The Great Shamsuddin Family (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – A writer faces her most important deadline while her house erupts in family chaos, forcing her to juggle a 12-hour writing sprint with an unfolding domestic emergency.

My Take – After making waves worldwide with the rural satire ‘Peepli Live’, 15 years later, writer-director Anusha Rizvi circles back to the city for her second directorial feature, by shifting the focus on a single day in the life of a Delhi-based comfortably-off Muslim family, the kind of family we almost never see in mainstream Hindi cinema, that too without any stereotypes or traces of prejudice or criticism of about the community’s conservative nature.

Far away beyond the aesthetics of qawwalis and biryanis, and instead delving touching upon topics like Umrah trips, divorce, mehr, intolerance, mob violence and more. But mostly importantly, like any Indian family is going through the motions of the constant struggle between parents and children, particularly about the latter’s individuality and autonomy.

Set mostly inside a small apartment, director Rizvi frames the narrative around a bunch of grounded characters, without any overt dramatizations, all to tell a heartwarming, heartfelt and human story, that too without forgetting about India’s current socio-political climate.

There is absolutely no grandeur, just pure soul and conversation. Along with simple emotions about how the most difficult job of an average Indian is not about the saving the city, but to hold his/her family together.

Sure, the film is not entirely free of faults, but twenty minutes in, you can tell that it is crafted by someone who understands the space. And given the significant place the Muslim community holds in Indian society, these real intricacies deserve to be represented on screen.

Set in Delhi, the story mainly follows Bani (Kritika Kamra), who is facing a 12-hour deadline for an important job application in the U.S. However, her plans are disrupted when her newly divorced younger cousin Iram (Shreya Dhanwanthary) arrives with an emergency and a bag full of cash, followed by her older sister Humaira (Juhi Babbar Soni) and being the ever-reliable, grounded daughter and sister she has always been, Bani makes room for them. But soon enough, sisters, aunts, mothers, grandmothers all show up one by one, in full flow.

Leaving Bani to contend with a runaway couple, Zoheb (Nishank Verma) and Pallavi (Anushka Bannerjee), a horrified mother (Sheeba Chaddha), and the older ladies (Farida Jalal, Dolly Ahluwalia, Natasha Rastogi) all set to go to a pilgrimage together, as chaos erupts with unsolicited advice and lots of side-drama.

Every entry at Bani’s doorstep brings a set of tension, and as Bani tries to meet her deadline, the film neatly captures how dreams and domestic duties collide. Here, director Rizvi uses the chaos as a comedy to send a strong message about how every member of a family stands by the others. She captured the essence of every Indian family, where conversations overlap, and suffocating affection takes center stage.

With so much to convey in a few hours, the JioHotstar release is inherently chaotic, leaving editor Konark Saxena with the difficult task of keeping it coherent. Cinematographer Remy Dabashis Dalai works within highly limited spaces, yet they remains consistently satisfying. It takes skill to shoot, cut and make sense of a story set in near-claustrophobic confines, and unlike festival films that rely on leisurely pauses and extended close-ups, director Rizvi keeps it completely mainstream engaging.

Admittedly, the characters keep barging in with their baggage of problems, whining and complaining, threatening the very core of the narration with more bedlam than the screenplay can handle. For example, Bani’s old friend Amitav (Purab Kohli) and his new much younger protégé Latika (Joyeeta Dutta) are just hanging around, don’t exactly add to the issues that start dropping. But as a third party make for excellent viewers who witness the two generations fight, discuss, agree, disagree, argue, and finally tackle those issues.

But most surprisingly, in an era where all things Muslim are hated. The Shamsuddin family looks like any other Indian family. Perhaps this is how people appear when they are not reduced to stereotypes on screen. In a key scene, the leads continuously remind each other that, beyond dealing with an interfaith marriage, they also have to deal with mobs that can pose real threats to their lives.

The film doesn’t dedicate entire scenes to making examples of those problems. Instead, it weaves them into scenes to create a tapestry that captures the full picture that the problem poses. In a small runtime, director Rizvi makes sure that every line that society draws for women and Muslims are given individual importance without compromise.

It also helps that the cast is excellent throughout. Be it the nosy aunts or the dramatic cousins, each character is layered with great depth. Kritika Kamra is outstanding throughout, and along with the Juhi Babbar Soni and Shreya Dhanwanthary, the trio deftly balance the serious moments with the comedic ones. A 90-year-old Farida Jalal‘s confident turn reflects her belief in the India of the past, which will persist into the future.

Sheeba Chaddha, Natasha Rastogi, and Dolly Ahluwalia captivate the screen with humor and wisdom. Nishank Verma and Anushka Banerjee contribute well to the narrative. Purab Kohli, Joyeeta Dutta, and Anup Soni also leave a strong mark. On the whole, ‘The Great Shamsuddin Family‘ is a lively, witty and chaotic comedy drama that presents the dynamics of an Indian family excellently.