For many, college life is something that remains as evergreen memories for the rest of their lives. It is almost as if Abhishek Shetty, in his desire to time-travel to his college days, has recreated the same with his film, Gajanana and Gang. The film captures college life filled with fun moments, first friendships, good and bad experiences associated with it, handling the seniors, and more. Gajanana and Gang also show how a college is a place where one can discover oneself, find soulmates, face exams, and above all, forge friendships that last a lifetime.
The film is essentially about a not-so-handsome youth, who is unable to find love. This makes him sadistic and he derives pleasure from others’ pain. There is also another plot involving Gaja (Shri), out of his love for Sahitya (Aditi Prabhudeva), who somehow manages to enroll in the same college as her. It is here that he befriends Vishnu (Abhishek Shetty), Shiva (Natya Ranga), Mounesh (Chethan Durga), and Krishna (Leo Sharma). In no time, they become thick buddies and Shri starts to prioritise his friends over love, which backfires on him. Will he give up his friendship or love forms one part of the story. While Krishna is shown to be a good friend, he is the odd one out of the gang. The reason behind his unusual behaviour is brought out convincingly, and the climax about friendship and love delivers a feel-good message.
Considering that it’s a film set against a college backdrop, the atmosphere is lively, and the director lets the actors bring in their quirks to their respective characters. All the actors, especially Shri and Abhishek, have kept it natural. Aditi Prabhudeva is the soul of the entire plot and has a charming presence in the film.
Krishna delivers a stand-out performance and manages to bring out cruelty and guilt through his body language. While the director could have chosen to add more intrigue to this character, he has instead kept it light-hearted. While the run-time of the film is less than 2 hours, it still has repetitive scenes, extensive fights and unwarranted sequences.
Overall, Gajanana ... is a neat entertainer with a message for all age groups. It’s a film for those who might find the purpose of life at their college, and for the rest, it might reminds us of the good ol’ days.
Gajanana and Gang
Cast: Abhishek Shetty, Aditi Prabhudeva, Suchendra Prasad, Raghu Ramankoppa, Vardhan, Ashwin Hasan, Nagendra URS, Shrimahadev
Director: Abhishek Shetty
Rating : 2.5/5