Review of Gully Boy / गल्ली बॉय, directed by Zoya Akhtar

The first time I watched Gully Boy I was only a sophomore in college. It was my third semester and I had signed up for a Bollywood class after getting accepted to the Summer Institute at the International Writing Program, as, for the first time, I was being confronted by my privileges and ignorance about South Asia as a region.

So I wanted to take this political science and film class as a way to explore contemporary issues in India, which was a baby step towards who I am today: someone who studied Bangla in Kolkata and is now preparing to apply to a Fulbright in the country.

The first time we watched this movie we studied it from a political science angle, and how a Hindi movie could accurately portray a Muslim protagonist’s perspective, but this second time I wanted to watch it for fun because I remembered I liked the film. It certainly was interesting revisiting this movie almost five years later, especially as I’ve grown as a person and a budding Asian studies scholar.

Anyways, before I ramble too much, here is my review!

A Muslim street rapper from the slums of Mumbai rises to the top ranks with his talent.

The protagonist of Gully Boy is Murad, who has a terrible home situation. He lives in the slums of Mumbai, specifically in Dharavi, with his abusive father. His father has brought home a second wife, who is much younger than Murad’s mother, and not everyone is happy to see her there in the house with them.

Murad, who is attending university at the time, has a passion for rap music, but is dating Safeena, a girl who is pretty possessive over him and is trying to become a doctor.

When Murad’s father ends up with an injury, Murad has to get a job himself. That’s what inspires him to start writing, as while he’s at work as a chauffeur, he begins to notices there are many different socioeconomic displays of power going on. When he meets a local rapper, Murad decides to jump headfirst into the industry and begins showing up at rap battles and local shows.

He then ends up making a YouTube channel as well. His raps are about the state of the world around him and his fears, hopes, and dreams, which means they’re pretty much coming from the heart.

That channel catches the attention of a Berklee College student named Sky, who then reaches out to Murad and Sher, the rapper he met before. She wants to make a new song with then, and when that happens, it blows up.

But Sky ends up becoming dangerous for Murad, as he cheats on Safeena with her—but when she does find out about what Murad did, her possessive streak leads her to react violently.

It ends with her smashing a bottle on Sky’s head, and Murad decides to break up with her because of it.

At home, Murad’s father gets worse, and he decides to leave home with his mother and brother in search of greener pastures. He gets a job with his uncle, and he continues to navigate his life as a rapper while still trying to be a normal person.

He also realizes he loves Safeena, despite what she did, and he tells Sky no and goes back to her. At the same time, a huge rap contest is happening in Mumbai, as Nas is preparing to have a concert there.

Murad decides to submit an entry, and he reaches the finals. The live sessions are rap battles, and when he performs in front of people, he begins to realize he no longer needs to be little.

He stands up to his father, gets back with his girl, and then proceeds to become one of India’s top rappers after winning the contest.

The movie then ends with him performing in front of everyone at the Nas concert, with his loved ones watching on.

Overall Thoughts

Gully Boy is a really interesting to see in the context of modern India, as Muslims, to this day, are still demonized by the the rightwing organizations in the country.

It’s a very good film about an underdog coming on top and realizing that he can stick up for himself at the end of the day, but, at the same time, because it’s a Hindi film depicting people in the slums and Muslims I think there are many problems of representation happening here.

It’s a layered issue at the end of the day. I wish it went deeper beyond the main character rapping about these issues, as it simply becomes a vehicle for him to move social classes and gain confidence.

At the same time, none of these issues are really getting solved, and this becomes a feel-good movie for many audiences who are patting themselves on the back for listening to a story like Murad’s.

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