Gandhi Talks Review 2026: A Genuine Attempt That Works in Parts

Gandhi Talks Plot

A young and unemployed graduate, Mahadev (Vijay Sethupathi), struggles to land a job while he has an ailing mother at home. During his consistent search, he crosses paths with a businessman, Boseman (Arvind Swamy), who was once wealthy but whose life collapsed due to betrayal and losses. After meeting him, Mahadev hatches a plan that might change his life. 

During this journey, Mahadev also crosses paths with a thief (Siddharth Jadhav), with whom he tries to exploit Boseman’s crisis while maintaining a healthy relationship with his girlfriend (Aditi Rao Hydari) living across his balcony. As for the girl, her mother wants her to get married as soon as possible and makes her meet a suitable boy in the process.

What is Silent Film?

A silent film, as the category suggests, is a movie where characters do not speak to each other through dialogue, but songs or background music constantly support their story, which, in the case of the Gandhi Talks film, is given by A.R. Rahman. The era of silent films in Indian cinema ended after Alam Ara (1931), the first sound film of India. However, to the majority of the Indians, it is a known and relevant way of entertainment. A few examples of silent films include those that featured Charlie Chaplin. 

Besides just films, there are many shows or even cartoons that Indians can relate to, among silent comedies such as Tom & Jerry, Mr Bean, DuckTales, etc. Among shows, a well-known example is Gutur Gu, which used to be a highly loved comedy show on SAB TV from 2010 to 2014.

Thanks for the Brave Step

We start with a hat off to the director and writer Kishor Pandurang Belekar, who made a silent film in today’s time, as well as the rest of the Gandhi Talks movie cast and crew, who trusted his decision. What adds to his trust in the film is making the film release in theaters after its screening at IFFI 2023, rather than going for a typical Gandhi Talks OTT release, which would have been way more suitable for the kind of film it is.

The Positives: When the Producer’s Gandhi Doesn’t Go Into Vain

Coming back to the Gandhi Talks movie review, it starts at a very normal pace for a drama film and slowly builds up well by revealing itself layer after layer, introducing to you the emotions, symbolism, and depth of the story, obviously not through dialogues. In the first half, the film impresses you completely with its authenticity and engagingness thanks to the music and music composer A.R. Rahman, who gives it a touch of human voices.

As you expect, the film is made to stand on its own rather than as a cash-grab opportunity for anything. Due to these well-intentioned efforts, the film hits you at quite a good number of moments, along with being authentic and convincing in its plotline and production. The writing is what becomes a cherry on the cake, which makes Vijay Sethupathi new movie interesting and gripping as it keeps the question of “Aage kya hoga?” alive throughout the runtime with thrills. 

Where Your Gandhi Feels Wasted

The second half is where the silent film silently dips, but makes you suffer anyway. The emotions and comedy both see a degradation in quality. In this half, only the mildly entertaining house robbery sequence turns out to be something that catches your interest. Besides that one sequence, due to the several points of necessary improvement required in the second half, which includes a better climax, the film falters in being an overall great experience.

Make it More Silent, Please

In a silent film, music is necessary as it is not entertaining in any way to watch a normal movie on mute volume. A.R. Rahman understands this necessity, but in an excessive manner due to the over-necessary use of BGM in the film, which disturbs you in several scenes. The makers needed to understand where the background music stays in the background and where it is playing in the foreground.

When the Uniqueness Becomes a Defect

Funnily, Gandhi Talks 2026 could feel better based on not its own merits but yours. In the scenes where something is written that takes the story forward, you need to read it quickly because the film doesn’t give you time for that. Though dialogues could have helped in such situations, here we are complaining right now. 

The harm that being silent does to the film is that the audience does not understand the actions being taken at a moment, but understands the same later on in the movie by connecting the dots with many other events that have already happened. In case you pick up your phone, talk to your partner, or are busy sharing your popcorn or chips, you miss the sequence and lose grasp of the film. This is where, by being silent, the film shoots itself in the foot several times and yet tries to walk normally.

Riding on Crocodile Tears?

As evident from the Gandhi Talks trailer, it is a film where comical events arise due to emotions. For such a film, the emotions at several places shown by the actors and the writing team do not feel genuine enough. The central character, Mahadev, and his sick mother need to be connected emotionally, but the film considers their connection limited to the mother coughing and sleeping every time she is on the screen. The same is the case for Mahadev and his girlfriend, and Boseman and his family. A.R. Rahman tries his best to simply give birth to these emotions through his background composition, but fails.

When you think of a blend of emotions and comedy, a great example that arises is Hera Pheri. It is a movie that gave us iconically funny, crazy, and lovable characters, all of them drowning in a pool of suffering throughout.

The Failures of the Writer

Besides the emotions and character writing, Kishor Pandurang Belekar’s major fault lies in moving his story forward just for the sake of it, which can be seen in the connection attempt of the lead characters. Initially, Mahadev and Boseman are suffering in their own lives, but the way the screenplay makes them come across each other for the destined purpose feels forced. This also affects the actions they take in coordination with each other.

This consistency in forced plot points even makes the climax and its own central idea confusing. Yes, the film revolves around Gandhi (money), but what’s the message? Not understanding it only leads you to doubt your own IQ until you finally hear some human noises and get to know that no one else got the message either.

The Cheap and Compromised Technical Aspects

For a film made on a budget of just Rs 20 crore and featuring some popular names, it is no surprise that the technical aspects have not been given justice. In every scene, you can decipher whether it was shot in front of a green screen or not. Even when there are multiple characters on a screen, you can see that they have been forced to stand together through VFX on scenes shot separately. Such instances are where you feel glad some other parts of the movie were shot authentically.

As for the cinematography, camera work, and effects like transitions, they are good enough but feel repetitive or monotonous throughout the movie.

The Job of an Amazing Gandhi Talks Cast

A major point of attraction for the film is the Gandhi Talks cast, which leaves no stone unturned to stand up to your expectations.

Arvind Swamy is brilliant as Boseman, giving birth to emotions through his expressions even when the writing does not seem to make them emotional. That’s how impactful and genuine his performance is. The same is the case with Vijay Sethupathi, who has touched the peak of emotions several times throughout his career.

As for Siddharth Jadhav, he has been typecast into a less emotional and more comical role. He performs just good enough in his zone to not irritate the audience. Aditi Rao Hydari does not have much to give the film, and acts decently.

Oscar Winner A.R. Rahman Proves Himself

When you come to the Gandhi Talks songs, you realize that A.R. Rahman missed several places in the movie, but not the full-fledged songs. Sunhari Kirne by Arijit Singh feels like peace coming to life, and listening to it after the singer’s fresh retirement from playback singing only makes it more beautiful. Meanwhile, Shreya Ghoshal’s Inqalabi Ziddi is a great and attention-catching party number too. As for Zara Zara, it is a decent attempt at a romantic number too.

Our Final Verdict

Gandhi Talks had a great opportunity of being one of the many films that failed at the box office but got limitless love on social media. However, this is where the silent comedy drama becomes a missed opportunity. Majorly due to a second half that lacks salt, not only did the film fail to be an overall thrilling entertainer, but it also erased the opportunity of any Indian filmmaker making a silent film in this era of noise pollution ever again.