20 years have passed since the release of the Tamil blockbuster Ghilli, and its charm has not diminished. The film stars Vijay in the lead role, alongside Trisha, Prakash Raj, Ashish Vidyarthi, Dhamu, Mayilsamy, Janaki Sabesh, Nancy Jennifer, Nagendra Prasad, Ponnambalam, and Pandu. Now, Ultra Jhakaas is all set to premiere the Marathi-dubbed version of Ghilli, titled Ghadakebaaz Ghilli. The film will drop on the OTT platform on July 5, 2024, and can also be streamed via OTTplay Premium.

Film background: Ghilli and its origins

Dharani directed and Sri Suriya Movies produced Ghilli, a 2004 Tamil-language sports action film. It is a remake of the Telugu film Okkadu (2003), written and directed by Gunasekhar, with few changes made to the story. The film is about a Kabaddi player who goes to Madurai to participate in an exhibition match, but instead rescues a woman from a gang leader who is obsessed with her.

In the film, Velu alias Ghilli (Vijay), the son of Sivasubramanian, the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Chennai, is an aspiring kabaddi champion. Ashish Vidyarthi plays Siva. Sivasubramanian has little affection for his son, and he is always scolding him for being unmotivated to study and having an unhealthy obsession with Kabaddi. 'Baby' Jennifer, who plays Velu's younger sister Bhuvana, is a perceptive and curious student who loves him despite the fact that she is often getting him into problems with his father. His mother, Janaki Sabesh, is a doting mother figure. An obnoxious factionalist leader in Madurai named Muthupandy (Prakash Raj) is madly in love with Dhanalakshmi (Trisha) and would stop at nothing to marry her. 

Muthupandi, Dhanalakshmi's elder brother, turns down his brother's marriage proposal. To get vengeance from his brother for killing Dhanalakshmi's younger brother, Muthupandi murders him. After hearing of Muthupandi's evil deeds, Dhanalakshmi's gentle father begs her to leave the region and live quietly with her uncle in the United States. He even gives her the money and credentials she needs to make the journey. Muthupandi apprehends Dhanalakshmi just as she tries to escape by snatching her up in one of his lorries. Right now, Velu is in Madurai for a kabaddi tournament, but he comes running to get Dhanalakshmi out of Muthupandi and brings her to Chennai.

Critical reception and box office success

Critics gave the film positive reviews upon its release. The film ran for more than 200 days at the box office and emerged as the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2004. Ghilli is considered to be one of the best films in Vijay's career, starting his acting trend from romance to action.

On April 20, 2024, a remastered version in 4K was re-released worldwide in theatres, receiving a huge response from the audience. It has grossed over ₹50 crore worldwide and became the highest-grossing re-release in Indian cinema in its second week, overtaking Titanic.

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