Set in Dharavi, Mumbai's most infamous slum, this movie is about Murad (Ranveer Singh), a poor, hard-working college student who seems destined for a life of drudgery. His family life is a disaster, with his father bringing home a brand new wife, while his mother has no real position in the household (they're Muslim, this is India, it's not considered bigamy, move on). But Murad has a secret passion - rap. He stumbles onto Mumbai's rap scene when he meets MC Sher (Siddhant Chaturvedi), a fellow Dharavi denizen who is successfully making a career out of DJing and rapping at various events. Under Sher's tutelage, the ordinarily shy and quiet Murad slowly starts to come out of his shell, and dares to dream that he might achieve something more than an office job selling air conditioners in his uncle's company.
Being a Bollywood movie, we must also have a love story, and so we get Murad's childhood sweetheart, Safeena (Alia Bhatt). A radiant, hijab-sporting medical student who aspires to be a surgeon, they have a delicious romance where they both think the world of each other and will never stand in each other's way. But there's a ton of jealousy and family drama owing to their very different financial circumstances, and over the course of the film you'll be treated to the full extent of what India has to offer in terms of restricting its women and their choices. Safeena is a fantastic character, ambitious, a little bit insane, but also extremely constrained by society, and my only regret is that her role in this movie is limited to her interaction with Murad. Perhaps Zoya Akhtar could next do a movie just about a woman like Safeena because Bollywood definitely needs to see more empowered and fabulous female characters like this.
As good as Ranveer and Alia are in this movie, you can tell that they are struggling with the Mumbai slang and swagger. They are not used to talking like this (the brilliant dialogue is by Vijay Maurya - while Akhtar and long-time collaborator Reema Kagti are responsible for the screenplay, they have wisely let Maurya handle the intricacies of Mumbai dialogue), and occasionally you can see the effort going into maintaining this accent and using certain words. For me, the breakout star of the movie is Siddhanth Chaturvedi. As MC Sher, you don't doubt for a second that this guy is out to be a hip hop mogul - even the way he tilts his head makes you feel like you're watching a rap video every time he comes out on screen. And then there's the music. Akhtar does a brilliant job of weaving in a variety of Indian rap, different beats, different lyrics, different styles. Some are more Hinglish, Murad's lyrics are more poetic (written by Javed Akhtar, natch), some have a classic American hip hop beat, while others have a fusion vibe with Indian instruments woven in. The soundtrack is bursting with Indian rap artists who all have a different take on what it means to be an Indian rapper, and this movie is probably the best sampler of a music genre that doesn't get enough play in the mainstream.
However, Gully Boy is not just a rap movie. It's a very Indian movie, also delving into gender roles, family units, societal structures, and most importantly, the glaring divide between the rich and poor. In Mumbai, the Dharavi populace often work for some of the richest people in the country, serving as their maids and chauffeurs, getting exposed to a life they could never hope to have. In one poignant scene, Murad is in a rich woman's bathroom and he counts the square footage of this room that is probably bigger than the cramped house he lives in with his father, mother, stepmother, grandmother, and two brothers (also, they only have a communal toilet). Even the class divide between him and Safeena is significant - I don't know if it's a deliberate choice to have Safeena always take Murad's calls secretly in her bathroom, but again, she HAS a bathroom. That already signals opulence in his world.
In case I did not make it clear, I loved this movie. Watch it. It is funny, it is moving, and by the time you build up to Murad's earth-shattering final rap performance, you are fully invested in his success. The film has layers upon layers, and even if you are put off by rap music, you should watch it nonetheless. Caveat, if you watch in an American theater, as I did, be prepared for rather hilarious English subtitles, as translating Hindi rap is no easy task. But if you close your eyes and nod your head to the rhythm, you'll be swept into the Gully.
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