Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

abhishekbhardwaj57433 gulaab gang is a commercial film,stated soumik sen,but yet it is still intelligent then silly blockbuster and more real to be called commercial,the most violent portrayal of women in Indian cinema,and goddess avatar of our superheroine madhuri dixit,and no way less devilicious chawla, who is tough to fight with.its not a MAIN HOO NAARI type preachy parable,but a social drama about rural women fighting not for liberalisation,but their existence indeed. its a shame that some male chauvinistic critics have shunned it, who could not digest womens performing hand to hand action sequences, music and background score is classical and folk,and is for different taste,if u r not fond of women centric films,still u can enjoy,bcoz madhuri n juhi r true heroes of GULAAB GANG.

bobbysing This is one of those 'exception to the rule' films, which still gets rated as an essential watch despite being just average and having many major glitches in its execution to put it honestly. So getting over with its weaker points first, the film's basic plot is now widely known to all after the recent controversy over its title and the court case filed by the original Gulaabi Gang's leader Smt. Sampat Pal. A well made documentary on the amazing social work by this famous women group was released just a few days back. And though the film is not entirely based on the real life facts, still it is quite evident from where the idea has been borrowed for its basic theme.Directed by Soumik Sen, GULAAB GANG is a sheer commercial adaptation of a serious mission wherein the women power is shown in full force with some well directed confrontation and action sequences along with many punchy dialogues. But since the director also had the knowledge of music, so to display it loudly he goes on adding numerous average as well as not-required songs in his narration right from the first few minutes to the last. Also including a clearly forced HOLI song in the final moments, in which Madhuri starts singing and dancing right after a pretty serious sequence in an utterly silly manner. So mainly due to this worst feature of the film (i.e. the songs), GULAAB GANG fails to make that desired impact which could have easily been achieved with just a theme song being played repeatedly.The film begins at a very lazy pace coming to the point after a long introduction and the entertaining tension actually commences, once Juhi Chawla enters the scene with her cunning smile. Later it keeps moving as a bumpy ride with some worth applauding high points coming after regular intervals. However many routine seen before sequences hamper its overall pace post the intermission and then the all hurried up, illogical climax ruins the entire build up quite badly.So then why I am still interested in recommending the film for all the Hindi cinema lovers willing to see something great? The reason is that yes GULAAB GANG turns out to be a clear masala interpretation of a relevant theme as expected, yet it gives you something unique and entertaining in few of its well conceived sequences focusing on the powerful clashes between the two veterans i.e. Juhi Chawla and Madhuri Dixit, executed like never before. Its indeed a treat to watch the stunning Madhuri walking with her solid attitude in slow motion along with the pumping music playing at the back. Plus the pleasantly shocking Juhi replying to Madhuri's every move with just a playful, teasing smile like a typical shrewd politician.In fact here I would like to admit that though the project was widely promoted as a Madhuri Dixit film in its entire promotional campaign and print advertisements. But in reality its Juhi Chawla who makes a more killer impact in her first ever role of a vamp unarguably. Hence as an exciting surprise, here we have the beautiful Juhi in a completely new negative avatar played real well, offering a lot more than the viewer's expectations from the talented actress. In other words, where Madhuri's decent attempt struggles to make an instant connect due to her mixed language (accent) or all meaningless songs (dances), there Juhi takes the full advantage of this unintentional flaw and emerges as a clear winner in this on screen contest evidently.Now if truth be told then the only person responsible for this visible imbalance in the two key portrayals is the music composer residing inside the body of the director only, who forced him to put so many songs & dance numbers into the film, which actually weakened the entire aura around Madhuri's strong character of a revolting lady ultimately. In other words, if only this film was made with just a theme song and stressing more upon the balanced depiction of both the clashing characters thoughtfully, it would have surely become a gem of a trendsetter in all possibilities, as it seems.Technically speaking, GG has a splendid camera-work complementing the enjoyable actions sequences of the film superbly and one really keeps waiting for all the tension filled scenes of Madhuri-Juhi together, eagerly. The novelty of a woman standing against another evil woman, moving away from the routine stuff keeps the interest alive and its truly a treat to watch only for these specific scenes alone as mentioned before. In the supporting acts, Divya Jagdale performs a bit over the top in a forceful mode but both Priyanka Bose and Tannishtha Chatterjee are wonderfully natural. All the men featuring in their various negative roles are fine, especially the one playing the local politician forced to face the cruel humiliation.In short, do give GULAAB GANG a chance, especially for the two veterans clashing with each other like never before and I am sure you would not regret the decision made, celebrating this year's Women's Day with Madhuri and Juhi together.

lopamudrax Too many jumps doesn't let the story flow in a linear manner. I understand that there are a lot of by stories that need to be established but the jumps are way too many and the first foray in watching the film is that of disjointedness.And why the delay in embracing the protagonist? And when finally she emerges from behind the veil, the entry lacks voltage.And then comes in the antagonist and she doesn't fail. And the face off well that doesn't fail either. Both stand their ground and it's electrifying.It's not a question of who had the meatier or glamorous role but JC over shone MD. JC was the character and vice versa. I was seeing Sumitra in each frame through all her mannerisms whether it was biting her lower lip or having that clove (atleast that's what I think it was).Considering that the film is all about the leader of the GG, the magic, passion and the rawness just don't emerge. She excels in what she's the most graceful at but otherwise she just sparked intermittently.There was more than a kernel of a story and considering its the directorial debut of SS, a good effort. Much will be expected in the second outing though. The reason why I couldn't add in a better adjective is because of a number of reasons. The number of songs and their reasoning for them to be? And what's with the shoddy editing? Storytelling is an art - why butcher it?All in all it was a valiant effort and as I mentioned earlier given the sheer talent of SS, one expects a whole lot more.

ruthvika-angadi Needless to say, this movie is a must watch for everyone who enjoy good cinema. Although I planned to watch the movie only for the film's protagonist Madhuri Dixit, I was in for a big surprise. The cast is fantastically assembled. Madhuri and Juhi do tremendous justice to their roles; but the supporting cast takes the movie to the next level. Enough attention is given to the composition of the infamous gang, which comprises of women, young and old, fearless and fearsome, independent and needy, concerned and care-free. The script kept me on my toes guessing the backlash between good and evil. The transition between scenes is smooth and reminded me of good story telling. Action scenes are well choreographed and performed, and melodrama is kept to the minimum. The movie deals not only with injustice against women, but also with abuse of power. It's not patronizing in the least as good and evil are both portrayed by women. I think, this is a very clever move by the script writer. Songs were distracting, except a couple of them which suited the situation. Nevertheless, it was a treat to watch Madhuri shake a leg.All in all, an entertaining and enriching movie.