''Gulu Gulu'' is a 2022 Indian
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
-language
road
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation.
There are many types of ...
action comedy film
Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre.
Film
The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of acti ...
written and directed by
Rathna Kumar and produced by Raj Narayanan's banner Circle Box Entertainment. The film was distributed by
Udhayanidhi Stalin
Udhayanidhi Stalin (born 27 November 1977) is an Indian film producer, actor, and politician who prominently works in the Tamil cinema. He is the Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development of Tamil Nadu in the ministry led by his father, ...
under his banner
Red Giant Movies.
The film stars
Santhanam Santhanam or Santanam ( te, సంతానం) is an Indian name that may refer to:
People
* K. Santhanam (1895–1980), Indian politician
* Madabusi Santanam Raghunathan (born 1941), Indian mathematician
* Maharajapuram Santhanam (1928–1992) ...
and Athulya Chandra. The music is composed by
Santhosh Narayanan
Santhosh Narayanan is an Indian composer and musician in the Tamil film industry.
Early life
Santhosh Narayanan was born in Tiruchirappalli, India. He is the younger of two children. He was educated at RSK Higher Secondary School, Tiruchirapp ...
with cinematography handled by
Vijay Kartik Kannan
Vijay Kartik Kannan is an Indian cinematographer who predominantly works in Tamil film industry.
Personal life
On 16 March 2022, Vijay married fellow cinematographer Yamini Yagnamurthy after being in a relationship for a few years.
Career
Vij ...
and editing by
Philomin Raj
Philomin Raj is a film editor who works in Tamil films. He is a frequent collaborator with Lokesh Kanagaraj.
Career
Philomin Raj worked as an editor for the third season of ''Naalaya Iyukunar''. He worked as an editor for Lokesh Kanagaraj's c ...
. The film was released theatrically on 29 July 2022 to mixed reviews from critics and audiences.
Plot
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
Production
The shooting of the film was wrapped up in April 2022. 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
The film's
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...
was composed by
Santhosh Narayanan
Santhosh Narayanan is an Indian composer and musician in the Tamil film industry.
Early life
Santhosh Narayanan was born in Tiruchirappalli, India. He is the younger of two children. He was educated at RSK Higher Secondary School, Tiruchirapp ...
while lyrics are written by
Vivek Vivek (or Bibek/Bivek in some regions) (विवेक in Devanagari script) is a masculine given name that is popular in South Asia, particularly in India and Nepal. It is of Sanskrit origin and means "wisdom" and/or "conscience".
Vivek may refe ...
, Asal Kolar, and
Rathna Kumar.
Release
The film had its theatrical release on 29 July 2022.
The
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
distribution rights of the film was bought by
Red Giant Movies.
The film satellite and digital has acquired by
Sun TV and
Sun NXT
Sun NXT is an Indian video on demand service run by Sun TV Network. It was launched in June 2017 and has content in six languages - Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi . Sun NXT app is available for Android and iOS devices, Sm ...
. The Television premier was took place on October 2' 2022 on Sunday for Gandhi Jayanthi @3:00pm.
Reception
''Gulu Gulu'' received mixed reviews from critics.
Lokesh Balachandran of ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' 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." Srinivasa Ramanujam of ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' 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." 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."
However, ''
OTTplay
HT Media is an Indian mass media company based in Delhi, India. It has holdings in print, electronic and digital media.
HT Media's flagship newspaper is the ''Hindustan Times'', the second most widely read English newspaper in India after ''The ...
'' critic gave 2.5 stars out of 5 and noted that "A black comedy let down by inconsistent writing.". Sudhir Srinivasan of
Cinema Express stated that " The problem with ''Gulu Gulu'' isn’t one of ideology" and gave 2 stars out of stars.
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 21272402
2022 action comedy films
2022 films
Indian action comedy films
Films scored by Santhosh Narayanan
2020s Tamil-language films
2020s road movies
Indian comedy road movies
Films directed by Rathna Kumar