Gully Boy: Ranveer Singh will Rap the Hearts of Millions

During the last few years, Bollywood has been all about biopics and content-driven films. Gully Boy (2019) follows the same path and tells the humble story of street rappers Divine (Vivian Fernandes) and Naezy (Naved Shaikh).

Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt are the main leads in Gully Boy. Ranveer plays the role of an aspiring ghetto rapper, while Bhatt is a medical student.

Kalki Koechlin, Vijay Raaz, and Siddhant Chaturvedi play supporting roles.

The director, Zoya Akhtar states that she first thought of making the movie in 2014. She saw the rap video ‘Aafat’ by Naezy on YouTube and it stuck in her head.

This is the first time that she actually got to see real and authentic ‘Gully Rap.’

The video created an impact, with the director believing that the story had a scope.

Gully Boy will feature the first time pairing of Ranveer and Alia. The two were first seen together in a TV ad and it became very popular.

Zoya says she always had the two of them in mind as the lead pair. She was very happy when both of them said yes to Gully Boy.

Shooting for Gully Boy

Shooting for Gully Boy began in January 2018 and completed in April 2018.

During the shoot, the lead actor did put up snippets about the film on social media. The media also caught glimpses of the shooting every now and then.

There is one Romeo-Juliet like scene shot at Edward Cinema in South Mumbai.

Converting the cinema into a hotel, there is a shot involving Alia looking down and Ranveer trying to climb via a ladder.

The press was present on the last day of the Gully Boy shoot, which took place at a Mumbai suburban railway station. This scene shows an important sequence between the lead pair.

Ranveer had a buff body for Padmaavat (2018). He underwent diet and gym training to tone down his body for Gully Boy.

The transformation was drastic, but the results were as desired. He got the lean boyish look that the film demanded.

Singh also has many kissing scenes in Gully Boy.

He will be locking lips with not just Alia, but also Kalki, the actress famous for movies like Dev-D (2009) and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011).

There are reports confirming that he has at least three kissing scenes with Alia and two with Kalki. Rapping and romance are two of the biggest elements in this film.

After shooting for Gully Boy had wrapped up, Ranveer thanked the cast and crew on social media. He had a special post for his ‘bae’ Zoya. He posted a selfie and wrote:

“Bae & I. Made for each other. I love you @zoieakhtar. Thank you for this unique and unforgettable experience #gullyboy.”

Bae & I ?? made for each other ??
I love you #ZoyaAkhtar ? thank you for this unique and unforgettable experience #gullyboy pic.twitter.com/FDnhb0qTUt

— Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) April 22, 2018

The audience is most certainly going to dive into the theatres in hordes on Valentine’s Day, just like Ranveer dove into the crowd at the audio launch.

Gully Boy Posters and Trailer

The lead stars and the filmmakers had kept viewer interest in Gully Boy via regular posts on social media.

The first poster of the film came out on January 1, 2019.

The release of the first poster created a frenzy among cine-goers, as it provided a certain amount of mystery. A day later, two more posters, featuring the look of the two lead actors were launched.

A small teaser showing a shot of Ranveer rapping did release on January 4, 2019. This was also the day that the makers of Gully Boy announced the date of trailer launch as January 9, 2019.

The social media storm and the minor peak-a-boos into Gully Boy had heightened the curiosity of all. Critics, filmgoers, and non-filmgoers were all waiting for the trailer launch with bated breath.

The primary interest of the audience was in the storyline of Gully Boy. One day before the release of the trailer, director Zoya dropped a tit-bit about the film to the media saying:

“I like the genre of music, I like the idea of coming-of-age on a sense and it’s an underdog story.

“It’s the story about a boy, so everything attracted me to it, every single thing.”

Zoya continued:

“There is a huge underground rapping scene in India, which has been untapped.”

“Essentially, our film is a story about my city and Mumbai is a very special place.”

Within a single day of its launch, the Gully Boy trailer had many million views. The ‘dhoptoin’ slang uttered by Alia in the trailer has become very popular.

Watch the official trailer for Gully Boy here:

Gully Boy Music

The trailer of Gully Boy had revealed Ranveer rapping in the film. It was the first time that he had lent his voice for a film. Despite previously rapping for TV commercials, Ranveer did some prep work for more authenticity.

Ranveer had several recording sessions as part of the preparations for his role as a street rapper. He also attended rapping workshops and jammed with real-life actual street rappers of Mumbai.

The audio launch of Gully Boy was unique. It was a kind of a rap concert at Byculla in Mumbai. Two tracks, ‘Azadi’ and ‘Apna Time Aayega’ have already become cult hits.

Ranveer came onto the stage wearing a neon green tracksuit and a silver jacket as began rapping ‘Apna Time Aayega.’ The audience began tripping to the song.

Ranveer was then joined by Divine, Naezy, and Alia who looked absolutely gorgeous in a shimmering green fringe skirt and a printed strapless top.

The event was also attended by Zoya’s close friend Shweta Bachchan Nanda, Gully Boy co-producer Farhan Akhtar, and the director herself.

Kubra Sait of Sacred Games (2018-present) fame hosted the event.

Within an hour of the soundtrack being released online, there was a lot of buzz on social media and the internet. Everyone spoke favourite, including the actor Ronit Roy. He later posted:

“I think the @RanveerOfficial bug has bitten me!!!!”

“Main ab bolta hoon beat pe , hoon bhi bada dheet bey aade tedhe kapde pehenke chalta hoon street pe #ApnaTimeAayega #GullyBoy #EkNumber.”

I think the @RanveerOfficial bug has bitten me!!!! Main ab bolta hoon beat pe , hoon bhi bada dheet bey aade tedhe kapde pehenke chalta hoon street pe #ApnaTimeAayega #GullyBoy #EkNumber ??

— Ronit Bose Roy (@RonitBoseRoy) January 24, 2019

Watch ‘Apna Time Ayega’ here:

The Gully Boy jukebox has eighteen songs. Ranveer has sung six of the songs, with an array of contributing artists such as Javed Akhtar, Spitfire, Divine, Ankur Tewari, Naezy and more.

The track ‘Meri Gully Mein’ is also generating a lot of interest on YouTube, garnering over fourteen million views.

The film will hit cinemas on Valentine’s Day on February 14, 2019.

Gully Boy is set to premiere at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival, February 2019. The screening will take place during the Berlinale Special Gala section of the festival.