Finally watched Gunday - some thoughts

Photo credit: http://indiatoday.intoday.in

i watched Gunday last evening on DVD. Ranveer Sigh has been definitely promising and one of the reasons why i wanted to watch the film. And true enough, one’s eyes are treated to not just his well-sculpted body but Arjun’s too! 

The beginning of the film is power packed. The child artists who play Bikram and Bala as kids have done a great job. You can see the hot headed and cool shades of their characters right at the beginning. The 70’s scene is successfully set and you feel as if you are really watching some Shatrughan Sinha film set in the coal mines era. The narrative keeps you on the edge with some moments where you are wondering “What next”? Thankfully, no cliche plot of a love triangle here where the lady love has to belong to one hero and the other one is conveniently killed off in the end. 

The performance by the leading men is mind-blowing. Although, i feel, Ranveer overshadows Arjun just a tad bit in the acting department. They continue to remain extensions of the characters they were as children. Even the scenes where they vent their frustration at the system sound real rather than pompous dialoguebaazi. Ranveer and Arjun have an amazing chemistry on screen and you can feel the bonding as if it was real. At some places it seems to go overboard, thanks to the matching costumes they are given. Red hearts on white clothes on the front and on the bum seem a bit too much!

Enter Priyanka Chopra and the whole feel of the 70’s, so well created till then, is destroyed. Neither her costumes nor the way she plays the character has anything to do with the 70’s. The film fails to create the retro cabaret feel that could have added to the charm. A wig of hair and backless cholis just aren’t sufficient to create the look that goes well with the rest of the film. And Priyanka, somehow, doesn’t fit a character from yesteryears. 

Irfan Khan is at his best trying to break the apart the duo of Bikram and Bala. As an understated yet confident police officer, he definitely steals my heart every time i watch him onscreen! 

The music of the film is great. This did make for a great music albums and thereby royalties. But it only curbs the flow of the movie. The drama that it manages to create is diluted by the unnecessary songs where they are least needed/expected. Probably that’s more meat for Priyanka’s role or what does she go to the gym for? 

Photo credit: http://businessofcinema.com/

Also worth mentioning are the numerous scenes where Bikram and Bala run. They just run. Towards the coal trains, away from the police, in times of sheer joy and sometimes, for no apparent reason. i think they look so good running synchronously together that the editor got carried away a bit. And i guess these boys have completely cashed in on all the well spent hours in the gym. In every single scene of the film, their shirts are button down to expose their chest. Treat for the ladies? Sure is! 

Overall, a refreshing change from the current movies. While Lootera, being off-beat, was more arty type, this one is a complete masala film packed with a lot of colours, music, thrill, suspense and romance.