Gulmohar is not a movie, it is an experience. This is what tender loving care feels like. Gulmohar restores my faith in Bollywood with its simple storyline that touches the heart and makes you really feel. The movie stars Sharmila Tagore, who made her comeback after over a decade. This Disney+ Hotstar release also stars Manoj Bajpayee, Simran, Amol Palekar, and Suraj Sharma.

Home is what you make of it

“For the homes we build and the families we make” is the note Gulmohar ends on and it encapsulates everything the movie stands for. The Batra family is moving out of their ancestral home Gulmohar Villa after 34 years. The family gets together one last time to reminisce about the good old days and bid adieu to their home. The family matriarch Kusum Batra (Sharmila Tagore) wants to spend a few extra days at home to celebrate Holi together. Along with this, she also drops the news of moving to Puducherry to live out the rest of her life. This leads to chaos and bickering in the already turbulent family. Arun Batra (Manoj Bajpayee) is unable to say anything to his mother to dissuade her. To add to his problems, his son Aditya (Suraj Sharma) also wants to move out of the house and live alone.

You can already see the shaky grounds on which the family dynamics stand from the get-go. There is displeasure, insecurities, and communication issues, but despite these problems, there is also an underlying unity amongst the family members. Sudhakar Batra (Amol Palekar) is the villain in all of this, as he harbours grudges and fuels discord. He is the man you love to hate in the movie, but he is also one of the most layered characters.

A film driven by performances

This simple yet well-written story is near perfection and that is because of the actors’ performances. Sharmila Tagore proves that she hasn’t lost her charm. She portrays a gentle yet firm woman who isn’t easily swayed by her children’s emotions. Manoj Bajpayee, as Arun, delivers one of the finest performances in Gulmohar. He is a tender-hearted man who only wants to keep his family together. He has a tense relationship with his son Adi, and halfway through the movie, the mother-son duo of Kusum and Arun is also strained. Bajpayee’s performance is driven by finesse. The trembling of the fingers, the shock he feels when he finds out an old secret, and the desperation to find his ground, are commendable.

Simran, as Arun’s wife Indu and the Batra family’s daughter-in-law, gives a restrained and understated performance. Indu is a woman who stands by her husband through thick and thin. Their relationship is one in which emotional vulnerability is easy for both parties. Indu is a warrior who becomes a shield for her husband when she feels he is wronged and stands guard as he breaks down.

Gulmohar will make you shed a few tears, but it will also invoke a sense of longing and belonging in you. The movie is like a warm embrace on a day when you need it the most.

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