Gangs of Godavari

This is when you realise Gangs of Godavari is flawed on a foundational level. There is clear ambition on display here: to weave a vast narrative about crimes and redemption that spans over many years, set against a backdrop with plenty of history to it, but it’s done without laying any emphasis on the emotional journey of any of these characters. Even though the names of the Godavari River and the Lanka village it flows by are often mentioned, we barely get a sense of the geography. We are compelled to assume that the story unfolds in the early 90s, but then we suddenly see Rathna using a cellular phone while courting Bujji. The first overt mention of the time period arrives only near the one-hour mark. We never get a sense of years passing by, and hence by extension the characters growing up in any manner.