Gully Boy

Gully Boy
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Zoya Akhtar
Written by	Reema Kagti
Dialogues by	Vijay Maurya
Produced by	Farhan Akhtar Zoya Akhtar Ritesh Sidhwani
Starring	Ranveer Singh Alia Bhatt Siddhant Chaturvedi Vijay Varma
Cinematography	Jay Oza
Edited by	Nitin Baid
Music by	Songs: See soundtrack Score: Karsh Kale The Salvage Audio Collective
Production companies	Excel Entertainment Tiger Baby Films
Distributed by	Cinestaan AA Distributors
Release dates	9 February 2019 (2019-02-09) (Berlinale)1 14 February 2019 (2019-02-14) (India)2
Running time	153 minutes3
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹60–70 crore45
Box office	est. ₹238.16 crore6

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,⁷ 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.⁸

Gully Boy won a record 13 Filmfare Awards, the most awards for a single film in a year, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Singh) and Best Actress (Bhatt).⁹ It also became the sixth film to win all 4 major awards at the Filmfare Awards (Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress), after Guide (1965), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Devdas (2002) and Black (2005). Internationally, it won the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea. It was also selected as the Indian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.

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.

When Sky subsequently confesses her romantic feelings for him, Murad gently declines her advances, realizing he remains deeply in love with Safeena. He later initiates a reconciliation with her. Seeking a definitive breakthrough, Murad and MC Sher enter a high-profile talent contest, where the winner will secure an opening act slot for international rapper Nas at his Mumbai concert. Driven by his life experiences, Murad delivers a powerful performance and advances to the finals.

The newfound validation from his growing fanbase bolsters Murad's self-esteem. Empowered, he formally confronts both Aftab and Ateeq, resolutely defending his artistic ambitions against their attempts to belittle his passion. After permanently reconciling with Safeena, Murad participates in the final rap battle, ultimately winning the tournament and establishing himself as one of the country's premier artists. The film concludes with MC Sher, his family, and a proud Safeena looking on from the audience as Murad takes the stage to deliver his triumphant opening performance.

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.¹² Principal photography of the film began on 10 February 2018¹³ and it was wrapped up by April 2018.¹⁴ American rapper Nas was an executive producer for the film.¹⁵¹⁶

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.¹⁷ As music supervisor, Ankur Tewari¹⁸ worked with the diverse group of artists in the studio, aiming to "bring the two worlds of hip hop and Bollywood together".¹⁷

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.¹⁵¹⁶ The track was produced by XD Pro Music, a Toronto based producer duo, and Ill Wayno.

Gully Boy was confirmed to be releasing on 14 February 2019 by Alia Bhatt.¹⁴ The first look official poster of the film was released on 1 January 2019 and reconfirmed the release date to be 14 February 2019.² Two new theatrical posters revealing looks of the lead actors of the film unveiled for the public on 2 January 2019.¹⁹ 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.¹²⁰ It was released in India on 14 February 2019¹⁴ on 3,350 screens and in overseas markets on 751 screens, with a worldwide count of 4,101 screens.²¹

Some writers speculated about similarities between Gully Boy and the Eminem-starring 8 Mile (2002).²² 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".²³ 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."²⁴ 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."²⁵

The film was made available as VOD on Amazon Prime Video on 16 April 2019.²⁶

AA Films acquired the All India distribution rights while Cinestaan AA Distributors and Zee Studios International acquired the overseas distribution rights. Also Magic Cloud Media & Entertainment acquired New Zealand distribution rights.

Gully Boy received positive reviews, with praise for the storyline, direction, music, screenplay, and performances (particularly Singh, Chaturvedi, Varma and Bhatt).²⁷²⁸²⁹

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 23 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10.³⁰

Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost gave Gully Boy four stars out of five, writing, "Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt are devastatingly good in Zoya Akhtar's ultimate anthem for the rebel".³¹ Raja Sen of Hindustan Times gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and said, "Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy, an underdog story shining a light on India’s incipient hip-hop subculture, is the first great Hindi film of 2019 and a rousing celebration of spunk. The writing is enthralling, the texture fantastic, and this world is a revelation. Here are characters without room to breathe who express themselves breathlessly, through a style of music that has always belonged to the marginalised. Dissent finds a way — and a beat."³² Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama called it "Akhtar’s best film to date".³³ Rachit Gupta of The Times of India also gave four stars.³⁴ Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com also gave four stars.³⁵ Uday Bhatia of Mint wrote, "It’s a hard-won transformation – bohot hard – and it rings true".³⁶ Anupama Chopra commented, "By the end, I was wiping tears and cheering furiously not just for Murad, but for each one of these characters to find happiness".³⁷

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV opined, "Gully Boy can be whole-heartedly commended for its craft, fascinating characters and Ranveer Singh. He absolutely kills the slow-burning rapper act. What's more, he does with a lot of energy to spare."³⁸ Writing for Film Companion, Baradwaj Rangan gave Gully Boy three stars out of five and found it to be "softer than expected, but hugely entertaining and beautifully made".³⁹ Ananya Bhattacharya of India Today rated it three stars out of five.⁴⁰ Mayur Sanap of Deccan Chronicle also gave it three stars.⁴¹ The Wire felt the film dealt with Bollywood tropes.⁴²

Manjusha Radhakrishnan of Gulf News rated the film 4/5 and wrote, "When he breaks down, you break down with him and that’s one of the biggest victories of Gully Boy".⁴³ Among international reviewers, Lee Marshall of Screen International wrote, "Singh busts rhymes with the best of them in this energetic, entertaining film".⁴⁴ Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film three stars of five.⁴⁵ Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter commended Akhtar for her direction.⁴⁶ Anita Iyer of Khaleej Times rated the film four stars out of five.⁴⁷ Jay Weissberg of Variety wrote, "Zoya Akhtar's most accomplished film to date is a mainstream rap musical about a Muslim guy from working-class Mumbai determined to break free from the strictures of expectation and class, all served up with generous helpings of deftly written hip-hop lyrics and a largely well-woven narrative" starring "Ranveer Singh in all his charms."⁴⁸

Gully Boy opened with collection of ₹194 million (equivalent to ₹240 million or US$2.5 million in 2023) on its first day. In two weeks of release, the film grossed ₹220 crore (US$31.24 million). The film grossed ₹166 crore (US$23.57 million) in India and ₹72.58 crore (US$10.31 million) overseas, taking its worldwide gross to ₹238.16 crore (US$33.82 million).⁶

The film won 13 awards at the 65th Filmfare Awards, the most awards for a single film in a year, has broken the record of Black, which won 11 awards in 2006.⁴⁹⁵⁰ It also became the sixth film to win all four acting awards. The film also won 12 awards at 26th Screen Awards⁵¹ and 9 awards in Zee Cine Awards.

Internationally, it won the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film at the 2019 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea.⁵² The film was also India's official entry to the 92nd Academy Awards for the Best International feature film category,⁵³ though it was not nominated.⁵⁴⁵⁵⁵⁶

Gully Boy attracted controversy over its 13 wins at the 65th Filmfare Awards.⁵⁷ Several Twitter users and fans were extremely disappointed and made calls to boycott the awards, with #BoycottFilmfare trending on the micro-blogging site.⁵⁸ Subsequently, when the Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist went to the rap song "Apna Time Aayega" instead of the patriotic song "Teri Mitti" from the 2019 period war film Kesari, lyricist Manoj Muntashir tweeted his disappointment at the decision, pledging not to attend future award ceremonies.⁵⁹⁶⁰⁶¹