An imperative thriller that showcases excellent storytelling
Thrillers are a different cup of tea altogether and any wrong step in the preparation and presentation of a thriller on screen can spell doom to any potentially strong story. Many thrillers that may look amazing on paper fail to connect with the audience unless they are presented in a different way with some variety. These enthusiastic filmmakers, Bhargava, Srujan, and Harsha Pratap have exactly done the same thing by taking up a simple story and projecting it in a different way through Gatham which is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.
Story-line
The story opens on a very interesting note with gunshots and two people falling on a snow-laden terrain signaling the advent of series of events that follow which are not only intriguing but also perplexing, to begin with.
As revealed from the opening scenes, Rishi (Rakesh Galabhe) who is on the road to recovery from a terrible accident gets trapped by Arjun (Bhargava Poludasu) with his girlfriend Adithi alias Meera (Poojitha Kuraparthi) in the United States.
Why Rishi gets trapped? Who traps Rishi and Meera? What is the role of Adithi and Meera? These are the million-dollar questions that arise during the first half an hour of the film but one needs to watch Gatham as Arjun only had the answers to all these questions. The answers are not only shocking but they lead to a psychopath who shows no mercy while killing people after getting his desire fulfilled.
Performances
Rakesh, Bhargava, Poojitha, Harsha Pratap as Harsha, Raghu Gopal as Laxman, and Uppuluri as Doctor Srikanth all are new faces except Lakshmi Bharadwaj who played the character of Adithi is known for her theatre performances in various plays. The newness is only limited to faces and they all acted as if they are very experienced actors which is the plus point of this film. Though their accent sounds quirky, this can be ignored as the content of the film never gives scope or time to brood on those trivial issues.
Behind the scenes
Writer-director Kiran’s adeptness in treating a simple story in an engaging manner makes Gatham a real winner. The straightforward approach without relying on too many misleading twists or lot many confusing characters made the film more engrossing. Full credit goes to Kiran for his belief in the content of the story in addition to his vision prevalent in every frame and scene conceived and presented by him on the screen.
Another noteworthy aspect of Gatham is the background score of Sricharan Pakala. One has to listen and feel the music as it leaves a long-lasting impression on minds that cannot be expressed in words. It provides the much-needed impetus to the film. This was upped by the brilliant touch of cinematography by Manojh Reddy which captured the beautiful snow-clad terrains strikingly and those snow falling shots being an added attraction.
Editing by GS is sharp and lag free without any abrupt cuts providing a new high to the whole narrative.
Verdict & Rating
Any film if told from the heart is bound to touch the heart. The love of a father towards his daughter and his agony, desperateness, and anger are very well depicted in the film which is the predominant feature other than suspense and thrill elements that come in the secondary place.
Moreover, the whole film progresses at a reasonably good pace which is another positive aspect of Gatham which was made possible with the precise synchronization of all resources along with energetic performances not leaving the contribution of Kiran which made everything look plausible onscreen.
Gatham is an imperative thriller that showcases excellent storytelling. If one can see the effort behind the scenes and the kind of dedication that went into making of this film by ignoring all those comparative analytics and aspersions, this is a perfect one to watch and enjoy.
Gatham is not to be disappointed gripping thriller empowered by a father’s love for his daughter that cannot be missed.
Rating: 3/5
