Gangster Final Collection

Gangster – A Colossal Disappointment
Gangster was one of the most awaited films of 2014 and undoubtedly Mammootty’s most hyped flick in a few years. Right from the posters, trailer and promos through social networking sites, everything was right as far as the platform was concerned for the film to perform. The action thriller took an earth-shattering start on day-1 collecting 1.71 crores from over 100 screens in Kerala. The other two Vishu releases released only a day after Gangster which gave the Mammootty starrer extra screens for the first day. The film’s first day collection is among the top initial day collections of Malayalam Cinema. However, despite such a phenomenal start at the ticket window, the film dipped drastically right from the 2nd day to spell doom for the film and the makers.

The film has ended with a pathetic 2.87 crores as its lifetime collection which is horrendous considering the mammoth first day collections. The major setback for the film was its tedious screenplay and lack of mass elements which disappointed even the hardcore fans of Mammootty. The biggest and perhaps only plus of Gangster was its incredible cinematography which was of exceptional standards, but eventually it all boils down to content which Gangster didn’t quite have. The only proper fight sequence in the film was shot superbly but then again it comes only at the climax and Aashiq Abu’s experimentation with animation tools both during the fight as well in the initial minutes of the film backfired as it bored the audiences. Aashiq’s projection of the film as an action thriller was a dampener as the film ended up as a drama with a style statement around it. Mammootty looked his stylish best, but he hardly had anything to perform with even a shortage of punch lines clearly visible. A racy screenplay with more mass elements was what Gangster required and if that had happened, the box office would have been shattered. Instead, the film ends as a huge disaster which is a major setback for Mammootty as it’s his third release this year without a success.