Ganapa is a gangster film that basks in the familiar and the predictable.
The plot has two warring factions and is set in a local market. The protagonist is a nobody until his potential to be a gangster is identified and honed by one of the kingpins of the gangs. Thereafter, he rises within the gang from a protégé to a faithful servant of his godfather. He falls in love with a girl who is unaware of his underworld whereabouts.
The plot so far sounds eerily similar to that of Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya . In fact, the climax is set amidst the fanfare of the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, just as it is in Satya . But the similarities end there.
Ganapa does not aim to be complex at all. There is hardly any aspect of nuance or introspection within the film. It is, in fact, as if the director picked up the dominant tropes of the genre and inserted them into the film. Nevertheless, Prabhu Srinivas narrates the story well and even manages to add a tinge of grey to his characters. But, one wishes that he had extended that complexity to the rest of the plot as well.
The lack of nuance affects the love story the most. Brunda loses her phone. Ganapa discovers it and tries to return it, and in the process they get talking.
They don’t meet at all but they fall in love. Kannada cinema has recently been obsessed with showing cyber chatting and ‘mobile phone romance’ but has failed to understand that even these stories can have depth.
Priyanka makes a mediocre debut with this film. Santosh is a tad better but not too convincing. The stunts are particularly interesting, both for their choreography and cinematography. As far as the music of the film is concerned, the director fails to weave the songs into the narrative.
Ganapa could have been much more but settles for the bare minimum. Hence, it gives up a valuable opportunity to add something new to the gangster genre, perhaps in the form of local flavour.
Ganapa (Kannada)
Direction: Prabhu Srinivas
Cast: Anekal Santosh, Priyanka, Petrol Prasanna
