TUMHARI SULU - Vidya Balan’s
latest venture is a simple and heartwarming story of Sulochana Dubey, a.k.a.
Sulu, a homemaker living in a suburb of Mumbai with her husband and young son,
who aspires to carve an identity of her own, beyond the boundaries of her middle-class
family life. The movie by the debutant director Suresh Triveni (he has been the
man behind Star Sports World Cup Mauka Mauka ad series), will leave you with a
delightful experience who gives a memorable character for Vidya Balan and the
movie easily strikes a chord with the middle-class moviegoers, who can relate
with the nitty-gritties of their daily lives. The movie Tumhari Sulu adds to
the list of the recent women-centric films of Bollywood and the line “Main kar
sakti hai” truly depicts the never-say-die attitude of Sulu’s character.
Sulu is reminiscent of a typical
Indian housewife, who takes pride even in small achievements in life like
winning sports contests organized for moms, winning consumer items as prizes in
radio contests, taking part in events organized by housing societies, etc. She
is bubbly, vivacious, fun-loving and says, “Mujhe har cheez karne mein maza
aata hai”. Sulu by education is 12th fail, who is constantly reprimanded by her
elder twin-sisters and her father for not achieving something worthwhile in her
life, while her sisters are placed in well-settled respectable bank jobs. Even
though Sulu is quite adept in her mimicry skills and has a smoky and silvery
voice but she has never given a thought that it could help her in shaping up a
career. Sulu’s husband Ashok, played by competent Manav Kaul (featured in Kai
Po Che, Waris, etc.), is a supportive
husband who keeps giving a thumbs up to her dozens of business ideas. He cheers
her up when she takes part in the mom’s sports contests and along with their
son they make a loving happy family. Ashok and Sulu make a delightful couple
and they share a great fun-loving chemistry between them, depicted in scenes
like when Vidya Balan says, “Ashok, mere pair daba do na...” or when they mimic
a song together.
Sulu’s life takes a welcome turn
when she wins a pressure cooker in a radio contest and visits the radio
channel’s office to collect her coveted prize, where she sees a vacancy for a
RJ and strongly believes that she can take up the job. The radio channel owner
played by a confident Neha Dhupia gives her an audition chance and thinks that
a late-night radio show with “Saree-waali Bhabhi” can be a hit idea for desperate
souls looking to call up someone at night. Vidya Balan’s rendition of saying
“Hello” in a utterly seductive way wins her the job, but her family is opposed
to the idea of her working in late-night shifts and that too a late-night adult
radio shows which is morally questionable for the middle-class respectable
standards.
Sulu remains determined to take
up the job and her husband supports her decision a bit reluctantly. The
challenges of managing her family with the new responsibilities is depicted in
a truthful manner, along with the feeling of guilt creeping in of not being
able to give enough time for the family, which many working women can relate
with. While Sulu’s career as a RJ picks up, Ashok faces new challenges at his
workplace when a new boss comes over, who leaves no stone unturned in making
his life more miserable day after day. These two divergent paths of husband and
wife create strains in their cheerful family life which essentially forms the
second half of the movie. Moreover, no matter how supportive Ashok has been of
her homemaker wife, the typical male ego starts influencing his behavior
towards her (reminds of the movie Abhimaan). Things get further complicated
when he gets to know that the hit radio show has made his wife a subject of
fantasies of many unknown men, which adds to his insecurities. An unwanted
incident at their son’s school makes a sharp dent in their family harmony which
forces Sulu to almost think of giving up her career and going back to her
family life.
All in all, this is a Vidya Balan
film and she really gets into the skin of her character. Her portrayal of a
middle-class homemaker managing the chores and aspiring for a better life is
superb and her laughter and cheerfulness on the silver screen wins the hearts. Manav
Kaul also marks his own presence in the movie, while the twin-sisters doing
“Hai naa Didi? Haan Didi” throughout the film is really quirky but something
new to watch. While the movie does not overtly takes a feminist stand, but
raises some important questions on why it is only the women folks who should go
the extra mile to take care of the family and why should a woman’s aspirations
take a back foot when it comes to being a good wife and a good mother. The
movie also delicately tries to raise questions on what constitutes a
respectable job and what doesn’t. Do watch out the movie for a fantastic
performance of Vidya Balan and a story which most of us can relate with!
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Movie Review by Nishank
Email: onlynishank@gmail.com
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