Gaganachari Movie Review : Gokul Suresh shines in hilarious, sharply-observed sci-fi mockumentary

Story: Through a documentary interview programme Victor, Alan and Vibhav give people an idea of Kerala before and after a hostile alien invasion. But does the actual danger come from aliens or humans?

Review: Sci-fi is quite the rare genre in India, so enthusiasts here have needed to get their kick from cinemas and shows from the west, where space and aliens have been a popular, hit topic for decades. One of the best things about Gaganachari, a sci-fi mockumentary, co-written and directed by Arun Chandu, is that it is authentic to our ethos and very definitely a Kerala story, not influenced from western cinema.

The film is set in a dystopian Kerala of the 2040s - wow, that’s not too much in the future. Aliens, in their terrible forms, had made a landing on earth, and after a war over petrol and governments becoming more Big Brother-like and watching over its people, alien hunter and national hero Victor (Ganesh Kumar) and his sidekicks, Alan (Gokul Suresh) and ‘Vibe’ Vaibhav (Aju Varghese), have retreated to a bunker in an abandoned apartment.

While the portals, through which aliens arrived on earth are now largely inactive, there are still some aliens around and authorities and activists, such as the Ajayya Sena are there to protect people. So when an alien woman (Anarkali Marikar) arrives at their bunker, the three main characters must be careful about how they handle the authorities, so that they and the alien don’t get into trouble. But finally, are the aliens really the ones causing trouble on this earth?

The film is shot as a mockumentary, where Victor is being interviewed by documentary makers about his work and the state of the world, and it provides an excellent format for social satire, filled with clever comedic moments. Arun and co-writer Siva Sai fill the nearly 110-minutes of screentime with sharp and witty observations about everything from food to caste and relationships, not to mention hilarious film references. When the alien, called ‘Aliyamma’ by a lovestruck Alan, can finally start to communicate through her speech machine, the sound options are from MS Thripunithura, Adoor Bhavani and Adoor Pankajam, sadly not “Chithra chechi” or even “Bhagyalakshmi”. The voice the young alien finally speaks in is of Mallika Sukumaran; how can you not laugh?

There are several such lol moments, and writers have also strewn the film with lines that meme makers will love. Sample these: Victor, a widower who dreams of escaping to the moon, says “he doesn’t want to die in a post apocalyptic Kerala”, or that he has to “cook that much less rice” once Alan leaves the house, Alan’s sadness that “alien-nte vere thechu povum” or Vibe mocking Alan for wondering if “he had to go to France to get a French kiss”.

The art by M Bava, particularly in the first about 10 minutes, captured perfectly by cinematographer Surjith S Pai and the choice of cinematic colour gives the apt bleak feel to the film. Sankar Sharma’s music complements and is in total sync with the mood.

Ganesh Kumar and Gokul Suresh are absolutely excellent and keep the energy of the film going. Anarkali, who doesn’t get much dialogue because of the nature of the role, and Aju, too, are very good in their roles.

While there are a couple of questions and confusions that arise in the course of the film, Arun Chandu deserves applause for creating quite a stunningly made, entertainer. When the Malayalam industry is being lauded, here is one film that also definitely deserves mention.