Take A Closer Look At The Lives Of Divine And Naezy, The Inspiration Behind Gully Boy!

Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt’s Gully Boy has rocketed our expectation. With Ranveer Singh going smooth with his rap, with talented actors like Alia and Kalki, who can just nail anything and with a director like Zoya Akhtar, we are almost sure that this film is going to be something to watch out for. But the most important aspect of this film is its story, which is inspired from the lives of Indian rappers Divine and Naezy.

But do you know what is so awe-inspiring about their lives that a movie is being made on them? Well, take a closer look at the lives of Divine and Naezy here:

1. Divine’s real name is Vivian Fernandes and he switched from English to Hindi raps

Born in the slums of Bombay, he was raised by his naani. After their dad left him, he used to be alone because his mother and brother had left abroad to work. It was during this time that he would write for 5-6 hours and then hone his skills at writing raps. He can now compose raps in minutes!

2. Thanks to the gully, he had people who encouraged his talent

His friends from the Gully had given him a CD of 50 Cents and that proved to be a turning point for him. The founder of the Gully Gang believed in writing about the gully and their people instead of the desi rap/ hip-hop scene prevalent in Punjab and Delhi that are mostly about gaddi/ daaru/ chokdi!

3. He was a changed man after he heard Lecrae

When he heard  Lecrae, he was smitten about the fact that all the raps were about God. The devotional rhythm blew him off and he could only think of the name ‘Divine’ for himself!

4. Naezy was a part of his success story!

Talking to Verve magazine about how he reached to the point where he is now, Divine revealed,

“ I performed Mere Gully Mein with Naezy at Blue Frog; we were the opening act for a Sony artiste. We had just written the song and it was super rough, but a representative from the label heard it and approached me. I luckily had a few songs ready to present, and the rest is history.”

5. Naezy was born as Naved Sheikh and was changed because of Sean Paul’s Temperature

A DJ played the song in his Kurla Chawl and that was his turning point. He not just went and printed the lyrics the very next day, but also memorised it as soon as he could.

6. At 22, he made the video Aafat.

It was shot and conceptualized by Naezy himself who did the entire thing in an iPad. Naezy became a part of the documentary, Bombay 70, post this video and also got a deal from Only Much Louder, India's biggest alternative culture promoter and management agency.