Rating: Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Kalki Koechlin, Vijay Raaz, Vijay Varma, Amruta Subhash, Sheeba Chaddha Director: Zoya Akhtar Sometimes, angst has swag. And when it does, it often decides to make a song and dance about itself in prose, poetry, painting or just by sitting at a bar and blowing smoke rings. Invariably, it draws a crowd eager to exorcise their demons, empty their innards. Every generation gets a cool film that speaks of and to their angst. And our desi millennials have been gifted theirs by Zoya Akhtar. Gully Boy wears a hoodie and spits emotions angrily into the mic while flailing its arms and drawing fingers to make gang-style gestures, at times at the immediate opponent, but mostly at the world at large. Gully Boy, based on the real life story of Mumbai-based rap stars Naezy and Divine, and written by Reema Kagti and Zoya, is pivoted on the angst and dreams of the dispossessed, and it spins on the power of their sweaty resolve Apna time ayega! The film inhabits a world of tiny homes jostling for space in Mumbai’s Dharavi, where the frustrations, joys and irritation of one rub against another. For most part Gully Boy as directed by Zoya and inhabited and performed by Ranveer Singh is compelling. It’s got the groove. It also has the furious tempo and foot-tapping high energy of a generation just coming to terms with life’s gazillion options, and their frustratingly meagre choices. Gully Boy keeps taking flight, to the world outside Dharavi, to show us class divide and the inhumanity it breeds. And then, when it finds its moxie and a mic, it decides to say its piece. Here, its energy, its guttural rebuttal to life, seeps in, and it stirs. We are hooked, almost as if the film were an impetuous jet ski being manoeuvred by an eager, excited novice, and we, perched on a surfboard, were at the other end of a rope tied to it. We rise when it rises, we sway along when it careens about, and we slump down when it feels beaten. The film’s end, a kinetic, climatic sequence that jumps and stomps its feet with Ranveer Singh’s infectious high jinx is stunning, moving. But it is also a moment — mic drop by director Zoya Akhtar. I simultaneously broke into tears and a heart-felt applause. And I wanted to say, in rap parlance, “Your movie’s so dope, girrrl! !” Gully Boy establishes how it will tell its story right at the beginning. In a succinct, beautifully choreographed scene in a bus, using just an empty seat and a set of earphones, and without uttering a single dialogue, it lays bare not just the relationship between Safeena Ali (Alia Bhatt) and Murad Sheikh (Ranveer Singh), but also the hurdles they negotiate. Safeena is a badass in a headscarf and is studying to be a doctor. Murad is a student too, and he wears kurtas, short or long, a green-beige cloth backpack, and chappals. His personality is laced with diffidence and vulnerability. Safeena is slightly satkeli, hateli and comes unhinged at the slightest provocation. Murad mostly sits inside in his head. On the outside his body is stiff, alert to the weariness he carries. His backpack, at times, is symbolic of the burden that’s strapped on to his being. Murad smiles, but the brows remain furrowed. Inside, there’s a junoon, a desire to do something, to matter, to be someone. Murad’s ears are often plugged with earphones. Sometimes because he wants to drown out the world around him and get in sync with the beats of his heart. At other times, especially at home, to give a different narrative, a spin to the reality, because the chatter in his house bogs him down. In these instances we hear what he hears his commentary on stuff happening around him, accompanied by his rant about how it should be. Stuff happens. To his ammi, Razia (Amruta Subhash), because of his father, Aftab Sheikh (Vijay Raaz), a chauffeur. Murad watches, does what he can, and then sits on his bed and writes, pouring his heart out in rap verse. But he doesn’t rap. Not till he meets the local rap star, MC Sher (Siddhant Chaturvedi). In this scene and others that follow, the film conveys the joy of a lost, listless stray on finding its group, and a mentor. MC Sher adds rhythm to Murad’s poetry, turning his inner rant into a powerful chant. As rappers gather, for rap battles or just for fun, the temperature rises. These scenes are heady, intense. A different kind of sufiyana more a stormy, bouncy trance than a whirling, meditative one. Before it ventures out, Gully Boy briefly invites the outside to visit Murad, and his world decides to demand a price for a dekho, some photos. And when it finally steps out of Dharavi, the price Murad has to pay is quite devastating. Murad meets posh angst from Berkeley. It arrives in a Merc. Sky (Kalki Koechlin), who can best be described as that stock female character who must a) be bohemian; b) flit around an underdog, male, with her heart thrust out; and, c) offer her tan, mann, dhan in return for, well, unrequited love. These dear ladies make regular appearances in certain Bollywood films made by certain babalog directors and repeatedly drag them down. Thankfully, Sky serves some purpose here. She wants to produce a track, and has the means to do it in style. As a result, Murad