100. Gulaebaghavali: movie review

GULAEBAGHAVALI
Cert 12A
128 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, threat

I have gathered an affinity for Tamil cinema because of contacts I have made in its film-making industry.
However, I am longing for it to return to the quality of movies which it had been producing up until about a year ago.
I fear that, in trying to mirror what is coming out of Mumbai, Kollywood is losing its identity, creating masala movies which fail to hit the target.
Gulaebaghavali is such a film - its makers try way too hard to create different strands of plot alongside ambitious song and dance numbers and it just becomes a bit of a blur.
It begins very promisingly with the theft, by an Indian servant, of a diamond haul from his British master during the time of the raj.
However, this highly suspenseful opening is not a prelude to an exciting drama but a low-grade comedy caper.
It stars Prabhudheva, Hansika Motwani, Revathy and Ramdoss as criminals involved in individual petty crimes who make an unlikely team in pursuit of the aforementioned diamonds.
Their problem is that they are buried in what is perceived to be the most dangerous town in India where crazy tribal rituals are carried out alongside trigger-happy crimelords.
Gulaebaghavali falls into the same trap as so many Indian comedies with its reliance on slapping and shouting.
Mercifully, Motwani and Revathy's inclusion in the team helps bring down the decibel level a notch or two but the childish slapstick is still too heavy.
And what is with the obsession with Motwani's legs? During the first half of the film her dresses are so short I thought they might disappear.
Anyway, despite the second half being moderately better than the first, Kalyaan's movie will not live long in the memory.

Reasons to watch: Becomes an easygoing rom com
Reasons to avoid: The stodginess of its first half is a big turn-off

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 4/10

Director statement - Kalyan: "We have not tried to put forward any message as such with Gulaebhagavali. It is a film that will entertain a watcher for the money he spent. This is a film for the Pongal festival."

The big question - Do Indian women really wear dresses as short as Hansika Motwani's?

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