Governor Review {2.5/5} & Review Rating
Star Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Madhoo Shah, Adah Sharma, Noushad Mohamed Kunju
Director: Chinmay D Mandlekar
Governor Movie Review Synopsis:
GOVERNOR is the story of a man who saves a country. The year is 1990. A Ramanan (Manoj Bajpayee) is an IAS officer who is one day summoned to Delhi by the Central Government. On the recommendation of Mr Gandhi, Ramanan is appointed Governor of the RBI (Rashtriya Bank of India). He joins the office immediately and realizes that India is facing a severe balance of payments crisis. The foreign exchange reserves are a paltry USD 1 billion and are fast depleting. As per the RBI team, the country could face an economic crisis like never before within a month. This is when Ramanan comes up with some revolutionary ideas to save the economy. However, he faces several challenges. He has no formal training in economics and as a result, Deputy Governor CR (Noushad Mohamed Kunju) and others doubt his capabilities. Secondly, there’s a minority government at the Centre. The instability may prevent the Prime Minister, Mr Shekhar (Sanjay Sonu), from taking a tough decision. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Governor Movie Story Review:
Suvendu Bhatacharjee, Saurabh Bharat, Ravi Asrani and Vipul Amrutlal Shah's story is inspired by real events. Suvendu Bhatacharjee, Saurabh Bharat, Ravi Asrani and Vipul Amrutlal Shah's screenplay is captivating despite the unconventional subject. However, the writing has its issues. Suvendu Bhatacharjee, Saurabh Bharat, Ravi Asrani and Vipul Amrutlal Shah's dialogues are hard-hitting and a few of them will lead to claps in cinemas.
Chinmay D Mandlekar's direction is lovely. This is not an easy idea to execute on screen as it is based on an economic crisis. Hence, there was a possibility that the subject would have gone bouncer for a section of the viewers. However, Chinmay opts for simplicity in storytelling. The film is easy to understand and the use of a monkey to explain the situation is smart. Moreover, he has infused humour that keeps the interest going. The scene where an RBI truck hits an angry scooterist will be lapped up by the audience. The film ends on a justified note.
On the flipside, despite all the efforts by the makers, the subject will still be perceived as dry by a section of the audience. This may be seen as an ‘OTT watch’, limiting its prospects. Moreover, the interest level also slips in a few places in the middle of the first and second halves. The track of an employee wanting to fly to the USA permanently is forced and could have been done away with.
Governor Movie Review Performances:
A Manoj Bajpayee performance can never go wrong and GOVERNOR is no exception. He needed to show that his character is timid and soft-spoken and yet is also decisive and a true leader. Manoj balances both aspects flawlessly. Noushad Mohamed Kunju is like the second hero of the film and leaves a tremendous mark. Madhoo Shah (Vandita) delivers an adorable performance. Adah Sharma (Aditi Verma) gives a shining performance and her scenes in the second half especially are worth it. Paritosh Sand (Sharma) is dependable. Jaywant Wadkar (Peon) is superb and his scene in the second half will move the viewers. Devaang Bagga (Deepak) is fine, though his track doesn’t work as intended. Ayushi Jeena (Divya) gets a limited scope. Sanjay Sonu, Rajeev Gaursingh (Sinha; Finance Minister), Krisha Kurup (Madhavi; Ramanan's daughter), Mounis Ratta (Paresh aka Popat), John Forbes (Marshal) and Kurush Deboo (Daruwala; Aditi's boss) are fair. Jigar Shah (Manmohan Singh) hams in the first half but gets his act right in the end.
Governor movie music and other technical aspects:
Mannan Shaah's music is poor and not a single song works. Mannan Shaah's background score is better, but it gives a web series vibe.
Vishal Sinha's cinematography is atmospheric. Rajesh Choudhary's production design is classy, while Varsha Chandanani and Shilpa Makhija's costumes are realistic. Zero Gravity's VFX is tacky. Meghna Manchanda Sen and Sanjay Sharma's editing is breezy.
Governor Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, GOVERNOR tells a challenging story in a simple manner and rests on a terrific performance by Manoj Bajpayee. However, the dry subject, limited buzz and the feeling that it may be better suited as an OTT watch could make it difficult for the film to find an audience in cinemas.