Hasmukh Gandhi is a happy-go-lucky Ahmedabad businessman whose easy life is upended when his daughter Tanisha brings home a smooth-talking suitor, Montu, who claims he can introduce her to a superstar. Sensing the boy's bad intentions, Hasmukh schemes to pair Tanisha with his shy office manager Bakul instead, hatching a plan to fake a friendship between Bakul and film star Sonia Kapoor. The lie snowballs through mistaken identities, a blackmailer, the police and a mobster before the family is forced to face the truth.
Gujjubhai the Great takes Siddharth Randeria's long-running stage hit and puts it on the big screen, and the transfer mostly works. Directed by his son Ishaan Randeria in his debut, the film follows Hasmukh Gandhi, a genial Ahmedabad businessman who cooks up an elaborate lie to steer his daughter away from a scheming suitor and toward his bashful office manager. The plot is pure farce, built on a fake celebrity friendship that keeps collapsing into new complications, and it moves with the confidence of material that has already been tested on thousands of theatre audiences.
Randeria is the engine here. His timing, his exasperation and his command of the Gujju idiom carry scenes that would sag in weaker hands, and Jimit Trivedi lands the shy-manager role with a sweetness that gives the comedy a little heart. Critics responded warmly. Mid-day noted that the film gives its target audience everything they expect from Gujjubhai without tipping into overacting or cheap slapstick, while DeshGujarat called it a full entertainer with laugh-out-loud moments throughout.
What it is not is ambitious cinema. The screenplay leans on coincidence, the pacing slackens across a 145-minute runtime, and the humour is broad and squarely commercial rather than clever. But the film knew its audience and found it, grossing around 15 crore and spawning a 2018 sequel, GujjuBhai Most Wanted. As a faithful, good-natured record of one of Gujarati theatre's most beloved characters, it delivers exactly what it promises. Watch it for Randeria in full flow and for a comedy that is happy to be nothing more than a crowd-pleaser.
Verdict
A faithful big-screen outing for a beloved stage character, carried by Siddharth Randeria's comic mastery.
What works
- Siddharth Randeria in commanding comic form
- Warm chemistry from Jimit Trivedi
- Rooted, authentic Gujju humour
- Reliable crowd-pleasing entertainment
What holds it back
- Plot leans heavily on coincidence
- Pacing sags across 145 minutes
- Humour is broad and commercial
- Little to offer beyond the fanbase
Cast & crew
Writers: Ishaan Randeria
Music: Parth Bharat Thakkar, Advait Nemlekar
Cast: Siddharth Randeria (Hasmukh Gandhi), Swati Shah (Pramila Gandhi), Dipna Patel (Tanisha Gandhi), Jimit Trivedi (Bakul Buch), Alekh Sangal (Montu Sharma), Falguni Rajani (Laila), Sunil Vishrani (Inspector Aakash Jhala), Khatera Hakimi (Soniya Kapoor)
Producers: Devendra N. Patel in association with Siddharth Randeria Productions
Watch the trailer
Play the official trailer on YouTubeMore from Ishaan Randeria
More Comedy Gujarati films
Frequently asked
Is Gujjubhai the Great worth watching?
A faithful big-screen outing for a beloved stage character, carried by Siddharth Randeria's comic mastery. Kevu Che rates it 4 out of 5.
What is Gujjubhai the Great about?
Hasmukh Gandhi is a happy-go-lucky Ahmedabad businessman whose easy life is upended when his daughter Tanisha brings home a smooth-talking suitor, Montu, who claims he can introduce her to a superstar. Sensing the boy's bad intentions, Hasmukh schemes to pair Tanisha with his shy office manager Bakul instead, hatching a plan to fake a friendship between Bakul and film star Sonia Kapoor. The lie snowballs through mistaken identities, a blackmailer, the police and a mobster before the family is forced to face the truth.
What is the IMDb rating of Gujjubhai the Great?
Gujjubhai the Great (2015) holds an IMDb rating of 8.1 out of 10.