Gully Boy movie review: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt starrer is simply unmissable

People often find themselves in dilemma between choosing to follow their passion and fulfilling responsibilities that life throws at them. The movie Gully Boy showcases a similar story but in a way that completely touches your heart.

STORYLINE

Murad Sheikh (Ranveer Singh) hails from a poor family that resides in a slum in Mumbai. He is extremely passionate about rapping, but lacks the required confidence and support from family.

Safeena Ali (Alia Bhatt), who plays his love interest, is very supportive but she is rowdy enough to break a bottle of glass on any girl that tries to hit on Murad. And, she proves it a couple of times.

While refusing to accept the notion that "a servant's son will become a servant", Murad secretly sets out to chase his dream of becoming a rapper. He comes across a local rapper MC Sher (Siddhant Chaturvedi), who seeing the talent inside Murad, not only gives him a platform to showcase his skill but also trains him.

However, soon his abusive father Aftab Skeikh (Vijay Raaz) gets to know what Murad has been doing outside his academics, and makes his annoyance clear to him with two slaps and a warning. While the young chap still continues to chase his dream, a lot of obstacles come his way, and he reaches a point where he almost gives up. How he eventually overcomes all the hurdles, and makes it big is the crux of the story.

PERFORMANCES

Ranveer Singh is exceptional in Gully Boy. He pulls off the role with great precision. His expressions are to the point, and never look over the board. He has certainly emerged as a much more refined actor.

Alia Bhatt is another strong pillar of the film. Her character is that of a girl who is otherwise very sweet, but she turns into a complete psycho when anyone comes between she and her boyfriend. Alia is a complete entertainer here, and she appears to be effortless in doing so.

Talking about supporting cast, Siddhant Chaturvedi playing MC Sher deserves special mention. He adds more life to the film. Vijay Varma as Murad's friend (Moeen) is excellent too. All other supporting cast including Vijay Raaz, Kalki Koechlin, Amruta Subhash, Sheeba Chaddha among others are equally good in their craft.

POSITIVES

Gully Boy has all the elements to make it an awesome movie. It is filled with perfect dose of emotion, humour, drama, romance and a wonderful script. It is blessed with some splendid performances, and a beautiful narration. But what make it even more special are the powerful dialogues, intense lyrics and the subtle messages it conveys at various points. Director Zoya Akhtar manages to show the slum-life in such an unorthodox manner that simply touches your heart.

NEGATIVES

The only issue one can find in Gully Boy is its length. The movie is almost 2 hour 40 minutes long, which may appear a little too much for some audience.

VERDICT

Gully Boy is one such film that shines all throughout. It is undoubtedly one of Ranveer Singh's best films, and Zoya Akhtar's best directorial. Some splendid performances, beautiful narration, powerful dialogues and lyrics make Gully Boy a film you cannot afford to miss.