Gullak 5 Review: Geetanjali Kulkarni Is MVP No Matter How Many Times She Cooks Tehri

Over its five seasons, Gullak has done something extraordinary for small-town audiences in India, northern or otherwise. It has managed to link two generations -- our parents' and ours -- with more than just shared trauma. Families are dysfunctional in their own weird ways, and yet nothing is thicker than blood.

Years are lost in silence and internal frustration when there is distance between generations. Gullak, or "piggy bank" in English, is the keeper of our collective nostalgia; it keeps 1990s kids alive and kicking in a UPI world where cash increasingly seems obsolete.

In the new season, the beloved Mishra family returns with a fresh coat of paint on the walls of its ancestral home in a small town in Uttar Pradesh, and with a new cast member - but not without its true currency: nostalgia.

Gullak 5 also reveals the name of "Bittu ki Mummy", the forever-nosy neighbour immortalised by Sunita Rajwar, who is now having her content-creator/social-media-activist moment with a newfound identity. The season blows into smithereens the idea that a woman's identity must be limited to being someone's daughter, wife, or mother. We have lost so many women to the "acchhi lady" syndrome; Twisha Sharma is just one example.

In a key scene, Geetanjali Kulkarni's Shanti tells her husband Santosh (always in fine form: Jameel Khan) that she doesn't want her future daughter-in-law to make sacrifices in the name of being an "acchhi lady". Geetanjali Kulkarni is the MVP of this season, no matter how many times she cooks tehri, otherwise called "disappointment" by the men of the family.

Where the series really hits the nail on the head is in its treatment of feminism: it shows that feminism is anything but name-calling. Pretty much in life, Mummy also knows best in Gullak 5 -- whether it concerns priorities, feelings, or money.

From mismatched teacups while entertaining a gathering that was never yours to host, to haggling with the painters or the WiFi bhaiya; from an honest employee taking the blame for something you had nothing to do with and using it to your advantage, to dreaming a dream that exceeds your so-called class -- Gullak offers a lived-in portrait of an India that has one foot in a comforting past and the other eager to climb new peaks.

Anant Joshi takes on the responsibility from Vaibhav Raj Gupta as the elder Mishra son, Anand (Annu). While Vaibhav Raj Gupta's many "Aapko nahin pata?" moments are missed, the Maamla Legal Hai actor fits the role like a glove. Harsh Mayar as Aman is maturing into a fine actor, and Helly Shah as Dr Priti may have a bigger role to play in a potential sixth season.

Gullak, the earthen piggy bank, may have been displaced in the Mishra house, but it remains a witness to the life of a family that is growing older and closer. The series risks becoming everyday fare -- like tehri -- unless the makers add more ghee and a fiery tamatar-dhaniya-lehsun chutney for flavour. Even so, the show remains a "permanent address of memories".

Also Read | Gullak Season 5: Anant V Joshi Joins As Annu Mishra, Replaces Vaibhav Raj Gupta