finds acceptance, fame and a gentle swag and his smile finally travels up, from his mouth to his eyes. Gully Boy’s power, its mojo lies in the clashes it shows and articulates — between two worlds, two friends, two lovers, two rappers, between dreams and reality, between two worldviews. The film is mostly written very intelligently, especially when it draws vignettes from real life, and not other films. Its dialogue pack in street slang, especially in the rap battles where contestants quite literally get into each other’s face, showering insults and spit on each other. The film uses songs, like Meri Gully Mein, originally sung by Divine and Naezy. These are choreographed, shot and edited in a way that captures and conveys the zeitgeist of the time, while adding intensity and a sting to it. Oh! The joy of a director on finding a team that doesn’t just deliver, but makes the project their own. Everyone in Gully Boy crew and cast has given their best. The cinematography, choreography, the writing, editing, costumes, and the entire ensemble of actors are quite fabulous. Vijay Raaz is especially good, as is Vijay Varma. Kalki is a fine actress, but here she’s playing a character quite annoying and clichéd. Alia and Ranveer have both got loveable characters — sweet, non-challenging strugglers trying to grab a small piece of life for themselves. And they both inhabit their characters with a possessive, warm embrace. Alia’s easy charm and cute petulance encases Ranveer’s Murad, and roots him. Like Ranveer’s character says, “Murad without Safeena is as if woh bina bachpan ke hi bada ho gaya”.<doc-sep>What do all artistes have in common? Heartbreak, adversity, a society that doesn't understand your art. No silver spoons. No privileges. Just the long, hard, lonely walk. Zoya Akhtar's lead character Murad is the textbook example of the underdog who rises from the slums of Dharavi and doesn't believe in Slumdog Millionaires. But he believes in telling his story through his music. His rap. It is a pity then that Dharavi and life within a house where people outnumber the walls are treated with the rosy glasses of an outsider. Much like the foreign tourists in Gully Boy who come take a look inside the houses of Dharavi; a ticket of Rs 500 for a pass to this 'other world', selfie-sticks in hand. Zoya Akhtar is that very outsider in this world. Gully Boy scratches the surface. What we get in the film is a look from the outside. Peekaboo, end credits. Murad is a 'slumdog'. He measures his days waiting for Safina at the bus stop, humming to himself 'apna time aayega'. Away from the classes in college and his parents' bickering, cocooned in his space on the mezzanine floor of his 300-square-foot house, he pours his life into the pages of his notebook. The words are his own. He needs the beat. Enter MC Sher. Murad falls head over heels in love with this rapper at his college. He follows every movement of Sher on Facebook and goes underground. Rap battles take place here, in this world out of Fight Club. The weapon is rap. People insult one another and get hit back right at their weakest points. Murad blends into the scene. His future is about to change. The viewer knows. The problem is the time it takes to reach that turning point. Zoya Akhtar's Gully Boy pieces together snippets of life from the slums and the Mumbai underground. There are contrasts thrown in. United Colours of Benetton meets the fake Adidas stripes here. Shweta is Sky and Murad is Gully Boy. Through their alter egos, these music-makers give voice to everyday issues and the contrasting lives. Within Murad's life, we meet Safina. The 'childhood' that Murad has been in a relationship with since he was 13 years old. She wants to wear lipstick, go out with boys, party, leave the hijab at home, pursue a career in surgery. But then there is her reality to deal with: getting married, running a home, sneaking out at 10 in the night to see her boyfriend on a big day. Ranveer Singh throws his lot behind Murad. From the kohl in his eyes to the pain in his lyrics, Ranveer brings the story of a slumdog alive on the big screen. His accent is on point. He digs his claws into his character and comes out with a performance to remember. Not his best performance, perhaps (Alauddin Khilji would still take that cake), but a close second. Alia Bhatt brings her effusive charm on screen in Gully Boy. She does not have a lot to do in the film and that's a real shame. Safina's story is not fleshed out in Gully Boy. Sure, the film is on Ranveer's character, but we deserved more of Alia. In her limited screentime, the Bhatt kid shows what stuff she is made of. She beats up girls who try to flirt with her boyfriend. She is a feisty Muslim girl who neither the hijab nor the walls of her house can restrict. For every door that is slammed on her face, she finds a window to get ahead. Metaphorically and otherwise. The supporting cast is cast perfectly in their respective roles. From a Vijay Raaz as Murad's father to Sheeba Chaddha as Safina's mother, to Siddhant Chaturvedi as Sher, Zoya gets her characters right. But what she doesn't is the movement of the story. Gully Boy suffers from a slow pace. The film takes its own sweet time to