Gulaab Gang : falls flat... but Madamji

A much hyped film with two of 90's top es Gulaab Gang is a mockery in the name of women empowerment. A script which was promising gives way to the flaws of an undecided director, more so to his Madhuri-mania. A film which was being compared to "Mirch Masala" before release looks nowhere near to a class film nor a venture worth mass hit. And the whole failure of it lies only and only with the director. The leading lady rather the hero, Rajjo is projected more as a Robin Hood or Robin Hood Pandey than a woman protagonist and the villain, Sumitra Devi, as a ruthless ambitious politician but her meanness have been timed down to small bursts only to make way for the irrelevant songs and dance sequences. The major highlight of the film could have been the tussle of the good vs evil. But that too are very few and punctuated with 'dialogue-baazi' rather than a scripted plot. It seemed that the evil was getting too hot to handle for the director and in a rush he ended the story in a hara-kiri somehow with the good winning over the evil, much to the disappointment of the viewers. This reminded me of a recent film "Force" where the villain just had to meet the end to justify the story. The success of such films don't depend on the end result, but how this has been executed and how competitive the tussle was and how well the characterizations have been done. That's why the "Dhoom” series is doing great business even though the sequels are not worth the first one. The director, Soumik Sen, a clear fan of the Madhuri Dixit has given everything he could to his hero, dancing, singing (including playback), action, punch lines, the crusader's role but in the end spoils the dignity and integrity of the character. The point which the director missed and messed with is that Madhuri was a dancing star in her prime and Rajjo is village girl who has rose from the social oppression and grown with time. Both cannot go hand in hand, and to suit the script the diva image needed to be shred off rather than re-enforcing it time and again. In his attempt to show a larger than life image for women he makes a joke of woman empowerment, be it the hero or the villain. I believe box office response will be cold. The only satisfaction the director can have is if he gets some critics award or a National Award for his film as often these women empowerment films are awarded just for the effort rather than on the qualitative ground.

Picture Courtesy : www.google.com

Talking of performances it's the two ladies, pitted against each other, who are the major highlights of the movie. But amongst the others Divya Jagdale, Rajjo's right hand looks to be the only one who is believable as a powerful women protagonist from the village.

Madhuri Dixit as Rajjo has done whatever she could do but looks far from convincing. She is presented with everything that she could have dreamt and she does everything with whole hearted effort but still does not manage to bring that zing to the role when on screen. Neither she is believably assertive as a crusader nor she looks fitted into a rural society. Its more the script which lets her down and perhaps her star status. Hope the next time when she does a movie she gets over her that barrier of diva status and gives a more thought to the script and the role. Her comeback movies have not portrayed her beyond her image and to do any good she needs to break free from that, if and only if she wishes. Beyond the dances and the instilled image she looks very ordinary. Her diction is not at all village like (felt it same with her Urdu in "Dedh Ishqiya") and her expressions look very weak & plastic against the evil unless rescued with punch lines. Madhuri might get awards, may be the most coveted one, but that will definitely justify the role & effort rather than the performance. 

If anything/anyone is good or worth watching in Gulaab Gang is Juhi Chawla as Sumitra Devi or Madam-ji. Thank God she agreed to something which has been diametrically opposite to her image. She looks at her menacing best and clearly enjoyed getting into the skin of the character. Every time the script drops she tries to rescue it with her perfect meanness. Even though her presence on screen is limited (only 10 minutes in the 1st half) she lights up the screen with her entry and tries to pitch in as the perfect 'bitch'. Her scenes are mostly limited to a chair but she brings in that body language (even when seated) that magnifies the meanness and one starts hating her. Her diction & expressions are exemplary. The affable & lovable smiling face is not there, instead we see a cunning, vindictive manipulative & irritating personality. In the small span the actress gets she has made sure that no one fails to hate her. The director & producer made the mistake of showing of too much of her role in the promos as a result the surprise element which is the most important part is lost and hence at times she looks predictable and her expressions as mannerisms. Coupled with it the director's vision to make it larger than life makes the character unbelievable also. Still the actress has succeeded to portray her role beyond expectations & imaginations (if not with flying colours). Awards might allure her as always but definitely she will get some serious acclamation for her performance. Hope we see her in new interesting roles in future. I would like to re-iterate what I have mentioned in the past (long before Gulaab Gang was planned),  Juhi Chawla is one of the finest actors (and not heroine) only if she believes in it and is ready to explore.

So, what's Gulaab Gang in a nutshell. A 70's hero-villain film dished out in a rural background with women playing the pivotal characters. Its neither entertaining nor thought provoking. With a potential script and a confused director the film looses the steam much before it starts. Hard core feminists might enjoy it, but this is definitely not the stuff for serious movie goers. Still if you are interested in watching (as I was) watch out for the villain, that's the only high point in an otherwise lost case.