Review of Gully Boy, by a Delhi Boy

For more than an year we’ve been seeing those innovative Make My Trip ads with Ranveer and Alia, showing just how amazing their chemistry is, within those 20 seconds. That’s how you qualify good actors. And, what do you get when you add an awesome director into the mix – Ek bahut hard life ki ek bahut sachhi kahani.

My first impression was – that doesn’t look like Ranveer Singh, even though I had seen the promos several time. Woah, that’s Alia Bhatt? as I couldn’t identify my celebrity crush at the first glance. Within the first few scenes, the tone of the movie is set, and the actors have told you that they’re here to do a brilliant job. If there is limit to how expressive one’s face can get, then Alia has went past that limit. One shot of her face, and you know all the complex thoughts her character is having in her head – but here’s the problem. As amazing the character was, it was majorly wasted in the story. In fact, to quite some extent it felt unnecessary to have that character in the first place.

There are no subplots in the movie. Its a movie about a Gully Boy, simple and straightforward without any masala and unnecessary twists and turns. And that’s why Alia and Kalki’s role feel not required. They had their small important roles to play, but there were other better ways to carry them out, because they mostly ended up the movie getting sidelined from what it was about – A boy having an unrealistic dream of earning money through rap.

Ranveer aced the role, as usual. In not a single shot you’ll be able to find the Ranveer Singh we know in Murad’s face. He did extremely well in not only doing his own raps, but showing all kinds of mixed up emotions without uttering a single word. The family dynamics shown here are unfortunately the truth of such areas in our country, and it was displayed so well that Alia and Kalki’s characters started feeling even less required.

Zoya has done a fantabulous job in capturing the reality of the slums in this country. The way she directed the key scenes of the film makes you hoot, whistle and cheer throughout. It was quite a different style of direction, given what we had seen from her uptil now. And, she somehow manages to throw a lot of messages for the audience without making it look forced or obvious, such as a very intelligent reminder that brown skin is better than using the fairness products or drugs and child labour.

The dialogues are the best thing about the movie, just on par with acting. The rap battles, lyrics and the dialogues are perfect for each scene, and so is their delivery.

The concept of the movie is something unexplored in Bollywood, but it still has its root in the theme of following passion, and success will follow you. And, Zoya Akhtar showed that despite having numerous movies about it, it’s never going to be an overdone topic. The message was boosted because of the stellar performances by the supporting cast, including the parents and friends.

To sum up, it is an enjoyable movie, but could’ve been cut a little short. If you’re into raps, you must watch it. But, even if you ain’t, it still has a really beautiful and very natural story to tell, with the bonus of absolutely perfect performances by everyone.

Rating: 3.5/5

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