Gulaal

This post is a pseudo-review of the hindi film Gulaal.

I watch my fair share of films.  But if I were to make a list of films, sort them by language and count how many of each I have seen, hindi films would be in joint fourth.  English would lead the count, followed by Chinese (mostly from the erstwhile Hong Kong film industry – Jackie Chan, etc) and then Tamil. Admittedly, some of you may be tempted to compare me being asked my opinions on hindi films with asking a monkey its opinion on the Large Hadron Collider.

However, last I checked, I was no monkey and hindi films were usually dumb feel-good affairs – it was easier to “understand” a hindi film than it was to tie ones own shoelaces. Even a LOLcat would understand one – “BOY MEET GURL. PARENTS NOT LAIK. SHIT HAPPEN. HERO BE AWSUM. PARENTS AGREE. COUPLE CAN HAS MARRIAGE. HAPPY 4 EVER!!”

That appears to have changed over a fairly short period of time though. With serious cinema suddenly coming to the fore, I can finally watch hindi films without cringing. One such film is Gulaal, which I managed to catch on the big screen. With a quality backdrop, some stunning performances and hauntingly addictive music, it appears to have everything to be an outstanding film.

KayKay Menon (Dukey Bana) and Piyush Mishra (Prithvi Bana) are practically flawless in the portrayal of their respective characters. The incendiary speeches were especially well done. Abhimanyu Singh (as Rananjay) and Deepak Dobriyal (Bhati) are quite good as well. The whole film appears to have a bit too much red (obvious from the name/posters) but it just adds to the atmosphere. As mentioned before, the music score is addictive – after I got back, I simply HAD to listen to the music again.

The film does have its flaws though – mostly character development and a lack of a backstory for some of the main cast. Jesse Randhawa’s character seems particularly pointless. Additionally, the poster promises us a film on LUURVE, POWER and REVOLUSHUN. The power and revolution parts are particularly well executed but the LUURVE aspect is underwhelming. The second half of the film falls a bit flat on its face after the first half promised so much. Personally though, I felt the end was quite all right, but to each his own.

Imo, its a bloody good film which could have been better.

-> Badrinath.S

P.S.: Most images shamelessly lifted from the official website. Dont think they will mind.

P.P.S.: Two other movie reviews I have done – The Fall and Dhoom 2

P.P.P.S.: For those experiencing depression due to something they saw on TV, please call – 09 212121 141414. This is for fans of ManU only. Liverpool did the double over them this season.