'Gulabo Sitabo' Review: Amitabh Bachchan-Ayushmann Khurrana's greedy war is dark with a tragic twist

'Gulabo Sitabo'

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Vijay Raaz, Brijendra Kala, Farrukh Jafar, Srishti Shrivastava, Tina Bhatia.

Director: Shoojit Sircar

Duration: Two hours four minutes

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video

Critics' Rating: 3

'Gulabo Sitabo' Story:

Gulabo Sitabo is a quirky slice of life where Mirza and Baankey are like Tom and Jerry - unique and unmatched, friend and foe, naughty and smart, little and large, all combine to produce chaos.

'Gulabo Sitabo' Review:

There's a saying that 'Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed', which is one thing that makes up the whole movie of Gulabo Sitabo. The film has 'greed' at every frame from every character. Witnessing the two best actors from different generations coming together was an excitement for me. Making them a landlord and a tenant living life like Tom & Jerry made it more exciting.

Like Shoojit Sircar's every film, the movie doesn't waste time in getting to the point by introducing characters one by one. It just starts with Amitabh Bachchan (Mirza) a 78-year-old man stealing light bulbs from his own house and cycle's rings to sell it off for small pennies. He owns a palace 'Fatima Mahal' which he has given out to tenants for mere rent like Rs 30 and Rs 70, which is a shocker as multiple families stay there.

Among them is Ayushmann Khurrana (Bankey Rastogi), who is staying with his mother and three sisters. The family has been tenant to Mirza for seven decades including his grandfather. This makes him believe he is the owner and doesn't care about the rent. Like a stingy landlord, Mirza increases the rent, makes him pay parking rent, all goes in vain.

He not only has the greed of making money by nagging behind his tenants but also waiting for the death of his wife Begum  (Farrukh Jafar) to become the true owner of Fatima Mahal. This attitude makes him step out of the house now and then which doesn't seem to be the usual scenario.

Although characters are brought in the frame quickly, their life is shown at a slow pace citing the fact that's how it feels to live at a house like this. For Mirza: wake up - ask for rent -waiting for wife's death - sleep (repeat). While for Bankey: wake up - threaten Mirza - go to work - try to convince his girlfriend for some more time - sleep (repeat). This makes two hours longer.

However, the century-old haveli falls into the eyes of an archaeologist Gyanesh (Vijay Raaz), who wants to make it as a heritage property and seal it. He paves his way into Fatima Mahal by manipulating both Mirza and Bankey. Same goes with lawyer Christopher (Brinjendra Kala), who fights for Mirza, but gets impacted by words of Bankey and his sister. This brings about a new twist and more greedy people involved in Fatima Mahal.

Shoojit Sircar has brought a sense of darkness in Gulabo Sitabo when it comes to the content as well as the lighting. This is a new and brave attempt for the filmmaker and it's no Piku. This time he works with man's brain which is greedy and how problematic it is irrespective of the age. Juhi Chaturvedi has once again left an impressive mark with her story, screenplay and dialogues which are dark humour but will leave you in splits.

The tragic twist which we witnessed in Piku and October is brought about in Gulabo Sitabo and deservedly so. If you ask why, well, greed makes no good to human.

What can we say about two powerhouses of talents - Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana? Big B is indeed the best we have and there's no compromise on that. His prosthetic face with Merlin's beard (not the expression) as a no-nonsense, wife-fearing Mirza is adorable to watch. You empathise with him towards the end with his gestures and aloofness. Farrukh Jafar who plays Fatima Begum is also one actor to look forward to watching in the film. She is bedridden but knows everything and controls it too with a snap of her finger. 

Ayushmann as a simpleton Bankey gets no sympathy, to be honest! The way he performed made me love to not hate but dislike his character slightly. But that's the Ayushmannism he brings in his movies which makes him amongst the best of the current lot. 

Overall it took me time to analyse and like the film and I am happy my first impression was not the last one. 

'Gulabo Sitabo' Verdict:

Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana make lockdown slight-more entertaining and not in a way anyone would expect!