Premise: Vijay Sethupathi is unable to pay the bribe money for his deserving Government job. He decides to rob Arvind Swamy, who is a millionaire but is bankrupt now due to business losses. What happens inside his bungalow forms the crux of the story.

Writing/ Direction:  The title Gandhi Talks is very apt for the intention, which is that people don’t matter in India anymore and it is only their money that speaks volumes. In that case, the creative choice of making it a silent film is justified, but the situations have no purpose to be so. For example, the entire second half of the 2014 film Vaayai Moodi Pesavum and the 1987 classic Kamal Haasan starrer Pesum Padam for that matter, those movies had a valid reason to be silent. But unfortunately, here the scenes are forcefully made without dialogues, in what world a courtroom judge and the lawyers will not speak, hence there is no believability from the beginning. Trying something new is appreciable, the sincerity is missing, it is fine that the filmmaker has opted to present his subject non-verbally, but why conveniently narrate through plenty of text message chats and written news articles. Certain nuanced touches work both comically and emotionally, the direction is in fact neat in most parts. The story is simple, the contrast bonding of the male leads are interestingly formed. However the screenplay is sluggish throughout , plus the nature of the film makes it a dull watch.

Performances: As usual, a casual and natural performance from Vijay Sethupathi, this time without speaking a word. Arvind Swami’s character is upset throughout the film and he has shown the discomfort on-screen perfectly through his solid act. Aditi Rao Hydari gets a homely role to play, looks beautiful and scores expressively in a couple of dramatic stretches, but even without her character, there would have been much difference in the story flow as the main plot did not really have much to do with her. Not a routine role for Siddharth Jadhav and he shows some crazy body language.

Technicalities:  AR Rahman’s songs are mediocre, especially the lyrics for the club track were so bad. The background score is pleasing and even drives the film in many lagging portions. Neat camera work overall, but spoiled by some tacky VFX work. Many interesting transition choices by the editor, planned while writing and shot in a particular manner, still the sluggish pace of the film is difficult to overcome.

Verdict: The noble social commentary about money is relatable. Might have been a passable human drama if not for the decision to make it needlessly a silent film. The situations in the storyflow never demanded it to be so.

GANDHI TALKS - Good intent, but a boring outcome!

Rating - 2/ 5.