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गल्ली बॉय (2019)

Things I loved about the movie is obviously the solid performance, not on-the-face social references and lack of cliche scene for an inspiring movie.

I am personally not a very big fan of Raveer singh. I felt like his best acting was in Dil dhadak Ne Do. Now the same team has come out with Gully Boy and although I know exactly ZERO about Hip-Hop, rap and such things, I decided to see this film first day first show.
For me Zoya Akhtar as a film maker has never disappointed and the same is true for this film. She has a way of making films, which at the time don’t seem too long but are actually over 2 and half hours easily.
Direction & Story:
As already mentioned Zoya Akhtar is a fantastic director. In most of her films the theme is ‘aspiration to be better than your surroundings’. Right from Luck by chance to Gully Boy all her films share this theme. Rich or poor, characters in her film are stuck in life and bogged down by the limitations set up by their surroundings. So this is a theme she is a master at and Gully boy is her most underdog story yet. Until now most of her stories had financially rich but emotionally handicapped characters. However, in this film, Ranveer singh plays a character who lives in Dharavi and is poor. He believes, ‘apna time ayega’ he sits and writes down in frustration.
The transition from portraying upper class rich folk to really poor folk is often botched up by Bollywood. It just doesn’t look or feel real. It’s often not gritty enough. Zoya and writer Reema Kagti manage to side step this pitfall and create some VERY realistic and believable people inhabiting the slums of Dharavi. Not a single person breaks this illusion of how it is to lead that life.
This is the biggest win for this film. It seems, rather it portrays the subject very authentically. There is a sincerity behind the effort to get to the heart of this story.

Acting :
Ranveer Singh gives his career best performance in the film. He is extremely believable as Murad. He is not over the top like his other films and keeps himself grounded for the whole film. Alia bhatt is probably the best actress of her generation, she manages to portray all the nuances of her character without it becoming unbelievable. She is not shown as likable but still she is perfect for Ranveer’s Murad.
The breakout mention here is for newcomer Siddhant Chaturvedi. It’s his first film and he manages to upstage Ranveer at times. It’s not an accident. He is playing a sort of mentor to Ranveer and his upstaging of Murad is a plot requirement. No Bollywood egos to be seen where Ranveer would ask for less scenes of Siddhant or to cut the scene where he upstages him.
Rest of the cast including Vijay Raaz as the stern father are played perfectly by the actors.

Cinematography:
‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ had some of the best cinematography I had seen till that point in a Bollywood film. Gully boy doesn’t exceed that, but it keeps the track record of rather well done camera moves and excellent blocking.
While this is not something normal audience notice, it does affect them on how they are seeing a scene and its mood. The beginning of the film is shot in primarily close ups to show how suffocating life is for the characters. Slowly the frames start to expand and you get to see far shots of locales and characters. Portraying their sense of freedom.
Film making is not a based on one thing alone, everything has to come together. Films can have great story but can also be shot badly. This film works on every level. The story is adequate, the visuals very effective and the music… how can we NOT talk about the music?

Music & Soundtrack :
I have already admitted that Rap & hip Hop is not my genre and I do not understand this type of music at all. Having said that, the soundtrack of Gully Boy was awesome. Right from the first song, the music, the lyrics the rap all worked for me. The way the first song is picturized is very international and kudos to the film makers for making a music video which lives up to high standards without being all Bollywood and dance numbers.
The best musical films make a certain way of going about with their songs. They start with the most average song first and the graph picks up from there. Think for a minute about Taal. That film had a lot of good songs, but the graph keeps going up. (Talking about Taal)The first 2 songs are decent, then the Mumbai based songs are even better and finally the song for the finale is epic.
The same applies for Gully Boy. In a properly done film, the end track should leave you on your feet cheering. If they had not managed that, to make the final song the best one yet, then this film would have fallen flat (Example ABCD).
But the last song ‘Apna Time Ayega’ is a huge crowd pleaser without being over the top.

Overall :
On the topic of over the top, this film never leaves its boundaries of its setting and never goes ballistic trying to show the Gully Boy becoming world famous. Maybe they are planning on a sequel, but for this story, things are kept grounded in a way that is believable without being boring.
The movie is sort of predictable and nothing happens which is super surprising, but that is not the type of film this is going for. This is not a thriller, it’s a simple aspirational film, done perfectly.

Rating :
8/10. For me this is a must watch for its amazing music, great cinematography, good direction and overall just a very well made film.

P.S : I recently saw 8 mile as a comparison before seeing Gully boy. For once Bollywood out does Hollywood by miles (pun intended). Gully Boy is the film 8 miles wishes it were. There is nothing similar in the two films whatsoever. People speculating that this is just a bad copy of 8 mile, eat your heart out… this film far surpasses 8 mile and is probably one of the best musical aspirational underdog films ever made.

Ranveer Singh is known as the most energetic person. He had done a smooth and simple role in Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadakne Do. Both were superb there. That made me to watch this film, on first day of its release. Plus, I wanted to see what is the true Indian Hip-Hop.

Yes, true Indian Hip-Hop, which we are not aware of! Rapping means rhythmic poetry. I don't like rap music, also never heard much. But when we hear the meaningful words, the talking of rappers on the beat, true meaning of Hip-Hop music rises while watching the film. The film is about dreams. One could not easily accept the given circumstances by his ancestors. He must try to be there in what he likes, what's his passion. That will lead him to success. And when he has a certain talent, why... why not to use it!

Zoya Akhat has successfully shown Dharavi on celluloid. The 'Meri Gully Mein' song speaks a lot! It's beautifully shot as well. When you have Vijay Raaz, Vijay Verma, Vijay Maurya, Sheeba Chaddha, Kalki Koechlin & Amruta Subhash, you can give a solid backdrop like she has given in this one. Superb support from all. That girl who fights with Alia's character is also superb in one scene.

Siddhant Chaturvedi is being introduced here as MC Sher with a bang. He is too good. Even I would say that the local train and the late night roads of Mumbai also play significant parts. They catch us to dwell with Murad and other characters.

Ranveer Singh is absolutey fantastic. I loved him in DDD. And I am surprised that after Padmavat and Simmba, he still can do this type of role! He is indeed a good actor. Because, I tried very hard to find him in this film, but everytime I found the character- Murad only! Meanwhile, Alia Bhatt is giving her over the top role of her career, which was played by her finely. Audiences are loveing her and her style of doing things unexpectedly. Love her doing rough action in this film!

The soul of the film- Rap and Dialogues. Vijay Maurya has written dialogues. 'Zindagi Me Jo Kuchh Achchha Mile To Use Chuchaap Le Lene Ka!' I loved this line, and wanted to say this to all. This film is a nice work of cinema. Accept it without making any fuss.

Songs are created by various artists. You will be surprised to see Javed Akhtar's name in lyrics' credit. Because of his touch, the songs are absolutely fantastic. Also, like in ZNMD, he has written some poems as well for Murad. Loved that Mod Waali poetry. Doorie song starts like a strike in the heart. And Apna Time Aayega in the end makes the journey a worthy watch.

Based on the street rappers Divine and Naezy, this film talks about a lot of issues. It can be hard for those you are not youngsters. Celebrate the hip hop of India in theaters near you.