Gulu Gulu is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language road action comedy film written and directed by Rathna Kumar and produced by Raj Narayanan's banner Circle Box Entertainment.[2] The film was distributed by Udhayanidhi Stalin under his banner Red Giant Movies.[1] The film stars Santhanam and Athulya Chandra. The music is composed by Santhosh Narayanan with cinematography handled by Vijay Kartik Kannan and editing by Philomin Raj. The film was released theatrically on 29 July 2022 to mixed to negative reviews from critics and audiences.[3][4]
| Gulu Gulu | |
|---|---|
 Release poster | |
| Directed by | Rathna Kumar |
| Written by | Rathna Kumar |
| Produced by | S. Raj Narayanan |
| Starring | Santhanam Athulya Chandra |
| Cinematography | Vijay Kartik Kannan |
| Edited by | Philomin Raj |
| Music by | Santhosh Narayanan |
Production company | Circle Box Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Red Giant Movies[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 149 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editThis article needs an improved plot summary. (September 2022) |
Google alias Gulu Gulu does every odd job for survival. He is approached for help by a group of youngsters who want to rescue one of their friends from a kidnap. But that kidnap had happened due to mistaken identity.
Cast
edit- Santhanam as Google aka Gulu Gulu/Mario
- Athulya Chandra as Matilda Christopher
- Pradeep Rawat as David
- George Maryan as a kidnapper
- TSR as Lankaiyan
- Namita Krishnamurthy as Vadivukarasi
- Harish Kumar as Mathimaaran
- Kavi Sundaram as Kumar, Mathi's friend
- Maurish Dass as Bhavani Shankar, Mathi's friend
- Yuvaraj as Rajkumar, Mathi's friend
- Sai Dheena as Police
- Bipin as Robert
- Lollu Sabha Maaran as a drunkard
- Lollu Sabha Seshu as the neighbour
- Saniya Iyappan
- Jeeva Subramanian
- Mahanadi Shankar
- Udayaraj
Production
editThe shooting of the film was wrapped up in April 2022.[5] The film features Santhanam in a more serious and mature role, the first in his career, with the humor elements handled by his costars.
Music
editThe film's soundtrack was composed by Santhosh Narayanan[3] while lyrics are written by Vivek, Asal Kolaar, and Rathna Kumar.[6]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Maatna Gaali" | Rathna Kumar | Santhosh Narayanan | 3:25 |
| 2. | "Anbarey" | Vivek | Dhee | 3:46 |
| 3. | "Inner Peace" | Asal Kolaar | Santhosh Narayanan | 3:19 |
| 4. | "Amma Nah Nah" | Rathna Kumar | Santhosh Narayanan | 2:09 |
Release
editThe film had its theatrical release on 29 July 2022.[3][4] The Tamil Nadu distribution rights of the film was bought by Red Giant Movies.[1] The film satellite and digital has acquired by Sun TV and Sun NXT.[7] The television premier took place on Sunday 2 October 2022 for Gandhi Jayanthi at 3:00pm.
Reception
editGulu Gulu received mixed reviews from critics.[8]
Lokesh Balachandran of The Times of India gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "The one-liners of Lollu Sabha Maaran and performance of Mariyam George, who plays one of the kidnappers keeps the audience engaged then and there. Gulu Gulu has all elements to become a good film but Rathnakumar misses out on something similar to the search engines on internet."[9] Srinivasa Ramanujam of The Hindu wrote "Director Rathna Kumar, who made Meyadha Maan and Aadai earlier and has contributed to Lokesh Kanagaraj's projects as well, has taken a new path with Gulu Gulu. While that is appreciable, the result isn't exactly the laugh riot that it ought to have been, thanks to the writing being all over the place. They named their lead character Google, but did not search enough for a coherent screenplay."[10] Ranjani Krishnakumar of News9Live gave the film 5 out of 5 stars and stated "Gulu Gulu never weighs you down with its melancholy but never lets you relax in its humour either. Rathna Kumar packs the film with existential dread, the underlying horror of it never once losing its depth in the cloak of dark comedy it wears. In that sense, it's an almost tough film to watch, it's certainly not intended as a regular film — a relief from real life. It is a complex, imperfect, sometimes restless ode to its cruelty of it."[11]
However, OTTplay critic gave 2.5 stars out of 5 and noted that "A black comedy let down by inconsistent writing.".[12] Sudhir Srinivasan of Cinema Express stated that " The problem with Gulu Gulu isn’t one of ideology" and gave 2 stars out of stars.[13]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Red Giant Movies Acquires Theatrical Rights of Santhanam's Gulu Gulu". News18. 13 July 2022. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ^ "Santhanam's Gulu Gulu to release in theatres on this date". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ a b c "Santhanam's 'Gulu Gulu' to release this month!". The Times of India. 9 July 2022. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Santhanam-Starrer 'Gulu Gulu' To Hit Screens On July 29". Outlook. 9 July 2022. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ "Santhanam's Gulu Gulu shooting wrapped up". The Times of India. 20 April 2022. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ "With the loving team of @MrRathna bro n @Music_Santhosh sir". Twitter. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ "Sun TV Acquires Satellite Rights Of Santhanam-Starrer 'Gulu Gulu'". 13 July 2022. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ^ "Streaming date of Santhanam's Gulu Gulu is out". Cinema Express. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ "Gulu Gulu Movie Review : Inventive plot let down by inconsistent writing". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ Ramanujam, Srinivasa (29 July 2022). "'Gulu Gulu' movie review: Santhanam's black comedy dishes a few laughs but nothing more". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "Gulu Gulu movie review: Rathna Kumar films ode to cruelty of life with kindness". 29 July 2022. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "Gulu Gulu Review: Santhanam's black comedy is a passable entertainer that's hilarious only in parts". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ "Gulu Gulu Movie Review: Excessive quirk marks this exhausting film". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.