Film: Godsay
Starring: Vinay Forrt, Mythili, Joy Mathew
Direction: Sherrey and Shyju Govind
Godsay must have looked pretty good on paper. A radio announcer who is perpetually drowned in liquor, discovers Gandhian way of life by chance and proceeds to drown in that, becoming somewhat of an outcast in a changed world. With a sprinkling of comedy, it has enough of spark in it for an engaging watch. Sadly, that’s not how it has turned out.
Directed by Sherrey and Shyju Govind, Godsay is a rather tedious dark comedy, where neither the comic elements nor the darkness manages to pull in the audience’s attention. With the retirement of the long-time presenter of Gandhi-related programmes at the local Akashavani station, the mantle falls on young presenter Harishchandran (Vinay Forrt). Hari, who stays in a run-down lodge, is leading an anarchic lifestyle, and does not seem to have any interests other than drinking.
The station chief gifts him a copy of Gandhi’s ‘My Experiments with Truth,’ the feverish reading of which over the course of a night, transforms him into a staunch Gandhian. This transformation in the character is faintly reminiscent of Sreenivasan’s role in Chinthavishtayaaya Shyamala . Here, the ones amused by his change are his theatre artiste girlfriend and the other old residents of the lodge.
The events are set in the early 1990s, when India was on the cusp of getting neo-liberalised. In conveying the context and the theme, the film gets too literal, for instance by showing a fallen Gandhi statue, a Gandhi Bhavan facing revenue recovery proceedings and the lack of listener interest for a Gandhi programme.
The theme and treatment is a world away from Sherrey’s debut work Adimadhyantham . But, despite an earnest performance from Vinay Forrt and the short duration of the movie, it fails to make the hard-hitting impact which was intended, going by the climactic sequences, centred on a play about Gandhi’s assassination.
The theme had much relevance in the times when even fringe groups worshipping Godse have started rearing their heads. However, cinema is much more than about the relevance of its theme.
S.R. Praveen
