Gully Boy movie review: Four stars out of fiveÂ
I do not want this sentence to end, I want it to rhyme, skate, jump and groove into something real because that is what Gully Boy has done to me, the movie has that kind of infectious heart, inclusive groove and beat rarely experienced at the movies nowadays.
Young Murad (Ranveer Singh), one among the many denizens of Asia’s largest slum Dharavi, loves rap music, is completing his graduation and writes his own songs too. He lives in a small shanty with his driver father, hapless mother, little brother and grandmother. His father’s recent second marriage has only made things worse for Murad.
The love between him and Safina (Alia Bhatt) keeps him grounded while walking a dangerous path accompanying Moeen on his car stealing escapades. It is when Murad chances on rapper MC Sher/Shrikant (Siddhant Chaturvedi) at a college event that his unsure, courageous journey into rap, catharsis and freedom begins.
Standout Scenes
My standout scene among dozens of standout scenes: a driver sees his employer’s daughter crying on the car’s backseat, but can’t sympathize with her, the rich-poor divide couldn’t have been shown more tenderly shown. Also, the head shaking-to-the-beat driver nudged away by a bouncer scene talks about human history and inequality than pages of dialogue.
Strong, Real Writing
Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy is her best work yet. Based on the lives of Indian rappers Vivian Fernandes aka Divine and Naezy, Gully Boy feels and breathes damn authentic. From the steady no-showy cinematography, superb ensemble cast, judicious background score, the grime and starkness of Dharavi, nothing feels made up or pretentious.
The rich-poor divide, music as catharsis, the passion for original music, fighting for your dreams, finding your voice, the deadness of slave routine, and many more messages are packed into the 153-min running time. Zoya ensures that almost all the messages flow in sync with the story, a towering achievement.
The hero is clearly Zoya Akhtar here, giving us a clear, vision seldom seen on Hindi cinema, of the poor, the downtrodden, the sidelined. Above all telling of real, ember dreams.
Powerful SoundtrackÂ
Gully Boy‘s blood is its soundtrack, some performed by Ranveer himself, apart from Divine, Naezy, Spitfire, Rishi Rich, Jasleen Royal, Kaam Bhaari, Dub Sharma and other artists. The Javed Akhtar penned Doori, the Divine-Naezy chartbuster Meri Gully Mein…almost every song engages, a rare feat for any music album.
The Astonishing Ranveer Singh and othersÂ
Ranveer Singh is standout as Murad, breathing the downtrodden life of the slums, the passion and fire behind the silence he brings to the underdog part is awe-inspiring. Alia Bhatt is equally superb as the aspiring doctor from a wealthier family. Vijay Raaz and Amruta Subhash are Murad’s parents are superb, as is an excellent Vijay Varma as the devious, yet big-hearted Moeen, Rahul Piske and Nakul Sahdev as Murad’s friends are good too, as is Kalki Koechlin in the movie’s only underwritten role.
Vijay Maurya (also the film’s terrific dialogue writer) as Murad’s uncle is another steal. But the show-stealer here is Siddhant Chaturvedi as Murad’s mentor/rapper Shrikant/MC Sher. Siddhant is so good, I thought he was a rapper playing himself.
Get into the Groove
I am going to catch Gully Boy again at the theatres for all the layers I missed and to groove to its big beating heart. You don’t need to love rap or hip-hop music to feel its musty air.
Gully Boy is the movie I will talk about all year and beyond, that into all the predictability and air headed hero-worshipping, a filmmaker had the guts to voice something fresh and revolutionary. Don’t miss!
