Gulabo-Sitabo Movie Review

Bollywood makes a comeback with Bachchan and Khurrana amidst the pandemic

While the entire nation struggles to crawl its way out of the unprecedented lockdown situation along with the Corona hazard still at large, Bollywood witnessed it very first big global release in the post-Corona world. Though in view of the present-day circumstances, director Shoojit Sircar took to the Over-the-top (OTT) platform Amazon prime, instead of the more customary theatrical release, Gulabo sitabo did not fail to fetch the hype it garnered, when the project was initially announced way back in 2019. Having originated from the present day Uttar Pradesh, the traditional glove puppet folklore, which traces its roots back to the 17^th century, Gulabo-Sitabo represents the eternal rivalry between the overworked-worn out spouse Sitabo and the gleaming mistress Gulabo, quiet similar to what the viewers are asked to behold in the movie at hand, the perpetual squabble between a landlord and his tenants. The plot, however actually revolves around a century old Mansion, which becomes the epicenter for hope, greed and a bundle of emotions. Mirza Sheikh (Amitabh Bachchan), now 78, dreams of someday owning the mansion after the demise of his 17yrs older Begum (Farrukh Jaffar), the rightful owner of the mansion and concomitantly getting rid of his several decade old tenants, particularly baankey Rastogi (Ayushmann Khurrana) who has proved to be exceptionally problematic. All hell breaks loose on Mirza, when a Government officer gyanesh Shukla (Vijay Raaz) threatens to confiscate the mansion under the Heritage buildings preservation Act, and snatch the very roof from all the inhabitants of the Haveli. What follows, is a desperate struggle of Mirza and Baankey in their own different ways to somehow recue their home. Apart from the weak plot, here are some of the good and bad aspects of the movie:

The Good: Mr Amitabh Bachchan, undeniably reigns supreme in the movie, takes method acting to different level with his cheesy-hunchbached Mirza. The actor somehow disperses himself to the greedy-unapologetically mean Mirza Sheikh, whose thirst for money and the mansion has driven him to a path of insanity. Mirza will make you cringe and feel sorry simultaneously at one point. Ayushmann Khurrana, unfortunately has very little to offer to the narrative, and becomes irrelevant at some point, feels like overkill for the roll. The ensemble cast, namely Vijay Raaz and Brijendra Kala have done their part. Apart from Mr Bachchan special mention goes to the beautiful background score and the overall music by Shantanu Moitra, and the cinematography, which elegantly captures the sights and sounds of Lucknow.

The Bad: The narrative and the pacing are perhaps the culprits here, the plot takes an eternity to build up, and struggles in the climax. Sircar seems to take the October route here, instead of the Piku route. The hilarious cat-n-mouse rivalry between Mirza and Baankey is short lived, and fades gradually as the movie reaches midway, making the narrative boring and a drag.

Final verdict: Gulabo-Sitabo is an honest attempt at a satire, which somehow fails in the narrative department. A tale of how a person can lose himself and let material possessions own him completely, and that greed can never lead to anything good. People and the relationships we share with them and the memories are the terminal wealth humans can possibly leave to the afterlife. A solid one time watch, the movie will make you giggle in the 1^st half but will fail to engage you in the latter.

Stars: 3/5