Everyone who has lived in a house that’s been in the family for generations is aware of how many cracks the fresh coats of paint, artfully-lit rooms and antique furniture hide. Rahul V. Chittella’s Gulmohar on Disney+ Hotstar might not have a house where one has to hide cracks, at least not physical ones, but it captures the essence of a strong foundation that has endured generations but is at the same time fragile with incredible poignancy.

The Batra family in Delhi, led by the matriarch Kusum (Sharmila Tagore), is celebrating their last night at Gulmohar, the family house of 34 years. Singing and dancing commence among much merriment but Chittella does well in hinting at some of the hidden fissures even in that one happy scene. Arun (Manoj Bajpayee), Kusum’s adopted son, and Arun’s son Aditya (Suraj Sharma) hardly look at each other. Kusum seems to have things to say that might not go down well with the family. There is reference to a chhote dadaji who seems to have purposely avoided the party.

Soon the cracks begin to show as multiple perspectives are given the centrestage. On one hand, there is Kusum’s decision to shift to Pondicherry, away from the family. On the other hand, there is the tension between Arun and Aditya, who wants to live separately and get his start-up running without his father’s help.

Indira (Simran), Arun’s wife, is a harried woman trying to get everything packed and keeping the household together. Amrita/Amu (Utsavi Jha), Arun and Indira’s daughter, seems to be having a tiff with her boyfriend but feels like there is something deeper going on. Even the household helps, Reshma and Jeetu, have their narratives playing a role. Then there is the younger Batra patriarch Sudhakar (Amol Palekar) or chhote dadaji, who is just a mean, small-minded man with a family who are nothing like him.

It is a credit to the director and writer that each individual in the Batra family gets to tell their own story as secrets come tumbling out instead of getting lost in the collective narrative. Sharmila plays Kusum with poise and dignity, a woman who has a spine of steel and the courage to accept change no matter how surprising, whether it is closing a 34-year-old chapter, accusations of drinking brandy and dancing or accepting her granddaughter for who she is.

Arun has been unknowingly compensating for being adopted and resistant of change until someone reminds him that one can only pass on what they have been given. Bajpayee, not surprisingly, imbues Arun with heart and a vulnerability that will touch even the hardest. Indira or Indu might be complaining about her mother-in-law, the Batra family’s ‘lunatics’ and constantly harried, but she is as committed to keeping the family together as Arun is.

Simran and Bajpayee’s chemistry as college sweethearts-turned-couple-turned-parents feels authentic and unforced. Palekar is great as the stony-faced, holier-than-thou, right-wing antagonist who buys into the caste, religion and blood divides, blames Kusum for breaking up the Batra family and scoffs at Arun and his children.

The surprising stand-out, however, is Jatin Goswami as Jeetu, the Gulmohar guard, who makes us equally invested in his romantic interest in the house help Reshma (Santhy Balachandran), playing his character of a man ashamed of his illiteracy and his low social standing with incredible vulnerability and conviction.

Gulmohar could have gotten lost with so many threads to weave together but it never fumbles, mostly by creating relatable characters with stories many of us are familiar with. Soft mellow lighting creates a feeling of nostalgia where past memories creep in to clash with the bright light of the future.

Those who know the cracks in family houses also know that sometimes the foundations are stronger than the cracks and can battle a lot of storms without crumbling, just like the Batra family and somewhat like the country we are living in today. Is it an analogy? That’s for you to decide once you watch it, because watch it you must.