Gully Boy Review

An unusual film which is based entirely on rap as it is played by the young people in Mumbai particularly in Dharavi area. We have Ranveer Singh a young man living in the chawl sharing the cramped accommodation with his father ( Vijay Raaz), mother , grandmother and younger brother. He is the quintessential poverty struck restless young man pursuing a college degree. His love interest is played by Alia Bhatt who is studying medicine and staying with her parents nearby. Ranveer dabbles in rap lyrics but he plunges headlong into rap singing as he gets more and more involved in competition. His colleague called MC Sher who is an experienced rapper gives him professional and moral support. He also has a romantic fling with Kalki Koechlin from USA who offers him a singing assignment. Despite his father's opposition he becomes a success and makes a name for himself. There is a parallel story of Ranveer's father taking on a much younger second wife and the subsequent chaos in their cramped home resulting in Ranveer leaving home with mother and younger brother.Director Zoya ( I won't call her lady director) has got a total grip on the film and helped by a tight screenplay she turns out an excellent film. Those who have seen Luck by chance", "ZNMD" and "Dil dhadakne do" will know the calibre of her work. She has used the cinematographer , editor and sound recordist exceedingly well. Watch the scene where his father Vijay Raaz is the bridegroom and is entering the lane with band baja. Ranveer drowns out the sound by playing music on his Walkman. At the entrance the father pulls out the earpiece, and moves on. This is an interesting scene.Acting is of a high quality. Ranveer continues to turn in superb performances. He looks and acts the character he is supposed to play. Alia, Kalki and Vijay Raaz are impressive. Noteworthy performances come from Siddhant Chaturvedi and Vijay Verma.On the whole this is a superbly crafted film with Zoya's direction as the highlight.

To be fair Zoya Akhtar has tried something different. For that she deserves some points. The other stand out point is brilliant performances by half a dozen actors including the flavor of the season Ranvir Singh. These actors give this movie some flashes of brilliance. Overall it remains a inconsistent going nowhere drag.When you attempt a movie on a certain specific genre the screenplay and visual presentation should be of the kind that those who know nothing about that genre should get attached to it. That is what Hitchcock did with his suspense movies. That is what Manmohan Desai did to the make believe formula films. Gullyboy is a movie where the director thought that since it is a great attempt therefore there is no need to look at the screenplay. From a very weakly written climax to an abrupt ending, Gullyboy completely loses its focus barely half an hour of start.The movie is made barely watchable by the passion that Ranvir Singh brings to the screen with his Murad and then his love story with Safeena is the bright point of the movie. Gullyboy suffers from contradictions too besides the movie moving in circles at times. A movie that wants to focus on positivity of life also justifies young kids getting into drug peddling through a scene where Murad’s elder brother pushes this logic that at least they can survive by drug peddling. Really ? that is the only way out for an orphan in Mumbai? While Rap is shown as the new hope the Rap wars are all about youngsters ripping each other’s dignity and even bringing each others parents and families into it. New positivity? Calling out each other’s legitimacy of birth in public is the way for the young generation?There are questions which Gully Boy does not answer, because I repeat the director knew she was attempting a classic and in Bollywood there is an arrogant assumption – classics don’t need screenplays.This one might work in multiplexes with the Rap obsessed, the other majority will just walk out wondering what was the point?One star for Ranvir and half for trying something different.

