Starring: Sai Pallavi, Kaali Venkat, Aishwarya Lekshmi, R.S.Shivaji and Others
Director: Gautham Ramachandran
Producers: Ravichandran Ramachandran, Thomas George, Aishwarya Lekshmi V, Gautham Ramachandran
Music Director: Govind Vasantha
Cinematography : Sraiyanti & Premkrishna Akkatu
Editor : Shafique Mohamed Ali

iQlik Movies Rating: 3/5

Sai Pallavi came up with a female-centric film, 'Gargi.' Touted to be a suspense thriller, the film, directed by Gautam Ramachandran, got released in Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada languages. Rana Daggubati, Suriya, and Rakshit Shetty presented this film in their respective languages. The teaser and trailer of the film have gained a decent response from the audience. Amid high expectations, the film finally made it to the theatres today, on July 15, 2022. Here is the review of the film.

Story:
Gargi (Sai Pallavi) is a school teacher who lives a normal life in Hyderabad. Her father, Brahmanandam (RS Shivaji), works as a security guard for an apartment. One day as her father doesn't come home, Gargi sets out to find her father and learns the shocking truth that he got arrested for raping a 9-year-old girl. But Gargi, who strongly believes that her father is not a criminal and can never do such a thing, decides to get justice. What challenges did she face in proving her father's innocence? What happened in the end? forms the rest of the story.

Performances:
Sai Pallavi is the show stealer for the film. The actress who has already proved that she can fit any role has delivered yet another mesmerizing performance in this film. Sai Pallavi has given her best in her role and has delivered her career-best performance in the movie. Like in most of her films, the actress got another author-backed role, and Sai Pallavi went under the character's skin.

Kali Venkat, as lawyer Gireesam, also did a good job. Kalaimamani Saravanan's performance is also heart-touching. The director made a bold choice of picking a transgender for the role of judge, and the actor performed well. RS Shivaji, Sai Pallavi's father, also delivered an honest performance in the film. The rest of the actors also made their presence felt.

Technical Aspects:
The director took a sensitive topic of sexual harassment against women but delivered it in a good way. Despite having a dark background, the director tried to make the film a hard-hitting and emotional one instead of showing obscene and uncomfortable sequences.

Though the runtime is high, the film doesn't have any unnecessary scenes, and the director has narrated the film in an engaging way which can be considered one of the biggest plus points of the film. Govind Vasantha's music is the biggest asset of the movie. His soothing BGM fits perfectly well for the film. The cinematography and editing are also decent. The production values are good.

Review:
The film starts well, and the first 30 minutes are about character establishment and showcasing Gargi's perfect and happy life. But as soon as the conflict point comes into the picture, Gargi's life turns upside down, and the first half is quite engaging. The interval bang is impressive and will increase the expectations for the second half. The second half is filled with emotional scenes, and the melodrama might irk some sections of the audience. However, the hard-hitting message of the film is quite impressive. Especially the unexpected climax twist is the beauty of the film. Overall, 'Gargi' is an emotional, hard-hitting drama that has its beautiful moments.

Plus points:
Sai Pallavi
Climax twist
Emotional scenes

Minus points:
Melodrama
Ending

Final Verdict: Emotionally hard-hitting drama!