Moeen's distinct characteristics gave us the most heartwarming scenes in Zoya Akhtar's Gully Boy.
Bollywood may be represented by the extravagant movies with 'heroes' flying over cars fighting crimes and randomly breaking into a dance number. While these movies hold their own place in Indian cinema, they do not completely identify the stories that Indian filmmakers have to share. It's the stories inspired by real-life instances that speak to the people. Zoya Akhtar's award-winning movie, Gully Boy takes its due place among them. In today's Ketchup Cut, we discuss one of the scenes from the movie that gripped the true essence of the movie.
About the movie:
Director – Zoya Akhtar Cast – Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Vijay Verma, Kalki Koechlin Writer – Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti Where to watch – Amazon Prime Videos
A movie about Murad (Ranveer Singh), an underdog rap artist, who struggles to become a part of a new world while trying to grapple with his own small struggles. He uses his talent to convey his views on social issues and life in Dharavi. His life changes drastically when he meets a local rapper, Shrikant aks MC Sher (Siddhant Chaturvedi).
Ketchup Cut:
The several eulogies that the movie saw coming its way after its release are proof of how much the audience loved this movie. The constant recitation of its songs in every corner of the country marks its success. Movies work like a spell on the audience leaving them appreciating the struggles and triumphs of the people involved in a field. While TV shows like Bandish Bandits gave us the best of classical music, Gully Boy took us through the underground world of Indian rap. Even as music presided as the underlining theme, the movie showed us multiple different relationships that took us on an emotional journey.
Among all the heartwarming and head-nodding (cause who can stay still during the rap battle) scenes, one character who takes the cake is Moeen (Vijay Verma). The story was never about him but about Murad and his struggle to get out of his life of misery and make it big in the world of rap. But what makes Murad's journey more colorful and worth vouching for is characters like Moeen whose slightest act of kindness adds up to a better future for Murad. We get a glimpse of him right in the start when he wanders around the streets at night stealing cars. And we know right then that he's not without flaws. He might never be ethically right but he has his own morals to deal with, his own stories to tell in the little space that he gets in the movie in the lockup scene!
There are two scenes where Moeen instantly becomes our favorite, one when Murab walks into his house to find kids filling up the weed packs and the other when he's locked up at the police station. In each of the scenes, Moeen leaves his impact on Murad, enough to give him a reality check of what is and what can be. He is blunt, straightforward, and well aware of his life. He never hides or ignores the wrong he does and always owns up to it. We know that when Murad questions him for making kids work for him and in response, he says that he feeds them. He believes that even though he's doing wrong he's also setting the scales right by taking care of the kids. But it's the lockup scene that brings out the true essence of his character.
After stealing multiple cars and doing all the illegal stuff along with Murad, he gets caught by the police. Murad runs to meet him, offering to confess to the crimes for all the help that he extended when Murad needed it the most. But instead, he replies saying, "Mujhe toh yahan hona hi tha." He knows that Murad has done well and that he has the chance to have a better life. We realize that the only thing that he hates is people giving him lectures on what he shouldn't do and not be petty for his friend's success. All he cares about is to meet the needs at the end of the day and hope that his kids don't go hungry. Moeen always was Murad's biggest cheerleader and was well-aware of his potential even when Murad himself had his doubts. He accepted his fate and helped Murad become the star that he would go on to be, which makes us appreciate the final battle even more.
About the movie:
Vijay Verma about the aftermath of playing a part in the movie as reported in India Times,"Life has been extremely beautiful and eventful since Gully Boy released in Feb 2019. I am really in the thick of things, creating a lot of stuff. Everything else, apart from work, has taken a back seat. Now, it's been constant work and I am really enjoying the work right now."
Fun Facts:
The film is inspired by the struggles and life of Indian rappers Naezy and Divine. However, she had made it clear that it's not a biopic but inspired by incidents of their lives.
For the song Apna Time Aayega, the rapper Divine collaborated with Indian lyricist, Javed Akhtar
Ranveer Singh trained under Divine for the movie as Zoya wanted to use the lead's voice for the songs of the movie
Most parts of the movie were shot in actually remote slums of Dharavi that we have never seen in mainstream movies.
Awards and Recognitions:
65th Filmfare Awards: Won 13 awards breaking the record of the movie Black by winning the most awards for a single film in a year.
Also became the second film after Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to win all the four acting awards
26th Screen Awards: won in 12 categories
Zee Cine Awards: Won in 9 categories
2019 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea: Won for NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film
92nd Academy Awards: India's official entry for Best International feature film category
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