Gully Boy!

I finally watched the Bollywood movie Gully Boy. It was a lonely week night at my in-laws condo (they along with my family had all gone to Houston for a wedding while our place was being renovated), and flipping through IPTV channels, I decided to watch it.

I had watched the trailer and snubbed it as being a rip-off of 8 Mile. Bollywood is notorious for shamelessly ripping foreign content with no due credits. Therefore I joined 2 and 2 together and made an assumption (System 1 vs System 2 reference of Thinking Fast and Slow).

The movie is so well crafted and deals with issues the characters are facing at every level – socio-economic issues, parenting issues, marital issues, religious issues and personal identity issues.

There was not a single dull moment in the movie. Protagonists Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt were marvelous. Before the movie, I was not a fan of Ranveer Singh but this movie changed my perception. His transformation from a subdued passive-aggressive looking for identity and self-worth to an alpha male who climbs the top of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is really moving.

Alia Bhatt’s character of a rebellious, independent and a strong girl who does not bows to social pressure is heartening to watch. She wears a hijab and proving its not a sign of oppression but her own choice.

Ranveer Singh’s parents – how they were dealing with martial issues which led to harming their own kids personalities. Father being the sole bread-winner and his frustration in making ends meet. Imposing his parochial views of class system.

Alia Bhatt’s parents – how they were being over bearing parents that was leading Alia Bhatt to hide things from her parents. To build trust, you must foster a relation of openness and transparency with your kids where they are willing to share their insecurities with you.

I can’t come up with any flaws in the characters.

To sum up my review of Gully Boy – it was nothing like 8 Mile and the only similarity between those movies is the rap. A must watch movie .Gully Boy is a phenomenal movie!

And to sum up the message – you are owner of your destiny – own narrative. You are limited with your own imagination and not my limitations set by someone else. Above all, never lose hope – Apna time ayga…