Movie: Gully Boy
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Vijay Raaz
Direction: Zoya Akhtar
Written by: Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti
Genre: Musical, Drama
Duration: 2 hours 36 minutes
Language: Hindi (U/A)
Critic’s Rating: 4/5

Story:

He’s our very own slumdog from Dharavi who raps above the din to get his voice heard. Twenty-two-year-old Murad (Ranveer Singh) aka Gully Boy lives a drab, impoverished life in the Mumbai slum, quietly taking in the trials and tribulations in his stride with nonchalance. His father Aftab Sheikh (Vijay Raaz) is a driver, who educates his son hoping that one day, he will pursue a white-collar job. Murad, however, wants to be a rapper. Authentic hip-hop in India is a recent phenomenon and like everywhere else in the world, it is rising from the streets. Even as his father opposes his ambition, his girlfriend, a medical student, Safeena (Alia Bhatt), asks him to pursue his dream.

A co-opted story of two Mumbai-based rap-artistes, Naezy and Divine, the film traces Murad’s ascent to fame.

Review:

This is filmmaker Zoya Akhtar’s most-assured and accomplished work. She delivers a simple message here – Every underdog can be a winner. And with a stroke of luck and a push from destiny, chasing the rainbow is truly possible.

“Rap to be heard above the din,” says Akhtar. And the film is much more effective because it doesn’t deviate. It follows Murad’s life from the slums of Dharavi. While it subtly captures the ethos of a low-income Muslim family into which he is born, his domestic struggles to accept his father’s second marriage and other such challenges quietly compel the underdog to break free. Most of the strife is done without too much melodrama. And while it can be argued that Murad’s rise to his 'Gully Boy' status is far too simplistic, all of us know that anonymity often paves the way for stardom.

Gully Boy bears a slight resemblance to Eminem's 8 Mile (2002), but it's very much a Mumbai story, inspired by the city's artists, Naezy and Divine. Murad’s hip-hop journey is also captured convincingly in the narrow back alleys of the slums, bonding as he does with other rappers many of who have stories of angst to tell.

Another winner is the romantic track between the hot-headed, but baby-faced Safeena and her childhood sweetheart Murad. She is determined not to let anything (even her affluence) come between them. The passion between these two young actors is captured with intense lip-locks and passionate stares. Both, Ranveer and Alia, are in supreme form and you find yourself applauding their love.

While almost every actor in the cast is brilliant, Vijay Raaz and Kalki Koechlin deserve a special mention. But Ranveer is the heart of the film and Alia the soul. Currently, both these actors are top dogs, but they never let their superstardom get in the way of their craft. While almost all their screen-time is joyous, they triumph often by getting you teary-eyed with such ease. And then, there is their effervescence that allows some equally gleeful moments where you are guffawing.

Of course, the third hero of the film is the music by a host of artists including Divine, Naezy, Spitfire (Nitin Mishra), Karsh Kale, Midival Punditz, Dub Sharma, and Ankur Tewari.

'Meri Gully Mein' and 'Apna Time Aayega,' two of the more famous tracks, are ‘rapped’ to perfection by Ranveer, whose time it is at the movies currently. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself singing along in the theatre, moving in your seat like you are mesmerised.

Verdict: