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Gully Boy (2019)
Worth watching but mostly for the music and Alia Bhatt
I'll begin with a disclaimer. Gully boy is not a bad film, neither is it brilliant. It is a decent commercial film. But the only reason I'm writing a review for it is because I found the film worth analyzing because it could have been so much more despite it getting a few things right.
First of all, and this irked me a lot. Murad's mother is angry about the fact that his father has gotten a new wife. Murad feels empathy for his mother. Later in the film, Murad cheats on his current girlfriend Safeena after spending a fun and liberating night out with Sky. And then he begins to lie to Safeena. Now, psychologically speaking, this does not make any sense. If he feels empathy for his own mother, who is the first, he should feel empathetic towards Safeena who is the first in his life and should go back to her immediately. He would not be able to cheat on her and then lie to her. That isn't how human nature works. It's definitely not take advice from a friend, seeing how casual Sky is with MC Sher as well and Sky rejecting his sense of identity by telling him that it doesn't matter where he is from, when it clearly matters to Murad. And even then it takes Safeena almost forcing him to come back to her by manipulating Salman, before he does come back. This is not to say that the relationship between them isn't one of the highlights of the film. That is the one thing the film gets very accurate and real more than the relationships we've seen on screen. Safeena is a beautiful character essayed perfectly by Alia Bhatt with her manipulative smile and a blink that borders on being a threat.
Another thing, by going into the idea of Doori inspired by a random event with a girl he drives reduced the impact of the song rather than elevate it. It'd have been elevated if it was inspired by his mother, who he is unable to protect despite loving her. Then I would get more of a sense of who Murad is and where he comes from.
Also following up the fight between his mother and father, which was quite intense, with the recording of Mere gully mein is poor structuring. We don't get a sense of what Murad is feeling because he is struggling in his reality at home while he is having fun shooting a music video. This gives a lack of emotional continuity to the character. If the filmmaker intended to show that this is a way out for him from the struggles of life, it does not explain the purpose behind the angst in his lyrics, when music is just a way to get away from problems.
Now let's get to the angst, the angst in the lyrics is rarely replicated in the narrative. We never see him seeking for 'Azadi'. The system is responsible for Murad's condition, but the system is reduced to making us feel just for Vijay Varma's character. The system itself plays no part in Murad's narrative. So his journey is more a search for identity than one riddled with angst and hence the lyrics seem on a completely different tangent from the narrative of the film. Contrast this with the way lyrics and narrative come together in 'Muqqabaaz' as angst against the system and we realize that Gully boy fails to tie those two things.
Now this is not to say that there are no good things in the film. Ranveer Singh's performance is quite restrained and manages to affect you in certain scenes especially him looking into the camera in 'Doorie'. Alia Bhatt is quite charismatic. Vijay Varma dominates all the scenes he is in, especially when he flips at Murad. Siddhant Chaturvedi is cool to the bone, even though his character fades in importance as the narrative goes on and stays just as the initial mentor. Sky is disposable from the narrative. Her character's purpose could have been served by MC Sher himself. She could have been reduced to just an affair. The background score rings even after the film is done and it is definitely one of the music albums of the last couple of years. Especially the Dub Sharma tracks 'Azadi', 'Apna Time aayega' and 'Jingostan'. Divine really steps it up in the songs he has sung. Ranveer's rapping could have been more genuine, though without the accent he is trying to place in there.
The major problems of the film lie in the structure of the screenplay and the edit. Doorie's edit does not work at all and I was praying while going into the film that maybe the video they have released is just for promotion and this is not how the song has been cut in the film, but it turned out to be exactly that way.
The cinematography of Jay Oza is exasperating. At times it is brilliant while at times it just does not fit the event. Especially in 'Apna time aayega' the only thing that elevates the scene is the music. That glitzy gold background om the stage does not help proceedings at all. Though I have to congratulate him on the drone shots of Bombay. I've never seen Bombay shot that way before and those shots really create a visceral effect along with the shot in which Ranveer Singh sits in the car as the party goes on all night.
