You remember those satirical stories in our Hindi textbooks? Lakhnavi Andaaz by Yashpal, George Pancham ki Naak by Kamleshwar, or Do Bailon ki Katha by Premchand. Basically, if Premchand was a filmmaker, it would be Shoojit Sircar. The man who directed Vicky Donor (2012), Madras Cafe (2013), Piku (2015), and October (2018), presents a satirical outlook on his interpretation of ‘greed’ and ‘materialism’ ingrained in the Indian minds.
The film is hilarious at many levels, not only in terms of its story and bizarre characters but also, with the use of Lucknowi dialect which makes you laugh on the dialogues as well. Gulabo-Sitabo, the title is inspired from a traditional glove puppet theatre performed in North India. Sitabo is the old, frustrated spouse and Gulabo is the young, cunning one. Both married to the same man. The model fits perfectly onto the characters of the film. Amitabh Bachchan’s character Mirza, who is an old, rude and meanie landlord is the Sitabo and Ayushmann Khurrana’s character Baankey, a tenant who is a pathetic miser, is the Gulabo of the film. And their ‘spouse’ is the Fatima Mahal, the Haweli which the two of them are deeply in love with. In one scene, Baankey says to Mirza “University ke launde bula liye na, jitni aashiqui chal rahi hai haveli ke sath, sab nikal denge.” The Haveli, almost works as a centric character for the film.
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| Source: Scroll.in |
The film has a decent ensemble of cast. Amitabh Bachchan who has worked with Shoojit Sircar in Piku, presents a character who is so unlikeable that you find him sweet. Amitabh adds a layer of innocence to Mirza’s greedy personality. Ayushmann, unlike most of his films where he is a hero delivering moral messages, is in a different zone here. His character is annoying, stupid and selfish. Then, there is Vijay Raaz, who plays the government official from the Archeological Department, with a very real tonality to it. Then there is Begum, the Advocate and Baankey’s sister whose performances stand out in the little screen time they had. Shoojit creates a lived-in world. You might see a character for a few minutes on-screen but you exactly know who they are. He creates legit real people in his films.
One thing is for sure. The film will not be liked by all. It’s not the sort where you go in with the expectations of thrilling plotlines, climatic endings and mind-boggling plot twists. It’s a slow film. It takes it’s time to set up it’s characters and convey its message. Although, the music by Shantanu Moitra will keep you hooked during the slow sequences. Also, you will enjoy the humour throughout. The film is tragic if you see it from these characters' perspectives. But, you end up laughing even when these beloved characters are subjected to a harsh finality. It is, as I said, like reading a satirical tale from your Hindi textbooks. You don’t expect it to end with a closure. The fun is in the course of the story, and the lessons which it teaches throughout.
I personally enjoyed the film. Do let me know if you liked it too.
I’ld rate it three and a half stars out of five.
-Hardik Jaimini
I would like to quote your line and reflect it out with my personal experiences.
ReplyDelete"One thing is for sure. The film will not be liked by all. It’s not the sort where you go in with the expectations of thrilling plotlines, climatic endings and weird plot twists."
The thing in our country is that we go on to look for some bakwass comdey or action. We never try to look for movies which has a good storyline or the movies which go on to stand out as a different and an unique one. My friends didn't like the film but they like films like Race 3.
Adding to it, I again love the way you express and your reviews are to the point.
I really liked how you explained the relevance of the title in context to both theoretically and with the film! Amazing review!!!
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