In Arun Chandu’s debut film, Gaganachari, a heady mix of two distinct eras occurs: one uncanny blending terror and another arousing nostalgia. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic Kerala flooded by torrential rains with an alien invasion on the brink, but narrations between main players evoke references and sensibilities in Malayalam cinema of 1980s and 1990s.
It is this strange balance that the makers are trying to strike here where it could have easily faltered. But they hit somewhere around the right spot, partly because nostalgia has significant power over popular culture and partly because they execute VFX and AI-generated imagery so well that they create a believable world even though budgets allow for very little.
Gaganachari (Malayalam)
Director: Arun Chandu
Cast: K.B Ganesh Kumar, Gokul Suresh, Anarkali Marikar, Aju Varghese
Runtime: 115 minutes
Storyline: A team of documentary makers come into a post-apocalyptic Kerala with an interest to shoot Victor an alien hunter locked in a futuristic bunker together with his two aids. An alien comes to complicate things further.
Mostly we spend inside the futuristic but cramped lair of Victor (K.B. Ganesh Kumar), who is now consider a national hero due to his past exploits of hunting aliens. A group of documentary filmmakers visit the bunker to create their movie centered on him. In fact, part of the film constitutes Victor along with his hanger-ons Allen (Gokul Suresh) & Vaibhav (Aju Varghese) leading their messy daily lives within the bunker worsened by the arrival of an alien (Anarkali Marikar).
Some parts including the love track involving an alien remind us about Krishnendu Kalesh’s Hawk’s Muffin. But it is not like that; it has been done differently and mood has been change such that most parts appear jolly. However, it is not just from their conversations where humor emanates; Eliyamma is used as name for an Alien character while there is voice over (a virtual assistant that speaks like a popular travel show host, a young alien who speaks in a veteran actor’s voice much to the dismay of her wannabe human boyfriend).
Outside, wars have happened over petrol and oppressive government has banned petrol vehicles and mandated electric vehicles under surveillance. A feared right wing sena is prowling the streets, imposing moral codes while synthetic ‘geef’ has replaced beef in the diet. All this pop cultural humor occurring within this context makes it more interesting. At its core, the film is just about nothing; rather it seems like some kind of backdrop for these characters to indulge us in some fun, nostalgic trip through movies that have enriched our everyday conversations over the years. Still, on another level, we can see environmental issues taking a back seat as well as intensified oppressive power structures.
Ganesh Kumar perhaps has not had such fun with a role in a long time acting out Victor in his pompousness wallowing in past glory. Gokul Suresh was mostly unimpressive during his previous outings however he somewhat picks up from where he left comedy-wise. Film music sets by Sankar Sharma and Surjith S.Pai are highly instrumental into achieving such moods.
In Gaganachari, we find a filmmaker free from market pressures willing to take risks and let his imagination race. Some of it doesn’t work but when it does, it is worth every bit of it.
Gaganachari is currently running in theatres
