Gully Boy

About the film

Gully Boy is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film directed by Zoya Akhtar, and written by Akhtar and Reema Kagti. The film was produced by Ritesh Sidhwani, Akhtar and Farhan Akhtar under the banners of Tiger Baby Films and Excel Entertainment productions, with American rapper Nas as an executive producer. It stars Ranveer Singh in the title role alongside Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Vijay Varma, Amruta Subhash and Vijay Raaz in supporting roles. Inspired by the lives of Indian street rappers DIVINE and Naezy, the film is a coming-of-age story about aspiring street rapper Murad Ahmed (Singh), from the Dharavi slums of Mumbai.

Principal photography for Gully Boy began in January 2018 and wrapped up in April 2018. It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival on 9 February 2019 and released on 15 February 2019 to positive reviews for the music, cinematography, Akhtar's direction, storyline, screenplay, dialogues, performances (particularly Singh, Bhatt, Chaturvedi and Varma) and the social message. With a global gross of over ₹2.38 billion (US$33.8 million), it emerged as the ninth-highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.

Plot

Murad Ahmed, a final-year university student, resides in the Dharavi slums of Mumbai. His domestic life is highly turbulent; his abusive father, Aftab Shakir Ahmed, brings home a much younger second wife, causing severe friction within the household. To escape his bleak reality, Murad nurtures a deep passion for rap music. He is also in a long-term relationship with Safeena Firdausi, an overly possessive medical student training to be a surgeon, with whom he routinely meets in secret due to strict familial constraints.

When Aftab sustains an injury, Murad is forced to step in as a part-time chauffeur to support the family. While working, the stark socioeconomic disparities he witnesses in Mumbai inspire him to channel his frustrations into poignant lyrics. His musical journey accelerates after he attends a college festival and encounters Shrikant Bhosle, an charismatic underground rapper known as "MC Sher." Impressed by Murad's raw talent, MC Sher mentors him, inviting him to underground rap battles and eventually collaborating with him on a track that they upload to YouTube.

The viral video catches the attention of Shweta "Sky" Mehta, a wealthy music producer and student at the Berklee College of Music. Sky offers to produce a new track for Murad and Sher, culminating in a raw, Dharavi-shot music video that achieves widespread internet popularity. During their creative collaboration, Murad and Sky grow intimate and share a kiss. When Safeena uncovers the infidelity, she confronts Sky in a fit of rage, fracturing a beer bottle over her head. Although detained by the police, Safeena avoids formal charges after Sky declines to prosecute. Troubled by her volatile possessiveness, Murad terminates his relationship with Safeena. Concurrently, as Aftab’s domestic violence toward Murad, his younger brother, and his mother scales to an intolerable level, Murad moves his mother and brother out of the house, taking up full-time employment with his maternal uncle, Ateeq Khan.

Production

Akhtar co-opted the story of two Mumbai based MCs, Naezy and DIVINE, into a musical story portraying a struggle of an aspiring rapper and his surroundings that influence his journey. Principal photography of the film began on 10 February 2018 and it was wrapped up by April 2018. American rapper Nas was an executive producer for the film.

Soundtrack

The 18-song soundtrack, which was released on all streaming platforms on 12 January 2019, involves an estimated 54 contributors, including rappers from across the country, deejays, music producers and beatboxers, such as DIVINE, Naezy, Sez on the Beat, Rishi Rich, Dub Sharma, Jasleen Royal, Ace, Ishq Bector, MC Altaf, MC TodFod, 100RBH, Maharya, Noxious D, Viveick Rajagopalan, and others. As music supervisor, Ankur Tewari worked with the diverse group of artists in the studio, aiming to "bring the two worlds of hip hop and Bollywood together".

A promotional single for the film, "NY Se Mumbai", was released on 9 February 2019 and performed by DIVINE, Naezy and Ranveer Singh, along with American rapper Nas. The track was produced by XD Pro Music, a Toronto based producer duo, and Ill Wayno.

Marketing and release

Gully Boy was confirmed to be releasing on 14 February 2019 by Alia Bhatt. The first look official poster of the film was released on 1 January 2019 and reconfirmed the release date to be 14 February 2019. Two new theatrical posters revealing looks of the lead actors of the film unveiled for the public on 2 January 2019. The film was selected in Berlinale Special section of 69th Berlin International Film Festival. The film was screened on 9 February 2019 for its world premiere at the festival. It was released in India on 14 February 2019 on 3,350 screens and in overseas markets on 751 screens, with a worldwide count of 4,101 screens.

Some writers speculated about similarities between Gully Boy and the Eminem-starring 8 Mile (2002). Writer Aditya Magal in The Quint called it, though appreciating the movie as entertaining, after outlining what he considers the many similarities, "an engineered, Indianized version of 8 Mile". Journalist Rachna Tyagi of The Week was more harsh in her review, rating it 2.5/5 and calling it "a copycat Indian version of the film." Denying the claims, director Zoya Akhtar responded "I get it (the comparison). I totally understand it, because that's the reference point and that's what they've seen so, that's the immediate reference point and people here just love to do that."

Key details