After two years, Anushka Shetty’s new movie Ghati was released before the audience on Friday. Since this movie is directed by Krish, and with Anushka playing the lead role, expectations were naturally high. It has also been a long time since both director Krish and Anushka had a proper hit. Hence, both of them pinned big hopes on this movie. The trailer itself made it clear that the entire story of this film revolves around ganja. The story unfolds in the Eastern Ghats, located on the Andhra Pradesh–Odisha border. The people living there survive by cultivating ganja. Why did they decide to give it up… and what challenges they faced after taking that decision, is what Ghati is all about. Along with Anushka in the lead role, Vikram Prabhu also works as a Ghati.
That means, they chop and supply ganja for those who smuggle it out of the hills to other countries. But the two of them make huge money by turning ganja into liquid form and selling it. Once the mafia gang that controls the region learns about this, the story takes a new twist with the challenges that follow. After Anushka, the one who impressed with his performance is Chaitanya Rao, who appears as Kandula Naidu. With this role, director Krish revealed a new dimension of him to the audience. As Sheelavathi, Anushka had some “wow” moments in a few scenes, but that impact does not last throughout the movie. Especially in the pre-climax and climax, Anushka gets hero-range scenes. Vidyasagar’s background score worked well for these sequences.
What particularly captivates the audience in this movie are the scenic beauties of the Eastern Ghats. The way they were filmed is also good. But the initial scenes showing Anushka as a bus conductor do not appeal at all. At the same time, viewers cannot help but feel that Anushka’s old glow is gone. In Ghati, Jagapathi Babu, Jisshu Sengupta, John Vijay, and Ravindra Vijay appear in other key roles. However, compared to director Jagarlamudi Krish’s earlier films, emotions are completely missing here. As a result, this remains a routine movie with a routine story.