establish the story. And when it does, there is too little to bask in the glory of. The film ends on an abrupt note. It catapults its underdog to the big stage but doesn't let the viewer soak it in. After investing 2 hours and 35 minutes in the film, you feel a little cheated. The main star of the film is its music. The many artistes who are credited for the music of the film do a classy job with the soundtrack. If Ranveer Singh is the life of Gully Boy, the music is its soul. The lyrics, the beats all scream revolution. Azadi. Hindustan gets its asli hip hop in a Bollywood film. In all, it fails to rise. Apna time aayega. But today is not the day. Gully Boy starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt is the big Bollywood release today. The film gets compelling performances from Ranveer and Alia but director Zoya Akhtar offers only an outside view of the Mumbai slum-life, says our review. 3 out of 5 stars for Gully Boy. (The writer tweets as @ananya116) Also Read I Gully Boy trailer out: Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt go high on hip hop<doc-sep>
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Vijay Raaz, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Vijay Varma, Sheeba Chaddha Director: Zoya Akhtar Rating: 4/5 Five minutes into the movie Ranveer Singh's Murad and his friends are shown driving on the streets of Mumbai. The scene in itself is eventless but the shot is precise, clinical and expressive of Mumbai's beauty. It is perhaps in that scene one realises that they are now witnessing a Zoya Akhtar creation. Akhtar repeats the same shot later in the movie. The scene remains same while most things in the movie changes by then. In a nutshell, Gully Boy is nothing different from that shot. It is beautiful, precise, clinical, and expressive and accentuates the pulse of the city of dreams. Throughout the movie, there is a running conversation about dreams. The setting is the perfect backdrop for this conversation, even though the dreams in discussion are markedly different from each other. Every character in the movie fights in its own way to achieve those dreams and the two pivotal characters that do not are steeped in their own bitterness and anger. Talking about characters, Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar etch out the contours of each individual in such a complex - albeit human - and fine manner that the viewer is served with a metaphorical box of chocolates with uniquely different flavours. The best of that lot is Murad, who dreams of rapping. He has the words but needs a bit of polishing when it comes to the rhythm. A sensitive person, Murad juggles a lot of things at the same time - his passion, an abusive father, an unhappy mother, a feisty but needy girlfriend, his new mentor and his best friend who, he fears, is up to no good as well as his studies. However, Murad is not frustrated with the hand he has been dealt. He is sad, definitely, and sometimes fearful, but always fighting to get what he wants. Ranveer Singh is a sight to behold as Murad. He eases into the central character's innocence, happiness, grief, discomfort, disappointment without a flinch and then at the next moment he is pumping in energy only he can muster in his raps. Alia Bhatt's Safeena is perhaps the freshest character in recent times. She dreams of becoming a surgeon and is head over heels with her boyfriend. Her possessiveness - something not readily available in Bollywood - over Murad leads her into the murkiest of scenes. Bhatt plays Safeena to perfection by delivering the sweetest of smiles right after she tries to gouge someone's eyes out. The chemistry between the lead actors is palpable. Murad and Safeena are not only partners but also the best of friends. Theirs is a childhood romance, which as Safeena yells at a potential threat, is thirteen years old. Singh and Bhatt look every bit like that - in love and at ease. Vijay Raaz as the father, Aftab Sheikh, is as fine as ever. The bitterest of characters, he hates everything in this life, often lashing out at his first wife and son. He is so loathing to his family that he likens his son, Murad, to a 'saand' or a bull who eats a lot. He is a terror that nobody wants to face, yet, when he breaks down, one can feel his pain. The rest of the cast too fits the bill to the T. Standing out in the ensemble is newcomer Siddhant Chaturvedi who plays MC Sher, Murad's mentor. He has the confidence that Murad lacks and knows the ways of the world. Sher is the anchor to Murad's rather lost ship. This brings us to the core of the movie - hip hop. Rap in itself is not everyone's cup of tea but the makers made it not only palatable but highly enjoyable. The soundtrack is the vein of Gully Boy. Perhaps there is no medium better suited to emote a life replete with hardships and challenges. As a resident of Dharavi, living with a dysfunctional family and no proper room to call his own, Murad takes the same medium and transforms it into art, or as he says, his voice. Akhtar and Kagti have made a film for years to come. It does not only shed light on the underground rap scene, but also highlights the stark difference in lifestyle of the rich, middle class and the poor.