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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

 

 

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