Story: Vaidehi
Director: Girish Kasaravalli
Starring: Umashree, MD Pallavi
Awards: State Awards for Best Movie & Best Director.
National and State Award for Best actress (Umashree)
Gulabi Talkiesu tells the story of Gulabi a burkha clad Muslim woman in the fishing community in the western coastal region of Karnataka. Gulabi is a very useful member in her community since she is a midwife and helps out by delivering babies. As a result she is greatly needed by the community which has both Hindus and Muslims. Gulabi is fond of movies and she never misses an opportunity to watch a movie in the theatres. She enjoys the magical and dreamy experience provided by the movies.
One day she helps in delivering the baby of a local women and as a token of gratitude the woman lets Gulabi have her TV. And she also helps in setting up a dish antenna on the sea shores near Gulabi’s house (which is almost a hut). This changes Gulabi’s life. Not only does she start watching and enjoying the serials and movies that appear on the TV, but she also attracts the women folk from her fishing community to her own movie house. Both Hindu and Muslim women start gathering in her home to watch the TV. Hence the name ‘Gulabi Talkies’, talkies being a colloquial name for a movie theatre in India. This starts a whole chain of events including some domestic altercations in some of the families.
In the background there is also the story involving the livelihood of the community, namely fishing. The community has been working together and sharing the fishing resource equitably until the arrival of Suleman Barri who is rumored to be rich with gulf money and owns a big fishing boat. He upsets the ecosystem by fishing beyond his fair share and thus starts eating into the livelihood of the local fisherman. He also steals the employees from established locals. The other fisherman are unable to stop Suleman Barri. The issue soon takes on a communal tone. The ongoing Kargil war between India and Pakistan becomes an excuse for the ill-treatment of Gulabi and other members of the Muslim community.
This is the backdrop on which the story proceeds. The movie is based on the story written by prominent Kannada writer Vaidehi. It is a great education for those who are not familiar with the western coastal region, its society and its fishing trade. In addition one gets to hear dialogues spoken in the charming local Kannada dialect which is the common language spoken by both the Hindus and the Muslims.
Umashree’s performance as Gulabi is adorable. She rightfully received the National and State awards for best actress for her performance. Others in the cast including M D Pallavi give very natural performances. I felt I was seeing real people of the western coast and not actors.
Girish Kasaravalli who is known for his directorial abilities gives this movie a feel of authenticity and captivates the audience with a very interesting narration. The locales are beautifully captured. The movie brings home the fact that vested and political interests whip communal feelings and sow discord among the members to advance their personal interests.
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