Film Review — Gulabo Sitabo — a bitter-sweet tale of nobodies for everybody!
The recent Amazon Prime Release, Gulaabo Sitabo starring Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurana, Farrukh Jaffar came as a breath of fresh air in today’s melancholic pandemic-hit environment. Shoojit Sarcar extended the gerontocratic, irritating and irritable old man trope that he introduced in his earlier release Piku, and ended up making us fall with his wholesome characters again. The director has revived the 70’s Bollywood plot of how an ordinary man gets stuck in the clogs of the system in the most subtle and nuanced way.
The film released on Amazon Prime, which was a perfect platform for a release of this kind, as the film is easily palatable and can be savored more with the entire family sitting together.
The squabbles of Mirza, the landlord, and Baankey, the tenant are hilarious and engaging. Mirza is stingy and throws everyday old age tantrums, and Baankey counters his senility with his juvenile mischievous banters. One cannot make their minds as to who to support in this local war of words and dearths as both the characters are equally flawed and somehow manage to get on to each other’s nerves every time. These fights are vehement but not viscous and depict the classic ‘can’t live, can’t live without’ scenario. The viewer has a hard time picking up anybody’s side. And the more they fight, the more you realize that neither of them is the scheming predator as they like to believe they are because both are the victims in the hands of institutions like court and government departments that deem these powerless people as collateral damage in their own pursuits of vested interests. The lens is set on Mirza and Baankey while the landscape covered widens to run a commentary on how people with no affluence or influence get exploited from all sides. Both the characters meet with a reversal of fortune in the end of the movie, extending our sympathies to both the characters equally.
The entire rhythm of the film is so even-paced that after a point it feels like you’re reading a Premchand-like-book with the characters breathing the same air as you in your room are, and the writer has no hurry to reach a definitive climax. However, this aspect might also have its cons as it contradicts the fast-pace that the online space on which it is runs entails. This drag in the tale was compensated by the exceptionally fine acting by both, Amitabh Bachhan and Ayushmann Khurrana. The efforts put into the prosthetics were visible, however, Amitabh’s nose was a bit off-putting and seemed like an obvious attempt to give him a stereotypical Muslim look. The side roles were well cast with Vijay Raaz and Brijendra Kala who, like always, did not fail to appall the audience. What was even more refreshing was the excellent acting by Srishti Shrivastava (Guddo) and Farrukh Jaffar(Fatto Beghum). Both the female characters were well rounded and well represented by the writer Juhi Chaturvedi who successfully liberated the characters from the otherwise male gaze.While Guddo countered all the mainsplainers around with her own knacks, Fatto Beghum literally stole the show by turning out to be the silent yet active puppeteer who turns the tables around.
The city of Lucknow which is known to keep its rustic charm alive adds on to the plot of the movie, making it more unpolished yet aesthetically pleasing. The music further enhanced the rawness that the haveli and the city symbolized and blended well with the visual experience.
So in short, the film has lots to offer is you’ve the eyes to see it.
