Posted on by writershilpa

Tumhari Sulu – Film Review.

Cast:  Vidya Balan, Manav Kaul, Neha Dhupia, Vijay Maurya and Malishka Mendonsa.

Director: Suresh Triveni.

Genre:  Slice-of-life comedy.

 

The story: 

Sulu, or Sulochana (Vidya Balan) is a middle class housewife, who dotes upon her little family consisting of her husband, Ashok (Manav Kaul), and son, Pranav. A cheerful woman, Sulu tries to find joys in life’s every little victory, be it in winning the lemon and spoon race in her son’s school, or the fastest sari-draping competition.

Her life revolves around her family and her various dreams of ‘doing something’ that will help her carve an identity of her own, and maybe help ease the load of her life partner, too.  Despite all the difficulties, her’s  is the idyllic life she makes for herself and her family. It all changes one day when she lands herself a job as a Radio Jockey.

Review:

I am sure many a housewife will relate to Sulu and her story. Housewives get the raw deal despite being the backbone of a family. Well, many do! For them, even after doing so much for their families, they are really “doing nothing” all day.  Add to that, there are the constant jibes from certain family members on their  “pathetic life choices, and their pitiful performances at every stage in life”.

All of these is what Sulu experiences in her life. But, fortunately for her, she has a loving and a supportive husband who stands by her side and encourages every dream of hers.

The chemistry between Sulu and Ashok is adorable, despite the fact that Sulu can be quite bossy at times. The loving mom in Sulu is the kind one sees around all the time. Indulging the children as well as venting out the frustration on them and then pampering them all over again.

Sulu’s twin elder sisters are the condescending kind, who find fault in every thing she has done in her life. I could so feel her suffocation when sandwiched between the two women, scrutinising and criticising every decision of hers.

And, yet, in spite of it all, Sulu manages to smile the contagious, heartwarming 1000 watt smile. A smile that shines brighter when she lands herself a job of an RJ after consistent efforts at trying to convince the channel’s boss (a gritty, yet soft-hearted, Neha Dhupia).

The scenes where she learns to modulate her voice into that  of a sexy siren, trying to make her way into her listeners’ hearts were brilliant. It was after ages that I laughed till my sides hurt!

The comic scenes as well as the serious, tear-jerker ones, were all done with ease and finesse by this gifted actress. No beating her chest in despair at the unkind life she has been doled out, or crying hoarse for the opportunities she has to let go of because of her family. Just quiet acceptance of her sorrows and moving on in life, and trying to look for alternatives!

Manav Kaul as her husband, Ashok,  was supportive in every scene as was Neha Dhupia and the rest of the cast. Not once could I see Vidya overshadowing her co-actors. In fact, not once could I see acting happening on the screen. It was a story of any other housewife being played out there! The kind one witnesses every day. Maybe that’s what makes this story easily relatable and so down-to-earth.

Verdict: 

I know I am being partial to Vidya Balan – well, I am her fan – but the movie deserves 5 stars! Okay, make it 4.5. Although, there was really not a scene that certified a yawn in spite of it being a late night show and me down with a splitting headache. I enjoyed it, right till the end. Even the odd song or two thrown in to add to the story.

With film reviews, as with book reviews, it’s my experience of the film that gets shared. If I enjoyed the film, I speak of it in glowing terms, but someone out there might trash the film based on lack of suspense or thrill.

It’s not always that one wants to watch a crime thriller with edge of the seat suspense, or an emotional roller-coaster of a drama with tears flowing at every scene or a laugh-a-riot, slapstick comedy.

At times, all you want to do, is watch a film that’s breezy, simple and connectable. Nothing larger than life, but a slice-of-life kind of a story that gives us a few good laughs, a few tears and a lot of hope and warmth.

That’s all from me today.

Do let me know if you watched Tumhari Sulu and what you think about it. I would love to know your views!

Love,

SHILPA…

 

 

 

35 Replies to “Tumhari Sulu – Film Review.”

  1. I just watched Tumhari Sulu and came out a while back. I’m still reeling under the after effects of Vidya’s amazing performance. I’m with you on giving it 5 stars! This is so far Vidya’s best performance. There was never a dull moment in the movie. The nuances of what a housewife with aspirations goes through has been captured so well. Totally loved it!

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  3. That’s a lovely review Shilpa 🙂
    With a middle-schooler occupying most of our day and with the husband and I being workaholics, we barely go out to watch movies. But will surely check this one out!

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  6. This is a lovely review and Gy is a Vidya Balan can after watching her in munnabhai two. So now I’ll wait for it to come on TV or Amazon prime and watch it. Not sure if I want to see if in the theatre. But the story sounds delightful and you’ve given such an honest opinion about it 🙂

    **psst, did I tell you I’m related to Vidya by marriage? Distant but related 😉

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    1. WHAT??? Are you? Pleaseeee can you tell her I am her fan? No, I am kidding…this sounds so silly!
      But, I simply fell in love with her in Parineeta and the love affair continues! hehe…She is brilliant!
      And, the movie is great, too! You will love it!

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  11. I’ve read some good reviews of the movie and your positive one seals it for me. I will wait for it to come on Showcase or Hotstar though. And I love Vidya Balan. She is such an amazing actress. I am glad that she picked up a movie that did full justice to her talent. That’s a nice, crisp review, Shilpa.

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  12. Hey Accomplice to my fun side, I am thinking if we could have gone together to watch the movie to saath phoot phoot kar hasne main maza bahut aata 😀 My first reaction on watching its trailer was Vidya Balan can be the only one to look so bulky and yet do a central protaganist. I can make out this movie should be inspirational to housewives who are condemned and criticized at every step and robbed off all of their confidence. I will watch this movie on Amazon Prime Video if it comes on it.
    By the way, your movie reviews are just like my picture book reviews – complete dil se 🙂

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    1. Oh yes, Anamika! We would have gone crazy laughing! My tummy ached as I laughed at all those scenes…don’t know if hubby enjoyed it, too…I was hardly paying attention to him! 😛 Vidya BAlan had my complete attention, so…hehehe
      And, you are so right…Vidya, being the cherubic beauty that she is, can carry off such roles with ease. I don’t know how many other actresses can do that, frankly. She is so talented and so beautiful…I am in love with her, baba! 😛
      Thank you, for your comment on my review, Anamika. I keep wondering how they must seem like really. 🙂

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  14. I have read my mixed reviews… But yours is really making me want to see the movie. Will have to check if I can find a dvd here. I saw the trailer and that voice modulation scene was indeed funny. That actually made me curious about the movie. Great review Shilpa.

    Liked by 1 person

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