Zoya Akthar’s film Gully Boy deals with a very common subject which is dealt in various movies. Poor boy, not-so-poor girl, they love each other, their aspirations against all odds, conflict in their love, father-son conflict, rags to riches story etc. But what makes Gully Boy a compelling film is the fact that the story is unfolded by very talented actors and director which gives life to a story that otherwise could have fallen flat. The title Gully Boy is about a slum boy Murad played by Ranvir Singh, but the screenplay develops every character of the story its own space and purpose. Nowhere does the film feels like a one man’s story, even though deep down it is!

     Ranvir and Alia deliver stand out performances with Ranvir going one notch above this time, singing and rapping his own songs. And yes, he does pull it off in style. A story line like this often tend to be overly melodramatic with artificial emotions running all through, we have seen that in many films, but Gully Boy manages to carve a boundary of itself and stay within it and yet deliver some awesome moments in the film that will make you feel emotional. There are rap battles, struggles of a muslim family in a slum, a momentary love triangle, we-are-slaves-only mentality of Murad’s father and a hope of making it big by Murad who believes in ‘Apna Time aayega’ through his poetry.

      As a whole package this is a wonderful film with a very good message, I would give a well-deserved 4 out of 5 stars and if you love rap, hip-hop, edm type of music you could perhaps add another half star to it!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars