Gandhi Talks movie review: Vijay Sethupathi, Arvind Swami performances speak volumes, but the silence feels forced

Gandhi Talks plot:

In the bustling financial capital of India, Mumbai, lives Mahadev Vishnu Kumar (Vijay Sethupathi), who stays in a chawl with his ailing mother while desperately searching for a job. Meanwhile, suave entrepreneur Mohan Boseman (Arvind Swami) is grappling with consecutive personal and professional losses. Their worlds collide when Mahadev, along with a pickpocket (Siddharth Jadhav), plans to enter Boseman’s life, setting off a diabolical chain of events.

Gandhi Talks review:

In a courtroom, moments before the judge is expected to break the silence and pronounce his verdict, he replies to a text message saying he ‘loves Gandhi’. What follows are the clunky sounds of a typewriter delivering a verdict influenced by currency notes bearing MK Gandhi’s face. At a political campaign, where loud speeches are expected, the leader silently hands over money to chawl residents, breaking the ice more effectively than words could. Elsewhere, during a job interview, candidates need not speak, as the symbolic serving of tea acts as a code for their willingness to pay a bribe.

These moments define Kishor Pandurang Belekar’s Gandhi Talks, a full-length silent film sustained by AR Rahman’s score, songs, graphic text insertions, and visual messaging. The film appears to comment on the pervasive and corrupt power of currency bearing Gandhi’s image, suggesting that while his principles champion truth, paper money speaks louder than human voices. However, the film often questions its own silence, without offering clear answers.

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One of the film’s tender moments occurs when Mahadev is at one of his odd jobs, dressed as Lord Krishna in shades of blue at a wedding, has food thrown at him by a child, only for Boseman to gently wipe it off. Such glimpses of humanity recur, including a balcony romance between Mahadev and his comparatively affluent neighbour (Aditi Rao Hydari). While these scenes are performed with finesse, the persistent silence between characters feels forced. Throughout AR Rahman’s score, from heavy violin synchronisations to opera and melodic background music, Gandhi Talks refuses to talk, merely for the sake of it. Not that the situations are coined in a certain way that the characters choose not to mumble a word, or that they are speech-impaired. But when situations demand that the lovers speak to each, a man vents out his frustration, the film remains mute, often to its detriment.

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Undoubtedly, it is the searing performances of Vijay Sethupathi and Arvind Swami that hold the screen. Their eyes do the talking, and some miming that often takes place instead of dialogues. The duo do their utmost to drive the narrative that is adamant on being mute. While most of the story is either conveyed through onscreen texts, notes, music, and facial expressions, the film takes a while to dwell onto you. And finally, when it begins to do, how was the silence relevant becomes a pertinent question.

Gandhi Talks verdict:

Joining the likes of silent films like Raja Harishchandra and Pushpaka Vimana, comes Gandhi Talks. The film ambitiously explores the themes of power, money and morality. While its attempt to revive no-dialogue cinema is commendable and is supported by strong performances by Vijay Sethupathi and Arvind Swami, the film’s silence frequently feels imposed rather than organic.