Gulabo Sitabo review: A tedious satire.

Gulabo Sitabo is a folk puppet tale, based on the fading Lakhnavi tradition of puppetry. The puppet tale is about two women at loggerheads- one the wife, the other a mistress of a man. Writer Juhi Chaturvedi encapsulates this folk story and puts it into the film with two warring men i.e. the landlord and the tenant for a mansion. Gulabo Sitabo is a bittersweet satire.

The writing includes Hindi, Urdu and Awadhi languages exceptionally. The lingo and typical intonations enhance the film’s premise. All the characters are also fleshed out really well, especially the women characters which subtly empower the women in the film, but but but, you feel a sense of in-completion after a huge moment in the film. It has got everything right but lacks that killer instinct or a final blow to achieve what it should have.

Gulabo Sitabo falls short, not as a story but with its screenplay, some films are meant to be slow burners but this film did not warrant that treatment. The film keeps losing it’s connected frequently. To be honest its screenplay feels unnecessarily slow. The journey could have been slicker and quicker but it takes quite some time to get there. 

Shoojit Sircar’s direction fails to engage the viewer throughout the film. He creates humour out of the cold exchanges between his characters but never pushes the agenda of the story forward.  

Background music is soothing; Cinematography and Art direction department to deserve credit. Dialogues are charming, the local lingo, slangs and insults provide some more laughs.

Amitabh Bachchan as Mirza, the landlord, is terrific. With ample makeup and prosthetics too, Mr Bachchan exudes his prowess on characters and disappears from his Bachchan-ness, it is an absolute delight. 

Ayushmann Khurrana as Baankey stands toe to toe with Mr.Bachchan, Ayushmann displays rawness and shrillness aptly, never going overboard in the context of his character. 

The supporting cast is fantastic, ever-reliable Vijay Raaz is yet again submerged into his character, Farrukh Jaffar as Begum is curt and hilarious. Brijendra Kala provides some sly laughs and Srishti Srivastava showcases brilliant confidence.

Watch or Not:
If the film would have been viewed in a cinema hall and not in the comfort of the home could it have been a better watch? Shouldn’t a film (this film was meant for a theatrical release)  be made for an OTT platform specifically?

Well, Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana’s Gulabo Sitabo (released and streaming on Amazon Prime Video) is a film you can pass.