Jolly O Gymkhana

<p>The film commences with Bhavani seeking absolution from Father Martin Luther King at church. In Meignanapuram, Thangasamy, along with his daughter Chellamma and granddaughters Bhavani, Shivani, and Yazhini, manage the Vellaikkaran Biriyani Hotel. This establishment has now witnessed a decline in business since the construction of a new bypass road. To stay afloat, the family resorts to usury, borrowing money from Rocket Ravi. They receive a substantial order from Adaikalaraj for a bulk feast catering worth ₹2 lakhs. Despite not receiving an advance payment, the family prepares the dishes, only to be met with humiliation and violence when they approach Adaikalaraj for payment. Thangasamy is beaten, leading to his hospitalization and a critical surgery costing ₹25 lakhs. Bhavani reaches out to Rocket Ravi, their money lender, for assistance. Lawyer Poongundran takes on a case against MLA Adaikalaraj, who allegedly scammed 28 families by using their signatures to obtain medical insurance money for himself. One of the victims, Sandhya, a artist, speaks out against the scam but is murdered by Adaikalaraj, with Reporter Kanniga as a witness. Despite this, Adaikalaraj manages to escape both the money scam and murder charges. As the election approaches, Poongundran intercepts ₹10 crore meant for voter distribution by Adaikalaraj and creates a joint account with Kanniga at UBC Bank in and also rescues Sandhya’s family, settling them in his mansion. Adaikalaraj, enraged, hires contract killer Pottu Bhavani to kill Poongundran. However, his associates mistakenly send the contract-killer’s fee to Bhavani, who uses it to pay for her grandfather’s surgery. Adaikalaraj’s men demand the ₹25 lakhs back, putting Bhavani and her family in a difficult spot. Meanwhile, Thangasamy also suggests that Bhavani meet lawyer Poongundran, who is currently in Theni. However, upon arrival, they are shocked to discover that Poongundran has been poisoned to death by Pottu Bhavani. Faced with a predicament, as they have provided their contact information at the hotel reception and left fingerprints in the room, the four women disguise Poongundran’s corpse as a drunken individual and successfully exit the hotel. With the assistance of Bhavani’s uncle, Murugesan “Mappumama,” they transport the corpse to a public gathering and abandon it there, unaware that Mappumama is oblivious to Poongundran’s demise. A riot erupts at the gathering, and Idithangi, while attempting to disperse the crowd, assaults Poongundran’s lifeless body. The incident goes viral, and results in the inspector’s suspension, amidst widespread public outcry. Furthermore, the , mindful of the party’s reputation, removes Adaikalaraj from his position as Health Minister and replaces him with Omapudi Narayanan. Mappumama, unaware of Poongundran’s fate, returns the corpse to Bhavani’s family. Initially, they plan to dispose of the body by pushing it off a cliff. However, a phone call from Kesavan Kutty, requesting Poongudran to withdraw the ₹10 crore from his account, prompts a change of heart. The family devises a plan to manipulate the corpse, utilizing an designed by Shivani, a robotics engineer. Bhavani provides a voice dub, while Yazhini practices forging Poongundran’s signature. After overcoming numerous challenges, including confrontations with Pottu Bhavani, a Telugu-speaking thug, and Inspector Idithangi, the family successfully transports Poongundran’s corpse to Kodaikanal via car and bus. Upon arrival, they meet the bank manager Kesavan Kutty, who insists on obtaining Kanniga’s signature, as the account is jointly held. Kanniga, who has also arrived in Kodaikanal, discovers Bhavani and confronts her, revealing the truth about the ₹10 crore. With a change of heart, Kanniga and Bhavani join forces to withdraw the money. They are pursued by Adaikalaraj, Pottu Bhavani, Inspector Idithangi, and their accomplices. The group becomes trapped in Poongundran’s mansion, where the four women using Poongundran’s corpse, create a diversion, making it appear as though the dead body is fighting off the attackers. Kesavan Kutty witnesses the chaos and mistakenly believes that Adaikalaraj has killed Poongundran. Convinced of this, Kesavan Kutty agrees to release the funds from Poongundran’s account. The corpse is then given a proper burial, and the family finds solace in fulfilling Poongundran’s last wish. The film concludes with Bhavani seeking forgiveness from the church father for utilizing Poongundran’s corpse for their benefit. In early November 2023, it was reported that director would be joining hands with for the third time after (2002) and (2019) in their upcoming project. The director further revealed that Prabhu Deva would essay a role of a corpse for most part of the film. The film also features and playing the role of her mother, making her second collaboration after with Sakthi Chidambaram and after 22 years. The film also stars , , , , , , , , and in pivotal roles. In mid-December, the title of the film was revealed as , a callback to the song composed by and sung by from the film (2022). The film is bankrolled by Rajendra M Rajan and Punitha Rajan for Transindia Media & Entertainment Private Limited. The film has music composed by Ashwin Vinayagamoorthy, editing by Ramar, and cinematography by MC Ganesh Chandra. predominantly took place around , , , and . On 6 November 2023, Chidambaram revealed that the entire filming has been wrapped up the previous week and the film is in the post-production stage. The soundtrack and background is composed by Ashwin Vinayagamoorthy. The first single “Police Kaarana Kattikitta” sung by actor-singer was released on 26 October 2024. The second single “Oosi Rosy” was released on 12 November 2024 by and . The filmmakers hosted a press conference to discuss its production. Shakthi Chidhambaram attended and provided details about the film but did not explain the change in lyricist credits. When reporters asked about the issue, an argument ensued, and Shakthi refused to answer, eventually leaving the conference abruptly. Jagan Kaviraj claimed that his removal was due to a production-related issue. He stated that the film’s budget had increased beyond the initial plan. Meanwhile, the director told that Kaviraj was supposed to write the song, but Shakthi decided to write it himself after being dissatisfied with the output. got released in theatres on 22 November 2024. is set to begin streaming on from 30 December 2024. Roopa Radhakrishnan of gave 1.5/5 stars and wrote “Jolly O Gymkhana shows that just having women as central characters in a film doesn’t make one a pro-woman movie. A series of utterly senseless and outright vulgar jokes don’t help its case.” Avinash Ramachandran of wrote “Jolly O Gymkhana could have been something interesting and definitely more funny, but when the makers resort to the easiest pickings, feeling bad about the could-haves or revolting on what was included is just a fool’s errand.” Prashanth Vallavan of wrote “With the botched execution of , it is obvious that Sakthi Chidambaram has erroneously believed that an insincere effort was the right attitude to make a lighthearted comedy.”</p>