Ganapath movie review: Tiger Shroff, Kriti Sanon's dystopian action drama lacks soul, is undone by poor VFX

Director: Vikas Bahl

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Tiger Shroff, Kriti Sanon

Where to watch: In cinemas 

Ratings: 2.5 stars

In a dystopian future, a powerful criminal syndicate is ruling the world. The overlords of Silver City oppress the masses and humanity is on the verge of collapse, but a few bravehearts are preparing themselves for war. These warriors are living with a hope for a fight for equality and justice, led by their leader, Ganapath. But where is Ganapath? Does he know his true calling? Will he become the symbol of hope?

When Vikas Bahl's Ganapath was announced in 2020, the movie had generate quite some buzz. Dystopian sci-fi films are not Bollywood's forte, which made this film stand out. On the script level, Ganapath is interesting. Sadly, the lazy execution and utterly poor VFX has killed the film. 

Here's the trailer

After watching the teaser, my excitement for Ganapath was on another level. I thought, finally we are taking a giant leap. Bollywood will get a true dystopian action adventure. However, the trailer disappointed me. I thought Ganapath would be a routine Tiger Shroff film where he would fly, kick, and smash an army of baddies. I went for Ganapath with mixed feelings, and after watching the film, I realised that Ganapath isn't a bad film, but the poorly rendered VFX has murdered a decent big-screen entertainer. Right from the first frame, you will realise that the world you have been taken through is cartoonish and fake. The human drama in the movie kept me interested, but the VFX-loaded scenes were mood killer. 

Guddu (Tiger Shroff), a carefree, selfish chap with Casanova-like charm works for John The Englishman (Ziad Bakri). John is hell-bent on recovering the losses of his syndicate boss, the mysterious Dalini, and he takes Guddu's help. Little does he know that Guddu was born to lead a revolution, and his journey from Guddu to Ganapath forms the plot. 

While watching the movie, the performances of the lead cast kept me interested. Tiger Shroff impressed me with his seamless action and dance. But his dialogue delivery seems as if he has jumped straight from Munna Michael's sets to complete this film. The tapori language and attitude have a 'been-there-done-that' feeling to them. Thankfully, his character goes through an interesting arc in the second half, and Tiger does well. In the first half, whenever Tiger disappointed me, Kriti Sanon held my attention. Kriti, as Jassi, a lone warrior, is badass. The National Award-winner looks convincing in the action scenes and remains excellent in dramatic moments. Although her character lacks depth, Kriti manages to leave a solid impression. Apart from Tiger and Kriti, Rashin Rahman, who plays the visibly challenged rebel, Shiva also impresses. His character has layers, and you will sympathise with him. The movie suffered from an average first half. But, the second half will make you feel invested until the special effects kill the narrative.

Ganapath is brought down by its amateurish, poorly rendered, visibly jarring VFX. Leave Hollywood aside, the animation and effects in PC games of 2005 looked better than Ganapath. The special effects of this film should be awarded as the Worst VFX of recent times. Also, the movie had little-to-no scope for senior talented actors such as Amitabh Bachchan, Jameel Khan, and Pramod Kadam. They all were wasted. 

I can go on and on about how bad VFX, predictable storyline, and lame execution killed a movie that has the potential to be the next blockbuster. It is sad to see that a talented director like Vikas, who has entertained us with Queen and Super 30, is directing such films. Also, this was Part One, and a sequel has been teased in the end. God save us from the wrecks of this dystopian world.