Omar Lulu

Omar Lulu
Born
Omar Abdul Vahab

(1984-10-30) 30 October 1984 (age 40)
NationalityIndian
Occupation(s)Film director
Music Director
Years active2016–present
SpouseRinshi
Children3

Omar Abdul Vahab, professionally credited as Omar Lulu, is an Indian film director who works in Malayalam cinema. He made his directorial debut in 2016 with Happy Wedding.

Career

His debut film Happy Wedding starring Sharafudheen, Soubin Shahir, Siju Wilson and Justin John had a good run at the Kerala box-office and crossed 100 days run, it grossed ₹13.7 crore (US$1.6 million) at the box office.[1] His second film, Chunkzz, starring Honey Rose and Balu Varghese,[2] released in August 2017 and was a commercial success at the box-office, which collected around 20 crore at the box office.[3]

His third movie Oru Adaar Love was an international sensation[4] which made Priya P Warrier an internet sensation by a wink scene from the film.[5] It is also the first ever Malayalam film that got released in four different language (Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil) simultaneously all around the world in more than 2000 theatres. The film made a box office hit for Omar and it is dubbed into Chinese, English, Arabic and all Indian languages. Dhamaka was his fourth movie released on theatres. In 2022, his fifth film titled Nalla Samayam released on theatres was withdrawn from the theaters three days after its release due to a case was filed against him by the Kozhikode Excise Inspector for promoting the use of the banned drug MDMA through the film.[6] New movies in planning are Power Star starring Kannada actor Shreyas Manju, Babu Antony and freshers' LoveYathra.[7]

Besides making films, Omar started directing musical albums by the year 2020. His last two albums, Tu Hi Hai Meri Zindagi and Jaana Meri Jaana starring Ajmal Khan and Jumana Khan was shot in Dubai in 2021.[8][9]

Filmography

Year Title Notes
2016 Happy Wedding
2017 Chunkzz Also storywriter
2019 Oru Adaar Love
2020 Dhamaka Also storywriter
2022 Nalla Samayam Also storywriter
2024 Bad Boyz [10]

Music videos

  • Tu Hi Hai Meri Zindagi (2021)[11]
  • Jaana Meri Jaana (2021)[12]
  • Kaanan Thonnununde (2021)

Television

Personal life

Controversy

In December 2022, Kerala Excise Department registered a case against makers of Nalla Samayam, movie directed by Omar Lulu for allegedly promoting the use of MDMA in movie's teaser.[13] "Besides the substance, the trailer also had the scenes blindly promoting alcoholism and the makers of the movie did not even bother to show the statutory warning on the screen"; said officials.[14]

References

  1. ^ "'Happy Wedding' completes 101 days; here's worldwide box office collection of the surprise hit [PHOTOS]". Ibtimes.co.in. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  2. ^ "Chunkzz MalayalamMovie CastingCall OmarLulu Heroine ചങ്ക്‌സിന് നായികയെ ആവശ്യമുണ്ട്". Mathrubhumi.com. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  3. ^ "'Chunkzz first in collection".
  4. ^ "The wink that went viral: Director Omar Lulu on his Priya Prakash Varrier featured Oru Adaar Love". The New Indian Express. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  5. ^ "The wink that stopped India". BBC News. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Omar Lulu's Nalla Samayam withdrawn from theatres following excise case". The Hindu. 2 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Omar Lulu's 'Power Star' will have Babu Antony in the lead - Times of India". The Times of India. 6 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Watch New Hindi Song Music Video - 'Tu Hi Hai Meri Zindagi' Sung By Nikhil D'Souza | Hindi Video Songs - Times of India". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Omar Lulu: Didn't expect such a great response for 'Jaana Mere Jaana' - Times of India". The Times of India. 15 May 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  10. ^ Features, C. E. (9 September 2024). "Ghora Ghora Rajadhi Raja song from Bad Boyz out". Cinema Express. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  11. ^ Tu Hi Hai Meri Zindagi | Omar Lulu | Ajmal | Jumana | Nikhil D'Souza | Abhishek Talented | Jubair M, 11 February 2021, retrieved 31 August 2021
  12. ^ Jaana Mere Jaana | Mahiyil Maha | Omar Lulu |Vineeth Sreenivasan |Jubair Muhammed |Ajmal Jumana Khan, 12 May 2021, retrieved 31 August 2021
  13. ^ "Excise books makers of Omar Lulu's 'Nalla Samayam' movie for promoting substance abuse". English.Mathrubhumi. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Kerala filmmaker booked for promoting banned drug in movie trailer". The Indian Express. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2023.