Gulmohar

Gulmohar (2023 Unique storytelling scripted with some utter truths of the modern world and families. In cities, buildings are getting taller and the bond between family members even weaker. The biggest irony regarding modern society is how everyone around us is trying to disguise their individuality and racing towards virtual love and popularity. Humans of the 21st-century love to pull a complicated card out of a deck of a simpler life.

The world seems so technologically advanced that a family rarely has a discussion sitting together in a room. As we continue to advance technologically, it is important to maintain strong familial bonds and prioritise authentic human connection. Despite the allure of virtual popularity, true fulfilment comes from genuine relationships and a shared sense of community. We must make a conscious effort to resist the temptation of solitary, superficial life and instead embrace the richness and depth that come from human connection.

Gulmohar focuses on dysfunctional family's last four days in their home before they shirt permanently to their new homes and lives respectively. Hidden truth, insecurities make their way out as the family members try hard to keep it together. It indeed is a touching concept to dwell into a family's attachment to the house they grew up in. Gulmohar has several endearing characters and their internal conflicts highly relatable.

The short coming is how much it relies on dialogues to convey the emotions, to an extent they tend to touch the surface of several conflicts. It is indeed the Veteran actors who effortlessly get into the skin of these characters and elevate each of these scenes. One wishes the conflict point within the family with respect to the written will was much stronger, especially the final conversation between Sharmila Tagore and Amol Palekar.

I am going with the extra rating solely for the reveal in the end about Pondicherry. Otherwise I definitely wished the conversation between Sharmila Tagore and her grand daughter to be more real. But the attempt to make the flashback more emotional, it limits itself in handling the sensitive moment. The screenplay has it's flaws but the lovable characters turn this into a decent watch.

Gulmohar is a beautiful film. An emotional family drama with some lovely performances and dialogues. It's truly a delight to watch Manoj Bajpayee, Sharmila Tagore and Amol Palekar together in one film.

Bajpayee keeps reminding us that he is one of the best we have. Such a moving performance. Outstanding! It was a pleasure watching Sharmila on screen after a long time and she is excellent. In fact she along with Bajpayee pretty much stole the scene. It is a delight to watch Amol Palekar even while playing a grey role in this one. We have hardly seen Simran Bagga in Hindi cinema and she is so good. All the other actors including Suraj Sharma are fine too.

Overall this one is a must watch especially if you crave quality family dramas. Rajiv Chittella makes an assured debut as a director.

Manoj Bajpayee in an interview said that he is very proud of this movie and I can attest to the fact that this is a wonderful movie with beautiful performances, music and vibes.

If you are craving for a movie that's somewhat thematically similar to Kapoor & Sons or Monsoon Wedding, this would fit right in there and yet Gulmohar creates its own space for itself though it's not new.

I loved the performances by every cast member and it felt natural. The music was amazing and it elevated the scenes and the emotions that were being portrayed.

It's not a perfect movie. There are some elements which feel they were not necessary to the screenplay or maybe seemed a bit forced to attract the Gen-Z audience to Disney+ Hotstar especially the storylines with the 2 Batra kids. But Suraj and Utsavi acted well.

I first thought this could be some psychological thriller looking at the poster but it was actually a emotionally heavy feel good movie. I would definitely recommend to watch this film!

Anwar Says: Story is the soul of a movie and Gulmohar is the latest example. This could have been a web series of 8 episodes but then you may not be able to find yourself a part of Batra Family and the debutant director Rahul V. Chitella rightly condensed it to 132 minutes movie. You would definitely correlate with one of the characters.

Another best part is that the script oscillates between the past deeds of the seniors of the family and its repercussions on the present generation but all told in fluid way and every character flow with it. Before I comment on comeback of Sharmila Tagore, the character completely woven and stood like pillar for her husband and the family is Simran, wife of Manoj Bajpayee. The pivotal of the story is matriarch of Tagore and the ideal son Manoj and Suddenly a twist comes and tried to shatter the family but Gulmohar tree roots are always strong. The only character who could not come up is Amol Palekar.

The relatable and engaging story, charm of Sharmila Tagore, ensemble of cast, brilliance of Manoj , soothing music and background score makes this four days story a perfect watch for this weekend.

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