Gully Boy

Movie Review (Hindi)

"He is just a Gully Boy" said one of the characters in the movie. But “just the Gully boy” went on to rule hearts. Ranveer Singh, playing the reticent character Murad, expresses his dissatisfaction at the way things are in his world in the Dharavi slums through poetry. The energy levels in the movie rise with the entrance of MC Sher played by Siddhant Chaturvedi, the rapper who shows Murad a way out of the mundane. Our Gully Boy then raps his way into a confident individual able to stand up to his father’s dominance.

With actresses like Alia Bhatt and Kalki Koechlin providing support, the movie is bound to do well. The characters are well etched and the edit is fast. Dharavi stands out as a world holding many, many stories waiting to be told.

Director Zoya Akhtar certainly knows how to hold the attention of ciné goers, ending with the competition. It is an age-old trick which somehow always get the right reaction to a sense of vindication. I only wish the director had risen above this and taken the movie to a different level.

 Nevertheless, I loved the statement, so pregnant with hope and aspiration – Apna time aayega!

Uri

Movie Review (Hindi)

For a long time now, I have been hearing rumours about the Surgical strike by the Army on Pakistani soil being a fake incident, created by the Government to gain brownie points. Funnily enough, Uri takes off from these rumours and creates a damn good movie. The docudrama format helps in creating the authenticity required.

The choice of the protagonist, played by Vicky Kaushal, was bang on target. He got into the skin of the character and seemed to be comfortable being a Para Commando.

I think what stood out for the movie was the lack of long speeches exulting patriotism. It was the action that got the patriotic flame burning. The director, Aditya Dhar, has kept the story taut and does not loosen his grip which adds to the rawness.

A mother’s Alzhiemer’s, a dear friend’s death, a sister’s widowhood, a child losing a loving father, lawmakers taking risks for the greater good – all of these come together and burst forth spewing molten lava leaving behind an impactful movie that asks – “How’s the Josh?” You are bound to reply – “Very High!”