Gypsy is a political romantic drama that has Jiiva and Natasha Singh in the lead roles. The film is written and directed by Raju Murugan and is produced by S. Ambethkumar under the banner, Olympia Movies. Gypsy has music by Santhosh Narayanan and cinematography by SK Selvakumar.
At the outset, Gypsy might come across as an ambitious political film, but the film is more about the love between Gypsy (Jiiva) and Waheeda (Natasha Singh). Orphaned at a young age, Gypsy is raised by a character named Senior. One day Senior dies and Gypsy is left with his horse Che, which is when he meets Waheeda and falls in love with her. They both elope and marry but a communal riot separates them. How they manage to unite forms the rest of the plot.
It is well known that Raju Murugan is not just a fantastic filmmaker but also a brilliant writer and that characterestic is evident throughout the film. Let's start with the characterization of Gypsy. He's not just a traveller but also a singer. This gives a lot of scope for songs in the film and Santhosh Narayanan makes use of this opportunity to showcase his mettle.
Although Natasha doesn't have much to speak, her character is a vital cog in what the film tries to achieve. When she runs out of her house, it's the hero who saves her. She liberates herself and makes her own choices throughout the film despite being from a conservative Muslim family. The film deftly avoids the male saviour syndrome.
Gypsy took a long time to release, and that's where the film's issues lie. From the time the film's production started, a lot of movies with similar messages have been released, which might make Gypsy seem a bit outdated. The treatment is also slightly off because every scene is packed with heavy elements. It takes a strong heart to witness the interval block and the scene before the climax.
In most of the scenes involving Natasha, Selvakumar's frames create a feeling of being trapped along with her. The way the communal riots are shot deserves praise, especially when the scenes are required to hide certain colours owing to censor cuts. The VFX looks patchy in those portions, but the messages trumps the flaws. The placement of the song 'Venpura' too deserves a lot of praise.
Gypsy is Jiiva's best performance in recent times and it's a delight to see an underrated actor like him score and carry the film forward. The supporting cast consisting of Sunny Wayne and Lal Jose and the character who plays Senior, stand out. In the scene where Senior dies, Gypsy doesn't check his pulse or breath, but places his head on Senior's heart to check for the heartbeat. Similarly, the film too appeals to your heart and pricks your conscience. It doesn't villainize anyone but instead makes its villains a victim of the system in place. It also makes a war cry for peace by including various art forms like Graffiti, band performances, posters and more.
Overall, Gypsy ends up as one of the strongest films in the recent past. The message it hopes to drive is strong and more than relevant to the current situation. It extends a hand to the victims of the system and celebrates the feeling of being human. If at all art has the power to change minds, Gypsy is the artist.