Gulmohar (transl. Flame Tree) is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language family drama film written and directed by Rahul V. Chittella.[1] The film stars Sharmila Tagore, Manoj Bajpayee, Simran, Suraj Sharma, Amol Palekar, and Kaveri Seth, amongst others.[2][3] It was released on Disney+ Hotstar OTT platform on 3 March 2023.[4] It was featured in the 54th IFFI Indian panorama mainstream section.[5][6]

Gulmohar
Official release poster
Directed byRahul V. Chittella
Written byRahul V. Chittella
Arpita Mukherjee
Produced byVikesh Bhutani
Rahul Chittella
Shujaat Saudagar
Starring
CinematographyEeshit Narain
Edited byTanupriya Sharma
Music bySiddhartha Khosla
Alan Demoss
Production
companies
Star Studios
Autonomous Works
Chalkboard Entertainment
Distributed byDisney+ Hotstar
Release date
  • 3 March 2023 (2023-03-03)
Running time
132 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

At the 2023 Filmfare OTT Awards, Gulmohar received 14 nominations won 3 awards, including Best Actress in a Web Original Film (Critics) (Tagore) and Best Supporting Actor in a Web Original Film (Sharma). At the 70th National Film Awards, the film won the Best Feature Film in Hindi, Best Screenplay (Dialogues) (Mukherjee and Chittella), and Special Mention (feature film) (Bajpayee).

Plot

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The Batra family has been living in a house named "Gulmohar" for many decades. As their Gulmohar villa is being brought down to give way to a high rise, the family meets up for one last party before the packers and movers take over. However, over the course of ghazal and gossip, the discordant notes in their relationships get exposed and one gets sucked into their tumultuous present and turbulent past. The postcards of memories are riddled with cryptic messages on the destiny.

Cast

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  • Sharmila Tagore as Kusum Batra
  • Manoj Bajpayee as Arun Batra, Kusum Batra's adopted son
  • Simran as Indira "Indu" Batra, Arun Batra's wife
  • Suraj Sharma as Aditya "Adi" Batra
  • Amol Palekar as Sudhakar Batra
  • Kaveri Seth as Divya Batra
  • Utsavi Jha as Amrita "Amu" Batra
  • Danish Sood as Ankur
  • Anuraag Arora as Kamal Batra
  • Devika Shahani as Neena Batra
  • Sriharsh Sharma as Kishore Batra
  • Santhy Balachandran as Reshma Saeed
  • Jatin Goswami as Jeetendra "Jeetu" Kumar
  • Chandan Roy as Param
  • Gandharv Dewan as Irfan
  • Talat Aziz as Avinash
  • Vinod Nagpal as Baba, Arun's birth father
  • Tanvi Rao as Deepika
  • Abhinav Bhattacharjee as Radheshyam
  • Tripti Sahu as Surekha
  • Nargis Nandal as Payal
  • Varun Narayan as Sameer
  • Kanishk Seth as Rocky
  • Deepak Bagga as Suri
  • Hiba Qamar as Young Kusum
  • Sanjina Gadhvi as Young Supriya

Music

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Gulmohar
Soundtrack album by
Siddhartha Khosla, Alan Demoss
Released25 February 2023
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length16:12
LabelZee Music Company

The music for the film composed by Siddhartha Khosla and Alan Demoss with lyrics written by Shellee.

No.TitleMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Dilkash"Siddhartha KhoslaTalat Aziz4:29
2."Sapno Ki Pakhi"Siddhartha Khosla, Alan DemossKavita Seth4:39
3."Woh Ghar"Siddhartha Khosla, Alan DemossUtsavi Jha3:56
4."Hori Mein"Siddhartha Khosla, Alan DemossKavita Seth3:03
Total length:16:12

Reception

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Gulmohar received widespread critical acclaim. Critics praised the performances of Tagore, Bajpayee, and Simran. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film giving 4 out of 5 stars and said that "there is a great deal of beauty in the muted melodrama", praising the cast's ensemble performance.[7]

Alaka Sahani of The Indian Express drew a parallel between Gulmohar and Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding and termed it as director Rahul V Chittella's Tribute to his mentor.[8]

Dhaval Roy, writing for The Times of India, gave the movie 3.5 stars and gave particular praise to the acting performance of the cast stating that Tagore "is par excellence" and that "while Manoj is outstanding, so is Simran as his wife, Indu. The duo's individual performances are as noteworthy as their on-screen chemistry as husband and wife". He highlighted the "commendable performances" of the rest of the cast.[9]

Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times was more critical. While she praised the cast's performance she also stated that "the film needed much better editing" with certain subplots seeming "half-baked".[10]

Sanjib Kalita in Gaysi critically examines the queer representation in the film, stating that "The queer representation in the film is mere tokenism, and is used to construct the illusion of diversity." Kalita further adds "Understanding female sexuality in isolation from class, the economy, and society is difficult. Society privileges men and stifles women’s desires, through various institutions like marriage (in this case, between Kusum and her husband), romantic relationships (between Ankur and Ambika), and forces women into compulsory heterosexuality. Director Rahul V. Chittella, who touches upon these subtleties, could have explored more by emphasizing the narratives of desire and longing while connecting critiques of heteronormativity to understandings of other social norms."[11]

Accolades

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Year Award ceremony Category Nominee / work Result Ref.
2023 Filmfare OTT Awards Best Web Original Film Gulmohar Nominated [12]
Best Director in a Web Original Film Rahul V. Chittella Nominated
Best Actress in a Web Original Film Sharmila Tagore Nominated
Best Actress in a Web Original Film (Critics) Won
Best Actor in a Web Original Film Manoj Bajpayee Nominated
Best Supporting Actor in a Web Original Film Suraj Sharma Won
Best Supporting Actress in a Web Original Film Simran Nominated
Best Story (Web Original Film) Rahul V. Chittella, Arpita Mukherjee Nominated
Best Original Screenplay (Web Original Film) Won
Best Original Dialogue (Web Original Film) Nominated
Best Background Music (Web Original Film) Siddhartha Khosla Nominated
Best Production Design (Web Original Film) Mansi Dhruv Mehta Nominated
Best Cinematographer (Web Original Film) Eeshit Narain Nominated
Best Editing (Web Original Film) Tanupriya Sharma Nominated
Best Sound Design (Web Original Film) P. M. Satheesh, Manoj M. Goswami Nominated
2024 National Film Awards Best Feature Film in Hindi Star India, Rahul V. Chittella Won [13]
Best Screenplay (Dialogues) Arpita Mukherjee, Rahul V Chittella Won
Special Mention Manoj Bajpayee Won

References

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  1. ^ "Sharmila Tagore, Manoj Bajpayee in Disney+ Hotstar Film 'Gulmohar': Watch First Trailer (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Gulmohar trailer: Manoj Bajpayee, Sharmila Tagore keep breaking family together". Hindustan Times. 11 February 2023. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Gulmohar trailer: Manoj Bajpayee, Sharmila Tagore shine in this emotional story of a dysfunctional family". The Times of India. 11 February 2023. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Gulmohar First Look: सामने आया मनोज बाजपेयी की 'गुलमोहर' का फर्स्ट लुक, जानिए कब रिलीज होगी फिल्म?". ABP News. 8 February 2023. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Indian Panorama 2023 Announces Official Selection for 54th IFFI, 2023". Press Information Bureau. 23 October 2023. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023 – via press release.
  6. ^ "Gulmohar Wins Best National Film Award 2024, Manoj Bajpayee Gets Special Mention". NEWS18.
  7. ^ Chatterjee, Saibal (3 March 2023). "Gulmohar Review: With Sharmila Tagore And Manoj Bajpayee, A Treat All The Way". NDTV. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  8. ^ Sahani, Alaka (3 March 2023). "Gulmohar movie review: Sharmila Tagore, Manoj Bajpayee drive engrossing family drama". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  9. ^ Roy, Dhaval (3 March 2023). "Gulmohar review: A bittersweet and profound story that will tug at your heart strings". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  10. ^ Kukreja, Monika Rawal (3 March 2023). "Gulmohar movie review: This intriguing family saga is convincing and convoluted at the same time". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  11. ^ Kalita, Sanjib (31 March 2023). "Deconstructing The Queer Characters In Gulmohar For Their Aesthetics And Activism". Gaysi. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Nominations for the Filmfare OTT Awards 2023: Full List Out | Femina.in". www.femina.in. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  13. ^ "70th National Film Awards: Rishab Shetty wins Best Actor for 'Kantara,' 'Aattam' bags Best Feature Film". The Hindu. 16 August 2024. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
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