Unlike the flower, this Gulmohar isn’t that attractive. This Gulmohar doesn’t even bloom. Gulmohar is a family drama film with too many complexities that it harms the nature of the film.
Gulmohar tells the story of 3 generations of Batra Family. A house named Gulmohar in Delhi, where Batras have lived for generations is being sold to a builder. Kusum Batra (Sharmila Tagore), the eldest member, insists the whole family leave the house after celebrating Holi for one last time which is after 4 days. These 4 days change the lives of all the individuals and turn their lives upside down. Arun Batra (Manoj Bajpayee) and his wife Indu Batra (Simran) learn some shocking things about the will of their house. The lives of their children are also turned upside down and all these stories run parallel. How Batra Family reacts to these shocking secrets and insecurities amongst themselves forms the crux of the story.
Talking about performances, Manoj Bajpayee is the top performer. This man is an acting legend. Whatever role Manoj Bajpayee plays on-screen he does it with so much ease that it looks so natural and real. Whenever Manoj Bajpayee appears on-screen you won’t be able to take your eyes off him. Even in boring scenes, he lights up the screen with his fantastic acting. The way he delivers dialogues in those emotional scenes and sad scenes is really unmatchable. Sharmila Tagore makes her acting comeback after 13 years, and she nails her role as a mother. Loved the mother and son bonding between Manoj Bajpayee and Sharmila Tagore. Simran also performs her part very well. Suraj Sharma also doesn’t disappoint. Amol Palekar plays his role with so much ease. The rest of the cast is good. Acting department of Gulmohar doesn’t disappoint at all. Direction of Rahul V. Chittella could have been much better. The music is situational.
Gulmohar is all scattered in bits and pieces. Till the time it comes to the point, it’s too late and we as an audience lose interest completely. The main problem of Gulmohar is that it’s unnecessarily dragged. Gulmohar tries to be an intellectual family drama, but due to its complexities it doesn’t feel like one. The screenplay is not that good and the film loses its track at many points. The editing should have been tight. I don’t understand what was the need to show the love story of those 2 servants, when you have many characters whose story runs parallel. What happened to the youngest daughter’s incomplete love story? There are many unanswered questions. Writing seems to be a little incomplete. And nowadays makers are forcefully adding the LGBT angle in the majority of films when they don’t have something new to show. The LGBT story seemed disturbing and didn’t fit well in the narrative.
Some scenes and some frames are very good. Some dialogues are intellectual. Another good thing about this film is that it has shown the 3 generations together and their different ideologies. One could easily connect themselves with those characters. Everyone has problems in their family and sometimes these problems are complex and we need to face them. An educated son who doesn’t want to live on his father’s money and wants to do something of his own and struggles to find success, a wife who is earning more than the husband, Gulmohar tries to tell all these things, but problem lacks in the presentation. In this family drama you never get a chance to cheer and the major part of the film is filled with sadness. In a family drama there should be moments where one can enjoy some moments. In this film the problems of each and every family member are never ending but there should have been that one moment which should have cheered up our minds. Loved the last scene where it shows the family lighting up the bonfire indicating that they have burned all their problems and will move forward, but this isn’t enough. You feel for some characters but not fully.
The film Gulmohar is mainly set in Gulmohar Villa (name of the house in which the Batra Family lives) and you won’t feel like staying in this villa for a longer time. Thankfully this film was released on the OTT platform. Gulmohar is a film which is not meant for theaters. If you want to try a complex and unusual family drama, then you can give Gulmohar a try. The so called heartwarming film, which doesn’t feel much like one can be given a try by all the 3 generations of the family, if you don’t have any other options available. An average flick, which is somewhat watchable for Manoj Bajpayee’s acting.
Rating – 2.5/5.
Watch the trailer below:
Gulmohar is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
