13 June,2026 08:47 AM IST | Mumbai | Mayank Shekhar
Manoj Bajpayee in ‘Governor’
Governor is evidently a gobar/crappy position. The one this film's named after is governor of Rashtriya (for Reserve) Bank of India/RBI.
The film opens to RBI HQ looking more like a municipality office. Governor, later, goes off on a meeting to Mantralaya.
There are a few clueless blokes working here, besides a peon, and an office handyman, looking up files, buying airline tickets. That's when they aren't staring at a green board, with a straight line, and monkey-figure going under.
Elsewhere is a newspaper office, where the journalist (Adah Sharma) says she sells "jhooth"/lies to up her publication's circulation.
She's unhappy. A guy, who hasn't studied economics, on "shifaarish"/recco (of "Mr Gandhi"), is the new RBI governor. How will he save the economy?
Governor's in a tight spot. As is India. You hear "bankrupt," every few minutes. Camera pans to slums.
Prices rise. So do tempers. We are indeed close to bankruptcy, because of "elections, and other kharche (expenses)."
Governor has a solution: IMF. His deputy points to preamble, "We are socialist." IMF = USA, that will support India, if it allows refueling fighter jets during Gulf War.
Indian government says yes, and then no. RBI governor ensures fax machines are plugged off, so refueling continues. He's also asked to draft the "budget report".
I could bet my bottom rupee, if you rounded up writers of this film, and quizzed - they wouldn't have a clue what's the mandate of RBI, let alone what its governor does for a living.
The filmmakers previously produced The Kerala Story (2023). The director (Chinmay Mandlekar) debuted with a fairly fun, Inspector Zende (2025).
The only thing they've got right is casting Manoj Bajpayee in and as Governor - being patiently earnest as a South Indian, A Ramanan; and inimitable, as usual. To the point that you've hardly come across an artiste mimic Manoj.
The film itself is based on an important, economic turning point from December, 1990 (balance-of-payments crisis), well-chronicled by writers, and journalists (unlike the one here).
The contribution of this governor is he pledged India's gold reserves for a loan (reported as "sold" in this film). And so? Well, you can go! Varna? Miss out on a few laughs.
