Brahmanandam evokes a few laughs, but it is artists like Harsha Vardhan and Poonam Kaur who have delivered strong performances. Technically also the film is brilliant. The art director has done a great job.
We might have seen many hijack movies, there was a love story interspersed with a hijack drama in Aakasa Veedhilo but this is the first time in Telugu cinema we get to see a full length hijack drama despite having a predictable plot, maintains all the chills and thrills. The film is short and crisp, just 12 reels, no tortuous romance, scenes like the film star shrieking at the sight of a cockroach in the flight bring in comic relief. Cinematography, the lighting complements the pace of the film, the camera movement is dynamic and fluid. The only drawback is that the flight is flooded with characters. Poonam Kaur, Harsha, Ravi Prakash, Bharat Reddy, Prakash Raj all dazzle with their performances. So watch out for Operation Gaganam unfolding in the sky sitting in your seat wondering how it would be if you were to spend five days in captivity.
