Movie Review : Gulaal

I went with a lot of expectations for Anuarag Kashyap's Gulaal. And I was not dissapointed. The film is a must watch. The story, right from the first scene, holds your attention. The choice of actors is something I want to pay special attention to. Everyone, fits the role.

Complex characters, with proper, developed backstory. the characters are fleshed out well and are multi-dimensional. I was delighted in the way the film uses the characters to progress the story. Which brings us to another aspect of the film. The story. The story is very well written and has many layers to it. It moves at a good pace, touches several issues and blends them into each other convincingly.

Gulaal shows a different world altogether. Not seen by many in bigger cities. Life in rural Rajasthan is very well captured. Indain cities are more than Mumbai. I'd recommend all college students in cities like Mumbai and Delhi (more, Mumbai) to go and watch Gulaal. Indian colleges are more different than the one shown in Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai. The college, hostel and ragging shown in Gulaal is a reality in many parts of North India. This is the real India. Welcome to the ride.

Anurag Kashyap shows the local flavour like no one else. The scenes aptly captures the 'mood' of the place.
They way he blends different subplots to finally lead to his climax is worth a mention. Gulaal is definitely one of the most polished narratives I have come across recently. Things are fleshed out well. Characters behave the way they should.

Gulaal is raw energy. Be it in the story, the screenplay or even the set design. Everything falls in place and contributes to the narration. Nothing is rudimentary, nothing is complete, yet, everything looks just perfect. The set design is worth applauding. The deserts conveying the vastness, the buildings conveying the royal, and various other props used to communicate the mood and feel of the film.

Kudos to the casting director, each actor fits the role to a T. Kay Kay Menon looks every bit the royal blood that he plays. Kay Kay is one actor that had carved a niche for himself. In the overtly loud Bollywood style films, work done by Kay Kay still stands apart, thanks to directors like Anurag Kashyap. Kay Kay has grown with every film. And here, we see him evolve again. As Dukey Bana, Kay Kay gives us ample reason to hate the character, while loving the actor.

Another one to take your breath away is Abhimayu Singh. The actor plays the role of Rananjay Singh to almost perfection. You hate the character at first. Then hate him more. And then somewhere you realize that its a lovable character. Rananjay's charcater looks like a side character at first, till you realize its a more developed and powerful character. You start liking it. And all this, while the mannerism and beliefs of the character are the same as they were in the first scene! Kudos to the director for this one, and a pat on the back for Abhimanyu Singh for playing this one in a manner that makes you want more from the actor. I am definitely looking forward to the actor's next.

Aditya Shrivastav is another strong actor in the cast. As the the arch rival, Aditya paints a picture dark enough for everyone to hate, yet you look forward to his next step with interest.

The film's protagonist, Dileep Singh played by Raja Singh Chaudhary is, perhaps, the weak point of the film. You feel more for Rananjay Singh, than you do for Dileep Singh. Dileep's transition is shown convincingly. Kudos, to the director, again. But I felt something lacking in the performance.

A notable performance is of Piyush Mishra, as Prithivi Bana, Kay Kay's brother. Piyush has also given the music for the film and many songs are picturized on him. Piyush's words have that edgy feel that instantly reflects on the mood of the film. I absolutely loved watching him delivering those lines.

Deepak Dobriyal was another actor that delivered a knock out performance. I did notice him in Omkara. However, his appearance in 13B was quite brief. In Gulaal, he plays an important role, as the main associate of Kay Kay's character and pulls it off beautifully. He is restrained in just the right way. Another actor I'd like to see more of.

Jesse Randhawa is wasted. Her character is one of the flaws of the movie. Its under-developed, to say the least. There was much that could have been achieved in the Jesse-Raja angle. Else, it could have been done away with completely.

The film is lacking in pace a bit. Specially in the second half. But the first half is absolutely first rate. You do not at once feel like getting up. You want to see everything and know everyone. There are so many characters, all well fleshed out, and so much happening. But nothing goes out of context.

This is by far one of the better films that I have seen. And the credit goes to the director Anurag Kashyap. Anurag definitely has a vision that is different from other directors. Gulaal has been in making since some time now, still you do not feel it. The film looks and feels fresh. Anurag has worked out a good script and has made a wonderful film out of it. Dev D was just the beginning, Gulaal tells us there is more to come.

Gulaal is brilliant writing and riveting performances with splendid direction.

Rating : ****