BOTTOM LINE
Tiresome Watch with Big B’s Mindblowing Performance
OUR RATING
2/5
CENSOR
124 minutes
What Is the Film About?
Mirza (Amitabh Bachchan) is a greedy old man who dreams of owning his wife’s dilapidated mansion. He waits for his wife’s death and for his tenants to vacate. Bankey (Ayushmann Khurrana) is one of the tenants who refuses to vacate the house and their tussle leads to the archaeology department and a civil court lawyer. The rest is all about a priceless lesson towards the end.
How Is Amitabh Bachchan’s Performance?
Amitabh Bachchan has delivered a mindblowing performance as a greedy old man. It is amazing how he could easily slip into the character. His efforts can be visible by his gait, the weariness, the expressions through the thick glasses. He even mastered the Lucknow accent.
Direction by Shoojit Sircar?
Shoojit Sircar who is famous for films like Vicky Donor, Madras Café, Piku, and October, has directed the film. The story is basically of an old man who lived with greed all his life and a middle-class man who goes to any extent to save the bucks in his hand. The idea is to exploit the chemistry between them and stir emotions.
The director is successful in the first part but faltered in the second part. The initial tussle should be stuffed with entertainment while the story needs to take an emotional turn towards the later parts. But then, that did not work much boring the audience.
The director has chosen a Tragic-comedy ending to the story but by that time, the damage has been done. The climax is a bit over-stretched but it has hit hard. The movie fails to keep the audience engrossed but can be watchable for the awesome performance of Amitabh Bachchan. But it falls short of expectations we have from big names like Amitabh, Ayushmann Khurrana, and Shoojith Sircar. It is a wise decision to release the film on OTT as sitting through it in a theater will be tedious.
Ayushmann Khurrana & Others?
Ayushmann Khurrana may have been underutilized in the film. He tries to be natural as always but his character may have paled before the Big B’s stupendous act. He did well to match up to the Big B in the combination scenes. The rest of the characters have got the best-fit actors.
Music and Other Departments?
Avik Mukhopadhyay’s camera work is fine. He captures the weariness and the small town locality perfectly. The Production design of the town and the mansion is too good. Juhi Chaturvedi’s writing has been effective for the most part. Chandrashekhar Prajapati handled the editing. But the movie still feels lengthy even at 126 Minutes Runtime.
Highlights?
Amitabh Bachchan’s Performance
All Other Casting
Production Design
The Tragic-Comedy Climax
Drawbacks?
Lengthy Feeling
Boring Portions in the First Half.
Stretched Climax
Lack of Entertainment and Emotions
Alternative Take
The movie would have been effective if the director focuses more on the entertainment in the first half and drama in the second half. The subject has been good and chances have to be done in the treatment side. The movie works for a digital watch since you have the luxury of fast-forwarding the boring parts. But then, keep your expectations in check.
Did I Enjoy It?
Partly
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, For A Digital Watch.
Gulabo Sitabo Review by KK
