Over the years, director-actor Sundar C has created a place in Tamil commercial cinema with the ability to package comedy, action and glamor in crowded entertainment. He is clinging to a formula that works for him: loud comedy, large-to-life hero, action, glamor and lots of spice circles. With ‘Ganggers’, he does not get out of that comfort area. Instead, he adds more to the mixture. But the problem is, it does not just come together the way it should be.

The story opens with a missing girl. A school teacher (Catherine Tres), who is concerned about the disappearance of a student, is investigating and looking for a lead. Saravanan (beautiful C), who initially appears to be a parallel exploitative, later appears to be on a large mission. What begins as a mystery of a small town turns into a vigilant story and then unexpectedly turns into a fully developed heest drama.

The second half revolves around a heir to rob Rs 100 crore from three brothers, which are local goons controlling the village. It may look like a promising setup on paper: a missing girl, a vigilant hero with a personal flashback, corrupt villain in power and successor of a big wealth. But in execution, it feels like a patchwork of familiar scenes seen in a lot of Tamil commercial films.

The character of Catherine Trasa has been introduced as an honest teacher, but suddenly ends doing a ‘item number’ in a club. Vadivelu plays the role of a PT master who wants to marry her, and while his comic timing is still intact, the setup feels old and repeated.

The background score works most of the heavy lifting in comedy scenes, often tries to force laughter where the writing is flat. Some options, such as strange groaning sound effects when Vadivelu’s character in Catherine, is not only old, but unbearable. These elements reflect the broad problem of the film: the reluctance of treating the plot with its women or any real seriousness.

The first half sounds very common. The film keeps throwing characters and side plots on the audience, hopefully something will stick. But the emotional beats are not land. Even beautiful C, which plays a version of the same calm and confident hero that we have seen before that, do not bring anything new. There is no real vulnerability nor any emotional depth in his illustration. It is difficult to care about what he is doing or why, even when we detect backstory and big motive behind the successor. But he certainly shines in a neatly neatly choreographed action scenes, especially those who include Saravanan in the vigilant mode.

Vadivelu, for his credit, gives everything he can do for his role. He takes most of the film’s humor on his shoulders. His body language, time and reactions have glimpses of vintage vadivelu. However, some of his scenes in the first half have been disappointed by repeated setups and recycled punchline. Comedy is highly dependent on Vadivelu’s comic timing and screen appearance rather than clever writing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sx2ciubidy

It is only after the interval that the film gets some rhythm. The focus turns on the heir, and that part is the least more structured. Vadivelu appears in different disguises, the team passes through small missions, and the director’s long-standing film ‘Mada Gaja Raja’ is a fun callback for finally released this year. These moments bring some lives for the film, but by then it is already too late to feel fully invested.

‘Gangors’ is a film that tries to pack everything in its runTime: comedy, action, sentiments, even some commentary. But it plays like a film stuck in a different era. While the beautiful C claims that he makes films for the audience, which may be well true, ‘Gangers’ must have definitely benefited from better setups, fresher comedy and more thoughtful presentation.

2 out of 5 stars for ganggers.