Kathha Pictures’ Gandhari is about child trafficking. Bani’s (Taapsee Pannu) daughter gets kidnapped from a train at Joypurra railway station. Obviously, Bani and her husband, Gokul (Ishwak Singh), are hell-bent on rescuing their child. By the by, it emerges that a gang involved in child trafficking has abducted the girl just like the gang has kidnapped other children too. While trying to save her daughter, Bani loses her eyesight for some time. But like a possessed tigress, Bani exposes the gang involved in the crime and rescues not just her daughter but all the abducted children.
Kanika Dhillon’s story is interesting but lacks novelty as one has seen films about child trafficking, in the past too. By its very nature, the story is depressing. Kanika Dhillon’s screenplay is quite fast-paced but there are some points which don’t appeal much. An instance in point is the portion in which Bani has a showdown with husband Gokul because he is willing to save his daughter at the cost of sacrificing the other kidnapped children. On this point, Bani is unforgiving because she can’t dream of taking such a selfish stand. The viewers are unable to completely hate Gokul for his selfish stance, if only because he is as keen to save his daughter as Bani. Kanika Dhillon’s dialogues are natural.
Taapsee Pannu does a wonderful job in the role of Bani. She breathes fire into the character once she takes it upon herself to rescue her little daughter and also the other kidnapped children when she gets to know about them. She is also terrific in emotional and dramatic scenes. Ishwak Singh performs ably as Gokul. Chhaya Kadam lives the character of Uma didi, delivering a noteworthy performance. Swastika Mukherjee makes her presence felt in a special appearance as Churni didi. Mita Vashisht is realistic as Jhunu Amba. Prashant Narayanan is nice as Dada. Jatin Sarna leaves a superb impression as Kabir. Chandan Roy shines as Somesh. Vishwanath Chatterjee lends decent support in the role of police inspector Saha. Priti Shroff is alright as ASI Sanjukta. Myrah Shivan is cute and natural as Mishty. Subham Basu and the others lend the desired support.
Devashish Makhija’s direction is sensitive. Shor Police, Clinton Cerejo and Bianca Gomes’ music is functional. Kauser Munir’s lyrics are appropriate. Background music (by Shor Police, Clinton Cerejo and Bianca Gomes) is effective. Amit Roy’s cinematography is good. Action scenes have been excellently choreographed by Brahim Acchabake, Riyaz Shaikh, Habib Sayed and Anis Shaikh. Nikhil Kovale and Apurva Bhagat’s production designing is of a fine standard. Naman Arora’s editing is sharp.
On the whole, Gandhari is a well-made film but the content is such that it depresses you. It makes for fair viewing at home on OTT.
Released on 4-9-’26 on Netflix.
