The street rap scene’s never been in mainstream media much, although after going through Gully Boy’s trailer (and liking it), I decided to
give street hip hop/rap music a shot. Must say, I heard some of those songs on
repeat for days. And so, was quite excited to watch this movie ever since a
dear friend asked me to. And after watching the movie, I’m even more convinced
that these artists need to be heard by every music enthusiast out there.
The movie starts with a cool long shot of a street hustler,
Moeen, played by Vijay Varma, who proceeds to steal a car along with him taking
Murad. This shows how easy it
is in their world to be caught up in crime. All they did was follow their
friend around and unintentionally became part of a grand theft auto. Necessity,
coercion, survival. This is what their world is all about. This is the prison
which holds them. Not physically but in unbreakable chains of responsibility
and security for themselves and their families. Their dreams, their ambitions,
their relationships, all revolve around survival with a shred of dignity.
Herein,
enters Murad, played exceptionally well by Ranveer Singh; a guy who is not your
regular featherless bird, just waiting to fly but a grounded young man of
morals who wants to do something for his mother by graduating and getting a
good job. Soon he discovers desi rap and his aspirations suddenly take a leap. Not
knowing where this path will take him but realizing that this is exactly what
he was meant to do. Did he do it? And did the film do this dream justice? Let’s
find out.
The plot
The movie
isn’t just about the street rap scene and the life of the poor kid from Murad
to Gully Boy. It’s about the life in Mumbai slums and the everyday struggles people
have to endure in order to earn an honest living. The movie is about emotions
much more than it is about the streamlined story. The story which may fall
short of an epic drama, does prove to be a compelling narrative of a turbulent
life mottled with melodies of despair and gradual triumph. The movie entirely
revolves around the relationships of Murad with his lover, his mother, his
father and his dichotomous friend circles- one with whom he’s grown up with and
those who occasionally indulge in crime; and those Murad discovered while
pursuing his passion for rapping. Each character stands as a lamp on a passage
that Murad walks, each providing a different light on distinct events and
bringing their own shade behind them as their own life stories. All this comes
together in the streets as music like never before.
The music
This brings
us to our next aspect and probably what gave the movie an edge over any other
biography is its close association with the art. One cannot make a movie about
a successful artist, a pioneer in their genre, without having a kickass
soundtrack and score. And for a movie like Gully Boy which is so emotionally
charged, the music needs to be top notch as well. To my delight and so does
everybody else’s, the music is as good and hard hitting as the struggles and sorrow
from which it originates. Several great artists collaborated in the movie for
multiple tracks- ishQ Bector, Karsh Kale, Divine, Raghu Dixit, Midival Punditz,
Rishi Rich, Mikey McCleary, Jasleen Royal, Naezy, Emiway bantai, Kaam Bhaari, Ankur
Tewari, Ace, Viveick Rajagopalan, Dub Sharma; and each one of them did a tremendous
job with their inputs. My favourite standout tracks include- Doori and
ofcourse, Apna Time Aayega. If you haven’t added Gully Boy to your playlist
yet, do it now. And even more so, explore these artists if you’re new to the
street rap scene.
The performances
The movie
is pulled from just another coming of age rebellion story of a wannabe artist,
to such proportional depths through its stellar performances. And not just the
lead pair but everybody justifies their character, playing it so naturally that
you hardly notice the actors there. Nobody is in limelight in the whole and
that is what supports how significant each character was to the entire
storyline instead of just being a complementary character to the protagonist. The
innate rawness is kept intact of every character by every cast member; portraying
even the minutest of events with clarity and concreteness. One cannot avoid
feeling invested in the lives of the characters instead of anticipating where
the story might go next. Hence, every new development unfolds, garnering as
much concern as the previous one did.
The execution
The movie
was a well-executed one, no doubt about that. The cinematography could’ve been
better but the editing and pacing was entirely on point. The short duration
wide shots and steady camera work really gave the movie a touch of reality. Although
too many close-ups did kind of worked against that but were entirely
unnoticeable if you’re more focused on the star casts' performances. Direction
wise, there weren’t innovative or mesmerizing cuts or angles or scenes but Zoya
Akhtar still did a great job of portraying this story the way it needed to be
told. No complaint about the overall product. Probably the lack of signature
styles worked in the favour of the whole movie.
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| Yeah mah boi MC Sher made it all happen! |
The verdict
Finally,
the verdict. The movie is a great example of what biographies could be capable
of, instead of traditional storytelling about the great deeds of celebrated
personalities. It is worth noting that the movie was entirely about a guy only
trying to make a living through bland honest means but discovers a talent which
provides him a new platform and a voice in the crowd. From a certain perspective,
Gully Boy is an inspirational movie. It’s about following your dreams and not
letting obstacles undermine you. It successfully shows how a man with nothing at
all can become what he chose to be. The movie is a reminder to nurture our inborn
talent and not fall in the blend of everyday life. And nonetheless, the movie
is an entertaining, emotionally moving, and musically charged piece of drama
which deserves all the accolades it might get and certainly warrants a watch
from the viewers. In other words, bhooot harddddd.
The author was much earlier at the venue before the movie started this time. In a first, he finally reached for a movie on time. And his company was fun too. He hopes of meeting them again soon.
