Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana Movie Review: Rage well captured

Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (GGVV) is an extraordinary work of art. It is ruthless in its overall personality, and it is bold filmmaking, which tries to transform all its rage into a fire that warms rather than cause destruction.

Cast: Raj B Shetty, Rishab Shetty, Gopalkrishna Deshpande
Director: Raj B Shetty

GGVV entirely belongs to Raj B Shetty, who, after Ondu Motteya Kathe, has graduated to an impeccable style of filmmaking in his second outing. With some great sequences and impressive performances, the story of GGVV effortlessly glides through and is wonderfully elevated by Praveen Shriyan’s cinematography and Midhun Mukundan’s music.

The gangster drama is about the brotherhood between Shiva (Raj B Shetty) and Hari (Rishab Shetty) and is set in the coastal backdrop of Mangala Devi. Taking a leaf out of Sri Devi Mahatme Yakshagana performance, Raj has brought the character traits of Bramha - the creator, Vishnu - the maintainer, and Maheshwara - the destroyer.

Shiva’s disturbed childhood turns him into a rowdy who is overprotective of Hari. Enter Bramhaiyya (Gopalkrishna Deshpande), a sub-inspector who gets transferred to Mangala Devi. Their paths cross when Hari rises to become powerful and rule the coastal town. Will he get help from Shiva, or will this rising impact their relationship?

These sequences are reflective of the varied human emotions that end in a not-so-well thought-out climax. Although there is a repetition of a few scenes, the film maintains a high tempo. The filmmaker explores the culture of Mangala Devi, and does a fine job of pumping adrenaline into the scenes, which also brings out the loneliness, confusion, and inner turmoil.

While Raj Shetty breathes life into his role of Shiva, Rishab Shetty shines with a mature performance as Hari. Gopalkrishna Deshpande too does justify his director’s trust in him. Every actor of this ensemble has done their part exceedingly well.

GGVV boasts of a good craft, and is well-written and well-made. Points to the team for not glorifying rowdyism in a film, which is essentially a gangster drama. The filmmaker has sketched out the character arc of a distraught child, who grows up to be a gangster, and the resulting complications. GGVV should be experienced with an open mind about appreciating the art of filmmaking.