Gulaab Gang ~ Movie review

Woman – the puzzling creation of nature. If she can be deathly vulnerable to the stumbling Pandora boxes that come her way, she can be belligerently antagonized when her tolerance to abuse and corruption hits rock bottom. When Rajjo (Madhuri Dixit), the main protagonist quips, “Ek glass pani milega? Gala Sukh raha hai!”, the sense of eerie does hint at something good or worse waiting to happen. With a lathi in her hand, dressed in a gulaabi saree, do not ask what she can do, but what not, she can! That is what Gulaab gang, directed by debutant director Saumik Sen and produced by Anubhav Sinha, is all about.

When I started watching the movie, the first thing I loved about it is, there are no heroes. Just a village of gutsy ladies, led by their calm charismatic chieftain, Rajjo Devi as the fearless Gulaab Gang and a delightfully evil antagonist Sumitra Devi (Juhi Chawla) are all that keep you rooted. The movie is packed with action, a lot of dialogue punches and colourfully choreographed songs. A tad too long that it is, Madhuri and Juhi have revived their magic in the movie by playing their characters with finesse. As Rajjo, the Gulaab gang chief locks horns with the malicious politician Sumitra, the movie focuses on the many issues women face even in the rural pockets of our country, despite the growth and progress we all claim to have made.

And now, time for some rating. I would give a 2.8/5

The movie is a onetime watch despite, some intense acting, natural action sequences and well choreographed songs. It dragged a little longer than usual. Also, too many songs can spoil a film!