Degrees, Dreams and Marriage Bios: What Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari Says About Women’s Choices

By Akash Dubey

Some films entertain us; others quietly hold up a mirror. Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari does both. Behind its songs and wedding colours lies an honest look at how women’s dreams are still shaped by family expectations, approval, and the pressure to maintain image in India.

One of the most striking scenes shows a married woman offered a year-long internship with a top Paris designer. It is a rare opportunity, something she has earned through her talent. Yet instead of support, she faces resistance at home. Her husband and mother-in-law say no. Her husband says, 'Internship karne ke baad kya hi kar logi?'(What will you even gain after doing this internship?). Her work as a fashion designer is only seen as a hobby.

It also shows how there is no problem with a woman’s role as long as she keeps agreeing and staying within the limits others have set for her. The moment she wants to step outside, it is dismissed. This scene clearly highlights how many women in Indian households are supported only as long as their ambitions fit within the comfort of others.

Later, Sunny (Varun Dhawan) tells her that his own mother once faced the same struggle, pushed toward marriage but determined to pursue jewellery designing. Today, she is the main designer and business head of Sanskari Jewellers. In the end, the woman decides to go for her internship, and you can feel that her husband has finally understood her. It’s not about permission, but realisation, the quiet moment when understanding replaces control.

Another powerful part of the film is the conversation between Ananya (Sanya Malhotra) and her mother. Ananya questions why she was sent to the best schools and to London for an MBA. Her mother says, 'Beta, har maa-baap chahte hai ki apne bachche ko best de.' (Every parent wants to give the best to their child).

But Ananya replies, 'Yeh mere liye best tha ya mera marriage bio-data best ho sake, uske lie?' (Was it really for my best, or so that my marriage bio-data could look better?). When her mother says, 'Kya bakwas kar rahi ho!' (What nonsense are you saying!), Ananya breaks down, saying that every part of her upbringing: her clothes, her studies, even her personality was shaped to make her more marriageable.

She tells her mother, 'I am not happy, Mumma. Mai job mein khush thi, meri job chuddwa di' (I was happy with my job, but you made me leave it).

She goes on to say that she could have been happy with Sunny, but was made to feel he was wrong for her because of lifestyle differences. Her mother argues, saying, 'Ek hafta adjust karna padega na toh sab love aur happiness gayab ho jaayega.' (If you have to adjust for even a week, all love and happiness will disappear.) Ananya replies, 'Adjust toh abhi bhi karna padega na, aur love aur happiness abhi gayab ho gaye toh kya?' (I would still have to adjust, and if love and happiness are gone now, then what’s the point?).

At that moment, Ananya gets up to leave. When her mother asks where she is going, she says quietly, 'Mujhe future ka nahi pata, par abhi jo mere saamne hai vo mai nahi kho sakti.' (I don’t know what the future holds, but I can’t lose what’s right in front of me.)

Through these scenes, Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari shows how modern Bollywood is learning to talk about gender without shouting about it. The film doesn’t reject tradition; it asks it to listen. Its women don’t demand freedom through anger, but through honesty. And its men, for once, are allowed to learn and change.

That’s what makes it sociologically relevant: it captures the slow, emotional process of how Indian families are evolving.