Violet Flame Motion Pictures’ Gulabi (Marathi; UA) is the story of three women who meet on their way to Rajasthan and rediscover life.
Madhura (Mrinal Kulkarni) is unmarried and is on her way to Rajasthan for a change. Her cousin, Shishir (Abhyangh Kuvalekar), is to join her in Rajasthan from London. Madhura lives with her mother (Suhas Joshi). Gauri (Ashwini Bhave) is a doctor who has planned a 10-day trip to Rajasthan with her husband (Shailesh Datar) on the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary. But she is ready to undertake the trip all alone when her husband declines her offer of the holiday. Riya (Shruti Marathe), who works in an event management company, is on her way to Rajasthan for a meeting with a client. The three ladies meet at the airport and after initial bickerings between Madhura and Riya, the three hit it off well. However, Madhura is wary of Riya’s carefree nature.
Riya’s boss, Nikhil (Nikhil Arya), is also in Rajasthan. Soon, Madhura and Nikhil get friendly to each other. They spot Riya and Shishir at a cafe. The back stories of Madhura, Gauri and Riya come as surprises/shocks to the others. After they return from the Rajasthan trip, each of the three ladies is more clear about what she wants from life. What happens finally?
Abhyangh Kuvalekar has written a story about three unrelated ladies meeting and learning from each other’s experiences. The story is very ordinary and frankly, the three stories don’t add up to much. Bharadwaj Joshi has penned a screenplay which is devoid of excitement or thrill. The audience passively watch the drama unfolding on the screen but don’t feel much empathy for any of the three women. In other words, the viewers fail to get involved in the drama. Bharadwaj Joshi’s dialogues are okay.
Mrinal Kulkarni acts ably as Madhura. Ashwini Bhave is good in the role of Gauri. Shruti Marathe gives a nice account of herself as Riya. Abhyangh Kuvalekar is fair as Shishir. Nikhil Arya is alright as Nikhil. Shailesh Datar lends average support as Gauri’s husband. Suhas Joshi is adequate as Madhura’s mother. Radhika Deshpande is ordinary as Madhura’s sister, Neha. Pooja Purandare is so-so as Shilpa, girlfriend of Gauri’s husband. Pradeep Velankar, Subodh Bhave (as Ajay) and Mugdha Godbole (as Sujata) provide the desired support. Others are passable.
Abhyangh Kuvalekar’s direction is average. There is nothing in his narrative style to afford the viewers excitement or thrill. Sai-Piyush’s music and background score are okay but not outstanding. Lyrics (Aditi Dravid and Mandar Cholkar) are okay. Salil Sahasrabuddhe’s cinematography is beautiful. Mahesh Kore’s art direction is of a fine standard. Abhijeet Deshpande’s editing ought to have been sharper.
On the whole, Gulabi is a flop show.
Released on 22-11-’24 at Plaza (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru Panorama Studios. Publicity & opening: weak.