Movie Review: Vidya Balan shines in ‘Tumhari Sulu’

New Delhi: She is one actress who is known to carry the entire movie on her own shoulders as was witnessed in films like 'The Dirty Picture ' and 'Kahaani'.In her latest film 'Tumhari Sulu', Vidya Balan again displays an unbeatable spirit as a middle class wife striving to get out of her monotonous existence. Sulochana Dubey aka Sulu (Vidya) is a happy, middle-class homemaker from suburban Mumbai’s Virar area, who is determined to succeed in whatever she does, despite the odds being stacked against her.

Sulu finds happiness in even the tiniest of things. She is a regular participant and mostly a winner in society singing competitions and radio-station challenges. She talks to the pigeon on her window sill and can think of pranks to play on the neighbourhood baniya. Living in a nuclear family — her manager-in-a-mill husband, Ashok (Manav Kaul) and their 11-year-old son, Pranav -- Sulu has a huge list of hobbies that could very well occupy two pages, rightly said so by her twin sisters Aradhna and Kalpana, who are frequent visitors at her house.While Ashok is a doting and dutiful husband who encourages his wife's plans, her sisters constantly nag her for being a 12th fail, while they are bankers in their own right. But that doesn’t bog down Sulu’s spirit.

A prize from the radio station lands her at their office to collect her gift. The radio station is looking for RJs. Looking for excitement in her monotonous life, Sulu lands a job as an RJ for a late night show called ‘Tumhari Sulu’. As the sexy bhabhi RJ, Sulu has to face several challenges with her husband, her kid, and her conservative sisters. 

But Sulu stands her ground and comes up aces. As Sulu or Sulochana, Vidya dominates almost every frame. As the middle class wife trying to look for excitement in her monotonous existence, she comes up with another applause worthy performance, evoking a change of emotions in the audience.

As the head of a radio channel, Neha gives a mature performance as Maria Sood. Manav Kaul as Ashoke Dubey, Sulu's husband, gives an effortless performance. Vijay Mourya as Pankaj comes across as endearing. RJ Malishka’s role was confined to what she does best, RJying, and she managed to do a decent job. The special cameo by Ayushmann Khurrana adds enough glamour quotient to this slightly melodramatic plot. The music is romantic and pleasing to the ears with a hummable track. 

The recreated version of ‘Hawa Hawai’ is a peppy, crowd-puller. The songs blend well with the plot. However, the story lacks depth. While the first half is entertaining, the second half seems to stretch endlessly. Director Suresh Triveni, while staring out well in making the film engrossing in the first half, however, loses focus in the second half. The storyline also seems quite routine with no uniqueness to it.In short, Vidya shines yet again as middle class wife trying to get out of her monotonous existence.

Rating 3/5 (one for Vidya’s performance, one for story and one for music). (UNI)