Skip to main content

Gulebagavali

Cast: Prabhudheva, Hansika, Revathi
Director: Kalyaan S

The quirky promos and a promising trailer gave me a shot of expectations for the Prabhudheva starrer Gulaebaghavali. After all, it’s not every Friday we get a film on a treasure hunting adventure. The first ten minutes too was something that upped the antics, with the flashback of a poor kanakupillai who manages to steal a box full of diamonds from his white boss. But then, the credits rolled and as the film played, I sunk into my seat further, hoping for a miracle to happen which never happened.

We all know that Prabhudheva can dance, but this film proves once again that he’s the best in the business and also leaves you to ponder on why he didn’t do this on screen for so many years. It’s definitely a treat to the eyes. In this film, he is paired with Hansika who he introduced in his directorial Engeyum Kadhal and was last seen in his productional venture Bogan. The actress, who needs a good film, ends up adding no value to this film apart from appearing in skimpy costumes that are often used for humour relief. But the real star of the film is Revathi who plays Masha. Yes, the same character she played in the 1990 film Arangetra Velai. After a beautiful comeback with last year’s Pa Paandi, this film should’ve been the one that brings the veteran actor back to limelight but thanks to a below par script, the chances of that happening looks slim.

Being a film on treasure hunt, the film should’ve been about the adventures of the gang as they get closer to their booty but what we’re left with is a bunch of characters who, to get their hands on the treasure first do a number of silly things. There are fortunately a few funny moments that leave us sporting a smile, they aren’t enough to save us from this experience. Despite having a stellar cast of comedians ranging from Yogi Babu to Rajendran, the director hasn’t used them to their potential. Instead, we get to see Sathyan running around in his underwear. Our hero too ‘tries’ to woo Hansika a lot – by touching her constantly against her wish and using the worst pickup lines in history. “Nee gummunu irukka, so unna Ammu nu koopudren,” he says in a scene. I was stuck in an aisle corner if not would have I banged my head on the wall!

The film never gets you hooked on to it and there’s never an edge-of-the-seat moment, something this genre warrants. What we’re left with is an uninteresting flick that makes even its short runtime look long. A two-hour music video of Prabhudheva dancing would’ve been a much better watch!

Rating: 1.5/5

 

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi shoulder a mediocre film: Master Review

A flawed protagonist and a powerful antagonist have always proven to be successful tropes in the world of cinema. The hero, when being anything but perfect, makes way for a beautiful story arc as he convalesces and a strong villain makes the hero’s triumph at the end larger. Despite having both of these, Vijay’s Master feels far from a perfect flick thanks to succumbing to irregular pacing and a middling screenplay. Master follows the trials and tribulations of JD (Vijay), an alcoholic college professor whose valiant effort towards the student community plants a belief in his colleague Charu (Malavika Mohanan) that he would be able to do the same to the kids in a juvenile correction centre that needs… correction. Armed with a just kada, a classic four-wheeler, a Persian cat and a cool pair of sunglasses, JD embarks on a journey that will collide with that of Bhavani’s (Vijay Sethupathi). On paper, Master looks like a failproof star vehicle – the story of a man out there to teach lesson
Post a Comment
Read more

Munna Bhai Dhaba, Sullurpet, Andhra Pradesh

  This time, we rode almost 100 kms to discover this hidden gem. Located at the ever busy NH16, Munna Bhai Dhaba is one of those places that dishes out some delicious food for you to cherish en route to your destination. Just that, this time it was our destination. After starting at 8:30PM from Chennai, we reached here around 10ish and by that time some items were unfortunately sold out. Out of 10, 6 of us were hardcore carnivores while the rest of them were Eggetarians. We opted for a couple of Chicken dishes which included Munna Bhai special chicken (a yummy starter with sauteed chicken and cashews) and a couple more Chicken dishes which are named after the states of our country. One such dish was the which had an egg base with piping hot Chicken curry on top which was the star of our dinner. A surprise show-stealer was the Onion Pakoda which looked bleh but tasted great. Rotis were so warm and fluffy that we finished 40 of them in no time. Egg Bhurji was apparently good too. Obvious
Post a Comment
Read more

Sowcarpet Food Walk

The primitive man wandered through forests in search of food to satiate his cravings and I suppose it’s the same primal instinct that makes the modern man wander through concrete forests searching for delicious quick bites in order to satisfy his hankering. This is the essence of a food walk and as far as Chennai is concerned, Sowcarpet is the Mecca for food walks. Sowcarpet is the most tried and tested place for these walks and thanks to a number of foodies who are seniors and predecessors in this topic, we were able to plan our trip perfectly and we executed it flawlessly.   The options of commuting: 1. Parking is a huge issue during weekdays but not a problem on a Sunday morning in the Sowcarpet area. You can drive your cars through those narrow streets and you would be able to find a sidestreet where you could park. Alternatively you could park near the Flower Bazaar police station and walk down too. Just be aware of the one way roads in the area. Mint Street is one way starting fr
Post a Comment
Read more