Gulabo Sitabo
2020
Director: Shoojit Sircar
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurrana

As the first major ‘star’-film to debut straight on the OTT platform, Gulabo Sitabo has made history of sorts.

What’s the plot?

A cranky old landlord is trying to evict his long-entrenched, pittance-paying tenants from his- (rather his about-to-die wife’s!) crumbling old mansion. One of the defiant tenants, a young flour-mill operator is the old man’s nemesis. While their constant clashes and acts of one-upmanship are keeping everyone on their toes, the things start heating up with lawyers, builders and government servants getting interested in the huge ‘heritage’ property. With everyone playing a different game with different set of rules, who will finally win the 'full house'?

Verdict

Director Shoojit Sircar and writer Juhi Chaturvedi had given us a delightful Kolkata-based slice of life film in Piku. This time, their Lucknow-based dark, edgy satire about human flaws, frailties and failings is lit up by multiple well-etched earthy characters and superb performances.

Bachchan Sr. playing a bent-in-the-back, bearded, lumpy-nosed grand old man trying everything to become the sole proprietor of the property is a hoot. His get-up, body language and dialogue delivery, everything perfectly nails the character. Ayushmann, too, impresses with a performance that brings out the vulnerability of a common man struggling to make ends meet. The supporting cast is excellent.

The main grouse against the film is its pacing, which is too languid to border on the verge of being boring. Still this tragicomic human drama with a clever twisted ending is worth watching, if just for the wonderfully enacted character sketches!

Rating:

3 stars