GDN Review: Madhavan Is The Driving Force, But Screenplay Doesn't Support Him

Bringing a biopic to life on screen is a challenge since the filmmaker must balancehistorical accuracy with a compelling story without distorting real events. GDN, the biopic of the self-taught 'Edison of India' Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu, directed by Krishnakumar Ramakumar, sees R Madhavan as the protagonist, and features Sathyaraj, Jayaram, Karunakaran, Priyamani, Dushara Vijayan, Vinay Rai, Aditi Balan among others.

Director Krishnakumar Ramakumar begins the film towards the later years ofGopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu's life in the late 1950s when he became embroiled in a bitter dispute with the Income Tax Department. Income Tax Department officials Ambalapara Krishnan (Jayaram) and Kili (Karunakaran) land up at the humble hut of GD Naidu (Madhavan) and Ramiah Pillai (Sathyaraj) demanding that Naidu pay tax to the extent of 80 % of his wealth and property.

The movie moves into flashback mode recounting Naidu's story from 1920 when he first developed an interest in buying a motorcycle owned by a Britisher and worked as a server to achieve this dream. Naidu was married by then to Chellama and had a young daughter but this didn't deter his ambition and relentless curiosity which eventually made him one of India's greatest inventors and industrial pioneers. The film is faithful to his real-life story in its chronology and we see him begin working in a cotton mill to owning one, starting the Universal Motor Service, and inventing items like the indigenous motor, Rasant razor, five-valve radio, petrol engine car and so on. Notable achievements like building a house in 24 hours, meeting Adolf Hitler, securing a contract with Mercedes Benz are also featured in the film though the crux of the story is the contentious relationship Naidu shared with the Income Tax Commissioner Adams (Carl Andrew Harte).

Adams takes an instant dislike to Naidu due to his meteoric rise and the influence he wielded among those in politics and the general public. The conflict intensifies between them and Adams uses all means to reduce Naidu to a penniless nobody. The rest as we know is history.

While the storyline remains faithful to G.D. Naidu's life and legacy, the screenplay lacks emotional depth, preventing the audience from becoming emotionally invested in Naidu. As we watch his success, failures, and struggles, they are presented more as events than emotional experiences, making it difficult to truly feel the weight of his journey. For instance, when Naidu loses his cotton mill - his first accomplishment - and all his wealth thanks to poor investments, he lives in penury with his second wife Ranganayaki (Dushara Vijayan). However, the subsequent scenes barely dwell on the emotional and psychological impact of this devastating fall. One doesn't feel the magnitude of his loss or empathise with the man behind the legend as one should.

Similarly, several other defining setbacks in his life are touched upon only in passing, preventing them from leaving the emotional impact they deserve on the audience. An important case in point is when Naidu's first marriage to Chellama breaks down. This pivotal scene, which could've given us insight into his relentless and perhaps ruthless ambition, is treated with brevity and the couple's emotional conflict is completely missing. And Chellama is never mentioned again in the film, bewildering the audience further.

Thus, while the film admirably chronicles the milestones of GD Naidu's extraordinary life, it seldom pauses long enough to let the audience experience the human cost behind those milestones. One doesn't get to know who GD Naidu was truly as a man, what his driving force was and how he viewed relationships. It's only towards the end of the second half that we see some flashes of brilliant insight as to who Naidu, the man, was - and one wishes this could have been showcased right from the start. For instance, when Naidu is asked to hand over the 52 title deeds to 80% of his property and wealth, he hands over just two. When we find out why, the twist is ingenious and offers insight into his sharp mind. More of such witty moments that tell us about his unconventional thinking would have elevated the film several notches.

As far as the production values are concerned, they are impressive, effectively recreating the era in which G.D. Naidu lived and this is one of the highlights of the film. Interestingly, Madhavan is also a co-producer on this film and has co-written the screenplay as well. Madhavan, of course, is the driving force behind the film and his performance is applause-worthy and commendable as are Sathyaraj's and Jayaram's. The women's roles in GDN, especially Priyamani, Dushara Vijayan, Aditi Balan, are underwritten and in fact, some of them just appear for a scene or two making hardly any meaningful contribution to the film. Karunakaran does a stand-out job as the income tax official, while Vinay Rai again is under-utilised like Carl Andrew Harte. The BGM by Govind Vasantha, who is very popular in Malayalam cinema, elevates the film and adds the emotional weight to scenes that otherwise may feel flat.

On the whole, GDN - which should've been a deeply moving biopic - ends up as an informative, visually beautiful but emotionally distant story. As we leave the theatre, we applaud Madhavan's conviction and commitment to bringing G.D. Naidu's extraordinary story to life, even if the screenplay doesn't quite match the strength of his performance.