movie reviews ... and more
Gulaal - Preview
Gulaal
NOT A REVIEW - Just wondering what is up Anurag's sleeve this time...
Anurag Kashyap must be one of the few directors in recent times whose movies are known by his name and not by the cast. Even my mom is aware that she's going into a Kashyap movie. You can’t say this about many directors.
And Gulaal is his dream project. So I'm extremely curious about what it has in store for me. It's not abstract and it looks like it has a directly comprehensible plot. It's not a simple love story either. This time it looks like we are getting into political nitty-gritty and complexity. Political discontent and angst against established systems can be very engaging if the right atmosphere is created and there are enough plot points coming together. And this is exactly what the promos imply.
Elsewhere an article gives the plot a superlative adjective -
Similar to a Shakespearean fable of desire, lost identities, love, greed, violence, murder, deceit, power and innocence, it is a film inspired by poetry; the forgotten male, macho world of power, corruption and greed, where women are just means to an end while nobody can be trusted.
While I wouldn't go to that extent (well at least not before having seen the movie) the songs too have depth, smartness and political references in them. Sample this -
Anyway, if not for anything else, one ought to look forward to music from Anurag Kashyap movies. They certainly have something novel each time. This time it's Piyush Mishra who has composed and written 8 songs, out of which two are 7.5 minutes each. Since the songs are a tribute to Sahir Ludhianvi, the songs have that oldish, melancholic, melodious feel to them.
We have tried to create the music era of 60s and 70s and as the film is the tribute the great poet, people can expect some great compositions this time," the music director says.
Some detailed music reviews - here, here, and here. After Dev D, seeing Mahi Gill on screen is another attraction too. Though this time it's only a short role. In general, I think like anyone who has liked Dev D, I'll have to realign my expectations and not let them take away from the next experience.
Gulaal - Movie Details
- Producer: Zee Limelight
- Director: Anurag Kashyap
![[Has twitter account]](/site_media/images/icons/twitter_small.png)
- Lead Cast: Deepak Dobriyal, Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastav, Piyush Mishra, Ayesha Mohan, Raj Singh Chaudhary, Abhimanyu Singh
- Supporting Cast: Mahi Gill, Jessy Randhawa, Pankaj Jha, Mukesh Bhatt, Seema Rehmani
- Story: Anurag Kashyap, Raja Chaudhary, Aparna Chaturvedi
- Cinematography: Rajeev Ravi
- Music Director: Piyush Mishra
- Lyrics: Piyush Mishra
- Running time: 150 minutes
- Reviewer: meetu
- Categories: Hindi Movies
- Genres: Politics, Social
Gulaal - Trailer
Gulaal - All reviews summary
External Reviews
34 reviewers have given Gulaal an average rating of 4.2/5.0. 25 yays, 2 nays, 7 so-so. See all external reviews »
Comments (27)
AWESOME movie,,,one of the best works in indian cinema,,,,BEATS EVEN "HAASIL "(having similar content),,,deepak dobriyal, piyush mishra , kay kay..... terriffic,,,just terriffic a movie that will blow u ,,out thre!!!!! ANURAG AND HIS CREW ...SHOULD BE GIVEN NATIONAL AWARD!!!!!! i clapped for 10 minutes after it was over!...going to watch it tomorrow again,,
bhimanyu singh and deepak dobriyal were just mind blowing...... its hard to be noticed when you have kay kay menon in full form..... but its possible in anurag kashyap's films....
Hi Meetu, I am unable to view the reviews directly... When I open the website, the top block which has recent reviews does not load. I have to go through the recent comments and then click on the movie. I cannot check out a review, until there are some comments on the review. Can this be fixed? i am sure many ppl are facing the same issue. Cheers!!! Shilpa.
I don't think was a masterpiece. But its a good example of his exemplary writing skills not cinematic.
I could be the 26th yay
Gulaal was better than Dev D, in fact one of the best in recent times. Watch it and write about it, please. for I want to read what you say. :)
I rather ask for a never-ending forever-repeat mode for this movie. Yes, one viewing is just not enough to absorb this masterpiece - Kay kay and Piyush Mehra rocked and then the whole story involving power right from that speech in the first 2-3 minutes!
One of the best movies ever made in Bollywood.. Period..
:) I pretty much feel the same. If not for anything else, at the very least for Kay Kay...
I'm sorry you are facing this issue. Could you please give me your Internet Service Provider details. Meanwhile you can click on the 'Movies' tab on the navigation bar. Then you can click on the A-Z bar and search alphabetically or once you are in the alphabetical listing you can click on the latest link to get a reverse chronological listing. Sorry you have to approach this in such a round about fashion. Once you give us the details of your connection, we'll try to figure out what's happening.
very very true!
:)
I saw the movie over a week back and it refuses to leave my thoughts still. Not many movies have done that to me. I finally wrote on my blog about it so don't want to repeat it all here. Just one thing - I don't think the blue-red man is not just 'Director's eccentricity.' On the contrary, I felt it provides a reinforcing compliment to Piyush Mishra's character (Prithvi Bana.) Prithvi is a counterpoint to his aggressive firebrand brother Dukey Bana and constantly ridicules him with its scathing wit. I kept thinking that both Prithvi and this character are representing Dukey's struggle with his own impotency, which he is very aware of (but can't show it to anyone.) Dukey goes about spewing venom in his speeches and bashing up Madhuri (Mahi Gill) because he probably knows that he can do little else.
