Ganapath – A Hero Is Born

wogma rating: Switch channels if it's on cable (?)

quick review:

The hard work shows. In creating chiselled beautiful-looking bodies. It also shows in the actors trying to get the action choreography right. But it’s either missing or not enough in all the writing departments—dialogues, characters, screenplay, story. The trailer on repeat is good enough to appreciate the hard work.

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Director: Vikas Bahl
Running time: 135 minutes
Genres: Action
More Movie Info

Hindi films as an industry are only getting started on creating a futuristic dystopian world—where the rich oppress, the poor despair and then rebel as they look for follow a messiah. The template hasn’t been explored yet. Which is why, I guess we are still in the copying stage. Ganapath feels like the makers saw a range of dystopian films and TV shows from the Western world ranging from Andor to Black Mirror and felt inspired to bring it to the Hindi film world. So far, so good. Then they…

  • dumbed it down,
  • applied superficial and vague behavioral psychology and economics,
  • added some even more superficial technical mumbo-jumbo about boxing because that is the theme of the film,
  • ripped out any sign of logic
  • to make room for chiseled bodies, and
  • beautiful, but largely unnecessary show of fight choreography

Oh, and did all of the above with some pretty lame CGI.

Their aim was to use Tiger Shroff’s ability to execute complicated action and dance choreography.

That pretty much sums it up, actually. Sure, I can fill in paragraphs about how silly the twists were not just because they were unpredictable, but also because they were well…silly…and convenient and…gimmicky.

But I don’t think the makers were into story, building a world or characters or any such thing. Their aim was to use Tiger Shroff’s ability to execute complicated action and dance choreography. A lot of it rubs on really well on Kriti Sanon too. And fine, that was done alright. Everything else revolves around his moves. The lead lady, even if she has a meatier role than is usual for such films, the side characters, even a bunch of restaurant servers who exist only to be beaten up by the lead couple—everything is a side-show that will be put on hold when Tiger Shroff takes the ring screen.

But how many more movies is he going to take on to exploit that skill? Surely, he must believe he is more of an actor than that, no? How many more makers will indulge? How many more shots will the audience give him? I, for one, am at zero. I bow to the hard work put in, it’s visible. But hard work in only one area doesn’t a good film, make.

- meeta, a part of the audience

19 reviewers(?) - 1 yays 4 so-so 14 nays

Warning: clicking on "full review" will take you to an external website that could contain spoilers.

Thumbs up, Outlook India : ...And here's the twist – 'Ganapath' holds a special surprise that we won't spoil for you. While the direction might have a few minor bumps, the emotions in this rollercoaster of a story take precedence. It's a total 'Seeti Maar' performance.... full review

So-So, Filmi Beat : ...Performance wise, Tiger Shroff is perfect for this role as it's an action-oriented character and that suits him well. Kriti Sanon is damn good in her role and she has been given some really nice action scenes. Amitabh Bachchan is nice in his cameo, but Gauahar Khan and Elli AvrRam are wasted. South actor Rahman makes his Bollywood debut, and he is very good as Shiva.... full review

So-So, by Devesh Sharma, Free Press Journal : ...Inspired perhaps by Star Wars, Vikas Bahl has tried to infuse a heavy dose of emotions, mysticism and spirituality in the film. The mixture of coming-of-age tropes and miracles makes it a mixed bag which has something for everybody. The doubts which assailed Luke Skywalker are absent here, however. The film is set up in two parts, with the sequel set to release in future. So perhaps it’ll see newer conflicts besieging our hero.... full review

So-So, Glamsham.com : ...And here’s the twist – ‘Ganapath’ holds a special surprise that we won’t spoil for you. While the direction might have a few minor bumps, the emotions in this rollercoaster of a story take precedence. It’s a total ‘Seeti Maar’ performance.... full review

So-So, by Renuka Vyavahare, Times of India : ...We wish the film stayed loyal to the world it hoped to create instead of succumbing to Bollywood tropes. Ganapath feels like a huge potential wasted.... full review

Thumbs down, by Simran Singh, DNA : ...Ganapath is brought down by its amateurish, poorly rendered, visibly jarring VFX. Leave Hollywood aside, the animation and effects in PC games of 2005 looked better than Ganapath. The special effects of this film should be awarded as the Worst VFX of recent times. Also, the movie had little-to-no scope for senior talented actors such as Amitabh Bachchan, Jameel Khan, and Pramod Kadam. They all were wasted.... full review

Thumbs down, by Pratikshya Mishra, Film Companion : ...With each new scene, the film increasingly stops feeling like a film, but an extended vanity cut of Shroff’s training. It is when, in a rare moment, when Ganapath makes tea for Shiva while evading his punches, bending over his attacks, that we can see what action can do when it attempts to tell a story. For being able to do action isn’t enough. You must earn it, too.... full review

