Gulu Gulu Review: Santhanam's black comedy is a passable entertainer that's hilarious only in parts

A kidnapping attempt goes awry which leads to a series of misadventures. Will Google, who knows the answer for almost all the questions, be able to solve them?

Gulu Gulu

Story: Google, a travel junkie, ends up creating chaos after a kidnapping attempt goes awry. How will he solve the mess that he has got himself into? 

Review: Director Rathna Kumar's latest offering Gulu Gulu has all the staple ingredients of a dark comedy- an abduction gone awry, a slew of senseless murders, a ransom, innocuous villains, a vagabond and a bunch of youngsters on a mission to rescue their friend.

We are introduced to Matilda (Athulya Chandra), who has come all the way from France to Chennai to see her dead father one last time before the burial. However, her stepbrothers, including Pradeep Rawat are averse to the idea of her coming into their lives. When Matilda finally manages to see her father's body, she notices that the grave is all dug up. Pradeep Rawat, who assumes it as Matlida's work, is now filled with vengeance for his stepsister and decides to kidnap her. The task is assigned to a gang of middle-aged kidnappers (with some interesting names- Andaman, Nicobar and Maldives), headlined by George Maryan. They end up abducting the wrong person and things go awry thereafter.

It is at this juncture that Google (Santhanam) gets embroiled in the aforesaid muddle. Google is a travel junkie, who speaks 13 languages and is constantly on the move. He considers every day as his last day on earth and his biggest weakness is that he can never say no when someone asks him for help. This, at times, ends up having his own misadventures.

It's refreshing to see Santhanam in an avatar where he has to sport a pensive look throughout the film and does not have too many dialogues in the film. But, at the same time, he manages to strike a chord when he talks about the importance of languages, race and civilization. Santhanam has managed to pull off the character well. The entire supporting cast has put up a decent performance, too. Santhosh Narayan's background score complements the tone of the film. And so is the cinematography and editing. 

So, where does Gulu Gulu falter? It's clearly in the writing. Gulu Gulu is a film that means well on paper, but when it comes to execution, it falters. There are so many elements infused in the film that for a viewer to put their head together and keep track of all the parallel stories becomes a tad exhausting. The director also tries to give the story a mature and emotional treatment, but fails to balance them aptly.

For instance, we understand that Santhanam is the protagonist of the story and that he needs to have some good deeds in his kitty. So, we get a scene where he helps Vadivukkarasi ( Namitha Krishnamoorthy) face gerascophobia (fear of old age) and buries a dog run over in a road accident, all this amid the thick of action. But, these scenes end up hampering the flow of the story.  

The plot, too, shuttles back and forth from one plot to another. The comedy dialogues could have been fleshed out in a better manner, as only a few of them manage to evoke some laughter, despite some earnest performances from the star cast. Gulu Gulu is a black comedy that could have worked had the film had a better screenplay.

Verdict: A black comedy let down by inconsistent writing.

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Cast and Crew

Rathna Kumar

Santhanam

Athulya Chandra