Gully Boy has justified all the hype and expectations around it.
Written by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti and directed by Zoya, the film is co-produced by Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan and Zoya Akhtar under the banners of Tiger Baby and Excel Entertainment productions. Inspired by the lives of street rappers Divine and Naezy, it stars Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, and features Kalki Koechlin, Vijay Raaz and Siddhant Chaturvedi in supporting roles.
It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 9 and was released in Indian on February 14, to an overwhelming response. The soundtrack, the soul of the film, is composed, and performed by a myriad of musicians, including Divine, Naezy, Sez on the beat, Rishi Rich, Dub Sharma, Jasleen Royal, Ace, Ishq Bector, MC Altaf, MC TodFod, 100 RBH, Maharya, Noxious D, Viveick Rajagopalan and others.
Gully Boy is the first mainstream Bollywood film that showcased the budding hip-hop culture of the streets of Mumbai. Not only Ranveer and Alia, but the entire cast of the film has shone. We bring you five facts of the film we bet you didn’t know about.
1.The inception
Zoya Akhtar was busy with the post-production of her previous release Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), when she was first introduced to the Mumbai hip-hop culture. Apparently, she heard the track Aafat by Naezy and was instantly hooked thanks to the catchy lyrics and the unique rapping style. Eventually, when Zoya met up with Naezy, she heard about the struggles of his life and felt that his was a story that needed to be told. After a few more meetings with Naezy and Divine, she was convinced that she had her next film on her hands. However, Zoya did make it clear that the film was not a biopic of either Divine or Naezy but it is inspired by the incidents of their lives, shown through fictionalised characters. During the promotions of the film, the director confirmed, “This is not a biopic on Divine or Naezy. This is a completely fictional story. However, the film is inspired by them and their music. They even worked with me on the project to ensure that it remains authentic.”
2. Divine and Javed Akhtar teamed up for Apna Time Aayega
The song Apna time aayega from the film is an iconic track and has almost turned into an anthem of sorts. The lyrics for this raging number have been penned by Divine and the legendary Javed Akhtar. Even though most of the song was written by Divine, Javed Akhtar supposedly made a crucial change that gave a completely new meaning to the track.
Initially, when Divine wrote the lyrics for the song, it was titled as Sabka time aayega. Later, when Javed Akhtar read the lyrics, he suggested that it be written as Apna time aayega. He believed this minor change would help connect people to the song at a much higher level individually.
3.Ranveer’s transformation
Even though Zoya Akhtar was keen that Ranveer Singh play the part, her condition was that the lead actor should be able to rap, as she wanted to use his voice in the movie. Reportedly, Ranveer began his training under Divine with the song Mere gully mein, which is also featured in the film. After a few trials, Zoya was convinced that Ranveer was indeed her Gully Boy. Ranveer revealed that he has always been fascinated by the rap culture, and that he wouldn’t have been able to bear it if this role was played by another actor.
4. The true story behind Asli Hip-Hop
In 2017, Ranveer featured in a music video for a clothing brand. He also lent his voice for the song used in the music video titled Don’t Hold Back. While he was working on the project, he was introduced to Indian rappers Spitfire and Kaam Bhari, who were featured in the music video of the song as well. Ranveer was so impressed by their lyrics and style of rapping, that a year later, when he began working on Gully Boy, he apparently recommended that the two of them be featured in the film’s album. Spitfire wrote the lyrics for the song Asli hip-hop from the film, which went on to become extremely popular. In fact, the first teaser of the movie was released with the song Asli hip-hop in the backdrop.
5. Keeping it real
Most of the film has been reportedly shot in the slums of Dharavi. The makers wanted to ensure that the film had a raw element, which could not be replicated with artificial sets. The film was shot in the remote slums of Dharavi and in areas across the city that we haven’t witnessed in mainstream movies so far. T
he cinematography of the film was done by Jay Oza, who previously has worked on projects like The Dewarists, Raman Raghav 2.0 and Anil Kapoor’s version of the hit American series 24. The international reach of the film was also kept in mind, which is why the makers brought in Luis Casaberta as the assistant director, who gave his inputs keeping the international market in mind. Luis has previously contributed to big budget Hollywood projects like Sahara, Exodus and The Others.
More on: Gully Boy, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt
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