Shoojit Sircar’s Gulabo Sitabo
A cinematic showcase of the complexities of housing in India
October 6, 2020
- By Goutham Raj Konda, Independent Researcher
and Simran Pal Kaur, Research Associate, IHF
Gulabo Sitabo, a Hindi-language feature film released on June 12, 2020 on Amazon’s Prime Video, has managed to grab a lot of attention with its witty characterisation and storyline supported by splendid performances by the entire cast. The movie is a comedy drama centred in an age-old dilapidated haveli (mansion) in Lucknow called Fatima Mahal, governed by archaic rent control laws. The haveli is representative of the many heritage private properties characteristic of Lucknow’s old world charm, with architectural beauty and intricate designs. However, overtime such properties have been crumbling due to lack of adequate maintenance and lack of active measures for their restoration.
Shoojit Sircar’s [right] Gulabo Sitabo features Amitabh Bachhan [middle] as Mirza (the landlord) and Ayushmann Khurrana [left] as Baankey (the tenant).
(Photo Courtesy: IMDb)
The story is as much about the future of the haveli itself as it is about the owners and tenants of the haveli. Inspired by the quarreling sisters of the famous puppetry act of the same name, the movie epitomises the tussling face-offs between two key characters - the stingy and greedy landlord Mirza played by Amitabh Bachchan, and the clever and aspirational tenant Baankey, played by Ayushmann Khurrana. However, there are many other supporting characters in the movie, each with their own agenda that in some way or the other impacts the future of the haveli. It is the presence of these supporting characters that makes the audience more interested and connected with the plot. These include characters like the owner of the haveli Fatima Begum, played by Farrukh Jaffar; the smart and ambitious sister Guddo, played by Srishti Shrivastava; the scheming lawyer Christopher, played by Brijendra Kala; and the corrupt Archeology officer Gyanesh, played by Vijay Raaz.
In an interview with Film Companion, the writer of the story, Juhi Chaturvedi, clarified that her major concern and initial inspiration to write the story was to depict human greed and the ultimate failure in attaining what one wishes for. She achieved this primary intent through Mirza’s character, who loves his wife’s property more than anything in the world and desperately waits for his wife to die childless so that he can inherit the haveli. Yet, in its subtext and realistic depiction, the movie has been able to accurately capture and portray several other important themes pertaining to housing, which are the subject of this article and outlined in the following sections.
Lack of Maintenance
Movie - The movie brilliantly highlights the issue of the lack of maintenance prevalent in old housing stock in India, particularly heritage buildings and properties under rent control. The 100-year old haveli accommodates several families, including Baankey’s family, who are living as tenants for several decades paying historically low rents ranging from Rs. 30-70 per month. On the one hand, Baankey is shown to often manipulate circumstances to avoid paying the rent while on the other hand he complains about the deterioration of a visibly decayed structure. Meanwhile, in the backdrop of the haveli’s decay, the greedy landlord Mirza is shown to be relentlessly engaged in extracting the meagre rents from the tenants without any concern for repairing or renovating the building. This conflict of interest between tenants and landlord gets depicted in a continuous battle of wits between the two protagonists. In the midst of this conflict, the wall of the shared bathroom collapses and all mayhem breaks loose.
Real World - This portrayal in Gulabo Sitabo can be related with some of the deteriorating residential buildings in Mumbai governed by the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999, which enabled tenants to occupy the houses for years without any revision to the historical rents. With increasing inflation, the landlords, finding it difficult to maintain their properties at such low rents, began to ignore the properties as they continued to deteriorate. One of the motivations attributed to purposefully ignoring the buildings was the expectation of landlords that the tenants might eventually feel compelled to vacate the houses and find alternate accommodation, with the deteriorating conditions making the houses uncomfortable and unliveable. Thus, newer rental policies aspire to achieve a fine balance between the landlord’s rights to protect their property and the tenant’s rights to living without harassment or threat.
A decaying section of the Mahmudabad Palace and Fort Complex in Kesarbagh, Lucknow served as the location for the landlord-tenant tussle shown in the movie.
(Photo Courtesy: World Monuments Fund)
Of Middlemen and Murky Dealings
Movie - At the height of the landlord-tenant conflict over rent levels, the toilet’s broken wall that remains unrepaired and Mirza’s cringeworthy behaviour in denying tenants’ the use of the spare toilet while continuing to steal haveli assets, the plotline builds to bring in two quintessential movie tropes –
A powerful politician, who has the entire Archaeology department in his pocket and secures the services of an ambitious officer from the department to acquire the haveli for the politician’s personal use, under the pretext of restoration by citing the archaeological significance of the haveli.
A wealthy builder, who pays Mirza’s friend as well as his lawyer to manipulate Mirza into selling the haveli illegally (through power of attorney) to the builder so he can demolish the structure and build multi-storied apartments in its place. .
Interestingly, both parties are super confident in the power of acquiring the property using manipulation, muscle and money to the very end.
