Gulmohar (2023 film)

The Batra family has been living in a house named "Gulmohar" for many decades. As their Gulmohar villa is being brought down to give way to a high rise, the family meets up for one last party before the packers and movers take over. However, over the course of ghazal and gossip, the discordant notes in their relationships get exposed and one gets sucked into their tumultuous present and turbulent past. The postcards of memories are riddled with cryptic messages on the destiny.

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• Sharmila Tagore as Kusum Batra
• Manoj Bajpayee as Arun Batra, Kusum Batra's adopted son
• Simran as Indira "Indu" Batra, Arun Batra's wife
• Suraj Sharma as Aditya "Adi" Batra
• Amol Palekar as Sudhakar Batra
• Kaveri Seth as Divya Batra
• Utsavi Jha as Amrita "Amu" Batra
• Danish Sood as Ankur
• Anuraag Arora as Kamal Batra
• Devika Shahani as Neena Batra
• Sriharsh Sharma as Kishore Batra
• Santhy Balachandran as Reshma Saeed
• Jatin Goswami as Jeetendra "Jeetu" Kumar
• Chandan Roy as Param
• Gandharv Dewan as Irfan
• Talat Aziz as Avinash
• Vinod Nagpal as Baba, Arun's birth father
• Tanvi Rao as Deepika
• Abhinav Bhattacharjee as Radheshyam
• Tripti Sahu as Surekha
• Nargis Nandal as Payal
• Varun Narayan as Sameer
• Kanishk Seth as Rocky
• Deepak Bagga as Suri
• Hiba Qamar as Young Kusum
• Sanjina Gadhvi as Young Supriya

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{{Infobox album

| name = Gulmohar

| type = soundtrack

| artist = Siddhartha Khosla, Alan Demoss

| released = 25 February 2023

| genre = Feature film soundtrack

| length = 16:12

| label = Zee Music Company

}}

The music for the film composed by Siddhartha Khosla and Alan Demoss with lyrics written by Shellee.

{{Track listing

| extra_column = Singer(s)

| title1 = Dilkash

| length1 = 4:29

| music1 = Siddhartha Khosla

| extra1 = Talat Aziz

| title2 = Sapno Ki Pakhi

| length2 = 4:39

| music2 = Siddhartha Khosla, Alan Demoss

| extra2 = Kavita Seth

| title3 = Woh Ghar

| length3 = 3:56

| music3 = Siddhartha Khosla, Alan Demoss

| extra3 = Utsavi Jha

| title4 = Hori Mein

| length4 = 3:03

| music4 = Siddhartha Khosla, Alan Demoss

| extra4 = Kavita Seth

| total_length = 16:12

}}

Gulmohar received widespread critical acclaim. Critics praised the performances of Tagore, Bajpayee, and Simran. {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|91|7.3|11|consensus=}}{{Cite web |title=Gulmohar (2023) {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gulmohar_2023 |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}} The film was highly praised by audiences too.{{Cite news |last=Chowdhury |first=Titas |date=16 August 2024 |title=Sharmila Tagore Is 'So Happy' As Gulmohar Wins National Film Award 2024: 'This Means a Lot' {{!}} Exclusive |url=https://www.news18.com/movies/sharmila-tagore-is-so-happy-as-gulmohar-wins-national-film-award-2024-this-means-a-lot-exclusive-9017501.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250216165734/https://www.news18.com/movies/sharmila-tagore-is-so-happy-as-gulmohar-wins-national-film-award-2024-this-means-a-lot-exclusive-9017501.html |archive-date=16 February 2025 |access-date=16 February 2025 |work=News18 India |quote=The film was highly praised by the fans too and received positive reviews from critics.}}

