Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy pieces together snippets of life from the slums and the Mumbai underground.
Zoya Akhtar’s movie chronicles the life of Murad aka Gully Boy (Ranveer Singh) who dreams of the stars whilst residing in Mumbai square box house. Born and brought up in his gully, the young lad is righteous in many ways who finds an escapade in words. He smokes weed but doesn’t drink, is innocent yet admirable, aims for the stars but doesn’t want to leave his roots. That’s Murad, who feels bondaged by his own thoughts and an added family tension which ceases to go away.
Saifeena (Alia Bhatt), with whom he has what seems to be a secret relationship, is the only respite for him in this troubled daily chores. But, unlike Murad, Saifeena is fierce and violently so. Amidst this blooming secret romance, time changes for Murad when he meets Emcee Sher (Siddhant Chaturvedi) who pushes him to explore the ‘cheer padh’ rapper in him and of course, Sky (Kalki Koechlin).
Starting of with director Zoya’s work, then characters have been sketched in a very defied manner with each one of it bring best and meaningful contribution to the movie. The dialogues by Vijay Maurya will surely receive applauds.
Writing of acting performances, Without doubt Ranveer Singh nailed it! It’s hard to imagine that he is the same guy who just delivered a blockbuster playing an over-the-top cop in Simmba. He explodes when he raps and gives a restrained performance throughout. He is a pro at rapping.
Also read: Divine & Naezy: Gully Boys who inspired Ranveer Singh’s starrer
Alia Bhatt, on the other hand was a scene stealer. Every scene she appears in is a riot. She is endearing, to say the least. This is one of her best performances and her character is a crash course in women empowerment. She definitely has made the audience fall in love with her.
Making his debut on the big screen, Sidhant Chaturvedi makes the character of an experienced rapper his own. He stands tall with Ranveer Singh. His performance is so natural that many might confuse him for a real-life rapper.
The music is also an all together a character itself in the movie. Music makers give voice to everyday issues and the contrasting lives. The meaningful lyrics are icing on the cake. We bet you’ll put it on loop for days from today.
Over all, it is a potentially hard-hitting tale that turns into a star vehicle for Ranveer to revel in. Gully Boy can be whole-heartedly commended for its craft, fascinating characters and rap music. Ranveer absolutely kills the slow-burning rapper act. What’s more, he does with a lot of energy to spare.
