Gang Leader Review: A Disappointing Film with Tons of Potential!

With the tremendous success of Jersey earlier this year, ‘Natural Star’ Nani had gone back to his roots doing clean experimental cinema which earned him a household name in the industry. With Gang Leader, his second release of the year, he teamed up with director Vikram K. Kumar and Anirudh Ravichander who composed the music for the film. The supporting cast stars debutant Priyanka Mohan, veteran actress Lakshmi, Saranya Ponvannan and others in pivotal roles with Karthikeya (RX 100 fame) playing the antagonist role.

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Marketed as an action-comedy or a heist-comedy, the major drawback of Gang Leader lies within its storyline. And one of the many reasons why this movie didn’t work out for me is because it’s broadly predictable and transacts with a generic plot. In its entirety, the narrative resembles and follows the pattern of a million other movies we’ve seen in the past with a touch of revenge, drama and comedy. Although the overall setup looks fresh and original, the conventional storytelling technique of the director didn’t appeal me in the slightest bit.

Moreover, regardless of a traditional plot, the storyteller still can twist things around and make the narrative intriguing for the viewer. However, Vikram K. Kumar once again drops the ball in telling a clever story which doesn’t make the viewer look like a fool. The entire narrative of Gang Leader comprised of glaring loopholes and things which can only happen in a fantasy world where standard rules do not apply.

Scene after scene, he ushered his storyline conveniently by taking cinematic liberties, and not explaining any consequences or at the very least, hinting at a few of them. Here’s a suggestion. Similar to what you do before watching any American action film, walk into Gang Leader and deactivate the logical side of your brain to enjoy this irrational premise.

Additionally, the characters and the performances from the cast come off as ordinary altogether. Karthikeya, who plays the antagonist role tries hard to make his monotonous character look evil and menacing. The female supporting cast who was almost present in every single frame of the film fails to impress due to weak one-sided characters which serve a particular purpose. Nani, who plays the gang leader and as comic relief, performed his part decently and kept the movie rolling with intermittent entertainment. But, on a positive note, the screenplay of the movie is relatively paced well with the 155-minute runtime not dominating as a major pitfall.

On the technical side of things, Polish cinematographer, Miroslaw Kuba Brozek’s camera work is yet another fringe benefit of this film. His slow-mo shots and the ability to make a sequence look as dynamic as possible was impressive and complimented the film’s genre. The music by Anirudh is unorthodox, and the core use of electronic beats made it feel contemporary. But, unfortunately, it did not seem impactful enough to the storyline and was less memorable on the whole.

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Nonetheless, Gang Leader left me with a sour taste in my mouth as the movie had so much potential to be different and stand out from the rest. But despite that, the fairly predictable storyline, the irrational approach and the conspicuous loopholes made it an insipid action-comedy which was heavily inspired by a collection of films from the past. Although, the male lead, Nani impresses, for the most part, the supporting cast alongside Karthikeya did not shine primarily because of their poorly written characters. I walked into this film expecting something new, and refreshing from Vikram K. Kumar, but, the entire movie, by and large, was an absolute disappointment.

Rating – 2.5/5 | Grade – C+

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