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The dominance of experimental cinema has conceptualized many undiscovered plots, themes and subjects from the kitty of Gen X filmmakers. 'Gafla' is a breed apart and holds the honor to be the first of its kind. The words "Ghotala", "Ghapla" or "Gafla" have been making headlines for almost a decade or more with infamous names like Harshad Mehta, Ketan Parikh etc. These words and names may sound familiar in the present context but the treacherous and unscrupulous mindsets of such derogatory conning acts are yet to be discovered. 'Gafla' tries to unravel the journey of such over-ambitious dream merchants that have led to financial disasters in country's equity market.

The film tries to draw a line between "conspiracy" and "scam" through the introspection and intervention of celluloid intellect. 'Gafla' meaning "scam" can be described as the illegal act. The film is microscopic view of share and stock market scams where the film unravels the hidden truth of the influential, corrupt and the mighty outlaws. Despite the fact the film holds a noble concept the film fails to unearth many hidden facts. This starts off with a small town boy Subodh (Vinod Shehrawat) who has noble intention of being rich and wealthy. The boy chooses stock market to be his dream land where dreams are fulfilled and are achieved instantly.

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In recent times, the powerful share market has proved to be El-Dorado (city of gold and wealth) for the average middle class and it has given birth to society of restless and over-ambitious individuals. They are living in a world of dreams, a dreamland of "rags to riches", a dreamland of mindless faith, a dreamland of fake identities that starts with noble intentions but ends as crime web. Subodh starts off as a trainee under the tutelage of stock broker Hari (Brijendra Kale) and works with a renowned share company. The dram of "rags to riches" often victimizes him of his restlessness and in the bargain he ends up as loser. Vidya (Shruti Ulfat), a journalist, is his love interest who nurses ambition of a happy married life.

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Subodh has no time for her emotions and makes stock market his ultimate destination. He has idol Rasiklal Bhejnani (Vikram Gokhale) whose rags to riches story is like a fairy tale to every stock broker. Thakur (Shakti Singh) is the most powerful entity in the stock market and dictates his verdict. The astronomical rise in Subodh's career attracts Maya (Purva Parag), daughter of wealthy entrepreneur. She joins her as his assistant and the professional intimacy build into love relationship. Subodh is in a financial fix and has to choose between his real love and career. He wishes to marry Maya to safeguard his company. Subodh's rise in stock market is phenomenal but he is at the mercy of big players. He has two paths before him, either to be their subordinate or to become a big player like them. His dreams and aspirations make him choose the latter but he is in a fix again.

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This time it's the biggest financial disaster of the stock market and he is accused of a bank scam comprising multi-billion. Subodh is accused of being treacherous and blasphemous of heinous crime to his country and to his followers. Being inexperienced and over-ambitious he is crucified and made scapegoat for the crime that involves the entire political and financial system. But "everything has a price" and one has to pay for it. Subodh is imprisoned for being responsible for the biggest scam of the stock market. The stock market faces another scam after few years and ironically this time it's his subordinate Akash Parikh who is accused of it. The vicious circle of finding scapegoats and ruling the stock market with jungle law continues and so does "Gafla".

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Debutante director Sameer Hanchante chooses a different and innovative path for his arrival in the Bollywood. Sameer has earlier assisted Subhash Ghai and Vidhu Vinod Chopra and now makes a dent with untamed concept. 'Gafla' brings memories of Hollywood's social thriller 'Wall Street' but still leaves some rough edges. The film plagiarizes old style of stock market as at present the market works on online trading. It travels back to decade-old working style of stock market. The treatment of the film is restricted to small segment of audiences who are directly attached to the profession. It might dissuade young audiences and family audiences from the film for its unfamiliar treatment.

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'Gafla' is presented as a biographical view of accused "scamster" through the background voice over. The film has an outlook more of a documentary or news-reeling than contemporary Bollywood entertainer. It may appeal to class audience but won't be digestible for masses. The climax of the film fails to unearth the role of corrupt politicians and bureaucrats in the big "Gafla". It rather revolves around the tussle between Subodh and Thakur with people like Rasiklal and Jugaad Singh showing their favors. Sameer Hanchante's direction has been superb and his vision of choosing cast shows his innovative strength.

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The problem lies in the theme of the subject that is dull, dry and too alien for average viewer. The rising and falling of "Sensex", the boom and crash of the markets and investors risk have to be plagiarized in lucid and simple manner. Rajiv Velchite's screenplay is apt but should be more exhaustive about the subject. The film woks on a sluggish pace but keeps the audiences glued to the screen. Sameer Hanchante chooses fine set of TV and theatre artistes and they deserve appreciation. Vinod Shehrawat (Anchor of TV Show "Bluffmaster) brings out fine performance as a protagonist. The actor has fine face expressions matched with good body language. Shruti Ulfat's (TV Actress) performance is the other high point that keeps the spirit high. Vikram Gokhale shows his panache of a dependable actor in brief but important role. The veteran shows finesse in the character of ruling kingpin of stock market. Purva Parag delivers good performance. Brijendra Kale and Shakti Singh justify their characters well.

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Considering the fact that 'Gafla' is the first film based on the working of stock market, it deserves applause for being proficient. The film has minor cracks but the major obstacle is its uncommon subject. The film releases with minimum publicity and below average face value. It caters to very tiny segment of the audience who will positively cherish it. 'Gafla' brings the resurgence of high quality class cinema that should prove an eye opener and ground breaking in future. The film may not have many takers but can be a festival treat for international and class audiences.