The Great Shamsuddin Family, written and directed by Anusha Rizwi, is a story about a dysfunctional (yet willing to solve each conflict with heightened maturity) Muslim family and how they tackle the conflicts that come their way. I specified the community’s name because I believe in this day and age it is important to underline it, because of the preconceived notions that even the educated class have about different communities. It is the most heartwarming piece of writing that I have seen in a long time. I believe it wouldn’t be wrong to say that it is one of the most underrated gems to be released this year, and it’s my earnest request for you to give it a watch. But I would like to specify here that you should do so only if you are fond of nuanced, heartfelt writing and if you watch films not merely to get entertained but to get impacted in ways that you cannot describe in words. Generally, I try to be apolitical in my analysis and reviews, but this one time this strong narrative persuaded me to state that conflicts cannot be resolved through bloodshed, they need understanding, open thinking, and the maturity to be able to put oneself in someone else’s shoes. Conflicts can be dealt with beautifully if only people are not fanatical in their beliefs and opinions. The Great Shamsuddin Family stands as a reminder that we are still a secular nation, but it also reflects on the path we are taking that is slowly destroying that delicate fabric and making our society into something that I am clearly not fond of. That said, the entire cast and crew of the film has done a stupendous job. A big shout-out to Kritika Kamra, Juhi Babbar, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Farida Jalal, Dolly Ahluwalia, Purab Kohli, and each and every performer who was a part of the film. So let’s find out what happened in the film and if the Ahmed family was able to resolve the difference that came their way.
Spoiler Alert
What was Bani up to?
Bani had applied for a position at Berkeley University, and she was supposed to submit a presentation before the day’s end. Bani was a writer in the so-called new India; probably that’s why she didn’t like her job. She felt scared at times, as she didn’t know what might hurt the fragile sentiments of the people. People had already filed FIRs against her pieces, and she didn’t want to stay in India, where one couldn’t express themselves freely. We got to know that Bani was divorced, and she had been dating a man named Aditya of late, who had a wife. She had broken up with Aditya too, and so at times she felt lonely, and sometimes she really craved having somebody who would take care of her. Bani was working when Amitav (a friend of hers) came to her house with Latika, who happened to be really interested in him. Soon, Iram and Humaira, Bani’s cousins, also arrived at her house because they needed her help in some personal matters. People walked into Bani’s house as if it were their own, and she got really frustrated because of it. She had a deadline to meet, and her entire life depended on it, but nobody seemed to care.
Who took Iram’s money?
Iram has given 25 lakhs to a friend of hers named Vicky. The guy was going to open a business, and he was going to make her his partner. But then he stopped answering her calls, and she didn’t know what to do about it. The real issue was that to give him money, Iram had withdrawn 25 lakhs from her mother Nabeela’s account. Her mother was supposed to go on a religious pilgrimage with her sisters-in-law, Asiya, Safiya, and Akko, and so she needed that money immediately for her travels. Iram thought that when she received her mehr (a contractual payment given by husband to wife) from her ex-husband, she would deposit the same amount in her mother’s account and nobody would get to know about it. But the bank was closed that day, and she didn’t know what to do about it. Iram took Bani with her and found an agent who told them that he would get the amount deposited in the account, provided they paid him Rs 50,000 commission. Iram had no option but to accept the demands, though Bani didn’t know if that dealer was trustworthy or not. Since Iram didn’t have any documents of her mother, the dealer asked her to bring an application with her mother’s signature on it. So Humaira, the eldest cousin, came to Bani’s house since she knew how to forge Iram’s mother’s signature. Bani didn’t understand how she, being the elder one, could do such reckless things. But believe me, even if Bani would have been there in Humaira’s position, she would have done anything to help her out.
Did Zoheb Get Married To Pallavi?
Zoheb, Bani, Humaira, and Iram’s cousin arrived at Bani’s house with a girl named Pallavi. He had eloped with her to get married, but at the last moment the marriage registrar had a heart attack, and they didn’t have anywhere else to go. They came to Bani’s house and realized that everybody was already there. To make matters even worse, Asiya, Safiya, and Akko arrived at Bani’s house too, and they didn’t have any clue what their children were up to. Pallavi’s parents were searching for her, and Bani and her cousins knew how sensitive the matter could become. Humaira told her cousins that a mob could arrive at their doorstep at any moment and they needed to resolve Zoheb’s issue or convince him to let Pallavi go back to her home. Zoheb’s mother, Safiya, was heartbroken when she got to know that her son didn’t feel comfortable in even telling her about his marriage. Zoheb was adamant that no matter what happened, he wouldn’t let Pallavi go back and risk losing her for life. Maybe he knew that her parents would marry her off if she went back, and so he didn’t want to take that risk. Bani felt numb, and she didn’t know how to deal with everything.
Did Bani, Humaira, And Iram Find A Solution?
Bani went to her terrace, and she didn’t know what she was doing with her life. She had a sort of moment of existential crisis where she felt her life falling apart. That’s when Amitav came to talk to her. He asked her if she actually wanted to go abroad and settle there. He told her that the nation was also like a family, and one could feel angry at their own people and hold onto resentments, but surely they couldn’t leave them. Bani had had six months to prepare her presentation, but she waited for the very last moment. Probably she never wanted to leave, and she was waiting for that one excuse, that one opportunity to stay back.
Humaira read in the news that a car had been burnt down by an angry mob on the Gurgaon-Delhi road, and she felt scared since her partner, Taufeeq, was also coming from there. But fortunately, Taufeeq turned up, and he was completely fine. At the end of The Great Shamsuddin Family, where Amitav found a way to get Zoheb’s marriage registered, Iram got to know that Vicky hadn’t run away with her money, but he had been kidnapped by some land mafias. The family seemed to find a solution to every problem that came their way.
Maybe in life things do not happen so easily. Maybe people are not so easygoing and mature, and they let their inflated egos lead the way. Maybe in a realistic situation Zoheb wouldn’t have been able to marry Pallavi, and Bani’s family wouldn’t have been so accepting of their new daughter-in-law. Maybe Taufeeq wouldn’t have turned up at Bani’s house all safe and sound. But I believe Anusha Rizwi and her team didn’t want to write about what unfortunately is the reality but about what we could be as a society.
