Gully Boy (2019) Hindi Movie Review

This movie is the story of a timid slum dweller whose life changes thanks to his talent. Murad is a college student who lives in a slum in Mumbai’s Dharavi. He’s in a relationship with the fiery Safeena .a medical student who comes from an orthodox upper-caste Muslim family. There’s tension in Murad’s house as his father Shakir gets a second wife, much to the dismay of his mother Razia.

Gully Boy (2019) Hindi Movie

Meanwhile, one day an upcoming rapper MC Sher performs in Murad’s college and he gets floored. After all, he is always been interested in rapping. MC Sher one day asks aspiring performers to meet him and Murad jumps at this opportunity. MC Sher takes a liking for Murad and motivates him to rap publicly. Murad is hesitant at first but he performs for the crowd who give him thumbs up. MC Sher even gets him to shoot a video which becomes very popular. However, Murad is not able to pursue his passion full time. He is compelled to step into his father’s shoes and become a chauffeur after the latter fractures his leg. He also has a complex on account of his social status. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar’s story is promising. The character of Murad is very well written and also the world around him. Many who had criticized Zoya for showing the world of the elite in “ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA” and ‘DIL DHADKANE DO” would surely be surprised. Also the writers have ensured that the film doesn’t turn out to be just a story of a rapper. It speaks about passion, aspiration and also makes an important commentary on poverty, social strata, juvenile delinquency, polygamy etc. Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar’s screenplay is highly effective. A lot of research has gone into the film and it shows. Several sequences are powerful and they hit you hard. Even the humour comes out very well. Vijay Maurya’s dialogues further add to the impact as they are acidic. The poems of Murad are penned by Javed Akhtar and they have their own charm.

Zoya Akhtar’s direction is exemplary yet again and she proves she is worthy of setting her film in a diverse world and yet emerging victorious. However, the film has a few rough edges and one wishes she had taken care of it. The second half is quite lengthy. In fact, it feels like one is watching a three-hour-long film. A few characters like Safeena and Sky are interesting but they don’t have much to do and are conveniently disappeared in the middle. Also the tone and the theme of the film is such that it won’t appeal to audiences pan India. The film features scenes of rap battle where one is supposed to roast the opponent and get personal. Such scenes may put off a section of the audience.

The movie is not the usual entertainer and this becomes evident in the first scene itself. However, the goings-on are very interesting and suck you into the world of these characters. The entry of Safeena adds to the fun and the sequence where she assaults Albina, a girl who shows interest in Murad, will bring the house down. Murad’s struggles and his bond with MC Sher is also well depicted. A few scenes are exceptionally directed like Murad’s first performance. Another scene that stands out in the first half is when Murad gets the idea of the song ‘Doori’ in the car. Post interval, the interest dips a bit. The film gets stretched and also has far too many subplots. The climax thankfully is when the film picks up beautifully. The film ends on a high.