Cast: Vidya Balan, Manav Kaul, Neha Dhupia, Malishka Mendonza and Abhishek Sharma

Director: Suresh Triveni

Rating: ****

In art circles, it's repeated day in and day out that movies are a director's medium. And the movie, 'Tumhari Sulu' endorses this adage to the tee. The movie revolves around its heroine, Sulochna (Vidya Balan) who is married to Ashok (Manav Kaul). The couple along with their school-going son, Pranav (Abhishek Sharma) portray a typical middle-class Indian family that goes the ups and downs of life.

Sulochna, lovingly addressed as Sulu by her hubby celebrates life and enjoys to the fullest. Her comic sense and timing help the family to address and enjoy the daily life without cribbing constantly which is typical of a housewife. Sulu loves listening to radio since their new TV set broke down and the company refuses to address the complaints of Ashok.

The protagonist loves to participate in a lot of contests and ends up winning gifts from the radio stations. Things turn interesting when she is announced as a winner at one of the contests and she ends up as a complete ass as she asks for a TV instead of a pressure cooker. She's at the receiving end of jokes as RJ Anjali and Programming Head, Maria (Neha Dhupia), enjoy at Sulu's expense listening to her recording.


There is an interesting twist when she goes to collect the winning bounty at Wow radio station office. During her visit, she sights an ad for auditions for a Radio Jockey and ends up meeting RJ Anjali who takes her to Maria and have a little laugh. The ensuing audition tears the audience to splits with laughter... as the scriptwriter, Pankaj (Vijay Maurya) of the show unsuccessfully tries to get a dialogue delivered from Sulu.

The circumstances resulting in Sulu getting a show on this radio channel, which Maria names it 'Tumhari Sulu'. The show is an instant hit as Sulu doesn't follow the script of Pankaj and answers the questions in her inimitable style which pleases the audience. In one of the shows, Ayushhmann Khurana is the guest celebrity and Pranav has to accompany his mother to office as Ashok gets stuck in the office. One of the very old caller makes thing very emotional as he is engaged in conversation with Sulu and he shares how he misses his wife also named Sulu. This scene and its capture is the highlight of the movie as it makes Ayushmann as well as the audience teary-eyed.


Sulu's late nights at office weaves a strange web of circumstances and she sees the family tearing apart. How Sulu manages all this and sorts her problems is interesting to watch. Now you'll have to go to a theatre so that you may enjoy this beautiful movie by imaginative script and direction by ad filmmaker Suresh Triveni. The debut director who is known for his famous Cricket commercial 'Mauka Mauka' has delivered a masterpiece in 'Tumhari Sulu'. If Vidya Balan is the heroine of this movie, Suresh Triveni qualifies as the hero.

This movie needs to be watched for a number of reasons other than its story and direction. The casting by Karan Mally is perfect as each of the actors deliver a stellar performance and it is difficult to single out anyone in a particular even though its difficult to match Vidya Balan's versatility and stature. Neha Dhupia seems to be experiencing a comeback as she dons her role with ease and elan.


Manav Kaul and debutant RJ Malishka were very good in their role and even child actor, Abhishek Sharma was unfaltering. The poet in Vijay Maurya was simply brilliant, and his extra effort being an additional writer and acting & diction coach should surely win him extra laurels.

The music credits are too long but Guru Randhawa's "Ban Ja Rani" takes the cake when it comes to lyrics, music, and singing. All the other songs are also very good and fit perfectly into the screenplay. The cinematography by Saurabh Goswami and editing by Shiv Kumar Panicker are flawless.

Coming to the flaws, the movie drags at the end as the social message eats its pace. Now the question arises whether a social message is a must. If it's a must, then again this movie kills it. Late night jobs for women should be OK and be staying strong as a family is very important for everyone to grow - individually as well as collectively.

This movie must be watched for engaging script, great performances, and amazing direction. Suresh Triveni and his team shall simply enjoy the success which shall surely come to them in heaps.