Despite his mother's fears, Ghani wants to prove himself a champion in the world of boxing. Will he be able to prove his worth?
In recent times, some extraordinary sports films have been made in South India. Whether it's Gautam Tennori's jersey or Pa.ranjit's Sarpata Parmbrai, these films keep you out of the game, regardless of your hobbies or shortcomings. Whether it's a player's personal life or the politics that comes with the game, films made in the past have been able to explore this aspect well. Debutant Kiran Korapati's Ghani also has all the necessary ingredients, which is why it is sad to see her changing her style.
In Ghani's world, there was once a boxer named Vikramaditya from Andhra Pradesh who was passionate about the sport and even won the state boxing championship just to be a disgrace to the citizens. Fifteen years later, his wife (Nidhiya) and son Ghani (Varun Tej Condella) are still suffering as a result. The former does not want his son to be involved in anything that could hurt his family. The latter does not know how to abandon the game. He tries everything from participating in illegal boxing competitions to making a place in the ring - just to find out the truth about his father. Will he be able to fulfill his father's dream which is the basis of Ghani?
The film run to entertain as well as inform. Instead of doing so, for the first time, Karan Dilli Dalies does it with a PPI number, which includes a click of love interest Maya (Saiee Manjrekar) and a special number, which includes Tamanna Bhatia. In fact, he spends the entire first half of the film with his parents, not only looking for Ghani to be animated, but also a gripping love story that has nothing to do with the story at hand. There are other players in this story.Adi (Naveen Chandra) is the son of a rich businessman who wants to make a name for himself. The founder of the Indian Boxing League is Ishwar (Jagpati Babu), who shares the past with Vikramaditya and Ghani. Kiran tries to make a 'big revelation' about the roles of Sunil Shetty and Neema Apinder, but this attempt turns out to be amateurish.
When you look at the story, Ghani has a lot to offer but the narrative never works perfectly. Kiran skips most of the songs, except for the two numbers and two other songs that are used as a montage (composed by Thaman S), but at the end of it all the film is just a beach (With plot points that make no sense). Opinder's character gets long lines and Varun gets punch dialogues but none of them show the desired effect. The length of the film and the creative choice to keep most of the boxing matches in the second half of the film is also an obstacle.
Varun Tej has done better than him in Ghani, but it is not his fault because he really does not have the capacity to do so. His character is cast into the situation, the truth is hidden from him and he seems to be the last person in the room who knows anything - which only gives him space to react. However, you will see how hard he worked when it came to his body or even boxing scenes. Sai's role is unimportant in the long run and she does a good job, while Nadia, Sunil and Apinder are through her. Except for the title song, Thaman's music doesn't make much of an impact.
Ghani is a decent sports drama, but that's all - decent. The movie doesn't provide anything you haven't seen before. Check it out this weekend if sports drama is your thing, but with expectations.