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film giving 4 out of 5 stars and said that "there is a great deal of beauty in the muted melodrama", praising the cast's ensemble performance.{{cite web |url=https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/gulmohar-review-with-sharmila-tagore-and-manoj-bajpayee-a-treat-all-the-way-4-stars-3830429 |title=Gulmohar Review: With Sharmila Tagore And Manoj Bajpayee, A Treat All The Way |first=Saibal |last=Chatterjee |date=3 March 2023 |publisher=NDTV |access-date=3 March 2023}}

Alaka Sahani of The Indian Express drew a parallel between Gulmohar and Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding and termed it as director Rahul V Chittella's Tribute to his mentor.{{cite web |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/gulmohar-sharmila-tagore-manoj-bajpayee-drive-engrossing-family-drama-8476757/ |title=Gulmohar movie review: Sharmila Tagore, Manoj Bajpayee drive engrossing family drama |first=Alaka |last=Sahani |date=3 March 2023 |work=The Indian Express |access-date=3 March 2023 |archive-date=18 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240818213501/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/gulmohar-sharmila-tagore-manoj-bajpayee-drive-engrossing-family-drama-8476757/ |url-status=live}}

Dhaval Roy, writing for The Times of India, gave the movie 3.5 stars and gave particular praise to the acting performance of the cast stating that Tagore "is par excellence" and that "while Manoj is outstanding, so is Simran as his wife, Indu. The duo's individual performances are as noteworthy as their on-screen chemistry as husband and wife". He highlighted the "commendable performances" of the rest of the cast.{{cite web |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/gulmohar/ottmoviereview/98278232.cms |title=Gulmohar review: A bittersweet and profound story that will tug at your heart strings |first=Dhaval |last=Roy |date=3 March 2023 |work=The Times of India |access-date=3 March 2023 |archive-date=3 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303042219/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/gulmohar/ottmoviereview/98278232.cms |url-status=live}}

Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times was more critical. While she praised the cast's performance she also stated that "the film needed much better editing" with certain subplots seeming "half-baked".{{cite web |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/gulmohar-movie-review-this-intriguing-family-saga-is-convincing-and-convoluted-at-the-same-time-101677813775222.html |title=Gulmohar movie review: This intriguing family saga is convincing and convoluted at the same time |first=Monika Rawal |last=Kukreja |date=3 March 2023 |work=Hindustan Times |access-date=3 March 2023 |archive-date=9 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309210930/https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/gulmohar-movie-review-this-intriguing-family-saga-is-convincing-and-convoluted-at-the-same-time-101677813775222.html |url-status=live}}

Sanjib Kalita in Gaysi critically examines the queer representation in the film, stating that "The queer representation in the film is mere tokenism, and is used to construct the illusion of diversity." Kalita further adds "Understanding female sexuality in isolation from class, the economy, and society is difficult. Society privileges men and stifles women’s desires, through various institutions like marriage (in this case, between Kusum and her husband), romantic relationships (between Ankur and Ambika), and forces women into compulsory heterosexuality. Director Rahul V. Chittella, who touches upon these subtleties, could have explored more by emphasizing the narratives of desire and longing while connecting critiques of heteronormativity to understandings of other social norms."{{cite web |url=https://gaysifamily.com/culture/deconstructing-the-queer-characters-in-gulmohar-for-their-aesthetics-and-activism/html |title=Deconstructing The Queer Characters In Gulmohar For Their Aesthetics And Activism |first=Sanjib |last=Kalita |date=31 March 2023 |publisher=Gaysi |access-date=23 September 2024 |archive-date=23 September 2024 |archive-url=https://gaysifamily.com/culture/deconstructing-the-queer-characters-in-gulmohar-for-their-aesthetics-and-activism/.html |url-status=live}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|tt18951176}}
• {{Rotten Tomatoes | gulmohar_2023 }}

{{National Film Award Best Feature Film Hindi}}

Category:Star Studios films

Category:2020s Hindi-language films

Category:Indian drama films

Category:Best Hindi Feature Film National Film Award winners

Category:Films scored by Siddhartha Khosla