Sulu is a character that anyone can relate to at some point. You could be any gender and any age, Tumhari Sulu will tug at your heartstrings. The movie can be seen trying hard to make you realize what simple pleasures of life you have been ignoring, running behind a bigger plan. Sulu does not ask you to be content with whatever is going in your life, but it does remind you to enjoy every good thing happening parallel to the stress you have. The sprinkling of feminism is so subtle, that it’s pleasant that a director understands it does not need to be in your face. Shout out to the art director! The sets have been personalized so well, that no level of scrutiny would give you a prop that does not belong to the setting. 

Tumhari Sulu is a special film, the kind where you know what is going to happen and yet texture and detailing give you much to marvel at. The characters appear disarmingly authentic. Vidya Balan plays Sulu, and she is superb in the part. Kaul is superb as he struggles at the workplace, or when he distractedly caresses a mannequin's hand during an unexpectedly amorous phone conversation, and his scenes with Balan are so easy, so natural that they make marriage itself look more inviting than most movies do. Popular radio jockey Mallishka Mendonsa does predictably well as a bubbly RJ, but it would have been nice to see her give Sulu some training or some insight. As it stands, that role falls upon the reliably awesome Vijay Maurya who plays a self-styled revolutionary poet forced to write jingles, a man who claims not to approve of the jokes he snickers at. While it may sound harmless, Tumhari Sulu deals with real conflicts and dares to push some boundaries hard. One of Sulu's first radio conversations, for instance, ends on a note so suggestive that I might have blushed harder than her husband. I'm glad, however, that she does more than play nice. This is Sulu's life and she deserves to swing to her own song. Who says a woman can't have it all? She needs to dream hard, take chances, and -- as this film shows us -- she should know when to put her Sridevi face on.

What’s good about ‘Tumhari Sulu’ is that despite her being a product of a certain kind of family and background, she is very much ‘Hamari Sullu’. Any woman, of a similar provenance, can identify with Sulu strongly: can she do something that will add to her own sense of self without her family and husband, encouraging as he may be, without guilt-tripping her all the way? Vidya Balan is pitch-perfect as Sulu. Vidya Balan channels her distinctive voice and full-bellied laughter to invest Sulu with real warmth. Equally wonderful is Manav Kaul as her husband. The songs, except for one lively riff off Hawa Hawaai (the Mr India ditty Sulu and her radio gang groove to), are superfluous. The film feels repetitive and stretched, making you impatient. And too often, it feels like two films rubbing against each other – a light-hearted comedy about a woman finding a voice, and a heavy family drama. But the film makes up for these niggles by creating a leading lady who is cracklingly alive, dealing with difficulties, and finding a way around them. Sulu is a win.

There's a been a recent spate of Bollywood movies devoid of its typical glamorous sheen with a focus on the lives of middle-class suburban Indian households. Ad director turned filmmaker Suresh Triveni takes this into consideration in his big screen debut while writing the story around Vidya Balan as Sulochana or 'Sulu', a housewife whose achievements aren't typically noteworthy, but that doesn't stop her from dreaming big. When presented with a rare opportunity, her subsequent decisions & actions affect her husband, son and immediate family. As a testament to Triveni's ability as a writer, Sulu doesn't lose her identity as she begins to experience the corporate media life as an RJ, walking the tightrope between her overnight fame and managing her domestic demands. Vidya Balan is completely in her element, infusing Sulu with an abundance of infectious optimism without being aggravating. Manav Kaul, in particular, is perfectly cast as Sulu's husband Ashok - a man trying his best to make his wife happy, but also faces work pressure that gets deflected into anger. A majority of the urban populace will relate to the challenges faced by Sulu and her family, as we all struggle to live out our dreams of a better life. The essence of this story is 'Main Kar Sakti Hai', and with such a refined and affable actress as Vidya Balan in the lead, it is lovingly captured in 'Tumhari Sulu' making it an entertaining watch for the whole family.