Nov 21, 20223 min read

Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana: A Rooted & Atmospheric Gangster Saga

Updated: Feb 26, 2023

Reviews by:

@mr.cinemaaa

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Project Details

Director: Raj B. Shetty
Written By: Raj B. Shetty
Produced By: Ravi Rai Kalasa, Vachan Shetty, Srikanth & Vikas
Production Houses: Paramvah Pictures, Coffee Gang Studio & Lighter Buddha Films
Cinematography: Praveen Shriyan
Music Director: Midhun Mukundhan
Edited By: Praveen Shriyan
Costumes: Shravan Bhandary, Rohith Shetty & Nikhil Amin
Sound Design: Sync Cinemas
Make Up: Ronex Xavier
Run Time: 2 Hours & 31 Minutes
CBFC Rating: "A"

Direction & Story

Set in the backdrop of the coastal and cultural city of modern-day Mangaluru, Hari and his best friend Shiva rise together to great heights only to face off as bitter enemies resulting in their own downfall & destruction. The story by Raj B. Shetty is very good. He constructs the story with competent metaphors and narrates the story from a third-eye perspective. It neatly portrays the relationship dynamics. business, cruelty, violence, and misbehavior of the Mangaluru underworld. The screenplay is superb in the first half & the interval is decent but the plot is dragged to the core with a few unnecessary and boring scenes in the second half. Director Raj B. Shetty's work in the film is brilliant. He does not forget the essence of the visual medium and he relies less on words & more on body language, as it is in real, to let you understand the The dialogues too are well written. changed relationship dynamics.

Lead Performances

Raj B. Shetty is undoubtedly the stand-out performer in the film. His Shiva character is one of the most beautifully written characters on screen in the past few years. He’s loyal to a fault and is ruthless, but he also loves cricket & the boys whom he plays with. He shows all these emotions perfectly in the film. Watch out for his footwear scenes and his rage on screen. Rishab Setty is equally good in a contrasting character as Hari in the film. He comes up with a more mature performance, underplays his role beautifully & passes with flying colors, especially towards the very end. Gopalakrishna Deshpande does complete justice to his role as the police officer. His character is unique and has been handled with great detail. Every other actor from the rest of the huge ensemble supporting cast have done their bit exceedingly well in their parts.

Detailed Analysis

The first half is the best part. The way it starts and the way the characters are introduced and how they grow to power keep us engaged. The bar scene and the cricket tournament scene are superbly shot. The second half is dragged for no reason. There is a lot of lag in the scenes that test our patience after a point. Due to this the intense drama also gets bogged down. There is a lot of violence in the film. But there's a certain poetry in all the killing scenes & the plot never glorifies it. It is all very matter-of-fact, either by force of circumstances or to keep oneself alive. But, ultimately, the film is about how loyalty triumphs overpower. The idea of Shiva wearing the footwear of all the victims is very unique and clap-worthy in the theatres. If the film had a crisper cut in the second half and the narrative could have been a little more pacy with some more drama, it would have been a huge hit.

Technical Team

Direction: 5/5
Story: 4/5
Screenplay: 3/5
Dialogues: 4/5
Music/Songs: 4/5
Background Score: 4.5/5
Production Values: 5/5
Cinematography: 5/5
Editing: 3/5
Costumes: 4.5/5
Choreography: 4/5
VFX/Graphics: 5/5
Sound Design: 4/5

Things to Look Out For

Cameraman Praveen Shriyan lens follows every little small road with moss-lined compounds in Mangaluru and takes you along. His framing is exquisite, placing the subject in context and his lighting is perfect. The songs have a fresh feel & the background score is superb and they give a very unique experience with the impressive tunes and sounding. Production values are top-notch. Artwork & costumes are authentic.

Plus Points