Governor

Governor Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Madhoo Shah, Noushad Mohamed Kunju, Adah Sharma, Paritosh Sand

Director: Chinmay D. Mandlekar

What’s Good: The crisp and concise narration and the superb performances

What’s Bad: The first half is a bit dry, and there are no dramatic highs

Loo Break: Preferably no

Watch or Not?: If I were a governor, I would request all to watch!

Language: Hindi

Available On: Theatrical release

Runtime: 122 Minutes

User Rating:

The film sheds light on the 1991 financial crisis that had pushed India to the brink of bankruptcy. This was a result of a balance of payments deficit due to excess reliance on imports and other external influences. Various factors, including a minority government, a caretaker prime minister later, and other challenges, forced India to seek help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to correct the massive imbalance. The Gulf War between the US and Iraq further exacerbated the issue, and after the devaluation of the rupee and escalating oil prices, the country had to undertake drastic measures, including pledging a significant portion of India’s gold reserves (over 60 tonnes) to the Bank of England and the Union Bank of Switzerland.

All this was masterminded by the governor of the Reserve Bank of India and his deputy governor, assisted by the Department of External Investments and Operations head. With the reluctant consent of the government.

In this film, necessary dramatizations include renaming RBI as the Rashtriya Bank of India and the then-governor as A. Ramanan. Ramanan (Manoj Bajpayee), as in real life, was shown as an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who did not exactly come from the economics side but, due to his past professional positions, had developed an uncanny expertise in the subject. He was thus recommended for the post when the RBI governor resigned, overriding the deputy governor as the normal heir for the post.

Governor Movie Review: Script Analysis

A bevy of writers, led by producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah, with Suvendu Bhatacharjee, Saurabh Bharat, and Ravi Asrani, have written the script for this saga of India’s redemption, so to speak. However, the makers choose to focus more on the man rather than on the whole fracas that would have destroyed the country.

This necessitates Ramanan’s family being prominently depicted, including the wife (Madhoo Shah), who gives her husband a crucial idea by chance, and a daughter who is aiming to become an IAS as well. The feel-good element also comes in from the office peon, Patil (Sanjeet Kumar), who is another inspiration for Ramanan, as he regularly borrows money from the officials, often to pay off others he has taken a ‘loan’ from. While some or all of these may be fictionalized add-ons, they help the film maintain a pleasant, even tone.

Mention is made in the beginning of the crisis in Russia, India’s oldest ally, and the necessity for thus embracing a capitalist model. Finally, the basis for liberalization of the economy and the pluses and minuses of this are succinctly pointed out by Ramanan.

The script thus tries to balance the man and his magnificent achievement, which includes a phase of frustrated desperation when Ramanan, fed up with the odds stacked against him, wants to quit. Why he does not resign at that crucial stage makes for an emotional high for the audience.

Overall, the script does do justice to this balance, even if it sheds a certain potential to make the drama have the tension and criticality it deserves. The edge-of-the-seat dictum is diluted, and yet the film moves very well, especially in the crucial second half. The dialogues, too, are kept very simple and direct, and we never sense a plunge into ‘filmi’ lines.

The governor’s ramrod-straight character, too, is brought out very well. The way he deals with the politicians, his critics, and his opponents, and his disrespect for needless and often uncongenial conventions are also depicted well.

Governor Movie Review: Star Performance

Quite obviously, Manoj Bajpayee is the star of the film. As Ramanan, he not only gets into his character but also perfectly blends the seriousness, humility, persistent focus, and shrewdness of the man who, in a way, saved India in 1991! In short, he is pitch-perfect, and one could not think of a better choice for this lead character.

As CR, the deputy director, Noushad Mohamed Kunju, is a natural scene-stealer and scores high. Jaywant Wadkar as Patil is fantastic. Paritosh Sand as Sharma is perfectly cast—this character artiste has always deserved more long, meaty roles and rarely got the opportunities. Adah Sharma is okay. Her character, I am told, was very similar to a real scribe, who finally showed her mettle in the Harshad Mehta scam that came a year later.

Madhoo Shah as Mrs. Ramanan puts in a very understated performance, while Krisha Kurup as Ramanan’s daughter, Rajeev Gaursingh as the finance minister, Sanjay Sonu as the prime minister, and Jigar Shah as Dr. Manmohan Singh are alright.