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Star Cast: Kishor Kadam, Ishita Deshmukh, Yogesh Sohoni, Suresh Vishwakarma, Nishad Bhoir, Anuj Prabhu, Vitthal Kale
Director: Santosh Davakhar
What’s Good: The performances and the relentless atmosphere
What’s Bad: The dark cinematography never lets up
Loo Break: Seriously, no!
Watch or Not?: Yup!
Language: Hindi (Dubbed from Marathi)
Available On: Theatrical release
Runtime: 120 minutes
User Rating:
The backdrop is a post-marriage ritual in a village. The ritual is the gondhal, a traditional devotional folk art form in Maharashtra that literally means singing and dancing in front of God to invoke His blessings and thus remove all obstacles in the path of the newlyweds.
The other meaning of gondhal is chaos, confusion, or disarray, and that meaning is also distinctly applicable here, in terms of what is happening within the storyline and even more so in multiple human minds.
Suman (Ishita Deshmukh) has just been married off to Ananda (Yogesh Sohoni), though she has been in love with Sahebrao (Anuj Prabhu). Ananda is told that he is among the luckiest to get such a beautiful wife, and Suman is told she is fortunate to be sent into a sweet, well-to-do family.
Sahebrao has come there disguised as a ‘Murali’ (a part of the gondhalis) as he wishes to elope with her. Meanwhile, Sarjerao (Nishad Bhoir) is in love with Suman, but his father, the Patil (Suresh Vishwakarma), or headman of the village, has disallowed their union. Sarjerao’s affections are coquettishly reciprocated by Suman.
The celebrations are set to go on from nightfall to sunrise, and in that single night, Suman suggests to Sarjerao that he murder Ananda by calling him to the riverbank nearby so that she can be married off as a widow to him. Sarjerao, however, murders his own father for being against his union with Suman. But Sarjerao is killed by the Gondhali, Bhivaba (Kishor Kadam), who knows that the Patils, who rule the village using fear as a weapon, killed his son some time ago. In the darkness, Bhivaba has mistaken Sarjerao for Patil.
Suman has no option now that Sarjerao is nowhere to be found, other than to convince Sahebrao to send Ananda to the riverbank and have him killed there. Sahebrao reluctantly agrees, but in the morning, it is found that he has been killed instead. A resolute Ananda completes the ritual with a miserable Suman, whose plans have misfired.
Gondhal Movie Review: Script Analysis
Santosh Davakhar’s script is tight, layered, and intriguing. The pace slows down in the first 30 minutes, but maybe that was necessary. His dialogues are sharp, laconic, or witty as needed.
There is no real message, other than projecting for the umpteenth time that a woman has no say in her own life, and neither, for that matter, does a man—Sarjerao, until he revolts in an extreme manner, must also bow down to his dominating father’s wishes.
But what comes across clearly in this plotline is that human beings’ feelings cannot be suppressed by religious festivities or even the sacred bond of marriage. If on the one hand, a religious celebration is happening after a wedding, the men and women involved, even a respected performer and his grandson, are plotting ungodly acts out of various motivations.
Davakhar seems to have tailored this film exclusively for critical acclaim, though commercial success (also his aim) could not be attained. This fine-tuned balance has always been elusive, mastered only in very select films over decades in cinema in all Indian languages.
Gondhal Movie Review: Star Performance
The actors are extremely competent and elevate the film. Veteran Kishor Kadam as Bhivaba, the Gondhali, is impactful in his subdued yet simmering character. Debutant Ishita Deshmukh acts like a seasoned performer—she is brilliant as the reckless, not-at-all guileless girl who will do anything for love even after marriage—even planning to use a man who loves her to kill her husband so that she can elope with her actual lover.
Yogesh Sohoni as Ananda is portrayed as a simpleton who undergoes a dramatic metamorphosis after a revelation from his blind grandmother (Rukmini Sutar). Nishad Bhoir as Sarjerao is correctly rakish, and his father, Suresh Vishwakarma, brings out menace effortlessly. Anuj Prabhu, as Sahebrao, has little footage but does well. So does Dhruv Thoke as Vishnu, Bhivaba’s grandson.
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Gondhal Movie Review: Direction, Music
Davakhar has handled multiple departments here, even arranging and writing the lyrics for the Gondhal ceremony itself, and his overall command deserves appreciation, especially for a man who has never attempted a feature film before. His choice of songs and music is impeccable, and South legend Ilaiyaraaja has composed the ‘mood’ background score with effortless and exemplary skill. His songs, too, are well composed and filmed effectively, and though Chandana and Malhari do have more than a whiff of a Southern tenor in their phrasing, they work well and are immaculately orchestrated with the perfect regional flavor.
Gondhal Movie Review: The Last Word
Overall, the film makes for a very unusual, placidly moving thriller in a very unique setting, and with nothing out of place, one must watch it for its many pluses. As an Oscar-nominated film, it is special anyway.
Three and a Half stars!
Gondhal Trailer
Gondhal released on 13th November, 2026.
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