Directed by preternaturally talented Zoya Akhtar, who has previously entertained us multiple times with gems like Luck By Chance(2009), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), and Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), has just given us a masterpiece in the form of Gully Boy. With two years into making, based on the lives of famous rappers Divine & Naezy, and starring with Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in the lead roles, everyone had high expectations from the movie. But, this movie not only surpasses our expectations but also entertains us along with giving us scenes to hoot, whistle, and clap. But, the difference that sets the genius of makers & the craft of the cast apart is that for the first time the audience is not clapping for a typical Bollywood action hero or a romantic hero, instead, they are hooting for the so called “underdog” street boy rappers. Gully Boy is a coming of age movie that traces the struggles, challenges and trials faced by a poor aspiring rap artist from the slums of Dharavi and it uncovers the hard-hitting realities of the lives of the underprivileged slum dwellers. The movie brilliantly showcases the triumph of passion, honesty, determination, and grit over the corrupt system, extremely challenging situations, and the negative suppressed notions ingrained in the psychology of poor people. By creating a beautiful marriage between the raciness of the musical hip hop theme and the hard hitting realities that life imposes upon the poor slum dwellers, the film touches your heart deeply by filling you with positivity.The first scenes itself introduces us with vagabond yet endearing characters played by Ranveer Singh, Vijay Verma, and Siddhant Chaturvedi. Although the plot is woven around the grimness of poverty that exists in the underbelly of Mumbai that may be hard to digest for a section of audience in the initial scenes, but as soon as the movie introduces the fresh & novel concept of hip-hop, rap songs, and poetry, this very grim backdrop gives the movie a strong sense of realism and establishes a connection with the audience. This connection not only makes the movie an entertaining watch, but also carries you along into a journey which envelopes you with the mind of a talented aspiring rap artist who fights against all odds to achieve his dream. One of the many aspects that make the movie special is its background music that has been created with remarkable authenticity and finally gives us groovy rap songs that don’t entice the audience by objectifying women and glorifying alcoholism. But, the life of the movie lies in its impeccable performances as the star cast is just as magnificent on screen as they as on paper. Alia Bhatt gives yet another exceptional performance as she provides the much needed comic reliefs through her fantastic dialogue delivery; Kalki Koechlin brings the required amount of class and sophistication to her urban character, and the supporting cast including Vijaay Raaz, Amruta Subhash, Sheeba Chaddha, & Vijay Maurya spoof in life into the film with brilliant renditions of their respective characters. But the three strongest pillars of the film are the engaging story of the protagonist, the thought provoking screenplay and dialogues, and another extraordinary performance by Mr. Ranveer Singh A.K.A the new Rap Star. This guy is just unstoppable and has arguably become the best performer among this generation of actors. Ranveer had already proved himself to be a rare combination of an energetic, likeable star and a skilled actor through his previous performances, but this time he has infused humungous amount of effort for singing hip hop rap songs like a pro and once again he uses his unique linguistic skills for capturing the accent of a street smart slum boy. Overall, his portrayal of the character is extremely praiseworthy as he imbues a captivating innocence and honesty to his character named Murad. Yet again, he instills so much energy in the rap battles, stage performances, and catchy hip hop songs that it can impart goose bumps to some professional rappers of Bollywood also. The movie also displays the artistry involved behind the creativity involved in rap songs as it shows the fantastic & heart-touching scenes that depict poetry and prose writing that goes into the making of a rap song.The underground hip-hop scenes of Mumbai shown will remind you of the Hollywood movie named 8 Mile that starred Eminem and at the same time it sheds light on the financial constraints, family fights, and gruesome struggles that the poor people have to deal with. The cinematography creates a perfect fusion of entertainment, meaningful scenes, drama, and conveys the inspirational message by giving a toast of hope to the destitute gully boys of India by making them believe that they can overcome destiny to achieve their dreams. Finally, we have a Bollywood movie that does not glorify poverty to attain sympathy for making the movie a success like it happened in Slumdog Millionaire, Salaam Bombay, and many other films in the past. Instead, it empowers the poor by showcasing them as people with integrity, heart, spirit, ethics, capability, ambitions, and fighting ability. So, gone are the days when our movies needed to show beautiful foreign locations and richness of NRI’s in order to be successful as the era has come in which we are being presented with untold and realistic stories that reside within the streets, towns, and villages of India.Kudos to Zoya Akhtar & team for imparting justice to this serious concept while still managing to give audience a good time and a double thumbs up for Ranveer Singh for daring to venture out of mainstream commercial cinema and giving us a character that will forever be cherished as India’s first rap superstar for ages to come. So punter log, go for this movie and have a good time as it will make you believe that no matter what may come but “APNA TIME AAYEGA”.

Is movie se kuch bhi hard’ich nahi hai!!!! ♥️ a beautifully crafted movie. Direction was beautiful, the cinematography was at its’ level best. Ranveer nailed it