'Gullak' Season 4 dropped on SonyLIV on June 7. Made by The Viral Fever (TVF), which also makes Prime Video's 'Panchayat', the show revolves around the very middle-class Mishra family. To put it simply, the show is about a family of four - Santosh, Shanti, Anand and Aman Mishra - who live in a close-knit middle-class neighbourhood. Each 30-minute capsule a delves into a middle-class problem that is usually resolved by the end of the episode.
The final episode of Gullak Season 4 is titled Pita Putr aur Prem Patra.
Putr or son: Aman Mishra, a school senior, wants to go out on dates and grow out his facial hair. His foray into young adulthood also has him testing the limits of what he can say and get away with throughout the season.
Prem Patra or love letter: Aman jumps through strange hoops to collect Rs 300-400 for an unknown purpose. He also manages to steal his brother's jacket for a few hours. We eventually find out that the money is for a friend Suryanarayan/Sunny (Jay Thakkar) who likes a girl. Aman is tasked with playing wingman at a cafe and then writing a love letter to said girl on behalf of the friend. He writes the letter in red ink, drawing hearts in top margins.
Pita or father: As is wont to happen in a colony where everyone knows everyone, Aman is spotted on his friend's date by a neighbour who feels it is his duty to tell Aman's parents. This leads to a showdown in which Santosh finds the letter Aman wrote for Suryanarayan. Things take a turn for the worse, and Aman leaves.
This, of course, is Gullak. And after three seasons and most of the fourth, we know nothing sinister will happen to him. The writing by Vidit Tripathi and the background score cue a lightness that is in step with the message: each day brings new challenges and lessons, and it can be painful and difficult at every age and stage of life, but it's all made easier when you have family and friends who care deeply.
In that way, Gullak feels like a spirit sequel of Doordarshan's 'Nukkad' but with a sharper focus on one family. And the last episode of Gullak Season 4 maintains that feel-good narrative.
Finally, the Goa tickets are courtesy the older putr who has figured a few things about surviving a cut-throat corporate culture by the time the season comes to a close and the Mishra family come to an important decision - Santosh hints they could move from their old ancestral home to a modern flat where the boys can each have a room.
Gullak 4 on SonyLIV: What you need to know
A lot of things come together to make 'Gullak' a sparkling chronicle of middle-class life in a north Indian city. The writing, the creators' insight into middle-class thinking and virtues, the characterization and the acting are the pillars here.
In terms of the insights this season, there are moments of reminiscing about what is lost, going over perceived mistakes multiple times, what it's like to fall in love for the first time, and why we hoard things.
There's plenty of spunk in the writing, too. Sample this early observation after Santosh Mishra (Jameel Khan) gets a show-cause notice to explain why illegally constructed sections of his home should not be demolished. The voice-over mulls how documents rule our lives:
"Court se miley date ka kaagaz
Matdaan peti ke pet ka kaagaz...
School-college pravesh ka kaagaz
Bharat ek kaagaz pradaan desh hai aur isme basne wale kaagaz ke sheron ki haalat geeley kaagaz jaisi ho jaati hai jab sarkaar unse kaagaz maang leti hai."
(You need documents for everything: court proceedings, voting, college admissions. India loves its documents. But India's paper tigers become limp like wet sheets when the government asks them to submit any documents - the translation can hardly do justice to the alliteration and humour of the original.)
The casting of Gullak is another big tick for the show. Jameel Khan and Geetanjali Kulkarni are seasoned actors, and they embody Santosh and Shanti Mishra with an assuredness that shines through even in small gestures and expressions.
Sunita Rajwar, who plays Bhushan's wife in 'Panchayat', is excellent as the snooping neighbour Bittu ki Mummy. And the writers give her enough to sink her teeth into. This season, for instance, she will "gift" the Mishra family a jar of preserved gooseberries (amla murabba), and then demand a discounted rate of Rs 300 for it.
Harsh Mayar is quite convincing this season as the moody teen Aman whose ego is easily bruised. He talks back, considers stealing and sulks about being given chores like buying vegetables from the market.
The show stealer this season, though, is Vaibhav Raj Gupta as Annu/Anand Mishra. His run-ins with a mean boss will leave you seething and celebrating by turns as Annu emerges on top in the end, with a paid holiday to Goa in hand.
There are five episodes in Season 4 of 'Gullak', each with its own theme. All five slowly build up to the final showdown.
In the final episode of Gullak Season 4, Aman Mishra (Harsh Mayar) - the youngest member of the Mishra family - decides to run away from home. Older brother Anand brings him back, but the equation of the entire family changes slightly after this.
And as with the previous seasons of 'Gullak', the writing of the show also assures you that while the Mishra family will face big and small problems, they will overcome. Along the way, they will gather gossip that they will tease with the question: "aapko nahi pataa (you haven't heard)?"
Gullak Season 4 themes
Each of the five episodes of director Shreyansh Panday's 'Gullak 4' has its own theme, as the Mishra family navigates middle-class life in India with all its pressures and pleasures.
Patriarch Santosh Mishra (Jameel Khan) gets a show-cause notice and offers a bribe for the first time in his life in episode 1.
Shanti Mishra (Geetanjali Kulkarni) has her chain snatched, and regains some of her self-confidence at the police station in episode 2.
There's an episode devoted to India's fantastic unorganised kabadi system where families get rid of used things for a small amount of money.
Anand Mishra (Vaibhav Raj Gupta) overcomes an evil boss and pleases a potentially difficult client across the five episodes.
And Aman Mishra tests boundaries as a young adult who wants to go out with friends and have money to go on dates.
Indeed, Aman Mishra's "adulting" vs Santosh and Shanti Mishra's parenting is a throughline across the five episodes.
Nosy neighbour Bittu ki Mummy (Sunita Rajwar) appears in the Mishras' home and across episodes seemingly at will, and typically to take something. This season, she has a key role in bringing about a happy ending, too.
Gullak Season 4: What works, what doesn't
What works in Season 4 is also what has worked for the series all along: it's a salt-of-the-earth show about everyday middle-class problems. Like Jerry Seinfeld's Seinfeld, it's a show about nothing and everything.
In Season 4, the Mishra family falls out over small and big events, and bonds again. There's a hilarious amount of interest in neighbourhood gossip, and the question "aapko nahi pataa" elicits immediate and endless curiosity.
The Mishras live in a place where the community is still close-knit and everyone knows everyone. On the flipside, everyone is constantly in everyone's business and privacy is scarce. As the voice-over (Shivankit Singh Parihar) tells us towards the end "middle-class ka trauma bhi yehi aur therapy bhi" (this is the source of trauma as well as therapy for the middle classes).
This closeness is also what precipitates the showdown at season's end.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
