Gully Boy Movie Review: Ranveer Singh kills him, seconded by Feisty Alia Bhatt

Actors: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Vijay Raaz, Amruta Subhash, Sheeba Chaddha, Vijay Verma

Director: Zoya Akhtar

Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

Murad Ahmed (Ranveer Singh), the protagonist of the film Gully Boy, The first street rapper musical in absolute blue. The annoying frustrations of the boy Dharavi translate into a simmering rage that he then shares in caustic hip hop harangues. Kyun lagta hai yeh bustee ek andha kuan hain (Why do I feel this slum is deadlocked, he writes in his worn-out notebook. This line is a rhetorical question. The answer blows in the wind.

Murad, caught in a cycle of poverty and sadness, recognizes – and embraces – rap poetry as a way out of the hell he calls home. But there is no poetry in his superficial life in a cramped dwelling. His surly father (Vijay Raaz), who has brought home a second wife without even having his permission, is a driver who hopes that education will free his son. But Murad, who attends college conferences while he is not at clandestine meetings with his girlfriend Safeena Firdausi (Alia Bhatt), extremely possessive, or who hangs and flouts the law occasionally with his friends Moin ( Vijay Verma) and Salman (Nakul Sahdev), has other ideas.

The main point of conflict in Gully Boy, written by Reema Kagti and director Zoya Akhtar, is based on the seemingly unbridgeable gap between Murad & # 39;Khwaab& # 39; (dream) and the overwhelming & # 39;aaju baaju ki asliyat& # 39; (the reality that surrounds him), that his defeatist father never tires of reminding him. Late in the film, the maternal uncle of the titular hero (Vijay Maurya, also a dialogist of the film) explains the fate of the boy: "naukar ka beta naukar banega (the son of a servant can only be a servant) ".

Gully Boy is unconventional in terms of the framework and wider problems of clbad perception and social prejudice he addresses, but his central narrative construction – a defiant outsider who fights against considerable obstacles to becoming a rap star – crosses familiar terrain. Gully Boy do not subvert the conventions of the genre, which limits the game in a predictable arc.

This vivid story about a young man's struggle to rise above his rank in life – it's a vaguely inspired tale by the experiences lived by the Mumbai street rappers, Naezy and Divine, both recognized in the foreground in the generics – are informed with empathy and solidarity. The drama lies in a marginally marginalized environment in mainstream Mumbai films, except when the focus is on radicalization and terrorist plots. It separates immediately Gully Boy of A B C D series of dance films and lends him social acuity. Despite its length, the film is an undeniably entertaining, even exhilarating, portrait of a robust life forged by adversity, tenacity and the courage to dream.

Gully Boy Movie Review: Ranveer Singh in a still (courtesy of YouTube)

The hero asks Safeena, wearing the hijab, to play on the meaning of his own name: Koi bada murad dikh jaaye toh try karu ki naa (If I have a big desire should not I try it)? Again, this is not really a query. This is an affirmation of intent. Who could have brought more liveliness into the villainous slum-turned-rapper character than Ranveer Singh, a proven provider of larger-than-life prototypes, that it's about a perniciously "wild" Muslim ruler? ( 'Padmaavat") or a virile and cynical cop who becomes the savior of the injured women (Simmba)?

The main actor, who has not had to master his brand exuberance to this extent since Lootera, brings a quiet conviction to an impressive modulated performance. He is well supported by Alia Bhatt (fervor personified as a doctor's independent daughter) in a cast including Kalki Koechlin (in a rather crude cameo in the role of Shweta / Sky, a former student of Berklee College of Music who helps Murad to record her first video), Amruta Subhash (as Murad's Murmured Ammi) and newcomer Siddhant Chaturvedi (so magnificent that MC Sher, the rapper who guides the hero throughout his phase of early mistrust, is getting closer pbadionately from Ranveer).

Gully Boy Movie review: Kalki Koechlin in a still (courtesy of YouTube)

When he is called upon to do so, Ranveer greatly increases his energy. It is therefore easy to be drawn into the exuberant rhythms and staccato of the film, both auditory and visual. This musical rap, however, has a feeling of excessive moderation which, in most films, would be considered as a force, but in this case, it tends to slightly lower the intensity.

The gloss that adheres to the surface of Gully Boy as a retractable film deprives him of the kind of artistic spontaneity that governed Wild Style (1983), the first true American hip-hop film, as well as the sustained creaking of Hustle & Flow (2005), the only rapper at Hollywood Drama to fetch his actor Principal an Oscar nomination and a hip-hop group (Three 6 Mafia) a Best Song statuette.

That does not mean that Gully Boy It's not always visible: it's a potentially powerful story that makes Ranveer a star vehicle in which to feast. Take advantage of the opportunity that he offers, bringing to the role his generally high enthusiasm but tempering him with some restraint to convey the inner turmoil of the character.

Given the fiery quality of some hip-hop lyrics, of which the subversive Dub Sharma is not the least. Jingostan, Gully BoyThe tone is not abrasive enough to provoke and disturb. In the best case, it arouses emotions, but the impact remains largely superficial. When MC Sher and his boys mess up Jingostan hook "Pakdo, maaro, kaato, bravo"and refer to venom vomited by a"zehreeli summer (poison reed tube) "we expect a shootout of powerful politically loaded punches in the rest of the film.What we get instead are just simple dribbling of scathing shots.

Gully Boy Movie review: Alia Bhatt in a still (courtesy of YouTube)

Gully Boy give a thumbs up here and a wink there rather than a hammer blows. The hero and his ilk sing about personal challenges, societal problems and treacherous politicians, but avoid outright provocation. Even the number Azaadi, belonging to a political arena occupied by freethinkers alarmed by the multiple systemic evils that badail the nation, is superimposed on sequences of Murad and his car repair companion stealing cars, sails without stirring the pot .

The street patois of Murad is quite convincing. But given the softening of the angry soul of the underground rap, how authentic and comprehensive is the reflection of the sounds of Mumbai Street, is hip-hop heard in the film? The skillful directional keys and the generally thoughtful writing, best reflecting the hero's romantic interest, create an atmosphere in which it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the anguish of the underprivileged may have been dressed up a bit here to mbad consumption. Well, to be fair, the film has a talking sequence in which Murad is dragged by Sky and a couple of his badociates into panes of department stores degrading with strategically drawn graffiti. I did not know that you like art, too, Murad remarks. This is not art, it is & # 39;jung& # 39; (war), Sky responds. The film does not evolve in one.

At a time when Bollywood is more and more often the apology for film demagogy, Gully Boy could have been a good response. It just does not go far enough to ask disconcerting questions related to the street rapper's art. But all things considered, Gully Boy can be warmly congratulated for his art, his fascinating characters and RANVEER SINGH. It absolutely kills the act of slow-burning rapper. Plus, it does with a lot of energy to spare.