Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai
Mumbai, Sep 3: Netflix’s latest film ‘Gandhari’ starts with an intriguing premise but gradually loses its grip as the story progresses. Starring Taapsee Pannu and Ishwak Singh, the film attempts to combine an emotional mother-daughter story with a dark thriller centred on human trafficking.
The film follows Bani (Taapsee Pannu), a mother whose young daughter Mishti goes missing during a train journey after being abducted by a human trafficking network. When Bani and her husband Gokul (Ishwak Singh) realise that the local police in Joypura are unable to help them, she decides to search for her daughter herself.
However, Bani suffers an injury while looking for Mishti and temporarily loses her eyesight. Despite her physical limitation, she continues her search and soon discovers that the trafficking network is much deeper than she had initially imagined. Her investigation also leads her to several cases involving missing girls in the area.
The film has an engaging premise and gets off to a promising start. But the screenplay soon begins moving at an unusually fast pace, leaving several developments feeling rushed and underdeveloped. Important transitions happen without giving the audience enough time to understand how the characters reached those situations.
Bani’s transformation from a desperate mother searching for her child to someone deeply involved in uncovering the trafficking network is one such example. The film moves forward by weeks at a time, while major developments in her journey are presented almost in passing.
The emotional core of the story consequently suffers. A mother searching desperately for her missing child has the potential to create powerful emotional moments, but the screenplay often moves on before those moments can fully register.
The film also introduces mysterious elements such as bahurupiyas, but these remain largely limited to creating brief moments of suspense rather than becoming an integral part of the larger narrative.
Taapsee Pannu puts in a committed performance as Bani. She handles the emotional scenes particularly well, especially when the character expresses her desperation over her missing daughter. The action sequences also showcase her physical commitment to the role.
Ishwak Singh is convincing as Gokul, Bani’s husband, but his character is not given enough depth to make a lasting impact. The film's supporting cast includes actors such as Mita Vashisht, Swastika Mukherjee, Jatin Sarna, Prashant Narayanan and Chandan Roy, but most of their characters remain underutilised.
Prashant Narayanan, in particular, has limited scope despite playing the principal antagonist. Given his ability to portray intense characters, the role feels like a missed opportunity.
Kanika Dhillon, who has written and produced the film, and director Devashish Makhija have created a dark and gritty atmosphere. The action is handled with urgency, but the same urgency becomes one of the film’s biggest weaknesses. The screenplay constantly rushes towards the next development instead of allowing the characters and emotions to develop naturally.
At its core, ‘Gandhari’ has all the ingredients of a gripping thriller — a mother searching for her kidnapped child, a dangerous trafficking network, missing girls and a protagonist dealing with temporary blindness. Yet the potential of these elements is not fully realised.
The film’s biggest strength remains its premise and Taapsee’s performance, while its rushed screenplay and underdeveloped character arcs prevent it from making the impact it could have.
‘Gandhari’ wants to be both an emotional mother-daughter drama and an intense crime thriller. While it succeeds in parts, the hurried storytelling keeps it from becoming the gripping thriller its premise promises.