Some of Zoya Akhtar's choices are really interesting. Like making Murad a really passive character in the beginning, really detached from life, constantly being dragged into situations by the people around him, until he hears MC Sher rap. That's the first time he takes the initiative to do amything. But then he goes back to his passivity and there lies the problem of the structure. It does not just extend the length of the film, but also creates a wall between us understanding Murad. And one important thing in all of this is that if the protagonist is satisfied with his partner and has found solace there, he has also sorted things with his father, why is he ambitious at all, apart from being able to prove to his father and mama that being an artist can bring him out of his circumstances. That is an emotion that won't work because that is not what the film is setting up. The film is setting up the circumstances that Murad is brought up in. So it isn't about escaping those circumstances through momey and fame but doing something that facilitates other people escape those circumstances as well. Here, Zoya Akhtar chooses to make no statements. Not everybody can become an artist and find a way out of those conditions. That is not a viable solution. So, at the end Murad is just somebody who makes his locality proud. But does nothing to change the circumstances that made him who he is and will do the same to many others after him.
It is definitely worth a watch, but fails to live up to the expectations Zoya Akhtar herself had set through her short in 'Lust Stories' and the initial promos of the film.
Sarbjit (2016)
Lacking a sense of time
The least you can expect from a biography made by a former Production Designer is a sense of authenticity. The film has a complete lack of authenticity, be it production design or a sense of the age. Add that to the film having no sense of progression of time. The time has been marked by people stating it has been 10 years or 3 years or some other thing.
To start with, the film takes a non-linear approach, so that in the beginning when we see Aishwarya Rai and Richa Chaddha crying, we feel no sense of sympathy for them because we have not seen their relationship with Randeep Hooda. After that we go into Aishwarya Rai's traumatic past to create a connection with her, in a manner which is very melodramatic and over the top. Randeep Hooda's capture is very unconvincing, and you never feel the time as it would have been felt by a person living in solitary confinement for years. The madness in his performance is also very inconsistent. His performance is good but hampered by the inconsistency.
Aishwarya Rai's performance is over the top and does not evoke anything, it is the sort of performance we have come to expect from her. Richa Chaddha has not been utilized properly as she has to convey all her emotions through staring. Also hampering the narrative are the songs, none of them good and always trying to evoke something different from what is actually happening in the film. One of the worst biopics made in India.
Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)
The Solitary Epic of Indian Cinema.
Premiering at Cannes, this was one of the most anticipated movies of the year. Maybe not for the Multiplex going, entertainment seeking audience but for people who actually care for gritty cinema. I, personally, have always been a fan of Anurag Kashyap, Manoj Bajpayee as well as Piyush Mishra. So, for me this movie was like cinematic heaven, before it even started.
It is a story unfolding through generations in Wasseypur, Jharkhand(erstwhile Bihar). It starts with Sahid Khan( played brilliantly by Jaideep Ahlawat), who robs trains by the pseudonym of Sultana Daku which is in fact the pseudonym of another Dacoit that lives in the village. So, on one such attempt, the original Sultana Daku kills of Sahid Khan's gang and throws him out of Wasseypur. Thus starts the rivalry of the Khans and the Qureshis. Sahid Khan moves to Dhanbad where he leaves this life of robbery behind him and starts working in a field mine. During child birth, his wife dies while he was unable to reach her in time because he wasn't informed by the authorities. The son grows up over the years and India soon wins independence. With Independence, the British abandon the mines which are soon given to a Jamindar, Ramadhir Singh. He needs Pahalwans(bouncers) to run the mines and keep the workers in control, so he hires Sahid Khan. What Ramadhir Singh did not foresee was that Sahid Khan himself wanted the throne all for himself. When Ramadhir Singh finds out, he sends Sahid for a job at Banaras where Sahid Khan is assassinated. He also tries to kill Sahid's younger brother and son but they escape. The kid grows up to be Sardar Khan( Manoj Bajpayee) whose only aim in life is revenge against Ramadhir Singh, the guy who killed his father. "Goli Nahi Maarenge Usko, Keh Ke Lenge Uski".
I won't say that if i continue with the story, it'll give the movie away but the thing is every twist and turn of the story, every little detail, Anurag Kashyap wants you to explore for yourself. There are so many characters and so many stories that it becomes more of an epic than a movies. With Piyush Mishra's narration, the movie unfolds smoothly as you will keep watching dumbstruck at the crime and the 'bakaiti'. The usage of slang is in abundance. Definitely, not a movie that you can watch with your family, or even girlfriend, for that matter. Brilliant performances, a brilliant script, and wonderful direction leaves you expecting for more. Waiting for the 2nd part eagerly.