Gulabo Sitabo Movie Review: A little restless but ultimately riveting

Gulabo SitaboUA ComedyDirector Shoojit SircarCast Amitabh Bachchan Ayushmann Khurrana Vijay Raaz Brijendra KalaRatingThe names of nearly all the Shoojit Sircar films are justified by their stories or their characters He named one of his films Vicky Donor because it was about a Delhi boy Vicky who becomes a sperm donor Madras Cafe derived its title by reallife incidents and what went behind the assassination of one of Indias Prime Ministers When he announced Gulabo Sitabo one really had to understand what it meantAs his new film opens we see a puppeteer introducing his two puppets as Gulabo and Sitabo Sircar has derived the title from reallife people this time around Its the story of a tenant and his landlord and its appropriate for a film of such nature because after all both the tenant Ayushmann Khurrana as the lisping Baankey and the landlord A cantankerous Amitabh Bachchan want the other to be his puppet and do exactly what he wants and wishesThe relationship between these two people derive the most disgust and disharmony but Sircar treats the subject with lighthearted humour and keeps the pace deliberately unhurried When Priyadarshan tackled a similar subject in 2001s Yeh Tera Ghar Yeh Mera Ghar he added his style of comedy to the narrative but in the hands of Sircar the story becomes comparatively lighthearted and amusing in spurts Just like all his films the characters feel real and even stars like Bachchan and Khurrana are treated with authenticityWatch Gulabo Sitabo trailer right hereMost of the action unfolds inside a dilapidated haveli called Fatima Mahal Both Baankey and Mirza want to overpower each other with their tricks and treachery An archaeologist and a lawyer get involved Vijay Raaz and Brijendra Kala dependable as always The entire film has been shot in Lucknow and cinematographer Abhik Mukhopadhyays lenses add the right texture to the story We sense Mirzas helplessness and Baankeys rising frustration due to the havelis crumbling condition There are shots of broken walls and mucky toilets and yet theres something sprawling about this placeMaybe thats why Mirza is waiting for his wife to die so that he can legally own Fatima Mahal He didnt even bear a child to avoid giving a property share Baankey on the other hand lives with his three sisters and a mother They too derive their own means and methods to continue occupying the space without giving extra rent The scenarios and situations are all real and especially continue dominating the smalltowns of India what Khurranas films like to be called The Heartland And writer Juhi Chaturvedi writes crackling characters that sparkle with their brisk performancesThis isnt a twomen showreel Farrukh Jafar as Begum Mirzas wife and Srishti Shrivastava as Guddo Baankeys sister enjoy their moment of glory and are a step ahead of the two men and both of them have reasons to develop a strong sense of dislike for them Watch out for the scene where Mirza asks the doctor about Begums ailing health Bachchan is a fantastic comic but we havent seen him in such a space for years He gets some marvellous lines to chew on and he delivers them with the kind of deadpan demeanour that youre immediately amusedAlso amusing and charming is his relationship with his wife Hes 78 shes 95 she doesnt remember how they got married he wants to get rid of her It would be great to see their back story and how the twain met In a scene she brings cotton candy for him and he stands in silence as if shocked and surprised to see how she still loves him despite her copious bickering and blabberingAnd talking of deadpan demeanour this is exactly what Khurrana does too Hes the Angry Young Man or should we say the Angry Young Tenant But his outbursts are meant to elicit laughs or at least smiles Gulabo Sitabo proves the biggest of comedies are born out of other peoples tragedies especially in the world of cinema But unlike some of Bachchan and Khurranas most savoured and successful films this isnt a film for all the people but it does tell the brutal truth of a lot of peopleAnd Sircar clearly isnt interested in the monetary gains by bringing two stars in the same frame Theres no trace of vanity in their characters or their performances they are two charmless people defined by their ordinariness Who cares then how much money the film could have made had it released in the cinema halls And how does it matter where one sees it when all we want to experience is A Priceless JodiCatch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news