Gaganam

A flight takes off from Chennai and destined to New Delhi. It is hijacked by a group of terrorists and the flight is forcibly landed in Tirupati due to a technical snag. The hijackers want the release of their leader Yousuf (a dreaded terrorist). Viswanath (Prakash Raj) is the national home secretary and he negotiates with the terrorists. Raveendra (Nagarjuna) heads the team of National Security Guards. The government decides to release Yousuf and something unexpected happens which leads the entire process to go haywire. The rest of the story is all about how Raveendra plans a strategy and saves the passengers.

Nagarjuna is probably one of the huge heroes of Telugu cinema who doesn't give a damn about formulas and commercial elements if he sees something special in the story element or in the director. Gaganam is a kind of movie where Nagarjuna's image helps the movie in attracting wider range of audiences. Nagarjuna plays the role of a National Security Guard who is torn between government decision and his natural instincts. Nagarjuna came up with a fabulous performance as NSG commando.

The movie is different... Totally good movie in Nags carrier... Bramhi comedy is awesome... Nag Action is fabulous... Worth spending time......

What is a Telugu film? Bashing intro of hero bashes 50 to 100 rowdies+Intro song(Praising hero for his supernatural powers) and non-stop dialogues which will cause stop the trains and Planes(hero will stop with dialogues and hit his thigh) Some people always encourage this kind of stuff from ages, that's why Telugu film is like 'frog in a well' kind trend from years and years.

Can we break this stupid things in Telugu cinema? Yes the answer is 'Gaganam(Telugu)/Payanam(Tamil) There is no 'Tata Sumos' are flying in the air with one vigil, there are no heroins, there are no punch dialogues.

But this film stick audiences like glue, tight screenplay, good direction, nice humor, well heart-touching scenes and excellent performances by Nagarjuna and Prakash Raj.

This film is welcome change in TFI(Telugu Film Industry) We should appreciate RadhaMohan, PrakashRaj, Dil Raju and Telugu Super Star Nagarjuna's efforts and the amount of risk taken, But the final output is 'Path Breaking and Trendsetting movie' in Indian Films.

WOW, I was so surprised by this film. When i saw the first look of the movie i expected it to be a regular Telugu movie, but i was dead wrong. A hijack drama is quite new to Telugu film industry. Radha Mohan has to be commended for his attempt. The screenplay was tight, it maintained the suspense through out the movie. The interval twist was bang on !!!.

Nagarjuna was awesome in the role of an NSG commando. He is known for romantic roles with at least 2 female leads and duet songs in the movie, but this movie is an entire contrast. No songs, No Romance, No lead actresses at all. The movie sticks to the point. Bharath also did a good job as the sub ordinate of Nagarjuna. There is no separate entertainment thread in the movie, all we have is suspense which goes till the end. Episodes involving Bramhanandam, Prudhvi and his obsessed fan are hilarious.

The last 10 min countdown climax is seriously brilliant, Editing was so good. Truly edge of the seat stuff. Nagarjuna & Radha Mohan should be commended for making such a good film. I expect these sort of movies in the future

10/10 for this film... LOVE GAGANAM

title: gaganam

opening statement: definite innovative paced taut thriller that would keep the viewers edge of seats.

the case: hijack drama

the fate: predictable movie since many of such movies have been seen.

the charge: operation gaganam

evidence: there are definite proofs to show that this movie is different. the various evidences include the near 100% screenplay with perfect narration. secondly the direction of the movie. right from the title flying with, in the sky showing the map of India, with the introduction to various characters is perfect and the viewers are caught well with it, thirdly is the cinematography and the camera work done inside a hijacked plane. good movement of the camera along with subtitles at required stages gives a grip. fourthly is the change in screenplay from serious mood to a soothing humorous mood. some interjections of comedy for about 5 minutes would relieve the viewers from a serious mood. and finally the fifth and last is the cast performances. their performance is picture perfect and every character in the movie has got an important role.

facts regarding the charge: we see that the main hero nagarjuna as NSG commando utters the word. from then onwards the movie goes at a rapid pace. the climax almost builds well. the statement is really good and thus the viewers stick to the seats till the credits fall.

closing statement: a definite innovative thriller. the predictable script becomes unpredictable at the rapid pace the movie moves. the viewers are left stunned at the end as the movie concludes. this one is a sure shot movie that has hit the bulls eye

verdict: very good

The story of Gaganam is pretty new to Telugu cinema. It is a hijack drama with a bit of entertainment induced. Director Radha Mohan has two options to treat the movie. One is to make an intense drama with lots of action orientation. The other one is to make it a realistic film just the way it takes place in real life. Since it is going to be a serious film if he dealt in a realistic way, the director induced humor into the film in terms of a couple of characters on the flight and and Brahmanandam/actor characters in the negotiation room. He has chosen a few characters in the passenger list and created scenes about how they react in the time of hijacking. Screenplay of the movie is good with a nice twist in the interval. The following scenes of the film deserves appreciation

1. The argument between Nagarjuna and Harsha about media ethics. 2. The interval twist 3. The kid's thread 4. The new character's introduction towards climax

Background music by Praveen Mani is appropriate. KV Guhan has shot the movie using digital cameras and he comes up with a nice job. Art direction of Khadir is good with realistic sets. The set of the flight and airport was constructed in Ramoji Film City and there are hills present in the backdrop (just like in Tirupati). Dialogues by Umarji Anuradha complements the story. Editing by Marthand K Venkatesh is nice. Producers Dil Raju and Niranjan (Matinee Entertainment) should be commended for putting their money on a different/non-commercial movie.

Gaganam film is made against many odds. There are no songs (duets/situational). There is no heroine. There are no different locations (90% of the movie takes place in airport). There are no mass dialogues. And it sports Nagarjuna, who is the most romantic hero of Telugu cinema playing the main character. A film of this nature should be appreciated as the success of these kind of movies will augment more and more novel films to be made. The plus points of the movie are Nagarjuna's presence, novel plot and realistic story telling. On the flip side, Telugu casting for small characters would have been good and humor orientation for a serious plot might dilute the effectiveness. On a whole, Gaganam is a decent film which should be watched with an open mind.