Nov 23, 2017 07:01 PM
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TUMHARI SULU: - A LIGHT HEARTED AND A FEEL GOOD MOVIE
Phew! I am probably doing a proper movie review for the first time in about a year, first in 2017. Thus, I hope to get into the groove of it all through this review.
It’s a movie which has a bit of everything in it and has its heart at the right place. As the name suggests, Sulu is Sulochana played by Vidya Balan who’s a housewife and the youngest of the 3 sisters. The 2 elder sisters, both twins, are well educated, have gone to outstation audits and work in Bank whereas Sulu is regularly taunted for her inability to clear 12th even after 3 attempts.
Sulu is married to Ashok(Manav Kaul) who works in a shirt manufacturing company where all the other staff members are extreme adults. He gives medicines to the boss, stops fights between members and works for the betterment of the company. A change of guard at workplace leads to shambles later on. They have a son who’s seemingly mischievous and the little happenings shown early on lay the foundation for a massive plot later on.
Coming to the story, Sulu is a housewife who is like any normal human being. She participates in many different contests and counts the items won to tell her husband about the savings made through it. During one such contest, she wins a pressure cooker and easily demands a TV as their TV isn’t working since over 7 months now. While going to collect the prize, she discovers about an RJ hunt and aspires to give it a try. What transpires after that, how she adopts into this new routine, how she manages to keep a balance between family and work, how she overcomes the hindrances coming her way is what this movie is all about. This is a very thoughtfully made film. Almost all the bits and pieces are put in place by the end of the movie. There is a relevance to each and every small incident be it about the son initially, the lift scene, work place chaos of Ashok etc. We can relate with it in many ways.
If a 4th fail Vijay Salgaokar goes all the way to save his family in Drishyam, a 12th fail Sulu shows us that you need to love yourself and have the belief within to succeed at life in Tumhari Sulu. When Sulu cuts vegetables while doing her show, it reminds us of Usha Ji from Office Office, the only difference being Sulu does it all by herself.
Direction and writing by Suresh Triveni is good. In this age, I am on the lookout for something different and meaningful. He’s succeeded in doing it. Cinematography by Saurabh Goswami is really good, especially the set up at the radio office. I just loved the way it was presented all throughout. The pace as well as the length of the movie was fine except the fact that things seemed a bit rushed towards the end. Other than that, I have no issues with the editing of Shivkumar Panicker.
In a year where there have been only a few quality and melodious songs, I just loved the simplicity and charm of Rafu. It has simple, yet catchy and meaningful lyrics by Santanu Ghatak who has also composed the song. But the way in which Ronkini Gupta sings it takes it to another level. Other songs also go with the mood of the movie and seem decent. The skills of the performers in the song Farrata were commendable to say the least. The lady driver stating her husband initially missing him, later leaving him and that she loves Pakistani artists but doesn’t play their songs as she isn’t sure about the mentality of her passengers is a very good scene. Coming to the performances, Vidya Balan as Sulu is the heart and soul of the movie. She’s good as usual and strikes the right chord with her performance. Manav Kaul impresses once again, he’s such a gem of an actor. His dialogue deliveries as well as expressions were superb. I loved each and every frame of Neha Dhupia as the radio head Maria in the movie. She looked adorable and performed brilliantly. Vijay Maurya as Pankaj was the one who impressed me a lot. His expressions were terrific and he proved to be a differential amongst the other quality actors.
One might feel it isn’t that easy to become an RJ but sometimes, you do end up at the right place at the right time and things work out well for you. It isn’t an easy job to give answers instantly while being on air and thousands tuned in to listen to you. The show Tumhari Sulu rocked big time and the way of speaking as an RJ is a highlight in itself. All in all, Tumhari Sulu shows us that one should love their own self and not worry about the opinion of others. One should be ready to explore their horizons for success. The end seemed a bit rushed, would have loved a confrontation of Ashok with his boss at workplace but its fine. I will rate it 3.5/5.
