The film might have a small budget but due to a well written script and power packed performances it is doing extremely well with the audience. If one is tired of mindless comedies and badly written love stories then go for Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster.
SMALL BUDGET, relatively lesser known actors, and yet Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster is in the headlines for the right reasons. Inspired from one of the classics of Guru Dutt, this film sidestepped all the other films and has made quite a splash for itself in the box office arena. Rare bold theme with no resemblance to the old classic might be the fresh part that attracted the audience to the theatres. TOI and IBN Live report that all the movie reviews are rating the film reasonably well, and at a time when audiences don’t have to use much of their head, this film demands something quite the opposite.
Director Tigmanshu Dhulia clearly wanted people to remember Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster to be completely different from the classics, so that it can go down well with the audience. He has achieved that with élan as he has taken yesteryear’s complicated tale of friendship and twisted it according to the modern times of lust, sinful relationships and bold female character. Almost like Shakespeare’s female characters he has given strength to the character of Mahie Gill. Jimmy Shergill was a wise choice as he has the looks of a nawab that go well with the hot temper of the character. Randeep Hooda again surprises as he plays the toyboy of Mahie Gill with panache. This film is everything which Sahib Biwi Aur Gulam was not.
The story is tightly knit around a falling noble family that in the days of democracy has nothing left of the royalty. Apart from an old hauntingly beautiful haweli, an equally beautiful wife and the temper to go with his name the nawab has nothing left. The marriage is a sham and everyone is aware of the nawab’s mistress and the rani’s toyboy. Everything is a charade about the life of the hot tempered rani except for her sorrow - as only that is true.
Mahie Gill, Randeep Hooda and Jimmy Shergill have delivered excellent performances. Mahie comes to the fore as the bold, lustful and melancholic Choti Rani and she delivers a character that's powerful, and she has a regal mood. Politics and lust are the two important characters of the film as well and without them the witty lines and the eccentric characters doesn’t leave the same impact on the audience.
