Gulabo Sitabo is more of a grownups’ version of an age-old moral story which tells about the vices of two people fighting, leading to another’s gains

• Movie Name: Gulabo Sitabo
• Written by Juhi Chaturvedi, Director by Shoojit Sircar and Produced by Ronnie Lahiri & Sheel Kumar
• Cast of Gulabo Sitabo: Amitabh Bachhan, Aysushmann Khurrana, Vijay Raaz, Brijendra Kala, Farrukh Jafar and Srishti Shrivastava
• Date of Release/Streaming: 12th June, 2020
• Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video

For Full Cast and Crew click here Imdb

Gulabo Sitabo short Plot Summary / Film Synopsis

A landlord, Mirza (Amitabh Bachchan) and his tenant, Baankey Rastogi (Ayushmann Khurrana), are always squabbling for one thing or another in their old and dilapidated house, Fatima Mahal, owned by Mirza’s old and sickly wife, Fatima Begum (Farrukh Jafar), which also houses other tenants. Their daily squabbles grow into an unsolved and ever worsening conflict where Mirza desperately seeks to evict Baankey, whose family has been living in the house since generations, and who doesn’t pay the already paltry amount of monthly rent on time. 

One fateful event leads to heightened enmity between the two and their quest to defeat one another draws in the attention of some opportunists Gyanesh Shukla (Vijay Raaz), from the archaeological department, who plans to get the property sealed for being an archeological site, and Christopher Clarke (Brijendra Kala), an advocate, who wishes to encash the commercial value of the plot on which the property stands.

What follows next is a display of ego, anger, greed and indifference that blinds the two main characters of the movie, Mirza and Baankey, who are caught unawares when the surprising and unexpected climax unfolds.

What’s different about the movie Gulabo Sitabo

The first and maybe the only thing that comes to our mind when we think about Gulabo Sitabo is the age old story of ‘Two Cats and a Monkey’, that forms the basis of the plot in a Lucknowi or Lakhnavi style (aaaaaa…. how do we even spell it?).

So, you can say that the story tends to remind you of your moral story book from kindergarten and lingers in your mind for some time. And if by any chance you have ever found yourself in a similar position at some point of time in your life, then it will etches in deep.

The writer, Juhi Chaturvedi, did some good job, if not extraordinary.

The second different thing would be the makeup of Amitabh Bachhan which is flawlessly done by the makeup team, Lars Carlsson – special makeup consultant and Pia Cornelius – prosthetics make up designer. The makeup made it worth the watch aesthetically, and you would know what we mean if you counted the number of Indian movies where the make-up was one of the selling points (was Chappak one of it? Haven’t watched it yet – don’t like to watch sob stories (cloaked as inspiring movies) based on real life incidents just for vested commercial interests. Will have to watch it though for the sake of reviewing it).  

The third different thing would be the aesthetic beauty of Fatima Mahal that stands as a majestic reminder of it’s former glory.

Yes, so that wraps it up!

Best acting in Gulabo Sitabo

Farrukh Jafar has done justice to her role as Fatima Begum – she is the only character that resonates with Lucknow in the way she talks and behaves.

Best Dialogue/s in Gulabo Sitabo

There are no memorable dialogues in Glabo Sitabo but some may still pass as good ones, like when Fatima Begun sarcastically remarks “Arrey bulb na chori hui, nigodi jayjad chori ho gayi” (you are yelling as if it was not a bulb but your entire property) when Baankey’s light bulb gets stolen and he creates a scene.

Another dialogue would be one by Mirza that follows Fatima’s remark, where he says “Inki jayjad wali surat kahan” (he doesn’t have the looks of someone who can ever have a property).

Best Scene/s in Gulabo Sitabo

The climax scene can be considered as the best scene or rather the suspense revealing scene of Gulabo Sitabo. We won’t give spoilers in case you haven’t watched it yet as we believe that may be the only scene that most of you would like (unless of course you simply like watching Ayaushmann blabber).

There is one scene where Mirza asks a pani puri vendor to calculate the amount of money that his tenants owe him and when the vendor tells him the amount, he literally falls down to the ground in shock.

One scene in the starting of the movie, when Mirza is shown stealing a bulb, looked funny as it tried establishing his character, as he tries getting revenge on his unruly tenant.

Any adult scenes / suggestive language in Gulabo Sitabo

Well, there is one scene when Guddo, the eldest among Baankey’s sisters appears from behind a water tank in an isolated corner on the terrace of their house after making out with one of her boyfriends (she even explicitly mentions that guy to be the third one in her list of sexual partners). Some suggestive, yet not so vulgar words follow, explaining what was being done. She is even shown tying her pyjami or salwar during the conversation that follows.

There is another scene in the movie when the youngest of their sisters tells Baankey that he could take his girlfriend behind the water tank for a ride (ghumane – that’s what she says in Hindi) because that’s where her elder sister takes her boyfriend too.

In yet another scene, Guddo and Gyanesh are shown together as they are about to make out only to reveal that he gets a guilt kick and decides not to do so. In the same scene Guddo suggests that they can at least kiss but they end up not kissing each other too.

So you would want to skip these parts if watching with your kids.

Any expletives, bad language (foul mouthed actors), graphic content in Gulabo Sitabo

Gulabo Sitabo has a no amount of foul language or expletives in the script. The only thing that would come close to being offensive for some is the tone and language of Baankey who is the opposite of how people in Lucknow normally speak (that was one technical disappointment in the movie as reviewed by many). The way he addresses people in everyday life is not the kind of approach you would like in a person.      

Should you watch Gulabo Sitabo?

Well, firstly, Gulabo Sitabo is not a bad movie at all, and as a matter of fact, it is indeed a freshly written story and so must be watched at all costs. Secondly, it tends to entertain in a subtle manner. It means that Gulabo Sitabo will entertain people in different ways. So it is more like a person to person thing and movie watchers will find something to praise or cheer for in the movie. So many will like it for the plot which is fresh like we said, somebody will like Amitabh’s makeup, Ayushman’s diehard fans will like it for him and Vijay Raaz’s and Brijendra Kala’s fans will watch it for them and will be pleased by the fact that they proved to be the pillar characters for the movie. 

Gulabo Sitabo: Some questions

1) Why were none of the actors nothing like the people of Lucknow in the way they talked, behaved or carried themselves around in their daily lives?

2) Why does Ayushman Khurana have to carry the Delhi lingo everywhere he goes(if you know what we mean)?

Gulabo Sitabo one line review: What you can take home:

Well, if nothing else then you will go home with a brief exposure to the many harms of greed, anger and ego – somebody else always benefits from such vices!

Where to watch Gulabo Sitabo online:

Gulabo Sitabo is an Amazon Prime Video presentation and so that’s where you got to see it.

Stop Piracy, Watch Movies in Theatres and on Genuine Streaming Platforms – Unless, the movie looks like a complete waste of your money and time!