MARCH

Cinema
GULAAB GANG FILM
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Cast: Madhuri Dixit,
Juhi Chawla, Tannishtha
Chatterjee, Divya Jagdale,
Priyanka Bose
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Director: SoumikSen
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Rating: 3/5
There’s an
extraordinary
women’s
movement formed
in 2006 by Sampat Pal
Devi on gender violence in
Bundelkhand. The women’s
group is popularly known as
Gulabi or ‘Pink’ Gang because
the members wear bright pink
saris and wield bamboo sticks.
The movie ‘Gulaab Gang’ does
not portray the real life of
Sampat Pal instead it depict
good vs evil story. The cast
include Madhuri Dixit-Nene
and Juhi Chawla.
The Gulaab Gang members
are activists and vigilantes,
taking up issues like domestic
violence, the dowry system,
rape, electricity matters, and
education.
Their fierce leader, Rajjo
(Dixit-Nene), locks horns
with a conniving and shrewd
politician, Sumitra (Chawla),
who uses people.
In a film that is essentially a
drama, Director Soumik
Sen could have
avoided
the use of
songs. How can
you take a film seriously
when each bout of `lathi’-
clashing is interspersed with
group dances, with Rajjo-Rani
doing the familiar Dixit` latkas’
and `jhatkas’?
Fortunately, after the interval,
the film gets back on track.
On the whole, Gulaab Gang is
well-intentioned, with several
powerful moments, especially
in the second half. The game
of power and politics is well
captured.
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