Gargi (film)

Gargi is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language legal drama film directed and co-written by Gautham Ramachandran and produced by Blacky, Genie & My Left Foot Productions and co-written by Hariharan Raju. The film features Sai Pallavi  in the titular role, while Kaali Venkat, R. S. Shivaji, Saravanan, Livingston, Jayaprakash  and Kavithalaya Krishnan play supporting roles. The film's music is composed by Govind Vasantha with cinematography handled by Sraiyanti and Premkrishna Akkatu and editing done by Shafique Mohamed Ali. Gargi was released on 15 July 2022 and received critical acclaim from critics who praised the cast performances, the script, the direction, and the social message.

Plot
Gargi is a school teacher from a struggling family consisting of her father, Brahmanandam, who works as a security guard in an apartment building; her mother, who sells homemade rice batter; and her younger sister, Akshara, who is in middle school. Their lives become chaotic when Brahmanandam is accused, along with four other men, of having assaulted a child. Gargi is steadfast in her resolve to prove her father's innocence, as he is her hero, having protected her as a child from a perverted teacher, encouraging her to stand up to such evil.

At the receiving end of public hatred, they are abandoned even by their family friend Banuprakash, who is a successful lawyer. But his assistant, a no-note lawyer, Indrans Kaliaperumal, agrees to represent them, as he has no reputation to lose. At the hearing, while questioning the investigating officer, Indrans uncovers that the victim was wrongly medicated with a high dose of barbiturates, thus rendering her testimony (identifying Brahmanandam as the culprit) inadmissible.

Further, he meets the victim's dad, who reveals that it was he who made her identify Brahmanandam (certain of his guilt), as she was catatonic with trauma, unable to function at all. All this puts into question the evidence, thus enabling him to obtain conditional bail for Brahmanandam.

When her father's colleague, who had earlier claimed to have been at home all day on that fateful day, inadvertently reveals that he, in a drunken stupor, had actually been the first to discover the child lying there, and had alerted Brahmanandam. Gargi starts doubting her father's claims that he had been drinking at that time. She confirms her suspicions by visiting the child again and showing her a picture of the fifth culprit.

It is revealed, when the child identifies him, that Brahmanandam was indeed the culprit, leading to his arrest and conviction. Gargi takes a moment outside to quietly come to terms with this horror. As the credits roll, we discover that she and her family have moved on, having reconciled with the victim and her father.

Production
The film was directed by Gautham Ramachandran, who earlier directed Richie (2017). The film was announced on 9 May 2022 with the makers releasing a special glimpse of the film. Actress Aishwarya Lekshmi and Director Gautam Ramachandran were also the Producers for the film.

Music
The film's soundtrack is composed by Govind Vasantha while lyrics are written by Karthik Netha.

Theatrical
Gargi was released theatrically worldwide on 15 July 2022.

Home media
The post-theatrical rights of the film was sold to SonyLIV, while the satellite rights of the film is sold to Kalaignar TV.

Critical response
Gargi received positive reviews from critics who praised the cast performances, the script, the direction, and the social message.

The Times of India rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote, "A superbly shot, hard-hitting drama that unfolds more like a tense thriller, Gautham Ramachandran's Gargi is an essential film in this #MeToo era." The Indian Express also rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Sai Pallavi and Kaali Venkat bring their best to a challenging drama about crime, punishment and justice system." Praising Sai Pallavi's performance, The Hindu wrote, "This is probably Sai Pallavi's best performance till date... It's a wholesome performance that few actresses have given in recent times." Cinema Express rated the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and stated that "Nevertheless, these are minor misgivings in this film about many underdogs. Gargi stands by many such people. It stands by its trans woman judge, who is at the receiving end of sly digs. It stands by its stuttering amateur lawyer, who, when stressed, struggles to make an argument. And above all, it stands by its women. You see this never more than when the film doesn’t end with Gargi seeing her father’s case through to a resolution. It ends with her own transformation."

However, India Today critic stated that "Gargi is also technically strong "and gave 3.5 stars out of 5. Priyanka Sundar of Firstpost erote that "The film doesn’t fall into the trap of taking sides and this purely a result of sensitive and smart writing.". Pinkvilla critic noted that " 'Gargi' is so purposive and sincere that even seemingly dry lines spoken in the courtroom hit hard." and gave 3 out of 5 rating.