Garmi Series Review: A decent but familiar exploration of the Big bad world of Politics

At a crucial juncture in Garmi, the protagonist Arvind (Vyom Yadav) is facing a jail term and the custodial violence that comes with it. An important political leader, Bairagi Baba (Veeneet Kumar), with the power to help him walk out scot-free wants him to face that punishment and come out a "leader". He says, "In politics, it is a jail term that separates the leaders from the social workers." Garmi, a scathing commentary on the politics of our country that shoots bullets from the shoulders of the impressionable younger generation, has many such impactful lines. There is a lot of dialogue-baazi and performative alphaness in the series about a young UPSC aspirant who is pushed down the spiral of politics, murder, and mayhem as he valiantly holds on to his aspirations.

Cast: Vyom Yadav, Jatin Goswami, Anurag Thakur, Puneet Singh, Disha Thakur, Anushka Kaushik

Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia

Streaming on: Sony LIV

Garmi marks Tigmanshu Dhulia's return to his home turf of college politics in UP, and he wonderfully builds the characters and their worlds. Keeping the premise rather straightforward, Tigmanshu concentrates on individual high moments that keep us in good stead whenever exposition takes the series down. Even before Arvind steps into Trivenipur University, the hotbed of college politics, we know he is not going to be a meek bystander but a ticking time bomb waiting for the right time to explode. This approach gives us a hero right from the start but robs the series of having any real tension about what would happen to him. Probably why even when Arvind is caught between the volatile Bindu (Puneeth Singh) and hungry-for-power Govind (Anurag Thakur), the student leaders of the two major political players of the State, we know things will end up in favour of our hero.

While Garmi does tick the same boxes that are expected of a drama about the murky world of college politics, it is bolstered by convincing performances from every cast member. Also, Tigmanshu and his team don’t shy away from exposing the blatant caste-based oppression that happens in such colleges, and the nexus between these netas, the police, and the bigger politicians. There is also a nifty touch about archrivals joining hands to trample the whiff of a third front. Murders happen at the drop of a hat, and there is a sinister ploy at play involving caste, UPSC exams, and police officer Mrityunjay (a terrific Jatin Goswami). Supremacists run riot in the lives of the naive but impressionable next generation, and the writing exposes the thought process that, unfortunately, is not a work of fiction. When we see the CM of a State coming to see a firebrand Student leader admitted to the hospital, it is a stark reflection of how everything is closely connected.

While Garmi does have other layers like romance, friendship, and small-town aspirations, the series is essentially about politics and the never-ending slugfest in its name. There is love, loss, betrayal, and longing among the principal characters, but there is only a surface-level exploration of the same, and it removes any colour from the series. There is a strong commentary on moral policing, and its propensity to lead to disastrous consequences. But what really stood out from this commentary is the reaction of these perpetrators and the enforcers. There is an observation about how many of them strongly believe they play with the line, but will never cross it. The suddenness of unfolding events rattles them too, and they find composure soon enough, but to briefly see them grappling with their own morality was a fascinating exploration. It is such a heartfelt understanding of the central premise that keeps Garmi afloat even when it stays firm on old ground.

While Tigmanshu and Co get a lot of things right, the long-series format also pushes them to take certain decisions that don’t really bode well for Garmi. It is disappointing that the patience in building the world is soon substituted with an unnecessary sense of urgency in the later episodes. Why rush through important developments, especially the ones that form the base for a potential season 2? New characters and newer relationships are introduced so late into the first season that it all feels so disjointed, and threatens to derail all the goodwill Garmi earned in the initial few episodes. Also, the lack of logic in many plot threads in such a rooted series is a bit disappointing. 

There is an interesting voiceover that runs throughout the series, which calls Arvind a ‘nek’ person, but calls someone else a ‘hero.’ In many ways, this comparison is true because when the credits roll and we are introduced to the potential players of Garmi Season 2, we understand Arvind is not exactly acting out of free will. His life is a series of reactions. Along with Arvind, we too come to terms with the dangers surrounding Arvind, his loss of innocence, and how his morality and ethics are painted in fifty shades of grey. There is something perverse about our love to see the morally upright fail, and if it is this descent into depravity that will be documented in Season 2, then we will certainly harbour the hots for Garmi.