Story
The story revolves around Rajjo (Madhuri Dixit) who teaches the rural women in her village, named Madhopur, how to wield a 'lathi' and little girls are taught the alphabets. Rajjo runs the 'gulabi gurukul' in Madhopur, where the members of her gang wear pink saris.
'Gulab Gang' is about the good vs evil story, where Sumitra Devi ( Juhi Chawla) plays the baddie, while Rajjo and her gang stand for the good. Sumitra Devi is a ruthless politician, who stop at nothing to rule over the masses.
Analysis :
'Gulaab Gang' is the masala movie which fails to convince. Though the film is based on activist Sampat Pal’s ‘Gulaabi Gang’, there is little common between the film and the real life event. The only things common are the pink saris, and the fight for women’s rights in a rural village of North India.
In an attempt to commercialize the movie, the script looses seriousness, which otherwise could have been a very intense film. How can you take the movie seriously when you see Rajjo-Rani break out into latkas’ and `jhatkas’ after every bout of `lathi’-clashing.
This movie is not the real thing. which it promises. If you want to see the real women empowerment, then check out 'Gulabi Gang', a great documentary on activist Sampat Pal.
Performance :
Madhuri as Rajjo brings out the inner Durga in herself in the film. She plays the avenging angel and even wields an axe. As usuals she is entertaining with her dance moves, which is a little too often. Juhi Chawla as Sumitra Devi plays a villian for the first time in her acting career. It's fun to watch the saccharine sweet Juhi play a venomous lady. In fact, seeing the perverse wickedness of her character is the best thing about the film.
Final Word:
Watch this movie for Juhi Chawla's portrayal of a strong character and Madhuri Dixit’s indomitable spirit in the movie.