Jun 15, 2009 09:30 AM
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Gafla released on October 6, 2006. The promo of the film began a week before its release and it caught my eye. But I couldn’t catch the film in theatres as my exams were going on. By the time my exams got over on October 13, the film had vanished from theatres (in just one week)! I was not disappointed since I expected its VCDs to release soon. But time went by and neither its VCDs/DVDs came out, nor was it ever telecasted on TV. Last year, I learnt that the film will be screened in the Times of India’s Kala Ghoda Film Festival. I happily reached the venue of the screening, the Eros theatre at Churchgate (Mumbai) but disappointment awaited me here too! The film screening was to be held in the preview theatre of Eros which had just 45 seats and all the seats were already filled by the time I reached!
The next day, I found that the director of Gafla, Sameer Hanchate, has a website too in which his email id was also mentioned. I wrote a mail to him, explaining how I am dying to watch Gafla and the unpleasant experience at Eros. He replied immediately, sympathizing with me and ending the mail with a good news-the VCDs are going to be out soon! 1year and 5 months have passed since I received that mail but still the VCDs/DVDs has not come out! Frustrated, I decided to download the film from the internet. And finalllly, I saw the film on Saturday!
The story of the movie: Subodh Mehta (Vinod Sharawat) is an ordinary man who wants to make it big in the world of stock exchange. He dreamt of becoming rich and successful. He had limited means but plenty of knowledge and intelligence. With the help of Hari (Brijendra Kala) and C N Shah (Saurabh Dubey), he becomes an investor and starts earning a steady income. But Subodh was not satisfied-he was still determined to go up. This quest for the ultimate success made him come face to face with the big players of stock exchange. Subodh’s ideas and plans were different from these top players. They warned him but he didn’t pay any heed. Finally, they decided to crucify him for the fraud that everyone around was doing.
Gafla is without a shred of doubt inspired from the story of Harshad Mehta, one of the biggest scamster of the stock exchange. However, the film projects the protagonist in a different perspective. It is more of a biographical account of Subodh Mehta. His entry into the world of shares and his experiences is wonderfully executed and keeps you hooked. Since no film has ever been made completely on stock markets, the director gets a chance to show his vision without getting biased or stereotypical.
Although the film is interesting till the last scene, there are very few scenes which manage to create an impact. Also, the beginning portions of the film were difficult to understand, especially for a person like me who doesn’t have much knowledge on stock market! The climax of the film was excellent and it instantly reminds one of Madhur Bhandarkar’s Corporate.
The film completely rests on the shoulders of Vinod Sharawat. A television actor before, Sharawat perfectly plays his role. He scored majorly during the pre-climax and the final scene. He’s an actor who deserves to get more roles! Shruti Ulfat as Vidya, Subodh’s love interest gives a confident performance. Purva Parag as Maya does a good job. Vikram Gokhale rocks in the special appearance role. Brijendra Kala looked every inch like a ‘dalal street wala’ but he spoke too fast to decipher. Aditya Lakhia stands out. Others do a good job. And before I forget, Sameer Hanchate, the director of the film, is also there in a brief role in the film!
The film has two songs, penned by Jab We Metlyricsist Irshad Kamil. The songs appear in the beginning and towards the end and hence do not hamper the pace of the film.
Anshul Chobey’s cinematography was brilliant. The scenes shot in actual locations of South Mumbai were well captured. Bijesh Jayarajan’s dialogues suited the mood and theme of the film. Rajiv Velicheti’s screenplay was good but could have been better for sure.
Finally, Sameer Hanchate did the unthinkable. He not only directed, but also wrote, produced and even acted in his first film! As an actor and writer, he was amazing. But the direction was not upto the mark. The film moved like a biography and didn’t stress on important sequences of the film. Hence, many of these scenes didn’t make an impact. But still, kudos to this young man for coming up with a novel film. He surely has a long way to go!
Some of the best scenes of the film:
Subodh entering Bombay Stock Exchange for the first time
Subodh’s meeting with C N Shah
Scenes of Vikram Gokhle
Subodh’s ‘settlement’ with Thakur
The final 10 minutes
On the whole, Gafla is a well-made film. It gives you a wonderful insight into the world of shares and stocks and impresses to a great extent. Those who are in this field will definitely enjoy this film!
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