The Great Indian Family And Sukhee OTT Release: Decent Stories That No Longer Serve The Purpose
Well, we are almost in the last leg of 2023 and movies wise this year has been a massive hit. With blockbuster hits reviving the business, it has also served some extraordinary stories.?
Parallely, some movies which couldn¡¯t lure the crowd to theatres went on to woo the digital audiences with their powerful storytelling and interesting plots.
Another set of films which couldn¡¯t fit in any of the conventional categories is that of the ones that might have sounded good on paper but unfortunately, post release it could hardly leave an impact on the audiences, regardless of the medium - theatres or OTTs.?
Two recently released films on OTT, The Great Indian Family and Sukhee are classic examples of decent stories that no longer serve the purpose. Here¡¯s why!
Sukhee - Rediscovering Life From The Perspective Of A Housewife?
Starring Shilpa Shetty in the lead, she is shown to be a housewife, who once had a fabulous life and her peers had high hopes from her.?
Instead of becoming a career woman, she chose the domesticated life of husband and kids and lost her identity in the process. She gave up her interests and aspirations for her family but those very people didn¡¯t value her sacrifices and treated her like a doormat. She then takes control of her life and goes on a mission to do something for her own instead of just providing for her husband and kid. She is helped by her girl best friends who are a part of her journey of realization.?
Now, it¡¯s always heartening to see women pursuing their lost dreams and finding their true selves. However, it¡¯s such a redundant concept that it no longer serves the purpose, unless a new angle is introduced. This can be explained using an example.?
Sridevi¡¯s super hit film English Vinglish made such a huge impact, didn¡¯t it? The central theme of that film was exactly this but the ¡®English speaking¡¯ angle was something that many middle-aged and slightly older adults could actually relate to!?
A certain sense of disconnect with her own kids due to a language barrier. Sukhee has no such consolation. It is the same old broken record that might be melodious but is a misfit in the world of hip-hop, fusion and rap.
It has an ungrateful and entitled overachieving kid who is always miffed with her mother for not doing things as per her expectations, an overworked and angry husband who keeps reminding his wife of his greatness and how he is doing so much hard work for his family, a sympathetic elder figure who values the woman of the house and wants her to chase her happiness and a set of friends who have their own troubles but are still willing to root for their hassled friend.
Shilpa is a delight to watch but the film, despite a short run-time, hammers after a point. The predictability doesn¡¯t help the cause and lack of interesting plot twists just make it a blah watch.?
The Great Indian Family - Hindu-Muslim Unity And All Religions Are Equal Narrative
Personally speaking, Vicky Kaushal and Shahid Kapoor are two commendable actors who not only showcase extremely outstanding acting mettle but also make others run for their money. However, their biggest flaw is that they sign films which turn out to be big blots in their otherwise stellar filmography.?
In this particular case, Kaushal must have found this film to be convincing with its heart in the right place but the well-intended The Great Indian Family failed to strike a chord with the audiences majorly because of a stale story with no new offerings.
We are introduced to a devout Hindu family with a patriarch, who has a great image in the society as he is a well-respected priest of the fictitious town Balrampur.
His son Billu aka Bhajan Kumar(played by Kaushal) is also renowned for his soulful voice and amazing bhajans. In the name of the antagonist, there is a rival priest who leaves no stone unturned to create hurdles for them. The central plot of the film revolves around how Billu isn¡¯t the real son of Panditji Siyaram Tripathi (played by Kumud Mishra) but a muslim boy whose mother passed away after his birth.?
Once this revelation comes out in the open, rival priest Mishra Ji (Yashpal Sharma) makes it a mission to poison people¡¯s minds in order to put Panditji and his family down.?
The whole Hindu-Muslim unity bit is always a seller but then again, just like Sukhee even this film has no variation to offer. It turns out to be a preachy film with Vicky Kaushal earnestly trying to voice how all religions are great and should be respected.?
The sentiment is appreciation worthy but it doesn¡¯t go beyond that. The storyline is boring and repetitive. In the name of family drama there¡¯s no drama and the family members hardly have substantial roles. Actors like Manoj Pahwa, Srishti Dixit, Alka Amin, Bhuvan Arora, Manushi Chhillar and Sadiya Siddiqui have touch and go roles as the focus is largely on Kaushal and his fight for unity.?
Conclusion: Old Wine In Old Bottle With New Corks - Dismissive Films With No Recall Value Considering The Time That We Live In
Without sounding too harsh, both these films are dismissive as they lack freshness. The stories are the same, only the faces are different. Honestly, these are a waste of talents like Shilpa Shetty and Vicky Kaushal who are phenomenal actors that deserve superior stories that can make a difference.?
As for audiences who spend money, these films hardly have recall value and even on OTT, they fail to grab attention. It¡¯s high time filmmakers stop taking their janta for granted and come up with better stories, as it doesn¡¯t matter whether the films are big-budgeted or have superstars, everything comes down to the story. A 12th Fail will any day have more takers than Sukhee or The Great Indian Family. Period.
Sukhee is available to stream on Netflix while The Great Indian Family is on Amazon Prime Video.
(To?read more such stories related to movies and shows released on OTTs, keep reading?Indiatimes BINGE)