Gullak season 5 review: Fresh paint, Wi-Fi and warm performances of Mishra family elevate a safe, predictable season

GUllak flavor 5 net serial publication reviewCast: Jameel Khan, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Anant V Joshi, rough Mayar, Helly shah of iran, Sunita Rajwar and Gopal DattDirector: Shreyansh Pandey and Abhay RautRating: ★★★In the fifth season of SonyLIV's Gullak, a conversation between Shanti Mishra (Geetanjali Kulkarni) and her husband, Santosh (Jameel Khan), beautifully captures the evolving face of India's middle class. Reflecting on a shift familiar to many modern parents, Shanti notes that while she willingly embraced a life of simple compromises, her children view life through a different lens. Her minor observation that their eldest son, Annu (Anant V Joshi), can no longer sleep comfortably without an air conditioner speaks to a larger generational truth: the baseline for comfort has shifted. Expecting a future daughter-in-law to adapt to past hardships is no longer realistic.This single piece of dialogue gets to the very core of season 5. The Mishra household is navigating a slow, inevitable transition into modernity where fresh paint, high-speed WiFi, and contemporary appliances upgrade their daily routines, yet the foundational spirit of Mishra Niwas remains entirely untouched.Plot of season 5: Fresh paint, faster wifi, and the same old heartThe new season of Gullak opens with subtle upgrades inside the Mishra home, visually capturing the core theme of time's relentless march. As peeling walls get a fresh coat of paint and high-speed Wi-Fi replaces the iconic earthen piggy bank, it becomes clear that change has arrived, forcing the family to adapt to the modern world on their own terms. Shifting its lens away from a singular family crisis, the narrative gracefully allows each member of the household to step away from the family monolith and navigate their own private, independent battles.Santosh Mishra confronts the quiet, harsh realities of aging, limited career mobility, and workplace friction, moving beyond his usual role of merely fretting over household bills. Meanwhile, Shanti Mishra powerfully demands to be seen as more than just a homemaker, standing up against outsiders who try to reduce her identity to her chores after decades of quiet service.Their children face their own modern crossroads; Annu grapples with the exhausting grind and financial anxieties of corporate adulthood, while Aman injects both humour and a desperate desire for self-reliance into the house by launching a quirky online astrology venture to escape his older brother's shadow. How did the season fare?Spanning seven episodes, the new season anchors its storytelling in the familiar rhythms of middle-class Indian life, where the narrative flows naturally between the headaches of modern external life and personal milestones. The household finds its hierarchy subtly shifted by a visiting relative before dealing with the uniquely relatable anxieties of discovering fake paneer and handling a neighborhood tire-slasher.As the season progresses, a painful wisdom tooth serves as a quiet metaphor for the aches of growing up, while changing gender dynamics and a desperate struggle for personal space cause friction under one crowded roof.Everything builds toward an emotional crossroads where family members are caught between personal ambitions and deep-rooted household responsibilities. Ultimately, by focusing on these everyday hurdles, the series captures the essence of a family trying to adapt to a changing world without losing the identity that holds them together.The performances remain the show's biggest strengthGeetanjali Kulkarni is magnificent as Shanti Mishra, perfectly capturing the sharp frustrations and quiet resilience of a middle-class matriarch, while Jameel Khan provides a beautifully steady anchor as Santosh, balancing traditional pride with vulnerability. Harsh Mayar infuses the youngest son, Aman, with a refreshing maturity as the character genuinely comes into his own. Meanwhile, the family dynamic is delightfully disrupted by Sunita Rajwar, who consistently steals scenes with her flawless comic timing as Bittu Ki Mummy, and Gopal Dutt, whose chaotic energy as Pinky Mama pushes the family far outside their comfort zone.The biggest talking point of this new chapter is the highly risky recasting of the eldest son, Annu Mishra, with Anant V Joshi stepping into the role previously played by Vaibhav Raj Gupta. Fresh off 12th Fail and Maamla Legal Hai, Anant handles the pressure with immense sincerity; rather than mimicking his predecessor, he evolves Annu to capture the real anxieties of a young adult facing heavy responsibilities. While long-time viewers might need a moment to adjust to a new face, any initial friction melts away as he settles into the family's natural rhythm. This transition is further smoothed by his unforced chemistry with series newcomer Helly Shah, who joins as Dr. Preeti to introduce a refreshing romantic dynamic that gives this comforting world an exciting new path forward. VerdictIf the fourth season of Gullak carries a notable flaw, it is that the narrative occasionally traps itself in its own comfort zone. While pre-release marketing strongly teased major shifts and evolution for the Mishra household, the actual episodes heavily anchor themselves back into familiar terrain. These slices of life offer the exact charm and relatability that built the franchise's fanbase, but they simultaneously prevent the season from taking a significant step forward.As the first Hindi web series to reach a fifth season, Gullak delivers a comforting reminder that no matter how high you climb, you never truly lose the roots that shaped you. Narrated once again by the family’s old piggy bank through Shivankit Singh Parihar’s familiar voice, the latest season wisely avoids changing its core identity, even if it plays it safe.