‘Gatha Vaibhava’ movie review: Suni directs an uneven reincarnation drama with few positives

Not long ago, director Simple Suni faced the criticism of making dialogue-heavy movies. While the words had wit, the stories lacked depth. From his previous movie, Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe (2024), Suni seemed to have shed his style. That movie and his latest, Gatha Vaibhava, have a semblance of story. However, both movies are let down by writing, despite interesting premises.

Gatha Vaibhava is a reincarnation story. In Indian cinema, the genre has a set template, with its most prominent aspect being lovers meeting a fatal end. Suni’s film is no different, except that it spans across four lifetimes instead of just two. The director’s ambition lies in setting his plot in multiple worlds, but not investing enough to make each portion engaging.

Ashika Ranganath plays Adhunika, meaning modern, but she is drawn towards history. Dushyanth is Purathana, meaning ancient, but he is interested in modern-day technology, like VFX. These ironies don’t add anything to the overall script. Suni is content with teasing us with such wasteful sarcasm.

Expectedly, opposites attract, and Adhunika tells Purathana about their failed attempts to unite in their past lives. The first flashback is set in a celestial realm, where a demon (Dushyanth again) falls in love with a goddess (Ashika). Marred by poor CGI and production design, the predictable portion is tough to sit through. The second story is set in the world of pirates, and Suni attempts a spoof of movies such as Titanic, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Life of Pi. However, the approach is a big misfire, as the parody is unfunny.

The second half, which reveals the third flashback, is somewhat watchable because it unfolds like a story, and not like elongated scenes seen in the first two flashbacks. Suni seems to be in control of the proceedings, with better staging and the actors complementing his narrative. While Ashika is at ease in all the characters, debutant Dushyanth, though a tad raw, plunges confidently into the complex challenge of handling roles of different natures.

Set in Mangaluru, the tender love story, built on affectionate letters, reminds you of Malayalam’s hit Ennu Ninte Moideen (2015). Again, the predictability of the outcome disturbs the viewing experience. I wonder why the director didn’t go back and forth with his screenplay. A bit of intercutting to the present from the past would have reduced the overall dullness of the story.

You see a clever take on science, reality, and the notion of past life in the final twenty minutes of Gatha Vaibhava. However, Suni leaves it too late to join the dots, and his reliance on mere coincidences and not organic twists results in an underwhelming experience.

Gatha Vaibhava is currently running in theatres