The Ghost review: A suave, stylish Nagarjuna has a gala time headlining this slick action saga

3/5

Story:

An Interpol officer Vikram, married to his colleague Priya, is still nursing the wounds of his dark past. The prospect of dealing with danger, life and death on a daily basis takes a toll on him and affects his relationships at work and back home. A few years down the line, when he quits his job, he receives an anxious call from his sister Anupama Nair. Anupama and her daughter Aditi receive death threats and she’s banking on her brother to come up with a solution. What’s in store for Vikram next?

Review:

Nearly five years after he made the super-stylish PSV Garudavega, filmmaker Praveen Sattaru has another crack at the action thriller genre with The Ghost. He’s more ambitious this time, earning the trust of a suave, ever-agile Nagarjuna and getting the right scale to translate his vision into reality. He marries the aesthetics and the deftness of a Western actioner with the staple ingredients of a desi masala potboiler and the result is intriguing, though there are bumps in the path.

The film makes sense of the trauma experienced by an Interpol officer who flirts with danger every day. On a bad day, it isn’t only another failed operation; Vikram pins all the blame upon himself and takes responsibility for the lives lost. His work spills into his personal life often and there’s a solid backstory dating back to his childhood to justify this behaviour. The Ghost wins your attention because of its effort to understand the mental makeup of its male lead, focusing on the little details.

Praveen Sattaru, with the episodes around Vikram’s childhood, precisely tells us why he chooses to live the life of an Interpol officer. When he tells his partner Priya about his need to put the underworld activities under check (after the death of a child), you can sense where that’s coming from. The flab in The Ghost is minimal and Praveen doesn’t believe in spoonfeeding his audiences. Even though he takes nearly half an hour to arrive at his core conflict, you invest in the story.

The Ghost gains steam when the siblings Vikram and Anupama meet and the former takes control of their life. The sequences where Aditi (Anupama’s daughter) is portrayed as a spoilt brat could’ve been written better but the camaraderie between her and Vikram makes for interesting viewing. The plot thickens when Vikram tries to unravel the mystery around the death threats to Anupama and Aditi. The director structures the narrative like a puzzle, judiciously revealing his cards and keeping us glued.

Post interval, the actioner isn’t as sharp as you’d expect it to be but Praveen knows how to keep the narrative eventful even when the story isn’t progressing much. While the lead to the flashback episode is pompous, the payoff isn’t quite rewarding. With the bulk of the plot already established in its first hour, the screenplay tends to get vague at times and one can sense where the film’s heading. However, a good twist wrests back the momentum and the finale is fulfilling.

It’s the inventive action choreography, relying on strategy more than muscle power, that brings joy to the viewing experience. Nagarjuna and Sonal Chauhan exhibit the right panache, body language and agility in pulling off challenging sequences across different terrains. The Ghost is a film one can make only if a director is granted enough creative freedom. Praveen succeeds in his balancing act while catering to the image of his star and adding enough drama and conflict to the action segments.

While the songs remain largely forgettable, Mark K Robin’s effective background score provides enough impetus to the film’s critical moments. Mukesh’s cinematography catches your eye when the film deals with Vikram’s past and the flashback episode in the latter half. The patchy CGI/VFX is distracting at times. The romance portions between Nagarjuna and Sonal Chauhan feel slightly abrupt. Yet, within the budget limitations and demands of mainstream Telugu cinema, The Ghost is a commendable effort.

Nagarjuna has always excelled in his full-on action films and now aided by Praveen’s storytelling finesse in The Ghost, the veteran shows how he can kick some butt with style even at 63. The film is a distinct addition to Sonal Chauhan’s career, where she gets to fight it out on the field with the men besides showcasing her glam avatar. It’s a pity that someone as fit and athletic as Gul Panag doesn’t get to do action, but this is a worthy Telugu debut for the actress in a plot that mostly revolves around her.

Anikha Surendran does what’s expected of her and the supporting cast Srikanth Iyyangar, Ravi Varma, Manish Chaudhari and Jayaprakash make the most of their limited yet well-defined roles.

Verdict:

The Ghost is a stylish action saga with aptly cast leads - Nagarjuna, Gul Panag and Sonal Chauhan. Besides the craftiness of director Praveen Sattaru, the film’s major highlight is its breathtaking action choreography - which alone merits a big-screen experience.