One of the earliest forms of entertainment for the general public was puppetry & though over the years, this age old art form might have been relegated to the sidelines; it still retains its charm in the small towns. Just like many others, even I was intrigued with the title of Shoojit Sarcar's latest venture which was "Gulabo Sitabo". For the uninitiated, these are popular characters in puppetry whereby we have Gulabo & Sitabo both of whom fought over the same guy with the former being his paramour while the latter his wife. So will the actual movie be as interesting as its name & will it be able to inject a new lease of life into this dying art???
Lucknow, the land of nawabs and tehzeeb attracts scores of tourists every year as it still provides ample glimpses of its splendor of the bygone era. Located in the older section of this city is a dilapidated mansion which belonged to Fathima Begum (Farrukh Jaffar), whose health made her confined to her quarters. The responsibility of taking care of the property was left to her husband, Mirza (Amitabh Bachchan) who was fifteen years younger to her. They had leased out many of the rooms as the rental amount took care of their livelihood. However, the grouchy and avaricious septuagenarian Mirza harboured hopes that his wife would leave her mortal form sooner rather than later & would leave him as the sole custodian of the mansion. He was in loggerheads with most of the tenants especially Baankey (Ayushmann Khurana), who responded to Mirza's tricks in a tit for tat manner despite staying over there without having paid his measly rent for months. With both of them hell bent on making the other's life as arduous as possible, Mirza seeks the help of a lawyer while Baankey befriends a govt archaeologist who tries to convert it into a heritage site. So who will eventually have the last laugh???
Shoojit is an individual who needs no introduction with an array of praise worthy movies like "Piku", "Madras Cafe", "Vicky Donor" etc., to his credit. His latest flick as the name indicates is the constant bickering between two characters though this time around, the reason for the conflict is the mansion. As in many of his previous ventures, the script was penned by Juhi Chaturvedi & she has doone a wonderful job in ensuring that the supporting cast arent just for the numbers. Most of them get to mouth some delightful lines be it Fathima, Guddo, Christopher or Gyanesh. Actually, the mansion itself is presented as a character that has stood the test of time & seen better days. Kudos to the art department for having done a praise worth job & Avik for his impressive visuals. The climax was pretty good & well thought out, as we cant help smiling and feel sorry at the same time.
Was it just me but I kinda felt Big B's physical makeover & character development reminded me of Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol'. The legend has been smart in his choice of movies as it enabled him to showcase his superior skills that he is bestowed with through years of experience. I personally rate Mirza as one of his finest characters to date & would be surprised if he is not in contention when the award season begins. Ayushmaan has created a niche for himself in the industry by opting for movies that focuses on problems and incidents that the commoners face in small towns. He doesnt get overawed in front of Big B & has done a fine job. I would also rate Srishti Srivastva's portrayal of the fiesty Guddo as one of the highlights while others like Farrukh Jaffar, Brijendra Kala & Vijay Raaz also gave earnest performances.
Verdict: It was as interesting & hatke as its title as the perennial fight between Mirza and the tenants to secure control of the mansion keeps the audience entertained. There might be quite a few who wouldnt warm up to the story but Im pretty sure that there will be none who would refute that Big B rocked along with his co stars. In short, dont miss it!!!
Rating: 3.5/5
Regards...Ben
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