Despite a few stray passages the series retains its edge
Small change may not have much currency these days but a piggybank still counts in large parts of India. It clearly does that for small-town families GullakA sweet, bittersweet family drama is now in its fourth season.
The five new episodes of the TVF-produced Sony LIV show, with a delightfully light touch, explore the loss of parental expectations and the complexities of adulthood in an age where relationships are often like walking a tightrope across a burning coal pit. .
Gullak dThe series is as warm and fuzzy as ever, celebrating the reassuring embrace of family bonds that sustain themselves despite bickering and arguments. Mishra grumbled. They fly off the handle, have heated fights and arguments, and come close to falling apart. Still, they find a way to sink their differences and move on.
Produced and directed by Shreyansh Pandey and written by Vidith Tripathi, Gullak d Not exactly overflowing with shiny coins but it continues to pay dividends. The writing is solid and the acting quality not only lives up to the script but also enhances it as it adds layers to the practice.
The lead actors, as they did in the previous three seasons, bring a refreshing air of naturalness to bear on their performances. More than anything else, what stands out is their perfect continuity as they make their way through several contrasting emotions and situations throughout the five episodes.
At its core is of course the wise, omniscient Gulak (who speaks in the voice of Shivankit Singh Parihar). From the perch it shares with another relic of a bygone era, a giant transistor, it observes four family members going about their chores and often at cross purposes.
inert Sutradhar The middle class weighs in at critical junctures of existential idiosyncrasies. Its sharply insightful remarks—they range from tongue-in-cheek to charmingly witty—almost always land and provide a larger comedic context for what’s going on.
This storytelling format still works fine although its novelty has inevitably worn off a bit. D GullakIts summaries have an overwrought, colloquial ring to them, contrasting the consistently conversational tone of the verbal exchanges between the human characters.
It gives the familiarity of people on screen and the relatability of their behavior Gullak edge of Gullak d Retains that edge despite some stray passages that deal with the law of diminishing returns. All said and done, the payoffs are still substantial.
The show is about people dealing with real-world issues: shared responsibilities within a family, finding space for two grown sons to share a room, navigating the process of growing up and the pain of love and the pressure to meet goals at work.
Humorous rail lines, petty squabbles, some tension, some serious misunderstandings and of course, the threat of the outside world keep the mixed ones – Santosh (Jamil Khan) and Shanti (Gitanjali Kulkarni) and their sons Anand (Vaivab Raj Gupta) and Aman (Harsh Mayer) – on their toes.
In one episode, the municipality issued a show-cause notice to Mishra. Parts of the house are likely to be bulldozed. The crisis sparked a debate on the ethics and dynamics of bribing a public official—as eloquently described as speed money. Convenience duty – To stop threats. But Santosh Mishra can pull the acting straight face?
In another episode, Shanti falls prey to a chain-snitch on her way back from the temple. He is traumatized. Mixed force to complain to the police station. A brush with the police, as Gullak points out, can be a life-changing event for a typical small-town family. Shanti emerges in one piece but not in the way her husband and two sons had hoped.
The decision to throw away the household waste collected over the years has created a rift among the Mishras. Aman is desperate to make a deal with the party Raddiwala But his plan is risky.
Outside the house, Aman falls for a girl he meets at a coffee shop and Anand, trying to find his feet in a challenging career as a medical representative, struggles to deal with his immediate boss, an agitated man.
Anand and Aman have their share of brotherly conflicts but when things threaten to spiral out of control, the elder brother talks the younger boy out of an ill-advised rebellion against the head of the mixed family.
Without being particularly spectacular or full of surprises, Gullak d Parts of the fun show get a little melodramatic, but no matter what Mishra does, the storytelling tone is never confused.
Gitanjali Kulkarni and Jamil Khan, with performances of the first order, invest us in Shanti and Santosh Mishra’s accustomed everyday grind. Harsh Mayer, Vaibhav Raj Gupta and Sunita Rajwar (as Bittu Ki Mummy who rushes in at really awkward times) are always on the ball.
Held together by the writing – it chooses to err on the side of Loki – and buoyed by flawless performances, its five episodes Gullak d Revisit the dreams, anxieties, and trajectories of the mixed.
To provide another set of facts about life in the shadows of small-town anonymity, Gullak d Most of it gets right.
