Gypsy review: Jiiva is earnest but Raju Murugan’s social drama bites off more than it can chew

Gypsy review: Raju Murugan tries hard to make a moving drama about love and peace but the film is not completely effective.

Gypsy
Director: Raju Murugan
Cast: Jiiva, Natasha Singh, Lal Jose and Sunny Wayne

Gypsy review: Jiiva and Natasha Singh in a still from the film.

Raju Murugan’s Gypsy, which has finally released after a long-drawn battle with the censor board, isn’t a bad film. It bites off more than it can chew, and as a result, isn’t as effective as it could have been if its intention wasn’t all over the place.

When Raju Murugan made his directorial debut a few years ago with Cuckoo, he made one thing very clear - that he wants to use cinema as a medium for a greater purpose. With his National Award-winning second film Joker, he made a solid impression as a filmmaker with a powerful voice. Unfortunately, that voice doesn’t resonate strongly in Gypsy, which tries hard to make a moving drama about love and peace against the backdrop of a communal riot.

The story is centered on a man called Gypsy (played by Jiiva), a wandering musician, who was born to an inter-religious couple but gets raised by a man with no religion. Gypsy falls in love with Waheeda (Natasha Singh), who is from an orthodox Muslim family. Unlike mainstream romance, Raju Murugan doesn’t treat scenes between Gypsy and Waheeda with grand visuals; instead, he beautifully captures what they feel for each other in quieter moments. Gypsy travels the length and breadth of the country with his horse, Che. In one of the underrated scenes of the film, Waheeda decides to elope with Gypsy, but we don’t see them running in slow motion.

This is not a story of grand romance but one that emphasises on the need for freedom. We never get to see Gypsy and Waheeda burning with passion for each other and that’s what makes the romance between them different. Gypsy is not just a romantic drama as it also makes grand statements about the need for harmony, but as the film touches upon themes like religious fanaticism and contemporary political scenarios, it struggles to make its point eloquently. It is both hard-hitting and dreary in parts, especially while dealing with a stretch involving communal riots. As the film tries hard to package too many things, as a viewer you’re confused to understand what its sole purpose is.

In spite of its struggles to address multiple issues, Gypsy is strongly headlined by Jiiva, who is unbelievably earnest in his performance. Jiiva, who is one of the underrated actors in Tamil cinema, proves once again his versatility in a role that is hard to pull off. Debutante Natasha Singh is a promising find. She infuses unexplainable desperation into her character of Waheeda without speaking much on screen. As she elopes with Gypsy a night before her nikaah, she takes time to come to terms with the fact that she’s finally free, and her transformation from Waheeda to Gypsy’s wife is beautifully portrayed.

Gypsy is a powerful film but one that doesn’t quite work wholesomely. It has some very interesting subplots but they all get lost in the larger scheme of things.

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