Thumbs down, by Monika Rawal Kukreja, Hindustan Times : ...The best part about Ganapath is that it ends just when you feel you can't take it anymore. But wait, part 1 only saw the hero being born. Wait for part 2: Rise of the Hero. Watch Ganapath if you can limit your idea of watching a film to some brilliant dance and action moves, and don't expect anything beyond this.... full review

Thumbs down, by Shubhra Gupta, indian express : ...But basically, it’s all a slack rigmarole, signifying nothing. Can it be that we also need a story along with Tiger Fighting and Dancing, Dancing and Fighting? What a thought.... full review

Thumbs down, by umesh Punwani, koimoi : ...All said and done, the film could be divided into two parts: one is a video game, and the other is a realistically shot video game & how the makers struggle to stitch both of them together because of how everything is damaged beyond repair.... full review

Thumbs down, by Sameer Ahire, Movie Talkies : ...Unfortunately, all those expectations are buried with Ganapath. It might have worked with a different approach, but somehow things just didn’t add up well. Everything went wrong, from the script to the execution. An ambitious project with such a high budget deserved a better outcome, for sure.... full review

Thumbs down, by Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV : ...All the flourishes notwithstanding, Ganapath is painfully pea-brained pulp that makes a meal of a terribly thin storyline. It struggles to shore itself up with the aid of utterly vacuous, glaringly hackneyed means that are never in with a chance to get the job done.... full review

Thumbs down, by Sonil Dedhia, News18.com : ...There is ample acrobatics on display, slo-mo shots, deafening explosions, and lethal punches in the film. But none of it can rise beyond a weak script that doesn’t go for the kill. Ganapath is a mashup that is constructed from a mountain of absurdities that keeps growing with each passing minute so much so that even Tiger and Kriti cannot salvage the situation... full review

Thumbs down, by Isha Sharma, NewsBytes : ...Ganapath is one of the most ambitionless, haywire films I had the (mis)fortune to see, and at no point did it engage/enthrall me. I cringed through most of it and couldn't wait for the end credits, such is the nosedive mode it stays in. The end teases a sequel, which I hope never gets made. That would be our real dystopia.... full review

Thumbs down, by Avinash Lohana, Pinkvilla : ...This futuristic drama headlined by Tiger Shroff and Kriti Sanon needed to do some solid work in the past before bringing it to the audience.... full review

Thumbs down, by Sukanya Verma, Rediff : ...Ganapath's greatest undoing is that it never really started and isn't quite done. All through this 134-minute bore, a mysterious figure in a floor length hoodie and his Transformers style tiger robot appear to be watching the show from the sides. When the person's identity is finally revealed, whatever curiosity arises, out of courtesy, instantly dies when Ganapath decides to end it on a flimsy cliff hanger and announce its intentions for a second part.... full review

Thumbs down, by Nandini Ramnath, Scroll.in : ...Neither is the origin story strong nor is Bahl’s imagination adequate to make us believe that we are somewhere in the future. Parts of the film look like a large scrapyard. Silver City looks like the insides of a video game produced on the cheap. The 136-minute film lumbers on, like the animatronic tiger that briefly struts about and then vanishes.... full review

Thumbs down, by Anuj Kumar, The Hindu : ...‘Mission Raniganj’ movie review: An earnest Akshay Kumar struggles to salvage this mission impossible Saddled with a half-baked character, Kriti hardly gets an opportunity to showcase her natural flair in emotional scenes, and in action sequences, she delivers some premeditated kicks. Amitabh Bachchan is clearly wasted as Dalapati, the leader of the pack, who doesn’t get to share screen space with Tiger.... full review

Thumbs down, by Pratikshya Mishra, The Quint : ...But with great premise comes the great responsibility of execution. Alas, other than director of photography Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti, the technical execution is nothing to write home about (unless you're writing to an agony aunt).... full review

Twitter reviews for this movie are not available.

1 readers - 0 yays 0 so-so 1 nays

Not Interested in Watching, by fanofcfc8

Nay! Thumbs Down, by Raj : How the Directors market to get a budget >150 crores?

This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.

Parental Guidance:

  • Violence: Loads and loads. The very basis is boxing fights
  • Language: Clean
  • Nudity & Sexual content: None
  • Concept: A dystopian world where the poor fight the rich, and the rich continue to exploit.
  • General Look and Feel: Sepia and grey touches to maintain the dystopian feel throughout.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

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Ganapath – A Hero Is Born - Cast, crew, links

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Running time:
135 minutes
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Comments (3)

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Raj

Dear Meetu, These are the price a reviewer pays to undergo such movies and save audiences from venturing getting mentally slaughtered

Like I asay taking one for the team. :'D

Fanofcfc8

Do yourself a favor and watch 12th fail...its an antidote to this garbage u just reviewed

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