Gulaal is a badly written film and all the acting fire power does not compensate for it. Yes, the director has every reason to feel angry and bitter, but then the anger has to come into the script and weave itself into the lives of the characters. The theme of betrayal is sought to be depicted at three levels; betrayal by the nation state, betrayal of one’s rightful status in society, and betrayal in love. Betrayal leads to anger, but it becomes difficult for one to understand how this anger affects and influences actions. Couple this with all the overt symbolisms that the director throws in; the Ardhanareshwari as a counter to male machismo violence, derogatory remarks about John Lennon and another very famous Indian who also wore round glasses and advocated non violence (beeped out in the film), and a nudge nudge wink wink to the failed state through Democracy beer and Constitution whisky! When will this director wake up and stop trying to impress? The living space of Dilip is a post modern kitsch of what a 70’s hippie’s room would look like as seen through a bad trip, and we see clearly how it led to Dev D. Badly etched characters are the chief weakness of the film; and the film sinks under its weight. The women as Dylan sang “come and go, barefoot servants too”! What does the man servant have to do along with the flautist, but to vent their anger? The film is boring and to paraphrase another famous story teller “full of sound and fury signifying nothing”. And at the end we get Duniya; a completely and superficial reworking of Sahir’s song in Pyaasa. You want a scathing indictment of the system, stick to Ardh Satya, and Hazaron Khwaishen Aisi.
hey...when i say eccentricity, i mean the way it is presented. I actually thought Prithvi Bana and the blue-red man were Dukey's inner voice. Which is why Dukey's wife, his staff, are trying to protect them and are all shattered when Dukey kills the blue-red man, as if he's killed himself.
extremely interesting comments. But don't you think cinefreak, that this film made you think of all these things is an achievement in itself for Hindi cinema. Just look at what came out that same week - Jai Veeru. Sure, we should look at cinema in absolute terms - but this one just completely engrossed me for its entire length.
Let me begin by saying I loved this movie. I watched the trailer for the first time at the screening of Dev D. I loved the trailer and was eagerly awaiting the release. Gulaal will be many things to many viewers. To me it was a musical composition of conflicts.
No not at all. The movie just did not make me think about anything, because it is more or less like election sloganeering; sound bites and dialogues, all of which are most superficial. And what is the point in comparing it with Jai Veeru, whose maker, I am sure had no other intentions than pure commerce at heart? What really irritates me are these pretentious film makers, who claim to be doing something different, and talking about a change in cinema and cinematic experience, but ultimately end up doing the same things in a slightly more sophisticated way. I would relish an honest film any day. Jai Veeru at least in that sense, is honest, and does not lay claims to “higher purposes”! And what is this achievement bit? If the viewers are morons, and if someone comes along who treats them as imbeciles, is that an achievement? (I am not sure which is higher up in the IQ scale, Imbeciles or Morons)
Gulaal. At one level, it represents Kashyap's own frustrations as a filmmaker, refers to the days of severe depression when his films seemed to have no takers. More potently, it's all about a vision of India gone sour. "It's about the India imagined by our poets and what we have made of it," says Kashyap. The film pays tribute to the bards in whose imagination the India of our collective dreams has lived and thrived. It laments for the poets—Ghalib, Momin, Faiz, Firaq, Sahir, Mir, Zauk—who seem to have become irrelevant today. The film is structured like a Shakespearean play in which the only sane voice is that of the joker, i.e. the mad poet Prithvi Bana (Piyush Mishra), the brother of power-crazy Dukey Bana. He sports a locket of John Lennon round his neck and puts his posters on the wall. He wonders why the world can no longer appreciate Imagine and why men who wear round glasses (Gandhi amongst them) don't matter any more. "Don't we brand the most sane voices as mad?" asks Kashyap. Most heartening is the way Gulaal brings back the radical, revolutionary poetry of the '50s cinema, a throwback to IPTA and also the street theatre of Safdar Hashmi. Mishra's music and lyrics are the spine of the narrative—at once moving and provocative, inspiring and indicting.There's the inventive "political mujra" called Ranaji where Mishra throws in cheeky references to 9/11, Afghanistan and US occupation of Iraq. O ri duniya is a brilliant contemporary version of Sahir's Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai. The finest is Mishra's variant of Sarfaroshi ki tamannaa
Ok...I never get it when a director is called "pretentious"..unless he has named his film "RGV ki aag" or has self-referencing running through the film...and that too would be just for that particular film. How are we as an audience to decide that a particular film-maker was honest or not? Isn't that being pretentious as an audience? Now I might sound like a person who is fashionably supporting all that Anurag does...but these are general questions. >> I am not sure which is higher up in the IQ scale, Imbeciles or Morons I have one question before that. What is the definition of an imbecile or a moronic viewer? I surely hope it is not "a viewer whose tastes don't exactly match one particular person's views." I have an objection to assuming that every viewer should take cinema as seriously as some of us do.
Very well put!
Your views are much valued. Would not mind your views on the rest of my re-views on my blog
Your views are much valued. Would not mind your views on the rest of my re-views on my blog
Well if people are not willing to take things seriously there is no point in having a non serious discussion is there?And imbecile and moron are well established, validated measures on the IQ scale and it has nothing to do with “subjective” tastes!
Great movie..excellent screenplay and dashing dialogues..altogether a super hit movie.
Gulaal is a film about dirty politics (and the murky elements that surround it), about revenge, greed, betrayal, love. But what overpowers the film itself are its carefully etched characters, that go beyond what meets the eye. They haunt you long after you've seen the film.
http://eatpraylovemovies.blogspot.com/2011/02/gulaal-2009.html
Gulaal is perhaps Anurag Kashyap's best effort! Mindblowing movie!
Leave a new comment