Omar Abdul Vahab, professionally credited as Omar Lulu, is an Indian film director who primarily works in Malayalam cinema.
Early Life and Education:
- Omar Lulu was born on October 30, 1984, in Mundur, Thrissur, Kerala.
- He attended De-Paul English Medium Higher Secondary School in Choondal, Thrissur, Kerala.
- Later, he pursued a Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech) in Civil Engineering from Royal College of Engineering & Technology (RCET) in Chiramanangad, Thrissur, Kerala.
Career Highlights:
- Debut Film: Omar made his directorial debut in 2016 with the romantic-comedy film “Happy Wedding”. The movie starred actors like Sharafudheen, Soubin Shahir, Siju Wilson, and Justin John. It had a successful run at the Kerala box office, crossing 100 days and grossing ₹13.7 crore.
- Subsequent Films:
- “Chunkzz” (2017): A comedy film starring Honey Rose and Balu Varghese, which was also a commercial success, collecting around 20 crore at the box office.
- “Oru Adaar Love” (2019): This film became an international sensation, making Priya P Warrier an internet sensation due to her iconic wink scene. It was the first Malayalam film to release simultaneously in four different languages (Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, and Tamil) across 2000 theaters worldwide.
- “Dhamaka” (2020): His fourth movie released in theaters.
- “Nalla Samayam” (2022): Unfortunately, this film faced controversy and was withdrawn from theaters three days after its release due to a case filed against Omar Lulu by the Kozhikode Excise Inspector for allegedly promoting the use of the banned drug MDMA through the film.
- Upcoming projects include “Power Star” starring Kannada actor Shreyas Manju and “LoveYathra”.
Music Videos:
- Omar Lulu also directed music videos:
- “Tu Hi Hai Meri Zindagi” (2021)
- “Jaana Meri Jaana” (2021)
- “Kaanan Thonnununde” (2021).
Bigg Boss Malayalam:
Omar Lulu participated as a contestant in Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 5 in 2023.
Controversies:
- In 2018, the song titled “Manikya Malaraya Poovi” from his film “Oru Adaar Love” faced criticism for allegedly hurting sentiments of the Muslim community. Omar defended the song, emphasizing its message of “love beyond borders” in the Malabar region of Kerala.
- He faced trouble in 2019 for using a Shaktimaan reference in his film “Dhamaka” without prior permission from actor Mukesh Khanna, who played Shaktimaan. The issue was later resolved.
- In 2022, Omar Lulu’s social media posts about the closing of hotels during Ramadan sparked controversy, leading to criticism and labeling him as a BJP and RSS sympathizer.
Omar Lulu’s journey in the film industry has been eventful, marked by successes, controversies, and creative endeavors.