Guns Of Banaras

STORY: Revolving around Guddu Shukla’s (Karann Nathh) irrational obsession with motorbikes, this narrative drives him to the clutches of drug peddlers who steal his precious ride.

REVIEW: Oblivious to the plight of his lower middle-class family, Guddu Shukla wastes time loitering around, dreaming of owning a motorbike. And, he eventually does. With it comes a job, a girlfriend and some undue respect. That’s when things spin out of control. Fate repeatedly dumps the street-smart Guddu at the wrong place at the wrong time. His path intertwines with that of a drug mafia, which leads to a series of dramatised action sequences.

A remake of South film ‘Polladhavan’, Shekhar Suri’s ‘Guns of Banaras’ boasts of a multi-layered script that oscillates between many characters. It arouses curiosity with a flashback-laden climax in the very beginning. The charismatic Karann Nathh then swoops in with his engaging performance, and stays true to his character throughout the film. Emotional scenes with his father, like when he takes all of his life savings to splurge on a bike, are heart wrenching. Soon, you steer away from the family and are taken to discover the dark side of Banaras where gangwars erupt. Guddu’s bike gets stolen for drug peddling, and he ends up endangering the lives of his loved ones just to get it back.

Despite the shoddy camera work and abrupt transitions between scenes, the parallel narratives are presented without any glitch. Also, the background score complements the scenes perfectly. The gangster duo, Abhimanyu Singh and Ganesh Venkatram, manage to take things up a notch in the intense action scenes. But much like the rest of the cast, Nathalia Kaur (Guddu’s girlfriend) falters in most parts due to her inexpressive act. What ‘Guns of Banaras’ primarily lacks is a convincing motive for the protagonist to sail through. So, save yourself from this unpleasant ride.