A heady fusion of two different time periods happens in Arun Chandu’s debut film, Gaganachari , one that evokes fear and another that evokes nostalgia. The events are set in a post-apocalyptic Kerala, ravaged by flood waters and facing the threat of an alien invasion, even as the conversations between the principal characters evoke the references and sensibilities of Malayalam cinema of the 80s and 90s. It is a strange balance that the makers are striving to strike here, something which could have easily faltered.
But they hit somewhere closer to the sweet spot, partly because pop culture nostalgia is potent and partly because of how well they pull off the VFX and AI-generated imagery, creating a believable world despite the limited budget. Mostly, we spend inside the futuristic but cramped lair of Victor (K.B.
Ganesh Kumar), a national hero due to his past exploits in alien hunting. A team of documentary filmmakers visits the bunker to make a film about him. A good part of the film has Victor and his hanger-ons Allen (Gokul Suresh) and Vaibhav (Aju Varghese) going about their messy daily lives inside the bunker, complicated further by the arrival of an alien (Anarkali Marikar).
Part of the setting, including the romantic track involving an alien, is reminiscent of Krishnendu Kalesh’s Hawk’s Muffin . However, this one, made with a different sensibility and mood, is jovial for most parts. Humour happens not just from the exchanges between the characters but also from the.
