In
the
1980s,
the
South
film
industry
churned
out
a
slew
of
socials/family
sagas
with
Jeetendra
heading
the
cast.
The
target
audience
was,
of
course,
the
families.
Tulsi
follows
the
same
path,
but
lacks
the
punch
to
stay
in
your
memory.
Sure,
a
few
portions
do
make
you
moist-eyed,
but
the
execution
of
the
subject
material
being
archaic,
the
glimmer
of
hope
diminishes.
Tulsi
tells
the
story
of
Tulsi
[
Manisha
Koirala
],
married
to
a
drunkard
Suraj
[Irrfan].
The
couple
is
blessed
with
four
kids.
One
evening,
while
Suraj
is
away,
his
friend
[Yashpal
Sharma]
tries
to
molest
Tulsi.
When
Suraj
gets
to
know
of
it,
he
beats
Yashpal
black
and
blue.
A
furious
Yashpal
swears
revenge.
In
the
meanwhile,
Tulsi
is
diagnosed
with
blood
cancer.
Yashpal
attacks
Suraj
and
murders
him.
A
distraught
Tulsi
now
decides
to
get
her
kids
adopted
by
different
families
before
she's
gone.
Tulsi
has
an
interesting
plot,
but
the
writing
is
too
mediocre.
Things
have
been
stretched
to
such
a
point
that
you
start
feeling
restless,
in
the
second
hour
specifically.
Yet,
it
must
be
said
that
the
concluding
reels
are
highly
emotional.
Direction
[K.
Ajay
Kumar]
could've
been
better.
Music
[Vinay
Tiwari]
is
appealing,
but
the
non-promotion
makes
the
effort
go
waste.
Cinematography
[Ajayan
Vincent]
is
first-rate.
The
lush-green
locales
are
a
visual
treat.
Manisha
Koirala
sinks
her
teeth
in
this
role
and
delivers
a
fine
performance.
As
always,
Irrfan
is
efficient.
Yashpal
Sharma
is
getting
typecast.
Veteran
Vikram
does
a
fine
job.
Kulbhushan
Kharbanda
is
wasted.
The
film
also
stars
Sadashiv
Amrapurkar,
Anjana
Mumtaz,
Tinnu
Anand
and
his
wife
and
Sahil
Chadha.
On
the
whole,
Tulsi
has
dim
chances.
And
lack
of
awareness
will
go
against
it!
Story first published: Friday, January 18, 2008, 15:44 [IST]