A picturesque rural setting, a group of children, a sprawling traditional house ( tharavad ), a land rich in folk lores and beliefs, and a bunch of great actors. All these should have been enough for a gripping film in the hands of an experienced director or scenarist. But Gu , filmmaker Manu Radhakrishnan’s debut feature, does not provide the chills and thrills expected in a film that deals with spirits and the supernatural.
Gu begins with the story of a teenage girl who is believed to be possessed by the spirit of a young girl who had met with an unnatural death on the premises of the family home. To help her parents, the extended family comes back their roots to perform rituals to exorcise the spirit and deal with the spell of bad luck that seems to have affected different members of the family. The plot hinges on the myth and belief of Gulikan and tries to give it a new interpretation by depicting him as a friendly supernatural being that looks out for children.
Cinematographer Chandrakanth Madhavan’s frames captures the verdant greenery and gives a hint of the spookiness that even the most blandest of surroundings can evoke. Sai (a splendid Saiju Kurup), Nimisha and their daughter Minna (Deva Nandha) arrive from Bengaluru with his family. Maniyanpillai Raju, Sai’s maternal uncle, arrives with his differently-abled son and so on.
Sai’s scientific temper rebels against the superstitions and beliefs of his relatives. Mithran, enacted delightfully by Niranj Maniyanpi.