Real World - The builder and the politician in the movie form a nexus that is possibly representative of the informal techniques of questionable legality allegedly employed in acquiring land of prime value where land markets are not entirely transparent. The power imbalance between the tenants and this nexus and the resulting confidence in outcomes may stem from inability of communities to collectivise and formalise.
Complexity of property-related institutional procedures
Movie - The movie progresses with Mirza undertaking a cumbersome journey, directed by his lawyer, in tracking down all surviving family members from his wife Begum's extended family who could have a claim on the property upon the death of Begum, who is the rightful owner of the mansion. His objective is to obtain no-objection certificates from each such family member to ensure that he eventually becomes the legal heir to the property without dispute. This requires stealthily inquiring about Begum’s surviving family from her (since the two had eloped and married) and then physically travelling to each member to get the affidavit releasing their claims to the property signed.
Real World - The multiple signatures and processes shown as necessary in the movie expose the worrisome informality as well as complexity prevalent in land and property titles in India. The puzzling land records and property titles make property transactions a prolonged activity, requiring clearances from several institutions and multiple rounds of government offices; processes often beyond the limited understanding of the layperson.
Importance of Women’s Property Ownership
Movie - Despite multiple male characters fighting to gain the haveli’s ownership – Mirza, the builder and the politician – the ownership of the mansion lies squarely in the hands of Begum from start till the end. She is characterised as an intelligent aging lady who tolerates Mirza to continue enjoying domestic bliss in the haveli she dearly loves. She controls the finances of the household, makes autonomous decisions, is smart enough to realise Mirza’s misdeeds and ill-intentions, and industrious enough to clandestinely manage a lawyer to execute her property matters in her favour.
Real World - In patriarchal setups of India, the ownership of the properties often lies with the male members in a family, rendering the females in those families as dependants. The legal and social structures such as inheritance and marriage customs in our patriarchal society restrict women’s inheritance of property further perpetuating gender inequality, leading to lower decision-making autonomy for women. Begum’s story arc displays the importance of female property ownership, as she follows her own will to make important life decisions regarding whom to marry and how to protect her property. The reform of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act in 2005, which grants equal inheritance rights for sons and daughters, has been a positive step towards women’s property ownership and is bringing about social transformation. In the same spirit, national housing schemes in India have been vying to create an opportunity for women empowerment by requiring sole or joint ownership by female heads of beneficiary households, having achieved moderate success.
The character of Fatima Begum, played by Farrukh Jaffar, outwits all squabbling parties to retain ownership of the property.
(Photo Courtesy: IMDb)
Divergences between housing realities and aspirations
Movie - The tenants were disgruntled with the deteriorating condition of their rooms in the haveli but continued to live in cramped rooms and share one bathroom among five families, despite frequent scuffles. The movie reflects their acceptance towards the prevailing housing conditions because of constraints such as limited means and a lack of viable options to relocate. The struggle between aspirations and practicalities unfolds in a series of light-hearted comical events. For instance, Baankey and Guddo have far-reaching aspirations of owning an elaborate house which offers the best of all comforts. However, in actuality, their negotiation stays limited and tied to the rationality of the demands they can make with the other characters in the plot.
Real World - Building a habit of accepting circumstances as they are is unfortunately a common recourse for many people struggling hard to attain adequate housing while making ends meet. Their demand for better housing is premised on their ability to afford and their willingness to pay for housing. Their aspirations are much higher and are often shaped by personal expectations and influence of societal status or popular culture. They constantly trade their aspirations for housing with the available affordable options, thereby making conscious decisions with respect to affordability and navigating complex housing regulations.
Deficit of adequate and affordable housing options
Movie - The Archeology department observes that the haveli can be a potential government-owned national heritage property under Archaeological Society of India (ASI) after evicting all the tenants. Baankey is lured into this plan and is promised a low income group (LIG) house in return. The promise of alternative housing to Baankey remains a false pretext. He is later told that he can only be allotted a room in the servants’ quarters of the politician’s dream project if ASI gets the property. Eventually, as all tenants as well as Mirza get evicted, Baankey's last resort is to shift his family to the wheat mill (atta chakki) shop and live at his workplace. On the other hand, Begum allots Mirza a smaller and worse room, full of dirt and dust, far away from the haveli. With fewer options available, both protagonists are pushed to more vulnerable housing conditions and are left to fend for themselves.
Real World - Often vulnerable households in cities are further marginalised when they are uprooted from their original place of habitation. This scenario is prominent in some cases, where slum dwellers are evicted from the places they have incrementally developed over a long time period. They are termed ‘illegal encroachers’ and their years of occupancy does not legitimise their right to occupancy of that place. When adequate rehabilitation is not effectively ensured, they are compelled to shift to more untenable places or they are left in transit housing which often ends up becoming their permanent place. The housing solutions need to reach a larger population in a more systematic way to provide safe and affordable housing to people and improve their overall quality of life that guarantees them a secure future.
--------------------------------------
In conclusion, this movie brings forth a well narrated plotline that touches upon themes that are pertinent to housing internalised in the movie. It leaves a lasting impression on the viewers about not only the overarching narrative of greed but also the contemporary housing issues, upon having a closer look at the stories that unravel.